Xmas day and a new pony

December 29.12. 2013

Wow, the year is nearly over. 2013 has been a difficult year and I am happy to see it end, surely things must go better next year. Al and Pip are having a hard time in the UK with terrible weather and my mum fading before their eyes. Perhaps they will realise how lucky we are in Australia despite iffy leadership and natural hazards.  One good thing already is that the new pope seems to be putting out an up to date message that heads away from fundamental beliefs. We seem to have a lot of Catholic relatives and friends who I suspect will be pleased.  

Christmas day was hot. My eldest grand daughter arrived early and caught the pony that Bo had hidden here. We put it in the house entrance where we store wood behind the bulrush gates Justin made. You had to look straight at it to get into the house but all three grandkids failed to see it when they arrived looking for the big present Santa had promised them! Bo had to call them back to look again!  The youngest aged 5 cracked us all up with laughter when she exclaimed 

” I didn’t know Santa made horses”!

Bo has started teaching all three kids to ride and so far the pony, Charlotte, has been very good. She is a bit small for the eldest boy but that is probably good at this stage.

We are gradually sorting out all the Xmas food. I have boiled up the turkey bones for dog food and made jam from fruit I turned out of the freezer to make room for the sliced turkey to go in. We are still making cheese several times a week too, so I have still not had enough time to sort the garden out. This is the first year that the zucchinis have not grown well. It has been quite wet and cold and even the grass is still green.

Yesterday was Edd’s birthday so we had a day off and went to the beach at Phillip Island. This seems to be the way we celebrate every year. This time it was just Edd and I so we dined out at the restaurant on top of the cliffs where the shear water birds come in at night. We shared a lobster and really enjoyed ourselves. Bo and JJ had done all the animals when we got home so the day was a real treat.

Next week my adopted son is off to the UK to meet his birth siblings. Yesterday I printed out lots of photos from our albums to send with him and put them together into a folder. He came over in the evening with a birthday gift for Edd. It is all an enormous step for him but I cannot think of much to do to make it easier.