life – Filed words

Pets 3

We spent the weekend with X and her wild young – how she copes I can’t imagine – they had 8 cats, then when we went to the school some of the boys came and asked if we knew there was a cat and 3 kittens under the passenger seat! They were brand new – she hadn’t made a sound. X was very apprehensive as he had so many cats. They already had 3 new kits from another cat. The child and I hid them away in a box in a shed but he must have found out and drowned them which upset the boy a lot – and me.

They have a new small kitten and the dog spent all her time trying to make the beast’s acquaintance, snorting and blowing under doors to find it, and rushing round when they were in the same room to find which side of a chair she could get nearest to the cat underneath – all she got for her pains were a number of smart raps to the jaw with claws very much to the fore, but it didn’t deter her much. I think it was friendliness too, and not mere aggression as I have never known a less aggressive dog than her. She will even trot down the drive past the neighbour’s goose which occasionally invades us, studiously ignoring it at a range of three or four feet. I’ve even seen her try to do the same with a rabbit, but it was less trusting than the goose, or more mobile, and departed in the middle.

Our boxer bitch came on heat 3 days after joining us and went on the PILL for eight days and we trust all is well but I strongly suspect she’s now embarked on a phantom pregnancy – woe is me – I trust it is at least phantom. I feel a bit guilty at the amount she eats when people are starving. A big attraction is she doesn’t yap all the time – she didn’t bark at all for 10 days then a friend of the neighbour’s came up here with him while we were heading off a sheep up our drive and she took an instant dislike to the friend (we don’t like him either!) and strained on the lead barking and hackles up – I was quite relieved to see she could rise to the occasion.

I heard fierce hissing whilst I was serving coffee in the drawing room and looked down to see Charlie Brown his white cat stretched out at my feet and suddenly realised there was a large man standing on both her back feet! Yes, he’s a she – they found out when she produced.

[from one reporter] I don’t really want to be tied with a dog but feel I need one here if X has to be away and other people have remarked the same thing. I thought I’d like a boxer and phoned a kennel I was told of, to find they bred beagles – which reminded me that was really what I meant to have (just like the man my grandfather knew…!) [???] so we went off miles into backwoods – they were delightful but v. exuberant and the owners said they were v. difficult to train and handle and did just what they wanted if you weren’t v. firm with them. Fortunately, they’d only got a dog pup (gorgeous) and I want a bitch. So then I saw an ad for 2 boxer bitch pups – phoned there – and the 8 1/2 month one left chased sheep. When I said I didn’t really want too young a dog she came up with the idea of a 4 year old bitch who’s had 2 litters of 12 and 14 pups and she felt should be retired. Being a new idea I’m thinking about it but I think it’s the answer – X and I are hopeless at training dogs and I don’t want that chewing up stage again – so we may go and have a look. The idea of having to exercise her on a day like this doesn’t appeal!!

[and from partner]

We have just acquired a boxer bitch, 4 years old, generally well trained and of a pleasant temperament it seems. One good point, she is almost entirely mute, apart from snuffling noises when curious.

What if…

It’s always I wonder … I can think of a number of times life could have changed course ‘if only I …’ but I suspect each turning would have its own set of trials. Now and then in my more fey moments I wonder if each person starts a whole train of events after some decision, whilst another person has a different set of circumstances, so all is really in the mind (like the tree in the quad). If taken too far it gets very complicated!!

He has been accepted without an interview at X but hasn’t heard yet from the Y interview which sounded much more interesting and probing. He’s almost hoping not to be offered a place there as then he’ll have to make a decision.

Yesterday I was shown a house, next to a river touching the house and a tar factory: I can imagine the smell in the summer. No doubt ‘idiot’ is still written on my forehead.

If we took down the back porch which has all the odd bits in, logs box, shoe cleaning cupboard and my house plants, which X is averse to my having indoors, we would be able to see the hills – it all proves you can’t have everything! (but I’ll go on wanting it!)

I’m getting quite excited about the Mars probe – I’ll be so cross if I die too soon – the next quarter century will be amazing – tho’ I fear with little grace.

The millennium

We went for a picnic in the park at the end of my street to watch the sun set on the old millennium. Very low key – we were the only ones there. I even have some very poor photos of the last sunset over X for the next millennium (they may be worth a fortune by the next if they survive that long). Then we caught the tram to X where there was entertainment and after all the excitement of the clock ticking was over we walked home and had a cup of tea and lamingtons.

Of course, like just about everyone, we went to a big bash to celebrate the Millennium. The village put on a terrific do with wonderful food, fantastic disco and a really spectacular firework display to round off an absolutely marvellous start to the New Year.

