Member Spotlight: Family, Love, and Food with @Suzanne rose

Content warning: This story contains mentions of miscarriage. Reader discretion is advised.

Today we’re shining a spotlight on one of our most active members. She's done everything from consistently contributing to the Cooking/Recipes forum to sharing interesting news insights and Yesterday’s Australia nostalgia! Need a hint? Have you ever read or tried a recipe shared in our newsletters? If so, chances are, you’re familiar with this talented member.

Introducing the one and only, member @Suzanne rose! Read on for an exclusive look into the life of this recipe maestro.



‘I was born in October 1961 in Peakhurst, a Suburb of Sydney. My mother was only 14 when she had me and too young to look after me, so I was raised by my amazing Grandparents
that was until…’

‘At 13, I became a rebel. Staying out and smoking pot. I was then given the choice by the children's court to live with my mother or go to a girl's home. After much thought, I chose my mother, who lived in Dulwich Hill, Sydney.’


20230727_124832 (1).jpg
Image Credit: Member @Suzanne rose



‘It was during this time I discovered cooking and loved it. I was self-taught as it was me who had to cook for six of my siblings and clean each day after school.’



‘It was also during this time my eyes laid upon a guy I thought looked like a Greek Adonis or rock star, and he was the one who would become my husband and father to my children. He was living with an aunt due to both parents being killed in a car accident three years earlier.’

‘At 15, I became pregnant and had to drop out of school, and my rock star boyfriend finished year 10 and started work to support me and our firstborn. We were told by many to adopt our baby out, but with the loving support of our families and hard work, we gave birth to a baby girl.’

‘Life was hard, and there was a song on the radio at that time, “Too Young To Be Married”. Well, that fitted us to a tea.’

You can listen to the song below:




‘Five years passed, and we purchased our first home and welcomed our first son.’

‘More years passed, and we welcomed another 11 children. To us, we were blessed.’

‘We needed to upgrade to a bigger house, and we worked hard to pay that off.’


20230727_124551 (1).jpg
Image Credit: Member @Suzanne rose



‘We went on holidays to Nelson's Bay and Manly. With a large family, we couldn't travel too far, but where ever we went, we made beautiful memories.’

‘People would often ask what I feed my family, this I thought strange. I made exactly what other families made, only larger; instead of one leg of lamb, I made two; instead of one chicken, I made four. I learnt to shop well. Instead of restaurants, we went for loads of picnics, and I always made special dishes when it was a birthday.’



‘As the years went by and the kids were in school, I got involved with helping children read. I did a St John's reading course which helped me know how to help these kids. Around this time, I had a miscarriage and was rushed to hospital. While there, I heard my dead grandmother talking to me. I was losing a lot of blood and was rushed to the operating room. While under, I saw my dead mother-in-law, whom I’d never seen. I then woke up to find that I was on life support in ICU. I then found out that I died three times: 11 minutes, 7 minutes and 9 minutes, but that is another story.’

‘I decided to do years 11 and 12 at TAFE, and while doing year 12, I was pregnant with baby number 10. He was born two weeks after my final exam.’

‘I thrived on doing things, and I feel one of my biggest achievements was helping a friend host a few fundraising dinners: one for the cancer foundation, the other for breast cancer. This was a lot of work emailing and calling for companies to donate items for our auction, and finding venues that would give us a good price. At both of these, we had between 200 and 300 people attend.’



‘I loved working, and I was lucky enough to work around my husband by doing party planning. I did Tupperware and Bessemer parties and even made kids' clothes, and then I was offered a job in bridal. At this time, my youngest was three and this was a dream job. I worked there for 14 years until I needed surgery to remove a gallbladder, and that is where my nightmare began by the surgeon also removing a hernia and being very negligent but that's also a whole other story.’

‘I am now 61. I suffer from depression and anxiety, and by joining SDC it sort of changed my life by adding my favourite recipes, playing the games and just talking to all you amazing people on here.’

‘Life hasn't been easy, but I wouldn't change a thing. It's by our mistakes that we learn
Wouldn't life be boring if it was too simple?’



‘One of my favourite sayings to my family is “ALWAYS TURN A NEGATIVE INTO A POSITIVE”.’

Isn’t that such a fantastic saying to live by? We had such a fantastic time reading member @Suzanne rose's story, and we hope you did too! Next time you see her name pop up on the forum, you’ve got a little insider insight into the brains behind the posts!

A huge thank you to member @Suzanne rose for sharing her story and allowing this spotlight.
 
Last edited:
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I said I'm going to share some other things that I feel will help others .
How many times have you heard 'it will never happen to me' well I learnt along time ago that things can happen to anyone.

Our eldest son and second eldest child was a happy boy who loved his cricket and rugby league from a very young age, as well as fishing with his dad.
We gave him heaps of love and attention and he was a great kid. The only thing we noticed was he couldn't say no to anyone and this at times got him into trouble . Our son was a follower .
He not only played park cricket he also played representive cricket for Western Sydney.

