The Parent Trap

The trap...that which ensnares us, is falling in love with that little baby.  Right from the womb we build a relationship with our babies.  When they are born we nurture them and give them roots.  As they grow we try to encourage them to spread their wings.











Over the years we make choices which seem like the right thing at the time.  Alas we sometimes make mistakes. We know that only God is unchanging and always does what is best for us who believe in Him.  Sometimes the object of our love just doesn't see that. Sometimes they grow up and decide we were wrong and they take a different path.  Sometimes they want to blot us out of the their lives.

Oh Sea of Heartbreak!

Please forgive my ramble dear readers.  It seems that in the almost five years that I have been blogging my

whole life and perspective has changed.  Truly, I am still the same loving, affectionate person, but wounded. Rejection is hard...........  Keeping positive is more so..........Failing is shattering.

Our Lord Jesus was despised and rejected.
He is acquainted with all our sorrow and grief.
Into Your hands I commend my spirit, O Lord.

September!

A month to remember!

My eldest grandson turned 5!

My darling mother turned 84!

Here are my three sisters, their husbands, two of my brothers

 and me with Mum.

My youngest grandson turned 2!

He is very cute and sweet ♥

Mush! Mush!

Harnessing the dog power to save the legs!

Trick rider

These holidays from formal school have been a wonderful opportunity to take a breathe in our very hectic life.  I have got a lot done at home and been able to spend time with the family.

My youngest son's life is still turbulent and we are dubious to send him back to school

although he is determined to go.

My older son had a great break away with his Gold Coast friends.

Another week of holidays

Will it be enough!

Dear Dad,

 Here it is, your 89th birthday and you are not here.  Oh, how I miss you. There are so many things I would like to say,  I wish I had bitten the bullet and said them while I had the chance.  Or better still, I should have said a lot more over the years.  You were not a conversationalist, your actions spoke louder than words. I know my chattering and interrogation must have been annoying at time. You did not see the value of passing on the oral history until fairly recently.

  I miss your strength and dependability. Even in old age and blindness you liked to be in control! Like telling me which  route to take to appointments etc. Mum feels so rudderless without you  You were her memory..

Tomorrow is Fathers' Day.  So many years we've celebrated these two happy occasions on the same weekend.  So many years we probably took for granted that the day would roll around again., So while the ache continues the sharpness is beginning to go.
Love xo

Dad
88 years old at the family reunion

Trading Places

Year  9 Boarders
1976

About 35 years ago. I was a boarder at The Range College (Our Lady of Good Council) here in Rockhampton. I'm sure I have mentioned before that this girls only school is now only the girls' boarding section of the co-ed Catholic school.  Where our class rooms once stood is now a Retirements Village and in fact my parents lived for five years right about where I went to Science classes way back then.  Where the convent stood is now a low care facility for elderly folk.  This is where my Mum lives now and shared with Dad for the last twelfth months of his life.

The school photograph above was taken in front of a huge fig tree in the convent garden.  From Mum's front balcony you look straight out on this tree.  It is a marvellous view, one of the highest in Rocky, partly blocked by the enormous and very old tree.  It is beautiful though it does block the view a bit.

As I left from visiting Mum this week waves of grief rolled over me.   True, I feel the loss of my Dad much more there in that room where he lived for those last few months and died. But I was also overcome by the  great sense of the "circle of life" happening in my family.  Dad and Mum were very inter-dependant in the last few years.  Dad had gone blind so Mum was the eyes. Mum has no memory, so Dad remembered everything.  Although he couldn't see, she would tell him where each thing had been put and then when Mum couldn't remember where she had put it, Dad knew ! Dad could still remember names, dates and places. Mum struggles to recall her own birthday and much in the way of past events.

So now Mum depends on us.  Mainly my eldest sister and I.  My sister had already been doing all of their bookwork for a number of years and she does everything the way Dad wanted it.  Mum can rely on her to pay all the bills and do any transaction or legal stuff.

I am the day to day daughter :-)  I visit and drink coffee and pick up bits and pieces that Mum needs.  She is quite miserable.  She says she is not lonely but she loves visits.  They tire her out and she does sleep a lot.  She also does not remember conversations and information from one visit to the next but is just contented with her limited life. The other day she wandered a little too far and got herself lost.  Fortunately she was still on the property and was rescued by a nurse.

