This year has been quite different! Apart from my normal busy life I’ve been joined at my place by Geoff and family for most of the year. They moved in on Christmas Eve last year to await the birth of Heather in January, returned home in March to pack their belongings and put them into storage, then came back to mine in May when their house sold. In October they bought their new home in Bardwell Valley and moved there at the end of October. Of course they are still living out of boxes but it is a lovely old home (1913) with a large backyard, double garage and studio out the back. The extended family had a great day there on Boxing Day.
My blog has suffered quite a bit during the year except for my holiday and Underhill entries and now we all agree that it certainly does ‘take a village to raise a child’. We have spent a lot of the year playing ‘pass the parcel’ with one or other child being the parcel. Bonding with the two girls has been great and I will miss them now they have their own home. However, I am booked for 2 days babysitting each week while Jen returns to work so all is not lost.
Ellen is busier than ever juggling normal life with Rod’s poor health and visits to hospital. The boys continue to grow in leaps and bounds. Alex now towers over me and will start High School next year. Luke is fast catching up. They both love singing in the school choir and took part in the School Spectacular again this year. I love my times with my grandboys.
I am now doing a top to bottom ‘spring clean and sort’ and am thrilled that Kim is able to come back once a week and help as she did for a few years after Surrey died. I still have Arianne living with me and enjoy the sewing, care and social input she brings. She has been a crucial part of the ‘village’ that lives in my ‘home with elastic walls’.
When Geoff moved his many pot plants to my garden he set up a watering system for them and extended it to my whole garden. This has rescued the garden from some very long dry spells (up to 2 months without rain) so things are looking good. The lawn has now recovered too after a good downpour.
Holidays for me started with the family time at Gerroa for the New Year week. I then went on a bus trip through Outback Queensland in the middle of the year and this was closely followed by a Dinosaur Dig trip out of Winton. I now know my way around Longreach and Winton and had a great time on both trips. Yes, I actually dug up parts of a sauropod called ‘Judy’.
Underhill is often a hive of activity with my friends and Geoff and his family and friends visiting to just relax by the fire. Geoff and Nathan’s new venture - Bungonia Woodcutters - involves lots of noise with chainsaws and their Lucas Mill to cut and slab timbers sourced from Underhill and other places. Nathan makes some beautiful pieces from them or just sells the slabs. If you see their stall at a craft market take a good look.
A few days before Christmas we harvested lots of apricots from our tree at Underhill and I am still trying to handle them all with one batch of apricot jam made, apricots in the fridge and food dryer and still trays of apricots on the dining room table. If you want any come now.
Singing is still a major part of my life although I had to pull out of two choirs late in the year. They were both only ‘weekend wonders’ i.e. practice two days then perform the same weekend. I absolutely love singing with the St Stephen’s choir each Sunday. It is such a brain challenge for someone who has never had to sight read music before. This year the Chorus Oz choir (one of the Sydney Philharmonia choirs) of which I am part, performed Elijah in the Opera House. I am also currently involved in weekly practices of Handel’s Messiah as is usual at this time of year. I started with that choir in 1965 and have been in it most years since except for birth of children, year OS, and when Surrey was sick. We perform near Christmas in the Sydney Town Hall. To do this I have put my Sutherland Choral Society membership on hold as they both practice Monday nights. Just recently I joined a choral workshop at St James, Sydney. That was most uplifting with the ‘performance’ after a day’s work being a choral evensong to follow.
Of course Christmas music at church with organ, brass ensemble, choir and soloists was magnificent. We had a total of 5 anthems and about 10 carols to learn for the season this year. I am so glad that this year my what is now becoming a normal Christmas illness did not hit until Christmas afternoon when I came down with a cold.
My Sunday morning singing is often followed by a visit for lunch with Mum who is still living semi-independently at 94. These visits are usually short but a good catch up time with her and usually with Desley as well who often calls in when I am there.
Patchwork is another great passion but I have not had a great amount of time for it this year for obvious reasons. However, I was able to complete the quilt I made the top for when I went to a quilting weekend in 2011 in Massachusetts! The fabrics were mostly collected on the Canada-USA trip with Elaine. I’ve called it ‘American Fall’. My current quilt project is ‘Chook Scraps’ (above) made from lots of the chook fabrics Surrey bought me over the years and one of his shirts. I laugh when I see it because it brings back so many memories.
This quilt will be for Underhill in the caravan. I am using Surrey’s shirts to make quilts for every bed there. Not finished yet but I hope to get this one finished for a show next March. The Rainbow Connection quilters continues to make quilts for charity and I have done a few other bits and pieces including a play mat for Heather.
I'm not sure that 2018 will be any slower but then again who wants a slow life anyway. I look forward to enjoying more of the same joys and coping however I can with all the traumas that are sure to come my way. I'll pray a lot and try to stay calm and focussed on the good things. It is wonderful to be needed on so many fronts.
Remember, my home and heart have elastic walls so come and join me any time.
