Hi all

My bags are packed. I can't drop Ray into his accommodation until 10am so I will have time to check, double check, panic etc long before I have to actually go down to Sydney to catch the plane. I am glad Trev is coming down with me as I won't have to tackle the city after dark and we will have a light meal somewhere so I don't die of hunger on the three hour flight.

We had a nice weekend, the car boot sale at the church on Saturday, then an afternoon in the garden. It was beautiful weather though the temperature is dropping now so by 5pm you feel the cold air coming in and it is time to come inside for the night. We rarely get below zero now but we still feel the cold as with lots of windows and an open plan house it is hard to heat and I don't really attempt to heat it, I just keep adding layers of clothes until I look a bit like a penguin, except more colorful....lol.

Yesterday we did a lot of odd jobs, paid some bills, collected a rebate for one of our specialists apponintments. We stopped late in the morning to have a cup of coffee ( me) hot chocolate ( Ray) at a little cafe we sometimes visit. It is good to allow yourself some extra time so there is that time to sit down and experience that leisurely cuppa and some raisin toast. It is what I expected to do as part of our retirement anyway, so it feels both normal and special to be able to do it.

Today we had Grandparents Day over at our grandsons' pre-school. This year it was not a morning tea (government cut-backs, lack of extra funds????) so we stood in the yard and watched the little ones play in the sandpit, paint their hair ( one little girl) balance on balance beams etc. There were about twelve kids but only three sets of grandparents turned up. Ollie didn't really know we were there but Alex was most attentive so I felt it was worthwhile. Our photo was taken with the kids to go on the wall in their sleeping room. Alex even pretended to cry when we had to go so I guess the affection he shows us is really how he feels about us too.

We went to craft this afternoon, a small group only today, maybe because it was raining and windy. Tonight we went to our Lions Club dinner, nice food, good company as usual. Again only a little group as many of the seniors are away on those trips up north, a normal part of retirement as you might go to Arizona or Florida, we go north to warmer climates. So we didn't have a guest speaker but one of the members spoke about his life. It is a good way of finding out more about a person and adds somewhat to our fellowship.

This time tomorrow night I will be with my northern family. I won't expect any conversation from my daughter as she is NOT a night person. On Thursday morning we will all be scurrying to get ready, to drop the kids at school, to go on to her office. Then it is her Home League and weather permitting we are going about 20 miles firther up the coast for a picnic lunch and a chat and I'm hoping coffee too, so I will renew acquaintances with her group of ladies...and that is all the plans I know of so from then it will be whatever comes up for me to do.

Thanks for all the support you give me, I really do appreciate it. I know sometimes we look at life through a very narrow lens, like looking down the wrong end of a telescope, that is what caregiving sometimes feels like. But tomorow night I will soar like an eagle and fly far awy from home...I am looking forward to it.