Hi There Wisewomen

I hope you have been enjoying your week, putting it to good use, and embracing the very best that happens.

MY WEEK

The Silver Century Seminar was on a week or so ago. 
I travelled by car (the traffic was bumper to bumper)
to the light rail (just missed a train).  
I walked what seemed like hundreds of kilometres uphill through the city streets, carrying a couple of bags and a huge heavy banner (I was latish). 
A few dramas occurred with microphones, laptops etc. but apart from that it turned out brilliantly. 

Lucky me, I got my photo taken with The Hon Barry Jones AO our keynote speaker and a truly wise man. 

                Barry Jones and me

After I left the building to walk back to the light rail and above me I heard the most incredible roaring sound.  Smack in the middle of the CBD, hanging between the city buildings was a helicopter.  Fortunately I had read in the paper the defence force would be undertaking training over the city.   The man in the helicopter was leaning out the side door waving his arms. So I waved back.

Well, I knew they weren’t looking for ‘real’ baddies so presumed they weren’t going to shoot me!!!!  But I am sure the passers by thought I was part of the show as I jumped up and down in my black trench coat waving my arms.  Ok, I am an idiot but you might as well join in I say!  Then I whipped out my camera and took this photo. 

I hopped on the light rail and when we stopped at a station, there was a white cat sitting as mighty as you like and probably thinking, ‘I wonder if my master is on this train?’
 

 

You could say 'an eventful day'....

ROSLYN’S JOURNEY

           Roslyn taking a break

Wow wow wow!  I am just in the process of down loading Roslyn’s mammoth journey to Turkey and Israel.  Sorry it is not quite ready yet, but it will be up very soon. 

She certainly has a way of taking us with her with her story writing and I feel like I have been on the trip too – so will you. 

If these are countries you are keen to visit, this will give you a real taste.    From balloon rides, Turkish baths, Dead Sea paddles and lots of interesting foods, her travel story is a great read.

Coming soon.

FISH DOWN THE SINK!

Our last lot of fish in our little fish tank have done well, and by that I mean we haven’t killed them, either by kindness or neglect.  But during the last act of kindness, we lost one. 

Mr G was using the fish tank vacuum to take out all the muck and a fish got sucked up.  It shot through the plastic tube and lodged in the middle which actually saved him from going down the kitchen sink.  It took us a few seconds to work out how to get him back in the tank but when he was set free he went berserk and swam upside down. 

“You’ll have to get him out” I said, “He’s freaking out the other fish”. So Mr G got the sieve and scooped the fish and within a second he jumped out of the sieve and straight down the kitchen sink hole.  He was destined for that sink hole.

I think he must have thought “Beauty, finally made it!  I’m getting out of their clutches while I’ve got a chance!” I let the tap run for ages in the hope that freshwater would help him on his way.

MY TRIP TO MELBOURNE

                With brothers Paul and Robert

I had to make a quick trip to Melbourne for the funeral of my glorious Auntie Barbara.  This beautiful woman was my late mother’s sister and I just had to be there. She was, in her day an opera singer of great note, singing for the Queen when she came out here in 1954. 

So the day of my trip to Victoria started at 4.30am!  This is not a time that agrees with me.  My elder brother Rob collected me on the way to the airport.  From the moment he picked me up I laughed.  I don’t often have uninterrupted time with him and it was truly wonderful to get together. 

I caused all manner of trouble getting through customs as just about everything I wore caused the alarm bells to ring. Having made it through there, I then got picked for random drug swabbing.  Gosh, do I look like someone who snorts cocaine!!! 

In Melbourne we hired a car and then the real hilarity began.  I know it seems odd you would get lost with a GPS system, but we did.  There was the Melbourne traffic to contend with (well, they do drive differently down there) and there was a myriad of car issues, especially the mix up with the blinkers and wipers having to be clicked on the other side to Rob’s own car.

“I hope the Melbournites understand the ‘wiper change lane system’ I’m using’ he said as we veered from lane to lane, wipers on high speed and leaving screeching cars in our wake!!  I was in hysterics, most likely terror. 

The GPS said our destination was 685 kilometres away, thankfully not!  Eventually we found the church we and had to park miles away. We abandoned the car and started running. 

Gasping for breathe Rob asked: “Do you remember anything about the car, what colour, the number plate, anything?” 

‘Nope!’  Its location afterwards was going to be interesting!

Because we made it just in time, space was limited and I ended up sitting in a row beside people I didn’t know.  The service started and I started to weep.  I wept through the hymns, the Minster’s talk and the readings.  I cried as my cousins spoke about their mum and practically wailed as the grandchildren sobbed their way through their tributes. 

But I lost it completely at the end when Auntie Barb’s coffin was carried down the aisle to music that filled the church.  The music that was played at that moment was an old recording of my Aunt singing a piece from an Opera, Mimi’s aria from La Boheme, emotional in anycase.  (Click here to hear a version of my most favourite Opera) 

Thanks to the lady who was sitting next to me who took my hand in hers and squeezed it – a lovely gesture and much needed.

Apart from catching up with other aunts and cousins, we went to my brother Paul's home as he lives in Melbourne. We had a lovely time, a quick dinner and then back in the laugh mobile, and yes we got lost AGAIN. How could we keep doing that!! I suggested we go in the Amazing Race together.  Instead of getting mad, angry or irritated when things went haywire, we joked and laughed and lengthened our lives by many years. 

So, a fond farewell to Auntie Barb, a woman whose beautiful life made a difference to so many.

DAD’S DAY

Last year - brother David, Dad and Me (brown hair, now I think I'll go back to that!)

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY go to all the dads, and potential dads, everwhere in the world, especially to my own, who is still in hospital battling his battle.

He is making very small progress towards returning to his hostel, a long slow journey for him.  Meanwhile, having him just down the corridor at work means I can visit him a couple of times a day. Now that is an up!

AUGUST Osage County

A Play by Tracy Letts

Well, what a Play!  Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant.  The Stephenwolf Theatre Company from the USA arrived in Sydney to show us how acting is done. 

And the story, if you think you have a dysfunctional family, do not fear, this family will have you feeling like yours is boring!!! 

The story goes:

‘Ageing poet Beverly Weston goes missing, his wife, three daughters and extended family are brought together to deal with the crisis.’

That is the story in a nutshell. The three hours is rivetting, one drama happening after the next.  If you get a chance wherever you are, this play is thought provoking, hilarious, sad, full of drama with woven intricacies that have you wanting more. 

I found this perfect description in the SMH:

‘The Pulitzer Prize-winning script by Tracy Letts is a literary masterpiece, puckered with zingy one-liners and padded with profound observations that linger well past the curtain call.

This is a true ensemble work and it is the cumulative, dizzying effect of the whole that makes it so spectacular. ’

So it is not just me who is singing its praises.  I will certainly be on the lookout for more of Mr Lett’s work.

Check out a trailer for the USA

 

ELECTION RESULTS

Surprise, surprise, the Australian public couldn’t decide who we wanted for the leader. 

Gillard, Abbott or 'informal' polling the same!!! Ha! I quite like the idea of a free for all government though! 

The weeks grind on as the three Independents slog it out to see who they want to run the country.  The pressure would be enormous.  The three men seem such nice intelligent chaps you wish they could form a little party themselves and run the country their way.  We wait with baited breath!

MY AUCTION JEWELLERY

I finally received my $1,200 piece of jewellery from Bidz.com  which I paid $50.00 + postage of $19.00.  So a princely amount of $69.00.   Ummmmm. 

I am not sure I am entirely happy with my piece.  Look, it is OK but not something that is a thousand dollars worth!  So $50 is probably what it is worth. 

It is made of Onyx and diamonds in 10K white gold.  10K gold looks a bit like pure tin to me!  Maybe I am just being picky but I think silver would look better than this.  The diamonds, it is true they said they were around ‘J’ quality.  Since diamonds range from 'a' to 'z', ‘j’ diamonds seem very lack lustre.  Onyx are just little black stones. 

Maybe I chose the wrong item.  Maybe everyone knows 10K white gold looks a lot like tin.  Maybe everyone steers clear of ‘j’ diamonds because they are dull and lifeless and this is exactly why this item was on the auction clear house!!! 

Hey, stupid me for not working that out!!! 

All is not completely lost though I like it enough to wear it and I’ve had my ‘fix’ at the auction website.  In a way I am glad I am not besotted with it because I would end up with mountains of unnecessary jewellery!

HAIR SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER
FOR HAIRLOSS OR FINE HAIR

I paid big money.  Well, I was worried.  You notice your hair is fast disappearing and you know ‘bald’ is not sociably acceptable for a woman – YET! 

The men sure got that look sorted, accepted and regarded as ‘with it’ – more so than having half a head of hair for goodness sake. 

I found a hairdresser who told me that there was a shampoo, that everyone who had this problem, bought.  It was horribly expensive.  It is called Nioxin Cleanser for Fine Hair.  I bought the conditioner too.


From the beginning I thought it smelt odd.  I would have to say very chemical with a touch of mint or something like that added.  I used this product for weeks and weeks and weeks. 

I was paying for an improvement and it seemed no better, in fact I noticed something bizarre about my head but it didn’t stop me using it.  When I noticed this same look on someone else, that is when I immediately abandoned it. 

You see, I was at my seminar and a middle aged lady was sitting in front of me.  She had dark chestnut dyed hair which appeared thickish around the bottom of the bob, but sprouting up off her head was a very sparse thatch.  I could see almost through it. 

But the one thing that was blindingly obvious was something I had noticed about myself too.  A mirror like surface to the scalp.  This unfortunately makes it like foil wrap shining out brightly between any gap in the hair.  Her scalp was sooooo shiny it was mesmerising and had such an amazing unnatural reflective quality I thought maybe this was the idea of the product. 

'By creating an illusion of reflecting any hair in this glassy surface, voila more hair!!! 

Because her hair was sparse, I naturally assumed she was using this product (I did not ask her though that would have been a bit too rude but the evidence was obvious to me). I immediately ceased using the products myself and I think instantly my hair/head looks a million times better. Shiny hair yes, shiny scalp NO!!!

It made me realise how we can forge on taking or applying this and that because we think MUST be improving things because it says so on the label.  And the more it costs the more we plug on with hope.  We can end up ignoring the very signs our body is telling us that things are not right. 

Just be careful is all I can say.  Let YOUR body judge your products and if anything seems odd, give it the flick.

