To come here to Palm Cove. A three and a half hour plane trip up North. Leaving 8 deg C this morning arriving in 28 deg C this afternoon. We are away for 10 ten days. (Phoning my penguins each day to check on them).
Possibly won’t get to that ‘back story’ to Down By the River for a wee while…
The mountain is the view from our front door. The sail covered pool in the grounds at the back.
A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in. ~Robert Orben
Hello everyone,
the holiday thus far…
One and half hours flying, arrived to a cool breeze but sunshine. Trying to take photos inbetween my phone dying.
The apartment is gorgeous. I will post the photos on my return as I can’t download them onto my IPad. Ascending 17 steps, the wooden studio perches amongst the gum trees. We settled in, then went for a walk down to the local beach of golden sands and blue surf. It’s a little chilly, but it’s sunnier than Melbourne.
Went into the local town, bought some supplies…yes wine. 🙂
Then back to change and go out for tea, cheese and garlic bread and a seafood platter, consisting of mud crab, oysters, fish, calamari, crab, scallops, salad and chips..it was yum.
Back to the studio and a glass of complimentary port that was left for us, as well as a bottle of champagne and chocolates….romantic.
We had two visitors though, possums, Mr. S said don’t feed them they’ll keep returning. I ignored him and got out some bread, which they took from my hand.
Back inside I watched a bit of a TV and promptly after that we both fell asleep. I will keep away any gruesome details if we don’t fall asleep. 🙂
Awoke this morning with the calls of the local bird life, hot shower above the spa which I will be trying tonight, dressed and out to the golfing range.
As I write this, I sit in the buggy, driving around the course whilst Mr. S is not having his best game, the bunkers are looking very attractive to him this morning it seems…
Home front, mumma penguin is being moved into a Rehab facility today, as she hated the Hospital. I don’t think she knows what has happened to her, breaking her arm, as she told Pop that we have abandoned her and according to my brother, Pop didn’t sleep well last night because of it.
I cannot change the situation, though I am thinking of her and Pop constantly, but this is time for me and Mr. S (though I do feel guilty writing that).
So that is the holiday so far, I’m better off writing as I go, otherwise the post when I return home will be too long to read.
Trust, that I am not spending all my time on my IPad, but enjoying and trying to relax as much as possible on this little get a way.
x
Queues
security checks
bags through
rumbling across the conveyor
oops..really?
no throw them out
nail scissors
ech
observing
celebrities
the cafe staff
have a nice day..have a nice day
robots
flight calls
brew slurped
happiness
trepidation
possibly no wifi
living in a tree
probably expected
how shall I cope?
just perhaps
get over it and enjoy?
smiles
So I may be off the air altogether.
Mumma penguin not a happy girl this morning, in fact I think she took herself back to England and the War.. 😦
I am trying to just let it be and swing through those tree tops..or possibly not..
Try not to miss me ya’all.
xx
Warmth of the dimly lit room
music playing softly
Warm fluffy robe
bare feet in warm water, I wait
the massage begins, then
onto the table, clothed in
warm towels
back, shoulders, legs
arms, neck, face
remedial and relaxation
hot towels
relaxed
wake up?
has it been an hour?
must I?
lunch with girlfriend
laughs, window shopping
back home
painting still continuing
back tender from the hands
that brought such pleasure
relaxed, read the wording
of the Service to the daughter
happiness
text comes through
mum in hospital
washing brought in
tripppps on the grass
broken right arm
near shoulder
visit tomorrow after Service
bring essentials in
Oh My Goodness
Yes, just when I thought things were picking up, mum has a fall this evening.
They don’t wish to operate at 85, it’s too risky. She will be in plaster for quite some weeks and it’s her right arm…yup I can read what you’re all thinking..
Best singing voices everyone – to be sung to Away in A Manger…but not the words in brackets..
