Month: November 2016

Various posts are popping up in blogland featuring coffee cake and chats.  Entitled ‘If we were having coffee together’ they are imaginary (virtual) chatty conversations where the blogger often reveals what’s going on in their world.  With that in mind all I can say is if we were having coffee together I’d be saying ‘Oh what a week it has been’.

After my rejoicing in the sunny hot day we had last week the weather sort of went downhill from there.  Two scorchers turned up – higher temps than even I enjoy.  Heat humidity pouring rain and an evening event in the city don’t go together. As we arrived at the Tennis Centre early Monday evening the heavens opened up again, oh, the squeals and cries from the ‘girls’ leaving the car park, trying to handle umbrellas with posh long frocks lifted high so they didn’t trail in the puddles. Yes, it was year 12 graduation night for a granddaughter’s school- another one is now out into the big wide world.  The years are going by so quickly and of the eleven grandchildren we now only have two youngsters at school.

BTW – I’m not that short –  A had enormously high heeled shoes on lol

That last set of thunderstorms brought a strange phenomenon to Melbourne – all over the city people were suffering asthma attacks, so severe in some cases it caused several deaths,  I wondered why I felt wheezy all that evening when I’d had no symptoms for a couple of years or more and then the next day learned it was called thunderstorm asthma – you can read about it http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/11/what-is-thunderstorm-asthma-and-why-is-it-worst-in-melbourne/ here. and http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/thunderstorm-asthma-three-people-critical-8500-treated-in-melbourne-hospitals-20161124-gswkdb.html here

If we were having coffee I could tell you the weather changed again – back to winter!  cold and wet – cold enough to turn the heater on early in the day and return a wool blanket, back on to the bed.  One night I woke and wondered why I felt so cold –  5c/41f had me cuddled up to The Golfer, who thought his luck had changed 🙂

Mind you that hasn’t taken the fun out of this week.

If we were having coffee I’d let you know I have read no books, done no knitting nor visited any blogs but The Golfer did take me out to the pictures the other day – we went to see The Founder.  The ‘story’ of how Ray Kroc developed an initial idea from two Mcdonald brothers and turned it into the world wide chain McDonald’s or Macca’s as it is known here in Australia.  I’m not usually one to read reviews – I like something I see or I don’t – but this film had left a ‘bad taste’ in my mouth so I did look at some yesterday to see if anyone else felt the same way as me and surprisingly the person who wrote this one did – The Founder review by Jason Di Rosso

You’d also find out that two choir gigs in one day gives the lungs and the voice box a much needed workout.  It’s fun singing for (and with) much older seniors – so many of them might be incapacitated in one way or another but most seem to love music… It’s not unusual for ones who say little to be singing along and knowing all the words.  Not just the WW1 stuff but varied songs and styles.  They can get  quite emotional as well – one gent sat and crooned along to ‘Unchained Melody‘  then promptly dissolved in tears at the end.

Then, there are groups labelled as ‘over 50s’ who ask us to sing for them.  Often they ask for a song list containing more modern songs but this is always the final number.  Stirring and rousing and so so good to sing – ‘The Holy City’   ‘My’ Sing Australia choir (which I don’t think I’ve mentioned before) isn’t quite as large in numbers as this one but we strive to be just as good.

Find out about Coffee Share here – or Join in here https://parttimemonsterblog.com/2016/11/26/weekendcoffeeshare-recovery/

Oh yes, we had the first one of the season yesterday

It was 8 months since the last one

Oh it was delicious

Not loved by all – definitely enjoyed by me!

The North Wind did blow but we didn’t get snow

It wasn’t strong- just gentle which meant:-

We got a beautiful warm sunny day where the temperature went up to 30c / 86f

As I said – the first one for quite a while

Oh joy – my bones are feeling warm again 🙂

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_wind

Over the next few days there will be loads of photos of the supermoo. This is what I saw because of cloud cover lol

. You need to click to enlarge.

It’s surprising how different the words to a song – the tune – the melody – can sound when sung by various arists.

Take this one – I love you because…..

