August 2022 – Still Waters

August 31, 2022June 2, 2025

🧶 Winter Day90

How strange that the first day of our Winter (June 1) was a Wednesday and here we are at the last day (August 31) and it’s also a Wednesday!

Day1 at home in Victoria was the day we went for a drive in the rain (https://cranethie.com/2022/06/02/winter-day-1/) – I’m not sure how today will pan out but yesterday (Day90) here outside my little cabin in Queensland it was also wet!

Unlike Day1 when he didn’t play – on Day90 The Golfer decided maybe it wouldn’t be that bad…..it was the Veterans afternoon and ‘we can’t let the side down’ so just after lunch, waterproofs and brolly at the ready he headed out.

By early afternoon it was coming down in bucket loads

And had turned cool – well much cooler than it had been😌

But certainly nothing like it was at home!

Me – well I gathered up my blanket (to keep my toes warm) new library books
latest knitting project, parked myself on the bed and settled down
to enjoy an afternoon ~~doing as I like~~ on my own

He was home just after 4pm……a little wet and a bit subdued. Still doesn’t enjoy playing in the rain so didn’t stop for a drink in the club house…..something he usually enjoys
(reliving the game with all and sundry😊)

Me – well I was comfy so suggested he might like pop down and get pizza for dinner!.
Thanks for your suggestions
I’ll think about doing something with those egg plants another day !
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On the needles
The makings of another shirt similar to last week. I’ll do the ‘grandad neck’ on this one

Library books.
Violeta by Isabel Allende. ~ Her new release but my first read of any of hers
Cooktown by Andreas Heger. ~ A debut novel by a new to me Australian author

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As it is Wednesday why not visit….. Unraveled Wednesday hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits. where there’s lots more knitting (and reading) to admire and think about

Linking to Wednesdays Words & Pictures …….Hosted by Denyse

#enjoyeverymoment

August 30, 2022August 30, 2022

Um..what am I going to do with that….

The price of fruit and veg is getting out of control and with all the strange weather over the past few months in growing areas round Australia the effect on that produce hasn’t been good. I know farmers can’t control the weather but I’ve looked at some of the supposedly fresh vegetables they’ve sent to market then on to greengrocers or supplied to supermarkets and more and more thought…no, we’ll try frozen or do without.
.
As well as a stall at the Sunday market a lot of local growers here have roadside farm gate (honesty box) stalls, which can be interesting because you never know what’s going to be on sale. It’s often ‘not quite right’ produce they know won’t sell – because consumers want good looking right sized (in their eyes) stuff.
The good thing is that it’s fresh…..not long been off the bush or out of the ground

We stopped at one the other day
The Golfer got out to have a look
‘Big tomatoes, huge green pumpkins, long zucchini’…..just get some toms and zucchini I called out and went back to my knitting

It turned out these are what he thought were zucchini/courgette!

My reaction when he opened the bag at home – what am I going to do with that!

Some would say, bless his heart he was only trying to help
and I should have looked my self.

Let’s just say Egg plant/Aubergine (any shape size or form) is not my favourite vegetable so I never buy them, in fact I can’t remember if I’ve ever cooked them and I know he’d pass if offered elsewhere
SO, in for a penny – in for a pound……it looks like we’re going to have to do a bit of cooking site surfing this week – for easy ways to cook them.
Because in the cabin I’m limited to a microwave and a two ‘burner’ ceramic cooktop!

August 28, 2022August 28, 2022

Another week of smiles

After the calm of last week ~ it was fun to see the ‘not so calm’ earlier this week

An early morning ‘not a soul in sight’ always makes me smile.
Thats the beautiful Rose Bay Resort in the background

https://www.tourismbowen.com.au/see-do/attractions/bowen-beaches
Foraging for a selection from the sea turned up these small (almost miniature sized) pieces right beside my chair. I left them behind so they could make someone else smile

Our weekly treat of lunch out was at the historic Grand View Hotel in Bowen
https://www.grandviewhotelbowen.com.au/about-us/

Getting there early bagged us a spot outside, pleasantly warm but windy.
It’s not called ‘ Blowin’ Bowen’ for nothing 😊
(Shutters to block the wind not the sun – look through for a glimpse of Front Beach)

The place was renovated a few years ago – all a’la’ posh now, lots of white along with ‘colour’, hardly a speck of timber to be seen, supposedly ‘good food’ ….with high prices, (caesar salad in a wrap?)
Professional Photo Link 👇

Grand View Hotel | Bowen, Queensland

unfortunately to me (and yes call me old fashioned) being nothing like it was when we first ate/drank there – just after it was used as a set in the film Australia – it seems to have lost a lot of its country town flavour.
The covered quirky outdoor ‘wet season’ smokers spot does make me smile though.

