Seeing this little ‘rustic’ outdoor area on a blog recently brought back all sorts of memories of the time (a few years ago now) I asked The Golfer if he’d build me a little summer house (to use in the winter)
What I had in mind was something like this 👇 – maybe not so large- but light and airy so I could enjoy our winter sunshine and not be cooped up indoors
‘Let me think about it’ was all I got A week later it changed to ‘won’t be anywhere near that size and definitely not made from new doors & windows!’. Then he asked ‘does it have to have closing doors?’ ***** Then he asked if I knew anyone doing home renovations- changing doors or even windows- demolishing an old house even – sorry no OK I’ll call into some builders yards – you know those salvage yards where they sell all that second hand stuff. No such thing as ‘looking online’ then ***** Then it was ‘do they all have to match??’ What about something like this – describing a sitting area like these below . ‘Interesting’ I said, seeing my ‘dream’ diminish
Out came a quick sketch of something much smaller, plus ‘all we need is four doors, a bit of wood for the roof and maybe a pallet for the floor’. But you might be waiting a bit because have you seen the price of second hand doors and windows ???
Needless to say I never did get my little summer house😎.
Sharing this post with the inaugural link up of Wednesday Words & Whimsy which can be found HERE at Min’s blog
Oh, the weather outside is frightful But the fire is so delightful And since we’ve no place to go….because golf was cancelled Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!.
Let it rain! Let it pour! Let it flood!.
(The predicted wet weather arrived – it’s very wet and almost like winter!)
This new tv has arrived at just the right time It’s kept The Golfer occupied Not actually watching anything Just discovering what mysteries are located in the settings
The latest discovery – voice control! He doesn’t have to use his finger to change channels He can just ask the voice assistant I really need to know her name because he’s become quite friendly with her this past week
Not to warn her off but thank her for keeping him out of my way😊
Three remotes on the bench – which one will you choose?
When we left town in July we had a television that might not have been used all that often but was working well, even though at 17yrs it was getting on a bit (compared to modern standards that is) Returned home and it started to play up…turning itself back on from mute plus the sound kept rising all on its own accord….responding to the remote at times, then defiantly staying at ear splitting level 100. New batteries were no help – set top controls not working either. So the decision was made!
There was lots of measuring (limited space where it will live) looking/ comparing/ discussing at home then repeated live in the store. In the end it was ‘that’ll do’ – it fits the space and doesn’t seem too complicated plus there was a bit of price negotiations (“we don’t usually match that place” prove you’re a member etc etc) which ended well and saved us travelling further afield. The enormous box just fitted across the back seat which saved us ‘persuading’ one of our boys to pick it up….
Then it was onto the rigmarole fun and games we’d heard about called ‘setting it up’. We sort of knew it wasn’t going to be a case of turn it on and away you go but oh dear, this was a new experience (hopefully not to be repeated any day soon) who knew it would be such a palaver trying to connect it to the house wifi.
Anyway this new television came with clunky strange shaped ‘smart tv magic remote’ that does more than the usual on/off softer/louder change channel stuff – remember we’re really latecomers to this game and learning ways to use it….when there are only basic instructions included….has been interesting. Attempts at trying to direct/guide a cursor by waving this unfamiliar object in the air were frustrating (for both of us) …I had to leave the room a couple of times, my suggestions were not welcomed at all 😊
And this is where the tale of the three remote controls begins…
A while ago some of the buttons on the original remote for the previous set were playing up so The Golfer got himself a universal one, a new ‘better, everything worked one’, I was content with the original (give it a bash tap on the chair and the buttons worked again 😊) Saved me asking him to change channels or alter the sound although there had been words ‘spoken’ (by me) if he got annoyed tired of watching adverts and started looking around at other programmes forgetting we – not just he – were in the middle of watching something.
‘So I suppose we just toss these’ said a rather unhappy Catherine looking at the two discarded ones. There were visions of ‘change the channel please – turn it up a bit, I can’t hear it – cut the noise, I can’t hear you’ returning to the lounge room. Plus having to actually locate the thing if needed. Things have a habit of being covered up or sliding down the side of chairs. ‘Well they’re not going to work, are they’ he said. ‘I’ll just try’ she said, Fingers crossed, hoping hoping Surprise Surprise…against all odds she was pleasantly surprised to find the old original one does. So does the universal one, except it just sits ignored beside a certain person’s chair, because he’s happy playing with his new beaut one.
