The DJ's came to Visit

The DJ's have finally come to their senses and after 8 long years of living in the fog in Victoria, they've returned to Queensland. They packed the container until 2 in the morning, found they had too much gear to fit in the car so had to contact a removalist, cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and then endured a 3 day drive north. At least they're back where they belong and can start to settle again.

We had a happy three day visit with them. Each night we had a special treat before dinner - thai chicken mince balls, marinated chicken wings and mustard and red wine wagyu bites - and the piece de resistance - Mars Bar Slice. It's a favourite of Andrew's from when they lived next to us many moons ago and I only ever make it when we get together. Hopefully I'll be making it more often now.

We sat around and chewed the fat about job opportunities (or lack of); the advantages and disadvantages of taking a job with a grain company in a very small country town; their recent trials with the job they left in Victoria; kids; mothers; husbands; what it's like to live with your in-laws and a host of other topics that popped up as we went.

We all know each other pretty well and little events and sayings from the old days kept cropping up. It's a very comfortable existence with these guys and I'm thankful for their friendship and place in our lives. They've know our kids since they were 10 and 5. Their 3 kids are wonderful little people and are so well behaved and polite. We really enjoyed having them.

Megan and Chris were home for the weekend so Gibbo made full use of the boys. They took off on Saturday morning and went to rake and catch yabbies at a ring tank on the property of a friend. The evidence and results are in the pictures.

Drew went back to Brisbane with Meg and Chris on Sunday, after the DJ's headed off. He's spending the week with his cousin and is going to a volleyball camp each day. It was sad to see both kids drive away and over the grid, out of my immediate life for a week.

Gibbo and I went out for dinner with 4 of the 6 other couples that we're travelling to the Australian Open with. We brainstormed ideas for the Sunday night dinner and chose an Asian restaurant with an interesting menu. There were 11 of us around the table on the verandah, eating by candlelight and reflected light from outside. I looked around at us all, content in the knowledge that with this group of people, I am comfortable to just sit back and watch and take it all in without really having to be a part of it all. The conversation ebbed and flowed, laughter rang out, the kids came and went and I soaked it all up. I also thought how blessed we were to be able to do what we did that night without the threat of bombs raining down on us or wondering where our next meal might come from. Our biggest problem was choosing an upmarket restaurant to eat at while we holidayed in Melbourne - ezard, flower drum, rockpool or longrain?? Tough hey?

On Blogging

Well it’s now nearly a month since I’ve sat down and written anything, not for the want of trying. I’m keeping the existence of the blog under my hat for now, so it’s been hard to find the right time to get to it. There’s always someone around and my computer is so slow that I can’t quickly minimise the screen if someone comes along. During the day I think of things to write about and plan on writing at night but by the time I finish work and wind up things at home, I’m so tired that I don’t have enough mental or physical energy left to do anything except read a couple of lines in a book or magazine before falling asleep. I want to keep the blog to myself for a while so I can find my “writing voice” again. Sometimes I feel like I’ve lost my words and that the last twenty years have buried that burning urge I once felt so strongly, to write and write and write. So I hope that here, in the anonymity of cyberspace, I’ll find what I once had, rediscover my words and re-kindle the desire to “write stuff”.

Boxing Day and Beyond

Boxing Day arrived and with it, Gibbo’s family. Over the next six days, 35 adults, 2 kids, 4 babies and 10 dogs came and went. We played tennis, volleyball, cards, board games, swam and ate and ate and ate. A very detailed roster ensured a smooth running and everything got done and everyone got fed. His family really know how to be a family and it’s a joy to watch. Sometimes I am a bit overwhelmed and need to take a deep breath and retreat a little, find a quiet corner (not always an easy task) and regroup, but I enjoy them coming to stay and I like to watch the interaction between them all. I’m grateful for my small family and I’m also grateful for my extended family – so I have the best of both worlds! They’ve booked in again for next year already.

