OP SHOPPING....

Coffee plunger & mugs

This morning I went op shopping.....

I'd been reading about all the wonderful treasures that could be found if you had a discerning eye....and with about 20 minutes to spare before collecting the man I live with from his Chi Kung class, I ventured in to the local Salvos Store hoping that the time spent would be productive and there would be something that would catch my eye.....

I was amazed at the stock....men's suits for $15.....tailored jackets, a bargain at $10.....but wait, I was shopping for ME. Lead me to the ladies' department!

I was not disappointed.....I took blouses from the rack (too small)...never mind ...
What about these camis?... still with the original price tag, now marked at $2 each. Thank you I'll have that beautiful saxe blue, and that cream one could be useful.

What's this....a whole rack of casual pants....$4 each....would I be lucky enough to find my size? ....yes a lovely pair of 3/4 pants in the taupe colour I'd been looking for. I was almost overcome with joy

Time was ticking by and I hadn't even been into the bric-a-brac. The handbags caught my eye....put that down I told myself ...but the leather was so soft...I put it back!

I spied a beautiful hat....where would I wear it....no Melbourne Cup here, but for $8?....I had to pull myself together.

A quick dash into the bric-a-brac...... A brand new coffee plunger caught my eye....could that only be $4. Thank you very much

Then I saw a beautifully stylish Avanti water jug.....it had a tiny burnish mark near the handle....but for $3 it was a bargain.
I checked my watch....time to go.

As I dashed towards the check-out counter, two coffee mugs...(50c each) ....were added to my collection. I could not believe I had this armful of delights and the sweet lady at the counter said...."That will be $16 please, would you like a bag?"

I was in shock....So THIS was op shopping ! 
 
Thank you to my blogger friends, especially Melbourne Girl and my daughters (who always manage to find such a wonderful collection of designer clothes going for a song in Melbourne).....I had a great time....and I'll be back!

Avanti Slimline Water Jug

POLLYWAFFLE .....

My usual Sunday morning TV viewing has left my head spinning.....

 

While the memory was still fresh I thought I'd share with you a couple of  "pearlers" from our elected politicians and ever hopeful aspirants as they gently debated the state of the nation with some of our respected journalists this morning.

I am ever hopeful of "plainspeak" ....something that's in really short supply these days as they wind themselves up with the pre prepared gobbledegook that passes for policy...or even (golly gosh) ... for the  occasional educated guess....which brings a smile to my face....but surely not their minders as they try to salvage something from the riposte

I am ever hopeful for an answer to the question...but try as they might they never quite manage  to say ...Yes!....or even better .....No! 

How simple would that be....  Instead we get prevarication as they twist and turn under the belligerent questioning of the moderator......

Enough I say.....

Acronyms aside, here were just a couple of this morning's offerings...OPTIONALITY.....SERENDIPITOUS COMMENTS.....FISCAL ZERO 9....EXECUTIONAL PROGRESS.....the mind boggles

Dear readers....please bear with me...it's not my usual style....I'm a simple conversationalist, but I do have a game of SCRABBLE on the boil....and I'm ever hopeful

AN INCIDENT .....

On a very hot Melbourne day....with the temperature expected to climb above the 40 mark....we had decided to see a film at the Nova in Carlton.   

Our Grandchild was with us....and it was a special treat for her.  We were going on a bus....(something she finds very exciting)....we were going to have lunch at a place of her choosing..(also very exciting) ...and we would spend lots of time browsing in the bookshops...(this was very, very exciting)

All went according to plan.... the bus was on time....and I joined the long queue to buy the movie tickets. Eliza and her Grandfather went into Borders Bookstore to start their adventure....

I knew they would be down in the children's section, so with tickets in hand I made my way slowly through the vast array of books and magazines on offer....and it was then I thought I heard the sound of a dog yelping in pain.

I stood quietly and listened for it again..... nothing. 

A big display of newly published Penguins caught my eye, and as I was making my way towards it, I heard the sound again....closer now

I stood at the bookshelf marvelling at all the old classics ....most of which I'd read over the years...(and some I'd wished I had)....when I heard it again...quite loud... and this time very near.

I looked round startled and said to a well dressed woman sitting on a couch nearby ...."Did you hear tha" ....

I didn't get to finish the sentence before she yelled....."P..s off you f...ing b.tch!"  and the yowl of a dog in pain came from her lips......

I turned and moved quickly away from the scene....I knew instantly she had Tourette Syndrome, but never having been confronted by it before I was shocked and frightened.......

"Look Nana.....look at all these lovely books we've found"......my Grandchild's voice, so happy and excited.

My husband looked at me...questioningly.  "You OK?"     .....  I nodded

Later as we moved out of the shop I looked over to the couch near the classic Penquins....

She wasn't there.....

THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN.....

Yesterday was Book Club Day....It was the first meeting of our group for the new year, and as expected there were a couple of new faces....both women.  


Our lone male member had that look of resignation on his face that we have come to expect over the years, but to his credit he hangs in there, not allowing the twittering of the group of post menopausal women to daunt his spirit....and he can be ever hopeful!


As is the custom for the first book of the year, it was an easy read....nothing too difficult to frighten away potential members.... and this was a BEST SELLER....(world wide)...written by an AUSTRALIAN author.... was partly set in our home state of QUEENSLAND.... in particular...MARYBOROUGH ...a small provincial town a few hundred kilometres to the south of where we live.

