Tag Archives: All things family

Monday Monday….

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A little blessing I saw online – a little something for us all

Here’s wishing you….
A great start on Monday 
No obstacles for Tuesday
No stress on Wednesday
No troubles on Thursday
Many smiles on Friday
A joyful Saturday
And a relaxing peaceful Sunday

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So here it is Monday….how shall I start?

I’ll be the first to say that my life’s been a bit me-me-me recently so knew it was time for me to stop feeling sorry for me and think about others for a change. The latest stricter change in restrictions had me news hungry again, facts and figures hunting……pointing fingers at suburbs with high case numbers, blaming, ‘what on earth are they doing on that side of town, if we can follow the rules why can’t they’. That had to stop, so to clear my head I ‘worked’ on the family for a while last week and was ‘rewarded’ with a couple of photos posted (publicly) on other trees

Say hello to an uncle of my paternal Gt Grandfather John….brother to my GtGt Grandfather John…..or if you prefer,  my 3rd Gt uncle!
 John and Ralph’s father was called Archibald and their grandfather was Ralph – lol….if I had a penny for every descendant in the family called John, Archibald or Ralph I’d be rolling in it. Born in Co Fermanagh, he migrated to Canada as a young married man in the early 1830s where….from the amount of DNA matches I have associated with him…..he grew a large family.

I’d like to introduce you to a sister of Gt Grandfather John, a niece of Ralph (above) …..my GtGt Aunt Eliza 😊. She’s new to our family…..well she’s obviously been there for a while but I’ve not long met her.   It was DNA matches that sent me to her family and the realisation she really was ‘family’ as in really close to a direct ancestor. Eliza (born in Co Fermanagh) also moved away……as a young married woman to Australia in the 1850s. Firstly to South Australia then on to Victoria! Once this ‘Rona problem’ is fixed and we are free to roam again I’m taking a drive over to Footscray Cemetery to ‘Hello’.


And now I’m ready for my breakfast, porridge fruit and coffee today.
How are you keeping your mind busy? Our 2nd wave here in Victoria doesn’t seem to be subsiding so I’m wondering if this 6 week hard lockdown is going to be enough.

We’ve been there….

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East Alligator River Crossing
aka Cahills Crossing.
Northern Territory Australia
Ford across East Alligator River where dangerous salt water crocodiles may be seen close – up or more safely from the track of the Manngarre Walk through a monsoon vine forest.

Something turned up on fb today that reminded me of a trip The Golfer and I took
up to the Northern Territory many years ago.
I wrote a little bit about it in another post HERE
(photos….which have deteriorated a bit…. were taken in 1992)

We drove from Melbourne to Adelaide
where we hitched a ride (both for us and the car) on The Ghan to Alice Spring
(It only went that far then)
and made our way on up the Stuart Highway to Darwin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Highway.

We went out and about visiting as much as we could
Came across Cahills Crossing one day but decided not to cross
The water is tidal and deceptive. higher than you think
and the mention of ‘swimming handbags’ on signs
puts me off anything 😊

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-27/gary-lindner-cahills-crossing-crocodile-manager-kakadu/9786650


And this is what turned up in my feed that brought back that memory. The car in the video is going towards the high side, towards the side where I took my photos from.

A week is a long time….

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I’m sure we all have them.
A week of highs and lows. 
In no particular order here are some of mine from last week

The dreaded C virus is still wreeking havoc with life for us Victorians.
High case numbers each day, sadly high death numbers as well.  Well meaning ‘lectures’ on not taking this second lockdown seriously haven’t gone down well with some of the community.  Wearing a mask is now mandatory…..with no finish date supplied that also hasn’t gone down well with some.

I got to go to the hairdressers again!
Unlike other countries, here in Australia they are classed as ‘essential services’ so after last week’s approved ‘mask less’ appointment I made another another one…….it’s going to be interesting having a trim with a mask on.

Some of Mr Morrison’s money or to give it it’s ‘proper’ name – The Economic Support Payment’ was spent.   My very old iPad mini was replaced by a new one delivered to my door. Well, placed on the ground in front of the door after I’d identified myself.

