Hello and Welcome to Deb’s World
It’s the end of another month already – really, can we not slow the days down a bit??
My year of being a Gift is going well, so I suggest you grab a drink, get comfy and settle in for February’s update.
Gift is my WOTY for 2022
Some interesting synonyms of gift are: benefit, donation, contribution, offering, reward, present, tip, giveaway, favour – just a few ways a gift can be manifested.
As I said in my post announcing Gift as my WOTY:
I can be gift, give a gift, receive a gift, I am a gift, I can gift my time and energy, I have a special gift….the list goes on!
Although it could be said this quote is a tad bleak, I like it. It speaks to me as a positive statement, regardless of what is going on in the world around us, we are all a gift and should see ourselves as such! To be clear, I don’t see the world as cruel.
Let’s get this party started!
February has again been full of gifts in all shapes and sizes – here are my top 3
1. The Gift of Reading
Last month Donna made a lovely suggestion that I read some books about gifts, and recommended a few. Donna’s WOTY is Peace and she is reading ‘peace’ related books during the year – such an interesting and valuable subject!
I have taken her advice and started by doing a search of my library app BorrowBox, for books with the word gift in the title – I know I’m so deep and not at all shallow! I’m now going to try to read a book about a gift each month.
The first book I read was The Secret Gift of Lucia Lemon by Celia Anderson, chosen because the blurb sounded interesting and featured an older midlife woman, who sounded like someone I would like, and of course the word Gift was in the title 🙂
After fifty-eight years of playing it safe, Lucia Lemon wants something more from life. If only she knew what…
Until she receives a package in the post from an old friend that will change her life forever. Inside, she finds a bundle of cash, a collection of old maps, and a beautiful compass that no longer points north.
Holding the compass in her hand, Lucia suddenly feels hopeful – for the first time ever, life feels full of possibility and the open road is calling. If only she’s brave enough to answer it…
GoodReads
It was an easy and fun read and pure escapism – just what I like in a book!
Next up is The Gifts of Reading: Essays on the Joys of Reading, Giving and Receiving books – of course the title jumped out at me and I’ve downloaded it in Audible so will listen as I walk and drive. This sounds right up my alley with ‘gifts’ and ‘reading’ in the title!
I also wrote about book-quets, instead of bouquets, in my recent What’s on Your Bookshelf monthly post. A brilliant idea in my opinion!
We are responsible for gifting ourselves with a name once we truly understand who we are. It’s an empowering act, stepping into your own identity, forging a deeper empathy with yourself.
Midnight at Everwood – M A Kuzniar
2. The Gift of Tumbafest
The last full weekend in February has been synonymous with Tumbafest for the past 25 years!
Yes that’s right, Tumbafest has been going for that long and this coming weekend we will be there to celebrate its 25th birthday. I’ve written about Tumbafest before, and will do so again I’m sure, but this post was very popular a few years ago. Most of it still rings true today!
It was started by a local group of community-minded souls, a very humble and simple celebration of life in our area, highlighting the work of vignerons, with food and music on the side, and held in the main street of Tumbarumba.
It was free to enter back then, and over the years the line up of musicians has become a feature of the event. This year the fabulous Jessica Mauboy is performing along with other notable legends, Fanny Lumsden and The Wolfe Brothers, and many others like Wagga’s The Mighty Yak, who just happened to play at my daughter’s wedding a few years ago, (after we saw them at Tumbafest and made enquiries to see if they did weddings & they did!).
It’s a two-day weekend festival that still celebrates our region with wine, food, markets, music, kids activities, rides and much more. It’s held alongside the beautiful creek now and it’s generally a laid back event where people relax and unwind with family and friends.
We, as a family, went to the first event and this weekend some of my family will be with us to celebrate 25 years. We haven’t missed many over the years, and as locals we’ve done the lot – been on the volunteer committees, worked on stalls, sold tickets as part of Rotary’s service to the community, I was even a model in a fashion parade in the early days along with my then shy teenage daughter (and I found some photos to share) – and we’ve been huge supporters in many ways over the years.
This year we had plans to celebrate my grandson’s 2nd birthday with him and his family on the banks of the creek, but sadly that wasn’t possible, so it’s still a family gathering just a smaller one than first imagined. We’ll still celebrate his birthday don’t worry about that! Over the years most of my family has been to at least one Tumbafest. Let’s hope the weather stays fine!
It’s a gift to our town and we get to share this gift with others!
3. The Gift of a Grandson
Two years ago we left Tumbafest a bit early (see how committed we are) and drove north to Brisbane for the birth of our first grandson.
