Category: All things family

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Playing the waiting game….

My little car is just the right size for me…..most of the time

The Golfer uses it occasionally but prefers his own, which we use if we’re off somewhere together. There are times though when it’s the other way round and I’m the one driving him in my car

Now….
I don’t mind playing chauffeur (as I’ve done for the last two years) when The Golfer needs a lift to the eye specialist even though he squirms around muttering about small seats.

I don’t mind waiting around an hour on average because it’s not worth while driving home and coming back

With several specialists consulting at the same time the waiting room gets crowded so I wait in the car

Where I can eat and drink to my heart’s content – listen to the radio – or read while I knit at the same time

The thing is….
It’s a bit of a tight squeeze trying to set things up with a steering wheel and gear lever in the way so one time I tried sitting on the passenger side……more leg room and nothing in front of me – but it just didn’t feel right…..so I moved back to the driver’s side which for some reason is more comfortable

Tuesday morning- 30 September

The nearest (free) undercover car park is at Costco – out of the blazing sun and pouring rain. It’s close to the railway station plus a huge shopping centre so there are large ‘we are not a public car park’ signs so if I’m challenged I’ll just produce my card and say ‘I’m waiting for someone’. Not actually a lie is it…..waiting….not for someone turning up with a trolley full of groceries but for a ‘I’m ready’ text from someone 🤭

With several more appointments (plus two surgical procedures) coming up over the next couple of months I reckon I’ll be dab hand at the waiting game by Christmas

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And talking of families….

As I do now and again….

A dna connection contacted me the other day.  Looks like a family line has been located.  Older generation on the top line – younger below.  
Mine are on the left – theirs on the right.

Makes me feel good all over

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It’s a living thing….

Conversations with your children often bring up long forgotten memories)

Summer 1978 – The Golfer and I were the best parents in the world! 

At least that’s what we were told that warm February evening as we all sat near the front (not up the back ‘in the cheap seats’ on the grass) of the Myer Music Bowl waiting to hear this sung in real life

Sailin’ away on the crest of a wave, it’s like magic 
Oh, rollin’ and ridin’ and slippin’ and slidin’, it’s magic 
And you and your sweet desire 
You took me, oh (higher and higher, baby)…

*******

It’s nearly four years since ‘our big girl’ and her partner left town (towing their home behind them) looking forward to doing ’a big lap’ of Australia. 


After a year on the road she mentioned that so far they’d had the time of their lives.

Yes, so far, is what she said – at that time decisions were being been made and they were soon to be off again to give it another go and see some of the things they missed. 
Impressions at that time (2022) – contrary to what some may have said – everything’s alive out there. 

Even during Covid times….Australia was a living thing!
(Cue 1978 memory)
*******

At that time I wondered how I’d feel when the words Good Bye were spoken again. There were mixed feelings on my part when they drove off…….. ever since she was young child we’d provided her with roots and wings which she’d acknowledged several times so I was comfortable waving her off………it was just that I knew they were looking for something different but didn’t know what……and of course when after another year had passed and they reached the other side, the far western side of Australia they knew that they had found it……that was the place they wanted to be.

She’s been back since then (latest Oct ‘24) – knowing they are living The Dream (their way) makes it easier to say those two words but it always leaves me in a reflective mood, wondering if time is running out – wondering if I’ve lived all my dreams, – are there any more waves for me to crest’?

How about you – do you ever feel like life is passing you by?

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🧶 Is there an end in sight……

(Long post – skip to the end for the short version 😊)

I took this very early in February – thinking I was being clever by beginning a Christmas gift (at the end of January) ……one of my favourite knits – for little Mia. (Born Nov 2024)

Her mother has what you might call a shopping problem which means there is a full 12 months worth of clothes in the wardrobe just waiting for her to grow into so I’ve sized for 18/24 months……hopefully she’ll get some wear out of it the winter after next.
(reminder – Winter in Aus is in the middle of the year not at the end😊)

And the state of play now – over two weeks later……exactly the same🙁.
Well apart from reading the book – that’s finished

Actually there was a lot going on that day…..it was a scorcher, one from the heatwave that crossed the country that week – more fires were cropping up in the Grampian region (western Victoria) and in Far North Queensland towns along the east coast were being flooded – such strange weather.

