Tag Archives: family

A Quiet Christmas

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You may or may not have noticed the lack of posts about getting organised for Christmas.  That was because I really have done very little.  We are going to be travelling interstate so it will be somewhat different to most years.

Things I have done:

Made a cake
Organised gifts for our children and granchildren
Attended the annual Christmas drinks with neighbours from our road
Sent a small number of cards and emails
Had a BBQ with my mother and siblings before we all head in different directions for Christmas

Things I have not done:

Put up a tree
Rushed around buying gifts for lots of people
Attended work Christmas functions
Planned a huge feast

2013-12-17 01This evening we called in to visit our daughter and family and give them their Christmas presents.  The highlight was explaining to Miss O and Izz that we will be going to Sydney on New Year’s Day to see “The Lion KIng” for their Christmas gift from us.

The Duke and I will not be exchanging particular gifts but instead we are saving towards our planned trip to the UK later next year.

We will be spending Christmas Day with my mother and our younger daughter in Melbourne.  We are staying in rented accommodation so I will decide on a menu based on the weather and also availability of kitchen equipment/utensils.  We will have access to an excellent of fresh food from the market and we will enjoy creating a special meal without over-indulging.  A laptop and the internet means that I will be able to use virtually any recipe I could possibly want.

I will spend some time reflecting on the year that was.  2013 has had some challenges which we have survived and I am looking forward to a fresh slate – 2014!

What are your plans?

Now We Are Six

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Miss O turned 6 yesterday.  I don’t know about you but I regard 6 as a milestone birthday.  It is up there with 18th, 21st and 40th.  I am not really sure why.  Perhaps it is because I still remember my own 6th birthday.

Olivia Collage

Whatever the reason, I think A. A. Milne summed it up beautifully.

Now We Are Six – A.A. Milne

When I was one I had just begun
When I was two I was nearly new

When I was three I was hardly me
When I was four I was not much more

When I was five I was just alive
But now I am six, I’m as clever as clever;

So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

 

Birthday Wishes

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Today was a milestone birthday for special lady.  It was my mother-in-law’s 90th birthday.

It was a milestone that we were not sure that would eventuate since her diagnosis with Alzheimer’s Disease several years ago.

A small group of some of her children and grandchildren gathered to celebrate the occasion with cake and flowers.

Flowers
A short, impromptu duet which included her grandson brought much joy and elicited an emotional response.

Birthday
We are very grateful for today and will all cherish the memories.

Blessed

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Once you post a new entry on your blog it is out there for the world to read.  I sometimes wonder who reads what I write and what they actually think of it.  I am not alone in finding that those who comment represent a minute proportion of those who read.  However, the identity and thoughts of most of my readers will continue to be a mystery.

Since I have been blogging, I tend to find a lot more blogs that I read.  Some are like old friends that I diligently seek out every time there is a new post, others less regularly and many that just capture my interest with one post.  Many have an underlying theme of struggling.  This may be financial, health or relationships.  For some, the struggle appears to define them but others it seems to be an ever-present shadow lurking in the background.

The more I read, the more grateful I am for what I have.  We are both employed, have a roof over our heads and plenty of food.  Severe chronic or terminal illness is not part of our world.  I maintain good relationships with family and friends.

In other words, we have the freedom to make choices about how we live rather than it being driven by the need to deal with issues that constantly threaten our physical or mental well-being.  For that I am forever grateful.

Itis easy to take much of what you have for granted.  Blogging and connecting with others’ blogs adds to my awareness.

What are you grateful for in your life?

The Important Stuff

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A decluttered house?  Meals planned?  Clothes washed?

Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of what is really important in our lives.  While it is great to be able to meet physical achievements the things that matter most to me are relationships – my friends and family.  This has been brought to the forefront of my consciousness recently.

We were able to spend the weekend with Missy in Melbourne which was wonderful.  Yesterday I listened while Micky shared some of the challenges she is facing at work.  ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’ or so the saying goes.

Finally, tonight the telephone rang as I was about to begin preparing dinner.  The sound of the voice of an old friend ensured that dinner was the last thing on my mind for the next 30 minutes while we chatted and the time spent apart just fell away.  When I hung up and walked back to the kitchen I realised how refreshed I felt.

I am thankful for the close and meaningful relationships I have with friends and family and cherish them everyday.

Sharing the Bounty

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We try to grow enough food so that we can share some with our extended family.  Some of our efforts are more successful than others.

Here are some mandarins and avocados that I took to Belle.

2012-06-16 01We usually have plenty of eggs, although this depends a bit on the season.  At the moment we have an abundance so I can give them away to various family members.  There are always many more lemons and limes than we can use so I have taken to putting them in the wheelbarrow outside the gate with a sign on a piece of cardboard indicating that they are free.

One of my planned projects is to make a more permanent arrangement using a sandwich board style of sign with the option of changing what is ‘advertised’.  I hope to be able to show it to you once I get around to making it.  Don’t hold your breath waiting, though!

It is great to be able to share.

Family Comes First

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My complete lack of blogging for about a week has probably left some of you wondering if I am OK.  I am absolutely fine but have busy with other facets of my life.

Last weekend my mother spent the weekend with us.  Whilst this is not unusual, we had a weekend full of activity although it was limited somewhat by the heavy rain (190mm or almost 8 inches) on Friday and Saturday.  We managed to dodge the worst of the rain when we went to the local Agricultural Show.  There was dairy cattle judging to see, poultry breeds to check out, gorgeous alpacas and one of my favourites – the wood-chopping events.  We spent a lot of time viewing the various fine arts and crafts and also the produce section.

The washing doesn’t end just because it rains for a few days but it does become a more challenging task.  Hanging it on an airer in front of the fire meant that I just put a few things in the dryers for a short time to finish them off.

I cooked and prepared food for meals on the weekend and also for future meals and snacks.  Cooking from scratch really does give you an appreciation for the food you eat when you know the time and effort that has gone into the preparation.  I made pastry (and a steak and kidney bean pie), Lemon Delicious, pasta (to freeze) , orange and poppyseed muffins and pumpkin scones.  The Duke squeezed a bucketful of oranges from the tree and made bread.

There was plenty of time for relaxation, too.  We played several games of Scrabble and learned lots of new words in the process.

Then it was back to work on Monday and for the last couple of days I have been staying with Belle and help to look after Miss O and Izz before and after daycare while Belle has done some extra work.

I will be home tomorrow and get back into blogging in earnest.  Thank you for staying around – there will be some interesting posts and photos coming up.

What has your week been like?

Tough Love

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There comes a time when you are not doing your children any favours by constantly shielding them from the reality of the world and the consequences of their actions.

That time is now.  Belle has been struggling financially since she has been separated from her partner (19 months).  This has been as a result of a combination of factors, including residual debt from the relationship, limited income, Cetrelink challenges and inconsistent child support from an unreliable ex(even though it is collected through the Child Support Agency).  But most of all it has been her own inability to face the reality of her situation and understand that expenses must be less than income or you will get into strife.

We have supported her emotionally and financially every step of the way, however, tonight I ran out of patience and think I have finally made her realise that the numbers simply don’t add up.

The Duke and I have discussed various options with her and we have started to put together a plan which will see us take on some of her debt but it will allow her to be able to live within her means (as long as she is very frugal).  The responsibility will be entirely her own rather than us propping up her finances on an ad hoc basis.

If she does this using the assured income (paid work plus Centrelink) then when she does finally get some more child support payments they will be able to be used to buy clothing requirements for the children, create an emergency fund and pay modest amounts off her debt to us.

This is not an easy task but one that has to be done.