Beautiful day today

Melissa and Chris near Hawkesbury River at Windsor NSW

Have been away  and the month has just flown... Its been a full time...Both our daughters had their birthdays and I went up to Windsor NSW to visit Melissa and Chris. I realise how lucky I am because my kids actually seem to like my company and want to see me...  and its easy - there are no undercurrents or falseness ..thats a real treasure I know when i hear others talking about their grown up family.

seconds before this crazy cat escaped in a flurry of fur and claws

Up at Bilipin NSW - a wonderful day with my eldest

I am back at Tafe now and along with other things I am finding myself exhausted... some issues with Adrenal fatigue which I am dealing with  - it had to happen after the stress of the preceding years - I have a good doc who as well practices along with allopathic medicine - traditional medicine - so have the best person to deal with things...just miss my amazing energy levels from before...I read back here and see how much I would write, and as well I wrote stories and poems  painted etc etc - but now I realise I am just basically doing what i have to do - basically since I moved here. Basically "you don't know what you've got till its gone" but for me luckily its only temporary. One thing I have known for decades especially as Don suffered so much "health is all"...
Its a most beautiful light sunny Spring day here today...everything looks freshly washed...flowers everywhere and so many birds in the trees outside its just so wonderful. Just to be here, and okay on this beautiful day is good enough for me. I realise today that I need nothing more than what I have right at this moment. I have wonderful kids and great memories of my lovely Don... was raised by parents whop were in love and who treated us kindly... my cats are sleeping in the sun and a light gentle breeze is blowing through my house... Hope all of you feel as at peace as I do today...Just thought to say so.

Melissa on her birthday

Ali and Andrew on her birthday

Andrew's second cake in his whole life - a beauty

Ali ready for the bog blow out

t

the cake

Happy birthday cake for my big sister... (ahem)
I haven't posted here for a while...I had my eldest sister staying with me for about 2 weeks and we just enjoyed each other's company...both exhausted...a little too many Drambuies in the evenings...

The Cake had to be gluten free for my daughter and her husband...
so just made the one layer as thats all the cake I had

 

Looking pretty good right now...so far

I can cook up a big storm re vegies etc but cakes are not my forte -
its basic but "there

Till as I watched the happy birthday writing and other decos started sliding
 towards the edges of the cake... see how sad I look.

But a little pink bubbly applied by our youngest
and soon the cake ceased to matter that much

it gor even worse when the candles were lit...some of the flower decos slid right off the cake...
I had to keep putting them back on

Its a wild bit of gear here...
Foxy moron I am sure your family wouldn't even feed this to the dogs

My sister was amazed at my artistry

and once the smoke cleared,
 the cake was cut and it tasted beautiful and thats the main thing!

Fathers Day!
All the fathers I could find photos of ...all of these bar one are the direct ancestors of Melissa and Alison...one or two were a bit racy but in the whole were decent and luckily for us all kind people...Luckily I have been told the stories of all of these people and one day will get it all down...but am off to the airport to pick up my sister who is flying down from Brisbane as I type this.
A happy Fathers Day to all the fathers past present and future.

Thomas Spencer 1816-1888 born Avoca Wicklow Ireland emigrated on the "China" 1841. my  grt grt grandfather (paternal)

Edward Spencer 1885-1939 my paternal grandfather

My dad not too long before he was married to mum 1919-1969

Great Grandfather Matthew 1843-1910and Emma Spencer (Walker)

Thomas McGoldrick Mum's father 1886-1963

My lovely Don 1950-2007

Dad died 1949

Donald Mackay Don's grandfather no details

Rod Mackay Don's dad 1921- 1967

Jack Holmes Don's sister Jeanette's husband  1942-1969 he, Jeanette baby Phillip and unborn baby all killed by a drunk driver

Don's maternal grandfather William Gregg no details

Thomas mum's father

Timothy Flanagan 1861-1940 Mum's maternal grandfather

Thomas McGoldrick snr 1850-1913

Traded in my VW van today...

I haven't been on here all that much of late...just needed a bit if a break, but I feel more like it now...I think I was just going through something where it was simpler and easier to get up on Facebook...whereas it takes more effort in here but as with many of us who have been here for a while the effort is worth it.