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And I’m just popping this in because it could be a bit of fun

Just as we were leaving I spotted this. If I was an artist I might be interested.
Art classes with drinkies supplied
Angela ~ this would put a smile on your face 😊

I really have been living my life under a rock
This seemingly is world wide big business

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

I searched ‘paint and sip Australia’ and discovered they’re all over the place!

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EC hosts Sunday Selections – a meme that’s been going for a few years now.
It’s a place to share thoughts and photos…..old and new.
Do pop over and see what she is showing today.

Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge

August 26, 2022August 27, 2022

Would you like ice with that…

Having heard from family in southern states who referred to icy cold cold cold weather reports I think most of them would relate to this

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

Will be back on Monday or maybe Sunday even – see you then!

August 24, 2022June 2, 2025

🧶 Two finishes….

it’s Wednesday – the day Kat from As Kat Knits hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘ …….that’s where you’ll find lots of knitting (and reading) to admire and think about.

I finally finished a couple of little shirts for the charity box – actually following the pattern this time by knitting and placing a collar.
Something I’ve avoided instead preferring to work these ‘grandad necklines’
I’ll add buttons and fix the button band when we get home – and remind myself not to knit anymore rib patterns as my stitches never came even after frogging and reknitting 😟

My reading this past week has been – The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

One of those novels I’m sure many of you have read – one I’ve said to myself ‘you should’ but never have.
Classed as a classic by the library in Bowen and that’s where I saw it (in the display I mentioned the other day).

I’m having the same ‘problem’ here as at home earlier in the year – pick a book, oh that looks interesting, two chapters – two pages in some cases, nope not for me. So I thought why not try something different- something unknown. So it came home with me.

A smallish book that had words (language, situations, ideas) I had to think about. I enjoyed it – and at the moment that’s all that matters.

I also found myself so engrossed I realised I was ‘acting out’ some of the things I was reading.

I looked at Miss Baker…..I enjoyed looking at her.
She was a slender small breasted girl with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body back at the shoulders like a young cadet

Straightening my spine and pulling my shoulders back – not recommended if you are non slender and large breasted😊

I glanced at ….and at Jordan who had begun to balance an invisible but absorbing object on the tip of her nose

Lifting my chin and looking down my nose wondering what I had balanced there – not recommended….makes you go cross eyed 😊

… … … … …

A book and two woolies…..that’s me finished.
Do pop over to Kat’s to see what she and other ‘unravelers’ have been up to

August 21, 2022September 4, 2022

Boys and Dogs and the Ocean….

Most of my recent morning visits to Rose Bay have been
just before or just after low tide.
A time for youngsters (and dogs) to have fun without being knocked off their feet

A time to marvel at a band of sea fog floating across the horizon

A time to feel the joy – watch out, here I come!

And a time to….well, to smile and enjoy their fun

Pop over to EC’s and see what beautiful photos she has to share today.
Sunday Selections – a place to share thoughts and photos…..old and new

Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge

https://www.tourismbowen.com.au/see-do/attractions/bowen-beaches

August 15, 2022June 2, 2025

🧶 Will I-Won’t I….

I know there were questions earlier about the Green Beanie Christmas Tree a craft group was planning to make for a Christmas in July function ( but as is usual for me, right this very the moment I can’t remember who asked and what they asked) – and yes that was the tree of hats that fell out of favour with some of the group.

Well it seems that after the dummy spit by some members there was a resurgence of interest and green beanies plus various other coloured ones came flooding in….. I received this photo the other day. Not of the main tree but another one cobbled together with the ‘overflow’ – they were placed in the hallway of the community centre so anyone feeling the cold could ‘help themselves’ – seemingly all went to good homes……and because it had been such a good idea maybe we’d like to start knitting them again!

Somehow I think I’m going to have to think about this….but then, I do have some of the shamrock green left – enough to make at least 2 adult sized ones 😊

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A little postscript here – It Seems The Gremlins Are Back

it’s also a will I won’t I moment each time I go to comment recently. Doesn’t matter which platform I’m on – sometimes my comments go through/are accepted other times nothing happens and I’m left wondering.
SO
I’m not ignoring you or being a bit standoffish…..just feeling bewildered.

August 14, 2022August 12, 2022

Things that made me smile….

