Goodbye Grandma Awesome

Yesterday family and friends gathered at the Village Green to farewell a greatly loved and valued old lady. After ninety two years of making the most of everyday and giving everything her all Mr Awesome's grandma quietly slipped away from this life and onto her next adventure.

As heartbreaking as it was to see her go there was also an element of relief in the knowledge she did not have to endure a prolonged and drawn out death.

Grandma Awesome
on her 90th

Grandma Awesome had been adamant there was to be no funeral. She was not one to make a fuss. Nor did she get excited when one was made of her. Though secretly I am sure she did, as long as it wasn't over the top. With that in mind those that loved her most joined together to celebrate the life of an amazing and inspirational woman.

As I sat there listening to people from the gardening club, the local library, even the local Member, I marvelled at how loved Grandma was. I mean I knew she was loved and very active within the community, I just didn't know how loved or how active. Or how generous.

I also marvelled at the girls sitting there so patiently and quietly listening to every words spoken about their great grandmother. My heart filled with pride at their sense of respect for the moment. Perhaps there is room for me at the Mother of the Year awards after all...

Mr Awesome and his cousins filled one table. Sitting there together, related by blood but still relative strangers as well. Spread out all across the nation it is not often that they can all be found in the one place at the one time. It was interesting to sit and watch the interactions.

You see while I do have cousins, I have barely ever seen them. Mine are spread not just over the this country but overseas as well. I know not what it is like to really be around extended family.

Every moment that the girls spend with their cousins makes my heart want to burst. I try to impress into my memory in the hope it will somehow become stamped in theirs as well. It breaks my heart to think that so far their cousins all live interstate.

There is no doubt that when Grandma passed the world lost a wonderful woman. Being perhaps the least materialist person I have ever come across there are few possessions to pass on in her memory.

There were however these

They had been living at her house for as long as Mr A could remember. Being a rather green thumb, these little beauties would have meant the world to her. Just like they now mean to us.

Joining in the fun and games of blogging on a Tuesday with Essentially Jess

Things I Know With Rhianna

OMG! OMG! OMG!

The first thing I know this week is that I am super excited to be hosting one of my most favourite linkies. It was such an honour when Miss Cinders asked if I was interested in helping her out during her bloggy break. 

Miss C if you happen to drop by
 I'm sending some special
fairy wishes and butterfly kisses your way lovely
image from here

I know that #TIK really is one of the easiest memes ever to join in.

All you have to do is share some stuff you know. And WE ALL know some sort of stuff.

I had thought that this was going to be a Things I Know About Not Attending #PBEvent. Only now I am too tired and my eyes to blurred. On the up side though I am fairly certain I will have time to get it out tomorrow so please wait for baited breath for that.

I know that I still need to go and find the code that Miss C sent me for the linky generator. Mr Awesome was only telling me the other day what a mess he thought my inbox was so I am sure it won't be *too* hard to find.

I know that if I am not careful I am about to become completely overwhelmed by the enormity of what lies ahead.

I know that deep breathes will help me to take it all in my stride.

I know that over the last few days I have seen lots of ruok? posts in many forms. I know I saw one that said no one has asked me if I'm ok. No me either, I thought.

But then I suddenly realised I hadn't asked anyone if they were ok so what right did I have to complain?

Are you ok?

Are any of us ok?

Really? Do we even remember what ok is anymore?

But I am starting to digress.

I know that for now I am going to love you and leave you. I have found the required code containing email and instructions.
I know that I am eager to see if it all works, which I am sure it will because why wouldn't it?
I know that you will give me all kinds of goosetingles if you grab the button below and at it to your post or side bar.
I know that reading what others know is all part of the #TIK fun so please pop round to a few fellow knowers.

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Dreams {Writers Reveal Prompt}

 This month's prompt for "Writers Reveal" was given to me by the lovely Becky over at Imagine Create Write.

