Koala Lou by Mem Fox. A. brilliant Australian tale of the cute lil K...

A few months back the Godmother and I trekked through the wildlife park to spot a Koala who had been roaming around , however the Koala was well tucked away !  I do see lots of Roo's, goanas, all the different types of birds, wallabies , emus and what not though, strolling through the patches of land that have not been cleared for development,  it would be really horrible if Koalas become endangered as it looks like we're heading in that direction.  

In this reading Koala Lou does her best to get her mum to say "Koala Lou, I do love you" amidst the growing members of her family. follow us as we see her through the bush olympics!  

what drives me on is that I get little messages from my grandson (who is starting to read on his own) and his gleeful "Oma!  I love you"!  when I've uploaded a video.  

My love to all the children of this world, where ever you may be, my thoughts are with you, and big hugs to Idris.

Dx

Wake me up before you go pro

"You know how girl's can say - oh I really like her she's great, but if I were to say the same thing  I'd cop it big time mate !!" , "yeah mate, that f@rked yeah, and then". .. Argggghhhh do I have to wake up to this verbal vomit being spouted by the tradies who are working on the finishing touches to the houses next door?   I feel for my headphones on top of my "doona". (when in Australia....) and hit play.. ahhhhh thank the goddess for music. I scoot out of bed and look out my window at the two young tradies below who have no idea that the entire street can hear this heartfelt 'woe is me' bleat... Uh grow up please! I grumble to myself.  Such is life now that we've moved house, we had no idea that the development next door would take this long. Sometimes I wake up to the sounds of drilling (the drill guys the drill... tsk) or banging (again with a hammer...sheesh) and or someone has brought along a MEGA speaker, seriously the size of luggage, ok ok not the 25 kilo bags more like the 7kg carry on ones, but still.. and has ramped up the volume to the max with everything from mumble rap to Ozzie country songs. I shall not complain.. much.. because sometimes when I hear them all laughing together it makes me smile, how wonderful to have a great day filled with such good energy.

Tradie Matey

Every time I think of setting up to video my vlog, I wonder what conversations from the tradies will be picked up on my mic ! Can you imagine? ha ha ha, mind you it would add some spice and humour to the vlog!! Something I feel has been somewhat lacking in my life for a bit, last year was pretty dark, two of my closest friends passed away suddenly within months of each other, that hated phone call when all you hear is sobbing and sharp intakes of breath as the news is broken to you. I'm no stranger to death, we have a complicated relationship, it started when death took my husband away 20 years ago. Wait! What??! 20 YEARS??? I had to count back and do some swift calculations there!! WTH? has it been that long? WOW that was unexpected , and Oi none of those black widow jokes!

 

 However it brings to mind how much life has changed, I said to my buddy Johan, why do they not tell you these things about ageing for kerist's sake! The stiff muscles, creaky joints, the GREY of hair and not only on your head, OMG ...really?... yeah (hear that lad's next door, that's what you're going to be talking about soon enough, hah!) When I called up my mentor and ex boss to get some advice on podcasting, I had asked what he was up to these days, he said " D, I turned 70, I'm supposed to be retired but I can't sit around and do nothing! so I still do some consultancy and compose music apart from going for dialysis twice a week" .. umm .. So many of us have made huge changes in our life, either due to illness, (like me), a change of countries (again I raise my hand ) early retirement, ageing, or just to step away for a total change to help with work life balance. What made you make that change? How did you handle it, what goes through your minds, and how has it turned out? 

I'ma leaving on a jet plane

For me , as I was taking another one of my long walks and nodding to the people walking their dogs or fit mums jogging behind the prams and mumbling curses at the cyclists who zip by ringing their bells , UGH! I'm turning into THAT BAG LADY! I swear I can see myself standing at the corner of the street, muttering at everyone going past and casting them evil looks and showing them many different varieties of finger signs!! Anyway I digress I was thinking, so 6 years ago, the universe tapped me on the shoulder and said "Oi, you need to make some massive changes in your life or you and death are going to have a smackdown, here's cancer deal with them first". (cancer is a bitch who needs a kick in the butt) I thought so what did I learn, and how am I now? I can say, that the stress of the lifestyle I had was not worth it, that I should have learned to meditate earlier  and done more yoga! but I should have been truer to myself, and walked away from a load of situations that I had no control over. The first time I heard Eckhart Tolle the power of now I bawled my eyes out, but you have to be in that head space to want to discover, resolve and have inner peace. 

