Addendum to a day in Pompeii!

Unfortunately, in my haste to post my photos before "the computer says no"...I made a few spelling mistakes, so I hope you'll accept my apology.

Our day yesterday, long awaited was to make it to The Pompeii exhibition at long last.

In case you were not able to tell, we were unable to take photos inside the exhibition which was a shame, but then you have to respect the demands of people who were alive some 60 years after Christ.

We saw some magnificently (thanks to nature) preserved artifacts from the time...coins, wheels, toilet systems, wall friezes with paint still intact, kitchens, pots, work tools...they were an incredible array from a lifetime ago that had been preserved during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

There were even body casts of victims I remember seeing probably in a book when a child, of mortals and animals who died because of poisonous gases and heat extremes emitted during that day.

We were even treated to a 3D movie of Pompeii which demonstrated through time lapse what would have happened to the village in that last 24 hour period.

So they might say "there went the Fall of Rome"...we saw the Fall of Pompeii.

After a bite to eat we then continued onto the main museum exhibition but unfortunately, because of time constraints we only got to see a small portion of what was on offer.

Our focus was on Melbourne from yesterday, plus the indigenous people of our land, their impact here and what white man has done to them in days gone by. It makes me ashamed of being a white person when you read of how innocent children were stolen from their innocent mothers by white people who presumed they knew better.

We eventually left Melbourne Museum around 4:30 pm. happy and content that we had finally completed one of our "to do's" for the year.

Thank you Lizzie for a wonderful day. Despite the rain and noisy children we had a great day. The best part was the promise of catching up again soon.....

Pompeii is the day

This is the entrance to our day of nostalgic wonder.

Nostalgic because many of the mementoes we say I recall wondering about as a child.

The photo of Lizzie to my left is typical...I was going to say "Find a computer and there you'll find Lizzie" but I thought better of it.

How about..."Here is Lizzie entering in a competition that would see us in Pompeii!

These nest three photos are taken from a compilation of pictures taken back in the 1930's of indigenous people from up north. Beautiful aren't they!

I spied a green tree frog amongst the moss...

A natural wonder of the world...green rainforest. Becoming a rarity these days.

A childs quilt based on their love for Australia

Windmills of your mind.

A horse is a horse of course, of course...No not Mr. ed but Pharlap!

Typical Melbourne home from back in the 20's 30's or 40's!

Array of bottles on a kitchen shelf

Pacific island kites

Montage again of aboriginality splendiferous

Papuan New Guinea mask

And our farewell...trojan soldiers see us off the premises...

Just a few days ago I had the opportunity to take my Mum out to lunch. We ended up at Werribee Mansion where they have a gorgeous gift shop with an eclectic array of goodies to purchase.

There is also a cafe there as well where we dined, but this little gem I came across to give to my niece's daughter for her christening which is to occur this coming Sunday.

Its actually a fabric container which contains 16 finger puppets. As both Kate's parents are teachers, I am sure they'll put all those finger puppets to good use over time.

You can actually see all the detail they put into the puppets. I can't wait for next Sunday when I can give this gift to Kate.

Management

Have been on a steep learning curve today. I went down to Geelong with a colleague to attend a management study day based on how to deal with conflict etc. Met some fine ladies from down there. Also learnt a lot as well. There was stuff I already knew too but I believe it doesn't hurt to have it reinforced every now and again.

Back to work again tomorrow, but only tomorrow and Saturday do I have to work. Sunday and Monday are my next days off and whilst I won't be doing much on Sunday, Lizzie and I have our tickets booked for an entertaining day at the Pompeii exhibition, one which we have had planned for many weeks now.
You may recall we had great intentions to visit this when it first opened, but the crowds put us off and so, we watched Sampson and Delilah instead.

This time we have our feet well and truly in the door and will get in there by hook or crook, or maybe by volcano!

Who else but Lizzie of the quilters anon...

Japanese beauty

Australian birds

"Wish I could do that!" she said....

Pirates week coming up...Arrrggghhh aaarrrggghhh matey!

Gorgeous colours

Created by kindergarten children no less!

First to catch my eye... a rare beauty indeed!

