Holding on

In the days when you couldn’t count on a public toilet facility, an English woman was planning a trip to India. She was registered to stay in a small guest house owned by the local schoolmaster. She was concerned as to whether the guest house contained a WC. In England, a bathroom is commonly called a WC which stands for “Water Closet”.

Photo: WC by Tracy Hunter

She wrote to the schoolmaster inquiring of the facilities about the WC. The school master, not fluent in English, asked the local priest if he knew the meaning of WC. Together they pondered possible meanings of the letters and concluded that the lady wanted to know if there was a “Wayside Chapel” near the house . . . the concept of a bathroom never entered their minds.

So the schoolmaster wrote the following reply:

Dear Madam,  
I take great pleasure in informing you that the WC is located 9 miles from the house. It is located in the middle of a grove of pine trees, surrounded by lovely grounds. It is capable of holding 229 people and is open on Sundays and Thursdays. As there are many people expected in the summer months, I suggest you arrive early. There is, however, plenty of standing room. This is an unfortunate situation especially if you are in the habit of going regularly.
 
It may be of some interest to you that my daughter was married in the WC as it was there that she met her husband. It was a wonderful event. There were 10 people in every seat. It was wonderful to see the expressions on their faces. We can take photos in different angle.
 
My wife, sadly, has been ill and unable to go recently. It has been almost! a year since she went last, which pains her greatly. You will be pleased to know that many people bring their lunch and make a day of it. Others prefer to wait till the last minute and arrive just in time. I would recommend your ladyship plan to go on a Thursday as there is an organ accompaniment. The acoustics are excellent and even the most delicate sounds can be heard everywhere.
 
The newest addition is a bell which rings every time a person enters. We are holding a bazaar to provide plush seats for all since many feel it is long needed. I look forward to escorting you there myself and seating you in a place where you can be seen by all.
 
The Schoolmaster 

The Woman fainted reading the reply…….. and she never visited India!!!!

I wonder why?????

This joke was originally seen at OzJokes 

A quick trip home

We ducked home for a quick trip to see our eldest daughter move off to Canada for a year or two. Benita was so busy with lots of last minute stuff and seeing her friends just one more time, that we hardly got to spend much time with her and before you know it is the last night and away she went. A few email reports and she reports everything is great on the other side of the world and she adores her little charges. She will be a nanny to 2 young kids mostly after school care and a couple of younger kids during school time for another family twice a week. She will also be doing some work for her new local church involving children’s ministry. So she is certainly off and running.

Oma & Opa De Rooy

We also made some time to attend Bob’s family reunion, which is the first one for a decade or so. Even though the weather was damp, it didn’t dampen our enthusiasm and a good number of cousins & aunts rolled up along with a spattering of younger kids and grandkids. There were some gaps especially in the teenage and young adult ages, which was a pity, but maybe we can encourage them more the next time. The larger a group, the more unlikely you are to get everyone along to any type of gathering. I hope this is something we can do a get together annually or bi-annually if at all possible. I think everyone who attended agreed that it was good to have this time to see everyone else. The cousins who put it all together had a display board made up with photos of Opa & Oma De Rooy and some relatives. They hired a big covered picnic area with an adjacent BBQ which was put to good use. There was also a mobile coffee truck which our people certainly took advantage of, with the majority of us being avid coffee drinkers and the cooler weather certainly was conducive to having a hot drink or two.

The De Rooy cousins & the aunties

Being back home also meant catching up with our youngest son who has been minding the house whilst we are doing the grey nomad thing and road tripping around sunny Queensland. He had quite a good job of keeping it all going.

I guess I must be a fusspot as I still felt the need to do lots around the place especially in the garden, which admittedly Dean has never been keen on. He'll do the lawn mowing and whipper snipping but that's it! In between weeding the garden, washing every towel in the house, making breakfasts, lunches & dinners, and some miscellaneous running around that was needed, we still made time to visit some friends though not as many as we had hoped. Still it is only another 6-8 weeks are we will be home well in time for Christmas and all that entails.

One day at a time: Breast Cancer

I am a breast cancer survivor.

Having been diagnosed with a low grade breast cancer in 2011 and then having it removed in early 2012, I acknowledge that I am very lucky in many ways.

It has made me re-evaluate my life. I recognized that I have been blessed by God in many ways and I supposed that this breast cancer has made me doubly aware of just how blessed I am and have been. 

Photo: TipsTimes

I have the love of a good man, who is my very supportive husband who has always strived to show his love in practical ways especially by providing for his family. Yet at the same time he has come to understand more and more over the years that he also needed to spend time with us not just go out and bring in an income and provide ‘things’ for us, not just for his own benefit but for our benefits too. I am sorry for all the times I have failed to recognize him for what and who he is deep down and have taken him for granted at times. He is my best friend, who has stood by me through all the tears and joys of life even when he doesn’t understand the roller coaster of my emotions. He is also the one who (unfairly I might add) might ‘cop’ it all when things get rough and I need a scapegoat.

I have 4 wonderful healthy and loving children who are active community members in their own niches. I have a marvelous daughter in law and 2 adorable grand daughters. Though one of my sons and his family live so far from us, we have managed to see them several times in the past year or 2.

We are now at a stage of our lives where we can take more time as we are early retirees and this has freed us up to do more pleasurable activities such as travel and volunteer work.


