Month: August 2010

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Will be away for a while

I’m not sure why
and I often ‘wonder’ why
that last week
before something important is going to happen
just flies by
I’m sure there were less hours this past week
than all the weeks previously
We did all the figures and budgeted well  
which meant we are able to afford it
(anyone remember the budget books I keep)
Heres a couple of pages from last year
  
For me recording each bill and payment works well
that way I can keep a check on expenses 
So its time to say goodbye for a few weeks
I’ve been running round like a hairy monster
trying to get things done
and finished
Most things are in the case
just a little to finish off tomorrow
Kiera will be going to the Boarding Cattery in the morning
I know I will worry about her being on her own for that long
She still follows me around and is very possesive 
When she’s outside she doesn’t move far from the house
Perhaps we’ll think about another cat to keep her company when we get home
Staying the night near the airport as
we’ll be flying out at stupid o’clock Thursday morning
(otherwise known as – very early flight)  
SO 
First stop is Vancouver followed by a week at sea
seeing the sights in Alaska 
Then its off to the other side of Canada
To the Maritimes
where we’ll catch up with Dh’s fabulous extended family
who live in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia
Love that place!!
Highlight of this time is going to be visiting Newfoundland
Something to look forward to as we’ve never been to that Province before 
Coming home via Calgary to catch up with one of Dh’s old airforce friends
We’ll be back in Melbourne October 2nd
hopefully having enjoyed some warm sunny dry days  
I’ll know I’ll be tired and weary
but so so ready for the warmer weather
‘cose this winter has been cold and wet and ‘orrible
I think I’ve mentioned that a few times over the past few months lol
Heres the man himself –  this is from the last time we cruised the Inside Passage
Looking a little ‘plump’ from a week of unlimited food lol
He lost a few kilos when he was sick recently
so will be able to enjoy those meals without feeling guilty this time
I don’t think I’ll be posting during this time
but then you never know
See you in October
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And let there be light

Hellebores are little winter blooming plants
that don’t mind the cold weather
The ones in my garden must have big smiles on their faces
because cold we have had 
In fact this winter we have had lots of cold 
I do have a few plants in my garden
but really don’t know which ones they are
as the labels all went walkabout
at the time we rented out the house
They are sometimes called Lenten Rose
also Christmas Rose
(yet are nothing like a rose)
I suppose similar to Christmas Cactus
Called that because they bloom in the winter time
Some years they bloom magnificently
others just so-so, barely noticeable
This year is a magnificent one
(I did tell you its been cold didn’t I lol)
so I decided to bring a few of the flowers indoors
The camera said it didn’t need flash
but look at the difference a little extra light makes
Really shows you their true beauty
http://www.helleborus.com.au/growing.html
http://www.hellebores.org/
http://www.nurseriesonline.com.au/Articles/Growing_Hellebores.html
http://www.yates.com.au/garden-guide/useful-articles/hellebores-roses-of-winter/
Click here
To see more flowers and plants from around the world 
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Skywatch Friday

Here I am
– a  little bit chubbier –
under a cloudy sky
on a rather cool day 
in 
Vancouver’s Stanley Park
on our visit in 2004
And Look 
there are benches all over the place lol
Sitting on one close to the inukshuk sculpture
I am surrounded by them :)) 
Hopefully we’ll get time to go to Stanley Park again 
when we are in town next week
Remember I told you about it the other day
http://stillwaters-cathy.blogspot.com/2010/08/flying-is-it-your-idea-of-fun.html
Heres an article that shows that same bench and that same sculpture lol
To see more skies from around the world
Click here
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Folk Club NIght again

Those special Tuesday folk club nights keep on coming
Last month Dh wasn’t well enough to go but this month
we were down the road well before the normal time
 
We knew the hall would be packed because this months special artists were 
THE BORDERERS
http://www.theborderers.com.au/theborderers-music.php
 
This husband and wife ‘group’ are from Adelaide and so much fun to see and hear
Favourites at many of the folk festivals
both here in Australia and also overseas
We were so lucky to get them booked to appear at our ‘little’ folk club
 

The Borderers are well known performers at many of the world�s top music festivals having played Byron Bay Blues & Roots, Port Fairy Folk, Edinburgh and Womad Festivals in Australia and the UK � as well as touring Canada and the USA. They�ve also supported artists including Tom Jones, The Proclaimers, The Saw Doctors and Shane McGowan from The Pogues.

 
Now sometimes they appear with a large backing
sometimes just on their own
It was just the two of them on Tuesday night
but what a noise they made
 
Alex has a voice that is powerful and clear as a bell
Jim compliments her in every way
matching her energy – revelling in her enthusiasm
and just having fun
 
I think these – not very good photos – tell the tale 
A packed hall meant I was hemmed in – not good for picture taking
Too many standing at the back – I couldn’t get a spot there either lol
 
Introduction time
Feeling the words
Sharing a joke
Didn’t stand still all evening
One moment to check their play list
Seemed like the only time they did stand still lol
What it’s all about
 
Click on the photos to enlarge
Check the links and listen to their music
I’m sure you will enjoy it
http://www.entertainoz.com.au/Bands-Musicians/Celtic-Irish-Bands/The-Borderers
http://www.abc.net.au/oztrax/stories/s1862799.htm
 
The Borderers perform St Antonin
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Good things come in small parcels

Even though I’m not a huge fan of run of the mill TV
I do like mini series and various police/ detective series.
One of my favourites was Foyle’s War
It was set in wartime England
telling the tale of an English policeman
along with his lovely female driver
who was very intuitive and clever
and always seemed to help solve the crimes.
Australia always seemed to be the last country to see each new series; as soon as we had finished watching one we would wait hoping the television station had enough money to purchase the next one or even two series and that they actually went ahead and did so.
Was not a happy camper when I discovered that this programme had been cancelled and there would be no more.