LANA’S WISE WEEK

    Lana with Gail O'Keefe

Lana tells me she has been madly busy, so good on her.  That’s what we like to be at our age.  Find out what she has been up to here.

QUOTATION

Martha Nussbaum is my quote writer this time.  It is about being honest, trusting and open.  This can work against you, but for the trouble it could cause, the joy of being ‘a good human being’ is worth the pain.

Maybe work on being Sunflowers who may give hope for a stronger spine.  Bright sunny faces looking to the giver of life, defiant and proud, might make it all worthwhile.

Have a fabulous week, until next time

Love
 

Hi There Everyone,

Sorry I am a bit late with my Wise week, but I am very busy at the moment.  Are you whirring the Wise woman whirl too! Let me know what is happening in your life at the moment! The comments section is at the bottom of the blog and I would LOVE to hear from you.

The good news - Roslyn Motter, our intrepid adventurer, is back safe and sound from her adventures in Turkey and Iran.  Not to mention her jaunt back at the Ayurvedic clinic in India.  How brave is she?

           Treatment room at the clinic

No, she wasn’t hijacked, kidnapped or injured as far as I know, and we are all dying to read her story.  Coming soon!!

Read Roslyn's previous Clinic story here, let me tell you, it is is rivetting 

 

TRAVELLING THROUGH LIFE

How are you all travelling? 

I hope your days are bright and your nights are stretches of good re-energising sleep.

Speaking of sleep - Do you sleep well? 

 Sleep makes you live longer, did you know that?

Well, all day in bed is probably not what I am talking about, but a good night’s sleep will make its mark!  I unfortunately take diuretic blood pressure tablets and usually spend the night tripping backwards and forwards to the toilet.  Is that a problem you have too! 

The trouble with me is I don’t drink enough water during the day. When WILL I learn!!! Then I go to a 7.30pm class at the gym, drink bucket loads, and then my body says….   

Well, well, well, we have a good old supply of liquid here to get rid of so “manufacturing urine stations commence”!!

Luckily for me I can usually get back to sleep but this cannot be said of Mr G who finds it almost impossible.  He does, I have to say, get a ‘tinsy winsy’ bit annoyed if I wake him up.  I do try to creep down the hall, but my cracking ankles are enough the wake the dead!   EEEEEK! 

While writing this I did some research to see what I could find on sleep and its benefits and I found out that ‘sleep keeps your heart healthy’ too. 

When I read ‘Heart attacks and strokes are more common during the early morning hours’   I laughed.  Well, the good news is, if you, like me, are trekking backwards and forwards to the loo, you are up and about and steering clear of the dreaded death knell hours! 

Apparently 7 to 9 hours is the recommended time length for sleep.  Umm…….  I am thinking I am not getting enough!!!

Anyhow, this is the list of the wonderful things sleep can do for you…..

So never let anyone criticise you for sleeping those extra few hours on a Sunday morning, that is what I say. 

MY WEEK

I have been super dooper busy at the moment.  Apart from work and other things I have on the go, to top it off my dear old dad fell over again.

        Me and My Dad

When you are 85, rigid with arthritis and you fall, you go down like a sack of potatoes and yes, he was ambulanced off to hospital.  Anyhow, simply speaking, he has cracked a bone in his pelvis and whilst it is extremely painful, doesn’t require an operation.  So trips to see him are many and he is lapping up the attention, even though his lot is unpleasant. 

Boy oh boy, getting to older age is not necessary a pleasant place.  As you know, my dad lives in a Hostel where he is safe and secure and his every need is catered for. 

Well, now he is in Rehabilitation at Hospital and when the nurse explained to me today what they were going to do to encourange him getting back to managing his personal maintenance, the word ‘miracle workers’ would be their occupation if they can accomplish anything on that list! 

The one thing Dad has is a life, even though it is not like it used to be.  He adores seeing family and friends.  And his greatest wish is to know all of us are well and happy. But he is still interested in what is going on and makes friends with all the staff.  He still tries to be the best he can be because it is worth the effort.

The whole thing with ageing well is to acknowledge it in your youth, do something about it to build as healthy body and mind during your able lifetime to set yourself up for older age. 

Think about yourself now.

• Are you as healthy and able as you could be? 
• Do you make an effort to be as active and excited about life?
• Have you built yourself a strong body that will get you through these older years?
• Are you a good role model for your kids and grandkids?

Here I am back from the gym trying desperately hard to keep my health, are you to?  It’s your body!  

And next week the Australian Association of Gerontology NSW (who I work for) is having a seminar called ‘The Silver Century – prospects and problems’.  It was stunningly put together by Emeritus Professor Sol Encel, but unfortunately he suddenly passed away a week ago and so things became a little bit more frantic. 

The keynote speaker is the fantastic The Hon. Barry Jones AO and a host of other special people will keep the audience entertained.  I have much to do to prepare, so next week will be busy, busy, busy!!!!! 

AGEING – WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT IT!

Go on, you just said “nothing” didn’t you!

(If you were a Sequoia you would be laughing -1800 years not out!)

Well I discovered you need sex and money! 

You just said “well, that’s me gone then”!!!

Ha! It’s a pretty long bow when you are in ‘older, older age’, but if you are tooting along in your mid years, you should be investing in both. 

Find out why here!

   GUESS WHAT!   

    5,700 metres!

Mr G has pulled a swiftie on me before I could object I suspect!  Oh yes, before I knew what was happening the flights were booked and a trip in place. 

Well, ladies, I am off on another trek next year.  Green with envy are you! NOT!  

Strangely, all my friends have said ‘Glad it is you and not me’, the kind darlings that they are! 

I can scarcely believe I am bound to do this and have to admit being a little bit anxious.  You see, I am not a quitter generally and last time we did something extraordinary, I hit a brick wall! 

This occurred two years ago when we travelled to Chile.  Climbing up Villarrica Volcano in knee deep snow was exhilarating but it had me beaten. 

                       Almost reached the top 

In the past nothing could stop me, but on that volcano, I got to a point where I could no longer push myself and that frightened the usually able me!!! 

Oh I have a string of excuses you know!  I was not at all fit.  My mother had recently passed away and I was emotionally drained.  And Mr G had hauled me along on a four hour horse ride the day before!!!

Can I get back my ‘never say die’ endurance.  I hope so!!!!

We are off to Yunnan Province, South west China. Gosh, it is so darn exciting isn’t it!  The whole two weeks will be the usual uncomfortable ‘endurance’ thing as these adventure holidays often are, and the trek itself will last four days. 

The blurb says we have to walk for 8-10 hours on the first day of the trek.  That is a seriously big day, don’t you agee!  And there is altitude again.  Oh that amazing layer of air that has you gasping for breathe at every step!

So now I have plenty of reason to be fit!  And weight loss!  It’s coming off girls because the less body fat, the less you have to haul up and down dale. 

You have to put in the hard yards to fully enjoy the experience. I know!

I have 8 months to give birth to a whole new me and to get me safely home!!!!!

Click here my adventures:

•    Nepal- for a blow by blow account of my trek to see Everest
•    Laddakh – a touch of Shangrila (well I found it anyway)
•    Volcano Villarica – that beast had me beaten but I enjoyed the ride!

JEWELLERY AUCTION

As per last Wise Week, I haven’t received my purchase yet so keep tuned!!!

PELVIC FLOORS AND STILLETOS

Last week Lana enjoyed a day hosted by Pelvic Flaw expert Mary O’Dwyer, finding out about her pelvic floor and how she could get it in tip top shape!  Her story is fascinating reading and you might just learn a few very important tips.  

A while ago I wrote an article about the connection between your pelvic floor and high heeled shoes as another pelvic floor help along!  So if you are up for finding out how to improve your innards by choosing the appropriate footwear, hey, here’s the story for you!

  LANA’S WISE WEEK

 Zillions of congratulations go to Lana as she conquered the walk the City to Surf!

And find out what it’s like to have a drink in an ice cave too!!!  She has had a fabulous week by the sounds of things so check out her adventures.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK

The utterly fabulous Wisest of Women Maya Angelou is providing this quote:

Life Loves the Liver of it    

Enjoy your week, live your life to the max and reap the rewards.

Until next time

Wise Women
Welcome

How has your week been?

Here in Australia it is all about Elections at the moment.  Oh dear! oh dear! it is dead boring!!!  Its in the press, on radio and television.  You just can’t get a way from it.

Strange to say, Mr G and I actually met in the ‘Young Liberals’, a great dating group in those days.  

Even though we were heavily into polling and all its whoohah (and I am not talking about what we did privately), I must say I get a tinsy winsy bit sick of election lead up these days. 

Well, the good old days were always the ‘good old days;’ weren’t they!!  There was probably the skulduggery back then but we didn’t know about it.

Arhh! now it all so dark, devious and murderous!  You would have to be made of stern stuff to walk the hallowed halls of parliament house now, even armour plating is not going to prevent you from being stabbed in the back, and that is by their own party for goodness sake!!!

For some reason or another politicians are hung drawn and quartered at every opportunity and a lot of it has to do with their own doing!

But who shall I vote for? 
Will it be Tony Abbott (Liberal) ,
Julia Gilliard (Labour) ,
someone from the Greens ,
or someone else   

I would feel awful if our first female Prime Minister only lasted a few months in the job though. That just wouldn’t be right!

I AM GOING CRAZY

Well, have you tried it? 

Have you peeped and had a go? 

Have you gone goggled eyed and headachy?

Has your husband called you ‘obsessive’ and bleated on about living a solo life?     
Have you become so adrenalin driven you could race the 100 metres under 10 minutes.
  

Oh what I have done for the sake of a good story!

Click here to find out what I have been up to!

MY TAKE ON THINGS

I have been meaning to have a rant here for a long time on one thing that really, really, really riles me.  Yes, it’s true, Gigi can get angry!  Amazing isn’t it. 

And to all my friends and family to read this, if you do what I am about to rant about, you may meet my tirade if you do it in front of me.

I despair at drivers who back their precious vehicles into car spaces.  It doesn’t seem like much to inflame my anger does it.  But it annoys me greatly!  (Of course if the sign says to back in I accept that). 

Do you do this?  For goodness sake write to me and tell me why because I need to know. 

Car parks are the worst.   Why on earth do drivers back in even when the sign in front of them says to nose in!  It is plain and simple downright rude!!!! 

