Mamalade

 ”Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…..” That’s right, I’m reading Daphne Du Maurier’s “Rebecca”. I had enjoyed it years ago, but I think the compelling mystery drew me on then and I didn’t take time to savour the beautiful way it is written. I always reread my favourite books - if a book is not worth reading again, I think it’s not worth bothering with the first time.

An embarassing moment

Everyone was in high spirits at Friendship Club this week. We’re just a happy group that gets together once a month for morning tea and chat and usually play games. Most of us played Skipbo (a great card game) this time. A few played Scrabble. There was a lot of joking and happy chatter.

One of the ladies related an embarrassing experience she’d had at church. She had come out of the toilet with the end of the toilet roll caught in her clothes and walked up the aisle with a train of paper trailing behind her!

Good friends

I’ve seen so many of my friends this week! Nearly every day, someone has popped in unexpectedly. One special friend was up from Adelaide and called in. We had a lovely afternoon catching up. Another one brought her two new kittens to show me. Adorable little tabbies. Yesterday, I had three visitors! We talked for hours.

“Oh, the comfort,
The inexpressible comfort,
Of feeling safe with a friend!
Having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words,
But pouring them right out
Just as they are,
Grain, wood, chaff together:
Certain that a faithful hand
Will take and sift them,
Keep what is worth keeping,
And with a breath of kindness,
Blow the rest away!”

I called in and saw Margaret on Wednesday. She is one the people who inspire me because she is always so cheerful in spite of a lot of pain and illness. She and her husband have been having the house renovated to accommodate the wheelchair that she will soon need all the time. They were trying out the new ramp when I arrived. It was lovely to see her looking a bit brighter than usual.

Double blessings

Lea brought baby Matthew to see Mum and Dad on Thursday, so of course I went along, too. (Robert was at Kindergarten.) Matthew is looking a lot better after being so sick. Frances came too with Miles. The two babies hadn’t seen each other for ages. I was holding Matthew when Frances brought Miles in. As soon as they got to the top of the stairs, Miles threw himself into my arms, so I had my arms full with both babies. Matthew is three months younger than Miles. I think he was a bit overwhelmed with Miles running around and his constant babble. He’ll soon catch up!

They were getting on really well by the time they left. Matthew picked up the toy cow and put it’s tail in Miles’ mouth. When he pulled it away, Miles leaned over with his mouth open waiting for more!

As others see us

After basking in the glow of friendliness all week, I was jolted back to earth by a friend who phoned to say she was annoyed with me. I had inadvertently upset her just by acting in the way which I considered right and normal. I’ll spare you the silly details, but I thought you might find this more interesting than all the syrupy talk about everyone getting on together! I don’t always please everyone. I can make people mad just by being myself! It can be very revealing to look at yourself through another person’s eyes. I’m glad my friend told me, instead of bottling it up inside. I still don’t agree with her viewpoint nor she with mine… I would probably still do the same thing again, though I would try to be more sensitive to the other person’s feelings. But I think we now understand one another better.

I hope all the Irish are not mad at me - I’ve just added a few more jokes to my Irish Joke page.

 What do sheep count?

What do sheep count when they can’t sleep?
How does a thermos know whether a drink should be hot or cold?
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

These were some of the Table Topics at our Toastmasters meeting this week. They were more challenging than usual, and caused a lot of hilarity. Since I was acting as Timekeeper, I was safe, (although it doesn’t always guarantee immunity) but eight other members were chosen to deliver a 90 second impromptu speech on these and other crazy topics. Each one of them managed to rise to the occasion and give a very witty answer instead of having a mental blank, as I sometimes do - not that it really matters. It’s meant to be fun and no one is thought the less of if they can’t think of something to say.

Our meetings are always a lot of fun, but it was especially good this week. I was tired before I went, but I came home on such a high, I didn’t feel like going to sleep for hours.

World Vision meeting

Our World Vision Club also met this week. I had printed out an update of the situation in Kosovo. (It was on the World Vision website) I gave seven members each some information on a particular refugee centre, then “interviewed them” as though they were field workers there. I think it helped us all to realise the extent of what World Vision is doing in Kosovo.

On Friday we had a street stall for World Vision. We did very well. It was the first really cold day we have had this winter and it was quite chilly on the street. I was able to park my car near us and we took it in turn to sit in the car out of the wind and have a warm drink. That helped a lot.

Actually we were lucky to have a fine day for our street stall, because it had been raining most of the week. The last few days have been typical winter days for here. A bit chilly in the mornings, but the days are clear and sunny. I think Queensland must be the best place in the world to live in. It must be getting cold in Melbourne. I wonder how Ben and Agnieszka are coping with their first winter there.

