February, 2022
Zora
I met Zora at the very end of last year. Both of us had advertised on a dating site called Match.com. She liked the older of several pictures that I had up there so ticked me with a "like". But she thought that might be misinterpreted as a general endorsement so on Christmas day, 2021, she sent me an explanatory message as follows.
"Hi, I like your photos from earlier age. I would be in love with you. But you can still return your clock back if you go to healthy nutrition. That means go to 80,10,10 raw vegan diet, means not cooked food and no food from animals. Maybe you can go and with just fruit diet. Regards Zora"
A rather mixed message but a nice Christmas present. Her self-summary was:
"I am an honest person, intellectual, curious, want to learn new things. I believe in nature and God"
The picture that she particularly liked. She says she liked my broad forehead. It is a picture from my 70th birthday
Below is the picture of herself that she supplied. Note: No wrinkles, not bad for a lady in her 70s.
A surprising thing I found is that she is a Serb and that her degree is in mechanical engineering from the University of Belgrade . That is quite a departure. Nearly all of the ladies in my past have very much been from my own community. Though she and I might at a stretch be said to belong to the same Volk. She certainly thinks we do. She says that my very Northern colouring -- blue eyes and fair skin -- make me a "good Serb". She herself has rather Mediterranean colouring. "Zora" means "Dawn" in Serbian. She is also known by the diminutive "Zorica"
We actually met over lunch at my favourite coffee lounge on New Year's Eve, which is sort of prophetic.
We went on to have various lunches at my place, with me supplying raw food, as requested. For a while we had lunches only as her weight control discipline is to have breakfast and lunch only: No dinner. But my bedroom was next door the lunch table so the time of the day did not matter much. We were soon lovers -- on our 4th meeting.
She did eventually come over for dinner instead of lunch and that went very well. Several happy sighs from her while we were in bed together spoke volumes to me
Zora is a passsionate Serb however so storms between us soon ensued. I dealt with the storms with my usual Anglo-Saxon calm, however, so all is now serene. Even the dreaded M-word has been mentioned
Two pictures of her at my place below:
She has a very trim figure, not bad for a lady in her 70s
La Belle Dame sans Merci
Autism can be both a blessing and a curse and I have had both. But two autistics together can work rather well. Zora is also a high-functioning autistic. And that seems to facilitate our understanding of one-another. It was a bit amusing recently when I bought her a small gift and she simply rejected it outright and without apology. She just said she did not want it.
A normal lady would have politely accepted it out of respect for the giver if not out of respect for the gift. But tactless bluntness is a major fault of autism so I was not at all offended. I have myself too often offended in that way. I am inclined to suspect that our shared high-functioning autism is a major thing draws Zora and me to one-another.
Did you get the classical allusion in the heading above? It is copied from a famous poem by Keats. It means "the beautiful but thankless lady".
Another picture of La belle dame. She is only 5'1" but very lively
The intellectual dimension
Zora seems to be strongly attached to me despite my refusal to adopt her unusual dietary and medical beliefs. So I suspect we are together for the long haul. I will certainly do nothing to hinder that. I am normally quite faithful to the lady in my life so that will be true again
But I do have a need for very intellectual discourse. Since my autism makes me freakishly intellectual, however, I have always accepted that no lady in my life could provide that. Fortunately, however, there was one occasion where my wishes of that sort were met. With JHM I did have an intellectual peer in my life. I don't ever expect to have that again but it would be very nice if I did.
But Zora has mentioned both Herodotus and Oedipus so that looks like an unusual familiarity with high culture
And when Zora wanted to mock me as being idle (I am) she quite appositely referred to me as being an Oblomov, which is an allusion to a classic 19th century Russian novel. So her cultural level seems quite high, though with different reference points to mine.
Serbian has a lot of similarities to Russian so Russian is an easy language for a Serb to learn. So a primary awareness of Russian literature is to be expected in a Serb. Whereas my orientation is of course to English literature, with a bit of German thrown in.
