Christmas morning, 2011. Gibbo and I woke up at 5; Meg heard the TV and bounced into the room at 5.15, full of festive cheer and bonhomie. It's hard to be sad when Meg is around! She checked her Santa sack (yes she still gets one) and Grandma helped her "unpack" it. There were some gifts in it that were on her wish list; I'm embarrassed to say there were a couple of Kardashian type items in there along with a bit of exercise gear, work gear and fun gear.
We skyped with Drew; he's feeling quite lonely on the other side of the world; he's also picked up a heavy cold which has made him feel worse. I skype chatted with him late last night; his sore throat was bothering him.
Here's Meg, ready to play Santa's helper. She helps very well at handing out the under the tree gifts!!
Here she is standing next to the tv...............and a very old favourite, the SMURFS!
We left the very best present until last.........I had hidden it in my bedroom.........I brought it out and pretended to give it to Gibbo.........then turned at the last minute and gave it to Meg. We bought her 1/5th of a Macbook Pro (she will pay us back the other 4/5ths). I captured the look on her face - it was priceless. It took her totally by surprise!
I also bought a wifi device that sets up a hotspot in the house that five users can connect to at once. Meg got her laptop operating then tried to connect to the wifi. After several frustrations - mainly to do with the fact that the technician who activated the device for me at the T shop at the coast actually entered my password incorrectly - Meg spoke at length with a T rep and got the problem sorted.....and minutes later, was connected to the internet. She also loaded the Office pack, set up her email account and transferred photos from her SD card.............all so easy! Tonight we connected Drew's iPad to wifi for Gibbo to use - and it worked too. Having the wifi hotspot is going to make a huge difference to our monthly internet bill! Considerable savings. It just so happens that I bought myself a Macbook Pro at the same time as we got Meg's so I can't wait to get it set up and operational.
Meg is basting the ham with orange marmalade glaze.
Ma-Ma's stuffed eggs.
Mum bought Meg a Tefal - a beaut little machine that slices and grates; it worked like a dream.
We used the two moose and snowflake red and white plates for the meat - the chicken on this one,
and the pork and ham on this one.
Here's the smorgasboard (with Peter's hand just sneaking in for a quick morsel) - but there's something missing!
It's the honey soy chicken wings!
Meg made a lovely salad.
The final curtain - individual sticky date puddings, caramel sauce, ice-cream, custard and cream.
Mate (my Dad) and me.
Mate and me - he's wearing his hat with the built-in air conditioning.
My Mum and me.
We had a lovely day although, of course, we missed Drewy. It was hard but I think it was harder for him to not be here with us. At least we were together. However, he is on the cusp of a fabulous journey so a little sadness now will be well worth it for him in a few days.
Mum, Mate and Peter came for a look at the vege garden. I gave Mate some over sized button squash, some corn and some horrendously huge zucchini that he is going to pickle. I turned the worm patch over to show them but could barely find a one - I think they go deep during the heat of the day; they're always there in the mornings.
The dogs had a good day; Coco and Gundi both got a toy each and Coco and Poofy both got a special Christmas bone.
Peter brought my guitar back - the one I bought from a second hand shop in George St, Brisbane in 1980 when I lived at Milton House and Frederick Street and worked for the Police Dept! I lent it to him maybe 20 years ago!! I sat down and strummed a few chords and still love the sound of it, even with the crack in the back of it where I hit Andrew with it many years ago when he was annoying the crap out me when we all still lived at the farm (I'd left the big smoke and moved home by then).
We had a quiet hour or two before getting ready to have a few guests for dinner; no-one could eat much after overindulging at lunchtime but we had a nibble and a drink and a chat. It was a nice way to end a lovely day.
Now I'm waiting up to ring Drewy for his Canadian Christmas Day!
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