November 17

Had a humongeous day at work today mostly spent working with one particular client, but it was very productive so that felt really good and was very encouraging for her. I'd put the crock pot on this morning before work, so there was an enticing aroma when I walked in the door and a delicious dinner already cooked. Finished the day by heading off to pottery. Unfortunately I was in my work care and was in a minor accident only blocks away from my pottery class ~ the poor guy who ran up the back of me had only just got his car back after it had been stolen and crashed, then he aqua-planed in the wet and ran into me. We exchanged details just in case they were needed and I went on to have an enjoyable class which also happened to be the last one for the year.

November 16

Monday rocks around so dang fast! Had a good day at work, although have to admit I enjoyed being in the air conditioning as much as possible rather than out and about in the heat. Tomorrow is going to be a scorcher!

Nothing startling happened today, finished the day with a yummy dinner and went to bed.

November 15

Was awake early this morning, again!, so decided I may as well make use of the time, enjoy the early morning and go to the markets. I was home again by 8am, did a couple of chores, then did some chillaxing in the hammock. Jon and Sara-lee came round again for another swim and then all the boys, except for Dan who was here for a little while earlier in the day, came round for dinner last night. It made for a very noisy but enjoyable night.

November 14

Woke at silly o'clock this morning (3.30am!), so did a little painting and generally pottered around until it was a civil hour. Took a drive into pottery supplies and picked up some clay, plus a turntable and mould so I can have some fun in the coming weeks.

Bob had some friends turn up for a massage and he was able to finally get a decent massage himself as his mate is also a masseur. It was strange to hear Bob letting out the yelps for a change instead of whoever he's working on. Hopefully he'll feel heaps better tomorrow.

Jon & Sara-lee came over for a swim and will no doubt be back tomorrow. Had a lazy afternoon, followed by a delicious dinner then a drive which ended up with a passionfruit delight dessert at Fasta Pasta. They are to die for! Bob had a Boci one which was a hazlenut variety.

And that was our Saturday.

November 13

Today is my brother in law's birthday - Happy Birthday Barry! Feeling marginally better today so went into work for a while, lasted until around 11.30 so I guess that was a start. Had some serious hammock time for a while, then off to a supervision session that included a delicious hot chocolate! Omg it was so thick, the spoon could almost stand up by itself and it was only half strength!!! Caught up with a friend by phone and my cousin online, so a nice evening.

November 12

Felt quite crappy this morning so had the day off work. Been drinking lots of hot water with lemon in it. Spent much of the day in the hammock snoozing and reading a book. Still feeling and sounding very 'coldy' but hoping I'm well enough to go back to work tomorrow.

November 11

Went and saw Ranee this morning for a kinesiology treatment in the hope she can help me with that cough. It seemed to be in full swing today and I was horribly nauseous as well. I woke up this morning feeling very sinusy so that probably didn't help either. Ended up being sent home when it became apparent I was running a temperature. Wasn't well enough to go to art so a bit ticked about that. Next week!!

November 10

Another day at work, busy as usual but still being bugged by that silly cough. Went to pottery tonight and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Brought home a couple of completed projects. The blue bowl is made from terracotta and although wonky, isn't quite as wonky as it looks in the picture. The other one is a planter bowl.

November 9

Back to work today. Still have that annoying cough and hoping it goes away soon. Mum is doing ok and is flying home tonight.

November 8

Bob worked this morning, so I decided to head into the markets for a while and Lisa headed home to get Gav. I met them there a little later. Had a nice wander about, picked up some flowers, a few plants, some veggies, a new bag and another Christmas gift.

Jon & Sara-lee came over for a swim late morning and stayed for a bbq lunch. Daniel and his puppy came over to visit later in the day. His puppy is so cute! Watched a couple of dvds in the afternoon before Gav & Lisa plus Jon & Sara-lee came over for dinner and we enjoyed a delicious roast.

November 7

Had a quiet-ish Saturday. Realised I already had about half of my Christmas shopping done, so decided to do a little more while we were out getting groceries. Spent the rest of the day not doing much at all really. Well at least not until the evening when Gav & Lisa brought Xavier over for us to babysit while they went out to dinner to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. Xavier was gorgeous of course and we had lots of fun with him.

November 6

Late again with my post ~ how bizarre! (grinning from here)

Well I did go to work last Friday but only lasted about half a day. Felt quite unwell by lunchtime so ended up coming home.

Had a quiet night and went to bed reasonably early.

