Christmas is coming

Welcome, Yuletide reader, as this week we chronicle the approach of the festive season here in California.

Weather-wise, it's been surprisingly chilly, with temperatures dropping to 1 or 2 degrees C over night for the last couple of weeks, and getting up to only 10 or 11 during the day. That's basically as cold as it gets here, and the sun has been continuing to shine, although I did have to get my raincoat out last weekend. The days feel short too, despite us getting nearly two hours more daylight per day compared to southern England. It's all relative I guess.

Anyway, the Christmas preparations are well advanced, and many of our neighbours are doing their best to deal with any possible surplus of energy:

Somehow Helen didn't think that taking up the option of getting some professionals to come and decorate the house was a good idea, so at some point this weekend I'll be outside putting lights up.

Helen was down at the Stanford Memorial Church this week, adding her talents on the violin to their annual scratch performance of the Messiah. I didn't go (if you went, you were supposed to sing along), although I did pop in at the end. The Memorial Church is a pretty amazing building, despite being damaged quite significantly in both the 1906 earthquake and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Stanford itself is surprisingly scary at night, with the various Rodin sculptures that are around the place taking on an even more menacing air. Whenever I visit Stanford I always wonder where all the students are, but I suppose on the 16th of December, most of them are back home. Broad Street in Oxford on a Friday night this isn't.

So the 7 foot illuminated Xmas tree is back in the house, awaiting assembly, for what's going to be the final time here in the US. Of course, it'll come back to the UK with us, even if it's not entirely clear that it'll fit in the house. I'm sure it'll look great on the patio!