Month: December 2009

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Theres a New One coming

Can’t stay long – this dratted machine has been playing up
Each time I go to load something it freezes
Change a web site and it freezes so I give up
Haven’t visited anyone for ages
Dh says once ‘his man’ comes back from holidays
it will be going down for a grease and oil change and possibly some parts renewed.
Why does that make me think of a diminished bank balance??
Anyway I hope you enjoy this evening
and look forward to seeing you all in 2010.
We are staying close to home this year
at the moment its 30c/about 85f here in Melbourne and very humid 
there’s a cool change supposedly on its way
complete with thunder lightning and torrential rain

What’s the betting it arrives about midnight
just as the big firework display is set to start lol
Bye for now
Happy New Year
Cathy
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Watery Wednesday Dec 2009

We took this photo at Wentworth NSW in October 2007
It was taken at the
Junction of the River Murray and the River Darling
There are countless images of this spot on the internet
A cyclone has just passed over the Top End
causing flooding in NSW
You would think that if it rains further upstream of the Darling
it would then flow down to the Murray
The Darling has loads of water in it and it is coming downstream
but if you read this article
you’ll find out that the water may not end up
where you think it will
For more worldwide Watery Wednesday posts
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Those inbetween days

It’s a funny time this between Christmas and the New Year here in Australia its usually a very quiet time, being summer so many people are away, so its a time to recharge and ponder ones navel lol
Boxing Day (the day after Christmas Day) Dh had planned to meet up with a freind and golf – thats if I didn’t mind. How could I say no to him??  Some days its like swings and roundabouts – there’ll be a time when I need something done and I’ll ask him nicely, just like he did with the golf lol

Anyway there is a long tradition of a cricket test match being played here in Melbourne, starting on Boxing Day and being a public holiday the first day is usually sold out so we always watch on TV. This year Australia are playing Pakistan – we had already played The Windies (West Indies) earlier in the year and that didn’t turn out to be the best of series. They are not the side they used to be back in the 1970’s and for some reason we weren’t a crash hot team for those 3 tests either.

So with Dh safely ensconced at the golf course I messed around most of the morning listening to the opening session on the radio and checking out the TV minus sound, then took one DD and one GD to visit A Pam in the afternoon.  Its terrible to admit that in days gone by I would have been at the Boxing Day sales the minute the shops opened – I certainly don’t need anything more in the house but I also have to admit I wondered what ‘bargains’ there may have been lol

Dropped in on our other DD on the way home to see what her DD thought of the Netball ring we gave her for Christmas. Somehow I think she was more interested in the Ipod thingy she got (latest version with big touch screen etc lol)

Sunday after nipping in very quickly to A Pam – my cousin (her son) has come over from Perth for a few days and was taking her out to lunch so I popped in to do her hair and make sure she’d been dressed in the ‘nice’ clothes we put out – I started to sort through the bags on the spare bed – you know those ones hastily stuffed at the last minute with things from corners – put there out of the way ‘cose you want the visible rooms to be just so if people dropped in unannounced – I did actually put some things away in their proper spots and started a bag for the op-shop but then I got side tracked when I picked up a bag of knitting wool – bad move – ‘cose since then I’ve finished a couple of those little sleeveless jackets I knit for a charity stall and half a childs cardigan for the same place:)) 
A Pam gets very confused if theres a lot of people around – along with his wife, there was also his daughter and boyfriend who had come over from Perth to see her Grandma possibly for the last time and with our Melbourne cousin and her husband there it would have been just too many -so I had lunch with him yesterday  and it meant I could chat to Graeme and the family on our own and not have to vie for his time lol
My goodness thats an awful lot of words just to say I’ve done very little since Christmas Day:))
Somehow or another I think my family know me well
The photo below seems to sum up my life at the moment
My love of the House and mainly the Garden
and also Music must be very obvious
‘cose I received several gift cards to The Big Green Barn
aka as B’unnings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunnings_Warehouse
and one to a favourite Butchers Shop over at Chirnside Park
http://www.rainbowmeats.com/AboutUs.aspx
(will come in very handy when I get the freezer emptied)
One of those new fangled photo frames which Dh has already loaded a disk into
Also tickets to see the Jersey Boys
AND
Choccies yea
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Festive December – Functions

