New address book....

I'm going to start RIGHT NOW. These old notebooks have been set out on the ironing board beside my bed for a couple of days, waiting to have their entries updated and put into the new address book. This plan is probably two years old! I need somebody behind me with a whip to get me going.

Today's a good day to do it, as the forecast is 37. My place is always lovely and cool, so I'll stay inside. Outside it will be deadly. 

Christmas day

There was a storm on Christmas Eve and we were woken by Hugo at 7am, to find this beautiful mist all around. Then we had the opening of gifts and checked to make sure Santa had had his milk and cake and the reindeer had had their carrots. Manami excelled herself with a French-style lunch - we started with prawns and a cheese platter, followed by a scallop and pear terrine which was so light you barely knew it was there:

Next came a salmon and pilaf coulibiac:

And salade rouge:

We ended up with trifle, but I forgot to take a pic of that before it was all eaten.

It was a most delightful day. I slept all afternoon! No thought of any jobs I should have been doing, including chapter 1 of my book on procrastination. It is, after all, the Christmas holidays!

But today I'm forced into action as the scales on the Thermomix have stopped working!!!! Disaster. I tried ringing the company, but of course they are on holidays, too. Meantime I need to find the warranty, which means a huge search. While I'm at it, I'm going to do a bit more of my new address book, which involves going through about 200 old notebooks and bits and pieces so I can leave out/change addresses of people who have died/divorced/moved.

I'm going to write a book on procrastination...

Aha, you see what I mean! The minute I sit at the computer, I start doing jigsaw after jigsaw. I'm completely addicted. The plan for today was to catch up on emails and do some ancestry. More than likely, that will end up being done tomorrow. But who cares?

Into the modern world at last...

Philip bought me this OPPO smartphone last week, so I now have to learn how to use it. It's surprisingly big and heavy. I don't know where to put it when I go swimming, to pilates and the gym. I'm assuming it was expensive and an easy target for thieves if left around.

I seem to have got right out of the habit of blogging every day, as I find life is becoming more and more of a hassle and I am always busy. Today I plan to catch up on paper work, which I hate more than anything. The car is due for registration and that means having it checked at a garage and filling in a form for third party insurance. I paid the normal insurance a while ago and don't understand why it becomes about $100 more expensive each year when the car deteriorates in value and I've never made a claim. What a ripoff.

I also have to send overseas Christmas cards, wrap presents, attend to mail (mostly requests for money from charities), fill in my new address book as people move, divorce, die or drop out of view. I'll shortly skype my Sri Lankan friend in Newcastle. She recently moved to Australia with her husband, who is doing his PhD in engineering. She is a doctor, but must pass the IELTS exam before being able to practise.

Then I'm off to pilates and have the rest of the day free, as Philip is coming home early to go to a Christmas afternoon tea for the school band. He is on the committee and Emma plays the trombone. I usually pick her up. I might see if there's a movie I like anywhere close. And I need to do some maths as I've had to cancel the last two lessons to go to Christmas parties.

Now I can't see this published blog as it has been updated and, of course, I can't work anything out.

I'm not surprised you all liked that beautiful old house in my last blog. Life seemed so serene in those days, didn't it!