I think September was a turning point, where my holiday gave me a reset, and work changed gears, and the garden started to move from Winter to Spring. A huge joy has been sitting in my garden, and this is the first year it has been FINISHED. The jasmine has merged together and the fence is covered! as I write this, the view outside my window is a wall of white-bloomed scented jasmine, and the smell is wafting on the warm breeze through the garden and house. The sweet peas and roses and poppies have been picked and enjoyed also.
Back on the long weekend, mum and I popped down to see family at Lake Mac, and got to go on Uncle David's new boat around the lake and see everything from the water. What a nice little morning adventure on a rare nice sunny day.
I had wanted to do trivia with my parents for ages, and with Shane commuting to Maitland from Mudgee for the weekdays it was a good family social, although the usual quizmaster was away sadly.
In other family news, the parent's house is undergoing more renovation, of the master bedroom and ensuite, removal of shag carpet, and squaring of arched doors.
During October I had to dogsit Banjo twice, the most tricky time was with the builders coming and going, so I had to get there early to let him wee and eat before locking him in the back room for the day. He seems to cope OK with them being away now although it must be boring for him.
I got a bit motivated to do some tidying and culling, one area I targeted was my wardrobe! Not exciting but ongoing satisfaction from the organisation and space I now have, plus I found a lot of presents stashed away which is convenient before Christmas.
The last big organisational job for the year was the music for church camp. I agreed earlier in the year, and quickly asked my 3 other band members to join, and then locked in a practice date the saturday before camp. Then I just had to pick songs, which I did while I was on holiday in September. My musos were all so talented and experienced that we just had to have a <2 hour Saturday practice, and then just have it all written down! Most songs were basic "everyone in" arrangements but a couple we did make an effort to structure them and take turns building.
I was actively trying not to stress or be perfectionist, because it was only camp, not a conference or a christmas service or anything public. Even so I was feeling pretty anxious about personal things in the leadup, and worried I didn't have my heart in it. However, when I arrived at the site, my anxieties felt left behind. I was so encouraged to see the work people were putting into the set up and the sound and for everything to run smoothly.
We had little warmups before the sessions but didn't practice in that mad stressful way you sometimes get at camps. I really wanted everyone to have time to be with people, not missing out on half of breakfast or the social time or helping with their family or whatever. The music went WELL. The camp was obviously full of the keenest people who belted their hearts out. The songs after the talks were the perfect fit for reflecting. So many people came up with thankful feedback.
One of the things I was anxious about was a family dinner on Saturday night, and whether to miss it or go back and stay for the night. In the end I decided to go back in the afternoon, do pilates, go to dinner, but leave at 7:30 and miss out on the birthday cake. That was a good choice, and I was able to even join in the camp games for a bit when I returned. I did the dry Eno in the mouth challenge!
A bit of interest at work has been a turnover of staff. A new colleague started in my team, and we had a few in another team resign. I actually had a phone call this week from someone asking me to apply for a job, which was flattering. But that's the worker shortage at the moment. People are getting offers and opportunities.
The other thing was 4 of us tackled the 3 decades of junk in Dean's office. I'm a ruthless chucker but I have kept the physical stock illustration folders. I hope I can use them in some quirky way!
Last Saturday a few of us went down to Sydney to be at the thanksgiving service for Ros's dad. It was good to carpool and talk with Naomi, special to be at Ros's family gathering and learn about her father's life, and Dundas Uniting did a wonderful lunch.
And I am still enjoying Pilates and going as often as I can, and feeling fitter and stronger. Very nice for a change to be able to exercise regularly but not have such fatigue to recover from.
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