Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Dawn Enid Nickola

Dawn (unmarried) was born 2nd June 1933 and died 3rd March 2015.
 
She is Vi's niece, Glenn's cousin.
The funeral service was at the St Ursula's Convent in Krugersdorp North.
Dawn is buried in the Paardekraal Cemetery
near her grandmother Emily Jane (Smith) Clarke,
Vi and her sister Winifred's (Auntie Win) mother,
among the thirteen children in all.
Vi was the only one of her generation there.
Her surviving brothers Eddie and Viv were not able to be there.
 
We walked past Emily Jane's grave to Dawn's resting place.
 

Dawn is buried in the same grave as her mother and father, and her brother.



The headstone was removed so that this burial could take place.




The red and white Roses with white Chrysanthemums on the lowering coffin
are from Vi, Glenn and I, and John and Brenda. 








Vi was very glad she went...
She met family members she hasn't seen in a long while.


Sunday, March 8, 2015

Sunday Musings - 8th March 2015


Dear Family and Friends -

Sunday… And since it is Roodepoort’s Stake Conference today, we are meeting at 1pm.
I treasure these rare mornings when they happen twice a year.

I was sorely tempted to go off to enjoy the two annual show gardens this morning.  BUT I was out all of yesterday at a LifeLine conference so I decided wisdom would win out over this desire.  In any case my whole body still feels ‘wired’ so quiet is probably better for me than more people milling around me.

The conference about counselling in an added way was interesting and vision broadening.  I came home with my head spinning!  There is much to learn and absorb with using new technology.  And I was using Cindy’s borrowed laptop so I had that to adapt to as well.  I’m glad I could go.  I’m glad to take these steps to greater proficiency.  AND I become aware as well when I reach for a prize and extend myself beyond my gradually increasing capacity that I sometimes have a price to pay afterwards.  My brain gets panicked.  I guess (again) that I suffered a traumatic brain injury in the motor accident in 2002 that changed my life – perhaps forever.  I’m glad I notice I still do experience incremental healing and am able to tolerate more mental pressure.

Last night I unusually slept like the dead though – so perhaps I should try something like this more often!  I will strive for balance in all I choose to do in my lovely (and other kind of) days…

The other day someone on facebook mentioned a programme on the internet to facilitate mental agility.  I thought that might be useful to me to help my brain stay active and exercising.  I went to the site and tackled level one.  I felt myself becoming frantic.  I stopped right there.  Perhaps later… perhaps never.  For now I want to feel safe enough in my expectations of my mental capacity.

Reminds me again of “do not run faster nor labour more than you have strength or means provided.”  No doubt my life would have been lived more sanely if I had known ‘then’ what I am able to know ‘now.’

During the week I read in the Reader’s Digest about the man (and his two friends) who created/ devised, the capacity, the app, making the WWW possible.   I thought the internet and the WWW were the same thing.  Apparently not.  The internet, previously used by academics, is 20 years older than the WWW, which anyone is able to access.  The WWW is only 26 years old.   I’m very grateful to be able to utilize it every day.  Knowledge is a great comfort a to me - it helps me be able to be stable with the support of many who know much more than I do.  I still feel like I am living in a fog most of the time – there is so much that I do not know, and even more that I do not understand.  But – the spots of ‘light’ in the fog around me are enormously re-assuring  and anchoring to me.

I hope your week is filled with occasional moments of delight through your senses.  See the beauty, hear the soothing, taste the delicious, smell the therapeutic, feel the warming of the Northern hemisphere on your skins - we feel the cooling of our Southern hemisphere on our skins.  It's time for long-sleeved T shirts and trouser sox early and late - sometimes a cardigan too.

I know it's important for all other kinds of sensations as well...  They are also instructive.  May we each learn  and benefit from all of our circumstances - whatever they are on any given day.

It is Samuel’s birthday today and Cabryn’s birthday on Tuesday.  Happy Birthday dear Samuel - five - and Cabryn - ten!  The only time Cabryn will be twice as old as Samuel... We will make the time to wish birthday blessings on you both.

We enjoyed our Skype session with Hilmar and Dianne on their tenth anniversary last week.  Sorry we missed you when we called on your birthday Roxanne!  We hope it was fabulous and remarkable big 2-0! 

So... I'm just thinking...  Roxanne is twice as old as Cabryn, and Hilmar and Dianne's marriage, and four times as old as Samuel...  Thinking these sorts of thoughts reminds me of my Dad - he used to notice these mathematical things too.  I'm sure you are revelling in celestial mathematics now Dad!

Happy week dear loved-ones!

God bless us all!  

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Solving My Problem

How do I straighten my hair and watch television at the same time...?

Set up mirrors in the cupboard above the kitchen sink - one for me to use while I straighten, and one focussed so I can glance at the television while I work.

It worked.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Next Door Neighbours

I sent Japie and Annarina (away at the coast) a text:

"Japie en Annarina, kom huis toe!  Ek mis julle!  Judy"

He replied: 

"Byt vas.  Amper daar.  Ons sal Sondag laat daar wees!!"

I replied:

:)

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Patio Progress...

Happy Anniversary to Hilmar and Dianne!
Go Schwulst's!

**************************************************

Patio last week?  The week before?...


The end of last week...


Sun setting reflected in five glass panes put in yesterday.
Four panes to go today...



Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Memory of My Dad

Last night after Home Evening we watched an episode of The Amazing Race.

The contestants could choose a task of fixing a puncture in a bicycle tube.
I remember my Dad showing me how to do that when I was a child.

Tender moment. 
Thanks for teaching me Dad. 
Thanks for the memory too.

I learnt A LOT from you.

(Of course he was much younger than in this pohotograph.  I only have album photos of him at that age.  Perhaps I will discover how to convert them to digital.  Decisions!  Decisions!  Decisions!)