Now that I have been forbidden to drive due to my deteriorating eyesight I have discovered that Karrakatta Cemetery is only three minutes away by train. Two days ago I was sort of obliged to attend a funeral and not knowing which train to catch so that I didn't have to hang around for too long I used Transperth's Journey planner and discovered this useful bit of information.
Funerals are becoming a part of my life these days and I have lost a couple of my best friends already as well as my sister who died some years ago from smoking-related lung disease. Don't go there - I know that it is hard to give up cigarettes but . . . .
Monday's funeral was for the wife of a second cousin, the couple being discovered during the course of my genealogical research. I was asked by the said cousin's sister to compile a family tree of her mother's family and as she lives in Sydney it was all done via email and phone. She provided the information and I provided the means to create the tree.
She emailed to let me know that her sister-in-law had died and said that she would be over in the west for two days and that if we were going to meet up it would have to be at the funeral - so I put on my Sunday best and turned up not knowing anyone except my cousins neither of whom I had seen for many years so I was not sure if I would even recognise them. fortunately I recognised my cousin from Sydney but the husband of the woman who died had changed so much that I needed to have him pointed out to me. Hopefully he will get back his vigour when he is rested; he looked after his wife at home right to the end.
The forecast was for storms that day but luckily the weather was kind and this morning I woke up to a gorgeous morning with clear skies and no wind so I decided to cross the railway line and take another walk in the park. This time I went a bit further and reached a part which hadn't changed so much and I actually recognised the street I used to ride to work down. All the building work is happening close to the railway line as an encouragement to take the train to work and leave the cars at home. It was a lovely walk but next time I will take a hat as the sun was still low and very bright.
However, no sooner had I reached home when all the bad weather arrived and we have had freezing gale-force winds and torrential rain for the rest of the day. I have had the heating turned right up and the cats have been sleeping all day in a furry bundle on their blankie.
Your limerick:
An indolent vicar of Bray
His roses allowed to decay.
His wife more alert,
Bought a powerful squirt
And said to her spouse, "Let us spray."
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
All Things Bright and Beautiful
At the moment I am on an extended health regimen, expanding on my almost daily bout of yoga.
D2 is currently in Bali learning Transcendental Meditation which brought to the forefront of my mind that I used to meditate regularly before I retired but had somehow let the whole thing slip. However, I was taught well and slipped back into the routine very easily. My mantra is not easily forgotten since it was once the word which I used almost more than any other and the rest of the routine of getting into a meditative state came easily, the only change being that I seem to be able to judge the amount of time I have been meditating better than I used to. Once I used to surface after about 16 minutes - now I am doing the proper 20 minutes.
And spring has arrived here and for the last couple of days it has been warm and sunny so I decided that it was time I got back to walking regularly. I need to lose a couple of kilos so the added exercise should help to shift it.
Unfortunately we are back to winter today.
However, yesterday I decided to cross the railway line and see what had been going on since I last ventured that way. When I was working I frequently rode my bike to work through this area so it was interesting to see what changes had been made. I didn't recognise anything. All the houses and shops have gone, taken over by large apartment blocks and construction sites which are leading to more large apartment blocks.
The golf course is still there - I think that it is the same one - but it has been transformed into a green velvet carpet, extended by two playing fields belonging to one of the boys schools, and with shady trees and park benches and the swamp!! It has been reinvented by an organisation called, I think, The Friends of Claremont aided and abetted by our 99 year old member of the knitting group who, along with others, has replanted the area around the swamp (now a lovely lake) with native creepers and flowering plants. The area is fenced off at the moment but with the warm weather all the flowers are out and the ducks and swans are breeding undisturbed under huge, shady trees.
The whole place is stunningly beautiful and is about ten minutes walk away from my apartment and I intend to go back as soon as the current bout of rain clears. And if I am in the mood - I passed three cafes just in case I need caffeine and cake. Who could want more?
The limerick:
God's plan made a hopeful beginning
But man spoiled his chances by sinning.
We trust that the story
Will end in God's glory,
But at present the other side's winning.
D2 is currently in Bali learning Transcendental Meditation which brought to the forefront of my mind that I used to meditate regularly before I retired but had somehow let the whole thing slip. However, I was taught well and slipped back into the routine very easily. My mantra is not easily forgotten since it was once the word which I used almost more than any other and the rest of the routine of getting into a meditative state came easily, the only change being that I seem to be able to judge the amount of time I have been meditating better than I used to. Once I used to surface after about 16 minutes - now I am doing the proper 20 minutes.
