Just before I finished the last update Mim, from the community garden, and I visited a plant nursery in West Swan where we bought two grapevines. One early seedless green grape and the other a red mid-late maturing grape. We took them immediately to the garden where we dug two big holes and filled them in with our homemade compost from our composting bins plus an extra bit of bought compost and fertiliser to give them a good start. I can’t wait to try their fruit next year. This year I will remove all the flowers so that the roots can be established for a strong vine. We are hoping these will grow over our new pergola to provide summer shade.
An update on the Tuesday coffees; during the holidays the coffee run to the school is of course closed, so I invited Glenda and Jan over to my place for coffees and a chat. It was then I thought why don’t I go down and offer coffees to the staff and those who come to the Tuesday morning prayer meeting. I called and asked if this might be a good idea and would I have permission. I received a resounding yes from our senior pastor who loves his coffee. That next Tuesday I was down there before 9am (it was nice not to have to start before 8am). I set up the machine and by 9am the staff, Glenda, Jan and then the prayer team came over for their coffees. I had also asked my neighbour Kath if she wanted to help out which she did. It was a bit of a rush as I was doing shots and frothing the milk. I had four different milk orders which also made it a bit challenging to get them all correct. Part way through Glenda asked me to make the milk with a little less head which was great for the cappuccinos but not for flat whites. I don’t usually do the milks and prefer to leave it to those more proficient at it. Still, although hectic it went very well with Kath taking orders and Glenda pouring the milks. Everyone was grateful to receive their coffees.
It was wonderful hearing from my sister Jen, to say she and Ralf were coming over for his work. Before arriving we lined up some dates to catch up, and I prayed that Tricia, and her family would be open to catching up with her. Unfortunately Tricia didn’t get back to her, but she did hear from our nephew who was willing to catch up.
Jen was free to see me on Saturday and Thursday. I suggested we meet at my favourite Asian eatery in Wembley for satay which I knew she liked. She wanted to meet at King’s Park, but I suggested eat first as sometimes the satay sold out quickly depending on the day. Being a Saturday I thought it was better to get there early. She agreed and took three buses to get there taking 45 minutes. Saturday morning I was speaking at our breakfast prayer meeting with my horticulture friend John who had recently been to Vietnam with his wife. While his wife was teaching, John wasn’t sure what he would do in Vietnam as he was not a teacher. I know from experience that when you step out of your comfort zone the Lord always provides. John was asked to help with his horticultural knowledge in planting a garden; his physical strength was needed another time to set up lunch tables and chairs for the students who had come for three days of studies. I had a short session talking about my visit to Chiang Rai and Baan Sawang. This was followed by a young couple, the Tan’s, who have plans to join the team there by the end of the year. They spoke to us about their previous visit and how the Lord has impressed on their hearts the love for the Thai people. I would have loved to have stayed and chatted with them but needed to get home to get ready to meet Jen.
I left home a bit early to meet Jen, stopping off at the chemist on the way to buy more toe warmers for after my early morning swims. I arrived just before Jen’s bus and met her as she disembarked. We had a lovely chat over lunch and finished with a shared Chendol drink before driving to King’s Park. It was so busy there we were unable to park near the café so drove a bit further with me praying for an available parking spot. Praise the Lord we didn’t have to drive far.
From here we walked to the closest path. We noticed there were many roped off areas which were for an evening festival. The flowers were out in their spring glory, many planted in bulk like the everlastings which looked spectacular. We went west then doubled back to cross the suspension bridge, with views of South Perth. As we walked between the park’s kept gardens and the fenced off bush overlooking Narrows Bridge, we noticed the difference in vegetation. On the unkempt side, it was full of non-native vegetation and weeds. Many of the old native trees were dead either from dieback or the wretched borer beetle. I was also shocked the Old Windmill landmark was no longer there and wondered when that had been removed. When I looked it up later it said it was still there and even on Google Maps you can see it standing with its whitewashed walls and blades facing west. How bizarre even Jen hadn’t seen it so it wasn’t just me! And yes we were looking at the right spot in South Point. As we headed back to the car we weren’t sure if we were going in the right direction as there were so many little paths, some leading in the totally opposite direction. Prayer always helps in these situations, and we soon found the main road with the car not too far away.
