Drifting through life

I wasn't going to be here today

2012-01-28T14:14:00.000+10:30

I woke up this morning without a single idea in my head. Really, no idea at all what to write about.

The reason?
It's summer.
It's hot.
Sometime during the night my brain melted and dribbled out through my ears.
I spent a bit of time frantically pouring the mush back in and hoped that in the cool of the morning hours it would congeal into something resembling my brain as it used to be.

I'm not sure how well that's worked, but I seem to be able to form words and sentences, so I'm off to a good start.

Maybe I should sleep with earplugs in for the rest of the summer?
At least I wouldn't have to wring out my pillow every morning.......

I'm ready!

2012-01-27T08:00:00.002+10:30

Today is my probationary house inspection day.

I've been here for six months now, (wow, already?), and it's time for the SAHT to inspect my premises and decide if I'm a suitable tenant.
I have no worries at al on this score, I've always been a suitable tenant.
I don't trash my home, I don't grow drugs in the wardrobes, I don't hide dead bodies under the floorboards.
I pay my rent on time too.
And I keep the kitchen sink clean.

I spent a little time yesterday cleaning, but let's face it, this place is only about three inches square so that didn't take long. I even dusted the lightshades!

I'm ready. Bring it on!

I'm going to ask if I'd be allowed to have a retractable canvas or shadecloth awning installed over my front window. The sun beats down on that everyday and the heat just flows on in.
It has a fixed "eyelash" type awning, but really, that does nothing to keep the sun out.
So I'm going to ask about getting some kind of cover that I can adjust as necessary.

something new in Coles

2012-01-26T08:00:00.002+10:30

A customer came through my checkout yesterday with something I had never seen before.
Today on my way out of the store, I bought some.

Tell me what you think.

French Twists.

Layers of sweet puffed pastry in a snack size, with only 30 calories per twist.

Sounds good....let's read more.

This is looking good for all those with dairy and egg allergies. No cholesterol...that's great!

No butter....hmmmm, how can it be "real" pastry with no butter?

Let's continue this journey....

There's Original flavour.......mmmm, cinnamony.

and Maple French Toast. sweeeet.

There's also a Wild Raspberry flavour, but I didn't buy that one.

Cinnamon on the left, Maple on the right.

Nibble, munch....mmm not bad.

Not. Bad. At. All.

As a "little something sweet, but not too big" snack with an afternoon coffee, these are perfect.
They're called pastries, but I'd put them in a not-quite-pastry, not-quite-biscuit category.

I'd happily recommend these to any customer who asks Have I tried them? (yes) Are they nice? (also yes)

EDITED TO ADD: I didn't read the ingredients list when I bought these, nor when I tasted them. I don't have food allergies, so I'm not too concerned. (a little dairy intolerance, but that's nothing...)

Anyway the back of the packet reads:- Allergen Information: contains wheat and soy. Manufactured in a facility that processes tree nuts and egg whites.

See that? egg whites. Scroll back up to photo three and notice that it says no eggs.
Yet these are manufactured in a facility that processes egg whites.

So here's a little friendly advice.
If you have allergies, don't just take for granted the information on the front of the package.
Turn it over and read the back as well. Every word.

Also on the front, the package reads No Trans Fat, yet the ingredients list includes palm oil.
Palm Oil is often listed in things that do contain trans fats, so I'm wondering if the difference here would mean these contain pure palm oil, and other things that have trans fats contain palm oil that has been processed in some way to become a solid fat, no longer an oil.

I still like them, and I'll still buy them, but they'll be an occasional snack addition, not a daily part of my diet.

Whimsical Wednesday #7

2012-01-25T08:00:00.001+10:30

Whimsical Wednesday has rolled around again.
I can't believe how fast the weeks are passing!
January is very nearly over already, only three and a half months before the cooler weather begins to arrive.
I can't wait.....

Anyway, here is today's giggle.

and here is today's thank you to all the lovely people who put these images out into the internet for me to find and use.
Thank You.

hot in the city, hot in the city tonight...

2012-01-24T20:30:00.000+10:30

The song, sung by Billy Idol, which very accurately describes today in Adelaide.

The day began reasonably well, but took a sharp nosedive when it came time to go to work.
It was already too hot for me when I walked to the bus stop.
A bus stop which faces the morning sun, with no shade whatsoever.
(Welcome enough in winter but not in 100 degree heat).
Well, there's a tree, but the only shade from that is a six to eight inch wide strip from the tree trunk.
The leafy canopy shadow is already over the fence into the yard next to the bus stop.
So I stood in the 4 inch wide shadow strip made by a light pole......just to shield my face.

Then the bus arrived.
A wheezy old-fashioned model with a narrow doorway and three steepish narrow steps to climb up.

And it was packed full!!
Like an unopened sardine can.
With no airconditioning.
Now I don't mind being packed in like sardines so much, as long as there's airconditioning.
This particular bus got so warm, I was thankful for the tiny amount of fresh air that entered everytime someone exited by the back door which was opposite my seat.
By the time I arrived in the city I was dripping sweat and very uncomfortable.

I got off the bus and walked across the road to wait for the next bus which would take me to Norwood.
I probably looked funny walking with my arms outstretched to cool off a bit, but I really didn't care.
A small breeze helped dry me off a little, but only to the point where I felt sticky.
The second bus did have airconditioning, but it's a much shorter ride, so I didn't really cool off.

I arrived at work looking very pink and was thankful for the airconditioning in the store.
And the spare time I had up my sleeve which meant dunking my head under the tap. Aaaaahhhh!!
Although in my opinion they could crank the aircon up to freezing and everyone else can wear cardigans, at least I'd be comfortable.......

So here I am, hours later, just beginning to feel better after a heat headache, (yes, I stayed well hydrated) and a long nap.
It's 8:25pm and the sun is about 25-30 degrees off the horizon still, but the glare has gone and for that I am grateful.
Once the shadow of the neighbouring block of flats covered my teeny tiny front porch I was able to get oput there and give my thirsty pots a nice big drink of water.

And can you believe the water in our supply pipes is already running hot? From the cold taps!!
I turned on the shower expecting cool and almost scalded myself. Jumped out quicksmart I can tell you!
That doesn't usually happen this early in the season.
Guess the global warming rumors have something to them after all.

oh, urk, ugh, what is that?

2012-01-23T19:00:00.000+10:30

It's hot here today, so I have the flat closed up with the blinds down to keep out as much sun and hot air as possible.

I'm sitting here, scrolling through people's blogs, when I notice a strange odour in the air. Something not nice. Something that smells like pooh-ed newborn-baby nappies.
I get up and walk around and this is in every room! All three and a half of them!

What could the neighbours be cooking to make the air smell like this??
I opened the door to the back porch and the odour is out there too.

Perhaps it isn't someone's cooking.....I have heard a newish baby crying in the last week or so...but still.....to have this odour come right through my flat is more than a little annoying. I hope it clears quickly. I've turned the fan on high and turned on the exhaust fans in kitchen and bathroom.

journey to the abyss

2012-01-23T17:04:00.000+10:30

When I was in town last, I spotted a display case outside one of the department stores.
Inside was a red and white crab of quite large dimensions.

There were leaflets advertising the South Australian Museum's latest exhibition.

Titled "Journey to the Abyss", the exhibition features over 90 real deep-sea specimens with supporting information, hands-on investigation stations and a full-sized, interactive submarine ideal for junior explorers.

More of the blurb reads:

"Did you know that more people have been to space than to the bottom of the ocean?
(personally, I did not know that)
In Journey to the Abyss, the South Australian Museum invites you to experience life in the cold, dark depths.

Discover an isolated wilderness thatis home to some of the most surprising and captivating creatures: some scary, some cute, and all fascinating."

Did you notice that bit that says "cold, dark depths"?

Sounds to me like a good place to be. Somewhere, anywhere, in the cold, dark depths.
Anyone who knows me, knows that this is the sort of thing I say every summer.
(give me the winter! let's move somewhere cooler! how about we visit a snowbound cave in Alaska!)

Well, since I don't have a chance in hell of our summer suddenly turning cold enough to keep me happy, I'll settle for a cool museum, with exhibits from the cold, dark depths of the oceans.

The show is on from 17 December 2011 (hey, that's last year already!) to 12 March 2012.
Tickets are $13 for adults; $7 for children under sixteen; $30 for a family ticket.
A concession ticket is $10.

I'll be taking my camera, but I don't think taking photos will be allowed. .
I think they'd much prefer to have paying customers coming in, instead of everybody and his uncle seeing the exhibits through photos on the internet.
And fair enough too. The cost of bringing and maintaining the exhibition is probably quite high and on top of that profits must be made.

Sunday Selections # 54

2012-01-22T08:00:00.001+10:30

Welcome to another Sunday Selections day.

If you'd like to join in the rules are so very simple!

Search your computer files for old photos that have been languishing unseen,
(or for something newer that you haven't used yet),
post them under the Sunday Selections title and link back to Kim from Frog Ponds Rock.

Then go to Frog Ponds Rock and add your name to Kim's linky list and leave her a comment.

Here is my selection for this week, a few more photos of a stall at Adelaide's Central Market.

A Taste of Marrakech.

This is the spice stall, for those wanting a genuine middle eastern flavour in their food.

On this stand a range of whole and ground spices are displayed in bowls and jars.

I haven't looked too closely at them, because I don't often use these flavours.

Most of my food is quite bland.

On the other side of the stall is row upon row of fruits and vegetables, whole, sliced, halved, and pickled with assorted spices.

The jars look very pretty, I like the shapes. I've always had a thing for nice jars.

I'll be leaving the Central Market alone for a while now, I don't want any of you getting bored with my photos.

(what, she's at the market again? pfft!)

orange fluff

2012-01-21T08:00:00.001+10:30

This quick and easy summer dessert is healthy and yummy.

ORANGE FLUFF

2 1/2 cups orange juice
1 tablespoon gelatine powder
2 tablespoons honey
2 eggs. separated

Place orange juice in a saucepan, sprinkle gelatine over it, let stand for 30 minutes.
Add honey, heat gently, remove from heat just before boiling.
Stir in well beaten egg yolks, allow to cool.
Beat egg whites until stiff, fold into orange juice mixture.
Pour into serving dishes. Place into refrigerator.
Mixture will separate as it sets into a jelly base and fluffy orange topping.

Sorry, there's no photo.

public service announcement....

2012-01-20T08:00:00.002+10:30

....to people riding on the buses.

If you're sitting in one of those seats at the front that face backwards into the rest of the bus, this message is for you.

If you are going to yawn wider than your home garage, (or even yawn at all), please, please, cover your mouth with your hand.

I don't care if that means you have to stop playing with your i-phone for two seconds.
I have no wish to see your tonsils.
Ever.

Thank You.

shopping for thongs

2012-01-19T08:00:00.001+10:30

I have had only one pair of thongs for probably eight years now.
I don't wear them often, so they've lasted well.

See? Hardly worn at all. My very comfortable thongs.

Rubber base, cotton webbing straps.

Flip-flops for all the Americans out there.

Yesterday, this happened.

Sigh.

Now I have to go shopping for thongs.

I hope they still make this particular type.

I wonder how many people thought I might be talking about thong underwear?

Whimsical Wednesday

2012-01-18T08:00:00.001+10:30

Welcome to another Whimsical Wednesday.

I'd like to remind you that these images don't belong to me, I've borrowed them from google images and I'd like to extend a thank you to whoever puts these gems out there for us to enjoy.

Today's picture?

Eggs gone bad.

it's been a funny sort of day

2012-01-17T18:52:00.000+10:30

The weather was hot, (cooling down now), but not humid at all, so overall, not too bad.

But I felt like I wasn't me, or possibly just half of me, a shadow of myself.
I began to wonder if my mind had stayed home, sound asleep on its little pillow.

Did my shift at work pretty much on auto-pilot, came home and veg-ed out on the couch for a while, then made coffee and checked the TV guide.

Can you believe there's not a single thing on TV that I want to watch?

There's tennis, no thank you.
There's cricket, I'd rather watch paint dry.

There's a couple of movies a bit later, both of which I've already seen.
One that I wouldn't watch again if you paid me, (of course that would depend on how much you paid me....on second thoughts, no thanks).
The other starts later, almost at my bedtime, so that's out too.
I have that one on dvd though, so when I'm in the mood for it, I'll watch it.
Just not today.

Instead, I have the I-pod playing while I type this and munch leftover pizza for dinner.
It's very yummy pizza, with tomato, cheese, capsicum, olives, a little oregano....mmmmm.

I'll be in bed early tonight, hopefully tomorrow, body and mind will be as one again.

how many muscles are in the human body?

2012-01-16T18:12:00.000+10:30

I'm sure someone out there knows the answer, but really, don't tell me.
All I know is that every single one of mine is aching.
Not as much as yesterday, thank goodness.
Hardly at all now actually.

The reason for my discomfort?
The bike.
And myself of course.
I rode on Saturday, further than I've ever ridden since I first got on the bike.
Heh, I'm such an over-achiever....

Anyway, earlier this year, I'd bought a basket to go on the front of the bike.
Nothing as simple as the old-fashioned sort that just hooks over the handlebars.
Oh no.
This complicated little s*** of a basket needed a fixture fitted to the handlebars with power tools.
I don't have any.
Plus I looked at the instructions and they might as well have been written in Klingon for all the sense I could make of them.

So, Saturday.
I put the basket in a big old garbage bag, (bright yellow, for easy visibility by passing motorists), and decided it was now or never.
I was riding into town and get this basket fitted.
Off I went.

Stuck to the footpaths and bike tracks through the parks as much as I could, and walked the bike across intersections.
(I'm a safety girl...)
Getting into town was easy, getting the basket fitted was easy, getting home again, not so easy.
The roads aren't flat!
The way home involved more than one gentle upward slope.

