Come live love and laugh with me
Keeping the fun of the ‘silly season’ going here’s a little question for you
I wonder what answer you will come up with?
There are two to choose from
but which do you think is the correct one?
What does 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = ?
Is it – 8 divided by two…..times- two plus two
OR
Is it – 8 divided by…….two times – two plus two
Answers on a postcard please….
Well what I actually mean is – I’m not longing to go home.
(It’s warm and sunny up here – cold wet and blowing a gale down south)
Just longing for home so I can sleep in my own bed…..which is at home.
*****
Life in our little home from home cabin is trundling along nicely as it usually is at this stage of our stay. I don’t mention it but I still have reservations before we arrive about how I’ll cope in the small space ….same as when I wrote this post several years ago
👉- Just for a few weeks – 👈
It’s just that this year because of the ongoing ‘back issue’ the bed is bothering me.
I know the mattresses were replaced not long ago and even though commercial standard they are only ‘medium firm’, unfortunately this year the mattress topper I bring from home each visit isn’t making a difference. So I’ve gone to the extreme of placing spare blankets underneath as well in the hope of making it firmer…..which isn’t giving me quite the support I hoped it would.
Result……ouchy stiff back and legs plus cranky Catherine!
And then there’s the blinds…..
When we first started coming up (2008) the cabins were only a few years old – 4* luxury compared to others on the road – well maintained but starting to look a little tired the new owners (4 yrs now) had them ‘renovated’ over the past low season – not redesigned… brand new fixtures and fittings in the same layout as before….with just one difference- the window curtains were replaced with Holland/Roller blinds. Two sorts – one privacy (see out not in….unless the lights on) the other a heavier blackout one.
Nice clean lines, just not my favourite window covering…..I find them a PITA nuisance
Get a breeze and it’s clatter bang against the window frame…..try sleeping with that going on….nah not possible.
Try lifting them up or getting your hand round the side in the middle of the night to close windows……bl*** awkward in the dark.
Result…..some mornings (because there’s never a time in Bowen when there is no breeze) a tired annoyed cranky Catherine!
*****
Thankfully the door still has curtains so it’s left open at night (screen closed)
You know what’s evident in these photos……I’m able to survive with a lot less clothing than at home
PLUS
I pack my craft supplies in the same ‘bags’ which are left at the bottom of the bed each time
****
It’s been one of those weeks when things haven’t gone the way I wanted them to – I should back on Monday, hopefully not in such a Moaning Minnie mood
(To comment please click on post title and scroll down)
(Do try to watch both of these clips)
Australia will be there….
Before….
“ …….Of all the patriotic songs of WW1, Australia Will Be There is probably the one best known to Australians. It became the marching song of the Australian Expeditionary Forces and was used to rally the troops as they marched away from home. Australia Will Be There was written in 1915 by Walter Skipper Francis. The song quotes from Auld Lang Syne in its chorus and is often given its longer title, For Auld Land Syne – Australia Will Be There.
Australia Will Be There was immensely popular. The song celebrates the nation’s freedom and declares Australia’s commitment to fight. It references the defeat of the German light cruiser SMS Emden by HMAS Sydney on 9 November 1914…….”
source
*******
And after….
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the_Band_Played_Waltzing_Matilda
… Now when I was a young man, I carried me pack
And I lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray’s green basin to the dusty outback
Well, I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in 1915, my country said “son
It’s time you stopped rambling, there’s work to be done”
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun
And they marched me away to the war
… And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As the ship pulled away from the quay
And amidst all the cheers, the flag-waving and tears
We sailed off for Gallipoli
… And how well I remember that terrible day
How our blood stained the sand and the water
And of how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk, he was waiting, he’d primed himself well
He showered us with bullets and he rained us with shell
And in five minutes flat, he’d blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
… But the band played Waltzing Matilda
When we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again
… And those that were left, well we tried to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks, I kept myself alive
Though around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I woke up in me hospital bed
And saw what it had done, well I wished I was dead
Never knew there was worse things than dyin’
… For I’ll go no more waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and free
To hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
… So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve, to mourn, and to pity
… But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
Then they turned all their faces away
… And so now every April, I sit on me porch
And I watch the parades pass before me
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reviving old dreams of past glories
And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore
They’re tired old heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, “what are they marching for?”
And I ask myself the same question
… But the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But as year follows year, more old men disappear
Someday no one will march there at all
… Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard
As they march by that billabong
Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Eric Bogle
The Band Played Waltzing Matilda lyrics © Music Sales Corporation, O/B/O DistroKid
I’ve mentioned before my little habit of scribbling down bits and pieces from books I’ve been reading (words/phrases/place names) intending to look further and then not being able to remember where they came from.