November 5

Was supposed to return to work today but had a very unhappy tummy again, so thought it best not to share my germs.

Had a very quiet day otherwise, did a little washing and had a big sleep in the afternoon. Nothing much else to report really so may as well finish this here.

November 4

Today is the 13th anniversary of my mother in law's passing. In some ways it seems longer and other ways it's flown. She would have loved her great grandchildren!

I didn't sleep well last night and wasn't feeling wonderfully well much of the day. Perhaps the whole nervous about flying thing again. I visited Mum for a while this morning before heading off to the airport. Had a reasonably smooth flight thankfully and it's good to be home again. After yesterday's heat in Sydney, it was only 19 degree's there today. Crazy weather!

Decided not to go to art class tonight as I was still feeling rather dodgy, but looking forward to next week. Yesterday's pic and todays were both taken in some of the Domain gardens.

November 3

Mum seems to be doing ok today which is good. Her cousin Robyn and husband Walter perked Mum up with a visit. They'd come up from Woollongong to see her.

It's also Melbourne Cup day, so Bob & I decided to have bit of a flutter for only the 2nd time in my life. I managed to narrow down my choices to 7! and two of them ran 1st and 2nd place. Bob also backed my horses, so between us we got back the money we'd placed on the bets plus a little extra.

It was very hot this afternoon, a stinking 38 degrees in Sydney and although I enjoyed my walk back to my apartment through Hyde Park, I did stop for a while and enjoy a slight breeze under the tree's.

My friend Gaby came over this evening and we wandered down into Chinatown for dinner. Was so good to see and spend time with her. We were just getting back to my apartment when another friend who was staying in Sydney from Canberra called to say she had just got off the train nearby, so they both came up and we had a lovely time for an hour or two!

November 2

Had an early start to the day. It's daylight savings time here in Sydney and Mum's flight arrived at 7.30am, so she's been up way earlier than me. She was dropped off to where I'm staying around 8am and we headed up to the hospital at 9am. She was eventually admitted around 11am and headed up to surgery just after 2pm. She was back in the ward and reasonably chirpy by 5pm, so a long day for both of us. Mum's surgery seemed to go well, so that's good.

I came back to my room and had a nap while she was in surgery and enjoyed walking back from the hospital both then and after I'd visited again following her surgery. I found a little Thai restaurant only 2 blocks down so I bought a curry from there for dinner.

I found out tonight that another friend is also staying in Sydney not far from where I am this week, so we plan to catch up tomorrow night.

Today's pic is of my tiny little balcony at the apartment I'm staying in. At least I have an opening door!

November 1

Today is my niece Zari's 8th birthday. She called this evening to say she'd had a great day with lots of fun.

I flew down to Sydney today, managed to doze throughout most of the flight and pretend I was on a bus rather than in a plane. Was good to arrive safe n sound and I was able to check in as soon as I got to the resort even though I was a good half hour before check in time. Wandered off to get a few groceries and then settled in for a quiet one. Mum will arrive bright and early tomorrow morning and I imagine tomorrow will be a pretty full on day.

Today's pic is the view from my window.

October 31

Aunty Monnie's birthday today ~ hope you have a lovely day! Did a bellycast for my friend, Suzi's daughter today while Bob gave Suzi a massage. Lea's cast came out well, she's very petite given that her baby is due in just two weeks time. We had some chinese food for dinner and then I was given a massage too. Lots of sore spots but they usually feel much better the next day. Dropped into Jon's place for a while this evening. He'd carved himself a halloween pumpkin and didn't do too bad a job of it. Butchery knives work well!

October 30

Thank Goddess it's Friday!! Didn't think this week was ever going to end. A busy weekend lined up, so just a quiet night tonight with an easy dinner.

October 29

Busy day at work and glad to get home without having somewhere else to go afterwards. The new guinea pig hutch we bought turned up so looking forward to putting that together for the little critters. Did a few chores seeing as how we have a rental inspection early next week and I'll be away for it. We had the carpets cleaned in a couple of rooms bright and early this morning, gotta say they look heaps better too.

October 28

Well it seems neither my brother or sister can get down to Sydney with Mum while she has surgery, so I've been given the go ahead to take some unpaid leave from work to go down with her for a few days.

Went to art class tonight and had some fun with a new way of doing things. Still using watercolours but also using rock salt and cling wrap! I'll put pics up in a few weeks of the finished product, should it be worthy of a photo.

