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Day before yesterday we got $750 of free christmas presents. Could have been over $1000 but I chose not too. How do you ask?

For the aussie readers only, I went to a Strathfield Mobile phone shop and contracted my wife's existing phone account for 24 months to the same price plan she was already on - with better options-got her a new handset, the Nokia 6300 for free, and then spent the $300 of free store credit on various Christmas presents. Not describing them here due to some of the readers of this blog going to be receiving them!

I also upgraded my phone to a Nokia N81, but as this was a more expensive handset I didn't qualify for the free $300 of store credit. The phone was free and just meant resigning my existing account on the same plan for another 24 months. Not like I was going to change it anyway!

Yesterday I went down to the local bakery for some fresh bread for lunch. On the way there I was fantasizing and salivating about the potential choices of cheese encrusted buns, rolls, twists etc that I might choose. However when I got there the counter cabinets displaying all the pies and rolls, cream buns and tarts and slices etc had several flies flying around in them and crawling on the food. I quickly switched my attention to the loaves of bread up the back shelves behind the counter that appeared to be fly free and went home with 2 sliced multi-grain loaves encrusted with sesame seeds instead.

Christmas time is a great time for watching other people burning their money for your enjoyment. We went out to a street party put on by local council and businesses Saturday evening. The conclusion was some fireworks. Not as spectacular as the last lot, but because I had the good camera (being forewarned) and had time to fiddle with the settings to take the best fireworks shots, I got some beauties. Check them out in the fireworks Image Gallery.

I took the kids out for a walk late Wednesday afternoon while I had a break from programming. They wanted to go to a new park, so I took them up to a park the other side of estate that they haven't been to for ages. They loved playing on the playground equipment as there was some different things there, some leap frog mushrooms and a climbing wall for example.

More importantly there is a lake there, and there were 3 black swans on it. I only had the phone camera so the photos aren't very flash. More on Flickr.