Cabin Fever

I have cabin fever today.. but oddly I do not feel like I want to stray away from my nest. Apart from dinner this evening, most every thing that needs doing is done - I have even made yogurt and it is doing the happy fermenting thing in a small esky. To alleviate some of the cooped up feeling, I decided to eat lunch outdoors, so here I sit with a tuna sandwich and some home made ginger beer and the laptop.. laptops with wireless connections are a luxurious blessing, one I am pleased to have.

Sitting here today, I could almost forget that I am a Pagan in the burbs. I can hear the gentle bubble and tinkle from the wee water feature and wind chimes beside me, my little finches are making cheery beep beep noises as they construct their nests in the small aviary behind me, the two budgies Archer and Merlot are sharing whispered secrets as they take turns ringing a small bell, almost like clearing the air.

A Willy Wagtail is chittering off in the distance and I can imagine that wonderful little tail flicking ritual they do even when standing still. Sacred Temple Cat is chasing a white butterfly through the shrubs by the fence while Mister P is sun bathing on the pavers, a gentle sea breeze blowing off the Indian Ocean is stirring the white strands of fur on his ears. There is the wonderful smell of warm, freshly watered earth mixed with the heady fragrance of Jasmine and now rosemary as the cat brushes through it.

All of my Goddess given senses are being touched by the blessings of the elements of Nature.. Fire, Earth, Water, Air it is something that if one is not careful, you can loose sight of when living in a city or the suburbs... I read something this morning that came from a post on a group I belong to.. basically it said that if we do not put time aside each day for our spiritual walk, then our mundane lives will take it away from you. I'm not sure I fully grasp the theory of us all being "tested" by the universe to see if we really want to walk our chosen path, but I do believe that which we don't use we loose. Lately, I have been rather insular and not in a good way, so I am glad I could take a minute to come out here and feel the Goddess about me... the warmth of the day on my skin, Earth beneath my feet, water on my lips, the wind on my face and love in my heart.

Pay It Forward

I have just finished reading a wonderful post over at Rinas blog Our Slice Of Heaven Now Rina has another blog called Past and Present where she wrote about helping others to settle in Australia when they come here from South Africa.. While I have not moved here from a troubled or war torn country I did immigrate to Australia to start a new and better life and do understand the trials and tribulations of getting used to a new land and culture, now I'm not sure I have done anything quiet like Rina, in helping other immigrants, but I have in the past fostered troubled teens and earlier this year welcomed another woman's children into my home to raise as my own at a time when I thought I would settle to being a Grandmother and not a mother again after so many years.. Maybe this is not paying it forward exactly... but I am going to take on Rina's Pay It Forward challenge.
From here
I will make a handmade gift for the first 3 interested people who comment on this post. I have 365 days to do it in. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise!
The catch is that you must participate as well: you must have a blog and before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Just cut and paste this one if you like, which I did. *Change the From "here" link above to now link to my blog on your new post.
Bright Blessings

Curve Balls

It is Sunday night here, the family have been fed on freshly made light rye sourdough still warm from my oven and the last of the tomato soup, that I made and froze some months ago.. today I have tried to stay busy with a few cleaning jobs, some bread making, putting together a couple of litres of yogurt and a bit of gardening. Friday night was a late one to bed, 12.30am and I slept poorly when I finally dozed off, I woke at 5am and felt quiet poorly with crampy tummy and nausea, it is still not 100% I'm not entirely sure if it was the commercial bread I ate on Friday lunchtime or the phone call I received on Friday night, maybe a combination of the two.

As a mother, we want the best for our children, no matter their age.
We want them to achieve and accomplish the goals they have set for themselves and watch them raise their families.
It matters not how old they are or how young they are as parents we still hurt when they hurt, we want to protect them from some of those lessons in life we have learnt and been burnt by, and yet, we can not. When life throws them a curved ball, we can't catch it for them... all we can do is help them back onto their feet when it hits them and at times us squarely between the eyes. Nothing can really prepare you for the time when you hear their voice break with hurt, over thousands of kilometres of phone line. This is what happened on Friday night.

When I heard the phone go, I thought it was Sarah telling me she was home safe after the Seal concert she had been too, the last thing I expected was her brother calling, as it was nearly 3am in his time zone. The call has left me feeling very sad, for him and for our family. He rung to tell me he and his wife had separated, I "felt" something wasn't all ok when he was here for the wedding several weeks ago.. and got a stronger sense of this 2 weeks ago. .. long story short it is irreconcilable and mutual. I didn't ask him why, he is an adult and if he wants to tell me he will... In the mean time I will love him through this as best as I can.
He is going to come over for awhile to recoop and clear his head, when he was here last with all the preperation for the wedding we had very little time to sit and talk.. it is my hope that with the support of his family over here, he / we will get through this and come out stronger for it.

T'is the season

I have sat a couple of times to write a few lines in my blog here, but when I opened it up... big juicy blank'o. Some of this feeling, is that icky wishy washy feeling that creeps into me poor wee head when pollen is a foot. Poor Miss C is suffering as well... trying to find alternative treatments for Hay fever has been a challenge, so much so that we have reverted back to paying a visit to the chemist shop. I so do not like snorting chemicals, but this spring has been worse than any I have suffered in the last 5 years.
I had thought it was something I had been doing, a change in washing powder ( no I'm not quiet at the stage of making my own yet) was it the fact I turned the air con on the other day when it reached 39c here and the kids were both melting..... but noooooooooo and I have to admit I was pleased to find it wasn't me, but the reason was the season, apparently according to the news, yes it was news worthy, it is the worst pollen season in a very long time. More so when the wind is blowing in from the East, across desert plains, bringing with it invisible sneeze makers.
It is a wild flower season here in Western Australia, and they be full of pollen......they are gorgeous and tough managing to survive where little else does...believe it or not people join tours from all around the worldd to come and see the wonder of the WA wild flowers... they are a State treasure and it is a serious no no picking them either.I first encountered Western Australian wild flowers, on our drive last October from the East Coast to Western Oz, on the third day of driving we hit Coolgardie/Yellowdine which happens to be in some pretty arid no whereness but I digress... out of this desert no whereness, bloomed amazing expanses of the prettiest, flowers... I have found a couple of piccies on the web, to show you the wonder of a land that is hot, dry and beautiful.. even if it does contribute to Miss C and I having sneezy wheezy bonding time. Some relief is sort from this blizard of pollen whent he wind chances and the 'Freeo Doctor' blows in off the Indian Ocean.. *smiling* and this Doctor is the best medicine.

Image Source: These photos are off the web, credit would be given if I knew the photographer, I do not claim copy right to these.