Come live love and laugh with me
With the strange unseasonably cool/cold/snowy weather they’re having
I think this might be happening all over the Northern Hemisphere
When I saw that meme last week I immediately thought of this photo
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On one of our Alaskan cruises we were upgraded
– and had a balcony –
the weather had turned unseasonably cold but I was determined to use it!
(Just once)
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Fun Friday – the day you forget the worries of the week.
Will be back on Monday – see you then!
#livelovelaugh
The Twelve Labours of Hercules – The Nemean Lion
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Wordless Wednesday – when photos tell their own stories
Can be found HERE and HERE
I wish I’d seen this video a couple of years ago
(Source – this post at Jenny’s Procrastinating Donkey)
Things might have been a little more reassuring – fewer saggy baggy ill fitting masks
As from 11.59 pm last Friday evening here in Victoria
Face masks – when to wear a face mask
You can read all the latest information about when you are required to wear one
Me?……they go just about everywhere with me and get worn whether ’required’ or not
A few years ago The Golfer and I were regular visitors to a local Folk Club – one Tuesday evening back in 2011 the special guest artist was Martyn Wyndham-Read …which I blogged about here.
Anyway during that evening he sang a very poignant song
One adapted from a poem written in 1916
about the thoughts Australian Soldiers (Diggers)
may have had about leaving their fallen mates at Gallipoli (in Turkey)
Today, Monday is April 25th 2022 – Anzac Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_Day
One of my maternal ancestors served at Gallipoli
unfortunately he, plus his Doyle and Muir cousins never made it home
This is my tribute to all those who served and never returned
And this is the poem – written by Cicely Fox Smith in 1916
Farewell to Anzac
Oh, hump your swag and leave, lads, the ships are in the bay —
We’ve got our marching orders now, it’s time to come away —
And a long good-bye to Anzac Beach — where blood has flowed in vain
For we’re leaving it, leaving it, game to fight again!
But some there are will never quit this bleak and bloody shore —
And some that marched and fought with us will fight and march no more;
Their blood has bought till Judgment Day the slopes they stormed so well,
And we’re leaving them, leaving them, sleeping where they fell.
(Leaving them, leaving them — the bravest and the best —
leaving them, leaving them, and maybe glad to rest!
We’ve done our best with yesterday, to-morrow’s still our own —
But we’re leaving them, leaving them, sleeping all alone!)
Ay, they are gone beyond it all, the praising and the blame,
And many a man may win renown, but none more fair a fame;
They showed the world Australia’s lads knew well the way to die;
And we’re leaving them, leaving them, quiet where they lie.
(Leaving them, leaving them, sleeping where they died;
Leaving them, leaving them, in their glory and their pride —
Round them sea and barren land, over them the sky,
Oh, We’re leaving them, leaving them, quiet where they lie!)
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/47926-Cicely-Fox-Smith-Farewell-To-Anzac
Cicely Fox Smith (pronounced “sigh-sli” as in precisely) 1882 – 1954
Linking to Denyse’s new fortnightly on a Monday feature ~ Life’s Stories
In need of a bit of fun – Here’s some little riddles to think about
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Question:- The more of this there is, the less you see. What is it?
..
Answer: Darkness
Question:- What word is pronounced the same if you take away four of its five letters
..
Answer: Queue
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What month of the year has 28 days?
Answer: All of them
I’m always in front of you, but you can never see me. What am I?
Answer: The future
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What can’t talk but will reply when spoken to?
Answer: An echo
What building has the most stories?
Answer: The library
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And here’s one to keep you guessing
..
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Answer: A ton!
Fun Friday – the day you forget the worries of the week.
Will be back on Monday – see you then!
A reminder that whether we like it or not Summer has finally been and gone
After a glorious warm and sunny Easter weekend it was all change
Yesterday – Tuesday – was wet….it rained…that strange rain that just hangs there and makes everything wet. Skies were grey and misty – cool, chilly but not really cold. We shouldn’t grizzle about the drizzle or is it mizzle….it hasn’t rained for a while, the ground is dry- very dry and thirsty. With a bit of luck it will encourage some green to wander over to the bare patch discovered when I cut back the gazania that had decided to ’make a move to freedom’ or maybe had decided it wanted long dangly curls instead of the short back and sides it was given before Christmas
Yesterday was when I glanced round a soggy garden remembering how inviting the little shady nook under those low branches had looked during the summer.