Writen by Leon Payne

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_You_Because_(song)

Here is the original sung by Leon Payne

This is Jim Reeves version

And Al Martino’s 

And here it is sung by the one and only Elvis Presley

Listen and see what you think – which do you prefer?

You all know that one of my likes is to be near water

Can be a river, a lake or an ocean.  The jury is out on rain though 🙂

 Theres something about water that seems to clear my head
and make me feel good.

At the moment we’re in the middle of sorting out another cruise
so for Fun on this Friday

I’m going to share some ‘Watery Jokes’ with you.

The Magician and his Parrot

A magician on a cruise liner had a parrot who’d seen all the magician’s tricks a zillion times, having figured out long ago the magic behind the magician’s disappearing acts.

The parrot got bored, his owner was growing stale and not developing any new tricks that the parrot couldn’t figure out.

One night in the middle of the magician’s performance, the ship hit an iceberg.
Everyone drowned except the magician and the parrot.

The magician managed to swim to a piece of wreckage and climb aboard collapsing immediately from exhaustion.
Soon afterward, the parrot flew over, perched on the edge of the makeshift raft and stared at the magician.

For a whole day the magician was unconscious and all this time the parrot didn’t take his eyes off him.
Eventually the magician started to stir.

Looking up, he saw the parrot still eyeing him intently, not even blinking.

Another hour goes by, and finally the parrot squawks, . . .’Alright, I give up. What did you do with the ship?’

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Pirate and the Seaman

A seaman meets a pirate in a bar.
The pirate has a peg-leg, a hook and an eye patch.
‘How’d you end up with a peg-leg?’ asks the sailor.
‘I was swept overboard in a storm’ says the pirate.   ‘A shark bit off me whole leg’
‘Wow! ‘said the seaman.
‘What about the hook?’
‘We were boarding an enemy ship, battling the other sailors with swords  One of them cut me’ said the pirate
‘Incredible!’ remarked the seaman.
‘And the eye patch?’
The pirate replied ‘A seagull dropping fell in me eye’
‘You lost your eye to a seagull dropping’ the sailor asked incredulously

Nah’ said the pirate . . ‘It was me first day with the hook’

You know what they say-
Smile and the world smiles with you

I’m hoping I gave you something that made you smile today 🙂

A few years ago (2010) while visiting The Golfer’s extended family in Nova Scotia we along with some friends took ourselves off to Newfoundland for a couple of weeks.  We spent a few days in St John’s where of course we were totally enamored with the painted houses that line streets of the older part of town. Rows upon rows of them!

 

(click photos to enlarge)

I was ‘told’ they were known as ‘Jellybean Houses’ painted the same colour as the original owners boats so they could recognise them when they got back into port – not sure about that one 🙂

This selection was taken on a very cloudy day so the colours don’t stand out all that well but as well as noticing all the different colours my eyes were also drawn to the amount of windows I could see. Rows upon rows of them!!

Non of them outstanding to look at, mostly serviceable condsidering the weather they experience,  But oh so many of them  lol

Some were completely different to their neighbours,  looking as though the front of the house had been remodeled – then there were others that were probably a different style to each other from ‘birth’.

 

And those steep streets down to the harbour were lined with them as well.  Dormer windows galore.   Yes that’s a ship down the bottom.  Wouldn’t want to try walking that way when the paths were icy.

This corner house on Gower Street really did catch my eye.  Prime position, windows on both sides, providing lots of light and the ability to see down and across the street.  Dormer windows using the attic space here also.

And just for fun (or for a purpose) do you see the clever use of space this owner came up with.  A corner window cut right into the corner of the house 🙂

(click photos to enlarge)

Browsing the moving pictures site (as you do)  I came across this video
A drive along Gower Street
interesting in that it highlights architecture old and new
the changing face of an area

And what do we see about half way along?

Well, I’ll let you look and see for yourselves – sit back and enjoy the ride.

A Lingering Look at Windows posts can be found at The Day After

A blog hosted by Dawn Miller – this is what she says about the meme:-

A Lingering Look at Windows posts monthly on the first Thursday of the month. I invite everyone to post when and as many times as you would like. Tag this post and/or leave your link in the comments. For more information about this challenge please see A Lingering Windows Title Page for 2016