In the Midst of Life...

For some obscure reason, I have been thinking about death. Of course it is with us every day, even though we may not think about it, on a conscious level.

I suspect that my thoughts were jogged by a view of the 'bones' of cactus over at Granny J's "Walking Prescott". I found this very interesting, & it seemed to tie in with my thoughts of death, & how it has affected me, at various times in my life, when loved ones have died.

When my beloved maternal grandmother died, it was a shock. She had a massive stroke, & we travelled, full of fear, to the Hospital in another city, to visit her. She never regained consciousness, but we felt she knew we were there, & waited for us, before dying.

My mother was paralysed with grief, & could not bring herself to attend the funeral, so I stayed with my mother, & didnt go to the funeral either. I have sometimes regretted that, but felt my mother needed me more. It was a terrible loss to us, as we had lived with her for a best part of my life, & of course, it had seemed she was invincible.. I know my mother grieved until she died.

The death of my stepdaughter was just horrendous. It took a long time to learn to live with that grief, & it will still catch me at times, with sudden tears, at the memory of her loss. And her little hand in mine, when I first met her. Her trusting brown eyes, when I told her she didnt have to call me Mum, when my Mil was insisting she did.

The next significant death, or the one with a severe impact on me, was the death of my Father in law. I was not particularly close to my Fil, but it just seemed so sad. He had had a stroke, & my MIL who was in early stage Alzheimers did not tell anyone. Consequently, he was in bed for a week, with no treatment before her brother found out accidentally what must have happened, & he called my SIL. She organised to get Fil into hospital, but didn't tell us any thing about it. Her husband went behind her back, & rang us to tell us he was very bad, just before he died. We never got to see him, & when we attended his funeral, it just seemed so horrible to think, we could have visited him before he went, if only my Sil had not been so spiteful.


Our fist instinct was to make love, as if the act of procreation, could somehow stave off the reality of the death. I have been told this reaction is quite common. A sort of primal instinct to reaffirm life & living.

We had to make hasty plans to fly to NZ for the funeral, & it was a sad journey. I cried all the way home in the airplane. It seemed worse, as they had cartoons on the screen in the plane, & my Fil had loved his cartoons. He loved to watch them with his grandchildren.


I had recently undgone a hysterectomy, so I suppose that, combined with Fil's death caused a sort of breakdown mentally in my health, & I just couldn't stop crying about it all. It was a truly awful time.

We had recently found out our daughter was having her first baby, & it seemed our new little granddaughter filled a serious gaping hole in our lives. Cuddling her, was like reaffirming life, & I am sure her appearance in our family had a great healing effect.

When my father died, I was devastated, not least because I didn't know him well. It was a sad funeral for me, & I wished I had had Gom with me. He had only met my father once, so he didnt really know him, & he felt he was needed here in Oz. I have blogged about meeting my half siblings for the first time at my father's funeral, which was a very bittersweet event. I knew for certain that I could never get to know my father then.

My Mil was the next to go. We had found out finally where she was, & had gone to visit her, luckily. We asked to be informed of any change in her conditon. She had advanced Alzheimers, & didnt really know us. Though, I felt she knew Gom was there, when I saw the tears come out of her eyes. We were let down over her death, & made a hurried dash to the funeral, & returned to Oz almost immediately after. It seems so sad to me, who has family ties so tight & close, that Gom & his only sister are estranged. A strange woman, who, in many ways has had a very sad life.

No one ever wants to think about the death of their mother. That will probably be one of the most devastating death's of all, for any person to cope with.

My Mum had a great sense of reality. She used to tell us in detail, what she did or did not want in the way of a funeral. She was very adamant there was to be no religion mentioned. No matter how hard you try, the buggers will always try to sneak it in!

Mum would have us in fits of laughter, in the end, about what she did, & did not, want in funereal farewells. Though it was terrifying to live through, I think that fact that we had had many discussions, & much laughter well before she died, was a help, in dealing with the actual funeral.


This post has turned out rather sad, which was not my intention at the beginning.

I have had a great outing with Gom & my Daughter J. We went to a seaside Market, & I cursed myself roundly for not taking my camera. Next time I will, as the building is lovely, & quite unique. It has been restored & is a fascinating place to see, even if we didnt buy any of the wares on offer.

