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[Page 57]
It was really amazing how cheaply we did live in those days. I think those days taught me how to be a good economist.
We do have 3 bantams (1 rooster) Jack. 2 hens. (Betty and Ginger) and they used to lay their eggs all over the place in bushes etc. and sometimes one of them kept disappearing and finally they would come home with their little family but somehow they used to disappear until we found out the water rats were eating them, so when they started laying again, I used to look and look till I found the eggs and use them.
Well another Christmas has gone and young Albert is growing and Merle and Beryl well they chattered together in their own way and by now I have a pram which I bought for I0/- (ten shillings) cane too, so I used to take the three of them with me now to do the shopping in Rockdale, actually it was a very pleasant place to live, right on the water. By now Ray has 4 dogs training them for Percy Jones and Burt Furze, and also we are really building up the dog rug business and buying the goods with our profits to make more money. March came and Beryl has her 2nd birthday. I have missed a little piece but I can slip it in here, it will not matter as it happened just before Beryl was born. My mother found out where we were living from Nanna Wood and she came out to tell me that my grandmother had died and when the funeral was and by the way Nanna Wood was with her and Nanna said to me "I will come with you". So that being settled my mother said she would go and Nanna stayed awhile but she knew where the funeral was going from and too. So Nanna met me on the day, it was only 2 days after mother had been, so coming back in the car from the funeral she said to me "if there is anything of Gran's you would like tell me", and I said. "well I would like her machine as I have not got one". "Oh" she said. "I can not give you that as I am going to keep it and sell mine to help pay for the funeral". she said "I will leave gran's cutlery and clothes at the Manly Wharf Quay side and you can pick them up". I said goodbye to her and from that day to this I never bothered about going to pick up anything and I would not know if she left the things there or not. Now Nanna Wood came back with me to our place and talking about it to her, she said to me that the funeral would cost more than 3 machines in good order so that's a lie and believe me I know the cost of funerals as I have been amongst them too long not to know. (Fancy forgetting to put all that in!).
Anyway when I wanted to make things for the children I would change the thread, needle and tension on Uncle Alberts machine, it was O.K. Now we are coming up to Merles 4th birthday in August 1934. Nanna Wood took her to have her photo taken at Lamaios in Newtown and Nanna had given her 2 pennies (twopence) to hold and the photographer wanted to take them from her and give her a doll to hold, but Merle would not be in that one at all, and she still loves her pennies. As we always used to say the pennies make shillings and the shillings make pounds, we were all very careful.
I said to my husband "I don't want to be here next year as Merle will be five and she will have to go to school", he agreed as I told him when we went there to the beach I did not mind so long as we were away