It’s another hot one here today – summer has definitely arrived. We began the week in Canberra celebrating the life of one taken too soon and ended it with celebrations of an entirely different sort. It was, to be sure, a topsy-turvy sort of week. So, without further ado, let’s wrap it up…
What I’m loving…
Colour. It’s all around at the moment.
There was the colour in the street and pavement art in Canberra at the beginning of the week
the colour in our long-awaited frangipani (even if I am too short to get a decent photo)
and the colour in the flame trees and poinciana.
What I’m grateful for…
Ducted air-conditioning and a pool.
What I wrote…
Nothing – that is nothing more in my novel. I just couldn’t. As a result, I didn’t get to my 50,000 words this November. I did, however, get in the low 40ks so all is absolutely not lost.
What I read…
With a couple of flights and a good amount of waiting time, I got through a few books. The final one – Paris Is Always A Good Idea – I demolished in the pool yesterday and today. I would have read it quicker if I didn’t have places to go and people to see.
What I celebrated…
Yesterday was a big day for celebrations. We had an 80th birthday lunch down at Mooloolaba Wharf and the Christmas party for the charity that my daughter works for and my husband volunteers for – Neighbour’s Aid.
Each year they do a Christmas party to celebrate and thank the volunteers – and there are a few hundred of them.
The Neighbour’s Aid philosophy is to change the lives of children – one at a time. They’ve established schools, medical facilities and run employment programs for women and children in India, Milawi, Kenya, and Israel, with the idea behind each project to try and break the cycle of poverty.
What I cooked…
My Christmas cake – a couple of weeks late, but at least it was done. The recipe I use is Delia Smith’s – or Saint Delia as we refer to her in our house. It’s from my favourite Christmas cookbook, but you can also find the recipe online here.
I also made some savoury pinwheels from this book. They’re little palmiers with pancetta and cheese and we have them twice a year – on the first Sunday in December when we put the Christmas tree up, and on Christmas morning for breakfast. Another part of that tradition is potato scones – but I’ll tell you about them another time.
Speaking of which…
The Christmas tree was put up today…but more on that on Thursday…
And Anyways... 
Congratulations on so much wriiten. I did not do very well with NaNoWriMo, but at least I did some writing. The books look interesting – will definitely check them out.
Hi Bev, and thanks for dropping by…I’ve done a wrap-up of my nano experience over on my author page joannetracey.com. Any words are a win in my book…so to speak!