And spring has arrived here and for the last couple of days it has been warm and sunny so I decided that it was time I got back to walking regularly. I need to lose a couple of kilos so the added exercise should help to shift it.
Unfortunately we are back to winter today.
However, yesterday I decided to cross the railway line and see what had been going on since I last ventured that way. When I was working I frequently rode my bike to work through this area so it was interesting to see what changes had been made. I didn't recognise anything. All the houses and shops have gone, taken over by large apartment blocks and construction sites which are leading to more large apartment blocks.
The golf course is still there - I think that it is the same one - but it has been transformed into a green velvet carpet, extended by two playing fields belonging to one of the boys schools, and with shady trees and park benches and the swamp!! It has been reinvented by an organisation called, I think, The Friends of Claremont aided and abetted by our 99 year old member of the knitting group who, along with others, has replanted the area around the swamp (now a lovely lake) with native creepers and flowering plants. The area is fenced off at the moment but with the warm weather all the flowers are out and the ducks and swans are breeding undisturbed under huge, shady trees.
The whole place is stunningly beautiful and is about ten minutes walk away from my apartment and I intend to go back as soon as the current bout of rain clears. And if I am in the mood - I passed three cafes just in case I need caffeine and cake. Who could want more?
The limerick:
God's plan made a hopeful beginning
But man spoiled his chances by sinning.
We trust that the story
Will end in God's glory,
But at present the other side's winning.
Friday, August 17, 2018
Boomerang Drone Mk. 2
A couple of days I clicked on an advertisement from the company which sells cat drones because it was the only way that I could find out the price. Their ads on Facebook are very cagey about their prices, presumably in order for people to click to find out how much. I didn't continue to a sale but a day later I received a Facebook message and took the opportunity to ask where my drone was as it is now a couple of months. I also told them that I had no intention of buying anything else until the drone was in my hot little hands. I was assured that it was on its way and was then asked for my name and email address which led me to suspect that they had no idea who I was.
I provided name, address and ticket number and was assured that I would receive it very soon so this morning I once again phoned Australia Post's Lost Parcel Department where I spoke to another cat lover (she has three cats). She checked out the tracking number which placed my drone in Alexandria in New South Wales and told me that the paperwork had arrived but the drone had not so I have left a message to that effect with the drone company. One day - maybe . . .
We are having typical spring weather here - freezing winds and torrential rain one day and warm and balmy the next. I even managed to scrub down my balcony before the rain set in again which was badly needed. I have to bring all the furniture and plants inside before I can wash the floor down so it needs a fine day when everything will dry rapidly. The dust from the highway up-wind of me combined with the grease from the hamburger place, the fish and chip place and the kebab place combines to create black grease which comes to roost out the front and needs to be both scrubbed and mopped with detergent or the cats trample it all inside.
I have almost finished knitting the first sleeve of the sweater which I am currently working on and am hurrying to finish it because my purple possum yarn has arrived and I am eager to start on the new sweater, this time with a shawl collar which, once again, will be drafted in from another basic sweater pattern and modified to fit as I did with the pink possum and its cowl neck.
This limerick was one of my mother's favourites so I grew up with it.
There was an old woman of Ryde
Who ate three green apples and died.
The apples fermented
Inside the lamented
And made cider inside her inside.
I provided name, address and ticket number and was assured that I would receive it very soon so this morning I once again phoned Australia Post's Lost Parcel Department where I spoke to another cat lover (she has three cats). She checked out the tracking number which placed my drone in Alexandria in New South Wales and told me that the paperwork had arrived but the drone had not so I have left a message to that effect with the drone company. One day - maybe . . .
We are having typical spring weather here - freezing winds and torrential rain one day and warm and balmy the next. I even managed to scrub down my balcony before the rain set in again which was badly needed. I have to bring all the furniture and plants inside before I can wash the floor down so it needs a fine day when everything will dry rapidly. The dust from the highway up-wind of me combined with the grease from the hamburger place, the fish and chip place and the kebab place combines to create black grease which comes to roost out the front and needs to be both scrubbed and mopped with detergent or the cats trample it all inside.
I have almost finished knitting the first sleeve of the sweater which I am currently working on and am hurrying to finish it because my purple possum yarn has arrived and I am eager to start on the new sweater, this time with a shawl collar which, once again, will be drafted in from another basic sweater pattern and modified to fit as I did with the pink possum and its cowl neck.
This limerick was one of my mother's favourites so I grew up with it.
There was an old woman of Ryde
Who ate three green apples and died.
