April 7. Day 97. That has to hurt

 I am not cut out to be a gardener. I kill things without any real effort. But today I was walking around the garden talking on my phone when I noticed a few weeds in the planter box by the pool. Actually when I say weeds think more like Jack and the Beanstalk but without the possibility of a golden egg at the top.
So I decided to pull them out while I was chatting. BIG MISTAKE. Next thing there was this incredible pain in my shoulder. As I tugged, I managed to edge straight into a wasps nest. Yep, I stirred up quite a  hornets wasps nest there.
I consider myself lucky in that only one wasp got me and only through my PJs. But it still hurt like hell.
So my husband decided to act.
Behaving like someone who had a vague idea of what he was doing he grabbed the gas lighter and charged through the pool gate.
Having been stung once I kept a safe distance and helped by taking photos to record his incredible act of valour.
No more wasps but we still have the weeds. I wouldn't want to get all stupid about it. Some people just aren't cut out to garden. I am one of those people.

April 6. Day 96. A very merry unbirthday to me

 Today's post is brought to you by the letter T and the Number 48. It is Sesame Street meets Alice in Wonderland. Thanks to Alice in Wonderland I know it is okay to celebrate an un-birthday with a tea party, a high tea party as it happens.
I love the concept of un-birthdays but I think Lewis Carroll had it wrong. We really shouldn't celebrate 364 un-birthdays a year. I think that is over kill. But just one special day, that doesn't seem fair either. I have declared this week the Week of Susan Celebrations. That seems fair, right?
To make sure I was on track in such a tricky matter, I turned to a source even more authoritative than Wikipedia - Sesame Street.
I am sure you will all be familiar with the classic movie Elmo Saves Christmas. Actually I am sure you won't be so let me share my synopsis. Elmo has three wishes and one wish is that every day be Christmas because everyone is so nice to each other and happy at Christmas. Of course, that didn't work out so well so we got to sing about it.

"Every day can't be Christmas
that wouldn't be such a treat.
You can get tired of chocolate candy
 when that's all you eat.
Every day can't be your birthday
That wouldn't be such fun
Too many birthdays aren't half as nice as one

That you wait for.  Wait for joy and recall and if every day was Christmas, there wouldn't be Christmas at all."

So once Christmas or your birthday becomes an everyday experience it loses what is special about it. That's moral one. But there was another moral. We were reminded to keep some of the joy of Christmas and the spirit of enjoying life with special people every one of the year. So it was a delight to enjoy an un-birthday today with friends Donna Weeks and Mel Kettle and we've pledged to do it again even when it is not anyone's un-birthday. We shouldn''t need an excuse. Thanks ladies

April 5. Day 95. Jumping for joy

Apparently mobile phones come with off switches which can be used on occasions other than boarding aircraft. I did not know that. I certainly have never tried it. I mean, what if there was some sort of a crisis and I missed it because I'd used that pesky little red slide function on my phone? I was never a scout but I am, nonetheless, prepared to be contacted in the event of any emergency.
So much as I hate constant phone interruptions while I walk, it would never occur to me to turn the phone off. Touch wood, there's never been a crisis during my walk unless you count "I can't find my goggles", "I'm hungry" or "what's the iTunes password" as emergencies (some in my family clearly do). (The "where are you?" question stopped once those at home realised that the FindMyiPhone function also doubled as a FindMyMother/wife application. I am being cyber stalked by my family but that's a story for another day).
Anyway, my most recent walk included three phone interruptions.
1). Mum, you'll never guess what the clever little puppy did? He went through the dog door all by himself
2) Mum, I think the puppy is hungry. What can I give him to eat? and
3) Mum, the puppy has discovered the stairs. We'll need to find a way to block them off.
Okay, every one of these calls could have waited until I returned home but you know what I was happy to take them. I love that sense of responsibility the new resident has engendered.
I also love that the teen has voluntarily emerged from the boy cave to go and play in the sun with the pup, wants to be the one responsible for Puppy Preschool and wants to be the designated walker once the quarantine period it over. Those who say never work with children and animals have no idea what a great combination they make. And if there are any problems, I will always have the phone on and ready to call for help.

*Today's pic is Jumpy Rumpy. We have also identified Grumpy Rumpy, Humpy Rumpy, Chumpy Rumpy and Slumpy Rumpy. Many faces, one very cute Rumple.

April 4. Day 94. I see you

 

I spent the afternoon hiding in my own home darting around avoiding windows, slinking in the shadows. Pretending not to be home. If you didn't know better, it may have looked like I was expecting an unwelcome visit from the police or the bailiffs. Nope. Worse than that. I was hiding from the mowing man who has shown himself to be a little more hands on than I would like.

