Tag: Monday Musings

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Hidden benefits…..

Your know some of that time spent sitting around watching tv during the lockdowns (all those years ago) did actually have hidden benefits.

According to some paper notes found during a clear out I’ve just discovered that the old adage about never being too old to learn is true

Courtesy of Millionaire Hot Seat  one evening, in the short space of one hour I learnt that:-

  • Polar bear females are called sows, not cows
  • Young turkeys are called Jakes and Jennys
  • Mangos are in the same family as Cashews and Pistachios
  • The stumpy bits on a giffaffes head are called Ossicones
  • Dolorous means sorrowful

And….

  • If I want to go on a really really long trip, the distance from Earth to the Sun is about 150 million kilometres.  How many days drive do you think that might be??

Maybe I’d better hang on to the bit of paper I jotted it down on because how long I’ll retain all that information is anybody’s guess
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It’s Monday Morning here, I’m enjoying my early cup of tea but it won’t be long ‘till breakfast time when The Golfer will join me. We’re on day4 after his cataract surgery – eye drops are a feature of the day (5 times daily) so like when Mummas were ‘on call’ because new babies had to be fed regularly I can’t go far as I have to be around to do these…..because he found he couldn’t see where the drop was going.

Out of curiosity I’ll bring up the subject of the lockdowns (6 here in Victoria- 262 days) with him over breakfast and see what he remembers. I know what one of his answers will be…….he couldn’t go to golf for what seemed like an eternity 😊

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Victoria

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Coming in threes….

Sometimes I wonder about that old saying about things happening in threes – good things come in threes, accidents and deaths come in threes, we say third time lucky and three cheers.  I’m not saying I don’t believe those thoughts but I really sat up and took notice and began to think about them recently……

I’ll start by saying years ago I read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.

The story about a man who hears an old friend of his is very ill and decides to walk to another town quite a way from where he is living in the hope that she will still be alive when he gets there.  Long and at times a bit ho hum it tells of how he copes with the journey, his attitude and feelings to the hardships he experiences also the people he comes across on his way and how he is a changed man at the end of it.

Later that year while we were away overseas I mentioned the book in passing to a friend and she suggested another book with a similar title.  Called What the Psychic told the Pilgrim by Jane Christmas this is not a novel but a tale (true recording) of the pilgrimage she made in Spain along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (try saying that in a hurry lol).  So very different (much easier to read) and yet quite similar to the other pilgrimage book, this deals with similar hardships and attitudes and feelings Jane has to her fellow pilgrims as Harold had to his.  They both wanted to give up their treks but continued without all the fanfare around them and by the end both had ‘found love’.

That was the year Simon Reeve’s Pilgrimage documentaries were released
Simon Reeve retraces the adventures of our ancestors, and learns about the forgotten aspects of pilgrimage – including the vice, thrills and dangers that awaited travellers.
We watched but like many things these days I can’t remember a thing about it🙁

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Fast forward to last week visiting the library what do I see on a display stand but the Harold Fry book. Curiosity got the better of me and I looked along the C shelf wondering if Jane Christmas’s book was there……that would have had me giggling if it was.

No not there but it turned up on a free internet site (https://archive.org) when I was looking for something else……and look what else I found😊

I’m now wondering how long it’ll take me to finish reading the books I brought home – then I can set to ……reread both books, then rewatch the different episodes of Simon wandering the world

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I have….

been going through one of my ‘want to be alone’ times since we came home. It might be Spring and although some days have been quite pleasant there’s been an awful lot that haven’t so basically Warm Weather Withdrawal Symptoms are what I’ve been suffering from. ‘The Back’ playing up hasn’t helped matters so it’s been easier just to retire (with a book) to my own little world for a short time

A session in the warm water therapy pool always helps….just have to remind myself to check the pool availability chart. I didn’t realise the Fathers and Babes class was weekly so twice I’ve turned up and half the area has been blocked off. Not so bad when there’s only a few others in the water but things got a little tense as more arrived and ‘room to move’ became limited

Then there was the nuisance factor in coming home to this…..courtesy of a very windy (like gale force we were told) storm – one demolished blind. Admittedly it did already have a small tear and was to changed anyway but what a way to go. One quick trip to ‘the big green shed’ aka Bunnings and we were back to the way we were

Nice new one in place now

Being ‘topped and tailed’ has helped – Cutting of the hair and toe nails happened 😊.
The hairdresser and podiatrist appointments were already in the diary but not until a week after we got home…..which was good really because it gave me a chance to work some of my misery out of my system before getting the boost I needed.

Then there was a bit of a laugh when I finally got the urge to go grocery shopping. Prices seemed to have soared again but this one stopped me in my tracks…..until it dawned on me the price was for the 30 eggs above and not the dozen below 🤭

By Friday emotions seemed to have come good and I ended up not canceling a planned lunch – one where I’d be surrounded by oodles of women – because the lunch was with other View Club members and that is an organisation solely for women. I knew when I sat down, each person in the room was comfortable with the other ‘ladies’ at their table and via The Smith Family there was a common interest and solution to helping some disadvantaged Australian children cope with problems of education.  Voice, Interest Education of Women.

http://view.org.au

After lunch speaker had us amused and interested in her recollections of a trip to Antartica – she spoke about Shackleton’s expedition and how they (well some of them) finally ended up South Georgia and how she herself ended up visiting there – on a cruise ship…..chosen because it was on the itinerary.

I’m now back in the business of life again, trying to think positively…..yes it’s not summer yet but it’s not far off – the Spring equinox has arrived, the clocks change soon, the temperature will rise (we will then complain it’s too hot😊) and …..’The Back’ doesn’t feel quite so uncomfortable at the moment.

