Grace Notes...Grandmothers and Grandfathers

Ferry passing, Sydney Harbour

Dear Friends,

It's been wild here in Sydney these past weeks. Since I last wrote, Mr. H flew into Sydney for a week and flew back out to Hong Kong. We had a wonderful time, celebrating a wedding anniversary, catching up with family and friends, exploring and discovering four more Australian Aboriginal paintings to add to our Tahilla Farm art collection. I love them all but am particularly excited by the one below. It measures 4' by 6.7' and will hopefully hang above our kitchen island. We have been wanting something special for that space and as soon as it graced our presence we knew it was the one. 

"Art does not reproduce the visible; 

rather, it makes visible." 

– Paul Klee

New addition to Tahilla Farm
Painted by Australian Aboriginal artist, Walangkura Napanangka

I am feeling like a "good mum" these days. It's all about "the boy' at the moment. Mrs. H and my youngest son, Connor, are in serious study mode while he prepares for his final high school exams. Two down and four to go. Once the last paper is passed in we pack out bags for Hong Kong and Tahilla Farm. I am still SO, SO, SO excited!! 

Feeling Grand....
I  want to thank you so much for your kind notes and messages on our impending journey into 'grandparenthood'. Mr. H and I are delighted to read that there are so many of you who are well versed in the subject and can guide us along. 

I have had many questions about what I plan to call myself. Granny, Grandma, Nana...?

As you may have guessed by now, I am not one to think simply. If there is a chance to add an unusual twist to something, I will. I have to think of every possibility and then some and usually find myself right back where I started....but I feel better for the exploration...in case there are any lingering doubts.

My process for picking grandmother names has been interesting to say the least.

I should start by saying that Mr. H has had his name in waiting since we met, "Beau Pa" after his maternal grandfather. His maternal grandmother was "Mimi". 

My grandmothers were called "Gub" or "Gubby" and "Nana". My mother assumed "Nana" when her time came along. My stepmother is "Nonie". 

Mr. H's mother is "Mere" and his father was"Mugwup"...that's a long story. ;)

My list..

Gigi, Jiji, GG... yes, they all sound the same, and yes, I was going for something like that but I nixed them because they didn't feel like 'me'.

These two came to mind while we were on safari, named after African animals...Kudu and Puku..in the end we decided these would be better suited for future dogs. I also feared that a toddler might turn one of those into "Dudu"...pass.

Kuku... I decided this was to close to the truth and would have my grandchildren and children in stitches for years to come...I am ok with a good laugh at my expense, but not for the rest of my life. ;)

Considering my Irish heritage (O'Neil) I thought the following might be nice....
Seanmháthair...Irish translation for grandmother meaning "old mother"...in the end I felt I did not want to spend my days explaining that one away. 

More Irish....

Máthair mhór "great mother"...I would be more than happy to explain this one and or Máthair chríona "mother of the heart" but decided that the pronunciation could be 'iffy' for toddlers and adults who are not well versed in Gaelic. I am not...which could be painful. I have enough trouble with "Henriques" and always having to spell out H-E-N-R-I-Q-U-E-S...and then sighing when people pronounce it "Henricks". In case you are wondering HEN REE KISS..is the way we pronounce it. 

Other possibilities for my "grand' name..

Oma- German

Nonna- Italian

Avo- Portuguese (Henriques heritage)

Bibi- Swahili

Mata- Indian 

Kuia- Maori 

Tutu- Hawaiian

Gigi- Ukrainian

Yaya- Greek

Mawmaw- Cajun

After considering and anguishing over all of the above, I still was no closer to a finalist. Weeks went  by....

Then one day, I decided. 

It should be "Mimi"

For Mr. H's Beau Pa and his Mimi.

Done. 

I am ready for grandchildren now.  :)


In other news...

Glenmore Giveaway
I want to congratulate Deborah Bray for winning  The House and Gardens at Glenmore book Giveaway. This truly is one of my favourite books. During my time in Sydney I have had the pleasure of meeting the author, Mickey Robertson, twice. I attended one of her cooking classes with Belinda Jeffery (another favourite) and have two more events to go before I leave Sydney,  A Herbal Garden Workshop with Anthia Koulloros  and Open Garden for Matilda Dumas Exhibition. Truth be told...I would love to do something like this at Tahilla Farm one day. Always nice to have a dream or two....and Mickey to inspire me. 

Taking flight, Glenmore House

Sydney Postcards
If you asked for a postcard, it should be on it's way. I had a slight miscalculation (must have been while I was pondering grandmother names) and bought more postcards and stamps than I actually need. If you missed out and would like one, you can write to me by any social media platform you choose (see links below) or email me jeannecollageoflife@gmail.com 

Postcard days in Sydney

GRACE NOTES

Once upon a time I wrote about grace notes. I first read the expression in the book Playing with Water...A Story of a garden by Australian author, Kate Llewellyn.  The book is "meditation on nature, on community and on the cycle of life". As soon as I read Kate's interpretation of grace notes in relation to her garden I knew they would appear in my life again and again. 

Growing on our verandah in Sydney
Murraya

"Behind the pine, a Murraya, or mock orange bush, 

had been planted flat up against the bedroom window. 

There was another Murraya at the front fence 

in a corner of the drive. These were in full bloom 

and their orange-blossom scent wafted around. 

Every life, every house and every garden 

needs grace notes. 

These two bushes gave them and I took heart."

Playing with Water...A Story of a garden 

by Kate Llewellyn

I couldn't agree more...every life needs grace notes. I see them as those moments that come in and out of our life and give us pause. No matter the size and or gesture. 

I would like to add grace notes to your life...just as you have done to mine.

In doing so, I will share a few grace note from a fellow Collage of Life reader, Francine from Quebec. She has sent me several in the past weeks. I am happy to share them with you and hope you might want to pass them along...

Grace Note #1

 La vie est une fleur dont l’amour est le miel. 

(Life is a flower whose love is honey.)

 – Victor Hugo

Flower market, Sydney

Grace Note #2

Beauty and the art of writing...by Veronica Halim

A Personalized Art

Grace Note #3

« For travelers, the stars are guides. »

The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

With thanks to Francine 

for passing along these lovely grace notes.

And always...to you my friend.

Thank you for reading along.

Jeanne xx

You can find me...

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

jeannecollageoflife@gmail.com

or 

our and about in Sydney.

:)