Fat bottomed girls; they make the rockin' world go round.

"I have a skinny woman inside of me trying to get out, but I manage to keep her quiet with cookies........"

Have a good weekend everyone !!

Love, Muggle ;0)

Here I go again........

Today, for The Interview,........

I had nice, neat, trimmed-on-Sunday hair, that had been dyed "Dark Praline Brown" on Saturday. It's one of L'Oreal's new velvet browns, you know. Perfect grey coverage. Rich, even, long-lasting colour. Non-drip (Try telling my Dark-Praline Brown-spotted concrete that). With Ceramide-Protein conditioner. At least that's what the box says. My hair just a dark, reddish brown. colour. Very similar to many other dark, reddish-browns that I have dyed it before........ I used to colour my hair. Now I just try my darndest to make it look natural....


I had attractive, but not over-done make-up. Foundation, Mascara, Lippy...as usual.


My handbag and shoes matched. This is very, very, very unusual. Black, of course. And I carried my portfolio in GG's black (of course) laptop satchel.


Very professional.


Very powerful. Of course.


I wore a very schmick power suit. Black, of course. With a crisp white shirt with thin blue and black stripes. Smart indeed. So did just about everybody else that I saw. Varying shades of the shirt, but generally understated. A few didn't really look as if they had made much of an effort, but maybe they're new to the game. Or they are so confident of their own abilities that they didn't need the props and facade ... And some young girls whose mothers need to give them a lesson in interview preparation....


I was early... and thrust into the spotlight early...... It was lucky that I had been able to spend time at Rose Cottage in Lisa's calming company. I was only mildly petrified....... with a heart that was pumping like a steam train slogging it's way across the Nullabor Plain.


The questions were asked and answered appropriately, usually at some length. Too long-winded, maybe??? I don't know. Others that arrived after me came out before me. I was familiar with one of the three panel members. She interviewed me last time I applied for a traineeship. And I was unsuccessful. Was I better or worse this time???? They were nice folk, Karen, Penny and Bill. What a job they've got to do! We must have all started to look alike in our black....... Droning on about the same things.....


Hmmmmmm.........................


I was not black. I joked with the panel about the "Black interviewee uniform". I was sunny, enthusiatic, co-operative and informative. And professional. And very nurse-like. I am a great pretender.....................


These are the hospitals who will take on a trainee enrolled nurse come September 24;
Armidale, Cessnock, Gloucester, Manning Valley, Inverell, Moree, Boggabri, Tamworth, Wingham, Kurri Kurri (so nice they named it twice), Moree, Maitland, John Hunter, The Royal Newcastle Centre. No Muswellbrook, Scone, Singleton, Belmont.



I had to make a choice of where I would like to train if I was a successful applicant. I told the panel I would "go anywhere, really. It's all do-able". But I had to nominate two places. My 1st choice was John Hunter, because it had 2 places available. My second choice was The Royal Newcastle Centre. I told the panel that these were my choices as my parent's home at Belmont would provide me with the support base that my family and I needed if I were to work away from home. But I will work wherever they send me. These traineeships are like winning lotto. 16 or so positions to be filled. I'm not sure how many lucky interviewees there were today. 2 separate panels running over a number of days, with a minimum of about 15 candidates per session. That's a lot of people competeing for a very few jobs........


I told the panel I would not apply again if I was not successful on this occassion. Not until 2009. Because Scorpaboy sits his HSC next year, and I need to be around for this. If I get lucky this time, then I'll be living back home just after his HSC trial exams. And that will be ok. But I won't live away when my boy might really need me.


GG thinks it would be good. We could set up a flat together, and she could phone me late at night/early morning when she is in her cups to drive her places. Or not. Her mother will be a hard-working nurse trainee on a shiftwork roster........... It would be good to live together, though....................


So . It it done. I will know nothing for a few weeks. Interviews are being held in various sites between 25/6 and 13/7. Referee reports will be collected between 16/7 and 10/8. Luckily, my manager is on leave, and the acting manager actually likes me and thinks I will be a good nurse. She offerred to act as a referree for me, so I supplied her name instead, today. So if I get that far, all will be well. My other referree is my old boss from Muswellbrook Community Health, and she will be glowing in her praise. She wants me to work for her when I'm qualified.


Offers of employment will be sent out between August 13 and 17..............................


I think I shall be very busy over the next few weeks.


Taking small breaths.


Because I will be holding my breath.... a little......


Thank you for all your kind thoughts.



And finally, a bird up-date for Lisa.
Corn is happily chatting with her new friends. The blokes are happy that there is a cool new chick on the block.
Mr Quail, formerly bonk-murderer, successfully made the transition to his new home, only attempting Hari-Kari twice. This afternoon, he was running his little orange legs off.


And now I'm going to hug my GG because she's here, and I can.

See you later.

And Lisa, thank you again for your help today.


xoxoxoxoxoxox


________________________________________

Oh you'd better say a prayer for the pretender...

Hooray for Lisa!!!!!!!


It hasn't rained all day..... she's magic, you know.


It's very windy, extremely crisp and chilly up here in Walnut Grove.


But dry. Thank you again, Lisa.


And if you have an excess of goodwill, please send some my way on Tuesday. You see, I have an interview for an Enrolled Nurse Traineeship. I hate interviews with a passion. Especially panel interviews, and that's what this one will be. But I am a Great Pretender (see, Lisa; I know some Jackson too). This is my second attempt at securing a traineeship. Last time, in February, I was listed as successful and suitable, but missed out on one of the two available places. I was next cab off the rank if someone dropped out. I don't know if they thought I was very funny when I asked who were the successful candidates so I could kill one of them.........