So things have returned to ‘normal’ our lounge room, Catherine still gets to change channels and control the sound if she wants to without having to wrestle verbally (or physically😊) with another (who has a habit of guarding those black things with his life….just joking….but it does seem like that at times)
What did The Golfer do when he noticed I wasn’t feeling the best..
He took me out to lunch at The Cove – a special spot with its green tropical garden plus sea views. Lightly booked that day but because it was very warm we decided to sit ‘inside’ under cover. But look, inside or out the food tastes just as good.
Here’s my King Prawn Salad with crispy Noodles – neither of us remember what The Golfer ate so we’ll just have to go again to refresh his memory 😊
***** And what was there to do but laugh the day we tried the little coffee shop down the road and it had run out of table space but had room at the outside bar. Now that’s great for those who can clamber up onto high stools – not so for a short legged Catherine having an achy back day. I found a little stool made a great improvised table while The Golfer enjoyed his from up on high
******. Then just when I thought ‘all was lost’ and I’d never see it again, what did he do but find my little gold heart and chain – down the back of the bed! Not one for glamour and glitter this was one gift from him I wouldn’t like to lose.
Four ‘treasures’ that go everywhere with me
What would I take…
There are other sentimental items in my life but if we had to leave home in a hurry the charm & chain along with the beautiful pearl ring that did not cost a fortune- (story recounted here) – another ring (found in an op shop) so similar in design that when worn together they look like a matching set and my mothers very thin ‘9ct utility’ wartime wedding ring which I wear in front to hold the two together would be what I’d pick up first.
[This was a fun trivia question at a recent mixed Probus gathering- men v ladies. The answers were surprising….not all ladies opted for jewellery- not all men opted for power tools. Most mentioned photographs.]
18 yr old Catherine (below) would often tell her parents she would never join the ‘When We’ club. That was their pet name for the recollections some people often have. . .usually beginning “Do you remember when (we) ****” – or when bragging rights appear “well, when we did this that or the other” which usually was much better than anyone else taking part in the conversation.
Then she met The Golfer who even as a young man was a master member of the club – at that time his ‘questioning’ was usually when surrounded by other servicemen he’d served with – about different places and events relevant to them all. In later years it is still about the same things….service personnel never lose their memories of familiar connections that bind them to each other.
These days his ‘remember when’s’ have also become memory joggers – if he can’t quite place a time or event – hopefully Catherine can😊
In the mean time Catherine…who stood by her word and still won’t start a conversation with those words ….has been noticing recently all those young ones who visit the bay early in the morning are fit and healthy.
It’s not uncommon to see them (singly or in a group) facing east, looking out at the ocean, practicing their Salute to the Sun plus various other poses right there on the sands.
And in her mind, silently, she has been ‘remembering when’
When it was all so easy….
Yes, there are other ways to achieve the same benefit but….. *****
Sometimes you just have to shake your head and look the other way
When we are away Screwdrivers and Multigrips usually live in the car but when the wheels drop off the ‘not old old but definitely not new’ golf ‘carry the clubs’ thingy aka cart/buggy (or something goes wrong with something that connects the wheels to the golf thingy) it appears they are allowed to take up residence next to the bed
Thinking about buying a new one 🤨 meant an hours drive down the Bruce Highway to try Airlie Beach and then on to Proserpine, which produced nothing – none in stock/ no call for that size – a size slightly different to the regular one he uses – one that folds up to just the right size to fit in the boot of the car when we’re travelling (and leave room for other things as well) – so it was back to the cabin to size up the situation and call on his ‘make do and mend’ mentality.
The repairs involved metal coil things, cable ties, straps and nuts/bolts Hurrah for local hardware places Not as elegant as a new one but a darn sight cheaper!
(It’ll hold until we leave for home and then he’ll have all summer to think about a replacement or a better repair)
Poor Josephine has been itching for an hour or two in my hands – she didn’t get the hoped for reading on the drive up and took a back seat while I’ve been knitting and nursing The Golfer over the past week. Honestly you wouldn’t read about it…. since our run in with Covid last December we’ve tried to stay out of harms way but I’m beginning to think someone’s got it in for us.
