ATOM feed
Shades of winter - it's persistently coming down outside, and there is a lovely fresh breeze blowing gently into the house... I've done a few leisurely chores, and now I get to sit and play in blogland. My first stop was to DesLily's place to pick up a copy of the book meme that excited me, a week or so ago, I plan to complete it, so you should find my answers at the bottom of this post...
BUT ... while I was there I came across Melli from Insanity Prevails who posts with the Photo Hunters... which looks like a lot of fun, I'll go back later for a proper look.
Anyway, Melli has posted a picture of an old treadle sewing machine for the Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt - Antiques. Well, this brought back such memories that I just had to leave Melli a comment, and while I was writing it, of course I thought hey I should blog this - as one does - and then, also of course I really went on a trip down memory lane. About my mother... she truly was the most amazing person I have ever known. If ever I did decide to try and write a book, it would be about my mother.
Mum was born, in Yamba on the NSW north coast, in 1905, second last in a family of about 8 kids.My sister Roberta did write some things about her, in her own autobiography but, I think, very unfairly...
with my dad.. Roberta on
the stool, I'm the 'bump'
And us kids. Mum had adopted the daughter of a relative when she was 7 years old; she was my 'oldest' sister and was 12 years old when I was born. Her name was Desma, and we remained close until she died a few years ago. She was also my favourite sister and I miss her a lot. Next came Roberta, at least she was the same color as me (Des was white), and we should have been closer, being less than 2 years apart in age, then me, born in 1945, followed by my younger sister Leonie, born nearly 3 years later. Added to this assortment, from time to time, was a collection of 'children refugees' - they would come because they had no where else to go, and some stayed just a night or two, others were with us for months.
Mum worked as a laundress - usually in 3 or 4 places at a time, she would leave the house around 3 o'clock every morning, and I do mean every morning, go to the first job, hotels, boarding houses, that sort of thing, and do the rounds to get the washing done and on the line. Then she would come home and see us kids off to school, as it happened she also did the laundry at the school, so we would see her at various times of the day, in the yard next to the school, hanging out washing. Then in the afternoon, she would re-do her rounds, taking the washing off the line, folding and ironing at each place. We girls were called in to help at this stage, after school, it's where I first learned to iron, all those starched tablecloths and serviettes (remember them? in the fancy hotels?).
At nights, mum worked at home - she had laundry customers who came to the door with clothes to be cleaned, and came back to collect and pay. Bundles and bundles of brown-paper wrapped parcels, each with a little note saying the name and how much. I remember the Wirth's circus crew were regular customers, when the circus was in town.
It was quite exciting to have them come to the door, we would get tickets and later see these same performers doing marvellous acts in the ring. Mum had a Singer treadle sewing machine, which lived in the big old kitchen and was in constant use, repairs from her myriad of jobs, and of course making clothes for all of us.
She was still using the machine almost up until she died at the age of 92 in 1997. I put dibs on the machine, not for the value, for the memories, it sits, waiting a restore job, in my back shed.This picture was taken in Adelaide, in the late 1980s, it's probably my favourite photo of her.
UH-OH ... what happened to the book meme?
Oh well...
aah... to be continued?
Oh well...
aah... to be continued?
later...
here it is, appropos of nothing really, but I did very much enjoy thinking about it... thanks again DesLily..
Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
mass market paperback, definitely.
Amazon or brick and mortar? (buying on line or in a store?)
Amazon (or the Co-Op Bookstore) - if I am looking for a specific book, a text, or on a recommendation, otherwise I use the local book-exchange, it's the cheapest way to get the number of books I read.
Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Any bookstore, no favourites.
Bookmark or dogear?
I have favourite bookmarks, a drawer full of them - I also have cards I've made with specific prayers printed on them, which I don't use often enough, only when I want something.
Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
random, but really, by size and shape so the bookshelves look good. (remember, I am an obsessive perfectionist)
Keep, throw away, or sell?
Have kept some very special ones, not many, I swap not sell, and hand-on, not throw away.
Keep dust jacket or toss it?
