Summary
Episode 19 is bursting with pre-Christmas energy. With just days to go before the big day, Sharryn captures the mix of anticipation, exhaustion, and affection that defines the holiday home stretch. The tape is full of last-minute preparations, festive rituals, and the kind of joyful noise only kids at Christmas can make.
Countdown to Christmas:
Sharryn is deep in the festive trenches: wrapping presents, mailing cards, finalizing menus, and trying to remember who she’s already sent gifts to. She talks about budgeting for stocking stuffers, juggling events at the kids’ schools, and keeping the peace while the house turns into a glitter-dusted whirlwind of paper, glue, and tinsel.
School’s Out, Kids Are In:
Rachael and Maitland are officially on break — and it shows. They're all over the tape, singing carols, reading stories, giggling, and squabbling. Rachael performs a school poem and proudly lists the Christmas books she's been reading. Maitland chimes in with jokes, sound effects, and a running commentary on how many sleeps are left until Christmas.
Community Spirit:
Ruth and Georgia make their holiday rounds, bringing cookies and cards. Beverly helps Sharryn with a ride to the shops, and Elodie appears in all her usual high-speed, high-volume glory. There’s warmth and camaraderie among the women — a circle of support that feels especially strong this time of year.
Festive Details:
- Sharryn describes hanging lights, decorating the tree, and hiding gifts from snooping children.
- There’s mention of church plans for Christmas Eve.
- The family’s beloved popcorn maker makes yet another holiday appearance, used for snacks during carolling practice.
- Sharryn shares a few Christmas memories from home, her voice softening as she talks directly to Nana and Grandad.
People, Places, and Themes:
- Family & Friends: Rachael, Maitland, John, Ruth, Georgia, Elodie, Beverly
- Themes: Christmas preparation, holiday chaos, family connection, community warmth
- Recurring Details: Carol singing, budget talk, popcorn, seasonal crafts, homesickness wrapped in joy
Tone:
Lively, affectionate, and a little breathless. This episode is like a big, bustling family kitchen the week before Christmas — noisy, messy, full of sugar and sparkle. Sharryn is clearly running on caffeine and determination, but her joy in making it all special for the kids is unmistakable. It’s not perfect — but it’s perfectly theirs.
Full Transcript
"And gentlemen, introducing... he's great. Let's... your... finding for your enjoy..."
"Had a little lamb. Play in D major."
"Ladies gentlemen, we have Russian now. Hope you enjoyed my little concert."
Thank you very much for the elephant. I just love it. I sleep with it every night. And some of the other presents I got were a habit from the Yaines, and I got pairs of stockings from Santa Claus, two pairs of stockings from Santa Claus. And the thing my brother and I got was Collision Crossing. Crossing? The first one didn't work, so we took it back and got a new one. The new one worked for two days, then it broke down, and we took it back and got $42. So now we have $42 Christmas money to spend. And we also got 17 Star Wars figures, and my dad made this great big humongous Star Wars castle. And then the Star Wars castle is a little cave for Yoda. My gerbil got some Christmas presents too. He got a wheel, but he never uses it. We can't get him to use it. And then he got some food, special mixture, and then some gnawing block. He's really made his house; he's made heating and everything. He's gnawed the sides and almost made it a modern house, the special ones you can get. And I got some false fingernails in my Christmas presents since I got lots of candy. And thank you for the wine gums, I really enjoyed them.
We also went to the movie Popeye with my friend Rachael Kenner. We saw Popeye and Flash Gordon over the holidays. Popeye is a great movie, and Flash Gordon's a spacey movie. They're both very good. We went to lots of places over the holidays right? And Bev and Jack we got Snoopy hats. And they were really pretty. I had a grayish colored one. They're pretty. And I also got some tennis shoes, they're Keds power? And got a bathing suit and the cookbook from Bev and Jack. And I got a quilt quilt. And from my next neighbors... not my next neighbors, but the people across the road, Claire and Bob, I got some anemones in a candy cane and a pair of white gloves. And I also got a green sweater that matches the kilt, and I got three pairs of underwear that are sort of silver glowish, there's some blue, pink and just plain white. Thank you for the knuckle bones. I've been playing them quite a lot. They're fun. And I really like this little thing you hang on the wall and put all your secret things in. I also got a Webster dictionary. And I also... thank you for the lovely book about Dr Doolittle. I don't have that one, but I have the other one, the one with the yellow cover. We had got so many new books for Christmas. I really liked them all. We decided to put all our books into a library. So we put call numbers on them and made a card catalog. Now we're selling library cards to the neighborhood children for a dime. We use the Dewey Decimal system. And my friend Rachael Kennerch, she checked out the two books on Dr Doolittle, and people have two weeks to return them before they start paying a penny per book each day, which will come out to quite a lot because people have been checking out five books at a time and things like that. And I got lots of things I really liked. It's been a great Christmas.