The good and bad part of this traineeship is that I will have to spend two 8 week blocks studying at Newcastle TAFE. Bad that I am away from Beloved and the boys (I hate to think what I will come home to, and how sketchy their diet will be. And how much I will miss them.....), and good that I get Cyndy-time at a place where I love to be. And by that I mean Newcastle. With my Gorgeous Girl. And my mum... So think positive thoughts for me please. You never know; I may get time to come for coffee with all you Newcastle WITs and Marys.

The interview will be Tuesday morning, at Waratah. If I'm successful, I may even be working in the Newcastle area. But that's a whole different ball of wool..............


GG has one more exam tomorrow, and has finished her first semester at uni...... It all happens so fast. She is doing well. Good girl, Elly.


What else???????


Nothing. I'm going to shower, then bed. It'll be lovely and warm. Beloved is a fabulous bed warmer. It's one of his talents. And he always goes to bed before me...... toasty warm.... mmmm ... And if I'm really lucky, the cats will move over and let me snuggle up. I never thought we'd have cats on our bed. It just happened. And Beloved isn't a cat person. But they're warm, too. Trouble is, Moe purrs way too loud.......................


Rambling.....


It's 11.45pm, and for me it's an early night.


Ta Ta.

By the way!!!!! Hang on; we could be in for a bumpy ride!


XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Congratulations. And Celebrations.........

Attention!!!

Attenzionie!!!

Ok, to keep up with my tradition of being a little left of centre, today we're celebrating my

102nd Blog post!!!!


Ta Da!!!!!!!


Ok. I'll admit it.
I forgot to note that I had actually posted 100 times......
SO HERE COMES THE RIVETTING BLOG POST, AUSPICIOUSLY NUMBERED 102.....



It's Monday, and tonight it started raining again.


A lot.

Muchos precipitationos


A special request:

Do you think you could temporarily re-arrange your name, please Raihn?
To something that might help us out a bit, such as "No-More-Rain-For-A-While" ?
Or exert some of your very profound influence? I distinctly remember you arranging some appropriate weather for me last year........


We really can't take too much more rain here at the moment.


Beloved managed to get bogged in the yard, yet again, on Saturday night, and it hadn't rained for a couple of days.... more of my lovely old recycled-chimney-bricks disappeared into the boggy depths...never to return.

I'm not game to park in the yard any more.


A old local from up the road told me that he remembers that there used to be a spring running underneath our yard. And I think that he's right.

Vegeboy is back from his 4 day trip to the Snowy Mountains, in one piece, and happy. Tired, but happy. And he skiied!!!

The Big Boys went to Arcadia for a mototrials event on Sunday. Scorpaboy won A-Grade. We shan't mention that he was the only entrant to compete in A-Grade. He rode VERY well. And arrived home very muddy....



And I had fun placing dirty, damp clothes in the washing machine, then placing damper clothes into the clothes drier. An abundance of them actually.
Then I re-painted Vegeboy's ceiling that was only painted a year ago, thanks to a "Horrible Science make-your-own-brain" that the boys managed to stick to the ceiling, three times, then forgot to tell me that it was stuck there. The stain just wouldn't clean off, so I have had to paint it all over again. That's my idea of "painting", Anchell.
And then I took my time peeling thirty-five layers of old enamel paint off Vegeboy's door with a heat gun. Those 4-panel doors, which look so cute, are a pain to strip paint from.....Oh well.. It's almost half done....on the front.......

I've probably got lead poisoning now....

And I'm a bit of a Trivia geek. I attended the local Combined Churches Trivia night on Saturday night. I didn't even get struck by a thunderbolt.... and I am abashed to say that I was able to answer a trivia question that no-one else in the room was able to.


A One-hit Wonder Question.

Who sang the song; "Push the Daisy"?

Answer; "WEEN"

No-one else knew.

What does that say about me and my mind?

Hmm....


I am, indeed, strange.........

With a head full of shite... Totally useless shite.... I can even remember the film clip.....................

This is a nice picture of them that I found. Not too many photos look like this; they're usually more grungy, with coloured lights and smoke-filled stages, but not rock'n'roll god-like, though. They call themselves Dean and Gene Ween....... but they're not blood-brothers.

They must be nice boys, really. Just look at that beautiful Lab-Adore..... and the aran/cable-knit sweaters that Nanna must have knitted for them....

And I'm going to bed. I worked in the Aged Daycare in Muswellbrook today as an extra shift, and I've got my normal week to look forward to now.


Goodnight all!!!!!


<3
_______________________________________

Ma il mio misterio e chiuso in me

Hi there Bloggers.

It a damp, drab and grey day here in downtown Denman.


I should be at work.


But I'm not. I stayed home as I have the remnants of a migraine that developed when I was standing at the checkouts at BigW yesterday evening. Thank goodness it doesn't happen everytime I'm at Big W. Actually, I typed "Big EW", then. I should have left it.


So, today is very quiet, with just Clover and I in the shed with the heater humming. No TV, no stereo or radio. The cats are curled up on my bed in the house. I'm not going to tell what I'm wearing. Suffice to say that if there was a Miss Universe of bag ladies, then I'd be a top five finalist. We have no wood for the fire. It too wet everywhere. I've tried to send some rain over to Kris, of "Kronicles of Kris" fame, but it seems reluctant to go.


I've spent the day so far wandering throught the realms of cyberspace, reading and blog-commenting while waiting for you-tube videos to load, mainly of the American Idol final 4. A very talented bunch, certainly. And Jordin deserved to win.


But then I found what I was really looking for.


Paul Potts singing "Nessun Dormer" on "Britain's Got Talent".




