A very Monesy Christmas!

The silly season has well and truly come this year; I have been out nearly every night at something. That, hangovers, a cold, doing my back and getting the cold back, I’ve been a bit of a mess of late! Coupled with the few boyfriends I am trying to maintain – Christmas has been hard work!!Those of you that know me well know how much I love Jesus. And how much I also love an indulgence and specifically over-indulgence of booze. The Christmas work parties are frequent, so frequent in fact; I decided to give up booze again for lent next year. That was until I found out that lent went for 46 days that fell smack bang when I was in Australia and South Africa. As I’ve been looking forward to the wineries in South Africa and knowing Jesus too loved indulging in the red stuff (amongst other things, his mainly famous for turning water in to wine), I have decided to change the date of lent thus restoring my liver post the new year’s celebrations - from 1^st January to the 15^th February. I’ve spoken to Jesus, he is fine with this.

Last year I forgot to get a flu jab, cos I arrived at a weird time, this year, the amount of times I’ve had some form of flu, I was booked in for the jab the first day it became available. The lady laughed that I was the only person under 60 booked in on the first day! This winter I’m bulking – I got weighed the other day and I’ve nearly hit 70 Kg’s almost 5 kg’s over my most enormous weight ever. Not only do I eat dessert every night – I get anxiety if I don’t have the ingredients to make dessert- crepes are my specialty. I have almost nearly ran out of Caramello koalas too, at my peak I had 9 packets in stock, I’ve been rationing them out and now have only a few koalas left. Hopefully someone else visits soon as I’m in need for some Strawberry Freddo’s too!   

Although it’s unseasonably warm here, it is starting to get cold and that combined with Christmas approaching I’ve been much more conscious of those doing it tough. I’ve made mates with the local homeless man Mark, taking him coffee and bikkies, or fruit on occasion, or having a chat about life. I also just got in the mail a reminder from the Red Cross that it’s time for me to give blood- thankfully it was in my gap between colds so I got to save a life this Chrissy. Once I got caught talking to my bike and the man that caught me goes “it’s fine, someone once told me even a rock has a soul”, I think the moral to my story is most people have a soul, so try and remember to  give to those in need if you can.  

I remember being anxious going to bed each Xmas eve as a child. I was always so worried I would get coal from La Bafana – I wonder if Mrs Begalow frightened all the kids in to believing they would receive coal, but whatever it was, each year I was convinced I would get coal, as I was a particularly naughty child! I used to always sneak to try and catch Santa, or put pepper in the sandwiches I left out for him. When I grew up we used to have Xmas Eve Cocktail parties at the Bortolin’s with mine and Bianca’s mates dropping in intermitted and Lynny supplying her amazing hospitality as usual.  Tonight- Xmas eve I’m spending at my good friend Catarina’s house, with her precious daughter Amelie and her mum and dad. My tremendously talented mate Lily is in town so she has been looking after me during this second bout of cold and is also celebrating Christmas with us. London does Christmas well, with lights everywhere and rude Christmas suits and jumpers.  

Christmas morning in Sunderland Circuit we would pop over to the Tripodi’s after we woke up and opened our gifts. It was an annual tradition that Yank and I have kept doing as we have grown older, they now have little families of their own so it has been amazing watching them excited on Xmas day. Although it was different when we lost Lell’s dad Vince, it always felt like he was around anyway sitting in his chair, telling amusing jokes and stories or being told off for making marks in the carpet with his frame ha-ha!! Lell’s mum Francis is the ultimate hostess with the mostess also, with lots of chopped fruit platters early in the AM for us to consume. I’d then duck off home, and grab Nonna for mass (also timed so I didn’t have to do too much cooking in the morning, as much as it pained mother who was diligently cooking for us and the oldies. Mass would finish and we’d be back to mum’s just in time for lunch at which point Granny and Pa would join with Aunty Bett. This Christmas I’m off to mass with my friend Joy. I’ve explained to her my annual Xmas outings to mass with my Nonna (not only my get out of helping mum to cook Xmas morning)-  they were Mones and Nonna time, so Joy knows she is pretty awesome to stand in for Nonna this year! Almost every year I’d take off after lunch and head to Hoddo’s for Mez’s fudge (and to see the Hodgson’s), I’d then be back in time for dins at mum’s – which was generally a seafood extravaganza and Aunty Sally and Uncle Bri baby would drop in later on and that would be midnight before you know it.

Last Year's Orphan Xmas

This Christmas lunch is at Lissa’s place where we’ll be partaking in an orphan Christmas lunch with 13 of us. My fam will be spread between Aus, the Philippines and Heaven this Christmas. Boxing day, instead of the annual pilgrimage with Daddy to the MCG for the Boxing Day Test Match / KB’s birthday, I will be enroute to Gatwick to fly to Gran Canaria. Average temp all week of 24 degrees. A bit of Fomo kicked in and I managed to snag myself a last minute return flight for 150£ whilst I was bored in a workshop about IT/AV at work. My goal is to bring home a Spanish ham in my luggage so Bianca Lambert and I can file off slithers and be little wogs together! I hope everyone has a great coal free Christmas, surrounded by their loved ones, present or ever-present in the bright stars in the sky Buon Natale!