What did we have for Lunch?

This is our coffee (flat white) after lunch on Sunday. Caroline met us at Central Station. From there we walked to a coffee shop. Caroline and I had the soup of the day, which was a very well spiced tomato soup; Peter had a chicken/veg. pie.

On Sunday we had lunch with Klaus and Tilde at the OAK FLATS BOWLING AND RECREATION CLUB. The lunch special was Roast Meat and Vegetables. Peter, Klaus and Tilde went for the Roast, I chose just Vegetables. I did get a beautifully arranged plate of lots of different vegetables. It was yummy! We each had a glass of beer with our lunch, Tilde had a glass of white wine.

For coffee we chose to sit in a different area of the club. As usual we asked for flat white coffee. Peter had a huge Waggon Wheel with his coffee. I had some yummy cheese cake. I think Tilde chose cheese cake too.

Uta’s Diary, June 2015

Peter took this picture near BELVOIR Theatre on Sunday.

Peter says he took this picture because the lake can be seen a little bit in the background.

I must admit it never occurred to me that it was possible to see the lake from this spot at the OAK FLATS BOWLING CLUB. I am talking of course of LAKE ILLAWARRA. We used to live near the BOWLING CLUB. To go down to the lake took us only a few minutes.

Last Sunday we had mostly sunshine. It was very pleasant to be out in the sunshine near the lake where we went for a walk. Later, in the Bowling Club, where we had lunch, it was beautiful warm. We stayed there with our friends for three and a half hours! It was good to see them, catching up on all the new.

Peter later complained to me that we were talking too much about sicknesses. Klaus and Tilde are about the same age as we are. They are thinking about selling their home to move to a retirement village. That makes me wonder whether Peter and I are going to be able to cope indefinitely in our own home.

Our friends know people who had to move to a nursing home. They pointed out how awful it must be to move from a large, comfortable home to a confined space in a nursing home. However, once you do need constant nursing care, you do not have much of a choice, do you?

When husband and wife, both need to be in a nursing home, it can happen, that they are being separated and have to move to different nursing homes. Even if they end up in the same nursing home, they would probably have separate rooms, each one of them sharing their room with one or more strangers.

We were discussing how fortunate people are who die before they have to go into a nursing home. To live in a retirement village it is different, of course. You have your own private unit where couples can stay together. But you do get help with the things you cannot do for yourself anymore.

The disadvantage is that these residences are usually privately run and can cost quite a bit of money for the private organisations do have to make a profit for their share-holders. Peter’s and my mantra seems to be to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible!

At the moment we have quite a bit of rain here in Dapto. It has been raining off and on since Sunday night. Monday morning I went for a little walk before it starting raining again. Today, Tuesday, it is very wet and cold. No sunshine, none whatsoever. Ah well, I am comfortably warm near a heater.

Around lunchtime we’ll be going out to buy some groceries. Peter hopes that the rain is going to ease off a bit so that he can go for some running before we go out in our car for our shopping. Peter did not do any running for a couple of days. So he’s really keen to do it today.

Our Weekend 13/14th June 2015

Yesterday, Saturday, we went to the BELVOIR Theatre in Sydney.

http://belvoir.com.au/school-performances/mother-courage-children/

“HSC Drama: Significant Plays of the 20th Century

Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children really needs no introduction to teachers.

Anna Fierling is a refugee. She has three children, a shop in a cart, and buckets of chutzpah. She buys and sells her way through a massive and pointless religious war – gulling, lying, charming, inveigling. Will those great capitalist qualities save her from the common fate?

Mother Courage and Her Children is a magnificent pageant of humanity in extremis. A 20th century colossus about a 17th century war is a vision of the 21st century – of globalisation, religion, violence, capitalism, love and pity.

Eamon Flack (Once in Royal David’s City) directs Robyn Nevin in a Michael Gow translation of this epic play.”

As far as I know, Bertolt Brecht asked the question who profits from war? And I would say his answer was that the well off always did profit from wars, but never any of the not so well off.

Today, Sunday, we met some friends for lunch at the OAK FLATS BOWLING AND RECREATION CLUB. We had a very good lunch there and later on coffee and cake.

