it's not snowing here for Christmas and it never, ever will

I just baked a ham for Christmas. It doesn't matter that it's a muggy and humid Christmas Eve and I had the oven going a wee bit too long and now I want to sit down to let the sweat drain away - butch up Sam and get back in the kitchen!

I've never gotten the point of baking a traditional christmas dinner here, but it's tradition goddamn it, and what won't we do for tradition?

I'm feeling a bit tired this year and my lack of iron is really telling on me today. I've been taking my supplements, but I don't feel any more chipper than I did two months ago. We walked a lot yesterday buying things and today I was on my feet again shopping, making lunch and dinner, baking hams, visiting friends and stopping off at my mother's and then putting together a trifle for desert. Now I'm paying for all that - oh my lord I'm so tired.

Deb's going to wrap the presents now while I sit here and write and that's fine by me, I think I'm too tired to rip the sticky tape off the roll.

Anyway, we drove around last night after dinner and spotted this:

Yep, you're seeing right! Half a lit up tree. Our council couldn't even spring for lighting up a whole tree.

It's not like they lit up other trees either and just ran out of bulbs halfway through this one - nope, this is the ONLY tree they bothered with. Half-arsed you say? I reckon so. From a distance when you drive down to the harbour towards it you think, "wow, look at that!" but when you actually get there, you find that you've been ripped off - totally. Way to go council. I can see what you don't spend my rates on! In fact to me it looks a bit like a Tim Burton sort of Christmas tree - featuring the sad, unfinished, creaky tree - complete with blown bulbs and wonky, uneven wiring at the top. It's the tree all the other trees would laugh at, if they weren't jealous as hell because they have no lights at all! 

And now for something random:

here's the finished ham, minus the cloves. Deb just gave herself a third degree burn pulling them out for me. Have a nice Christmas everyone and may your trees be brightly lit  - ALL over !