How about you- how do you cope with the changing seasons ?

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Gotta do what you gotta do…..

Yes I know not great English but my interpretation would be ‘when you’re left with lemons…..make lemonade!’

Although in this case I chose to pick up the ‘lemons’

The little Butternut pumpkin is the one I choose for winter soups. It’s usually nicely sized …..and I can cut (and peel) it easily.  I know other pumpkins can be used but half the time I can’t even pick them up let alone cut the skin off so it’s the Butternut for me.

The cost of fruit and vegetables fluctuates greatly with seasons and no matter what supermarkets say about keeping prices low we keep seeing them rise week after week .  At the moment,  Butternuts, which are sold by weight, …in my mind…. have an exorbitant price attached to them so as I’m going to be peeling and seeding (in other words tossing some of it) I’ve been loathe to buy them.

Carrots on the other hand seem to be really cheap.  Carrots are a staple in our house…..no matter what time of the year there’s always some in the fridge.  In summer they are grated or thinly sliced julienne style with salads – in winter, well you name it they turn up in just about everything cooked in our kitchen

Oh look at that, said Catherine when she saw an enormous 5kg bag of carrots going for $3

‘And how long do you think it’ll take you to use all of them’ said The Golfer!

These days with there only being the two of us I usually don’t buy fruit and veg in bulk ……..unless I know we use it regularly, it will last or I have something special in mind but also…. because He with the long elephantine memory will always remind me of the times he’s discovered things in the fridge I’ve forgotten I’ve even bought!

So with those words having been spoken (and knowing The Golfer, who doesn’t usually come grocery shopping with me, would object to backtracking through the shop to pick them up later) I had to do a bit of quick thinking.
 How many casseroles did I have in mind to make during the next week?  Soup??  What do I have in the fridge at home?  Oh blow it, pick them up.  They’ll keep out in the freezing cold garage!

Broccoli or as known to some of our grandchildren in their very young days as green forest… as opposed to white forest…which was the name for cauliflower 😊 is another veg we use a lot of. It’s usually sold by weight and I find it ‘fun’ to watch shoppers choosing their broccoli – some just pick up a piece and carry on while others turn the pieces over and over to find those with the thinnest stems because they will be throwing that part away and don’t want to pay for something they won’t be eating.

Lately the stems, you know the bit in the middle where the little stalks and the green flowery bits grow from, have been really thick.  Occasionally I’ll put them in with other bits if I’m making vegetable stock but last week it seemed like most of the weight was in the stems so after slicing and dicing them those pieces went into a chicken and veg soup.

Now that did turn out good – economical, what’s in the cupboard style, certainly not glossy cook book style.  As well as a small sliced chicken breast it included onions, the last of a packet of frozen mixed veg, also same of frozen peas and corn, some McKenzie’s dried soup mix, potatoes, broccoli stems, potato stock from the freezer mixed with chicken stock powder plus  several carrots.   After cooking I gave it a little whizz with Bamix using the chopping blade to ‘break up and circulate’ the chicken

Top shelf of freezer holds several tubs of Carrot Soup,…….. a fairly basic recipe, except I added some curry powder when I fried the onions and garlic to give it a bit of oomph…..plus  one remaining tub of the Chicken and Veg – well it was cold and that’s all there was left after having it for dinner two nights in row.

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It’s Monday, the day I sit here thinking and chattering about anything and everything – and as it’s the first Monday in Winter it’s a good enough time to let you know what we had for dinner last week😊

 So tell me, what did ‘you’ have for dinner last week ??

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Wondering, just wondering ……

I wonder……

Were they ever on sale at full price – are they not selling as quickly as the company hoped – or was the ‘discount price’ a marketing ploy from the minute they were placed on the supermarket floor?????

I wonder….

Why the city was barely visible through a murky haze when it was fairly sunny day in the eastern suburbs? I know Andrew can see the hills from his high rise ……if I’d known which one he lived in I would have waved….


Up there that day on Mount Dandenong at the SkyHigh it was cloudy at times with a fresh breeze……

It was a school holiday week so the car park full – the place packed to the rafters with families

Years ago it was the place to go on a hot day, – 15min drive up the hill from home – a ‘cheap’ economical family activity. A bottle of fizzy drink and a packet of chips to share, byo chairs to sit by the car while the youngsters explored the bush walks round the back of the building, unlimited time in the cooler air looking down on the suburbs, recognising main roads and landmarks (eg factories – footy ovals…..even the watery coastline of bayside beach suburbs ).
Things change, no free entry now ( double the charge in school hols! ). If you live within 10kms free entry – our street down the hill in Kilsyth is 11kms!! Trees have grown so only distant views, certainly not uninterrupted as was the claim for many years…..unless you could edge your way past all the kids to get a spot at the railings to look out on the upper level
The beautiful upstairs dining room with floor to ceiling windows is now for functions only
There was a bl……great big jumping castle on the grassy area. I’ve just begun to accept that screaming kids now get on my nerves, especially those with parents who don’t keep an eye on them
Yes I know I’m a grumpy old woman😊

Not everyday – just some days – like today

Possibly due to this👇

Just wondering….

Why this looks so simple. When your back and legs are not happy……wayward shopping trolleys have a lot to answer for……it’s not that easy to get down and dirty on the floor. Mind you the torso on this chart showing the position of the sciatic nerve exiting the spine explains how it can be compromised by the narrowing of the discs due to lumbar stenosis. Yes it can be a pain in the backside – literally as well as figuratively

I wonder what silly little things you are wondering about this week?

