It was a scorcher last Friday and when I got home, it was a stinking 43deg. With the hot day forecast, I had asked Tress to drop me off at the station, to avoid leaving the car there. Later, we got to a quick dinner before trying to cool our heels at home.

On Saturday, we got busy cleaning the house, after which we went out and did some grocery shopping. There was a “house warming” dinner at Jason’s that night and we wanted to bring something. I threw some chook breasts on the weber, and then did a salad with it, and Tress did a fruit platter/salad, made up mainly of berries. At Jason and Mel’s we caught up with U Marloney/A Hooi and the Hipos, as well as Jason and Mel’s friends who were visiting from Malaysia.

The night before, we had taken a call from Kiddo saying Milo, their lovely pooch, may require surgery for a bad leg. We also learned later, that the vet had also thought he had a more serious condition of a hip problem. So we pretty much spent that Sat morning and part of the arvo, worrying about him. When news finally came through that they were false alarms and the little guy was ok, it brought a flood of relief to Tress and I, as I’m sure to Kiddo and Mic too.

On Sunday, after St Alf’s, we went to our usual local Malaysian place on Doncaster Road. They were going to close for an extended period (about a year) to do some serious renovations so we thought we’d go before that happened. Later, I tidied up the gardens – trimmed the hedges and mowed the lawns and swept down around the house. It was a beautiful day, in stark contrast to just a couple of days earlier. It was close to 6pm by the time I finished, and it felt like one of those tired but contented day/weekend.

Today is my late dad’s birthday. I think of him on this day, each year. In fact I think of everyone in the family, this time of the year, and wished I could be with as many of them as possible. I guess that’s normal and most people feel the same way. Maybe that is part of what it means to be created in the image of God. God wanted too, to be with his family. That’s why he came. Not just to be with his creation family in the flesh, but also so that he could be with them in that deeper sense, like a man wanting to be with his bride/wife, maybe. Or along the lines of numerous other imagery that the Bible in its riches, shows just how much God wants to be with us. I guess my dad’s memory, in some round about way, made me see God’s love through yet another prism. I like Christmas that way.