It's that time of year again...

How the time goes. It was time again to host my dear wee ladies from our local Elmslie house.

This time the rain got in the way... but not really.

The ladies came inside as opposed to sitting out in the garden. We were going to make willow wreaths and decorate them with little flowers but the rain was persistent so inside we were .

 I got out my stamps and we all made a card then popped it in an envelope (ready stamped) and later out to the mailman they went.

The garden was lovely with all the blossoms but very drippy wet.

These catkins always impress me ,one of my grand daughters once called them " Callipitters" .I always think of them as that. 

Although you can't see it well, they gave off such a purple tinge.

The wonderful cook at Elmslie had again made a lovely picnic a soothing vegetable soup, little ham and mustard sandwiches, adorable and delicious meat pies (I really want that recipe) and a lovely looking soft loaf of what could have been gingerbread.

I said it before ..How lucky these residents are to have such delicious food.

It takes very special people to choose this vocation..that of minding, caring and  nurturing our aging population.

Like Nurses, Doctors Educators ...these are some of the  people that  work tirelessly for the good of others.

I commend the lovely people that work at Elmslie ...I go there to visit "Great Grandmama" ( and then not enough) and notice it always looks and smells clean and fresh ( the amazing smells coming from the kitchen don't go unnoticed by my nose).The staff are always so gentle kind and welcoming.

Yes it really takes a special person to do this work.

The ladies were so interesting each sharing tidbits from their lives. I feel so privileged to be able to share time with these lovely octogenarians . As I get older I realise what a reservoir of information and experience humans collect over time and how precious it is to be able to impart something small to the younger generation.

For me the lesson I got from these lovely ladies was "Humour" it's a tonic.

One wee lady suggested to me that it is also very important to stay interested in new ideas.

Before leaving the ladies wandered the garden.The quail made a special showing and even Mrs Bellbird sang her lovely song.

Till Autumn people ...when you will all return to collect walnuts apples and blackboy peaches...

Without fullness of experience, length of days is nothing. When fullness of life has been achieved, shortness of days is nothing. That is perhaps why the young have usually so little fear of death; they live by intensities that the elderly have forgotten.

Lewis Mumford