One More Departure Post

As she left on her great adventure, Himself and I were both impressed by the send off she received. In this age of disposable technology, superficial facebook style friendships and deteriorating values it was heartening to see a whole bunch of her friends come to see her off.

It speaks to the regard they have for her.

Another couple turned up shortly afterwards.

(I know. Do not ask me what they are wearing. It is some kind of fashion statement.)

And even though her flight was delayed by 40 minutes and she had to check her bags through gate 13 (!!!!!!)............

......there were still a sizeable group remaining  by the time she eventually made it down the gangway.

Even Himself, that inveterate avoider of all things emotional, came; although he claimed it was to support me (that works too).

And after she'd gone, the kids walked and chatted to us as we made that long, desolate walk back to the car park. I gotta say, Smirnoff aside, they are a nice bunch.

So it has been two weeks now since she left. People keep asking if I miss her and it's a strange question. She has spent a lot of time away from me since we got back to Australia in 2003 and she first went interstate to spend a week with her dad. After that first traumatic trip as an unaccompanied minor she took to the whole process like a duck to water and rarely looked back.

Which is exactly as it should be.

I am so proud of her independent spirit and her gutsy 'have a go' attitude. On the other hand, I am exceptionally grateful for facebook, Viber and Skype and the messages she sends me at 3 in the morning when she is awake and wavering over 'crucial' decisions. I love the emoticons that arrive randomly and the pouting selfie she sends when we have been accidentally disconnected...

This trip echoes the one I took in 1978 at a similar age. Every excitement, frustration and anxiety she experiences brings back a wealth of memories for me. I know I came back from my 9 months overseas with a far greater appreciation of my life here in Australia. I wonder how the BA will reflect on this time in years to come?

No more departure posts now.......

Travellin' Twice The Speed of Sound

 I help her with her suitcase

 She stands before my eyes

 Driving her to the airport

And to the friendly skies

Going through security

I held her for so long

She finally looked at me and loved

And she was gone

Crosby Stills and Nash

Taken by The Baby Angel from the tarmac, looking back at us. This was just before we all simultaneously, without a word, raised our hands and waved. I wish she had caught that picture. 

That was a sight to remember.

(Me and Himself third from left)

Saturday at Mount Wilson

Blondie is a friend from my Alma Mater days. A country girl, a boarder and a key player in many parts of my life, she lived for many years on a station west of Broken Hill but, in the face of continuing drought and an exodus of people from properties all around them, she and her husband decided to sell up and move closer to Adelaide, rainwater and a decent social life.

They have a magnificent property overlooking the coast with cows, olive trees, some grape vines and a hangar for the aircraft they're in the process of building. Yes, you heard me! Mr Blondie is a pilot and keen collector of World War 2 transport memorabilia. He has the plans for a Spitfire and has recently imported a genuine 1947 US Army Jeep but in his shed he is building a light aircraft. Once complete they plan to fly around the country at their leisure!
Alright for some :-)


On Saturday we were up at their place for a barbeque when one of the guests announced that he had to 'fly'. Literally.

A mob of them walked him up to the airstrip.

 I stayed back at the house with another couple and tried out the zoom on my new PAS camera.

Here's the wide angle shot....

And here's the zoom....

Before I could get too cocky, the throb of the engine told us that departure was imminent. I readied my lens...

  Brilliant huh? Oh well, I did get it in frame as it disappeared into the distance. 

Don't think I'll be giving up my day job any time soon.

Here's the Fingers of God breaking through the clouds later in the day after a walk which nearly killed me. There are bloody big hills on their property!

Oh and here's a shot of Blondie being the perfect hostess, doing what every modern farmer's wife does well, loading the dish washer!

On a completely separate note: here's my new office at Himself's work. Yes indeed, once a week on my day off from school, I will be a fully fledged member of the company, charged with paying bills, filing and keeping the books in order! I am pleased to report that I have filed all those piles of paper you can see on the desk.

I am sure they won't be the last.

Are We HAWT???????

Spot the old lady amongst the young 'uns at the Formal last Tuesday night!
(Why are upper arms such a give away?????)
In moving schools I am going to miss this group of talented, enthusiastic party teachers.
From left to right: Dance, Drama, English/Hist, PE, Teacher Librarian/IT, Maths, German.

