Remember that old song......

"All my friends are getting married" do you remember that song...well at the moment it seems "All my   friends are getting ill"... and I wish it were a happier time for them.
My most recent close to the heart person is the brother of my dear friend of Eva that passed away.He and is lovely wife Debbie had us in their home for  7 weeks in the Uk and are just delightful,that horrible Mr C has gotten hold of Chris and he was diagnosed this week with a brain tumor,We are all gutted and never has the other side of the world seemed the actual distance it is.
They live in Over Almonsbury not far from Bristol,and it has always seemed just to be a Skype away or a phone call...now it seems it is so far removed it may well be the moon.
Louise who is flying back to the UK today is the sister of Chris and to get the news while she was over here was very upsetting.
We are all hopeful,faithful,and trusting that he will come through this,we will know how bad it all is on Wednesday.They are very strong and so in love they will get through this.
Are you unwell at the moment..someone close to you...yourself...here's a little thing I thought of in the middle of the night,I think as only women do........

Today if there is a knock at your door..it will be Strength..let him in...
With him he will be holding Hope,take hold and keep him close to your heart,
Following Hope will be Faith the most important visitor of all.
Trailing along will be Trust and all together as a group these will be something special.
Take hold of this precious group as you go through your day, be selfish and ravel in them,share your secret with others as they say how can you be so strong,without these you cannot fight the fight and get through.
Each day feel the blessing of another day to have Faith ,that you can do this,and Trust that you are not alone,this will give you Hope as some days seem so long and daunting,these together will carry you through,it will fill you with wonder that you are have such Strength that you are an inspiration to others.
You are allowed to be sad and have tears as they are all normal,it is ok to be angry,that is normal too,and it is very ok to be feeling lost....
Then there will be a knock at the door...let them in ...they will be your saviour..give you everything you need ,these topped up with love of your friends and family and many hugs ,remember to share your load and most important remember to...stop... breathe...and gather your coping tools around you and soldier on....
My prayers with those that are ill today and feel they can't cope, yes you can,answer that door and go forward.
Not all illnesses are visible the same applies for those struggling mentally as sometimes this can be the worst of all.
Have a blessed and peaceful day,someone in blogland is praying for you today..what a wonderful world.

                                                                             Ode to Shez


Shez from Enjoying Life blog always inspires me,she seems to endlessly come up with lovely makes and swaps that she has joined.
A few weeks ago Shez placed her hand towels that she had made on her blog and they were lovely.Unfortunately I do not seem to know when to stop and now after this little lot I have (Docs orders) decided that I must limit myself to 6 of a make and then go down to 4  lol see how I go with this one!
 Anyway this is my last lot of makes....

 This is what happened I ended up with 36 hand towels and tea towels in all!!!

                                         These are my girlie water bottle holders...

                                                                Hand towels of all colours.

                                                         Tea towels the same,all colours...

 I only made 9 of these they are plastic bag holders........

                          Three black hand towels for our sons bathroom and it is black and grey....

Thanks Shez for your inspiration,I just have to remember that when I buy 1 towel I end up with 2 as they are halved.. so from here on in I will just buy the maximum of anything that makes 6 of an item lol.
I did default yesterday and bought a pack of 8 face washers ready for water bags,I will sell a lot at the Quilt Fair later in the year and many I give away ...

Have a wonderful Friday and an abundance of blessings to everyone.

                                                         





                                                                     The Week that was....

Outside our door at the beach,beautiful Rainbow Lorakeets feeding on the flowers of the palms,there were so many but thought this a typical shot of them,they make a screeching sound but it is not unpleasant ,actually it is quite lovely.
We had a great girls weekend away, I have never done that before and it was a delight,I now know why friends do it at times and hope that I can again sometime,but home comes first and I know Bob and Mum don't really like it when I am away so I just did not think about them too much,I had time to reflect on my health and what I should do to make life lighter for myself so we can get this thing under control,I do not know why but it seems easier to talk to friends than family about such things as the family want to put you in cotton wool,as I say to them I am the same today as yesterday it is just that my problem now has a name.

This is Louise in the apartment that we had for the weekend,it was lovely and she is the guest and making us a coffee lol but it was really nice just to sit and chatter and at times me embroider while Marg read and Louise sun baked by the pool.

Margie had her 60th..the whole point of Louise coming from the Uk it was a small family lunch and close friends and it was just lovely..

                                                    Richard,Marg and her Mum at her birthday.

 Louise at Margies party,it is very funny to us because she is from UK and so brown from 6 weeks in Spain and we are all white like lillies lol.

