Vogue: Christmas Edition

Dear Father Time,
I miss summer. Please bring me sunshine.
I have a suggestion: let's skip February. We can move Mum's birthday to March.
Love,
Cloudy

It's Friday, and the house is finally decorated. As the youngest and, presumably, therefore the most energetic, ha ha, I am usually left the vast majority of those tasks. The tree was purchased and put up yesterday afternoon, whereupon I tested light strings and got those up, rearranged them a lot, and then hauled boxes down from shelves on high. My sister arrived just in time to help me put ornaments on the tree, and I also distributed appropriate knick-knackery and, my favorite, put up the creche. After a brief and terrifying moment in which Baby Jesus was upside down in the manger, I got it straightened out and the three Wisemen are suitably in awe, the musical shepherds are playing away, and the goose girl is peering around the girl with the lamb at a safe distance from the counter's edge. The house is as ready for Christmas as I can make it.
Today, I turned my attention toward my sister's and my plan to take pictures out in the snow in elaborate costumery and maquillage. This plan worked out pretty well, and I shall eventually post something or other from the event. It is a little warmer today, still winter but not bone-crackingly so. No sun, just overcast white sky. My sister dressed in much finery and layers, circa turn of the century and earlier. My first outfit was more haute couture Paris gothique and my second the "wounded rock star princess." Many great pictures were achieved for my future album cover. We were going to take indoor pictures, too, but we both sort of pooped out. We're old now. This isn't like when she was 15 and I was 12.

And now, a list:
Cute things my parents do.

• Communicate over walkie-talkie when Dad is out and about in the yard. They say "Sarabel base" and "Sarabel mobile" (Sarabel being the combined names of the girls in the family, and the name of Dad's boat, though it's not painted on there yet.)
• Take food out to the "guys at the shop," my Dad's Formula SAE car team at the university. My mom made them brownies and Chex mix.
• Do crossword puzzles every day that they download from a website. They cheat with Google if they have to.
• Drink jug wine. Last night, once my sister and brother-in-law arrived, everyone had a drink in their hand. It was very British. No one gets drunk, but everyone likes a little sniff of something.