Grey/gray...

Once again I'm joining in with Evi's feature over at Sister Sun. This week the focus is on grey...

this nifty little machine was parked on a station in Melbourne

A few greys here, instrument panel and seat cover; and dare I say it? some grey hairs too! DH at the controls of a flight simulator at the Gold Coast. Another birthday gift one year :-)

One of the hire cars that we used in the US last year

The old aircraft carrier 'Midway' in San Diego. It features a museum and a restaurant

Some greys in Singapore

Some greys in Cologne (Koln). The cathedral is in the background 

View of cable cars in Hong Kong

Grey skies and buildings in HK

Grey skies above Jedburgh Cathedral (ruins) in Scotland

A warship in HK harbour

Sean Connery in a grey suit (at Mde Tussaud's in London) 

Fog (smog?) in Hong Kong

The top of the cable car in Stanser Horn (Switzerland)

Fences stop tourists getting too close to this British icon nowadays...

These greys are in Singapore

This tawny frogmouth was a visitor to our backyard a few month's ago

Queen Charlotte Pass; in winter the snow would be up to the floor level of the ski lift 'hut'

War memorial honouring women (London)


And the last 2 'grey photos' are of my Aussie grandparents, Rita and Bob

An award....

Today I went to the city with DH, to attend a 'Recognition of Donors Function' held by the Red Cross Bloodbank. DH was getting his 'recognition' because he has donated blood 150 times. That's such an achievement by him and we are all very proud . The donors at this ceremony were referred to as 'milestone donors' and it ranged from 50 donations upwards, generally in increments of 50 or 100.

We went to the city by train and arrived quite early. So we wandered around King George Square which was not far from the function venue, the Sofitel (the old Crest Hotel). King George Square was refurbished a few years ago now and Brisbane's residents were not really happy with it. It was originally a place dotted with shady trees and pleasant spots to sit, especially in the hot weather. The new square seemed to be a clone of Melbourne's federation square with a wide expanse of rock pavers and very little shade. Eventually, and reluctantly the Brisbane City Council has made some changes especially with shade areas. A fellow Brisbane blogger, Foto fantastic, has a great post about this square here as he examines the history as well as the present day of this city feature.

City Hall which overlooks King George Square

Looking across the square towards Adelaide st

A little bit of shade here; note the big screen TV tuned into the swimming at the Olympics

Looking north of the square towards the beautiful Albert St Uniting Church 

A statue to honour the Petrie family who were early pioneers and explorers of the settlement that became Brisbane 

These kangaroos are part of the Petrie sculpture piece

King George v, after whom the square is named

Finally I'll share some photos taken in the function room. We sat for close to 2 hours during which we watched audio visual presentations about the work of the Red Cross Blood Bank, we also heard from guest speakers, including people who were alive because of blood products provided by the Blood Bank using donations. Throughout the ceremony recipients of the awards came up  in their groups; starting with those who had made 50 donations. Then 100, 150, etc right up to one man called Max, who had donated 500 times! He started in 1965 and DH started in 1967. Max has been donating platelets which can be taken every 2 weeks unlike other blood products' donations which have about 12 weeks between donations. Having said that, 500  is still a brilliant achievement! I should mention here that people don't get paid in Australia for being blood donors; donors get a cuppa and some cheese and crackers...and sometimes a chocolate bar.

DH is just about to receive the award :-)

As well as the certificate, 'milestone donors' received a cute little clock

Now am I a donor? Sadly I was knocked back in my 20s because I took medication for hypertension. Then about 7 years ago I heard that they had relaxed the criteria. I rang and discussed it and found that I could be a donor...so I did...just the once :-(  Not long after it was discovered that I had developed unexplained anemia which is treated by iron infusions; and my doctor requested that I don't donate blood. Who knows though...with technology advancing it may be possible for me to donate some part of my blood... 

Even more of those, 'Things that make me smile' photos...

 The first photo shows my cat Lina lying in a cardboard carton. I took this photo crouching down...after I took the photo, I overbalanced and fell on my face...now that would have looked funny!!! lol

This ute (utility) belonged to the then beau of one of our girls. DH  would make 'dad jokes' about the number-plate.

I got so excited when I found the tiny brussel's sprouts starting to grow on the stalk

Statues on a footpath in Melbourne central business district

A note from a student; written at the end of the school year.

I found this on Facebook and loved it!

For Christmas one year I gave DH a package for he and I to Tangalooma Resort; here he is tobogganing down the sand dunes. I was too scared to do it! 

My friend sent me this photo of her daughter's cat, with the caption; 'This cat walks into a bar...'

My friend Rosamunde knitted these bears and the one pictured below. Not only do they make me smile at their cuteness, they will also make the children who receive them, smile as well :-)

Eduardo having a snooze while his friend Gerald Bear keeps watch.When Eddie was a little kitten, he was scared of Gerald!

