Santa has come early!

I often get asked why I blog, and usually waffle about the opportunity to write when I feel like it, the community of commenters and so on. Now, however, I have a better answer: I blog because I GET COOL FREE STUFF!!!!! Seriously, in the last couple of weeks I have gone from being the person who hardly ever wins anything to being Loth Who Wins Everything. (Note to self: buy some lottery tickets today.)

First up, I did a bit of unashamed begging and grovelling to Isabelle and acquired a Christmas elf - look! Here he is worshipping at the feet of Marvin the Christmas Martian.
We have named him Alf. His surname, apparently, is Resco. (Although Isabelle suggested he should be Mr Asixpence, for she is witty.)

Then, as if that was not enough, my completion of a book meme, which I would have paid to be allowed to do, won me a prize on Kate's blog. A lovely, pristine, sent-across-the-chilly-Atlantic-from-my-favourite-part-of-the-planet, copy of her new book. Do you want to see it? Of course you do.

It is not only lovely, it is signed. I can't wait to dive in and read it, provided I can keep the boys away from it for long enough. Fortunately, at the moment, it looks like this outside our house:

The boys are therefore fully occupied outside, scraping every last snowflake in our garden into one huge pile for reasons which are not entirely clear to me. I'm guessing it's an operation that makes sense if you are a 9 year old boy. Scotland has been decidely wintery over the past couple of days - temperatures down to -16 in some parts - and I am glad I am not at work today. Poor husband had to de-snow the car this morning before gingerly driving into town. My poor sister-in-law is having to make the journey across the country today to pick up my father-in-law from Troon. She has wisely decided not to drive (there are 6 jack-knifed lorries on the M8 at the moment) so is going to brave the trains. Keep your fingers crossed for her, will you?

I am off now to resist Kate's book a while longer and get the spare room ready for FIL's arrival