No running hot water AGAIN!

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I knew what I had to do for a smooth morning run before going to work TGIF it was a grinding week, and I was willing myself to just get through this week. I had a wonderful goal a long awaited get together with my 2 closest cousins on Sunday. As a reminder to myself don’t sweat the small things and someone is always worse off than me. Remember to be grateful for everything you have and how fortunate you are all these thoughts running through my mind and saying out-loud first world problems – you can do this.

The day before I had a tradesman come and replace a couple of hoses on my aging gas hot water system, he had to let himself in my gate (against my better judgment I gave him the combination number). I don’t like to give it out to many people – especially with not knowing this person and can I trust them? He had sent me a text saying that he had replaced the hoses and a new gas cylinder so I had hot water. It didn’t work straight away, so I tried a couple of things and the hot water was running YIPPEE. Success I felt a great feeling of thankfully it had gone smoothly, what a lovely change. Although there was a slight downside I would have to figure out all the logistics of how to get the correct cylinders (because the connection threads are now not the same – just the same story of my life).

Early Friday morning I raced out of bed, pressed the kettle on, turned the lights on and grabbed the dog’s leads and put them on and out to the garden for their morning visit. The sun was just coming up and the air felt mild the birds were all waking up with great excitement. What a LOVELY day it was going to be, I was so going to get through this day with a feeling of success and achievement the weekend was TOMORROW. Just as I was heading back inside hanging up the leads and going back inside to get my warm lemon juice done and getting my cup of tea made. I heard my phone ping, there was a new email. I checked quickly and it was the invoice for the tradesman’s work. Hmmm interesting I needed to put my glasses on, hmmm no itemised anything….no hourly rate, no mention of a call out fee for the initial visit? Oh just look at later, get things done, just jump into the shower and get your hair washed. WHAT THE grrrrrrrrrrrrNO HOT WATER!!!!!!!!!

I plummeted from the happy bird nerd enjoying the bird songs and the mild morning to WHAT THE FLAMMIN HELL why do these things keep happening to me. HE WANTS TO BE PAID FOR A JOB THAT DIDN’T WORK!!! I DON’T WANT TO CALL HIM AGAIN, I ALREADY HAD MY DOUBTS from the first encounter. That was it, I was crying and there was no way I could go to work without showering and washing my hair. I typed to those that needed to hear from me that I was not able to come into work today. I then called another tradesman and he was brilliant and made sure everything was operating properly, we had a discussion of the potential that if there were to be anymore issues I may have to call a specialised tradesman. I will pay for both tradesman, but from now on I will honour my inner feelings if there are any inner doubts or feelings of mistrust.

I did a little dance when I was able to put my washing on and the dishwasher too, the solar panels were totally charged and I was feeling good again,

Just incase you are wondering, no I did not wash my hair. Weird I know, instead I worked like a woman possessed in the garden pulling out weeds that were waist height (ok I am short) continuing with many other jobs. I felt it would be a waste of my cherished hot water and chose to wash my hair first thing Saturday morning starting a fresh.

ENJOY your weekend everyone here are two photos of the solar lights coming on in the evening in my garden two very different looks.

Hmmm…… a very long time between posts

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Where to begin, that has been the problem I have faced more times than I can count. I have been disappointed, underestimated, ridiculed, overlooked and lastly ‘cut adrift’. It was happening in my family, workplace (that I thought was a great work family) and finally surrounded by the worst neighbours ever.

All of these also contributed to my feelings of not having the skills that are needed to be able to write a blog in the first place. I am unable to spell, punctuate or use the correct grammar. That I remember as though it was yesterday, although it took place 57 years ago. I won’t bore you with the details, suffice to say it has been a lifelong problem in having no confidence with writing or explaining myself.

I will say from my last post of becoming a MeMa time has just flown by at pace it is has been hard to keep up with everyday things let alone the times to just sit, listen and enjoy life.