The apples fermented
Inside the lamented
And made cider inside her inside.
Friday, August 10, 2018
Purple Possum
Today my Purple Possum yarn arrived from New Zealand and now I have to work out what I am going to knit with it. I have decided to make a sweater with a shawl collar and that is where I have run into difficulties: there are not a lot of patterns around which feature shawl necklines.
I combined two patterns for the pink possum sweater and will have to do the same with the purple one. When I first started spinning I knitted a home-spun, greasy, very bulky sweater which became my sailing outerwear. The thickness of the yarn did not reflect the thickness of the yarn in the pattern and I worked on ratios and carried a small calculator in my knitting bag. The sweater had a shawl collar and not only did I have to constantly calculate the correct number of stitches and rows but I managed to follow what now seems to be totally incomprehensible instructions. So I have decided to start knitting that pattern again and hope that enlightenment will follow.
At the moment I am trying out a pattern for a string bag since Western Australia is going plastic-less. I promised to take the pattern to Knitting next week but thought that I needed to try it out before inflicting it on the group. I have noted a few points, one of which is buy some good quality crochet thread rather than using string from Bunnings, and cast on using BIG needles and transfer to smaller ones after a couple of rows. The pattern is easy and I may even use the bag although it is bulky with the Bunnings string.
We are still having it very cold by Western Australian standards and tonight the weather prophets are expecting the fourth snowfall on the Stirling Ranges. I had my hair cut and styled yesterday only to get caught in a downpour on my way home. Admittedly I had a showerproof jacket with a hood but the wind was strong and the rain crept in.
The Limerick: (This one may offend; sorry but I think that it is funny)
There was a young lady named Alice
Who peed in a Catholic chalice.
The Padre agreed
'Twas done out of need,
And not out of Protestant malice.
I combined two patterns for the pink possum sweater and will have to do the same with the purple one. When I first started spinning I knitted a home-spun, greasy, very bulky sweater which became my sailing outerwear. The thickness of the yarn did not reflect the thickness of the yarn in the pattern and I worked on ratios and carried a small calculator in my knitting bag. The sweater had a shawl collar and not only did I have to constantly calculate the correct number of stitches and rows but I managed to follow what now seems to be totally incomprehensible instructions. So I have decided to start knitting that pattern again and hope that enlightenment will follow.
At the moment I am trying out a pattern for a string bag since Western Australia is going plastic-less. I promised to take the pattern to Knitting next week but thought that I needed to try it out before inflicting it on the group. I have noted a few points, one of which is buy some good quality crochet thread rather than using string from Bunnings, and cast on using BIG needles and transfer to smaller ones after a couple of rows. The pattern is easy and I may even use the bag although it is bulky with the Bunnings string.
We are still having it very cold by Western Australian standards and tonight the weather prophets are expecting the fourth snowfall on the Stirling Ranges. I had my hair cut and styled yesterday only to get caught in a downpour on my way home. Admittedly I had a showerproof jacket with a hood but the wind was strong and the rain crept in.
The Limerick: (This one may offend; sorry but I think that it is funny)
There was a young lady named Alice
Who peed in a Catholic chalice.
The Padre agreed
'Twas done out of need,
And not out of Protestant malice.
Monday, August 6, 2018
Boomerang Drone
The cat drone is once again on its way to entertain my cats.
Eventually, after much discussion with Australia Post, they confirmed that it had actually been sent back to the sender. I contacted the sender and tonight I received an email to say that it is on its way back to us - but I had to pay extra postage which is fair enough; the mistake was mine in the first place.
And now there is another parcel, this time from New Zealand. I finished knitting the pink possum sweater and like it so much that I have sent off for some more of the same yarn but this time the colour is amethyst. When I have finished knitting the amethyst sweater there will be enough combined pink and purple to make something meaningful as I have over-ordered. With the pink it was because I didn't know how much I would need but this time I did it on purpose.
The lost parcel bit with this one is that when I received confirmation of the order my address lacked both state and postcode and as there are two places named Claremont in Australia it would be just my luck for it to end up in Tasmania. I contacted the company in dismay and was told that the address had been corrected but it still lacked the State but did include the postcode. I was particularly careful to fill in all the fields so I am not sure where the error came this time around. Non mea culpa this time.
The weather continues unseasonably cold with gale-force southerly winds and horizontal rain but should start to warm up a bit tomorrow. In desperation I hauled out my old blower/heater which I put away when the cats were young as the noise of the fan terrified than. Now Parsifal has discovered that it creates a nice warm patch for him to sit on. So it is now his newest best place to sit.