Two cat weather

The nights are getting colder. I now have two cats on my bed.( It reminds me of the stories one of my old neighbours used to tell about his mate who had ten cats, and as the nights got colder, he would throw another cat on the bed.) I rolled over as I was waking this morning, and poor Ingrid fell out of bed and landed with an indignant thump between the bed and the wall.

Joel and Frances were away this weekend, so Nelson, their Corgi stayed with me. There’s always a bit of rivalry between him and Buddy and he’s had his nose scratched a few times. Ingrid has enough sense to keep out of it.

Nelson competes

Nelson always runs up to the back fence and has a “peeing competition” with my neighbours’ dog. Of course the Alsation wins every time.
“That’s how they identify one another” one of my friends told me. Then he added, “Human beings have other ways……”
“Thanks heavens for that!” I said, and his wife, who had just taken a mouthful of cake, blew crumbs all over the table.

Mum and I called in at the Nursing Home after Church and saw Grace. She’s a lovely little lady we got to know when we were visiting Aunty. She’s very frail and gentle. It was a beautiful sunny morning. We took her out in the sunshine for a while. The resident cat came and played with me on the grass. Grace enjoyed watching it.

This afternoon, my sister Jan called in for a while with Shea and Callum. They had been to the beach. The kids will be on holiday from school soon so we will probably see more of them.

Down by the creek

I’ve been feeling much better this week. Mum and I even got to church this morning. ( I had been feeling too foggy to drive that far since I had the flu.) It was good to be back. I wish they would sing more of the good old hymns. Some of the modern songs are lovely and very meaningful, but most of them lack the depth of the lovely old hymns. At least we did finish up with the the 23rd Psalm… “The Lord is My Shepherd”…and everyone sang with great feeling. I couldn’t help thinking of one of my friends, discussing a funeral she had been to.
“That was a nice poem the minister read,” she said, ” ‘Down by the Creek’.”
She meant Psalm 23. “He leadeth me beside the still waters………”

We went to the early service, because I wanted to be back in time to mind Miles while Joel and Frances went to see the new Star Wars movie.

Sleepy time

I got them to bring him to Mum and Dad’s place and minded him there, so that they could enjoy him, too. He is such a lovely happy baby. He hadn’t had his usual nap this morning, but he kept going until about 3.30 pm, then tried to climb up in the high chair. I put him in it and gave him a snack. He has a wonderful appetite. He’ll eat just about anything. After he’d been sitting for a while his eyelids started to droop, until he was sitting there with his eyes closed, but his hands were still putting food into his mouth, as though he was on automatic pilot! I lifted him out and rocked him in the rocking chair for a while, though I think he was already asleep. I was still sitting there with him when Joel and Frances came back from the movie. After a while, Panther, the black cat tried to curl up on top of Miles and woke him up.

Yesterday, my sister Lea brought Robert and Matthew over to see Mum and Dad. We hadn’t seen Lea and the boys for a while, because they had all been sick and they live on the other side of town. It was lovely to see that little Matthew is starting to put on weight again after that nasty bout with pneumonia. He is a quiet, sweet natured baby.

All stuck up

Five-year-old Robert makes up for Matthew in noise - at least when he is in company. He plays quietly when he is alone, but he gets overexcited when he is visiting and turns into a human tornado! Last time when they were over he used up a large reel of sticky tape to bind all the table and chair legs together. I suspect his cousins, Shea and Callum might have had something to do with it, too.

Jumble Sale

Our World Vision Club had a jumble sale this week. There weren’t as many people about as usual, so it was a bit disappointing. We always have a lot of fun together, anyway and we meet all kinds of interesting people.

Raining cats and dogs

It has been raining most of the week - I won’t have to water the garden for a while. Last night it rained cats and dogs…..cats, anyway. I had to get up and let Buddy in during the night. He usually sleeps on the lounge, but this time he came straight in to my bedroom, and tried to nuzzle in beside me. I started to lift the bedclothes to let him in, then I realised the wretch was wet with rain! I finally persuaded him to lie on top of the quilt, so I spent the rest of the night pinned in position with Buddy on one side and Ingrid (my other cat) on the other. Cat lovers must seem ridiculous to normal people.

What is normal?

The other day I said something about “normal people” to my friend, Meg.
“What is ‘normal’?” she asked.
She and I have been having fun with words lately. We looked it up in my little pocket dictionary. It said “conforming to standard.”
“Whose standard?” said Meg.
“Normal people’s standard.” I told her.
Later I looked in the big dictionary and it also means “free from any mental or emotional disorder.”
Are there any normal people out there?

By the way, I am typing this with one hand and using the other to keep Buddy off the keyboard.