Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 15 December 2019

HAPPY NEW WEEK!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! 

  • OG – The current church I attend does not  have a food collection nor a tree with gift card suggestions. Many do, as well as some supermarkets. Yesterday was the delivery day for the Smith family charity. Last Sunday was the Motorcycle Riders Toy Run. They gather at Victoria Park in City, ride through Hills 60 km to Callington where their donations of toys are collected for Vinnies charity. It is quite a sight to see bikies dressed as FC, bikes laden with big teddies, etc.

    HEATHER – Send Callum here; my car needs a wash! OH will stay home this week. I am already planning cold meals or quick-heat-in-toaster-oven meals for evening. For lunch there will be salad roll or poached eggs or the last single soup in freezer, oh dear 2 more, maybe tomato sandwiches. Friday’s temp upped to 44 C. I hope they are wrong.

    ALL – I only busied myself wrapping gifts early because Dau & Appendages are coming here next Sunday for Xmas lunch. I shall be doing as little as possible this week.

  • AQ:  OZ fires and smoke pollution on the news again tonight.  :-(

    Busy sort of day here with family and friend phone calls, but did manage to dig out a dead rockrose.  Our garden is growing bare spots....  Oh well.

    Have a good Monday everyone.

  • LINDA - welcome home. I hope you succeed in sending that post about your weekend.

    AQ - sorry about the heat and difficulty thinking of cold or quick meals. Our church has a permanent box to collect staple foods all year around - so sad that food banks have become a necessity here

    ANNETTE - we had a long call from Dau#1 on Saturday - both girls were visiting home, so they had discussed a Christmas visit to us - will be 29th December. Will try to book lunch out and they can share in leftovers for tea - not as bad as it sounds, just things in the freezer which haven't already gone!

    Hairdresser early afternoon today for both of us - will be glad to be tidy!
  • Hello! We're back home after another long day!

    Had a super family visit, and then today drove home via a visit to my cousin, who lives only a half hour from our Eldest. We had a coffee & biscuit, together with a good chat with her, then set off heading northwards - at first, I was saying "How lucky we are to be getting this weather" but soon changed my tune, as eventually the beautiful blue skies disappeared and it began to go grey. By the time we had gone less than a quarter of the way, it was raining hard and it was grim for the rest of the trip home. :-(

    Bonnie ecstatic to see us, of course. The house is freezing cold (will send you some of it, AQ...) as my OH had announced as we left that we didn't need to leave the heating on in the background. Big mistake, it's got totally chilly and even the cutlery in the kitchen drawers feels cold to the touch! Put the heating on and a full two hours later it was still only 12 degrees in the kitchen.

  • The above was most of what I tried to post last night. More about our weekend, later.

    Today began bright and cheery, so we wrapped ourselves up and went off to find a Christmas tree. At the garden nursery where we found what we liked, The Man had gone off out "on an emergency" said the girl trying to serve everyone. So she didn't know how to wrap the tree in the machine they have, ready for taking home.

    My OH said, "Never mind, our car is big enough" and went off to open the boot. When we got home, he looked embarrassed. He had flung down the rear seats to make room without looking at the shopping I had put there. We now had a flat box of six mince pies!

  • LINDY - Heat them and serve with custard and have a warming pudding!
    It has been snowing here, I'm happy that I went shopping and got back home before it started.

  • Morning all: Looks like we'll be in for another change in weather come Christmas week with rain forecast, which would be nice and cozy making.  :-)

    OG:  Lunch out and leftovers sound fine - nothing for you to do but enjoy the visit.  OH and I are still in a holding pattern as to who may show up when - or even if - for the days after Christmas, but that's fine too.  I also have some out-of-town friends who've signaled that they'd like to get together in the New Year.

    Lindybird:  Glad the family visit was a great success and don't worry,  I'll take those squished mince pies off your hands.

    AQ: My granddaughter (a sheriff) and her colleagues all sponsored "shop with a cop" on Saturday, which involved taking kiddies from foster homes and child protective services on a parade through town (flashing lights, sirens, etc., etc.) to a place where a police helicopter delivered Santa Claus who dispensed a gift certificate to each child who was then escorted (by a sheriff) to the huge Walmart to buy gifts, etc.  (That was a long sentence!)  GD loves stuff like that; I think she ought to be teaching or somehow involved in child care or development....  

    We have a busy week ahead - not festivities - just appointments, etc.  I'm also going to explore volunteering opportunities for next year.  We still haven't heard from the group taking over the Gray Whale Count as to their plans for that. If we don't hear by mid-January, I'll have to e-mail Mike (now-retired-founder) to see what he knows...

    Meanwhile, I've just finished reading John Le Carre's latest book, Agent Running in the Field.  I enjoy his books even though they explore the dark workings of various governments (well he was a spy after all).  However, this one is so depressingly current, featuring all our favorite idiots, that it could have been written last week!   I may be forced to get The Sound of Music from the library as an antidote.  :-)

    Off to sort out my humble corner of the world.

  • Good haircuts - won't see her again till 20th January! She and I discussed whether we might have lost our Christmas weight by then!

    Baked some mince pies Sunday afternoon - pastry was much too thick - can't get OH to roll it lightly - he tries to squash in into submission and it is so dense. Just about edible! Will try again when there is time. We are also still struggling with settings on our new oven, so I am dreading trying to cook my fatless sponge for chocolate log!

    Just booked a Sunday lunch for family on 29th. Also booked my optician check-up which is 23rd - apparently not many people want that date, but OH would be going into town anyway to collect Turkey Breast from Butcher, so I was happy to accept - still need to work out how he can get me in the door with the wheelchair!
  • Everyone sounds so busy - I am glad I am at work and out of the crowds. Ive got the hairdressers on Sat 9am and I may try and go to 6pm Mass on Sat but I have such problems driving in the dark since having both cataracts done. That would leave Sunday for food shopping. Failing that I will have to go after work on 23rd.

    Been reading about the fires and heat in Australia and how a young boy was home alone with the dog when the fires got close,  and he got out by driving the family truck. His Dad told him where to go but he got a bit lost then was found by fire fighters and reunited with his family. So I hope AQ and family are ok and keeping cool - its just unimaginable.

    Everyone else - stay warm, cold, dry, wet - whichever is applicable but most of all stay safe!

  • OG - Takes me back to my Mum teaching me to cook - ' you need a light hand to make good pastry, don't bang it, use the rolling pin gently!'. Oh, the memories....