Rain On

Public holiday today – back to school tomorrow. It’s been fun…
Lovely rain for most of the day. Spent the morning on the patio, listening to my new music and just… contemplating. I’d decided to not do any study today, which required more determination than I’d thought it would. There’s always something that needs doing. I’ve had to deliberately not do it today. Worth it, though.
On most days I either do the study that needs to be done, or I procrastinate for varying periods of time before doing what needed to be done before, just in a lot less time… The thing is, whether I procrastinate or not, I’m still thinking about work.
I’ve been mostly snuggling in bed, reading, this afternoon – just a side trip to Facebook and checking some things. I’m off again – will have a look at Cake Wrecks, then go back to reading Agatha Raisin – maybe with a cup of tea?

Before I go, here’s some flowers. They’re from our citronella, and they smell lovely, even after they’ve dried. I picked them just before the rain came down in earnest. 🙂

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Published in: on October 3, 2016 at 3:46 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Thursday, Not A Cut Above

As you can probably tell, it’s not Thursday today… this musing starts yesterday.
A week or so back we were cold called by a sunspot checking practice, so we said OK (I grew up in Northern Queensland, so it’s worth having a look…) and made appointments for yesterday.
Got there. Filled out forms. Went in.
All going well, the doctor was running the light thing over my skin, I’d pointed out some slightly worrying (to me) bits, including a spot on my cheek. We were idly chatting… and then – suddenly – there was freezing stuff all over my cheek, and he was scraping at my face with a sharp implement.
No explanation. No consent.
I sharply remonstrated (in other words, I didn’t have a clue what was happening and insisted he told me what he was doing). “It’s OK,” he said. He was just going to scrape the skin off. I was in a bit of a panic at this stage… I had also already stated that taking the top layer of skin off had previously not worked – it always came back. Also, it was not OK. Not at all.
He seemed surprised. The last few people in had been elderly (why was that relevant?) and had had this done many times. They had no problem with the procedure. I repeatedly tried to explain that that was immaterial – those people were not me; I have not had this done before, and I should have been consulted beforehand. “Oh well… it’s OK,” he said…
I did eventually consent to have anaesthetic and a biopsy taken, but I’d lost my trust by then. I’m never going back there again, though, so it had to be done. He said that it would only be the top layer of skin, and leave a “white patch” after. He starts dabbing at my face after the procedure. “What are you doing now?” “Oh, just mopping up the blood…”
I was still shaking after we left. Yes, as procedures go, it’s not very invasive or painful. I just wasn’t prepared for what happened.
Hubby took me to Coffee Club after, where I settled down with hot chocolate and blueberry and apple pie. I do recommend that as a form of first aid. 🙂

So – today. We’ve had a quiet day. Still studying, even finished an assessment. Started reading an Inspector Morse, which I’ll continue with later tonight. We’re watching Star Trek – Search for Spock at the moment, while eating home-made pizza.
It’s the end of the holidays (pretty much – still Queen’s Birthday holiday on Monday) I’ve done more than I thought I would, in some ways. Less than I thought, in others.

Overall, life is good. It can just be a bit surprising sometimes!

Published in: on September 30, 2016 at 6:48 pm  Leave a Comment  

Rising To The Rafters

This has been a good week in a lot of ways – some things have become clearer, and there’s been glimpses of light in the future… It’s also our 22nd Wedding Anniversary today -yay for us! 🙂

We went to a lovely little cafe this morning to celebrate. I’ve been there twice before -once on my own, once with hubby. It’s called Rafter and Rose, on Ellenborough St, across from the cinema. It’s down a little alleyway with lots of greenery outside. The food is great!
The first time I went I was on my own… I’d forgotten how nice it is to spend unhurried time on my own with a cuppa.

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This was my view…
This was my food 🙂

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That’s a hot chocolate and something called a breakfast muffin – basically croissant dough plaited and covered in cinnamon sugar, then baked in a muffin tin. Very sugary, and I couldn’t eat it all. Took it home for later, though.
The second visit was with hubby. We needed some down time, and sat outside with the flora and blue skies…

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We shared a sour cream and blueberry scone with our cuppas.

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And today… I wasn’t feeling my best, but it was worth taking time. We sat and chatted and enjoyed each other’s company. Lovely!
I like the bits and pieces on the walls…

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…but especially the food!

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Pumpkin pie – yum!

