Fooling around with photos.

It seems I am on a new learning curve with this camera of my granddaughter's. It has macro, which is a feature my waste of money expensive camera has NOT got! I only discovered this yesterday after taking these new pics of flowers.
This first one is a grevillea, the one that the Shrikes so love.
I was also happy to discover a programme on the net called Picnik,
which can eat hours of my day, just playing about!

Here is a photo of Leo being a very good boy in the lounge in his little corner. We feel he is making good progress, & is already quite transformed from the horror he was a week ago.

The acid test will be when more visitors come to the door I guess. We had a visit from known friends yesterday, & they noted what a difference there was in his behaviour, & even Honey is benefitting from this new regime. So all is good on the dog front.
A note here, DogTech has a website if anyone is interested in checking them out. Just click on the name.


On other fronts, the weather is most peculiar, almost wintery in appearance. Windy, raining, & a lot cooler. Yesterday was so humid it was horrible to even move, but today is much nicer, though not cold at all.

This is another Bromeliad bract. I always wanted to own one of these when I lived in New Zealand. They were very expensive to buy, & I always felt if I did get one, it would surely die. Now I have them growing wild, in the garden. I love the exotic look of them, & I love the little blue/purple flowers.

This is another Bromeliad, showing the small bluey flowers peeping out of the water. They always remind me of little birds beaks, waiting to be fed. The ants seem to rather like zipping about on these.

This is actually perfect sewing weather! So what excuse can I think of today for my procrastination??

*************

On a drive past an Op Shop, on Sunday, I noticed heaps of 'donations' piled up outside the door to the closed establishment. The public have been repeatedly asked not to leave goods when the shop is closed. It attracts thieves, & the goods end up scattered about the place, often to get wet & ruined.

It is nice to think that people have good intentions, but often I think they are too lazy to find a proper dumping ground for their tat & trash, & so they kid themselves that they are 'donating', when they are just getting rid of their garbage.

Of course, not all of it is garbage, & the charities could surely make a little money to help their good causes.

There have been some interesting items on TV showing the dumpers, & the scavengers, rooting through the piles that others have left, & blatantly stealing anything they deem fit to take. It does seem a pity that charities have to resort to having cameras outside their shops in the hope of catching the thieves. Quite often these 'mongrels' are well dressed, & drive expensive vehicles, & certainly would appear not to be in need of theft as a way of gaining material goods.

As an op shop browser, I have noticed some of the charities have become rather 'expensive'. It makes me rather angry to see what I regard as rather steep prices on things that have been given in the best of intentions, to 'help the poor'.

Is greed creeping into the Charity business?

Joan Baez, Please Come to Boston.

Red Gum Flowers.

I wish I could say this was a tree in my garden. They are lovely. In someone else's lovely neat garden, & looking so healthy too.

Here are the little cups that form once the flower is spent. I remember playing with them as a child, & pretending they were little cups in a teaset.

These are the buds on the other little tree.

I used a little camera we got at a garage sale for $5, which we have given to our Granddaughter. She is not very interested in photography really, but has taken some nice photos of people with it.

I happened to have it in my bag yesterday, so whipped it out to take these pics. I think the neighbours wondered what I was doing. They surrepticiously came out & pretended to potter about on their front lawns, watching me. It was a little cul-de-sac, & I suppose any stranger would be noticed.


The rain has stopped for the time being. Steam is rising from the ground. Sitting in front of the fan is the only way I can keep sane.



Ben Harper, Gold to Me.

"Maltry"

Every now & then, I will use a word, that is not exactly a word. Such as Maltry. Though I Googled it, to see what came up, & I find it is a Surname.

My use of it is to indicate something that is mean & paltry- hence, maltry. Not just paltry, but mean as well. I know many maltry people, & one of my friends had an employer she said was so mean, he wouldnt even use a full laugh! Just a strangled sort of nasal whinny. Maltry, we decided, fit it perfectly.

For a time, in one of my other lives, I worked in shoe shop. My two co workers initially, were old enough to be my mother & grandmother. Not a great deal of laughter went on in the shoe shop. Tending to people's footwear needs is not brain surgery, but you can meet some interesting characters. The downside of that is, you also meet some awfully whiffy feet!!

When I had been there for some time, the business was booming- it was on the crest of the style popular now, with one foot on display & racks of just the right foot, meant people could try on as many as they liked & when they needed the mate to try we could get it, & watch as they made their choice. Occasionally someone would steal some shoes, & often they would send a child back with the two right feet, & attempt to get a refund, or another pair of shoes.

Ineterviews were conducted, & I was invited to give my opinion on who seemed suitable. A nice young girl called Kaye was employed.

Kaye was young, pretty, bright & so hilarious. Many a day I would be crippled with laughter behind the racks of shoes. We made words up all the time, it became a hobby, & we had nicknames for all the passing parade of people who walked past the shop every day, on the way to their employment. Sometimes we laughed till we cried.

Looking back, the 2 older ladies were quite tolerant of Kaye & I with our hysterical laughter.

****************
The older I get the more I appreciate people who are genuinely happy with their place in life. Their level, if you would. I did get a haircut yesterday. For once I was quite happy with the result. (Of course it looked great when I came out of the salon, but today, I can't seem to achieve the same end result.) Nevertheless I am happy with it, not too short, nor left too long. Even Gom commented it looked nice, some of you who read here often will remember the occasion when he muttered "She made a bloody mess of it, didn't she?" He didnt know he had a near death experience that time!. Daughter J thought this a good cut too.

