Month: January 2014

Cooler weather last week meant a trip to the local park with all its twists and turns and its views of the nearby hills.
(click to enlarge)

Where people put the world to right while taking walks with their dogs

There is a bridge with rails that allow children to see the ducks

There are wetlands masquerading as a duck pond along with a children’s play area.  There is a a special place there for little ones armed with stale bread.

Further round you can take a path to see my favourite bench (see header)  – only this time coming from the other direction.  It’s a few years since I took the header photo and things have grown, other plants put in – enlarge to see the bench nested in amongst the trees and bushes. 

and it was near here that I spied these two ‘Little Corella’ guarding a hole in a tree.  One flew off so I didn’t go too close – not sure if there was a young one in there or not
http://cockatoo-info.com/species
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Corella
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corella_(bird)

Gallery of Crops 

The forecast forecast for this week is back to warmer weather so I think my walking will be in the gym.

Linking to
Our World Tuesday   Nature Notes

Yes another of my Mum’s sayings lol

You can’t have it both ways!

You can’t have the descriptive wording of a book
AND
the visuals of a film/movie

Have to agree on this one where The Book Thief is concerned

But don’t take my word for it – go and see it when you get the chance

I read the book and went to the cinema yesterday

I did enjoy the film ‘cept I came out with a lot of

But that…….
Oh that’s not…….
I don’t remember………….
I don’t think they would have…………

It’s possible that if you see the film and then read the book
you might feel differently.

As it’s adapted from a YA novel maybe I should wonder how the young girl playing the lead role felt about the book’s subject and how youngsters feel as they see this unfold on the screen in front of them.

Here in Australia it’s been given a PG rating meaning
Parental Guidance is recommended for persons under 15 years of age. PG movies are suited to families with older children, as some scenes may frighten younger children. Themes of PG movies may start to get more adult, yet the movie’s content remains family-friendly.

Oh and the days are still hot
Today (Friday) here in my suburb we are expecting 44c/111f
It is now 9am and has reached 34c/93f

There are places in the state where it has become far hotter, there are places where they are fighting fires, we do have cooling in the house as well as fans and so far have not been affected by power cuts (thank goodness) we don’t need to take public transport (train lines have been buckling!) so I don’t know why I’m grizzling.

The BOM says there is a slight chance of thunder storms later
And a drop in temperatures

We can only hope!

Yesterday was hot – very hot – I even turned on the airconditioning,

The Golfer and I drove down to a cinema complex close to home thinking it would be a good day to see a new release (The Book Thief).  Didn’t even get our tickets – the owner was warning customers he had problems with the generator servicing that particular theatrette in the complex (In Australia and New Zealand a small and simple theater, particularly one contained within a larger venue, is a theatrette.) and he was waiting for a new generator to be delivered.
Pay and enter at your own risk and level of comfort he said – we came home and will pop back tomorrow lol

Today is Wednesday 15 January 2014:

It would appear summer has definitely arrived 🙂
Victoria declared a Total Fire Ban Day
We have an expected high temperature of 41c/105f
The uv index is predicted to reach 12 (extreme)
Dry Lightning has been a problem causing fires in the state
Weather stations, radio stations and newspapers are suggesting heatwave conditions.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-15/fire-crews-on-alert-as-south-east-australia-sizzles-in-heatwave/5200424

Heatwave
In Australia a heat wave is defined as five consecutive days at or above 35 °C (95 °F), or three consecutive days at or over 40 °C (104 °F).
http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/melbourne-starts-its-most-intense-heatwave-in-102-years/26402

Dry Lightning
Dry lightning is a term which is used to refer to lightning strikes occurring without significant precipitation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_lightning

http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/dry-lightning-sparks-256-fires-in-victoria-amid-heatwave/story-fnii5sms-1226801958693

http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/3aw-news-blog/dry-lightning-concerns-ahead-of-another-scorcher/20140114-30rwi.html

Fires/Bushfire
Bushfires in Australia, are generally defined as any uncontrolled, non-structural fire burning in a grass, scrub, bush, or forested area. Australia
http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/bushfires/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushfires_in_Australia

UV Index
The ultraviolet index or UV Index is an international standard measurement of the strength of the ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun at a particular place on a particular day.
http://www.weatherzone.com.au/uv-index/vic/melbourne/melbourne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_index

http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-restrictions/total-fire-bans-and-ratings/
http://www.campertrailers.org/total_fire_ban.htm

Looks like it’s going to be hot here again today 🙂
What’s it like at your house today??
Hot or Cold??

