Sunday

Santa at the Markets

Tr was a bit hung-over for the Skype call this morning - she and Te had been out late celebrating Christmas with the neighbours ... and it's one party where Tr can have an extra glass of Christmas Cheer or two because they don't have to drive home! Still, she was in good form, and they were still planning to do their Sunday Morning Walk after the call - perhaps even the hilly one which, by all accounts, is more of a climb than a walk.

Christmas here continues. True to their newsletter, Santa was at the Turf Club Markets this morning. It was good to see him out and about - but not just because folk thought he was giving out lollies (count us in) from the giant basket he was carrying ... it turned out to be little packets of reindeer food (raw oats - count us in!).

Portraiture

Santa very kindly agreed to have his photo taken with us - and what started out as a cunning and devious plan by me to get our Christmas Card photo for next year turned out to be a photo with all the girls at the Markets at the time. You can't even see the boys are in the background sitting at the end of the table - possibly because the focus of the shot is Mouse sitting (almost) on Santa's knee!

There was more photography as usual as well - and not just because I'd taken a "real" camera this time. Syl, focusing more on her photography, is reading books on portraiture and that some of the best photos are taken when your subject is aware that you're taking them.

Portraiture

There was a biggish turnout at the Markets - Syl and An came - bring Syl's father and brother, as well as An's friend Vi who is also spending Christmas with them.

Post-Markets we were off to do Christmas shopping and made our way to Pacific Fair - which wasn't as crowded as we thought it might be. Mind you, there were enough people around ... and why is it that people just stop in their tracks when they decide to text on their phones? Don't they have the app which lets you text while you walk - showing what's ahead of you using the phone's rear camera?

Then home ... in time to do a Skype call with Li and El in Sydney. That was good fun and we were just wrapping up when Sooz received a message from M asking if she would feed the furries.

The furries are all good and, I admit it, I have taken the opportunity to rub my hand over Pearl's tummy to feel the fur that's growing back. It's amazing how fast it grows - although it still has a very long way to go. It doesn't seem to bother her though. I'm not sure what they did to her at the Vet's - or what else they did besides the tests - but Pearl does seem to be a bit more alert these days - doesn't seem to be puffing as much, and certainly seems to have stopped making those old dog noises when she sits down and gets up.

Maggie has moved out of the bathroom and now seems to be content to spend most of her time on the coffee table.