A good week

When I started at the job I am in, I shared the job and I was doing two days/ week. After a while my colleague went off on maternity leave and I hoped to work her days until she came back. It took a while for everything to shuffle into place but I did eventually pick up her days.

This week, I was told that my colleague has resigned and I was invited to apply for the position on a permanent basis.

This is very good.

The job is low paid and exhausting but it makes me feel alive and the low pay is more tolerable when there are more hours.

It has been a long time hope of mine to go to a Christmas in July dinner but for years now I have not booked anything early and as July progressed I have run out of time to squeeze in a Christmas in July event. 

This year, my daughter Briony organised and paid for me before I could miss out for another year.

Last night I went with Briony and Caitlin to "Yulefest" at the Hydromajestic, a lovely old hotel in the Blue Mountains. 

The hotel  is gorgeous, the service was sublime, the five courses were all wonderful, there were twinkling lights and Christmas music. It was just a lovely evening.

Having ticked that off my bucket list, I will be content if I don't do it again. That's not to say I wouldn't do it again, just that it was lovely but there are other restaurants, festivals and joys to experience.

I am so blessed by my kid's generosity to me and wish I had done these kinds of things with my own mum but the whole dynamic was different. 

Just a few years ago I tried to take mum and dad out for a delicious brunch but they ate beforehand and then didn't want more than coffee. In many ways mum and dad were quite modern but an "expensive" brunch was a bridge too far.

Today, my grown children, partners and grandson came "home" to celebrate the twins' birthday with cake. It was good. The young fella was particularly keen to hang out with "Keegy" as he calls his uncle and Keegy was happy to oblige. Many guavas were pulled from the tree and dandelions picked before a quick return to mum and then back out the door with upturned palm opening and closing "Keegy Come"