For my needs there’s not a lot of difference, the main plus is it’s much faster and I can now load apps I couldn’t on the old one. I think I’ve got enough jigsaw apps to keep me entertained for a lifetime – here’s hoping this lockdown doesn’t last that long!

There are a couple of things I have to look into though – I can’t comment on blogger blogs, so have to use the old one. Can be frustrating! And the camera takes some strange coloured photos.  All I did on the camellia up above was not move position (where I was standing) but zoom in and the flower colour changed from wish washy to closer to true. This bloom is very early, the amount of buds is a promise of things to come later.

This is going to sound like a broken record……we had wet days, dry days, dull days, bright sunny days, beautiful sunrises followed by freezing cold days where the temp. did not reach the forecast.  The good thing is those sunrises are coming earlier than they were a month ago.  Yes, the season’s changes are becoming noticeable.  ‘Close the curtains’ time is getting later as well – for geeky readers, Sunrise, Sunset and Daylength (worldwide) can be found HERE

We have lived in this house for over 40yrs so why am I just noticing a draught round my knees.  

If the furniture hasn’t been rearranged for several years and they weren’t apparent before where are they coming from?   lol we haven’t spent a winter at home for years so maybe they’ve been there all the time 😊  It’s an older house so windows have been checked, doors closed,  I’m beginning to sound like my father when The Golfer goes outside……I have memories of him yelling ‘shut that b*******door, I’m heating a house not the whole b****** neighbourhood’! Roll on Summer!

Kathy ( kathy’s kampground kapers) lost her ‘wife’. Kevin had been a long time permanent at her van park for many years, Friday was the day we knew was coming but didn’t want to read about. This post is a beautiful tribute to her friend.

And to finish, this lovely little posy arrived the other day.  From our big girl, she knows her mother well…..the card read – just something to brighten your day’

I’m looking forward to my breakfast and a ‘nice cup of tea’……coffee later.  The Golfer has been experimenting with our oldish machine and different pods – a high and a low I’ll tell you about another day.  Oh and how was your week just gone?  Any highs or lows – you would like to share ?

He must think I’m daft…..

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Oh I’m wise to his games
Trying to get in my good books
Thinks these’ll do the trick

Choccies  and Allsorts
My favourites!

Oh wait, could be he’s trying to cheer me up

Maybe I’ll crumble 😊

What little gifts would you crumble for?

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It’s Monday June 22…..(Winter Solstice time)…we’re on the way up or is that down … hours of daylight might be on their way up but our winter temps have yet to reach their lowest.

 Coffee (and chocolate) later will buck me up no end

 

One thing leads to another…..

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We’ve all heard the ‘joke’ about starting one thing which then leads to another thing and on and on, well something I saw at the park a couple of weeks ago,  followed by something in the garden had my mind working in a similar way.

This mosaic plaque on the wall of the neighbourhood house is what started it all..

I think it might be best if l start at the beginning:……..

Many years ago (and still today as well) people would put all sorts of weird things in the garden. They called it garden art.  You name it people would plant in it, filling up corners of the garden with colour and whimsy.  I had a fondness for planted chairs.  Take an old chair – remove the seat – add a container of some sort – and plant.  Like these! (these are not mine.  Photo found on the Internet years ago)

‘These’ are some I made up a long time ago (2003) – big cane chairs found on a nature strip during hard rubbish week, planted with petunias and lobelia. 

It was seeing the plaque on the wall of the neighbourhood house that reminded me of another little hobby I tried one year.  Mosaics!

Later I’m down at the washing line looking at the Autumn flowering lavender thinking like the Jonquils in a nearby bed how few flowers there were.  

when there amongst the leaves from next doors oak tree I see my one reminder of that ‘artistic’ year.😊

We had such fun in that class.  Learning about history of the art, techniques, surfaces, tile cutters, glues, styles  And all of us (in awe of what the ‘teacher’ had produced) just wanted to make (as artfully sugested by the ‘teacher’) something Simple and Naive  – mine ended up as  two big flowers surrounded by leaves and mirror tiles.  Reflecting Outdoor Life as I saw it lol

Then of course my mind wandered to the fun I had with the grandchildren that summer.  They’d seen my ‘stepping stone’ and wanted me to show them how, to have a go in other words.  And of course grandmas never say no, do they 😊

There were some old 12×12″ floor tiles  in the garage they could use, we popped down to nearby Johnson tiles for odd lots/end of runs/ left over singles which…….because they couldn’t handle tile cutters…..I let them ……much to the boy’s delight…..break up with a hammer on the garage floor (tiles covered with a blanket) and then all had a go at creating.