Don and I in about 1987 you can see our VW  - green in the background)

Don and I bought a VW Microbus in 1982 - we had ii till 2003 but in all those years it was unable to be air-conditioned because the motor was just not strong enough. This was a disaster often for us in extreme hot weather as Don had no internal body temperature control (peculiar to Quadriplegia) and more than once we came close to having to go to hospital because he got overheated inside the Van. So in 2003 we bought a 2nd hand VW transporter van...it had belonged to Ann and Dennis Hill (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0384187/) and (http://ctva.biz/Aus/Skippy1966.htm) Dennis was the producer and director and from what the paperwork which we were given when we bought the van of Skippy...Yes we had a Skippy van! It was a good van but when it did break down it was always $1000...and we had many issues with it. But since I moved to Melbourne I have spent $4000 at least on repairs so thought to sell it... I have never liked driving little cars but surprised even myself by this...trade in buy

the Skippy van

Ali and i with the 2008 Nissan

posing

then i noticed a spot!!!

think the kids wanted to leave after that!

So I bought on trade in of only $4500 of my van a Nissan X trail - yes a 4wd...like those snotty Toorak mums who would rather run  me over than go around...because "yes" they do own the road... But its 1 litre per 100 kms and it goes and after trade in it was $13,500 so have to pay it off...but I got a bit sick of getting towed by RACV and NRMA before them...I will as normal have it for a decade at least... or who knows if it gives no trouble it may even see me out!

Pretty dramatic trip to college this morning...the VW van has been making a lot of noise and had it booked in to get fixed on Thursday... I noticed people pointing to me on the drive down and there was a lot of smoke coming out from underneath...lucky I could get of the busy road...there was an acrid burning smell and thought at first it might be on fire but it was just smoke...lucky I am in the RACV...but an hour of standing in the freezing wind seemed to take a while...its at the mechanics now and as soon as fixed it will be traded in ...it has cost me way too much this year and it never seems to end... I am a bit fond of it but sick of breaking down...hasn't been he same since the VW people down here mucked with it in December - had to go onto Tafe as I am already behind from being away...caught up pretty well today but can't afford to lose any more time... I guess they will tell me soon enough the bad news but feel its going to be pretty big - was a lot of smoke.

Home

Back Home and the cats are still talking to me amazingly. I arrived back here late Friday. I had a wonderful time visiting my daughter - I am lucky as our girls are my best friends as well and am always so relaxed with them and they seem to like me being there. As well I got to meet up with the two best friends from high school. We hadn't all been together for 41 years and it was as if there had been no time in between. We laughed and gossiped for hours...it was wonderful. One lost her husband when he died suddenly at 42, then a few years after that she had breast cancer. Other things which are private and yet she is still the same...has the same heart. I believe you do have a choice, no matter what happens...you can choose to not become bitter and a misery to those around you, or you can choose to grieve but still to be a happy person. When I got home and picked the cats up they were a bit unfriendly as it had been two weeks in the slammer for them...but now back to the normal walking on the keyboard and sitting on the mouse and router at the wrong time...

Melissa and another Handbag

Gwen and Pam two schoolfriends

Enjoying the sun and being waited upon

Early photos of my holiday

Joan and Veronica climbing up the fire escape on a pub  which shall remain nameless

Veronica and Joan...shockers in the morning

and again

Joan, Me and Veronica

Joan Me and Veronica

A devil of a person

looking very suspiciously at our eldest sister who had more vanilla bean ice cream than  us

Off to Brissie and Sydney for a couple of weeks - more regular posting when I return - its been a very busy couple of weeks - will miss my little place but I am looking forward to seeing my sisters and other daughter.

Late on Saturday afternoon

My favourite - a sunset over the roof tops

 Not a lot of things happening here...my van is broken again - the engine mount totally cracked... now I know what that ominous knocking sound was...I have signed up for and start a Tafe Course to refresh what I did last year...hopefully this will lead to some work at the end. And this beautiful sunset - I can take living in town (only just) as long as I can see sunsets like this...I think its hard for those who have never lived out of town to realise how one can miss just seeing away into the distance all sides every day - there is a feeling you can't explain and it certainly isn't tame. I find it very tame living in town... but I guess its like someone who has lived all their life in the burbs being unsettled by the isolation of wide open spaces...

Cuss

Cats are okay as you can see...a few plants growing...

Tiger

Some Primulas from my tiny yard