A fresh start.

Finally. I updated the header photo and now you can see my Seven Little Australians (doesn't that sound like a wonderful title for a book?) as they are, or at least as they were in July. They grow up and change so quickly that in the intervening three months since the photo was taken they have already changed, grown out of some things, had hair cuts -- you know how it goes. Since their names are no longer in the title I will introduce you to them by their blog names from left to right: Monkey, Little Bear, Butterfly (on my lap), Lion, Cheetah, Dragon and Ladybug. Mummy McTavish took the photo when we were all together in July to celebrate Great Nanna's birthday.

I really must try to be a more regular blogger again. I began blogging in 2008 because I was a bit of a frustrated writer and I wanted to write, but I wanted to test the waters to find out if other people would read what I wrote. As it turned out, other people did read what I wrote and they even left nice comments. (Thank you commenters if you are still out there.) It gave me the confidence to take what for me was a drastic step -- the step of enrolling at university to learn more about writing. Mr Sunshine has been very patient as I have obsessed over various assignments and assessment tasks while chaos reigned in the home. It has paid off and I am now the happy recipient of 2 credits, 2 distinctions and 1 high distinction. I can say with honesty that I haven't received a single pass. My course is a Bachelor of Arts at University of New England and since I am plodding away, one subject at a time, it is going take me until early 2019 to finish. That is okay because I am in no hurry and I don't want it to interfere with my grandparenting duties. The children will grow up and not need me soon enough, but I'm sure the university will still be there.

That's it for now folks. I'm hoping that I can be a bit more regular with my posts from now on, but I make no promises.

Recovery Mode

Cyclone Yasi was over five months ago, but the memory lingers on at the beach. Hundreds of trees like this one on the foreshore have roots exposed by the erosion that has left a small embankment separating the foreshore and the sand.  They are the lucky ones.

Many didn't make it.  Some survived the initial onslaught only to be weakened and unable to survive the dry season. 

To be perfectly honest, I'm feeling a bit the same.  The storm that was the GFC cost us our life savings, our home, our business and a chunk of our superannuation.  It also cost us hundreds of hours of lost sleep.  Like cyclone Yasi, it isn't really over yet.  We are still in recovery mode.

Our future is very uncertain.   Suitable employment seems to be eluding us.  We live in a borrowed house.  Our grandchildren are a fifty minute drive away instead of a five minute drive away. And we are not young anymore.  There is a strong possibility that we may have to move much further away from family for Mr Sunshine to find a job.  Being "not young anymore" makes the likelihood of a career change unlikely.  I don't know which one of these things is the hardest to deal with.  All of them are depressing and we have good days and bad days. Today is not a good day.

Mostly I am very optimistic and upbeat, but not today.  This may be because we have been discussing other options - like taking up university study again for either of us.  Even that would not guarantee a job, but it might get me a student allowance for a few years (Austudy) - not exactly a lucrative option.  Mr Sunshine thinks I should study just for the fun of it.  I would enjoy it, but it would also encroach on my grandparenting time and that would hurt.  Even though I would chose study aimed at a writing career (can I say that when retirement age is only about 4 years away 9 years away, b*****y government's eligibility changes), it would actually also encroach on the time available to do the writing I want to do.

Anyone got any ideas?