I haven't written a blog for a while as really my life just goes on from day to day. I have settled into a routine three years and nine months out from becoming a widow and my life more or less follows a pattern. The days can be soothing or dull depending on how I feel on the day.The winter days of course compound that as they are shorter and the evenings longer so in the evening it is watching TV, doing some hand work, knitting, crocheting, beading, whatever I can lay my hands on that makes me feel useful. And most nights reading and coming onto the computer round the evening off. During the days I seem to fill in the time easily so I don't think about what I am missing out on being a widow as much as I used to do but it is still lonely for me being a widow. And I still miss Ray.

I know for all of you northern hemisphere inhabitants you will laugh at my definition of cold : "time to find the heater" but that is what I did today. I invited a friend from church home to lunch and she was rubbing her hands together and going blue so I searched for and found the heater. After dusting it off it still smelled a bit of old dust but it was functional. I usually just rug up warm and walk around the house that way, with an open plan house that is the way to do it or you have to heat it all. Heating it all is not a good proposition with the price of electricity here. I'd rather be a little cold than cop the bill. Of course that could just be the Scottish ancestors urging me to "save the bawbees." I put on a coat to go out and that seems to be okay most of the time, add a scarf if the wind is blowing.

Those of you on my Facebook page will know that it was my turn to run the church markets yesterday as the person who usually does so, Steve husband of our assistant minister, is also the president of our local Orchid Association and heading a big Orchid Show this weekend.. The Market went well but with three incidents that seem typical of the days I am in charge, Firstly a lady stall holder fainted, I only found out about it after she had recovered as the ladies from our Charity Shop called the "Op Shop" handled it all beautifully, putting a rug around her, getting her a drink and on finding out she had not had breakfast getting her a bacon and egg sandwich for which she was very grateful. That is love in action, see what you can do, do something practical.

Towards the end of the Market a stallholder with a truck in place of his usual van tore the bell rope off the bell that hangs under our outside portico roof that shelters us from the summer sun. This was a problem as we ring the bell on Sundays but he and some of our menfolk found a ladder and devised a way of securing the bell so it could still be used today and he said he will come back and repair it one day next week as he needed to purchase a new shackle to complete the repair. That again is love in action, do something wrong, apologize, make things right again.

The third problem was mine as when I opened the school gates that morning,as we use their parking area for our Market Day with their permission, the padlock had disintegrated in my hand. That is the story of my life, I have an awkward attitude towards metal objects. One of the church wardens assured me it was not my fault, said he knew how it worked and how to fix it and did spend some time trying. In the end he had to phone their security firm and tell them what had happened. That was good sense too, because when we feel we are operating beyond where our knowledge of a situation applies we need to reach out for help. There is nothing wrong with asking for help if it will solve the problem more quickly.

I think life has many insights to impart, no matter how old you get there is always something new to learn. As a part of my Market Report this morning I told the early congregation briefly what had happened and they laughed. It is good when that happens as those who laugh at us or with us are generally not going to censure us later (well I hope not anyway), And as overall despite it being windy and cold the day was a success I think it will soon be forgotten that it was not also perfect.

There seems to be things happening around me now that can change our lives, we have had a lot of reports on Britain leaving the EU, that will affect us as we still think of ourselves as being part of the Commonwealth with the Queen of England as our titular head. We have Federal Elections coming up next Saturday and of course if there is a change of government as a result of the elections different parties in power mean changes to taxation, pensions etc. I know that can be a frightening prospect to older people. But as long as I remember all will be well I am fine. I have enough, I have had less and I have had more and always it has been enough. We all have ups and downs in our life and somehow we survive them. If it was not so I would not still be HERE.