We Wish You a Ripper Christmas and a Snappy New Year

Taken from my son's kindie class song. It rather tickled me, because it's just so Aussie - it goes:

''We wish you a ripper Christmas
A dead set ripper Christmas
A full-on ripper Christmas
and a snappy New Year''

Great song and they had such fun singing it!

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on my last post, I really appreciated your help. And I love 'Six White Boomers - and, now, so do my kids!

Have a wonderful Christmas, all of you. Take care of yourselves and each other, drive carefully and safely. Take time to have fun, knit, crochet and do silly things.

And have a wonderful 2010 - and all the best for a very happy and healthy New Year.

I'll see you all in January.

Bad tempered

I heard the most remarkable and amazing Christmas carol this morning. I was in the shower and listening to Macca on Australia all over and I heard 'Carol for the Wheat Country' by Zita Denholm sung by Andria (or Andra) Muhoberac. It was incredible and Australian and described the wonderful Australian Cristmas of walking down hot dusty roads, and the harvest going on and I can't find a link to it anywhere.

Nearly all our carols are about snow and winter and frost and such, and really, Christmas in Australia is not like that. Christmas in Australia is about summer and beaches and prawns and long sunny evenings and chilled champers and flowers and worry about bushfires.

It apparently appears on 'Macca by Request' and I really don't want to buy a Macca album for just one song. But I do want my kids to hear uniquely Australian Christmas Carols. We've done Carol of the Birds and the Australian Jingle Bells which is this one:

Aussie Jingle Bells

Dashing through the bush In a rusty Holden Ute Kicking up the dust Esky in the boot Kelpie by my side Singing Christmas songs It's summer time and I am in My singlet, shorts & thongs CHORUS: OH, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS JINGLE ALL THE WAY CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA ON A SCORCHING SUMMER'S DAY JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS CHRISTMAS TIME IS BEAUT OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE IN A RUSTY HOLDEN UTE Engine's getting hot Dodge the kangaroos Swaggy climbs aboard He is welcome too All the family is there Sitting by the pool Christmas day, the Aussie way By the barbecue! CHORUS Come the afternoon Grandpa has a doze The kids and uncle Bruce Are swimming in their clothes The time comes round to go We take a family snap Then pack the car and all shoot through Before the washing up

Anyone know of links to Carol forthe Wheat Country? Hard I know, but just in case.....

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat

Yes, the Christmas knitting is complete (no, there are no pictures, some readers of this blog are to be recipients!). Mind you, I had pared it down to the minimum, but apart from knitting, it also needing felting, which has also been done. So I am currently feeling an enormous sense of accomplishment.

And, it is not often that I beat the Yarn Harlot onto a bandwagon, but this time I have done it. My French Press Slippers have just been waiting until the Christmas knitting was put of the way (seeing that I am currently feeling the felting love). Zephyrama initiated me into the slipper fold, and I am so ready. I seem to have the perfect buttons, too.

I currently feel so swamped with WIPs, with books (I request books from the library, and then all the books I have requested for the last 6 months all arrive at the same time. There is never a possibility of renewing them, so I have to try and finish 10 books in three weeks. Makes me feel under pressure.), with Christmas preparation, that any little thing I finish fills me with a great feeling of achievement. Anything.

Done the washing up? Warm glow.

Finished one sock? Yay!

Posted all overseas and interstate Christmas presents? By crikey, you're a good 'un.

Done Christmas knitting? Bursting with virtue.

Finish a book? The best, baby, the best.

Now all I have to do is finish some more WIPs, the pile of books by my bed, cleaning the house, the Christmas cards, wrapping presents, de-cluttering, losing 10 or so more kilos, the laundry, the vacuuming, the bathrooms, the dinner, commenting on blogs, the stuff needed for the end of the school year, organising the holidays and keeping the children gainfully occupied, and I'll be right. Everything will be under control.

How about you?

Having a bit of a WIP 'round...

It has been a month of WIP frenzy. Each night I put my hand into the Big Bucket o' WIPs (tm), and play Knittlotto (tm), knitting on whatever gets hauled out. A little concentrated effort on a couple of projects which may have been hanging around for a while has resulted in this:



Clapotis 2, started in May 2009 finished in November 2009 (Touch Yarn Merino and utterly gorgeous)


This:


Radiate from Knitty.com, in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Luscious Single Silk in Citrine

and some secret Christmas Knitting (which isn't all finished yet)

There are also a couple of single socks and a bit more done on several other projects which have been lurking in the undergrowth for a while.

So the whole stash honesty thing doesn't look nearly so bad at present:

Knitted: 1300 grams

Inward enhancements: 1700 grams

Slightly better stats this month!

The aniversary of Mum's death passed with a family trip to beaustiful (but slightly rainy) Strahan on the West Coast of Tasmania.

There was some of this:


And some of this:


And almost a whole day of this:
The trip on the West Coast Wilderness Railway was a wonderful day despite the rain. The original was contructed over a century ago, and has been revived as a tourist route, with a 50 year old diesel locomotive for the first section, from Strahan to the base of the mountain, and then a 111 year old stem engine - named Percy because he is green - takes over and the line becomes a rack and pinion (sort of like cogs) to go over a mountain and down the other side to Queenstown.

The train stops at all the old stations along the way, includes a lovely lunch of Tasmanian gourmet bits and pieces and the kids had a wonderful time. A long day, but really interesting.

Strahan itself is lovely - and I'm ashamed to say that I haven't been down there for 17 years. We had crayfish and the local hotel had a wonderful restaurant. The old railway link between the town wharf and Regatta Point is now a walk along the side of the harbour. Macquarie Harbour is, in fact, the second largest in Australia after Port Philip Bay (Sorry, Sydneysiders!)

I intend to visit again, long before another 17 year hiatus!

There have been lots of things happeneing - mainly at the school, with the year winding up - I have atteneded sports carnivals, inter-school sports, swimming lessons, the fete, the garden opening, and have the disco (lots of kids from 5 to 12 in 'crazy' dress hitting the town until the heady hour of 8pm) and the school picnic coming up.

The time thief has struck again, because I cannot believe we are currently in December - woe is me!

Back to the scheduled Christmas Knitting!