trees in backyard
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/furosemide-oral-tablet#about
On the 25 of June this year I was prescibed some furosemide tablets for there was a built up of fluid in my feet and legs.
“Furosemide works by helping your body get rid of excess salt and water. It does this by increasing the amount of urine your body makes. This helps lower your blood pressure as well as reduce swelling.” So it is a diuretic!
It is interesting to know that such drugs are available. I better remember it! 🙂
Dear Peter died on Saturday, the 12th of December 2020.
This year his anniversary is coming up on the 3rd Sunday of Advent!
Peter’s and my daughters were born on the following dates:
Monika, 5th of December 1958 in Düsseldorf, Germany
Caroline, 9th of December 1978 in Wollongong Hospital, NSW, Australia
We often celebrate Monika’s and Caroline’s birthdays together, choosing a date close to both birthdays. This year we have chosen to come together at my place on Sunday, the 12th of December! So several family members are going to come to my place for afternoon tea/coffee and some birthday cake next Sunday! 🙂 I am very much looking forward to this!
It is our tradition, to celebrate Christmas with all the family on Christmas Eve! So, all my family want to come this year to my place again! 🙂 We are usually more than 16 people for this kind of get-togethers! This is including four of my great-grandchildren aged 2, 5, 7 and 9! 🙂 I have two more great-grandchildren in Victoria. Unfortunately I have not seen these for quite a while. – – – Sadly, it is going to be the second Christmas without Peter. – – –
Secret Santa will be coming again this year. So, everyone gets only one present! However, I am sure there is going to be some very special nice food provided once more due to the combined effort of several women. I am probably going to make some potato salad again. A lot of people do like my salad! 🙂 And of course people bring along beer, wine and maybe some liquor as well as a variety of soft drinks. 🙂 (Mark is in the habit of drinking only Coca Cola when he knows, that he has to be driving home again.)
Our other custom at Christmas time is to make ‘Bunte Teller’ with Pfefferkuchen (gingerbread), nuts, special fruit and some sweets like for instance marzipan sweets and chocolates. 🙂
I hope the weather is going to be fine, so that we can stay outside a lot and make good use of the new deck and to be outside in the open a lot of the time. 🙂
Maybe some people are going to stay overnight again, that would mean, we could be able to cheer with plenty of nice drinks! 🙂
All the outside area on the three different sections of the house have been made usable recently. So there is plenty of room for people to spread out a bit. There are even two ramps for my rollator! Colourful electric lights have been installed, and there are also about half a dozen solar lights spread out over the ground as well as some new electric flash lights! 🙂
I hope, my son Martin will be able to come from Victoria, and that this time the borders are going to stay open. Martin told me, that he can stay only for a couple of nights, but that I am welcome to go back with him and his dog Millie to his place in Benalla. 🙂
I am looking forward to spend some great holidays in Benalla! 🙂
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:
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.
auntyutaVideo2 Comments 1 MinuteEdit”Max Raabe: Eine Nacht in Berlin”
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.
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
auntyutaArticle, Copy, VideoLeave a comment 1 MinuteEdit”Concentration Camp Survivors”
https://patchworkmomma.wordpress.com/manifest20-prompts/
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”
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)”
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”
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?”
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″
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”
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”
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/
“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.
doesitevenmatter3Edit
auntyutaEditauntyutaCopy, Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age, Uncategorized2 Comments 3 MinutesEdit”Copy of Uta’s Diary from August, 2019″
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:
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”
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″
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″
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”
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:”
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″
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”
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”
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:
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”
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:
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”
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:
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”
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
Last year I turned eighty. What a special birthday it was! Another year is gone. I consider myself to be at an ‘advanced’ age. Still, sometimes I seem to forget about this a little bit. But more about this later. First of all I would like to insert a few pictures that we took yesterday, on Sunday the 20th September. Three of our friends joined us for lunch at the Treasure Court Restaurant of the Dapto Leagues Club:
http://www.daptoleagues.com.au/treasure-court/
.
All in all our lunch lasted for well over three hours. We were sitting and talking over afternoon coffee for quite some time. It was very stimulating, this talk with friends our age. We had so much to talk about! When we left the club, we showed our friends our new second hand car. They were very impressed because it looks like new. I now hope it is going to drive like new for a few years, for this ‘new’ car is already eleven years old!
