New Year 2011

Happy new year!

One of my Facebook friends is starting a photo-a-day for 2011. Although she doesn't think her life is all that interesting [her opinion, not ours :-)] she is using this exercise as a means of finding beauty in the everyday and mundane. What a great idea.

I wonder, if we all did that, if at the end of the year we could look back and remember how we were and where we were when that photo was taken. I wonder if one day we took a photo of the mundane only to find that the next day our photo is of something completely unexpected.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that 2010 for me was a year to remember. And while it may have started out 'everyday and mundane' it certainly picked up speed along the way and ended just as surprisingly.

I remember that night in March when Rob came home and told me that he'd been offered the job at Reef Pilots and that he had accepted. I felt that my world had come crumbling down. Everything as I knew it was about to change ..... and I was scared - very very scared.

And then I remember missing him, missing him badly and wondering "what am I doing down here while he's up there - we want to be together, so why aren't we?". And I remember the weekend I went up for look-see and deciding that yes, I can do this, I can live here.

And .... well, you know the rest - you've read the blog :-)

Zoe - with advice for the new year

Another friend sent me one of those cute emails with the little kittens and sage advice on how to welcome the new year -

• stay alert
• share time with friends
• make new friends
• jump over obstacles
• face challenges
• remember to laugh
• and above all .... be ready for adventure :-)

We will all have an opportunity, this year,  for an adventure. It doesn't necessarily have to be a moving away from home adventure, but at some point we will be presented with an opportunity to have a go, try something new and different - move out of our comfort zone :-)

Will we be ready? Come on .... let's do it!

In this exciting new year ..... life is good :-)

Decluttering

There's nothing like a good workout in the yard to clear things up - it clears toxins as you sweat and work muscles, it clears the yard of clutter and mess ...... and it clears your head.

Yesterday, Rob and I got stuck into the yard. A green skip bin arrived bright and early and by midday it was half full. While Rob played with his chain saw toy, I work steadily and systematically weeding out long grass and overgrown ferns. Then as Rob broke up branches and tried to avoid powerlines, I trimmed the lower trees with my trusty secateurs. (I didn't really work systematically - I just want you to think I'm organised).

Rob in the thick of it

The denuded jacaranda tree - the garbo will be pleased :-)

Showing off :-)

We both finished exhausted and sore, but very pleased with our efforts. My favouite time is the walk-around as you survey what you've done and how good is looks now. And our reward? - an icy cold beer, of course!

Our beautiful front yard - welcome!

A well deserved beer - icy cold :-)

Getting rid of all the overgrowth, we can now see the front gate ..... and the Gateway Bridge in the distance. Did I clear my head? Well, when you exercise you release endorphins - the feel good hormones - and while I don't know that my head is yet fully decluttered, I do feel quite positive - and that's a very good start :)

Today I can say, with confidence, life is good.

Letting go

OK .....going out on a limb today.

When I went to T.I. my Mum came with me and we spent my first week together. It was great. After she left I threw myself into my new life - mixing, mingling, joining, working and becoming involved in my new community.

All the while I missed my family and as time went by the desire for them to come up and see where I live and work and play intensified. And about two months ago, it peaked. If you've been following, you might have noticed that this is about the time that I was facing a few challenges.

The thing is that this desire has been consuming me to the point where it's affecting how I think and act. And it's turned into a negative emotion as my family sees my requests to come and visit as a "guilting" - guilting them to feel that they have to make the effort to make the trip. And it's turned into a negative emotion as I am unable to feel happy for those around me who can look forward to a visit from family or friends. I feel envy and a bit of anger.

But last night I was shown that my desire, my yearning for family and/or friends to come up is impractical and not likely to happen in the near future, if at all. So the best thing that I can do for myself and for my loved ones is to let it go. Let go of that all-consuming desire and want that is in effect bringing me down and clouding my thinking.

Today I am initiating strategies to help me to let it go. Already I feel lighter, sad, but lighter. And when I return to T.I. in four weeks I will start afresh and try to recapture that enthusiasm that I enjoyed when I first went up all those seven months ago :-)

Maybe this is something that I just have to go through - you know, keep walking until you get there - and I will come out stronger at the other end. I hope so.

At the moment ...... life is ...... challenging

Christmas 2010

I want to share with you one of the best Christmas days I've had in a long time.

As you know Christmas was to be spent on T.I. - a long way from home, family and friends - but it would have been a good day. Any "orphans" were invited to Robyn's place for breakfast and then later in the day Siobhan was hosting her annual orphan's day lunch. We would not have been alone :-)

But Rob's broken leg put paid to that and on Christmas Day we found ourselves in Cairns en route to Brisbane. And I was determined to make it a special day, wherever we were, because I felt so blessed that Rob and I were together and that he was well. So to that end I bought all the gifts that had been sent from home with me to open on the day. And I am so glad I did :-)

Rob woke me on Christmas morning with a ho-ho-ho and a cup of hotel instant coffee - delicious because it was made with love. I had put the presents out the night before, and after coffee we sat on the bed to open them. It was fun - lots of little gifts thrown in with the bigger ones. And fortunately Rob's gift from me arrived  at the last minute - luckily I checked at the post office before I left.

After a light breakfast in our room we went for a walk along the esplanade in the rain. It was drizzly rain, yet quite a few other people were also out walking, probably before the big lunch time feast.

Drizzly rain on Christmas morning. The structure in the foreground is the roof of a wedding chapel.

Lunch - where to go? what to eat? after all this is Christmas Day. Well - here's the thing - the view from our hotel balcony was pretty nice (see above)  and Rob had gone shopping the day before for a few essentials - so why go anywhere? We had it all there.