I did say I’d show you a little bit of our cruise
Sydney to Singapore – 16 days in a very big boat!

Sailaway from Sydney was late in the afternoon
Not often I get to see Luna Park,
THE Bridge and Opera House all at the same time lol

the photos are not the best – camera was dropped a couple of days before leaving :)- but will enlarge with a click

Unlike lots of other cruisers my main objective when on a ship is to relax and generally watch the world go by – having fun is allowed as well lol
This cruise we had chosen not to do any shore excursions at the ports so for us it was all about rest and relaxation and being on the ship 🙂

All that sea air does have an effect on some of the passengers tho!

Along the way there was nightly entertainment which included the Filipino crew show and a performance by Pingxin Xu on his chinese dulcimer

This is a youtube recording from another cruise ship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_JaSi-nwUQ

There was a band and dancers to welcome us to Benoa (Bali)

Young Komodo Island locals well aware of the dangers of paddling alongside a 61,000 ton cruise ship showed no fear as they asked  called to pasengers for this that and the other – rush hour was evident in Semarang and pirate control was attached to the deck handrail (but luckily not used) in some waters along the Indonesian coast line

Long Range Ecoustic Device
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Acoustic_Device

There was the fun of ‘crossing the line’ ceremony
Yeah or Nay ??

There were BBQs – chocolate extravanganzas – proper dinners

We laughed each evening after getting back to our room to see the different towel animal left by the stateroom stewards

Then it was time to have last night drinks with friends in their stateroom complete with still being filled suitcases – and before we knew it, it was sunrise and we were sailing past the brand new appartment complex called Reflections at Keppel and into Singapore Harbour

Here to there in 16days
Still smiling – ready for the next one.
It’s all about having a good time

Happenings
Something that takes place

Not the arty crafty ones decribed here
the usual everyday ones that take place around my house and neighbourhood.

Gosh it’s been a while since I sat down and just had a little natter with you – things get in the way don’t they lol

You might be interested to know the cost of our fuel is slowly dropping to a more reasonable level – after the shock of the New Year jump of 20c a litre I waited a while and filled up at a more reasonable $1.55 (US$1.38) but as this article suggests it will be rising again fairly soon.  Our fuel costs are based on what happens in Singapore and not the US and for years we’ve had weekly cycles where it fluctuates up and down, unfortunately recently we haven’t been able to pick when the lowest day will be so have had to take pot luck and hope for the best.  I drove past yesterday and it was even lower!

There I was at the end of December saying how we’d enjoyed nice warm weather and blow me down if it didn’t change and give the impression autumn had arrived.  Really cool days and coldish nights meant the shorts and tshirts were back in the cupboard and I was beginning to think about turning the heating back on and then of course I managed to start coughing and sniffing at the same time so a happy camper I was not 😦

I wonder if that was the reason for all the spider’s webs around the place (the cooler weather not the coughing and spluttering)  We assume it was a Garden Orb that built the web I showed the other day (there was one hanging around in that spot on Christmas Day) and the poor thing must have got a surprise one day as it was quite cool out there and with rain forecast forgetting he was there I dropped the blind he had used for support – resulting in a very mangled web.

It’s still very quiet outside – most workers will be back to work this coming Monday, then as life resumes in the suburbs we’ll begin to notice the traffic going up and down a couple of nearby main roads.  We don’t have any young children living close to our house so the main garden noise is from lawn mowers although one wretched man has a leaf blower that he uses daily on his driveway whether there is anything there or not!!

They say as one thing ends another begins and thats the way our summer sports are.  The Australian Cricket team did well to annihilate beat soundly the English Eleven (5 – 0) so the Ashes returned home.  Now it’s the turn of tennis to entertain us – The Australian Open takes place here in Melbourne so the professional  ‘stars’ are starting to arrive.  There have been various tournaments played round the country as a lead up but the big one begins next Monday and last for nearly a fortnight.  Looks like i’ts time for the local commentators to refresh their memory on the pronounciation of all the weird and wonderful different eastern european surnames that are going to crop up over that time 🙂

This time of the year is entertainment time when all the new releases arrive – I’ve been looking at several films that are on at our local cinema – there are some that appear to be ‘normal’, not vicious or bloo.dy war types or mystical ala weird spooky ones – I’m only into ‘nice’ ones these days which means The Golfer and I disagree occasionally but hey – I’m entitled to my opinion aren’t I and theres nothing to stop him going on his own.

