What's Hot & What's Not

I'm glad it's the last Wednesday of the month ... I'm a little lost for what to write about the last week and looking at my plans for the year seems easier somewhow.

WHAT'S been HOT

Finish 5 Craft projects. I managed to get two things finished during the week ... the cutest baby beanie and a matching scarf for a (third?) cousin Liam who's only 8 weeks old. And don't they look cute on? I didn't really understand the size of babies--it's been such a long time since I had one--and I guessed the dimensions. It was sheer good luck I got it right but I think I'm going to make the beanie and scarf a little bigger next time.


Spend more time with friends and family. It's been a big week for spending time with family .. my mum and her brother and his family. I enjoyed that and I only wish they didn't live so far away. On the upside though I discovered a second cousin in Melbourne ... that is so exciting.

And then when I got home my mum arranged for a birthday get together and I got to see everybody, with the exception of my niece Miss T. Everybody is so grown up, getting on with their lives and doing well. I liked seeing that.

Travel more. I got to do that this last week and I really enjoyed it ... it was sad Horace wasn't there to experience it with me because I really missed him. I so wanted to go home and see him.

Cook more. I actually cooked last week. Wow! Several breakfasts and dinners too.

WHAT'S NOT been so hot

Exercise more. A week off work and a week off exercise too. I suppose I could write that off as a good thing but I feel better when I exercise and I just can't do it on my own.

Renovate. No actual renovating happening ... although I have started on the reverse finds so I'm treating the clearing out of my life as the first step towards renovating.

Find something good each day. Not a good week for this ... I'm more aware of how I let little things play on my mind and then reacted to them. Not the most impresive week.

If you want to play ... to consider your life for the last week, your day, whether you're meeting your goals? Pop your name and link in the Linky below ... I'd love to hear how you're going.

Ruby Tuesday

This week's Ruby Tuesday is a little light on for red ... just a red berry baked cheesecake really and what's left of a glass of red wine.


But it's important because it's a red berry baked cheesecake for my birthday ... an important birthday with a "0" in it!

You'd be forgiven for thinking I might have been singing "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to" because there's nobody at the table. If you look really hard you can see them congregated outside ... the upside of smoking laws is we non-smokers don't have to suffer secondhand smoke as we eat cake but the downside is the waiting as the birthday cake melts while the smokers get their hit.

A few photos ... just because I can. My lovely daughter Miss C and the Boy. Doesn't she look thrilled Mummy has a camera and she's getting her photo taken? And nice Miss V's so happy she's hiding behind a menu. (Look, the Boy has a red stripe down the arm of his shirt ... phew, red at least).


My niece Miss V and her Boy. No red here unless you count the the red brick wall behind them.


And my sister Ms C and her Boy (Mr M) ... I don't think I can stretch his shirt to red. But don't they look happy?


My brother Mr J and his girlfriend Ms K. No red whatsoever ... unless we go back to the brick wall!


It was a great lunch and I really appreciated everybody getting together ... despite the unlucky 13 who sat down. Lucky I'm not superstitious or the last person to arrive (Miss V's Boy) would have had to go home.

Thanks everybody for the cake and presents ... they were wonderful and I so didn't expect them.

For more and (probably) much better examples of red pop over and visit Mary at Work of the Poet.

Because I can .... I'm back!

I've been away for the last week with my mother ...visiting family and wandering around the Lake Macquarie area.

Upside ... visiting family was great. It was important for my mother to visit her brother and reassure herself he was OK ... which he was. He's had a couple of strokes which has reduced his understading of the world and limited his mobility but he's in great spirits and looked after wonderfully by my aunt. I enjoyed my visit with him, especially the second time where it was clear he remembered who I was and we spent the whole visit holding hands. That'll always remain the highlight of our visit.


My Mum and her brother Stanley.

We also got to see four of my uncle's great grandchildren ... new members of the family neither my mother or I had met before. That's always wonderful.


My cousin Sandy's granddaughters Jazzy and Marlee.


My cousin Christopher's grandchildren Sean and Liam.

Upside ... it was beautiful. We saw quite a bit of the countryside around Dora Creek and Morriset and I'd willingly move there if I could find work and move everybody there. We only got to take one short bush walk at Boarding House Dam and that was amazing. I always love a walk near water.


Upside ... there is so much history to explore in the neighbourhood and we took quite a few trips to see some of it. We visited gaols and forts and even Caroline Chisholm's house in East Maitland.


