Cate's Diary

Cate said:
I may not have been skilled at the others either, but I would have liked to have a chance to find out.
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yes! It's good times have changed now. I would have been sad to not be able to at least have a go at woodworking. My dad was a wonderfully skilled woodworker and I had really good associations with it-going down to his workshop, the smell of the shavings, the nice environment...who knows maybe I will be able to try again one day.I actually like the idea of trying out making twig furniture where one wouldn't have to be as exact with things.

Cate said:
I can't decide whether to go into town today to do some whole foods shopping or stay at home.
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Hope the day went well whatever you decided to do!
 
Cate said:
That is how I felt, Em :blush5: I at least expected a "Bit woo woo! " or "Yes, you are whacky, Mum" reply. I did try ringing him, but when he gets down he doesn't want to talk to anyone.
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Ah, I thought so. Hopefully he gives you a buzz soon and you can have a laugh about the gift.

I hope you got out of the dressing gown and had a lovely day!
 
Thanks, Llama, Marsia, Liza & Em :grouphug:
I had a nice day but decided not to go into town. I'll do that today instead & take Arch for one of his favourite walks around town. I can leave him in the car close by while I do a shop. I feel funny about leaving him at the new kennels for 2 nights mainly because it's so cold. We have slept with a heater on low in our bedroom for the last few nights, which is unusual for us.
It's still -1°C at 9.45 am. I'll wait until it warms up to take a shower & head into town. It will feel a bit sad shopping at the whole food shop for the last time.
 
I had a good day today. There wasn't much left at the whole foods place that I wanted. The owner has just had enough & is retiring. His son has a store 60 km away so he didn't seem to be bothered about reducing his stock by much as his son will probably just take it.
Archie had a very good day with lots of walking in town.
It was a sunny day, with no wind but the frost didn't lift in lots of places and it's going to be even colder tomorrow. -4°C. We'll be leaving home at about 3 pm tomorrow to head for the ship, via the kennels. I hope Arch won't be stressed (or cold)!
 
That's too bad about your health food store closing, and sad that there weren't nice discounts of things you wanted. Our health food store here is really expensive so I buy a lot of things in bulk and try to store them well. I hope you can take the owner of the kennels up on her offer to keep Archie on her sunporch so you don't have to worry about the cold while you are gone. I hope you have a lovely trip and visit with your friend!
 
Safe travels and have fun! I'm sure Archie will be fine at the kennel but worrying about your baby in winter is normal :grouphug:
 
Cate, I'm jealous of -4. You must be in the southern Hemisphere. Sorry - I am not totally familiar with people's general whereabouts here yet.
 
I tried to get caught up on your ship party, and see it has you worried. I hope it goes well, actually sounds kind of interesting to me.

I always think of this song when ship cruises come up.


You probably won't hear it at your party...
 
Thanks, Marsia, Llama, Liza, Bubbles, Em & Rob. I'm a hopeless sook when it comes to Archie. I have never seen these kennels so hopefully I will feel better once I do. It's only for 2 nights. Maybe he will get to be with her dogs so that he has some company 🤞 He's very good with other dogs.

Bubbles, I'm in Tasmania, the island 240 km south of mainland Australia. https://www.discovertasmania.com.au/
We are going through an unusual cold snap with below-freezing nights, but beautiful sunny days & no wind.

Rob, we decided to go on the ship to Victoria (overnight each way) as we both enjoy it more than flying. The plans for the party got changed at the last minute & instead of being the big party tomorrow lunchtime not far from where the ship gets in, it got changed to Friday night in Melbourne. There is now just a family lunch for 14 people only tomorrow, including G's 2 sisters, his brother & his SIL. One of the most annoying new'ish sayings is "It is what it is". You know some funny songs. I didn't want to listen to it all the way through, in case there was yodelling! So funny!

I think I'll take a beanie as well as gloves & a scarf so that I can go out on the decking. You never know there may be whales!