When I left the other day, I thought about how they must have felt driving away and leaving us there at school.  I was twelve.  I got homesick.  I so appreciated visitors and especially treasure another sister who was at uni then, making the effort to visit a lot and bringing goodies (which she could ill afford), Now it's me finding it heart wrenching to drive away.  Holding her frail body, I am over come by love and real admiration for this dear woman.  Our roles have almost swapped and it seems fitting. She wiped our bottoms ~ and smacked them!  She fed and clothed us and sacrificed a lot so that we could all have the necessities of life. It seems the least we can do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the home front

I am enjoying the one-on-one  home schooling time with my older son.  He is more settled as well and has  taken up more of the household chores since his brother has gone to school.  I reckon school life is much more taxing than staying at home. In most ways I feel my son has been well prepared for the life outside and we are thrilled and amazed at his good adjustment.  Getting up early and having a whole day out of the house and coping with life can be quite exhausting. Sometimes he just crashes when he gets home, other days he is quite demanding and his behaviour upsets everyone anew.  His mental health issues have not disappeared but they do seem to have improved.  Thank you for all prayers.

The weather here is fabulous! Cool nights, glorious sunny days. Ahhhh.....this is when Central Queensland is at her best!

The New Normal

I have been reminiscing about the "good old days"!

There was a time, back when I had only two children and we lived a little out of town on acreage, when we had a very routine but carefree life. Oh, it seems so long ago.  My older daughter learned to read and the two little girls played endless dress up and make believe games. No TV or internet but we spent a lot of time in the garden and we had chooks and geese. We got up early and went to bed early and all sat at the table for all of our meals. It was so idyllic.  I like to think of those times because it was fleeting and the storms of life since then have really given us a belting....

My younger son is at school now.  He has settled in very well.  Where the teachers had been concerned about his "social" life going to school after 8 1/2 years of being home educated  I felt all along that he would have no trouble fitting in but that keeping up with class work would be a challenge.

He has managed to find his way around easily, picked up a regular hand ball game in the lunch break, and signed himself up for the football team :-(

It is a school of almost 1200 students so I think it must be quite daunting.

Whether his mental health issues will be a thing of the past is not clear yet but he is

certainly dealing with things in general a lot better.

He is exhausted at night which is good.

My older son is struggling a little to get motivated doing his school work at home alone.

My having to be out of the house quite a bit at the moment is not helping but also

he would like to ditch school and start working.

(Lots of attitudes to deal with in both boys and sadly myself.)

So with a new home and with all the hectic-ness of our new schedules we

have found a new normal.

It is quieter and more orderly at home but we don't seem to be "at home" 

quite as much.

The twins!

It is difficult to grasp that my grandchildren are growing so quickly.

The twins were two a month ago.

They are both speaking well and very bright and energetic!

The youngest of the bunch will turn two in September.

Oh, where did the baby go?

Making a house a home

Finally ~ I'm writing a post!

I see Mothers' Day was my last time here and I can't believe what a hectic whirl wind the past five weeks have been. We are nicely settled into our new place.  It is old (but not as old as our last house) and simple but seems a good fit for us.  We are only a couple of houses from a creek which borders one of the cities Botanic Gardens so it is fairly quiet though close to the main highway on the other end.  The inside is freshly painted which is a blessing for me as I am not up to a lot of heavy cleaning these days.  There are lots of large windows and tiles so it should be a nice airy summer house. (A little cool at present.) The exterior needs a good clean and paint but again it is way better than the state of the old place.

Mumma's "New" Place.

We miss the old house none the less.  It was our home for a lot of years and we have raised our children there.  Memories both good and not so happy revolve around it and I miss her large enclosed verandas which gave us so much extra space. It was a once gracious Queenslander and had loads of character.

The boys miss the neighbours and the close proximity to all their friends and activities (including Maccas!).  However, particularly my younger son, loves the creek close by here and the grandchildren are very keen on rambling around there as well. It takes a little longer to get to places but the boys are great  walkers.

Sigh....I do feel very much at home already and as much as my uncreative nature will allow I am trying to make this house into a home.
For me, that is my few special pieces of furniture and putting out lots of photos and having my family history albums at hand. It is having a home open and welcoming for friends and relatives and a little haven for our family.

Moore's Creek, Rockhampton
(He leads me beside still waters.)

I have begun and aborted several posts in the past few months.  There have been many trials.  I am glad now looking back that I have not been tempted to push publish because I don't much like the tone of some of them. :-0

In short...

 I have ached with quiet grief and painfully come to terms with the loss of my father who I loved and admired and now miss so much. I have grieved also with my dear mother who is slipping further into a world of non-recognition and memory.  She does still know all of her children which is a blessing.