A good week…
and a good Anniversary! 🙂

Published in: on September 15, 2016 at 7:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Rest

Prince of Peace – (Hillsong United)

My heart of stone; clouds raging deep within
The Prince of Peace came bursting through the wind
The violent sky held its breath
And in Your light I found rest
Tearing through the night, riding on the storm
Staring down the fight, my eyes found Yours
Shining like the sun, striding through my fear
The Prince of Peace met me there
You heard my prayer
Hope like the sun; light piercing through the dark
The Prince of Peace came, broke into my heart
The violent cross, the empty grave
And in Your light I found grace
Tearing through the night, riding on the storm
Staring down the fight, my eyes found Yours
Shining like the sun, striding through my fear
The Prince of Peace met me there
You’re always there
You’ve been hearing my prayer
Your love…
 …………………………………………..
I’ve spent the morning sitting on the patio, enjoying the greenery, the birdsong and the intermittent rain. I’ve also been listening to this song, and others, from an album called “Of Dirt and Grace”.
This week has been up and down… today is lovely. I have been contemplating all sorts of things lately… why does ill health get me down so much? Of course the feelings of pain, and nausea, and exhaustion are hard to deal with. On good days I can do well, look forward… on bad days I can tend to forget there ever were good days.
I think I’ve come to the conclusion that the main, basic, underlying fear is the fear of death, and leaving things undone (young(ish) family, other goals). Whether the likelihood of dying is there (it’s not, at the moment, for me 🙂 ), illness can make you think along those lines… which is why I’ve been resting in songs such as this one. Rest is not necessarily the absence of storms, but finding a place of stillness in the middle of the storm.
Even when I forget, or can’t see through the clouds, I am held. Securely. With Grace and Love.
It’s time to take a new breath.
Published in: on September 9, 2016 at 1:49 pm  Leave a Comment  
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When Morning Comes

I have had frequent bouts of “not feeling good” lately – nothing major, but wearing. Some days are OK, some are not, and some are very much not. Saturday was horrible, so yesterday was a recovery day.
…but – today! Today was lovely! I wasn’t leaping about or running marathons, but I’ve had three meals today and been able to do lessons with the boys as well as other work. I’ve even been able to walk to the letterbox and back – twice! – today. Comfortably watching Antiques Roadshow at the moment, with butterscotch mousse. Nice! 🙂

Yesterday at church we sang “Great is Thy Faithfulness” – haven’t sung that for a while, and was able to belt it out as a praise for the day and a promise for the morrow (apologies to anyone around me who might have been deafened slightly…)
I’ve also found this song, which I’ve been listening to when I can –

Here’s to tomorrow!

Published in: on August 1, 2016 at 6:35 pm  Leave a Comment  
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I Am Loved

Wandering through YouTube again…
This resonates tonight.

Published in: on July 23, 2016 at 8:59 pm  Leave a Comment  
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No Longer

Bits and pieces from this song have been bouncing round my head since we sang it on Sunday…
I’m still battling with a chest infection, and sometimes I feel like throwing up my hands at the world and its foibles. I’ll just step out of the world for a few minutes and listen to this again…

Published in: on June 29, 2016 at 5:09 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Smile! :)

It’s been a bit wet today…
we’ve had an almost miniflood – the quick unplugging of a drain and the use of brooms and shovels kept the house from being wetter than it should be!
Apart from that, it’s been a reading, cuppa tea, keeping warm sort of day.
Hope your day has been good, despite the greyness and rain…
If not – here’s some puppies-in-a-basket to cheer you up!

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🙂

Published in: on June 4, 2016 at 4:26 pm  Leave a Comment  

Out For The Day

The water was shut off at our place all day, so we decided to go out…
It was a chance to do some things differently. We had a look around Inala to start with. There’s a large Vietnamese community there, and the boys were fascinated by all the vegetable and grocery items they didn’t recognise. We shared a cup of sugar cane juice, which was a lovely green and not as sweet as you would think. We had lunch there (pork buns and containers with meats, veg and noodles with varying sauces) and got some goodies to take home.

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The boys chose the bean paste rolls (in the red bag) – yum! – and the variously flavoured jellies (we haven’t tried those yet). I went in to a few places before I found the ginger candy – I first tried it over 20 years ago, but don’t get to have it much now. It’s very nice but very hot!

Our next stop was Redbank Plains Library, another place we don’t often get to, then to the Ipswich Art Gallery, where we checked out works from the National Photographic Portrait Prize from last year, then up to the Kids’ Gallery to use various “drawing machines”.

Off home after the shops, where our water was back on again, and we could have a lovely cup of tea! 🙂

Published in: on May 20, 2016 at 8:02 pm  Leave a Comment  
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The Tribble With Biochemistry

I recently read a book on the medicinal effects of cannabis, and came across a family of mammalian homologs (to do with genes) called Tribbles, so called because they enter mitosis early and proliferate rapidly. Yes, they are named after these little creatures…

There appear to be other biological discoveries named after pop culture references – there’s a sonic hedgehog protein that can be found in humans. It belongs to a family of hedgehog proteins, so called because they have prickly looking protrusions. There’s also a pikachuran protein, with “lightning-fast moves and shocking electric effects” like Pikachu, and a “Conan the Bacterium“, that survives radiation and is known to be extremely hardy.

It can be fun to be a scientist….

Published in: on April 23, 2016 at 3:52 pm  Leave a Comment  
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