Musical compatibility
So when Zora contacted me I was pleased that she liked Bach. Bach does things to me. And during an afternoon together recently, she asked me to put on some Schumann -- which I was delighted to do. I put on my favourite Schumann: Kinderszenen. You have to be a real classical devotee to have heard of Schumann so Zora and I are very compatible musically. She makes me a happy man
Elderly outings
I am the elderly one. Zora walks miles at the drop of a hat. So I rarely drop hats.
Note the undropped hat
Isn't she gorgeous?
Living with Zora (as of Wednesday, March 2, 2022)
ADDENDUM
While Zora was "housekeeping" at my place she showed a rare talent for Ikebana. Below are two lettuces in one of my vases
A small but amusing episode (from 16 March, 2022)
It was rather warm this afternoon so Zora and I were lying together in bed with an airconditioner above us putting out a pretty good icy blast.
At one point I leant over to give Z a kiss, which was of course welcomed. When I pulled away from the kiss, Z said, "You are cold like a snake" -- which cracked me up. She was referring to my face being cold from the airconditioner blowing on it. I said, "That's a strange thing to say to a man who has just given you a kiss."
She saw the point and said. "It's my autism" -- which it was. Being autistic myself I am well used to autistic bluntness. I often sabotage myself that way. I once lost a lover because of it
Anyway, a picture of the guilty party below. Like a lot of ladies she is into clothes and, fortunately, I like her taste. I thought the blouse below was particularly pretty.
Beside the seaside (March 18, 2022)
Zora asked me to take her to the beach. Such a request in Brisbane would normally elicit a trip "down the coast" to Surfers Paradise, Greenmount, Currumbin etc. And in the days of my youth, I often pointed my sky-blue VW beetle in that direction.
It is now many years since I have been there however and in my declining years I have a considerable aversion to sitting in traffic for the hour or so that such a trip entails.
So I took Zora to the beach at Manly, which is only half an hour's drive from where I live. It's not much of a beach but it is a reasonable venue for a picnic lunch, which is how I approached it. Zora was not too disappointed by it and we managed to have one of the raw food lunches that Zora insists on.
After lunch was the big test however. Z wanted me to join her sunbaking on the beach. Given what the sun has given me in the form of skin cancer, however it is many years since I have exposed my lily-white skin to the sun.
But I am a reformed man these days. Instead of frequently saying No to outing requests from a female partner, I am these days doing what I can to oblige. So I agreed to join Zora in the sun but added a warning that I doubted my ability to get up from lying on the beach.
And so it was. In my elderly State I was unable to get up even if Zora lent me a hand. There was a fit young man nearby however so Zora asked him for help. He obliged and I was able to stand up in a rather wobbly state.
So Zora did get a bit of time sunbaking but not much. With her trim and tanned little body she looked a real surfer chick.
On the way home my driving scared the wits out of Zora a few times but no harm befell us.
A VERY mixed day -- 18 April, 2022
Zora and I had arranged to go out for lunch yesterday. She arrived at my place very late, however, as she often does. It was nearly 3pm when she arrived at Stone's corner and restaurants mostly close at 2:30 after lunch. And the ones we were thinking of were all closed.
All was not lost however as there was a small cafe open just down the road which had a good menu. So we went there
The seating, however consisted of backless stools -- so as I was settling in I leaned back and promptly fell off -- falling flat on my back on the floor. I didn't feel hurt anywhere so, after a couple of kind people helped me up, I continued with my meal. I had a burrito that I thought was very good and Zora liked her vegetable salad
On the way, home, however, I felt a lot of stabbing pains in my chest and suspected that I had damaged a rib in my fall. Zora and I however continued our date and had a very nice time for a few hours. It was one of the more congenial times we have spent together. So she want home in a happy state and sent me a very affectionate email when she got home.
The downside was however my injury. Jenny took me to the Wesley this morning for a scan and they confirmed that I have a small rib break on the upper left near my shoulder So it is not very serious and should heal well enough on its own. They think that I will be pain-free in a couple of weeks.
So it was good to confirm my warm relationship with Zora but bad that I broke a rib. If I move carefully, I can avoid much pain from the break.