When it got hot on the deck I’d nip down there, book in hand, carrying cushions for the chairs and a cloth for the table. Food and drinks followed soon after.
Yesterday in the rain that white plastic table and chairs set looked old, tired and grotty
Next summer we’ll invest in new but what to do with the old?
After spending time moving from one craft blog to another researching I discovered that rather than just toss the chairs I could always do THIS…..👇
Knit decorative chair covers!
That would certainly use up a lot of my stash wouldn’t it😊😊
And if you’re really keen and the idea appeals there’s a pattern HERE.
It’s not a new idea, in fact if you look long and hard you’ll find there’s a whole world of them out there!
Volunteering is on again – as well as doing a Morning Tea ’run’ I also give a hand when there’s entertainment. No, not doing an all singing all dancing routine – just assisting, guiding, seating, reassuring, as well as enjoying whoever is on the bill.
Many of the residents have memory loss so can be a little lost at times, watching and listening, possibly not understanding – until something piques their interest, then their demeanour changes.
Last week we had a young man come in and sing a few songs, folk songs, show songs, some country some soft rock…..something for everyone.
But what really seemed to jog their memory – had many of them sitting taller – mouthing long forgotten words – was what he sang as his final number.
The Holy City – sung all over the world at Christmas as well as Easter
A favourite at Melbourne’s annual Carols By Candlelight – performed by David Hobson
I hope you enjoy my Musical Memory on this Easter Monday
Basic, Standard, Deluxe
They all serve a purpose
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When the sands are busy – is one really better than the other
Lifesaver’s huts seen on our travels
Joining in with Elephant’s Child and others for Sunday Selections
are bread tags – the new all singing all dancing cardboard ones – and the fact that more and more bread and bakery manufacturers are moving away from the plastic ones, using these on their products instead.
When these two came out of the freezer the other day – attached to bags of fruit loaf and hot cross buns – I noticed that as well as the use by date there were other pieces of information on them.
What I thought were flowers on one turned out to be the recycling logo…(bit thick aren’t I😊…plus the words ’place in used envelope’ on the other
That one baffled me.
Going off on a tangent here…..a few years ago I heard of a charity that collected all shapes and sizes of the plastic tags
to raise money to buy wheelchairs for children – Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs –
and I wondered what effect the use of the wizz bang carboard ones was having on their fundraising. Couldn’t find an answer to that but did find this on their website. 👇
Not realising there was a problem putting them loose in the yellow recycling bin it seems that from now on the few we get will have to go in the green waste bin – finding an intact used envelope is rare in our house….mine usually get cut up to use for ‘notes and lists’!
Another thing on my mind is….the new tags are not multi coloured. Without checking each tag how will I know how fresh the products are? 😊
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Small changes….little things
Cheapskate that I am I haven’t taken out membership this time…. changes to ’rules & reg’ of membership, things I didn’t like, had me looking at pros & cons of other payment methods. I’ve taken advantage of their 20 visit pass.
Not important in the whole scheme of things but late afternoon early evening TV programming has changed. The Golfer’s reruns of Jag & Becker are not where they used to be (or not on at all☹️) so there’s been a bit of quiz show watching.
Sometimes it adds to my general knowledge 😊
Guess what was the answer to a multiple choice question:- ‘Which of these calls it’s young an Antling?’
Of course neither of us picked the most obvious answer
rare
Late 18th century; earliest use found in James Elphinston (1721–1809), educationist and advocate of spelling reform. From ant + -ling. source
Did you know that?
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I stopped near the library in Montrose last week and knew something had changed but couldn’t put my finger on it.
Can you spot the difference!
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Of course there’s one thing that never changes – the sight of the TV masts on the hills.
It’ll take some storm to take them down – much stronger than the one that brought down the tree and the electricity pole across the road from the library
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And there is one recent welcome change that nobody seems to be grumbling about. After rising to the atrocious price of over $2 a litre, the federal government halved the fuel tax for 6 months, (a budget cost of living action but cynical me says a pre-election action) so the cost of petrol has dropped 60¢ in less than 2 weeks.
