Month: June 2012

The other week I mentioned that with all the rain we have had recently (this week our Victorian dams have a storage level of 69%) I noticed I have not been so vigilant with water saving.  It hasn’t been the same with electricity tho – everything that can be is turned off at the wall socket/outlet (and the plug removed from the wall) so nothing is on standby.

EXCEPT  for the PC where the wall socket is right behind the desk and in a very akward position – visualise hands and knees with arm stretched along the wall becuse it’s almost in the corner – His problem not mine lol – so it means there are always lots of little lights glowing even tho nothing is actually turned on and running.

That was until the other day when Dh answered a knock at the door.

Have any Victorian blogger seen these things?
Nifty little devices that turn the standby function off
after you’ve turned the PC or TV off with a remote

http://nuestandby.com.au/products/

Seems the Vic. government via the power companies are giving something away – yes for free – no cost or catch to us or seemingly so.  The power companies are offering these in exchange for some green energy credits – same as those horrible light bulbs they gave away because the government wanted us to use them and we now have to use because none of the others are on sale anymore!

Dh was keen so credentials were checked and in no time at all they were in place.  They aren’t a permanent fixture so its a case of plugging your appliances into them – which has to be done by their accredited installer – and then they are plugged into the wall socket. There is an inbuilt surge protector which is reassuring but they do use a ‘minute’ amount of energy, hopefully nowhere near as much as all the things Dh had on standby overnight.

Anyway we shall see how they go – I’m not expecting miracles lol

29/30 June Post a Day

What the fuss was about!

It all started with a little scratch
I lifted my back leg and scratched my belly
Then I did it again a little while later
Well I had an itch and thats what you do
Isn’t it?

And from there it all went downhill!

Out came the brush and comb
That part isn’t too bad because it gets rid of all the dead hairs
‘Cept she kept saying thats not what she was after.

Then she got a little tube from the packet that lives in the laundry
And the wet stuff got squeezed on the back of my neck
Happens every month about the same time
Don’t like that – it’s cold and makes the hair on my back bristle!

Then my lovely warm fireside bed and the cushion I lie on went into the wash
Water as hot as possible
with a little bit of disinfectant as well as the washing powder
Had to be dried on the line outside
Luckily  it was a dry sunny day

Out came that thing that makes a noise and sucks up dust and fluff
And anything else left on the floor
It must be a great place to play Hide and Seek
because when its being emptied all I hear is
“so that’s where you’ve been hiding’

Anyway, I could tell she wasn’t happy about my scratching
because she kept muttering about going away soon
and she’ll have to ‘bomb’ the lounge
Whatever that might mean!
Doesn’t want to come home in two months time to a carpet thats alive
Whatever that might mean!

So it looks like I am forgiven  – I’m allowed back in again:)

and even tho I like my fireside bed this is my preferred spot

Yes – right here slap bang in the way
no one else can stand in front of the fire when I’m here.
But look what happened to my cushion
It’s ripped even more – no I didn’t claw at it!

You know those things she was looking for?
whatever they may be
Well – I wonder if they came out of there?

Oh hang on a minute
I’ve got another itch – I’ll have to have a scratch!!

28/30 June Post a Day

Over the past few weeks you’ve heard me mention the cold weather and how easy it has been to bunker down and knit in the warm house
These are the small things that have been coming off my needles

 Fingerless Mitts from the easiest pattern of all

Using 8ply/DK and size 4mm/UK8.
(These fit an average size ladies hand)

Cast on 35
This will determine the length down the hand to the wrist
so that number can be larger
Just remember to adjust the stitches in 1st row

Begin
Knit 4 rows
1st row: (wrong side) Knit 5 Purl 20 Knit 10
2nd row: Knit

Repeat until it is the size you want
(as in size wrapped round hand)
Usually I would work about 47rows

Finish on row 1 (wrong side)

Knit 4 rows
Cast off

Sew along garter stitch sides leaving a hole for thumb
Most times  I make it 2 inches from the top and 3.5inches from the bottom 

I personally find it is easier for me
to vary the type of yarn used and the needle size
to produce different sized mittens than adjust the number of stitches

Destined for this Melbourne based charity collection
https://www.kogo.org.au
https://www.kogo.org.au/about – https://www.kogo.org.au/knit

What each day will bring!

 After yesterday’s lament this is what we woke to today
From the front door
Grey clouds interspersed with blue sky
(or is it blue sky with some grey clouds??)

From the back deck
More blue sky and grey cloud

And
Wait for it – peeking over the neighbour’s roof
I spy
SUNSHINE !!