Patrick arrived just days/weeks before Covid took hold and just after the Black Summer bushfires had hit our area, and we had only recently returned home from England seeing our daughter and granddaughter Dottie, who had been born super early at 25 weeks (in August 2019). Quite the trifecta of stressful events there!
It was a hard time for my daughter to become a new mother, it’s hard enough at the best of times isn’t it? Due to lockdowns we couldn’t get back up to see them for quite some time and I found it a strange world we’d moved into. I wrote about the hardships for my daughter and her husband, (and us) in this post New Motherhood perspectives in these challenging times.
Patrick is now turning two which is hard to believe, time has just flown by and sadly we’ve not had a lot of visits during that time due to the many restrictions. We are in constant contact via messages, Facetime, and phone calls! Luckily we were able to get together for his first birthday and again at Christmas time and we have plans for a trip up north as soon as we can.
Patrick has been a real gift to us. He loves cars, trucks, his trike, books and is a clever, happy, super cute little boy. His blond hair and fair skin are from his mother he is a real little character, just like she was! I bought him this bedding as one of his birthday gifts – I hope he likes it!
You’re invited to our link party! So what’s it all about?
This year I’m joining co-hosts Donna, Jo and Sue, to provide a link party for anyone who also wants to write a monthly update to help keep the focus on their WOTY. We’re hoping you can join us.
What: 2022 Word of the Year Link Party #2022wotylinkparty
When: Last Thursday of the month PM (Northern Hemisphere)/ Last Friday of the month AM (Southern Hemisphere). The link will be open for 3 days so you’ve got plenty of time to join.
Why: To encourage us all to keep the focus on our chosen WOTY.
Where: Link Party, Blog, Blog Comments, Instagram or other Social Media.
Who: This linkup is open to everyone.
How: You can share in the comments, with a blog post, or on other social media of your choice. Include the hashtag #2022wotylinkparty so that we can find you and include your link in our posts. Whichever way you choose to share, don’t forget to leave a note in the comments so we can find you.
We’re live at 9am (AEDST) on the last Friday of each month and if you’re linking up a blog post you can do so by clicking on the blue link below, it’s open for a few days so don’t panic! Take a look at some of the posts to see how others are managing their WOTY in 2022 – there are some great words out there and creative people!
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my end of the month post 🙂
What’s your GIFT?
Thanks very much for stopping by, I always appreciate your visits and any comments you leave me 🙂
Deb xx
You can find my co-host’s WOTY posts here –
You can also find Deb’s World in lots of other places – stay in touch by clicking any of the buttons below.
Everyone has a story to tell!
Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here
Copyright © 2021 debs-world.com – All rights reserved
Deb's World 
Hi Deb, Even though your link party has ended, here is my February WOTY post. One of my gifts of this year is participation. 🙂
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Thanks for joining in Marsha, I’ll be over to read your post soon!
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Thanks, Deb. 🙂
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I liked your opening quote and your thoughts on the second one..oh, I love your idea about reading books with your word of the. year in it. I may look for a few with my word. That Tumbafest sounds fun. That car bedding is so cute. My grandson would want Dinosaurs.
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Thanks Kirstin, my grandson also like dinosaurs :). The idea of reading books with WOTy is a great way of expanding it!
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Hi Deb – some wonderful gifts of people, time and places, especially that little grandson of yours! 🙂
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Yes he’s a cute little man and I’m enjoying finding gifts each month. It’s a very positive way to be!
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Hello Deb! I love the idea of looking for books with your word in the title, and that first one sounds right up my alley. I’m adding it to my list of books to read. I cannot believe it has been two years since Patrick was born. I love the bedding, and I’m sure he did too. Thanks for hosting the WOTY Link Party. Here’s to all the gifts coming in March!
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Hi Christie, thanks for joining us for the link party. I am thoroughly enjoying this new aspect of reading books about my WOTY and will look forward to sharing what others I discover along the way! Patrick loved his new bedding and I can’t believe he’s 2 already either.
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You ARE the gift that keeps on giving, Debbie! What a wonderful post and smart that you are reading books related to your WOTY. Donna just gets it, right? Your weekend in Tumbarumba Fest sounds like so much fun, a great way to celebrate your summer. And of course the gift of spending time with family. A very cheery and fun post! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
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Oh that’s such a lovely comment Terri!! and yes Donna just nails it every time :). We’ve had a fabulous weekend of fun!
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Such lovely things you’ve been involved in this month! And the bedding for your grandson is fabulous, I’m sure he’ll love it.