 Louise and Marg came for dinner last night, it just happened to be our wedding anniversary but when we made arrangements for dinner it was the only night they were free so we did not tell them until they arrived as I know they would have said it was not fair to come that night but for me it was perfect..we had leg of Lamb on the Webber and roast vegies and a strawberry cream cake for sweeties and a lot of chatter,we did not have a glass of wine as the girls don't drink so we will go out on Sat night for dinner...and we can share a glass of wine then..42 years now...Bob always says you get less time for murder...I think it is a joke lol...

This was taken at Margies birthday and not a real attractive nasal shot,but i guess 42 years on we wonder why we look like a pair of old farts,where did the young couple go..somewhere in all those wrinkles and cracks,they are after all the life's journey records and we should wear our age proudly( so they tell us).


I am now banned from parcel delivery as this is what wears me out,but on the large delivery days I will drive while Bob delivers,otherwise I am to come home and rest(sew) after I do my mail run,I have to say I am so relieved as some days I can barely put one foot in front of the other doing this so that is going to make a huge difference on my health,I am worried about Bob though as now his burden will be heavier! can't win can we...never mind it is not digging coal or shovelling soil all day on the whole it is a good light job.I am now in the process of lightening up my load as far as community work goes but will hopefully keep doing the op shop and the Seniors day..the rest is in the process of elimination.

Today is Ash Wednesday,important to many of us,this means it is only 6 weeks until Easter,another year flying by....
Have a lovely day,and blessings in abundance as you walk through your life this week,make each day count,but I know you do that already...Thank you for all your lovely comments,and for caring it makes life so much more meaningful to know that others care...

                                          How's my Health? well seeing you asked lol...


You know I don't go to the doctor very often but the last 3 years I have been with the same beautiful Samantha an English doctor who came to our little area,married with 3 kids,she just works 3 days a week and to get an appointment is a nightmare,she is very casual but I really like her and you can talk to her..however..

Yesterday after my visit to the Thyroid specialist and finally after 3 years of tablet hopping trying to get my life under control the answers were given and Samantha's bottom is about to be dutifully smacked.

He immediately looked at the scans and told me I have Graves disease,and that he should have been seeing me 3 years ago as my bloods were so out of whack anyone could see what the problem was! Margy my friend is having a lovely time gloating as she told me time after time Sam is really slack you should be sent away...literally lol.

So at last I know I am not going mad,I am not having a breakdown,have not got Altzimers and have not got the early onset of many  things that you get when you are older,most of the time I feel absolutely awful,that the world is closing in on me and that all the community things I do have recently become just too much.I have started to pull back a little but now for a while I have to pull back a lot..the doctor was surprised I could function at such an active job and must take that easier as well...
So at last I just have to wait another 3 months now while he does a control of blood tests and then he will decide on the treatment,there is no "if I need it" it is which way to go,it is either Radioactive treatment or an op on the throat to remove the diseased gland..

Funnily as soon as he told me what was wrong I was so relieved to think that something was up and not just being mad lol..other Thyroid girls will know what I mean...
On the home front..now...Bob says I must not do the parcels,he will do them I will just do my bush part...what!!!!! I have been feeling like this for way over three years and now you worry lol...I am fine...I am fixable..I am relieved that these awful feelings will go away soon and I can cope with that...

I have just changed doctors not because of anything other than I can never get into Sam but because our tiny town has at last managed to get a doctor and I only have to pop down the road to have the bloods done,Mum can get in easy and it is more convenient,he is a lovely young family man,and very caring lucky his teeth are so white as in a dark room you cannot find Doctor Ali..he is already a much loved member of the community.

I wish I had listened to my friend and insisted on seeing a specialist and I would have had the treatment 3 years ago,but...it is not too late ..just goes to show that maybe we should not be so slack and change perhaps is not a bad thing...

Louise is having a lovely time over here and we are trying to fill her days with joy between us all,and this weekend Margy and I are taking her down the coast,Lou wants to lay in the sun and bake! we will sit under the shade of a tree and chat lol...it is so funny Louise was is Spain for 6 weeks before she came over here and is so brown and we Aussies are all pale as not many people sun bake much now except the young as the sun is just too hot...well usually...this year there has been very little summer...

Hopefully I will get to take some pics when we take her for a Dolfin watch ride...that should be lovely...and some tales to tell.....

   




                                                 OMG...What The!!! and all that Jazz....



On Wednesday in "my office "things were a buzz with goings on.......

After much rain and bad weather the roads were a total mess so the council is up to repairing them,however it a a truly long and winding road,only one car can fit at a time with a shear drop one side and rock sides the other and more than OMG passed my lips hen I came around the corner and found the Council boys at work...

 The tipper truck dropping a load of soil,pull over mail lady and sit awhile,should only be 15 mins or so.....

 Then the grader came along to level it out...then sure enough 15 mins later...

