Mum's story

Last night Mum tried to speak with me on the phone. Not only is the Alzheimer's kicking in and making it more difficult to remember, but her hearing is not good, and she refuses to wear her hearing aids, saying they are useless. I have spoken with people who suggest that perhaps she likes it quiet!

Well the end result was we couldn't have a real conversation, as she pressed the end button and cut me off twice.

However, I dug this photo up. It was in 1947, a few years after the war ended. Mum had been working for 2 years at Le Louvre, an upmarket dressmaking outfit at the top of Collin's St in Melbourne.The imposing copper facade is still there, though the business has moved, to South Yarra I think. She was 16, and shown here with her friend Mabel Jack, who has since passed away.

I use friend rather loosely in the light of what Mum told me once. When these two were at school together in Preston, Mum and her had a spelling test with the class. Mabel got one wrong,and Mum passed her a rubber and told her to rub out the wrong answer and put the right one in. Mabel did so, and Mum promptly put her hand up and told the teacher on her!!! How rotten was that. However, to Mabel's credit, she must have forgiven her because I remember her being really helpful to Mum when I was living here.

Mum made her suit, as she did all her clothes.

Three years after this she was on her way by ship to Ireland, where she met and married Dad.

She has memory gaps about most of her life now, not just the later years, but she is not unhappy. My brother Rod takes her out regularly so she gets to see the old places she used to know, and he says sometimes she remembers surprising details, and sometimes she has very vague recollections of family happenings.

Tribute to Uncle Bill

This is a post dedicated to my uncle, William McMillan who passed away recently in Ireland. Here is a picture of him taking me, ( far right) my brother Ken, and two of his children, Anne and John, to see Santa in Belfast in 1960! I have such happy memories of those early days, before tv was a big deal, and when we went on family holidays in the caravan to isolated beaches, in the cold, And had such fun!

I remember Uncle Bill making us pancakes with raisins in them one night, and digging a big hole with my dad, so we could all jump in and out of it... And they reversed the film and it looked like we were all jumping up out of it cleverly!

But what I most remember about Uncle Bill was not the kind things he did for other people, but the time he gave me a little leather coin purse, when I was seven and had measles, and couldn't go on a trip to the seaside. He came back from the day trip and gave me this little purse that said " Millisle" on it (and had a little shamrock on it )- the place where they all went. I thought he was the best Uncle in the world.

The things we do for children are not irrelevant, or unimportant, but probably more important than the things we might achieve in our working life, or other things we might consider major achievements...

And the legacy we leave is what people remember - not necessarily what we think was significant...















As time goes on, we become more aware of the fragility of life. I hope that the children Uncle Bill brought to the Wednesday night Children's meetings are now living well as a result of what they heard those days.

That is the legacy we

want to leave.

Thank you, Uncle Bill!





To his close family who will be feeling sad:-

Better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all... (Tennyson)

 

Pomegranates 2,3 and 4

 

There are a few more semi ripe pomegranates. Actually they taste good. But are still better in a salad, or savory dish. They were good in cous cous, with spring onion, mint and pine nuts.

They remind me of honeycomb the way they separate from the little segments. They look really nice in salad because they are so bright...

Trouble is, when they are ripe in the garden they are usually in season in the shops- so all that effort and care and I can buy them for $2 each in Woolworth's! But they were good with blue cheese and prosciutto.

The other garden item that is still good in Autumn is rhubarb. I've been trying unsuccessfully to embed a link to a website with blogsy. In the meantime, you can find a nice recipe for roasted rhubarb on Poh's kitchen section of the ABC cooking show. She slow roasts longish pieces and puts them together on the plate to look like a lily. Probably more difficult to do than she lets on. Rhubarb goes well in so many things- on toast for breakfast, with yoghurt for lunch, In a crumble for dessert, or just stewed with sugar or honey, with some ginger or orange pieces added. Not all on the same day of course...

Apparently rhubarb was considered a vegetable last century. Can't say that appeals...

Now a little reward for plodding your way through this blog. At least if you are an Australian resident. Buy yourself a bottle of Seasol fertilizer, take a photo of yourself with it in the garden ( or somebody else's), and write a 20 word rhyme. Email it to Seasol, and you could win $2000. A new chance to win each month. Check out the website! But wait til May, cos I'm planning to win the April one... If you read some of the ones that have won in the past, I think we could all be in with a chance...

 

Will's first birthday

Since it's still wet and the alternative to doing this is doing work, here goes with an attempt to upload a video or two.

