Christmas Cheer

There is less than a week to go until we can all open those presents waiting for us under the Christmas tree. For all of you with little children the excitement is building. For the rest of us it is a time of shopping, planning menu's for the big day and of course, the Christmas Party. This Friday night was the last one for the year and I joined Bill in Adelaide where we had good night at the Avoca hotel with the guys and girls from the Hills call centre.

It was a nice change and Adelaide was warm and sunny which very welcome after our cold spell at home. I arrived just before lunchtime and had a great day shopping in Jetty Rd. Glenelg in summer is a fun place to visit.

On Saturday morning we were picked up by our friends, Grant and Jill, and we went to the Wilunga markets then on to McLaren Vale for a great lunch at Leconfield winery. We then returned to their place for an afternoon Nana nap after which we joined the neighbors for a Christmas bar-b-que. A great night was had by all. A taxi took us home to Glenelg.

A quick wander to look at Glenelg's answer to the London Eye (a kiddie wheel at the Beachouse) and it was time to check out and head back home. Here's hoping the sun is shining when we get there.

As I leave you now, both Bill and I wish you all a Merry Christmas. Hope you all enjoy your days with family and friends. We will be thinking of you all. Have fun and I hope you get want you wanted when you finally get to open those pressies.

Until next time.............

Life in Melbourne

has returned to normal after our big trip. Bill went back to work on the Monday and I had a couple of weeks at home. I was able to catch up with some friends & family during the first week. We picked Tammy up on Friday night and once again donned the 'Glad Rags' the next day for Derby Day at Flemington. Tuesday we did the same and were back there for The Melbourne Cup. Two great days were had and the rest of the week we dedicated to shopping. We also saw the Melbourne Cup Parade in the city & went to see the Rocky Horror Show on Friday night. I went back to work exhausted - not from travelling, just shopping. Once again we had a fabulous time with Tammy and really look forward to her visits.

After leaving winter here and following it to London & Holland we were looking forward to seeing some sunshine on our arrival back home. The weather man has had other ideas this summer and so far we have only had the summer clothes out for very short periods of time. We seem to have had the coldest and wettest start to summer for a long time. A bit of a dilemma, as we really need the rain but we are really ready for a bit of sunshine & warmth. We were going to A Day on the Green at Rochford Winery in November but it rained so hard for 2 days that it was cancelled an hour before the gates opened. We did have a great afternoon in the Valley instead with Verity, Astrid & Hans partaking of pancakes, coffee and refreshments at Giant Steps.
Dinner at Poppies Thai finished off a very different day to what we had planned.

The following weekend we booked spur of the moment tickets to see Andre Rieu at Testra Dome. Wow, what an event. You just cannot call it a concert. He was just wonderful and the show was spectacular.

Another spur of the moment adventure took us to Lakes Entrance the weekend before last. We drove down Friday night and stayed in a great little B & B called Pomora House. We had a fun day exploring the beaches, forests and surrounding areas including spending the afternoon on a 3 hour cruise of the lakes with the best scones & cream you have ever tasted. A Seafood dinner at the floating restaurant finished the day off and it was 2 very weary tourist's that hit the hay that night. We left the next morning after a great breakfast with the other guests and made our way home stopping to look at various attractions along the way. A weekend was not long enough and we look forward to visiting again.

With Christmas now less than 2 weeks away the parties have started and on Friday night my work team celebrated at Crown. Dinner at the Conservatory was very nice but with Bill's function the following night, I resisted temptation and came home early. Saturday night saw the Hill's group meet at Rios, a Brazilian Restaurant in Richmond. We had a fun night with good food, a live show and a live band and lots of dancing. Later this week we are both off to Adelaide for their Christmas function.

So with the party season in full swing for another year I'll leave you all to enjoy your events

until next time..........