Not Waving...Drowning.

This was a visit to the Sydney Aquarium, with my son, on the 28th of Sept, which was the Anniversary of Gom & I taking possession of our current house.
It was a hot day, the year we moved in, and it was a hot day, this year also.

We had forgotten it was School Holidays, and when we first arrived to attempt to visit the Aquarium, it was packed with excited children, in snaking long queues!

We decided to beat a hasty retreat, and have some lunch instead.

It had been about 6 years since I had visited the Casino, so we decided to walk in my case, hobble over the Bridge at Darling Harbour, to the 'other side' to see about lunching in the Casino.

Huge mistake! The shabby seedy 'joint' is being renovated. Finding entry was almost impossible. We encountered some Asian Tourists, who were also having difficulty finding how to get into the place.

Eventually we gained entry to a floor, which, it appeared had a Private Gaming Only area- so we ignored that!- as well as a Gaming Room.

We met a huge Mountain of a Man, brown of skin, huge of smile, and politeness itself. Mr Obliging and Extremely Pleasant  Brown Mountain Man, informed us that Son ~ if we wished to proceed into the Gaming Room ~ would need to check his backpack into the downstairs front desk, what desk?, what downstairs?, the only downstairs we had seen was pavement at the foot of arduous stairs!  

Stairs for me, are very difficult to negotiate.

However Mr O & E P Brown Mountain Man, gave us complicated directions on how to reach this area, and thence. how to proceed to the Restaurant area.

We proceeded ~limped, in my case~ to some lifts, where we once again encountered the bewildered Asian Tourists, who agreed with us, they did not really know where they were going either. Eventually, after trekking through what seemed miles through the cold and ugly car park, we found the lifts that would supposedly take us to the Desk Area, then we could apparently be allowed access to the Restaurant Area.

After standing politely in a stuffy small area waiting for one of the 3 lifts to arrive, we were dismayed to find a crowded lift, full of hostile faces, daring us to enter. We stepped back, only to be almost flattened by extremely rude ...shall we say, tourists, shoving us out of the way, and barging into the already full lifts.

It seems some countries are so used to this type of behaviour it was accepted! We stood, astonished, as 3 more slow lifts came and went, with behaviour quite the same as before. There seemed a never ending stream of rude, pushing, sweating ignorance, just waiting to outrush us into the already groaning lifts.

We decided lunch was not worth that, so we headed off back, to take the hideous trip back to Mr O E & P B M M, who decided to 'illegally' let us through the Gaming Room, with Son's Backpack still attached.

After threading our way through the sad, tired & disgusting looking Gaming Room, we reached Mr Blond Mountain Man, who was equally O E & P. He told us he should not let us into the Restaurant area, but seeing we were there already, he would.

After reading the Price list, and deciding we did not really want to purchase the Restaurant, or even Buy Shares in the Silverware, we beat a hasty Retreat. Mr Blond MM was quite understanding, and allowed us to retreat the way we had come- in spite of the illegality of it all.

We once again encountered Mr O E & P B M M, who cheerily bade us a goodbye, and fond wish for us to Enjoy Our Day.

The Casino seemed a very sad, shabby grubby and seedy place. I felt it an ugly blot on the lovely face of Darling Harbour. Just my impression.

After limping ever more slowly and painfully back across the Harbour, we found a place to dine, which did not include prices for Permanant Residence or Lease, or Puchase of Shares in the Business, or indeed the Silverware. It did however have seagull access, and the screams of a small girl, whose meat was stolen by a cheeky seagull, who ripped the food almost from her mouth, bore testament to the fact that it was a somewhat  'risky' place to dine.

I was rather shocked to see ashtrays on the tables, and could scarcely believe they could allow smoking in a place for dining, even though it is, 'outdoors'.

The food was very nice, which, after our fruitless trek to the Casino, was most welcome. We had worked up quite hearty appetites, with all the frustrations and tramping, and hobbling in search of sustenance.

We were glad we had waited to try to gain entry to the Aquarium. The queues were almost nil, and we did get in quite quickly. However the visit was rather disappointing for many reasons, not least being the crowdedness- rudeness again with pushing tourists, obviously used to such rude behaviour.

Many of the viewing windows of the more interesting sealife were far too small for crowds, and it was, overall, not a very pleasant experience.

The shabbiness was disappointing too. One would expect better, for our wonderful Darling Harbour, and the fact is is quite the Tourist 'attraction'.