The man who cut it, has his own modest little salon. He has no airs or pretences. He is nice to customers & staff alike. He charges moderate prices & gives care & attention to his art. It makes him happy, he told me. He is not looking to retire yet, though I think he is 'old enough' chronologically. He says he likes his garden & growing vegetables, but it would not be enough to fill his days. He is married, happily. He is originally from Italy. He loves his life here. A truly happy man.

Gom was such a man when he was a Publican. It was what he loved, so he never felt he worked a day in his life. He enjoyed people, was very good at calming alcohol befumed brains, & rarely lost his temper at anyone.

He was attacked with a large walking stick, which broke in half on his watch when he put his arm up, to defend himself. The stick broke, & a piece flew into a young girl's face, cut it badly, & she almost lost an eye. He has had a gun held to his temple, when he was robbed. He was once whacked in the groin with a large shoe when a huge Lesbian had an enormous row with her partner. As it happened one of our Barmaids was a Lesbian, & her partner was furious, as she said Gom was one of the nicest men she had ever met. She leapt upon the offender & shoved her out the door!

He has had his suit coat ripped in half, his cheekbone fractured, after being shoved into a wall. He still loved being a Publican, & he did run a tidy hotel most of the time. Alcohol will always bring about the unexpected, but Gom did not drink while working, & he always said, if you are not drinking you have the advantage of your wits. I have never seen him afraid of anyone.

When we owned our Country Hotel, we had the toilet stolen, -yes the whole pan, ripped out of the floor!- the lights smashed, furniture broken. All sorts of things happened in that country hotel, & the worst offenders were the students at the nearby Agricultural College. Gom even got them whipped into line, & cut down on the the damage & drunkenness, to the local policeman's undying gratitude. We did make a lot of wonderful friends, & had some great hilarious times.


It was never my choice of life, but Gom was so happy, & it was as though he was born to it. He misses it still, & it is a shame he has no hobbies to replace his time spent 'working', which he regarded as his hobby.


****************
Have you ever noticed that we seem to eat with our eyes, as much as our actual appetite?
Those huge square platters with small stool- like piles of little bit of things like spiach, minced, or pumpkin pureed. Then the urine-like trails, of various sauces, or jus, or salsa splattered about. Finished off with 2 crossed hairschives.

Have you notice how starving you feel after eating one of those? How ripped off you feel, when huge wads of money are transferred from your account to pay for the scraps of food you actually recieved.

Have you ever been eating some item, & absentmindedly put it down, then suddenly realising your stomach is telling you, 'But wait, there was more!'?

I find the smaller the actual dinner plate, the more I feel I have eaten. So trying to trick myself into dieting might be worth trying.

On the other hand, I am really put off by overly large servings of things sometimes. I see some photos from Restaurants in the USA boasting of the size of the meals, & I just feel sick to look at it.




Cat Stevens, Tea for the Tillerman.

Running on the Spot.

This is a pic of Leo, with his little pink belly showing through. He made a getaway bid yesterday, chewed through the green ropey thing we tied him up with, & he went outside to sit under the table, beside his beloved Gom.He also sneaked in the door- which Gom had left open- & snuck up to the bedroom, to sit by Gom's feet, as he searched for some papers. Gom 'pretended' he hadn't noticed. haha.

We have training exercises to do with Leo, & I am seen as the Big Bad Bitch Wolf, I think, & he is reluctant to approach me in case I tie him up again. I must ask our DogTech man about that. I think Gom should take a turn at being the Big Boss Wolf too.

I am not sure where we will do our training today- the backyard is very soggy as we have rain! Again. Thank goodness for some relief from yesterday's oppressive heat, but of course it is still humid. I wont grumble though, as it is cooler, though still enervating.



I have just been having a quick read of some of my favourite blogs, & was totally fascinated with this story at Christine's Winnowings blogspot. Please check it out. Who would have ever guessed the humble mushroom hid so many wonderful colour secrets!! Of course credit needs to go to Miriam C. Rice, for unlocking all those secrets! I would be tempted to get the book, but I dont think I need to begin any further hobbies!


Yesterday saw us running our daughter & Sil about, still trying to sort out the car fiasco. I have managed to talk myself into seeing reason, & letting our daughter use our car for work. It was either that, or she lost her job. At least it is she who will be driving, & not Sil, whose skills in that area, I regard as maniacal a tad faster than I like. DJ is now added to our insurance, so at least we & she are covered. It is her passengers I am not so keen on, but she may not need to use our car much anyway.

On my list of People to be Very Wary About, car repairers & wreckers have gone to the top of the list. It did seem very odd that the car, when taken for repairs, barely able to be driven, had a full tank of petrol. It has been in pieces in vairous workshops since, unable to be driven anywhere, so they are told, but Sil found it had barely enough sniff of petrol left to coast it to the closest petrol station! How curious. Evaporation??


**************
Thank goodness for nice neighbours. Mrs Nice Neighbour is very good friend, & a willing ear. Bless you for being there Mrs N N.

**************

Another Waiting Room story.
The GP's we go to for our health worries or check ups, are a very popular husband & wife team. Consequently the waiting is usually rather lengthy, but that is all part of it, & I usually take a book with me. It is nice to think I will not be hustled & bustled with my consultation too, so we make allowances.

I watched in secret amazement as a Doting Dad, with a little girl, obviously Daddie's Darling, read to her, patiently, let her climb all over him, & smiled indulgently. Then she took her shoes off, & offered them to his nose, so he could sniff them!! Offered them right onto his nose in fact! Still he smiled indulgently, & looked at her with complete devotion! What is he thinking! She will grow up to be a monster! She looked to be about 4 or 5.





