Today is daughter Monika’s birthday. Happy birthday, love!
Daughter Caroline’s birthday is in four days. We are going to celebrate both birthdays at my place on Saturday, the 12th of December. The 12th of December happens to be the anniversary of Peter’s death in 2020, that is one year ago . . . .
Peter’s funeral last year was on the 21st of December. This happened to be our 64th Wedding Anniversary!
I just had a look at what I published in December two years ago in 2019, and I decided to copy it all. Here it is:
Month: December 2019
Max Raabe: Eine Nacht in Berlin
Max presents a gorgeous selection of greatest hits from his last gold- and platinum-selling albums in new arrangements for the Palast Orchester. This very special concert was recorded live at Admiralspalast in Berlin-Friedrichstraße – a perfect setting which lives and breathes the flair and panache of Berlin during the 20s and early 30s For more information please see: http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/cat… For more information about the artist please see: http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/art… _______________ Max Raabe Eine Nacht in Berlin Recorded live at Admiralspalast in Berlin-Friedrichstraße Palast Orchester _______________
https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/052371-000-A/max-raabe-palast-orchester/43 Min.Verfügbar vom 27/12/2019 bis 02/03/2020Nächste Ausstrahlung am Samstag, 4. Januar um 08:15
Mit einer besonderen Mischung aus eleganter Steifheit, Charisma und leiser Ironie begeistern sie ihr Publikum. Im Berliner Admiralspalast präsentieren Max Raabe und das Palast Orchester ihr Programm “Eine Nacht in Berlin”. Eine gelungene Mischung aus wiederentdeckten Klassikern und modernen Neukompositionen. Das Konzert wurde im Mai 2014 im Berliner Admiralspalast aufgezeichnet.Berlin ist seit vielen Jahren die Heimatstadt von Max Raabe und dem Palast Orchester. Hier begannen sie ihre Karriere, und hier wurden nicht nur die neuen, sondern auch ein Großteil der alten Stücke ihres Konzertrepertoires erstmals aufgeführt. Im Berliner Admiralspalast präsentieren sie nun die Höhepunkte ihres aktuellen Bühnenprogramms. „Eine Nacht in Berlin“ ist eine gelungene Mischung aus wiederentdeckten Klassikern und modernen Neukompositionen, vom renommierten Videoregisseur Daniel Lwowski außergewöhnlich bildstark und abwechslungsreich in Szene gesetzt. Auf dem Programm stehen unter anderem die Titel “Für Frauen ist das kein Problem”, “Mir kann nichts passieren” und “Du passt auf mich auf”, die Max Raabe in den letzten Jahren zusammen mit Annette Humpe und Christoph Israel komponiert hat. Und natürlich spielen Max Raabe und das Palast Orchester auch viele Klassiker aus den 20er und 30er Jahren, mit denen unter anderem schon die Comedian Harmonists vor fast 90 Jahren das Publikum in Berlin begeistern konnten und die im Programm des Palast Orchesters ihren festen Platz haben. Das Konzert wurde am 23. und 24. Mai 2014 im Berliner Admiralspalast für ARTE aufgezeichnet.
- Regie :
- Daniel Lwowski
- Mit :
- Max Raabe
- Orchester :
- Palast Orchester
- Land :
- Deutschland
- Jahr :
- 2014
- Herkunft :
- RBB
auntyutaVideo2 Comments 1 MinuteEdit”Max Raabe: Eine Nacht in Berlin”
Concentration Camp Survivors
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-29/esther-perel-on-the-erotic/11769448
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/esther-perel/11170108
When Esther was a teenager she was voraciously curious about human behaviour.
She thought she’d become a journalist or a translator, but instead she grew up to become the world’s most famous contemporary psychotherapist.
Esther became known around the world after the release of her podcast “Where Should We Begin?” in which she counsels real-life couples who are on the brink of marital breakdown.
In her sessions she’s often exploring the tension between the need for security in a relationship, and the need for some distance and a sense of adventure, to keep the spark alive.
Esther says when you choose a partner you choose a story, and by doing so, you’re often recruited for a part you never expected to play.
Further information
The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity is published by Yellow Kite Books
Listen to the podcast Where Should We Begin?