While you, the backing driver, wangle your way into the spot, just think about how much time it takes!!!!  There is always a huge queue of people waiting for what seems like an eternity as you turn and twist your vehicle. 

I think this has become a big thing for me especially because I am often running late to the gym.  This is where I most notice it the most and I sit there scowling and venting my spleen.

Please:  'Just drive your car into the goddam space will you’. 

No body minds you taking time when you are leaving because others are happy to wait while it is being vacated and have won a spot.  This is the winning side of the coin when everyone is happy.

So pass the word ladies, face in and pop your backside out when you need to leave.  

CHEMICAL OVERLOAD

Ever wondered what is blended into your favourite moisturiser or lipstick.  Does it concern you? 

It is actually scary that we don’t know.  For instance I love a particular product that I use daily and I am sure it is probably high on the data scale for carcinogenic properties or something that could be a lot worse!  But it works!  Well, I think it does? 

But am I harming myself without knowing it. 

Let me know what you do if you find out bad chemicals lurk in your moisturiser, eyeshadow, etc.  Have you got some good suggestions?  We’d love to hear. 

In the meanwhile you might like to ready a very good article that will certainly get you thinking about makeup’s makeup!  

 Or why not go to the Cosmetics Database and check out the contents of your makeup.

OPERA – THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST
(La fanciulla del West)   By Giacomo Puccini

Mr G and love Opera.  In the days when we lived in the Blue Mountains, we used to go to the Opera five times a year.  In the end I couldn’t remember one Opera from the other so we stopped the speed opera-ing and have taken it down to one or two a year.  This year we scored a beauty.

Wow, what a night.  Anke Hoppner played the starring role, Minnie, and when you see how glamorous and what a wonderful actor she is, the days of the stiff larger ladies is well and truly dead and buried.  But what was really stunning was the Stage Design.  I can’t tell you how fantastic it was, but brilliant lighting and digital design just transformed the stage and we sat there with full on sensory exposure – just as Opera should be. 

Five stars to the Australian Opera for a sublime performance.

I’M TOURING FRANCE
via Le Tour de France

Thank goodness it is over.  You start out just wanting to absorb the beautiful French countryside and before you know it you are an expert on the riders, the teams and have fallen in love with those silky English voices of Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin. 

Then you realise the thing is on for weeks on end and down here in Australia it starts at 10pm.  But it is worth a late night or two to enjoy this spectacular event.

I was barracking for Andy Schleck and like many was horrified with his bad luck – the chain incident.  At least he was not harmed like his brother who broke his collar bone early in the race.  

LET’S GET FIT

How are you managing with your fitness program?  Boy it is hard to keep going when it is cold though. 

It’s the first time I have been aware how those of you in colder climates have to deal with motivation.  Normally for us, weather is never so freezing that sitting by the fire and drinking cups of hot chocolate seems like the best option. 

But all of you in the northern hemisphere are enjoying heat so it seems, and plenty of it.  Now you know how we feel!!! I love the heat!  It makes you feel alive and bouncy. 

This cold winter is the worst we have ever had and I personally am over it. 

But I still dress in my gear and get to the gym. Well, an inside exercise regime is the best idea as you never have a good exercise to pull out, ever!!!!

Keep it up ladies, the benefits you reap for your efforts is a youthful you with the prospect of a longer life!!!  Now who wouldn’t want that!

WHERE IS ROSLYN? 
 
We have had some great emails from Roslyn as she and mumsie travel around Turkey, Israel and are now back in India.

I haven't heard from her for a while and a bit concerned because when I read her last email the words 'I could be held hostage' were suggested!!  Surely Roslyn wouldn't go to those extremes to make a good story! 

Check out here


LANA’S WISE WEEK

 Is Lana on track as far as her health kick goes and achieved something remarkable over the weekend, but she now has the flu. 

Get well soon Lana and now click over and find out what she did!!!

QUOTATION

I thought I would use the wonderful quote we all know from the Life of Brian.

 ‘Always  on the bright side of life.’

Do you remember the movie?  We watched it again only recently and I still love its crazy humour and idiotic mayhem. 

If you don’t mind the odd swear word check out the original song version here.
 

and this week, if something goes wrong WHISTLE!!!! 

See if that helps.

Have a wonderful week until next time

Love

Wise Women,
Welcome.....

Thankyou for joining us here at our personal blogs.  In fact we love having you here.  Our blogs are all about inspiration and good old entertainment.  Our mission is to try to encourage women of our generation to think about themselves and the impact they can continue to make. 

We know that you are, on the whole, busy doing things, but we just don’t want you to forget the importance of every single second.  Oh no!!!!   

MY TAKE ON THINGS

We, Wise women, are at the beginning of making the most of our lives just now.  That’s right, Now! 

Our kids have grown and left home and our husbands are most likely capable of adapting to ‘less pandering’.  Did I say that!  Well, it is true.  Most of us at our age have done our stint of managing it all and so missed out on carving professional or strong career paths. 

I am pleased to see that young women these days are busy making sure their careers are strong and as important as their partners.  That was the missing ingredient back then. 

Sure, there was equality within the marriage, but having a career was just not considered vital.  You had kids and that was your total priority.  You propped up your husband as he pursued his goals and dreams, or you and he built a business.  But you knew your place was kids first.  And funnily enough, it wasn’t really bad being in that place.  It was just different from these days. 

So what happens now! 

We arrive at fifty and want to start living!!  Yes we do!  We, Wise Women, are an untapped force of desire, imagination and have dreams to fulfil.  Watch out world, here we come!!!

What we have found at Wise Womens World is many women start making their mark at 50.  Suddenly they take a good old look at their lives and wonder what they have accomplished. 

Hey, you out there - the starting gun has fired.   

You are off and running….

We know women who have begun climbing mountains, started writing books, become International body building champions, have begun Master’s degrees or PhDs and even started a website for older women for goodness sake!!!!

I know many who arrive at 50 and wonder what they could do to make life more dazzling. Is that you?  Have you wondered?

But when you look at men, they seem to be looking forward to retirement.  They have worked hard all their lives providing for their families and they think they have sacrificed their own good time in doing so!!!

They THINK that retirement is what beckons them and that’s when their life BEGINS.  Begins to what you might ask!!! 

So I am thinking that maybe women of my age were pretty lucky.  We got to rear our kids fairly comfortably and now are itching to make the most of our lives.  

And thanks to medical wonders and longevity of the baby boomers, we have a whole lot of time to make the most of it.

Anyhow, I have gone off the track…….back to turning fifty!!! I can’t stress enough how important and significant that moment can be. 

If we take a good hard look at the way statistics are moving and we will see there is a very good chance we will live to beyond 100.  That means there is at least 30 years of valuable contribution to give, and that only gets us to 80 and we still have 20 years up our sleeve. 

If medical research goes the way it is, we might be in the most amazing shape when we blow out our 100 candles.  Yes, folks, we will most likely be“Super-Centenarians” 

So look hard for what will make your life sing;  

seek out what inspires you to greater things;

and follow your dreams. 

Make sure you do!

HIGH ROAD TO ADVENTURE

    Mumsie and Roslyn take in the heat in Israel

Our fantastic adventurer, Roslyn Motter, is having the time of her life in Turkey and Israel. 

Greatly hindered by foreign keyboards she has managed to send back a few reports to let me know she is OK.  Well, before she went we were worried about the weather, war, kidnapping – Oh the list goes on.  But all is well and you can check out her journey so far.  I am dying to hear the full reports.

MY WEEK

 Miss Charli - Junior Masterchef

FAMILY WAYS:  We babysat Miss Charli overnight and what a delight that was.  She would have to be the most adorable little girl in the world, of course.  Well, I know, many of you are grandmothers and understand the joys. In the space of 2 weeks we have caught up with everyone it seems – so choc full of family news, boring to you, but delicious to me!

Beautiful Driver on Road

 WINNER OF THE WEEK:  My daughter Bri!   She has finally got her driver’s licence at the age of 31.  I can’t tell you how proud I am.  I know how fabulous she will feel as I was 25 when I got mine. At that age I had three little kids under my wing and it literally gave me wings……….I hope it sets her free too! 

THE THEATRE:  Oresteia by Aeschylus, in a new adaptation by Tom Wright

Mr G and I ducked into the city to see Oresteia, at the Wharf Theatre.  The current artistic directors of this Theatre are the fabulous Cate Blanchett and her husband, Andrew Upton and no, we didn’t see them swanning around.  Damn!

Anyhow, this play was acted by the permanent ensemble of actors, ‘The Residents’, who I must say performed brilliantly in one of the most riveting and powerful dramas of all time.

This play is a momentous and epic Greek tragedy.  And so the story begins…….

The theatre is small and intimate.  The back wall of the stage had three opaque sliding doors. In and out of these doors the actors came and went.  When Agamemnon was being bludgeoned to death, we could vaguely see what was happening through the glass……most graphic!   And then the blood flowed across the stage as the story was continued to be told…

I had absolutely no idea what it was about before I went and I must say I was totally captivated as the story was quite something else as you can see.  Not your quaint little romantic comedy that is for sure. 

And the blurb did tell us : 

Warning: Oresteia contains scenes depicting violence that may disturb some patrons.

So what they meant was, if you don’t like blood and gore, or families hacking each other to death,  this play is probably not for you!

LANA’S WISEWEEK

Hurray, Lana is on a health kick and I am right behind her.  She is certainly taking it seriously from the outset and if she sticks to her guns, she will be in fantastic shape before she knows it.  Find out how

               QUOTE

The quote this time is from the famous Irish playwrite George Bernard Shaw and I would love to know if he was directing these pretty forceful words too.  Was it his wife, child, friend.  Or was it his parent!!!!

UMMMM. I would hate to think he would say that to his wife!!!  Those last two lines are harsh indeed but they would surely get the message across in an ironclad sort of a way!!!    

My message to you is not so ironclad. Maybe he could have put it this way...

Have a simply gorgeous week until next time

Love

Hi Wise Women,

Welcome to another wonderful week and I wish to say how much Lana and I enjoy your comments.  Thanks for saying hello and keep them coming.

WOMEN RULE THE DAY

Well, fancy that, we Australians now have a new woman:

Prime Minister the Hon Julia Gillard. CONGRATULATIONS

All the politicians that concern me, from the local member to the top, are women.  Can you imagine that!!!!  Not one single man in sight!

