In Dark & Secret Places

This is a little green frog I discovered happily sitting under a ginger leaf, in our front garden. He had bright orange eyes, but I didnt have my digital camera, so it is not a very clear picture. This was taken about 2 years ago. And these photos were taken yesterday, as I cut & lashed about in the garden, trimming wild vegetation, which needed to be readied for fresh growth next Spring.

Isnt the colour of these hidden toadstools wonderful. I once found a bright almost neon yellow toadstool in a plant pot, & have always regretted not taking a photo of it.

And this little 'village' almost, hiding under the ginger leaves, among the Xanadu.

For some reason, toadstools & mushrooms fascinate me, always have. I was so excited the first time I ever saw a red toadstool, with the white spots. Previously they had only been illustrations in childrens fairytale books.

The slashing attack on the garden was a good stress reliever. It was a dull overcast day, & vigorous activity was needed to keep warm. Then my paper skin got nicked, & I began to bleed & it wouldnt stop so I had to come inside to deal with it.

Who ever thought I would one day have my Grandmother's skin! haha.

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

After my reminiscences yesterday, about Ted, I recalled other details.

So here is another 'Ted' story.

I cant remember how or where I met Ted, & our relationship was really quite short lived. But the memories linger on with clarity, in some instances

Ted must have had a vehicle, as he lived across the city from where I lived. He would phone up, & invite himself over and make sure he stayed for one mealtime at least. He lived in a flat by himself, & boasted about what a great cook he was. We never saw any evidence of his great cooking prowess. Only his stunning appetite!

He once invited me to his flat for a meal, but as I recall, it was reheated, prepackaged, frozens, of some description, his excuse being, his oven was not working. I think there was limp lettuce too. He professed to be a 'healthy food' person.

One Sunday morning he rang to ask if I would like to go with him to collect his mother. So I agreed I would & he duly arrived to collect me. I had not met his mother previously, so he began to explain to me 'about his mother'.

She had rung him, pleading to be picked up. She was in some strange man's house. She had no money. She didnt know where she was, really but the street name was - well, I have forgotten, but it was a suburb unknown to both Ted & I, so Ted had his trusty map, for me to read & navigate for him.

His mother had a problem. She liked to drink. She liked to drink A LOT. And she got very lonely. So she apparently regularly allowed herself to be 'picked up'.

Sadly, this particular morning she appeared wrapped in an old blanket. And wearing a black eye, from the previous night's revelries. I never found out what had happened to her clothes.

I felt terribly sorry for both Ted & his mother. And I did admire the calm & patient way Ted dealt with her. No harsh words, no questions. He just took her home to her flat, & made her a cup of tea, & saw her off to bed. I had never seen anyone quite like that. I had never met anyone so broken by life.

His mother worked in a cafe, in the city. She was a small built woman, & likeable when sober. And rather attractive. Ted never said what happened to his father, & I didnt ask.

I did meet 2 of Ted's sisters. He insisted he would take me to visit his married sister, who had 6 children. He told me he adored the children, & would one day like to have children of his own.

He had just bought himself a treat. A Sibelius Arctic water Suite - I think- multiple albums. It was guaranteed I would 'love it'. We arrived at the sister's house, amid ruinous chaos. A huge tumble of children, dogs & cats. A warm child friendly home, to be enjoyed & not fussed about. There was a vague shadowy brother in law, but I dont remember much about him.

The eldest child had cerebral palsy, poor girl, & she obviously loved her Uncle Ted. She spoke very loudly, & was very hard to understand. All the children were so happy to see him. And gazed at me with suspicion, unsure what to make of a stranger.

The mother-sister seemed a very pleasant warm person, an ideal mother for her busy noisy brood. And she seemed geniunely pleased to see Ted, & meet me.

Then another of his sister's arrived. A very different natured girl. Not given to liking children or animals much, it seemed. Unwilling to sit, until sticky somethings had been removed between finger & thumb. O well, not everyone is mad on kids.

But as the afternoon evolved, I could hear Ted & Classy--snobish-sister trying to outdo each other in the 'I have a higher taste in music than you do' stakes.

And out came the Sibelius. Loudly. And the louder it got, the louder the children became. In the end there was this cacophanous din that threatened to cave in the roof of the mother-sister's roof. The Mother-sister was heard to snarl, at Ted, & Classy sister, "turn that rot off!". She made suggestions about where they could put it, & what they could do to listen to it. And I must say, I agreed with her. But silently, of course.

And then there were waspish remarks made about their mother, insults hurled about by Classy sister. And Ted trying hard to laugh it all off, and Mother sister deciding perhaps the visit had lasted too long.

Surely Ted & Classy sister had come to visit with Mother sister, & the nephews & nieces? Not to sit listening with eyes closed to some vast wash of classical music?

In a way it was an appalling introduction to some of Ted's family. He had other siblings. I never got to meet any of those.

I think it was just after that incident, that the decorating farce took place. And so ended our brief 'romance'.

Interior Decorating

Over the years, we have lived in a lot of houses. We have had lots of different styles of houses. With many differing colour schemes- some, none too pretty either.

When I was a young child, I lived in many houses too. It must have been the pattern of my life to be somewhat of a Gypsy.

It had long been my mother's dream to own her own house. She worked very hard, & was a good saver, & a very good housekeeper. After living in a somewhat grotty inconvenient back flat, which had a copper to be boiled for washing, she finally had enough money for a deposit for her own home.

So began our rounds of looking at houses for sale. Always something wrong. Too expensive. Too shabby. In need of too much repair. But finally she found a warm house, with garish colours in every room. Unbelievable colours. Colours to make you sick- some of them looked like sick. All four walls, in each room, painted different bright & ugly, colours! Indescribable blues, greens, orangey brick, reds. All mixed by hand I would think, & most quite patchy as well. The 'new batch, hadnt quite matched', sort of ugly.

It was currently tennanted, by a family with young children. The young family were quite prepared not to stay on. And so, finally, my mother had her very own house.


As an aside here, the little girl who had previously lived in the house with her family when they rented it, continued to duck in, & use the toilet each day. Imagine my mother's surprise when *ahem* brown things appeared mysteriously, daily, in the toilet bowl. Finally my mother caught the little girl one day, & had to tell her she must not continue to use the toilet, as it was no longer her home! We never found out why she didnt flush, but it must have been so she wouldnt be caught.

One of the first things she decided to do, to improve the house, was to repaint all the rooms, to get rid of the ugly colours, as money would allow. I am inclined to use pastel or neutral shades for my choice in my house. Mum was much the same. So we painted away, & gradually the house became my mother's home.

One of the last rooms to get a makeover was the sunny lounge. It was, & still is, a very warm room, & always seemed to have a warmth quite apart from the weather or climate.

At the time, I was 'keeping company' (haha, dont you just love that quaint phrase!) with a young man, I shall call Ted Nitpicsty. Ted was a tall sallow skinned man, with long limbs that seemed to somehow 'dangle'. Ted professed to love most music, but was especially fond of jazz- I have posted long ago about a visit to a 'jazz' club, with Ted. St Vitus Dance sufferers have nothing on Ted listening to jazz.

