Basket weaving

Here are some photos of Mum and I weaving baskets in the village:

Close up:

Mum and I with our finished baskets:

Toilet frogs

These are the frogs (toads perhaps, to be more accurate) that welcome anyone who visits the toilet. Someone in Australia asked me if they were cane toads. I don’t know my frog/toad species well enough to say, so now you can see them and decide for yourself what kind of amphibian they are!

Sunset

Enjoy a few more sunset photos!

Mum and Dad silhouetted with the sunset.

Anyone for a game of basketball?

I don’t think anyone’s going to be playing basketball any time soon on this basketball court near Buka!

New Year Party!

Happy New Year!! Around New Year in the village, we have a New Year party. In 2013 the party was on the 4th, so it’s not right on New Year’s day, but on the nearest day that suits.

Decorations are put up, music is put on, and there is a big meal and giving of our ‘secret friend’ gifts. It is a happy time.

Here are some photos from last year’s party.

The meal (hiding under the covers):

The presents:

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful day.

Last year I was in the village for Christmas last year and went to church at a village down the road.

After the service there was some gift giving among the members of that congregation. You can see the palm tree has been decorated with balloons and streamers (click on the photo to see it bigger).

We had a meal after the service too, and following the meal, some church members got up and sang some songs and had a great time doing it too.

This year I am in Australia for Christmas and it is good to be with my family, but I would also enjoy Christmas in the village again too. Our village went out singing carols on a few nights and I’m sad that I couldn't be a part of that, but I will enjoy my Christmas here in Australia.

Village Christmas decorations

I think our house was the only house in the village with decorations last Christmas, and again also this December. I’m not big into decorating and if I hadn’t been given the decorations that I have, our house probably wouldn’t have been decorated either.

My decorations are limited to just a small lightweight Christmas tree with lights that I got at a ‘white elephant’ Christmas party in Ukarumpa a few years ago, and two foil things that you hang up which a lady in Australia sent to me one Christmas.

One of the foil things broke in two, so now instead of having two foil things, I have three. Here was last year’s ‘house cook’ decorations. Can you spot all three foil things (seriously, what is the proper name for them?) and the Christmas tree on the table?

As the evening drew darker, our little house cook was aglow with the Christmas tree lights…

And here’s a closer up photo of the tree:

The tree on the table with people around it:

A couple of times this year I put Christmas tree inside the house on the windowsill and I thought it looked quite effective. Reminded me of seeing people’s Christmas trees at their front window in Australia.