Christmassyish

Christmas certainly isn't what it was.  All that angst and all those hours spent visiting people you should.  Not to mention the time and money spent buying presents for the sake of it.  We don't do any of that now.

Mum and I dancing in the kitchen at 16 Ramsay, Christmas 1973?

Mum in the  nursing home, Christmas Day 2021

Mum taking the mickey out of my tai chi sometime in the '70s.

Dad fishing in the background, Marion Bay, Tasmania.

Mum looking sparky, Proclamation Day (28th December) 2021

We had Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve.  Georgia (Steve's daughter) and Ella (her daughter) came to dinner.  It is lovely having them live just up the road.  We had ham, turkey, etc and then a vegan Xmas pudding that Georgia created.

flaming the inaugural vegan Chrissy pud

The pudding was delicious, reminiscent of the Xmas pudding I used to make that my Dad called Sultana Splodge.  I like a moist pudding, heavy with fruit and spice.  And that was it.  Georgia and Ella joined the rest of the adult children in Hobart for Christmas, and Steve and I did nothing for 2 days.  Heaven.

A young couple with a baby camped in a tent next door.  This was rather lovely and created the spirit of Christmas.

Fried Mother Board, and other recipes for Christmas success

 I haven't been able to blog for a while, and this is why.

Somehow I left the kitchen tap running.  Washing the kitchen floor had been on my agenda (for quite a while) and so it came to pass.  Unfortunately the water running over the kitchen bench shorted the the laptop.  Naturally this resulted in a 'fried motherboard', which seems to be the outcome of any personal computer incident.  And of course this necessitated buying a new computer.  So here I am learning the ropes...

There has been other excitement around the traps.

 the new building for Grades 11 & 12 gets lifted in to the school

 the removal of the fence at Sommai's gets us in a frenzy that a new cafe may open in the new year

the zumba Christmas celebration comes to a close and it's still before noon

Van Diemen's Band carols at The Mill has become my real Christmas event

the following evening there are carols at Our Park in Orford with  Maria Voices, a group of  people who just like to get together to sing

not forgetting that some houses have done us proud

And I have done some reading, mostly Aboriginal history and native plant gardening, but also these novels starring Josephine Tey as the detective.  Not my favourite murder mysteries by a long way but a rollicking good read with some history thrown in.

Have yourselves a Merry little Christmas.  Georgia and, possibly, Ella, are coming for ham, mince pies and bubbly tonight.   Then we will be left in splendid isolation.

Amazing alacrity

(Perhaps I should re-visit the alphabet series from 2019??  Possibly with alliteration?)

the Christmas decorations are up

hopefully they'll withstand the rain

Saturday was the Suicide Prevention Network's Memorial Service.  The weather kept us on our toes.  It was wet and windy as we put up the tents and put out the seats.

Sunny but gusty as the ceremony progressed.  We had the Maria Voices singing for us this year with a magpie carolling along

and (look carefully) this bird happy to just watch  proceedings.

We moved en masse to the beach where, to everyone's surprise, the sand was warm.

We had plenty of rose petals for people to scatter in remembrance of loved ones,

with some ashes scattered too.

It all went beautifully and network members repaired to Wattle Banks cafe to congratulate ourselves.

Sunday it was back to Spring Beach but for a 9 o'clock swim and then an abundant breakfast at the aptly named house 'Camelot', starting with a tot of Baileys.

The only photo I took was of these gorgeous sandals, which turned out to be Crocs.  And now I have to hunt some down,

Time and Truth

 In the absence of any better idea, I'm relying on the title of a concert I went to nearly 2 weeks ago.  I can't believe my last blog post was so long ago.  The time has been spent very pleasantly.

This was a long production and a little disappointing.  It is a moral but not religious work, and I feel that the cathedral was not the right venue.  As you can see, Mrs O Henry and I were towards the back and couldn't see the action.  This isn't ordinarily a problem when its just choir and orchestra because the acoustics are fabulous, but this show was a little operatic with interplay among the 5 soloists (Beauty, Pleasure, Deceit, Time and Counsel) that it would have been nice to be able to see.  We could occasionally glimpse His and Her Majesties singing their hearts out, but Jackie Bear and the sopranos were totally invisible.  On the other hand, it was Hobart's St David's Cathedral and I do love being there.

