31st

 

We spent the final day of the year at Indented Heads snorkeling and swimming and floating. Russell, Amber and Tim joined us and adventures abounded. We took Sam to the shipwreck of the paddle steamer The Ozone and he was doing superbly 'til his snorkel dropped from the mask and he watched it spiral down into what seemed like a never ending abyss (admittedly it was well over all our heads - probably 10-12 feet deep). Russell the diving master retrieved the snorkel but Sam was suitably terrified and reef snorkelling ended in favour if the rockpools amd shallows. Importantly, Sam has put the terror behind him and is now talking it up as a great moment in his seven years thus far. I had buoyancy issues (I am a natural floater) so need to practice my submerging techniques. Nevertheless I did see striped fish and lots of waving planty things on the rusty wreck.

Lots of people and boats there today so it didn't have the sense of an idyllic private beach that we usually enjoy. Nevertheless it was a lovely way to spend the last day of '11. The photo was taken by Amber, I left my phone in its case.

Happy New Year!

flower friday

Rudbeckia Maxima in the back garden. There are dozens of them and they all make me happy and revel in summer.

one week in

We have been on holidays for a week now and it has gone a lot like this...

Mornings are spent doing lots of sorting, culling and cleaning. There have been three car loads to the op shop so far; linen cupboards, clothes, the shed - they are all getting the treatment. So much so that there is a dump run planned for this afternoon. It feels great. Today the kids are out and their toys are getting a once over in their absence. I will not be sidetracked by thoughts of Milly weeping at the loss of her twisted pipecleaner 'sculptures' - anyone who thinks this is cruel hearted can have them, all 27 of them. Send me your address.

At some point every day we are getting to the beach. On Tuesday we watched the Melbourne to Hobart yachts race through the heads. We had a close up view of Veloce with our lovely friend Noel as the bowman (they finished yesterday in third place). Tonight we are packing a picnic and going for a twilight snorkel.

I am trying to have a walk every day. One day it was to the supermarket with my "old lady trolley" as Milly calls my shopping trolley. Another day along the river. I have decided it doesn't matter how far or where, as long as I do it.

We are catching up with friends every day and cooking lots of easy but delicious meals thanks to the discovery of this lovely blog www.gourmetgirl-friend.blogspot.com and my gift of Jamie's 30 minute meals to Michael. Last night we had friends over for slow cooked lamb (thanks Ruth), earlier in the week the kids declared Michael's (ie Jamie's) Puttanesca sauce worthy of 9/10. Tonight will be Vietnamese cold rolls at the beach.

Next week we head away with the caravan for a week with friends. Very excited about that. In short, nothing bad about the holidays so far. Oh, and Instagram. There has been a LOT of instagram.

the 25th

Christmas Day was lovely. Lots of books, puzzles, a baby doll, new snorkels all round, body boards, a nerf gun (the first to ever enter our house - I may regret it), colouring in, real life camera, air hog vector wave (if you know what that is you I pity your ear drums) and board games. The enormous storm missed us completely with not a drop of rain, let alone hail stones the size of lemons.

tradition

I managed to finish sorting the cupboards in Milly's room and sit down to my jigsaw just in time for the coin toss of the Boxing Day Test Match...

At lunch we flipped channels to watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race...

By Tea Break the puzzle was done...

Boxing Day, cricket and a jigsaw - a Christmas tradition that has nothing to do with baubles or gifts but may well be my most favourite.

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve saw us celebrating with the best of friends and ushering kids to bed once the Santa and Reindeer snack were ready.  Everything is ready for an early start tomorrow.

Thankyou for reading the blog this year, whether you were a regular or sporadic visitor, or merely found yourself here after a random Google search for German Measles (my 3rd most popular traffic source). Visitors have come from near and far and have numbered over 9000 hits from 786 different people this year. Last week, with no fanfare I blogged my 600th post since I started in 2008. I hope you have found some joy in reading Perennial as the joy I have in recording our life here has been boundless.

Merry Christmas to all and to Mum:

Cx.

xmas angels

 

... of both the chocolate and sand variety.

oranges and lemons

Amber's mother's citrus trees are 60 years old and produce huge, thick skinned, juicy fruit. On Friday last week Amber texted and asked how many I'd like. I told her I would take as many as she could spare. On Saturday this bounty was delivered. She had warned there were a lot. I seem to remember my reply was along the lines of "the more the better". I was gobsmacked at the quantity and have a distinct memory of Russell's laughter as he kept unloading bags and bags. On Sunday we made one batch of cordial and promptly ran out of sugar. They have been sitting idle on the verandah as we hustled and bustled around them all week.  Some started to grow fuzz. I started to worry about wastage (but I did buy more sugar).