Christmas

The lead up to Christmas was busy. These days, I breathe on a different level when I have a lot on my plate. I pinpoint that difference to September 2000 when I hit a metaphoric brick wall and, instead of scaling it, found myself buried under the rubble. I have never been quite the same as I was back then. I started to back off a bit, unable to take on 20 projects and juggle them all – now I can only do 15.

I had 5 separate lists happening – staff bbq, present shopping, Christmas Day food shopping, Boxing Day and Beyond food shopping and a long list of household jobs that needed doing. As well as working. Somehow it all happens, everyone gets fed, everyone gets a present and the house gets cleaned. If I’d lost the stapled together pages I’d have been in a mess; they lived in the back pocket of my jeans and were creased and worn by the time it was all over. I love lists. I make lists for everything.

Mum came out on Christmas Eve. She loves Christmas more than anyone else I know. I had only put two presents under the tree – a bottle of port and a beer mix for my father – all the other presents in the photo are Mum’s! I wrapped our gifts that night and added them to the pile but I didn’t put Gibbo’s under there as I thought he’d guess what it was. I was up late, cooking – getting the pork just right so that there’d be crackling to sneak, marinating chicken wings, boiling eggs, making mini quiches and then individual sticky date puddings. Mum stayed up with me and we went to bed after 11pm.

Gibbo and I were woken at 5 o’clock on Christmas morning – we opened our eyes to find three sets of other eyes peering at us. I cooked the wings and stuffed the eggs and my Dad and Peter arrived about 8-30. We exchanged presents (it takes a while to get through Mum’s pile). It’s all good fun. Drew gave me a fantastic metal bird, a brolga, for the garden and Megs gave me a very thoughtfully chosen gift of a pink striped scarf and a Guatemalan Worry Doll bookmark (from my favourite shop, The Tree of Life). Gibbo also gave me a bird for the garden, a crane. I gave Gibbo a framed, limited edition print of “Old Jock 1”, the foundation sire of the Angus breed.

We had a wonderful lunch as we always do – pork (with crackling), chicken, ham and all the accompaniments. It has been tradition in our family for a lot of years now that I make the stuffed eggs using my Grandmother’s recipe. I’ve started my own tradition of chicken wings, mini quiches and sticky date puddings with caramel sauce. Mate and Peter wait all

year for the wings and puddings and eggs! Mum makes her special salad dressing and the beetroot and onion. We also had coleslaw and pasta salad. Even just having a taste of everything on the table means your plate is piled high. We pull the bon-bons and all wear the paper hats and Mum keeps the trinkets.

As always, it was a happy day.

Off to the Coast

After the drama and subsequent fallout from the changes at work, we still took our holiday at the coast. We needed it. We went with two other families and met up with another family that lives there for a week of sun, sand, reading, great food and good company. I don’t really get off on all that sand and salt water but the change of scenery and different perspective is healthy for the body and the mind. Drew spent a lot of time with the other kids, playing games, watching movies and hanging out.

A surfing lesson turned into a wave fest, with the eight who braved the boards all managing to ride a wave or two into the beach. I took 187 photos and Gibbo filmed the fun. Here’s some of the action.

The biggest shopping centre on the coast was the venue for a Treasure Hunt for the kids – they were split into teams, given an envelope with money and directions and let loose. They had to complete a list of activities, challenges and questions and then all meet up at the end and catch a bus back to us at home. It was a great way for them to spend a couple of hours and they had plenty of stories to recount in the debrief.

G and I went for a drive one rainy day and had lunch at a surf club where we talked about finally building a house at the farm. We then went for coffee at my favourite coffee shop, a very trendy little place at the small local shopping centre, and talked some more.

I swam on the last morning, before we headed home. It was the first time I’d felt like going in the surf and I even caught two or three waves, body surfing.

It was a quiet week for me, trying to regroup after the turmoil of the last few weeks. I kept to myself a lot and recharged my own batteries, which always works best for me. I have come to learn, after many years of observation and experience that other people (apart from a small select group) don’t charge my batteries – they drain them.