Merry Christmas - one week to go

Yep, that's all the time we have left to finish the shopping, wrap the presents, post the cards and finally sit back and hope we have not forgotten anybody. This year Christmas seems to have arrived with a rush, probably because we have been away during some of the build up. It was not until we came back from Perth that I realized the city was in full Christmas mode and rather than get organised I figured I still had plenty of time. Fortunately I got my act together last week and I think yesterdays expedition to the shops has finally got it all covered.

The city has well and truly gotten into the spirit of Christmas with decorations appearing all over the CBD. The Town Hall looks very beautiful with large Christmas wreaths & Nutcrackers at every entrance. Across the road the City Square has been transformed into Christmas Square and is a forest of Pine trees with a path meandering through until you get to Santa's house. He was not in residence when we dropped by but all the kids running around were still captivated by the whole thing. At the other end is a large Nativity scene and just in front of it a movie version telling the story. Many children and their parents were watching this too.


At Federation Square there is a large Christmas tree taking centre stage among another little forest of pine trees. I must go and have a closer look to see if anything else is hidden away there as well. Flinders St Station has been dressed this year as well and is looking very colourful. All the shopping arcades are decorated and everywhere you go you are not far from the sound of carols, either from inside the stores or from the many Salvation Army groups singing on corners. You can't help but feel very Christmassy.

And of course the Iconic Myer Windows have everybody rocking along with that favourite Christmas song 'Santa Clause is Coming to town', the theme for this year. Sung by Guy Sebastian and the Australian Girls Choir it entertains the hundreds of people queuing to see the story come to life. Spectacular as always this years colourful display has all the kids trying really hard to read their names on the 'naughty' or 'nice' lists that the elves are holding. And inside the shop the Santa train is doing a roaring trade as it ferries the kids from the station through the big Santa faces to see the man himself somewhere behind the scenes.

Christmas time is also for catching up with friends and we met Susie & Bryce for Brunch on Sunday morning before visiting their new home. It looks lovely and I hope you enjoy your first Christmas with your family. And last night we joined Astrid & Hans at Choi's in Hawthorn for a yummy Chinese banquet and to share a pre Christmas drink or two.

We did manage to steal a morning away from the hustle and bustle of the city spending a few hours at Werribee on Sunday morning before going to brunch. It was a beautiful still morning, though overcast, and the birds were very accommodating.

And so now with only 3 days left all is in readiness for the big day. We are off to Parkdale to spend Christmas day with the family and are looking forward to a seeing everyone again.

So all that's left for me to do is to wish you all a Merry Christmas, where ever you may be in the world. Enjoy your day with family & friends and we'll be thinking of you all as we do the same.

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

The trial run - our first trip

At last the sun shone for a few days and it looked like we were going to see summer after all. We couldn't wait for the weekend when we were off to Jubilee Lake in Daylesford to try out our brand new Camper Trailer. We packed the car the night before ready for a quick getaway after work. A nice easy drive for our first outing and before long we were arriving at our powered site that we called home for the next two nights. It was dark when we arrived but Bill did a pretty good job setting up by torchlight and everything must have been in the right place as it all stayed together for the weekend. It is very straight forward to turn the trailer into a comfy home on wheels and I'm sure with more practice we will become even faster at this transformation. A quick check of the facilities showed they were very clean and not a spider in sight. Phew...

It wasn't long before the bed was made and the kettle on and we had everything all packed away. Though the day had been lovely and warm the night had turned very cold and after all the activity ceased we decided that we were quite chilly. It was about now we were glad that we had a reverse cycle air conditioner. Flick the switch and we were a bit warmer. Camping in style eh! One mistake though was to turn it off when we went to bed. Even though we had sleeping bags and blankets we froze. Who expected the temp would drop to 5 deg overnight. Adding clothes during the night warmed us up and we managed to get a few hours sleep in our very comfy bed.

