Beautiful Saturday Morning

Well it didn't take long to get back to feeling good.  I slept way better last night with no sweats that I remember.  Phill had a few beers last night, and woke up feeling like he'd been "hit by a truck".  I felt smug and he admitted it was the grog.  I think he too is coming to the realisation that he just can't drink like he did when he was younger.
We had salmon fillets for dinner last night, I was determined to serve a healthy meal.  I did oven curly fries for the kids, and a big mixed salad and I also made a salad with brown rice, chick peas, some red onion and baby spinach and a dressing of  EV olive oil, red wine vinegar and some French mustard.  Chick peas are one of the menopause "super foods" according to my research, and we love them anyway.  It was very good and Phill grabbed the leftovers and put into a container for his work lunch today.  Some fresh garlic would have been a nice addition too but I was hurrying as it was getting late.  We moved Em's computer into her room and gave her the computer desk as my old one was too bulky and didn't have any shelves.  We bought a really nice big rug from the Op Shop, it's as new and we put that in the tv area to protect the carpet but it really brings the room up, and having no computers in there makes the room look so much more airy and roomy.  Em and I went through her books, as we put the bookcase, Kate's old one, down in the shed for now.  We put aside some of Kate's books to sell on Ebay during the holidays, Em can make some pocket money and it will be fun for her to learn how to list and sell, and we put aside some old childrens' books for charity.  It's so hard to part with books, especially books that were the kids' favourites.  I've kept aside really special ones to give them for their own children but you just can't keep them all.  So Em's room looked really cosy last night and she had fun with her own computer in her room as Josh did, but I noticed later neither were using them, Josh was playing with his toys (bless him) and Em was in bed watching tv.  I'm still in two minds about them having computers in their rooms but we have rules in place and I do spot checks on Emily to see what she's doing in there, and the modem gets turned off when I go to bed.
Phill and I finally had a really good, and honest talk yesterday.  I explained to him that I was hormonal, and was struggling with the drinking thing right now as far as getting it out of my life for good.  He in turn said I had become really grumpy and intolerant and admitted that he was feeling the same.  We agreed to both try harder and think before we speak and pay more attention to each other, and I told him we really have to live well now we are at the age we are, if we are to have a good life, and finish raising these kids properly.  Amazing what some open discussion, without anger and recriminations can do and we're getting along so well, like the old days.  So easy to give up, but so rewarding to persevere and keep trying new approaches.
So today it's just a beautiful day and I've had a good breakfast and my vege juice and myriad of supplements and I'm feeling great.  I have lots planned in the house, having the living area looking nice has spurred me on. 
I got my hair cut yesterday and we went and had a quick lunch at the club.  Never again.  We had a steak sandwich with salad as we figured they couldn't really stuff that up.  Well they did.  A pile of really tough bits of steak on toasted white bread with a leaf of outer iceberg lettuce, an old bit of tomato and a few onions.  I was starving but couldn't even eat mine.  I don't know how that bistro stays open.  There weren't many other patrons there.  It's our club and we love it but we won't eat there again.
Well it's time for a shower.  Josh has just walked up to meet his friend from school who is coming over for the first time.  Poor little boy always seems so sad, we've heard stories about his home life.  I'm glad he's coming to visit.
Kids have finished their exams and Emily did really well in her English and topped her class.  She only makes any effort in subjects she likes whereas Josh does his best in everything and plods along even when he can't understand it (like in maths but none of the kids did) or doesn't like it.
Not long now till the end of the school year for 2010.
11.30am
Well I washed all Max's bedding, cleaned out his hut and put it in the sun to dry and gave him a bath.  Nobody wants to do it because he tends to bite if you touch his half leg.  I put on my thick rubber gardening gloves and put him in the laundry sink and talked to him while I wet him down with the shampoo hose thingy with just warm water.  He was fine, I think he liked the attention.  Soaped him up twice with dog shampoo rinsed and dried him off then let him go do his thing.  He was jumping and running all around the place, I know he felt better.  I'll try to do it every week in the warm weather.
I went out and deadheaded all the rose bushes and did some weeding, then pulled the tops of the out of control silver beet and cut back the grapevines.  They wind themselves around the clothesline in a matter of hours and were strangling the roses in the second yard.  When the cuttings have dried out a bit I'll whack them in the compost bin.  I have some lovely compost down the bottom of it now after a year, I need to put it on the garden.  It's so warm out today I didn't stay out there too long.  Josh and his friend are playing X Box in the loungeroom.  I gave them ice water and toast with pb and j but Johnny had none.  Johnny never does his school work according to Josh and Josh is always trying to encourage him.  He's lucky to have Josh as a friend, he is kind and loyal and inspiring.  His friend Nathan in Sydney had been a really bad kid, came from an iffy home also, but as soon as he and Josh became best friends, he changed dramatically, everyone at school commented on it.  We used to have him at our house every Friday night.  I'd get the kids Maccas and they'd all play outside, Em would join in and sometimes one or two of her friends.  I think Nathan really benefitted from being part of our family in that way.  I often wonder how he is now, we lost touch with him.
Johnny apparently only likes to play video games and I can tell he is depressed.  He is friendly and polite to me and as long as that continues he's welcome here anytime.  It's just good to see Josh having a friend over and doing normal stuff that boys do.
More research on foods for menopause.  Funnily, they're all foods I love, and actually have been eating, like blueberries and the yoghurts that are good for the gut etc, as well as legumes and soy.  I just had some low fat cheese and truss tomatoes on wholegrain toast and a big mug of strong tea, my last caffeine for the day, to get me through my afternoon.  I'm making pork and veal spaghetti sauce for Phill and I with lots of tinned tomatoes and vegies.  Not sure what the kids will have, I still have some shredded pulled beef in the freezer I think, they can have tacos with lots of salad.
Later the kids and I will walk down to the supermarket and get some more fruit for fruit salad for dessert.
Yesterday I had walked past the Albion Hotel, a former grand old pub on the corner across from the RSL.