Downside ... I was horrible to my mother. She and I are quite different people ... her outlook is narrow and I think she's probably spent most of her life afraid. That's not me at all and in the end it all got too much for me ... enough said!

A bridge to mend there I think.

What's Hot & What's Not

Last night I was thinking about the goals I’d set for myself this year and how I was tracking against them … which took off on the tangent of how long a year is and how flexible you need to be as life changes around you.

That’s really been the case for the goals I set at the beginning of the year but here goes ...

What’s Hot
EXPLORE. I feel as though I’m really living up to this. My craft is filling that artistic niche that needs nurturing, I’m trying my hands at different things, I’m out so much of the time spending time with people, and work is stretching me and making me think more about who I am. 2010 has definitely been a year devoted to growth.

Travel more. I got a little away time this month with Mum to Ballarat/Bendigo and it’s getting ever closer to Port Macquarie … about a month to go. Next month though I want to arrange somewhere overseas with Mr H before the end of the year. I know he’d like to do a little travelling and he’s a great travelling companion.



More time with friends and family. I’ve been managing to do this really well, with lots of time spent with friends and extended family. But I’ve been remiss with the people who count the most: Mr H and Miss C, and calling Miss W in Canada. It’s hard to get the balance right all the time.

Exercise more. This is the total standout for this year … I’m still doing yoga and Pilates each week and sometime soon I’ll restart the stairs at work.

Finish 5 craft items. I am so on my way and more tomorrow on the vintage sheet swap and the myriad of possibilities for quilts it’s brought with it.

What’s Not
Cook more. Yeah right!

Renovate. In whose universe am I going to get the time to do that?
I think it really needs to be put on next year's list.

So how’s your year travelling? Do you feel as though you’re kicking goals or is this year spiralling away from you? Let me know … I’d love to hear.

Good things Sun 7 Feb 10

GOOD THINGS: In celebration of my uncle Kenny
During the weekend I got a message from my mother that really confused me … which, if you knew my mother, wouldn’t sound strange at all, and it took me a while to understand what she was trying to tell me. Unfortunately it wasn't good news ... my uncle Kenny (my mother's brother) had passed.

I hope it doesn’t sound strange marking this as a good thing … because in and of itself it most definitely is not.

But I wanted to think about what I understood about my uncle from the limited time I’ve spent with him … and to celebrate a man who was so obviously loved by his family.

It’s no secret my parents emigrated to Australia in the early 1960s with my sister Carol and I. We lived in Australia, isolated from an extremely large family in England and Canada, except for one of my mother’s brothers (Stanley) and his family in Sydney.

So my only interactions with my uncle Kenny are limited to the mid 1980s (which I’ve completely forgotten), and more recently in September 2009 when we spent a week visiting family in England.

I’m so glad we made the time to spend a day with uncle Kenny and his family.


Five of us after lunch ... my uncle Eddy, me, Clarissa, Ros and my uncle Kenny.

I remember that day so well, and how kind he was taking us to visit another my mother’s brothers uncle Eddy near Milton Keynes, a tour of the countryside to see where my mother lived near Yelvertoft as a kid, and a glorious walk through Braunston and the canal. That walk, and my uncle’s commentary of things and places my mum would have seen or done helped me understand my mother’s life so much better.

It was also clear how important my uncle was to his family. He was the centre of my auntie Ros’ life. My aunty Ros’ nephew (who visited that day) clearly respected my uncle, and my uncle obviously doted on the grandchildren in his life ... and they obviously loved him in return.

From that day alone, I could see how he would have treated my brother and sister (who visited during the 1970s) and why they have such wonderful memories of uncle Kenny.


Uncle Kenny and his grandson.

I can only guess how much he’ll be missed … and all I can do is send my love to everybody whose life he touched.

But it’s just never enough, is it?

Good things Mon 25 Jan 10

GOOD THINGS: Home sweet home
It's so nice to get home after a few days away.

To the welcome from the friendly faces that've been looking forward to my arrival ... as if!

To be greeted by a clean, tidy kitchen ... as if!


Horace cooks ... but he doesn't make beds! I guess I can't have everything.

To fall into a tidy bed newly made with fresh sheets ... as if!

Hey, wait a minute ... this isn't the daydream I thought I'd be having.

Lucky I have a good sense of humour.

Good things Sun 24 Jan 10

GOOD THINGS: Sunshine at the Lake

Instead of me blogging, today my niece Tamika is taking over the reins and this will be her first blog post ... on my blog or the blogging world full stop. And hopefully not the last for me.

Hi, my name is Tamika. I am the niece of Susan and on the 24th of January we went to the Lake. It was a great afternoon.


