The above blog by ‘shakeclouds’ inspired me to do a bit of thinking about my life in old age. This is why I wrote a comment to shakecloud’s blog. His question was whether we really need to become a better version of ourselves. Here now is a copy of my comment:
For my age I am in comparatively good health still, and I am grateful for this and love every day that I can spend in a way I like to spend it. Sometimes I get impatient with myself because my aging body demands that I do things slower and slower. It is no wonder, that I am always running out of time to do all the things I have been meaning to do! Some things always have priority, like spending time with a large extended family, particularly on various special occasions; keeping up regular meetings with my friends; seeking medical advice or dental treatments when needed; going on excursions with Peter, my husband, sharing with Peter doing shopping, cooking, maintaining house and yard in an acceptable condition or at least in as good a condition as it is possible for us to manage. I think since both Peter and I are at an age where we reasonable can expect to live only maybe five or ten more years, we do indeed appreciate that bit of time that is left to us probably much more than when we were younger! By the way, so far Peter’s health also is also quite good still. I think, we are more lucky than people with a lot of money but who maybe are not very healthy anymore.
There is one goal I have set for myself and unfortunately not been able to do much about yet: That is getting rid of accumulated clutter! I am still hopeful, that one of these days I might manage to get rid of at least some of the clutter. Last but not least, being able to do things on the computer I find rewarding and also relaxing.
I want to point out here that shakeclouds (Enrico) chooses subjects to write about in his blogs that I find very interesting.
I justcameacrossthe above articlein The Guardian. What I find quite baffling is the following:
” . . . Of the “conventional” non-organic food we eat, 46% contains residues of one or more pesticide, and levels are going up dramatically, not down: in 2003 the equivalent figure was just 25%. Consumers are assured that farmers and growers take human health protection very seriously, but the truth of the matter is that the National Farmers Union and chemical companies militantly defend their pesticide armoury in the face of any government attempt to restrict it . . . .”
” . . . Can you afford organic? The annoying thing is that because the true environmental and health costs of chemical agriculture (pollution, soil erosion, ill health, animal suffering and more) are “externalised” , that is, not accounted for up front in calculations of the “efficiency” of our existing food system, organic food generally costs more. But choosing organic whenever you can nevertheless makes good sense. . . . ”
I ask myself: Can I afford organic? Peter and I buy food on a weekly basis with a certain amount of money. If we cannot increase this amount, I guess we just have to eat a bit less of everything to make the money last to buy only organic food! Some products in supermarkets are labelled ‘organic’. I have to check, how these products compare in price. How much more do organic products actually cost?
“A COMMON-SENSE APPROACH
Over recent years levels of pesticide residues in our food have been steadily
increasing, and as much as 40% of the food we eat contains them. Residues found
in several fruit categories exceeded Government limits. A number of the most widely
used are highly toxic and have been linked with developmental defects, cancers
and other disorders. . . . “
October is rapidly coming to an end. The last day of October is going to be in nine days. This is when grandson Ryan is getting married to Ebony. The whole family will be present for the wedding in Wollongong. Hopefully I will be able to take a few pictures. I do have a new camera now. Yesterday I took the first pictures with it. I quite like this new camera and I believe that eventually I will be able to get used to it. It is very similar to my old camera. However some things are a bit different, for instance how to transfer the pictures.
This is a trial picture from the first day when I had the camera.
We had to go to Sydney yesterday. This is when I tried to take some pictures on the train.
Peter occupying himself with Sudoku.
Both Peter and I went for some more treatment by the Dental Hygienist at Sydney Holistic Dental Centre. Before we went back home on the train we had a bit of food at the food-hall in the Pitt Street Mall. We also bought some beautiful fresh rye bread and cake from the Lüneburger Baker in the Queen Victoria Building.
These steps lead down into the food-hall where we were sitting.
A week ago on Tuesday Peter said he had to clean out the gutters that go along the sides of the house. After having previously cleaned out the gutters along the back of the house – https://auntyuta.com/2015/10/07/utas-diary-early-october-2015-continued/ – he felt confident he would be able to do the same with the gutters on the sides. A bit of a challenge was the shed on the one side of the house. But I think what he could not reach from standing on the ladder, he was able to hose off finally. It was good that he was able to use plenty of water for this.
