Month: May 2020

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Just one…..Sunday Selections

So many leaves from so many early winter bulbs yet there is just the one bloom and no more in sight.  There’s not another flower head to be seen so I think their days are numbered!

 

Not one but two little rainbows ‘beaming hope’ on the way to the park

 

Just one cocky in the gum tree above me……..he’s one of the lookouts for the gang (mob) of them having a feed in front of me!

(Sulphur-crested Cockatoos work together to protect the flock. While feeding, two cockatoos will keep a lookout for signs of danger from the post of a nearby tree. If danger appears, these cockatoos will screech loudly as a warning. The word ‘cockatoo’ has even become a colloquial term for someone who keeps guard. Source.  

I saw just one Crimson Rosella ‘hiding’ in the tree – they usually fly in pairs so I’ve no idea where his mate was.  And just one small duck hiding in the rushes – no idea where the rest of them were either!

There was just one little one enjoying the swings……. a lovely sight on the first day restrictions regarding playgrounds had been lifted.  It was a sunny but freezing cold morning with few people about so another lovely sight was this one older couple feeling comfortable enough to take a walk in the park

And there is just one view that can’t be missed – the view of The Dandenongs.    Looking a bit scorched in parts just below the tv masts, not from actual ‘bush fires’ but from recent burn offs (controlled burns) that will assist in keeping that part of the hills safe.

It’s been a while I know.😊……..today I’m joining in with Elephants Child and others at Sunday Selections……just one more time!

And I’m back to joining in with Michelle at Nature Notes where you’ll find much to interest you in the big wide world of nature

(click to enlarge photos)

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Chippy Chippy definitely not yum yum!

(Keep in mind this a personal point of view – others may think otherwise )

In a word -my word was –  yuck!

They were crunchy like chips/crisps should be – it was the taste that was off.

It was as though they’d been coated in something – like sweetish tasting grease.

I didn’t get past one small mouthful – The Golfer didn’t think they were too bad

Strange man – strange tast buds

 He’s been known to put Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam on the same piece of bread

Weird??

I gladly gave him my share……as well as what was left in the bag

 

 

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Only an Aussie…..

Look what The Golfer came home with after foraging about at SPC in Bayswater .

Only an Aussie (and maybe a Kiwi or two) would be amused/bewildered by the thought of Lamington Chips.

A few years ago he came home with these.

 Meat Pie and Sauce chips!

They seemed to go down well with most Aussies who ate them.

Do you know where, when and by whom the first chip (crisp) was produced?
I had no idea, so asked ‘Mr G’
Lots of good reading here for those who are curious about this fact.

This site – http://inventors.about.com/od/foodrelatedinventions/a/potato_chips.htm – told me that George Crum invented potato chips in 1853 plus other interesting things.

Native American George Crum was a chef at a Saratoga Springs, New York, resort, when customer Cornelius Vanderbilt complained that his french fries were too thick. George Crum fried up a serving of paper thin potatoes cooked to a crunchy crisp texture – the first potato chips. The dish dubbed “Saratoga Chips” became a favorite.

If you look at Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_chip – they also had information on chips/crisps and as well as naming Mr Crum, also came up with the names of other ‘inventors’

A potato chip (American English) or crisp (British English) is a thin slice of potato that has been deep fried baked until crunchy. Potato chips are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or appetizer. The basic chips are cooked and salted; additional varieties are manufactured using various flavorings and ingredients including herbs, spices, cheeses and artificial additives.

Lots of different information here including the fact there was no patent taken out:- http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/crum.htm

And of course Snopes has a point of view as well:-
http://www.snopes.com/business/origins/chips.asp

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i haven’t tried them yet but am definitely wondering what and how many artificial additives were used to replicate the taste of chocolate coated, rolled in coconut, sponge cake combined with deep fried salted potatoes !

 

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A loving touch…….

Flowers For Mum,  just because…..she said

It’s difficult for cut flowers to cope indoors during the winter.  Heating certainly takes it out of them. After arriving quietly on the doorstep these settled in quite nicely – opening quickly, swaying and drooping (as tulips do) yet brightening up the room for a week or more.

A loving touch during those stressful days

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We went for a drive

More and more restrictions are in the process of being eased so over the next month or two we are going to be able to go wherever we want (within reason)………but it was a different story last week.