This morning I was out the house at 6am to buy the Christmas bounty. Home by 8am, I unpacked all into the shed drinks fridge (which now has more food than beverage for the first time in its life); a quick birthday call to Mum and then the task of making the first layers of trifle, by 9:30 I was back in bed. I woke two hours later to the smell of Michael roasting beetroot and garlic and the sight of him squeezing lemons on the verandah...

Am I not married to the loveliest man? And a huge thanks to Mary and Stan for loving their trees long enough for us to enjoy their bounty.

the graduate

from this...

to this....

In his school year book Sam's interview is thus:

I am happy when... I have my favourite food, fish and chips.

Happiness tastes like... homemade spaghetti.

Happiness feels like... me on my bike.

Happiness sounds like... a bird

Happiness smells like... fresh fish.

more on the theme of xmas

The garlands are up and the tree is presiding over a bounty of gifts.

Heavy brown packages keep arriving from England. Mum has ordered from The Book Depository and there have been ten (!)  parcels addressed to the Jansen Family. We have decided the fun will be to open them up and guess who they are for.

The small gifts for friends who we don't exchange gifts with are wrapped and distributed last night at our end of year celebration. Who doesn't love After Dinner Mints?

flower friday

Allium and Agapanthus in the front garden.

celebrations

 

The end of year functions are coming thick and fast. Last night I hosted the end of year afternoon tea with the gorgeous women from work. Debriefing and laughter and gossip (the things you learn about your coworkers!) were running as freely as the punch. Tonight about 8 families from school are gathering for an end of year bbq celebration in the park. Kris Kringle presents for the kids, there is a rumour a man in red will be making an appearance. Tomorrow sailing and swimming.

With shopping done, work finished and a clean house, it is a lovely time of year - catching up with different friends each day. The upside for me is that I will be cooking something lovely for every occasion ... yesterday cannoli, today pavlova, tomorrow trifle. At some point soon I will be making plum jam, lemon cordial and orange marmalade. So in this spirit of Christmas and the kitchen, here is the "recipe" for Amber's lovely punch - Pomegranate juice, sugar free lemonade, a sprinkling of rose water, serve with ice, lemons and strawberries. Delicious.

exhaustion

Sam has one day left at school and wanted to sleep in his uniform as it would be a while 'til he wore it again. Unfortunately he also snuck out of bed, dragging his quilt onto his bean bag to read Roald Dahl. At some point he fell asleep despite the angle of his bedside light set to interrogate.

club

This afternoon at approximately 3:40 the first meeting of the Finger Bun Club will commence. Finger Buns have been purchased. A clubhouse has been made from an old sheet and the divan. A sign has been hung. A movie will be filmed. There is a password. I can not tell you what it is.

kicking off my shoes

Last day of work yesterday and the holiday feeling started straight away as I headed to a friend's for dinner and a chat. I was meant to be keeping her company following a hospital incident (all is well now) but I think she was more of a tonic for me. No more work until February. These photos are details of the lovely patterns, colours and textiles that abound at her house.

dinner harvest

We grew tonight's inner of pea, mint and feta salad, with a honey dijon dressing and lamb cutlets. It was delicious but more satisfying was heading out to the garden for mint and peas of all kinds - plain, snow and sugar snap. The perfect combination of eating and gardening - two of my loves.

baubles

Dodgy weather meant we decided against going to Carols by Candlelight. The kids are disappointed. I am now contemplating braving the big production of Christmas Eve Carols instead of the low key service in the local park. Someone talk me out of it.

If you look closely you will see my reflection in these glass baubles. I have been buying vintage decorations from op. shops for a year and a half and it seems I now have more than will fit on our tree. This bowl sits and sparkles on the coffee table.

instagram

Move over Trism, I am cultivating a new iPhone addiction - loading my photos to instagram. If you want to follow me (you could be the first) I am over there as Perennial. Above are a few shots loaded this morning.

this afternoon

Sailing, swimming and snorkeling in the ocean. Russell and Amber joined us. A most glorious afternoon. Look at the sky.

at the moment I am...

watching...

Lark Rise to Candleford. A BBC production about English village life in the late 1800's. It is a slow and sleepy series that sets a nice tone in the evenings when Michael and I sit on the couch. We have just started series 2 and the library also has 3 and 4 so it could become our summer routine.

reading....

The Street Sweeper. I read Elliot Perlman's first book Seven Types of Ambiguity years ago and loved it. I have not actually started this one but now that I have only 1 work day left I feel like holiday reading can start in earnest. This is the best kind of holiday book for me - one that is long and involved so I can have hours of reading and still stretch it out over days rather than consume it all in a day.

shopping...

