Selamat siang from Me and Mister C…

We say selamat siang, hello in the unique language of Indonesian, from the beautiful country of Indonesia. Naturally, I had to look this country up (yay for the internet), to find out more and what makes this country so distinct. After googling Indonesia, I found out that there are wonderful trails to hike, is home to world’s largest (and smelliest) flower, and it’s the perfect place for the ultimate island-hopping adventure, the archipelago is a snorkeler’s paradise; you can also visit both hemispheres in one country, the capital is in the top ten of most Instagrammed cities and you can meet a real dragon! https://www.intrepidtravel.com/adventures/indonesia-facts/… As I was typing out this information (phew- a lot of googling there), I gasped in wonder and called out to Mister C, about meeting a real dragon (knowing just how much he loves these creatures). He jumped up and said, ‘We have to go visit, right now, Mummy!” This country was one of the highest group of visitors to our website and blog this last month; it looks like we must go visit very soon?! We say a big thank-you to everyone who visited and read our blogs, in particular Indonesia this week. If you have any feedback or ideas on how we can improve our site, or a particular topic to chat about, please let us know in the comments section at the bottom of the blog site (we love comments!).

Well, today is the last day of the school holidays for the girls and Mister C, along with other children in our region (phew, can you hear my sighs!). I have to admit, these holidays have gone quite a bit slower than most other previous school breaks in the past (not really sure why?); the girls have had a good rest and break, ready to tackle the next term of high school. Mister C grumbled when I said it was his last day of home-joy fun this morning; he then groaned and said, “Why do I have to go to school tomorrow, Mummy? It’s the middle of the week, why bother? I can just stay home for the rest of the week and go back next week!?” I commented it would be nice to see his friends and then I asked him to clean up ALL the ‘Lego’, that has been lying around the entire house (in pockets everywhere) the past weeks. Mister C grumbled again, then turned and smiled at me, “It’s a good thing I love you, Mummy; otherwise, I wouldn’t do any work and no cleaning at all!” (What a cheeky boy).

We commemorated our Anzac and War Veterans yesterday, with the acknowledgement and remembrance of our national Anzac Day in our beloved country. In previous years on several occasions (before having children), I braved the (often cold) early morning to attend the Dawn Service, in the particular city of the time. These occasions were indeed very special with watching the glorious sunrise, while remembering our loved ones who had fallen while fighting the wars to keep us all safe. I remember my grandparents (on my mother’s side) who both fought in World War II; while Husband remembers his dear dad and Grandad who also served in their countries (USA and Australia), with other close family and friends who have also served their countries- ‘Lest we forget’…

I had also arranged to see my dear sister and family in Sydney yesterday (love you C & J.M); my niece had flown back down from QLD, where she had recently moved for her new job (love you Z.M- so proud!). It was a great opportunity to catch up with the whole family, and give my niece a nice gift for graduating Uni and obtaining her dream job, all the while moving states (wow!). I took both the girls up with me, Husband spent the day with Mister C and in the evening, even made him their ‘man dinner’ consisting of nuggets and mac cheese (yum!). Widy had agreed to drive up (so nice) and I would drive back in my car. The entire trip up we heard some wonderful music playing (on the radio) and spoken words from veterans and their families, who had attended the forces and previous conflicts; it was so heart-warming to hear their stories and the sacrifices that were made, thank-you! Our hearts still go out to the thousands of people and families, who are being affected by the conflict in Ukraine; we hope you are staying safe and are able to be with family and friends over this difficult time.

We have had some crazy turbulent weather mid-last week in our local town area; driving around town the following day, we noticed many fallen trees (sadly-at least fifty) had been damaged or completely uprooted by the strong winds and rain. Thankfully, we did not hear of any personal injuries during this bad weather, but some damage noted to a friend’s place from a fallen tree and other structural issues, near the skate park and Adventure Playground area (so bad-sorry). I noticed there was much debris on the ground around our property, from the shaken trees and small broken branches; I later checked that our chook girls were alright too, they were a bit shaken- but okay (thankfully). That afternoon, I spoke with Husband about the two dead gum trees (and possibly more big branches) on our property, that should be removed to avoid any issues from future bad weather (likely to still happen over the Winter months), or any potential injuries to one of us, or the children (heaven forbid). Husband and I agreed to take down the smaller gum closest to the house (good firewood too) on Sunday. We had the right equipment and agreed the tree was small, if the tree was large, of course we would have arranged the tree professionals first. Having had a good breakfast, we then prepared ourselves with protective gear, including gloves, hats and goggles and full-length clothing (bug spray too), then proceeded to plan the removal of the tree.

Things don’t always go to plan in our world, particularly when it comes to unpredictable tall trees; we ended up having to remove another (live) branch for the neighbouring gum tree, in order for the dead branches to become untwined and fall down safely. Unfortunately, the other branch was longer (and bushier), it fell down and crashed onto the front wooden fence at the top of our yard! (Ooops!). Flossy and Mister C were looking on from a safe distance, both gasped in wonder, while Husband and I started giggling (I guess in relief- the dead tree was no longer standing); both of us breathing heavily and exhausted; Husband dripping with sweat down his face from all the chain-sawing and axe work (well done love!). We managed to get the other dead branches down safely and Husband sawed up one of the dead branches for firewood; while I managed to repair the fence (was only superficial damage). I have to add, this morning, both Husband and I have complained of aching arms and upper bodies from all the hard work we did do; maybe we should have left it to the professionals after all!

A Word from Mister C…

“Hi, Mummy!” Mister C said as he hopped into bed for a morning hug. “Wow, there was a lot of wind and rain last night,” I said smiling; “It rocked the house for sure!” Mister C nodded and replied, “Well, you know, Mummy, I am an air-bender! I can move trees and when I wave my arms, the trees and bushes all move at the same time. I must have moved many trees last night in my sleep!” Giggling and then giving Mister C a kiss on the forehead, I said, “Wow, my son, you are a pretty cool air-bender then!” Both giggled…🌴🌳

Stay tuned…

For other zanier stories from Mister C and Me. Mister C and the girls return back to school, while Husband unfortunately has some car trouble and decides to call NRMA and receives some (rather strange) help…

A little housekeeping… I have uploaded two images from the stores where our books are now available for purchase, check out these fabulous stores in ACT and Goulburn NSW. If able, take some time out and grab your copy of one, or all of our books. I have one more booked stall event at Jamison Markets on Sunday 15th May, for those who are not able to come up to Goulburn, come along for a chat about our books and soak up the wonderful atmosphere.

I have been asked to provide parent/teacher notes to go with our first four books. For the already printed version of our author copies, I have created a neat sticker with an abbreviated version of the notes, of which I am happy to provide with each book. With some guidance (thanks all) I have completed an extended version of these notes and have now created a new drop-down box for the notes, under the heading: ‘Parent/teacher notes for Mister C books’. Please check out the notes, any questions please contact Me via email: ingledlie@gmail.com 🙃