Since then it’s been all fun and games (not) and being glad each of us has been there for the other – we’ve had more scorchers (which knowing my love of warm weather you didn’t hear me say I’m glad to see the back of)…..the rains seem to have to have eased off up north but the effects of flooding will linger for quite a while……and fires have been appearing in other places. There have been cooler days (one extreme to the other last Saturday when it was cold with a high of 11°out our way) but Summer really has been full bent on letting us know who’s the boss!

*********

Anyway I was certainly glad The Golfer was there the day I stood up and went whoopsie – not quite flat on my face thankfully – because he happened to be standing there right beside me when my leg just gave way under me. Oh lor did it hurt, swollen knee, any attempt to walk on that leg resulted in a tippy toe awkward hobble – much sitting around until I had an X-ray plus ultrasound.

  • Result ~ Small knee joint effusion. Bulging of the medial meniscus. Small amount of fluid in the deep infrapatellar bursa…..probably age related!

The Golfer was glad I was able play designated driver before that happened..….the car park at The Golfers eye specialist was full so I dropped him off, took my book and waited in a shady spot elsewhere – expecting a surgery date for cataract. He has a date but for injections in one eye. Not for macular degeneration but something that showed up during an X-ray (OCT) so that’s on the back burner for now until this problem is sorted.

  • Here’s hoping all is finished before June when the ‘long drive up north’ begins.

But wait – you know that saying about things coming in three…..yes, there’s more but I don’t think you really want to hear me moaning and groaning about the male of the house (there’s enough bloggers like that out there)

  • So let’s just say the panel beaters couldn’t fit The Golfer’s repair in for another few weeks….. thankfully the car is drivable so seeing the damage each time he gets in during that time should remind him of how close you can drive next to an immovable object without making a dent in your bank balance. Insurance covered it but there’s that rather large 💰💰💰excess to be paid.

******

How are you all?

I’ll admit to not doing the ‘blog’ rounds – I needed a break from everything.
I don’t have a book on the go at the moment but I did read loads during the time I was offline…..I’ll tell you about them sometime soon

Short version says – it’s been rather (a bit too) hot here, hotter still with consequences somewhere else and rained a lot up there.. ……I haven’t done much knitting but have read lots, stuffed up my knee (much better now) The Golfer ‘put a dent in both his car and bank balance, plus will get a jab in the eye soon 😊

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What was that all about…..

Unhelpful remarks ….

They must be somewhere

Where did you last see them?

They’ll turn up

What do they look like?

Have you checked your pockets?

And you’re sure you’ve checked everywhere?

You had them earlier

They’ll be in the last place you looked

While this is happening…….

Try the couch

The table

The armchair

The bed

The floor

The sink in the little toilet

The bedside locker

The chest of drawers

The mantelpiece

The laundry

The handbag

The shopping bag

Under the table

Under the chair

Under the couch

Under the bed

Under the papers on the floor

In the fridge

In the front door

Or maybe try the hook by the back door!!

Yes you’ve guessed it – Catherine is looking for her keys lol

(and she’s not going to tell you where she found them😊)

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Do you ever wonder…..

Do you ever wonder what age you are at to be considered – Old

I’m a little confused…..because in the quote below I’d be classed as
Very Old……..Middle-Old……and…….Old

…..some gerontologists have recognized the diversity of old age by defining sub-groups. .
One study distinguishes the young-old (60 to 69), the middle-old (70 to 79), and the very old (80+).[16] .
Another study’s sub-grouping is young-old (65 to 74), middle-old (75 to 84), and oldest-old (85+).[17].
 A third sub-grouping is young-old (65 to 74), old (74 to 84), and old-old (85+) source

Or should I consider myself Old because like in this second quote – I can’t do things as easily as I used to.

