"PEOPLE"

People can be so lovely!! And their loveliness can be the undoing of me!
Last night I posted a status bemoaning the fact that I no longer had my right-hand man when it came to editing music for my class act at the school concert.
 Jake always took the time to patiently cut, paste, listen and change my music choices at least half a dozen times before I would finally be satisfied that it was 'just right". He did it so easily!!
When I got to work this morning I was greeted by a colleague who had read my post and wanted to reassure me that "they" would get it done for me!! "They" being the computer-savvy Simon from Grade 5!
Their smiles and reassurance were the undoing of me!! After saying my thanks I hurried off to the staff room and promptly burst into tears!! Thankfully, that is the very first time that has happened!
I think the combination of missing my boy and people being so ready to help and so helpful was just too much!
Aren't people wonderful?!!  And aren't I lucky to have such caring colleagues?

"THE VIEW FROM HERE"

This is the view we get from over our back fence or from the desk in the study! Not a bad view if I do say so myself!!
However, I did hear more rumours today that the farm may be sold for development soon.
A pity!! Let's hope it takes many years to come to fruition!

"CALM"

Today we celebrated my Dad's 80th birthday!
I'm so glad we got to do that as I am very conscious of the fact that there are a lot of people in this world who do not get to do that because their dad's are no longer around to do that with!
Sadly, my dad is gradually losing his memory and has good days and bad days. Today was a good day. He wore a smile all day and loved the attention he received from his children, his grandchildren, his sister, his nieces and nephew and his friends.
And, throughout it all he wore his traditional 'calm'.
My dad has always been a very calm person. He has always been a steady influence in times of crisis and I would love to think that I have inherited even an ounce of his calmness! 
Lately, the frustrations of not remembering the right words or forgetting the 'little' things in his life have undone the 'calm' to a certain extent.
But, that's ok! He is, after all, 80 years old!!
What a wonderful achievement!!
Happy Birthday to the best Dad in the world!! xxx

"MADE ME SMILE TODAY"

I asked one of the little boys in my grade if he had been sick yesterday as he had been absent. His reply was "No I had fleas!"
It made me smile...he had nits!!

 Today my nephew Vinnie put up a You Tube post of Lano and Woodley in their "Sarcasm" skit. It made me smile 'cause Jake used to do that sarcastic voice and facial expression to a tee!! It was his trademark!!

After repeatedly asking the parents of another boy to get their son's eyes tested they finally did it today!! This poor child has been getting up out of his seat to look at the board since about March or April. I had asked his parents to do something about it countless times to no avail! Then I got the Principal to ring them!! Surprise, surprise...they made the appointment straight away!
Then the Mum brought her little boy back to school bearing a chocolate just for me! That made me smile!
The chocolate was accompanied by an apology. Mum was sorry that she hadn't responded to my requests but she had had his eyes tested only 18 months earlier and there had been nothing wrong with his eyesight!! Duh!! Kids eyes can change in the space of 3 weeks!
And yes...her son has severe short-sightedness!!
I like it when I'm right!!! It makes me smile!!

"FRUIT"

I love fruit!!!
It's my favourite type of food!!
Even as a teenager when my parents owned a Milk Bar/General Store and my sisters were stealing packets of cigarettes, I would be the one stealing the fruit! Well, it wasn't actually stealing because we were allowed to eat the fruit! (My sisters were stealing though!!)
My favourite fruits are probably kiwi fruit and raspberries!! Mmmm!
At the moment my breakfast each morning consists of fresh banana, blueberries, strawberries and kiwifruit topped with a muesli topper! It's yummy!!
I have fruit with every meal and feel like I have missed something if I don't have it!

"SOMETHING YOU WROTE"

I have been writing this blog since March 11th and I missed my fist day just this week.
Writing has, unexpectedly, proved to be the best therapy for me! I can pour out my memories or my feelings or my daydreams in a paragraph or two and can even share my thoughts with friends if they care to read them.
 I felt a bit guilty not writing the other night but I think I bamboozled myself by having a preconceived idea about what I wanted in that blog. It revolved around a photo which I couldn't find so then I was lost! I should have done my usual trick and just started writing and the words would have eventually flowed. Never mind!
Now I've done it again. I remembered a poem I wrote to Sian shortly after she was born. I have it somewhere but do you think I can find it? It must be in a safe place!! I will have to add it if I ever find it!!

"DINNERTIME"

Sian cooked us a BBQ dinner tonight. It was the first time she had ever used the BBQ and she did a great job!! We had lamb chops with BBQ'd potato thins, cabbage stir-fry and a pasta salad. It was yum!!
It was a far cry from a 42 degree day when the sky quickly turned from a bright blue to a dark orange-grey! Bushfires burned all around and we spent the day sweltering and putting out live embers. It was frightening and very, very HOT!
But what was Jake doing?
He was cooking a BBQ for his sister and her friends because it was too hot for them, so they paid him to do it!! Anything for some pocket money!

"MAKES YOU LAUGH"

I hope these make you laugh!!

Yes, Jake...you are the tallest cousin! You didn't need to do that with your hair!

