Diary Entries

Nature when the sky is full of dark clouds it mean's it is going to rain. when the flower's bloom it mean's it is summer. when it is could or fogy it mean's it is winter. when the leave's fall it mean's it is autumn. when you are sad the wold is sad. when it is time for people to go let them go. when people say something belie it. Be Who You Want To Be?????]

Hello, I'm not doing this as a project, nobody asked me to do it either, but I wanted to do it so that people know my side of the story. So this is how it started. It was an ordinary year, or so I thought. People on the radio said that there was a virus coming called the corona virus. People all over the world started getting sick; and even dying. We had to isolate! Drastic! No going to school, no going to work, just staying at home! The only plus side was I got to be with my family. We started getting packages with school work in them so we could do our learning at home. Staying at home was so very, very boring and all my sister did was watch television which was very boring an annoying because like every 5 minutes she laughed so much and so loud and she didn't even play with me, or do anything with me even when she is not watching her shows. We were allowed back to school and adults are back working again and now is now. I HOPE THAT EVERY BODY GET'S THROUGH THE CORONA TIMES AND WISHING EVERY BODY THE BEST OF LUCK TO EVERY CHILD EVERY ADULT AND EVERY ANIMAL...To Be Continued.

A Moment of Bliss It was a foggy morning but I still did the laundry washing early. As soon as the sun peeked through the clouds, I decided to hang the laundry out on the hills hoist. Tomorrow’s weather forecast is cloudy with rains so I want my laundry completely dry by 3pm. Wanting to do my exercise at the same time, I did not bring down the laundry basket near the hills hoist but left it on the deck. The deck has four steps down to the ground so I ran up and down the four steps until I got everything on the line. My Fitbit recorded 547 steps all in all. I thought it should have been more. With laundry task done and getting a bit of vitamin D from the sun, it was time to head back inside. But, as I was picking up the laundry basket, I noticed the lovely colours of my succulents. Winter always has a way of making their colours more vibrant. Not wanting to miss the beautiful display of colours, I grabbed my phone and took some photos. I am so grateful for these moments of pure bliss and joy.

READING AND WRITING What alone-ness can bring the best in you.! My OUTDOOR POST was born out of love in reading, away from holistic form of perusing. It was born as an extended love affair with quotations that sprang from my late mother's love of literature. It shows that I am simply my mother's daughter. Her influence on me since childhood has been tremendous. She was an intelligent and gifted woman whose talents went wrong somewhere in life, where all her creativity and ingenuity were only allowed limited opportunities to express herself. She could have gone further out into the world should she found the right avenue to showcase her gifts. It's a pity to lose all her creations depicted in the Scrapbooks of Fashion Sketches, sewings, crochets, crafts, embroideries and everything as mementos from her. Our nomadic life was constant. We lost so much valuable possessions in the process. Born out of alone-ness in the silence of time, reading has been my stimulant that inspired me to create OUTDOOR POST as a sister blog to the GOLDEN THOUGHTS. Here I shared what I have collated for years. Hoping all these will someday find a place in the lives of my posterity as I am now heading toward the twilight of my life. Simple readings from the writings of down to earth authors, whose pure expressions give more meaning to LIFE which we all can connect, relate and react in the real world. Writings based on realities as exponent of their own experiences that transform us into the image we see as we stand in front of a mirror, right there! OUTDOOR POST is not only my collated range of interest, it is also a KEEPSAKE of memories I wish to keep in my heart for all eternity.

Life is about uncertainty yet COVID19 seemed to be a time of almost everybody certain that we were going to die. The enforced isolation was hard to follow however I knew it was only the government trying to protect us from spreading the virus still some followed it and some didn't. It was difficult for me and my kids not having friends and family visiting. It has been a time where I was able to feel the love and truth of those who love me. I was able to feel this love from regular calls and messages. I live with my 3 children, Matthew 23 ,Luke 21 and Emily 18. Having them with me was a true blessing. During this time my field of work required me to keep working which meant that I was lucky enough to see my dear work friends 5 days a week. Restrictions have lowered and its been nice however Im disappointed my parents aren't able to visit yet I was looking forward to them visiting from Perth in July. I hope that COVID19 leaves all of us with the understanding of the true value of family and friends. I am sadden by all the ones who have suffered by the loss of loved ones, I wish them all the courage to live on and find the strength to rebuild their lives.. Life is all about un certainty and to be honest I think us humans tend to be to certain that life storms only pass through and we don't think they are going to effect us personally, anyone of us can be affected by this ever changing world. Thank you to all the medical practitioners for their endless efforts to help all in need. JmB

