Month: April 2018

Now what on earth could a map of the Melbourne suburban train network, a very large box of chocolates, a swimming pool and this little girl have to do with commitment ?

This little girl (aka our quiet one) was snapped on her sixth birthday proudly showing off the (natural age related) gap in her top teeth and the cast on her arm caused by a tumble from her bike trying out the ‘activity track’ her older brother had put together in the back yard.  A determined little devil she was – and still is.  She became a scout and having achieved their top award The Scout Medallion she then moved on to Venturers where she worked towards and received the Queen’s Scout Award from the Governor of Victoria

Not long after that she became a Rover and now at nearly 21 still enjoys the ‘rough and tumble’ but also working hard on her Baden Powell award has the maturity of someone involved with her community.  Determined and committed !

Anyway back to last week

Our quiet one works in hospitality in an inner city suburb. So with not much – well, no – parking nearby she uses the bus from the end of her street to the station and then train and trams to get there and back and up until now she’s usually been able to get a lift (or the bus) home from the station. A couple of weeks ago her mother (our little girl) and her father went up to Queensland for a bit of a break, then her aunt (our big girl) and her sister (our little redhead) joined them for a week and because there were no ‘ family taxi drivers’ around and having several evening shifts down on her rosta Grandma committed herself to meeting the late trains.

And late trains meant 10/11 pm ones arriving long after our very local bus service had stopped running!

Having a daughter (our big girl) involved with the parent company of Cadburys with her office located in the Bayswater factory grounds giving her access to the ‘shop’ – you know the place where for very low prices they sell all the seconds and other associated goods – sounds like fun?

Yes, it was fun for a long long time but not these days – except when she brings a really really good bargain to her father’s eye.

Now The Golfer and I are is partial to chocolate so 5kg of unwrapped badly shaped small picnic bars for $5 was received from her with open arms before she went off to enjoy a week in the sunshine with her sister.  Seeing that large box and knowing what it contained made me all the more committed to restarting those morning visits to the pool.

I can tell you that a week of early mornings at the pool coupled with late nights waiting at the train station made for a very tired (but committed) Grandma.

ps I did a swap with our quiet one – the day I bagged up and gave her some of the chocolates she surprised me with a gift of flowers 😊

pps Is it alright to have one little bar of chocolate Maggie – I’m sure pool work will help with the BP and the calories 😎😊

 We see them all over the place when we are travelling

Usually out in the bush but sometimes in the towns

Taking their life in their hands standing beside the road – or even in the middle

