Some Thankyous.

I have been a little remiss here, giving Thanks for an Award, from Street Guru.

So, without further ado, I will say Thank You, for this Kreativ Blogger Award. Please go visit Street Guru, he has some interesting observations.




Then, I discovered I had been tagged by Sweet Connie W to do a Seven Random things about myself.

I have done this before but a long time ago now, so here goes again...

1. I do love quilting, but every now & then I lose the Mojo, & have dry patches.

2. Same as above, re writing. For those of you awaiting another chapter in my 'story' on my other blog... well, I do have several written in my head.

3. I really enjoy reading. The more grizzly the better. I hate to watch grizzly, & I dont like watching violence. Reading it seems to be another matter entirely. hmmmn, does this indicate the secret violence of the hidden me??

4. The older I get, the more I realise how much I will never, ever know.

5. I have very vivid dreams. Always have. Some of them are more like Nightmares. Some seem to have been recurring almost all my life, especially the locations, and settings.

6. As a girl who grew up without her father in her life, I am constantly angered by the fact that the coward, who is the father of my Granddaughter, declined to meet her when he had the choice. Also the fact that her paternal grandparents met her, pretended to be enthralled, & so loving.... then dropped her flat. For no reason that is apparent to any of us. How could they? I am almost tempted to hate them for this gross act.
I might add here, they have disappered back into the woodwork again, being careful not to have any public phone numbers or information which would locate them. They only surfaced last time because I had a public notice put in a newspaper, & some of their friends notified them- with some disbelief!

7. I am sure I could be capable of hideous acts to protect my family. Of course one never knows how one would react in any given situation, until faced with it, but my urge to protect 'my own' is very strong.

Some dark thoughts here among the 7. I usually go for lighter.

On the subject of humanity's darkness, I was reminded this morning, whilst reading Ian at I still think so, about Hitler was a man who is arguably the worst human ever .
It sparked a memory in my core, that I have the feeling every one of us, given the right opportunity or circumstance could probably be some kind of "Monster".
I dont necessarily mean a murderer, or a torturer, but some level of darkness we never think ourselves capable of, under normal circumstances.

On the other side of that equation, I also think any one of us, is capable of acts of superhuman kindness, decency and valour. The light & the dark. The good & the bad.

On to other small thoughts.
Someone asked for some close up shots of some of the Autumn Quilt.. I have still not thought of a name I could 'publish' for it! ha ha!

Here in the sunlight, filtered through leaves.

This, taken in the kitchen in the morning sun, through the window. It is fairly true to the real life colours.

Again the sun dappled look.

I did wonder about the Bamboo, but since bamboo stays green all year long, I decided it was perfectly acceptable.

They should all enlarge on clickage, if you wish to see tendrils from frog stitching. Or odd cottons, yet to be cleaned off.

For Sweet Connie W.

This is the almost final version of this Autumn Quilt. I decided to go with the floral, & leave the slime green for another day.
This is really not as dull in the 'flesh' as it looks.
I did a little frog stitching to swap a couple of blocks around, & then more frogging when I discovered I had put two of the setting triangles in incorrectly. That was because I insisted on sewing when I was too tired!

As you can see, the corners are brown, I ran out of other colour choices, but I quite like these. It will be a good quilt for letting go, & really relaxing. Spilled your coffee? never mind, no one will notice! Or your wine or beer....

My head is filled with new ideas for my next project already... dare I begin another top, before I have quilted this??

We lunched out yesterday, to celebrate our Granddaughter's Birthday.
Silly Nanna forgot her camera. It was lovely,& we all positively waddled out of the Restaurant, having indulged to the MAX.
It is an All You Can Eat Buffet, with all types of food from, Chinese, soups, steamed dishes, garlic bread, Salads, seafood, to Roasts, with 3 types of yummy gravy! Something for everyone.

SG had a ball with icecream,& three types of topping with sprinkles!! The desserts are great, because they have really small servings, so you get to try a variety, if sweets are your 'thing'.They also have rice pudding, & bread & butter pudding... not my thing at all, but they are really popular!

Daughter J & Sil took SG home, & we stayed on with our Granddaughter for a while. It was lovely to spend some time with her. Nice to think she still finds her old 'grandies' good company. I did some fun people watching but that is for another day.


Roy Orbison, In Dreams, for memories, recently revisited, & BFJ.

I think the Mojo is back~ Shh.

I think the drought in my quilting life might be over.
I don't want to mention it too loudly, in case I jinx it, or otherwise scare it away.

Who me? Superstitious? No no, I assure you I not in the least!

This is a picture of the 'droughtbreaker.'
For want of a better name.

