Time to Update

It's time to do an update..

• Kel is now studying Maths and Physics in his spare time. For once he is doing something for himself just for fun and not for work. I couldn't think of anything less fun, but he is loving it. He just celebrated his 37th birthday.


• Speaking of birthdays, it is birthday season for us: Happy birthday Kel, Neville, Jen, Sus, Alex, Annette, Monnie, Mum, Nathan, Martin, Sam and Bella. Sorry if I forgot anyone.


• In the last 43 days (since start of year) we have had 1509.8ml of rain. Amazing! My backyard still has not recovered and as I write this it is pouring rain outside again. My poor chooks are looking very sad and Duffy our springer is also over it.


• My brother Joe has been working extremely hard with the volunteer SES in country Victoria where the recent bushfires have devasted many local towns and taken too many lives. He is from Healesville, which up until even yesterday was still on alert, two weeks after the inferno began. Several children from his bus run have died and many homes on his usual route have gone.


• Birdwatching has been minimal due to the rain and the thick mud in my backyard. But I was excited yesterday when I found my Golden Penda blooming for the first time. When I went out later it was feeding a little honeyeater (not sure which - probably little brown). Joy, o joy.


• Kids are fine, settled in well to school and kindy this year.


• Vege patch is non-existent, also because of the rain. Hopefully Kel will get things back in soon.


• Had a great dinner party last weekend at Leoni and Andrew's place for Valentine's Day. Jen and Al were there too. Lots of laughs and plenty of 'innuendo'.

Not a very exciting post, but it is, what it is. Have a great day.

Thoughts and Prayers

My thoughts and prayers are with the families in Victoria this week as they face the reality of their devastation. I pray for those who have died and those who are left to make sense of the tragedy of the bushfires. I pray for my brother Joe whose house is still under threat and who has witnessed first hand the enormity of this horrendous situation.

Another milestone

Sam and Patrick are back at school. Sam started high school this year. It is hard to believe. I am living with extremes at the moment.

Please Vote

Hey, please click on this site and vote for Katrina Frew, my son's AWESOME teacher:

http://my.duomagazine.com.au/12faces/

I want the 'Winternets'

..This was my two year old's tantrum cry when she realised recently she couldn't get the internet on her Barbie laptop.

..And my twelve year old asked me the other day - "Is there any way I can connect to the internet faster than just clicking on the icon?"

I tell you in my day....

There's a Cyclone brewing off the coast and I woke up early this morning to listen to the advice on the radio. The rain was falling heavy and the wind was very gusty. I made myself a cuppa and couldn't help think of my Dad. He loved plotting the storms on the Cyclone map and preparing the yard for a possible 'blow'. We always had spare batteries for the torch, plenty of tinned irish stew and Dad would fill bottles of water and pack candles. We hardly ever had to use them, but that never detered him.

I loved to sit with him, watch the rain and wind and listen to his old Bluegrass records.

Miss you Dad.

Saturday

My Saturdays are usually pretty awful. I usually have to do the shopping, get all the washing done that I didn't get time to do during the week, wake up very early with a toddler and spend the rest of the day working on my laptop. But today I decided to do some things for myself and the day turned out swimmingly.

I decided to have my first cuppa of the day at my sister Annette's house and had the joy of seeing my other sister Monica there too. Bella got to play with Georgia and Syd and I got to have adult company at 8 o'clock in the morning.

Some major stress arose from work and I chose NOT to let it ruin my day. Instead I got out my sewing machine and sewed Paige and my Goddaughter Aria a library bag. They both start Prep on Tuesday.

I then sat with Bella and we played lego on the floor (and did not clean the house).

I then sat with my gorgeous two boys and watched Lord of the Rings (III).

I then let Kelv make me lasagne for tea - and I probably won't clean the kitchen either.

Now that sounds like my kind of Saturday.