Before we left home there was my setback that put us a week behind and then very late afternoon the day we arrived The Golfer had a sudden tickly throat cough episode…one that wouldn’t go away. Just before ‘lights out’ I jokingly asked if he’d anything else going on…..well I’m a bit hot!.
Oh bu****, we’ve been on the road four days, what’s he picked up?. Incubation time? I sat in the car as well as the table and didn’t mix with anyone while he dealt with ordering & paying for anything (fuel/food). Please don’t let it be the dreaded ‘you know what’.
(As an aside, gone are those days of driving off with a toothbrush comb and a couple of changes of clothes and underwear….these days – we all know what happens these days…..along with this that and the other there’s also the ‘you never know/ might needs’ in the form of a small chemist shop that comes along in a box. Honestly It’s a real pain such a nuisance to have to go buy something you’ve got sitting in the cupboard at home.
Anyway this year for the first time I set it all out and talked it through with the man – bring or leave and buy if needed. So as well as a few other bits, no thermometer no cough mixture no Vicks made the cut (famous last words …..we’ve never been sick here- we’ll nip down the road if we need it)
At the last moment for some reason I did put in a couple of boxes of RAT tests… …this ‘illness’ seemed very Covid like but didn’t pass the test (3 over several days) more than a cold but not as bad as flu – or how we imagine flu to be ( it could have been a mild case – yet enough to ‘knock him out enough to need bed rest’ as he’d had his booster a month previously).
All this to say here we are 7 days after arriving, the pharmaceutical dept has been enlarged, and we now appear ready to enjoy our stay. Last week’s rainy days passed, the (very lukewarm) sun made an appearance, the golf clubs had their first (very slow) airing this morning and (now I’m able to concentrate) I’ve been to the library sussing out new reading material.
Josephine -well, her nearly finished Insp. Grant novel – (along with me and my man) finally made it down the road to Rose Bay on Saturday morning – the first day it was warm enough to sit out without being bundled up. Seems like I’m getting to be more like a local than a visiting tourist 😎
Well that’s been my week- how’s yours been? I wonder what’s in store- known or unknown- for any of us this week coming?
Sharing with Denyse’s weekly link up Wednesday’s Words & Pics Why don’t you pop over – you never know who’s visiting her today
During the winter we sit near the fire down at the front end Summer time means the outside deck is the place to be Unless it’s too hot – then it’s inside to eat and outside for drinks and chat
There’s free off street parking right there at the back door and if there’s ever a time I can’t manage the steps….well, The Golfer can drive round the corner and drop me at the main front door
I had a ‘lovely light lunch’ of quiche plus salad and a small serve of some perfectly cooked hot chips …….but Bad Blogger that I am…..I forgot to take a photo. I did take one of my coffee though😊. Someone had been practicing their latte art – an autumn leaf.
The 2nd of the ‘big boy’ jumpers is finished. And the 3rd in the trio is begun. Another Sirdar pattern from the same era so I’ve just used the same measurements and adjusted the side panel stitches. They should (hopefully) all be very similar in size
As simple as it looks it took a little while to get the cable sequences right and there were a few choice words spoken and rows unpicked at one stage so I might just chicken out and do a plain back as well as plain sleeves
When all three are finished and finally on their way to Knit one Give one aka KOGO the time will have come to concentrate on something different- something close to my heart – something I’ve been thinking about for a while.
It’s two years to the day since Patsy my blond curly haired little sister died Tribute – Sleep well my little one.
Next sister – Me – Little sister Patsy – Baby brother 1998
Take a look at this delightful photo (which I might have shown before) of Patsy (aged about 3)…….maybe just maybe, there might be some woolies coming up featuring little bunny rabbits. And as an aside it’ll be 20yrs on Saturday since my mum (she who knit Patsy’s rabbit jumper) died. These anniversaries are so hard on the heart.
