Can you see it???

Can you see the burgundy and yellow colours of my rose garden surrounded by a chocolate coloured hedge?? Maybe even a few petunias peeping through

You can? - Congratulations you are the proud owner of an imaginative, creative mind.
You can't - Ok, so that you don't feel left out, I do acknowledge that it May look like a big patch of wet sodden dirt with a few sticks for roses and a HUGE trench and heaps of work yet to do...but the POTENTIAL, surely you must FEEL it!!

I got interrupted by a big downpour and felt I had done enough for the weekend. I have a stiff neck and back. I have earned my red wine and curry.

Olympics fever

Kelly won Gold in the FTG carpet ten pin bowls.
Rules are fairly basic - plastic ball, plastic pins, no fixed line, as many turns as you need to get all 10 pins down and lots of jumping and squealing on the spot.

My Dad is very good at this and so he usually volunteers for a game. Also recently discovered that he is very good at Wii lawn bowls, but that is another story.

Off to luncheon, Ladies!

Yoohoo,

I am relaxing into this enforced period of rest. Actually I am loving it.
Friday nights drinks ended on Saturday with me arriving home in my pumpkin coach.

I had a whole Kelly-free weekend - glorious!! I miss her like crazy but...
Watched Olympics (our pole vaulter's gold was one of the best, I was screaming encouragement at him!), watched a bit of footy and also finished Season 2 of Dexter (totally misunderstood serial-killer!). Got into bed about 2ish.
Sunday, I only left the house to walk to the Village to get the newspaper. Lazed around the house :)
Yesterday went to the nursery and spent $400 on plants!! 60 hedge plants, some vegies, some flowers and shit now I have to plant them. Thinking I will invite Mum and Dad around for dinner and get some help ;-)

Oh and got a phone call yesterday...
Yep I have a job
At least until Xmas
Yep it is at the place where they have frequent BBQ lunches and chockie bickies laid on
Yep it pays well
Yep they are great guys
What's the negative?
5 days per week, but on the positive side, only school hours

Life is good
Must be off, lunching with the ladies

Tada

We did it

Trish and I went out in style...

Morning tea was enjoyed by the 'ladies' - rich cheesecake and a cointreau almond sponge affair - choices choices, you all know how I am useless at choices, so I had a bit of both!!
Lunch was supplied by the lovely Francine. Indian meat and potato patties, 'wedding' rice (sultanas, crispy onion and cashew nuts) and cucumber yoghurt on the side - absolutely to die for. Oh and we had more cake supplied by Glenda, followed by chocolates.

I didn't shed a tear but did come close. Funny how you should always expect the unexpected. Good ol' down-to-earth, no bullshit Margie gave me a huge hug and a big smooch and wished me the best...ooo nearly lost it. I think that I was better off than Trish cos I had my trial break early last year so I felt that I was ready to move on. I received a sms from Trish to say she was at the hairdressers downing a Cruiser and she was a little in shock!!

So for me, I feel this is the start of something great and it is the next phase in my life. I feel optimistic, relaxed and know that everything will just work out for the best. Also helps that my redundancy money is not taxed!!

The last few days I have spoken to so many people that I have worked with over the years and it been a big blast from the past. Probably gonna be more ex employees than current employees at the pub.

It has been a great ride. I am thankful that I have survived with my liver intact.
Onwards and upwards

Conchka, Condal, CD, signing out

Aaaah the good ol' days

Hi All,
If you are available to head down to Flanigans (Stamford) Friday ?? Aug anytime from ??pm we would love to see you there for a few beverages and some reminiscing as it is our last day at Norgren.

Love & Kisses
Trish & Connie


Must remember to take my vitamins for the next week or so
There is an excited buzzzzzzzzz in the air

PS If you don't know the date and time then obviously you weren't on the V.I.P. list!!

5 days to go but who is counting!!

Harvey Dent: The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.

PS Roses looks great - in my mind I have a picture of them in full bloom- a mass of yellow and burgundy

Hot Dates

I've got a hot date with my front garden. Have 4 roses & a couple of small plants to put it. Finally the rain has stopped so I had better get out of the warm house into the freezing cold, wet garden...sounds tempting does it not?
Then I am off on a hot date with my Dad, first a coffee at the cafe then onto the Cameo to watch Dark Knight.
The rain has started again. But must plant bare rooted roses today. Think of how nice they will look in a few months time.

