Month: June 2016

A while ago I mentioned the granddaughter who blossomed as she got older

https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/age-brings-a-change/

Well 18 months on this is another ‘look at me now’ post.

She doesn’t have a slim build like a lot of her ‘trendy’ friends but what she does have is enthusiasm for a new pastime and that happy look that comes from a new found confidence.  Her beautiful red hair is dark at the moment but that is because she likes the look rather than hiding behind the colour.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=95eVZSohNoM

My mother and father were very keen dancers of all styles and watching at this inter dance school competition I wished they could have been there to see her.  Sadly not possible as they have been gone for many a year now but how great is it that the same passion has emerged in another generation.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NlgDuRCSedI

Not very often I do a bragging Grandma’ post so I do hope you enjoy these short videos I took from the sidelines.  It seems she has found a style she enjoys and is comfortable with –  ‘New Vogue’ – similar in ways to Old Time.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Vogue_(dance)

Yesterday was Father’s Day in some countries (‘celebrated’ in September here in Australia) a day that I don’t ever remember being mentioned when I was growing up in England.  Dads were Dads – they were just there lol

Music is one thing I associate with my Dad – he loved to sing.

We grew up with him singing – all sorts of tunes would come out of his mouth.  Naturally with him being Irish there’d  be the silly/fun ‘diddley eye di di’ make a noise numbers, then he’d croon like Bing Crosby and then he’d come out with something like these gems.

 

But his most favourite of all were Josef Locke songs

So my Musical Monday (memory) is this one – hope you enjoy it.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/oct/16/guardianobituaries

This is purely a ‘selfish’ post – one for me to remember a loved one who has been gone for a while.

Looking through some old photo folders the other day i came across these taken early in 2010.  Kiera (our brown girl) is the last cat to come into our household and for most of her long life (16 last December) she has always had other cats for company.  Her absolute favourite companion has been Leroy – a chocolate Burmese.  As you see in these two photos wherever he went, she went 🙂

Leroy was one of those special cats that loved people.  As he got older he loved to sit on the deck watching the world go by or just close his eyes the way old fellas do.  ‘Not sleeping just resting his eyes’ lol  Yet the minute he heard voices he was there wanting to know what was going on.

And THAT was the look that told you that was just the right place to scratch 🙂

During the long hot summer 2009/2010 he would spend lots of time snoozing peacefully under the table on the deck and during early winter that year at just over 18yrs we said goodbye.

Vale – Farewell

Double Grand Premier Neuter Brookwood Bonnie Laddie

known to us as

Leroy

Sire Adina Kavaier – Dam Brookwood Ranee

24 April 1992 – 13 May 2010

Loved – missed – will never be forgotten

 

 

Here in Australia the 1st of June and not the 21st marks the change of season and strangely for a non lover of cold weather I am enjoying this second week of Winter.  I could live (for a little while :)) with crisp cold nights coupled with chilly mornings that turn into cloudless dry sunny warmish days.

We had those sort of Winter days for several years during the long Millennium Drought (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000s_Australian_drought) and there’s no way anyone of us wants to revisit them  So I will live with our often very wet unpredictable Victorian Winters and be happy when we get these ‘special days’

One of the pleasures of these special days are the sunrises.  See the glow on the deck roof – this was about 7.20 am.  Yes that’s sunrise time at the moment.

A look to the left over a sleepy suburb and I realised how much that Pittosporum had grown.  It covered most of the sky making it hard to capture that beautiful sunrise.

And moving to the right you could see the sun beginning to move up into the sky from behind the back neighbour’s rooftop.

It probably sounds a bit corny but standing there I had this hymn running through my mind reminding me of school assemblies and services I attended in a small village church many years ago

http://southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/bawtry/hpics.php

Winter weather often determines my mood.  Unlike a few of the blog readers I’m not a fan of Winter and often get ‘the miseries’ when the days are dull and the hours of daylight get progressively less and less.

However after a very cold night in my area (3c /37f) yesterday turned out to be a corker.  Dry and sunny with a brisk wind!  Comfortable enough to hang washing on the line and potter about in part of the garden that has been neglected for a while.

Then it was time for a coffee (and craft) break on the back deck and who better to share it with than my shadow called Kiera.  You’d be amazed at how warm and comfortable that little spot at the table can get when the winter sun beams through the PVC blinds.  They are a great windbreak too.

By early afternoon the sun had moved to the front of the house which is where the lounge room is.

So you could say – that very much like the song John Denver used to sing – Sunshine makes me happy 🙂

 

 

Even though I’m not a fan of Winter some things do make me feel happy.

One of them is seeing the little Japanese Maple coloured up like this on a wet miserable day.

It lives quietly at the bottom of the garden and for most of the year it’s ‘just there’ but right now in June is when it shines and gets to be noticed 🙂

It’s a shame my camera doesn’t catch the actual colouring of the leaves but I love them and always feel happy this happens now and not later.

What things do you enjoy about Winter?

Oh and Thank You for all the comments on my previous post – I haven’t had time to visit all your blogs yet, hopefully I’ll get there in the next few days.

Cathy

It’s been a while hasn’t it 🙂

Just a little note to say I’m back

The mind is refreshed as well as the body.

Even though we came in contact with the tail end of a cyclone which meant missed ports and a rearranged itinerary we had a great time on our recent cruise.

Also a very generous cruiser shared their germs with me.  I don’t remember much of the past few weeks – there have been several visits to the GP and Chemist for pills and potions as well as lots of bed rest.

In the meantime Winter has arrived!

With a low of 4c / 39f forecast for tonight I think it might be cuddle up and keep me warm time with The Golfer 🙂