As we walked back to the car, we decided to venture into The Hanging Gardens.  What a revelation!  This is a bar / eating space behind stores on the major shopping streets.  On a Sunday afternoon it had the atmosphere of the beer gardens in English pubs.  Because there is no street frontage, children and dogs roamed freely.  Most of the patrons were clusters of young parents.  Music boomed out and Mrs O and I were totally enthralled, though feeling a little ancient.  Rumour has it that it has a darker vibe at night but it was just the revitalising BOOM that we needed for the drive back to Bunna.

There has been rain, and my garden has been beautiful though over run with weeds.

The Englishy bit of the garden that was to be re-located this year has stayed in situ and, of course, has flourished.

foxgloves the best they've ever been

the view from  my bed

I have also become a domestic goddess.  The school lunch program is currently on hold so I have turned my talents to mince pie making.  Sadly I have just read on the Robertson's Fruit Mince jar that there are 56gms of sugar for every 100gms of fruit mince.  Alarming because I've become addicted to mince pies and a glass of bubbly.  Georgia, Oscar, Remi, Kit and I had a Thanksgiving dinner at Georgia's which was rather wonderful.  It was my first, but Georgia and Co spent many years in The States and knew what to do.  We did break with tradition, having sage-wrapped chicken instead of a turkey, roast vegies including broad beans, spanokopita and rhubarb crumble (no oats).  We tried to use as much garden produce as possible.  And we had mince pies and bubbly...  I was too busy being grateful and convivial to take photos.

During this period of domesticity and heightened sensibility from the arty types who surround me, I have become aware of pleasing everyday images, like an empty cup, saucer and plate on the deck.  It really is quite exhausting.

And here I am turning my hand to elderflower ice-cream, first making a syrup.  It looks very pretty but I think the honey will overwhelm the flowers.

I'm not finding much time for reading, though I am still engrossed in the Habitat book and learning all the time.  I decided to just read frivolity for a while, indulging in a Liane Moriarty and the Marion von Adlerstein above.  MvA was the travel writer for Vogue and I am grateful to her for suggesting always packing some black underwear when you travel so that you never miss out on an opportunity to swim, and the concept of rolling instead of flat packing clothes.  Invaluable advice.  The Freudian Slip is a very snobby read but wonderful fun, and the Truth newspaper has a role to play.

Home truths

Firstly, I said I went to Adelaide but this is not, strictly speaking, true.  I arrived at Adelaide Airport.  The Pearl drove me to West Beach, and after that I ricocheted between West Beach and Christies Beach.  I didn't go into the city of Adelaide at all.  And Klemzig is becoming a distant memory...

Back home, the garden had got on splendidly without me.

the Luisa Augusta being splendid

The plan is for the Luisa Augusta to grow up to the louvres on the shed while the Angel Face (in training on the left) smothers the shed.  It is a plan in progress.  It is also the view from the bathroom.

On my first Sunday back, Georgia went for an early swim at Spring Beach.  Jill PD and I met her a little later and we walked from Spring to Stapleton Beach along the cliff tops.

looking back to Springy

Stapleton

old boat winch at Stapleton

a glimpse of Maria from Stapleton

These photos were useful.  Somehow I lost my car keys.  I could use the photos to more or less retrace my steps.  To no avail, though.  The tide may have taken them by the time I returned to look for them.

Last Saturday was the biennial Flower and Craft Show which raises money for the Triabunna School.  I had helped with the setting up on the Friday in my role as treasurer and trotted along on Saturday morning to see if any help was needed.

All was in place.

And some of Her Majesty's entries were in First Place, of course.

My friend Rob had told me that the Ada Street Reserve was looking a picture with wildflowers so Georgia, Jill PD and I took a stroll.

I couldn't do the flowers justice with my photos. I have never seen so many different ones but you have to scan the ground.  Tasmanian wildflowers are so demure!

I had to return to the flower show to collect Her Majesty's, their Majesties being otherwise engaged.

So briefly, the winning blooms festooned my back doorway.

Most fortuitously, Rob also returned the two books The Floosie had given me for my birthday.  I was overloaded with books at the time but now is perfect timing.  The further development of my wildlife garden is very much on my mind as I clear away the dying spring annuals.  I'm reading this book cover to cover.  Just reading it conveys the sense of sitting comfortably in the garden in the knowledge that thousands of other life forms are with you.

Monday was another winning day.  I met Madam Cyn for lunch at The Waterfront, formerly The Clarence Hotel.

There was snow on the mountain and a new jetty which I presume is for the new ferry service.

But, best of all, T Bone Steak on the menu.  I have waited years for them to become pub food again.  It was cooked to perfection.