Another routine visit to the Dotor yesterday revealed another interesting, though rather terrifying story. The man sitting next to me, was covered in bloodied patches of what looked like dressings, all over his legs, & arms. There were also quite a lot of holes, & slices of skin off his legs.
It was a hot hot day outside, & though the airconditioner was roaring away, it still seemed slightly steamy & sleep inducing. I swear I nodded off at one stage, & the man with the patches, was almost falling off his chair, as he, several times, nodded off.
He got up, & went to talk to the receptionist, about something, & then he told her he had been in hospital -again.

When he came back to sit beside me, I jokingly asked him if he had been "Wrestling with the Roses?"
He then told us he had been attacked by dogs! Imagine our collective horror as he told us the story. He has a small Papillion/Jack Russell, a very small dog. Two huge, known-to-be vicious dogs got out of an open window in a vehicle, & attacked the man's little dog. Of course he scooped the dog up, & so the dogs just attacked him. His legs had huge gashes that looked to still be bleeding under the patches. His arms were bandaged, & black all over the parts that were visible.

He told us the dogs owner managed to get the vicious dogs off him 'eventually'. I had to ask if his dog was ok, & he laughed & said "Yes, actually he is fine."
Of course then we all asked if the dangerous dogs are going to be put down. As my name was called, I heard him say he didnt know, as he 'knows the man'. I got the impression he wouldn't be making a complaint about the dogs.

When I said "Poor man" to my Dr, she said, "Did you get his life story?" Her eyes widened in horror too, when I told her about the dogs. She owns a similar dog to our Leo. I dont know that her dog is such a bully though. I am glad we are having Leo's behaviour patterns modified, even if it breaks our hearts not to be able to cuddle him at present.



I wonder what fresh Splatters the Universe will throw at me today.
I am wanting a haircut. That is always good for weeping & gnashing! Getting a haircut, is always a sort of psychic 'hair shirt' for me!


A new edition of my favourite magazine, Australian Country Threads, arrived in my mailbox yesterday, so all is not doom & gloom.

Roy Orbison, Blue Bayou.

Zipping about.

This new 'learning curve' for Leo & his doting parents is not so much a curve, as a complete perpendicular cliff face!

I don't know how we are all going to survive. It is only day one, & already there have been tears, & tantrums, & that is only the humans!

Last night began the New Life. Leo has become too bossy & dominating by half. He is sure he is the Leader Of The Pack. Gom aiding & abetting him, assured him he was right. The difficult part now will be teaching him he is not the top dog, he is just a lowly mutt on the bottom of the ladder.

Here he is sulking in his new designated corner of the lounge. We are not to look at him. I tried to call him to get him to look up for the camera, but,... well, he was going to teach ME about ignore!He is to be tied, to his corner, until he learns his place. No more choosing on his part.

It is breaking Gom's heart. He just dotes on that dog, & he is going to be the hardest to convince we really really need to do this, or Leo is going to bite someone. Then what would we do. The thought of him being put down is unthinkable.. if you see what I mean!



Sherry, at Q's Corner, has the most delightful photos of birds on her blog, & she asked me if I could show some of ours. I did get a great photo of a Cockatoo which I posted here, but other birds are too quick for me to capture. We have a Grevillea growing in our back garden, & the native Shrikes love this ratty old shrub. They spend a great deal of time getting the nectar from the flowers,
& they have become very bold when we are sitting out under the pergola. They will fly under the pergola, over our heads to access the shrub.

I did my best to get a shot of either of the two that were there this morning, but they seemed to know I wanted them to be still, & they just kept darting away. They are not showy at all, & blend right into the shrubbery. This picture has one bird in the centre, & there is a little green on it's wings. Sorry it is such poor quality.

We do get a lot of beautiful butterflies in our garden, but I can never seem to get a photo of any. They just don't settle, & I dont know enough about them, to know what would be likely to attract them to settle. There is a lovely black & white large variety that visits, & it has bright red spots at the base of it's wings. I would love to get a photo of one.


I have been taxi service for our Daughter J, over the weekend, & yesterday. She has been stranded with no car, & what a tale of woe that is. I have nothing but contempt for the absolute turd swine of a man who caused a lot of the misery, & delay on repairs.

Back to yesterday's experience. We went to the local Supermarket, whose manager needs a good kicking shaking to awaken the slothful shelf stackers, & staff. Memo to me ;Never go there for something I really want, or need!!

There was a large display stand close to the entrance with Christmas stockings, & ornaments, & trees- all the leftovers from the Season of Goodwill. There were some hyenas women grabbing & grasping these items, determined not to let another soul near them. The fact that most of the items were going out at 5c 10c & 20c was an added attraction.

The ugly face of naked greed on their part took our breath away! They had armloads of things. They appeared terrified lest some other person got a share, or even the chance to touch, any of the items. I was on a mission for some item, which of course, they didnt have currently in stock- they never do have anything useful, or any of the advertised 'specials'. And sod the 'raincheck policy'. I want it NOW. Not in a week or so. I don't want to have to make another trip to get the wretched item. GRRRRR.

I had intended returning to see if the Hyenas had left any scraps, but forgot in the anger of the moment. Daughter J had returned, -she said another larger Hyena had bulged her way into the fray, & so the whole stand was swamped with heaving Hyenas.

We decided we definitely didn't want anything that badly & went off to attend to other matters.