I saw a bit of this clip on "Sunrise" the other morning, and I wanted to see it in it's entirety. I'm not an opera fan. At all. I can't understand a word of it. Even if it's in English. Gilbert and Sullivan are about as operatic as I get. But this man.... my, oh, my. I was reduced to tears whilst watching "Sunrise". For a reason other than the boys are too slow at getting ready for school , and I will have to drive them to the bus stop....again.....



This mobile phone salesman from South Wales feels that he was born to sing. And I think that he's right. And not just in the bathroom. He lacks confidence. But if he could only see the effect that he has on those to whom he is singing. He lifts the entire room with this short piece of music; the expression on people's faces are amazing. The transformation of the judges says it all.

As I said, I have no idea what he is singing about. I've never seen "Turandot" and I probably never will. But he just makes me feel... Damien Leith sang the same piece on "Australian Idol", too, I think. A great piece of music. And Pavarotti sang it at for the Football World Cup.

Only one other opera has ever affected me, and that was not because of the opera, but I think, because of the scene. It was in the movie,"Philadelphia", in the scene where Tom Hanks explains about the song from "Madam Butterfly", and how it fits into the scheme of things, whilst hanging into his IV pole, with the song filling the background.... Sounds kitsch, but I was overwhelmed, none the less. I was at the end of my pregnancy with GG, and emotional to say the least. I felt so much guilt about the treatment of HIV-positive gays... I carried it for days ... And, as I said, I was very pregnant at the time.......



A commenter says that he read that Paul has been working as a soloist that has performed in Northern Italy. Well, so what; everyone starts somewhere. It doesn't detract from the magic that we see and hear.............



I hope that it takes Paul to where he wants to be.


He certainly took me to a special place.



And then it took me quite a while to find these lyrics;

Turandot

Nessun dorma, Nessun dorma, nessun dorma!
Tu pure, o principessa,
Nella tua fredda stanza,
Guardi le stelle
Che tremano d’amore e di speranza.
Ma il mio mistero e chiuso in me,
Il nome mio nessun sapra!
No, no, sulla tua bocca lo diro’Quando la luce splendera’!
Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzioChe ti fa mia!
(il nome suo nessun saprà!E noi dovrem, ahime, morir!)
Dilegua, o notte!
tramontate, stelle!
All’alba vincero’!

And thanks to Andrea Bocelli, a translation;


no one sleeps! no one sleeps!
You too, o princess
In your cold room
Are watching the stars
Which tremble with love and hope!
But my secret lies hidden within me,
No one shall know my name!
No no, on your lips I will tell you,
When daylight will come
And my kiss shall break
The silence which makes you mine
(No one shall discover your name!
And we will be able to die!)
Depart, oh night!
fade away, you stars!
At dawn I shall win!


Crikey!

I even love the words...... It wasn't easy to find them. Apparently opera isn't mainstream enough ......... or opera fans already know all the words.......


Now I know what he was singing about. And from his heart, too. Just to me........


Enough waxing lyrical for me.


I'm off to place a nice hot water bottle on my neck, and maybe have a little nap.


I might just watch it one more time first. Just while I'm waiting for the kettle to boil.....


Cheers to you all xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Raindrops are falling......

Hi there, Bloggers.

I know I should provide some details of our adventures over the past wet and woolly weekend, but really, the things we did, and how we were affected just seem so miniscule and unimportant in the face of the on-going dramas that people have been through, and are living with now.

It started raining up here on Wednesday night, and picked up in intensity on Thursday. GG was supposed to drive up here on Thursday night, so that we could attend the funeral of a friend on Friday afternoon, then drive down to Sydney so that she could attend a concert by the bands "Emery" and "Underoath". I was getting very nervous of her driving up in such poor conditions, and didn't sleep well at all on Thursday night. I was greatly relieved when she rang me, very upset, but resigned to not coming up for Linda's funeral. I still planned to take her to Sydney, though. The two big kids had tickets to the "Come Together" Festival at Sydney's Luna Park on Saturday.

Beloved didn't think that he would be at work very long either. I dropped the boys off at the bus stop in the pouring rain at 7.50am. At 9.30, there was a phone call from Scorpaboy realying that they were to be sent home on buses at 10am. There was a lot of whooping and hollering in the background. This is the the first time that this had happened to our kids in the 5 years that we have lived here. Beloved rang to tell me that he would be home as well. The roads were cut between Muswellbrook and here, so it took a while to get around the un-flooded back roads. Actually the roads that are passable in flood times are the ones that be swallowed up in the new Anvil Hill Mining Development.....

As I've said before, it takes 20 minutes to travel from here to town. On Friday, it took Beloved well over an hour. And this kids took even longer. Beloved drove the family wagon into the yard, stepped put with a funny look on his face and said; " I didn't mean to park here; I'm bogged...". So he pulled it out with the ute, and I parked it near the shed. He then drove the ute around the block, and parked it in the side lane under the trees... I was thinking to myself "I wouldn't park there..."... and you guessed it; He was bogged!!!!!!! So, he went over and got Rod from across the road to tow him out..... then went to pick up the kids from the bus stop.

We were originally taking the boys motorbiking in Newie on Sunday, but decided ti would probably be too wet....... We packed the car up, and showered to get warm and dry, and at my suggestion, Beloved parked the wagon out the front so that we could walk straight off the verandah, down tha path and into the car, keeping the mud in the car to a minimum. I thought that he would park on the raod, but Beloved parked on the nature strip out the front. Denamn was fast turning into an island, and we wanted to leave before it was too late, so he harrassed the boys to hurry up, climbed into the car .... AND WE WERE BOGGED!!!!!! UP TO THE AXLES.... AGAIN!!!!!!!!.