As people get older in years they don’t tend to think of themselves as old until they can’t do something they really want to that they used to be able to do,” says Professor Ibrahim. source

****

I’ve been very contemplative since we returned home…..lots of thinking and wondering going on in my head. Wondering if I really am old, thinking about another birthday coming up. How on earth did I get to be 82?

Another week to go and I’ll be there – my birth certificate says that’s true
but my mind says otherwise.

October 1960, just turned 18 , madly in love with The Golfer and wondering what lies ahead

******

September 2024 still wondering what lies ahead – and wishing I’d used the tweezers on my chin the day before

(and yes, the little photo-top right hand corner-was taken a while ago🙂)

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Life last week – OR – Between birthdays and days out it’s been all go…….

(Photos will enlarge with a tap/click or using two finger spread). 

Well, the week got off to a good start with another of our children becoming eligible for a seniors card…..yes ‘our little girl’ turned 60. That would make me……old enough to be her mother😊. Although I do wonder where all those years went from the time she was just a little one in Singapore.


A little gathering that evening gave me a chance to chat with the new ‘householder’ – ‘oh it’s terraced I said… (party walls – very close neighbours)……. “no grandma it’s an ‘open plan townhouse’ and out the back, at the end of our ‘little enclosed garden’ we have a 2car garage “ (very important for 2 car families, means no street parking – and all the associated problems)

“it might be small grandma but it’s all ours. We could have gone for a larger ‘fixer upper’ but we don’t have the time so this’ll do us for a while”

So we’re off to visit her some time soon – about 40 mins away – and unload……pass on – several sets of wine glasses, a set of kitchen scales as well as various other items that haven’t been used by us for quite a while. Much better than the op shop!.
She does know and has approved ‘the donation’

Out to the warm water pool very early on a very cool Tuesday morning. Bliss!.
Same others there as before walking to and fro. Natter, natter, natter
This week’s cryptic overhead comment – “she’ll be sorry she ever met him”. .

Had a few chats with residents on Wednesday because due to a ‘mix up’ …their’s not mine….the scheduled ‘new’ activity didn’t take place. Learnt of several losses as well as several new arrivals, so I’ve some ‘getting to know you’ chats coming up. I did have a little smile when someone mentioned that XXX was now ‘safe in the arms of Jesus’…..it was an expression my granny (Dad’s mum) in Belfast used, was placed in death notices and inscribed at the bottom of the headstone.

Old online photo – more recent ones (after cleanup)
have family in them

Then on Thursday we were off out for a quick drive up the road to Healesville.
Seeing people’s dams so full was a sign of the wet Winter (and continuing Spring) weather in these parts, here’s hoping they won’t dry up too quickly once Summer’s heat arrives

And seeing the vineyard gangs out at work was a reminder that farming in whatever form is an all year round all weather occupation. They look to be working on a block of fairly new plantings (still have protective covers/sleeves on so maybe put in last Autumn) you can just make out the new growth on the older vines in the background and on the hillside if the photo’s enlarged.

Even though it was a chilly wet day we wanted to continue our ‘occasional lunch dates’ so it was lunch at the RSL…..definitely not as large a branch as elsewhere but has reasonably cheap cheerful and not too bad lunch deals……after seeing someone else’s (yes, I’m that person who looks at the plates going past my table) I had a chicken snitzel. Good choice, proper chicken – not those pressed forms some places serve plus cooked just right. Why do some places think it’s ok to serve very crispy, very dark brown, almost burnt offerings – because the fat was much too hot?!

Lunch was followed by coffee at you know who’s club a short drive away…….sorry no palm trees. Just miles and miles of National Park….that’s …a very shaky looking range of hills with Mount Riddell further to the ‘right’ ….through a dirty windscreen. (Someone went over the speed hump just as I tapped the phone 🙁)

*****
To round the week off Friday afternoon was Book Club #2. The one where we all read the same book (chosen by the library). These ladies are all so very different to my ‘other group’ – far more serious- sometimes I wonder if it’s my thing but then they do help me understand that what one reader may take from a book is not always the same as another. And the ‘new leader’ puts on such a fabulous afternoon tea I’d miss going just for that😊.
****.

