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🧶 Can’t do them all

At times we are our own worst enemies – I get carried away thinking I can do it all but there just aren’t enough hours (or even the means) to do everything I want to do. I’m not talking about household management or maintenance here by the way😊

(Think colourwork, stranded or intarsia – that beautiful ‘all over’ look of Fair Isle being a favourite. Aran with all its different interpretations of cables. Baby and children woolies in all shapes, sizes, styles and designs- get the picture 😊)

A ‘favourite’ blog I like to visit and ultimately get lost in is Gansey Nation – written by Gordon Reid, who lives in far north Scotland, in the small town of Wick (just south of John O’Groats).  It’s a blog about ganseys/guernseys – his current project on the needles, (on which there’s a weekly report) and how to knit them. As well as – sometimes very humorous – daily happenings in his and others lives.
The website address is: http://www.ganseys.com. ‘a blog celebrating the traditional hand-knitted pullovers worn by the fishermen of the British Isles.’ source

So when I saw this in the libraryI knew it had to come home with me. A pick up/put down large sized book – not quite what I was expecting – just a little about the history, mostly (as the back cover says) The ultimate sourcebook for Gansey knitting techniques and stitch patterns.

The sections on ‘gussets and shoulder strap’s’ would definitely be useful if I were to knit a traditional Gansey – in the round . Pages and pages of stitch pattern designs with knitted samples to look at, tidbits of information like possible origins and interpretations of the motifs eg cables/ropes made interesting reading.

Close to the end there’s some author designed ‘projects’.
This one for a child caught my eye

……until I saw this ?project/review on Ravelry and changed my mind
Instead I’ll take the idea and work it into those little ‘me do it’s’ I make

Which meant that even though I’d been eyeing up some more ‘left overs’ to use up, with the word Gansey/guernsey running round my mind I fished around and pulled out some full balls of fawn instead. There’s a ‘simple’ version of one in this book – one I’ve knit before

And have started again!

Its time for Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…
Why don’t you pop over and see what’s going on

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Some days..

Some days I don’t need to be encouraged to say yes
Lunch by a open fire on a cold day is never going to be refused

Soup + sourdough + my special man
will always please sentimental me
Ranges at Olinda

#enjoyeverymoment

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Welcome back

Many of you will know/remember Rhonda Hetzel – who for many years (2007 onwards) has blogged at Down to Earth.

She is also the author of two books covering simple living – Down to Earth and The Simple Home

Her husband Hanno became unwell last year so about Christmas time the blog was put on hold.
After the death of her beloved Hanno last month Rhonda has decided to return to blogging

Please pop over and support her as she returns to living and detailing her simple life in Queensland

Thanks ❤️

(There appears to be a problem linking to individual posts. You can read her blog by clicking on the this link – Down to Earth

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Some could – some couldn’t

I was one of the latter…..it just didn’t make sense.

I met someone the other day who could – and still does

The amalgamation of Probus clubs I spoke about last year has happened so I popped into their offshoot ’book club’ group the other day…..it means I can get to know some of the ’new to me’ members of the other club in a more casual environment while chatting about something we all enjoy – books we’ve read, books to be read as well as books currently being read.

They are a little bit more formal in their ways in that they actually keep ‘minutes’ of a sort at the book club noting – what I just said…..books read etc and who spoke about what.

And guess what the ’scribe’ was doing…..I watched her hand and thought ’that doesn’t look like longhand’ – it wasn’t. Turns out she was one of the ones who could…..and (aged 85) still does at every opportunity she told me. ’Never lose your skills because you never know when you’ll need them’!

As I said, I was one who couldn’t……were you one who could?

Here’s a really interesting article to read – https://www.britannica.com/topic/shorthand

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It’s amazing what you find…

When you’re not really looking

Fountains next to benches – lighthouses next to benches

Cannons next to cafes – statues next to cafes

But my favourite find was this row of redundant cinema seats placed on a dune overlooking a beach in Bowen
An opportunity too hard to resist – using retrieved items discarded when local cinema had ’a clear out’
Sadly the council didn’t see the fun of watching the sunset in comfort

Benches plus – seen on our travels

~ ~ ~ ~

XingfuMama hosts  Pull up a Seat and EC hosts Sunday Selections
Why don’t you pop over and see what others have been up to – or better still post and take part

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Food on a Friday….Do or Die Day

A review of the contents of the veg drawer in the fridge on a cool day last week showed half a butternut pumpkin and a couple of carrots that wouldn’t pass the cut on a dinner plate so it was do (in another form) or die day for them. The doing I had in mind was an old favourite – a one pot ’bubble away quietly in the corner and cook by yourself casseroley thing’ we call Pumpkin Potato Lentil Hotpot

After a bit of rummaging in the spice and pulses dept I discovered that all the ingredients (or substitutes) for the meatless meal were actually in house.  So there was no running up the street to the supermarket at the last minute – what you’ve never done that before??

