Remembering September 2024

September was the month when I was supposed to go on a cruise with daughter Monika and granddaughter Natasha. On Wednesday, the 18th of that month, we were right on time in Sydney.. Carnival, the big ocean ship was waiting for us at Circular Quay. Straightaway we were able to check in our luggage., that is, each of us had a large suitcase to be checked in. So there was no problem with that, none whatsoever. But when it was time to board the ship, we were told we could not go on board yet since omething was not right with Monika’s passport. The problem was that Monika’s passport was only valid for another four months! They said, it should be valid for at least another six months.

Today is already the 13th of October. Exactly one month ago, on Friday the 13th of September, I had some friends over in the afternoon for some pre-birthday celebrations. We were sitting outside on the deck having some bubbly wine and or some soft drinks. I liked the wine and had a bit too much of it. It affected me so much, that I was actually quite drunk, and due to my drunkenness ended up with a nasty fall. Since that day one month ago i haven’ttouched any alcohol again.

To be continued

Books I read in June 2017

Fletcher, John, 1934- Dust of the land

March, Mia The Meryl Streep movie club

Coelho, Paulo Adultery

The library sent me an email to remind me that I have to return the above three books by Thursday, the 8th of June 2017.

They say:

” Please return them, by the due date, or renew at: . . . . ”

And there is the URL of the Wollongong Library as well as their phone number. That means it is possible to renew by email or phone. I can renew the books if I have not finished reading them by next Thursday.

It is a reminder only as follows:

“04 Jun 2017

Dear borrower,
Reminder Only:Your items are due soon”

The reminder was sent off 4 days early, which is quite helpful in case I want to renew.

To me these emails are a good record to see what sort of books I have been borrowing. All the above books happen to be large print books. I find large print is so much easier for me to read. When I read something on the computer, I usually enlarge the print. To read small print, tends to tire my eyes.

The novel “Dust of the Land” by John Fletcher I did borrow for a second time, since I very much liked reading it when I borrowed it the first time. I was happy to read it once more! It is an epic novel set in Australia. I am always on the lookout for good Australian novels.

I find Paulo Coelho is a very good author. I like his style of writing very much. The main character in the novel “Adultery” is a married woman, who is going through a major depression. This is psychologically very interesting and written in a very sensitive way.

Mia March’es novel shows me something about contemporary life in America. For instance how a certain family deals with a tragic car accident, cancer treatment, single motherhood and adultery. It is all there. And some interesting discussions about Meryl Streep movies!

And of course I recently read “The Dry” by Jane Harper as mentioned in this post:

https://auntyuta.com/2017/05/30/utas-may-2017-diary-2/

Uta’s Diary, December 2014

Reflecting on our Monday Morning

Last Monday we happened to sleep in a bit. We are usually quite early risers. That we slept in was really something out of the ordinary. Peter was upset when he woke up so late. He had planned on being at the Medical Centre by 7,30 am so he could be booked in for his visit to the doctor who was due to arrive at 8 am. Since we did sleep for too long, he did not arrive at the centre in time. By the time he did get there, eight people had already booked in before him. I think I had a banana before we left. But Peter wanted to rush off. He did not want any coffee, and he did not even have time to eat a banana.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, we had time for some hot drinks at the guru Cafe while Peter was waiting for his turn to see his doctor. But we actually survived without any food till we had this lovely bit of fruit salad. The fruit salad was wonderful, very fresh and with different varieties of fruit in it.

Peter was in the end quite happy the way the morning had turned out for he did get good test results. He was very relieved about this. And I was happy that I finally made myself try on and buy something new to wear. On top of it I must say the day was a lucky day for me because everything I bought was reduced by 40% or more!

FINCH THERAPY, Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT)

I found the above adds after my consultation for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I had a Carpal Tunnel Release operation in November 2013. A few weeks later I made an appointment at the above clinic. I was given treatments every two weeks and had to do some of the MAT exercises at home. After several weeks of this my body was well aligned. This week I went there for a follow up examination. This turned out to be okay. I was advised to have another follow up examination in three months time.

Thankfully my carpal tunnel syndrome has improved a real lot. My right hand is close to normal again! Also I seem to have a much better balance in my body. I would say the FINCH THERAPY really made quite a difference in my well being. Peter underwent the same therapy and is quite happy with it. This therapy helps with muscle activation. However arthritic pain is a different matter. The therapy cannot help with this. Both Peter and I suffer more or less from arthritic pain. This can be very painful at times. We are told, keeping as mobile as possible, is what we should aim for. Both, Peter and I, try to move about as much as possible.