I’ve just begun reading Starting over – Marcia Willett (1997) a very gentle book about beginnings/endings in the lives of some English people connected to each other and this (👇in bold ) turned up.
…..Robert was determined that Pippa’s inadequacies should not queer his pitch….
No idea what it meant but I had a vague recollection I had heard/read it before.
But where??
Luck was with me this time😊 – looking for something else the answer turned up – part of a sentence- not on a scrap of paper but in ‘notes’ ….
….Because her arithmetic, which was abysmal always queered her pitch…
and I’d even noted where I found it.
Tea is so intoxicating- Mary Essex (1950)
Another very English book I read last November!
Obviously that’s as far as I’d gone or I’d have remembered that it meant ‘spoil someone’s chances’ or something similar.
How well known is it – are any of you familiar with it – use it even?
******
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/queer-someones-pitch
You’ll have to bear with me this morning
this is going to be one of my rambling posts
It’s been raining since we got home end of September (it was raining before we left and according to family sources it rained the whole 12 weeks time we were away as well) – there have been wet days and decidedly wetter cold days, much much colder than we’ve been used to at this time of the year – think Winter temps (4/5c) put the heating on days –
Not the sort of weather we usually have two weeks before Summer officially begins
but to be fair, interspersed amongst these…..see above days….there have been some traditional warm sunny Spring like ones.
Days when there have been windows and doors open, T-shirts worn, winter woollen blankets drying in the sunshine, the sound of lawn mowers around the neighbourhood. And smiles on people’s faces.
Anyway, not long after getting home, watching the national weather forecast on one of those cold wet miserable days I jokingly remarked ‘we should have stayed in Qld a bit longer’ – it would have been warmer….and dryer’ – The Golfer then reminded me – ‘remember the last week were there, how hot (and humid) it was’. The high temperatures came out of nowhere, one week pleasant middle 20s…the next it shot up to 30c with warm nights
Temps up there are still high…..they haven’t changed, the daytime forecasts have consistently been 30° or higher – with higher night temps than we complained about.
Courtesy of our third visit from La Niña, like all the eastern states they’ve also had more than their usual amount of rain
So I’ve changed my mind and all those thoughts I’d been harbouring about a free and easy (warmer) life up there have fizzled out.
This is what the weather boffins have been telling us about the delightful La Niña
It’s going to be hanging around until next year!
La Niña typically increases the chance of above average rainfall for northern and eastern Australia during spring and summer and the chance of warmer days and nights in northern Australia during spring. source
If anyone asks me what I want for Christmas – my answer is:-
For someone to turn the tap off please 😊
~ ~ ~ ~
And look SparklingM at what I wrote about back in October 2009.
https://cranethie.com/2009/10/08/thursday-thoughts/
Those paddocks were flooded as far as the eye could see last time we drove past
Minus the horrendous $10 price tag – they’re back on the menu again
I’m quite willing to admit I’m an Iceberg lettuce lover eater.
Please don’t put all those other iddybiddy bitter tasting little curly leaves on my plate
I won’t eat them because I just don’t like them
It might not be fashionable but I like the pale green colour of Iceberg
the crunchiness as well as the cool taste
Egg sandwiches need it, tiny prawns need it, potato salad needs it
I like the big rounded leaves, I’ve been known to eat them as a snack
They look good filled with chopped chicken tomato and cucumber
Torn or shredded on a large serving platter it makes a good bed for what I call my
‘help yourself green salad’
Finely sliced cucumber/raw zucchini/kiwi fruit along with green grapes topped with finely chopped spring onions. Different but we like it 😊
Now if the price of other vegetables start to drop all us non gardeners will be happy/er
It might be my imagination but everything seems to be a bit different this winter. The cold is colder, the rain more constant, the leaves on my little Japanese Maple seem to be redder, plus the nuts on the Corymbia at the library (see HERE) are definitely larger
The snow has come earlier, with bigger heavier dumps……this is the report from Mt Buller a resort less than 3hrs away – just a short drive up the road
Mt Buller celebrated the traditional season ‘kick-off’ with record snow levels and bumper visitation for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.
”It’s the most snow we’ve ever recorded for a June long weekend and everyone is amazed to be skiing and boarding on the amount of cover we usually wait until mid-season to experience,” Read all about it here – Source
I wonder if this past weekend’s opening celebrations involved any of this?