Duration: 52min 34secBroadcast: Fri 7 Jun 2019, 11:00am
Guests
auntyutaArticle, Copy, VideoLeave a comment 1 MinuteEdit”Concentration Camp Survivors”
Plantagen Shutters and a new Backfence, also a Grandson’s Wedding
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/manifest20-prompts/
Some December Writing Challenge/ Prompts: Today I chose Day 17 and Day 22!
Day 17 Home: Tell us about what home meant to you this year. Are you a homebody? Did you do a renovation? Move? Redecorate?
Day 22 A picture is worth a 1,000 words. Share a photo which sums up a significant event from the past year, or give us 1,000 words about a pivotal moment in 2019.
Peter took the above pictures about a month ago. The Jacaranda was in full bloom at that time of the year!
For the Writing Challenge I copy now a blog with pictures I published a month ago. These pictures show that we had some plantagen shutters installed: I think they do contribute to some improvement in our house!
Some of the pictures show how a new back fence was installed on our property, which is another improvement!
Speaking about a significant event from the past year. I would say it was the event of the marriage of Troy and Nina. It means, now all three of our grandsons have been married! Our three great-grandsons, aged 7, 5 and 3, were at the wedding and had a good time together. Our newest great-granddaughter, Baby Evie, was at the wedding too. Evie is the baby sister of 3 year old Carter. 7 year old Lucas and his 5 year old brother Alexander are cousins of Carter and Evie. The three boys love each others company very much!
This is a favourite bin of ours in Corrimal. It is great to be able to recycle things!
In October we did get plantagen shutters installed in several rooms.
Part of our back fence had to be replaced because of storm damage. It took quite a long time from when the contractors took the old fence down and the new fence was finally completed.
The finishing touches of getting a new fence! Actually the work still has not been totally finished!
Pictures I took in the morning, also one month ago:
auntyutaCopy, Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age2 Comments 2 MinutesEdit”Plantagen Shutters and a new Backfence, also a Grandson’s Wedding”
The Truth / La Vérité (2019)
Tomorrow, Sunday, we are going to see this French movie at the Dendy Opera Quays:https://www.youtube.com/embed/EEVedePfqlY?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent
Directed by : Hirokazu Kore-eda Produced by : 3B Productions, M.I. Movies Genre: Fiction – Runtime: 1 h 47 min French release: 25/12/2019 Production year: 2019 Fabienne is a star – a star of French cinema. She reigns amongst men who love and admire her. When she publishes her memoirs, her daughter Lumir returns from New York to Paris with her husband and young child. The reunion between mother and daughter will quickly turn to confrontation: truths will be told, accounts settled, loves and resentments confessed.auntyutaLife in Australia3 Comments 1 MinuteEdit”The Truth / La Vérité (2019)”
The Domestic Political Threat
Such a thought provoking and well written blog. I can only hope that some followers are going to take the time to have a look at it!
It seems to me….
“People might not protest for overtly political or social causes, but when they can’t feed themselves and their family, they will take to the streets.” ~ Marcus Samuelsson[1].
The U.S. faces a number of critical challenges but perhaps the most threatening is the breakdown of political compromise resulting in the possibility of an elected political leader attempting to impose a totalitarian governance supposedly for the “good” of the nation. Though most people consider the possibility highly improbable, that also was widely believed in Chile, the German Weimar Republic, and other nations until after it had actually occurred.
The primary risk is in one political party gaining sufficient power to stack the courts with sympathetic judges, manipulate voter registration, using the courts to challenge election outcomes, and, finally, invoking “law-enforcement” to use the police, National Guard, army reserve, or army to suppress political…
View original post 1,332 more wordsauntyutaUncategorized2 Comments 1 MinuteEdit”The Domestic Political Threat”
What did I worry about during my growing up Years?
I turned 10 in 1944. My father returned from the war already in 1945, namely as soon as the war had ended. We stayed at grandmother’s place in Leipzig at the time. The time in Leipzig was for us children a good time with mum, dad and also grandmother and a cousin of ours.
However mum wanted to return to Berlin as soon as possible. So she left us just before I turned 11. She went to Berlin on her own to look after our apartment where she had only one room to herself. All the other rooms where occupied by people who had no where else to live.
April 1946 was the time when we children and dad moved to Berlin to stay with mum. By that time we had the apartment to ourselves. All the other lodgers had left. I had hopes then, April 1946 would be the start of a new family life for all of us. But this was not what was eventuating. My mother insisted that my father had to move away from Berlin. It was just not the right place for him, so she said. He moved to West Germany, and he wanted all of us to move too. But my mother refused to leave Berlin. She refused to give up the Berlin apartment. I did not like it at all that my parents separated.
