So what do you take with you when you visit your 99 year old Aunt? Flowers? Cake? Sweets?
I once brought Ruby a bucket of worms and she was so excited (her sandy soil doesn’t have the worm population our red soil has). She immediately dragged me & my bucket of worms all over the garden with a little spade to bury them here and there!! 😀
Today Mana & I brought a trailer load of seaweed. Nothing says love like fresh seaweed hey?
I did promise Mana some beach time today, but she probably hadn’t thought she would be stuffing and lugging multiple feed bags full of seaweed around the neighbourhood!
East Wynyard Beach quite often has lovely big piles of grassy seaweed that I like to use as mulch. You just pick a spot to park with beach access –
Probably better at low tide, but we were out with the trailer, so I thought we might as well fill it again with something
Not much beach today – I think we managed to time it for the highest of high tides! 🙂
We got our feet wet a couple of times as we filled our bags
The sea was really choppy today
Once we had all our bags chokkas, we dragged them up to the car and headed to Ruby’s.
First things first… cake and coffee!
While we recharged our batteries on Ruby’s excellent raisin cake, we chatted about her first fridge.
Of course, way back in the day people used meat safes to store their perishables in wooden or tin safes, usually with mesh sides.
When Ruby and Bill moved into the cottage on the current site in 1948, they had a main safe and also a small tin one that hung in a tree where it gained a nice breeze in a cool area.
They had to shop frequently for meat as it would only last a couple of days in the safe. Apparently you “Let your nose tell you” when you needed to hurry up and finish the meat!! If things were smelling a bit funny, you got it out and washed it and made sure it was cooked quick-smart!! (Do we know how easy our lives are these days?)(I don’t know about you, but if I smell “something funny” about meat, then the chickens get an expensive treat!!!)
When they moved into the cottage, there was no electricity connected to the property. There was electricity in the area, so Bill took himself up to the energy supplier to arrange connection. The fellow wasn’t so helpful – put them on a list that had a vague waiting time of a few weeks.
Bill said they were hoping to get it on a lot quicker as his wife was finding it difficult to get things done and out to work on time. Foolishly the man asked “What’s so special about your wife?” Ouch. Apparently Bill told him – in no uncertain terms that his wife was the “Matron at the hospital so I hope you don’t get sick mate!!” (You can see Ruby’s proud look telling the story as her husband championed her) Then she giggles because apparently she had to drop home at 2pm that afternoon and found the power connected!!! 😀
It wasn’t until around 1954 that they got their first fridge. A lot of items were hard to get following the war years, and Tasmania is that little bit more isolated again.
Word went out that a container load of converted kerosene to electric refrigerators was arriving at the port of Burnie. They were all snapped up for the most reasonable price of around 40 pounds!
Oh the convenience!! Bill was especially thrilled because he had “Never dreamed he could have all the ice-cream he wanted”
Well, story time over, Mana and I unloaded our seaweed and spread it over the two gardens that we weeded last week.
While Ruby picked us a beautiful bunch of chrysanthemums (pretty sure that’s what they are! I am a bit wonky on my flower names)
Hope your day has been wonderful
Cheers
I love your Ruby stories! Reminds me of how much I miss my grandmother and great grandmother!
I know! I miss my Nanna too – so lucky to have another shot at having a grandmother in my life!!
What a joy to see another Ruby post. Keep the stories coming, they are such a blessing and show how easy we have it today in so many ways!
Glad you enjoyed this Allison! It’s fabulous to look back and hear how things were done long ago and try to imagine life without our modern comforts!
Is Mana enjoying her visit? She works really hard.
With all the yard and garden work you do, it makes me feel like I am so behind on my things that need to be done. I really loved the close-up of the orange flower a couple days ago. Beautiful and so VERY interesting. Thanks for you pictures and blog – I look forward to your corner of the world every morning.
hee hee – yes, Mana is enjoying herself. We certainly have done a lot of fun-non-work stuff too, altho she is enjoying all the different work here. We are hopefully heading to the beach today if the weather doesn’t turn nasty… just for a relaxing walk!
That orange flower is pretty cool – Leonotis leonurus or Lions ear or Lions tail. It was here when we moved in. First time I had come across it.
Oh don’t worry – I am ALWAYS behind. Always something that needs doing, but we get around to things eventually… I like to keep the pace ‘not too frantic’ 🙂
Glad you are enjoying the stories from Tasmania.
Lisa, I love your Ruby stories! I think I want to be her when I grow up!
thanks for sharing.
Thanks Karen. Its a good way to document snippets of her life. She is amazing!
Your Ruby stories of the old days are fascinating. It is interesting to hear the Aussie version of the era.
Thanks Cari! I read “Farmer Boy” (Laura Ingalls Wilder) as a kid and was fascinated by the things the family did to live, eat and clothe themselves. There is something attractive to me about these ‘old ways’
Oh, that is a good reminder. I need to check out the Laura Ingalls Wilder at my library. The girl will love reading them.
Btw, what exactly is the hospital matron?
The matron is the head nurse.
While on books- have you read the Girl of the Limberlost?? Old fashioned but totally gorgeous. (Jean Stratton Porter)
I suppose that is not the term used in our modern and enlightened times.
I looked up that book – sounds interesting!
I never really thought about the title ‘Matron’ Have to ask my Nurse Husband what they are called here – if anything besides head nurse! 🙂
Re the book. “Freckles” was written before “The Girl of the Limberlost” and was equally delightful to me. I just read the Girl first as it appeared in my Christmas stocking a long time ago.
So beautiful Lisa! Love these stories! Xx
Thanks Sam – I am enjoying collecting them (not to mention the cake and coffee that goes with…) 🙂