Emergency...

Visiting the Port Fairy ED on New Year's Eve wasn't on our itinery this year but when a walk on the beach turned nasty & I thought Big Sister's husband was having a stroke we did just that. Being the bossy kind I made her take him to the local hospital where he is now staying for fluids & observation. Nothing like a bout of gastro to ring in the New Year! He might be able to see the fireworks from his hospital bed and maybe we can re route the parade to pass him also.

I had a lovely post composed in my head with musings from the year passed but talking about my fitness when he feels so poorly is bad form. I hope we don't suffer a similar fate.

Holiday time...

We arrived safely in Port Fairy after our 3&1/2 hour drive. We set up our camp in about 2 hours and are very comfortable in our tent. Sharing facilities with Big Sister means we are have everything we need on hand.

Already we've walked up hills...

 walked along the beach...

 

seen wild life...

 and life savers

 I've even had a latte by the beach.

We are all set for a great week.

We're off...

We'll be back in a week!

Ready...

I thought I would have lots of time after Christmas Day to be organised for our week camping. I didn't get the decorations down but I did freeze some meals for those who are staying behind, pack up the trailer and scrap the last few pages I needed for my goal of 50 for the year.

I've readied the dog feeder and the garden waterer. I've left instructions for the washing machine. I want to leave the house tidy and expect it to be that way when we get back.

 I've charged all the appliances and have packed enough for a long stay but still have the feeling I've forgotten something.

Here's to an early start and a safe trip.

Christmas cheer...

It has been a wonderful Christmas Day.

We've had gifts, family, wine, food, sweets, laughs and of course photos

 Erin misses her sister & was getting anxious to get into the presents when Hayley was a bit late this morning.

 Who knew that a $2 box of bon bons could elicit so much fun & competition

 ambushed again

 

 

So from our motley crew to yours...

One week countdown...

One week to go...

One shift to work....

A few gifts still to buy... mostly other people asking me 'what can I get for ...?'

And I heard this today and thought it was the most true thing I had heard in a while.

"The bigger the child the smaller the boxes under the tree get."

Winding up...

I have had a lovely day off today pottering around while Erin was at the movies with her friends. I was able to finish another layout towards my 50 goal and oil the timber outdoor furniture . I also made some mini baked cheesecakes for tonights tennis breakup.

I think I have finished my Christmas baking and now have the challenge of balancing the different containers in the pantry and fridge. Amongst the treasures are my panetonne, rum balls, white rocky road, ginger shortbread, christmas cake, peppermint truffles, almond/pistachio bread, chocolate fudge, cranberry/cashew bites and macadamia/apricot balls. The apricot macaroons got finished off at work and Erin's vanilla stars are nearly all gone. I think we will have enough sweet treats somehow. During the week I will think about what vegies & salads will go with our roast meats on Christmas Day. Part of the fun is browsing through the books looking for new treats.

I finished this layout and it is number 46 for the year.

no: 46

These photos were taken on Christmas Day last year when we were hit with a tremendous storm & flooding rain. Luckily on that day we did not sustain any damage. It makes me wonder what weather will come this Christmas.

Year 9 ends...

School has finished for the year.

And in typical Melbourne style, the unseasonally hot mid December day falls on the last day of school. It was stifling hot and windy and we had to make our way into the city centre to attend Presentation Night in the only venue in the whole of Victoria that can hold all the senior students and their families. Every year I get irritated by the peak hour travel after I have worked all day, the time it takes me to get there (85 minutes last night) and the heat. The students are meant to wear full uniform, which means tights, kilts, ties & blazers but can wear summer uniform instead in extreme weather. Every year it is the summer version.

This year Erin was presented with her Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.

There she is down there with 60 of her class mates. Only 67 of about 150 Year 9's finished it this year.

She now has the next 7 weeks off. I will be off for 3 of those weeks to enjoy some of the summer with her. I have just 3 working days next week before we can finalise our Christmas and camping plans.

Just as the heat can put a spanner on things, today it is raining which has changed my plans twice already. No tennis and doubtful running.

Will have to hit the shops instead.

Championships...