You may have noticed (if you are super super observant and have very little else to think about) that there has been a slight name change since last month where it was called "Secret Subject Swap"

Apparently someone else somewhere on the world wide web had already come up with that name and wasn't overly keen on there being another one. Which I guess I kinda understand but can't help but feel there could very well be enough room on the Interwebs for two secret subject swaps. But what do I know?

Back to my post for now.

Picture via here
After searching 'dreams' at my favourite photo site this was the one that I liked best.
I had 703 to choose from in case you are interested.

Dreams.

Honestly the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word dreams is the song by Gabrielle. Well at least the chorus is 

Dreams can come true

Look at me babe I'm with you

You know you gotta have hope

You know you gotta be strong

Being a teenager in the nineties this song was almost like a mantra to me for a while. Actually now that I think about it maybe I can recall a boy and a disco and some dancing....but maybe I am just dreaming as well.

When I first received the prompt from Becky, my mind when into overdrive. The possibilities of writing about dreams seemed endless. After all dreams are something we all have aren't they? Naturally this meant I left it all to the last minute and probably won't take on any of my brilliant ideas over the last few weeks.

One of my current dreams involve winning the lottery and running away in caravan till the money runs out. While I am off galavanting around the country I will be inspired to pen words in such a way that publishers will be frantically chasing after me offering all kinds of amazing deals, which will prevent the money from ever running out and I can be a gypsy kind of gal forever. Only a very rich gypsy, or at least one that never has to worry about making ends meet.

If all goes to plan, this dream (apart from the lotto and book deal, so really just galavanting around the country bit) should come into fruition by July next year. I. Can. NOT. Wait! Mr A is due for his long service next year and we are going to use that time (plus some extra) to hit the road and show the kidlets this great land we call home. Beyond excited is what I am.

Generally I don't hold on to dreams and plans and what have you. I tend to over plan and not actually achieve anything so experience has taught me that as long as I am pointed in the right direction to just go with the flow and hope for the best. A trip of this magnitude though is probably going to need a little preparation to ensure it evolves from just being a pipe dream.

Sigh.

What dreams do you have?

Please take the time to check out some of the other writers taking part this month.
Emily Morgan Writes
Melissa Writes

JFGibson

The Wolfe's Den

Imagine Create Write

always Josefa

Ghostnapped

My Little Sunshine House

Psssssssstttt....

Wanna know something super duper exciting?

Of course you do, who doesn't want to know something exciting? The very nature of being excited is that people want to know about it...

Where was I?

Oh that's right super duper exciting news!!!!!

You know the easiest linky in the world? - Things I Know, because we all know something.

Well, it used to be held every Friday over at Miss Cinders place. Only life has become hectic for Miss C of late and blogging has to be put on the back burner. Being the totally awesome lady that she is she knows all about priorities and when to cut herself some slack to focus on what needs to be done.

Which means she needs someone to help her out keeping Things I Know plodding along.

And guess who only to happily ran in screaming offering to host.

Uh huh. You guessed it!

ME!

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So make sure you grab the button (code is all in the box) and add it to a post to share on Friday on anything you know.

I know that I pretty excited and can't wait to share some more of what I know.

I know that I am spreading today's news via

Voting Day 2013

Image found here

Today Australia decides who gets the next turn at stuffing up, sorry I mean, running this great nation into which I was born.

Mixed emotions is one way of describing how I feel about it. Bloody scared and fed up with lies and not knowing what to believe another.

There was a time when I was all over politics. And by that I mean I studied it in my final year of highschool and then in my first few years of university. In fact, just between you and me there was even a time when I briefly desired to be a world leader.

Then I realised how few people liked world leaders and thought a stay at home mum was a much better option. Everyone loves them. Well at least their kids generally do.

Actually that is not quite what happened, I got sick of studying and decided to just go and get a job. Why did I get sick of studying you may ask? Well because not too long after I started my arts degree the political powers that be of the time, started to cut funding to almost every subject I was interested in.

