BABYBOOMER CONNECTIONS - A Memoir

 BABYBOOMER CONNECTIONS - A Memoir

It is all connected.
Life is not a series of isolated ponds and puddles;
it’s a river which flows from the past to the future.

Mum and Dad - Wedding Day 

The memoir spans the generations and the decades through which we have lived, as Generation ‘Babyboomers’;  our lifetime a time of sweeping changes and exciting developments.

Connecting the Dots
At this age and stage, I need to ‘connect the dots’ in order to move towards understanding the whole picture.  The writing process has deepened the conviction that so much of how we are now, is about how things were then - when we were born and what was happening in the world at the time; our early years, where we were in the pecking order, etc and turning points at significant times, along with the personal choices we made to survive and grow in the environment of the time. 

No man is an island
 I’ve included some of the major events of the decades some of which impacted on me personally while others were outside of my usual comfortable bubble at the time so avoiding a somewhat introspective document.

Those of us who were born in the 1940's,  experienced an early childhood surrounded by the drama of World War II;  then for me a period of stability following the war,  a teenager in the fifties or sixties; a young adult in the seventies.   Were your eighties and nineties involved in career or parenting or both?  And now the 20s with all its uncertainties?

To paraphrase Jane Fonda's words in her autobiography, 'My Life so Far', “I am, gratefully, still a work in progress. I am aware that this life is not a rehearsal and that in this latter time of my life, I feel a strong need to pull the strands of my life and choices together into a meaningful whole. If, as a result of this, I can contribute to others meaningfully, I can make a difference, and will be able to review the time I have spent on this planet as being worthwhile and without regrets.”

I looked for common themes throughout my life and the process of writing has given me a new perspective (not always comfortable) where in looking to the past, patterns do emerge:- Creativity - always a different way of looking/thinking; Love and protection of the outdoor environment;  Enhancement of self - (I love to decorate); Love of good food; a passion for preparing fresh food - creatively yet with health; and wine (quaffable); Joyful appreciation and love of children, in particular facilitating their creative development; and in latter years, a love of writing. 

Above all, the need/appreciation of loving stable family/friendship relationships, emerges with prime importance. I have a need to be authentic and hope that my voice is true.

Examining the past helps me to pull the strands together, and also in revisiting, perhaps reveals a different perspective to take to the future in my third passage.

 “It’s our psychological attitude and behaviour that will more likely determine the quality and duration of our third age (65 +).    Connecting, not only with the past but with the future, can begin the journey towards choosing between “passive” ageing and “successful” ageing.” Gail Sheedy

Clara 

TAPA - Mushrooms with Chorizo

photo - Christopher Maait

Mushrooms with Chorizo 

Tapas  - (small portions of food, great for casual entertaining)

Heat a little olive oil in a heavy-based frypan.  Cook 250g thinly sliced, chorizo over medium heat until browned on each side.

Add 1 small onion, sliced thinly, 2 cloves garlic finely chopped, and sea salt to taste.
Cook for 1 minute or until the onion is soft. Add herbs (1 1/2 tsp dried oregano or 2tsp if fresh, 1 tsp thyme leaves. 

Add 600g button mushrooms, stalks trimmed and cook for 8 minutes or until tender
Serve on small individual plates. Accompany with fresh tomato salad and crusty bread if desired.  

From our hearth to yours

  

 Warmest wishes from our hearth to yours
for a great Christmas with family and friends...
 

and a successful 2022 

from Claire and Graham

 New Year reflections video is below.  

 

Words by Emerson 

 

 

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether be a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

              

May your spirit keep on burning regardless of whatever may be concerning

May your spirit keep on burning 

Regardless of whatever 

May be concerning

Bring back the Picnic

Out to Lunch


"I FELL ASLEEP halfway through lunch the other day.  It's not something I'm proud of, but at least I was lying down at the time.  The sun was warm, the picnic blanket was soft, the wine was working its magic and suddenly I was zzzzzzzzz."

Picnicking should be greatly encouraged - it's good for us.  It gets us out in the fresh air, breaks our routine and brings us back to basics.  Picnicking means drifting off to the cry of children on the swings or in the surf.  In its own way, it is practicing mindfulness, being in the moment while letting your mind drift like a cloud.

Really a picnic can be anything you want it to be.  Chicken sandwiches and a bottle of bubbly;  cheese and crackers with hummus; a baguette with jambon and fromage and a bag of cherries.  

Words by Terry Durack  Summarised from GoodWeekend 

Enjoy New Year Concerts - Vienna, Neujahrskonzert 2020, 1975 - 2007 & Moscow Philharmonic

Online performance not available but you can enjoy past performances below. Claire

For the COMPLETE 2020 Concert (1 January 2020), follow this link :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyLS_...

Best of new year's concert: Neujahrskonzert 1975 - 2007

https://youtu.be/aTnf0YV52u8

Moscow Philharmonic Society - streamed live on 30 Dec 2020 

PROGRAM: W. A. Mozart − Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, KV 478 P. I. Tchaikovsky − Piano Trio in A minor ("in Memory of a great artist"), Op. 50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J0kiKIerI0&list=RDCMUCgXlZFQOYEmrFG-lLlo3HCA&start_radio=1

John Williamson - Cootamundra Wattle - A Tribute to my mum

Hi

I relate to this beautiful song, sent to me by my son. I'm listening to the words and their important message. Claire

"A tribute to my Mum, even tho John wrote this for a wife.My mum taught my two Brothers and I the love of reading, music, poetry, animals, flowers, the bush and the need to get past adversity, of which she had so much and raised us alone and worked so hard, always thinking of the future but not forgetting the past.

