I read, I write, I roller skate.

I read, I write, I roller skate. Caroline’s thoughts, observations, mischief and adventures of the second half of life.

Happy Birthday to a fave follower (lurker?!) of I read, I write,I roller skate - RG. Birthdays are a big event in our h...
17/06/2026

Happy Birthday to a fave follower (lurker?!) of I read, I write,I roller skate - RG.
Birthdays are a big event in our house. For this one, his 57th, I decorated with a disco curtain and tea light candles on a black and silver table setting - inspo from Pinterest. 🎂
I took a little video of RG doing a birthday dance this morning and popped it up on his socials. He has managed to convince his work colleagues that it is AI. It is not AI! I don’t even know how to make an AI video! 🕺🏻
Among his gifts RG received UGGS and an oven mitt from his generous wife, which is just what every middle aged man needs!
The pièce de résistance of the day was how I organised for his photo to be on the back page of The Standard today. 🤣
Who can believe that I set my hair alight leaning over the cake to set the phone up for a photo ?. . . AGAIN! (This happened two years ago). It appears I don’t learn lessons from my misfortunes. 🔥
Sending birthday wishes to this hard working, long serving employee, loving husband, and super Dad who was hoping to get Wordle in one guess today. (but got it in 3. ) 😘

We had plans for the long weekend. We were to head to Port Fairy as we’d received a lunch invitation. On Thursday nigh...
07/06/2026

We had plans for the long weekend. We were to head to Port Fairy as we’d received a lunch invitation. On Thursday night we discovered our niece Lucy had been selected to play for the GWR Rebels so we made a last minute decision to ditch Sunday lunch (apologies to Aunty Claire ) and head to Mars Stadium Ballarat to watch the footy. Isn’t it funny how last minute plans always turn out the best? Both the kids decided to come along with us (bonus!)
and the day started off well when the barista at Starbucks wrote cheery messages on our cups.
The footy was great, Lucy did well, we spent time with G & G, and I got some birthday shopping done for he who will soon be 57. We hung out in Timezone and it would be a challenge to determine who in our family is the most competitive!
We finished with a trip to Froyo & Co and because RG was paying the kids loaded up their bowls. Apparently I went overboard in covering my serve of chocolate yoghurt in warm gooey Nutella, but I say it’s impossible to have too much! I’m now heading home with this really warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart and it’s definitely not heartburn from too much frozen dessert.

The cold weather and a long weekend ahead prompted me to make soup. I’m not known for my cooking prowess. In fact, I’m ...
06/06/2026

The cold weather and a long weekend ahead prompted me to make soup. I’m not known for my cooking prowess. In fact, I’m hopeless, but throwing a tonne of vegetables into a pot with some stock and letting it simmer away requires minimal time and effort from me, so I reckon I can make soup.
After chopping all of the leftover vegetables hiding in the bottom of the crisper, I decided to get some additional winter veggies from Woolies.
I grabbed a swede and a turnip, a parsnip and some pumpkin to top up my hearty pot of bubbling goodness.
Turns out that I don’t know my root vegetables very well and what I thought was a swede was actually a beetroot. Never mind - into the soup it goes. Unexpectedly, thanks to the beetroot, I now have a pot of pink broth ready to enjoy! Oops. 💗

We found a cool swing! There was no building code followed, no weight limit suggested and it clearly wasn’t council appr...
31/05/2026

We found a cool swing! There was no building code followed, no weight limit suggested and it clearly wasn’t council approved. The rope might fray, the tree branch might break, the seat might snap in two, but I went on it anyway. I assessed the risk and took personal responsibility for anything that might happen to me as a result of using the swing. This is how my generation played and learned.
My feet dangled in the air, I built momentum, swinging forward and back and I giggled like a child. What great fun!

I can’t remember how it started, or for how long we’ve been doing it, but on the last Tuesday of the month we go out for...
27/05/2026

I can’t remember how it started, or for how long we’ve been doing it, but on the last Tuesday of the month we go out for dinner with the C U Next Tuesday crew. It’s a clever name for a fabulous collection of mostly women who decided that cooking dinner every night is an onerous task. For one night each month, rather than eating alone they would gather as a group. Being an inclusive bunch, an invitation was issued to RG’s entire workplace and as empty nesters we jumped aboard and so far the habit has continued for four or maybe five (who even knows?) years. Socialisation, connection, raucous laughter, fascinating conversation, travel inspiration : meeting with this tremendous group once a month ticks all these boxes. We are now all connected by love and loss, a work place that created lasting connections and true friendships.
A reminder goes in the chat group the weekend before, but it’s barely needed. A different local restaurant is selected collectively each month. Turn up or don’t - there’s no ongoing commitment required or absence noted. Sometimes there are seven of us, sometimes there are 12 of us. It is one of my favourite nights of the month and it’s so fun to say “See you next Tuesday!”

