Where the hell have you been? Bloody Australia?

Sincere apologies about the lack of blog for anyone who is even mildly interested.

Ha ha you had forgotten all about it hadnt you? You might have assumed I had too, but I hadnt. I have almost had too much to blog about, if that is possible.

It's true, brain racing faster than any fingers could type and not enough creative concentration to pin anything down.

It's full on, the roller coaster has reached its full ascent and we are now in free fall, looping the loop, no going back.

If you were at the greyhound track it would be a case of "the hare is on the move!"

Or if you were one of the wonderful penguins at Melbourne Aquarium, then you would say we were on the slide.

Indulge me in some "gorge" pics of the Penguins!

"Do not disturb" awww!

Proud Mama!

They were my favourite! As for the Octopus..................

he wasnt gifted with the pretty stick but I did tell him he is very tasty, in a garlic, panfried kind of way. Did you know the chap has 9 hearts or is that 9 brains? 9 something anyway - impressive I thought.

.... and so it is that I become so easily destracted and diverted from the task in hand, which is? I have no idea.

We are definitely moving to Melbourne. Our England home is on the market and our Australian one is still being elusive but its out there.

It's all under control Captain! The Hubster is out there right now, a man on a mission and truly on the case.

............and a bit of Melbournian street art sums it all up completely.

Life is a game of poker!

YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW WHEN TO STICK STU
KNOW WHEN TO RAISE REECE
KNOW WHEN TO PLAY COOL
KNOW WHEN YOU'RE THE ACE
YOU CAN COUNT ALL YOUR MONEY
WHEN YOU HAVE SANDBAGGED JOHNNY
THEN WE'LL HIT THE BEACH, HONEY
AND QUIT THIS RAT RACE
(extract from "One year as a professional poker player" by Anthony Holden)

Love this little excerpt cos............

Life is just like a game of poker.

Hold back, keep calm.

Take a risk, shield the harm.

Go random with sheer abandon.

Just know you are playing the game.

Somewhere on the other side of the world is my new home. It stands there, in all its physicality, I know not where it is but it is there all the same and that feels weird.

...........time to keep calm and then we'll hit the beach honey!

Certainly no empty promise!

Dear Muckers!

Its the Radders here, wooo what a weekend that was.

I mean I thought Rutland Water by the Sea was pretty fabulous but then Poppa said he would take me to the best seaside place in the world. He promised, in fact.

I stood at the top of the cliff and I was trembling with excitement. "Look at the camera Radders" Poppa implored, but I just couldnt, impossible, just couldnt take my eyes off it!

"Just lose the lead Poppa!"

Hey Muckers, allow me to show off a bit here but you got to agree this is definitely the ultimate in seaside places dont you think? Momma says its called Rhosilli Bay, on the Gower Peninsula, well names mean nothing to me, just let me at it.



The bestest beach in the World!

Any minute now I thought, I am going to lose that lead and I am going to run like the wind, feel the wind through my fur, the sand between my toes and explode into a combustion of pure joy and excitement!



"Dont step in the puddles!"



" dont stop me now, I'm havin a good time, I'm havin a ball....coming at ya"!

Momma says a walk on a beach is beautiful but with a dog its heaven!

Muckers you need to have a word with the parents, the beach is where its at and at the end of the day when your limbs are weary, you can carry on running in your dreams.



Dreaming my dreams away with  Momma!

Sam Hound, Dyl Bob, Dusty and Monts, if I could have sent a post card it would have said:

Wish you were Here!

Chummy bum sniffs as ever, The Radders

P.S Momma insisted I posted this picture, she says I look windswept and handsome. Whatever!!!

So when does it feel real?

The book arrived. I suppose the T-shirt is probably next.

Thumbed through it, daunted, closed it.

The "Pet Exportation Company" has now been chosen. One piece of the puzzle in place.

Been sourcing information from friends and the net as fast as moss gathers on stone. Narrowed down the places I want to house hunt on our reccy in 2 weeks time. Emphasis on the "I" you notice.

It's Autumn here, it's Spring there, all that is here is the opposite there.

Everyone I have spoken to have told me how much we will love it. Some say, probably wont come back even.

The man decorating our bedroom is making the most beautiful job of it. For someone else to enjoy, how odd.

My Sister has asked if she can have the ceramic blue ornament in the garden.

All I want to know is at what point does this all begin to feel real?

Any ideas anyone?

Reason, season or lifetime?

Are you a Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime?

I am and have been all 3 of these types of friend. I have and have had these types of friendships too. 

It's perfectly ok to be a friend for just a season or a reason, even if the ending of these friendships can be hurtful or confusing sometimes. You always appreciate their validity and importance in your life, in time.

