A big Pow Wow this morning

Anne has recently returned from her big caravan trip around Australia. So was that the end of her caravanning? She was thinking of one more trip but I told her that another trip would upset me. I missed her during her recent trip so I would not like another trip. She agreed with my view and has now sent the Toyota Prado (used to tow the caravan) to her son for him to sell. He is very cluey so should do that job well. He estimates that we should get back the $70,000 we spent buying it plus perhaps a little more

Anne and I also agreed to a change in our meeting arrangements. We will continue as before to breakfast each Saturday morning but will add a breakast most Thursdays. I am really pleased about that

After our big discussions, we went to Buranda as usual for our breakfast

A gastroscopy

I had a gastroscopy today which took up most of my day, one way or another. The doctors were searching for the cause of my anemia and thought that I might have leaking varices (enlarged blood vessels) somewhere in my stomach area. I didn't. I was all normal down there.

So that is rather good news but leaves the cause of my anemia unexplained. It would normally signify low levels of serum iron but my iron levels are normal

An amazing sort of a day

Yesterday was good for me in both personal and political ways. The decisive defeat of the referendoum in Australia and the decisive expulsion of the Left in NZ were the political highpoints but there were some good personal highpoints too.

For the last couple of days I had been troubled by a gammy hip -- one of the nightmares of the elderly. But Ibuprofen had been helping with it so I took some more at 7am. And by 10pm the hip was no longer gammmy. If someone had prayed for me over it, it would have been accounted as a genuine miracle from the Lord. And the cure is still in place this morning.

And Anne arrived at 8:30am and drove us to the Buranda coffee place. And we did well there. We both had favorite breakfasts with coffee that cost me surprisinly little. With deductions and discounts, the bottom line was $37.45, a very old-fashioned price. I am "not short of a bob", in the old Australian idiom, but I still like to get value for money. I give half of my disposable income to a charitable cause and I like the results I am getting there too

And before we left Buranda, Anne and I managed to snag some Portuguese custard tarts for our morning tea -- one of our favorite rituals. While there I also bought Anne a small bunch of flowers, including some red roses.

Then I decided some Nandos chicken was what I fancied for lunch. So after some time trying to navigate food ordering via the internet, I finally managed to place an order with Deliveroo. And the food arrived still warm. Again I was pleased at my spend. They charged me only $5 in addition to the cost of the food

And I had a nefarious scheme in mind for that night. I have been rather regretful that my "days of wine and roses" seem to be over so I thought that by giving Anne roses and having a glass of wine with Jenny over dinner I would be able to defy that limitation. Sadly, however, Jenny was too unwell to have any wine

So I decided to have a "Jimmy Woodser" (drink alone). I had a of glass of very nice Rosemount Traminer Riesling as a nightcap. So I did have at least one more day of wine and roses

I think my days of wine and roses are over

I have just been notified that for health reasons I am no longer licensed to drive. I had stopped driving anyway. For most of my life I was a demon driver but in 60 years of driving I have never hurt myself or anyone else so I am rather proud of that

It makes me think of a famous short poem from over 100 years ago by Ernest Dowson

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream

My days of wine and roses were actually very long -- largely ending only a few years ago when I first had a life-threatening encounter with cancer. But ceasing to drive puts a final cap on it. So I am thankful that my good days were many.

But I think there was a peak to my days of wine and roses. I see 1968, when I was in my mid-20s, as the time in my life most aptly described as that. See: https://memoirsjr.blogspot.com/2023/06/a-memoir-of-1968.html

The Hollywood film called "Days of wine and roses" describes a descent into alcoholism. That is not me. I drank much good wine in my time but it never harmed me. These days a wee dram of Scotch at night before bed is my only indulgence

I was young once

On looking at my old photo collection, I was rather struck by the photo below from 1983 when I was 39 and Jenny was 30. It was taken at the Russian ball.

I may be kidding myself but I am inclined to think that I was rather young-looking for my age in that photo. My face was still well filled out with very little in the way of lines. I could well be one of the lucky few who age slowly. The fact that I am still alive and feebly kicking at age 80 may be consistent with that.