Once we knew things had loosened up a ‘little’ bit and we weren’t going to be accosted and bombarded with questions by ‘friendly constables’ in fast cars about where were we going and was it an essential journey we took a little drive to Coldstream.  Just 20 minutes up the road into the Valley to pick up some sprouts and other veg from Adams Farms .

Apart from going to the supermarket 5 minutes away I hadn’t been away from home for over nine weeks and was looking forward to being out on the open road – watching the land pass by – seeing other traffic (there’s a first!) seeing cattle and maybe some sheep –  seeing other people – I was quite excited about it  all.  So what if it was raining…..so what if the farm yard would be muddy…..so what if only one of us could go into the little part of the packing shed where the ‘farm shop’ was.  It was almost (well never having experienced it I assume it was) almost (in a very minor way) like being released from prison.  Exhilarating yet a bit frightening.

Is there anything better (unless you’re growing your own) than vegetables straight out of the paddock.  I grinned at the prices…..half those I’d noticed in the supermarket.  Too bad I forgot my phone, was going to take some photos; and a bag to decant the sprouts from the plastic bags they pack them in.  It was a straight there and back journey that had the feel of a day trip.  Big smiles all round.  The Golfer passes the farm on his way to the club and now he’s allowed to play, normal service will be resumed with him picking up from the farm shop just like before…..

 

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Feel good Friday….

It’s been a strange week here full of emotion and ‘words’ – I’m beginning to feel hemmed in and ‘restricted’ more so now than over the past weeks.  Who knew that state Premiers not agreeing on when to open their borders, golf being allowed but choir singing not, farts and having sausages for dinner two nights in a row could be reasons for a war of words in our household.

There was one bright happening I’ll tell you about……and it appeared when I wasn’t even looking.  Since the world blew up in our faces lots of my emails have remained unread…no interest – couldn’t be bothered – you name it, it just didn’t happen.  Anyway trying to clear my head by clearing the inbox seemed like a good way to spend half an hour and that’s when I saw something that really put all this weeks rubbishy  ‘stuff’ into the garbage bin where it belonged!

Sometimes I tell you about the things I knit 🙂
I give/donate them to Knit One Give One (aka KOGO)  who then give to what they call community partners (We supply our items to over 280 Community partner organisations. These are Public Benevolent Institutions, charities and government agencies  source)  which means none of us knitters know where our gifts will end up or who will benefit from our ‘handwork’

September last year I mentioned that while we were in Bowen I’d been trying to use up odd left over half balls and how I’d been taking a bit of this colour and mixing with a bit of that…..hoping  to end with some pleasant, what I call half and halves.  See here for the end result – https://cranethie.com/2019/09/26/its-not-all-lying-around-in-the-sun-you-know/

These are some I came home with –  for some reason  I was particularly happy with the one below.

The soft tones of the pink and grey were a good mix.  Not as dark  in colour as these photos – just right for a young one, no matter where they were living or what their  family circumstances were.

OK back to the emails.
Look what I saw when I opened a recent newsletter.  A delightful little one with a big smile on her face wearing a pink and grey raglan sleeved cardigan, pink stripes on the sleeve cuffs finished off with grey buttons.  Certainly brought a smile to my face.

The sun has just come out to dry up some of the enormous amount of rain we’ve had over the past couple of days.  Maybe some time in the garden is what I need…..then I can pick up the needles again 🙂

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All quiet in the eastern suburbs…..

For weeks on end I would walk to the end of the street and see this.

A main road lined with old trees making its way up to Montrose and then on up those hills (aka The Dandenongs) in the near distance.  

Looking the other way the main road makes it way to Croydon- a nearby suburb where you can pick up the train to the city (aka Melbourne)

What’s strange about these photos is the lack of traffic.

There is a distinct change happening tho’ – the traffic is returning.  I can hear the noise first thing in the morning and then late afternoon.  People are on the move again and I’m feeling quite ‘sad’ about that.  Yes life must go on, we have to ‘open up’ but……….

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Linking to Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday occurs all over the internet each Wednesday, when bloggers let photos speak for themselves.
See what others have to say ‘Wordlessly’ (or almost) Wednesday the day

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Answer me……

If there were three words that put the fear of God into me as it a child it was – Answer me child!  Coming from my mother they were sure to have me clam up and do the opposite.  I still have the memories of those ‘conversations’ to this day – whatever I said after those words would never be what she wanted to hear.