I think this will be my last post till after the Christmas Holiday
Things are happening within my family
that will need my full attention
My last social gathering for the year took place the other day
and my time is now my own
I will be able to concentrate on those problems
and see if life can become happier for all concerned
Hopefully the New year will be a better year for all the people involved
Twice a week I meet
some of these ladies in the photo below
We prepare gift packs of right sized clothing
for babies who have died prematurely in utero
This is a programme
dear to my heart
that comes under the auspices of Sids and Kids (Vic)
Along with my fabulous friend Cindy
(crouched beside me in the front row)
I co-ordinate the craft of many volunteers
Most of them are silent volunteers working at home
 and then forwarding their precious handwork to us
to be made into the sets
that are forwarded to hospitals
to be on hand if needed
These are some of the volunteers
who came to our Christmas Morning Tea
All very elegantly provided by the staff from the Malvern office
There are some other ladies who play a role in my life
They are the Red Hatters from my Chapter
‘The Ritzy Reds’
We are the women in the red and pink hats. We are the ones enjoying life to the fullest, no matter where we are or what we are doing! We are the mothers, daughters and grandmothers, of society. Some may ask, “What do you do?” The answer is… We do exactly what we wish to do.
They keep me on the straight and narrow
and remind me that there is a time for fun
and thats when we are all together
So many things have happened this year
I wasn’t able to meet with these fun friends as often as I wanted to
Thats going to change in 2010:))
This was taken last week at our Christmas Breakup
(I don’t know why my shirt turned out so light in colour
It looks almost white in this photo)
Lunch was enjoyed by all
Talking and laughing is appreciated by all
oh and a little bit of bubbly makes the world go round
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all
Cathy
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Watery Wednesday –

Still in Bowen Queensland 
August 2009
Some afternoons we’d come down for a walk
Beginning with 5minutes
standing on the foreshore just looking
Some days there’d be nothing going on
Some days there were out of the ordinary things going on
We only saw these horses on one occasion

click on the photos to enlarge and see in full

For more Watery Wednesday posts
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Going up

Guess what!
The man who actually came and gave me a quote
was the one to get the job
Recommended by a friend he’s been on time every day
Has worked hard and cleaned up at the end of each day
Not finished yet
But
well on the way
We may have a new roof over the deck by this weekend
One that shades well
and
one that doesn’t leak when it rains:)))
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Todays Flowers – Dec 09

Zygocactus
aka Schlumbergera
also
Christmas Cactus
These hardy pot plants seem to grow wherever you want them to
Break a piece off and pot it up
and very soon you’ll have a new plant
My plants have have all been started as cuttings
taken from friends or neighbours plants
They are growing in containers that hang over the railing of the deck
and are happy there most of the year
but I do put them in the shade
if the sun gets too hot
If the timing is right and they all bloom together
it looks like a ribbon of pink all the way along
Up in the Northern Hemisphere they are often called Christmas Cactus
‘cose thats when they seem to flower
Not so down here – these photos were taken in October
right at the end of Winter, beginning of Spring
At first the plants seem to be a jumble of gnarly stems with a flower at the end
but if you really look
you will see they have the most delicate of blooms growing there
beautiful flowers that look lovely when in a massed display
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlumbergera
http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/2000/archives/2000/in_the_garden/flowering_plants_and_shrubs/zygocactus
http://www.thegardenguru.com.au/content/File/67_Zygocactus.htm
For more Flowers from around the world
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Festive December -Snowmen

I think we all love the ‘funny little Christmasy things’
the children make either at school or at home
How many of you have made these snowmen before?
Using the inside of a toilet roll, wadding, felt, ribbon and paper
Oh and a piece of pipecleaner
I vaguely remember making something like this when I was small
but don’t think we used the same materials
(post WW2 it was a case of make do and mend)
I think white crepe paper was involved
Anyway I helped my children with them
(and Santas as well using red crepe paper)
but this is one I made with grandchildren a few years ago now
Not sure what has happened to the ones they took home
to show their Mums that day
but mine gets put away each year
to come out again about this time
Here he is on the kitchen windowsill with some others for company
Totally out of place in our summer sunshine

