There are little things
This past couple of weeks have been full of little things that brought a smile to my face.
Like seeing the GP and having him tell me ’ maybe next script renewal (3 months time) we can combine two of these medications’. Seemingly the new combined pill works just as well as taking the two singly.
Like visiting the chiropractor and feeling supple and pain free…..which doesn’t always happen. Life is so much easier when it does.
Like leaving the podiatrist after having my feet pampered……knowing my nails had been cut without me having to twist and turn like a contortionist….something I am definitely finding harder to do.
Like seeing the smile on my brother’s face as he told me he had a new grandson, seeing the smile on The Golfer’s face as he told me the cafe at the golf club had reopened for table service, then being able to drive out there to have coffee in a proper cup 😊
Like reading an email from the pool revising their opening hours and usage. Come Monday I can return to doing what I enjoy…..things my body sometimes find impossible difficult on land yet I am able to do quite easily in the water…..like walking for instance. 😊
Like knowing the library will reopen on Monday, seeing the 8am school bus go by, getting an appointment with my hairdresser and making a note on the calendar as a reminder that face to face ’book club’ is startIng again next week. 😊😊
Like noticing the effect a week of pleasant sunny dryish days had on the roses. A bush overloaded with buds turned into a mass of delicious looking blooms.
Like gathering up remnants of a winter spent elsewhere. Reminders of places visited where little complimentary essentials were supplied – definitely not a new happening (motels have done this for years) these (and more) happened to find their way into my bag.
Tiny soaps and single tea and coffee serves to pass on to a ’ hard up friend’ who welcomes anything that will help stretch her pension a little bit further.
But my biggest smile came from seeing the bread bag ’tie’ was made from cardboard and not plastic.
Not a new innovation here – I just happened to photograph this one 😊
Linking to Life this Week hosted by Denyse at Denyse Whelan Blogs.
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Two years…
It’s just on two years since the final day
’Our big girl’ and son in law were there recently, and mentioned that
“All is peaceful and quiet now”
It was not always like that
Permanent closure of Uluru (Ayers Rock) took place on October 26, 2019
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluru
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50151344
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/uluru-closing-why-it-matters
https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/discover/culture/uluru-climb/
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Our World Tuesday – where you can see the world of other bloggers
From a distance….
Because of difficulties accessing my usual library, for the time being I’ve returned to the ’little one’ just down the road in Montrose. There’s been a few alterations since I wrote about it HERE, like placing the library and community centre under one roofline with a single entrance plus different landscaping with more outdoor seating being the major ones but it’s still got a comfortable country feel nestled in amongst the gum trees at the bottom of the hills.
Recently when restrictions were eased slightly to allow people to gather in ones and twos you’d notice ’friends’ sitting there with little ones having fun under the trees or riding bikes/scooters on the level hard surface. So when I turned up at the library the other day I thought how strange it was to see a little girl sitting all alone on a bench by the book return with no adults anywhere in sight. Can you spot her there to the left of the white lamp post ?
Now I know my eye sight can be a bit off at times but from this distance away I was convinced this was a small child dressed in lavender coat and hat.
Well – ever been had!
After I nipped into the foyer to pick up some books (still call & collect – back to normal service in a fortnight) I wandered over to check on the ’child’
Someone (a ’yarn bomber/ street artist’) had dressed one of very conveniently placed protection bollards to look just just like that.
And it worked – I’m wondering how many others have walked over to check on this little ’girl’ sitting there all alone?
lol The crafty lads and lassies must have been busy because these, we’ll call them ‘works of art’ were attached to the a couple of poles out the front of the library. Two coordinated outfits standing side by side in that one spot complete with crochet flowers and leaves topped with artificial roses.
https://lilydale.mailcommunity.com.au/2021/10/08/yarn-bombing-montrose-mainstreet/
Linking to Life the Week hosted by Denyse at Denyse Whelan Blogs.
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Just in case…
My thoughts the other day about the reasons I buy with ’just in case’ being one of them brought back memories of my mother and her habits and realisation that maybe there’s a case of Like mother – Like daughter in my house.
