Dreams

"They" (being the experts) say that dreams are a manifestation of our sub-conscious. So last night I have this dream about men and women. It comes to me that the reason why men and women are unhappy is because most women marry men around their own age. This causes problems as most women mature between 20-25 and most men mature between 30-35. So a 25 year old woman marries a 28 year old man and within seven to ten years he is not the same man she married. Men should marry woman at least ten years younger than they are. This works well for women at they get the best at both ends. Firstly a mature man when they need one and when he dies average age 75. She is still only 65 and able to marry a 'toy boy' of say 55 and get about twenty good years with him. See it all works out great for women if they follow this plan.

What this dream says about me I don't know. I had another dream that I did marry my fiance. However that will not happen untill his eldest son Ross leaves home. He is 28 this July and has never left home and shows no inclination of doing so. The fact is my fiance can only afford to support one other person, beside himself, and at present it is his son.

We became unoffically engaged after three years together and officaially engaged after five years together. This June we celebrate eleven years together. So maybe one day.

Oops!

At class on Thursday Catherine asked had I bought my children's novel in for workshopping? Of course I had not! I had not even started it!!! She said she had me down to be workshopped. I did not have that note. Oops! I just smiled and said "No" but then she threw me a curve. She asked could I bring it in next week. I hummed and hawed and said 'yes.'

So I have spent all of Saturday and Sunday doing my children's book. I'm reasonable pleased with it. It's a non fiction story about an eight year old girl going on a houseboat cruise with her grandparents down the Murray river.

In class Catherine asked us to do an A B C type book with alliteration. I'm just a smarty. I was the only one out of the dozen students to finish. Though I had trouble with an 'animal' for X and had to settle for a variety of toad called 'xenopus'. I had some birds in it too.

I liked my A B C so much I finished it off at the weekend and called it "Animal Beasties for naughty Children." Note the capitals in the title form A B C! Just so good!! If I was good at drawing I would have done the illustrations. I had some really funny ones in mind! Will ask my friend Beryl, who is good at drawing to do some for me.

Holidays.

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I had intended to catch up with my private reading during the holidays as during term I am reading for 'study' purposes. But I did not pick up a book.

Instead I bought a jigsaw and started that. But the holidays ran out before I finished as I was doing the work on the non fiction project. A thousand words a day.

The jigsaw is sitting on the coffee table in Cliff's lounge room. It is covered by the table cloth. He wants to know when I will finish it as it is in 'his way'. I don't know how that can be when he has his 'work' (the newspaper and race form) on top of the table cloth. But I guess he is just being a man.

Funny thing happeded during the holidays. Keith (Cliff's youngest son, 26) moved to Morwell and took two of the dogs with him. A lady rang Cliff's house to say the dogs were in the street. Ross (Cliff's oldest son, 27) answered the phone and said "I'll put you on to dad's girlfriend." His father and I have been engaged for six years this year! and he still won't recognise it.

It's like my ex step daughter. When I was married to her father she referred to me as "my father's wife." She couldn't remove me any further from her. Strange thing is now she speaks of me as her ex step mother!!!

TAFE

My non fiction project is taught by Cora Pal. At the beginning of the year we started with three students then two more came, but ow there is just me. It's great being in a class of one. Though the feed back is not from other students at least I have the teacher's undivided attention. On top of which when she is sick, as she was today she rings and lets me know and I don't have to go in at all.

Rang St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, where I was baptised and asked for my certificate. The lady was ever so nice! Unbeliablely it was sent free of charge within four days!!

Saw the National Trust magazine, Reflections, on the web and there was an article on the old Ramsgate Baths, in Sydney. I couldn't access the article, so I rang them and the lady said she would send me a copy FREE! I used to swim at the Baths when I was in primary school (1950's).

I did what most people do on the net and Googled myself. I was there twice. The only Gloria McDougall in Australia. I appeared once from Monash University and the other was when I won the "Big Ask" competition through the library and it was in the local paper.

I tried my son Don McDougall and nearly six hundred came up! The second reference was to my ex husband and his wife Shirley and there was a picture of them, with the article. (Though Shirl's back is turned).

