28 September 2013

Scatterdays - O

Ooooooooh can stand for so many things.
O is the circle that never ends.
O can express so many different emotions depending on how you say it...
But today O stands for....

DISCARDED:- 

OFFCUTS!
Secret Bridesmaids business....
Making the Wedding invitations
has resulted in many offcuts being discarded.


WORKPLACE:- 

People ask "What do you do?"
"Where do you work?"
This one is always a hard one for me to answer.
Stay at home Mum?
Domestic Goddess?
Desperate Housewife?

I have been known to call myself a PA - that's Personal Assistant to 4, (five if you count the cat).
So in my workplace I have an OVEN which I have photographed for you containing an OVAL cake tin full of ORANGES!

ARTS:- How timely it was to get the new OPERA AUSTRALIA 2014 Season program in the mail this last week.
Eugene Onegin is the journey from what could be to what might have been. In between lies the tragedy.
Playing Melbourne April/May 2014.



OLD:- I don't have anything starting with O that is terribly Old - so I have settled for sharing a photograph of the OLDEST thing I possess.




It is very worn so not at all valuable to any collectors out there.
But it was my Grandfather's so it is priceless to me.
It is indeed a George 3rd Penny dated circa 1797.



Just 6 more letters to go.
Will I be able to stick with it and get a complete set of Scatterdays posts?

You will just have to keep checking back to see!
12th October will be brought to you by the letter F.

25 September 2013

Some very much needed R & R

Lately the Family stress levels have been mounting so whenever I need to blow the Cobwebs out - I 'make tracks' and head for the Beach.

With a perfect September day being provided,
I picked up my parents - got my DH to wag work (Officially it is called Family stress leave) and hit the road.
Sorrento Back Beach is now a good 20 mins closer than it used to be with the opening of the new Peninsula Link Freeway, a perfect road and not one traffic light for 90 km.

Arriving just on 12:00 we settled in at the Restaurant on the Cliff (All Smiles, Sorrento) with a view of the Ocean and the sound of Surf pounding on the shore to enjoy a lunch of gourmet Fish & Chips.

Being the start of school holidays the usually secluded beach was well populated with families and local children having fun in the surf.

The tide was coming in and creating some strong waves which were a ton of fun for these lads but not so for 'the lady in white' who was sitting on the sand one minute and in the water the next! - Oooops.


Reluctantly I had to turn my back on the waves, trudge back up the sand, collect Mum & Dad from their seat and head for home.


Not quite sure about Dad but DH was more than happy with the outing!




16 September 2013

Scatterday - J

What delights can the letter J conjure up for us today?

J can indicate a JOURNEY - and our first category is HOLIDAY.
We haven't been on a family holiday for quite some time, in fact it was way back in 2008 when we took off with the 3 young folk in the back of the Station Wagon and headed WEST - or was that South? - Well, we got as far as Streaky Bay SA before having to turn back and head home.
Along the way we stopped at Cape JERVIS where we discovered it was way too expensive to JUMP on board the ferry to Kangaroo Island - so settled for hamming it up and pushing over the lighthouse!

Built in 1881 and a length of 1680 meters, the Port Germein JETTY was the longest Jetty in the Southern Hemisphere.
We walked the remaining 1532 meters to find this bloke and his mate, taking time off work to go fishing for Blue Swimmer Crabs. (They were supposed to be painting the school hall.)
They said they were just staying until the beer ran out!


J - DANCING:  All right the obvious photo for this post would be Jitterbug dancing BUT as I prefer to use my own images...
I came up with a just awful snap of a lot of JUNIORS JOYFULLY Jumping into the Macarena at my Brothers 50th Birthday bash.


J - TOY: Oh this one was easy!

Meet JUNE - she was my 6th Birthday gift from my Mum and Dad.
(Guess which month my birthday is?)
Her dress was made from fabric left over from a favourite dress my Mother wore.
Poor June has never had a new outfit. I have never gotten around to making her a one.

J - Japanese:
OK - confession time... the reason why my post this week was late... I was off being indulged!

This Gift Certificate for a beautiful afternoon of Japanese Massage and pampering, was my Christmas present from my DD and I have been saving it for the right occasion.

I trust you are all sufficiently Jealous!
...and yes! It was JUST what we needed!!!



What letter is next?
I haven't looked!
We are running out of them...
See you in a fortnight's time to find out!





9 September 2013

"Sharing who I am" includes the heartache ...

Man’s life is laid in the loom of time
To a pattern he does not see,
While the weavers work and the shuttles fly
Till the dawn of eternity
.

Some shuttles are filled with silver threads
And some with threads of gold,
While often but the darker hues
Are all that they may hold.

But the weaver watches with skilful eye
Each shuttle fly to and fro,
And sees the pattern so deftly wrought
As the loom moves sure and slow
.

God surely planned the pattern:
Each thread, the dark and fair,
Is chosen by His master skill
And placed in the web with care
.

He only knows its beauty,
And guides the shuttles which hold
The threads so unattractive,
As well as the threads of gold
.

Not till each loom is silent,
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God reveal the pattern
And explain the reason why

The dark threads were as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
For the pattern which He planned
.

Author Unknown -

 * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This Blog is subtitled '...sharing who I am' - (as well as what I do) -
Today I have done what I would say IS possibly one of the hardest things anyone CAN do.

Today I watched, in respectful silence, as my wonderful Nephew and his Wife said goodbye to the baby that they never got to say hello to.

I watched and listened as my Nephew picked up his guitar and sang "I want to hold your hand" and then laid his tiny son into his brother's grave.


I watched my elderly parents struggle with wondering why they have lost a Grandson and now a Great-grandson.
And my Sister in law, grief stricken, as she committed yet another part of her soul into God's care.
My brother - trying to be strong for the sake of his son
- now united with him in the cruelest bond.

Today - was not a good day.
But this dark thread is now forever woven into my life, and the lives of those around me - it is part of me ...
It is part of Who I Am.

                                                 


1 September 2013

Scatterdays - E

E is for:- I can't believe it was so difficult to find ENOUGH pictures for this category! But here is what I have eventually found.

Pantry - EMPTY Pantry, that still had to have everything shoved into it.  It looked so enormous when I saw one in a display home, and much more of an improvement on the erroneous design I had in my old kitchen.
(amazing what you can do with an old photo and a camera!)

Frightening - Spike - OK, Spike doesn't start with an E and he is certainly not frightening - but he is afraid of EVERYTHING. Who would blame him for being frightened of Electrical Storms? But even a gentle breeze or soft rain will mean we have to evict him from under the bed or behind the X-box.

Flower Eucalyptus Blossom,  
Awe what more can I say -
It IS after all
the First day of Spring.



EXCITING EQUIPMENT -  This is a photo of what has been nicknamed the 'Everything-ometer'.  I am reliably told that this is a VERY exciting piece of new equipment for the Chem Lab.
It measures luminescence which requires you to energetically EXCITE molecules to an excited state - which has DD rather excited about her new piece of equipment.


Catch you in a fortnight for Scatterdays
which will be brought to you by the letter J.