I know I’ll be celebrating when we’ve done this drive to winter warmth
Just 3 weeks to go😎
#enjoyeverymoment
(I wrote this follow up to a recent post and forgot to publish it)
Thank you for all your comments concerning the little babe and her mother in the (March) Baby Talk post. It certainly generated a lot of interest.
It was a difficult time for my friend (the Grandma) – I remember her telling me she certainly hadn’t done as was suggested in ‘the note’, had given the baby lots of cuddles and tickles and sung songs and did all the sorts of things you do when there is a babe in your arms – and was rewarded with lots of smiles and that funny coo tiny babies make.
When I next saw her, she (the grandma) mentioned she’d spoken (nicely) to the DIL on a different day about her concerns and it seemed she had a thing in her head about something she’d read about in a book – controlled crying.
Seemingly the little one cried a lot in the evening (as well as during the day)…..-not what Grandma observed the day she looked after her…. and she, the mother was really tired and had heard that if you leave them be – didn’t keep picking them up every time they cried….. they would go to sleep.
Yes, said Grandma, sometimes it works with older babes and children but yours is still really little and needs to be held.
A short while later when the mother saw the ‘nurse’ at the baby clinic she said similar things to her and as well as the baby the ’nurse’ took her (the mother)under her wing as well.
~ ~ ~ ~
That’s what happened all those years ago and even now after all that time my friend (the grandma) is still ‘annoyed, angry even’ at all the stress the DIL caused by being so pedantic in her ways. The baby continued to be ‘cranky/troublesome/tiresome’ (the mothers’s words) strangely only in their own home and it took many weeks to calm them both down.
The baby (an only child, now a young girl) has always been quiet almost withdrawn which my friend puts down to her not receiving love and attention, never knowing how her mother will react.
And then recently her son let slip they had had some really nasty fights over leaving the baby to cry but he didn’t know where to get help for the mother. Which led my friend to be upset and sad that he didn’t confide in her at the time.
I’m sure there are many reasons new mums (and babies) behave the way they do, even ‘non new mums’ have troubled days…..I learnt it’s not for us to judge, just be there if they need – or want – help. To be understanding….and kind.
Remember that old superstition about things coming in threes ~ a couple of good/bad things will happen and we begin to wonder about a third ~
~ well here’s my three feel good ‘smiley’ things from last week ~
1 ~ Smiles galore last week when a granddaughter announced she had just become engaged. A tall girl who managed to snag a tall fella so in time I’m sure there’ll be tall children who’ll dwarf their rather short Gt. Grandma 😊
2 ~ Smiles all round last week when a son we’d had limited contact with for several (non covid related) years walked unannounced into the garden, sat down and started talking as though nothing had happened. We had known he was ’alive and well’, so there was no prying from me or his father (it’ll all come out in time) just sweet joy that he finally came home…..bearing no gifts, just himself for a few hours ❤️
3 ~ Smiles all round last week when I came home from the pool with a little water resistant ’stuff it’ bag to replace the zip lock I had been using to contain all those necessary bits I didn’t want to have contact with wet towels and bathers on the way home. After checking in, the receptionist saw me ’struggling’ to get the new (larger) phone into the plastic bag and with a big smile said…..”today is your lucky day, I have been doing a tidy up out the back and have just the thing for you”
Now I have a neat little bag (plus accompanying water bottle, remainders from a promotion geared towards school children) large enough to comfortably take car keys, phone, wallet, (face cream) and sunnies as well. No more scrabbling around trying to locate things at the bottom of a bag containing soggy wet things. Love it ! 🏊♀️🏊♀️🏊♀️
Did the number three feature in any way in your life recently?
Before we left home back in July I went through a lot of WIP/UFOs (also known as ’works in progress or unfinished objects😊) and mentioned to The Golfer there were a few things I really wanted to set to and finish while we were away.
One of them was this sampler – the one I wrote about 12 months ago. …..
Little did I know as I wrote that post then, when we in Melbourne were in lockdown a year ago, the city (Victoria…..and many other parts of Australia) would be in the same situation 12 months later….
And here we are with the finishing date to our winter stay looming and the little piece of embroidery still isn’t finished…not for want of trying though…..I’ve thought about it but somehow the light in the cabin hasn’t been the best or it’s been too hot/windy sitting outside….need to be able to see where the needle goes (those holes seem to get smaller) , can’t sew with hot sweaty hands or concentrate when the wind has been ablowin’, …..
