It's almost Christmas Day.  I'm going into my four day working week.  I intend to be very cheerful.   I'm don't particularly like Christmas, although I must admit that I miss Christmas in America.   It's so huge.   Some of the most stunning decorations and general jollity of this time of the year.   Everywhere almost everyone is celebrating.   The Christmas trees are stunning and most of all, my favourite is waking up to Christmas morning snow.  I miss the snow.   I don't miss driving or shovelling snow, just the silent falling of snow flakes, soft mushy and cold.   It's definitely a time for kids and everyone is excited to see how happy they are.  Family traditions of meeting for breakfast, opening presents, and general conviviality.  Christmas in Australia, is hot weather, beaches, hot lunches, alcohol and general mayhem.  I wonder what Christ would think of it now.

My sister is living with me.  It is probably the first time in our lives that we have spent consecutive time together.  I remember her as a baby, but not much else.  She looks like her father.  We have the same biological mother.  Our habits are very similar and I wonder why.  we have a tendency to like the same things, the age gap between us is about 15 years, or so I'm guessing.  She has a cheerful booming laughter that rings out consistently.  She is happy.  It's a bonus having a close relative with me, an opportunity to form a stronger bond between us.   I am extremely lucky.  

Thunderstorm Asthma

On Monday 21 November, 2016, severe thunderstorms hit Melbourne and more than 2,000 people
suffered breathing problems when a severe storm combined with an extreme pollen count to cause what is being described as thunderstorm asthma.

The recent severe thunderstorm in Melbourne caused hospitals across the city to be put on emergency alert as thousands of people called ambulance services, reporting severe breathing difficulties.
Emergency departments were overwhelmed, with the patient overflow having to be directed to day units.  Six people have died.

Not fully understood by scientists, thunderstorm asthma can cause laboured breathing for those with asthma and with allergies — including some who have never had breathing difficulties before.
When pollen granules come into contact with water, starch granules are released that are small enough to be breathed into the airways, causing allergic rhinitis and asthma in some people.

I Ching and Bad Habits

      The I Ching say to make firm decisions and change outdated views.  Common experiences tie in: the tasks become easier and success calls.  Becoming aware of unhealthy relationships is the key to change.

     I, of course, have several unhealthy relationships and more vigilance is called for.   For example,  food and portions, the assistant prime minister calls it the ELF diet.  Eat less food.   Good foot care, my job requires me to be on my feet a lot.   Exercise, or lack of and sleeping longer than 4 hours each night.   I'm a chronic waster of time at night, and stay awake reading or puttering around on the computer.  A little discipline and using I Ching over a period of time to reshape my personal life.

      I have been healing from health issues and changes beyond my control.  These are the worst type of changes.  I was tossed about in the melee of our family storm and ignored or misunderstood early warning signs.  "Sometimes, more drastic measures like chronic ill health are required to wake us up, for in the end health is not merely a physical phenomenon but a spiritual obligation.  The vital spirit will not be ignored." (Introduction to Reflexology)

      In the aftermath I am less harried, kinder and have time for introspective meanderings.  A new phase of life, more meaningful for me.

Catch

A forgotten blogpost in the hemisphere.  Let's update.  I graduated Uni in 2012, reaching a goal that seemed impossible. School as a mature age student was a blast.  I went from an English major to Philosophy, back to English with emphasis on women's studies and finally to Horticulture. Somewhere in there I learned Spanish.  It made more sense.   I wanted to combine my hospital and nursing home experiences with horticulture.  There is a huge population of special needs people that require some basic changes to make life more helpful to them.
   Case in point, my sister has a 6 inch lift to one of her legs, damaged in the horrific accident that killed our mother and a few of our siblings.  Without medical intervention she would be twisted and in pain, but now in her 50's she leads a reasonably normal life.  Bending to garden or to weed or even walk along a sandy beach is beyond her capabilities, at this time.  The process of building up a pair of shoes to help her walk is costly and we have begun research on how this can be accomplished by ourselves.
    

Annya

Saturday afternoon Mountain Standard Time at about 4pm this afternoon, my newest granddaughter, Annya Croft was born. Sami was only in labor a couple of hours and just had time to get an epidural before Annya was on her way out. She weighs 6lb 12 oz and is 19 1/2 inches long. I now have three grandbabies. Aunyka who is 5 years old, Koby who lives in Wellington, New Zealand with my daughter Rebekah, he is 4 years old and now Annya who is brand new. How precious these children are, how thankful I am that their mothers love them and are invested in their care.

I had to pick the news up on facebook because I was out landscaping all day, trying to finish this last huge job. Oh my aching back. But we got it all done, everyone got paid. The neighbors, house across the road from the 4plex, came out and told us what a fantastic job we had done. You never know who's watching you these days.

It was a wonderful compliment. The place really was a mess. We spent a total of two days cleaning up weeds, moving boulders and rocks into different places and shovelling 4 cubic feet of dirt. Half to Kent's residence, the rest spread evenly on the front lawn. The strip in front will need cloth and bark, but will be easier to maintain. It's always nice for tenants when the properties are maintained and kept up.

We have also been busy at Kent's residence. It was a huge undertaking, we were literally working on the side of the mountain. A ton of weedeating, a fire hazard averted. The weeding alone took several of the neighbors dumpsters. His drip system had to be trenched with pick and shovel, we moved it about a foot away from the driveway. People were running over the rocks and damaging the pipes. There were a few other sprinker chores that needed doing. Our hands are smashed from moving rocks, building retaining rock walls and shovelling soil so Kent could have lawn.

I have been so busy lately, the past two weeks have been a blur of landscaping. Lots of boulders, mud, rocks, dirt, bark getting moved around. It has been gruelling but nice to be outdoors and working in the ground. I feel like I have been couped up for to long. Summer has been fabulous. Lots of family time, concerts, fun dates with friends and solitary time for thinking and meditating. I finished the little wee sweat house, it feels so good to cleanse. I made a few sage smudges when I was up at Bear Lake, and I also tried out

Martin became an owner operator and has a almost new truck. He calls his business Jade Transportation LLC, named after Aunyka Jade, his daughter. He is so proud of her, and feels that it is appropriate.

Tim is working out his issues with Secured and is busy working. We both leave Tuesday morning to fly to Florida. We will spend a week with the new baby and mom. I also look forward to living on the beach. My friend Carol Oldshield brought me back some wonderful shells from her stay in Florida. She also let me have some shark's teeth that her and Kindy (her daughter) had found on the beach. I am lucky to be the recipient of so much goodness.

Rebekah's emails continue to be positive and my heart feels strong and steady. It was so worthwhile going back to NZ, if only to make Rebekah smile again.

It's the end of July, already

What happened to the year? I came back from New Zealand, feeling strong and empowered, went back to work at the Uof U long enough to quit. WTF. The momentum of the year has continued to keep me cresting at the top of the wave and I haven't stopped yet.
I am not concerned. I am unemployed and working harder than I have been for awhile. My days are full and fun and wonderfully happy again. I just spent two days in Denver, CO studying Psych-K, a cool technique for getting the mind crap out of the system. It is easy and the results instantaneous. Who wants to carry baggage forever? The funny part about the whole process is that the conscious and the subconscious mind don't seem to agree.
I have time for yoga, exercise, or some low key version of it, and reading. I was waiting for the universe to get me up to speed and show me different tasks and before I knew it, I had four more landscaping contracts, six movie scripts to read and write comment on.
My daughter Rebekah sent a wonderful email, she is getting her life together in New Zealand, is forming a wonderful bond with her son and creating a healthy lifestyle for herself.
My newest granddaughter will be born in a few days/weeks and I will be present for her arrival.