Elllllllllle – we are coming... see you tomorrow!!!!

Wednesday 11th August. We leave for Adelaide tomorrow. I am so excited about seeing Mel and Elle, but sad to leave my Mumma. Kristy, Mumma and I played cards tonight. Kristy lost (she was NOT happy). The game went until after 11.30pm – neither my mumma or Kristy would give in!!

Monday and Tuesday nights we stayed at Kristy’s parents’ house, and this is where I witnessed the source of Kristy’s competitiveness. Yes...Mark... it is YOU! Kristy and her Dad (Mark) are like two peas in a pod, both on the Nintendo Wii, both aggressively wanting to beat each other!!! It was very interesting for Anita and I to watch. I didn’t really compete, didn’t see the point when I had no chance of beating either of them. I figure... it is not real bowling anyway (I know, I know, I am only saying that because I am hopeless at the game!!).

The wedding (Dave and Sarah) was lovely. No one noticed that I had an intensely bandaged thumb (if they did notice, then they didn’t say anything). Sarah had the most beautiful dress, and Dave almost cried – ahh weddings. Kristy took a truckload of photos (check them out on Facebook). It was so nice to see everyone. Kristy looked gorgeous. Due to a major mistake with trying to book a hotel room (my mistake, and an expensive one!!) Kristy and I had to catch public transport to and from the wedding – it added nearly an hour and half each side of the wedding. Luckily I am used to PT and lucky there wasn’t any naughty people on the late train coming back from the wedding. Also, lucky for me (is it luck, or was it just forward planning??!!) that in my handbag I had squished a pair of ballet slipper type shoes, so I could take off the high heels and slip my feet into something more comfortable when I was walking and using the PT!! Yes, Linda CAN be organised sometimes!

Kristy and I have also been to see Ursula’s solo exhibition – it was AMAZING!! I feel honoured to know such a talented artist! Go Urs, Ms Shebear!

I have spoken to my darling Jake a couple of times, she is now out of hospital and doing quite well and the surgery was a success. My Jake, I think of her every single day.

On Sunday night I saw a few people for dinner and it was soooooo nice. I didn’t realise I would miss my friends so much when I started travelling, I mean, I knew I would miss them, but didn’t realise it would be so much. I crave for news from home, the goings-ons, the ups and downs, the boring bits, the new bits, the sad bits, crazy bits, right bits and wrong bits – everything!! And just seeing familiar faces. Each time someone else arrived on Sunday night, I just wanted to cry. So... to the following people who came on Sunday night... I thank you... I know it was an effort to come out on a school night, and I don’t think that any of you know how much it meant to me to see your faces. And I THANK YOU big time:

• Jodi
• Fiona and Karen
• Suzie and Theo
• Peter and Trisse
• Leonie
• Helen L
• Karen Minns
• Normie
• Shelley
• Gayle

You guys rock!!!!! I know I really didn’t get ‘quality’ time with any of you, however, just seeing your faces was so great for me.

For those of you that I wasn’t able to catch up with on Sunday night, then maybe next time – it would be lovely to see everyone next time I am here, and I will try to plan it better, making time for more people (especially you Virginia!!).

My birthday is coming up, on the 19th August. Another year finishing, another year beginning. I will be back in Alice Springs for my birthday. K is planning to make it a lovely day for me – she is such a good girl! I feel a bit sad that I won’t be with family and friends to celebrate, but I feel glad that I will be somewhere warm (hope I haven’t just mozzed myself and it turns out to be the coldest day in Alice Springs since forever!). Mel and Elle are coming to Alice on the 20th, and that will be something to look forward to, whether my birthday is hot or cold!

Thoughts, thoughts, a word on thoughts... I was speaking to a good friend the other night and we both acknowledged that we ‘think too much’. I am certainly ‘thinking too much’ tonight. Does anyone else have that problem? And can anyone tell me why the ‘thinking too much’ often involves negative thoughts?? I mean, why don’t we ‘think too much’ about good stuff????? Maybe I need to stop thinking, but it feels like ‘thinking’ is a necessary part of living, damn it!! I am very tired, so maybe I just need to go to bed and get a cuddle from K.

Let me know how you are all going – if it is too hard to comment on the blog (and I have heard it is hard!!), then send me an email. As I wrote earlier, I am hanging to hear your news (Mandy and Sue, I never realised how important it was to hear news from home when you’re away for long lengths of time – I get it now girls!!). You gals from DHS (e.g. Suzie, Robyn, Marie, Quynh, Donna, Sally) are fab for writing to me, I luv hearing how things are going at work – so TY to you girls. Jim, I am waiting to see your name in my inbox once again – come on - you can’t just leave it to the women Jimbo!