This was taken last weekend, at Will's place, after the folks had left, but before Will had got tired!

Hope you enjoy his happy noises!

 

Pretty protea

My friend Lindy grows the best proteas. She gave me seeds once, but they didn't germinate. I really don't know much about them, except that they are South African, and they don't like a lot of fertilizer. The big black centered ones are spectacular. I think they are the king proteas. The trees or bushes often have a lovely shape. An Italian friend, Anna, says they are ugly, like artichokes,but I think they are sturdy but intricate.

After a few attempts which failed because of wet roots(this is a really damp place in winter), we finally had success, and now have a flourishing little tree. Flowers inside remind me of Grandma (Smyth), who always had a vase of flowers at home. Today they are a tribute to my uncle, William McMillan, who passed away last week in Ireland. He was a fun uncle when I was little. He made good pancakes with raisins in them!

The protea grow in the front garden, which I don't have much to do with- it is a damp spot and we have lost a few plants there. At the moment there are a couple of olive trees amongst others... As well as the protea.

This was the best apple of the crop. There are 5 trees, and the first apples to ripen were these- early MacIntosh is the name. Sweet and red. And for some reason they were not attacked by any pests.

Too wet to garden again today. A good chance to plan where to plant next spring's vegetables.

Rain in the garden

Today (Sunday) it is raining. The ground needs a good soak so rain is good.

Yesterday was first grandchild Williams's first birthday. We went to celebrate at his house in Kew. He loved the attention, and had his first taste of cake, when his mum gave him a piece of his clock cake, decorated to the time of day he was born. It was a beautiful afternoon because he is so responsive to company- not shy, and very ready to chuckle. We played a game throwing and catching balloons and he was screaming in delight. It's often the simple pleasures that are the best. Like many kids at his stage, he was just as excited about the wrapping paper on his present as the duplo blocks inside.

Our little granddaughter Leah came to help celebrate. She is a much gentler little soul,with a cute shy smile. It is such an unexpected pleasure to hold a grandchild. I never suspected that having grandchildren would be so special. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in their lives.

Which brings Mum to mind. This was taken the other day when I called in to visit her in The Terraces where she lives.

We went out for a coffee, and this was taken on the walk back. Mum wanted to be back in time for lunch. She doesn't like the thought of missing a meal! When I arrived she was sitting in one of the lounges with two other ladies. I paused to watch before they saw me and noticed that they were not chatting or reading- just staring blankly ahead. That is so hard to watch as Mum was so vibrant before Alzheimer's- interested in sewing, and house prices, and bargains!

She did enjoy seeing the recent photos of our holiday, but struggled to place who was who. I talked with her about Dad, and her eyes filled with tears. She asked, "Did I look after him well when he was sick?" she said she remembers him in a room, and I think she means the hospital, but it is hard to know exactly what she is thinking.

I have great respect for her at the moment, because she knows her memory is slipping, and she talks about the big blank parts, where she can remember being in her teens, but can't remember the years when we were all growing up. She can remember some recent events, but the immediate past is a blur. She said "I'm scared about the future, but there's nothing I can do to stop this (Alzheimer's) getting worse, so I just have to take one day at a time. Her faith in God gives her comfort. There is a lot to be said for a simple trust in a loving God.

Eating the first pomegranate

One of the pomegranates split. I took that to mean it might be ripe. It is nearly! In other words it tastes great in a salad, but I hope they will get sweeter.

How do you make pomegranate molasses?

And someone must know if I have to wait til the leaves have gone from the pomegranate tree before picking the fruit???

This time last week we were still enjoying Hamilton Island! A few more memories...

 

 

The babies in their stinger suits

One of Mum and I taken at Christmas.

Josh (right) feeding Will, and Phil feeding Leah on holiday!

The garden at our rental house

Jim's sixtieth celebration.Ali brought the ingredients for a Battenburg cake and made it at Hamilton. The almond paste was delicious. So was the cake underneath!

 

2 km from home

How about a challenge! Take a walk from your home or work, and photograph things within 2 km of yor starting point. Then, email or blog it and see which is the most interesting! The city ones would be very interesting!

Also, it would be really neat if you got a gmail address, went through the process (only a pain the first time you do it), and followed the blog. 'Cos I really would like you to add comments.

Well here is my 2 km walk from yesterday.

I set myself the challenge of meeting a well-dressed person, quite a challenge in my village, but in fact never met a soul. Which meant I had to go for animals and scenery. it was the last weekend of the school holidays, which can be quite busy on this track. Not this afternoon.

