Happy Birthday Kayd 💜

Kayd
Our only grandson – via our eldest daughter – is three today!

It doesn’t feel like three years ago, that my Wife and I sat in the waiting room at the Hospital, sitting on the edge of our seat, waiting, waiting, waiting…

We were both exhausted with nervous tension, willing Kayd to get his stubborn little butt out of his mummys tummy – and to give her some rest – before the real-life hard work really began in earnest!

We both cried huge tears of relief, when he finally made his appearance, and we knew that he and our ‘little girl’ were both safe and healthy.

He’s a gorgeous boy, (nope, I’m not at all biased!!) and I love him to pieces!
And our Daughter is doing a pretty fine job too!! 😉 <3

 

What to do?!?!

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Soooo – next weekend, I get to have a few days to myself — sooo, what to de eh!!??!!

Our grandson turns 3 next week, and there is going to be a party held in his honour.
But…I’m not going.

We’ve decided that my Wife will go on her own, and I’ll hold down the fort here.

Plus, it’s just not my kind of scene…
a) it’s out of town
b) we have to fly and drive to get there
c) I don’t happen to believe in having a big ‘piss-up‘ party, for a three year old.

But we do need to make an appearance of some sort – so the Mrs gets to do the honours this time round.

So this week I get to plan out how I’d like to spend the time flying solo, and I’ve decided I’m going to make it some good ole fashioned ME time!!!
(we’ll see how it all pans out I guess lol)

What I’d like to do:
– get rid of the ciggies in my system
– get 2 of my tattoos touched up
– have a bath
– do some gardening
– catalogue some books
– clean out the cars
– watch some junk television
– maybe even hang some art

Sometime next week, I’ll try remember to check in and we’ll see just what I did end up doing…
Probably nothing on the list!! 😐

Taaaa Daaaaa!!!

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taaa daaa back fence

Taaaa Daaaaa!!!

So here it is.
The reason we had a Tradie in.
A nice new HIGH fence!!!

Our backyard fence hasn’t really been a problem as such – but our backyard neighbour, well that’s a total other story!!!

He’s a sticky beak, a peeping Tom, a nosey-parker, a snoop…

It’s not that we do anything even vaguely exciting in our backyard, but it seems that’s irrelevant!

And on top of that, he likes nothing more than to torment our two small dogs Hamish and Molly.
He will actually stand at the fence, leaning over the top of them, barking down at them to encourage further, the barking they’re already doing – cos he freaks them out!

It is absolutely maddening.

Well, NO MORE ๐Ÿ™‚

He may well be able to stand there, he may well be able to bark, but none of us can see him – so if nothing else, that is a total blessing.

It will also help his lifespan somewhat – cos I’ve seriously been considering shooting him ๐Ÿ˜€

Spoiling myself…

Today, I decided to spoil myself a little.

So I’m sitting in the sunshine, in my car, about to head in to do the grocery shopping – having myself a latte, enjoying the peace and solitude ๐Ÿ™‚ Yaay ME!

(Added later: and yes – I am someone who hates buying takeaway coffee in general, and especially without using a keep-cup, and whilst I almost always have one on me, I didn’t on this particular day.
I ended up using the cup to plant a tree in.

Still not ok with it – but it was the best I could manage at a pinch!
And THIS is why I tend to not spoil myself with ‘gifts’.
You end up with shit you didn’t want or need, just for a momentary pleasure – that can often lead to long-term feelings of guilt or inadequacy!)

[rant over lol]

Aggghhhh!!!!

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wtf…??!!??

‘Tradie’ turns up – 3 & a half weeks + 20mins late does 15mins work out the back, unhooks trailer in our front yard – and goes downtown for coffee…!!!!

😐😕

seriously??!!??

This better turn out amazingly, for HIS recommendations sake…..

*ugh!*

Where will we go today?

Its the little things in life that make me happy…

Spring is only two days away, and the bitter winds and drizzle have – for the most part – died off, and each day it seems, is becoming a little warmer.

Today, my Wife and I went for a bbq picnic brunch, out at the Lake.

Its a lovely spot, and on nice sunshiny days like today, people are out and about – walking their dogs, playing with their kids, zooming about in their power boats, or just paddling about in the shallows.
Life is happening all around, and for me, I like being able to sit back and just enjoy watching it…

We had a bbq breakfast of bacon, eggs, beans, and toast, washed down with a cup of tea, and a shared glass of orange juice.

It was yummy, and the surrounds invoked a peaceful feel.
Definitely a nice way to start the day – and one of the things that today, made me happy.

On the way home, we popped in to the grocery store, to get some supplies for dinner, and the start of the week.

At the moment one of our local stores is giving away stickers when you spend a certain amount at checkout.
Its a money-raising scheme for the local schools, and you pop your ribbon of stickers into the box of whichever school you want to support. The school then gets to spend $x per sticker collected, on educational items for their school.