I have also tussled with my love and commitment to homeschooling as opposed to my son's hatred of and disdain for it.  Many long held hopes and dreams have been crushed but I am now at a place of acceptance.
This son is trialing high school next term.  If all goes well it will mean only another 18 months of home education for me and that being if my older son sticks with it.  He is year eleven but would not mind to enter the workforce....if only he could hit upon what he would really like to do!  In the meantime he would like to find a few hours work per week close by now that we have moved. I find I am more than ready to end the era "teaching".  I am tired. It has not ended well :-(

My son's mental health and the seeming loss of his sunny disposition and outgoing nature have been a great grief to us.  Our prayer is that this too will pass.  He sees attending mainstream school as the answer to all  his troubles.  We pray it will be that simple and indeed that it does not crush him altogether.

My grandchildren are growing and flourishing at an amazing rate. Oh! they truly bring joy and gladness when my heart  is overwhelmed.  The twins were two over the weekend and I hope to post on that when photos are available.

And most wonderfully, the Lord has been very near to me in all my heartaches and my joy. I am left to wonder how unbelievers cope without the comfort and encouragement of our Lord, His Word and His people.

 "His mercies are new every morning! Great is Thy faithfulness." 

Kershaw Gardens

Rockhampton

A Day to Honour Mothers

To all the mothers out there.

Mothers of children

and those who mother and share

their love and compassion

with others
in many different ways.
Often unrecognised.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

The single, unflattering photo from our Mothers' Day lunch.

My mother and I with my daughter and her daughter.

Love you Mum xo

Today I Still Remember

We will remember them...

It is ANZAC Day and amidst all the nostalgia and remembrance of our loved ones and ancestors who fought and died for the freedom we enjoy today, I seem to keep drifting back to thoughts of Dad. 

He wasn't a veteran but he was my hero.

So much of my knowledge of the wars and what life was like "back home" comes from my own parents.  I think of my Dad now, when still only a teenager, who felled a paddock of scrub country using only axes, with his older brother in 1942. The following year his two older brothers went to the war in the Pacific and Dad was the eldest at home and much depended on to keep the farm going.  He did apply to the army but his colour blindness and the fact that by so late in the war the farms desperately needed fit people to keep them going, kept him home.  I have always been thankful for that.  My dear Dad was a very tender soul who I think would have struggled to recover from such an experience.

I have been enjoying afternoon tea each day with Mum in these past two weeks.  The days of our mourning.  What a wonderful, stoic and resilient woman she is! But the realities of grief have hit her and also the frailty of her own body.  She has been quite miserable and unwell. She is tasting loneliness. Her memory is very poor. Sometimes when I mention something about Dad she can't recall it....and that is hard, painful.

"Today I still remember, just like yesterday,

'Bout a mighty big man with a mighty big heart

And a mighty few words to say."

Here's a link to one of my old poems

Remember

Lest we Forget

Half Mast

In a small country town in Central Queensland, the flag at the War Memorial flew at half mast last weekend. It signalled to the townsfolk that one of their own had passed away.

Last Friday, my much loved father left this world. 

May he rest in peace.

It has been a very tiring and emotional week,yet because Dad was 88 years old and had lived an eventful and productive life, it was a wonderful time of reminiscing and celebrating his life.  The greatest legacy that he and my mum have left is our large family. Seven living children, 21 living grand children and 28 great grand children (so far). These plus spouses and Dad's living siblings filled the front half of the church!

Dad was a quiet, unassuming man but I think he would have been quite chuffed at the hundreds of relatives and friends who turned out to farewell him.

Long time readers here know my great love and admiration for my parents. I can only say that I miss him terribly and it will take some time to adjust to life without him.  He and Mum were married for 62 years.  She is coping well but the reality will set in now that the family have all gone home.

"It's not what you take with you when you leave this world behind,

it's what you leave behind when you go."

♥♥♥

Be merciful, O Lord!

Something to ponder at Challies

Plenty going on here but not the energy or inspiration to write anything.  I do however appreciate some of the good thoughts others are sharing.

How quickly this year is passing.
I am babysitting the twins but I feel a fraud as they fell asleep in the car coming over, an hour ago and have been asleep since!
Time for cuddles and stories later.

Have a great weekend and week!

Of Babies, big boys and limitations.

Our "baby" turned fourteen last week!

I am constantly amazed at the accelerating passage of time!

