A beautiful tribute to a dying man

https://www.inspiremore.com/richard-gill-composer/

This is one of the nicest things I have ever seen. A few days ago Richard Gill, a much-loved music educator and composer, lay dying in his home. His friends gathered outside to farewell him. Go to the link and scroll down for the video. Very touching...

A hard night's day

I'll start typing while I'm waiting for the photo to come through. Both cats stayed out all night and came in for breakfast looking very guilty. Mr Naughty must have had a hard night, as he hopped onto a chair and fell into an exhausted sleep the minute he'd eaten his breakfast! Just look at him, three hours later!

Yesterday Mrs Polly Wolly sat beside the pool and watched me swim for the whole 30 minutes! I was surprised the other day when Mr Naughty stared at me in amazement. Just goes to show animals experience things much like us. For them it was something entirely new, seeing a human in a pool of water, and they just couldn't take their eyes off me!

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to catch up on emails. Well, I didn't. Can't drag myself away from the  jigsaw puzzles.

I've realised that Emma has inherited my discalculia.

Dyscalculia /ˌdɪskælˈkjuːliə/ is difficulty in learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, performing mathematical calculations and learning facts in mathematics. It is generally seen as the mathematical equivalent to dyslexia. It can occur in people from across the whole IQ range – often higher than average – along with difficulties with time, measurement, and spatial reasoning. Estimates of the prevalence of dyscalculia range between 3 and 6% of the population.

I started her with a tutor last week, but she really didn't understand Emma's difficulties, as she's used to tutoring top students aiming to get into selective high schools. I decided I'd do it myself, so every morning Emma comes downstairs at 7:30 and we do half an hour of maths together. Talk about difficult! I can barely do a single thing, so am very grateful everything is explained online. Last year I had a maths tutor myself, but have forgotten everything I learnt and am back to square one.

Hi Sandra! Good to read your comment.

First swim of the season

I don't know where time goes! I cannot believe it's so long since my last post. One reason is that I spend less time at the computer and more time watching Netflix. Last November when Manami moved out, she took the TV, so Philip got a new one, with a 55-inch screen, and that's fine for their very large, open space upstairs. But unfortunately it didn't work, so was replaced by a new one. Then the original one started to work again, so that left him with two big TVs. Recently he brought the second one down to me. My first reaction was how tasteless, a huge screen in a small room, but immediately it was turned on, I loved it!!!! I am glued to Netflix and have watched 'The Crown' twice, as well as absolute rubbish like the worst of the 'X Factor', etc.

The cat story is developing well. From two very scared, non-touchable cats in June, I now have a very cuddly Mr Naughty, who abandons himself to cuddles and caresses as often as possible, and Mrs Polly Wolly, who actually allowed me to stroke her back and tail for the first time this morning. She frequently comes close and even rubbed against my legs yesterday. They are both allowed out during the day and are quite happy to come in for dinner in the evening, and stay inside all night. So far as I know, they don't ever go out of the yard.

I kept my bedroom door closed for months, so there was no chance Mr Naughty could wee on my bed again, but forgot the other day, and caught him asleep on the bed, with no puddle. Since then he comes into my bedroom whenever he wants to and there have been no accidents. In fact, neither he nor Mrs Polly Wolly use the litter tray at all now - they both prefer the garden, which makes life a lot easier for me.

This morning I had my first swim of the season and Mr Naughty looked on in amazement when he saw me in the water! He couldn't quite believe his eyes. I love swimming and plan to hop into the pool every day from now to the end of April. As you can see in the photo, the surrounding trees have thickened up and look wonderful. I usually dread summer, but am determined from now on to convince myself I love it, and will spend uncomfortably hot days in the water, therefore having nothing to complain about.

I've got so far behind with emails that today I plan to sit at the keyboard all day to catch up. We'll see...another distraction for me is the online jigsaw puzzles, and sometimes I do several at a sitting. Try it yourself:  https://thejigsawpuzzles.com

All's well that ends well

I threw Mr Naughty outside after the last bed-wetting episode, but he refused to go away! He kept coming inside for his meals. I keep my bedroom door shut and he's not interested in peeing anywhere else.