We both agreed later, that our Local Aquarium Shop is much more pleasant, and a lot of the displays are much superior~ plus it is free, and one can spend as long as one likes studying the wonderful displays.

Overall it was a nice day away from my 'Real Life' which is increasingly sad and I am struggling to maintain some balance.

America, Don't Cross the River



Finding the Sparkle

As we are now into Spring, it is that time of year when the cold still bites and the Summer seems to be teasingly evasive, and elusive.
We have flashes of warm balmy days, when Summer seems to be almost upon us, caressing us with sun, and light zephyrs of harmless,  mild air.
We are lulled into false feelings of warmth, and the bite of further cold air comes as a shock, to remind us that the Seasons are fickle, with Spring perhaps the most fickle of all.

The almost irredescant greens,  of the new bursting leaves on the deciduous trees, remind us that Summer will soon arrive.

The Jacarandas are curious, as their leaves turn yellow, and begin to fall, at this time of year, in seeming contradiction to the seasons. They are making way for the glorious display of blossom in the beginning of Summer, which here, in Oz, is in reality, November.

We do seem to be blessed with many purple/blue flowers at the start of Summer.

A rain sprinkled Agapanthus, from another Spring.

No raindrops this time.

Since our Jacaranda almost never rarely flowers, I don't have any pictures of the blossom.

I do, however have pics of our wonderful Orange Clivea.

The best ones grow clustered about the trunk of our Maple tree. They slumber peacefully during the Summer months, resting, and preparing for their magnificent bursts of colour during the early Spring.

We have several clumps of Clivea, but the best ones grow close to the trunk of our Maple, and the fallen leaves of the Maple, which cover them with the shed leaves of the Autumn fall. They keep them snug and warm under the blanket of red and brown leaves.

When we first redesigned our garden bank, I divided some of the Clivea clumps, and transplanted them a little further away from the trunk of the Maple.

They were slow to flower, and seemed to sulk a little, though they did still receive the blanket of comforting leaves, that the Maple provided.

They produce lovely red berries, which are quite beautiful in their own right. They glow, a scarlet red, and I have no idea if they are fertile or not.

At present we have some very happy succulents, which are in a neglected pot. They are flowering prolifically, and are quite lovely upon close inspection.
My favourite is the fern which has regenerated from the log banks of the garden. I know they don't flower, but I have a very soft spot for ferns.

The log wall which encloses the embankment is beginning to looks quite aged. It seems so recent since we redid this garden, but I guess time passes very quickly. It is, in fact, over 7 years since it was done, so it is little wonder that age has appeared.

Our back yard had become heavy with perfume, from the neighbour Jasmine, which is heavlily flowering. We also have  a Port Wine Magnolia, which is flowering and perfuming the air, along with another shrub with a small white flower, which I have forgotten the name of, but the perfume is very sweet.

They do "Sparkle".
However, I fear I have developed an allergy to something, since I seem to be sneezing rather a lot!
Even the dogs, and the cat, are snorting and sniffing!

Leo Sayer, Orchard Road.

Unexpected Endings

We have watched, with some sadness the demolition of a Hotel we once owned.
The demolition is due to the Christchurch Earthquake.

It can be viewed here, if you should wish to see it's demise;
http://msn.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/video.cfm?c_id=1&gal_gid=113826&gallery_id=113832

We watched as our former bedrooms, and living space was demolished.
I never really enjoyed living in this old Hotel, but I felt a sadness to see it's destruction, after all this time.
There were a lot of amusing stories connected to this Hotel, and some of them were ours.
There were a lot of sad storied connected to this Hotel, and a few of them were our, though most, were not.

A lot of our former friends and acquaintances from our time there, are now dead.
It seems strange to realise some of them were younger than we are now, when they passed away.

The Hotel had a different name, when we owned it. I am sure the change of name did not change the fundamental personality of the Hotel. It was a Country Hotel, in a village which was close to an Agricultural College.

A lot of wealthy farmers sent their offspring to attend this College for a year or so, hoping they would gain some maturity, before they might assume some responsibility on the Family Farm.
There were also overseas students, often of mature age, who were sent to the College to learn skills to take home to their native countriies.

Many acts of seeming idiocy were enacted by the students of this College. Reason would question the thinking behind much of this destructive and vandalistic behaviour. One would almost question the sanity of these students, whose level of intelligence should have been above such acts of sheer lunacy.