First I met a surprised wallaby. He was about 5 meters away, and he bounded off with the camera click.

Then I looked out to the inlet and saw these birds. I think they are swans- but not sure. There is also a flock of pelicans which has been coming every day for the last few weeks.

The water was mirror calm and the reflection superb but I didn't get a good shot of that. So just the swans. Did early settlers eat them along with the Cape Barren geese?

Then, over the grassy bank I saw the iron bed. How it got there I have no idea. There are currently no houses near this spot.

A bit farther, this time on the left, there is a view of the Plastic Christmas tree. This is an Optus mobile phone tower, that was only allowed to be built on the condition that it fit in with the surrounds. This is what they came up with.

On again, and here is the blue plastic ribbon. So I guess the tower does fit in... This is to denote the spot where fox or rabbit bait has been set. Both introduced species threaten native wildlife. The rabbits are particularly annoying in the garden too.

Finally, about 100 metres from home this little lady appeared. She was only a few metres away and didn't jump off quickly at all. So many of these pretty little wallabies get hit by cars at night. I hit one once and it didn't survive.

Finally to the Alzheimer's part. The last time I saw mum was the day before we went on holidays. We walked around Mt. Eliza,the little village where she lives. She said her favourite shop is the Salvo's store (which is quite funny if you think that Mum used to wear the latest in beautiful boots and clothes!) Her taste has completely altered. She wears red and pink together quite often, and an alarming array of colour combinations. I smile to think how she used to tell Dad off for his off-key colour choices!

But that Sunday she was alert. She knew her two great grandchildrens' names, and talked happily about recent events. She said it was a pity Dad had died so young (he was 55). She still remembers that part of her life, and can recall all the houses she has lived in.

I wish there was a dignified type of eating bib- she spills food easily on her clothes and doesn't seem to see it. I noticed many of the other oldies have stained tops too, and wonder if there is a solution.

The other thing that would be good is to run iiPad classes for some of them. If we could get half a dozen iiPads and do a few fun things on them once or twice a week it might brighten their day a bit???

A stray memory of our beaut holiday...

Hamilton

Here are some of the images from our Easter family holiday that I wanted to upload but couldn't quite get the hang of on the iPad. I have downloaded the blogsy app and am trying it for the first time.

The weather was good- maybe two dull days. One very windy day Josh went on a jet ski round the island- the only person game to go on one that day.

the babies were spectacular! Maybe I am slightly biased, but it was a great privilege to see them each day. Childhood is a beautifully innocent time, and I get the chance to marvel at it since I don't have the hard work that goes with it as a mum.

As far as meals went it was easy. We cooked communally, and each ate out as we chose. It was relatively expensive to eat out on Hamilton, though Jim and I managed it a few times...

the vegetation was lush, the views superb- the downtime a real treat!

These were taken on the walk from our house to the marina.

You can just about make out the buggies- electric left hand drive machines we charged each night.

 

Back from Hamilton Island

Well, if you ever want a really good holiday, hire a house for 10 days in the Whitsundays... We stayed in Malihini House, which is one of the few privately owned houses on Hamilton Island. There were 8 of us, two babies under one, Katie and Josh, Ali and Phil, and the Grandparents!
Katie got a Coles on Line food order which meant we didn't have to buy to much locally- (very expensive). We had good food, good fun and lots of relaxing.

Jim's catch... pity it was a protected species and had to go back...
Not sure if Phil will ever go fishing again...He looked a bit green when they got back.






We all swam on Whitehaven beach, even the babies - and we all had to wear stinger suits, though I think the risk was minimal at this time of year. If you look at photos of people swimming on Whitehaven they show bikini clad flousies- the reality is somewhat different - even slim people don't often look good in lycra.... not showing the photos - suffice it to say Leah (7months) looked like an angry bird when the suit helmet was up- and she was better than the rest of us. Poor Will got fitted with a size 4 suit cos they didn't have any smaller- he had no idea what was happening, but does enjoy the water so he took it all in his stride.

A snorkeling trip was good too. Katie and I thought it might be a rough trip out to the coral but it was 40 minutes of calm - ish bay tripping. We slid off the back of the boat with stinger suit, mask and snorkel and flippers and had an hour or so floating around looking at fish and coral a couple of metres down. It was relaxing and felt safe because we were not too far from the boat (kept that in sight!), and there were 20-30 of us on the trip.