A busy weekend ...

I was supposed to have a quiet weekend at home by myself as Gus was heading to Adelaide to see the first day of the Ashes Series Australia v England but things changed ....

Sadly, my dear old uncle (my Mum’s eldest brother) passed away at the grand old age of 93 (nearly making it to his 94th on 20th December) and also a friends mother passed away and their funerals were last Thursday (in Millicent) and Friday (Uncle Ray’s in Adelaide).   

I made my way to Adelaide on Thursday, straight after the funeral so I’d be there for the funeral on Friday morning.  Thundery weather followed me all the way...

It was a privilege to hear Uncle Ray’s family speak of the gentleman he was.  The minister of the church said that you rarely find someone in this world who doesn’t have an enemy of any kind and that was Ray, loved and respected by all who knew him.  He lived his long life to the fullest, sadly losing his wife Phylis in 2015 but surrounded by his loving family until the end.  RIP Uncle Ray...
We had lunch with all of his family and it was nice to catch up with our 4 cousins and their kids and grand kids.

On Saturday, Brianna wanted a few succulents so we potted a couple up...

The little terrarium came up well...

There’s a new Italian restaurant that’s opened just around the corner from where the girls live, under new management.   I was home alone Saturday night so I ordered one of their pizzas.  Delicious, authentic Italian wood fired pizza!

I made a batch of Rocky Road for the kids...

Sunday morning, I made a belated birthday cake for Kirby who was winging her way back to Australia after a UK holiday with her boyf.  It's so nice to have them back safe...they got in at 9pm but we were back home by then.   We'll see them on Wednesday when we head back!

The icing seized on me as I was wrangling it onto the cake but it will still take good!  Kirby has told me she had some at 3am when she couldn't sleep from jetlag! :)

I made a snap purchase on my way out of Adelaide... this quilt caught my eye at Bed Bath n Table ... and they had 30% off!

The blues, browns and creams will suit our bedroom.  I’ve got the quilt out drying on the line and can’t wait to get it on the bed!

This is the quilted Euro pillowcase that goes with it, isn’t it lovely?

The colour is a bit richer than shown.  So much detail - this is machine quilted - imagine doing it by hand!

Walkies this morning...

A bit shorter walk this morning.  I drove into town so I could get fresh bread and juice...

Our parklands are beautiful at the moment, mown lawns...

The skate park and playground...

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This nativity display has been provided by the local Lions Club.  Can you believe, some idiots decided to 'steal' baby Jesus and throw him in the drain?  They had to go to great effort to bend the wire, hook him out of the manger and back under the wire then go and throw him in the drain.  What pleasure would they have got from that?  Imbeciles!  Anyway, Jesus has been returned to his bed for all the enjoy!

Our old rotunda (built in 1911) still holding up...

A State Library picture showing the rotunda not long after it was completed...

Well, that was a mish-mash of happenings - what did you get up to on the weekend?

Cheers - Joolz xx

Hug your loved ones...

A sad start to this blog post. A friend of ours who we were close to in the years that our kids were growing up, was tragically killed in a motor cycle accident on March 28. We had grown apart since our kids grew up but we were still friends, nonetheless. He and his wife, who are our age, had just celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary in March. Here one minute, gone the next. His bike slid out and he hit a huge tree. He leaves his lovely wife and 3 beautiful, grown up girls. All four spoke at his funeral, last Thursday. I do not know how they did it, giving a beautiful insight into the kind, gentle, dependable and funny man that Steve was. We are heartbroken for them.
I did some baking and took it around to them a few days prior to the funeral and I'm so glad I did. I witnessed a house full of women, holding each other together.

On Saturday, April 1st, we headed over to Melbourne to see our friends and we took in an AFL game on Sunday. As always, this was my view! I always get the tall dude with big hair in front of me! Doh!

Tradition says you must have a Four and Twenty meat pie and a beer at the footy. I had red wine instead! The pie was just hot enough for me to burn the roof of my mouth five times! I'll never learn!

We may have had bubbles also! I was barracking for Carlton Blues and our friends are Melbourne Demons fans! Demons won...pooh!

We walked back from the MCG to the train station then trained home to Spotswood. Such a great way to get around!
We got up Monday morning and went around the auction houses so Gus could look at a few cars he was interested in. He can buy them online later in the week. Then it was onto the plane for the trip home.

Cheers - Joolz xx

What do you think?

It's never easy to lose someone but is it any easier to lose that loved one in the blink of an eye, when they pass away suddenly (eg. heart attack) but they do not suffer on going pain ... or is it better, even though they are ill (cancer), to be able to say your goodbyes, but know they will suffer in pain until they die?
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I lost my father 22 years ago when he had a second massive heart attack within 10 months. No time for goodbyes, he was just gone, in the night. We said our goodbyes in the morgue. I remember him lying there, in his pajamas, like he was just asleep. We all felt cheated that it was so sudden and we couldn't say our 'I love you's and goodbyes" but I have always been comforted to know he didn't suffer any pain and didn't have to endure medical intervention and hospitals (he hated hospitals).
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On the flip side, we have just lost a very good friend to bowel cancer. Gary battled with that bastard of a disease for about 2 years, having conventional and experimental chemotherapy along the way. Eventually, the chemo made his so weak that his body just couldn't rally, the cancer won and he passed away peacefully on Monday. We visited him on July 4th and we could see that he didn't have a lot of time left. His body had started to shut down and it was upsetting to see our big friend, so frail and looking scared and fed up. He told us he had had enough. A couple of blood transfusions rejuvenated him in later days but not for long. He eventually said no to further intervention. In his last days, he had his wife (supported by his ex wife, can you believe) to administer care and as much pain medication as he needed to keep him comfortable. His funeral will be held next Monday and Angus has been asked to speak about our mate 'Big Dudda'. It will be hard but also a privilege. Love ya, Big D!
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It was good to be able to see him and say goodbye but after seeing Dudda the way he was, I would always hope that I am taken suddenly and not allowed to suffer the way he and so many others do. Just saying.
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Joolz