Image found here

Anyways back to today's election because as much as I may wish it weren't going to occur, it is. There is no way round it. My heart goes into palpitations just thinking about it.

Dramatic and quick change are not exactly something I am comfortable with and according to the latest newspaper poll in the know, that is exactly where this election is heading.

Excuse my while my stomach does a few flips and I regain my composure.

The thought of Abbot leading our nation really does turn my stomach. Aside from him playing for the wrong team (as far as I am concerned anyway) I just don't like the picture of himself that he portrays.

(I did want to say I don't like him but I don't personally know him so I guess I am not really in a position to say I don't like him. And while I am splitting my own hairs perhaps I would be better saying the picture the media portrays of him is what I don't like but surely he has some input into his media image?)

As far as I am concerned Tony Abbot and the Liberal party will bring nothing but doom. He is a short sighted homophobic misogynist that has no consideration for anyone outside his social class. Since I am most certainly not in his social class and not likely to get much consideration it is not likely that I will do anything to aid him becoming the Prime Minister.

Which is a shame because his representative for where I live is a great candidate. A woman even. Though given the redneck goose she was up against in the 2010 election it is not exactly surprising. It was disappointing to see that Labor failed to provide a more challenging opponent this time round as well. Instead giving the constituents another blokey bloke who I doubt has the brain capacity to adequately represent the view points of anything other than what the party demands.

The infuriating rage that the local Labor candidate elicits from me is of a somewhat intense nature. The mere mention of his name has the ability to send me into a frenzy of fury. Likened only to way I feel about Tony Abbott (and the Liberal party as a whole for that matter) I struggle to understand how there has not been a mix up?

To make my voting woes even worse the Labor candidate for the Senate was deemed a "Captains Pick" as she was chosen to stand for the seat over a long term and dedicated incumbent who had not announced her desire to not stand.

It is so hard to align my vote with my heart. How about you?

Rewinding on the weekend with Maxabella

Complain I will not because blessed is what I am

The day got off to a flying start with Zany ensuring I was wide awake well before I was ready to. After the antics of bed swapping I went through at some ungodly hour of the night with her and Teapot I felt no need to be the early bird worm catcher but apparently that was not to be.

Complain I will not because blessed is what I am.

Rather than stew and brew over my earlier than I would like rising I tried to make the best of it. And by that I mean I tried to convince myself that it was a great opportunity to tackle last night's dishes. The grand promises of never having to worry about the dishes again prior to the purchase of the dishwasher at Christmas time have not exactly rang true. 

Complain I will not because blessed is what I am.

While I may not say it to Mr Awesome's face, he was right in saying a dishwasher would make the dishes seem easier. There is something that makes playing dishes Tetris for twenty minutes much more appealing than actually washing the dishes by hand. Even if the latter probably ends up taking less time than the former some days. What my lovely husband failed to mention was that I would still need to constantly nag at people to get the dishes put away. Or alternatively just do it all myself. But complain I will not.

Once I had made my way through the leaning towers of dishes it was time to start the morning drudgery of getting children ready for school. Having just passed the halfway mark of the term, feet are beginning to drag as the weeks begin to blend into one. The promise of after school electronic time enough motivation to ensure we are out the door with moments to spare. Leaving me filled with an air of smugness as I depart the school grounds before the first bell has rung. 

Perhaps Mother of the Year is not out of grasps after all? (Because clearly all it takes to be MOTY is getting to school early once.)

From there I whiz around the shops and return home to discover it is not even yet half past nine. I can't help but ask my Facebook fans who has run off with the real me.

More smugness as I have dinner under control before lunchtime even arrives. 

There is something nice about the whole being organised feeling. I can't help but wonder how long it will last though. Even as I type I can feel the enthusiasm for it all beginning to wane. A feeling that only grows with each blasted beep of the washing machine informing me that there is yet another load needing to be hung out. Of course the howling gale force winds that are currently blowing through ensure that all washing not pegged down will end up on the ground. 

