Rays Christmas 2010 poem

I don’t need an angel on my Christmas tree,

I have one looking down on me,

He looks out for me everyday,

My loving hubby, my darling Ray.

On that day I felt my heart break,

And in its place, just a heavy dull ache.

He was taken so swiftly, no time to say bye,

Just taken from me, to a new home in the sky

The tears still fall, but memories stay,

I think of him often, each and every day.

He is not in pain, he is resting above

In heaven, surrounded by peace and love.

Reunited with family and friends he held dear,

But I miss him and often shed a quiet tear

And now he looks down on me from above

That thought fills me with eternal love.

The love he showed me was perfect and rare,

Love and respect, hugs and care.

And so my darling till we are again together,

I will think of you often, and love you forever.

Party, Party, Party!

Well, I have had my Sister and Brother in law visiting from Queensland, they came over for my birthday which turned out to be one of the biggest birthday celebrations I have ever had….. started on Friday with friends from the City coming up for lunch, continued on Saturday lunchtime by meeting up with Rays family for lunch at Shoreline Hotel, and having a tea in New Norfolk with yet more friends.  Sunday was a quiet day, getting ready for the party in the back garden that night with friends from in and around Maydena, also Daughter who came and stayed and a good time was had by all.   There was loads of dancing, chatting, drinking and laughing, then into Hobart on Monday, and a bbq tea with mutual friends in the Kingston area. I feel well and truly caught up with everyone I know, and spent the day today recovering from lost sleep.

Queenstown

Well had an interesting trip away recently.  Had a quick overnight trip to Queenstown. Stopped of at the Wall in the Wilderness at Derwent Bridge on the trip, this was phenomenal. It is totally unbelievable the depth of detail and intricacy which has gone into the carving. Had a quick look at Gormanston before arriving in Queenstown, stayed at The Empire Hotel, good cheap rate, and quite comfortable room, Tea in their Dining Room, which was excellent value for money.  Next day a drive through to Rosebery  played the tourist and looked at the area's local mining museum, also a lovely little craft shop across the main road from the Museum called "Eureka on Agnes" great souveneirs and the owner is lovely to chat too. I was in heaven found a lovely Opportunity shop, and got some great bargains. Then onto Zeehan and a walk along the main street checking out all the shops and also the park.

Back to Queenstown for a fish and chip supper before the drive home

Magical interlude in Hobart Mall

Delightful day (Monday 18/1/2011), had to take car into insurer for repair and had 2 hours to wait before I picked up an hire car.  So I walked into the city and was drawn to the mall by the sound of a busker playing lovely lilting melodies most of which I knew the words too.  It was a pleasure to spend some time enjoying not only the music but the interactions between strangers.    International tourists who were asked to make a request for a song, and spoken to in their own languages…a family that were enrapt by the spell the busker cast on people passing by, so much so that the father and his three delightful children came back and listened, singing to some of the songs, with the daughter doing somersaults and dancing to the music.  While playing the pink panther tune, a serious looking man who was walking through the mall and suddenly did dance steps to the music.

Also the gentleman who was hand feeding the wild birds which frequent the mall.

It was truly a magical moment in time. A thoroughly enjoyable hour.

Friendship Poem

FRIENDSHIP

Friendship is a thin line

Hewn in finest gold,

It never can be broken,

It never can be sold.

It reaches out encompassing,

But never ties you down,

And when it finds a problem,

It simply travels round,

It reaches out, and past and through,

Friendship belongs to me,

I know it belongs to you.

Glenys Smith

RATTY

I live in the Rainforest as you know, in a small township of about 100 houses, which are predominantly weatherboard homes with corrugated iron roofs surrounded by rainforest, trees, waterfalls etc, and abundant wildlife, quite serene really.
Well, I went into the kitchen to make supper one night, it was dark, and I have to walk across the kitchen to get to the light switch, picked up the milk from the fridge, clicked on the light, and reached up above the stove to get some bread to make toast, and thought the ladle fell out of the utensils jar at the side of the breadbin above the stove. 

Then the ladle jumped over the teapot, ran across the bowl of broad beans that I hadn’t finished shelling, and disappeared down the side of the cooker! I did a sort of riverdance movement, while yelling and throwing the bread in the air, and dropping the milk (as you would) when I calmed down, no sign of the furry little critter....and I told hubby it was either a really big mouse, or a little rat.....then came the next three days, when I had a friend remove the cooker to check behind it, ascertained that nothing had been in any of the cupboards....phew!...cleaned said cupboards to within an inch of absolute 100% hygiene hospital grade standard....packed all foodstuffs into the new containers which I bought, (tupperware could take a photo of my pantry and die with shame it looks so good now). Then we discovered that there was a problem within the old chimney, it had had a wood heater in, and been boarded up when old heater was removed, leaving a gaping hole down into the ground under the house.....another trip into New Norfolk for concrete, which was duly laid with broken glass in it for added deterrent value....baits laid, mousetraps bought, nerves totally shattered....I can hear noises, seemed to be in my thoughts often, I am a sook of the biggest proportion.....

Well I was just settling down, having found one dead rat in the back garden over a week ago, and thinking we got ya.....when I went up to feed the chooks this morning, straight out of bed, fed the cat, put the jug on got dressed, and up to the chookrun I went, I am busily throwing in wheat, and foodscraps, when I looked down, and there was what looked like a little dormouse, casually eating a carrot top, and I thought OH! how sweet, then penny dropped, dormouse....try a ..... RAT! AARRGGHH!!! 

I casually closed the chook pen door, went down to wood shed, and thought what the hell will I get, the blockbuster and axe both require a reasonable aim, and could be messy, so I grabbed the shovel, raced back up to the chookpen, and there it is, still eating that carrot top....so I hit it, and it ran, out through the netting, in the same direction as I had run, so I hit it again....then, what to do with the evidence....the dog was in the garden and I didn’t want it to get it, so I had to bag it up and put it in the bin, I was a bundle of nerves by this time. 

I went up to the shop, got the daily paper, picked up my mail, and came home and had a Stones Mac for breakfast instead of my usual coffee, coffee, I had so much adrenalin running around my system, I didn’t need coffee....
 

But on the bright side, I kept the economy afloat by spending all spare money at local chickenfeed shop ($2 style shop for non Tasmanians) for plastic storage containers for pantry. Kitchen is so clean you can eat of the floor, we now have a cat, (which otherwise may have been homeless) and I know my hand eye coordination is spot on......
 

did I say it was quiet and serene here, yep, I think I did.........

OOpps a daisy -

I was walking back to my place after a cuppa with a friend and saw my dear partner walking along the side of the creek, was it the side with the footpath? Of course not, he thought it would be quicker to go down the other side, unfortunately there is no formed path, and as he was negotiating a tree fern lost his footing, did manage to fall full length and grab the bottom of a neighbours fence, so there he was slippers dangling above the creek, with about an 18 inch drop into creek, I ran toward him, and thought better of hurdling the creek, and actually climbed into it, and was on the other side with just two steps, and hauled him up to the fence then assisted him to go over the fence (did I say assisted? scruffed his belt and hoisted him over the fence was possibly more accurate) then negotiated my way back over the creek, and squelched my way home. He has given up smoking and just for something to do, thought he would go for a walk.

Almost killed by chook house roof one week, and attempts to drown the next.