There's ample parking at the club. — There’s ample parking at the club.

I guess this is for elderly people who drive around on scooters instead of cars.

A View of Lake Illawarra from a Park in Oak Flats.

We took advantage of the beautiful winter sunshine spending some time in this Park at Lake Illawarra.

Vivid Sydney 2015

Yesterday evening the family stayed in the city of Sydney for a while to see some of the lighting festival. Peter and I left Sydney a bit earlier. We went back to Dapto on the train. We were home just before 7 pm. We were glad to be home early.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivid_Sydney

Vivid Sydney is an annual outdoor lighting festival with immersive light installations and projections in Sydney. Part of the lighting festival also includes the performances from local and international musicians and an ideas exchange forum featuring public talks and debates from leading creative thinkers.
The event is held during winter in central Sydney over the course of three weeks in May and June. The centrepiece of Vivid Sydney is the light sculptures, multimedia interactive work and building projections that transform various buildings and landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge in and around the Sydney CBD into an outdoor night time canvas of art.[2]
During the 2015 festival, sites of interest were Central Park, Chatswood and the University of Sydney as well as around the CBD, Darling Harbour and The Rocks

TIDAL REED GARDEN

http://www.vividsydney.com/event/light/tidal-reed-garden

Tall feathery reeds glowing with gentle light line a wharf running at right angles to the Opera House. Swaying and bobbing with the movement of the water, the reeds send light dancing across the harbour’s rippling surface.
Tidal Reed Garden

When:
22 May – 08 Jun, 06:00 pm – Midnight
Price:
FREE
Location
Campbells Cove, Sydney NSW 2000

Colourful images of Sydney’s flora and fauna are projected onto Customs House, draping the stately sandstone columns and balconies with glowing vegetation and animal life.
Enchanted Sydney
FREE // Circular Quay // 22 May – 08 Jun, 06:00 pm – Midnight

Orbs of various sizes connected by a framework form an irregular domed structure that shines with gentle blue light. Within the orbs and connecting bars, sparks of light intensify and fade in reaction to the touch and movement of participants.

FREE // Circular Quay // 22 May – 08 Jun, 06:00 pm – Midnight

Arclight
FREE // The Rocks // 22 May – 08 Jun, 06:00 pm – Midnight

Dolly
FREE // Campbell’s Cove // 22 May – 08 Jun, 06:00 pm – Midnight

A huge Rococo pig adorned with flowers and filigree sits on an ornate platform. Around it, Rococo piglets stand within a square of four towering chairs decorated with flowers and curlicues.

FREE // The Rocks // 22 May – 08 Jun, 06:00 pm – Midnight

The darkness of a shipping container narrows to triangular mirrored space in which shifting colours and lights are reflected from all sides, creating an array of patterns stretching into the darkness.
Kaleidoscope
FREE // The Rocks // 22 May – 08 Jun, 06:00 pm – Midnight

Artist: Aura (Gioia Murray and Louise Jarvis)
Country: Australia

Tidal Reed Garden is a bed of artificially produced reeds that float along the line of a harbour wharf. At night the reeds become glowing, sculptural illuminations that cast dancing reflections on the water.

Each reed is shaped to mimic a natural water reed and are animated by the swell of the water, movements in the tide and wash from passing ferries.

Tidal Reed Garden celebrates the beauty and power of elements in nature. Artists Gioia Murray and Louise Jarvis’ approach to the work was developed through their ongoing interest in biomimicry – design that seeks to be sustainable by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies.

THIS EVENT HAPPENS IN CAMPBELL’S COVE
A small bay on the eastern shore of Sydney Cove, Campbell’s Cove is named after Robert Campbell, a Scottish merchant who arrived in Sydney in the late 1790s and established a highly successful import/export business operated out of storehouses and a jetty on its shores. See what else is happening in Campbell’s Cove

SPONSORS

Vivid Light Walk Contributor

auntyuta Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age 2 Comments June 7, 2015 2 Minutes

Queen’s Birthday Weekend in Australia in 2015

This weekend is a long weekend in Australia. It is the Queen’s Birthday Weekend. This means tomorrow, Monday, is going to be a public holiday.

