AUGUST THOUGHTS

I'm still here, not off to Paris for another week or two -

but down and afflicted by the dreaded Winter Virus of the Day...

Thank goodness for My First Kindle - a gift to self, designed to reduce baggage weight by not taking several heavy books to read on the plane.

Which I never do.

Too busy watching movies or looking out the window.

My best orchid is back in bloom, so Spring, surely, is just around the corner..

 August 4 brings the Centenary since the outbreak of hostilities in

World War 1 ...

 here are a few pictures from our visit to the fields of Flanders in Belgium, where my grandfather served, along with two great-uncles of Mr C:

At Hill 62, where original trenches are still preserved:

Lots of memorabilia from the battle field:

My grandfather lived to return to Australia, marry and have a family.

Sadly, the two uncles did not, and lie in the Fields of Flanders, one here:

the other in place unknown, his name inscribed on the Menin Gate.

Has the world learnt anything from that terrible war?

In recent days, it would seem not...

Iris has its first bloom for 2014..

and today I saw a blue Fairy Wren hopping about our garden.

These tiny birds, about 4" long, are the sweetest little things, flit and fly about, off to the shelter of a hedge if I go too close.

Here is a better image from Mr Google:

Soon...

Should be doing last-minute admin and wardrobe prep and plan..

Difficult to focus when brain, arms, and legs all feel like cotton-wool!

Have a good week....XXXX

REMEMBRANCE

 

This beautiful hand-painted, Wedgewood cake plate belonged to my mother.

I loved it as a child, and was very happy when I found it during our clean out of the old family home this year.  It was in the kitchen, mixed up with a lot of cheap and chipped plates.

And it was still in perfect condition.

This year it may take the honour of holding our Christmas Cake.

 

 

Mum's little Shelley apple blossom dish is another treasure.

Such items keep the memories alive and are a pleasure to use...

 

 

and this Christmas I have my mother's old Nativity scene, given a new lease of life at our nest.

 

 

Today is Remembrance or Armistice Day.

We remember those of lost their lives in World War 1.

My Grandfather survived the experience, serving in the Fields of Flanders and the Somme.

 

 

These are his service medals.

 

Lest we Forget ...

THE COLD AND THE OLD

Greetings from Brisbane, capital of the tropical state of Queensland, aka The Sunshine State.

This was our car over the weekend, totally encased in a thick layer of ice!

Yes, we are having the Winter of all Winters around here...

Here is a close-up of the grass on our normally green front garden.

White with frosty icicles!

It has been -1 deg for the last four mornings, and the same predicted tomorrow.  Not so cold if you live in, say, Canada.

But very cold in a house built for tropical heatwaves.

Thank goodness for warm sheets, doonas, and flannelette!

I suppose this grass will be all brown and dead by weeks end.

We had an unusual family gathering at the Red Cardinal nest this weekend.

Regular readers might remember that I have been involved in sorting out my parents Old Family Home.

My father, at 91, is now happily ensconced in a nursing home and considers his room to be the best one in the entire complex.  He is content to live with a few favourite books and photos, a bookcase from his old home, and the little ornaments he is adding at an alarming rate.

A few weeks back we six of his children amicably divided up the furniture in the house - a piano here, a table or china cabinet there, and it was done.

Since then large boxes of ornaments, linen, glassware, souvenirs, and family history and memorabilia have made their way to our place.

Yesterday we had a gathering to sort, discard, or find new homes for everything.  It was a mammoth task, but fulfilling at the same time.

None of us have ever seen these medals which were hidden away with many other artefacts.

They are from World War 1 and are the service medals of my grandfather (Dad's father) who served in Flanders with the AIF.

With the medals were found his diary written in the trenches in ink!

It goes on for many pages, telling of his war experiences.

There is also a large bundle of postcards from various places in Flanders, and in Paris, which he appears to have bought as souvenirs, and a few letters and cards he received at the front.

Luckily my grandfather survived the war to return to Australia with my grandmother who he met and married in London after the war.

He certainly did not return empty-handed!

We enjoyed a barbeque lunch and an afternoon of looking through all this family history.  Everyone went home with something they liked, and my car is packed with leftovers to go to charity.

It set me to wondering: Do other families do this?

We have tried very hard to be fair to all, and hopefully we have succeeded.

My parents were great travellers, involved in many community interests, great collectors, and good at documenting what they did.

But they never let anything go,

which has meant an enormous task in sorting, deciding, disposing or preserving the substance of their lives.

I would love to hear of others experiences.

Have a good week, everybody ... xx