Australia Day

While the rest of Australia was out celebrating Australia Day at various barbeques we chose to have a low key relaxing day at home. I spent a bit of my time lying in my hammock reading my book and just enjoying the peace and quiet of the day.

I did take time to reflect on what makes Australia the great country it is today. I remembered the soldiers that gave their lives so that I can still enjoy days like this and I listened to the sounds of other people doing their business. I heard someone mowing their lawn and a dog barking. I heard someone calling out to someone else. All these were far enough away to not be annoying and intermingled with the birds, I quite enjoyed hearing them.

I also chose to read Missus by Ruth Park as an appropriate book for Australia Day. Ruth Park is a classic Australian author who wrote the Harp in the South Series. I loved both Harp in the South and Poor Man's Orange and Missus is the prequel to these and explains the background of the main characters. I'm finding it a little slow to be honest kind of like the bible where so and so begat so and so etc. OK, not quite that boring but much the same. I am hoping now that I am up to where the two main characters of the other books find love with each other it will start to move along.

All in all a lovely, relaxing day that I hope to have many more of this summer.

Here I Go Again

OK, time to really pull my finger out and start blogging. It's a beautiful sunny day here in Melbourne and tomorrow is Australia Day which means no work!! This morning was what I had hoped would be the last step in my breast reconstruction, the areola tattoo. I went off to the swanky beauty salon that houses my plastic surgeon and met with the lovely Melissa who was going to tattoo some pigmentation around my new nipple making it look like I had a proper areola. It is amazing what they can do these days. Luckily it didn't hurt at all because that breast is numb. She did an amazing job and I have to look after it and go back in six weeks to have it checked and any touching up (so to speak) will be completed then. She asked me if I felt the reconstruction was worth the money, pain and emotional stress and I have to say YES YES YES! It was only two years and four months ago that I felt I would never look 'normal' again and here I am with not only two breasts, areolas and all but I have a much flatter tummy to go with it. I can't complain about that. It's almost difficult to remember what it was like to only have one breast. Amazing how our minds work and block out the bad so quickly.

On my way home from the tattooist's I popped into my favourite op shop (thrift shop for those non Australians) to check out the books. A friend at work is trying to hunt out Spot books for her young daughter and of course I offered to have a look too. I mean I don't need any more books but how could I possibly not help out a friend in need, hehe. I found Spot's Windy Day and other stories so was then free to check out the adult books. Not that kind of adult! There were just so many books I could have bought and I felt quite righteous that I left with only three books, one of them being Spot.

Still on my way home I rang a friend who is unwell at the moment to see if there was anything he needed. He said that if I was going to the supermarket could I get him some Frosty Fruits for his sore throat and some milk as he was out of it. So while shopping for dinner for the family I popped these extra items in my car and went on to deliver them to the patient. He was feeling quite down and really did look like a sad sack but still offered me a coffee which I happily accepted. He made me a lovely cafe latte, sprinkles on top included and I set to to try and take his mind off his woes. I finally managed to get a smile or two before I left and he then asked me if I could do him another favour and drop a letter in the mail for him. Of course I could do this but as it was an overnight envelope it had to go in one of the special boxes which meant going to Croydon which has two very good op shops with lots of books! Now, being the good friend that I am, I had no choice but to visit these shops and see if Spot was residing at either of them. Unfortunately Spot wasn't there but there were lots and lots of adult literature. I was lucky to get out of there with only three books bringing my stash to five.

My new friends (books) that came home with me are as follows:

Digging to America by Anne Tyler (one of my favourite authors)

Missus by Ruth Park (a wonderful classic Australian author)

Washington Square by Henry James (a penguin classic for my collection)

That'd Be Right by William McInnes (a lighthearted true life story telling by one of my favourite actors) &

Nanny Returns by Nicola Kraus & Emma McLaughlin (chick lit but a sequel to the popular Nanny Diaries)

When I will find time to read these books is beyond me but I am enjoying just looking at them for the moment before they get swallowed up in my overstocked bookshelves.

Finally it was time to really go home and off I went. After being home for about five minutes I remembered that I had some things to return to my girlfriend so back in the car and off I went for the lovely drive through Silvan to see Lynda. She had lent me some chairs for my 50th which was over two months ago and I needed to return the hats that her boys had accidentally left behind as children do. I also bought her two Pandora charms which I was anxious to hand over to her. I seem to have a newfound love of shopping that has been nurtured over the last six months and it looks like Lynda is the one to benefit this week, hehe. I love buying things for people who will really appreciate it which Lynda did.

So after a cup of coffee and a long natter it was back home for me. I spent a little time outside in the glorious sun watering the back garden and then repotting a new plant that I bought on the weekend. No time to lie in the hammock reading before cooking tea so I shall leave that for another day.

All in all a wonderful wonderful day, I couldn't have asked for more. New areola, new friends (books), time spent with old friends (John and Lynda) and a nice new potted plant.