Nearly Ready

Well I'm sitting here thinking through what I've done and what I still have to do and I think I'm just about right.

Presents for everyone here - tick
Presents for everyone there - tick
Christmas cards sent - tick
Ham in the fridge - tick
Desserts organised - tick
Fruit and vegies bought - tick
Prawns ordered - tick
Suitcase packed - tick
Booze bought - tick

So no last minute rushes to the shops for me - I'm working tomorrow but should get away around lunchtime so will pick up the prawns then and that should be it. We always have a cold Christmas meal - sometimes it's at lunchtime, sometimes in the evening - with family who are shift workers you learn to move it around depending on shifts. However this year No 1 son is filling in for his boss so he's on standard day work hours - otherwise he would have been doing nightshift Christmas night so that was a bit of a bonus. Bloss is already on holiday - lucky sod, but as well as tomorrow I work Thursday before flying out first thing Friday morning.

News from Mum is finally coming good - it was all a bit worrying there for a few days. The anti coagulant they gave her before her op. worked a bit too well and when they started to operate she lost a lot of blood and her blood pressure dropped dramatically. They had to bring her up to minimum anaesthesia which in fact meant that she came to and had a quick confab with the nurses while on the operating table - rather bizarre! But she also had an epidural so no pain. She ended up having to have 6 units of blood so it's kind of knocked her around a bit. The actual op on her hip has been highly successful and she's coming good now and got home yesterday - it's still night time there so will ring in a few hours and see how she is. But there were a lot of calls back and forward from my brother and sister to me and from me to the hospital for a few days last week. I'm trying to prepare myself for a bit of a shock when I see her - it's 3 years since I last saw her and my brother and sister had warned me that she'd aged a lot in the last six months with the pain of her hip. But my sister's last email warned me that Mum had become a 'wee old lady' and that was never how you would have described Mum - so a bit of mental realigning for me!

D in L has started a new family tradition this year and is having us all round on Christmas Eve and the theme is Mexican - think No 1 son is making tacos and DiL is doing the margaritas - sound like a good fun night. Christmas morning we're having breakfast with a friend and former neighbour - been doing that for the last probably 12 years but a bit different this year since unfortunately they parted company earlier this year. However she is adamant that the tradition will continue but I think it's going to be quite tough on her. One of her sons will be home for Christmas but the other one is in London working. We'll have a lazy sort of day after that - always a bit sleepy after champagne at breakfast time! Then at night No1 son and family will come down for dinner.

I had thought that I'd need to spend Boxing day getting my packing finalised so hadn't made any plans. However as I said I'm pretty right with only a couple of last minute things to go in so who knows what we'll do - just thinking that we've a couple of movie passes we got from work so might do a movie. It's bloody hot here today - currently 32C and very humid so I'm sitting in the lounge wearing bathers and a sarong with the aircon going. Bloss has just brought the coloured fairy lights up from the pergola downstairs and draped them all around the balustrade of the deck - so they should be pretty when it gets dark.

Eating has been really quite good these past few weeks - not losing but holding steady. I've been quite good this year and decided that the calendar turning over into December wasn't an excuse to eat like a horse for the next month so have been exercising a fair bit of restraint when the Christmas goodies and treats come out.

Tarted the tart up yesterday - hairdressers first up - a fairy scissors trim since I'm growing it (my hairdresser's term), a few light foils and a colour - lovely sort of creamy blonde - really liking this colour now. Then in the afternoon visit to the beautician for waxing - legs, underarms, brazilian, lip, eyebrow. Got a new beautician as my last one has moved to Brisbane. Thought the last one was good but this one is amazing - she's got a real magical touch with the wax - she oils you first and the wax seems to come off so much easier. Then I had a quick spell in the solarium - lovely golden brown colour now - but 3 weeks of cover up in the wintry wilds of Scotland will see that disappear pretty quick.

Oh well this has all been a bit of ramble - kind of just emptied my head out to you guys - sorry it's not very exciting. Next post will be from Bonnie Scotland - unless I think of anything exciting to tell you during my 7 hour stopover in Hong Kong.

Have popped in a few photos just to make it a less boring post.


Josh complete with the goggles he wear to do his swimming lessons, and Curtis in our pool

Curtis in pensive mode


Josh helping 'Porter' (his name for Bloss) I'll tell you the story behind it sometime - with the BBQ

No 1 son and beautiful DiL - heading out to a work function

Ho Ho Ho - Merry Christmas to you all
Love Z xx