New South Wales Road Photo Gallery: National Route 1 (Mount Ousley Road)

http://www.expressway.online/oldsite/photogallery/roads/nsw/numbered/nr1/mtousleyrd/index.htm

Mount Ousley Road is the controlled access road that forms the link between the north and south sections of the F6 Southern Freeway. It also serves as the main route up/down the Illawarra Escarpment and the major entrance to Wollongong.

Mount Ousley Road was constructed as a defence route during the 1940’s to provide an easier route up and down the Illawarra Escarpment than the existing Bulli Pass and Mount Keira routes, and Mount Ousley Road was connected to the F6 at Gwynneville in March 1964.

Length:
16 km

 

Uta’s Diary from 2014/03/18 about Cataract Operations

On the 18th of March 2014, that is six years ago I published the following:

https://auntyuta.com/2014/03/18/utas-diary-3/

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These pictures were taken by daughter Caroline this morning while we were waiting for Peter to come out of surgery. Caroline took the pictures with her phone. I had forgotten my camera. Still, I looked around taking some pictures in my mind. The tree I was touching in the above pictures looked marvellous. It was really smooth to the touch.

Peter’s cataract operation went well. After a couple of hours he was allowed to go home. It was good that Caroline could drive us. Peter has to wear his eye-patch till seven 0’clock tomorrow morning. The patch starts irritating him a lot. He keeps having the feeling that he wants to take it off. At the moment he has been lying down a bit trying to catch up on some sleep.

While we were waiting for Peter, we were able to spend a bit of time in the sun in the hospital grounds. It was a beautiful sunny morning. The older I get the more I love spending time in the sun. I have been reading lately a lot on the benefits of sunshine in connection with the need for Vitamin D. My favourite page on Vitamin D right now is this one:

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/how-do-i-get-the-vitamin-d-my-body-needs/

On the 24th of March 2014 Peter made the followig comment:

“The operation was on Tuesday. All went smoothly and I have no complain regarding the procedure. Next day when the dressing came off I thought I was in London experiencing the fog there. There was no vision in the eye. Luckily I have the other one. The doctor told me this sometimes happens when the patient has glaucoma (which I have). She gave me some tablets to bring the pressure down in the eye. Come back on Friday. Yesterday after two days of taking the tablets I started to see Daisy Duck. She is hanging on the wall in our toilet making sure people don’t misbehave. I call it now doing the “Daisy Test”. At first I could not see her at all we my brand new reconditioned eye. But yesterday afternoon she appeared, if ever so faint, out of the fog.

Last night I went to bed hoping for a further improvement. But in the morning it was all foggy again and Daisy wasn’t to been seen anywhere. Perhaps I used up my power of vision during my REM periods during sleep when I was able to see colourful flowers and bushes.

This morning it was back to my Ophthalmologist. She was happy with the progress I had made (did I ?) and she smiled with happiness as she reported, the pressure in my eye has gone done to “9”. Her smile and friendliness is so generous that I would forgive her losing my eyesight. But, she said, nothing to worry about, stop taking the tablets, increase one of the drops from one to six times a day and come back in five weeks – unless, of course, my eyesight has not improved by Tuesday then she wants me back next week. On questioning her she assured me, that the operation was a full success only my eye is a bit swollen and she is sure all will return to normal. Meantime I run to to the toilet more often and check whether Daisy Duck is appearing out of the fog.”

I wrote on 22nd of March 2014:

“Because of ‘macular hole’ I had an operation in Jan.2001. I had no vision in my left eye before the operation. Sadly the operation made no difference. Apart from having no clear vision in my left eye, I do have cataracts in it now as well. I was told I could have an operation for the cataracts. So far I declined. I was of the opinion since I cannot see with my left eye anyway, the removal of the cataracts would not make much difference. But I am not quite certain about this. Maybe my side vision could be improved with the operation? This is why I might reconsider.”

Now, six years later, I am doubtful whether I should agree to a cataract operation on my ‘good’ right eye. Of course my left eye is still totally blind. So the cataract on this blind eye does not worry me. But for some time now I have been told, that I should have a cataract operation on my ‘good’ right eye. However with glasses I can still see enough with my right eye! So I am very reluctant to undergo an operation. If this cataract on my right eye actually leads to blindness, I would of course like to have this operation, but I think for as long as I can still see enough, I am very reluctant to have an operation. I am told, there is very little risk that the operation may cause a problem to my eyesight. But even if there is only very little risk, I rather not have the operation, since I have no indication that my eyesight has in any way deteriorated during the last few years. I can still read and write and watch television. With glasses, of course. But isn’t that enough?