The library has been sending out ordered books so there are several waiting on the bedside – looks like my goal to ‘read down’ some of those I selected from our bookcase last year might go on the back burner for a while.  I’ve downed four already this year so will fill you in on them soon as well as our cruise and the time we spent in Singapore last year.

And then I had a chat on skyp.e the other day with my sister who lives in Cyprus – that was a lovely happening – after the confusion of the last phone call I wasn’t sure she’d answer.  Thought I’d call to tell her some news, they only use a mobile so I wondered why it was taking so long to get an answer, heard a very groggy hello from her man, I laughed and joked about being in bed at this hour of the day, then the penny dropped.  She told me months ago they were going to have Christmas with family in England – he was not happy at being woken at 5.30am!

Anyway amongst other things we discussed our visit with them this coming September – yes I’m organising more travel.  From here to Athens then Cyprus back to Athens to cruise the Black Sea (ports in Greece Romania Bulgaria Ukraine and Turkey) back to Athens and then home.  Lots to plan in the next few months – maybe some shopping to be done lol

Ooops, as usual I’ve done a lot of gabbing, my health and the temperatures are back to normal, we have a week of sunny warm days coming up that will keep me and The Golfer content and all the mums happy (means kids can play outside) so better be off before I wear out my welcome.  Do tell me about the happenings in your life at the moment.
Bye for now
Cathy

ps – I meant to say I haven’t been reading many blogs or answering any comments recently, hopefully that will begin to happen again soon
C x

‘Will you walk into my parlour?’ said the Spider to the Fly,

”Tis the  prettiest parlour that ever did you spy;

The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,

And I have many curious things to show when you are there.’

‘Oh no, no,’ said the little Fly, ‘to ask me is in vain,

For who goes up your winding stair can ne’er come down again

The Spider and the Fly
Mary Howitt (1799 – 1888)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spider_and_the_Fly_(poem)

Thats what came to mind the other morning when I went out the back door and spied what appeared to be a wall hanging where there is no wall!

The spider who constructed this must have been busy during the night because I certainly didn’t notice it the day before.  These are a few photos taken – not the best because of the position of the sun and a camera that needs replaced.  Just to give you an idea of the skills these tiny little creatures must have to be able to construct something as fine as this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_web

Click the gallery to enlarge

Our World Tuesday               Nature Notes

It’s Twelfth Night (January 6th) tomorrow – the end of Christmas festivities – all the decorations need to come down or we shall have bad luck.

Does anyone know why it does it take a shorter time to do this than the time it takes to dress the tree?

I use the same baubles and trinkets each year apart from maybe an impulse buy – and most of them go on the tree according to size – biggest at the bottom, lightest closer to the top, others tucked in the branches so you’d think by now because I’d have a fair idea where to place them it would be a breeze.  No, it usually takes most of the day putting it up and two hours at the most taking down and putting away lol

I must show you something that made me smile on our recent cruise – I came across this sight of several grown men in the main atrium assembling a train set to run round the table that was to hold a gingerbread village scene.  These weren’t just any ol’ crew members but some of the executive officers (hotel management and culinary dept) – taking their jobs and responsibilities very seriously lol

click photos to enlarge

Very hard to photograph surreptitiously – I’m sure you would have had a smile as well if you’d been there.
Men far from home being boys who love to play with trains 🙂

If you are interested Snop,es has an article about Christmas Superstions.  It mentions not putting decorations up before Christmas Eve which is when ours go up as does the one on Wiki,pedia.
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/superstitions.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree

Have all your trimmings come down yet??

So New Year’s Day I’m driving down the road on my way to the ‘Big Green Barn’ when I had to stop at traffic lights on Canterbury Road.  Sitting there waiting I looked over to the service station opposite and nearly had a fit.  Surely that wasn’t right?  Out came the camera so I could check later, the lights changed and I was on my way.
Click to enlarge 

Found what I wanted at B.unnings – would have loved a bbq’d sausage and onions from the community tent but thought better of it 🙂

Stopped at more lights on the way back up the road and had a look at the price at another servo – add the discount and I had a sinking feeling.  Not good 😦

So further down the road I actually drove off the road to have a better look at the first one and yes, it was true.
Unleaded petrol had gone up by 20c a litre overnight!!

So my other thought for the day – buy your petrol when you think about it.
As I should have done last Tuesday (New Year’s Eve) when I noticed the guage at quarter full 😦

No matter how long it takes

At the end of 2014
all of these and more will be albums.
When I find the rest of the albums that is 🙂

Photos taken over the years – albums bought over the years
Just one of those things we never get round to over the years lol

What are you thinking about this New Year Day?