This time, the ute just wouldn't do the job. We had to get Gary, with his 4WD and winch, to drag us out of the sucking (that's not a typo) mud. We dug out around the tyres, and placed 3 bricks into the holes; these have disappeared. It was after 1pm before we left for Newie. But the time it took was a good thing. We missed flash flooding at Jerry's Plains, and between Branxton and Greta. And we made it to NanandPop's before things became really bad. It took us 3 and a half hours to do a 2 hour trip. The F3 was closed, and the traffic was being diverted down the old Pacific Highway. It was just after 4pm, dark, and we narrowly missed a small sedan careering into us after it hit an enormous puddle of water near Blaxlands road at Cardiff. It was travelling too fast, and sideways at the time. Beloved reckoned he could see the fear in the young male driver's eyes.....

I advised Beloved that there was no way that we were going to travel down the winding, single-lane highway in all the traffic after dark; GG would just have to miss her concert. It was just too dangerous.

It was a very wise decision.

We would have been travelling down that road when it collapsed.....

We had a quiet dinner at Nanandpop's, courtesy of the Chinese restaurant and fish and chip shop at Jewellstown Plaza. Power was out all over the place, and roads cut, but Nanandpop were largely unscathed, except for GG's room flooding again. They never lost their phone or power.

Improved weather on Saturday morning saw us heading off to Sydney, but the first stop was at Bridgestone Tyres, as we had to replace the two tyres we had damaged when we were bogged. The kids and I went for a walk around Belmont while we waited. The power supply was patchy around Belmont. The lake had extended it's shoreline across the road into people's yards, and the jetty had disappeared. The barbecues were almost underwater. The stormwater drains had backed up, and roads were blocked in many places. But everyone seemed to be in good humour. I grew up in Belmont. I don't ever remember seeing it so consumed by water, not even in the big storm of 1974, when the "Sygna" ended up on Stockton Beach.

So we headed off to Sydney. We had a good day. It was wet, but it wasn't really a problem. The police helicopter was still searching for the family at Somersby when we drove down the freeway. We dropped the big kids off at luna Park at 10.45am. Beloved, Vegeboy and I went to "Texas Productions", Scorpaboy's bike sponsor's factory, then to Haymarket, and saw "Spiderman 3" at the movies. Don't rush to see it. Tobey Maguire, the actor who plays Spiderman, actually started to annoy me a bit. And Kirsten Dunst's character, Mary Jane, was so needy....... We had tea at a great little Italian restaurant at Naremburn with Paul and Karen, then went back to their house to watch TV while the big kids had fun until 11pm. Paul and Karen are the owners of "Texas Productions". I hadn't met Karen before. She is intelligent, articulate, hyperactive and fun. As I would have expected of a partner of Paul.

We arrived home to Nanandpop's just after 1am. The twin Service stations on the freeway were still closed, but the 24hr garage at Doyalson was open, so we had a break, and I drove from there.

Sunday, we emptied out GG's room so it could dry, then we were terrrible rubber-necks, and went for a drive around Newcastle and suburbs. Beloved's sister lives in New Lambton, and they werte spared any problems, but the park across the road looked a bit sad, and the damage from the stormwater drains around them was evident. When we drove down on Friday afternoon, we really had no idea how bad things were. We called in to see Beloved's parents at Elermore Vale. His dad had been rushed off to the John Hunter Hospital by ambulance on Friday night just after the power went out. He was suffering from the same bladder issues as Romy's Man, and just can't be left in such an uncomfortable state. He and Val were both ok when we called in on Sunday afternoon, and things don't look any different where they live.

It's odd, isn't it?

We had to stay in Newcastle until just before lunchtime on Monday, when the floodwaters on the highway receded. There are lakes in so many un-expected places at the moment. It was back to life as usual today, but many stories ahve been exchanged. Football training has been cancelled, but Vegeboy isn't playing this weekend anyway...

He's going to the Snowy Mountains for 4 days.........

We really are very lucky, aren't we?

It really does all seem so unimportant now.......


It was just an island up here for a few days... but we're on level 3 water restrictions now, due to the poor water quality of the Hunter River, and the effect that this has on our pump stations.....

I hope that all is on the improve for those that have been affected by the influence of Mother Nature.

Love to you all, and please stay safe.

Bloggie ^_^

I wanna know....Have you ever seen the rain????

Scorpaboy said that I should do a short post to let you know that we are ok.........


He is right.


We are at my mum and dad's house at Belmont North. We drove down on Friday night, with the plan to take GG to Sydney to a concert, but decided that it would be better to stay here, and then drive down to Luna Park on Saturday morning for the two big kids to attend the "Come Together" concert. We drove back to Mum and Dad's late Saturday night.


Tomorrow morning, Monday, hopefully, we can drive back to Denman, if the floods have receded enough. We are hopeful. The cats will be hungry..........


I hope that you are all safe and well. I have had many thoughts of you all over the last few days.


We are right to be thankful.


I will do a complete post later. And I think we've all seen the rain.........

Love to you all,

Cyndy <3

oh, oh, telephone line......

HEY EVERYONE!!!!!

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK YOUR BILLS!!!!!!!

Telstra bigpond have been charging me since March for a wireless internet service that I don't possess, including an installation fee. I only realised this last Friday evening. Dumb of me, I know, but I tend to accept that we have very large phone bills as we live away from family, resulting in lots of long-distance calls. We use our mobile phones everyday as well.

This morning, after 45 minutes on the phone, I have been credited $231.83 off my account!!!!

YAY!!!!!

I am actually $62.69 in credit!!!!!!!

Hooray for me!!!!!!!!!