Meanwhile, Mrs Polly Wolly got out accidentally. After two days of searching for her, she turned up! They now are both inside and outside cats and we're all very happy. 

Mr Naughty has finally discovered how nice it is to sit on my lap and be patted:

Mrs Polly Wolly prefers to camouflage herself in the garden:

End of my tether

I softened after locking the two cats in the bathroom overnight, and allowed them to sleep on the sofa in the living room last night. First thing this morning, when I got up, Mr Naughty did a poo in the litter tray in the bathroom, and I'd accidentally left the bedroom door open, so he hopped straight onto the freshly-laundered bed clothes and did a huge wee.

That was the last straw for me. I opened the doors but he would not go out, even when I tried to chase him. Eventually, after about half an hour, he did go outside, then came straight back inside again. I put him out again and closed the doors, and he just lay there.

I put his breakfast outside the door, but he didn't come near.

Meanwhile, Mrs Polly Wolly was hiding in the storeroom and wouldn't come out for her breakfast. I went out, and when I came back, she had eaten it and gone back to disappear in the storeroom.

Mr Naughty has now disappeared and his breakfast remains untouched.

What a disaster!!!! I paid $250 for him, followed shortly by $100 for a vaccination, and $100 for her. Flea and worm tablets cost $55, and remain unused, as I can't catch either of them to administer them. Then there's the cost of food - probably about $3 to $4 per day, and litter. And, after two and a half months, not a single cuddle from either. What did I do to deserve such a problem?

Banished to the bathroom

Oh dear, what did I do to deserve such problem cats? After two and a half months, nary a cuddle from either.

And bed-wetting!!! Yesterday I got up early to wash the bed linen. I took the sheet, pillow slips and doona cover off the bed and put them in the washing machine. When I walked back into the bedroom, Mr Naughty had piddled on the electric blanket, and the wee had gone through that to the mattress cover. Fortunately, these days electric blankets are washable, so I threw these two into the machine.

The day was warm and windy, so everything on the line dried. When he got home from work, Philip came to help me make up the bed with the fresh linen. (In the morning, I had thrown a top cover that Mr Naughty has shredded, onto the floor, as it wouldn't fit into the machine. I always put it on the top so he doesn't get the chance of shredding any other doona covers.)

We'd put the mattress cover, the electric blanket, the  sheet and the doona back on the bed, and I leaned down to pick up the shredded top cover. Oh my god - it was soaking wet!!!!!!!!!!! There was no smell, and I hadn't noticed in the morning, so it had lain there all day. I had kept the bedroom door closed after discovering the wet electric blanket, so that naughty cat had obviously piddled in two places in the morning.

I was beside myself, and locked them both in the bathroom for the night. But they looked so forlorn (see photo) I knew that wouldn't last long. So, this morning I've allowed them into the living room but not the bedroom.

I really don't know what to do.

A little bit of good news - Tommy out till next court case

This is a great article by Douglas Murray, setting some of the facts about Tommy Robinson straight:

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/05/tommy-robinson-grooming-gangs-britain-persecutes-journalist/

I particularly like this section of the article:
"The problem — as I said in 2015 — is that any challenge Robinson presents is all a secondary issue. The primary issue is that for years the British state allowed gangs of men to rape thousands of young girls across Britain. For years the police, politicians, Crown Prosecution Service, and every other arm of the state ostensibly dedicated to protecting these girls failed them. As a number of government inquires have concluded, they turned their face away from these girls because they were terrified of the accusations of racism that would come their way if they did address them. They decided it wasn’t worth the aggravation."

This is a video by Andrew Norfolk, the Times journalist who first exposed the rapes and coverup by the Establishment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7P7ih1GuuQ

One of the comments following the above video:

Alex Busby

"Great work Andrew Norfolk and the Times. Proper journalism at its best. Those responsible for suppressing this scandal should hang their heads in shame, 'though it's pointless demanding those directly responsible hang their heads in shame, as they have none. The UK is in a dire mess with this particular type of 'enrichment', and it will get much worse before it gets better."

Channel 4 interview with two of the raped girls:

Published on Nov 9, 2017:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAvRj6BQ0AM

Thank goodness Tommy is getting a lot of support from decent people all round the world. Including me.

