We have had a very busy few weeks, and barely time to catch our collective breaths...At the beginning of August Aussie Lass and Muffin Man arrived for 3 ½ weeks of holidays. I could hardly wait, but tried to be laid back, so much so that I was relying on the Melbourne Airport website for arrival times, and didn't realise that the Emirates site was much more up to date, with the result, embarrassingly, that the travellers arrived half an hour early, before we had even left the house!

 

Happily the H team was there with a suitably decorative banner to welcome the travellers, and we did eventually make it to the airport to pick them up! Then all back to the house, for noisy happy hours of catching up, nibbles and drinks and talking at the top of our voices- not only had Aussie Lass and Muffin Man arrived, but also my Step Mother returned from six weeks in Europe the same night, so the house was rocking...

 

A busy social schedule mixed with traveller tummy bugs for the first few days really did have a  slightly dampening effect; but we still managed to go to an amateur theatre production of "The Club", a famous play about Australian Rules Football, by playwright, David Williamson; a barbecue bash at our place for 20 and a combined 60^th and 25^th birthday parties in the East.

Then lots of trips for shopping, having lunch and just generally hanging out, before a quick trip to see the grand parents, and a night spent in the Grampians. An engagement party, then a trip to Hamilton Island for some tropical warmth, sea, sand and relaxation. Books, Kakuro, sitting by the pool and a trip in ocean racing yacht in some rough water on the way to Whitehaven Beach were highlights. Fortunately, none of us were seasick, but someone else on the yacht was.

 

When we came back to Melbourne there was more shopping and lunching to be done; a game of AFL football, more relaxing meals, and more shopping. All too soon, it was time for the travellers to go. Departures are hard, and I feel knotted up inside still that it could be nearly two years before we see them again

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Pink Ukulele and Y are enjoying a holiday in Lebanon at the moment, and will be there for another few weeks. Normally, email correspondences relate tales of chicken, and garlic and other Lebanese specialities, which make the mouth water, and I think about taking a trip there ourselves sometime, when the timing is right.  The second paragraph of an email I received yesterday morning was an unpleasant surprise:

 

One minor hiccup to inform you of - we were in a car accident last night but everyone is fine. We had been out at a local village (eating) and Y's uncle  was driving back to their mountain home at about 2am. His wife was in the front and Y and I were in the back. We were driving down the side of a mountain and the road was quite slippery with an oil spill from a previous accident, and all of a sudden an ambulance smashed into our car.

 

It's all good news; no one had any injuries, except for the car, which is repairable and replaceable.

 

I know that something like this could just as easily happen here in Australia, and the thought crosses my mind briefly of something my grandfather said, many years ago when my mother was involved in a very serious car accident, from which she did recover, but it was touch and go for several days. Grandpa had said: "If only she hadn't been coming back from ..., this never would have happened".  In the context of a person growing up in an isolated rural community, with his youngest daughter's life in the balance, only a few short years since the death of my grandmother, this feeling can be understood.

 

I hope that I can always be encouraging of those that I care about in their endeavours, and in living the dreams and doing what they feel that they must do. Finding themselves in less than safe localities, at least by Australian standards, whether living, working or holidaying is something that is their decision to make, not mine.

 

"If you love something, set it free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't they never were." Jonathan Bach

 

Just take care...

The arrival or two extra cats to the household earlier this year, and my return to knitting in recent weeks has meant that my knitting efforts have been under severe attack on three counts. Firstly, Coco is fascinated by the knitting needles flashing, and will try to chew on them as I am knitting. Then the little ones think that the balls of wool have been created especially for them. I have been forced to have my knitting bag closely zipped up, even when I am knitting, because otherwise the ball of wool in current use will be picked up and taken, in a lightning strike attack, to the other end of the house, with the knitting needles trailing behind.

I made the mistake of leaving the bag unattended one night, and I could hear some scuffling noises, and a ball of wool was discovered on the floor the next morning in a knotty mess.