Christmas in Australia (Down Under)
is just round the bend (tee hee tomorrow)
I have prepped and stressed out (no I haven’t this year it’s at Sister -in-laws)
and now hope this will end
~~~~
We shall have our nibbilies
when they first walk in the door (no her door)
then we’ll offer them a drink
one or two or maybe more
~~~
We shall sit at the table and crack
our bon-bons plastic toys and
paper hats and will look
like proper nongs ( Aussie for idiot)
~~~
I’ll stress ’bout the turkey and also the pork (not this year)
is it cooked properly through
is it done right? Yes I query
please test with your fork
~~~
I’ll consume too much alcohol (a given)
I know this to be true
and I’ll get all melancholy
just gazing at you (bleary eyed)
~~~
the entree will come first
do not know what they’ll bring (I’m bringing 3kgs of prawns with home made Sate sauce & lots of garlic)
I’m sure it’ll be delightful
and we’ll gladly tuck in
~~~
the spuds will be crunchy
the pumpkin cooked just right
the mushy peas and salads
tasty morsels every bite
~~~
Then we have our pudding
lashings of custard if you please
then there’s trifle laced with alcohol ( a given again)
oh our belts will surely squeeze
~~~
The wine will flow freely
the laughs will get loud
there’ll be memories of
past years and how we imbibed
~~~
The presents will we open we
will goo and we will will gaa
we shall say oh you shouldn’t have (eyes rolling)
you really went too far
~~~
BUT secretly we are happy
for the presents that they gave
we’re delighted and thankful
and ‘each one’ is our fave
~~~
The Carols will be playing
in the background soft and sweet
we shall eat drink and be merry
and later fall asleep (some quicker than others)
~~~
Yes, this day is for families
and ones that you love
if I start to get teary
I will blame the egg-nog (have to blame something)
~~~
The festivities will be finished
the kitchen is a mess (well hers will be)
the dishes piled up high
but at least no more stress
~~~
Then Christmas day is over and
our tummies will be full and we
daren’t go and weigh ourselves
no that would be cruel
~~~
So enjoy your celebrations
whatever you may do have
and cry or laugh hysterically
for you’re entitled too
©jmtacken 2013
I cheated – this is what I wrote last year..it’s a bit…hmmm…unless of course you sang (okay it’s still hmmm) and I added a few bits as I am not holding Christmas this year (PHEW) but as I have another Service to write ~ well I’m taking the easy way out.
Seriously though ~ how do I thank you? All of you, for your kind words, your critique, your encouragement, your care, your support. I have been on WP since July last year, last December I had posted 69 posts..up to this one 712… yes ~ that is why I called my site Ramblings.
Again seriously, this Mums from ‘Down Under’ is grateful that I have met you and developed friendships. We lost another fellow WP in October and she will be sorely missed. I will miss her, those who knew her will miss her. Everyone (no matter how corny or trite you may think this sounds) is part of a family on here. We share, we cry, we give, we take, we laugh, encourage, we are humble, we boast…sounds like a family to me.
So from me to you all, I wish each and every one of you a beautiful Christmas. Mine of course is tomorrow, so I shall have a full stomach before you even start on yours. Ours will be in 31 deg heat…yours…hmm not so much.
May you all continue to write, continue to support each other and be there for one another ~ the good – the bad and the ugly.
and like ‘Arnie’…. “I’ll be back”
Love ya’ faces
xxx
Take Care everyone, stay safe and may your Christmas Day be filled with wonderment, joy and mostly love.
Seriously though I am tired, possibly one would say ‘over-tired’ as it’s now 1:10am erm Tuesday morning.
We arrived back in Melbourne at 4.30 ish. I have been awake since 6:30am. We arrived in Melbourne, me in a skirt and t-shirt (had to show that I had a tan and that yes I’d been up North) to all the people that I did not know at the Airport… but luckily I had the foresight to pack the jeans (and bogan uggs) as Melbourne’s weather hadn’t changed…still winter, still bleak and miserable. Mr. S is snoring peacefully.
