The birds have flown & Christmas Lunch

The birds have flown away , the birds took to their wings early in the morning of the 23rd of December . There was much chatter between the parents all day , making sure that the babies didn’t get into any trouble. The City of Greater Geelong have a policy on domestic cats, the cats are not to roam outside at night and the owners have to insure that the cats stay with in their own perimeters.

I have my porch back again, the porch has been scrubbed down with limited water as we are not allowed to use the hose for cleaning outside due to the drought. Geelong is taking water from an Aquifer located in Anglesea, the dams are still way way down . The babies were getting large and I wondered how the two were able to make then selves small, when any unknown sound was heard.
On Christmas morning we left Geelong and travelled on the bypass to Corio a length of 22 kms, I wrote about this when the new road opened. Well the traffic was busy going to Melbourne and on the other side , the cars were just as busy as people headed down to the coast. The morning started out Grey everything was Grey the You Yangs a feature that can be seen from every point in Geelong were Grey, so many different shades of grey the sky was an artists palette of shades as we neared Melbourne patches of grey gave way to blue / grey, the wind started to blow and then the sun came out, by the time we reached our daughters we had forgotten about the sky as the sun shone for the remainder of the day. There were twelve for lunch, DD2'S husband was working. A very large plate was taken home to Cobden for him to have for tea. Last year was the first time the meal was served as a DYO , it worked well and does make it easier to serve up, everything was kept hot. Peas, Beans, Cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, onions, roast potatoes, roast pumpkin, gravy, Sliced turkey, pork and pork stuffing.

After lunch we sat on the decking for the presents. We have a draw and we buy for one person only, so everyone has one present, families give there individual presents on Christmas morning.

I decided to be Santa and each person sat on my knee and I asked them if they had been good? and other pertinent questions until they got three yesses, then I gave them their present.

DD2

DGS1 asking me if I had been good .
Cheerio Margaret

Give Away

GIVAWAY AT Missiekrissie Beautiful handmade jewellery giveaway each day, How generous can that be ??

Blackbird feeding time. Chair. Roses, Scrap bags.

Last Sunday I saw the mother blackbird standing on the edge of the nest and bobbing up and down.

There are two babies , the nest is deteriorating with the constant use.

We have not used the front door since the nesting began. Yesterday 16th the temperature soared to 40 c around 98 f. The front porch faces north and the parents were busy feeding and trying to get water for themselves. We keep the bird bowls full, however with the heat all the birds were making frequent trips. Today it is 18.9 and raining.

DH has a number of hobbies one is restoring furniture, he had this chair given to him , we just have to find a daughter who wants to pay for the restoration. DD2 recently bought two chairs at garage sale. One was a Jacobean the other a dining chair similar to this one. DDs chair has been stripped and DH is in the process of repairing , then sanding and staining and polishing. DDs chair is American Walnut.

When I knew we were in for a hot couple of days I picked all the flowers in bud. They were in bud when picked, today they are stressed but I couldn

t help but take a photo. I do like the Garabaldi Rose ( striped) and the red rose has the strongest perfume.

The weather is playing havoc in the garden , we seem to have a myriad of pests, and all sorts of creeping flying, crawling grubs, all the flowers have some sort of pest on them.

Scraps come in handy for small presents. The scraps for this purse came from Jean Kester .

Hoping you all have a blessed Christmas. Margaret

Cushions

The Summer photo was taken at Bright in January 2002 My how the grandies have grown.

The blackbirds are still sitting on the nest, and all seems to be going well for them. DD2 Quilt maker passes her scraps to me and this is what I have made . I think she will be pleased with them. Nothing else to report , this time of the year is catch up and let's have lunch. So I have been busy. I must tell you about the Johnston Collection. If you are a Victorian or down here visiting it is well worth going on line and booking tickets for "We Three Kings of Orient are "tour.

WE THREE KINGS OF ORIENT ARE 4 November 2009 - 26 February 2010 This year the spectacular Christmas at The Johnston Collection exhibition will have handmade decorations created by artists and craftspeople such as embroiderers, patchworkers and quilters, fibre and textile artists, porcelain artists, lacemakers, the CWA and others from Geelong ~ City by the Bay. More than decoration, each creation in Fairhall will be like a small jewel originating from the exquisite objects in The Johnston Collection and inspired by themes of the travel and journeys undertaken by Mr Johnston.

Bye, for now Margaret