We did have a lot of fun people watching, & were several times forced to choke back laughter.

It was strictly No Dogs Allowed, & we were greatly amused to see a very crabby looking old couple, with a little black & white dog sitting between on a chair, at a table. When I bent to admire the little dog, the womans face was transformed into wreaths of smiles, & she said "She is waiting for her dinner". And the old man beamed with pride upon 'his daughter'.

I will add it is an outdoor venue, so the dog was technically not inside. There were quite a few little dogs, clutched lovingly in arms, & they were all very well behaved.

There was a wonderful free puppet show, which had adults as well as children, enthralled. The characters were different & unique, & were very well made, & the variety of voices the puppeteer managed was quite incredible. We wished SG had come with us, but he had decided to stay home.

As we came round on our second lap past the puppet theater, he signed off, & said he would return in half an hour. DJ & I hung about wanting to catch a glimpse of the 'magic man'. After intently watching the back of his little tent, bulge, & sag, & bulge & sag again, we wondered what he could be doing in there. DJ finally concluded he was getting dressed! So off we went conjuring up images, & reasons why that should be so, & we never did get to see him!

On the way home, there was a sign for a Scout Garage Sale, so we called into that. They were on the last bits & pieces, but everything was half price, & you could fill a bag with books, for a dollar. DJ got some lovely books for SG, all in really good condition, & she gave them $2 for them. I got a box of puzzles, & games with some stuffed animals for $3, so SG scored the puzzles & games, & Leo will no doubt make good use of the stuffed toys.

It has really been a perfect Spring day here, light breeze, & 27 degrees of beautiful sunshine.




Hope you have all had a good weekend.
I have probably bored you witless with this longwinded affair, but since I didn't get on here yesterday, you might forgive me. I write it for me, in case I develop Alzheimers!

Janis Ian, Aftertones

You Have Been Warned! Offensive Content.

Who could not love this little face! This is Mr & Mrs Nice Neighbour's little dog. He is such a good little boy.He has always been a lovely dog, but he used to get so excited & would jump & bark whenever we met him. Now he is the model of a well behaved dog. Mr & Mrs NN have been training him with a non force, non food reward, method. It seems to have worked miracles, & they have lent us the video, & we are so far very pleased with the results with our 2 outlaws.


Thinking of training dogs, the following conversation for your information.

"Oh goodness, what is that? Is it a football wearing a very badly dyed old sheepskin? And why are you dragging it along on that lead?"
***
"Your dog?? That is an actual dog? Oh yes, now I see the stumps for legs. And the bared fangs at the er.. front end?"
***
"Can I venture to ask how it got, er, shaped like that?"
***
" Oh I see. You have been training it.
Using the rewards/treats system."
***
"And how is that working out for you? Sh!t! It almost took my finger off!"
***
"Still a long way to go, you think?"
***
"Oh, look out, I think it is weeing on your leg! Oh I see your leg & shoe are very yellow already!"
***
Walks off muttering to self, "Wretched thing will very likely die of obesity long before it gets 'trained'. Owner is well trained though...in the art of giving food when required."


CAUTION!!!
Proceed at you own risk!


This is the part, where I would ask anyone with Religion to look the other way, in case they may be offended with content.

We have been watching with amazement & interest, as the world seems to go periodically mad, at supposed findings of faces of the Christ, or the Mary or other 'religious' faces- though how anyone actually knows what these people or beings, actually look like is beyond us too!

And why dont we hear of Bhuddists finding Bhuddas, (although I do believe they are urged to kill the Bhudda if they see it) or Hindi's finding their supposed Deities? Although I do seem to remember some Elephant statue pouring forth milk... no one mentioned the smell that must have prevailed at that little phenomena site! And do the Muslims have such phenomena too?

I apologise if I am offending anyone. As I dont have a religion or an Icon to stand & worship, I am ignorant as to the names, & terms of most of these matters.

Anway, the point of this, is that we noticed some weeks ago, that there was a mysterious shape appeared out on our concrete in the back yard. We decided to wait & see if a face appeared.