Beginning of Jan 1999 , he was 17 and we started to see traits in him that we didn't like. He started staying out all night and sometimes days on end. He started to argue with us and wasn't a nice person to be around.
Our beautiful boy became a person that we didn't like.

During our teenage years we were around drugs , mostly pot but unfortunately alot of our friends starting using heroin and we actually loss a few to overdosing.

I started to see these same traits that we saw in our friends in our son.

He wouldn't listen to us or sit and talk, so I wrote him a letter, in it I wrote how I loved him but hated what he was doing. That we were here for him and that I knew our boy would come back. I gave it to him and asked for him to read it and keep it close to him

It came to a point that my husband and second son who search the street for him. Every knock at the door we suspected the worst.

One day we did receive a knock and it was detectives saying our son was involved in a robbery and if we didn't get him home and give him up then the consequences could end up bad.

He did come home late that night and the detectives did come back in the morning and arrest him. I then said to my husband how does it feel to be like Judas ?

We managed to get him out on bail. That night he disappeared, two days later he came home late at night and woke his dad up. He told him he was addicted to heroin and needed help.

The next morning we talked and he said he had been on heroin for 6 months , he shot up in places that I couldn't see , he knew I would recognise track marks.
He wanted to go cold Turkey

We called our Doctor and got a number of medication, going cold Turkey blood pressure goes up and down , their body is riddled with pain , vomiting ect .

For 3 days and night we took turns to hold him , lay with him , put clothes on him, hold his head over a bucket. We went through a parents worst nightmare .

But we got through it. We then got him booked into rehab at Randwick which he stayed for 3 months .

By this time he was 18 and we knew anymore trouble and he would be in jail.

He attended court and was placed on a bond , the judge said he was giving him a chance as he had the support of a loving family .

And my son never looked back .
We had our son back.
He got a job, and was a dedicated and hard worker.

He went back to playing park cricket and fishing.

He is now 41 and we couldn't be more proud of him . He still has my letter and years later told me that my letter was what made him come clean about his habit.

I didn't hide the fact that our son was an addict , I shared our story with many and through this other parents came out saying their son was an addict and thought they were the only ones.
For awhile I ran a parents group for drug addict kids at our local school one night a fortnight . It was only small but knowing I helped other parents was huge to me.

Things happen to alot of us. Just differently but we should never be ashamed or blame ourselves .

Problems should be shared and not hidden. Such a small thing might be a big help to someone else or someone's big problem might be lightened by what someone else has been through.
I feel for you. Riverwood....being Riverwood, was rife with heroin. At least nine fellow class members at Narwee Boys' High School died of a heroin overdose and never saw their 21st birthday. Some were good blokes, others just arseholes. And the number of times I was offered a hit? Lost count but I never touched the stuff. One less addiction for me I suppose.
 
One of my best mates was seriously anti heroin. What he used to do to the two bit dealers at Riverwood Pub was pretend he was a buyer, check out the baggie of smack then proceed to empty it onto the carpet. He did this several times. Then one Friday night he rolls up to my place at about midnight with a profusely bleeding left hand. He was cut between the thumb and index finger, right down to the joint. I got a towel to stem the bleeding when he said "Come with me". Out the front was a shiny brand new Merc and some minutes before he got to my place, he told me that was jumped by three Lebanese "heavies", probably the heroin ringleaders. He bashed the living bejesus out of them and took their car,

We ended up dumping it in Salt Pan Creek next to the train bridge, with all doors open. We laughed as it went "glug...glug...glug" into the Salt Pan mud. And off to hospital we went.

About eight months later, he was found dead in a toilet cubicle at the Harp Hotel, Wollongong - from a massive heroin overdose and signs of a major struggle. The bastards won in the end. :cry:
 
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One of my best mates was seriously anti heroin. What he used to do to the two bit dealers at Riverwood Pub was pretend he was a buyer, check out the baggie of smack then proceed to empty it onto the carpet. He did this several times. Then one Friday night he rolls up to my place at about midnight with a profusely bleeding left hand. He was cut between the thumb and index finger, right down to the joint. I got a towel to stem the bleeding when he said "Come with me". Out the front was a shiny brand new Merc and some minutes before he got to my place, he told me that was jumped by three Lebanese "heavies", probably the heroin ringleaders. He bashed the living bejesus out of them and took their car,

We ended up dumping it in Salt Pan Creek next to the train bridge, with all doors open. We laughed as it went "glug...glug...glug" into the Salt Pan mud. And off to hospital we went.

About eight months later, he was found dead in a toilet cubicle at the Harp Hotel, Wollongong - from a massive heroin overdose and signs of a major struggle. The bastards won in the end. :cry:
I had to change "midday" to "midnight". Silly me! I shall plead emotional distress.
 
