Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday 31 July 2011

Sunday Selections

Sunday Selections, brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, is an ongoing theme where participants post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Anyone can join in, just post your photos under the Sunday Selections title, link back to Kim, then add your name to her Linky list at Frogpondsrock.

This week my theme is Jewel.  She mostly seems to slip under the radar because she is not nearly as evil as Jazz (though she has her moments).








I couldn't leave Jazz out altogether - and he does look good behind daffodils.


Friday 29 July 2011

Gratitude and Gifts

I. Don't. Like. Shopping.  Particularly to buy gifts for people dear to me.  I worry lots.  From mid July to Mid August I have three important birthdays to recognise.

For the first, I bought an orchid plant.  I bought it early, and had it in our kitchen for a week or so before the big day.  Jazz the malevolent destroyer fell in love.  He batted at its leaves and managed to tear two off.  He then turned his attention to the blooms and discovered that if he really pounded into them they would come away and could be chased around the kitchen floor.  He taught Jewel about these new toys too.  So I had to go and buy another orchid.  The first is now on our back veranda where both cats ignore it.

The first orchid


When I bought the second orchid (also yellow, also beautiful) I was seduced by this.



I have other sedums, but had not heard of this one.  And I loved its name.

Birthday the second (this Saturday) belongs to someone I have known for well over thirty years.  I  admire, and envy,  her energy and her drive.  But what to give her?  This is where gratitude comes in.   I think this is the friend who first introduced me to the works of Tove Jansson.  A little while ago Ampersand Duck recommended 'Fair Play' a book of hers that neither my friend nor I had.  So I tracked it down and bought two copies, one for each of us.



But what else to give her?  And now I have to thank Two Tigers, a poet, photographer and artist.  In a low point in my life I bought a print of one of her photos which brightened my day when it arrived and continues to lift my spirits each time I look at it.




So ... back on line to order two more from here.  It is her birthday tomorrow and I really, really hope she likes them.  And am pretty certain she will.

Finally, to birthday the third.  Which is the birthday of my nephew's wife.  (As an aside, I was never a good Aunt, and now I am a Great Aunt.  Weird.)  I have never met her as they live in California but we exchange many, many emails and she has become dear to me.

She, like me, is  a reader.  So thanks now go to librarygirl who strongly recommended these books.  And of course I bought a copy of each of them for myself as well.



So a big thankyou, not only to these three bloggers, but to everyone else in the blogosphere who has enriched my life in many, many ways.  You make me laugh, you make me cry, you fill my days with unexpected beauty and you educate me.

Sunday 24 July 2011

Sunday Selections

Sunday Selections, brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, is an ongoing theme where participants post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Anyone can join in, just post your photos under the Sunday Selections title, link back to Kim, then add your name to her Linky list at Frogpondsrock.

This week my theme is (yet again) birds.







We think this is a Green Catbird, but it could also be a young Bowerbird






Saturday 23 July 2011

Menopause the Musical

The smaller portion and I went to the theatre last night to see Menopause The Musical.

I loved it. The lyrics were clever and the voices glorious.  Some of the songs that were parodied included Chain of Fools, the Lion Sleeps Tonight, The Great Pretender and California Girls.  I smiled, snickered, laughed, winced a couple of times and had to wipe sweaty eyeballs ditto.  And I don't think I could ask for much more from a show. 

Smaller portion (understandably) was not in love - but liked it too.

About the only negative is that they didn't have the CD at the theatre.  So I will go online and buy it shortly - all profits from the merchandise go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.

PS:  I won't be ordering the CD after all.  I went on line, CD costs $20.  Proceed to checkout.  Postage and handling $102.25

Saturday 16 July 2011

Football, Meatpies, Kangaroos and Holden Cars

All apparently quintessentially Australian.  I am only interested in one of them.  When we went to the nursery the other day we took a small detour (less than a kilometre) and were greeted with these. (If you click on the photos they will get bigger.)










It is obviously a good year for kangas.  And don't the poor mothers look uncomfortable with a full pouch?  And then we came home to this:


Lucky, lucky, lucky.

Friday 15 July 2011

Garden Greed.

I have almost total sales resistance with two big exceptions; nurseries and bookshops.  The other day I decided to buy an orchid plant for a friend who has a birthday next week.


I was pleased with the orchid we found for her, and hope she will be too. 

I had no intention of buying anything else, but I weakened.  Of course.  Two more roses, and a Brazilian Edelweiss which I had never heard of, fell in love with and couldn't resist.





The edelweiss needs to stay indoors, but this weekend I will have to squeeeeze the roses into the garden somewhere.  Both of them are fragrant and have, I think, a gorgeous shape.

And while I am being positive, the bulbs we put in a little while ago are bursting through the ground everywhere.  Excitement.  Only the paper white daffodils are in bloom yet, but there is promise of much joy and beauty to come.

Sunday 10 July 2011

Sunday Selections

Sunday Selections, brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, is an ongoing theme where participants post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Anyone can join in, just post your photos under the Sunday Selections title, link back to Kim, then add your name to her Linky list at Frogpondsrock.

This week my theme is gifts I have received over the years (which also has a secondary theme).  Some of these gifts I love and in other cases I love the giver.  And of course in some cases I love both the gift and the giver.














And I could continue on this theme for a month of Sundays.

Wednesday 6 July 2011

Whinging, weepy, wobbly Wednesday

The smaller portion had an appointment with his specialist so we headed off to the hospital this morning.

The outpatient's clinic was chocka.  The specialist was over an hour and a half late, and couldn't access the smaller portion's record because the hospital computer server was down.  He is however, happy with the smaller portion's progress, and is talking about reversing the colostomy in December/January.  With however the rider that an ileostomy might be necessary.  WTF?  Smaller portion heard only what he wanted to hear and came home v happy, moaning that it was too long to wait.  He also has the all clear to drive again and to lift things - which includes the cats.

And I can't stop my eyes leaking.  I have been running on empty for too long, am super, super tired and my bones hurt.  At the moment in addition to the usual MS pain and difficulties getting up and down both hips are giving me grief.  It hurts to sit, walk, or lie down.  Standing still is OK once I have levered myself up.  My brain is out to lunch and didn't invite me.

And yes, I know that I am being more than a tad unreasonable, but I have had enough.  More than.  I don't want to play this game anymore.  And I am on call for Lifeline tonight from 5.30 until 7 tomorrow morning.   Hopefully a very, very quiet one with all of Australia content with their lot.  Unlikely.  (While there are Lifeline centres across Australia all of us answer calls Australia wide on a first in best dressed basis.)

On the positive side the cats will probably be as happy as himself.



Sunday 3 July 2011

Sunday Selections

Sunday Selections, brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, is an ongoing theme where participants post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Anyone can join in, just post your photos under the Sunday Selections title, link back to Kim, then add your name to her Linky list at Frogpondsrock.

This week I thought I would post photos of some of my obsessions, ie cats, gardening and birds.