Somehow the colours in this pic are not very true to life, not sure why the camera has recorded the green as a bluey green, because it isn't.

I am tempted to call it Green Slime. See that bottom fabric I am test driving for setting triangles.? It is a distinctly slime green colour.

Any suggestions would be very welcome. At the moment it is looking as if I need to visit the fabric shop.

I dont have enough of the floral to complete the settings. I would have to use a different fabric for the corners. I dont have enough of the brown to do all the settings either.

And, somehow after all my mad work getting the blocks all done, & hating them, I am very disappointed. I wanted this to be a gift for someone I love. I dont think I like it enough to give away. Bugger.

There are a couple blocks I might swap the placement of too. I hate things to be too 'odd'.

The reason I rediscovered my mojo is that I won a fabulous giveaway on a blog. I won't blog fully about it until I recieve my parcel, but I got so excited I rushed off to use the fabric in the Autumn tones. I have had them for awhile sitting waiting to be used. Now I can't help but feel a little disheartened at the result.

I was contacted by Connie Colten of Quilt Qua, to ask if I would like to post a picture of a quilt or quilts on her site. I decided I would, & actually uploaded 3 pics. It is lovely to see all the quilts. Do go & have a look, & post some of your own. I see Wanda of Exuberant Colour, has one of her fabulous quilts displayed.

There are prize draws at the end of it all, so have a look.

The weather is fabulously Autumn now, the blue of the sky is lovely. I am unable to sit in the sun at present due to an antibiotic that is photo sesitive. Never mind, I am sure there are many more days to enjoy.

I seem to have the feeling I have emerged from some type of tunnel, re my emotions etc. A loved cousin gave me a good stiff lecture, which probably helped, somewhat. Not a lecture that I haven't given myself before, but I suppose coming from someone else, it brings it all home.

We had our daughter & family for the afternoon yesterday, & that was nice. Her husband arrived later after having played golf at a fancy pancy new Golf course. SIL was very impressed with it, but says he could never afford it!

Bread, Diary

Small Pieces of My Joy.

Blogging seems to be a dying 'art'.

Are we becoming boring/

Same old same old?

What do people want in a blog?

Pictures?

Writing?

A nice balance between the two?

Snarky?
Piercing?
Irreverent?
Confrontational?
Quilty?
Crafty?

I just wanted to try to show some of my JOY.
Below, Sibling Joy. They are best friends today.


A special Grandson. The only one, thus far.

Here is there a more joyous picture. A small boy, with the magic of bubbles!

My gorgeous Great Nephew.

Gorgeous Great Nephew with my Beloved Brother, his Grandfather. Such a joyous photo!

Here. a loved niece's wedding. How beautiful & happy she looks. Truly Joyous!

The joy of this sky was wondrous. It remains one of my favourite photos from my balcony.

The JOY of our first Grandchild. A precious little girl, who is soon to turn 20!

The joy of our neighbour's gorgeous little dog, Sweet Beau.

He is such a loving little dog. He often wraps his dinner up, in a neat parcel. His 'parents' present his dinner on a plate, laid on a cloth. If Beau does not want to eat it immediately, he carefully wraps the dinner in the cloth. We have seen him doing this, & he is so neat & tidy! He takes the corners & folds them over his dinner until the whole is a neat parcel.

Later, when he wishes to eat, he will get his 'father' or 'mother' to unwrap his dinner!

Here is our Leo, such a joy to us. He is now banned from our bedroom which is where this photo was taken. He had recently had a severe hair clip in this photo.

Here is our dear little Honey, who has been a Joy in our house for 9 years now. She is such a gentle little girl. She is the love of my life!

The Joy of friendship. Meggie & BFJ, many years ago!

Look at those rosy Apple cheeks!!

This is the Joy of a 90 year old Uncle, with two of his favourite nephews!

What devils they are, when they get together!

This is my Joy, of the purest delight. I love this perfume!! I rarely wear it now, but it brings back such joyous memories.

Here, a long since passed away cousin, whose name was Joy. How we loved her in our family. She has her daughter with her, & a doll I made long ago, for her. A long legged clown, which she seemed to love.

Here a 'Joy Division' T shirt, which our son wore when he was young. We liked their music too, & it often played loud in our house when he was a teenager.

Radiohead, (Thom Yorke), True Love Waits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsJTaMSx3_8

Do you think it is the weather...?

This is rather hideous isn't it?
Someone sent me the email, letting us all know that Tweety is now 60 years old!


Do you know, I feel just the way he looks!

I just can't seem to prod myself into life. I had a wonderful suprise phone call from BFJ, (who is Best Friend J). She lives in Auckland, & she was testdriving her new phone.
It was so lovely to have a nice long talk with her. They get such great deals on phone calls there... much better than we get.

