Come all ye faithful - and they came

I have just returned from Carols and Midnight Mass

at my local parish church - St Thomas's Anglican Church - at Upper Ferntree Gully.

It was beautiful.

We started at 11pm - with the lighting of the last Advent candle.

Here they all are above: The Paschal Candle lit at Easter surrounded by the Advent candles.

Then there was much carolling with singing led by Carol and Ron on the piano.

At 11.25pm the church was plunged into darkness for a quiet time prior to the service starting.

The only light came from outside through the wonderful stained glass cross above the altar

and through one of the long rectangular stained glass windows on a side wall.

At 11.30pm the procession began and into the church it came

with the priest at the rear in his festive white vestments.

As the procession came into the church,

Carol (by now up in the choir loft) sang the first verse of Once in Royal David's City

and the rest of us, now accompanied by the organ, joined in the singing.

This without hymn books or overhead projectors.

The packed congregation (extra seating was placed in the centre aisle) sang their hearts out.

As we got half way through the Kyrie

lights began to come on including the lighting of our tapers and every other candle in the place

including those in candelabra that graced the sills of the stained glass windows

along with individual flower arrangements for each window.

Below is a picture of a flower arrangement by Ray.

In front of the altar, is a handmade knitted woollen creche.

Very simple and crafted with love.

Looking down on all this were some crafty figures:

sort of a cross between a candle and a snowman displaying the gifts of faith, hope, love, joy, and peace.

And it all ended with mince pies and fairy cakes in the narthex and best wishes for a Happy Christmas.

A merry christmas to all and to all a good-night

A comfort from the past: Vegemite Soup

One outcome of my journey to and from lapbanding is that I have made some decisions/resolutions to implement even as the New Year progresses. I am having minimal fat - have had nothing cooked in fat for a month so the only fat I eat is that included in food. I have not had any red meat - and that contains a fair bit of fat. So I plan to do without fat and red meat. I have also had no caffeine of any sort for five weeks. For a girl for whom caffeine was the drug of choice this is no mean feat. My favourite method of ingestion of the substance was Pepsi Max and Diet Coke. Now I have that out of my system, I intend to do without. For something cool and sweet there is diet cordial (yeah I know about aspartame). But I have reverted to comfort food from my childhood - Vegemite soup by the cupful. For those of you outside Australia who are not aware of Vegemite as an Australian icon and national food since 1923, Vegemite is a concentrated yeast extract of a black, thick, muddy consistency. It is an acquired taste so Aussies don't hold it against you if you hate it. We acquire our taste as babies when our mums mix it in with our pureed potato and pumpkin. Mums love this too and tend to put on weight eating the leftovers. We have Vegemite soldiers - vegemite spread on thick butter on thick toast cut into strips. For Vegemite soup you put a teaspoon or a dessertspoon (I prefer the dessertspoon) of vegemite in a cup or mug of hot water and stir to dissolve. If it doesn't quite dissolve, when you get to the bottom of your cup there is a nice little bit to scoop out and lick with your spoon. Vegemite is one of the world's richest known sources of Vitamin B. Aussies have always known this but now Kraft skite about it and put it on the label. The calories are low, there is little protein, virtually no carbs, and even less fat. However, if you are on a salt free diet, you had better pass this buy since it is salty. You can read all about this vital part of Australia's heritage here. And don't be surprised if you invite me for a cuppa and I turn up with my bottle of Vege.

Christmas finery

FootFoot bespangled in his diamonds

Trixie in her Christmas jewels

They wish you a merry christmas,

they wish you a merry chistmas,

they wish you a merry christmas,

and a happy new year.

Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to those of goodwill

I wish you all that which the angels breathed at the first Christmas

Peace and Goodwill to one and all

Haven't baked the cake, haven't boiled the pud?

There's always Rotary

To all those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita...

...a happy and blessed Cajun Christmas
Hope you are on your feet soon!

For good cheer, pop over to Refreshment in Refuge
for an hilarious Cajun 12 days of Christmas
and for the Cajun 'Twas the night before Christmas go here.

Remembering last Christmastide

As we remember the events of last Christmastide
we hope that this Christmastide 2005 brings hope for the future.
God's richest blessings on all survivors of the tsunami.

