Holiday madness....

Goodness gracious, I just did not think I was ever going to get over here and post something. I mean with all of the presents that had to be bought, putting up a tree, decorating the rest of the house including lights on the outside and to top it off baking a few dozen Christmas cookies, I just have not stopped. Hell who am I trying to kid? I'm lucky I got the tree up period the way I have been feeling. I knew you would never buy this lame ass excuse for not posting but I still had to try.

There's not much holiday madness going on around this house this year. I'm guessing that it could be the same in many houses. Times are tough. I know that the US has a new President (elect) and we have a new Prime Minister here in Australia and hopefully soon things will start to change but that will take time. The economy will take even longer probably, based on what I hear it will be at least two years before things start looking better in that department. It's just really hard to get all revved up into the holiday madness.

I know that some people unfortunately feel this way every year. The thing is, I'm not usually one of them. I love Christmas. I love the tree, the ornaments, the lights both inside and outside the house, the music and all of the baking that goes with Christmas not just the cookies. Did you notice I didn't add present to that list? You see presents aren't the key to this season. Now don't get me wrong I like getting gifts as much as the next person and I like giving them even more but to be honest it's the wrapping paper that excites me more than what is inside the box. I know I'm pathetic but it's true and that will be the way I'll always feel. That is if I can get the holiday spirit back.

I lost it a two years ago after my dad passed away but then I thought to myself "What would dad want you to do?" and sure enough I knew that he would want me to get on with Christmas like I had always done. That included the tree and decorating the house inside and out. The economy is/was still tight so not so much wrapping of presents but hey what's wrong with filling a few empty gift bags with paper and setting them under the tree and/or wrapping a few empty boxes to at least make it look festive. At least that one present I can afford doesn't look so lonely.

In the end I tried back then and that's what I have to do now. I won't be baking as there aren't enough people around here to eat it all and personally I need to lose some weight. There won't be any lights outside because it is summer here in Australia and because of that it stays light outside until nearly ten o'clock so by that time it will be almost time to go to bed and I can't afford to leave the lights on all night. So the best the outside will get is a nice wreath for the door, which it has. The tree has gone up but it only made it up a few days ago, none the less it is up. As for the presents, well as I said a few strategically placed bags and boxes and that one present looks right at home.

All in all it's going to be just fine. I always told/tell my mum that Christmas is not about all of the hype. It's about you and what's in your heart. To do all of the things I just talked about is great but you need to do it for the right reason and that is to do it first and foremost for yourself. You don't have to do it the way the world thinks you should with a tons of lights and presents etc. Just find the thing/s that make you smile inside, the rest will be a little easier. Don't beat yourself up if you can't bake any cookies or buy everyone a present. You'll stay thinner and save some money to pay the electric bill. So it's a winning proposition all the way around the way I see it. Like I said do what you need to do and the rest will just have to take care of itself or at least for this year.

(Just a note: Did I forget to mention that this will also be the 9th anniversary of my partners passing on the 21 December? That always plays a part in how I approach Christmas now a days)

What to do?????

We finally fly home tomorrow. I have been away from home for over month and I'm just a little home sick. A hell I'm a lot home sick. Anyway what I need to know from all of you my loyal readers is do I:

1) Catch up on all of the blogs I normally read and find out what is happening in your world

or

2) Do I type a big long post about my big adventure into hospital land for the third and lets pray the final time.

Anyway, you tell me and by the time I get home tomorrow and all settled in I'll know which way I should go. Either way I'll still spend time catching up on your world and try to leave some comments albeit they may be a few days late, but I'm sure you'll understand. See you soon...

Send in the clowns...

It's time to lighten things up around here. The last few posts have been a bit of a dippity downer so let's see if we can find little Miss Sunshine somewhere around here and let's see if we can spread a little of that sunshine around. I'm not sure how good I'll do at spreading the happy vibes if I can't find Little Miss S. to help me do such but I'll try. So here we go, something tells me this is going to be a long post full of random, and probably boring items of conversation but try to stay with me and I'll try to make it as painless as possible. Then again maybe I won't and maybe I'm making you suffer on purpose but that of course assumes you're willing to play along and that you will actually read the whole post. We may never know.

