Our tree is ready for Christmas!
The Third Sunday of Advent
Category: Diary
Happy Day with Caroline and Matthew
Mathew’s son Daniel took this picture of us one year ago on Caroline’s Birthday.
Friday, the 12th December 2014
Here I repeat what I wrote already this morning in another post:
“Next Friday is going to be the 19th of December. On that day we are going to have a Body Corporate meeting in Wollongong. The following day, on the 20th, we are going to have a Christmas Party for the residents and some previous residents. And for Sunday, the 21st, Peter and I are being invited to a Christmas Luncheon in Sydney.
Christmas Eve we are going to have the family at our place as is traditional for us. Early the following morning on Christmas Day Caroline, Matthew, Peter and I are going to travel to Melbourne in a rented car.
Ah, and I forgot, this coming Sunday, which is the third Sunday of Advent, we are also going to be in Sydney to belatedly celebrate Caroline’s birthday. Last Sunday we went to see Monika for her birthday.”
Does this sound busy? Peter seems to think so. Both Peter and I have a few health issues at the moment. We just hope all will be well pretty soon despite our rather “busy” life.
Friday, the 13th December 2013 (continued)
I said I took a lot of pictures on that Friday. Here now are a few more of them.
I went through Lakelands Park early in the morning.
On the way back, looking at neighbours gardens, I took pictures of anything colourful in their gardens and last but not least also again a few pictures near the entrance to our home.
17 Responses to “Friday, the 13th of December (continued)”
Ann Koplow
December 15, 2013 at 11:59 am Edit #
Thanks for all the great images. And so nice to end on love!
REPLY
auntyuta
December 15, 2013 at 12:32 pm Edit #
Thanks Ann. Have a great holiday season!
REPLY
elizabeth2560
December 15, 2013 at 12:36 pm Edit #
No sign of a “black” Friday anywhere in your photos. .
delightful post. 🙂
REPLY
auntyuta
December 15, 2013 at 2:08 pm Edit #
No “black” Friday, Elizabeth, indeed not at all. even though I tend to get a bit out of breath sometimes when I try to do things too quickly.
REPLY
gerard oosterman
December 15, 2013 at 12:53 pm Edit #
Love the ceramic elephant and the beautiful garden photos, especially the one with the gnarled tree tops.
REPLY
auntyuta
December 15, 2013 at 2:09 pm Edit #
Thanks, Gerard. 🙂
REPLY
berlioz1935
December 15, 2013 at 2:24 pm Edit #
Right you are Aunty Uta. I love those shoes.
REPLY
auntyuta
December 15, 2013 at 2:28 pm Edit #
Right, Berlioz, you should wear them again soon for a little run on the grass in Lakelands Park! How about it? 🙂
REPLY
auntyuta
December 16, 2013 at 6:23 am Edit #
Has been raining all night. Maybe the grass is a bit too wet this morning! Today, Berlioz, is the day when we finally have to put up our Christmas tree, right? 🙂
catterel
December 15, 2013 at 8:47 pm Edit #
What a pretty neighbourhood – and you even manage to make the graffiti bench look artistic! Am very envious of those shoes 😦
REPLY
auntyuta
December 16, 2013 at 6:20 am Edit #
I have similar shoes, Catherine, and they are really good for walking, a bit like walking barefoot. 🙂
REPLY
The Emu
December 15, 2013 at 10:07 pm Edit #
Thanks for sharing great pics Auntyuta, love the array of flowers.
Emu
REPLY
auntyuta
December 16, 2013 at 6:18 am Edit #
Glad you like them, dear Emu. Christmas is getting very close now! 🙂
REPLY
Robert M. Weiss
December 16, 2013 at 3:21 am Edit #
I really enjoy the flower photos.
REPLY
auntyuta
December 16, 2013 at 6:16 am Edit #
Thanks for this, Robert. 🙂
REPLY
Munira
December 16, 2013 at 7:38 am Edit #
I felt like I was walking with you today 🙂
REPLY
auntyuta
December 17, 2013 at 6:26 am Edit #
It’s great, Munira, to have your company. Thank you! 🙂
A Friday in December 2013
This was the last Friday before Christmas where I could play Scrabble with my friends. Early in the morning I had gone for a walk in Lakelands Park. Again I took quite a few pictures. I can’t help myself, when I have the camera with me, I usually start taking some pictures and then it just goes on and on.
Today is again the last Friday before Christmas where we can meet to play our games. We actually do not play only Scrabble, we do also play a few games of Rummy.
Next Friday is going to be the 19th of December. On that day we are going to have a Body Corporate meeting in Wollongong. The following day, on the 20th, we are going to have a Christmas Party for the residents and some previous residents. And for Sunday, the 21st, Peter and I are being invited to a Christmas Luncheon in Sydney.
