Yesterday I did something I have been wanting to do for years but have never done before.  I went to a stamp club.  I thank Merril for her willingness to drive and be a part of the day.  It went from 2pm to about 3.30pm.
The day sort of made up for the days before.  One I had designated a rest day.  But one day became two.  Sorta reminds me of a joke I saw.  I guy tells another “never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”  The other guy says “beady.  I was going to have tomorrow off.”  I had 2 days off.
Yesterday was different though.  We did the market first thing.  We did well and were able to give our food pantry about $50.  Then I set up a place we have church.  Then we went to Trash and Treasure and dropped off stuff there.  After that we bought lunch and ate it hurriedly before heading to Caboolture for the stamp club meeting that meets on the 3rd Saturday every month.
I was interested to see who went.  It actually felt little different from what I see regularly.  It seemed appropriate it was held in the Senior Citizens Hall.  The youngest would have been forty something.  Most were 50 and up.  There would have been about 30.
We were made to feel welcome and accepted.  One reason was probably more by accident than design.  They ran a raffle with 4 winners.  It was $2 for three tickets.  Merril and I bought 6 tickets.  We won 2 of the 4 prizes as 2 of our numbers were drawn.
I found the club procedure interesting.  They have a meeting for 5 minutes or so which is just telling what has happened and setting up for the day.  The next 50 or so minutes everyone looks at folders supplied by attendants advertising the stamps they have for sale.  Anyone can claim a stamp they want by writing on what is like a library borrowing form.  It has the book and page of the stamp claimed is located.
One thing is obvious.  The stamps are really cheap.  They have an auction at 3pm of collections for sale by attendees.  Again they can go for very little.  Merril bought a fist day cover book for $5.  There were also other items for sale provided by a stamp dealer.  
Worthwhile I reckon.  We sat opposite some other newbies.  It was their second time.  He was born in what was then Rhodesia.  He has never lived in Zimbabwe as he was in Australia before it became that.  His wife is a born here Australian.  We met and were talking to others.
Time well spent I reckon but from a people and procedure point of view.  We will be back.

Double Trouble
“Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.”  That to me is a sombre saying but I reckon there is some truth in it.
It seems to me there are times in my life when what is thought or said by me is either misunderstood or not agreed with and requires that I stand alone.
This is not times of stubbornness or rejecting what all are saying for no other reason than “because”, but times where my words are taken a way unintended.  It can result from others listening to speak rather than listening to hear or someone having no idea what was intended in the first place and interpreting something in a way totally unintended.
I have been doing a bit of reading lately about talking with others.  One of the things that has stood out to me big time is the importance of listening.  It is important to the point of, if possible,  repeating back to the sayer what they have said. The intention is that the speaker corrects or further explains any thing not heard the way intended.
 It is funny but it is not safe to assume another’s understanding of a term or phrase is the same way I see it.  When not repeated back to the sayer it is so possible to hear what is not being said.  There is an assumption that a particular phrase means one thing when it totally means another.
Newspaper Headlines contain a wealth of double meanings.  For example “New Obesity Study Looks for Larger Test Group” sounds like the obesity study is looking for larger people for their test group.  Or “Criminals Get Nine Months in Violin Case” sounds like the criminals will spend nine months inside a violin case. (https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/examples-double-entendre).  Another example I saw was from popular culture.  A guy may be described as “hot.”  Is their temperature being referred to, or their looks?
My outlook is that some things are worth explaining, and many are not.  I could spend a lot of time explaining or defending a stance yet the value of such a thing to me is dependent on the hearer.  If they are content only to hear what they want to hear I am wasting my time explaining.  If on the other hand someone really wants to understand then explaining is time well spent.
What matters to me is I am true to myself.  I cannot determine what another ultimately hears, but if I am open and true to myself, I am in a position to embrace or discard a view.

Merril and I got married in this home in 2012.  For all the time since, we have had a view of a tree in a neighbouring yard.  A huge tree.  A tree considered a weed in some states.  A tree the type of which lines the footbaths in Toowoomba.  A Camphor laurel.   Not a native tree.  But a beautiful looking tree to me.
But as of yesterday, the view of that tree is no more.   The owner of the home passed away and the new owners cut it down.  I reckon it had to go.  It did nothing for the owner of the property except perhaps provide shade.  It was so big it really took up any space in the back yard.
One thing I do know is it provided shelter and homes for many birds.  I personally have never seen so much bird activity in our tree after that one came down. I reckon the birds were just checking out the joint.
We had to go out in the morning and the people chopping the tree down were just getting started.  We had some way smaller trees removed a while ago including one larger one.  Merril said to the guy removing the tree, “you guys love dealing with bigger trees don’t you?”  She was met with an enthusiastic yes.  The ones dealing with the Camphor Laurel must have been in like 7th heaven.  It was huge.
We do wonder if that was where our crow nested.  He and the wife used to fly off in that direction after a feed.  We have seen him since, but not her yet.  She is way shyer.
When we returned home after lunch, they had dealt with much of the tree but still had a ways to go.  From time to time, Merril and I would wander out the back to check progress.  Removing something that size seems a real art.  Timbers that were huge were dropped safely with ease.  They were then quickly mulched.
We are sorry but not sorry to see it go.  We love trees but this one seemed to be more of a pest than an asset to the owner.  I was talking to a friend of the former owner and he said he was there when it was planted.  He rued it happening.
Anyway, I reckon the birds must be used to moving on these days.