Dowsing 4

He even let X divine for water the other day! It seems a spring was causing the water in the drive which they thought was the soak-away.

A local boy got separated from a school in some local bush and disappeared. Parties were out combing the bush for him. We offered help but they said it was difficult country and they kept to people with knowledge of it. So I tried a dowse, with no knowledge except boy 11, but felt certain I had got a reaction, and X, bless him, in the pouring rain, and I set off in gumboots and macs and drove to the end of a track as near as we could get to the bush I wanted. I was a little taken aback when I saw how wild it was, but we set off and crossed the river as soon as it looked shallow enough. Once I’d got my gumboots full and X just didn’t try but walked in the river in his shoes, it was quicker; after scrambling about 1 1/2 hours upstream and only covering between quarter to half a mile we were soaked through, I’ve never been so wet, and X said there was about 200 more yards and then we’d have to go straight up into the bush (and we hadn’t brought any food) I fear I gave in. Just as well – 2 days later they found his body in quite a different place. We don’t know what happened but he was cremated the next day, and the announcement said ’killed in an accident’ – I suppose he fell. Very sad.

I’ve got a super $32 book on the world’s oil wells which is s’posed to be for ref. only but I begged it from the rather pleasant odd type at the Library – I know he thinks I’m a bit scatty and obviously knows what I’m at as both the dowsing books and oil books are kept in the technical and scientific section. I’ve been stymied for a while as none of my depths coincided with the depths in the book – but I think I’m on the right track again now. Did I tell you X and I are going to look at the place I think there’s a seepage on the surface – one on shore which should be easy to confirm and one near the shore which I’m told you should be able to see from shore as if the water is still you see the bubbles and oil patches on the sea. If I can get a skindiver to go and have a look-see for a reasonable amount I’ll try that but it is about 60ft down.

X was anxious to have another look for her spring at the zoo, and we did a drive around all the local roads to spy out the ground. We found one dead end road which ran up to the top of the hill, roughly where she wanted to go, and we found a gap between the houses to look down about 300 ft onto the playing field where she had dowsed. And I then suggested she should just pop up to a house about another 100 ft up some very steep steps. I had to wait a long time for her, and was just wondering whether she had passed out from the heat, when I heard her again. She had apparently been able to go through the back garden and find some traces of what was probably the same water source. So that was very satisfactory. [And from a later letter] X’s report and map of the zoo water, which went off nine days ago, and had not turned up by Monday. So she started pestering the Post Office, who nowadays have a lot of machinery (computers) to chase up any parcel that goes astray. And at last they rang yesterday to say that it had turned up and was being sent by special delivery, and they were very sorry and would refund her expense. So that was satisfactory for the idea of getting yet another copy of the map and tracing off her streams on it was a despairing thought!

Sad, sad – the latest well on which I’d staked my all, including 500 shares, was reported dry yesterday, so as I was so sure, I’ve resigned, and told the man at DSIR I’m nonplussed. I know something happens, and must try and find another map dowser to advise me what I’m doing wrong; the reactions are so definite I’m still convinced there’s something.

Gardening 8

Here, summer is on its way, so one hour in the garden is very welcomed; the runner beans are pointing the right way; the red currants are getting bigger, and my favourite lily of the valley is divine.

The wheely bin cost me about $150 for a year’s hire, so it is worth trying to fill it each week. At the moment we are doing well as the bush with red berries has been getting obstreperous and last week I chopped it all back to the height of the fence which not only filled the bin but left enough over to do it again this week.

I said nothing was happening here but I’ve had 2 pink blooming trees in my long view and a very bright rhododendron and a large 20’-30’ mauve magnolia outside my sitting room window and I’ve put lots of plants in my new bed and far too many in another, I now know what a ‘riot of colour’ means. They’re all 3 times as large as I expected. I bought a plant of mauve chrysanthemums to replace the cyclamen that’s lasted for months – and cheaper than buying a bunch of spring flowers. Mine aren’t pickable sorts – apart from the daffodils and if I can count them there aren’t enough to pick!!

We attacked the garden. We uprooted about half the waist-high weeds and planted carrots, broccoli, potatoes and pumpkin beside the rhubarb and silverbeet we found so now we’re hoping for selective showers – to water the vegetables but not the weeds or grass!

The half row of runner beans are wonderful – I have had them every night for nearly a month! and put down enough for 5 days in the df and had some broccoli I’d grown, which was revolting!!

