a sad few days...

i've shed a number of tears these last few days... 

you may remember i introduced you to fudge at the beginning of the year... sadly, her long life journey ended last thursday evening... i didn't get to know her well - just a few short months she had here... it was a terrible thing for the old girl - she was 18-19'ish - to be 'discarded' at such a late stage of her life by those she depended on when she no longer suited their lifestyle... i hope she found some joy and happiness in her few months here... it was a pleasure to have met you girl...

to compound that sadness, it was the 1st anniversary of my old girl allie's death on saturday... i miss you so much still girl - the feel of you, your beautiful face, your companionship, everything about you...

but my boy shadow helps to ease the pain - and of course, he doesn't mind being an 'only child' - he actually wasn't really impressed when another feline came to stay - he quite liked being the centre of attention - so his life goes back to what it was...

my heart is heavy with sadness at the moment so i won't be writing anymore, but will share louise du toit's tribute to our canine and feline companions with you while i get ready to deal with the other 'old girl' in my life - my mother, whose 83rd birthday is on friday the 30th - so we're off shopping for a present, which entails catching the tram almost right outside the front of her block of flats (luckily), going to target in malvern (just near the tram stop we get off at - luckily), then it's a quick look at some clothes for her before that wears her out, and then it's back to her place...

 

farewell to a most significant womon...

margaret whitlam, a strong, independent womon, an icon of australian politics, died at the age of 92 on saturday...

she was a prominent womon in australian herstory and history, so much so that she was named an australian living treasure in 1997... she had been an elite swimmer, participating in the 1938 empire games, only missing out on the 1940 olympics due to their cancellation (ww2 having 'started' in 1939)… she gained a degree in social studies, becoming a social worker (receiving recognition in 1983 for services to the community)...


 
her life-partnership with gough whitlam began in 1942 and it wasn't long before she became part of the federal political scene... she was a staunch supporter of womyn’s rights (in particular abortion law reform), social justice, the environment and the arts, and will be remembered for re-writing the role of ‘first lady’ in australia…

when gough was voted in as prime minister "she spoke frankly about the ambiguous role, undefined duties and loss of a separate identity. She wrote in her diary in December 1972, 'What am I to do? Stay in a cage - wide open to view, of course - and say nothing? That's not on but if I can do some good I'll certainly try' ... from national archives australia


according to her biographer susan mitchell, she was never afraid to speak her mind... "She was ahead of Gough and the Labor party in a lot of the things she said. Certainly she made it quite clear in her attitudes towards women's rights to have abortions, she even believed that marijuana should be legalised.  She said 'I have to be my own person, I'm not just going to be some ageing princess locked up in a tower." ... abc news

 

she is indeed held in high esteem… in an unprecedented move “Julia Gillard will today offer former PM Gough Whitlam and his family a state funeral for his wife Margaret. In a break with protocol, a state funeral to remember the woman who remade what it was to be Australia's first lady is thought to be the first for the wife of a PM.” ... news.com.au

joan kirner said of her death… “Though all of the papers and all of the biographies describe her as the former prime minister's wife, it's the wrong description. She was Margaret Whitlam, leader of women and leader in women's rights and achievements." ... abc news

seeing red...

what a morning... the mother had to go to the eye & ear hospital for a 9.30am appointment - doesn't sound too early hey, unless, of course, mornings are your worst time when elderly and infirm!!! so it was ringing her up at 7 to make sure she was okay and able to get up at that time... she was going to be able to do it so it was psyche-up time for me, then off around to her place for 8... 

being public transport users, and it being peak hour (usually extremely hard on me mum - 35-40 minutes standing upright is hard work for a frail 83 year old! and very few offer to give up a seat for the elderly these days!) we decided a cab was the best bet... but as that hadn't arrived after 20 minutes wait downstairs ("if you're ready and waiting now, the next available is on its way!") she wasn't hanging around... 

so it was back to catching a tram - and surprisingly it was relatively empty (must have been a lot of extended long weekend takers)... that tram only takes us a couple of stops though, and then it's onto another one - we catch the 112 at the terminus so we usually get a seat... we were travelling well all things considered - until, of course, the tram in front of us broke down!!!!! 