It did not take us long to make up our mind to buy this car. Two days later (Thursday the 10th) we could already pick it up. In the meantime we already took it to the highlands for a drive. Peter had no problem to drive with it up and down MacQuarie Pass. It has a 2 litre engine compared with our old, 15 year old, car that has only a 1,3 litre engine!
Yesterday we told every one, we would go today to a funeral at Rookwood Cemetery. The funeral is to be in the Catholic section of the cemetery. Susan, Mila’s daughter, rang us the other day that her mother had died. I think she was 89 and had been rather sick for quite some time in a nursing home. We remember Mila well. She used to be our neighbour quite a few years ago. After she moved in with her daughter in Sydney, she sometimes came with a pensioners’ group for visits to the Dapto Leagues Club, where we could meet up with her.
Initially I really thought we would be able to make it to today’s funeral. Alas, Peter and I had a very short night. We both woke up much too early and just could not go back to sleep. We had been thinking of going to Merrylands as well as to Lidcombe to the cemetery. The funeral is to be at 2 pm. Peter pointed out that we could not go back to Susan’s place after the funeral for this would mean we would be getting home far too late.
Anyhow, we decided now, all in all it would be too much of a hassle for us. There are reason, why we should be going to Merrylands one day. But I think we have to do it on a day when we have nothing else planned. I reckon for younger people it is easier to plan to do several things in one day. We are just a bit too old for all this. I feel better when we can do everything at a leisurely pace and don’t have to stress ourselves out too much.
Anyhow, we decided to stay in our local area today to have a quiet, relaxing day – – –
For sure it is good to have good neighbours. I have about half a dozen extremely friendly neighbours, that are all well past 70. First of all there are two very friendly women who live with their very friendly partners of the opposite sex! And then there are two single widowed women that have been widowed for ages, and both of them have been my very good friends for nearly twenty years! However, we visit each other on average only about once a week.
Myself, having been widowed for close to one year now, I still often feel quite lonely. The other people in the rest of the houses I know only casually: One is a 92 year old woman, and all the others are much younger and out working every day of the week. Ayleen, this 92 year old very friendly woman, has her daughter living just around the corner.
Ayleen and I, we are the only people in the complex who do not have a car, for we don’t drive. I usually get outside help when I need some shopping done or when I have to go somewhere, or I call a taxi.
My two daughters are still full time workers and don’t live very close. However they are there, when I need them. My son, who lives in Victoria, is a lot of the time not available. So, I try to fend as much as possible on my own. Four hours help per week is provided by the government so that I can stay in my own home. Yes, I am lucky, that so far, being already 87, I have managed to stay in my own home and out of hospital. None the less, it is a rather lonely life, especially during lockdowns. And so far I have not been able to use public transport . . . .
When my husband was still alive, we would usually go on a little holiday at least twice a year. I wished I could go on a holiday now. Who wants to come with me? . . . .
Peter and I had often guests staying with us. Who wants to be my guest now for a bit more than a couple of hours or so? . . .
So, today is the 23rd of November 2021. In one month we are going to be very close to Christmas. But even before Christmas we are going to have a few parties with family and friends. This is what I assume. I can’t wait! 🙂 It is such a good feeling that soon I may be surrounded by a lot of people I can relate too and talk to! And we can hug each other, and share nice food and drinks, and listen to enjoyable music, and maybe even do a bit of dancing! 🙂
I also hope that soon I can do a little bit of travelling again; that I can pend a beautiful little holiday somewhere, and preferably in a bit of company! 🙂
Last week I had lost my vaccination certificate. I have no idea, how this could have happened! Such a bugger! But I had a good idea yesterday. Summah, my home help was me yesterday from 10 am to 12 am. So I asked her to drive me to the pharmacy where they had done my vaccination. The people at the pharmacy were very friendly and helped me out by printing out another certificate for me. I was so relieved! We went to a little cafe afterwards, where they promptly asked for my certificate! So good, that I could produce it then and there. By the time we left the cafe it was already a bit after 11. But ALDI was not far away, so we could still do some shopping there. I like having Summah around. She is really good to me. 🙂
I used to like reading a lot of books. To my regret, with deteriorating eyesight this has become less and less. Recently I lost my strong reading glasses, However, I do get some new even stronger ones. I can pick them up tomorrow. Hopefully, having new glasses is going to encourage me, to take up some book reading again.