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Spare parts dept…

After I’d emailed my cousin about the new hearing aid purchases, she (because she’s like me and ‘holds on to ‘things’ ) forwarded to me an email I wrote years ago
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November 2016

Hello there Heather

There’s going to be another division of the spare parts dept in our household opening soon.

The trial period is over and the verdict is – I’ll take one (or even two) !!

I have had a pair on trial for the past week and among other things discovered my neighbours to the left of us have a couple of budgies and more birds spend time in our trees and bushes than I realised.  It’s amazing what a difference a little thing stuck behind your ear can make 🙂

Yes, after having the eyes renewed a couple of years ago (cataracts) it’s now time to bring the ears in line.  No need to shout, it’s the pesky high sounds that I’m losing – a nice lady at Australian Hearing called it High Frequency Hearing Loss. 
She’s been monitoring this very slow decline in both ears for a few years now and suggested a trial run of a loan tailored to my requirements so I could actually see hear the difference.

So come the New Year (because I can get a better health benefit payout) I shall be the proud new owner of two tiny little things that will mean I make less mistakes in thinking I heard something when it was actually something else that was said 🙂

How I get on with this remains to be seen because mentioning it to friends has brought forth lots of horror stories about things whistling in the dark (as well as in the ear), hearing being worse than before and ‘Uncle Joe” still not being able to hear at the pub so I’m taking them all with a grain of salt.

Over the past few years B & P (my sisters) have both had new hips – several friends acquired new knees – many friends have had new sets of teeth – yet nobody has admitted to having new ears.  What is about deafness (no matter how slight) that we are loathe to admit to?

How will I cope with these new appliances?  I don’t know. We shall see what happens when the time comes. 🙂
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So back to today over 8yrs on…..I’m even more enthralled with the new world they opened up. The new ones are the same ‘level’ as before (my loss hasn’t altered much in that time) but technology has
The only thing the consultant was surprised about was that I declined a rechargeable device preferring batteries – we’re all different, my reasoning being it’s what I’m used to and one less thing to worry about when travelling. The packs of tiny batteries are much much smaller than the charger and no need to find a power point

Anyway enough about me:-
How do you view ageing and the decline of body parts?

Everything old is new again – a trip to the spare parts dept!

Does it bother you or are you glad there are ‘things’ out there to lessen the burden

What thoughts are roaming round your head this Monday?

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Would you like something to go with your coffee……

Lemon coconut slice?

What do you think?

After the appointment I’d just had at the hearing centre I certainly needed it…..tell you what…..you can add hearing aids to the list of items that have definitely risen quite steeply in price. Granted my trusty Signia ones, the ones I’ve used for the past 7yrs – (once I accepted I needed them in certain circumstances) – do work just fine, they really needed to be updated. Talk about sticker shock!

So the March Equinox been and gone – another quarter turn of the wheel happened – and Autumn has truly arrived…..days and nights here at home are about equal at the moment

but that loss of light will soon become very apparent. ……
These are the times for Friday 7:29 am Sunrise – 7:20pm Sunset.
Another 9 mins gone!

And while my whinging complaining won’t stop all that happening there is something I do enjoy about this season.
.
Brussel Sprouts — fresh from the farm!

Look at them, planted just up the road from us in the paddocks along the Maroondah Highway at Coldstream, lined up in straight rows as far as the eye can see…… so easy for the picking gangs to harvest them.

I know I’m in the minority who really do enjoy eating them and look forward to adding another vegetable to our plates.
Have to be cooked plainly though – steamed then served with a dab of butter (salt/pepper optional).

No oven or frying pan involved – no weird and wonderful ingredients added – I’ve seen olive oil, honey, soy sauce, lemon juice even Parmesan cheese mentioned. Do those things and I’ll not even look at them never mind eat them!

Here’s Arthur the Big Sprout waiting to greet us as we drove in last week to pick up some new season from the farm gate shop

https://www.adamsfarms.com.au/our-story

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Oh and Footy’s back 🙂

Footy = Football, often Australian Rules Football or Rugby League depending on region. Not soccer.
source

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

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

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Monday’s here again…..gosh that week went by quickly…….
…. Blink and you missed it….

How was yours? Fast and Furious or Slow and Steady?

Sharing with Wednesday Words and Whimsy found HERE

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The Good – The Bad – The Ugly

Things to think about that crossed my path recently

The Good:-

After a trial run here in Victoria last year one of our ‘large’ discount pharmacies (CW) in conjunction with another are now running a national collection service……collecting blister packs.

Unlike the little tubs/pots with those totally unopenable/unscrewable evil oh how I hate them ‘childproof’ lids some medications/pills come in which are recyclable the sheets of whatever (foil/plastic) left over after popping your pills out can’t be put in kerbside recycling bins so this scheme will keep them out of landfill.

Hopefully when I deliver this little (multi family) lot, the branch I use has moved its collection box closer to the entrance…..last time I dropped some off it was way up the back of the store, totally obscured by a pile of deliveries. I needed a staff member to point it out to me

https://recyclingnearyou.com.au/news/australias-largest-blister-pack-recycling-program-expands-nationwide

A couple of cooler days last week meant instead of hiding away indoors from the heat al fresco lunches on the deck were back.

