Just Back from Melbourne.

My apologies to those who have asked me to make contact when I visit Melbourne... one day I will, but my time with my kids is so short, we spend it all together. I can not really stay away for longer than a week, as this place of mine takes a power of work to maintain..and I love it, so its not tying me down. This time in between some very painful varicose vein treatments...(the doc said to make sure I walk two hours a day as it helps healing) we went to the Melbourne botanical gardens again. This place is magnificent and only half an hour away by foot from my daughter's flat.

She told me that we had only gotten around about a quarter of it...and I was amazed at the size of the place in the middle of a city. I am easily impressed as I have only ever really travelled in my head... but oh the places i have been there are amazing.

This lake had the black swans on it...if you click on the photo they are clearer.





This is my youngest amongst some flowers..I did read but can't recall what they are.









I had to put this one in...my two kids are two of the best and most decent people I have ever known...not to say there isn't enough of the devil in them to make sure they are good fun and shit stir quite a bit...

Their dad was the master shit stirrer.

And I got to take home some Easter goodies from the girls. Melissa posted some which was unexpected as we usually don't send eggs... for years I have sent the girls a pair of winter pajamas and just a sample of chocolate...as they begged me when they were in their early twenties..."MUM no chocolate" so as we are heading towards winter here...the tradition in our family of a pair of old style flannelette pj's came into being. Both were renting and money very short... pajamas are the last thing you think of when you are stretching the dollars. This year I found them each a pair of "Little Miss Bad" ones...they used to love the Little Mr men and little Miss books as kids...Melissa said "You sent me Little Miss Bad...what did Ali get, Little Miss Sunshine I guess..." nope they both got the Little Miss Bad ones...I think Melissa was surprised. Sad thing about all the chocolate...its in my fridge...I just can't seem to eat it like i used to do...I had a legendary sweet tooth all my life, but for the past 4 years or so it seems to have deserted me. About time i guess...Don's favourite sweet was Peanut brittle. When i came through Sydney Airport I saw in Darrell lea's window a Peanut Brittle Easter egg. So I took it out to the cemetery...its an amazing place...many people leave little tokens of the events of the day....an there were a few little bits of silver paper with chocolate on them at the base of headstones... once upon a time Don had to hide all his sweets from Melissa and I...he even had a wooden chocolate box with a key (someone gave it to him as a joke). Now it would be safe as houses...funny that.

Got some catching up to do on my blog roll which should keep me busy for the next six or so hours!!!!