A CHILD OF THE DEPRESSION

When I say that I am ‘a child of the Depression’, most folk know what I mean. It tells them that I do not waste anything if I can help it; I buy hardly anything if I can do without it; and I get great satisfaction out of tastefully using left-overs that are in my refrigerator.

My freezer is full of bits and pieces...surplus food that I have frozen and which comes in handy when I need a snack. Or when I do not have the energy to cook a meal. They are always a nice surprise, even though I label each container, showing contents and date.

My book GARDENING IN YOUR NINETIES, the sequel to SEX IN YOUR SEVENTIES

A review from Canberra: I love your book, I really do. It’s very informative; you are adventurous and you have filled your life with experiences and enthusiasm. That North Queensland trip makes me smile. The Aussie can find a way when things fall apart. The overseas experiences are a lovely insight into your travels and determination to fill your life with all that it can offer. Also, I love your recipes and tips on gardening. A really terrific read.

VALE BETTY WHITE January 2022

So Betty White has died. She was almost a hundred years of age.
I remember, as a child, first seeing a photo of Betty on a cigarette card. Among a couple of others, I had one of Janet Gaynor, and these young women were so attractive to a ten year old, an impressionable country kid who was so ignorant of the rest of the world, knowing only the dairy farm of the early thirties and the surrounding district on the Logan River.

It was 1931 and Logan Village was agog! There was to be a Talent Quest in the only hall that was in the district. The old brown hall had been moved to a private property some years ago. It was small, but adequate for the few good folk who worked their dairy farms and ran their businesses in The Village.

I was recently on The Morning Show, Channel 7. It was all about my new book 'Gardening in Your Nineties, the sequel to Sex in Your Seventies.' In this latest book of mine, a nonagenarian (moi), who wrote the successful book 'Sex in Your Seventies', tells of her efforts at gardening after a life of some experience at tilling the soil. She deals with everyday problems and reveals her own solutions. But as she works away, her mind wanders to her past long life. She talks of her childhood on the dairy farm on the Logan, and remembers her many subsequent adventures...

HOSPITALS

Whatever has happened to our hospitals? Once upon a time, the welfare of the patient was the important theme; now it appears that the welfare of the hospital is more important. Or so it appeared to me recently during a stint in a well known, large, private hospital.

I was in pain, so it was suggested that I be admitted to hospital, ‘where you will be looked after...’ I just don’t know about that. It was the hospital ‘rules’ that beat me.

THE ENAMELLED PLAQUE

I was quite taken a-back when I received the e-mail. It was from a woman in New York State who had recently acquired a beautiful enamelled plaque. It still had my card on the back, and she traced me from the name to my website and to my email address. She, Donna, wanted to know the history of the plaque, which was titled ‘In Memory.’ I was thrilled, and remembered the painting well. So I told her the story...

The group was talking about the various objects that they had forgotten to take with them when they had left a restaurant, a motel, or ship or the like. I recalled an episode in my life:

He and I had been a couple for five years. Not a terribly romantic relationship, but we were suitable partners in many ways. We respected each other, had a good love life, and did not quarrel. But he did get grumpy at times, especially when he became bored with a situation that was not exactly to his liking. That’s how he was at the Carnarvons.

A SHORT-SIGHTED VIEW?
4366 words

IS THAT YOU, JESUS?

My grandmother lived until she was 98, a very devout mother of four who had seen good times and bad in her long life. My father, Harry, was her youngest child, and the others would say that their mother would skin them to make a coat for Harry! Yes, he was the favourite, but then, he was a good and loving son. He was always there for her.