Naturally pegs are no where to be found. Sigh. 

But complain I will not because blessed is what I am.

Blessed that I have a washing machine to beep at me upon completion of it's load.

Blessed that the sun is shining and even though the wind may be blowing a little too hard for my liking, at least it is blowing and there is no rain. (Though just between you and me even if it was raining on washing day I would feel blessed because it has been far to long since I last saw wet stuff fall from the sky)

Blessed that I can sit down and type these words.

Blessed that I can jump up and make muffins for an after school snack.

Blessed in all these ways and so many more, so complain I will not.

Do you have a mantra to get you through some days?

Some thoughts on confidence

Now handing over the reins is not something that I do easily. Well not normally anyway. I can be a control freak just like anyone. Today however I have handed over blogging on a Tuesday, and I have done so with great pleasure.

Last week as I was trying to avoid actually doing something constructive with my time, I turned to my Facebook page with a whine of how exhausted I was feeling after a hard day of community building at the school. The reality of my day was that I had actually held someone else's baby (with glee mind you) while she (the mother, not the baby) actually did all the work serving the kids at the Father's Day stall.

Anyways, a loyal liker, who also just happens to an old high school bestie, shared that she had sat an exam that day. Knowing her like I do, I assured her that she probably had little to fear from the exam and passed with flying colours (or words to that effect). Which being the super modest chick she is, Angela politely deflected which then resulted in a brief epiphany on the topic of confidence.

Now I am not sure who said what, but before we both knew it, Angela had agreed to sharing a few of her thoughts on confidence in the shape of a blog post.

So without further adieu I give to you the wonderful words of Ms Angela.

Image from here

Having just finished a semester exam I decided to check out what was happening in the land of Facebook. Scrolling through my feed I saw an update from A Parenting Life, asking what I had been up to. When Rhianna heard of my exam she complimented me on my skills as a student. Which I instictively went to deflect.

I’d carried out the weekly work all semester and felt confident going into the exam, but instead of simply thanking Rhianna for her compliment I deflected it with the modesty that most women are trained to display from a young age. 

After I had written my response though I realised that I might be onto something: maybe confidence does stem from putting the groundwork in?

Academics has always been my forte; I do not have to ‘make’ myself put the work in, I just do it. That said, I can still fail the course if I don’t put the work in each week. I was confident about doing well in the exam because I did the necessary work.

Confidence comes from knowing your strengths, but it also comes from knowing your weaknesses and how to work around them. 

A person might prefer to plan ahead for a particular situation and might not like surprises or sudden changes of plan. In this case she can consider various scenarios that might derail her plans and plan for or visualise how she is going to deal with them. 

Someone else may be going somewhere new but is uncertain in new places. She can improve her confidence in various ways, such as asking someone who has been there, researching it online, or asking staff for assistance on arrival. 

Your preferred style of preparation may vary from mine; I prefer to do basic research and then plan what I am going to do. I like to limit the amount of input because I get ‘paralysis by analysis’, ending up with so much information that I can’t make a decision. You might like to talk to people whose opinion you trust. I prefer to keep positive thoughts running through my head, while you may prefer to get a pep talk from a friend or family member.

Obviously there are some people who are easy-going enough to walk into most situations with confidence, and I say that their confidence still stems from having put groundwork in, just in a less intensive way. These people are able to quickly draw on previous experiences, and it’s this that gives them confidence.

The takeaway:

Embrace your strengths and understand your weaknesses. Know how to work around your weaknesses.

Research and plan ahead in the way that you find most useful, but beware of ‘paralysis by analysis’.

Draw on previous experiences – preferably positive. If an experience is negative, focus on what you’ve learned, rather than on what went wrong.

And finally:

Confidence doesn’t always just happen, so don’t beat yourself up if you have to work at it!