With just two events on the calendar for this week coming I’m hoping it doesn’t change and turn out to be as busy as the one just gone
We need time for sitting and pondering and I didn’t get to do much of that
so wish me luck!.

How was your week…..busier than you liked…..or slower than you enjoy

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Linking with Min’s weekly feature – Wednesday Words and Whimsy – you’ll find the link HERE at the end of Min’s posts

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So apt….

The Golfer’s friend was an Irishman.
A lover of life, of people, of warm weather and travel plus golf …just some of things they shared in common.

TG and D – Bowen 2008

He was also a lover of music – especially ‘Folk Music’ – which he described as a different form of storytelling.
He once told me being able to compere festivals – the National Folk Fest and Port Fairy being a couple – presenting musicians/artists to the ‘world’ was an honour

As was being a broadcaster with Radio Adelaide’s Folk Show for many many years
He was a great believer in community radio as you can hear in this small clip from a longer interview

********.
It was a quiet funeral, simple not overstated. No ‘readings’ just some words from family and friends – music was a little bit of soft fiddle during the photo slide show and……

This song (sung by Ceol – an Irish folk band) played at the end as people were leaving….

……there’s a session in the corner……I don’t want to leave…..I don’t want to go…..can’t stay here and I can’t go home…….one more tune, one more tune is all we want….…give me one more for the road…..

Ceol with soul

David would’ve loved it

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The things you find…

One 50yr old photo

One young 8yr old lad – soon to become a grandfather

One ‘brazen hussy’ who actually had a waist – soon to become a gt grandma (again)

Fun Friday – the day to leave all the worries of the week behind you

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Families…who’d have ‘em!

My cousin has just become a Gt Granny and with a christening coming up soon is relaying all the ‘family gossip’ she’s gleaning from standing on the sidelines watching and listening to the preparation details.
Even though she’s not involved she’s getting a bit stressed with what she’s hearing so to put a smile back on her face – and reassure her all will go well with their do – I sent her this.
(Something I wrote elsewhere a few years ago about a family celebration )
******

Family Baptism Day

All Mary could think of as she cleaned the kitchen was how upset Aunty Josie had been at the church after the baptism of her youngest daughter’s first child.

By all accounts her cousin had arrived at the airport (no overnight ferry for her) beaming with the babe in her arms but no man there to stand at the font alongside her and the baby.  From what she gathered it seems a short explanation was given and there were smiles all round.

They’d all come back to her place for the afternoon tea she’d prepared early that morning.

There’d been so many invited that when her aunt was pointedly heard wondering where was everyone going to sit, and didn’t Mary have such a lovely big house, she hadn’t the heart to say no and had offered her home in lieu of everyone going back to her aunt’s  – which of course meant the rooms were now filled with aunties and uncles and cousins galore along with their tribes of little horrors who thankfully stayed outside in the back yard.

Mary wasn’t shy in voicing her feelings to her extended family so she’d told them (the wee ones that was) in no uncertain manner that – to use one of her father’s choice expressions – she’d have their ‘guts for garters’ if she saw them near the chicken run or  exploring the vegetable garden

Standing there by the sink, she noticed a silver coin on the bench.  One of the family would have put it into the baby’s hand and in the confusion of gathering up all the bits and pieces it been left behind.  I’ll take it round to Aunty Josie’s later she thought, as she put it into the pocket of the pinafore that covered her best frock.

Sipping on another mug of tea (no sugar, it’s fattening, she heard her late mother say) and as if to annoy her, Mary added a spoonful before mentally comparing herself to her cousin, the new mother.

Noticeably her hair hung long and loose, there was no fancy beehive hairdo for her – the only beehives in her life were the ones she’d tended all those years ago with Jimmy.  Thanks to her mother’s meddling Jimmy was long gone and no one had ever appeared to take his place.

These days, after she’d seen all the little ones on their way and closed the school for the day, her primary aim in life was to be content and at peace with herself.  Jimmy always said she needed to be close to nature – not have to deal with the dregs of society like he did.

All evening her mind kept replaying the scene at the church.
She knew in her heart the words she’d heard coming from her aunt’s mouth weren’t really the truth.

