Good listeners

...
Looking through my party pics, I noticed some wonderful expressions of the rapt attention of good listeners!

Barry, Phil and Robbie

Sharon & Daniel (and Buddy)

Kerrie & Christopher

David, Bev & John

Barry and Gail L.

Naomi and Gail V.

Roma and Helen

Sharon, Alister, Merv & Viv, Roma and Helen

Piet & Robyn, Ken & Julie

Ken, Hans & Robbie

Mary & Geoff and Raymond

Shirley and Viv
[Thank you to Shirley for taking most of these photos]

Bryan, Christopher, me, Daniel and Rina

Raymond, Alister (behind) and Roy
[Raymond has just had a bright idea!]

Me and Phil

[Multi-talented] Phil

Martin [appreciates good tucker]

A Night to Remember

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A wonderful night —
Surrounded by my family
And faithful friends through time,
Our son and daughter in law hosting in their home,
A balmy evening with a light sea breeze,
Birds flying in formation against a full moon,
Great food, lively conversation,
Memories relived, humour and laughter.
What an abundance I am so thankful for!

The Last Night of My Youth

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In a few hours I enter a new decade in my life, but I can hardly believe what I did today!

OK, so I'm not coping particularly well with the sudden onset of the first heatwave of the season, particularly the humidity. Nor the itching from the plague of summer insects that love to torture and devour me a mouthful at a time from the toes up!

All day I'd been hopping into a red hot car which had been locked up in shadeless car parks and the amount of lifting and carrying I did today pushed me to my limits. Circumstances contrived to test my patience, culminating in my failing repeatedly to secure a lid on a pith cool box which kept popping off. So what did I do?

I chucked a tantrum – threw a wobbly - had a conniption!

Right there in our driveway! I can't even remember when I last indulged in that immature behaviour! Not since I was a young mother, at least...

Fortunately, Barry arrived home from work at that moment and – wise man – recognised the need for his involvement and action!

A couple of good house bricks did the trick...

Happy Mieow Year!

...

While my owner is rushing around this evening trying to fulfill all the New Year Resolutions she made at the start of 2008, I would like to contribute to your Happy Mieow Year with a useful list from my Cat-ionary:

CAT-IONARY (Author unknown)

Catacomb: Grooming device for Kitty. Good for removing cat-a-mats.

Catapult: What happens when the catacomb gets caught in the cat-a-mats.

Catnip: What Kitty will give you if you "pull" too hard with the catacomb.

Catamount: Any perch in the house, higher than a human's head.

Catcall: Signaling device used to open doors, fill food bowls and receive undivided attention.

Catty-corner: A good place to keep the litter box.

Caterwaul: What sometimes gets hit instead of the litter box.

Catkin: The results of an unaltered cat.

Cat's Cradle: Where Kitty sleeps, such as any bed, sofa, or other warm, comfy spot in the house.

Catwalk: Kitty's daily exercise routine, consists of short trips to the food bowl (with occasional detours to the catty-corner).

Catalog: Useful outdoor scratching post.

Catalyst: Litter, cat food, treats, toys, etc. What humans use to shop for Kitty with.

Catgut: Essential internal part of the cat, requires filling on an hourly basis.

Catsup: Mealtime. It fills the catgut.

Catnap: What cats do when they are not catsupping.

Category: The icky stuff that Kitty leaves on the porch step after eating the outside of a mouse.
Caterpillar: The lady in the white coat who says, "Now swallow the medicine like a good Kitty."

Catalyze: What Kitty tells you when you find the broken vase. "Meow - it was the dog, I swear it!"

Cataract: What the house looks like if you leave Kitty alone for too long.

Catatonic: What humans drink after seeing the house.

Catastrophe: An award Kitty receives for having the most beautiful behind.

Catfish: What Kitty does in your aquarium.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!

Christmas Cheer in the Local Community

.St Mark's, Leeming (Uniting Church)

The goodwill from smiling faces as people paused for a minute or two during Christmas shopping made singing Christmas Carols very rewarding. It was even more fun when children joined in singing and playing percussion instruments.

Yep, I'm in there playing guitar and the chimes (yippee!). Good fun, but one time as I leaned forward to turn the music page, the guitar tuning pegs somehow tangled themselves in the strings on which the chimes hung. Just like a tangle in a fishing line, it was astounding how much twisting and threading was required to separate a simple meeting of the two instruments! I don't think anyone noticed, but as musicians we know these things happen and carry on regardless!

~ Blessings at Christmas to All ~

All I want for Christmas is... a Space Shuttle!

..
The ultimate gift for a space enthusiast! For US$42, it could be mine.

