After a few days of spring-like weather, the warmer weather returned today. The chores we needed to get done were mostly inside the house – thankfully – where the ceiling fans kept us cool.
I’m glad every week is not as busy as the past week has been. Between one thing and the other I have hardly had a moment to spare, which has kept me from visiting my blogging friends. I keep thinking about you all, hoping you are well, wondering what you have been up to. I know tomorrow will be another busy day, but on Monday I will be couped up in my office all day …
Adult Honeyeater.
… couped up with my computer, that is, so I plan on having a blog visiting day then.
So why will I be couped up in my office? I’m glad you asked …
We are (finally) having the floor coverings replaced in the main living area and hallways of our house, so I will need to make myself scarce so as not to get in the way of the workers. This week preparations began, including emptying cupboards ready to be moved, and removing tired old skirting boards that we have decided to replace.
Also this week I minded little Aurora for two days, and have had two extra dogs here for four nights while my daughter and family took a few day’s holiday. Tomorrow I will have four-year-old Braxton here for half a day as well. It’s little wonder I nodded off at the computer the other night while posting my daily photo of Mount Warning – I’m feeling tired just writing about the week that was. 😉
The frangipani tree in full bloom.
Between the heat, the mess, and plain old tiredness, we had takeaway pizza for dinner tonight, which was very nice for a change. 🙂
For a while now, husband has been trying to convince me to go to a local kitchen installation showroom to find some inspirational ideas for our kitchen renovation. What with uni, I have constantly resisted, but now we are actually getting into the reno, I made an appointment for 11am today.
As soon as my daughters heard I planned to go out, they organised me to have morning tea with them first! So we met at a lovely little coffee shop beside the Tweed River in Tweed Heads.
Little Aurora just loves her special “coffee” – a babycino – so seeing her so excited when her cup arrived, I just had to take a few photos.
For a two-year-old, she manages a “big girl’s cup” very well. (I think she’s had a lot of practice!)
And she didn’t plan on leaving one tiny bit in her cup! Her face looked very chocolatey by the time she had finished. 🙂
I had limited time though, so had to have a quick cuddle with both Aurora and Eli before I left. Aurora wanted to play her new favourite song for me, which is from a movie I haven’t seen yet.
And I had a big cuddle with handsome little Eli before I had to leave too. 🙂
When I arrived back at my car, I could see three pelicans in the distance, so had to take a quick photo of them before I left.
It was really worth the trip to the kitchen showroom. Everything I have on my wish-list was there – the doors and door-knobs I like, tiles, taps, cupboard fittings … we were so impressed that we have a rep coming to our house tomorrow to quote on a complete new kitchen. That will save a lot of time and effort for husband who has a million-and-one other projects to work on anyway.
The down side is that they are booked up until February next year, but we can still install the new range so we can use it over Christmas. It’s a free-standing cooker, so the new kitchen can be fitted around it.
In Mount Warning news, the valley is a tad hazy this afternoon, but we haven’t had a storm today for a change. It’s awfully humid though, so there’s probably rain about.
There were storms about last night – plural. Thunder with no rain during the afternoon, which subsided. A rain storm between around 6pm to 8pm, which also ended. Then overnight, another storm. Bowie cat, I discovered, is scared of storms and slept all night cuddled close to me.
I didn’t know what to expect in the valley this morning, but I woke to a very pretty misty fairyland scene, even if Mount Warning was hidden behind mist and clouds.
Each day since uni ended I catch up on a neglected chore, yesterday I pressure-cleaned the front veranda and part of the driveway; today I spent ironing.
Ironing is a pretty brainless task, and as anyone old-fashioned – like me – knows, whilst ironing and alone, your mind wanders off in all directions.
Today, I contemplated the risk I took in deciding to take photos and add a post to my blog every day, while I studied. It was a risk because I wasn’t completely sure I’d have time to post something every day, but I did. (Except for that one night when my sister called, and we stayed on the phone until after midnight. That was worth missing a day of posting.)
I decided to take that risk and make the committment, another committment – but an enjoyable one – which would distract me from the tunnel-vision I am prone to while studying and writing assignments. As much as I enjoy the study and writing, it drains me. I needed a distraction.
My conclusion at the end of the three month semester is that it paid off. Forcing myself to take time out each day to walk outside and take photos gave me something else to think about. It was a very worthwhile distraction. And even more rewarding has been my reconnection with blogging friends, most of whom I have known now for many years. The risk was worth the effort in many ways.
