Drifting through life

it won't be permanent, I'll miss you all too much. but I've just had an hour and a half of "server can't find" and "connection timed out" I haven't managed to read a single post from anybody, not even my own.  I got so p****ed off, I took my little usb connection and threw it across the room. You'll notice that it is still working after such shocking treatment, but I'm still unable to read anybody's posts. "server can't find" etc etc well, I've had enough. I'm disconnecting and locking the computer in the safe until I feel calm enough to try again.

Welcome back to Sunday Selections! This once-a- week-meme was originally begun by Kim of Frog Ponds Rock , as a way to showcase some of the many photos we all take, but don't get around to showing on our blogs. The rules are very simple:- 1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title 2. link back to me, River, somewhere in your post 3. leave me a comment so that I know you've joined in and can come over and see what you've posted. 4. then go to The Elephant's Child to see her wonderful photos.  Kath Lockett and Andrew often join in too. I usually go with a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week I'm continuing with some photos of the roses I love. I'm keeping it short this week as my computer is crashing a lot. Possibly these roses have been on my blog already, but maybe not on a Sunday Selections, and I'm sure everyone loves looking at beautiful flowers. this one always makes

Following along again with Toni's A-Z, "a...is for" meme, today's letter is N. n...is for>>>> Nuggets! Sadly this gold nugget isn't mine, I went googling for these images. Gold is one of my favourite metals, (the other is Silver), I especially like it in nugget form, the different shapes are so interesting. like this one, it's just so ducky! Years ago, when the baby was about a year and a half old, we all took a trip to Sovereign Hill for the day and let the older kids do a little gold panning in the creek. They didn't find any gold nuggets, not so much as a single speck, but we did have a great day out. I even like tiny little nuggets like these here in the watch case. Also golden, but nuggets of a different kind, much loved by kids... chicken nuggets. Great now and again with sweet and sour sauce dipping  or sweet chilli sauce, often served with fries at a well known fast-food chain. I don't think they

I have two options. 1. give up eating spaghetti in all its forms. 2. buy an adult sized bib. Because this is what happens every time >> Every. Single. Time. See those spots? Spaghetti sauce. Oddly enough, when I wear the yellow t-shirt, the spots are bigger and more numerous. I do like spaghetti, and ravioli, and lasagna.............

when all of a sudden, whole and half peppercorns showered down onto the meat, the bench, even rolling onto the floor. the little grinder mechanism had broken! I unscrewed the top, set it aside and looked into the bottle. (jar?) there's that little doo-dad, right down in amongst the peppercorns. I got my little pickle grabber... and fished it out. It can't be fixed of course, so I tossed it away. Then I brushed the excess pepper off my steak, put the steak into the now hot pan, where it sizzled deliciously, and swept up the peppercorns from the bench and floor. By now the steak was ready to turn, so I did that, mashed the carrot, potato, garlic mixture, (which I had started cooking before the steak), and served both steak and mash. Mmm, perfect. Except I now have to buy another pepper grinder. 

Welcome back to Whimsical Wednesday! The day for your googled giggle that gets you over the hump that is Wednesday and sliding down into the weekend. I don't like this new bra mum, it pinches

Not literally of course, I'm not ready to die just yet. But.......I rolled out of bed on Sunday morning and found I couldn't straighten up. Again. Spent the whole day hunched over and hobbling around like I was 90 with a hump worthy of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. From ribs to tailbone, I was stiff and in a little (a lot, but I've had worse) pain. Monday , I rolled out of bed and stood up without even thinking about it. Then as I walked into the kitchen, I realised I was fully upright. Yay! Sadly, that didn't last past breakfast. I lifted my left foot onto the toilet lid and tied my shoelace, then lifted my right foot, bent forward to tie my shoelace and my entire lower back screamed at me. Not literally of course, backs don't have voices, but the sudden wrenching pain had me voicing a few words I don't normally use. You get the idea. All plans of swimming were immediately put on hold as I swallowed anti-inflammatories and pain killers. D