With his Uncle "Funny Mick" at a Van Berlo family wedding.

It's what you do at a wedding!!

He loved ALL of his mates!!...a lot!!

Smile for the camera, Jake!

Did he surprise himself by doing homework? Not likely!

Looking at life through rose-coloured glasses!

Always the clown!

He used to make us giggle so much!! What a grubby bubby!

Just sitting around watching TV

Infectious grin! Gorgeous!

"ON THE TABLE"

We have been out for dinner tonight to celebrate the 50th birthday of John's previous boss. It was a surprise and was held in a restaurant in Berwick.
On our table were nine people I had never met but who were all very chatty and friendly so it didn't really matter. At one end of the table were the guys 'in the industry' (ie they all worked in the electrical wholesale industry) so there was a lot of 'shop' talk.
At the other end was a family who happened to be the birthday boy's neighbours. They too were very friendly and obviously provided the street they live in with a lot of laughs and fun!
We met the teenage sons of the host. What lovely boys they were! The nineteen year old stood up and told his dad that he loved him as part of his speech and both boys kissed their little toddler cousins goodnight as they left. A good sign, I reckon! Both boys were lady-killers, too! They had laughing eyes and big smiles and related easily to all those around them! Their parents should be proud!

"CLOSE-UP"

I had a very 'close-up' reminder of a memory of Jake today!! (I know..it's not the best use of the topic word but I wanted to share this memory so it will have to do!!)
On advice from a senior staff member I had to write a note home to the parent of a child in my class. This little boy had snapped his new writing pencil in half (as mentioned in my previous post) and, as this was not the first time, it was suggested that he do some chores at home to earn the money required for the replacement of the pencils. So, I penned the letter knowing full well that I will get complete support from home but also knowing that this parent will suppress a little giggle at our choice of consequence which, of course, is of benefit to her!
This brought back memories of receiving a very similar letter when Jake was in Grade 1. That letter asked that Jake earn the money to replace Cameron's lunchbox which had been destroyed when Jake played footy with it! ...as you do!!
The only difference between little Jake and big Jake was that Jake was mortified that he had done something naughty at school when he was that age....it would not have worried him once he got to secondary school!!!

"EMOTIONS"

I think you've heard enough about my emotions but, for an update, they are still a little unpredictable at times.
Instead I will talk about the emotions that were unleashed in my classroom today!
My teaching day today was witness to a range of different emotions amongst the seven and eight year olds in my classroom.
I saw tears of disappointment when one child realised she was beginning at the bottom of the ladder in a challenge game. These tears quickly turned to joy when she discovered that being at the bottom meant she could challenge first. So, she immediately challenged the person at the top and won! Overjoyed!
I saw stifled tears as another child couldn't handle being beaten in the same challenge game. This same child is one of the reasons I have decided to introduce a challenge game as I have several children who cannot handle losing! They need to build resilience!
I saw excitement and sheer pleasure as we sang Happy Birthday to one little boy and then did "The Birthday Slam" with him!
I saw wonder and amazement when we learned that some insects with compound eyes can see the same thing thousands of times.
I saw anger and defiance as a little boy refused to explain the reasons behind his third 'snapped' pencil in as many weeks. His eventual response was "It snapped when I sat on it!!" ...Well stop sitting on all of your pencils!!
I saw smiles of happiness as we read a Dr Seuss book and had a giggle together.
I saw the shrink of embarrassment as a little girl's dad came in to ask a question. It was a perfectly reasonable question but this particular child always seems to be embarrassed by the interest shown by her parents in her schooling.
Emotional day really!!

"RED"

I don't often turn red when I am embarrassed but there have been a few red-faced moments in my life and in the lives of people I know.
On our wedding day John and I were seated in two old chairs beside the altar in the church whilst the priest did the sermon. These chairs had wooden arms and cushioned seats.
The problem was that the chairs had been placed about sixty centimetres apart which we felt was too far. We were behind the priest so we decided to shuffle the chairs closer together while he was delivering the sermon. The red-faced moment occurred when the arm of the chair broke during the shuffle! How embarrassing!

A colleague of mine took her class for their swimming lesson in the days when teachers had to actually teach the skills themselves. This poor lady couldn't believe her luck when the children in her group all appeared to be concentrating very hard..for once!! But, imagine how 'red' she must have felt when she realised that her bikini top was down around her waist!! How embarrassing!

I attended a teacher's conference quite a few years ago where the keynote speaker was a guru in the world of childhood behaviour issues and the author of some well-known books. My colleagues and I were seated in the front row only about 2 metres from this poor lady. She must have thought all her wisdom on behaviour had disappeared as her audience was NOT behaving very well!! We were rudely trying very hard to suppress our laughter as she had toilet paper coming out of the bottom of her trousers!! How embarrassing!

"ANGLE"

A viewing angle gave cause for a good laugh tonight.
Sian's friend Simon was visiting and noticed our new water feature which he hadn't seen before. He wandered over to take a closer look and stood up on the concrete seat just in front of the water feature. He adopted a wide-legged stance as he smoked his cigarette and took in all there was to see of our tribute to Jake.
The funny part was that from where we stood at the back door our viewing angle allowed us to see only Simon's back, his legs apart and a trickle of water between his legs. Very funny!!

