It has been a long action-packed day and I'm too wired to go to sleep just yet.

The morning started off with a long walk. My knee is healing, and I try to walk a bit farther each day.

Then off to Emerson, where one of my volunteer activities there is to assist with tending the bushes, flowers and weeds. The lantana is ready to be pruned way back, since the rainy season is upon us, and I spent a vigorous long while, cutting branches and lugging them to the dumpster. The lantana bushes will be beautiful again in a couple of months. The kangaroo paws, cut back earlier, aren't doing much growing yet.

Then the other people started to straggle in. We went up in the crow's nest where the audio equipment is for microphone, etc., and dug out the tree and the ornaments and the other decorations. Much discussion of where to put the tree--away from the candles, out of the path of the children's pageant tomorrow, and not blocking any exits. Then Scott hauled down the tree and put it up amazingly fast, while we disentangled the ornaments.

There's something about decorating a Solstice tree that gets everybody involved, some attaching hangers, some choosing their favorite ornaments, some kibitzing. It was fun.

Then I went home, made lunch, and out to do errands. Returned from errands to find a housemate with a long face. He really, really did not want to go grocery shopping because it was raining (he might melt), so I girded up the loins (as the saying goes), got back in the car and did the grocery shopping.

Home. Drag groceries into the house, back and forth to and from the car (finished just as the rain resumed), then unpack them and put them away.

Goodness, gracious, it's time to start making dinner. Where has the time gone? Dinner made, eaten, it's time to dress for the party (our annual fundraising Sing-A-Long). I picked up one of the people who can't drive and took her to the party. We ate and sang and drank and sang some more and had a great time.

I consumed 1 cup of punch, 2 carrots, 1 tangerine and a partridge in a pear tree (not really). The dog belonging to our host and hostess was a master in the art of thievery, so we had to keep a sharp eye on all consumables.

Party over, came home, undressed, did ablutions, wrote this journal entry -- and now I'm ready to get some sleep. 'Night.