Ted also loved Mahler, & once subjected me to a whole four hours of listening to some of it- at top volume! It cured me for life.

However, even though I cant really remember what the initial attraction was to Ted, the final straw in his getting 'the order of the boot', as my mother used to put it, was when he promised he was a great painter, with impeccable interior decorating skills, & would gladly paint my mother's lounge room for her.

And, he would lend us his paintings he had bought, to hang on the walls. Never mind the fact that the paintings were not really my mother's taste, & in reality not even really a good size for the space & style of room, my mother politely said that was very kind of Ted. So the pictures duly were brought & hung- before the painting of the walls had begun.

The weekend came, & Ted arrived to stay, & painting was to proceed. No sooner had the top been taken off the paint tin, than Ted was afflicted with a violent blinding migraine! He had to retire to the darkened bedroom, & all needed to be kept quiet, & very still.

So we closed the bedroom door, the passage door, & prepared the walls for painting. And applied the first coat of paint. Tea time. Mum cooking a delicious meal. Sheepish Ted, miraculously recovered, & ravening for food, appears. To wolf down huge helpings of said delicious food.

Next day, further preparations for the painting. Further painfully debilitating migraine attack!

More delish meals cooked, more huge helpings, disappearing down the gullet of miraculously recovered Ted.

This went on for several weekends. Finally we got it. Of course by then we had painted the damn room ourselves, with 3 coats of paint, needed to blot out garish prior painting.

Mr Ted Nitpicsty was given his paintings to take home, & his phone calls were not answered.

My brother will remember Ted vividly. I think he might have been awake to him, long before I was!

The house, is still in the family. When my brother married, he bought the house from our mother, & he lived many happy years there, until he built a new house, on the large piece of land at the back of the old house. Now my nephew & his partner have bought the house from my brother. It is still a warm welcoming house!

Blah blah

This is a little salt & pepper set my mother had for years. It was always in perfect condition, & I always loved it, for as long as I can remember.
The last time I visited my mother was during the weeks leading up to her death, but I didnt know at the time, that my mother was about to die. I was so lucky to be able to look after her until she had to go into hospital, just prior to her death. I noticed that some of her china 'treasures' which she had always had, were chipped, & that was a new thing about them. She always kept them in a glass doored cupboard, or a China cabinet, & was most careful about them. Some of the plates & cups & saucer sets had been my grandmothers, & Mum had treasured those too.

The little Shepherd has now got a little chip on the base, that was never there before. I still love them though, & love the way their little faces have been so carefully painted.

The little corks in the base of them are original too, & are obviously old. They are just under 3 inches high, so they are tiny compared to modern salt & pepper sets. My mother told me she had never used them, but she loved them as much as I do.

********

I see people have been blogging about the views from their bedroom windows. Or cosy corners of their houses. I have previously shown my hand sewing corner, so wont bore you with that again.

These are some corners of my house, today. Hacked out carpet. Into 2 bedrooms, & the passage way. Another corner, into the room I use for sewing, & blogging.

You may understand how it all getting me a little down in the dumps. With no resolution in sight, & no assessor apparently assigned to our claim yet, I had a little weep this morning.

Which didnt seem to ease the feeling, unfortunately.

Yesterday, our Daughter J came up on a mercy dash to use our clothes dryer. It was nice to have her here while the clothes dried.

SG came with her, & he gravely examined the carpet holes, & said "What happened here Nanna?" When I explained it to him, he said, "Well I will help you to get the rest of the carpet out then. It needs to go in the bin!"

Which is exactly what I feel should be happening.

*******

I dont think there is anything amiss with the lung harmatoma. It has grown, but it seems it is not too dramatically. I havent been back to Dr yet, but have read the report.

I had a phone call yesterday to tell me I could not have my tooth out on 9th of July, the Surgeon will be on holiday. I was about to explode, when she asked would I like to go on 6th instead? Of course I agreed immediately. Then she asked would I like to go if there is a cancellation. OF COURSE I $%&* would!!

And today was Mammogram day-- always an ordeal. I suffer from lumpy tender breasts. Those F***ing machines that mash them to pulp, are just pure torture. And nothing will ever convince me it is a good way to check for cancer. I had read there is a blood test which is far more reliable, & accurate.

I am sure if it was for men's prostate, or having their testicles stopped from being mashed, it would have been in use yesterday! No matter how pleasant, or apologetic, the person doing the mammogram, it never gets easier to bear. And it was freezing in the rooms, and the poor woman (mammographer?) had freezing hands. She told me she had been wearing gloves between each patient, to try to warm her hands.

The only nice thing about the visit, apart from the staff being really nice, were some Kimonoes hanging on the wall. I ventured to look at two of them, because I have never seen a real one up close & personal before, & was very interested to see how they were made.

Some years ago, I made a Japanese doll for GOM, at his request. I had no idea how to make the Kimono, & made one as best I could. I have never been entirely happy with it, & have never finished the hand stitching around the neckline, I am ashamed to say. After looking carefully at the real ones, I think I might just try to make another one of these days, for GOM's Japanese doll, who the sculptor named Midori.

I have been dreaming of babies, though there are none on our horizons. I have also been dreaming of haircuts..... another of my past blog rants. I am too frightened to get one. I am wondering if I could somehow let it grow, & tie it back. I think Joyce was very wise to let hers grow, & never have to battle with hair disasters ever again!!

I seem to have been feeling very very grumpy today, so didnt want another grumpy down post. This is about the best I could do.

At least GOM has been very nice to me, & he took me out to lunch to try to cheer me up!

Far Stranger Than Fiction.

The following is a true story.
I am sure there are readers who will not believe it can be, or will think I have embroidered or my memory is remiss.

It is the story of a little boy named Glen, whose life crossed ours when he & our son became friends when they first started school. He lived in the same street as we did, but a good few doors down the street.

We had just purchased a house in a nice seaside suburb, with a lot of modern houses, & many young families. It was a nice time of our life in many respects, & we made friends that we still have as friends to this day.

Glen had an older brother & a younger sister. I was aquainted slightly with Glen's mother, & spoke with her at the bus stop, from time to time. She was divorced, & worked, so her children used to spend a lot of time with a closer-to-us-neighbour who was a friend of ours, & who was very fond of the children & the mother.

Glen developed the habit of coming to our house after school, & he & our son played pirates, & Zorro & all the hero games little boys of that era loved to play. I made capes for them, and pirate hats, & masks to wear. I always made one for Glen too. They used our wooden outdoor setting of table & attached seats, as a Pirate Ship, & it also doubled as a Batmobile & various other useful vehicles.

Glen was a very polite little boy, & he loved to come into the kitchen & chatter away to me. His speech had a slight impediment, & sometimes he was quite hard to understand, but he would chatter away, & I would murmur answers as I cooked, not always listening intently.

Glen's mother met a new man, & before long, the new man had moved in with the family, & the children stayed home after school with the man, who, Glen informed me, "Is going to be our new Daddy". Glen didnt seem to like the 'new daddy' very much, & so he preferred to continue coming to our house to play, & would stay as late as he could. Glen's mother still worked, & the new man seemed to have a night shift job, I think. I told his mother I didnt mind Glen being at our place, & since he was no trouble, & he was good a good little mate for our son, he came as often as he could.

