Category: Life in Australia

trees in backyard

Sunday before Mother’s Day 2018

We left at 10,30 for a 50 km drive to Berry. On the way we had to drive through Albion Park Rail. This delayed us somewhat for there was an airshow on at the Illawarra Regional Airport. Lots of people had already parked all over the area, and quite a few people were still arriving looking for more parking spots quite some distance away and then walking to where the action was. We saw heaps and heaps of cars and hundreds and hundreds of walkers!

https://www.wingsoverillawarra.com.au/page/flying-program

 

 

https://www.wingsoverillawarra.com.au/page/location

“Illawarra Regional Airport is located adjacent to the Princes Highway at Albion Park Rail in NSW, approximately 20kms south of Wollongong City Centre and 100kms south of Sydney City Centre.”

Once we made it through Albion Park Rail on the Princes Highway, we had a good run further south to Berry.

We had no idea that in Berry was a show on too. I looked it up now, it was the

NATIONAL MOTORING HERITAGE DAY AT BERRY SHOWGROUND

https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/jervis-bay-and-shoalhaven/berry/events/national-motoring-heritage-day-berry

I have never seen as many people and cars in the vicinity of Berry. But we were lucky. Peter found a very convenient parking spot near here:

DSCN4238

DSCN4237

We had some lovely ice-cream and were sitting outside with it. We only had to walk a little bit further to find a beautiful outside cafe and there was no problem at all to get a table. The coffee we ordered was very good. The weather was just perfect:  Sunshine the whole time and no wind whatsoever.

At  the French Bakery across the road Peter bought a cinnamon scroll and a baguette. Then we drove back home, where we warmed the cinnamon scroll up in the oven and then had it at a table in our backyard with a cup of tea.

The whole outing took us only 2  and a half hours.

 

 

What our Place looks like after the Removal of some very large Junk Furniture

Yesterday we had a few larger items plus some smaller ones removed by a junk removal company. The items were so old that they could not have been given to charity. So we had to pay for their removal. We did this gladly. We were very happy that some very friendly young men were willing to transport them away in their huge truck.

DSCN4231

DSCN4232

Our 40 year old bed with the 24 year old mattress is gone. We have another bed and another mattress now!

DSCN4233

DSCN4234

The two very large, very old seats are gone. Now there’s room for something else;

Big sugar and the ‘big flaw’ in Australia’s federal health programs Four Corners By Michael Brissenden Updated Mon at 7:19pm

 

The following is from the updated Four Corners program:

“Australia is now one of the fattest nations on Earth.

Sixty per cent of us are overweight or obese, and by 2025 that figure will rise to 80 per cent.

Despite this, Australia still has no national obesity strategy.

What we do have are two key federal programs — the Healthy Food Partnership to encourage healthy eating, and the Health Star rating, a front-of-pack labelling system.

But the rules for these two initiatives have been set by committees made up of government and public health advocates, as well as food industry representatives.

According to one insider who spoke to Four Corners, “the reality is that industry is … making most of the policy”, and public health advocates are only included “so we can have the least-worst solution”.

Companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Unilever, Nestle and Kelloggs have a seat at the table setting the policies that shape consumption of their own sugar-laced products.

As Australia’s obesity and diabetes rates continue to soar, public health advocates have told Four Corners the industry has been obstructing and delaying policy outcomes that would lead to better health.

And they have likened their tactics to those deployed by the tobacco industry . . . . ”

To read on please go to:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-30/big-sugar-and-the-big-flaw-in-australias-health-programs/9707204

And here is a warning sign about not feeding kangaroos in a wild life sanctuary. People should really be taking notice of this:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-02/do-not-feed-the-kangaroos-sign/9716842

Here in this article it says how bad it is for kangaroos to feed them processed food:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-02/agro-kangaroos-addicted-to-carrots-attack-tourists/9716612

And even feeding them carrots in huge amounts can lead to addiction and very bad behaviour by kangaroos where they become very aggressive.

 

 

A few more Pictures from April 2018 in my Diary

DSCN4196
Boiled potatoes, small tomatoes and some salad leaves and in the middle there are yummy braised mushroom pieces and some cottage cheese!
DSCN4197
Peter and I were sitting outside for our meal.
DSCN4200
These shelves have had their day. 