Tuesday however was just right and while The Golfer was doing just that both am and pm I had a little self hosted sewing bee 😊
Somehow I don’t think It’ll be finished before we get home in October but I really hope I get the last stitches in before Christmas….same as I hope that by then there’s an end in sight to the madness in our country (as well as worldwide) caused by the Delta strain of Covid-19.
that hasn’t returned,
was a question asked during the general chit chat at the book club
Gatherings of like minded people I said
I have memories of fun concerts with one of my choirs.
For various reasons we haven’t ‘met’ since April last year.
Online or in person.
I’ve heard on the ‘grapevine’ that nobody has been sick
most have had at least on vaccination
and all are raring to go again.
Unfortunately it will most likely be in the new year (when all this is over)
the dos and don’t of covid restrictions are making it difficult.
~ ~ ~ ~
Plus memories of fun outings with the Red Hat Society ladies.
which likewise for various reasons my chapter has closed for the time being
I’ve been trying to make sense of my recent maudlin feelings
And am beginning to think I keep reminding myself of what was
(and yes I’m in all the photos)
rather than what can be
Borders – edges to keep things in and out (my definition).
Borders – Wikipedia’s definition
As well as our internal state & territory borders here in Australia we also have the big international one
At the moment….or should I say, once again… because of covid cases cropping up……there are internal state/territory border restrictions. They are keeping people ‘trapped’ in their own state and keeping people ‘excluded’ from other states.
And of course there’s the big one – the international one. Closed for the majority of the population since way back very early in 2020. Keeping people trapped in the country and others who so desperately want to return excluded
There are so many reasons why – but sometimes even I wonder ‘why’? Has it done more harm than good – if other countries have not closed up why are we still closed to the world.
Just got a touch of the miseries today….I’m sure they’ll go away as quickly as they came
As for this b…..virus, it’ll go away one day I’m sure – hopefully I’ll still be around to witness it!
Fortress Australia – Why calls to open up borders are meeting resistance. BBC May 2021
I’ve decided to just keep on moving
Feeling a little low so having a bit of a break
Not sure what’s wrong
Anyway I’ll be back in a wee while
~ ~ ~ ~
It’s fifteen years since The Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne.
15 – 26 March 2006
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Commonwealth_Games.
During the year leading up to the games The Golfer and I were involved with Team Melbourne assisting organisers and their staff in various roles. The Golfer was part of the organising team getting The Queen’s Baton Relay ‘up and then off and running’ – I spent many hours with the ‘entertainment staff’ involved with the Opening Ceremony. All good fun doing a couple of shifts a week in the World Trade Centre.
Once the games started he took up his allocated position with one of the visiting teams and I began ‘working’ in the Guest Pass Centre situated right beside the main entrance to the Athlete’s Village. Nobody got in without the correct pass – press included. I refused entry to a BBC reporter one day, she was all geared up to interview a medal winner but the agency responsible for obtaining their passes hadn’t done the necessary paper work. Not a happy chappy indeed – she got her interview in the end, not in the village but outside the gate under the nearby gum trees.
I’m on another clear out mission and found a journal of my thoughts from that time
Here’s some of them
“Australia Day was great. The two of us took part in the parade down Swanston Street wearing the official uniform…..what the Melbourne Press are describing as Smurf suits. There are thousands of us running around the city and environs having fun ‘volunteering’. Only a few weeks until the games begin!”
~ ~ ~ ~
“Well, its been quite a while since a week has passed by as quickly as this last one. All I seem to have done is travel, smile at people, travel and then sleep.”
“Life in the Athletes Village at Parkville is becoming more hectic each day as teams are arriving along with their officials. I am slowly getting to recognise some of the team colours and their outfits – even a few large as life characters attached to teams – so can say Hello and know where some of them are from. Its a good job they have the country names on the back as I’m not sure if I’ll get to remember all 71 team colours when they have all arrived.”
“There are lots of visitors passing through the area where I am working – am having a lot of contact with what we would possibly call the general public (guests of the athletes and officials and Village Management) – not the VIPs tho – they are ushered into the lounge next to ours. Its got carpet on the floor and not vinyl!!”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I have regained all that feeling of confidence and corny as it may sound ‘worth’ that I had whilst I was working, it is sort of taken away when you retire especially when asked what you do. Why does it seem as tho people lose interest when you describe your daily life in retirement and they realise its not a working for cash life.”
“I think about all the people I am working with in my area at the village and realise some of them would drive me nuts if I had to work alongside them permanently. Then I wonder if it is me and whether I am set in my ways having worked on my own or in a small office environment for most of my working life.
There definitely are some strange pedantic people out there and I wonder how they got on with their work colleagues during their working life.
