Monday...29 December 2014

Zip bags!
Someone told me once that "Ma there ain't nothin you can't put/store in a zip bag". Well you know what? She was right.
I am addicted to zip bags. I go into meltdown if I feel I am running out of them. Last year, Himself bought me a carton of them at Costco, bless his heart. I reach for a bag when I have left overs or when I cut a piece of cheese and need to store the rest of the block. I put salads in them. I put all my bulk meat into freezer bags and then seal them in a zip bag to prevent freezer burn. I use them to take food to other people's places so that I do not have to remember to collect my container. I just transfer it into their container on arrival and that makes it fuss free for me, and I do not even have to do the washing up later, they do! The more I pack into zip bags the more I can fit in my caravan fridge.
On moving day, I make a peanut butter sandwich, in a zip bag. Once we clear what ever town we are leaving and have open road in front of us, I break out the zip bag and we each have half of the sandwich. For Himself it is morning tea, for me it is breakfast and then the used zip bag becomes today's rubbish bag. I put it in the door storage beside me and put all the days rubbish in it and then when we arrive where ever we are going I take it with me when I exit the car and put it in the bin. So easy!
God bless the inventor of zip bags.
Side note: I wish it was me who invented them, cause whoever did should be very very rich. They do say the simplest things are the best ideas.

Friday...26 December 2014

Well that's another Christmas done and dusted.
Weather was good. Food was superb (I cooked it, so of course it was good!). Company was the best and included the new grandchild having her first ever Christmas. A most successful day.

Saturday...20 December 2014

Cake is made, gift shopping is done. All that is left to do is buy the groceries for Christmas week and Christmas Dinner and I am ready.  I still have some gifts to wrap but that will not take long. The dinner menu is decided and the shopping list for it is written. I have a half baked plan of what to do and when to get started on the day so should have it all sorted. That said, of course there will be something that does not work out just quite right but Christmas wouldn't be the same without a hiccup or two now would it?
We have alternated our days with baby sitting, baby cuddling and visiting with friends and family. Is there any more perfect way to spend our retirement? I think not!
Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you get everything you need and a little of what you want.

Tuesday...16 December 2014

Himself made our Christmas cake today. It takes 4 hours to cook and the smell is heavenly. I know you can buy a cake much cheaper than making one from scratch but the home made with love variety tastes so much better.
While he was cooking I did some washing and then spent the next couple of hours chasing it around. Today was very windy and my sheets were blown up onto the daughters roof and on another gust over the neighbours fence. That was when I gave up trying to keep them out in the wind to dry and unpegged them and took them inside, dry or not. Enough was enough. My sheets are the dirtiest clean linen I have ever seen!
Apparently there was a huge cold front moving over eastern Australia this afternoon which has now passed us by. Maybe tomorrow we can put our awning back up. Thank heavens it is electric. The weather here has been really erratic and our awning has been in and out more than we have!

Thursday...11 December 2014

When I woke up this morning I was all alone. This is worth mentioning because it is a very rare occasion where Himself gets up before me. Apparently he had a restless night and finally gave up and moved to the couch and did his tossing and turning there.

It is quite windy today. It was also windy last night. I have things rattling and banging all around outside but when I went to investigate I could not find a single thing out of place. Not sure now what is making all the noise. There is a tree out there but it does not seem to be making contact with the caravan. Quite baffling. The road and grounds are covered in a carpeting layer of leaves that have been blown out of trees during the night but the trees are still firmly upright for which I am truly thankful. Every so often the entire caravan shakes as yet another serious gust hits it. The internal roads are mostly gravel and the wind is sending clouds of dust along them making it look like surf rolling in at the beach. The birds are holding their own but most are walking on the ground. Flying is only for the daredevils today!

Tuesday...9 December 2014

Been there, done that, back again! Nice day in Echuca, but here we are back where we started from. While we were gone someone made a certain tent disappear. What a shame, we must have missed the going away party! What will I have to bitch about now?

Monday...8 December 2014

So the caravan park we are staying in has a 60 day policy. You can only stay 59 consecutive nights then you must leave for at least one night. We were not due to have our one night out until New Years Eve! We decided to bite the bullet and do our 'go round' today which will allow us to relax and enjoy Christmas.
So here we are on the banks of the Mighty Murray River in Echuca and wouldn't you know it, the only person here we know has gone to Melbourne for the day.
Never mind. It is for one night only and we have done all the touristy stuff here on previous visits so we will just sit, relax and listen to the paddle steamers leaving port with yet another load of happy tourists.

Saturday...6 December 2014

Started planning the Christmas Day menu this morning. Numbers will be small so am trying to work out a scaled down version of the normal "works". Himself will cook the cake next week. The fruit for it has been marinating now for nearly 8 weeks so should be well soaked. Instead of making a cake and a pudding with the mixture as normal he has been asked to make a second cake for the new baby's christening in the new year.
I am thoroughly fed up with this cold we have. We have hit it with everything in the cupboard from pills to good healthy eating and still it lingers. Every time we think we have it beat it comes right back again. Maybe it is a Christmas Flu......the gift that keeps on giving!

Tuesday...2 December 2014

Well I am not better but I did not die either so I suppose the news is all good. 

The bus people were only tricking! The bus was on loan and the owner took it back thus leaving "the girls" homeless. Nil desperandum. They went out and bought a tent! This will be interesting. Two grown adults and a small child in a tent for the summer. It is going to take a lot of ice to keep all their drink cold......Still tent row is away from our immediate area so we have our serenity back. For now!