We changed footy clubs mid season and it was both really hard and really easy. The demise of the Senior team at the Den...
22/05/2026

We changed footy clubs mid season and it was both really hard and really easy. The demise of the Senior team at the Dennington Dogs left our lad, a 21 year old up and coming young player, with no option but to depart. Playing District League Reserves grade, absolutely no disrespect intended, does not fit with his goals of self improvement, learning and growth.
RG and I had no say in the decision which was difficult for a control freak like me, but we landed suddenly at South in Round 6. At least we were still in red and white, so it fit in with my existing wardrobe!
It felt like a “circle of life” moment given I had started playing netball at South in 1996, exactly 30 years ago. I have good memories from those days.
Footy clubs get a bad reputation for being cliquey and non inclusive but our experience was entirely different. We were welcomed over and over again when we rocked up at Camperdown for Jords first game. Netball Mums, Footy Dads, junior players, team mates, volunteers, committee, people we knew and people we didn’t, all went out of their way to welcome us to the club. That felt really nice as did watching Jords play, in a competitive grade appropriate to his ability. How wonderful to see him running, rucking, marking and kicking two goals.
So for us, for now, it’s still “Cheer, cheer the red and the white” although we will have to learn a new club song! #53
❤️thedogs
🔴⚪️🐔
Photo credit 📷Stacy Wood

The 12 Hour Walk.Although I am heading west, once the morning fog lifts, I only need glance over my shoulder to view the...
13/05/2026

The 12 Hour Walk.
Although I am heading west, once the morning fog lifts, I only need glance over my shoulder to view the golden sunrise. I write in my mini notebook “I want to see more sunrises and sunsets.”
There are many magic moments during my walk; a perfectly formed cobweb, a flock of geese flying overhead, a grasshopper that jumps along to the beat of my footsteps, a w***y wag tail that joined me for lunch. All of nature’s beauty accompanied by constant birdsong. Magpie warbling is my new favourite soundtrack and reminds me of Dad.
The hum of an electric fence, the rumble of a tractor in a distant paddock and the smell of pinecones provoke childhood memories, good times had on our farm. I feel happy. So happy.
Discomfort kicks in at the 8 hour mark. I have the heebie jeebies after seeing a sign warning of snakes and I think every rustle in the long grass must be one. I am tired and questioning my decisions leading to this moment. I plonk down on the planks of a wooden bridge and decide it is Pepsi time. I have some cashews and peppermint aero bar too. It turns out that salt, sugar and Pepsi max can fix everything! On I go.
Seeing a mate, using a real toilet, changing socks and refueling on a chicken sandwich at the quaint Koroit station are all a boost. Only three hours to go - I got this!
Slower and slower I plod, trying to ignore the pain in my back, my hip, my feet. I turn on my phone as I just want to text RG and as is true in life, he is there when I need him. His messages are the boost I need to keep going. I leave my phone on to receive his encouragement. I’m not so unplugged after all!
I’m on the mad mile and this is where my fabulous kids give me some welcome distraction. Jords texts me a report from his Osteo appointment and Caitlin messages that she saw a mouse in her house! I love them so.
I can see Fonterra. I love our community, our street, our home, it’s our place. I think about moving some furniture around and doing more gardening in future.
With the heaviest bladder ever, I stop at the Payne Reserve toilets. I am cooked. I make it to Tom’s shop and sit thinking I can’t go any further. Somehow I trudge towards home, RG comes outside and the 12 hours timer ticks over. I am not elated, I’m just sore and tired but flooded with gratitude. What an adventure. I just experienced a 10/10 day in nature, free of cost, filled with magic and wonder and have a notebook full of insights and ideas to enact.
Colin O'Brady

I made a list for Mother’s Day. It was a simple and short list. It went like this : Beach Picnic Skate As the photo ev...
11/05/2026

I made a list for Mother’s Day. It was a simple and short list. It went like this :
Beach
Picnic
Skate
As the photo evidence shows, I’m pretty chuffed to report that my list was achieved!
I’m actually in a list making kind of mood at present, so this week I’m going to attempt a personal development challenge called the 12 hour walk, which I read about in a book by Colin O’Brady. He is an adventurer with 11 crazy world records for feats in sea rowing, crossing Antartica and mountaineering. I’ll keep you posted about how I go on my big day just walking in nature, unplugged.

A Love Letter to my kids on Mothers Day! I have a cape, but I’m no superwoman. Remember the fun we had buying and weari...
09/05/2026

A Love Letter to my kids on Mothers Day!
I have a cape, but I’m no superwoman. Remember the fun we had buying and wearing super hero capes that day at Movieworld?
You won’t recall two chubby giggling cherubs fresh out of the bath, both dressed in Dorothy the Dinosaur pyjamas, but I will never forget them.
Resilience and competitive streaks - I helped you build those! We would play board games and card games galore ; Beetle, Uno, Boggle, Monopoly Deal, that crazy Andy Griffiths game, those tiny stacking toy chairs, backyard cricket. There was no way I would lay down and let you beat me - if you won, you did it fair and square!
With each new curiosity we would take a trip - theatre shows, LEGO exhibitions, Dora the Explorer Live, to the library for Babysitter’s Club novels and books about flags and a trip to the Volcano Discovery Centre. Your interests became my interests. Other than your age, nothing has changed. We’ve sent you out into the big wide world to grow, see, find, learn, help and try. Mother’s Day will always be a celebration of how full my heart is of love for you two amazing humans and your incredible Dad! You made me a Mum - my favourite role in this life. XO 😻

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