It’s a Womens World!!! Now I have the proof it seems!

MY WEEK

Last week I told you I was going to do something exciting and I did. My news may not be that exciting for you, unless I excite you enough to pack up your bags and head out for a romantic weekend yourself!!!

           Gorgeous countryside outside Bundanoon

You see, Mr G spirited me away to the Southern Highlands, to a gorgeous hamlet called Bundanoon.  We were lucky enough to get one night at a lovely bed and breakfast Yallambee.

              Yallambee - one stop pep up shop!

Bundanoon is only one and half hours south west from Sydney.  It is like a step back in time with its quaint cottages and buildings and hundreds of deciduous trees (making autumn a perfect time to visit). 

The Highland Games are held here each year and it is almost mandatory that every Scot within cooee turns up in a kilt and has a go at tossing the caber (the caber is basically a huge tree trunk and the successful thrower must be both strong and skilful) or six ton boulders or whatever they like to throw.  They seem to be very into throwing sports!   We have been a few times over the years. 

We watch in awe and spend hours prowling around the little shops filled with woollen goodies, jams, shortbreads and just about everything Scottish you can think of.  Mr G comes from Scottish roots and I now hold a Scottish surname so we really get into it.  So if you can make the Highland Games one year you will have a hoot!

          Main street Bundanoon

Bundanoon itself is very much a ‘patch of the past’ with its quaint railway station and shops and its very enticing Sunday market.

But to start at the very beginning of my weekend away, on route to Bundanoon we stopped for lunch in township of Bowral, choosing the café of ‘Elephant Boy’!!!  as a stopover for our first culinary delight. 

While waiting for a table we started chatting to a young couple who were “attending birthing classes” they said.  They said the baby was due in July and she looked 5 months pregnant!  They looked like movie stars (his longish hair was magnificently groomed) and whilst we did talk about babies, I have my suspicion they might have been having a lunch break during filming while she was still padded up - as a few things just did not add up!!!!  Oh well, these are the little snippets of life that will remain a mystery forever!

We consumed a great cup of tea and banana cake, and it was off to do the Glow Worm Glen walk.
 

Surely after 65 millions years we weren’t going to be disappointed.  

Eventually little flickering lights started to appear.  Yippee!! You had to be dazzled it was so amazing!! We couldn’t stay all night though and the walk up in the dark, with one torch light was interesting to say the least.  If it was cold we didn’t notice it because we were streaming with sweat by the time we reached the top.  Because we were hurrying!  

The lure of a predinner drink and our dinner at the Bundanoon Country Hotel had us shooting up that hill. 

             Ye Olde Bundanoon Country Hotel

The dining room was very quaint, with Scottish memorabilia on every wall.  The food was seriously OK, but was painfully slow getting to the table.   The ambiance made up for it and I could really imagine I was lost in some Scottish village on the other side of the world.    

Next morning we were seated ready for breakfast.  David loves cooking and had made beautiful croissants the night before – anyone who even contemplates making croissants has to be a cooking star if you ask me!!!  They were spectacular. 

There was a table full of breakfast cereals, fruits, yoghurt and jam.  And there were baskets of David’s delicious homemade breads.  Even though I try not to eat bread, I let down my guard and sampled both the rye and the pumpkin - both mouth watering.  Scrambled eggs (but you could order so much more) orange juice and many cups of tea  and before we knew it, it was time to wave goodbye to Bronwyn and David. 

          Sunnataram Forest Monastery                   

             What greets you is spectacular

We made our way to the Buddhist Retreat on the other side of town, the Sunnataram Forest Monastery.  You turn off the main road and head down a dirt road that takes you to the Monastery set alongside Morton National Park.

 
 I might just come here for a retreat as a treat!

The monks have carefully crafted this enormous temple that houses a gold Buddha.

We were welcomed by a lady who invited us to lunch but Mr G and I were still bursting from breakfast and passed.  We wandered around the gardens and through the rock sculptures, peeped into retreat rooms made from had sawn timbers with large glass windows, and took millions of photos of some very tame peacocks. 

Calm, tranquillity, bliss… (make a metal note of this if I need to disappear on retreat weekend sometime!)

But we had our own mini meditation by sitting in the stone garden in the warm sun and listening to the birds and the wind. 



Now that was better than reading the Sunday morning newspapers!

           MORTON NATIONAL PARK            

                                  Beautiful vistas

Of course we are in the mountains of the Morton National Park and so we haul on our boots.  The walk was gorgeous; a round trip that included Fairy Bower, Tooths Lookout and I think it also included Bundanoon Creek Trail. 


      Splendid falls, lucky we didn't!

Whatever it was, it was basically a walk straight down, a scramble over rocks and logs along a creek and then a vertical exit up a zig zagging path in the dense bush.  Rushing waterfalls, babbling creeks, lush greenery, a few flowers and magnificent views certainly recharged our batteries.
 

   Following a Mr G down the trail

The real thrill was following a Lyre bird along a path and being entertained by its fabulous musical songs. 

So that is what a weekend away is all about.  A thoroughly delightful step out of the maddening rat race, reconnecting with your partner, getting spoiled, delicious foods, a couple of bush walks and so much more!   A trip to a place like Bundanoon definitely gives you a good spiritual lift.

  A tree in a puddle -  Don't tell me I can't take artistic photos!!!

I have been to two B & B’s in Bundanoon, Treetops and now Yallambee.  Both quite different – Treetops is ‘ye olde world’ experience and Yallambee is your more chalet experience.  As far as I am concerned, both are extremely welcome.

And there are no dramas to tell you about I am sorry to say!!

Mr G didn’t get lost, no-one fell over, required hospitalisation or did something humiliating which is so unlike a Mr G and Gigi escapade!!!!!  So nothing screaming hilarious to tell you this time, sorry!

So if you like to take a bushwalk Aussie style now, come right this way and take a walk with me in the beautiful Blue Mountains.

GREATEST WOMEN OF ALL TIME

     
         Is Hilary on the list!

Well, I wanted a list!   I wanted to know who would be on that list!  

I found a list compiled by Shelby Ellery, who created her website as a gold award project, the highest award that can be awarded in Girl Scouting.

Shelby says: “Welcome to the website of the 100 Most Important Women of All Time: a page of 100 women who history would not be the same without.

I believe that women aren't recognized enough. I can name so many men that I have been taught by my teachers, but I really can't name all that many women. This site is a resource for all those people out there who are just like me, no matter what age, curious about how women also affected who people are today and who the world wouldn't be the same without. Take a moment to choose someone you have never heard of and look through this window into their soul, who they really were or are”.

It was a list full of surprises because half of the people I had never heard of, so as Shelby suggested, I clicked on a name to find out why this woman was on the list.  

I hope you are a greater person for knowing that and if you are wishing to check out other 'very interesting' women from Shelby’s choice –
click here:

  HELLO LYNNE

I met Lynne, an avid reader of Wise Women the other day and just to surprise her – here you are on the Website !!!!!  Thanks for joining us and don’t forget to write in as we would love to hear from you below on the comments. Well, I know you will now!!!

LANA’S WISE WEEK

It is time to visit Lana now and see what she has been up to.  I hope she is not too disappointed over the Soccer scores and has taken another team onboard.  Well, it's what you have to do isn't it if you are a soccer fan through and through.  
Lana's weeks are always full and busy which is just the way we want it – isn’t it!!! 

WISE WORDS

“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. 

When we really listen to people there is an alternating current, and this recharges us so that we never get tired of each other. 

We are constantly being re-created.”

Thanks Brenda Ueland.  These are wise words indeed. I knew there was a good reason to get with girlfriends and chat on endlessly.  There’s apparently more than idle gossip to be gathered – we are being re-created too!!  I like it.

Til we meet again have a fantastic week and try doing something outside the square to make life just that bit more daring!!!   

Love
Gigi 

WELCOME WISE WOMEN

I hope wherever you are, you are enjoying your Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter weather. 

But my heart goes out to the south of France and the gorgeous area we travelled around a couple of years ago.  Les Arcs and surrounds were recently ravaged by shocking flooding.  If you go to Google Maps and take a drive down the streets of this pretty village it is very sad to think of the damage and lives lost in this locale.  

And while I am on the subject of Google Maps, isn’t it just the most fantastic invention.  You can travel anywhere in the world (just about) and literally drive down the streets and visit tourist locations you have only dreamed about. 

When we are really old, that’s exactly how we can travel.  Each day we can drive around a village, research the tourist attractions (well, Google Entry into Tourist Attractions will exist then) and keep down loading the beauty of the world into our soul.  

         WINTER WEDDING              

           The bride and groom and the grooms family

It was particularly lucky that last Sunday was a stunning winter’s day here in Sydney. 

This is the day my nephew and his new bride had chosen to be married and they couldn’t have been luckier regarding blue skies. 

      The stars of the day

The church was Villa Maria at Hunter’s Hill, a gorgeous leafy suburb of Sydney.  The ceremony was perfect and when the priest sat down to the organ and sang a song he had written about marriage, well, it was spine tingling.  Honestly, he could be making millions on the charts I reckon. 

 
           My Mother in Law with me and Son

My son and daughter-in-law, my mother-in-law and Mr. G, we all jumped in to a cab to drive to the reception venue in a wonderful Waterfront Restaurant at The Rocks.  (Incidentally, I have to say here, bouquets to the driver who ran after us to return Mr G’s very expensive camera equipment he had left in the cab)

The venue was in the heart of the ‘The Light Show’ precinct. The only bit I got to see was a ship all lit up through the big window behind the bridal table. Oh well next year!!!
   

        My gorgeous son and daughterinlaw

It was a lovely reception.  Trays of canapés and drinks were handed out as soon as we arrived.  Being very much Labour Party enthusiast’s, each table was named accordingly and we scored the Keating table.  The three course meal was exceptional. There was no shortage of alcohol and many made great speeches. 

And best of all, at the end of the pomp and ceremony, the dance music was cranked up and it was time to party.  Mr G made do a few short jigs on the dance floor.  He said he was steering clear of my flaying glass of red wine and left!   Gosh, isn't that what are dry cleaners for!! 

                  That darstedly glass of red wine!

But that didn’t stop me from dancing the light fantastic for the rest of the night aided and abetted by the Pot, Beautiful, Dom and others.
 