I have changed jobs several times after being injured in the job I thought I would be in until I retired. The physical injury will always give me some issues….especially at my age (that is what they all say now I am old). It is my mental and emotional health that took the brunt of the despair that I have felt the most. After being injured I had some time off work doing the necessary physiotherapy and adjusting to how I could still keep up with the everyday jobs around my place. It was the continued justification to the powers that be that I was genuinely injured. Having to jump through the hoops and over the hurdles to just get paid every fortnight. Along with that pressure it was being made aware all too obviously that I had to modify all my actions so as to not aggravate the injury back to when the initial assault happened. Not many of us will forget what also happened over those lost years. (I am often still caught off guard during that time, what ‘time and date did that occur‘ trying to keep my 3 jobs going to pay the mortgage and bills) all the while and I still do think how very fortunate I was and am that I was not directly hit. I was so grateful for the modern conveniences of being able to video call my family especially my granddaughter and not miss too much of her growth, physically and emotionally. I will always remember those tender moments of reading to her or taking her out to visit Rocky the cocky, shorty the miniature pony or the detective work around finding the missing black fish in the pond called Marty and all the other members of my menagerie. Sadly over the last few years I have also said farewell to some of the most loved people in my life including some of my cherished fur and feathered kids.

I did have to eventually resign from my second job (that I truly loved) and the main job well the injury that caused all the upset eventually I left that job too. After being assaulted, having only a couple of colleagues keeping in touch. I lost a sister-in-law unexpectedly and the day after her funeral my Darlink Dad passed away. I had been separated from Dad for just over 3 years before he died. Several of my siblings decided that along with myself and another sibling and his family that we were not to see him and they carried on that same line of deceit to also tell dad that we no longer wanted him in our lives. That is an enormous gapping hole in my heart and soul that I cannot and will NEVER RECOVERY FROM. I will NEVER be able to see or hear from those people that were family ever again. I will never forget let alone forgive them for the way they treated my dad. The only comfort I received is knowing that he died in a warm bed in hospital and he was no longer in physical or emotional pain.

Some lovely moments have happened and made the negative times dissipate somewhat. As a family we celebrated my son’s wedding just over two years ago to his beautiful wife and welcomed a new branch to our family tree. I bought a puppy who is now 4 and is still trying to my patience but is coming around to the way our family works. I have renovated down the back paddock and found a wonderful young girl to assist me with the maintenance. Hopefully finally started the fixing up of my much loved little house (fingers crossed – the progress is very slow, waiting on tradesmen).

Fast forward to today, bizarrely I am sadly remembering Dolly Parton and Sam Neill that have both recently died. Both of these people I thought were so kind, generous and thoughtful in all that they did. I am wondering when did being kind stop? I recall after we were all out of lockdown here in Victoria, Australia for about 6 months people were still being so grateful that we were mostly free to get back to a normal life. People on the streets and people in cars were so courteous and thoughtful. But now it is a very much a ‘dog-eat-dog world’ in my eyes and ears. It is in my workplace, on the streets in town and in my neighbourhood, on the tv ,radio and social media. I am feeling not only at a loss as to why this is now the case but I AM SERIOUSLY OVER IT!

I will stop waffling now, and should have put a WARNING at the start of this post.

I am going to go outside and say good morning to my lovely fur, feathered and finned kids and be grateful that I am still capable and able to do so. I will spend some time with them all one by one and then sit in the garden with a nice cup of my favourite tea with sugar in it(and not feel guilty). Do a little meditation and a HUGE GRATITUDE LIST ALONG WITH MANY THANKS for all that I have.

Sending much love and thoughtfulness to those of you out there that may need some right now. xxx Sharing a photo of some mini daffodils and a Gorgeous Male Gang Gang Cockatoo that comes to feed in my garden.

Motherly love

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What a roller coaster this time last week, I was in the hospital supporting my daughter – labour had started.

My entire world was about to change FOR EVER!

I wasn’t sure just how helpful I would be?

I didn’t deliver either of my children by normal delivery. I had health issues and was not allowed to go into labour because of the risk to my baby and myself.

Therefore what would I know? How could I help? How will I support my daughter through THE MOST AMAZING EXPERIENCE in her life?

Because of where she lives there were no anti natal classes, no hands on learning with her husband or other expectant mothers. No hospital in case of early complications.

So everything she knew was by her own inner mother knowing. It was INCREDIBLE TO WITNESS. It was the whole package of emotions. I was nervous, in awe, there were some funny things (very early on) the unknown prior information. The excitement of not knowing what gender the baby would be, ONLY CARING FOR A HEALTHY BABY AND MOTHER.

In the past I had RARELY gone into fight for my kids, or for myself on that count. But as new staff would present themselves for the new shift I felt compelled to let them know that my girl has a high threshold of pain and if she is asking for help or showing distress THAT IS HER DOING IT HARD!

