February 2011 – Still Waters

February 28, 2011February 24, 2012

This is the answer to all our weight problems

Now I have the answer

to all my weight problems

Its not exercise

but

washing up liquid lol

February 26, 2011February 24, 2012

Furniture and people

Last year I did a post about music and how I associated certain pieces with certain people

Now have a look at the wooden chair below

I have no idea what the correct term is for it is but my Mum used to call them ‘Bed chairs’

When I was little we had something similar but not the same

The back on ours dropped almost flat so you felt as though you really were lying down on a bed

But – my Grandad in Belfast had one almost identical – you would swear it was the same one lol

Last September we were in the small town of Twilling ate on the northern coast of Newfoundland and visited the Durrell Museum

Thats where I took this photograph

I saw it out of the corner of my eye as we walked in – I wandered over and stood there feeling quite sad and teary eyed remembering the last time I’d seen one like this – many years ago when I was about 15 – and thats quite a long time ago lol

I suddenly missed the Grandad I hadn’t seen since then.

Now my question is

Is there a piece of furniture that reminds you of a certain person ?

February 22, 2011

Sad news from New Zealand

The news from New Zealand today about the earthquake in Christchurch (which is on the South Island) has been on tv most of our day. Such graphic cover showing the turmoil and destruction in the city – so far I have heard that 65 people have lost their lives and the number is expected to rise considerably

Please send good thoughts the way of Michelle at Mickles Pickles – who lives in Wellington (on the North Island) – this week she is already contending with some sad personal news but now has the worry of not hearing anything from close family who live in Christchurch

Take care Mickle – we are thinking about all our Kiwi friends across the Tasman – Zebby Cat will be a comfort to you

February 21, 2011February 24, 2012

Sunday February 20th 2011

Sunday was the twentieth of the month – its the day I tell you about the daily happenings in my life and the all the things I got up to. Somehow I didn’t get round to it yesterday evening and here it is Monday evening and I am only finishing the post.

Early Sunday morning was absolutely lovely – about 9am I took a look over the neighbour’s house at that blue sky and decided to sit right down there on the steps in the sunshine with my tea and toast.

Had a little finishing off to do on some of the tiny hats and bootie for a bereavement programme giving help and support to parents who lose a babe pre-term – I have been part of this programme for a long time now, organising volunteers and liasing with the paid staff of the charity that oversees it. Most of what I do is organisational but I do do some handwork if we are getting low in stocks. The tiny sets are available to assist in the loss of a really early miscarriage and are called remembrance sets

I’d also brought a new book outside to start The Plantation by Di Morrissey – didn’t get much read tho – as being sunny and warm means my shadow is never far away and she didn’t disappoint me. Once she’d had a snooze I was there to be played with lol

I did think about moving some of that stuff in front of me back to garage but that’s as far as it went ‘cose its still sitting there. A wet day during the week meant I dried sheets on the two clotheshorses and Dh has been fixing the whipper snipper (for my benefit he said) I think my reasoning at the time for not doing it was that I want to try it (the WS) out so there’s no point in putting it away and its bound to rain again this week so the clothes horses can stay there for the time being.

By 10.30 this is what the sky looked like and as I had to nip down the road to one of my favourite stores I had to be on my way.

Now this isn’t something you see everyday while you’re waiting at the traffic lights – a wooden boat in the suburbs. Not sure where he would have been going or where he would have been but I’ve been kind and removed his interstate plates so he can’t be identified.

So here we are at one of my favourite places – no not that one, well it does have some good gardening stuff and when the kids are short of idea for birthday or Christmas one of their gift vouchers always is appreciated

Instead it was Spot*light that was calling my name

Had to pick up some flanelette for the programme I mentioned – found it straight away but was surprised at how little materials they actually had. Didn’t seem to be anywhere near as much as usual, if I was out looking for dress or curtain materials I’d certainly have been disappointed

Just as I was coming out the heavens opened so I nipped into the electrical retailer next door and had a look at a new washing machine as well as fridge freezer. New purchases we’ve been planning for about a year now. Came home with some good prices :))

I spent the afternoon cutting the material to size, ready for someone else to overlock – and even tho it was a cool evening dinner was light, mainly because I left it to Dh lol

Later in the evening I spent an hour watching a documentary on ABC – Return to Lake Eyre – amongst other things it talked about how Lake Eyre normally a dry salt lake was full again for the second year in a row mainly because all the river systems have filled (to flood proportions in places) since the rains returned. Last weeks one Out of the Ashes looked at how the bush has regenerated in the two years since the Black Saturday fires

