Challenge of the day!

@Mazarita

Hi Maz - it's good to see you see and I hope you are okay during the current social crises

I know I first read The Secret Garden when I was young but how young has been long forgotten and at my age any two digit number being with a 6 is young - sigh

So - I think I purchased my first copy - I might have been in my teens - who knows - but I read it from cover to cover amazed at the twists and turns - I remember re-reading it and I do remember that it fell apart at some stage and I replaced it - more than once

Time passes as it does and my daughter was at home sick in bed with something - she was at High School and old enough to be left alone while I went out to get her some new shirts for school and I went to a book shop and bought her a bunch of novels as a surprise.. She told me years later that it was a wonderful gift - and one of the books was The Secret Garden and it was the first time she read it too

I saw that there is a new movie of The Secret Garden with Colin Firth already out - I don't know when it will get here - I saw it advertised when my movie-buddy and I last went to the pictures - my buddy didn't seem interested but I really am - I hope we can get to the movies again soon and I can persuade her - after all - any movie with Colin Firth is worth watching

But - yes - that was the day that I realised I had ditched my last battered copy of The Secret Garden and not replaced it. This is the time to get some books ordered on-line and it will be one of them

I am really glad you enjoyed the novel as an adult - it is a book for all ages - there is wisdom in that story - deep wisdom - I have always liked it

Dec

Hi @eth

I hear you - you were and early reader and so was I - what a great start that is for a life - something that endures forever

When I started school - 1948 - there were no John and Betty books so we had to read off flash cards the teacher held up - each having one sentence and a picture - it was agonising and I began to get bored - but survived it until Grade One when we had a book but the unfortunate boys who were embarrassed by not being able to read took forever and I got into trouble for reading ahead - but I have a rich mind and survived that too and rejoiced when I reached Grade 2 and actually I was taught something - I think you would understand that

But you have had to cull your life - leaving the NT and having to ditch so many books and then again moving into one room of the cabin. Down-sizing is hard - I have done it - but I only shed my books when I know I will never read them again or they have been read so much they are falling apart.

I'm sorry you have had to lose so much space that you could fill to your specification - that has to be really tough.

It's okay to have a bit of a rave - it's interesting reading - I hope your day goes smoothly too - I wonder which is worse - spending this isolation time with family members or alone - I am glad I am alone actually - but the thought of 6 months of it is daunting so I am only thinking of one day at a time

I often feel jet-lagged when we move the clocks but today is cold and wet in Melbourne so I stayed in bed reading. Now I'm writing - and enjoying myself

All the best today

Dec

Doing yesterday's challenge today.

Here's my mostly green indoor plants

Hi @Owlunar @Teej @Exoplanet @eth @Ant7

@Owlunar I suffered the flash cards too! My parents used them from when I was 2 years old according to Mum. But I guess they worked.

Amazing collage of photos @Exoplanet Skills!!

@Ant7 this is a picture of the bike I had ... except mine was blue and silver (couldn't get that picture to load) ...

Because it was an Aquila I got the number plate 'Hun' and it said NT (where I was) under it - hope you get the pun!

I love the green collage @frog - it's beautiful - I missed yesterday challenge but I think it was about green things. I have plenty of green things in my garden but it's raining heavily hear atm and I am not going outside for any reason right now

@eth

The flash-cards at two would have been excellent for establishing early reading but at five I could already read the John and Betty cards - my grandmother had a large part of my rearing and taught me to read and do simple maths before I started school - also I was learning to play the piano - Grade Preps was agonising for me and I think that's when I learned to watch the teacher and indulge in a rich inner life that I still have.

I love the bike - not that I ever enjoyed being a passenger on one and never a driver - but - early learner I was but the pun - hun over NT - I havn't got it yet - but give me time - or not

Dec

ummmm - errrrrr - no - I give up

Attilla the Hun @Owlunar only in my case Hunt as I was into archery/bowhunting at the time. There was also a place in town called the Hunny Pot but I won't go there! (Boys being boys, players being players).

hello @Owlunar , @Teej , @eth , @frog , @Exoplanet

Attila the Hun - of course @eth

I could have thought about that forever and not got it - I really don't know about motor-bikes and their brands etc - but you did mention it was an Attila

And what I know about Attila the Hun - he confounded the Romans for a time and changed history - which is good to know about otherwise we might not have been who we are today

Also - boys being boys and players being players I wouldn't go to the Hunny Pot either - good decision

Dec

Tell The Truth

Blue was the colour of both my motor cycles. @Ant7

Very Cool bike @eth

From spokes to mags:

Hi @Teej and everyone,

@eth I was up late when I posted my last one. Yes, I do understand how we set our goals and then get them only part done. Maybe the purpose of them sometimes is not so much to achieve or win our measures of ourself, but simply to improve as we head towards them. The process of growing being more important than perfection in our behaviours. Your reading at a young age sounds amazing. No wonder you are into writing as well. I've had the same experience as you when it comes to shedding collections of books. When I was into acting I collected and read a huge number of plays. Got rid of the lot when I moved to Sydney for a year or so. More recently, dumped a whole lot of books when we moved into our current flat. Still have quite a lot of them though, most of them in a big box in our little storage shed, where I can't really get them out! Most of my reading is online now though. My exercise bike is now set up in my covered courtard area. I still haven't got on it for years. At the moment I don't feel like I can aim at anything. The state of things in the world has affected me a lot. Need to nurture by letting myself be without stress. I do find if I set myself goals that my stress levels increase due to the pressure I put on myself to be perfect in everything. Easy to know about the dangers of perfectionism, not easy to change that about myself. It feels almost built-in to my genes. Hopefully I'll be able to say I've been on the bike sooner or later. Great that you have been doing it already. Love the colour of that cowl. Will be great to see a photo when it is finished.

@Exoplanet hello my friend. Lovely photos, beautiful subject. Snap, we both went for trees in that earlier challenge. To me they are wise far beyond our times, and have seen it all. That brings me comfort with what is happening in the world. Being close to trees is something I truly love. I even hug them sometimes. More often I am brushing my hands lightly through their overhanging leaves as I walk.

@Ant7 are you not allowed to go for a solo ride on your bike? In Queensland we are still able to do that within the state. I've had a nature walk and a beach visit over the past week. Very good for my soul. I've never ridden a motorbike, but I have been a passenger quite a number of times. The feeling of freedom is amazing.

@Owlunar thanks for the warm greeting. Good to see you too. I'd like to see that forthcoming movie of The Secret Garden as well. Your mention of Romans and Attila the Hun took me back to my Europe trip at the end of last year. My friend and I visited ancient ruins in Italy, Croatia and Rome. The both of us were moved by these places, and avid for experiences of our far distant ancestors.

@frog I love succulents and, like you, have a potted mixture of them in my courtyard. Yours look very healthy and happy.

@Shaz51 wow to that beautiful picture of the exotic flower in its bed of green. Hugs from a distance, ScotIrish sister!

@Appleblossom were you a motorcyclist too?

Hi to @Former-Member @Faith-and-Hope @Snowie @TAB @Isabelle and all reading.

Well wishes all.