On The Move

It's been a really busy couple of weeks. And I think I have to work backwards to remember what's been happening.
Yesterday I had the lovely colonoscopy that I was supposed to have twelve months ago. It all went well. Dr. Merrett is a lovely man and had a chat with me afterwards. He did have to remove two growths that were not good ones...but is confident he took out what was needed and there are no further concerns. Just means I have to have the dreaded 'C' every two years now instead of 3. I think I can cope with that.
Riley and Harrison both had birthdays. Little grandsons, brothers as well. Riley is now five and he had a great bowling party (like his big brother, Joshua a couple of weeks earlier). Harrison is 2 now!! And....so yummy!. I wasn't here for his birthday, and the poor little man was very sick as well so he didn't really get what it was all about.....I heard from the rest of the family.
I returned last week from a very busy and hectic time driving from home to Sydney and from Sydney to Brisbane with Andrea and Blake,Orson and Sahnie.
The most memorable part of the whole trip was that every night Sahnie insisted on sleeping with me and that was just devine. To have this delicate little 2.5yr old snuggling in with me was one of the sweetest things. The fact that she wouldn't go to bed untill I went to bed was so funny. Although it did mean I was in bed very early.
The children were all so good being in the car for ages and ages. We took my portable DVD player. It has a 10" screen. Andrea and I both bought a couple of DVD's that they hadn't seen yet and this kept them entertained and happy. I don't think I ever want to listen to Alvin and The Chipmunks again!!!!
We stayed over for two nights in Sydney at one of my sisters' homes. Met up with another sister, Elly and nephew Heath and his family. Spent the day taking the children to the park and playing with them so they had a good break before starting the long leg of the journey to Brisbane.
I was amazed at how the country scenery changed as we got to northern NSW and then in to Qld. Orson was funny on the trip. Nearly 4 yrs old, he knew he was going to Qld, but he had no concept of what that actually meant. I asked him what was in QLD and he said 'animals' and Matts house! When we stopped for petrol he was in tears because in his words 'there's no Qld here!'. Not sure what he was looking for!!!
After leaving Sydney at 4am we finally arrived at Matts house about 7:30pm. He lives in a brand new estate in a 'normal' house. Not a queenslander! It's a great house with lots of outside entertaining area including a spa.
I spent till Sunday afternoon there, when my eldest sister, Erna and her partner Michael picked me up.
It was gut wrenching saying goodbye to my little grandchildren. These little ones who I see a couple of times a week. I had to do everything in my power to not cry...because I knew that would be sad for everyone. Leaving Andrea was so hard.....we have never been apart on a permanent basis. So, it's all been really emotional and as I type this the tears are rolling again!
I had a great time with Erna. She is such an extrovert. Never stops talking. I have never spent any real time with her. She's a lot older than me and as a child we didn't really cross paths much. So, this was a first. She has a gorgeous house which she has decorated in a very Dutch style. Has nik nacks everywhere. She buys everything at op shops. Because she knows the names of expensive pieces of glassware and pottery etc., she has picked up some amazing bargains.
On the Monday she took me to the Sunshine Coast.....to Noosa where she has time share. Unfortunately it was pouring the whole time so we didn't get out of the car. It was so packed with all the holidaymakers who have come north for the sunshine!!! It actually rained every day I was in Brisbane.
We stopped in a town called Montville. Which is full of amazing shops. They are all handcrafted products everywhere and gorgeous little cafe's. Erna bought me a gorgeous gift there and I bought her a little piece of her favourite Italian glass. Although it was still raining we had fun browsing around the shops.
We stopped at the Big Pineapple and had a sundae there. It was huge...so we didn't need to worry about lunch. We then visited a friend of Erna's for a hot chocolate and then back to her home.
Tuesday we went and did the 'op shop' thing!!! I found a heap of books from a series that I've started collecting from last year when I started chemo. I found 13 of them and didn't want to not buy them. But then I had to work out how to get them home. I only had one bag with me....but right at my feet in the op shop was a strong carry bag that zipped up. The perfect size for all the books. And the lovely red shirt and black leather bag that I bought as well. All for $33. Of course I'm going to have to try a bit of op shopping here now!!!
I arrived back on Wednesday utterly exhausted. And looking at my house wondering where to start. Andrea has left so much stuff for me to either have, or look after for her. Boxes of things. Which gives me just the motivation to clean out cupboards and make room.

I enjoyed being part of a scrapbooking challenge with Blue Bazaar. I was sent a range of new Chatterbox Papers and I made 3 layouts for them to appear (along with other scrapbookers layouts) in their newsletter a couple of weeks ago.
It was fun.....but it brought me back to how hard it is to create within parameters. It just doesn't flow as when doing it just because I like a design and I'm the only one who has to like it.

Well, it's already half way through the day and I havn't done a thing so far. I have to send a parcel to Orson for his 4th birthday next Sunday. Best get on the move.