Have a great weekend!

Hope you have had a wonderful weekend so far! This morning I went for me weekly 10km run, though I sustained a very nasty blister on the bottom of my foot. Was a tad bit upset about it because I wanted to hit about 12km as that was the goal I had set for this weekend. I did make the 10km but will have to wait another week to try to make 12km.

In any case, I have been pottering around at home, doing a little bit of housework, interspersed with moments on my balconies tending to plants.

The lilly tree is growing - another shoot, another leaf! Very exciting.

I love it at home today - the roses I received for my birthday have filled the living area with the most beautiful fragrance, in addition to the red lillies, gerberas and greenery that has enhanced our lovely eating area.

What do you have planned for the weekend? Are you listening to anything particularly soothing? Enjoying the Crooners at the moment... a bit of Nat King Cole, bit of Bing.... and then there's a bit of Sade and a bit of Massive Attack (yes, they aren't crooners but that's okay)

Have a wonderful weekend, no matter what you have planned or whether you have no plans.

Friends

I really do thank God for my friends and family. I tend to do this moreso when I read about the lives of others who have encountered some misfortune in their lives, however, the purpose of this post is not to depress people.

I just wanted to blog about the lovely social afternoon and evening that I had today. Yes - it is the first day back at work for the working week, but something I have promised myself this year, is that I would make more of an effort to reconnect with friends and to nurture other friendships.

I have the tendency to retreat into my little world (as extroverted as people think I am) which means that I don't have a lot of time to do much else. I do this well because I enjoy my work so much - so it is easy for me to become consumed with the day to day aspects of my job.

This year I have decided to focus more on nurturing friends and family. I have also decided it is time to focus more on doing things that I enjoy, but for the past two years, have put aside because of work. I was acutally very surprised to see how much I have given up for the last couple of years. It made me realise that at some times, I was living to work, rather than my mantra of working to live.

In any case, after some reflection and contemplation, I decided that I needed to come to a better balance between work life and personal life... and I think I am getting there.

Today I went to a friend's place for afternoon tea. How delightful it was to see about 15 former colleagues all together! (Interesting to note that none of them were in my former department)

We talked about work, about life and just enjoyed each other's company. It was like I hadn't left. That is the second 'work' reunion I have had this year, so I am very pleased with myself.

Tonight I had dinner with a friend, with someone I work with at my current place of employment. We both love teaching and learning and we both love to talk about US politics and learning and behaviour theories. Pen is such a great friend too. We have got to know each other much better and meeting away from work means we don't need to talk 'shop.'

I have to say that I am pleased with my efforts thus far. I have had so many social gatherings (outside of the gatherings I would normally attend) In saying that, I have already begun to read more this year. I am not sure where this time has come from, but it is a welcome addition.

I hope that you find time to do the things that you love as well!

Valentines Day

Well today was a lovely day! My parents put on the most amazing seafood lunch for my birthday - which is on Thursday. It was wonderful to indulge in oysters - so big and delicious, smoked salmon and prawns. Mum made a beautiful salad that complemented the seafood and they visited a wonderful bakery for some great bread! Mum also made the birthday cake which was delicious as well!

After going to Church tonight, I made a lovely cheese platter for Mark and I to enjoy. Given we aren't fans of the commercialised Valentines Day - yes there was a St Valentine, we didn't really 'do' anything to mark the day. I did arrange the cheese platter. See the photo for the amazing cheeses. It contains some very amazing cheeses. Testun Pecora Chest Leave - is a delicious hard cheese with a very subtle taste. It is one of the most expensive cheeses I have tasted - at $120/ kg we bought just over 250 grams. Other cheeses that we bought were Lagrein and Comte Gruyere, both delicious hard cheeses and Fromage De Meaux which is made from cow's milk and is a very soft (at room temp) almost runny cheese. We love good cheese, so spending about $70 on some cheese was an indulgence more enjoyable a stuffed teddy bear or dare I say, chocolate...

I have been reading a cookbook this weekend. It is called Arabesque by Claudia Roden. It details recipes from Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon. I am copying some of the recipes in the hope of trying to recreate them for dinner at some stage this week.