We could see raking in the dosh, as we charged admission to view. And sold tissues for the tears that would be sure to be shed at the sight of such a wondrous thing.

Alas, this seems to be as far as it was going to go.

You would agree, not very impressive or remotely Iconic.

So this morning I thought I should try a little enhancement.

Of course the fact that SG's chalks are mostly broken & eaten by the dog didn't aid the art work in being subtle. And the colours, well... I did what I could with them.

Dismally inadequate, obviously.

I think we will have to make our mint some other way. Unless.. we get some cereal that looks like the christ Oh yes, that has been done. O well back to the drawing board. So to speak.

I know, what about a toasted sandwich??

Cat Stevens, On The Road To Find Out.

An Award

First up this morning, I want to thank the lovely Bren of Pieces from Me, for the Nice Matters Award she has passed on to me.

Since I can be quite irreverant I feel a bit of a fraud accepting it. I rather like to kick a few sacred cows from time to time, & poke sticks at serious matters.

And I have to confess, I cant seem to get it onto my blog, perhaps someone will offer some advice?

Thankyou Bren. And I will think about who I would like to accpet it from here.


This is a pic of a friend of Leo's. I find it sitting looking quizically at me, in all sorts of places. This time it was on the kitchen floor, looking really puzzled as to how he had got there, & why exactly.

And here he is again, after another roughing up! He looks rather apologetic.

And here is Honey on my chair in the computer room, with the poor lion. Leo is mounting a sneak attack, through the arm of the chair, to retrieve the lion, & Honey was giving her little warning growls.

Leo won! He grabbed the lion & ran off.

And here he is looking so innocent. Butter wouldn't melt.

Really he is in need of a good clipping, but we have been holding off until the weather is a little warmer. Our friend has cut a few clumps out here & there, & so there are some odd little baldy patches. I think at first he was a bit mortified, but he has recovered all his vim & I am sure, thinks he is handsome. Or, more likely, doesnt care, because he knows he is just adored!

*******

Every morning when I shower under our piddly, water-saving shower head, I curse it, & think, with utter longing, of a small Motel in Opotiki, New Zealand.

Which has a shower with a generous outpouring of hot water, which gushes out with such force, it almost takes hair off your very head! And other items, of your person, I wont mention, that an Aunt of ours commented upon.

We have stayed at said Motel on more than one occasion, & always agree, the hot water is a dream, & the pressure a thing of joy.

The first time I ever stayed there, was when I travelled South with my brother & SIL to attend our father's funeral. It was cold, & we had got a little late setting out for the journey. And of course, we were all a little tense.

And, as luck would have it, as we travelled as fast as we dared, my beloved brother's car got a puncture. It was very cold, dark, & my brother was wearing his good clothes. He got out to examine the damage, & was opening the boot, to access jacks & the spare tyre.

Along came a huge logging truck, fully laden with logs. The driver stopped, & cheerfully jumped down, to see what the problem was. He took a look at my SIL & I, then at my brother in his good clothing, & said he would change the tyre for him.

And as he did so, he chatted to us, & asked why we were going to Optotiki. My brother told him we had to attend a funeral, & he asked whose funeral. My brother told him our father's name. The truckie asked had we known him. My brother replied, "You could say that. He was my father."

Which is sad, because we didnt really know our father very well at all. And it had only been a short time earlier, that my brother had taken his 3 sons to meet our father, their Grandfather, for the first time in their lives. A fact he has always been glad about since.

I have mentioned before, the morning of the funeral, was the first time we got to meet our half siblings. It just seemed so sad, & wrong, that we hadnt met until our father had died. And it seemed even sadder, that neither of his wives attended his funeral.

I know our mother would have liked to be there. In her heart she always loved him as a person. I dont know about his second wife. I think there was bitterness there.

And the gathering afterwards was one of huge sadness to me. There were grotesque moments when people made the most inappropriate remarks. That stung & hurt at the time, but are now the cause of much laughter, between my brother & I. There were also those surreal moments that must occur at all funerals. That could be a post on it's own.

And it was a chance to get to know a little about our siblings, & their partners & children. And we discovered we liked them all, very much. And catch up with relatives we hadnt seen for years.