The girls had fun – the boys were spent after their smashing morning- so it was the girls who took most of their creations home for show and tell.  Some got left behind, to be grouted another day, but that never happened and they’re the ones I found amongst some ‘things’ behind Kieras outside pen.  Sadly forgotten!

 

Fast forward many years to when the redheaded grandchild up above is doing year 12.  The final music assessment was a group one……look at what she produced as her contribution.

 A planted  chair with a mosaic back rest!

Maybe there’s truth in that old saying after all

A seed planted with love never dies 

Linking to Sunday Selections- hosted by Elephants Child.

Life is what you make it….

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When my GP said that to me I asked – yes, but for how long?

I have no idea he said.-  How long’s a piece of string?

So ended my consultation last week!

Which got me thinking about how long my ancestors had lived.   Looking at that I might be saying goodbye in the next 5 years or so.  Hopefully I’ve got a lot more making to do in my life!

Are you interested in how long a life you can expect to live?

Just for the fun of it

Have a look at this site – answer the questions- and see what’s in store for you!

http://media.nmfn.com/tnetwork/lifespan

Here’s hoping my result (which is different to historical family evidence) is just about spot on – see what comes up for you.

 

A loving touch…….

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Flowers For Mum,  just because…..she said

It’s difficult for cut flowers to cope indoors during the winter.  Heating certainly takes it out of them. After arriving quietly on the doorstep these settled in quite nicely – opening quickly, swaying and drooping (as tulips do) yet brightening up the room for a week or more.

A loving touch during those stressful days

I wish……

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Yesterday was Mother’s Day here in Australia – all the talk is about how it was a different occasion for mothers in different states.   Some states are relaxing restrictions and allowing gatherings of various sizes. The ‘state of emergency’ here in Victoria ends today which is when all these rules and regs. will be reassessed and we’ll learn what we can and can’t do as we slowly bring our lives back to normal…..whatever that will be.

Last week there was much talk and news reporting about VE Day – lots of archival sentimental singing and British street parties as well as those taking place there and then in real time.   The celebration was for the ending of a war in Europe – of course we know it certainly wasn’t ‘all over’……it was business as usual in other parts of the world.  My mum,  her extended family and me as a 2 yr old were in Portsmouth……my dad was way way away with an RAF runway construction unit in Burma, then later in Hong Kong so for him VJ Day (Victory in Japan) later to be known so VP Day (Victory in the Pacific) was more relevant.

We’d all seen the infamous photo taken of dad in khaki along with the ‘bar room hostess’ – I’m sure he was stressed by what was happening and this was a way to let off steam.  Those times had a deeper effect on mum,  courtesy of bombing raids thunderstorms would see her in the cupboard under the stairs, there’s no way she would have climbed up onto a gun for a photo shoot with her daughters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somehow/Somewhere my brother found an old photo of Dad to put on a VE Day post on Facebook – one I’d never seen before.  Taken during those war years in the Far East – I see a man I never knew, a young  Irishman aged 25.  He looks fun, an attribute he never lost, gosh I wish I’d known him then, before he became ‘just our dad!’

I wish I hadn’t done that…..

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It’s not very often I wish I hadn’t ‘donated’ something to the op shop. Once I’ve given it away in the hope someone else can use it that’s it.  Early on in this ‘horrible season’ one of my daughters asked about the big pile of jigsaw puzzles we have had in the cupboard for more years than I can remember.  “Oh sorry, I gave them away a while ago.”

Jigsaws are something we’ve always had – from the big clunky wooden ones the children received on early birthdays through to the biggish 1000 piece ones they were given as adults  Good family fun, keeping the eyes and the brains working, with none of the squabbling board games produced……except when one certain young lady got up early to finish a puzzle another child had worked on all the previous day😊

Everyone had left home, The Golfer wasn’t interested and I hadn’t ‘played’ with them for a long time- the cats seemed to think they had the right to sit on them or see how many pieces they could knock onto the floor – so occasionally I’d get some fun doing them online but sort of lost interest after a while…..then In one of my what’s in this cupboard that hasn’t been used for a long time  tidying up frenzies gave them to the op shop.

