Of course this meant that I have been busy living in 3 different houses, trying to keep all the pets happy. Not Ben’s – Agnieszka is still in Sydney looking after their 2 cats, but I spent most mornings with Joel & Frances’ cat Alex &  Flloyd the cockatiel.

Alex

Flloyd

Then there were the magpies that came every afternoon for a handout while the neighhbours dog Charlie supervised.

Charlie with magpies

The evenings, I spent at Relle’s place with Digby and Mrowdy, her abyssinian cats.

Digby

Digby was very cuddly, but Mrowdy was a bit aloof.

and the rest of the time I spent with my own cats, Ollie & Fluff.

Ollie

Fluff

A couple of months ago, we were notified that the hall where we hold our sales will be closed for at least a year for rennovations and we had to have everything out by the end of June.

We’ve been making the most of it during the past month, holding jumble sales every week. Last week we had a final 2 day “Fill a Bag for $4 ” sale. Our ad in the local paper and posters around the local district worked. The hall was packed with eager bargain hunters.

jumblesale

This is a photo from the previous week. We were too busy and crowded to take one last week.

We have always suspected that a one legged thief has been taking one shoe. We were never sure, because there was always the possibilty that the missing shoe might turn up amongst all the stuff – but now I’m sure someone takes them. Last Friday I paired up all the shoes and put them on the table out the front. By mid-morning, one brown shoe and one sandal was missing. There were customers wanting both pairs, if  only we could find the missing shoe. We hunted high  & low, but they didn’t turn up, not even when everything was cleared away and our store room emptied out at the end. And its always the left shoe that is missing! The woman who wanted the sandals insisted on taking the odd one with her in case we ever found its mate.

“Who would take one shoe?” asked the  women who wanted the brown pair.

“Well, the lady with the sandal did!” I replied.

When we finished on Friday, a man from St Vinnies came in a van and took away what was left.

Everyone asked “Where will you go now?”  There’s really nowhere we can hold jumble  sales in our area.  There a a few local halls we could hire, but they are not near where people do their shopping, so it  wouldn’t be worthwhile.

“We’ll go on the street,” I tell them. We have salvaged a lot of the books, and some of the better bric-a-brac and clothes. We can sell them on street stalls. But it was no use keeping all the other stuff. It would be too messy on a street stall and there is no where to store it.

We’ll keep going as long as we can.

Relle’s cats, Digby and Mrowdy have found that the old terrarium makes a good sleeping place.

They look like a Yin Yan symbol, don’t they?

Digby has a habit of pushing his backside into your face when he is settling on your lap. I thought Relle was referring to this the other night when we were watching TV together at her place. She had set out some nibblies on the coffee table. Digby jumped up on my lap, & Relle said, “Now don’t put your nose in the nuts!”

Relle doesn’t usually talk like that, I thought, then I glanced at the bowl on the coffee table and said, “Oh….. those nuts!!”

I hadn’t realised she was talking to Digby!

No buyers yet, but there’s no hurry. We held a few garage sales, and will probably have one or two more when the house is sold. You meet some interesting people and hear some funny stories at a garage sale, like the woman who said she has a neighbour who dances naked in front of the open window & another one told us her aunt used to have stuffed animals & dolls all over her spare bed, & when her pet pekinese dogs died she had them stuffed & put on the bed……

Our World Vision Club held a couple of street stalls. (In addition to our regular jumble sales.) We had book stall, and then an Easter stall.

Ben came up from Sydney for a week. The time went very quickly. Miles and Hayley were thrilled when he took them out on his boat. Hayley was so tired when she got home, she didn’t have time to undress before she went to sleep.

Miles broke his arm at school, just before his 12th birthday. Hayley helped me make him a birthday cake.

The following week, my nephew Callum also broke his arm! When they got together at Easter, Miles and Callum found they were still able to play soccer.

Relle was away last weekend and I fed her two crazy abyssinian cats. They are very spoilt and do whatever they like.

Cats on sink

Ollie and Fluff are getting on well, as long as Fluff doesn’t get too close to Ollie.

We were back at our World Vision Jumble sale last Friday. I don’t think I have ever worked so hard. It was hot muggy day and the electric fans were not working properly. People kept bringing in more things for us to sell. There seemed to more coming in than there was going out. We were flat out all morning, sorting, pricing, selling – and then it all had to be packed away afterwards. By the time we had finished, we were exhausted and dripping with perspiration. I was looking forward to going home for a good rest.

That’s when my mobile phone rang. It was Joel.

“Can you pick up the kids from school?” he asked. “Frances doesn’t have the car today – I had to take it to work.”

I barely had time to rush home first, unload the car, have a quick shower & gobble a sandwich.
I picked up Frances & drove to the school.

“Park at the back,” she said. “That’s where the bus will come in from the camp.”

“Oh, I didn’t realise it was today that Miles is coming back from camp!”

