Bubbles, dirt and music

September has been a very busy month with grandchildren. Ivy continues to come to Ma's at least two days a week and we have such fun together. She is a treehugger and just loves dirt.

Smooth, cold, heavy

She loves to help Ma collect the eggs from the real chooks but we thought this place was good for a photo.

She helps collect the mail

One rainy day we make a 'tent'

She is learning how to brush Ponyo

and loves to draw and play with playdoh

Bubbles are her favourite

But dirt and being outside are just heaven.

 

Alex and Luke came to play one day and the three got on famously.

But the boys loved helping Ma sort some of the boxes upstairs - lego and marbles were fun.

Luke said the marbles looked "glorious" in the sunshine.

The boys each made their own creations.

I took Ivy to the boys school on Grandfriends Day where Alex was involved in Sport Dance, Band and Choir and Luke in Hip Hop Dancing and Choir. They are both very good with their musical talents. Ivy just loved the morning and both boys were great with her.

Retirement is very very hectic

It has been ages since I updated my blog and I feel it is about time.

Since my return from Tassie I have been occupied with

• Grandkids - I really enjoy any moments I have with my two boys and Ivy. Ivy and I spend Thursdays together each week and every second Tuesday. She just loves being outside so I am able to do small jobs in the garden whilst playing with her.

"Where is it?

"stars"

• House repair - I've had various jobs done that I could not do myself. The window washing man (fabulous) cleaned windows inside and out, upstairs and down, took down all my curtains so I could wash them, replaced all my fire alarm batteries and a light globe, adjusted the night light sensor at the front and refitted one of the curtain rod brackets! He then said if there were any other bits and pieces I needed done to just ring him. Then there was gutter cleaning man. I had a plumber come to fix taps that had started to disintegrate. And Geoff spent most of a day with me doing odd bits of heavy work mostly outside. My dishwasher broke down and had to be replaced. Then I was offered 3 new single beds to replace some broken ones I had.

• Visiting doctors for the usual body maintenance - I've been trying to have this back-hip-leg-knee thing investigated with an xray and ultrasound used to find issues. I had had to curtail activities because I was in such pain. Last Monday I had a steroid injection in my hip bursa and that has made some difference in the amount of pain I have. I do hope it works for a long time. Maybe I won't need that wheelie walker too soon now. While all this has been going on I have stopped pilates but hope to start up again soon. My monthly massages are an absolute must though and keep me moving.

• Gardening - In the last few weeks I have had the paving under the back windows and down the drive redone. Now there are no steps and rough areas for when I need to exit the property with my wheelie walker (not necessary yet though). In this process all sorts of other bits of the garden have needed sorting. The paver man used all the good bricks I had used as garden edges and retaining walls so all these had to be replaced by me. Not quite finished that yet. Then I used some of the concrete blocks from the driveway to extend the concrete path to the chook shed so I can go up and collect eggs in soft shoes. The paver man also moved all the rose pots so I am having to put them somewhere for the long term. That will be a slower job. As Surrey always said if you finished everything then you would have nothing left to do and that would be sad. 

Before

After

• Singing - lots and lots of practice. This weekend I have two major functions, a choral matins at church on Sunday morning in which most of the service will be sung (except the sermon and readings), followed by the Sutherland Choral Society concert - Durufle's Requium and Schubert's Mass in G. On the June long weekend I'll be taking part in Chorus Oz with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs performing Handel's Israel in Egypt (I've been doing my own practise with that one as it is completely new to me). Just because we all felt like something to fill our time I had a choir lunch at my place today.

• Quilting  - Unfortunately I am not getting much of my own patchwork done but I still attend the group at Kogarah Library every second week and also have the Rainbow Connection Quilters here every two months. As well as that I am making new curtains to replace the ones that fell apart in the wash.

• Projects - Just occasionally I am asked to help with projects like the plant cheat sheets for the Tassie Devils trip and I love the challenge of doing that sort of educational/botanical work. However, the other day I was asked if I could volunteer on a lizard behaviour project which I declined - they wanted me full time for a month!! I don't think so! When would I get time to do that?

• Travelling - since Tassie my travels have only taken me to the city, to Ulladulla and to Berry but I do have a long trip lined up for later in the year which will be exciting. Then there are visits to Underhill when I can. Surrey's birthday picnic was a small affair with Geoff and family. The tree is progressing well.

Surrey's tree is the one directly behind Geoff.

• Friends -  of course most of these activities are peppered with socialising with friends in various ways. Keeping up with friends (online, by phone or in person) is probably one of the most important parts of retirement as friends keep your mind and body active as well as giving joy and laughter in many small ways. Thank you to all my friends.

So if you are wondering why I don't update my blog as often as you look at it, or you can't actually get me on the phone, perhaps this explains a little. I will return emails and return messages left on my phone as soon as I can. 

Ivy and Christmas Music

The last month has been filled with music and Ivy. I was lucky enough to go with Ivy, Geoff and Jen to Ivy's last swimming lesson of the year. She just loves the water and all the singing and playing with Dad that goes with it.

Then when Ivy comes to my house she has a huge playpen to entertain me in. The house looks like Fort Knox with barriers on every door and the stairs.

She came in her Giraffe outfit the other day and it even had a little tail.

She is so pleased she can pull herself up on all these barriers.

We were even able to start making the Christmas cakes.

Intermingled with Ivy days are my singing practices and performances. In late November there was Celebration Sing Out with a huge choir, kids choir and full orchestra. There were quite a few of us from Sutherland Shire Choral Society.

The practices for the Westpac choir are held in the Westpac head office in Kent St overlooking the developing Barangaroo area.

Our performances for that are held in the foyer of the same building and next week we have a concert pianist accompanying us!

Practices for the Messiah this coming weekend have now finished and I sang the alto part of Purcell's "Rejoice in the Lord Alway" in a trio at church on Sunday morning. The afternoon was then filled with another practice.

In the next week I have only one day (tomorrow) that is music free but I am loving all the opportunities to sing.

School Holidays

During the recent holidays I had a great time with the grand kids.

The boys helped me carry and load bricks and did a lot of work around the house when we were at their place. At mine they did sewing for a little while and drew lots of pictures.

Ivy now has a tiny white tooth. She loves chatting, singing, doing pelvic rises and kicking those tiny legs.

Fun with grandkids

Grandfriends day at school meant that I got to see Alex at his first concert on drums (after only about 3 weeks learning). I also saw Luke and Alex singing in their choirs and visited their classrooms. Of course there was the compulsory Library visit and purchase of books for the boys.

Then there was a visit by Ivy and family.

Whenever Ivy comes Ponyo comes to enjoy her personal play park in my back yard.

I have started my official babysitting duties (about 1 day/week) while Jen gets back into the workforce. As Ivy is almost sitting up I decided to give the old high chair a good scrub.

I then worked out a strapping in method until she no longer slurps out of the chair. She just loves her high chair.

Ivy loves sleeping all swaddled up in the old picnic rug. She has a bit of a cuddle and a song from me or 5 minutes watching TV. As soon as she is off I wedge her between two pillows on the floor (the safest place at the moment).

We have lots of fun now that she seems to be coping without Mum and Dad - for a while anyway.

Ivy loves the picnic rug and trying to reach the lemons I pick.

Here is Geoff on the picnic rug at about the same age.

And here is Ellen at about the same age. She also loved the picnic rug and lemons which she called Ellen's ellems.