******


After I took DJ home, I noticed a bus from one of the Retirement Villages, pulling away at the lights. I watched as the white haired occupants stared out the windows, resembling so many iced currant buns, with coconut sprinkles. I wondered if one day I will be one of the currant buns, sitting in the bus waiting to taken 'home'.

This area is often referred to as "God's Waiting Room" or, in farming terms, the "Holding Paddock".

It is big on retirees. It is one of my fears, having to live in a "Home for the Aged" I suppose there may come a time when I would be happy to go.



However, right now, sorting out the 'monster' dog we have created is more pressing. I am hopeful we can achieve a good result, but it is not going to be painless- for any of us!



John Denver, Some Days Are Diamonds.

Issues

Maybe I am getting the hang of these photos after all. I am still trying to work out how to get a satisfactory down load off the camera.

Prior to getting this new computer, I had Arcsoft Impressions, & it worked a treat. Currently I am using the hp programme, which came with the camera, & am not happy at how it works, so I am trying to get the hang of using Picasa.

We are having a visit today, from a Dog Whisperer.

For some time we have had trouble with Leo, having 'little accidents' in the house. Recently, he has become worse, & so the time for action has come. I have spoken to the Whisperer, & what he says makes perfect sense, so I am very hopeful we can have a positive outcome.

It is raining in a soft steady misty way. The actual temperature is much lower than it was yesterday, but I suspect the hideous humidity must be running at about 98%! My hair is dripping & any exertion results in further perspiration floods.

All my life I have suffered from extreme sweating of the hands & feet. I was born during the war, & the quality of the wool available to knit bootees- remember those?- was very poor. My mother said as fast as she knitted them, they shrunk badly, & she had to knit more.

My Beloved Brother has the same problem, but to a much lesser extent. My eldest son, has the same extreme as I do. It also affects our scalps, so we have a hard time keeping dry hair in the the humid summers in Australia.

When my granddaughter was little she once told me she had the same problem as me, with her wet hands. I was surprised as I had not noticed it before. Turned out she had sneaked off & wet her hands to trick me!

When I was at school I had problems with my work, due to sweat damage on the pages. I am left handed too, so the problem was made even worse. I would resort to using a blotter or a handkerchief, as a mop for the wet drips.

Imagine being a teenager & having a boyfriend who might want to hold your hand! The horror of it! Standing at the counter of a shop, trying to remember never to touch the counter, because wet hand prints will remain. Eyes would widen in shocked horror, at the little -or large- pool of sweat left behind.

When I learnt to drive a car, I was about 27, & had some professional lessons. I explained to the driving instructor, my problem. He laughed it off saying not to worry about it. He was rather laughing on the other side of his face, when he saw the pool of sweat left by the back of my legs on his driver's seat. Next time I took a towel with me, so sit on. There was nothing to be done about the saturated steering wheel!! I did dry it off with remaining dry corners of the towel.

When my children were babies, they would invariably be rather damp feeling when I had held them, in the summer time. It made my life an utter misery, at times, & I cursed the fate that gave the genetic fault. I also cursed the fact that my son has inherited the problem. Rest assured during the course of my life, no curse word has been left unused for the condition!

I feel that all this high humidity 'greases' the Speed of Stupidity, which is a wonderful concept I found over at Mike's. He has supplied the formula for working it out. I am not good with figures, but I will take his word for it, & am stunned I had not discovered this factor of life for myself.

I suspect this Speed of Stupidity, is also what strikes young males, whose testosterone levels add to the mix. They kill themselves off very efficiently, in bullet like vehicles. The pity is, they often also, kill off their mates, & girlfriends.

******

In other news I have some sort of asthma which is troubling me, & my chest at times sounds like squinting bagpipes.

Don't ask me how I know they are 'squinting'- I just do!

Some thing or some one, wakes me at 3am every morning, & once I have been woken up, I cannot for the life of me get back to sleep, so I often get up, & read.

This weather absolutely precludes any sort of hand craft or I could surely knit or stitch, in the wee hours.

The whine & wheeze of the chest alarms even me, at times. Since the dogs usually come out with me, they hear it too, but they seem to have got used to it now.

Eric Clapton, Tears in Heaven.

Cider Rules

Long ago, in another life, when we were Happy Young Publican Husband, aka, HYPH, & Meggie, we would quite often be invited to attend various functions to launch new products or beverages in our line of Liquor dispensation. Often these were fun filled affairs, with the sampling of many of the products offered in generous oversupply.

One such occasion was for the launching of a new Cider, released on the market in a fresh attempt to attract the monied, & foolishfashionable, young guzzlers of sippers of alcoholic beverages.

Cider had never known much popularity as a drink in New Zealand, & in fact I had never tasted it in my life, & I doubt HYPH had ever tried it either. We had English friends who said they had had it, but didn't drink it now.
Perhaps I know why, now.

This launch party for the New Cider, Strongbow, was to be held at a very new venue, called the Old Orchard, which had recently opened, & was being touted as a lovely function centre.

I did not particularly care about the idea of Cider. I had my favourite alcohol, & safely limited myself to only that particular drink, & left it at that.

Hyph was not fussed about going to this launch, but we had some friends in another Hotel who were going, & I was eager to see this beautiful new "Old Orchard".

Off we went. It was indeed a very nice venue, all tastefully decorated for the launch of Strongbow. There were 2 varieties of cider- I can't even remember the names of them now. Plentiful food in the form of nibbly small things were on offer, & everyone was encouraged to help themselves to large cold glasses of cider.

It seemed to taste very nice, this new Cider drink. The four of us began to find it was in fact increasingly pleasant, as the evening wore on. It was a very warm evening, & the atmosphere was very romantic & convivial somehow. The food was delicious, & the Cider got better with each tasting.