I'm telling you, my thighs were not happy!
I took it as easy as I could, getting off and walking the bike several times, once even stopping altogether and resting.
But I made it home, and straight away, lay flat on my back with my knees up on pillows for an hour.
When I got up again, my thighs were fine.
So I went about the rest of my day, eventually getting to bed around 11pm.

Sunday morning dawned and I tried to roll out of bed.
And discovered that my upper back and shoulders were quite stiff and almost painful.
I had to lie there and gently stretch my way into the day.
I knew the best cure for this was to get moving, so after a hot shower, I took a gentle stroll around the block.
Later in the day I took another walk, then a third stroll around the block just after the sun disappeared.

I'm still a bit achy, (but not as bad as when I hurt my back), but no real damage has been done and I was able to work today .
The best part?
The basket is fitted and I don't have to ride that far in one hit ever again if I don't want to.

The lesson I learned?
Well, knowing me as well as I do, I probably didn't learn a damn thing....

Sunday Selections #53

2012-01-15T08:00:00.001+10:30

Welcome back to Sunday Selections.
Brought to us by Kim, from Frog Ponds Rock fame, sunday Selections is an ongoing weekly meme that allows us to post previously unseen photos on our blogs.

Anyone at all can join in, all you need to do is post your photos under the Sunday Selections title, link back to Kim somewhere in your post, then go on over to Frog ponds Rock and add your name to Kim's linky list.
Easy peasy.
Oh, leave Kim a comment too. she loves them.

I often (but not always) use a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week I've chosen to feature:-

GRAPES

Seedless of course.

Red grapes, which are very yummy.....

...and black grapes, also yummy and super sweet too.

Did you know that eating black grapes makes your tongue black?
Just like licorice.
I didn't, but I do now.

Grapes are a new passion of mine.

When I was little, the only grapes we ever had at home were sultana grapes, because that's what was growing in the backyard of the house next to ours and the old couple living there said we could pick as many as we wanted whenever we liked.

Years later, it became very hard to find sultana grapes in the shops, so I stopped eating grapes, because the larger green variety were sour, to me anyway.

A couple of years ago, I tried the seedless green grapes again and found them acceptable, last year I tried the red "flame seedless".
And found them delicious.

Last Friday, for the first time ever, I bought black grapes.
Oh. My. God.
How could I have missed these all these years??
So yummy!!

Please, join us in this weekly Sunday Selections meme.

one of my favourite aromas

2012-01-14T08:00:00.001+10:30

and I suspect yours too...

....is that of bread and pastries baking.

That's why I always enjoy walking past (and lingering near) places like this>>>

The Hot Bread stall at Adelaide's Central Market.

This isn't the only bread stall there of course, but it is the only one called Hot Bread.

It offers a range of delights, such as this above, whatever it is, I have no idea, there were no labels.

Well, not on this basket anyway.

Cheesy croissants.

Cinnamon Swirls. A firm favourite of mine for many years now.

Behind them, Maple Pecan Plaits, another favourite, but too sweet to eat too often.

Stay tuned for another little part of Adelaide's Central Market soon.

people around here are garden proud

2012-01-13T08:00:00.001+10:30

Walking around my new neighbourhood in the weeks before Christmas, I noticed that many homeowners around the backstreets seem to enjoy gardening.

Not only are their front yards nicely planted and well tended, but so are the nature strips, the bit along the front fence as well as the wider strip that borders the footpath and divides it from the road.

Here's a couple of examples >>>>

These are different views of just two of the lovely gardens I've seen while getting my daily exercise.

breakfast

2012-01-12T08:00:00.001+10:30

wholemeal bread......half a leftover tomato......the end of the block of cheese

= quick and easy breakfast.

whimsical wednesday

2012-01-11T08:00:00.001+10:30

It's whimsical Wednesday again!

A little cartoon to make you smile.
(borrowed from google images of course)

what a downpour!

2012-01-10T08:00:00.001+10:30

Last Saturday I went riding on my bike. I decided I'd go a little further than just around the block.
It had been cloudy all day, with rain predicted, but what the heck....the only rain we'd been having was a spit here, a drop there. I'd go riding...it would be fine.
And it was.

At first.

I went around the block, crossed over Glen Osmond road, then turned into the walking/biking trail inside the Glenside facility. Followed it all the way to the end, crossed Greenhill Road and continued along enjoying the cool air....
After half an hour, I decided I should turn for home.
Two minutes later a few spits of rain came down, then there was a rumble of thunder, and suddenly the heavens opened.

There I was, out in the open, half an hour's ride from home, getting rather wet. A lot wet.
Soaked. Saturated. Drenched.
I had to take my glasses off to see where I was going.

To be safe I walked the bike across intersections, which had become completely flooded in the first few minutes! Water up to my ankles! Really!
Would I lie to you?
My sneakers are still drying out.

It wasn't cold at all, well, I didn't feel cold, just so very wet.
It didn't seem like such a big storm either, in spite of the amount of rain and every single intersection being flooded so badly the water was meeting in the middle of main roads and the gutters had gushing torrents which would have swept away a small boat.

I made it home safely, had a hot shower, then dried off the bike.
And wouldn't you know it! The rain stopped.
Hah! I knew it was going to be just a shower....

Sunday morning I bought the newspaper and learned that it had in fact been quite a severe storm, with flash flooding in a lot of suburbs.

All I can say to that is...all's well that ends well.
I handled the bike fairly well, didn't fall off or crash into anything, made it home safely.
Through a storm!
With thunder!
And a bit of lightning too.

Maybe I should be a little more careful in the future......

New Years Resolutions

2012-01-09T08:00:00.001+10:30

2012 is just over a week old now.

How many New Years Resolutions did you make?
How many have you already broken?
One? A few? All of them?

Why do people make resolutions anyway?
In hopes of bettering themselves? Aren't they happy the way they are?
If you aren't happy with yourself a resolution may not be the answer, since there is often a deeper cause.
I digress.
We all know that most resolutions will be broken.
Many people make such fanciful resolutions that they couldn't possibly keep them.
Perhaps they do this because "it was never going to happen anyway"...so don't feel bad about breaking them.

I personally don't make New Years resolutions, I never have.
I've never seen any reason to.
If I'm going to make changes, I'll make them, resolution or not.
If I'm not inclined to make changes, then I won't be disappointing myself by breaking a resolution.

All of which makes those first few weeks or months of a new year quite stress free for me.
Just the way I like it.

Sunday Selections # 52

2012-01-08T08:00:00.001+10:30

It's Sunday Selections time again!
Time to post photos that have been hiding away in your computer files, photos that you may have completely forgotten about.
Have a hunt through your files and find some.

This idea come sto us from Kim, at Frog Ponds Rock, who realised one day that she takes many more photos than she uses, as we all do, and wanted to post some of the older ones on her blog.

A once a week meme seemed like a good idea, so Sunday Selections was born, and anyone at all can join in.

I often choose a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week I've chosen one of my favourite foods.

CHEESE
The following photos were taken at one of the cheese stalls at Adelaide's Central Market last November.

I prefer to buy my cheese in block form, so that I can slice, cube or grate as needed.

I haven't actually tried any of these selections, I'm not so adventurous when it comes to new tastes and I was raised on mild cheese that we bought in wedges from the local corner store. 3/-* worth of cheese was quite a lot in those days and would last us almost a week. * three shillings, not sure what that is in todays money.

They do look interesting though, and this may be the year when I try a few. I wonder if they'd sell me just 50grams of any variety, just for tasting purposes. Perhaps they have tasting platters.....

I like loking at the whole, uncut cheese wheels.

These were something I'd never seen before, so I asked what they were.
Smoked baby mozzarella with a whole chilli pepper buried in the centre.
This might be the first one I try. I know that if I don't like it, I have a son who will.

Cheese Diva.

Camembert. When I was younger, I refuse to try what I considered "snobs" cheeses, because I'd heard you were supposed to eat the white mould that surrounded it as well, there was no way I was going to eat mould on purpose!

I have tried Camembert since then, but usually scooping the cheese out from the mould "skin" and spreading it on crackers.

Next week.......a different market stall.

To join in with Sunday Selections, post photos of your choice under the Sunday Selections title, link back to Kim, then go to Frog Ponds Rock and add your name to her linky list.

Don't forget to leave Kim a comment.

Then have a look at what others have posted for their selections.

There are some really good photographers out there.

wedding, and other, spoons

2012-01-07T08:00:00.001+10:30

When I first got married, wa-a-ay back in 1971, my mum organised the younger siblings, step-siblings and friends when it came to gift buying. (She knew what she wanted me to have.)

I received three cutlery sets, each with settings for four people, but all with the same design.
So I had enough matching cutlery to be able to hold a dinner party for twelve people if I was ever inclined to do so.
I also received three dinner sets, each with a setting for four people, but all with the same design.
So I had enough matching crockery to be able to hold a dinner party for twelve people if I was ever inclined to do so.
(I never was inclined to do so...)

Now, all these years later, these two teaspoons and a knife, are all that remain of the original settings. I don't remember what happened to the rest, I'm not one to lose things, but disappear they did.

Here is a close-up of the design on the handles.

In between then and now, there has (have?) been three different cutlery sets, one that came as a bonus package along with a stoneware dinnerset I bought, long since passed on to one of the kids, a cheap (and cheap looking) black plastic handled set which I didn't like for very long as the handles started falling off, a more expensive black plastic handled set which lasted right up until 2010.

Then, two days after L left, in a euphoric rush of freedom spending, I bought my current cutlery set.
I'd planned on lay-bying it, but when I went to the store it was on sale for half price, so it came home with me the same day.

It's a setting for eight people, which is more than I need, (unless 7 people all drop in at once for coffee and cake) but I liked the design and the way they balanced in my hands. I'd been eyeing them off for weeks.

Here is a close-up of the design.

I have two teaspoons left from a set of six that my mum gave me as an engagement gift.

When she was a child, her Dad had won them as a prize for his show rabbits.

Silver plated, in a box lined with blue velvet, I was supposed to keep them to pass on to my first-born girl as her engagement gift, then she would do the same and so on.

Mum didn't tell me I was supposed to do this, so of course I used these very pretty spoons and when mum eventually came to visit me, she wasn't happy. Too bad.

The silver spoons....

...not looking too shabby, even after years and years of stirring my coffee.

(I'm fairly confident I know what happened to the other four, but that tale shall remain untold)

Here's a close-up of the design.

Simple, elegant...not at all ostentatious, which is a good thing, because I don't like stuff that's too show-offy.

That's my camera reflection making the nearer handle look darker.

toasters - why don't they work properly?

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000+10:30

Why can't someone invent a toaster that works properly?
I mean for longer than the first few days of use!
And affordable for the masses of course!

How many of us buy a new toaster every year or so, in hopes of evenly coloured golden brown bread to start our day with?

How many of us put up with the same old toaster....and bread that is unevenly toasted?

Bread that is browned only on the bottom half of the slice?
Bread that is browned only on one side, with the other side being barely coloured?
Bread that is browned only in the middle while the edges are warmed and slightly crispy but certainly not browned.
Bread that is browned, but only barely, on either side, no matter how high a setting we choose on the dial?

I have a toaster that I bought within a month of moving here and for a few days the toast was lovely.
A little darker than golden, coloured from crust to crust, both sides the same shade.
Very nice.

Now? A small circle of bread in the centre of the slice is browned, one side darker than the other.
Hmpf!! and Pffft!!

This has been my experience with toasters for most of my life, which is why I gave up on them at an early age and resorted to toasting my bread under the griller.
Of my gas stove.
Now that I have an electric stove, this is no longer possible.
Okay, it is possible, but I'm not prepared to pay a fortune in electricity bills just to enjoy a bit of toast in the mornings.
Because, as you may recall, an electric grill takes forever to heat up, (costing thousands of dollars, which may or may not be a slight exaggeration), and even longer to cool down.

So I went back to a regular toaster, for the not so often occasions that I fancy a bit of toast with my juice.
And I was happy with it for about a week.
Now?
I'm not happy.

Is there a toaster out there that does evenly browned slices of bread?
From crust to crust.
Day after day, month after month, year after year?
Something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to buy?
Something that doesn't take up all available space in a kitchen, especially a kitchen that has only two square feet of available space? (Possibly two and a half...).
Something that doesn't require a degree in rocket science to operate it?

television antenna towers of last century

2012-01-05T08:00:00.001+10:30

Some of you may remember my post of 6/10/10, titled mid-north SA, in which I mentioned the high towers in many back yards around Port Pirie. These had TV antennas attached to them so that we could pick up TV programs from Adelaide.

I'd asked my sister to send me some photos of these if she could, please, and expected her to take her camera on a little walkabout and snap me a few shots.
Well, she didn't.
What she did instead, was hunt up a photo that she knew she had somewhere, finally found it and had it photocopied to send to me.
And then forgot to send it.
Until now.
I got a letter from J yesterday, with photos inside.

Here it is, one television antenna tower, >>>>

I have absolutely no memory of this photo being taken, but that is definitely me and R about two thirds of the way up on the tower, posing for Dad.
And would you look at me wearing a skirt! That's something I don't do anymore. (nor do I climb TV towers...)

Another photo included was an old school photo, class of 1963.
I won't publish the whole photo as there are people in there who might not want their childhood faces all over the internet, but I've isolated one insanely grinning little face.
It's a little fuzzy, sorry about that. >>>>

This is me, aged either 10 or 11, depending on which end of the year this was taken.
From memory, these school photos were usually taken during first term, but all of us are wearing jumpers or cardigans, so perhaps it was taken during second term. I'll never really know.

Whimsical Wednesday #4

2012-01-04T08:00:00.001+10:30

Welcome back to Whimsical Wednesday.

Something short and sweet to make you smile.