The bus arrived with all the campers just as the school bell rang. They all looked weary, but had evidently had a good time.

Hayley came down from her Grade 3 room. When she saw Miles, she ran and joyously threw herself on top of him.

On the way home, Hayley said to me, “It was paradise with Miles away all week.”

“You were pleased to see him back,” I reminded her.

“I was just trying to flatten him,” she said.

 This morning I discovered my car battery was flat. It wasn’t going anywhere! I hadn’t closed one of the doors properly last time. Luckily, where I had to go was in easy walking distance, so I was able to carry out my mission and got my walk in as well.

 Joel came to the rescue later, as usual.

 “Why do you keep leaving the door open?” he asked. (It’s at least 2 years since it last happened.) 

“Well,” I retorted, “I just drove in and thought, ‘Lets not close the door properly.’” 

He squeezed himself between the car and the garage wall.

“It would help if you didn’t park so close to the wall.”

 “I have trouble getting this car in,” I explained. “It’s wider than my old car and the mirrors stick out further.”

 “Of course, you didn’t think to back out and try again!”

 I didn’t tell him how many times I had tried! Most days I can drive straight in, but sometimes it just won’t line up. My neighbours must be greatly entertained watching me drive back and forth in the driveway before I can get through the door.

Anyway, Joel put my car on a charger for a few hours, then took it for a run to charge the battery. When he brought it back, he backed in, so all I have to do tomorrow is drive straight out.

I must remember to get in on the right side.

 Oh dear, now I’ve broken my next resolution – to go to bed earlier!

It has been a tough year. The toughest thing was losing my mother last month. She’d had a heart operation and was doing well, but then she got a Golden Staph infection. She would have been 88 next week. She wasn’t just my mother, she was my best friend.

I have adopted Mum’s beautiful cat, Fluff. She is settling in well and helps to fill another gap – Oscar went to pussy heaven recently. Ollie and Fluff are tolerating one other very well as long as they keep a respectful distance between them.

fluff09

We had a nice Christmas, even though it was our first without Mum. As usual, I went round early to see Hayley & Miles open their presents. They loved the gingerbread house I took them.

gingerbread09

Then I went with Relle to Lea & David’s place. This year we had a Secret Santa. Everyone took a gift that cost less than $20 and it had to be a game. It made Christmas shopping much easier. After we had opened our presents, we spent the afternoon & evening playing the games. It’s just as well there were no near neighbours, because we got very rowdy playing “Billionaire!”

It rained all the way home. We have had some heavy rain in past week. Its the best Christmas present of all, after the worst drought in 100 years.

“I know,” said Carney. “Somebody has to be.”

How right he was! Out of all the people in the world, he was the only one qualified to fill the role of Art Carney.

Do you realise, the only one who can fill your role in life is YOU! Because there is no one else quite like you.

What if everyone was the same as you?

What if people were mass produced, using the same mold. What kind of world would it be? Isn’t it strange – when we see a set of identical twins or triplets, we find it hard not to stare in wonder, and yet, the real wonder is, that we are all so different!

No one else – not even members of your immediate family has the same combination of genes, the circumstances, the experiences, that help to make up you.

You have your own individual personality traits, your own set of memories, your own thoughts. You are so special, you have been stamped with your own unique fingerprints.

I believe that is is no accident that you are  here at this time, in this place on earth and that whatever you do  in your lifetime will have an effect of some kind on the future. Everybody has their own sphere of influence.

I once read a story about time travel – where people could go back in time, but they couldn’t touch anything, because whatever they did, even if it was just to step on a blade of grass and crush it, the future would be influenced in some way. Isn’t it awesome, to think that you could be helping to shape eternity!

So.. if you have been placed here on earth as your own unique self, then the most important thing you can do with your life is to be yourself.

And anyway, as Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself, everybody else is already taken.”

So many people want to be someone else. They are not content with their own self  image. They aim to impress others by trying to appear more important, more successful, more beautiful than they really are.

Remember the TV series “Keeping Up Appearances?” Hyacinth Bucket – or Boo-kay, as she preferred to be called, was always trying to impress others. I knew a woman who was like that. She was never herself, and she was never happy. She had never got over her disappointment at not being born into the royal family.

A lot of people think they are a failure unless they excel at whatever they do. We can’t all come first in the race. We can’t all be Prime Minister – if that role is not for us.

Its a relief to know that some roles are not for you. The other night, a fire engine rushed past my house and I thought, “Thank goodness, I don’t have to drive a fire engine. I don’t like making right hand turns!” The driver of that speeding fire truck  was probably well suited for the job, but I’m glad its not my role in life.

Did you see the movie, “Babe?” Babe was a pig who could round up sheep and won first prize at the sheep dog trials. Everyone I knew thought it was a wonderful movie. I guess it was, but I always felt it taught the wrong values. What’s wrong with a pig being a pig? That’s what he was created for. My mother said I read too much into the story, but really, if pigs act as sheep dogs, who is going to be a pig?

