Xmas Lunch

5.30am. I get up and take Bruno out for a wee. He jumps up on the side of the bed and rubs his fuzzy face against mine when he wants to go outside. Yeah, I know, about the time?

7.30am. I get up and have a shower. It still feels strange to get up and shower straight away. We're heading to my niece, Kellie's place just over the NSW border for Xmas lunch. She said there was plenty of room for us to stay, if we didn't feel like driving home. We said we would.

Sam gets up.

7.45am. I make porridge and coffee, of course. We have to get going, no time to waste, but I still make breakfast, of course, I’m a breakfast kind of boy.

Buddy gets up too.

Bruno is last out of bed.

9.15am. I’m at ChemistWarehouse in Collingwood getting my scripts filled. Cute [name of pharmacist] is on shift. What a cutie pie.

We head up the Hume. It is raining when we leave Melbourne. We’re aiming for an ETA of 12.30pm. 3 hours.

We stop at two road stops to give the bulldogs a wee stop, and a wee stop for us. The sun comes out after we leave Melbourne.

We turn off to Shepparton. As we were approaching Shepparton Sam exclaims, “Oh shit!”

“What?” Had I nearly run something over? What?

“I forgot my laptop,” he said. 

He is on call all over the holidays, if something goes wrong at work. “But you packed my laptop in the backpack.”

“I know.”

“Well, didn’t that trigger anything?”

“Obviously not.”

We had a few kilometres of panic, until Sam worked out what he could do. He could use my laptop and probably use the forgot password function. “That should work,” he said. “Or I call my colleague who isn’t on call and ask him for a favour.”

“Crisis solved,” I said.

“He won’t be happy.”

We turn off to Tatura/Murchison. There seem to be an awful lot of turn offs.

“Isn’t there a more direct way?” I ask. Sam has gone by Apple Maps.

We get to [just over the NSW border] just before 1pm. In time for lunch. It was hot over the border.

 

There were 9 dogs at the family gathering. The bulldogs just barrelled outside to greet the dog pack of 5 face on, as bulldogs do. Kammo was kept separate as he doesn’t get on with others. Benny arrive a bit later.

Buddy, 11 years old.

Bruno, 2 years and 11 months. 

Billie (niece Lucy’s dog) 1 ½.

3 legged Kally (niece Kellie and her boyfriend Tuppin’s) She had cancer in her leg a few years ago. She keeps up with all the other dogs just fine. I’m not sure I’d want a 3 legged dog, stupid, I know.

Mack (Kellie and Tuppin’s) Black and tan kelpie/Aussie cattle dog x, looks like a Kelpie and is the matching pair to Mog

Mog (My sister, Roz & her husband Grant) Black and tan kelpie, matching pair to Mack except a little smaller. She is like Mack’s shadow when they are together, moving in perfect sync. They are really cute to watch.

Pumpkin (Roz & Grant) 11 year old brown kelpie. She's very quiet, really in her twilight years.

Benny, I think 2 years old, black and white (Tuppin’s sister’s dog) gorgeous dog, the other dogs wouldn’t let him play. It was like he wasn’t picked for the team 

Kammo (Tuppin’s dad’s dog) Kind of a brown Border Collie x. Tuppin’s dad kept him under control when he was out with the others. He is older, I think 8, or 9 years old.

The dogs had their moments, a few of them didn’t get along initially, Mack and Billie were against Benny, but they all seemed to get along in the end. Roz was a gun with the hose when the dogs played up.

Kellie threw the ball for the dog pack, then Roz threw the ball for the dog pack. We sat outside, it was dry and dusty. It was nice sitting outside, don’t get me wrong, a nice afternoon was had by all, especially the dogs, but the wind did blow up the dirt occasionally in gusts. Their lawn was dead, pretty much. It looked as though it had been really dry up there.

 

We ate prawns first up, cooked. I’m used to fresh, or is that cold, with sauce, not hot.

Then it was Xmas lunch, of course. All the normal stuff. Chicken, turkey, ham. Roast veggies. Roast carrots with honey. Mango salad. Fresh bread that didn’t travel well, too hot and dry.

There was cheese cake and pav, and plum pudding with brandy butter for desert. 

There was lots of alcohol, of course. 

We decided not to stay. Oh, just because it is nice to sleep in your own bed. And Sam had forgotten his computer, and all. And Buddy had started to limp. And the drive up had been easy, so it didn’t seem like a chore to drive home.

 

We leave [just over the NSW border] maybe at 6.15pm. I asked them what way they would go as we were pulling out. Turn left at Elmore – have you ever heard of Elmore? – and head to Heathcote. 

I drank two glasses of champagne and two glasses of red wine, in 6 hours. I said to Sam, “I’m sure that doesn’t put me over the limit.”

He shrugged.

What is it, 2 drinks in the first hour then one drink per hour after that. I was counting on my fingers as we drove away.

We drove down the Northern Highway B75. It was nice, green and leafy. Dare I say picturesque. The towns were pretty, with nice architecture.

We drove through Rochester. I thought of Father Bill, from my old youth group days. He left Balwyn for Rochester all those years ago.

7.45pm. Heathcote. We got to the IGA, which looked closed from the outside so much so I almost didn’t bother checking to see if it was open, but it was. It was big and happening inside with plenty of shoppers. Funny how it looked shut down from the outside. I guess the locals know.

I bought a Mother Energy drink (my go to drink for a long drive, in fact the only time I drink them) and a packet of white chocolate and macadamia biscuits. Sam looked disparagingly at my purchases and he went over after me and came back with two packets karaage chicken and two packets of octopus balls. He fed them to me in the car as we drove along.

The Northern Highway is a nice drive back from NSW, it’s not divided, but it was fairly quiet traffic wise anyway.

We got home at 9.30pm.

We both had showers to wash the sweat and the dust off.

11.11pm. We go to bed.

Lights out 11.40pm.

So, that was Xmas. Not really the same as when mum and dad were alive, but that is what it is now, I thought, as I drifted off to sleep. Mum's been dead for 6 years, dad has been dead for 20 years. Weird to think that is where I am at, as my life flashes before my eyes lying there in the dark? 

Isn't that what happens when you die? Your life flashes before your eyes? I chuckle to myself, it would want to be more dramatic than the flash before my eyes I just had. You'd want it to be surely, if it was the end.

I think I'd feel gypped if it was that pedestrian. You'd want it to be a fanfare. This Is Your Life'esque.

But I must have fallen asleep pretty soon after that... and I didn't die, obviously.