Sunday Selections # 736
Long ago, Kim of Frog Ponds Rock, (who no longer blogs), dreamed up a meme called Sunday Selections.
A place where those who were willing could put up photos they wanted to share, new, old, good, bad or indifferent, any photos you please.
Nothing rude or vulgar though.
And we don't mind at all if other bloggers care to join us.
The meme is now continued by Elephant's Child and I join in as do a few others. Andrew is one. Messymimi is another. Drop in to their blogs and have a look.
Wisewebwoman has also been joining us more often.
Beginning today with the big old white cedar tree:
beautiful isn't it?
some of you might remember the beehive that I showed once, with photos and a short video of bees buzzing in and out of that gap in the trunk,
Well, that's gone.
after 13 years, someone complained, pest control was called,
and this sludge pouring out and piling at the base of the tree is all that is left.
not a bee in sight 😢😢
on our recent visit to our sister, my brother and I were each given a book about things that happened in Australia during our birth years.
I also received two coasters, while R received a couple of beer related coasters. These were Christmas gifts that sister hadn't been able to post as the cost was too high.
more recently, "no-one" gave me this set of coasters, made from that same rubbery fabric that mouse mats are made of. Remember mousemats? I still have one somewhere.
a shaft of light from the setting sun crept in and highlighted my baby dinosaur doorstop
here he is with the lights turned on, he's made of concrete.
Andrew recently showed an old Telstra Phonecard and I remembered I still have one stashed away, they came in various designs and were available in differing dollar amounts, to be used in "Smart Phone" public phone boxes. This one is unused.
and who remembers Blockbuster Video stores? I still have my now useless card. Oh the excitement of choosing what to rent that week! And it had to be something everyone agreed on.
I've had a cooking/freezing week and my freezer is now well stocked with meals for a few weeks at least.
I copied Yorkshire Pudding's cottage pie recipe and it turned out very well, so delicious that I have added it to my recipe book and will now make it every winter. I did make two small changes by not adding a swede to the mashed potato topping, and adding a chopped mushroom to the meat layer.
The twins woke up this morning to this in their yard,
and this>>>
also this>>>
and several of these in assorted colours.
They had a wonderful time, ( the t-shirt reads "be kind be kind be kind")
finding and gathering eggs.
There is - I think more, at least one - The Simpsons-episode on bees.
ReplyDeleteNo bees, no life.
Sad this was allowed at all!
On a lighter note: I bought the year-books for my family, too! (and myself) - I have to re-read, I think it is world-wide (Germany is small).
Cool coasters! I do remember mousepads!
Awwww on your baby-dinosaur!
Unused Tom & Jerry??? People would pay much more? These two made many an arvo here! Intro tomorrow.
We had BLOCKBUSTRER, too!
Your freezer looks better organised than the one here...
OK. I will NOT think about what "adding a swede" means. You skipped cooking humans from Sweden, how very nice of you. Thank you for not eating me (old flesh does not taste well anyways).
Cute kids and dresses!!!
Iris; ha ha, a swede is a vegetable similar to a turnip, but larger and yellowish with purple/ brown top, where the turnip is creamy white with a purple top and has a more "hot" flavour. Americans call the swede a rutabaga.
DeleteI am surprised Germany had blockbuster! I don't know if the Tom and Jerry card is worth anything to a collector and I don't want to sell it anyway. We loved Tom and Jerry in the Saturday morning cartoons when we were kids.
I haven't seen all of The Simpsons yet, but I do vaguely remember a bees episode. Life without bees would be very short, the end of the world.
My freezer is always organised, everything is labelled and has the date of cooking, so I know what is in there and how old it is. Everything in there now is new, nothing older than two or three weeks, because I ate all the older stuff before I cooked again.
Glad to learn you don´t eat people ;-) - rutabaga... sounds yummy. Yes, keep that card!!!! Memories are better than money!
DeleteYes, one bee-episode was with Mr. Burns and in one WALL-E was involved!
I need to follow your freezer-example! And soon!
So sad and cruel about the bees. Someone didn't receive the memo.
ReplyDeleteI really like your doorstop. I know he's made of concrete, but he looks so cuddly.
Fun for the little girls!
jabblog; I was talking with another neighbour about the bees and we agreed the caller for pest control was probably one of the newer tenants who might be afraid or allergic. Other tenants who have been here longer than me are also allergic to bee stings, but choose to walk on the other side of the driveway and the bees leave everyone alone. When I took the video a few years ago, I stood right beside the tree and bees were humming around me but didn't seem bothered at all that I was there.
DeleteMy little doorstop is cute, his name is Sorenson and I have had him now for almost twenty years.
The twins look like they are having a wonderful time.
ReplyDeleteI love your doorstop and mourn the bees.
Elephant's Child; I also mourn the bees, I came home and cried after taking those photos, but they have been removed before by a similar method, before I moved here and they came back, so I am hopeful of another return. The twins had a wonderful time, they always love doing things outside and when the reward is yummy chocolate eggs and bunnies who wouldn't have fun? I haven't seen the girls since right before my first cataract surgery, I was on my way when I got a message that one of the boys wasn't well and I couldn't risk catching anything that would see the surgeries postponed, so I came home and have barely left the house since, just in case.
DeleteA book about things that happened in Australia in the recipient's birth year is a perfect birthday gift.
