Monday 1 June 2015

Two years on...who would have thought?

Well it is two years today since I started up my blog with the post Welcome to Going Grey and Slightly Green. As I really didn't have much of an idea of how to set up a blog I wasn't sure how long it would last before I gave up in despair. However, I have been given lots of hints along the way from friends I have made online so here I am two years later!



Not a lot has changed in the garden over those two years. This is the mandarin tree that featured in my first post and it is still going strong although I don't think there is as much fruit on it this year which is fine as it is so hard to reach a lot of it especially as we are getting older and aren't as nimble. 

 I am fighting again this year with the pests that like to eat my brassicas but I have discovered that my Landcress is growing so hopefully next year it will help to repel them. If you missed the post Landcress - the Caterpillar Killer you might be interested to read about it if you are having the same trouble. 


The Tamarillos were around two years ago also but now thanks to the local wildlife, instead of one tree, we have about four plus one coming up in the compost heap :-)


Violets always bring a little colour to the winter garden and they grow well here in Toowoomba.


The Camellias are just opening up and always cheer me up on a dismal grey day which I think we might be going to have a few of this week as the wind has picked up and the thermals have been unpacked.


The possums still fight on the roof in the early hours of the morning and partly eat the Cherimoyas which are left scattered along the path. Considering the noise they make you would think they were playing hockey with the fruit.

While the goings on in the garden are much the same there have been some life changes I guess. I have retired during those two years and have joined the ranks of the 'young old' which I didn't realise even existed until I read on Rhonda's Down to Earth blog about this category. I went to a Council funded fitness class at which only myself and a gentleman in his eighties turned up and I became acutely aware that I wasn't in the 'old old' category yet :-) 

I have let my hair go grey so have also joined the ranks of the 'invisible' people. This is how some ladies describe themselves now that they are older and have gone grey. They have found that it is as though they are invisible when they are waiting for service in some situations. While I haven't really found this to be the case I do notice that I am being called 'Dear' an awful lot by the younger generation. ;-)

There have been changes health wise with various aches and pains coming and going depending on how much gardening I do as the CEO doesn't want to garden much anymore as he has had constant and ongoing health problems recently.  He is pretty old though as he is 11 months older. Ha ha!

We are fortunate though that we are as healthy as we are and really we don't have a lot to complain about in this beautiful country. We are still a whole lot better off than many other people who would give an arm and a leg to have our 'problems'.


I will leave you with a photo of the lovely Patricia Andrea who moved in with us last September. She is quite beautiful and I think she is a keeper.


29 comments:

  1. Happy blog birthday Chel.

    In a society where 50 is senior, 65 is considered old age. It all seems logical when you are young but when you start to get close to those milestones it seems incredible that anyone would consider a 50 year old as being a senior citizen.

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    1. Sherri I agree. 50 isn't old by any stretch of the imagination.

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  2. I think Patricia is lovely and should definitely stay around, as should you. I really enjoy for blog and i hope you don't find me too irreverent. My mother always said i was the cheeky one.

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    1. No you aren't irreverent, Lynda....not much anyway! ;-)

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  3. Congratulations on your two year anniversary! I only started this year and have already realised it is hard to keep up with posting as well as normal work, family and social life. So 2 years is a great achievement. And your garden looks lovely - apart from that fat caterpillar. I've been fighting them too lately. Surely you don't really need thermals in Toowoomba?! Hope there's not too many grey days for you!

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    1. My word we need our thermals in Toowoomba. It will be 3 degrees tomorrow morning and 2 degrees on Wednesday and that is cold in this old wooden house. Our temps are always a lot colder than closer to the coast.

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  4. Happy Birthday GG&SG! I've very much enjoyed reading about your life to date - long may it continue dear! I know exactly what you are saying about invisible - but one thing I can "tsk" loudly and get away with it when I'm overlooked! haha. We have a belter of a frost here this morning with worse to come tonight Mr Elders tells me. We're off to Farmfest on Thursday so that will be a chilly start as usual. I like Miss Patricia very much too, she's quite flushed!

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    1. Barb dear :-) I thought you would have a heavy frost where you are. I believe we had one here but I wasn't up early enough to see it. LOL! I think we got down to 2C.

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  5. Thanks for sharing about your changes and about aging. I'm heading towards my 41st year and letting my natural hair colour through. Which includes an increasing amount of grey. Whenever my mum comes to visit (every few months) she exclaims how much grey I have. It must be disconcerting for a mother to see their child's hair start to grey? I just think its completely natural.