Short But Very Sweet

The visit of my Middle Sister has raced by and we are alas once more bereft of her chiming laughter and sunny face.

After a frenzied day of shopping on Friday, we had to say a quick farewell to those friends we could (although many went unseen on this all too short visit) and dash to the airport on Saturday morning.


We had enough time for a cup of coffee in the beautiful Spring sunshine however and for Sis to exclaim in delight as a pair of lorikeets wheeled and spun between the blossoming trees in our dear friend's garden.
"Get a picture!" she squealed and I spent the next 10 minutes trying to get close enough to them without scaring them away! This was the best I could manage.



It's been a short but wonderful trip as it coincided with school holidays and meant we could spend most of our time together. The Baby Angel has revelled in the company of her hip, groovy aunt; and benefited from her generosity and fashionista purchases!!! (see below for new jacket!)


It's no cakewalk living so far from your loved ones and for our dear friends, whom we have known since childhood, every trip 'could be the last time'. We brush away such sombre thoughts on a bright, spring morning and instead make plans for Middle Sis's next visit in January!

Bloody Ebay

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I lost my overlocker in the last 10 seconds of the auction. Small Boy was by my side and giving me advice on the way.
"30 seconds to go...now you can get worried A"
"OK should I up my maxi,mum bid now?"
"Put it up to $100.00"
"oooo I don't know...that might give too much away, I can just put a max in and be ready to press the button.."
"you should refresh every 10 secs"
"OK"
..............

"Alright Small Boy, we're down to the last 5 secs....OMG I'VE LOST IT.....
"Quick....up your max! I TOLD you to go to $100"
"OK but OMG I"VE PRESSED THE WRONG BUTTON...."
"QUICK QUICK............."


Too late.

I think I may have sworn.

My highest bid was $98.89 and she won it for $102.50 :-(

I say 'she' of course. I just can't imagine men bidding on overlockers although I guess it must happen.

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I have other news to share about a job offer but I'm off to see A Free Family in this disgusting heat so that will have to wait. The Small Boy and his Dad have left for sailing and No2 Son was dragged out of bed too. He is sailing with last year's champion this year so he is feeling pretty good about himself. Last week they won and Himself and Small Boy came second!

I shall have to come up with some 'names' for their boats so I can report race results more quickly, with less key strokes that is.

Hmmmmm.....let's call them....

Jester: Skipper; Himself, Crew; The Small Boy
Gunshot: Skipper; Dee, Crew: No 2 Son
The Other One: the main competition..previous State Champion.

Right. Off to commiserate my ebay loss with The Free Family!

SOOC Sunday: We're Just Wild About 'Not Max'

Hello!
This is baby 'Not Max'. That is because his name WAS Max....and now it's not. You know how it happens.
Anyway, the BA took this with my old PAS and as a result it is imperfect in just about every way except that you can see Not Max and he has no red-eye. Yay!
He's pretty beefy for a newborn but still easy to cuddle and the spit of his big brother, Boy Z.
Speaking of whom, here is another SOOC effort, mine this time. That's one happy big bro.
Congratulations again to A Free Family. Thanks so much for having us to tea the other night and letting us have a cuddle of your newest member. Sure beats cuddling you AFM. Hahahahahahahaha! Just kidding :-D

Melody at Slurping Life hosts Straight Out Of Camera Saturday (or Sunday). The only rules are that the images are not to be cropped or processed in any way. Click over and have a look around. Join in by all means!

Because She's Going To The Chapel...er well ...the parklands actually.

Is that one happy bride to be?
As some of you know, my Bestie of many, many years, is getting married again in November. She has been on a weight loss regime to fit into a fabulous dress and yesterday was the appointed day for seeing 'what was out there'. She had a vague idea of what she wanted but she was willing to be open minded and see what suited.

We started the day with a 9am champagne breakfast at a swish restaurant on the east side of Adelaide. There were eight of us: Bestie and her mum of course, the BA and I, three other close girlfriends, one from as far back as school days and the Bestie's cousin. Our instructions were to be brutally honest up until the point that she was a quivering wreck because nothing looked right, after which we had to reassure her that she looked fabulous. Pretty straight forward really.

