Merry Christmas from all the wombats

Here's a bouquet of wildflowers from Australia to say Merry Christmas, and if it happens that you don't celebrate Christmas - best wishes to you anyway.

The season of peace and goodwill wasn't on some of the drivers at the shops today. It was busy, we had expected that, so we went to the smaller of the two supermarkets in the local mall. In, shopped, and out in double quick time. We even found a parking spot without too much trouble, we don't mind a little walk to the car, the exercise is good for us. It tickles my sense of humour seeing shoppers followed to their car by a hopeful driver.....only to find the person isn't leaving after all. Heaven forfend that they should have to park more than a dozen steps from the mall entrance! I'm not talking about older or less infirm people, or mums with small children who, as we all know, have short legs which tire easily. Yes it's hot in summer, and yes it's nice to find a parking spot in the shade, but if the car has to be left in the sun while the shopping is done then that's the way it is.

And my blog now has a green (have I mentioned that I really, really like green?) Christmas tree to pretty it up, although I did like the "messy snowflakes" background. It's rare that we have snow in Australia at Christmas, so my snowflakey design was wishful thinking! For weeks now we have had Christmas music played to us while we are shopping, we accept that, it happens every year, I quite like carols......but who decided that songs (not Christmas carols, just songs about winter) like "Winter Wonderland" "and Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" were suitable for playing in Australia in the middle of a heat wave? Open fires are banned in times of high fire danger, we certainly wouldn't light one just to roast chestnuts. Or any other kind of nuts. Except perhaps the nuts of the idiot who decided to play the recording.

Recently Karendianne wrote about losing some blocks which were later found halfway down in the scrap bin. I can top that. A couple of years ago I bought knitting yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills to make a cardigan, the pattern was bought in Toronto, Canada. Earlier this year it became obvious that I wasn't going to have enough yarn and I couldn't find the last ball anywhere in the house, I searched high and low and in between. I could only find four labels (I always keep yarn labels until I have finished what I am making) and I knew I had bought five balls. By then I was starting to panic because I thought I was losing my mind, or my marbles, or something. Finally I was able to get more from a fellow knitter on Ravelry. Last week Kevin was tidying up some papers and having a cleanout, he came across the original receipt for the yarn purchase......and you won't believe it.....but I had, indeed, only bought four balls. Now I am cheesed off, because I wasted a good panic while I was looking for that non-existent ball of yarn. I could have saved the panic up for something really important, if I had but known.

Now I am going to see if I can hold some hand-piecing, I couldn't last week. Today's point of etiquette concerns visitors, and as we all know Christmas is a time of visiting friends and rellies, or having them visit you.

"A call should not be longer than fifteen minutes in duration, nor should it be so long as to become tedious. A bore is a person who does not know when you have had enough of his or her company, and gives more of it than is desirable. Choose a time to leave when there is a lull in the conversation, and the hostess is not preoccupied with fresh arrivals. Then take leave of your hostess, bowing to those you know as you leave the room, not to each in turn, but let one bow include all."

So thank you for reading this far, and to those lovely folk who have visited my blog and left comments thank you, may this Christmas season be one of peace for all.

Jennifer