On this day in 1987.....(Simple friends)

I blogged about finding my old diaries earlier this month and its inspired me to keep sharing some of the great memories I discovered.  This one is a favourite for a couple of reasons:

1. The girl that gave me this letter in 1987 is now my sister in law and mother to 3 of my nieces
2. The simplicity and honesty of 6 year olds is something to be cherished
3. Colour pens were just soooo cool

In case you can't read it this is what it says: (spelling errors included)

Dear Sally,

            I have had fun playing with you and next time I will bring you to my party and if I go to your party I will give you a big surprise. 

            Yours Truly, Amanda

(Sorry I didn't do something else be I didn't no what to do)

Where has the simplicity and honesty gone?  At what age do we lose it? What would life be like if we didn't?

Imagine I said to you now, invite me to your party and then you can come to mine, I'll make it worth your while.  Just like that, straight out there!  

Dreaming of Paris

I came across this picture whilst I was searching for armchairs for my lounge room.  The chair is from Poliform, an Italian brand but this picture takes me to Paris.  Maybe its something to do with the Eiffel tower in the background

The Mighty Murray

The Murray River is the 3rd longest navigable river in the world and separates Victoria from New South Wales and flows onto South Australia.  Over the past decade we have seen it reach its lowest point as the drought dragged on and on.

Image Source: Australian Conservation Foundation

In my mind the Murray conjures up images of paddle steamers, houseboats, water skiers and fisherman who all enjoy the river and are happy to share its many kilometres.  However there has been much debate over where its water should flow and water allocations.  From way upstream in another river the cotton and rice farmers vs the fruit growers vs the government, I don't know who is right all I know is the image above shows we have a much greater problem. Soon there may be no water to share!

But then the rains came and now we are watching the news wondering which town will be flooded next.  Why do I care?  Well the mighty Murray River is now flooding the Broken Creek and it is that creek on which my in-laws live.  The water is lapping at the bridge and the army are sandbagging as I write.  The levy's are expected to hold but the wait is excruciating, I can't imagine sitting at home and wondering how much I will have left in a few days, if anything at all.  What would I save, would I stick around and watch it happen or get out now?  I don't know, I'll never know until I am faced with the questions.

As the media coverage continues our phones ring more and more with concerned friends and family.  We don't have answers though.

     When will it flood? Don't know, they say Thursday.
     How high do they expect it to get? Ummm don't know
     Will their house be affected? Again, don't know
     Are they ok? Yes at this point.
     Will the be ok? Don't know!

I really have been amazed by the amount of phone calls we have received and am so grateful that we have so many people thinking about our family at this time.  When I know something, anything I will make sure everyone knows but in the meantime we hope.

     We hope the levy holds and no-one in the town is affected.
     We hope those that have already lost homes and belongings in other towns saved what is special to them
     We hope they can recover quickly
     We hope insurance companies make it easy

But most of all we hope that the debate over water shifts to solutions rather than political arguements.

On this day in 1998..... (Meiringein, Switzerland)

I was in Meiringein, Switzerland.

Today I opened up my memory box for the first time in years and found my travel diary.  It was so much fun looking back over my memories and laughing at myself.  I always had a diary when I was younger and I shared everything (and I mean everything!).  So I thought I would share some of it with you.  Here is an exert from the 3rd March 1998:

Today Jodie & I went on a mission to find Matt.  From here we caught a train to Meiringein then trapsed around the village wondering where the hell to start but then the freestyle office looked good ....

I won't continue as the way I wrote is terrible and boring!

  

So what was I doing on the other side of the world in a tiny snow town in Switzerland?  I had not long arrived in Switzerland on my European adventure and Meiringein was where I was meeting an American skier (who shall remain nameless, there must be more than one American skier called Matt) that I had fallen for and had a brief relationship with in Australia.  I was working at Mt Buller and he was there to compete in the World Cup Aerials competition. 

Yes I know I know I can hear you now thinking it - "She left home to meet a boy", what happened?  Exactly what you would expect happened, we had a few weeks of travelling while he competed and had a great time then he had to go home and I was on my own. All over red rover.  I look back now and wonder what the heck I was thinking!!  But I would do it all over again because the next few years were some of the best adventures of my life!