Storytime

Sometimes you just need to spend some me time. Some time to pamper yourself, even though there is a list of a thousand (not an exaggeration) things to get done. So yesterday, after work I spent some time being pampered. I booked myself in for a sauna, back massage and facial. It was pure bliss. Except for the painful bits in the massage (that's just the old back being problematic and we're working on that). I had hoped to simply turn to mush. However, of course, the old brain decides to go full tilt. In the sauna I was planning for work----FOR NEXT YEAR! I attempted to have a severe word with my brain but it wouldn't listen. During the massage I was crossing off Christmas presents and thinking I had to tell hubby to......and that I had to remember to......and that we probably should..... It was only when I got home, sat down that I went OOOOHHHHHHHH. I didn't want to move. I don't think I could have. Finally, the brain had dec...

I've just had two weeks holiday. Actually I have a few more days left of said holiday, but my two weeks are nearly up. Sadness 😢 It has been a very good two weeks...and even though I intended to sit back and do nothing, or as close to nothing as possible I have actually done a lot. I went to visit my sister and her menagerie. This trip I took my daughter and grandson. Nothing like some time in the country with family. Little Leobear loved it. So many animals to pat and see... And most enjoyed it. We walked...we played... we sat on the front verandah and pondered the universe. We went to the gallery to see some of my sister's art... It was a very much needed respite by all three of us. Then there was Mother's Day and I did this.. Mother's Day Classic...proving that I am fitter than I thought I was and that you do feel your legs after a very quick 8 kilometres are accomplished! I have done a hell of a lot of gardeni...

oh God, I'm already bored. Yesterday I had Carpal Tunnel Release surgery ... on my right hand. And yes I'm right handed. This means a few weeks off work....a bit of this... And darling daughter and her hubby have given me a list of Netfix to watch. Some of this (and reading during the day time is a guilty pleasure)... And there will definitely be no gardening..sigh Very little housework - getting dressed practically killed me and took five times as long. I'm waiting for hubby to get home tonight to tape up the hand so I can shower. And frankly typing this snippet left handed has take way too much energy and time....so writing (unless haiku ) is out. Once again life strikes. The cat is ignoring me and so I've resorted to chatting to..  I'm hoping to do some planning and either very slow left handed typing or hope i can read my notes. Heres to a speedy recovery. Vicki

Last week I went on an adventure. I tend to visit my sister and her family regularly (working permitted). I took a few days off during the first week of the school holidays and went for another visit. But this time I took Little Miss with me. I took a few audio books for the long long drive....however she didn't want that. She wanted to chat. So chat we did...for nearly five hours. This was her first time on such a long drive. First time staying with my sister and her family. First time for so many things. She brushed and loved Ellie... She roamed the river. At one stage even going for a swim. always with an eye out for eels. She decorated some cupcakes... Walked up the big hills behind the house. She played with animals, ran with alpacas, fed a baby lamb, chased chickens out of the house yard. She had a blast. Nothing tired her, she kept on going. I, on the other hand, am not as young as I once was. But it was great fun. Going to my sisters i...

Week one of holidays and I've done bugger all. Well, actually that is a bit of a misleading statement. I have accomplished a few things. Some planned, some not so planned. I did plan zooming up to my sister's for a few days. I find it a great place to simply relax. Mainly because my phone doesn't work there. I have no internet, no facebook, no messages. Nothing. If I need to contact home or someone I can use her house phone but....do I really need to? My sister has a menagerie. There are cats...a pony...alpacas... dogs...chickens...and a stray duckling that wandered in while the guys were jackhammering. I go up there to spend time with the folks (and animals). Sometimes I take lots of books and plan to read, this time I took my camera and mooched around and took photos. I walked a bit...  did a bit of art work in my sister's studio had a discussion whilst walking the dogs to school- if the world was dying and you could save 10% of t...

For the long weekend I headed east....north east..ish. Went to my sister's place in Swifts Creek, nestled in the Tambo Valley, East Gippsland. It's a small country town and my sister lives just out of said town. My phone doesn't work there....I have no ability to call anyone (unless I borrow their land line)...and I have no access to the internet. No messaging, no facebook, no google...no 'quick let's just check that.' So I go there to rest and relax. To spend quality time with my sister, her husband and which of the children are there at the time...currently two teenage boys. I've been coming up there for so many years that we have acquired rituals without realising it. There is the slow walk around the garden as we talk and compare plants. She gives me a few cuttings of this and that, I give her a few plants I've grown and we see which succeed. Her youngest son always wants me to play Monopoly ---have I ever told you how much I HATE...

Last weekend was our yearly writer's retreat. For some reason we tend to go away in the chill of autumn/ winter (probably because it takes that long to find a weekend we are all happy with). It's a weekend where we take so much more food than anyone can eat...where we bring laptops and note pads....magazines and books.....pens and highlighters....and walking shoes. These weekends are usually spent with lots of talking and walking. This year however the weather didn't play ball. There were a few walks, when the weather decided to behave....but mostly there we were, spread out on the couch or dining table, fire lit and inspiration flowing. That is what the weekend, for me, is all about. When we first began going away I would feel so guilty. Guilty that I was out there going for walks and doing anything BUT write. Oh I would scribble some ideas down, perhaps work on a poem, or maybe edit a bigger piece of work...but there was none of this 'I will now put down...