Just a thought....
Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

Thursday, 16 December 2010

I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas


 Our river here broke its banks between yesterday and the night before. Things are a little soggy. I'm thoroughly enjoying the cooler weather though. I even baked some cookies! Shortbread over-browned - blegh - but the spice biscuits came out beautifully. It was less than fun making them though, as my co-baker isn't here. Most are being bagged to gift, though I'm quite sure HRM will do damage to them all if I left him to it.


I had some Santa success yesterday!! Last week, I did a lesson around Santa with MF, but she was unimpressed. She knew her parents delivered her gifts to her grandparents' home where they always opened them. I got her to write her letter to Santa anyway, which she did with much sulking and very begrudgingly. The only way to keep her going was to Google her 'wishes'. Now that got her excited.

I found an awesome site online where you can print and 'send' a reply to the kid from Santa. The trouble is, the letter mentions Santa going on to a 'friend' and names the friend. Now I'm useless with names and couldn't remember her friends, so I asked Tat, who happily obliged (she taught MF before I got her - that girl has a prodigious memory!). We just had to hope that the kids were still friends. I took my chances.

When I arrived at MF's home, she had a picture she had drawn of 3 girls with names next to them. I looked and said, with bated breath, "Are these your friends?" No, was the answer. They were just characters from a TV series. Whew! "Who are your friends then?" Counting off on her fingers, she started, "Gabrielle, João.... and others," she said with a shrug. "Others?" I wanted to know. Yes... others. She obviously has too many to mention. A grin spread over her face though. "Look what I got!" and she stuck her letter from Santa under my nose (I had left it with the security guard with instructions to put it in among their mail). Then she told me all about her letter and what was inside. She's convinced Santa must be real and all-seeing, as he knew her friend! I hoaxed a kid, so sue me - to quote Marty. Apparently dad said it must be Corrianne who sent the letter, but the whole friend thing threw her, as she knew I didn't know her friend. I'm happy : )

I made myself a Christmas present... a notebook for the new year. Some of you may recognise the photos on the front and back cover. The paper was scrap I had lying around.


Jurgis' Christmas present will doubtless be the baking of another batch of biscuits. He doesn't use notebooks. What else does one make for a guy anyway?

19 comments:

  1. It is an icy day here. Love the Santa clothesline :)
    The photos on your notebook are beautiful.
    Lol the biscuits sound like a great gift, can't go wrong with them. I saw the recipe , looks great

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  2. The photos are of my daughter. I'm missing her terribly. This way, I get to carry her around with me and show her off : )

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  3. Dreaming of white Christmas or of a nightmare white Christmas... SO much snow we have and not even winter yet. Much more to come. But... it will melt in the spring.

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  4. I never even tried to convince my kids of Santa's existence. They chose to think so. On their own! So I went with it till they decided it wasn't true anymore. You know my background---didn't matter to me one way or the other.

    I don't want snow. Wet would be ok. And that's what it would be if I was where I wanted to be!!

    I saw a news clip on TV about Brazil. I think it was the president being interviewed? Talking about the economy, and how Brazil has not been affected by recessions or ups and downs, employment and all that. He made it sound like Brazil was the place to be!! It made me think of you.

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  5. Bert, the northern hemisphere has been hit hard with cold and snow. They did say it would be a long and hard winter.

    Kat, my intention wasn't to try to convince her that Santa existed. This little kid is so unimaginative. I just wanted a little magic and it made her smile. As for Brazil... yes, it is stronger, but they have huge issues in the making. Credit here is new to the people and they're spending like crazy - all on plastic. That makes the economy seem strong, but it doesn't make for a stable future.

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  6. Aw, sweet story with your student! A little touch of magic around the holidays can't be bad. :) I would think cookies for "HRM" would be just fine. Besides, makes it less to carry when you finally get the hell out of there! :)

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  7. Tint you are so sweet to think of that for your student. Who knows what sort of life she has ahead of her when she grows up, but she will never forget that little bit of mystery and magic you created for her.

    I am surprised how often, once the children have left home, people stop decorating for Christmas and then wonder why it doesn't 'feel' Christmassy any more and complain instead how commercial it has all become.

    I feel I am worth spoiling with a little bit of magic, even if no one else sees the decorations and up goes the tree ( much smaller maybe) the bells and the tinsel.

    We suddenly had 4 intense weeks of summer but the last 3 days has brought much needed rain. The water tanks are now full for the holiday season and the new plantings are well watered in - some say we are in for a wet summer as well. If I could trust that being so I would do my autumn planting now.

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  8. Kippy, that's just it. A little touch of magic.

    Lois... were you reading my mind? We don't have a stitch of anything out or put up for Christmas. It's just not the same with Tat not being here. Perhaps I should find that box of decorations... looking up at the shelf... nah... maybe not. That looks dangerous : ) We no longer have a tree and I'm certainly not buying one.