The limerick:
There once was an old man of Lyme
Who married three wives at a time;
When asked "Why the third?"
He replied, "One's absurd!
And bigamy, sir, is a crime."
Eventually, after much discussion with Australia Post, they confirmed that it had actually been sent back to the sender. I contacted the sender and tonight I received an email to say that it is on its way back to us - but I had to pay extra postage which is fair enough; the mistake was mine in the first place.
And now there is another parcel, this time from New Zealand. I finished knitting the pink possum sweater and like it so much that I have sent off for some more of the same yarn but this time the colour is amethyst. When I have finished knitting the amethyst sweater there will be enough combined pink and purple to make something meaningful as I have over-ordered. With the pink it was because I didn't know how much I would need but this time I did it on purpose.
The lost parcel bit with this one is that when I received confirmation of the order my address lacked both state and postcode and as there are two places named Claremont in Australia it would be just my luck for it to end up in Tasmania. I contacted the company in dismay and was told that the address had been corrected but it still lacked the State but did include the postcode. I was particularly careful to fill in all the fields so I am not sure where the error came this time around. Non mea culpa this time.
The weather continues unseasonably cold with gale-force southerly winds and horizontal rain but should start to warm up a bit tomorrow. In desperation I hauled out my old blower/heater which I put away when the cats were young as the noise of the fan terrified than. Now Parsifal has discovered that it creates a nice warm patch for him to sit on. So it is now his newest best place to sit.
The limerick:
There once was an old man of Lyme
Who married three wives at a time;
When asked "Why the third?"
He replied, "One's absurd!
And bigamy, sir, is a crime."
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
It was a Dark and Stormy Night . . .
. . . and for Perth, cold with gale-force winds and the threat of snow in the Stirling Ranges. The wind is strong enough to make the double glazing flex and I would quite enjoy the storm if it wasn't for the fact that I have to be at the railway station at 9.40am tomorrow to keep a doctor's appointment. She wants to check on the skin on my face where I have been applying an ointment to get rid of latent skin cancers.
It has boiled down to a big one and a small one on my nose and two on my upper lip which are an extension of a carcinoma which was surgically removed many years ago. I have another week and a half to go with the treatment and hopefully that will be the last of it.
I still haven't received my cats' drone and it has been boomeranging from coast to coast and on the day I was promised delivery it was delivered to the other side of the continent. Mea culpa - I neglected to put my apartment number on the order form but realised immediately I hit the 'send' button and have been chasing it up ever since.
Australia Post said that they would retrieve the parcel, add the Apartment number and have it re-delivered but now it has gone back to the sender and the sender is not the company I bought it from but the shipping company which has no stake in getting it to me. Australia Post doesn't have a very good record with parcels and I will need to be more careful in the future and especially not order anything on-line at 3.00am when unable to sleep.
But the good news is that what, in the 1960s, was a very superior and comprehensive deli which has morphed into a superior coffee shop and restaurant in Cottesloe is, according to the grapevine, coming to Claremont. It is not as though we do not have an abundance of restaurants and coffee shops already but Vans is something special.
And the limerick:
There once were some learned M.D.s
Who captures some germs of disease
And infected a train,
Which, without causing pain,
Allowed hundreds to catch it with ease.
It has boiled down to a big one and a small one on my nose and two on my upper lip which are an extension of a carcinoma which was surgically removed many years ago. I have another week and a half to go with the treatment and hopefully that will be the last of it.
I still haven't received my cats' drone and it has been boomeranging from coast to coast and on the day I was promised delivery it was delivered to the other side of the continent. Mea culpa - I neglected to put my apartment number on the order form but realised immediately I hit the 'send' button and have been chasing it up ever since.
Australia Post said that they would retrieve the parcel, add the Apartment number and have it re-delivered but now it has gone back to the sender and the sender is not the company I bought it from but the shipping company which has no stake in getting it to me. Australia Post doesn't have a very good record with parcels and I will need to be more careful in the future and especially not order anything on-line at 3.00am when unable to sleep.
But the good news is that what, in the 1960s, was a very superior and comprehensive deli which has morphed into a superior coffee shop and restaurant in Cottesloe is, according to the grapevine, coming to Claremont. It is not as though we do not have an abundance of restaurants and coffee shops already but Vans is something special.
And the limerick:
There once were some learned M.D.s
Who captures some germs of disease
And infected a train,
Which, without causing pain,
Allowed hundreds to catch it with ease.
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