Can’t stay long today
I’ll leave you with another question
How do you know when the grandchildren are growing up?

Is it when the Deb Balls start arriving?
We are off to another this evening.
Lots of young girls parading in their long white dresses.

Or is it when they start parading yellow L plates on a car?

Caitlin Jane rang us in the morning laughing and giggling
I wasn’t quite with it until I realised she had joined two other of her cousins
Yes, another learner driver appeared yesterday
So watch out Melbourne motorists!!

edited to add – her test was just the written questions and answer one
reasurring to know she was indoors and not out on the road

23/30 June Post a Day

WET and COLD

From the word Go – in fact from yesterday – because it poured overnight
to right now late this evening
it has been WET and COLD

Oh, I tell a lie
It stopped raining and the sun came out
for about half and hour this afternoon
But apart fom that it has been as I described
WET and COLD

The overnight temp at Mt Dandenong –
the one just up the road that I often post photos of
was 2c/about 36f
I can vouch for that.

 I drove a couple of the grandchildren to their school at 7.30am
and it was freezing cold and hissing it down.
One car family – Dad at work – Please could you help us Grandma?
(School Music Camp = too much baggage to go on the school bus)

Its been a while since I drove in that morning traffic
Melbourne motorists intent on going to work first thing in the morning
are not to be taken lightly
With that precious cargo in the back seat I had to really concentrate on the road
Twice as much because of the b……………rain that never stopped!

Today was one of those days when not much was done
I parked myself in the chair with my knitting and the TV
In a cosy warm house with the lights and heater on
not worrying about the power bill at all.

And then when 5pm rolled around and I closed the curtains
I was so thankful I didn’t have to join all those motorists
making their way home
In the WET and COLD  

Do spare a thought for all those who are coping with the floods in
Koo wee rup and surrounding areas
They are experiencing the cold and wet
far more than us in Melbourne and surrounding suburbs

22/30 June Post a Day

Today is Thursday the twenty-first day of June 2012 – that means almost half of the year has gone! 24 weeks have passed since the beginning of January and there are just over that amount to come before the end of the year.

So what did this past week bring?

A quiet week with a few trips to the gym, an expected package in the post, a swim at the local pool and a day of annoyance and wondering how something could have happened aka as the unhappy computor day!

Some of the days were sunny, some were cloudy.  Some days were freezing cold, others that were not so bad.

There were some days like yesterday and today when we were delighted (I don’t think) to have gale force winds and heavy rain.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/victorians-warned-to-brace-for-wintry-blast-of-heavy-rain-and-strong-winds/story-fn7x8me2-1226403289994

AND one day we were presented with a 5.3 earthquake lol. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-20/wild-weather-ahead-as-aftershocks-rock-victoria/4082396/?site=melbourne&microsite=&section=news

So I am thankful I have a solid roof over my head and the means to heat it.

I am thankful I have a man about the house who is savvy enough to fathom out the mysteries of modern day technical equipment or knows a ‘little man’ who can give him a hand.

I am thankful for the knowledge of others – which they are willing to share so we can build up a better picture of what the lives of our past families were like.   I’ll tell you about that day another time.

I am thankful my garden is producing flowers – maybe not as many as I would like but enough to brighten up my kitchen window sill.

But what I really am thankful for is the date – yes today’s date – June 21^st 2012

It is the June Solstice – the Winter solstice in our region.  It is about this time we will have our shortest day and longest night.  Days coming to close just after 5.pm and light not appearing till after 7.30 am

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=152
http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/june-solstice.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice

So why am I thankful?  Well you see it is the time when the days begin to get longer.  There will be more daylight and the countdown to spring and summer begins.

And I DO love summer 🙂

21/30 June Post a Day

That someone has put a spanner in the works
– not on purpose I would imagine –
probably quite uniintentionally
by clicking on something.

It is very evident that our computer is not very happy
– in fact it is not very happy at all – things are not working –
the V word has been mentioned:((

This is being typed on something that lives next to our usual PC
– this something works very very slowly-
but comes in handy now and again!
Especially in times of need – like now

Trouble is each time it is woken it needs to be fed
I believe it lives on updates
So from turning on to actually being ready for use
can be a long long time

Did you know that holding a thought for a long time
can be nearly as painful as being out in the bush
wanting to use the loo
driving on a freeway when you’ve just passed a turn off
and you know the next roadhouse or town isn’t for about 80ks or more

I’ve jotted down a few for tomorrow
Hopefully I’ll be able to post
Don’t want to fail in my June Post a Day challenge

I know my Dh will be trying to find the rotten thing
that has decided to live in the other PC
The one I prefer to use!

