Et Tu, Brute?

A so-called 'friend' takes me for granted....again.

Our Christmas....

.....went pretty well. The kids were up by 7 to open their presents. Lunch was 'Finish-leftovers' special. Sudha and kids came over at around 4 pm. Deepthi wanted to help cook the dinner, so I started preparing after they arrived. It was a totally mixed dinner - we had roast chicken, roast potatoes, stuffing, gravy, rice and sambhar, poori and aloo. The company made the whole thing so special - I had a brilliant time.

Silent Prayer

I remember loving this song when it first came out and having listened to it recently, I realised how much I still love it. What a lovely voice Shanice has! Here's hoping everyone I know has a great christmas.

M-isms

My four-year old said to her brother yesterday,"Anna, are you in the studion union?", where Anna = Big Brother, Studion Union = Student Union.

I'm also learning a bit of Irish from her (probably not a good idea, because when I repeated my new vocabulary to an Irish friend, she didn't quite understand me. Or perhaps the fault lies with me, the student.). She's taking her new job very seriously - 'Amma, after I finish my homework, you're doing yours.'.

The Cosiest Poem Ever...

I don't care what the critics say, this is one of my favourite poems:

The Autumn Song

Reading it makes me want to curl up on a comfy sofa or snuggle up under the duvet.

A Mild Winter

Somebody said to me the other day, "Isn't it great that today's temperature is 14 degrees Centigrade?". This wasn't September or October, it was the beginning of December. And I thought, "Whaaaaaa...? What's to feel so happy about? I'm worried sick here." At this rate we'll be soon having our BBQs out for Christmas, like they do in Australia. The seasons haven't been what they should be in the past few years and from what I gather, it's only going to get worse. What a great legacy to be leaving our descendents. Here's a neat little site to calculate and offset your carbon footprint.

http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

Older and Wiser?

Three days after my birthday. Am I older? Definitely yes. Wiser? Hmmm....some people I know might want to debate that (and return the unanimous verdict of "Nay". ). All I can say is, I don't feel any different in my head than I did 10 years ago. My daughter asked me how old I was and I told her I was twenty. To her four-year old mind, that's a BIG age, so I knew she couldn't handle my real age (plus I didn't want her divulging it to everyone she met). Yesterday her teacher wished me belatedly on being twenty with a big grin on her face - what's so funny about it, I ask you? Like my 8-year old son pointed out sarcastically, I must have been twelve when I had him. Seriously though, I don't believe in lying about my age. I think we should all be thankful for each year we get to spend on this earth. And call it desperation on my part, but I really want to believe that women are like wine - they only get better with age. I felt really blessed on my birthday* - the wishes were pouring in, I had a surprise birthday party in my honour and a friend I'd lost touch with not only remembered my birthday but rang from Kuwait to wish me. That really meant a lot.

* despite the cruel jokes that were made about my age.