Ice-Cream from MESSINA

This shop is in Sydney, not far from the Griffin Theatre. We went there yesterday for some ice-cream after the theatre matinee performance. We all love this ice-cream (gelato) very much!

Gelato de Messina! Homemade on the premises.

Peter took this photo of the four of us in front of the theatre. It is great for me to be able to remember this day that we spent with our two daughters and a grand-daughter.
One daughter took the following photo of us waiting at a bus-stop:

When we were in Melbourne towards the end of last year we had an excellent dinner at this
Maylasian Food Restaurant:

We knew Messina Ice-Cream from Sydney and were happy to find that there was a MESSINA Ice-Cream shop also in Melbourne. We went there at night time. This photo shows how popular it is:

And on another night we went for Haxtaburgers at this place which is opposite from MESSINA’S:

auntyuta Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age 7 Comments June 7, 2015June 7, 2015 1 Minute

Lies and the Truth

Today Peter and I were in the Griffin Theatre with two daughters and one grand-daughter. We saw the play THE HOUSE ON THE LAKE. The five of us went to a close by Indian Restaurant for a great lunch before the matinee.

http://www.griffintheatre.com.au/whats-on/the-house-on-the-lake/

THE HOUSE ON THE LAKE
BY AIDAN FENNESSY

A criminal lawyer with a cool head and a passion for logic, David wakes up to find himself confined to a small, sparsely furnished room, unable to remember what happened the day before. With the help of his doctor, David begins to coax memories out of the darkness, before the details of a terrible secret emerge.

Razor sharp and tourniquet tight, The House on the Lake is a psychological thriller so crafty it’s criminal. Mired deep in layers of deception, it’s a puzzle of a play certain to engage the intellect and assault the nervous system.

The House on the Lake is a twisting labyrinth of playwright Aidan Fennessy’s devising. Director Kim Hardwick leads the way through.

Commissioned by Black Swan State Theatre Company and developed with the assistance of Playwriting Australia.

I agree that this psychological thriller is quite an assault on the nervous system.
It deals with the problem of what to do when you are being lied to, and how difficult it can be to find out the truth.
Also what your reaction might be if you feel you are very seriously being attacked. How do you survive? Is it possible to survive?

Pictures courtesy of Griffin Theatre

auntyuta Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age 2 Comments June 6, 2015June 7, 2015 1 Minute

Barenboim on Beethoven

http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/227743811512/Barenboim-On-Beethoven

For the last few hours Peter and I have been watching this excellent program:

Barenboim on Beethoven. This is very much worth watching. Beethoven’s music is really for everyone. Daniel Barenboim with his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra makes Beethoven very accessible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West-Eastern_Divan_Orchestra

