AT THE END OF THE DAY

Good Afternoon from Adelaide, where today has been cool and cloudy and generally very quiet because it has been a Holiday for Australia Day and I have taken the day very quietly and certainly not achieved as much as I would have like to.

So..... I am telling myself gently that I did the best I could today and that there is another day tomorrow.

I didn't have any rigid plans, but I did stay in bed later than I normally do and I think that got me off on the wrong foot and I was chasing my tail for most of the day.   

I did manage a visit to the Pharmacy for some medication and a trip to Baker's Delight for some lovely bread and scones and I caught up on some internet things, but I certainly didn't push myself as hard as I normally do - it was after all, a holiday  :) 

Our weather is deliciously cool and very mild for this time of year and this suits my Farm Family as they are shearing today and tomorrow and that is very hot work.

There is an Australia Day march through Adelaide late this afternoon, finishing at Elder Park on the banks of the Torrens and during the evening there will be a concert and fireworks display to celebrate Australia Day. 

These pictures are of Elder Park where the celebrations will be this evening - a pretty park by the River and especially pretty at night.

I will be able to hear the fireworks from my home and it will bring a special day to a close.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart - a proud and happy heart today.

I am English by birth and Australian by choice and happy to be part of the celebrations.

Love and hugs,

THURSDAY AND A VERY LATE POST ON THANKFUL THURSDAY.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xezOh6ftxP8

Day is Done - Peter Paul and Mary

Good evening from Adelaide - late in the day for me and I really don't know where the day has gone - we had a beautiful sunrise this morning and the day has been warm, but it is very overcast now and they tell us that we have rain on the way.

I tried to find an end of day song to play with this post and rediscovered this gem from Peter Paul and Mary - Day is Done - I remember it very well and can recall sitting in a coffee lounge in dim light and with a group singing this and joining it.  Lots of memories there.  I loved the group and their music and often play it still.

I have been shopping today and cooking for tomorrow night's birthday celebration.  I have been the Birthday Fairy and wrapped the gifts and I feel quite organized.

I can't believe all those years have passed since I went off to hospital at midnight after a very uncomfortable day and waited for things to really start happening.  Rebecca was born at 1.05 in the afternoon and has brought more joy to us than I could ever have imagined.

I am proud of the lovely young woman she has become and the lifestyle she has - she is happy and that is all I could ever have wished for.

Looking at both girls - I have trouble remembering where the years have gone - wasn't it yesterday when they were young?   No Linda, it wasn't - they are grown and have their own lives and I have lovely memories.

I have to collect the birthday cake in the morning and have just listened to the weather forecast and they are saying that we will have a warm night tomorrow - very nice for barbeque.

Life is good and I have made many on line friends with whom to share the journey of my life.  Many of them are also liver transplant recipients and there is a wonderful healing in being able to share similar stories and to support each other and as today is Thankful Thursday I am thankful for the technology that gives me the opportunity to access people half a world away.

I am thankful for these family times when we can gather as a family and celebrate the special day of one of us.  Food, wine, music and laughter - a wonderful way to complete the business week and ease into the weekend.

What plans do you have for your weekend - are you celebrating something special?   Just getting together is special enough to celebrate your lives.   If you can't get together - make a phone call or connect via the Internet and remember to be sure that those you love, know that you love them.  

Have a wonderful night/day and celebrate love and celebrate life.

Love and hugs,

Linda. 

THE END OF THE DAY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pigh8VHr-ZE

The Day Thou Gavest Lord Is Ended

The Choir of the Abbey School - Tewksbury

The day Thou gayest, Lord, is ended,

The darkness falls at Thy behest;

To Thee our morning hymns ascended,

Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.

We thank Thee that Thy church, unsleeping,

While earth rolls onward into light,

Through all the world her watch is keeping,

And rests not now by day or night.

As o’er each continent and island

The dawn leads on another day,

The voice of prayer is never silent,

Nor dies the strain of praise away.

The sun that bids us rest is waking

Our brethren ’neath the western sky,

And hour by hour fresh lips are making

Thy wondrous doings heard on high.

So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,

Like earth’s proud empires, pass away:

Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever,

Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.

I am late today - the weather here has been glorious and for a good part of the morning I was out and about in it. Sunshine and blue sky (not a lot of warmth in the sun) but it was lovely.

I did some shopping this morning early, collected some flowers and went to visit a dear friend whose husband died last Sunday.

She is in care because she has Motor Neuron Disease and cannot do very much for herself.  She needs lifting, showering and dressing and right now her heart is broken and she is afraid.

We spent the morning talking about times gone by, lovely things that are important to her.  We laughed and we cried and tomorrow we will support her as she says her final goodbyes,

These things are all part of life but it was hard for me to see her thus.  What I see  before me is a little lady who is very frail and I sense her fear and on this Thankful Thursday I give thanks for the input she has had in my life and the kindnesses she has shown me over the years.  I am thankful too that she is receiving excellent care from lovely staff and that her room is pretty and filled with her photographs and trinkets.

It makes me thankful for all that I have and all that I can do.  I can go shopping, I can drive, shower myself and dress myself and don't have to be lifted for even the basic of human needs.  She has a motorized wheel chair and can travel by access cabs so next week we are going to have a shopping excursion to buy her some new underwear - and we are going to have coffee out too.  I will meet her at the shopping complex and be sure she is back safely in her cab after our excursion.  Such a little thing to do for someone who has done so much for me.

I am off to bed now to try to get some sleep as it will be another big day for me tomorrow, but I shall attend this service with a grateful heart and give thanks for the man I was proud to call friend.

Farewell Jim you were a good man.

Wherever you are - give thanks for your friends and the kindnesses they show you and store the memories because they will serve you well.

Thank you for visiting the Musings from My Heart.

Love and hugs,

Linda