And that is when I first became aware of what Glen was actually talking about. He still came into the kitchen, still chattered away, & I still absentmindedly listened. But I began to hear that the 'new dad' was strict. That he made them stay in their rooms, he was 'not nice'. By this time, the mother had married the "new Dad", so his word was to be authority. I gathered the older brother had the hardest time of it, & Glen escaped to our place.

We moved about this time, into the inner city Hotel, & Glen cried when he knew we were going. He told me he wished he could come with us.

Imagine our shock, when we read in the paper, that Glen's mother had drowned, on a holiday on the wild West Coast, in a torrentially flooded river, supposedly during a 'comfort stop' on the bank of the river, while on holiday.

Then, after some months, the 'new father ' was accused of murdering Glen's mother. The evidence mounted, & police were sure he had pushed the mother into the river. He had forged an Insurance Policy, for a huge amount of money for the mother's life. He was arrested & charged with murder.

And while the police were conducting inquiries, they re-enacted the 'murder'. And a young policewoman drowned, in the same flooded river. It all seemed too bizarre & sad. The neighbour who had babysat the children was declared a 'hostile witness'. She said she knew the 'new Dad' was going to murder her friend. He had got violent, & used to threaten the mother, & the children.

The children were 'shipped off' to live with their natural father, who was not a well man.

The next chapter in the story seemed almost unbelievable. It was discovered that the new Dad had been interfereing with young boys, in his role as Scout Master. Fresh inquiries were conducted, & the father of 3 of the molested boys declared he was going to kill the 'new Dad'. He was a huge man of Island lineage, & it seemed he just may carry out his threat. The 'new Dad' was tranferred to a Prison further away down the South Island.

I kept thinking of Glen & his siblings. I kept racking my brains to recall the conversations & phrases from his kitchen chatter came back to me. I felt sick. I could see why children felt helpless, & didnt 'tell' when they were being abused.

Glen was a very sensitive child. He told me he didnt like his 'new Dad', but he also told me "Mum loves him, & she just wants to be happy, so we have to be good, & do as he tells us, no matter what." And, "He makes Mum cry." And "Mum cries when we dont do as he says. He tells on us when she comes home".

We wondered if 'new Dad' had murdered the mother because she had discovered what he was up to with the children. The neighbour friend swore she had found out. She said so in court, but was once more declared hostile.

The final chapter to the "new Dad's" story came in the Southern Prison. He was stabbed to death by another inmate. It seemed a fitting end.

As to Glen & his brother & sister, I dont know what became of them, but their natural father died. It just seemed to be too cruel a fate for three young children.
I often think of Glen, & wonder where he is today. He had the most beautiful brown eyes & a smile that could light a whole house.

Not a Picnic!

Some time ago, I was very lucky to be chosen as the winner, for this vintage Picnic Set from Peggy of Hidden Haven Homestead.

Peggy very kindly shipped it all the way from her home in USA, to my home in Australia. Arent I lucky! It took some time to arrive, but it was a bright spot in the midst of all our ghastly events here.

Thank You so much Peggy, & William, who actually drew my name!

I had planned on taking lovely picnicky pics, but with this dismal wet weather, there is no chance!

I have been out & about very early this morning, to have a chest Xray, which I am sure will be ok. Just a checkup really. I have a Harmatoma in one lung, & as it has been in evidence since 1989, I am assured if it wasnt benign I would be well dead! But nevertheless, it is growing, albeit slowly, so a check on it's progress is advised every 2 years or so.

As we had friends over yesterday & GOM had a very merry afternoon, I left him snoozing in the bed, & dashed off to have my Xray. I rushed into the office a little late for the appointment, at 8.15, but still had a small wait. Whilst sitting patiently- lol- I noticed to my horror I seemed to be wearing a dog hair top! Even though our dogs are both Poodle Maltese cross, & not given to shed, Leo seems to have inherited some shedding from somewhere & his white fine Maltese-y hairs cling to navy & black like magic. I have tried the clothes dryer to remove the hairs, & those sticky rollers, & clothes brushes, & vaccuum cleaning, but still they cling.

I felt like laughing, but of course one must not laugh when people are sitting waiting to learn the fate of their body's strangenesses. But, on the other hand, a little inappropriate laughter could just lift everyone's mood?? No?

I must be getting old & eccentric, as I catch myself wanting to dance, when I hear joyous music in malls. Or whilst out shopping for fabric. But then of course, fabric fondling -or shopping is a joyous event! And should be danced to, before it is too late, & arthritis cripples!

**********

I see it is Father's Day in other parts of the world, & there are tributes to fathers being posted.

I never really knew my father very well, but I loved him fiercely, & when he died I was utterly devastated. Part of that devastation, was the finality of his death, & the knowledge that I could never get to know him any better than I had. It seemed too sad, & too cruel.

He had died alone, in his bed, & that seemed to be terribly sad too. I travelled, alone, back to New Zealand for his funeral, which was held in the small church where he had married my mother many years before.

He had remarried, & it seemed unutterably sad, that neither of his wives attended his funeral. I know my mother would have liked to, as she remained very fond of him, though their marriage had not worked out.

He was buried, on what would have been his 73rd birthday, in the military section of the Cemetary in the small town, where he had married my mother.

The funeral was the first time my full brother & I got to meet our father's second family- our half brothers & sisters. Which seemed even sadder.

I clung to my father's sister, who is my best beloved Aunt. And I cried when no one else seemed to be crying.

Because I hadnt seen my father for some years, I went to see him before the funeral. They had pomped his hair into a grotesque shape, & he would have hated it. We all remarked on it later. I think one of the saddest things was seeing the little drawings & letters his grandchildren had placed in the coffin. I wished that my children had had the chance to know him.

It was a terrible bleak cold damp day, the day he was buried. I dislike burials at the best of times. I was totally stricken.

Later, at the RSA Club, we got to meet with our siblings, & found we really like them, & wish that the paths or our lives had been different. I would love to get to know them all. One sister was not present, & to this day, I have never met her. I understand she lives over here in Australia too.

I am so glad my brother & I went back to see our fahter's grave, on a sunny morning, on our trip last November. The pain was a little easier, & somehow the military headstone seemed something 'decent & proper' for the memory of our father. Whose life was ruined by his war experiences.

Bob Seger, Roll Me Away.

Pearl Jam, Given to Fly

Apparently, I am a Cat?

I dont know about that. I married a Cat, or Leo to be exact.
Parts of the description sound about right, but other parts are not. I do like people, love having them call to see us, love spending time them.
I like to think I am a good friend, prepared to be there for people if they need me.

You Would Be a Pet Cat

Independent and aloof, you don't like to be dependent on anyone. And as for other people, you can take them or leave them. You often don't care. You live your life by your own rules. And you have deep motivations that no one truly understands. Why you would make a great pet: You're not needy or greedy... unlike other four legged friends. Why you would make a bad pet: You're not exactly running down to greet people at the door What you would love about being a cat: Agility and freedom What you would hate about being a cat: Being treated like a dog by clueless humans

What Kind of Pet Would You Be?

