You all know about the devastating bush fires we had in January. They were accompanied by high temperatures, the very hot and dry westerly winds and added to the dry bush conditions what devastation they caused. Well we have rain at last. Here on the Central Coast it is very welcome, a full day yesterday and some showers today. In some places there has been flooding  and a couple of the lakes with a sea outlet have been "let out" which is a good thing.

It has been a strange year so far. In January we had very high humidity which I found difficult. I was on a bus on a hot day a week or so ago and the lady behind me asked: " Have you just washed your hair dear? It is dripping." And I didn't tell her I was sweating because of the heat and humidity. The waist to toes pressure stockings are bad in the heat of summer but lovely and warm in winter. Everything has an up side I guess.

I have just been to visit my daughter Shirley and family. The new house she has moved to is about the same size as the last one but although there are four bedrooms upstairs,the living area is all downstairs. It was good to spend time with her and her family. I was very interested in hearing details of her new job as an Aged Care Chaplain. She is learning a lot about dealing with dementia patients in the Nursing Home. I think her common sense approach to people will really help a lot in that job. It was good to spend time with my grandchildren too. Christopher has a coaching job in the science field in his old High School. Some of  Naomi's friends have changed subjects though so she is still settling back in again.

I have no plans to do any more visits for a while as I have so  have some tests to do, the Pre-admission Clinic for the thyroid operation to attend and then the operation itself ahead of me. I did go out west to Armidale for a while to visit friends, a few days in the country from time  to time is a real pick-me-up. I am a country girl at heart. This was my third visit so it was a familiar place. The countryside was brown and dry when I got there but after a couple of days of rain the green started to brighten up the scenery again.

I always thought I would end up back in the country but it seems unlikely now. Those years out west when Ray was with Fisheries living at Yass and then Narrandera were great years but moving from the familiar Central Coast to the country would be a big move at my age. The Coast is so overcrowded at Christmas time  and during any of the school holidays now, it makes it difficult to get out on the main road from where I live so I have started travelling on the bus which with my pensioner pass is probably cheaper than driving.

We have had three funerals already of congregation members. One was my favourite 102 year-old and I read the Psalm for that at her daughter's request. I miss those who pass on very much. I sometimes feel as if my life is peopled by ghosts. Nice warm hearted ghosts but ghosts none-the-less. New people will come into my life's eventually but the dying always leaves a space in my heart when they go. I know in a way it is morbid thinking but in other ways it is seemly that we farewell friends in order to feel more comfortable with our own mortality.

And so dear friends I go forward, doing what I can to be a comfort to others, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on. Among my widow friends there are those who need support but also those who support me. I am always grateful for your support on here too. Being a widow would become a lonely life were it not for the support of family and good friends.