Maybe they drove them nuts as well😊”
~ ~ ~
“Today Sunday has been HOT and very windy and not a comfortable day out at the Village. With it being a Fire Ban Day and having a Northerly blowing its been hard to reassure guests that they will enjoy their visit. Hopefully their hosts took them to the dining room to cool off for part of the time – its airconditioned in there – and allow them to recuperate”
“Loads of extra security today……………..we had a visit from Mr Howard (PM) who just popped in to say hello and have a look see. Wonder if Her Majesty will be along when she is in town?”
~ ~ ~ ~
“The look and feel of Melbourne is good at the moment.
Yesterday I took my turn at Federation Square welcoming visitors onto the Village Shuttle service, my goodness the amount of people out and about was overwhelming.
Had a little break and was able to wander round the Square, nearly got crushed in the crowd. Discovered the big hoarding with the photos taken during the Australia Day Parade. Was surprised to see little short me in the corner right on the edge (under the word centre) next to the tall fella. Someone took my photo as a keep sake 😊
As well as the crowd in Fed Square, the outside of Flinders St station and St Paul’s Cathedral was packed with people listening to the group playing by the church as well as deciding which way they had to go to reach different venues. It was windy and a bit chilly part of the time but that didn’t seem to bother anyone at all especially the kids by the thousand and their frazzled carers ( parents, grandparents or whoever). Lots of noise, smiles and laughter, had a great time and hope I’m on the Fed Square roster again next week.”
I have come to the conclusion that often what I think I want
isn’t what I really need at all!
Early last month I was pondering about weight/size/appearance and was convinced I had the answer. Only trouble was with lockdown exclusions being lifted and life in general slowly returning to ‘near normal’ everyone else had the same thoughts and what, from reopening mid December up to then, had been a pleasant experience at the gym also returned to the trail round the car park looking for a spot, busy busy (even early morning) packed to the rafters waiting for a machine experience . And I seemed to spend more time waiting than actually doing anything.
So after a suggestion from the GP about alternative exercise
“Try aqua classes or just walk, swim, exercise in the water ‘do your own thing’ – it’ll be easier on your back and legs”
I decided to change tack and give the local pool another chance.
A complete renovation during our months on end lockdown last year means (amongst other things) it’s squeaky clean, all leaky bits were fixed and the water temperature is actually as warm as it should be 😊
Four weeks from the day I first put my toes back in the water again…..how do I feel?
So much better in myself and definitely wishing I’d done it much sooner.
I’m not doing aqua yet (noisy and full on) but enjoying a few off peak half lengths as well as the stuff the classes do but quietly on my own. I ‘know’ I’ve exercised which is a feeling I haven’t had for a while and also may have lost a kilo along the way
Win Win all round !!
Oh and once again I’m having difficulty seeing hearing and talking to other bloggers which means I haven’t had much to say to any of you personally (on your blogs) for a little while. Don’t take offence by it…..I have to grab my chances when I can. Sometimes I think this is it….then the whole network closes down…..and it isn’t ☹️
As well as many other quotes these have also been attributed to the actor Charlie Chaplin
Nothing is forever in this world, not even our problems.
I love walking in the rain because no one can see my tears.
The most lost day in life is the day we don’t laugh.
The six best doctors in the world are.
1. The sun.
2. Rest
3. Exercise
4. Diet
5. Self-respect
6. Friends
Stick to them at all stages of your life and enjoy a healthy life…
If you see the moon, you will see the beauty of God…
If you see the sun, you will see the power of God…
If you see a mirror, you will see God’s best creation. So believe it.
We are all tourists, God is our travel agent who has already identified our routes, bookings and destinations… trust him and enjoy life.
Life is just a journey! Therefore, live today!
Tomorrow may not be.
~ ~ ~ ~
All those comforting encouraging words and phrases gave me something to think about during my recent ‘down days’ but I’d only ever seen them mentioned on social media, and remembering my mother’s words about ‘not believing everything I read’ as well as being curious to find out if those ‘uplifting words’ were actually his I did a little digging around online
If you’re interested – click the (safe) link below to find out what I discovered!
Just a little note to say Thank You for your comments and kind words over the past weeks. Taking a little time off – I’ll be back on Monday
I was thinking early this morning.
As I sat outside on the back deck enjoying the warmish air
Give me a chair….a book….and some sunshine.
And I’m as happy as Larry
It really doesn’t matter where I am
Give me those three things
And the rest of the world …..along with all it’s problems
are far from my thoughts
What/Where are your ‘happy’ spots?
Still Waters 