My father's remaining living brother still lives in that small town & we stayed at that small Motel on our last visit - and the showers are still wonderful!

Chris Isaak, I Wonder.

Survival Strategies

Remember these? I posted this picture somewhere back in the dim days of earlyish blogging. Cant be bothered finding the post now.
The reason I have republished this little blurry image will become apparent.

I have sneaked in here to try to stop myself from running out onto the front lawn, where GOM is maiming the remaining stumps of the grass.

I would cheerfully throttle him, in full view of the neighbours.

No, not for murdering the lawn.

But I just went out to peg out the washing. GOM usually does this for me. Now, perhaps I can see why he has been so quick to grab the basket off me, & rush up the path to the clothes line.

I have just discovered he has uprooted my Morning Glory Vine. It was one of the few things I have grown from a cutting, which had happily survived, & rewarded me with many pretty flowers.

The GOM, aka, The Garden Vandal, has uprooted it completely. There are signs it had been hastily poked back into the earth.

Hoping, I suppose that I would never notice it's death or absence. I just fail to understand how he can keep making the same blunders.

And I also wonder, how am I going to develop survival strategies that will serve us both well, & keep us both alive. He has certainly had another near death experience this morning.

His mother developed Alzheimers. It is an ever present worry, to both of us, I know, that he may develop the terrible disease. His father's only sister had it too. So, if it is an hereditary disease, as some opinions tend to believe, he has it on both sides of his family. And that is a very very scary thought.

He has a much better memory than I do, for movie stars names, movie titles, authors names, etc etc. On the other hand I can remember a lot more things about music matters than he can. I guess we both keep our observational radars on, to note any lapses of 'mind'.

I first became worried about it some years ago. We had had the MIL & FIL to stay. We had realised just how bad the MIL was. Because she lived in New Zealand, & we didnt see her for about 12 months, we really noticed it.

I consulted the GP we had at the time, & we discussed some of my concerns. GP concluded GOM needed to wear his glasses more, instead of acting like an idiot because he couldnt see properly. The next major concern was the hearing. After many frustrating months of denials, he was finally convinced he needed to have his hearing checked. And, once fitted with his new hearing aids he could see how deaf he really had become! And that return to the hearing world, resulted in a lot more idiotic seeming behaviour changing.

I know we all get old & cranky. I know we all develop strange tics, & phychological warts. It just goes with the age territory. And we cant spend our lives seeking out trouble or imagining disease where there may well be none.

But I have to tell you dear friends, acts like the murder of the Morning Glory shake my belief that all is well!

I have begged & pleaded with him never to touch that part of the garden but it appears to be a magnet for him. He just cant help himself.

So I have to keep devising strategies to cope with the loss of my plants... & sanity?

I think I manage fairly well. It used to irk me that he hangs the clothes out all 'wrong'. By which I mean not the way I would. So a strict talking to me, by me, resulted in admitting that no one loses a limb or an eye, or even a life, because the clothes are pegged in peculiar ways. And it does spare my back. And he folds the washing as he unpegs it, so what am I whining about??

**************************

We had a great afternoon yesterday. Some friends came over, & we sat out in the lovely sun, & chatted & laughed, until the husband went off to collect kids after school, & the wife stayed for a little change of pace.

We moved indoors as the afternoon cooled, & enjoyed more laughs & a few drinks. The husband came back, & we carried on laughing. It really is lovely having friends we can both enjoy & like.

Now here is Honey, this morning, having a little stretch.

And here is Leo. Curled up, perhaps having a little sulk.

I bathed him yesterday. We caught him on his way into the house with muddy paws!! About to leap all over the nice new honey coloured carpet. OH NO!!

So I whisked him into the tub for a paw wash. Fat hope! it ended up being a full scale bath. And he is not exactly a willing partner for this activity.

Then I tried to brush his woolly knotted coat. He was having none of it, & made his getaway.

And our friend gave him little snips with her little scissors, so he now has baldish clumps here & there. I think it wounded his pride a little. And he is giving me a wide berth if the reads me thinking of the scissors or trimming.

Ah well, I have simmered down somewhat now. I guess no lives will be lost this time. But I do mourn the Morning Glory. Cant help it.