My mother was a funny one – at times so tight with her money and yet so free at others. She had a thing about buying things ‘just in case’ – according to her she didn’t stockpile (a dirty word during and just after the war)…….. she would have things on hand – ‘just in case’.
Not quite as bad or in the same vein as my Irish granny (her mother in law) who I’m sure had saved enough string to go round the world (just in case anyone needed it ) as well as oodles of other ‘useful’ bits and pieces that really weren’t needed at all but she had lived through two world wars and a depression so I suppose could be forgiven (except by my aunties when it came to clearing the house out after she died!)
We all try to be a little thrifty at times so when things come on special I’ll pick up extra bits that I know we will use – not actually stockpiling, because to do that properly you have to check dates and rotate oldest to the front and all that, and that’s almost like work – these extra bits are for ‘just in case’.
Do you remember when the only way you got toilet rolls was singly or in double packs? Then came fours and ….now as we all know, anything is possible.
On occasion I may have picked up a couple of extra packs of the really soft brand we use and left them in the garage – because they come in 20s (or even more) these days, the packs are so large they need to be stored out there in an old cupboard.
Do you also remember what I was saying the other day about having too much stuff…..
well I popped out there to bring another pack into the house and….
well, it would seem that (once the initial panic buying slowed down and it became a staple item on the supermarket shelves again) I’ve picked up quite a few extra packs of loo paper during this pandemic time – how long do you think it will take us to use 180 rolls of toilet paper??
Buying in bulk – ‘just in case’ – good idea or not?
A little bit of trivia….this is printed on the inside of the cardboard roll….
Quilton loves your bum 😊
📘What ya reading Wednesday
At the end of last year 2020 I set myself a challenge of reading 52 books during this year 2021….that equated to 1 a week . Of course things don’t always work out the way we want them to and during the second quarter the ‘reading slump’ put in an appearance. Which meant that by the end of June (week 26) I was way behind…..7 books in fact.
Since then I’ve caught up a bit – Bowen was a great place to sit around and do nothing, a lot of reading happened there – but I’m going to have to get a move along to finish the way I intended. It’s a light hearted challenge….there’ll be no tears shed if I don’t reach that total…..but you know how it is…..If you think you can, there’s no reason you can’t
So far this month I’ve taken two off the total and there’s two more in hand ready to go!
And to answer those all important questions we ask our ’book loving’ friends
What are you reading at the moment?
What did you just finish ?
What are you planning to read next ?
I’ll go about it this way….
Sitting on the table waiting to be read is – Women of the Dunes by Sarah Main
Book blurb:- From the author of the acclaimed novels The House Between Tides and Beyond the Wild River, a rich, atmospheric tale set on the sea-lashed coast of west Scotland, in which the lives of a ninth-century Norsewoman, a nineteenth-century woman, and a twenty-first-century archeologist weave together after a body is discovered in the dunes.
This is one I’m looking forward to reading and hoping it lives up to its reviews. Having read (and thoroughly enjoyed) her previous Scottish flavoured novels I’m sure it will.
My current read is – The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan
Book blurb:- When DS Cormac Reilly’s girlfriend Emma stumbles across the victim of a hit and run early one morning, he is first on the scene of a murder that would otherwise never have been assigned to him. The dead girl is carrying an ID, that of Carlin Darcy, heir apparent to Darcy Therapeutics, Ireland’s most successful pharmaceutical company.
I’ve only just started this one so don’t have any comments but if it’s anything like the earlier book in this series it should be ’a good ’un’
Just finished – The Echo Chamber by John Boyne
Book blurb:- What a thing of wonder a mobile phone is. Six ounces of metal, glass and plastic, fashioned into a sleek, shiny, precious object. At once, a gateway to other worlds – and a treacherous weapon in the hands of the unwary, the unwitting, the inept.
About a family, a ’modern’, some would say dysfunctional family, a family who are attached to their mobile phones and all the ‘must have’ social media apps.