But even so….was Uncle Billy really ‘a silly old eejit who after a few drinks wouldn’t think twice about telling the world the real reason why the child’s father wasn’t there that afternoon’?

*******

Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder

Hopefully this doesn’t sound familiar to anyone

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A man and his money

Are often parted

I say he should have kept it in his pocket

They tasted revolting different.

(No, that’s not the real date – it’s to remind someone when my birthday is😊)

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True or false. ..

On the whole I’d agree with this
unless they’re someone else’s little horrors
or even your own little horrors on a bad day😊

I had a good day recently when you could say my soul was healed
A day when all the troubles and woes in my life disappeared (for a while)
I was able to be with a child I hadn’t seen for over 12 months
and was able to ‘hug’ a grandchild
a fully grown one who had repelled all touching and cuddling as a little one

’Our big girl’ who now lives 3,500 kms away over in the west (Western Australia) had come over to see her big girl (and partner) so we Three Generations had lunch together. The Golfer was there as well but didn’t get much of word in. Just sat there revelling in our company ❤️😊

(And yes a ‘smooth the lines’ filter was applied to this photo – for the 61yr old’s (perceived) benefit, to make the 81yr old smile at the thought of looking 20yrs younger ‘just like that’ but was certainly not needed for the 25yr old😊).
*******

As an aside how do you feel about filters that ‘change appearances’ – this wasn’t taken with my phone so I can’t show the original but my skin certainly doesn’t look like that. It has lines, lots of them yet it seems to have removed years from my face.

Monday Musings – a time to ponder and think

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The price we pay…..

Boxing Day sales aren’t on my radar these days.
Gone are the trips to the city for bargains only found in the main department stores that lined Bourke Street.
That became a thing of the past when they started migrating to the suburbs. Opening branches in the large shopping centres that were springing up far from the CBD.
Sadly the ‘bargains’ didn’t seem to follow them.
Sales seemed to appear regularly but nothing like those in the old days.

For a while now I’ve been saying we need new pillows- our rubber/latex/memory foam ones (call them what you like) had gone a bit flat, yes I know pillows are flat, perhaps what I mean is they weren’t comfortable anymore. .
So off I went shopping.
Not on Boxing Day but on New Year’s Eve when it was a little bit quieter. Not in the city but just 6km down the road.

It’s a fair while since I bought pillows so stepped away very quickly from the shelves in horror- sticker shock – have they risen in price ?
Too bloody right they have!
And the number of brands getting in on the act selling them has increased as well.
So after taking a little longer than I thought I would – price comparison does my head in these days – I’m up to the till – paid – and off home – where I needed a sit down with a cuppa to recover.

I’d bought myself a slightly different one than The Golfer’s – which after I’d put in a case and then on the bed realised was a mistake. It sat too high. Shades of Goldilocks and The Three Bears as I lay there testing The Golfer’s and deciding his would have been a better choice for me as well!

Knowing some items can be returned and others not (sale or otherwise) I decided to chance my luck a few days later and try for a refund.
*‘Oh not sure about that…health regulations….
‘Just placed on the bed
*‘Oh dear, on the bed….
‘Yes, but in a pillow case. Not slept on. If it’s a problem I’ll take it home (and to myself – just swallow the $100 loss. Better than the $200 full retail though)
*‘I’ll see what I can do….

Credit refund back on card and I return to the bedding dept – slightly different signage.
Still says ‘Sale price’ though so pick up the one I came for and return to till
Different cashier – that’ll be $99 please
Pardon – I paid $35 for one in the sale the other day and the signage says sale finishes on the 6th and it’s only the 3rd today
But that sale (up to 31st) was for Everyone’’ – this sale (from 1st to 6th) is ‘Members Only’
Are you a member??
No….
Well the retail price for the pillow is $99
Members sale price is $29.99 which is less than you paid the other day
All I need is your name and phone number for you to buy at the lower price

It’s a very comfortable pillow – sits evenly alongside The Golfer’s – and should last a while 😊

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🧶 Things that made me smile. . .