    There have been times I've been tempted to colour over it again, but by not doing so, it seems more me than ever. But the "dear" comments, would be weird to hear. Although I was often called "sweetheart" and "darling" by complete strangers, when I was young. Maybe its not so strange to be called "dear" as one ages? I haven't traversed that particular territory yet.

    Anyway, happy blog anniversary. :)

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    1. My girl and my son both have grey hairs too Chris. I think my grandma was grey by 30 and my mum was 39 when she had me and I can't remember her being anything but grey. I don't think mine went grey till my mid fifties but I have a friend the same age who doesn't have one grey hair. It is all in the genes I guess.

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    2. Snap! I had my son recently, at 39 too - well two months earlier than my 39th birthday. It freaks me out to think I'll be 60 when he's 21. When I turned that age, my mum was in her 41st year, which is how old I nearly am. I don't want to be too old to enjoy his milestones.

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  6. Congrats on your 2-year blog anniversary Nanna Chel! I love reading here and seeing all the pics from your beautiful garden.

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    1. Thanks Frances. Haven't seen you around much lately. I hope all is going well for you.

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  7. Happy BlogBirthday!! I have enjoyed your blog for a long time now and hope to continue to do so for a long time. It is interesting how I think of you as a friend and enjoy when you leave comments for me as well. It sort of reminds me of the penpals we used to have back in the 60's and 70's and we would tell each other about our lives and it would make our world bigger. You have definitely given me a window on Australia (a country which has always fascinated me) that I would have never had otherwise, and so much more interesting information. No pressure - just keep it up! ;) I do have one question - how do you get your wildlife to bring you tamarillos, mine bring me cockleburrs and other weeds?

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    1. Well I guess the bats spread the tamarillos around after they have them for supper at night as they just come up everywhere. The CEO doesn't like the orange ones so they will probably be pulled out eventually and replaced by red ones.

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  8. Nanna Chel,
    Happy Anniversary! I'm glad you've stuck with posting I like reading what you and your mister have been up to. I hope you keep warm we're in for a chilly one this week by the look of things. Patricia does look pretty I'd keep her to.. And I have four more years before I offically hit old age...at the grand old age of 50.
    -Shiralee.

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    1. Shiralee you are just a spring chicken at 50! Yes it is indeed chilly today and it was funny when I was driving around to see people standing in the sun everywhere. Typical Queenslanders!

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  9. Congratulations on your blog anniversary! You are doing better than I am and my blog has had 3 name changes and been going, on and off (!), for six years.

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    1. Thanks Robyn. At least you are still going after six years.

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  10. happy blogbirthday! well done nanna chel! love reading your blog & hope you continue to write as like phil, you are very good at it!
    love Patricia too, very beautiful! definitely a keeper.
    thanx for sharing

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    1. Thanks Selina. Yes Patricia will definitely be staying.

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  11. Your blog is part of my daily routine - could not be without it I'm afraid.

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  12. Dear Nanna Chel, You had helpers with your blog and then you helped me! Thank you! we learn as we go and its quite amazing really.
    Your photography is just lovely. Happy two year anniversary! Love Annabel.xxx

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    1. Annabel, yes I have found that most bloggers are only too willing to help others even though we probably will never meet each other in real life. Look where your blog has gone...isn't it amazing?

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  13. 2 years, well done!
    Lots of interesting things happening in your garden and so interesting to read about the cherimoya considering the custard apple is one of my favourite fruits.
    Patricia Andrea is definitely a keeper, what a beauty!

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  14. Happy bloggy birthday! Oh I don't like the sound of that at all. Being ignored. I turn 40 this year and I have a lot of grey hair. I'm easing in to by going much lighter and getting highlights from a brunettte. I was thinking maybe at 50 to proudly display my grey hair. Maybe I'll wear a punk t-shirt from my teenage years in hopes to get noticed:) Wow you've only been blogging for two years, it seems like longer because you are a great blogger and have such great information on simple living here. Don't forget that 60 is the new 50, 40 is the new 30 and so on:)

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  15. Happy blog birthday Nanna Chel. It's been lovely to connect with you online. xoxo

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  16. Oh dear I missed your anniversary Nanna Chel.

    Two years already, where has that time gone? I remember when you were posting on DTE asking advice, now look at you, you are almost a pro!

    CONGRATULATIONS on a job well done!!

    xTania

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