Then there was Cranford,
a series about the lives of residents
of a small English village in the 1840s
adapted from books written by Elizabeth Gaskell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Gaskell
Even though there were just a few episodes I really looked forward to Sunday evenings for those few weeks. So many characters in such a small place, their lives seemed to be intertwined in so many ways and there were so many new things to learn about them each week.
After being a bit put out when Foyle’s War actually finished, I was then was over the moon when I discovered another series was actually planned and was to be shown this year.
Dismayed when it turned out to be just 3 episodes that took place after the war had finished BUT opened the door to possibly more.
We live in hope lol
Same thing with Cranford – there is more to come I read and was so pleased when I realised that it was back on again the other Sunday. I was ready for a few weeks of pleasure but it was not to be – the second offering was only 2 episodes long. Mind you they were warm and delightful and funny and sad all rolled into one.
Whats the title of this post all about then
The saying I used to hear from my Mum was
– Good things come in small parcels –
However I’ve also heard Great things come in small packages
as well as The Best Things come in small packages
Whichever saying is the one you are familiar with
what I’m getting at is that the last series of those programmes 
– the ones I was so pleased to see –
were the Good Things
and they came in Small Parcels – just 3 and 2 episodes lol
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Wheres the broom?

The other day when I couldn’t find the soft broom
I asked Dh if he’d seen it.
It’s by the back door’ he said
‘What’s it doing there’ I replied
‘It doesn’t ‘live’ there’ I said
‘Oh, when you were out I swept the kitchen floor’ he said
‘Thanks Darl’ I replied
So I set off to pick it up and put it back where it ‘lives’
It was just where he said it would be –  by the back door.
Actually, when I found it the door was wide open
so it was sort of hidden
Tucked in behind the door I didn’t see it to begin with.
Then I moved the door forward a little bit
Oh dear
Just have a look see what else I found lol. 
“Why didn’t you use the brush and dustpan and pick up the dirt’ I asked
Couldn’t find it’ he said 
‘It sits right next to the broom in the cupboard’ I said
‘Sorry’ he said
‘Next time I won’t do anything’ he said
Oops – did I say something wrong lol 
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Snowdrops or Snowflakes?

As many of  my regular readers would know
I’ve been a bit preoccupied
with a sickie these past few weeks
I must tell you that my Dh is well and truly recovered now 
and back to his normal self
His liver enzymes are almost back to ‘normal range’
and he’s definitely back to living life the way he used to.
If the 18 holes of golf he played last Friday
‘with no effort on his part’ he said
is anything to go by then he’s back to his normal self lol
Thank you so much to everyone who asked about him
on the blog, in person or by email
Thank you so much for your concern
I really appreciated it
especially when many of those thoughts came from total strangers
So I am also back to keeping in touch with some of the things
that went by the wayside during those weeks
Pottering round the garden was one of them
So you can imagine my surprise and ‘joy’
at seeing these little flowers down by the cat pen
They are some of the bulbs I mentioned in the Viburnum post
http://stillwaters-cathy.blogspot.com/2010/07/viburnum-tinus-todays-flowers.html
and often I don’t notice them blooming
So here are what I call Snowdrops in my garden
Although it seems they are actually called 
Snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum)
but what the heck – they look like Snowdrops
I love them no matter what.
Just in front of the Vibunum
with Day Lilies on their right and Ixias on their left
The strappy leaves behind are some Iris Japonica (The Fairy)
which has little white flowers with a streakof purple like Dietes
and right in the front is a clump of grass
that I didn’t have the sense to pull out
before I took the photo lol
click on the photos and they will enlarge
See the lovely green dot markings
Two on the same stem and another about to pop out
To see more fabulous plants and flowers from around the world
click here
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Skywatch Friday

Our bedroom is at the front of the house and faces West
so when I open the curtains in the morning 
(that would be about 7am at the moment)
I can usually see what is going on where the weather is concerned.
Now its when I get to the back bedroom
aka as the ‘Computer Room’
which faces East and open those curtains
I can ‘really’ see whats in store
Some of you know Dh was sick recently
I didn’t open the curtains in our room, just let him sleep
which meant that I first saw the day from the back window
Oh, it amazing how very different each of our Winter days can be
Heres what greeted me on July 25th
No sunrise but Fog
Yet 2 days later – July 27th
I saw the start of a glorious sunrise 
Same days but from another window
Theres that sunrise again
Click here
to see more skies from around the world
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Watery Wednesday

This beautiful bridge goes over the pond near the Chinese Garden
in Monash Park Shepparton here in Victoria
We visited there last December (2009)
and thoroughly enjoyed looking at as well as walking over the bridge 
I love the bright red paint on the metal work 
It makes it really stand out
Maybe you would like to read this press release about the opening the previous August

Click here 
for more watery images from around the world
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My World Tuesday

Guess what has become my latest obsession lol
There seem to be benches all over the place
I’m seeing them everywhere I go these days lol
These ones in Croydon’s Main Street
were waiting patiently for weary shoppers
Not in use this day – far too cold and windy
Hardly anyone walking along this lovely tree lined street
Shops all the way up the street and down the other side
Strip shopping – that’s the way we used to shop
before large airconditioned shopping centres appeared
clicking on the photos will enlarge them
On this particular day
it was hope for a parking spot
close to where you want to go
Out of the car – do what you have to do
Back in again and off home
Quick smart
These circular seats/benches are quite new
Maybe there will be takers come the Summer  
Mind you it can have a similar look
on days when its 35c/95f lol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croydon,_Victoria
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Victoria/Croydon/2005/02/17/1108500206382.html
Click here
To see more places from around the world
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