A restoration

When you are emotionally close to someone, being apart for just a week can feel like a long time. Due to her stroke, Anne and I were recently apart for TWO weeks! We were due for our usual Saturday meeting one week ago but she was at that time feeling effects from the stroke and not up to any meeting.  But today was back to normal or nearly so.

She is walking very well with only a slight limp.  I drove out to her place this morning.  While she was in hospital I wanted to do the usual thing and take up flowers and chocolates to her -- but COVID restrictions at that time barred all visitors.  So I took roses and some Lindor chocolates to her this morning instead.  I liked the bright colour of the flowers and it would seem that Anne liked them too as she has just sent me a picture of them. It is a good memoir of our meeting

We went to "Taste the Aroma", a cafe at West Wynnum for our breakfast and it was very good.

High-profile Qld eisteddfod’s sudden shut down

This is very sad.  The Brisbane Eisteddfod has been fading for some time.  But for many years it was an opportunity for country people to send their children to the "big smoke" where they could get their talents a wider audience

I well remember the excitement at my country school many years ago when it was announced that some kid was off to the eisteddfod.  The teacher and mother concerned were always as proud as punch and the kids were full of anticipation

There is still a Gold Coast eisteddfod: https://www.goldcoasteisteddfod.com.au/

News report:

The Queensland arts world has been left shocked by the announcement that one of the state’s premier Eisteddfods was folding due to a lack of support.

The long-running Brisbane Eisteddfod has announced it will fold after 129 years of performances.

The Eisteddfod, which every year provides young performers the chance to showcase their talents in music, dance and drama, has confirmed the closure due to a “loss of relevance”.

Health update for Anne

Anne has recovered remarkably well from her stroke.  She is walking on her own two feet despite her left leg now being a bit weak.

She is going to Pilates for a modified session today. 

So she and I have agreed to restore our regular meetings next Saturday.  I will drive out to her place and we will go to breakfast at somewhere out her way.

I am mightily pleased that even a stroke separated us for only one week

Coping with stroke

Last Monday afternoon,  Anne had a stroke, fortunately a minor one

I was distraught when I heard of it but thought it through and ended up reasonably serene about it

Anne was gardening when her left leg gave way and she fell.  Fortunately George was nearby so got her promptly to medical attention.  That probably helped limit the damage.

It appears that only her leg is affected and she has already had substantial recovery.  She got out of hospital on Friday.

That did mean that our usual Saturday morning arrangements were ruled out.  We have been breakfasting together on Saturday mornings with very few exceptions for 15 years so that was sad for me.

Fortunately, Irene turned up at breakfast and we had a good chat.  After breakfast Jenny took me on an OpShop tour so that was interesting.  So my Saturday morning was not so bad after all

At one of the OpShops I bought Anne yet another necklace.  She does wear black a bit so it should go with something

Update: Anne liked the necklace. "It will get plenty of wear", she said

A lamplit dinner

 Given the cooler weather, we decided to eat at our indoor dining area. Some of my oil lamps are set up there so I decided to light them. With all the electric lights out, they were a bit inadequate by themselves so I lit the candles too. That gave us a perfectly adequate light to have our dinners by. So the photo below is not bad, considering the rather low light level that it was taken by.

Some congenial new arrangements

Jenny and I have set up a new routine for Sunday and Monday. She spends most of Sunday afternoon at my place, culminating in my taking her to dinner on Sunday evening. She stays overnight then on Monday morning we go on an outing and catch brunch at some time during the outing. It's an arrangement that seems to suit both of us well.

Last Sunday night we were going to the Burmese at Stone's Corner but they were temporarily closed so we went to the Greeks next door -- the good old Kafe Meze. In keeping with my shrunken appetite these days all I ordered for myself was a particularly good entree, Taramasalata. It is served with pita bread so was plenty filling for me. Jenny had a prawn salad which she liked. It looked a good dinner.

Then on Monday, we had a particularly varied morning. We went out to Anne's place and had a look at some oil lamps George had for sale. I bought two very nice big ones.

We then went for a drive in the Prado, which is kept at Anne's place. It was my first trip in it. Jenny drove as she is used to modern cars whereas I am not. Cars have what is for me a bewildering range of gadgets these days. For 60 years I have driven cars that have no instruments other than a speedo and a fuel gauge but the modern world is hugely more complex than that.

The Prado was smooth and comfortable as you would expect from one of Toyota's best-selling cars. It was far too chatty for me though. It seemed to be talking to us every five minutes, which was disruptive of conversation. Jenny's car talks to her too but not as much. I was a bit surprised that I could hear the Prado's motor ticking over but I eventually realized that it was because the Prado is a diesel.

We had a picnic lunch at our usual spot at North Wynnum. Jenny had bought me an egg and lettuce sandwich from the Fiveways bakery which was very good. Jenny had some gluten-free stuff.

We then visited the Wynnum disposal shop and a couple of OpShops. We both got a few things that we liked

At the disposal shop I bought another lamp to match one I already have. So on the sideboard in my bedroom I now have a matching pair of them.

I also bought a rather strange pocket knife at the disposal shop. No idea what I will do with it.

At one of the OpShops Jenny found some CDs that she had been looking for. We got home about midday.

Jewellery finds

When I see a piece of jewellery that I think would look good on Anne I buy it for her. And I seem to be tuned in enough to her taste to buy things for her that she will like.

The first below is a very fancy necklace that I bought her a couple of weeks ago and the second is a bracelet that I have just bought and which she has not yet seen





UPDATE: Anne says the bracelet "Looks very classy", so my feeling for her taste is still working

OpShopping

Jenny and I are both dedicated opshoppers. I believe OpShops are called "Thrifts" in the USA while in Britain they are simply called charity shops.

Anyway, Brisbane has lots of them and Jenny knows most of them. I know only the ones local to me. Neither Jenny nor I go there to make important purchases. We just like seeing odd and unusual things and may buy something we really like it. The beauty of such shops is that their stock is always changing so they are forever new. It's a great mistake to see something there and think you will pick it up tomorrow. By tomorrow it may well be gone.

Anyway, Jenny took me out to see some of her favourite destinations recently and I made some local forays by myself. And we did pick up a few small items.

The most surprising was a miniature pocket knife that I thought would make a good keyring. The most surprising thing about it was the price. It was one of their "free" items. I looked for trademarks etc on it but could find none. I did however find some very tiny writing on the knife blade. I had to get a 10x lens to read it but it simply said "China. stainless". I liked the fact that it included a small Philips head screwdriver.

A strangely satisfying buy was two teacups. For years I was a bit bothered that I had a set of saucers and side plates but no cups to go with them. The cups were presumably broken long ago. So I was surprised and pleased to find in one shop two cups of the same pattern. So I suddenly had a new teaset. I have lots of teasets but I do like this one

And I also had one quality buy: A set of heavy crystal wine glasses from France. I have very little crystal so I was pleased to catch up a little.



Voila!