Eckhart Tolle

They say (and please don't ask me who they are) “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” It is the box in your mind that imprisons you, those false parameters that you set for yourself, and only you can break free from them . There are some vestiges of that mindset sometimes but all in all I feel freer, that huge event in my life made me do a 190 degree turn, and forced the change for the better I feel, and so I ask.. What next?

much love

Dx

Tales from the Bush, pt 4

Day 4, Daph’s Caf (the new moon in Virgo wanes)

I hear clicking on floor boards, some thumping and then some breathing, and it’s close by, do I dare open my eyes, I’m going to have to see what type of creature from beyond is about to attack me.  I look down and two pools of liquid amber are staring at me.  Ahhh morning Doggie.

Doggie

We amble off to forage for food, prod Lurch to see if he’s still alive under the doona, and settle down to some work and coffee.  Doggie’s job is to watch me work and to get underfoot every time I walk around the kitchen.  He’s good at his job I must say.  

It’s time to let the evil cluckers out of the coop, when I open their door, I use my most strident tone and tell them to “get a move on girls, no lollygagging, move it move it move it!”.. Heh Heh, and they all march out in a line.  If anyone saw me curled up in laughter by the coop they would have thought I had lost my marbles completely.

EUREKA!  2 Eggs!

 I duck under the lemon trees, which have manged to scratch up my arms when I divested them of their heavy yellow crop, and look at the roosting area for eggs.  EUREKA! Not one but two eggs!  I do a little jig, look carefully left and right so as not to create any suspicion with the “hen brigade” and leg it back to the kitchen.

I show Lurch my treasure, he just shakes his head, “ma, whatever floats your boat” he says.

As long as there are carbs and high sugar treats, the teenage is happy.

We decide it’s time to explore our surroundings.  I believe there is a rather large dwelling type space, but it doesn’t house people, instead it has row upon row of provisions,  like dead animal flesh , there is even an entire area dedicated to crops that have no roots or soil! “ MUM you twit, it’s the supermarket, lets go !” says Lurch.  Humph teens, such killjoys.

The next day I'm joined by the heavenly child and her boyfriend , we're celebrating Lurch's birthday.  It's been ages since I've driven so I'm whizzing around in the little VW, forgot what freedom having a set of wheels can give you.!  

Just raining, and raining..... and raining

The weekend is full of rain, and hail and we 're batting down the doors and windows.  Such excitement, well at least it keeps me occupied and I don't have to think about Monday which is the dreaded "M" day.  ( that's M for Medical.. yuck)  now that's going to be another adventure.  

Stay tuned as the next adventure turns dark. 

Tales from the Bush, the log book.

Day 1, Daph's Caf Log (full moon in virgo)

Have arrived finally at the Capital, forgot to eat or have a coffee in my haste to get public transport to my destination, so was grumpy with hunger.  The Godmother whisked me to a mall as she had some errands to do, there she fed and watered me, thankfully, or I would have bitten her arm off (in hunger and anger... whichever is preferable at the time...)  I've also managed to mess up my con call with my tribe so no one is gong to save me now.

We arrive at casa Godmother, and the pygmies come bounding down the stairs to greet me.  It is a common custom they say, for these albino pygmies to jump on you and wrap their arms around you, or  so I've been told. "Stop calling them PYGMIES Daph! They're kids", shouts The Godmother.  Right... David Attenborough  mode off.

The Gin Deck of the House... he he he

I've agreed to house sit for a week, this means apart from getting a 5 bedroom house on an acre of land to myself, I also have a few "chores" to do.  One of the chores is to take care of their gorgeous brown Labrador doggie who is so laid back and the other chore, that has my inner "city girl" nostrils flaring, are the "hens" aka killer chooks who need to be let out of the coop at the bottom of the yard, next to the lemon trees.  "Don't worry, they will go back in on their own once the sun goes down" assures father to the pygmies and husband to The Godmother.  uh huh, righto.

Take me for a walk pleaseeeeee

Another godmother in disguise arrives, so do more pygmies, I am being plied with champagne and quiche (caviar is so passé sweetie dahlinks).  They plot, they cackle, they speak their own coded talk, (you know, mommy speak)  I eventually flee to my cave aka the guest room which is fabulous as it's on it's own floor downstairs.   He he he, this will be a walk in the park, are my last thoughts as I fall asleep , but I wake up a little while later, heard someone snoring... oh.. it's me. zzzzzz

Well hello hard, solid and ... shiny

eurgghh can't even do up my shoe laces!

