Meet the new Land owner

She is now the proud Land Owner of 10ft by 10ft  bit of land in Scotland !!!
Enough to build a dunny on hey !!
Wonderful gesture from the family......What a great surprise...I think I will try and buy the block next door.

A sweet gesture

The other night I dropped off a friend after she had been to the Family History Library...it was pouring ....rain rain everywhere....Now on Thursday evenings we finish at about 9 hardly ever right on the dot.....as I pulled up at her house....out came her daughter who is about 35 yrs from behind a bush umbrella in hand in her P.J.'s and ugg boots with an umbrella for her Mum....I was sooo touched as she would have got wet and I wondered how long she had stood there as we left the F.H.C. about 9.10....I expressed how wonderful I thought this was to my friend and she said ..."Yes she is a marvelous daughter"....I still get a lovely feeling just thinking about it.
Thank Goodness for wonderful gestures that reminds one of  goodness and love.

Pammy is 70 tomorrow

The below video is dedicated to her....actually it looks like a pretty good place to go to... remember YOU, ME, GAYLE and our darling Hubbies. !!! were all going to go to the same place...when the time comes..

Clark Retirement Community LipDub [ Video ] CoolestOne.Com

Clark Retirement Community LipDub [ Video ] CoolestOne.Com

A peek

Today I went to a friends funeral and what a privilege it was...I was so impressed how her daughters shared her life and her virtues....I thought that they really knew their Mother and what a marvelous Mother she was and  always will be......it was so moving...I loved Edith Wemper she was a blessing to me and a great friend when I was in need and it seemed it was the theme of her life.
Such a wonderful feeling to know where good and righteous people go....what a comfort it would be for her family.

Gosh !!!

I usually read my blog hours after I  have made an entry and I always find something that is wrong usually in spelling or I haven't been happy with how I have written it....this is even after proof reading.... so sorry for the mistakes that are in there and for any future ones that get missed......wehn it is all siad and dnoe deos it rllaey mttear ....dnot tinhk so !!!!

What do I think brings good or bad luck

I am NOT suspicious at all...I don't believe in bad days persay.......when something not so good starts of the morning...to me it doesn't mean that the rest of the day is going to follow suit....I am always thinking that great will happen....although having said that there has been days or even weeks that the trend has been trying.
So good or bad luck for me only exists when things are not in your control.
I know by writing all my thoughts that I am revealing all about me and I take a risk by doing that...I have had some serious thoughts of this and decided to carry on as I don't have anything to hide and rather then my children reading my journal when I die they can see what I'm all about while I'm here.
 When I think of my Mum and Dad .....I always wished I knew them better....I think sometimes parents assume that their children know all about them and their feelings and attitudes.......when in reality they don't.
It is an ordinary life, one that I am very grateful for.
There is no greatness in it...No amazing Philosophies, no amazing contributions, Just simple and very human with many frailties.......But I am here and I have contributed by being blessed with the most wonderful people who are my family and friends. Hopefully I have brought some wisdom and joy to them.

