Now for something completely different

[Mareblu]

1 hour ago, Bubbeh said:

My parents were Holocaust survivors and I think this goes at least some way to explaining their often very strange outlook on things.  

Please, not for a moment was I intending to pass judgement.  It was actually meant in jest.  I often find myself repeating parental behaviour patterns;  it’s a fairly normal and natural reaction, according to my daughter (Psychology degree) who often tells me I sound “like Grandma”, especially when I’m obsessing about something.  I cannot ever begin to imagine the horrors your parents endured, and which doubtless never left them.  My fear about this inhuman, dark time in our history is that humanity, if we don’t keep acknowledging it ourselves and informing future generations, will forget.  My father survived the horrors of jungle warfare, and my mother lost her  husband of only six months on Kokoda.  They remained affected all their lives.  

[Rassa]

3 hours ago, Bubbeh said:

Well this becomes the moment when I step outside the group and everyone looks at me sideways and slowly moves away....my mother hated cut flowers, she always said that flowers belonged in a garden and in a garden only.  Her rationale was that it was wrong to fatally wound something and then watch it die just to gratify ourselves and brighten our home.  This is so ingrained in me that I even feel uncomfortable walking past a florist shop.  Funeral Homes and cemeteries don't worry me but flower sellers make my skin crawl.  

 

I make no judgement on others, it's just my own little peccadillo and idiosyncrasy.  

I never thought of it that way, but I have a lovely garden full of flowers at the moment.   I never cut the flowers and take them inside.   I have always thought they just look beautiful naturally, where they are in abundance.  I think your mother was right.

[GUT2407]

 I had my 15,155th Valentine’s Day on Tuesday.

[mr walker]

1 hour ago, GUT2407 said:

 I had my 15,155th Valentine’s Day on Tuesday.

You old romantic, you 😁

[MicCanberra]

10 hours ago, Bubbeh said:

Well this becomes the moment when I step outside the group and everyone looks at me sideways and slowly moves away....my mother hated cut flowers, she always said that flowers belonged in a garden and in a garden only.  Her rationale was that it was wrong to fatally wound something and then watch it die just to gratify ourselves and brighten our home.  This is so ingrained in me that I even feel uncomfortable walking past a florist shop.  Funeral Homes and cemeteries don't worry me but flower sellers make my skin crawl.  

 

I make no judgement on others, it's just my own little peccadillo and idiosyncrasy.  

I prefer them growing in the garden as well.

[MicCanberra]

10 hours ago, Mareblu said:

Beautiful as our city is, it's recognised as the Hay Fever Capitol of the world;  not so much for flowers, but for the grass seeds and the pollen that drifts in clouds of yellow dust every shedding season.  Mario suffers dreadfully from hay fever, but I'm very lucky to have dodged that gene.

Yep, never knew I had asthma/ hayfever until I came to Canberra.

[MicCanberra]

5 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

 I had my 15,155th Valentine’s Day on Tuesday.

I think you meant groundhog day?

[Bubbeh]

On 2/17/2023 at 9:48 AM, Mareblu said:

Please, not for a moment was I intending to pass judgement.  It was actually meant in jest.  I often find myself repeating parental behaviour patterns;  

I promise you I took no offence at all.  I see myself behaving as my parents did in certain situations and I also see one of my daughters behaving like me.  I think more than anything else, the worse thing for my parents was that they were always waiting for it to happen again, they never felt safe in the world.  So sad.

Edited February 19, 2023 by Bubbeh

[Mareblu]

2 hours ago, Bubbeh said:

I promise you I took no offence at all.  I see myself behaving as my parents did in certain situations and I also see one of my daughters behaving like me.  I think more than anything else, the worse thing for my parents was that they were always waiting for it to happen again, they never felt safe in the world.  So sad.

You are so gracious, Bubbeh.  Thank you from my heart, which sank when I read your reply.   I simply didn’t think too deeply when I responded. We never know the story, and now I feel such profound compassion for your family.  When I mentioned my parents, who obviously met after the war, I meant to add that not even their trauma could ever compare to The Holocaust.  They both signed up to serve (my mother joined the WRAAF after her first husband’s courageous death  in combat):  conscious decisions to defend their country  and family.  To comprehend your family’s trauma, is to imagine my parents’ defenceless families (including children) herded, transported to a foreign site, and their lives extinguished in the presence of their loved ones.  I had many friends at school in Sydney whose parents were survivors.  They all carried the suffering deep within, one friend told me, so I understand your sense of sadness.  My warmest wishes to you.  Confession:  I love arranging freshly cut flowers from my garden, but agree they look so sad ad they wilt.

