Category: Diary
Archy, 7, and Leila, 5.
Today, I talked to two complete strangers. One after another. Both had a beautiful dog on the lead: Archy, 7, and Leila, 5.
It was a beautiful, sunny morning. The soccer fields were not very damp, just right to walk on. I had all of them completely to myself! Quite a few large patches of clover had appeared all over the place and were a lovely sight, since they are in full bloom. However, the grass was pretty dense in some places for no lawn mowing tractor had touched the place for a while.
I managed to cross the fields in full sun and felt quite elated for I had taken my lovely light Jean jacket off, and was wearing only a skimpy top with no bra underneath! It felt so good to let the sun touch much of my skin! I went slowly, for it was not easy to get my rollator to make it through some of the rather high patches of grass. After a while I made it to the bench number two at the footpath. It was still in the shade. I actually set down on that bench rather than on the seat of my rollator. So I took my water bottle out to have a sip. I also thought of putting my nice jacket back on! Through some trees I could see some cars on the carpark where recently a test site had been established. They even had put a huge dome up as protection against wind and weather!
Sitting on that bench was very enjoyable! I contemplated that easily somebody else could be sitting there with me, for there seemed to be ample room for social distancing! For months on end though I had during my morning walks never ever seen anyone sitting on one of the benches!
Usually I put one of my masks on for my morning walks, even though never ever anybody does come at all close to me! But I tell myself, it is good to get used to wearing a mask in case I would go sometime somewhere where mask wearing is required by law. Maybe it is even required in that nearly totally deserted park! I mean, the few people that I do see crossing this park are never ever close to each other except perhaps for some family groups with a few children usually on the way to the playground in the distance. But it is seldom that any children are actually seen on the playground. The people, that walk their dogs, are usually single people that walk very briskly. Some people let their dogs run freely across the grass fields, but only for a little while, and then they are gone again.
So after I had relaxed on that park bench for some time, a mature, not exactly skinny man passed. He had a very skinny looking black poodle dog. on the lead. Some polite greetings were exchanged, but the man didn’t actually stop. Still I had the presence of mind to make him stop for a bit by asking some questions about the name and age of his dog. So, this poodle was 7 year old Archie.
Soon after the man had disappeared with Archie, another much younger and rather skinny man appeared with a female dog of good proportions. He was the owner of beautiful looking Leila. He said that Leila was getting old. I protested, saying that 5 years was not very old for a dog. I was allowed some patting of Leila! Then the man wished me a good day, and I wished him a good day too. I think Leila was black too but not quite as black as Archie.
I went back home all the way on that bumpy footpath, thinking that asking these questions about the two dogs, had made my day! 🙂
A two-tiered Australian Society
Cameron Stewart says: “The vaccinated feel they need protection from the unvaccinated — but if the vaccinated are somewhat protected and can spread the disease, isn’t it the other way around? It is the unvaccinated who need protection from the vaccinated.”
I think he has a point there. However, I would say, even if I am fully vaccinated, I am in danger of being infected by someone who may be fully vaccinated too, for I do not want to end up with Covid even if it is in a mild form; for living on my own, I think I may be in danger of being admitted to a Covid ward, even with a mild form of the disease, since I might not be able to look after myself and be needing some sort of full time care.
It is true, I might have a good chance of recovering from the disease if I am being treated in a Covid ward. But being treated in a Covid ward, do I have the guarantee that they let me die a natural death if my condition worsens? And are they willing to let my children see me before I die?
Speaking about costs. This is what Cameron Stewart says: “Australia’s new two-tier vaccination society is almost certainly going to be a temporary one. The costs on businesses and governments of enforcing the rules indefinitely would be exorbitant.”
So, enforcing the rule is going to be too costly? He may be right, for we have to look only at overseas experiences in some other countries. I reckon, we should really learn something from these experiences in some other countries! 🙂
Tuesday, 14th of September 2021
More and more cases appear in Wollongong as well as in Shellharbour and all over the Illawarra, also the DELTA cases all over Sydney have not stopped yet.
I had been hoping to have a few birthday guests on my beautiful deck. Yes, I had so hoped, that a few outside guests would be allowed to come! But no, having a few guests I must now forget about a bit longer.
My youngest great-granddaughter, Evie Rose, who turned two only yesterday, I have not seen for a while. And my eldest granddaughter, Natasha, who turned 30 last Saturday, I could not see either. Alexander Robert, great-grandson number five, is going to be 7 in two weeks on Monday. I already missed the birthday of Lucas, great-grandson number four, who turned 9 last July.
I would also love very much to see our friend Sylvia for her birthday on Tuesday, the 27th of September. Sylvia was born in 1957 in Germany, the same year that our Gaby was born. Their birthdays were only a few weeks apart. In 1959, we lived in Balgownie Hostel in Fairy Meadow. Gaby’s second birthday on the 28th of August was celebrated in the Hostel, and little Sylvia was one of the guests! So we have known Sylvia and Christa, her mother, for that long. Sylvia’s father used to be a workmate of Peter’s. Sadly, both he and Peter are dead now.