Friday I packed Christmas away – taking it all down slowly brought the same Memory Lane smiles as putting it up
There was the looking at, touching, reminding myself of where things came from smiles as well as who was with me happy (and sad) thoughts.

Deciding on using two trees this year just meant it took a little bit longer. 

The ‘small tree’ is always set up on the hall table but the ‘big tree’ hasn’t made an appearance for several years now and wasn’t going to this year either except I had a ‘fit of the sentiments’ (as my mother would say for any unusual behaviour in us girls) and brought it indoors to enjoy for possibly the last time.

But having said that, I actually felt it quite comforting seeing it dressed and ‘twinkling’ away in the corner – especially in the evening just as the light outside was slowly fading.

Plus listening to grown, now very much adult in their 20s grandchildren oohing and aahing over baubles and other decorations (oh grandma I remember this one) makes me think this might not have been its swansong after all 😊

So as I said I went slowly, taking my time, making sure nothing was left behind – not tempting fate or encouraging bad luck – because the next day
Saturday was Twelfth Night!

*******.
Then there was this past weekend when hot humid days ( the ones referred to in the constant severe weather warnings) turned into humid wet days culminating in a torrential stormy yesterday (Monday). There was flooding and associated storm damage locally as well as many places statewide- some still reeling from their last bout of flooding. Locally we ended up with 50mm of rain but various country towns received over 100mm – nothing to smile about there! Poor Rochester still trying to rebuild after last year’s floods is being evacuated again !.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/victoria-weather-severe-storms-flash-flooding-regional-areas/a1808316-1d41-4841-970c-c10c85e0da3c


You do begin to wonder why the BOM declared El Niño had returned (meaning a long hot dry summer) since starting from the beginning of December with Cyclone Jasper in Qld, the whole east coast NSW Victoria as well as SA have been inundated with wet stormy weather.
https://the-riotact.com/what-happened-to-el-nino-does-the-bom-need-to-update-its-forecast-models/734309
*****

Anyway, putting all that aside (not that you can really) no cricket on tv and we’re ‘tennised out’ for the time being – (the United Cup, Brisbane & Canberra International have all finished, Adelaide and Hobart are on the go plus qualifying for the AO has just begun) . .
. . so spent yesterday safe and dry outside on the back deck. I had another idea for using up soft coloured leftovers and The Golfer had just started The Seven – Chris Hammer’s latest book.
We were both enjoying the carolling concert put on by a magpie who’d taken refuge from the pouring rain (not unusual- they often pop in and fly off) when there’s a whoosh and squark – one bedraggled cocky has arrived! .
This is going to be interesting I thought.
Each is a wild bird and I wasn’t sure whether they would tolerate each other being so close

They both sat there for a while- almost trying to outdo each other in the noise they were making. The Cockatoo kept looking at the Magpie – who just kept on carolling. The cocky looked at us as if for some sort of support

Then it went quiet – Maggie had flown off and cocky was sitting there with a ‘butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth ’ look

Of course he didn’t stay that way for long and sauntered over to entertain us as though he owned the place. Smiles all round as we sat there watching his ‘routine’ – then he tootled off over to join his mates in the big gum tree at the back. 


There was so much noise coming out of that tree I’m sure he was bragging about being ‘comfy and warm’ while they all flew around looking for a dry spot to rest up 😊

Sharing with Min’s Wednesday Words and Whimsy linkup found HERE


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Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge

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Train Tram & Ferry

(Sitting in drafts unpublished from last year – took place Saturday 9 April 2022)

‘We can get off at Flinders Street and walk’ he said. ‘How far, how long?’ I asked

‘Not too far’ he said. ‘A couple of kms’. ‘You’re joking’ I replied

’OK, well we’ll get off at Spencer Street, and go over that way. It’s about a 15 min walk’

‘Not sure I can make that after sitting on a hard train seat for 45mins. It’s Saturday, so change at Ringwood then stopping all stations to the city’ I said.

‘Alright then, I’ll forgo my morning walk. We can get off at Flinders Street and take the tram right to the dock’ he said.

Oh the joys of living with a back condition that can impede walking – and a man able to walk an 18hole golf course with no problems at all.