Directing traffic at road work construction sites

These are a few we met on our way north in July 2016

They stand there with their stop and slow signs at the ready

Eyes and ears tuned to the comings and goings around them

Often open to a friendly wave and smile as we go by

As we followed this escort truck we looked to our left

And saw this happy beaming face

We both burst out laughing and shouted

It’s DEBORAH 😊😎

~~~~~~

And here’s where I should explain the fun part

During our travels to Newfoundland (2010/2013) we discovered a group called Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Wasisname_and_the_Other_Fellers

The sound – style – lyrics were such that it was instant love on all corners.  So 2 of their many CDs came home with us to be played very frequently especially in the car on long journeys.  Their music is fun, a happy sound that has you singing along, music that often has poignant lyrics reminiscing about life as it used to be on the island or The Rock as it is sometimes called.

There is one song about a young woman called DEBORAH who earns her living as a Flagman – just like the girl above

And if you are interested THIS SiTE has more of their music – just click watch video

Strike while the iron is hot!

Another of my mother’s sayings 😊

As ironing wasn’t one her favourite pastimes (a trait passed down to her oldest daughter) I used to wonder why she said that – it wasn’t until I was a bit older I realised it meant ‘do it while you can, when the opportunity arises’ or something like that.

So last week, not having the inclination to do anything but feel sadness over losing Kiera I spent time gathering together and laundering all the old cat bedding.  It plus other ‘stuff’ will all be donated to the nearby Animal Aid and even though my friends thought I was daft I knew I had to do it then or it would never get done.

That’s when I saw the seam.  Right there near the crease.

Many years ago…..in another lifetime…… I used to breed Burmese cats.  Flannelette sheets (soft, warm and easily laundered) were what I used for kitten bedding.  These were from the children’s single beds when they were younger and being one to never throw anything away I had loads sitting at the back of the linen cupboard….just the thing to be used again.

Going back many years from that the girls had decided they would like their bedroom to be green.  The Golfer drew the line at painting the walls that colour so I persuaded them the way you do when short of cash (it’s this or nothing lol) maybe we could do this or maybe that so there’s green in your room.

Green floral sheets….like the ones below…. came first – then the ladies in the local op shop (charity shop) found those green flannelette sheets plus a very large queen size pale green candlewick bedspead which I cut in half to make ones for their single beds. Their blankets were cream wool ones we brought out to Australia with us (two still hide with old towels in the ‘just never know when they’ll be needed’ corner of the hall cupboard) and there was no way I was going to buy new ones so we dyed a couple.  I nearly died when I saw the very dark green they turned out but the girls thought them ‘cool’  It was when our big girl came home with a green beaded doorway curtain I knew the room was finished.  All was good for a couple of years or more then the warm flannelette sheets started looking a bit thin in the middle….remember they were second hand…so still being short of cash the thinking cap went on and it was ‘I know I’ll do what mum would have done- turn sides to middle’.  Only it didn’t quite work as well as I thought – the girls hated sleeping on them  ‘They’re lumpy, they don’t look nice (??) I’ll catch my toenails in the seam, put them on the boys beds’

The look and feel of the sheets wasn’t that bad really – you know what teenage girls can be like- however come tax time when bed linen next came on sale two new sheets came home with me and the old ones were relegated to the bottom of the pile.

As you can see,  at the moment all those old sheets are destined for a local animal shelter; although I did see The Golfer looking at them and muttering something about needing some new ‘rags’ so maybe, just maybe they’ll end up staying a little while longer.

Thinking about the sheet saga reminded me of other thrifty deeds that didn’t turn out as planned.  Like the time i was trying to flesh out a pan of stew with dumplings and we ended up with a very thick gluggy mess when the dumplings disintergrated.  Don’t think I’ll live that one down 😟

Honestly if you don’t laugh you’ll end up crying 😊😎

2006 Kiera’s last litter.

3 Lilac females – 1 Blue male – 2 Chocolate males.

 

These are the last few flowers left from a gift I was given last week.  Simple white blooms (not fussy) along with a large bar of chocolate – given to me by a friend who understood the way I was feeling.

Anyway this is just a little note to say Thank You for all the comments over the last few posts.  Our internet is still playing up, so it was fingers crossed each time I tapped publish; with that and lack of motivation that’s as far as I got.  No (well, very little) visiting other bloggers, no gym, no swimming, no nothing ‘cept a smalll amount of knitting and some gardening in the lovely autumn weather we are having…..yes winter came to visit for a day last weekend and then cleared off again.  He’s coming out at nighttime but sharing the days with autumn 😎

Hopefully our ISP have managed to pull their finger out and have ‘finally’ sorted out our/their problems.  With luck, proper service will resume and we’ll be on air as we were before.