From Wikipedia:
“The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is a youth orchestra based in Seville, Spain, consisting of musicians from countries in the Middle East, of Egyptian, Iranian, Israeli, Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian and Spanish background.
It was founded in 1999 by the conductor Daniel Barenboim and academic Edward Said, and named after an anthology of poems by Goethe.
The Argentine-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and the late Palestinian-American academic Edward Said founded the orchestra in 1999, and named the ensemble after an anthology of poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The first orchestra workshop was in Weimar, Germany, in 1999, after the organisation had received over 200 applications from Arab music students. Maestro Barenboim has also expressed interest in musicians from Iran (a non-Arab country but in conflict with Israel) and allocating three chairs for Iranian musicians to play in the orchestra each year.
The orchestra under Maestro Barenboim, in the presence of President and Mrs. Giorgio Napolitano, performed for Pope Benedict XVI at the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo 11 July 2012, the abbot Saint Benedict of Nursia’s (the founder of the Benedictines) feast day, and thus the name day of the Pope.[3]
The West-Eastern Divan participated in the 9th Gwangju Biennale in 2012.
The orchestra, conducted by Barenboim, performed the complete Beethoven symphonic cycle at The Proms in July 2012 – the first time all nine symphonies were performed under a single conductor in a single Prom season since Henry Wood did so in 1942.
The aim of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is to promote understanding between Israelis and Palestinians and pave the way for a peaceful and fair solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Barenboim himself has spoken of the ensemble as follows:
“The Divan is not a love story, and it is not a peace story. It has very flatteringly been described as a project for peace. It isn’t. It’s not going to bring peace, whether you play well or not so well. The Divan was conceived as a project against ignorance. A project against the fact that it is absolutely essential for people to get to know the other, to understand what the other thinks and feels, without necessarily agreeing with it. I’m not trying to convert the Arab members of the Divan to the Israeli point of view, and [I’m] not trying to convince the Israelis to the Arab point of view. But I want to – and unfortunately I am alone in this now that Edward died a few years ago – …create a platform where the two sides can disagree and not resort to knives.”[
One of the young musicians of the orchestra reinforced this point:
“Barenboim is always saying his project is not political. But one of the really great things is that this is a political statement by both sides. It is more important not for people like myself, but for people to see that it is possible to sit down with Arab people and play. The orchestra is a human laboratory that can express to the whole world how to cope with the other.”[7]
Andalucia
The orchestra has performed around the world. It has an annual summer school in Seville. Since 2002, the Junta de Andalucía (Regional Government of Andalusia) and a private foundation have provided a base for the ensemble in Seville, Spain. Young musicians from Spain now also take part in the orchestra.
The West-Eastern Divan Workshop takes place during several weeks each summer in Andalucia. Once the working period is over, the concert tour of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra starts. The orchestra has been awarded several prizes since its creation, among them the Príncipe de Asturias concord award in 2002 for Said and Barenboim, and the Premium Imperiale awarded by the Japan Arts Association.
In 2004, the Barenboim-Said Foundation, based in Seville and financed by the Junta de Andalucía was established with the purpose of developing several education through music projects based on the principles of coexistence and dialogue promoted by Said and Barenboim. In addition to managing the orchestra, the Barenboim-Said Foundation assists with other projects such as the Academy of Orchestral Studies, the Musical Education in Palestine project and the Early Childhood Musical Education Project in Seville.

A film by Paul Smaczny about the orchestra, Knowledge is the Beginning, won the Emmy Award for best documentary related to arts of 2006. In 2007, the orchestra received the Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists. It has recorded for the Teldec label.[8] The current concertmaster is Michael Barenboim, the son of Daniel Barenboim.”

You might want to have a look at this documentary titled “Beethoven for all”.

Aired on 25 May 2015 on SBS ONE Expires on 8 June 2015, 3:00pm.

http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/11843139869/Beethoven-For-All-The-Documentary

auntyuta Diary, Video 8 Comments May 30, 2015 3 Minutes

Uta’s Diary, towards the End of May 2015

This picture we took when this cafe had just been opened. This was a few years ago. It took the place of a book shop. Not many book shops in our area have survived. Over the years we have been to this cafe a few times. We like their coffee. We also like their hot chocolate.

The other day we had lunch in this cafe before we went to a close by cinema to see THE WOMAN IN GOLD. This movie did grab me emotionally.

This movie did not get a very high rating. I would have rated it much higher. I did not find it boring at all. On the contrary. And I found all the actors very good.

Maria Altmann, an octogenarian Jewish refugee, takes on the Austrian government to recover artwork she believes rightfully belongs to her family.

Director: Simon Curtis
Writers: Alexi Kaye Campbell, E. Randol Schoenberg (life story), 1 more credit »
Stars: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Brühl