Have a great day; I'm off to wash lots and lots and lots and lots of clothes, hang them on the line, then put them into the clothes dryer later anyway as it's still incredibly foggy, with damp, heavy air here.........

:0)

--------------------------------------------------------

It's a lovely day today, and whatever you'd like to do....I really should be doing it with you...

Good Morning All!!

This will just be a short post, so that I can get the last one off our screens.

It is a lovely crisp day up here in Muggleland. It will be so all day. I'm taking on one of my resi's out for coffee this morning, so a sit in the sunshine will be good for our souls..and our bones. We all need 10mins of sunlight each day to combat the nasty old osteoporosis. Some of us do it while walking, some of us do it on one arm ot the backs of our hands in the car while driving or during time spent in the garden. Some of us even manage to soak it up on a beach. Or others like me, manage to absorb all the sunlight that their body needs, and more, by hanging out the wet washing on the line, then taking it all in........

One thing's for sure, I didn't get any rays of sunlight while watching Vegeboy play football at Kerri Kurri on Monday night. It was a spiteful game, lacking in sportsmanship, mainly on behalf of the opposing team, Cessnock. Unfortunately, at times, our boys returned in kind. It's hard to expect players to play fair when their coach screams at them to "GET OUT THERE AND SMASH THEM!!!!!!!!" or "TRASH THAT NUMBER 13!!!!!!!" . At least that wasn't our coach....... The poor ref had a hard time maintaining control. We won the game, 12 - 8. I was relieved when that hooter sounded, let me tell you.

Anyhoo, that's all for now. I'd better get off to work!

Have a great day ;0)

So close to home.........

Good Morning Bloggers.

The weekend came and went in a hurry, as usual.


Saturday morning saw us at the football in Muswellbrook, playing a game against the nearest local team, Singleton. These boys were all over us in the first half, but we clawed our way back to a 20-all draw at the sound of the finishing hooter. Great effort boys!!!! Tonight we travel to Kurri Kurri to play against Cessnock, a game that was postponed due to representative committments for a lot of the boys a couple of weeks ago. It will be interesting to seehow they go; our boys have never played under lights before. And it will be cold, of that I'm sure....brrrr. Meat pies all round for tea, I suppose........


Saturday night, our across the road neighbours, Ron and Gail, came over for a barbecue. They bought their 14 yr old daughter, Rhianna, with them. Gail was wired as tight as a drum, as things have been very difficult with Rhianna lately... she just couldn't relax, and was sooo tired. She recently lost her father after his battle with asbestosis, and things are just becoming too hard for her at the moment. Added to this is the moving of her first-born son to Newcastle. She is missing him dreadfully. The poor darlin is struggling, and we were supposed to go out for a coffee on Sunday, but we didn't. We still had a good talk, which was all she really wanted anyway. I suggested that it was time for some professional intervention, which she agreed was needed, but actually walking the path to organise this seems so difficult at the moment. Rhianna is a lovely kid, by the way, but there are problems that need working through. And it is heart-rending to see Gail feeling the way she does. So, some loving support and nudging will be provided by the Blogmuggle.
In spite of this, we had an enjoyable evening. Gail is a wonderful cook, and provided an impossible pie for dessert........ mmmmmmmmm



A warning now;

Stop reading now if you're not prepared for some sadness on this Monday morning. The content may cause distress to some........



Beloved and Scorpaboy arose early to leave for Sydney to ride at a bike meeting as planned. I received a kiss goodbye, and a hooroo from the boy, then snuggled back down into my doona, with Moe the tabby cat for company. And extra warmth. It was about 6am, I guess. Beloved forgot to fuel the car up in Muswellbrook on Saturday, so they had to stop at the local service station on the way. As they were filling the car with petrol, Jeff, who lives in the caravan park across the road, drove past on his way to work.



As I've mentioned before, the roads leading to our hamlet travel through mostly vineyards and horsestuds. For those in the know, the famous racehorses, Octagonal and his son, Lohnro, reside at one of them. This country is lush and green, even in this time of severe draught. It is a delight to drive through. But not for Beloved and Scorpaboy on this particular Sunday. I heard footsteps some time later, and assumed it was Vegeboy. I called out to him, and Beloved walked through the door, ashen-faced. "It's not Rhys, it's me", he said. He didn't look at me. He just climbed into bed with me and lay on his back, trying to collect his thoughts. I took his hand, and this is what he told me.


As they drove past the horse studs and across the Hunter river again, they slowed as they noticed hazard lights flashing on a car on the side of the road ahead. And skidmarks in the lush green grass of the table drain. And Jeff flagging them down. As they pulled over, they saw why. On the other side of the road, was a small silver sedan that had taken on a tree, and lost. It was mangled and folded, but it's hazard lights were flashing. Poor Jeff was talking to the police on his mobile phone. He'd already been over to the car. Beloved walked back over the road with him. Jeff, shocked and confused, was trying to relay details to the voice on the other end of the phone, who was persistent in their requests. The driver's side of the car, which was not wedged against the tree, appeared empty........ because the young female driver was on the passenger side of the car. And she had died. The police wanted to know if there were others in the car with her. It was impossible to tell.... and there is no way that they would have survived. A security guard from the stud arrived, who knew the driver, the poor man. And he told Beloved and Jeff that she had a three-year old daughter.... so they had to try to see if she was with her mum. Which was nigh on impossible.



The security guy said that she hadn't been to work, but Beloved said that she was dressed against the cold; beanie, warm jacket and pants. And boots. She lived with her parents about 500m up the road from the accident site; it looked as if she was on her way home. The security guy went to see her family, and was dreading it. He returned with the news that the little girl was at home with her grandparents. And also that grandad wasn't home, so he hadn't been told. Finally, the police arrived, and after questioning, Beloved and Scorpaboy were allowed to leave. Poor Jeff was still talking to the police when they left. It was 7.30am. Jeff wasn't going to work, and my boys decided that it just wasn't a good idea to drive for three hours feeling the way that they did.