We hit the first shop like a whirlwind. Like my Bestie and I, her friends and family are nothing if not vocal and voluble however, the staff were unfazed. Bestie announced her need, her colour choices and her desire for a dress which could be 'worn again'. Rather than laughing us off of the red velvet settee, the ladies selected two or three faaabulous and voluminous 'frocks' and the Bestie tried them on.

Meanwhile several of the party were combing the racks for something for the BA and I. My choices were limited as the other witness already has her fabulous dress and we have decided to link together through colour. The BA's choices were limited by me.

"No, too old. Too short. Too black. Too see through. Too sophisticated. Nope. Nope. No. No. No."
But then with a smile, "Here, what about this nice pink, chiffon number?"
"MU-U-U-UM!!!!!!!"

Back at the massive, velvet cutained change room, the Bestie had a second dress on (the first having been summarily dismissed!). We gathered for a viewing.

Wow. Pretty stunning!

Could it be done in the unusual (for a wedding anyway) colour choice? Yes. The fabric? Yes. The time frame?????????
Phew, don't look so worried Bestie, they could squeak it in on this particular style although most others in the shop took 6 weeks to order.

So everything was looking good. Even the price was not completely out of the question!
Alright, maybe some people thought it was out of the question :-)

Meanwhile, back in the bridal party section I had tried on what could only be described as a 'matronly' number. The support group were horrified. "What are you thinking?" squealed the Cousin, "we need to sex you up!!!!!!"

I will admit to being a little disturbed by the prospect but in the spirit of keeping an open mind I agreed to try a little black dress on.I was pleasantly surprised. Of course I had to take my glasses off so perhaps I wasn't seeing clearly but no, everyone assured me it looked lovely. And the price was also not out of the question! Amazing. It was still only 11.00am.

(note glasses hidden behind my back)

But we are seasoned shoppers. We know not to fall at the first hurdle and so it was on to other shops to see what else was on offer. Not a lot as it turns out!!

Having decided pretty much that our first stop was the best, we spent a bit of time trying things on the BA who has a small but crucial role in the proceedings. I didn't get a photo of the dress we loved on her but it doesn't matter because with a price tag of $550 she wasn't getting it anyway! At least we have a style in mind however and I will probably end up making her something once The Musical frenzy is over.

And so onto lunch.

What a lovely day we had; all girls together in the spring sunshine. There's nothing like a wedding to lift everyone's spirits. The Bestie's mum whom we all adore kept us entertained with stories of her own wedding and how much things had changed since her day. I wonder whether I will be a calm and collected mother of the bride when it is my turn?

It's Diggers!!!!!!!!

See yesterday's post :-D



A healthy boy for A Free Man, Dr O'C and Boy Z! The name is still in question having changed overnight but I can tell you he was a healthy 9lb +!!

Can't wait to see him.

Meanwhile: on top of all the musical chaos, they are recarpeting our wing of the school on Friday which means we have to pack up our classrooms and our office tomorrow. Great. Just what I need right now. Oh and I have an overdue submission which I had hoped they were not worried about but which they now need immediately (of course) to do by the weekend.
Great.
And we're meant to be dress shopping for the Bestie's wedding. :-(

The Waiting Game

I am so excited...Dr O'C the long suffering partner of A Freeman is in labour!!!!!!!!!
We are waiting with bated breath! The BA and I (and AFM if the truth be known) are hoping for a girl. I have my embroidery needle handy, ready to start on the baby vests once I know whether it's roses or diggers!!!!!

Things You Learn At A Quiz Night: 2009 version

As I've mentioned before, my Bestie runs a charity. Last year the quiz night was a great success and lots of fun but we only came 4th. THIS year we had Himself, AFM and Dr O'C , Kindergarten Friend and his beautiful partner The Railway Girl, The Bestie's Mum and Dad and The Gay American (yes, he does have a name but several times at the Quiz Night the MC (Mumford) referred to him as The Gay American and so he shall be). The Baby Angel and Small Boy also added their expertise and believe me there were times we needed it! The net result? SECOND!!!!!!