So, instead of reading books, I seem to have been watching quite a bit additional TV. During the week I like to watch Afternoon Briefing on the ABC News Channel, and then I switch over to ABC TV and watch Grand Designs and The DRUM.
Yesterday, Sunday, November 14, I watched a bit of Insiders and Songs of Praise and Landline and Gardening Australia, as well as Rick Stein’s Secret France.
In the evening I caught a bit of Death in Paradise and then I wanted to watch Total Control. But unfortunately I was so tired that I soon went to sleep saw not much of that program yet. I have to catch up on it sometime on IView.
I would like to read up a lot on the following items about the COP 26 Summit on Climate Change:
COP26 & Climate Change
auntyutaDiary, Life in Australia, Old Age January 22, 2016 1 Minute
Today we had another look at Berkelouw’s Book Barn after we had not visited it for many years. It was a very good place to meet up again with Gerard and Helvi.
In one of Berkelouw’s pamphlets it says:
WE BUY BOOKS AND PRINTS IN LARGE LOTS OR SMALL
The Book Barn at Berrima is the first of its kind in Australia and responds to the demand of the reading public for inexpensive fine quality secondhand books . . . . ”
After not having visited the Book Barn for a number of years, we were astounded, how the facilities have improved. There is a huge restaurant area as well as a well established winery and a magnificent place for wine tasting!
I very much liked the pizza and the salad with flowers for lunch and later on a glass of wine at the cellar door.
The poplars that lead to the book barn look as healthy as ever!
bookbarn@berkelouw.com.au
On the way home we had a quick stop at Robertson Pie Shop.
And then we had to drive down MacQuarie Pass in dense fog and rain!
All the way home it rained steadily. Luckily the rain was not as heavy as it had been the day before. Last night we had some flooding in our home. When we arrived home today, there was still a bit of rain but thankfully no more flooding. Also after yesterday’s heat-wave with temperatures well over 35C, it is very much cooler today. Australia Day is coming up next Tuesday. Already today, Friday, a lot of traffic was building up for people going South to have a long holiday weekend.
The End of the Year 2012December 28, 2012In “Diary”
Tuesday, 9/11/2021November 9, 2021In “Diary”
This is a Blog Peter published on 12/10/2017October 8, 2021In “Life in Australia”
Edit”A beautiful Day at BERKELOUW’s Book Barn, 22nd January 2016″
The C-Sweet EditThe salad looks delicious – what a nice little surprise to find all the upgrades to the little bookshop, including of course, the wine bar!!! It’s hard to believe the fog/rain photo was taken the same day.Replyauntyuta EditThanks for commenting, C. Berkelouw Books are well established. They still have about eight book stores in NSW, and one in Queensland. Apart from secondhand books they also sell a few newly published books..To us it is a well known fact that towards the top of the pass a lot of fog can develop. Luckily the pass is well signed all the way. Peter, my husband, is 80, but he has long practice negotiating along the pass, that is, there were times when his work required that he drove up and down the pass on a daily basis. So I am proud to say, that he hasn’t lost his touch yet and drove confidently around all the bends in fog and rain! ReplyThe C-Sweet Editawesome! how was the wine?auntyuta EditI did choose Riesling. They served it beautifully chilled. The grapes for this wine came from their own estate.
gerard oosterman EditWe enjoyed sharing food and wine too at Berkelouw’s. Uta. We drank some of their Semillon Blanc last night. We had a great day and pleased Peter still manages all those S bends down the Pass.Reply
Debra EditOh my goodness! I would love the Book Barn. This is my kind of place for sure. I have very little self-control when given an excellent used book shop, and this one really appeals to me. It’s probably good I don’t live nearby. LOL!Replyauntyuta EditWe’ve been collecting books for over 60 years, Debra. To keep too many books if the space is limited, can be overwhelming. Right now, we are in the process of throwing some books out. In future we want to resist the temptation to buy more and more books. Some books we simply cannot let go, and eventually we’ll probably buy a few more books that we think are of special value. You are right, the Book Barn is the place to go to, to look for excellent used books.Everyone knew already in March 2020 that Peter’s cancer was well advanced. So, it was only a matter of time, when his bladder cancer would spread into other areas.