I have always been fascinated by space travel, and a highlight in my life was a visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in September 2000. We climbed the LC39 Observation Gantry and viewed the shuttle Discovery on the launch pad. I had to pinch myself to believe I was actually there seeing this in reality.

I still relish every experience of our day at the Center with its magnificent exhibits and experiences. The day climaxed with a walk through a full-size Space Shuttle mock-up, complete with individually coded and fitted heat-resistant tiles.

So two Space Shuttles will be decommissioned and up for sale in 2010!

But Barry said no, I can't have one.

And why not?

"Well, where would you put it?" he asked!

A Smiley Face in the Sky

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After a hard day, the smiley face in the sky brought a smile to my face and a sense of perspective. It was fun to share the experience over the phone with my son, Christopher, in wonder and amazement.

We were experiencing, together with so many others, what astronomers call a conjunction to describe two or more celestial bodies appearing to come close together in the sky.

From information described by NASA and the Sydney Observatory, in the dark sky I could see the 'dark' part of the Moon glowing slightly with what is called "earthshine", the result from sunlight reflected off the Earth and onto the Moon. The Observatory says this fantastic celestial sight won't happen again until the year 2036!

Youch! I backed into a Cactus!

...

This week I was aghast to learn, and through the most unlikely circumstances, that someone whom I respect had written to another several months ago with words that were accusing and pre-empting that I would not act with integrity. In the matter of life and death, the situation was not a big issue, but the written words stung as I couldn’t comprehend how they could see me in that light. Granted, they had known me for several years, though only in a work sense and certainly not well.

Fortunately, since then time has proven that they were wrong about their expectations of me.

But my nature is such that the written words stung and I fought off tears for several hours as I reflected on the circumstances at the time. This sort of thing has happened to me a few times through life – and probably a few times or more to every living person on this earth!

I have spoken of this to no-one, other than in prayer. As I worked through my feelings (which ranged from “get stuffed!” to forgiveness), I went through some soul-searching as I always do. Was there any truth that I was blinded to? I believe not, so was there something in my manner that gave this impression? Not intentionally, but if so, communication at the time would have cleared that up in a positive way.

Before I could move to a position of self-righteousness, my next thoughts swung to asking myself if I, too, have said things about others without knowing them well, or the circumstances! It can be so easy to “write someone off” if we think our spoken or written words will never be heard or read by them.

Something to think about, eh…?

Raising the Dead

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by Phillip Finch (Harper Collins Publishers, 2008)

This book is the most gripping and challenging I have ever read! It is the true story of the retrieval of the body of a young man who went missing at the bottom of Bushman's Cave in the Kalahari Desert 10 years earlier.

I remember hearing it on the news. On New Year's Day 2005, Australian Dave Shaw (an airline captain), together with his diving buddy, Don Shirley, and a full support team, were going to make an attempt to retrieve the body which lay at the bottom of the water-filled cave about 900 feet below the surface. I also remember counting the hours till we would hear news of the outcome of their mission, and then the shock of hearing Dave Shaw had lost his life.

As 'extreme' divers they used the most advanced diving equipment and a mixture of breathing gases. It was only in reading the book that I appreciated the planning and rehearsals that went into this dive and just how knowledgeable and experienced these men were. As 'extreme' divers they used the most advanced diving equipment and a mixture of breathing gases which they calculated and mixed themselves, often altering mixes for depth during the dive itself.

The book transported me on a trip into another world where I was conscious of every breath I inhaled as I read. It is, to me, an amazing true story of pushing incredible boundaries of human endurance, of mateship and trust, and of Dave's wife's unconditional love.

Just the thought of entering the cave through a crack in the rock below the pool of water, and into the depths in complete darkness other than the torches they carried, had my adrenalin flowing - and that was just the start of the dive!

Swimming Pool Surprise

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Some weeks ago, whilst pruning the raised garden bed behind our pool, Barry was frightened by some hidden creature which snapped through the foliage at him. A few days later the mystery was solved when we woke to find a duck and her 10 chicks happily taking swimming lessons in the pool!



It were fascinating to watch them mimick the actions of mother duck as she taught them how to catch insects and to get in and out of the water.



But our cute little family disappeared on the third day! The mother duck attracted me with her distress calls as 4 of her chicks had ducked through the small gap under the pool gate, one adventurous leader running around the shed followed by the other 3 little cheeping rebels. Mother duck could have flown out but didn't want to leave her other 6, and the cheeky rebel leader kept upsetting her by coming back to the gate then running off again with the other 3 still in pursuit. It would have been quite hilarious but for mother duck's distress.

I finally managed to herd the 4 renegades back into the pool area and shut the gate – but by afternoon the whole family had left.