Once again, I remind you that the images I use here are not mine, (I'm not that clever), I don't claim ownership, they have all been saved from the Google Images pages.

my first bike

2012-01-03T08:00:00.001+10:30

I remember the day I got my first bike.
I was eleven and a classmate at school, (not a friend, I was a loner), had received a new bike for her 12th birthday. She'd been allowed to ride it to school, to show it off, it was black and white and so very shiny! I hovered close to the admiring crowd so that I could see it too and watched as she allowed her best friends to each take a turn around the playground.

I knew how to ride a bike, I'd been riding my dad's bike around the block now and then for a couple of years. Dad had a big old men's bike with that cross bar that I couldn't possibly swing my leg over, so I'd poke my leg through the triangle of space to reach the other pedal and off I'd go, leaning crookedly, but managing to keep balance.

Anyway, after M showed off her new bike at school, I must have prattled on about it quite a bit, although I don't remember doing so.
One day Dad came to school a little earlier than hometime to pick me up on his bike.
Now this was a very unusual occurrence, I always walked home and Dad should have still been at work.

He sat me on the cross bar and we rode past our house to the corner of the block where there was a section of median strip that was covered in lawn. He left me there and told me to wait until he came back.

I did wonder why he hadn't just dropped me off at home, it was close enough to the corner that we could see that patch of lawn from the front gate, but I'd been raised to do as I was told, so I sat on the grass and waited. And waited and waited.....

Eventually Dad came riding back, but not on his big old brown bike.
He was riding a shiny new lime green girls bike!!
He'd traded his bike (and no doubt paid a few extra pounds) for a bike for me!!
I was so excited!! (Thoughts of how Dad would get to work now didn't even cross my mind).
I had a bike!!

We lived in a small town,( Port Pirie, which is much bigger now), so I'm assuming now that Dad simply walked to and from work and once he got there he'd be in the company truck to get around.
Dad worked for the Gas company and went around installing or repairing gas stoves and hot water heaters. He also had a plumbers licence so did a fair bit of installing pipes and septic tanks as well.
I remember going to work with him one day and watching as he cut new threads onto a section of pipe.

After I got my bike, I was rarely home any more after school. I rode to the beach, to the library, to every single park and playground in town. I would ride until the sun was going down, then head for home.

The year after that, I was in high school, further away than the primary school had been, so I rode to school every day, and soon learned to copy the show-off boys who rode without holding on to the handlebars.
I got so good that I was able to ride all the way home without holding on, even going around corners.

Most of the stretches of road were long and straight, my peripheral vision was good, so I'd sit and ride and sometimes even read a page or three of my book.
I must have had some good fairies watching over me!

the first moon...

2012-01-02T08:00:00.001+10:30

...for 2012

Taken from my front porch at 9pm on January 1st 2012.

Look how blue the sky still is!

It was gradually darkening, but didn't become black until almost 10pm.

At least the air was breathable by then, when I stepped outside earlier to give my potplants some water I felt like I'd stepped into an oven.

That kind of heat just takes your breath away.

43 degrees Celsius. I no longer remember what that is in Fahrenheit, but damn! it's hot!

there'll be no Sunday Selections from me this week. Instead, I bring to you...

2012-01-01T00:05:00.001+10:30

...courtesy of..

...images...these wishes...

I wish you all...

a very Happy New Year!

I hope that for all of you...

...dreams come true...

...wishes are fulfilled...

...the universe treats you kindly.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

have helmet..will travel

2011-12-31T08:00:00.001+10:30

although not too far as it turns out....I think I'm going to be more than a little achy in the morning.

I bought the helmet this morning, kid sized, to fit my kid sized head, then spent a good part of the day psyching myself up to ride around the block instead of staying inside the complex.

I rode out of the driveway, turned onto the footpath with no trouble at all, ha ha! this is easy!
Negotiated the first corner into the very quiet back street and decided to ride this bit on the road, not the footpath. I made it safely past the first back street intersection, continued on to the next one, which was a major cross street.
No traffic was coming, so I turned in and rode towards the "big" intersection.
The one with traffic lights.

Shouldn't be a problem, this is easy, right? And I've been practising stopping.....

But this street has a slight downward slope...the traffic light was red, and in spite of my practising, my first instinct is still to back-pedal-brake.
Naturally that didn't work, so I pulled on the handbrake while steering into the gutter, so I could rest my foot on the kerb while waiting for the light to change.

Miscalculated just a tad....uh oh! ....tilt...reach for the gutter....crash!....smack!! ....that was my knee and both palms smacking the footpath.
Oh shit! I got myself off the ground and the woman in the car next to me leaned out and asked if I needed help.
I said No, thanks, but maybe I should get some L plates.
We both laughed a bit and she drove on.

I walked the bike across the intersection, then continued my ride.
On the footpath.
At every corner, I practised stopping.
I went around that block, then turned for home.

Oh F***, this is ever-so-slightly uphill now........pedal, pedal, pedal....stop and rest.
Pedal, pedal, pedal...stop and rest.

I made it home, locked up the bike, then washed the dust off my knee and hands and decided I needed icecream, to cool off and calm down.

Wouldn't you know it? I was out of icecream! This will never do!
I'd have to go to the shop.....which I did, but walking, not riding.

I'll take a shorter ride tomorrow, keep to the back streets, avoid traffic light intersections.
I'm determined to get the hang of this!

a lizard in your home is lucky, right?

2011-12-30T08:00:00.001+10:30

I've heard it said that lizards in the home are lucky.
In particular, geckos.

I had plenty of geckos at my last home, mostly outside, but occasionally one would find its way inside.
There were plenty of skinks too.

Here in this new home, I haven't seen a single gecko or a skink either.
But I heard odd noises from the front porch late last Saturday afternoon and went out to see what the heck was going on out there.
I saw a blue tongue lizard trying to hide under the "gecko house".
Probably just after a bit of shade I suppose.
Naturally I raced for the camera and hoped he'd still be there when I got back with it.

He was.

It was a hot day here in Adelaide, so after taking this photo, I put a small dish of water within reach for him, then left him alone.
He's disappeared now, living somewhere in the gardens, and he wasn't in my home, just on the front porch, but I still think I'm lucky just for having seen him at all.

no prizes for guessing what I got for Christmas

2011-12-29T08:00:00.001+10:30

How often have you heard "it's just like riding a bike - you don't forget"

Hah! Turns out you can forget. Not entirely, but you do forget a few things.

Like just how fast these things go, how high you are up off the ground, how to stop.....
That last one especially. When I last rode a bike, 43 years ago, bikes had back-pedal brakes.
Going too fast? Just back-pedal a half turn until the pedals stop and the bike slows down.

Nowadays, most bikes have handbrakes instead, and I'm having a little trouble getting used to them.

On this >>>>

>>> beautiful machine that my kids gave me two days ago.

I've ridden it twice so far, just around the driveways and paths of the housing complex.
I can't go out on the roads until I buy a helmet, which I will do on Friday.

Even then it will be some time before I'm game enough to tackle a main road, there's so much more traffic now than there was back then and it moves so much faster.
I'll be sticking to the back roads for quite a while, just riding around the block, then the next block and so on, until I really get comfortable with it.

The bike is a couple of sizes larger than the one I rode 43 years ago, (my feet don't reach the ground...), but I'm not any taller, so stopping and dismounting has been a little awkward.

I'd pull the handbrake lever, the bike would stop too suddenly and I'd jump off the seat, landing with both feet on the ground, one on either side of the bike, trying to keep my balance.
But the last time I stopped, my body remembered something on its own and after pulling more slowly on the brake lever, I tilted the bike to one side and placed one foot on the ground. Yay!! Progress!!

Getting on and starting is no problem at all. Steering around corners is easy enough too, but in a narrow driveway, turning at the end, to go back the other way? Hmmm, seems I've forgotten how to turn a tight circle.
Stop the bike. Get off. Turn it around. Get back on and get going.
I'm sure people are having a giggle watching me. I don't care. I'm loving the feel of the wind in my hair.
And to think I once used to ride a bike without even holding on! (look Mum, no hands!) Around corners and everything! All the way home from school in fact.

I'm looking forward to riding the bike trail along the riverbank once I regain some semblance of competence.
And I'll be buying a basket to hook on the front to carry small items, plus getting a larger basket fitted on to the back so that I can bring home shopping from the nearest supermarket.
I wonder if I should also get rear vision mirrors?

None of which can happen until I buy that helmet....

Here's another view of "The Bike". (she needs a name)

There is definitely going to be NO night riding.

Whimsical Wednesday #3

2011-12-28T08:00:00.001+10:30

Whimsical Wednesday is back!
(I skipped last week, probably because I forgot it was Wednesday....)

Feel free to join in if you wish, or just get a giggle from the images I put up.

These are all googled images, none of them belong to me, so thanks to whoever puts them on the internet.

safe on the other side

2011-12-27T08:00:00.001+10:30

Well, here we are, safely on the other side of Christmas.
The hustle and bustle, the frantic rush to get presents bought and wrapped, (not to mention hidden),
The planning, the cooking, the general partying....it's all over for another year.
No burnt turkeys, I hope....
(New Years Eve? Not as stressful, I'm sure)

I hope all of you had a great day with family and/or friends, maybe alone if that what you chose.

I spent Christmas Eve day with family and had a great time watching dvds and eating ham rolls, then had some yummy homemade icecream, before catching a bus and coming home again.
The day was quite warm, (I'd call it hot, but that's just me), so Christmas morning I woke up with a crashing headache, took some panadol and went back to sleep. I hate summer heat.

Anyway, I woke up to a cooler afternoon, with the promise of rain later, trawled around the internet for a while, gazed at my christmas tree, in my mind hearing the giggles and voices of my kids when they were very young and discovering gifts left there for them.

I hope the day was peaceful for all of you, no family feuds rearing their ugly heads, and as always, I hope nobody lost anyone in any tragic accident.

I'm looking forward to reading many blogs telling of wonderful Christmas days.

The Queen of Hearts (that would be me)

2011-12-26T08:00:00.001+10:30

The Queen of Hearts (me)

(googled image)

she made some tarts...

...and my, they looked so tasty,

When they were done,
just for fun,
she made this >>>

with the leftover pastry.

and this too.....

and then she cleaned up the kitchen.

because she knew her conscience would kick her arse if she didn't.

Sunday Selections # 51 MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

2011-12-25T08:00:00.001+10:30

Merry Christmas to absolutely everyone!!

Jacaranda season in Adelaide

2011-12-24T08:00:00.001+10:30

It's Jacaranda season again!
Things were a bit slow off the mark this year, probably because of the wet winter we'd had, but soon enough all the jacarandas began their flowering.

Many of our streets are lined with Jacarandas.

Looking up through the branches. I love the contrast of the dark bark against the bright blue of the sky.

a closer look at the pretty purple bells.

I like the way this one "frames" a section of the sky.

These are the seed pods of the Jacaranda. Pretty aren't they?

roadkill for breakfast

2011-12-23T08:00:00.001+10:30

But not for me, I prefer porridge, or fritatta....

I saw this dead bird on the driveway outside of my flat sometime last month.

Hit by a car or caught by a cat? I've no idea.

A few minutes later this magpie swooped down and began picking apart the carcass, while his friend strutted around keeping watch.

I wanted a closer photo,

but as I stepped froward with the camera, he picked up his breakfast and ran off to enjoy it in peace further down on the footpath.

finally! some parrots who didn't take to the heavens

2011-12-22T08:00:00.001+10:30

You have no idea how long I've tried to get decent photos of these colourful birds.

Walking around my new neighbourhood last month I heard the squawking of feeding parrots not too far ahead of me, so I stopped walking and looked for them.

I spottted them in this bookleaf conifer and they'd seen me too so I stayed still for a moment, then very slowly went forward a step at a time as they watched and fed.
Usually parrots fly away as soon as I'm spotted, but these two must have been more hungry than wary.

I got as close as I dared while this one watched, it must have taken me as much as five minutes, one step at a time.

He (she?) hopped from branch to branch, taking an occasional bite, while keeping an eye on me.

This is the second parrot who'd retreated to the top of the tree as I inched forward.

I left them to their meal after taking just these few photos, backing away and crossing to the other side of the street before continuing my walk.

I've got the words, you bring the music

2011-12-21T08:00:00.001+10:30

Deck the halls with bags of lollies,
Fa la la la la, la la la la

'Tis the season of much folly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la

Don we now that awful gift shirt
Fa la la, la la la, la la la

Sing this song until your throat hurts,
Fa la la la la, la la la la

some earrings for EC

2011-12-20T18:44:00.000+10:30

So that The Elephant's Child doesn't have to go trolling through my archives, here are two pictures of my Christmas earrings and one picture of the brooches that are currently adorning my second cap.

this is the original earring collection......

these are the newer ones. There's even more now, a pair of snowmen has been added, but I've forgotten to take an updated photo.

The brooches. There are two of the holly & bells, and two of the Santas.

I don't have the Santas on the cap yet, they'll go on tomorrow, along with that Christmas tree on the left.

Maybe.

The cap is already quite heavy, I'll probably put the tree and one Santa on my shirt.

christmas has gone to my head...

2011-12-20T08:00:00.001+10:30

This is one of the two caps that I wear at work in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Highly decorated I am. Well, my head is, what with the earrings and all.

Christmas tree at the back,

Bells and bows on either side,

Googly eyed reindeer at the front, one on either side.

The cap I've left in my locker at work has the same tinsel hiding the seams, but different decorations.
For that one I've used enamelled brooches of holly and berries; a green wreath, a gold tree with coloured stones representing baubles; a stocking.
But not all at once, the cap gets too heavy that way, as I discovered a couple of Christmases ago.
I change the brooches with each wearing of the cap.

just for you Kath, the visual

2011-12-19T20:47:00.000+10:30

last year's mince pies>>>>

This was the final batch I "trialled" last Novenber. There's always a trial, for taste testing purposes, of course, and to check the oven times and temperatures.