Seeing Kay’s post the other day about Art and the big jigsaw and seeing the fun he wa having had me again wishing I hadn’t given them away.  THEN reading the comments I noticed someone mention an online site Jigsaw Explorer https://www.jigsawexplorer.com  Oh joy, will you look at that – oodles of them – just ready to be played with – I’ve been ‘at home’ for 8 weeks now and definitely need something new to keep me occupied…….. I think I’ve found it………everything else will be given the heave ho for a while.  Forget Solitaire and FreeCell…I’m off to have fun!

Oh and if you’ve ever wondered about creating a jigsaw from your own photos I found this tutorial online – by coincidence using the same site

Fun Friday – the day you forget the worries of the week and have fun

One extreme to the other

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Andrew was so right last week when he mentioned in comments to look out for unseasonable weather that was on its way.  After the beautifully warm and sunny week before the days certainly went downhill from Wednesday – cold very wet and very windy,  turning into the coldest start to May for a long long time.  There was even snow up at Lake Mountain just an hour and a half from here.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-01/wild-weather-snow-wind-hit-victoria-melbourne-wet-start-to-year/12200338

https://www.9news.com.au/wild-weather/australian-weather-icy-conditions-damaging-winds-to-last-through-until-next-week/220fa217-d22a-44c3-b801-fcb2b3ea0920

Then Elizabeth bemoaned the fact she had to resort to google to change celcius figures to fahrenheit – I’ll let you into a secret Elizabeth…..lol so do I. Australia had turned metric just before we arrived in 1972 and the ‘new to me system’ was so much easier to use so apart from giving dual figures for blog readers I never think about converting.  We did learn the equation at school but that was a very long time ago so like many things in my life I take the easy way out now and get help 😊

Bet you don’t have one of these in your house

See what happens when I rummage through things  decide I’ll do a little clear out.  This was the end result of the day I found the Mother’s Day card and the ID badge.  Things I was going to put into their proper place had sort of graduated to the spare bed, add to that the boxes I was looking through plus the Hoover that lives in a cupboard directly opposite not being put away….because it was going to be used when I’d tidied up the room……the spare wool blanket that lives in the same cupboard just dropped and not returned when we decided to put the weighted blanket on our bed instead…..

It’s not that I have a short attention span – it’s more like I want to move on to other more interesting things – so if that’s the extreme you ‘may’ get to see the other but in the meantime until the mood is right I just glance (and shudder) as I’m passing and leave the room looking like a bomb hit it 😊

I will just show you another little treasure I found in one of the boxes.  Many of you will remember my Aunty Pam who I wrote about for a few years .  Her slide from a perfectly normal beautiful (in more ways than one) person to one with dementia (Alzheimer’s Disease) was awful to see.  I’m still on the mailing list of our local association and this arrived in the post the other week.  A puzzle book to keep your brain active.  25 pages with lots of different sorts of puzzles…..all I can say is thank goodness they put the answers at the end  😊


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did get the Play on Words one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its Monday morning here, it’s raining again outside, it’s nearly time for coffee then what….maybe I’ll take a look in that bedroom door again ….or maybe……..

What are your plans for this first Monday In May?

Star Wars Day.

Whatever you do ‘May the 4th be with you’

Friday Finishes…

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It’s a standing joke amongst  some of my friends that I’m I known as ‘the little old lady who knits’. It’s something I’ve always done.

Most of you know that what I knit these days goes to a local charity rather than family – and instead of the scarves beanies and gloves that other volunteers make I prefer to give my time to the baby and toddler programme.  I bet you’ve all been bored by  seen lots of the little cardigans and jumpers I’ve worked on, the reason for me making those sizes is (not because I’m permanently clucky 😊) but because they grow quickly which means they are finished before I get bored with them’ which then means I can get on with something else!

