“Life can be like a roller coaster with its ups and downs. What matters is whether you are keeping your eyes open or closed during the ride and who is next to you.”
~ Ana Ortega
Hi, Lovely Friends.
You may have noticed I’ve been absent for a few days. I’ll be honest in saying that these past few days have been one crazy roller coaster ride.
Usually after retreat we bring everything home to the farm, dump it in piles to sort through and pack away later and I collapse for a few days to rest and come back into a normal operating schedule. Usually it would be nap time and cafe time and outings with my boys time. This retreat conclusion didn’t go like that.
Just before retreat ended we had notifications from recent medical tests that required us to be urgently back in Brisbane for appointments early on Friday, and then again on Monday. So we dumped everything in the shed, packed some to bring back to the city, tumbled into bed for a few hours sleep and then got up in the dark in the early hours of Friday morning for another long drive.
No rest for me. Just mad rushing around.
To add to the craziness and drama, a pipe broke in our city house while I was on retreat. The upstairs toilet overflowed – soaking the carpets and then cascading through the ceiling and down the walls into the kitchen below. Neighbours turned off the water to the house and friend did a mop up of the water on the floors and benches as best she could. Ben raced back to inspect the damage, a plumber came and repaired the pipe, and an insurance assessor came and set up big industrial fans and dryers, which are still roaring away. Ben assured me it wasn’t too bad…
But all of the food in the cupboards has been soaked. All my cookbooks are ruined. The oven, the toaster, the kettle, the pots and pans and more besides were filled with a rank brown liquid that stinks to high heaven. Somehow the men missed that, and back then, when it first happened, I’m sure it didn’t smell!
So in the middle of doctors appointments we are scrubbing and sorting and doing our best to clean up. Doors are swollen shut, things have buckled and deformed and it sounds like we are living in a wind tunnel.
But anyway, here we are.
Life.
It’s a mad ride sometimes, isn’t it?
I’ll be back to blogging, answering emails and updating the Year of ME activities in the next few days, as things settle down. Sorry, but all I can do right now is ride this mad roller coaster.
Thank goodness for meditation, and for moments standing barefoot in the garden.
This morning I am SO having a coffee!!!!
Hugs and love to you,
Nicole xx
Oh Nicole you should have yelled out – Andrew and I could have come over and helped out! I hope you are doing ok but call if you need a hand xx
Sorry to hear about your merry-go-round ride, Nicole. Hope it all settles down soon. Prayers and thoughts heading your way. 🙂 xx
Nicole, I’m wishing you all the very best and hope your home gets sorted really quickly.
All my love to you! <3
Broken pipes and flooded floors and such is such a headache, and not something anyone wants to deal with. Doctor appointments can also be a headache that we don’t often want to deal with but they are necessary so we go and hope we hear something we want to hear.
Yuk how awful. I feel for you Nicole, I had a similar experience a number of years ago. Very distressing especially when you are about to bring home a frail premmy baby that has been in hospital for 3 months since birth. Hope the appointments go OK. Big ((((((hugs))))))) <3
Sorry about the pun, but ‘oh sh*t’ seems quite appropriate. Looks like a lot of tradespeople will be traipsing through your house for quite a few months. Shame about the cookbooks too. I am presuming you have your most precious books at the farm. Take care xxxx
OMG. Poor you. I hope the medical appointments went/go ok. Your poor cook books. Would you like some? I can donate just about the whole selection of Australian women’s weekly cookbooks. I hope all your home written ones are at the farm. Would you like a hand with anything? Mx
Oh dear! Time to “eat the sun” like your Aunties taught you…..
Keeping you in my prayers!
Huggles i hope the cleaning fairies come in for you to help with the mess!! xx
OMG… how annoying! Hope the Dr visits went well? Xxx
Oh nooooo!!! Good luck with everything) Thinking of you 😘❤️☕️
Oh’ how bloomin unfortunate to the maximus…but most fortuitous that you have Ben by your side, insurance, good friends & industrial fans! Yikes…hope your beloved Grandmas cookbook was not in that pile. Much Love..and more…XOXO
Sending you hugs and prayers! I hope it gets better for you quickly! You’re a saint because I’d be a mess by this point!
Sending you big hugs and anything else you need. Coffee is a great friend 🙂 xx