Busy day

I got up early and watched the end of the England v Croatia soccer match. Not that I'm really interested in any kind of sport, so this was an exception, and I really felt sorry for the England fans when they lost. I then showered and washed my hair and went food shopping (both of which I hate). Got back, hung out a couple of loads of washing, cleaned the litter tray (which I do at least 10 times a day) and made a cake in the Thermomix - see above. Lots of hand-washing along the way! And washing up. It's no wonder people buy ready-prepared meals. Cooking really is a lot of bother.

It's an almond and orange cake, and quite delicious, drizzled with orange juice and marmalade jam. Last night I made carrot and coriander soup and a chicken dish with couscous. Tonight I'll do apricot chicken for the family, and we'll have the cake for dessert. Philip seems to do most of the cooking. I find myself exhausted most of the time and do a lot of sleeping, in between yoga, pilates and aqua classes.

It's school holidays and Emma just took me upstairs to look at her bedroom. She's bought a new cover and cushions, to add to the many already there. 

Hugo has asked me to repair a purple dinosaur for him, so I'll get my sewing stuff out to do that.

Slight progress with Mrs Polly-Wolly-Doodle, who spent the other night cuddled up with Mr Naughty on my bed! He allows himself to be patted, but no chance of picking him up yet. Here he is now, on the bed beside me, growing like a house on fire:

I agree, Sandra, 'Parsley' is not the kind of name you want to call out! Maybe he was named that because he piddled in the parsley! Emma still rolls her eyes at "Mrs Polly-Wolly-Doodle" and says, 'Nanny, you can't call her that!'

Forms!

I absolutely detest filling forms in. Look what I had to take with me just now to register the two cats with the council. Had I known it was going to cost me $48, I certainly wouldn't have bothered! I'm very cross.

Mr Naughty sleeps with me now, and last night I felt another cat - Mrs Polly-Wolly - hop onto the bed, too. She only stayed five minutes, but that's a start. No chance of getting a pic of her.

While I was at the council chambers I picked up a local newspaper, with an article about feral cats and what a nuisance they are. I accept that, but you'd think the council would pay me for taking two of these creatures off their hands! Mr Naughty cost $250 + $85 for a booster vaccination and $55 for flea powder. Mrs Polly-Wolly was a bargain at $100 (because she has a mental health problem).

All that, and I don't even get a cuddle ;-((

Keeping fit

In theory, I go to the swimming and leisure centre three times a week, but in the middle of winter it is very hard to motivate myself to go in the outside pool for the aquarobics class and I sometimes give it a miss.

This morning, however, after dropping Hugo and Emma at school, I bravely went. The outside temperature was about 9 degrees and the water 26. We were 13 courageous souls, + the marvellous instructor. It poured rain a few times, and the drops were icy. It's always worth the effort, even though getting out of a wet swimming costume, into a track suit, then driving home to a hot shower, getting dressed again, and drying hair is a lot of bother!!!!! First world problem, I know...

For some months now, I've been watching Dr Phil at midday, while I have lunch and a glass of wine. You may well ask why. Even Dr Phil himself sometimes shakes his head in disbelief at the antics of the performers and says, 'You can't make it up!'  But he then laughs all the way to the bank. Can't say I blame him. If people are happy to make fools of themselves - and they are - somebody might as well profit from it.

Talk about from the sublime to the ridiculous - reading Steven Pinker, then watching Dr Phil. I've always wanted an opportunity to use the word 'bathos'  and this is it!

Mrs Polly-Wolly-Doodle (aka Jewel) and Mr Naughty (aka Storm)

Sorry for the quality of the photo, but it's very hard getting these two together, especially at dinner time. Having lived with them for several weeks now, I've got to know their personalities and have renamed them. 

Darling Mrs Polly-Wolly-Doodle (Polly for short) must have been absolutely traumatised in her former life and still cowers under the bed almost all day and night. I first thought of calling her Pudding, but that might have hurt her feelings a bit, so settled on Mrs Polly-Wolly-Doodle.

Mr Naughty needs no explanation at all.

When I came home from the shops just now, he was all curled up on my red coat, after having pulled it down from the hat stand. She was, as usual, under the bed.

Good luck with Steve Pinker's book, Sandra. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am. Haven't finished yet. It's not the sort of book you can get through quickly or easily. You need to think about it a lot.

