angel_bear

Hello Hello Hello!!!!!!!

Here I am .. back, refreshed, renewed ... neck still painful, it's now quite obvious that I won't be getting better 'quickly' .. we know that for sure now!

DH's cousins farm is WONDERFUL. I've only been there twice in the last 3 years for day trips, but an entire week was BLISS!!!

We were actually only going to stay from the 16th to the 21st, but extended our stay by two more nights, so it ended up we were away for exactly a week!!

Oh girls, you would have laughed at me. N (Cousin) and her hubby G, have 3 little boys aged 6, 3 and just turned 2. Makes me appreciate my bigger darlings let me tell you ! LOL .... but N and I stayed up until 2am on the Wednesday night because I was almost hysterical at having to come home. The kids were BEGGING to stay, Hubby wanted to stay but left the ultimate decision up to me. Well, the next morning, we had to go into town and get more food for another 2 day stay - and there is NO phone reception on my mobile phone (cell phone) at the farm, so when we got into town (40 minute drive) I sent a message to BIL .. and it said "coming home Saturday. Keep feeding pets. Tks, Al & Sal" and ................................

promptly turned my phone OFF.

About 2 hours later, I turned my phone ON, and there was a message saying "ok" .. so then I turned my phone off again .. LOL

Me be the big chicken .. LOL .. but it worked for me.

Anyway ....... back to the farm : They've got 2 brown cows that they intend breeding artificially for a meat supply. They've got a chook house full of chickens who aren't laying very well at all. They've got a HUGE Greenhouse where they grow tomato's and sell them at the beginning of their drive way (I saw 18 cars pull up on Friday from 10am to 5pm !!!) at $3 a bag for hydroponic veggies, apparently it's a bargain. Pity my family doesn't eat tomato's much though. They have a veggie patch where they grow cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkin and they just brought home 20 banana trees they're going to plant. Cameron had a BALL driving the ride on mower back and forth up the 1/2 km driveway to the garbage bins, Brianna discovered she's grown since our last visit and can actually REACH the accellorator (and more important, the Brakes!!!) ... Cameron slept in the Caravan, the girls slept in my big tent. We did a few trips into town, we visited some of the neighbouring villages (oh old and quaint and deliciously isolated!!!!!) and it was BRILLIANT.

Today we grudgingly came home. A matter of HAVE to than WANT to because BIL is taking his daughter back to her mother and he might have some work in Sydney for a few weeks. Fair enough, he hasn't had much work and he needs the $$ before L starts whinging and complaining and moaning and groaning.

On Friday, N went to work. G went to his parents farm with my DH, Cameron and Tamea. Brianna and I had a day in the house by ourselves. Gee it was nice. I caught N's laundry up (8 loads), cleaned up the kitchen, discovered how to use a dishwasher. Discovered I didn't like the dishwasher much and hand washed. Folded the laundry and put it in piles, pottered around the house, and IT WAS SO NORMAL !!!!!

I did miss the computer of course, I could have used her's I suppose, but chose not to.

I did discover that I would really like to have my own little domain back. That I don't want to dodge MIL when I need to do washing. That I don't want to be at the beck and call of everybody else. That I do want out. The next time FIL complains about losing his 'domain' if he goes into a home, I WILL remind him that I havn't had my own domain for quite some time either. I WILL tell him how nice it was being away and having space and how much we all loved it .. and I will be putting the notes N and I wrote down in our 2am marathon counselling session when she's typed it up and emailed it to me.

The gist of it was "We appreciate what you have done for us, and we hope you appreciate what we have done for you. However much we have done for each other, it cannot be taken into consideration in our decisions. We love you, and will always love you, but it is time ..........."

I'll write more when she sends it to me .. it was really quite good. Now it's putting it into words and SAYING the words .........

Anyway, have to organised food for my kids (4.10pm) home made pizza for them, Kranski sausages for DH and me.

Hugs and Hello all !!

Sally