A PILE OF AGAVE

A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love. She gives most who gives with joy.

Mother Teresa

Saturday again! Wow! How little I seem to get done in a week!

This morning meant an emergency trip to Woolworths as soon as it opened at 7:30 to buy a barbecued chicken for Jasper my Grand-dog. He is a much loved Miniature Foxie.

But he is very fussy. He spent the night squeaking because he hadn't had any dinner, and Rhiannon hardly got any sleep. Jasper eats barbecued chicken - but not the breast. It is ridiculous but he just refuses to eat anything else and then vomits and his little tummy makes terrible squelching noises. He does eat some dried food and treats but not until he has had his main meal. Last night Rhiannon and Bill ran out of chicken.

I looked after him for 3 months a couple of years ago and turned myself in knots trying to get him to eat. The vets can't find anything wrong with him, except that he is always under weight.

My diagnosis is that Jasper has reflux. I have some similar problems to him (except the underweight). 

It is all a bit crazy and no doubt he would eat before he died but this morning Rhiannon just wanted to get some sleep. So I popped down to Woolworths and bought the chicken for Jasper, dropped it in, and brought the breasts home. Guess what Peter is having for dinner tonight.

Other than being a finicky eater, Jasper is a really affectionate, well behaved little dog.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mum and my brother Geoff, turned up with a whole lot of plants Mum had pulled out of her garden. I didn't know They called until I did some research and am pretty sure they are Agave attenuata, native to central Mexico.

I knew she was getting rid of them at one stage but wasn't quite expecting them on Wednesday. Mum said she had spent so long pulling them out she just wanted to get rid of them and if she stopped before she did that she wouldn't get up again.

Peter and I have planted a few of them out and I am quite pleased with the effect.

Last Sunday we went to the Christening of Peter's youngest granddaughter at St Aloysius church Cronulla followed by a lunch at St George Motor Boat Club.

I don't have many photos as I don't put the faces of the children (or adults if i can help it) on this blog. I usually do a better job with the photos but didn't do so well on this occasion.

It was a lovely Christening and the priest involved the other children who were present.

Below are four little granddaughters looking at the matching shoes that Grandma bought them for this christening and the upcoming wedding of Peter's youngest daughter.

There were beautiful stained glass windows in the church.

We had lunch at the St George motorboat Club. Megg made this beautiful Christening cake. 

The cupcakes were different flavours and beautiful and light.

All in all it has been a good week.  It is great to be back to my bible study again. Things had become so overwhelming earlier in the year that I had given up bible study for a term. 

My friend Michelle from Platypus Creations is back from her extensive travels in Queensland and it was lovely to see her last week. She is selling a lot of sock creations and is giving a percentage of the profits to cancer research.

My elder daughter has had a problem with her studio but we have pulled together as a family and sorted it out for now. My younger daughter Rhiannon and son-in-law Bill were a great support their sister. It is wonderful to see my children grown up and so caring of each other.

Peter and I are on a Manshake diet. So far we have lost about 5 kilos each, but it is hard going

As always I am enjoying the run up to Christmas. Again, at the risk of annoying some people I am going to include a Christmas picture, just because I have so many of them and they are so beautiful.

  

Interesting sites

1.

 Old cave dwellings in Italy become hotel suites

Photo source

Millennia-old cave dwellings in Italy renovated into luxury hotel suites. Click here to see more.


2.

 World's first zero-emissions hydrogen powered train

Photo source

The hydrail is an electric train operating with a hydrogen fuel tank on its roof that powers a fuel cell to generate power. 
Click here to read more. 

3.

Vietnamese babies were brought to the USA en masse after the end of the Vietnam war. The logistics are fascinating.
Click here to read more. 

ALL THE WAY TO BARGO!!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." 

Galatians 6:9 NIV

 

 The last couple of weeks have been really busy. Tutoring and preparing for tutoring keeps me very busy, but it is very rewarding. I tutor a variety of students, most of them have some sort of reading difficulty.

