RECIPES

Friday 31 December 2021

New Year's Eve

 

The last day of the year 2021!  I wonder what 2022 will bring us?  Hopefully much cheer and happiness!

This morning I visited a cousin of mine.  She and her husband only live a short distance out of the city, but it has been almost twelve months since I last saw them.

It was great to catch up over a cup of tea and some shortbread and Christmas cake.

We got to talking about the “good old days” when we were children and our different memories of our shared grandmother.  She always wore a hat and gloves when going into town, and was quite a stickler for doing things “the proper way.” 

We remembered her home and the large section it sat upon.  She had two full-size plum trees in the back garden, a large vegetable garden, and a dug-out beneath the house that was used as a garden shed.  I can still remember the smell of that place, all dusty and cobwebby and full of shells she had collected over the years.




And then my cousin produced a diary her mother had passed on to her.  It was dated December 1899 and was a record of a holiday my grandmother’s mother took when she sailed from Wellington, New Zealand, to Sydney, Australia, and stayed with some of her many relations there.

She had taken her two children with her – my grandmother (then aged 4 years) and my great-uncle (then aged 2 years).

I have spent a happy afternoon reading the account (the words I can decipher, anyway!), and it is intriguing to read about shopping for silk and lace to make a bonnet, catching the train to get around the city, and being met at the station by a cab and two horses.

Her diary entry for today (31 December) reads:  “Charlie opened the bottle of champagne for dinner.  A sleepy afternoon.  I read on the verandah while the children blew bubbles.  Still very hot, day and night.”

She could almost have been writing about life as we know it today 😊

Margaret.

 

15 comments:

  1. A lovely post. Brought back memories of my own grandmother.
    May you have a happy and healthy 2022.

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  2. Lovely memories, Happy New Year to you. I wish you good health and blessings. from Suffolk England. Valx

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  3. What a wonderful family treasure Margaret!! Life doesn't change much does it?
    Happy New year
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  4. Always good to get together and reminisce. All the best for 2022.

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  5. What fun to fet to see and visit with a cousin! The diary woukdchave been the highlight if the day for me.

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  6. Hope you have a Happy New Year.

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  7. Delightful!!!!

    What a treasure.

    Simple New Years. I think a whole lot of people will be having thus.

    Btw, you can visit, without worry of the latest Covid variant, I call it "Iamacold" because that's what it is. It's all over in my "neck of the woods," and my country.

    Just wondering..... Like to hear how things are going, in other blogger's areas...

    Merry Midwinter Wishes,
    Happy New Year,
    Hugs,
    🌲 ⛄ 🌲 ⛄ 🌲 ⛄ 🌲

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  8. Hi Margaret,
    How interesting must be the diary of your cousin who has passed from generation to generation.
    May the New Year be full of joy, health, love and bring you a universe of stars to light your way.
    Happy New Year!

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  9. Oh my Goodness. I think that very old diary is such a treasure. It looks almost like the cover is padded. I wonder if your grandmother had that old kind of spidery writing ( that is indeed hard to decipher). Wishing you all the best in the new year!

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  10. We don't think of people travelling like your grandmother did back then, just for enjoyment, to be a tourist. I know they did, and especially here in Europe, and people did vist NZ (think pink and white terraces) but there can't have been many who went to Sydney to shop for lace! Have a great 2022.

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  11. What a nice afternoon that must have been visiting with your cousin and then carrying the old diary home to read. What a treasure! Seems like every time my sister and get together we talk about the good old days. Happy New Year!

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  12. I sure would´ve loved to meet your Grandmother! Sweet memories, and that diary!

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  13. I love reading old diaries. I have several that belonged to my ancestors, a couple from when they were still in Prussia. Very fun to read. Be blessed,, Margaret!

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