I have seen Christa and Sylvia a few times before the lockdown. They did sit beside me at Peter’s funeral celebrations. And they invited me to spend Christmas Day with them at their place. Both live together in Wollongong. Because of the lockdown, I cannot see them right now. And they cannot come to Dapto to see me. They have not been able yet to see my beautiful new deck. All my outside area looks so different now. All I can do is this, that I can write an email to Sylvia for her upcoming birthday.
I wonder when some of my family will finally be allowed to visit me! So far, only Monika, who does some caring work for me, was able to see my deck and the refurbished outside area. No one else of my family has been visiting yet. But I do get twice one hour weekly home help. The home help wears a mask when she enters the house to do some cleaning, and she usually does a few things outside a well. I am so lucky, that I do get a bit of home help!
Some of my neighbours could already take a glance at the deck. I think it made quite an impression on them. When I meet my neighbours outside, I wear a mask and I do insist on social distancing. Since we are in lockdown, we do not enter each others houses. But there is plenty of room to meet in the common area surrounding the ten free standing villas.
And as I said before, I just love to go for walks with my rollator in the neighbouring park. I am so lucky that I can spend so much time outside in beautiful fresh air. I cannot drive and I have no car. So lovely daughter Monika is helping me by doing some weekly shopping for me. I feel blessed, that I do not have to enter any shops right now.
A special Birthday in 2014
auntyutaDiary, Life in Australia, Old Age September 23, 2014 1 Minute
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13 thoughts on “On Sunday I turned 80”
catterel EditMany happy returns of the day, Uta. Thatlooks like a really lovely celebration. May you be abundantly blessed xxReply
stacylynngittleman Edithave a happy birthday and many more in good health!Reply
cardamone5 EditHappy birthday!Reply
Pocket Perspectives EditHappy, Happy Birthday, Uta!!!! Reply
gerard oosterman EditHappy Birthday Uta from us at Bowral.
Gerard & Helvi.“Lang zal ze leven” Hiep Hiep Hoera!Replyberlioz1935 EditI think you had a really great day. Here is a little musical treat from Indiahttps://www.youtube.com/embed/FWbRuUE5E9M?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparentReply
Team Oyeniyi EditHappy Birthday!!Reply
The Emu EditMy apologies for a very late acknowledgement of a great milestone in your life
May your birthday year bring you much happiness, and beautiful recollections of the love of your family, and all those who have been privileged to be a part of your life.
Kindest regards
Ian and AnaReplyHolistic Wayfarer EditPhotos are simply beautiful. I trust it was a special day with loved ones. I am so happy to see more comments on your blog.Love,
DianaReply
Burqas Under the Bed – Fabricated Fear for the New Millennium
auntyutaUncategorized September 23, 2014
I think Jenni’s blog is well written with good links. Well worth reading to get a picture where we are at in Australia.
Well it seems as if the new boogeyman of the 21st century is fully established. Instead of drumming up fear and paranoia at the idea of ‘Reds Under the Bed‘ as was done in the past our governments have now determined that all our fear focused hate should be turned in the direction of those who follow the Muslim faith. In short we should all fear the ‘Burqa Under the Bed‘ [courtesy of Yvette Scholtmeyer].
Regardless of the political tap dancing our world leaders use to present the idea that they are only interested in those who are extremist in their faith to the point of violence against others the facts are that they have stirred up a mighty brew of xenophobic fear and hatred. How easy it is to cast stones at those whose beliefs differ to ours especially when we do little…
View original post 740 more words
Related
Monika’s BirthdayDecember 5, 2013In “Diary”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUCASJuly 21, 2013In “Diary”
Blue Lotus Water GardenJanuary 2, 2015In “Diary”Edit”Burqas Under the Bed – Fabricated Fear for the New Millennium”
Previous Post On Sunday I turned 80Next PostWednesday, 24th of September 2014
15 thoughts on “Burqas Under the Bed – Fabricated Fear for the New Millennium”
auntyutaUncategorized September 23, 2014
I think Jenni’s blog is well written with good links. Well worth reading to get a picture where we are at in Australia.
Well it seems as if the new boogeyman of the 21st century is fully established. Instead of drumming up fear and paranoia at the idea of ‘Reds Under the Bed‘ as was done in the past our governments have now determined that all our fear focused hate should be turned in the direction of those who follow the Muslim faith. In short we should all fear the ‘Burqa Under the Bed‘ [courtesy of Yvette Scholtmeyer].