 The roller driver calls out"follow me through love otherwise the next 2 trucks behind will hold you up"...what lovely fellows they are,coming back they could see me off in the distance so they stopped work until I went through so I would not have to wait..I did not mind it was so nice just sitting.

 Not a good pic as it was lightly raining..but I could not help but think sometimes working on the land must be so lovely,this is a young couple going out to muster,so typically Australian,they have their Dryzabones on (coats) their hats and riding along and waving me to say it is safe no cattle on the road...they have 2 little children and I often see the 4 of them riding...hello Scott hello Cindy bet they had a good but tiring day.

 This is the gate that I have to open into the last farm on my run,after this gate the homestead is still 1.5 kilometres along the road,as you can see the horses are just seeing if it is me or the family home..these people breed Polo horses.

 Then this lovely, a type of sheep that sheds her wool and just a little on her back left..here she is looking right and left to see if she is safe....

Being a typical sheep she decided she would come onto the road and ended up running along the centre for another few klms,each time I stopped thinking she would move to the side she would go straight to the middle...some people say sheep are silly,I tend to think they are just jokers having a fun time...
Anyway that was my day...
This afternoon I am off to Newcastle to babysit for my daughter and back home tomorrow,she is in a charity run and needs me, I am happy to go down,saves her the trip of bringing them to us..
Also Eva's  sister arrived safe from the UK yesterday, Margy took her on a harbour cruise straight off the plane,Louise called and said it was the most wonderful thing she has ever done...a good start to her holiday,I will have to wait to see her tomorrow afternoon...
She is bring goodies with her by request and we will pay her in Aussie dollars..M&S undies...loats of wool and other things,the list would have been endless if i had asked for some CK lol next time....

                                                          Simple Pleasures
Yesterday sweet William started school,I have no pic although the family sent me one on my phone but I cannot get them on to my PC....another end to a part of life,he is the last of the grandchildren to venture into the world of learning and no more babies.
Ahhhh the memories of the smell of a little baby,the lovely waft of their hair,talc and creams after bathtime...all awaiting in the world of great grandchildren now...will I be blessed to see them arrive as my mother has been,who knows.. I hope to see my grandaughters marry..or at least see them and the boys fall in love....
I believe it is the simple things that make life sweet..the smell of rain here in Australia as it hits the dry dusty earth,there is nothing quite like it,although this supposed summer we have had more rain than we knew God could store!
The smell of the roast cooking as you come through the door,at Christmas time the puddings boiling in the pots and the sweetness of the fruits when being mixed...
Yesterday as I got to the last gate to open on the last mail delivery I drove through and as I went to get in the car realised I had driven through a great thumping dollop of cow manure,lovely and fresh and sloppy...ahh now there is a smell,lol maybe not the best but if you have to come across a great pile I would take cow over dogs anytime lol...sorry great subject that is..however luckily I go through a water crossing so that cleaned up all under the car...
I never knew that paper had such a strong smell until I became a postie and parcel lady,as we sort the mail in the cool of the morning,all we can smell is the scent of paper and sometimes a wiff of perfume,yes people still send love letters...next week is Valentines day and there will be many of these.
Once one of my customers partner was in jail,and he wrote every single day and the messages  on the outside of the envelopes were enough to make your hair curl,I never dared to think about what he had to say inside the letters lol or maybe it was his way of making the postie lady wonder...as I did... lol
The funniest thing is when I take parcels to homes that are unexpected.."O'h , wonder who this is from and what is in it?" why do they ask me that? how would I know?  then they almost always say wait till I open it and we can see what it is...hence I am always late! I am glad each time as I get to see the pleasure it brings to people..life as a country postie is pretty good on the whole..just one thing would be better, I would love to be staying at home being a housewife,doing the simple things and sewing or whatever,greeting Bob after a days work,where as I am working with him each day and I have almost forgotten the excitement a wife feels when her loved one comes home safe...ahhh well in another life maybe...

                                   Ok Back to positive Caroleness.....
First of all thank you Mum for the blog award...I now have to work out how to get the tag and follow through...I will get there.....

Secondly...I received some lovely late birthday presents but wanted to share this one..it came at a good time and the saying perfect..it is a cook book holder and another friend gave me a new cookbook...

The pic is of some of our Cackle Club girls...extended family you might say.


Remember the boys that dropped off $300 for me to do more care packages for the soldiers..well for $300 I got 12 boxes done,4 men,4 women and 4 dog ones....they are almost ready to send...

 All lined up ready to be packaged ans customs forms to be done.

 These are the dog and handlers ones lollies for the dog handler,now there has been some nuts and goodies added as well

 This is the mens one ,when I weighed them I still had some extra weight to use so several other items have been added now

Same as the ladies I had 500gms spare weight so they ladies have shavers and some pretties added..these will be sent by March 19th for a treat for Anzac day for the troops,once again our little town has been wonderful and packages are being done all over,I am very grateful to the young men that donated this lot for me.
Next this week at work was so wet and slippery ,I am always so careful when driving in these conditions,here are some wet and amazing friends I saw along the way..

