Filed under: Uncategorized
Google search which brought up my blog:
undies undies undies bathers budgie smug
Weird.
Filed under: Cambodia, God thoughts, Reaching out, at home, garden, loving others, marriage
Life is rapidly falling into a routine in this new world of no-longer-working of mine. Are you suprised that I am actually rather busy?
The days are melding together, passing by like the drip-drip-drip of the constant rain, and overshadowed by the leaden, glutinous sky that reminds me of winters in England. I love winter. It is relatively short, here, and I relish each day of crisp cold, still warm enough to sit in the sun with my coffee, but cool enough to need a couple of layers of clothing. I love the grey sky and the rain, making it easy to stay inside and cook comforting meals and read, leisurely, on the sofa.
Somehow, too, I am learning a new skill, and have been doing a lot of work on our church’s website. I’m not sure if I will ever grasp the intricacies of the technical side, but I am enjoying designing the pages and writing updates on our blog and providing much creative input. I am finding this very satisfying.
I enjoy having time to exercise each day, dashing out in the morning then coming home and spending an hour or so making our house a home. I am delighting in making sure that my busy husband has very little to do around here once he gets home from work apart from that which he wants to do. We shared chores for so long; now, it is nice to do this for him, because I can.
I have been gardening and cleaning long-neglected corners. I have had plenty of time to pause and dwell on my Father, in the midst of ordinary things. I have seen friends, too, and had plenty of time for fun.
Yesterday, a dear friend of mine and I went to the opening of Tiffany’s in Perth. We weren’t part of the glamourous champagne set, but watched the festivities from the warmth of the coffee shop across the street, over big bowls of porridge and roasted fruit. We went in afterwards, with an abundance of women from Perth – such fun! It’s our anniversary, soon, and my husband sent me in to peruse the display.
I have my eye on this: what do you think? (I notice the link didn’t work. It is on the first page, bottom row, second from the right.
)I’d like to have a ring that I can wear on its own, particularly for travel, when I don’t want to take my other rings.
On the subject of travel, we are preparing for a trip to Cambodia next month, just my husband and me. We will be doing some financial teaching, relating to the ministry our church has set up (micro finance loans, giving, managing money – that kind of thing) and then spending a few days building into all the church leaders. I haven’t been to Cambodia for about four years. It will be a joy to reconnect with dear faces old and new.
So, you see, life can take on a new structure and purpose very quickly! You were all right about that!
Filed under: Uncategorized
I’m pausing in my guilty rush of chores to provide some commentary on the sad state of real estate in this part of the world. We would like to buy a house sometime in the (near) future, but things are pretty grim around here. Although the market is falling, it is still pretty much unattainable for first home buyers, unless you have a massive outlay of funds to begin with. I spend some time every day perusing the market and seeing what the prices are around the place.
We did some sums last night. (Say that seven times, quickly.) If we were to purchase a $400 000 house right now (ha ha! Good luck finding a house at this price. The median house price in Perth is $450 000, and that is a very, very average home in an average suburb.) at 10% interest, we would be paying off $40 000 a year in interest payments. That’s $800 per week, and we haven’t even touched the principal yet. If prices stay the same, that means we lose $40 000 per year. Someone was telling me that renting was dead money – but while we fork out $350 a week for our little shoebox, it is a lot less than $800 out of which we gain nothing. We’re going to stay in this position until the market starts to shift. It makes good financial sense.

Today is the first day that I am officially ‘home’. School is back, but I am not. I feel strangely adrift, unsettled, uneasy. I feel like tiptoeing around my house, as though I am disturbing its workday slumber. I should be happy, but it all just seems too quiet, a day without meaning or purpose. I’m not sure if I like it. Is it ok to listen to music? Is it ok to enjoy myself if my husband is busy at work? Should I have a list of accomplishments to present him (and others) at the end of the day?
There is a lot to do – cleaning, gardening (put off for weeks), freezers to clean out, cupboards to sort – but I can’t seem to get started. I can’t seem to shake off this sense of guilt. I know that I need to transition from work to home, from being defined as a teacher, respected for my knowlege and skills, to just being me, defined by my status as a child of God. It is suprisingly hard. I know that I need this time in many ways. I know that I have much to learn from the great Teacher, but I think it will take me a while to become used to this new phase. I have lots of plans and dreams, but I’m not really sure where to start. I have a list of things to do, but I’m not sure if my priorities are right and good. It is all very strange.
If you had all this free time, what would you do?
Filed under: loving others
Celebrations are fun. It is important, I think, to commemorate milestones, birthdays, anniversaries. I love that moment of feeling special, important, valued and loved.
We’re celebrating our pastor’s 40th tomorrow. His wife has gone all-out! We’ve got a big party at a gorgeous restaurant which overlooks the river at lunchtime, which includes most of the church and all their friends and family, plus some interstate visitors. About eight of us (and iour pastors!) are going in a limo afterwards for a bit of a tour around, then out to a really nice Japanese restaurant for dinner. I know there will be plenty of honour bestowed upon him tomorrow, and that is the way it should be.
A friend was telling me recently about her ‘lifesong’ – the hymn ‘How Great Thou Art’. I was musing in bed the other evening on the beauty of having a lifesong and the way a song speaks of who we are, who God is to us, what He has done and is doing in our lives. I rolled over and asked my husband, “What is your lifesong, honey?” He replied straight away, “Bringing Sexy Back”. That kind of killed the philosophical moment, and much laughter ensued.
Speaking of bringing sexy back, I am enduring a nasty throat/chest infection that has occupied most of these holiday. Noice. I’m so thankful that I have many weeks of ‘freedom’ ahead, despite being house-bound for most of last week.
Filed under: Uncategorized
See! We really do have winter here!!! 1 degree!!! Frost!!!! Wheeeeeeee!
Thursday:
Precis: Shower or two.
City: Min 8 Max 20
Mandurah: Min 9 Max 19
UV Alert: Nil , UV Index predicted to reach 2 [Low]
Fire Danger: Coastal Plain: NOT RATED
Hills: NOT RATED
Friday Showers, thunderstorm easing. Min 9 Max 17
Saturday Showery, thunder, hail, windy. Min 9 Max 15
Sunday Early shower then fine. Min 4 Max 15
Monday Fine. Early frost. Min 1 Max 16
Tuesday Fine. Early frost. Min 3 Max 17
Wednesday Showers developing. Min 5 Max 19