Pearls -- 13 May 2022
I bought Zora a string of pearls. It is a small one as she likes small jewelery
She really liked the pearls. She said it was something that she had wanted. So here is another pic of her as she arrived this afternoon, looking pretty as usual. I really like the way she dresses.
I liked the matching shoes and jumper
Breaking my rib on 18 April greatly restricted what I can do. So it has affected our relationship quite a bit. She has remained affectionate and understanding but I have been unable to cuddle her, which we have both greatly missed. I am slowly healing however so today was the first day after 4 weeks that we were able to cuddle. Most pleasing
Gifts -- 8 May, 2022
As the Apostle Paul said: It is more blessed to give than to receive. I have always believed that. And because of some good decisions in my earlier life, I accumulated substantial financial assets. And I have even managed to hang on to the assets so far. Making money is one thing but hanging onto it is another. A lot of people make big money but then go on to lose it.
So I am in a position to give gifts to people in my orbit. Most of my gifts have been quite small but some have been quite large. I have even given cars on some occasions.
One thing I have often done is give small items of costume jewellery to Anne. I have put up pictures on this blog of some of the items concerned. I seem to have a good handle on her taste so I often buy the items before she sees them and they mostly seem to go down well.
And I now have a girlfriend in the form of Zora so I have started to give her things too. Below is a bracelet I recently bought her. She was with me when I bought it and it was something she herself selected. I thought it was particularly pretty so give a picture of it below
Smile -- 29 May, 2022
Zora and I did particularly well together today. Her smile may tell you that
I saw Joe in the morning and Zora arrived about 3pm for our customary late lunch cum early dinner. She arrives as late as 4pm for it. Given my own Germanic habits of punctuality it should bother me but I just accept it as some sort of Mediterranean thing and allow for it.
A fun day on 10 June, 2022
Very low-key fun but perhaps that is the best sort.
Below is the raw-food dinner she put in front of me. It was a pleasant and colourful composition -- and probably good for me as well
And below is the composer of that dinner, looking as pleased as she has every right to be
She is wearing one of her favourite necklaces plus a bangle I gave her that day. I feel more than pleased to have such a nice-looking partner in my decrepit late '70s
The bangle. She likes pearls
The bangle is a magnetically fastened one so can also be worn as a necklace. See below in a high definition pic. The Hi-def also shows what remarkably wrinkle-free skin Zoe has in her mid 70s. She ages unusually slowly
And after dinner we went shopping at Coco's and got a whole box of fruit and veg for just $12. Zoe picked out most of what we bought so that is part of the reason why we paid so little. She has a very good eye for a bargain.
We sometimes exchange emails in Serbian Cyrillic. For some reason the translation program made a hash of the message to me below. But I am delighted to say I can read it well enough
?? ???? ??
In Cyrillic, a V shows as a B
I normally greet her in Serbian or Russian when she arrives at my place. Like most Serbs, she understands Russian. They learn it at school and it is a closely related language so they tend to learn it well
Back to to the start
And when Zora wanted to mock me as being idle (I am) she quite appositely referred to me as being an Oblomov, which is an allusion to a classic 19th century Russian novel. So her cultural level seems quite high, though with different reference points to mine.
Serbian has a lot of similarities to Russian so Russian is an easy language for a Serb to learn. So a primary awareness of Russian literature is to be expected in a Serb. Whereas my orientation is of course to English literature, with a bit of German thrown in.
Musical compatibility
And music is a big element of culture. I have always been a classical music devotee. I get a lot out of it and greatly dislike most popular music. And that creates problems for me in relationships. I need the lady in my life to be able at least to tolerate classical music. And where both of us are aficionados, it is a tie that binds.
So when Zora contacted me I was pleased that she liked Bach. Bach does things to me. And during an afternoon together recently, she asked me to put on some Schumann -- which I was delighted to do. I put on my favourite Schumann: Kinderszenen. You have to be a real classical devotee to have heard of Schumann so Zora and I are very compatible musically. She makes me a happy man
Elderly outings
I am the elderly one. Zora walks miles at the drop of a hat. So I rarely drop hats.
We have started to have some sedate outings together. Below is from an outing to Mowbray Park.