Ah another day, another twinge in a muscle somewhere!  No no I wasn't up all night playing twister! (I'd probably be in traction if that!).  As part of my new beginning in a new county,  I've also joined a yoga class, introduced to me by my sister in law here (yes!  I have them everywhere! just kidding, but then again I do have 3 brothers ), we shall abbreviate that to SIL from now on yeaaa.  Anyways,  SIL took me to her yoga studio last night for a sesh.  Really enjoyed it, tried not to look at all the beautiful ladies around me with too much envy, and kept the one pack (gone are the days of 6 packs or washboard abs, huge sigh) firmly sucked in.  Love the free flow yoga they practice, so different form the discipline of Iyengar Yoga I was practicing, I can still hear my Yogi saying "this is a not a ballet class Daphne, do not point your toes!".. eeepppp.

Have a look at their website Zenko Yoga

With everything new, I've also had to get a new lap top as mine died on me a couple of weeks ago, quite a funny story really, no really it is funny in retrospect.  I've had my macbook pro for 5 years, those machines are brilliant,  I think dropping it at the airport (after many little "oopsies" ) was the final kabosh, and my fantastic Mac said "right, that's it, I'm done wif ya, go abuse another lap top". So I found a place that repaired mac's and went in,
and said "hello, can you help me, I've dropped my lappie and it's not powering up properly" .
He took one look at me and said "don't tell me it's a mac book pro" .
I said "it's a mac book pro".
If he could have rolled his eyes he would have but, Mr I'm cool , I got tattoos up the wazoo and big baggy shorts, just smiled and took my precious to go have a quick look over.  5 minutes later he came out
and said, "do you have home insurance comp"?,
I said "no, so hit me with it",
He said "we have to change the entire casing and it's going to cost ya,  I suggest you go get a new laptop".  
And there you go, so now I'm using the new mac book air, as paranoid nerdette backed up everything to an external hard drive that has more than 1T and can access any file any time without excess baggage or bulk.  know what I mean?

Talking about bulk, oohh behave, I'm still on tech here, we can leave all the wobbly bits out, just for this blog.  My other bit of newness is a domestic one, yeah I wish, we all want a Puerto Rican pool boy who looks like a GQ pin up, but NO, I'm talking about vacuum cleaners.  Oi hang on a minute, it might not sound sexy to you but it's still part of our daily lives.
Whilst staying with my galpal when we first got here, I noticed she had an Aussie Vac Ducted Vacuum system  installed.  Which is great as you can just plug the hose in anywhere in the house , but you still needed to physically hold the vacuum and clean.  Seeing as I was about to move into a new home,  I started doing some research on robotic vacuum cleaners,  several of my friends in Asia have them and say they work a treat.  Well guess who's got one now to help around the house eh.  The kids have dubbed it "robo" Very original, succinct and easy to remember (however I will not allow them to name pets ).

There must be a program in me that I can erase because I catch myself following the dang thing sometimes!  It's great to do a general clean, so while I'm in the kitchen in the morning doing my usual prep, I just let it go.  The house is clean in 20 minutes and I haven't even broken a SWEAT .  Mind you, I still have to nag the kids to help mop the house and do the corners.... wonder if they'll come up with a machine for that .....
In the mean time, have a great week ahead, drop me a line if you feel like it, or just say hey. Dx

Looks like a flying saucer innit!

Hello New World!

Hello! Hello!  my first blog of 2017!  Well it's been a tremendous year so far, and I'm loving every moment.  A really good friend of mine just gave me a gentle nudge about the blog so I've decided to start filling in all the blanks since 2016

I left off last year when Kudsia Kahar my media partner and myself started stirring our couldrons, ooh yea we are up to something.  We're currently sourcing for sponsorship as the entire show we've put together is ready to roll out.

It was such a whirlwind of packing, packing packing, selling off and giving away all my worldly goods, yes I got rid of everything I had in my house , well except for the kids of course!!! I had decided I was moving and that was that.  Gave notice to the landlord, gave the car to the mechanic to sort out, uploaded all my stuff on the preloved goods website and everything else I gave away to charity.

I remember sitting there amongst all my stuff wondering if I'd ever be done packing.  Geezzz how much have I accumulated???! My kids retort "well we've been here for 9 year mum what did you expect!"  9 years??!!! Oh my gawd,  time has really just flown by it was supposed to be a 2 year stop gap....
However sometimes life grabs you by the short and curlies and says "oi, wake up, it's time to go forth and explore some better options, gtfo babe!"

And better options there are, we have made the big move, left our country lifted skirts and legged it. We're now in the land down under, immersing ourselves in the laid back lifestyle of the sunnysiders, learning not to say 'slippers' but 'thongs'  and trying not to grin while 'the thong song' plays in my mind every time they correct me!

so along with a new phone number and address, there are also numerous new online sites to do your shopping from, and like most there are cookies and little feedback pop ups which I invariably fill out, because I'm like that!!

