Busy Times....part 2

Tuesday 17th December, 2013

Here it is Tuesday already and we haven't slowed down any.  The weather has really warmed up, the next few days we will get temperatures well over 100 degrees.  They are forecasting 29C (84F)  for Christmas Day.  I can take that, warm enough to enjoy time outdoors but not too hot for those who are cooking a turkey for Christmas lunch.

Now onto Part 2.  On Sunday morning the girls thought I needed to put the Christmas tree up and so I got them to do it.  They did a great job.  I still need to tweak it a bit.

Later on in the afternoon we took them to the Beachhouse.  We paid for them to have 100 minutes of unlimited rides.  There was some malfunction of their cards where they had to end up replacing both of them but by doing so it meant that the girls got extra time.  They didn't complain.

Their time was spent mainly on the waterslides.  Taylor had never been on them before and she thought it was awesome.  We had arranged for Kahra to pick Katie up at around 5.30pm and then had to take Taylor home.  Tony and I really relished the quiet once we got back home.

The next day we spent running errands and catching up on housework like laundry. On Tuesday I met Dianne for lunch and Wednesday I had a hair appointment. 

On Thursday we had arranged to go out with Robyn and Bob.  Firstly we went out for lunch and then drove up to Hahndorf and to Beerenberg to go and pick strawberries.  Robyn and Bob had never done this before. Wow the strawberries were huge and so tasty. Bob and I ate more than what we put in the container.

From the strawberry patch we called into Melba's chocolates at Woodside, I had to have a mint chocolate frog or two or was it three.  We then went to Gumeracha and to the Cherry Shed at Kenton Valley to get some cherries. The cherries are very late this year and there aren't as many around as in previous years.  The ones in the store are twice the price as what they were last year ($24.99 kilo). 

Bob spoke to the owner and was told that due to the warm winter we had, the fruit did not set.  Apparently cherries need the frost.  We managed to get some cherries but they're not as sweet as what we've had other years.  Hope this warmer weather will ripen them perfectly, so that we can go back and get some more.

Robyn also gave me some good/bad news.  The bad news was that she found a lump in her breast.  The last two weeks she said was going off to doctors appointments, mammograms, biopsies and to see a specialist.  It turned out to be tumour and the good news is that it is benign.

She did tell me the name of the tumour but I can't remember, it started with a "F" or "ph".  Apparently it is quite rare but it can be very aggressive and can turn cancerous.  She goes into hospital on the 2nd January to have a partial mastectomy.  This is not the kind of news that I like to hear but thank God it's not cancerous.

On Sunday we spent some time gardening.  While out in the backyard Tony saw a movement out of the corner of his eye.  It was a blue tongue lizard.  We don't know if it is a new one or one that we have previously spotted.  We left him to himself and he soon disappeared among the shrubs.

This morning at around 6.30am the phone rang.  Tony answered it and passed it over to me.  All I could hear was a baby crying.  Through my sleepy haze I was jolted awake and realised that Tori had had her baby.  She had a beautiful baby boy this morning at 6.16am.

He has such long fingers

This afternoon Tony and I went to the hospital to visit her and meet her and Jamie's little boy.  He was adorable and slept all through our visit.  Congratulations Tori and Jamie!