He was such a huggy, happy baby.  In many ways he still is.  Life and the journey through it moulds and shapes us. Sometimes in good, great even, ways and sometimes it seems to take the stuffing out of us.  I see that in his life just now.  He is still the same eager, helpful, sensitive lad but he can be a young man with the cares of the worlds on his shoulders.

We pray.

We encourage.

We wait on the Lord!

oo0oo

At times I feel like a young child myself :-)

As I spend time with my parents I seem to still regard myself as their little child.

My Dad is very weak and frail.

He believes he is dying.

Alas, aren't we all?

But as I drive away I don't remember the fragile, white haired man

snuggled up in foetal position.

Blind, almost deaf and dependant.

I let my mind travel back to those long ago golden days..

I see the hero of my childhood.

Broad shouldered and laughing.

Hoisting strainer posts effortlessly to his shoulders.

Chopping wood with strong, even strokes.

Patient, dependable.

Again we pray.

We encourage.

And wait on the Lord.

oo0oo

Old age limits my parents greatly.

But they accept, for the most part, with dignity and acceptance.

I feel limited by my lack of health and strength

yet I know and rejoice that

"The joy of the Lord is my strength"!

and

"Godliness with contentment is great gain."

Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Bone Dry...

It is raining again ~ HARD!  Wild and very wet weather forecast for the whole weekend here. Who knows what it will look like by Monday morning as everything is saturated.  Ah, Queensland, the sunshine state!

It is ironic, is it not, that during such a wet, busy and abundant season my brain has frizzled up.....yep ~ dry as a bone so far as ideas and inspiration go!

Here is a link to an interesting review on Mental Health Issues.
It is partially a review of the movie Silver Linings Playbook and partly comment of Mental Health issues and their realities. Silver Linings Playbooks is the recently released movie in which Jacki Weaver was highly acclaimed. I haven't seen the movie but I think I would like to.

We are dealing with a mental health issue ourselves and I am feeling very drained and stretched by the demands on me.  I am realising that many individuals and families are affected by many various types of disorders.  Christians are not exempt.  We hope we are able to cope and survive, by God's Grace and Lord willing, be more compassionate to others who walk a similar path.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

They make me smile.

My daughter was telling me how her four year old has taken over giving thanks before meals since they moved out from here.  He is a great talker and uses the opportunity to be thankful for a long list of things each night :-)  When he finally winds up the three year old groans dramatically, "The End"!!!!

The same little four year old has been regaling his kindy teacher and the class, and us, with his dinosaur knowledge. When questions are put to him regarding a name or information he stands astride and declares, "I am a dinosaur expert."

Anyone with little people around will agree that the funny little ways they say things makes you smile.  Children seem to make you smile just for no real reason. Adults can use some lessons from those uncomplicated little beings!

We don't celebrate saints feast days here so last Thursday passed mostly unremarkably.  The teenagers being the only ones slightly interested :-) Seeing something on TV on tonight (Saturday) my hubby asked, "Oh, when is Valentine's Day?"  Haha.....he's a keeper all right!

I actually read a number of good, thought provoking posts around the blog world on husbands, wives and "love" in general.  In this age when many relationships are short lived it is encouraging to read the "good news" stories of lasting love and life time commitment. 

This clip has been doing the rounds but in case you haven't seen it I'm linking it.  I thought it was very special. ♥


What is real love?

I like it A LOT!

Our life is still very full but some of the chaos seems to have calmed down this week. Phew!

If only............

It goes without saying that I have missed my daughter and her children A LOT! being the first week that I have not seen them every day!  I miss their spontaneous cuddles and eager eyes.  Little twin boy, the moment he sees me runs for a ball and throws and catches for as long as I can keep it up.  Little twin girl wants me to put on her shoes and often just wants to sit on my lap when we visit.  The older boys are full of exciting events and achievements.  They all seem to have suddenly grown up A LOT!  Sigh......

I won't deny, I am loving the quiet.  I am savouring the personal space and less of everything....cooking, washing, folding, cleaning!

Suddenly I am like most other grandmothers and having to make a time for visits and fitting in with their new routine and they with ours.  It is amazing how easily we have slotted back into our old ways and I know that school for my boys is going to benefit A LOT!

The same for my other daughter and her boys since her eldest is at kindy. Oh dear, it is like weaning!  Needless to say, I have much to learn and experience of this role of mother and grandmother.  A LOT!

With a quieter house, my time for reading and prayer has come so naturally.  I have yearned for this and really appreciate it now.  While there are lots of ongoing needs in our house everything is so much less frantic and "solvable " :-)

I've listened to a number of Glen Campbell numbers today through the link which led me to the clip below.

