I have Chilli withdrawals…

Sometimes you find a book that touches your heart.  A book that draws you in and transports you into another world….another time…another place, so much so that you really start to feel like you are part of the story.  This is exactly what happened to me with this book, The Essential Ingredient….Love by the very talented Brisbane writer Tracy Madden.

This book is filled with love without being at all soppy…but enough to make you get a warm and fuzzy, contented feeling whilst reading it.  The other thing that it is filled with is *the* most amazing food.  Many times while reading I could feel my mouth watering as I imagined that I too were about to share in the incredibly sounding food that was being shared throughout the story.  There really is something for everyone in this book, laughter, love, tears, travel, food, drama…Tracy has managed to weave it all into the magic of this book.

After I became engrossed in the story it really did start to feel that I was a part of the amazing “Chilli’s” life and I was hurriedly turning the pages to see what was going to happen next yet at the same time never wanting the story to end.

This is Tracy Madden’s first book and in my opinion she is onto a winning formula here and I *cannot* wait for her to finish her next novel.  Tracy has a gorgeous website that you must take a look at The Essential Ingredient Love where you can share in her blog and in some of the tantalizing recipes from the book.

There is a warning on the book that read..”Warning..this book will leave you with a passion for the finest of food and the love of your life.”  Obviously I should have heeded the warning..I was hooked from the very first page.

Entering the twenty-first century..at last!

It’s a miracle!  At last we have been dragged kicking and screaming (not) into the twenty-first century.  Now as you know I adore living where I live but the one downfall of it has been that we have been unable to access any broadband service and have been surviving for the last five plus years by using dial-up.  But yesterday that all changed and we were finally able to activate our account and believe me a whole new world has opened up for us.  Besides the fact that people will now be able to actually speak to us on the telephone without the line being tied up with the dial up service, now we will be able to actually look at the photographs and pictures that people have on their Facebook pages…wow..some of you look nothing like I expected..Bwhahhaha!

Yesterday while setting up the broadband service I found myself having to ring the “help-line” to get some assistance.  While speaking to the very helpful lady on the phone, my cow Lucy was busy bellowing at full volume trying to make me aware of the fact that she wanted her dinner and she wanted it now!  It must have all got too much for the help-line lady and she asked me what the noise was.  I explained about my spoiled pet cow and she said, “Oh yes we have a similar kind of thing here (Lord only knows where “here” is)..but we call them water-buffalo”.

Hmmm..now I am not complaining at all about the service provided by the help-line water-buffalo lady or the broadband itself..in fact they were/are both amazing..but Please..what is wrong with employing Australians to provide help-line service to Australian customers?

Moooooooooooo!

As most of my friends already know, I suffer from several chronic illnesses (Lupus, Rhuematoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia..to name a few ) but we can now add another diagnosis to the list (well it is a self diagnosis but a true one ..believe me!)….

Now I am also suffering from  Abibliophobia – the general fear of running out of reading material.

Honestly this is a fear that I do suffer from.  Frequent visits to the library ( that is three different local libraries..think I have a problem?) try to keep my addiction fed along with updates to my e-reader and then of course we add in magazines and the daily papers…

I am sure that many of you will also be suffering from this condition as many of you enjoy reading as much as I do.  Personally I can blame my mother for this ailment.  I am totally convinced that Abibliophobia is hereditary and she is the one that passed it down to me.  We both seem to come over all shaky and clammy when we are coming to the end of a book that has such an engrossing story that we never want it to finish.

The latest offering that has kept me (and Mumsie) glued to the page is written by our very talented friend Ian Mathie.  Ian has written several books…all of which I have thoroughly enjoyed but there is something extra special about his latest one..”Man in a Mud Hut”.

Ian and Mungo

If you love a good read then you really should track yourself down a copy and lock yourself away and be prepared to be transported to another time and place.  Soon you will be as addicted as I (and Mumsie) are too Ian’s books and will be begging him to “hurry up and publish the next one please!”

So there you go…my latest infliction has a name and lucky for me it is very easily treated.

Now…where is my library card?

Mother Dearest.

You don’t have to look far to see that the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree do you now?

This woman is my mother….the woman that gave birth to me.