Since the news is so depressing, read this:

For those of you who don't know, Steve Pinker is my hero! I first contacted him in 2000, after reading 'The Language Instinct', and we corresponded by email for years after that. He encouraged me while I developed my reading scheme, 'Sounds of Reading'.

Speaking of which, proud Philip came downstairs earlier this morning with a video of Hugo reading a Dr Seuss book. Fluent, expressive reading! Diagnosed with autism three years ago, Hugo has been two years behind academically, but is catching up fast! Both Philip and I have been taking him through my reading scheme and he is now on the final book. Wonderful!

Steve is the best writer I know. I love reading whatever he writes, even though it can be a challenge. I need to ask Google Home what almost every second word means. (That's a lot quicker than typing words into Google.) What an intellect this man has.

Double trouble under the bed

It's hard to tell where each cat begins and ends...That's Jewel's brown body on the left and her head at the back, and Storm's body on the right, with his head in the front, He's grey and white.

They've been here for 12 twelve days now and still neither will come near me, though Storm has started sleeping on the bed and has twice allowed me to stroke him. Jewel comes out from under the bed twice a day to eat in the bathroom and use the litter tray. From 7 to 9pm is playtime for Storm - he tears round the place causing havoc.

Yes, Sandra, I have thought of getting a covered litter tray. They have one upstairs for Poppy. But I'll persevere a bit longer with the pink high-side one.

Storm by name, storm by nature

The morning after...I heard Storm the other night having fun and games in his litter tray. This was the result in the morning!

Here he is that day - you'd think butter wouldn't melt in his mouth:

Jewel is still very nervous and stays under my bed all the time. I assume she comes out when I'm not looking, to eat and drink and use the litter tray, but I don't know for sure.

I think I've beaten Storm - I've put a high-side litter tray in the bathroom and not a crumb was tossed over this morning!

Late last night,when I was in bed watching TV on the iPad, Storm played happily near me for more than an hour. Then he hopped underneath and snuggled up to Jewel. He ate an enormous breakfast. I'm not sure which of the two ate the second helping I offered. I hope it was Jewel. 

Storm and Mama Jewel have arrived!

Here they are in the corner of my walk-in wardrobe, getting the feel of their new home.

Claire, their foster mum, delivered them an hour or so ago, armed with their own special blanket and pink cushion, toys, litter and - wait for it - special calming spray and an app with purring!!!!! I never had any of these fancy things for Muffy.

Must say Jewel looks a lot like Muffy.

I think they'll stay curled up together for quite a while before they venture into the bedroom, then the rest of the house. They've lived in bright lights for 24/7 while being filmed on the live stream, so I'm sure they'll love the restful atmosphere here, with lights out at night.

The good, the bad and the very ugly

After grieving for Muffy for four months, I'm ready to adopt!

I looked at pet rescue sites online and found Jewel (top two pics), almost 2 years old and mother of two litters. Then I saw her in a video with 4-month-old Storm (bottom pic) and knew straight away I couldn't separate them.

They are not related, but great mates. They will be delivered here on Saturday morning and we are all very excited.

So much for the good. Now comes the bad and the very ugly. After hearing of the outrageous arrest of Tommy Robinson for daring to speak about the rape gangs in England, I donated $100 to the cause.

It's good to know there's so much support for him, even from Australia.

OH TOMMY TOMMY ! TOMMY TOMMY TOMMY TOMMY ROBINSON!!

Keeping in touch by magic

The other night, Georges and I had a video whatsapp chat!

I can hardly believe that here I am in Sydney and there he is in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and we're chatting away as though we're in the same room. 

I can't remember when we first "met", but I dug this pic out, dated January 2006. I think we go back much further than that. What a lot of water has flowed under the bridge in the meantime.

And if you remember, I've recently posted pics of his children, Grace and Tony.

It is very satisfying having so many friends all over the world, and never losing touch.

The Big Day

Sandra in England is all ready for The Big Day, and has put her hat on her pony for safe-keeping! I just love this photo! In actual fact, she looked gorgeous when she wore it to a school function.