Bye for now

See you next week

Cathy

Many of us older bloggers (and possibly some of the younger ones also) need to take regular medication in the form of tablets so here in Australia once a month we pop up to say hello to the local pharmacist and come home with our goodie bag of ‘keep us alive’ pills.

Not making light of it but I love the look of those shiny new sheets as they come out of the cardboard boxes.  They are clean and fresh and full of promise.

Last time I had my script written my GP changed one of my tablets to something slightly different – similar ingredients doing the same job but a different brand  So like a child with a present, I couldn’t wait to get home from the shop and see what the new pills in the bag looked like.  Well you can’t actually ‘see’ the pills but I’m sure you know what I mean 😊

Oh dear, what’s this on the back of the sheet……I’ve never seen that before….a pill for each of the 15 days.  And what is that…..take first…is there something special about that particular pill ?  And what does it matter which day of the week I take the tablets – surely they are all the same?

So off I go back up to see Mr Lee to ask for a ‘please explain’ – and of course once he did explain I felt like a real dill.😏

Yes you’ve guessed (and probably already know) the reason the days are there is to serve as a reminder for those who wonder- did I take my tablet today?  I suppose I’m lucky in that there’s a cue to help me remember to take this medication each day.  It’s part of my bedtime routine – teeth…tablet…toilet…toodle off to bed.

So like the good ‘rules abiding’ patient I am I did just that.  Began with the take first tablet, then the next evening found the one for that day and continued that way to the end of the sheet. Don’t laugh but I found doing that a real nuisance.  I’d been used to picking up the previous sheets and just pushing out a tablet any which way until the sheet was empty but the new way meant I had to turn the sheet over to check I was pushing the correct tablet out.  It completely changed my routine lol

And I was disappointed to find at the end of all that, where I thought I’d have a very neat pattern on the back if turned out to be the same old mish mash of foily bits same as if I’d done it willy nilly as per usual 😊

I had another little chat with Mr Lee and I’m sure he had a smile on his face as he reassured me that as long as I took my tablet at the same time each day as i had done previously it really didn’t matter what order they were removed from the sheet 😊

Now I realise that where medications are concerned we should follow the rules but I’m curious to know whether others actually follow those directions – take this – then go to the correct day when all the tablets are exactly the same?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• My pharmacist’s name is not Mr Lee
• Here in Australia the system of prescribing and dispensing of medication may be different to other countries
• My GP will only write prescriptions for 6 months.  One to be dispensed plus 5 repeats.  This ensures I see him on a regular basis.
• Only in certain circumstances are we able to pick up more than one months supply at a time.

Life is always full of little surprises isn’t it ?

Take yesterday- it was about 2pm when I told you about the cold wet miserable day we were having.   Well, a bit like the Incy Wincy Spider ryme I used to sing to my babies,  just after that the sun came out and dried up all the rain lol.

Not long after that The Golfer received an SMS from the electricity supplier saying the power could be interrupted.

No worries I said to him ‘we have gas, we’ll be alright’  I’d taken a batch cooked casserole out of the freezer in the morning and it was almost defrosted – if it goes off I’ll warm it up on the stove instead of the microwave. We can boil water in a saucepan if needed for hot drinks.

And of course not long after that it happened – yes power was off.

Oh bother I didn’t have time to run the vacuum round the lounge as planned (it had been sitting there waiting patiently since 9am) also no tv or radio – never mind quiet is good.  It didn’t really sink in until I went to turn the hot tap on – need it to work the water heater.  We coasted through the day wrapped in a blanket – ooh it’s really getting chilly now – oh, need it to work the fan on the gas heater.  Getting darker – never mind we have large household candles (somewhere) and big dolphin torches (oops not so bright, oops no spare battery in the drawer.) I’m sure we’ll survive.

Dinner by candlelight……on our blanket covered laps….was lovely.

I’d charged my iPad earlier and had plenty of ‘simple’ knitting  – The Golfer (no real life book to read) trying to read a ebook wasn’t too impressed with his level but remembered we had one of those mobile charger thingies (fully charged) so that gave him power and kept him happy.  He also remembered some music downloads on his iPad so we also had music – a couple of c/w albums and a Johnny Mathis one.  I became very familiar with them all 😊

About 8pm in the pouring rain I nipped up to the nearby Woolies (thank goodness for our long trading hours) for more candles – they were burning down at an alarming rate – plus another dolphin battery.  Nothing worse than sitting in a dark loo with the light from the torch getting dimmer by the seconds lol

Driving back I could see linesmen working in one of the streets across the main road, up on their cherrypickers, illuminated by those bright mobile lights they use.  If the road hadn’t been blocked off (with a diversion for local traffic) I’d have gone that way and Asked a few questions but thought it prudent to stay dry and leave well enough for alone lol