This same water feature was photographed shortly after it was installed and the angle of the camera combined with the sunlight gave us a beautiful photo. A 'blessing' of light symbolises appreciation of our new garden ornament!

"LIGHT"

I think it was Sean who put his whole hand around a light globe in a bedside lamp when he was little. The main problem with this was that the light had been ON for quite a while and he ended up with massive blisters on the tip of each finger! Ouch!! But, on the up-side...it would have increased his chances of becoming a criminal, had he chosen that career path, as his finger prints must surely have been compromised!

I remember having a teddy bear night-light when I was little. I think they were quite fashionable at the time but were later banned for being unsafe. I don't ever remember being afraid of the dark so I'm not sure if that was the reason for the night-light. Perhaps Mum could throw some 'light' on that one!

I went through a stage in my early twenties where I was making Tiffany lampshades left, right and centre. They were very popular in the eighties and quite easy to make so I was making them for anyone who wanted one.

We have lived in our current house for a little over a year now and the main reason we chose this for our new abode was that it was a lovely, sunny, light-filled house that just instantly cheered us all up! Just what was needed!!

"I'M THANKFUL FOR..."

I'm thankful for...

• the life I live now.
• having such a loving and understanding husband.
• my beautiful daughter.
• getting the chance to meet my gorgeous sons.
• having almost 20 years with my Jake.
• being brought up in a family where being together signified the most fun of all.
• scoring the best Mum and Dad anyone could ever have.
• having so many brothers and sisters.
• my health.
• belonging to a culture where peace is foremost and acceptance is the norm.
• having so many relations.
• my resilience.
• my sense of humour
• the health of my husband and daughter.

I'm thankful!!

"SHADOW"

I have been looking up information on insects today, prior to teaching the kids at school a bit about these fascinating creatures.
My favourite would have to be the stick insect. They are amazing in their ability to blend so well with their environment and to look exactly like the twigs and leaves that surround them. They feel all tingly on your skin when they crawl up and down your arm and some of them have really big, bubbly eyes that peer endlessly.
But, the thing that most appeals is that their shape reminds me of the shadow given off by a tall, handsome, gangly young lad with a big smile and a big heart! My son!!

"WHAT YOU READ"

I am reading a series of books called "A Song of Ice and Fire". It is a five volume series and I am only halfway through Book Two.
These books have really sucked me in but they are completely different to the stuff I usually read. They are set in ancient times with servants and slaves and kingdoms marching to war against each other with their banners held high. There are seven kingdoms in all but the lead kingdom is ruled by a cruel boy who, unbeknownst to himself and many from the other kingdoms, is a bastard, so he is not the rightful heir.
There is magic and dragons interwoven into the plot so it is really different but I am enjoying the story development. It took me a while to work out the storyline as there are so many main characters and the chapters are told from different perspectives.
I love it when a book sucks me in so these holidays have been most enjoyable!!

"THIS HAPPENED TODAY"

Well, we've done it!!
We've decided on two things today.
We have organised all the panels, etc for our solar electricity and we have decided to accept the quote we got for curtains and blinds in the lounge room, the family room and our bedroom.
I haven't signed on the dotted lines yet but that will be done tomorrow!
There is really nothing wrong with the curtains we have but they are so out of date. The family room is currently all floral, the lounge room is a lilac colour and the bedroom has a grey floral on one window and nothing on the new window.
So, I have ordered neutral coloured drapes for the family room and Venetian blinds for the front room and our bedroom.
I think I am most excited about the blinds in the front room as they will give the room a totally different look. I hope it's a good one!
As for the solar panels, my main hope is that our electricity bills are drastically reduced!!
It's all happening here!!

"LUNCHTIME"

Most of my lunchtimes are dictated by the ringing of a bell. Sound familiar?
Yes, teachers are as well trained as Pavlov's dog!!
He was conditioned to salivate on the ringing of a bell. I'm not sure that I actually salivate but when that bell rings at 1:30pm I am usually well and truly ready to eat.
I'm not a big sandwich person so if there are no leftovers from the night before my lunch will usually be rice or corn cakes with cheese and tomatoes or something similar.
For John, lunchtime is whenever he can get a few spare minutes to eat.
Maybe he needs a bell?!!

"WHERE YOU STOOD"

Today I stood at the back door and looked at all the new spring growth on the trees and shrubs in our garden.
The maple trees have got shiny pink and green leaves on them. The rhododendron has giant pink flowers on it. The fruit trees are in blossom and the weeping birch has bright green leaves all over it. The magnolia has almost finished flowering and there are new leaves bursting out of their jackets. And my favourite tree of all, the Forest Pansy, has got it's first dark pink blossom just forming.
From where I stood I could see these spring heralds and I could hear the water in our new water feature as it trickled from the top bowl down to the bottom.
It's a lovely garden! Not our doing but very soothing and VERY therapeutic!