Saturday, December 31, 2016

Plunket and I, 2016

 It is summer in New Zealand. For many years, Mt Albert Baptist Church worked side by side with Plunket. We organised Christmas in the Rocket Park in New Zealand.

Today, I told my Swedish friend about this.






Many storylines of this book were based on my own life experiences. I was a Playgroup and Plunket mum. This book talks of a hotchpotch SAHM (Stay At Home Mums) jelled by a common denominator, the Playgroup.

Our church Mt Albert Baptist Church  decided to give the profits to Plunket. I was very happy because I benefited in a big way from Plunket when I was a young Mother.

I was organising my ESOL student volunteers to bbq the sausage sizzle.

I remember another event  when I overheard this lady saying that she is a Plunket lady. I went up to her and asked if she worked at Plunket Landscape Road, and she said yes. I asked if she worked there for a long time, and she said yes. As long as twenty years ago. She said yes.

I hugged her. In my heart, she is symbolic of all the good people who helped me when Andrew was alive. I told her that I was that mother whose baby died. It sort of completed my cycle just as I am writing my book and revisiting that horrible time.

The Plunket Nurse said her name is Jane and asked if I remembered the other nurse. I didn't remember their names or faces, but I remember their kind deeds. They took care of me and my children. Jane said she came to Plunket Landscape Road in 1990, and had heard of me. Of course, I was still going to Plunket in 1990 for my second daughter's excema problem and seeing Dr. Rowley.

Thank you Plunket. You are the “bestiest” as my ESOL kids tell me all the time.

Plunket’s Appeal raises vital funds for a wide variety of services , such as parenting education courses, car seat safety schemes, education in schools, toy libraries and many other valuable resources and programmes.

In the 80s, I was a young mum 3 times. I had no family in New Zealand. Plunket was family to me. Plunket's care was epitomised when I was sick when I was pregnant with Andrew and after he had died. I could never repay what Plunket did for me. I tried by collecting door to door, I tried by writing about Plunket. I wrote in detail about Plunket's help in my book and in my other posts.

Diary of a bereaved Mother http://annkitsuetchin.blogspot.co.nz/

http://ann-mythoughtsandphotos.blogspot.co.nz/2010/11/christmas-in-rocket-park-2010-and.html

http://annkschin.blogspot.co.nz/2009/06/plunket-society.html

But the Plunket Society, www.plunket.org.nz it was different, for once I wasn't the giver. I was a recipient of their work.

When I was a young mum, I didn't have immediate family with me. It was hard especially when I was sick when I was pregnant with my third child. The Plunket society had volunteers and nurses in their Plunket rooms. When things were getting too difficult for me, all I had to do was to call them, and they would come to pick me and my girls D and G up. If I had a sleepless night, there was a comfortable room and bed for me to catch my nine winks and they would take care of my girls.

It is 27 years ago when I used their services. I am most appreciative of the last service they rendered me. They came when I called them, and one of the ladies drove me to the doctor when they felt I was really sick. I threw up in her car, and she said it was OK. She waited for me at the doctor's. The doctor said my pregnancy wasn't too good and told me to go to the hospital. The plunket lady drove me to the hospital where I was admitted. The other ladies took care of D and G until the water engineer could come to pick them up. It was a Monday. I was discharged the next day.

Andrew was born that Friday. He died shortly after. The plunket ladies sent me a card and told me that I could always go back to their rooms. I didn't like to go back because there was always babies there and I couldn't bear to see babies. But my daughter G had bad allergies and I had to take her there to see Dr. Rowley. The nurses knew that I wasn't sleeping well, and told me to rest while they took care of Gabrielle. Then I went to Singapore and never thanked them properly.

In my latest book, The Playgroup Club, I wrote about the Plunket helping young mothers. http://annplaygroup.blogspot.co.nz/2016/11/the-play-group-club.html



Tuesday, December 27, 2016

ABC Letter Y for year





At the end of year, we have end of year shared lunch , a student brought yam/taro cake.

https://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz/

abcw19groot


Image may contain: table, food and indoor

Thursday, December 22, 2016

ABC Letter X for Christmas/Xmas:How to serve Christmas Pudding

Xmas is a common abbreviation of the word Christmas. It is sometimes pronounced /ˈɛksməs/, but Xmas, and variants such as Xtemass, originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation /ˈkrɪsməs/. The "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός, which in English is "Christ". 
Origins:   The abbreviation of 'Xmas' for 'Christmas' is neither modern nor disrespectful. The notion that it is a new and vulgar representation of the word 'Christmas' seems to stem from the erroneous
belief that the letter 'X' is used to stand for the word 'Christ' because of its resemblance to a cross, or that the abbreviation was deliberately concocted "to take the 'Christ' out of Christmas."http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/xmasabbr.asp http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/xmasabbr.asp

https://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz/

abcw19groot






My friend A, gave me this English Christmas pudding. It is the real McCoy, she made it herself from her old English recipe.

Here is my sister Grace demonstrating, "How to serve Pudding."

1: Steam the pudding
2: Pour brandy over the pudding.
3: Light the pudding until it flames all over,
4: Smell the delicious aroma.
5: Eat the pudding with custard and ice cream

Here is my lovely niece Jessie eating the pudding.



Thursday, December 15, 2016

abc wed, letter W






A water closet is a room that contains a flush toilet, usually accompanied by a washbowl or sink, and the term may also be used to refer specifically to a flush toilet. We used to call it a WC in Borneo when I was growing up.

What fascinated me was the wooden seat and cover. Many years ago, a New Zealand friend said he preferred the wooden seat because it didn't feel cold when you sit on this.

This is a water closet in a wooden building in 1860s. I went out west to see this building because it fitted exactly the imagination of a venue of the B&B I wrote in my book, "The Playgroup Club" where many young women went.

The Falls Restaurant out West in Henderson.

https://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz/

abcw19klein

Monday, December 5, 2016

ABC Wed, Letter V for villain


Is a pirate a villain? Kids love them. When I was teachings, kids like dressing up, even if it was only a patch.

https://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz/ 

abcw19klein

Friday, December 2, 2016

Photohunt: Lightning



Sorry, no lightning, the aftermath of a storm

They believed in the elements, and retribution. Terrible storms, howling winds, lightning flashes, cascading rain and thunder roaring were believed that the wrath of the Gods were incurred and the Gods were striking someone to death. One of the worst curse one could bestow on another would be “May the thunder strike you to death.” Hence, in this book, various scenarios of storms are narrated.
One afternoon, we had a bad tropical storm.
Lightning struck,
Thunder clapped,
Rain bucketed ,
Trees up rooted.
Flower pots tumbled,
Flash floods filled the basement,
I lied in bed with my duvet over my head.

FSO: My writing little corner

 

 I spend a lot of time here.

My favorite little corner [Friday My Town Shoot Out]

 

http://mytownshootout.blogspot.co.nz/ 

What is your favorite little corner in your town or city. From homes and streets to pubs and restaurants. Where do you feel cozy?