Yesterday I wrote: Shorty before 11 am we went up by lift to Level 2. Immediately we were let into the reception area, which was well equipped with chairs and some screens. On the TV screen we noticed that there had been an Air Crash in Melbourne near Essendon Airport.
On Tuesday, the 21st of February, Peter was booked into hospital for another operation. We arrived early and waited near the Main Entrance for the assigned time to be let into the Day Surgery Ward. We went up by lift to Level 2 shorty before 11 am. Immediately we were let into the reception area, which was well equipped with chairs and some screens. On the TV screen we noticed that there had been an Air Crash in Melbourne near Essendon Airport.
To be continued
This morning I cooked some spaghetti with some sea salt. I added a bit of butter, one whole red chilli and some Spanish onion as well as a tiny bit of fresh ginger. It made a delicious meal!
I spent about an hour outside cleaning bits and pieces in the garden area at the back of our house. Also, taking some photos, actually lots of photos!
Peter joined me for a while outside. We were sitting at the table in the shade, talking about this and that.
Some of the buds opened up already. They have a beautiful, very strong scent!
This is the morning of the 15th of February in Australia. We’ve just have had breakfast. I am very much looking forward to continue reading Jonathan Franzen’s ‘Purity’. I have only a few more pages to read.
Last night we watched ‘The End is my Beginning’. This was a very thought provoking film about the end of life. It was filmed like a documentary and based on the life of an Italian journalist and his family.
https://auntyuta.com/2017/02/14/the-end-is-my-beginning/
http://cineuropa.org/nw.aspx?t=newsdetail&l=en&did=200173
by Vittoria Scarpa
25/03/2011
A man on his deathbed recounts his life and experiences to his son in what should be a film teeming with flashbacks, seeing as how the man is Tiziano Terzani and the theatre of his adventures are Vietnam and its devastating war, Mao’s China, Ghandi’s India and the Himalayas.
Instead, The End Is My Beginning [+], an adaptation of the bestseller by the great Italian writer and journalist, directed by Jo Baier, is a long dialogue between father and son, noteworthy performances from the leads (Bruno Ganz and Elio Germano), a theatrical film shot in one setting: Terzani’s real house in Tuscany, where he spent his last days among the pristine countryside and mountains, talking to his son Folco about life, disease and death.
Adapted for the big screen by Folco Terzani and the film’s German producer, Ulrich Limmer, the memories of the unforgettable Asian correspondent for Der Spiegel and Corriere della Sera, who passed away in 2004, are presented directly and simply: “We wondered whether or not to use flashbacks,” said Limmer, “but then decided to show something increasingly more rare: one man speaking, and another listening”.
The choice was a decidedly courageous one, and it paid off thanks to the intensity of the cast, the quality of the dialogue, and viewers’ awareness that they are watching an authentic and in some way illuminating adventure. “More than a film, it’s a unique experience,” said Germano, who to portray Folco spent two months at the Terzani’s house “in contact with the stars, mountains and wind, and collecting chestnuts”.
The challenge pays off also thanks to the total lack of melodrama. Everything is measured, restrained, like Germano’s emotions. Though his gazes and silences, the actor expresses the undeniable conflict of a son towards a larger-than-life father, as well as his curiosity and the desire to understand his parent.
Produced by Collina Film Production and B.A. Production in collaboration with Beta Film and RAI Cinema, The End Is My Beginning is released in Italy on April I by Fandango on 60 screens, after having garnered 230,000 admissions in Germany.
(Translated from Italian)
This is early morning Monday, the 13th of February. I just had a look at what the Sydney Morning Herald published last night about the weather and I put this in another post this morning:
https://auntyuta.com/2017/02/13/hottest-place-on-the-planet/
Just now all this feels quite unbelievable to me. I do not say that it is not true, it’s just that where I am it feels right now more like a cool winter’s morning: The outside temperature is a cool 15 C. What a change from two days ago!
“The coast and parts of the ranges were the only areas in NSW to escape high-30s or 40s on Saturday.” This is what it says in Peter Hannam’s article in the SMH.
Further it says:”NSW and other parts of south-eastern Australia were the hottest in the world on Saturday, according to the Climate Reanalyzer website.”
Here is what was said about fire conditions a couple of days ago:
“Soaring temperatures across much of the state have led to warnings of catastrophic fire conditions. In Walgett, the temperature has hit 46 degrees.
As NSW faces the “worst possible fire conditions” in its history with ‘extreme’ and catastrophic’ warnings in place across large slabs of the state, RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the situation was as “bad as it gets” and warned it was set to get worse on Sunday when winds are expected to sweep through scorched parts of mid to northern NSW.
“To put it simply [the conditions] are off the old scale,” he said. “It is without precedent in NSW”.
As of 11am, the RFS reported 76 bush and grass fires across NSW with 26 not yet contained. Deputy Commission Rob Rogers told ABC news: “It’s going to be a really tough day.”
I am sure a lot of fires in rural NSW are still burning now. It is a huge task for fire crews to keep them away from homes as much as possible.