This time last year, I was in New Zealand, & I got to spend the day of her birthday with her, & her lovely granddaughters. I also got to see both of her children, & it is amazing to see them now, adults, just as my children are. It brought back memories of when they were small, & BFJ & I were both pregnant with our 2 youngest.

Her son was born first, and for some reason we had been convinced we were having opposite sex children, & it proved to be true. I was so thrilled when my daughter was born, & she is now BFJ number 2!

I have had really good intentions on the sewing front, I even got as far as selecting fabrics for a new quilt top. It all awaits the cutting. I had a very sore back all day yesterday, with painkillers doing little to relieve the pain. mumblety gripe, getting old is not for sissys, nor is it fun!

This morning passed with a certain scouring around of the kitchen... we no longer have children... where do those piggy black fingerprints come from?? The sticky edge on the pantry door? The spilt something, on the floor?

Of course it is not Gom! It must be the dogs.
I dreamt last night that Leo came in with a mouse, so I took it off him, & he promptly came in with another! We have seen no evidence of any mice, so I don't know where that dream came from. I wish it meant we were about to have great windfalls of good fortune! haha.

Speaking of which, it seems I have won some millions of American Dollars which have been deposited in a Bank in England. The "FBI" contacted me, via email, to let me know of this great good fortune, & all I have to do, is forward 250 pounds sterling to the Bank in England, to allow transfer of my monies to be paid here to me.

As if!!

Apparently, it is surprising how many people fall for this type of scam, & one man had to be rescued from capture in Sth Africa, where he had gone to try to retrieve his money. The crooks kidnapped him, & held him to ransom, for even more money! I think the Australian Govt had to step in, to get him released.

I also had a very attractive off of making huge amounts of money-"just sitting in your chair!" I have no idea what that would have been, but I was assured I would not have to spend a cent, & the homebase for that little scam in somewhere in Hong Kong.

As I noted, a lot of these scammers seem to have very bad grammar, & little errors in their phrasing are also a dead giveaway. Apparently they are becoming more skilled though, & as Lee once pointed out, it is relatively easy to learn a lot about people if they use the internet, or have blogs or join Facebook.

While thinking of Facebook I must be getting rather old. I dont really 'get' it, & can't be bothered sharing intimate details with people I neighther know nor care about. I have joined to see family news, & enjoy seeing & reading family, & some friends. On the whole, I could live without it, though.



We seem to have had a somewhat wet April. Usually our Autumn is lovely but this year has seen a very mixed bag of weather come our way. I find myself yearning for comfort foods, & good old casseroles even though it is not yet winter.

The lack of energy is a worry though, & the lack of direction. Now that I need to be the driver, I find I feel less & less like driving. It is a pity we dont know some idle young man, who would love to drive us about... in the manner to which I would love to become accustomed!



Steely Dan
Reelin in the Years. Nostalgia! Look at those clothes!

Quilty Post.

I am a little late to the party.
Park City Girl is Hosting this Bloggers Quilt Festival.



I am rather a contrary non joiner, but I have decided to join this. Even though they are having Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, & we are having Autumn here Downunder, Quilts are really timeless, & seasonless, after all.

I am entering this quilt, which I designed myself, because it is original.
It is a very simple quilt, but it is full of bright colours, and I called it "Gratitudes".
I made it as a gift for a very good friend, to say thankyou, for all she does to help me, & for being a lovely friend.

I quilted it very simply, on my domestic machine. It is not really wonky, but it was hard to get a good photo out on the clothesline.

Go & visit Amy, she has the full list of entrants, as well as some lovely music!

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This next series of pics are not quilt related at all.

When my mother was a little girl, her family were very poor you might say. My Grandmother was the local postmistress for the district. This meant she handled all the mail in the district, from her home. There was no official Post Office. She had wonderful stamps she had collected & years later, when we were children we felt we had much treasure in the old stamps our grandmother had kept.

Our Grandfather was the local Roadman. He was the maintenance man for the local roads. It was his responsibility to keep the roads free of slips, which often happened when the weather was really wet- as it frequently was, in the valley where they lived. He also had to keep the 'water tables' clear, so the water did not wash out the metal roads.

How different it all is, today, in that area. The roads are wide & are now sealed. There are still occasional slips onto the roads, but of course, there is much heavy machinery to deal with such events.

My grandfather used to cycle many miles on his old bicycle, with his implements for work carried along with him.

My mother was an only daughter. She had 2 older brothers, & a younger brother. The small house where they lived had little space for a family, so her older brothers slept in tents. It was a very cold valley, so I really dont know how they managed to keep warm.