As much as I'm a staunch republican and wonder at the continuation of such herediatary privilege and wealth in a so-called democracy, I've been watching everything about today's nuptuals. Enjoying it like a soap!

Coverage starts at 4pm Australian Eastern Time and I'll be in front of the telly, lapping it up.

I've recently come across a series on NETFLIX about aristocrats opening their vast stately homes to the public. To us pretty classless Aussies this is hard to believe. But I love watching!

Silly me

Yesterday when I was shopping at the farmers' market, I picked up what I thought was a bunch of beetroot. When I got home, I saw it wasn't beetroot, but radishes! This would be the first time I've ever bought radishes, as they never appealed to me.

So I went online to see what to do with them, and came across an idea which I just had for lunch: thin slices of radish and avocado soaked in olive oil, lemon juice/grated peel, salt and pepper. On a crusty roll it was DELICIOUS! Nice and healthy, too.

Nostalgia

This morning I decided to get my things in order and was shocked to find my WILL folder empty! I have two filing cabinets, each with dozens of files. So now I'm sorting through them all, deciding what to keep and what to throw away. I have hundreds of letters and photos. I'm cutting the stamps off the envelopes, as I believe there are still people who save them.

It's interesting, too, seeing all the different addresses on the envelopes, places I've lived. By the time I was 32, I'd had 32 addresses! It makes me wonder how I managed the logistics! I didn't stop moving then, but stopped counting.

It's making me very sad. I'm still in touch with most people, and presume the ones I've lost touch with have died.

It really is one of life's hardest decisions - what to keep and what to get rid of. My ancestry search is making me realise how important it is to keep records of things, but then that creates so much stuff. Even my computer files are in a dreadful mess.

Exploring the city

The other day I went into the city and walked from Central Station to the Powerhouse Museum, along the Goods Line.

It was very interesting, though I was exhausted when I got home. I'm inspired by Frank and Sandra, who have not rested for one minute on their month-long visit to Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. They fly back to England tonight. What a wonderful holiday it's been, and how lucky I am they came here to see me!

Cats

Yesterday I went to the Art Gallery and, of course, couldn't resist buying a book of cat paintings. It gave me the urge to paint again, so I'm having a look at old things I did years ago, and dug this one out. Emma has it in her room.

I did this one when Molly died in 2000. It is currently hanging in my kitchen.

The plan now is to do some of Muffy. I have hundreds of photos and will put together an album, but have never done a painting of her.

A big gap again - sorry

I don't know where time goes! It's hard to believe it's such a while since my last post. But there's been a very good reason, well for one week at least. Frank and daugher Sandra came from Newcastle (UK) to spend a week with me here in Sydney!

Here we are at Watsons Bay, after a fish n chips lunch by the harbour. The weather has been magnificent, high 30s.

Bobbin Head, on the Hawkesbury River, not far from where I live. Clear blue skies every day...

Delicious ice creams at Manly, after a ferry ride across the harbour.

The two adventurers went off to other places, leaving me to recover! Here they are tasting wine at Pokolbin, in the Hunter Valley.

One of my favourite places in Sydney, Barangaroo.

The week being a tourist in Sydney just about exhausted me, but Frank and Sandra are in Victoria now. Here's just a taste of some of the scenery on the Great Ocian Road.

Australia certainly is a beautiful country.

Easter

This is a view from North Head of the CBD (Central Business District). It was my first visit there, with a friend who lives nearby near Manly. There is so much bush in Sydney, it's hard to believe it actually is a city! We walked and walked, and my Fitbit beeped at me for the very first time, as I reached 10,000 steps! My average is about 5,000, but I reckon that's not bad for a 75-yr-old.

On Easter Sunday, Hugo went on his easter egg search in the back garden, with Daddy taking photos. (Emma was in Queensland with her mother.) He loved finding the eggs, but didn't bother to eat them, as he's not too keen on chocolates!

I'm still working on the garden for Muffy. I'm turning what used to be the herb/vegetable beds into flowers. The 'lawn' has been poisoned, ready for the landscape gardener to lay down turf. We're still having temperatures of 30 degrees, even though it's almost the middle of autumn. If I miss a single day of watering, the plants begin to wilt.

Too much stuff, too much choice - all leads to confusion

I don't know about anybody else, but my life is one big, confused mess. I've been complaining about it for years and it just goes on getting worse. Maybe I do too many things, leading to things getting out of control.