I have always hoped that the students who stole, from our kitchen fridge,  a Roast Leg of Lamb, complete with Oven Pan, and also stole a whole Roll of Dog Meat, ate the Dog Meat, under cover of darkness and lived to suffer the pain, and indigestion such "offal" food would cause!

As to the students who stole a whole toilet,~ ie, cistern plus pan, ~I hope they suffered from lack of 'facilities' in later life, and paid the price of being 'caught short'! I hope it scarred one of the theives as they manoevered it out of the small toilet window. Sadly, we never found any traces of blood on the window, or the garden walls. We always wonderd if some local Cow Cocky found the pan in one of his paddocks, but we never did find out where it ended.


This was one of the most played songs on the Jukebox in that Hotel.
The Ballad of Lucy Jordan, Marianne Faithfull.

The Lighter Side

There are times of hilarity and much laughter.


Look into my eyes.........

I stole this owl off a site of Interesting Animal pictures. Since I am an Owl freak, it really appealed to me.

One of the stories that has amused me, is a true story, shared by one of the persons involved.
I will retell the story, but I will change the names to 'protect the innocent' as they say.

Once upon a time there was a young Doctor I shall call  Dr Jodhpurs, who met and married young Doctor Spatula.
They eventually had 5 children, who of course, took, their father's name of Jodhpurs. They grew to adulthood in the same district as their parents had a general medical practice. Over the course of the growing years the family acquired two dogs. These dogs were much loved members of the family. Many interesting stories were told about these dogs, and the children of the family, of course.

The eldest dog, Thor was a male, and though he was not 'entire', he was still a male male. A younger female, Ritzy was brought into the family, and though she did not remain 'entire' either, Thor always Lorded it over her, and took it upon himself to be her guardian.

The years passed and the eldest daughter, Ms Jodhpurs was to be married. By this time, all the younger Jodhpurs had left the family nest and flown off to have careers of their own. They regularly came home for visits and always greeted the family dogs with love and affection, and of course, were in turn greeted with love and much excitement by the dogs.

On the eve of the Eldest Ms Jodhpurs' wedding, all the younger Jodhpurs siblings gathered at their parents house. The about-to-be-married Miss J also wished to spend her last single night at her childhood home.

As lots of visitors would be calling it was decided to have the family dogs groomed so they would look their best. Ritzy was bathed and dried first, and as he always did, Thor got very anxious, and overexcited until Ritzy was safely back indoors. Then it was his turn to be bathed.
Upon returning Thor indoors, the Dog Man declared he thought Thor might  not be well. He seemed tired and just wanted to lie down.

Dog Man departed, and Thor continued to lie panting. Youngest Ms Jodhpurs cradled Thor. Dr Jodhpurs Junior listened to his heart with his stethoscope. Dr Jodhpurs Senior listened to his heart with his stethoscope.
It was decided to call the Vet.
However, as they were dialling the number Youngest Ms J announced that it was too late, as Thor had passed away in her arms.

It seemed terribly sad, on the eve of the happy day for the Eldest Ms J. The younger J's decided that perhaps he had times his passing with the gathering of the entire family, as they were rarely all together in the family home.

A little time passed, and one day Dr Jodhpurs Senior was visiting a patient at her house. He met Dog Man, who had arrived to groom the elderly patient's little dog.

Dog Man had not been told of Thor's passing, so he was unaware that Thor had died. When Dr J told his wife Dr Spatula of the meeting, she enquired if he had told Dog Man of Thor's passing.

Dr Jodhpurs replied "No, I didn't tell him, but I wrote 'Dog Killer' on his van as I left!"



He didn't write any such thing, of course, but the thought that he told the story made us laugh uproariously.

As a Footnote, Thor has a nice grave, with Spring bulbs on top. Miss Ritzy was expected to  mourn his passing, but as a lot of 'widows' seem to discover, she has decided it is lovely having the bed all to herself, and all of the house as well!!


Here is another stolen picture, of Stella, the little Lioness. Look at those eyelashes!! Who knew Lions had such long ones?

This lovely rainbow over our "Mountain" ~which is a small hill to most New Zealnders, but a mountain to the Oz~was taken by Mrs NN.
Our hearts are with her and Mr NN today.

Has anyone got a solution to ridding Polar Fleece of pet hair?
It is such a problem with us, our son tells us we are in danger of becoming known in the Village as the Yak Family, because I cannot seem to get the pet hairs out of our warm fleecy jackets and tops.