The memories are there...under the surface...

One of the blogs that I follow is that of a fellow Australian woman who lives in a rural area. In the last month this blogger has written of the experiences of domestic violence that she is enduring. Some of her posts have struck a chord...memories that I had tucked away...emotional pain and turmoil that had eased. I feel that I have a bond with this blogger; I know some of the anguish that she is going through. But you know there are other memories that have been triggered....memories of kindness, support, loving care and concern.

My workplace when things 'went pear-shaped' in 2000

When workmates found out about my circumstances (12 years ago), it was as though they formed a protective shield around me.  Others told me their stories...I wasn't alone! I was given advice; for example, organise to have a locker at work and keep a work outfit in it in case you have to leave home suddenly. Keep an iron at school so you can still be ready for work if you've had to flee with just clothes from the line. 

Other advice was; have the phone number of the nearest police station programmed in the mobile phone. Keep an overnight bag packed with basics hidden in a cupboard in the house, again in case you have to leave suddenly. My boss at the time organised for a carpark off campus (in a garage belonging to one of our relief teachers who lived locally)because she had heard that disgruntled spouses had damaged cars in school car parks. I also kept doonas in the boot of my car in case DD2 and I had to run and we ended up in a caravan park.

DD2 and I in the little house; friends and relatives lent us an incredible amount of 'stuff' to furnish the house

When we did eventually leave, the help didn't stop. A friend put us up immediately. Real estate agents (females) gave me keys to inspect premises without the hassle of the then, $50 deposit and kept an eye out for rentals with security. A friend asked me to house-sit while I was looking for somewhere to rent, which gave me 2 weeks' breathing space and my boss allowed me to use Non Contact Time to inspect rental properties. (which was a big thing!!!)  I did eventually rent a little 2 bedroom house and it was because of a wonderful real estate agent who had sussed that I loved gardening and alerted us when the house went from being sold to being a rental when the owner decided to withdraw it from sale. And the house was owned by an ex pupil who was delighted that I wanted to restore her neglected gardens. I had recognised her name when I signed the lease.

I bought DD2 a cat from the Cat Practice; here he is on her bed

Being my typical self, I soon made friends with the neighbours. One neighbour was always organising get togethers with her friends and she would always invite me! That's me in the middle :-) 

I really did 'rely on the kindness of others' (to misquote/paraphrase Tennessee Williams' prose, lol ) and it's those memories that take precedence in my recall of those events. The life I lead now is just so different and every day I'm thankful for my good fortune, my wonderful friends and all those others who helped me in some way :-) Life really is good!!! 

Bits and pieces...

Some of my family get really cross about items which appear in newspapers or are included in television news that they consider not to be news. Now I have never got into a discussion with DH and my stepdaughters about the semantics involved in this...that is..'what does the term 'news' actually mean or even infer'? I certainly don't let myself get too stressed about the subject but I am aware that often the media does control the news and the 'slant' taken and how much time (or space in newspapers etc) is given to each news item.

The Courier Mail is a Brisbane based newspaper and today it was full of the not so good news, especially in the first part of the paper. let me see...there were articles about disappointed Olympians, the closure of one runway at Brisbane airport for a number of months which will cause havoc, according to the report. Another item discussed issues that have led to a Rally of teachers outside state parliament; another report was about an elderly couple who were the victims of a 'home invasion' and another item reported that changes to legislation now means that more state government worker will lose their jobs. Depressed yet???

Awful things continue to happen in Syria and a Brisbane couple have spent $1 million on legal fees over 11 years and still have not reached a divorce settlement...hmmm maybe that wasn't really news, but it was in the paper! lol But my favourite article in today's paper was this (see below)...by my family's standards it is not news...but hey! it made my day.

Double click on the scanned article so it's readable :-)

For a little while I have been a contributor to another blog knitminestrone. This blog is about a group of knitters creating something with scraps/oddments/ends of yarn. I've really only been working on my 'piece' in the last week or so. I made some balls of yarn after tying yarn oddments together. The scraps were all languishing in the bottom of my various knitting project bags and they are certainly a motley lot! 

The second ball I 'made' out of scrap

I'm making a blanket with the scraps but I have black yarn (from a 400gram ball) as a background. 

Here's a tiny peek at the 'minestrone' blanket; it has 260 stitches and I'm using 4.50 circular needles.

When I 'unveil' my progress with this project on the other blog, I'll also post an updated photo on this blog.

I have come to the conclusion that I have to do some sort of stocktake/inventory of my yarn stash as well as my fabric stash. I realise that this process will mean absolute chaos and messiness for awhile until everything is sorted out. I know that I have items stashed in all manner of places and spots in the house and it's time to be more organised. Wish me luck! lol