Yvie Burnett shares King's heartfelt hopes for health and happiness

Well, we are now in those strange few days of stuffing ourselves with leftovers, sitting on the sofa and trying to eat all the chocolates in the house before the New Year diet starts.

OK maybe that’s just me!

I had to totally hand over the Christmas reins because I was struck down with that flu virus and ended up in bed for a few days last week so I sent Gordon and Ollie out to do the Christmas food shop and they had to do all the prepping for the Christmas meal.

I really dropped the baton with many things in the past few weeks. I was full of good intentions but I ended up just trying to do too much. I need to learn a lesson.

All work

Every year in my job it totally ramps up for the Christmas season and I don’t stop and then I expect to bounce back like a 20-year-old.

Every year Gordon says to me: “You are going to crash as soon as you stop working.”

I bet a lot of you are the same. Christmas holidays shouldn’t really be called holidays. On our summer holiday we relax. After our Christmas one we need a break!

Yvie has a festive get-together at Christmas.

Somehow time just ran away with me and I have to confess I didn’t get around to sending my Christmas cards this year.

So, if you normally get one from me, I’m really sorry.

By the way Happy Birthday to my other very special Auntie Margaret who lives in Ellon.

She was 90 just before Christmas so there have been lots of celebrations with her family.

On Christmas Day, although I was up and about, I was still taking it easy, so Emily did a lot of the extra dishes and Gordon was the main chef.

He coped but I think he found it all quite overwhelming.

It is a big palaver isn’t it but every year we do it all over again.

Yvie’s clan plays games around the table for Christmas.

So here we are at the end of another year and thank you to all of you for reading my random weekly ramblings.

Have you ever got Christmas cards from some people where they included a printed-out letter which detailed everything they had done that year?

I used to find it a bit strange, but they were certainly the organised kind of people who got round to doing that.

Well for me I suppose I could print out the last 52 columns and see what I was up to and I think I would be amazed, as we all would be, to see how much we had packed into 12 months.

Sending a Christmas card does take time – especially if you make your own!

I was looking back at photos in my phone to see what I had been doing and realised I had been lucky enough to have lots of sunshine trips in the first few months of the year both for work and pleasure.

I’m now sitting here thinking how much I would love to be in the Hawaiian sunshine.

This year I have no trips to anywhere hot booked in the first few months of the year, so for any of you who have, enjoy that moment when you step off the plane and feel the heat.

Isn’t that just the best feeling?

The idea of escaping somewhere hot, like Hawaii, seems very appealing at this time of year.

I think most of us will just be working hard, pulling our belts in and counting our blessings in the New Year because it’s going to be a hard time for so many people.

I most definitely said a little prayer of thanks when I had both my children home for Christmas.

If my family are healthy and safe I feel like I can cope with whatever else comes my way.

Health and happiness

Whatever 2023 brings, I’m praying for good health and happiness for you and your families.

I realise that sounded a little bit like the King’s Speech so don’t think I’m going all regal on you!

Did you listen to what King Charles had to say? We were very glad to congregate in the lounge and have a bit of respite before the Christmas pudding and trifle came out.