 The 'You can't stop us' dancing team - Dom, The Pot, Beautiful and Me

I love dancing now more than I did as a young woman and I am sure making up for lost time.  Oh by the way, I did swap my high heels for some flatties but my ankles are still suffering….

     BEST MAKEUP HINT

I thought I might hand on my makeup suggestion to you.  Having combed the city for foundation and being given samples of things, some cost over $200.00 per bottle (who in the hell buys that!) I was desperate and ended up trying something I had seen being advertised on the TV.  I though, why not try it? 

So for around $20.00 (yes, knock a zero off) I bought Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation and honestly, I was amazed.  It is light, flows on easily and says it gives a flawless finish (it's pretty good) and best of all ‘cheap’. 

I keep wondering how ‘older’ women will be able to cope with purchasing their tried and true makeup when we are not financially able.  You just couldn’t go past this product girls. 
5 's from me

Let me know if you have any good makeup tips that you would like to share and email me at gigi@wisewomensworld.com 

Check out lots of Beauty ideas here 
 

PHOTOS FROM HEN’S NIGHT

It seems like ages ago doesn’t it!  But I did promise I would pass on the photographs from the evening when I finally received them. 

 
I really think they must be the tamest ones though……no-one is passing on the ones where Mr G will consider divorcing me!!!!  Probably a wise move!

AUSTRALIAN BUSH FLOWER ESSENCES

BOOK REVIEW – HAPPY HEALTHY KIDS

Ian White from Australian Bush flower Essences has produced another stunning book especially directed to your kids or grandkids.  

If you are into ways of helping and healing the natural way, you will love this brilliantly put together collection of Remedy suggestions for so many childhood ailments. 

Give one to your daughter when she falls pregnant and she can use some of the essences to help her through her pregnancy too. 

Click here : Ian’s website and where you can purchase this book and the remedies.

Click here : Read our interview with Ian White

            LET’S GET FIT          

Are you still hard at it?  Still working to build that healthy and beautiful body?   I must say, I am constantly amazed at how the body acts and reacts, especially when bits misbehave! 

My ankles, for instance, have been dodgy for a while and I put it down to arthritis or something like that.  Sometimes they just seize up, lock, or make sharp pains, just like tonight at the gym. 

Mind you this is 'post wedding high heel dancing' so they had been well and truly shoved outside their comfort zone, and by that I mean out of their beloved aerobic shoes!!!  No they don’t like change!  They like to have ‘Cumf’ shoe comfort, but they are not getting that lucky all the time!!! 

Gym Class:

Anyhow, I race into class at the last minute and don’t have time to stretch and moments into the high impact action of Body Attack, I can feel them acting up.  Arms in the air and big flicks of the legs out to the sides and I am starting to think: ‘should I leave now before permanent damage is done, or is the excruciating pain going to cause me to spontaneously scream out’. 

I keep jumping and the pain subsides but up it rises up again and again.  My head is saying: ‘For goodness sake, it is only pain, don’t pike out!” Then, after two thirds of the class is done, after all that sprinting around the room and intense leaping, I suddenly come good! 

After all of that ‘ouch’ and ‘ooohhh’, my joints are now nicely oiled and I am on fire.  By that stage most people in the class are slowing down, but not me.  I am now pain free and energised and leap and jump to my hearts content. What a crazy weird thing that is! 

Now I am home and all the leaping has stopped, my ankles are feeling a tad touchy again so they have been lathered in sports gel in hope for improvement by tomorrow because, it’s back to the gym again. 

I am just thinking this is preparing me for old age.  You know, when all the aches and pains suddenly start appearing with an alarming rate.  You can’t let pain get you down though (well, granted there are extremes) but the daily ‘not normal’ feelings just have to be set aside. 

A bit of experience of how to deal with pain now will keep us in good stead I think!!!!  Or there are always painkillers!!!  Did I say that!

Here is an article on finding the perfect Shoes 
 

LANA’S WISE WEEK

What has Lana been up to this week?  She always has something very interesting to tell you about, so click on over to her.

      QUOTATION TIME   

Are you the imaginative sort?  Do you, like me, have ideas soaring around your brain hoping to be realised.  Well if you do, here is the perfect quote:

Hey, are you really a Dante or Shakespeare?  It’s a sublime thought isn’t it!  Make your dreams a reality now!

PS.  I am going to be doing something really fun this weekend but I'll fill you in next time. 
 

Enjoy your week, smile and be happy

Love
 

Welcome Again to 

Wise Womens World

Thank you for your comments on our blogs.  Lana and I are thrilled you have decided to say Hello.  Keep your comments coming because this is what Wise Womens World is all about. 

Let’s prop each other up, share snippets of information and inspire each other.

  MY WEEK

It’s a darn dank winter in Sydney.  Gosh there is no end to this rain!!!  Just when you wake up to a reasonable day, down it comes.  And it’s cold!  We Aussies don’t like it at all because we are spoiled rotten for warm weather. 

And apart from the weather tearing off roofs, flooding or whatever, we have had our very own cyclonic whirlwinds in NSW. We are becomnig more like USA each day!

A small coastal village was ripped to shreds as the wind wreaked havoc.
 Check out the action here   

As the rain dumped down I decided to hit the city to take advantage of the sales.  I just couldn’t get into it.  Was it the hundreds of people, the heavy moist air or the fact that I am not into clothing that is out there at the moment.  Who knows! 

When I had all but given up I sauntered into the very gorgeous shop of Charli Brown in the Queen Victoria Building. 

The QVB is a stunning old thing that has fortunately clung to existence amongst the modern high rise.  It adds such style and class to our cityscape.  It’s a gorgeous building choc-a-block full of lovely shops and the best little cafes and coffee shops around. 

Check out the QVB here

My venture was to find a top for a black skirt, which I took in with me.   All day I had eliminated black tops as a choice until I got to Charli Browns.  The sales assistant was actually a clothing consultant and after her fiddling around I ended up looking pretty amazing, in a (wait for it) black top. 

When I was dressed up in the whole outfit I said, ‘are those mirrors slimming ones’.  She denied it of course but I still had my suspicions!!  How could I look like that I thought!!!    

Well, girls, all my effort must be paying off or I am going to buy one of those mirrors!  (What a boost to the ego before you leave the house!) 

But it was at that moment that I did see a thinner me which wasn’t really apparent before. 

Then I thought about it, and realised something.  Even though I have dropped a dress size, I am still wearing the same clothes as before.   

Therefore I still look exactly the same size as before, but with baggier clothing which is not really that flattering. 

Ummm, I see I have some serious shopping to do!!

GET MOTIVATED HERE

It wasn’t long ago that I wrote a weekly blog about keeping motivated and imploring you to keep fit.  I have so much on at the moment that writing just another article is sometimes impossible.  

I want you to know that I am still training hard and I expect you are too even without your weekly dose of Lets Get Fit. 

Sometimes it is really hard to be motivated, especially when it is cold and raining.  If you belong to a gym, the rain shouldn’t make a difference.  If you walk or run outside, well, your dedication will need to be strong.  You can’t just stop because of the weather though. 

Don’t let yourself be deceived into that sort of thinking!

It is such a great feeling when you can move and jump with energy.  Moving with briskness will keep you looking youthful. 

These things just don’t happen with inaction. 

Firstly, you have to care about your health. 

Don’t ever believe you can never achieve what others have.  You are just as capable of anything you set your mind to.  It can take courage and a huge leap of faith to be committed.

But that is exactly what every fit person does.  Every day they believe they can go the extra mile, they set their sights on remaining healthy and building a fit and flexible body.  They like to have control over their health and how they look.

If you are lazy, overweight or just can’t be bothered, you are only fooling yourself. 

No one but yourself can make the changes and you can do it. 

Yes you can!!!!!!! 

Come on, join the Wise Women Workout World. 

 

ROSLYN MOTTER

Hugs and kisses go to Roslyn Motter this week as she lost her dear old dad at the grand age of 87.  As I deal with my own dad’s issues of health, I felt terrible sadness for her.  It is a huge vacuum when you lose a parent and part of what is right and normal is taken from you.

Lots of heartfelt wishes coming your way Roslyn. 

And hugs and kisses go to Roslyn and Mumsie as they soon depart for Turkey and Israel on another adventure. 

Roslyn has assured me that she hasn’t intentionally set out to a ‘war zone!’ just to ‘make her reports more exciting’ and I have absolutely forbidden her to get kidnapped.

We will all be waiting with trepidation to see what she gets up to…….but exhilarating war experience we don’t want to know about!!!!!!

LANA’S WISE WEEK

Lana will tell you all about Chia Seeds this week.  They sound like fantastic thing to add to your diet and of course, are so natural……Check out what Lana has been up to.

MY QUOTE THIS WEEK

On my search for a quote this week I found this one…….

It is all about the way you look at things at the end of the day!!!

Enjoy the kisses, silver liquid and those lullabies.

From me until next time, smile and light up your world.

Wise Women Welcome
to our New Look Homepage. 

We have been playing around behind the scenes trying to make our site a bit more user friendly. 

One thing we have done, that will be obvious to regular readers, is open up our comments section at the end of our blogs.  This section was hidden before and although you were keen to write to us via our email, I don’t think you were aware a comments section existed right there at the bottom of the blog. 

So please, if you see a comments section, send in a note.  Tell us what your thoughts are, what moves or motivates you, or just say 'Hello'. 
 
Go on, I'd love to hear from you...... 

DARK & STORMY

Yes, it is dark and stormy here in Sydney.  And the rain!  It is never ending.  This is not a good.  Our tourists won’t like this.  What must they be thinking? 

In fact I was in the city on Sunday and spoke with some folk from Alabama while standing in a café queue. I apologised for the horrible weather and they said they loved it.  They must be the only tourists around saying that though!  Apparently it is something like 91 degrees over in their home state, so I guess it is just a matter of perspective! 

             At last year's Light Festival

And what is really awful is a beautiful Light festival 'Vivid Sydney' open across the city itself.  Yes, you may want to drag yourself around Sydney in torrential rain to watch glorious light pictures on the Opera House and other buildings, or walk down the dark streets to see the interesting artistic light sculptures. 

If that sounds like you, there is a great festival on!!!!  I am praying for dry weather myself.  We went last year and it was such a fantastic experience. 

If want to see Sydney in a totally different light, get in there and soak it up!

