Tis the season to be jolly..........

All of the Christmas shopping is finished and all I have to do now is to prepare Christmas Eve dinner. Each year our immediate family have dinner together at home. Dad and I cook it with all the trimmings and we settle down with "Carols By Candlelight at the Myer Music Bowl" playing in the background. There is just the the four of us, although over this past few years that four increased to five or six. If it is a hot evening we will set the table down near the pool under the shade of the trees. How lucky are we Aussies to be able to enjoy a meal out doors. Some friends in Texas has just had their snow commence and now have a fire burning 24/7. The very first snow measured 5 inches and they said that it was so beautiful that they went hiking to take photos of the prarie lands. How wonderful. However, several days later the snow was so heavy that the roads required clearing in order to allow people nto travel to work.
On Monday evening Ms. K and I took her Grandmother for a drive to see some of the homes whose front yards were adorned with Christmas lights. There are so many people who go to so much trouble to bring a little Christmas cheer to the rest of the community by designing and setting up rope lights, LED lights, net lights and loads of inflatables and ornaments in the windows which include nativity scenes, reindeers, elves, santas and slieghs, all amongst flashing Christmas lights. There is usually music playing and it is all worth a visit to just see the looks on the faces of the visitors. In a country where it is usually quite hot at this time of year the decorated yards truely bring a sense of spirit to the season. We loved every minute of the outting and arrived home smiling. Merry Christmas everyone!

Sad Christmas

Each year on the first Wednesday of December a tiny little church at Cherrybrook put on a church service for those who have lost a child or may have a child missing.
My dear friend Meryn told me about this service the same year that our Ben died. J and I went along with a heavy heart and to our surprize we met many many others there. Some were elderly parents whose adult children had been killed, some were very young couples whose baby had died and others like J and I had lost a son or daughter in the years in between. The one thing that we all had in common was that we had lost a child and were grieving and trying to find a way to get through Christmas.
This past service for 2010 was like each one that we had attended before. A minister said some prayers, a guest speaker told of his or her own experience in loosing a child and how they had gotten through it and then everyone was invited to place flowers on the alter in memory of their child. It is always heart wrenching yet each year I go and think of Ben, wish him a Merry Christmas and tell myself that this year will be even better than the last. It is a beautiful service in all, especially with the amount of hard work put into both the service and the super afterwards, the work all organised and undertaken by the fe local perishioners who live near by. Over the years I have come to meet a lot of people there whose children have died at all different ages and from many different causes, some that I even met through the Muscular Dystrophy Association and others whom I met when I worked at the Children's Hospital. I feel as though I now go to say Merry Christmas not only to our Ben but to those who feel like there is no future now that their child is deceased. I have come to understand how important it is over time to know that you are not alone in your grief. It is so important to reach out to people with not just understanding, but with hope that life is not always going to seem so painful. It is a pain that we all share just as we share with each other our love for our children. This gets me through Christmas...the idea that I may be helping someone.
I often wonder about the many others out there that struggle to get through Christmas. Maybe we should aim to spare a smile or an ear to someone soon. I read this poem on a friend's web page.........


This Christmas season let us try
To do some golden deeds,
To carry someone’s burden,
To help someone in need.
There are always those who need us
As we journey on life’s way,
And the friends we win by helping
Make us richer every day.
So when you see a saddened face
As Christmas time draws near,
Do your best to lift the load
And spread a word of cheer.

From "Getting Ready for Christmas"
Author Emma Lapp

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..........

