Preoccupied

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Apologies for the current blog silence - got 'stuff' going down at the moment which is keeping me preoccupied.  Normal transmissions will resume shortly!

G. xx

New name, new address

I decided that my blog needed a name that was a better reflection of what it's all about.  Therefore I've changed the name and moved the entire blog to this new location which means The Marsha Brady Fan Club (MBFC) is no more!  If you still have MBFC linked to from your blog or in your favourites, the home page still actually exists and includes a link referring back to this new blog.  Anyhoo, what's that saying?  A change is as good as a holiday!

I apologise for any non-working links within the blog however I am working my way through the blog checking all links and correcting them where necessary.  Thanks for your patience!

Unwrapping Christmas

How was your Christmas?  Ours had some not so good and some good!

The not so good.

On Christmas Day the lovely Wayne and I enjoyed a lazy morning with a late breakfast before heading off to have lunch with his mum at the nursing home.  Well, wasn't that a shock to the system - we walked in to find his dear mum quite upset and looking terrible.  She looked like she had aged 10 years in the 2 weeks since we had last seen her.  A bit of history - the lovely Wayne's mum has quite advanced MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and spends most of her days (& nights) in bed as it is too painful for her to sit upright.  She can spend very short periods in a water chair that has her at a reclined angle.  By short periods I mean basically just to move her around.  Well on Christmas Day the staff of the unnamed nursing home got her out of bed and into the water chair so they could do her bathroom routine and change the bed etc.  The thing is they went off and left her in the chair.  She had been in it for an hour when we arrived and it then took another 2 hours to get some staff to finally put her back to bed.  This poor woman was crying from the pain, and she has a very high pain threshold!  Suffice to say, we hunted down staff and all but ripped them a new a-hole and got her put back to bed (we now have an interview scheduled with the Director of Nursing at the nursing home to 'discuss' this).  The upshot of this was that the lovely Wayne's mum was then exhausted.  It was a shame as she had been looking forward to the day.  We ate lunch with her then left her to sleep.  We did go back 2 days later and she was like a new woman - all rested and back to her usual self which was a relief.

The good #1.

My mum and dad joined us for Christmas dinner at home.  They arrived armed with their little dog (Sari), my mum's delish Spinach & Egg salad, and a ridiculous amount of gifts - they spoil us, truly they do!  All of the gifts were very 'us' gifts.  We had a lovely relaxed evening with lots of laughs and way too much food.  The food was delish too!  Sadly I neglected to take any photos which is bad, but we were just having too good a time.  It will be good to do it all again in a couple of weeks when my sister and brother-in-law will be visiting.

The good #2.

Each year at Christmas, we alternate Christmas dinner between my family and the lovely Wayne's family - well his Aunt actually, as we always see his mum on Christmas day.  This year it was his Aunt's turn to see us on Boxing Day and she had insisted on us having dinner at her house, so off we went.  We had a lovely evening and again were spoiled rotten!  We also met her newest addition - a German Shepherd puppy named Rosie.  She is a sweetie and oh so timid.

So there you have it, a summary of our Christmas goings on for this year.

Christmas Planning

OMG, can you believe that its only 2 weeks till Christmas!

Well as of today the tree is up (I'll post a pic later) and our unit is looking suitably Christmassy - not sure if that is even a word, but you get what I mean.  Today I set out on a mission to start our Christmas shopping.  Armed with a list I hit the shops.  So far I've only bought one item off the list but I have bought some lovely gifts - I'll have another go at it later this week as I do know exactly what to get and where from.

Our Christmas this year will be a quiet affair.  This year we are having Christmas lunch with the lovely Wayne's mum.  The nursing home where she lives is hosting a Christmas luncheon for residents and their immediate families.  My sister and my brother-in-law will be almost interstate for Christmas this year visiting my brother-in-law's family so I'm planning Christmas dinner for mum and dad and us.  I'm thinking a selection of fresh seafood and cold cuts accompanied by some delicious salads.  Dessert is currently TBA!

I have to confess that I'm really looking forward to the Christmas/New Year break this year.  I'm taking some extra time off this year so that I get a 3 week break from work.  It's been a hectic year this year work-wise and I'm relishing the idea of my 3 week break.  The best part is that I have very few plans for my 3 weeks off.  A couple of books have been earmarked for reading, I intend to do some photography and I intend to catch up with friends.  All in all, a lovely relaxed break.

Anyhoo, I'll leave you with a Christmas piccy of myself - I had a bit of fun editing a pic of myself with paintbrush!  As you can see, I've missed my calling as an artist...LOL.

It's Time.

I saw this beautiful video today and just had to share it.  It's part of an advertising campaign to raise awareness of the current marriage inequality here in Australia.  I live in hope that one day the lovely Wayne and I will be able to wed.  After 22 years together it's something that is important to us.  Lets hope this advertising campaign makes a difference for the thousands of same sex couples here in Australia.

Good morning world!

Well the lovely Wayne had the day off today so I organised to start work late today.  This meant we could have a lazy morning enjoying a late breakfast outside in our courtyard.

Today I decided that I wanted to whip up something for brekky that I recently enjoyed at a fave cafe, The Depot.  They do a wonderful breakfast trifle which I love.  It consists of seasonal fruit, muesli, honey and vanilla yoghurt all layered in a large glass - it is devine.  My version was a little different in that I didn't have suitable glassware so it was constructed in a large bowl instead.  According to the lovely Wayne, it was every bit as good as the cafe version - he has already requested it for tomorrow!  Enjoyed with a latte, what better start is there to the day!

Maintenance, a freshen up, and a bit of history

In an effort to blog more frequently I've conducted some overdue blog maintenance.  More importantly, I've freshened up the look and feel of my blog in an effort to make it a little more appealing to myself and any of you folk out there reading.  If you didn't see the previous iteration, you're probably lucky!  It really was a very noob kinda blog.  No doubt it will evolve as I learn more about this wonderful medium.

I'm now reading/following a number of blogs and I'm loving discovering new blogs.  I suppose I should step back a little and give an insight into how I came to be interested in blogs and blogging - what inspired me if you like.

I had been a semi-regular visitor to a wonderful photographic projects website called sh1ft.org.  A few months back I finally took the plunge and decided to participate in one of their projects.  During this project I started looking at the other participants' photos and blogs and stumbled across Scarlet Words.  This blog was what started it all for me.  It inspired me to have a go at blogging and it also led me to Instagram - I'm now an Instagram addict!  Scarlet Words and Instagram have then led me to many other blogs, and the rest as they say, is history! 

As I discover more and more blogs that strike a chord with me, I'll mention them and/or add them to Link-O-Rama over there on the right.  Be sure to check them out.  Oh yes, and if you feel the urge to follow me on Instagram, just search for gawee.

Checking In....its been a while!

Well sadly time was against me with participating in the photography essay.  This last month has been pretty hectic as I started in a new position at work.  I'm flat out busy however for the first time in years I'm absolutely loving what I'm doing - certainly makes it easier to front up every day....LOL.

I'll try to pop by here more regularly, but I'm heading off now as dinner beckons!

Busy busy busy

Wow, talk about a busy week.  Yay for saturdays I say - 'tis 'catch-up day'.

I've still been happily clicking away so I'd best get the last few days pics up!

Yay, my first blog!

Well after resisting the urge for long enough, I've caved in and decided to start a blog.  Not sure of the content as yet, lets just say it's a work in progress that will no doubt be windswept and interesting I'm sure!

Anyhoo, it's now started!!