Here is a little gem to sign off with today.  Even if you are not a fan you must love this classic?   I like it  A LOT!

Glen Campbell is suffering from Alzheimer's and  here he is playing Dueling Banjos (one of my faves) with his daughter at his farewell concert.

The Week that Was

Many's the time I have grappled to think of something to write to update my blog.  Occasionally when life is hectic, I have lots of material but little time to "put pen to paper" ( in the old speak) : This last week has been so hectic, and with very quick changing scenarios, that my head is swimming!

Last week flash flooding and terrific wind from Cyclone Oswald caused quite a lot of damage and flooding here and even more so right down the coast of Queensland and into New South Wales.  We have grieved with the city of Bundaberg which experienced its worst ever recorded flood.  Houses swept off their stumps, roads with huge craters carved through them from the violence of the water.  The power of the wind and the waters are extrordinary!  The power of our great God!

Now we wait as the Fitzroy River steadily climbs to its expected peak of 8.7m.  This is 50cm below the 2011 flood but still hundreds of homes and businesses are flooded.  For many of us it is "business as usual", yet for those valiant souls along the river flats it an anxious wait, hoping that it will not go higher than predicted.  The last thing they need is more rain ~ which has been forecast :- (

Rocky airport 1/2/2013
Taken this morning
Closed this evening except for emergencies.

GS 2

First day at Kindy

The big day arrived and my two oldest grandsons started at their kindergartens.  I've mentioned before my mixed feelings about this and I think I was more churned up by it than the little boys, or their mothers.  All went well.  The girls have begun the long years of school drop offs and tuck shop and all the related to-ing and fro-ing.

I knew long ago that my children did not feel the same way as me about schooling, though being home schooled themselves or perhaps because they were home schooled :- (.  I suppose it is just another matter in which I have to say, "Thy will be done." and leave it in God's capable hands. We made our choices with which the children have not always been happy.  Now we see them having to make choices for the next generation.  God give wisdom and knowledge to each of us as we need it.

This ol' house, in which we have lived for 14 1/2 years is back on the market.  It has been bought and sold a couple of times since we've lived here and each time we have been able to continue renting.  This time it is much more weathered than previously and we have not really had a chance to "tidy up" since the family moved out.  Again, I am seeking to trust in the Lord for our needs.  I am so pleased that my daughter was able to move into a good place before the ordeal of having people look through the house started.

With our home, our city and the state in such upheaval this week we made only a brief attempt at school each day.  Oh, it is hard to get back into the harness!!  I think the only thing the boys and I have enjoyed about it is starting the book "Twice Freed".  Reading is not their favourite pastime but listening still is :-)

I trust that all who read here are safe from the ravages of fires and floods which have swept our diverse country in the past few weeks.  For all getting back into the academic year I wish you the best. 

The Lord is on my side, I will not fear.........

These Two Years

If you were serving two years in prison it would be a very long time indeed.  Even if one was travelling or working but away from home, a two year sojourn would seem a long time to be parted from family and friends.

How amazing that our older daughter and her children have lived with us for two whole years and that time has flown! We've had lots of wonderful times together along with all of the hectic days and disturbed nights.  We've built relationships with those little people which would never have been so close and cemented if we had not shared our home with them. 

So after two years my daughter has found a great house for her to raise her family.  She has a very child friendly back yard and we are just thrilled with the way it has all worked out.

The first morning after they moved hubby stood by me in the kitchen and said, "Hear that?" (Silence :-)  Then my younger son came out and asked, "Where is everyone?"   Me: "Everyone doesn't live here anymore."
I admit that I am probably missing them a lot more than they are missing me.  Thankfully, their new place isn't far from either our house or my other daughter's.

Her moving is also just in time for us to start school next week.

I am so thankful to the Lord for his gracious provision and answer to our prayers.  He does all things well and his timing is always perfect.

Rockhampton has received record rainfall overnight.

Some areas have had flash flooding and some are bracing for

the deluge to come on down the river. :- (

If you're an Aussie

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

mate!

And to anyone else reading, tomorrow (26th) would be a good day

 to do/ read/ watch something Aussie,

being that it is our National Day.

Thanks to Mum-me at Our Aussie Half Dozen who made up

 the above collage for me

 a few years ago.



Shame! Shame!

This post at Desiring God really pierced my heart tonight.
Lord, have mercy on this "civilized"  ungodly generation.

