Greetings

[Julian]

'Tis the season to be merry, tra la la la la - la la la laaaaaaaaa

Things are getting very busy here at home, "I wonder why", so I probably won't get another chance to log on this side of Christmas.

Therefore, let me take this opportunity in wishing everybody a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year to you all!

__________
Julian

[Welshgirl]

Thanks Julian - and the same to you and your family! :icon_biggrin:

[MotherBear]

All the best for the festive season, Julian. Have a great time.

[MotherBear]

So, what has everyone asked Santa for this year? Probably a fair percentage on here have asked to be granted PR or, at least, the right to work in NZ. Good luck on that one. Hubster and I aren't doing pressies again this year. It's so un-Christmas-like here we haven't bothered and, anyway, we have our NZ trip to look forward to just after New Year. We're saving our riyals for that.

[nattydread]

i, for one, am forgetting all about PR, ITA, EOI and all that for then next 48 hours..

I hope you all have a fab and groovy Christmas and santa is good to you all..


Merry Christmas!!

PS. ITA Arrived yesterday..
:icon_lol:

[MotherBear]

There he goes, back to wherever he came from. Job finished for another year. Hope he's brought you everything you wanted and you're now set for a great day of feasting, drinking and sleeping it off in front of the Queen's Christmas message (for those in the UK).

Just like any other day here. School buses rolled up at 6.30 a.m. as normal to take the kids to the various schools and everyone else is off to work (except hubster who's taken the day off so we can have a Christmas lunch out). At least the change to the NZ Christmas won't come as anything of a shock to us as we're already used to it being very low key.

Enjoy yourselves and be nice to each other (especially the in-laws) :wink:

Anyone want to buy some redundant Christmas smileys?

[MotherBear]

Hello-o-o Hello-o-o Hello-o-o Hello-o-o Hello-o-o
Jeez, it's quiet and empty on this forum today. Guess everyone's busy enjoying themselves elsewhere, at least I hope so. Now, what mischief can I get up to with the forum all to myself.

[Glenda]

Originally Posted by Mother Bear

There he goes, back to wherever he came from. Job finished for another year. Hope he's brought you everything you wanted and you're now set for a great day of feasting, drinking and sleeping it off in front of the Queen's Christmas message (for those in the UK).

Just like any other day here. School buses rolled up at 6.30 a.m. as normal to take the kids to the various schools and everyone else is off to work (except hubster who's taken the day off so we can have a Christmas lunch out). At least the change to the NZ Christmas won't come as anything of a shock to us as we're already used to it being very low key.

Hope you enjoyed your Christmas lunch, Mother Bear. As a matter of interest, are schools open every day in Oman or do they have another day of the week off? Grief, I don't even know if they have seven days in the week there!

Well ... the kids opened their pressies, I cooked the turkey early (fortunately it was not a hot morning) and we had our Christmas dinner at around 1pm. A couple of hours later we popped out to the beach 20mins away and the kids tried out their new boogie boards. Surprisingly, our town was almost completely deserted and our neighbours' houses strangely quiet and empty. It seems as if everyone around here has a bach by the sea, or knows a relative or friend with a bach by the sea. We ourselves had two invites to visit on Christmas Day but we are used to a 'closed family' get-together at Christmas with the traditional dinner, TV etc. and were a little uncomfortable intruding on others celebrations, but I wonder whether this view is a little out of place here.

I really think Christmas in NZ does adjust to some degree celebrating in a midsummer mode rather than midwinter. I even wonder if the turkeys, Christmas puddings etc. in the shops are there to cater more for expats and the traditionalist Kiwis. Most Kiwis I have talked to have bought a cooked joint of ham rather than a turkey - a far preferable alternative to slaving in a hot kitchen and forcing a big meal down, because it is 'Christmas'. There is so much fruit, salad and vegetables about at this time of year that I think a rummage through the recipe books for some delicious Christmas alternatives is in order ... exotic quiches, pavlova and summer pudding for example.

Just my Boxing Day ramblings. Hope everyone else on this forum had an enjoyable Christmas Day, survived the relatives, etc. etc.

[MotherBear]

Good to hear your Christmas Day went well, Glenda. We had a busy morning, first shopping for a couple of bits and pieces (without luck, I might add), then I visited the clinic for the fortnightly check on my ankle. The verdict on that was that I appear to be doing well considering I have osteoporosis, so that perked me up. Was surprised to hear though that I?d actually broken both sides of my ankle, not just the one as I originally thought. After that we just managed to make the hotel in time for lunch, which was a carvery type buffet. Had a very good meal in an English type pub in the hotel, surrounded by quite a lot of other Brits celebrating Christmas with carols playing in the background (with the a/c on it felt cold enough to be in the UK). One of the meats on offer was a whole suckling pig, so we had a sampling of the 'forbidden fruit? (although, I must say, the bit I had was 90% fat). With the pork and the fact that there were several Omanis sitting at the bar drinking alcohol, it brought it home that the stringent rules of Islam are quietly breaking down in the more progressive areas.

Re your query, the schools here do have weekends off, but our weekend is Thursday/Friday, so that accounts for the kids going to school on a Sunday. I don?t think they go on the Thursday, but can?t say I?ve noticed as we usually try to have a little lie in then (7 a.m. as opposed to normally getting up at 5.30 a.m.). Out in the more countrified areas, the school day is split with girls going in the morning and boys in the afternoon or vice versa. I was commenting yesterday that the children don?t seem to be weighted down with rucksacks laden with school books as in the UK and many, especially in this area, go to private schools. Also, with the high expat population, there are a lot of schools specially geared to the different nationalities e.g. The Indian School, The American School, The British School etc. With such an early start to the school day, they finish around 12.30 p.m. for youngsters and 14.30 p.m. for older students.

Hope Boxing Day has also gone well for you. Roll on New Year (my packing can go into overdrive then \:D/ ).

And, to whom it may concern, don't think I haven't noticed you've messed with my smiley. [-X

Who's messed with what smiley, Bear?