I love rain!

It has been a pretty hot summer. Days and days of blue skies and midday heat that forces you inside. Sticky oppressive heat that leaves you listless and drowsy.

But today it decided to rain!

I got up with a schedule of cleaning to do and I promised myself to be one with the lawn mower at the cool end of day. 

By early afternoon I was doing paperwork for the department of something or another so my big boys can get a study allowance. It used to go to me so I could pay to feed them, wash  and house them, etc. The Government has decided it is better to give them money and if they are nice chaps, they may give some to their dear old mum as board. Well that sucked nearly 2 hours out of my life that I can't get back. I would rather be in labour!

And then as we went to get Kate's school uniforms to hem, it started to rain. My washing was still on the line but I was thrilled.

I have sat in my room, working on the uniforms, hearing the cars swoosh by on the road. The air has a lovely crispness. I hate hemming clothes, but how much happier to be doing it on a rainy day!

I am sure we have had more rain than the official gauge: My sheets were very wet when I rescued them from the clothes line. The irony of having to put them in the dryer after all the heat of the last few weeks was not lost on me,

Gardening is good for the soul

This morning I could have been mistaken for something of steampunk design as the bottled fuming crankiness must have let a steady stream of steam escape my ears and little angry nostrils.

I decided however that rather than sit about being charmless, I would go and attack the garden.

Before and after

Today's project was the northern front garden bed. The one that flanks the driveway of the house whose builder caused so mush angst in 2012.

One of the residual issues from his careless mess was a huge hump of clay pushed onto the garden bed between us. It had set like cement over the last 9 months. Early this week, in the evening after work I had gone out with the crowbar and begun breaking it up, but it was clearly going to be horribly hard work.

Yesterday I had another shot at it, but being so hard and the weather so hot, I didn't last long.... and then it rained and rained last night. Thank heavens.

So this morning, full of righteous anger for being stood up at 6.30am (it is a particularly special time to be stood up I have to tell you,) I headed out into the morning and threw all that anger into the crowbar. The rain had done a good job on my already loosened dirt.

My garden and the neighbour's petrol station- driveway still a little wet after I hosed it down to make sure I didn't leave any mess. The house is not finished yet, and though it has a for sale sign, no evidence of marketing.

After about an hour of that I could see progress was being made so I went inside to see if my date had turned up. Nope. So in a fit of peevishness, I threw myself back into bed and fell asleep so that I wouldn't dwell on being cranky

When I woke up I got myself back out there. I had lost the advantage of the cool morning, but not my will to see the job done. I threw weeds all over the neighbour's driveway (OK so I hadn't run out of peevishness). And carted a good portion of their clay back out of my garden and onto their builders' rubble.

I got the plants in, chosen from the collection I seem to continue to accumulate on my front door step, spread hay over as mulch, picked up all the weeks I had spread next door and watered it all in.

So there it is!
The front yard is done!

Bland home with stunning Ozzie colours

  
A few bits of twiddling no doubt, but the back bone is in and the hard work done! 

Progress over months

More on Sanity

On Monday I got stuck back into work after a 3 week holiday with the kids and Mark. Some at home and some down the coast.
I think it counts as the best holiday I have had in 20 years. More than 20 actually. No nappies, shared house work and great company. I haven't had that in a holiday for more years that I can figure. No wonder I loved it.

Dinner at Taylors' with Mum and Dad; my Kids and Jock's kids; and Mark.

On the topic of having Mark come and stay - 
sigh
Normally I am happy to pour my whole soul onto the blog, but this little nugget of happiness seems too precious to throw out to the world so I am keeping it close to my heart!

So why did I call the blog 'More on Sanity'?

Last time I wrote I was definitely feeling rocky. Over the course of the holiday, I felt my feet settle underneath me and found solid ground. By the time I made it back to work, I felt fabulous. I felt a clarity that I haven't been able to grasp for months. 

Sitting on the deck at Bemagui. Jazz band and sunshine

I have felt for a while now that I haven't really had a holiday for a long time. And the effects of this one seem to bare it out. Arriving back at work feeling so much better, I have decided that when it all came down to it, it wasn't drugs I needed, it was a holiday with Mark, Mum, Dad and the kids.

Lunch at Grandma's Bakery on the Federal Highway near Collector

Blue sky to entice Mark back

Rest. Fun. Stimulation. Sleep. Sun. Exercise. And a huge dollop of romance. (Imagine me rolling my eyes then add a bit of eyebrow waggling)

I hate seeing photos of myself, but love them of Mark enough  to include this one

Feeling mushy enough to post pictures of myself might be quite as insane as before but infinitely more enjoyable.