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 |   The simplicity of my day to day. |
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This is where I write my thoughts, feelings and my daily trials, tribulations and happy things
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Happy New Year to everyone who reads this. There probably aren’t many! At least I know Kåre Enga in Montana  will read it because the only reason I’ve got off my backside and I’m writing in my blog at all is because of him and his promised prompts. So, thank you, Kare.He suggested writing about Butterscotch. Actually there aren’t many things I don’t like in the sweet department but that is one of them, as well as popcorn. They both have the same sort of smell, a little sickly in the case of butterscotch and popcorn has a weird odour, oily and a bit like burnt butter. I have a very sensitive sense of smell. It drives my husband crazy. I’m almost positive he doesn’t have any. “What’s that stink?” I say and the dog slinks off to her bed, even if it isn’t her. The actual worse smell is when a rat/ mouse/ possum dies in the roof. I can smell it days before anyone else and can tell where in the roof space it is with pinpoint accuracy. Which makes my husband’s job of locating it easier. As for the question re Christianity and it’s relevance in today’s world. As an agnostic, I can’t say for sure. I was raised in a non religious family. We were not baptised but we were still allowed to attend religious instruction at school. We sang hymns at assembly and learned the Lord’s Prayer by rote every day. It didn’t do me any harm I suppose. My great grandchildren go to a Baptist school, but the only reason is because their mother thinks there’s more discipline there. Another great granddaughter is going to be Christened this year. This is because her father is Catholic but he’s only having his daughter baptised to avoid upsetting his elderly grandmother. I will attend but feel it’s an excuse for a party. People tend to turn to a God they never even thought of or believed in when there is a catastrophe in their lives. There is so much pretence regarding religion these days. I don’t think Australians are anywhere near as religious as other nationalities. In my experience, the poorest countries are the ones that need to believe in God. They have little else.  |
| Here we are, just us three. My dog, Lucy, my husband, John, and me. We’re out for an evening stroll in the park. The sun has sunk below Mundaring’s horizon, but the crowds will be still farewelling it on Scarborough Beach. We enter a park so different to the one we went to this morning. Then it was bustling and noisy. A gentle breeze carried the sound of a musician playing a ukulele and singing bush songs throughout the park. Dozens of stalls were selling everything from plants to baby clothes, soaps, jewellery, toys, lotions, jams, and pickles. The vibe was cheerful, happy on this beautiful day, people busying themselves looking at what was on offer, perhaps searching for the perfect Christmas gift for their perfect person. The markets were held on the grass, spreading out as far as the scout hall and the carpark across from the Old Station Master’s house. “Hello!” I turned to see if someone was calling to me and saw Mel who runs the ‘Move and Groove’ classes in the hall. I walked over to where she was standing spruiking her classes. “Hi, … How’s it going? Getting much interest?” I asked “Not bad,” she replied before she waved to a lady to come over. She introduced us. The lady was holding a collection tin. “What are you collecting for?” I asked “Save the hills,” she said. I nodded wisely. “That Satterley is still trying to win.” She frowned. “He’s holding private forums now. We need to keep an eye on him.” I knew she was talking about a developer who is attempting to build a housing estate here in the hills, to much great opposition. I nod my head in agreement with what she’s saying, “I know, he’s trouble.” I said. “Sorry, I’d better go.” I pointed to John, leaning, waiting. He looked resigned. The smells coming from the food stalls were tempting, however I was there for a specific reason; to buy a plant for a friend’s birthday. But now all the people have gone. The park is as if there had been no market there at all. We wander, just us three, in the relative silence. The day has been warm, the warmest one for many months. The flies are yet to go to bed and are making their annoying presence felt. I swat one away, and nearly knock my glasses from my face. It simply won’t leave me alone. There is music coming from the pub, I recognise many of the tunes and hum along as we continue our after- dinner stroll. On the children’s playground, a few stragglers are still squeezing just a little more out of the day. A big sister is hanging on the flying fox with her younger siblings. She is laughing like the child she still is but probably would hate her High School friends