Planning in the pipeline

Image from here

After an early night, that happened to coincide with a reasonable good sleep I found myself bright eyed and bushy tailed at the rather ungodly hour of half past four this morning. Thinking a quick trip to the loo was all I needed to do to return the land of slumber I jumped up and headed to the bathroom.

Only after emptying the contents of my bladder and returning to my indredibly warm and squishy bed (thanks to two small misplaced beings) I discovered that returning to sleep was by no means a viable option. Thankfully I had somehow managed to waste a whole thirty minutes in the process which made five o'clock seem like a much more reasonable get up time.

As the two small misplaced being were still enjoying their sweet dreams while occupying the majority of my half of the bed, getting up and facing day really was the only feasible choice. Especially since such an early rise time equalled quiet writing time. While there were naturally jobs that could have been done, making a noise and disturbing the entire house is never the best way to start a Monday.

With all the excitement of Father's Day activities at the school, not to mention the actual event of Father's Day itself, it feels like forever and a day since I actually managed to get something written. Mind you even just not writing for one day sometimes feels like forever when there are words inside that I just want to get out.

Of course the words that I did get out today still weren't exactly the ones I had been thinking of but they were a start. I have decided that I need to go back to making things matter. Despite not writing there any more because my poor little ego didn't like not getting read I have now decided that is exactly what I need. And by that I mean a I need a place to openly express without worrying too much about losing loyal readers that aren't interested in knowing what mundane aspects of life I am trying to make matter.

Due to the crazy interior workings of my mind I seem to operate better when I put things out there to the world at large, regardless perhaps of whether or not the world at large is in fact interested. Anyway when I was making time to write over at MTTMIM I did actually feel as if I was making ground towards being the best me that I can be. So it makes sense (to me at least) to try and write there a little bit more.

Naturally I would love to have you along for the journey so feel free to pop in and see how I am doing. To start with most of the posts I expect to be a bit drull, lots of lists and tasks and what have you as I try and sort myself out a little more. There will also be some exercise related stuff as I try and bring that nemesis back into my life. Over time I hope that some of the posts will be inspirational and useful to others sick of floating around but not actually achieving more out of life. 

So there you have it. A very loose outline of my pipeline plans. 

Are you a planner? 

Any tips on how to plan my life a little better?

Out and about at the Darwin Festival - Keyimba

With the end of the dry season just around the corner it is time to squeeze in as many cool activities as possible. This is not just a notion exclusive to my own little head. This is actually the way the whole city operates at this time of year. From July to August there are more events held than there are the entire year.

One such an event, which is actually an event jam packed with even more events is the Darwin Festival.

Eighteen days crammed with the widest variety of shows you will ever come across. Some are free community events, some require paid tickets to watch some of the countries finest comedians and some are held in the back yard of a local primary school giving the kids a chance to join on in.

This year I have not been to as many Darwin Festival events as previous years. Why that is I am not sure, just the way the cookie crumbles I guess. However when a friend asked me if I wanted to tag along to watch her daughter perform with West African drumming group Keyimba I was there in a heartbeat.

I can only imagine how much fun it was to sit up on stage with them. What a fantastic experiencce for young Emily

The energy created by the Keyimba was amazing and infectious. It wasn't long before everyone was up and dancing with them.

As I was sitting there looking for things to photograph with my dodgy camera that is on it's last legs and with it's wrong lens on, I couldn't help but notice these little beauties.

Now I am not generally one to get all excited about shoes, least of all boots but these white babies really took my fancy. A fancy that was taken a little further when I looked up to see who would wear such gems in a tropical paradise.

Meet Afro Moses. The dude of all dudes.

Afro Moses came complete with acid wash jeans as well. Sadly for your view pleasure I was unable to snap a shot of them though.

Turns out that Afro Moses was friends with the band. Very good friends actually because towards the end of the show he got up and sang a song with them.