After telling me, we talked for a short while, and I asked where Jack was. Beloved said that he was in his room. As I arose to see him, Beloved took in my naked state, and commented that viewing me in my nature suit might shock Jack into thinking of something else other than the accident...... Thank goodness for humour... How else would we survive?



Jack was playing a soccer game on his X-box, looking pale and teary. But he refused to be drawn into talking; "What's the point?" was his reply. He did agree with me, however, that no movie or computer, or x-box game can ever prepare or compare to the real thing. So, he's filed his visions away his head........ hopefully, he can deal with them in his own time and space.



Beloved had moved onto his favourite lounge chair, and had just sent GG an sms-message asking "where are you?"..... As it was 8.30 on a Sunday morning, she was asleep in bed, of course. She must have picked up on something, as she phoned us a while later. Which is amazing really; she must have felt her father's agitation in those three simple texted words, even through her very sleepy state....
We decided that we would all meet at the movies at Maitland at 4 in the afternoon to see "Pirates of the Carribean 3". And then he curled up into a foetal position and slept.



Beloved had asked Gail and Ron to check up on Jeff later, and Gail came over and we cancelled coffee. Later, Beloved and I went for a walk. Scorpaboy went off riding his push-bike around town to burn off some energy and demons. There was a really weird feeling to the day, I'll tell you. An odd energy to be sure. Much to my surprise, we travelled to Maitland past the accident site. I think Beloved needed to see it again to really believe that he had been there, and had actually seen it. He was less sure of the location than Jack was. The skidmarks in the grass were still visible. There are police markings on the road as a reminder now. You can see where she had swerved off the road onto the grass then back onto the road to avoid running into a telegraph pole. And there a couple of scrapes on the tree.



None of us can be sure why the accident happened. It's all supposition. Beloved has been trying to work out the mechanics of it, to try and reconcile it in his head. We think she wasn't wearing a seat-belt. Her car was an older Asian model, with no airbags, but who knows if they would have made a difference. Probably not. She was travelling a stretch of road that she has probably driven on a couple of times a day, almost every day of her adult life. If she had gone through the fence instead of into the tree, then the outcome might have been different. 6 inches to the right, and she would have been on home soil. And as a farm-kid, she's probably been driving from the time that her feet could reach the pedals. She was so close to the right turn into her driveway. Why, why, why........?




I don't know her name, but I know that she is loved. There were a lot of cars parked around her family home as we drove past in the afternoon. They have lost a daughter, a sister, a partner, a friend... and a mummy.

I will know who she is by the end of the week, most likely. That's the way it is around here.




The other thing I know is that someone was looking after my family when Beloved forgot to fuel up his car in Muswellbrook on Saturday. We could have turned around and driven the 5 minutes back into town, but we didn't. The few minutes it took to fuel up here probably saved Beloved from actually being involved int he accident.. And at least he wasn't first on site...... He wasn't meant to buy that fuel. It isn't the first time that we've had a near miss like this, either.....


I drove home, as Beloved finally succumbed to the bone weariness that he was feeling. We didn't travel that road again last night; we never do after dusk or around dawn as there are too many animals around. I said to him that I would like to think that the last thing she saw was home. He can't get past the horror that her loved ones are living through. He can accept the finality of the young womans's life; his concerns are for those that have been left behind.

And Jack; well, we'll see how he copes. His favourite teacher was involved in a serious car accident this week as well. He and his wife are fighting for their lives in the John Hunter Hospital. They were less than a kilometer from their driveway as well, and were on their way to work.


It's always one day at a time anyway.



And Jeff? I've come to the conclusion that he's one of the good ones. You see, Jeff was one of the good samaritans who came to my aid when I had broken down in GG's car awhile back on the New England Highway. He was on his way to work that time as well. I didn't know him then. I met him a few weeks later at a gathering at Gail and Ron's caravan park, and put 2 and 2 together. I think I will try to visit him and give him a hug. If he wants one, that is... Nobody should have to go through things such as this alone.

And a few words from a song by Snow Patrol to finish........

Headlights.... before me

So beautiful, so clear

Reach out...... and take it, cos I'm tired of all the fear.........

So readers, love the ones you're with. Tell them. Show them. Be kind. Include yourself.

Thank you for letting me share.

I hope you are happy and well.

See you again later,

Love,

The Blogmuggle xoxoxo

Welcome strangers, to the show.......

GooooD Mooorrnning, Blogggererrrlanddd!!!!

Do you think that's how Adrian Cronauer/Robin Williams would write it it???

Friday morning in Blogmuggle land is cool, crisp and quiet. We had our first frost of the year yesterday. I hosed off the car so that Beloved and I could drive him to work, and by the time I had turned off the hose and walked back to the car, the windscreen had started to freeze up again. No wonder we go through so many windscreen wiper blades; in the summer time, they perish from the heat and continual washing off of dust, and in the winter time they are eroded from scraping off the icy stuff.........

And the fog was amazing too..............

I'm sitting here at 9.30am, dressed in a pair of old trackkies, holey old navy school socks, a pair of old suede clogs on my feet, topped off with my fuzzy old dressing gown with stars on it, and my favourite purple corduroy coat buttoned up over the top. Yep, I'm an absolute picture of style......

But I'm warm.........