to see. A little kid has fallen off his bike on the gravel path a few hundred metres away from us. As we get closer, I watch as both parents crouch down to his level, reassuring and soothing. Mum picks him up and dad carries the bike. They go on their way; the child has stopped crying and is snuggled safe in his mother’s arms. I’m reminded of so many, “nice little ride in the park on your bike,” trips, when crying children are comforted and bikes and scooters are carried home. A wattle bird swoops down and pecks Lucy’s bum, distracting her from her stalking as yet unaware rabbit. We laugh at her obvious annoyance. We’re turning now to home; the music still plays from the Mundaring Hotel and we’re discussing whether we should go and listen to the band and have a drink. We decide against it. We pass by the rotunda, and I notice our local homeless man has left his bedroll and blanket there ready for when he leaves the pub later tonight. Lucy has a last joyous roll on the grass. The end of another perfect day. |
| PROMPT November 30th Wow, it's the end of the month! With Thanksgiving behind us (here in the States), and Christmas on the horizon, what, if any, are your Christmas traditions? If you have no holiday traditions, do you have any plans for this month? Oh my goodness, Christmas again! These days are Sooo different to years gone by. Christmas lunch was always at our house. Children, grandchildren, extended family and friends always gathered around at ours. It was a lot of hard work, preparation and money. Honestly I can’t say I was ever able to enjoy it because I used to run around like a crazy person, making sure everyone was having a great time. When they’d all gone home and I was able to relax with a glass of something, I’d replay the day in my mind and just hope it all went well and everyone was happy. Nowadays I leave it up to others. We usually get invited to our daughter’s house for lunch. I smile when I see her do some of the same things, but she doesn’t try as hard. She delegates, something I have trouble with. Our other children live too far away to spend Christmas with them. Christmas is for children. I never tire of seeing the magic of this time of year in the eyes of little ones. That’s where my gaze falls, watching the joy in their faces. Otherwise I’m a little jaded regarding the hype, commercialisation and monetary value placed on gifts. But I haven’t as yet turned into a Scrooge type of character. |
| PROMPT November 29th Imagine for a moment that you are near the end of your life. What do you want to have done that would make you feel satisfied? It doesn’t take much imagination to think about the end of my life. My husband and I are nearer eighty than seventy! I’ll never be satisfied to say “let’s go, that’ll do.” I really want to see how my little great grandchildren turn out. There’ll always be something I want to still be here for. I REALLY want to see what the future holds technologically. Who wouldn’t want to see what science comes up with next? The new medicines and cures. So no I’ll never be satisfied to die. I’ll always want more days, weeks months and years! |
| PROMPT November 28th Hopefully a little change of pace tonight. Write about something intangible: faith, magic, energy, power, or creativity. Just choose one topic, and write about it. Well I’m not very spiritual or airy fairy, more into practicality that’s me. However I’ve been watching The Great British Bake-off and I think that cooking incorporates all the things you ask for in today’s prompt. Intangible, faith, magic, power and creativity! I’m in awe how these contestants take basic ingredients and turn them into something amazing to look at and to taste. It’s a science I know but how does it happen that different people can turn those same ingredients into completely different end products? |
| PROMPT November 27th Things have progressed well in your town/city with the Pandemic. So well that you've been allowed to return to the office instead of working from home. Your co-worker Karly, is sneezing and coughing and refuses to wear a mask. Who do you call, or do you let it slide. Tell us why you would act that way. It’s one of my pet hates. People who come to work with a cold or flu are the most selfish people I know. I refuse to be around with someone who is coughing and sneezing. I would tell the boss that a co worker was spreading disease throughout the office and if the person with the cold doesn’t go home then I expect the boss to allow me to leave. |