Oh and we had Small Grandson here on Monday for a few hours. He is a delight. He had brought Garfield to watch on DVD, but he found other things to do, & he had a nice cuddle with me being 'my treasure'. My daughter said when they were leaving he said to her, "You know Mummy, my Nanna is SUCH a lovely girl!"

Made me all warm & fuzzy when she told me!

And yesterday on the phone he told me, "I have a sore toe Nanna" When I asked why he told me "It is DAMAGED!" "Oh, how did it get damaged?" "I picked it, & it was bleeding!"

His mother didnt know about that one.

And today, he is in Pre School, so he will be happy.


Chirs Isaak, Two Hearts.

All Fuss & Bluster

This morning we have wild weather, with blustery winds lashing the trees, & driving sheets of rain into places normally not wet. We had a power cut briefly, & so everything halted until power resumed. And here is Leo, in his 'I hate storms' mode. He gets in behind the sofa & hides. And if there is thunder, such as the great deafening clap we had yesterday morning, he runs to me for protection!! He is a bit of a wuss really, though he pretends to be the big watch dog.

And here is quiet sensible little Honey, who takes it all in her stride, & doesnt let it upset her.

GOM had to go for some blood tests, so she is patiently waiting for his return, keeping a chair warm for him.

This is the palm tree beside our balcony, being lashed by the rain. I took this through the window, not wanting to get wet.

And here it is being lashed by the wind this time. There are 2 really tall palms- not sure what type they are,- on a neighbouring property, & they almost bend double. I am constantly amazed that they dont snap.

I am pleased we are getting some heavy rain, & hopefully it will fall in places desperate for the water. The farmers will be rejoicing, & I hope it is going to dams & catchment areas.

Our daughter had been doing some weeding, & a rose thorn went into a knuckle on her hand. She said the pain was excrutiating, & I urged to her go to a Dr. She did, yesterday, as over night it had got worse, & the Dr told her it was poisoned. She may even have to have surgery on it, if the antibiotics dont work on the infection. She said she wouldnt have thought it could be serious until I told her roses can be really poisonous.

She has never liked roses, curiously enough. She had a boyfriend who used to buy them for her regularly, & we all thought how romantic, but she admitted she hated them! I love rose blooms, but must say, I am very wary of the thorns. But if anyone buys me a bunch, I am always thrilled!

****

Noise can be an irritating part of our lives. I find it can be extremely irritating. We have a neighbour who does a lot of work at home with a compressor- I think. And clangs metal, & thwacks things, & runs other machinery sounding items. I feel the urge to run, shouting, into his yard & flagellating him savagely with a cauliflower stalk or wilted leek. Always supposing I had one of either!

I have been heard to mutter that if I wanted to live in an industrial estate, I would have chosen a house close to one. I never say anything though, because I am sure he does good with his constructions/makings or repairings or whatever, but sometimes... well, it can be an irritation.

And our dogs are not perfect, & will rush out barking now & then, & we are conscious that barking can be a real irritation, so we are always rushing out to hush them, or to bring them inside.

I must be getting old & grumpy like GOM, as I hate him mowing the lawn, & using the leaf blower/mulcher....especially when he mis uses it!! haha.

I hope you bloggers in the northern hemisphere are having some warm, & sunny weather.

I admit to having got soft, since living here in Oz. It used to be much colder in New Zealand!! But now, if it gets to 15 or 16 I think, "How chilly!"

Webs

Well as you can see, the webs have all been joined up. I finished them last night, & now I will have to decide on what colour to use for the sashings.
Mary used green, & I rather like hers, but she has also used a more random scrap effect, & has put windmill blocks in the sashings. My limited maths wont allow me to calculate what size to cut those- I have to be honest! Maths is not my skill at all. I think there is some knack to working it out, but I haven't got the knack or the info that would give it to me.

Any suggestions for sashing colours??


I suppose I should audition some fabrics I have here. I have a feeling a dark colour would be good, to downplay the light.

We had Small Grandson here this morning for breakfast, & then took him off to Pre School. He gets such a kick out of playing with the scraps, & is thrilled when he recognises fabrics that I used in his quilts.