We then drove along the coast up to Hillarys for an ice cream, but my favourite place was under renovation. After rejecting about three other places selling the synthetic bright blue and green flavours we found some naturally made flavours and sat to enjoy them before driving back to my place. Jen then had a quick look around my garden before I dropped her at the train station. I was exhausted having been awake since 3:50am!
Sunday I was delighted to catch up with Lorna who had returned from a trip to see her sister in South Africa. She said she had a lovely time also visiting a game reserve which she was disappointed with as it was very dry with not many animals, although she was thrilled to have seen a leopard.
That week I came across a Thai recipe for making my favourite pandan desert topped with coconut cream. It took quite a bit of deciphering as it was written in Thai and difficult to know what was really meant. I was totally stumped with the following literal translation to sentences like: “Using a poor man’s hand, the flour and sugar melted completely. No crumbs left. Then filter it with one round of Krachon into a frying pan. “ I tried asking google what a ‘poor man’s hand’ was but had to put the whole sentence in before I found the answer which gave me a good laugh. “This is a classic and hilarious case of a machine translation failing to understand Thai spacing! In Thai cooking, “poor man’s hand” actually means “stir with a hand whisk until…” I agree it was hilarious! Here’s the correct translation “Using a hand whisk, stir until the flour and sugar are completely dissolved with no crumbs left. Then filter it through a sieve (Krachon) into a frying pan.” There were other sentences just as hilarious which I also needed AI to interpret. Like; “Ahead of the coconut tree that is still hot.” meaning while the coconut mixture is still hot. Hahaha! I had nearly finished when I thought I had better check what “saku” seeds were. I’m so glad I did they are actually sago seeds! What a relief, I should be able to find those ingredients on the shelf. Don’t you love some translations and praise the Lord for AI. Although I’m not really into AI doing things I can do myself, it is a great tool when my understanding and knowledge falls short.
I had planned to go back to TAFE next year in term one to do another course in IT and web design. I searched online and then called the TAFE where I was told the lecturer who was putting on the course I wanted to do, was on leave. When I knew he was back I gave him a call. We had a lovely chat, he did remember me and said he was still working on the programme which would help me to know more about the WordPress program I was using for both the community garden and my blog. Unfortunately it wasn’t yet completed, but he hoped to have it ready by the end of 2027. I was excited, especially as he said it would only be a ten week course and I could use my website to practice on. I would first make a test site from the one I had just in case I stuffed it up. Than I could transfer what I knew to the original site. One of the women on the community garden committee also wants to join which I’m grateful for as I’d love to be able to hand over one day to someone else.
My book writing is coming along in leaps and bounds. I have completed the first 5 books with several chapters in each. Then, I thought to make it easier for anyone to edit it I should first run it through AI. God willing this will catch most of the spelling and grammatical errors. I didn’t want to put the whole thing through at once, as I’d heard that some people had done so and lost all their writings. Instead, I have been doing a few paragraphs at a time correcting it on my original copy. I hadn’t realised how many pages I’d finished already! My usual editor, Elaine has been busy, and as a friend, Anne, who I know from my walks to the beach offered to do some editing I took her up on it. She has started editing the first book with over twenty pages. How blessed am I to have two editors. I’m hoping Elaine will be able to do the last edit without too many corrections needed.
One Sunday after church I had been invited to Matt’s home for lunch to meet his parents. His Mum Shirley is the sister of Susan who I stayed with in Mae Sot, Thailand. We had a lovely home cooked Karen meal with lots of reminiscing of their time as missionaries in Bandong, Indonesia and my visit to their family in Thailand. Lunch was finished off with some lovely Thai tea which unfortunately I think may have had caffeine in it. I think it was what kept me tossing and turning most of the night.
While I was there I was taken on a grand tour of the property giving some tips for their citrus trees, passionfruit vines and admiring their chicken pen with fruit trees. It was such a large property. Before leaving, Kyle and Shirley took me and the dog for a walk through the bush. Unfortunately while walking we lost the dog after letting her off lead. Fortunately as we walked back she caught up to Shirley and I, but by this time Kyle had gone back to look for her. Then Matt came down wondering why I was holding the dog by the collar and not the lead. Praise the Lord all ended well.
