Penniedarling

Elodie sound asleep, her choice not mine 😌

Labels: 12/19, Elodie

One of my favourite Lunchtime Treats!  our local Pizza shop is the bestest!

Labels: 12/19, Food

 First up... Babushka Chess.


Then it was Backgammon!

 While Elodie and Peepee did four of Odie's new puzzles.

Then it was onto some of Elodie's Aunts and Uncle and Dad's old puzzles.   

Labels: Christmas 2019

Labels: 12/19, Pennie

 Some watched Cricket.
 Some played Chess.
 Cricket again.
 Most of us enjoyed the Pool.
 Especially Elodie.
 Refreshing Watermellon.
Yum!
 What are they watching?
 Timmy T, strutting his stuff!
Lovely quite time drawing unicorns.

Labels: Christmas 2019

This shirt belongs to Nerys and several of her Soccer playing friends!   They are so cool aren't they eh!

Labels: 12/19

Everyone in my Family Tree, so many wonderful Ancestors and so many beautiful family as well!

Labels: 12/19, Family

 Deveining the Prawns means all hands on deck.
 Then onto their skewers for a very quick smoke in the Kamado!   

 My Perfect Christmas Lunch, slow smoked Pickled Leg of Pork, fast BBQed Prawns, Mango Salad, Crispy Noodle Salad and Cous Cous.  I piled my plate high, very high indeed... Seriously Yum!

Will you look at my Soda Water, with a beautiful Wild Hibiscus in Syrup Flower added.  Only the faintest of flavour but just enough to make this drink even more bubbly with a touch of something resembling Pear flavour.

Labels: Christmas 2019, Food

Check out this wonderful old Postcard sent to me from my Great Aunt Cranky way back on the 31.10.1962.
Google Maps today.

Labels: 12/19, Postcards

Labels: Christmas 2019

I just love this photo of Rip'n'Rosie, one of my very favourite, they loved celebrating Christmas Day with the family as did we, Rosie always went overboard with Pressies for us all which was fun with lots of paper to recycle.
Long gone these two but never forgotten... As Rosie said the day before she died, 'I can't wait to be forever dancing on Rodd Island with Rip', so that's where we scattered them together.

Labels: Christmas 2012, Rip'n'Rosie

Labels: Christmas 2019

Found this on Facebook, just perfect as I sew up the last of my.......

Labels: 12/19, Christmas 2019

Hanging Christmas Cards on the family room fly screen door.

Labels: 12/19, Christmas 2019

We've enjoyed lots of wonderful times throughout the year, David and I are so very proud of all these  people, our children, our in-laws, our grandchildren and ourselves 😊 of course... we love to see everyone chatting to everyone, the in-laws chatting with their in-laws, our children chatting with their in-laws, all our grandchildren so looking forward to spending time with their cousins and their Aunts and Uncles, playing games, sharing stories and all ever ready to help around the house, Abigail's Treasure Hunt is looked forward to by everyone when we are together.  Cooking of well loved handed down recipes is another treat with the Grandies and a Rello Bash is always fun catching up with extended family plus long time friends.

Another Fun Day was when Tilly and Abi decided to make a 'Fairy Garden', I was able to give them a big plastic tray then they found the big old very heavy tree root in our wood pile, David gave them some soil and so from there this garden was lovingly put together and since then has been added to by all the younger grandchildren while they were visiting, I keep it up to date myself now with a little watering plus some Christmas Decorations 😊


We've enjoyed so many get togethers with our close and our extended families but a new one this year has been the Outdoor Movies Nerys and Tim organize, a sheet goes up on the Bus Garage roller door held in place with magnets then they turn their whiz bang machine thing that projects the movie onto the sheet.  Guests bring their own beanbags or seats and contribute to the food and drink. Watching 5yo GS James little legs bopping away while watching 'Grease' was priceless.  A couple of outdoor Movie evenings, while TEAMG were here last July, had to be moved inside because it was just too cold outside but it was still great fun.  Here's my Blog Post on 'Grease'.



David decided to sell his Big Green Bus to the Bus Museum this year, he still has his Big Red Bus though, both are in excellent condition and he is looking forward to the Annual Australia Day Event in Sydney on the 26th January 2020, when he and Gwilym as conductor will drive the public over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and back during the Celebrations.

David found a new hobby this year and that is restoring old Sydney Steam Boats with the Sydney Heritage Fleet at Rozelle, lots of very dirty work shoveling coal to get the engine steaming, but he was given a beautiful pair of Overalls to work in and he just loves it.

David in his 'Overies' with his name on them as well.

One of the Steam Boats David is working on.

We both enjoyed a few hours on the Harbour on the Waratah, well David did and I do love Sydney Harbour but I should have taken a motion sickness tablet.

Pennie has loved writing, mostly for the family although I have been writing a column for the Australian Bus Magazine over the last couple of years, it only comes out every two months so it wasn't hard and it was great fun. Here is my final page.

'Patient Wife'... that's me 😉

 I also love putting books together for our Grandchildren when they become a 'Teen', this was Nerys' idea several years ago and has taken off and much looked forward to as each child nears their thirteenth birthday... I finished Tilly's book last month, copies of which were sent to Macao in good time for Tilly's 13th in early January.  I get a list from the parents of the upcoming teen of who they would like to contribute with some advice or stories of what they enjoyed about being a teen as well as some photos of themselves as a Teen... and I have to say, some of the best comments and advice has been coming from the 'new' teens themselves!

Teen books for Jack, Abi, Charlie and Tilly.

 Never a day goes by without my hands busy with either quilting or knitting, every second Saturday at a Pub nearby, or every second Wednesday evening at one of my local groups, or every evening while relaxing in front of the TV.  I'm very happy with a couple of quilts I've just finished for our small local group yearly Challenge but I can't show you photos because we don't reveal until January! Stay tuned 😊

Here are a couple of quilts I've made earlier this year.

Charlie's 13th Birthday Quilt made as requested using the colours of his favourite English Football Team.

This one was for my niece Casey's 21st Birthday.

Raggy  Quilts made for newborns at Hornsby Hospital and below little dolls for children at Hornsby Hospital.

Weather - Drought, Bush Fires, Wind, Hail, No Internet for one whole week, then only for half an hour after we got it back... the power went out in our whole area.  No rain, serious water restrictions, thankfully we have three water tanks that were almost full, not for long though if this weather keeps up... one is now empty and only about 1/3 is left in the other two tanks.
Two serious incidents on our, usually very safe suburb, an elderly woman bashed in her retirement village and then a young woman found dead in her freezer... I won't go into what's going on around the world but that Volcano in NZ!  Horrible.

Now let's talk about Penniedarling!
In the past 9 months I've had visits to two different Hospitals, two different Day Clinics, many many Doctors or all sorts and Dentists as well, a Blood Transfusion, two Downy things and one Uppy thing, Eyes, Teeth... Not to forget all those visits to our local Phlebotomist and my GP a couple of days later... sort of like... Hands, knees and a boomsy daisy!

All good now thankfully though.   Well it was when I first started writing this Newsletter, but a couple of days ago I found I have Vertigo!  Specialist before Christmas then roll on a happy and healthier 2020

The Pavement I tripped over at the end of April and below the result of that fall.

A few stitches on my nose and a very tiny broken bone at the bottom of my left thumb which took many x-rays to find.

My left cataract being attend to - photo taken for me by my Surgeon 😊

Blood Transfusion before my Uppy Downy thingy, not a lot of fun but I am so impressed with all the Doctors I visited, all the Nurses in the hospitals and all the painless machinery that got me back...  On the road again...

Labels: Christmas 2019