My partner and I played in the club championships today and played a lot of tennis, 8 sets in fact. We didn't win any of them but had a good hit. I ended up with sunburnt legs and am now feeling both sorry for and cross with myself. We were out there on the grass courts for 7 hours. The groundskeeper had done a great job with the courts but I don't like the unpredictable bounce and the way the ball just dies or skids along making it near impossible to return. The tennis season is winding up and we will have to look forward to February for more competition..

Self portraits...

I had an idea for a layout to finish off the year with a collage of images of me from 2012. There is an idea circulating that we don't take enough photos of ourselves, that we are always behind the camera or are too self conscious of the way we look. The digital camera has helped with this phenonema enormously, much easier these days to get yourself in the picture. Being happy with the way we look in photos is another thing entirely.



I made this collage on Smilebox and want to print it up to put in my scrapbook. I might use my big Sister's idea and print the page via a site she found. Her Canada holiday snaps were printed this way and look great and were an economical way to do it. She even scrapped them and put them into an album!

Looking back on the year it seems I have done a lot of running and taken lots of snaps of running. I might do another collage dedicated to running and sweating and looking puffed out.

I have finished another 2 paper layouts and have nearly reached my 50 layout goal.




45

I am really pleased with this one, the coloured octagons suiting the page so well.





44

A good way to spend a hot day, browsing through photos and making collages. Much better than other things that make you go outside.

Back in the picture...

I now have photo capability on this blog.

Thank goodness as it meant to be a pictorial record as well as my musings.

Expect normal programming to resume.

I have added some photos from the Tennis High Tea and the Colour Run for your viewing pleasure.

I was helping a friend set up a blog so she can fill us in on her adventures with her husband and children in China. A technical hitch for her as blogger and blogspot aren't available in China, along with hundred of other sites such as twitter, you tube and facebook...Yikes. But apparently you can blog through Skype so it will be all good in the end.

I had a very hot session of cardio tennis today and then could only run 3.5 kms with my running buddy before feeling like I was going to expire on this hot day. Club championships are coming up on Sunday and the hot weather should have passed for us to enjoy a couple of sets. The boys will have to go on the Toy Run without me this year.

December 5th already...

We are just 3 weeks away from our Christmas celebrations. I think putting up the Christmas tree and lights has helped me get in to the holiday spirit. I have even started on the baking and have the cake in the oven tonight. I have made inroads into the gift list and acquiring but I have the feeling that I might be leaving it a bit late for online purchasing.

Erin is nearly finished school for the year, not sure if the exams had knocked her around but she hasn't been very well and has missed the start of the 'Headstart' program for Year 10. It is a busy time with breakups, Christmas functions and holiday planning to do. And to top off the expenses at this time of year they throw at you a $400 booklist and other things I don't want to think about.

I managed to get through to confirm our camping site at Port Fairy. When their communications tower got knocked out by a recent fire they had no land lines, mobile coverage, EFT or banking etc. Very inconvenient for both them and me...probably more inconvenient for them though. But they had it working in time for me to pay my fees so we are all set.

We are madly trying to reschedule patients and treatments to give both them and us a break. It's a grim prospect knowing your chemo falls on a day that is meant to be spent with family and friends. Some reshuffling will work it out.

Fabulous...

Erin was so keen to get the Christmas tree up yesterday she did most of the work herself. We have gone again with the blue/silver theme and it looks really pretty. Of course Mum had to pack away the empty boxes and finish the bits that were boring but that is usually the way. Our white bud lights have been twinking already and Chris in his bah-humbug way keeps saying they are going to give him an epileptic fit. I will have to get him up the ladder today to check/install/replace the house lights outside so the neighbours can tell we have the Christmas spirit.

As Christmas Day celebrations have made their way back around to us this year I have a list of other jobs to complete before the family get here. The major one being the pergola roof. I am happy to say it will be able to be ticked off once the remainder of the flashing is done. During the storm yesterday we stood under the colourbond sheets and checked for leaks. There is a couple of areas to address but we will be dry and shaded from here on in.

While I was searching for the decoration boxes in the garage I found a Meritorious Service Award for Significant Achievement that I received in 2000 when I set up the Pre Admission Clinic for the Health Service. I'd forgotten about that one but I could look pretty impressive if I had an office to display them in!

The pool room is looking fuller by the day.