This year for the first time, I didn't bother with the trial, just couldn't be bothered.

Maybe my subconscious was reminding me of all the trials I ate last year.....

Mince Pie Central

2011-12-19T08:00:00.002+10:30

After several weeks of deliberation, and more than a little procrastination, I decided that the lounge room coffee table would be Mince Pie Central this year.

The back porch table would have been better, as it's larger and of a more suitable height.

The back porch however is quite windy most days, and while that's often a good thing, it's not really suitable to be making mince pies there while the wind is blowing dust and leaves in and out.

So the coffee table was thoroughly washed down, (and dried) and that's where I knelt on the floor to roll out pastry and cut the little rounds for bases and lids.
In spite of the house being breezy and cool from the wind, it did get quite warm in there as I rolled, cut and filled those tiny pies. Part of that heat was filtering in from the kitchen where the oven was heating up ready for the baking.

My hat goes off to the early settlers putting up with baking on a daily basis, with a wood oven constantly going, in our dreadful summer heat.
No airconditioning back then, unless you opened a window so the flies could come in.
They did it so much tougher than we do now.

By the time the first batch was done, (2 dozen), I'd had enough and called it quits.

I'll be making another batch later in the week to take out to no-one and the boy.

This first batch? All mine baby!!

I'm just kidding. They're going to work to be shared with my friends.

Sunday Selections # 50

2011-12-18T08:00:00.001+10:30

Welcome to Sunday Selections #50

Sunday Selections is the brainchild of Kim, over at Frog Ponds Rock.
The idea is to post photos that have been languishing in your forgotten files.
Anyone at all can join in, just post under the Sunday Selections title, link back to Kim, then go to her site and add your name to her linky list.
Kim would love it if you left her a comment too.

I often choose a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week my theme is......

CHRISTMAS TREES

I've found a couple of photos of trees from the past, when I had room for a bigger tree, so naturally had a bigger tree.

1985 and a sleepy-eyed J wanting to stay up and wait for Santa.

I asked J's permission to use a photo with him in it, but the one I wanted to use had someone else in it as well and I couldn't contact her to ask permission, so this is the one you see. This tree is a similar size to the one I now have.

1991....enough gifts to sink a battleship.
The family was quite large by then, with kids, boyfriends and girlfriends, extended family members.

1998...two grandchildren in the family by now.

2004 This was the last year I used the big tree.

2008 This is the small tree that I now have. When covered with enough baubles and tinsel it looks quite substantial.

2010 where the monkeys got in on the act.
(lat year's post "Monkey Mayhem")

2011 and of course, this year's tree, which most of you have already seen.

Don't forget, anyone at all can join in with Sunday Selections, just follow the instructions above the pictures and have fun!

mmm, breakfast fritatta....

2011-12-17T08:00:00.001+10:30

Take one bowl of last night's left overs.

(I had potato & sweet potato mash, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower....
you can use whatever you like......)
mash together with a fork, but not too thoroughly, you still want little chunks of vegetable.

Stir in one beaten egg, or two if you have a large amount of vegetables.

Heat a non-stick frypan, melt a little butter (or use oil if that's the way your boat floats).

Put the mixture into the heated pan, flatten to about 1cm thickness, cook until golden brown, flip it over and do the other side.
I made just the one large fritatta this time, but 2-4 smaller ones works just as well, especially for kids.

Add a little sauce...or not, your choice, eat while hot.
This kept me going though the entire morning, including a very hectic four hour checkout stint.

just a few more motorbike photos

2011-12-16T18:48:00.000+10:30

This rider had to pull over and quit the ride because his radiator sprung a leak.

You can see the fluid leaking out.

Here is his bike. See the large puddle under it. When he pulled over the bike had smoke coming from it too.

His mate pulled over to wait with him as they phoned for another mate to hook up a trailer and come to rescue them.

This is just one of many, many, groups of riders waiting at the intersection lights.

I tried once again to upload a video, but it turns out the size of the file is a problem.
140MB
I have a couple of much shorter ones, but they only run for a few seconds, so you don't really get an idea of the magnificence of the flow of bikes.

one day I'll forget my clothes and won't THAT be a sight!

2011-12-15T20:21:00.000+10:30

Can you imagine? a lump of unclothed wobbly blubber on the bus to work...
*shudder*

I swear I'm losing my mind.
Or at least that part of it that reminds me to put my shoes on in the morning.

I regularly have those moments when I go to another room and have no idea why.
Seniors moment anyone?

I'll do the washing and forget to scoop the bathmat off the floor and toss it in with the towels.
Three weeks running now.
I may have to just toss it altogether and get a new one.

I'll put the kettle on, hang a teabag in the mug, then totally forget to make the tea.
Or I'll walk to the shop specifically for bread and come home with milk, chocolate, the paper...no bread!
Stuff like that.

Not a big problem....

But recently, I've been forgetting more important things such as my watch, my mobile phone....
On the way to work, I'll be out the door, locking it behind me, and realise that my watch is still inside.
Or my bottle of water.... or my book that I purposefully left out of my bag so that I can read it on the bus....
Easy enough to fix, just unlock the door again.....grab the missing item.

Last week, I was just beginning to walk down the path when I saw that I had the wrong shoes on.
White weekend sneakers instead of black work sneakers.
Well, at least I had shoes on!

Yesterday, I walked to the shop for bread and actually came home with bread!!

Okay, I wrote myself a note with "BREAD" on it...the plan was to make my sandwich after dinner, then put it in the fridge right beside the juice so I'd see it this morning and grab it, toss it in my bag, and not have to buy something to eat before my shift started.

The plan failed, as plans often do.

I got up with plenty of time to spare, used last night's left overs to cook a veggie omelette (fritatta) for breakfast, watched MacGyver, using the ad breaks to do things like make the bed, dry the shower, wash the frypan and plate.
Then I remembered that I wanted to post christmas cards this morning and the line in the Post Office was likely to be long, so if I didn't want to be late for work, I'd better get there a little earlier.

Turned off the TV, out the door, locked it behind me, made the earlier bus and got to the Post Office to find there was no line at all ahead of me.
I bought my stamps, posted my cards and went to work.
Where I had to buy something to eat before my shift started.

My sandwich? Still in the fridge beside the juice.
Even worse? I'd forgotten my watch as well.
Two things in one day.

If this keeps up I may just forget to get out of bed by next week.

I know what's caused at least part of this.
Divorce and moving house.
Without the "walking on eggshells" stress, without the worry of "how the heck am I going to manage the rent if it goes up?", I'm much more relaxed.
So I've become a little slack about things, not feeling the need to be on top of everything all the time.
And it's making me a little forgetful.....

What am I doing in the kitchen?

Whimsical Wednesday #2

2011-12-14T08:00:00.001+10:30

Welcome to Whimsical Wednesday #2.

Enjoy.

Feel free to join in.....there's no rules, link back if you like, but not necessary.......just have fun with it.
(nothing dirty or otherwise offensive please)

*thanks to google images and whoever put this one up there*

missed opportunity

2011-12-13T16:18:00.000+10:30

Coming home from work yesterday, I was so very tired I could barely keep my eyes open on the bus.
(I really must start getting to bed earlier)

So when traffic slowed to a crawl, then eventually stopped altogether, I just gazed out of the window at the cause, another road accident.

But this one was something rarely seen on our streets, and it didn't occur to me until we'd moved on that I should have taken a photo.
My camera was right there in my bag, as always, but all I did was stare out the bus window at the accident scene.

A crashed ambulance.
Yes, you read that right....a crashed AMBULANCE!!

How often does one see that??

I'm so cross with myself !! I'll probably never see such a sight again.
The smashed in front end was facing the bus, we were so close, a photo would have been great.

There was another ambulance and two firetrucks in attendance and a small red car, also smashed in, but not too badly from what I could see, was against the median strip. There may have been a third vehicle, judging by the amount of smashed area on the ambulance, but I couldn't see one.

Later in the day, after I'd had a nap, dinner was a disaster. I tried another frozen meal, this time a beef stroganoff with pasta.
It was awful!
The meat was tasteless and chewy, the mushrooms like rubbber!
I packed it back up, marked it with a skull and crossbones, then put it back in the freezer.
I decided I'd just have toast and eggs. Hah!! The eggs were off. Tossed those in the freezer too, to wait for rubbish collection day and made a bowl of porridge.

Mondays are like that....

window display

2011-12-12T19:58:00.000+10:30

I saw a pretty filigree sleigh over at Kelley's a few days ago and immediately wanted one, so asked where she'd bought it.
The answer? The Reject Shop.
I love that place, so the very next morning I hopped on a bus and went to get one.
In gold of course, because that's my theme this year.

Here it is on my window sill >>>

I was going to fill it with gold baubles, but spotted a package of coloured baubles with gold glitter designs, they look perfect in the sleigh.

Another view. It's pretty isn't it?

And now for something different >>>>

Is it just me? Or does this traffic policeman look like he's dancing through the intersection?

He was directing the traffic flow on the day of the Toy Run and doing a fabulous job too!

He never hesitated when deciding which lane of cars to stop or let go through, everyone was smoothly sent on their way.

33rd annual bikers toy run

2011-12-11T23:49:00.001+10:30

Today, December 11th, was the 33rd annual Motorbike Riders Association's Toy Run.

The 57km toy run, from Adelaide to Callington in the hills, is the biggest of its kind in Australia, attracting up to 15,000 riders and collecting tens of thousands of gifts for the St Vincent de Paul Society.
These will be distributed to needy families at Christmas and other occasions during the next year.
A plea was put out this year (not sure where I heard it..), for more gifts suitable for teenagers, as there are always enough donations of kiddie toys, while the teens often miss out. Next year I plan on donating a teen toy.

Traditionally leaving from Glenelg, it was decided this year to move the starting point to Victoria Park, to minimise bike group breakups due to traffic lights.

I heard on the news last night, Channel 9, that 16,000 bikes took part this year.

I stood on the corner of Fullarton Road and Glen Osmond Road, along with many families with their children, and started to take photos.
I lost many opportunities to snap bikes while waiting for the camera to be ready for the next photo, so after a while I switched to video. Something I have never done before!!
The camera only recorded two minutes of film at a time, so I had to keep restarting it, eventually getting 6 two minute videos.

I'm going to put up one photo, then try to put in a video.
I hope it works.
(Ignore the bits at the end of the video, where I still had the shutter button depressed and got bits of footpath etc.)

The Photo, SANTA!!

Many of the riders waved, a lot threw lollies onto the footpaths for kids, several of them were wearing Elmo heads, even more were wearing Santa Suits.

Some of my videos are a little blurry, a little wobbly, I discovered it wasn't easy holding the camera steady while keeping a finger depressed on the shutter.
All of them have bits of footpath or road or nearby roofs at the ends.
(I'll get the hang of it......I'll get better at it).

I remember the first time I heard about the Toy Run, back in 1998, when my older son took part on his motorbike.
He told me about it the day after.....
The next year, 1999, I was at Glenelg to see the beginning of the ride and take photos.
I had an analog camera then and I have no idea where the photos from that day are.
I'm pleased now that I have this digital medium to preserve my photos, especially of such days as this one.

I've had this video uploading for quite a while now, even cancelling at one stage and starting over because it was taking so very long, which I think is a little ridiculous, it's only a two minute film.....but I have to go to work tomorrow, so if it isn't done by midnight, I'll cancel it again.
I need at least a little sleep...

Well, that's it. Midnight and no video.
There'll be another try, but not today.

Sunday Selections # 49

2011-12-11T08:30:00.001+10:30

Welcome to Sunday Selections # 49.

It's time once again to post some of those old (or not so old) photos that have been languishing in your files, just waiting for their turn in the spotlight.

There aren't many rules, just post under the Sunday Selections title, link back to Kim at Frog Ponds Rock, because this wonderful idea is hers, then go to Kim's site, add your name to her linky list and leave her a comment.

I often choose a theme for my Sunday Selections, but you don't have to.
Of course you can if you want to....

This week I've chosen a selection of photos that I took while walking along the bike path that parallels our River Torrens.

Come now and take this walk with me.......

This section of the bike path holds my two favourite trees, big gnarly old peppercorns.
I've loved peppercorns as long as I can remember. They're so perfect for climbing in.

the Morphett Bridge across the river is closed off at both ends because the structure is unstable. I hope it gets repaired and opened; I remember walking across, hand in hand with someone special, a long time ago.

Look at this fabulous tree trunk!

This little fence edges the not-quite-steep-but-be-careful path down to the river, where it meets up with....

....these rocks.
These very large rocks, which you can use to cross the river if you are able to leap across the gaps without slipping in.

I love this image of sunlight on the water. (more rocks, further down. I sat on one of these once, eating lunch with my bare feet in the water).

This is the walking path on the other side of the river.
I spent quite a lot of time here, back in 2001.
I was part of a team called the Green Reserve.
Remind me to tell you about it one day......

a passage from my current book

2011-12-10T08:00:00.002+10:30

Yesterday I was out and about (Christmas shopping, I need a sleigh for my windowsill), and realising it was lunchtime, I decided on the spur of the moment to try some sushi. I was going to do this sometime this summer anyway, and since I was standing right next to a "Cherry Blossom", today seemed like the perfect time.
I'd planned on trying sushi sometime in January or February, since I'd already used this year's "trial" for avocado.

Then of course I needed a book to read while I ate, so stopped in at the nearest secondhand book shop and picked up a copy of "A Deeper Sleep" by Dana Stabenow. (no, I've never heard of her (him?) either...) Off the bargain table for only $2.

