I often think, as things are occurring, 'I could write a post about this.' And then the moment passes and I don't write about it.
I am doing a fair bit of writing though, just not for the blog. Back in July, I was elected (unopposed) as the Chair of the Residents' Association Committee here at our retirement village. I was a committee member for the last year - the tenure is from July to June, and earlier this year, knowing the then-Chair was stepping down, I decided to accept the nomination to stand for the role this year.
So the writing I am doing these days is papers for the committee, papers reporting on tasks I am doing either on my own or in conjunction with other committee members. And a number of emails to all the residents informing them of upcoming events, asking who needs some help in transitioning from Windows 10 to Windows 11 and then organising that help - definitely NOT delivering said help. If you know me at all, you know I have a streak of technophobia just below the surface of my skin!
My latest missives (short for a change) have been about letting people know about a presentation by our local Community Constable. He is coming to talk with us about scams, the ones that are rearing their heads currently, and how to avoid them.
I've written a couple of pieces for the village's monthly newsletter. Bloody hell, I'd love to take that role on if it becomes vacant. I think that I must have been missing blogging because my writing in a number of these things is conversational - just as this is. Other documents are more formal - much more like documents I wrote in my work life.
David and I are both well, still prescription-free. David has given up the weekly ukelele lessons but is now coming to Aquamove at least once a week, sometimes twice, and he goes to a discussion group once a fortnight. He is still doing the Weaving Memories work for people who ask. He seems to always be busy at the computers, but is always happy to grate cheese for scones when I ask. And when it's time to set up the lounge for our monthly sector meetings (I am Sector Leader ...) he totally rearranges the furniture and then restores it to its original positions afterwards. I just do the baking - cheese scones, coconut and almond cake, and one other thing. Last week, it was tamarillo muffins - never made them before, and they were delicious. Tamarillos are a native of South America, previously known here as tree tomatoes. They are one of my two favourite fruits (feijoas, before you ask). I buy them by the 8kg box direct from the growers and eat 5 of them with yoghurt and muesli for breakfast every day they are in season.
I'm still running Aquamove - 2 sessions each week throughout the winter, and I am now getting into the pool with everyone else. It is so much fun and I am sure my strength and balance are improving. And doing the exercises in the water is much much easier than out beside the pool.
We haven't been away in the motorhome for a while - too busy at the moment. But we will head away in a few weeks, I think.
One piece of excellent news is that Julia is coming back to Aotearoa NZ in February - all it took was one conversation and she decided to come again. So I booked the flights while she was on the phone! Easy peasy, indeed. And she has even said she will drive over Arthur's Pass again, having declared earlier this year that she WOULD NEVER DO IT AGAIN...
One sad piece of news is that my Aunty Molly has died - aged 97. She was an amazing woman who had a pretty tough life but was always such a positive and happy person. She was the last person who knew my mum when she was a child, so it is the last lost link with the history of our parents. I truly do feel like an orphan now! I know - it's a bit pathetic. After all, I'm nearly 75, so feeling orphaned doesn't look like it's a real thing at my age. But it's sad.
One of her 5 sons, Gordon, texted me while he was with her in hospital, and I replied pretty much straight away, asking him to tell her we loved her. So even though I couldn't get to see her, I knew she was conscious and had heard from me.
We have some lovely memories of Molly - when I first met her with my mum back in 1988, when we stayed with her in Leatherhead with our kids in 1990, when she joined David and me on a narrowboat trip in 1994 (the same trip on which we met Mick and Julia), having Molly come out to NZ for mum's 70th birthday as a surprise for her, our trip around the South Island - I remember the 20 questions game we played while I was driving one day. Mum's question was about Charles and Camilla and it was what did Charles wish he was... And Mum had read it in the New Idea women's magazine - not something I would have thought they would publish.
David and I had a trip with Molly to France one year - we drove around and stopped wherever we felt we wanted to. Molly loved the Etap Hotels - not our favourite but she loved the ensuite bathrooms. On our last night, before we got the ferry back to England the next morning, we each identified our favourite moment. And we all identified the same thing: sitting at an outdoor cafe in the market square across from the cathedral in Rouen.
Molly loved food, and not far from her place in Leatherhead was a pub with a Thai restaurant attached. She loved going there; at first she was fit enough to walk there and back, but eventually that wasn't do-able. So we would drive. Then it got so I dropped her and David at the door and then I'd go the extra 25 yards to the carpark. But she still loved her food.
And why not? She had almost lost her sight through macular degeneration and was therefore rather immobilised, could no longer read or watch TV - food was a pleasure. There were always treats in her fridge and cupboards...
She was a gem and we loved her.
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