The Golfer tells me I speak to myself,  asking myself all sorts of questions,  which I sort of acknowledge and  jokingly tell him ‘at least I’ll have the answer when I remember it’  It appears I also talk to inanimate objects like the tv and the microwave…..that last one I’ll agree on.  Doesn’t everybody say….’ I know you’re finished, just wait a minute ‘ when they hear the ding?

Now because of this rotten virus we’ve been ‘together’ as in close company for the past eight weeks or so and I didn’t hear him mention this at all during that time – but last Friday when he’s away at golf I heard myself exclaim ‘well I never knew that’.  The library sent emails about a home delivery courier service they were trialling and how well it was being received.  First I’d heard of it!

I distinctly heard the words ‘Come on, what do you think you’re playing at’ when the corner of the bottom fitted sheet wouldn’t pull off so it could go in the wash.  And then there was the conversation with a button……

See the little button on the floor.  That’s where I found it.  I was so surprised I even took a photo.  See how small it is…no wonder I didn’t see it earlier.  There was no answer when I asked ‘what are you doing down there, I bet you’ve been hiding there all the time’  

You see when I discovered  I had a bit of time up my sleeve for closing the donation box I knew I had time to finish off one last tiny baby cardigan.     Three buttons on…but where’s the fourth?  Nowhere to be seen so a quick rummage through the button bag for another and all done.  The box is now sealed ready to go….there’ll be no need for buttons for a while…..I’m eyeing up round neck 2yr boys jumpers/sweaters as a  change from all those little things.😊

So later on after my morning coffee I’m thinking it might be a good idea to give the button bag a bit of a sort out.  It’s like Aladdin’s cave…..a big bag filled with little bags of buttons.  All shapes and sizes and colours.  I should show you sometime….well, maybe not.  There’s a limit to what readers will accept – or is there?  I wonder what your answers would be 😊

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All is not lost….

No, all is not lost. Two bits of good news!  For me anyway!

Guess where The Golfer’s off to this morning?

Easing of restrictions means he’s a very Happy  Chappy.  He cleaned his balls and his clubs yesterday and laid out his clothes last night.  Doesn’t matter it’s going to be cold first thing (overnight temp forecast 4c!) and the last time he played he wore shorts and polo shirt.  Eager?   You bet!

AND

I went to the supermarket the other day…..and there they were.

 Nestled together on the shelves

I’d show you the ones I brought home but they were too irresistible to leave alone

These are from another year – I’m sure you’ll agree they are delightful

Little rays of sunshine – Soft and plump and juicy

The sight of these is enough to put a smile on anyone’s face 😎

Absolutely perfect 🙂

In the shops now – Imperial mandarins – my favourite ray of sunshine during winter in Melbourne.

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Did you know – (I read this somewhere but can’t find the source)
Mandarins originated from southern China and were named after the Chinese officials of the Imperial court ‘the Mandarins’ who used the fruit for various medicinal purposes.

Imperial mandarins are the first domestic mandarin variety to be harvested each year, picked April through to May. Imperials are refreshing and exuberantly orange in colour and are one of only a handful of popular varieties that originated here in Australia. The variety was first recognised in Sydney in 1890 and has since become the most popular mandarin on the market due to that sweet ‘everybody loves’ flavour. The easy to peel skin and minimal seeds, makes them a family favourite, great for snacks and school lunches.  source

Fat free, saturated fat free, cholesterol free, sodium free, they are an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of vitamin A  source

I prefer mandarins to oranges – What fruits do you enjoy more than others?s

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Something’s stirring….

And it certainly wasn’t me 😊

Tuesday – always a non day, the busyness of Monday has gone and the quietness of Wednesday has yet to come.

So what did I do yesterday – Tuesday our time.  Well not a lot actually.  A restless night with broken sleep didn’t help.  It was cold overnight yet beautifully sunny first thing, not tempting enough to go outside that early though, not until I’d had half an hour in a nice warm bath with Echoes, an old 1997 Maeve Binchy

A quick wander down the bottom of the garden midmorning showed that some things are stirring…..we might want the world to stand still so we can get off this awful merry go round we’re on at the moment…..the one called living with a pandemic……but nature has other ideas.  Life doesn’t stand still for her.