Christmas is but a week away and our extended family get-together is this Sunday. Time to pull out the green table cloths, the gold reindeer table pieces, the red serviettes, etc. Miss K and I love to decorate the table when ever we are hosting a big shin-dig for Christmas. AJ is going to set up a small bar out on the verandah and fill the eskies with ice and all sorts of drinkable goodies and the eatible goodies should fill the kitchen table to just about over flowing. I have prepared all of the jellies and custards for the trifles and they simply need to be assembled on Saturday night ready for Sunday. The tiramisu will also be arranged on Saturday evening ready for Sunday lunch. Just about everything else can be done on Sunday morning. One of the summer fruits that J and I enjoy is a mango. I never knew what a mango was until I started dating J. One Sunday we went for a drive to buy fruit and veges for my mother and he purchased a mango to share with me. When he realized that I had never eaten a mango J went to great lengths to cut it up for me to try. Wow! Talk about fruit of the gods, it was wonderful and I licked my fingers clean of the beautiful juice. It certainly was a wonderful experience and ever since then I have loved them. The big Bowen mangos from Far North Queensland are lovely but if ever you get the opportunity to sample the red mangos from PNG then make sure that you try them, they are lovely too.
Anyway I digress, each Christmas Day I cut up a platter of mangos and watermelon for all to enjoy and this Sunday will be no different. Our tree is sparkling and ready to greet the guests and I have dusted off some wonderful Christmas music to get everyone into the mood. One just has to love Christmas! I hope that the lead up to Christmas is a time of relaxation and peace for everyone.

My immediate family is off to view the many wonderifully decorated homes around the Hills area on Monday night. Then off to celebrate Christmas lunch with some girlfriends on Tuesday. Wednesday evening we are going to kick back and relax and make sure that J begins his holidays by putting his feet up and chilling out. We intend to spoil him with a BBQ and some delicious wine for the evening. Our aim (as usual) is not to get caught up in the commercialism of the season but rather to take pleasure in having time to enjoy each other's company, laugh and make the most of our time together. Merry Christmas everyone!

Carols In The Caves.............

Each year I love to attend "Carols By Candlelight" somewhere. I always find such a sense of Christmas spirit there. At present the shops are full of people pushing and shoving to get their presents. I sometimes wonder if they ever really come to feel any Christmas spirit at all through commercialism. However, sitting back listening to the beautiful voices of those who sing Christmas carols; well one can certainly feel it there.
Last year we drove into the Domain in Sydney and sang merrily along with 10,000 other people.

The pine forrests

This year J and I drove up to Jenolan Caves up in the Blue Mountains. The drive there is lovely as it weaves up through the enormous pine forrests and the mountainsides of the Blue Mountains. At this time of year the wild flowers are still in full bloom and daisies bloomed along the roadside for many kms. As we entered Jenolan Caves I was in awe of the beauty.

The Carols were held under the Grand Arch which was a wonderful experience in itself.

The Grand Arch is very impressive as a cave ruin, big enough to host orchestra concerts and the road leads through this cavern up to Caves House which is where we stayed that night.

This year Peter Overton and Jessica Rowe hosted them and although I did not take many photos the memories will be etched in our hearts forever.

What a wonderful evening. The entertainers were all local people who were truely gifted singers and they literally scaled the heights to sing on rocky ledges, among the stalagnites and stalitites.

Natural mountain water gushing alonside the roads

Coloured lights reflected gently on the walls of the caves and the acoustics were amazing. I marveled at the numbers of grandparents attending with their grandchildren and loving every moment of it. Afterwards there was a party up at Caves House and the celebrations continued on until the wee hours of the morning.

J and I left at about 8:30am. As we drove out we passed Peter Overton and his 18 month old daughter, going for a walk to say good bye to pepole. He is such a lovely man, stopped and asked whether we enjoyed the night and how far we had to go home. Buses had arrived to begin taking people home to all parts of the state.
If ever you get the chance to go to "Carols In The Caves" I would highly recommend it because all proceeds go to the Oncology Unit at the Children's Hospital at Westmead.

Spur Me On............

Well my sore foot has finally caught up with me. Turning 50 brings the odd health problem including joints and bone issues. My issue is with my heel. You see, the tissue that forms the arch of my foot is called the plantar fascia.It is a ligiment that connects the tissue that runs from your heel bone down to the ball of the foot. Apparently its job is to transmit weight across the foot when a person walks or runs. With time this tissue can become worn out which is what happened to me. Over the years for various reasons ranging from a broken leg to a weakened ankle and gout this tissue became inflamed and irritated. Of course, standing constantly each day doesn't help and between the two I developed a calcaneus spur, which is the formation of a hook on the end of the heel bone and because the tissue is worn out there is nothing there to pad the pointed bone from sticking into the muscle and skin. So with all of this in mind I don't feel so bad complaining that my foot does indeed hurt. I am currently trying ice packs when the pain is extremely severe, anti-inflamatories which I really would prefer not to have to take each day, and complete rest. I am hoping that the orthapedic surgeon will have some better ideas when I go to see him. I am told that it takes between 3 months and 12 months to get any sort of permanent relief. Just goes to prove how vital decent impact shoes are. Have a good day everyone.