My mother was born in 1920. She was a long baby, & the nurse told my Grandmother that she would grow to be a 'very tall woman'. Hah! She barely made 5'2", & was tiny all her life.

She had few toys in her childhood, but this little blue metal enamelled teaset was one of her treasures she kept. I loved it as a child, & always mourned the fact that it had one cup missing. I had a plastic teaset, & I substituted the missing cup with a plastic one, which I still have.

As you can see, the set was made in Germany, as stamped on the base of the teapot.

Over the years it has sustained some chips off the enamel. I did play with it, & I let my daughter play with it occasionally, though of course she had her own modern teasets.

I also let my granddaughter play with it, and on looking at it recently I saw there was a little teaset of my daughter's tucked away with this one. The other little set is one plate, one cup & one saucer. It too is metal, with a blue enamel, but it has a little design on the edges. It was made in Hong Kong.

So many memories!

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

Yesterday, we went to a Country Court, to see what sentence the guilty attacker of our friend would get. Having pled guilty, he got a 'discount'. WTH??

'Normal' discount is 25%. Because our friend had had to give evidence, before the little scrote pled guilty, he 'only' got a 10% discount!

I see no rhyme or reason to the way the justice system works. The outcome amounts to a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket.

Little wonder people take justice into their own hands.

A bitter lesson to our friend's children.

This was the stand of trees we passed in the lane we walked, leading to the Court. Such attractive trees, with lovely bright bracts.

They lined this carpark, in the lane, & I wish I had taken the photo on the way into the court. The sun was weakly shining on the way there, but it had clouded somewhat when we returned to our car.

The copper colours are some type of bracts, not flowers. Sorry I have no idea what sort of trees they are.

Colbie Caillat, Dreams Collide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzA6J2_Mtb8

Some of my Free Treats.

I had been going to do a post about grief. I am living, an anniversary of a grief, which I still feel I have not properly dealt with, in 'real' time.

It is a very stange emotion to deal with in our lives. I suspect everyone has their own particular agenda, on the 'grief scale', for want of a better term.

I suffered an emotional meltdown/breakdown, (call it what you will) some years ago, over a seemingly trivial event. I could not understand it at the time. It was explained to me, that it was the result of a build-up of several events, a sort of emotional 'straw that broke the Camel's back'.

As it happened it was a female 'fill-in' GP who pointed out to me, the links. I was surprised, to realise the truth in her observations.

My regular GP was a very nice man. A gentle man. He was always somewhat discomfitted by overt displays of grief. I always felt he disliked seeing women cry, & his wife attested to the truth of that observation.

I felt sorry for him, when I cried, & upset his equalibrium. I knew he had problems of his own. Due to his wife's candid nature, I was aware of his grief over his beloved daughter's sudden uncharacteristic behaviour.

This resulted in me trying desperately not to add to his distress. I tried hard, to suppress my griefs. I can see that, with hindsight.

I had suffered a couple of cancer scares. One proved to be unfounded, the tumour is benign they assure me. I believe them, for if it is not, I would surely be dead by now!!

The other was 'cured' by surgery, & removal of all danger. Physical at least. The mental may not have completely gone.

***************
On to other items. On to Free Treats.

Veronica, gave me this Friendship Award.
Thankyou Veronica, for this. I urge you all to take a look at Veronica's wonderful blog.

Everyone knows I am a notorious rule breaker, so if you would like this award, please take it. All on my blogroll are friends. All I ever visit are friends in the blogosphere. Please feel free to take & share!!


This next photo is for Veronica.How I wish you could eat a slice- before Gom gobbles the lot!!
This is a Passionfruit Sponge I made today. In the interests of Gom's health, I cut the cake in half, & gave the other half to my Daughter & her family.

Yes, fresh whipped Chantilly Cream. Yes, fresh Passionfruit Icing, with melted butter to mix! only a little butter though. None in the cake, so really, low fattening points??

**********

In other treats, I found a book that has grabbed me. I had read somewhere that this book was quite compulsive.

I can report it is!! Absolutely!!

I bought it, cheaply, at a Garage sale yesterday, & I have scarcely put it down!

" It" is "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. I am finding it gripping, & I love the fact that it is 'written' by a murder victim.

The other small book is a new addition to my collection of miniature books, & at a dollar, it is well worth it! It has some ironic quotes, one of which is, Your Doctor can never be your friend. hmmmmnn.

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

When I took the Sponge down to my daughter's I was given gifts they had bought us, whilst on their trip away.

Look, wonderful Special Jam.

And.. the giveaway label under the Jam... the Darrell Lea Chocolate, which is an Aussie specialty.!