Holiday Reads and related trivia

The heat brought my great culling clean up to a stand still a couple of weeks ago.  It really saps your energy. I hope to do the two remaining rooms before we get back to school. Time is running out!  The up side being that in seeking to keep cool I have managed to read a few books.

When Bryce Courtenay died a few months ago, I realised that I had never read any of his novels. Though familiar with his name and some of the titles it seems he began to be popular around the same time that I started having children.  I know that I have read much less over those twenty odd years.

I chose to read "The Power of One" as it was the one which most people seemed to have enjoyed.  Did you?
I did enjoy the story, but I have to admit that I am very squeamish with books that have this type of racism and violence.  Even knowing it is true and acknowledging the realism of it, it does make it a difficult read for softies like me.
Also, I was saddened by the representation of the Christian faith in the book. Again, realistic, but none the less sad and a little shameful.

We have several South African friends and I remember my shock on meeting one lovely Christian family, at how they were still very affected by both apartheid and Boar/ English prejudices.  On mentioning a family we knew from SA I got the crisp reply, "But they are English!"  It took quite a while for this family to accept that over here, we seek to treat everyone equally as regard to race and skin colour and they were amazed (appalled?) at our ease of communication with indigenous people. That's about fifteen years ago, and Lord Willing, those attitudes have changed.

I also enjoyed "The Convent" written by Maureen McCarthy.  Being set through several generations of women in one family, revolving around the Convent, it was a book which I could identify with.  Having had an Irish Catholic upbringing all the prayers and rites were familiar to me. The story is interesting just as a good read if you like those type of generational books but non-Catholics may find some of  "over the top".  One of the central characters enters an enclosed order of nuns in the early 1960s and experiences the changes which came about due to Vatican II.  There are stories of a child being taken from her mother and placed in the "orphanage", a daughter becoming a nun, leaving and later becoming a mother, the meeting of the adopted child and her grandmother etc  All this takes place around this one Convent which make it quite interwoven and in some places heart wrenching.

Because I have several nuns in my extended family, much of this was very real to me.  I also attended a boarding school in the 1970s which was run by Sisters of Mercy and identified with many of the characters.  This book, while having some heart breaking events, is not a put down or expose of  Catholic institutions..

My aunt, after whom I was named and was my "God Mother" (another RC thing) entered the Camelite Order  in about 1965.  This is an enclosed order where the nuns do not leave the convent and spend their days in meditation and prayer.  This still applies to this day (she has never left to attend funerals, weddings etc but some medical visits) although their rules are much less strict.  When I was a child we had no photographs where as now they may take photographs and make and receive phone calls.  We still have to visit her behind a grill and pass photographs or gifts through a drawer underneath.

Here she is in a picture which appeared on her Christmas letter last year.  Even in their garb she is quite easy to pick out!!! A true country girl at heart. (Top outdoor group photo)

The novel I have just completed is "A Gathering Storm" by Rachel Hore. I really liked this book.  She uses the Cornish coast which is so vividly used in beloved books such as Rebecca (yes, I am a Daphne Du Maurier fan ) as her main setting and the time period is pre and during World War 2.  I like reading this sort of historically based novel.

I have been thinking since reading about the class separation in pre-war Britain, about brave, ordinary people who risked so much to spy for their countries and about the enormous changes during and after this period. I believe in years to come this period will be of great historical interest to future generations ( should the Lord tarry) up there with Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece.  Because of Hitler and the second World War, yes, but also because of the great advances in technology over that time.

For so long horses and slow mail deliveries were the norm, but now communication and warfare was forever changed with cars, phones, electronic devices etc.  Even we who may remember a lot of "olden day" stuff do not have the experiences of this huge time of upheaval in the same way that our parents and grandparents did.

Last year I attempted to use a devotional for my Bible reading and I frankly admit, it was a dismal failure.  Circumstances seemed to conspire to keep me from much in the way of profitable reading and study.  As you know from old posts, I was also in a low spiritual condition and I realise that was my own doing.  Both from my slackness in quiet time with the Lord and in allowing events around me to overcome me at times.  But God.......is ever faithful!

This year I am purposing to be stricter on myself no matter what the outside pressures are. 

This is my first post for 2013.  May you all enjoy a full and rewarding year whether it be with family, church, schooling or elsewhere.  May our great God and Savior bless and keep you and your family throughout.  xo

Okay, Blogger is not allowing me to put pictures on so I have just linked everything.
Please note that both "The Power of One" amd "The Convent" have some bad language.  The latter was loaned to me by a sweet friend who had already blanked out the offending words ;-)