Child Rearing Philosophies

What are mine. and I wish that I was wiser when my children were little...but I did try to do this.
One of my biggest ones is Respect.....to treat them as I would want to be treated....
I remember when the girls in particular were little........ Sunday Birthday Parties were discouraged because of how we honour the Sabbath....but the decision was theirs..... it was in Pre Primary and when invitations came in which many did..... I would explain to them that we would buy a present and give it to the Birthday person another day with our apologise, but it was our wish well mine really as Tony at the time was not in the Gospel, but always supported me.....that they didn't attend, also explaining about the Sabbath that it was a special day and there were some things we would prefer that they didn't do......BUT the choice was theirs ......The girls were of course sad and made their choice not to go...all except Nicolette ... her decision was respected.....and she went to the party, when it came to pick her up...when she got in the car she said " Oh Mum I didn't feel happy and I wanted to come home"......a lesson learnt very early...which was the whole purpose of them making their own decisions and us abiding with them....... We always felt that early choices were important.......we never made them feel guilty...we were just trying to teach them basic principles...that we as a Family adhered to and believed in. ....it never came up again and to this day the Sabbath is kept in a special way in their families......
.The only exceptions to their freedom of choosing, were of course anything dangerous ...or how much and what .T.V........and things that adults have the responsibility over...One frustration was cloths !!!!...Nic never wanted to wear pants, Nome never wanted to wear skirts.....including to Church on Sundays,  the skirt wasn't a problem ...but the pants were.....so we agreed that on Sundays and when we went out, I made the choice on what was to be worn...we did have some funny combinations during the week though in those early years.......and I see some funny combinations in some of our Grandchildren.
Validation is up there as well.....I wish I had done that one better but I am sure making up for it now with our Grandchildren......oh how a tender self image can be affected...without Validation.!!
 Unconditional Love is one that comes easy..I imagine it does with most parents.......oh the softness of a Mother's Heart.
If I could change one thing it would be that I had laughed more with my children.......I was pretty intense.... I think at times....... I was very organised had to be with 4 under 5 and three others, plus some other pretty responsible positions. More laughter would have been a better way.
Tony taught me a great philosophy....and it is simple, but profound, many of the problems that we have today would be different...and that is "No must mean No"    this statement really caused me to stop and think before I would give an answer...because once I did I had to stick by it.
These of course were some of my most important Philosophies.

A Funny Moment

One that immediately comes to mind...is the time George won a trip to Sydney and he could take me....How exciting.....I was about 24 and hadn't been in a plane since coming to Australia at 7.......our first stop was Adelaide...before landing I needed to go to the Loo.......I had finished and was about to open the door when a sign came up which said Please return to your seat.....and me being of such great intelligence sat back down on the Loo!!!!.......I sat down for sometime.....thinking this is crazy why am I sitting here !!!! It never occurred to me that it meant return to your original seat.......I decided to open the Loo door, which was ever so hard as we were already in a steep descent....I could not walk upright to get to my seat so I crawled...with many strange looking faces looking at me...as I passed them.
Hopefully I am smarter now ...

What is the most trying experiences

When we arrived in Australia life became all about survival for my parents.....That's how it really was...no benefits !! And though they were always about doing the best they could do for us...I would have liked to have been able to talk with them more.
Eddy having Tetanus was dreadful, we lived in Forrestfield, no phone and a good mile or so to the nearest bus stop....Mum knew Eddy was very very ill ...but feeling that he might end up in hospital and him not having any P.J.'s left me home with him I was 9....by this time he was having convulsions and with each cramp would bite of bits of his tongue which then would lay on his lips and as you can imagine blood was a plenty....my poor Mum went all the way to Vic Park by Bus and walking, that was the nearest Shop, it took several hours.....being Migrants she always felt judged.....and we were poor...Dad was not contactable and he had the car, besides my Mother never drove anyway. I make no ill judgement of them or their choice now, although it took me awhile when I was younger to understand why she left me that day.
With each cramp I would run out of our little house and scream and I dared not go back in to our room...but of course did....but did not know what to do..... My parents knew he was ill but not as life threatening as it was.
Mid afternoon the Greengrocer came by and saw the seriousness of the situation and drove Eddy,  Mum and myself to Princess Margaret Hospital. where he was diagnosed with Tetanus and was put into an induced coma....it was so serious that they actually diverted the traffic around P.M.H. Eddy became front page news on the Western Australia paper...after much searching where the disease started they discovered a fly in his ear carrying the germ.
Eddy to this day keeps in touch with the two main Nurses that helped his very slow recovery...he was a very lucky boy as his cramps lasted as long as 5 minutes...the Dr's told my parents ....you can thank your breast milk for that.
The whole terrible situation did affect myself....I felt hopeless and I thought he was going to die.