Mother and daughter

Well last night was an interesting experience indeed.
Nine of us in the room with the 'educator', 'guide', 'mentor', whatever the term is for the young woman who put us through our paces.

Her initial talk was about dreams and what perhaps they meant to us.
She also spoke about how the metaphysical and physical world is changing right now and as a result of that our physical beings are experiencing changes both within and without. All these changes are due to planet alignment or some such thing which kind of went over the top of my head but all the same it was interesting. (You can always learn something new I believe!

We then launched into our first visualisation. The others of the group who were not virgins like myself to the experience began a chant. Twas not an ommmmmmmmm, rather a moooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaa which was interesting. I emitted a few smiles as it actually sounded quite cathartic. I was envious of not being able to emit the sounds (I was frightened I would moooooaaa off key and make everyone laugh), BUT, I did by myself today and boy did it feel good! I might add I was in the car driving to a purposeful destination at the time and others in cars would have thought I was having a stroke if they had bothered to look at me.

We then selected cards (I am still not sure of their value) that had symbols on them. We then had the task of launching into another visualisation, this time with two angels (female and male) and had to focus on the symbol. Strangely, this made me conjure up those two with wings taking me to my son which actually made me cry.
I'm not sure if that was supposed to happen, but I believe despite my bravado I am still extremely sensitive about all things Chris, despite his death occurring some six years ago, and so it was no wonder that all thoughts led to him when I was allowed the time to become introspective.

All in all, it was a good experience. I have always wanted to try meditating and plan to return when work and social events permit. The group are unobtrusive and respectful of personal space. I might add that I am the oldest in the group, going by appearances but I don't care.
I look at this as a way to help with long overdue healing, so every little bit helps!

Today, I was supposed to have lunch with a friend but I received a phone call that was to change the course of the whole day.
"Mum, I have nits" caused a whole different circumstance to happen and so, instead of housework and un-needed extra calories, I first trip-trop-trapped to the local chemist for an army of chemicals to cause the death of a few tiny insects residing in my daughters hair.

My daughter is a 24 year old child care worker, and each day this week she has told me of the children and workers at her place of employment being sent home with various stages of head lice.
Today was her turn to be told she had eggs in her head and so I received the "Can you help me please Mum?" and, to be sure, to be sure, I didn't mind in the least and so over to Edithvale I travelled armed with my weapons of egg destruction.

It actually turned out to be a great bonding day for the two of us, for, not only did I treat Mez for head lice, I also helped her strip her bed, wash her linen and clothes, then we went shopping and had some lunch. This is something we do not do very often. I am constantly amazed how my girl has changed into such a warm loving girl again. She like so many of her ilk became the teenager from hell for sometime and, up until she was 22 or so, I thought she was never going to snap out of it.
She is now the opposite of what she once was and I love her so much. At the end of the day, she even didn't want her Mummia to go home which I thought was lovely, but alas, good things have to come to an end and so I returned home to strip my own bed and do the ironing.

Some things just never change do they!

A wild and windy night

I am about to go out to commence a meditation course. One which friends from work have asked me to go along to with them.

Its freezing outside, the wind has settled for a bit fortunately, but its wet and miserable.
Winter weather to be proud of!

I haven't blogged for a few weeks as I was disheartened when my previous blog kind of blew a front tyre and refused to publish the photos I had selected.

I won't post them this evening, but plan to have another go tomorrow.

I only received a couple of days ago my very first fat pack to make a beautiful quilt. Unfortunately it didn't come with instructions, and, as I am not quilt literate yet, I will need all the help I can get. Hopefully I might get a little assistance from my dear friend from up the Mulga..., dear Lizzie (if I am a good girl and buy her lots of chocolate!)

Well, must away as the chanting need is growing upon me. More tomorrow regarding my transcendental experience.

Yesterday was a day of much enlightenment for me.
Twas my introduction to the real world of avid quilters...
Mind, having been around Lizzie for so long I have had some understanding of the painstaking diligence and dedication to such a craft not to mention the beauty, but never before yesterday have I seen such incredible artistry and imagination.

