ILLAWARRA EVENING GROUP
What have these ladies of the night been up to this year?
For the ladies of our group, Anne Innes, Betty Kitchener, Christine Marks, Robyn Foster, Suzanne Perram,
Lucy Kennedy and Bev Shaw, the year began with a planning day lunch at The Passionate Palate at Forest
Grove Estate, Kanahooka, a popular place for us to meet as it is quiet, bright and serves quality, tasty food.
We had a lovely time putting together our plans for 2017.
TOPICS:
Looking Outside the Square: Easy or difficult?
February
The one thing we realised is, that to even begin searching for another way around a situation, we have to
“unpick” some of what we have been taught as the ‘normal’ or ‘correct’ way to analyse, perform or carry
out the happenings that make up our lives, to set realistic outcomes. Which duties are more important and
should demand our focus… TIMEKEEPING, HOUSE KEEPING (Oh goodness… is that dust on the cabinet),
COOKING HEALTHY MEALS, meaningful FAMILY TIME, creating and nurturing FRIENDSHIPS. The one area
that deserves a lot of thinking outside of the square to be worthwhile and creative… is attention to our
PERSONAL SELF… our wellbeing, health, what I would like to achieve and my talents!!! Yes, even
acknowledging that I have talents worth nurturing is something I was always taught should be ‘last on my
list’. ONE OF OUR BEST ASSETS AS FAR AS FINDING WAYS TO THINK OUTSIDE OF THE SQUARE… or SEE
THE BIGGER PICTURE… is the INTERNET and not forgetting THE PRINTED PAGES, BOOKS! How many
hours do we sit searching, reading and learning from this great “tool” or reading the books available to give
insight into WHAT ELSE IS “OUT THERE”? Some of us spend a lot of time doing this but don’t often act on
what we would truly love to do… because of a lifetime of being told that “near enough is good enough”.
NO, IT ISN’T! The older we get the more we realise there is so much more out there and so much more to
achieve, in little ‘bites’ is good.
My Treasured Possessions: Show and Tell
March
What a lovely, diverse mix of treasures were displayed for us to see!
Suzanne – Two beautifully knitted jumpers from her
youth, and a jade and gold brooch. One jumper was
handmade by her Grandmother when Suzanne was quite
young and the other was knitted by her mother being the
last one her Mum made before she passed away. Both
jumpers are made from quality wool that has stood the
test of time and look as though they were made
yesterday. The third item was the exquisite jade brooch
set in a swirl of gold. Suzanne was given this when just a
little girl so it had never been worn, put away safely for another time. That time came when preparing to
go to a family wedding in more recent times and a green coloured brooch would just set the outfit off
nicely… wait a moment… there was one! It fitted the picture perfectly and is now in sight and in mind.
Betty – A shaving mug belonging to her father (that’s treasure enough) but the mug was a ceramic with a
floral embellishment, made back over a century ago! What a great treasure to have. No cracks, no marks,
in perfect condition! Betty holds the treasure in her mind’s eye of standing watching her Dad shave in the
mornings when she was a little girl. The mug now sits on Betty’s bed side table. What an affectionate,
loving story.
Christine - A golden flower on an intricate gold chain, embedded with what appeared to be a tiny pink
8 actual type of jewel in the middle of the moulded gold
garnet. This belonged to Christine’s mother and the