Yes!! We love our Darrell Lea Chocolate Treats!

Well, Gom is a sucker, & I can be forced to enjoy one or two, now & then.

Gom got RockLea Road, I got Almond Crusted Hand Rolled Egg.

Self Indulgence seems so wrong somehow.

Lead me to the pool, for gentle exercise!!

I know this dates me, but I do not care. I am proud of all the ages I am!!

Carly Simon, Coming Aroung Again.

Seasonal Changes

It is said..



Change is as good as a holiday.



I am not sure about that, in reality, but I decided it was time for a change in templete. I was tired of the old green, soothing though it seemed at first.

I was feeling like a 'Spring Clean' in Autumn.



I might even get a new header, though the Cucurbit is rather Autumnal.





It is said...



Babies bring joy.



That is certainly the case with this dear little Grandson of my Beloved Brother.

Does he not look cute as a Blue Bunny!











Yesterday, I went to collect some new spectacles. I love that word spectacles- sounds so much more sophisitcated than 'glasses'. Haha.



I am still getting used to the size, & the new prescription. I am glad I got the 2-for-one deal, since one pair is proving very uncomfortable, so I will have to go back for a refit. Thankfully the other pair are more comfortable.

I am not sure I like the new narrow lenses, but I suppose I will get used to them, & I tried to choose the slightly deeper frames.



We shopped for vegetables at our local little shop, which stocks mostly locally grown fruit & vegetables, where they can. The produce is not always perfect & sizes vary wildly at times, but they taste good, & the price is always right~ no transport costs.



I love eggplant or Aubergines, if you prefer. Gom does not care for them at all, so I might make a dish to share with my daughter, as she loves them too. We also bought locally grown passionfruit, so I am thinking to make a Passionfruit Sponge.

Sigh** I wish Gom had not killed our Passionfruit vine...





This gorgeous camelia was just opening, when we left to go out. I love the crinkly petals, as they unfold.

I took this pic of the same flower later, after we returned in the afternoon. A heart in the center, just for me.

I had a Doctor's appt, & as it was such a beautiful day, I chose to sit outside, on the wooden seat they provide for 'overflow'.

Another sweet lady joined me, & we began to chat, then another lady rushed out, after a lady had entered, wafting absolutely overpowering perfume! The poor lady who fled, had almost instantly choked up with allergy!

We discussed the pros & cons of perfumes, all declaring we do not like any of the modern overpowering scents. The softer older perfumes are the least offensive, but the alleric lady said she can't really stand any these days.

We began to talk about our origins. Allergy lady was from England, Sweet lady was from Australia, & I was the Kiwi. (I wonder what I was??)fat lady

We had a very nice time, chatting, & when Dr D called my name, she asked if we were friends. I told her we had just met. She had heard us laughing from her surgery & thought we must know each other.

I might add, the Doctors are husband & wife, & are very friendly people who are like friends to their patients, who wouldn't change them for the world, so it is a tribute to the Doctors that people feel so comfortable.

I went for a small matter. Next thing I knew I had been given an injection in one arm for the flu, an injection in the other arm for pneumonia, & had had a slice taken out of the 'flu arm, for a biopsy! That wiped the smile off my face for a bit! She always checks my blood pressure because it tends to be too high. Yesterday was no different, but it was almost down to acceptably high! Luckily she checked it before the injections & biopsy, because it was probably sky high after!

When I came out, I was quite shakey. I hate getting old. Once upon a time I would not have batted an eyelid. Why do we get shakey when we get older. Grrr. I do suppose the fact that the local didn't seem to have kicked in, when she took the biopsy sample, might have something to do with the shakes.

This a brighter camelia. A pretty pink, though the label had said it was red.

We have had 3 of the most wonderful days. Warm humidity free sunny days. These are my favourite Autumn days. The nights are cool enough for bedcovers, the days still warm enough for light clothes.

Every now & then I pop over to visit Mr & Mrs Nice Neighbours, for a wee vent, or to take an item for some reason. I went over on Tuesday, & we had a laugh or 9, & I had a cuddle of sweet Beau their dear little dog.

When I returned I found Gom standing in the full sun, which is not a good thing for him. I asked what he was doing, & he replied he was entertaining a young lady. As I got closer I could see a girl sitting on the steps in our garden.

The (very young) girl had been collecting Product Catalogue Order books, which they leave, in the hopes people will buy from them. We never do, & as it happened someone must have taken the wretched thing, because neither Gom nor I could recall seeing it.

However, what stunned me, was the fact that Gom had been asked for food- "I am pregnant, & I am rather hungry" and a drink. He had got her some water, plus several biscuits with vegemite. She then asked us for more biscuits before she went on her way.