The launch came to close, we all bade each other farewell. Strolling out into the night air the first hint swept over me. I suddenly felt a great deal less than sober! HYPH amitted he felt strange. Our friends were finding they had lost their vehicle. In fact they had lost all sense of direction! Another party had stumbled, fallen down, & couldn't even seem to find which direction was up!
Much laughter was heard all about the carpark.

It is a terrible thought now, but in those days it was almost acceptable to drive after functions such as those. Luckily we all made it home, but it taught me a few valuable lessons. One, was to never ever under any circumstances drink cider of any type again!
I can see why it is called StrongBow! It has the kick of a mule. The resultant hangover was what it must feel like after going 12 rounds of boxing!

Who would think that a drink made from the humble & innocent apple could wreak such havoc on a person's well being the next day! Monumental is how I would decribe the hangover. Not just my own hangover either. Comparing notes it was discovered a lot of us had been cured of the Cider light, forever.
Cider Rules for me, are Dont Ever Touch It!!

It didn't dampen my admiration for the Old Orchard, though, & I did attend another function there, & still enjoyed the atmosphere & ambience of the place again. I do believe it is still running today.

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It is another hot day here, & alarmingly 'bright'. In fact it is glaring!

We went out to some excellent garage sales, & I had a great day, with very generous finds.

I took this photo from the car, as I waited for my daughter. Just look at that blue sky.. blindingly beautiful, I would imagine, if you are in the northern grim grip of winter. It is very hot so the colours refect that fact, I rather feel.

I bought a brand new pair of sweet modern, leather shoes for my granddaughter, for $3. The girl they had been purchased for, refused to even try them on! Incredible. My DGD loves them, & my daughter wished they had been her size.

I found a wonderful small electronic 'computer' for our Grandson. He was so happy with it, & loves the fact it has a screen & a keyboard just like a laptop computer. That cost me $4.

Daughter J had been lamenting the fact that she didn't own a gravy boat, & I chanced upon one with a saucer for $1.

Gom found a novelty lamp he fell in love with, & I found a paper shredder, & some great books for both of us, for next to nothing. It was one of our better days.

I love meeting the people too, & saw the work of a woman who engraves glass. Just spectacular. She also paints so she is a very talented lady. Her husband is immensely proud of her art, he told us.

Aren't these trees lovely. That is a Eucalpyt, -Gum tree- to the left with a palm underneath. I don't know what the lime/yellow tree is, but I love them, & they are so fresh looking all summer.

Our daughter currently has no car, due to major breakdown of the damn thing..

I went & visited to deliver the treasures I had found, & stayed while she took the car, & did her shopping. Gom stayed home, & had a leisurely brunch, & kept the dogs company.

Now it is drowsily steamy & we are slumped about, trying to keep cool.

We won't be using Cider as a cool aid!!

The Yardbirds, Heart full of Soul.

Deflation

I seem to feel as if all the wind has gone out of my sails. Or someone let the air out of my tyres.

Not sure why, but possibly the aftermath of swirling currents of calamitous events occurring with other members of the family.

Rather like the afterwash effect when a speedboat goes roaring up the river. Of course, because we are a close family, the ripples are always felt, from the smallest pebble fall, to the fastest 'speedboat'.

We have also had Small Grandson for the morning. Not that he was any trouble at all. He built a house, & put the family inside, then he made a TV, and cupboards! Now there is a boy who has his priorities right. He also neatly packed it all away when he finished.

SG then went off to investigate what Garden Vandal aka Gom was doing.
Of course he found him doing further mischiefs in the now bald patch of dirt, that once contained, Morning Glory, a wonderful healthy fruitful Passion fruit vine, a pretty Fuchsia, a creeper that was a gift, a rather nice orange flowered succulent, to say nothing of the lovely pink flowering ground cover that once graced the barren earth. There were some bulbs which I doubt have survived the poking of the Vandal's evil pronged fork.

There are plenty of other weed infested patches of garden in the back yard. I cannot for the life of me work out why he is so obsessed with this poor patch.
He could uproot, poison, torture, dispatch all the other weeds he likes, but no, he just keeps returning to this.

Here is the current baldness. Gom has been threatened with death, if he so much as touches the Port Wine Magnolia tree in the corner. Not that that necessarily means he won't. At least he hasn't as yet. His lemon tree is on the right. His assorted garden uglies solar lights, etc are now residing on the baldness. Only one of them works, the lighthouse. The large round concrete lid is a sewage main access. Hmmmn perhaps he might end up down under....


I have moved this photo, so it probably wont enlarge on clicking. I had got my pics round the wrong way again! I will leave the other at the bottom, & it very likely will enlarge. Not that there is much to see. I did like it when the creeper covered the bald ugly sewer hatch, & draped over the stones, which have been rather poorly placed, so are not even a feature.


Here is a little orange orchid that was growing opposite the back door when we first came here. It got relocated when we redid the back yard, & it has sulked for 4 years since. This is the first flower it has had in all that time. Normally there is a flower on this for most of the year.



Here is one of our last Agapanthus, I don't understand why it is so late blooming. Our white ones didn't show at all this year. Must be sulking for some reason, & yet everyone else's seemed to flower ok.

Here is the wider view of this flower. I rather liked the way the succulent rosettes & the fish fern framed it, & the rather bald branches of the Tibouchina, it almost looks like some florist has been busy. Just one of nature's accidental arrangements!

This sodding humid weather stresses out most of us, & I find myself wanting to just remain inactive as much as possible.