Bye for now
Cathy

19/30 June Post a Day

There are a few of these lying around the house at the moment

Yes its time to start making ‘The List’ in earnest

In 3 weeks and 3 days we’ll be on our way
Thats just 24 days you know lol

Somehow I think the lists will begin to look more like this

Or even grow to this number as the days go by

Oh dear – where do I start??

I know – with a list 🙂

16/30 June Post a Day

A friend of mine has just become a Gt Grandmother which (after getting the ok from her) gave me the chance to cut down on the large amount of wool I have tucked away – and as one of our large chain stores had children’s clothes at give away prices I was able to tailor the colours and make several mix and match sets for the little one.  

They all live in Canada and what with postage time and seasonal differences I decided it would be best to knit these in a larger size (20″/51cm),  I’m going to put them in the post later in the year so they arrive close to Christmas time when Holly will be about 7 months old.  They shouldn’t sit in the cupboard for too long but if she is a small baby the material is lightweight enough for Summer and Autumn wear.

The pink wool is almost the same shade as the flowers – the choice of the grey or purple pants means there are 2 different looking outfits.

To begin with this jacket was all white but looked very stark so I added the lavender stripes which seems to have softened it.  And here as well the choice of grey or purple pants means there are 2 different looking outfits

I’m not going to tell how much the 4 garments cost (‘cept to say I had change for $20) plus I the wool I used was gifted –  so you have to admit they do look good for a bargain don’t they!

15/30 June Post a Day

The trouble with pampered cats (or at least its always been the way with mine) is that they won’t ‘go outside’ to do their business, insisting instead that they have access to a tray.  I’ve seen them leave the garden and rush all the way indoors and then charge back outside again once they have finished lol

I could pick the big bags of paper litter up at the supermarket but I have a supplier that is cheaper than the supermarket and being a Fodder/Feed Shop is a much more pleasant place to visit.

The Feed Shop is in a nice big airy shed just off a main road, everything is kept tidy so if you want to potter about you can see things at a glance plus I’m sure it helps them with stock control.  And the other fabulous benefit to going there is I can drive through and not get wet also the lovely man there loads it into the car for me 🙂   Busy busy when I arrived the other day – there was a queue of cars in front of me.

Looking about I thought I saw something move – nothing there I could see.

Then I spotted her –

My name is Zoe – what’s yours?

13/30 June Post a Day

Try this for size – online jigsaws – one of my favourite ways to pass the time.

I’m hoping this is going to work, just click on the arrow but if the embedded thingy doesn’t cooperate this is a link to the site.

http://www.jigzone.com/

There’s a new each day and loads of archives to work through. Also a place to change the cut – making it harder or easier. My usual cut is 48 piece classic – that way it looks like a ‘regular’ jigsaw lol

Have fun 🙂

12/30 June Post a Day

In Victoria the second weekend in June is known as the Queens Birthday Long Weekend with a public holiday on the Monday (hence the long weekend, a term all Australians love lol ), it is also the traditional start to the snow ski season in Australia.  Yes, we do have mountains high enough for good snow coverage and there are some good ski resorts in various states.

Here in Victoria the closest resort to where I live would be Mount Buller about 3 hours away, an hours drive will take you to Lake Mountain a great spot for cross country skiing, while if you just want a day out for snow play Mt Donna Buang is the place to go  We even have some world and Olympic champion skiers so for a nation that only has a short ski season we don’t do too badly 🙂

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skiing_in_Australia
http://aussieskier.com/travel/trip-reports/inas-2012-world-champs/australia-first-and-fifth-in-2012-inas-world-championship-slalom/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_at_the_Winter_Olympics

So what’s that got to do with me the person who supposedly dislikes winter and all that comes with it ??  Well daft as it sounds, for some reason, I do have a liking for snow.  I have even been known to don warm clothes and get out on the slopes – yes really lol

This ‘ere photo was taken in February 1961 on the snowy slopes of the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus – in a previous life before I was married I lived there with my family (Dad was a serviceman stationed at RAF Nicosia) and the youth club would have a yearly trip up into the nearby hills.

Back then we just had a good time trudging up, skiing down and enjoying a picnic lunch but skiing has become far more popular so now there are proper runs and facilities.  And yes, with the beautiful mediterranean climate of Cyprus it is possible to ski in the morning and relax at the beach in the afternoon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troodos_Mountains
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/paradisegardens/skiing.html

This year my Queen’s Birthday Monday has been one of those not too bad, a great sunny dry but very chilly don’t go out if you don’t have to days – lots of sport on the TV so sit and watch it days – raid the freezer for pre cooked weeks ago meals days – it’s the last public holiday until Cup Day in November and thats only in the Metro area so enjoy it days – ‘cose tomorrow will come soon enough days lol

What have you been doing on this second Monday of June 2012
Skiing or Subathing?

