Little Wandering Wren …. chats!

There is a house in Footscray which stands out. It is a rather brash and possibly underneath it all,  quite an ordinary house. You cannot ignore it. It always reminds me of my  daughter's soccer team  Boroondara Eagles FC. BEFC is way over on the other side of town in the leafy suburbs. The Women's team have been promoted each year  since starting in the State League. They are a young team the majority are U21. In 2014 they made it to the dizzy heights of  Women's Premier League. That is one massive step up. Now normally what happens is that players take a while to adjust to the faster, more physical game. They can feel quite over awed at playing against more experienced players some who have played for their national teams, or those who are returning from playing  college soccer in America. It can be a brutal introduction. The sport is a brilliant one for girls but if you are not up to it, you will be punished.

Melbourne's Spring has arrived! Bursting in unannounced.  Leaving some of us  scurrying to the back of the wardrobe  in search of something  half decent to wear. Melbourne's Spring blossom  With temperatures in the high 20's Celsius, our garden bursts into bloom, demands attention, and my hayfever sneezes  echo around . Hello Spring - nice to see you! It's a great time of year in Melbourne, we have the lazy days of summer ahead of us. Lillies in the garden We also have a  few big exams to get through,  as the next few months will see the end of High School life for our son and a university degree completed for daughter number 2. I say ' we ' because as any parent will know,  it does feel like you are actually sitting the exams. Unfortunately, unlike the Year 1 project on natural disasters this is now totally out of your hands, and worryingly so... Spring bursts forth - for Pink Saturday Spring is the

Phew that was a close call! It looked at one point that the Vote Yes campaign  might actually win.  Better together I say,  like this lovely family of swans I snapped on my last home visit  to  what it has appeared recently was the  not-so- United Kingdom. I am of course referring to the Scottish  referendum where this week 53% of Scots  rejected independence from the UK. Swan Family, Burford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom Typical me, I am friends with the other 47%... I do not know a single Scot who voted No, so that is a tad awkward, especially as I was leading the  Down Under twitter #VoteNo #bettertogether campaign. (Well, maybe I exaggerate, but three tweets is a lot from me. ) So it appears  I may be off  the haggis and Chrissy card lists this December. Except I wanted them to stay, They were the ones that wanted to go... What am I talking about? Maybe it's me that should be reviewing my Christmas card list?  Ha Ha!

Crazy Soccer Mum takes a well earned break... Crazy Soccer Mum is staring down the  barrel  pitch towards the end of the football season.  I won’t know myself,  and the washing machine will have to get used to  spending a lot more time without me.  This reminded me of my son and daughter! At the peak of the season  there is football every day,  whether it was coaching, training or playing,  Not me, I hasten to add.  I’m just the unfit mother  who’s trying to keep up with the washing  and work out a vaguely reasonable time for dinner!  Fuel is very important for performance you know! Gold Coast September 2014 I think the Crazy Soccer Mum title is a tad unfair,  it comes from the day when I was chasing sponsorship money  for our community football team  and the PA to some local bigwig  forgot to press mute before she yelled: ‘Shane, we have some crazy soccer Mum on the phone,  Wanna talk to her’? ‘No!’  he yelled back… O

In April this year we went to the  National September 11 Memorial & Museum Liberty Street, New York City. Thirteen years ago when terrorists took down the Twin Towers we were newly arrived in Australia. It didn't matter where you were in the world, if you watched again and again,  the sickening image of the plane flying into the World Trade Centre, it will never leave you. It felt important to go the 9/11 Memorial. There are two massive pools within the original footprints of the Twin Towers with 30 foot waterfalls cascading down the sides. Today I am quietly remembering... We remember the nearly three thousand people  who lost their lives  on the day the world was changed They say we were all New Yorkers that day... Linking with Alphabe Thursday Thank you Jenny

I love my fabulous Fridays working in Footscray Footscray is one of those Melbourne suburbs which let's just say has proudly enjoyed a colourful past. There is always something interesting to look at in Footscray. What about this bright blue house? Is this a garden full of art  - trash or treasure?  Every time I walk by I see something else that captures my attention, like the blue Australia hat on the top of the wooden post. I reckon a fair amount of work has gone into this garden  at one stage or another... But I do wonder what the neighbours say?! It does make you wonder how the Postie  ever finds the post box?! One thing I always stop to read are the quotes on the side fence: 'The greatest wealth in life is health and wisdom!' Footscray promotes fabulous street art offering an annual Street Art prize How about this one, it is a combinations of lots of other walls that I find out and about on my wand

It's Australian Father's Day today Which gets a tad complicated  As my Dad is on another continent when it is celebrated in June and... Our kids have all be on different continents this year.  At the moment we have two out of the three at home which as the Meatloaf song says  'aint bad ...'  Even if they were all here, they don't do  a Father's Day breakfast in bed  because...   their Dad plays golf at 7am, every Sunday. Teenagers aren't up early enough for that! We also can't do a family Sunday lunch or dinner with one away and all the various soccer commitments So how about a photo for the men instead? I found this car in the school car park yesterday! Happy Australian Father's Day Dad  Wren xx

To Russia with love...  Today is my two year Blogoversary! Little Wandering Wren was born on September 4th 2012 as a good way for family and friends  to keep in touch during an extended trip visiting India and Europe. Little did I know  that my blog and blogging would turn into  one of my favourite things! I'm a bit reticent to show you my original effort, but I do see some progress! First Little Wandering Wren post 4th September 2012 Here is that original photo again  I would not choose to use it these days... but thanks to editing and Picmonkey I can at least  dress it up a little! Photo edited with Picmonkey, boost, border and blog watermark added Blogging has given me the opportunity to learn new skills both on the technical side of blogging but also to develop my 'voice.' It has also given me one of the nicest pleasures, the ability to connect with other bloggers all over the world. I love the comments that I receive and f