Definitely keep.
Read with dust jacket or remove it?
Remove it, to keep it pristine.
Short story or novel?
Novel first, but I like collections of short stories and have been known to read magazine short stories, even serials, when they used to do serials. I was a dedicated customer of the Readers Digest collected stories series.
Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)?
Both, equally. I recently enjoyed the Collected Stories of Katherine Mansfield
Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Never read either.
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Chapter breaks, always one or two too many.
"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?
Oh, this one's easy "dark and stormy night" - this was my mother's...
Buy or Borrow?
I try really really hard not to borrow, or lend - that is, books I intend to keep. I have several copies of my sister's trilogy book, and these I lend to people who want to read her books. I have done this before too, with other books I want to keep, but also want to lend, some books are like that, so I keep a 'lenders' copy.
New or used?
I don't buy used books to keep, but I do read a lot of used books.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
I do buy on the basis of a book review, and sometimes on a recommendation, don't browse though, except of course in the book-exchange.
Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
No, no cliffhangers please -
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
I love the indulgence of having a read in the morning, but it doesn't happen very often. Afternoons in the sunny window, or even preparing to have my 'nana nap' - but far and away mostly at night, every night -I hate the books 'you can't put down' - I deny myself sleep to keep reading.
Stand alone or series?
I love series, epics that cover generations.
Favorite series?
Can't even think of any, let alone pick a favourite. These are not books I keep, and quite often I read out-of-order, or re-read - it doesn't bother me reading backwards, or forwards, I am character driven when reading, and have a good memory while I am engrossed in the books themselves, but don't ask me about authors, those I don't recall very well at all. I love tales about pioneers and settler families and struggles overcome.
Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
How would I know that?
Favorite books read last year?
I've been reading a lot of Morris West lately, and I really enjoyed Ben Kozel's book 'Five months in a Leaky Boat' intrigue in the first, adventure in the 2nd.
Favorite books of all time?
The Drifters (James A Michener), no doubt - but there are a lot of 2nd's, I think closely led by Pappillion.
18 Comments
well this was certainly a surprise! Great story telling Della! Funny how one thing leads to another and then we wind up with a memory surfacing... nice when it happens that way though, otherwise it might lay tucked away never to surface.
I will await the book meme hahaha.
hahaha yourself Pat!
See - I've done it...
:-)
Della
What a lovely tribute to your mother, Della. She sounds like one amazing lady.
The book meme was interesting. I'd love to do it but time is limited for the next little while.
Have a great week and take care.
LOL.. well I guess it's raining hard and long for you to do two long posts in one! whew.. I was surprised that it took me a bit to do the book meme.. I love too many of the books I read and can't part with them..since living with my brother i sure miss having bookshelves so I can see all my books properly..sigh...
ps..I forgot I wanted to tell you that I think the name Adelaide,is really pretty! (also a good name for a character in a book!!) I love names that you don't hear everyday.
Your mother really had a hard life ! and still she looks so nice and young on your picture. And also she lived so long. Did she ever sleep ? When I think that I complain already because I have to EMPTY the washing machine and the dryer !
Photo hunting is really very funny. You should look at my antiques on my photoblog (Keyhole Pictures) I have very old once even from Sissi time and Napoleon I. But going through the blogs and look at what people put for antiques is sometimes amazing ! Even things from 1960 ! Then I am an antique too ! Last week the word was "gross" . I have never seen so many animal poops and other dirty stuff in my whole life !
You just have to look at the list where the words are for each week Saturday and then make or choose pictures which fit the word.
Your mother really had a hard life ! and still she looks so nice and young on your picture. And also she lived so long. Did she ever sleep ? When I think that I complain already because I have to EMPTY the washing machine and the dryer !
Photo hunting is really very funny. You should look at my antiques on my photoblog (Keyhole Pictures) I have very old once even from Sissi time and Napoleon I. But going through the blogs and look at what people put for antiques is sometimes amazing ! Even things from 1960 ! Then I am an antique too ! Last week the word was "gross" . I have never seen so many animal poops and other dirty stuff in my whole life !
