Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas

Thank you Mum for sending me my beautiful Pashmina, I am finally warm again. Well, not quite, but warmer... !

There is a saying that, he who does not find christmas in his heart, will never find it under a tree. I have never had such a heart full of christmas than this year, even though I miss my family more than any other christmas yet! In fact, I found Christmas in my heart before I left Australia, when Liz and I cranked the Jingle Bells and danced around the sitting room with wooden christmas men whilst Mum politely kept her laughter to herself and threaded decorations for us to hang!

That early christmas joy sparked all the jolly excitement within me that I thought was long gone. Thanks lovely sister :)

Last year I didn´t enjoy the lead up to christmas because I had just spent a good amount of time being fantastically ill, I even surprised myself; I thought it didn´t get any more ridiculous - how long my sick list could be ;)

I still loved Christmas in Freiburg though, I became the proud owner of my possum wool jumper, which has saved my lungs this winter (if you didn´t know, we have no heater in our bedroom...add that to minus 10 degrees outside, you got yourself a cold couple). Jan and I made delicious gluten free Vanilleknipferl - a little vanilla christmas cookie.

And for anyone who doesn´t know Jan, you can tell he is an Aussie at heart:
He wears shorts in the depths of German Winters.

We also had yummy fondue for christmas evening.

I don´t know what is on the agenda for this year - but I know it will be yummy. Last year on Christmas Eve, which is the real celebration in Germany, friends of the family came for dinner and brought the main course. Jan and I had just watched a documentary about turkey factory farms...I was so sick when I saw that it was turkey for dinner, that I didn´t eat any of the meat - just plain pasta! How boring of me!

Guess what has happened this year? I am reading Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safron Foer (a fantastic read that really pointed me to evaluate my own morals and ethics and research for myself the produce market in Germany). So, it could very well be another hungry christmas eve! I don´t mind though, because I find the whole experience so enchanting.

Yesterday I spent the day with my girl Madi at the Christmas Markets doing gift shopping and drinking too much coffee! I am so giddy everytime I go in to the city - because there is always a beautiful christmas market to explore!

On my list this year - ear muffs!

And tonight again I braved the snow and made my way out for a Glühwein with all my new basketball friends. On Wednesday´s Madi and I go together to Pilates, then we have a cuppa and I go to basketball, and she to work. Basketball has been fantastic and I have met girls there who I have a lot in common with, one girl is even from Freiburg! We had a great time tonight, celebrating our last session of the year. I could kill the snow storm though for ruining my chance of getting home easily! Luckily, I was still fit and took the tram up the hill and ran down it, as to not have hypothermia!

On the agenda for the next few weeks?

• Girls night tomorrow
• Taking in University Application on Friday
• Esslingen Medieval Christmas Markets
• Going to Freiburg before Jan to get some baking done with Andrea
• A lovely Christmas in Freiburg, which will be WHITE (cross your fingers friends!)
• Cousin Greg and the gorgeous Belinda coming to stay for New Years
• A great party to be had, with huge hangovers to be shared
• Jan goes boarding with his brothers for a week in France
• I go and visit our beautiful friend Chrissi and her baby Ben, in Frankfurt
• Greg comes back for some time on the slopes!

I hope you are all healthy and happy - I certainly wish you were all here enjoying the season with us, and we are holding our breath in anticipation of a beautiful christmas in Australia next year!

Lots of Love, G

(p.s. anyone, also non google friends, can post comments below and I would love it- just type in who it is from at the end!)

Wonderful Wendy: I think you and I both know all too well what the title of this blog means - someone out there is really warm this winter wearing my quilt!