I don’t think it matters if I use liquid oil and not a spray, my veg stock comes as powder not cubes, my garlic is from a jar not fresh, green lentils joined the red ones to make up the numbers and that due to a lack of green beans, carrots were added instead 😊

My Hotpot

However I’m at a loss wondering why, when (for once) I actually used (nearly) all the tabled ingredients (weighed and measured properly as well) my hotpot has a ‘redder’ look than the one in the book.  Maybe the tomatoes in my tin were riper than hers lol

I possibly could have chopped the veg a bit smaller – it had a rather rustic look on the plate so I added some crusty rolls on the side to mop up the sauce; and the taste according to The Golfer when he put his spoon and fork down and laid his hands on his rather full belly was “Not Bad, Not Bad at all’ …..reinforcing my idea that real men will eat anything that’s put in front of them when they’re hungry 😊

(I used the stove top….but know from experience once all ingredients are combined it cooks just as well in a crockpot/slow cooker)

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No comment…..

The different blogging platforms are not playing nicely with each other.

For quite a while now I’ve not had comments go through on several blogs I read

Some days I can – some days I can’t

And it’s not always the same blogs

Just saying that If you haven’t heard from me for a whIle – that’s the reason why

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If it affects you….

For some it would appear that they will do something they were loathe to do if it affects them

Our state government has mandated covid vaccination is necessary for various trades and occupations. ‘No jab – No job’

This has caused strife amongst the ranks, protests galore and even workers leaving their long held positions on principle.

There is one person in the group The Golfer plays with who wasn’t interested in the Covid vaccination. For months the others kept on at him about it but he kept saying ’I’ll take my chances.’

When restrIctions began to ease he could play, in fact up untIl quite recently he was still able to play – then the rules changed statewide. For many activities it’s now a case of ’vaccinated you’re welcome – unvaccinated you’re not’

Anyway when The Golfer’s friend discovered he wouldn’t be able to play unless he was vaccinated he suddenly changed his mind…..he booked and had his first dose a week ago. Friday was the last time he was allowed on the course, now nobody is even allowed through the gate into the grounds unless they are fully vaccinated (or show exemption)

He’s not happy at how long he has to wait for his second dose……

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One last time

Last order of coffee on the shady side of the sailing club in Bowen

North Queensland Cruising Yacht Club

Which is on the side facing the Marina premises and the Fishermans Seafood Company

Bowen Fishermans Seafood Company where the ’big boats’ go with their catch
Marina offices in background who look after the ’little boats’

It’s also home to (and I really shouldn’t say this) this dinky little sailing boat.
Isn’t it sweet😊

OK you’ll have to forgive me my non nautical language but all the yachts I’ve ever seen have their masts in the middle …..this one has them going ’front to back’…..

Where is Tiggers Honey (aka Ms F) of Tigger’s Wee -Blog fame when you need her.
Tell me what sort of boat this is…..I could’t attract the man onboards attention to ask (or maybe I just didn’t want to appear daft)….after all I was sitting on the patio of the sailing club so you’d think I’d know what I was looking at 😊

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Recycle ~Reuse ~ Repurpose

Here’s a little bit of thinking out loud that has been occupying my mind recently brought on by listening to the communal camp laundry room chatter about various things some of the other ’residents’ have picked up in their travels and then made good use of. Not necessarily as they were first intended for.

Under the tree covered by a huge cream sun screen on the front and enormous maroon screens along its side is a bus. A very big bus and going by its shape and the sound its engine made when it came in a while ago a very old refurbished bus. Unfortunately that’s all I can show you as the owner has placed a fence along the open side of his site (just visible on the right) which discourages other ‘campers’ from chatting and ‘having a look’ at something different. Camp kitchen chatter has it that as well as a home on wheels it also has been adapted to transport a very small car…..(inside) via a back entrance rather than being towed along behind (outside)

A few years ago we had a speaker at Probus from a bus company, one that had begun in another suburb, had been growing steadily over the years and not long before the talk had bought out the local bus company….. Actually he was a good speaker, gearing his presentation towards an older audience (one who’d grown up using public transport rather than their own wheels right from the start) once he got going I think a lot of the initial resentment about ‘our bus routes being altered by his company’ dissolved especially when he explained that they weren’t just serving the hills community but an extensive area of the eastern suburbs so it made sense to extend routes to other destinations instead of just going up the mountain and back to Croydon railway station. Some people bought it – others didn’t but that’s the way it goes with change isn’t it.