The local kids all love getting the stickers, and I think it also probably makes them feel like they are making a real contribution to their school community. Their little faces are so proud when they pop those stickers into their box of choice!!

Now the youngest of our kids is in his 20s – so needless to say we aren’t collecting them for him!
Nor are we collecting for the grandbabies, as they don’t go to school yet, and also – they don’t live locally.

So – each time I go shopping, I end up with a great ribbon of stickers, and I have taken to keeping my eye out, when I am at the checkout, for a likely child on which to bestow my stickers.

I have two different criteria that I use when “making my selection“, and they are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

One is the child who has been beautifully behaved whilst shopping with their adult.

Its nice to be able to hand over the ribbon of stickers, and thank them for how fabulously they behaved during shopping, and its even nicer to see the look of excitement on their face at getting the stickers given to them.
Its also a big pleasure to see the happiness (and often well-deserved pride) of the attending adult, that the child has been noticed and praised.

The other is the child who is starting to have a bit of a spin-out.
They’ve obviously been at school, or day care or such, and now they’ve been dragged into the shops, and they’ve just had quite enough – thank you very much – and are about to ramp it up to melt-down level, at any tick of the clock.
Usually, you can see that their attending adult knows that shit is about to hit the fan, too – and its a bit of a toss-up on which of them is going to blow their gasket first…

Why do I pick this child?

Because when I wander over, and stand in front of them (suspicious frown on attending adult), I rip the sticker ribbon in half, and give half of the ribbon to the child – telling them that they will get the other half if they can keep being really nicely behaved – just like they are now, until they get the groceries home, and help take them inside.

Then I give the other half of the ribbon to the attending adult, whilst saying to child: “See, heres the rest, just like I said, and you get them ALL, if you keep being really nicely behaved, just like you are now, until you get home, and help take the groceries inside“.

I’m sure it doesn’t always work how I’m hoping it will – but I’m pretty sure a lot of times it does!

And as I wander off, I occasionally hear a more relaxed attending adult, who is often praising the child for the good behaviour that they are sure is about to come, and a child who has settled a bit – all just because someone interrupted the vibe that was starting to build, in a not so good way…

The other day, I saw the mother of a child whom I had given stickers to.
It was out in the car park, and the child had been on its way to being a brat when I had handed over the half sticker ribbon to him, and half to his Mumma.

When I caught sight of her, she had just finished buckling him up in his booster seat, in the back of the car, and had given him a kiss.
As she stood back up, and shut the door, and went to get into the drivers seat, she looked up, saw me, and with a weary half-smile, she mouthed “thank you” to me, across the roofs of the few cars between us.

It made me happy….

I love you because..

I love you because

You make me giddy
You make me laugh
You taste delicious
Your eyes speak volumes.
You make my heart flutter
You genuinely care, not just about me, but about others.
You’re funny – and you like to laugh.
You’re an awesome mother.
You’re sexy as hell!
You have a generous spirit.
You support my decisions.
You look after me; and not just when I’m sick.
You like food as much as I do.
You make my knees weak.
You will be there asap if I need you
You smell delicious.
You are respectful.
You like my cooking!
You pick up the phone when I call.
You are an amazing lover
You enjoy diy
You have a brilliant beautiful smile
You have a soft heart
You’re naughty
You have a gorgeous body
You know how to make me smile
You’re a “bad, bad, Mumma
You give the best hugs

You are a part of my heartbeat…

You’re only as good as your Word.

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I don’t care who you are.

Whether you’re my boss, a coworker, a friend, client, one of my Children or my Spouse  – what comes out of your mouth, needs to be backed up by your actions.

Don’t tell me you’re going to do something – then not do it.

Don’t tell me you’re not going to do something – then do it anyways.

When you don’t follow up your words with actions, it makes me question every.last.thing that comes out of your mouth…

You say you’re going to do a job for me.
You say I’m an excellent worker.
You say you love me.
You say I’m a great friend.
You say you’d never screw me over.
You say I look nice.
You say youre commited to xyz.

When I believe you, and your action show me differentI lose all trust in you.

Sorry” only works so many times…

Fool me once, shame on you – fool me twice, shame on ME!

If you’re going to talk the talk, you better be walking the walk, ‘cos if you aren’t – you’ll soon be looking at the back of me…..

A bit more of me.

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I have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – and it’s a terminal illness.

COPD is a serious, progressive and disabling condition that limits airflow in the lungs.
Those with copd are prone to severe episodes of shortness of breath, with fits of coughing; and excessive mucous production.
In 2012, copd was the 5th leading cause of death in Australia. The 4th in the U.S.

COPD causes changes in your lungs and airways.
– air sacs and airways lose their ability to stretch
– the walls of the air sacs are destroyed
– the walls of the airways become thickened and inflamed
– airways become clogged with mucus

These changes involves destruction of the lung tissue, specifically the alveoli, which reduces the flow of air in and out of the lungs which deprives the body of much-needed oxygen.