Putting these bits and pieces round the house
is sort of a tradition that migrants from the Northern Hemisphere
clung to when they resettled Down Under
Bit like some of us having a hot meal on Christmas Day
when it could be 40c/104f lol
Snowmen
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Never a dull moment

Remember the photos of the Dandenongs
I posted for yesterdays Skywatch Friday
Well they were taken this past Monday (Dec.7th)
This is how that lovely range looked
late yesterday afternoon (Dec 10th)
Driving back from Ringwood
it looked as tho’ the sky had fallen down on the hills ahead
The photos are quite dark ‘cose of the storm ahead
If you enlarge them you’ll see the low clouds
I popped into the Kilsyth Oval as I knew there was a good view from there
This is where my boys played football when they were youngsters
From what I could see the rain was pelting down
from one end of the Dandenongs to the other
It poured for quite a while
– high winds, thunder and lightening –
enough for us to turn the computer off.
Today has been cool and dry
Its been a funny ol’ December so far
Wonder what January will bring??
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Skywatch Friday

Close to where I live is a suburb called Montrose
Its right at the foot of the Dandenongs
and as you can see is towered over by the face of a mountain range
I’d gone there to take a picture of the War Memorial
and as usual was made aware of how the TV masts are so visible
sitting on top of the range
The contrast of the blue sky and white clouds
was also really evident
To get the best view of these photos click on them
and they will enlarge

For more Skywatch Friday posts from around the world
click here
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Festive December – Decorating styles

Another meal  at the Golf Club again last Sunday
This time it was a Christmas Gathering for Dh’s service mates
They’d put up some decorations
but I found them very ‘modern’ minimalistic
Not very interesting at all
Well I suppose they were rather nice if thats your style
but I didn’t find them ‘warm and inviting’ at all
Very corporate
These are an example of what was around the place
Two rather undernourished reindeer
A long trailing bauble feature in gold and orange
and
a very snooty looking Rudolf
Meanwhile back here at the house
I finally made a start on our big tree
What with one thing and another
it took me the best part of today to get it finished
Lots of familiar ornaments and trinkets collected over the years
Some handmade – some bought
Most of my older ones go on another tree in the hallway
which hopefully will be done tomorrow
No pressies there yet – ‘cose they aren’t ready yet lol
They have to be sorted and wrapped
then labelled and possibly will make it under there
by December 20th when we have the BBQ   

But in the meantime I’ll fill the space underneath with some wrapped boxes
That will keep any nosy parkers guessing :))
As you can see there are unbreakeable ornaments all around the bottom of the tree
I put them down there each year
Not because of any little children these days
but because of the cats lol

Oh, it can be very interesting when they see it for the first time each season
Theres a couple of those bell type ornaments and a metal Santa with a bell
right on the bottom that will hopefully give them a fright and then they’ll leave it alone

I’m not nasty – just cautious –
Kiera thought she was clever one year and climbed into the tree to investigate
Got all tangled up in the lights and
Leroy thinks things are put there for him to bat around
so a sharp Ding Aling here and there
doesn’t go astray
I didn’t see one Father Christmas/Santa at the Golf Club
Don’t know what they are missing do they
When I’ve finshed – there will be plenty here lol
Don’t forget to click on the photos and enlarge them
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Watery Wednesday

Masked Lapwings
on Queens Beach
Bowen, Far North Queensland
Back in August this year we spent some time in Far North Queensland
Walking this lovely beach at least once day
 meant we came in contact with various birds
many of which ‘cose I live in the suburbs
I’d never seen before
The Masked Lapwing
aka as Plovers
were some that were new to me
I’d seen some on grassland close by earlier in the day
but was surprised to see this little group
who were actually in the water late one afternoon
and as usual I tried to put words into their mouths lol
click on the photos for a better view
‘Where do you think our fine feathered friend is going?’
‘Don’t know but he’d better watch out’

‘Dare devil that he is, he’ll get washed away if he’s not careful’

‘Its getting a bit cold and wet in here, reckon we’ll leave him to it’

‘Come on then, race you home, I fancy a nice cup of tea’

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masked_Lapwing
For more Worldwide Watery Wednesday posts
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Festive December – Carols in the Park