 

I wrote on the 24th of March 2014:

“To constantly have to remember so many different eyedrops to take at different times I would say is quite a struggle for Peter. He puts the bottles in a certain order. If he has forgotten one bottle he can see it for then it  stands in line still. Once he has finished with the eyedrop, he puts the bottle in a different place . . . .”

Morning and night Peter is still being kept busy with all these eyedrops!

Black Forest Cake for Easter 2013

I cannot help myself, going through some more old posts, I just like to republish for instance this one from Easter 2013: This was seven years ago!

I wrote the following on Easter Monday 2013:

It was great to see the family over Easter. It’s Easter Monday today, another holiday. Today Peter and I are on our own again. We took some pictures yesterday with our lovely eight months old great-grandson Lucas and the whole family while they were at our place. We had Black Forest Cake. Baby Lucas had a taste of it too and liked it! He had his bottle, sitting upright and holding the bottle all by himself. He was keen to finish it right to the last drop!

Peter and I might go for a drive later on. For lunch we are going to have just left-overs from yesterday. We had yesterday a very colourful lunch. Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of my lunch-plate. However it definitely looked very colourful. There was “Hackbraten” (Meatloaf!) with gravy and champignons, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage and boiled potatoes. Also a glass of beer with it. It’s such a simple meal but everyone liked it. We had Caroline and Matthew for lunch with us. Later on all the others arrived for afternoon coffee and cake and a little welcome drink. We were ten adults plus Baby Lucas. In about two weeks we are going to spend some time with our family in Melbourne.

Our drive to Melbourne in a rented car is going to be a great event for us. We don’t drive straight to Melbourne but have a few overnight stops on the way to see a bit of the country. We are very much looking forward to this.

Peter’s sister Ilse writes this is going to be an unforgettable Easter for them for there’s still snow all over Berlin. The asparagus farmers in the area fear the worst for their crops. It’s just too cold to grow anything. Large parts of Europe are still in the grip of winter. How much they long for warmer days and a bit of sunshine!

We had plenty of chocolate Easter eggs. I helped myself to quite a few and loved them!

A few days later I was able to publish some Easter photos from 2013:

 

Black Forest Cake

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Finally I am able to show you our lovely Black Forest Cake that we had for Easter Sunday. Peter said this morning something about our router being quite old and the modem being even older. So he went today, bought a new modem/router, all in one, connected it and voila, now we can upload pictures again. What a relief!

So for good measure I include now some more pictures from Easter Sunday.

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Little Lucas, our baby great-grandson, was allowed a taste of that delicious Black Forest Cake. He loved it and later on licked the spoon! He also loved to drink out of his bottle.

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We all love little Lucas very much.

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For breakfast I had hard boiled egg with a garnish of salmon.

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Here are a few more of Easter Sunday’s pictures which I only just found in the files when I looked a bit more. There is a picture with Grandma Monika in the background holding little Lucas. In one of the other photos you see Ryan, the dad of Lucas. The brother of Ryan is at the table too but cannot be seen properly. Sorry, Troy, that I didn’t catch you properly.

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Easter Sunday 2020 – Uta’s Diary

Easter 2020. The Coronavirus is all over the world. Self isolation applies to most people that are not working, especially the elderly people. This is an Easter in self isolation for Peter and myself.

On Easter Saturday we went to ALDI. They had plenty of Easter eggs left. We bought a few things for decoration. I wanted our breakfast table on Easter Sunday to look a bit like Easter, take a few pictures and publish them.

So today I did download these pictures that I took a couple of days ago on Easter  Sunday. I found a candle to light and I found a flower in our backyard to decorate the table with. Peter and I we each had two soft boiled eggs for breakfast. We also had Filter Coffee. And some honey with our bread.

We also had a good lunch with beef patties and vegetables. For desert Peter preferred sitting in his easy chair at the small table. The easy chair keeps his back pain in check! The desert included some fresh raspberries. There was also red wine.

We still had some Christmas stollen in the freezer and had it defrosted for Easter. So we liked a slice of the stollen with some afternoon tea on Easter Sunday. It was really quite yummy cake!

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This bag with the little Easter eggs found its way to the frontyard of a neighbouring place where two little girls live!

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Maybe tomorrow, Wednesday, Monika can stop at our place for a little while on her way home from work. So I might have a chance to give her the above eggs. I hope she likes these! These little Easter bunnies I want to keep for when hopefully the great-grandkids can come and visit again!

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It has been many weeks now since we could see any of our great-grandchildren!