Raid the fridge, toss a few things together – there’s some carbs, protein, fruit and veg to keep me going. A crunchy favourite is Laughing Cow wedges spread on corn thins sprinkled with garlic salt. Out of apples so had cucumber to go with the mature cheese and Cheds…..and as it’s stone fruit season dessert was nectarines and plums. …..yes we’re all different with different likes and dislikes

The Goodish/Badish

After weeks of dry heatwave days and nights this is what it looked like when we arrived in the city yesterday- rain rain and more rain

It was bucketing it down as we sheltered in a small Lonsdale Street cafe – yes, theatre time again! An unusually empty stage greeted us as we settled down waiting for the rest of the audience to arrive before enjoying our Chrissy present to each other – one of the last performances in the Melbourne run of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None

So it was good to be out and about even though a bit weary from lack of sleep…..fabulous show by the way – and no I’m not going to tell you ‘who dun it’😊…….weary after a scorching Saturday day then a warm Saturday night trying to sleep with helicopter water bombers flying around and about nearby as well as the strong smell of smoke because some little tow rags set fire to bush land 2km down the road from us! Thank goodness for emergency workers – (CFA – SES) – most of whom are volunteers and thank you Mother Nature for sending the rain.

https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/news/out-of-control-bushfire-burns-near-montrose-kilsyth-homes-in-southeast-melbourne/news-story/f3c72db3e54de9c4514de497ca7b2822

The Bad :-

Something that makes you realise time has passed by is when the renewal notice for your driver license is delivered.
‘Gosh that 10 years went by quickly – here’s to another one’.

Trouble is it comes as a bit of a shock when there’s a little enclosure in the envelope telling you that once you reach a certain age here in Victoria you are only allowed to renew your license for 3 years not 10 as is the norm. Unlike some of the other states, no medical or on the road test is needed, just an honour system of reporting any issues you may have

I wonder how quickly the next 3 years will pass by – and whether I’ll still be driving at the end of it?

The downright Ugly:-

A picture tells a thousand words!

Oh yuk……how could they 😦

Has anything interesting crossed your path recently ?

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There was a time…..(updated)

(Comments are now on)

Sometimes I take photos just for the fun of it, sometimes it’s just something that’s caught my eye and I want to remember, often it’s something I’ve done/put together and is of no interest to anybody but myself. Going through folders I found one of those (taken 2019) and it brought back oodles of memories……
some good some not so.
.
Prepare yourself for a bit of a rambling Monday post🙂

There was a time….quite a  few years ago now that I think of it….that depending on the season I would make a few jars of jams and pickles.

Then the plum tree came down in a gale so the jam production went down.  Things were tight and I wasn’t going to fork out for fruit as well as the sugar.  We were eating less and less of the sweet things so I didn’t miss the stack of filled jam jars in the cupboard.

I gave up on tomato and cucumber and some other vegetable growing a while ago… travelling and a back that has me cautious when digging as well as bending put paid to that.  Besides even with making chutneys and pickles I gave away more than we ate.

These days I usually buy fruit and veg from the farm gate or at a good greengrocer.  I can pick and choose and buy to our needs….. not have a glut when the season is good or worry about what we were going to eat if it was a bad ‘un

Food regulations meant that donations to ‘Street Stalls’ had to have ingredients listed and homemade recipes of  ‘just a pinch of this and a pinch of that’ weren’t acceptable so in the end that part of my life – the productive housewife – sort of came to an end.

We now buy jams and pickles.  Commercial food labelling means we are aware of all the included fats.. sugars.. salt.. you name it… so can judge whether it fits into our respective health needs.  You know what I mean…..is it going to make me fat, raise my cholesterol even higher (even though we pop a little pill one must still be aware – or so the lovely GP tells me)… not do my BP any good (same advice from the GP)

Now healthy or not (depending on your point of view) we do like a cup of coffee.  A Latte or Flat White when we’re out…..either plunger (french press) or (horrors of horrors, as some of my friends are inclined to remark) instant at home.  The Golfer was given a little coffee maker with associated pods but it’s a pain to use so has sat on the bench for quite a long while now – the Bodum plunger is easy and depending on the brand of ‘proper coffee’ used makes an acceptable drink – the one we use…grown in Queensland tastes good to us – the taste of the instant brand we prefer isn’t so bad either.

Which brings me back to pickle making!

Like it or hate it…Moccona our instant coffee of choice – comes in big chunky jars which when washed and aired are great for dry goods storage.  Because they are also airtight an old acquaintance would use the smaller one for pickles (pickle onions and gherkins mainly)

I rang her one time to say ‘I’ve got some spare ones if you’re interested’……then promptly forgot – and so did she. 

Over a year later, a weekend of sunny weather – good for clearing corners of the garage – produced this haul of 8 Moccona 200gm jars.  Plus various balls and cricket stumps!

May 2019

Sadly, when I rang this persons house to give her the good news (we had sort of lost touch but thank goodness for old address books) it was to hear her husband tell me she had died only a few months beforehand.

‘She would have loved them’ he said.  ‘There was a time when….then he broke down.  I said my goodbyes and also said to myself.
‘yes there was a time’.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It’s Monday morning and I’m in my ‘musing’ mode.
Remembering and wondering

How about you – was there a time when you did…….and now just look back and wonder about the things you would do…..when you had the time?

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Monday Musings……..

Or Things to Think About….

My invisible friend,  Mr Middle of the Night Insomnia has been coming to call recently. He (because only a ‘he’ could be such a nuisance) likes to lie there beside me – taunting me, keeping me awake, keeping my mind moving, he’s definitely of the opinion it’s all jolly good fun

So here’s a few of the things I lay there thinking about…..

My mother provided me with all my eggs – I did the same for my daughters.
But my sons had to ‘make’ their sperm. Does that make me a ‘bad mother’

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Dharma Comics – https://dharmacomics.leahpearlman.com

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New thoughts….what are yours?.
https://www.getactive.vic.gov.au/resources/3-exercise-myths-debunked/

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I know which way I roll – I wonder if it’s the same as you?.