I told one of the therapists that we were being kept very busy over Easter since we did have a few visitors staying with us and going on a lot of outings with us. The therapist asked me then if we went out for coffee. I said we did not go out for coffee so much. I should have told him then about all our different outings. But there was no time for this.

So were did we go? Just to recollect: There was one outing to Port Kembla Pool and Beach early on Easter Saturday morning. The same day we went to the Nan Tien Temple for a delicious vegetarian lunch. And of course we had a good look at some of the temple interiors and surrounding beautiful grounds.

Easter Sunday, very early in the morning, we went for a walk in the Minnamurra Rainforest. Later on we had a Buffet Lunch at the Novotel in Wollongong. When I said we had 15 people at our place on Good Friday, the therapist asked me whether I had to cook for all of them. I said I cooked lunch only for seven of us. The others came later.

I could have mentioned that our son cooked a lovely meal for us on Saturday night after we got home from the temple. He cooked Ravioli and there was a sumptuous salad to go with it.

As far as my diary goes, I could mention that Peter went already twice this week to get new top dentures fitted. Yesterday he had to see his eye specialist in Figtree. We went to Figtree together on the bus. While Peter saw his doctor, I ‘amused’ myself in the nearby shopping centre. Shopping centres make me feel very tired. And I had been up since 5 am already. We arrived home for a quick lunch. Then Peter drove me to my heart move class at Dapto Ribbonwood Centre. Well, that was only yesterday. I remember I felt extremely tired during the class. I like to go to these classes when I feel more rested. These heart move exercises are actually great fun. There is always such invigorating Latin American music to go with it, as well as Vienna waltzes.

Thoughts on writing Memoirs

When writing memoirs I may have to consider the feelings of certain living relatives. I feel with some memories it may be a good idea to fictionalize a bit, for instance, change names and perhaps places and dates. But on the other hand this may be a bit confusing for my descendants if they want to find out about the life of their actual forbears.

I am also in doubt how much I am allowed to tell about my friends or about people who briefly crossed my path. I went as far as changing names slightly of people I remember from the 1940s! This concerns of course my childhood memories. When I reblogged some of these memories I reconsidered and changed my friends’ names back to their real names.

In reading once more some of my old blogs, I kept coming across the name ‘Aunty Elsa’. Well, ‘Elsa’ was really ‘Ilse’. It’s only an insignificant alteration of the name. I guess anybody who would seriously study our family history later on would be able to figure out who this aunt was.

If it comes to surnames it gets even more difficult. There are some rather unusual surnames belonging to the people from the past that I am writing about. I must say I am a bit reluctant to disclose all these surnames.

However if it comes to my family tree I feel it is quite all right to mention all the proper surnames. From this follows that it is really okay to use all the relevant first names too, doesn’t it? I have to remember this next time I publish a bit more family history!

Interviews for Oral History

The back of our home where we had morning tea with Frances

Our daughter Monika said the other day: ‘I knew, Mum, that you’d like Frances.’ She wasn’t surprised at all that I very much loved having her around. Peter and I were always very much looking forward seeing her here at our home. This was some weeks ago. Very soon now we should get the result of these recording sessions with Frances.

I think Frances saw our daughter Gaby just a few days before Gaby died. Sadly the planned interview with Gaby could not take place at the time. There was some difficulty with incoming calls Gaby was expecting that day. Apparently Gaby was reluctant to switch off her mobile phone!

Gaby’s passing must have been a shock to Frances as it was to all of us. Frances had already been looking with Gaby at some of her documents. She was aware how Gaby caught polio at age four, and that she had lived as a quadriplegic with breathing difficulties for over fifty years. After Gaby’s passing she was keen to interview someone of Gaby’s family.

Frances found out from daughter Monika that we, Gaby’s parents, had gone overseas soon after Gaby’s death and wouldn’t be back for quite some time. In the meantime Frances started interviewing Monika. This is how Monika did get to know Frances. Monika agreed to be interviewed about her life in connection with Gaby. So Frances recorded twice one hour with Monika. Some time later, after our return from our long overseas trip, Peter’s and my tale was recorded too. Peter’s took eight times one hour, mine seven times one hour.