Especially Twitter!
Humorous, witty, fun to read, seeing all the twists and turns that crop up in their lives and how the results of them link each family member to each other in unseen ways.
Also just finished – Wobble to Death by Peter Lovesey
Book blurb:- London, 1879. Crowds have gathered at Islington’s chilly Agricultural Hall to place their bets on who will become the next world champion in a six-day, 500-mile speedwalking race, the “wobble.” When one of the highly favored contenders dies under suspicious circumstances, Sergeant Cribb also has a race on his hands—to pursue a ruthless murderer.
A quick easy fun read, a couple of murders and other skulduggery linked to a popular 19c event (Pedestrianism). It’s the only book in this series at my library so I’m pleased I discovered it.
As an aside I found this on youtube – just right for a rainy day…which we’ve had plenty of recently
To use our PMs words ”it’s not a race” – no, unlike some things, this is not a race but I’d really like to get to the finish line before the end of the year.
How about you……what’s on your bedside table- what are you reading this Wednesday?
It’s Monday….
Yes, Monday has arrived once again, the BOM is promising a rainy/showery week once again, so it looks as though I’ll be finding indoor ’jobs’ once again!
This past week those ’indoor jobs’ have included looking through clothing in my wardrobe in a slightly different way. Not so much – do I like this – does it fit – but do I think I will actually wear it again. Could someone else make use of it.
Same with crockery/cutlery, cooking utensils…..this time ruthless has been my name – sentimentality went out the door.
As things caught my eye so the reviewing and discarding began……sorry no photos because it’s all in the boot of the car (hopefully it won’t be too long before the op shops reopen) because if I take it out I know what will happen, I’ve been known (in the past) to look at plunder through ’donations in waiting’ and have second thoughts about giving things away.
Talking of catching my eye, look at this fabulous Photinia hedge that I saw the other day. Driving past, it looked as though it was glowing in sunlight so I made a point of stopping on the way home to get a better look but of course by then the sun had moved/clouds reappeared and that fiery look had disappeared. The owner must have trimmed it back during autumn to get that distinct red new growth. Looks stunning don’t you think!
I’ve been sitting here with my early cup of tea mulling a few things over in my mind, and you know what, I think that’s been one of the reasons over the years for my cupboards being full to overflowing with ’stuff’.
Whether its been necessary, needed, just in case, ‘ooh isn’t that pretty’, that would look good there……it all caught my eye…..and had to come home with me.
And no, as much as I admired it, a Photinia robusta won’t be coming home from the plant nursery with me. I’ve got enough there to keep me occupied.
What about you….do or did things catch your eye and whether needed or not come home with you?
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Linking to Life the Week hosted by Denyse at Denyse Whelan Blogs.
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The Scots certainly have a way with words…
Fun Friday – the day we leave the troubles of the week behind
Bring me sunshine (and blue skies)
So I took Andrew’s advice on Monday and pottered about in the garden…..all the while with an eye on the sky.
The tall cedrella in the corner with its lovely pink spring leaves showing up against the sky is becoming swamped by other trees and bushes so The Golfer will soon be allowed to have some fun…..armed with a saw and secateurs. Something he does under ’supervision’……I shouldn’t grumble but ’take it back a little’ often turns into a ‘very short back and sides’.
Those bIg black clouds hung around all morning and took a while to move on and it was well into the afternoon before the deep blue skies really put in an appearance.
I’ve been trying to grapple with the camera on a new phone, the phone is larger in size than the one before and doesn’t seem to sit well in my hands…in the end I returned to my mini iPad for the last sunny one.
Somehow I think where this is concerned its going to be a case of
‘Practice is going to make Perfect’
Musical Monday….
It’s surprising how different the words to a song – the tune – the melody – can sound when sung by various arists.