 Because of limited time and finances  Peter and I have decided to explore some of the places closer to home. So we spent a weekend at Bargo - only 40 minutes away, on top of the mountain. Powered sites at the local caravan park were very reasonable at $28 per night.

We visited Wirrimbirra, a funny old nature reserve not far from Bargo. There were lots of swamp wallabies but not much else.....

......except for a couple of grey kangaroos........

 .......and a couple of emus....

But leasing land on Wirrimbirra was Bargo Dingo Sanctuary, 
which was really fascinating.
The Dingo Sanctuary is a public education facility for Dingoes and their preservation, run by the Australian Native Dog Conservation Society.

The Dingoes all had names and varied in personalities.

We learned that as well as the usual brown Dingoes there are also black Dingoes. 

We visited Thirlmere railway museum and took a ride to Buxton in an old diesel.

There were quite a few steam engines to see.

Below is the end of a carriage on an early mail train.

Last week I couldn't resist taking this photo of sunset over the mountains viewed from Peter's place.

I just posted some Fimo toadstools for sale on Platypus Creations 1.

I love making these.

 

My lovely friend Michelle, makes beautiful dolls and creatures from socks. Go over to Platypus Creations 1 and check them out.

Interesting sites

1.

Round houses suitable for hurricane areas

Photo source

Round houses seem to survive better in hurricanes.
Click here to check this out




2.

Tokyo Nights

Photo source

Photographer captures the bewitching, neon beauty of Tokyo on a dark rainy night.
Click to see more.

3. 

 How does a defibrillator work?

Photo source

Learn how a defibrillator works.
Click here.

A Busy Couple Of Weeks

Consider the wise words of Mark Twain:
 

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Yesterday I caught a fish!  My first edible fish in 50 years. It was a Flathead in Lake Illawarra. I caught it when Peter and I went out in the boat.

 
We didn't end up eating it. Peter didn't feel it was worth cleaning one smallish fish so we gave it to some other fishermen who had caught a few.


This year for Mothers' day I told my family I didn't want any presents but i just wanted them to come for afternoon tea and to help me dig up the Brush Turkey mound that my neighbour had accused me of dumping on his land.

Everybody pitched in including my brother and my 84 year old mother who wields a mean shovel (- or spade. I'm never sure.) I have a back problem and could only use a trowel but Mum shovelled as fast as anybody. Anyway we moved the Brush Turkey mound and I sent my neighbour a letter to let him know. I attached several articles and pictures about Brush Turkeys and their mounds.

Last Wednesday we stopped in at the Gelato Emporium on the way back from Helensburgh.

I am working my way through the gelatos alphabetically. On Wednesday I had Fig and Ginger. It was delicious. Peter has 2 scoops and I have one. We figured out that next time if we have them all in the same bowl we will save $4. (I think Peter is worried I will steal some of his.)

Being a Fungiphile I was thrilled to find these toadstools in my front garden. I have never seen any of them before.

In the past week or so they have grown quite considerably as you will see below.

 
Bike riding the past couple of weeks has led us past black swans on Lake Illawarra.

It was the first time I had ever seen them on the Lake.

 
There were quite a few swans.

The pelicans were about.

We rode into the sunset along the bike track at Towradgi....

......and another day we could see the Five Islands out near Port Kembla.

 

We also saw some cool skies.

I made my first sale on Platypus Creations 1.

I sold some polymer clay toadstools.

It was quite exciting. I have ordered a whole lot of new Fimo so i can make some toadstools in a variety of colours.


Interesting sites


1.

 Artist builds custom home on truck

Photo source

Tiny house built on diesel truck.Click here to see more.




2.

 Tips to be a better cook

Photo source

Here are 9 tips to help you be a better cook. Click here to read more. 


3.

 Glass toadstools

Photo source

 These glass toadstools are absolutely gorgeous. Click here to see more.