Today- the first Friday in October is World Smile Day.

Started in 1999 by Harvey Ball the creator of the smiley face (😊) who thought that we, all of us worldwide  should devote one day each year to smiles and kind acts  source

The weather today was the opposite of the past two days, cold and damp so I didn’t go far, just down to the local woollies to pick up a few bits.  Even though you really want to, trying to smile when your aching doesn’t always happen but I did succeed in making someone else smile.

There’s a promotion on at the moment where the supermarket chain is giving away gardens  (little containers of seeds/soil) in an attempt to get children interested in growing their own food.  Well, not quite giving them away – spend so much and then you get one (or two or more!)

There was a mum standing behind me In the lineup at the till and the children with her were getting restless (slightly understated there lol) so as my ‘few bits’ ended up being quite a few bits and i usually say no thank you when offered the giveaways I decided to offer them to the family instead.  Well you’d have thought all their Christmases had come at once – lots of smiles all round.  Which had me smiling as well 😊  We all need to remember:-

It’s a funny feeling trying to enjoy life and yet be true to feelings lying down below that smiling facade.  It’s been such a sad time recently –

Firstly trying to console a granddaughter who’d been through a week of trauma waiting to find out where her longtime friend was.  She’d known her friend since their first day at school… from 5 yr olds in preps until graduating a short while ago at the end of year 12.  Always in the same class, going to each other’s home after school, seeing each other at the weekend.  All gone now when her friend and boyfriend died in their car in a nearby forest.  Two young local lives lost The rason why (or how) not known – the exact cause of the ‘accident’ hasn’t been released yet.

Then trying to cope with my own feelings of grief coupled with witnessing a family torn over their same grief.  My darling friend had always made it known that when the time came she wanted to be buried next to her first husband, her children’s father who had died young.  Her plot ‘was sitting there waiting’ she’d say.  There is a little problem in that when she remarried the family moved to another town and her daughters feel she should be buried here in Melbourne alongside the second husband.  After visting and paying my respects I left the girls in their mother’s kitchen in the middle of a rip roaring argument heated discussion over where their mother’s ashes were to go!

Over the past year or two my darling friend had become more housebound, missing out on coffe mornings and outings but loving it when others described their days out and trips away; videos and photos never seemed to bore her, she’d tell us we (plus travel shows) were her window to the world.

So when The Golfer reminded me we had tickets to the theatre on Sunday to see a show I’d been looking forward to, initially I was in that ‘not right to be happy’ mood, but remembering A’s positive attitude about not shirking and taking enjoyment from whatever means she could,  I decided not to wallow in my ‘it’s not fair’ state of mind, took some knitting to do on the train and put on an eager face.

And am so glad I did.

Using a stage with minimal set design, plus a few (continuously  rearranged) tables and chairs……a very small cast (playing a lot of roles) along with a handful of musicians told the story of the love and friendship shown to a lot of ‘unexpected visitors’ from away.  From away being their term for people from out of the Province.

Having visited Newfoundland twice, we’d experienced it ourselves. There’s a joke in the show that describes how (jokingly) the majority of Newfies have a problem with knock knock jokes.

“knock knock”……….”who’s there”…..”don’t know, but come on in”

Wrong season for Mummers but they did get an Ugly stick into it!

‘Well done’  to the Silver Ferns!

Netball World Cup Champions 2019

We don’t like it – but the best team won on the day!

Read about it here:-

NZ beat Australia to win Netball World Cup

And the Brits came in third to claim Bronze.  It’s another four years to South Africa…wonder what will happen there??

I’m a sucker for statues….. a bit like the ‘see food diet’ you know the one where you see food and then eat it…..I see a statue I have to take a photo.

It always annoys me there are so few statues of women that when I do find one I’m like a kid – making a fist then pulling my elbow down to my side and yelling (well more like just saying) Yes…..emphatically!  Finding statues of children brings a different response – more of a maternal interest I suppose.

We were in the city the other day and I finally got to see the controversial  ‘female’ statue that arrived earlier in the year – just before International Women’s Day.  A symbol of gender equality and female empowerment- looks feisty doesn’t she!

