We have had a lot of rain

This was the afternoon school pick up. Kids never really do stop asking a lot of questions !

Lake Hume

Lake Hume has soo much water in it at the moment. We are enjoying this rare treat.

Bethanga Bridge.

We went out in the boat on a little sightseeing tour on Saturday afternoon.

'The Island' ! This is "the island' which I see looking out from my kitchen window and gauge the rising or falling of the water levels. Mostly it is actually attached to the land on the left. I get excited when the water rises enough that it becomes an island. It is known as One Tree Island , even tho it has two trees ! The light blinks on and off in summer evenings. Solar powered I presume.

summer skirts

I sewed some simple cotton skirts for the girls ! Have not sewed clothes since Neah was little .

I should do this more often - they only took about 10 minutes each and cost less than $8 each, thats about $30 less than Pumpkin Patch - whose quality and styles for girls has gone to the pack anyways.

Flinders Lane, Melbourne

from my i-phone.

Some day I'm going back there with my real camera and time !

We just happened upon it by chance.

New Zealand. September 2010

So in pretty much the exact opposite order of our trip,

Mt Cook National Park

overlooking Queenstown

Brad, measuring up against Sir Edmund Hilary

indulging in some gourmet Hokey Pokey ice-cream. New Zealands favourite.

Panning for gold at Arrowtown.

We had two excellent days skiing at Coronet Peak. Queenstown. This is Neah with an instructor who taught them 1 hour each day. They caught on pretty quick !

7th birthday tea at Aunty Lois and Uncle Peter Kirchers. Cromwell

Looking over Christchurch. Brads grandad used to work on a flower farm on this hill. This was on a Thursday. The earthquake hit on Saturday. We were then at Cromwell, 5 hours south and it woke me and Aunty Lois up , but not Brad or Uncle Peter !

re-decorating update

well it's slow.

ie : not much to report at all.

What there is to report is this,

I have purchased a new clock - (well ok - that was back in May - and was for Brad's birthday ! )

anyone else buy stuff like this for 'their husbands' - but really for themselves ?

A painter has been to do a measure and quote on painting our really , really, super duper high ceiling rooms. But. He hasn't called back - I bet he's scared of heights too.

A curtain making lady came out last Saturday with some gorgeous samples and ugly samples and measured the windows. She sent the quote thru yesterday. $10,000 smackaroos - and that's not even half the house ! and includes a 10% discount ! ? I'm thinking that I should re-think our house insurance - except that the current ones are not worth a dime.

The floors. I have a sample plank of wood. I'm trying to like it, but I'm just not sure, better get some more. Of course what I really like is the black timber look - which they don't sell at the Hardly Normal flooring store where they do offer an attractive 42 months or so interest free finance payment plan.

Better go and invest in a few more home decorator magazines. Or maybe try and sell all the ones I have. Confession : a wholesale sell-out of the ones I already have might just about pay Marie the curtain lady !

My Dearest ...

It's often said there is beauty in sadness.

tis true.

Yesterday I went back to Wagga, just to have a little visit with Grandad, a chat with with my amazing Aunty Erena, (she is the other super hero in this world that you haven't heard about yet - you know besides Wonderwoman and Supergirl etc ) and spend a little personal time on my own by Grandma's final earthly resting place. Not an easy day, but special.

I returned home with a little snack sized lunch baggie containing some beautiful treasures that Grandma had picked out for me.

A hair clip / barrette. Tortoiseshell with little diamontes around the ends.

A hat pin. My Grandma was a true lady of style. Hats were her thing and they suited her beautifully, (we all know it takes a certain type of person to really wear a hat).

A little inspirational bookmark. It had been in her bible for some time. Earlier this year she hand wrote a message in it for me.

pass me a tissue ..

And a fan. Her 'convention fan' to be exact. It has the right scent - the scent of Grandma's elegant taste in fine parfums. Though I think the most endearing thing about it is it's not perfect. It's been broken a little - and it's been 'patched up' with Grandma's economy. One last little lesson of wisdom for me. I'm so quick to throw out and replace. Yet Grandma had repaired her modest fan even though she had the means to replace that fan with hundreds of fancier ones.

But . The Letters.

Letters which 'turned up' , surfaced in the immediate days after Grandma's passing. Never been seen in the 60 years of Grandma and Grandads marriage.

They are proving to be a huge source of comfort to Grandad and an absolute wonderment to me.

They are of course all the letters of their courtship. My Dearest Stanley ..... My Dearest Eileen .....

' well this is the fourth letter I have got written to you this week my darling ... '

just. so. beautiful.

all so gentlemanly.

ever so lady like.

oh for the romance of yesterday.

as opposed to the texting messages today. Send and delete, text & delete ..

all my love, me xx