He is my reason for all and our season is a lifetime

Some of my most intense friendships were during my time at University. We were young and vulnerable and stepping out into the world for the first time and it was scary, we depended on each other. When Uni was over there were many tears as we said goodbye to each other and I remember the pain I felt quite vividly. Friends for life surely?  You keep in contact for awhile, sometimes months, sometimes years and then one day one of you just stops writing or phoning.  No fight, no reason, you both just stop.  I have learned that friends come and go, and your life goes on and its ok. I have made many, many new friends since my uni days — some have come and some have gone and some have remained.   If you ever wonder why this is, then I think this poem sums it up nicely?

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
— Unknown

I knew you so well in a previous life!

We arrived at the racecourse in York to celebrate the Hubster's birthday. It was a grey drizzly day but that did not dampen the punter's spirits. The ladies were all in their finery, sky high heels, feathery fascinators and bottle tanned limbs in abundance.

I was, well frumpy to say the least, in my practical, yet instantly forgettable autumnal woolly jumper and corduroy skirt!

The only sparkling thing in this outfit was the glass of pink bubbles in my hand.

But I digress for this day was to be no ordinary day in terms of my life experience so far.

As we arrived at the hospitality suite a lady walked towards us to greet us. Our first words were such:

"I know you", I said. But I didn't.

"I know you too", she said. But she didn't.

We stood for a few seconds looking searchingly into each others eyes with a compelling and mutual sense of complete familiarity.  Gareth looked on the exchange most perplexed.

Not only was there instant familiarity but there was affection too. I fought off the urge to reach out and hug this complete stranger!

We went on to explore the possibilities of how we could know each other. All led to the same conclusion. We don't!

"Even when I spotted you walking up the stairs" she said "I thought to myself, I know this lady"

It was one of the most surreal exchanges I have every encountered with another human being. It was also a little unnerving too.

We concluded one thing, we must have known each other so well once but NOT in this life. Maybe we were best friends, Sisters, Mother or Daughter but the connection we both felt was real if unexplainable. Even my fairly nonspiritual hubby agreed that it was all a bit "other worldly".

We enjoyed a spectacular day at the races all topped off by the goose bump making performance of the Coldstream Guards Marching Band.

When our lovely day at the races was over, the lady and I said goodbye to each other and instinctively hugged like long lost friends and well, that was that! We felt no need to exchange numbers. Our time had been in another life all together.

One thing I now know for sure is that love is transcendental and I don't think I fear death quite as much now.

I wonder where and when I will see her again?

Has anything like this ever happened to you?

.....and the greatest strength of all is...

Seriously, it is. Let's just think about it.

Whenever I have tried to force, coerce or push someone into doing something or tried to force through an outcome in my own self interest, that is when I have faced re-buff and resistance.

Conversely, when I have treated others with gentleness, compassion and consideration, thats when I have been most successful and been rewarded with true flexibility, full support and a willingness to compromise.

If this isnt enough, I think about some of the most influential, strong and powerful people who have achieved great things on this earth, good things.

How can you argue the inherent power of their gentleness and the greatness and good they have given this world.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" Mahatma Ghandi

 "There is no passion to be found in playing small. In settling for a life that is less than you are capable of living" Nelson Mandela

"Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon and if you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito" The Dalai Lama

Of all these incredible people, the one person who really has touched my life and for me epitomises the strength of  gentleness is the beautiful, Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Her love for the world, her humbleness and humility shone and still shines today, brigher than any sun ever could.

............. and the following quote and the message it delivers is so strong because it asks nothing more of us than a commitment to gentleness in all we do.

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
― Mother Teresa

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND EVERYONE, ARE YOU DOING ANYTHING LOVELY?

Wise words Douglas!

Sometimes we all dream of great deeds and high positions, away from the pettiness and humdrum of ordinary life.

Yet for me, success is not occupying a lofty place or doing conspicuous work; it is being the best that is in you and gifting that to your world.

I believe that fulfillment in this life is derived from making the most of what you have and who you are.

That's why I adore this poem by Douglas Malloch. I love his chatty style and my favourite lines of all are highlighted in bold.

Be the Best of Whatever You Are

by Douglas Malloch

If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley — but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can't be a tree.

If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;
If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass —
But the liveliest bass in the lake!

We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,
There's something for all of us here,
There's big work to do, and there's lesser to do,
And the task you must do is the near.

If you can't be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can't be the sun be a star;
It isn't by size that you win or you fail —
Be the best of whatever you are!

(a Muskie is a canadian fish similar to a Pike)

My niece asked me the other day..........

'Aunty Deb, what was your favourite 'fast food' when you were growing up?'

