Today is a very special day for a extra special little girl called ELIZABETH. She has reached another milestone by turning 3 years of age. We as parents are very grateful that the heavens above gave us a beautiful soul like Elizabeth in our lives. Even though she has such a difficult time at birth she has managed to show us all just how strong and feisty she is by not giving up on her life.
We celebrated today with family and friends coming together as one to wish her well. We know a special soul that is not with us would love to wish Elizabeth well, we love you Joe and miss you heaps
Thanks to everyone for making Elizabeth’s birthday such a fun filled event, thank you all for your presents and may we celebrate her birthday next year with a huge bash as she will be having a cardiac catherter on the 5th August 2009 then by November 2009 approx 3 months later she is will undergo her next major Open Heart Surgery. We wish her well and may the heavens above protect our little angel !!

I just wanted to share with you all that Elizabeth is “Heartkid of the Month” November 2008 and she is sharing her story on the Heartkids Australia website.

To view it go to

Elizabeth, Leslie and I decided to go to see the circus that had come to Miranda. They perform with Jugglers, Acrobats, and some amazing stunts. We were not allowed to take photographs or videos as this can cause problems with the performers. Elizabeth loved the ladies swinging on the ribbons and loved the clowns joking around. When the circus perfomers ended their amazing talents it was time for us to leave but we had a go at putting the balls into the clowns mouth famous at most theme parks . Lovely family time spent together.

Leslie and Elizabeth ventured out to see the rare plant that blooms approx once in every 4 years called Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum) description of the plant as follws.
The titan arum’s inflorescence can reach over 3 metres (10 ft) in circumference. Like the related cuckoo pint and calla lily, it consists of a fragrant spadix of flowers wrapped by a spathe, which looks like the flower’s single petal. In the case of the Titan Arum, the spathe is green on the outside and dark burgundy red on the inside, and deeply furrowed. The spadix is hollow and resembles a large loaf of French bread. The upper, visible portion of the spadix is covered in pollen, while its lower extremity is spangled with bright red-orange carpels. The “fragrance” of the inflorescence resembles rotting meat, attracting carrion-eating beetles and Flesh Flies (family Sarcophagidae) that pollinate it. The flower’s deep red color and texture contribute to the illusion that the spathe is a piece of meat. During bloom, the tip of the spadix is approximately human body temperature, which helps the perfume volatilize; this heat is also believed to assist in the illusion that attracts carcass-eating insects.Both male and female flowers grow in the same inflorescence. The female flowers open first, then a day or two following, the male flowers open. This prevents the flower from self-pollinating.
After the flower dies back, a single leaf, which reaches the size of a small tree, grows from the underground corm. The leaf grows on a semi-green stalk that branches into three sections at the top, each containing many leaflets. The leaf structure can reach up to 6 metres (20 ft) tall and 5 metres (16 ft) across. Each year, the old leaf dies and a new one grows in its place. When the corm has stored enough energy, it becomes dormant for about 4 months. Then, the process repeats.
The corm is the largest known, weighing around 50 kilograms (110 lb).[3] When a specimen at the Princess of Wales Conservatory, Kew Gardens, was repotted after its dormant period, the weight was recorded as 91 kilograms (200 lb).[4]
Both Elizabeth and Leslie had a special bonding day having picnic lunch and going to Circular Quay. Elizabeth commented on the ships that were coming and going. The size of the ferrys and ships. She called them Daddy and mummy and the small boats the babys.

Today we celebrated Halloween day at HPCC and we had to dress up as our favourite character. Elizabeth decided to be a pirate and I chose to be a Countess wi th my black Cape on. I think we did a great job with our costumes and everyone commented on my makeup  pretty scary some kids said!! Photos taken are of Skye, Effie and Elizabeth. Happy Halloween everyone.

Nono Joe was Diagnosed with having a very aggressive case of Sarcoma only 3 months ago. The cancer was spreading very quickly around his body shutting down his organs one at time. He suffered tremendously with fluids in his legs to the point that they had to strap them up as the fluid was leaking. They needed to make sure that they wouldn’t get infected.

What can we say, we were devasted to see Nono Joe like this, he had never been sick in his life, never been hospitalized yet all of a sudden he was taken away from us. I still to this day remember him and how much love and affection he showed Leslie,Myself and our Daughter Elizabeth.