I am so excited about this because part way through the night we were coming a very sorry middle of the pack indeed!.

So what did I learn THIS time? (Get ready trivia buffs...)

The dingo was the first non-native animal introduced to Australia.

Our Deputy Prime-Minister's partner is a hairdresser!

The four faces on Mt Rushmore are: Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson and Roosevelt (Teddy)
(Thanks AFM and GTA)

The faunal emblem of South Australia is the Hairy Nosed Wombat

There are 5 verses in the Australian National Anthem. (who knew???)
(Thanks TGA)

The first overseas flight of Qantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service) was to Singapore.

The first drive in bottle shop in Australia opened in 1953!!

The No 1 song of the Hottest 100 Hits for 2009 was...The Kings of Leon: Sex on Fire.
(Thanks BA)

Australia has 115 species of venomous snakes.

Tenzin Gyatso is otherwise known as The Delai Lama. (Thanks again TGA)

Our former Prime Minister Paul Keating once managed a rock band known as The Ram Rods.

So, lots of new information there! There were a couple of disputed questions however. To begin with they asked where the three major Australian railways met up and gave the answer as 'Quorn'. Now our table had specified 'Port Augusta' with a fair degree of confidence and, since some of us had lived in Quorn in the past, we (they) were a little surprised at the result.

Bestie's Dad was adamant that the trains had not run into Quorn since 1985 and Railway Girl, who works for said railways, assured us that the National Office for something or other was being built at Port Augusta precisely because all three railway lines met there!!Well apparently we weren't the only table to be surprised and a little skeptical at the answer. So many people disputed the call that there was some quick wireless googling (I assume) and the answer was revised to Port Augusta or Crystal Brook! Apparently there's more than one place where the railways meet today! Good result anyway. One more point for us.

Not so satisfactory was the outcome on the disputed name of the eldest member of The Jacksons! Having been a really saddo fan of the Jackson Five circa 1973, I very quickly supplied the answer to this question. Of course, Jackie was the eldest member of the Jacksons, the others being Jermain, Tito, Marlon and Michael. Our table seemed a little suspicious of my answer. Perhaps 'Jackie' seemed a little too obvious? Regardless; I knew I was right. I mean, a fan is a fan and I had read plenty of those hideous fan magazines which detailed every known fact about each member of the group from their star sign to their favourite colour and shoe size. Jackie it is!

Imagine my surprise, nay horror, as they announced that the eldest member of the Jacksons was Jerome!!!!!!!!! Jerome?????????? Who the f*** is Jerome?????????????

Now I had to admit here that somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that Jackie's real name was not actually Jackie, in the same way that Tito's was actually 'Toriano', but for the life of me I couldn't remember what it was. Maybe it was Jerome? Regardless, he was well known as Jackie and if it came to choosing the correct member of the group I was certain I had done that! Imagine my outrage then when our answer sheet came back marked incorrect!!

Down to the judging table I marched but to no avail. According to the judges 'he now calls himself Jerome' and that was all that mattered. No points baby!! By now my whole table were in mocking mode. 'Jackie' bwahahahah! As IF!!!!!!

You know that white hot knot of fury and injustice that burns when you KNOW you are right and no-one will listen? It's a feeling I remember distinctly from my childhood and the flavour has not improved with age and 'maturity', hem hem.

Back at home I was immediately onto Google. Was my childhood an illusion? Had Jackie Jackson existed only in my age demented imagination??

By the first hit I was exonerated! But we all know that Wikipedia is anything but reliable so I tried a few other sources.....

HA!!!!

Not ONLY was Jackie definitely the oldest member of the Jacksons, but his given name was NOT Jerome...it was Sigmund!!!!!! In fact, Googling Jerome Jackson gave me some little known jazz crooner who had absolutely nothing to do with the famous Jackson Five family!!!!!

Sweet moral high ground.

OK so the extra point would not have made any difference to the final score but at least I was vindicated. You bet I emailed all the links to everyone who was on our table. :-D


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By the way: A belated happy Birthday shout out to my Bestie's Beloved, Mr Mumford! Was great to see everybody there on Saturday, celebrating you. :-)

image credits

quiz night

indian pacific

jackie jackson

'Share a Plate': A Free Man Style

Fantastic dinner last Sunday, over at A Free Man's place where we met two new Adelaide bloggers. OK, they are actually American bloggers IN Adelaide but, whatever.