Rest In peace and know you're loved and yes she loved wattle.She somehow found time to help many others a tribute to her loving heart. She once told me she did the best she could and wasn't perfect. I think I was blessed to have her as my mother, mistakes and all."

John Williamson

John Williamson - Cootamundra Wattle

Walking with Beethoven

German artist 1800s Joseph Koch - one of the early 1800s artists who had a new respect 
for the beauty and wildness of nature.

Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, also known as the Pastoral, 
depicts the peaceful countryside which he loved.
Click on the link below to hear this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMJPZ-mu-Ts

Our glorious foreshores, including Balmoral, provide many peaceful places 
to walk and enjoy nature.

Photo by Christopher Maait

                                                    Photo by Christopher Maait

Simplest DIY Sock Mask

The simplest DIY mask yet - all you is a sock and scissors

(Not guaranteed to do the job but a useful way to use all those lonely socks -
See link below for govt site

For the sock mask :- http://twitter.com/i/status/1259804672455557120        
  
And for the official Department of Health and Human Services advice:-

https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/202007/Design%20and%20preparation%20of%20cloth%20mask_0.pdf

Times, they are a-changing

The Times They Are A-Changin’WRITTEN by BOB DYLAN

Bob Dylan wrote this song in 1963  - the PEACE and LOVE generation... 

free spirits that would NEVER be tethered and controlled by something 

like the evils of Nazism, Communism or Socialism.

For the times they are a-changin' 

Written soon after World War II, during a time when American youth were adamantly against war, divisiveness, hate and injustices like racial discrimination.  They were the children of the war-generation and they set out to fix what they considered people of the world in their parents' age group, had 'screwed up.'  Many people over 30, criticized this Peace-Love generation,  calling the Baby Boomers degenerates and losers - a bunch of pot-smoking, rock, and roll or folk music; free- love, hippies.  The whole action of the 60s was about movements and protests to try to change the times for better; a better world for themselves, and a  future for their own children.  And so, decades after Dylan wrote it, "The Times They Are a-Changin'" vibrates with new meaning. Perhaps that's because the song itself doesn't look to the past — rather, it's an anthem of hope for a future. General comment - Dylan, always a catalyst for change, said recently, “Something had just gone haywire in the country and they (people) were applauding the song." In 'Rough And Rowdy Ways', he reflects on what he has seen over the course of the past sixty years. Released June 2020, the work has come to us in the middle of a global biological pandemic that still hasn't loosened. It defies age, suggesting that we look beyond easy answers and keep trying to understand how we relate to an ever-changing world. Cheers Claire Click on the link for Bob Dylan live in 1964 1964     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qQ6_RV4VQ

Come gather ’round people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You’ll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you is worth savin’

Then you better start swimmin’ 

or you’ll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin’

Come writers and critics

Who prophesize with your pen

And keep your eyes wide

The chance won’t come again

And don’t speak too soon

For the wheel’s still in spin

And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’

For the loser now will be later to win

For the times they are a-changin’

Come senators, congressmen

Please heed the call

Don’t stand in the doorway

Will be he who has stalled

There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’

It’ll soon shake your windows 

and rattle your walls

For the times they are a-changin’

Come mothers and fathers

Throughout the land

And don’t criticize

What you can’t understand

Your sons and your daughters

Are beyond your command

Your old road is rapidly agin’

Please get out of the new one 

if you can’t lend your hand

For the times they are a-changin’

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast

The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is rapidly fadin’

And the first one now will later be last

DAME VERA LYNN - the Forces' Sweetheart

Hi there

Vera Lynn brought comfort to millions during  her lifetime as she told the nation, "We will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again, we will meet again."  She remains an inspiration to many of us today. 

Katherine Jenkins, whose virtual duet was seen on the 75th VE Day anniversary, said "It was she who chose the sentiments of her songs - she knew instinctively what people needed to hear, how to rally the morale. Her spirit and strength created the soundtrack of a generation."

I hope you enjoy the links.  Be like me and click on the amazing u-tube links on the side panel, to allow you to keep singing.  

Cheers Claire

The Force's Sweetheart singing to the troops

Vera Lynn

Singer

Dame Vera Margaret Lynn CH DBE OStJ was an English singer, songwriter, and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during the Second World War. She was widely referred to as the "Forces' Sweetheart" and gave outdoor concerts for the troops in Egypt, India and Burma during the war as part of Entertainments National Service Association. The songs most associated with her are "We'll Meet Again", The White Cliffs of Dover", "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" and "There'll Always Be an England".

Vera  Lynn dies https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/dame-vera-lynn-dies-aged-103/vi-BB15HHbf

Singalong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5C4meGkNycVerssongsSingsingsSingalongsingsing

Vera's life in pictureshttps://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53068899

To dye or not to dye? But did it change your life?

Posted 2012 - from my friend http://www.shopatnextdoor.com/ and repeated now because I didn't get the answer to "But did it change your life?"

"I have been dying to talk about hair, mainly about issues to do with dyeing it or not - and a friend provided me with the perfect opportunity when she said, "Have you ever just wanted a change? You know something to brighten your day, set your world on fire? Well, that was me yesterday at the hair salon. Why not go red? After all, I was born a redhead. My father's nickname was Red. I have fair skin and freckles, perfect for red hair. So I pulled the plug (on the bottle) and unleashed the real me. Reddy, set, go. you think? R" Red, Set Go...R's fabulous new hair colour self portrait taken with my iPhone and photo shopped just a tiny bit I replied:- "I have cut out articles from magazines etc, have observed brave friends who have taken the au - naturale road (No no no! Not me! Don't be silly!), so feel I am quite expert at the subject; and I am totally with you. Why not be a perfectly natural red head? I think you look like a movie star! More to come on this strand but in the meantime, how has it has changed your life? Clara of blonde tresses"

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