Post Christmas...

I am grumpily posting. Have a thumping headache, so not really in the right frame of mind to write anything noteworthy.. but anyways....
Christmas Day here on the beach was nice, well, nice indoors.. as we were receiving a bit of a walloping from the cyclone in the south. All of the beaches down the coast had to be closed due to the rough seas and all the erosion those said rough seas were creating. Saw some spectacular waves from our balcony though, of a size I'd never seen before.
After we opened our presents my parents arrived and we all stuffed ourselves with yummy lunch. We had home made potato salad, pasta salad, roast chicken, roast pork, smoked ham, Greek salad...washed down with lots of champagne..no wait that was just me... For desert I made a fiendishly yummy Cherry and White Chocolate Pavlova, with a cherry reduction sauce.  After my parents left we were going to go for the traditional Christmas Day Nanna Nap.. but ten minutes later Hubby's Dad and his GF arrived and we had to do it all over again.. especially the champagne and the pavlova. Couldn't let the Champagne go to waste no could I?...
Love my pressies. The recipe book I wanted, full of yummy macaroons, and chocolates and pastries.. and a little craft caddy filled with lollies. And Mum bought me a Terry's Chocolate Orange because she knows how much I love them :) Hubby's Dad gave us his traditional "card with money" gift :)  All in all it was a nice Christmas and Hubby got his wish of hosting. I was happy for him :)

MF this year..

Craft caddy from my son :)

recipe book from Hubby :)

Yummies made by me! those little tarts are white chocolate ganache tarts.

Cookie tree. Did NOT like the recipe on the box.. See the Karate Bread men?  I made them for my son...lol..

Cherry and White Chocolate Pavlova

with a cherry sauce reduction... mmmmm....

Jewel White...YUM! (I'd already drank the Pink..hehehe)

My Dads beer.. BROO! LOL!

So if your Post Christmas Day sales are anything like ours, you know what I mean when I say the shops were crazy busy! I went to my art shop and finally bought myself another easel. It's not the big free standing one I would have liked, because it would have been impractical in our apartment. I got instead the French Box easel I wanted.. a nice Winsor and Newton one for only $129, with three FREE canvas's. Artutopia! I also picked up a marked down "Do it Yourself" advent calendar. Which I will work on when I find the rest of my craft supplies..which means..yes..another trip into the garage..... 

ready to carry anywhere!

I shall call this post.. "Boob Tag"

So the apartment across the hall from us has been vacant for quite a while. But now, suddenly, it is occupied. We have no idea when these people moved in, having not seen any moving trucks of any sort. I can only surmise that either A) they moved in while we were out or B) they magically teleported all their furniture in or C) they are minimalists and have no furniture.  I am leaning towards B. Anyway..they are spookily quite neighbours...

I am finally able to come off the steroids. But because it is dangerous to just stop them, it is going to take a very long six weeks to gradually cut down the dose. I can’t wait to be finally rid of them. Although they sort of fixed that latest attack on my eye, being on steroids really isn’t pleasant. They messed up a whole lot of other things. WOMAN things in particular...

I have a skin tag. You know those annoying little random bits of skin that usually you ignore, or tie a piece of thread around and wait till they just drop off? OK, this one is on my right boob. Yes, that’s what I said. Boob. Anyway, I have no idea what happened to it yesterday but it blew up to the size of a pea and had all this ewwy clear stuff coming out of it. Hubby wanted to cut it off.. I was a big sookie la la so instead he tied dental floss around it, in an attempt to starve it of blood and kill it. I know it sounds funny, and hey it kind of is but it’s also kind of disturbing... It reminds me of that baby growing on that monster in Hell Boy 2 that says..”I’m not a baby, I’m a tumour..”

The other day, after my appointment in the city we arrived home after dark and I discovered that the huge apartment block around the corner from us really gets in the Christmas spirit. Almost every balcony is decorated with a light display. So I am going to go round there some time and attempt to take some pictures for you. Our whole neighbourhood looks like one big twinkling tree. It’s so pretty. My son and I are going down to the local Carols tonight and there is a fireworks display on the beach at 8:30, so I will attempt to take some fireworky pics as well.

ooo..!!Hubby is back from the garage... time to decorate MY balcony!!

Later...

OK.. so half the lights I thought I had, I forgot I’d sold them at our last garage sale....  So instead I have just two lots of fairy lights wrapped around the rail on the balcony. A bit puny compared to others round the neighbourhood, but the intention is still there.. :)

M**er F**er, the Christmas Tree.

Some years, I try to get into the Christmas mood.  I put on some carols and haul out my tree and decorations and have at it while belting out carols with gusto.

Sometimes though.... 

I fight with the tree who I have affectionately named M**er F**er, receiving a number of scrapes and booboos thanks to its wiry, slasher-like sticky out limbs and general un-cooperativeness. I always come out of it looking like I climbed into a bag full of angry cats. That’s also when I put on my “angry” music. Something like Offspring or Limp Bizkit...

Today is the first day of December and while Hubby isn’t interested in festive decorating, he IS a stickler for so-called rules and insists that the tree be put up. Today. So I am off, down to the garage to collect said evil MF tree and decoration box.

One thing I can say is that no Christmas for the past six years has ever been the same. Given that I have been living in a new home each time. I have loved the challenge of figuring out where the MF tree will go, and the lights and other christmasy things I like to put out. This year we are a little short on room, but our dining/lounge room opens out onto our balcony with huge glass doors, so I am thinking of putting the tree right at the front, and given that we are high up, the whole neighbourhood will be able to see our tree in all its sparkling, multicoloured twinkling glory. 

MF last year..