Today I Am Grateful For...

Pets It's been great spending so much time with our pets during lockdown. Winky, the cat, took a while to get used to us being around all the time, now she loves sitting on our laps and sleeping on my legs. Luna, the dog, is thrilled to have us here, and is getting to spend a lot more time inside, and I'm enjoying walking her every day. Yondu the fish is always fun to watch and he seems to like watching me. I really love the chickens too, watching them walk around the yard and look for food, interacting with each other, and following me whenever I got outside. I miss Buckley every day, and I'm grateful that we had nearly 17 years with him, one of the coolest doggies ever.

 My new MacBook I bought a new MacBook just over a week ago and I love everything about it. It's so easy to use and the screen and the sound are great - it's not just an improvement on my old, falling apart MacBook, it's actually a really awesome computer and I am so happy that I have it!!!!

 Chocolate I've been buying a fair bit of chocolate lately when I go shopping and I love having it available when I feel like a chocolatey snack. It's cool to have a range of options too so there's usually something that is exactly what I want.

 Any time I get to spend with friends. I have obviously seen very few friends over the past several months, and never for very long. But those times that we are able to organise to see each other, for a walk, or to drop something off or pick something up, are treasured moments and I'm happy to have those opportunities.

 Baby Birds There's a Welcome Swallow nest above our back door with 2 (I think - I've only seen 2) babies in it. We sat watching the nest for ages today, the parent birds flying back and forth with food, every time they land on the side of the nest two little black heads with enormous yellow beaks pop up asking for the food. I could sit there all day and watch them - and we have a huge number of other birds in our yard at the moment, it's fascinating and mesmerising to watch them all.

 Reflections There's lots of puddles around the vineyard at the moment (we had 30mm of rain over the past couple of days) and especially in the late afternoon they provide beautiful reflections of the vines and posts and the blue sky - little moments of happiness on my walk around the property

 Early Mornings I woke early this morning (5.30) and figured I wouldn't get back to sleep so I got out of bed. I love being up as the day slowly lightens, and then the sun rises and the birds become more and more chatty. I get so much more done and am so much more satisfied with my day when I get up early.

 Hope Restrictions eased in regional Victoria today. To hear from my friends who are able to go out for food and move around a bit more freely, gives me hope that this lockdown will end soon enough and we'll once again be able to see people, eat out, go shopping where we like etc. It will happen.

 Yoga Caitlin has recently discovered the joy and peace of doing yoga, and she's found a 30 day at home yoga practice that we've decided to do together. We watch the video on her phone, Luna sits next to our mats, usually outside on the grass, Amelie joins in when she feels like it, and I'm loving doing yoga regularly again, feeling grounded and rejuvenated, and I really enjoy sharing it with Caitlin and Amelie.

 Helicopters I really love helicopters, and with a frost forecast tomorrow morning and the vines budding, we have a helicopter here tonight in case it needs to fly up and down over the vines in the early hours of the morning, keeping the air moving so frost can't form on the leaves and damage them. We saw it fly in tonight and I'm looking forward to seeing it fly out in the morning.

 Snakes I love snakes, I love watching them move and admiring their gracefulness. Today we saw a juvenile tiger snake near the dam - the first snake I've seen on the property since we moved here 9 years ago. He was gorgeous - no wider than my finger, although quite a bit longer!

 Purple Hair I've had my hair in braids all week since Caitlin dyed it, today I took the braids out and I'm so happy with the colour, it's a rich, dark purple and it looks amazing!

 Wombats I love knowing that there are wombats on our property - I see their poo each day when I walk, and sometimes their burrows, and often the trails they make through the grass. I've only actually seen 2 (Luna and I came across one a couple of months ago) before today - this afternoon Caitlin found a baby one alone without it's mother. We watched it for a while and ring Wildlife Victoria - they were coming to get it but it ran off into the field across the road. For a little, sleepy wombat it could move incredibly fast!!! And it was amazingly cute.

 Animals I've had a few encounters this week with wild animals (masked lapwings, swallows, kangaroos) and I love seeing them and observing what they are doing. Closer to home, spending time with Winky and Luna and the chickens and Yondu (the fish) is enjoyable and (although sometimes frustrating) usually soothing.