Congratulations to all those out there who have participated or will participate in Australia's Biggest Morning Tea. We had a great morning at work yesterday, with our residents, families, members of the community, and the residents from the retirement village next door visit our place. There's was an amazing array of food supplied, and it was not to be consumed by those who are faint at heart where calories are concerned.... Country women can cook!!!!!!!! YUMMMMM!!!!! The final head count was around 65-70 attendees, and around $450 raised for the Cancer Council of NSW!!!!!

Morning tea was served on our front veranda on a beautiful sun-drenched autumn day, and the lovely Norma entertained us with a singalong. Norma is retiring later on in the year. Actually, she retired from her position as a school principal a few years ago, and has been working in the community ever since. She and her fab hubby, Bob, are moving to Lithgow......... She will be so very missed.......

A big THANK YOU to all those who helped cook, serve and clean up. And to my wonderful resi's who gladly parted with coins that they really couldn't afford.

What else has been happening???????????

Well, to answer Jen's query, Scorpaboy came in 4th place on Sunday. And he and Beloved will travel to Sydney to ride again this Sunday. I'm staying home with Vegeboy, who has football in Muswellbrook on Saturday, then another game at Kurri Kurri (so nice, they named it twice...)on Monday night.

And while I'm talking about Vegeboy, his visit to the specialist went well on Tuesday. Dr Avi Lemberg works out tof the Children's Hospital at Randwick, and if you ever need a paediatric gastroenterologist (and I hope you don't), then he's the one. He was kind, professional, related extraordinarily well to Vegeboy and us, making us feel comfortable with the situation, and positive with his treatment and potential outcomes. And our lovely Vegeboy has been surprisingly mature and matter-of-fact about all the poking and prodding. He has a sense of humour, that one. He has undergone more bloodtests, and has medication to take. We have another appointment for review in July.

And here's the really amazing thing.......

DR LEMBERG WAS ON TIME! .......

AND TOOK US IN FOR OUR CONSULTATION EVEN THOUGH WE WERE EARLY!!!!!!

I've still been driving Beloved to work as the No-Motor-Toyota still hasn't been fixed yet....... Hmm.... definitely a bargain purchase, that one. He drove it to work for 3 mornings.... I haven't even bothered changing over the registration papers or the insurance yet..... We could have fixed the car we already have sitting in the yard...... I think we're up to about $500......... And it's due for rego in the next 6 weeks or so.......

NO WORK FOR ME UNTIL TUESDAY!!!!!! (hehehehe)

This morning, I've booked Clover into the vets to be desexed. We've had her since the end of November last year, and she came into season in the first three days that we had her. She's been behaving in an unusual manner....... digging a hole in the carpet as she fussily turns around and around and around before sitting down, taking things that are ours and sitting on them, chewing things up... I couldn't book her in until June 6th.... if she can hold out that long.....

And finally, A big shout out to my Sister-in-law, Lisa, who secured herself a great new job!

!!!!!!! Way to go Lisa !!!!!!!!

Any woman who takes on my brother for life, and rewards him with the gift of 3 gorgeous children deserves a big pat on the back.... and maybe some prozac...... LOL, Love you Bro <3>

I'll have to post some piccies of these angels.......

Anyway, the washing, bill-paying, shopping and housework awaits. I know I said this all last time, but I really didn't do it

then..........

Now you're getting an image of the true nature of the Blogmuggle............

HMMMM....One day I might work out how the paragraphs text size and spacing work...This is my 4th edit..Last one.. I'm publishing regardless......

Have a good weekend, and stay safe!!

xoxox Bloggie ;0)

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The cat came back the very next day..The cat came back because she coudn't stay away.......

But the cat came back, thought she was a goner, but now she's home to stay...........

That *#@@* cat's back!

So how did she do that???????

Evidently, she likes to sleep in the next door neighbour's garage...........

Lucky for her, Laurie went to sweep his shed out while I was hanging out the washing.......

And she headed straight for her food bowl.........

But she's back home!

And the cat came back, the very next day

Well that's what I'm hoping, anyway.........

My lovely little tortoishell kitty, Lulu, wasn't here to greet us when we arrived home last night. She hasn't come in for breakfast either. I rang GG, who was coming to feed the dog and cats yesterday, and she said she didn't see her either. I've walked around the neighbourhood.

It's so unlike Lulu. She will come into the bathroom with you

at 3 in the morning if she hears you, just in-case you might feed her..............

Oh well. We'll just have to wait and see. For now anyway.

The weekend was very good, thank you very much. Saturday went off without a hitch, and the drive to Sydney on Saturday evening was uneventful. I have discovered though, that a compact street directory, combined with bumpy roads at night and poor lighting, is VERY difficult to read....It's got NOTHING to do with my eyesight, mind you......... We only had to do 1 u-turn, and that was because there was no right turn allowed into MrScorpa's street. He lives in a lovely double-brick semi-detatched cottage in Willoughby. And pizza, which was delivered (doesn't happen up here in Walnut Grove), was very good! He is a lovely man, even if does sell us too many expensive motorbike-related items......

We followed him to Canberra in the dark on Sunday morning. Those motorways in Sydney are fabulous, especially at 5am! The bike event was situated at a farm near Gundaroo (don't you love Australian place names?), about 45mins north-west of Canberra itself. Whilst cool, the weather was very agreeable. I walked miles uphill and down dale, as usual. Unluckily for me, the first gully Vegeboy and I skipped down, as I was skipping back up, I felt my hamstring on the right side of my buttock go.... "S-T-R-E-T-C-H-".... Ouch!!!! So today, I have a sore butt......