Geez I wonder how they found him. My sister always owed money and we suspected she prostituted herself. I tried so hard to help her.
My sister was Leanne and her friend Rowena everyone in Riverwood knew them
I knew quite a few Leannes but only one Rowena. Ummm....

My friend was found after closing time. The cubicle door was locked from the outside - easily done with a 5 cent piece or screwdriver. It was back in 1995. RIP Wazza.
 
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Reactions: Monmc
Content warning: This story contains mentions of miscarriage. Reader discretion is advised.

Today we’re shining a spotlight on one of our most active members. She's done everything from consistently contributing to the Cooking/Recipes forum to sharing interesting news insights and Yesterday’s Australia nostalgia! Need a hint? Have you ever read or tried a recipe shared in our newsletters? If so, chances are, you’re familiar with this talented member.

Introducing the one and only, member @Suzanne rose! Read on for an exclusive look into the life of this recipe maestro.



‘I was born in October 1961 in Peakhurst, a Suburb of Sydney. My mother was only 14 when she had me and too young to look after me, so I was raised by my amazing Grandparents
that was until…’

‘At 13, I became a rebel. Staying out and smoking pot. I was then given the choice by the children's court to live with my mother or go to a girl's home. After much thought, I chose my mother, who lived in Dulwich Hill, Sydney.’


View attachment 27041
Image Credit: Member @Suzanne rose



‘It was during this time I discovered cooking and loved it. I was self-taught as it was me who had to cook for six of my siblings and clean each day after school.’



‘It was also during this time my eyes laid upon a guy I thought looked like a Greek Adonis or rock star, and he was the one who would become my husband and father to my children. He was living with an aunt due to both parents being killed in a car accident three years earlier.’

‘At 15, I became pregnant and had to drop out of school, and my rock star boyfriend finished year 10 and started work to support me and our firstborn. We were told by many to adopt our baby out, but with the loving support of our families and hard work, we gave birth to a baby girl.’

‘Life was hard, and there was a song on the radio at that time, “Too Young To Be Married”. Well, that fitted us to a tea.’

You can listen to the song below:




‘Five years passed, and we purchased our first home and welcomed our first son.’

‘More years passed, and we welcomed another 11 children. To us, we were blessed.’

‘We needed to upgrade to a bigger house, and we worked hard to pay that off.’


View attachment 27039
Image Credit: Member @Suzanne rose



‘We went on holidays to Nelson's Bay and Manly. With a large family, we couldn't travel too far, but where ever we went, we made beautiful memories.’

‘People would often ask what I feed my family, this I thought strange. I made exactly what other families made, only larger; instead of one leg of lamb, I made two; instead of one chicken, I made four. I learnt to shop well. Instead of restaurants, we went for loads of picnics, and I always made special dishes when it was a birthday.’



‘As the years went by and the kids were in school, I got involved with helping children read. I did a St John's reading course which helped me know how to help these kids. Around this time, I had a miscarriage and was rushed to hospital. While there, I heard my dead grandmother talking to me. I was losing a lot of blood and was rushed to the operating room. While under, I saw my dead mother-in-law, whom I’d never seen. I then woke up to find that I was on life support in ICU. I then found out that I died three times: 11 minutes, 7 minutes and 9 minutes, but that is another story.’

‘I decided to do years 11 and 12 at TAFE, and while doing year 12, I was pregnant with baby number 10. He was born two weeks after my final exam.’

‘I thrived on doing things, and I feel one of my biggest achievements was helping a friend host a few fundraising dinners: one for the cancer foundation, the other for breast cancer. This was a lot of work emailing and calling for companies to donate items for our auction, and finding venues that would give us a good price. At both of these, we had between 200 and 300 people attend.’



‘I loved working, and I was lucky enough to work around my husband by doing party planning. I did Tupperware and Bessemer parties and even made kids' clothes, and then I was offered a job in bridal. At this time, my youngest was three and this was a dream job. I worked there for 14 years until I needed surgery to remove a gallbladder, and that is where my nightmare began by the surgeon also removing a hernia and being very negligent but that's also a whole other story.’

‘I am now 61. I suffer from depression and anxiety, and by joining SDC it sort of changed my life by adding my favourite recipes, playing the games and just talking to all you amazing people on here.’

‘Life hasn't been easy, but I wouldn't change a thing. It's by our mistakes that we learn
Wouldn't life be boring if it was too simple?’



‘One of my favourite sayings to my family is “ALWAYS TURN A NEGATIVE INTO A POSITIVE”.’

Isn’t that such a fantastic saying to live by? We had such a fantastic time reading member @Suzanne rose's story, and we hope you did too! Next time you see her name pop up on the forum, you’ve got a little insider insight into the brains behind the posts!

A huge thank you to member @Suzanne rose for sharing her story and allowing this spotlight.

Thank you for sharing. It helps me know a little about the person behind the name and I feel I am getting to know you. I look forward to your future writings. Thank you again.
 
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