Another Year Bites The Dust!

Tuesday 31st December, 2013

                                                                                       

Well here we are, the last day of 2013.  I wonder what 2014 will bring.  I don't want for anything but if there was something I could wish for it would be to continue with good health and maybe lose some weight.  I'm not into making New Year's resolutions because by the 2nd January I've broken them.

When I was a young girl I was told that you shouldn't take any household chores from the old year into a new year, like make sure that the house is clean, the laundry is up to date and the ironing done.  They said whatever is left over from the old year you will always be doing it the following year.

Well 2014 looks like I'll be doing a helluva lot of ironing.  I have gone through and cleaned the house, the laundry is up to date but I have some ironing to do.  I ironed on Friday and so the pile is not huge but it can wait until the new year. 

Tony and I have no plans for tonight.  We aren't going into the city to watch the midnight fireworks.  We thought we may go for a drive later and if we are in time we can watch the 9.00pm fireworks that they put on for the children.  Several places do this now.

The weather is quite warm and so I reckon thousands will be heading to the beaches.  The maximum for today is 37C so later this evening the weather should just about be perfect.

                                                                                     Paper  -  Loucee Creations

                                                                                                                 Pigs and Word Art  -  High Four Designs

I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2014.

70 Is The New 50

Friday 27th December, 2013

Happy 70th Birthday Bob!!!  They say that 70 is the new 50 don't they?  

Tonight it's just us that are going out for dinner with them but he said that next month he will have a proper birthday celebration once Robyn has had her operation and all is well.

We ended up at the Roseworthy Hotel, it's under new management, and had a very nice meal.  A new Hungry Jacks has opened up in Gawler and so we decided we would go there to get an icecream.  We got there and the machine had stopped operating and so we drove onto Munno Para to their Hungry Jacks.

Tony just had an icecream cone, but Bob and I had a mango sundae and Robyn had a chocolate sundae.  The icecream was creamy, smooth and delicious.

When we finished our icecreams Robyn took us on a tour of Gawler and Hewett to look at some Christmas lights.  I don't know what it is about this year but there weren't as many houses lit up as in past years.  Even in our suburb we noticed that the houses that usually light up didn't this year.  Maybe it's because of our exorbitant power costs!

Christmas Has Come And Gone For Another Year

Thursday 26th December, 2013

Well that's it!  Christmas is over for another year.  We had the most fabulous day yesterday and overall the best Christmas we've had for a long time.  That's because I did NOTHING!  No Christmas party at our house this year, no breakfast on Christmas morning.....my Christmas was stress free and I must say I enjoyed it more.  

There was no worrying about how much food to buy, preparing and cooking the food, making salads and cooking desserts.  All we had to worry about was getting the presents wrapped and making sure I got the calendars finished.  Easy peasy!!!!

On Christmas Eve we went down to Christies Beach and had a wonderful visit with Katie, Kahra and Darrin.  

Katie was more than spoilt with her presents.  They included a Port Power top, One Direction pyjamas, Justin Bieber perfume, Hurley backpack, water speakers, IPhone 5 cover, One Direction canvas, a smaller version perfume and a Hurley hoodie plus more.

We ended up going to get fish and chips and taking it down to the park where we ate it.  It was a beautiful evening and after dinner Katie thought she might like to go for a swim.

So down to the water we went.  Katie didn't swim, she just played at the water's edge after Darrin told her that the sharks would eat her if she went in.  She wanted to go further around the beach to where the Life Saving Club was and there would be more people.  Her theory was that if a shark came she wouldn't be the only one to get eaten....lol.

On Christmas morning Tony and I even got a little sleep in.  Tony got me the perfect present for Christmas.  On my behalf, he adopted a lion club.  For this I received a cute lion and a certificate.  The Adelaide and Monarto Zoos were having a promotion and as there is not much that I need we thought that was a good idea to help out the Zoo.

Robyn and Bob came around just after 10.30 and we headed off to Christmas lunch at the Watermark Hotel at Glenelg.  This year they had a lot more people than last year and so it was quite crowded.  The waitress said that they had in around 360 people.

It was a fantastic lunch and of course we all ate way too much.  The Hotel has a smorgasboard and so there is everything........prawns, oysters, crabs, mussels, baked fish, turkey, hams, chicken, cold meats, salads, roast vegies, pizzas, lamb, beef, as well as an assortment of Chinese dishes (my favourite being the pandang chicken and chilli lime prawn skewers).  They have a huge range of desserts plus all the petit four cakes and slices.

Father Christmas came with gifts for all the children there and the adults were each given a little basket that we could fill with the cakes, biscuits, slices, chocolates and lollies to take home.  Robyn and I also got a table centre piece each.

After leaving the hotel at around 3.30pm we came back into the city and went and had a coffee.  The day ended up being warmer than the predicted forecast so we all opted for cold iced coffees.

Tony and I had nothing to eat for tea, we were still so full from lunch.  The evening was spent in front of the TV.

This morning we were woken rather early by the workmen who have come to replace the timbers etc in our courtyard.  It is going to be another warm day and so they wanted to get an early start.

I'm going to have a relatively lazy day today.  It's such a long build up to Christmas and then it's over with leaving you feeling flat the following day.  Maybe tomorrow I can be more productive.

Merry Christmas!

Wednesday 25th December, 2013

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and I hope you all have the most wonderful day with your family and friends.

These Temperatures Are Beyond HOT!!!!!

Tuesday 24th December, 2013

I know I am like a broken record but where does the time go?  This post was supposed to be have been done last Friday but I think I lost a couple of days because I don't know what happened.  Have I been in a coma?  Nope, just that we have been sooo busy.

Now it's Christmas Eve and we will be heading off shortly to Christies Beach to have some Christmas time with Katie, Kahra and Darrin.  The plan is to go to the park and have a Christmas picnic tea.  