Violin lessons have been going great. On Saturdays, I go to the Northside School of the Arts for... how is it? An hour and a half? And an hour and a half of violin. And then at school, I have lessons on Wednesday at 1:45 and on Friday at 9:40... 9:35. And I've really learned a lot out of doing two classes at different places, learning different ways. As you can see in the early part of the tape, I've learned quite a number of songs, and it's been really fun learning to play.
At the Northside School of the Arts way at the end of the year, we do a concert, and every class will have its little part in the concert that they do, what they've been practicing. Like the chorus, I was in there the first day, and I had to get changed to get into violin, but the chorus, they are going to do a play, and they're going to tie people up on strings and make someone fly and make all these fairy tales. And Mama normally got me changed out of that class into the violin class because that's where I was when I first came. It's really been great going to this Northside school.
And for Y we had to do an Advent pageant before... just before Christmas. And we had to memorise these pages of music, but no one did it, so we got to use our music. And they went through the whole story. And then there was this little girl from... about that story...? Man I...? May...? Asked could...? Story of Jesus Christ been born and whose baby? Just read this year for the little baby do? His father Bob was baby. And a fourth or fifth grader, I'm not sure now, with Mary and she... but the baby was only... here a couple of months? They never been too such nervous parents baptized on just before Christmas, about a week before Christmas. And just baptized and when the girl was finished holding the baby, the mother ran up there and grabbed it like she was going... someone precious little baby. So then that's their first baby, and it was a great Advent pageant, went fine. And then Matthew and Amanda sang, and we went and... we also went to McDonald's and had a sundae, boy right.
"Maitland, Anna and Grandad now... Emma and Grandad we have Maitland, little Maitland doing his little thing. He's waited patiently and he claims that he's not getting his share, Rachael telling all the best things. So he becomes with his little part of Christmas. The... the..."
"Hello, Nana and Grandad. What you got? Get... what I got? A harmonica." "Why didn't you get to go with it?" "And I've got a little thing that goes on... and then you put your harmonica in it. My mother's away for..." "...And can carry it with you think the leather pouch... and the letter pouch... leather pouch... leather pouch. It's... it's a restaurant." "And it has a big Ferris wheel with the lights in the shape of a star." "Did that? We came home and did a couple of stuff. But why did we go down there? What was the story with Animal Crackers? Why do we go?" "We went down there and... because they have a similar phone number to us. With us." "And you know, they keep on ringing... people keep calling here by mistake." "My parents can go down there to drink some booze." "They said that we can go down and have some free cocktails. But we were staying on the first floor for ages tonight, didn't we?" "Anyway, about... Oh, I forgot I got... Because we had five or something like that first now." "I have 17 now. My father made a big ice plant thing. There another stand go on it." "We going to saving up to buy some Star Wars stuff for it?" "No, that thing you're going to buy? Steam Rice? Landspeeder?" "Landspeeder. That's what they all drive around. See, they stood in it." "And R2D2 and C3PO sit in the back, and there's a gear that you can move, and then the wheels pop out, and it looks like it's just gliding along. It was in Star Wars movie. Yeah, the movie Star Wars." "And then it... ready? You should tell them...? She come see that?" "Oh, I like your elephants you sent. I like the bug on it because we have a bug now. Yeah." "And I eat with it every night. And it's really... took it away with you, didn't she?" "Oh yeah, and I took it to someone's house when I spent the night." "And I got a soccer hat. It's like... it's like a soccer ball chain path? And it has..." "...and what did Harry Elson say about you wearing a hat on your...?" "He said, 'My sister won't get... Rachael won't get blame for hitting me... kicking me on the head!'" "And what else did you get?" "I got drumsticks." "Because you want some drums to go with them now, don't you?" "So I just crack some stuff." "Yeah, so you've got drumsticks, and you've got a harmonica. And what else do you have musical?" "Recorder? You got a recorder?" "And... but I didn't get that for Christmas, no." "Miss Mormon to give you? They give me a rock... a rock concert. There's a bunch of baby rocks painted on one big rock, and it... there's a big sign that says 'Rock Concert'." "Thank you for all that candy, I really enjoyed it, but we haven't finished it all yet." "I finished all my wine gums, and so was Rachael." "In bed? Chocolate?" "And now I go to the YMCA... go to Judo and Karate." "Oh Grandad, I can easily chop with... faithful towels?" "And what that is? Chocolate? You can help them karate his chocolate? And I can help you chop the chocolate." "So arrange... Teacher that we have... and we called him Sensei."
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