Click here for details
 

BIRTHDAY BONAZA

Say ‘May’ in our house and it means we are up for heavy spending.  How many birthdays do we have?  Seems like hundreds and on Saturday night we hosted my son’s 35 birthday! 

    The Doh, Sweetie & Miss Charli

I tried to think of a theme, couldn’t come up with anything, and opted for providing an ‘impressive’ meal instead.  Oh yes, I did!  For mains we ate roast beef with crispy roast potatoes, sweet potato, pumpkin, parsnips and steamed broccoli and tiny carrots. OK, it does sound pretty unimpressive. 

But it was the dessert and cake that soared me into regions I have long forgotten.  So long forgotten I even had to buy some new cake tins as the oldies were beyond salvaging. 

I triumphed at a Baked or Bombe Alaska.  You know the one! Cake, ice cream brick smothered with thick peaks of fluffy meringue and then bravely slapped in the oven.  This is when 'praying to God' comes I handy as you don’t want to end up with a meringue tower perched on a sea of melted ice cream.  I had put ‘Beautiful’ on the job of time countdown and it was maintained to precision.  Perfecto!  A lightly browned Baked Alaska was removed from the oven, ice cream in tack. 

If only Lana could have had a bowl full of that after her MRI.  That sugar hit would have restored her ‘sea legs’ in a jiffy.

Then I made a fabulous ginger birthday cake, delectable even if I do say so myself.  Two huge cakes sandwiched together with luscious vanilla icing had me wondering how many hours in the gym all this would take to work off.  Most likely weeks!!!!

But it all got the thumbs up and Mr G was thrilled at my rare devotion to the cooking task. 

Fully sated we spent the next 4 hours singing hard and loud, trying to burn off that whacking intake of calories.  Oh yes, we just love our Playstation 'SingStar' Sing alongs.  A fabulous night full of laughter and fun!  Isn’t this is what life is all about.

        FALLING ABOUT          

              Me and my Dad

My dear old dad had another fall the other day.  Considering he has had two broken hips, he is lucky enough not to have done something major this time.  But it didn’t stop him wanting a cup of coffee at his favourite café. 

But dad is so ‘unbendable’, rigid as a board of wood in fact, and it took ages for him to get in and out of our car, and it’s a medium size sedan for heaven’s sake.  He simply could not bend his legs or his body enough to get his head under the door frame. He did though, after a long time of superhuman manoeuvering.

It got me thinking about the huge ‘ageing’ population who will need to use this form of transport, namely ‘motor vehicles’, in the future.  Are we going to sit back and just accept that we will spend forty minutes of an outing trying to get into and out of any vehicle?  It is crazy!! 

These lovely sleek cars might be ascetically attractive and great for the nimble, but when you are older, forget it!!!   So car manufacturers, take heed, think about this.  There will be a big market for cars built with the ‘older’ person in mind. 

SPECIAL HEARTFELT SYMPATHY

My brother’s partner received the most dreadful news the other day.  It the news no parent ever wants to receive.  Her only child, a son 21, was killed in a motor vehicle accident.  How would get through such a trauma?  Our love and thoughts are with them.

It took me back to a place, a time in my early marriage when such a drama played out in my own life.  My husband’s only sister, 21, and his 9 year old niece (an only child) were also killed in a car accident.  The horror, I remember, was all consuming.  As I watched my ‘new’ family and my ‘new’ husband deal with all consuming grief, I can remember living through it all in total disbelief.  Shortly after that Mr. G’s father died of a brain tumor. 

I am telling you this is because the person you would think least likely to cope actually triumphed.  This is Mr. G’s 87 year old mum.  She has endured many life shattering experiences (too many to tell you about) and how she has kept going is really a credit to her. 

I asked her once “What got you through all these times?”  She said it was her faith.  She simply believed that there was a destiny, a belief she would have to accept that, and her God to support her.  And she isn’t like she is an obsessive church goer although she practises her Catholic religion. 

Honestly, she is amazing and I often tell her she is my hero.  She has faced despair again and again and she is still one of the most loving, gentle, beautiful and caring human being around.  She carries no angst or bitterness. 

Mother In Law

And it must be hard not to let the sadness change your essence, but Mr. G’s mother is proof that no matter how terrible the blow, time and the movement forward through life allows you to still embrace the joy of your own living.

BREAST REVIEW

Remember my unpleasant encounter last year at the breast clinic, well; I was back there last week for a review.  I must say I was very, very nervous. 

Once the mammogram was done, the Doctor checked out my boobs and then he looked at the mammograms.  Great news, there were no ‘little stars’ in the left breast this time, but there was a ‘spot’ in the right breast.  Instantaneously my heart raced up to 190 beats a minute!  Back in to have another mammogram to enlarge that area. 

Thank goodness all is well and I can rest easy for another 18 months.  Have you had your breast check?  If you are taking HRT, you must never neglect your reviews. 

For Breast Health 
 

RENEE GOOSSEN’S,
A STAR IS BORN

 Renee

I have had lots of contact with the wonderful Wise Woman Renee Goossens lately as she lives with the excitement of her first grandchild.   Along the way I told her I was writing a ten minute play and how much fun it was.  (If you are reading this Sharon, yes, I took on the challenge!)

Renee mentioned she had been asked to write a play, actually starred in it and that it is now available on YouTube. 

Renee explained the rather humorous way that the film was made, the stinking 41 degree heat and the fact that the wrong music credit note was given as Chopin, and not Debussy’s Claire de Lune, and how none of it detracts from its true meaning. 

Listen to the beautiful piano music played by Aaron McMillan, the young musical genius, struck down at 30 from a brain tumor.      

As Renee lives with astonishing pain, I thoroughly admire her rising from her wheelchair to play some of the role.   So everyone, you are about to see Renee in action. 

NATURAL HAIR SHAMPOO
AND CONDITIONER.

 Roslyn

Our good friend, Roslyn Motter, has given us an Update on Hairloss. 

If you have a problem with this, check out here to find out what might be causing it, and the all natural shampoo and conditioner recipe might just be the answer. 

Why not try the recipe and let us know how it goes?

HOW ARE YOUR KIDNEYS           

Roslyn is a veritable font of knowledge as she prepares another article for us, this time on kidneys. 

Not to be neglected, these vital organs will work beautifully for you if you look after them!  But do you know what they actually control in your body!!!  Heaps of things! 

Check out About Kidneys.

LANA’S WISE WEEK

Now it is time to pop over and visit Lana’s Wise Week. 

Lana’s journey lately has been a roller coaster to say the least.  Her MRI story, while sounding quite terrifying, was hilariously told and must not be missed.  

Check out what has been happening in her life.

 

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK

My quote this time is by Farrah Fawcett.  Quite a glorious and wonderful creature in her youth, I really wish I knew at what age she made the following claim:

How impressive a quote if she had said this as an older woman. 

Well, it never hurts to use these skills to your advantage as long as you can – does it not!!!!

Have a cheery, happy week

Until next time

Hi Wise Women,

Welcome back to each and everyone of you. 

And to our new readers, I am thrilled to have you here and I hope you enjoy Wisewomensworld.  Take a good look around and please write to me with your stories and ideas.  Let us know what you are up to and share your experiences and tips with us all.

You can contact me personally at:  gigi@wisewomensworld.com

MOTHER'S DAY WRAP UP


Well, how was your Mother’s Day.  Did you have a great day too?  I hope you did and I hope you had the opportunity to spoil your mum.

My Mothers Day was brought forward one day.  We drove up to the Blue Mountains so Mr G’s mother could join me and our kids and partners at a charming Glenbrook restaurant called Mash.  We just about filled the room, and what we didn’t fill with space, we filled with laughter and talking. 

Thanks kids for the wonderful gifts and most important of all, your company.  I truly treasure times like these and relish in the fact that I have such a gorgeous family.

We all went back to my mother-in-law’s (MIL) house, for tea and cake and watched the wedding video which had us all glued to the set.  There was chatter and screams of laughter as we relived the wedding and our wonderful adventure which you can read all about at my last Wise Week.

OH DEAR...
 

Mr G and I then attended the local theatre production of AWAY in which Mr G’s brother played one of the lead roles of which he was definitely ‘best in show’!!!  The play is about a teenager boy with cancer who makes a huge impact on the lives of three couples.

But a most hilarious thing happened before we went in to see the show.  Why do these things always seem to happen to me!!!   Why, Why, Why!

I went to the toilet and of course washed my hands.  The soap was particularly slippery and I couldn’t dry them all that well.  I went out trying to dry them on my clothing but the soap was still there. 

Mr G was ensconced in conversation with a couple.  Mr G introduced me and the man put out his hand to shake it.  I rubbed and slid my right hand across my clothing to no avail.  The man kept his hand out and I said apologetically ‘sorry my hands are still wet from the bathroom’ but he still kept his darn hand out. 

So what do you do?  Do I completely recoil from his hand as I just couldn’t shake his hand with soapy goo.  How rude that would have been.  So without thinking, I jumped up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  I looked to my right there was his wife glaring at me.  I thought ‘what do I do now?’  so I thought I would just continue kissing right on down the line.

Do you know what she said in her booming theatrical sounding voice: “And so whom am I kissing?”  

Mr G told me when we sat down in our seats that he was a recently retired Magistrate and that was his wife.  Ooooophs!

Lesson learnt!!!  Make sure hands are completely dry before leaving the bathroom!!
 

LUNCHTIME CONVERSATION

A couple of weeks ago Lana and I joined Roslyn Motter for lunch, and we thought we would write about ‘what women talk about’.  For instance Roslyn relates her wedding reception story. 

She said: It was a complete disaster from beginning to END.

For the reception we booked out an Austrian restaurant in Darlinghurst. Arthur was Austrian and he did warn me about a custom where the bride gets kidnapped by wedding guests.

You have to find out what happened next,

WOMEN WHO MARRY YOUNGER MEN
DIE SOONER!

Did you know that if you marry a younger man this may shorten your life?  When I read that I thought, well, that is a pretty shabby outcome for such a self satisfying accomplishment!!!!

Apparently there has been a study carried out by Sven Drefahl from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany and he’s got the evidence!

But do you know what is really rotten; the study says that men who marry younger women live longer.  The reason for that is women do a better job of looking after men than they could do themselves. 

Mr. Derfahl examined the records of two-million Dutch couples and found that a seven to nine year age gap between a husband and wife caused a woman’s mortality rate to increase by 20%.

