Happy New Year.

Happy New Year to you all and I hope it is a good one for everyone.
I reached the grand age of 70 years today. It was a birthday there was some times I never thought that I would reach so ...yahoo, made it.
I had morning tea with my daughters which actually lasted to lunchtime. We sat and talked about all sorts of things and laughed about the past and eating all the sorts of bad food including a lovely chocolate cheese cake. I never did agree with diets anyway.
My eldest daughter gave me a gift voucher for Dymocks book store so I can go along and chose some new books. What a lovely thought. Her son, Matthew gave me a silver ring with a large Perot stone.  It is beautiful although he admitted that mum had bought it but he decided he should give it to me. Matthew is slightly autistic and 13 years old and we gave a great meeting of mind sometimes, my daughter says I am corrupting him, just because I encourage him to read Celtic Myths and lend him my books.
My younger daughter bought me some lovely bath goods and I am going to have a lovely bath and I am sure I will come out looking ten years younger. (I wish).

The floods are slowly receding although it is starting to smell badly now. Cleaning up is happening where the waters are well away, some places are going to take months to re-pair though and there is talk about that some trades won't make it trough this devastation, so many were just hanging in, waiting for a better time but they have had enough and can't manage anymore. I feel for them.
The farmers around here have lost everything. After 10 years of drought, it was good when we had the rain at the beginning of the year but just as they were about to harvest their first crop in years, the floods come and wipe everything out. It will be weeks before they can get onto their lands and start to plant again, that is if they have the money to buy the seeds.
We have been warned that food prices are going to go sky high and there will be a lot of shortages of fresh foods etc.
Ah well, let's hope we have a better year.