The lady-? with the perfume smell is back visiting.
At least it is nicer than the real smell the house seems to have.


Shane Nicholson, Designed to Fade
Sheryl Crow, If it Makes You Happy

Expectation

I saw this rainbow over the valley this morning, & thought it would be nice if it was a sign of better things to come.






But also thought of Dorothy.....




And the expectation that a rainbow will bring something good??

We are having more rain, wind & gah weather.


No one has been to see about the carpet, the roof or any other problems.

I feel the house is not a pleasant place to be.





The little grave out the back door filled with water, & became the little pool!





And Hitler & Eva, (as he calls me now, since I told him about my post) went shopping for some luxuries like bread!





I also had an outing with our lovely daughter to shop for batting & backing for the SIL's quilt.

And there was a sale on all sorts of things. And we got a dinner set each with new square plates for $10, reduced from $60, so we thought it must have been meant to be.

For anyone wanting to set up house they had dinner sets for $7- 36 pieces, including knives forks spoons! Amazing. It just so happens GOM had coveted a square dinner service - so now he has one!

Why does a little voice in my head keep saying "The food will get cold on those plates awfully quickly!" Which wont really worry me, as I eat & drink only tepid things anyway... I dislike hot.

In other thoughts for the day, I have been reading of 'favourite things'.. Thinking about favourite foods. Favourite music. Favourite authors.

When it comes to movies, I think my all time favourite scene is from the Movie Terms of Endearment.

It is the scene where Shirley McLaine is driving a drunk Jack Nicholson in the surf, in an open top car, & he is standing on the seat, & she cant really drive. For some reason that scene says things to me, that almost make me want to laugh and cry, at the same time.

And the most harrowing scene is where Shirley is screaming for pain relief for her daughter, who is dying of cancer. I feel that scene in the pit of my stomach, every time I see it. It never fails to move me.

Well, away to fun things like the ever present washing to dry. And the food to prepare. And the rain to listen to.

Buddy Holly, Raining in My Heart.

On other fronts..

Here is my little Honey, keeping me company, & soothing my soul. And here, this morning is the slightly doubtful looking sky scape above Rumbalara.

Most of our bad weather seems to come up from the South. This veiw is directly facing South, & there are patches of blue, but the tinges of pink are a bit of a worry. Rumbalara is girdled with a mist again, which usually passes. When the weather is really bad, we cannot see any of this, from our windows. The hills become completely invisible beneath the driving rain.

I have been 'looking up', in the form of reading blogs.

I was intrigued, reading Thirdcat to learn of her tendency to blog, when she perhaps, could be doing other things.

I find I do the same! It is very therapeutic. Let it all hang out, on the blog, in relative anonymity.

And I find reading other blogs very therapeutic also, it is such fun to read the various styels of humour, & the various ways of coping with life, that others employ.

As for me, well I should be getting things sorted into orderly piles or heaps or whatever, to deal with coming carpet joys. But right now, it is rather cold, & Honey is keeping me warm - well, warming my rear, anyway. And I just felt like a blog session.

I am sure there are liquid pools lurking in my vegie drawers in my fridge too, - unless PPFP (Pantry Plus Fridge Police- AKA GOM) has been in there. He doesn't have a strong sense of smell, & comes trotting in with various hairy looking things for me to 'sniff'. "Is this OK?" thrusting it under my nose - accusingly.

I usually rear back in horror, completely stunned that he is so blind! Of course he is not really. It is his way of 'shaming' me. I used to be so fussy about things like the fridge, & pantry, & bathroom. But since he has retired, & taken it upon himself to become so PPFP, complete with Hitler moustache, I just salute, shout "Sig Heil!", & scurry off to the computer or the sewing machine.

You would not believe how Hitler like he has become when doing the weekly grocery shopping. All I have to do is look at an item, & I will be told "We dont need that!" or "What do you plan to do with that!"

I look about me, & see other 'oldies' being bullied by their men, who need to keep some semblance of being 'in charge'. I realise with shock I have become one of the 'oldies'! It is so easy to forget, when in your heart you are still about 40 something, & feeling pretty damn good!

I just fancied some baked beans on toast for lunch. Who doesnt have baked beans in the pantry?? For feck's sake? Not one tin to be seen? Our daughter was here, she too, could not believe there were no baked beans. "But Dad" she said "Everyone has baked beans in the cupboard!" He just muttered & absented himself from the room.

Of course it has become a territorial issue now. I let him take over & have no chance of regaining control. He has the bit between his teeth, so to speak. He is 'the BOSS' again.

He has also taken over our filing system. Consequently, he can never find any document when it is needed. It took almost an hour to locate the house Insurance papers. What is that all about!

One area he has not tried to take control over, is the bathroom, & the cleaning thereof. Which is a pity, as I dont like doing that much. Still, I suppose it gives me something to do, other than sewing or blogging. haha.

Ah well, we can still laugh- albeit through gritted teeth at times.

You know, what my nephew & I refer to as 'The teeth grin!"

Oh and there is very happy good news. Our Daughter has just got a new job, which she really wanted, & which promises to be perfect for her!

Congratulations DJ!

Quick update.

This is Gorgeous Beau. Isn't he beautiful. I guess, if like Isabelle, you are really a cat person, you may not see his gorgeousness. But he is really lovely, & a clever little guy. He looks as if he is smoking a cigar, but it is one of his Schmackos treats, that had been buried in the garden. He is Mr & Mrs Nice Neighbour's little dog. I wanted to post something nice & happy, & he is both.



A small update in the progress of rottenness. Last evening, I thought the washing just needed spinning dry. I thought the bowl of the washing machine was empty of water. Hah! WRONG!!

Suddenly I noticed a huge black mess creeping out onto the passage carpet. EEEK!! Sewagey water was spilling from the drainage hole in the bathroom out onto & into the carpet. The overflowing water was initially from the washing machine, which could not drain. I had no idea the machine had contained so much water.

Gom rushed about doing his own form of cussing, & mopping & grumping.

Today we have had drainage folk here, unblocking the drain, & locating the problem of the blockage. It seems my beloved Lilly Pilly tree is the culprit! So now we have a point of repair to work on. And the gaping hole in the wrong part of the patio!! GRRRRR! That is clay lying out on the pavers. Clay which will all need to be rammed back into the hole dug by GOM.

A friend called over, & I heard GOM telling him that 'Meggie is going in the hole!' Which is not fair! I didnt advise digging the damn thing!

I had a visit to the Doctor, & all would seem to be normal wear & tear on the bod. Just a chest checkup to be done, on the 'thing' growing in there, plus the dreaded Mammogram.

I rang the insurance about the carpet early this morning, & this afternoon some nice men came & cut large pieces of carpet out of the passageway, & the bedroom doorways, & sprayed a germicidal spray to decontaminate, & deodorise. I dont think it has worked!

IT STINKS!!