The sushi was nice, the seaweed wrapper is an unusual taste, but not so unusual that I can't get used to it...
On the way home on the bus, I was still reading the book when I came across this bit that made me laugh out loud. (Heads were turned...I didn't care)

"And that was only if you didn't count the squatters, Kate thought, more of whom seemed to arrive everyday. Most of them had roseate expectations of a life at one with nature, and nature was reliably and enthusiastically prompt in disillusioning them. One guy pitched a tent on a bear track, and the bears, delighted by this change of diet, obligingly ate him and his girlfriend. Another guy hiked out to a broken-down bus and sat there until he starved to death, having neglected to study the part of the noble savage lifestyle about learning to hunt."

If the rest of the book delights me as much, I'll be looking for more stories by this author!

Decaf December - fail?

2011-12-09T09:00:00.001+10:30

Decaf December - Hah!

After many days (6) of making a coffee and drinking it, then realising I was supposed to be doing a Decaf December, I finally managed to get through a whole day without coffee.

Quite by accident!

It was too hot for a coffee on arriving home from work on Wednesday, so I had a milkshake instead, and by bedtime I still hadn't had any coffee.

Off to work on Thursday without a morning coffee, because I never have one before work anway; when I got home, I realised it had been over 24 hours since my last cup.
Woo-Hoo!! I'd done it!! A coffee free day.

Now I just have to do it again.
And again and again and again.....30 days to go.

I'm not at all sure I'm going to make it.

baked beans....not so nice anymore

2011-12-08T08:00:00.001+10:30

When I was a little kid there was nothing I liked better than baked beans with toast for dinner.
When I was older, I still liked them and served them up for dinner quite a lot.
Just ask my kids, who now hate them with a fiery passion.
(They probably hated them then too......)

Anyway.....yesterday.
I got home from work and made a huge chocolate milkshake and after guzzling that down I had a nap on the couch.
As you do.
I woke up hungry and decided on baked beans with toast for dinner.

The beans were disappointing. The flavour was fine, but the beans themselves weren't so nice.
Too many of them were hard little nubbins.
This has been happening for years now, across all brands that I've tried.
What's up with the beans??

They're beans, not beads!!
We're supposed to eat them, not string necklaces....

Of course after such a disappointing dinner, (the toast was lovely), one just has to have dessert.
So I did.
Cherries. Sweet juicy cherries.
I bit into one and sprayed juice clear across the coffee table.
Now that's what I call juicy.

Whimsical Wednesday

2011-12-07T07:47:00.000+10:30

Thank you Google images.

I have a folder full of these cute pictures that make me smile, so I'm beginning "Whimsical Wednesday" to make everyone else smile too.

The images aren't mine, I'm not that clever.

Thank You to Google Images and whoever puts up these things.

I read something the other day...

2011-12-06T17:52:00.000+10:30

...in our local newspaper.
The Advertiser.
here we go...

"Children are being encouraged to get their hands dirty at childcare centres renovated with a nature theme.
In SA, Mission Australia is renovating three failed childcare centres, which were known for their carpeted walls and artificial turf playgrounds.
These were replaced with outdoor discovery gardens, wooden play equipment, tunnels and bridges. Each centre also has its own vegetable patch.
Mission Australia hopes this will all help to combat "bio-phobia" - a fear of nature's risks. "

All well and good, but let's go back to the bit that bothered me.

"carpeted walls and artificial turf playgrounds"

Carpeted walls.
Carpet.
On the walls.
CARPET!!
How the hell did they keep these clean???

Carpet is well known for attracting dust, harbouring dust mites, aggravating asthma, hayfever and eczema.
In a place that has probably more than a dozen small children in morning and afternoon sessions, children with colds who probably cough and sneeze a lot, the carpeted walls would hold a lot more germs than just dust and sticky finger marks.

Carpet on the floor is bad enough, but on the walls? That's just plain ridiculous!!
Most childcare centres and kindergartens I knew had a carpeted area or a large mat for the kids to sit on for story time. The rest of the floor was surfaced in something easily washable, because let's face it, kids do have accidents. Dropped food, spilled drinks, the occasional vomit.

This is not an attack on all of you at home who have carpets on your floors. I'm betting you keep them as clean as you possibly can and I'm also betting you don't have hordes of children in your home twice a day, every day.

Moving back to the carpeted walls....a few years ago there was something in the papers about how high the incidences of asthma in small children were now.
I'm wondering if dusty, germy (wall) carpets might have had anything to do with this. If they were spot cleaned and didn't dry properly while the place was closed overnight, these carpeted walls could also be harbouring mildews and moulds between the carpet and the wall. Ditto carpet and floor.
It may be that the kids didn't have true asthma, but like me, simply had asthmatic type reactions to dust, mildews and moulds.

Further into the article were a couple of paragraphs which I just had to laugh at.

"....a lot of research into early childhood showed the importance of children having access to the outside environment."

"Children need to get outside and play.........children need exposure to nature because it helps you build up an immune system........"

Why did I laugh at this?
Because it's been known for generations.
This is not new knowledge.

ta da!! here it is...

2011-12-05T09:28:00.000+10:30

Remember this?

I liked it a lot, so much that I thought I'd "Go Gold" myself this year.

Here's my effort.

What do you think?

Really, be honest, I don't mind....not everybody thinks the way I do, and that's okay.

Of course it would look more like the display model if I had a taller, fatter tree, but since I'm limited for space, this will have to do. I may get something with fatter branches for next year, but it will still have to be a small tree.

Here's a few close-ups of the ornaments.

I do love shimmery, shiny things that catch the light and sparkle.

I've used strings of bead chain instead of the "tinsel rain" that I used for years, because it doesn't blow off the tree when I have the fan running. I bought a long length and cut it at 30cm lengths.

Oh look! There's my reflection. You probably don't want to see that.

As always, there are more images, but the computer isn't playing along nicely, so this will have to do.

Sunday Selections #48

2011-12-04T14:10:00.000+10:30

It's Sunday Selections time again!!

I'm sure we all know the drill by now, hunt through your old photos and choose one or a few to post under the Sunday Selections title, link back to Kim at Frog Ponds Rock, then hop on over to her site and add your name to her linky list and leave her a comment.

I often choose a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week my theme is

FLAMES
Bonfire flames of course, because they're the best kind.

These are all photos of a bonfire at a birthday party I went to recently; these are of the embers as the flames began to die down.
And what the heck is going on with my placement??!!
Look at that picture above bullying the top one for space! (and I couldn't fix it)

Face warming flames.

Higher and Higher.

I love watching flames.

More embers.

I also like the patterns formed in the smoke.

Sometimes I see dragons.

So go through your files, follow the directions above and join the fun!

going to be a little late

2011-12-04T12:51:00.000+10:30

My Sunday Selections post is going to be a little late.....the photos I've chosen are taking a lo-o-o-ong time to load.

I thought I'd fixed that problem.......yesterday's photos all loaded within a half hour.

*sigh*

I took a little trip to the other side of town

2011-12-03T17:23:00.000+10:30

A well known part of Adelaide, the West End Brewery, is situated along the bank of the Torrens river, and every year in December they put on a display of Christmas Lights.

When I first saw this light display several years ago, I was amazed.
Last night, I went again, with my camera.
I'd had the battery on the charger all day, so it was fully charged, but after 100 photos, the screen display indicated the battery only had a quarter of its power left.
I'm going to buy another battery the next time I go into town, so I have a spare to carry with me at all times.

Here are some of the photos I took.

This is the beginning of the display at the corner of Adam Street and Port Road.
It was still daylight and the lights aren't turned on until dark.

Brewery delivery cart with a christmas tree on the roof.

a Dragon, a Train, a Raggedy Ann doll, slowly turning

Frosty the Snowman

Santa

and his reindeer. I'm guessing ths is a practise run, since there are only six of the reindeer. On the "big" night he has eight, plus Rudolph to lead them. Unless Rudolph is one of the eight?

Aha! Here's one of the missing reindeer...

...wandering off to see Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus.

The Miller's Cottage

A little Fairy house.

Even Jonah's whale is there, sending up a geyser of water from his blowhole every minute or so.

a Christmas themed "Ferris Wheel"

Merry Christmas.

This is one of the photos I took after the lights began coming on.
There weren't as many fairy lights as in previous years and with the flood lights shining on the figurines etc, the whole area was almost as bright as daylight until the sky was completely black.
I didn't stay around that long,(although I do have a few more photos taken after dark), I headed for the tam station and went back into the city to Victoria Square.....

The city's Christmas tree. The star at the top changes colour every few seconds going from red to aqua, yellow, green, purple, blue and back to red again.

Here's a close up.

I hope you've enjoyed this little Christmas journey.

Decaf December and a couple of other things

2011-12-02T15:42:00.001+10:30

First; Decaf December.

Melissa at Suger Coat It has decided to go caffeine free for the month of December and has invited anyone else to join in if they want to. I thought I'd give it a try. I only have one coffee a day, (on working days), giving that up can't be too hard, surely?

I didn't read her post until late yesterday evening, so yesterday was a complete washout, since I'd had a coffee within minutes of getting home from work.
I made up my mind to start my December Decaf today.

Ha Ha! Major slip-up in the early hours of this morning, when I woke at 4.30, made my usual cup'a'java and took it back to bed to drink while I finished the book I'd been reading. The wee hours of the morning on days that I'm not working are perfect for this as I can snuggle back down and sleep again when my eyes just won't stay open another minute. This is a habit I'm going to have to break if I want to do a whole caffeine free month.

Keeping in mind that the caffeine I'm alluding to is only coffee. I'm fully aware that other foods contain caffeine, but I don't know what a lot of them are. There's chocolate.....which I am not giving up....and tea.....I only drink herbal teas...........
So today is another complete washout and I'll try starting over tomorrow. I'll make it a full month by taking the decaffeinating to January 3rd.

Moving on; something I find a little disturbing.
Mobile phones in toilets.

Earlier this morning I was in a Ladies restroom when I heard a phone ringing. There was a scuffling noise which I assume was the woman rummaging around in her bag for the phone, then she answered it. While she was peeing! While I was washing my hands, the woman came out, still talking on her phone that she'd tucked under her chin/neck/shoulder area and proceeded to wash her hands, then dry them, as you do, because toilets are germy places. Especially public toilets. I'm pretty sure these people don't also wash or otherwise sanitise their mobile phones.

There have been other incidents. Even at work, I've heard women answering their phones while doing whatever it is they do inside the cubicle.
Aside from the germ factor, (it's public toilets we're talking about and not everybody washes their hands..), does anyone consider the person at the other end of that phone call?

Now I can only speak for myself here, but when I'm phoning someone, what I don't want to hear in the background is peeing, pooping, flushing, handwashing. Not from the person answering the phone, nor from people in neighbouring cubicles.
Surely nothing is so important that it can't wait the two or three minutes that it takes to finish up and get outside the restroom?
The same applies to people who go into a restroom cubicle and dial their phones for a nice long conversation as soon as they sit down. (do they realise that anyone else in there can hear every word they're saying? Even without actively listening?)
Do they think about germ transfer from hands to phone?
Fingers that wipe your bum, (yes, I'm getting really personal here), then continue to hold that phone, perhaps even finishing a call and straight away dialling another number....you may then go out and wash your hands, but what about the phone? I'm guessing it doesn't even get a wipeover with an antibacterial wipe. Do your kids play with your phone? Your babies? Toddlers who still put everything in their mouths?

The other thing that has disturbed me?
Yesterday's front page on the Advertiser, Adelaide's daily newspaper.

$90,000 pay rise for the PM.
Whoop-de-doo!!
$90,000!!
That's not her pay, that's her pay rise.
No wonder her smile is as wide as the Great Australian ~~Bite~~ Bight.

I think she must have a sad life

2011-12-01T08:42:00.000+10:30

Yesterday morning I followed my usual routine, breakfast, house tidying, watch an episode of McGyver...
then caught the bus into town.

When I got there I stood for a few minutes watching the big cranes lifting things into position on the empty block where Harris Scarfe used to stand. I thought about getting out the camera for a quick photo or two, but realised I'd get carried away and miss the next bus I was supposed to catch.

So I left the cranes behind, promising myself photos on another day.

As I neared the next bus stop, (about twenty yards away from it), the bus I was meant to get on pulled up. so I called up a spurt of energy and ran to catch it. Hey, look at me! Miss Lazybones, running!
It was warmish inside the bus, and I was warmed from my twenty yard sprint, so once I was comfortably seated, I took off the light jacket I'd been wearing against the chill in the breeze.

Immediately the woman across the aisle from me spoke up.
"You shouldn't take off your jacket, you should leave that on, it's cold. I've got my jacket on and I'm freezing."
I replied to her that I was a bit warm from running to catch the bus, to which she then said, "Oh you shouldn't be running, you might have an accident and end up in the hopital. What will you do then?"
Me: "I had to catch the bus, I need to get to work, I don't like to be late."
Woman: "You shouldn't run just for a bus, you might have an accident and end up in hospital, then you'll miss work. You should just walk and if you miss the bus you can wait for the next one. So what if you're a bit late for work? They won't mind surely?"

I tried to explain (while she kept talking), that we work on a roster system that relies on people turning up on time so that those already working can have their tea or lunch breaks, or go home if their shift has ended.
She insisted that I shouldn't run, I might have an accident etc, she never runs anywhere, and I should put my jacket back on, I might catch a cold...."

At this point I decided I'd tune her out, so got my book out of my bag and began reading.

Well, this really set her off!

I shouldn't read my book because I might miss my stop and end up at the end of the line and have to come all the way back...she just went on and on while I tried to ignore her.
It wasn't easy as her voice was quite loud, but the book was getting interesting, so I turned the page...

Then she found a new distraction.
The young man sitting in front of me with a baby boy in a pram.
He gave the boy a drink from a sippy cup and the child drank a little too fast and coughed a bit.
Straight away this woman was on his case.