The small snippets of information gleaned from the Premier’s easing of restrictions bulletin had me wondering if my charity would be reopening it’s doors soon so early afternoon  I made a slow start on packing all the hand knits ready to drop the box off at the local pick up point.  ‘Not yet’ was the word from them later,  it’ll be ready to go when they are.

Do you like the latest finish?

Facts and figure fascinate me. With all the daily briefings we’ve had recently there’s been oodles of them floating around .  On another level  Here’s a website I found a couple of weeks ago when I was trying to find worldwide information on the current crisis.  Wait for it to load then scroll down to see the (quite daunting) individual country totals…..there are other tabs at the top worth looking at.

When I turned the heating off and went to bed last night the world totals were 4,256,539 cases – 287,353 deaths.

I wonder what it is now?

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

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I wish I hadn’t done that…..

It’s not very often I wish I hadn’t ‘donated’ something to the op shop. Once I’ve given it away in the hope someone else can use it that’s it.  Early on in this ‘horrible season’ one of my daughters asked about the big pile of jigsaw puzzles we have had in the cupboard for more years than I can remember.  “Oh sorry, I gave them away a while ago.”

Jigsaws are something we’ve always had – from the big clunky wooden ones the children received on early birthdays through to the biggish 1000 piece ones they were given as adults  Good family fun, keeping the eyes and the brains working, with none of the squabbling board games produced……except when one certain young lady got up early to finish a puzzle another child had worked on all the previous day😊

Everyone had left home, The Golfer wasn’t interested and I hadn’t ‘played’ with them for a long time- the cats seemed to think they had the right to sit on them or see how many pieces they could knock onto the floor – so occasionally I’d get some fun doing them online but sort of lost interest after a while…..then In one of my what’s in this cupboard that hasn’t been used for a long time  tidying up frenzies gave them to the op shop.

Seeing Kay’s post the other day about Art and the big jigsaw and seeing the fun he wa having had me again wishing I hadn’t given them away.  THEN reading the comments I noticed someone mention an online site Jigsaw Explorer https://www.jigsawexplorer.com  Oh joy, will you look at that – oodles of them – just ready to be played with – I’ve been ‘at home’ for 8 weeks now and definitely need something new to keep me occupied…….. I think I’ve found it………everything else will be given the heave ho for a while.  Forget Solitaire and FreeCell…I’m off to have fun!

Oh and if you’ve ever wondered about creating a jigsaw from your own photos I found this tutorial online – by coincidence using the same site

Fun Friday – the day you forget the worries of the week and have fun

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📘What ya reading Wednesday….

I saw this little ‘poster’ online somewhere and felt it summed up the past few weeks.

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As well as spending a good bit of my time recently with needles in my hand and chasing up long lost ancestors …..I ‘discovered’ another sister of one of my GT Grandmothers…..there has always a book close at hand for quiet moments when I wanted to retreat from all the ongoing madness.

Two that I read were written by new to me authors  – well not new in that I had never heard of them – just new in that I’d never read any of their works before.  And just by chance both books were the authors’ first novels and also the first in a series.

Jo Nesbø -The Bat

Book Blurb:-  Detective Harry Hole Is meant to keep out of trouble.  A young Norwegian girl on a gap year in Sydney has been murdered and Harry has been sent to Australia to assist in any way he can…..when the team unearths a string of unsolved murders nothing will stop Harry from finding out the truth.

Such an easy read, Harry Hole sent to observe but becomes involved.   It starts slowly but moves along dramatically/ violently/ humourously even at times- twisting and turning to a very surprising end.  Introduces the reader to Harry’s past which influences his present.  The other characters (the police he is working with) were very Australian, their language full of local expressions,  not quite what he was used to and the more he learns about the first death the more he unearths about previous killings giving him reasons to become more involved in finding the killer.

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Michael Robotham – Suspect/The Suspect

Book Blurb:- Joseph O’Loughlin appears to have the perfect life- a beautiful wife, a loving daughter and a successful career as a clinical psychologist.  But nothing can be taken for granted.  Even the most flawless existence is only a loose thread away from unravelling.  All it takes is a murdered girl, a troubled patient and the biggest lie of his life. 

If I’d known I’d be reading the same story twice I might have thought twice about actually reading this book.  The thing is it was what made the book what it was.

A really good read!

