. . . it is time . . .

Another full month, with Kira's Grade 5 Camp (I was a parent helper in the kitchen and dishwasher room); 20 banana cakes for the YSS Twilight Market; a weekend withthe card girls at Scrap Retreat; a few lat nights at work and the beginning of storm season.

  October is always a busy month with Lachlan and I having a birthday. This month I also joined Kira and two Grade 5 classes at Bornhoffen for a 3 night camp.

My dear friend Terri discovered Mia King  is a pen name for  Darien Gee  the author of the much enjoyed Friendship Bread and  The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society . I enjoyed this book despite it's predictability.  It took me nearly three weeks to read.  This indicates either it didn't grip me or I am too busy doing other things.  I think in this case it is balance of both. Good Things: Living simply isn’t simple. Deidre McIntosh is 40, single, and host of Seattle’s premier lifestyle TV show, Live Simple and Simply Live. But when her show is abruptly cancelled, her seemingly perfect life ends along with it. It’s a godsend when Kevin Johnson offers her a place to stay, even if her new living arrangement is literally a shack in the woods. As she slowly begins to practice what she once preached, Deidre takes the first step toward a new kind of success, and maybe even love.

 A busy month with more eye surgery.  this time the removal of a cataract in my right eye and intra ocular lens implant.  B-I-L Mark repatriated from California to live with us until he settles.  Work is consuming too much of both my time and my mind! Aim for next month - more blogging.  Thanks for stopping by.

Preparing for Mark to arrive Michael's brother Mark is repatriating to Australia after 18 years. We have prepared the front room (it was the craft haven, which is now in the garage) and are looking forward to his arrival on Friday.  He will live with us until he settles into a job etc.

I had purchased these measuring cylinders and arranged the with some other glass wear in the corner of the bench.  The hot drink things were in that corner.  They are now all very neatly arranged in the opposite corner and make a tidy tea station with the teas we bought at the Ekka last Monday.

 Kira came home on Friday transformed into a butterfly :)  On Saturday while Michael slept and Lachlan visited a friend Kira and I went shopping.  We treated ourselves to a break at the Shingle Inn.  I enjoyed my coffee while Kira enjoyed her ice cream from Wendy's next door. I had to gice way to this family crossing the road and so Lachlan took a photo for me after they were safe :)

One of the staff at work lost her dad this week.

My sphere of influence increased (doubled) in May when the NUM of the next ward was granted a voluntary redundancy. Work has been hectic since and these two phota show what I have been up to: This is what me new office desk looks like at the end of most days (you should see what the inside of my brain is like!). THis is the office that I have occupied for the most part of the last 5 years.  I am moving to the other ward and will be sharing with a great colleague who will be the Clinical Nurse Consultant of both wards with me as the Nurse Unit Manager. Life just go a little more complex with the local road closing, so I will need to travel another way until the road opens in September sometime!

Seven years without a great friend, mentor, grandmother and mother.

I am always Impressed when my children remember what I say.  Especially when it was 365 days ago "I promise I will take you to the EKKA next year"! We did go and had a lovely day, accompanied by Jeannette. Waiting for the bus at Eight Mile Plains busway  Milking a cow  Feeding in the animal nursery. Water Zorbs At the Brisbane City Council exhibition  Sitting on the bus!

Happy Birthday William Guess how old he is!  Made with SU Sense of Time;  Su Love Letters DSP & PTI number Dies. Happy Birthday Sophie I know you have worked out how many birthdays she has had! Made with Kaszazz products and the lovely PTI number dies.  Add in the SU punch and the Cottage Cutz - Cupcake 2 die. Envelope challenge I had (foolishly) posted on FB I wasn't excited by envelope.  I was then challenged to make one with my lovely Envelope Punch Board . I didn't decorate it, but it does match a previously made card very nicely :)

I was very pleased that work sponsored myself and Consultant Physician Suzana to attend the 24th Stroke Society Scientific Meeting in Darwin.  We flew up on Tuesday and returned in the wee hours on Saturday morning.  We managed to pack in 3 full days on scientific information as well as some social activities.  This was the desert bar at the Seafood smorgasbord on Tuesday evening with Suzana's friend Mary.  Wednesday evening saw us enjoying an NT sunset at the Sailing Club. fter that we ha Thursday evening we fitted in both a trip to Mindil Beach markets and enjoyed another spectacular sunset.  After that we enjoyed a delicious dinner and some great company with some colleagues from WA at Pee Wees on the Point Here I am at the waterfront where the convention centre is located. Then on Friday I caught up with cousin Julie and her beau Gerd on their yacht Kestrel II.  the we had a magnificent dinner at a greek restaurant. It was an...

Oh my goodness, I will need to think about Christmas soon as we are now in the second half of the year!

Terri lent me to read while I was away in Darwin this week.  I have finished it before I have even left!  Thank you Terri it was a really enjoyable read and I half worked out the mystery :) Silver Clouds is the fourth novel by Fleur McDonald. Previously titled Silver Gums, Silver Clouds is an enthralling rural saga about a young woman who must come to term with past mistakes and a major tragedy in order to find peace, happiness and love. When marketing executive Tessa Mathison leaves London to attend her great-aunt’s funeral in Australia, her life is in turmoil. An indiscretion during a boozy night out has resulted in Tessa’s name being mud in London’s cliquey marketing scene, and soon after she arrives in her homeland she discovers she’s been sacked. Tessa’s childhood home, Danjar Plains, is an isolated station which holds some bad memories for her. She plans to escape it as soon as the funeral is over, but then an unusual request in her Aunt Violet’s will makes it imp...

For Tex and John Henry After dropping me off from the chair hunt outing, Jeannette said she was going to visit her twin nephews for their 6th birthday.  I thought it was a great opportunity to have a quick card making lesson, so I made the one in Real Red and Jeannette made the one in Marina Mist.

Jeannette saw this place when she went to footy @ the Gabba a few weeks ago. She took me there  to have a look for myself this morning.  Here are a few of the things I liked.

Happy Birthday Jaki The card girls gathered to day for a delayed celebration of Jaki's birthday (last Saturday).  I made her a Post-it Note holder (tutorial here ): and a card Welcome Benjamin We also celebrated and welcomed Benjamin Edward into the card making group. Here is a close up of the detail in the corner.