It’s OK for a pig to be a pig. And it’s OK for you to be YOU – as long as its the best that you can be.

Now, don’t get me wrong! I believe, as I’m sure that you do, that we should all have goals and strive to fulfill them. Most of us are capable of far more than we have ever dreamed.

As a child at school, I used to dream of winning at sports. I was the smallest in my class. I was always the last one to be picked on a team. I always came last in a race. Other kids won awards.

Then one break-up day, competitors were called for to run in the final race for the year. This was my last chance! Everyone laughed as I lined up beside Sally, the champion of the school. The starting pistol was fired and we were off!  I ran as I had never run before. The crowd roared as I reached the finish line and was awarded – second prize. There were just the two of us in the race. Sally had finished way ahead of me – but I was still a winner. I had performed at my utmost.

Its in moments when you are giving your all that you are your real self. If you go through life trying to find yourself, you never will, because the more you think about it, the less natural you will be.

Whatever you attempt to do, do it with all your heart. Lose yourself as you follow your goal. Always aim for the highest and best – don’t worry if somebody else is better, just do the best You can. You’ll never win the race if you are watching the other runners.

Think of all the really great people in history. Winston Churchill, Ghandi, Mother Theresa… Did they perform great feats because they were searching for themselves? No way! What they each had in common was a total dedication to whatever cause they believed in. They followed their inner conviction and took no heed of any else’s opinion.

But of course, you don’t have to be a Ghandi or Mother Theresa.

Rabbi Zusya said that on the day of judgement, he would not be asked, “Why were you not Moses?” but rather, “Why were you not Zusya?”

I’ll finish with a quote from Dan Zadra…

“There has never been another you. With no effort on your part you were born to be something  special and set apart. What you are going to do in appreciation of that gift is a decision only you can make.”

I’m still in that unreal post-Christmas limbo state, where its hard to know what day of the week it is. Christmas never seems to fall on a particular day, it’s just Christmas Day – and all the days of the following week are out of whack. The heat doesn’t help.The last few days have been very hot and humid and I don’t feel like doing anything.

But it was quite pleasant last week and we had a comfortable Christmas. Ben & Agnieszka came up from Sydney for a couple of days. We all went to Lea & David’s place for Christmas Day. It was a nice relaxing day. No one got their leg stuck in the back of their chair this year like Hayley did last year, but I must confess I did something just as stupid at the Minglers Break Up a couple of weeks ago. I had taken off my shoes because I was hot, then somehow I managed to put the leg of my chair on my big toe – then I sat on the chair! Not a good idea.

I suppose I’ll have a think about New Years Resolutions. I usually make the same ones each year – something along the lines of going to bed earlier and getting up earlier, spend less time playing Spider Solitaire etc. They never last more than a few days, so they are still fresh the following year. Is it worth it? I think so. I always think of this lovely quote:

“If Thou hast broken a vow, tie a knot on it to make it hold together again. It is a spiritual thrift, and no unbecoming baseness, to piece and join thy neglected promises with fresh ones. So shall thy vow in effect be not broken when new mended: and remain the same, though not by one entire continuation, yet by a constant successive renovation.” Thomas Fuller 1608 – 1661

I’ll leave you with that thought. I’m off to play Spider Solitaire – and my latest addiction, Flea Round Up.

Happy New Year!

“Why? Are you going to visit Ben and Agnieszka?” asked Miles.

“No.”

“Are you going away? Are you going to hospital? Why?”

“Think about it.” I said. “What day is it today?”

“New Year’s Eve – are you going to a New Year’s Eve party?”

“Well, I am,” I said. “But that’s not the reason. What day is it tomorrow?”

“New Year’s Day. Oh, I get it, it will be next year!” Miles laughed.

But Hayley was still worried. “I wanted you to come to my Birthday,” she sobbed.

Once we explained it to her, she enjoyed the joke.

Last night I saw the New Year in with a small group of friends. We had fun playing Cranium. The men sat and looked on while we women made fools of ourselves, trying to do impersonations of Marilyn Monroe or the Easter Bunny or hum tunes that no one knew.

A couple of us had to act out a Conga line. I put my hands on my team partner’s shoulders and we danced through the room kicking our legs out at the sides.

“I know,” shouted someone. “Its the front and back end of a horse costume!”

“Why don’t you go and watch TV?” suggested our hostess to her husband.

“There’s nothing funnier than this on TV,” he said.

I’ve had a quiet restful New Year’s Day. It has been rainy and windy – not at all like our usual weather for this time of year. Most of the beaches in Queensland are closed this week because of the wild seas. Other parts of Australia have been sweltering in heat waves.

Tomorrow is Hayley’s sixth birthday. I’ve just wrapped her present and yes, I will go to see her!