The lovely first time blogger herself ... Tamika.

I was accompanied by Auntie Susan, Nan, Auntie Carol and my cousin Vanessa.


Nan, Vanessa and Carol ... good luck getting them to look at the camera when a photo's taken.

There was also an event being held called Arts in the Park. There was music and paintings being sold. There were lots of paintings that I liked, but I didn't like the painting of onions. Yuk!


Part of the Arts in the Park ... one of the live bands for people to enjoy.

At the event an elderly lady had fallen over the tram tracks. My cousin Vanessa who is a nursing aide at an old people's home had come to her assistance to help. I thought it was very kind of her to give assistance and luckily she works at a nursing home that gave her the skills to help with the elderly.

After a while Nan, Auntie Sue and I went over to the Botanical Gardens across the road from Lake Wendouree. We went to the Adam Lindsay Gordon craft cottage and it had many beautiful things. Then we went to the pond near the fernery. In the pond there were many lily pads and fish. One particular fish that caught my eye was black with orange and was at least 30 cms long. It was huge.


You can just see the fish poking out from under the lily pad. Tamika loved this fish.

And here's where we say goodbye to Tamika as she's had to go home with her dad ... but there just a few more photos I wanted to share of water in Lake Wendouree ... who would expect it; a lake with water or there's at least water in some parts of it. Something I was glad to see after seeing the lake completely empty of water for such a long time.


Tamika watching the ducks on what used to be part of the wetlands ... but which now seems to set aside for the ducks.


And the view across the ponds towards the Lake ... as you can see it has puddles in places but is now dry with isolated puddles.

Good things Mon 18 Jan 2010

GOOD THINGS: Horace's family
Even though it's a bitter sweet thing saying goodbye to Neil and wondering when we'll see him again it also brings home how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family ... and to be part of Horace's extended family.


It was really hard to get us all in focus ... but I like this one anyway.

They're all such great people ... and I'm so blessed.

Vintage Thingies Thursday Thu 14 Jan 10

VINTAGE THINGIES THURSDAY: Great Grandma's watch
It's Thursday and time for Vintage Thingies Thursday hosted by Suzanne over at coloradolady. Check out her blog for more lovely vintage thingies.

My vintage thingie is my great grandmother's watch.


This is the best shot I could get ... but I think it still gives an idea of how pretty and delicate the watch it.

I never met this great grandmother, not because she wasn't alive but because my parents emigrated to Australia when I was very young and she lived in England.

Unfortunately she had already passed when I visited England during the mid 80s but I was so pleased when my great aunt (who's always taken care of her) gave me this watch as a keepsakes ... it's been my most treasured family item ever since.

Project 365 Fri 6 Nov 09

WHAT'S HOT AND WHAT'S NOT
Another meme ... this time What's Hot and What's Not this week from Loobylu.

In fact, this is such a great idea to recap the week ... I think I'm going to do it every Friday whether I sign up or not.

What's hot:
The library. I've rediscovered reading and I just can't seem to get enough of it at the moment. And I saw Michael, one of the librarians I haven't seen in a very long time ... and it was so nice to see him.


My corner of the lounge room for the library books ... and Clarissa's green pig money box as a bookend.

Housework. I've been setting myself targets to get parts of the house cleaned up and it's actually working. This week I got the smallest room in the house cleaned from top to bottom and it's looking so good I keep stopping at the door to admire it! LOL

Op shops. I've been wandering around so many looking for furniture and different stuff. Nothing much so far but this week I found lots of glass storage stuff really cheap ... Moccona coffee jars and a huge jar for $3 for the lot.

Staying in contact with friends. We've worked really hard this week to call people overseas and one more call in a few hours time to Jackie in London. It's been fun syaing hi to everybody.


The mobile phone on Horace's bedside table.

What's not:
Work, of course ... blah, blah, blah. I just can't be bothered at the moment.

Being sick. Horace now has the cold I had and it's horrible knowing you made somebody sick.

Still, it's been a good week on balance!

Project 365 Mon 3 Aug 09

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
My aunt Mary lives in the nicest part of the world ... Vancouver Island to be exact ... and today she sent me some photos of the patch she calls home.

And who wouldn't, if they lived somewhere as beautiful as this:


Can you believe mother and baby deer wander through my aunt's yard every year ... my mother was there a decade ago and was amazed by them.


This looks like the best spot to eat outside at night.


My aunt says this is the nicest place to read a book ... and I'm not arguing.


These rhodendrons are superb.