  We used to go there sometimes, and ate a couple of times in the dining room when they had a really good chef.  The owners lost the license and closed up a few years ago apparently and recently it was bought by some locals.  I've wanted to eat there for a while but Phill was reluctant.  We went in for a drink to have a look yesterday.  Phill ordered a beer and when I asked for mineral water the barman almost sneered at me and told me they didn't have any.  Okay I'll have an orange juice.  He got some orange drink out of the pre mix thingy and just put it in a schooner glass with no ice.  It was warm.  I was too scared to ask for ice, he might have thrown a keg at me.  I only drank half.  The pub was almost empty, no poker machines in there now but that's not a bad thing.  There was a noisy little toddler running around who seemingly belonged to the young barefoot girl who was vaccuuming noisily and the whole place stunk like damp covered heavily with Nilodor.  No sign of a bistro or anyone eating although it was the lunch period.  We couldn't wait to get out of there and won't go back.  How do these places stay in business?  It's such a shame.   Country town pubs used to be wonderful when we were kids, I should know, whenever we went on holidays my Dad would stop at pretty much every one on the way.  No breathalyser in those days.
Okay back to work.
3pm

Maxy's hut is clean and his beloved mattress is too, warm and fresh from the sun.  He climbed straight in with his bone.  He snuggled down and rolled around it was so cute.

The grape vine, natural enemy of the Hills Hoist, waiting to strike at any moment. 

My pasta sauce.  Onion, garlic, green capsicum, tomato paste, two tins chopped tomatoes with 500g pork and veal mince, bay leaf, two anchovies, puree broccoli, a cup of brown lentils, some beef stock powder, mixed herbs, nutmeg, LOTS of freshly ground pepper.  I like to use the multi coloured peppercorns.  Don't think they taste any different but they look pretty in my grinder.  The sauce tastes better than it looks. ;  It can only improve.  I will stir some fresh parsley from the garden just before I serve it.

Phill forgot to take his brown rice and chickpea salad to work so I added some fresh garlic, four cloves actually, nobody will be coming near me for a while, and some chopped up green capsicum and put some in a bowl with baby spinach leaves, a small tin of Alaskan salmon, some tomato and chopped radish.  I had a big noodle bowl of it but I didn't feel full at all, just satisfied.

I'm trying to plan our anniversary dinner for Monday night, looking at the old retro dinner party cookbook again and everything has bloody alcohol in it.  No wonder my generation is a bunch of drunks!

Might check out some Weight Watchers recipe books.

The Christmas photo cards arrived yesterday and I'm so pleased with them, the photo came out really well.  Twenty cards with envelopes, not bad for just the postage price of $2.95.  Also in the mail I was surprised but thrilled to receive a lovely thank you from my nephew Martyn and his lovely wife Michelle for our gift on the birth of their little boy Alex who was born in September.  It's a gorgeous black and white photo of the baby with his name and birth details printed and a little thank you note from them.  Also included was a really nice photo of the three of them and a handwritten note from Michelle mentioning the clothes we sent and saying that I'll be "the greatest Aunty of all".  Whenever I write to them or email them, and Marty's brother Shane who also had a baby this year I sign it "Aunty Trish - The Great One". (I am obviously their kids' great aunt).  How sweet.  Nobody ever sends thank yous anymore, not for anything it seems.  I went right out and bought a frame for the black and white photo and now it's sitting proudly on my wall unit.
I was half listening to the boys' conversation as they played and I heard Johnny say "practise makes better" and Josh, without even thinking said "practise makes perfect" and he sounded exactly EXACTLY like his big sister Kate who used to correct us all the time from a very young age.  I knew he was like her but OMG.

Looks like we'll have kittens for Christmas.  We didn't get Harley in time and she is with kitten once again.  It's okay, we'll get Noah desexed as soon as he's old enough which is soon, and we obviously won't be keeping any of the new kittens so once we've found homes for them and her milk dries up we'll get her spayed as well.  We had people ringing us for kittens a month after the last one went so we won't have any trouble finding homes this time.