6 years later

Boy howdy didn't that 6 years fly by. Not only did we move to Wagga Wagga in late 2006, in early 2012 we bought a place on an acre at The Rock, 35 kilometres out of Wagga.

So many adventures to bring you up to speed with in the intervening 6 years, not the least of which have been 3 different jobs, two different houses and a fabulous new hobby.

What is that you say? Pigeon racing.

Now before you start saying "rats of the sky" , "feathered postal service" and other snide remarks consider this. The first reported pigeon race took place in 211 AD , well before AFL, Rugby League, horses and greyhounds.  The sport has not only helped us make great friends and have lots of fun, it is also a terrific pastime to share with my husband.

So much fun being had and lots of new tricks for this old(er) dog. Stay tuned

Rainy days

It's raining today, which in itself is a cause for celebration because we have had so little rain this year. For me, rainy days are like comfort food, I just want to curl up with a good book or a weepy movie and have a big relax. It's like eating sausages and onion gravy or steamed pudding and custard, rainy days make me feel all warm and fuzzy (except when I am getting wet), and not inclined to do much work at all.

I woke up this morning to the sound of the rain and just wanted to roll over and go back to sleep but alas my Catholic work ethic got the better of me. The other problem is that it is Friday, the day when you don't feel like doing much either, so there is a chance that not too much industry will be industried (a new word) today.

The world looks washed clean and shiny after a shower of rain and all the dust disappears from the roads and footpaths. This is such a lovely change after the dusty brown dried grass we have been looking at the past few months.

Hopefully the rain will continue for a couple of days to give the trees and gardens a chance to recover a bit from the drought and the people a chance to slow down and have a rest.

Food

I love to cook. This is not a revelation to my family and friends but I often wonder if they truly appreciate they joy this gives me. It is not only the joy of cooking something yummy, this is always important, it is the associated joy of providing something wonderful for my family and friends.

Over the years I have really enjoyed feeding my boys mates. They have been many and varied and the menus have ranged from the traditional baked dinner to asian and moroccan cuisine. Courtesy of one of my boys I have fed young men from America, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and many parts of Australia. The one thing they have all had in common is they are young, a long way from home and hungry. I loved feeding thse young men as they enjoyed the food and gave us all so much by sharing their lives with us. I will never forget "young Geelong" who made balloon animals with such dexterity and only two fingers on one hand, and the young Maori man who sang and played the guitar so beautifully...and there were so many more.

Friends come to dinner and say" I can't invite you to dinner, I coudn't cook like this". My friends don't realise that I will enjoy a vegemite sandwich if they prepare it for me. My cooking is not about showing off, it is about giving something good to my family and friends. I am a little of the cartoon version of the "Jewish Mother", if can make it all better by feeding you, I will be content.

The other thing that people don't realise is that cooking is one of my favourite stress management measures so by eating my food you are helping me stay sane!!

Creating relationships

Relationships can be very complex (tell us something we don't know you all cry), it is often not easy to find common ground with people. My mother in law is a case in point. We are both Scorpios but that is about where the similarity ends,or maybe where the trouble starts.

However, recently we have discovered a way to become closer, we knit!! Well you may laugh, but I hated knitting. The only time I knitted was the 9 weeks I was in the hospital waiting for my twin sons to be born. That rug remained unfinished until about 20 years later when I gave it to one of the boys girlfriends (it was knitted in pinks) with the ends still not finished off.

Last year my mother in law bought a knitting book of 200 knitted squares. I looked at this book and thought "this looks like fun, I could do that". I bought a pair of knitting needles and some wool and under her tutelage I knitted a square. Since then I have knitted striped squares, corner wise sqaures, a couple of scarves and I am currently attenpting a "licorice allsort square"...this one needs concentration so I bought a copy of the book for myself.

But the major benefit I have discovered is the change in our relationship. We knit together and this leads to talking about knitting, kids, husbands and all the other important things. We have developed a mutual respect and a friendship through sharing an interest.

I was interested to read in an magazine article today that one of the struggles faced by Todd Russell and Brant Webb when they were trapped underground was finding something to talk about because they had very little in common. They realised that what they had in common was a love for their wives and children. I think my mother in law and I have realised that we both love her son and my husband and her grandaughter (my stepdaughter) and from there we can manage to find something good in each other.

So far the knitting works and I think it will only lead to more shared interests.

Back into it.

I have been a bit quiet since my last post, as you probably guessed the death of my mate knocked the stuffing out of me. One should never be suprised by lifes knocks but this one took me a little off guard. I have not even been able to write to her kids yet. I think part of me believes that if I don't write it down it is not true, the realistic part of me knows she is gone and is very sad about this.

This week is a bit tricky all round. Monday was the two year anniversary of my Dad's death and Thursday is Mum's birthday (and also the day Dad was buried), coupled with this Mum died five months before Dad. The good news is one boy got a home loan, the other one is flying with his life plans and our girl has got a driver' licence and a new car.(both of which she said would never happen), so life is very good.

Himself has a brand new car and I have just finished my last Uni assignment for the semester so can now knit without guilt!!

Life is pretty damn good really. I wonder at the people at work that whinge the whole time because life doesn't give them everything they want. I figure when I look at the list of what the kids have achieved so far life is heading in a pretty special direction.

The whole death of people you love stuff is a bit hard to take but it just convinces me that I need to enjoy every day because I don't know how many of them I have left.

Tell your mates you love 'em

I have just been told one of my best mates has died. Mary was 70, which I don't consider old. Mary was one of lifes happening people. She did whatever she wanted to and generally organised the rest of the world to do the same.
When her daughter rang to tell me the news she said" I wrote her life story for her 70th birthday. After the birthday she rang me to say" I have made a few changes and it will make a great eulogy". Mary was in control till the end, she did not want anynone telling her story unless it was her way....

Mary was like my other mother and one of my best mates. This was an interesting mix. It meant I could accept the mother stuff if I wanted to and ignore it if I didn't. It also meant I had a wonderful mate with whom I shared some fantastic dinners, jokes, happy and sad times. Mary knew more of my secrets than most people.

Mary played the church music for my second marriage. When I asked her I said, "Bridesmaids might have to wear pink tulle" At the music practice (2 years ago when she was 68), she appeared wearing a pink tulle skirt and sleeves over her street clothes. That was Mary.

I don't have any regrets. We had the most wonderful dinner and sleepover just before her 70th and my 49th birthday. I emailed her just before the fateful operation which took her away.

I loved her dearly and she me. Mary had strong faith in God and would have been happy to go out on top.

I feel sad for all of us who have lost a wonderful mother, grandmother, inlaw and mate. Our lives will be sadder without Mary.

You get back what you give out

I am a creature of habit and always buy the same thing from the same shop when I buy my lunch. I always have a chat to the lady who makes my lunch, she is also the business owner. We only ever exchange the usual "How is your day", "What are you doing on the weekend?" stuff. I can't engage with someone even when buying a sandwich without speaking to them.

Today the shop was very busy and the five or so staff were also looking rushed. I noticed the staff were all a bit straightfaced and I figured they were a bit stressed by ther lunchtime rush.

When"the lady", I don't know her name said "How can I help" and then looked up and saw me her face lit up in the loveliest smile. I could not help noticing that not everyone got this treatment and then I paid more attention and realised that no-one else was smiling or talking to her. Her lovely smile made my day and I choose to believe that mine made hers a little better.

This will keep me talking to people and smiling and nodding at those I pass on my morning walks etc. Maybe if we all smiled at one more person each day the world would be a happier place. I dare you to try it.