Christmas is coming!

My first Christmas down under was a non-event.  I couldn't get into the turquoise and pink decorations, which felt all wrong in the sunshine, so I didn't really bother.  And whilst I miss the lights and the excited build up to the festivities in a cold climate, there are many, many other benefits of not being in one.

Rather bizarrely though, we do keep some of the traditions, mostly to do with food.  Today I made the Xmas pudding, following the recipe I used last year, and its now boiling away merrily on the hob for 3.5 hours.  Also today, the postman brought a big stash of wide mouth preserve jars which I managed to find on ebay as cheap as chips.  These will soon be filled with M's rather potent piccalilli to be handed out at Christmas parties.  And tonight, I drove past a fully-illuminated house at the end of the street.  I guess it won't be long then!