Time for us......

Christmas time, my favourite time of year. It is time to write out my recipe menu for this season, what will we have for Christmas Day when J's family comes together? What will we have on Christmas Eve when the six of us share dinner together and toast the wonderful season of Christmas together. Some years ago when our Children were very little, we choose to have a bit of that old fashioned Christmas, of enjoying the true meaning of the festive season and of understanding what it’s like to wake up in a house filled with love on Christmas morning. Our immediate family Christmas’ have long ago stepped back to a pace where we look forward to Christmas together by giving what we could make and bake and share amidst the four of us; now the six of us. How lucky are we to have tow very special people join our family who share these same values. It certainly makes life less stressful when one is not consumed by the latest gismos, or worrying about spending more than we have. I can remember my grandmother telling me stories about sewing clothes and dolls for the children on Christmas Eve. Credit cards were not available then, people spent what they could afford and not what they were pressured into buying for their children. There was little media bombardment to buy, buy, buy! And Christmas Day was filled with the enjoyment of being together; not whether the house you visited had the latest x-box or Kinnect games. It gave us all a greater sense of community back then; a sense of family and fellowship I guess you could call it.
And so J and I have tried to instill in our next generation this same concept. I believe it has worked well for all of us. We must be the odd family out at Christmas and birthday times when we choose to spend little on material things and instead spend hours making and baking for each other. LA simpler life isn’t necessarily perfect in fact sometimes I think it can be quite hard but there are fewer demands on your spending ability, fewer avenues to take you down the wrong road. One simply needs to choose to move in this direction. Keeping up with the Joneses is left for those who feel that particular need and in place of all of this we have peace of mind. I once read a book by the Dalai Lama who wrote that “true happiness comes from a sense of peace and contentment, which in turn will be achieved through the cultivation of love and compassion and the elimination of materialism and greed.” How true is that.
So what did J and I find in our recipe hunt? Some wonderful Aussie recipes to enjoy during the summer. Garlic bacon and chilli potato salad, pumpkin and pinenut salad, Avacado and Mango salad, a gorgeous greek feta salad that made my mouth water and deserts galore. I have a recipe for rum balls that a lady once gave me. Her great grandmother made them and passed the recipe down through the generation. Oh wonderful to be able to plan ahead.
Have a great evening everyone

Summer has arrived.....

November has turned Spring into Summer here in Sydney. Last week I wondered when the cooler weather was eventually going to leave us and before I knew it the humidity of summer hit with a vengence. In the garden the flowers are still in bloom but beginning to look tired; their leaves are a flourishing gleen but appear wilted in the heat of the day. Yesterday here in Sydney the temperature reached a high of 30 degrees and brought with it some very high humidity indeed. Today will be the same again. It is damp and hot already, a wind blows that is warm, foretelling of a change to come later this evening. Flox and pansies are in bloom, along with dainty baby's breath. The garden is full of new life from the recent rains, making it look a heathy green, yet this extreme heat is taking it's toll on them. Right now, Miss K and I are thinking about takinga dip in the pool to cool off.
Yesterday I left Jervis Bay at 4:30am and decided to take the Grand Pacific Drive via Kiama to come home. One can often catch some magnivicent sunrises out over the Pacific Ocean whilst driving along here. On approach to Bolang, which is just past Bomaderry' an old country rail track crosses the road and continues throuh a group of factories. The train was moving slowly across the roadway and appeared to be moving slow enough through the factories so as the staff could fill the huge freight wagons and trucks with their cargo. I am still not sure exactly what that way. A number of carriages passed when the train came to a hult and a shunter which is a man who breaks apart and joins the carriages, stood and unhooked two of the wagons. The train continued to move and a break appreared for the traffic to drive through. It was not until I began to cross that I looked along to the remainder of the train yet to cross the road, and realized that there were several dozen carriages yet to be filled. Indeed, this train must be a kilometer long or possibly more. It was fascinating to watch. I hope that everyone stays cool today and has a relaxing Sunday.