GIRLS' NIGHT IN.....

"Cant talk too long Mum....lots to do."    My daughter's voice, joyous once again, no longer the measured tone, means that she is feeling well. Oh Happy Day! 

Leith has this window of opportunity ....a few weeks to let her hair down... (what hair you might say...the peach fuzz hiding under her wig is not yet long enough )... and live it up.  Do the Christmas shopping.... look at her garden.... go for walks with the kids in the early evening....get out her cook books....go to the movies......just a few simple pleasures before the fog of tiredness descends once again as she moves into the next stage of her treatment.   


And tonight.... to give thanks to the many dear friends and relatives who have helped her and her family on this journey, she is hosting " A Girls' Night In ".    This is a strictly women only night....lots of fun and food...lots of pink (balloons, champagne, cup cakes, clothing) ...trashy magazines.... weepy movies...you name it, anything goes !  It will be a fund raising celebration for the Pink Ribbon Foundation and will be a great night.


(She did ask her stepson -17 years old and quite a hunk- if he would like to be the drink waiter for the night, but when the words....shirtless...and pink bow tie.... were mentioned, he beat a hasty retreat.  She thought that would do the trick)

As for me, well I'd like to be there to enjoy the moment, but I know there will be lots of photos and stories to tell....so I'll settle down with this great DVD - 13 episodes in the second series of Mad Men....a time of pointy bras, gloves and stockings,cinched waists and flouncy skirts, an era I was part of.....and the words "male chauvinist"  were just blips on the far away radar......

THOUGHTS FOR MY DAUGHTER.....

Today in Australia is National Breast Cancer Awareness Day....and all morning on the magic of radio I've been hearing such inspiring tales from women who have been diagnosed with this devastating condition.   I salute you all... you wonderful women....and I pay tribute to those who did not make it.

Every day we read or hear of new advances being made in the fight against this most insidious disease. Progress is being made, although for those already suffering, time moves so slowly....but it will be wonderful to know  that within a few years ( such a short space of time in the scheme of things,) there may be a simple answer to the problem. We can only hope.....

With this day in mind I would like to share with you all some special thoughts for my daughter....

                                  Be like a very small joyous child

                                    Living in the ever present Now 
                                  Without a single worry or concern
                                   About even the next 
                                  Moment in time.....

                                  Be at peace...
                                  And see a clear pattern and plan

                                Running through your life......

                                  Nothing is by chance.

                                

                                                   (Words by Eileen Caddy)                  .

THE SIMPLE LIFE.....

I love this photo of my daughter Leith with her children

Zoe and Georgia

It was taken when Georgia was just one day old....

and big sister Zoe, 6 going on 7

Georgia is now 15 months, a happy contented toddler

with lots to say....and big smiles for everyone she meets

Zoe, now a grown up seven, wonders what happened to the life

she once knew.....

where she could leave her pencils, toys, books etc,

for a few moments without some little person stopping by

and claiming ownership

" It's not fair Mummy " she says,

but all is soon forgiven when Georgia offers her face for her sister's kiss

What's not fair.... is that Leith is in her 12th week of chemo....

Still smiling, still happy, with such a lot to bear....

still a long road to travel

But with the wonderful support of her special friends and relatives

she's been able to maintain a positive frame of mind

and still has her zany sense of humour

Next week I will be with her in Melbourne .....to hold her hand....

and to give her some of the love she lavishes on her daughters

It's time for me to be with her....

to wrap her in cottonwool....

cook and clean as only a Mother can..........

and to cherish this special time we will have together.

When both my daughters were tots themselves and they suffered hurt or pain

They would come running to me saying "make it go Mummy" .......

A kiss and a cuddle.... tears wiped from their eyes..... and all was well with the world.

If only it were that simple

A POSTSCRIPT.....

          As a postscript to my previous post,

it is with much sadness that I must report 

a failure

          
Yes.....my sweet Jenny....

as much as you had put your faith in me

          I let you down ...

I was unable to complete the assignment

I rang Jeff the home handyman to come to my rescue 

He's been.... he's seen....he's done the job and gone

and my thingamejig looks just fine in my laundry 

Sorry about that rush of blood to the head !

I'VE BEEN TO BUNNINGS !!....

I went to Bunnings today....something I try hard to avoid. It's one of those places that men frequent...(no, I don't mean one of THOSE places)... but a place where they congregate....where they spend hours in silence, looking.....looking....touching.....looking. Time has no meaning.

As I write I am reminded of a newspaper article of a few days ago, where Bunnings had been compared to the equivalent of Zen for men, in that once inside the store, they tend to enter a trancelike state for several hours, then find themselves on their way home accompanied by some purchase they had no recollection of making and have no intention of using, even if they knew how it worked.

