Tuesday 8th December 2009

Here it is - the 8th December 2009 just mere weeks from Christmas and I am not nearly prepared, in fact I am not prepared at all. I have purchased the Christmas cards and have started to fill them out. If you are waiting with baited breath for my card then it will be coming shortly. Iam going to Erina Fair with Anne & Joel this coming Thursday for Joel's "must have" Santa Photo & will finish my shopping hopefully that day. I am intending to do the bulk of the shopping tomorrow and get my annual hit of the QVB Xmas tree & the retail shops in Sydney.

This week has been busy with Christmas parties and gardening and a bit of golf.

Tuesday 1st December 2009 was our golfing end-of-season Christmas Lunch and Presentation Day. We did not play golf that day as it was a long presentation followed by lunch and a couple of entertaining skits from the girls. It was a pleasant day with good company that finished very late afternoon,

Wednesday 2nd December 2009 I spent the morning doing some shopping in Gosford and the afternoon making a start on the greenhouse area. It looks so much better already & I hope to restore it to its original glory.

Thursday 3rd December 2009 I had a long morning in the golf gardens working with Martin Gallagher to finish off replanting some trees, spraying, watering and generally doing catch up jobs that we do not have time for on Mondays.

Friday 4th December 2009 was general shopping and a trip to Bunnings to buy some more plants and then to Ourimbah to check out the price of pebbles for garden mulching a the club.

Saturday 5th December 2009 I cleaned off all the vines and climbing roses that had grown all over the shed roof. It was a huge job that had me up a ladder for three hours. In the afternoon I had to make up some dips and nibbles to take to Duncan & Rosie Dyers place for a Christmas party that night. It was a lovely balmy night so we were able to sit out on their balcony overlooking the lights of Gosford. There were a dozen or so people there so it was a good social night.

Sunday 6th December 2009 we were up early in preparation of our traditional breakfast with Rod, Anne & Joel before going to golf for a 12.30 pm shot gun start for Christmas Gala Day. Joel had his first meal in his high chair - carrots, pumkin & potato which he managed to get everywhere.

Our playing partners at golf were Bob Knox and Doon Jansen & we had a lovely day even though the golf scores were not marvelous. At presentation I was surprised with a gift of native plants in appreciation of my garden work - which was very nice.

After presentation we went to the Wyoming Lantern Chinese Restaurant for dinner with a group of 20 or so from the Golf Club.

Monday 7th December 2009 we had a huge F-Troop day where we worked from 7.00am in the morning until 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Our project was to remove the tree stumps around the course. I laid some pavers down in one of the gardens & helped the boys remove a split branch in the Wedding garden area which was quite challenging.

Tuesday 8th December 2009 (today) I played golf with Anne Burke and Silvia Lee. It was not as hot as predicted thank heavens and we had quite a good day. I was even at the half way mark which was great but then slipped back in the second 9 to just scrape into respectable. The F-Troopers did another days work on the tree stumps so that project is finished now.

I now have to focus on Christmas as I am in charge of luncheon for all and sundry. The tree is not up yet so I will be on full charge for the rest of this week trying to get into control.