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| Our wonderful vacation home in Penguin, Tasmania. (House with reddish roof). Click here for the link to the rental listing. |
Tom watched the disastrous Minnesota Vikings game. They lost and it was easy to tell by the look on his face. He’s not one to yell during a game. He sits quietly and bears his angst from within. Win or lose, he’s a loyal fan.
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| The white sand beaches in Tasmania are uncluttered; not a lot of people and no trash. |
As I prepared today’s post my eyes frequently wander to the game on the TV screen (using our HDMI cord) although I’m certainly not as dedicated a fan as he and our family members, who bear the angst of losing along with him from afar.
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| Seagull lands atop light post. |
Its been cool in Penguin. With the start of their summer on December 21st, we’re surprised it’s been this cool. After four years of tropical climates, except for the three months we spent in New Zealand at the beginning of this year, we’re having quite a time adjusting. Plus, we don’t have the proper clothing for cool weather.
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| Another seagull joined the first resulting in quite a bit of squawking. |
While in New Zealand earlier this year, it was relatively warm, mostly above 21C, 70F, during the day, dropping to a low of 10C, 50F at night. Even then, we were chilled when heading out but the steel roof on the house kept us very warm when indoors.
But, who’s to complain when the northern and eastern parts of the US are suffering with extreme below zero temperatures and outrageous amounts of snow and ice?
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| What a great spot for a park bench at this park across the road from our vacation rental! |
Of course, everything is relative. We can empathize for the residents of our former state of Minnesota and other parts of the US but it didn’t keep us warm this morning when we awoke to 7C, 45F. Without central heating, as of yesterday, we began using the electric space heater we moved from the bedroom to the living room. It helps.
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| View from the park bench. People sunning on a flat rock. |
Also, the bed we use in the master bedroom has two separate adjustable heated blankets under the sheet. I’ve been warming up the bed before retiring, turning it off before falling asleep. Nice touch, Terry!
With the wind blowing, we’ve had little interest in taking walks these past few days, although on a few occasions, we’ve meandered through town, taking photos, enjoying the scenery and the people. We need to toughen up a bit with Antarctica on the horizon in a little over a year!
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| Across the bay on a sunny day. |
Today, while the house is being cleaned, we’ll head to Ulverstone to grocery shop for the week to include items for the upcoming planned holiday meals. With a dinner reservation booked on Tom’s birthday on Friday, the 23rd, we’ve decided to dine in both Christmas Eve and Christmas day.
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| Homes at the end of a point. |
Typically, we’ve dined out on Christmas Day since the onset of our travels. We contacted several local restaurants unable to find any open for Christmas dinner. Instead, we’ll prepare a special meal and perhaps watch a Christmas movie, such as “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
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| Out to sea… |
Although we’ll always miss being with family and friends, we’ve adapted to spending holidays and birthdays on our own. Hopefully, we’ll have an opportunity to speak with everyone on Skype. The time of day and also the fact we’re a day later, makes talking tricky.
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| Rocky path to the shoreline. |
May your holiday week be filled with warm and wonderful memories and time spent with those you love.
Photo from one year ago today, December 19, 2015:
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| In many areas of Fiji houses are tightly packed onto a smaller plot of land. For a cultural story and photos, please click here. |