Anyway after describing the lovely new fleet they had invested in someone asked about the old buses, did they sell them, where did they go. To Pacific Island nations, they are used to older stock, know how to service and maintain them.
“We have also donated 4 buses and trained female drivers to go Port Moresby for the UN Women’s safe city program, so female residents can travel on female only buses without the fear of violence. We have sent a bus to Pacific Island Kiribati to transport students with different abilities to school.” source

Bowen’s harbour/marina is used for commercial fishing boats as well recreational boats and yachts. Daft as it might seem I often drive down there to see what’s to be seen – it’s fascinating for me – who lives closer to the hills than the sea 😋

The end of my street
Bowen harbour/marina from Flagstaff Hill September 2021



And look what I found over near the public slip way, away from what….at the end of the day….sometimes appears to be ’organised chaos’


A Ragamuffin in Bowen!

I knew the name but couldn’t place her


A former maxi yacht sitting there quietly (and sedately) looking quite forlorn. After retiring from racing she was turned into a ’pleasure craft’ – taking on young passengers wanting a ‘fun intimate sailing experience’ Sadly she’s been retired from that also.

Hopefully it won’t be long before she’s sailing again

https://sailing-whitsundays.com/article/ragamuffin-ii-whitsundays-history.
https://sailing-whitsundays.com/article/ragamuffin-2-sailing-tour

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Early Monday morning cup of tea time has me thinking about all the bits and pieces the caravaners have appropriated with the words Recycle ~ Reuse ~ Repurpose running through my head

I’m also wondering about the big old bus, the bus line’s old fleet and the sailing boat. Have they been recycled, reused or repurposed? What do you think?

Linking to Life the Week hosted by Denyse at Denyse Whelan Blogs. 
Photos will enlarge – just tap/click or use the 2finger slide

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It’s not the first time…

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-01/qld-nsw-border-talks-heavy-handed-restrictions-remain/100423596

https://youtu.be/FCcaiEfurY4

And probably won’t be the last
The saga of the Queensland and New South Wales border closure
100 plus years ago

Read all about it HERE

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-05/the-deadly-spanish-flu-and-qld-nsw-border-closure-100-years-on/10781296

People were forced to pass food, mail and goods across the closed border during the outbreak.
(Supplied by Tweed Regional Museum) source

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Today is My Day..

Hopefully yours will come soon
~ ~ ~ ~

Yesterday was My Day
for remembering I’m the world’s worst for jotting things down
with no clue as to when & why & where they came from.

Do you remember this – I thought I was getting better
But guess what I discovered yesterday – another scrap of paper
In amongst some knitting patterns


“the sky that morning was so flat and new it looked ironed “.
I have a vague inkling where I read/heard it
but it’ll mean rereading a book to prove myself right😊

Yesterday was My Day to admire the most beautiful clear (almost flat) blue skies
that I just had to record – there should be sound – fingers crossed it works

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Scones for the making

I’ve only ever made scones once – many many years ago.
And the least said about that attempt the better 😊

Having seen this simple easy method – and the small amount of ingredients.
You never know what might happen in my kitchen 😊

(It needs a pinch of salt as well as a little bit of milk to brush the tops)


CWA (Country Women’s Association) is similar to the Women’s Institute

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

Going green on Sunday – see you then!

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Do flowers remind you of people

Are there flowers in your life that are reminders of others
 People you have known during your life or have heard stories about

My mother grew Sweet Peas
No matter where we lived she would always find a place to grow them
My sister (who lived close to her) told me she was still growing them the summer she had her first stroke
BUT
Try as I may and have often done so I cannot get them to grow
No idea why, but they shrivel up and die
Autumn sowing or Spring planting doesn’t matter which
They just do not thrive

My Dad had a favourite that he grew in most of our gardens.
His gardening was usually confined to veggies but there was one small plant he always had growing somewhere in the garden
Said it reminded him of his Mum – our Granny
Over the years both my sisters have grown it as well.
It’s a real sentimental favourite with us.