By June 2020 the head oncologist at the hospital advised Peter, to bring his affairs in order. It looked to him, that the cancer had already spread to his bones. A few months later a nuclear test was done, that showed without doubt that the cancer had well and truly spread to his bones, which meant then, that in all probability Peter would have only a very short time to live anymore. It was obvious, that he was in the last stages of cancer and so was in need of some palliative care. . . . Soon, it was organised to give him palliative care at home with adequate pain reducing medication administered by Hospital staff who came to our home at scheduled times. To make the total care possible, quite a few family members were involved in helping to give this, plus we did get some subsidised respite care.
I would say, very often it was very difficult work for all the family. For sure it took a lot out of them, whereas overall I, the 86 year old wife, had not to do all that much physical work in looking after Peter. It was so amazing, how all the children did very lovingly look after their Dad! Also there was a constant stream of visitors by other family members, and a lot of friends were showing that they cared for him very much.
Somehow, all of us had finally to be prepared that is was highly unlikely that Peter would still be alive by Christmas. This prediction was close enough: Peter died on the 12th of the 12th 2020 and was cremated on the 21st of December 2020, our 64th Wedding Anniversary!
But now back to March 2020. By that time, Peter had enormous kidney pain. A solution was found, to drain the liquid around the kidney and his heart: A stent was inserted by an urology team. The stent went from the kidney to the bladder. The stent did its job quite well for a while. However we knew, the stent would have to be renewed after a few months. Finally this was done in August 2020.
On my birthday, on the 21st of September, Peter could hardly walk. I think he realised then that he probably would not last much longer. But somehow he may still have been in a state of denial. And I believe, one of our daughters and her husband were both in a state of denial too. The way they acted and looked after him once he did get palliative care showed to me a denial of very closely impending death.
I, on the other hand, I was already in 2018 convinced, that either his bad heart or his cancer would be the cause of his death. For instance, once the BCG treatment (Bladder cancer: What to know about BCG treatment)
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324385#about
was stopped, there was not much left, that could be done. It was said, that because of his heart trouble, it was not possible for Peter to survive a five hour bladder operation!
So Peter’s cancerous bladder could not be removed. That meant, Peter’s cancer would sooner or later be spreading outside. . . .There was just no denying it!
I think my sadness started already in 2016, when Peter first found out about the tumour in his bladder. I did not want him to die before me: He would have been able to cope without me so much better than I can cope now without him!
I was sad, that Peter developed a terminal sickness, of course I was sad. But for sure I was not in denial that eventually the sickness turned out to be terminal. I was just grateful, that we could still have a few good years together, for Peter was most of the time still pretty active and not in severe pain since he was always well medicated.
Yes, there was sadness, but we were also grateful that we were still able to enjoy a lot of togetherness! Really, most of the time life seemed to be still quite enjoyable . . . .
Come to think of it, the five stages of grief somehow may not have effected my life so utterly, since we had such an early warning, and I was never in denial of the situation and learned to accept it early on. The grief may have effected our children much more. So, I would like to know, how I can help my children!
Very recently I found out, that as early as March 2020 our son was extremely depressed and in tears about the condition of his Dad. This was the time when his wife decided she did not want to see him anymore. I think she had not seen his tears, but she saw his neighbour who had recently moved into the house next door. This neighbour is a very compassionate woman and willing to be a good friend to Martin, however she is due for some rehabilitation for she drinks too much. She keeps telling over and over again, that she had quite a lot of bad experiences and suffering, partly because of her mother.
This neighbour is divorced. However she has a very lovely daughter from an earlier relationship. The daughter is divorced too and has a new partner, she also has a very good job. The neighbour’s 27 year old daughter has a sweet little four year old daughter and shares that little girl with her ex-husband. And when she is feeling well enough, dear grandma can look after the little one for a couple of nights as well. I met the whole family. They are all very nice.
My son lives in Victoria and is already retired, whereas my two daughters still work full-time. The daughters live in NSW both of them close enough for fairly regular visits, and one of the granddaughters comes to help too, whenever her work schedule allows for it.
So, the son lives some 600km away in Victoria. But he’s come to visit quite often whenever he was needed for something or other and when it was possible to visit without having to go into quarantine!auntyutaArticle, Copy, Diary, Life in Australia, Old Age10 Comments 5 MinutesEdit”About Grieving”
We are in the midst of HOLY WEEK 2021. So tomorrow is GOOD FRIDAY, a holiday. Sitting in front of my house in the early morning sun – this is what I am looking forward to for tomorrow.