And after these photos, and the great things I've heard from my friend Phil about Vancouver ... I really have to visit again and do it properly this time.

Project 365 Mon 20 Jul 09

BYE BYE BABY GIRL
The family all travelled to say goodbye to Wini at the airport.

It seemed to be Wini’s fondest wish that all four of us burst into tears at her leaving … and being the stoic British stock (except Horace and he must be stoic Trinidadian stock) we all bore up extremely well and there wasn’t a tear between us!


Wini, Horace and Clarissa in the airport before Wini left.

Well, except maybe Wini … and perhaps that’s because it’s more real to Wini than the rest of us.

I know that I’m so busy kidding myself there’s weeks to go until we leave the country there’s no way something like the reality of Wini leaving sinking in.

And in case you’re reading this Wini … I don’t believe that you’ll never come back. I’m not buying it, I’m not having it … and the first snow will have you running back to 45 degree summers.

Enjoy your trip baby girl, and see you very soon.

Project 365 Sun 19 Jul 09

SEND OFF MEAL OF YUM CHA
On Sunday Wini organised for the four of us (Horace, Clarissa, Wini and I) to go to Yum Cha in Keysborough for our last meal together … until we meet up again in Canada.

As usual … and I say that because it’s happening far more often than I like … I left the card from my digital camera at home and have no photos from the event. No photos of the pork buns Wini waited so long for, no photos of Clarissa looking peeved at me because I was taking photos of her eating ... nothing, nada, you get the idea! Very annoying because I so wanted as many photos of Wini as I could get before she goes ..

Instead, all I have to show is this photo of the Chinese custard tarts I took home from the restaurant ... love those Chinese custard tarts.


The beautiful Chinese custard tarts.

And the memory of a lovely family lunch together at the Shark Fin Inn.

Project 365 Sun 12 Apr 09

EASTER SUNDAY
As if it's not bad enough we don't see little Jade any more, this year we didn't get to see Tamika because it wasn't Jason's week for an access visit. And Easter, like Christmas, just isn't the same without the little ones.

Instead I had the great joy (and usual practice) of the girls turning their backs, especially Vanessa, whenever the camera comes anywhere near them. At least Wini was a little more co-operative for a change ...


Wini and Vanessa reading; and, as usual, Vanessa with her back to the camera!

All in all, though, I enjoyed my quiet Easter Sunday at Mum's house.

We had the loveliest lunch with Mum after the girls arrived, and Vanessa turned up a little while later with a computer for Wini to use to charge her iPhone.

A little later Carol and Mark turned up, and just before we left we saw Jason before he went off to work.

The only person who didn't come on Sunday was Debbie and I was lucky enough to see her on Thursday night and then Saturday as well.

As I say, a nice quiet day with family before heading off for Melbourne around 5pm and dinner with Horace. This year Horace didn't come to Ballarat with the girls and was waiting at home for us. I sure was glad to see him after four days away ...

Project 365 Day 23 (23/01/09)

HUG YOUR CHILDREN
Around 8pm on Wednesday night--as Horace, the girls and I sat safely in our home--a desperate search was underway a short way from our front door to find a missing four year old girl.

It was a hot evening, the kind many flock to the beach until the very late hours, and the Iremia family from Dandenong with their 7 children were at Mordialloc to get some relief.

It's a great spot to do that and we did it ourself when the girls were young. There's plenty for little ones to do: playground equipment in the shape of a boat covered by an awning, a pier fisherman use and many fishing boats tied up along the creek. There's also the beach and of course the water, which is invariably gentle enough for small children.


Mordialloc Beach at 8.30pm on a hot night.

But little Jennina wandered away from her parents at the beach and was found a few hours later not far from when she went missing.

I heard the police helicopter twice overhead, so loud it seemed about to land, with two dog squad units and the SES, along with many patrons from nearly hotels and restaurants. I just wish there'd been a happier outcome, and my heart goes out to the Ieremias. My best wishes and prayers go to the Iremias at the terrible time.

Every time I think of this I want to cry and I'm off (again) to hug my kids and tell them I love them.

Camera shy

Three of the four girls (Wini, Clarissa and Vanessa) are all camera shy, so most of the time none of them will let me take photos. And Christmas Day was no exception. They wouldn't stand still for a single photo of the four of them together and I had to follow them down the street snapping away, and hope I got something worthwhile.

And this is the result, the four of them in single file one after the other. Kinda cute, but not quite what I was looking for.


And another of them driving away in Vanessa's car as they went over to check out Vanessa's new house. (More of that another time).