The next few years I hardly ever saw my father. My father corresponded with me. However there was always tension, for my mother did not like my father to write to me. Father was seriously sick a lot of the time. For many years he was not able to get proper employment. His extended family supported him as much as possible. They had a hard time themselves, for they were refugees and living in extremely cramped conditions.
I think I still felt socially fairly content up to age 13 since everybody else had to catch up too after the war. I did not feel inferior to my friends. We were all in the same boat. Come to think of it, all this changed during my later teen years. They were not exactly happy ones. I think I missed some sort of family life. My thoughts were, I just had to put up with it until I was old enough to leave home, which only happened when I was 21!
My parents never lived together again. When I was 16, mum did get a divorce from Dad. I think for a long time during my growing up years I worried about both my parents.
I remember distinctly, that I believed at the time that World War Two had been the war to end all wars. That there would never be another war, this was a strong belief in me and made me look hopefully into the future. Except then came the ‘Cold War’. This, together with the nuclear threat, made me feel pretty concerned about the future. And this concern has multiplied now with increasing climate change . . .
Berlioz, my husband, published today a blog about what children worry about and especially what he experienced between the ages of 10 to 13. His blog prompted me to publish a bit about my growing up years after World War Two. Here is the link to the blog of Berlioz:
https://berlioz1935.wordpress.com/2019/12/17/what-children-worry-about-most/auntyutaMemories11 Comments 2 MinutesEdit”What did I worry about during my growing up Years?”
On the Calder Highway from Mildura to Melbourne in April 2013
As I said in the previous post we left Mildura before sunrise and were soon on the Calder Highway heading towards Melbourne. This was on Saturday, 13th April 2013.
And on we go. We pass Melbourne Airport in the early afternoon and soon after reach Essendon where Martin, our son, is very happy to see us. He is surprised that we made it in such good time. Yes, we had a good run. No problems whatsoever. Martin straight away offers us tea and something to eat. In the evening he is going to drive to the airport to pick up daughter Lauren who’s on school holidays and going to stay with her Dad for one week.
Peter and I are very glad we’ll be able to stay with our son and granddaughter Lauren for one week. We haven’t seen Lauren for more than a year except for photos on facebook. She looks very beautiful. Soon she’s going to be fifteen. She’s our youngest granddaughter. But then we also have great-grandchildren already. Two of them we are going to see during our stay in Melbourne. The plan is, that we are going to see them on the following day, a Sunday. We are very much looking forward to this. We know that Lauren is also looking forward to see her two little nieces.
P.S. In another post I mentioned already our visit to Warburton where we saw Tristan, our grandson, his wife Stephanie and their two little daughters, our great-granddaughters. Today’s post about our trip from Mildura to Melbourne is an afterthought because I hadn’t published yet the pictures from that trip and I thought it would be nice to be able to share them. I really enjoyed this trip because everything went so smoothly and the trip didn’t take too long. When we travelled back home a week later from Melbourne to Dapto everything went smoothly too but that trip of course took much longer because it was a greater distance we had to cover within one day.auntyutaLife in Australia, Memories, Old Age, Uncategorized1 Comment 3 MinutesEdit”On the Calder Highway from Mildura to Melbourne in April 2013″
Dr. William Moomaw – Humanity’s Mortality Moment
Today Dr. William Moomaw one of the 5 co-authors of the World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency explains the nature of the emergency, what we MUST be doing about it and the encouragement for *diversified forest management* instead of mono cropping single species that we intend to burn. Burning wood for biomass has a bigger carbon footprint than burning an equivalent amount of coal for energy! Here’s a link to the original paper of which Dr. Moomaw speaks…https://www.youtube.com/embed/yYCx8ikCzlk?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/2Pg4R1WKN8I?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&start=522&wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/cjf_Z3A1-pI?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/a… #ClimateEmergency #ClimateCrisis #COP25auntyutaVideoLeave a comment 1 MinuteEdit”Dr. William Moomaw – Humanity’s Mortality Moment”
Climate Emergency
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23ClimateEmergencyhttps://www.youtube.com/embed/6_b0Jm8D6Mc?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/ILFT5Hzoa3k?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/RyYkjvoApgQ?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent
View original postauntyutaUncategorizedLeave a comment 1 MinuteEdit”Climate Emergency”
Copy of Uta’s Diary from August, 2019
Last Sunday we had some lunch at Bulli Beach, where it was pretty windy and no sun. But there were quite a lot of people at the Ruby’s Cafe. Many people came in groups and had difficulty getting seats.