Feeling the odd one out at School...my lunch's were different....funny hey!!! but I used to hide them....big chunks of bread with big chunks of cheese.... always. ...  I longed for the vegemite sandwich on bought sliced bread
Oh what joy, I was bought a bike....until I saw it as my parents were so thrilled with it, it looked just like the ones from home Holland...but it wasn't what the kids were riding here......the handle bars were way up to my chin....so if you can imagine low seat but high handlebars...they never understood my disappointment. Funny how these little things had such a big sway on me.
Sad to say that they did.......

Anyone whoever is reading this ....please understand that I hold no ill feelings towards my parents at all and am looking forward to one day seeing them again.....My attitude is who am I to Judge another when I myself have made many mistakes......so by the grace of God go I.

Can't miss out Kobi

For some reason Kobi's picture was not taken, but he like Jac got shorts, t shirt and socks, he is right behind Jaz saying thanks for her shoes.....gosh how lucky are we...
I bought a whole lot of stuff for his Dad to take back, but was told he couldn't take it back with him as he had no room...sooooo I gave it all away, except for a book I made him and a t shirt.....oh well feel sad now, with all the effort they put into us.
Will make it up somehow...

Naomi and Lukes Parcel

We had the best surprise Luke's Dad came with the bag that is on the table full of special gifts from Naomi and Luke from America...every single one got a wonderful gift...... Those that could come over, came and we had Naomi and Luke there on the Laptop it was like Christmas...I got emotional as it felt like they were home again.... Little Lacey was funny as she would not smile with her pretty new dress on.....until we all laughed and then she burst out with her abundant smile. All the girls wore there new dresses to Church on Sunday very cute of course.....Last week was full of ups and downs.
Jazzy was what we call in our family Santa ...the person who gives out the gifts. I asked for Peanut M&M's and Tony and I scoffed them all down...very selfish as we did not share any with anyone else........too yummy...I have since found out that you can buy them in the Fremantle Markets

Were you responsible for any Household Chores

The one I remember the most was my job to come home from school and cook the evening meal...... we lived in Queens Park...I would have been about 12 and my Mum worked and came home probably about 6..
Oh my gosh I did not enjoy doing that.....it was always potato, red meat and and some veg it never varied.
I guess like most kids..I made our beds and cleaned our rooms which was never a big deal as we had very very little..for instance I had one doll all my childhood except another was bought much later, this one had hair..but I never took to her. So cleaning up our room was easy, hardly any cloths and no toys.
Doing the dishes and sweeping the floors etc like I imagine most other kids did...it varied from house to house that we lived in..Eddy worked out that it was 14 homes before I left to spread my wings on my own.
But I will tell you off one unusual thing...One morning waking up early and going to make my bed I lifted my pillow and there was a snake curled up under it ...I had slept on the darn thing all night...Lucky Me !!!!! Someone was looking after me that night.......Our house was one that Dad had built in Forrestfield...Three rooms side by side with a wooden patterned floor that Dad had made and which was the pride of the family and a little back room which had nothing but sand on the bottom.
Our parents did the very best that they could, I can never remember going hungry , but things were different then it was for others who belonged to this Country.......we were migrants and felt like it....
My biggest responsibility was looking after Eddy, he is 5 years younger then me.....He nearly lost his life to Tetanus when he was four..And that responsibility became even more poignant.... Without sounding ungrateful ..at times it was too much.
 Also being an interpreter for my Mother..... who couldn't understand sometimes what was being said..I think in some ways I grew up too quick......life was very different in Holland then when we came to Australia..... Even though there were times of fun there were more times of struggle...particularly for my dear parents.
So you could say that my Household Chores were somewhat different then some.

Judy

The Photo's of the wedding cannot be complete without putting in Judy who looked stunning...

A special Photo

Eddy, my only brother and apart from a cousin, the only one I have in Australia, myself and Belinda.......this photo means more to me then some would know.
 Besides sitting next to two Australian Olympians which we are ever proud of.

Photo's from the wedding

Oh that double chin oh well I always think that one feels more attractive then one really is !!!! in my case anyway.