Visit to Ballarat

I spent the weekend with Mum a few weeks ago, to get a few things done, and I had the most relaxing time.

I caught up with Jason and we talked about him getting a computer, which he’s been talking about for a while. I priced a few options, including using the computer as a PVR, and told him about the place I go to (MSY Technology) which everybody in Melbourne seems to have heard about. He seems very keen to get started although I’ll probably wait until after Christmas to get something organised.

I also helped Jason do a little gardening (really weeding) and did my best to denude his lemon tree … and barely touched it. Again I handed my camera over the Tamika and she got quite a few good shots, and she’s very careful with my little baby and gives me no reason to ask her to be careful.


Jason with lemons (taken by Tamika)


Me up the ladder picking lemons (taken by Tamika)

The only thing that wasn’t so nice was that Tamika didn’t feel 100% well and didn’t really want to do much on the Saturday, and then Jason came down with the same thing on Sunday.


Tamika eating comfort food (Vegemite on crackers).

Mum and I went to the Ballarat Spring Festival around the (non-existent) Lake. It was a nice day for a leisurely walk around the Lake, and we took some lunch with us and just let the day take us where it wanted. At one stage we were chatting about Debbie and John and Mum was wondering whether there was still anything between them and if they’d every get back together again … and I caught sight of Debbie out of the corner of my eye.

They always looked good together, and seemed a good match, although I think there was more to John than met the eye when it came to women. Just a feeling I got from a few stray comments.


Debbie and John together.

I also saw Tracey, a woman I used to scrap with half a dozen years ago. Her life has really changed since I last saw her; she has a new man in her life and she’s running a busy $1 store out of a tent! She seems so upbeat and happy with what she’s doing that it was really nice to see.

And most amazing from the whole weekend was getting picked up by Vanessa at the train station (completely unexpected) but then taking a detour to see the house she’s bought and expect to move into shortly after Christmas. Wow! She’s only 18 years old and to have a car and house already! Good for her, and I'll try to take photos another time I visit.

Visiting with Mary & David

I'm finally getting around to posting some photos from the visit to Mum's to see Mary & David.

Mary hasn't really changed at all--she still has the same young, open face and it was so nice to see David again. So strange to see them as Great Uncle and Great Aunt to Wini and Clarissa; it makes me feel so old (never mind anybody else!).



And better yet we got a shot of 'the girls' together, something that doesn't happen very often around here.



One of the things I really wanted to hear about was how my uncle Stanley (Mum and Mary's older brother) is doing after his stroke a couple of years ago. My uncle was always the strongest and most active of people: he worked hard and exercised and yet he suffered a stroke. By all accounts it's a serious stroke that he will never completely recover and that must be so frustrating for him.

Mum plans to visit and see how he is, and was planning to go with Debbie. I think I'll invite myself along as I'd like to see him and Sandra and her grandchildren. How strange to imagine her with grandchildren when she's only a few years older than me.

Aunt Mary is coming to town

My aunt Mary (mum's sister) and her husband arrive in the country tomorrow. It's been a really long time since I've seen them--18 years to be exact--although Mum was lucky enough to visit them in Canada in 2000.

They're going to Sydney first to visit my uncle Stanley, mum and Mary's brother. He had a stroke a few years ago and still hasn't recovered properly. Growing older comes to everybody, but I can only imagine how difficult my uncle finds it. He was a powerfull person physically and professionally; he stayed in shape by running almost every day for many years and even after 'retiring' was still in demand at a very high level as a consultant. Not being in control of his body must be frightening and maddening, but it's also hard for others as my mother hasn't been allowed to visit him since the stroke.

I know my mum is looking forward to seeing Mary. Mary's planned a few things for her 10 day stay, including a visit to Phillip Island for a few days. It'll be nice for Mum to travel in that direction as her holidays are always to the west of Melbourne rather than the east. I've also arranged to take the girls and visit on 30 October, about a week before Mary returns to Canada. Maybe I'll be lucky that day and they'll be at Phillip Island and we get to spend some time there as well. Fingers crossed!

And because a post is so much more interesting with a picture, I thought I'd dig out this old photo of Mary when she visited in late 1989. Everybody is so young: Clarissa isn't two years old and Carol is pregnant with Vanessa (Vanessa was born a few months later). Wini also seems to have lost one of her shoes! I can't wait to get a few new photos to see how we've all changed (or not!).

Happy birthday Deanne

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday dear Deanne

Happy birthday to you.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Sending you our love and kisses, and many hugs.