They are not allowed near us because of the Coronavirus! Social distancing has to be adhered to. We do have to stick to this. So any Easter egg hunting is out of the question this year for kids that do not live in our neighbourhood!

Last year we saw Carter, Alexander and Lucas in Unanderra a few days before Easter:

 

 

Gratitude Bell and Cascades Walk

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On Saturday, the 2nd of March 2019 Peter and I did walk up to the NAN TIEN GRATITUDE BELL. This bell is being chimed in gratitude for our ancestors. I love the sound of this bell. It travels far across the surrounding country.

The walk was quite exhausting for us oldies. But we enjoyed it. We walked slowly and took frequent rests. Later on we met up with our granddaughter and her friend at the Nan Tien Tea rooms. We were happy that they had come from Newcastle to visit us for the weekend. Son Martin had also come for a weekend visit from Benalla in Victoria and was happy that he could meet up with his daughter.

Saturday night we went for dinner to the Dapto Leagues Club where we met up with our daughter Monika and a lot of her family. The next day, on Sunday, we went with our visitors to the foot of Macquarie Pass for a little walk called the Cascades Walk.

 

 

https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5303939/video-tour-of-illawarras-best-waterfall-walk-for-beginners-and-kids/

 

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I took this picture while Peter holds my walking stick!

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I wrote in a comment on the 12th of March 2019 the following:

. . . to be reminded of our ancestors is always special to us.
A week later, on Sunday (March 10) we had another beautiful day with Caroline, Matthew and Matthew’s Mum. It was a lovely late summer day and we all went to the Port Kembla Swimming Centre. Later on we had a great lunch at our place.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Port+Kembla+swimming&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi3uuOwgfzgAhWCj-YKHU1eAp0QsAR6BAgEEAE&biw=1229&bih=603

Om the 13th of March 2019 I wrote in a comment:

We find that early in the morning it is never too warm to go for a little walk, that is we walk for a little bit every morning before breakfast. I take only about 4 or 5 minutes to walk to my favourite trees in the park behind our complex of villas. Peter and I usually leave our place together. I do walk very slowly just to stretch my legs a bit. Walking back home I can usually walk a bit faster. Peter uses some spray on his tongue that helps his breathing. He aims to walk straight away at a faster pace for 8 minutes. He walks quite a bit faster than I walk. I watch him walking in the park in the distance. On the way back, when he passes me, he calls out (just for fun!) Good Morning! And I call back: Good Morning! The whole park area feels to me very private, meaning even if I owned the whole area, I could not make any better use of it than walking there for a few minutes every morning! These days the sun comes up later and later. So often we miss out on some sun when we walk early in the moring. However, I love the mornings, when the sun does shine through the trees! When daylight saving is finally finished, the sun will be up a little bit earlier again. 🙂

Here is another comment I made on the 12th of March 2019:

. . . we had two beuatiful walks on that weekend, one on Saturday and another one on Sunday. The best thing was that some family took us to these beautiful places. 🙂
Since Peter and I are very elderly, we went at our own pace, while the others could roam about at their much faster pace. 🙂

https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5303939/video-tour-of-illawarras-best-waterfall-walk-for-beginners-and-kids/

 

 

 

This is actually the same walk that is mentioned in this post:

https://auntyuta.com/2020/04/12/easter-2015/

I think I was very brave last year to venture on this walk with Peter. When I started walking I knew I could not very well have made it as far as to the waterfall. The others were of course much too fast for me. I was grateful that Peter stayed with me. When the others returned, we took a path that goes right back to that large meadow at the entrance. Peter chose then to walk ahead with the others towards the meadow. However I did get some support from a younger very fit person. I think she thought nothing of  it giving me a helping hand. I was so grateful for that!

Easter 2016

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Lucas looked around in our backyard and called it a “forest”. He loved running from the side gate on the south side of the house back to the table on the north side. He kept running, and running, and running with little Alexander always following him. That was after they had been looking for Easter eggs. Alexander was happy, when he found just one little egg. He did eat it straight away and let his big brother look for all the other eggs!

Our Granddaughter Natasha, the boys’ Aunty,  took some pictures of her Nephews while sitting at the table with them.

Some weeks ago we went to the Bulli markets, where Peter bought some gelato. Daughter Caroline took some pictures of Peter buying the gelato and of me trying to take a picture of it. I also took a picture of Caroline walking towards us.

