Wouldn't you know it? The car dies and petrol drops below 90/c a litre for the first time in a year. Tch.

And the mystery of the big xmas tree has been solved!
My memories of the tree my parents had is that it towered over me (and this was when I was all grown-up). The tree that was passed down to me is only 4' tall and I thought it couldn't be that one.
It isn't. :) The big one was given to my brother and Soulsis ages ago, and the tree I've got now is the one my parents had when they lived in their little house in the hills.
So there, mystery solved... I feel better now.

Got your postcard, onna, before the ravening snails of doom did! Hah!
Heh, saw a small tv news article a few days ago about xmas and what it means to the Japanese.
I wanna spend xmas in Japan! Looks like so much fun! I was particularly taken by the dancing girls dressed as reindeers... You have to admire a culture which can take what's offered by another culture and run with it in a completely different direction.

For years I've been disgruntled with the whole xmas thing - the unsubtle commercialism/blackmail, and the stupid, stupid and pointless images of snowmen and red furry suits and stockings hung in front of roaring fires. It works in the northern hemisphere where it's Winter, fercrissakes, but down here it's the middle of bloody Summer! 'Traditional' images in this instance, are ludicrous and annoying.
I had a [ping] about the problem though - I could always use Summer symbols instead... So what counts as a Summer symbol? What do you associate with the season? Well, the sun, naturally, and flowers and bees, and butterflies and fruit. Hee, and geckos! <bg> I'm visualising a wreath of rainbow lizards for the front door...
And I can indulge my passion for plastic fruit!
I enthused about this to Penny a little while back and today when the cubs and I were over at her place for afternoon tea she presented me with 2 gorgeous little fabric strawberries she'd made! Perfect! The first of my Summer decorations...