"That child is coughing! You shouldn't be on a bus with a coughing child! I don't want to have that cough, you should get off the bus! We'll all get sick! Stop him from coughing! You shouldn't be on the bus with a sick baby! What if I catch the cough? I don't want to be sick!
And so on.
And on and on and on.
Yes, the exclamation points are necessary. This is how she spoke.

The dad wasn't so tolerant as I'd been and argued back with her about the boy only coughing a little because he'd swallowed too much too fast etc. (the baby wasn't coughing anymore by now)
So then she started going on about how you're not supposed to drink on the bus.
"Read the sign at the front, it clearly says no drinking or eating on the bus!"
Things could get spillled, we'd all slip over, (not if we stay seated we won't, is what I thought), the floor will get all sticky, the driver would be distracted, we'd have an accident and end up in the hospital...

By now the dad was getting a little angry and told her off for interfering, first with me and then with him. He was just giving a thirsty baby a little water. Surely she understands that you wouldn't deny a baby a drink? Would she deny her own child a drink?
The woman stated that she didn't have any children, the dad said "Thank god for that!", while she carried on about not drinking on the bus.

I kept reading.....The 5th Witch by Graham Masterton.
(I've never missed my getting off stop).

The dad and the woman both got off the bus at the same stop, and I hoped she wouldn't follow him around and keep arguing.
Everything she'd said the whole trip had been negative and I began to wonder what kind of life has she had to make her this way.
Had she always been so negative and fearful? (and critical)
Had she once been happy and had something terrible happen to make her this way?
(Maybe she had an accident and ended up in the hospital?)

It seems so sad to me for someone to have such a negative outlook.
I hope she found something good about her day before she went to bed last night.

I'm trying something different this year

2011-11-30T20:24:00.000+10:30

The book...

the look.

You'll notice this display tree is 6 feet tall, nicely rounded and fat with branches.

This is called the "Shimmer" look.

All of the decorations are gold. Not real gold of course, simply gold coloured, made from that cheap stuff that allows these baubles to be sold for only four dollars a packet. (At Coles, I haven't checked the prices at other supermarkets).

Well within my budget.

The baubles, mostly gold with a few shimmery pinks mixed in.

Balls in three sizes and elongated baubles, some are shiny, some are matte, many have glitter.

All of them are pretty.

I even bought a packet of glittery stars.

And of course I had to have the sparkly tinsel!

Christmas just isn't Christmas without tinsel.

Now here's my tree.

Clearly not six feet tall, (it's about 90 or 100cms), not nicely rounded, certainly not fat with branches.

In fact it's rather spindly.

When I downsized from a six foot tree several years ago, this is what I could afford.

I hung it with everything I had available, plus lots of tinsel.

Last year a couple of monkeys got hung in there too.

Overall I've been happy with it.

I think I can safely say that my tree, even with the displayed ornaments, won't look like the one pictured in the Coles Christmas magazine.

But I'll give it a good try.

(maybe I should invest in a slightly fatter tree next year?)

Here are the pictures of the other decorating options shown in the mgazine.

This is called the "Classic" look, mostly red baubles with a few gold stars and a handful of green balls on the bottom branches.

"Wonderland". White and silver decorations, with navy blue stars. Along the bottom branches, those elongated baubles in silver with silver glitter and silver with navy blue glitter. (to me they just look purple).

The "Regal". Mostly purple, with a few silver balls, and some strings of purple beads.

Classic and Shimmer have gold stars on top of the tree, Wonderland and Regal have silver.

What are you doing with your tree this year?

Following a colour theme?

Do you have heirloom decorations, handed down from parents and grandparents?

Handmade decorations made in school or at home by your children?

Old-fashioned painted wooden decorations?

A mix of all of these?

jade by the front door is supposed to be lucky....here's hoping

2011-11-29T22:48:00.001+10:30

When I moved in here I didn't bring many of my old pot plants with me.
There just wasn't room as most of them were quite large.
I did bring a pelargonium...

...which has since been planted in the communal garden, near a shady tree,

and my last three rose cuttings, two yellow and one red, all of which are also now in amongst the other, older rose bushes.

I also brought along this jade and three smaller ones in smaller pots.

This big one wasn't doing so well after about a week, because I'd had it on the front corner of my tiny porch and someone unknown had kicked or tossed it down the slope of the lawn. It had rolled down quite a way, with most of the soil being lost into the grass, so I plonked it back into the pot, put it back on the corner and started saving for some new pots. various neighbours said it must have blown off in the wind, but as subsequent gale force winds failed to move it, I'll stick with my theory.

I'd thought I might get some blue glazed ceramic pots. Large ones. Some of the other flat owners have these and they look really lovely, but after seeing how much they'd cost me, I hopped a bus to K-Mart and got plastic terracotta coloured ones.

Four of them, for less than the cost of one glazed pot.

I repotted the jades, and have put some large white pebbles on two of the pots as mulch, to stop the water evaporating quite so fast. I'll get the remaining two done when I get more pebbles. I thought I'd bought enough....

Looks pretty nice doesn't it?

This is one of the "smaller" ones. It's now bigger than the other big one, it really took off as soon as it could spread its roots and soak up some water. See the pot next to it that doesn't have white pebbles yet? The jade in that is about half the size of this one.

I cleaned up the original small pots and planted a tiny sprig of jade in each one. I looked at them when I arrived home from work today and they've begun growing! Once they're big enough, I plan to pot them up and put them in the "back yard", out where the washing lines are.

I've heard that for the luck to work jade must be at both front and back doors.
We'll see.

just dropping in to say hi..

2011-11-28T17:59:00.000+10:30

I'm not staying long, I'm in a hurry to get back to the book I'm reading.

Called The Mushroom Man, by Stuart Pawson, I began reading it yesterday.
The first chapter didn't really grip my attention, but I kept going in the hope that the story would improve a bit.
Well, it certainly did that. I'm up to page 142 and so far there's been three murders, an accidental death, a suicide and a child kidnapping.

I was reading this at work this morning, (no, not at the checkout), while I waited for my shift to start and I have to say when it was almost time to go downstairs and start work, I really, really, didn't want to.

Yet work I did, for hours, all the while wanting to be reading the story.
So, here I am at home, checking email, reading a blog or three.....four...ten.....okay, all of you.
I may or may not leave comments, because my book is right there beside me, calling...calling...calling....

Sunday Selections #47

2011-11-27T08:00:00.001+10:30

Welcome to Sunday Selections #47

As bloggers, most of us have built up a collection of photos that we might use on our blogs.
Often as newer photos are filed and used, a lot of the older ones are forgotten about.
They lie dormant in our hard drives, quietly singing to themselves, "what about me...it isn't fair..."

Well, here's your chance to use these forgotten photos.

Search your pictures files and find a few that deserve to see the light of day, or even just one....
Post them on a Sunday, under the Sunday Selections title, then link back to Kim at Frog Ponds Rock, because this wonderful concept is hers. Then go to Kim's site, add your name to her linky list and leave her a comment, because she just loves comments.

It really is that easy!

I often choose a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week my theme is:

CONSTRUCTION

This construction is/was taking place on a site that used to be a 100 bed nursing home for the elderly.

The old home had been there for many, many years and while it still looked in reasonable condition to me, it was very run down and apparently had rising damp and termites too.

I'm wishing now that I'd taken photos of the old nursing home before they tore it down.

Lots of waste in the bin, I hope they recycle...

Working on the second storey.

It's actually beginning to look like something.

They're building retirement accommodation.

High priced 2 or 3 bedroom units, (apartments) for the over 55's.
Well, the over 55's who were savvy enough in their youth to work hard, save and invest for their retirement.

what the f*** else is going to go wrong!

2011-11-26T11:40:00.000+10:30

I woke up this morning looking forward to going to a birthday party later this evening.

Made pancakes for breakfast, tidied up, decided I'd wash the dishes, because I hate coming home to a dirty sink.
I have one of those taps where you lift the handle to start the water flow.

Turned this handle to the left because that connects the hot water, and as I turned it, the silly thing lifted itself, too fast, too high, now it's broken and won't shut off. Stoopid tap!
(since the sink was now half filled with hot water, I washed up the dishes as the water continued to fill the sink)
I've turned it all the way to the right, for cold water, and pushed it back down as far as it will go.
The water is still running. About a litre a minute. A litre!! I put a jug under it and measured.
I suppose I could stand beside the sink and hold that handle down for as long as it takes.....

I've called maintenance and said this is an emergency and they will send a plumber, but it may take up to 5 hours before he gets here. In the meantime I should shut off my water supply. I frantically ran around to the few neighbours that I know speak English and asked if there was a shut off tap and where would it be? One didn't know, one wasn't home, the third neighbour said there isn't an individual shut off tap per flat.

Well, I can't just shut off the water at the mains, even if I knew where that was. Too many people would be affected, some of them with mental health issues, they just wouldn't understand what was going on. Like my back door neighbour who never knows what day it is and frequently runs out of food because he doesn't know he should go and buy some....

So I'm stuck here on the internet, whinging again, because I can't even shower in case the plumber knocks on the door. If he does take 5 hours to get here, I'll be missing the birthday party. If he comes and does the repair early enough I'll still get there, but I texted the hostess just in case, she said "no worries".

So now I wait.
Luckily I'm not one of those people who has to pee every time they hear running water.

oh poo!!

2011-11-26T08:30:00.001+10:30

I have a cold sore.

Let me now publicly state that I sympathise mightily with all of you who suffer from these horrible little so-and-so's on a regular basis.

This is the second cold sore I've had in my lifetime and I can honestly say the first one, 25 years ago, was more than enough.

Apparently stress can bring them on and I've certainly had enough of that this year.

So off to the chemist for a tube of Virasolve, which is what I remember using the last time, also some steriliser of the sort used for baby's bottles.
I've mixed up the solution and I'm soaking all of the sippy tops from my plastic water bottles and the bottles too, also my toothbrush.

Just throw that toothbrush away you say?
Well, I would, but it's brand new......

I'm hoping that my lip will feel more comfortable by tomorrow, because I have a 40th birthday party to go to.
Woo-Hoo...partay!!
Now, what shall I wear?

summer is almost upon us

2011-11-25T08:00:00.001+10:30

Salad days....veggie salads, fruit salads, fruit and veg together salads.
Yum.
And let's not forget icecream....

But... I'm not really a salad person. I'm trying to eat more salady meals, but I still like to eat a cooked meal several times a week.

The problem now is the electric oven and hotplates. I'm not looking forward to cooking on a hot day, then being unable to get back into the kitchen for hours because it's still cooling down in there. Plus, it's open to the living room, so the heat will filter out there.

Enter the microwave.
I've had one for years but not used it terribly much.
This summer it will earn its keep.

I'm currently taste testing a range of "Healthy Choice" and "Lean Cuisine" frozen meals to find out which ones I can eat, (a lot of them just don't taste nice to me), and ticking them off on the list on the fridge door. With a yes or a no beside each variety.

Another option I'll be using is cooking several large meals that freeze well on cooler weekends, then freezing meal sized portions. Things like spaghetti bolognese, lasagna, mild curry and rice, that will heat well in the microwave. Then there's frozen pizzas too, although they don't do so well in the microwave, much better in the oven.

With these options and the salad meals, plus sandwiches, (tuna, tuna and salad, tuna and mayo...) the summer shouldn't be too hard.
As long as there is a good supply of icecream in the freezer.

I got a parcel in the mail today....

2011-11-24T18:10:00.001+10:30

Some time ago, Melissa at Suger Coat It, was holding a little giveaway, for a pair of pyjamas from Virtu clothing.

Well, I won them, and the parcel arrived today.
Just look at these "Free As A Bird" pyjamas.

They're made from a knit fabric, very soft and drapy. I'm going to love swanning around the house in these this summer.

The top and pants are trimmed with some very pretty lace...

...here's a close-up of the free-flying birds and open cages on the pants.

I particularly like that the shoulder straps are adjustable.

Included in the package was a laundering bag, (thanks Virtu, I'd been needing a new one),

and a couple of catalogues for me to look through.
I'm guessing they'd like me to keep shopping.
Maybe I will.
The clothes are lovely.

hippy bathday

2011-11-23T08:00:00.001+10:30

to no-one.....

love from Mum.

where's the cake? I've got my own fork.....

I like this....

2011-11-22T19:16:00.000+10:30

Here is an advertisement I like.

The ad is for the bookshelves, but I really like the book Christmas tree they've made in there.

hands up who doesn't like tuna

2011-11-21T08:00:00.001+10:30

Wow! So many of you!

I read a post last Saturday in which Kelley stated that she hates tuna.
A couple of her commenters said the same thing.

I've read similar statements all over the bloggy world.
People hating tuna.

Well, not me. No sirree.
I like tuna.

Right now I have 25 cans of tuna in my kitchen.
Here's proof>>

There was 26, but I ate one yesterday, with salad, for my dinner.
I've even been known to cook with tuna.
If the link doesn't work, the post is from Monday 17th January 2011, in the archives over there>>
(Please, try the link and let me know if I got it right).

When the kids were little I also made tuna mornays quite often. At least two per winter.
I don't do that anymore.
It got a bit time consuming, with one child liking hers with chopped hard-boiled egg included, but no peas; another child, peas but no egg; then there's the child who would probably prefer to never see another tuna mornay as long as she lives.....

Anyway, what about you?
Tuna?
Or not?

Sunday Selections #46

2011-11-20T08:00:00.001+10:30

It's Sunday Selection time again!
Time to post photos that have been hiding away in your computer files, photos that you may have completely forgotten about.
Have a hunt through your files and find some.

This idea comes to us from Kim at Frog Ponds Rock, who realised one day that she takes many more photos than she uses, as we all do, and wanted to post some of the older ones on her blog.