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Hi Susanne, it’s been a great weekend which I’ve written about for #Sundaystills this week. Yes the bedding was very well received!!
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What a joyful post, Debbie. I hope you have a fun-filled weekend at Tumbafest and a wonderful birthday celebration with Patrick and family.
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Thanks Natalie, it’s been a busy few days which is why I’m so late in replying to comments!!
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That’s so cool that you’re reading books about gifts! I am happy you enjoyed the first one. That collection of essays you’re going to read next sounds fabulous too!
Your grandson also sounds like such a bundle of delight. How sad that you’ve not been able to see him in real life often due to all these weird circumstances. However, I do understand you enjoy being in contact with him via phone, FaceTime, etc.
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The essays are really lovely to listen to Astrid and perfect for my WOTY. My grandson had a lovely birthday but flooding meant he couldn’t have the planned party which has been postponed to next weekend. I’m sure he won’t mind too much!
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That book sounds fabulous and Tumbafest sounds like so much fun. I bet your grandson is going to LOVE that bedding.
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I’m happy to say Patrick does love his new bedding :). The book about gifts is a fantastic read Joanne.
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Tumbafest looks such fun – what a great community you live in! Let’s hope that you get to see a lot more of your grandchildren as restrictions gently lift. There’s a lot of catching up to do!
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A lot of catching up to do Deb and I’m happy to say the weekend was fabulous fun. We live in a great little town and events like this are always well received.
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Everything about this post made me smile – which is what the best gifts should do.
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Yes you’re so right Jo, a gift should make you smile and I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed my post!
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Deb I did mean to say that I’ve also been searching our happiness books this week. Great minds!
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It’s such a great idea by Donna isn’t it? Another fabulous option to live our WOTY.
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I loved reading about the gifts in your life Deb, especially your family memories. Tumbafest sounds fabulous and I’m looking forward to hearing more about it. I love the ‘98 Tumbafest photos. Especially that red suit!
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Thank you Jen, that red suit was a real winner in my book, although as it was the height of summer I must have been sweltering! Tumbafest 2022 was a huge weekend which is why I’m so late responding to comments from last week!
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Oh my, I am hoping you get to have Tumbafest in one way or another given what Mother Nature has GIFTED us all recently. I think Patrick’s birthday is very close to my husband’s who is 73 on Sunday. I loved getting car and other themed bedding and quilts etc for our second grandson who had come along some 7 years after our first 3 grandkids. I think we even splurged on a car bed. Honestly, when I see photos of how we spoiled those grandkids both at our place and theirs, I KNOW why we have no money for a house LOL. Thanks for your link up. See on the link up trail again soon. Denyse.
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I know what you mean Denyse, we almost bought him a car bed too but stopped at just the bedding! He loves his cars and yes Patrick celebrates his birthday on B’s special day!
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I loved this post Deb – and it’s nice to see that my wedding anniversary is celebrated in the Tumbafest! I loved seeing your photos and memories – and the pics of Patrick were delightful too. Have a great day and I’ll be back to link up on Monday x
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Thanks Leanne, it’s a great way of reflecting on both my WOTY and what’s been happening. I’m definitely getting better at looking for the gifts around me 🙂
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What a joyful post Deb and I enjoyed reading the ways your are incorporating Gift into your life. I can’t believe Patrick is 2 years old!!! It is hard not living closer isn’t it but hopefully you will see him again soon. Tumbafest sounds like such a fun weekend and I really love the gift of friendship and community that Tumbarrumba provides it’s residents. Great idea about the books which I might steal although ‘BE’ isn’t such an easy title to find. Enjoy March and thanks as always for being a stellar co-host of #2022WOTYLinkParty xx
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Thank you Sue, your Be posts have been inspiring and I’m so enjoying our linkup as everyone has great ways of living their WOTY. I’m enjoying my word Gift and it’s a nice gentle word covering many aspects.
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Hi Debbie, just a quick note to say I’ve linked my fitness post to this post when mine publishes at 7am Friday morning Pacific time and will join the link-up then. Then I will have more time to read and comment. 🙂
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That’s great Terri, I saw your post today and left a comment!
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Hi, Deb – What a celebratory post! It is so full of positivity — something that we all need right now. I’m so glad to hear that you’ve done some reading about gifts. Both books that you mentioned hear sound very interesting. ‘The Gifts of Reading’ especially sounds right up my alley.
Enjoy Tumbafest and share lots of photos!
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Hi Donna, thanks again for the idea of reading books about my WOTY, it’s a great idea and I’m thoroughly enjoying my current book on the theme.
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