The colours of Spring..........

It is wonderful,

Spring seems to have come over night.

Some of the trees are in such a hurry 

that they are making fat new buds

before the old leaves have even fallen off!

Others have bright green leaves.

But it is the flowers that make Spring such a happy time.

Everywhere I look,

the world is a riot of colour,

each photo I take seems more beautiful

than the one before.

My next flower does not have the colours of the other spring flowers,

but I love it for its fragility and delicate colour.

These are the blossoms of my Blueberry,

 they are so beautiful,

perhaps they might also give me some fruit this year.

Who knows!!

Enjoy this season of new life

and

Until next time --- Happy Days!

Farmers Markets

I love Farmers Markets, they always sell such wonderful produce.

I am really lucky because Caulfield Market is within walking distance,

and is completely accessible!

The stall keepers are very friendly and often

"add a little extra" 

or like the pretzel man - put money in my RCH tin!

This is the stall where I buy freshly squeezed orange juice and fruit that is the wrong shape for the super market.

They also make the best lemon butter

that tastes wonderful on home made bread.

There is also the honey man, 

he has orange blossom honey, so pale in colour.

The man who sells baby sweet corn and peas, 

he wont be back till October, when the asparagus is ripe.

And then there are the cheeses, both soft and hard, all produced in Victoria.

My last stop, is to "Baked by Mum" 

a stall selling cookies and cookie dough you can bake at home.

I have to say, that even though the stall belongs to Gabe's friend Danielle, the cookies are yummy and she has lots of free samples.

I could rabbit on for ages about the market, I love being able to buy lovely fresh produce

and I think it is important to support the small boutique businesses.

Search out a market, 

I think you will love it!

Until next time --- Happy Days!

Polling Day and a bit more!

Saturday was polling day,

as usual I went to the local school to cast my vote.

Why is this a big deal?

BECAUSE, 

until recently I could not get access to the polling booths!

I had a choice of voting outside, or doing a postal vote, neither of these choices is good enough,

so I complained, and got things changed.

Here is the proof -----

I'm in.

now Nik and I are on the way to post,

Five minutes later, I posted my vote.

Hooray!

People who are not disabled in any way

may wonder why I am always complaining about everything.

I am not really a negative person, the system just makes me appear that way.

Just imagine if you could not drive and the public transport system is not accessible,

or the driver "cant see you" 

because he just cant be bothered loading you.

You want to go shopping, but you can't get into the shop because there is a step, or worse still,

a whole flight of stairs! 

Narrow doorways, counters that are high,

shops with crowded aisles,

too high shelves,

checkout lanes that are too narrow

AND shopping carts!!

they are almost impossible to wheel 

even without trying to dodge other shoppers.

The list of problems seems to be endless, 

if things are going to change, 

people like me,who have a voice,

have to complain very loudly.

Think about it!

Until next time --- Happy Days!

Still trying!

Still no word about the Marathon,

I cant see what the difficulty  is,

even my doctor has signed a medical certificate stating I am fit emough to run.

Glen Eira Council has sent a letter of support, 

Moira Care have offered to provide me with a carer, 

and Yooralla, as usual,is right behind me.

How will we ever get equality if we are not even allowed to try and do things!!!

This  is Manda and me ready to leave for the RCH run last year.The costumes were Manda's idea, 

she thought we might stand out in the crowd!!!!!

Keep your fingers crossed for me PLEASE,

I want to do this run so much.

Until next time --- Happy Days!

The secret is out!!!

NO, I am not having a baby!!

Though, this will be a huge achievement if I can do it.

WHAT!!

I am trying to persuade a difficult company, to let me

run the "half Marathon"

In this years Melbourne Marathon.

The course is almost 22klms,

runs from the CBD,around Albert Park Lake

and finishes in the MCG.

Problem is, they dont seem to think a 65 year old woman in a big blue chair could do it.

The only way to find out is to let me try!

I have some wonderful supporters, who are offering me so much help.

Tell you everything next time.

First thing is to get accepted!!!!!

Until next time --- Happy Days!

Cup cakes!

 Cup cakes seem to be all the rage at present.

Indie loves cooking,

yesterday I wandered into the kitchen

and there she was ---

mixing up a batch of little white cup cakes.

The recipe she uses is delicious and the cakes are as white as snow.

In they go.

Measuring the icing sugar for the frosting.

Testing the frosting.

 Indie wanted to use mum's large piping bag,

trouble was, it was too big for small hands!

The compromise was -

mum supported the bag until it was light enough for Indie to manage.

Voila!!

The Ganky test!!

I think what impressed me most about the cake making was,

Indie did everything on her own,

including cleaning up, and washing the mixer twice.

Great job Indie!!!

Until next time --- Happy Days!

I'm branching out!!

I had an email today that excited me, 

I was asked if I would like to contribute to Yooralla's blog, 

of course I said YES!

 

This is a picture of "Mad Manda" and me.

Manda is my recreation worker and part of Yooralla.

I think it is time I explained about "Yooralla and me".

About six years ago,

when I was probably at my most sad time, 

my OT. thought Jess and I needed some help,

so we were introduced to  --------

Yooralla's recreation department.

To give Jess a well earned break, 

they took me for a holiday to Phillip Island.

It was the first time I had been out of my house 

in anything but an ambulance, since I got sick!

The holiday was a great success and from then on Yooralla became a very big part of my life.

If you want to learn what Yooralla does for other people,

have a look at their web site --

http://www.yooralla.com.au/

It is an incredible organisation, I think,
they do so many things, for so many people.
Best of all they help
this eccentric,stubborn,
65 year old woman to achieve her dreams!
BUT
WAIT TILL THEY LEARN WHAT I WANT TO DO NOW
???????????

Until next time -- Happy Days!

So much for the sun!

Well!

On Monday I was wearing a T-shirt,

Today we had a fire!

So much for Winter in Melbourne,

our little fireplace throws out a great deal of heat.

After all, 95 years ago,

this was central heating.

  Wonderful for toasting crumpets

and roasting chestnuts.

Heaven!

Until next time -- Happy Days!

ANOTHER beautiful day!

In my opinion there is nothing more beautiful than Melbourne on a sunny winters day.

I love walking along the river bank

looking at the ever changing skyline.

If you walk away from the city, you come to this statue.

It used to stand in the reflection pool 

at the front of the Art Gallery.

I loved it there, casting its colourful reflection in the still water.

Now I can get close and actually see the detail in the painting

and the way the shapes merge into each other.

It really is beautiful!

And here for the first time is the back of the statue,

I have never seen it before!

If you click on the photos you can see the detail more clearly.

I wonder how much longer this beautiful weather will last.

Until next time -- Happy Days!

Forcast for Friday - RAIN!

Wrong again!

I love a winters day when the sun comes out!

The colours seem so rich. 

Until next time --- Happy Days!

What do I do all day? -- revisited!

Once again it is raining and very cold in Melbourne,

definately an inside day!

Today I will do some sewing,

the colours of the felt are so bright that you cant help being happy.

When I was a child, felt animals were one of the more interesting things little girls made in "handi-work" classes. Usually we made string face washers 

and calico bloomers!!

I can make so many different things with felt,

from glass cases, to Christmas stockings.

When ever my eyes and hands are working

I make these little felt shapes,

and turn them into

Mobiles, for babies,

Baby "Gazers"

and soft bunnies for new Grand Mothers!

If you look carefully, you will see that each finished article, has a -----

somewhere.

This holds the love that has gone into the making of each gift.


Until next time --- Happy Days