BUT fear not I am now able to share some of my holiday snaps (just a few as there are many) I shall post some more tomorrow ..lucky you! Oh, you may have to double click to enlarge as they came out rather small.
This was the view from our balcony.. say awwww
These were the cows(Brahman)that came down to drink along the Daintree river..Mr. Crocodile was around the bend
If you look real close… the brown thing in the water (to the right) is Mr. Crocodile
This is me holding up a very large rock in Mossman Gorge..yes I’m strong
Mossman Gorge yet again..think I’ll get this one blown up
A Bush Turkey I secretly followed.. he didn’t know
Where we stayed – yes it’s lovely
One of the butterflies in the sanctuary we visited
oops and another
in the markets at Kuranda.. Aussie sense of humour
through the glass bottomed boat out from Green Island
and again
how the rich and famous live in Cairns ( Mr. S and I put a deposit down for the boat) the helicopter is extra
Day 1 moi standing on a coconut…that’s what you do with them isn’t it? This was an early morning walk hence the outfit.
Mr. S with his gourmet lunch of egg and bacon sandwich at Daintree Village (doesn’t he looked thrilled at having another photo taken)
huggin’ a tree at Mossman Gorge..it’s what you do (and no I don’t normally hug trees)
rainforest looking up in the Daintree forest
Okay yippeda yippeda that’s all folks…till later
xx
waterfall..rain not from the sky
cascading down the mossy rocks
drip…blip….drip…
swirling eddy ..darkness falls
peacefulness a shooshing sound
insects hide in variegated fronds
calling out into the night
I smell the scent of meats
cooking on the BBQ swept up in the
aroma of frangipanis
and the night is otherwise still
the odd car on the highway far in
the distance, brushes past the road
air warm like an opened oven door
smells as sweet as hot cooked cake
this is paradise silhouette of palm trees
standing still; their backdrop
a darkened night illuminated
by twinkling stars; in the distance
a bird calls that’s yet to sleep
beautiful, tropical, blue waters to be
explored, forests over one hundred million
years old, this is where love is, this is
paradise in our dreams; I sit on the
balcony absorbing..drawing it in like
the breath I breathe
Wasn’t long before I wrote it seems…can’t help myself, this place calls to be written!
This morning daughter ‘B’ sent me a text.
“You home, I could phone soon”?
Me: “Yes I am, speak soon :-)”.
Her: “Damn call centre closed – are you on Skype?”
Me: “No but I can try and download”.
Her: “It’s easy, ok let me know when you are done”.
30 minutes later.
Me: “Still trying, don’t know if I have done it correctly though”.
Her: “Ok I’ll try phoning you”.
(I answer a phone call on my computer which in itself is still weird to me).
Three cheers, we have a one on one conversation which doesn’t cost a cent between daughter ‘B’ in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and her mother in Melbourne, Australia.
The highlight of her day? See above. How many of us can say that we have experienced something so special that it makes our heart jump out of its skin? What is on our bucket list that would bring us immeasurable joy? I think for ‘B’ this surely has to be one of them.
Walking with a sloth, that was her special experience this afternoon,. Both of them (hubby ‘E’) went for an hours walk to see a very plain and quite boring Zoo in Bolivia (as one does). They saw Toucans and crocodiles and turtles (I think I would happy to see them, for all I look at is a fly crawling on my window as I type) but not a great deal else. Until they saw a group of people standing around and went to investigate. Now ‘B’ LOVES sloths, her sister LOVES them too (okay I am also very partial).
‘B’ had to have this moment, to be one, as close to nature as possible, to walk beside him/her. She did say she got some strange looks and other people were taking photos of her doing it, but she LOVED it as you can see by her expression.
Especially this candid shot where she got to hold a baby one.
I have never seen her face light up so much (apart from her wedding day that is).