 

Their antics certainly make us smile, on another night when I was just settling down to sleep, I heard an unusual noise at the door, leaned over and switched the light on, and Millie was half way up the door, climbing on a coat which was hanging on the back of the door. In our pantry room, she loves to climb to the top of the door, to sit on the top of the door, surveying the mayhem below.

 

We have a magenta coloured cat "house" which is a promotional item from one of the big pet food manufacturers, which is normally sitting on the landing upstairs. Recently, the house has migrated downstairs, two or three times. We haven't seen it moving, so we have no idea how it has got down the stairs, except that it just appeared.

 

The weather has got much colder in recent weeks, and if one of us is not home, this leads to three cats on one pair of knees. Good for keeping the knees warm, but just a little cramped.

 

I read somewhere that it is better for cats to have company, they get into less trouble that way...

Over the past few weeks I have discovered that one way of making sure that I can watch the footy, even when my better half does not want to watch, is to hand over the iPod Touch, so that he can play some games instead.

Lucky for games like Trism, Bejewelled and Fieldrunners.

For me, I had a long winded run on Trism, getting one score in the 1 billion range, but I am over it now. I have also downloaded the Scrabble version from the App Store, and can happily play against the computer for hours. I guess I will get sick of that soon, too.

These devices are addictive, but also very useful. With the benefit of a wireless network, I can check the latest footy or cricket scores and stories thanks to the apps which cater for these interests, as well as check the latest AU/ US fx rate; the headlines and stories in The Age, Le Monde or the ABC. And I (or someone else) can play games for hours, and having more than a thousand music tracks, a French English dictionary, some electronic books and hundreds of photos of my last holiday in France are just added bonuses!

Nerdy? Maybe, but lots of fun.

Welcoming Tristan Edmond to the world, weighing 4.1 kg, to P and A, born yesterday evening!

The lyrics of a song that I heard yesterday have inspired today's post...what would I do if I had five minutes with you

 

For Nermal

Five minutes :

Is too short to make the coffee, it needs to be brewed, ready to go...

Not enough time for

• a game of scrabble
• to discuss the books we are reading
• to talk about the clothes we are wearing or what we are going to do tomorrow

 

Plenty of time for

• a long hug
• saying I love you

 

And looking forward to August...

 

Edited on Friday evening; I thought I should add a few words of clarification. The song I was listening to was Mistral Gagnant, which was written and sung by a famous French singer-song writer Renaud. Luckily with the aid of a charming Frenchman at work I was able to understand the lyrics much better than I had at first- I now understand what les bombecs fabuleux, Mintho, vrai roudoudous, coco-boers and Mistral gagnants are: French sweets or lollies mentioned in this delightful song written for his daughter, Lolita. 

 

The bonus of the increased understanding was learning some new slang terms, as well. And the song reminded me of shopping trips with the girls when they were small...a trip to town (50km away) on a day off from school meant afternoon tea at one of the cafes in Ararat. The fun of reading the menu, choosing something to drink, and something to eat- they could have whatever they wanted.  Not so sophisticated in world terms, but small steps on a journey that has taken Aussie Lass to live in Paris, and Pink Ukulele to live in Melbourne in what seems like another world.

And, it took me back to my own childhood, with trips into Warracknabeal as a child, when my Grandmother would take us to a cafe, for sandwiches and soft drink, or if one was very sophisticated, a cup of tea. A bag of lollies from the shop: four pieces of chewing gum for a penny, and having a shilling to spend was indeed a delightful thing.

For my colleague, it was also a nostalgic trip to his own past, in the suburbs of Paris. Not a waste of time, at all, for either of us.

 

The current heat wave brings some reminiscences of previous summers. It's hard to imagine  in this time of water restrictions and global warming, that we were once allowed to frolic on lawns with the garden hose, in our bathers, screeching as the blast of cold water hit us unexpectedly.

Dips in the farm dam, but only after 5pm when the heat of the day was just beginning to dissipate, and supervised by our long suffering mother.

Icy poles, home made ice cream and home made lemon cordial.

