Last week Lani went to a sales conference in Sydney for 3 days. She also went out to dinner with my sisters Jennifer and Julie and did some nightclubbing. She enjoyed doing some dancing and had some fun. Back at home, James and Jazz were really good for me and got themselves ready for school early so I wasn’t too late for work.
On Saturday night I took Jasmine to watch the Sydney Swans play the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba. Being a Swans supporter, I was a bit uncomfortable at first being surrounded by a majority Lions crowd but soon found my voice cheering on the Swans. Jasmine got into it also and started cheering with me. It was a pretty good atmosphere and we enjoyed being there but it would have been better if the better team on the night (Swans) had won the game rather than draw.
For the past week it has been very windy and wet, wet, wet. The garden has had a good, much needed soaking and the water tank is full again. All this wet weather will hopefully be a good kick-start into Spring for the plants in our garden.
Krysti and her kids MJ and Jessica returned to Canberra last Tuesday. It was nice to have them visit and we will miss them but I won’t miss Dora the Explorer playing over and over again on DVD.
On Thursday night Jasmine and I flew to Sydney for my grandmother’s funeral. My sister Jennifer picked us up and we stayed at her place in Clovelly. Jennifer’s unit has some nice views of the ocean and is quite close to the water. I told Jasmine to keep away from Jennifer’s dog Mimi (a miniature Jack Russell) and cat Nina (a white cat) until after the funeral but Mimi and Nina kept going to her for a pat and Jasmine couldn’t help herself. Unfortunately after about an hour Jasmine’s allergies flared up giving her puffy and watery eyes and a runny nose.
On Friday morning we went to the funeral. Jasmine’s eyes were a little puffy but not too bad. Dad spoke at the service and was unusually nervous and stumbled a bit through the eulogy. Dad has always been a very good public speaker and could capture the attention of an audience with a good balance of stories and jokes while delivering a strong message. Unfortunately his memory is letting him down these days, which in turn affects his confidence and delivery. The message still got across though that Nan was a good caring mother/grandmother with real integrity and character.
After the service we had a luncheon in a function room at a club nearby. It was good to catch up with my family and extended family. Jasmine, Jennifer and I went to my sister Julie’s unit for a visit in the afternoon and we brought Jasmine’s cousin Rebecca back with us to Jennifer’s house.
On Saturday we went for a 4.5 km walk along the coastline to Bondi Beach for lunch. I didn’t really know how far it was going to be. Jennifer kept saying things like “once we get around this headland it is not much further”, then we would get around the corner and there would be another headland to go around. After going around one too many corners Jasmine said “Just around the corner? We have been going just around the corner for the past 2 kilometres.” After lunch we caught a taxi back to Clovelly and then Jasmine and Rebecca played down at the beach for the rest of the afternoon. Later that night Jasmine and I flew back home.
We have uploaded another video to YouTube. We filmed it on James’ birthday and I finished the editing yesterday. Check it out.
I am very sad to report that my grandmother passed away last night aged 92. Mentally she was in pretty good shape but her body finally gave in due to cancer and old age. Mum and my aunties had been fantastic in providing primary care for Nan over the past year or so, enabling Nan to live in her home until only a few days ago when Nan’s health declined significantly.
Nan was a fun, loving grandmother who will be fondly remembered always.
Rest in peace Nan. We love you and will miss you very much.
