Dodgy Christmas Elf

The photo was taken just outside our shack (on the road, facing east, next to the now-cut wheat crop, the one that in sunshine, did look sublime).

You can’t quite see the delicious cruddiness of Hal’s self-chosen outfit; it’s finished by faded black shorts, stick thin legs, several bruises and cuts, and dark red Timberland boots. He insists on wearing the too-small Christmas hat at every available moment. Naturally, he looks very sweet. My neighbour, Jodie, thinks that Hal is a freckled piece of perfection, like Dickens’ Pip. A boy who never moans or grumbles. A skinny child, intelligent, dedicated to good manners and gentleman-like behaviour. He takes after his father...

We walked around the Bay. Imogen, despite being bossy (where does she get that from???) is terribly good to her little brother, and they play together tremendously well. The children bumped into Phoebe and her dog, Charlotte, The Best Dog On The Planet. She's a Jack Russel x Fox Terrier, and is our dream dog. I think we'd all have a dog like Charlotte, if she just fell into our laps. I simply can't face the puppy stage, but if we could find a short haired, sweet natured little canine, then we would welcome he or she into our ordered and very full lives.

It's been a busy time of late.

The usual: end of term (long winded end of year Mass, school trips for the Blighters: to bowling (imagine Hal! He got two strikes, mind you) and Madagascar II (Imogen, laughed like a drain).

The Absolute Gent and I had a rather decadent couple of evenings last weekend; two functions for his work.

First, the National Wine Centre of Australia for cocktails for Gent's work do. I rather like this building; created to look like a barrel, abutting heritage buildings and the Botanic gardens. I managed to squeeze into the smart cocktail dress I'd had made in Penang (remember, CG, the one you designed with the black bandeaux across the breast bone).

Then, the following night, a dinner at The Naval, Military and Air Force Club a hitherto unknown gem in Adelaide City. This is a delightful building, smothered in hand-made crested carpet, bejewelled with the clutter of fine antiques, and harking back to WWII at the earliest.

We had a delicious meal, shared with Gent's peers and spouses, with good conversation and vino! We stayed overnight (!) whilst the Boss' teenage daughters babysit our Blighters.

School is now over. Gent is almost finished work and will take on the domestic reins. I have this week left, which will include a number of staff functions and the usual end of year frenzy...

Presents, from the Fairies and Grandma

We couldn't find our Advent Calendar this year. The one with Santa presiding over 24 little pockets for the Fairies to fill, one each night.

Instead, the children made this Advent Box, covered in the material for my Bridesmaid's dress, and furnished with a handle supplied by Daddy, a stud from his Mess kit.

Each night, the Fairies leave a little treat...fairy dust, gold coins, lollies. Hal is hoping for DVDs and Matchbox cars!

I told him the Fairies are only small, and they don't like greedy children.




One of the good things about having family overseas is that their gifts arrive in the mail. Hal's birthday present arrived a little later than his actual day, providing nigh-on hysterical joy for the whole family.





Wrapped to perfection by David Jones, the box was deliciously enormous.

Brilliant, Grandma! This baby corners like it's on rails...and does great skids too.

Quangdong Decorations

News of the impending decorations has drawn enthusiasm from Sydney, England and possibly New Zealand.

After almost scorching ourselves with the hot glue gun, then asphyxiating ourselves with the silver spray, the children and I have made countless tiny silver things for the Christmas tree.

Hal is taking some to school tomorrow, for the classroom tree. Boy, Room 3 is lucky.

Below is the photo of the quangdong nuts in their natural state, and in the front, the new, turbo boosted silver plated version.




Call me crazy, but I'm not starting a small 'quangdong' business yet.

I'm about to wrap some Christmas presents.

Am I getting ahead of myself?

These are to send to Sydney for the Kiwi Cousins, along with a birthday present, so I sort of have an excuse.

I do love Christmas.

This weekend we are going to make decorations from pine cones and quangdong nuts. The latter are also known as native peaches and grow wild.

The Absolute Gent's father, George, adores pies made from them. Recently, we found a veritable orchard near the shack, and loaded our sun hats with the small, bright red fruit.

I divested them of the nuts and stewed the fruit, adding a generous helping of sugar.

And more sugar.

And quite a bit more.

They were still very, very bitter, with an aftertaste of bitter.

So we didn't eat the quangdongs, but we kept their nuts.

Imogen and Hal are very excited about the decorations. Hal has to take one to his beautiful teacher on Monday for the class tree. We met said lady at our local shops this evening. Hal proceeded to throttle himself as a means of overcoming his excitement/pleasure/embarrassment that his most loved teacher was before him, discussing cacti and carols (as you do).

Hal is 6!

Hot Wheels. It doesn't get much better than this!

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

I was keen to write about this film partly because of the incredible cinematography by Roger Deakins.

Unfortunately, these images don't do it any justice whatsoever.


The Assassination... has suffered criticism for being too long, too slow, too lacking in suspense. Yes, it is slow and long. But it is incredibly beautiful.

It is a film about hero worship, in all its ugly, misguided, scrabbling pathetic-ness, but it remains visually captivating. The capture of nineteenth century Missouri is bleak yet breathtaking.




One of my chief feeling of unease when watching the film is that I failed to care about anyone in it. Not Jesse James, nor Robert Ford.

And yet. And yet. The acting of Pitt and Affleck was superb.




Flawed, interesting and a must see for its aesthetic charms alone.

We have been doing a minor bit of entertaining lately. Last weekend it was brunch for some long-owed 'return of invitations' guests. I love doing brunch - the cheat's way to entertain. We had sausages and bacon, roasted winter vegetables with rosemary, home baked bread and savory muffins, plus chocolate cake and a fruit platter.

It's easy to cater to all tastes, especially on the plonk - champagne for all, and orange juice for those not imbibing. The children had a similar menu outside and could grab and go in the garden, making for a more leisurely meal for the grown ups!



And yesterday was the Pirate Party Sleepover. It continues as I write this early Sunday morning! Hal is plaything to three very energetic girls!

Immy and Hal did all the decorating of the Pirate Cake. My cake making skills are like my sewing skills - full of good intentions, love doing it, rather mediocre results. But clag a whole lot of butter icing and some smarties on, and you're laughing.

During the birthday tea, Mother Earth gave us this delight - the end to a marvellous day.