The Toilet Paper Patent Answers The Age Old Question – see HERE .
Over or Under – see HERE

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Oh and before you go – look what arrived yesterday December 1st

We’ve had one or two of these already – wonder how many more we’ll get..

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The Last and The First…

Well that went quickly!
Two months of winter gone…..we’re now at the start of the third and last
It’s Monday again…..the first Monday of a new month
Spring will arrive here in Australia in less than 4 weeks
Autumn will turn up for others in a little over 6 weeks
No new goals for this month except to enjoy it…..

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Blowin’ Bowen certainly lived up to its nickname when this warning

kept appearing on the weather report recently for days on end. Strong cool/cold southerly winds don’t make for pleasant days so we had to find other things to occupy ourselves. The Golfer can be very ‘dad like’ at times……”Come on, I didn’t drive all the way up here for us to sit indoors. We need to find something to do”

Living with a person who ‘can’t sit still’ can be annoying sometimes for someone who’s idea of a good time is to sit quietly (indoors or out) with a book or crafting or even closing their eyes and enjoying the mood……I should have accepted that by now and just ‘go the flow’. I certainly enjoy my quiet times when he’s out ‘walking the course’ getting rid of some of that excess energy

Se we ended up watching the way these kite surfers enjoyed the really windy days

And seeing the ‘juniors’ out on the water one Saturday morning
Low tide means they’re way way out so this is ‘zoom’ quality

Driving up Flagstaff Hill to look down on the town and harbour.
After Cyclone Debbie (2017) made a mess up there, a new cafe was built, pathways and landscape plantings changed. Unfortunately ‘things grow’ and the views are not as good now as they were before 🙁

Going over to Rose Bay one morning – not to sit ‘n sun……..just to ‘watch the water’.
Surprised to see a ‘net fisher’ – not a regular sight. He certainly didn’t seem very confident, faffed around a lot, possibly trying to judge the waves……we’re used to seeing fishers sitting quietly, patiently – I realise this is a different ‘form’ (one I dislike) and wondered if maybe his first time because he kept moving about, changing his position, down on the shore…..then up on the rocks….then back down again- he left empty handed (as many do😊)

(Photos will enlarge with a tap/click or using two finger spread)

I’v been feeling out of sorts this week, can’t put my finger on it though – hence the two ‘easy’ posts last week that had been in drafts for ages.
We’re halfway through our stay so perhaps that’s it.
I know….we’ll blame the weather for not being its usual warm sunny winter way…..cold fronts making their way up from the south are not welcome.

“Stop complaining Catherine- remember what’s happening at home”

Tomorrow being Today Monday

Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder

Are you happy to see the seasons change – or stay still a little while longer

Sharing with Wednesday Words and Whimsy HERE

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Monday Monday…..

Yes, Monday has returned…..just wondering what is in store for me this week.
Last week was a week of contrasts – Little things had me thinking about how they often grow into Large things. Or how you’re expecting Large but they turn out to be Little

What we didn’t anticipate was that the large cold front that ‘swept across’ the southern states would make itself known all the way up to east coast. Rather low overnight temps – down to 6c/42f – meant those large (warm) winter clothes worn on the way up but now tucked away in cabins and caravans were given unexpected early morning airings.
When we had the ‘will you use it’ convo before leaving home I gave a ‘well you never know, hope for the best- prepare for the worst’ answer when The Golfer saw the hot water bottle. Guess who was filling the kettle before bedtime….his toes were cold 😊

One of those contrasting moments was seeing the turn of the tide one morning with little or no movement- a very calm sea compared to an earlier one the week before

A unexpected trip to the chiropractor for what I thought might be a big drawn out affair turned out to be a little thing. After some gentle but forceful movements and a reminder to do the exercises and stretches….yes, I know the ones you mean…..I can now walk reasonably comfortably . Sciatica making itself known again is a PITA – figuratively as well as physically!

Down by the harbour I saw the funny side of these little boats wanting to be like the big ones.

(Photos will enlarge with a tap/click or using two finger spread)

Longing to join the big boys
Copying their movements

Then I couldn’t believe my eyes when this cyclist rode by…
Trailing a very little dog behind her……

Walking the dog this way isn’t new – we’ve all heard of it, laughed at the idea, maybe even seen it before. Not like this though.
Usually with a whopping great dog who loves the exercise….

That poor little dog’s legs are going ten to the dozen trying to keep up with the big bicycle wheels. The owner would probably tell us to mind our own business. He/She’s used to it, done it many times before
But somehow it just didn’t seem fair…

And what didn’t seem fair to The Golfer was that my lunch appeared to be larger than his.
’But my fish is smaller than yours’ he said, ‘plus you got more chips’
‘That’s what you get for trying to appear healthy by ordering grilled fish’.

There wasn’t that much fish under the batter and most of his portion of chips was hiding beneath his grilled fish.

I’ve always been on the opinion that Monday is a day for thinking- forget the traditional idea it’s a day for washing- it’s a day for looking the week ahead in the face and saying “whatever you’ve got- little or large – throw it at me and I’ll see what I can do with it.
I was born on a Monday in a year when many ‘large’ things were being ‘thrown’ around so maybe that attitude comes from that

Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder

How do you feel about Mondays? Friend or Foe??

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Sharing with Min’s Wednesday’s Words and Whimsy – you’ll find it HERE

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It would have been so much nicer…..

If it had been plated differently!

Wednesday is our ‘treat’ day.
The day we often treat ourselves to lunch out.