And you all thought that *I* was crazy.

I wonder what her neighbours think is going on in her house.  She lives alone and is as bad as me when it comes to animals.  She feeds the wild birds morning and night (don’t we all?) that come in to her yard and there is this crazy one sided conversation (can there be such a thing?) that goes something like this…

“Come on Boys..in you come”

“Oh hello Boys…how are you *ALL* tonight?”

“Are you hungry?…No no no you are too big off you go!”

“Get off ..come on now ..enough of that you are a naughty, naughty boy!”

She has me in hysterics just listening to her every time I visit and I *know* what is going on so just imagine what must be going through the minds of the people adjacent…**The mind boggles (Hahahha…see picture..boggles..get it?)**

Well the *Boys* all seem to be in love with her and they have even started telling all of their feathered friends too as she has trouble keeping the seed supply up to them.

Mum and I are the only two women I know who have loyalty cards for being coveted customers at the rural supply shop..all of my friends have them at jewelery and shoe shops.

*Snort*

The good, the bad and the ugly.

I am one lucky woman.

I have *the* most gorgeous and loving husband in the world universe, I live in an amazing part of the world, I have a roof over my head, food in my belly (lets not even go there) and yes, I have lots to be thankful for.

But..there always has to be a but doesn’t there?  But..sometimes I feel like life just isn’t fair.  I suffer from three chronic illnesses..Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus and Fibromyalgia and have done for over 22 years now.  Most days I try to “just get on with it”, but other days I can’t help but spend time wondering. “why me?”  These problems have robbed me of the ability to work, which I totally find frustrating.  Some days I feeling amazing and that I could take on the world and others I struggle to just get out of bed and do the bare necessities…this unpredictability of course does not make me a candidate for holding down a job and I have sort of come to accept that.  I am lucky that my husband and son are always ready and willing to lend a hand when they can see I am struggling..I have never been very good at putting up my hand and asking for help..you would think I would have that sorted by now wouldn’t you?  Another thing that I find difficult to do is to pace myself.  On the days that I feel *half normal* I somehow find myself pushing and pushing until I inevitably end up falling in a heap.

There are days that I find my self feeling robbed by these stupid diseases.  My ability to hold down a job, to be able to accept an invitation without more than likely having to cancel because it is an “off day”, the simple pleasure of enjoying being outside in the sunshine (For most Lupus sufferers the sun is their enemy), my independence, my strength…sheesh I can’t even undo a jar of vegemite or get the top off a bottle of milk…not too mention those stupid twistie tie things they have on the bread bags…all of these things and many more have all been stolen from me by my chronic conditions.

But..(see..told ya there was always a but!)

..it is not all doom and gloom for this little black duck.  If it were not for Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia, my life would be a much lonelier and less funny place.  It is through having these hideous conditions that I have met some of *the* most amazing people.  Now I am sure that you understand that I cannot possibly name you all individually but there are a few extra special people that I really need to give a special mention to…like the Marvelous Margaret, a kinder, gentler lady you could never hope to meet,  Jennifer..a fantastic and thoughtful friend, Gorgeous Gracie my lovely friend from Nooo Yawk, Krazy Kells from over the ditch whose humour is even worse than mine, Amazing Annie..an awesome advocate for Aussie Lupies and last but very far from least is Kooky Katherine who lives closest to me and is always there to lift me up when I am dragging the chain (kinda like a fork lift but funnier), always ready to help me with her amazing medical knowledge and willing to listen when I start one of my long winded whingey texts.

So..thanks Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibro..thanks a lot for these (and the many more) incredible friends that have made my world a much richer place to live in.

Argghhhh the frustration of it all….

I was recently encouraged by a well known government department Centrestink to sign up for their “Online Letter Service”..which apparently will allow me to have any correspondence from them sent to me in the form of an email, thus cutting down on all of the pointless, tree destroying, repetitive letters that seem to be delivered to my mail box on a regular basis. Great idea I decided…less crap in the mail box, fewer trees being destroyed, press a button and they are gone forever which means less landfill, positives all round from what I could see. Yesterday I visited the Post Office and what should I find?  Not one but two, identical, very thick, several page, tree destroying letters welcoming me to the “Online Letter Service”.  Is there something I am missing here?  Does “online” really not mean “online?” So glad I decided to sign up…*frustrated sigh*..thought about contacting them and telling them that I wanted to cancel my membership but the thought of all the trees that I would destroy when they sent out my cancellation letter made me think I should just learn to live with it. Ironic…much?

