Friday, August 15, 2008

A mixed bag of Friends.

Murphy's Law ~ that wonderful little quirk that says anything that can go wrong will & to every overloaded bucket, more will be added. That Murphy's Law.

So in the midst of our flu ridden epic Siano arrived. I threatened to post pics of her absconding down the jetty with jars of lemon/lime butter or better yet the tangelo/lime butter but alack & alas, she escaped the camera fiend unscathed.


She was lucky. She arrived on a Friday evening when we were all feeling a little brighter & we moved en mass into the kitchen for the butter making. Luckily it is a good sized kitchen & the girls & I are used to these co~operative efforts. We had plenty of odd sized jars as well & cooked happily. Why not? Siano was providing the chocolate! Chocolate is always good. She also brought special treats for the cat. Having 4 of her own & being cat deprived on her trips, she spoils Iss outrageously & he, 'orrible creature, snubbed her terribly because she brought the wrong treat!

At some point during the evening I completely lost my voice & if Siano didn't know it before she knows it now; We're completely mad for come Saturday morning I was back in the kitchen being supervised by Ditz as I struggled to make the regulation *to Die For* chocolate cake preparatory to the BBQ celebrations of Ditz & her leprechaun pals.


This is a bi~annual event & looms large in our calendar. Ditz & her pal share a birthday & every other year, when they visit Oz, we do a joint celebration at the little park down the front. I always do the chocolate cake. Ditz always makes a pinata. The adults eat, the kids do kid stuff, vastly improved this year as Ditz provided (LARGE) water guns as well as the pinata for entertainment. That it was freezing was no deterrent at all.

Sadly it is nearly time for the boys to return to Ireland & it will be two years before we see them again. We noticed big changes this year ~ as they did with Ditz too. Next time they will definitely be young men. As the changes happen I just hope they can keep the beautiful friendship they have always had, free of cultural, religious, or gender differences but rich in shared experiences & laughter. Ditz will miss them. For some strange reason they actually *get* Ditz. That's more than most do.

5 comments:

molytail said...

(I'm never sure if I'm pronouncing Siano's name right in my head- how *is* it said?)

Sounds like fun, despite it having been in the midst of the flu stuff ;-) ....That photo at the park with (what I assume is) the ferry terminal in the background...man, I miss our ferries. Stupid ugly bridge they went and built.

I know what you mean about the changes - it's one thing to go from, say, 5 to 7 ...the kids will be different, but...not *that* much....but from 13-15 or thereabouts, such a tremendous difference at that point in their lives...

>^..^<

Ganeida said...

11 ~ 13 has been scary: voices, bodies; they've gone from being children to teens!!!

Siano is a play on the Welsh Sian so the s followed by a vowel is always sh so Shan or Sharn ~ o. Alternatively Siano can butt in herself & tell you. ;D

Yeah, *they* keep talking bridge at us but there was a talk of a bridge before my dad was born & that's a century old now!

molytail said...

Don't remind me - I've got that 11 and a half year old here who's in such a rush to "be a teenager!!" LOL

I was thinking ahead with the 13 to 15, since your Ditz is 13 and you mentioned they'd not be back for two years -- made me think of some cousins of mine..I used to babysit them a few years ago and now the other day, the second oldest, at 15, called me to be a character reference on her resume. Gah! talk about making me feel old LOL. The drastic difference in that young lady over the past couple years is just..wow.

Maybe I can just stall Miss Cinders at 11 for a while? :-P

Thanks for the pronunciation - you don't want to know what I was doing with it in my head. Suffice to say, it was way off!

Diane Shiffer said...

thanks for the pronunciation guide... i was waaay off base (thinking it was something like see-ahn-o)

looks like a good time was had by all- wish i could have a piece of that choco cake! yummmm:P

Anonymous said...

I rather like 'see-ahn-o' -- I usually get 'shauno' or 'cyano' (which makes me sound like some sort of poison :-) )
'Sharno' is the the way it's meant to be, though.

Ganeida, may you never get me on camera (LOL).

Siano