Biography
Maria Altmann was born on February 18, 1916 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary as Maria Viktoria Bloch-Bauer. She was an actress and writer, known for The Rape of Europa (2006), Woman in Gold (2015) and Adele’s Wish (2008). She was married to Friedrich Altmann. She died on February 7, 2011 in Cheviot Hills, California, USA.
Waged a seven-year legal battle against the Austrian government to recover five works by Gustav Klimt, commissioned by her uncle, which were seized by the Nazis when Austria was annexed in 1938, including two done of her aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer. She sold “Adele Bloch-Bauer I” (1907) to Ronald Lauder in 2006 for a then-record $135 million. The four other works brought $192.7 million at an auction later that year.
Played by Helen Mirren in Woman in Gold (2015).
After she moved to Los Angeles, her brother-in-law Bernhard Altmann sent her a cashmere sweater, not yet available in the United States, with a note: “See what you can do with this”. She sold the sweater to Kerr’s Department Store in Beverly Hills. The resulting demand for cashmere enabled her to start her own clothing business. Among her clients was Caroline Brown Tracy, mother of Spencer Tracy. Bernhard Altmann was forced to sign over his Vienna textile plant to the Nazis in 1938 in exchange for the release of his brother. Having immigrated to the United States in 1941, he added cashmere wool fiber to his New York City-based yarn trading company in 1947. He then re-launched his Vienna factory and opened a factory in Texas, undercutting Scottish manufacturers, which had the cashmere wool market cornered at that time.

DIGITAL CAMERA

Three years ago, in 2012, we took this winter picture of Lake Illawarra. Well, from next Monday on, the first of June, our winter season has started. But if you ask me, we’ve been in the midst of winter already for the last few weeks. The nights are dreadfully cold, and during the day it does not get very warm either.

Before I got up out of my warm bed this morning, I was planning in me head what I would cook today. I knew I still had half a cabbage and some carrots and sweet potatoes in the fridge. Also onions, ginger and eggs. Peter had one Kranski left and there was some nice sweet Muscato wine in the fridge. Later on I managed to make a lovely meal out of all this. It would have made a nice picture, especially topped with some fresh parsley!

Instead of the wine Peter preferred to have some water with some apple cider vinegar in it. The ginger pieces I cooked together with the the orange vegetables in some vegie broth. I took them out, cut them into very small pieces and added them to my meal on the plate since Peter does not care to have ginger pieces in his meal. But he had nicely fried Kranski sausages. And we had a fried egg each.

I found this meal very satisfactory. I rounded it off with an espresso coffee. Peter did not want any coffee, but he did the dishes. I had my coffee while I was wiping some of the dishes and putting them away. Peter is going to have some afternoon coffee and cake later on, while I am looking forward to have a pot of tea to warm me up in the afternoon.

Well, today seems to be a day, when it shows that Peter and I have sometimes different likes and dislikes. But I think this all right. As the French say: Chacun a son gout!

auntyuta Diary, Film Review, Life in Australia, Old Age 9 Comments May 30, 2015 3 Minutes

Sunday, 24th May, 2015

Lake Illawarra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aboriginal (Tharawal): various adaptions ofElouera, Eloura, or Allowrie; Illa, Wurra, orWarra meaning pleasant place near the sea, or, high place near the sea, or, white clay mountain^[1]

Illawarra Lake^[1]

Lake Illawarra, viewed from Mount Kembla, 2008.

Lake Illawarra

Location of Lake Illawarra in New South Wales

Location Illawarra, New South Wales

Primary inflows Macquarie Rivulet, Mullet Creek

Primary outflows Tom Thumb Entrance,Tasman Sea

Managing agency Lake Illawarra Authority

Lake Illawarra (Aboriginal Tharawal language: various adaptions ofElouera, Eloura, or Allowrie; Illa, Wurra, or Warra meaning pleasant place near the sea, or, high place near the sea, or, white clay mountain^[1]), an open and trained intermediate wave dominated barrier estuary^[3] or large coastal lagoon,^[1] is located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, situated about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Sydney, Australia.

The lake environment is administered by the Lake Illawarra Authority, a New South Wales statutory authority established pursuant to the Lake Illawarra Authority Act 1987 (NSW) with the aim of transforming the degraded waters and foreshores of Lake Illawarra into an attractive recreational and tourist resource.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Illawarra

Today, Sunday, Peter and I drove down to the lake (Lake Illawarra) and went there for a little walk. After a very cold night the midday sun was beautiful warming.

This picture was taken on Monday, 11th May 2015, near Sydney University when we went to a court hearing in Glebe.

On the 11th and on the 12th of May we went to the Coroner’s court hearing about the circumstances of our daughter’s death.