Have you heard of Keyimba? They are currently touring around the place so please check out their website to see if they come near you

Messages from the Universe

It is no secret that I am a huge believer in all things fairy like. I have also always been pretty open about my belief in the powers that be and everything happening for it's own (not always apparent) reason. It is a belief system that has served me well through out my thirty five years of existence so far.

Image found here
Thanks to Billy Frank Alexander Design

Sometimes however it is not always as straight forward as what I might like it to be.
Sometimes all I feel is a jumbled mess with far too many possibilities for me to face.
Sometimes what I think is a message full of meaning turns out to be something a lot more simple and vice versa leaving me wondering what on earth I am meant to do. Which may very well be what I am faced with now.

Actually I am always wondering what I am supposed to do now, just this time I am drawing a complete blank and have no idea as to which way I should go.

The other day thanks to a bloggers Facebook group that I am a part of I heard that the Oz Blog Hosting Facebook page had a ticket to up for grabs to attend the ProBlogger event. Even though it is on the Gold Coast and even though I am not exactly financially flush with cash I entered anyway. As if I would win.

Naturally I won.

So thank you Universe for that one. But what about the plane tickets? And accommodation? Not that I want to appear greedy, just realistic.

There is a part of me that says to hell with the expense just book the tickets and run with it. After all the universe did send the event ticket your way...

Then the sensible part over rules and shouts down the stupidity of that idea. After all things like food and the mortgage really need to be given top priority don't they? Especially since when I decided to go the Digital Parents Conference back in March I knew it ruled out any prospect of making it to ProBlogger.

Only upon returning from said conference in March I am left with a whole range of emotions that leave me hankering to go to ProBlogger. Things that I thought I would get but didn't, the first time round, I am sure I will get next month. If of course I was there. Which I could be because I have a ticket, if only it weren't so far away.

Sigh.

Oh the toils and tribulations of being a blogger.

Anyone with some spare frequent flyer points they want to share?

Or a business looking for some blog exposure?

Call me as quick as you can!

Oh and just in case you still haven't seen my latest vlog now you can

Joining in all the fun of blogging on a Tuesday with Jess for #IBOT

Monday Mention - Bunnings Supporting Community Gardens

The importance of a good community can never be under estimated. In fact a good supportive community is the cornerstone of society. It provides the foundation for us to grow and prosper and gives an opportunity for us to give back to it if we so desire.

As much as I am a hermit type recluse, I also value and understand the importance of a good strong community. In fact as much as I can, I actively participate in a whole range of community minded events, both in the real world and online.

Something I have been thinking about lately is trying to get my online communities and my real life communities a little more intwined. You see if this were the case I may just be able to secure enough sponsorship to cover my accommodation and flights to attend the ProBlogger event next month. Oh my that would be just beyond lovely. (Hint, hint big company who wants to help out little old me, or small one if you have some spare cash to share) 

But I digress, because last week the opportunity did arise for me to intertwine some real life and online life stuff. These beautiful ladies came to Zany's school.

Tracey and Tammy from the local Bunnings with some of the wonderful donations
they brought for the school's garden

One of the garden mums who has helped
create a wonderful community garden at our
local primary school.
An inspirational and amazing woman.

 Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the lovely lady you see on the left there, plus few others who were a little more camera shy, the school has been incredibly fortunate in having a very special community garden created for the students. One that while has taken time has also grown at great speeds thanks to the generosity of the donations from Bunnings.

In fact thanks to Tammy and the crew at Bunnings many aspects of the garden have been able to happen a lot quicker than were first anticipated.

The planting day last week saw a fantastic range of fruiting trees go into the ground. Including cumquat, advocado, billy goat plum, black sapote and a pomegrante. Not to mention some tomato plants and pumpkin seedlings for the vegetable beds.