 Soup. I've been making soup on Tuesdays to use up a lot of our remaining vegetables before we get our new box each week, and it's such a comforting and tasty soup. I was making it in the Thermomix which is easy but it limits the quantity to 2L - now I'm making it in a pot on the stove and we have heaps of leftovers for lunch for the next few days too.

Tour de France Although it's later this year than usual, and there are fewer spectators, it feels lovely and familiar and I love seeing the highlights in the morning, and watching the coverage in the evenings. I always find watching the riding really mesmerising, and I'm fascinated by the scenery and the townships.

Rest I'm still quite out of condition at the moment and get tired easily. I love being able to sit or lie down when needed, and take a bit of time to recover before I move on to doing something else.

 Having a car. My car is at the mechanics for about a week, and although I'm not going out much at the moment I do like the safety of knowing there's a car here if I need it - Dad lent me his car until I get mine back and it feels great to know that I can use it if I need it.

 Electricity After losing power tonight during a massive wind storm, and not being able to cook dinner, boil the kettle, charge our phones, turn on the fan for the fire, watch TV, do the dishes, flush the toilet - all things we take for granted every day (and having to rummage in the camper trailer for lights, while out in the wind and the rain), I am super grateful to have electricity to the house again and I appreciate all the way it makes our life easier

 Ducklings Liam and I saw a mummy duck with about 6 ducklings on the dam - she ushered them into the water as we walked along the dam wall and they swam away from the shore, all trying to stay as close as possible to her as they swam. They were so incredibly cute!

Card games I love playing card games of almost any type (although team games less so). Patience/Solitaire - I know and enjoy so many variations, and I love playing games with the kids (and with their friends, and my friends, when we're allowed to see people). There's something soothing and fun and ordered about card games.

 Sharing the hot chocolate festival with friends even though we had to do it remotely. We ordered our special hot chocs and the boys prepared them together while video chatting on Doscord, and I talked to my friends while I drank mine, it was awesome.

 Multi-player Video Games the kids and I have played Monopoly on the Xbox a few times lately - way more fun and less stressful than playing it as a boardgame, somehow. The kids are all playing various multi-player games with their friends online, while chatting on the phone or Discord - it's such a great way to stay connected.

 Aldi in Healesville. I'm so glad that Healesville Aldi has opened - with Stage 4 lockdown there's no way I could have gone to Lilydale to get our groceries, and doing everything at Coles or IGA is way more expensive. My shopping trip this afternoon was soothing and familiar and now we have most of the food we need.

 Wine It's nice to have a supply of wine available - I don't drink it every day but there's always some there when I want it. Tone brought out some Noble One tonight which was an added bonus.

 Baths I had a lovely long bath today when I was feeling down, and it helped relax and sooth me. I read my book and drank hot chocolate. Earlier in the week I had a bath and lay and listened to music. The warm water always helps me feel better.

 Trampolines. I was watching Amelie on the trampolines today, she spends so much time on there and has so much fun. She jumps and practices flips, she plays games with herself and with her Pokemon and with Luna, she chats on the phone - she's so happy there and it makes me happy too. I also like to lie on them to chat on the phone, and I was jumping on them earlier in lockdown, I might get back to it. The others jump occasionally too, I am so glad we have trampolines (yes, more than 1 - 2 bigs ones and 2 mini tramps)9( (Amelie also uses Luna's bed, and the couch, as trampolines....)

 Video Calling. I had 2 video calls with friends/family today and it's such a great way to connect, especially since we can't see people in person.

 My puzzle books. I've been doing lots of number and logic puzzles over the last week - I enjoy the challenge and I always love playing with numbers. Amelie and Liam have been doing some with me as well.

 Sunny Days We have had SO many clear, sunny days in this lockdown and the last one. It makes being stuck at home so much easier when it's so beautiful outside

 Family time. It's been really lovely watching Ninja all together, all 5 of us, over the past few weeks. Occasionally we're all in the lounge room together at other times, but it's pretty rare. I always savour the times when it happens

 Having energy It's so great after weeks of feeling drained and not being able to do much, to have enough energy to walk and do things around the house and sit and play games etc

 Old friends. It's so great to catch up with an old friend (like I did today) after several years and just pick up where we left off last time

Our fireplace It keeps our whole house warm and cosy and it looks really cool as well

Snow I love snow. Lots of my friends had snow at their place yesterday so I saw lots of beautiful photos and videos. We could also see it from our yard, up on the hills beyond Toolangi - so very exciting.