I’m thinking my ‘2023 word to work with’ is going to be consider so I’ll have to think carefully about this one. Cardigan or Jumpers (sweaters). Size….can’t be too small or it will be dwarfed by the motif. Colour……practical for children in unknown circumstances or ‘soft and pretty’ because that’s what she was. I know there are graphs somewhere in amongst my patterns so guess what I’ll be doing today……if I don’t get sidetracked by my latest read .
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont is a very short book to begin a shorter than usual month. Hopefully this will rekindle enthusiasm after my short reading lull during the last month.
Apart from the two mentioned early last month there was just one more book finished during January. The Commandant – Jessica Anderson. Historical Fiction about Moreton Bay Penal Colony (later to become Brisbane), involving the strange combination of its real life controversial commander Patrick Logan plus his wife’s (fictional) sister Frances. I didn’t make it to book club because covid had come visiting so after a reasonable pause this (January’s) book was delivered to my door. It would’ve been rude of me not to start it…….actually it turned out to be a very good read
Wednesday is the day Kat hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘ Today is also the first Wednesday in February so I’m sharing my post – pop over and discover what others are knitting, reading and talking about
Over the years I’ve often thought about something and wondered ‘did that really happen’ – was I there or am I remembering someone else’s recollections that might have been mentioned in passing. My memory sometimes plays tricks with me and on the odd occasion I’ve actually (in a nice way) been proven wrong. Which doesn’t do much for your self esteem when you think you’re ageing quite nicely.
Anyway when we were younger (1950s) and went over to visit family in Belfast we always stayed with the same aunt. Of Dad’s sisters she was the one who had the room to put up another family….basically doubling the amount of people in her house….now that’s what’s called love.
At the time there were 3 of us girls and 3 girl cousins and the words ‘6 in a wonky bed’ keep cropping up in my mind but I don’t remember it actually happening. It’s what family did in those days but I can’t see (in my minds eye) us top and tail in a big bed. I’ve no idea where Mum & Dad slept or Aunty Maudie and Uncle Herby slept but it’s where us 3 girls and the 3 girls cousins spent the night that’s been bothering me.
I had a surprise early last month when a cousin contacted me on a genealogy site – he is the ‘baby brother’ of these girl cousins, he was much younger than me so we didn’t actually ‘know’ each other which meant lots of newsy notes have passed to and from each other. He mentioned he’d forwarded them onto his sisters and this came back from one of them:-
Tell Catherine my memory is 6 of us sharing a bed when they stayed with us. xx”
When I passed all this on to my next sister this is what she came back with:-
Memories of Finaghy. Definitely the 6 in a bed plus the uncertainty of the springs dropping through the frame and us ending up on the floor.
So it looks like it did actually happen. I’m still wondering though if my memory has been sparked by others talking about it..
How do you go with memories…..are yours real? or second hand passed on by others who were also there?
Nobody believed me when I said I used to cook cakes
Even the ones who were there 😊
One little boy with his older brother – nearly seniors now Oh dear, how did they get to be that old
This hoard of old photos is really bringing back memories- I can see those two little lads sitting there by the back door as if it were yesterday.
I have some friends who dislike looking at old images because they see the years that have passed them by – me, I love them because I think they remind us of that passage of time and how it has defined the person/s we/they are today We are able to look back and see how our life has changed. See what we got up to in those years gone by, how or if we altered our attitudes, losing or gaining friends along the way. Happily or sadly how we ended up where we are today.
Whether they are forgotten experiences (as in the boys not remembering the chocolate cake) or ones remembered fondly (like me remembering the day I cooked the chocolate cake in the tiny kitchen with the boys hanging around to get a ‘lick of the wooden spoon’) there’s no denying they happened.
So yes in my younger days, even if the family think otherwise I did cook chocolate cakes
~ ~ ~ ~
How about you – are there things you’ve done (run marathons, climbed mountains, cooked cakes) that nobody believed you have/could have done??
