BACK AGAIN #1 September 2017

 

 

It is the first Saturday of Spring. I promised myself I would start blogging again today. Although I am retired from full time work, life remains very busy. I tutor some very special students with different learning difficulties for a few hours a week. Peter and I have also had a few health problems which have gotten in the way of our plans this year.

With rearranging rooms, and not finishing one before I started another, everything in my house had become a bit chaotic. So  I decided to take a more organised approach to my organisation and work on one room at a time. So far I have finished my craft room...

 

 

Craft room

...and my loungeroom.

 

Lounge room

 

Everything that doesn't fit is going into my back room and then I am going to have a garage sale and sell what is left over.

After that I have to decorate each room and paint the whole house. It was last painted 13 years ago by my wonderful brother and mother, and I chose blue. But that is a bit dated now and I have chosen white.

 

I remember blogging about my plans about a year ago. But health issues for Peter and myself seemed to get in the way and slow things down. I still have a budget of virtually nothing, so I am hoping creativity and paint will make a big difference.  

 

In the last few months I have done quite a few enjoyable things. One of these was camping at Belangelo State Forest with some of my family. Below are a few photos. they are not great quality as I am having a few computer issues.

 

Jade cleaning foraged mushrooms and Jasper

 

The forest

 

Foraged Saffron Milkcaps

 

 

Toadstools in the forest.

 

  Mothers' day was lunch at Berrima, at Zen Oasis, an unusual Asian vegetarian restaurant. The surrounds were full of surprising sculptures.

 

Giant butterfly sculpture

 

  A lovely, interesting fungus in my front yard.

 

Unknown fungus

 

The past few months have been full of great walks on the beach with Peter.

 

Towradgi Beach

 

 

Towradgi Beach

 

To top it all off I had a birthday. Peter bought me these beautiful flowers among other things.

Peter's flowers

My wonderful son-in-law Bill, whom I love very much, promised to take me out for cocktails, so Jade and her partner Frew, Rhiannon and Bill, and Peter and I went to The Little Prince. I drank 2 flaming shots and 3 cocktails. One of these was particularly delicious, containing fairy floss, but my favourites were the flaming shots. They were most spectacular but I have no idea what was in them. I rarely drink but I did enjoy these and surprisingly was not in the least affected by them.We did go and buy dinner in the middle of these drinks, from the street stalls selling food in the Wollongong mall on Thursday nights. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I will leave you with a poem that I came across and found thought provoking,

 

Lindy :-) 

 

 To the Western World

by Louis Simpson

A siren sang, and Europe turned away

From the high castle and the shepherd’s crook.   

Three caravels went sailing to Cathay

On the strange ocean, and the captains shook   

Their banners out across the Mexique Bay.

And in our early days we did the same.   

Remembering our fathers in their wreck

We crossed the sea from Palos where they came   

And saw, enormous to the little deck,   

A shore in silence waiting for a name.

The treasures of Cathay were never found.   

In this America, this wilderness

Where the axe echoes with a lonely sound,   

The generations labor to possess

And grave by grave we civilize the ground.


Interesting sites


1.

Garden House

Photo source

The new Binh House by Vietnamese firm Vo Trong Nhia Architects can actually grow enough food for three generations of one large family. Click here to read more.

2.

 Giant ship worm

Photo source

Want to see a video of a giant ship worm? Just click here.  

3.

 Student crime solving club

Photo source

 Student club devoted to solving crimes. Read more here.