A moment to reflect.

Its been a busy couple of months. I can't believe how fast it has flown. A time full of family and friends, a time of ill health, jobs completed, some still to finish. It has been hectic to say the least but now it is time to slip back into a comfortable routine. Even the dog is exhausted with it all :-) He is laying under the desk as I take the time to catch up on all my favourite blogs. It feels as if I have been catching up with family news as I read back posts of my favourite blogs and see what everyone else has been up to. One common thread is that everyone else has also been busy with "life" and not as regular with writing so I don't feel altogether slack.

Mama completed her five weeks of teaching prac. and achieved excellent results. Well done darling....you worked hard for it. While she was teaching The Princess and I came down with the most awful virus with hacking coughs and no energy. Three weeks later I still cannot seem to shake of the exhaustion. As an asthmatic we were very worried about The Princess but with plenty of rest she was lucky to avoid another trip to hospital. Into the second week of being unwell, Mama and the gorgeous Boy also succumbed to the virus. I am not sure what our neighbours were thinking but the sounds coming from our house must have been awful. Still.....it is a thing of the past and we are all on the road to recovery.

During the past couple of months we were fortunate to have plenty of visitors to the Farm. Nods and Cherry and Lauren came to visit ( luckily before we became sick) dr K, Richie and his Mum came up for a weekend. My girlfriend of forty seven years came over from France and stayed for a week.

Gilli and I met when I started senior school and we have been friends ever since. She has been one of the family, to me, my brother and my parents. The sister I never had. She is a true and loyal friend. Months can go by and I hear nothing from her......years go by and I don't get to see her and then our paths cross and it is as if we were together yesterday. Mind you I think I kinda blotted my copy book this time LOL. I drove down to meet her at the airport......I hadn't seen her for around five years. As she got off the plane and walked towards me I was taken back with her resemblance to her late mother. The first words out of my mouth (and sometimes I have NO control of my mouth....it just works of its own accord ;-) )were "my God you look just like your Mum" Now I guess that isn't what every girl wants to hear and actually it wasn't quite true. She still looks like Gilli but it was that hint of something that I was not expecting. You know that as the years pass we will all age and change a little. When you see people regularly, you don't get to notice the change but it is still there. Your subconscious expects them to look as they did last time you saw them. It is that split second when your mind adjusts to the change. As I said ....my brain and my mouth are not always in sync.

It has been a wonderful week catching up with all that has happened to her and her extended family over the past five years. I have enjoyed the time so much....each day was as if I had seen her every day of my life and as I dropped her off at the airport to continue her trip down south there was no sadness, just the knowledge that when we next get together it will be as if she had climbed back into my car.......we will continue our trip through life !

While she was here, Gemini and the Great Dane also came to stay for the weekend. They have returned from their "round the world" cruise and I was keen to hear their news. With so many tales to tell I think we barely scratched the surface. I am sure there will be many more wonderful memories that we will get to hear about.

I am down in the city at the moment. Killing a little time while the Gorgeous Boy is at a business meeting. As soon as he returns.....around 7.30pm we will put Tiggy in the car and head up to the farm. We can't wait until the morning....we just want to go home. To wake up to the birds singing. No sounds of traffic and civilisation. Time to slow down again and smell the roses.

No photos today......just reflections. Tomorrow is a new day and I am looking forward to working towards finishing the "Great wall of bellavista"......thats one job that has been going on far too long....sigh

Still I gotta say........... "Life is good" :-)