Taking the plunge

[Bunniekins]

Ned Kelly bottle brush

[Former-Member]

Hi @Former-Member - thank you for your kind words re my friend with lung cancer. And yes, his wife is going through it - just as tough for a carer/partner as you and me know only too well. It's special the connection you have with your grandchildren, what a treasure. I have step children and grandchildren and the bond can be just as close if nurtured.

Sounds like we do live close by. Hello neighbour 😊 The wind has now picked up with gusto, still overcast but no rain yet. I may have to do a dance lol. I love the rain, it's  so calming - do you find that?

The cancer treatment sounds like it is knocking your husband presently - hopefully these side effects will ease in time and his spirits will return. It's so hard to watch....it's moment to moment then. Not morbid to talk about it...important to express to not only receive support but to release a heavy weight. That takes courage to do and you are such a beautiful person to stand by your husband as you do. And we will stand by you.

@Former-Member - I am hurting for you after reading how your mother and sister are treating your son and yourself. Why are they not including your younger son for Christmas dinner? I remember you saying what a kind, caring boy he is. This time of year is hard enough for you let alone being treated with such little compassion by your family. This totally goes against the true spirit of Christmas so I don't know why your mother and sister would even bother celebrating it. Sorry, I don't like to see you being hurt. It's so wrong and I am so sorry you have to suffer this. I am feeling so much for you......I so hope you will post here again as I would miss you heaps, which is probably selfish of me but true. We really appreciate your posts here @Former-Member. I do relate to how depression can make us feel that way. Whatever you decide we will always be here for you. Sending a warm hug 🤗 x

@Bunniekins - the Ned Kelly bottlebrush is flourishing and just beautiful!! I haven't seen one like this before.

@Maggie - it should be a long, happy reunion and counselling session for you this Monday! Much to catch up on but just seeing her will lift you. You have a special connection there I feel. Wow, still waiting for that postcard, funny if it turns up on Monday while she is there lol. Look forward to hearing about the session.

You are right about people running away when others get sick and need them the most. I have been shocked of all the stories I have heard, particularly in my volunteer work, stories from customers and staff about how their partners, friends and loved ones and sometimes even children, have left them when they became sick with a disease such as cancer or mental illness. That is incredibly sad to comprehend.  When I give my love and friendship it's for better or worse - it's for keeps. That's true love in my eyes. I don't understand how anyone could leave a person at such a vulnerable time...cruel.

Please send us some of your rain....overcast, windy but so dry here. I love the soothing sound of the rain and watching it fall. I have done a lot on my cross stitch, should be finished this one soon. I have a few projects I want to start next apart from my mermaid. There is a cross stitch artwork called "The Mask". I think it's powerful and it really speaks to me - and would speak to a lot of us here I think. Will post a pic of it and would like to hear yours and others thoughts on it. It's more of a modern cross stitch style.....That's what I love about this craft, such a variety of art form I can stitch that catches my fancy. I would love to see progress pics of your cross stitch - so clever how you stitch without a chart.

Is your visitors dog there yet?. I could imagine your fur baby getting exciting having the company. Very cute indeed. Oh @Maggie - your songs are not silly - your lyrics are full of natural talent. It would be good to read some more when you have time. Are you still going to record them?

@utopia - how is your day going? Have you had a chance to do any of the homework yet? 

[Former-Member]

Thanks @Former-Member, and yes you're right about step kids and grandkids.  The bond can be close, and I am very lucky, because it is close.  Or at least as close as it can be given we live so far apart these days.

Thanks so much for your support, it really is appreciated.  The forums are about the only real support I have, other than my psych. So its important to me.

As @Maggie would attest to, yes I love the rain.  And have definitely been known to dance in the rain.  Even when I'd told how silly that is.  But I persist.  I hope the rain comes soon.  I do find it calming, but strangely enough, also invigorating.  Can you have both?  I think so.  Coming from the bush where we used to have almost constant droughts and rain was life giving to stock, crops, and life in general, perhaps has a bearing on that.  Without rain, there is no life.  So its a sign of growth, of new life to come. But of course with Aust being that land of droughts and also flooding rains, then comes the extreme - the destructive force of floods and storms.

Sherry xx

• 

[Former-Member]

Oh yes @Former-Member - rain can be calming yet invigorating. I lovvvveed how you defined rain - "there is no life without it".

We do have much in common - I lived on a farm for 10 yrs before we moved here to the coast. And I can relate to your appreciation for it. It would be that dry where we use to live that we would have to buy water to fill up our tanks, and for a few years everything was yellow - this did get me down a bit after awhile if it went on for too long. We would have to buy lucerne etc to hand feet our livestock which became very expensive. The last years we were there the drought broke and it greened up somewhat, but nothing like the rain we were getting here, particularly early last year. My garden out the back flourished into a native rainforest as a result. Just lovely. Let's hope this overcast weather brings us some this weekend and I will dance outside with you 😀xx

[Former-Member]

@Maggie@Former-Member@Bunniekins@Former-Member@CheerBear@utopia@Phoenix_Rising@Sans911@Ant7@Shaz51@Appleblossom@soul@Former-Member@Faith-and-Hope@Former-Member and all. This is a project I have lined up to cross stitch called "Unmasked" by artist Gail Casterfied. I think it speaks volumes....

