Patra's Other Place

I started out with Patra's Place, primarily dedicated to my linen collection and stitching projects. But I kept getting side-tracked, so I decided to create Patra's Other Place for anything not related to embroidery topics. So you now have a choice. If you are interested in me, read this. If you only want to see my linen and stitching, visit Patra's (original) Place! (Please note that by clicking on any of the photos, they will be enlarged to fill your computer screen.)

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Location: Melbourne, Vic., Australia

I was married to Ken for 43 years, but he died in October 2022. So I am now alone with two cats, eight hens, and a few finches and parrots in one aviary.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

I'm back. Sort of....

One of our computer expert friends (R) came over and restored my computer back to being useful, which is good except that it doesn't work exactly as it did before in some respects.  I logged into the bank to make some online payments and discovered that it wouldn't let me select from the menu of which account to use.  If I can't tell the bank which account to use to pay bills (i.e. credit, cheque, etc) I can't go any further!  So I had to sign out, then move over to Ken's laptop again to go online to the bank and start again.   Grrrr.
It was a pop up thingy that caused the problem, and I did all sort of things to try and fix it - enabling and disabling pop up blockers, etc. but nothing worked.   Back to the expert next week.

The other thing I can't do now is click on the blog links on my side bar.  Well, I can click on them, and keep clicking for 10 minutes, but nothing happens.  The blog page I want won't open.  So I can't visit any of my blog friends unless they leave a comment here and I click on their name, which will then take me to their blog.  Most of the time.  

And Microsoft Office has disappeared from the computer which means I can't type any documents.  R said I wouldn't be able to type on my blogs, or emails or anything, but I haven't had any problem doing either of those things.  

Oh well, R didn't charge me anything for fixing it, and it took him about four hours.  All I could offer him was an invitation to stay to tea, as it was after 6 pm by then, and as he is a single lad, he was happy to stay on for a meal.   All these art and craft course I do are really no help with the practical side of life in the 21st century.  Perhaps I should book myself in for a computer course instead.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Silence at this end.

If it is not one thing, it's another.  I haven't felt like blogging since MIL died, and there is too much going on here anyway.   Nothing worth posting on a blog.  Just stuff that needs to be done.  But now my computer has crashed and burned.  Well, according to a friend who came around to check it out for me, he said it is not that bad.  Just a corrupt file on the registry, and he should be able to get some software to fix it.  Whatever the problem is, the fact remains I can't use it, so I'm doing this on Ken's new laptop.  Ken didn't want me to do any blog stuff on here at first; said he doesn't want his computer to crash too, but I managed to convince him that it was nothing to do with blogging that caused mine to crash.  I know that for a fact because when it happened, I was checking the Tattslotto numbers online.  Maybe the lotto website had a virus attached to it?  I don't know.  Anyway, for the time being I can't post any pictures anywhere, and can't send or receive emails, so you needn't return to any of my blogs in the near future, and if you email me, don't expect an answer!  I'll check back here now and then just in case anyone wants to contact me for some reason.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Thank you.

Ken and I have been touched by the sympathy messages left here in response to my post about his Mother's passing. The funeral was on Monday and was a truly beautiful service with lots of lovely tributes. Among the guests at the service were some of my blog friends and their partners, and I take this opportunity of thanking them again for their love and support at this time. (Of course they are much more than just 'blog friends' now! I just mentioned that because that is how I got to know them).


It really hasn't been such a terrible time, because Ken and his sister are very lucky to have had their Mum for so long. Of course they will miss her, but we also have such happy memories of her, we can't be sad for too long. We still have some issues to tidy up, but I hope to be back with regular posts on my blogs soon. Thanks again to my readers.

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Death came quickly.

Happy New year to all those who read this blog.  I won't be blogging for a week or so.  Ken's Mum died on New Year's Eve.   Ken and I were there with his sister and her hubby.  We had been taking turns in holding her hand when her breathing became shallow, she opened her eyes, gave a little sigh, and that was it.  The hours leading up to that were not pleasant with her lungs struggling for air, but it was quick in the end, so we felt at peace with her.
We cleaned out her room at the Home today, and will be seeing the funeral parlour tomorrow to set a date and choose a casket.  Funeral will probably be next week some time, and that will be the end of an era.  She was the last to go in her generation.  We are next in line.   Your mortality suddenly kicks you in the face when this happens, doesn't it.

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