'Tis the day after Christmas

Christmas eve saw us delivering the grandie's gifts to them. They were full of excitement and we got this pic to remember the occasion

Christmas morning worship service then home to a king ocean prawn lunch by ourselves - the first time in our almost 49 years of married life! A very lazy afternoon, napping, watching TV, cross stitching then out to our son's property for a combined meal with ours and his wife's extended families. Thirty three of us in total and what a spread it was.

A fun-filled game of volley ball where no rules were allowed followed to 'shake the first course down' - followed later by desert of Christmas plum pudding,  whipped cream, cheese cake, chocolate log, trifle, ice cream and fresh fruit.  Oh I forgot the chocolates and cheese dip which also added to the food spread.  Despite there being 32 mouths to feed (1 extra being a baby) there was still a heap of food left over.  No doubt that will be used over the next day or so.

Son had decorated his house and yard with lights which looked magnificent once daylight faded.

Despite the fact that youngest grandie broke three bones in his foot a week ago, and couldn't participate in the game, he had a good time and he and I sat on the old cubby house steps and watched the proceedings - until the mosquitoes began biting that was.

Well Christmas is over for another year - the preparation, the sending cards, the buying gifts, the eating more than we needed, the meeting of those we don't see regularly, all fades into insignificance when we remember the baby Jesus who came as the Saviour of the world.  That is something we can celebrate every day of the year, not just at Christmas time.

Blessings!

CHRISTMAS DAY IS ALMOST OVER

Christmas day in Sydney NSW. The day proved to be a lovely cool, overcast 27 degrees before a few brief showers about mid-afternoon.

The big Christmas Day cricket match! (all for fun of course)

Daughter in law talks to family in Texas USA



Daughter Kate with yummy turkey cooked in the bbq with a special cranberry marinade

SIL with the wonderful ham he cooked

Grandson E6 - Lego - just what I wanted!

Grandson L4 got a scooter and play costume

Grandsons - good mates!



Visitors for Christmas Day - pink and grey Galahs

Lovely memories of Christmas day 2009 together with family.

Blessings All!

BIRTHDAY (BASH) CELEBRATION

Celebrating birthdays is always fun – especially when it’s a family member. A group of us celebrated DS’s birthday last night. It was a day early but we enjoyed a beautiful meal together at a very popular little Italian restaurant not far from home and had a fun night which included being serenaded in song with piano accordion accompaniment. The ‘chicken’ dance, ‘hokey tokey’ and YMCA for young and old was highly energetic and had us all entertained and was a fitting end to the evening.

Certainly it was one we’ll remember!

THE MORNING AFTER THAT

The visit to the medical centre was pretty disappointing yesterday. The 'machine' had broken down in the X-Ray department so the report on my toe couldn't be retrieved. "Well," the aged doctor said - "I had a look at the film and it looks OK" - hopefully that means there is no broken bones!

With a hasty "put on a simple dressing" to the treatment room assistant - he was gone!

I'm not sure what my next step is since I have a bruised toe with the nail hanging off. I think I'll be making a visit to my regular doctor tomorrow to see what the next step should be.

Apart from the toe problem though we spent a pleasant New Years evening with family and friends, enjoying a bbq meal and later playing Wii games. That was so much fun - especially with a family who are all extremely competitive. Watched the wonderful fireworks display at 9pm on the TV and headed home about 10.30pm to do it all again at midnight. Sydney excelled itself with pyrotechnic magnificence!

Welcome to 2009! May it be a healthy, safe, happy and blessed one for all!

HEIRLOOM HOMECOMING WIP and other things

Had a really busy but enjoyable weekend. BBQ lunch at North Avoca (NSW Central Coast) with 'Top of the Hill' friends. Rushed back to Sydney to change and head of to Artarmon for an engagement celebration of a nephew. Sunday went to church service and later to another BBQ lunch at Greystanes with friends for a casual bible study afternoon. A very satisfying weekend all round!

Work in progress - report. Heirloom Homecoming Sampler section 2 finished.

Coming up - hardanger. Not at all sure about how to do this - will need to seek some advice I think. Only attempted this stitching once before on a tiny bookmark. This will be a challenge for me.

Next pic should be the finished piece I hope but I'm really enjoying this one even though I am having to use a headband 'blow-fly' type of magnifying goggles over my regular glasses. Not sure how good that is for the eyes generally but will have to persist despite all my best efforts originally to do without it.

Maybe my next project should be a visit to the optometrist to order a new pair of stronger 'close up' glasses!

