100 things and one Dalmatian

It has been more than a year since I last did a 100 things list so here we go:

1. I have lived in the Blue Mountains for more than four years now
2. But I have not been on one bush walk up here
3. I intend on going to the Jenolan Caves but that doesn't really count
4. I have a typical Mountains view from my study: trees, bush and the railway line
5. I hate the sound of trucks air braking on the highway
6. And the big coal trains braking. They sound like they are derailing inside my lounge room
7. But there are so many wonderful things about living in the Mountains
8. The Medicare office has a queue of two people, maximum
9. It is a busy day if you have to wait at the RTA
10. And if you can't find a car space in the first place you look then there is something seriously big happening in Springwood
11. The lady in the Newsagent knows my name even though I have never remembered hers
12. Gloria Jeans always has someone I know there
13. The supermarket queue is never longer than two people
14. Baker's Delight at Springwood makes the best Berry Scones
15. My kids go to school with kangaroos and wallabies in the playground
16. I have space to own all my animals
17. I do wish there was space to keep a horse
18. But doesn't everyone?
19. I am slowly getting over my fear of snakes
20. But I still REALLY hate leaches
21. Probably why I haven't been bushwalking
22. Although I did once spot a leach in the carpark at Springwood
23. And I still use that carpark
24. So it can't be that bad
25. My children have suffered a lot of sickness this year
26. And I have suffered with them
27. Since I got Molly in June I think I have had someone sick in the family just about every week
28. It is VERY boring and stressful
29. Especially when the sickness requires multiple trips to the hospital and surgery
30. I have a sick child today, hence the big blog post
31. This year marks the 20th year of my being a Christian
32. I didn't want to believe the Bible
33. I worked really hard to convince myself that it was a piece of fiction written by some really stupid people a long time ago
34. I worked on convincing myself for more than a year that God was not real
35. In the end, after reading a lot of books and some of the Bible I could no longer ignore the facts
36. God is the ruler of the universe and I have been created by him to live his way
37. But for a long time I had been rejecting his kingship
38. So twenty years ago I accepted I was wrong and asked God to forgive me for rejecting him
39. I can tell you now that after twenty years of trusting God he has not let me down
40. Some very bad things have happened in my life
41. A very special friend lost her husband in a plane crash and her children lost a father
42. And then a year later I lost my brother in a plane crash
43. Several people asked me how I could trust a God who allowed these things to happen to people I loved
44. I trust that God is in control of EVERYTHING that happens in our world
45. Even the bad things
46. I do not always know why things happen and I certainly wish that things were different sometimes
47. But the Bible says that God is working for good in all things, for those who trust him, to make us more like Jesus
48. And the Bible says we will all stand before him and give an account of our lives
49. My life would never meet God's perfect standards
50. I have failed in many ways to love others and to obey him
51. But I know I have been forgiven because Jesus died instead of me
52. And I hope that as a result of my love for God others will come to know this truth too
53. I turned forty this year and I am hoping to trust God for at least another forty years
54. Imagine how many more animals there are to love in that time!
55. I wonder if I could list them all now?
56. I think I have owned five cats, four dogs, four rabbits, lots of mice, too many gold fish and tropical fish, hermit crabs, two rats, lots of budgies, finches, chooks and ducks and probably some others I have forgotten
57. I have never owned a snake or any kind of reptile
58. No ferrets either
59. And I have never owned a horse
60. I did have a goat for two days. I found it on the road and the Council came and collected it
61. My daughter has riding lessons
62. It hasn't taken her long to surpass my limited knowledge
63. I am secretly hoping that one day we will live somewhere she can keep a horse
64. And some cows and of course more chooks
65. Wow, I am only up to 65
66. This is harder than I thought
67. Ok, time for some confessions
68. My garden is basically just a weed infested mess
69. The lawn is only green because there are so many weeds
70. And the front of the house is full of agapanthus and weeds I dare not mention on a public forum
71. I dream of getting a crop duster in and spraying the lot with some serious round-up and just starting all over again
72. I am slowly getting over my fear of chemical warfare
73. I am gearing up to treat my birds with moxidectin and my weeds with glyphosate
74. Last time I poisoned my lawn was when we lived in the city and I ended up with huge dead patches because my lawn was the type you are not meant to 'weed and feed'
75. Who knows what will happen this time?
76. I am hoping I won't have disaster photos to post in a few weeks
77. It has always been my dream to own a Dalmatian
78. And to have one good enough to show and breed
79. But I have decided to have Molly desexed
80. I am not convinvced that I would be able to fit raising a litter of puppies in to my schedule
81. And I know that if one of the puppies needed to be returned I would have trouble accepting another dog into the family
82. So Molly was booked for the op this week
83. And then I got a sick child
84. So she will be off to the vet next week
85. I have a cleaner
86. She comes once a fortnight and she has changed my life
87. I used to hate that my house always seemed dirty
88. And now when it seems dirty I know that it wont be long until it gets cleaned
89. I am hopeless at cleaning the bathroom
90. I would much rather be mucking out the chook shed than scrubbing a toilet
91. I love sitting out in my chook pen.
92. I have set up a special seat just so I can enjoy their company
93. They are great therapy and their quiet bok bokking never fails to cheer me up
94. I notice I have nearly finished this list
95. Which is a good thing because it is quite exhausting thinking of things to say
96. There is a kookaburra sitting outside my window watching me type
97. Hunting for bugs amongst the weeds in my garden
98. They must have such good eyesight
99. The sun is shining and the weeds are flowering
100. What more could I want?
101. Another Dalmatian?

I have just had a look back at my list from last year. I thought I would give you a quick update on some of the points.

1. I am still doing the grocery shopping
2. I am still a BYP addict although I had to give up being a moderator
3. I have now finished all the HP books and need to finish Brisingr
4. I have now eaten one of my homegrown eggs, at a friends house
5. I am no longer a Creative Memories consultant
6. I have enough CM stuff to last a lifetime
7. I will probably do one of these lists every year