The other day I finally decided I won’t have to use these shelves any more in our bedroom. We are right now in the process of downsizing as much as possible and getting rid of old furniture that clearly has had its day.

DSCN4199 (2)
This is what the sky looked like towards the East very early one morning in April.

Uta’s Diary

DSCN4224

This is a tree in Lakelands Park. I took this picture last Thursday when Peter, Monika, Natasha and little Carter went to the playground of that park. It was past three o’clock in the afternoon. A little later some young soccer players arrived at the park. They practiced on a soccer field near the playground.

Seventeen months old Carter had great fun at the playground. Both Monika and Tash promised they’d come to visit us again next Thursday. If the weather is fine, we all might go to the playground again with little Carter.

DSCN4212
Little Carter with his Grandma Monika and Auntie Tash in April 2018. (The building at the back with new paint!)
DSCN4221
This picture is from Thursday, the 26th of April 2018.

 

DSCN4049Krystal’s birthday was on the 5th of April. She turned 21 this year!! I  looked up what I wrote four years ago on Krystal’s birthday. Here it is:

https://auntyuta.com/2014/04/05/krystals-birthday-today/

It features some pictures what the playground in Lakelands Park looked in 2001.Krystal has been sliding down and Roxy stand beside her. Krystal has been sliding down and Roxy stands beside her.img185And while I am at it, I copy here what the  bush in front of our house looked like in 2000 and I am going to show what it looks like now 17 years later:This is just a bit of the front of our house in the year 2OOO. I put this photo in to show how small this tree in front of our window was at the time. It looks very huge now and the gardener trims is every so often otherwise there would not be left enough room for the parking spot at the left of the house. This is just a bit of the front of our house in the year 2000. I put this photo in to show how small this tree in front of our window was at the time. (After it had been there already for some six years!)  It looks very huge now, and the gardener trims it every so often, otherwise there would not be enough room left for the parking spot left of the house. DSCN4071 This bush looks so much bigger now. Also,   the trees behind have grown enormously! And now back to the playground, what it looks like at present at Eastertime 2018:DSCN4051

data-wpview-type=

.DSCN4057

DSCN4063
(There’s new paint on this building now!)

DSCN4044 This picture is from  Good Friday, the 30th of March 2018, when I went for an early walk to the playground in Lakelands Park. Some Peter Rabbit Books for the Kids

Another picture taken in Lakelands Park in 2001

In this picture is our daughter Monika with her three daughters, also Peter’s sister Ilse who was at our place in Australia on a visit from Berlin, Germany. Natasha, the eldest daughter of Monika, is next to me on the left.

A bit of Diary

DSCN4145

I am looking forward to go today for another walk across the grass in Lakelands Park. Yesterday I had meant to write about certain things, however one thing or another kept me pretty busy  until lunch time. And when after an early lunch I finally could spend a bit more time on the computer I nearly forgot that at 2 pm I wanted to be at my  neighbour’s place for our Friday games afternoon together with two or three other neighbours. This get-together we always enjoy very much. So at 1,30 it suddenly occurred to me, that I had to get ready for my afternoon away from home. Luckily,  I still made it on time. This meeting with the neighbours is very important to me. It is a good way to not loose contact with all of these neighbours.

I thought, I had saved what I had written yesterday. So I went to yesterday’s draft savings. And I only found this bit:

DSCN4154“Today, both of us were awake before six. We are looking forward to another busy day. After breakfast I would like to go for my little walk in Lakelands Park, the same as every morning.”

The above bit is what’s left of yesterday’s earlier writing that I think I had done before breakfast.

The hour’s writing I had done yesterday between 12,30 and 1,30 pm has all gone. I had written about how to discard most of our books. I also had mentioned what was going on yesterday in Berlin about a World War Two bomb disposal. This writing has all gone. Ah well, I  did not like it very much anyway. So today is another day.

We already found out that the bomb disposal went well. Everything is back to normal in Berlin. This disposal was a major undertaking for they dealt with a 500 kg  bomb in the midst of Berlin near the central city railway station (Hauptbahnhof), a lot of public buildings, a hospital, as well as quite a few residential buildings. All this had to be evacuated. Really a major undertaking that required a lot of planning.