I am not looking forward to asking someone for a lift to the MEDICAL CENTRE. Do I really need a change of the dressing on my lower leg? We’ll see.
Sitting in the sun. This is all I am longing for . . . .
Last Sunday I returned from my two weeks holiday at my son’s place in Victoria. With the help of one daughter and one granddaughter I was able to go to the MEDICAL CENTRE on Monday and on Wednesday. I was able to use the ROLLATOR, which was really a great help. Right now, I do not feel confident to walk with my walking stick!
And anyway, I get some more visitors on EASTER SUNDAY. This is in only two more days!
I wonder whether I can adjust to be living totally on my own. My brother reckons, I sound alert on the phone, Then what about my mobility? Has it become better or worse? I would say unfortunately at present it is a lot of the time quite bad. But maybe this has to do with this terrible infection I had in my leg. And this infection may also have to do with my constant tiredness.
Yes, always feeling tired. However when my brother rang from Berlin, my tiredness soon became less and less. After a while it felt good talking to him and his wife.
I like living in my own home. Every Thursday I get two hours home help. There are a lot of plans, that I should get some more help in. Strangely, this makes me feel even more dependent!
Is this kind of dependency really better than living in an AGE CARE HOME? Living in such a home, how would that make me feel?
Maybe I should look into some kind of HOSTEL type accommodation? What a HOSTEL is like, I described in a blog I wrote many years ago.
I had a friend, who lived in a HOSTEL for many years. She died before she needed to be transferred to a NURSING HOME. I think, she was very lucky in this regard. She was 93 when she died.
Well, this was 17 years ago. Maybe what used to be called HOSTEL is now being called AGE CARE HOME. Why then do I have such a horror of ending up in an AGE CARE HOME?
It was acknowledged some time ago. that the house I live in needs a lot of changes and renovations, especially the outside area. I think it would be increasingly difficult for me to look after it even with some extra home help.
Why can’t I just organise everything myself? The two weeks away from home were good for me. I discussed with my son and his friendly neighbour that it would be good for me to join a SENIOR’S CITIZENS CLUB that organises outings and trips to holiday destinations. But since we are not out of the woods yet with COVID 19 maybe this is not such a good idea. Should I just stay as much as possible totally on my own?
What can I still do? I can still shower and dress myself, even if it takes a long time. I can still go for slow walks with my rollator. I have often trouble with my eyesight. However, I can still do some things on the computer and I enjoy some TV programs and listening to music. When I can get hold of a shopping trolley, I can still do my own shopping. I love cooking (mainly vegetarian meals), I have a good appetite and I do not mind doing the dishes. I definitely can do the dishes. I can do my personal washing. The home help on Thursdays hangs out the bigger washing for me and does a lot of the cleaning and sometimes drives me to the shops.
Recently some friends gave me a lift to go to Mass. But I have not contacted them yet since my return from Victoria. A while ago I took up joining my friends again for our Friday afternoon games: Scrabble and Rummy Cub. Well, of course for the last two weeks I was away, and this week on GGOD FRIDAY there won’t be any games.
For the next few days I’ll be sitting as much as possible outside to enjoy some sun, and maybe I can do a bit of walking too with my rollator. If I get sick of being by myself for every meal, I can walk with my rollator across the road to the bowling Club for some lunch. I do like their prawn cutlets!
My Life with Peter and without PeterAugust 31, 2021In “Diary”
About GrievingApril 2, 2021In “Articles”
Diary, End of February 2021February 22, 2021In “Diary”Posted byauntyutaPosted incopy, Diary, Life in Australia, Memory, Old AgeEdit
Auntie, Sister. Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, Mother and Widowed Wife of German Descent. I’ve lived in Australia since 1959 together with my husband Peter. We had four children, eight grandchildren and now six great-grandchildren. I started blogging because I wanted to publish some of my childhood memories. I am blogging now also some of my other memories. I like to publish some photos too, as well as a little bit of a diary from the present time. Occasionally I publish a story with a bit of fiction in it. Peter, my husband, used to publish some of his stories under berlioz1935.wordpress.com View more posts
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The Virus and our Daughter Gaby
AuntyUta 