Anyway this is what was supposed to have been put on my blog last week....

Friday 20th December, 2013

YIKES!!!! we are melting here!!  The temperature yesterday got to 43.4C (109.4F) and it was our hottest December day in
82 years.  On Wednesday we reached 41C (105.8F) and we had some bushfires, luckily only some bush was burnt.  Today the temperature is still around 40C but we are expecting a cool change some time this afternoon/early evening.

I get so annoyed when I hear about the elderly who end up with heat related illness.  Apparently they are too scared to turn their air conditioners on as they don't want to pay the high electricity costs.  What is the better option......a few extra dollars on your electricity account or possible death?  I know a lot of the elderly go to the shopping centres and take advantage of the coolness there but they still have to travel in the heat to get there as most of them use public transport.

Last night we ended up going back to Lobethal with Robyn and Bob to see the lights.  I also wanted to see the live nativity.  While driving out to Robyn's place around 6.00pm the temperature reached 47C outside the car.  The heat yesterday was oppressive.

It was a bit early for the live nativity and so we went and had pancakes and strawberries.  They were delicious!

After the live nativity we took a drive around the town to look at some of the houses that weren't lit up when we brought the girls up here a fortnight ago.  One house, that we had to walk through had some 50,000 lights.  It was totally awesome!!!

By the time we got back home it was well after midnight. 

This morning Jodi, Tori and Taylor showed up as Jodi wanted to give the baby his first bath here (for some reason). 
Many years ago whenever we babysat Tori as a baby, I would bath her in the kitchen sink as I had no baby bath.  I think Jodi wanted to do this for Jay-Tee just like I did for his mother.

As I had an appointment to have my nails done and Jodi showed up an hour later than what she said they would be here, it was a quick visit by them.  Jay-Tee loved his bath though.

Christmas is only a few days away now and I will be so glad when it's over.  For some reason, this year we have been busier than in past years.  I need a rest or even better a holiday!!!

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!

Busy Times....part 1

Sunday 15th December, 2013

Hey folks I am still here. I haven't fallen off the twig.....not yet anyway.  We have been fairly busy the past couple of weeks and I'm still adjusting to Tony being home.  We always find we have somewhere to go most days.  Hopefully this will quieten down after Christmas.  

Last weekend Katie came to stay for the weekend.  Taylor also came to stay.....it was only the second time they had seen each other this year.  I have not seen much of Jodi, Taylor, Tori or Tanecia this year.  Jodi has been going through some turmoil in her life and has not had much contact with us.

A few weeks ago Jodi, Tori and Taylor came around.  It was a surprise to see them all.  Tori's baby is due towards the end of this month.  Taylor asked if she could come to stay the next time Katie came over and so when Katie said that she would come for the weekend, Taylor was excited.

On Friday night we went down to Sellick's Beach where Katie was doing her final grading for the year for Karate.  She excelled at it and is now a purple belt.  I think she has four more belts to complete in the juniors and then progresses to the adults.  If she continues the way she is going then in about 3-4 years she will be a black belt.

On Saturday morning we were up early as we had to go and pick Taylor up.  We were going to go into the city and to the Magic Cave to take the girls to see Father Christmas.  It was the first time Taylor had ever been in there.

This year David Jones made it so much easier to see Father Christmas.  Instead of lining up and waiting for ages they took your mobile phone number and sent a text message when it was time for you to see him.  This way you could go about and do some shopping or browsing while waiting.  When we got our text message we only had to line up for about 10 minutes which was good.

Both the girls asked Father Christmas for the same things....a Port Power top, a Hurley Tshirt , Vans sneakers and some makeup.  Santa said that he couldn't promise them everything but they replied,  "we don't care, we will be happy with whatever you bring us".  Father Christmas was most impressed with them but he did call them scallywags as they were laughing and joking with him. He seemed to really enjoy their visit.

With that finished we went off to have some lunch.  The test match cricket between England and Australia was being played at Adelaide Oval and it was the first official game there after the redevelopment of the oval.  A bridge has also been built over the River Torrens to make it easier for the crowds to access the oval. The bridge was opened for the cricket supporters but has not been completed.

We decided to take a walk across the bridge to the oval.  There were also hundreds of English supporters out and about.  Whenever these two countries play each other in Test matches they play for the Ashes.  It started out back in the late 1800's when England and Australia played each other and the bails were burnt and the ashes put into a small urn.  This is the most coveted prize in cricket today.

Australia toured England earlier this year and after playing five tests England won the Ashes.  Now England is over here playing and hoping to keep the Ashes but currently Australia is 2 nil up.  They play a total of 5 Test matches. They are playing in Perth presently and it looks as if Australia may win this match too.  If they do then we will get back the Ashes.   Australia last won the Ashes in 2006/07.  This is the only time that Test match cricket is of any interest to me.  Love beating the Poms.

                                                                                          courtesy Getty images

                                                               

After walking across the bridge and back we went in search of a cafe.  It was a very warm day and we all needed a drink.  The girls were complaining of being hot and tired.  After our drinks we went back to the car and home. 

I thought that the "Lights of Lobethal" were being switched on in the evening and so after dinner we took a drive up there.  Lobethal is a small town in the Adelaide Hills and nearly all of the residents have lights either on their houses or in their gardens.  Being situated in a valley when you first see the town it looks like "Fairyland".

We drove around several of the streets, not all of the houses were lit up.  I found out later that the lights were actually being turned on the following evening.  The girls still had fun wishing the people "Merry Christmas" and we got to see quite a few of the houses decorated.  The girls fell asleep in the car on the way home, much to our relief.  

I am going to have to split this post in two.  It has taken me nearly a week just to type this much.