Between 9 and ten in the morning is usually a good time to sit outside for our morning cup of tea. We are always looking forward to this!
At the beginning of the month we travelled again to Benalla to visit our son. This time we took the train to Benalla. We arrived in Benalla on Sunday, the 4th of August. Our return journey was on Thursday, the 8th of August. We had a great time in Benalla. Twice Martin went with me to the Benalla Swimming Centre. Peter did not want to come with us even though we assured him that the water was well heated.
Every day Martin drove us to a different place. So we saw at Glenrowan a multi-million Dollar anamatronic show. It was Ned Kelly’s LAST STAND at the Glenrowan Tourist Centre.
Maybe you’d like to have a look at this:
https://www.glenrowantouristcentre.com.au/the-show/
The Show
“This mulitimillion dollar anamatronic show IS NOT A PICTURE THEATRE it is an interactive theatre production
Through the brilliance of animation and computerised robots, you will be transferred back in time, over 100 years, to witness the events that led up to the capture of the Kelly Gang.
Starting as hostages in the Hotel, and then onto gunfights – burning buildings – a decent hanging, and finishing in our magnificent painting gallery.
The show is educational, historically correct and entertaining.
The show runs for 40 minutes every half hour (separate rooms) from 10:00am to 4.30pm daily.
The Glenrowan Tourist Centre is fully air conditioned. The theatre can seat up to 50 people at any one time.
The Kelly Gang’s last stand has become an Australian folk legend, however views are divided about how it should be remembered. . . .”
After the show in Glenrowan Martin drove with us to Wangaretta where we had an excellent lunch in the Preview Cafe.
We also had coffee and some desert!
Stopping at the Tolmie Tavern. This was probably on Tuesday when we were there. It said on the sign “WHERE NOTHING EVER HAPPENS”, and true enough: Nothing did happen! And we had thought, we’d get some lunch there! But no, everything looked closed and deserted.
We ended up having lunch a bit further on. I think it may have taken us close to two hours before we actually did have some lunch and decent toilets! Before we arrived at that beautiful old Tatong Tavern we had a good look at the Stringybark Creek Historic Reserve:
So, at the Tatong Tavern we ended up having a splendid lunch. I asked for vegetarian and did get this beautiful meal:
Now back to Dapto in New South Wales and the beautiful trees in Lakelands Park in Morning Sunshine:
These trees are my favourite destination when I go for my walk early in the morning.
Our daughter Gabriele would have been 62 on 28 August. I found this little picture in memory of her.
2 thoughts on “Diary”
doesitevenmatter3Edit
- AW. A lovely artwork of your precious daughter. I know you miss her every day and you think of her. Hold on to those wonderful memories.
(((HUGS)))
PS… I love trees! They give life to our lives and add peace, beauty, joy, etc.! Can’t imagine even a day without seeing trees. (And I have hugged a few and talked to a few! ) Reply auntyutaEdit
- Thank you so much for your comment, dear Carolyn. Yes, all these memories are very important. And these trees are a big incentive for me to do a bit of walking. Peter usually goes for a walk too, early in the morning that is, but he goes on a faster ten minute walk. When he comes close to the trees, he may stop for a minute to talk to me. This morning we went out for a walk, even though there was no sun out, no sun at all. It turned out to be cloudy all day, and later on we did have some rain. Good steady rain. Everything looks very fresh.
HUGS, Uta I copied all the above in response toDecember - Writing Challenge/ Prompts11. Describe a typical day-in-the-life. Share some photos and give details about an average day. How do you make even the mundane feel special? 12. Creature of Habit: Did you form a new habit this year? Or continue with an old one? Is it a good habit? Or one you’d like to break? More or less the early morning walks are a continuation of an old habit both for Peter and me. I reckon this habit is extremely beneficial for us!
auntyutaCopy, Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age, Uncategorized2 Comments 3 MinutesEdit”Copy of Uta’s Diary from August, 2019″
Forty-One Years ago
This post is in response to the prompt for Day 9: Describe a moment of beauty that you witnessed this year. To participate or find out more information about #Manifest20 click here:
Category: #Manifest20
Here is a picture of our lovely baby Caroline with me at North Wollongong Beach.