That bank that runs alongside our front drive is a difficult spot and I’ve lost count of the number of plants been tried there
 The Golfer cleared more dead and dying out a few years ago and I stuck some Erigeron – Seaside Daisy – around about here and there.
Cuttings of Arctosis and Trailing Lantana (not a weed here in Victoria) thrived there as well as a ground cover Geranium (Cranesbill)

2009

Tucked away in one little corner where none of those others seemed to grow
is where I put a small pot of Dad’s favourite

The smallest flowering plant in my garden and one of the most loved
Snow in Summer – Cerastium tomentosum.
Over the next few summers it took over over that corner

I loved it – that little plant with soft grey foliage and tiny white flowers


Then my back took control of my life.
As well as me that little front garden really suffered
Because I couldn’t get down to keep things in order (trim/ cut back/weed) it really got out of hand so for the time being the slope has been returned to grass

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I’m just finishing off my first early morning cup of tea and thinking that as ‘the back’ is behaving itself quite well at the moment maybe I’ll have a go at redoing that slope.
Once Victoria has had its usual bucket load of Winter rains there’s no telling what might come about in Spring
It’s possible I’ll learn the secrets to growing Sweet Peas
But somehow I think that where that’s concerned, working this (discovered in the garage in a box of ‘might do one day’ things) cross stitch kit will be a better bet

Pop over to Denyse’s blog to see the latest edition of Life this week
Linking to #MondayMusings  hosted by Corrine at Everyday Gyaan

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Explore:- Travel, Investigate, Research,

Earlier in the year I read a book that definitely took my fancy.

The House between Tides…..Sarah Maine.
Her debut novel and one I’d definitely recommend.
Set in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides it’s centred around an old family home, a ‘crumbling mansion’ on an island that is only reached during low tides. Two timelines a century apart, two stories about the earlier inhabitants and the ‘last in the line’ who has come to explore the possibility of renovating and restoring the house to its earlier state only to discover it’s not as easy as she thought. Tucked into the storyline of an artist and his young wife, house parties, wildlife colonies, forbidden love, belligerent crofters, property rights plus a mysterious dead body are descriptions of sights and sounds of the island which catch you by surprise
“The sand steamed slightly as the re-emergent sun turned the shallow pools into ripples of quicksilver”
so much so that they have you turning back the page to reread and savour again
BUT it was the access to the house at low tide that interested me.

Now most of you know that whenever possible we ‘winter in Queensland’ – Far North Queensland…… at a place called Bowen. Just offshore from Bowen, well within sight of the town is a small island, an island with a lighthouse – one of Queensland’s oldest!

A couple of times during winter the day time tides are low enough for a very special event – Bowen’s Walk to the Lighthouse. Read all about it HERE. It has become a well organised community event, a yearly fixture on the town’s calendar enjoyed by locals as well as many of the seasonal visitors.

The start is always at Dalrymple Point – where you can wander down and begin the trek across the sandbar or just stand around, explore the foreshore and watch the others enjoying the experience. Whichever you choose don’t forget the coral can be rough on feet so shoes of some sort are needed….not your best Sunday ones because your feet are going to get wet at some point .

What do they do once the walkers have reached the island – wander round the base of the hill, scramble up the hill to enjoy the view, take in their surroundings and
explore the lighthouse!

Turning around to come back to the mainland you meet up with streams of walkers young and old all coming the other way.
The walk takes about 2 hrs – a bit more if you stop along the way
You never know who you might meet and what you might see

These giant Red Starfish are a favourite find for those who look around and explore the shallows. But then they are not hard to find as they are there for all to see
when the sea level drops

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Some years we’d try to visit other parts of Queensland
spend time in places we’d normally just pass by on our 4 day drive north from home
or plan an actual road trip to places unseen before …off the beaten track
where you never know what’s round the corner

Places you decide ‘you must go to’
ones to get to – to explore – to appreciate- before it’s too late
Like the trip we took in 2012

Exploring the Undara Lava Tubes

I know this isn’t my usual ‘words only’ Monday Musings post but for me it fits in
perfectly with the suggested topic for Life this Week.
EXPLORE.
In some ways this pandemic is reminding us of roads previously travelled and places previously explored – I think it’s nearly time to start thinking about finding new ones.
Given the chance what are you up for next?

In the meantime perhaps you’d like to dip into some of those days.
https://cranethie.com/2012/09/12/so-where-do-we-begin/
https://cranethie.com/2012/10/03/light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/
https://cranethie.com/2012/10/10/butterflies-flowers-volcanoes-and-kangaroos/
https://cranethie.com/2012/11/28/who-got-a-surprise-at-mt-surprise/

You should find the photos will open/enlarge with a tap/click

Oh and pop over to Denyse Blogs to see how others are exploring

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