A once a week meme seemed like a good idea, so Sunday Selections was born and anyone at all can join in.

I often choose a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week my theme is:-

FIRE DAMAGE
(unfortunately I have only two photos, I meant to get more, but time slipped away from me)

Both images are of the burnt out St George Bakery that was across the road from where I used to live.
The blaze was huge, with three fire trucks and several police cars in attendance and neighbouring businesses being evacuated.
I walked home from work on the day to see the last few flames and much smoke filling the air above the bakery, and dozens of people from the other businesses crowded on the footpath outside the units where my home was.

No one was hurt.

There used to be a roof up there.

the blackened underside of the varandah and the boarded up shopfront window.

Before the windows were boarded up I saw the interior, so very black. The smell was bad for a few days,but soon was only noticeable if you walked right up to the building.

It's believed the fire was caused by an electrical fault.

There are plans to rebuild the bakery on the same site, but that hasn't happened yet.

To join in with Sunday Selections, post photos of your choice under the Sunday Selections title, then go to Kim's site, add your name to her linky list and leave her a comment.

Then have a look at what others have posted for their selections.

There are some really good photographers out there.

English is a crazy language

2011-11-19T08:00:00.001+10:30

Secondary title: that F sound

ph
we all know this combination of letters makes an F sound.
Always.
Unless there are variations that I don't know about.

phone - fone
photo - foto
pheromone - feromone.
pharmacy - farmacy
phantom - fantom
philosophy - filosofy
phraseology - fraseology

but what about the gh combination?
these two letters together do not always sound the same
and do not always make that F sound.

Placed at the beginning of a word gh is simply g.
A "hard" g, not the softer gee.
ghost
ghoul
gherkin
ghetto
Now and again it's a J as in Gillian (Jillian) or Geoffrey (Jeffrey)

Placed in the middle of a word, or at the end, it's a totally different sound.
In laughing or coughing it becomes an F

laughing -larfing
coughing - cofing
yet coffin is not spelled c-o-u-g-h-i-n
Gough Whitlam is not spelled Gof Whitlam
slough is pronounced sluf

bough - the tree branch - is a W sound; bow

other gh words have other sounds;
bought -bort; but not boft
brought - brort
ought -ort; why not oft?

there are still more variations
sleigh - slay
eight - ate
right - rite, but not rift...
rough is ruff
thigh is theye? or could it be thif....

Port Broughton certainly isn't Port Brofton, but it could be.

For newcomers arriving in Australia or any other English speaking country, learning to speak the language isn't so hard, (deciphering our slang is a different matter altogether), but when it comes to the reading and, more importantly, the writing, getting it right (rite? ryte?) isn't so easy.

I'm not at all surprised when immigrants bring their school age children to the supermarket to help with the shopping.

And I'm thankful for those dedicated people, like Frogdancer, who teach English as a second language, whether it be to children in a High School, or to adults at a TAFE course in the evenings.

I did my share for a while, working in a shoe factory and helping the group of girls at my table to better understand the "English" they were hearing daily, that didn't correspond with the proper English they'd learnt before coming to Australia.
One had come from Madrid, two from Poland.

Anyrthing that helps to achieve better understanding is a plus in my books.

she was so alive with joy

2011-11-18T08:00:00.001+10:30

I served a lot of customers yesterday.
Actually I've served a lot of customers all week.
Where are all you people coming from?
We checkout people barely have time to take a sip of water in between customers lately.
This type of rush usually happens closer to Christmas..............

Anyway, back to yesterday.
One customer in particular stood out from the crowd.

A young woman, maybe 20 or so........
Her face was so alive with joy and excitement
She had the biggest grin and was doing little happy dance jigs while I processed her goods.

I said to her, "you look a little excited"
And she replied, "I am, I've just bought a Christmas tree and I can't wait to get home to it".
Me: Is it your first Christmas tree?
Customer: yes, my partner and I have just moved in together.....

Well, that certainly explained the happy dancing!
New relationship, new home together, first Christmas tree....
I wish them well, I truly do.

I remember that kind of excitement.
Do you?

where has your furniture come from?

2011-11-17T18:41:00.000+10:30

6:40pm; Thursday 17 November; watching Today Tonight.

Feature story....cheap imported furniture from China, in particular...glass tables.

These tables are exploding, without warning, for no reason.

Apparently there is no stress testing of these glass tables at manufacturing point, and there are no Australian Standards for glass tables, either indoor or outdoor, that have to be met.

What??? No Australian Standards???

This is bad.
Why do we not have Australian Standards for glass topped tables, as we do for so many other things?

Do you have a glass table? Where was it made?

a trio of sunset roses

2011-11-17T08:00:00.001+10:30

This photo of drooping roses looks a little sad, doesn't it?

so here's one I prepared earlier.

Much better, yes?
and here's the one where I accidentally left the flash turned on.

a trio of photos, of a trio of roses.

(oh, I'm soooo clever....)

there are no neurons firing in my brain today

2011-11-16T08:27:00.001+10:30

Instead I have a dense cloud of hayfever induced fog.
Which should dissipate as soon as the antihistamines take effect.

So instead of writing something that possibly won't make any sense, I'll give you a few descriptions of the wind in a storm from the book I'm currently reading.

Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane.

The blurb on the back of the book tells me this has been made into a movie, the story is interesting enough for me to look for it at places like JBHifi, Amazon etc. in spite of the fact that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio.
(I'm not a fan...)

The descriptions:

A chunk of something passed so close to his head he could feel it kiss his hair.
The wind was thick with dirt and leaves, tree branches and rocks and always the rain and it squealed like a pack of boar and shredded the earth.
An angry thing that turned waves into towers and chewed houses into matchsticks and could lift him in its grasp and throw him to China.
An entire tree swept past the door, upside down, its roots sprawling upward like horns.
The door ripped free of its sole remaining hinge and smashed back into the doorway, and they watched it hammer the stone and then lift into the air and shoot above the graveyard and disappear into the sky.

You'll notice Dennis Lehane uses a lot of "and" in his writing.

When I was in school, if we had to write a 500 word essay, my English teacher told us this was a lazy way of filling out the page and we'd be deducted a point from our score for every "and" we used where we could have put a comma or another word.
To this day, I try to not use too many "ands" in my writing.
(they do seem to creep in, don't they?)

last Saturday

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000+10:30

I went into town with my camera, intending to take photos of the Chinatown area around the Central Market.
The bus was a little crowded, so I got off a few stops early and walked up Wakefield Street towards Victoria Square.
I began to notice more and more people, all heading the same way as me. Families, many, many, small children and babies in prams.
Further down the street I could see crowds of them lining the middle of the road.

I'd completely forgotten it was Christmas Pageant day!
There wasn't a good spot for me to stop and take photos, so I decided not to take any and just kept walking towards the market.
But then I saw something I could climb up on and maybe get a decent photo or three....

I'd missed the first few floats and even standing up on something, I still couldn't get photos of the bands that were playing and marching along.
I could only get photos of the bigger floats that stood out above the crowds.
Here are some of those.

Jester

Christmas on Parade.

Smoke breathing dragon.

Ghostly Grove.

Naughty or Nice? This wheel spun as the float moved along, then stopped when the float stopped.
The choices were naughty, needs help, nice and I couldn't read the other one.

Aaarrgh! Ahoy me hearties! Captain Hook I believe.

This shiny kangaroo bobbed his way along.

Clowning around.

Toy Town

Christmas presents piled high. There were three such piles on this float.

Toys

Fairytale Cottage.

Have you ever heard a brass band play Funky Town? This one did.

Carollers.

Santa's Reindeer

Santa blowing kisses. When I was a kid, Santa threw lollies.

Santa waving to the kids.

I did eventually get to Chinatown and took photos too, but I'll post those another day.

square dancing

2011-11-14T08:00:00.001+10:30

I first knew about square dancing from a show on TV that my dad used to love to watch.
I wish I could remember the name of it......people would sit around on hay bales while girls in swirling gingham skirts and men in checked shirts and cowboy boots do-si-doed around the floor.
I loved it. Sat with rapt attention for every show.

Years later, in high school, for open day, my class had to do a display of folk dancing. I was in heaven! This, to me, was so much like square dancing.

I'm reminded of this by the TV show I'm watching right now. (Friday 11th)
Happy Days. The Cunninghams, and Fonzie too, are at a ranch, riding horses and doing other ranchy stuff....at the end of the day, they're in the barn watching the square dancing.

Took me right back to being seven years old again.

Now I'm wondering if I can find square dancing classes anywhere near me. At a time when I'm not working of course. I'd quite like to give this a try.

Ha ha

2011-11-13T14:18:00.000+10:30

Pete: I have just one question about rapelling. What do you do if the rope breaks?

MacGyver: fall.

Sunday Selections #45

2011-11-13T08:00:00.001+10:30

It's Sunday Selections time again!
Time to post photos that have been hiding away in your computer files, photos that you may have completely forgotten about.
Have a hunt through your files and find some.
This idea comes to us from Kim at Frog Ponds Rock, who realised one day that she takes many more photos than she uses, as we all do, and wanted to post some of the older ones on her blog.

A once a week meme seemed like a good idea, so Sunday Selections was born and anyone at all can join in.

This week, for my selection, I'm featuring a Silky Oak tree in full bloom.

When the setting sun shines on this the whole tree looks burnished or gilded.
(depending on position of sun)
The next few pictures are the individual flowers.

They remind me quite a bit of grevillea flowers.

I couldn't get as close as I wanted because the tree is very tall...

...and it was in someone's yard.

To join in with Sunday Selections post photos of your choice under the Sunday Selections title, go to Kim's site and add your name to her linky list, then leave her a comment.
Then have a look at what others have posted for their selections.
There are some really good photographers out there.

Julia disappointed me.

2011-11-12T08:00:00.002+10:30

Last Sunday I watched the movie Julie/Julia.

It tells of a young married couple, Julie and Eric, who live in a tiny apartment above a pizzeria.
(if that was me, I'd be eating pizza every night....)

Julie is dissatisfied with her life and the way things are going.
Realising that she never finishes anything she starts, she one day decides to cook her way through every recipe in Julia Childs cookbook.
In one year.
I believe it's called Mastering The Art Of French Cooking.
I could be wrong....
524 recipes in 365 days.

Husband Eric suggests she blog about it, that way she'll be sure and finish what she's begun this time.
So she sets up a blog and starts cooking.

Are any of you out there familiar with Julia Childs recipes?
I'm not, but they all appear to be family-sized recipes, (a good thing), filled with the yumminess of cream and real butter, (not such a good thing).
They'd probably taste amazing, but in these health conscious days, who'd eat them? (umm, me probably)

There was one recipe, Lobster Thermidore (ooohhh, yummmmm!!) that was shared with two other couples, but for most of them, Julie appeared to be cooking for just Eric and herself.
This made me wonder what happened to the leftovers?
Did they eat a family sized meal every night? Just the two of them?
Surely all that food wasn't just tossed out......

And get this! Julie's efforts almost always look exactly like the pictures in the recipe book.
Mine almost never do.

Anyway, back to Julia. The disappointing Julia.
The voice! The accent! The hoity-toity snobbishness and silly high pitched laughs of her and her friends!
I was tempted to change channels within the first ten minutes, but I stuck with it because I'd been wanting to see it for so long.

Julia was played by Meryl Streep.
I've seen her in other movies and liked the characters she played very much.
They seemed real, believable.
But as Julia?
Such a let down. So disappointing.
I really do feel this movie didn't live up to its potential.

we'd like to apologise....aka, parents teach your sons

2011-11-11T08:00:00.001+10:30

Have we all (Aussies) seen that advertisement for Harpic toilet cleaner?
The one featuring men and a boy apologising?

It goes like this:>

The men of Australia would like to apologise:

for our bad aim
for splattering
for failing to flush
for flushing too much

and so on.
At the end the boy says "we're really sorry".

Maybe I'm unreasonable, but this irritates the heck out of me.

Newsflash!
I don't want apologies.

I want men and boys to clean up after themselves.
I want men and boys (toddlers excluded) to pee into the water, not all over the toilet and floor.

And if you do splatter, drip, miss the pan completely; don't just walk away and leave the mess for someone else to clean up.
Pull off a wad of toilet paper and clean that toilet rim, seat, floor, whatever.
And learn to pee into the water!
Cut out some miniature paper battleships and practise sinking them....
Then flush. Once. Properly.

It really isn't that hard.
Parents, please, teach your sons.

songs about sunshine

2011-11-10T08:00:00.001+10:30

We all know a song or two about sunshine, I'm sure.

Just off the top of my head I remember

Here Comes The Sun
Let The Sunshine In
Sunshine on My Shoulder

I'm not completely sure if those first two are titles, or just lines from the songs....
anyway, here are a few sunshiny pictures for you.

Late afternoon sun coming in through the front door at my old home.

Early morning sun through the kitchen curtain at my old home.

Early morning sun through the back porch gate at my new home.

Afternoon sun through the screened end of the porch.

I quite like sunshine, but I don't like the heat and the glare that comes with it.

I think we'd all agree

2011-11-09T08:00:00.001+10:30

that Dexter could use a few of these>>>

ShamWow

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

here's a few sentences .....

2011-11-08T08:00:00.001+10:30

.....from a few of the books I've been reading lately.