Today's pic still needs a little work or should I say fixing (a few unwanted water marks) but it gives you an idea of what it's meant to be.

October 27

Ok, focus. Stop procrastinating and get on with this catching up!

Tuesday was a busy-ish one at work, followed by an enjoyable and somewhat productive night at pottery.

I've also been having some fun playing with flowers and watercolours, hence the pics that are being put up at the moment.

October 26

Oops I did it again ~ gee that sounds like a song title! Perhaps I should be doing weekly posts rather than daily ones. I'd have more chance of keeping up at the rate I seem to be going.

Once again the weekend went wayyyy too fast and I went back to work with a moderate case of Mondayitis. Good thing I enjoy my job 9 times out of 10, otherwise I'd really be in trouble!

October 25

Bob worked this morning, so I did a few chores then decided to wander off to the markets. Big mistake to not leave until around 9 am as it's impossible to get a park! We usually always head off before 7am, so I'll remember to stick to that in future. I gave up on finding a park and came back to the shopping centre to get a couple of things I missed yesterday. Ended up finding Jon's 21st birthday present and a couple of Christmas gifts, so that was a bonus.

Daniel came over at lunch time and brought his little puppy with him. She is sooo cute! She's about 10 weeks old now and is a blue heeler puppy named Missy. We had lots of fun with her and she eventually wore herself out.

October 24

We had planned to go for a paddle over to Coochiemudlo Island today but didn't end up getting prepared (picnic stuff) when Jamie came over last night, so Bob organised that before we left this morning. Unfortunately by the time we got out to where we leave the mainland, it was 8.30am and the wind had picked up making it way too choppy for our little kayaks. Ah well, another day.

We came home and went for a paddle in the canals instead, but it was still windy enough to make it a little challenging at times.

We did a little shopping after that and were on our way home when we had a phone from Jon saying he needed me to take him to the Dr's as he had an infected leg. His trip to the doctor's turned into a trip to hospital for some IV antibiotics, followed by a trip to the pharmacy for some oral antibiotics as well. Hopefully they will settle the infection down soon.

October 23

Ah Friday! I love Fridays ~ pity they disappear so fast though. Although every day seems to do that lately.

Bob's son Jamie turned up not long after I finished work and ended up staying the night. I watched a movie while the guys did some talking. Love Actually makes for a great start to the weekend.

Today's pic is of an underwater flower.

October 22

Dad's 79th birthday today. He's doing well and will probably go out to lunch for his birthday. Tiara had a little birthday party at McDonalds this afternoon so went there after work. She had so much fun. Nick & Jess are getting excited as it's only 2 days until they're off to Vanuatu.

October 21

Hump day. It's Wednesday and I can't wait for the weekend. It's Tiara's 3rd birthday today ~ where has that time gone! She's so cute and funny. Went to painting class tonight and as always, it was lots of fun. Don't think I've added a pic of the flowers finished, so will put that in for this post.

October 20

Have taken a mental health day from work today. Didn't sleep well last night, felt tired and cranky, and had a niggly headache. Felt really bad taking the day off though so that probably hasn't helped me any when I have a guilt complex about it all.

I did go for a short paddle this morning, not far in light of the distances I have been going lately but it's still some exercise for the day.

Finally sorted out some paperwork that has been waiting for way too long for me to do something about, so there has been a little productivity for the day. I also have pottery tonight and haven't been for a couple of months, so looking forward to that.

October 19

Gosh, where did the weekend go?? It seems to go faster and faster every weekend.

Today I went for a longer paddle than usual. I've been really good this last week and have gone out every day. I decided to paddle out to Cleveland Point ~ boy oh boy is that a long way when you're not used to going that far. Probably would be more fun to do with company than on your own though.

Bob met me out there when I arrived and helped me get the kayak out of the water, then told me by the way, we're locked in. Turns out the area is still blocked off after filming finished on the Narnia movie and it's now considered a construction zone while they put everything back how it was. Apparently the 100 m exclusion zone is still in force. Oops!! A security guard had to let us out and he gave us bit of a lecture while he did so. At least he wasn't too grumpy about it.

October 18

We didn't even venture out of the house today! Well around the yard and I went for a kayak, but we didn't go anywhere. Actually, I tell a fib. Now I come to think of it, Bob went to work for a few hours and I stayed home! Poor guy but he seemed to enjoy his morning and said it was really productive. Nick & Jess came over for a while on their way out to dinner at Jess's parents place, so we were able to give Jess her birthday gift for yesterday and Tiara's for her birthday on the 21st.