There is always a lot of building going on in Berlin. During excavation work it happens frequently that they still find World War Two bombs that have not exploded yet. And this after well over 70 years!

A very interesting Interview on Radio National and my Thoughts on Martin Seligman’s PERMA

From our daughter in Sydney we received the following link about a very interesting interview on Radio National:

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/martin-seligman-on-hope-and-helplessness/9653834

Peter and I listened to this interview. It was very interesting to hear Martin Seligman speak about his work. Of special interest to me were his explanations about what PERMA is. I looked up several  articles about it. I also sent some  links to our son in Victoria.

https://www.gostrengths.com/whatisperma/

What is PERMA?

by  on January 1, 2012 in Blog, Featured, GoGlossary!
The technical definition

PERMA is an acronym for a model of well-being put forth by a pioneer in the field of positive psychology, Martin Seligman. According to Seligman, PERMA makes up five important building blocks of well-being and happiness:

  • Positive emotions – feeling good
  • Engagement – being completely absorbed in activities
  • Relationships – being authentically connected to others
  • Meaning – purposeful existence
  • Achievement – a sense of accomplishment and success

MY THOUGHTS ABOUT POSITIVE EMOTIONS:

I DO FIND IT VERY INTERESTING WHAT MARTIN SELIGMAN SAYS ABOUT POSITIVE EMOTIONS. IT SEEMS TO BE VERY IMPORTANT THAT EDUCATORS FOSTER POSITIVE EMOTIONS IN CHILDREN.  WHEN WE MOVED TO AUSTRALIA WE WERE AMAZED TO FIND THAT LITTLE CHILDREN AT SCHOOL WERE CONSTANTLY BEING PRAISED FOR SOMETHING OR OTHER. IN OUR EXPERIENCE OUR UPBRINGING IN GERMANY DID NOT EVENTUATE WITH A LOT OF PRAISE FOR EVERY CHILD.

I WOULD AGREE THAT BEING COMPLETELY ABSORBED IN ACTIVITIES IS A GOOD THING. I  IMAGINE IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE TO FIND FOR EVERY CHILD ACTIVITIES THEY LIKE SO MUCH THAT THEY CAN BE COMPLETELY  ABSORBING FOR  THE CHILD.

I THINK EVERYONE WOULD AGREE THAT FOR A CHILD IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO FEEL CONNECTED TO OTHERS

AND IF A CHILD FEELS CONNECTED TO OTHERS FOR SURE THEY WOULD ALSO FEEL THAT THEIR EXISTENCE IS IMPORTANT TO OTHERS.

A CHILD WOULD GET A FEELING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT AND SUCCESS IF IT KNEW THAT THERE ARE THINGS HE OR SHE CAN DO WELL OR WELL  ENOUGH  TO BE ABLE TO EVENTUALLY BE GETTING BETTER AND BETTER ON IT.

CHILDREN THAT ARE BROUGHT UP WITH POSITIVE EMOTIONS LIKE THIS MAY FIND IT MORE EASY TO SUSTAIN POSITIVE EMOTIONS THROUGH OUT THEIR LIVES.

IF SOMEONE DID GROW UP WITH INSUFFICIENT POSITIVE EMOTIONS HE OR SHE MIGHT BENEFIT ENORMOUSLY BY LEARNING ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF SELIGMAN’S PERMA AND WORKING ON IT TO BECOME A HAPPY ADULT AND FEELING GOOD MOST  OF THE TIME.

I THINK I AM ONE OF THOSE LUCKY PEOPLE WHO FEEL GOOD MOST OF THE TIME. BUT THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT I HAVE NOT FELT BAD AT CERTAIN TIMES DURING MY VERY LONG LIFE. YET I DID  ALWAYS FEEL THAT THERE IS A SLIVER LINING NOT TOO FAR AWAY. ONCE A WOMAN SAID TO ME THAT GOD DOES NOT MAKE RUBBISH. I FELT PRETTY WORTHLESS AT THE TIME. BUT WHAT THIS WOMAN SAID SOMEHOW MADE A LOT OF SENSE TO ME. DEEP DOWN MY BELIEVE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT EVERY PERSON HAS SOME KIND OF WORTH, AND THAT I SHOULD NOT THINK THAT I AM WORTHLESS.