Bedroom antics.

Some people lust after cars, others motorbikes and boats…me..I have lustful thoughts about  a bed (my bed) with crisp white sheets with hospital corners.

Believe me though when I tell you that this really is NOT a white sheet kinda house.  Between TGH and his fetish for all things motorized (hence the constantly grubby hands) and the numerous canines and felines that seem to always find my bed way more comfortable than theirs….a white bed would not be white for very long.

When we were building this house I had constant dreams about ordering a pair of stark, white couches for the lounge room but soon came to my senses.

A few years ago I came across a sale where they were selling high quality, white, bamboo sheets VERY cheaply.  Now normally if we are within a whiff of a manchester sale I am quickly marched off in the opposite direction with strict instructions that ‘I do NOT need any more linen!’..BUT this time I was shopping alone and with the sheets marked down from $135 to $29 I had no chance of leaving them there..so I bought two sets..one for my Mum.  Now these gorgeous sheets have been sitting in my cupboard unused for all of this time and now that TGH has a new, less grubby hand, kinda job I thought that it might be safe to put them on my bed.

I made the bed up with the divine sheets and kept looking at it all day just wanting to get in.  This is something like the conversation that took place that night at bed time…

Me:  (lovingly stroking the sheets)..so…how do you like the new  bamboo sheets Darling?

TGH: *Grunt* Hmmm yeah lovely..great…bamboo

Me:  (snuggling down beneath the crisp, white hospital corners)..*sigh of contentment*

TGH:  Well you had better get up and shut all of the bedroom windows..

Me:  Why?  You know I always sleep with the windows open

TGH:  Well we might be attacked by Koala’s in the night trying to eat our bamboo sheets.

Me:  (trying to keep a straight face)…Get your facts right English boy…Koala’s only eat Eucalypts …Pandas eat bamboo

TGH:  Oh yeah Pandas ..that’s what I meant!

And I thought my only problem was trying to keep my white sheets white..It’s more than a Koala can bear bare ..I tell ya!

Quack!

Every day I put out a selection of seeds and grains for the native birds to snack from.  We have many different species pop in for a visit during the course of the day from the gorgeous, multi-colored lorrikeets, butcher birds, magpies, kookaburras, cockatoos and a large group of wild ducks.

Daily visitors

I ventured outside to put out the seeds the other day to find TUSS grinning from ear to ear.  Apparently time had passed without me even noticing and he was about to become an “Open License Holder” which allows him to get rid off the detested “P” plates that he has had to display when driving as a “Probationary License Holder”.    Well..the celebration was in full swing (literally) by this stage and there were numerous pairs of these “P Plates” being flung high, west and crooked.  Sadly one poor, unfortunate duck chose this moment to come in to land and was hit fair and square in the head by one of the celebratory plates (these are made of a light plastic of course and are not *real plates*)  Now I am not too sure who got the biggest fright, the poor slightly concussed duck or the celebrating TUSS?

The poor unsuspecting duck soon recovered with the help from an extra serving of seeds and some bread and honey and as the USS waltzed around the front paddock singing.” I am on my opens..I now have 12 demerit points to play with…..” I soon brought him back to earth by asking,”I wonder how many demerit points it is for hitting a poor innocent duck?”

Considering that it isn’t even “duck season” I think the poor old duck had a very lucky escape and what a tale he has to tell his duck friends.

No ducks were permanently harmed during this celebration…honest!

Free added crazy

For those of you that don’t know me yet get ready for some crazy old tails of life on the farm down under. These will feature “yours truly..Crazyladyfarmer”, TGH (the gorgeous husband) and TUSS (the university student son) and starring roles will be played by the many and varied array of animals that are lucky enough to call my 7 acres of heaven their home. Nothing ever seems to run smoothly here so be ready for a roller coaster ride.