Tomorrow night we'll be back on the ship & heading home :)
I won't be in the forum until Friday afternoon when I will have my laptop & be back in front of the fire, Archie with me on my chair & be happy that we went. It will be the first time I have celebrated a 100th birthday!
 
Cate said:
The plans for the party got changed at the last minute & instead of being the big party tomorrow lunchtime not far from where the ship gets in, it got changed to Friday night in Melbourne. There is now just a family lunch for 14 people only tomorrow, including G's 2 sisters, his brother & his SIL.
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Man this guy knows how to party! 'Just' 14 people for a family lunch along with a big party Friday night at 100 years old!!
 
Hope you are enjoying your cruise and party now.
Cate said:
One of the most annoying new'ish sayings is "It is what it is".
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I sort of agree, it is kind of meaningless... however I have found myself using it from time to time. Looked it up and apparently it is not so new, dating back to at least 1949:

it was first used by J.E. Lawrence in one of his articles.
https://grammarist.com/idiom/it-is-what-it-is/
“New land is harsh, and vigorous, and sturdy. It scorns evidence of weakness. There is nothing of sham or hypocrisy in it. It is what it is, without apology.”

Cate said:
You know some funny songs. I didn't want to listen to it all the way through, in case there was yodelling! So funny!
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No, that one doesn't require a lot of listening, but I don't think there is any yodeling... LOL. Actually when I was in my early teens we used to sneak out to a redneck bar, went by boat. It was a pretty rough place, but they did not seem to mind under aged kids. That song was number one on the jukebox, heard it a lot. And it does pop into my mind when hearing about ocean cruises.
Cate said:
You never know there may be whales!
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I hope so, I always like seeing whales. Kind of rare where I fish in the Gulf of Mexico, much easier to find in the Pacific.
Cate said:
It will be the first time I have celebrated a 100th birthday!
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That is an impressive feat! I've never been to one.
 
Hi, everyone! I'm back :)
I'm not sure where to start, but I think I will give you a brief update now & more details tomorrow morning. When we arrived at the restaurant for lunch we found out from one of his daughters that D had been taken to hospital & would not be coming to lunch. I did hear the "It is what it is" a few times & we did well to reassure his daughter that it was no big deal that we had come over & wouldn't get to see him. We found the humour in it all (yes, there is much humour to be found in this). I think both of his daughters think it is time for him to go as his quality of life is deteriorating rapidly. They decided to cancel his big party & said that it may become his wake. He made 100. That is something else. We made a lovely connection with D's wife's daughter whom we hadn't seen since she was only 14, 37 years ago. She is such a lovely person. Also the eye fillet steak that I had for lunch was probably the best I had ever had. I think the 2 nights cost us about $1K all up, but "It is what it is" LOL!
It was so cold when we got home & our pipes were frozen for the first time in 20 years. I'll tell you more about the trip tomorrow morning when I might feel more like sharing. It's nice to be home again!
 
alligatorob said:
Welcome home!

It was good of you to go, I am sure the family appreciated it. Even if he goes 100 years is a good long life, something to celebrate for sure.
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Thanks, Rob. That is all very true. He has had a very good, very rich & very interesting life. I wouldn't know where to start. He once got a knock on the door, opened it up & said "I think I know what you're going to say" when he saw a younger version of himself. I'll send you a link privately of a very interesting story xo
 
Glad you can see the humor in the situation and have a nice connection to his daughter now. D will remember that all his friends were coming to see him for his big celebration, which is nice in itself, even if it didn't get to happen. Looking forward to hearing about the trip, and I hope your pipes are ok! Stay warm!!
 
Oof, that was quite the trip! It is what it is, indeed... Can I put myself on the list to hear the younger double story as well?
 
Frozen pipes! Oh dear I hope they were ok!
That is a bit of a shame D couldn't make it to his party, but that would be nice that he had that in mind of how people wanted to celebrate him :) And it sounds like the rest of you made the best of it. I hope Archie did ok at his holiday place.
 
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