Wed 01 to Sat 18: Woe is me. I have the same problems that the National Australia Bank (NAB) had a couple of weeks ago. A corrupted file - in this case one called DD-2010-December.html caused the December 2010 file to 'disappear.' I have checked all the mirror servers used by peter991.com™ - but within 5 minutes of me uploading the Diary update for yesterday (Friday, 17 December, 2010); all the mirrors had the update and all previous versions of that date were updated - effectively wiping my back up. Damn and double damn. If anybody has saved the Diary entries for this month as any sort of text file - I would be happy to hear from you.

Briefly - December in Perth, Western Australia is the start of Summer - the hot, dry season, which officially lasts 3 months. It is the time when schools close for the summer break. Perth has been fine and warm. Tonight (Saturday, 18 Dec) was the night of the U2 concert at Patterson Stadium (formerly Subiaco Oval).

Sun 19: A fairly quiet day today. I caught up on my washing (laundry) and for some reason I have yet to fathom - I ended up doing most of my son Troy's washing too - and hung it all on the clothes-line! Fortunately it was a fine day and it was all dry when I brought it inside to be sorted, folded and put away. Witt, Glenn and I went shopping at Woolworths and Asian Fresh at 4pm today. A busy day tomorrow - so I will try and have an early night.

Mon 20: Strange weather in Australia. Carnarvon (900km north of Perth) is having their worst floods in 50 years. Perth got a good soaking - with it's best one day December rainfall ever. On the east coast - there is SNOW falling in NSW! It's too good to last - Perth is expecting a humid 38ºC day on Christmas Day. Godbye to turkey and roast vegies, plum pudding and custard. I think it will be seafood and salad. On the home front - it's 8.40pm and I am off to bed - tired and happy.

Tue 21: Very humid this morning. Troy has car problems (ones not covered by warranty, unfortunately), so he drove me and took himself to work. A had arelatively good day - I was able to vent (twice) and felt better for it - although, venting requires a lot of adrenaline. I also had a relatively pleasant day. Fish and chips for dinner tonight - a special treat as both Troy and I were too tired to cook and Witt was working. It's till going to be a hot Christmas - no plans yet - Troy hinted at a BBQ this weekend.

Wed 22: I try NOT to be cynical (I call it realism as you get older) - but I noticed that ALl the fuel companies in WA have decided to increase the retail price of Unleaded petrol (gasoline / motor spirit) by 16cpl tomorrow from 6am. Just in time for Christmas and the day before most wage-earners get paid. Humid today - Troy gets his car back tomorrow when the new radiator is fitted. I am disappointed by the car yard - to me a radiator is part of the car and should be covered by warranty. Very long day today - quite tiring too.

Thu 23: Warm and very humid - my most unfavourite weather. I don't like the heat - I dislike the humidity even more. A long and tiring day - it seemed to d-r-a-g today - dropped in and saw Ron (and returned his Navman (GRP) and his sunglasses (that he left here), then home to take Witt to a job interview in Malaga. Could be a good job - but from home to Malaga is like travelling to the moon - it CAN be done - but its a long way to go and difficult to get there by public transport. Early night tonight - I have a lot to do tomorrow.

Fri 24: Christmas Eve. Many businesses closed at midday today - so their employees could have some extra time with their families. Many staff will have a good 4 day break - because Christmas falls on a Saturday. Boxing Day is on Sunday. the next 2 days (Monday and Tuesday) are the piblic holidays. Wet weather on the east coast - snow in NSW, hot and humid in Perth (38ºC tomorrow). Early night tonight - I am very tired.

Sat 25: Christmas Day. 2010 is finally drawing to a close. It has been a momentous year around the world - with a number of big news events. The biggest ones (on a global scale) would have to be the Golf Oil Spill, the flooding in Pakistan and the Icelandic Volcano Eruption. In 2010 on the home front: 14 April and 12 August feature strongly for me. If you are interested, you can browse those two dates in My Diary. I got up this morning around 5.30am - and caught up on a backlog of emails (after catching up on a backlog of sleep!) - so if you are overdue for an email from me - hopefully you have received it now - unless the email gremlins are at work. Perth had it's hottest Christmas Day for ages - officially the (shade) temperature was 39.9ºC. It was hotter where I live (close to Perth Airport) and very humid. Lunch was cold meat (ham and chicken) and home-made salad. Afterwards, Witt and I visited Mum and Ian at number 5.

Sun 26: Boxing Day. The temperature dropped to a pleasant 8.6ºC at 0530 (5.30am) before climbing to 36.5ºC at 1630 (4.30pm). At 2100hrs (9pm) it was still 30.6ºC. Indoors was the place to be today - or in the water, cooling off (but trying to stay out of the sun). Witt and I visited the local (Nollamara) Thai temple at 10.30am - before heading to Asian Fresh so he could make somtam. Known as green payaya salad, somtam would have to be Thailand's national dish. Much like meat pies in Australia! Tomorrow is tipped to be even hotter than today (or Christmas Day) with a top in Perth of 40ºC. Air-conditioning - here I come - bad luck about the power bill!

Mon 27: Christmas Day - Public holiday. Hot - that sums up Perth's weather today. It was 40.7ºC at 12.30pm locally. That is hot! Thank goodness for air-conditioning. A tiring day - a lot of incoming phone calls - being a public holiday, Witt is unable to get home from his job in East Victoria Park - so I picked him up later this evening. I was able to divert my phone and get some sleep for a few hours.

Tue 28: Boxing day - Public holiday. Yawn. Busy on the roads - busy at the shops. It was around 34ºC today in Perth. Similar weather is expected tomorrow - but we have been warned to expect a mini-heatwave at the start of the New Year. I think I will have to get a few Nanna Naps as I am very tired all the time lately.

Wed 29: There is not enough hours in the day to get everything done this week. The fact Australia had a 4 day 'long weekend' due to Christmas and Boxing Day this week and a 'long weekend' next weekend (on Monday) for New Year's Day means trying to get the same amount of work done in around half the time. I am still very tired lately and having trouble sleeping. I'll try for an early night tonight and get up earlier tomorrow (as I tend to wake naturally when the sun rises). At least the weather is a bit cooler - but this is only a small break - it's expected that Perth will have a 40ºC day this coming Sunday.

Thu 30: A bit cooler today - but humid. The Weather Bureau is topping a hot start to Perth's New Year - with maximums over 40ºC for 4 days in a row (at least)! Another tiring day - and a mini-disaster. Eating lunch and my (dental) plate broke. I rang around - prices average $295 - but I phoned my friend John, from Balcatta and he will give me a priority repair at 7am tomorrow - and I will be on my way 45 minutes later. Thanks, John. You deserved that plug!

Fri 31: New Year's Eve. Warm and humid - but not hot. Many thanks to John - from Denture Professionals in Balcatta - who came in to work at 0700 to repair my broken denture. I got a lot done today - but I am very tired. New Year will be a quiet one for me. I will take this opportunity to say to my family and friends - best wishes for 2011 (2554 if you are in Thailand).