Today is a breather.  A bit of time to myself, lazing around in the sunshine under palm trees, reading books provided by my sister.  Total heaven!

Highlight of my day

I've become a little forgetful of late and today, drove off without M's petrol cap.  He brought me these beautiful flowers to make me feel better.  Blue hydranga and peonies in possibly my most favourite colours.

Highlights of my day

Took myself for a walk this morning along our local beach to shake off a slightly grumpy mood.  After the past few steamy days the southern change with its' blustery winds was very welcome.  Frothy sea horses swept over the beach, dumping pretty teal-coloured blue bottles jellyfish onto the sand.  Really good belly laugh with a friend whilst sitting in the changing room at the end is the cure for everything!

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!

Hammock heaven

I've always wanted a hammock.  I remember being jealous of our neighbour Ruth's hammock, under the weeping willow as a little girl.  I'm not quite sure why I left it so long either... something to do with lack of hanging spots or maybe sunshine.  Anyway here's our new charcoal one, strung outside the bedroom window.  It's rained since it arrived but I'm looking forward to many hours languishing on it, devouring books.  

Shopping: Tescos smartphones

Im not keen on Tescos. Even less so the 'Tescolisation' that is happening all over our planet. However, I do think this is a very clever idea.

Knowing that the locals in Korea are time starved, the store posted photographs of real ailes in railway stations. Consumers are able to purchase the products by scanning them with their smartphone, using the 'dead' time whilst waiting for a train. When they get home, TaDa! The shopping is delivered.

Rather than Tesco's there are loads of things Id like to be able to do this with. What about ordering a coffee, or a pizza to greet you at the other end.

BBQ shenanigans

Two weeks ago, we bought a new BBQ. A much considered item for which we spent several hours talking to the lovely man at the BBQ shop, learning the intricacies and specialisms of cooking with gas. We learned that we must have marine grade steel, due to our proximity to the sea. We also learned about flipping bricks and adjusting knobs and cleaning, in some detail. I know pretty much everything there is to know about a BBQ, in fact! Just ask me!

What we didn't learn however, was how to fight off the wildlife for our supper.

We live at the top of a hill overlooking a reserve and over that, the sea. We are woken by cockatoos, entertained daily by rainbow lorikeets and their clown like walks, are blessed with a garden full of shy red parrots and are in the flight path of bats. I love them all, but most of all, the laughing kookaburras who make me take nothing seriously.

Until now.

On the first trial of our shiny new toy, where my beloved nuked the sausages in the name of cooking, our leisurely mock-spring lunch on the deck ended in disaster. From the mouth of babes (well, the boy, who's 9),the kookaburra plucked.

It got even more plucky the next morning with the bacon, wrenching it from the hot grills. And lunch that day with guests (more nuking, a chicken this time) ended with a leg missing.

And yes, for those of you who laugh and scorn the meat, my Quorn sausages were not safe either!!!

So, what to do? I asked Everybody.

(Like the kookaburras, Everybody laughed!)

So, for a sensible answer, I wrote to the zoo. And today, a lady called Vanessa answered.

"You're stuffed", she said, (but in a roundabout way).

And so, it's war, and I'm dusting off my Super soaker 2000!