Month: August 2013

The last few days have sped by – no problems with the long haul flight ‘cept for a late arrival in Toronto which meant we didn’t get to Halifax till nearly 10 pm which meant arriving at final destination about midnight – a very long day.  One bonus is that the weather has been good, sunny and dry just perfect for walking up town in the small community of Berwick and relaxing with family.  No time restraints, accepting a quiet time with The Golfers aunt and any other family who dropped into ‘their Mum’s or their Grammies’.

So what happened next is that we spent  most of yesterday with good friends making our way up to North Sydney  in constant heavy rain for the overnight ferry to Port aux Basques in Newfoundland.  Not the best of crossings on a rocking rolling crashing into high seas ship courtesy of a gale and that torrential rain all the way across the Cabot Straight – unfortunately I spent a great deal of the night leaning over the toilet.  Seasickness got me and oh how I suffered lol.

Still tossing it down this morning when we got off the boat which made the drive to Deer Lake a bit ordinary.  Lovely to meet up with another couple and spend the day laughing and planning how we are all going to spend the rest of the next two weeks.

Looking forward to a good nights sleep and a good day tomorrow – there’s a promise of a dry warm day so here’s hoping it turns out that way!

Another week nearly gone and it’s almost been like a repeat of the previous one.  Rain rain and more rain – some really cold days with a promise of that white stuff……………..not actually in my suburb but very close by.

Remember the nearby hills (aka The Dandenongs) visible all round the neighbourhood and also from our front driveway – well up there.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/snow-for-the-dandenongs-20130819-2s77e.html

Thank you for all your ‘get well wishes’ – unfortunately there were more days this past of feeling weary and offcolour, so I stayed off the computer and was in bed early most nights – wake feeling fresh but go downhill during the day.  That’s it – no other symptoms so I’ve no idea what’s up.  Sounds like I need a holiday lol

I’m so glad I did start preparing early as I don’t have much left to do now ,  It’s such a palaver getting things ready and packed, mainly not knowing what the weather is going to be like on the other side of the world but also with an airline luggage limit of 23kg/50lbs to contend with,

We’ll be in Nova Scotia to begin with, then spend two weeks seeing more of Newfoundland, then its back to the mainland for another week.  Accuweather provides a monthly forecast but as we all know things can change from day to day, at the moment the forecast is for days up in the high 20sc/70sf and others down in the teensc/50s-60sf so I’m going along my usual line of layers upon layers and if really turns nasty then I’m not going out!!

Must go now – I may be able to say hello now again but am not promising anything, being with family means we are busy and on the go a lot; we will doing B&B in Newfoundland and you can’t always use the host’s facilities – and anyway I’m going to be having so much fun I won’t have time to be writing blog posts 🙂

After we leave NS we’re spending a few days in the Toronto area with one of The Golfer’s old school friends which will be nice – will be great to see Niagara again – then its home again.  Will be the end of September by then and hopefully by that time Spring will definitely be here.

Bye for now – I’m not the worlds best traveler so am mentally preparing myself for all the long flights – leaving very early this Sunday morning, 7am flight to Sydney then 14hrs to Vancouver, 4hrs to Toronto and then another 2 to Halifax.  I’ve got my knitting sorted and reading on the iPad so all I can do now is hope all the hosties (air hostess/ flight attendant) are in a good mood and they treat me kindly 🙂

See you then
Cathy

 

Oh yes – wouldn’t it be nice if everything went to plan.

This time I promised myself I wouldn’t leave it all till the last minute, I’d have most things ready at least a week before we leave.

With one week left before we fly out I’m about to turn tail and run the other way!

Being off colour for a few days hasn’t helped – feeling weary and out of sorts I slept 12 hours solid the other night.

For the first time ever gale force winds and rain storms made me feel uneasy.

Chipped windscreen right in my line of vision was starting to spread so had to be replaced – repair company were set to arrive at home but had to cancel because of traffic accident – when they came the next day the wrong screen had been loaded into the truck.

Can’t go away and come home to a messy house so it has to be cleaned properly – and you all know how one thing turns into another :(.

Lucy the local trouser ‘ turner upper ‘ a god send to those of us who are vertically challenged is snowed under – I have to wait till Tuesday to pick up my job!

The spotlessly clean kitchen floor that would have needed just a little wipe over on Friday had to have another good wash courtesy of the spilt jug of milk.

No point in crying is there – this time next week I’ll be half way across the Pacific Ocean and good or bad this will just be a memory lol

How’s your week been ??

Here in Melbourne as one season is finishing
Another is beginning
We are in late winter ready to welcome early spring

Today has been fabulous – sunny and dry with a bit of wind
I had sheets and towels and all sorts of other things
out on the big line from early this morning

Jonquils are just about ready to be tied down
for their summer rest and recovery

There are new red shoots on the roses
They are waking up from their winter snooze
Showing a hint of the beautiful flowers to come

All was looking good when I took these photos at the weekend
I was beginning to think spring was really on its way

Then yesterday the cold front came through
With it came thunder and lightning
a huge temperature drop
gale force winds – torrential rain
and hail 😦

When you live in Melbourne known for being able to give you
‘four seasons in one day’
you have to accept whatever turns up lol

Maybe spring will arrive properly next week 🙂

At the end of november last year
I told you a tale
A tale of the demise of the lavender round my washing line
https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/oh-dear-what-have-i-done/

