The birthday boy age 21

This picture was taken about three months after we met when he was on his way back to the States after the six month cruise that bought him to Melbourne in 1956 during the Olympic Games. We met at a dance that was given for the enlisted men on the five warships that visited Australia ....the first since the end of the second world war.... by the American Ex Serviceman's Association. One of my mothers girl friends had married an American just after the end of the war and they settled in Melbourne. Her husband was the President of the Association at the time and part of the arrangements that had to be made to make the dance a success was for the members to round up as many young women as possible to attend the dance for the guys. My sister, friend Val and two other girls that I worked with made up a group of five who were thrilled to be asked to attend the dance. It was held on a Saturday night at Legget's Ballroom December 1956. Shortly after we arrived Perry and one of his friends approached us to ask us if we would like to dance. Unfortunately, his friend asked me to dance as he was physically closest.....all thru the dance Perry and I were catching glimpses of each other and I knew he had wanted to dance with me.......anyhow...long story shortened.....we hooked up a little later in the evening and sat next to each other for the rest of the night till the last dance was announced. Danced together.....that was IT.
He asked me to marry him that night!!!!! I said yes !!!! Unfortunately...or probably fortunately...at the tender age of seventeen my mother was not exactly thrilled with the idea. Smart lady tho....she said as Perry still had about a year and a half left until his enlistment was up...why didn't we see how things worked out during this time. I really did understand just how young I was and thought altho it was not exactly a wonderful idea, acceptable.
We kept up a long distance romance for a few months during which time Perry contacted Washington DC to find out how he could get me to the States. I still have the letter that was sent to him. No problem ! However it took us 19 years to actually get together again after me marrying and having three children, he marrying twice and having two children.
All through the intervening years we loosely kept in touch. Goes to show....true love very often finds a way.
Happy birthday babe...luv ya x x

Happy Birthday

My sweetie had another birthday today....73 years old on the outside.....young on the inside.
We met and fell in love almost 52 years ago which both of us find almost incredible. When I was much younger I couldn't really imagine getting a buzz when I watch him from a distance at the age that he is now. Nothing has changed....he is still a hottie and I still get a buzz !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PERRY

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Shade cloth cover over the Corinda Bowling Green and an example of Aussie humour.

Feeling unsettled.

Feeling a lot of emotions. Glen can't see his way clear to pay for me to visit him in the near future. Even tho I strongly felt it wouldn't happen this year, it has taken several days for me to sift through my emotions which ranged from the top end of sadness to the medium level of anger. Lots of variations in there ! I feel in my heart that next time I see him probably wont be until he marries the women he is courting (isn't that an old fashioned word)....then only if they don't just get married in Las Vegas or similar. Hopefully next year sometime. Anyway....I have expended enough energy on whether or not I was going to see my son and grandson for the time being.

The bowling away day to Corinda was fantastic ! The club was the old fashioned kind where the members do almost everything themselves, which means the bar is staffed by a rostered group of usually men volunteers and the kitchen by women who have a roster that usually love to get heavily involved behind the scenes and outdo each other in the food that they produce for visitors such as our lot. We had a small steak and a thin sausage for the meat part of the meal and wonderful homemade salad of many different kinds to accompany it. As if that wasn't enough.....apple pie for desert. All this before we played....I rolled out of there. After the game which was played under shade (marvellous) we all trooped back inside the club house for "afternoon tea" which for some was beer, soft drink or harder. I had glass of ginger beer which is brewed in this area...delicious. Then I could hardly believe my eyes when they lit on the four large tables groaning with yummiest of all kinds. We both loaded our plates saying to ourselves that we would make that the last meal of the day....Ha.....anyway...after that various prizes were awarded or raffle results drawn. Neither of us won anything, but felt that just by spending the day so enjoyably we had a very big win.
The homes surrounding the bowling green were fantastic early Queenslander types...the real thing, not today's version. Huge iron roofed homes that have beautiful wide verandas, sometimes all round the home...and decorated with gorgeous iron lace work. Very very classy neighborhood.
Perry has had word from the orthopedic surgeon that he is ninth on the waiting list for a total knee replacement, which means ...the end of November or thereabouts. The doctor performs two public patient procedures a week if he doesn't have emergencies that take precedence. Can't wait for the first one to be over and done with. Perry is playing bowls today in a pairs game with a Canadian guy that he always teams up with on this Friday game....tonight he will go thru the settling of his left knee pain which usually entails medication, one or two hot showers and a lot of time spent sort of half sitting down watching T.V. I wish he would cut his schedule back by about half, but that of course is his decision....I have suggested to him that he should treat his limbs a little more kindly, but know the feeling of going ahead anyway, because doing nothing much around the house is totally boring. Golf is definitely out of the question as that is harder still on the left knee especially.
I seem to have really rambled on a lot today....feeling a bit hungry and thirsty. I make a mean Orange Julius....so....that's it for today....at least I think so!