Oh my good goodness………..I have been so busy that I am only catching UFO’s.Β  Yes unfinished objects – or jobs or generally just NOT FINISHING THINGS FULL STOP!

FAST FORWARD to today almost 15months later, my DAUGHTER has embraced motherhood with such knowing and I am SO INCREDIBLY PROUD of everything she does. Fortunately she is supported by a WONDERFUL husband – who is THE MOST DOTING Dad to my ADORABLE GRAND DAUGHTER.

Now, only now have I been brave enough to look back at the short footage I filmed at the time of birth.Β  Things didn’t quiet go smoothly at the birth, no fault of anyone not doing their job. Just how things went.Β  I will say every birth is a MIRACLE. To have a mother and a baby both be SAFE AND WELL IS A BLESSING.

Today I can say I am THE HAPPIEST Mum, Mother In-Law and Mema in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

 

Buzzing away with a hive of activityΒ 

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I have been busy with work, getting ready for a VERY SPECIAL WEDDING & then Christmas. During that time I have been observing my very clever bees 🐝🐝🐝coming in and out of the hive. I have downloaded an ebook on beekeeping in Australia & also hopefully I can use my instincts on what feels right at the time. πŸ€·πŸ»β€β™€οΈI also had to get in to the hive before my daughter arrives home for a week (she is allergic to bee stingsπŸ™…πŸ»β€β™€οΈ) So with the hours counting down until I pick her up from the airport……..JUST CHANNEL MY INNER 🐝 BEE!

Golden, sticky delicious goodness πŸ˜‹

Lots of departures and arrivals


I quickly made the decision to take out 3 of the heaviest and very full frames (all the time trying to stay calm and be as careful as I can with the bees). I look πŸ‘€ over and noticed that my smoker has gone outπŸ€¦πŸ»β€β™€οΈThankfully I had left back up wood shavings just in case…..if only I could check my watchπŸ™…πŸ»β€β™€οΈbut that is firmly under my bee suit. So I relight my smoker and keep going checking for ANY UNUSUAL? NOT RIGHT? In the hive……all the time thinking πŸ€” I hope I will know when I see it? 

I kept going and just felt that checking just the top layer today will have to do. I feel the bees were tolerating me and I was being as gentle as I could be, BUT do not want them to get UPSET😑🐝🐝🐝🐝

I take the full frames right away from the hive without the bees following me and decided to place them into a big container with a lid.

I can get back to this job at a later time, I had to get so much done βœ… 

So I pick up my BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER from the airport, we do a bit of Christmas grocery shopping on the way home.THE DAY HAD GONE!? The next day comes and it’s Christmas Eve-no time for the frames……Christmas Day……still no time! So Boxing Day arrives TODAY IS HARVEST DAYπŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»Oh my goodness πŸ€¦πŸ»β€β™€οΈwhat do I know about this? I go to my ebook……I was supposed to wait until the comb was cappedπŸ€·πŸ»β€β™€οΈOH BUGGER! I knew I had stuffed it upπŸ€”Oh well too late just get on with it and NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!!


This is the frame 


Oh my goodness golden glowing 🍯 honey 


Straining the wax and wondering how much will I get?


Ohhhh my goodness πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»


2 jars weighing 600grams each & the little amounts of my family tasting this EXCITING FIRST HARVEST! 

What an excellent way to spend my dayπŸ˜‰

Smoker jammedπŸ€¦πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

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Everything went really well with the installation of my new colony into my bee 🐝 hive. The only sticking point was the smoker….yep jammed….glued tight! I googled, I searched other bee sights…NOTHING CAME UP ABOUT SMOKERS GLUED SHUT?

Well I put my thoughts πŸ’­ together and came up with – placing the said smoker in the vice and carefully pulling until it was open. Thankfully πŸ˜… & GRATEFULLY I managed to do it! Note to self CLEAN THAT SMOKER AFTER EACH USE IMMEDIATELY! With a rag and mentholated spirits πŸ˜€πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ».

Progress check after 3 days of owning 🐝 bees…..they look like their doing ok πŸ‘ŒπŸ» & just in time to fill up their sugar syrup supply πŸ˜‰πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸŒΎ

Happy little πŸπŸπŸπŸπŸ™πŸ»makes me πŸ˜ƒπŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸŒΎ

Bee Touch Down!!

