The problem with hats

The thing is, I love hats - especially pretty ones that remind you of Edwardian garden parties and summer weddings. I just hate wearing them.

In New Zealand I can get away with this most of the time. In winter I can usually make do with loose hoods and wide scarves, and in summer I opt for shade and high SPF sunblock. It is rare for me to feel any need for the shade of hat brim. But here in Brisbane it is a bit of a different story.

The thing I dislike is the feeling of something going around my head, the very thought of it gives me a headache. And of course my youngest child seems to have inherited this

aversion as well. I have tried lots of different hats but they really do annoy me. But I'm also finding that going without head covering when I'm out in the middle of the day is also quite uncomfortable.

I think I may have already provided myself with an option when I consider my winter alternatives. I might invest in some more light silk scarves.

And along comes Christmas

I have developed this theory, that from about the beginning of November time falls into this vortex that spins faster than the rest of the year, so that the last two months of the year flash by.

All of a sudden it is only a few weeks to Christmas and I feel caught unprepared again. And this year it's compounded by working out which bits of Christmas we'll do here in Brisbane and which bits will fall by the wayside. Will I do the Christmas baking I usually do? Will we have a whole turkey? What about decorations? A tree?

Today I started to make decisions almost sub-conciously. I bought a copy of the November Cuisine magazine without even looking inside - partially cos the cover is typically beautiful, partially cos I buy it most years, but also because I know it always has a range of food options - from the traditional spread to dinner for two. I have a Christmas recipe folder as well with the torn out pages from previous years editions. I'm also hoping that the review of bubbles might help me traverse the Australian shelves even if the old favorites are absent.

Walking through the market this morning I was already starting to plan some Christmas shopping (although shhhh - the bracelet I bought for $10 which Nick thinks I got for one of the girls is actually MINE!) We actually collectively decided our four older children's presents over coffee, and I picked up a couple of small things for the beginnings of extended family presents in the shop by the bus stop that caught my eye.

The trickier questions are the logistics of getting the boxes of Christmas decorations from storage over the next couple of weeks. I saw a great little tree with lights at Target this afternoon that will be rather swamped by our decorations scaled for an 11 foot tree! And it is tempting to do something different this year and leave the stored stuff until next year when we plan to have a larger apartment with our own furniture.

In the meantime I've just checked that the first Sunday of Advent is next Sunday (not this) and am contemplating what Jon might need for this season to be special. Last year was going to be the last year we had a Playmobil Advent calendar but I'm wondering if we need either one more or something to replace it. Plus the more I think about it, the more I want to have an Advent wreath even though I have no idea where to get the greenary. And maybe I'll give in to the allure of the lights in the supermarket and we'll do something festive on the balcony.

That's as far as I've got for now...