Regardless of the political tap dancing our world leaders use to present the idea that they are only interested in those who are extremist in their faith to the point of violence against others the facts are that they have stirred up a mighty brew of xenophobic fear and hatred. How easy it is to cast stones at those whose beliefs differ to ours especially when we do little…
View original post 740 more words
Previous Post On Sunday I turned 80 Wednesday, 24th of September 2014
15 thoughts on “Burqas Under the Bed – Fabricated Fear for the New Millennium”
Jenni Thanks for the re-blog – it’s good to see that people understand how badly we are being manipulated.Reply
auntyuta Since I just turned 80. Jenni, I can remember what it was like in Germany under the Nazi regime. How relieved we were when there was peace and freedom after World War Two!Reply
likeitiz EditThis is very sad to read about, Aunty Uta.By the way, my nephew, who went to live in Sydney for a year of training for his company, is back here on vacation. He says he’s enjoying his life in Sydney.Reply
Thanks for commenting, dear Mary-Ann. Who knows where we are going in future?Reply
On top of that billions on keeping a few boat people away by the Australian defence Force and keeping them locked up in detention/jails.
With that money they could have kept our manufacturing motor industry and other large employers of people.
It is no wonder the young are disillusioned and seek adventure and excitement elsewhere.Reply
stuartbramhall Great find. Thanks for sharing. I see Abbott is copying Obama’s and Bush’s old trick of scaring people to death to keep them from seeing how incompetent he is.Reply
To Gaby: 28 August 1957 – 2012
Dear Gaby,
today 55 years ago you were born. When I heard the good news in the early hours of that day in 1957 I cried with happiness for you and your Mum. I wish you were still here so I could congratulate you for the good life that you lived, despite fate having given you a massive hurdle to overcome. But you did it !!! You put us all to shame with your zest for life. This zest for life you shared with the great German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe whose birthday you shared too. Here is what he wrote and you will understand, because you felt the same:
“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration; I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”
Wasn’t that you? You spread the “good climate” and shared your attitude to life with the rest of us. Your birth and your life was a gift to us from the creator as the meaning of your name is “God gives Strength”. When we chose your name we must have subconsciously foreseen what would become of you.Your life was a gift to us. Thank you for having been Gabriele, our Gaby. We love and remember you for the rest of our lives.
This is a blog that Peter wrote in 2012 and I copied it in memory of Gaby and Peter.
Diary continued for August 24
Thought of August 2021
Education is not the filling of a pail , but the lighting of a fire. — W.B. Yeats. So Educate yourself as much as you can….their is no time limit for education.Tagged 2021, august, blog, blogger, blogging, education, fire, limit, Powerful thought, quote, self development, self improvement, thought, thought forever, thought of the day8 Comments
First of all I nearly had a meltdown again after breakfast when I heard the News Headlines on the radio. But more about this later.
I came across the website of Massachusetts Institute of Technology earlier this morning and found it so impressive that I published a link to it!
I found out this morning that Amruta gave me yesterday a like button to this post: https://auntyuta.com/2021/07/22/thousands-pay-last-respects-to-dutch-reporter-peter-de-vries/
So, I want to stop here now. Maybe I’ll publish another post later in the day.
Diary
https://www.cambridge.org/what-we-do
The MIT community is driven by a shared purpose: to make a better world through education, research, and innovation. We are fun and quirky, elite but not elitist, inventive and artistic, obsessed with numbers, and welcoming to talented people regardless of where they come from.
MIT’s motto is “mens et manus,” or “mind and hand,” signifying the fusion of academic knowledge with practical purpose.
Childhood Prayers, a Copy!
I love early mornings. Waking up early always seems exciting to me. Here in Australia the nights are getting rather cold now as we are approaching winter. These days when I wake up at five it is still dark outside. Sometimes I think it is better not to get up straight away. So I may tell myself to stay in bed for one more hour or so. Occasionally I am still a bit tired and go back to sleep after a little while. But usually I stay awake the whole time, lying in bed thinking about what I plan for the day or perhaps saying a few prayers. Often I remember my childhood prayers!
The family I grew up in was not very religious. During my whole childhood I remember being taken to church only once. This was for a service on Christmas Eve in 1943. Lots of familiar Christmas songs were being sung then. I thought this was wonderful!
Now what about prayers? Strangely enough there are some childhood prayers that I often remember when I wake up early in the morning. Then I am that child again who was being told to say these prayers before going to sleep.
The first prayer I learned was just saying that I am small and my heart is pure with only Jesus in it.
When I was a bit older I learned another prayer. saying that I was tired, closing my eyes and asking the Lord to watch over my bed.
Mum also told me to ask God for the protection of all my loved ones. In the reciting of all the names there was always Dad included who was on the Eastern Front at this time of WW II.
Here are the prayers as I remember them in German:
“Ich bin klein,
mein Herz ist rein;
soll niemand drin wohnen
als Jesus allein.”
or
“Müde bin ich geh’ zur Ruh
schliesse beide Augen zu.
Vater lass die Augen dein
über meinem Bette sein.”
And I would say:
“Lieber Gott, behüte Mutti und Vati, Bodo und Peter, Tante Ilse, die Omi und Renate und alle die ich lieb habe.”
I wrote and published the above on May 3, 2014
AuntyUta 