It is something I am squirmingly concsious of, and often wonder if people secretly call us the Hair Couple ~or Yaks, not that our son mentioned Yaks! We appear to bristle constantly, and, I suspect, are questionable for wearing hair shirts!
Our dogs are not supposed to shed, but of course all dogs shed a certain amount, and clipping leaves plenty of loose hair about.
Getting a cat was not a great idea for the hair problem, either!
I would welcome any tips!!




This is a pic that Mrs NN took and shared with me, of gorgeous blossom on a tree we both admire. My heart sings at the wonder of spring every year.

The heart wrenching news from Christchurch, which is where we once lived, and which is Gom's native City, has saddened us.  I grew to love Christchurch when I lived there. It has a unique beauty, so different from where I was born and grew up. An earthquake is frightening at any time, and though we felt a few in our time living there, none were as large as this one.
We managed to contact friends and rellies and are happy to know all is well with them, in spite of some damages to homes.

We are a very irreverant family, and have no religion. Most of my friends know this, and it is not an issue.

Son B is a tonic to my sad heart, and he has brought new phrases to my life, for when times get tough.
Some examples~ "The Hand of Gom"- for items that have mysteriously changed or vanished.
"Gone to Gom" -for plants that are no longer.
"Gom works in mysterious ways." -for the general everyday oddities.
"The Wrath of Gom" -for the occasional irrational outbursts of rage.

We returned home from an outing yesterday, to find the lawn had been mowed- Gom strikes back!
It was nice to know he felt well enough, I guess, and we carefully kept a no comment.

**************
Of course, no post from me would be complete really, without a GOW rant!

I abhor the current usage of the word "Carnage" in relation to earthquakes, floods, car accidents, fires,  and on and on, where no person or carnal being actually lost their life, or suffered any injury.
Do they not teach young people - namely 'Reporters' -these days the meaning of the word 'carnal' and therefore, 'carnage'???
I feel a 'Gorilla moment' coming on, the instant I see that word misused! GGRRRRR!!!.

End of Rant.
*************************
Along with all the other music I love, I do love Ragtime! This featured in the movie The Sting.

Scott Joplin, The Entertainer.

Can you hear the sound of fingernails on the blackboard?

I suppose, if you cannot hear that sound, or don't care to, you could be too young to remember blackboards, or just don't wish to go there.

That particular fingernail sound is what my lilfe is like, a great deal of the time recently.

Combined with the Neighbour Dog which never stopped barking for 6 days, it was positively insanity making!
Son B has had a word to the Neighbour tennant, who was the only person home, and since she is a student, and is currently studying, he got the impression she was more than happy to pass along the message. It seems to have had a positive effect, since Neighbour Dog has since been very much quieter. We are not sure how this has been achieved, but the relief is beyond belief.

Here is Morty, in a heart of early morning sunlight, reflected around him, on his little perch in the Grevillea.

The 'perch' in the shrub, was put on a post, to feed the Lorikeets, when we had an old wooden pergola.

Morty just thinks it was put there for his pleasure. He makes me laugh, because he sits and watches the little Nectar sipping birds, but he can't possibly catch any, because the Grevillea twigs are far too slender, and he would just crash to the garden below.

I love the sunlight on his whiskers.



Here is my lovely lunch guest I took our for a leisurely lunch and Nanna/Granddaughter time. We both enjoyed it, and it cheered me to spend the time chatting and laughing as we enjoyed our long lunch.

Her Grandfather was not well enough to come too, so she called in to visit him after we had returned, and he seemed pleased to see the girl of his heart.


I made a token gesture to the coming of Spring. Son B & I had reminisced about when our children were young, how much they had enjoyed me taking them on visits and tours of local Nurseries in Chrishchurch.
Since we lived in an inner city Hotel, we had no garden, so we would buy pot plants and had a wonderful display along our sunny Balcony. They would choose plants for themselves, and would look after them quite well. It sparked an interest in plants which has never left them, and so, B and I,  spent a lovely day, out and about at our local Nurseries. Gom was never keen on plants, or visits to the Nurseries,  (as you all know), so he was content to remain at home, basking in the sun.

This was the result of my plantings and I was pleased with the splash of colour.

However, Morty got among the pots, and leapt onto one, which tipped it over and broke the terracotta pot, and scattered the polyanthus and the little bulbs all over the path. You can imagine the grumbles that brought from me! Is there some Cosmic Conspiracy that has decreed I shall not have a garden??
Between Gom and Morty, I am beginning to believe it must be so.



This pic is post Morty, after I replanted the Poly, and bulbs in a plastic ugly old pot, which is all I had left.