It wasn’t until much later……well after 9.30pm……that the power came back on.  It wasn’t too bad in the end.  Yes we were inconvenienced but in reality we were safe, dry and relatively warm however I’m not sure how I could have coped for more than a day though.

The scene this morning as I was clearing up after our little candlelight event
Each time we have a power cut and I use those ‘u shaped candlesticks’ I smile and remember the two young boys who made them all those years ago in their metal work classes at the tech college

About eighteen months ago I wrote about enjoying the first hot day of the season.

After a long string of beautiful sunny warm Autumn days we are now today being treated to a taste of things to come

And I can certainly assure you I am not enjoying this one

There is a westerly blowing and at the moment it’s raining

Quite heavily!

2pm and the sky is heavy and grey without a trace of blue

It certainly feels cold – cold and wet – and my bones are starting to feel chilled

It’s 3c/27f out there at the moment – don’t think we are going to reach 16c/60f

The forecast for the next couple of days is 19c/66f and 20c/68f

It might happen and there again it might not 😊

(Wake me up when Spring arrives 😎😎)

There’s no doubting it – Sunshine and cats go together

See a little bit of sunshine you’re sure to see one lapping it up

Some will find it anywhere – a simple pleasure to be enjoyed

Doesn’t matter who they disrupt to do so

You are my sunshine – my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are grey

You never know dear how much I love you

Please don’t take my sunshine away

If ever there was a cat that loved sunshine it was Kiera 😎

Vale – Farewell

Kingswood Maura Delight

known to us as Kiera

Sire: Chindah Orion (Imp. NZ) – Dam: Kingswood Lady Kizzie

26 December 1999 – 12 April 2018

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2 Special posts about Kiera – my little brown shadow.

https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/do-i-look-fat-in-this/

https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/call-me-irresistible/

click photos to enlarge

Both of my sisters live in different countries to me – I am here in Australia……next sister is in England…..and baby sister is in Cyprus.  The phone lines run expensively hot some days but there are also times when a quick question needs just a quick answer and a text/ sms is all that’s needed. Well that’s the idea.  Sometimes answers provoke more questions and long forgotten thoughts and ideas come pouring out that might not have done so if we’d been on the phone.

Take the other day.

I was having one of those silly can’t settle nights…..finding it hard to drift off to sleep again after a midnight trip to the loo ……thinking about some knitting I had on the go, and as happens my mind wandered, this time to ‘when did I learn to knit’  I don’t remember a time when I couldn’t knit but have no memory of being taught.  I must have been shown the basics some time- was it from mum or school?  No, not Mum because even though she was a good knitter she didn’t have the patience to teach.  If the truth be told she didn’t have much patience with me – full stop!

So mid morning our time curiosity got the better of me and out came the phone. Sisters dear…..when did you learn to knit……who taught you?

LOL – Next sister answered almost immediately- up for one of her nocturnal loo visits she heard her phone ding – it seems dad taught her.  She recalled him chanting the knitting mantra most of us have heard and used ‘needle in, wool round, pull through, slip off’. She suggested maybe Mum’s aunts did the teaching – mum had gone to live with them during the war and the timing with my age was right.  Could of been them because Dad was away at that time

We were laughing (10c a text and she’s laughing virtually at 2am her time) about most people my age (she being nearly five years younger) knowing how to knit and she wrote ‘all you war babies must have come out clicking, wearing knitted matinee coats, bonnets bootees and mittens – 

and then

 

 

 

 

 

 

a little snippet concerning mum and her knitting came flying cross the world, something she had never told ‘us’ but ‘had’ told our grown up baby brother one day when he’d been talking about women at work being stressed……obviously not a good day for her because she let rip.

Next sister wrote “She was pregnant with you, dad was abroad, it was a lovely day and she was knitting for you (in Wellingborough where she lived at the time and where I was born) she was sitting near the open window of an upstairs room ……the day the house was bombed.

She told little brother ‘that’ was stress modern girls wouldn’t understand’

Then my darling ‘naughty’ sister added the words – Bet she dropped a few stitches!!

As I said I’d never heard that story before so asked Mr G**gle for information on ‘bombing Northampton 1942’ and he came up with a special edition of a newspaper that had news clips from the second world war.  And there on the front page dated August 1942 was a piece about the war coming to Wellingborough.

Click to access wwii_60_year_commemorative_edition_the_link_1945-2005.pdf

Although I gained an insight into a possible reason Mum was always tense especially when there was thundery stormy weather, little sister confirmed mum didn’t teach any of us (she learnt at school) so I’m still none the wiser as to who taught me to knit lol

Were there any snippets in your life  that came to light many years after the event?