The morning dawned bright & blue but still very chilly and before long the camp site was waking up. We had breakfast outside in the sun and watched the world go by for a while. We were expecting a quiet, lazy day in Daylesford but after a number of fellow campers asked us 'are you here for the gathering?' we thought we had better find out what this was all about. It was the 60th Annual Highland Gathering and Daylesford had been taken over by men in skirts - not so strange for Daylesford you might say - but no, Scottish Kilts & Bagpipes were here en masse for what is a huge day. Starting with a street march of all the competing bands they then move on to Victoria Park where all day there are competing bands, Highland dancing competitions, Solo drumming events and the day concludes with a massed band presentation which was really quiet spectacular. Now we didn't stay with the Scots all day, we dropped in & out of the events and in between had a look around town, visited the monthly farmers market where we bought a bottle of the local Red, very nice, and some home made beetroot relish to bring home.

We had lunch back at our little home and spent some time dozing in the sun before wandering down to the lake in search of photo opportunities. We went for a walk along the river for an hour or so before returning to the oval for the Massed band finale. We had thought that we would just wander into town for dinner at the pub but changed our mind when we found out that tonight there was Carols at the Lake and a sausage sizzle. And...Santa was coming. That did it, we were staying in and playing local. What a night. We brought our chairs and our bottle of Red down to the lake, settled in with our sausages, layers of clothes against the cold and joined in with the many locals singing carols and waiting for Santa. The Carol singers were a scream - the local music teacher and a helper and I'm sure they were making up the words as they went along but it was such fun nobody minded. The kids sang & danced all night and I bet they slept well later on.

Santa finally arrived in a old vintage car and was immediately mobbed by the excited kids. He couldn't get out of the car for about 15 mins but he finally managed it and made it over to his grotto under the tree where he was surrounded again. It was at this point we decided the freezing cold had made it through our clothes and it was time to head back to our little home and settle in for the night. Once inside the heater went on again, and stayed on all night this time - lesson learned - we watched a movie, finished our bottle of Red and declared the day a huge success. Leaving more clothes on than off we slept all night warm & toasty and only discovered how cold the night had been when we stepped outside to race to the bathroom. Very chilly!

Sunday morning was not so nice, cold & overcast, so we ate breakfast inside before heading into town to the Heritage Railway markets. It was so cold and windy here that even at 9.30am many stalls had packed up and gone home. We did a quick walk around in search of just one stall - Daryl's Peanut Butter - we found it braving the conditions, bought 2 jars and went back to town in search of a warm cafe and a coffee.

Once warm again it was time to head back to Jubilee Lake to see how we went packing up for the first time. Would everything fit back where it came from again. All went well and like the set up I'm sure we'll get better at this part too with lots more practice. A leisurely drive back to town and sooner rather than later we were home again thinking how much fun we had had, even with the cold nights, and looking forward to doing this again & again.

On Monday night we had a visit from Vicki who was visiting Melbourne for work. We jumped on a tram and went to Lygon St for dinner at Sale & Pepe and what a yummy dinner we had. Vicki & I shared an amazing seafood pasta special with huge prawns, yabbies, Morton bay bugs, scallops, mussels, squid & topped with a crab & napoli sauce. So good and so big that even Bill got to pinch some of it as well. It was great to see her again & I think she enjoyed both Lygon St and her time in Melbourne.

Our plans for a getaway the following weekend were thwarted by the weather once again and while it looked like we had made the wrong decision on Saturday morning we were very glad later in the afternoon when the storms hit. So a quiet weekend at home getting a few things done around the house, a walk to the markets for provisions for Sunday's dinner & a yummy steak for dinner at The Rising Sun. Yes we walked over in the rain.

So with Christmas now just a couple of weeks away it's time I get cracking with the cards and the Christmas shopping. Tomorrow will be a busy day. I'd best get the tree up too. Hope all your preparations for the big day are on track also. I'm off now so I'll leave you with the final picture of the massed bands from last weekend

until next time.....

In search of the sun.....

Our lovely spring weather was short lived as the mercury fell again over the next week returning to very cold and wintry conditions once more. We headed west to Perth for what we hoped was a week in the sun but it seemed that we were out of luck here as well. Perth was having a cool spell also and the winter woollies were needed there as well as at home. This was not what we had expected to find but luckily we had packed a jacket and so were able to survive what the weather gods gave us. The sun did shine for most of our stay but the temperature remained in the very low 20's and the wind on most days kept us reaching for the sleeves that we had not expected to need. Of course, needless to say, the warm weather returned on the following Sunday as we were leaving to come home.