This also gives third party marketers your info and then the Tele marketers begin to call, I've had 8 calls so far. Look I know everyone rolls their eyeballs at this, and says grrr they are such a pain in the "beep" , ( ok bum, I said it, I'm not a prude 😜) but think about it, what the person at the other end of the phone has to go through mentally to speak to you, a complete stranger, and try to sell their product in the most innovative non pushy way.

I really feel for them and so I usually give them the time of day to finish their speil, then let them down gently, it is a hard job and kudos to them. I've managed to giggle along to someone trying to sell me funeral insurance, commiserate with someone who was from the seeing  eye dog association to being thanked for being so nice by Raymondo who was from a telco company, he said "you're the kindest person so far,  who has spoken to me, have a great day! " And you know what, I did have a great day!. I've been harping on taking your time to smell that heavenly Columbian coffee for the last few blogs, what is the rush? Where are we all going in such a hurry? Why can't we give  our fellow man a hand after all we could be that person too..no?

You all have a great week ahead, I've got a few more topics brewing that I'd like to throw your way but if you do get a telemarketer calling, don't hang up, they're just doing their job. Dx

Winging it

My good friend and tormentor, Nora has flown back in from that hell hole of a country she's been seconded to, for a few days of non stop mindless meetings here, and has decided that instead of being civilised and go out for drinks at a reasonable hour, she wants to do so NOW, now being 12.30 am. Well she's driven, that I'll admit!

I told her to go home, and that I was in bed and I'd see her tomorrow ... 'biaotch' .. is the response I get from her via sms. Charming as always I think, it seems the closer your friends are, the ruder the name calling heh heh! I send her a rude remark in reply and she calls me up,

"I'm coming over now to pick you up and we're going out" she growls at me.
"forget it mate, I'm not going anywhere at the time of night" I growl back (we growl very well as both of us have very low voices)
" Listen D, you're the one person I always make sure I see when I come back and I'm not sure how much time I'll have in the next few days and so we're going" she says
"Then make the time tomorrow you twat !" I respond, a load of expletives ensue from the other side of the phone.. even more charming I think ( I do love her to bits and this is our usual way of hostile negotiations!)

Ten minutes later she storms into my home, hurls some not so motherly advise to my eldest who lets admit it, is a rebellious adult, for want of a more polite way of explaining the late teen years.. oh yeah.. you all know the feeling. She rapid fire goes through all the things he's done in the last couple of months since she's seen him, presses some money into his hand to go get a hair cut (what an incentive eh...) and then literally frog marches me out the front door and bundles me into her SUV and says "drive!" (like I said... hostile negotiations!)

I hoist myself into the drivers seat, she pumps up the volume in the ahh.. not so pimp mobile, and says "lets go karaoke!" (don't you all start groaning ok!.. we LOVE to Karaoke! and we're not afraid to admit it!)
"Nora, it's almost 1 a.m, and everything will be shut around here", I remark, as she starts to give me instructions to go into town.
" Ok Ok" she concedes, "lets go to the burbs and see if the pub is open, should have live gigs there."
I u-turn the wanna be Dr Dre truck and we hip hop it till we arrive at the Pub. She finally notices I've cut my hair... "um it's cool, but I still prefer your long hair.." she says with her usual brand of honesty. "Thanks buddy, I still like your poofy hair too... " I grin at her, She gives me a dirty look and calls me another name, smiles and we head in to the Pub.

The Pub is on it's last call for drinks, we manage to get a round and head for the pool tables, I'm totally a spaz when it comes to Pool, unlike Nora, who loves to compete and pretend she's a Pool shark... my friends.. what can I say.

When she's finally had enough of playing Pool, (I think it's more enough of playing against me... I'm so utterly ka ka at the game!) we hunker down and catch up, I tell her I'm going to Australia to go have a "working vacation" .
"What the heck is that D" she asks me
"Well Stash wants me to come down and have a look at some possible business ventures with her and to look around the area she's in as a possible place to move to" I explain
"Ah.. OK.. I still think you'll end up in NZ.   She stands up, grabs me in a hug and says "c'mon lets go eat... I so miss the food here".

We have a pleasant supper, I outline my plans for the next few months, Nora is relieved I'm back to work and getting it together, she's always been there even if it's to shout at me about the "realities" of life. Sometimes you do need to be checked, even better if it's by someone you admire and one who has a good head on her shoulders. She benevolently loads me off at home, and with a cheeky grin , bids me goodnight. I never know when I'm going to see her again, it could be tomorrow or the next few months, but it's always good to catch up with her no matter how little or much time we have, good friends know the difference between quality time and quantity time, and the cow made me think of NZ again... bugger.
Dx