I have stage 2.

There are 4 ‘stages’.

There is no cure for copd – and while treatment and lifestyle changes can slow the progression of the disease so that you can feel better and stay more active – the fact is that over time, everyday tasks become more and more difficult.

There are good days, and not so good days.
It’s not something I try to dwell on – but it is an unignorable part of my life, and makes its presence known to me, each and every day…

It’s also effected not just by what I’m doing physically, but by temperature, humidity, stress/anxiety levels, air quality etc.

Sometimes it just plain makes me scared and/or angry.

Other times, I manage to put on my big-girl panties and just get on with this business of Living!!

It’s becoming more difficult, as time marches on, to ‘hide’ it.
Subtle adjustments have had to be made to the way I go about my daily Life, so that it has minimal impact.

For example – I need to get up to get ready for work earlier.

For some weird reason, my early morning pre-work routine can often knock the stuffing out of me.
By the time I’m finally ready to head out the door, I’m often gasping like a goldfish-out-of-water, and it can take up to ten minutes to settle the breathing back down to a tolerable level.

If I don’t take that time, it always bites me in the ass – because my job is less than 5mins drive away, and once I get to work, I have a fairly lengthy walk to get to my office.

If I haven’t spent those ten minutes at home getting my breath back before I left for work, then by the time I make it through the door of my office and it slams shut behind me, I am hanging over the desk, gasping so badly, turning purple and am so ridiculously out of breath, that I’m near the pass-out point from lack of oxygen.

Not really a great way to start a day, I can assure you…

And on top of that – it’s fucking embarrassing!!

I also get exhausted very easily, which is incredibly annoying!

My Wife is great with taking my ‘difficulties’ into consideration.

She checks beforehand, for example, that there are elevators available when there are a lot of stairs, or finds different way around if there are steep walks, or will initiate rest-breaks just by stopping and looking at the scenery, is she notices I’m flagging a bit more than usual.

She carries our groceries upstairs when we get home if she’s there, and she tries to get me to sleep more when exhaustion sets in.
Little things like that…but for me, they’re the big things…

Not a lot of people know I have copd, and that’s been my decision.

I’ve learnt from some that do know, that you’re often treated a little bit different when people know you’re terminal.
And not different in a good way – like my Love does.

They look at you differently.
They feel – it seems – like they somehow have been given an option to give their opinion on your treatment or lifestyle choices.

They ask how you are differently – like you’re maybe about to take your very last gasp right there in front of them, and drop down dead at their feet.

We’re all dying folks!
It’s the one thing in Life that is guaranteed.

And we don’t know when or how it’s going to happen, for the most part.
A bus might be round the very next corner you turn, and it may well be destined for you – or me – we just don’t know…

Am I scared of dying?

Yes and no…

The process itself doesn’t scare me.
And I know that all my children and grandchildren have fabulous lives waiting ahead of them – they’ll all be ok, and time will heal…

2 things do scare me though…

Having to go through the physical and emotional experience of suffocation.

I’d much rather get filled up with morphine if that was where the next step was headed, and just peacefully drift off, as my system shuts down from OD-ing.

The other thing is – being without my Love.

I feel like 100 years still wouldn’t be sufficient time with her, and I’m not ready to cut our time short – but like I said before – none of us know who’s gonna go first, or when, so just I have to keep trying to remind myself of that.

It does give you the “Life is Short” perspective though, and I find myself getting really pissed off with ‘time wasting’…

Not the kind of time-wasting where you spend Sunday on the couch watching movies, drinking hot tea, and eating chips and chocolate – but the kind where you sweep things under the carpet to deal with ‘later’, or you put things off that you really want to do – until ‘later’.

I’m a weird girl, I’m told…

I dont yearn for Disneyland, or a gondola ride through Venice, or hot buttery croissants near the Champs ร‰lysรฉes in Paris, or a six star hotel, or a pamper day at a Spa.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure all those things would be very nice, and I’d ‘adapt’ if I needed to (!!) – but they aren’t the things I yearn for…

I want to spend half an hour just kissing.
I want to make love slowly and luxuriously and often – just disappearing into oneness with my beautiful Wife.
I want to grow my own veges, on a block of dirt that we’ve started from scratch.
I want to live in one room, while building a 3 room home, and showering from a bucket.
I want to have to empty a stinky portaloo – cos my Love would spew her heart out, if she had to do it!

I want to feel the sun, wind and rain on my back, as I dig in the garden, getting dirt wedged under my nails!
I want to lie wrapped in my Loves arms, with my head nestled into her chest, just listening to her heartbeat, as we both doze; with a warm fat cat asleep near our feet.
I want to walk along the beach at dusk, holding her hand.

But what I most want, is to Live!

Not just exist…

 

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