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The break has gone all too quickly and as normally happens, I don’t feel that I have done nearly enough study. Nevertheless, the spring weather has been a delight and everything in the garden is blooming, our first flower has appeared on the passion fruit vine and the roses have made a wonderful dispay.

Willy wagtail is taking his daily bath in the fountain, the most handsome boy in the garden, he now has a big family. I call him Mayuge, because he has a fine pair of white eyebrows.

There is so much to achieve before year end that it is hard to get my head around, not only study but work projects as well. Maybe in the future there will be a plugin that attaches to the brain so that things we need to learn can just be uploaded!

So here we are at the end of the third semester, I always come to a sort of grinding halt for the first couple of days at the end of term, but today I’m ready to make a game plan for the next two weeks, so that I can attempt to catch up with all the things I didn’t quite get my head around during term time.

Next Tuesday is grandparents day at my grandaughter’s school, a day I wouldn’t miss, not that there will be many more as she is growing up and will soon be in highschool.

The weather is fantastic here in our Camelot environment, it often rains at night and is beautiful in the day. It’s great to see everything blooming, the mint has grown so high that I plan to cut some and dry it before the cabbage white butterflies get to it. In England I can’t remember anything that ate mint, but here in Australia the caterpillars love it and will eat the lush green leaves back to the stalk. The oregano, ginger and five spice have also come to life. There is nothing like those fresh herbs chopped into a salad made with spinach and rocket, yum.

Don is out in the garden hand watering the fruit trees, water is still short, even though we have had a little rain this month, August was one of the driest on record.

My day off from University on Wednesdays is like an island in the middle of the week, I welcome spending time with Don. but it always seems neccessary to cram the day with all the things that I haven’t managed to do on the other days of the week.

At least I can catch my breath and review all the homework that is due and try and prepare for Thursday and Friday classes.

Usually weekends are spent in much the same way as Wednesdays, but last Sunday I took part in a speach contest, organized by the Japan Foundation and supported by The Japanese Chamber of Commerce. It seemed a bit ludicrous for me to enter when I find it hard to string a sentence together in Japanese, but the interesting thing is that the monumental effort that it took to memorize a three minute speach, has in some way caused a mental breakthrough.

I always have great difficulty with grammar in any language, my saving grace is I am told, that I have a good ear. However one can get to rely on that too much and not pay enough heed to the mechanics of the language. Yesterday (Tuesday 5th) however, I suddenly found myself grasping bits of the grammar that had eluded me over the past eighteen months. Yae..! But before I get ahead of myself, I now have to practice, practice, practice, in order to consolidate that little advance.

I was treated with great warmth and respect after my brief performance and invited to take part again next year, which I will endeavour to do. The delightful entertainment by Curtin University Language students, was priceless. As Edith Cowan University students took out two of the three main prizes, John (who is in my class) took beginners and Andrew who is in third year, took the advance d prize, I think that Junko Iwasaki our Japanes language lecturer should have got a mention, she really is an amazing teacher. and in my case very patient too.

A very sad passing with the death of Steve Irwin this week, the planetary aspects this month, (Lunar eclipse, dramas at sea and Solar elcipse the passing of great personalities) numerological aspects (great achievements or victim of circumstance, especially for artitistic or media personalities) would seem to forbode such an event. My prayers and thoughts are certainly with his family.

to my new blog and website, time speeds along so quickly it seems, we are all caught up in the dance, so this little space represents the dots and commas of my life, because in order to keep the blog alive, I am required to pause and think for a moment. I find myself in my new living room (blog space) without a clear idea about how I am going to furnish it, but no doubt things will evolve given a little time. There is so much accumulated ’stuff’ and the first impulse is to post everything, but experience cautions me to be selective.

My desk normally looks like something exploded underneath it and the shockwave made everything land in random piles. The neat and polished desk next to mine is the domain of my extremely patient husband Don. We work in very different ways but collaborate nicely, without rancour.

I pause as Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major, permeats the room, the sound is so divine I have to close my eyes to savour it. The sun is shining, Don is working quietly on the verandah, planting things to welcome the spring, which officially started yesterday.

Watching my favourite man, listening to my favourite music, at my favourite time of year, who could ask for more? I shall pluck this bright jewel of a moment and store it in my memory chest, so that I can savour it at my leisure.