But hey, if you are a man who has married a much younger women, you have just prolonged your life by 11%. 

“Researchers aren’t sure why there is such a big difference in mortality rates between the genders. But Mr. Drefahl theorizes women may die younger due to the stress of their marriages appearing abnormal in society.”

How I laughed when I read that!  ONLY a man would think that! 

Women who marry younger men are ecstatic not miserable!!! 

The only reason they would die sooner is because their lousy younger husband is having an affair with someone younger than himself!  That would be the thing that would kill them.

Oooh Lah Lah – the only winners here seem to be the men!

But at the end of the day the study tells us that married people still live longer than single people and women in general live two years longer than men (unless we marry a younger one that is!).

If you would like to read the source
Click here   

WHEN THINGS HAPPEN,
WHY DO THEY HAPPEN? 

                       The spectacular view

I was in the USA last year, so it is probably safe to tell you a strange little story about my visit to Yosemite.  It is one of those odd things that happen in life that you can’t seem to fathom the reason why!

So starting at the beginning we arrived at the entry of Yosemite National Park and emerging from the tunnel to the mind blowing view down the valley.  Spectacular.  
 

         Yes, I really was here 2009

We drove deeper down into the park surrounded by falling autumn leaves.  Drool away at this is paradise.  It’s picture postcard.  After visiting the park headquarters we decided to take a walk. 

                    Autumn - just bliss

We parked the car.  Mr G had to put on his walking shoes and was fiddling around with his camera gear and so I said I would walk up the path and take some photos.

This is when my visit to the most glorious National Park in the world came to an end.

No, I didn’t die I am pleased to say, although a nicer place to do it could not be found.  No this was a moment in life where things go haywire and result in the weirdest situation you could possibly imagine.

When I stepped out to take those photos Mr G disappeared.  

Well, it is true I saw the top of his head moving through the car park between the cars and since I had no idea where the walk began, I thought I would take a short cut and catch him where I thought the walk would start – on the other side of the car park.
This was wrong, wrong, wrong.

When I got there Mr G had simply vanished into thin air.  Darn where was he.  I walked back to the car thinking he would come immediately back to find me there.

Isn’t that what you do? 
Isn’t that what you tell your kids to do? 
If you get lost you go back to the last place they saw you and hey presto….you are not lost!!! 

I waited for about 10 minutes but no Mr G.  The car park was next to a long bitumen loop road so I decided he must have walked down the road.   I decided to walk that way.  After walking along it for about 15 minutes I thought maybe I was walking in the wrong direction and decided to return to the car.  No Mr G. 

Where was he!  I knew he had been talking about walking up a rock but I did not know the name of the walk or the rock for that matter.  Why had I not taken more notice?  No one I met could tell me exactly where a ‘rock walk’ was but there were walks further along the bitumen road they said next to a bridge. 

I had no watch, no money, no water and no Mr G.  But at least I knew where the car was.  This was indeed something!  Really it was!  I decided to walk the 2 kilometres to the bridge. When I got there Mr G was nowhere in sight.  I thought I should go straight back to the car because I was worried he might by then have returned to the car.

         Happy Isles!!!!  Yes I remember the name well!!

I walked to the bridge and back to the car at least 8 times.  You might like to ask what I was thinking while I was walking up and down.  Well, the truth is, it was disbelief really.  I couldn’t believe that I was putting so much effort into trying to find Mr G and he was obviously not bothering to put in the same effort. That’s what I was thinking!!!  But I was not angry, more intrigued rather than anything else.

Finally after hours had passed and it was well into the afternoon, I thought I should at least try to do some sort of walk as all my time in this divine park so far had walking up and down a bitumen road.  So I walked to the bridge again and began one of those walks to ‘somewhere’.

After strolling along for about 10 minutes Mr G came bursting around a corner towards me.  I was shocked to say the least.  I am sure he must have been too!

‘Oh so this is where you were’ I said.  ‘Why didn’t you go back to the car when you couldn’t find me”.

‘I thought you were out in front of me' he said.

‘In front of you! I didn’t even know where the walk was, you had the map, and when have I ever disappeared off so far in front of you and not stopped til you caught up.  I actually like to walk with you'. That sounds like an angry mouth off but it wasn’t.  Really!

As it turns out it was apparently my fault for ‘disappearing’ at ‘takeoff’ and try and tell Mr G otherwise!!!! 

Honestly though, I was just happy it was me who was having a ridiculous time as you know what men are like!  At least he was doing something he had always wanted to do. 

It had always been a dream of his to go to Yosemite.

  It's all about mirrors or mirroring life!

So nothing else was said and it was like ‘well what are we doing next?’   We went on to do a walk to the Mirror Lake which was rather lovely but not very spectacular and this amounted to my Yosemite highlight!

        That 'rock' is more foreboding than it seems!

I couldn’t stop laughing to myself though when I thought about that the person who drove the shuttle bus around the loop.  He must have wondered what in the dickens I was doing as everytime he made the loop, there I was walking down that bitumen road yet again. 

I did meet some interesting people on the road I would otherwise never met and I was put on high alert once when a panic stricken woman raced by with her two little fluffy dogs  screaming there was coyote loose in the camping ground right next to me!  That added a bit of drama I must say!

So I wonder why this event happened.  We have a fantastic relationship and were enjoying our holiday immensely.  

I think it must have been divine intervention! 

You see, Mr G says he gets fed spiritually by his connection with the bush.  That is when he feels his closest to ‘God’. 

So I am thinking that ‘God’ must have decided that Mr G needed a good old download, without distractions!     

Mr G will be horrified when he reads this because it confirms his reckoning that I have a long memory for unsavoury things! Gulp! Apparently I do!

I think I should be awarded a prize though!!!!  For thinking of the 'divine intervention theory' for one!!!

LANA’S WISE WEEK

It time to say Hello to Lana now and check out how she enjoyed her Mother’s Day and so much more.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

I could dedicate this quote to me this week I think!!!!! 

When I read it I could not stop laughing, but tinged with embarrassment!!!!!  I hope it make you smile as well and you never know, you might be able to throw it into your conversation to – only if you need to that is!  But maybe you are better at making calls than me!

If The Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me. 

 Song title by Jimmy Buffet

Have a fabulous week everyone

Love Gigi

Hello There Wise Women,

Mother’s Day is celebrated this Sunday in Australia and so I thought I would pass this little poem onto you….

M is for the miracle of being.
O is for its origin in love.
T is for the tenderness of seeing.
H is for a home no wind can move.
E is for the ecstasy of living.
R is for the recklessness of giving.

Isn’t that just the most perfect encapsulation of ‘mother love’? 

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all Mother’s!  For me and those that have also lost their mother’s – it is a time for remembering and receiving hands on love from our own children, and for those with mothers still around, cherish and love each beautiful second you have them.

 My beautiful mother xx

What goes around, comes around……..Make your ‘mother circle of love’ a rich one.

BABY BOOMERS EXPO

This past weekend was Baby Boomer Weekend!!!  Yes, a big Hello to all the gorgeous women I met at the Baby Boomers Expo at the spectacular Darling Habour in Sydney, starting on Friday right through until Sunday afternoon.

Lana and I had a ball meeting so many of you.   What a wonderful and varied group of women you are too.  Of course you were keen to jump on the web and visit us because here you are!!  Hi!! 

          Speaking with some very wise women

We hope you will all remain connected and keen to contribute to Wise World.  I was thrilled to chat and find out a little about your views on the ‘wiser woman’ issues too. So absolutely fascinating, eye opening, hilarious and heart-warming… 

I want to particularly say Hello a very special woman I met during Expo.  Yes, Rhonda, I mean you!  I just want to let you know I am thinking about you and hope that time really does ease the pain.

Lana and I were only too happy to chat with all those passing by and I think most people were shocked we weren’t selling anything and we even offered a fabulous competition prize at our stall. 

Cathy Wagstaff, Editor of Signature Media picked the winner

A huge thankyou to Cheryl and the Starshots team at Darlinghurst for their very generous prize a $1000.00 Starshots experience and the winner was R Nagy.  Congratulations.  Lana and I know you will have a wonderful time at the studio and get your dream photo as Renae and Emma will certainly look after you. 

And for all the women who missed out, we are so sorry we couldn’t offer everyone the winning ticket, but we hope you will consider a visit to Starshots yourself for a simply gorgeous photo experience.

GLAMOUR SHOTS EXPERIENCE

           The Star Shots Team

Lana and I enjoyed at day at Star Shots Darlinghurst recently and put together an article for you so you can see how the day actually unfolds.  It absolutely worth doing as you end up with photos that you might have dreamed about.  

We transformed from bare faced to beautiful, see for yourselves......

PARKING TICKET DRAMA

SO VERY GIGI!

On the final night of the Expo, after packing up all our goodies and putting them in the car, I went to pay for my parking ticket.  I retrieved my change and receipt but I didn't take the ticket from the pay parking machine which was located at the Hall exit.  When I arrived back at the car Mr G asked me where it was.   Blood drained from my face and before he could work out what had happened, I was out of the car and racing back towards the parking machine.

Strangely enough I recognised one man who had been in the long queue.  He was putting things in his car by that time, and I asked him if he had seen my ticket.  He said ‘There was man was in front of me, I think that him there in that blue car’ he said as he scanned the car park.  WOW What a memory! 

The man in question though was driving towards the exit barrier so I raced after his car for all I was worth. 

Banging on his window I spluttered ‘Did you find my ticket in the machine?’

Well, what do you know!  He told me he had put it on top of the machine!!!  Can you believe it!  He put in on top of the machine!  Oh YES!!!

I sprinted back across the car park totally unaware Mr G was causing havoc as he sped up and down the parking station trying to catch up with me.

And blow me down, for all the honest and wonderful things that human being was, the ticket, my paid parking ticket, was sitting way up high on top of the machine. 

I would have dropped to my knees in thanks there and then except for the fact that Mr G screeched to a stop beside me.  I cannot bear to think of the ramifications that lay ahead in our car if that lost ticket had really been lost! Ouch!

But at the end of the day it would have only been repaying the ticket and some loss of personal pride that I had been silly enough to leave it in the machine!!! 

Why am I telling you this!!!!

Well, it is just so you know we ALL do these sorts of things, that's why!!

