Christmess.

Blogging kind of took a back seat over Christmas preparations round here, even though we had a stay-at-home, just-us-5  pretty stress-free day. [OK, what really happened is that I used up all the words in my head trying to finish up our yearly online 'newsletter' !!]

I’m also working on downsizing the stress involved every year, but I still have some work to do in that department.

In the lead up to Christmas, till now…

.. Ms 11 finally let it be known that she’s actually wise to the whole Santa myth. (But “Santa” had already done a bit of shopping…)

.. We bought a new TV, prompted by a xmas gift donation (by my MIL) of some hundreds of dollars towards getting ourselves a flat/widescreen/digital telly.  We shopped around, researched a bit, then upgraded somewhat from what you could buy for $800. We probably should have waited till the sales after Christmas, however much enjoyment has been had from the ‘it’s so clear!’ vision, and the increased choice of viewing.  (Translation: much slothing and TV viewing has ensued.)

.. we had WW3 over Ms 16 having lost the receipt from the laptop she was bought more than a month ago, and her slackness in not having done the Windows 7 redemption process she was supposed to. It led to a humungous clean up of her room (in order to look for said receipt), and then  WW4 over the stuff she was hoiking out. (Such as plastic containers from the kitchen, good kitchen spoon, cups… and more…)

.. a trampoline now adorns the backyard. (Why did I do that? How am I going to mow around it?!)

.. we had a quiet christmas day, with a lovely swim at the beach. Walked over to the beach on the south side of the headland, saw two dolphins, and, as it was lunchtime, had the whole beach to ourselves.

.. many, many prawns (cold, cooked prawns, plus marinated green prawns done on the BBQ).were consumed by the four prawn-eating members of the household. And much potato salad was consumed by the pleb.

.. there is still a lot of ham to consume. (What’s an Aussie christmas without a ham?)

.. we had visitors last night, friends from Sydney who happened to be staying nearby, so now we have clean windows (on the bottom floor at any rate!) We also had an enjoyable time catching up.

.. today we are fiffing and faffing through wetsuits, lilos, dunlop volleys, and general packing lists for a trip down south which includes  one night at my MIL’s on the way down, NYE + the next night at my sister’s in Sydney, then several days in the Blue Mountains, where we intend to go canyoning on a couple of days.

…we’ve had WW5 over the fluidity and flexibility of our return date, because a certain person wants to be back by a certain date, but when her mother was actually looking up train timetables, a certain person was very insolent.

.. we have been called ‘crap parents’.

.. I am wondering why we are going away, because even though it will be nice to do a couple of canyons (and catch up with friends both while doing that, and in Sydney) we have so much we really should be doing round here while Himself has leave.

.. I now don’t really (yet) know how to work my new TV and DVD recorder. Which is really sad. Especially when the only way we have to play a CD at the moment (other than the computer) is on this new DVD player. And just now I needed to get Ms 11 to figure out how to open the bloody disk tray! (Which she figured out by reading the manual, which I couldn’t be bothered doing!)

Over and out till we get back (and hoping that this time the picture inserts itself!)

Hope everyone had a relatively stress free Christmas.. and thinking of everyone whose Christmas wasn’t!

Roll up for the magical medical mystery tour

It’s an interesting journey I’m on here at the moment. I’ve got the joint stuff happening… the ‘most likely it’s arthritis’ thing. The thrice daily doses of Panadol Osteo have taken the edge of it, but not really stopped it. It’s been still a bit random. I wake up in the morning wondering “Hey body, what part is going to be the worst today?”, but my left wrist has been the most recalcitrant. The right shoulder has still been letting me know it’s not done with the whole pain thing. And in the past week my right elbow decided to get in on the act. (Up till then, the elbows had abstained but I guess it’s the whole peer pressure thing.) The knees have, on the whole, been surprisingly well behaved. (Touch wood).

When I talk to people they express surprise that it hasn’t been diagnosed with pathology. I can’t help but wonder the same thing. And I have to admit I’m not entirely happy about just popping pills ad infinitum, yet I’m wussy enough to be quite happy with that aforementioned edge taken off the pain I’d originally experienced. So I take them religiously.

What Christmas Spirit?

It’s that time of year again. Yep. It’s time for the spate of “humorous” articles and blog posts bagging out the Christmas card ‘newsletter’.

Whoa!  Where’d everyone get the sarcasm pills?  Where’s the Christmas spirit peoples?

You know, there’s a lot that I think is hideous, overboard, and pretty much unbearable about Christmas time, but, one of the few redeeming features of this time of year for me is when I get a Christmas card that has some news in it!