(This is one of my long ‘thinking out loud’ posts – you’re welcome to leave now )
~ ~ ~ ~
Something that’s been On my Mindthese past few days has been how I reacted when I realised the use (or non use) of one thing led to the need and use of another which led to the need for and use of something much more necessary . And after seeing how quickly it struck, the realisation that even fully vaccinated (2 original doses plus 2 boosters) without the last item he would well and truly have been up sh*t creek. And yes, the full cost of that antiviral medication was $1101.39 AUD! ~ ~ ~
Being annoyed because someone decided…in an auditorium filled with about 1000 other people…( in an environment where now – rightly or wrongly – “…It is no longer a legal requirement for people diagnosed with COVID-19 to isolate…” source)… with case numbers rising again and me sitting beside him wearing one…NOT to mask up… was nothing to how I felt when someone told me a couple of days later ‘he felt a bit off’ but he’d taken a couple of Panadol so should be right. He seemed to be in denial even though his RAT test was +ve almost instantly (plus the 2nd one because ‘maybe the 1st wasn’t correct’)
A couple of hours later his temp was sky high and he was feeling ‘more than a bit off’ (And yes I know there’s no guarantee when masks are worn but at least you’re making an effort to protect yourself and others……including those you ‘love!)
That first day there was much anger…Angela rightly called it resentment…name calling, some involving words The Golfer didn’t realise I knew….because deep down I was worried. Both for him and also selfishly me. Everything seemed to take time – I seemed to be constantly on the go. Phone scripts are great if the link works, waiting for ones sent direct to the pharmacy took more time. Needing to start that medication plus use the prescribed inhaler asap seemed to make it go slower.
Then there was daily laundering – clothing and bed linen because of high raised temp/fever 38/39°, vomiting, spilled drinks, you name it, – unexpected incontinence even…yes maybe TMI but an unusual symptom – trying to get him to drink and possibly eat a little something (sore throat, don’t want it!) – dippy eggs with soldiers plus hot water, honey & lemon to the rescue! (Also grated cheese on toast done under the grill so it was soft then cut in quarters so he could nibble from the middle and leave the crusts. Nursery food!). Health dept. suggestion of keeping everything he used separate and sterilised was interesting but manageable.
Nature was kind so he was able to sit outside most days, which was a help – fresh air and sunshine were good for him – meant I could keep him company at a distance – all the doors and windows inside could be open – also because trying to get him to keep a mask on indoors (near me) was a trial – lots of wars of words – I was ready to clobber him one if I heard the words ‘yes mum’ again.
For me sleeping in the other bedroom (another ‘highly recommended- if possible’ health dept suggestion) was necessary but not fun. Almost had one ear/one eye open most nights… this was my strong confident man shuffling along needing to be guided to the toilet because he couldn’t locate the door, waking me to ask if I put the bins out (not on bin night tho’), heard rustling around in the linen cupboard, no idea where he was, looking for the hot water bottle ( my feet are cold – put some socks on – don’t want to) Oh dear illness does strange things to people.
It’s all over bar the shouting (and the lingering cough) now, daily health dept ‘check up’ contact calls have morphed into calls alternating with phone questionnaires,…. Wednesday he’s going to venture onto the golf course, attempting just half a round – 9 holes. I’m feeling a little guilty about how I felt and words that were spoken by ME – the one who has spent all her life living, working, then volunteering in a ‘caring environment’.
This time 3 years ago December 2019, we’d have wondered what all the fuss was about. Now we know better – but – if there was this much stress, frustration and disappointment (How could you – I don’t need this) in a household of just two people, how on earth did households with several covid cases cope?
If you got this far thank you for reading- I just needed to get it off my chest. Now it’s time for another cup of tea and wonder what this week will bring😊
There are so many rabbit holes on the internet designed to lure us in like fish to a hook. And like many of us who are searchers of family past and present I subscribe to one called Ireland Reaching Out – a free site ( no payment needed) one that you don’t have to be a ‘member of’ to enjoy the content. Just ‘drop in and read’ – if you are really interested you could join their mailing list – which is how I found this interesting article
But first…..
After my Granny in Belfast died (1960) and Dad had come back from the funeral it was a little bit quiet in our house. Slowly he started to talk about it and one thing he mentioned and seemed rather happy over puzzled us
Dad said ‘all the houses on both sides of the street had closed their curtains’
We sort of knew it was an old fashioned thing to do with funerals but that was all
Then Mum would often say ‘don’t put your shoes on the table – it’s bad luck’.
We had no idea what would happen but none of us dare put shoes (new or otherwise) on the table😊
That Irish website I referred to up above recently put out a new article. One where Rituals, Superstitions, Women, Games and the Church all played a part.