I really don't have much more to do. A couple of Kris Kringle offerings and something for Russell. I will head to Goose in East Geelong. It used to be a short walk from our old house and I would be in there a few times a week, pushing a tiny Sam in his pram. It is bigger and more glamorous than it used to be but Gloria and Kristen still remember Sam and always ask after him. I think today the place will be packed so I am off early.

.... and of course later today we will head to the beach for what seems like our regular weekend play.

flower friday

Poppies in the back garden bordering the verandah. I have to be quick to find these as the rain and wind we are regularly dealing with means I am more likely to find the petals on the ground than the flowers themselves.

mindful

It is really busy at home and horribly stressful at work (Amber called it the Bermuda Triangle of Education on Friday when I was talking about my day). One kid is sick, the other is exhausted. And despite attempts at seasonal frugality money seems to be hemorrhaging from our bank account. All the hallmarks of a stressful life.

I caught myself yesterday having a negative view of things around me. I was at the hairdresser, Milly was with Amber. It should have been two hours of peace and tabloid magazines. Instead I was getting cranky at the pace of the salon, the inane babble of my hairdresser; the assault on women's bodies in a magazine purported to be a 'woman's mag'; the glare coming in off the window; the chemicals itching my scalp. You name it, it was bugging me.

So I stopped. I breathed out and shut it all out. And I realised that the last few weeks have been more like this than not. Half empty instead of half full. So it is time to be more mindful. Time to accept the things that are and let them wash away rather than feel my body tense up and absorb the things that can get to me.

As I sit here with Milly sick on the divan watching Playschool I can a see our Christmas tree bursting with sparkly baubles, beyond the windows some new flowers are about to unfurl their upsidedown petals and way down near the garage the tomatoes are heavy with fruit. Amber is coming over for a cup of tea and laughter. I only have two more days of work before February. Payday is tomorrow. The kids will catch up on sleep. Things are more good than not.

deliveries

The best thing about doing so much of my Christmas shopping online is that I have not been anywhere near a Westfield or KMart or other horror location that requires me to gird my loins and accept that it will take twice as long and three times as much angst to find a car park.

The second best thing is that there are now packages arriving everyday. They wait on my doorstep for me while I am at work. They are in the hands of the happy, pink haired rollergirl who delivers for Aus Post. And yesterday one was tucked behind the cane chairs on the front verandah.

(the photo is one of Amber's - taken on Waterfall Way in NSW)

blodig helvete

Bloody Hell. Did you know that Norway is in the middle of a "butter crisis"? Heavy rainfalls over summer has meant unproductive cows and a shortage of milk to make into butter. Unscrupulous Europeans are selling sticks of butter online for the Norwegian Krone equivalent of fifty dollars. Having just enjoying a lovely buttery tomato sandwich with a liberal sprinkling of salt I am aghast.

I read the blog of an English woman living in Norway and she has just posted her joy at being able to buy butter in Sweden on a weekend trip. It's definitely a crazy world huh?

that time of the year

Seems like all the blogs I like to read are on a the same go slow with posting as I am. It is the end of the year and we are busy. Saturdays are spent sailing and Sunday social calenders are full as well. Today was our annual Christmas Party with lovely ex crew members. We've just arrived home from a day that started at 9am. All is well at number 55 but we are most looking forward to the end of school term, Christmas and days of happy summer holidays stretched out before us.

I am feeling most satisfied that I have finished Christmas shopping. I am now avoiding shops again until late January.

flower friday

Milly's photo of the Echinops (Veitch's Blue) in the back garden, one of my favourites.

harvest

This is half the crop of beetroot and carrots picked this afternoon. Rumour has it that Michael will be making beetroot dip tomorrow to serve to guests in the evening. The addition of yoghurt and cumin seeds to my shopping list today suggest the odds of it happening are high.

photographer

Tomorrow's Flower Friday post will be courtesy of Milly. She spent some time this afternoon in the garden.

christmas

 

Christmas is getting closer. Sam forgot to ask Santa for a present in his letter but did ask some questions that I, for one, would be interested in knowing the answers to. Meanwhile Milly was an Angel in the Kinder Christmas concert and was quite enamoured of her halo.

Sam's letter: Dear Santa, How old is your oldest elf? How heavy is your smallest elf? How is Mrs. Santa? How many elves do you have? Are you a very nice man? I hope you have a good day. Love from Sam J

busy

It is nearing the end of term. I haven't been able to sit at the computer to blog when incomplete reports abound. I am almost there though so will return soon.

I had to post something, a friend of a friend asked about the blog this week and I realised that the worms post has been sitting there in top spot for days - blergh. The choice of a photo of this lovely sheet is nothing more than a reminder that I have procrastinated more about making something from my enormous stash of these than I do about reports. What is that about?