what can you do? nothing, so it was a matter of waiting patiently... luckily they had it moving within 15 minutes so we were still going to make it on time - my mother's always been one to be early (guess that's where i get it from) and panics even if she has plenty of time 'up her sleeve'... 

i was actually surprised when she asked me to go with her to this appointment - i always offer but she more often than not declines, her independence being important to her, but this time she wanted support - after today i can understand why...

this is the eye & ear hospital, right?! so, visual and aural - one might hazard a guess that everyone going there has a problem with either their sight or hearing?!i must have assumed wrong!

once we found the right floor - her letter hadn't arrived so we had no information as to where she had to go - i was astonished when, in a waiting room full of people - perhaps 50-60 - remember, hard of hearing and or seeing - they called out - ha, that's a joke, they virtually whispered in that environment! - the name of the next patient... the crescendo soon built though with "who", "did you call mrs...", "what was that", "what did they say"... lucky my hearing is good - i didn't want to miss judy's name being called out and ending up going to the back of the queue and waiting all day!!!!! 5 different clinics from the one area so then you have to scan every direction to see who is calling you and what direction they're sprinting off in... no, don't lose sight of them or you'll be lost in those little hidden away corridors forever...

i was to be astounded one more time though... when you finally get seen on this floor, then you're given your file and sent to another floor - "just follow the red (or black, or yellow) line (or whatever colour line goes to your department!!)" too bad if you have really, really poor vision like my mother (eye & ear hospital remember) - the result of kidney failure, glaucoma, diabetes, age (did i miss anything?)... oh, and nausea kicks in if she has to look up or down quickly or for any length of time...

we had to visit 3 different departments today, and i know why she wanted me with her now... she's losing her confidence and stoicism as her health declines, and these are scary places for our more frail senior citizens - they are invisible people who, without advocacy or support, get told nothing - they just get 'seen' and then moved on - they're stamped, dated and rotated... i was my mother's eyes & ears today... and i saw red... and black, and yellow...

this wasn't the post i had planned to write, but i'm still doing some research for that one after watching a documentary at the weekend, that'll be my next post...

for now though i'll leave you with the touching tale of suryia the orangutan and roscoe the dog that a friend sent me the other day... two lost and lonely beings who found friendship...

proud to be womon...

womyn's day... a day to remember the sisters who have fought to better womyn's lives - to reflect on gains won - to weep for the victims of violence - to rage at injustices still occurring - to support our sisters around the world in their struggles to survive brutal regimes, rape, poverty......

un womyn australia's theme this year is "womyn's economic empowerment"

it's a day to "celebrate the vital role women play in their families, communities and countries while recognising that significant barriers to achieving women's empowerment and gender equality continue to exist... from iwd website

it's a day to remember the past and re-evaluate the present... a day to stand up for the victims of violence, to rage at the atrocities committed against our bodies and our minds... a day to remember our non-human animal sisters cruelly and brutally treated because of their femaleness... a day to reflect on womyn's place in the world, our inter-connectedness with nature...

"...feminism and animal advocacy make natural allies given that it is the abuse of the reproductive capacity of female animals that perpetuates animal exploitation..." ruby hamad...

today is a day to embrace all things female...

hauntingly beautiful, profoundly moving...

okay, so i'm still experimenting with the colour scheme - i've tried a number of different colour combinations over the weekend (yeah, pretty much the whole weekend - well, apart from the 'necessary domestics' - you'd think i had nothing else to do!! - so many colours, so many decisions!!)... i do like this one the best so far though - except if the dark transparency between text and graphic doesn't 'kick in' you can barely read a thing - if that happens just refresh the page - feedback is welcome...

you might have noticed i've changed the background image from dingoes to a wolf... why? these magnificent creatures are a threatened species, with government sanctioned slaughter happening in many states in america now... this is in memory of those brutally slain in the last few months...

i've spent way too much time playing around with colours which means this is just a quick post - so i thought i'd share some of louise du toit's beautiful music... louise is a south african artist, musician, singer, composer, arranger, lyricist, actor, writer and painter and is "using her music and art to spread a worldwide message of environmental and wildlife preservation. Her most recent work includes a list of music videos for various animals rights organizations, aimed at raising awareness about the plight of animals in their struggle for survival" ... read more here

for the wolves...

for the brumbies...

i hope you enjoy these beautiful music clips... but if these aren't enough for you, you can view more of her wonderful creations here...