This and That

Just a bit of an update on stuff.
Glen has been having thoughts on having an Australian contact for his business (ATV products) and had contacted Pam and Stu who thanked him for thinking of them however altho interested....they are just too busy to take on anything else. I contacted Phil ...(he was next on the list)... on his cell phone and have had to act as "go between"....Phil and Sherrene don't have a land line....don't know if either guys know that they can contact each other with texting...anyway....no...Phil isn't interested either. I have given Glen the phone number and email addy of one of my nieces and her husband who would be more likely to want to hear all about his idea. I am backing out from here.
During my conversation with Sherrene I asked her if they had a date set for their wedding yet...NO....however.....THEY ARE TRYING FOR A BABY !!!!!!!! Phil is now 46 years old and Sherrene will be 32 next month. Keeping my fingers crossed for them. Sherrene is a really good mother to her son Josh and now that Phil is older I know he will wonder why he waited so long. Prayers for them please.
They...including Josh have had the flu and Phil sounded quite tired...Josh had a migraine to accompany his bout and their doctor has set them up with a food monitoring booklet. My mother used to get the most horrendous migraines....I have only had four in my life and just simply couldn't imagine being a person who deals with them often. The last one that mum had was as tho she had suffered a stroke...and then that one was the very last ever. It coincided with her menopause in some way.
The weather here has been quite windy and has been making for some interesting bowling...to say the least.....tonight there is a storm brewing near us. Brisbane and the south east are really getting it, looking at the radar....we often miss out, as for some reason Bribie Island seems to get it and behind us up the road towards Caboolture also gets drenched. We get our share, but nothing like surrounding areas. Love listening to the thunder, but hope we don't get heaps of hail.....the skylight in the bathroom can cause me to worry a bit.
Tomorrow we head off to Cooinda (not sure of the spelling) with the RSL bowling group for another one of their once a month trips away. It will be a great day....if the weather permits.
Our bowling has been improving....and we have both become addicted I'm almost sorry to say. I say sorry....because I love playing golf and also painting, drawing...all now shelved. I still read like the library is going to run out of books tho. I can't watch TV in bed, but can read till after midnight...another addiction.....I'm also EATING too much....another problem. How can a person lose or gain three pounds overnite ???? Can't see much hope for me in the near future. Oh well !

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

TWO OF THE GREATEST SECRETS OF LIFE ARE...........PATIENCE AND WISDOM !!!!!

My new slow cooker...I can see a long and happy future for us.

Tomorrow nights dinner.....yummmmy

O.K. guys...where to next ???

I seem to have a gazillion pictures ....every time I go to discard some, I find I can't really do it !
I took this about a year ago, at the small marina a very short (5 mins) walk from the front of our home.
Today I bought my first slow cooker and have a delicious smelling original beef stew cooking. I have lots of packets of out of date "helper"mixes and know that they actually don't go out of date until sometime past the year 3000, so I have decided I will be thrifty and start using them up. I could have added potatoes along with the onions and carrots that are already in in the pot......however we have both had an intense love affair with MASHED POTATOES since about 1945 so MASHED potatoes it will be !
I resisted the slow cooker till now because Perry's mother gave us a dutch oven and a skillet that are both around 80-90 years old, having formerly belonged to her mother. I have used them very regularly, but now the dutch oven will just have to relax in the bottom pot drawer. Mom gave them to us with the proviso that if we were only being polite when we accepted them....we should not take them as they had enormous sentimental value to her. I assured her that that definitely was not the case, and have used them both countless times during the many years I have had them. I feel a certain amount of guilt, but "I CAN GET OVER IT." One of the reasons I have switched, is that the heat settings on my stove don't allow me to simply "set and forget". Continually checking and stirring...adding more liquid etc....just hope tonight this meal turns out well because I haven't had any failures with the dutch oven....plenty of close calls tho due to food starting to stick. I'm feeling HUNGRY !!!
Time for a cuppa.......(tea....that is).... hopefully that will stave off the hunger.