Apart from the unexpected cool spell we had a lovely time in Perth with family & friends. We stayed with Anne & Paul and once again say a big thank you for having us and sharing your beautiful home. I can't wait to see the new & improved version when all the reno's are done. Bill did have to work for three days, two of which were down south in the even cooler weather so while he was away I stayed one night with Sarah, David, Corbyn & Amelie. It was so good to spend some time with them all and lovely to be able to have some 'Nana' time with the little ones. Mind you that has changed a bit since my Mum was spending time with David & Gareth. Corbyn showed me three new games for my iPhone & I showed him one for the iPad! I really am 'Techno Gran' now!

We had two lovely picnics with all the kids, big, small & furry at South Perth foreshore. A walk along the river and a coffee at the jetty was a nice way to finish of a perfect day seeing you all again. I still can't believe how big Scooter has got - he was just a four month old puppy last time I saw him, now at 16 mths he is so big but so good. The sausage sizzle the following week for Taegan's birthday was another lovely day at the foreshore and our last opportunity to spend some time with everyone again. And good to see Nathan again too.

Leaving the birthday bash at the foreshore we drove round the river to see Anne & Paul windsurfing. Bill set his camera up and was able to get some good action shots of them both as they sped along the river. It was a very windy day and there were dozens of wind surfers out on the water. Also lots of kite surfers and across the sandbar lots of yachts as well.

We were able to catch up with some friends we have not seen for a couple of years and spent a lovely afternoon with Ali & Steve in Leederville. Hope your leg is on the mend now Steve. Sandra & Vicki cooked us a wonderful dinner one night and we had lots of laughs with them and Victor (Dad). Monday night we met Robert & Anna for dinner at a new restaurant in the Casino and as usual it didn't disappoint. Good food, good wine & great company made for a fun night. Rob & Jill also cooked us dinner on Saturday night and the boys talked cameras while Jill & I caught up on all things general. The rest of our time was spent with Anne & Paul and we thoroughly enjoyed our nights both in & out. The Japanese restaurant down the road was yummy and the seafood in Leederville pretty good too. Just watch the waitress!

On Friday lunch time I left Bill to his own devices and joined Debs, Gilly & Lorraine at the Queens Hotel in Mt Lawley for a girls lunch. We had a great time catching up and talking girl talk - translation - Nana talk now we are all grandmothers. Again, how times change but not enough for us to forgo the bottle of bubbles with lunch. It was so good to see you all again and I look forward to doing it again next time we come to town. Thanks for organising it all Debs.

Bill's 'own devices' saw him spend a few hours at Herdsman Lake where he & the camera checked out the bird life there. It was very prolific and the pictures are pretty good. More time needed at the editing desk now.

Back in Melbourne we are heading into party mode with a friends 40th birthday on Saturday night at the Belgium Beer Cafe & we are celebrating Ethan's 7th birthday on Sunday night with a quiet dinner with Faye & Rem. Will the weather play nice for these events? The short answer - NO - Saturday night was rain, storms & freezing conditions making travel to & from the party a bit damp but the celebrations inside went on and a great night was had by all. Happy Birthday Ben. We discovered that night that while life might begin at 40, getting home at 3.30pm at our age makes for a challenging day after. How did we ever do this every weekend!

A very quiet day followed and we rested until it was time to head down to see Ethan. We were the first round of his party people as we could not make the real one the following weekend. He loved his Chess Set and first Dad then me were roped in to play before dinner. I think Dad was more successful than I was at this game but as long as Ethan was winning he was happy so all was good. We enjoyed a quiet dinner and catch up with Faye & Rem and then it was time to say goodbye and head home. Bill had to pack as he was off to NZ the next day. Even colder days forecast over there.

Monday dawned sunny and a little warmer giving us hope that 'winter' might be over. Perhaps with summer just around the corner we will see some sunshine soon. We certainly hope so because we are picked our Camper Trailer up this week and hope to be off soon. But first it's another week at work

until next time......