FAMILY REUNION

It had been planned for more than 18 months and ended up with 22 of us gathering at a resort on the Gold Coast. A week spent with family like this is just such a pleasure and getting to know a couple of new family members made it even more special.

Being one of 5 boys who now live in two different countries it’s difficult for DH to get to see much of his brothers which is why the ‘reunion’ was decided upon so long ago. The first one we had was in 1990 to celebrate a special milestone birthday – this time we celebrated with another brother who was also having a similar birthday to remember and a great night to mark the occasion was enjoyed with the highlight being (apart from the beautiful birthday cake and choir), a game of pass the parcel, complete with well thought out descriptions for each lucky beneficiary!

Being together in the one resort meant that we were able to ‘visit’ with each family but still ‘do our own thing’ at other times. The whole group visit to Seaworld was definitely a good day with everyone getting to do and see what they wanted. After everyone watching the Dolphin Show together, we went our different ways to check out displays and rides to our hearts content. Meeting occasionally throughout the day was a time to discuss what fun it was on the Bermuda Triangle, roller coaster or Water Flume ride – or how I could have possibly have missed getting photos of it while being at best viewing spot!

Whether having BBQ’s, dinner at Sizzlers or just visiting each other’s unit to catch up, all were in agreement that this was a great way to spend time together – and we have resolved to do it all again in three years time!

Thanks for the great memories family!

GIRLS WEEKEND AWAY

The weather looked promising as we set off from Sydney to meet at Peppers at Bowral for ‘High Tea’ at 12.30pm. The drive seemed short as we chatted away the ‘miles’ – we were ready to stretch our legs though once reaching Bowral and after finding a lovely sunny spot outside a coffee shop, relaxed with our lattes and cappuccinos and just enjoyed the atmosphere. A stroll down the main street and we were ready to move on to our anticipated ‘High Tea’. Set in beautiful grounds next to a golf course, the old building had been renovated and was beautifully furnished. We enjoyed an hour appreciating the food and atmosphere.

We left in time to make our check in at Fountaindale Lodge at Robertson, a tiny village further south which had at one time been a Catholic Seminary. The interior was spacious with a large stairway leading to the upper floors. As we ascended the stairs we were bowled over by a number of beautiful stained glass windows which had been preserved. The grounds were large with landscaped gardens and boasted 3 resident peacocks. We spent a leisurely afternoon visiting a local attraction – Fitzroy Falls – and enjoyed a stroll along the few shops which made up the village. Dinner in the evening provided us with a beautiful meal and after retiring to the lounge area, completed the evening by playing Charades!

After checkout in the morning we all drove to Berry on the NSW South Coast, getting there through the Kangaroo Valley. On arrival there, we were surprised to find the temperature had soared to over 30 degrees and for most of us, a quick look through local shops was more than enough in the heat before we stopped for lunch and headed out north towards home again.

For the 20 of us who made up the group it was a great break from the regular, normal activities most of us experience from week to week. For me it was a chance to get away and take time being involved with activities that normally I wouldn’t and generally recharge the batteries! An enjoyable night away!

FEATHERDALE

School holidays – two tiddlers to look after – sunshine – all good ingredients to take a trip to Featherdale Wildlife Park. Not too far from where we live, I’d been meaning to take them for a while – just waiting for the right time. I’d done my homework and knew that I could get one child in on a free pass if I completed a kind of ‘animal trail’ on their internet site so had that all printed out and ready.

Set out about 10.30 – still cool but brilliant sunshine. Car park almost full but grabbed one of the last spots – 11am began to line up for tickets – 30 minutes later we reached the box. The boys were excellent while waiting and not one growl out of them for having to wait for so long. We picked a day (of course – Murphy’s Law) when there were hundreds of others with the same idea – coach loads of Asian visitors, kids and grandparents, tourist “Pilgrims” here for the Pope’s visit to Sydney – and us!

In at last. A passport type of brochure was issued to each and the hunt was on to find the 8 animals pictured inside, and receive a stamp for each. The kids had fun doing this and it kept their interest up. A great place to take in a wide variety of Australian birds and animals including wombats, emus, koalas, kangaroos, dingo, fruit bats and heaps of others.

An hour and a half after arriving there we were on our way back home, stopping at “Macca’s” to pick up a couple of happy meals. They enjoyed their visit and I got pleasure from taking them. A worthwhile day all round!

Pics show white peacock displaying its beautiful tail feathers and wombat.