We say hello in Turkish this week! We have had several readers coming through from the unique and ancient country of Turkey; we say Selam (the informal hello) and welcome to our blog. Naturally, I had to look the country up (thankful for the internet); Turkey exports many goods and materials to other countries, and has numerous vast resources (https://www.roughguides.com). I didn’t know they take care of at least seventy five percent of the world’s hazelnut exports! Turkey is also known for its unique landmarks and geological rock formations, great food, tea and of course kebabs (Flossy’s favourite- so yum!). We all look forward to exploring our wonderous world at some point in the near future again…
Well, our electrician friend was finally able to come by last week (thanks heaps T.G), and finish most of the work to our extension, (yay we have power to all our bedrooms and our outdoor gate now!). Widy was most excited to finally have working lights and power points, the rain was a bit of a downer, where the outdoor sensor light and auto gate was not able to be completed yet (soon hopefully- before Xmas?). As I write this blog, I have just packed away my trusty step ladder, remaining paint tins and finished washing up the brushes- no more painting left for me, all done and dusted (until next time, hopefully in twelve months). I am (so) pleased the work is now complete, my left wrist has been suffering with mild carpal tunnel issues and my shoulders are aching this week (I try not to complain too much!). I can now take a step back and have rest (managed to grab a wonderful massage yesterday- thanks!); then next week I can (secretly) take a moment to admire all the work (the final reward?).
With all the rain at present (over one hundred mls for us in the past week showing in our water gauge), I am hoping the garden is now well and truly soaked, but worry that our many trees may be too drenched? We don’t want any of our beautiful big grey gums falling down again… Mister C grew tired of all the rain (like most of us) and complained he was bored and wanted to go outside. He rugged up in his dark blue dressing gown (I know!) and was happy to run around outside in between the rain, finding some baby snails and lizards in and around the rocks. He has reminded us all (every day) that it is his birthday very soon. Husband was able to rebook his and Mister C’s flights to QLD for mid-December to take Mister C to see his Uncle and Cousins. Husband will be taking Mister C to ACT over the coming weekend (his actual birthday), to see his Grandparents and go to the new ‘Lego’ shop in the Canberra City Mall ‘Canberra Centre’ (how exciting!), as a treat instead of travelling to QLD as planned (thanks again Covid!). It is wonderful to see Mister C growing up and looking forward to turning the big nine. We are so very proud of you, Mister C- our zany red-headed son! Husband thinks in the same way our two older daughters no longer wanted to hold his hand in public at age nine, in that Mister C will soon follow that tradition!
Alright, here we go…This is our last blog from 2020 (is it done and dusted yet?); now mid-September, the weather was warming up (slowly) and most restrictions had eased in our local area, with much media discussion about a possible new covid-19 vaccines being approved for all people across the world for ages over sixteen (things were looking up?). Husband commented, “What a freaky year it has been with the Covid-19 situation. There have been no cases in the ACT for over two months -yay! No cases in our town for even longer than that, which is great. I heard on the radio this morning, that as early as March 2021 a vaccine could be ready to roll out to all Australians!”
Widy had been discussing getting a casual part-time job and wanted to apply at one of the local Macca’s outlets in town; Husband and I were indeed surprised (and a bit annoyed) that the salary was a paltry ten dollars an hour. Anyway, Widy diligently organised the application on line and I helped her with some of the questions and Husband helped to write her (short) first C.V. A week or so later, Widy excitedly rang me from home and saying she had received a phone call from one of the Macca’s managers, asking Widy to come in for an interview (how exciting!). Widy did very well at her interview (I went for moral support) and was able to hand in all the information needed to go with the training. I recall it did take several weeks for Widy to start her orientation program at the outlet, but Widy did very well and we were super proud of her getting her first job at fifteen and half years of age. The next step was for Widy to go for her Learner’s permit, so she could start learning to drive (oh, Widy was growing up fast). I have to admit, it was a bit much for me to take in all at once, Widy had just got her job now she wanted to drive on her own (slow down sweetheart?). Widy assured me she had completed the online Learner’s test many times and had passed it, saying, “She was ready!” So, I managed to book a time in for her to go down to the service centre and sit the test (with me of course- more moral support!). As written already in a previous blog, her second test was a winner and the driving lessons thus began…
We managed to get down to our happy place at Burrill Lake (South Coast) for a quick break (so nice!). The weather wasn’t great, but of course we weren’t going to let that get us down and made the most of it; walking along the beautiful beach and lake, playing mini golf, all of us making fools of ourselves on the jumping pillow and having some quality time together. Husband commented, “Went to Burrill Lake nights of 6th and 7th October, was lovely but weather was a bit too cool and light rain most of the time. Went to the pool and walked on the beach, went to Funland and did a fun disco (with fun prizes). I went to the local club on the second night and won some cashola, giving Wife and kids some notes to share.”
