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Everyone seems to have written the What I Did For Christmas entry so I'll follow suit, since I'm now having a very peaceful Boxing Day at home.
I visited my mother on Xmas Eve so as not to be stuck with double visits and a lot of travelling on Xmas Day. We were both on our best behaviour and also had a couple of glasses of wine each which had a mellowing effect. Maybe we should just do this every time before we try to communicate and things may work better? We had Thai green curry for lunch. Having spent my early childhood in Malaysia where curry is the Sunday roast of choice, this makes more sense to me than turkey. M worried that it was too hot and it was definitely on the spicy side. If you had any sinus problem when you started to eat, it would be cleared out by the end of the meal!
M seemed pleased with the Kitchen Witch voucher and bottle of Baileys and I received a Dymocks voucher plus several edibles (gods, my brain is already fading, I can't remember precisely what my presents were!) suited me pretty well also. Chocs, Christmas fruit cake, a pile of cherries...an African Violet. [And yes, I know that African Violets aren't edible, just in case anyone was feeling helpful!]
Then it was home by train in the afternoon when I began to fade out. Managed to lug the loot home in time to do the watering. Christmas or not, it is now so hot in Perth that the vege patch, particularly the rockmelon seedlings and the micro-cornfield, need watering morning and evening. The rockmelons have been a learning curve but it seems that so long as they have enough water, they don't care how hot it is. They don't crinkle up like lettuces in a heatwave, where giving them plentiful water isn't enough to stop sun damage.
I revived by next day when I went to visit friends in the suburb. They even gave me a ride so I didn't have to take the bike which was good. It might have been about 33^C according to the weather report but we're inland and one of my hosts reported it was actually 37^C outside according to his thermometer.
This was a good gathering; only five people and enough food to feed twenty. Cold meats and salads, fruit, including more cherries, cream, Christmas pudding and a potato salad made with peanut butter. I saw it done and I had my doubts but it tasted fantastic. Another guest brought his dogs, a collie and a malamute, who stood tall enough to look over the table and so both had to stay outside during the meal, as they had a few problems with impulse control. They were very affectionate, especially the malamute, but the constant drool dripping on one's feet and anything else within reach was probably not a positive ad for future dog ownership! The animals received presents. My ratty boys gave Don and Lena's rats their own box of cherries and my rats received a package of dog biscuits and uncooked pasta from the Wiggerman rats. Joe and Bear, the dogs, got a bigger pack of dog biscuits.
Presents for people flew around this gathering as well and I must note that Sugar Mice are an extremely popular present this year :-) So are stuffed toy rats wearing dresses, probably not that unusual considering we all owned or had owned rats. I think the rodent total amongst us is about 27. Don H (Joe and Bear's person) doesn't have any at the moment and Gaye is down to about three and I have four, with the rest being the rescue crowd living with Don W and Lena.
I didn't get home until after six, which shows we had a really good laid-back time and probably ate too much as well. For one whose usual lunch is a peanut butter sandwich, all the goodies were rather overwhelming! I enjoyed the socialisation but always find it a bit tiring so was glad to get home and back to the watering and Rat Room Service for my fuzzies, who sniffed all the strange rats (and dogs) on my hands and clothes with great interest.
Today I've done a bit of a cleanup which I didn't bother with on Sunday, washed clothes and rearranged things. I've found that if I close my bedroom door, the air conditioner can manage to reach the study, which is off a short passageway from the living room where it (and the rats) are situated. So hopefully I won't need to resort to drastic measures like moving the entire desk and computer into the living room in order to write during the day.
It's been an okay couple of days. If only the entire community didn't go crazy for two months before it happens!
I visited my mother on Xmas Eve so as not to be stuck with double visits and a lot of travelling on Xmas Day. We were both on our best behaviour and also had a couple of glasses of wine each which had a mellowing effect. Maybe we should just do this every time before we try to communicate and things may work better? We had Thai green curry for lunch. Having spent my early childhood in Malaysia where curry is the Sunday roast of choice, this makes more sense to me than turkey. M worried that it was too hot and it was definitely on the spicy side. If you had any sinus problem when you started to eat, it would be cleared out by the end of the meal!
M seemed pleased with the Kitchen Witch voucher and bottle of Baileys and I received a Dymocks voucher plus several edibles (gods, my brain is already fading, I can't remember precisely what my presents were!) suited me pretty well also. Chocs, Christmas fruit cake, a pile of cherries...an African Violet. [And yes, I know that African Violets aren't edible, just in case anyone was feeling helpful!]
Then it was home by train in the afternoon when I began to fade out. Managed to lug the loot home in time to do the watering. Christmas or not, it is now so hot in Perth that the vege patch, particularly the rockmelon seedlings and the micro-cornfield, need watering morning and evening. The rockmelons have been a learning curve but it seems that so long as they have enough water, they don't care how hot it is. They don't crinkle up like lettuces in a heatwave, where giving them plentiful water isn't enough to stop sun damage.
I revived by next day when I went to visit friends in the suburb. They even gave me a ride so I didn't have to take the bike which was good. It might have been about 33^C according to the weather report but we're inland and one of my hosts reported it was actually 37^C outside according to his thermometer.
This was a good gathering; only five people and enough food to feed twenty. Cold meats and salads, fruit, including more cherries, cream, Christmas pudding and a potato salad made with peanut butter. I saw it done and I had my doubts but it tasted fantastic. Another guest brought his dogs, a collie and a malamute, who stood tall enough to look over the table and so both had to stay outside during the meal, as they had a few problems with impulse control. They were very affectionate, especially the malamute, but the constant drool dripping on one's feet and anything else within reach was probably not a positive ad for future dog ownership! The animals received presents. My ratty boys gave Don and Lena's rats their own box of cherries and my rats received a package of dog biscuits and uncooked pasta from the Wiggerman rats. Joe and Bear, the dogs, got a bigger pack of dog biscuits.
Presents for people flew around this gathering as well and I must note that Sugar Mice are an extremely popular present this year :-) So are stuffed toy rats wearing dresses, probably not that unusual considering we all owned or had owned rats. I think the rodent total amongst us is about 27. Don H (Joe and Bear's person) doesn't have any at the moment and Gaye is down to about three and I have four, with the rest being the rescue crowd living with Don W and Lena.
I didn't get home until after six, which shows we had a really good laid-back time and probably ate too much as well. For one whose usual lunch is a peanut butter sandwich, all the goodies were rather overwhelming! I enjoyed the socialisation but always find it a bit tiring so was glad to get home and back to the watering and Rat Room Service for my fuzzies, who sniffed all the strange rats (and dogs) on my hands and clothes with great interest.
Today I've done a bit of a cleanup which I didn't bother with on Sunday, washed clothes and rearranged things. I've found that if I close my bedroom door, the air conditioner can manage to reach the study, which is off a short passageway from the living room where it (and the rats) are situated. So hopefully I won't need to resort to drastic measures like moving the entire desk and computer into the living room in order to write during the day.
It's been an okay couple of days. If only the entire community didn't go crazy for two months before it happens!
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