After Peter finished with this side of the house, we had a little tea-break. It was an overcast morning again. Just as well, that it did not get very hot and Peter had no trouble finishing off the other side that still needed doing. Luckily at the front of the house the gutters seemed to be fairly clean still for there are no huge trees reaching over the front of the house.
The high grass on this side of the house has been trimmed recently!
Peter asked our body co-operative gardener the other day whether he could cut our grass. He did it in no time at all and asked only 20 Dollars for it. In the meantime Peter was able to cut the regrowth with his push-mover.
The following day, Wednesday, was Croom Oval time again. Here are still a few pictures I took on that day last week:
Mother and DaughterJust a few bus-stops away was EASTGATE
I looked at some books while Caroline did a bit of shopping.
Plants for sale in the Mall.Peter and Caroline walked ahead while I took some pictures.
The next day, Sunday, we went for breakfast to a cafe in Centennial Park. It was Caroline’s turn to drive our Audi, while Matthew was sitting beside her.
Caroline parked the car near the cafe.Caroline and Matthew went ahead while Peter took some pictures.I chose baked granola for breakfast, I liked the rhubarb and the cream that came with it.Peter’s choice: Goat’s cheese on Turkish bread.This is what Matthew had.And this is Caroline’s.
On our walk through the park Peter took more and more pictures. We were happy to have found the labyrinth and had fun walking to the middle of it and back to the outside again.
Caroline suggested a walk like this would be very suitable for our backyard.
Near the Ducks’ Pond is this Drink Station for Men and his Dog.
“Centennial Park is home to Sydney’s first public stone labyrinth, and possibly the most intricately built labyrinth in the world.
The Labyrinth is a magnificently crafted pathway designed for quiet reflection and exploration. You can find it adjacent to the northern end of Willow Pond (off Dickens Drive) in Centennial Park (see map).
The Centennial Park Labyrinth is an 11 circuit sandstone labyrinth, based on the design of the medieval labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral in France, which dates from the early 13th century.
Used as a tool for reflection or meditation in many cultures a labyrinth has been acknowledged for its therapeutic and medical benefits. Find out more and learn how to walk it.”
I found the above in Google. We spent the weekend in Sydney. On Sunday morning Caroline, Matthew, Peter and I had a beautiful walk in Centennial Park. We also had a walk in the labyrinth.
Overnight there was a change in the weather. Some gusts of wind occurred and the temperature dropped considerably. This morning I could not see one bit of blue in the sky. Actually, the sun did not come out all morning, and it stayed a cool 20C. Luckily, it was not too windy anymore either, so we started with our early morning activities soon after breakfast. We had noticed that our gutters had lots of ‘stuff’ in them. Peter had said that he was keen on cleaning the gutters himself. About four months ago the administration of the Body Cooperative had sent some working people out to clean all the gutters in the complex. But another clean-up wasn’t due for another two months or so, because we get this service only on a six monthly basis.
With the fire season more or less alleady upon us due to an unprecedentedly very hot early spring, we thought it prudent to clean out the gutters asp. Peter was confident that, with a little bit of help from me, he could do the job. The pictures I took during the procedure show how an 80 year old still can do this kind of a job if need be. We agreed to avoid accidents, it was important to do everything slowly. Peter had a very strong good ladder for the job . So he went very slowly up the ladder and then slowly step by step down again. At that pace it was really a piece of cake. Oh yes, we both thought he had to do it very carefully so as not to miss a step and fall over!
Peter filled up the blue plastic bowl with leaves and sticks, then passed it down to me for emptying into the council’s garden refuse bin.
For shifting the ladder along the gutter, I helped him to secure the ladder with an ancient very hard shell or a concrete tile whenever the floor was a little bit sloping. The silt in the gutter Peter scraped out with a little scraper. I then emptied this soft stuff, which was full of little needles too, I emptied this into our compost bin. Last but not least Peter hosed down every little bit that was still left in the gutter. Peter again had to shift the ladder a number of times to reach down the gutter with the garden hose. I had the task to turn on and off the water.
Here, Peter has a well deserved break with a cup of water before hosing down the gutters.
It seems there is always the need to cut off a few branches.
We like the jungle-like appearance of our little property. But since our backyard is really very small, Peter forever needs to cut things off the trees and bushes; otherwise the jungle would take over completely! 🙂
We are also surrounded by a lot of trees on neighbouring council property. The shade, these trees give, is very welcome on hot days. Unfortunately, this council area, which is totally overgrown with shrubs and trees, might also become a fire hazard on very hot, windy days.
We used to have a meadow like grass area at the side of our house. The grass was very high and looked beautifully green. It had become too high for Peter to mow with his push mover. Once a week a man come to mow the lawns in the body cooperate areas. Peter showed him the other week our patch of grass in our backyard and asked him whether he could mow it for us if we paid him for it. He did it the same day. It didn’t take him very long, and he only asked 20 Dollars for the job.
Since that grass was cut, we had not had any rain, none whatsoever. So I became concerned that this bit of grass that was left to us, might dry out too much. Actually, we are against wasting water on lawns. It must have been years since we used a drop of water on grassy areas. However, I must admit, recently I hosed down that bit of grass area nearly every morning. I tell myself, the water dams in our area are still full. Up until very recently we had always plenty of rain this year. And I’d feel very sorry to see a dried out bare brown patch these coming summer months. I hope our little piece of land is going to green again soon!
Officially it is spring in Australia. However, it does feel more like summer already. So far this month we had temperatures close to 30C, and during the last few days it was well above 30C. We also had our Labour Day Weekend, meaning that yesterday, Monday, was a public holiday. Last Saturday, the 3rd of October, our clock was put one hour ahead, for we are in daylight saving- (summer-) time right now. This morning when we woke up at 5 o’clock, it was really only 4 o’clock! Peter had planned to do a bit of running early this morning before the sun was getting too hot.
We had an early breakfast. By 8 o’clock we were ready to leave. Peter had set his mind to do another walk/run on the Croom Oval. We also were there last Wednesday. A week ago I posted some pictures from our visit to Wollongong as well as from the Croom Sporting Complex:
Peter was the only runner on the oval early this morning.
However, the maintenance crew for the oval happened to be there as well. This gave me a chance to take some photos of the crew at work. Of course I used Peter’s camera again. I am getting quite used to this camera by now. Peter was running on the grass in his toe-shoes. I also put my toe-shoes on and enjoyed walking in them on the grass while I was taking pictures.
This part of the inside lane is freshly marked here.In the distance the equipment for marking the lanes.This big monster was able to cut the grass on the oval immensely qickly!A bit of fresh paint makes the numbers stick out.
Here comes Peter!
The temperature in our area reached 35C today. One of the workers said to Peter while he was running: “It makes me dizzy, Mate, watching you!”
Yesterday, Monday, Peter actually came with me to Dapto Solar Heated Pool. It was a lovely wind-still, warm morning.: So, even for Peter warm enough to take a dip into the pool! In the afternoon we decided to go for a drive to Bulli Beach. Since it was a Public Holiday and the temperature soaring, the beach was crowded. Everyone had a good time enjoying this hot day at the beach. We went to the Beach Cafe for some ice-cream.
When we drove home in a southerly direction, the traffic on our side of the road went very smoothly. Not so on the other side of the road going north towards Sydney. Heaps and heaps of holiday-makers were already on the way home to Sydney. The traffic towards Sydney seemed to go very slowly bumper to bumper.
There is still some cake left from little Alexander’s Birthday.On Monday, the 28th, one week after my birthday, I had our monthly women’s meeting at my place.
The women always bring a plate along. Naturally, never everything gets eaten. Peter took this picture of us after we had already more or less finished with our afternoon snacks. We women love to meet on the last Monday of each month. Two women moved away, but still live not too far away, six of us still live in the complex, as well as some other women who go to work and meet with the neighbours only once a year for our general body cooperative meeting. Last year we also had a lovely Christmas party with all the neighbours here in our complex. We are mostly women in this complex. Only three men, all of them married, live here.
Tomorrow, Thursday, I am going to be at my gentle Exercise Class from about 12,15 pm to 1,30 pm. On Friday our Rummy Cub game and Scrabble is going to be at Irene’s place from 2 pm onwards. One week after another goes very quickly. On Saturday, the 31st of October, our grandson Ryan and Ebony are getting married in Wollongong. We are all invited. And of course, their two little ones, Lucas and Alexander, are going to be there. I am so much looking forward to it!
AuntyUta 