'I don't remember fast food when I was growing up,' I informed her. ''All the food was slow - no MacDonalds.''
'You're joking, c'mon, seriously.. Where did you eat then?' She asked perplexed

' Same place every day" I replied "It was a place called 'home',''

''Mum cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate, I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'

I also explained that "When I eventually did like my dinner and cleared my plate, I then had to ask my Dad's permission to leave the table"

Just one generation apart but it could have been a thousand, she looked at me as if I had just spoken to her in Japanese.

So close and yet so far.

I hereby tender my resignation as an adult!

Whilst looking for the Hubster's birthday card today, I came across this one and I absolutely loved it.

It kind of got me thinking, yes it's right, it's never too late, lets do it!

So today, 3rd October 2011, I hereby officially tender my resignation as an adult.

I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of the 8 year-old me again. Thank you.



8 yr old me, outside the church waiting for David Cassidy to arrive and marry me!
Cos that's far more exciting than a First Holy Communion

I want to go to the cafe in the market and think that it's a four-star restaurant.

I want to sail paper boats across a big muddy puddle and chalk a hopscotch on the pavement.

I want to think lollipops are better than money because you can eat them.

I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stall with my friends on a hot summer's day.

I want to make silly poses........................

................and pull funny faces.........................

........................... in every photograph.

I want to return to a time when all you knew were colours, multiplication tables, fuzzy felts and Michael Bentine's Potty Time but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.

I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good. I want to believe that anything is possible.

I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again....
...........like pulling a Christmas cracker and winning, like the fumbling fingers excitedly opening up a lucky bag and the absorption in making a daisy chain.

I want to live simple again. I don't want to face days that consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, gossip, illness and loss of loved ones.

I have always believed in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.

So . .  take my cheque book, my car-keys and my credit card bills. Today I am officially resigning from adulthood.

And if you want to discuss this further with me, you'll have to catch me first, 'cause...

"Tag! You're it."



Will you resign with me today and come outside to play?



It just used to be all about me!

Dear Momma

Radders here. Remember me?

I feel compelled to put pen to paper and formally lodge an official complaint about current events Chez T-J. You see I am a little worried, this blog, pretty much, used to be all about me.

However, since you came back from that country that has birds as tall as me and bizarre looking four legged creatures with weird horns, well its just not been the same.

I reckon he's talking about me!

.... no no we disagree, he is talking about us

.... he's definitely talking about me, at least he didnt call me ugly, everyone else does

I know I am not a little puppy anymore but a bumbling, long legged teenager whos enthusiasm runs away with me but surely I havent lost my star quality?

Anyway, you and Poppa have been acting really strange this past week, lots of talk of Kangaroos, BBQ's and a country where everything is upside down. Also its most perturbing Momma to see you smiling one minute and blubbing the next, are you ill?

I am no Sherlock but strange things are afoot around here and I really would like an explanation.

Yours with extra loving doggy tail wags

Radders xxxx

____________________________________

My darling boy Radders

If only you knew just how much it IS all about you. Especially right now, it couldnt be more about you. But I will elaborate on that later something far more important we have to get straight here.

You will always be Momma's number one, Momma's puppy even when you are old and grey and Momma is old and grey with you.

Although I lament the days when I could do this with you, be rest assured young chap
you own a great, big, fat space in Momma's heart.

Momma and Poppa were fascinated to see all those wonderful creatures in that other country.We just dont have them here and you must admit they are very interesting. Dont you remember your wonder and fascination when you saw your first cat? What about the time you were enchanted by the house spider walking across the rug and a little frightened when you saw your first horse?

Its a big wide world full of endless amazing things to experence.

Which brings me on to the talk of Kangaroos and why it really IS ALL ABOUT YOU Radders.

There is a country a very very long way a way, it does have Kangaroos but I dont really think everything is upside down. Well, in a little while we are all going to live there for a time.

You little man, are the most labour intensive and difficult to get there (and expensive!!) but we wouldnt even consider going without you, not for a nano second. You are just too important to Momma and Poppa's happiness.

We have to get busy Radders:

1. Microchip - check
2. Rabies injection - check
3. 2nd Rabies injection
4. Blood tests
5. Import Permit Application
6. Pet passport
7. Innoculations, kennel cough, tape worm etc...
8. Government approved Veterinarian inspections
9. Internal & External parasite treatment
10. Copies of all lab reports
11. Completion of Vet certificate A and Vet Certificate B
12. Quarantine booking
13. Making adequate travel arrangements
14. Pre- export inspections

Thats why I ask? Do you want to be our "Dog Down-under?"

Momma upside down or not, I just want to be where you are

Your devoted Momma xxx