October 17

Enjoyed a lazy Saturday. Didn't do much in the way of housework, although we did wander off to get some groceries and buy Jess a birthday present as it is her 25th birthday today. We had chinese food for dinner and a reasonably early night.

October 16

I caught up with a couple of my friends from college tonight. Beck and Shelley came over and we went over to Hogs Breath Cafe for dinner. Delicious food and lots of laughter ~ what more could one want!

October 15

Went shopping for some shoes this evening as I don't have any decent or comfortable ones suitable for work now. Finally found a pair when I was about to give up.

I have a sunflower that has sprung up in the backyard where the guinea pigs spent some time. It's managed to survive the lawn mower and has now started flowering.

Can't really recall what else happened today, so mustn't have been anything rivetingly exciting!

October 6-14

Hmm, so unlikely is this? Here I am, two weeks have passed this time since my last post and I'm wondering exactly how much am I going to remember? I'm guessing not a great deal apart from days where things stand out. I was thinking I might start from today and work back, so at least my postings will stay in some kind of chronological order but that could make for a mammoth post, so perhaps I'll do the first week all in one post and aim for daily updates after that.

October 14

We had group supervision at work today and it actually went really well. I think it was the most productive group session I've ever experienced.

I also had painting tonight and managed to start and finish a new watercolour. I'm very happy with the result and think I will do another similar one just because I can.

October 13

We had a student start at work today, I'll be here supervisor while she's on placement. Pottery was supposed to start back tonight but I didn't get there ~ oops!

October 12

Loraine is arriving in Brisbane today. She's flown up to spend some time with her Mum this week as her mother's alzheimers is progressing. I'm hoping to catch up with Loraine later in the week.

October 11

Had a quiet but nice Sunday and had all the family over for dinner. The little ones are growing so fast! Both of them are quite entertaining in their own little way.

October 10

Today is Murray's 45th birthday. I was unable to get him on the phone so have left him a message. Will hopefully hear from him soon.

October 9

Well, technically today is my 27th wedding anniversary seeing as how I'm still legally married. I've been separated 6.5 yrs now which seems to have flown. It still manages to bring up lots of emotions if I let it.

October 8

Today is my friend Loraine's birthday. Tried a couple of times to phone her, first time she was sleeping and the second time she was out for dinner. Will catch up with her soon, or if all else fails when she gets to Brisbane.

October 7

Can't remember much of what happened today other than going to art class in the evening where I finally finished my flowers in watercolour. I've been working on a second one at home for the practice and I think I prefer the second one. I'm planning to get one of them framed for Mum & Dad for Christmas.

October 6

I have no idea what happened as I can't quite remember that far back. I would have gone to work but other than that, it's anyone's guess!

October 5

Had a full day at work and dropped in to visit my friend Kath on the way home.

Got home to find out that Josh was pulled over when driving home this afternoon. Apparently Sarah hasn't yet changed her address and her car registration (and insurance) has expired, so Josh is in trouble for driving an unregistered and uninsured car. Not exactly what he needs right now.

I feel like I've had about as much as I can handle right now.

October 4

Another night of not sleeping well. I'm looking forward to the end of the bad sleep run!! Daylight savings started this morning here in NSW so we had to remember to get moving an hour earlier.

We went and checked out the markets for a while before heading home. Quite a nice little market with lots of lovely stuff. Would be a good place to do some Christmas shopping. Got drenched when it started to rain and we decided to continue looking because we only had 3 lanes to go ~ crazy! Grabbed some delicious thai fish cakes while Bob went to get the car. Poor guy slipped over on the way and got even more wet than he already was, plus he broke his thongs (aka flip flops not as in underwear!).

Decided we'd had enough of Byron and headed back home for a quiet afternoon before being joined by some of the boys for dinner.

October 3

Was awake early so we wandered into town and had breakfast at a little coffee shop ~ very yummylicious. From there we went up to the Byron Bay lighthouse and managed to see a couple of whales playing. Would love to have seen more, but alas, they were all swimming underwater.

Had a nice day just wandering about and not doing too much at all. It was very busy down there, so probably wasn't the best choice of places to stay considering how I was feeling. Ah well, that happens.

October 2

Didn't sleep well at all last night, too keyed up about today. About a half hour before leaving for court, I got that silly cough back.. the cough then puke one. Just what I don't need. Decided against breakfast for obvious reasons and finished getting ready. Went to back out of driveway and ran into Bob's car. Hmm, perhaps I shouldn't be driving. Bob kindly relieved me of driving duties!