Here is a comment I made yesterday: “We were quite lucky today. we had an overcast sky, all day and a bit of wind and the temperature went no higher than 28 Celsius which I find very pleasant. The rest of NSW still has sweltering conditions and severe fire alert. Today, I was able to do a lot of reading in the Novel “Purity” by Jonathan Franzen.”
I just found the following in The Guardian:
“Sydney airport recorded its hottest February day ever at 42.9C, breaking a 37-year record. Wood said the month was on track to be the hottest on record in both Sydney and Brisbane, following on from their hottest January on record.”
Here is an article by the ABC about Australia’s heatwave:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-11/states-ready-for-extreme-heatwave/8261520
We live in Dapto, 100 km south of Sydney. Today, Saturday, we expect 41c. Right now it is still early morning and the outside temperature is only about 23C. We plan on driving to Warrawong later on, spending some time in the shopping centre and in the afternoon we want to visit the GALA Cinema to see a French movie: Rosalie Blum.
Yesterday afternoon my lady friends came over to my place. It was our Friday games afternoon. Erika is away in Geelong, Victoria, visiting some friends. But Barbara, Irene and Marion did come despite the heat and I not having any air-conditioning. I had our ceiling fans in the living room going the whole time. Blinds and curtains were in front of all the windows. We started playing at 2 pm. I think our inside temperature was then only about 28C. But three hours later, when the ladies left, the inside temperature had climbed to 32C.
Yesterday’s lunch tasted very good. Since it had not been so hot any more, we could turn the oven on to bake some lasagne. The red wine went very well with it. To the mixed vegies we added some parsley from the garden and parmesan cheese.
Yesterday afternoon we went shopping. Among other things we bought some fresh English spinach. I want to cook this today for lunch, serving it with some boiled potatoes and scrambled eggs. For desert we are going to have some Greek style natural yogurt to which we add some mixed berries.
After a very warm night we woke up to beautiful, steady rain. In the house the temperature was still a warm 27C. Outside the temperature had dropped to a ‘cool’ 25C. So we opened all the windows and even the outside doors and had breakfast by the sound of steady rain. This rain was very refreshing. The soil outside smelled wonderful as it soaked up all this rain. Instead of switching the lights on we used some candles. I found this candle light and the sound of the rain very calming.
Last Sunday we went by train to Sydney Central Station and from there by street tram to Glebe where Caroline and Matthew live now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glebe,_Sydney
On Sunday the outside temperature in Sydney was about 35C. Matthew drove all of us to a vegetarian cafe where we had a beautiful lunch. I chose split pea soup and enjoyed this very much. Matthew had made us some of his excellent coffee before we did go out for lunch, and Caroline served us fruit and Pfefferkuchen. C and M live in a very beautiful place now. They are sub-tenants, but have the top story of the house all to themselves. After lunch M drove us to the park at the end of Glebe Point Road, which is near the water and there are lots of beautiful large trees and seats. I found this park a very relaxing place on a hot day. I was glad that M then could drive us back to Central Station where we caught the 3,29 train to Dapto,our home station. We were very tired and it did not take us very long to fall asleep on the train! Peter went to sleep with his open tablet in his hands. I could not resist to take some pictures of sleeping Peter:
On Saturday we went to the Uniting Care Home in Unanderra. Sylvia had mentioned to us that her father would like to see us. So we had arranged to visit on that Saturday. Sylvia’s parents, C and E, are about the same age that we are. We have known them since 1959 when we all lived as recently arrived migrants in the Balgonie Hostel. Peter used to work with E at Waterboard when we still lived in the hostel. For Waterboard they laid pipes in lots of Wollongong streets. Well, it was a job in those days. Here is what our hostel looked like:
On Saturday both Sylvia and her mum were at the home to look after E who does need a lot of assistance. He has to learn to use his legs again. He seemed to like our visit. He had not seen Peter and me for quite some time. E has his own room in the home. We were treated to a great lunch. Everything that was there for lunch S and C had been bringing along on the bus from Wollongong. They always catch the bus from Wollongong to see E in that Unanderra Care Home. It is actually a very good home for people who need a lot of care. Very friendly rooms and friendly staff!
Last Friday I went with some friends for a birthday lunch. One of my friends had her 80th birthday celebrations!
We are from left to right: 71, 81, 80, 86, and 82 years old! Every Friday afternoon we meet for some games of Scrabble and Rummy. We have been doing this for more than ten years. After that birthday lunch last Friday we all went to M’s place and played our games. We always enjoy our Friday afternoons. Next Friday afternoon the ladies come to my place. We all take it in turns.
Today starts a new month, the month of February. Last weekend Caroline and Matthew came to see us. It was a very hot weekend. The outside temperature went to nearly 40C at times. On Monday, the 30th, we even had an outside temperature of 42C. Amazingly we could keep the inside temperature at 32C, even though we do not have any air-conditioning.
The last few days in January I still took some more pictures which I insert here now.
Last weekend Peter baked a beautiful cake with almond meal, a lot of eggs and a very tasty filling made with custard, butter and blackcurrant jam.
Caroline and Matthew loved this cake!
AuntyUta 