And this was the place to be – at the Melbourne Ferry Terminal
Victoria Harbour
waiting for the ferry to Portarlington

We had the Lady Cutler on our left, the Bolte Bridge in front and the pineapple looking Banksia Apartments along with the leaning Marina Tower to the right

Bolte Bridge dead ahead

Be prepared- a welcome?? sight as you wait to board

On our way now sailing past some little wooden boats outside The Victorian Wooden Boat Centre. The Enterprize (replica) was docked alongside there as well.

https://enterprize.org.au

Now we’re all out to sea – well not quite. . .
just dodging the Saturday sailors as we begin our way across the bay
(Port Philip Bay)

Then it was all aboard for a special trip – a gift for a special anniversary.
Sail, Rail & Dine – delayed a whole year because of ‘you know what’.
https://www.theqtrain.com.au

*******

A stop at Suma Park allowed people to get off and stretch their legs. There was nothing ‘arranged’ there so it was just wander up and down admiring the carriages and the engine if you walked that far forward (plus a very nice bench which I couldn’t resist). We could see staff tidying up the dining rooms preparing to serve desserts when we got back on, so true to form for many of them, when the time came, smokers who’d been asked to stand away from the train all left it as late as possible – puffing away then stamping it out just before they scrambled onboard.

Our girls bought the gift thinking we were going to be pulled by the steam engine – sadly he was booked for a special weekend event .. but we did get a glimpse of him further up the track 😊

Then it was time to get the coach back to Portarlington to connect with the ferry back to Docklands. No sitting outside on the return trip, this is how it was all the way across the bay. Dark clouds and strong winds!

We’d planned to wander round the Docklands area but it was cool, wet and windy when we got off the ferry – the tram and train home to our far eastern suburb sounded like a far better idea.

April 8 1961 – April 9 2022

Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge

Sharing with Wednesday Words &Whimsy hosted by Min HERE

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Keeping the tradition alive ….

And what tradition would that be?’ I hear you ask

Taking the children into the city to look at Myer’s Christmas Windows
(Myer is a large department store in Bourke Street)

Windows dressed for the Christmas season
With a new theme each year.
This was the big unveil at Myer 2023

68 Years of magic – Myer Christmas Windows over the years

No children with us last time we went (2014) but we had fun just the same.
This was the year of The Three Bears

Fun for the young

And for the not so young

They are lit from morn to dawn (7.30am – 1am)
Lovely to look at – difficult to photograph!

The large reflected buildings are on the other side of the road
And do you see who I see 🙂

What sort of things are traditional festive outings for families in your town?
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Sharing with Wednesday Words &Whimsy hosted by Min HERE. 

Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge

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Where oh where have my little men gone…..

Oh where, oh where, can they be?

(I published this elsewhere 5 years ago and am still looking 🤔)

My paternal grandad (the one who was gone before I arrived) had two brothers plus several half brothers  Deaths in Ireland in the mid 1800s were frequent so his father (my gt grandfather) was married twice.

The habit of giving children family given names – 1st son usually got their paternal grandfather’s name (plus more sometimes) likewise for daughters being given maternal grandmother’s names and so on – makes it so hard to pin point and attach the correct John, James, or even Archibald (who calls their child Archibald – my family obviously because it seems like there are hundreds of them out there) or even anyone else for that matter to the correct family.  John Smith could have 5 sons who each have a son, which means there you are, there’s 5 more John Smiths often with only a few years between them.

When my gt grandad named the boys in his second family he obviously couldn’t carry on the way he was going – he’d used up all the male names from both his and his deceased wife’s extended families which meant the new sons ended up with slightly different ones that originated in the new wife’s family.

So when associated with an unusual surname you’d think they’d be easy to find in amongst all the online records available on various family history sites.  You’d think??.

I’ve found the correct birth records for all three brothers plus 1901 Irish census and they’re filed away…… I’ve located a marriage certificate, 1911 Irish census record as well as a death cert. for my grandad (my dad’s dad) but nothing more for the other two.