Some of the creations I saw were, to my mind phenomenal. I understand that what was there is only the tip of the iceberg and there are many women who devote almost their whole lives to such a craft. I find it amazing that there are so many themes worked upon. There are names commonly known to many 'quilters' who design and create from their minds....all this many of you already know, so, if I sound a little gushy, I can only apologise.

Below are a few of the favourites I selected to photograph (with permission of course).

I hope you can appreciate them.

Once upon a time there lived a little girl with long blonde hair.

This little girl lived in a house with her mother and father, her big brother Chris, Aloyisius the dog, numerous goldfish, and a canary called Dudley.

Once day the little girl went to school for she was 'a big girl now', and her BFF at the time told her that her dog had had puppies. Consequently, when our heroine arrived home from school that day, she nagged and nagged at her mother to bring one of the puppies home. She promised faithfully, she would look after 'it'...she would bathe the puppy, feed the puppy and generally love the puppy within an inch of its life and so like many other times, the mother acquiesced.

Mother only had to coerce father into allowing yet another canine into their household. One look at her dad with her large greeny blue eyes was enough for him to lose his control over the family issues...and the dog was hers.

We shall call this dog Jack, for that was his name. Jack lived a full and productive, happy and inquisitive life. He was labelled 'Hyperactive Jack' early in the piece but that nom de plume later became 'Jacky Boy.

Jack saw the comings and goings of two other dogs in this family. First as mentioned before was Aloyisius...a gorgeous short-haired/long-haired terrier who stood as high as a full grown labrador. The second dog, Elroy was mainly labrador and fortunately there were never any squabbles between the dogs. There were enough squabbles between the children of the household (as there invariably is) and the dogs were well fed and given free reign of the house on occasion, plus the big backyard.

Did I mention that Jack was a fox terrier...with something else in him to make him a bit stockier than the usual foxie... He kept up with the other dogs, who unfortunately, and through no fault of their own passed away early in the piece due to illnesses that are beset upon dogs from time to time.

As like in other families, the novelty of caring for Jacky Boy quickly wore off, and it was left to the little blonde haired girls mother and father to feed the dog, bathe the dog and take this dog to the vet for the odd check up.

Time went on...seasons changed with regularity and the dog experienced many adventures in his own mind both inside the property and outside the gate when allowed.

He went for drives with the family and never knew the protocols of self control. To be allowed in the car meant excitement plus for Jack and he would scamper all over inside whilst the car was travelling in search of a new view and fresh air.

Eventually, Jack became an old dog. The son by now had passed away...gone to be with the dogs that were earlier in his life. The canary had long gone as had the fish. Mind, they had been replaced by more fish and more canaries but it was difficult to work out when the chain of domesticed other animals began and ended.

Jack continued on though...living his life in a suburban backyard, hankering for the evenings when he was welcomed into the house by the mother and father. He would bee line for the kitchen for this was the place of the wonderful smells. Many an hour was spent sniffing around hoping for a tasty morsel (which, I might add was given) by either the mother and /or the father.

He was a well fed and basically content dog and enjoyed his later years also.

Jacks fur began to turn grey after a while. He developed selective deafness, especially when called from the front yard. He never missed a meal time though I might add, even if he was on the other side of the property!

Jack developed some tremors to add to his deafness and the mother and father were pretty sure his sight was failing also for he had now reached the status of 'Old Dog'.

The mother took him along to a vet for various ailments one day. The vet told the mother Jack had a heart murmur but it was mild and would not cause any problems. as far as she was aware.

About a week or so later, the mother arose one morning found Jack lying on his side outdoors which was unusual at that time of day. On investigation the mother found the beautiful old boy well and truly gone to where all good dogs go when they are longer of this life.

This beautiful boy lived (as we worked out) a whole 18 years of life.... Not bad for a hyperactive jack russel. He outlived his two canine companions as well as a human pal. He never once bit or growled at anyone...Jacky Boy was a very special dog and I am so glad to have been a part of his life, even if I, the mother, did turn out to be the primary feeder.

Rest well Jack.

Not had much chance, to write stuff today,

So many things just get in the way,

What with sick mothers and jobs to be done,

And daughters with problems that won't be outshone.

Life is sure busy with no time to stop,

Just running and running, I feel on the hop.

