Marguerite
Active Member
G'day, folks.
We're swinging into Christmas mode now, definitely.
husband has been busy every weekend with his train club, people booking the trains for Christmas parties for kids. Today was no diffferent. Meanwhile we had a Christmas fair in the village main street. I had some work to do in the morning athome, workig on the stuff for our upcoming village carols night. Then I decided - stuff it, time to get down to the shops to check out the fair.
And it was hot! I wore a sleeveless dress, I should have worn my swimsuit. Because I knew there would be not much parking, I took my mobility scooter. difficult child 3's classmate form his Special Education drama class was there sellnig her Christmas cards. Of course her parents and brother were there, this kid has Downs Syndrome and is very much in need of support, but is meticulous with her craft and her cards are lovely. We chatted for a while, other people talked to them (and me) - this is a small, friendly village.
After that I scooted off to visit a friend involved in the carols organisation. She also mentioned talking to this lovely girl with Downs about her cards. We got a lot done, I left with a "to do" list and headed home.
No time to rest - I got home just as husband arrived home, difficult child 3 & I had been planning to go to the beach. By the time we got there the afternoon breeze had sprung up, easing the heat and making it very pleasant. Too cool for me to go in the water, although there were plenty of people swimming. difficult child 3 played with his skim board while husband & I lazed around on towels and my little beach chair. I've got dark tan marks from my dress this morning, thankfully it's not sunburn at all. I seem to have at last reached the point of not burning any more, just going darker.
This evening our choir was singing at a Christmas party for a group that gets together on Saturday nights - it's a group for people who live alone and otherwise don't get out to meet people. Their next get-together will be on Christmas Day which they will all spend together because otherwise they would be alone. There were about 30 people there, I got them joining in the singing and we had a good time. A number of kids there - the children of single parents who simply haven't got anyone else in their lives except this group.
I left there just before sunset, had to get home for the next task - taking difficult child 3 out to take sunset, dusk and after dark photos of the village for the Power Point presentation needed for the carols night. We took about an hour as the light faded, finally getting a number of photos which hopefully will be acceptable to the organisers. He's a good photographer. We finished with photos at the wharf where a lot of people were fishing. But it gave us a good vantage point of the village with the lights coming on, shining across the water.
Then home to cook dinner (a stir-fried concoction we threw together) which we've just finished.
Tomorrow is husband's train club's Christmas Party. I also have to get back for a carols rehearsal - my choir is the nucleus of it but I've warned them I will be late. I'm looking forward to the train party, this time I'll be able to compare how my hips are this time - to ride these trains you sit astride the carriages. Last time it was very painful for me. I love riding these trains, especially in summer when the breeze from the moving train cools you down. No hard work tomorrow - no need to sell tickets, no need to guard this or that from the public, it is all the workers only. But we may need to rack off early to get back for my choir rehearsal.
We're packing a more gourmet picnic than we had originally planned, thanks to the wonderful hamper difficult child 3's school gave me yesterday.
So yes, it's busy, but at least today there was a blessedness to the busy-ness. And tomorrow should still be a relaxing, warm, sunny summer day. We'll stop off at the fish market on the way to the picnic and buy some prawns - they're cheap at the moment, great value and you can't beat a prawn and salad feast on a summer Aussie day near the beach! Some bruschetta spread with sun-dried tomato and olive tapenade, warmed on a barbecue grill (we'll borrow someone else's fire) will be the finishing touch. And difficult child 3 won't have to work either, he can run around taking photos and ride the trains with us. No crowds. Vintage car rides too. And the drive home, we follow the coastline for a drive which, from film I've seen, resembles the wilder parts of the Californian coastline. Then our wonderful Seacliff Bridge, used in ads around the world. This sweeping curves hug the cliffs and step the road out from the danger of the falling rocks of the cliffs, so the cliff road now parallels the cliffs over the sea for a couple of kilometres. A white, sweeping swathe of curving road.
Are you jealous yet?
The Santa who dropped in to the village fair this morning, Star, was the one who featured on the Christmas card I sent you (the one that arrived a couple of months ago). He's a sensible summer Santa - wearing short sleeves, shorts, bare legs and those red plastic Slogg things on his feet. Zinc cream on the nose. His son is a professional photographer, his daughter was the goalkeeper in the Sydney olympics waterpolo team, the one that beat the US for the gold medal. He himself works with Aussie wildlife and the winderness so he's the ideal guy for the Santa gig.
Enjoy your Sunday, the Aussie summer Christmas is fast approaching.