[Maggie]

@Bunniekins I have a bottlebrush planted in my back yard. It's very small atm, but I want to attract bird into the garden. Everything in my garden in small as they are all only mths old, I have only been in this flat for 6 mths so exciting having a garden. Yours looks well established

@Former-Member yes puppy is here, she takes herself off to the bedroom and stretches out on the bed, until food time that is, then I get all the attention in the world. @Former-Member I have songs coming out my ears, I've  lost confidence atm, but singing some songs I have backing tracks to. Time will tell if I record them or not, no great loss.

I don't know why people run when illness hits, I guess to me there never was a friendship to start with if that's the response. It's natural to stand by when times are tough, but many loose everything because of illness, something they/we can't help.

@Former-Member You don't sound well at all. You are not upsetting anyone. You are welcome to talk or not talk, just what you are comfortable with. Christmas sounds like it's going to be difficult in many ways, I hope Boxing Day lunch is enjoyable.

@Former-Member you would love the rain here, plenty of dancing and splashing.lol

[Bunniekins]

@Maggie Hi Maggie it is exciting isn't it! I love the bird life the flowers attract. My back yard isn't so pretty but I have a bird bath that the local birds use to drink and wash from which is always nice to watch.

[Former-Member]

@Former-Member@Maggie and all - it's raining la la la 

[Former-Member]

@Former-Member, I love your 'unmasked' cross stitch project.  Very good.  @Maggie, I'm jealous of all that rain you're getting.  Although, same as Enigma, it is just starting to sprinkle here.  Not enough to dance with yet, but hopefully it will build up some.  Hi @Bunniekins, @Former-Member @CheerBear.

Enigma, same here - we had a fine wool sheep farm in the Southern Tablelands, and had drought years every year.  The year after we sold however, it rained more in that one year than it had for the previous 10 years in total I think. We only had tanks for water too and had to cart drinking water a few times to top up the fresh water tank.  But we were lucky in that we had a huge spring fed dam up the big hill and it was gravity fed down to our house.  So we could use that for gardens, toilets and showers when we needed to. When we sold the farm, we moved up to the NSW mid north coast, which is 8 years ago now. Despite not knowing any body up here and needing to resign my work position.  But hubby likes the heat and humidity, so he has what he craved.  Me on the  other hand, I much prefer the frosty mornings and cold nights that we used to get in the Southern Tablelands.  The summers were very hot and dry, but easier to take for me than the humidity we get here.  Although after 8 years here now, I am slowly aclimatising.

I am trying to watch the cricket which is on in Adelaide today.  Unfortunately there are showers there which meant they've gone off for the time being.  So I have been busy making a double chocolate brownie slice ready to take to a neighbours place for lunch tomorrow.  We were invited for lunch by one of hubbys friends, and I volunteered to supply dessert.  It should be nice with a tub of frozen vanilla custard to have with it I thought.  I couldnt decide between icecream of custard, so got the two in one.  Clever aye?  Its nice too, I tried it a few weeks ago. Hope the brownie turns out okay, its baking now.  It smells good, I guess thats a good start.

Sherry  

• 

[Former-Member]

Thank you @Former-Member - I am very much looking forward to stitching that one.

Lol, we had a farm on the cusp of southern tablelands/souther highlands - very close to where you were. Wasn't it freezing and windy!!! But some of the best years of my life. The community was very friendly and supportive. We made so many close friends - it was hard to leave. But I don't miss the close encounters with snakes 🐍. Took years off my life haha.

We moved North as well in the Central Coast region and have also been here 8 years!!! I like the warmer weather, except for the high humidity in January and Feb. it can certainly knock one around. Children even complain of the heat then here. We are moving next year (up the road 5 minutes) - building on the sea, so that breeze will help. And then will have no maintenance which will free up our time to do other things.

Your brownies and frozen custard sounds delicious - what lucky neighbours!! Glad to read that your husband is getting out and about too as that will lift his morale. It will be quiet here tomorrow as hubby rests his back - but will be seeing my friends on Monday (the male friend with cancer and his wife). I texted to ask if Monday suits them and they texted back "come on down - looking forward to seeing you". So that was good that there spirits are up. Have a wonderful day out tomorrow xxx 💕

@Maggie - sounds like your fur baby makes herself right at home!!! They do like their food lol. A lot of people to,d me their actual husband and wives left when they became ill after being together for years. I tend to agree that true love and/or friendship was never there in the first place. Your songs would be a gift to others. Give your fur babies a hug for me ❤️

@Bunniekins - I love birds. Have been caught out talking to the odd one or two lol. I have a wattle tree outside my side window where many of them congregate - I particularly love the willy wag tails and lorikeets. It's magic when they visit the garden trees