Over the recent ‘stay at home’ weeks the needles have been clicking like crazy – it passed the time in what I’m calling the ‘horror season’  I don’t know about you but a fair bit of news …..national as well as international…….has been watched, each and every bulletin available devoured.  Anyway that……like the  confirmed cases……has slowed down considerably thank goodness, so now I’m recovering my composure by  staying away from ‘news channels’, biding my time gathering all things together and tidying up loose ends.  Sewing up and placing buttons so the finished garments are ready to go to their new homes (wherever that might be)

Hot off the needles this week is this little grandad neck shirt

 Over the years I’ve knit oodles of them….these below are just a few…….using the stitch count on the pattern to get the sizing but altering colour and design.  One feature of the original garment (picture below from pattern) – the collar- has been ‘deleted’……after a couple of times of trying and not being able to get it to sit right I decided a neckband worked better for me.

 

 

 

This time I decided to add the mock cable design from this pattern on the left – one that’s been in my pile for a long long time.

Thankfully the stitch count worked out right……juggling stitches – adding/subtracting….is par for the course when you  adapt patterns….so once I’d set the first four rows it knit up a charm.   I think knitting  plain stocking stitch on the back and sleeves gave it a more simple boyish look, as well as highlighting the front panel.

Agreed ?

 

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And here’s a funny story about a little boy whose Mum (she who many years later became the little old lady who knits)  put that very same cable pattern on the front of one of his jumpers.

One day long ago in 1969 he went on a drive from Ipswich where he lived to see his Nanna and Grandad in Colchester, which is where they lived.  He fell asleep in the car and woke in a very grumpy mood when they arrived.  His Nanna asked his Mum and Dad if they would take him and his brothers and sisters to a local park and take some photographs with her old box brownie because she didn’t have any recent ones.

So back into the car they all get which didn’t please him at all.  In his temper he took off his shoes and got even more ‘angry’ because his Mum wouldn’t put them back on, instead  carrying him to the chosen bench, where he certainly made his feelings known 😊

He was feeling very sorry for himself so his Mum tried to cuddle him while his sister (the one his Mum refers to as ‘our litte girl’) undid the buckles on his very (expensive) nice red shoes.

Lots of cuddles later (with his shoes on) he sat with the others on the bench but no matter how many times his Mum and Dad tried  to coax him there was no way he  was going  to  ‘smile’.   In fact he was starting to annoy the others with his sulking.  His favourite brother kept  giving  him dirty looks,  ‘our big girl’  kept telling  him to  shush,  ‘our little girl’ was thoroughly fed  up and his big  brother just wanted it over and done with.

Let’s get Daddy (later to be known as The Golfer) to sit with you on his knee – after all it’s  his Mummy who wants the  photographs.  The little boy had calmed down by then …..unfortunately by that time everybody else was more interested in what was going on around them to look at the camera…..so they gave it up as a bad job and went back to Nanna’s  house for  tea!

It’s strange the *fun* memories that surface when you’re not really looking 😊

Fun Friday – the day you forget the worries of the week.

Remembered in colour…

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April 25 2020 – A very different Anzac Day in Australia.

No parades – no dawn services –  no ceremonies – no gathering of ‘mates’

So here is a different way of remembering the young men /women who have served Australia.

A mural commemorating The Cooee March which started in Gilgandra NSW
Photographed Sept 2015

 During World War I, a recruitment march to Sydney began in Gilgandra, known as the Coo-ee March. The men who enlisted on the way became known locally as "Coo-ees". The march was given this name because the marchers shouted the old bush call of "cooee" at each town along their journey in order to attract recruits. Twenty-six men left Gilgandra on 10 October 1915. At each town on the route, the marchers were feted and a recruitment meeting was held. By the time they reached Sydney just over one month later on Friday 12 November 1915, the number of recruits had swelled to 263. They were welcomed on arrival in Sydney with huge crowds lining George Street near the Town Hall to welcome them and an official address given to them by the Minister for Works representing the Premier of NSW. Source

Painted Silos in Devenish Victoria depicting army nurses/medics from WW1 and modern times ….as well the men and their horses of the Australian Light Horse
Photographed Nov 2019

The GrainCorp Silos at Devenish in North East Victoria were painted by Melbourne Street Artist Cam Scale and are officially the 19th Silos to be included in the Australian Silo Art Trail.  