Cooking is a hideous thought, & I wish I could just lose my appetite. Sadly that never seems to happen! I am now resembling a large tanker looming on some horizon! haha.

Next time I am in the market for a bra, they are likely to direct me to the tent department. A pup tent perhaps, but nevertheless...

Josef Locke, I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen.

garden makeover today.

This is how the garden looks at present. This unruly growth is the result of our lovely rain. It is all in dire need of trimming, & a good tidying. The greens do look nice.

It would have been nice if Gom had tucked our bins away, but on the other hand, I didn't tell him I was going to be taking any photos.

I must see if I can learn how to get all the photos onto one post! haha.

Time Flown.

I am shocked to see by the date on these pics, it is 12 years since this particular memory took place.



Ever year, I was lucky enough to have a visit to Auckland to visit my mother, & usually I would stay with her for 2-3 weeks, & it was lovely to have her to myself, & we would also catch up on friends & other relations.



My Best Friend J, lives in Auckland, & so I always got to see her whenever I was over, & my mother was particularly fond of BFJ too, so we had a lot of fun together catching up.



One year, -1996 as it happens- BFJ & her husband, who I shall call The Earl, kindly offered to take me to the Doll show, & so off we went. It was deepest winter, July in fact, & the weather was quite cold, but a lovely fine day. There were some wonderful dolls on display, & there were also some wonderful Bears, of which I dont seem to have any photographs.



I think my favourite Doll of the day though, was this wonderful almost life size Cloth Doll! Look at her, she is so character filled, & I just love the teeth!! Her folded hands, boldly painted red nails!

After we had our fill of the Doll Show The Earl suggested we go to the Waterfront, at Mission Bay, which had become a fashionable place for the local 'glitterati' to be seen frequenting the cafes, & taking outdoor coffee, food, & the sights. Of course, 'being seen' was of paramount importance too!

It was certainly different to how I remembered it from my young days, & the whole of the waterfront stretch of shops seemed to be Cafes & Restaurants & Coffee shops. Across the road was the Norfolk Island Pine-lined beach front. Most of the shops had tables & seating out on the pavement, so that the clientele could be seen & admired by the passing traffic.

The Earl parked the car, in a very handy spot out the front of all the 'action'. The Earl & BFJ's car was a Taxi as it happened, & so it had a very safe & secure alarm system, which was duly activated. We walked along viewing the menus, & chose a Cafe that had delicious sounding food. We ordered our food & began to enjoy our lunch, seated outside in the wintery sunshine.

Soon after beginning our meal, we heard a car alarm begin to blare out. People we most displeased to have this annoyance in the midst of their posing enjoyment of each other & themselves. Mutters were heard, about 'what crass inconsiderate mumblety blather @rse owner would pollute the sea air ambience with that bloodcurdling noise.

I laughingly suggested to The Earl, that it might be his Taxi. BFJ laughed, & agreed it might be. So The Earl was dispatched to check out the car. Imagine our horror when he came back to tell us it was indeed their vehicle alarm, & he could not make it stop!

Now The Earl is a man of formidable intellect. Unfortunately, he was in a terrible accident, which left him with a limp, & a speech difference. He can, at times, be quite difficult to understand, & quite often people mistake the hesitant speech for something other than what it is- a simple mechanical difficulty.

BFJ & I went along to the car, to see if she could work out why the alarm would not stop. No luck, so they rang the Auto Assn. While we stood about waiting for service, we could see the frowns of disapproval, hear the muttered curses, & annoyed snorts of the 'beautiful People' who had their posing seriously disrupted. Attention was diverted from their very beautiful peacockery personages, by this blaring piercing din, both loudly & intermittently.

Finally a Macho Man, came striding purposefully over. Demanding "Is this your car, making this ungodly Racket!" Standing there, hands on hips, flexing muscles.

We thought he was the Cavalry, come to the rescue. But no! How stupid of us!

He was the Macho Man, he was going to Sort Us Out!

The Earl replied "Yes it is our car" He haltingly moved around the car. A look of sudden horror came over Macho Man's face.

He realised his mistake. You cannot be seen to bully the Less Fortunate. No matter what racket the car is making.

He stammered "Erm... Loud isn't it" & backed off sheepishly as fast as his designer gear & sunglasses would allow.

Eventually the Auto man came, disconnected the pesky alarm, & we tootled of home laughing heartily about Macho Man, the Cafe Society, & how we had dampened their afternoons' preening.

****************************************
Last evening, this was all too lovely to miss.

I hope you enjoy the changing vista as much as I did.

The sight of it was beautiful.

The reality was someting else.

SO HUMID, I thought I was drowning.

Even the dogs were exhausted, just lying about.

This is perhaps my favourite.

How odd, the little black cloud.

Would make a nice little children's tale.

All taken with the loaner camera.

A very kind loan!

Cat Stevens, On the Way to Find Out.

**This post has taken me almost all day to get done! I began in the morning, & with all sorts of interruptions have finally reached publish stage... Only 7 hours later.

Little Pleasures.

One of my favourite passtimes is to browse garage sales when possible.
We have made some wonderful fun finds, & it is always nice to get a rockbottom priced bargain. Plus it is always good to recycle!

This gem of a Cookie Jar was one such find. My daughter loves pigs, & has quite a large collection of all things pig. When I saw this lovely cookie jar, in mint conditon, for a mere $2 I had to buy it for her. She was thrilled, & has it proudly on display on her kitchen counter.

We couldn't decide whether the pig should be facing this way, or the other. Daughter J says the lid, which is the Pig, seems to fit best this way.