It was also a great opportuntiy for the students to get out in the garden and participate in the growing of sustainable plants. Some of the younger students will actually be able to pick fruit of some of the quicker growing trees. Which is a pretty exciting thought. Especially for the little brothers and sisters (like Teapot) that were tagging along.  All of this years students will get to sample some of the pumpkins and tomatos that will hopefully grow from the seedlings. 

Just think in years to come these little hands will be picking fruit from these trees.

Of course Bunnings is but one of the many wonderful supporters of the garden. The local Hireworks donated a hole digger for the weekend to make the actual planting a lot easier for the kids. Which actually meant it was a lot easier for the dear dad's that were roped into hole digging.

The most wonderful thing about community though, and I think this is the part that I love most, every little bit helps. All it takes is a little bit from everyone and before you know it the job is done and wonderful things have been created.

What is your favourite part of a community?

Joining Alicia's community for #openslather

A raining linky ramble

I have just spent the better part of the morning travelling around the blogosphere catching up on my blog commenting. Even though I said a few months ago I would be trying to cut down on my linking up to it really only lasted a week or two. I just couldn't seem to help myself.

image from here

As much as I wanted to see just how many people would stop by if I didn't go linking up all over the place, the practice just seemed to be a little harder than expected. What can I say it is just who I am.

Someone once asked me why I always attend whatever community event is happening at the school. I replied with "well if the school can go to the trouble of putting an event on the least I can do is attend." It is pretty much the same with the linky parties.

You see I figure if a blog I like goes to the trouble of hosting a linky it is the least I can do join in. Especially if I have noticed previously that not many people tend to. Yes folks I am still scared from my linking hosting experiences over at Making Time To Make It Matter. I had thought that with time I might have recovered more but apparently not yet. Sigh.

Aside from that I just love all the comment love that a good linky can bring.

Anyways I don't really want to write about all the linkies that I may or may not join in with because quite frankly that sounds a bit boring. What I do want to do though is just to write.

The kids are playing quitely, most of the housework is under control, well I have done the job here and there, everything is lining up perfectly for me to write. Except for the fact that my little brain is not really ready to come to the party. Apparently it is all blank and what have you.

Always the way though isn't it.

Just like it was the way last night when we went here, and it rained. An outdoor cinema where the seats are deck chairs. It is all kinds of awesome and on Thursdays they open the venue up to local community groups to fundraise. Last night Lovely's old basketball club was hosting the evening. They were screening Dispicible Me 3. Which most of the family had not seen yet.

At $30 for a family ticket we couldn't not go.

Even though the weather man has being saying all week that it would rain on Thursday I didn't believe him. After all the median rainfall for August is 0.0mm. It has not rained for months here. Which is nothing unusal given it is the dry season and all. Even if it is nearly the end of said dry season it still technically is the dry season. As such I expect to go out of an evening and not come home soaking wet.

As you can well imagine there is very little shelter at an outdoor cinema. Some people had the sense to take cover at the very first sign of a rain drop. Not I though. No. I sat there with a little mantra of please don't really rain going round and round my pretty little head. Tightly holding onto Teapot who was sitting on my lap who may or may not have been a somewhat of a shield from the rain.

Before you run off and report me for worst mother of the year, she was wrapped up in a few jumpers so not get *too* wet and I knew she had a dry change of clothes in the car. All good tropical mothers have changes of clothes in the car when the wet season is around. This was just a timely reminded that I need to make sure there are clothes for everyone.

Once it was evident that the rain was not going to dissipate my mantra changed to "A true territorian can sit out a bit of rain" I really wanted to keep watching the movie sitting down and the dry shelter was standing room only. Thankfully there is something quite lovely about the first tropical rains. There is a certain warmth to them that stops you from completely freezing like you would elsewhere.

But enough of the tropical rains because now that I have no more evening plans for the next few weeks I am sure that it will remain as dry as the bone it was supposed to. Always the way.

Are you patiently waiting for the weather to change?

Do you like linkies?

Joining in with Maxabella because I just couldn't resisit