A POSTSCRIPT.....

          As a postscript to my previous post,

it is with much sadness that I must report 

a failure

          
Yes.....my sweet Jenny....

as much as you had put your faith in me

          I let you down ...

I was unable to complete the assignment

I rang Jeff the home handyman to come to my rescue 

He's been.... he's seen....he's done the job and gone

and my thingamejig looks just fine in my laundry 

Sorry about that rush of blood to the head !

I'VE BEEN TO BUNNINGS !!....

I went to Bunnings today....something I try hard to avoid. It's one of those places that men frequent...(no, I don't mean one of THOSE places)... but a place where they congregate....where they spend hours in silence, looking.....looking....touching.....looking. Time has no meaning.

As I write I am reminded of a newspaper article of a few days ago, where Bunnings had been compared to the equivalent of Zen for men, in that once inside the store, they tend to enter a trancelike state for several hours, then find themselves on their way home accompanied by some purchase they had no recollection of making and have no intention of using, even if they knew how it worked.

However.....I digress. I needed to make a purchase, and Bunnings was the place I had seen it advertised....so there I was about to enter this vast interior and mingle with the crowd.

Not for me the aimless wandering....I knew exactly what I wanted. My problem was how to find it without a GPS, compass or similar device. Why didn't I ask the male door attendant who looked at least sixteen years old, you might ask....and well you might....and I would gladly have done that except I was having one of those moments common to women of my age.... I couldn't remember the name of the thingamejig.

So off I went at a brisk pace....down, around, across, up, back......looking....looking....trying to find the thing with a name that was on the tip of my tongue!

Finally a young woman, dressed in the red and green of a Bunnings uniform jumped out at me from one of the aisles I had been up and down several times, and said "You look as if you need some help" ....and of course I did. I told her my sad tale!

She whipped out an enormous catalog conveniently stored on her person, and we proceeded to scan the pages, and in next to no time we had found the very item of discontent. I was impressed....but not only that, she then escorted me to the very spot where this item resided, lifted it from the high shelf and began to extoll its virtues....how easy it was to assemble, and how she had bought the very same one for herself two years ago and it was still going strong......but she did recommend that when I assembled it, I should reinforce the back to make it stronger....a piece of pine was needed she said....so off we went again, trekking miles across the store to find a piece of timber the correct size for the job!

("Upselling" I thought to myself, then had a moment's remorse when I found it was only to cost me $1.10 )

She selected a piece from the barrel, examined it, then put it back, carefully chose another, examined it again..."knot holes"...she volunteered, then finally settled on one after she had looked down its length to see whether it was "true". "This should do the trick" she said and handed it to me with a smile.

I liked this young woman, not only for rescuing me from my situation, but for thinking that I could indeed assemble the said item MYSELF. I didn't have the heart to tell her I would be paying a handyman to do the job.

I asked her name - "Jenny " she said....pointing to the prominent tag on her uniform "I'm Jenny"

And "Yes" Jenny...I'm going to give it a go myself tomorrow.

You were a breath of fresh air !

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?......

Every day, around mid afternoon, my husband sets the table for dinner, no doubt in anticipation that within a few hours, some food will appear as if by magic...... he'll pour the selected wine..... and we'll sit down together for another meal

Yesterday I got to thinking just how many meals I have prepared over the years
The mind boggles....

Nowadays I'm almost on autopilot as I preplan the simple evening meal, taking into consideration many factors.....fat, sugar, cholesterol, protein, fibre, carbs, gluten, etc.
Then I make my decision ......and trot out to the garden......



My herb garden...bursting with health, vitamins and minerals

spring onion, curly parsley, rocket, basil,
Vietnamese mint, brown mignonette lettuce, Italian parsley, mint
coriander, lemongrass and iceberg lettuce.

My little patch has done well this year.....

Gathering what I need it's back into the kitchen to prepare.... a masterpiece !
and in almost no time at all it's done and ready for the table....






"Thai Lime and Lemongrass Chicken"
Delicious......and oh so easy

My husband says....."I'd pay money for that" ......Truly a compliment

"Thank you darling," I say.... and another meal is done and dusted !

MEMORIES......

I have a folder of treasures tucked away in my life....they don't have any monetary value... and to anyone else coming upon them, they would just seem to be
scraps of paper, old cards, newspaper clippings, little drawings, and lots and lots of photos......but to me they are precious... and worth a fortune

I came across this folder a few days ago whilst on another mission.....as I opened it I knew my
day as planned was over and I spent the next few hours trawling through it all.....remembering....

Thank goodness I can still remember, though the mind is playing tricks as I age....but for some of my friends the memory has gone....never to return
Such a loss....and so very, very sad.....