One of my very best friends. Robyn

One of my very best friends...Robyn left the island after spending three weeks at the Woorim Caravan Park with her husband Jack.
Robyn and I met over five years ago when we took golf lessons together at Rosebud Country Club. Jack is a former club president and has been married to Robyn for 12 years.....Robyn decided to give in to pressure to "give golf a go" and I had tried lawn bowls...which didn't particularly grab me even tho Perry was very anxious for me to "give bowls a go". Perry has always loved playing golf, so he decided he would "give golf a go"!!!! I fell in love with golf right away even tho I found it very difficult for about six months, whereas Robyn still struggles with it to the point where she had told me many times that if it hadn't been for the fact that I had so much patience when playing with her, she would have thrown her clubs into the creek. I remember when she had been playing for about a year and was REALLY ready to give it up....Jack had secretly ordered a top of the range set of clubs and matching bag to be presented to her by the pro at the golf shop on the morning of her 60Th birthday....well.....after we all oohed and aghed over this magnificent gift...Robyn just had to press on ! These days Jack's health isn't too crash hot and he had to buy a buggy to ride the 18 holes, which Robyn says has improved her enjoyment of the game immensely. They drive north for the winter each year and play various courses up and down the coast. Most enjoyable I say. When they are near us we meet for dinner at a restaurant the night after they arrive, then during the next several weeks we get together either here for dinner or their caravan park for lunch....first year we played golf together three times, but now they play golf, we bowl and get together afterwards. It is lovely to see them and I know we will be friends always whether we see them very often or not.
I have three other women friends that I have a similar rapport with and when we get together it's as tho we have seen each other just a few weeks ago instead of over twelve months or more. Val is one of these women and obviously I see her quite frequently these days, but it is pretty amazing to keep a friend from when you were only 5 years old ! Margaret Davis and I just pick up where we left off also. I see her about every 5 years. Next time I visit I may not be able to see her tho as Perry won't be visiting the U.S. and I am not up for driving all that way alone... whenever it is that I visit Glen and my grandson Christopher. My trip which will cost several thousand dollars is being paid for by Glen....Perry and I just don't have that kind of money to spend on trips to the states anymore....already been over there 6 times since we moved here 24 years ago. If Glen can see his way clear to drive me to Coleville it will be fantastic, but his life is so hectic that visiting over 500 miles away may not happen. I may not even get to visit Glen the way things look at present. He is riding out the slowing down of his latest venture and worrying about the fact that it may take quite awhile for things to get back on track. If not this year then next. I miss him terribly, but that is the price I pay for letting him go when he was just eighteen years old. Far better that than not allowing him to spread his wings when he felt he was ready...and he was ready. Still, he was and still is my baby boy. His business is at www.dragonfireracing.com

Video of Perry practising bowling

This is a first for me ....if it works. This is a short video of Perry practising bowling this morning. We try and practise fairly often, but haven't for several weeks due to flu and various commitments. Both playing quite well for such new bowlers!

Homegrown

This is a picture of luscious fruit and veggies that we grew in our garden year before last!
We don't have room to grow much where we are living now....but I have such an urge to plant tomatoes that I am going to have a go at planting in pots. I also think I may be able to plant beans on the fence in among the flowering vines. YES !!!!

I am finally over the bout of flu that lasted two weeks.....Perry has escaped so far....having gotten this far past it I think he is pretty safe.

Played bowls Tuesday and Wednesday.....felt pretty pooped after, but played well considering. We belong to two clubs. The main club is a regular bowling club, and the second is strictly a social club that plays out of town games once a month. It is a great way to meet lots of people and also get taken all over the areas that we wouldn't normally visit. Sunday week we set off again in a luxury bus to a town that I vaguely remember visiting many years ago, to play a club select three bowl triples game .....54 of us and 54 members of the club that is hosting us. We pile onto the bus at 10 am....drive for about an hour and on arrival at the host club we are treated to a very warm welcome that consists of a quick cup of coffee or tea....then around noon a three course meal is served and then we stagger outside to play the game...back in for afternoon tea halfway through the game....back out....finish....back in for winners and losers announcements and prizes which are usually bottles of wine or spirits...then the presidents exchange gifts....back to the coach and the ride home. Usually home by 6pm. A great day out ....all for the amazing price of $44 for the two of us.

Dentist today....one filling needed, but have to wait for three weeks ! I STILL hate visiting the dentist. Perry has one coming up also...he has to arrive an hour early to take an anti-biotic first, due to his health issues. His health has improved tremendously over the past few months. Anemia has been completely reversed.....kidney function is back up to 70% (great for his age)...from a very low 27%. BP is still high, but his doctor is not concerned as all the tests he has before a visit indicate the reading is more than likely due to simply having driven for an hour in heavy traffic and then the actual consultation. We shall see tho as he is due to have a left knee replacement surgery around the end of October....all going well. The ortho doc may not be happy with the hypertension....we shall see.

Let's see...what else is news.....heard from Glen...his latest romance seems to be on track....Christopher is playing football with Glen as one of the coaches. Pop Warner I believe. Pam, Stu and family are all well and no news to report there. Phil sounded very good last phone call....still no date set for his wedding. Phil turned 46, August 15....where oh where have the years gone !!!!!!! Seriously !!!!!!!!