Sunday 18th December

The Christmas tree went up this week.  Two weeks later than usual and in a different part of the house, but it is up and that is what counts.  The place is still unfinished but the tree still looks nice and twinkly.

For the first time ever, S did not have to step up onto a stool to put the star on top of the tree.  Even I have to step on a stool but he is now over two inches taller than me and closer to the top.  Besides, it's always going to be his job to put the finishing touch on the tree.

As we were decorating it S would pick up a decoration and say "I remember this".  It was a different feel for him.  He used the word "nostalgic" in his description.  If he starts using that word to describe his feelings now (at age 14) I cannot imagine how nostalgic he will feel at my age.

Christmas is only a week away and I don't feel particularly rushed this year.  In fact, I feel scarily kind of calm.  On Friday I left work early to go the the shops for some Christmas shopping.  I have a love/hate relationship with the shops at Christmas.  When I walk into the store I feel all excited looking at all the Christmassy things.  Then, after an hour or so, I start to feel overloaded after looking at all the Christmas Crap.

The shopping centre is so huge that is takes me for ever to get to one end and then the same amount of time to get back to where I started.  And it seems that I always have to get something at one or both of those ends.

During the course of the shopping journey I had to go to the toy section of one of the stores.  Oh, what a mindless pile of SHIT resides on the shelves of all toy sections.  Apart from Lego, it would be reasonable to say that most toys will spend their lives in a cupboard.  I cannot even say they will have short lives because when they have outlived their appeal they will end up in landfill for the next 1000 years.  I am so glad that my son has long passed those toy hungry years and is now just a PC and Xbox loving geek.

Anyway, I meandered around looking at the shelves before drifting out of the place and finding myself in another shop that sells games, computers, DVDs, music and the like.  I picked up a few games for my son and then bought him the uncut version of the SciFi movie Blade Runner.  One of my all time favourites.

But I have to confess that I did not really buy it for him, I bought it for me but will give it to him because I believe it is important for him to see this exciting movie in a semi educational sense.  It's a classic!  All history is important, even SciFi movie history.

After I sorted his stuff home, the lure of the shopping centre had completely died and I left.  So I still have to get a few things next week.  Which is kind of off putting because next week is going to be so busy I will be kicking myself I did not make the effort to endure the place on Friday and finish everything off that I needed to.

I have also been doing a bit of online shopping and have come to the conclusion that it is a bit tempting.  The pleasure at having a few parcels arrive every couple of days makes it easy to do it again.

On Saturday I had a fund raising breakfast with the exercise group and cooked bacon and eggs.  I hate cooking outdoors on a hot day even if it is early in the morning.  By the time I got home I had a headache and no energy.  I slouched around on the couch and now and then got up to either eat or put on a load of washing.  Then, when I felt really energetic I hung the washing out.  It was terribly unexciting.

Finally, I felt so disgusted with my lazy self I went for a 5km walk in late afternoon heat.  Nothing like exercise to clear ones head.  At least I felt like I had earnt the right to laze around and watch television.

This morning, however, I made up for any laziness and caught up with the girls from the Oxfam team and we did some training.  We drove to the hills and walked up the Kokoda steps (about 800 of them) and down again.  Then up a very steep hill and down again.  All up I think we spent two hours burning our butts and legs with the effort.   It made up for any slackness from the day before.

Since then I have been watching some television and am now in the studio tinkering.  Outside the wind is so noisy.  I love that sound.  It is so soothing.

I am also working on a painting I started last week and changing it to suit.

It is such a nice place in this pod.

The whole world is out the door and I am in here in my own space.

It's nice.

Ciao
LC