Stage one which comprises of the two tall silos was officially unveiled on Anzac Day in 2018. Marked as a tribute to help celebrate the 100-year centenary of the end of the First World War.  The stage one artwork depicts a stunning image of a WW1 nurse and a modern female military medic in the Australian Armed Forces. This mural also depicts the changing role of women in the military and society in general.

Stage two on the short silos were officially unveiled one year later on Anzac Day 2019. This mural is a tribute to the Australian Light Horse. The Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and WW 1. Source

Every generation of my direct (and extended) family from my 3xGt Grandfather down to a son and a nephew have served (several fell in battle) so it is second nature for me to say

Lest we forget

We Will Remember Them

Please visit Sami at COLOURFUL WORLD to see Monday Murals 

Stay or Go….

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It’s probably the uncertainty and ‘what ifs’  of the past few weeks/months (or it could just be age related) that has had me  tidying up – going through things – making decisions – wondering  why we need it – occasionally wondering do we ‘really’ need it.

Like thinking about this memory of a long ago Mother’s Day from a son now in his 50s with children of his own who are old enough to have children of their own!  Something precious I chose to keep because it makes me smile – it’ll be there for him when I’ve gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or a reminder of a past career, working in a structured environment I was comfortable with.  A  ‘position’ in the company, knowing what I was doing and why it needed to be done.  I desperately missed that contact with the public, knowledgeable colleagues plus patients when The Golfer accepted a position interstate and I had to leave.  To begin with It was difficult to establish myself in a new city/state so at that time looking at this id tag reminded me I ‘was’ capable, I did know how to do things, even though it was proving difficult for me (at over 50) to reassure employers just that.

Perhaps I should toss it – there’s no need to remind myself of past achievements.  I definitely know who I am and where I’ve been!

Then there’s this certificate originally kept to remember that it wasn’t all gloom and doom, that I did have some fun in Adelaide.  Looking for something different to amuse myself I discovered Clogging – a mix of tap and line dancing which I was familiar with; also square dancing and Irish step.  Such fun!  Unfortunately when we returned to Melbourne there were no classes here in the east so it dropped out of my life.

There’s a whole box of these ‘memories’ in the middle bedroom, maybe another afternoon digging deep with a view to relinquishing is in order.  Lol that sounds good doesn’t it.  Better than going through looking for things to toss!

Whatever – It’ll keep my mind off the danger that lurks beyond the front door 😊

Easter….at home but not alone

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As well as being a serious reflective time it’s also a time that I associate with new clothes and laughter.

As children we always got some sort of new clothing for Easter, dyed chook eggs (no chocolate ones for us) and a day out somewhere.

When I think back to when our children were young it must have seemed like I was a terrible mother because it was one chocolate egg per person not the bucket loads today’s little ones get – and that wasn’t until the thrill of hand dying the chook eggs had worn off and they noticed what was on sale in the shops. They would drop hints about ‘eggs with smarties’ inside – that way they’d get more than just a hollow egg.  And to be fair I did surprise them some years with a bag of those little tiny eggs or a dozen small eggs in a carton to share amongst each other.

It’s been a different Easter for all of us this year.  No church services or rather no public gathering together services just those streaming.   No trips to the beach, no camping in the national parks, no BBQs with the extended family.  The traditional Easter surfing  championship at Bells Beach postponed.  Locally on warm sunny days over this weekend (same as any other weekend) the open green space at the park would be filled with families using the playground.  Because of ‘the virus’ it didn’t happen this weekend and we also heard today the state of emergency here in Victoria has been extended for another month so it will quite a while until it’s allowed again 😥

The murals on the toilet blocks have been repainted  recently – in a very simple child friendly but eyecatching design.  They looked quite lonely when I was there the other day 😒

 

Unlike those sunny warmish Easters we’ve had over the years Saturday and Sunday were cold and miserable, today is forecast to be a bit warmer and dryer.  We won’t be going far though,  I’d love to take a drive up the hills to look at the changing colours on the trees. Not allowed – stay in your suburb – remember the four reasons

Looks like it’ll be a(nother) day at home…..with The Golfer…..eating and drinking and doing other stuff.

No chocolate eggs this year however we had some of these egg shaped decorated shortbreads gifted to us…..turned up on our doorstep last Thursday. Wondered if the Easter Bunny was having trouble with regular deliveries and had changed stockists but no just a friend trying her hand at something new.