I thank you all for your kind thoughts. I thank Crafty for her lovely cussing!

I think, the 'silver lining' might be that we will have to have new carpet fitted, as the whole house is now contaminated, because of the wetness. It is not really nice to think we are still living in it. And, of course, it couldnt have come at a worse time, when all the storm damage is still being sorted out.

The men for the carpet began work at 4am. They wont finish until 6pm. They like to work they said, but they feel rather 'over it'.

Oh and the tooth aches on, cannot be removed until July! But the antibiotics should kick in tomorrow, & ease the pain.

OH! CRAP!

Some years ago, GOM asked me to make him a quilt. He wanted it to be a "Sports" quilt.

Sports & I are complete strangers. I dont partake, I dont watch, I dont listen, I dont understand. I loathe, in fact!! So, the best I could come up with, all those years ago, was this version.

I named it "It is not Sport, but it has got Balls" And this first pic is of the backing I used for the quilt.



It fits on the top of our Queen size bed. It has warmed us these many winters. I was so inept at quilting in the days I made this quilt, it is buttoned. With vintage buttons from my beloved Mother's button tin. And I felt quite proud that I found this ball print to use for backing.



And here is the front, which I spent many secret hours constructing. The image is very dark in this pic. The actual quilt is very bright, & was when I first realised that scrap quilts were my favourite type of quilts. I love every minute of making this quilt for GOM, & he still loves it. And still insists using it on our bed.

O.K. This is not REALLY a happy post!

The quilt for SIL had grown to gigantic proportions!! it is going to require a sh*tload of batting, which I currently dont have. And a sh*tload of backing fabric....which I also dont currently have!!

To say nothing of the quilting! Help! My shoulders will wilt, & I might run away from home!!

Actually, I cant believe how dark this pic looks on here. It looked ok in the preview, on our Queen size bed. Much larger than I anticipated, but then SIL is 6ft 2in, so I guess he needs large quilt, to cover!!

I noted a lot of you were horrified at the thought of a Rugby League quilt.. well so was I!! I loathe the game, cant change now.

In other hideous news...the 'tooth' is beyond saving! The only answer is an extraction. The 'Evil Fang', as Fifi suggested, is indeed evil! I am having to take antibiotics!

You can imagine the joy with which this news was recieved! Oral surgeon. Antibiotics. Double root system, necessitating surgeon. WTF??

Crap on crap.

Then I came home to this The back yard patio area is now dug up. GOM has a seriously buggered back, from wielding a crowbar, plus pickaxe. All executed whilst I was out recieving the bad news about dental matters.

We are going to have to excavate the backyard to find the drainage problems. Oh joy & laughter!! NOT!

When I read about the bird crap on Tanya's head I thought , What could be worse? So life teaches me lessons!! So, I wonder if I learn??

Somehow I cant let myself drown in this cesspool - I kid you not!!

Bugger, bugger, bum!! And any other little gems you would care to add!!!??

I have been looking up!

I have not been moping about the further heaps we have been given- just to keep us on our toes, I suppose. haha.

The roof leaked some more- well it is covered by Insurance, & will be dealt with in due course. Our policy covers the damage done in the storms, & compared to a lot of people ours is a minor. Some poor souls have had floods into their houses, & been looted into the bargain, so we have been 'fortunate'.

Friends of ours with the flooded carpets said the house is somewhat rank, in spite of the carpet having been all removed. So we do consider ourselves lucky.

Now our drainage has decided to cause us further problems, & we are not sure it it is directly related to just the neighbour privet, or the heavy rains have added to the problem.

One of my ankles has decided about now is a good time to have an arthritis flare, so hobbling downstairs to the toilet is not really a joy!

And, yesterday, my tooth decided it would be painfree for most of the day. So in the best delaying tradition, I neglected to call the dentist. Yes, I know wrists need to be slapped.

But! I was too busy looking up! I havent got time to worry about the minor irks. I am on fire with another project.

As my daughter pointed out to me, I have not made the SIL a quilt of his own. She is sick of him taking hers to snuggle into, or using Small Grandson's.

SIL is a Roosters fan. For those of you outside Oz, the Roosters are a Sydney NSW, Rugby League Team, officially known as Eastern Suburbs (I think! Not being remotely interested, I dont watch or listen, & it all washes over me).

So while going through stash looking for something else, I discovered this rooster fabric I had forgotten I had. So out it came & off I went on the quilt trail. GOM doesnt yet know who the quilt is for, so he happily went off to do the shopping yesterday- groceries, which I hate. And I got to sew on.

Then DJ came over, with Adult Granddaughter, & Small Grandson, so I had to hastily hide all the evidence of what the quilt was about. And another friend dropped by, so I had a break from the sewing for tea/coffee break.

Here is the production result of Monday. It is surprising how different things look when you photograph them.

A close up of the roosters & some chooks. Small Grandson loved all the bright colours & happily asked if I was making him another quilt. I didnt tell him who it was for, but did say it wasnt his. I always feel mean, as he loves to play with the colours & scraps & will sit happily rearranging them all- "For a quilt Nanna"

And here is the result of yesterday's efforts. Not all sewn together yet, but looking better. I am thinking to use a black for a narrow border for definition, then hopefully I will have enough of the rooster fabric to finish with a wide border. If not I will have to think of something else.

This pic is a bit distorting -it makes it appear oblong but it is square. The fact that the rows are not sewn together adds to the illusion. And the purple looks more blue in the photo? Sometimes I think the light does that?

The tooth is twingeing this morning, so I must make an appointment to have it dealt with. It is amazing how we can convince ourselves things are ok, when we are scared of the alternative, isnt it!!

A Sad Little Girl

This was a sad little picture taken of me when I was around 3 I think. Apparently I had almost cut off the tip of my left hand ring finger in a car door, & it was troubling me the day this was taken.

Today, I feel just like that sad little image looks.

I have a tooth dying. I have had so many of my teeth die on me, I know the feeling.

And of course, it would never die on an ordinary week day, when there might be a possibility of getting to my dentist for some relief.

No, my teeth have always managed to choose long weekends, or public holidays, so that I suffer maximum pain & discomfort- haha, to ludicrously understate it.

I will last out till later this week, or next, sometime. Then there will be all the gory detail of root canal, & emptying vast amounts of dollars from the bank account.

I am desperately trying to cling onto my remaining teeth. I have no joy from the false ones I do have, & wish to avoid having to get more.

I knew on Saturday morning there was going to be a dead tooth. I woke with paralysed chin, swollen. Told myself it was the facial nerve, which acts up since surgery on a parotid gland. But deep in my heart, I knew it wasn't.

****

Well, it would seem the rain is over. There are patches of blue, amid weaker lighter clouds. And yesterday, we discovered we have a leaking roof - again. This will be the fourth time we have had to have it repaired.
Compared to the damage others have sustained, we are lucky to get off so lightly. Two boring pictures of the wet damage on the ceiling, & there is another patch in the kitchen, which I have just discovered. But I will spare you that boring picture!

Somehow it fits in with the bleak feeling I seem to have.

I feel a sense of impending doom, some cold fist clenching my heart.