    The rain is welcome. At least while there's rain, there's no heavy pollution and 100% humidity is way better than a sauna.

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  9. Go on, indulge your Pisces self. Even a branch in vase/jug with some pretties on it has been my tree some years and then I wrap some tinsel and bells around the mirror so my face is framed in Christmas magic - hehehe - darn, just proved I have lived alone too long and gone a bit strange.

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  10. Creating a "tree" just might improve your Christmas spirits a bit. Something simple. A stick, a can of rocks to stand it in, the sacrifice of a couple of wire hangers for hoops and some tinsel to string it together. Enjoy a cup of spiced tea, hang a few spiced biscuits on it and TADA, you have christmas!

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  11. If I lived closer I would drag you, kicking and screaming, into a bit of holiday spirit. ;)

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  12. We had two phones in Nairobi when Phillip was 3 and got him to call Santa. We had a friend on the other line who did the talking. It worked a treat. Love what you did for miss grumpy there. Glad you were able to create some magic for her! Enjoy your rain. I love home made gifts. This year I am giving home made fudge and peanut brittle and oranges I have studded with cloves. My thumbs are complaining about putting all the cloves into the orange so I may only give those to a very select few!

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  13. That poor umbrella! The Santa clothes are so cute! That was a sweet thing you did for your student :) Your notebook is beautiful. Even though Tat is gone, you might enjoy putting up things that bring good memories. Cookies are good for husbands.
    My grandma made the oranges with cloves that Eileen is talking about. They smell so good! Glad you're getting some moisture. Have a great weekend!

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  14. Sweet story, though I have my doubts about the desirability of keeping kids 'believers' after they know better.

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  15. ahh Tint your words bring tears to my eyes...youre soo thoughtful..sigh, Kippy will need to drag us both kicking and screaming into the Christmas spirit of things..Im feeling decidedly worse for wear these days, and Christmas is given hardly a thought...

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  16. Lois, I did it! I hauled out a little tinsel and a tiny handful of tiny ornaments, which now decorate our desks and computers. Oh and Tat's Christmas bear... place of honour : )

    Deb, no tree, but we do have a couple of Christmassy tidbits hanging out now.

    Kippy, I'd love that! No kicking or screaming even. I think the big thing is having someone to share it with. Jurgis has never been Christmassy at all.

    Eileen, that was sweet! I tried the orange deal here once, but it went mouldy and iffy in record time. Loved the smell while it was good though. One day... I will make fudge. One day...

    Faye, those umbrellas are everywhere. Umbrellas here are very cheap and the quality is equal to the price, so they die easily. Thanks... making the notebook gave me a lot of pleasure. I can't find glue-spined notebooks here, only spiral-bound, so making my own was the solution. Uh... the moisture is a bit too much of a good thing, but I'm loving it.

    Ien, I'm not naive enough to think I've convinced her of the existance of Santa and why would I want to. I just wanted to give the child some Christmas magic. You don't know her story. She's an older child. Her little sister is severely disabled in just about every way. Her dad is never home and her mom is tied up with the little one. The child has an old head. She gets given toy after toy to make up for the lack of attention. To have her get excited about anything is a miracle in itself. Not for one moment does she really believe Santa exists. She physically sees her parents carting the Christmas gifts to grandma's house and has done for years, but if it makes her leave a carrot out on Christmas eve, why not? Heck, for one month of the year, even Tatiana 'believes'. We could all do with a bit more magic in this world of cruel reality, don't you think?

    Heather, you have the whole separation demon to deal with too and being sick can't help. Maybe you and I should get together and sing Christmas carols badly over a bottle of wine?

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  17. That is one gorgeous notebook because of that gorgeous girl! And I haven't gotten to the biscuit blog but am excited to check it out! You did a good thing with Santa :-) And I got a quote! Whew! Good blog! Stay dry and safe, please, Tint!

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  18. I can not tell you how strongly I wish I could transport you AND Heather (and any other of my friends who are just not feelin' it this year) to our house to hang out with us and the dogs for Christmas. We are not doing anything big or exciting, but I would sincerely love to share the day with you all. Light a fire in the fireplace, make some good food and hot drinks and spend the day laughing and talking. Today it's snowing to beat the band, and I'm sitting here with hot coffee and the Christmas tree lit ... it would be a perfect day to have company. :)

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  19. Wow, that is a very gorgeous notebook.
    And biscuits always make a perfect gift for anyone not just a guy. Way better to get a nice bag of them, than some totally useless gift some people just keep on getting me - 'stop doing that' doesn't work with them either ;)
    On the other note, yet another white Christmas ahead. I just wish it stops snowing all that much, as driving is starting to get pretty tricky in these conditions

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Tint~