It’s Ladies Day at the golf course (yes they still have such things) it’s set aside through to 3pm for ladies only to play which means a certain someone is at a loose end

Could be a local beach morning or a drive down to Cannonvale or further on to Airlie Beach or even a drive up to Ayr…..all within an hours drive and always with a lunch I don’t have to cook myself (or ask The Golfer to come up with)

So last Wednesday we stayed local – Rose Bay then into ‘town’ for lunch at one of the hotels (pubs)

Some of you know I do like a curry
If it’s on the menu I’ll give it a go
So when I saw one of the lunch specials was……

SRI LANKAN CURRY
An authentic blend of traditional spices & chicken served w/ fragrant rice & naan

I gave that as my order BUT was I surprised when this turned up
All in the one bowl!

I don’t mind the naan on the plate – but didn’t enjoy the soggy ends where they’d soaked up the thin sauce.

I don’t mind some sort of salad – served separately, not floating in the sauce

I don’t mind the rice on the same plate – but prefer it or the curry in a separate bowl

The beef (which was what the dish was all about) was cooked just right, tender, not chewy, with an interesting ‘spicy’ taste

The cutlery (spoon included – didn’t have to ask for one) came in those packets with the corny jokes

so really I had nothing to complain about.

It’s just it would have been so much nicer (read – more appealing) if it had been plated differently.

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Things that made me smile

It was smiles all the way up the highway
Home to the Vic border, up to the Qld border, across to Rocky
and then on up to Bowen
Good weather (very unusual) – no rain, no fog, no frosty mornings
Light traffic – unusual for the Newell, the Leichhardt and the Bruce
Few trucks, less Wobblys (caravans) hardly any local town traffic.
Open roads! Unheard of in the Dubbo area
Look, an overtaking lane and nobody to overtake’….made me smile to hear The Golfer say that. He dislikes being in a ‘convoy’

Strangely for me I took no photos until we came to the Queensland border

A welcome sight – even through a dirty windscreen

After a quiet week settling in – hello library beach and supermarket
(no blog reading or commenting yet though)
nothing was planned for Saturday
a cool dry sunnyish but very windy morning arrived so washing is up to date

Lunch time a surprise visitor arrived in the form of Mr Whippy
nothing funnier than ‘retired’ adults clutching their money – waiting in line
for a childhood pleasure

Followed by a surprise visit of dark clouds rolling in and the retired oldies
retiring inside their vans and cabins
because – the heavens opened and the rain came down

Then a short time later blue skies reappeared
But unlike Incy Wincy Spider nobody came out again 🙁

Because…….
there was AFLfooty and rugby and cycling and car racing and horse racing
sport galore and maybe more on the telly!

********

Incy wincy spider climbed up the waterspout
Down came the rain and washed poor incy out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
So incy wincy spider climbed up the spout again

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

It doesn’t take much to make me smile- how about you??

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Reflective time…

Life has been emotional recently, that’s the only way I can describe it.

As well as days filled with tears supporting The Golfer after the loss of his long time friend there have been days full of other emotions…..

  • Days with visits to the GP – very early (minus breakfast) visits to the path lab (how can they ‘muck up’ a procedure they do constantly meaning I had to go back so they could take more??) – a visit to radiology for another CTScan (more deterioration and no real answer as to why one foot is permanently numb) – visits to a physiotherapist…….taking a different tack rather than chiropractic care thanks to Federal Gov. allied health scheme of subsidised treatment. Which appears to be working- if I remember to do the exercises!
True or False ??
  • Days when I felt I’d clobber the next shop assistant who called me Dear – three times in one week! Am I getting to look like ‘a dear old lady’ or have these people (who serve me regularly and actually know my name) decided that time has arrived.
  • Following on from that I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry the day I dropped my scripts while waiting in line at the pharmacy…….as I’m doing my usual initial – ‘do I need to pick it up’ look at the floor – a voice behind me asks if I’d like her to pick them up for me.
    Do I look ‘old and decrepit, needing a helping hand (don’t answer that one😊)….or was this just her nature

Days when the words just don’t come…

  • With all the sewing I’ve done in my life surely I would have known the answer to this crossword clue:-.
    Sewer’s finger guard. 7 letters
    ……well I sat there the other day almost in tears. I kept looking at my fingers seeing ‘it’ on one of them but couldn’t for the life of me remember the word THIMBLE

I rather think Friko is not the only one in her ‘club’

https://frikosmusings.blogspot.com/2024/06/still-alive-and-ranting.html

And talking of clubs I had coffee with a group of ladies last week – we all belonged to the same social club years ago. Getting together primarily to ‘support’ (cheer up) one whose husband was in respite (aged) care for a couple of weeks with a view to move in permanently but also to catch up…..and talk about life changes (aka ‘will my ailment top yours’ )…..and to laugh while sharing our journey.

‘Banjo’ Patterson knew what he was on about when he wrote –


The Road to Old Man’s Town.

The fields of youth are filled with flowers
The wine of youth is strong
What need have we to count the hours?
The summer days are long

But soon we find to our dismay
That we are drifting down
The barren slopes that fall away
Towards the foothills grim and grey
That lead to Old Man’s Town

And marching with us on the track
Full many friends we find
We see them looking sadly back
For those that dropped behind

 But God forbid a fate so dread —
ALONE to travel down
The dreary road we all must tread
With faltering steps and whitening head
The road to Old Man’s Town!


 Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder

How have your days been? Hopefully better than mine
.
Sound like a right misery don’t I – better days are just round the corner
I hope!

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Bend and Stretch..

The other week when I mentioned I’d been using the resistance bands at home more regularly I had a couple of emails (Hello Sue – Hello Polly) asking what exercises I used them for.