I must admit, it brings a smile to most people's faces!

Our friend L came out this morning & got a wonderful bargain bicycle, in mint condition for a price too cheap to mention!

She rode it home, while Gom drove her car home, & I drove ours. I think she regretted the decision to do that! It was so hot & humid with the damp conditions, she was very hot & quite exhausted on reaching home! Gom had offered to ride it for her, & I was rather glad he hadn't when I saw L, who is much younger & presumably fitter!!

***********

I hadn't seen Small Grandson for about a week, since his father's work schedule has enabled him to be home to care for him. I was getting withdrawal symptoms, so I decided on this wretched, grey, intermittently showery day, to go & collect him, & take him out to a Duck Pond to feed the ducks.

He was delighted at the prospect of an outing, & his mother was glad to have a break. His father is on night shift again, so they have to creep about, & try to keep quiet.

Here is a 'forbidden pleasure' these days. He was given this for Christmas, & luckily we have had a good bit of rain, to fill it. With water so tightly restricted, it is not a good plan to use it frivolously! One layer had gone flat, & luckily I had bought a pump for $3 at the garage sale, so it was just the perfect item!

I collected SG & a generous donation of some stale bread, & off we went to the Duck Pond. It is a pretty area maintained by some community group, & the ducks seem to know it for a sanctuary, & they are always present.

I love this photo of the little boy, SG, standing so carefully tossing the bread for the ducks

On the way, I stopped to photograph gum blossom blown from the tall gum trees. Not a very good pic! I realised to my disgust that my batteries were almost out.

I had wanted to get lots of pics of SG with ducks, & so I was very disgusted with myself for not taking the camera I have been loaned. And/or the extra batteries I have.

SG was delighted when Mr Big Duck came & ate from his hand! I told him to be careful, as ducks can hurt with those big bills!

We think this one was Mr Duck, as he is larger than the darker Mrs Duck. He was quite bold too.

However Mrs Duck was a little timid & would not take his offerings from his hand, & she kept her distance.

There were many other plainer, smaller, ducks on the water, but none of the pics I took came out, so the batteries must have been too low.

*****

I seem to have a curious feeling that the days are just 'rotting out from under me'. My brother was quite amused by this thought, & as he has been on holiday, & according to him, not achieving much, it is rather a good description!

He is off to stay with a Beloved Aunt, who is unwell presently. I wish I was there too. Our cousin, her daughter is staying with her, after having her at her place for a week. Slow improvement is a worry. She has diabetes, & not being able to eat is a serious problem, as a result.

Beloved Brother is to attend another Cousin's 40th wedding anniversary tomorrow.

*******

I had thought to do a post about the little French couple's cottage, that became ours. I think I may have one or two photos, so must look them out. I do have some but they show little or nothing of the house.

Jean-Michel Jarre, Equinoxe

Smashed

He said I am smashed.

She said, I know you are.

I watched as you gathered the shattered pieces.

Collected, buried, the broken dreams,
of the life you thought would be rich,
complete.

You built the wall of glass
About the wounded shards
of your soul, your broken heart.

You hide behind the glass
Afraid it will shatter
If you bend too close to look.

Don't rap, on my fragile walls,
Don't stare too hard within.
These walls might splinter.

The illusion of the glass cage
falling, is slivers.
As my broken being
Smashes,
into the reality of my life.

Appliance Talk.

Do your appliances 'talk' to you?

Over the years, I have found the most talkative appliances to be Refrigerators.

When Gom & I were first married, we lived with a series of refrigerators that came with the rented accommodations we lived in. I dont particularly remember those fridges speaking. Perhaps they were too tired & worn out for conversations.

After we bought our first little cottage off a dear little old French couple, we needed to buy a fridge in a hurry. Having spent all our available cash on the house, we turned to the 'For Sale' in the local paper. We duly went off to inspect the little used fridge, with small ice box, & bought it. People are always advising "Don't buy the first one you see!"

During the course of my life, I have found I very often do buy the first one I see, with much success, I might add. Of course, I do the research, & inspect lots of others, but it is surprising how often my gut, fate, call it what you will, leads me initially, to the one I end up buying.

That little fridge did us a good service, & managed to be adequate for our needs, & catering for many visitors who came to stay with us. It had a little hum it made when it ran, & it was quite a comfortable, non intrusive little hum.

We had a wonderful garden, planted by the French couple. They had espaliered apple trees along the back fence. Gooseberry bushes. Five varieties of grapes! They made wine, in a little room they had built at the back of the house, & they used an old door with leadlight windows, to close the gap between the house, & the wine room. There was rhubarb aplenty. It was one of my least liked things to eat, & I gave it away by the car-boot load when it was ready.

We occasionally wished we had a larger freezer compartment, so we could freeze some of the wonderful produce from our garden. We never did try making wine! The last time we were in Christchurch, we were amazed to see the little cottage still standing, still lived in!

It was a lovely little house really with a wonderful 'personality'. The little French couple told us they had been very happy there. They assured us we would be, & it seemed like a blessing somehow.

They left us this little plate, as a gift. I have always treasured it. I have blogged about it before, here. They also left us a lot of garden tools. They explained that they were moving to South Africa to live with their daughter & son in law. They felt they were too old to be so far from loved ones.

As usual, for me, I digress. Back to the fridges!

We bought another house, & decided we needed a new fridge, so I polished up the old one, using Brasso to get it shiny & nice looking, & when we ordered our new one, I got allowed a very handsome trade-in price on the dear little old fridge, because, as the salesman said, "It looks so nice."