ReplyDeleteWhere did your family find it?
hels; the books have been available in most book stores for several years now. The writer has produced 35 books in the series beginning with "War Babies Years 1939-1945" then "Baby Boom Years 1946-1960" then "Post Boom Years 1961-1973" The author is Ron Williams.
DeleteI enjoyed watching Tom and Jerry.
ReplyDeleteDora; Tom and Jerry were such fun.
DeleteThe bees wouldn't be a problem if no one interfered with them, but of course people will.
ReplyDeleteI've always used a mouse mat and probably always will for my desktop.
Given what I think a swede would taste like, I would have left it out too.
I wonder if the girls missed an egg and the ants will feast.
Andrew; the bees weren't a problem for years even though some here are allergic to stings, they simply stayed away from the tree. We suspect one of the newer tenants, there are a few here now with small children, toddlers really. I don't think any eggs got missed in the twins hunt, they have three brothers and a cousin helping.
DeleteI agree about the bees.
ReplyDeleteYour doorstop is a delight.
The girls look like they're having such fun, it looks like the parents had as much fun decorating and hiding as they did finding.
messymimi; I hope the bees eventually return as they have in the past, but perhaps this latest eradication is the last straw if the queen was killed. i like my doorstops, I have several. I think the planning and decorating is as much fun as watching the hunt.
DeleteI am honoured that you have taken my cottage pie recipe and adapted it to suit your own taste. By the way, we had "Blockbuster" video stores in England too. It became a fairly regular occurrence to pop down to "Blockbuster" to rent videos but then like a lot of things we remember, the habit just kind of faded away and soon "Blockbuster" was no more.
ReplyDeleteYorkshire Pudding; it's the best cottage pie I ever ate and I have now shared the recipe with my kids. Blockbuster did great business for several years, even when video tapes became dvds.
DeleteThis may be too much to hope for, but sometimes beehives are relocated rather than exterminated, in acknowledgement of the fact that we need bees and they are under strain all over the world. Perhaps your hive got moved rather than killed? Let's be optimistic!
ReplyDeleteFunny that you still have your Blockbuster card. I used to go there all the time when I lived in New York, and then Netflix began and that was that.
Steve Reed; moving a hive is more complicated and is usually done by specialists. This one has "treated" by a pest exterminator and is dead.I'll keep watching to see if any bees return, but I am not very hopeful. I'd forgotten about the Blockbuster card and found it with the Telstra phonecard. I remember going there and seeing many parents with little kids already in pyjamas choosing kid movies and snacks.
DeleteI miss the bees - V used to be far more active in the garden as were the bees - I don't know how much the two are related.
ReplyDeletejeanie; bees and gardens are each essential to the other, the bees gathering nectar to make their honey from the flowers while pollinating at the same time. If V doesn't work in the garden so much perhaps there are fewer flowers, so you won't see as many bees.They are most active in spring and early summer.
DeleteWe had Blockbuster here, too; my husband and I used to get a movie on the weekend to watch after the kids had gone to sleep. I love your dino doorstop and am sad to hear about the bees being wiped out. I understand people's fear if they are allergic, but bees are not aggressive and they are such a critical part of nature.
ReplyDeleteThe twins have grown so much!
jenny_o; Blockbuster was world-wide it seems. I'm hoping the bees will come back, but maybe they will choose a new location if any of tem survived. The twins are growing fast, but still only two years old!
DeleteSweet little girl in pink is having success. Shepherd's pie was one of our favorite recipes when our teens were eating us out of house & home.
ReplyDeleteSusan Kane; TWO little gitls in pink, identical twins. Cottage Pie made with beef is a great meal for hungry families, differs from shepherd's pie which is made with lamb or mutton.
Deletesadly, for me, i recently purchased a mouse mat..... i was sick of the scraping sound the mouse was making on my wooden desk...... it's much nicer on a mousemat....but the one i bought was very poor quality - i bet i've got dozens of really good mousemats in my PC graveyard up in he attic
ReplyDeleteArcticFox; time to get up in the attic with a search party, find those mouse mats.
DeleteSad 😔 😟 about the bees. That tree 🌳 and your photos are lovely.
ReplyDeleteLinda's Relaxing Lair; very sad, if any of the bees survived they may come back or find a new tree somewhere else, but they need a queen.
DeleteI feel sad for the bees, after 13 years it should have been proved not to bother anyone.
ReplyDeleteBlockbuster ... we had them too in Denmark ... seems like a worldwide thing ;)
Nice coasters, and I still have, and use, a mousemat.
Egghunt is so fun, I love the photo of the triumphant twin.
Charlotte; I'm sad for the bees too, it was probably a new tenant who called pest cotrol, since all of us "oldies" are used to the bees and just avoid the tree if any are allergic. I no longer use a mousemat, the finger pad on the laptop is good enough for me. I'm told the egghunt went very well.
DeleteThe little girls are dreamy in their rainbow frocks! Cuties!! The pie looks delish! Think I will make one!
ReplyDeleteLinda Sue; the girls LOOK dreamy, but in reality are so energetic and go! go! go! until they drop. The pie was delish, get the recipe from Yorkshire Pudding, the link is in my post.
DeleteI love, love, love the GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO BAKE. I'm gonna have to use that for something. So fun.
ReplyDeletePS: Nothing beats a good cookie (biscuit), jumping into your cart/trolly.
The Happy Whisk; it is a great coaster, though I don't bake often I still enjoy the good things when I do bake.
DeleteThat makes sense! Happy weekend. Cheers!
Delete