After years of growing well and flowering beautifully it hit a bad patch and I ended up chopping all the bushes to the ground

click to enlarge small photos

 

Then we had the summer from hell with hot hot days and no rain – then we had the winter from hell with freezing cold days and rain rain rain for weeks on end.
Rain means the washing is dried on the back deck not on the big line
and it’s only these past few days when I’ve been pottering about out there
I’ve really looked at those unloved plants

Well lookee here – it would seem all is not lost 🙂

My lavender (or at least some of it) lives to see another day 🙂

The plants on the left seem to have recovered and are coming on a treat
The plants on the right face away from the sun – well, what little we’ve had during winter.
There are a few little green tips on most of the ones on the right
so if I trim the ones on the left and give the righthand ones some special care
it’s possible they will grow well and maybe catch up!

You know it’s right what they say If you’re not feeling well and are off colour
Cut back your activities – have a rest
Go out in the fresh air and sunshine
It will do you the power of good !

Just look at my lavender plants lol

Have you had anything to smile and wonder about this weekend?

These funnies are for today – just because 🙂

Enjoy!
Now I’m off to to bed to try and get some sleep 🙂

Still talking about libraries – remember me mentioning  the large electronic book return system that was installed in the big library?

Well I thought you’d like to see what progress actually looks like lol

This is what now confronts you when entering the lobby
What you do is place the book in the opening where the beam reads the bar code
The screen tells you the book has been recorded as returned.

Looking through the window into the library proper you can see the other end of the book return along with the bins waiting for their ‘droppings’
Well thats how I heard one old lady describe it the day I took these snaps lol

I also began to wonder if I was at the racetrack because standing beside me was a mother entertaining her children – they were watching the books move along the conveyor belt before they actually went into the library and this is what I heard.
“And there’s what looks like a paperback making its way along to the end – wonder what the lucky number was and where its heading off to”

And here is the view from inside the libary

Bit stark isn’t it
It must be good for the staff to have the space they need to sort but it seems very impersonal.  There are librarians about the place but with staff cutbacks they are becoming fewer and fewer
Shame isn’t it 😦

Information on
Croydon Library

Heres a link to photos taken during the recent renovations and refurbishment
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25305875@N06/

Our world Tuesday can be found here

So what do we do while its pouring with rain and blowing a gale as it seems to have done this past few days – we do what we have done all winter- we make ourselves comfortable, snuggle up in a blanket and read………..which meant this past weekend I’ve managed to finish off several books I’ve had on the go at the same time.

All by authors new to me – all quite different yet all covering  
relationships, family, friends, small towns, rural living, abuse in one way or another
That might sound unexciting but was definitely not the case 
I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend each of them.

Currawong Creek by Jennifer Scoullar

Brisbane lawyer Clare Mitchell has a structured, orderly life. That is, until she finds herself the unlikely guardian of a small, troubled boy. In desperation, Clare takes Jack to stay at Currawong Creek, her grandfather’s horse stud in the foothills of the beautiful Bunya Mountains.

 In the company of Strangers by Liz Byrski

Ruby and Cat’s friendship was forged on an English dockside over sixty years ago when, both fearful, they boarded a ship bound for Australia. It was a friendship that was supposed to last a lifetime but when news of Cat’s death reaches Ruby back in London, it comes after a painful estrangement.

Julia’s Chocolates by Cathy Lamb.

I left my wedding dress hanging in a tree somewhere in North Dakota. I don’t know why that particular tree appealed to me. Perhaps it was because it looked as if it had given up and died years ago and was still standing because it didn’t know what else to do…”

September won’t be long and that’s the month we aim for, September usually sees the end of all our moans and groans and for some the end of their winter reading.
The 1st is the first official day of spring here in Australia !

I find it hard to believe we are now into the second month of the second half of the year.  For us here in Australia August is the last month of winter – spring starts officially on the first day of September.  Early winter this year was unbelievably cold and July has been reported as being the warmest on record – to me it seemed cold so I’m not sure where I was on those days. To be fair we did have a few pleasant dry sunny days in the high teens (celcius) so maybe they contributed to the record!
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/eastern-australia-experiences-warmest-july-on-record/story-e6frfkp9-1226688944495
Some very low overnights coming up this week so the hotties will certainly be coming out at bedtime! 

 We have a small wattle tree at the bottom of our garden visible from the kitchen window and when it blooms in the winter I feel ‘comfortable’ – doesn’t matter what’s it like – on a dull day or a bright sunny day – seeing those fluffy yellow balls there gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.  

From the deck – Dull day

In fact when I see any wattle bloom I usually smile – don’t ask me why  – I just do :). 

When I see winter bulbs flowering and realise the seasons are changing – it also follows that seeing the yellow wattles in winter means the season will change.
Might take a while but it will happen.  

So what does one do when all that sunshine in a different form is available for the taking – Well I usually bring some into the house along with azalea and camelias that might be out- just to give me the opportunity to smile on what could be a cold winter’s day 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know that of the 1300 species of Acacia 960 are native to Australia – we call them Wattle here in Australia.  They are found in all states and about a third flower in winter

Golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha), is the floral emblem of Australia
And September 1 is Wattle Day

http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/publications/symbols/factsheets/national_floral_emblem.pdf
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2003/07/03/2578547.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia

Flowers from around the world can be found here