THE BIG WEDDING ADVENTURE

Last Thursday I set out with my sons, daughter-in-law and granddaughter to the airport destined for Airlie Beach  Airlie Beach is an exquisite coastal haven situated way up the Queensland coast.  (My G was coming up the next day).

      Wet weather welcome

Our plane arrives on Hamilton Island (one of the two airports available) to light rain and overcast skies.  Oh No!!  We are up here for sunny skies.  This did not dampen our spirits though! We were here for Bri’s & Daniel’s marriage. 

The good thing about flying direct to Hamilton Island is that you can enjoy a pleasant hour long ferry cruise to Airlie Beach, (what a great way to start the holiday) which also includes a bus ride to your accommodation. 

Gorgeous Airlie Beach - who wouldn't want to holiday here!

We were staying at the Airlie Beach Penthouse at Toscana Apartments.  The blurb said there was an uphill walk from town and this is so, so true!!!  We were rewarded with a glorious view from the grand balconies was worth any inconvenience, absolute magic.  We divvied up the bedrooms and decided we should stock up the kitchen.  Well, of course downhill was a dream but as we staggered back from the shops laden with food and alcohol, we knew we would keep in shape no matter what we consumed. 

      Cocktails and champers in the pool for the girls

It was 6pm and my daughter insisted we head back down to town to ‘meet Daniel’s parents’.  At this point, we had hardly eaten and thought a few drinks would be appropriate!!!!  Back down the hill we were in exuberant spirits when we burst through the restaurant doors.  We ate and drank and after a few hours we struggled back up the hill again.  Could this hill really get the better of us!  Hmmmm, starting to think so!

WEDDING MORNING:  We walked down the hill to my daughter’s accommodation to deliver the short veil I had made and to wish her well.  Her ‘brother in law to be’, a hairdresser fortunately, was busily styling her hair, so after a few photos and introductions we left them to it and walked back through town and up that darn hill and it was there and then that Miss C refused point blank to scale it on foot again.  Her daddy knew he was up for maximum workout from now on!

Mr G arrived at Proserpine airport and was at our apartment by 1.30pm.  By 3pm we were geared up and a maxicab ordered. 

Pre marriage - my beautiful daughter

The door opened to my daughter’s room and there were all these people decked out in their gorgeous clothes except Bri.  She was complete with makeup, hair and veil but still wearing her jeans and top.   We didn’t think the wedding was going to be THAT casual!  I was given the honour of zipping her into her beautiful dress and shed a quiet tear….  Then out into the gardens and the music began.

                         The Clan

Mr G and my beautiful daughter, a vision to behold, walked across the lawn and onto the white carpet.  Mr G resplendent in his kilt and looked very handsome I must say.

The ceremony was gorgeous, the bride and groom looked blissfully happy, the weather remained dry.  

The reception was held on the Jetty…..absolutely stunning and so utterly tropical.  The food was excellent, the music had us dancing and before we knew it the whole event was over and we were back in the minibus…….no hill climbing this night!

The bride and groom left for Hamilton Island for their honeymoon.

Late into the night the 'penthouse revellers'  are having the time of our lives.

POST WEDDING:  ‘The penthouse revellers’ organised an ocean rafting tour on the Sunday.  It was an all day affair and we left the jetty at 10am on our Ocean Raft.  This boat held about 28 people, had rubber sides and a couple of posts with a roof above.  We were a bit worried how Miss C would endure this all day experience of being out on the high sea in this flying boat and we were about to find out.  The captain threw the boat into a couple of jet boat type turns and we knew we were in for hours of fun especially as Miss C screamed with delight……so far so good.

                  Happy families set for adventure

We were on our way to pickup the Day Dreamers (those staying on Day Dream Island).  Will, our boat tour guide told us we might see mermaids and Miss C leapt from her seat with excitement.  Around the corner of the island there they were…two huge mermaids sitting on a rock.  As we waved and cheered at them, Miss C was goggled eyed. 

                      Out to the open seas........                  

We were now on our way to our first snorkelling spot but the weather was not good.  In fact it was pouring with rain and because we were speeding at about 60 kilometres, the rain came in horizontally under the roof and was splicing into us.  It was almost unbearable.  Tropical acupuncture was Will’s turn of phrase and he was not wrong.  We were handed big yellow raincoats and we laughed hysterically beneath them the more the rain came down. 

It seemed so ridiculous to be huddled under these raincoats drenched to the skin, practically whiteout, if you were game to look out from the raincoat, and bouncing along at breakneck speeds.

I yelled across to Beautiful who was sitting next to me, “If the boys had booked this trip they would have been dead meat!!!”  For what seemed like an eternity of pouring rain we arrived at our first snorkelling spot exhausted from laughter. 

     The stinger suit family - The Doh, Sweetie & Miss C

With extreme difficulty we donned our stinger outfits.  These are lovely lycra ‘all in ones’ that define every lump and bump on the body and I was definitely keen to see Mr G all decked out!!  I was personally wondering how I could keep sucking in my stomach.  Boy oh boy we looked hilarious.  Will gave me the royal treatment of lowering me into the water with a long tubular floaty, no big hefty splash for me, and I was ready to snorkel.  There were millions of little fish and even Miss C in her overlarge stinger suit was paddling around happily with her mum and dad. 

Back in the boat and we were onto the next snorkelling location, Mantaray Bay. It really was beyond our wildest dreams.  When we jumped in,Will tossed in fish food.  Hells Bells, he said the fish were big but some of these were huge.  Some were at least two metres long and zoomed around us as they honed in on the food.  The Doh was bitten across his fingers as one enormous fish snapped for some morsel (I thought only sharks had teeth!) which had the rest of us in fits of laughter….well, better him than us! 

Miss C was over it by that stage and happily went back in the boat with Will.  She sat up on the seat in safety, eating a mars bar and waving to us like royalty.  This snorkelling location though was a brilliant one due to the variety and numbers of fish swimming through our hair and between our legs.  So amazing, utterly brilliant!!! 

        Picnic Whitehaven Beach Style

Back on the boat and the promise that there would definitely be sun on Whitehaven Beach actually proved true, even if only for the time it took to eat our lunch on the gorgeous white sand.  But as the day would have it, the clouds thickened up some more and it became quite cold.   Still in our stinger suits we jumped into the warm water next to the boat and wallowed like weird colourful fish.

  Miss C on Whitehaven Beach - checkout those clouds

Then we marched up the beach, past the millions of colourful little crabs and up the bush path to the lookout.  Any uphill path was a mere nothing to all of us at this point and then the rain came down in buckets again.  Laughing hysterically at our crazy situation we arrived at the lookout where the whole beach opened out before us.  If you are up this way, this is a must, rain, hail or shine!

 Totally satuated from the rain, we take in the view

By the time we reached the boat again we were black from head to toe with the flicked up mud from our thongs (flip-flops).  The ride back to Airlie Beach was loads of fun as our driver looped and swished the boat from side to side.  It was exhilarating and there was no way anyone was going to have a cat nap…….we dropped off the daydreamers, waved to the mermaids and before we knew it, we were back at the jetty. 

Wow what a day out…super.  A home cooked BBQ and warming drink or two awaited us back at the penthouse.

The next day we had to leave at midday so it was back on the ferry to Hamilton Island, and as luck would have it, it was a beautiful sunny day.  Of course it was!  The only mishap was Mr G fell down the ferry stairs and arrived home battered and bruised. But at least he didn’t break his back because that would have really ruined the holiday!

                        Bye bye Airlie Beach

So what a great way to do a wedding, hassle fee and set in a divine location where we were duty bound to have a holiday!  WOW, thanks Bri and Daniel!

ANTARCTICA

 Ice is the order of the day

Our wonderful travel writer Roslyn Motter has been on the job again.  Since I met Roslyn I have been dying to find out about her trip south and now it is here for one and all. 

I am so taken by the whole experience, I want to go!!!  Yes I do.  I received hundreds of photos from Roslyn but I am afraid I couldn’t put them all up.  As time goes by I shall enter a few more for you to drool over. 

Roslyn also shared the whole experience with Mumsy who is one hell of a woman.  She had her 79^th birthday on this trip, so it is never too late to experience anything and she is proof of that.

And I am sure the cruise was all the better for having Roslyn on board too, I am sure she would have made the trip……..check out her adventure here 

MY WEEK

Although I have not stopped running for weeks I am still on my fitness campaign, or at least trying.  I have missed a couple of my gym sessions but my saving grace has been the protein bars.  For three days during the Baby Boomer Expo, I drank shakes in the morning and ate bars at lunch time. 

I must admit to being ravenous when I arrived home though, which I put down to total fatigue and lack of mental control.  Even if I did eat half a bottle of gherkins, or an enormous carrot and half a dip before dinner, I was deperately searching for a hit of energy which probably should have been sleep. 

Never underestimate how the power of sleep can heal you. 

But I had a husband who had been wife deprived and who was even abandoned on his birthday no less, sleep was not an option.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mr G and we did celebrate at a fantastic Italian restaurant to so all was not lost! 

And guess what, even with my slips and slides, so far I have lost 16 pounds.  It is such a thrill I can’t stop smiling!

PETS LAP UP FIVE STAR ACCOMMODATION

– I HOPE!            

It cost a fortune over the wedding weekend but they are still alive!  Gosh, leaving your pets behind on holidays is a very expensive business, isn’t it! 

And if they are over 12 years old (and they are), hey folks, it is an extra $4.50 a day geriatric fee.  Have you ever heard of such a thing! 

And we were slugged with the long weekend fee (which incidentally incorporates the days on either side of the long weekend!)  The dog and cat can’t tell me how they were treated so hopefully they were upgraded to air-conditioned accommodation or something due to their advanced years…I will never know!!! 

While at the expo I noticed a Pet Minding service that costs nothing. What a fantastic thing for those that cannot get away because of this large added expense.  I am definitely looking into that next time.

I found this one on the internet, but do your own homework and look for something that might suit you.  Check it out completely though before you sign up.

LANA’S WISE WEEK

I really enjoyed the Expo as I got to spend three fabulous days with Lana spreading the Wise Women word. We had a great time meeting and greeting thousands.  Check out Lana's world this week

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK

I thought I would throw a little serious something your way this week. 

Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error;

Change – this is the rhythm of living. 

Out of our over-confidence, fear;

Out of our fear, clearer vision and fresh hope;

And out of hope, progress.    

B. Barton

Actions stations ladies, if you carry out those wise words, your world is about to change.

Until next time