Late October, I am working hard on completing my second book manuscript and discuss with Husband about finding a new format designer closer to home (last one was in the USA!). I managed to search the internet, finding a great firm in ACT who were happy to meet and discuss my book plans and format ideas. It was wonderful to actually meet the team in person and have a good chat about my creative ideas. Afterwards, it was all set (contract signed) to produce my second book and to also later revise our first book (which was a bit of a disaster with blurry image and poor typesetting). Husband was a bit miffed about the overall costs for the formatting and printing and commented, “I guess it is wonderful that Wife is following her dream and she does love it all, and in the long run the coasts are not that much to spend over a couple of months, at least fifty percent of which we will get back (eventually!).” It was a very busy (and at times stressful) time, but in the end the two books were produced and looked amazing (I was so humbled); as you may also see on our blog site!
Now mid-November, Mister C was soon turning the great eight. Due to ongoing Covid cases and issues, we decided to do a small party for Mister C and invite his two best friends over for the afternoon. Mister C was super excited to have his friends over and he made cool invite to give to his friends at school (yay!). Mister C wanted to have a dress-up ‘superhero’ and shark puppet party and go to the local park for a while too (sounds fun huh?). Thankfully both boys could make it over and was a great fun afternoon; the boys had a lot of fun and played well together. Husband also commented, “Mister C’s birthday party was pretty good, but glad the two lads were only over for four hours (were all a bit noisy). Wife made an awesome cake; Mister C got the biggest ‘Lego’ box he has ever seen and built it in over six hours in over two days (go Mister C, go!).
After waiting an extra month and having to change flights, Husband soon heads off to QLD to see his Bro and family early December; I was able to take the girls up to Sydney to spend some quality time with my sister and her family, with my niece turning the big twenty-one as well (yay Z.M!). Husband final comments, “Trip to see Bro in sunny Gold Coast was excellent! Flight was on time and I had an empty seat next to me, Bro picked me up from the airport and we had a pleasant drive back to his place. We stayed up chatting in garage and listening to good music till 130am!” I also arrange our third book launch, but the weather was crazy windy and we ended up just going back to our place for drinks, food and good company (selling some books along the way). The silly season was soon upon us (again), it came as quickly as we all opened our gifts, that were tucked under our bright and happy green (fake) tree… The rest is now history…
A Word from Mister C…
Husband and I were going away overnight for our twelfth wedding anniversary, earlier in the year (before ‘lockdown’). Mister C was in the lounge room and heard us talking about our plans for the weekend. “What’s an anniversary, Dad?” Mister C asked, as he stood up spinning around Dad. “Oh hi, my son. It’s a special date or an event that adults like to celebrate,” Dad replied, smiling. “Oh, like when you and Mummy were married?” … “Yes, my son, that’s right.” Mister C then jumped up to Dad for hugs and said smiling, “Oh, I wish I had been there for your wedding, it did look likes heaps of fun. I was only in Mummy’s mind way back then!” …😏
Stay tuned…
For lots more blog stories in real-time (current day). I asked Mister C and the girls if they thought we should re-cap some stories from the beginning of 2021; they all said a resounding, “NO”! So, that topic now sorted, I will most likely add a few special anecdotes from Mister C (and the family); while get straight into it over the holiday season (sounds like fun huh?) … Wonderful news, our fourth book author copies arrived on our door step yesterday- so very exciting! I feel this IS our best book yet (and my favourite); being our fourth book production, I hoped it would be a good one with our prior experiences combined with much creative love poured into the book. Our book events at the local library are coming up next week (am I ready?!); we say thank-you to everyone who has been involved with the planning of the events (including the family). We so look forward to seeing all those bright little faces and parents very soon… Hugs Mister C🌈
It is always a pleasure to read these stories about MisterC and his family!
Thanks for having Mister C and his Dad over to your place on the weekend, they had fun!… Hugs Me and Mister C 🧁