State Coroner’s Court of New South Wales

The State Coroner ensures that all deaths are properly investigated. If necessary, an inquest into the death is held. Coroners can also recommend measures to prevent future deaths.

An inquest is a court hearing where the Coroner considers evidence to determine the identity of the deceased and the date, place, manner and cause of death of the deceased. Read more about the steps involved in an inquest.

http://www.coroners.justice.nsw.gov.au/

auntyuta Diary 2 Comments May 24, 2015May 24, 2015 1 Minute

UTA’S DIARY

When I start getting a cold I immediately increase the amount of Vitamin C. I also take some Olive Leaf Extract. And I try to rest as much as possible. As far as I remember I still felt all right on Wednesday, the 6th of May when I went for a walk in the morning. Towards evening that day I started to shiver, the throat felt sore and all my limbs felt very heavy. I also sneezed a lot. So I started with the above treatment and retired to my nice warm bed. Still, I worried a bit, whether I would feel well enough to go to Wollongong early the following morning to keep the appointment with my specialist.

On Thursday Peter drove me to Wollongong for the 9 am appointment. I told the receptionist that I had a cold and weather it was still all right to see the doctor. It turned out, I was able to see the doctor who asked me in and then did all the required tests. I felt lucky that my nose had dried up, for some of the tests involved some stuff that went through my nose. The doctor happily told me that there was nothing wrong with me: I was free of any signs of cancer. He said it was close to four years now since I had my operation on the tongue. So in one year’s time I should come back for another examination. But this would be the last time that I had to come for check-ups. He said, that it was very unlikely that any lesions would come back five years after surgery.

Thereafter Peter drove me straight back home. Thursdays I usually go to a one hour Gentle Exercise Class. But on that Thursday I preferred to stay home to have a good rest. The following day I also cancelled the games afternoon with my lady friends. The following days I took great care to dress extra warmly. I saw to it that a small electric heater always stood close by to keep me warm. I was thinking that under no circumstances would I want to go anywhere where there was air-conditioning blowing on me!

By Monday, the 11th of May, I was well enough to go with Peter on the train to Sydney for the court hearing about the circumstances of Gaby’s death. On Tuesday, the 12th, there was another court hearing. Both days we were able to catch an early afternoon train back home. The people who talked to us in Sydney were all very friendly. We thought that as far as we were concerned this inquiry by the coroner went very well. The coroner as well as the assistant coroner, who talked to us a lot. were both woman. Also one of the testifying doctors was a woman.

The following Thursday Ayleen and I turned up for the Exercise Class. To my surprise there was no class that day. Somehow I had totally forgotten that on that day the Seniors Citizen Group had a late Mother’s Day luncheon at the club. So the previous Sunday had been Mother’s Day, that’s right. I felt actually well enough on that day to go with Peter to our daughter Monika’s place for afternoon coffee and cake. The place was full with all of Monika’s children as well as her partner Mark’s daughter and Mark’s mother and the mother of Mark’s deceased wife.

Apparently Mark had a hectic working week last week, and he ended up with a cold. Still he managed to come to the big birthday celebration at the German Club on Saturday, the 16th of May. That night he warned me several times not to get too close to him for he had a bit of a cold. I said to him not to worry, I already did have a cold the other week, and I was sure I would not get it again.

Our son Martin had booked a flight from Melbourne to Sydney to stay with us for 48 hours to celebrate his Dad’s 80th Birthday. He nearly missed his flight back to Melbourne on Sunday. But this is another story.

On Saturday most of the family came to our place in the afternoon for coffee and cake before we went to the German Club for dinner. Peter and Caroline made a few pictures on that occasion which I have in my computer now, and I can show some of them here:

Big Meal for Peter at the German Club.

Veal Schnitzel and dumplings for me.

Everyone could order what they felt like. For entrees there was Rollmops, or baked Camembert cheese or soup.
Most people got German beer from the tap. Ebony left soon after dinner with the two little darlings, our great-grandsons. There were later on 12 people left for the welcome drink, a nice sweet bubbly.

auntyuta Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age 6 Comments May 19, 2015May 16, 2023 3 Minutes

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