I’m not much of a risk taker though, which led to another thought. I feel content right now, I’m getting my home and garden back in order, and I am looking forward to Christmas. Through into next year, and when semester 1 of uni starts back, I will continue blogging. Decision made. But I also know I want to hold on to my peace of mind.
Here in Australia, there is a state election on Saturday. It’s not for my state, but the outcome will directly affect us as we live so close to the border. And next week, there’s the big election in the U.S., the outcome of which will have an impact on Australia. I’ve decided though, that this week, I will not listen to any news. Regardless of my opinions, the outcome of both elections will be whatever they will be, so I will save myself the agony of speculating on “what might be”. When the outcome of both elections are known, regardless of which party wins and which one loses, the world will keep on spinning.
Another thought I had was about the year – 2020 – which the multitudes seem to consider is the worst year ever. I understand why many people feel that way, but I don’t. Last year was more difficult when my husband and I had to organise aged care for his parents then sell the home they had lived in for twenty years. In 2015 my first grandchild, baby Samuel, was born, but never took a breath. The next year, baby Braxton, now aged four, was born, but we wouldn’t have Braxton if Samuel had survived. 2002 was an incredibly trying year when my husband had a serious accident and could have lost his life. He survived. I thought my world would end when my mother left me in 1993. The world kept spinning though, and her absence gave me the opportunity for the next five years to develop a closer relationship with my Dad.
My point is, life goes on. I thought a lot about that today, whilst ironing. I can’t control the world, my country, my state of residence, my town – I have no control over the actions of anyone other than myself, and it is my responsibility to be the best version of myself that I can be.
Making that decision feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I think also that if I stay away from watching television this week, I will get a lot more reading done. 🙂
Husband and I have been planning a renovation of my kitchen, so tonight he called me into the kitchen to discuss the height my new rangehood should be installed at. The discussion had to wait though. I looked out the window, and after all the rain, and storms, and mist we have had, look at the sunset sky! ❤
Being a creature of habit, today has felt a tad odd. I didn’t have to spend hours sitting at my desk, and I didn’t read or write a single word of academic writing.
Every time a semester ends, I’m happy it’s over because I need the rest! But last night, my dreams were filled with assignment writing. I need to get used to a new normal, again.
Knowing I missed seeing my family, all of my kids visited today. At one stage I had my four-year-old grandson, two-year-old granddaughter, and two-month-old grandson all sitting with me. Not far away on the next couch sat my 22 week pregnant daughter-in-law. And it was wonderful!
We finally had some rain today, not much, but enough to give the garden a good watering. I’m looking forward to spending more time in the garden now uni is over until next February.
Today’s photos, as you will see, are taken “where-Mount-Warning-should-be”! The cloud is so low that I haven’t seen the mountain all day, but I love the rich blueness of the ranges, and their blue reflections in the clouds. 🙂
Regular readers of my blog will be familiar with my lovely kookaburra visitors, but today, this particular kookaburra was joined by a very unlikely companion – a Currawong. It could be my imagination (although I don’t think it is) but the kookaburra does not look very impressed to be sharing its breakfast table. And the currawong, usually very shy birds who wait in the background to clean up any tiny droppings of food after the other birds have left, looks very – let me think – Entitled? Dominant? Demanding?
There’s nothing unusual about my next photo. Brontë always uses Forrest as a cushion when they spend time lying around outside.
I spent a while out in the garden this morning, working on an area that needs a fair amount of attention. I need husband’s help with this particular garden though. My son-in-law used wooden sleepers to build the garden edges about ten years ago, and now the wood is starting to rot and needs replacing. There’s a low retaining wall that needs replacing as well, so we are working on getting the job done before summer.
Around midday, my first “people” visitors arrived – my daughter, and baby Eli. I got a few adorable little smiles from six-week-old Eli today, and my goodness he is growing fast! His little neck is so strong and he moves his head around this way and that, seeming to want to take in everything around him.
Just before my daughter headed home, my eldest son arrived. His wife is away in Sydney for a few days, so Ben visited for dinner. I think I’m appreciating my visitors more than ever before, now the Covid restrictions are easing.
And once again, a very enjoyable day ended with a beautifully tinted sky. 🙂
In My World 