I used to believe in forever...

I used to believe in forever, but forever is too good to be true.Winnie the Pooh

To my beautiful brother on his birthday
I will love you and miss you always.
And more than anything,
I wish you were here.

xxx

45 wishes...

Today is my brother's birthday.
He would have been 45.

Today, more than ever, I will be holding him close in my thoughts and wishing he was here. I love him and miss him every day.

Flashback Friday...

This is me (again) with my two older brothers. Summer tans and barefoot freedom. Fantastic.

I think it's Lake Eildon in the background. It is pretty full here, but now 35 years later, and after a stretch of years of drought, it is currently at 19% capacity. With 515 km of shoreline, it stores six times as much water as Sydney Harbour at full supply level. That's one hell of a lot of water!

We're going to need a lot of rain to get back to those levels again!

This is what makes me happy...

1. Window Seat, 2. Beautiful bedding, 3. Frangipani 4, 4. Jump, 5. Sunny smile, 6. Scrabble Dreaming, 7. Full bowl of maltesers, 8. Deserted Beach, 9. Beautiful Shells

It seems to me, that we sometimes forget to acknowledge even the simplest of things that make our lives more pleasurable. And often we spend so much time pondering on the battles of our lives that we don't even realise how lucky, or happy we are.

I have been thinking about it a little lately. Trying to be more aware of the things that bring joy to my life. More often than not, it is the small things that make me happy. So I have made a list, for a couple of reasons... A good list makes me happy and, I have decided to list only 10 things, so I have time to go and visit everyone else's "This is" posts for this week. I hope you have all enjoyed the theme... and you have a happy Sunday.

This is what makes me happy...

A free table in the window of my favourite cafe makes me happy.

Slipping into a freshly laundered bed after a long day makes me happy.

The smell of frangipani on a warm summer evening makes me happy.

Living a creative and adventurous life makes me happy.

Summer smiles make me happy.

Using all my tiles in scrabble on a triple word score... makes me happy.

Curling up, with a good book and a full bowl of maltesers, beside an open fire makes me happy.

A walk on a deserted beach makes me happy.

Beautiful things make me happy.

BUT. ABOVE ALL.
My family and friends makes me happy. When everyone is healthy and happy - so am I. I am happy when spending time in their good company, sharing stories over a healthy meal, laughing. Being happy together. THAT is what makes me happy.

Thanks again to Angela for creating the "this is" magic

This is what gives me goosebumps...

The idea of deep water (and especially rough seas) gives me the goosebumps.

I have been swimming with the dolphins and seals in Port Phillip Bay and I grew up near the beach, but deep water and rough surf in particular, gives me goosebumps BIGTIME!

I don't get seasick and I am a regular user of ferries, I really don't know why I have this reaction... A rough trip to Maria Island off the east coast of Tasmania on school camp? The movie Perfect Storm? Too many episodes of Gilligan's Island? Perhaps it is more the idea of being out of control in rough water maybe? Whatever it is, the idea of deep water is definitely goosebump material.

A couple of months ago, when I found out my brother was going deep sea fishing off the southern coast of Victoria. I've gotta tell you, my stomach lurched. When I imagined him taking a charter boat out into the ocean, over 40 kilometers off the coast with the aim of catching a bluefin tuna, all I could see were stormy seas and big big waves. I am relieved to say arrived home safely and was even published in the Geelong Addy, having landed the catch of the day!


Tim Smith of Point Lonsdale with the bluefin tuna he caught off Portland aboard Adamas Charters on Sunday. (Photo Rod Lawn).

The theme for this weeks "This is..." came from Flightless Boyds. The "This is..." meme was started by the very creative Angela of Three Buttons fame.

I see I get to choose the theme for next week - I have been thinking about it all day and I am still undecided... I will let you know by Wednesday... Have a good week everyone.

Brothers young and old, save up your pocket money...

I used to be TERRIFIED of spiders. There was never space enough for me and one spider in the same room!

But then, 2 years ago, I faced my fears, took part in the "Fearless Program' for arachnophobes at Tooronga zoo in Sydney and I was cured. Yes cured. I can honestly say I have held a LIVE, hand filling, genuine, Chilean Rose Tarantula in my bare hands and I would do it again. If you are brave enough, you can read about my experience and see the picture to prove it here.

Today I saw in a local toy catalogue, you can buy one of these little beasties and play havoc with all of your arachnophobic friends and family.

Yes, it's a remote control tarantula! My brother's would have got their money's worth with this in their arsenal of tricks! It would have seen me running for the hills.

What will they think of next?