Christmas Eve we are going to have the family at our place as is traditional for us. Early the following morning on Christmas Day Caroline, Matthew, Peter and I are going to travel to Melbourne in a rented car.
Ah, and I forgot, this coming Sunday, which is the third Sunday of Advent, we are also going to be in Sydney to belatedly celebrate Caroline’s birthday. Last Sunday we went to see Monika for her birthday.
Plötzlich Opa
Tonight Peter and I watched a Bavarian movie online. It was a very enjoyable comedy. Going to the above Google link, I was able to find some write-ups about this movie and I copied some of it first in German and then in English. Keeping a diary about the movies I have seen, helps me to remember them better.
Click to access ph-ploetzlich_opa.pdf
Plötzlich Opa
Mit
Günther Maria Halmer
Max Felder
Christiane Blumhoff
Katharina Schubert
Hardy Krüger jr.
Laura Sonntag
Maria Bachmann
u.a.
Plötzlich Opa
Schnitt Anna Loewer
Mischung und Sounddesign
Michael Stecher
Ton Quirin Böhm
Musik Martin Unterberger
Szenenbild Andrea Douglas
Kostüm Ingrid Weiß
Kamera Helmut Pirnat
Buch Claudia Kaufmann
Redaktion Astrid Ruppert
Produzent Dieter Ulrich Aselmann
Regie Thomas Kronthaler
Nach dem Tod seiner Eltern soll
Jonas (Max Felder) beim Großvater
(Günther Maria Halmer) auf dem
Land ein neues Zuhause finden.
Opa Ludwig tut sich mit der plötzlichen
Veränderung zunächst
genauso schwer wie der Enkel mit
seinem neuen Leben zwischen
Kuhstall und Dorfkneipe. Mit klaren
Worten, kluger Nachsicht und
deftiger Hausmannskost gelingt es
der herzensguten Wirtschafterin
Rosi (Christiane Blumhoff) schließ-
lich doch, die beiden „Mannsbilder“
einander näher zu bringen. Für den
Großvater und seinen Enkel kann
ein neues Leben beginnen. Allerdings
realisiert auch die raffgierige
Verwandtschaft, was sie an dem
Jungen hat: ein beträchtliches Vermögen.
Und das wollen sie sich mit
dem Sorgerecht für den Jungen
sichern. Doch diese Rechnung ist
ohne den Großvater gemacht, der
sein altes Kämpferherz wieder
entdeckt, um seinen Enkel heimzuholen
Mit Ludwig hat es die Köchin und
Wirtschafterin Rosi durchaus nicht
leicht. Sein Hof ist überschuldet
und nur noch wenige Stammgäste
finden sich in seiner Gastwirtschaft
ein. Ludwigs Herz ist zu verschlossen,
um zuzugeben, dass er den Tod
seiner Frau nie überwunden und
sein Leben seither eigentlich nicht
mehr im Griff hat. Rosi kennt die
Qualitäten, die in dem „alten Dickschädel“
schlummern – und sie
weiß auch, dass es um Ludwigs und
natürlich um seines Enkels Willen
endlich an der Zeit ist, dass er über
seinen eigenen Schatten springt
und sein Herz wieder sprechen lässt.
Jonas findet in der Fremde, die nun
seine neue Heimat werden soll,
seine erste große Liebe. Dabei ist
es gar nicht er, der die Initiative
ergreift, sondern seine neue Klassenkameradin
Julia (Laura Sonntag).
Sie setzt sich für ihn ein, macht
sich für ihn stark, und gibt ihm das
Vertrauen, seine Gefühle nicht verstecken
zu müssen.
Auch Jonas intrigante Tante (Maria
Bachmann) weiß was sie will:
das lässt sie ihren Mann (Markus H.
Eberhard) und Jonas spüren. Doch
sie überschätzt ihre Qualitäten –
und unterschätzt den Eigensinn
von Ludwig und Jonas. Die gehören
schließlich zum selben Stamm.
Sonja Messner und ihr Gatte Harald
Julia ist stark, weil es ihre Mutter Carla
(Katharina Schubert) auch ist. Carla
bewirtschaftet einen Gnadenhof für
alte Pferde. Ludwig kündigt ihr den
Pachtvertrag, um das in Bauland
umgewidmete Land verkaufen und
mit dem Erlös seinen verschuldeten
Hof retten zu können. Dieser Plan
stellt das gerade gewonne Vertrauen
seines Enkels allerdings auf eine
harte Probe. Zum Glück steuert
Anwalt Patrick von Halen (Hardy Krü-
ger jr.) seinen Sportwagen in den
Graben vor Carlas Hofeinfahrt. Bis
dahin hätte es sich der Karrieremann
nicht träumen lassen, dass er
Carla und Patrick
aus Liebe zu einer Pferdenärrin seine
Karriere an den Nagel hängen, sich
für die Existenz alter Gäule einsetzen
und schließlich sogar einem widerborstigen
Großvater verhelfen würde,
das Sorgerecht für seinen Enkel zu
erstreiten.