However.....I digress. I needed to make a purchase, and Bunnings was the place I had seen it advertised....so there I was about to enter this vast interior and mingle with the crowd.

Not for me the aimless wandering....I knew exactly what I wanted. My problem was how to find it without a GPS, compass or similar device. Why didn't I ask the male door attendant who looked at least sixteen years old, you might ask....and well you might....and I would gladly have done that except I was having one of those moments common to women of my age.... I couldn't remember the name of the thingamejig.

So off I went at a brisk pace....down, around, across, up, back......looking....looking....trying to find the thing with a name that was on the tip of my tongue!

Finally a young woman, dressed in the red and green of a Bunnings uniform jumped out at me from one of the aisles I had been up and down several times, and said "You look as if you need some help" ....and of course I did. I told her my sad tale!

She whipped out an enormous catalog conveniently stored on her person, and we proceeded to scan the pages, and in next to no time we had found the very item of discontent. I was impressed....but not only that, she then escorted me to the very spot where this item resided, lifted it from the high shelf and began to extoll its virtues....how easy it was to assemble, and how she had bought the very same one for herself two years ago and it was still going strong......but she did recommend that when I assembled it, I should reinforce the back to make it stronger....a piece of pine was needed she said....so off we went again, trekking miles across the store to find a piece of timber the correct size for the job!

("Upselling" I thought to myself, then had a moment's remorse when I found it was only to cost me $1.10 )

She selected a piece from the barrel, examined it, then put it back, carefully chose another, examined it again..."knot holes"...she volunteered, then finally settled on one after she had looked down its length to see whether it was "true". "This should do the trick" she said and handed it to me with a smile.

I liked this young woman, not only for rescuing me from my situation, but for thinking that I could indeed assemble the said item MYSELF. I didn't have the heart to tell her I would be paying a handyman to do the job.

I asked her name - "Jenny " she said....pointing to the prominent tag on her uniform "I'm Jenny"

And "Yes" Jenny...I'm going to give it a go myself tomorrow.

You were a breath of fresh air !

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?......

Every day, around mid afternoon, my husband sets the table for dinner, no doubt in anticipation that within a few hours, some food will appear as if by magic...... he'll pour the selected wine..... and we'll sit down together for another meal

Yesterday I got to thinking just how many meals I have prepared over the years
The mind boggles....

Nowadays I'm almost on autopilot as I preplan the simple evening meal, taking into consideration many factors.....fat, sugar, cholesterol, protein, fibre, carbs, gluten, etc.
Then I make my decision ......and trot out to the garden......



My herb garden...bursting with health, vitamins and minerals

spring onion, curly parsley, rocket, basil,
Vietnamese mint, brown mignonette lettuce, Italian parsley, mint
coriander, lemongrass and iceberg lettuce.

My little patch has done well this year.....

Gathering what I need it's back into the kitchen to prepare.... a masterpiece !
and in almost no time at all it's done and ready for the table....






"Thai Lime and Lemongrass Chicken"
Delicious......and oh so easy

My husband says....."I'd pay money for that" ......Truly a compliment

"Thank you darling," I say.... and another meal is done and dusted !

MEMORIES......

I have a folder of treasures tucked away in my life....they don't have any monetary value... and to anyone else coming upon them, they would just seem to be
scraps of paper, old cards, newspaper clippings, little drawings, and lots and lots of photos......but to me they are precious... and worth a fortune

I came across this folder a few days ago whilst on another mission.....as I opened it I knew my
day as planned was over and I spent the next few hours trawling through it all.....remembering....

Thank goodness I can still remember, though the mind is playing tricks as I age....but for some of my friends the memory has gone....never to return
Such a loss....and so very, very sad.....

So here are a few favourites from times gone by......my treasures


(Yes that's my Mum & Dad smiling above on their wedding day, 15th June, 1934. They look so happy, about to face the unknown, about to embark on the journey of a lifetime....together)

And here is my Mum again, just two years later, as Matron of Honour at my Aunt's wedding..... very stylish for the times

This is a much earlier pic, and is of my husband's father (George) with his two sisters, Jane & Smig....taken towards the end of WWI as he was preparing to leave for Boarding School
at ALL SOULS - Charters Towers. Only Smig is still with us, still a beauty aged 91 years

And here is a very special photo of five generations of women in my very own family....what a treasure to have

Sitting on front right is my great grandmother, (Mary Ellen) , my grandmother, (Iris Maude) , holding my daughter (Jan Louise) , back right is my mother (Rita Sybil May)
and me (Iris Merle)

It wasn't often that we got together as we all lived so very far away from each other, but here we all were and what a wonderful photo opportunity. My great grandmother died later that same year, aged well into her nineties....
she really was a treasure