I have been to bed but I can't sleep. I have been remembering days gone by. Remebering when Sandy was young. Most of my memories are of her when she was young.
She had a thick mop of blond curly hair and she always skipped, I never remember her just walking. Her curls would bounce up and down but what amazed me, her hair never became untidy. Mine always looked a mess. I would brush it, pin it in place but as I turned my head the hair would go it's own way.
A few years ago, Sandy and I were talking about beliefs and we were way apart in our ways but I sent her a poem I had written and she loved it and told me that although we didn't believe in the same things the poem said what she had always felt. I will copy it here for anyone that would like to read it.

Celtic Belief.

I closed my eyes as I am bathed in warm glowing light

And my spirit soars as if I am carried on a soft gentle breeze.

I am at peace with my self and my world.

Warmth surrounds and I feel love pulling me,

Forward and backward but it is time for me to take a rest

Within the Halls of Waiting.

Calls of greetings reach out to me, friends and kin are waiting,

Arms stretch out to hold me, an air of happiness at my restoration,

Great feasting planned for my return.

Time to rest, heal body and soul, rejuvenate from the cares and pain of life,

Sadness at those left behind, maybe one day to re-meet

To drink from the Well of forgetfulness.

All to soon I feel the pull and darkness slowly closes in,

Spinning, spinning downwards, firm bands wrap around me

And darkness is complete.

It is quiet but there is a soft stirring and a new love begins.

With a rush, I emerge, a new place, a new time, new life.

So the cycle begins and continues.

I shall try to sleep now. It is 1AM and I have to get up early in the morning,

I have just had some sad news from England. My cousin Sandra died in the early hours of today. Sandy had been fighting cancer for many years starting with breast cancer about 10 years ago. Once cleared of that she seemed to be fine then a secondary cancer appeared 5 years later and so it went on. Four times she beat the terrible decease until  recently when it appeared in her back.
I visited her when I was in England recently and she was like a little shadow but was defiant that she would get better but we all knew that she wouldn't be with us for much longer and now she is at peace,
She was my youngest bridesmaid when I married in 1960. She was so happy and no one could wipe the smile off her face. She was always a happy person. I shall miss her.

Would like to start by saying thank you to the comments I have recieved about my blog, it was good that so many are willing to read what I have to say.

Today was knitting day. I have a couple of friends over and we sit and knit and chatter, some times about knitting and sometimes about our lives. We all have private troubles and it can help to talk to someone and know we will not be judged. We also encourage each other.
Some times it is hilarious like a couple of weeks ago I decided the my friends should have a go at spinning with a spindle. We laughed so much that I was exhausted. I am sure that when they get the hang of it they will have some good yarn to knit with but I am not holding my breathe yet.
Today we just knitted, well aleast a few stitches were made.  Linda is a new knitter but is determined to get there and is eager to try a new pattern every time. Marion is a nervous knitter in that she knows how to knit but is never sure what the pattern means and is so grateful when she is shown.
They think I am helping them but in reality they are helping me brcause it reminds me of what it is like when first starting out.

It is spring here and the Bottle Brush trees are coming into flower. The air is noisy with the lorikeets squabbling over the flowers. This morning I stood at my back door and 6AM watching them as the scrambled amonst the flowers and fought to get the best nectar. I laughed as I watched them, just like children fighting over a sweet or favourite toy. I decided a long time ago that wildlife is not much different to us humans. May they live for ever.

I have started a garden. Not a proper garden because I rent this unit and it only has a very small garden and landlords don't like it dug up but I have a large carport and no car so I am going to fill it with pots of flowers and vegies. It is already starting to look good with potted Azaleas, pansies, geraniums and I bought a Cynbidium orchid at market last week, it is huge so I need to learn now how to look after it and maybe get another one. I have also planted a Roma tomato, they are very low in acid so I can eat them and not get so much pain in my joints.I just work out there for a little time each day and when my back starts to ache I sit on my walker and push myself along. I manage. Then I sit back and look at everything and pat myself on the back. I hope we don't gewt any cyclones this year or everything will have to be dragged in for safety. I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

I had better close down now, the is a thunderstorm on it's way.

Valerie Lewis creates

You will soon find out that I am not very technically knowledgeable and I get lost occasionally so I hope you who will be reading this will have patience with me.

I am older than I would like to be but feel young inside. For this reason I keep away from mirrors, the person looking back is not me, I am sure of it.

My passion is knitting lace and creating designs, mostly baby dresses which can be viewed on my web page http://www.knittedlacedesigns.net/
 and I design small patterns which I sell at the local craft market.

I have three children, ten grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren all of whom are beautiful and I love them dearly.
I ran away from home 8 years ago and my husband of 42 years divorced me because I refused to return. His loss.

I love to write stories which started when my children were young and it has continued along with some poetry. Every year I take part in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) when with thousands of other writers I pledge to write 50,000 words in 30 days. It is hard going and often leads to many late nights to reach a target amount of words created in a day. It becomes harder if a day or two is lost for some reason or other. Last year my computer broken down and it was two days before it could be fixed but I made up for it and completed the alloted words. I won't say the novel was very good but I am sure that when it goes through editing and probably some re-write it will be better. It starts on Novermber 1st and all participants are waiting eagerly to start. I have an idea of a story running through my head but time will tell if it will go down on paper.