William Morris - for Sharon

This picture is for Sharon
over at Beyond the Blank Page
She has been dreaming of
William Morris stitchery lately.
published in The English Home December 2005

Avec Amour and the Christmas Angel

Herself has a beautiful shop at Knoxfield
- Avec Amour -
The Christmas Angel lives there

Rose - and the one that got away

We have a masculine feline called Rose.
He's a Russell Crowe sort of cat.
Yesterday he brought in a bird.
It sought shelter behind the sideboard.
I locked Rose in my bedroom until the bird flew away.
I then let him out.
This is the record of his fruitless search for his prey.

Ferntree Gully National Park

Went for a walk this morning in Ferntree Gully National Park

which is only five minutes away from The Trad Pad.

It was a beautiful sunshiney day.
The park is not pristine as can be seen by the invasion of agapanthus and sweet peas

among a host of weed species.

There are native species to admire and enjoy....

...like gumnuts...

-

...and banks of fine maidenhair fern

...and native blossom.

There are mighty eucalypts

...and young saplings.

I walked along Belview Terrace.

I left the path seeking a short cut. I took a tumble.

I hadn't read Sharon's post at that stage in which she said

"May your path continue to get smoother..."

I didn't think that I could do the Lotus Position but found I could

if my feet ended up a few cms below my derriere.

This was the upward view from my tumbling spot.

Along my way, a shy wallaby went deeper into the bush

and a pair of red parrots hid in the tree branches

so that I couldn't photograph them.

It was a beautiful time and took sixty-five minutes.

Based on my recent condition, I felt that was a great effort.

The Journey after Lapbanding - 4

There's a smile on my dial this morning. I have got out of bed this morning feeling really great - how long since I felt like this? The bed's made, the washing is on. Will pop over to the National Park soon for a morning walk. How 'bout that? Thank you for the good wishes. I needed them.

The Journey after Lapbanding - 3

Have been pretty darn ill. Was freezing cold for three and a half days and eventually warmed up on Sunday afternoon! Have been into the surgeon to-day. The cephalin seems to be working and the infected site is shrinking but to be on the safe side he has - to this time - written prescriptions for three courses of cephalin. He also prescribed Dia-Gesic this afternoon and this has made a bit of difference. As I write at 9pm, I am feeling much better and much clearer.

Sean the surgeon seems to think that it is a combination of factors: the inadequate caloric intake (this is what this is all about); the impact of the infection in such a situation; and he says that sometimes people do bounce out of hospital like me only to be struck low some days later. He says they don't understand why this happens. I have another ten days on the liquid phase and then I move on to the pureed phase which I am then on for a month. Then the day before Australia Day on 25/1, I have my first "adjustment" which is adding/withdrawal of liquid to/from the port that is connected to the lapband. This governs how much and what can be eaten. Of course, in all this I am losing weight. 15kg in about the last six weeks.

The Journey after Lapbanding - 2

A hiccup in proceedings. Woke up this morning feeling lousy and a lot of redness about one of my five keyhole wounds. A phone call to the clinic's Nurse Practitioner, Pam. This was followed by a call from Desley at the surgeon's office at the Epworth at Box Hill to come in straightaway. Infection - but thought to be only superficial. Big hitting 500mg antibiotics and back to the surgeon's Fitzroy office on Monday. So that's why the sad face.

The Journey after Lapbanding - 1

This will be brief. I came home from hospital last night - a little early because my progress was so good. I had no pain - just some discomfort in my tummy. Everyone was amazed that I had requested no pain killers since some women have morphine drips! My little Chinese nurse Mae checked my patient notes when she came on yesterday afternoon and quizzed me through a list of pain killers which I had been allowed - none of which I requested. There is still some discomfort. I believe this is mainly due to my innards being swollen because of the interference with them during the laproscopic surgery. The operation was straight forward. The recovery has been straight forward. I am on fluids now for the next two weeks. Then for the four weeks after that I will eat only pureed food. The purpose of such an extended time is to give things time to heal before putting solid food in which might stretch the tiny new stomach. The major surprise is with my diabetes. The surgeon said it would resolve itself within 12 months. But I have not had a Diabex tablet since Tuesday night and my reading a few moments ago was 4.6 (I'm usually somewhere between the high sixes and mid sevens). I had checked last week with my GP about what would happen with the diabetes medication. It was decided to play it by ear - so by ear and the seat of my pants I'm playing it.

