Author: awmalloyadmin

It’s been a great day. Mum and Peter are down for a visit so the kids have been over the moon, and over excited all day. They got to go to the park with them, have books read – the works. Tonight was parents reward time and we got to do something we haven’t had the chance to do in a very very long time. We went for a walk. Together. In the evening, and it was great. We live in a pretty nice neighbourhood considering it’s so young. We walked to the new school and around the ovals. It was interesting to see so many others out and about walking their dogs, picnicking or watching their kids play on the playgrounds. Hopefully before too long Phee will be responsible enough to watch the kids and we’ll get to do it again.

Happy New Year everyone. Amazingly enough we managed to stay awake until midnight last night. It probably helped we watched a movie with Rae’s mum (The Wrestler, fantastic film) and mother nature was putting on an awesome fireworks show all of her own. This time last year our neighbours held a massive, loud and long party that had us wondering how long we’d be able to survive in this house. This year it was thunder, a few illegal neighbourhood fireworks and that was that. There’s still a few cars parked in the street so there must have been a good party going on somewhere.

Best thing about this morning was a gentle ker thunk. I’m not sure what time  it was but I was awake enough to hear it. Thinking back it’s probably about 15 years since I’ve heard that sound on a weekday – the sound of The Age landing on the driveway. Thanks to a good deal from Rae’s work we’ve upped our subscription from only weekends to seven days a week. We’re trialling it for six months, as we’re not sure either of us will get to read the thing but it does mean we shouldn’t miss The Green Guide or Epicure for the next 26 weeks. No more calls on Thursday to check who is going to pick up a copy.

I’m not sure how much longer The Age can last. While I think main stream media ain’t gonna die completely it’s hard to see how a paper edition can survive in the long term. If The Age would remove those bloody annoying video ads from its web site  I’m sure I’d go back to it as my never ending source of news updates during the day. With Apple’s tablet just around the corner, and wi-fi and mobile net access omnipresent I’m not sure future generations will know the the quiet pleasure of unfolding a broadsheet on the table and settling down with a coffee. But for now we’ll make the most of it. Time to fire up the machine again, This week’s A2 is waiting.

How I’m loving these lazy days, I have no idea how I’m going to be able to switch back in to work mode next week. Maybe a quick peek at the bank balance will help but until then I’m just going to enjoy the hours with Rae home and with the kids still in a post-Christmas spirit. We’ve been to the market, had visitors, been to the zoo, lazed around the house, read books, watched movies and eaten enough chocolate to last a life time.

Last night Rae and I took Phee, at her persistent request,  to The Astor to see Alien and Aliens. The 13 year old bravado disappeared pretty quickly but we soldiered on. The thing that amazed me was how people behaved during Alien. You go to the Astor because you love cinema, and generally because you love the movie that’s screening so why was there a constant procession of people getting up, going out and coming back in a few minutes later. It started about 10 minutes in to the film and didn’t stop. I have a bladder the size of pea I can make it through. Is it DVDs that have made people accustomed to not having to sit still or to plan on getting a drink before the movie starts? I expect better next time people, you have been warned.

It’s a bit cooler today than it was this time last year. How can I remember? Because, this day last year we moved in to our new home and it was bloody hot! Thanks again to the wonderful friends who braved that day to help us lug all those boxes. That night we slept on a mattress on concrete in what is now the kids play room. We had no curtains, no drive way, no phone, no net and couldn’t have been happier.

In the past 12 months we’ve made our little house a home. We finally got our floors down, put up some curtains and summoned up the courage to bang nails in to our walls. With help we dug out the backyard for our wonderful deck and then the two of us flattened the rest of the wilderness to make a back yard. More help saw the front disaster area being turned in to the best front yard in the street.

We’ve each had a birthday in the house, an anniversary, a surprise coming out, first Christmas and hosted what will be the first of many Grand Final BBQs. Sure there’s a mountain of stuff left to do, not the least of which is to get a side fence built. They are nice neighbours, but. We want to put a roof in the deck, do the sides of the house, finish the front yard, do more to the back and on it goes. I guess it will never again.

So, one year down, many many more to come, and that feels great.

Presents are wrapped, fridge is stocked (both solids and liquids), house cleaned and kids excited. In short, we’re ready for Christmas. Should be a great day, our first Christmas in our house with all the kids really appreciating the day, I can’t wait.

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope Santa is kind to all of you.

Happy Gravy Day everyone.

Breakfast, coffee, papers then computers.The modern lazy Sunday morn.

That will teach me. I woke up this morning with my very own tramp stamp. No, not black swirls or two cavorting dolphins but a lovely bright red burn that look suspiciously like I’m wearing a g-string. It seems that even though I covered up and smothered myself in sunscreen yesterday I didn’t take in to account t-shirt creep while bending over doing the weeding. Ouch.

Was it worth it? Sure was. The front yard is slowly coming together, all it needs is some aerating of the soil, a bit more black mulch and another couple of hours and we’ll have the best garden in the street.

Two things made me feel old today.

1) Of the EG’s Top 30 Singles Of 2009 in The Age today I knew two of the artists and one of the songs.

2) I stood in a shop shaking my head that the shop assistant had to use the cash register to add up $3.95 and $3.95. And she was older than me.

I may just have a new favourite Christmas album.

Up until recently there’s two songs and one album that are Christmas to me. Paul Kelly’s How To Make Gravy is not only one of his best songs but would have to be one of the greatest, if not must unusual, Christmas songs ever. No chorus and written from the perspective of a man in jail it never fails to move me. No matter what time of year I hear it.

Then there’s Bing Crosby’s classic Merry Christmas with Bing Crosby. Instantly I’m a young boy again, this is playing and Dad is singing. Christmas in Killarney still creeps me out for some unknown reason but the album is pure December joy.

Finally a few years ago Beth posted Miaow’s Melancholic Christmas Tune – and I loved it.. It’s on my Faves playlist and makes me smile every time i hear it, love the samples!

But now they have a run for their money.

Yes, A Juniper Creek Christmas is a new album released by The Prophet Roman Grant and celebrates Christmas Juniper Creek style. Only Roman Grant could make ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas make my hair stand on end. So go watch the video and then download your copy and sing along with me, “’tis the season to be poly…”