Winter is coming, fast now as officially it starts here on 1st of June. So traveling 150 miles further south meant it was wetter, colder and windier and I so missed the warm weather that we enjoyed when visiting our daughter and family when she lived in Cairns, 1700 miles north and SO much warmer in winter. But I enjoyed visiting her and her family for a week even if the weather was less than co-operative.

What did I do? I showed off my skills as a sales woman on the Trash and Treasure stall at their church market day on the first Saturday I was there, far outselling the amount raised by the first one. I enjoyed walking the kids to school of a morning and hearing them thunder up the stairs of an afternoon and hearing what they did at school each day. I went to the school and saw the movie of the country camping trip my grandson had been on the previous week, he is shy and was always only just visible up the back of the group. We are proud of him anyway.

I enjoyed walking with Shirley or her husband with their two dogs and the grandchildren just on dusk. I had promised a friend I would go for a walk every day and I did except for two days when the wet, windy weather got to me and I thought it was not worth the effort. And on a couple of mornings when the sun was out I sat out on their front verandah and knitted while their cat pretended my wool ball was a mouse and made a mess of it. Just sitting and doing nothing is a novelty now.

We went out to dinner twice and had fun doing that, it was really nice to just eat without having to cut up a meal first. I love my daughter and her kids and know that the only thing I can give them is my time, not as often as I would like to for sure but realistically maybe twice a year with Ray and another twice by myself. Without Ray as a distraction I can give everyone else more attention and as a family we do need some