Note the undropped hat
Isn't she gorgeous?
Living with Zora (as of Wednesday, March 2, 2022)
By the skin of her teeth Zora managed to bypass the floods on Sunday and got over to my place via Ipswich Rd. But she could not get back. So here she stayed until around 5pm today, Wednesday. And even then it took her 2 hours to get home via various detours.
So we were suddenly living together for 4 days, something unforeseen by us both. We did have some frictions but we also had a lot of laughs so it all went reasonably well. She went home in a high mood.
While she was here, she had a field day bullying me into eating raw food (fruit and salads) for my meals. I didn't give in entirely however. I had sausage rolls from time to time to meet my need for junk food.
Being confined by the floods she didn't have much to do for a lot of the time here so she unleashed a cleaning blitz on my place. Some places got cleaned that had not been cleaned for years, given my bachelor habits. She even cleaned my assortment of power boards
One thing I had to deal with while she was here was two household devices that had ceased to function, a vacuum cleaner and a mincer. Zora identified the problems and promptly handed the devices to me for my attention. It took me quite a lot of thinking and fiddling to dismantle the two devices, remove the problem and then mantle them again. The mantling can be the hardest part.
And all the while Zora concentrated on food preparation and cleaning. So traditional sex roles were observed.
This afternoon we undertook a short outing to Kangaroo Pt. to look at the flooded river. It was indeed wide but still well below where we were standing. See below
And all the while Zora concentrated on food preparation and cleaning. So traditional sex roles were observed.
This afternoon we undertook a short outing to Kangaroo Pt. to look at the flooded river. It was indeed wide but still well below where we were standing. See below
ADDENDUM
While Zora was "housekeeping" at my place she showed a rare talent for Ikebana. Below are two lettuces in one of my vases
A small but amusing episode (from 16 March, 2022)
It was rather warm this afternoon so Zora and I were lying together in bed with an airconditioner above us putting out a pretty good icy blast.
At one point I leant over to give Z a kiss, which was of course welcomed. When I pulled away from the kiss, Z said, "You are cold like a snake" -- which cracked me up. She was referring to my face being cold from the airconditioner blowing on it. I said, "That's a strange thing to say to a man who has just given you a kiss."
She saw the point and said. "It's my autism" -- which it was. Being autistic myself I am well used to autistic bluntness. I often sabotage myself that way. I once lost a lover because of it
Anyway, a picture of the guilty party below. Like a lot of ladies she is into clothes and, fortunately, I like her taste. I thought the blouse below was particularly pretty.
Beside the seaside (March 18, 2022)
Zora asked me to take her to the beach. Such a request in Brisbane would normally elicit a trip "down the coast" to Surfers Paradise, Greenmount, Currumbin etc. And in the days of my youth, I often pointed my sky-blue VW beetle in that direction.
It is now many years since I have been there however and in my declining years I have a considerable aversion to sitting in traffic for the hour or so that such a trip entails.
So I took Zora to the beach at Manly, which is only half an hour's drive from where I live. It's not much of a beach but it is a reasonable venue for a picnic lunch, which is how I approached it. Zora was not too disappointed by it and we managed to have one of the raw food lunches that Zora insists on.
After lunch was the big test however. Z wanted me to join her sunbaking on the beach. Given what the sun has given me in the form of skin cancer, however it is many years since I have exposed my lily-white skin to the sun.
But I am a reformed man these days. Instead of frequently saying No to outing requests from a female partner, I am these days doing what I can to oblige. So I agreed to join Zora in the sun but added a warning that I doubted my ability to get up from lying on the beach.
And so it was. In my elderly State I was unable to get up even if Zora lent me a hand. There was a fit young man nearby however so Zora asked him for help. He obliged and I was able to stand up in a rather wobbly state.
So Zora did get a bit of time sunbaking but not much. With her trim and tanned little body she looked a real surfer chick.
On the way home my driving scared the wits out of Zora a few times but no harm befell us.