I paid $1.59 (+discount)) the other day – big smiles all round. For the time being that is!
Linking to Denyse’s new fortnightly on a Monday feature ~ Life’s Stories
Shush – even though there might be tourists in town
Nothing stops siesta time in the square
‘Me in my small (warm) corner and you in yours’
Sunday 19 October 2014
Republic Square near the Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Monument
Çesme Turkey
(pronounced CHESH-meh)
click photos to enjoy full size
XingfuMama hosts Pull up a Seat and EC hosts Sunday Selections
A question bloggers often ask each other is – where do you get your ideas from- things to talk about, post about? Here there and everywhere is often the answer.
I’m tagging onto (pinching?) something Sandra at Madsnapper featured the other day – an idea she recently ’‘borrowed and adapted’ from a couple of other bloggers
https://snapperone.blogspot.com/2022/04/definitely-not-pioneer-woman.html
A spoon rest is a piece of kitchenware that serves as a place to lay spoons and other cooking utensils, to prevent cooking fluids from getting onto countertops, as well as keeping the spoon from touching any contaminants that might be on the counter. source
So here is my ‘so not pioneer woman’ spoon rest – very similar in style to Sandra’s, complete with my very frequently used vintage British government issue tablespoon.
One of my contributions to recycling/reusing is a small stack of these plastic food trays that (in my case) minced chicken comes in. They get used for all sorts of things, a place to put spoons in use (or any other utensil) being one of them.
Maybe not as elegant and smooth as something purchased but free – if you discount the product that came with it. They come and go – one or two new ones in, one or two old ones out.
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The beautiful solid sensible looking tablespoon somehow found its way into my civilian kitchen when The Golfer was demobbed in 1968.
It’s certainly been a ’trusty servant’ since then!
The markings on the back are interesting
History – https://www.hawleysheffieldknives.com/n-fulldetails.php?val=s&kel=896
18/8 Stainless Steel
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_arrow
So what do you use as a spoon rest…..or don’t you? What do you reuse or repurpose?
#keeplifesimple
Another surprise after using another unfamiliar local car park (Croydon)
On the corner of San Carlos Walk & James Kerr Way – Painted on a shipping container.
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Then this in San Carlos Way itself.
‘Carnifex’ by Roger Archbold
A marsupial lion which seemingly roamed wild in the area.
Linking to Monday Murals – it’s a colourful world over there with lots to see.
Also Whatsoever is Lovely – good things to see there as well
After her death lots of my aunt’s bits and pieces found their way to my home
The ‘A.1’ Cookery Book by Helen H Lawson was one. I can find nothing about the author on the net so don’t know who she was or how she came to write a cookery book. It’s possible one of my readers might be able to tell me 😊
As you can see its quite an old cookery book – this is the 1946 (war time) 5th edition – very plain front with the title etc on the spine….. all words and no pictures; the first edition was published in 1901/2 and I imagine she was an ‘older’ lady when she got round to revising it for its fifth publication.
The front page suggests it contains everything essential for those who wish to have plain food daintily prepared’ and I can imagine thats what my aunt would aspire to but theres lots included that I think she’d have run a mile from.
Somehow I couldn’t have seen her stewing eels, boiling a calf’s head or foot, plucking and drawing a partridge, pheasant or pigeon. Note on pigeons – Tame pigeons taste better if cooked as soon as possible after they are killed – bet you didn’t know that !.
Lots of very old type recipes and many basic ones with some good hints and tips relevant to simple cooking these days.
The author mentions a tip that we all know about the water from boiled vegetables including potatoes and that in which rice, macaroni, or spagetti have been boiled are useful as a foundation for soups and sauces. But seemingly there was one exception – cabbage water, which must be thrown away at once. Unfortunately she doesn’t say why
Before the section on puddings and sweets she lists whether they need butter and eggs – eggs but no butter – and those that need no butter or eggs – which would have been a boon in the days after the war when not everything was readily available and there was still food rationing
Sometime or another I’ll really delve into this and find some ‘easy’ old recipes.
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https://openlibrary.org/books/OL26302488M/The_A1_cookery_book
A couple of little differences on the title page – the author is named H N L (not by her full name) plus the words ‘written in the simplest possible manner to help the inexperienced’ which are not on the 1946 version
Still Waters 