Our Christmas feast! Cheese, salami, olives, chocolates and wine - all food groups were covered :-)

Merry Christmas Rob :-)

I have never enjoyed a Christmas lunch as much as I did on that day. It was perfect in it's simplicity and satisfaction.

After the obligatory Christmas day nap, we both felt a tad peckish, so we borrowed an umbrella from hotel reception and strolled along the esplanade to the Pier. There we found the Mecca Bar and a cosy little alcove just for us .

Our romantic alcove at the Mecca Bar

We enjoyed a delicious pizza with real sardines, olives, roasted capsicum and tomatoes and topped with rocquet - exquisite! It was light, tasty and very satisfying. A stroll to the gelato bar for dessert and back to the hotel to watch a  movie - Miss Potter with Rene Zellweiger.

And so ended Christmas Day 2010. During the day we both received calls from our kids. And that's the best part - talking to your loved ones so far away, hearing their voices so clearly and happy, having them tell you that they're thinking of you and missing you.

Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas Day with the family - the fun, food, companionship. But this year - the year when (to quote my brother Anthony) nothing went according to script - I was still able to enjoy such a day. And I was blessed to be in a very beautiful part of the country with a very beautiful man ...... and he with a very beautiful woman (right Rob?) :-)

Life is good.

Update on Rob

The power of positive thinking - all your good wishes and healing thoughts have come to fruition.

Yesterday, after undergoing an MRI the specialist informed Rob that his leg is mending and he does not  require surgery. But it does require a lot of rest and slight exercise in order to continue the healing process. We are both very relieved and happy.

So things have changed ever so slightly in that we can now plan and not be concernd about working around hospital appointments. And casts and crutches are no longer a part of the deal :-)

I'm still leaving the island tomorrow and we hope to fly back to Brisbane next week. Our Christmas plans have not changed and it's nice to know that Rob can enjoy the day in a little less pain and a little more mobility.

I've passed on all your good wishes to him - he thanks you.

Life is good.

Rob

I haven't kept you up to date about everything. Rob is in Cairns to see an orthopedic surgeon tomorrow and then he is scheduled for an operation on Thursday. Why?

Well about three weeks ago, while climbing to board one of our pilot boats, he fell. And he fell about four feet - flat on his back - onto the cement wharf. I was there and I got a big fright, especially when I called his name several times and he did not respond. Eventually he opened his eyes, sat up and carried on.

He called into the medical centre the next day and was told that he had bruised his knee. But after hobbling around the island for a week in a lot of pain, he finally went to the hospital where they x-rayed his leg and found a broken fibula.

So - Rob is now in Cairns awaiting further medical treatment. I'm joining him on Christmas Eve simply because there are absolutley no flights off the island and I was lucky to get this one as the company had nabbed this ticket as a "just in case".

We were both ok with the idea of spending Christmas Day together in Cairns, doing our own thing, perhaps enjoying a delicious lunch from one of the many lovely restaurants along the esplanade. But again, matters have been taken out of our hands.

One of our pilots and his lovely lady live on the tablelands about an hour from Cairns and he has invited us  to spend Christmas Day with them. How blessed are we?

After that, on the first available flight out of Cairns, we will fly home to Brisbane where Rob will recuperate for the next 4-6 weeks. Life is what happens when you're busy making plans .......

So now things are a bit hectic up here. ARP is having to find replacement staff and there will be a constant relay of people coming up from Brisbane to fill in until Rob gets back. We are short a cleaner, and I have been filling in until we hired someone, but I'm out of here on Friday and so far we have not had any response to our ad. I hope they find someone soon.

The pilots and crew and all concerned about Rob and wish him a speedy recovery. They're also worried about how things will work while he's away because as one of the pilots said to me today "with shipping, it's just another day". In other words - there is no festive season, there is no slowing down because it's holiday time.

But you know - God or the Universe or whoever or whatever you believe in, works in mysterious ways. Rob needed to stop and rest. But unfortunately, he was not going to do this of his on accord. Now he has to - he has no choice. The matter was taken out of our hands and dealt with accordingly. In the scheme of things this is not a tragedy - it could have been far worse when I think of the way that he fell.

Ok - so a holiday would be nicer without a full cast and maybe a bit of pain, but hopefully Rob will stop, breathe, smell the roses, taste the coffee ...... and enjoy.

As I've learnt so many times this year - life is unpredictable.

Mondo

I don't normally post every day - but I just wanted to share with you the wonderful evening I've had tonight. There's an amazing cafe at the pier - Mondo - it's part of the Hilton hotel. And I discovered it quite by accident.

I was actually on my way to the marina to have a drink and maybe a meal at one of the other restaurants. While I was watching for the turnoff I noticed a grassed area with tables and chairs. So, I wandered over ......

Mondo - a garden of Eden in Cairns

OMG - it was a paradise, a garden of eden in this already beautiful city that is Cairns. I took a table with water views - well, actually they all have water views, but mine was the best :-) The cafe overlooks the river and part of the marina, the mountains are just over there, boats are dotted everywhere. A cruise ship cruised by as we sat and enjoyed the scenery. I just had to ring Rob - he told me that it had been in T.I. a couple of days ago and that one of our pilots is on board to take it through the reef. I wonder ... did he see me waving?

The cruise ship that just cruised by

I have enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine, a cheese platter and a special indonesian rice with chicken satays. Totally indulgent and soul nurturing. I sat for two and a half hours just soaking it all in - the scenery, the atmosphere, the music, the food and the night.

My friends - this trip is the best thing that I have done for myself in a long time. I can't wait to get back to Rob. I have a big sloppy wet kiss just waiting to plant on him.

Life is good.