You just have to look at the list where the words are for each week Saturday and then make or choose pictures which fit the word.
Hi Della...I see what you meant...what a coincidence that we both wrote about our mothers at the same time! It never ceases to amaze me today all the hype about the 'working mothers of today"...my mother worked throughout my brother's and my childhood. She had to...once our step-father was kicked out of town, there was only Mum and Nana to run our household. Mum worked days and nights...and Nana worked during our school hours quite a lot, doing house-cleaning/ironing for other households and/or hotels. They never complained and we never came home to an empty home. Food was always on the table, clean clothes on our backs, shoes on our feet...and we went to the circus and pantomimes when they came to town, without fail!
They certainly bred 'em tough in those days...I'd love to see the young women of today have to deal with coppers in the backyard instead of washing machines(and I don't mean the police), ice chests/boxes, no dishwashers, clothes dryers, let alone no hot water! And...no fast-food outlets! I wonder how they'd cope having to prepare three meals a day.....
Hi Robyn, yes, she was that .. I can see I am going to have to do a part II to follow up, there is so much more that you and DesLily and Gattina and Lee have put into my mind...
Lee, all of that, the copper, the handwringer, gas stove, hot water in the iron, ice box - homemade clothes, wow - and mum triumphed through it all, she actually died quite a wealthy woman..
Hi Della ~~ Great post about your Mother and such a nice photo. They
sure worked hard in those days. And the old Treadle machines were good, my Mum had one, and so did I later on.
Your book answers were good too
Thanks for your visit, I cannot believe you are having a few chilly mornings. My Dad lived at Tweed Heads and the weather was always beautiful there. Take care, my friend, Love, Merle.
LOve, LOVE this post Della. And I'm a friend of Melli's where you found the photo of the treadle machine. Yes, I learned on a treadle, and wish I had one back. They're so much more quiet actually, comparing it to the whirring sound of the ones today. And the stitches are much more smooth ---well, just all around better machines if you ask me.
Ya, the Photo Hunt is something I've done with my other blog before I went over to the beta version....for a couple of years. A lot of fun!!
Happy day to you dear lady.
Lovely post about your mother. Memories are such wonderful things, and it is great to get totally wrapped up in them.
Love the book meme ... I am such a book worm, always looking for something new. I'm with a book club (Doubleday), and regularly receive books from there, and am at the library most weeks, borrowing books !!
Have a wonderful week.
Take care, Meow
I've added The Drifters to my list of books to read, thanks for the tip!
Hi, Della! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving the lovely comment! It's nice to meet you, too. Australia is one of my favorite places on earth tho I've never visited, ha! I have a lovely chat/email friend from Perth of several years now who I consider one of my best friends of all time and I'd love to visit someday. I'll be back to read again soon, and I hope you don't mind if I 'steal' your book meme...I think it'll be a lot of fun! I just joined the "50" site a few days ago and haven't had much of a chance to make my way around it yet, I'm so time-challenged for the most part as far as the computer's concerned. I'm delighted you found your way to me, tho! Looking forward to getting to know you better! Have a great day! Are you seeing signs of Autumn yet?? I spotted my first daffodil yesterday...Spring is almost here!!! :-)
Hi Deallab
Thanks for the stories, especially about your Mother and all of her washing days. She certainly lived on to a ripe old age!!
I remember many of those things you mention; The Singer sewing machine, starched serviettes and the famous Wirth’s Circus. I remember one day in Coffs, at the time when Wirths Circus was in town and the elephants were walking towards the park.
Our dog looked up nervously at those giants; one elephant turned as if to walk towards him and he rushed off in a frenzy of panic stricken flight not to return until late in the evening.
Best wishes
Della, just to let you know...I did this meme and have it posted!
Excellent post, Della, each and every part! Do hope you write more about your wonderful mum - such an inspiring story.
HOW did I miss this post all of those months ago? I can't believe it! WOW! What a life your mother had! And look at that big ol' smile! She didn't let it get her down, did she? She was an amazing lady!
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