Category: Random

Fee Writes

Random

People Watching

Are you someone who enjoys people watching? I have to admit doing this quite often when out and about.

And before you say anything – I’m not a voyeur! Heaven forbid that you would even think such a thing about me. No, it’s when I’m out, usually at the cafè. In fact, a cafè has to be the best place to people watch.

The other day I took my computer (which I often do) to my local cafè to do some work. One of the perks of having an online business – you can take it with you.

I got there quite early and settled in with good intentions to complete the tasks on the list. It wasn’t long before a chap in a high viz jacket came in, ordered and took a table within my line of vision.

Perhaps it’s because I have a rather vivid imagination, but this was when my mind started wondering what he did, where he lived and why he was alone.

After a few minutes, I noticed he was sitting there gazing out the window with a faraway look on his face. Then I saw an elderly lady at the table in front of him who was also on her own.

Both tables were next to the window, and both had only two chairs, so they were quite small. Both occupants were on their own, facing the same way and staring out the window. No phones were on their tables, no newspapers or magazines. It appeared that both were perfectly content to be in the moment.

The woman received her coffee and muffin and slowly and quietly began to partake in them. I thought of the song

Eleanor Rigby, although I felt this woman wasn’t in such a sad state as the people in the lyrics. I bestowed the name of Eleanor to her, wondering what was she thinking and what her life was like. She was nicely dressed, her nails painted a pearly colour, and her hair looked like she had blond streaks through it; either she visited the hair salon or was blessed with no greys! I put her in her late 70s or even into her 80s. Here was a woman who obviously took care of herself. Did she live alone? Or perhaps she had an invalid husband, and she was taking a much-needed break? Whatever her life was, she was very content to sit and watch people pass by the window. Was she doing what I was doing, people watching?

My attention then switched to High Viz man (as I had named him), who was still gazing out the window. When I see people in a ‘gaze’, I begin to make up stories about their lives, what they’re thinking, and what they will do when they leave the cafè.

By the looks of what he was wearing, I concluded rightly or wrongly that he was in construction. However, I did think that the boots I was wearing were probably more weather-proof than the shoes he had on. On the other hand, they could have been steel-cap. See where my imagination takes me?

His coffee arrived, and he took a moment to say thank you before reaching for the sugar. I counted three spoonfuls being delivered carefully into his cup. As he stirred the sugary beverage, his eyes were again attracted to the window, and his gaze seemed very contemplative.

Before too long, his breakfast arrived, and his focus was diverted to the meal as he occupied himself with savouring the contents on his plate. I was going to say that I was impressed he didn’t load up his fork until he’d finished what was in his mouth, admiring his lingering process. But he only did it a couple of times, and then it was into the very Kiwi way of stacking the fork with food and shovelling it in. Maybe it gave him something to do, although he did break once and window gaze and, for a split moment, the food seemed to be forgotten.

In the meantime, Eleanor began to come to the end of her refreshments. The muffin was mere crumbs on the plate, and she drained the last of the beverage. As she got up from the table, it was apparent she had hip problems because she was walking slowly. Although she didn’t have a cane, her gait looked so painful, and my heart melted for her. My last thought as she made her way out of the cafè was that I hoped her day would be blessed with people, smiles and laughter.

I continued with my work, and it wasn’t long before High Viz man finished his breakfast and made his way out into the street.

As there were no more people in my line of vision, I reflected that when I see people like Eleanor, should I go and sit with them? But then, I often sit alone in cafès and enjoy the solitude. Mind you, I do have a computer keeping me occupied, although I also can gaze out of the window and be engrossed with people watching.

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Fee Writes

Is There a Winner?

Following on from my last blog post about electric cars, the oil sanctions that Biden has put on Russia doesn’t seem like a win-win at all.

And, at the end of the day is it really worth it?

Pull up the horse and let me finish.

