Month: January 2016

Trying to stay out of trouble by not doing much  – that’s what I told a friend when she rang to see where I was and what I’d been up to 🙂

After the tooth removal the dentist suggested walking rather than going to the pool for a couple of weeks – ‘no idea what’s in the water’ he said.  So I’ve done a bit of walking and one day had a chat with one of the local cockies.  You’d never believe what he told me – I’ll let you in on that another day lol(

And to make a change The Golfer and I walked round the lake at Lilydale (2.5km) where we saw all these little sail boats in the water.  They say keeping active and having a hobby helps in retirement, well the ‘older men’ and their remote controlled yachts were having a whale of a time.

Then we welcomed another granddaughter into ‘true adulthood’ – keep it low key was her wish and an ice cream cake with a 21 candle lol   She’s off on a cruise next week – girl after my own heart lol

Then we enjoyed (read that as really enjoyed) a chrissy present in a theatre with a very bare set complete with moveable furniture (four rows from the front). spending the night in a room with a view 🙂

It was waiting for the tram after dinner at the club up at the other end of Bourke Street I realised the month was half way over.  See the moon reflected in the building?  New Year’s Eve there was a full moon – this one was just a half !

So that’s it – life in retirement is like this.

We’re busy doing nothin, working the whole day through, trying to find lots of things not to do!

We’re busy going nowhere, isn’t it just a crime, we’d like to be unhappy but never do have the time!

(Jimmy Van Heusen + Johnny Burke)

So I have spent many hours over the past few years going through cupboards, drawers, shelves, boxes, you name it – if it’s capable of holding ‘things’ it’s able to be surveyed for reduction. These days I’m even more decisive than ever when it comes to decluttering/tossing/recycling.  Anything and everything comes under scrutiny – if it’s sitting still long enough I give it the once over 🙂

My mother was not the best cook and certainly didn’t encourage us in the kitchen so I had nothing to build my cookery skills on, which meant when I married I had to learn to cook pretty quickly.  I used to copy recipes out of the paper, then later pick up used cookery books from the op shop.  Once I was back at work the buying progressed to big glossy ones about all sorts of ways and means of turning raw ingredients into delicious looking meals.  It sort of got out of hand and like Topsy the piles of them grew.

About this time in 2011 things came to a head the day this happened and I had to turn my eye to decluttering even my cookery books.  Even now I grimace/laugh when I look at the pictures in that post 🙂

https://cranethie.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/cookery-books-anyone/

Move on to this past Sunday and we were enjoying a visit to a son we didn’t get to see at Christmas when he asked me if I could use various things as he was having a clear out – ‘oh no, thank you very much says I, but I’ll put them in the op shop for you”

Then he turned around and presented me with these.  Five basic 500 recipe books (circa 1960s) I gave him (from my shelves) when he moved out many years ago.

“Oh, he said, and I found these in the clear out.  I certainly don’t need them anymore so I thought you’d like them back.’

Simple Family Meals but full of ingredients we don’t seem to use these days – like proper butter, tinned potatoes, tongue, haddock, belly pork, pigeon??

Does anyone anywhere cook tongue these days?

There are all sorts of little sayings, quotes, and blessings (often attributed to the Irish) to be found in print and on the internet.  I’m sure lots of them have been around in some form or another for many years but quite a few seem to have been recent modern versions. In fact some websites seem to come out with more and more of them each year – interesting and fun reading (true or otherwise)

http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/irish-sayings-proverbs-and-prayers-for-st-patricks-day-117923469-237375661.html

This is a well known one – a traditional Irish blessing.  I have never seen or heard anyone dispute its origin (unknown)

I came across one on a fellow bloggers site the other day – the words are very similar to each other except in this case they are noted as an Apache blessing.

I had never seen or heard the words before (which do have a nice pleasant feel to them) so had a little time with Mr G and found a person (well, I did actually find more than one) who actually debunked the idea of any native Indian having spoken the words at all.  Seems it originated in a 1950’s movie.  Wikipedia suggests the same as well.

It’s not an Apache blessing, it’s just a Hollywood script

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Wedding_Blessing

Surprise Surprise, just by coincidence while I was searching for something unrelated yesterday  I found this tucked away in a box of ‘treasures.  An old touristy handkerchief highlighting that same Irish blessing, given to me by my Dad at the time we emigrated (1972).  Obviously used at some time, bit of stain on it but laundered and stashed away as a keepsake.  Corny or otherwise, a gift from my Irish dad, it brought a smile to my face.  Will have to wash and iron it again, this time rather than toss it in the box I’ll find something else to contain it (and then pop it in the big box)

“May The Road rise up to meet you” is about God’s blessing for your journey – may your walk be an easy one – with no huge mountains to climb or obstacles to overcome.
It alludes to three images from nature – the wind, sun and rain – as pictures of God’s care and provision. The “wind” can be likened to the Spirit of God, who came as a “mighty wind” at Pentecost.  The suns warmth in the prayer reminds us of the tender mercies of God, “by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven” (Luke 1:78, NIV), whilst the soft falling rain speaks of God’s provision and sustenance. Finally, we are reminded that we are held safe in God’s loving hands as we travel on our journey through life. As such this prayer is a good blessing for wedding ceremonies.

http://www.lords-prayer-words.com/famous_prayers/may_the_road_rise_up_to_meet_you.html

What are your thoughts on this Monday?