 Can you see him high up on a branch.....

 About to go in flight,a huge Wedgetail Eagle he is so magnificent,and when he flew off I was in awe..I often see a pair but he was alone on Thursday.

Here are a regular mob of roos that I see,they check if it is me,seem to say hello and then hop away...


Then a little walk around my garden,not much just a peek...the roses have been so lovely this year..

 New little shrubs each side of the front steps,I found some wonderful ceramic mushrooms so just had to have them.

 Raindrops on roses what is more beautiful....

 Eva's rose, we all have one of these her Mr Lincoln,her very favourite so all us friend bought one when she passed away...it si so beautiful to smell.

Our lovely lady and her flowering Naked Ladies...not sure if they are called that all over the world.

Now a small ornament that i could not leave at the p shop..ooops breaking all my own rules...it is made in South Africa, I presume someone bought it back at sometime as it is marked that it was handmade from a market there...I think the looks of it just says it all,I now sit it at my new desk and feel full of love and grace when I look upon it...

Thankyou for all being such lovely blog friends, I seem to be coming out of the abyss at last...excitement is building up as Eva's sister Louise is coming from the UK for a 3 week visit us,Eva's other close friend Margie and me,and we will share the time,we have much planned so I will share it along the way...
Have a wonderful evening..

                                                 Past Thoughts and Gentle Grieving...

Loosing Uncle John very recently has seemed to make everyone in the family panic in a way.First our daughter came home a few days before my birthday to make sure we had a meal together and to share our sadness and my birthday,Kate is my rock our conversations mostly short as she is so busy with work and family but even a text comes with "Love you Mum" and it means the world,  as we live far apart and she wanted to see me for my birthday and her hubby came too which is rare and I loved it..this does not usually happen,we have lots of phone calls but rushing home is not the usual...then our son rang and said they were travelling 2 hours each way on my birthday day to have lunch...his wife said it is wake up call time and we all need to make sure Nana feels loved etc,and that I know they care, I do get to have long chats but it is usually about their life etc and the kids which is lovely I do not burden any of them about "me.
I have found it quite a difficult time to be able to grieve, I have found that when I needed that good cry,Mum needed hers more so it was nurturing and comforting her that has taken priority,then Bob has not been feeling 100% his back is so sore ,we have had non stop rain for days and delivering the mail by motorbike as we do here has been a tussle for him on the slippery paths and so he needed caring for as well.
So in all this I have discovered what I call "gentle grieving" I have had to talk to me and cry me tears as I drive along on my work day...me and I have shared happy memories of Uncle John as he was such an influence in my life, it is he I have to thank for being scared of the dark! when he was a young man and dating(he was very handsome and much loved by the girls) he would come home late creep into my room with a torch shining under his chin and wake me up ..to see this luminous face and haunting laughter to scare the pants off me!! o'h he thought it was hilarious and the best part was I fell for it everytime!
My cousins of the male variety still wear underpants under their pyjamas and they are 60 years old because of Uncle John, as little boys whenever they would visit and walk past him he would "pants them" yank their jamas down and they would run for their lives trying to pull them up while he laughed his head off...he was a terrible torment and the tales go on and on..
He was a wonderful man that survived being buried alive at 28 and he never could have a family because of his horrendous injury,he was dug out by a work mate just below the chin so he could breathe till they got him out,his other workmate was not so lucky..
Anyway he was wonderful,my point is that do we ever really find the time for just "me".I read sometime people are having some "me"time where is this elusive thing?
I would like to just sit and reflect and wallow in a little bit of self pity..but you know what where would that get me..my Mum needs nurturing,she needs to be able to talk about her lovely young brother John and tell me of the things he did to the girls as with three sisters he was a much welcomed addition and from his birth they were like little mothers to him.
I have listened to cousins call and say wish I had rung him more,wish I had kept in touch,so now they are calling Mum to make sure they have no regrets when it is her time, I won't have any either that I can think of ...
I just want to say that if you do have an older relative and don't want to make a call or a visit or anything just send them a little "thinking of you" note or a small package to show you care...remember at Christmas I seemed to make endless puddings,well it was this Uncle that rang and said"I would love to taste a real Christmas pudding just once more" Mum and I made that pudding to his Mums recipe the next day and we posted it to him,he ate it with gusto for about 3 weeks, a serving each evening and I am so glad we did that..no regrets left for me.  Just a "gentle grieving" as I drive each day looking at the beauty of the countryside as it is a place similar to this that he lived and as a country boy it makes me feel close to him.Forever in my heart..