The traditional “Merry Wake” represented the core of the funeral customs of the poor. Opposed by the Roman Catholic clergy throughout the nineteenth century, the “Merry Wake” was performed right up to the first half of the twentieth centurysource
And after reading it guess what I discovered – two little gems that might explain Mum and Dad’s words…..plus much much more
All curtains in the house would be drawn except for the one nearest the body to allow a clear pathway to heaven
~ ~ ~ ~
Candles were placed at the head and foot of the deceased along with a pair of shoes to aid their travel to the next world
“…the carpet, originally green, but worn bare in many places, resembled a drought stricken lawn…”
Memories of the crisp brown ground we had in the back garden during those 10 long years of drought with no outside watering of any sort allowed
December 2006
Backyard cricket at Grandma’s in the early 2000s meant keeping something on your feet because the ‘lawn’ was hard and you never knew what you might tread on!
And yes, over the back fence was out….because nobody was game enough to go and ask for the ball back….because our ‘delightful neighbour’ would just tell them to get lost!
~ ~ ~ ~ . Green now after a recent ‘southern wet’….but who knows what this summer will bring
Wish ~ desire or hope for something to happen. If wishes were fishes we’d all swim in riches!
A winter wish from a few years ago!
Two photos taken in the very early 1950s came to light the other day and a whole lot of emotions bubbled up to surface – some good some not so good
Plus the word Wish….
I would have been about 9 in the first one – it was a happy day. My grandad from Belfast had come over on the boat to visit us in England and an uncle plus his family were there also. I had on a new dress and remember wishing I could wear it every day and that Grandad didn’t have to go back home.
As we were growing up there were times when my sister would wish she didn’t have to wear ‘cast offs’ with turned up hems. She would never accept the fact that as much as she wished otherwise, it wasn’t my fault I was growing out of clothes, she was growing as well, money didn’t grow on trees and she was next in line – as you can see.
You never get anything by wishing, my mother was fond of saying. Hard work and determination is what’s needed!,
That was my mother, wearied from the war years, the one I wished would love me more than the sister she gave my clothes to. If she loved me, she wouldn’t have got angry and cut (chopped) my hair off with her big scissors. I remember squealing and shouting as she brushed it one morning, trying to untangle the knots before it was plaited for school, all the time saying to me ‘I wish you would be quiet and stand still’ Oh how I wished I’d done as I was told that day – my mother was no hairdresser and I went to school that morning looking a bit – odd
It’s strange that all these years later I’m reflecting on this and wishing things had turned out differently – my mother and I never got on, my sister continued to get my ‘cast offs, I never grew my hair long, Grandad went away back across the Irish Sea and I only got to see him 3 more times.
Oh, but listen to this, my sister still wears ‘cast offs’ – chosen very carefully with a good eye for what will suit her – from ‘Green Boutiques’ (aka charity shops)😊
And….. the beach with a hammock turned up on Green Island Qld back in 2009……..still looking for the winning lotto ticket though 😊
Are you a dreamer hoping your wishes come true? ~ ~ or more like my mother ~ ~ who thought wishes were pointless?
Linking to Wednesday’s Words & Pics hosted by Denyse. Where you’ll find lots of life to read about
Someone else had a birthday a couple of weeks ago so we took the train ‘up to town’ on a Sunday and enjoyed our first time at the theatre in goodness knows how long. A second time of seeing ‘Come from Away’, (catching it before it closes this Melbourne season and moves on up to Sydney) and we enjoyed it as much as the first time in 2019. Reminders of a couple of visits to Newfoundland a few years ago now but still fresh in our memories.
Smiles at seeing the tv masts from the station at Mooroolbark, smiles at being back in the lovely little heritage listed Comedy Theatre with its chandelier type lighting and a bar down there on the lower level right next to the stalls. There was a brolly and a mask in my bag, plus a small book to read on the train – after all the rain we’ve had I was glad I didn’t need the brolly after all but I did use the mask. Too many people all close together with about 2/3rds of them maskless. Everyone seemed to have a phone though!
