A Clean House & Doing Stupid Things

Hello everyone, another nice day in my part of the world, not too hot nor too cold just as I said nice. What do I have planned for today, nothing much, I have gone for my early morning walk and it was nice out walking today. I am also of course going to see my nanna, and we are taking Temika & Liarna as they want to go and see great-nanna.

I have a small pile of letters to answer, so I want to get a start on them, although my printer is low on ink and Tim is slow to give me money for ink and of course I have not been able to find a cheap genetic brand of ink for my printer, the old printer I could get ink for only $7 this one it costs $26. So at the moment I can only print in blue or red, I also can’t add photos to my letters as they don’t come out that well.

The house looks pretty clean most days now, this is due to having Natasha and Blain here, she is a neat freak and likes to clean. Although yesterday we did a couple of loads of washing and she would not let peg the clothes out on the line, why, because I don’t peg them out right, meaning I don’t peg them out how she likes. I am not allowed to vacuum either because I don’t do it right. So how do I feel about that, well if she wants to do these things that is ok with me.

In other news a family member had a car accident in the early hours of yesterday, they collided with a park car and I don’t think they were wearing a seat belt as their head hit the windscreen and also they were drunk as a skunk, what a strange saying as I don’t think skunks drink grog but you know what I mean, well I hope you know what I mean.

Because they were so drunk logic was being drowned by the grog and after the accident they thought it would be a good idea to first try and remove the licence plates and when that was too hard to do they thought screw it I will just walk/stumble to where I want to go, so when the cops turned up they thought it might be a good idea to try and hide from them cops, why because they were so damn drunk.

Thankfully the person who had the accident wasn’t seriously hurt, and after being in hospital for most of the day, including a stint in ICU they were allowed to leave, I won’t say go home because that wasn’t going to happen as they were under arrest and was taken from the hospital to the cop shop. That is all I know at this stage, we all know that drink driving is stupid but many young people may know it is stupid when they are so drunk common sense and logic get drowned by the grog.

This person is not the first member of the family to attempt to drive while drunk and I doubt they will be the last family member to attempt to drive while drunk, many people will go on about how they don’t drink and drive, I included I don’t drink and drive but I know some young people do, yes it is wrong and dangerous but for many it is just one of them many stupid things they will do.

There are very few people who can say they didn’t do really stupid things when they were young, I have done stupid things myself way back when I was younger.

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My Christmas

Well the year is coming to an end, but it isn’t over yet so no end of year post just yet, instead I will tell you a bit about my Christmas. There was only Tim, Tasha and myself here on Christmas Eve, Blain was at his fathers and Leo wanted it to be just him and his mum Christmas morning so they were not here Christmas Eve either.

So we get up around 8ish and gave Natasha her presents and Tim and I exchanged gifts I gave Tim a gift voucher and he gave me a bunch of clothes which I had picked out and bought and bagged up, I am ok with that at least I got stuff I wanted.

Then around 8.30am Jessica and Leo turned up and we gave them their presents, I love to watch Leo open presents he gets so excited about every gift, unlike Blain who is like blah about presents it is rare to get a wow out of Blain.

Anyway after the opening of presents we packed the car ready to go to my parents place, to exchange gifts, I went over around 10ish but Tim and the girls and Leo didn’t turn up till around 11ish.

This year I had not only Tim but Tasha complaining that I spent too much money and shouldn’t be giving gifts to everyone, in fact this year I didn’t give anything to my nieces or nephews as I felt like I wasn’t allowed to do so.

Also this year I felt really sad on Christmas morning, I don’t know why, in fact to be honest I have been feeling sad a lot lately and have had many days when I just want to cry, this morning included.

There was only about a dozen of us for Christmas lunch, Kathy & Michael were in Sydney visiting his parents so didn’t see them at all Christmas Day, Kathy and Summer came over on Boxing Day to see us and I gave Summer her Christmas bag of presents along with Kathy’s.