Today I’m joining in with Elephants Child and others at Sunday Selections.
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I smile each time I see these roadside tourist billboards thinking how lucky I am to be wintering in a fabulous part of our country.
Bowen is at the northern end of The Whitsundays

Big smiles all round (or rather, down the Highway) when I saw that just like last year, the ‘little yellow girls & boys’ were still working hard protecting road workers by indicating where overhead power lines were.

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From a distance I thought this was a real house gecko on the painted shed doors out the back of a Proserpine cafe – a laugh and a smile when I realised it was a decorative door handle

This is a real one!
A smile when I saw it clinging on for dear life to a dusty window frame in another shop….followed by a frown.
They are supposedly nocturnal so why was it out and about?

Murals are a ‘big thing’ in Bowen and this is one I hadn’t seen before. Another of those drive down an unfamiliar streets and get a surprise moments!
Painted by James Ellis – the same young Brisbane street artist I mentioned last year.

Eye catching isn’t it.
Well placed and visible from a distance.
Playful dolphins make me smile any time I see them

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And finally a little scene from Rose Bay one morning last week
Low tide, the seas were like a millpond – just right for kayak lessons on the shoreline
I’m not sure who was going to have the most fun.
Dad or the two littlies brandishing their paddles

Do pop over to EC’s and see what beautiful photos she has to share today.
Sunday Selections– a place to share photos…..old and new

August 12, 2022August 11, 2022

A slight misunderstanding…..

Many years ago (1972) not long after we arrived in Australia we were asked to a BBQ. BYO, the neighbour said, oh and bring a plate. Now I knew BYO meant bring your own drinks but being a new chum was mystified by ‘bring a plate’.

Some of the groups I belonged to previously (usually young wives/mums groups) had met in members homes and we were often asked to bring cups and plates to help out at morning coffee or supper time because in those days not many young families had oodles of crockery or cutlery,

So you can guess what we did the day of the BBQ – yes, we each turned up holding an empty plate – not a skerrick of food on them. Now if the neighbour had mentioned ‘shared food or potluck’ I’d have known what to do. Meat and salads or a sweet to share would have come along with us.

Meanings and origins of Australian words and idioms
Bring a Plate
An invitation to bring a plate of food to share at a social gathering or fundraiser. There are many stories of new arrivals in Australia being bamboozled by the instruction to bring a plate. As the locals know, a plate alone will not do. In earlier days the request was often ladies a plate, sometimes followed by gentlemen a donation (to the bar…understood) First recorded in the 1920s source

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There was a big grin on my face the day I first heard this joke
Remembering the day of the empty plates 😊

The Blonde Cowboy

A Sheriff in a small town in Texas walks out into the street and sees a blonde haired cowboy coming towards him with nothing on but his cowboy hat, his gun and his boots.

He arrests him for indecent exposure.
As he is locking him up he asks, ‘Why in the world are you walking around llike this?’

The cowboy says, ‘Well it’s like this Sheriff…

I was in this bar down the road and this pretty little red head asks me to go out to her motor home with her….

So I did.

We go inside and she pulls off her top and asks me to pull off my shirt….

So I did.

Then she pulls off her skirt and asks me to pull off my pants…

So I did.

Then she pulls off her panties and asks me to pull off my shorts….

So I did.

Then she gets on the bed and looks at me kind of sexy and says…

‘Now go to town cowboy’

‘And here I am!’

Bring a plate – Go to town….
Oh yes, it’s all in the understanding and interpretation of the words
Have you ever misunderstood the words??

August 10, 2022August 7, 2022

They’re not all the same…

Libraries that is….

The branches I use back in Melbourne are part of a large group that come under the banner of Eastern Regional Libraries.
The one I use up here in Bowen is part of a much much smaller group under Whitsunday Regional Council Libraries

Here in Bowen the library might be smaller in size with not so many copies of each book but there are little touches I appreciate that don’t seem to be available at home….or if they are I’ve not noticed them😊

This whirly roundabout shelving has books from ‘series’ – not just the latest publication but all others from a popular series, and look (you might have to enlarge to see)……the library actually numbers them in the order they’re published
You can see at a glance if the elusive one you’re hunting for is available.

And if you look at the top right hand square you’ll see another doodad holding books labelled as ‘Classics’….we might only have one copy I got told, they tend to get get lost – almost swamped in the main collection so they’re better off here where they can be found.

… … … …

Now for something different but just as pleasing.
I know most of us are familiar with the little pictorial genre identifiers – those little coloured stickers on the spine.
Seeing the red kangaroo makes me smile, my ‘local’ doesn’t use them, so when I see them on the shelves it means I can identify Aussie authors and books about/set in Australia without actually having one in mind.
Big discoveries made this way!