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Easter 2015

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We were lucky yesterday, on Easter Sunday: There was beautiful sunshine all day after a lot of rain during the previous days. Early in the morning we went with Caroline and Matthew to the bottom of Macquarie Pass. It was easy parking there. At the other end of this beautiful green grass area is a path that leads to a waterfall. Everyone wanted to go on that walk to the waterfall. They all said I should come too. But I decided against it. I thought the path might be too slippery for me. I did not want to risk it. I had taken a picnic rug along and made myself comfortable near a table with bench. Peter took this picture of me:

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I thought it was very pleasant to sit for about an hour in the morning sun. I did not mind this at all while the others disappeared to walk to the waterfall. All the following pictures Peter did bring back from their walk.

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In preparation for breakfast . . .
In preparation for breakfast . . .

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For breakfast we had filter coffee, boiled eggs, warm bread rolls out of the oven, as well as some orange juice.
After breakfast at eight we left for the drive to the bottom of Macquarie Pass from where Peter, Caroline and Matthew went on their nice little walk to the waterfall while I stayed outside in the beautiful, warming sun. Towards 11 o’clock we were on the way back home. Matthew was driving. He stopped on the way at a Pie shop in Dapto that was open! Several pieces of cake and a few pies were purchased.

So at eleven at was time for us to have our morning tea and to eat some of the things from the Pie shop. For lunch we had to wait quite a while for Monika and her family were a bit late in arriving. All in all we expected six additional persons for lunch.

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Monika came in her car. She has a special child’s seat in her car. Her daughters Tash and Krystal came along too, as well as Tiana, the daughter of Mark. Krystal and Tiana are university students, whereas Tash has a job with the Postal Service. Tash is going to have an engagement celebration this coming Saturday. Krystal turned 18 on Easter Sunday. She had a birthday party the night before her birthday. She started university at the start of this year when she was not even 18 yet. Monica’s daughter Roxy did not come yesterday. But we are going to see her for sure at Tash’s party next Saturday. This is also when we are going to see Troy as well as Ryan and Ebony with their two little sons. It was so lovely that we could see Lucas already yesterday. Tiana kept carrying him. She said he was so cuddly. He did feel a bit tired for a while after they arrived. I think he had already seen Ebony’s parents in the morning and then he was at grandma Monika’s place  for a while. After lunch Lucas went outside for some egg hunting. Everybody watched him as he was doing this! Tash and I took pictures.

Back to lunch now. Caroline and Matthew had earlier baked the leg of lamb.  We had bought this meat, 2.7 kg of it,  at Aldi’s the morning after Peter’s eye op.  It only needed heating. Matthew sliced it. I had cooked some red cabbage the previous day. This also needed just some heating up. Caroline cooked green beans and sweat potatoes. Some other potatoes were baked in the oven together with the meat. Caroline filled up a jug with tap water and set the table with this jug, glasses, plates and cutlery. Peter sat up some extra chairs around the table. I think all I had done was to cut the sweat potatoes and to help with the tablecloth. I also took a few pictures of the lunch table.

In between I had another turn of rapid heartbeat. So I stretched out a bit on the sofa to calm down. A few times I did get a bit short of breath. When this happens, I know, I have to take a rest. I am always worried, others might think, I am just lazy! Anyhow, here are the lunch pictures now;

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I served myself only vegies, not meat for me please.
I served myself only vegies, not meat for me please.
Lucas had no problem with counting all this eggs in his basket.
Lucas had no problem with counting all this eggs in his basket.

Yes, he knew at every stage how many eggs there were in the basket. Later on Tiana made him count all the chicks he could see. I think he counted right up to twenty!

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The girls left early with Lucas to take him home. Tiana drove. She took Monika’s car. Monika went home later with Mark who had come in his car. He had come a bit later for he first had to do something for his mother.

We had a nice coffee afternoon with Monika, Mark, Caroline and Matthew. We animatedly talked about a lot of things. And we did not even drink one bit of liquor! Nobody thought of doing the dishes that had piled up in the kitchen. I had no idea Caroline and Matthew wanted to travel back to Sydney soon after Monika and Mark left. I thought they would stay till Easter Monday. Nobody had told me they wanted to be home on Sunday already. I am afraid I said in a probably snappish sounding voice: So, you are going to leave us with all the dishes!

Caroline became upset. Peter said she cried. Peter said he could do the dishes. I would not have to do a thing. In the end Caroline and Matthew decided they would catch their train one hour later and do the dishes in the meantime. I was very happy that Peter did not have to do the dishes. I probably could have helped him with putting away some of the dishes. However it would really have been such an effort for us oldies. I felt we needed a more restful evening.

I was very grateful that Caroline and Matthew cleaned up the kitchen. They did it very quickly and efficiently. I thanked them for it before they left and apologised that I had been playing up so much. When Caroline had arrived back in Sydney she sent Peter a message on his phone, saying that she loved us both.