Why??

I am not sure.

I keep flashing back in my mind to a birthday party, when I sent my little son trotting off with his gift, for the birthday child, who lived a few doors up the road from our house, and was a little school friend, known by sight to us.

I just had this bad bad feeling about the day. GOM was off at work, as he seemed to always be, whenever there was a calamity, or catastrophe, or turmoil to be sorted.

About an hour after waving farewell to our son, he returned home, sobbing uncontrollably. He was so hysterical, I could not get a coherent word out of him. He just sobbed on, & nothing I did could seem to calm him down. He ran off to his room, & lay face down on his bed, his small body wracked with the sobs.

Eventually, I phoned the mother of the 'birthday boy'. She had no idea my son had even left the party- some hour or so later, which I found very disconcerting. She had no idea why my son might be upset. So sorry. I didnt really know the mother, & realised I certainly didnt want to, at this point.

Finally GOM rang to see how the party had gone. I put our son on the phone, & finally the sobbing subsided. Daddy had said the magic words that eventually calmed our son down. To this day I have no idea what had happened at that party, that had so upset our son. He was so upset that when the mother rang back to ask if he wanted his little bag of party favours, he shuddered & shouted NO!

I have this bad, bad feeling today.

I hope it is just my rotting tooth, & not more sh*t about to rain down on us!

Washed out World

In our corner of the world, it is a very washed out looking place. There is a little eerie sun trying to poke out from thinning clouds.

We contacted friends yesterday, whose house has been flooded, as we thought they may need a dry berth for the night, but were assured they were ok. Hopefully they are still coming here for the afternoon, as planned, but it will depend on the state of treatment for their carpets.

As many suburbs were without electricity, we considered ourselves very lucky! After the one small outage in the morning on Friday, we have been well warm, & fully lit- one might say!

We also thought we may have to have our daughter & family here for the night, as their front lawn is like a 2 foot deep lake! But the house is set higher, & so they were safe & dry.

I dont think there was as much rain fell last night, & the highway was certainly not so filled with sirens screaming past.

Thank you for concern regarding my daughter's hand, it is responding very well to the antibiotic, & she is certain she wont require surgery for it, so that is good news.


Quite a few of you commented on Bronwyn Hayes, who markets her designs under the name Red Brolly. I have posted some quilts I have done using her designs, & though I have posted them before I am sure you wont mind seeing them again.

This photos shows Bronwyn's quilt pattern Country Cottage, & it was featured in an Australian Country Threads Magazine, Vol 3, No 10.

SG loves this quilt, & it is a regular favourite for making his Cubby Houses.
This pic features my favourite angel, & I have used this pattern for other purposes, putting on a bag I made for a loved cousin, & I have another I was going to frame.... in the to-do file! haha.

And this is my favourite cat block. I just love that lazy sleepy cat, so comfortable on the old chair.

This is the complete quilt hanging on the window drapes, after I had first finished making it.

And here is a pic of the quilt I made for my SIL's 50th birthday. I used the same cat pattern, but enlarged it & made a patchwork version. I designed the quilt myself, & featured flying geese on the back, so guests could sign the cream patches. I dont think she got it signed, as she didnt want harm to come to the quilt. I adore scrap quilts, & was very pleased with how this one turned out.

We are having some friends & family over today, so I had better get myself off this & tidy messy sewing off the dining room table.

I have started a new project... even though I havent sashed the spider webs! And I did get out a WIP & put the final round on it, so it is ready to be backed & quilted, so I felt the new project was ok. haha.

I dont very often buy magazines, except at garage sales or op shops, but one little treat I do give myself is a subscription to Autralian Country Threads magazine. I love their patterns & have used many ideas from the magazines. A particular favourite is Ruth Buchanan, whose designs really appeal to me, & I have used 5 of her patterns for quilts for family & friends.

Hope your weekend is safe & warm!

Wintery thoughts

Last evening, while the winds were raging & lashing our corner of the world, & the temperatures plummeted to a chill 10 degrees, I thought it might be time to get out some of my WIPs- works in progress. I had been working on these little Bronwyn Hayes stitchery patches, & thought to get them out to work on, & finish. After scrabbling about looking for the magazine that featured the pattern, I discovered I had actually finished all the stitching on the squares. The pattern had four smaller patches worked & placed at the corners of the smallish quilt.

This is my favourite patch I think. I love Bronwyn's cats, & have done other work featuring her little cats, turning one stitchery pattern into a patchwork block for my sister in law, who loved a ginger Tom, who strayed into their lives. He was a very large & cunning cat, & was owned by noone, & he dined royally & largely, at several households in the area, & made himself at home whenever the mood suited him. He could be very aloof when it suited him, & made no secret that HE chose the moments he could be patted, cuddled etc.

My brother was never enamoured of the Gingey, & I suspect Gingey knew, & he would sit smugly beside SIL & almost pull faces at my brother. My second Nephew & I used to plot scenarios to get rid of the Gingey. But of course it was all in jest, & we would never have harmed him in reality.

I think he has gone off to the great cat house in the sky, as he no longer calls to invade their house, or eat the best of foods.

The world is looking very lashed & almost washed out. Our patio area is covered in dirt & leaves which washed down the path as the rain poured faster than it could drain away. One of my large heavy pots got blown over, but apart from that, we havent sustained any damage.

We are lucky we are situated on a hill, & so are never in danger of being flooded. We can see the Pacific Highway from our windows, & looking down on the river of almost stationary lights last evening made us glad we didnt have to be out driving in the atrocious weather.

It is our Queen's Birthday weekend here, so we get a holiday Monday. Many people come to our area for long weekends, & it is a designated resort area. Poor holiday makers will be in for a wet & rather chilly weekend, if they have ventured here. The night was filled with sirens screaming down the highway, & I was glad to think that none of my loved ones had to be out in the mess & dreadful driving conditions.

My daughter quite often works on a Friday evening, but due to her poisoned hand, she could not work last night, & said they collected SG early, & were all snug, warm & safe at home.

I am wondering if I should get out fabrics & see if I can get my little stitcheries into a quilt. And I have not made a decision on the sashing for the web blocks either. Hmmm, perhaps a visit to the fabric shop might be on the cards.

It seems the rain has eased, & the skies have brightened a little- I even caught a glimpse of blue earlier.

I am listening to Blue, Joni Mitchell. It is one of my all-time favourite albums.

Current track? River!

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!"

When All Around You...

A dentist I used to attend had a lot of 'Inspirational' & 'Humourous' posters pinned to the ceiling in his surgery.

As I lay there, rigid as a board, with every muscle screaming pain, I would try to relax, - funny how that gas never made me laugh! I would read & reread those posters- which never seemed to rotate or change.

There were plenty to read, as the whole ceiling & quite a lot of high walls were covered with them. Sprinkled with small children's grateful thankyou pictures!
A concept so strange & foreign to shakingly frightened me, I could never imagine being grateful to a dentist, as a child! Although I must say, I did really like this particular dentist, & I loved his accent. He told me he came from Poland, & he had marvellous green eyes. And he did extensive & excellent work on my teeth. I even trusted him. Not enough to completely relax, mind you!