Last month red kangaroos introduced me to novels by two more ‘new to me’ Australian authors.
Both books covering two young Australian’s experiences during recent world wars
Both enjoyable in their own special way.

The Stars in the Night – Clare Rhoden.
(Historical Fiction)

Book blurb:-.
Harry Fletcher is a confident young man.
Harry’s sure that he will marry Nora MacTiernan, no matter what their families say. He’s certain that he will always be there to protect Eddie, the boy his father saved from the gutters of Port Adelaide.
Only the War to End All Wars might get in the way of Harry’s plans…
From the beaches of Semaphore to the shores of Gallipoli, the mud of Flanders to the red dust of inland South Australia, this is a story of love, brotherhood, and resilience.

The Codebreakers – Alli Sinclair.
(Historical Fiction)

Book blurb:-.
1943, Brisbane: The war continues to devastate and the battle for the Pacific threatens Australian shores. For Ellie O’Sullivan, helping the war effort means utilising her engineering skills for Qantas as they evacuate civilians and deliver supplies to armed forces overseas. Her exceptional logic and integrity attract the attention of the Central Bureau-an intelligence organisation working with England’s Bletchley Park codebreakers.
But joining the Central Bureau means signing a lifetime secrecy contract. Breaking it is treason.

… … … …
And then there’s this one I picked up the other day – Flames – Robbie Arnott.
(Magical Realism Fantasy)
Let’s just say it’s proving to be interesting’ 😊

Book blurb:- A young man named Levi McAllister decides to build a coffin for his twenty-three-year-old sister, Charlotte—who promptly runs for her life. A water rat swims upriver in quest of the cloud god. A fisherman named Karl hunts for tuna in partnership with a seal. And a father takes form from fire.

What’s been on your book shelf recently- anything interesting?

August 8, 2022August 7, 2022

Definitely a ‘take your breath away’ moment…

I watched in awe (discreetly from a distance) as a camper (whom I’d seen walk slowly, with difficulty, using a walking stick) went through his early morning exercise routine.

After doing some standing stretches he got down on his mat
He very quietly moved from one position to another – then very slowly stood up.
A few more stretches and he was finished

‘The Back’ (that’d be mine) has been playing up since we arrived

Just when I least wanted it, my ‘invisible ailment’ (lumbar spinal stenosis ) made itself known again. At a time when I desperately want to be on my feet and mobile the dreaded heavy hot numb then tingling legs and feet returned…..thankfully not the sharp, make you jump and screech, don’t know when it’s coming, ‘take your breath away’ electric shock down your leg pains when the sciatic nerve is involved.

Right as rain one day – no symptoms at all….. then to have some or all of the above appear the next certainly put a damper on my moods.
I reverted to my ‘I want to be alone’ mind set.

Enjoying the peace of a couple of early morning hours at ‘my little bay’ plus the stillness of reading and crafting helped but when it was obvious I was resenting not taking part in things we planned ……and was becoming a whinging whining moan-alot
I knew I really needed to do something about it!

Enter a change in attitude…..plus a visit to a local chiropractor.
Getting a ‘just in case you need it’‘letter of introduction’ (or rather an email referral with all my ‘problems’ set out including some images from my latest CT scan films – in 3D!) before I left home was a good idea on my part…..meant we could get down to the nitty gritty more easily.
As well as the necessary adjustments there was a good discussion on different exercises and the ‘nicely put’ suggestion that I forfeit one morning at Rose Bay for some time at the local outdoor pool😊

So I went to the pool the other afternoon.

I took these photos a few years ago (2018) but nothing’s changed.
(Just click or finger slide to enlarge)
It’s basically the same now as it was then.
The open air roller rink is still there next door plus the ‘sea view’ through the palms

Walking in and seeing the beautiful crystal clear water sparkling in the sunshine was definitely a ‘take your breath away’ moment.
As was the sensation I felt go through my body as I began to walk down the steps 😯

My pool at home is indoors and heated by a big boiler
This one is outdoors, open and certainly not artificially heated!

But come the summer months when it’s hot humid and averaging 30c/86f everyday
the water temp will have risen a bit.
So, even if locals crave them, there won’t be too many ‘take you’re breath away’ times

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Just a little fun postscript this Monday morning.
During the hour’s drive back from Ayr last week I had another traffic light moment (like the one from the other week)…..I had a big laugh when this came on the radio.

Gotta keep movin’ an’ I’m feelin’ good,
Got that diesel roarin’ underneath the hood,
Hey the road is open an’ I’m rollin’ free, you see,
That I feel so good as long as I’m movin’
Yes I feel so good as long as I’m movin’.