Nicole my niece, and her beau Jon, have been busy. Childhood sweethearts, they’re getting married. We caught up with them for dinner last Friday. They will be formally registering their marriage later this year and late next year, they will have the customary church wedding in Penang.
In late 2019, Tress and I went to Penang. We spent some time with Sim, my late sister and Nicole’s mum, and her husband, Daniel. Daniel had a small business in downtown Penang. We visited him in his shop and we walked around, taking in the history of beautiful Penang. Sim came along with us for part of that walk. We walked past the historic and beautiful E&O Hotel, and Sim made a remark about us staying there next time we visited. We joked about me celebrating my next big bash there. We said maybe that will be my 60th.
A few weeks ago, Nicole very sweetly asked if I was ok if She and Jon teed up a date for her church wedding in Penang, that would coincide with my birthday. I said I couldn’t be happier to share her joy on my birthday. On Friday night, as we ate and chatted, she said they had in mind, a dinner reception following the church wedding in Penang, and had pencilled in the E&O Hotel. A chill ran up my spine when I heard that and recalled our conversation with Sim back in 2019. Perhaps I will, indeed, celebrate my 60th there in the beautiful E&O Hotel, but for quite the most serendipitous way. It would be Nicole and Jon’s wedding. Maybe that was what Sim planned, from where she might be right now. It was such a special moment when I made that connection as the chill ran up my spine last Friday night. I am so very grateful.
Earlier that arvo, I had made a dash to the Fort Knox storage facilities to finalise the arrangements for us to hire a space. I had taken a few small items there to start the process. On Saturday morning, after our usual walk with the little fellow, Tress and I started getting busy with more packing, clearing etc. Providentially, as we walked the little fellow past the home of Chris our neighbour, he said we should feel free to use the skip that is in his carport. They were moving out and had hired that skip a week or so ago. We gratefully accepted his offer and for the rest of the morning, we cleared out stuff to have them lined up for a council hard rubbish collection, dumped in the skip, or carted away to the Fort Knox storage. We kept busy but at the same time, mosied our way to the auction a couple of houses away. The ex-neighbour got a healthy price, and we resumed our tasks. Late that arvo, as I was clearing out boxes from the loft in the shed, I was startled by a furry sight that greeted me when I pulled out a large box that housed our then brand new microwave oven. I saw some furry creatures in there. Initially I thought they were dead possums so after I recovered from my fright, I asked Tress to get me a sturdy rubbish liner, thinking I was going to bundle up the dead creatures. When I went back to the shed and retrieved the box however, I saw the very much alive and even adorable family of possums. I wondered for a little while what I was going to do with them, before I eventually got the box out and placed them in the middle of the parklands across our home, right next to a large gum tree. It was almost dusk and I felt sorry for disturbing their slumber, but it wouldn’t be long before night falls and those nocturnal creatures should climb up that gum tree and hopefully, scurry away.
While we were working, Tress received a message from H our carer for our little guy. She said it was her 50th. So we thought we could tee up a dinner with a few other regulars at the dog park, which we did. We had dinner with H, Lynne and Jeremy at Enrik’s in Blackburn that night, and we shouted H. She has been caring for our little fellow (and LBJ before), whenever we went away, and we wanted to show how much she has come to mean to us and our furry friends.
On Sunday, we went to St Alf’s, then to Donvale for lunch, before heading out to the G for Hawks’ last home game. It was going to be our last home game indefinitely, given our present plans. We beat the Tigers relatively easily and when we sang the team song, a mixed sense of happiness and sadness came over me. Yes, we’d likely be playing finals again but we are also likely to not be at these games again. Hawks’ win, coupled with United’s opening game win over Fulham the day before, paved the way to a really good weekend. We were knackered on each of Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. It had been a busy, tiring, but eventful, happy and hopeful weekend. Yes, I am ever so grateful.
Ante 