Nono Joe had a special bond with Elizabeth, she would always call out for him even when he passed away. Elizabeth just told me, what she misses most about Joe is talking to him, listening to him whistle, giving him cuddles and kisses. On the day Joe Died no one told Elizabeth yet she turned to her Nona Mary and said “ Don’t cry Nona, Joe is an angel now, he is with xristouli”.

The next day I asked Elizabeth where Joe is, she said “ He is in hospital with xristouli then later on that day I asked her the same question, Elizabeth relied “he is in the car” . We were all amazed as at that moment Joe was being transferred from the hospital to the funeral home.

The day of the funeral I asked her, where is Joe, she said “He is in a Treasure Chest in the ground” . My mouth dropped, I couldn’t believe just how much she is connected to Joe. Not one person told Elizabeth what is going on yet she knew cause Joe was talking to her.

On the day of the funeral, Michael and I read prayers and Paul did the Eulogy this is what he wrote about Nono Joe many people may have known him as Comapre Joe. After the procession we invited everyone to gather together to Celeberate Joes Life with a wake.

Eulogy for Giuseppe Lentino

6th December 1930 to 21st October 2008

Giuseppe Lentino was born in Naples Italy on the 6th December 1930.He was a middle child,having one older,and one younger sister.

The world being as it was in the 1930’s and 1940’s,Giuseppe left school at a very young age and commenced working with his father in the leather industry.But when he turned 20,he joined the Italian Air Force to pursue his ambition to train as an Airforce pilot.Such ambitions were cut short due to a personal tragedy and Giuseppe again returned to working with his father.

In 1956,at the age of 26,Giuseppe migrated to Australia where he first arrived in Melbourne and there he would remain for some 18 months following which he decided to move to Sydney.

Giuseppe loved the lifestyle that Sydney had to offer.He made many,many friends and would regularly attend dances.In fact,he was a prize dancer,having won trophies in Italy for his styles in Cha Cha,Tango and Rock N” Roll.

He also had another great passion – WOMEN.The story goes that in his early days,he unintentionally arranged for three separate dates to turn up at the same place at the same time,and upon arriving at the venue and realizing his mistake,he quickly jumped in his car and sped off.

Many a women fell into his charming ways,in fact he broke off nine official engagements.He simply wasn’t ready to get married until he met a beautiful young lady named Georgina to which I would like to tell you the story.It was actually on my parents wedding day.Georgina worked with my mother so she was invited to the wedding.On the day,one of the hire cars didn’t show up.My mum’s brother Uncle Tony,quickly contacted his friend Giuseppe who at the time drove a very flashy Ford.Giuseppe offered his services and accordingly was invited to join the party.It wasn’t until the very last dance of the night when he locked eyes with Georgina.He politely asked her brother Theodore permission to have the dance,which was granted.They fell in love and went on to marry on the 29th February 1964,and would remain together 44 years,living initially in Granville,then Enmore and in 1969 they purchased a brand new unit in Brighton-le-Sands where he would remain for the rest of his life.

Giuseppe was a larger than life figure.Everyone held him in the highest regard and everyone respected him.This is proven by the fact that he had 36 Godchildren and became known to us all as Compare Joe,to which I can proudly say that I was the first child that Giuseppe and Georgina would Christen together.

Compare Joe loved his Italian Napolitan music.Compare Joe also loved his food,in particular authentic Napolitan food.He loved dining at various Italian eateries.This became apparent over time with his belly simply getting bigger and bigger.But he was not in any way ashamed or embarrassed of his size.Growing up,I constantly have recollections of him taking off his shirt in public and he would make everyone laugh.

In his love of travelling the world,one of his favorite places was Bankok,and he would more often that not,be approached by strangers wanting to rub his belly,simultaneously saying “lucky Buda”.Compare Joe just found it all so very amuzing.

Apart from his comical side,Compare Joe also did have a very serious side.He was a very generous man,and he had a very good heart.He was always impeccably dressed,most of the time in a suite,vest and tie and he always loved to smell nice.

He did slow down in his later years,opting to spend his days visiting friends or simply lazing around the pastisseries of Haberfield.

We can all say that Compare Joe led a good life.He did whatever he wanted to do,whenever he wanted to do it.Putting aside his weight,he was never plagued by ill health until most recently which led to his rather sudden passing.
We will all miss you Compare Joe.You really were one of a kind.

Today we celebrated Nonos birthday, we ad some yummy cake and gave nono his pressie. Elizabeth couldn’t stop singing happy birthday to Nono Albert hip Hip Horray Hip Hip Horray and he made a wish. All the very best Albert with love Effie , Leslie and Elizabeth xoxoxox