It's Gravy Day

 The 21st of December is so many things to so many people. 

For most Australian's, it's known as Gravy Day, thanks to Paul Kelly's iconic song (See below). Because, we all need to know who's going to make the gravy on Christmas Day. (I'm in a different predicament - Blarney and Barney are now in Tasmania and they will be asking "Who's going to glaze the ham?" Because glazing the ham is my job. I'm sure somebody will get this done over there - even though I'm not in prison (Listen to the song). And strangely, in all the years my South Australian family have had a leg of lamb over Christmas, we have never glazed the ham. Ever. you don't need to. Ham glazing is all froth and bluster.

It's also the pagan festival of Litha - the summer solstice. Around Melbourne, the sun is setting at a quarter to nine. From tomorrow, it will get earlier and earlier - and this is okay. It's what life is about. The ebbs and flows of time and tide, of light and dark. 

For me, today marks the closing down of the year. I'm not working in an office again until 9 January which means I have 18 days to turn myself into back into a fledgling novelist. I've told my accountability monitor I want to have 10000 words written by the end of this. 

It's nice to have the extra day off.

I was thinking of going to Adelaide a day earlier until I worked out I'm going out tomorrow night and the thought of driving dusty, with a moaning cat in the back doesn't appeal. I'll hit the road early Saturday morning. 

But , for the moment, I'll revel in it being Gravy Day, Litha and the day I get to turn into another person.

Oh, and I got my Christmas knitting finished. On to other projects. I'm a bit proud of myself. 

Today's song: