The week that was......



Some visitors to our garden, Bob puts Georgies left over food in a feeder attached to our large Gum tree and we get so many visitors, these couple are so quiet we can go almost right up to them, they bring their babies to show us each season,sometimes there is up to 8 visiting, this day just the two came and it was great as Lilli was here to see them too.

 

And here are some pedestrians that I met this week,funny things cows they just stare at you and move when they are good and ready,we wasted a whole 5 minutes this day and we did not care they are just lovely,isn't it wonderful how long cows eye lashes grow.

  
One farmer has Alpacas to mind his sheep a white one and a black one, I just love them, they also have amazing eyes.

 

Thursday they were on the roadside feeding,we are so desperate for rain, food is not plentiful again and so they feed on the 'long yard" as we call it over here, you need a permit and have to pay to do this,hand feeding takes it toll on the farmers,hopefully rain will come soon.

Not a drop of water left in the many creeks I cross,I can't wait until the rains come and the wood hens come back and the lizards are there  having a drink,poor things wonder where they found a waterhole.

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Have a wonderful week everyone and may the sun shine on your lives and in your hearts,may your plates and tummies be full,while our lives just go on a flow others are so hungry and homeless, we are truly blessed to be where we are,God is good to our family I pray that he will find a solution for all those struggling,in our own little way we all need to do a little no matter how small,one person does make a difference.

                                    Photos you are just so glad you took.

A few years ago we took Mum to visit her sister Pat in Kiola so they could spend a couple of days together.They talked on the phone every day for many years.It is one year today since Mums very close sister passed.Mum misses her soooo much....Aunty Pat is on the right.Mum turned 93 in December and her dear brother John passed away the year prior so his anniversary is on the 22nd of this month and her sweet twin Thelma passed away 8years ago.It maks Mum very sad some days,but the lovely thing is she reminisces a lot and tells of the many happy times mostly of when they were all young,so she has more joyful memories than sad ones.
I think this picture tells it all Aunty Pat and her big sister Bid.

 

                                                  New Year brings many Changes


Well Christmas has come and gone and a great time was had by all, New year arrived and went also a nice time but everyone I see is soooo tired out by it all...I know we are.Mum had a lovely time and was spoilt as she should have been.

The countdown is on for us ,6 months to go in our working lives, I am terrified, I wonder how we will manage etc,but I guess everyone wonders that,all our working life has been as lower wage earners and just the last 6 months things have looked up but now we will have to give that up.
I am looking forwad to being available to seeing the childrens school events, travelling on the train to visit etc, time for the things I used to love to do,I just hope we can do at least one of our dream trips..we will see...

I am going to try to take a picture each day of my work day.
The first to share is of the pupils of the little school I have told you of, 6 pupils and the school is named Rouchel Public School  pronounced Roo-kell.

Bob had the chance to come with me just before Christmas and he got to feel the joy and love the children give to me, when they hear my car coming they squeal with joy and run to collect the mail.Can you imagine the noise when they saw Bob in the car...then Georgie...(they are famous you know lol the kids told me!)..
Anyway they all had a hold and each had their pic taken with Georgie,and Bob was in his glory.Just one of the many things I will miss!

Aren't they all gorgeous! the tallest boy nelson is off to High School this year and that will leave 5 children, the government has given permission for the school to stay open for another year they pray for another family to move to the area.
Have a great day.

                                                                     2 More Sleeps !
Ready for the onslaought of visitors, what fun!!! They will all arrive tomorrow night Christmas Eve,there will be 6 kids,7 adults and 6 dogs in the house, the walls will stretch,cuddles all round noise and laughter galore!
We are ready all the meats are cooked ready,puddings and cakes on the defrost and 2 more hectic days of mail delivery,then a little break.

 Here are the stockings ready for the dogs, Molly is the only girls so she had to have a princess sparkly one, the boys have sparkles too of course because they are special as well.

 Lilli came on the train for a few days early to help Nana and we took some Chrissy pics of our pets;Molly is clearly not impressed!

 Poor Billy, he was not impressed,he says "they adopted me and they do this"!

 Georgie is ever the poser so he just took it all lol.

Molly had to have a drink!  lol I think it was stronger than water....

Have a lovely Christmas everyone, I do hope all the dogs get on together,should be hysterical, I imagine Mum will want ear plugs! but I am feeling there is much fun ahead.

 

 

My Last Christmas as the Mail Lady

 

I will be giving up work in July so this is my last Christmas as a rural mail lady and it has been wonderful and I will miss it dreadfully I know that.

I will try to post at least once a week with all the wonderful things I see for the next 6 months.Tell about the beautiful people who have made me part of their family in some cases and the shoulder to cry on for others and just the lady who turns up at the same time every day with the paper.

It is a special time for those isolated just as it is for us "townies" so here are a few of the decorated places.

This is the milkcan mailbox that becomes a reindeer every year,just love him!

 

This house belongs to an Uncle Pete who always has his great nephew Jimmy with him and this year a new little one to join in,the children and family live in a home you can't see from the road so all the family mail goes in this one box.

 This is a home  to three gorgeous little children,a new baby now 6 months old was so tiny I did not get a nurse for some time,but lucky for me they had a parcel too big for the mailbox one day and I had to go to the house and guess what baby was awake!!!!  one very happy mail lady got her first nurse of the tiny little babe who fought so hard to  stay in this world Mum was in a hospital far away for 3 months until baby was born safe and sound,hard going for those in the bush, with 2 little ones already, luckily Nan and Pop live not far down the road.

Have a wonderful Christmas,all our family will be here this year,so that makes 7 adults,6children and hang on 6 dogs! as they all bring their dogs with them and 2 extra people for lunch,I feel some seriously funny situations ahead...fun and games !

May your new year be peaceful and abundant with your needs, thoughts to all those who are having a sad time, for us it is one of our Cackle Club girls loosing her lovely 95 Mum yesterday,she will leave nothing but happy memories.Another family suddenly lost a wonderful father/husband and brother to many this week so Christmas will be hard for them so we need to remember how blessed we are.
Mum turned 93 2 weeks ago,I hope she survives the onslaught ,she is a trooper and although her patience is limited these days I am sure she will love it all.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,remember to keep Christ in your Christmas as that is what it is all about,I do not know about other countries but every day over here they are trying to change this.

                                                           It HAS BEEN SOOO LONG.....................


Time just escapes us when life gets more full and there are more things that need to be done than there are hours in the day.

This is just an update on life at the Johnstons.

All the family have just had birthdays so we have everything from 8 year old,11 year olds, 15,42,a big 40,and a 38 and soon and, a 15 year old and a teenager 13,next is Mum turning 93 in 2 weeks.

Our family is in a wonderful place,after a very long recovery our daughter in law is at last getting better,she still has no feeling in her feet but t be able to walk better and have sensation in her lower body and legs is a blessing.

We have 28 weeks left to work before retirement and although daunting we are excited, we are so tired no holidays at all for 10 years for Bob and 5 for me other than weekends and allotted days,so we are counting down.

                                                   Myself, Kirsty and our Kate

                                                 Birthday boy BIG 40 with Mum and Dad

 The part was at a place named Nords Warf, the kids had an old canoe it was private and more fun than winning lotto for the children

 This is the creek I would normally have trouble crossing but the drought had been very hard this year,now this is flooded due to much needed very heavy rain last week, I will not be able to get across here today.God is good,just takes his time sometimes.

 No greenery for the stock the ground hard and so sad but like I said all wet and soft and maybe mushrooms will appear now the sun is back out.All this area was badly burnt in the bushfires.

 

 

Brayden and I are still doing soldiers packages we have done 230 this year, more than last year,we had a little table at the local market so the wonderful people that donated to us could see a sample box from having this Brayden collected $125.25 and that means we could do extra ones.I have put him forward for Junior Citizen of the year for next year,he deserves it as he is just as passionate as me.

 Bob and I at a historical  village at Windsor, my cousin and his wife turned 060 and they bought all the family together for it,this was part of the weekend and fitting we took a pic at the post office.

All my cousins, our day was all planned for us ending with a dinner on a paddlesteamer,it was wonderful.Birthday boy is on the far right.

I want to say how generous some people are, John sent us all an invitation, everything from motel to village visit,dinner boat ride,cup cakes and coffee and a late night nightcap was all prepaid by John and his wife Gae.There were 70 of us and not one person had to pay one cent.
John has been very sicessful in life but I honestly have never met a more generous,loving and caring person.I just love him. You can tell when your with your favourite lol.

  That is just a little catch up.I have not taken and pics of Christmas sewing, I have made the childrens Christmas shirts and a bauble each for their tree, perhaps I will do that before I post them off.
Blessings to everyone.

                                                   Five Minutes of Fame......
There is a saying that in everyone's life we have five minutes of fame...I have had mine ..though it was embarrassing the kids thought it was great.I have not blogged it for attention but as we all do  with our blogs it is our little diary, a record of things that happen on our life's path.
I spend a lot of time telling people that just one person can make a difference, it is true but it is also true that we never get "things done" alone there are always many helpers and when  was interviewed for this article I named all my friends and helpers but in the telling of the story by the writer I was saddened to see their names were not there. Anyway here is a little bit of m from a section of our local paper called "True Blue" where each week they tell a story of someone in the Community,a couple of weeks ago it was me.

This is taken in our little park that houses the hall we meet in for the Cackle Club...looking very glam in my Australia Post uniform .