At This Moment

I am joining Ali Edwards and many others... responding to a journalling prompt about “Currently,” “Around Here,” or “Right Now”.....

I am amazed at how quickly this year is going! We are well into spring already!  I have to really think carefully when I work out what the date is – and a couple of days ago I saw a reference to it being only 100 days until Christmas!!!  We are still having cool nights but the days are often warm enough for a T-shirt, and occasionally the evenings stay warm as well.  It is mid-afternoon and the distant hills are various shades of light grey with the smoke from back-burning hanging around.  The pergola with the grape vine is almost half green already with new shoots – and with the many dangling plumes of fat buds waiting to sprout into flowers.  And we seem to be home ground for about 15 or so magpies – they are everywhere (particularly the areas where new mulch has been spread) and their warbling is delightful!

I am looking forward to going to Mudgee in October for a friend’s wedding, and stopping off at the Hunter too.  And later in the month we will be having visitors from the UK, my cousin and her husband – it will be great to see them again.

I am so proud of our eldest grand-child – she received five awards at the Presentation Assembly last Friday – I do wish I could have been there to see it!  But there will undoubtedly be other chances… she is doing so well at High School.

I wonder how our eldest son will go this summer: he is looking for work, and has a much better chance of getting some now that things are picking up ready for summer.  But he is also looking much more seriously at what he wants to do in the long term.

I am surprised how much bouncier Mollie (our 14 year old Border Collie) is now that she is having the new medicine: it’s like HRT for older incontinent bitches.  We had her clipped and washed this week as well – her body is a lot greyer, but her face and feet are still black and white.

I went up to Ellenborough today, to deliver the canopy from the back of the HiLux now that the tray has been fitted for our younger son.  Good to see the cabin at Ewetopia is almost finished – the new railings around the balcony are almost complete.  It’s still a stepladder for access, but I managed it quite easily.  I hope we can stay there over Christmas – it will be good to be around early in the morning so the kids can open their stockings at the right time!

I am excited at our long term plans to move to further north, nearer to our two daughters and their families (I feel I should add D.V. here).  Today we were talking about the sort of duplex we would like to build, and how to make them just right for older people, and even allowing for wheel chairs and mobility scooters!  It was exciting thinking about the kitchen, and the layout, and the front porch and sun verandah….

I do hope that the auction on Saturday for the house over the road goes off without a hitch.  It would be so good to have a new family living there…..

I am looking forward to helping at Taree Mainly Music each week next term: it will be good to be involved again.

I am still concerned about the results of the mammogram I had a couple of days ago: I will feel so much better when I get the formal acknowledgement from the doctor… assuming it is all clear….

I am conscious that as we get older health concerns are becoming more of a reality.  We are currently praying for a couple of friends having chemotherapy, and their families and friends.

I am going to find it a lot easier to get into the daily exercise routine now that the mornings warm up a lot more quickly.  I’ve finally lost the extra weight I gained over winter…… as long as I stop buying the new yummy bread from Coles!