There's beds to be made, and floors to be washed,

And clothes to be ironed and teeth to be flossed.

Bills to be paid and food to be bought,

No wonder this woman is feeling quite fraught.

They say that anxiety's on the increase,

And quite understand why I feel caprice.

We won't even mention the job I perform,

Where stress and high pressure seem to be the norm.

There's always demands from the others at work,

This working in charge is not a great lurk.

So there you have it, that's my excuse,

I long for the day when I can refuse.

To do all these things, have time for me,

And write, read and dally and pretend like I'm free!

Time waits for no man...

The previous post was made a few days ago, but it seems I had some trouble amending some changes and its taken me till today to get stuck into it again and sort out the issues.

No matter what I do, I have this problem with enormous gaps (as you can see) between photographs and words...is anyone able to instruct me on how to eradicate those rather large gaps in my posts before posting?

Its a little bit frustrating to say the least but the post certainly looks better than the original, at least when I view it anyhow.

Work has been somewhat ordinary over the weekend. All the doings are supposed to quieten down over the weekends, when we have no elective inductions or caesarians to deal with, just the aftermath of a busy week. Unfortunately, hand in hand with that goes the redeployment of my staff that renders us overworked on weekends like this just gone when I don't have enough midwives to meet the number of labouring women...

I'm afraid I have been quite angry as a consequence and have made a formal complaint as I feel we have to work in an unsafe environment which leads to risk taking as we haven't the time to nurture our mothers and babies as we like and are supposed to do.

Now that might make me Little Miss Unpopular by some but I am old enough and big enough now (55!) to take it on the chin.

Tomorrow sees yet another adventure with Dear Lizzie, as we return to a bygone era and check out Sovereign Hill in Ballarat.

Be prepared for yet more photographs detailing our gold panning attempts...just as long as neither of us fall into the creek. Hmmm, might even trip down a gold mine or two providing the kids are back at school and we don't have to join a mile-long queue.

Its icily cold here tonight and I suspect it'll be even more so tomorrow. All the better to have another road trip up to Ballarat!

Just three more images taken down at Anglesea (seaside town in Victoria) a few months ago.

Three and a half hours north.

I feel it is time to change my settings perhaps, this evening. So, be prepared!

It is raining here tonight which is a pleasurable change.


I am currently home alone, whilst husband is at the MCG watching an over-sized pigs bladder being kicked around. I believe I am the sensible one as it's far too cold to be in the great outdoors this evening. Whats the bet he'll arrive home complaining of the cold and taking ages to warm up.

Last weekend, that of my birthday, saw he and I up at our respite centre, also known as Porepunkah, where we have a little cabin in a holiday park that overlooks the gracious Mt. Buffalo.

As you can see, the vista is glorious from our back door and I love the time we spend up there just rambling throughout the different towns in the Alpine Region.

Porepunkah is at the foot of the High Country, so called because it is a mountainous region in northern Victoria and is the playland for ski enthusiasts come winter time.






On the odd occasion, it does snow where our cabin is, but I do believe the last snow of any merit fall occurred in the park some eight years ago.

Here is a view of Mt. Buffalo with snow on them thar hills, the likes of which is quite beautiful from my perspective. I love the fact that every time I visit there, the images are always different.

My photograph collection of the area is full of contrasting images of this particular mountain.

I can well appreciate when my parents once upon a time lived south of Melbourne, Mum would always talk of 'her' mountain she would look out onto every morning from her front verandah.


Whilst up there this time, every morning was frosty white when we first got up, but as soon as the sun's rays hit an area the ice would turn to moisture and quickly be absorbed.

We have a resident nocturnal possum there who was pretty impressed with the bird seed my other half left out for the local parrots and every night he partook from the tree stump with a lot of noise just to let us know he was there.

One of the best things about going up to Porepunkah, apart from having time away from day to day living is exploring local shops that display their handicrafts. Being a bit of a tourist mecca, the area is bursting with local cottage industries, be it jams, nuts, vegetables and handcrafts.

Its so pleasurable talking with the locals who are usually always grateful if you show any interest in their produce be it animal, vegetable or mineral as.