OK, sure, you get the painful ones, but for me they are more than compensated for by the news from people that I enjoy hearing from each year. I’d rather put up with a couple of shockers than get no news at all. What’s the alternative? Exchanging a few bits of decorated cardboard with our names on them? To Tracey and family. From Fred, Martha  and family.  What’s the point? Now that is a waste of trees, and a waste of postage money. Never mind the carbon footprint.

I’m getting old enough now to have accumulated friends through life that I can’t possibly keep up with during the year. Life is getting busier and busier, people live all over the country – all over the world.  Sure, a personal letter or email or phone call during the year would be ideal, but face it, it doesn’t happen. The days, weeks, and months slip by, and next thing you know it’s bloody Christmas again.

Should I ditch all those old friends from my life?  There are those that gradually slip from contact completely, but there are more that I do still care to hear from, and to know more than just that they are alive and capable of shelling out for a pack of cheap cards, and postage stamps.

So I try to lead by example.

I once tried to write out a bit of news in every card I sent, but it was getting to the stage where I’d seriously have to think about starting in February in order to finish them. So, begrudgingly I drafted the core of a newsy letter, and then personalised each one with a different paragraph at the beginning and end before printing them off.

Time again became the enemy, and so I resigned myself to joining the hated ranks of ‘those’ newsletter people.

For the record I always preface mine with something along the lines of ‘Hope to hear what YOU’VE been up to!’  Which I mean wholeheartedly. And I try to write with a healthy dose of self deprecation and humour. I know not everyone is capable of pulling that off, although I have one very witty friend, whose missive I look forward to every year, and I am disappointed if he doesn’t find the time.

In recent years, the technology of the internet has meant that some of us can even save a few trees, and minimise the carbon footprint and all that.  I’ve been doing a web page for a few years, and sending the link, either by email or card, to those that I think might care about what we’ve been up to.  According to that article I linked to earlier, even that is abhorrent. What the? I reckon it’s win-win.  If they’re not interested, they can just not bother at all. Where’s the downside?

Despite not being a particularly Christmassy person, I do try to use the theme of this time of year to try and look back on the positives, because I sure as hell do my share of complaining about my family during the year!

And really, when you think about it that is all that others are doing in their newsletters when they focus on the good things.

Given I’m always being told that Christmas is really about Jesus and all that, I’m not at all sure that being jealous and envious of others is what it’s all supposed to be about.

Yeah, I know. Realistically, I know that there are people in life who piss you off.  (Maybe you only realise that when you get their annual Christmas news?)  I don’t know whether it’s particularly Christian or charitable, but I figure, if you don’t want to hear from them, drop them from your Christmas card list. Sooner or later they’ll get the message and write you off as well.

Works for me.

Of course

Ms 16 has work placement in town all this week.  And, as the Daddy works in town, she and I had the logistics of the to’s and fro’s all worked out.

But OF COURSE, he has had to go away for work!  Today. Till.. well.. he’s not even sure what day. And, of course, even this morning, he had to leave earlier to catch a plane, so he couldn’t even take her in.

I do wonder about fate sometimes. (Or is it karma? Did I do something wrong?)

So that’s a couple of 46km return trips to town each day for the next few days.

This morning also started with a 5.45 am drive to drop Ms 14 off for a one-day school excursion to Dreamworld.  (Nearly 4 hr bus ride each way.)  It’s an end of year ‘reward’ excursion for them (kids not on positive welfare awards don’t get to go) – but I’m feeling like it’s some sort of punishment for me! [Oh - ok, I suppose these theme park excursions kind of let me off the hook of having to take them there myself, so I shouldn't grumble.]

I don’t do early mornings very well though – so I crawled back into bed, even though Himself was up and packing.  I really, really shouldn’t do that, because I drop off, and have weird dreams, then wake up again an hour or so later even more groggy.  And cranky. And emotional.

This week, it’s just hard to see myself as anything beyond being a chauffeur for my children.

Um…cake

Let a couple of 14 year olds loose in the kitchen, and this is the sort of cake they come up with…

So the bottom layer, round, is plain vanilla cake, coloured green, because Jayde likes green.

The middle layer is caramel, but coloured pink. As you do.

The top layer – a heart – is chocolate.

And the frosting.. well…   purple goes with chocolate – obviously.

They had fun.

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[Edited to add: And probably the best bit is that I'm not the least bit tempted to scoff into it!]

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[Edited even later to add: ... except maybe the chocolate part...]