My most perfect dayhttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

Describe your most ideal day from beginning to end.

On my most perfect day, I would get to sleep in , then take Lily for a long walk in the crisp, fresh morning sunshine 🌞 ☀️.

Lani,Kathryn, and myself will travel to  a seaside village to look at quaint little opshops and have lunch together at a cute little Cafe. Lily will be with us, as will Ruby,  Lanis dog. After lunch we all take a long walk along the beach ⛱️,  which delights Lily as she has never been to a beach before.

At night, Carl and Gisele pick me up to see Crowded House perform at a small, intimate venue for long-time fans.

The day will finish with me getting a good sleep with Lily sleeping 😴 brsdide me.

The Newsreaderhttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

Over the past couple of days I binge watched the new third and final series of The Newsreader.   It is amazing.   It definitely is the best drama series made by the ABC for the past couple of years.  Anna Torv is brilliant as Helen Norville and Sam Reid performane as Dale Jennings is second to none.  They both play caracters that are flawed,  but ultimately the series is about friendships, love and loyalty all set in a television 📺 newsroom in Melbourne in the 1980s.  William McInness plays an excellent head of the newsroom that certainly gets his well-deserved come uppance in the end. Karma does exist, and the characters of Helen and Dale always have each other’s backs part at the worst times for each character.  I love how the producers dealt with Helens mental health issues, because as a sufferer of mental health issues myself, it showed that a diagnosis of mental health issues doesn’t stop you from having a very successful life.  To see Helen take charge of her own destiny and heal her issues with her diagnosis and family was written with such dignity and reality.  Helen Norville is a modern-day heroine complete with flaws that make her believable and likeable.

Please watch this series on iview. It is the best Australia has to offer and shows why the ABC produces quality on a tight budget. You will enjoy it.

Beef,red wine and vegetables casserole or Chicken and Spinach Indian style curryhttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

What’s your favorite thing to cook?

I have two favourite dishes that I love ❤️ to cook if I have friends over. They are beef , red wine and vegetable casserole or chicken and spinach Indian style curry.

I haven’t cooked either of them for a while because I haven’t had people over for dinner for quite some time.  Both recipes are out of the Gabriel Gates Good Food Fast cookbook. You can tell it’s a well-used recipe book because some of the pages are food stained. I do enjoy cooking when I have people over and go to more effort than if I am just cooking 🍳 for myself.

My families first computer 🖥 and Susannas generosityhttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

Write about your first computer.

The first computer 🖥 I had was our family’s first computer 🖥 IBM compatible with floppy discs that I mainly used for word processing of my stories and student assignments.  Through my work, I kept fairly up to date technology wise and used my husbands computer when I was married.

Susanna bought me my first laptop when I was doing a couple of law subjects,  because she knew that we were struggling financially and she wanted me to have what the other students had.  I appreciated her generosity very much she ws always so beautifully generous.

I still do have a laptop 💻,  but really, I just use my phone 📱 for everything these days. It is just so convenient and easy to use my phone 📱  . It is amazing to think of how our lives have become so technology focused.  Computers weren’t a part of my childhood, and I grew up in a time of landlines and no mobile phones. It is amazing to think of how much our lives have changed over the past 40 years. We really have come a long way.

Complaininghttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

What do you complain about the most?

What do I complain about the most ? The truth is that I don’t normally complain about things in my life. I am happy, contented, and at peace in my life most of the time.   A large part of this is due to Susanna, who had liver and kidney cancer, but never once complained about her lot in life, although she probably had more right to complain.  Instead, she had a glass half full attitude to life and had a great sense of humour about her predicament.  I think it is better to have an optimistic attitude to life and not complain when things don’t go as planned.  I know several people who constantly complain about the little things in life and never seem grateful 🙏🏽 for what they have. It is far better to not sweat the small stuff in life, just see everything as part of the journey and be open to learning the lessons of life, instead of bitching about your lot in life. I feel grateful and try not to complain about my lot in life. My journey of life is winding and full of beauty, I want to enjoy the view instead of complaining about it.

What would I do if I won the lotteryhttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

What would you do if you won the lottery?

What would I do if I won the lottery. Probably the first thing I would do is arrange a holiday to New 🇳🇿 Zealand.

I would give a good amount to my nephews and nieces.

I would donate alot to the Olivia Newton John Cancer Centre at the Austin Hospital,  I would also give some money to The Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council and give alot to Northpark Private Hospital for them to have art and music 🎶 🎵 therapy every day.  I would help out my friends with their mortgages.  I would give some to So They Can,  the charity that builds schools in Africa.

Books I want to readhttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

What books do you want to read?

There are a few books I want to 📚 read.  My new years resolution is to read 📚 the entire Harry Potter series of books, so that I am up to date with them. I am hoping to borrow the series from my niece.

I am hoping to read some of the books that Sandi Toksvig has written, in particular her children’s literature.

I plan on rereading some Cathy Kelly books and also to reread To Kill A Mockingbird .

At the moment, I am open to recommendations of what blog readers think I should 📚 read. I am open to ideas.

My traditionshttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

Write about a few of your favorite family traditions.

I’ve been thinking about family traditions and I don’t know what traditions my family share,  but I do have  few traditions of my own.

My main tradition is that I silently say grace before every meal myself and Lily have. I thank God for providing me and Lily with enough 🙏🏽 food to live on and I am genuinely grateful for the food I have.   I started the tradition of saying grace when I was married.

Another tradition is to take Lily for a morning 🌄 walk weather permitting.   This is bonding time for us and I normally feel really great after doing it.

Doing my weekly shop at ALDI is another tradition,.

I also have the tradition of sending my loved ones a good morning 🙏🏽 🌄 gif every morning.

Another tradition is to call my friends Adrian and Liz everyday for a quick catch up, as I live on my own I value this contact with my friends, and it means that I don’t become isolated.

My leisure timehttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

What do you enjoy doing most in your leisure time?

What I enjoy most in my leisure time is to catch up with 🧡 friends and family.

I love going out for lunch or afternoon tea with friends, going opshopping with Ksthryn or Lani.  I love picnics in the park or exploring places like Williamstown. I love walking along the beach.  I love catching up with my nephews and nieces.  I love to see Evelyn and Mason, my great niece and nephew. I love being able to do these types of things with Lily,  so her world 🌎 becomes bigger than just me. I love quiet time spent reading 📚 a good book.  I love walking Lily  in the morning 🌄 sunshine.

BRIGHThttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

Name an attraction or town close to home that you still haven’t got around to visiting.

The town in my home state of Victoria that I would most like to visit is Bright.  Bright is in the high country and has the reputation of being beautiful,  particularly in the autumn 🍂,  where there are leaves of many colours  on the 🌳 trees that Bright is renowned for.   It is the place that I dream of visiting with Lily at some dog friendly bed and breakfast accommodation. I feel that I have missed out because I haven’t seen it yet, it is definitely on my bucket list.