I took some nice photos but in the interests of privacy I won't post them.

I have no compunction about posting pictures of Boy Z though. Firstly, his father posts enough that he is well known web wide, secondly, as his father also points out, he is a damn fine looking kid! He seems to be getting over his visceral fear of my very visage but his real crush is the Baby Angel. He was all over her! Laughing, squealing, chasing her and running away. They got settled under the stairs playing with this toy and I'm not sure the BA realised what a picture she presented to those of us walking upstairs! I took this shot from between the open steps.

(photo of the BA's builder's bum removed by request)

(heh heh heh)


She may kill me for that later.....or soooner!!!!

We ate well, as you always do at Chez Freeman/O'C. I didn't get a photo of Himself's gorgeous antipasto platter or AFM's delicious duck gumbo, but I recovered myself enough to take this one of the multi dessert offering.

That's a superb mixed berry cobbler from the good Dr (O'C), a sensational apple pie US style (although I argue it can't be a pie by definition if it doesn't have pastry cover...so then what is it?) and down the very end there...a home made pavlova by moi: banana, passionfruit and grated chocolate atop cream and a baked meringue. I would have added strawberries too but it was kind of a last minute decision to make it (cheesecake was going to take too long to set) and I didn't have any.

So a great night was had by all (I think...but then I didn't have to do the washing up). Amazing the experiences this bloggy world provides.

Great to meet you girls, and your delightful husbands. Too bad my anti social one was working. Again >:-(

Still he assures me this weekend will be work free.

SOOC Saturday: The Kiss

Congratulations to my Bestie and her Beloved as they celebrated their engagement last Saturday. They would stand there with all that light behind them wouldn't they?

Things I would do with this photo if I processed it? Well, firstly crop out the corner of the water feature and Uncle B's elbow and as much of that hideous brick wall as I could, then I would hit 'auto adjust'!!! Really, I have no clue about these things. Layers, gamma levels, opacity, dodging and burning; the very terms make me hyperventilate. I know I should just ask Himself but like any professional he is less than tolerant if you don't pick something up quickly and he also assumes a lot of prior knowledge that I suspect I lack!

Ah to have the skills of Melody and her ilk. Still, pop over to Slurping Life for SOOC Saturday and see what their photos look like 'before' as well.

Theme Thursday: Gifts

What price a gift?

The icing of a wedding cake by a dear friend and mentor.



A housewarming gift made by her own hands.

A 'bunny rug', also handmade, which still rests, neatly folded now, by the pillow of that not so little girl.

Yesterday we lost a dear friend. Far too soon as is always the way. We'd been praying for miracles but finally the only blessing was that the very end was brief and hopefully peaceful.

I once got to give her a gift.


We were living in the Australian Alps, the Snowy Mountains, back in 1992 when the BA's dad proposed. Away from family we began planning our wedding; themes, colours, flowers.....the whole catastrophe*. She had already adopted us, put up with our histrionics and gathered us into the bosom her her close knit family. With her myriad creative gifts she was called upon as a style consultant and of course, quickly offered her services when we needed a personal touch.

Her first contribution was handpainting the invitations. She followed this by handpainting the orders of service and creating the cake.

And she loved ducks.

She had ducks, real ones, and she had longed for a cast iron weathervane in the shape of a mother duck and her ducklings which she had seen in a magazine. It was made in England.
I made a call to Mum.

My lovely mother carried that cast iron weathervane in the bottom of her suitcase all the way from the UK so we could present it to our beloved friend at our wedding. There may have been issues with excess weight :-) but she carried it. On many occasions after that I would feel a twinge of delight as I saw the dark silouhettes of the mallard family shivering in the Alpine wind.

And now she's gone. I'll never hear her calm voice on the end of the phone again; her delighted laugh at my erratic intensity or her gentle wisdom. There'll be no more quilts now.

But what a gift she gave us while she was here.




To see what other Gifts there are to share: check out Theme Thursday at Cheese Party.