I am 44 in this photo. I think our dog was already 13 or 14 years at the time.
Caroline has just turned 41 now
!auntyutaCopy, Diary, Memories, Uncategorized4 Comments 1 MinuteEdit”Forty-One Years ago”
Prompt Day 10: What was the best book you read in 2019? What did you like about it? #Manifest20
I like to mention here three books I did read one year ago and that made quite an impression on me. Last year I copied some details about these books without mentioning my own opinion about any of the books. But as an introduction to the first book I wrote:
DI MORRISSEY seems to be my favourite author at the moment. The most recent book of hers that I read is: “The Winter Sea”.
Peter said, I should write something about what I felt about these books.
So, the first thing that came to mind is that in each book there are some main characters that I feel very comfortable with. And of course there are some other characters that I would not feel very comfortable with but even the more ‘bad’ characters do have a few likable features. That means the characters feel quite real to me.
In each of the three books there are some male/female relationships that are great to read about. In each book there are some rather strong female characters. But even these very strong females do like a good man a lot! Despite a number of difficulties all these females end up with simply good men – at least for a while.
‘The Winter Sea’ novel by Di Morrissey is for the most part set into an environment that I am very familiar with. It deals with a family history that encompasses nearly one hundred years and shows what happens to immigrants to Australia that come from different backgrounds, for instance Italian and Irish.
Greg Iles is a New York Times bestselling author. He wrote BLOOD MEMORY. Cat (Catherine) Ferry is a most interesting character. It shows what may happen to a person that has been abused as a child.
Well, the third book ‘THE GOOD DAUGHTER’ by Karin Slaughter, is a very well written book too. There are actually wo daughters, both of them I see as main characters. To my mind both are ‘good’ daughters, even though they are totally different. Maybe one is more the good daughter of the father, the other one the good daughter of the mother. So which counts for more?
The following three links to my auntielive site show you some interesting details about the three above mentioned books:
https://auntielive.wordpress.com/2018/12/18/continued-from-books-i-read-2/auntyutaBooks, Copy, Life in Australia, Novel, Novel Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment 2 MinutesEdit”Prompt Day 10: What was the best book you read in 2019? What did you like about it? #Manifest20″
December Writing Challenge: Join #Manifest20
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/december-writing-challenge-join-manifest20/
On November 30, 2019 Robin – Patchworkmomma- wrote:
“How would you like to manifest your dreams this coming year? Join me in a month of reflection. Throughout December I will post daily writing prompts on the #Manifest20 page accessed from my blog menu at the top of my site. The idea is to reflect about the previous year and set intentions for 2020. It’s the start of a new decade after all! Anything is possible.
This idea is not a new one. Ten years ago I first participated in the Reverb10 project, created by Gwen Bell, and met lots of lovely people (virtually, that is). To read a little about the history, click here. The original bloggers who started the project quickly moved on to other things the following year. Several bloggers picked up where they left off, but over the years the community sort fizzled out as careers changed, babies were born, and other life events took over. I’m suggesting continuing the December writing challenge with a new name: Manifest20. ….”
Quote from Project Reverb:
“Answer one prompt. Answer all the prompts. Answer some of the prompts. Maybe just answer the prompt in a Tweet or as an Instagram post. Or perhaps answer the prompt with a photo or graphic. Be creative, let loose.”
For more information please go to:
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/manifest20-prompts/auntyutaCopyLeave a comment 1 MinuteEdit”December Writing Challenge: Join #Manifest20″
Manifest20 Prompts
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/manifest20-prompts/
7. Post your favorite photo of yourself taken during the past year.
8. If money was no object, is there anything you would purchase that would help you fulfill a dream next year? What would it be and how would it change your life?
I was pretty busy over the weekend this is why I now want to catch up with Nr.7 and 8:
I start with Nr. 8. I think money is always an object, sort of. I reckon Peter and I live a fairly comfortable life in our retirement since we own our own small three bedroom cottage. We have always been very careful about staying within our means.Sometimes wethink that it would be nice to have a bit more money. But we are not the sort of people who constantly think about doing something just to have more, more, more.
There are certain basic things we would like to have in our old age that would make life a bit more comfortable for us. We would like for instance to have enough money to pay for some regular cleaning services. We are getting more and more feeble. Some cleaning and maintenance jobs are just getting too hard for us!