The first chapter certainly draws you in – meeting the main character on a window ledge trying to talk someone out of jumping!  Later he becomes involved in what appeares to be the murder of a prostitute but is actually someone he knew a few years previously.  Add that to the fact he’s recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and the book is off and running.  It follows his daily life seeing patients- one in particular is marked in his mind as the killer but after a conversation with the investigating police officer it’s he who becomes the suspect.  Cue part two!

After his arrest the ‘story’ is rewritten – same people places with different dialogue, thoughts, reasoning and explanations.  Of course Joe O’Loughlin is innocent, he proves the one he suspected is guilty in a very surprising ending.

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Have any of you read either of these books?  I’m hoping the library reopens soon as I’d like to order more of these authors works/series.

Until then I’m plodding through the large pile here at home.  Next in line are two from my ‘give the girls a go‘ idea.

The Hunters Wife – Kathleen Scholes

Daughters of Australia – Harmony Verna

 

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Friday Finishes…

It’s a standing joke amongst  some of my friends that I’m I known as ‘the little old lady who knits’. It’s something I’ve always done.

Most of you know that what I knit these days goes to a local charity rather than family – and instead of the scarves beanies and gloves that other volunteers make I prefer to give my time to the baby and toddler programme.  I bet you’ve all been bored by  seen lots of the little cardigans and jumpers I’ve worked on, the reason for me making those sizes is (not because I’m permanently clucky 😊) but because they grow quickly which means they are finished before I get bored with them’ which then means I can get on with something else!

Over the recent ‘stay at home’ weeks the needles have been clicking like crazy – it passed the time in what I’m calling the ‘horror season’  I don’t know about you but a fair bit of news …..national as well as international…….has been watched, each and every bulletin available devoured.  Anyway that……like the  confirmed cases……has slowed down considerably thank goodness, so now I’m recovering my composure by  staying away from ‘news channels’, biding my time gathering all things together and tidying up loose ends.  Sewing up and placing buttons so the finished garments are ready to go to their new homes (wherever that might be)

Hot off the needles this week is this little grandad neck shirt

 Over the years I’ve knit oodles of them….these below are just a few…….using the stitch count on the pattern to get the sizing but altering colour and design.  One feature of the original garment (picture below from pattern) – the collar- has been ‘deleted’……after a couple of times of trying and not being able to get it to sit right I decided a neckband worked better for me.

 

 

 

This time I decided to add the mock cable design from this pattern on the left – one that’s been in my pile for a long long time.

Thankfully the stitch count worked out right……juggling stitches – adding/subtracting….is par for the course when you  adapt patterns….so once I’d set the first four rows it knit up a charm.   I think knitting  plain stocking stitch on the back and sleeves gave it a more simple boyish look, as well as highlighting the front panel.

Agreed ?

 

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And here’s a funny story about a little boy whose Mum (she who many years later became the little old lady who knits)  put that very same cable pattern on the front of one of his jumpers.

One day long ago in 1969 he went on a drive from Ipswich where he lived to see his Nanna and Grandad in Colchester, which is where they lived.  He fell asleep in the car and woke in a very grumpy mood when they arrived.  His Nanna asked his Mum and Dad if they would take him and his brothers and sisters to a local park and take some photographs with her old box brownie because she didn’t have any recent ones.

So back into the car they all get which didn’t please him at all.  In his temper he took off his shoes and got even more ‘angry’ because his Mum wouldn’t put them back on, instead  carrying him to the chosen bench, where he certainly made his feelings known 😊

He was feeling very sorry for himself so his Mum tried to cuddle him while his sister (the one his Mum refers to as ‘our litte girl’) undid the buckles on his very (expensive) nice red shoes.

Lots of cuddles later (with his shoes on) he sat with the others on the bench but no matter how many times his Mum and Dad tried  to coax him there was no way he  was going  to  ‘smile’.   In fact he was starting to annoy the others with his sulking.  His favourite brother kept  giving  him dirty looks,  ‘our big girl’  kept telling  him to  shush,  ‘our little girl’ was thoroughly fed  up and his big  brother just wanted it over and done with.

Let’s get Daddy (later to be known as The Golfer) to sit with you on his knee – after all it’s  his Mummy who wants the  photographs.  The little boy had calmed down by then …..unfortunately by that time everybody else was more interested in what was going on around them to look at the camera…..so they gave it up as a bad job and went back to Nanna’s  house for  tea!

It’s strange the *fun* memories that surface when you’re not really looking 😊

Fun Friday – the day you forget the worries of the week.

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