We have come more and more to the understanding that we have far too much in material things and that we really can live with less ‘stuff’. Traveling for months at a time in a caravan really brings home to you just how little ‘stuff’ you really need to have in your lives.

Photo: DixieBelleCupcakeCafe

So all in all this has just been a blip in my life and life goes on. I am very grateful that it was caught early and that all I needed was a lumpectomy. I didn’t even need radiation let alone chemotherapy. For this reason it is easy to brush it off as nothing. Yet it will forever be a part of my past and one that sets the future on a slightly uncertain future. I also recognize that are futures are always unpredictable and that we must have faith in something. My something is the love of Christ that stabilizes me here and I know that He holds the future in the palm of His hand. Nothing that can or will happen will be outside of His knowledge. That gives me peace of mind; it does not guarantee a cancer free future nor a future free of any catastrophe. “But I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”

So I go forth in my life walk of faith, not worrying about what has happened or what might be. I walk forward with confidence following, pursuing and obeying the Lord Jesus. Keeping my eyes on the goal, which is to run the life he has set forth for me, whatever rough or smooth path that may take. I take it one day at a time, there is no other way but to trust and obey.

May you go forward from this day appreciating everyone in your life.

Michelle

Update:

Jan 2013: It is now just over 14 months since my last mammogram and I have just had my second lot of screenings along with an ultra sound. I am glad to report that everything is fine. Praise the Lord!
I did have some localised tenderness in my left breast (same one as had the cancer) but it was most likely to have been hormones causing the tenderness. I guess having once had breast cancer, you are more likely to be concerned with something out of normal occurs.

Grandchildren

Those of us that are blessed with grandchildren, certainly love them. Obviously they can be a challenge though. Read on.

Belle & Boo Tea Set

One day Nanna went out for a while and Pop stayed home babysitting his little granddaughter.

A little 'tea set' was one of his granddaughter’s favourite toys.

Pop was engrossed in the footy game on TV, when she brought him a little cup of 'tea', which was just water. "Hmm," he said absently downing the proffered cup.

Photo: State Library of Queensland

After several cups of ‘tea’ and lots of praise, Nanna finally came back home.

Pop proudly told her of their terrific afternoon together and made her watch & wait in the living room while the granddaughter brought him another cup of tea.

It didn't take long before Nanna saw the granddaughter bring in a yummy cup of tea. She watched as he drunk it up before asking him “Did you enjoy that?"

"Yeah" he replied defensively as he could tell she was leading up to something.

"Did you ever stop to think of where she can get the water from?" She commented.

"It certainly isn’t the kitchen. The only place she can reach water is out of the toilet!"

Travel Crafts: A Sympathy Card

I thought it would be a good idea to list my crafts separately and ummed and aahh'd over a name for these posts. I have come up with Travel Crafts. Not all the crafts posted will be stuff made on the road as sometimes we are home but certainly it will include those done whilst on the road.

Here is a card I recently made.

Z fold Sympathy card

The papers (the background one was left over piece that already decorated at home for a previous project) and the card stock were brought with me as was the cut and embossed shapes. I have brought just a few cards and limited the colours and styles to be done so that I could actually leave home with out carrying everything with me. As it was I forgot to bring some glue but that was easily remedied at the nearest newsagent with the purchase of a quality glue stick. Sometimes I am frustrated that I don't have more choices with me, but I am still glad overall in limiting my stock on the road to make room for other crafts such as wool for crochet.


Go to Inkspirational Designs if you want to know more details on the card.

Breast cancer update

It also mentions my recovery from breast cancer which may be news to some of you. Thankfully all appears to be well now and I just need regular yearly screening to ensure it doesn't creep back.I will be posting  shortly my outlook on life since the diagnosis. Come back within a fortnight.

Cheerio

Michelle

Bundaberg Botanical Gardens

Whilst visiting my sister in Bundaberg, we decided to visit the local botanical gardens the next day.
A wet dawn heralds our trip to the Botanical Gardens, however by late morning, the rains had cleared up and the weather was lightly overcast but warm.

The Playground

It was just perfect for a picnic BBQ at the park. We first went straight to the playground area for our 2 year old niece to play on the slippery dip and such whilst the guys got the one of the free BBQs up and running.

Concentrating on a good swing

Concentrating on a good yarn along with the cooking

Then after a yummy lunch we walked down to the train that runs in the park during the holidays and selected other times. Then away we are off for a trip around the park’s lakes and gardens.

The train at the Bundaberg Botanical Gardens

Of course we have to visit the duck pond to feed not only the numerous ducks, we also fed pea hens, 5 or 6 big fat eels a trio of turtles and a couple of goannas too or more precisely they are water dragons. My favourite was the shy turtles who pop just their tiny heads up in the water. They must be short sighted or something as they needed the food to be just about touching their noses before they found it. Wendy had to distract the ducks by feeding them elsewhere, or else the turtles would miss out totally.

Eastern Water Dragon

The duck pond

A short walk concluded our time at the park. We didn’t get to see much of the botanical sections so we will just have to come back another time.

Seeing the train across the duck pond

Roadside assistance

Source: Courier Mail

A woman was sobbing because she had discovered that she had locked her keys inside the car.


A gentleman offered to assist her and proceeded to remove his trousers, roll them up in a ball and rubs the against the car door.


Magically it opens. "That’s so clever," gushed the woman.


"How did you do it?"

He modestly replied "Easy, these are my Khaki trousers."