An Aussie in the World: December 2016

30 th Dec 2016

"There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it. " George Bernard Shaw . Well, I'm not sure if that applies to the gifts I got for Christmas!

I thought I would share the Christmas presents we received, not counting my father helping out during the year with large expenses like her school fees, for which we are very grateful.

Chrissy presents 2016, from family and friends:

Hubby received a small portable radio, two new books in historical fiction, and adventure, a watch, beanie hat , socks, toiletries, and garden hose.

I received three CDs, two by Guy Sebastian, and one by Jamie Cullen, and am very happy! I also received a painting of a deceased friend, Ali, which is beautiful, showing her soul ascending to Heaven in the form of a ballerina, by professional artist friend Karen Schlick, who lives and works in Canada. Getting that framed is a job for the new year.

The family also received a large glass Cmas bauble, and a leg lamp , from a friend. The leg lamp is inspired by the movie A Christmas Story, and is becoming an Internet cult object.

Daughter was given Taylor Swift perfume, daughter bracelet, love heart necklace , star necklace, earrings, ring, dress, t shirts, leggings, shorts, hair accessories, including a ponytail elastic with a Tribble on it , underwear, books, pencils and other stationery, a daypack, a beach towel, shoes, and a hand beaded dog about 3 inches tall made by a local lady, Jing, from Welshpool.

We also put a good camera on the layby for her with a deposit from the grandfathers. It should be paid off by her birthday in February. It has 21 megapixels, by Canon, which will be of interest to those who have seen her photography to date (Acerules).

Daughter shows off her necklace:

I just received a call from my father reminding me its Mum's anniversary of passing away. There were three deaths in the family in fairly close proximity, starting with my first husband. No one was prepared for Mum getting cancer, fighting it, but only lasting six months. She was on hormone replacement therapy at the time, as osteoporosis runs in the family, we don't know if that caused her cancer, she was only in her sixties. Osteoporosis is a long hard road, so maybe she made the right decision, I'm interested in opinions in the comments.

How the garden was looking yesterday , minutes before thunderstorms commenced:

Hubby is in a volunteer organisation in Victoria called SES or State Emergency Service. They assist with most emergencies . Yesterday he was called out on the pager twice, to a flooded cafe, and to a bogging rescue.

The cafe had flooded gutters that couldn't cope with the heavy onslaught of water from the heavens, so water was piling up in the back hall.

The other was a vehicle towing a campervan , a family of four, visitors to the area, bogged up to the doors .

Today he was called out for a "tree down" blocking the road. A picture of another SES unit at a "tree down":

SCENES FROM THIS SEASON

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead". Oscar Wilde

My blog documents seasonal sights including my garden and local towns as I go about my life, and also some supporting media that appeal to me. I live in a beautiful part of the world, South Gippsland.

Me:

Daughter:

CHRISTMAS DAY 2016 in a remote South Gippsland town in
Victoria, Australia

We went out for our meal after going to church in the searing
heat. 38 celcius ! (100 f)

Christians going to church on Christmas Day in Aus.

It wasn't as hot inside the church, but was still warm, and I fanned myself with a laminated pew sheet. We had donated flowers from our garden and from the florist, those and others were arranged by church ladies:

We donated White Christmas Lilies from the terrific local florist:

At the rear of the arrangement are kangaroo paw flowers, native to Australia.

Red roses from our garden and onion flowers from our vegetable garden! Not arranged by me.

It is traditional to put the three wise men in the nativity crib later, on the feast of the epiphany. Here they are still looking for the predicted baby.

A Traditional country Lunch:
We had lunch at a motel /function room. The food was traditional Australian fare. It was a relief to get into the air conditioning, and not to have to cook over
a hot stove. Drinks were welcome, I had a lemon squash and lots of water. Daughter had lemonade and hubby had a lemon/lime bitters. He had a rum and cola too, as he doesn't like wine or beer. Neither of us drink alcohol often. Both of them drank lots of water too. Table setting:

The staff were very welcoming and attentive throughout. While we were waiting for the meal , daughter played a Minion game on the iPad and we watched three You tube video clips on the iPad: two from A Christmas Story, the Chinese restaurant one, and the leg lamp one. Then we watched a Mr Bean one, the link is provided later.

There was Christmas music playing.

First course was a choice of prawn cocktail or chicken and cranberry sauce. I had the prawn cocktail which was refreshingly cool and light on such a hot day. The decor is mid 20 th century, so the dish was appropriate. Warm bread rolls and butter were brought to the table.

The main course buffet was traditional Australian. There was luscious lamb with mint sauce , chicken with gravy, pork with apple sauce, crispy roast potatoes, roast pumpkin, peas, cheesy broccoli with cauliflower, and carrots. One couldn't fault any of it. Hubby went back for seconds. Here is that plate, the pork on it was for daughter, as hubby doesn't eat pork, not for religious reasons, he simply doesn't like it.

Desserts on the buffet were the traditional Christmas pudding (made containing dried fruit) with brandy custard,

cheesecake, and Pavlova. Pavlova is a dessert you will often find on special occasion menus in Australia, and was named after Anna Pavlova, the ballerina. It's made from sugar and egg whites. It's good to feed a large crowd, and is usually filled with cream and fruits.

At home hubby dragged out the water air cooler from the shed and they watched "A Christmas Carol" while I dozed. Then we watched DVDs of "Little House on The Prairie" from the library. Still hot inside, but outside it was cooling down.

None of us were really hungry at dinner, so he barbecued some eggs from our chooks and ducks, for sandwiches. They had traditional mince fruit pies, made with dried fruit.

Our two cats, and two dogs had special tinned food including turkey in it.

BOXING DAY:

This is the name of the day after Christmas Day in Australia. Many people go shopping for bargains on that day. It can be bedlam. Some go to sporting events. We stayed home and relaxed. It was hot again, 30 deg c at 10.00 am, but a cool change came through earlier. It rained for a prolonged period.

For dinner we had a meal of leg ham, given to us as a Christmas bonus by Hubby's employers. It is always very good. Hubby doesn't eat it, but daughter and I do enjoy it. There was also chicken, and salads. Christmas biscuits in the shape of Christmas tree s, given by a neighbour, and spearmint leaf lollies finished off the meal.

We watched the Dr Who Christmas special, which manages to mix up Dr Who with a superman, unusual!

THE NEXT DAY :
Thank goodness it was not as hot.
The evening meal consisted of turkey breast fillets from the supermarket, barbecued by hubby in foil. There was leg ham too, and BBQ onions, in a sandwich. Afterwards there was traditional Christmas Cake containing dried fruit. This is sold by the Lions Club to benefit not for profit groups they support. There were also Walkers Scottish shortbread biscuits in the shape of Scottie dogs, also luscious cherries.

***Christmas links

Christmas in Australia:

http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/australia.shtml

Mr bean Christmas:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Se5CBogDuYU

Christmas:
http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/worldxmas/australia.htm

John and Yoko, 10 mins but well worth it:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CbKsgaXQy2k

David Bowie and Bing Crosbie : The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth 1977
2.45 mins:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ADbJLo4x-tk

Faith Hill - Where are you christmas
Christmas Music Videos 54,794 views
4.02 mins:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P14jxKY3Gy8

Colbie Caillat - Christmas In The Sand
ColbieCaillatVEVO 1,243,763 views

3.52 mins:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YnvzsZCJjZ0

An Aussie in the World

Friday 30 December 2016

WINDING UP THE YEAR

Monday 26 December 2016

OUR CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA 2016

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