After having relaxed restrictions NSW is going to tighten restrictions again from the 24th of July. My favourite waiters and waitresses at my favourite cafe are going to lose their jobs again. Those poor people. I really feel for them. It's been my birthday and my brother organised a "socially- distanced" birthday party for me. It was nice. It was the first time I had seen my brother in five months because of COVID-19 restrictions. I'm still watching online concerts, French films and Australian Ballet performances online which is keeping me sane. The French film festival is back after being cancelled in March due to COVID-19 restrictions. I am going to see five films. I have seen one already, "Mes Jours de Gloire", complete with mask and glasses. Marion, the Swiss international student who was helping me with my French, has finished her year at Sydney Uni and has taken off north with her boyfriend, Sebastian. They have hired a campervan and are driving up the east coast all the way to Cairns visiting the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree on the way. Luckily the Queensland border opened on the tenth of July so they have been able to do it. What a year Marion has had with the bushfires at Christmas and now COVID-19 ! I now have a new French tutor - Alexandre. He is young and from Alsace in France. He has been in Australia 18 months. The pandemic reminds me of the story of the plagues in the Old Testament when Moses went to Pharaoh to ask permission for the Jews to leave Egypt. How quick and devastating the plagues were ! How quick and devastating the COVID-19 pandemic has been ! So much sickness and death so quick, in just a matter of months. Terrible!

THE THRILL OF MOUNTAIN CLIMBING Weekends blessed with a perfect weather, warm and sunny days un-called for a winter, have got the family going as to how to spend the remainder of the kids' school holiday. I happened to be with my daughter's family on a second visit so there I was counted in their company. The family decided to go mountain climbing at Mount Annan which is south-west of Sydney. It's about 166meters elevation that took us to the peak with a spectacular view of towns and suburbs surrounding Camden. Its base started from the Royal Botanic Gardens where our foot trip followed the path to the Connections Garden that led us to go up via 4-storey stairs of 10-steps each as my memory recalls. It made the climbing easier and convenient for the elderly walkers. Each storey is an array of flora; trees and other forest organisms indigenous to Australia. Each comes with interesting educational footnotes regarding the historical origin, evolution and development of the specie. As we reached to the top that's where the thrill begun. The main walkways are concretely paved going round, downhill, uphill, on slopes and plains until you get to arterial outback trails. I delighted in that pleasurable walk by ascent and descent depending on how the tracks presented each moment of the sojourn. Our 5-year old boy who didn't mind the two hours circular path we trod out in the open space breathing in fresh mountain air that filled our lungs to filter the system. Along the grassy trail of fine red dirt, we passed by a region of bottle trees, dried creeks exposing rocks and boulders, nude hillsides, degenerated ancient trees, beautiful wildflowers swarmed over by a school of butterflies and a couple of kangaroos grazing on a green hill.

AMBO IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD IN TIME OF COVID Panic time started when WHO declared COVID19 to be pandemic. While most event of crowd gathering started to cancel, one particular group organiser thought he could defy the odds on the premise that we should not give in to fears as believed to be spread out by fear mongers through bias medium of disinformation. His thought was deemed irrelevant. The Council too canceled his own event. Lockdowns began. And as if there was a bomb for mass annihilation about to be activated, every household doors were closed. All became prisoners in their own home. Fear of this virulent virus prevailed amongst people. There was not a single soul seen roaming around in our vicinity. Until one day, I spied an ambulance, two paramedics and two young ladies wearing masks having a critical exchanged of notes outside my next door neighbour's unit. But I really had no inkling who needed a medical help at that time since the Ambulance is a regular habitue in the area. By a minute, they're gone! Seeing the ambulance officers alone in this rather unusual circumstance seemed eerie knowing that the entire compound is inhabited by the elderly people. God forbid, please not covid. Being seniors, slow and helpless that most of the residents are, the vulnerability of such virus is not far-fetched in each one of us. I pray that the patient was safe from whatever crisis that befell him/her. Three months thereon, there was no recorded casualty of covid in our midst. Thanks God. Touch wood! This happened last April 8, 2020.

Payten Poem's Lockdown March 2020: I've got some advice for whatever it's worth That could have stopped the virus spreading from Sydney to Path The Australian vet Plan is tried and true it stopped foot and mouth and the Asian Pig Flu if Scomo had put the vets in control The football, tennis and of course racing and singing Would all be the go with all the bells ringing Retirees and workers would all be ok with only the vets having their say Foot and mouth disease control is very routine You only enter with strict quarantine While millions of dollars go to the needy We are all house bound and particularly seedy It could have all been stopped Before it came here And we'd be all happily having a beer. we would be the envy of the world And people would say with a big cheer "Look what's been done down in Australia" And we would be contented just to grow a dahlia

Payten Family Poems A corona prescription Of illnesses I have had a few From giardia to the Asian flu Sore shoulders on the footy field And cuts on shins that wouldn’t heal. The Black Death hasn’t been around While vaccines keep us safe and sound From diphtheria, tetanus and many more But now corona’s at the door. Here we live a hermit’s life And hope to miss all viral strife Caused by this corona tough So we can die later If we live long enough. But here’s a health tip for those expectant They say alcohol is a great disinfectant. So open a bottle, have a good drink And put your immunity into the pink. So at six tonight, grab a wine or a beer And wish us all very good cheer.