The journey to Lapbanding - 6

Zero hour is nigh. The suitcase is packed and I am all but out the door en route to John Fawkner Hospital at Coburg. What will happen to my tummy is pictured at right. I have lost 8kg. Only 1kg in the last week. The 7kg were shed in quite dramatic fashion in the first week. This makes approximately 12kg since I first went to the clinic. Since Saturday I kept strictly to the fast. So hopefully there will be that little extra room in the tummy for the surgeon to do his stuff. People, hopefully, will see a little less of me in the future.

Foucault's Pendulum resolved

Some years ago I read Umberto Eco's book, Foucault's Pendulum. This is a 600 page tour de force. Focault's Pendulum is about three editors who cook up a hoax involving the Knights Templar, Stonehenge, the Kabbalah, the Rosicruicians and Brazilian voodoo -among other things - that suddenly becomes all too real. I got to the end and wondered what it was all about. The only conclusion I could come to was that it was a satire about the occult and the conspiracy-type theories they breed. But after all these years, I think I may have Eco's own answer to my question of what it is all about. It is here in a simple article which speaks to our current spiritual condition. And in all this, Eco still builds the Christmas crib with his grandson.

As a postscript, I should add that I have not bothered to read the Da Vinci Code. Having read Focault's Pendulum and Holy Blood Holy Grail (whose authors are suing Dan Brown) and having a theological understanding of gnosticism I didn't feel so inclined.

A memory of food

Watching Out of Africa has reminded me of the other film of one of Karen Blixen's works - Babette's Feast. This is one of my all time favourite movies. And what a time to be talking about it when I am on limited rations! Babette's Feast is a short story written under her pen name of Isak Dineson. If you want an outline on the story read here. It is a beautiful story from beginning to end - a satisfying story as all short stories must be. Its central characters are women - including the unlikely character of Babette, formerly the head chef at a leading Paris restaurant. The feast for twelve people is a tour de force. When the movie was made, every country in which the movie opened enacted the feast. In Sydney, the chef who prepared the menu refused to include turtle soup - because turtles are endangered. In Chicago, a theatre staged the feast as a regular production. The difficulty for re-enactment is that Blixen gave no recipes and researchers have not been able to establish the historicity of the dishes named. This has meant quite a bit of creative licence for many of the dishes, particularly the extraordinary sarcophagi. But if you want to see what the Theater Oobleck came up with go here.

I had a farm in Africa...

This afternoon, I have been watching Out of Africa on the telly. Twenty years old - but still wonderful. Magnificent cast! And oh that scene in the Kenyan bush with Robert Redford washing Meryl Streep's hair. I love Klaus Maria Brandauer. And that house. Now there's a trad pad if ever there was one. And then there is the beautiful Kenyan landscape. What a pity it's various governments aren't of the same quality. You might not get to Kenya but take a look at the museum which is the Karen Blixen House.

The Journey to Lapbanding - 5

To-day I really broke harness. Lunchtime was a binge. I was ravenous. Lunch comprised a grilled chicken breast with lemon juice(the single breast, not the double), two tomatoes, sliced and grilled, and onion rings grilled. Previously I have spread that equivalent of chicken over two days. But as if this was not enough, I had entree. A 220g tin of SPC Baked Beans!

Never have baked beans tasted so sweet. Putting them on to heat, I spilled one and picked it up and put it in my mouth. Heaven!

Altogether, lunch was quite delicious and quite satisfying. I have made a resolution. While I will be eating far less in the future, I want to make every mouthful delivious and beautiful.

The Journey to Lapbanding - 4

The weight continues to drop. A further 4kg. Have now lost 11 kg.

The Journey to Lapbanding - 3

Lapbanding lunch
with the off-limits chicken,
vegetables, and my home-grown herbs.
That's Schweppe's Diet Ginger Ale in the glass.
Would be better with some Jim Beam in it.