I feel rather sad that I hadnt discovered quilting while my parents were still alive. I would have particularly loved to make a quilt or quilts for my mother.

I have made other members of the family quilts, giving one to a beloved Aunt, & I have also made her a bag.

My daughter gave me the hint that SIL would love his own quilt, as he loves snuggling up in hers, & he once told her he thought the huge cushions I made for them, were the nicest things they owned! Daughter is a very good quilter herself, but she never seems to get time these days.

It is certainly a priveledge to be retired, & have my faculties, & be physically capable of sewing, & doing most other hobbies I have. And another benefit is to be able to spend time with people you like & love, as opposed to having to be at work perhaps with people you dont always want to spend time amongst.

GOM & I met a man this morning who told us of his wife's recent, post operative death, & it was a heartbreaking story. He seemed so lost without her, & couldnt believe she has gone. He said he is involved with his church, so I hope that gives him some solace. His son & grandchildren live in another State, & I think he is wondering if it would be a good idea to move to be with them, or stay with his network of friends here. It would be a very hard decision to make I would think.

We have had another beautiful day here, the sky is blue, & I sat out in the sun reading, really enjoying the warmth on my body. Nights are chilly, so it is lovely to snuggle down in bed, even if the dogs think they should have the lion's share! Leo walks carefully round GOM, but of course, he still wakes him up. Then he whimpers at me in the early morning to get up. It is lucky I like to get up early!

Still Playing..

As you can see, I am still playing with the Spiderwebs.

Have not made any blocks completely as yet. I will have to play about with them.

I dont have a design wall, so this is the part where I use our bed, or the floor. Small dogs seem to feel they have to test drive the patches too, so the floor is not always such a good idea!

Here are the small dog babies, lording it over GOM, last night. He loves to sit in his chair with the dogs on top of him. Not such a bad idea, as they are nice & warm in the chilly evenings we are beginning to get.

******

I read a very interesting post this morning concerning labels for quilts. It was posted by Taniwa & I found it very interesting. I was quite surprised to read in the comments, how many people tend not to make labels for their quilts.

Sometimes I make very plain ones with just the date & who it is for, & my name.
I became interested in foundation piecing labels, & have done some using that method. I usually make one if it is a gift quilt.

And sometimes I include details, such as how the quilt came about or what special occasion it was made for.

I wonder how many other people make labels. I think it is nice to think our labels might last a long time, & I am often surprised to realise how long ago I made a quilt, when I see the date.

Frustrations.

Here are the 'babies'. Leo has been giving Honey a hard time, wanting her to play with him, & challenging her to try to get the lion. She just snaps at him to leave her alone.My Beloved Brother rang me from Auckland to have a chat, & Leo could be heard growling & carrying on like a spoilt child, demanding my attention. My brother is not really a dog person, & each time has very colourful, & inventive suggestions as to what I should or could be doing with Leo. He hasnt met Leo in real life, but hears tales of his various misdeeds.

One of his milder thoughts is to have Leo stuffed, & mounted upon wheels to be pulled about where ever I want. Of course he doesnt mean it, but I play the outraged dog lover.

He has met Honey, & she is a good little quiet dog, so he doesnt have suggestions for her.

I thought I would post my favourite camellia. I love the colour of this one. These are the weeds which come in abundance, & flourish, & seem to feel they were invited! I dont know what it is, but it covers the ground so thickly, & lushly, it almost seems a shame to pull it out. I once told GOM that I would rather look at the green of weeds, than see bare bald earth, & it is still true, to an extent.

Here is another shot of the favoured pink camellia, it is clearer than the first one, but the colour seemed too light.

We are trying to get some quotes for new railing on our balcony. It seems to be almost impossible to get people to :

A, Turn up to quote.

B, Suggest a price less than the cost of a small Third world country!

C, Send out the quote after having measured & discussed.

Initially, GOM did the phoning & begging for people to come to quote. Of his 3, one turned up, & declared a ransome would be appropriate payment.

One has never been heard from again, & we presume he must have fallen from a balcony somewhere.