The trouble is so many in their family or extended family from other counties all with the same surname (and at times with the same given names) decided life would be better elsewhere and hopped on ships to sail to other lands.  Passenger records are interesting in that sometimes the name recorded could be a full set of given names plus family name or any one of abbreviations/nicknames the person is called…..  Alexander James could be that or Alex or Alec or James (if his father has the same name) or even Jimmy!

Then there’s the case of illiteracy…….lack of reading and writing skills……….or even bad hearing in a noisy environment…..where names spoken aren’t always transcribed with the same spelling.  My father was adamant one of his grandmothers was a Muldoon – yes that, plus the McIldoon – McEldoon or M’Eldoon which I’ve found on legal docs.  Same with his other grandma – she’s recorded as being Mary M’Endoo or McAdoo or McAdor!  Northern Ireland accents could fool even the locals lol

That little saying up above is what my dad told me when I gave him his first grandchild.  Tell him about where the family came from but don’t stop him flying away to see what the rest of the world is like.

Now if anyone knows where my Thomas Henry ***** and his brother Joseph Arthur ***** have flown off to could you tell them their gt niece Catherine is looking for them 😊😎

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Surprise find….

More birthday treats – we had lunch in Healesville last week at a ‘new to us’ place imaginatively called No.7 Healesville……their street number is 7 🙂

The beauty of using gift vouchers is they often take you out of your comfort zone…specialising in Mexican fare using a shared plate system this definitely wasn’t a run of the mill pub lunch affair. I enjoyed it so much I nearly forgot to catch some food photos 😊

My almost finished serving of Thyluda, avocado, pea, baked ricotta, herbs – on the plate
Silver trevally ceviche, pineapple vinaigrette, cucumber, purslane – in the bowl

Eaten outside under a big brolly on a sunny but not too hot day it was surprising how filling seven small courses plus wine and coffee was – my very ladylike comment when I got in the car was “Don’t drive off yet, I need to loosen my trousers, I’m stuffed”

Not my photo

Outside table tops made from what appeared to be rough slabs of concrete!


Just wondering if we enjoyed it enough to return as ‘paying customers’…will have to think about that. What new experiences have you had recently?

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Would you like another one. .

So these are the birthday chocolates bought as a treat for both of us

With birthdays 5 days apart it’s always – treats for both of us

❤️ Hamlet Belgian chocolates ❤️

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Would you like another one. . .

What do you think . .

Is the pope Catholic?


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Oh dear now look at what’s happened

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Never mind – one down. . . three more to go 😊

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(Sharing with Min’s Wednesdays Words & Whimsy)

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All steamed up. . .

I have a special liking for steam trains. They’ve always fascinated me. Doesn’t matter where I see them or in what form – real or imaginary – there’s something about them that always puts a little smile on my face, a feeling of excitement. I suppose it’s sort of in the genes – my paternal grandfather was on the railways in Ireland (most of the males in his family were as well) Like his brother he ‘rose up through the ranks’ to become an engine driver but others were engine firemen, station masters, porters and a generation before ‘gangers’

The engines always look like big monsters needing all that coal and water to make the steam to ‘turn the wheels’. I’m not that cluey to understand how it works but THIS might help if you really would like to know

This mural is in George Street Bowen depicting locomotives used in Queensland.
B1079 – – – C17

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We have an organisation here in Victoria called Steamrail – https://www.steamrail.com.au

Steamrail Victoria is a not-for-profit volunteer group established in 1965 to restore and operate historic locomotives and rolling stock used on the railways in Victoria, Australia.
Source – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamrail_Victoria

8am Saturday 24 March 2012

I’ve no idea aka I can’t remember why we were at Spencer Street Station so early but this was a a real surprise. Steamrail were obviously having a day trip / tour somewhere. Hissing and steaming, providing photo opportunities, putting smiles on peoples faces, promising a good time for all.

A bit of history on locomotive K153 – https://www.steamrail.com.au/k153

Min is now hosting a Wednesday link up – Wednesday Words & Whimsy. 
Why not drop in HERE and see who her visitors are – perhaps you’d like to join in as well

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