 

 

 

Linking to Monday Mural.  Pop over to Colourful World and say Hello to Sami.

Changing minds…

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Another dismal start to the day!

Looking at the weights and bands on the table this morning I had a little smile when I remembered trying to persuade The Golfer a couple of weeks ago that even though his DVA gym session had been ‘closed’ he could still do it at home.

I already had some of the equipment and a daughter passed on some heavier stuff her husband ‘had gone off’ but he wasn’t interested.

Oh well, your loss I said forgetting my ‘bite your tongue’ resolution 😋

The sessions were on a Monday, today is Monday, and what do I see?

Mr Universe in the making!  

 

Monday Memories….

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A few little photo memories just for Alien Resort

Burmese kittens are shorthaired and come in solid colours – Balinese (Longhaired Siamese)  are white with coloured ‘points’

Anna (Pennylane Bali Dancer) was a bluepoint Balinese, a lovely gentle soul.  Sitting here quietly surrounded  by some of her kittens and also some Burmese ones she seems to have a puzzled look on her face seemingly saying :-
Some of these are the wrong colour – wheres their Mother?

Belle (Brookwood Manet’s Delight) was a typical brown Burmese.  Soft and cuddly, devoted to me ( not interested in The Golfer) to the point of following me around even sitting outside the toilet door (or inside if she was fast enough).  Once she ‘got the hang of it’ she was a wonderful mother cat – although I think she was a bit overwhelmed by her first litter.

Her kittens only ever had two speeds – fast and hectic or zonked out and asleep.  They kept her (and me) on the go and as a protective ‘first time mum’ she often seemed to have a questioning look on her face as if asking me:-
Is it always like this?

Then there were other days with other litters when these fit and healthy, housetrained, fully vaccinated, fun loving pets would all sit together and pose like pros 😊

Boisterous – yes….. A handful- never!

Linking to Aww Mondays hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus

The first of many

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These days the beginning of the new year often sees us thinking/discussing how to spend our time, will we try several mini breaks of a week here and there or stick to our couple of months away in the winter?  Yes I know, first world problems 😊

At the moment a week in Mildura later this month is on the cards and all being well we’ll once again do the four day drive up to Bowen to enjoy the winter sun.   Anyway all this ‘holiday chat’ brought back memories and had us laughing and reminiscing about a trip we made a long time ago – well over 25yrs in fact.

A little bit of background:-  Quite a few years ago I used to contribute  posts to a now defunct website – one of those ‘follow the prompts and tell us a tale’ sort of things.  My mind seems to have gone to pot these days and there are times when I find it hard to string two words together but it was fun while it lasted.

THE LONG DRIVE

It’ll be fun, they said.

‘They’ being friends who wanted to go but not on their own and now were suggesting a very long drive. Two couples together for a few weeks – it’ll be fun.

I’d grown accustomed to the idea and was planning likewise, we’d all use their car and they would do most of the driving.

Then they pulled out; we could all do it another time they said, but our leave was arranged and we needed a break.

We’ll do it ourselves he said, but we only have a six cylinder sedan not a 4wheel drive.  Don’t worry he said, most roads are sealed these days.

What about petrol and water, no worries he said, roadhouses and homesteads about every 200kms, fill up car and us there. Have cans boxes esky in the car and carry spare fuel, food and water.

So off we went, us who’d never been further than Adelaide or Sydney (and we thought they were a long drive away) we were going to be more than a month away from home by ourselves, heading north to the Territory.

Took the easy way to begin, a quick drive to Adelaide,  put the car and us on that fabulous train The Ghan to The Alice (which is as far as it went in those days)and then began The Long Drive – Up the Track – Alice Springs to Darwin (on a highway with no maximum speed limit at the time) and then lots of other points along the road on the way down again.

We tented, we on site caravaned, we moteled, we cabined, slept in rooms tunnelled into the ground and I even got one day and a night (my ‘big’ birthday) in a flash very expensive hotel at Uluru where I was able to lounge in a bath for the first time in four weeks.

