A Monday memory

Can you remember getting letters with OHMS on them and can you remember when they stopped coming?

This one carries a date in 1987.

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Rocks in the pool that is life

And then there is the day when the dry and the dying are present to you despite the blue sky, the beauty and the soothing sounds of water and birds.

A day when you recall that the path ahead is often hard, bleached of colour and curves away unseen.

When the rocks in life appear large in a depleted pool

and when a foundation rock of your own life has gone into another form.

Backyard cricket and barbeque

The groom-to-be in the family had his stag “do” on Sunday. He decided he would like a barbeque after a game of backyard cricket, to be held at a park area a little up the coast from here.
Instructions to the invited men included that they were to come dressed as their favourite cricketer.

There was much hilarity and nostalgia here on Sunday as the cupboards and drawers were rifled in attempts to find suitable clothing to fit the desired look.

Out came a hand-knitted, cable-patterned sleeveless pullover that I had knitted a long, long time ago and which now fits the owner rather too snugly. A machine knitted wool jersey appeared that my mother-in-law knitted many years ago to help keep out the mean cold winds that can sweep our cricket grounds even in the height of summer.

And then a variety of white floppy sun hats and caps with various embellishments were tried on, laughed about, memories shared and selections made.

A real find for the male being honoured was a precious t shirt he wore with much devotion as a child in the 1990’s. The t shirt was printed in recognition of a national cricketer’s retirement, noting his service to the game.

How that ever fitted him on Sunday is beyond me but I gather our “groom” squeezed into it and wore it in good humour. He was also required to play the whole game with his dominant arm/hand tied in a sling, in order to even up the play as only one or two of the gathered number play cricket regularly today.

The game had various “rules” that were altered as the game went along, keeping in accord with backyard cricket games and certainly not to be found in standard rule books. No one knew who won but it sounded as if they had a lot of fun and mercifully no injuries were sustained.

As for the barbeque the meat and bread and tomato sauce were the popular items. A lolly cake was devoured with gusto but the strawberries and salad hung fire…..no surprises there.

It was good fun standing back and watching the preparations and noting the differences when men organize “dos” and share food together.

This weekend it is their turn to watch and smile as the females gather for the bridal shower!

Anyone for cricket?

A courier package at the door this morning heralds my blog post for the day. Inside the bag was a small wooden cricket bat…..

While this bat would not feature on Antiques Roadshow it is in many ways a family heirloom.

My Dad loved cricket. He spent most of his life either playing, coaching, administering or fervently watching both family members and favourite teams. As well as being a very able cricketer he was also skilled in carpentry and bat maintenance and repairs.

He very cleverly cut down an old adult sized bat and fashioned this tiny tot’s version. My four brothers may all have used this bat as small boys but I do know that my oldest son was delighted to find he could play cricket just like his Daddy, his Grandfather and uncles when he was given this bat by his beloved Pappa (Grandfather).

All three of my children used it and all went on to play cricket at times in their lives. When my brother had his children the bat went to live at their home and was used by four more small children within the family circle.

The bat has come back to me so I can give it to my grandson to use and enjoy. It will bring back memories for his Dad and for everyone in my immediate family.

It feels as if another turn in a spiral has been made.

Friday wrap-up, a day late

Saturday 2nd July: Friday wrap-up, a day late.

So here are a few things that have happened today. It has been a good one.

 I realized that the very cold weather we have had this week is just the thing to stimulate my newly planted garlic bulbs.

 The coffee was good and hot at the café this morning

 A friend and I had a discussion about resilience which is a topic we are both interested in

 I walked around the lake near our shopping centre and enjoyed the winter light, the water, the birds and some stunning colours that surprised me in the depths of a steely, raw winter’s day

 Hot soup was just the right food for lunch

 I took some interesting photos on a walk near my home. I’ve included these two of a Melia tree near our local dairy. It looks so vastly different to the one in my garden.

 I completed my Garden Bird survey and was delighted by the number of chaffinchs in the count this year

 I did a guided meditation as the light of the day faded

 Everyone enjoyed their hot roast dinner

 There was some humorous television to watch in the evening.

And I found a new blog which I will be following closely with great interest. I’d encourage you to have a look:-)

14 years ago

It was very wet here all weekend and we needed to find a videotape to record on. So I dug into a box of tapes and came upon one that was named (that was a surprise) describing an evening held in my honor 14 years ago. Yep June 1997.

I watched it this morning and had a real trip back in time as a non-profit group honoured me with Life Membership. Among the gathered group were some people who did not know each other particularly well and so introductions were done around the group. This proved to be really interesting as details were given and connections made, legs pulled and funny anecdotes shared.

It reminded me of a very, very happy period in my life as part of an organization I had gained so much from and which I loved giving back to.

The fashions, earrings, and hairdo’s were worth a wee giggle and the telephone (landline) was mentioned so often as being a life line to all of us personally and organizationally. That was startling given how often we use texts, emails, social network sites and cell phones now to communicate.

I’ve made a note of who attended and will get this archival “gem” transferred to DVD to help ensure it remains as part of my family history and my memoirs.

I felt quite overwhelmed on the night with lots happening but I am so pleased that someone thought of videoing most of the evening and giving me a copy to look back on.

Rimus, reflection and restoration

Recently on another blog the question was asked: ” Where is your favourite bush walk?”  Here in New Zealand that means native bush.  My favourite place to walk in the bush is in Otari bush in Wellington.

My parents took us there as children and my parents’ ashes are now buried beneath a young Rimu sapling that we planted in the reserve in 2004.  The sapling we planted to commemorate our parents has grown from a seed from the 600 year old Rimu that lives in a different area of this bush.  Not only is there the 600 year old Rimu but in the same clearing there is an 800 year old giant.

There are many tracks to follow in this wonderful bush reserve but my favourite is the one that runs from the Northern carpark to the Troup Picnic area.  The path is always shaded no matter what time of the year it is.  The path tracks alongside the stream through beautiful tall trees, smaller native plants, ferns, tree ferns, mosses and lichens. 

Once at the picnic area the stream is very easy to access and it is fun to watch children paddling, searching for small creatures and attempting to dam the flow with rocks.

The calls and songs of the various native birds that live there are a delight.

 It is very easy to forget the cares of the world once in the bush.   I find it restful and restorative; a place to reflect and remember in; a place to wonder and experience awe.

Where is your favourite bush walk?