The one poster that always stayed in my mind is one that said, "When all about you looks Dark... Look up!" It was printed on some artful photograph of light coming out through clouds, & it really struck a chord with me. I often think of it, & will always 'look up' when things are particularly trying or frustrating.

When we lived in the inner city Hotel in the Southern City, our flat overlooked a carpark. Not a very large carpark, but it was usually full, as parking was hard to find on the busy one way street thoroughfare.

Almost the whole of the front of our flat was a huge balcony that had been glassed in. It was beautiful in winter, as the sun poured in, & warmed us on chilly 5 degree days. Our lounge had huge sash windows, which we seldom opened- they were so heavy, & the sounds, & exhaust fumes, of the traffic was too intrusive to invite into our home.

But the sights we could see from our windows were often extraordinarily funny, unexpected, & very interesting, & sometimes quite shocking. I would urge folk to always 'look up' should they be parked in a carpark overlooked by tall buildings.

At lunchtimes our busy Bistro was crowded with diners, & more than a few would linger long over lunch, especially on Fridays, which seemed to be a chance to start an early weekend. The patrons would perhaps indulge in one too many glasses of wine or beer, & then they would retreat to their cars, in very amorous moods, & well... we quite often closed our drapes!

And many was the patron, who would furtively look all about them, then decide to pee in our shrubbery at the edges of the carpark. I could never bring myself to shout at them, though I suppose I should have. My Father in law, who maintained that garden hosed it very vigourously, & kept the shrubs trimmed very closely, while he was our gardener!

Once, when the shrubs were quite tall & vigourous, the police came to the hotel looking for a man who had been seen running into the hotel. When he saw the police he bolted, & though they looked everywhere for him, they couldnt find him. They searched all the shrubs, with no trace of the man. Finally they left, & as I looked out the window, I saw the man crawl out from under a car, & run off in the darkness. I dont know what his 'crime' had been, but I thought he was probably very lucky the car owner had not decided to leave, while he was hiding under the vehicle.

Once we saw a very elederly man come lurching out of the hotel, set sail for the footpath, & as the ground sloped towards the river on the far side of the road, he gathered speed, & rushed straight across the road & fell over the chain fence & rolled right into the river! GOM, who was Happy Young Publican Husband, in those days, tore off downstairs just as others were shouting & rushing to rescue the old chap from the river, which luckily was very shallow at that point.

Quite often, that same elderly gent, who had been hospitalised, escaped from the hospital in his pyjamas & caught a bus into the city to come to the Hotel. HYPH would ring the Hospital & someone would come & collect him. He was quite frail, but surprisingly strong when he was thwarted in his efforts to spend the afternoon at his favourite 'watering hole'.

We do have a lot of peculiar memories of sights & sounds from the carpark.

So, dont forget to always look up!

Trying to Stay Grounded.

This is a pic of SG, small grandson, taken yesterday morning. He decided he would like a photo taken with the cactus, so here is the result. He has a scratch on his right cheek which is the accidental result of boisterous play with his dog, whose claws perhaps need a clip.



After writing yesterday's post about our travels in Thailand, it got me thinking about other holidays & trips we have taken.

When we first moved to Australia to live, I used to take trips back to visit my mother, who lived in Auckland, approximately once a year. I often went alone, leaving GOM to hold the fort, & I loved to travel alone. Sometimes we had trips back to the South Island, to Christchurch to visit GOM's family & our friends who live there.

A couple of times we met up with our son & his partner, who were travelling in NZ at the same time. Our son B, was keen to show his partner where he grew up, & memories of his childhood years. They spent a lovely time in Kaikoura, which has always held a special charm for our son. It can be very cold, & when the snow is on the mountains it is freezing. There is a flourishing Whale Watching business there now, but in our day, it was just a rather bleak seaside town, which could be guaranteed to have Crayfish available almost all year round.

There is a rough rocky beach with very little sand, it is mostly pebbles. There is a seal colony lives on some huge rocky outcrops & we sometimes took walks to view the seals. Well rugged up, usually, because of the cold winds coming from the mountains on one side, & the Antarctic from the sea.

We would often stay there on our trips up to see my stepdaughter, & of course our children remember those trips, - now rather vaguely. But SB has always retained a fondness for Kaikoura, in spite of once having a dreadful asthma attack while we were staying there, & because he hadnt exhibited any symptoms for about a year, we had no relief available, & no Doctor could be found at night in a small seaside town. Our remedy to was to give him a little brandy in warm water with sugar to relax him, & he went off to sleep quite comfortably, & in the morning all signs of asthma had gone. Our GP later told me I had done just the right thing.

And how, you may ask, did we happen to have brandy with us, & not asthma treatments?? Terrible parents! Publicans, though.

We always called in to visit with friends who lived just outside of Kaikoura, & usually took some bottles of alcohol as gifts or to have a drink with our friends.



This next photo is of the Port of Lyttleton, taken from a lookout accessable by Gondola. The Gondola had never been there, when we lived in Christchurch, so it was as real tourists we rode for the view.
I see I took this photo in November 95.
And here is GOM, with son B, & his partner M, taken looking down at Lyttleton Harbour. You can see the harbour is formed by a crater, & there are many bays round this Harbour.

We used to have quite a few visitors from overseas come to visit us when we lived in the city Hotel, in Christchurch, & we used to try to take them to as many places of interest as we could. It seemed strange visiting as tourists, & perhaps seeing things through new eyes. There are so many wonderful places to visit, & interesting historical towns, I would love to go back & do it all again as a tourist.


I do get itchy feet from time to time!

And here is the view looking East last evening. I loved to rolling fluffy clouds highlighted by the setting sun.

And this was the view about 30 minutes later, looking to the West, over the hills.
And there is that lone pine again! Still waiting ...

I had better go & get busy so I dont fret too much about being stationary, with no immediate prospect of travel in sight!!

A Thai Holiday Remembered

In about 1990 or 91 GOM & I took a trip to Thailand. It seemed a dream come true, to both of us.

As I remember the trip now, I am surprised at how few souvenirs we seemed to bring home with us. Not even very many photographs! Which I really now regret, of course.
This was taken at the Rose Garden, as you can see. The photographers were waiting when our bus pulled in, & the snaps were quickly taken. By the time we had completed our tour & attended a performance of singing & dancing, we were offered these rather ghastly plates, for purchase with our images on them. I remember at the time, being a little horrified at the idea, but now I am glad we decided to buy one. I think we only have one other photo taken on a Chinese Junk dinner cruise one evening in Singapore.

When we planned our holiday, we had never been to a country other than New Zealand & Australia. We were advised language would not be a problem, as everyone spoke English. I would agree, most did, but I dont know that they always understood it. Occasionally we would request something, & would get the polite bow, & the wide beautiful smiles, & a "Yes Madam". And then we would all stand & smile & wait.. & wait.. & wait.

We wondered if we had made the right decision on destination when our plane was delayed leaving then we were told we would have to spend our first night in Singapore, which had not been the plan at all. So all our travel connections were disrupted, & after a hot night in a Singapore Hotel, we arrived late next day, in Bangkok.

