The day before

Regina Mundi

The Great Dane has patiently undone and shredded the  artistic flower arrangements and is now crunching up a dead snail on the tiled floor of the bathroom. At 2am this morning a thunderstorm cracked open over the valley between the mountains and the rain pelted down. We are  now enduring  humid heat rather than scorching dry heat, which is not an improvement. My cut  hydrangeas are wilting and  must be  replaced. I have been making litres of  Jamie Oliver’s  chicken wings gravy and the kitchen smells like a  chip fryer.

It’s all good.

The relentlessly convivial housemate has begun issuing last minute  invitations to people who have nowhere to go for Christmas or who need to escape family for a while. I am  making my  Tomato Tarte Tatin (from Heidi’s recipe here) and might make make two or three if numbers increase.

It’s all good.

This isn’t an easy time of year for many of us and for those who are AA members or who just  want to  hang out with sober company, there will be an online AA Alkathon at AAOnline:

**CHRISTMAS ALKATHON – DECEMBER 25TH AT AAONLINE.org**
                    12 GREAT MEETINGS
                 FROM MIDNIGHT CHRISTMAS EVE
                 TIL MIDNIGHT CHRISTMAS NIGHT
                      HOPE TO SEE YOU HERE !!!

Alkathon Meeting Times (EST)
8.00pm
9.30pm
midnight
2.00am
5.00am
7.00am
8.30am
1.30pm
3.30pm
6.30pm
9.30pm
midnight

This is where you go to log in and access the  chatroom

This is where you  will find details of the holiday schedule

Take care everyone and  stay safe. Wishing you all a happy,  peaceful and sober Christmas. The image of the black Madonna and child  above is from a stained-glass window at Regina  Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto.