This picture was taken on Thursday, 21st November 2013, the day after my operation. We were out for ninety minutes. When we arrived back home we soon noticed that our place had been burgled.
On that Thursday we had had breakfast with Caroline and Matthew in our backyard. Little did we know on that beautiful morning that we would be burgled on the same day while we were out for lunch!
Yesterday Peter and I went with Caroline and Matthew for an outing to the ocean. It was a warm sunny day after many days of rain. The coastal bush landscape was still rather wet. Nonetheless we ventured for a walk along a path that was in some places rather muddy.
Early yesterday morning I received a phone-call from the hospital. I was asked, would I like to come in for my medical procedure on Wednesday, 20th November, which actually had been the original date I had been given and which had been postponed to the 4th of December. Now I had all of a sudden the chance to have my original date back and have everything behind me somewhat earlier. I gratefully accepted the renewed change in dates.
They want me to be at the hospital by 12,30. I was told that today I had to fast from 6 am on. This is why I made sure I was up early. I had already my cup of tea with honey and I ate a banana. I did not feel like eating any toast as had been suggested. I hope they don’t mind I ate a banana instead. I also had my two painkilling tablets. I was allowed to have them before 6 am. Now I have plenty of time to get ready for the drive to the hospital.
8 Responses to “2nd Sunday of Advent 2011”
MOL
December 5, 2011 at 1:30 pm Edit #
Love the coffee cup!
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auntyuta
December 5, 2011 at 1:44 pm Edit #
I assume you mean the ‘Where’s the Cake ?’ one. Caroline, our youngest deughter, got this for her Dad because she knows he loves cake. I did get the other one with ‘mum’ printed on it. We always get excelltent gifts from Caroline. She frequently wants to please us with something or other.
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pix & kardz
December 5, 2011 at 4:08 pm Edit #
you are already onto a new day, but it is still the 2nd sunday of advent here. a great post for the ‘waiting’ photo challenge, because advent is all about anticipation.
thank you for your recent visit to my blog and all your kind comments. much appreciated!
happy advent – and happy blogging 🙂
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auntyuta
December 5, 2011 at 4:29 pm Edit #
Thank you! I love to look at your photos. They’re fantastic! And such a variety. I want to look at many more.
May the advent time bring you much joy!
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sterlingsop
December 6, 2011 at 6:55 am Edit #
I love your Advent crown! It makes a lovely centrepiece in its own right, but it’s especially lovely because of what it represents.
Beautiful!
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auntyuta
December 6, 2011 at 7:07 am Edit #
I love your comments about the centrepiece, Pat. I didn’t know the expression ‘Advent crown’. Have to remember this. Thanks.
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eof737
December 10, 2011 at 10:41 pm Edit #
The coffee mug says it all. I love it. 🙂
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auntyuta
December 11, 2011 at 6:32 pm Edit #
Thanks for visiting. Glad you like the coffee mug.
More than a week ago Super Typhoon Haiyan went on its way across the Philippines. Three islands of the Philippines suffered catastrophic damage. Many aid organisations in lots of countries immediately organised aid transports to the Philippines. However the aid to the worst struck areas arrives for the survivors of the typhoon only slowly. Too great is the destruction on these islands. This makes the transport of these aid supplies very difficult.
Some people say there have always been typhoons and bush-fires. Of course this is true. But did they always occur with such frequency and severity? Do these people really believe that our way of life does not make any difference at all?
These days all first world countries have an extremely high standard of living. Would it really hurt us people in first world countries very much if we all cut back a bit on carbon emissions? Some economies in some first world countries may suffer a bit from time to time. But do we really make it a better world and a better society by spending more and more? I do not say we should not spend on ourselves anything extra at all. For Christmas for instance it is important for the economy that people should spend a bit extra. However I do not see that there has to be an increase in last year’s Christmas spending. Why not aim for a slight decrease? Why does there always have to be an increase? I don’t get it.
And here my thoughts on our Aid Budget in Australia: Why do we have to reduce it? Are we really so bad off that we cannot afford the previous level any more? And why is our Defence Budget so much more important than our Aid Budget?
Today is Armistice Day. World War I ended on this day 95 years ago. We remember the soldiers from this war and all the other wars who did not grow old, who did not come home.
We arrived at Dapto Mall at 11 o’clock in the morning right at the start of the remembrance minute. Everybody stopped in their tracks for the remembrance. Where Peter and I stood there was a flower-shop nearby. Later on I started taking pictures of the beautiful flowers. The sales-woman approached me asking whether she could do anything for me.I said I’d just like to take some pictures of the flowers. And the woman let me do this and went on with her work sorting out and arranging flowers for display.
The flower shop is right in the middle of the walkway. In the shop on the other side I noticed a lot of For Sale signs and took pictures.
Apparently the Post Shop provides a service for travellers. And last but not least I noticed a display to entice people to buy something for their babies.
Armistice means: A state of peace agreed to between opponents so they can discuss peace terms.
Maybe ninety-five years ago people were hoping that this had been the war to end all wars. How many people have been sent to war since then? Why cannot people live in peace everywhere in every country?