The photos are not very clear, and the Pansies are much prettier than they appear, and seem to be settling in well... as long as no further mishaps upset things!
I also bought a Chilli plant, hoping it will live for B to use in his salads.


I had a lovely surprise visit from SG too, to give me this gift. It is a Teatowel and is covered in self portraits of all the children in his school, from Kindy to year 3.

I was thrilled with it, and think it is a lovely momento of his school days. Top Marks to the clever person who thought of this idea, it is just wonderful.

Of course SG is in this pic. We have had a little giggle at some of the self images, they are so amusing!

A real highlight of last week, was a visit from New Zealand Friends. BFJ and her husband, called up to see us for the day. Their visit was better than all the tonic in the world, and we were just sad that they could not stay with us this time around.
It is very true that there is nothing quite like old friends and we had a lot of laughs in the short time we had together.
Everything falls into a better perspective, when it is shared with friends. Even Gom had a lovely day, and seemed to be very much brighter for spending time with our loved friends.

Sadly, I forgot to take pictures. Over the years we have often missed the photo opportunities with these great friends- too excited I guess. Too busy trying to fill in the gaps.

For old times sake
Connie Francis, Everybody's Somebody's Fool.

Positive, in the face of opposition..

It can be surprisingly difficult to remain positive.

One would expect to be greeted with help unlimited, if one should cry out for help.
Just to say, my lovely GP seemed almost worse off than I felt, is rather an understatement.

Who would you vote for, if given the choice. None of the current choices, I can say!!

I promised myself some positives, so here goes.

A soft pnk cloud behind a palm frond, would have been one of my dreams.. way back when....

I still get a minor thrill to realise this is the real life view from my balcony. It often does resemble Paradise.

This is a menace approaching. I was slightly amused at the sight of this gathering storm cloud. I rather expected it would evaporate and amount to nothing. Wrong!!

We  had a massive downpour, and it turned bitterly cold.

So, the positive, is this funny,, furry pic of Morty, sitting in a cardboard box, beside my seat, in the lounge.

I suspect he thinks he is invisible. He is so gorgeous, but also, very hostile if the mood
takes his fancy! I bear the bleeding scars of his 'love bites'!!

Sheryl Crow. Every Day is a Winding Road

A New Perspective.

I am trying to find one positive to add here, each day.

My positives are less than they were, as some of you know.

I am trying to counterbalance the weight.

So, my first attempt seems to be thwarted by the sodding picture down load feature! WTH??? Yesterday it was fine???

Ok, now my limited brain has allowed for the altered pic upload feature, that seems to be Blogger's latest challenge.

These are the colours of Paua Shell. I love the rainbow hues, and find them attractive in all manner of combinations. They are, truly, the colours of the Universe...the rainbows... the bubbles of childhood... life's free treats!.

When we were young, we stayed at Beach Baches, which in New Zealand, lots of people owned, or had access to use, for weekends spent at  beaches,  beside the sea. A Bach was sometimes a primitive dwelling constructed from old  tram carriages, Quonset huts and disused army huts. Disused bus shells were not unusual.
Often these dwellings were constructed from several of these, and were divided into the living/sleeping quarters and the cooking/eating quarters.

Cigarette smoking was the fashion of the day, and, of course, this necessitated ashtrays. These ashtrays were often in the form of polished Paua Shells, which were decorative, very long lived, and easily cleaned.

I regret that we have no Paua shell ashtrays from that era.
I do not regret having seen them, and enjoyed theirs wonderful colours

Whenever I see a rainbow, I am reminded of the wonderful colours of the Paua Shell.

Johnny Mathis - who could ask for more... if you are of my vintage, of course!

Happy Birthday Gom.

Gom is 74 today.
We had a Roast Pork with the usual suspects.
I think he had a nice day, though he felt unwell for much of the early part.

However, he did enjoy his dinner, and thankfully, we did not sing to him! Our voices have little to commend these days, and were never particularly melodious.

This is around when it all began, in November 1964.

A plump Meggie, & a jolly Gom, who was HUS (Highly Unsuitable Suitor) back in the day.

This was our wedding day, in 1966. By this time, there was a thin Meggie.

This was with our Granddaughter and Daughter approximately 1993

At a family gathering around 1996

This was taken with our Grandson, Xmas 2003.

We dont have any recent pics together. My best attempts to get some seem to have failed.

Latest health reports are positive in most areas. However his feeling would almost seem to belie the blood results.