What irritates you Monday is a meme brought to us by Delores from Our Feathered Nest. On this day you get a chance to vent about anything or everything that irritates you. Today, I have something that's a little more than an irritation. More like hair-tearing frustration. It happens so often, I'm surprised I have any hair left.... problem loading page server not found firefox can't find server at... try again There's a couple of others; connection timed out and disconnected by remote computer before connection could be established (I don't remember the exact wording but you get the idea) I'm almost used to it, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

Welcome back to Sunday Selections! This once-a- week-meme was originally begun by Kim of Frog Ponds Rock, as a way to showcase some of the many photos we all take, but don't get around to showing on our blogs. The rules are very simple:- 1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title 2. link back to me, River, somewhere in your post 3. leave me a comment so that I know you've joined in and can come over and see what you've posted. 4. go on over to The Elephant's Child to see what she has posted for her Sunday Selections. I usually go with a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week I have sunbeams and reflections for you.  And a solar powered wind spinner. I'd been in the kitchen making a coffee and came back to see this. the sun had moved across the sky and was coming in through the front door, and was reflecting off the the chrome edge of the speaker on the laptop. Then when I went o

Following along again with Toni's A-Z, "a...is for" meme, today's letter is L But I'm cheating and doing M as well. You'll see why in a minute. L...is for Labyrinth. I love these. The twists and turns, the dead ends, finally finding your way. (or not) The size, the complexity..... ...and who didn't love David Bowie as The Goblin King in the movie, Labyrinth? M...is for Maze A Labyrinth really, but formed by hedges grown into shape and position over time and more commonly called a Maze. some of them have cleverly clipped corner pieces to add interest. This one has a pool at its centre. I think a maze such as this with a goldfish pond at the centre would make a fabulous front garden. You could see door-to-door salesmen threading their way through and lock the doors in plenty of time. this little gnome is telling us the Ashcombe Rose Maze is planted with more than 1200 fragrant and colourful roses. It would be

Not me! I don't swim laps. I watch others at the pool swimming up and down, up and down, 6-10-20 times. Do I get a bit jealous? Yes I do.  A bit. But now let me demonstrate my ignorance. What is a lap exactly? Is it from one end to the other? Or is it from one end to the other and then back again? I'm still swimming in between watching the better swimmers, struggling my way up and down the lane.  I've found I don't get out of breath as much, so that's an improvement. I get halfway up the lane before needing a rest, where before I'd make it only a few metres. A big problem is the bursitis in my shoulders. It's difficult to get going properly when the shoulder says stop! I've had enough!. Anyway.....I'm sure I'll eventually get to swimming laps, or even one lap would be good. Too cold today though, raining too. Hooray! Signs of winter!

Welcome back to Whimsical Wednesday! The day for your googled giggle that gets you over the hump that is Wednesday and sliding down into the weekend. Copy Cats! This is actually a cake, and it's a very clever one.

"What irritates you Monday" is a meme brought to us by Delores from The Feathered Nest.  This week's irritation is something I see in newspapers, magazines and all over the internet. Could of. Would of. Should of. This is WRONG!! The original is Could have, Would have, Should have ,  abbreviated to Could've, Would've, Should've, all of which sound like Could of etc, so this is where the confusion has come about and now people are writing it this way. But it's WRONG!! wrong, wrong, wrong And it irritates me. A lot. Could HAVE Would HAVE  Should HAVE (coulda, woulda, shoulda) I know people won't pay attention to this and will continue to write the wrong word. But at least I've voiced my irritation, and if just one or two people start correcting themselves, maybe it will catch on. 

Welcome back to Sunday Selections! This once-a- week-meme was originally begun by Kim of Frog Ponds Rock, as a way to showcase some of the many photos we all take, but don't get around to showing on our blogs. The rules are very simple:- 1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title 2. link back to me, River, somewhere in your post 3. leave me a comment so that I know you've joined in and can come over and see what you've posted. 4. go on over to The Elephant's Child and see her wonderful photos. I usually go with a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week I'm continuing with some photos of the Botanic Gardens.  We're still in the rainforest enclosure. Crinum Lily.  Unlike the Oriental Lily, I'm able to breathe quite freely near this one. standing on the lower level, looking at the stairway that brought me down from the walkway mossy log imitating a turtle palm (?) tru