Let us echo all sentiments for peace and good health for the following year, I have been discharged from the head and neck clinic - cured and intend to stay that way! I have been very very busy - we have been doing Uke Christmas performances all over the place, and with Lions, Christmas has almost become a full-time job - I distribute the Lions Christmas cakes to local vendors, a big fund raiser, we do the Grotto for FC at the town pageant and sell Xmas cakes there too, I have been up to town to pick up hampers to distribute to the 'needy', I cooked a hundred pancakes for a Lions breakfast by the river and I organised the Xmas Eve town party - about 500 or more come to that, and we had camel rides, roundabout, bouncy castle, free ices, sweets and sausages and FC came of course. The raffle and donations paid for most of it!!!!! Then there are the annual dinners for the clubs, social doos with friends and the sailing!!!
I bottled 90 litres of the new wine between xmas and the new year to get the giant carboys out of the guest shower! My own vines look spectacular this year - I will get a monster crop if the weather holds and we have chickens again in a new metal coop that is fox-proof. The Semillon this year turned out super and so did the red - hoping to build a mechanical de-stemmer this year to cut down the work!!!
Sue is also doing fine and cramming 2 days into every single one! She has bought a spinning wheel and continues to make hats, in wool and felt!!! She's also got a newish electronic sewing machine and is getting lessons on that too - one of our friends is a keen and expert seamstress.
All other spare minutes go into the Lions Bookshed, which of course ius very busy now with all the summer visitors in town!
The weather has been mostly coolish and mostly grey - but Xmas eve and day were glorious and we are expecting some hot weeks, at last!!!!! Mum and Dad seem to be OK but I expect the news about the ashes series will get dad down a bit, although they are all jubilant here! Some Xmassy attachments - they all have me in them somewhere but its a bit like "Where's Wally!!!!!!" One is definitely "C'est moi - Le Clerc!"
Hope you had a Happy Season - however you celebrated it!
Lots of love to you all
Derek - and Sue
Derek and Sue Maxted
Our travel dates in Europe are mid May to mid October.
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