My daughters didn’t stay and my parents place for lunch as both said they would rather be home alone, Natasha and Blain called in and picked me and Tim up and brought us home as both Tim and myself had a few drinks I even had a couple of glasses of wine which is odd for me as I am not a wine drinker.

I did get a lot of awesome presents from my family a lot of bath stuff and jewellery and clothes and such, this picture is one of my gifts that I got.

Natasha thinks my siblings and others do not appreciate me but I think she is wrong, I do feel appreciated more or less, yes there have been times when I have not felt appreciated and taken for granted.

Yesterday Kathy & Michael came over for lunch and we gave Michael his Christmas gift, and also gave Sydney-May her bag of presents she seemed to like all she was given and yes she was excited and that is always a good thing.

Tasha is off work at the moment she goes back on the 4^th and we have Blain here this week so he is getting to spend a lot of time with his mum which makes him happy as he does miss his mum a lot.

Also Jessica brought a gingerbread house for Christmas Day and everyone tried it and most of us liked it but could only eat a small about, talking about ginger made  us think of Aunty Joyce who loved her ginger.

Boxing Day – the Day after Christmas!

Today is Boxing day for me, it has been a quiet day here. Tim is at work and I went over to my parents place to pick up our car. We left it there yesterday and had Natasha drive us home as both Tim and I had a few drinks.  Now I will tell you a little about Boxing Day.

Boxing Day takes place on December 26th and is only celebrated in a few countries. It was started in the UK about 800 years ago, during the Middle Ages. It was the day when the alms box, collection boxes for the poor often kept in churches, were traditionally opened so that the contents could be distributed to poor people. Some churches still open these boxes on Boxing Day.

It might have been the Romans that first brought this type of collecting box to the UK, but they used them to collect money for the betting games which they played during their winter celebrations!

In Holland, some collection boxes were made out of a rough pottery called ‘earthenware’ and were shaped like pigs. Perhaps this is where we get the term ‘Piggy Bank’!

The Christmas Carol, Good King Wenceslas, is set on Boxing Day and is about a King in the Middle Ages who brings food to a poor family.

It was also traditional that servants got the day off to celebrate Christmas with their families on Boxing Day. Before World War II, it was common for working people (such as milkmen and butchers) to travel round their delivery places and collect their Christmas box or tip. This tradition has now mostly stopped and any Christmas tips, given to people such as postal workers and newspaper delivery children, are not normally given or collected on Boxing Day.

Boxing Day has now become another public holiday in countries such as the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It is also the traditional day that Pantomimes started to play. There are also often sports played on Boxing Day in the UK, especially horse racing and football matches!

The 26th December is also St. Stephen’s Day. Just to confuse things, there are two St. Stephens in history! The first St. Stephen was a very early follower of Jesus and was the first Christian Martyr (a person who dies for their religious beliefs). He was stoned to death by Jews who didn’t believe in Jesus.

The second St. Stephen was a Missionary, in Sweden, in the 800s. He loved all animals but particularly horses (perhaps why there is traditionally horse racing on boxing day). He was also a martyr and was killed by pagans in Sweden. In Germany there was a tradition that horses would be ridden around the inside of the church during the St. Stephen’s Day service!

Christmas=Turkey or does it

Christmas is full of old traditions, like eating turkey on Christmas day, sending out Christmas cards, hanging tinsel around the house, but why do we do it and how did it originate? Here’s the facts.

Turkeys were first bought into Britain in 1526, before this time, for Christmas meals people used to eat geese, boars’ head and even peacocks.

Turkeys were eaten instead of cows and chickens because the farmers needed their cows more for their milk, and needed their chickens for the eggs, which back then were more expensive than they are today. So instead of killing off one of their livestock for Christmas, they’d have a turkey as it was something different and they could save their livestock to produce more milk and eggs..