It is insane how hard it was to find a mowing man. Our lawn is about the size of a postage stamp. I could probably cut the lawn with a pair of scissors in half an hour if I was so inclined - but I am not. At all. Which is why I pay someone. But no-one wanted to take on the job. And then I found someone. He was great. Also did light repair jobs and could change the ridiculously  high spotlights in our roof. Showed a bit if initiative too. He would let me know if the plants needed more potting mix or if he thought the trees could do with pruning. So this one time he trimmed the bushes and sent me a text to let me know. I replied asking what I owed him. "Nuffing," he said. Just after midnight a second text arrived "You owe me a kiss". Sorry, I pay in Australian dollars only.

I assume he thought that if my husband wasn't up to mowing lawns or changing light bulbs, perhaps he needed help in other areas. Eeewww. I week later I was standing at traffic lights at West End waiting to cross when an arm slinked its way around my shoulder. Double Eeewww.
So now I leave money in a secret place when he's due to cut the lawn and I either go out or pretend I do keeping away from the prying eyes.

Today as he walked through the back gate, I went out the front and down to West End where I took this photo. Seemed to sum up today.

April 3. Day 93. In the pink

As a general rule I don't do pink. Apart from a pair of Mother's Day pyjamas (which would have been bought for me not by me) I don't think there's anything at all at the pink end of the spectrum in my wardrobe.

It's all a  bit girlie and I have never been a very girlie girl. From the time I was a young thing I was more inclined to play in the mud than play with the dolls.

And then there was a period where pink became a symbol of everything that was oppressive to young women. The blue is for boys, pink is for girls nonsense.

Now I realise that pink is just a colour. A colour is not oppressive. A colour doesn't mean anything. But it is often associated with things that are overwhelmingly positive from being tickled pink to the pink of condition to pretty in pink - pink is radiating positive all right.

It is also very pretty and quite calming. I love this single pink water lily I photographed at South Bank this morning. The lily pond is predominantly the home to while and yellow flowers but the pink variation is striking, even from  my not all that pink perspective. While I'm not about to go and flash my pink bits, there's nothing wrong with with liking a bit of pink.  What's not to like about the colour of a baby's cheeks or my puppy's tongue? Nothing. Perhaps I am going soft and cuddly in my old age.

April 2. Day 92. Those puppy dog eyes

Okay, I promise that my blog from this day on will not be a daily tribute to the new man in my life but, hey, he might only be a small bundle of joy but he's the biggest thing that's happened around our place for quite some time so I will permit myself the unusual luxury of two consecutive shots on the same topic.
For the record, Rumple is, according to my vet friend a King Shit. That's a little vet joke for a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel/ Shih Tzu cross.
He's also 100 per cent cute and a very good boy (that was said in that cute sing song voice reserved for puppies and babies).
He is also a reminder that I'm seriously hopeless at being tough. Our first dog, Oscar, was going to sleep in the paved family room. That lasted one night. He seemed so sad and lonely on his own. He was on the bed on night two.
Our son had this beautiful cot that he never slept it. He seemed so sad and lonely on his own. And Rumple was going to sleep in the laundry. That, I think, lasted about three minutes. But I'm improving. He didn't sleep on the bed just by it in a pile of my dirty washing because he seems to find my smell strangely comforting.
And earlier today after being left alone for all of an hour, he greeted the boy and me with a welcome  reserved for superstars or returning service personnel. Yep, he's made himself right at home and made a place for himself right in our hearts.
So I'd be lying if I said there will be no more Rumple photos - but not tomorrow. Although tomorrow he is having his first vet visit and shots. That could be cute ...

April 1. Day 91. Best Birthday Present Ever

 Meet Rumple. The official best birthday present ever.
We've been a dog-free home for five years and for most of that I've told myself I was happy with that.
Not having a dog gave us the freedom to go away. Not having a dog was good for my allergies and asthma. Dogs are expensive and time consuming and your heart breaks when something happens to them.
But dogs are loyal. Dogs are totally loving. Dogs are unconditional.
And right now Rumple is curled up on the couch snuggled into my leg. He just gave me those puppy dog eyes.We've had him less than three hours and I adore him completely (remind me of this when I am cleaning up puppy droppings and when the first of my possessions is chewed and the first vet bill arrives).
The thing is that I always knew it would only be a matter of time before I got another dog but I wasn't ready. And then a couple of days ago a thought entered my head that I could go there again. It was a whisper that became a roar very, very quickly. I may have been able to ignore it. I chose not to and today, on my birthday, we picked up Rumple. Like I said, best birthday present ever.