Friends

A good friend rang today.  Together, Steve and I have known him for 32 years and Steve a little longer.  I am significantly older than he but  age was never important in our relationship.  We rarely ever see him but we hear from him maybe once a year.  

When I first met him, he had not long lost his Mother and was at Uni in Bendigo.  He was from a dairy farm, not far from where we lived.  He was passionate about plants and very interested in music.  He had (and has) a quiet, friendly charm and an ability to draw people out.  I've always loved how he can pass on technical explanations in simple language.

Whilst talking to him tonight, I told him that he was the nicest and kindest person I have ever met.   I've always thought that but have never told him.   

Why is it that we don't tell our good friends how we value them?   

What's wrong with telling someone what we like about them?

I'm going to do it more often!!

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Christmas Day 2011

It was a wonderful Christmas with the family, as always.

The tables were set up outside but they were covered/ uncovered a few times, as the light rain came down.  Finally, the sky brightened a little and we ate our meal very comfortably.  

 

We were a much smaller bunch than usual, only 14 of us,whereas last year there were 21 all told.   Betty was noticeably absent.  Christmas in Heaven would be much nicer,anyway!       

We had the traditional food ---- turkey, ham and pork, with every vegetable known to man and all the trimmings.  This was followed by plum pudding and/or trifle.   So lovely!

It was a muggy day, so a few of us decided on a dip in the pool ...... the little kids, the middle sized kids, the older kid,Tatum, our PNG friends Jason and Lega and the old kids, Steve and me.  At first the water was shockingly cold and it was hard to continue creeping in but we soon warmed up and had fun.

 Jason and Lega are cricketers from Papua New Guinea.  They are sponsored to play cricket for the Box Hill Club at this time of the year and they move on from here to other places all around the world.   Jason boarded with Talitha last year but this is Lega's first time with her.  They are great lads and they like to join in all the fun.

Jason does a back somersault into the pool.

Not long after leaving the pool, it began to rain again.  It was slow at first and some of us remained chatting at the table, under the shelter of the big umbrella.  When it began to pour down, we all went inside to exchange Christmas presents.

                    Indy gives Tish a bone that Santa left.

 Noise, colour, screams, excitement, happiness, gratitude ---- and that was just us big kids (not really!)  The rain came again, thundering on the flat roof.  I looked outside a back window and saw a fountain spurting from the guttering.  Tom hurried out, climbed onto the roof and removed the leaves that were blocking the gutters.  The rain belted down, accompanied by thunder and lightning.  Poor Tom!

Safe inside with our presents and fun, we were slow to notice that the water was coming inside.  Rachel and Mandy were getting wet, so they were provided with towels and a bucket and we continued on with the present opening. 

Rachel and Mandy shelter from the leak

When it came time for people to leave, it was a race to bring the cars into the drive, pack them and depart, leaving space for the next car.    We were very lucky in Croydon South and only Tom had reason to complain!   Many other suburbs were hit with huge hailstones and a lot of damage was done.   Emergency workers are attending to a backlog of 1000 calls.  Neighbouring states are sending extra workers to help out.

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