Little Wandering Wren …. chats!

It's such a beautiful time of year. Take a look at this tree out the front of our house It's bare leaves, standing stark against the blue sky Just waiting to burst forth into spring! Out in the back garden, it's anything but bare Things have gone bananas! Actually, the growth makes me smile.  It seems so immediate,  so free, so easy in the garden. It's almost a pain, it needs tending and care. Warning - deep and meaningful alert... You see my day job is all about growth. My work with people seeking asylum is all about personal growth. The challenges of that when you may not have work or study rights, when you have fled unimaginable horrors, when you have left behind family and friends... I see such immense courage, resilience, strength. Just look what's appeared in my jungle! Aren't these Arum Lillies beautiful? Peaceful, calm and strong. I'm working long hours.  The work feels never ending,...

So Little Wren Sunflower Boy is in a hospital tonight,* he jumped off a cliff and perforated his eardrum. He's now sporting a very flash turban and gets jelly and ice cream for dinner. It's a good way to learn that sometimes the choices you make in life have consequences. I mean just look at this dinner!  We had a chuckle and said the one thing he should hav e done was put Pizza Hut down as his emergency contact number!  Still, at least he's had his dinner, unlike me. I'm just sitting here watching his drip, drip and doing my very best to get everything sorted for him to have the most comfortable night possible! Little Wren Boy is not so little anymore. He's well over six foot tall and I know I'm very lucky to have got our youngest kid, at twenty years old, to be the first to have had a night in the hospital.  I've already been to see the ward Sister on several occasions. I'm trying not to ruffle too many feathers but..... ...

My son was going into hospital to have surgery this week and so I bought him and his sister doughnuts as a pre-hospital 'do-nut worry, be happy' treat. I mean they usually say the hole is the best bit  because it has zero calories...  Oh well! There is a doughnut craze sweeping Melbourne, voted worlds most liveable city  for the sixth time consecutive year this week. I reckon it's our doughnuts that have clinched it! I'm not usually nuts for doughnuts, but these were rather special don't you think? Gone are the day of the old school jam filled doughnut, these days a doughnut can be anything but plain Gourmet is certainly in! It was pretty hard to choose, the selection at White Mojo is awesome,   but eventually, I chose a chocolate one for my son and a pink one for my daughter. Or so I thought. Little Miss Wren gets home first and eats the brown one she later tells me it was sexist to buy her a pink one! There were ...

Five tips to always enjoy the footy! I went to the footy last weekend at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG),  the first time in ages. But that's it, I'm not to be invited back again. Our team and league leaders Hawthorn,  suffered an unexpected loss to Melbourne. It was only their second loss of the season which was the only other match I'd watched this year. So I'm banned as "always unlucky" from all future matches! We've been " Always Hawthorn " members for sixteen years now, although some of these were  with overseas membership. M y membership was dropped on cost-saving grounds a few years back by Mr Wren - number one Hawthorn fan, who claimed I wasn't committed enough! That's rich, as I've always enjoyed the footy - my way! It's true, my favourite way to always enjoy the footy is to arrive after the first siren and leave in time to get a seat on the train home! It's a two and a half hour long mat...

Here's the Crazy Poodle  with his shaggy winter coat left long to survive an outdoor Aussie winter. It's been chilly this week. I scraped frost off the car windscreen on Wednesday which is virtually unheard of here in Melbourne. Mutt's happy to have been out for a decent walk, after a week where we were all office-bound, and he didn't get the attention he thought he deserved! His elephant friends were found in the grounds  at Merricks General Wine Store on the hinterland of the Mornington Peninsula. Good things come in little packages! We had walked from Red Hill South to Merricks Station Ground  along the disused Rail Trail.  It's a peaceful 6.5 km stroll  past vineyards and pony paddocks  through the pine trees and forests. We love this walk as it offers a different side of the Mornington Peninsula than our usual beach walks.  It was great to arrive at the Merricks General Wine Store in time for a cuppa and cake. They have r...