It was THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN...the second novel by KATE MORTON...an up and coming author....and according to all the blurb on the back cover,it would enthrall the reader from the very first page....a compulsive read...a real page turner....an absorbing family saga wonderfully written.  One of the best reads this year!

 
I couldn't wait to get started on the 554 pages, so I popped it into my suitcase for the trip south to Melbourne.....


Oh me oh my....how disappointed was I.  


Surely all those wonderful critiques must have been about another novel?   No...I had the right book....  I laboured through it as we jumped through time, then back again, losing track of the characters who were so one dimensional that it was difficult to remember them.

As for the story....the so called mystery that would hook you in....it was just so predictable I felt sure everyone would have already guessed the outcome. An unlikely tale, somewhat Mills and Boonish....(yes one of those was required reading as we had a M&B author in our midst for a few years!)


I found the book much too ambitious....in need of serious editing....(so much so that I wondered if the first draft had been published by mistake ).   I gave it the thumbs down....and went off to the meeting assured that everyone would be of like mind.

Imagine my surprise when half the group LIKED the book.   I was in disbelief!   Surely this erudite group, so well read couldn't have LIKED this book?    They DID!


So dear readers...I'll have to wear it, but as far as I was concerned THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN should have been forgotten .  We can't win them all....can we


Critiques welcome!

A SUMMER SURPRISE.....

We have returned home to the heat....not the heat of Melbourne mind you, though I found some days there unbearably hot as the heat rose from the ground to sear my face. That was when the temperature was over the 40 mark, and I can't begin to know how it was around a year ago when the searing heat  was in excess of 46 degreesC... and so many people lost their lives in the firestorms.  

No...this is tropical heat and humidity accompanied by rain....rain....rain.  The wet season has returned after years of pretense and we are back to what we used to know....and I'm not liking it one little bit. 

But something wonderful has happened to my front garden.....  My waterwise garden, filled with heat loving plants, needing very little attention, fertilizer or water has suddenly bloomed with a wonderful massed display of white crocus, revelling in the inches of rain that has poured from the sky.....

    So I have taken some pics to share with you....

             Still wet with the morning rain...so beautiful

 

These little flowers are taking great pleasure

in the hot wet summer days........

HAVE YOURSELF A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.....

Dear Friends.....this will be my last blog for the year, as it's time to prepare for the journey south to be with our family at this special time.

What a memorable year it's been.....One never knows what's round the next corner just waiting to come alongside!   You have to take it in your stride, the happy with the sad, the good with the bad....never let it get you down.....(# sounds like something out of a song I once knew!)

Please try to enjoy all that this time of year has to offer.....It will mean different things to different people.... (# sounds like something out of a song I once knew)... but the common denominator, the most important thing of all is to try to have love and compassion in your heart.   We can go a long way on that!

Thank you for welcoming me to your blogging world.  I've been amazed at just what is out there to read... to enjoy....to learn...and to experience through other people's eyes.... (# I don't think that's a song title I once knew.... but perhaps it should be!)

I'll finish with a few lyrics from a song that I know I once knew......

How many seas must a white dove sail

Before she sleeps in the sand?........

The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind 

(thank you Bob Dylan for those beautiful lyrics)

And to all of you.....Merry Christmas!

 

 

AS TIME GOES BY .......

A few days ago we celebrated another wedding anniversary.  It was a happy day....we didn't do anything special though because we were both busy with prior engagements..... but I was happy to know that the boy had not forgotten, as very early that morning....even before the birds had started their morning chatter....he had touched my face gently and whispered the words "Happy Anniversary"..... not knowing that I was awake.

We were married 48 years ago....and yet it doesn't seem that long.  The two of us not knowing what was ahead, but trusting in each other that we could make this journey together.  What did we know of life.... or of each other for that matter.  We just knew that we wanted to be together

How young we look in this photo....newly married and about to leave for the reception.... my husband somewhat nervous about the speech he knew he had to make....in front of  people,  some of whom he had never seen in his life before.....Oh the joy....and the terror!

                                                           

Almost ready to leave the reception...(me in my going away outfit which was the tradition for the times.)
I had made this outfit myself....a softly flared skirt and a three quarter sleeved jacket with boat neckline collar finished with a soft bow.... and the fabric was a beautiful sea green paper silk which I had bought in Thailand just months before. The headpiece was draped with tendrils of lily of the valley echoing the colour of the fabric, and those were my wedding shoes (white pearlescent leather).... and soft suede gloves .  It all seemed so important at the time.....

               Now lets move on a few years......                

 

And here we are celebrating our 25th anniversary with our beautiful daughters

Our girls eventually moved away to the bright lights, big city, to follow their careers....marry.....and have a family of their own....

And there we were again....back where we started....just the two of us.

What wonderful years they have been and what memories of those times.....
Yes... there have been disappointments....yes....there has been grief and pain with the deaths of much loved parents and a younger sister....but the joys far outweighed the sadness.

He tried to leave me....three times.....but the doctors brought him back... a little worse for wear....but he still had things to do on earth....obviously.   And so...as time goes by....another year comes and goes... and we are still learning about each other. The memory is failing....but not the sense of humour.

 How lucky we have been so far on this journey of a lifetime, happy in each other's company....making no demands of each other....just enjoying our time.... together