Preparing for Easter

Image by Stitch via Flickr

 I have been doing some spring cleaning (although it's not spring here) and wonder why I wait till the house looks like a bomb hit it before I decide to give it a good spruce up. 

I am tired now and I have only really done the kitchen, cleaning everything down and making the benches look uncluttered, even throwing things out and that is saying something.

I have lunch to cook on Easter Sunday for the family so I need to start on that tomorrow.  I can see I am not going to get too much done before then.  Maybe I can start on the dining room and have that in a half decent state by then.  It is not a big mess really but I hoped to get everything gleaming before then.  I realize now I didn't allow myself enough time.

I started all this as I have 4 days off work over the Easter break so thought it would be a good time to get things done I never have time for otherwise, but I can see I will go back to work exhausted.  Maybe not such a good plan!

Oh well, these things have to be done and I am the person to do it.   
Happy Easter everyone!

Happy St Patrick's Day

Image by Loci Lenar via Flickr

I wasn't born in Ireland but neither was St Patrick.  He was Romano-British and was captured by the Irish and taken as a slave for many years.  After escaping he returned to Britain where he entered the Church and as a Bishop returned to Ireland.

I am from Irish ancestry like many Australians are.  My great grandmother Bridget and her sister Catherine came to Australia from County Clare in Ireland and married my Great Grandfather Patrick (who was also Irish) in Brisbane in the late 1800s.  He was a Railway Fettler by trade. They had my Grandmother, Mary and she had my mother Eileen, all very Irish names.

Today in Australia many celebrate St Patrick's Day by wearing something green or a green ribbon.  It isn't a public holiday but the hotels/pubs serve Guinness and sometimes green beer and many restaurants serve an Irish lunch.  There is a street parade but for some reason it isn't held on the actual day.  We had green cupcakes for morning tea today at work to get into the mood of the day.

I will wish you "top of the morning" and hope you have a nice St Patrick's Day today.

My favorite travel pic of me

I would like to share with you one of my favorite photos.  It was taken in Cabo San Lucas on our cruise of the Mexican Riviera.  I loved that cruise and enjoyed the ports we called at.  It was a Carnival cruise for 7 days from Long Beach return.

Excuse the hat (I dont suit them) but I wasn't going to have an iguana sit on my head without one.

I love traveling and when I feel a bit down I look at this photo and smile.  I hope it makes you smile too. For those who ask....yes they are real live iguanas and I was careful handling these lovely creatures so as not to hurt them in any way.   They didnt seem to worry at all about me.

My Darling cooks for me

I love cooking but during the week when I am working I would rather leave that task to my darling partner/fiancee/best friend.  He cooks our dinner about 3- 4 times a week and makes some great meals.

I would like to thank him publicly here for all he does to make my life easier.  He is a gem.  I work full time, do a part time course and blog in my spare time so I really appreciate that he cooks dinner those times. 

He has his favorite meals like steak and salad, pork chops with apple sauce, and my favorite being spaghetti with seafood marinara (see pictures).  He is retired now and so he can produce a great dinner at his own pace, that is, when he can drag himself away from work in the garden or a good book.  He even cleans up after himself.

As it is summer here in Australia we like to eat outdoors and we have a small balcony that overlooks the lake so we sit out there with a glass of wine and a nice meal and relax.  

Thanks Darling for all the meals you have cooked for me.

Another pictorial memory from my Cook Island vacation

 Thought I would just share another memory from my vacation last November.

 

If you are cold from the snow, wet from the rain or just sun deprived from winter, then spend some time to look at this picture and imagine you are there....that's exactly what I am doing now.  The imagination is a wonderful thing. Although it is summer here in Australia I miss those lovely days in The Cook Islands.

Happy Valentines Day

Image via Wikipedia

To everyone who is loved or who has loved - Happy Valentines Day to you.

To be loved by someone is very special and we all want that for ourselves.  Today I told my partner (fiancee) that I loved him and to love someone is special too.

We had a lovely breakfast out this morning and spent the day together quietly until we looked after my grandchildren while my daughter and her husband went to the cinema.

Have a lovely day whatever you do and spread the love around. 

Our dreams

Image via Wikipedia

We all dream but most of us don't know their meaning, that is, what our dreams are all about.  We just take more notice of them when the dream is disturbing or out of the ordinary in some way. The dreams that we enjoy are also often remembered but not as much as our 'bad'  or disturbing dreams.

Your unconscious mind comes out every night to sort through your daily thoughts.  Wow I am glad no one else see this :) What goes on in the day will get reviewed and filed away again.  A good idea is to have a dream diary beside your bed. I have one myself with a pen and a spare pair of glasses nearby just in case I have a particular dream I want to remember.  If you wait until later you forget it believe me!

So what are dreams?  They are your unconscious sorting through the days events, unresolved problems surfacing or they are messages from angels/spirit guides. Enjoy your dreams and listen to the message. You can check out other articles like this on my DREAM TOWN blog.