Now to Nr. 7:
I walked to this tree on a cool winter morning in August 2019. Peter took this picture of me. This is one of my favourite trees. I am glad I can still go on these early morning walks with the help of my walking stick. I really enjoy walking in the morning. Often it is cloudy now or even smoky from all the bushfires. So an early morning with clear air and a bit of sunshine is very special!
Now, in December, we are in the midst of summer in Australia. The last few months it was often hazy with clouds all over the sky, yet we had hardly any rain and everything dries out a lot. And this is nearly everywhere in Australia. So the bushfires all over Australia are extremely worrying this year. Some bushfires have been going already for many months and are steadily on the increase, threatening communities. The firefighters have a hard time keeping the flames away from built up areas. A few people already lost properties that could not be saved from the approaching bushfires. Some of the firefighters, poor chaps, get hardly any rest and have at times to cope with less than three hours sleep! It is always good to hear when new helpers arrive to support the struggling firefighters. A lot of the firefighters actually are volunteers. There is a rumour that some volunteers get their normal pay only by forgoing some holiday pay. I think they should get extra holiday pay! How about government payouts for the firefighting effort? I wonder whether this is being considered. . . .auntyuta Copy, Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age2 Comments 2 MinutesEdit”Manifest20 Prompts”
December Writing Challenge/ Prompts:
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/manifest20-prompts/
- Choose one word which you would like to embody during 2020 as a sort of theme for the year. How would you like to see this word manifest in your life?
- Who inspired you in 2019? Why? What gifts did they give you? How will you carry these forward in 2020?
- What made you feel joyful in 2019? What steps can you take to create more joyful moments in the coming year?
- What goals did you accomplish in 2019 that you’re proud of? How will your achievement continue to benefit you or others in the future?
- What musical discovery did you make this year? Share a memory involving music or tell us what artist or song would feature on the soundtrack of your life for 2019?
- What surprised you in 2019
Today I want to write about Nr. 6!
So, what surprised me in 2019?
Did it surprise me that Greta Thunberg continued to get so much media attention? She is a very determined young woman, only sixteen, but she stuck it out, did not hesitate to live by her principles. To find supporters that made it possible for her to travel for instance by boat to the Americas and back again. Well, this was quite an achievement!
Yes, in a way it did surprise me that Greta was able to get such an enormous support!
I want to keep it brief. So I only want to mention, that I find it surprising that so many people these days are able to live into their eighties or nineties. I would be surprised, if Peter and I were able to make it to the nineties! Somehow, I cannot quite imagine it. I am surprised about every year that we are still alive.
Just recently I was surprised that independent Senator Jacqui Lambie voted with the government to repeal the medevac bill. It does not seem to make sense, not at all.
Here is an interesting link to an article about the repeal bill:
Australia is at present in the grip of enormous draught as well as disastrous bushfires with soaring temperatures and extremely strong winds. The government says, this is quite normal for Australia. A lot of people here want to talk about it why there is so much climate change, but the government says there is no need to talk about it or to do something about it. Am I surprised that our government acts this way? No, not at all. The Australian voters voted the present government in. It surprised me at the time. And I’ll be still more surprised, should they be voted in again at the next election.
1auntyutaArticle, Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age, Uncategorized3 Comments 2 MinutesEdit”December Writing Challenge/ Prompts:”
December Writing Challenge: Join #Manifest20
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/december-writing-challenge-join-manifest20/
On November 30, 2019 Robin – Patchworkmomma- wrote:
“How would you like to manifest your dreams this coming year? Join me in a month of reflection. Throughout December I will post daily writing prompts on the #Manifest20 page accessed from my blog menu at the top of my site. The idea is to reflect about the previous year and set intentions for 2020. It’s the start of a new decade after all! Anything is possible.
This idea is not a new one. Ten years ago I first participated in the Reverb10 project, created by Gwen Bell, and met lots of lovely people (virtually, that is). To read a little about the history, click here. The original bloggers who started the project quickly moved on to other things the following year. Several bloggers picked up where they left off, but over the years the community sort fizzled out as careers changed, babies were born, and other life events took over. I’m suggesting continuing the December writing challenge with a new name: Manifest20. ….”
Quote from Project Reverb:
“Answer one prompt. Answer all the prompts. Answer some of the prompts. Maybe just answer the prompt in a Tweet or as an Instagram post. Or perhaps answer the prompt with a photo or graphic. Be creative, let loose.”
