Post Christmas Wrap-Up

Christmas 2018 is now done and dusted and as I now sit down and write this blog I wonder why there is so much commercialised hype surrounding this day.  We really have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas and I was reminded of this by listening to Katherine who comes from a very strict Catholic background.  She described how her family celebrated Christmas in the Philippines with the whole day very much celebrating the birth of Jesus.  They have their Christmas celebration dinner on Christmas Eve and attend midnight church service.  Christmas day is very laid back but certainly another visit to church is expected. The gift giving is limited, as are the decorations. So different to what we can expect in Australia.
Having said all that, I think it is lovely to be able to get together with friends and family, many of whom we only see once a year.  It was that way for us this year with Philips step-brother and his wife joining us for the Christmas break.  Our son and DIL were also going to join us but a last minute change of plan by their caretaker meant that they couldn't leave their property.  They are going to try to come here in July for "Christmas in July".

Here are a few photos from Christmas Day.

Table set and ready to go!

The compulsory selfie....

Roast stuffed turkey, Roast Pork with the best crackling I have ever made, Roast Potatoes, Hasselback Pumpkin, Steamed Beans, Asparagus, Carrots in Creme Fraiche Sauce and last but never least - Pork Gravy!

It's starting to feel a lot like Christmas......

It's just two weeks until the first of our Christmas guests arrive and I'm feeling just a little bit excited/nervous!  Excited to see the family but nervous at how busy it will be with all the cooking.  Fortunately for me my daughter in law is very proficient in the kitchen so I will be delegating. Something I'm not very good at :-(
To me it is not Christmas without a Ham, Turkey (it used to be chicken) and Pork.  I've already ordered these three things and have intentions of preparing everything on Christmas Eve.  The ham will be already glazed and I will set the alarm early on Christmas morning to pop it in the oven so that we can have ham and eggs for breakfast.  My DIL makes a smashing Passionfruit & Champers cocktail that we will also have for breakfast.....just one glass for the cook!
Lunch is Roast Pork and Turkey with all the trimmings.  I found some great recipes in last months Better Homes and Gardens magazine so I will be following that to the tee.  After lunch it is a nap for some and lazing by the pool for others.  I bought the Catch Phrase game a couple of months ago so maybe we will play a game or two.  We shall go with the flow.
For Boxing Day our son has invited a few friends around for a BBQ lunch.  The men will do the cooking and I shall simply prepare a large tossed salad and potato dish.  Of course we will also have plenty of cold cuts so that will also be on a platter.
I don't do much in the way of decorating for Christmas.  When our Christmas tree fell apart a couple of years ago I never replaced it.  Now I just "throw" some tinsel and baubles at a tree (not a christmas tree) that I bought at the "cheap shop".

I love fairy lights and they adorn the front of our verandah and anywhere else I can put them.  I rather like this christmas tree string...

I spent a ridiculously short amount of time making a Christmas wreath to hang at the front door.  I had stumbled across someone making one from Magnolia leaves and as I have three Magnolia trees I decided to give it a go.  I already had the framework that my gorgeous gardener had made into a
Christmas wreath many years ago so it was just a matter of threading the branches through the frame. I also used Budlea and Grevillea flowers and then, once again, threaded fairy lights through the garland.

 Next week I have three Pre-Christmas parties, one that I am hosting, so it's going to be busy.  But hey, isn't that what Christmas is all about!

This Week....

This week has broken temperature records right across tropical Queensland.  Cairns recorded it's highest ever temperature at 42.3 degrees and here at Julatten it got to a smouldering 40 degrees.  Our summer temperature rarely gets above 30 degrees so this was staggering.

But the strangest thing for us was that there was almost zero humidity and so very much like living in Julia Creek again!  However it was really only one day that was uncomfortable and we spent most of the day in and out of the pool to cool down.  We never stayed in the pool for more than 5 minutes because our skin would have burnt badly.  We don't have any air-conditioning in our home because we designed the house to have cross breezes from any direction making ceiling fans adequate. This has been perfect for the past 12 years but we did ever so slightly regret our decision for that one very hot day.  The garden has really taken a hammering with the hot dry conditions and we have been watering non stop.  We are now just praying for rain to fill our almost empty dams and to give the garden a really good drink!

I brought these lovely roses inside to enjoy and the next morning there looked like this ☟

 There was a couple of storms around on Wednesday.  We weren't under any "bad" storms but there was plenty around.  Hail, Wind and extremely heavy winds meant that we lost our power from 2pm until 1.35am.  Thank goodness we have a generator!

Storms in the distance...

We had to go to Cairns on Thursday to have the car serviced and for an appointment that I had made to try cold laser on my very arthritic right hand index finger.  Wow.  We couldn't wait to get back to Julatten!  Even though the temperatures were about the same as home, the humidity down there killed us!
We had lunch in Cairns at Noa Restaurant.  We have eaten at this establishment quite a few times and it never fails to please.  The food is always fresh and ever so delicious.  I chose the Mackeral on an Asian Salad with a prawn and coconut mousse and Philip decided to have the Crispy Soft Shell Crab Burger with a side of Lotus Chips.  Yummmm!  I of course helped him eat all those lotus chips....as you do...

Has anyone ever tried Cold Laser Treatment?  It felt so good while I was having the treatment and I had a little more movement in my finger for the next 24 hours.  I guess the object is to get the blood circulating in the finger and it will take many treatments so we made the decision to purchase a portable machine recommended by the physician.  I will let you know how it goes.  My problem with the finger started after surgery to have a large fatty lump removed from the knuckle.  I let it go way too long before having surgery so it is entirely my fault that I now have this problem.

On Friday night here at the Julatten Community Park we had Santa arrive with gifts for the local children!  What a joy it is to see the look on the little kids faces when Santa arrives. Before Santa's arrival we were lucky enough to be entertained by the local "Sing Australia" group who serenaded the crowd with Christmas Carols, and you know that there is nothing like a Christmas carol to get you into the Christmas spirit.  We also feasted on steak burgers that were ever so tasty, particularly when washed down with an icy cold beer!
Well that's a wrap for my week.  I hope that yours has been a good one also.