Three old diggers were they heroes or not
I cannot say
Anzac Day in Australia twenty fifth of April just passed
Did they fight in the trenches defending our country or perhaps were they flag bearers for their Unit
Looking closer
They wore medals on smartly pressed suit jackets, hair washed and neatly combed
Celebrated with a Dawn Service
Heads bowed in prayer laid flowered wreaths against stone monuments
Thought of the ones they left behind who did not return home as they did
Thought of those lives they knew and were lost so young
I stood in the bar on my recent vacation and watched these three distinguished old gentlemen
As they sipped their beer
Reminiscing and possibly shed a tear of sadness for the terror that they saw
Or hopefully a laugh with a fellow comrade of a happier moment they recalled
I opened my purse
Telling the bar tender, three beers for the ‘lads’ please and he smiled
He poured three beers and said these are from the young lady and pointed to me
They looked up
One by one they came through the door from the opposite lounge and walked towards me
Thank you they politely said
Thank you
No one has done that for us before
I looked into their tired watery eyes
I looked down at the medals they proudly had pinned
I said you are most welcome
Happy Anzac Day boys and
Thank You
It is 10:20pm the close of Valentines Day here in Australia…well for this little Rambly anyway.
At work 2 ladies received flowers (I told Mr. S not to bother) though yes a little part of me secretely wished he had, but I can’t really say why, just to compete with those that did I think. The 7 women in my workplace all had that look of ‘Oh they are for me I know they are and the look of disappointment when the courier said for ‘blagh blagh’. Yes they cast slightly green eyes in their direction, except for me as I told Mr S ..NO.
We I don’t celebrate this day so much here, as in other parts of the world.
It’s a number…. the number 14.
“The number fourteen signifies the unexpected and your need to adapt to ever-changing circumstances”… well I didn’t get flowers and I should be ok with that? (no it’s not spam-a-licious) it’s me writing.
We went out for dinner, I had a Fishermans Basket or for us equals out there a Fisherwoman’s Basket…flounder, prawns, calamari, salad and chips. Mr. S had Spaghetti Cabonara. I had wine, he had a beer.
We talked about the Car Saga (yes it continues) we talked about the situation at work (yes that still continues). Then we came home. I went onto the computer to answer my comments and do a post which is this, he’s upstairs watching TV or reading some SCIFI thing on his Kindle…. ah true romance, but I’m ok with that… ain’t Valentines Day just spiffy!
There are the for’s and against’s for Valentines Day.
I’m leaning towards the against – please don’t be angry.
The argument which reins supreme is why do we need to celebrate our love for one another on a “Special Day” of the year. Hmm obviously we hate each other’s guts every other day and the 14 of February is when we get to play nice.
Flowers, cards, lingerie (if you get the wrong size ..are you in deep… ), a years subscription to a golfing mag, all manner of gifts, either from our loved one or an unknown admirer (ie: the one who hasn’t got enough b….s to shower you with gifts at any other time of the year) are bestowed. For the women they are just to shy, as they don’t have …. well you know.
Am I being a little harsh? Perhaps.
Most of these ‘Days’ are invented for the sole purpose of money making.
Apparently it VD (sorry Valentines Day – it really has nothing to do with Venereal Disease) dates back to the 3rd Century AD with Saint Valentine, of course he was big into the money making scandals, making his own Hallmark cards, picking weeds, as roses weren’t around then, going out to slay the nearest animal for it’s fur etc etc.
Another theory dates to the Roman Festival called Lupercalia, with some god of fertility. I’ll leave that well enough alone.
To those that truly believe … I wish you all a beautiful day.
For the ladies
May you receive flowers and a hand written card (from the one who loves you not the Florist down the street)
May you be spoilt with lingerie, or jewellery, or a dinner out or home cooked.
May you have a bath run for you (if you like baths)
May you have time to be yourself with your man (without any little rodents running round your feet).
For the men
Do the right thing or you will live to regret it.
Over and out from the Rambly Woman.
Ramblings From A Mum 