Dusty Springfield, Wishing & Hoping. HUS would play this on the jukebox.... remember those??
Back in those faraway days, they had jukebox players in booths, in the local Cafes. Dust was big in the Sixties in New Zealand.

The Fabric of Life

A friend, who reads here, remarked that I had not posted, lately.

It is not exactly from lack of desire.

I find excellent- well,.. in my headspace- posts suggest themselves, when I am preoccupied with other, mundane activities, such as showering, or chopping vegetables for Laksa, or chicken for Curry. My goodness, I do loath chopping chicken for dishes! I suspect I should be a vegetarian, but I cannot deny my enjoyment of chicken dishes- mostly when they are prepared by someone other than myself.

And much as I adore small piglets, and even full grown pigs, I cannot deny, I do enjoy a nice roast of pork, or a nice piece of bacon.

Here is the arrogant Morty, declaring "We Seez things Differently". I feel he should be available for cuddles, but he feels he can dish out minor purrings, and smooches, as he sees fit!

He is convinced I am tricking him! He is sure there is someone, or something, hidden- by me!!

"I know you are joking!!"

"Oh well, if you won't tell me the secret, I will just pretend you are not there!"

Dear little Beau, the sweet, gorgeous, model, dog, of Mr & Mrs NN, has disgraced himself, when he got over excited with a bone, in the rain, in the garden!

"Aww, Mum! Dont take my pic, when I look so dishevelled!!"

Lastly, but not really Leastly, OK I know there is no such word, but it is a sad predicament , our loved Leo is in disgrace.

It is true, his little 'habits' are not always the most polite. Since our Son has come to live with us, he has waged a war of sorts over our spoilt canine 'son'.

Leo is a very intelligent dog, as opposed to dear little Honey, who is the love of my life, but a little dim, about her role in the 'Obedient Dog Stakes'. She is small, cute, and slightly crippled, so we forgive her many things.

Leo on the other hand, is bright, intelligent, healthy,  and very domineering, and very smart. He has been Top Dog, with Gom.
Our Son sees this as a very bad situation, so he is trying to change the balance of power.

It is causing me sleepless nights, and Gom is even more depressed over his life in general.

The Fabric of our lives is fraught with snags, and slubs, misplaced threads, and tears in the very cloth of it all.

Winter Thoughts.

How the time flies, when you are not having fun! haha.

We endured celebrated our 44th Wedding Anniversary on 13th July. It was not wet, nor particularly cold.  It was both, the day we actually got married.


It would have been my Beloved Mother's 90th Birthday on 17th July. I am glad she did not live so long, as I know she was ready to go, when she did. Her small body was worn out, and she was very tired.

Among her favourite flowers were Daphne, which always flowered on her birthday. I am lucky enough to have a shrub, and it is flowering now, with it's wonderful sweet, slightly citrusy, spicy, perfume filling the air. I cut some to bring indoors and always reminisce about Sweet Little Mary.

The garden is looking sad and cold at the moment, and it feels as if there will be more rain. We seem to have had quite a wet winter this year.                                                                                                                   

Gom is an increasing worry. A visit to our GP left me with a rather sour taste in my mind. I do not like to be dismissed with "Don't be so negative."

I am trying so desperately not to be negative about anything, but it is really hard, in the face of severe and prolonged depression in one's husband. Depression to which he would not admit, but finally is admitting.

It is hard to be positive in the face of extreme outbursts of rage and irrational thinking. Unkind remarks. Savage behaviour of a mental kind. Not all of this behaviour is due to his disease.

Our son is living with us for a spell, and he is a rock to me. His father's behaviour has shocked him, with it's extreme mood swings and seeming irrationality. He has been on the receiving end of some of the savagery, which of course, breaks my heart.

My sense of humour has seen me through some ugly and difficult times. I seem to find it hard to find the humour in much these days.

I have a problem of my own to deal with, which may be really minor, but an inconvenience, nonetheless. Investigations thus far are not exactly comforting, though they would not seem to indicate anything too dire-hopefully. I am a coward, so I am trying to ignore the next step of investigation, for the time being.

A visit to the Dentist revealed more unsettling news. Teeth are nothing but trouble from the moment we are born, it would seem. Why couldn't our gums have been sufficient to live by?? That thought makes me laugh... a whole lot of gummy people. We could have gummed our way through our lives!