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They’re Here!!!! Oh my good goodness I seriously was on such a natural high…..but had to keep grounding myself & keeping on the calm side. This day had finally arrived, all the years of wanting was now here! I have put some financial investment into this project, many hours of planning and labour too. ALL of those negative thoughts πŸ’­ running through my mind…you keep 🐝 bees? What do you know? Your NO EXPERT! What were you thinking? YOU DIDN’T THINK!?

β€œOH JUST BUZZ THE HELL OFF!” I had to think and just keep moving ahead or I would never do this! I have spent most of my life fearing & listening to others WAY TOO MUCH!

Enough waffling here are some photos of my Beemetropolis 🐝🐝🐝I am buzzing this morning πŸ€¦πŸ»β€β™€οΈsorry but I did offer up a warning ⚠️ on my last postπŸ€·πŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ˜‰πŸ€£

A long held dream….finally coming together🀞🏻

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I NEED TO OFFER UP A WARNING ⚠️ HERE BEFORE YOU READ ON…..I may use the bee 🐝 word in many ways from now onπŸ€”πŸ€£ I read many years ago, if you eat honey 🍯 from your local area-it helps with hay fever πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»

This year is the 50th Anniversary of me having hay fever and I need to do SOMETHING ABOUT ITπŸ€¦πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

My beautiful daughter is allergic to bees 🐝 🐝 so I was fairly reluctant to take this task on aloneπŸ€·πŸ»β€β™€οΈI had a friend suggest, he could bring out one of his hives & he would look after it for me. But that never eventuated. Well my daughter grew up and moved 2 states away to a tropical 🌴 paradise, I separated from her father and it’s my VERY OWN PLACE NOWπŸ˜‰

So here I am about to embark on a VERY EXCITING NEW PROJECT. I am nervous, cautious and VERY QUIETLY EXCITING (did I say quietly?) I HAVE NOT SHUT UP ABOUT IT!!

I have saved up, bought all my basic gear, painted the hive, prepared the site (almost) and now counting down the hours to bee 🐝 pick upπŸ˜²πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»

Here are some photos until I get my new livestock (the smallest ever πŸ˜ƒ)

I hope you enjoy πŸ˜‰ my little post? Butuntil touchdown I have to BUZZ OFFπŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸŒΎπŸ’ƒπŸ»

Don’t let your dog drive the car

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I am such a ‘safety first’ person but in my haste I didn’t put the handbrake onπŸ€¦πŸ»β€β™€οΈI was busy dropping a friend back to the nursing home, there was a car in the way, I was worrying about my friend and keying in the security code. I was busy doing the code and out of the corner of my eye πŸ‘I see my ute reversing towards the garden & wall of the building. OH NO Louie is in the car!!! I ran back to the car (thinking what, why & how do I stop it!) THANKFULLY πŸ˜… the back wheels stopped on the edge of the driveway. Damage 1 toppled pot plant and magpie statue. I was still in shock & Louie was already back in his seat with a VERY GUILTY LOOK πŸ‘€. Note to self -shorten his harness strap & NEVER FORGET THE HANDBRAKE πŸ€·πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

Who stole several months from my Calendar?Β 

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To say life has been busy is an understatement…..but EVERYONE seems to be busy. Quick catch up from my last entry in May will say that still with a heavy he❀️rt I took my beloved Lily Girl to the vet for the very last time. She didn’t want to leave & secretly I had wished for her to go in her sleep. But I felt in my heart that it was up to me to be brave for the both of us. Louie was such a comfort during that time and continues to be very intuitive when it comes to how I’m feeling. Louie’s bone πŸ– cake πŸŽ‚ wearing his party hat

He found his missing toy Tiger 🐯 that had been missing for weeks All worn out after a play date with over 40 other Cavoodles Waiting while I meditate in the morning sunshine β˜€οΈ Helping in the gardenπŸ‘Letting his fur sister Ava take him for a walk????😜

Louie is an ALLROUNDER…..I tell him EVERYDAY “YOU ARE THE BEST BOY EVER!” I will be back very soon with LOTS of photos of all that has been going on – in my little Rainbow Farm. 

Autumn….

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As the colder weather approaches, my fears and concerns about my little old Lily are weighing heavily on me.

Keeping myself busy is often helpful……but I seriously don’t want her to be suffering in anyway. I feel that it is time for this old shark to finally meet up with her beloved brother Leon. It is going to take such great strength & a huge adjustment not having my favourite girl helping me in the garden.