I couldn't find one reference to my son even though he is always in the local paper re sporting achievements. His picture was in Monday's Latrobe Valley Express 16th April, 2007.

Tried my daughter Meg and there were three references, but only the last one was her and that was an entry to her friend's Blog site. She was upset when I told her. She said it was a private entry. Blogs are not private. They are in the public domain.

I told her about my blog site, (which did not come up in the search of my name) and she has threatened me with death if I write about her private life.

Lastly tried my baby Kathleen McDougall and there were no refernces at all.

Cliff had one reference to coming last in a chess championship in 2003.

So there is still time for all of us to make our mark.

Easter

Well I have as usual enjoyed Easter. I sent cards this year. I like sending cards at Christmas too.

Birthdays deserve cards as well. It was my son Don's 33rd birthday this year.

The family gathered at Cliff's for the exchange of Easter eggs. The family began arriving at 2 p.m. Cliff had come home from the 'new' shop at Rosedal at 1.3o p.m. and he though the family had been and gone. I say he never listens and it was another proof I am right. He swears I said it was all happening at 10 a.m.

So what did he do? he went off to bed!!! I had to drag his sorry arse back out!

Then he spent the 'whole' afternoon talking to Simon, Meg's partner.

My friend Beryl Anderson, who lives in Traralgon and is doing the writing and editing course with me, came as well.

Beryl and I spent 15 minutes hiding 'small' aster eggs in the Bar-Be-Que area. When all the kids arrived they had a fun time and much laughter finding all the eggs. Only one went undiscovered . Beryl had hidden it in the bristles of the broom, but as it was upside down, it was too hight for the kids to find. We had to wait for Jess to find it. At 13 she was the oldest 'child' here.

Melissa (Kim's oldest) didn't come. She and her mother are on the outs AGAIN. Sarah went around to her place and picked up the boys. There is Jarrad, (10) who is a female version of his mother, Nathan (8) and the twins Corey and Jackson (6).

Brooke (11) Don's oldest wasn't there as she was on holiday in Queensland with her mother. Maddison (8) Connor (6) and Sammual (5) Don's other kids were there.

Kath and Nathan came witheir three girls, Kirsten (8), Talhia (4) and Jasmine (2).

Had a problem with Connor. He started to winge and cry that he didn't get as much as the older kids. The fact was all the other kids got about three eggs, but they received presents as well. Kirsten was given an easter mug. Maddy an Easter sponge with easter Bunny soap. Brooke's easter mug was to be taken home for later. Where as Connor only received Easter eggs, five to be exact. Connor said he was old enough to 'get stuff.' So I said I would keep that in mind for next year. he gave me a kiss and went off home with dad. But a minutes later he was back saying "Nan , you have to make it different 'stuff' from Sammy." I reassured him he would get different 'stuff' from Sammual.

The first to arrive were Meg and Simon and they were the last to leave.

In fact Simon wanted to stay and help with my jigsaw puzzle. He spent over an hour looking for a piece of a motor bike. The next day I dropped a piece on the floor and when I bent down to retrieve it, lo and behold, there was the missing bike bit. It is a 1,000 piece puzzle and I have abot 75% of it done.

Mostly these holidays have been spent doing my Non Fiction Project. When the holidays started it was two thousand words and now it is up to 20,000 words and climbing fast.

School goes back to-day!! Are all the mother happy out there?

St. Patrick's Day.

Even though I am adopted I still celebrate the day as both my adoptive parents were Irish. Though dad was an orange man and mum was Catholic.

My daughter Meg and a friend, Gary, (just a friend) Cliff and myself went to a local Traralgon bar that was promoting the day. Though it was six p.m. the weather outside was pleasant at least for the first 40 minutes then a breeze picked up and we went inside.

Cliff was happy as they had a 'big' screen T.V. and he got to see Carlton play in the cup final. He couldn't hear it as they had turned off the sound because of the band.

I enjoyed it because the band wasn't too bad.

Gary and Meg enjoyed it because they got to drink lots as the promotion was four beers to get a hat (male) and four ice coolers to get a hat (female).

Cliff and I 'took' the hats and proudly wore them.

I even scored a balloon as we left at 'half time' so Cliff could watch the rest of the game at home and the young ones were going to the pictures.