On a ‘good’ day (meaning when I have the time and am willing & able) I’ll ‘work through’ the exercises on the first two charts.

(Just letting you know that I even though I start with good intentions
‘working through’ doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll do every one of them
or I’ll do 3 sets of the ones I ‘choose’😊)

They look a bit daunting yet are quite simple
it’s just a case of stretching a ‘rubber band’ at the right angle

Chart 1
Chart 2

On a ‘bad’ day when the back is being obnoxious and standing can be a pain I’ll try some from this sit down version. Very similar to the other charts – working on the same muscles – just in a modified way. If you enlarge this chart you’ll be able to see the targeted muscles

In the same way that Chair yoga is great when you can’t get up and down off the floor Chair Exercises are great when you can’t stand for long periods

I wonder if I do them all on a regular basis will it stop me staring at the floor??

 Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder

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Families…who’d have ‘em!

My cousin has just become a Gt Granny and with a christening coming up soon is relaying all the ‘family gossip’ she’s gleaning from standing on the sidelines watching and listening to the preparation details.
Even though she’s not involved she’s getting a bit stressed with what she’s hearing so to put a smile back on her face – and reassure her all will go well with their do – I sent her this.
(Something I wrote elsewhere a few years ago about a family celebration )
******

Family Baptism Day

All Mary could think of as she cleaned the kitchen was how upset Aunty Josie had been at the church after the baptism of her youngest daughter’s first child.

By all accounts her cousin had arrived at the airport (no overnight ferry for her) beaming with the babe in her arms but no man there to stand at the font alongside her and the baby.  From what she gathered it seems a short explanation was given and there were smiles all round.

They’d all come back to her place for the afternoon tea she’d prepared early that morning.

There’d been so many invited that when her aunt was pointedly heard wondering where was everyone going to sit, and didn’t Mary have such a lovely big house, she hadn’t the heart to say no and had offered her home in lieu of everyone going back to her aunt’s  – which of course meant the rooms were now filled with aunties and uncles and cousins galore along with their tribes of little horrors who thankfully stayed outside in the back yard.

Mary wasn’t shy in voicing her feelings to her extended family so she’d told them (the wee ones that was) in no uncertain manner that – to use one of her father’s choice expressions – she’d have their ‘guts for garters’ if she saw them near the chicken run or  exploring the vegetable garden

Standing there by the sink, she noticed a silver coin on the bench.  One of the family would have put it into the baby’s hand and in the confusion of gathering up all the bits and pieces it been left behind.  I’ll take it round to Aunty Josie’s later she thought, as she put it into the pocket of the pinafore that covered her best frock.

Sipping on another mug of tea (no sugar, it’s fattening, she heard her late mother say) and as if to annoy her, Mary added a spoonful before mentally comparing herself to her cousin, the new mother.

Noticeably her hair hung long and loose, there was no fancy beehive hairdo for her – the only beehives in her life were the ones she’d tended all those years ago with Jimmy.  Thanks to her mother’s meddling Jimmy was long gone and no one had ever appeared to take his place.

These days, after she’d seen all the little ones on their way and closed the school for the day, her primary aim in life was to be content and at peace with herself.  Jimmy always said she needed to be close to nature – not have to deal with the dregs of society like he did.

All evening her mind kept replaying the scene at the church.
She knew in her heart the words she’d heard coming from her aunt’s mouth weren’t really the truth.

But even so….was Uncle Billy really ‘a silly old eejit who after a few drinks wouldn’t think twice about telling the world the real reason why the child’s father wasn’t there that afternoon’?

*******

Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder

Hopefully this doesn’t sound familiar to anyone

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Maybe it’s just me…..

It only seems like a short time (certainly not the actual 3 months) since the clubs and groups I’m associated with returned and regrouped after the long summer break

Weeks have moved past quite quickly this year – early on, illness and ‘other’ meant some classes/gatherings didn’t happen but when I looked at the calendar the other day (3 weeks into the 2nd term) I groaned – where did all my free time go?

I’m starting to get fed up with trying to find a day ‘to do things’.

For quite a few years after I finished working (as in paid employment) I was involved with a large charity giving them 2 regular days a week of my time.  It was almost like being ‘at work’ again, being acknowledged for who I was, seeing/working alongside the same people each time, I agreed with the aims and objectives of the charity and certainly enjoyed the tasks I was responsible for.  Then, like a lot of things in life, things changed, paid staff moved on, office routines changed, attitudes toward the volunteers changed and I grew tired of ‘office politics’.
It was so much like being back at work again that I decided I didn’t need all that stuff in my life and resigned.  Oh but we ‘love’ what you’re doing, you’ve been doing it for about 10 years now why are you giving it away.

Because I need some ‘me time’ I told them and began to live a very quiet ‘me time’ life.  Doing what I wanted when I wanted with no commitments to anyone or anything else – apart from The Golfer.  I was content with my Crafting Reading Gardening Knitting Family History researching Travelling etc etc the same as many other retirees were.

Then the community attitude to older life expectations seemed to swing away from living a quiet sedentary life and became ‘Keep busy, keep your brain active, meeting greeting getting involved, play a larger role in society or you will grow stale in retirement.

I’m not usually swayed by those sorts of ‘messages’ but did begin to wonder if – no matter how much I was enjoying my quiet retiring lifestyle – I was becoming too much of a recluse, perhaps I did need to move back into community life and take more interest in what was going on around me, so slowly and gingerly (because sometimes you don’t quite know what you’re letting yourself in for) I joined clubs and groups that were recommended by friends and the pace of my days changed again.