Shields shook his head as if testing its connection to the rest of his body.
It was the kind of neighbourhood where middle class meant floorboards in the houses.
The puny plastic box crackled with static.
He looked crooked, like a piece of fruit that had been sliced and then put back together with less than full precision.
The sky was as cold and hard as a gun. Minutes after I hit the blacktop the gun proved to be loaded; it fired a blast of thunder and the water started coming down.
Grandma was waiting for me as I stepped into the waiting room, with a sheaf of stapled booklets and two sharpened number two pencils.
He shook his head and buried his face in a plate of steamed mussels.
The green apple pie came. I noticed that the filling was indeed green, a bright, almost luminescent green. Someone in the kitchen was fooling around with food dyes.
She faced me, nostrils flaring, eyes floating like black lilies in a salty pond, lips quivering like harp-strings.
For answer, he turned tail and bolted.
Except now her cottage had decided to interfere.
He had a capacity to withdraw behind his face as if he pulled down an inner shutter of skin from forehead to chin.
The door had been superbly sealed
Her story was as well rehearsed as a ballet.
I really do look for that special spot, the place of power, before I sit down to eat my sandwiches.
They never thought about why they were here, they had no appreciation of the finer things the human mind was capable of.

Read any interesting things lately?

Psittacosis - a quick update

2011-11-07T18:45:00.000+10:30

After work today I toddled off to the Medical Clinic to get the results of my blood test.
The waiting line to get booked in was a dozen people long and I was there almost a half an hour before I made it to the desk. Then it was only a few minutes before I saw my doctor.

Good news!!
I do not have the psittacosis, aka chlamidiosis.

Apparently I just have that viral cough that's been going around and it will eventually clear up on its own.

Eventually.

There's a long-ranging word for you.

Then he told me that my cholesterol was high.
I'm not too concerned because I hadn't fasted before the blood test and you don't get a true reading unless you've fasted.

I will cut back on the icecream though, because I have been pigging out a bit there.
Damn! I finally find a brand that doesn't upset my ............never mind, I'll cut back.

the Jamaicans have got their reggae music playing

2011-11-07T08:00:00.001+10:30

(Saturday 5th November)

Across the driveway from my block of flats is another block of flats, one of many.
Many, many, many......

Up on the top floor, the end flat has Jamaicans living in it.

I'm not positive they're Jamaican, but they are very dark and there's a tiny flag hanging off the balcony next to a tiny Australian flag.

I'll have to google flags of the world to find out for sure.

What I do know, is they're a happy bunch, some of them are studying I think, one young girl often carrying books on and off the bus.

On days like today, warm and sunny, they open up the balcony door as soon as the sun goes over far enough to make it shady out on it, people come and go, there is laughter and conversation, and music.

Reggae music, which I quite like.
I open my front door to hear it better.

They turn it up fairly loud, but not overly so, it makes for a very relaxing day, laying on the couch reading and listening to whoever it is singing.
A day when I don't need the TV on to hear something besides my own breathing.

Sometimes there is the smell of cooking too............not sure what, but my nose says delicious!

Okay, now I'm sure they're Jamaican, I went outside and asked.

Sunday Selections # 44

2011-11-06T08:20:00.001+10:30

Sunday Selections is brought to us by Kim, from Frog Ponds Rock.

The idea is to bring to light any old photos from your files that haven't yet been seen by anyone other than yourself.

To join in simply choose and post your photos under the Sunday Selections title, link back to Kim, then go on over to Frogpondsrock, add your name to the linky list and leave a comment there on Kim's post.

For this week, I've chosen >>>

HENRY.

Henry is one of those Message Bears that you used to be able to buy in Post Offices and are now available in lots of other places too. In different styles. Mostly skinny. I like my chubby Henry.

When I found out the shoe factory was definitely closing down, I wanted a way to remember all my friends.

So, I bought Henry and when there was only one or two weeks left I took him in to work and asked a few people to sign their names and then pass him on.
A couple of people got a little cheeky with their autographs....

Well, Henry made his way all over the factory, even into the children's shoes department
before he got back to me, then I took him into the office area and had the bosses and supervisors sign him too.
The Union rep was there and he signed Henry too.

I even asked one of the machinists to insert an eyelet in Henry's ear for an earring.

Unfortunately, before I took Henry in, many of my friends had already left and taken jobs elsewhere, but I still have a lot of signatures.

After all this time however I can't remember who some of the people are.
I wish now that I'd taken photos too.
Some of them I didn't know in the first place, because it was a big factory and I mostly only knew the people in my department, men's shoes, and the ones in the women's shoes area.

the mulberry tree

2011-11-05T08:00:00.001+10:30

A couple of days ago, Sarah, over at Sassying It Up mentioned that she'd bought a punnet of mulberries for the very first time.

My thoughts went back about 37 years to when we were living at Enoggera, in Brisbane. Our back yard fence separated the yard from the long, long driveway and carparking area of the Army Base where my husband was stationed. In a corner of the yard was a huge old mulberry tree.

Primary school aged kids would sometimes knock on our door and ask if they could have leaves for their silkworms. Of course I always said yes.
Many times they didn't bother knocking and just cut through the carpark and took whatever leaves they could reach.
I didn't mind, the tree was huge, plenty of leaves for everyone's silkworms.
Is that a primary school rite of passage? Silkworms in shoeboxes?

The mulberries grew by the thousands, beginning as small green buds, gradually becoming larger and pinker, then darkening as they ripened fully.

I'd sit the baby underneath wearing nothing and let her eat berries that she could reach. Mostly she just played with the leaves while I hung washing or took it back down again, dry and warm from the sun.

Our second summer there, hubby and his mate, Moose, decided they'd make mulberry wine.
Under the stairs at the back of the house became the gathering place for empty and washed beer bottles and a half dozen buckets newly bought just for picking the mulberries.

The weekend rolled around, as it does, and they were out there bright and early, picking, picking, picking.
Bucket after bucket of berries were rinsed under the garden tap, then brought inside to be "sugared".

I knew nothing about making wine and neither did they.

They decided the berries needed to be cooked, strained and bottled, then left under the house in the cool to somehow turn into wine.
In the cool??? Brisbane in the summer.......
Ooookaaay......

Well, they made a huge mess of the kitchen, but finally the cooked berries had been strained into other clean buckets, then funneled into the bottles. They had no way to cap these, something both had forgotten about, so a few empty screw top bottles were found and quickly washed out, then the fruit mix was transferred.

They did this themselves, because Moose's wife and I were having nothing to do with it, apart from keeping our babies out of the way and cleaning up the kitchen after the men had "wiped it down".

How long does it take to turn fruit into wine?
No idea.
The stuff sat under the house and started to ferment. Bubble, bubble, bubble....

Remember there had been no sterilising of bottles, no careful temperature taking, not even a leaflet on how to make wine had been read.

Still, after a couple of weeks, they got a little impatient and decided to taste it.
I don't know if any alcohol had developed in the mix or not, but they tasted, pronounced it "not bad" and kept tasting. There was beer involved too, (there always was with those two), and by nightfall the two of them were as drunk as they could possibly be and still stand upright.

But the next day?
Sicker than they'd ever been.
Hungover too.
Good thing it was Sunday and neither of them was on duty.

After that, the mulberries were left for the birds and for the neighbourhood kids to have mulberry fights with.

small change purchases

2011-11-04T07:30:00.002+10:30

Last weekend I had a reason to be in Rundle Mall, (Adelaide SA), so while I was there I decided to have a quick look around in Smiggle.
Because I love stationery and I like pretty things.

Notebooks, pens, compendiums, lots of little items, all repeated on shelf after shelf in different colour themes.
All quite reasonably priced.
I particularly liked the "Smiggle Packs" containing an assortment of things, excercise book, ruler, pencils etc, for just under $20.
I'll keep that in mind for my youngest grand daughter's next birthday.

Then I went next door to Kikki.K.
How handy that they're so close!
More of the stuff I love, but in a more grown up style.
Diaries, organisers, all designed to make your life pretty as well as practical.

(this is not a sponsored post)

Really, really nice things. My favourite is the leather covered notebook, but at close to $50 it's a little out of my budget. There'll be some serious saving going on here, because there are refills available for it quite cheaply, (under $10) and I think it would make a lovely "shopping list" book.
I want one.

So, Smiggle for the younger set, Kikki.K for the more mature shopper.

I moved on to The Reject Shop, where I bought this>>>

and these>>>

for a grand total of....ta da!

$3.50!!

(colour is a funny thing, these little notepads are actually bright pink, the same as the spirals holding the pages together, but they've photographed purple....)

Anyway....the money I'd saved meant that I could go to The Book Boys, a discount store selling novels and other books, (such as the Egyptology hardcover that I'd bought my grandson at the Plant and Craft Fair recently).

see this? >>>

Four novels, FOUR!! for a fraction under $20.

I found one by Dennis Lehane, and since I'd just finished reading (and enjoyed), Sacred, also by Dennis Lehane, I thought I'd give that a try.

I also bought:
> The 5th Witch by Graham Masterton
> Without Consent by Kathryn Fox
> Sworn To Silence by Linda Castillo

That should keep me going for a while...

hop on over and have a look...go on.

2011-11-03T18:33:00.000+10:30

Melissa at Suger Coat It, is having a fabulous competition/giveaway.
A pj's set or a nightie from the Virtu online clothing store.
(Plus sizes 12-24)

I've heard of this store, but never had a look at it, but after clicking Melissa's link and seeing the lovely sleepwear, I'm going back for another look.
This time I'll check out the other clothes they have on offer.

I don't know yet if the entire collection is in the plus size range, but I guess I'll find out soon.
If the sleepwear is anything to go by, I'd say the rest of the clothing is excellent too.
So go on over to Suger Coat It click the link and have a look at Virtu, then enter the giveaway by leaving a comment at Melissa's.

uh-oh, it's November

2011-11-03T08:30:00.000+10:30

This is the month when I usually do a trial bake of the christmas mince pies.

Remember them?

Mmmm, mince pies......

But this year, my available bench space is 37cm x 47cm.
Not really big enough to be mixing and rolling out pastry.
I just know if I try, I'll be banging my elbow against the wall with each push of the rolling pin.

I have other options....

I could buy one of those roll-up plastic pastry rolling sheets in a big enough size to cover the hotplates and hope it's sturdy enough to stay level while I work. (unlikely and it's a bit too high for comfort)

I could clear off the coffee table, get down on my knees, (ouch), and roll the pastry there.

I could move the whole operation out to the back porch where my dining table now lives.
It's half covered in stuff, but I can move that temporarily.

One way or another, I will be making the mince pies.
Because the bought ones just can't compare.

uh-oh, I think I'm in debt....

2011-11-02T09:43:00.000+10:30

I was hanging my sheets on the line outside and just now noticed the gas logo on the hot water heater.
I thought this place was all electric...

A while ago I had a letter from Origin Energy just addressed to occupier and I thought it was just a generic send-out, so ignored it.

Now of course, it seems I owe someone some money for all the hot water I've used.
11 weeks worth.....oh dear!

I've emailed Simply Energy to see if I can set up a gas account with them again, because my electricity is with them as it has been for 8 years now, and I'm hoping they can do this.

Problem is it's a bulk hot water tank that supplies all four flats!

How will they sort out my share?
Will I have to use Origin Energy?

Dum-de-dum-de-dum
twiddling thumbs and worrying....

I'm tackling this avocado thing very slowly

2011-11-02T08:05:00.001+10:30

My tastebuds do not like to be assaulted, (I'm guessing no-one's do), so once they have been, that particular food item is usually off the menu.
For many years, if not for life.
Rarely do I give in and give things a second chance.

Sometimes though, thoughts of these foods which were repulsive to me come into my mind and I think that maybe I should give them another try.
Like celery, which I hated as a child and now happily eat filled with peanut butter, or cooked in soups.

Working at the checkout, seeing dozens of people buying dozens of avocados daily, made me think that I might just be missing out on something.

So I bought one, I tasted it, it wasn't so bad....
Then I had many wonderful comments on how to eat it, what to do to make it more palatable.

Since then I've had small cubes tossed in a salad, and today I mashed a little with salt and fresh gound black pepper and spread it on toast.
The first bit was very, very small. More of a nibble. But it was okay. Nice even. So I ate the whole slice.
Yay me!

Maybe in time I'll give eggplant another chance?
Hmmm....

Psittacosis

2011-11-01T08:00:00.022+10:30

Psittacosis = The one disease carried by birds which can be transmitted to humans, also known as Chlamidiosis, but NOT at all related to the venereal disease Chlamydia.

Remember my post a few weeks back when I'd been cleaning in the back porch, without wearing a mask because I didn't think one was necessary, and then I very suddenly got sick?

Symptoms are>>>

Fever (can get as high as 40 degees)
Headaches
Chest pains
Dry cough
Lethargy
Nausea

Well, I had five of those, (no nausea) and still have the cough and some chest pains, headaches and lethargy. The fever passed fairly quickly.

Anyway, today I went to my doctor on a different matter, a painful muscle spasm in my back over the weekend which saw me unable to move.
I wanted a certificate to stay off work for the week as I don't think I should be lifting heavy groceries just yet although I'm walking just fine now.
While I was there, I kept coughing and he asked how long this had been going on. So I told him about the previous tenant keeping birds and how I'd cleaned up a lot of the residue.

The first thing he said was let's get a blood test....birds can transmit Chlamidiosis to humans.
I'd just assumed my asthma had been greatly aggravated by the dusty clean up.

So he printed the form for the pathologist, with "exposed to bird droppings and feather dust" in big letters on it, and off I went to the shiny new pathology part of the clinic. Where the lovely assistant took four tubes of blood from me. FOUR!! Three fat tubes and one skinny one.

Then we sat back and discussed our back problems. She gets the same painful muscle spasms that I do and we both wished that someone would research and find a cure for this. Both of us restrict ourselves in the things we do because the pain is unforgettable, no matter how long it's been since the last time and we don't want to risk another episode. Trouble is....any little thing can set it off. Such as sleeping in the wrong position when napping on the couch, bending too suddenly etc.

I won't have the results of the blood test until next Monday, I'll drop in after work for them.
Then if I do have this Chlamidiosis, he'll know what type of antibiotics to prescribe for me.
I'll let you know....