We sat for long hours in the car between places, saw nobody on the road for hours, waved at passing motorists when we did see them, took turns at driving, listened to many books on tape, stretched and ran about when we stopped, saw wildlife galore, viewed paintings on rocks by people who were in those places so many years before us, climbed that big thing in the middle of the country (that’s what you did then), were wary of road trains,  watched beautiful sunrises and even more fabulous sunsets and experienced so many other things in a part of Australia I knew existed but never thought I’d see.

Came home exhausted but so fulfilled and wanting to do it again.

Can’t remember the exact length of the drive – it was a Very Very Long Drive.

As well as the enlightening moments there were the lighthearted moments – I’d do it all again in a flash – Just to see a petrol/service station like this

Or drive on roads like this.  

.or be scared s………..less by things like this roaring up the highway behind you

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We’ve done many ‘long drives’ since then but this one was special

One for some reason we’ve never repeated.

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

How about you? Have you ever repeated ‘special’ events?  How did it go?

It’s been a week…

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Yes it’s been a week of doing very little except wait for the year proper to begin.

Seeing more traffic on the roads as workers return from their summer break, seeing grabs on the news about littlies starting their educational journey and hearing the high school bus go by at 8am signalling the return of those on a later part of their journey.

Watching a bit of tennis, and cricket on tv in the evenings. With, of course with my knitting close to hand   Wondering how Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are feeling after their ‘shock departures’. And wondering how Nick Kyrious managed to keep his temper in check for so long.   The Australian Open – The Big Bash League

Wearing cool cotton clothing.  Melbourne finally had  pleasant summery days…..culminating in one not too pleasant one yesterday with a top temperature of 44c/111f .  I often wonder how we coped before air conditioning – with the humidity so high the whole of house ducted evaporated system we have is no good (pumps cool moist air) so we resorted to our very old, very expensive to run, hole in the lounge room wall, electric refrigerated system.

Realising it’s little things that make us happy – seeing the smiles on elderly residents when offered an icy pole on a very hot day and watching them enjoy the treat.

And wondering how my children (who I love dearly) became so old😊

This little one – my first born son had a birthday at the beginning of the week.  58yrs old!  He’ll be getting a seniors card soon!  I realised time was passing quickly when he finished serving in the RAAF after 20yrs. How am I going to feel when that happens!

 Today is February 1st 2020 – our Big Girl’s birthday. Born (at home) during one of the worst winters England had experienced. Known as The Big Freeze of 1963 all I can say is central heating was still a luxury – we had poky little coal fires in the big old house we lived in and it was cold!

Shh..don’t tell her but she is now 57!

And when our Little Girl has her next birthday in September she will be will be….well I know how old she’ll be but I don’t know how she’ll feel…..let’s just say that at times I wish I was 56 again 😊

Yes….3 under 3!  All good fun!  Helped in a way by living in Singapore where life was more free and easy…..and I had a live in amah.

After a hot and humid night the rain has finally arrived and cooled the air – a quiet day is forecast for my house – lack of sleep doesn’t agree with me so my warning to The Golfer was – be very wary of what you say or do near this tired Grumpy Old Woman!

What to say….

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It was  difficult no it was  bl***** hard to stay cool calm and collected – and quiet –  when the driver sitting beside you reverses into a stationery vehicle.   Hard not to yell (read that as scream) “I told you to watch out, I told you there was something behind you”.  Hard not to wonder why ……even though we had begun to move backwards……he was  ‘still getting comfortable’  instead of checking the reversing camera.

What do you say when there is a ding in the back of his car, when he stands there shaking his head, when there’s not a scratch on the other vehicle.  Well, there wouldn’t be would there – it was a ute with a shiny metal tray back with pointy edges which wasn’t even moving.

What do you say when you hear the words “thank goodness for insurance” when you really wanted to hear “are you ok?”  When you’re racking your brain wondering where you’re going to find ‘what doesn’t look like a large amount on paper’ excess but in reality $650 is a fair whack of cash to part with at short notice.

What do you say when he is carless while it is being repaired and you catch the look on his face after you tell him “no he can’t use yours to go to the golf course, that you have your own life to live and you had something planned for the next two days”.   Childish, I know but I wasn’t in the mood to be the little woman who gave into her man – and I did have things planned (and written on the calendar) for the next couple of days.

What do you do at that point – but look at each other and laugh

No words were really needed to say sorry.  But we did  – quietly – to each other 😊