My Bright Field

 I hope you all are having a lovely Christmas season.  In the time between Christmas and New Year I usually spend some time reflecting on the year that was and my plans for the year to come - not that planning is ever a perfect science because we never really know what is around the corner. In comparison to this time last year it is lovely to see green grass, blue skies with lots of clouds, our trees laden with fruit and some limited success in our vege garden. In this strange year I achieved many things around the house from restoring furniture to renovating. I read several good books but I also wasted much too much time on my screens. It all started with checking "Fires Near Me". This was too quickly followed by the virus which had me addicted to the horrible soap opera - checking the numbers, learning the rules and the suspense of the border wars. I was lured into binge watching TV series. And social media grabbed its chunk too. I knew for sure something had to change last...

For the past week or so we have been on a pre Christmas Sweet Wayfaring trip through the Riverina and outback NSW.  It has been on my bucket list to drive the Kidman Way for a while.  We have previously done the 'ends' but not the 'middle' section from Griffith to Cobar so that was our destination this year. As is always the case when I am on new roads I keep my eye out for more Royal Hotels to add to my collection  and was rewarded with two on this trip. Royal Hotel, Mirrool This  beauty is in the tiny town of Mirrool which is not much more than the pub, a couple of houses, a small church and the ubiquitous wheat silos beside a railway siding. To get there we traveled through vast acres of grain country where this year's bumper harvest was in the process of being gathered.  Next we passed through the Riverina which has huge vineyards and orchards where irrigation makes the dry landscape flourish.  It is just astounding the scale of agriculture in this reg...

At Christmas there is never a more perfect time for a home to have a fireplace, a place to hang the Christmas stockings. I keep things simple with my decorations, however Rose Orchard Haus has unusual niches in some of its walls.   At Christmas time I change things around a little and give the objects on display a Christmas theme. A little Christmas bird seems to have snuck into this one. And nature is not to be outdone in joining the fun.  At Whistlers Rest, our bush block, I thought I had seen every plant and flower there was until I saw this among the cypresses this week.  It's as if it has grown its own Christmas baubles. And at Burnbrae Garden the dogwood has its Christmas stars in flower. Have you put up Christmas decorations in your home? Does your garden have any special Christmas plants?

Having done online Church at Home since March for the last two Sundays we have gone back to physically attending church - last week at the cathedral in Sydney and today in our little country church. At the cathedral the normal congregation is larger than the numbers currently allowed.  They delayed recommencing the morning service until they could get 250 people in and live stream to the rest. It was very organised with advance online registration, ushers explaining where to sit and how to socially distance on entry and exit.   It's a rather odd experience with no congregational singing (there was the choir), no handshaking or hugging after not seeing each other for so long. People are encouraged to wear masks so most do. No mingling in the corridors after the service and no morning tea so not a lot of opportunity to chat. And the seats were hard because the cushions have been removed to facilitate the extra cleaning required. At our little country church things were some...