ScorpaBoy rode well, but the sections were very hard, set to Eurpoean standards. And the conditions provided something very unfamiliar to a majority of riders... Water! All the little gullies had water in them as a result of the Rain (Yay!!!) all over NSW on Thursday and Friday. So not only was there water, there was MUD!! Very slippery, slick mud that stuck to and filled gaps everywhere and in everything, including the knobbly tyres that are supposed to provide traction. Which then made all the shale rockfaces very hard to climb. And the gullies hard to get out of, particularly after the sections had been ridden a few times. So lots of muddy bikes, boots, clothes and riders.............

7 hours is a long drive home. Especially with a sore butt. Beloved drove to Hornsby, and I drove home from there. I can recommend the "Truck Stop" at Marulan for a good feed.

We arrived home just after midnight.....

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

So I'm sitting here blogging, when I should be unpacking the car. I have started the washing though. The first of about 6 loads.

I have to pay our e-toll for the use of those fabulous motorways today, too. That was the real I logged on this morning........ my hands found their way here of their own accord. The pull of the blog is strong...... Irrestistible......... must fight ...........

The washing machine has stopped, so I'd better start hanging things out so I can load the machine again...and unpack the car...and clean this cesspool in which we reside...... throw my self upon my boss's mercy so that I can have tomorrow off to take Vegeboy down to Sydney..... go and buy some groceries; GG says our fridge resembles that of a poor uni student.....etc, etc....ad finitum......

Plurgh.... The things we do!!!!!!!!!

And I hope my cat comes back...........

See you all later. Have a good day ;0)

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Doctor, doctor, gimme the news....

The weekend is here again; how did that happen?

Wednesday's footcare course in Tamworth was good, but there was no actual cutting of nails, as everybody had well-cared-for toenails. But I did get an absolutely killer foot massage by an AIN from Autumn Lodge in Armidale. Her name is Tammy. Way to go Tammy!!!!!!!!

I caught up with an old friend for coffee when it was finished, then went for a drive past our old home up there. The new owners (we sold it 12 years ago....) have recently added onto the back of the house, basically doubling it in size. It looks good, but hasn't been painted yet. I wonder what colours the owners will choose? We had painted it a lovely rich cream colour with a pale grey-green trim and burgundy accents just before we sold it. It was a picture; a lovely old weatherboard and iron-roofed cottage. Of course, the colours are a little dated now; it was painted in heritage colours which was very fashionable at the time. Now everything is sophisticated urban neutrals...... which look good too, but they'll date a home pretty quickly. I think the paint manufacturers love fashion trends.

<3,> ...I loved that house... <3,>

A Vegeboy update;

The local GP, Dr J, gave me a referral for a gastroenterologist, whom I rang for an appointment on Tuesday, but he told me that Vegeboy is too young, and he would prefer him to see a paediatrician. Fine, said I. Except for the fact that DrJ is now off work sick, then decided to drive home to Sydney so that his wife could look after him, resulting in him having a car accident at Wollombi......... He reckons that he will be back at work next week sometin=me, but that's to long and too indecisive for me where my son is concerned. I took VB to see a different doc in Muswellbrook, Dr K, on Thursday, who decided that VB needed to see a Paediatric Gastroenterologist...

Good, said I...WHO?

Dr K gave me the name of a specialist who works out of the John Hunter Hospital, but only holds clinics once a month.... and there are no appointments until OCTOBER!!!

HMMMM...... I asked where he was based in Sydney, and was told "The Childrens' Hospital at Westmead". No, he doesn't you know; I rang and asked them. They suggested that I try "The Childrens' Hospital" at Randwick.... BINGO!...Or so I thought..... Dr Lemberg certainly does hold clinics there, but there are no appointments until .........AUGUST-SEPTEMBER!

So I asked if he had private rooms; "Of Course. Here is his number..."

So I was able to secure an appointment to see this very in-demand doctor on Tuesday at 2.15pm. At the cost of $240, upfront. The Medicare rebate is approximately $113.

Now, I'm not grumbling about the money, or the fact that Beloved and I will both need time off work to take our boy to the doctors. We have private medical insurance that is very rarely utilised, so at least that will help us. And we can find the money to pay the account. But what if we couldn't? How many kids and families are waiting for treatment because they're not cashed-up? How many kids just get sicker and sicker, and miss out on treatment and medication that can arrest their illness or even cure it? We can hop in our car and make the 4-5hr drive in relative comfort... others can't. We don't even have to be worried about the other kids at home, or drag them along with us. I've heard of families of 5 or 6 members that travel in uncomfortable, unreliable old vehicles or on Public transport for 9 or 10 hours, then sleep in their car, or wherever they can whilst little ones are treated. Or the family divides and some remain with friends and miss the support and strength that can be crucial to recovery. And there's lots of people who experience this.

It's just not right.

We are indeed lucky. And I don't think that there really is too much wrong with my gorgeous Vegeboy. We just need to make sure.

The 'new" car is off the road for repairs... it has been now for two days. Oh well, at least I had 3 mornings of not taking Beloved to work......

Saturday is busy as usual, but at least there is no football this weekend. GG will be home soon as there is a band gig at the PCYC that a friend has organised. It's from 10am until 10pm. But the boys won't be ther for a lot of it as Scorpaboy will be at work, and then we have to attewnd a work function for Beloved's company, which has been sold. In the 11yrs that Beloved had worked there, this is the FIRST function that the children have been invited to. And then we drive to Sydney, to stay at the home of MrScorpa, the bike sponsor, in Sydney. The boys have a mototrials competition on Sunday near Canberra. That way, we don't have to drive all the way to Canberra Saturday night or Sunday. But we will drive all the way home on Sunday night after the boys finish the competition.

Luckily, we don't have to work on Monday.

But we will drive to Sydney on Tuesday.

So take care, and have a safe and happy weekend!

^_^

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo