Dear Quirky~

I'm so pleased for you , I know how much it must mean. I wear mine every day too, but that's simply becuse its stuck on nowadays. When I've had an op they just tape over it.

I know what the inscription inside said, but I suspect it has pretty well worn down by now

-C

I'm creating new happy memories today. I have wanted a swimming pool for a long time and it has not happened. I have now scrubbed out the old bath, dragged it under a tree, have filled it with water and will plonk myself in it later on this morning. It is already 30 degrees outside so the water temperature should be a bit more pleasant now. It was a little cool when I first filled it up.

What a great idea! Wish I could do the same. You get me imagining if it would be at all possible, like, if I was to get a portable tub, a hose I could fit to my laundry sink, & fill it on my back porch....& mmm emptying? That would be a fair amount of water to be tipping into the (so-called) garden below. I don't think I could lift & or drag it to spill all the water over the lawn or into the other so-called garden along the back fence. mmmm? If I lest it filled, it may become a breeding pond for zillions of mozzies, or a place for a little kid to be tempted ....we could not have that. I can't fence it off.

Otherwise, I LOVE the idea!

*

As this is a 'Happy Memories" post: I do remember how the neighbouring family had one of those round above ground pools. We kids would get in & run round & round in circles, creating a whirlrpool, then as one, would stop & allow the swirling water to carry us along, round & around .... Somethimes we'd get so enthusiac the water would be sloshing out, & sometimes part of it would collapse & all the water would then spill out everywhere!

mmMekitty

Congratulations!😹That's wonderful!

mmMekitty

Hi HappyHelper88,

Congratulations to you and your partner

Hi mmMeKetty,

How about a bucket of water to put your feet in on a hot day, simple enough to empty.

Or one of those clam shell plastic play things (you can fill with sand for children) you could get enough water in one of them to sit in. Hang a length of hose in it and use it as a syphon to empty out the water onto the garden.

I've left the water in the bath for now for the birds and have placed some wire netting in it for the birds to be able to get out.

As children, Mum would hang blankets and sheets over the clothes line for shelter and would fill tubs and crates up with water for us, it all went onto the lawn after. Hours of cool fun with no sun burn!

Hello Dools,

Oh thank you for your memory... I had forgotten about my mum doing the same thing for us until I read your post... we had a small canvas paddling pool... she used to sit on a chair & watch us sometimes dipping her feet in the water...

Paws

Dear Happy Helper~

I wish you all hte very best, it is a wonderful time, and if you are as blessed as I have been me it simply continues 💕

Croix

Happy helper

congratulations and all the best for the future.

That is so beautiful Croix! And you are so right, rings can be very special instant reminders of the history you have had and the person who has given it to you.

I really loved reading that!

Dear missep123 and all~

I guess Mrs C and I would be regarded by most as being too sentimental. We even have the bouquet from our wedding 25 years ago hanging up. It turned itself into a cross between a dried flour arrangement and something you might find in a tomb with an Egyptian mummy.

Definitely not for the house-proud, however neither of us want to take it down, it is too real a reminder of a most wonderful day.

Croix

Hello Everyone,

Dear Croix, thank you so much you have reminded me of when my younger brother and I climbed onto a shed inside the back neighbour’s place that adjoined our fence and yard...

We were lack key children from the age of 7...and with school holidays, alone at home, we got bored...Then one sunny day we decided go and climbed our fence... a few strategically placed chairs and boxes...a few tumbles later we made it..

Then up onto the neighbour shed roof....why? Because their was this big mulberry tree...and we loved eating the ones that fell on our side of the fence.....but it wasn’t enough this particular day....so we decided the tree looked to good to ignore....my brother was up first, then helped me up...we just sat on the shed for a long time eating all the mulberries we could reach...

I think if I remember we made ourselves sick on them...after we had our fill we climbed back down..thinking we got away with it...but no, our faces, hands and clothes and bottom of our shoes were all stained with mulberry juice...and left some lovely shoe prints on the mats inside our home...

After that...let’s just say, we were grateful for the mulberries that fell on our side....and that was the only time we had them from that time on...

I still love eating those tiny little berries of enjoyment...

I now have a teeny tiny mulberry tree, I’m going to try and grow...fingers crossed....it does..

Grandy..

Hi Grandy,

I used to love mulberries, too

There was a large tree down the back, down a hill, on our property. I think all us kids, some neighbouring kids, too, would climb that tree, whenever the mulberries were ripe. I wasn't allowed to go as high as I would have liked.

Anyway, it's funny how we didn't notice how much juice stained our faces, too, when we ate while picking. We were supposed to bring back heaps to freeze... but we probably ate half of what we picked, somehow thinking no adults would notice.

If I had a big bit of land, one thing for sure, I would try to get a mulberry tree.

Funny, too, I don't recall getting in trouble for eating so many mulberries. I wonder if there being so many kids involved, from different households, that they decided we were too many to chase! A dozen kids, give or take five.

mmMekitty

Dear All~

Talk of climbing a fence as a kid took my mind far away from the juicy joys of mulberries. It sent my mind back to being a teen and moving with my parent into another house. The garden had a back fence and I could only see trees and bushes - like a park.

I climbed it and it literally led me to a new part of life. There was a house tucked away inside, and a shed, plus paddocks with a couple of racehorses.

The owner was a veteran, and spent much of every day just sitting in the open part of the shed looking at the horses and sipping beer. He was not a great talker. I would often join him, sipping beer too (which I disliked but wanted ot be companionable) and we smoked of course.

In time he taught me about restoring straps and tack from cracked and scaly uselessness to supple objects ready to use, about feed and to compensate for racehorses' nervy skittishness and eventually allowed me to exercise them on the streets -using a snaffle bit would you believe!).

I don't know why he included me, his shed was a huge part of his life and joining him must have seemed natural to both of us. I certainly enjoyed all of it, I like to thing he did too.

Many years later I realized the significance of his war service and silences.

Croix

Hey Croix, maybe because you sat with him, didn't rush or pester him, giving him the time he needed to feel comfortable, & accepting him as & where he was, that made all the difference...I think your company must have meant a great deal to him.

mmMekitty

Dear MK

Yes, he had a fair parcel of land and it was covered in trees and bushes so the outside world was just distant sounds. I guess he had built himself an oasis of peace, and it seemed only natural for me to try for companionable silence with just a few remarks now and again.

Actually I can look back on it as a balm - a peaceful time for me too.

-C

On the fringe of the CBD here, there is a parkland, & there are parts of it, where I have been thinking, I'd like to go again, because once there, you'd not know you were so close to the city. I had a photo I took, long ago now, (& lost too), which was great, except for one tall building I could see poking up between the tall tree ferns. When I got that photo on my PC, I zoomed up & wiped that building out!

It was so lovely sitting there, by myself, & not hearing people, traffic, just some birds. There was an artificially generated mist, cool & smelling like rain was just beginning. One of my favourite smells.

It won't be the same, but I'd like to go to that parkland again. Maybe they have some part which is still like that little oasis.

mmMekitty

Dear mmMektty and All~

I hope you do find that oasis again. For me to have either a mental or physical pool of peace surrounding me is at times a must. To be away from all and simply enjoying nature, eihter restful or powerful, is a true balm.

Do you have any Botanical Gardens within reach?

Croix (who wonders why on earth he should laugh at you playing Brahms Lullaby)

Hi mmMeKitty,

The Park you went to Sounds so peaceful...I also do hope that you can visit it again one day soon....

Maybe it won’t be the same in looks, but the bird life and other little creatures will always be their visiting such an oasis in amongst the hustle, bustle and noise of the city...

I am similar to our lovely Croix....when I’m feeling overwhelmed with my emotions and loneliness....I do love sitting outside and listening, watching the bird life...Their sweet songs are always so happy sounding...

Hugs Beautiful lady Kitty 🐱🤗..

Grandy...

Dear Grandy~

"Their sweet songs are always so happy sounding..."

UM. I'm not sure you have heard our native hens. They make a nose like two rusty cans being rubbed together faster and faster with ever increasing volume. They end up nearly bouncing off their tiny feet in an effort to make the most ferocious sound. When they stop for breath the competition replies from further up the riverbank.

Conversation with Mrs C becomes will nigh impossible.

-C

Hi Dear Croix..

You got me curious and had to google Australian native hens...Okay I found them...and yes you are correct in your description of their call.....I am so pleased I don’t have any near me....I think after a while my ears would hurt...not to mention my head😁....

kind thoughts dear sir,

Grandy..

I would like to store a happy memory here:

Going to Hawaii in 2019 (pre-Covid of course) with one of my best friends. We reflect upon it often when we are together but so many amazing memories. I always remember the sunshine and the feeling of warmth (both outside and inside) from being happy then.

With my family, I was in Hawaii for a few hours, a stop-over before continuing on (with another stop-over in Fiji for all of one hour). This was when I was a child, many years ago.

I loved the look of the water as it seemed turquoise just off the beach. & walking out at night, the weather was so warm, 'sultry' would be the right word, but I don't think I'd ever felt a night so warm before. It felt lovely, like a warm blanket.

I wonder if now I would think it too humid?

I don't recall much else of being there. Just saying 'hello' to a little girl about my size, & I think I frightened her. She said nothing, backed away, then turned & ran. Surely I didn't look so scary?

Oh, & we visited a black sand (volcanic sand) beach. Just as strange as looking at the great Salt Lake in Utah during our cross-country road trip.

mmMekitty

A warm blanket! That's exactly how I feel like when I'm in Hawaii (although I completely agree with you that it can get too humid for me sometimes!)

That turquoise water - I miss it so much!

Dear All~

It's funny how different things appeal to different people. I can well imagine warm turquoise seas lapping on long sandy beaches.

I've seen such, but it had little to attract me. I guess it may be my youth coming out. Looking down at colder waters, watching the fronds of brown seaweed waving back and forth in the swell, with red anemones, blue/brown crabs, translucent shrimps and more on the bottom among rocks and little patches of sand and gravel. Maybe seeing a fish dart by.

Leaning over looking down with the sound of gulls in my ears together with the wash of the waves.

Croix

That's an extremely good point Croix! Different things and experiences definitely appeal to different people!

I would like to store another happy memory here: when I was young and living in Canada me and my friends would run across the street to the local park, climb trees and play tag! It is such a simple but very happy memory for me!