While I felt sorry for her, I also am rather suspicious of people with extremely bad grammar who 'beg'.


Poor baby, poor girl, who is little more than a baby herself. When Gom told me where she came from ... that explained it. It is an area renowned for it's poor education levels, it's wayward youth.
But how awful to think we have such ghettos in this, the supposedly "Lucky Country".


Radiohead, Nude.

Hello... Goodbye.

Some books I dabble in, constantly. I was given the 'Treasury of Verse' by a dear friend. I suspect it may have been his original school copy. Stained with ink, as it is, it suggests slightly childish storage?
Though the friend was no longer young, when he gifted this to me, I have treasured this book, & the memory of our shared love of poetry.

He used to leave me romantic notes, in beautiful hand-written calligraphy, at the place where I worked. I would get a "Page", to come to collect something from the office. I knew the office staff had read the missives, (he never sealed them... ego??)because I would see them, peeping, to see who the recipient of such romantic gestures, & wonderful poetry, could be?

I think of my romantic gift giver, whenever I read this book of verse. I see his face, his champagne eyes, his curling black hair, and I hear his ready laugh.

The two small books are a panacea for my love of miniatures, & I love the words contained in both the books.


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

I am so happy to see the First Dog has finally been chosen. How gorgeous he appears, how thrilled those two young girls, at this wonderful joyous dog!


Bo Obama!

I knicked this photo from an official website. He does look like a very handsome and worthy dog, for the position of America's First Dog.
I confess, like a lot of folks, I had never heard of Portugese Water Dogs before.
Now I am sure, the demand for these lovely dogs will soar to ballistic heights, which may not be a good thing at all.

I wish all the dogs involved, safe, loving, and healthy, happy lives.

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

Now for the Hellos ...& the Goodbyes.

A train station, or an airport is a place where one can observe greetings, & farewells.
Our Son, when he visits, travels by train. As we are a 'Rural' destination, we see many glad or sad greetings and partings.

The 'Weekend Father', who has his children clinging to him, as they sit on the curb, waiting for their mother, to come to collect them. Often they seem reluctant to leave the father. It is sad to watch as they cling to their father, then gradually withdraw from his embrace, to stand alone, when their mother arrives in her car.

The agonised farewell, the mother sitting in the car, head in hands, hiding her face, as if to deny the existance of her sometime partner. The father of her children, ignored or partially acknowledged. How sad for the children, torn between two loves.
The father, clutching the children close, telling them he loves them.
The mother, still hiding, hands over her face.

We see them, or similar, every time we stop to drop our son off, or arrive for collection.

The sad ones, the glad ones, taking possession or leaving the children behind.
The children, not wanting to take sides. Not wanting to betray either parent, hiding their true feelings, so as not to hurt either parent.

I watch the children, their guarded little faces. Who can say how they will eventually handle their own adult lives, as a result of their fractured parents.

Airports are different matters. Often the farewells are more dramatic. The travelling one, eager to begin their new adventure. Edging away, with slight body language shifts.
"Let me go!"
The parent, if that is the one left behind, silently pleading,
"Dont be so eager to go. Stay a little longer!"
"Remember me!"

Or the greetings, on arrival. The slightly withdrawn posture of the returnee. Not wanting to give away the newfound freedom. Or a slumping at the thought of returning to old restraints, perhaps.

The overjoyed parent, so glad to have it's child again in the arms of love. Or the child, returning, perhaps from a bad trip, so glad to be among family again, clinging, loving so fiercely.

So many faces of love, relationships, gladness, sadness.

Tears. Tears of joy. Tears of guilt. Tears of utter sadness.

Hello and Goodbye can contain so many different meanings.

Beatles, Hello Goodbye.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QShSmpI0r9k

Lame thoughts, from a domestic cripple.

Domesticity

While sweating o'er the gravy dish,
I find a verse,
my fondest wish!
(I could wish for worse.)

But I am chained, to do his bidding,
Of mundane chores
Poetry rhymes,
clever, domestic ridding,
Shed, along with the
Thoughts of mores,
Thoughts of liberation,
lost in life's Celebration.

Of marriage,
And consideration,
MY careful carriage
Of my Obligation.


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

This post is somewhat of a 'straining at the bit', to use a horsey term.

A most Beloved Aunt, who has now left this life, became bitter, at the end or her life.
Bitter at the memory of her marriage.
Which she came to view as one of constraint, & stricture.

She felt her wishes, and thoughts for the future, their destiny, and general passage through their lives, were suppressed, and, largely, ignored.

I am inclined to agree with her, even though the husband in this case, was a blood relative- as she was. I loved them both, dearly, so it is difficult to cast aspersions.