Emigration/moving 3

Harare doesn’t sound much fun. X has just come back from France and like so many other English is thinking in terms of buying a house over there. Y still to-ing and fro-ing the world and going to Mongolia for 10 days in March – after that he has to go back to Jo’burg which he doesn’t enjoy. I do wish you would all stay in England – perhaps you will?

[They] were much as I expected – pleasant and homely – lived for 30 years in X and mean to stay there – I’m sometimes quite jealous of people with roots, I never seemed to grow any.

Making money 2

Perhaps if they manage to pay off the present bills for the alterations, they’ll try harder not to run them up again. It’d be so much easier to pay it for them, but I fear they’ll only learn the hard way.

I’ve just got a job! It’s waitressing two evenings a week from 6 p.m. to close down about 11 or 12 p.m. It’s not as simple as I’d imagined. Each waitress has between 4 and 7 tables. And we have to do the wine and be able to recommend good ones. Then with the serving the waitresses have do all the garnishing of entrees, cocktails, soups, sweets, fish, meat, side salads etc. Which means knowing which of about 15 unlabelled sauces to put on what and/or whether to put lemon, toast, cream, parsley butter etc. on them! The outfit we wear is blue and white gingham skirts about 18” long! and voluminous short sleeved blouses with a broad black belt, regulation thick pants, lots of leg (regulation pantyhose). I’ll have to smile lots and wiggle my bottom (according to friendly advice from smooth Greek manager and mother-in-law) to get lots of tips!

Our landlord and family are incredible people. He’s a freezing worker and has 4 houses and is building a new one in a posh area – ‘but we’re not toffee-nosed, you know’ says she.

I don’t think I wrote last year, I was feeling really down. The family in the flat would not pay proper rent nor move out! I had to get X to get them out, so they did not pay rent for the last 4 months at all!

Outings 5

We were all supposed to tell a joke – horrors – I’d picked on one I gave X as I didn’t go:

The Thunder God went for a ride upon his favourite filly.

‘I’m Thor,’ he cried.

The horse replied, ‘You forgot your thaddle, thilly!’

He was compere-ing the concert and his wife sang 3 songs. He’s always cracked her up and she does teach singing but I had previously only heard her in the choir and didn’t like her fruity and melodramatic mezzo-soprano at all. However it wasn’t too difficult when we met her afterwards since we only had to say ‘At last we’ve heard you’ as though it was the climax of years of anticipation.

There was an excellent film on Tasmania too, which interested me as the crowd we went round with pre-war came mainly from there – it’s far bigger than I’d imagined.

Music/theatre/art 3

We went a week or two ago to a most disappointing exhibition of photographs in the National Academy. It would really be difficult to convey how bad it was. Many of the exhibits were only about 5”x4” or postcard size on rather tatty mounts and many with an apparently perverse desire to be disenchanting. One of the more memorable large pictures consisted of the back view of a lady squatting on her heels and bending forward – taken from the level of said heels so that the general impression was of a rather blemished mushroom. By contrast we went to a rival exhibition mounted by a man who resigned in protest from the selection committee of the Nat. Gall. show. He had written around and got together about 300 superb exhibits – including a large number rejected from the Nat. Gall. which were emphasised by large red stickers! … Almost all worth looking at including what I think was the newspaper picture of the year – a little crippled boy on crutches and a clown laughing at each other – the boy with his hand over his mouth as though he wasn’t quite sure that it was polite to laugh at a clown.

I didn’t – or won’t be – taking part in the ‘drama’ – the first time I opened my mouth I was told it sounded like a stock report – then remarks were made about the people he’d wanted couldn’t do it and the line he couldn’t teach an OAP new tricks!

Loneliness

Anyway, the two weeks was a welcome break with different things to do in comparison with just staying home most of the time. I can understand how non-working housewives go barmy – sometimes I have to into the city and walk around just to feel people around me. It is one of the worse things about being unemployed.

I hope she will be able to face her future life without him – it has to go on, but it’s never the same again. At least she has family near her, which is something. It’s awful having no one to chat to – that’s what I have never got used to.

It was sad to hear of X’s eventual death although I’m sure for her it’s a pleasant release. It must be hard for X being the last remaining. A very lonely feeling I should think.

I found I am alone at home in the flat too much, although I don’t mind being alone, but I’m getting lazier! I seem to have made a lot of mistakes in my life and I’m not actually good at making friends.

The postman will think I’m a desolate body the way I’m out waiting for him daily, as soon as I hear his whistle in the distance. (They whistle as they leave mail at the gate, such a good idea, saves endless trips to have a look in the box).