Saturday Evening 5/10 in Australia

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Saturday Evening 5/10 in Australia
3
Sat, 05-10-2003 - 4:48am


Hi Girls, busy day today, made 5 posies this morning for the cemetery for our respective Greartgrandmothers, Grandmothers & Mothers, they are all in the same cemetery, our DS met us over there after DGS soccer game as I knew this year I would not be able to do all the walking, my Mum & Dad are not far from the gate so was able to make that then the boys carried on, it was lovely to see the three generations walking on together.

Diana, the gum trees are certainly not amongst the most beautiful trees in the world, to me they have majesty & the sculpture in the trunks somehow is what makes them very Aust. & different or I should say this is how I see them, put Hans Heysen Paintings on the web hopefully you may see some of his work. A swagman seemed to come about in the Depression days 1920-30, they walked all over the country from farm to farm or the big stations further up to try & get work to eat, I believe if there wasn't work they would always be given food, it would be unheard of not to even though everybody of course was struggling in those days, they carried their swag on their back which was everything they owned, a blanket, plates, saucepan & if they were lucky perhaps a bit of tea & bread, as you will notice our Waltzing Matilda song is all about a swagman, I hope I have that O.K. Diana but that is what we were told growing up.

Martha please do not worry about me being a little housebound, I am a lot older than you young lasses, certainly I don't profess to be a saint but I am very contented, of course it would be good to have travelled in these later years, it just wasn't mean't to be, if I start to get upset about this my brain & pain will worsen with stress, all I ask is for my DH & I be together a little longer.

Well off I go bye to everyone. HUGS Doreen

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Sat, 05-10-2003 - 6:42am
Good evening Doreen. Thanks ever so much for telling us what a Swagman was. Very interesting indeed and I have heard the word since I was a child and had to get to the ripe old age of 62 to find out what it meant.

I am glad that it was a good day for you and that you did do a little getting about at the cemetery. I bet the posies were so pretty and how sweet to honor all the mums, great mums and great grand mums in such a nice way.

Keep on with the positive attitude and we will keep supporting you with positive vibes..

Hugs and sleep well..Becky

 


SweetBears.gif picture by nananmommy

Avatar for mindy46
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 05-10-2003 - 8:41am
morning doreen.it sounds like your swagman is like our hoboes here,or as some people say bums.they also had a knapsack and rode the train across america.growing up we lived across the street from the railroad tracks,i remember as a kid my mother would say to me,dont go near the tracks,the hoboes are around,but she would always end up giving them a sandwich or two!! you know we were taught that song when i was in school,about the jolly swagman camped along the billy bong under the shade of the koolaba tree.i still remember the words!!!have a good snooze doreen!!((hugs))mindy
Avatar for daggs170
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 05-10-2003 - 9:19am
So happy that you were able to make all the flowers for the cemetary and get the family to put them on the graves. I have to agree with you that it is so nice to see the generations in the family all walking together with an interest in common and love in their hearts. A few of my favorite pictures that I have in our albums are of our three generations walking together holding hands--walking away from me so I have the view of their backs. As a matter of fact, my families have asked for copies of those pictures........

Thank you so much for the story of the swagmen, I had never heard of this before and it was so interesting. I remember the song of "Waltzing Matilda" and never realized the meaning behind it and now this will always come to mind when I hear the tune. You sure have some interesting things to tell us and you write them all down so well. Hoping that you feel better today and can enjoy your time with DH.

The sun just came out here and DH thinks he is going to paint the back steps and the stoop if it gets a little warmer. He power washed them down the other day and they just need to dry out a little more from the overnight dew. I have some gloxinia that are starting to sprout in their pots that I kept them in over the winter, so think I will dig out my potting soil and make threee hangers so that they can start to grow and be ready (hopefully) for when we go to the lake. I've been making hangers out of them for years to hang under the entry way and they are always so pretty--that is, until the wind gets them. I try to protect them by putting them down if I know the weather will be bad but I'm not always so successful. I should get new bulbs, but for some reason or other I haven't had the desire to--my very good friend May got me interested in them and when she died I sort of lost the desire to make more. But will do these three plants anyway.

I'm rambling, huh? You have a good day, and you and DH raise your coffee cup in salute to your MA friends here, and DH and I will raise ours in salute to the both of you also. Hugs. Bea

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