The last month of the year has been underway for a few days now, and the holiday season is getting closer day by day.

I still need to work another 8.5 days (excluding today). Honestly, it feels like 8.5 days too many; I am dragging myself professionally to the end of the year. It actually should have been three more working days, but since I didn't take any training courses this year, I requested three study days. This way, I can finally start learning for the Scrum.org Product Owner I exams. I had the idea to study in the evenings, but I just don't have the energy left at the end of the day.

Luckily, my wife started with the Christmas decorations last weekend. This brings some light into these dark, cold, and wet days.

We have a clear description of tasks to complete this: I get all the Christmas decorations from the attic, she does all the styling work, and I put the empty boxes back in the attic. We still need to put the Christmas tree outside, but first, I need to fix a few things on it. It’s a DIY tree made out of wooden pallets!

As you can see, our Christmas tree is pretty basic, just as the Christmas scene is pretty basic. And yes, there is a cat sleeping below the tree. He loves the fake snow.

While the Christmas tree is the main character, my wife has filled spots here and there with hints of Christmas.

Apparently, this is called a Knight's Star Lily in English (or Amaryllis). Before my wife discovered this, we had the tradition of buying a Christmas Star (Poinsettia). But traditions can change, and I believe this is the fourth year that we have had these at home.

Dreaming of a White Christmas.

Well, that is something that rarely happens here in Belgium. Most of the time, Christmas is cold and wet. While snow is more beautiful (in my personal opinion), the weather does make you feel cozy and warm inside.

I doubt the cat is dreaming of a white Christmas. In fact, he will have an unpleasant evening. He urgently needs a de-worming pill tonight, just like his brother. That will be a fight. Not so much with him—while he dislikes it and will put up a little struggle, he will take it like a man. His brother, on the other hand, will prepare for a world war.

And so will I.

Cheers, Peter