To be on the lookout for a 'find' is always exciting too and especially in Porepunkah, Bright and Myrtleford, we have shown much favour as they always seem to have EXACTLY what it is we're after.

While there for these four days, we explored the areas of Beechworth and Yackandandah...... such pretty names for such picturesque towns don't you think?

These first three scenes are of Beechworth which was once upon a time a thriving gold rush town.
Photo no. 1 is of the main street.





No. 2 if you look closely enough is a cat in the window upstairs from a shop.






This somewhat gothic picture (would love to be there on a dark night) is out the back of a rather pricey upmarket antique dealer also in the main street.







Last but not least of these four photographs is of the main street in Yackandandah.






One nut/potato farm we called into had minimal supplies available in their store. As we walked out to our trusty steed (car) the owner strolled by and stopped for a chat. He appeared very despondent and told us a tale of how bad business is right now. Tourism was down according to him and his takings for the week were minimal. As a consequence he wasn't sure of his viability despite having been in the business all his working life.

The day was a grey cloudy day by then and the photo I took outside his farm to me depicted his sombre mood quite significantly.






This is the end of my post for today. I have heaps more to add about the time away and this will be done hopefully on Sunday.

Its after midnight now and time for some sleep I think before I start making big mistakes on here...

Night all..............................

The Carnival Is Over...

Well, the day is over and its time for bed.
The day started innocuously enough with me getting up bright and early ready to "Carpe Diem"...
A large amount of housework was done as I knew the Cleaning Ladies were coming this day, not to mention, Lizzie, so I didn't want the usual mess lying around.
After a couple of rounds of washing, some bin emptying, dishwasher stacking, bed making AND generalised tidying up it was the hour to shower and get ready.
The ladies rolled up at their customary 10 to clean the house (lucky me) and I waited for my best friend to arrive, and arrive she did not long after.
We bid a hasty goodbye and drove off into the sun (no rise or set at this time of the day) towards the land of many cars and long bridges.
Westgate was mounted and driven over, amidst the cars that wanted to push in and not wait their turn much to my chagrin but some calming words from my passenger calmed me and allowed them to gain access.
We finally got to our destination by 11ish, parked the car and quickly strolled over to The Melbourne Museum.
You wouldn't believe the mile long queue, I kid you not...all waiting for a chance to witness first hand the secrets Pompei had to offer. Amidst the queue were many schoolchildren, all with at least one parent if not two. The place was jam packed.
So, after a hasty debate, we decided not to wait but to trip over to nearby Lygon Street for a much needed coffee and see what else Carlton had to offer.
A delicious coffee and lemon tarte each were consumed whilst we drooled over many other french pastries and we then decided to see what the local shops had to offer us.
By the time we got to Borders I thought an alternative was needed and the eternal lightbulb went off inside my head.
"Why don't we go see a movie instead of all our other plans"
This was agreed upon by both parties and so, a movie it was.

I had always wanted to see 'Sampson and Delilah' since hearing about it on the Movie Show and as it was showing this day I 'Carpe Diemed'.....

Sampson and Delilah tells the story of two indigenous adolescents living in the heart of central Australia.

The story depicts their day to day life and the dramatic changes that occur as a result of their relationship.









Quote "Samson (Rowan McNamara) and Delilah's (Marissa Gibson) world is small - an isolated community in the Central Australian desert. When tragedy strikes they turn their backs on home and embark on a journey of survival. Lost, unwanted and alone they discover that life isn't always fair, but love never judges."

The actors all portray a life of poverty and hardship but there is an underlying beauty and a sense of love and change.
Running through the story also is a theme of petrol sniffing and the tragedy it can create.
The two main leads were amazing in how a story can told with minimal spoken word.
I might add they were both brilliantly endearing and extremely photogenic.
I would heartily recommend this tale if you want a good dose of blaring reality and if you're sick of feeling complacent about your life.
It'll blow your socks off!

Once Lizzie and I had wiped away the tears and recuperated from our post movie discussion, it was time for something to eat. A local cafe served us piping hot Pumpkin Soup to keep our hunger abated and then it was time to come home.