The Journey to Lapbanding - 2

I may never eat a Crabapplie Cupcake again. It will depend. You see, you can't eat bread - at least white bread. It turns into unpassable sludge. So we will have to see. Since Tuesday night last week I have been on Optifast. Optifast is for low calorie weight loss. It comes in different flavoured milk shakes, tomato soup (don't like it), and a chocolate dessert. The idea is to take it three times a day for two weeks prior to surgery. This is because many people having the operation have a "fatty liver". The low calorie intake for two weeks is to deal with this and lose the fat. The purpose of losing the fat prior to surgery is to give the surgeon more space to work - remembering that this is microsurgery.

My experience has been mixed. After a couple of days on Optifast I was quite ill. Wouldn't have dared to drive the car. On and off the loo. I think it must have been a detoxification effect. That's all I can think. Sunday afternoon my sister, J, rang. She had the operation two years ago. It was a welcome call because I was able to discuss the Optifast situation. She said she didn't do it. (Herself's friend, Nicole, hadn't either and gave me her unused Optifast). She said if she could have done that for two weeks she wouldn't have needed the surgery. She finished up giving her Optifast to "Smokin'" Joe Kilroy, formerly of the Brisbane Broncos. So together we planned some intervention - on the basis that the surgeon would not be too fussy how I lost the weight as long as I did. The intervention has been boiled eggs in the evening (they seem to have clogged me up - and the anti-cholesterol tablets will have to work harder!) and the addition of a small amount (125 g) of chicken to the veges that I am able to have as part of the program. So I do a very nice dish for myself using water in the bottom of the frying pan instead of oil which involves chicken, onion, tomato, mushrooms and cabbage flavoured with fresh herbs from the garden and a little salt and pepper. This I do for lunch. I have the Optifast in the morning. I may not bother with the egg to-night - and have Optifast. All this means much less time at the loo, more energy, and more normality. My GP said yesterday that she thought I was dehydrated. I said that I was keeping up the fluids but she said, more than likely, the body wasn't absorbing the fluid and it was passing right through me.

The result of all this is that I have lost 7kg in a week (too fast my GP says) and my blood sugar has declined to previously unseen levels. The start of things to come, I hope.

Crabapple Cup Cake Day

How wonderful to see the great write up in The Age to-day on Crabapple and their cupcakes. We get ours from the shopped tucked away at Tecoma. They are wonderful. Herself uses them as decoration at home and at Avec Amour - and guess what? They last forever (not to eat). If there is a special "do" at Avec Amour there is always an order for cupcakes. Nice tea-parties at The Trad Pad - more Crabapple cupcakes. God bless Crabapple and their Cupcakes!

The Journey to Lapbanding - 1

John Fawkner Weight Loss Surgery

The journey began with a referral from my female GP who is supportive of the idea of lapbanding for me and my health situation. So began my first meeting with Sean. There are quite a few hurdles en route to acceptance for the operation. So it's on to Pam the Practice Nurse via Lou the wonderful receptionist. Pam gives detail to Sean's broad outline. She weighs me - adding a few kilos to my bathroom scales! Then over the next week or two comes the Physician, the Psychologist, the Dietician. As well there has been a Barium Throw and a Chest X-ray. For almost the first time, I went through all these medical and allied health therapists without any of the patronising manner or bossiness which makes for more guilt and lots of naughty schoolgirl feelings. A fortnight before the operation I saw Sean for the last time before the Big Day. This was mainly an "informed consent" session spelling out the risks which, to me, appear to be bearable. This was also the day I receive my Optifast...........(to be continued)

Fessing up and facing reality

I have added a ticker to The Trad Pad. Counting down to my Lapbanding Operation. No, I really don't look like that sylph like creature drinking champagne in the sidebar. Age and Diabetes II (for which obesity is a causative factor) make it very difficult to lose weight. In addition, I am in a place where psychologically I feel calorie counting is beyond me. I feel that the diabetes will move further up the scale unless there is some intervention. So, after thinking about this for a very long time, I am having the operation. If you want to know more about Lapbanding go here.

Just call me Iris

Just did this flower quiz.

I'm Iris and isn't she beautiful.

Sharon at Beyond 'the blank page' has done it too.