For more information please go to:
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/manifest20-prompts/auntyutaUncategorizedLeave a comment 1 MinuteEdit”December Writing Challenge: Join #Manifest20″
December Writing Challenge/ Prompts
These are the Prompts so far:
- Choose one word which you would like to embody during 2020 as a sort of theme for the year. How would you like to see this word manifest in your life?
- Who inspired you in 2019? Why? What gifts did they give you? How will you carry these forward in 2020?
- What made you feel joyful in 2019? What steps can you take to create more joyful moments in the coming year?
- What goals did you accomplish in 2019 that you’re proud of? How will your achievement continue to benefit you or others in the future?
- What musical discovery did you make this year? Share a memory involving music or tell us what artist or song would feature on the soundtrack of your life for 2019?
I already made an effort to answer the first four. Now to Nr. 5. What musical discovery did I make this year?
I can only say that music is very important to me. When I get up in the morning, one of the first things I do, is switch on the radio to see whether there is something good to listen to on the ABC’c classical music program. When I move around to do things, I like to have some music in the background. Good dance music I like too, for to move to some music makes moving easier! Even some Jazz or Country music makes me want to move around a bit.
I think it is great that I can find a lot of music on YouTube! At the moment Peter and I aim at listening to a Berlin Philharmonic Concert every Sunday. We have a lot of these concerts on DVD, and listening to one of them and watching the orchestra playing is a special Sunday treat for us. We hope to be able to keep these Sunday concerts going well into the next year!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtRkmSO4PrhJ4TzNOmFIwjw
“Discover the Digital Concert Hall of the Berliner Philharmoniker! Until 25 Dec 2019 with bonus edition: Kirill Petrenko conducts Beethoven’s Ninth”auntyutaCopy, Life in Australia, Old Age, UncategorizedLeave a comment 1 MinuteEdit”December Writing Challenge/ Prompts”
Another Writing Challenge Prompt
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/manifest20-prompts/
4. What goals did you accomplish in 2019 that you’re proud of? How will your achievement continue to benefit you or others in the future?
I am elderly, this is why I walk with the help of a walking stick. In the morning, after a bit of stretching, I manage quite regularly to go out for a little walk. Peter, my husband, does the same. He can still walk twice as fast. So he walks ahead. He walks a bit further than I do. I usually walk to a section of some trees that I love. Near these trees I often wait for Peter and he meets me then on his return from his walk. We talk for a few moments. Then he walks on along the footpath back home, while I walk back home along a grassy area. I love to walk along the grass in the early morning sun. For me this is quite an achievement that I can still do this. Mind you, I carry my walking stick. This gives me good support so that I am not in danger of having a fall in case of some unevenness in the grass.
The last few months we had hardly any rain and everything dries out too much. All over Australia are lots and lots of bushfires and grassfires. We had a few heatwaves and great gusts of wind. But no fires close by and hardly any smoke. But Sydney is suffering from a lot of smoke right now from bushfires in the west of Sydney.
I like to spend some time hugging these trees.
When I walk across the grass, I can beat Peter: To walk along the footpath is longer distance. So, I wait for Peter at the other end, and he is happy to see me and stops for a moment to talk to me. Sometimes I meet some of my neighbours during my outing in the morning, and they stop and talk to me for a while.
auntyutaCopy, Life in Australia, Old Age, Uncategorized2 Comments 2 MinutesEdit”Another Writing Challenge Prompt”
December Writing Challenge Prompts by Patchworkmomma
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/manifest20-prompts/
December Writing Challenge/ Prompts:
- Choose one word which you would like to embody during 2020 as a sort of theme for the year. How would you like to see this word manifest in your life?
- Who inspired you in 2019? Why? What gifts did they give you? How will you carry these forward in 2020?
- What made you feel joyful in 2019? What steps can you take to create more joyful moments in the coming year?
For 1.: I chose writing
For 2.: I chose Greta – Robin chose Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC)
Here is a video about another great young woman in politics I discovered:
Sawsan Chebli
This woman, daughter of a refugee family, born in Berlin in 1978, achieved already a lot in politics, but sadly is threatened by some far right people.