http://www.diefilmgmbh.de/en/movies/ploetzlich-opa
A die film gmbh production for ARD Degeto
Following the death of his parents, Jonas (Max Felder) is supposed to find his new home with Grandpa (Günther Maria Halmer) in the countryside. Initially, Grandpa Ludwig has as much difficulty dealing with the sudden change as his grandson does living between cowshed and village pub. With straight talking, clever patience and hearty home-cooking, good-hearted landlady Rosi (Christiane Blumhoff) finally succeeds in bringing the two “fellows” closer together. A new life can begin for grandfather and grandson. However, the greedy relatives also realize what the boy has—namely a considerable fortune—and want to secure this by claiming custody of the boy. But their calculations didn’t take Grandpa into account, who rediscovers his old fighting spirit in order to fetch his grandson home.
Reviews:
Touching and told with Bavarian wit
TV DIREKT
Thomas Kronthaler staged this charming family comedy… with lots of esprit and sentiment
BERLINER ZEITUNG
… a family comedy with hardly a dull moment – well worth seeing
MY COMMENT:
I liked this movie very much. There were some very likable characters in it. The characters that were not so likable, made this movie into a good comedy by showing how ridiculous such characters can become if they show no heart at all.
Luckily the people with a lot of heart were determined to stick together. Finally they were able to get some help along the way. So all did end well. A real feel good movie with a lot of heart and a lot of laughs.
Grandfather Ludwig (Opa) for instance was depicted in the beginning as a very grumpy old man. He gradually changed and then he and his grandson Jonas did get on very well together. This was a joy to watch! There were other characters too that I watched with great joy as for instance Rosi, the cook, who was a real lovely elderly woman. Then there was Julia, the girl friend of Jonas as well as Carla, the girl friend’s mother, and the mother’s friend Patrick.
The aunt of Jonas was hilarious in her nastiness and so it went.
The film showed very interesting relationships between several generations of people and the story was filmed in a beautiful mountainous region of Bavaria, a southern part of Germany.
December 2014, Diary
Which Primary School did provide the most favorite handmade decorations for the Christmas Tree?
We had arrived at the shopping centre pretty early. Santa was not available yet. For children to have a photo taken with Santa is popular every year in all shopping centres.
2014 ADVENT CALENDAR
This calendar with little chocolates and a picture in it for every day is for little Lucas. We are going to see him on Sunday, the 7th of December, meaning he may find chocolates from number 1 to 7! (Sorry, that we could not give him the calendar before the 1st of December.)
I had every year an Advent Calendar when I was a child. However my calendars never had any chocolates in it. The idea to have chocolates in advent calendars came up many years later. But for the 6th of December, on St. Nicolas Day, we usually got some special pre Christmas treat. The night before that day we had to put our shoes in front of our bedroom door. If we had been ‘good’ children, we would find on the morning of the 6th, that good St. Nicholas had put some delicious things into our shoes, like ginger bread, chocolates, nuts and apples.
http://german.about.com/library/weekly/aa113098.htm
“German and Austrian Christmas customs have spread throughout the world wherever Christmas (Weihnachten) is celebrated. From the Christmas tree (Tannenbaum) to “Silent Night” (“Stille Nacht“) and on to the Advent calendar (Adventskalender), people around the globe have adopted many traditions that began in the German-speaking world.”
This is our Advent Crown (Adventskranz) with four candles in it, one for each Sunday of Advent. This Adventskranz has been with us for many years. For each Advent we dig it out again. In times gone past we would of course rather have bought a fresh Adventskranz made of Tannenzweigen (fir-twigs).
We also dig out some old advents calendars every year for advent. The numbers on the calendars go from 1 to 24, which is of course Christmas Eve.
First of Advent 2014
Peter found a series of old German Christmas songs in the computer. It was very rewarding to be able to listen to all these songs while celebrating the First of Advent.
We listened to a lot of Christmas songs by different groups and artists. They all sang the German texts that we are still quite familiar with, bringing back memories to what it was like when we were children. Here some names of the songs: O Tannenbaum, O du fröhliche, Ave Maria, Kling Glöckchen kling, Leise rieselt der Schnee, and so on.
We had tea and German ‘Oblaten Lebkuchen’.
Then I could not help myself taking a few more pictures!
Christmas Party Time 2014
A lot of the party food had chicken in it. I tried to find food with no chicken. There were lots of sweets too. But I did not go for any sweets today. I had a cup of coffee though.
I wish you a merry Christmas
Today, Thursday, we met for Marta’s class for the last time this year. There are no classes for December and January. The next heart move class is going to be on the first Thursday in February. Today I did not join in any of the exercises because of a sore knee. There is probably some kind of inflammation in the knee. I hope it is going to get better soon.
AuntyUta 