Autumn...

We finally got together for our annual family Easter picnic.

Just a few weeks late but with our busy schedules we were lucky to fit it in. The weather was a bit doubtful & at one stage we did get a little wet but it turned out to be a wonderful day.

We did a lot of talking & laughing & eating...

We did a little walking along the dry river bed in the Gorge...

Then we chose a few suitable rocks for skipping...

And then we tried to fill up Graham's Dam in the Lerderderg River with our skimming efforts.

I think all the perfect stones are in the middle of this body of water as there weren't many really perfect stones, but we had a lot of fun trying.

Teapot Sunday...

it was such a beautiful day today in Melbourne. Hayley & I ventured out for lunch, we were heading out to Daylesford but decided to go closer to home to Ballan.

We stopped at the The Flying Teapot Cafe & had some yummy food & drinks.

The former house turned into a funky cafe is full of mosiacs & curios has a really fun vibe.

And as it was so nice we sat outside in the garden. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful daughter who will spend time with her mother, laughing & joking, sharing conversation.

As you can see my attempts at reverting back to my natural hair colour (whatever that might be) was frustratingly unsuccessful. I couldn't stand the half & half any longer, I am happy with the new colour & I probably don't need to see all that grey after all.

You've got to pick a pocket or two...

Erin got in!!!!

She was accepted into the children's chorus of Oliver! The agonising audition was worth it & they start rehearsals on Saturday. Now with drama lessons at school & after school & on the weekends I expect to see no drama at home.

Baking...

Today we were supposed to be on our (postponed) Easter picnic but the weather is terrible - raining on & off and very windy.
So I decided to do some baking instead.

I got to use these very cute measuring cups that Ness gave to me for Christmas



I whipped up some honey nutmeg cupcakes & a delicious choc cherry cheesecake slice.

Healthy eating is also postponed.

End of the week...

and last day of the school holidays.

While I was at Louises today Hayley cleaned up & did the vacuuming & dusting. Cal cleaned up the kitchen & when I got home we had fish & chips for tea, so its been a very easy day. The washing is still hanging out on the line...wet because it started raining but that's OK, it can come in tomorrow.

Our postponed Easter get together planned for Sunday has to be rescheduled as the weather & our busy lives have put it on hold for now. Maybe the moons will align for the 25th & we'll have a nice day then.

And we were hoping to hear about Erin's auditon today but there was no mail in the box, so we'll have to wait a bit longer...fingers crossed.

Rosters...

Our rosters are clashing.

Chris is on nights & I am on days. And I miss our time spent in the afternoons when we debrief. Usually we can spend time together & chew the fat, discuss the tedious bits of our jobs & the funny or lighter moments. But at the moment we see each other for just a few minutes before we set off. There is no-one better to have a grizzle to, the older 2 don't get it (when they are home) & while Erin can be a good listener she doesn't get it either. Chris has been getting better at just listening rather than always trying to solve problems, his magic answer to any issue used to be 'just tell 'em where to get off' ...tempting but not always what's called for!

Chris didn't think that at this stage of his life/career he would be back to shift work or night duty. He is a terrible sleeper & barely copes with his rotation. I hope to never again have to work night duty. I've done years of it & am not pleased to read studies that show that shift work & night duty are bad for your health.

And to top this off we have gone off daylight savings time & I miss the light in the evenings, the days feel shorter already. Shorter & a bit lonely...until the night duty is over.

Easter time...

for us has been pretty quiet this year. The Easter bunny came in a very low key way, Chris is working & with the school holidays it just feels like any other holiday weekend.
Maybe next weekend when my sisters come back from their camping expeditions & we get together for our annual picnic I will feel a bit more celebratory.

I'm enjoying the sleep-ins though & an extra hour today was blissful.

Time warp...

Still very involved/consumed in mapping the family tree. I figured out that my current obsession with it is because it is very like doing a jigsaw puzzle, and I love puzzles.

Adding another birth, death & marriage from the historical indexes is like adding another piece of puzzle. Sorting through the entries to make matches, following leads & sometimes coming to a dead end is both interesting & frustrating.

But making the lists of dates is not enough for me. I want to know about these ancestors lives. Why did they emigrate (predominantly from the UK), what was the journey like for a convict (!) in the 1840's. What prompted them to move to outback Queensland.
I know conditons would have been tough but did they have joy in their lives? Were they content? Or did just getting by have to be enough. Infant mortality is common, causes of death like miners phthisis, apoplexy & cancer of the stomach pop up like red flags. How much did they know about cancer in the 1860's, what did that poor woman endure before dying in an 'asylum'.

So...some questions answered but lots left unanswered, my detective work continues.

Public transport...

Two trips recently on public transport have not done anything to sway my opinion of it all. I am a car driver. I like to drive, I like my car & I love the independence of it, at the end of the day I am in charge of myself.

Last week I went into the big city to attend a study day, the train travel was pretty straight forward but a bit of motion sickness means I can't read or concentrate on anything like texting. I just look out the window, so pretty boring, I just keep thinking how glad I am not to have to do it everyday. The city was very busy & waiting around for trains isn't how I like to fill in time.

Today I probably should have stayed at home.

The train was full before it got to our station. An overhead message offers me a bus direct to the terminal station but I need to get off & connect with a bus before that. I hate buses, they make me sicker than trains, so I get on a standing room only train, connect with the bus & make it to the forum on time.
On the way home the entire train is cancelled & my only option is another bus!

Not happy Jan.

Now I am home & enjoying a nice cup of tea, secure in the knowledge I don't have to catch any more forms of public transport for some time.

To put my woes in perspective though, today I met a man with a small baby from a remote part of Australia who was off to RMH to visit his wife who was in ICU & had been flown down via Alice Springs/Adelaide in a critical condition. It was a very interesting conversation, he is a RN working with Aboriginal people & their diverse health needs & his wife was severely injured whilst holding the baby who also sustained a broken wrist. He had driven for hours & hours to be in Melbourne with her, he wasn't complaining about todays full train, that would just be me.

Uuggh...

With the warm weather we have been having lately plus the downpour of rain it has been perfect conditions for...

millipedes & spiders & mosquitoes oh my!

I have killed many huntsmen spiders & swept up loads of millipedes. The millipedes give me the creeps. They crawl up onto the celling & when you are least suspecting they drop down on you. And they are crunchy underfoot which gives me the willies as well.AND you can't go out after dark without being eaten alive by the mossies.

I feel like we are under seige by the micro population.