Tuesday Twaddle

Don’t just learn the words – learn the thoughts. Never think ahead – that way disaster lies. Watch and listen to all around you – actors, dialogue, audience and adjust to all.

Excellent advice from lovely Tom Conti.

This morning there was ice on the car but bright sunshine which inspired MTL to drive down to the town. Fine, I thought I’ll clear last night’s and the breakfast dishes and then get on with this post. At the end of the washing up I discovered I was standing in an inch of water. Obviously there was a leak and I had a bowl full of soapy water to empty. I managed to carry it to the drain in the back porch- the consultant’s advice ‘Don’t lift anything’ ringing in my ears.

Emptying the cupboard under the sink and giving it a much needed Dettol scrub I realised that mostly these days any spring cleaning is done as the result of an emergency rather than, as in the past, as written in tablets of stone. All is now clean and dry awaiting further action from MTL. Let’s hope Mick is available.

The week-end has been fully occupied. My son who has made a video of me remembering family history, asked for relevant photos. Mostly the old photos were kept in Mum’s old hat box but many have been transferred to the albums. When we married thirty one years ago I was very conscious that we had no history together during our thirty year separation so it became very important to keep a record of our life together – hence the albums. Then each grandchild had to have one and then when I started blogging five years ago taking photos became a continuing pleasure.

So I went through every album and realised how much I had forgotten. It was pleasurable and I urge anyone to keep some sort of record of their life. Memory is a moveable feast. That was the fun part. Heaving the albums in and out and, of course spring cleaning the cupboard at the same time was less pleasurable. At last I finished, took the unstuck photos up to my office and started the business of indexing them. One imagines one’s son would know who, for example, my Uncle Joe was, but many of the family died before he was born.

I suddenly remembered a photo taken at home in 1949 – Christmas with Gran, Mum and Dad and my brother and sister – all of us wearing paper hats just after MTL and I split up – why am I smiling?

Dammit I hadn’t taken it out of the album. Maybe I would recognise the album. After another lengthy session on my knees, my back, very firmly said NO!

Yesterday I finished the indexing and MTL very sweetly, and without my knowledge, posted them this morning.

I and a blogging friend have been unable to post photos from Picasa but the good news today is I can. So below are the album cupboard and two plant photos.

I was so pleased with the dahlias I planted some months back that I ordered half a dozen chrysanthemum plants. What I hadn’t realised was they were indoor and probably meant for a green house. I also didn’t realise the sheer size( but they were so lovely and exotic looking in the catalogue) I put them in big pots in the sun room. As you see below I got one beautiful bloom weeks ago and since then nada. I’ve watered and fed but they don’t look happy. I have now bought proper bamboo canes which may encourage them to buck up. I’m very disappointed and can’t help feeling if I had let Karen plant them it would have been a different story. Any thoughts?