Trundling through the traffic on this Friday afternoon, we made it back to local ground (for me) before too long and we then waited for Mez to come home to share a dinner of Vietnamese.

That too was soon over and then Lizzie departed for home.

We had yet another great day and with it is the promise to attempt again soon our Try For Pompei...

Time heals old wounds.

After weeks of feeling downright miserable with this cold of mine, I can happily report that I think I am now on the mend.
I took myself off to the chemist yesterday and I suspect he took pity on me. (Gave me some strong stuff) that makes me feel almost human again!
Funny how I never ever for a jolly long time came down with an 'URTI' whilst my other half and she who comes home for food and money (my darling daughter) seemed to succumb all the time until recent years.
Now the roles have reversed and its me with the blocked up honky schnozz, laryngitis and resultant cold sore, but as I said earlier I am on the improve, so when I return to work tomorrow, hopefully people will stop avoiding me whilst holding their breath in my presence!

I bought my husband a shirt and tie last week from his favourite shirt and tie shop. When I got home, I was so focused on taking all the pins out of the shirt and washing it that I must have thrown the tie out!
What did I do but rush back down to the shop and purchased yet another tie to add to his collection.

You may re call last week (or was it the week before?) I was supposed to give a talk at work about my recent PNG experience. This was deferred as I had no voice but with a bit of luck I can get it over with sometime next week and won't have to stress about speaking in front of an audience again for a while.

Last Sunday I was invited to an afternoon tea to meet two young nurses who actually flew out to PNG today, their ultimate destination being Goroka.
They're there for three weeks and hope to gain some surgical, medical and theatre experience. I was checking the weather up there earlier and it's sitting around 30 degrees celsius. Such a contrast to our 6 degrees, rain and wind.

Friday sees my dear friend Lizzie and I getting together for the day. Our initial plan was to spend the day at The Melbourne Zoo and if the weather was inclement, go to Plan B and chill out at D.F.O. in the city. Trust me to come up with a Plan C...checking out the Pompeii exhibition on at the Melbourne Museum, which is what I think we will end up doing after all that.
Its Lizzie's birthday tomorrow (Wednesday) and mine on Sunday, hence the Big Day Out.
To top it off, my darling daughter, Lizzie's godchild will be coming out to dinner with us which will be a first.

The following day my plan is for my other half and I to go up to our escape from the city (Porepunkah) for a few days. It'll be icy cold up there (snow, hail and rain is forecast) but I don't care...shall be wonderful to just be up there for a break.

Look forward to numerous photos...

Thought you might like to know...

I went to the doctor's yesterday as I felt so miserable.
Absolutely no voice...I didn't even compare to a fog-horn, so there was really no point in my going to work as I couldn't talk anyhow.
The doctor gave me three days off including tomorrow which was just as well as all I have done is sleep it away.

Today my voice has partially returned, but its definitely not me...and I do sound like a bit of a rusty fog-horn, but thanks to antibiotics, yucky senega and ammonia cough medicine, plus other lotions and potions...I am on the mend.

I trust those who read this are well and without my symptoms.

Regards,

The best laid plans of mice and men.

Well, so much for my big talk today.
Obviously it didn't get done, primarily because its 'Refugee Week and I would have been competing against a social worker talking about the plight of refugees from third world countries..
Just as well it didn't get done though because I woke up with a tickle in my throat this morning and this afternoon, its developed into a full scale laryngitis.
Some might see that as a blessing. I see it as a bloody nuisance but, what can you do!
The dilemma is...will I or won't I go to work tomorrow now?
That IS the question!

A Big Day tomorrow

I had to prepare for a talk I've been asked to give tomorrow, today.

I plan to do a photo presentation and just talk around the pictures...

What of you ask?

Tis of my recent trip to Papua New Guinea...Needless to say I think I have enough ammo to bore everyone witless... some 172 photos all up.

Given that I'll have about 10 minutes to talk I'll have to wizz through it all.

How can you cull such a memorable time.

I found one of the greatest pleasures I had over there was photographing children as they are so expressive and real.

They don't shy away and theres no pretense when looking at the camera.

Some of my sequence photos even entail a story or two...like little Betsy who lives in a village we visited. This little one, all of 3 or 4 followed us around everywhere for the whole day and I took heaps of photos of her but she would not smile.