This year is nearly half way over and as I mentioned above it’s now got to the stage where the boxes on my calendar have so many ‘regular’ outings pencilled in…..some weekly, some fortnightly, others monthly…….that something has got to go because I’m finding it hard to find a day to do things – like housework or washing or ironing – well that might be stretching it a bit but with an overly full lifestyle making medical appointments as well as finding days to catch up with friends it is becoming very much like telephone yo-yo*

*Years ago there was a little game played in business circles called Telephone YoYo.  I’d call another practice and ask to speak to someone- not available ‘I’ll ask them to call you’ – they’d call back – ‘sorry Cathy’s not available to take your call.  And so it would go.  The yoyo string would roll up to them and down to me …..backwards and forwards and so on 🙂

* These days it’s – sorry I’m not free that day, let’s try for another one.
* Or – Oh you’re not free that day – how about this one

Maybe it is just me that enjoys being involved yet thinks/knows that no matter what age one is, there are times when constant busy times can be too much of a good thing.

(That sentence seems to be as clear as mud)

Does anyone else feel the same way?.
******

Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder

What are you thinking about this Monday morning?

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🧶 Slowly does it….

Yes, there are times when ‘slowly does’ it is the right way
It’ll get done in it’s own time

A few years ago a craft book called Slow Knitting was published – from all accounts it was fairly well received but as I’ve never actually seen it I can’t say much about it. Being a bit on the pricey side I waited for my library to obtain a copy – which unfortunately never happened. At the time council was tightening its belt and I was told the funds were not available for craft books! They’ve changed their attitude since but unfortunately this one never made the cut
Anyway seemingly amongst other things it talked about slowing down and taking time to savour your craft – To think about and enjoy all aspects of your craft.

“Like the “slow food” movement, Slow Knitting encourages knitters to step back, pare down, and celebrate the craftsmanship of their work. In five chapters centered around the tenets of slow knit­ting—sourcing carefully, making thoughtfully, thinking environmentally, experimenting fearlessly, and exploring openly—Hannah Thiessen challenges knitters of all skill levels to view their practice in a new way. Each chapter contains explorations of fiber types; profiles of well-known yarn types, makers, and yarn suppliers; and garment patterns inspired by the featured fibers. With contributions from knitting superstars Norah Gaughan, Bristol Ivy, and many others, Slow Knitting proposes an approach to knitting that is both minimalist and all-encompassing, and emphasizes what makes knitting a meditation, a passion, and a unique necessity.” source

I’ve been told it also suggested to not stop knitting gifts but not to put yourself under stress by having so many to finish by a certain time.  Now that’s something I learned the hard way a long time ago so if I do knit as a gift I give it when I feel the time is right not because it’s Christmas/Birthday time and that’s when gifts are given.

As always there’s been some knitting going on in my house……really slow knitting this time ……..some that has taken a fair while to finish.  Talk about slowly does it – with my interests lying in other directions recently this little cardigan finally got done all in it’s own time.

Selecting the yarn from my boxes I fingered it, squashing it in my hand, wondering what it could be used best for – a bit dark for a tiny baby so was it to be a toddler size cardigan or jumper/sweater?  Boy or girl style? We still tend to think of boys in blue but girls wear blue as well don’t they?

It’s not quite as dark as it looks but needed something to make it stand out – to be more than just a child’s cardigan – a decorative stitch that did just that.  Sort of like a mock cable – and what about pockets?  Little ones love pockets don’t they!

Simpler than it looks the ‘cable stitch’ is worked over 4 rows – Knit one row, purl one row, decrease with a s1k2pso (slip one, knit 2, pass stitch over)  in the middle of the set stitches on the next one, yarn over in that spot to make up the stitches on the next row.  The grey/blue buttons were all I had (with our winter trip coming up need to save my pennies here and there) but when it was all put together I didn’t think it looked too bad.


Do you remember the Slow TV phenomenon that came to us all those years ago…….well even though today is not Friday – which is the day we try to have Fun…..it turns out that today’s the day we’re going to have some fun in the form of fibre

And in keeping with ‘slowly does it’ – just enjoy some of this peaceful restful video of a group of knitters with their crocheting friends having some fibre fun – in real time – real slow time!!

Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder

What are you thinking about this Monday morning?

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Everything old is new again…..

Pip Lincoln ( meet me at mike’s) is back in Melbourne……well she has been for a while now…….and has also returned to writing her blog on a more regular basis.

Lovely long chatty day to day thoughts and reflections – lots of ‘yummy’ photos- and loads of interesting/fun ‘good stuff’ links in her blog posts

Try this one from a couple of weeks ago .

‘A shirt sandwich seems like a cute thing to do’.

Sounds intriguing doesn’t it, so I had a little look, and if you have a quick look, I think a few of you will agree a Shirt Sandwich isn’t quite as new an idea as fashionistas are having people believe.
I’m sure I’ve seen that way of dressing before.

Just layering under a different name!
Dressed up to look very posh and trendy!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/style/shirt-sandwich-chic-cosy-style/

********

Traipsing around the WWW I came across another fad doing the rounds – among young ones – Sandwich Dressing

Sandwich method of putting outfits together

The art of Sandwich Dressing

The ‘Sandwich Rule’ for styling outfits

Outfit Sandwiching – mastering capsule wardrobes

The term is certainly not new….

This slightly more up-market version one was published more than 10 years ago! .
Fashion sandwich trick

But then the whole ‘idea’ isn’t new because it’s the way most of us have been dressing. Matching this with that to come up with ‘outfits’

Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder

What are you thinking about this Monday morning?

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