Marg
We're swinging into Christmas mode now, definitely.
husband has been busy every weekend with his train club, people booking the trains for Christmas parties for kids. Today was no diffferent. Meanwhile we had a Christmas fair in the village main street. I had some work to do in the morning athome, workig on the stuff for our upcoming village carols night. Then I decided - stuff it, time to get down to the shops to check out the fair.
And it was hot! I wore a sleeveless dress, I should have worn my swimsuit. Because I knew there would be not much parking, I took my mobility scooter. difficult child 3's classmate form his Special Education drama class was there sellnig her Christmas cards. Of course her parents and brother were there, this kid has Downs Syndrome and is very much in need of support, but is meticulous with her craft and her cards are lovely. We chatted for a while, other people talked to them (and me) - this is a small, friendly village.
After that I scooted off to visit a friend involved in the carols organisation. She also mentioned talking to this lovely girl with Downs about her cards. We got a lot done, I left with a "to do" list and headed home.
No time to rest - I got home just as husband arrived home, difficult child 3 & I had been planning to go to the beach. By the time we got there the afternoon breeze had sprung up, easing the heat and making it very pleasant. Too cool for me to go in the water, although there were plenty of people swimming. difficult child 3 played with his skim board while husband & I lazed around on towels and my little beach chair. I've got dark tan marks from my dress this morning, thankfully it's not sunburn at all. I seem to have at last reached the point of not burning any more, just going darker.
This evening our choir was singing at a Christmas party for a group that gets together on Saturday nights - it's a group for people who live alone and otherwise don't get out to meet people. Their next get-together will be on Christmas Day which they will all spend together because otherwise they would be alone. There were about 30 people there, I got them joining in the singing and we had a good time. A number of kids there - the children of single parents who simply haven't got anyone else in their lives except this group.
I left there just before sunset, had to get home for the next task - taking difficult child 3 out to take sunset, dusk and after dark photos of the village for the Power Point presentation needed for the carols night. We took about an hour as the light faded, finally getting a number of photos which hopefully will be acceptable to the organisers. He's a good photographer. We finished with photos at the wharf where a lot of people were fishing. But it gave us a good vantage point of the village with the lights coming on, shining across the water.
Then home to cook dinner (a stir-fried concoction we threw together) which we've just finished.
Tomorrow is husband's train club's Christmas Party. I also have to get back for a carols rehearsal - my choir is the nucleus of it but I've warned them I will be late. I'm looking forward to the train party, this time I'll be able to compare how my hips are this time - to ride these trains you sit astride the carriages. Last time it was very painful for me. I love riding these trains, especially in summer when the breeze from the moving train cools you down. No hard work tomorrow - no need to sell tickets, no need to guard this or that from the public, it is all the workers only. But we may need to rack off early to get back for my choir rehearsal.
We're packing a more gourmet picnic than we had originally planned, thanks to the wonderful hamper difficult child 3's school gave me yesterday.
So yes, it's busy, but at least today there was a blessedness to the busy-ness. And tomorrow should still be a relaxing, warm, sunny summer day. We'll stop off at the fish market on the way to the picnic and buy some prawns - they're cheap at the moment, great value and you can't beat a prawn and salad feast on a summer Aussie day near the beach! Some bruschetta spread with sun-dried tomato and olive tapenade, warmed on a barbecue grill (we'll borrow someone else's fire) will be the finishing touch. And difficult child 3 won't have to work either, he can run around taking photos and ride the trains with us. No crowds. Vintage car rides too. And the drive home, we follow the coastline for a drive which, from film I've seen, resembles the wilder parts of the Californian coastline. Then our wonderful Seacliff Bridge, used in ads around the world. This sweeping curves hug the cliffs and step the road out from the danger of the falling rocks of the cliffs, so the cliff road now parallels the cliffs over the sea for a couple of kilometres. A white, sweeping swathe of curving road.
Are you jealous yet?
The Santa who dropped in to the village fair this morning, Star, was the one who featured on the Christmas card I sent you (the one that arrived a couple of months ago). He's a sensible summer Santa - wearing short sleeves, shorts, bare legs and those red plastic Slogg things on his feet. Zinc cream on the nose. His son is a professional photographer, his daughter was the goalkeeper in the Sydney olympics waterpolo team, the one that beat the US for the gold medal. He himself works with Aussie wildlife and the winderness so he's the ideal guy for the Santa gig.
Enjoy your Sunday, the Aussie summer Christmas is fast approaching.
Marg
Enjoy the train party tomorrow-sounds like fun; so does the ride home!
Good Morning Ladies 
.
