Now is the time to say goodbye

 Off to the airport in a little while but thought I should share some Christmas with you.

note spekky pruning gloves from Rosa Norte

There's nothing a Bunna Babe enjoys more than a bit of wood chipping at Christmas.

Steve contemplates Christmas Dinner.

It's been an unusual year.

Apres chipping, a girl's gotta eat.

Now the sad bit.  Jill PD's favourite car in all the world left in the Council carpark because Mel doesn't work there anymore.  And nor do I.  Opened the Gatehouse for the final time this morning.

Even the garden looks a bit wistful to me - doubtless in the eye of the beholder.  It's between seasons.

I can't wait to get back and see what happens next.

I'm also starting to think of Adelaide delights...

More adventures

The lead up to Christmas has been wonderful for me.  Lots of little 'end of year celebrations'.  Last Saturday was the Summer Solstice Swim at Raspins Beach with all funds going to the Spring Bay Suicide Prevention Network.

Dot and I emerging triumphant from our swim

this way please for the Covid compliance

working up the courage

bolder and bolder

very brave

judging the fancy dress

What a sterling bunch.  Talking of which we raised $416.35 and had a great time.  I'm even thinking of joining the 9am Sunday Swim group next year.  The afternoon was devoted to sushi at Little Swanport.  Then I hit the wall and was catatonic until Monday, even missing the last Village Market of the year, though I did manage the Van Diemen's Band Christmas Carols at the Mill on Sunday afternoon.

Monday was the last day of my goody commitments.  I had to drive to Swansea to bank the money the School Association raised with its Christmas Raffle.  So I made the most of it with a peruse of the shops and a meal at Salt Shaker.  I was hoping to go to Tellers, a former bank and now a restaurant but, of course, it was closed on Mondays.  I've eaten at the Salt Shaker before on a road trip with Their Majesties and Mrs O Henry.  It was good then and it was good on Monday.  It's easy to get quality fish and chips on the East Coast but fish cooked any other way is elusive.  Above is salt & pepper squid with a salad of blueberries, broccoli and unidentified delicious stuff.  Also a glass of Kelvedon sauv blanc which was excellent.  I passed the Kelvedon vines on the way home.  That's the sort of thing I love about living here.

Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to deck Swansea for Christmas.  This one amused me, not knowing whether or not the allusion to a snowman was intentional.  In addition to the usual painted cut out decorations, there was a lot of yarn bombing.  I must say Swansea radiated far more Christmas spirit than Triabunna, where I can't think of any public Christmas displays.  Sadly our Council has fallen into disarray.

I dropped into Salt Works on the way home just because it is always so calm and beautiful.  I took lots of photos of landing pelicans and congregations of shorebirds but they (the photos) were really not up to scratch.

Monday evening it was off to the church grounds to collect Wallaby Grass seed  for the Pulchella Community Nursery LandCare Group.

Could anything be more idyllic?

Advent(ures)

My friend, Rob, told me about a beautiful patch of grassland behind the Anglican Church.  It is the best stand of kangaroo grass (may be wallaby grass) that we know of and it is dotted with many native wildflowers and orchids.  The Friends of Triabunna Reserves took a stroll there last Wednesday evening.

Rob found this beautiful nest on the ground.  It is like a fairy bower.

Some of the grass and tiny wildflowers

Today I went to the church for its advertised Story of Christmas and carol singing.  It was beautifully decked out and we waited anxiously for the parishioners to amble in.  The church only holds services periodically so the fear was that the flock had forgotten.  Naturally it brought The Vicar of Dibley to mind, particularly because the preacher is a woman.  In fact the whole show was run by women, and it was the first time I've been to a Christmas service where the running around, present hunting, shopping, cooking and preparation for Christmas was mentioned.

Last Thursday, His Majesty took Her Majesty, Mrs O Henry and I for a roadtrip to Oatlands via a circuitous route which had us driving around Lake Dulverton.  This proved very beautiful and I especially liked this paddling cow, very reminiscent of buffalo cooling down after a hard day's work in Vietnam.

the cow in situ

I am struggling to complete all the library books I put holds on.  The Song of the Crocodile took me right back to Wentworth and the lives of some of the Aboriginal women I worked with.  A different world.

This one is a bold attempt to tell Australian history from a different perspective.

And this is where I may go when my Gatehouse Officer job finishes on Boxing Day.  Though first I will fly to Adelaide for a cuppla weeks with Mum.

a lull with 15 minutes of fame

Monday before last took me on a short trip up the road to Pontypool with Her Majesty and Mrs O Henry.  Our destination was the newest cafe on the block.  Justine was a long serving Teacher's Aide at Triabunna School.  She retired recently and has set up shop with her daughter.  It is very nicely done but oh how I would love a change from coffee and cake or fish and chips.

Something like this.  Prawn Thai salad.  Delicious, full of prawns and only $17 at the fish punt in Bellerive.  We have moved on now to last Thursday.  I can't remember much of the intervening days apart from a meeting at Spring Bay Mill, 2 school lunch preps, and the wake for the lovely Kath, aged 93 and former tai chi participant with us.  She was one of the most perfect people I have ever met.

I was in Bellerive for a 7pm celebration of Bellerive Historical Society's 30 years.

Note The Floosie's former abode, Glenfield, on the top of the rise.

Rachel and Fred provided great fun music with a few historical barbs

Covid restrictions meant that supper was meagre.  The bar was open but I was too scared to have a drink because I was there to launch a book, Magical Memories, by the Society's Patron and prolific book producer.  That is his bike propped against the stage - a relic from his days as Bellerive's Telegram Boy.

As it turned out, I was also there to receive an award, timber on sandstone which I thought was a nice touch.  Above you can see more of the night's stash: a packet of tiny scotch finger biscuits from supper, and a huge jar of ginger from a recently opened tiny Indian / Sri Lankan supermarket in Bellerive.  It was a long drive home in the dark, crawling along to avoid any animals.  Fortunately the only wildlife I saw was a rabbit hurtling across the road ahead of me, with plenty of time to spare.