Smiles at seeing travellers on suburban lines in masks, I can’t remember seeing any on the country V/Line trains (or dedicated platforms) when I took the lower photo at (don’t make me say it) Southern Cross Station back in April. It will always be Spencer Street Station to me. There are times I wished we lived ‘out of town’ – compared to the comfort of the country trains the comfort (??) of suburban stock is nil.
Tuesday (25th) the heavens opened and we had floods out here in the eastern suburbs. Our back garden was like a swimming pool and (once again) the kitchen skylight decided to leak. I keep telling The Golfer there’s a reason I don’t get rid of all those old towels – although if this keeps up we’re going to have to invest in a new skylight.
Thursday under cloudy grey skies and a wet windscreen we drove out past the vineyards (old and new) and into the Valley again – this time The Golfer wanted to enjoy a light lunch at his second home because……
……as a member he gets a free one plus a tiddly little cake to celebrate 🎂🍷…..
Drove home from Healesville in pouring rain, hoping there wouldn’t be water on the floor Needed the bucket later in the evening so looks like we definitely need a new one.
Anyway Friday, dodging the showers I went to the gym leaving him looking a little lost – with all the rain the course is just a bit too waterlogged and once again nobody else wanted to play – I’ll be fine, he said, I’ve got this new book to read. Ink Black Heart – Robert Galbraith 1400 pages – that’ll keep me going for a while.
Big smiles when I walked past the court area – all set up for our next crop of Olympic gymnasts. Mats and beams, and bars and springboards – reminders of sessions at school all those years ago with a vaulting box and pommel horse.
(There’s a floor to ceiling net along the walkway to the gym door – saves any injuries from wayward basket/netballs. I took one snap from a corner then had to wriggle the camera around the holes to get the full on ones)
Well that was last week – this past week has been quieter with a few surprises…. Which I’ll leave for another time
#enjoyeverymoment
Don’t Forget – if you want to see it best……Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge
I had an email from my contact at the nursing home telling me about a new memory project called ‘I Remember That’ that was starting about the time I return at the beginning of next month. The title had me remembering all those years ago when my aunt would come out with those words….admittedly after some subtle prompting by us with words or pictures…..but we were glad it had stirred something in her mind.
(At that time I belonged to a (now defunct) ’families and carers’ group where to ease the strain we wrote and shared pieces online – I hope you don’t mind me sharing another one from 2009)
Rememberingthe past
Talking to my Aunt the other day I was asking her what she remembered – its a hard question for her to answer some days but for some reason on that day she was clear in her mind about one thing.
She remembered her older sister Betty and how she made her laugh.
They were raised in India in house a house full of adults. Along with their Mother and Father there were also four spinster aunts – sisters of their Mother.
None of the servants had children they could play with so as well as sisters, they were playmates and also constant companions to each other.
“Oh, I remember that dolly”
Being priviledged they were sent off to boarding school at a young age, luckily not back to England as so many expat children were but somewhere in India ( she doesn’t remember where exactly) and were able to go ‘home’ for the holidays – so whenever Pam felt lonely or afraid Betty was there to comfort and make her laugh.
It was so lovely (and rare) to hear her talking of this life she led so long ago, dances were a way of life, Betty was the fun one attracting lots of admirers while Pam being a quiet one would sit on the sideline. They both married officers in the 9th Gurkhas Regiment so continued to live a privileged life as adults. They stayed in India till after the war and then returned to England to a very different lifestyle.
She was so clear in her descriptions of life in those days it was almost as if she was reliving them – till she came to the part of migrating to Australia in the early 1950’s.
Then nothing came – she just stopped talking. I assume ‘cose there was no Betty – who had remained in England – to talk about. Maybe I’ll be able to get her to remember those times again but I never know from one day to the next whats going on inside her head.
As a youngish widow she managed several trips ‘home’ to England over the years to see her beloved Betty – the sister who even as an adult had a way of making her forget her troubles and laugh. She recognised Betty in this photo of the two of them enjoying a special moment of laughter but had no idea where, when, or why.
“Oh, there’s Betty”
Betty on the left and A Pam on the right
Can you see the special bond they had with each other – the love in the eyes and the smiles on their faces? Hopefully she can still remember those moments inside her head even if she can’t talk about them
Still Waters 