[lyndarra]

Raining non stop last night and this morning. When I went into the kitchen for breakfast I looked out at my van in the driveway and remembered I'd left the windows down. Doh!

[GUT2407]

1 minute ago, lyndarra said:

Raining non stop last night and this morning. When I went into the kitchen for breakfast I looked out at my van in the driveway and remembered I'd left the windows down. Doh!

Ouch? Been coming down, maybe turn your van into a pool

[Blackduck59]

1 hour ago, lyndarra said:

Raining non stop last night and this morning. When I went into the kitchen for breakfast I looked out at my van in the driveway and remembered I'd left the windows down. Doh!

 

Oh oops.

We had quite a wind storm last night winds up 117km/h. We lost power for almost 6 hours. Unfortunately that meant no power for my CPAP so it was difficult to get any sleep. We got power back at 0020 hrs. so I did get a bit of sleep before getting up for work at 0500hrs. Time to look into a battery back up for that.

Now we are expecting a bit of an Arctic wind and maybe some snow 😒

[NSWP]

2 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Raining non stop last night and this morning. When I went into the kitchen for breakfast I looked out at my van in the driveway and remembered I'd left the windows down. Doh!

Yes you copped some up there.  A bit down here but not as bad as further north. Stay safe.

[boeckli]

17 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Yes you copped some up there.  A bit down here but not as bad as further north. Stay safe.

 

Cats 🐈and dogs🐕 in between too  - I emptied 117mm from my rain gauge this morning (Northern Beaches) ☔️⚡️

Edited February 22, 2023 by boeckli

[lyndarra]

2 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Ouch? Been coming down, maybe turn your van into a pool

It was hot here yesterday so I decided to drive with the windows down for fresh air rather than use the aircon.

Ironically, the pool water was a bit low yesterday so I topped it up. As usual, whenever I do that it has often rains the next day. It's been overflowing all day which will mean it'll needanother bag or two of salt.

[Mareblu]

26 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Yes you copped some up there.  A bit down here but not as bad as further north. Stay safe.

It was quite violent here, but again, not quite as dramatic as further north, including inland NSW (Bathurst, etc.).  One of our suburbs had 97mm in half an hour.  

[OzKiwiJJ]

Rolf is incurably optimistic about some things. 🤣

 

Last night when the rain started he said that it looks like we won't get much rain tonight. I told him "just wait". Sure enough, ten or so minutes later it bucketed down. 🤣🤣🤣

[MicCanberra]

4 inches for some is more than enough.

[buchhalm]

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

4 inches for some is more than enough.

Are you guys still talking abour rain?

[MicCanberra]

9 hours ago, buchhalm said:

Are you guys still talking abour rain?

Yes 😉

[Gaznjo]

On 3/18/2022 at 6:49 AM, NSWP said:

Another great pic of Ocean Victory in Antarctica, taken by my son a couple of weeks ago.

 

Les…. Our turn has finally come…. At the airport waiting to catch our flight to Argentina…. Then on the 27 th we board…..

[NSWP]

2 hours ago, packetau said:

Les…. Our turn has finally come…. At the airport waiting to catch our flight to Argentina…. Then on the 27 th we board…..

My friends, you are in for a treat, my son, his wife and two teenage daughters were on Ocean Victory last month, they had a great time.  From my son who has now been on it it twice, checking things for the company, the food is very good and the vessel handled Drake Passage well. The ice landings were great. Enjoy your adventure.

 

BON VOYAGE

Edited February 23, 2023 by NSWP

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, packetau said:

Les…. Our turn has finally come…. At the airport waiting to catch our flight to Argentina…. Then on the 27 th we board…..

Bon voyage 

[MMDown Under]

8 hours ago, packetau said:

Les…. Our turn has finally come…. At the airport waiting to catch our flight to Argentina…. Then on the 27 th we board…..

Bon Voyage.  I'm excited for you.  This is really a once in a lifetime experience!

[lyndarra]

On 2/22/2023 at 8:32 PM, MicCanberra said:

4 inches for some is more than enough.

Last night a ceiling fell in, at my son's house, from water that had "seeped" through a couple of cracked terracotta roof tiles during the storm last night. The insulation bats had soaked up the water until they were too heavy for the ceiling to hold.

Spent most of the day doing an insurance claim and talking to insurance company reps to get the damage assessed.  An emergency repairer was supposed to come today to temporarily stop further water ingress but failed to turn up. Will be coming tomorrow instead. Assessor will be coming next week.