We purchased a brand new, upside down fridge/freezer combination, the fridge of my dreams. I loved that fridge, & the song it sang to me was intermittant, & not too intrusive at all. It was a little surly when defrosting time came, & I found turning it off the best option, as I slopped, & crawled around on the floor to get all the ice out of it. How I love these new frost free freezers!!

When we moved to the Hotel, we sold our fridge to our tennants. Our accommodation at the Hotel had a very large, & somewhat rattley fridge. When the motor ran, it had a little rattle. We could close sliding doors & block off the kitchen, so it didn't intrude on our TV viewing or evening reading etc.

When we bought our country Hotel, the fridges, & freezers were pretty ancient. They made hideous protesting noises, & would rattle & clank. Sometimes I felt the fridge was about to launch itself into outer space, or at least across the kitchen into the great coal range! I used to cook for the staff in the evenings, as there was nowhere for them to eat locally. I have seen many a barman startled out of his seat, by the sudden 'tuning up' of the old ancient fridge!

When we moved over here to live, we bought another brand new huge fridge/freezer combination, & our son named it the Tardis. It was a wonderful generous soul of a fridge. It could hold banquets for many, & seemed so much more generous inside than our new one. It made soft sighing little noises now & then & occasionally I would have to dose it with baking soda & warm water to keep it from becoming waterlogged. The motor made very little noise, & it worked well for 23 years! It even served a term for our daughter, & only 'died' last year.

My mother had bought a new fridge when she purchased a flat- unit- in a block behind my Beloved Brother's place. That fridge lived a mysterious life of it's own. When I first met with it, when I went to stay with my mother, I kept hearing whispers, & little chattering voices. I decided my mother must have a radio on somewhere. Finally, I could stand it no longer, & asked where the radio was?

My mother was puzzled, & said there was no radio. We finally worked out it was the fridge. It is hard to describe the sound it made, but it was so like voices out of the ether, that we decided it must have Invisible tennants. As my mother got deaf, she couldn't hear it, & I think that is why she had not noticed it's whispers & chatters, until I pointed them out to her. After she died I think one of my nephews had the fridge, & I suppose it chattered on.

About 4 years ago, we decided to treat ourselves to a new fridge. We bought another upside down fridge freezer, which is my choice, only this time I don't have to try to get down to defrost it. It is frost free. It talks to me in the small hours when I am the only one up. It whimpers & cries, making small mewling sounds as a kitten might. When we first got it, I thought there was something the matter with it. I was assured that it is quite normal, & those noises are nothing to be alarmed about.

How curious, with all the advances in technology, they still cannot make a fridge with a totally silent motor. I have got used to the chat, whimpers & mews of the fridge now. It is as if it is asking me questions, in the still & silent kitchen.

My old computer used to have a rather noisy fan, but this new one seems to be totally silent. I have not noticed the other appliances giving me any chat. I once had an iron that used to whine every time I used it. My current one is very quiet except for the hiss of the steam, & even that is not very loud.

Gom has had his dreaded whipper snipper out in the garden again. I caught him in my herb garden, & hunted him off!! He told me he was clearing a place for the new herbs. I told him he wasn't & to just leave them alone.

He has gone down to the garage, & is probably sitting in his 'worm eating chair'. I will just leave him to it.

These first few days of this month are 'rotting away from under me'!! I don't know where they are going.

I did eventually find the missing project last evening- in a most unexpected place! Stress when getting ready for the carpet laying, I think!

Which reminds me of the little old lady, who asked her little old lady friend,

"Lizzy, why are you wearing a suppository in your ear?"

Lizzy replied,

"I think I know where my missing hearing aid might be."

Preserve us from losing the marbles, I say!

Neil Diamond, Porcupine Pie

New Beginnings? Or River Flowing On?

I find it hard to regard the 'New Year' as anything more than a man made date, & tend to think of time as a ribbon, continuing along as a pre ordained path.

I know this is not popular, as many would rather believe we have the chance to make a clean slate, & begin it all again.

The days are passing, whatever we believe.

Honey doesn't care what day it is. As long as she can sit where she likes.

Leo doesn't care either, as long as he is close to Gom.

The lemon tree is trying really hard to recover from the attack of the Stink Beetles!

An old forgotten project. This is Florence. She is waiting patiently for her clothes. This will be the 5th year she has waited to be dressed. She does have knickers, & a felt flower on her hat. Since she doesnt have any breasts she is not ashamed of her naked torso.

I have lost a project. I have torn this room apart looking for it, & it has not turned up. I got all hot & extremely bothered. I found Florence while I searched for the other project. She seems to be so calm & serene. I have asked her to help me remember where the project is hidden. So far she has not divulged the secret!

Is this the portal to the New Year? Don't ask why it is so small. New learning curves in the photo department!

The lovely green of the new growth, after all our recent rains. The poor Asplenium Nidus, or Birdsnest Fern suffers badly from the lack of water. I love the bright lime green of the new leaves unfurling.

Here at the base of the Birdsnest, contrasts of colour & leaves. A Begonia keeps growing a few leaves among the Birdsnest. The flower is an Ixorus, ( I think this is the correct name) or Prince of Orange. the colour seems a little red in this pic. It is really more of a rich orange than a pink or red.

This is the Fern tree we saved. The parent plant has died, we know not why. Luckily this seems to be happy. It has been badly burnt on a 45 degree day, last year. It seems happy at present, with the recent rainfall, & it continues to thrive.

My Beloved Brother has returned from the Island sojourn, & all is well with the world.

Janis Ian, Hymn.