Later on, in the Western District; fish dinners (with redfin from the farm dams) chips and salad, followed by mulberry topped cheesecake. (The mulberries were from the tree in our orchard)

Our girls enjoyed splashing in our paddle pool on the lawn, which mysteriously sprung a leak one summer.

Much later I found out that Pink Ukulele had bitten a hole in it, pretending that she was a crocodile..., but by the time I found out, it was too late to contemplate anything but having a good laugh!

The household is settling down after the arrival of Mischa the Siamese kitten a few weeks ago, and we now have a much happier Coco, who seems to realise that this little interloper is not going away, and even provides a bit of fun, playing "chasie".

Coco also has got the hang of first in, best dressed, so if she wants to sit on a particular knee, she needs to be there first, but there are also compensations in the form of play during the day when the humans are absent.

It's been an interesting journey, watching the establishment of order, with the occasional spat. Coco was rather peeved by the new arrival, and told us so in no uncertain terms. Watching the chases, the little one with a much shorter turning circle, means she can change direction much more quickly than Coco. The sight of the pair of them racing from one end of the house to the other on the polished floorboards has provided us with much amusement. A sudden change of direction by Mischa, leaves Coco scrabbling, and wondering where the little one has gone.

Today the order will be disrupted again, as we await the arrival of a litter brother to Mischa who will be housed temporarily at our place, while a new owner is found.

Stay tuned for more reports.

 

Kittens have a way of worming their way into one's affections. Some years ago, we discovered an absolutely delightful book by Paul Gallico, called The Silent Miaow, which is now unfortunately out of print, which describes this phenomenon beautifully.

 

In the case of Mischa, the miaow is certainly not silent, more like a squeaky gate, and she certainly likes to have her say on a wide range of topics. After a week, she and Coco have settled into a sort of truce, but Coco is definitely the more aggressive of the two at the moment, and has no hesitation in chasing Mischa around to show who she thinks is boss. Mischa always finds a safe spot, under the coffee table, or in the pantry or some place else in gaps too small for Coco to enter. Then, she waits until the coast is clear, before going off to play kitten games.

 

Last night was the first night when both cats consented to sit on our laps in front of the TV at the same time, so we are getting some progress in establishment of a pecking order. The worry is that G and I are at the bottom...

 

 

Christmas Eve was one of those busy days, a trip to Queen Victoria Market, to pick up supplies for the Christmas Day Feast, a visit to the supermarket for some last minute things, finishing wrapping the gifts, the arrival of visitors, then out to friends for Christmas Eve dinner. A relaxing evening, and fun to see the excitement of small children opening their presents, then putting them aside, for the next package. Good food, and excellent company, and as I am still on a diet without wine, a sober one! 11 pm service at the chapel at my old school, then home by 12:45 am.

Yesterday, with a guest list of 17 for lunch, I had planned for a later sit down than normal at 2 pm, and a roast turkey buffet was cooked to perfection with the aid 250g of butter, seasoned with thyme and lemon rind, pressed into the space between the breast meat and the skin. A leg of lamb, two roast chickens, several kilos of prawns, some schnicken (chicken schnitzels), roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese and salads completed the main course, very happily. An icecream later for those who wanted one, was the dessert of preference, although I had plum pudding on hand.

Then a very long session of Skype on a call from France. It was such fun to see the members of our extended family on the screen, albeit blurry, and with the occasional delays as the screen was refreshed, and lags as voices caught up with the pictures. Fun to see KylieMac, too, and it would be such fun for all of us to gather once again. Maybe in August. I do feel sad that we can't be together for special days, but when you can take part in a hilarious group conversation over that distance for nothing, then it does make up for it in part.

Boxing Day (26th December) is always a quiet one. I felt no need to hit the post Christmas Sales, instead, a sleep in, leftovers for lunch and a visit to the chickens and PU and Y and we have returned home this evening ready for a light meal and quiet evening before the weekend starts.

And I can contemplate another week off work before heading back on the fifth. Yaaaay!

 

Post script: I cannot believe I made a typo- with 17 for lunch being entered as one!