One came & measured & made fatuous suggestions about stainless steel, & wire, & glass panels. On being told that would be ridiculous on this older style of house, he whisked off, saying he would post the quote. We are still waiting, 3 postal days later.

So I tried to T up some quoters, by telephone.

One is supposedly to turn up this morning.

One laughingly took my name, address, & phone number, & promised someone would 'get back to you, to arrange a time'. I am still waiting, 3 days later.

We are also wishing to get the house painted. As it is brick & tile, the painting does not amount to a great deal. But it is two storied, & so GOM cant possibly do it. Besides I would have nightmares & live in terror of him plummeting off the roof, so for my peace of mind, contractors are preferrable.

We have had quotes from all 3 who turned up to quote, & they are all much less than the hideous ransome for the small railing. Two quotes are very close, & one is suspiciously low, so we wont go with him. We dont want the paint washing off in the first shower of rain, which has been known to happen. Besides the dearer quotes named the paint brand they use, so would seem wiser choices.

We really need to get the railing done, as it is rusting badly, & I have heart palpitations every time someone goes out onto the balcony. To say nothing of the eyesore it has become.

Fairly recently, we had a new, large, patio awning erected in the back yard. I just realised the cost of that was far less than the suggested price for the small balcony rail....how can that be?

GOM has just brought me a cup of coffee. I rise much earlier than he does, & I have one cup with my breakfast. Then he makes me another when he has his breakfast. I have tried to tell him the industrial strength he makes, bring tears to my eyes, & a terrible bitter taste to the mouth. Stupidly, I am always shocked to discover he has forgotten I dont like it strong.

Still, I suppose it is the thought that counts.

Grooves or Smooves..

I read a post this morning on smilnsigh, (& I am sorry I dont know how to add the link in my text, but she is in my Fav Blogs list) about wanting to change your image.

It made me laugh because GOM & I had watched a programme on TV about women wanting to get rid of the "batwings" they had developed under their upper arms.

One very plump looking woman had her arm 'flaps' filmed in slow motion, to demonstrate just what they looked like! It surely made us laugh, & we wondered how many times she walks about flinging her arms in the air like so!

The 'treatments' on offer seemed totally ludicrous to us, & highly over priced- especially in view of the fact that they wouldnt last very long! The surgery option was totally hideous, - much more ugly than the slight puffed look.

It made me think of some of the dreadful plastic proceedures women -& increasingly, men- have done to their faces. And the awful tight faces which can barely move, let alone smile or -perish the thought- laugh uproariously!

And those awful injections, that 'bloat' the lips or forehead... how can anyone admire them? It seems sad that people of 'advancing years' shall we say, feel so insecure in themselves.

I could not be bothered, even could I afford such a waste of money. I am too much of a coward, plus I have 'earned my stripes' on my face. My grandchildren rather like my warm soft arms, my Granddaughter christened them 'Nanna's Puffies" when she was quite young.

I can still remember the lovely soft sensation of being enfolded in my grandmother's soft puffy arms, & bossom. How comforting!

What ever happened to encouraging people to be comfortable with who & how they are? I despise the media attention to appearance as being the measure of a man/woman. I know the 'beautiful people' will always be attractive to the majority, but what about character, & warmth & kindness?

The inner being is so much more important than the outer shell we were given. I am not critisizing people who have glaring defects, or oddities if they 'blight' their life, but I object to the 'idle rich' just having vanity proceedures to make themselves look 'younger' or more 'beautiful' ... which can be very debatable, in a lot of cases. The character & personality lines are what helps to soften a face, imho. But I suppose it takes all kinds, & beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I find I am drawn to the 'characters' of this world, I love eccentric people who boldly 'be themselves' no matter what. I am not quite so brave, & suppose I am fairly conventional in the way I dress & look, but it is not nearly as important as it used to be when I was young, & it is so liberating to just let age happen.


We had a lovely day with our Grandson. We took him, & the dogs to the beach, in the morning, & spent a wonderful couple of hours walking, looking at the little shells, seaweed, paddling, & the dogs had several swims. It was lovely & shady in the area we went to, & so quiet & peaceful. SG had a great time, & he found a large painter's brush, so he used to it scrub shells, & was just so happy pottering about in the water. He stood on clumps of shells & rocks, & told me he was on his private Island, & I couldn't come onto it, because he had locked it. He used the paintbrush as a cutlass when he was a 'pirate'. He is full of ideas about role playing, which I suppose is part of his age.

