Yule begins...

Written to Bing Crosby Christmas Album by Bing Crosby

Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.
- Albert Einstein

With this blog post the winter festival of Yule has officially -albeit unceremoniously- begun at Fazenda Alfheim. I know this to be true because...

1. Lone demanded that I obtain some Christmas music for her iPod shuffle, hence the Bing Crosby.
2. Lone dug out, from where I have no idea, our kalenderlys, a Danish tradition that involves the daily burning down of one day of this special candle, beginning on December 1st and finishing on December 24th.
3. We made/had our inaugural holiday visits: the first on Saturday, November 28th, to Fazenda Santa Helena, where Beto prepared half of an Alfheim piglet, which we thoroughly enjoyed together with Emmanuel, Filipa and Filipa's mother and brother, who were visiting; the second from Leonardo, his wife, Tâmora, and their daughter, Cecília, who visited our fazenda on Sunday, November 29th. In best Saint Nicholas fashion, our guests arrived laden with gifts, including a 220 volt toaster, a real lifesaver considering that we only have one 110 volt outlet in our house. They were able to find this toaster because their city, Jundiaí, unlike most of Brazil, is 100% 220 volt. So not only did we enjoy their wonderful company, but we will be reminded of their visit every day for the next many years!
4. Lone and I finished our Christmas shopping for the boys today...ho ho ho!
5. Under the heading it is better to receive than to give, Lavrale finally delivered my trailer. My Lego tractor now has a sidekick. Despite their diminutive size, the company's deliveryman estimates their towing capacity to be in excess of 1,500 kg. If that turns out to be true, I will win my two R$5.00 (€1.96 or $2.93) bets with Clair and Dirlei, i.e. that my Lego combo will be able to deliver 30 or more fence posts to the far field. 7-9-13! On a side note, even without the benefit of the additional 10 hectares of pasture that the far field comprises, our Nelore were all lying down and chewing their cuds for the first time ever! Márcio has always told me that it is a very good sign if cattle are chewing their cuds by 11:00, so needless to say I was quite pleased.
6. Finally, under the heading it is better to give than to receive, here is the heartening story, compliments of Pelle, of an ethics professor who has vowed to give away £1 million - more than half of his future earnings - in a bid to help fight poverty in the developing world.