A VERY mixed day -- 18 April, 2022
Zora and I had arranged to go out for lunch yesterday. She arrived at my place very late, however, as she often does. It was nearly 3pm when she arrived at Stone's corner and restaurants mostly close at 2:30 after lunch. And the ones we were thinking of were all closed.
All was not lost however as there was a small cafe open just down the road which had a good menu. So we went there
The seating, however consisted of backless stools -- so as I was settling in I leaned back and promptly fell off -- falling flat on my back on the floor. I didn't feel hurt anywhere so, after a couple of kind people helped me up, I continued with my meal. I had a burrito that I thought was very good and Zora liked her vegetable salad
On the way, home, however, I felt a lot of stabbing pains in my chest and suspected that I had damaged a rib in my fall. Zora and I however continued our date and had a very nice time for a few hours. It was one of the more congenial times we have spent together. So she want home in a happy state and sent me a very affectionate email when she got home.
The downside was however my injury. Jenny took me to the Wesley this morning for a scan and they confirmed that I have a small rib break on the upper left near my shoulder So it is not very serious and should heal well enough on its own. They think that I will be pain-free in a couple of weeks.
So it was good to confirm my warm relationship with Zora but bad that I broke a rib. If I move carefully, I can avoid much pain from the break.
Pearls -- 13 May 2022
I bought Zora a string of pearls. It is a small one as she likes small jewelery
She really liked the pearls. She said it was something that she had wanted. So here is another pic of her as she arrived this afternoon, looking pretty as usual. I really like the way she dresses.
I liked the matching shoes and jumper
Breaking my rib on 18 April greatly restricted what I can do. So it has affected our relationship quite a bit. She has remained affectionate and understanding but I have been unable to cuddle her, which we have both greatly missed. I am slowly healing however so today was the first day after 4 weeks that we were able to cuddle. Most pleasing
Gifts -- 8 May, 2022
As the Apostle Paul said: It is more blessed to give than to receive. I have always believed that. And because of some good decisions in my earlier life, I accumulated substantial financial assets. And I have even managed to hang on to the assets so far. Making money is one thing but hanging onto it is another. A lot of people make big money but then go on to lose it.
So I am in a position to give gifts to people in my orbit. Most of my gifts have been quite small but some have been quite large. I have even given cars on some occasions.
One thing I have often done is give small items of costume jewellery to Anne. I have put up pictures on this blog of some of the items concerned. I seem to have a good handle on her taste so I often buy the items before she sees them and they mostly seem to go down well.
And I now have a girlfriend in the form of Zora so I have started to give her things too. Below is a bracelet I recently bought her. She was with me when I bought it and it was something she herself selected. I thought it was particularly pretty so give a picture of it below
Smile -- 29 May, 2022
Zora and I did particularly well together today. Her smile may tell you that
I saw Joe in the morning and Zora arrived about 3pm for our customary late lunch cum early dinner. She arrives as late as 4pm for it. Given my own Germanic habits of punctuality it should bother me but I just accept it as some sort of Mediterranean thing and allow for it.
A fun day on 10 June, 2022
Very low-key fun but perhaps that is the best sort.
Below is the raw-food dinner she put in front of me. It was a pleasant and colourful composition -- and probably good for me as well
And below is the composer of that dinner, looking as pleased as she has every right to be
She is wearing one of her favourite necklaces plus a bangle I gave her that day. I feel more than pleased to have such a nice-looking partner in my decrepit late '70s
The bangle is a magnetically fastened one so can also be worn as a necklace. See below in a high definition pic. The Hi-def also shows what remarkably wrinkle-free skin Zoe has in her mid 70s. She ages unusually slowly
And after dinner we went shopping at Coco's and got a whole box of fruit and veg for just $12. Zoe picked out most of what we bought so that is part of the reason why we paid so little. She has a very good eye for a bargain.
We sometimes exchange emails in Serbian Cyrillic. For some reason the translation program made a hash of the message to me below. But I am delighted to say I can read it well enough
?? ???? ??
In Cyrillic, a V shows as a B
I normally greet her in Serbian or Russian when she arrives at my place. Like most Serbs, she understands Russian. They learn it at school and it is a closely related language so they tend to learn it well
Back to to the start