Fearless Girl ~ Bronze ~ Kristen Visbal
Federation Square Melbourne ~ 25 June 2019

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We spotted this little girl in Hawaii many years ago.  We came across her while wandering round the park on a hot day, she looked so cool near the pond and The Golfer did his usual trick of saying ‘stand over there’  meaning stand next to her and I’ll take your picture……totally oblivious to the fact the statue was in full sun and I was sweltered.

Joy, as she’s called is dedicated to the children of Hawaii……..She really did look happy……as children should….with her donated leis on her head and in her arms.  Me….I just looked hot – hot and sticky 🙂

Joy ~ Bronze ~ Garry Alsum
Kapiolani Park Waikiki ~ 14 September 2006

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About five miles up the road from Kapiolani Park is the Aloha Tower, and that’s where I  managed to get a photo of another young woman.  Seemingly she represents  ‘Farewell to thee’ a goodbye song written by the later to be Queen Liliuokalani and stands there near the cruise ship terminal, her hips swaying hula style and looking a little sad, usually surrounded by travellers so last year was the first time I was able to get a ‘clear’ shot.

Aloha’Oe ~ Bronze – Pegge Hopper & Leo Rijn
Aloha Tower Honolulu ~ 8 October 2018

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Three young females,  all different.

Depicted as Strong…Independent….Carefree….Happy…. Wistful…..Sad.
I like them all – if asked I wouldn’t be able to pick a favourite.
Could you?

(if you’re interested there’s a little bit of information in the links)

Isn’t this an impressive display…..seen in a shopping centre I don’t usually go to

With all the rain we had I wondered if they’d sold many pairs so spoke to one of the salesgirls…. Oops..salespeople 😊

‘Oh yes’ she said. ‘We’ve sold loads of the rain boots’

Pardon, I said don’t you mean gum boots?

Oh no, they are now known as rain boots or water boots. People think gum boots are old fashioned.  My little sister calls them Puddle Boots!

Oh dear, how on earth is an oldie like me going to remember that. Where I grew up they were called Wellington boots…..usually just Wellies. It took me years after we came here to refer to them like the locals did as gum boots!

My blue Wellies…or are they Rain boots…or Water boots….or Puddle boots??
What do you call yours?

Yes…the decision has been made

In five weeks time we’ll be in the car starting the 4 day drive ‘up north’

This year It was going to be a ‘quiet, spend time at home’ winter

That was until it got cold and wet which made us rethink that decision

So we thought about it and decided….yes. It was time to book our cabin in Bowen Far North Queensland

where once again for seven weeks

The Golfer can walk the golf course by the sea…….I can walk Queen’s Beach
on those Warm Winter’s Days……Collecting

Sea glass, Sand Dollars and tiny fragments of washed up Coral

It seemed like I had been here, there and everywhere

Scanning the shelves but to no avail

Then I spied them – little rays of sunshine on a cold winter’s day!

Looking fine from the top – and great from the bottom

Only thing to do now is see what it looked like inside

Absolutely perfect 🙂

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

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Did you know:- and 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?

Oh the joys of married life 😊

Who knew…. that a simple suggestion….followed by a few choice words……..about tidying up a bedside table

Could lead to this

And this

And then after a lot of laughter….. the realisation that

After all these years you’d think we’d have learnt by now lol

I looked at the date and thought – it’s not due for another few days.

This was the temperature at 11am yesterday.  Cold and wet.

Yes, the sun did come out later along with blue skies but it was still very chilly

There was even snow further north near Ballarat

And as I was making my way to bed it was still b**** cold‘They’ may have altered the figures slightly but looking at that outlook I see the next few days aren’t going to be any better.  (The tomorrow is today)

Today is May 28 – and to me it’s too soon

It definitely looks like we will have to say…. But, but …..Winter’s not really supposed to arrive until June 1 😎

What’s the weather like at your house?

Hot – Cold – Just right 😊

Not sure if that’s actually a word.   War on Waste used it so it must be!

Will it pass the scrunch test?  What I mean is……..can you scrunch it up!

