Merry Christmas everyone! Peace on Earth by U2. I'll be back on January 2!

Only a couple of days till Christmas! We're actually celebrating our main Christmas on Christmas Eve as a daughter is travelling on Christmas Day -- this effectively means two Christmas Days to prepare for.

Tonight things kick off with family members arriving to fill the guest rooms at the, er, Beach Hotel here at Peregian Beach. It's been like living in a sauna for quite awhile now and the swimming pool has been taking a thrashing between house cleaning, cooking, shopping. Thankfully, we are promised cooler weather for Christmas! At the moment I couldn't imagine cooking a hot Christmas dinner - we'll just have to suffer prawns and salads followed by Toblerone Cheesecake and home-made macarons! Pity us!

I go into this festive season remembering those who haven't had such a happy lead in to Christmas. I was so relieved to see that Nas Dean and her lovely husband Ragesh are safe there in Nadi, in their home where we stayed in July/August. Cyclone Evan wasn't kind. Nadi will be without electricity and water for a time, I believe. Those in Samoa are in the midst of a huge cleanup after Cyclone Evan, too. The devastation is worse than in the quite recent tsunami, poor people. But on the bright side, the US, NZ and Australia and probably other countries have been quick to offer aid to both Samoa and/or Fiji. I know planes full of emergency supplies have been leaving Australia for Nadi.

Nas is still smiling because they were able to fire up the generator so she could  keep blogging, lol!

It is sad that there are those living and dying in strife-torn countries too. Children being blown up by land mines in Afghanistan, aid workers shot dead in Pakistan, and civil war in Syria, unrest in many other countries. What can you do?

Hope and pray for Peace on Earth. here are the lyrics to one of my favourite songs by one of my favourite bands -- U2...

PEACE ON EARTH
Heaven on Earth, we need it now
I'm sick of all of this hanging around
Sick of sorrow, sick of the pain
I'm sick of hearing again and again
That there's gonna be peace on Earth

Where I grew up there weren't many trees
Where there was we'd tear them down
And use them on our enemies
They say that what you mock
Will surely overtake you

And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you
And it's already gone too far
You say that if you go in hard
You won't get hurt

Jesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth

Tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth

No whos or whys
No one cries like a mother cries
For peace on Earth

She never got to say goodbye
To see the colour in his eyes
Now he's in the dirt
Peace on Earth

They're reading names out over the radio
All the folks the rest of us won't get to know
Sean and Julia, Gareth, Ann, and Breda
Their lives are bigger than any big idea

Jesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth

To tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth

Jesus and the song you wrote
The words are sticking in my throat
Peace on Earth

Hear it every Christmas time
But hope and history won't rhyme
So what's it worth
This peace on Earth
Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth

  I will be on blog break until January 2nd, when I will be back with a post for IWSG. Until then, I'll be enjoying a family Christmas and continuing to write for three hours every morning before most of the family are awake. Naturally, I'll steal some time to check out the blogs!

So to all my lovely followers and casual visitors -- Happy Christmas!! See you in the New Year!! Be safe!!