Which was somewhat of a culture shock. We were typical lost tourists, not knowing our way about, & the heat & the hustle & bustle of Bangkok Airport was quite terrifying in a way. As had been Singapore. It was the guns that I think we found most terrifying. And the soldiers patrolling. We were eventually directed to a man in a thin shiny blue suit who smoked furiously the whole time we tried to converse with him. This was our first inkling that not everyone was going to understand English they way we spoke it!

Finally, after many showers of ash, & lungfulls of secondhand smoke, from many cigarettes, we were given a phone to call the Hotel to ask how to proceed. We were told to get a taxi to take us to the hotel, & we would be reimbursed. We began to suspect we were never going to make it alive to the Hotel! The long ride was so terrifying, we both thought it would be the end of our lives! The traffic seemed manic, & at any given time, any lane seemed to flow in all directions, with little sane movement! And the tuk tuks seemed to be so reckless, & dangerous, it was a while before we got the courage to ride in one of those.

But the people of Thailand we found to be wonderful warm people, who were mostly very welcoming, & very eager to please. The staff at our Hotel were lovely & the various Restaurants we visited in the Hotel were all lovely. I knew I like Chinese & Japanese food & was thrilled to discover that Thai food was even nicer, if that were possible. I loved the tangy sweet & slightly sour flavours, & learnt I also enjoyed chilli, for the first time, I think.

The busy colourful markets were an experience & we bought all sorts of things for ourselves & those at home. Our Granddaughter was only a toddler then, & we had a wonderful time buying her clothes & toys & shoes that squeaked when she walked. And the fake watches, & the rip off clothes. And GOM had clothes tailor made by fast Indian stitchers, who made wonderful suits & shirts.

We did our own thing for some days, & other times we took some tours with a guide, & we did the Bridge on the River Kwai tour. We had a lovely guide who spoke beautifully, & we had a lot of fun on that trip. The train was rather terrifying & it was so hot & really uncomfortable on the hard wooden seats. The hot cemetary was a sad place, & I was glad when we left it. Changi prison was sad too, & I felt the ghosts of sad men, & wasted lives were present.

We stayed on an Island, in huts that were moored to the banks of the river, & they swayed when the fast motorised long boats went zinging along the water. There were ceiling fans, & no hot water, but the food provided was magnificent & in the evenings it was lovely to sit & watch the water.

We had 4 nights in Phuket, which was truly beautiful. We loved the Hotel we stayed at, & had a beautiful room overlooking the Andaman Sea, & watched the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen. It was beautiful, & I could have stayed there longer. The Hotel had a nice pool, & you could sit in the water at a counter & have your lunch or dinnner.

Though we had been warned about touters, & to be careful of strangers, we grew friendly with a nice young man who asked if we would like to go to a Restaurant for dinner one evening. We agreed to go, & arranged a meeting place, where he said he would collect us in his car. We wondered if we were being big fools, but set off anyway.

The young man had cleaned his car, inskde & out, & it was immaculate, with leather seats. He drove us over some rough roads to a small place with wonderful fresh seafood. We were greeted by the smiling owners, & the whole family seemed to come out to meet us, from small children to elderly people! But, oh, the food was fantastic!! We felt like royalty, & felt we were given the best of everything. I dont know if we were charged more than usual, but it seemed to be cheaper than Hotel meals, & somehow it all seemed just that much nicer. We have never regretted taking that chance, & felt we got fair exchange for our money. And the nice young man took us home to the hotel afterwards too.

We had 4 nights in Singapore, which I found to be a big disappointment after Thailand. I am not sure why. GOM got very sick & so it was rather a sad end to the holiday.

We also discovered he was afraid of heights, when we took a trip out to Sentosa Island, & travelled in the huge Gondola, high above the sea. GOM spent the night before terrified of that trip, & yet, I, who am openly afraid of heights, didnt seem to mind it! I did not enjoy Sentosa Island though, the thought of the prison was horrible, & I suffered so much from the heat, it was not my favourite day out.

Morning Mist

This pic was taken off our balcony yesterday morning, as the sun crept across the trees in the Valley. A lone wreath of morning mist, from domestic fires, I suppose, just lay across the valley like a girdle across Rumbalara.

It was a chilly beginning to the day, but as the morning wore on, the sun was surprisingly warm, & I was struck by the various colours on this pretty tree, on someone's front lawn.

We were out garage sale-ing. For once, I did remember to take my camera. Our daughter & grandson came with us, & DJ fell in love with this cottage, with the pretty tree. She would have liked me to take a photo of the house, which had a lovely vernadah with pretty furniture & pot plants. Not knowing the owner, & not wanting to trespass, I didnt venture onto the property.

We had a mixed lot of sales to visit. I got some books for very little, -one of which is the Time Travellers Wife, which has been getting some good blog reports, so hope I enjoy it.

We found some beads with laces for SG, so he was happy. GOM ended up bookless, but he didnt seem to mind. It was one of those mornings when toys were not about. Mostly furniture. Not what we wanted.

More self help books. This time the how to get rich variety. They obviously didnt work, judging by the folk selling them. The pretty young girl even tried to give some toys away to SG, but he was having none of it. They were, I suspect the Macca's* variety... & for all I know he has them already. His father is apt to give in, & take him for a Cheese Burger, so he gets the toy. Nanna does not approve, so I guess what she doesnt know wont hurt her!

One very unusual lady was selling most of her large furniture, from her small villa. She had a lounge suite, with a 3 seater sofa bed, plus a 2 seater couch. At first glance they looked ok. She wanted quite a lot of money for them, & once we got close, we could see they were alive with cat hair!! I doubt it would ever come out, the cats must have been long haired cats, judging by the length of the hairs waving in the morning sun, as it streamed into the room. She told us one end of the sofa bed was 'shredded' by one cat! We quietly left, wishing her well!

****

And early yesterday morning, Leo came rushing inside sneezing furiously. I couldnt imagine what could have made him sneeze as we really have no flowers he could get to. Or so I thought.

Later, I went outside, to discover a 'branch' of the Zygo Cactus lying on the table. The little hound must have jumped up onto the table on the patio, sniffed the flowers which are in full bloom, & knocked the branch off! No wonder he was sneezing, as the flowers have a lot of pollen on the stamens.

I had put the pot on the table to enjoy it, & keep it from being romped on by dogs, or SG's ball.

I have still made no decision on the sashing for the quilt blocks. DJ & I test drove a dark jadey green yesterday, but it did nothing for the blocks. We decided a blue would look nice, or perhaps a greener green. I dont have any red to test drive, so will have another think about it.

And bless Mary, she has sent me the instructions for the pinwheel cornerstones! So I can be making those while I continue to think. I didnt get any sewing done yesterday, so maybe today.

There is currently a thick white fog out over the valley, & I cant see Rumbalara at all! I thought it was foggy, as I was hot in the night. I think my body thermostat has broken!!

*Macca's is the local name for Mc Donald's.
This is an edit, hope the paragraphs stay in this time, but I wont hold my breath!

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!