Last time my BB (Beloved Brother) came to stay, he was quite shocked at how agressive I have become in old age.
Even our Beloved Son, SB, has noted my seeming (hitherto, repressed,) anger at a lot of things.

I told him I feel that it is because I am retired, & I finally feel free to be 'almost me'.
It is long & complicated, but the domestic minutiae is not for public sharing.

I just feel sad, as I stand over the gravy dish, wishing I did not have to perform on demand for anyone else. I wish I could just leave it all until the whirling thoughts were on paper- so to speak- then I could resume at my leisure.

I cannot say I regret my marriage, but I regret the loss of freedom it creates.

I know Gom does not feel that same restraint... or perhaps he does. He feels it is ok to put a ladder in the center of my camellia shrub, & knock half the buds off, while he 'clears the gutters on the pergola'. WTH???

I made the mistake of asking him, if he does it in a subconscious act of spite.

You may imagine the reaction that brought about.

It is not easy to get old.
It is not easy to get old, with a partner who has no hobbies, & whose retirement is slanted to....no particular aim.

We had a wonderful time with the visit of our son. The stay of our Granddaughter..
Today has been spent in slothful rest, watching taped programmes, & almost convalescence, from visitors, & intense family communion.



Radiohead, Weird Fishes_Arpeggi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3DrL8pwu1k

Easter Follies.

Here it is, Easter again.

I do not wish to offend any of my friends, who have other beliefs to myself. I will just say, I wish you all, no matter what your beliefs are, a Happy Easter, or Long Weekend, or call it what you will.







This is MY Rabbit! I have had him for some time now, but have not incorporated him into any quilt. I must admit he is from a pattern, & I am ashamed to say I do not remember who the original designer is. Appologies about that.





This next, is a steal from the internet. Google images in fact.



Our son is coming for the Easter weekend break, & of course, we are overjoyed at the prospect of seeing him. As we always are.

If you are a parent, you never tire of seeing your offspring. Never!

Though, there are times they cannot understand why.






Here is another shameless steal, with this wonderful cartoon rabbit tossing eggs.

I am not the chocolate devourer that my dear GOM is. He is a hopeless chocolate addict, & I do not begrudge him his harmless addiction. He never over indulges himself... well only occasionally, so I sneaked him some Easter eggs. I placed them on his pillow, & his cries of happy surprise were worth the effort.

He has been for new optical tests, needs new specs, which will give him better sight. Has been told, in no uncertain terms, he needs to accept he can no longer drive safely, & should leave the driving to me.

Seeing -no pun intended- I am a much better sighted person, it is logical. But! I am also a much less confident driver than he is, & I actually dislike driving. I am told there are 'confidence lessons' I could take! WTH??

Is there, seemingly, no end to useless services provided freely, for obscure purposes. Har har?

We are also to have our beloved Granddaughter to stay with us, bringing our Granddog! This will be fun!

I must remember to get photos!

Here is the lovely Camellia, which year after year, gives me much joy.

Complete with a set of ants, exploring the stamen.

We are plagued by black ants. They seem to invade our bathroom on a regular basis, who knows why. I really dislike them, & try every means to discourage them.

I have written another chapter for my 'story' which is available over here , if you would like to read Chapter 3.

I leave you with Gomez. I love this band. Enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds19HosKt38

New Directions

This adorable young chap is now three months old. He sure is growing fast!

I really feel babies generate positivity, & new energy, of the healing, soothing kind. I also feel 'Family' babies have twice the power!!

This little fellow is my cousin's grandson, but he is still in our family circle! He is kith & kin!





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

I feel really bad for this Mystery Vine. It has grown up, far too late to bring any of it's fruit to maturity. However, it has given me so much pleasure in it's unruly, hopeful, spread, into the small garden space. It's bright flowers have delighted me, almost every day.

Gom has been on death threat watch, not to molest, or in any way, damage this brave plant!!



Here, a lovely flower among the parsley plants.

You may notice, I have admired it so much, I have used it for a new Header.

The heavy rainfalls we have had over the past few days have served to give the vine renewed vigour in it's spread, & blooming.

I do fear none of it's fruit are destined for maturity, since some have rotted on the vine, & others would appear to be far too late to fulfill their intended destiny.

Or maybe they will. Who is to say, that the unfinished growth is not intended, indeed, their 'destiny'?

Just as some babies would seem to be concieved, never to reach 'fulfillment' in life.

This is a very sensitive subject to explore. I have a friend who had several miscarriages. She also had 3 healthy sons. She once remarked, when her DIL had a miscarriage, that she felt every woman probably has one or two 'misses'.