So, spring has definitely sprung here in Tassie and I must say this is a good thing. I've been cutting jonquils in all sorts of varieties to bring into the house. We have all different types. We have ones that are all white and then there are the ones that are yellow and yellow, yellow with white, yellow and orange, you get the picture. Now if you aren't getting a visual there will be pictures however they are coming in the next post so check back after this post to get said visuals. We don't have a lot of daffodils yet in fact there are only two so far and I hate to take them out of the garden so there they will stay. The large rhododendron in the back yard is in full swing and it is as beautiful as ever (pictures once again to follow). All of the rose bushes have new growth on them and I can't wait for their first blooms. We have grape hyacinths everywhere. I guess over the years different owners planted different gardens and over time bulbs have been left and not moved so we have these cute little plants showing up in odd places like in the middle of our lawn. It doesn't matter as I said they're cute and anything that wants to bloom will not be stopped by me.

We still have a little snow on the mountain but that's okay as it always looks nice up there. In fact I wouldn't mind if there was a bit of snow up there all year long. It would make the mountain look all that much better. I know the tourist would love it and tourist season is just around the corner. We have something like 50+ cruise ships that stop here each summer. They are usually part of a Australia, New Zealand circuit that runs all summer. The ships cross the Pacific as winter engulfs the northern hemisphere and they stay here until late February, March. It's great for tourism but after a while we start hating all of the extra people that invade the island. By the time March arrives all we want is for everyone that doesn't live here to please remove yourself.

Hubby is doing well. He has started his new semester at school. I'm really proud of him. It takes a lot of determination and drive to stay focused on his studies. It's tough for him because while he is studying he also has to deal with work, handle my emotional breakdowns and also make huge amounts of time for his mum during her time of need. My hubby is a real special person and I am a lucky man to have him.

Speaking of school, it seems that after my little meltdown the other night I have decided to try to focus on something new and different. I have contacted one of the local universities to enquire about enrolling in their distance education programs. I have decide that in light of my mental overload I might as well stretch myself to the max and I should go back to school. On a serious note I really think, that by starting back to school I will have a focus and I will also gain some of the challenge and feedback that I need to feel, as in a sense of accomplishment. I am thinking that I will be starting down the path of an Arts degree, exactly in what vein I'm not sure but one step at a time, one step at a time. Hubby supports me 100%.

Have I told you that the cat is still behaving him/her/it self. She/he/it has been mellow ever since we gave she/he/it the hormone shots. Now just recently she/he/it has been following a new pattern and I think that she/he/it is actually learning by command. She/he/it comes in for dinner each night around 4-5. I don't want she/he/it to go outside after dinner because she might get into a fight with other nighttime cats or even worse she could get meet up with the possum and that would be a disaster. So I don't let she/he/it out. The problem with that is that if I don't let her out she then expects me to allow her to sit in my lap and if I don't let her up on my lap she follows me incessantly and squeals until I finally relent and allow her to get into my lap. I have begun to telling him/her/it no, point to the bedroom and say "Go to bed". Well would you believe it she/he/it is starting to do exactly that. At first I thought it was a fluke but now she/he it is doing it every time. I know that it is probably just a rote behaviour for him/her/it but it's still kind of fun to watch him/her/it as she/he/it toddles down the hall into the bedroom and up onto the bed to curl up and go to sleep for the rest of the night.

My back is healing I suppose as well as to be expected. I can't verify that as I can't actually see it. It feels like all is well and I have to believe that because I/we can't afford nor do I care to spend any more time in hospital. I feel okay so that's good enough. I'm still stiff and there is a bit of swelling but hubby, being the trained professional that he is, has a look at the wound every morning and in his expert opinion he feels that all looks well. I will see my GP next week and I'll see what he has to add to the conversation but overall I think all is well.

Well, I said this would all be a bit of boring ramble but it's all I've got. I never will be one of these brilliantly, funny, and imaginative bloggers who can make a turd funny and/or beautiful (and there are many of you) because we all know that takes talent of which I am not so gifted. I think I'll leave that witty job to the pros and I'll stick to what I know and can handle which is plain and boring. It works for me so until next time Enjoy...

This is a test...

I'm trying a new web browser called "Flock" and I'm testing out it's little in's and out's to see if it is a viable web browser. I currently use either Safari or Firefox but recently read about Flock so I thought I would download it to see what it was like. I'm a a sucker for new gadgets. Hell it can be new gadgets, food, music, books, whatever; if it's new I'm interested. Anyway, this is a short post as I'm testing the posting interface made available with Flock which supposedly allows me to publish right to my blog at anytime with out actually going through Blogger's posting system. So, I'm going to end this post and hit the publish button and see what happens. Fingers crossed.

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