One of the good things about Christmas in the Australian summer
is that carol singing is (usually) held in reasonable weather
and not in the freezing cold
that I remember from my childhood in England
Often known as Carols by Candlelight
our open air get togethers can be spectacular
as it gets darker and the candles are light
Each Christmas Eve in the city
there is a huge concert televised
from the Myer Music Bowl
Melbourne’s big outdoor auditorium
Even tho’ its nowhere near as huge an event
the Salvos from a nearby suburb
-along with their band and singers –
come each year to a nearby park
where I occasionally walk
The carol singing here doesn’t on go long enough
in the evening to be called
Carols by Candlelight
but is still a lovely event all the same
Hopefully the weather will be kind
We have rain forecast for this week coming
– which is good for this week as the ground has dried out substantially
 good for my tank also lol
but not good if it comes down
on this particular evening the week after tho
no covered area there at all ðŸ˜¦
Anyway I hope to get along
and also take my camera with me
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Now you see it – now you don’t

A few of the comments on the last post
mentioned how organised all the Christmas stuff  looked
Go back to January this year
when I was so annoyed at the state I got myself into
trying to find various decorations for the trees in the cardboard boxes
I had used for years
When it came to put everything away 
I decided it was time to really do something about it
The result was what you saw in the photo
I felt so good about that endeavour
I got going on another chore
Sorting out our laundry
Its very small and its located just inside the back door
and tended to be a dumping ground for all and sundry
so you’d fall over all sorts of things
I wanted a solution that had things handy
but out of the way
First solution was to find a new wash basket
not wicker – been there, done that
the cats love them and they end up tearing them to pieces
I wanted one that would fit under the laundry trough
Meant it had to be plastic so it was flexible
but never mind
I finally found one that fitted
Voila
close at hand when a loads finished
and hidden when I don’t need it
All the cook books
– yes contrary to popular family belief
I do have some –
lived on the book shelf in the lounge
A real pain if I wanted to find something
SO
I persuaded Dh to put shelves up
beside the trough
Handy to the kitchen as you’ll see in a minute
Then there were the bags that seemed to be everywhere
They’d hang on chairs in the kitchen
anywhere there was a spot
(even on the floor in the bedroom)
Never in the car when I wanted them lol
I discovered a couple of hooks/hangers in a box in the garage
along with a letter holder
a gift from years ago
Result
somewhere for the string bags to hang
visible yes but thats good
‘cose I now hang my keys below the letter rack
and take them and a bag or two out at the same time
I do need to find somewhere
to put all the big shopping bags tho
they lurk unseen in the boot of the car
and I am forever going back to the car to get them ‘sigh’ 😦
You can see here how tiny the laundry is
We keep the fridge freezer in there to give us more room in the kitchen
Its only a step away
We managed to find a corner cupboard just the right size
to use for storage
but also to rest things on
going into and coming out of the fridge
I keep some of the big cooking things on it
as well as the top of the fridge
Those cupboards on the wall were made from the doors
of the original kitchen units that were in the house from 1972
Dh’s not just a pretty face lol
Really handy for crockery and things not used all the time
Yes, after sorting this room out I felt good
Then fell in a heap for the rest of the year lol
BTW weekend came and went too quickly
The trees and decorations are still in the sme place they were the other day!
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Festive December

Well the festive season is here again
– and as well as the real meaning to the season –
for most of us it usually means families, friends, functions and food
beaches, books, cricket matches and …………
anything else that takes your fancy lol
Ginny has a rather nice blog called Sweet Myrtle
and she  running a little meme called Festive December
meaning you can post about anything that is festive
you can read all about it here
So during this month of December
I’ll try to post some thoughts and photos of festive goings on
in our household and also in the neighbourhood
Won’t be quite as tizzy and tinsley as in the Nothern Hemisphere
It tends to look rather stange in the summer sunshine lol
We have to wait till quite late at night to get that special effect
from a house light up with thousands of lights
but you never know what I’ll come up with
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Skywatch Friday

Power and Phone lines spoiling the skyline
as they weave from house to pole and across the road to pole
This is one of the problems of suburban living
Necessary if underground facilities are not an option
but a viewing nuisance just the same
Big billowing clouds in the sky first thing this morning
seen through those dratted lines across the road
click the photos to enlarge
 
To see more skies from around the world
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