My current feeling of being overwhelmed came just now as I sat at the pc to do this blog - there was an email from a previously unknown relative (through Ancestry.com), filling in a missing piece of the jigsaw of descendants of siblings of my grandmother.

Last year I organised a reunion of four lots of 2nd cousins, all of us descended from siblings of our grandmothers and now this person contacts me, apparently yet another 2nd cousin, descended from a brother of our grandmothers! I love it, even if it sets my head in a spin.

Moving on to the brother of the gorgeous little Grace, from Burkina Faso. Dad has sent a pic of big brother Tony:

Being in touch is so gratifying, and makes life worthwhile.

I got a big thrill out of my first WhatsApp experience, texting Michael in Germany the other evening (here) while he was playing a round of golf! And to make it more interesting, I was watching a doco about Germany at the same time, on the telly!

For me, people are what matters in life. Friends. This morning when I went to the local aquatic centre for an aquarobics session, it was lovely to be greeted by name by the instructor, one of the lifeguards, and one of the other participants. The beauty of the centre blows me away each time I go there.

For me, being positive means doing positive

I've almost never woken up in the morning being glad to be alive. Over the past few days, since talking with the counsellor, I've been making a deliberate effort to do three positive things which will make me feel positive about myself. It's not easy, as I always just want to turn over and pull the doona over my head and go back to sleep.

#1

Being here for Emma is an important reason for me to get up about 7am. Philip leaves at 7, having packed her school lunch. I wake her about 7:30 and she comes downstairs to have breakfast with me. I sent off her with an umbrella and rain poncho this morning, but she hadn't been gone two minutes when there was a very heavy downpour. I flew into the car, still in my pyjamas, and caught her along the way and delivered her to school.

#2

Exercise is always important. I swim here most days, and am shortly off to the Aquatic Centre do do aquarobics in the warm indoor pool. It's always worth the effort, even though it takes a bit of effort to get there.

#3

For me, intellectual stimulus is very important. After failing miserably in the Soul Beliefs quiz I did yesterday, I revised the notes and did it again, this time getting 93%. Wow! I was pretty pleased with myself!

It's hard to be positive three times a day, every day

I've only been doing three positive things for two days and already I'm struggling. Somtimes it's easier to think of things that have not affected me, like the bushfires that destroyed 70 houses in NSW and Victoria yesterday, the Cirque du_ Soleil acrobat who died after a fall in Florida, and not having to go to work every day, struggling with Sydney's chaotic transport system, or lack thereof.

#1

But yesterday, I did really enjoy an evening swim in our pool after a high of 38 degrees.

#2

And I always enjoying studying some of my current Rutgers University (New Jersey) free online course, Soul Beliefs: causes and consequences. Yesterday wasn't my best day, as I got only 66% in the quiz, instead of my usual 80% or above. However, pass or fail, I enjoy the intellectual stimulus and frequently do an online course.

#3

Last, but not least, I enjoyed watering the wilting garden and thinking of Muffy. 38 degrees in mid-autumn is frightening. 

World wide web

#1 #2 and #3

Not a day goes by without my cursing the computer and threatening to give it up, but the advantages more than outweigh the disadvantages. By a million to one.

I've been using email and Skype for years, and have a Facebook account which I seldom use, but am new to most forms of social media. Imagine my surprise and delight last night when I happened upon Georges in Burkina Faso, and we typed in both French and English and he sent me this pic of his little daughter, Grace:

Did you ever see such a cute little bundle!

Then I got this email from France, showing Jacky (wearing the scarf I sent her by snailmail when her husband died), with one of her sons and grandchildren in Brittany recently. Jacky and I started as penfriends when we were in high school, and Philip and I lived with her and her family in the 70s while I was getting my divorce in Versailles:

A couple of days ago, Finland was voted the Happiest Country in the World. I have friends living there, in Lapland, and pinched this photo from their Facebook page. Thanks, Scott:

I'm just showing off - getting these pics in can somtimes involve dozens of clicks + advice from Lina. This morning I managed to get three, so am on top of the world with my own cleverness :-)) Michael, I'm sure you will be proud of me.