11/30 June Post a Day

I grizzle and groan at this time of the year – its cold and miserable and there are no flowers in my garden.  Now we all know ‘cold’ is relative to where you live  – compared to other countries our cold here in Victoria is not really cold (winter lows of 4c which is about 39f)  – I can’t remember the last time we had a frost – so when I complain its not really about the weather, its more about the fact it hinders whatever it is I want to do outside.

And believe it or not I do have some flowers in the garden during Winter – not in summer abundance but in ones and twos.  I think its because I don’t spend that much time outside I don’t really notice them and then I’m flabergasted when I do lol

Take my little Lasiandra bush at the bottom of the garden – it died off during the drought so I pulled it out – or so I thought.  Its shot back up again obviously from some roots that were left behind in the ground.  Look at all those lovely purple flowers and the green velvety leaves bringing a touch of colour to the garden .  I took this on a very wet rainy day last week – and as much as I loved what I saw and wanted a photo I will just say I was safe and dry about sixty foot away on our back deck lol

The purple flowers just helped lift the little arrangement of lonesome blooms on the window sill.  Rummaging around I found those little daffodil flowers I spoke of before, some more of the tiny fuschias, some tiny lavender colour Brachycome flowers, a single blue cornflower that appeared from nowhere and some of the long blooms from the Salmon coloured Tryphylla Fuschia thats tucked away out of direct view in another corner of the garden

Today was one of those dreary drizzly winter days I dislike – not really cold but certainly not pleasant.  We did very little – in fact this is where I spent most of the day.   Snug and warm in a comfy chair next to my favourite friend, sewing and knitting close to hand.  It looks bright outside but inside was dull so I opened the vertical blinds which gave a lovely feel to the room, enough light from the window to work from without having to turn the lights on.

9/30 June Post a Day

Sort out – to find a solution to (a problem)
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sort+out

Seeing Libby’s post yesterday where she was planning their Disney trip reminded me I hadn’t told you what it was I ‘sorted’ last Saturday.

About the middle of last month (May) our travel agent informed us that the cruise we had booked for December this year had actually been cancelled – the cruise line offered us lots of incentives and freebies for other cruises before and after that date but none suited us so I said ‘sorry no deal’ and asked for our deposit to be returned.  With seven months notice and all those offers there wouldn’t have been too many disappointed/unhappy cruisers.  No problem for us, it had been a fun decision to spend those couple of weeks cruising the South Pacific, sort of like a late birthday present for us both.  And we hadn’t lost out as the deposit would be refunded in full.

A week later I began to miss what would have been and looked for something else to fill that time.  I found a cruise I fancied leaving about the same time in December, similar price as well, and a few days longer which was great – the only thing was it wasn’t on our back door step.  The cancelled one would have sailed from Sydney and this one involved long haul flights which certainly were not planned for!  Now as this was to be our year for domestic travel I had to do some ringing around to get a good price for the fares we hadn’t intended to take before actually booking the cruise.  We were able to transfer the original deposit to the new cruise so didn’t have to find cash for that, thank goodness.!

Air travel was arranged  – but to offset the unexpected airline fares we had to economise somewhere.  Cabins were looked at – and one was decided on.  Not our first choice but certainly not in what we would consider the ‘worst’ range.  Then I discovered it was right under the kitchen area – No wonder it was a ‘good price’ lol – so it was back to the deck plans and price list again.

So this is what I was ‘sorting’ last Saturday – finding a cabin within our budget to take the place of the one I had chosen originally.  The listed price for the new cabin was a bit more expensive than the original one but the TA managed to get it for the same price.  Hopefully I won’t have anything to complain about when we get home!

Oh, guess where we are going – we are going to sail/cruise through the locks of the Panama Canal from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale. Down past Mexico, Guatamala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, through the canal, past various Caribbean islands and then up to Fort Lauderdale. Its going to be different to anywhere else we have been and in the meantime I’ll be doing a lot of research into each of the ports along the way.

Have you done any problem sorting recently?

8/30 June Post a Day

Libby from ‘Life is a Destination not a Journey’ has set herself the task of posting every day during June.  Now for a while there I was a bit down and certainly not in a chatty sort of mood so I thought that if I joined in with doing this it would get me back into a blogging routine again.