General Musings

Got 2 job interviews lined up for next week.
One is for an Athletic clothing company, quite close to home, part time hours, 2 days per week. HR lady sounded very friendly. The other is through a friend, working in a day hospital/plastic surgery. Hold the jokes re plastic surgery, thanks :-) Hours not so user friendly and it would be on a rotating roster. But I have agreed to go in for a chat and see what is on offer.
My sister has invited me to revisit her in Queensland after Norgren job ends. That is sounding like the best offer on the table so far. She has the in-laws visiting though so that is very unfortunate timing.
I really got into my day off yesterday. Went for a brisk long walk (knee is complaining today), 2 loads of clothes washing, grocery shopping (don't go to Aldi's on Thursday, every Knox senior citizen seemed to be there), cup of tea in the sun, tax return completed, long lunch, burned Pride & Prejudice for 3 girls at work, Judge Judy and where has the time gone...pick up Kelly.
6 work days at Norgren left, not that I am counting. And oh the boss came good and agreed to pay me 8 weeks redundancy rather than the 4 weeks originally offered.
Weekend - Kelly nagged me to go rollerblading, don't think I am going to get away with the skates this time.
Want to get rid of the other ugly weeping tree out the front but it is going to take some co-ordination of my parents and ex-husband. Everytime I walk into my house I look at it with distaste, not a good vibe. Getting to the end of the time that it can be transplanted and also the end of the time that bare rooted roses can be put in. I am thinking Burgundy Icebergs standards with a Gold Bunny climber on the side fence...I can picture it. I go to bed with the image in my head.
Must try and start sanding and painting my bookshelf as well.
Lots of housey stuff to be done...I am loving it here

...It is raining outside and it has turned dark. Just got back from finding my daughter, over the road socialising with her girlfriend without telling me where she was going. Wonder where she gets that from??
Life is good from where I am sitting :-D

Has anyone found a whistle?!

Still recovering from last nights dramas.
Kelly's front tooth was hanging on by a thread - yuk
She could turn it completely around and still it didn't come out - double yuk
When she closed her mouth (yes she does do that occasionally!) the tooth stuck out horizontally - triple yuk
Ok so it needs to come out. It is way past bedtime. I sit down on the bed several times to stop my faint feeling. I get my wiggly teeth phobia from my mother and my sister inherited the gene as well. Deep breath. Poor child has trust that I won't hurt her. Feel sick knowing that I will hurt her but take a good grip on the tooth, quick tug and it is out. Blood everywhere, more tears.
Dangly bit of her gum or inside of tooth still hanging there. Her tongue kept touching it. So she got to sleep in my bed, rolled on her side with instructions to hang her tongue out of the side of her mouth. Poor darling. Tooth fairy was generous. $4 to Kelly and $1 to Mum for being brave!! Kelly said she saw the tooth fairy in the night and she was very small. I asked her why she didn't wake me so I could see her too. She replied, Mum you would have grumbled and scared the fairy away. Mmmm my daughter knows me too well.
Oh and Kelly has lost her whistle. She thought it was hilarious that she know does the same toothy airy whistle that I do!

Windwill vision

I survived the after school activities at the local library!
We had been missed by the aged librarian. We were in the habit of going every Tuesday afternoon for the free story telling followed by dubious artsy projects. Haven't been since we went on holidays.
So, doing my good mother impersonation, obediently I followed a skipping, non-whistling (more on that later) seven year old into the reading room. Few stories later and we were into making masks. Wasn't that the last activity we did? Never mind. We rolled our sleeves up and started colouring, pasting, scissor curling of paper (hey I can still do that) and applying copious amounts of glitter. A very nice looking mask emerged, with thankfully not much help required from me. Glitter everywhere.
We emerged triumphantly from the library onto the next stop, The Playground.
There is a windmill that is a feature of the park. It has coloured paddles, something I hadn't realised until tonight. The late afternoon sun was hitting the colour of the paddles and was reflecting a rainbow straight into our faces. Behind the windmill, the darkness of the night had begun to set upon the hills and rainclouds threatened.
I had to take a picture. I got one of my very strong spooky feelings. It was a good feeling. The word, 'Vision' popped straight into my head and I just thought to myself that this means something. I wonder what it means??

3 weeks x 3 days x 6 hours = 54

9 days to go - insert whistling, hand clapping and general noisy frivolities

I have to say that I am totally flattered. Today, I have received numerous interstate phone calls and have chit chatted with the Melbourne office staff with my never ending cuppa on hand. It is nice that I am held in such high regard by my colleagues. And don't take me wrongly, I am not blowing my own trumpet, it is just that I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who have bothered to make their feelings known to me.

One of the nicest comments today was by Gill - 'Connie we will really miss THAT laugh' - ok ok so it was a little bit loud and unofficelike (hey is that a word??!!) but what can they do, Sack Me? insert another raucous laugh!!

Oh and another comment by Lynn - 'Connie you look so happy, like you have had a burden lifted off your back and you are relieved' - and that is true...

The end of my 20 years of working life at Norgren is near. It has been quite a ride.