Henry VIII was the first person to eat a turkey on Christmas Day, however it wasn’t until the 1950’s that the turkey was a more popular Christmas meal choice than the goose.

The good thing about Christmas Day and turkeys is that Christmas is a family time, and turkeys are family size!

87% of British people believe that Christmas would not be the same without a traditional roast turkey.

Today in the UK, we eat around 10 million turkeys every year for Christmas time.

25% of British people buy their turkeys months in advance.

A survey shows that the top three most popular ways to serve leftover Christmas turkey are: sandwiches, soups/stews or salads.

Just a thought from me

If you can’t get a chance to visit a loved one in a nursing home this Christmas you should had made the effort and sent them a Christmas card, you may think what’s the point the person won’t know the difference but the staff will as will those who do find the time to visit, your loved one isn’t dead yet they have just reached a stage when they need more care, they may not always seem to know what is happening but I feel that somewhere inside they do know what is happening. 

A Little About Christmas Plants

The Holly, Ivy and Christmas Plants

Holly, Ivy and other greenery such as Mistletoe were originally used in pre-Christian times to help celebrate the Winter Solstice Festival and ward off evil spirits and to celebrate new growth.

When Christianity came into Western Europe, some people wanted to keep the greenery, to give it Christian meanings but also to ban the use of it to decorate homes. The UK and Germany were the main countries to keep the use of the greenery as decorations. Here are the Christian meanings:

Holly

The prickly leaves represent the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he was crucified. The berries are the drops of blood that were shed by Jesus because of the thorns.

In Scandinavia it is known as the Christ Thorn.

In pagan times, Holly was thought to be a male plant and Ivy a female plant. An old tradition from the Midlands of England says that whatever one was brought into the house first over winter, tells you whether the man or woman of the house would rule that year! But it was unlucky to bring either into a house before Christmas Eve.

Ivy

Ivy has to cling to something to support itself as it grows. This reminds us that we need to cling to God for support in our lives.

In Germany, it is traditional that Ivy is only used outside and a piece tied to the outside of a Church was supposed to protect it from lightning!

Laurel

Laurel has been worn as a wreath on the head to symbolise success and victory for thousands of years.

It symbolises the victory of God over the Devil.

Less then a week to go

Another day to make one feel like they are melting when they step outside into the heat. When I was out shopping this morning the shopping centre I went to had people handing out free bottles of water near the entrance.

I am done and dusted with my Christmas shopping, except for Tim I will have to pop out and get his present sometime this week. He is hard to buy for but then in many ways so am I. Why well because we pretty much have everything we want or need.

Have to say it is working out ok with Natasha living here, as the house is clean more often then not, she is a bit of a clean freak unlike me I am it looks good enough type of person.

This afternoon Tasha is at work, Tim is at work so I have had a quiet afternoon home alone, which you all know I so like.

However, I have to say that at times I feel like she wants to change who I am and that isn’t going to happen. Like her father she thinks I buy too many Christmas presents and give presents to too many members of the family. I take after my mum and she takes after her mum we are givers this is who we are, please don’t try and change me.

With less then a week to go till the big day, I am feeling nice and relaxed, I don’t stress over Christmas and have to say my mum doesn’t really s tress over it either. It is a busy day and such but it is also a loving family day and when I get home fro my parents place in the afternoon I am glad the day is over. I often have a nap when I get home on Christmas Day, it is also one of the few days that I actually drink well more then one or two drinks I may get a little tipsy on Christmas Day but I can at 53 I am allowed to have a few drinks on such a wonderful day.

My Sunday

Hello world it is now Sunday for me and have to say the last two days seemed busy, ok Friday is always busy I know this but Saturday yeah it was busy as well. I went out to Wallsend for Jessica a drive of about 10-15 minutes to get something she wanted for Leo. Anyway I get to the shop and they are closed it was 9am and they didn’t open to 10am would had been nice if she told me that in the first place. So I will have to go back there for her tomorrow as they are not open on Sunday.