Certainly not a busy day – had a fairly early night – not too good a nights sleep tho. Had a funny dream where I could have sworn dh was telling me someone was tampering with his car outside. I woke and thought it was real ‘cose I lay there for a while wondering why he hadn’t got up to look out the window or ring the police. When I spoke to him and asked about the car he wanted to know what I was talking about – I can still hear him telling me his car was about to be stolen lol

February 20, 2011February 24, 2012

Flowers in the hallway

Each week I think there won’t be any flowers in the garden

but with the alternating wet days and then warm ones

the roses don’t seem to be waiting for cooler days to bloom again

So where I thought would be no more for this week

odd ones keep popping up an various bushes

Not arranged in any particular order they all seem to blend well with each other and I managed to glean the last – or what I think are the last -pieces of the yellow Cape Fuschia (Phygelius) and Penstemon along with a couple of fuschia flowers and some long stemmed lavender

Click here

To see more flowers from around the world

February 15, 2011

Last post not on Google Reader

Seems my last post hasn’t made it to Google Reader

It can be found here

http://stillwaters-cathy.blogspot.com/2011/02/chocolate-cake-anyone.html

February 14, 2011February 24, 2012

Flowers for today

These were the hallway flowers from last week

Not many out there now

Will have to wait for the autumn flush

Todays Flowers

can be found here

February 13, 2011February 24, 2012

Magpie youths on the town

OK mate – come on up, the coast is clear

That big brown cat is nowhere to be seen

and the Lady of the House seems occupied elsewhere

What do you mean – its all dark

and theres some one following you

Oh lor’ I know you’re only a young un but you can’t go around

being scared of your own shadow

anyway come on into the shade –

Need to take a breather after all that heat

Look at us – a couple of young bucks surveying the scene

Well we aren’t bucks, we are actually young Australian Magpies

They call us Juveniles and theres a lot of us around at the moment

you’ll recognise us by our grey plumage and scruffy look

and the fact we hang around with the oldies a lot

The juvenile Australian Magpie has a grey mottled look, and its eyes are brown. It tends to follow its parents around screeching to be fed – even when it is nearly fully grown.

http://www.waratahsoftware.com.au/wp_birds_birds.html#row-4

I’ll just move along this fence a bit

You’re right I can lots from here

Still a bit cagey tho – wondering where that cat is

Well come on down and look from this angle

Yes I know we are on top of that thing the cat lies on

and what ever you do don’t poop on this blanket

We’ll never hear the end of it from

You know who – yes – the Lady of the House

Well that was short lived fun wasn’t it

I told you to be quiet and not make a mess

No wonder she told us to get out of there

Go on, outside and play she said –

you’ve got that huge great garden to play in

and you sit around doing nothing

No good looking back up there

We’ve done it for today

Come over here – we’ll dig around in the grass

could be something to eat down there

Click here

and you will be able to see

lots of other critters from around the world

click on photos to enlarge

February 12, 2011February 24, 2012

A deadly disease

Hearing the news the other day that Jeannie Little had been diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease and was now living in a nursing home made me feel quite sad. Her daughter has created a research fund to look further into the cause of this awful disease one that is close to my heart. It’s a disease that doesn’t discriminate or care who becomes its next victim – as well as many ordinary every day persons it also made itself known to many well known people including President Ronald Reagan, Perry Como, Harold Wilson and Hazel Hawke the ex wife of one of Australia’s Prime Ministers

I haven’t said much recently about my aunt – mainly because each time I visit her in the nursing home I come out feel more and more upset and depressed. Its doesn’t seem that long ago she was living life to the full and then getting angry at her doctor who had told her about the disease that was going to become more and more obvious – it soon began to cause us a lot of pain as well and at times trouble and bother. I wrote lots of posts about spending time either at the doctors or in the hospital A&E dept. The anniversary of the Black Saturday fires reminded me of this one – that was the night we had firefighters for company in the emergency dept.

Its so hard to look at photos like these and remember – an elegant lady with one of my daughters a few years ago

Looking like the lady she was on the terrace of her home in suburban Croydon

Talking to one of the spaniels she always seemed to have around her

And then to see her like this – a very frail lady who remembers nothing of her life, eats with her fingers, cannot put two words together, doesn’t seem to know who you are or where she is. Yet from somewhere deep down she can still recognise and show an interest in a dog