So here are a few favourites from times gone by......my treasures


(Yes that's my Mum & Dad smiling above on their wedding day, 15th June, 1934. They look so happy, about to face the unknown, about to embark on the journey of a lifetime....together)

And here is my Mum again, just two years later, as Matron of Honour at my Aunt's wedding..... very stylish for the times

This is a much earlier pic, and is of my husband's father (George) with his two sisters, Jane & Smig....taken towards the end of WWI as he was preparing to leave for Boarding School
at ALL SOULS - Charters Towers. Only Smig is still with us, still a beauty aged 91 years

And here is a very special photo of five generations of women in my very own family....what a treasure to have

Sitting on front right is my great grandmother, (Mary Ellen) , my grandmother, (Iris Maude) , holding my daughter (Jan Louise) , back right is my mother (Rita Sybil May)
and me (Iris Merle)

It wasn't often that we got together as we all lived so very far away from each other, but here we all were and what a wonderful photo opportunity. My great grandmother died later that same year, aged well into her nineties....
she really was a treasure

SUCKERS.....

How much time do we waste in the Supermarket each week?

I know grocery shopping is a necessary evil, but unfortunately we have to eat....
However.... I would like, just for once, to get in and then get out, quick smart.... no unnecessary purchases... no impulse buying.... no long queues.... no price checks.

There's our bill.... pay our money ...."Have a nice Day"... pick up our goods, (in the environmentally correct bags of course)....then hot foot it out of there in record time.

Hands up those of you who manage to do this? Mmmm....I don't see too many raised hands....and why is this I ask you?.....I think it is because underneath all our protesting, WE LIKE TO SHOP !!

We LIKE to wander around looking at the new displays, sampling little tid-bits from the smiling attendant, checking out the labels for the sugar content, trans fatty acids, cholesterol. GI etc.etc.etc....comparing prices, admiring the fruit & veg display.... pinching a grape.... squeezing an avocado ( go on, I bet you have).... looking at the fresh meat prices.... trying to regain our composure as we check again to see if that is really what they expect us to pay..... looking for a markdown price...finding one, then checking the use by date....RELIEF!

It's a psychological battle. Supermarkets aren't there for our pleasure. They are there to flesh the money out of our wallets, to make us spend just that little bit more, so that their bottom line looks better than the other supermarkets down the road, when it comes to reporting time.

Woolworths leads the battle at the moment....Coles having undergone untold damage under a CEO who had never even been in a supermarket before being appointed. (Yes, I kid you not!)

However the race is on....with extra discounts, petrol vouchers, seniors' shopping days...untold enticements to get us to BUY..BUY..BUY ....and we do. Another innovation which I'm yet to experience is that Coles have stated "that once there is a queue of 4 people, they will open another checkout !! WOW how good is that !!!!

Yes, I am a cynic.....Yes, I am a victim.....Yes, I am a sucker, and I know it.... And Yes, I will continue this battle, because I love it...love it, love it....... Why HELLO, ALDI !!

FOOD....GLORIOUS FOOD

My Grandchildren love to cook......so do their mothers.....and so do I

There is nothing better than to spend time preparing something delicious to eat
waiting patiently while it cooks, and then....
VOILA
serving it up to the hungry hordes waiting in the wings


Eliza (pictured above) is preparing a delicious chocolate cake as a special treat for
her Grandfather's Birthday.

Note the little apron we always keep on hand for her when she visits.....

Also please note the look of total satisfaction on her face as she gets down to this serious business of baking !


In the picture below, Zoe is busy making scrambled eggs as a surprise for her Mum on Mother's Day........
utter concentration as the eggs are cracked one by one into the bowl

and here is the finished dish, light and fluffy, served up on wholemeal toast
How delicious !

and how did the chocolate cake turn out?

Here it is, with rich chocolate icing and decorated to within an inch of its life

Truly a masterpiece !

Yes, people love to cook, and this was reaffirmed by the popularity of

"Masterchef "

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the trials and tribulations of the amateur chefs as they turned out average....not too bad..... pretty good....wonderful..... absolutely fantastic dishes

I watched their joys, their disappointments, their tears as they left the show, till finally there were only two .....

Only one could win of course, but in my eyes they were all winners.....
and I thank them all,
and the visiting chefs
and the judges
For stirring the pot, and getting thousands of viewers, potential chefs to start this wonderful adventure
of sharing a meal, with family and friends, prepared by their own hand.

How great is that !

FIRE'S BURNING.....

It's that time of year again...the burn off !

And this is the spectacular fire which precedes the harvesting of the cane crop.....

For anyone unfamiliar with cane country, seeing a cane fire for the first time is an amazing experience, accompanied by the great roar as the fire takes hold....and then it's gone

This is a controlled burn, ridding the cane of pests and trash before the big harvesters go in, and the real work starts. Not as hard as it once was, with men, blackened by the soot, hand cutting the entire crop with a sharp cane knife....back breaking work.

But for people living in the vicinity, the harvesting is a mixed blessing.....as the blackened trash, thrown into the air with the upward draft then wafts gently to earth....settling on lawns, gardens, pathways, on the roofs and the tops of tanks, and worst of all, on freshly washed clothes blowing gently in the breeze.

"Black Gold " they call it.......I could think of a few other words...

I wonder what the carbon emissions crew would have to say about this lot !!