Everything changes

Why do things have to change?

Wouldn't life be simpler if everything stayed just the way you like it?

Then again, try telling that to a caterpillar!

I guess life would be a little boring if we always knew what to expect.

So, I will find a new garage to service my car - the one I bought it from

 no longer deals with my make of car.

And I will find a new dentist for the kids - the guy they've been seeing since

they were wee has gone and moved to New Zealand (was it something we said?)!

Who knows, I might even try a new "fine piece" the next time I'm in Costa!

Or is that taking things a bit too far???

So today I shall embrace change (well, okay, I don't have much choice!)

and I shall be grateful that I don't have a boring life!

Gratefully yours.

xx

Look up

Look up and see the world around

Don't always look down at the ground

You never know what you might find

If you clear your head and free your mind

Look up and fill your head with light

And find a world that's bold and bright

Dare to stare life in the eye

Look up, and smile as you go by.

Gratefully yours.

xx

A waste of time

Megan and I went to the cinema this afternoon, to see

How to Train Your Dragon 2 - for the second time!

A waste of an afternoon......or was it??

It's never a waste of time spending time with my darling girl!!

We walked to and from the cinema and the tongues never halted.

As she is growing up, we are becoming closer and closer,

and I can only hope and pray that nothing will

stop that!

So today I am grateful for a wonderful wasted afternoon!

Long may we waste them!!

There can never be anything more important to do than

spend time with those you love.

Gratefully yours.

xx

Rice Pudding

I had forgotten how much I love rice pudding!!

Well, I suppose I hadn't really, cos I often buy a tin so that I can

dip my spoon in every now and then when I'm passing the fridge!!

But what I mean is that I'd forgotten how good REAL, home made

rice pudding can be!

I've never actually made it myself!!! Can you believe that, I mean, I'm 50!!!!!

But I was inspired by my brother-in-law, Paul, to give it a go!

He makes it all the time and always has a bowl of it on the go for dipping

spoons into!

Well, I didn't have the Chia seeds, Paul, but other than that

I think I got it right!!

It certainly tastes delicious!!

I'm grateful that even at my great age(!!) I can still learn

something new!

Sure, isn't that what keeps us young???

Gratefully yours.

xx

Twenty hours aloft

View from the Tail-cam on our flight home, just approaching Heathrow!

Holidays are over!

What a fabulous three weeks we've had in Australia!

From the beautiful Kings Park, overlooking the city, to the Zoo,
 the Caversham Wildlife park, 

Aqwa (aquarium), footy matches, golf and rugby,

horse riding, shopping (you see, there was something for me too!!),
 chocolate factory (okay, two things for me!),
 swimming in the Indian Ocean (no, I didn't do that one!),

and, of course, spending quality time with Paul, Esther, Lily, Sean and beautiful baby Ivy!

I'm so grateful for all the wonderful experiences we've had

and the amazing memories we've made.

And after our long flights home (30hours door to door!), I'm pleased to announce

that we are almost back to normal!!!

I can't, however, vouch for Paul, Esther, Lily, Sean and beautiful baby Ivy!! 

It may take them a lot longer to recover!!!

Gratefully yours.

xx

Pure joy

Sometimes you are lucky enough to meet really, really nice people!

Megan and I met a lovely lady today, in the zoo.

Her name was Petra, and she looks after, amongst other things, the Tasmanian Devils.

We bought an Eye to Eye experience, which meant that we

were taken behind the scenes, into the "staff only"  part of the zoo.

Petra introduced us to Ronnie and Ochre, the two ancient (seven years old!)  Devils, 

and as she told us all about them, we got to feed them, with

real-live dead mice!

Afterwards Petra explained to Megan what it takes to be a zoo keeper,

and how she got the job. She even told Meg the name of a keeper

at Dublin Zoo, in case she wanted to talk to him about how it

works in Ireland!

The look of pure joy on Meggie's face afterwards!!!!

I'm grateful to Petra for taking the time to talk to us, and for making Meggie

feel so special.

Another step closer to her goal!

Gratefully yours.

Xx

Are we there yet?

It seems like only yesterday that we were boarding our plane, setting off

on our Big Australian Adventure.

Now we're half way through it!

Still, today I'm grateful that we have another ten days worth of adventuring left!

We're heading down South for a few days tomorrow, to sample the delights of

Margaret River and Yallingup - wineries, chocolate factory, cheese

factory, pony trekking, bush walks!

Yeah for Australian adventures!!

Gratefully yours.

Xx

The best day ever

What can I say??

It's official.

It IS the best day ever!

I mean we fed kangaroos, cuddled koalas, and a HUGE wombat called Neil,
stroked a golden possum and held a snake called Cody.

And, of course, the highlight of the day....I milked a cow ( see evidence above!). 

Megan's face was just a picture for the whole day. She really was
In heaven.

Thomas was also delighted to get a photo of himself stroking a kangaroo, to
match the one from 13 years ago!! As he keeps saying...
It's a twice in a childhood experience!!

I'm so grateful for all these wonderful memories we are making!

Gratefully yours.
Xx

City escape

Today I am grateful that there is a wonderful spa, called Bodhi J,

literally round the corner from Paul and Esther's house!

The urban retreat is on quite a busy main road, but as soon as you step

through the door, you're in heaven!

One of the many benefits of living in the city!

Another benefit is being only a 15 minute bus ride ( the bus stop is also

just round that same corner!) from the city centre.

And what a fabulous city centre it is!

Lots of beautiful old 20's and 30's buildings, sitting in perfect harmony with

their taller, much younger, neighbours.

With my camera round my neck to focus my attention, I really am in heaven!

A day at the zoo

We've just had the Best Day Ever!!!

We spent the day at the zoo.

Okay, I love animals, I love taking photos....need I say more?

But, do you know what? The best part of the day was watching the kids.

The looks on their faces as we saw koalas, kangaroos, echidnas (look them up, they're

really cool!), Tasmanian devils, quokkas and dingos!!

There was, of course, the obligatory shop stop, where all sorts of cuddlies,

(including my new slippers), were bought.

Today I am grateful for the look of sheer delighted amazement and joy on

Meggie's face as she stroked a real-live kangaroo!

How wonderful to be able to let the kids have such a brilliant experience!

What more could any mum ask?

Gratefully yours.

xx

Finally

Well, I've finally got back into Grateful Gretta.

Because I was trying to log in from the other side of the planet,

Google decided that I wasn't me, and it's taken me nearly

four days to convince them that I am!!

Anyway......

.....as you can see, we're having an at-home, laze about on the couch watching

films on the DVD day!

And I'm grateful for a day to relax!

It's good for the kids too, just to sit at peace

and quiet for a while.

Roast chicken and mash for tea, so I'm off to see if I can help.

Gratefully yours.

Xx

We're off to see the Wizard....

Pic from Google images

....the wonderful Wizard of Oz!!!

We are all very excited tonight!

Only ONE MORE SLEEP!

The housework is all done, so the burglers will be able to find everything.

Bins are out, windows are all locked tight, fridge is nearly empty.

Cases are all packed....and photographed, in case of a repeat of the Cayman Saga!!!

Gorgeous will be going on her holidays tomorrow too...which Meg and I are a bit sad about!

We'll really miss her! Meg is trying to decide whether to send a pair of socks 

along with her, to remind her of us!!!

We all went out for a walk together this evening, when Dad came home,

and we stopped for a wee pint on the way home! So now

we know it's holiday time!!!

I'm sooo grateful for my family tonight! Love them all to bits!

Talking of which......Happy Birthday to my darling big sis Mags tonight too!!!

Will keep you posted!!!

Gratefully yours.

xx