Even without wars, how many people are there who loose their lives in natural disasters? Thinking of the mass casualties after super typhoon Haiyan swept the Philippines last Friday, I feel very weepy. So many people died, and so many people lost everything and need an awful lot of help just to survive. The pictures of devastation are horrendous. All the countries and agencies who are in a position to organise some kind of help work none stop to do just this right now. This is wonderful that there are people in this world to give selflessly of their expertise and time not matter what the difficulties. Sometimes they give their lives so that others can live, same as all the soldiers who are remembered today. We should never forget their sacrifice.
I wonder what sort of mail Santa would receive. Walking for a bit through a major shopping centre today we became quickly aware that business for Christmas has already started. Festive decorations everywhere and the specialty shops exhibiting the most beautiful things for your home to celebrate the Christmas season.
For afternoon coffee we went to see Monika and Mark. Monika was in the process of finishing a lovely large fruit tart.
We had some lovely visitors this afteroon. Monika and Krystal came to see us with little Lucas. They also did bring an excellent cheese-cake along that they had baked themselves this morning. We had lots of fun with Lucas roaming around our place.
Berlin is surrounded by the land of Brandenburg. In 2010 we travelled from Berlin through Brandenburg in a northerly direction. Where Brandenburg ends Mecklenburg-Vorpommern starts. The ‘border’ was marked by some signs near the road. We took some pictures of these signs.
Rheinsberg-Kleinzerlang is in Brandenburg. In 2010 we took a picture of its marina.
There is also a postcard picture of the Baltic Sea Resort (Ostsee Bad) Warnemünde. The other picture of Warnemünde is one that we took. .
The picture of the lake is my favourite. This lake is just a few steps away from where my brother Peter lives in Neu Canow with his wife Astrid. We stayed with them for one week in June 2010..
Last year in November 2012 we had once more a very good time in Neu Canow, Mecklenburg/Vorpommern. Peter and Astrid showed us every day another beautiful place in this beautiful land of Meck/Pom. Parts of it always remind us a bit of Australia, some of the country-side that is. Meck/Pom is sparsely populated and has a lot of waterways and forests. It stretches right to the Baltic Sea. If you want a very relaxing, peaceful holiday in beautiful natural surroundings, you should go there. Lots of old castles can be visited. Here are some examples:
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One year ago we were visiting Berlin. For two months we stayed in one of the high-rise apartment buildings in Hansa Viertel, right in the centre of Berlin with the Tiergarten at our doorstep. We would usually go for an early morning walk in this beautiful Tiergarten. The above picture we probably took around the 2nd of November when our stay in Berlin was nearing its end.
In Berlin, the first and second of November would not have been any special days for us. Unless you were Catholic, you would not think of All Saints and All Souls. In some parts of Germany the 31st of October is a holiday to celebrate Reformation Day. But in Berlin even the 31st of October is not a holiday.
Gaby, our daughter passed away last year. When we light a candle, we remember her. We also remember a great number of other departed. Nearly everyone who has been older than we are, has passed away by now. After all, both Peter and I are in our late seventies by now. There are not all that many people around who are older than we are. We always think we might be the next ones to leave!
Do we have special needs in an emergency? This question came up recently when large areas of New South Wales experienced very hot conditions and fast spreading fires. Peter copied for us from the internet a plan for an emergency during a HEATWAVE. It said: “ABC Emergency delivers official warnings and alerts and publishes emergency coverage sourced form ABC Local Radio and ABC News.”
Here is a list of some of the things we should have prepared in our SURVIVAL KIT:
BATTERY-OPERATED RADIO (WITH SPARE BATTERIES)
Torch (with spare batteries)
Strong shoes, gumboots, leather gloves and overalls
First aid kit and medications we need
A change of clothes, toiletry and sanitary supplies
Water in sealed containers – ten litres per person (for three days)
Three days supply of canned food (plus can opener and utensils)
Pillows and blankets (woollen and thermal)
Mobile phone and charger
Strong plastic bags (for clothing, valuables, documents, and photos)
Spare car and house keys
Several Emergency Services are mentioned that can be of help.
Here is what we should do before a HEATWAVE:
Stay hydrated – it’s recommended to drink two to three litres of water and to avoid alcohol and caffeine
Dress light
Check on family and friends – twice a day
Avoid exposure to the sun
Get your home ready – draw curtains, blinds, awnings at the start of the day to keep the sun out
Seek air-conditioning in a shopping centre, library or other public place. (We do not have air-conditioning)
Fans can also provide relief (We do have fans.)
During a HEATWAVE we should phone for assistance immediately if we show any symptoms of heat stress including extremely heavy sweating, headache and vomiting, confusion, swollen tongue
After a Heatwave we should be careful of falling tree limbs – they can be a hazard during periods of extended high temperatures.
I think this last picture was taken in September 1994 when we had just moved into our new home in Dapto. The hammock found room in our backyard. Ryan, one of the twins, would have been fifteen at the time.
In December 1999 Caroline turned twenty-one. We had lunch with the family and some of Caroline’s friends at a club. Later the family came to our place where the following picture was taken. Gaby is in her wheelchair. Her carer David can be seen in the left of the picture. Martin carries his daughter Lauren, who is only one and a half, Monika carries Krystal who is two. Roxy and Tashi are seven and eight.
In early 2001 Peter’s sister Ilse, who lives in Berlin, came to visit us for a few months. The following pictures were taken near that playground about 500 meters behind our house.
AuntyUta 