On the way home he told me he thought there was a monster under our car, and was I going to 'Fuckem up the monster?" I said "Pardon?" So he said it again, & I finally realised he was asking me if I was going to "VACCUUM up the monster" Whew, luckily I didnt lecture him!

When we came home, he made the whole lounge a cubby house with all the quilts, & he used all the pegs to hold the quilts down- "For when the wind blows, Nan".

When his tired Mum came to collect him, late this afternoon, he was reluctant to go, he had had such a fun day. There are days when he can be 'difficult' but today was just a lovely day.

The dogs enjoyed their day too, & were all tired out from all their beach side adventures too. Oh the thrill of sniffing a thousand other doggy smells, & the thrill of widdling as many times as possible to leave their little messages behind, for others to 'read'.

My biggest regret of the day is, that I forgot to take my camera! Next time!

It's a Dog's Life- & sometimes it Smells!

This pic is of Honey sitting in my computer chair, this morning.
She doesn't exactly look relaxed, but that is because she was barking at some other dogs, & making a real racket. And once she starts, Leo joins in. And here is Leo in his favourite chair. His morning has been spent 'throwing' his treat ball down the stairs. SB is sleeping downstairs, so I am sure the hard ball sounds like thunder going down the stairs, & then clattering on the tiles in the foyer. Leo races down to get the ball, races back to the top, & repeats the process.

This is the treat ball, & it is quite large. It was to be a shared gift for Honey & Leo, but it is a bit too large for Honey. Leo has learnt to pick it up in his mouth, & so he races about with it, even when it hasnt got any treats left inside. It 'giggles' occasionally too, so is quite funny to see & hear- though I am sure SB is not really amused about the stairs at 7am, when he is trying to get a few more zzzz's.

An unexpected Chrissy 'gift' for the dogs is fleas. We dont normally have trouble here with fleas. I use the antiflea treatments regularly, but they seem to be getting less effective, or perhaps the fleas are getting immune. Where the dogs got the fleas, will be from the grassy back lawn at DJ's. Oscar has the same problem, poor little chap, & he gets dermatitis from the fleas, plus the Buffalo grass. Every time we take our dogs to visit, they come home with another set of fleas . Luckily the fleas dont seem to like us humans, but they do make the dogs life a misery.

So today, I will be trying to get them clipped a bit more, & then give them baths tomorrow. Leo has become very wary of me, since he had his last vaccination, & has become a 'Daddy's boy'.

SIL P takes SG fishing quite often & they take Oscar along. Apparently he has a such a good time...but they always have to bath him when they get hi home, as he rolls about in the mud, & finds horse manure, & dead birds & all sorts of unspeakable stinky things.

You can see why I am very reluctant about the idea of taking our dogs there! I dont mind taking them to swim down at the waterfront/harbour here- sand is messy, but 'clean'.

Speaking of 'stinks'... I ran out of my usual washing powder, & only had some liquid detergent to do the wash yesterday. As soon as I poured it into the machine I remembered why it has sat in the cupboard for months, unused.

The smell of it makes me feel quite ill.

I wonder why manufacturers keep using strong odours for washing powders?

(And yes, I am aware of the so called 'non perfumed' variety- but why should they cost more??)

I regard the smell of fresh washing dried on the line, as a 'free treat'.

But not when it is so overpowered with 'perfume'!

Is it because I am getting older or what?? I find I give all shampoos, & conditioners, soaps, detergents etc, the 'sniff test' - I can be found lurking about the shelves of the Supermarket taking the tops off things to sniff them!

I have been known to complain to the manufacturers of a certain hair product- they sent me free replacements- but they smelled the same!

All these things are not cheap, & the last thing you want is to find youve laid out good $$$ only to find you cant use the product, because of an overwhelming urge to vomit or sneeze every time you smell it!

And as to that 'Calvin Klein'... all those products should be banned from the planet!! grrrrr.

A little post Chrissy grouch!!