I tried a new recipe, Eggplant Parmigiana. Sounded nice. Turned out crap. Never mind, I will eat the pieces. You wouldn't catch Gom eating any such thing as Eggplant, so I will have to eat it alone. Beloved Son B is making himself a Lentil Salad, which he loves, and is determined to eat for a few days to 'de-stress' his body.

We had Small Granson here for some days during the holidays. He was such fun, and he astounds us with the breadth of his knowledge and his reading skills are amazing. When he heard me inviting his sister to come for tea one night, he told me he wants to come too, bless him. He adores Morty & they have fun together playing with toys. He has not really known any cats, so he is very intrigued by Morty, and even though he has had a scratch or two, he is still delighted with him.

"If I close my eyes, she might go away with the camera!"

We took SG to visit a large Black Cockatoo, and there was also a large Macaw. The shop also had fish, and Axlotyls. Along with puppies and some rabbits, and lots of noisy small, and not so small parrots. I am kicking myself for forgetting to take any photographs. We will have to go back!

We have a new leather lounge suite, not purchased from the Slimy One with Bling! and it is proving very comfortable. Of course Morty and the dogs have been given dire warnings about NOT damaging ANY part of the suite.

It is nice to have good friends to call upon for some light relief. Thankyou H, for being there for meXX

"It's All In The Game". Phoebe Snow.

Such is Life..

The pressure, the sadness, the worrisome news. The minor, (I hope) health scares.

The joyous news of a Grandson's wonderful School Report.
A visit from Family, with all members present. A rare treat.

A Beloved Son, coming to live with us, for a spell.

Wonderful Neighbours, sharing news and photographs. These gorgeous Maple Leaves, on their tree.
I missed the pics of ours.

Cooking something new, with great success, and much enjoyment.
The simple joy, of having someone who enjoys the same taste as myself.

A batch of impromptu scones~ which were, surprisingly, very nice! I can't remember the last time I attempted to bake scones!
Sorry, no pics, they were all gobbled up!

A fruit pie. Gom having two slices, so I know it is a winner!

Morty, a gorgeous boy. But a very odd-natured boy. One minute, purrs, smooches. The next, bites! scratches! A very vicious display of hostility!
Oh, my bleeding arms!

What mysteries lie in his past, to cause such violent turns in personality?!

Despair for various reasons.

A wonderful day of 'Respite'.
I watched as Gom departed, so full of happiness, eager aniticipation of seeing old friends.

I sat, with happy anticipation, a full day ahead, to please myself.
A respite for both of us!

Joy for myself. So different to Joys for Himself.

The ebb and flow of daily life.
Now, so different, to days past.

Gom has come to a type of Peace, at the presence of Morty.
Though he can be heard shouting "You little Sh!t" if he is displeased.
Luckily Morty does not understand swearing, and he just dances away, ignoring the shouted 'insults'.

Neil Diamond, Song Sung Blue.

Jumping On The Bandwagon.

The Bandwagon. to which I refer,  is "Facial Hair"!

It is really a given for Males, but it is an optional extra, to grow said hair.

For Females it can be a downright hideous embarrassment. Unless, of course, they can join some Circus in which they which might become a 'Bearded Lady'.

However, this is not the usual outcome of Post Menopausal Hair Growth. It is not enough to benefit a career in the Circus. Nor,  is it slight enough to ignore, and hope no one will notice.
I have heard of women bleaching the increased hair, in the hopes it will never be noticed.

The trouble is, bleached hair has a tendency to glisten in the sunlight, or any other light directed in the direction of said hair.
No woman wants to be noted for a splendidly gleaming blond moustache, or beard.
Blond takes on a whole new meaning in that scenario.

I digress here, a little. My gripe is not with hapless women, who decide to let Nature take it's cruel course.

No. My gripe is with men, who 'stupidly' grow their whiskers to grubbily stain their chins, and chubby cheeks. They are to be seen in the media, often, proudly sporting this "Derro" look.

WTH???

I see it to be associated with men, who are either alcohol addicted, or drug addicted- ie, the 'Derro Look'!
Here in Oz, we all know, that Derro, refers to a lost, or drug addicted  soul. Some condition, which precludes them from properly shaving in the mornings, or evenings, or whenever they are required, for public appearance.
I see it as downright laziness, in the 'taking care of personal hygiene' vein.

I also see it as an inordinate vanity, as I understand this hideous, whiskered, and  'overgrown' look, takes an awful lot of time to perfect.

