Slipping a Quickie In For Good Measure!

(The painting, still not yet complete was my third effort when I took up painting a couple of years ago...and the graphite drawing, again, was one of my first efforts at that particular genre)

My weekend has been one of spontaneous events, pleasant surprises. Yesterday morning I received a phone call from my ex-sister-in-law and her husband. They live not far from where I play...just around the corner and down the road a bit, to be exact, less than a kilometer away. We don't see a lot of each other as they are always very busy with their work. Lyndall manages a medical centre in Brisbane, therefore she lives in Brisbane during the weeks, only returning to the mountain on Friday evenings for her weekends. Peter, her husband is a barrister with his chambers down on the Gold Coast. He commutes daily to and from his work place. So, it was a pleasant, spur-of-the moment surprise invitation to join them for lunch at their home. They'd stoked up the fireplace, chilled a bottle of champagne and warmed some Turkish bread to be enjoyed with a homemade dip in readiness for my arrival. Peter was busy in the kitchen cooking a leg of pork, plus the obligatory vegetables. He thrives on donning an apron, picking up a sharp knife or three. Me, I just love it when somebody else cooks for me!

Quickly, I showered, dressed, grabbed a bottle of red and headed off. I hadn't planned anything for the day. In fact, I was still propped up in bed reading the Saturday "Courier Mail" when the telephone rang. We had a very pleasant afternoon, a delicious lunch and a fun time catching up on the past few months, coming to the conclusion we'd not seen each other since I had them here at my cabin for lunch back in February! Where to does time disappear?

I've known Lyndall since she was fourteen, so a lot of water has flowed under many bridges since then, for both of us! We email each other often, but never seem to scrounge enough time together to catch up. When we do manage to do so, we always have a wonderful time together.

Today, again I had nothing planned. I received a little windfall in Saturday's Lotto....I got four straight numbers and a supplementary number. Now, one would think that would bring untold wealth, wouldn't one! Well, stop your cheering...all I received back was $34.00! I'm not complaining, however, $34.00 is better than nothing at all!

Being the spendthrift that I am, I raced to the newsagency to collect my winnings. I stopped off at the bakery to indulge myself with some decadently wicked goodies, then off to the supermarket I skipped, where I purchased a whole rib/scotch fillet, pressure-packed that was on special, thinking it would come in handy down the track a bit. I then called into the liquor shop next to the IGA supermarket and bought a bottle of Rosemount Shiraz, to add to my store of bottled juices of the grape. I decided it would be part of my fare for next Saturday's lunch. Shiraz and duck make a good pairing, I believe. Needless to say, my $34.00 winnings soon disappeared, plus more, but none was wasted.

Blue sky that has remained hidden for the past seven days, made a brief appearance. However, heavy, grey clouds decided they didn't want to be overshadowed so they re-appeared, pushing the blue sky behind them. Once more they unload their burden and the rain falls upon our once parched, browned by grost ground. Its thirst still not sated, the ground selflessly and willingly welcomes it.

My cats, who enjoyed their morning of freedom, have just come racing inside, looking accusingly at me. Hey! I don't control the weather. Check with big Al...that's Al Gore or Gore-gonzola!

Remy and Shama have been going a little stir-crazy having been confined to quarters these past few days. I tidy up and straighten the mats in the back area, only to discover within a few minutes they're all topsy-turvy again. These two four-legged, furry mates of mine have great fun skidding around causing mayhem! I must teach them the rules of housework!

Nothing is planned for my afternoon, other than to pick up my book. I'm reading "The Rainbow" by D.H. Lawrence, who is one of my all-time favourite authors. I read "The Rainbow" many years ago, but I felt in need of a dose of Lawrence, so grabbed it off one of my bookcases. Every so often, a wave of "need" takes control of me and I just have to read a D.H. Lawrence book, no matter if I've read them all before. He was a most descriptive writer. His writing flows beautifully. In my very humble opinion, I believe Lawrence should be necessary reading.

So that's me for this off-and-on rainy Sunday afternoon. I hope that you all enjoy your Sunday, equally.