It was also Sione's Birthday

Huge Day for my Katie, Court and My Jack as that morning they had lost there Grandfather and both were really tired..let alone the emotional side...very brave I thought...and what was so brave and selfless of them they told nobody except my Brother Eddy...Neither wanted to have anyone thinking other then joy for the couple..Lee could not be there as well as Naomi and Luke sadly missed !!!

Garth and Lisa's Wedding

My nephew Garth, my only Brother's son got married yesterday and it was as perfect a wedding as you could imagine no detail was left out not a one..the Church service was wonderful..and everyone was left feeling the love that they had for each other..I hope I have captured that in these photo's.
Both parents were as proud as could be and rejoiced with there union.

Lisa looked stunning absolutely gorgeous and Garth was ever handsome and proud of his new wife...I think these two will be very happy. It truly was a classy wedding. And a pleasure to be there. If a Bride could be said that she was radiant Lisa was it. It was a wonderful wedding.... a wonderful family time...Although there was some gaps in our family and they were sorely missed.

I t was the Joy of it all as is shown here in this photo...Just perfect..I'de say.

Jack George Kyros has passed on.

Papu has passed on..He was my first Father in Law and the Grandfather of three of my children...he served in the second world war and was a prisoner in Changi..He was a very successful business man.. J.G. Kyros the Builder. He was a very strong person in character and was loved by all....I was so impressed with my children who for a month sat by his bedside ...Katie was there each day and was a tower of strength to her Aunties and to her Dad..as was Jack.....Lee did when he was in Town.
It will be a HUGE Funeral as he was Greek and  is related to the Kailis Family and many other prominent Greeks in Perth.
My heart goes out to to all of those who are mourning his loss, as I do as well.

First Crush !!

Oh Yes I do remember him well.
I was actually going to be a Nun !!! Yes Serious....... I was religiously minded even as a child...but I think now it was also to get on the side of some of the crabbiest people I ever have known some of my Teacher Nun's....although there were some sweet ones of course, but it seemed to be my lot and the misfortune to have some that got out of the wrong side of the bed  EVERY morning it seemed....
I was about 14 and all of a sudden me becoming a Nun dimmed as I got more and more interested in the opposite sex.
What an exciting lot !!!! and how good they started to look and once more they were looking at ME !!!!
So now my very first crush was a boy called Corrie Tas....My Family sponsored the Tas family from Holland...my life changed when they came and lived not far from us in Forrestfield, as they had 10 children..Corrie was the oldest...At first I didn't even bother with him...to young..... but the family had all these wonderful girls who became my playmates and best friends...Forrestfield was a bit lonely at times with just Eddy and I .....but not anymore !!!
Funny hey !!! and what changed when all of a sudden I didn't want to go over to hang around with the girls so much .... but noticed him.and he me.......
Our families got together every Friday Night...the adults played cards and us kids had the best of time...By this time we had moved AGAIN from Forrestfield to Queens Park and they had followed us to that area as well...I think that the Tas kids still live in the same area even today.
It was during one of those Friday nights when we played hiding in the dark that we found each other and I had my first kiss.I guess I must of been about 15 by now.......yes exciting but it was nothing like you see on T.V. these days eg; we didn't eat each other if you know what I mean !!!!!

Describe sounds from my Childhood

Describe a " sound " from my childhood.
This is a bit tricky as I have no idea where it comes from or why it stirs me so much...except to say that in Holland there were many times there were Street Carnivals
But WHENEVER I hear a band coming down a street ( which is very rare now) I get the biggest lump in my throat and I have to do everything to stop from crying and crying.....unfortunately I get the same feeling whenever I hear the whistle or horn of a Train Not the local ones of course.....we said goodbye to all of our Dutch Family when we left Holland by boarding a train...which then took us to Schipol Airport In Amsterdam there were no Family there....Gosh if I'm really honest if I see the Interstate Train pull out and I'm standing on the Station and sense the emotion of some people saying goodbye...I get another lump in my throat.... even if I don't know a soul on the train. A bit weird did you say. as Brendon was YES !!!
My favourite sound is the sound of a bird...Particularly the Magpies. We lived in Forrestfield on ten acres we had no running water no electricity and apart from a battery operated radio that only went on at times.....all we could hear was the wonderful sounds of nature. Which I loved.
My 2nd most favourite sound is the Ocean.
For some reason though a Crow always takes my mind to a Cemetry.  And seeing I live next to one and there are many crows around I don't even need an imagination.
I can remember walking back from school while still in Holland and being very young, I  heard a Tank coming up behind me.....it scared me so much....I guess in some ways it was still early days after the 2nd World War
Many years later one of my very first jobs was working as an assistant Nurse in St John of God Maternity Hospital ( nursing was not the job for me!!! ) anyway I was on Evening duty and I heard a trolley coming down the passage way but could not see it and I was transported back to me walking down that lane and hearing the Tank behind me...I experienced the same fear.
Now as an adult though and I didn't appreciate it as a child...I adore the sound of children laughing
oh yes I loved the Speedway...I went a few times with my Dad and loved the roar of the cars...Surprised !!

One Day at a time

This is a new thing I'm starting each day I am going to answer a question from a fabulous idea called One Day At a Time   My Life Story...been wondering if I wanted to put it out there.....but I thought why not...
Question One.
What Lessons did you take as a child that carried over into your adult life......I was taught the Piano for about three or four years at St Joachims School in Vic Park    ....No I didn't carry on with it, why not!! firstly didn't have a piano and secondly I lost interest..I do now have a piano and have to admit I am a bit lazy to start all over again...I found the scales so boring when I was a kid...if I only was given something a bit more interesting I really think that I would have liked it more...but I can remember sitting in front of the piano for what seemed like forever and having to play the same scales over and over again.... an excuse I know, but it bored me to tears literally !!! may yet take it up again for pleasure this time...not sure...
I loved playing house ...in the bush or  inside the house, wherever I always had loads of kids and I was just the best Mother...well that all came true...not about being the best Mother...but I did try although some might say I was trying. I loved marbles and no I don't still play that...I was a great fast runner and loved Netball...I was a Captain of a team once...proud moment....I was very competitive .... more about being accepted I think then the winning for the joy of it......I was a little Dutch girl a bit out of her element.

So proud of my girls

Fekita, Sione's Sister is getting married this Friday in Sydney...Yesterday Our Rebecca and Vanessa were over at Nic's helping her with her dress and her make up so that some photo's could be taken of her before she left for Sydney Wednesday...I was so impressed with my girls on how they were helping her prepare and checking that all is well. Nic has been encouraging her to lose some weight as the dress didn't fit properly, which she has good on ya Fekita.

The photo below is sucha good photo as it shows you just how Fekita truly is always bubbly and laughing, she is a delight to be around..and our family wishes her the very best in her up and coming wedding.

New Hair Cut

Manly has a new hair cut...when Luke sent it to us..... both Tone and I commented on how big he has gotten since he left, which has been 6 months ago now. Must be the Seattle air !!!!!!

Poor Nanna

Spent a day helping Nanna...Poor thing she now has an infection in her legs...who knows how she got that but both legs are tightly bandaged from foot to knee...but she is a trooper never complains and is fiercely independant at 92...she is quite amazing, does everything herself still...... she misses her social life which was quite busy...we are hoping that all will be well with her and she will be back to doing the things she loves.

The Frothy Thingy !!

Last night we had some people over and she brought over a simple little gadget that she bought from Things called a Coffee and Tea plunger......well was I surprised what this cheap little thing did. $6.99 it cost.
It makes the perfect Froth.
Last year I bought an electric frother which cost me some...and doesn't do anywhere as good as this little gadget.
We don't drink Tea or Coffee...But we do drink a Hot Chocolate every now and then....It's now perfect with wonderful delicious froth on the top.....just like you buy when you go to an Restaurant......
I'm a Happy Lady