I’m all for putting the squeeze on Putin, but the way I see it, all it’s going to do is ramp up oil production elsewhere. For example. One thing you can be certain of, the US oil industry will start producing more as Biden starts looking for ways to plug the gap.

I’ve even heard they’ll get some of the shortfalls from Venezuela and Iran – both countries currently heavily sanctioned by the US.
But I’m sure it won’t stop the ongoing sanctioning of these countries; just the oil trade will open up. Let’s trust that they will get paid for the oil, and if they do, it will be a win for them.

It appears this crisis has been a bit of a dig at the EU to smarten its act up regarding its dependency on oil and gas. They announced they’ll reduce their reliance on Russia by the end of the year. Great. But no doubt they’ll just shop elsewhere. However, there was talk of increasing renewable hydrogen production and improving energy efficiency in households. I won’t hold my breath there will be any huge developments in those areas, going by past results. But, hey, I’m always open to being proved wrong.

It’s a wait and see.

So why do I think that the oil sanctions on Russia are not a win-win? Russia is the world’s third-largest producer after the US and Saudi Arabia. By my reckoning other oil-producing countries will have to ramp up production putting more pressure on the environment. I’ll almost guarantee more licences will given out for exploration and drilling. The rich will get richer, and the poor will keep bearing the brunt of the increased costs to the pocket and environment.

Simply my opinion.

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Fee Writes

Random

Married Twice!

I got married to the same man – twice within a month!

Like many others, my catholic parents held firm to the belief that marriage was for life. So when their youngest daughter came home with a man who was – shock, horror – separated and declared her intention to marry him, you can imagine the reaction.

So, plans were put in place that when the divorce was finalised, we would wed from our home with only close friends around. My two step-boys were to give me away, and my husband’s family would also be there to help celebrate.

But, two weeks before the wedding day, my parents relented and said we could marry in the family home with a celebrant they knew.

A bit of back story. I had my oldest brother to thank for their change of heart. He convinced them that if they disagreed, they would lose me forever. Their hearts melted, and they sort the advice of a priest who, bless his soul, said,

“who is man to say that God will not bless this marriage?”

Now came my dilemma. The caveat of having the wedding at the family home was that it was restricted to only immediate family and no children.

I could have said no but chose to honour my parents because I understood the struggle they would have gone through even to contemplate the idea, let alone act on it with their puritan views.

So, not to be short-changed, we went ahead with the planned, fun wedding with friends and new in-laws, saying our vows to each other in front of witnesses. We just missed out the part of signing the register.

A few weeks later, we travelled to the family home and did it all again, only this time signed on the dotted line.

I never did tell my parents of the first wedding. My siblings finally knew after both parents left us for their catholic afterlife. And to this day, I have no regrets at all.

20 happy years of marriage did come to a mutual end, but we remain the best of friends with fierce family love.

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Fee Writes

Quick Post | Random

Ask This Question

What if you only had one year left? Have you ever thought about this?

I read this in an email I subscribe to

“Treat this question like a journaling prompt, answer it uninterrupted in a quiet, screen-free space, and it just might change your life, as it has mine: ‘If I had just one year left to live in good health, what would I do and who would I be?”

Now, surprisingly, I’m not big on journaling. I will do it periodically when I need to pick something, meaning that I’ll make a list of pros and cons. Or, I might use it if I have a problem to solve. But I’m not one for free-flowing my thoughts. Which, I know, seems odd because I’m a writer. I prefer rambling a blog post instead!

Getting back to the task at hand.

I took the time and did journal. I found a suitable notepad, turned on the ‘nothing’ music – you know the type, the mediation music of peaceful lake, sunrise, autumn forest or mystic temple. I’m not into dolphin or whale music.

I started with a sigh.
I don’t know what to write.
I have good health – I am pretty much who I like being, and I’m working on what I want to do.
Other things such as travel to see my girls are out of my control.

So the journaling didn’t amount to much; instead, I thought I’d write a rambling blog post.