| PROMPT November 26th Today is Thanksgiving here in the United States. I know this is the prompt for tomorrow, but I'm going to give you something to be thankful for. The prompt for tonight is to be yourself. Write whatever is on your mind. Provide your own prompt, so-to-speak. I look forward to reading your posts! Okay no prompt today. That means I can ramble on about my day then. Went to the shops. Huge mistake! Every man, woman, child and their dogs were there. It’s Black Friday of course. Didn’t buy a thing because the parking was crazy, it was very hot ( 36 degrees) and I decided it wasn’t necessary to be there. Normally at this time of the year my Christmas shopping would be done and wrapped. But this year for some reason I’ve hardly given it a thought. It looks like either a trip to the Liquor Store for gifts and the supermarket for vouchers. I know, no thought whatsoever but that’s how Im feeling. Maybe the Christmas spirit will hit me later. My singing group will be singing at the op shop on Tuesday, maybe I can pick up some gifts there! We’re having a break up parties for the end of the year for singing group and my writing group so I may get into the spirit then. |
| PROMPT November 25th We all have something to be thankful about. In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving today. Tell us what you are most thankful for. I’m thankful to live in Australia and in particular Western Australia. We have been blessed compared to the rest of the World. Geography has a lot to do with our “luck” I suppose. We were able to observe what was happening in the Northern Hemisphere long before Covid arrived here. The separation of Western Australia from the East Coast gave us here in the West an even better advantage. We as a State have been able to say who can come here, ensuring whoever does come in has quarantined and been vaccinated. Of course folks here still complain about restrictions and lack of liberty. Antivaxers March in the streets, threaten our government officials and their families. But I’m thankful for everything our State Government has done to keep businesses thriving. Local tourism has never been so busy. Yet people still complain. I have family in the UK where people still die daily and 40,000 people a day still get the virus. |
| PROMPT November 24th In a previous prompt, I asked you to write about your best, or favorite teacher. Tonight write about your darkest teacher. This is the teacher who ruined my life while I was at primary school. She terrified me. Her name was Cynthia Stretton. I thought she was ancient but as much later on she gave birth to twin boys she must have been in her twenties. I used to see her years later with her boys. They looked like her, tall, gangly and miserable. One day sticks in my mind. It was the Queens Coronation so 1953. I was nine years old. We had to write an essay on the ceremony. I had been trying to think of the name of the canopy which was held over the Queen’s anointing. It’s a secret ceremony which no one was allowed to witness. Even the TV cameras had to turn away. Anyway I described the colour of the thing (purple) how it had a pole at each corner etc. But no, this wasn’t enough for Miss Stretton. I had to sit in my chair all day until I remembered the word “canopy!” Another time I wrote “hundredweight” instead of the abbreviation “CWT” Again same deal! She threw my sewing back at me and told me to unpick it, half a dozen times. I never wanted to go to school. Teacher really have no idea what they can do to a child. They can make but they can certainly break. |
| PROMPT November 23rd In your blog today, tell us your favorite joke. It can be long, short, it does not matter. What makes this particular joke your favorite one? C'mon, show us your sense of humour. I had one I was going to tell you before I went to choir today. Then someone told me this joke. I laughed so maybe it’s funny. Soooo, a young lady was sitting on a long haul flight minding her own business when the man next to her interrupted her reading and says: “ Excuse me, I hate to interrupt you but I’ve always found on these long flights that a good discussion helps to pass the time.” The girl looks at him, sighs and asks him what would he’d like to discuss? He says, “Well, I notice you’re wearing a cross, so you’re probably religious. I’m an agnostic, so we could have a debate on the existence of God?” She answers, “can I ask you a question first? He says “sure, ask me anything you like” She says: “okay, well you know I’ve always wondered about this question. It’s about animals that eat grass.” The man nods. The girl says: “Well, goats and sheep eat grass and their poo is like hard round pellets.” The man nods. The girl says: “Cows eat grass and they do huge cow pats?” The man nods. The girl says: “Horses eat grass but their excrements are more like brown torpedoes . Would you agree?” The man nods. The girl asks him “Why, if they all eat grass is their poo all different?” The man says: “ I’m sorry my dear, I have no idea. I can’t answer that.” The girl looks at him and says: “ you expect me to have a deep and meaningful philosophical discussion about the existence of God when you don’t know sh…! “ |
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I know, selfies are crazy! The sheer amount shared is wild- can you imagine how many they take that they don't share? 
So sorry you're dealing with all this. 