This Sunday I am not having breakfast or lunch for the family, why you wonder, well I will tell you I really need to sort out the Christmas presents and yes I know I have been saying I would do them for the last week or so but I mean it today I will get it all sorted. I just hope once I have done that I do not discover that I have to get more stuff.

Speaking of Monday, ok not speaking of Monday but anyway a Monday thought came to me tomorrow Monday I will have to go and get Tim’s Christmas present although not sure what the hell I am going to get him I was thinking of a battery pack starter thing, you know the thing one uses to start a car with a flat battery that is suppose to be better then using jump leads from another car. I am just not sure about it, I might get him a gift card from Supercheap instead, I will decide tomorrow.

We also have had a few stinking hot days again temps in the high 30’s today it is suppose to be around 37°c and tomorrow it is suppose to be hotter still. Although have to say it was nice when I went for my walk this morning not hot at all, although I did leave home at around 6.20am.

Can you believe that Christmas is less then a week away, bloody hell, this year I don’t think Jessica is coming here for Christmas Eve, she was going to but I think Leo said he would like it to be just him and mummy Christmas morning.

Kathy and Michael are going to Sydney with the girls Christmas Eve to see his parents and will be home here sometime in the afternoon of Christmas Day, she was concerned that me and her dad would have a problem with that but nope we don’t, we get it there are times she needs to be with Michael and his family and this is one of those times. Michael’s father isn’t very well at the moment.

Blain is at his fathers this week he will be home again on either Thursday afternoon or Friday afternoon he went to his dads a day early as Kelli was in the area on Thursday and picked him up made more sense to do that then come back the next day just to get him, it is a 40 minute drive to his dads place.

Most of yesterday afternoon Natasha was asleep on the lounge, Tim said she should had gone to bed but she preferred to lay on the lounge, it didn’t bother me and if she was content to sleep there the so be it, might have been cooler for her as we had the air con going and the lounge room was not too hot, unlike her bedroom which with the door closed was like an oven.

Tim is working this afternoon and I am hoping the bus he is in is air conditioned you might think der of course it would be but you would be wrong there has been other days when it has been stinking bloody hot and he had been in a non air conditioned bus or a bus that the air conditioning isn’t working in. Which really annoys the hell out of both of us with temps in the high 30’s a body can suffer from heat stroke, but do the idiots in charge give a rats ass, nope.

A Christmas Poem

Last day of the school year

Well today is the last day of school for the year and both boys Blain & Leo are having the day off, even though teachers will say that lessons are taught right up to the last bell of the day, anyone who has been to school on the last day know that is a load of rubbish. In fact usually students spend the day helping the teachers pack up stuff and many teachers take in DVD’s and the children watch movies.

Yesterday Blain’s school went to the pool for the day, Leo’s school have had a water fun day held at the school and when I picked Leo up yesterday he had a Christmas bag with lollies and toys in which everyone in his class received.

My own girls had the choice of whether they wanted to attend school on the last day of the year as well, sometimes they would go other times they chose to have the day off.

When I was speaking to mum last night she was telling me that my brother asked if she would take the girls (his daughters) to school as well as taking Landon to day care and Dawson to work experience. Dawson wanted to go to his work experience he enjoys it so much.

Now my parents only have a small fart-ass little car and it is difficult to fit me and the two girls in the back seat, Dawson of course will not sit in the back and yeah I know some people might say that Dawson is the child and should sit in the back but to be honest I don’t care I am ok with sitting in the back. This is the thing though when she was trying to explain to Dave that there may not be room for all of us he couldn’t get it, his answer was take Landon’s car seat out to make room which mum would do anyway,as it turned there was plenty of room in the car.

Just had a nap, and Jessica woke be by walking into the bedroom and yelling so that I jumped with fright, not funny Jessica.

So question for the day is do your children go or went to school on the last day of the school year?