Talk of the town

This is the first Christmas I have spent apart from Mirinda and it is very odd. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas. That’s not to say it hasn’t been lovely spending it with my family. It was lovely having lunch with Trace & Bob, Michael & Emma, Chris, mum & dad. Particularly given that mum prepared a lovely roast lamb. But it’s not quite the same as spending it with the person you’ve been married to for almost 20 years.

Though, while it’s odd for me, it’s going to be pretty dire for Mirinda and her family with Claire in the hospital. And so I feel torn. Here, there, on our own. Christmas is an odd time. For an atheist, it is a time for reflection and family. But how do you spread yourself thin enough? It’s not possible to be in all places at once.

The weather for Christmas day was vile. According to Joanne, who I spoke to on the phone, it is deliciously cold in Melbourne. How annoyerating is that? Damn the weather gods. And Mitchie is enjoying snow. This is going to be a short entry.

An awful Christmas photo

I should explain why the photo is so awful. I am still learning how to use my new camera and I couldn’t figure out how to set it for longer than 2 seconds with the self-timer (I have since worked it out). This meant I had to race to get to my seat each time – this was the third attempt and the best of them. I have also focused on something odd, like the front of the table or the work bench. I don’t know. Sorry, it’s rubbish.

And a little something else.

Mum tells me that, in her day, if anyone did their laundry on Christmas Day, they’d be the talk of the street (and not in a good way). The people in the house behind mum & dad did their washing on Christmas day and hung it out to dry (waste of time that was), which was bad enough (I’m going to put a notice in the next community newsletter about her) but I have since found out that Trace did as well!!!! Oh, how standards have slipped.