There was a time when the supermarkets used to encourage shoppers to return their single use bags to them for recycling – then single use bags at the big chains disappeared (so did the collection bins).

Now there are new bins near the checkouts- the supermarkets are working in conjunction with a company who will also take your plastics (lots of different ones)   The emphasis now is on all sorts of soft plastics – and here’s the buzzword…..soft scrunchable ones!

Redcycle takes just about any of them – they talk about the scrunch test Here.

Which means that all those plastic wrappers like the packet the frozen peas came in or the stuff the big bundles of toilet rolls were wrapped up in that were tossed into the general rubbish bin because they couldn’t go into council recycling now have a dedicated recycling destination.

On the website there’s a list of ‘what they’ll take‘ and also a long list of partner companies involved in the programme….not just the two major supermarkets but manufacturers as well.

So all of you in Australia ‘Use it or Lose it’

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RED Group, a Melbourne-based consulting and recycling organisation, has developed and implemented the REDcycle Program; a recovery initiative for post-consumer soft plastic.
RED Group has teamed up with Coles, Woolworths and some of Australia’s most-loved brands to make it easy for you to keep your plastic bags and soft plastic packaging out of landfill.
RED Group also would like to acknowledge the key role of our partners at Replas – http://www.replas.com.au/ – who produce a range of great products using the recycled materials.
As of 2018, a partnership with Downer and Close the Loop means that soft plastic is now also a component of a new municipal road infrastructure.
The REDcycle Program is true product stewardship model where manufacturers, retailers and consumers are sharing responsibility in creating a sustainable future.

Source

You never know what’s around the corner- just ask any family historian!

I wonder what life would be like if it was all plain sailing?

If they were able to I’m sure our ancestors could tell us a thing or two!

It doesn’t take much to please me – not a lot to make me feel good.

It’s little things in life like a cool change after a sweltering hot summers day, a warm bath when I’m aching, a nice cup of tea or (shhh) a bar of chocolate😊

It’s a well known fact in our house that I’m a ‘water babe’ – the feeling of being immersed makes me feel good all over, seems to calm me, definitely makes me feel peaceful.  According to my mum, from the day i was born putting me in a bath of warm water was a sure fire way to settle me.  And at this time of my life  I’ve told the family if/when I need to go into a nursing home it has to be one with bathing pools / large baths with sling hoists allowing them to manoeuvre the person, so they are able to ‘float’ and enjoy the warmth and the peace that comes with it.

These days as well as my warm bath (and sessions in a nearby heated remedial pool) I suffer the shivers of getting into our supposedly ‘heated’ local pool and dips in the ocean on hot summer days – all to enjoy ‘that’ feeling, knowing whichever way I choose it will bring a distinct change in my attitude.

Unlike these lovely ladies frolicking at the waters edge

The Bathing Beauties 1872
Frederick Arthur Bridgman
1847 – 1928
sold by Christie’s USD 31,000

‘My’ frolicking has always been clothed.  There are times – usually when I’m reclining in the bath, book and coffee close to hand…..I think about the merits of sun bathing in the raw and skinny dipping.  Bathing cosies are big business…….expensive too.  What if I was to forgoe buying a new one in favour of using the clothing optional beach in the town where we winter??  I’m sure I’d not look out of place – probably 75% of people in town at that time of the year would be 60yrs and over lol

So putting all thoughts of size, shape and inhibitions aside…..have any of you wondered about (or even ‘done/taken part in’….that doesn’t sound right lol) going au naturel on the beach?

I heard it described as Masterchef with bricks!

Such fun – time clocks, eliminations and not a nasty word from any of them!

Small one minute videos

pictures

pictures

Whatever you ‘do’ on your iPad is not forgotten.

The answer you get to a question may not be the one you were looking for😊

I asked Mr G how far Amsterdam airport was from the cruise ship terminal.

16,546 kms – Was the answer I got!

Not quite the answer I was hoping for!  That’s an awfully long taxi ride!

Station Pier Cruise Ship Terminal is in Melbourne!

Seems that browsing for cruises in two cities can confuse Mr G lol

Time to clear my history (and cookies) I think 😎