I’d had such a lovely time we decided we should catch up again soon at my place next time for a coffee and a stroll around my garden. Later that week Kyle rang me to asked me to pray for an influencer who had been imprisoned in Thailand for speaking negative comments about the Burmese government. Since then, he has been miraculously touched by the Lord, released and was continuing to witness about the Lord to his many followers. We prayed not only for him, but also for their family in Myanmar and Thailand.
A visit to my favourite doctor confirmed that I have Dupuytren’s contracture or Dupuytren’s disease, sometimes called ‘Claw Hand’ or ‘Viking disease’. This is a condition where the tissue under the skin on your hand slowly thickens and tightens causing your finger or fingers to curl up. It is a genetic condition I and my sisters have inherited from our mother. Mum had made a comment that our family has a strong link to the Northern European or Scandinavian descent, the Vikings. I knew it, this must be the proof that we have Viking blood, the origin of our love of adventure, seafarers who go out to explore the worlds further afield. I can see the colourful threads which have come down through the ages, intertwining in our present lives.
Ok, so who else over 70 years is still getting hot flushes? When I was much younger I thought we women would grow out of this, but it seems some of us don’t! I remember in my sixties visiting a gynaecologist in Sydney where there was an eighty year old woman who was complaining about hot flushes. I couldn’t believe her. Well, I sure do now! I get woken in the night to throw off the blanket then the next minute I’m cold again! During the day I have layers on to keep warm then have to strip them off till I cool down. It’s worse in the summer as there is nowhere to cool down except under a fan. Although it is less frequent, I wonder if I will ever grow out of it. The worse thing is that sometimes it also comes with an anxiety attack. Praise the Lord, I have started to recognise these hideous events and take all thoughts into captivity calling upon the Prince of Peace who helps calm me.
The second last Saturday of October our community garden was invited to be part of the council NatureFest which was held at the bottom of my street. There were a number of different organisations related to nature open their stalls for a day to advertise their groups, ours being one of them. I do love looking at the native birds of prey, the snakes and goannas. I would love to have a snake but not till I have stopped traveling as I don’t think I would be able to find someone to look after it while I’m away.
This month I also caught up with two of my TAFE horticulture friends when I went to collect another garden duck which Monica had found for me. Of course, we talked plants. Claire, who had been running her own business was opting out due to a bad back from her time as a registered nurse followed by her gardening business. She was told she needed to care for from her back, something we should all be doing especially as we get older. Not such an easy thing to do especially when you live alone.
We set up a table with information, a raffle, manned by our committee members from 8am to 2pm. I was on the afternoon shift, where I met up with lots of neighbours and people I knew. There were also food and coffee vans where I was able to get some late lunch, energising me for my post. Our raffle was a great success and will be drawn at our Open Day on Saturday 7th November. Those who are close by please come down and join us from 9am to 12pm. We have a guest speaker: Steve McCabe on how to have a more productive garden, Garden Ecology.
Photos: 1. Mauve Kangaroo Paw – Anigozanthos flavidus 2. Jen and me visiting Kings Park 3. Me with Jen and Ralf at Yum Cha 4. Moyle family lunch 5. Me and Lian helping out at the NatureFest
Prayer & Praise Points:
Praise the Lord for the lovely spring weather here in Perth; lovely sunny days, a few cold ones but very little rain. Please pray we get more rain before the summer comes.
Praise the Lord for Jen and Ralf’s visit. It was such a blessing to catch up with them as they are rarely in Perth. Pray for Jen who is having a hip replacement soon. Pray that her daughter Kate has a safe flight out from the UK.
Please pray that I will continue to grow in the things of the Lord and that I will learn not to react but be more thoughtful before I speak so that I don’t speak out of past hurts or emotional wounds.
I will always be grateful for my home here in Perth, for my neighbours, friends, church family and the things I’m involved in. I’m truly blessed and thankful that the Lord has provided a home for me here.
Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers. Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.
Please continue to pray for the Karen families not only in Thailand but also left in Myanmar. Persecution continues as churches are not only bombed but landmines are placed within their grounds. Pray for those applying for visas and permanent residency to join their families abroad.
Pray for world peace, for countries dealing with war, major disasters. Pray for all those caught up in the suffering these events have caused. Pray that God’s peace may be known by all people especially for those who live with despair, that they will find hope in Christ Jesus.