When Peter accused me of treating Caroline like a slave, I felt really awful.

My Thoughts on WW1 as well as WW2 and our ‘War Cabinet’ to fight the Coronavirus

First of all I want to reprint the following:

“Labor’s treasury spokesman, Jim Chalmers, looked to the postwar experience to argue for a new post-crisis social contract, focused on employment.

“When Curtin established the Department of Post War Reconstruction it was almost Christmas in 1942, and when Chifley was made minister by the start of 1943, most of Europe was still occupied by the Nazis and Japanese bombs were still falling on northern Australia.

“Those two Labor leaders knew that if Australia was to prosper after the war it needed to rewrite the social contract during the war, and to be meaningful, full employment needed to be at the core of it.”

The economist Mariana Mazucatto argues the crisis is an opportunity to work out how to do capitalism differently.

“This requires a rethink of what governments are for: rather than simply fixing market failures when they arise, they should move towards actively shaping and creating markets that deliver sustainable and inclusive growth,” she said, in arguments that have been backed by the Pope.”

The above is an extract of this article by Lenore Taylor:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/04/australia-can-be-a-better-fairer-place-after-the-coronavirus-if-were-willing-to-fight-for-it

Yesterday I did publish this extract here:

https://auntyuta.com/2020/04/04/australia-after-the-coronavirus-and-environmental-sustainability/

Now, why I do come back to it, is the following:

I am not an expert, but I do have some general knowledge about the two World Wars and their aftermaths, and I am aware that our Australian Government right now is willing to work with the Opposition to work out what is the best way to fight the Coronavirus. So, this is a bit like a ‘War Cabinet’, right?

My thoughts on this is, why can they not right now work on the important subject of the Environmental Sustainability that needs to be considered after this Coronavirus nightmare?

Do any of you out there have some ideas how this could be achieved?

Can we ask our government for instance to establish a ‘Department of Post War Reconstruction’?

Please, think about this that I am sure you know from the History Books:

“Those two Labor leaders knew that if Australia was to prosper after the war it needed to rewrite the social contract during the war, and to be meaningful, full employment needed to be at the core of it.”

New South Wales reaches more than 500 cases of COVID-19 with 97 new infections By Sarah Thomas

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-22/nsw-coronavirus-cases-rise-beyond-500/12079208

Figures published by the health department showed that as of 8:00pm on Saturday there were 533 positive cases.

NSW Health said several new diagnoses of COVID-19 had occurred among backpackers in the Bondi area.

It is warning that some new cases in Bondi are linked to two parties last weekend.

People who attended the Boogie Wonderland party at the Bucket List bar in Bondi and another event at Club 77 in Darlinghurst on March 15 are urged to be alert for symptoms.

If symptoms develop they should seek testing and tell the medical service that they attended one of the parties.

A childcare worker is also among the latest confirmed cases.

The employee worked at Smeaton Grange Young Academics Child Care Centre.

All staff and children who attended the centre between March 2 and 16 are being contacted and told to self-isolate.

The centre will be closed until March 30.

Two more cases have also emerged from a Sydney Church of Christ service on March 8 at Ryde Civic Centre, bringing the total to nine out of a congregation of 300.

NSW has of 8:00pm yesterday had 52,663 cases tested with 52,130 excluded.

Out of the 533 cases, 251 were acquired overseas, 131 were acquired through contact with a confirmed case, 46 came from unidentified contact and 105 are under investigation.

There have also been five cruise ship voyages linked to COVID-19 cases that have docked in Sydney this month: two trips on the Voyage of the Seas, and the Ovation of the Seas, the Ruby Princess and Celebrity Solstice.

All passengers and crew have been asked to self-isolate.

The latest rise in cases comes as authorities struggle to maintain social distancing, particularly across Sydney’s beaches including Bondi Beach which was closed yesterday.

Due to high numbers of people gathering the following beaches have also been closed: Manly (south end), Tamarama, Maroubra, Bronte, Coogee, Clovelly, Dee Why, Freshwater, Long Reef and Palm Beach.

The Northern Beaches Council warned that more public areas would be closed “if people don’t follow the rules”.

Yesterday, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard insisted people heed advice on social distancing amid the rising number of infections.

He said cases had doubled in the past week and the problem was still “over the horizon”.

“Save yourself and save your family. Listen to the messages that are coming out, not just from Government officials but from doctors.”

A ban on travel to Lord Howe Island was also announced yesterday and came into effect at 5:00am today in a bid to keep the virus away from the small community of 347 people.

The borders are closed to all except residents, health workers and other essential service workers.