This question is an important one if you are in a state of soul agitation. And what I mean by that is when you’re not happy with the way your life is, you want changes. Then this question is definitely one to consider.

I generally put it another way

“What do you want for you?”

Taking everyone else out of the equation, what is it that you want for yourself? Once you’ve figured that out, and believe me, it’s an incredibly tough question for most people; then you can start adding people back into the mix. Not surprisingly, they will come in differently!

Now, it’s not to say that my life is perfect, far from it. I am in a continual state of learning and developing, but after all the years I’ve been on this planet, I am grateful for where I am and look forward to continuing the journey.

Just don’t ask me to keep a journal.

The email I subscribe to is free at you can subscribe here: Dense Discovery It comes in once a week and is filled with all sorts of odd things that I find incredibly interesting. The author is Kia Brach, A young German now living in Australia.

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Fee Writes

Random

Get Out The Paint

Have you ever painted a fence? This was the first time for me. Wow – what a difference it is to painting walls in a house!

Funny how you can NOT notice something for some time, then suddenly it becomes very apparent. After the first lockdown, I came home one afternoon and actually ‘saw’ the landlord’s fence had been painted black. It looked amazing.

Let me explain. The landlord (and he’s one of the good ones) lives in the house in front of mine. During the first lockdown, for something to do, he had painted his fence. This was the part that ran along the backside of his home. He even painted the letterbox and his front door to match.

From then on, whenever I drove into my driveway, I felt the envy fairy on my shoulder as I looked at the somewhat dilapidated fence on my side, especially around my home, and wished it was painted as well.

I did ask him why he didn’t complete all of the fences, and his response was:

“Once I finished this side, I was over it.”

Now, I can relate; it was a lot of fence to paint especially doing it on his own.

But the envy fairy persisted. Finally, over a wine with the girls, we discussed my front yard in depth. It was a unanimous decision that the fence, especially around my part of the house, needed to be painted black.

Now the landlord wasn’t going to do the actual painting; however, he was all in favour of providing the paint if I took care of the manual labour.

No problem. I first approached my best buddy and her husband. Yes, they were on board. Next, I asked the Improv troupe that I’m part of, Honest Liars, and said that all volunteers would be gratefully received. Mind you, I did have a wee bribe of food and beer to sweeten the deal.

The date was set. Sunday from 10 am onwards.

The gods did not favour that day and declared it would rain. So a quick change of plans to the Saturday was in order and, thankfully, there would still be some ‘painters’ turning up.

The whole event did begin a couple of days prior. Best buddy’s husband arrived, and we started the rather mammoth task of prepping the fence. Within a couple of hours, the main part (closest to the house) was sparkling clean.

The next day best buddy arrived, and that cleaned fence was painted.

Saturday morning, the sun shone bright, a gentle breeze wafted through, and I set up the water jug (with lemon slices), the paint, brushes, rollers and drop-sheets ready for company.

Right on cue, the first friend arrived, brush in hand and overalls on, followed soon after by several more. I was touched that I was loved this much that people would give up their Saturday to paint a fence.

And so it began.

Painting the fence — Even in the corners and behind the bushes.

By 1 pm, all were sitting outside eating and drinking and admiring the finished work.

Did I mention that the pergola had been painted as well? No? Well, it was, and the effect tied everything together. Needless to say, the landlord is delighted with the result.

There are a few more things to do with the outside décor to get it into the party-worthy mode, but once it’s finished, all painters will be invited back to celebrate friendship and helping hands.

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Category: Random

People Watching

Are you someone who enjoys people watching? I have to admit doing this quite often when out and about.

Is There a Winner?

Following on from my last blog post about electric cars, the oil sanctions that Biden has put on Russia doesn’t seem like a win-win at all.

Married Twice!

I got married to the same man – twice within a month!

Ask This Question

What if you only had one year left? Have you ever thought about this?

Get Out The Paint

Have you ever painted a fence? This was the first time for me. Wow – what a difference it is to painting walls in a house!

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