Ageing - how true!

Do you realise that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about ageing that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ..... . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud.. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

We have new neighbours!

 

Richard and Wendy aboard the Seven Seas 37 ketch "Charon" anchored off "Riverbend" yesterday. They are from Hobart and will sail for tropical Queensland in a day or two. The best neighbours to have!

 

Winter? What winter?

The South Coast of New South Wales is beautiful at any time of the year. Come and see for yourself!

Foster & Allen

They are coming to the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club on the 2nd of June and we, being Foster & Allen fans from way back, will be there!

Mick Foster and Tony Allen have been performing together for almost 30 years. They first toured Australia in 1983 and this will be their 16th trip down under. These charismatic singers have been performing their unique blend of easy listening and folk music and their popularity is proven with their record sale. Between them they have sold 18 million records, making them one of Ireland's biggest entertainment exports.

They are giving concerts EVERY night during their one-month tour of Australia, going from Ipswich, Nambour, the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Toowoomba in Queensland, to Ballina, Grafton, Taree, Newcastle, Rooty Hill, Revesby, Wollongong, and Batemans Bay in New South Wales, and Canberra, Wodonga, Bendigo, Shepparton, Ballarat, Horsham, Warrnambool, Geelong, Frankston, Morwell, Melbourne, and Castlemaine in Victoria, before hopping across Bass Strait to Launceston, Burnie, and Hobart, and then on to Adelaide, and Mandurah and Perth in Western Australia. My guess is they'll be sounding pretty croaky by the time they get to Perth!

Your religion is not important

Round the bend at Riverbend

We are on septic tanks here and our cottage guests' toilet has a sign on the wall which reads:

PLEASE DO NOT
PUT ANYTHING INTO
THE LOO UNLESS YOU
HAVE EATEN IT FIRST

Well, somebody mustn't have masticated well enough because things were less than 'flush' and I had to do some digging.

The digging is done and the flushing has flushed and all's well that ends up in the septic tank.

Life doesn't get much better than this!

Sitting on my boat lying at anchor in a peaceful cove, with a glass of Jacob's Creek Merlot in my hand and the radio tuned to FM Classical Music - life doesn't get much better than this!

David on Restoration Island, Horst on Uiha Island, Ron Brandt on Packe Island, "German Harry" on Deliverance Island, Tom Neale on Suwarrov: they all had their reasons to shun civilisation but I can enjoy their lifestyle and yet rejoin the "real world" anytime I want by simply driving down the 8 km to the Bay.

I may even sleep aboard "Lady Anne" tonight. With the companionway left half-open, I can watch the stars as the waves gently rock me to sleep. I have all the victuals in the galley: tinned baked beans, tinned braised steak, tinned rice cream pudding, bread, tea, coffee, sugar, and another two bottles of Jacob's Creek!

I drink to that!