Here we are in January

We had a good break and here we are back home again. The central west of New South Wales is a lovely place. We had a fun time at the festival and heard some great music, some from folks we have heard before and some from folks who were new to us. We managed to stay up long enough to see the new year in, but didn't last long after that. In all the years we have attended this festival we have had the occasional sprinkle of rain, but last weekend certainly made up for that. We had rather a lot of rain, in fact the grass must have grown by at least three inches in the nearly five days we spent on the hill overlooking a beautiful view of the valley.

And the wombat collection has grown by two.......there is a shop selling various trinkets and things and they had two wombats for sale...... Gulgong had a street carnival and dance for New Year's Eve, and in the car park outside one of the pubs was a strange looking contraption that, if one was so minded, one could pay good money to ride on and be thrown off. It wasn't a mechanical bull, it was a mechanical wombat - has to be the strangest thing I have ever seen - I took a photo but it hasn't yet been uploaded to the computer. Unfortunately on the way home we saw a wombat, a real one this time, by the side of the road; he/she hadn't made the crossing safely. But we could see (by the way it was lying on its back with its feet in the air) that it had been checked to see if it was a female with a baby in the pouch, and if there was a baby it would be taken out and hand-reared until it would be old enough to be released back into the bush. Baby wombats are really cute. Ugly, but cute.

Although I couldn't play guitar I attended a workshop run by a guitar maker, he makes gorgeous instruments....one of my guitars was fixed at his workshop a few years ago. And I sang a lot. So it was a good festival.

The locals in Gulgong are really nice people, they look at you when they pass you in the street and say g'day, unlike people in Sydney. We're looking forward to moving. One shop assistant even rang another shop to ask them to tell us (because we had gone looking) she had found the torch we wanted to buy, after she hadn't been able to find it. Can't see a shop here doing that......I know small towns can have problems too, but they still have a sense of community spirit which has disappeared in large places like Sydney.

My hand is slowly getting more use back although it is still swollen, I can't get my wedding ring back on yet. The nice young physio bloke told me that bone injuries can stay swollen for quite a long time. I don't yet have a grip so am still not driving the car, as I would probably a menace on the road if I can't quite hold the steering wheel. But never mind, this too shall pass.

"The Wedding Ring.
All churches at present use the ring, and vary the sentiment of its adoption to suit the customs and ideas of their own rites. A jewelled ring has been for many years the sign and symbol of betrothal, but at present a plain gold circlet, with the date of the engagement inscribed within, is generally preferred. The wedding ring, a plain hoop of gold, is used at the church. A jewelled ring is placed upon her hand by the groom on the way home from the church, or as soon after the service as is convenient. It stands guard over its precious fellow, and is a confirmation of the first promise."

Have a lovely week, may your stitches be even and your points not be too far out of whack.

Jennifer