Take this one ~ Accentuate the Positive ……
Music by Harry Arlen – Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate_the_Positive
This is the original sung by Johnny Mercer
Crooners like Bing Crosby and Perry Como recorded it
Frank Sinatra recorded a version in concert (also a little chat with Johnny Mercer)
And Ella Fitzgerald gave it a go in 1960
While in 1988 Willy Nelson gave it a distinct country flavour
If you have time, listen and tell me what you think – which do you prefer?
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These Mondays come by quite quickly don’t they…..I know I’ve been back home less than two weeks and shouldn’t make mention of it….in fact knowing what she went through during the war my mother would have a fit if she heard me carrying on…..but already, similar to this time last year, the ’controlled environment’ we’re living in here in Victoria is beginning to ’get to me’. I could hear that same frustration in Andrew’s voice when he commented the other day (“get busy in your garden There’s eff all else to do”) We must go oh so carefully now and if everyone plays their part (wouldn’t that be a lovely thing) it’s not going to last too much longer but in the meantime I’m going to have to take notice of the song and
‘accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative’ .
Last Saturday morning was warm enough to sit outside in a T-shirt and bright enough when I was ’pottering’ to need my sunglasses. There was a brand new (2021) library book to read (The Echo Chamber – John Boyne) a little cardigan to knit some love into and time to have a quick cup of coffee with The Golfer. Here’s to many more 😊😎
Love to you all ❤️
Linking to Life the Week hosted by Denyse at Denyse Whelan Blogs.
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Taking it easy..or not
Who knew it would be so difficult easing back into a previous way of life. I’ve pottered around doing basically nothing these past few days. I know this aimless feeling will pass soon, after all Summer is a comin’ in (well it’ll be here sometime) and there’s a fair bit of (unwanted/unneeded) green stuff to be removed from underneath some of the plants. That’s a different way of saying….. I’ve got some weeding to do!
It’s strange the things that pop into your head at times. I know my mind wanders about a bit now and again but standing there looking at this rose I could feel a connection to a couple of very different songs
A very old Irish tune The Rose of Tralee…one of my grandmas was born there and one of her names was Mary – sadly none of us knew her, she died when my mother was 7
The other was The Rose – which was a favourite piece of one my choirs (now sadly still in recess) – a great song for a large choir, harmony pieces at their best. This is a very different version by country singer Conway Twitty (1933 – 1993)
So if the weatherman has ’got it right’ (mostly sunny, no rain, high of 20c/68f) tomorrow morning I’ll be out in the fresh air, down by the roses on my hands and knees. Wish me luck…..getting down is easy, it’s the getting up that’s a problem 😊
Here, there and home again
It seemed as though no sooner were we here at the very end of June
Time had flown by and we were saying goodbye at the very end of September
We had applied with a tentative date and were finally given the ok to return
As if to prepare us for things to come ‘this’ accompanied us all the way to the NSW border. Things weren’t much different during the long drive through the state
Terms and conditions of the transit permit meant we had to move through NSW (deemed an extreme risk zone) in 24hrs. That’s no problem for those driving big tank like 4 wheel drives ‘pulling their homes behind them’ who can stop and rest when they want…..just a little more involved for those who don’t really want to be on the road in the dark in their ’normal everyday’ sedans that would come off second best in an altercation with an unpredictable big ’roo feeding on the side of the road at dawn or dusk
After deciding we wouldn’t travel straight through (about +/- 12hrs border to border plus about 4 more home) but make an allowable accomodation stop we managed to find a motel at Narrandera ….less than 2hrs from Tocumwal on the border…with late check in (just in case) ….. so opted for a long 11hr drive Goondiwindi – Narrandera (much more than we would normally do in a day) early bed for some well earned sleep and then get away at the crack of dawn to meet the deadline.
There was a lovely policeman standing in the pouring rain just inside the Victorian border waiting to check our permit, welcome us home and remind us to drive carefully ( as well as ’get tested if we didn’t feel well’)
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I’m sure the weather gods have just been trying to humour me since then – there have been brilliant warm Spring days which let the daisies out front show their faces
Then this is what turned up for today – Spring in Melbourne, don’t you love it!
Still Waters 