I have also photographed something I love more than a bunch of flowers... well perhaps not more than orchids and lillies... but as much... a huge bunch of fresh herbs. All of these herbs came from my mother's garden. I don't think I have purchased basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay leaves or flat leaf parsely or mint ever!!! I have included a picture because it represents a very very small section of the produce from mum's garden. I am looking forward to making basil pesto (Melinda's recipe) and a few other things this week.

Loving February afternoons

Today I left work relatively early for me - 3:45pm. I rarely left work before 6:30pm last year and this year I have made a concerted effort to leave earlier to improve my quality of life. Don't get me wrong - I have a great life and I am most thankful for all that I have and do. I suppose what I mean is that I felt that I needed to develop a better balance between work and home life.

When I arrived home, my husband and I decided to go for a swim which was lovely! I am really loving the fact that he can take a break for an hour when I get home at this time - we can do things and then he can do another couple of hours of work afterwards while I cook dinner. I LOVE COOKING!!!

It was great going for a swim this afternoon. It was nice to just float around and do a couple of laps whilst watching the ships in the distance and the planes flying into and out of Sydney airport.

I hope that by establishing a better work - life balance, that it will keep me refreshed longer and full of energy. I have to say that making the effort to leave work at a reasonable hour has been fabulous because it has allowed me to spend more time with Mark - which is what I love to do!

Have a lovely afternoon

Four Corners - A Good Death

I am sitting on one of our lounges watching Four Corners, one of my favourite programs on tv. Tonight, reporter Deborah Masters has investigated palliative care by following four Australians as they come to terms with their terminal illness and prognosis. It is an intensely personal documentary and I feel really privileged to have watched this episode tonight. The four Australians who are preparing for their deaths are just so incredibly brave and reinforce the dignity that they maintain, even in their journey to death. We, as a society focus so much on life and our journey through life - one of the Australians, Darryl has talked about the journey to death.

I worked in a nursing home and a low care aged facility for five years. I got to know many people and their families. I was there when many of the residents required palliative care at the nursing home and I was asked to care for them when I was on duty. I remember when many had died and I had the privilege of preparing them for the viewing by their families. It never got easier when people died, but I remember thinking about how important it was for me to do my job well, to ensure that their families could be in comfort.

The doctors in the documentary have commented on how some medicos find it difficult to discuss with patients a bad prognosis and that there is nothing more that they can do for them. One doctor talked about how important it is for doctors to be able to say they will care for patients, even if they can't cure their illness. That is so true. One nurse talked about the greatest respect she shows to the patient, even after they have died. It brought tears to my eyes as this is how I saw what I did at the nursing home - often when others wouldn't. It is just the greatest privilege to be able to care for someone who could not do anything for you. It is even greater to be able to ensure dignity in death. Thank you Four Corners for taking me back 15 years, to when I first worked that evening shift in a nursing home. I learnt so much about caring for others and watching the episode tonight brought it all back. We should honour those who work in palliative care and encourage other doctors and nurses into that area of specialty. We need to ensure care and dignity in death as we hold as so important in life.

Feel free to follow the link to the episode.

http://tinyurl.com/ya974g

February

February is my favourite month of the year! In part it is because my birthday, which explains the deep connection to the month. February can be the hottest month of the year! In the northern hemisphere, it could be the coldest month of the year.

I love February for the thunder storms, balmy evenings, swims at the beach, snorkelling and going for long walks and games of tennis in the early evening.

I love February because the days are long and warm. It is also a great month to enjoy the beautiful summer fruits.

I purchased some wonderful vegetables this afternoon... french beans, string beans, carrots, lebanese cucumbers, lettuce, english spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, celery, shallots and mushrooms.

There were some lovely pink lady apples, granny smith apples and white peaches as well.

Has been a good day and I am looking forward to reading Gourmet Traveller so that I can cook up something wonderful!

Looking forward to cooking over the weekend! Am going to make some bircher muesli tomorrow. It is a rainy weekend which makes for slowing down much easier.