Messaging I love being able to easily communicate with my friends through text messages, Messenger etc. I talked to 4 or 5 people today from the comfort of my couch, just little thoughts back and forwards, makes Lockdown a lot easier to have that contact

Cups of Tea I love a cup of tea at pretty much anytime, and lately Liam and Tony (and sometimes Caitlin) have been making tea for me - makes it even better

New Sheets. Tony put new (brand new, never been used before) flannelette sheets on our bed a couple of days ago - they are so soft and comfortable and I love getting into bed

Milk from the dairy farm The farm milk we buy is so creamy and delicious and every time I drink it I feel happy and so lucky that we are able to buy such a great product so easily

Mountains A beautiful day today and I sat for a while looking at the view of the mountains all around me - calming and soothing and spectacular

Hugs I've been missing hugs with my friends since the pandemic started, but the kids and Tony hug me every day and today when I was feeling low I got lots of hugs from Caitlin - it really really helps.

Ninja I love watching the show (Australian Ninja Warrior) and I’m so happy that I have been able to start to learn the skills myself. Looking forward to getting back to it once this is all over.

My bed It's comfortable to sleep in and it's comfortable to curl up on with a book or with my laptop or my notebooks or a puzzle. It's a sanctuary and somewhere I feel safe and calm and secure.

Having my hair brushed. Caitlin has been brushing my hair a few times a week and it’s so relaxing - almost as good as getting a massage

Sunsets. There've been some glorious sunsets during this lockdown (and the previous one). Today it was cloudy so even though I walked late in the day I assumed we wouldn't see anything. Just as Amelie got home we turned and to the North West there was a small break in the clouds, which was glowing orange and was reflected in the dam - it was gorgeous!

My phone. I love my new phone, and it’s shiny case. I love that I can talk to friends on it, send and receive messages, look thongs up, listen to music and books, play games. I really really love it.

Tony’s cooking Tony cooked a delicious kangaroo stroganoff tonight - so good! He cooks often and we’ll and without complaint and it makes me really happy

Toasted sandwiches. Tony just made me a cheese and tuna toastie and it was exactly what I needed after a headachy day.

Friends. Even though I can't see any of my friends at the moment, I've had some lovely phone calls this week, and I can keep in touch through texts and Facebook.

Firewood. It's been really cold the past few days, and having a good supply of firewood to warm our house makes it much easier. It's very cosy in here (especially with the new curtains and having boarded up the cracked windows) and I'm much happier and comfortable not being cold.

Sunny winter afternoons. We had the most glorious walk today - everywhere I looked made me happy, the green hills, the mountains, the sun on the vines, the wattle trees, the cows, the gum trees, the puddles on the ground, reflections in the dams and puddles, the temperature, the blue sky, everything!

Music Listening to one of my playlists as I walked today really helped to lift my mood.

Laughter. Have had so many good laughs with the kids and with Tony over the last couple of days (and just by myself, listening to my audiobook). I'm feeling flat tonight but laughing with the others has helped me feel better.

Pop Culture. We binged the 5 Twilight movies over the past 2 days and I am so happy that I relaxed about watching and reading and enjoying popular things. I love that the kids know so much about the things that have been big in their time, and in mine, and that we can talk about them all and are happy to learn more things about them.

Sunlight over the vines. Every afternoon when the sun shines through the vines it is glorious and I'm so happy that we live where we do

Long hot showers. This morning I had a bad headache and felt quite sick. It was heavenly to sit under the hot water and feel my body relaxing and the pain easing.

My Piano. I downloaded and printed out some new sheet music today and had fun exploring new songs, as well as working on some old ones. Relaxing and enjoyable.

Reading a good book and having time to myself (currently reading: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - finally started it after having it on my list for about 4 years)