I have often thought about this remark, over the years. I had a 'miss'. I wonder, is it that common? Perhaps it is?

I know one of my Grandmothers had several miscarriages, between some of her live children... one of whom was my mother. They were certainly not intended misses. I do believe the last, later child was not 'planned' as they say, & was probably unwanted, since my grandmother was approaching her 40's then, & didn't feel she needed more children, but he was to become a favourite, as they often do.

I have the feeling that most small families 'back in the day', were the result of abstinence, rather than 'misses'. I am also sure some were the result of, for want of a better term, "Nature".

I won't go into the 'during times of war, there are more boy babies born than female'. You probably know about that already. Curious, though...

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

In a change of direction for me, I have decided to begin a new blog. It is called "Down from Feathers". You can find me on my sidebar, if you would like to look.

This is my new ID pic for the new blog. I am still Meg. Perhaps Meg Feather, is what I should have called myself.

Just some feathers, which do have some meaning to me.

I will be putting any new 'writing' on this site.

So, if you care to see updates on the 'Story', that is where any new chapters will be.

From time to time, I may transfer my 'strange' poems, when & if, I relocate them, from here.

*********

I am not sure, but it is my understanding that if I load a YouTube song on my site, it is using zillions of space on your site.

So out of politeness, & hopefully space conservation, I will just include the link, from now on.

Let me know your thoughts!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKdDdzdMUW4

A Baby of the Human Kind, & A Quilt! Yay!

How lovely to see this cute little guy! Isn't he adorable?

His proud Granddaddy sent me this pic, & I just had to show everyone.

Makes me wish there was another in our immediate family.

On the other hand, I love the two grandchildren we have, so I should just be very grateful.

Which brings me to the quilt. Our beautiful Granddaughter will be 20 next month, & this quilt has been in the making since she was 19, probably longer, if I take into consideration the pieces of stitchery, which I did before I had decided to make a quilt around them!

This pic was taken outside on the clothesline, & makes it look somewhat shabby & uneven. It is not really, it is quite neat & straight, but I had just grabbed it out of the dryer, to take it to give it to our 'Star'. GD.

I have no idea why it took me so long to get it finished. A combination of things such as weather, heat, humidity, laziness, & other life events.

It really is very basic in it's construction, nothing fancy, but I figured the stitchery patches should shine, so went for simplicity.

I took this pic, on the top of our bed, trying to get the stitchery to show up, before I washed it, but it is not a very good photo.

I have called it "Nanna's Hugs" & it was well recieved.

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

In other news I was recently pleased to hear from an old school friend.

I had left a comment on a web site, asking for news of this person.

Imagine how pleased I was to get a phone call one evening, from the person concerned. A friend of her brother had seen the query, & because they had an unusual surname, he asked if he knew her. His sister, he said, so he passed on my phone number.

The power of good on the internet!

She kindly sent me this copy of a photo I had never seen before, & it has caused much mirth on looking at 'young us'!! ( I love the 30ish figures on the glass doors in the background. It was a Picture Theatre.)

It was a school Fancy Dress, an occasion which I believe struck fear into the hearts of non creative mothers! My mother was actually very talented at such things, but she had little time for creation, having to work to support us all.

I was a Daffodil, & my costume was made from crepe paper & cheap satin lining fabric. I am in the lower left corner.

(Is it just me, or do the heads look disproportionately large for the bodies??)

The friend is in the second row, second from the left, & appears to be a Queen of Hearts. Her long blond hair is in ringlets. I have blogged of her in the past, as she had the voice of an angel!

I can remember the names of most of the children, but 3 boys, & two girls are lost to time.
She also sent me a copy of another photo, taken years later, of us in a school Choir. I am not sure how I got into the choir, since my voice is not wonderful, but I could sing the harmony, so maybe that got me a place.

It is fun to reminisce.

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

Some of you may have read my previous two posts, which seem to be developing into 'more'.

I can understand when writers ~ real writers, that is! ~ say they get 'lost in their writing'.

That is exactly how I have been, & I can't really afford to do that too much. I have others to think about.

I have minor eye problems, Gom has serious eye problems, & in amogst it all, life needs to continue...

*********

The insane maniacal cow loon, who rode up my bumper bar, well not quite literally, but damn close!blaring her horn for 100 meters deserved me to give her impolite finger signals, & put my foot abruptly on the brake!!

However, I exercised restraint, did not send any signals back, either finger or otherwise, & I convinced myself a Zen approach was the way to go.

Probably a result of my lovely lunch. Pasta with lashings of pure Virgin Olive Oil, & fresh herbs. Parsely, Thyme, & Basil, fresh ground black peppercorns & sea salt. Bliss!

Martha Wainwright.