We are one week down and if you want to catch up with my daily posts here are links to the ones you may have missed.

June 1st – Do your jobs first!
https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/do-your-jobs-first/

June 2nd – You never know –
https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2012/06/02/you-never-know/

June 3rd – How do you get ideas for a post?
https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/how-do-you-get-ideas-for-a-post/

June 4th – You can’t take them anywhere!
https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/you-cant-take-them-anywhere/

June 5th – Blooming lovely for this time of the year
https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/blooming-lovely-for-this-time-of-the-year/

June 6th – School Samplers
https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/school-samplers/

June 7th – Its the little things that make me smile
https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/its-the-little-things-that-make-me-smile/

Week number two begins tomorrow!!

edited to add:  Thank you Denise for telling me the links aren’t working.  It seems there have problems with linking to the actual page so I have added what I hope is a usable links.  Fingers crossed:)
Failing that just scroll down to read the seven previous posts lol

Like last week at the Dr’s when he warmed the stethoscope before placing it on my body – or going into the hairdresser’s on a freezing cold day and hearing her say ‘Hello Cathy, come on in, sit down, take the weight off your fee and what would you like to drink’ – and like this morning at the swimming pool when the little ones (preschoolers) playing on the raft after their lessons asked me if I’d like a go lol

And then there was last night when we had some of our now grown up children at the house minus their partners and children and we sat and talked – I can’t remember a time when this has happened since they all left home so it was an occasion to savour.  The smiling bit came when I heard them discussing children, schools, homework, maths and school discipline – ‘and I told her rules are rules and you have to obey them’ came from the mouth of a son who definitely didn’t believe that when he was at school lol

What little things make you smile?

7/30 June Post a Day

The sampler exhibition I mentioned the other day also had examples of a different type of ‘school sampler’ – instead of embroidery they were more like what we probably would call needlework.  Most of us would have had a class that involved textiles and sewing machines – not for these girls, these samplers demonstrated skills that in those days were all done by hand!  As this board explains they were pieces that girls had to work to demonstrate sewing techniques that they would need in life.  They also had to be worked to a certain standard to gain a pass!

Come and walk through a sewing class of the 1880s
all photos enlarge with a click

These are from a slightly later time.

Does that bring back memories for any of you?
Tell me about all the Stabbed Fingers and Blood on Handiwork you encountered!

6/30 June Post a Day

Lots of rain and power cuts – thats what we woke to this morning.  Our back garden was a bit on the wet side and the skies were heavy again.
It was more rain than many Victorians care for:
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/weather/gales-floods-and-monster-waves-as-victoria-cops-a-weather-beating-20120605-1zsoa.html
so the SES and other workers have been out most of the night and will be most of today and tomorrow according to the radio news.

However I did manage to get a glimpse of a few things that are defying the odds this week and ‘putting on a show’.  A very little show I have to add because the garden has a very empty look to it after being cut down low for the year.

These are the things that make me smile
The Gardenia on the side of the garage has one solitary late blooming flower.
Look at it – this isn’t the right season at all but it’s determined to shine!

Its the same as this one little flower on the fuschia bush.

The Abutilons are looking good at the moment although the branches tend to snap if the weather is really wet and windy.

And then there are these little bulbs that have popped up over the past couple of weeks.  Apart from looking like a miniture daff’ I have no idea what they are.  I was given a whole lot a couple of years ago, dropped them in the deep cavern called our garage discovered them during a tidy up and just popped them in the ground in the middle of these roses.

They were in a bag marked ‘Iris’ – sounds like Flo was having a mind wandering senior moment when she marked the bag lol

5/30 June Post a Day

Well Monday has arrived and I think we’ll start the week with a joke.
Anyone who knows what it’s like when there are young children around
at family gatherings will relate to this one.

The Family Dinner Party

A friend hosted a dinner party for family far and wide and everyone
was encouraged to bring all their children as well.

All during the sit-down dinner one four-year-old girl
stared at the uncle sitting across from her.

The girl could hardly eat her food for staring.

The uncle checked his tie, felt his face for food, patted his hair in
place but nothing stopped her from staring at him.

He tried his best to just ignore her but finally it was too much for
him.

He finally asked her “Why are you staring at me?”

Everyone at the table had noticed her behaviour and the table went
quiet for her response.

The little girl said “I just want to see how you drink like a fish.”

Sounds like no-one in that family had heard the expression
‘Little pitchers have big ears’
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Little+pitchers+have+big+ears

Does anyone have stories like that they’d love to tell?

4/30 June Post a Day