I suspect Don Johnston has a lot to answer for, in this ugly 'craze'.  (But Hell, didn't he go out of vogue so long ago???' Along with white suits, and rolled-sleeve-suit jackets??)

I realise I am "Older" and my opinions dont count a jot, today. I still feel as though I can b!tch about what I find unattractive, and ugly!

I see it, on an evening Show Host. I am told he has grown the 'Stubble' to counteract the opinion that he has a 'Babyface'.
Fool!
He should be glad he looks so young!
In his older age, he can still possibly 'pass' for someone much younger.
I think, at present, he looks like someone who is imitating his old Grandfather, or Great Uncle.

I feel like sending him a message, saying "Go and wash your face!! And have a bloody good close shave, while you are there!"

Goodness knows, it is YOUTH that seem so be so worshipped these days.

I should add here, in defence of bearded folks, of which my Beloved Brother is one, there are some people who seem destined to suit beards.

BB was nagged constantly by our Mother to shave off his beard of some 30 odd years.
When he did, she was shocked beyond belief, and wished she had not nagged, so consistently, for all those years. He became unrecognisable, &, she declared, looke like her youngest brother.

An aging Aunt told him he should have known his beard had become an "Institution" by the time he was over 50, and he was to grow it back ASAP!
He did, and has no intention of shaving it anytime soon.

My two sons, have had various facial hair configurations, over the years, but at present are both clean shaven.

I would never try to dictate or even suggest, what they should do with their very personal whiskers.
I do, however,  feel, I can express an opinion on Public Figures.

Peter Gabriel, In Your Eyes.

Lost Opportunities.

I never seem to have my camera with me, when I see wonderful photo opportunities, these days.

I saw a beautiful, lemony, buttery,  coloured leaf, just begging to be picked up, or at least photographed, but I was wrestling with dogs, so could not stop to seize the chance~ or the leaf!

I have learnt, as time passes me by, the need to grab these chances, and run with them, because they never come around twice.

Of course these images are old ones, captured in other times.They still bring me a measure of pleasure.

I am rather a hoarder, so I still have the images on the computer, in my collection of :Oldies, but Goodies".

The dogs were due their annual 'shots'. So today was the day, and off we went. Of course they both knew exactly where they were going, so they were nervous, and sort of excited.

Honey was really very good, once we got to the Vet's. Leo disgraced himself vociferously, barking at a small and rather innocent looking, small, and baldly clipped dog.

In the ten years we have been attending the same Vet, I have watched both the male Vets go from coloured hair, to now, completely white. I guess, it is a stressful occupation.

They both got a clean bill of health, and Honey was declared to be in excellent condition for her age.

Leo was surprisingly good for the Vet. That is why we choose this particular Vet. He seems to have a special way about him, with our dogs. The discolouration of the moosh is just 'one of those things'. No explanation, or particular reason. He is healthy, his teeth are fine, and his coat is 'Lovely'.

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I have been trying to catch up on my blog reading, which has slipped a little behind lately. 

Below, is one of my Meat Pies.

 

I read my American friends' mention of pies, and know, the Pies to which they refer, are usually a far cry from the Pies to which we refer, Down Under.

Here, in Oz or indeed NZ, 'A Pie', almost always means a "Meat Pie", usually smothered with Tomato Sauce. They are a particularly 'Sporting' food item, being the food of choice for Footy watching males, and often, females.

The Meat is usually steak or minced beef, and the casing is pastry, usually a shortcrust base, with a flaky pastry top. With lashings of thick Tomato Sauce.

None of these Sissy,  Sweet Pies for Footy Fans! None of your girly biscuit-crumb crust, or cream filling.

No! The Pies of choice are hot, meaty and no doubt, artery clogging!

We are told, they may contain as little as 15% of actual MEAT. However I prefer not to go there. Not that I would ever eat a 'Meat Pie', I had not made myself. And, it would never be Beef!

They are often seen decorating the front of Footy Fans Boofy chests! They might also be seen ~shall we say, making a 'Second Appearance'.

To use an Assie expression, as a 'Technicolour Yawn'.

However, this is usually after copious quantities of beer also, have been consumed, though not always.

We do have other pie varieties here. Apple Pie is not the Institution it is in America. However, it is quite popular. Also Lemon Meringue Pie is a favourite, as are Custard Pies.

As a child my favourite was Blackberry Pie.

I make Apple Pies and Fruit Pies for Gom. He seems to enjoy them, which is just as well, because I do not have a sweet tooth, and he has to eat them all by himself.

Roy Orbison, California Blue.