Everything went as ok as it could in court today thankfully. But jeez, what a horrible horrible day. I hope I never have to experience a day like it again.

After all that nonsense was done and dusted, Bob & I headed down to Byron Bay for the weekend.

October 1

Busy day at work. Dan & Sidonie stayed over as Dan has to attend court tomorrow. Almost locked keys in car.. thought I had actually but lock didn't catch properly, lucky me hey!

Talked with Mardi tonight. Nice to catch up with her. She's doing ok and hanging in there.

Hoping to get some sleep tonight.

September 30

I know I went to work and I also attended my art class. Thoroughly enjoyed the art class as always, but was tired as I hadn't been sleeping well. Not sure what else happened though.

September 29

Late again! What can I say, it was a crappy week.

To be honest, I can't even remember what happened last Tuesday other than I went to work, so it must have been just another day.

September 28

Monday again! Boy that comes around fast. Attended some work training at Griffith Uni today, most of it was interesting and helpful with only a couple of sessions that were snooze worthy and very difficult to stay awake in. So a good day overall.

Josh attended court this morning and got a fairly good outcome all things considered. Up to him now, but have to say he's grown up and settled a lot over the last year or so. He's worked hard at sorting his life out so hopefully that progress will continue.

Talked with Mum today, received a text message from Murray and an email from Fiona ~ lots of family communication! It seems Murray has been ill again and has had a couple of kidney stones. He's been in lots of pain and will hopefully start to feel better soon. All good with Mum & Dad and Fiona's kids are about to start school holidays. We may catch up with Fiona this weekend in Byron Bay.

Today's pic is one that was taken of Nick & Jess on my birthday.

September 27

Had a big day today. Finished cleaning up all the back area and it looks heaps better now. Did a heap of housework (blech), went to Bunnings to get a few things and spent some time in the garden.

Made a cheesecake for dessert and all the boys, except Dan, came for dinner with their partners and of course, Tiara and Xavier. A good night.

September 26

Didn't do a great deal today, just pottered around the house and did a little shopping to get the things I missed yesterday.

Adam and Toni came over for a visit and I finally found out the name of the singer and the song I've been listening to on the radio that I like. It's Eric Hutchinson singing Rock n Roll.

Another quiet night with a dvd before toddling off to bed. We're like a couple of aged pensioners this weekend!

I couldn't sleep so got up and played around with my watercolours for a while. Bob woke up a little later and we decided to have a midnight snack of McDonald's of all things! Kinda funny when neither of us is a big Maccas fan.

Today's pic is one I took on Wednesday afternoon after work of the dust storm.

September 25

Yayyy, it's Friday! Had a good day at work but gotta say I'm glad it's the end of the week. Got to finish work early, so did the grocery shopping on the way home and picked up some bright yellow crocs that were on sale for $20. We had some Chinese food for dinner tonight and settled in with a movie before having an early kind of night.

September 24

Back in the office today, it's actually been 4 weeks since I spent a full day there. Good to be back. Unfortunately I won't be getting paid for all the time I had off sick as I didn't have enough leave ~ bugger. Explains why my pay seemed a little low! Ah well, you get that.

Not much else to add for today.

September 23

We have babies!!! Two brand spanking new little guinea pigs, safely delivered by their 'middle aged' mama who all the experts say was unlikely to survive the birth. They are ever so cute.

Completed our first aid training today and enjoyed lunch at Montezuma's ~ very delicious.

A massive dust storm rolled in mid morning and was here for most of the day. Apparently 16000 tons of dust was travelling through an hour. Unfortunately I'd left windows open and didn't get onto Sarah until midday to close them, so it was choking at home. All you can see and taste is dust. Yuk!

Went back to my painting class tonight and started a watercolour. Going to try a new medium. So far, so good.

September 22

Finally back to work! Well, not into the office but my co worker and I are on training today and tomorrow to re do our Senior First Aid certificates. Bit of a dry old course but we have a great trainer who manages to make it interesting and fun.

September 21

Doing the catch up thing again! I'll add pics at a later date too.

Was supposed to go back to work today but still feeling rather unwell, so had today off too. Hopefully this virus thingy is just about done! The tiredness that goes with it is something else, so I'm into the vitamin B's.

Watched a couple of movies to while away the time between sleeping. A fairly uneventful day really.