Later in the day I found out her name 'Betsy' and began calling her that... Well, you should have seen the change in her personality...from such a solemn little girl to one with a vibrant smile, jumping around...amazing was the transformation.

Another simple tale was of an elderly gent who was unaware I had taken a pic of him. When he realised what I had done, he insisted I repeat the photo, this time with his hat off as he was so proud of his hair!

Funny how now it seems like a lifetime ago.

I think of the people I met there frequently and with great fondness. I wonder if they do the same of us.....?

Ada Part 2

Thought you might like to read that Mum is a little better today. She even managed to keep down a cuppa (the elixir of life), so I am feeling I might not have to rush her off to hospital after all.

Have been shopping as well today, supermarket stuff mainly, plus the odd gift for a wonderful friend's birthday which will be upon us soon.

Its a grey cloud day here this afternoon, cold and no wind. That means there's not even a hint of rain unfortunately, something we could well do with.
Not sure how this part of the planet will survive if the skies don't open soon, and for a long time as well.

Ada

Just a quick post as I am back to my mothers very shortly.

I posted a long screed this morning (or thought I had) until I realised I had deleted it instead!

Am I the only dolt to have performed such a trick? I even had a photo in there too, so I was disheartened and miffed for a short while, but I am over it now.

Mum looks a bit worse for wear unfortunately.

She underwent a shoulder replacement in recent times, while I was away and appeared to be recovering fairly well, but this last week has seen her slip downhill again which is not good.

My mother lives in a 'residential village' for those 55 and over and up until 18 months ago loved the activity within.

Unfortunately she sustained a nasty fall after being pushed over by a codger on a bike and broke her humerus bone quite well so this last year and a half has seen her in hospital a few times for pain management.

The op was supposed to resolve all her issues but given that she is 85 it appears she isn't managing too well despite her feisty attitude. Heaven help me if I were to suggest she went into more supported care, or worse still, come and live with one of her children!

Mum's had it rough over the years. Her husband, my dad, died of prostate cancer some 7 years ago, then not long after, my son died. To follow that another grandchild, my sister's daughter died suddenly 3 years ago also.

Mum is one of two siblings left in her family also after saying goodbye to one sister and three brothers, so, her 5 children are very protective of her and support her however we can.

As you can see, she has quite a glint in her eyes and I love her fiercely. We are more like best mates than mother and daughter and I try not to project too much into the future, focusing on one day at a time instead with her......

Work, my mother, and other things.

Sometimes I think I haven't much to write about and other times its like a dam will burst if I don't put it down on here.

Today is one of those times when I'm just not quite sure.

It's been a working day today, so I'm a little tired I guess and the creative juices just aren't flowing as they do at other times. Work wasn't too bad I have to admit for a change.

It's usually chaotic and a real frenzy at times there and I hardly have time to draw breath, let alone take a coffee break or lunch even. Today though, I managed to fit in not only a morning tea, but also lunch and to top it off, got off 15 minutes before I was due to walk out.

The best part of the day was walking out into brilliant sunshine after so many days of grey clouds and drizzle. Now that made me feel like being part of the world I can tell you, reader.

I then had to pay my mother a visit. This lady is 85 now and as mothers go, is a wonderful example. She lost her husband, my dad, some seven years ago, then her grandson, my boy, shortly after. Three years after Chris's death, her eldest grand-daughter died also. Mum still smiles though even though I am sure her heart feels like breaking at times.

Whilst I was away in PNG my mother underwent a shoulder replacement which entailed reasonably major surgery. Her recovery has been uneventful up till the last few days and she is now beginning to complain of feeling quite unwell so its a trip to see her GP tomorrow. Given that I am the closest 'child' living near her, its fallen on me to take her which I don't mind in the least. She and I have a wonderful relationship fortunately. We actually share a similar sense of humour and find it easy to laugh at ourselves.

I have four siblings, three of which are male, so you can well understand that doing all those personal things like shopping, taking her to the docs etc. fall into the too hard basket for the others, but, they miss out on the joyous times she and I share together.

These are the memories I will hold close to my heart forever.