Now to Nr. 3: What made me feel joyful in 2019? I would have to say overall this is writing. To create more joyful moments in the coming year? Well, if at all possible, I want to continue writing at least a little bit on a dayly basis, and when this is not possible, then at least I intend doing a bit of reading. I also intend grabbing opportunities to communicate with as many people as possible. I know, there can be a lot of joyful moments in my life, if only I stay positive. There seems to be always something in my long life I can be grateful for.
And here is a link to a post by Patchworkmomma about a joyful holiday in Thailand:
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/2019/12/03/memories-for-life-thailand-during-songkran/comment-page-1/#comment-78auntyutaCopy, Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age5 Comments 1 MinuteEdit”December Writing Challenge Prompts by Patchworkmomma”
AOC: A Political Wonder Woman
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/category/manifest20/
It has been just over a year since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in the United States. She was sworn in on January 3rd 2019. Over the last year I have been continually inspired by her courage, compassion, and integrity. If she is already this formidable at age 29, I can only imagine how much stronger she will become with more time and experience.
Her values align with my own. I think it’s refreshing to see someone in power who wants everyone to have the same opportunities. I admire how articulate and unwavering AOC is in each of the following videos, addressing issues which are important in America and beyond:
Climate Change
Campaign Finance Laws
Immigration and ICE
The fact that AOC’s campaign was a grassroots success story is another cause for celebration. In the second video she breaks down in simple terms how flawed…
View original post 480 more wordsauntyutaUncategorized1 Comment 1 MinuteEdit”AOC: A Political Wonder Woman”
1st and 2nd of Dec. about Writing and being inspired by Greta Thunberg
What do I want?
What do I really want?
I want to enjoy person to person contact.
In my writing I want to speak to people, meaning it would be good if people felt spoken to when reading something I have written. I like it, when people respond to something that I have written.
I want to be aware that it is very important to listen to people and to respond in some way.
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/manifest20-prompts/
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/category/manifest20/
The following is a writing challenge from Robin aka Patchworkmomma:
December Writing Challenge/ Prompts:
- Choose one word which you would like to embody during 2020 as a sort of theme for the year. How would you like to see this word manifest in your life?
My answer: I would like ‘writing‘ to be a great part of the rest of my life, meaning, since I am already 85, I honestly cannot expect to live all that much longer. This makes every day, that I am still alive, extra special. Accordingly, my aim is, to make really good use of every extra day! How can I make good use of the time that is still given to me? For instance, I can continue to enjoy meeting family and friends as often as possible. Also, I can try connecting with my blogger friends as often as possible. I hope, that during the month of December I may be able to somewhat succeed in all of this. I hope, doing a bit of meditating every day may help me to get ready for this challenge.
Maybe, writing and meeting family and friends could also be sort of a theme for me for the following year, 2020!
And here is another Writing Challenge:
2. Who inspired you in 2019? Why? What gifts did they give you? How will you carry these forward in 2020?
Greta Thunberg inspired me in 2019! Listening to her speeches I became more and more aware that we are in a crisis and that too many people still try to ignore how extreme climate change is going to change all our lives.
What I could do for 2020 is to try more and more to live a more simpler life and to avoid excessive consumption!https://www.youtube.com/embed/bFvXc14g3AQ?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent auntyutaCopy, Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age4 Comments 2 MinutesEdit”1st and 2nd of Dec. about Writing and being inspired by Greta Thunberg”
1st of December 2019
I took the above pictures this morning. Today is Sunday, the 1st of December, which is the First Sunday of Advent for 2019.
I would prefer to have an ‘Adventskranz’ made of fresh fir-tree branches. But I am proud that I kept this Adventskranz that we have had for many years.
Recently I reblogged something I wrote about the German customs of having an Adventskranz:
“At this time of the year memories keep coming back about how we celebrated the Advents Sundays during the late 1930s and early 1940s. During those years we always had an ‘Adventskranz’ with four, thick, usually red, candles. On each Advent Sunday one more candle would be lighted. The ‘Kranz’ was made up of fresh fir-tree branches. When we sat down with one, two, three or four candles lit, my little brother and I would be allowed to do some ‘kokeln’, but of course always under supervision by Mum. ‘Kokeln’ would mean that Mum gave us a beautiful fresh twig of the fir-tree branches to hold over a burning candle. This made a fantastic smell. Oh, how we loved this smell. I could tell, Mum loved it too. This quickly brought us into the mood to sing some Christmas songs.”
auntyutaDiary, Life in Australia, Memories, Old Age2 Comments
AuntyUta 