Apr 25, 2011

We Will Remember Them

With their hair a little whiter,
 their step not quite so sure
Still they march on proudly,
 as they did the year before.
Theirs were the hands that saved us,
 their courage showed the way
Their lives they laid down for us, 
that we may live today.

From Gallipoli's rugged hillsides, 
to the sands of Alamein
On rolling seas and in the skies,
those memories will remain.
Of airmen and the sailors, 
of Lone Pine and Suvla Bay
The boys of the Dardenelles,
 are remembered on this day.

They fought their way through jungles,
 their blood soaked desert sands
They still remember comrades 
who rest in foreign lands.
They remember the siege of old Tobruk, 
the mud of the Kokoda Trail
Some paying the supreme sacrifice, 
with courage that did not fail.
To the icy land of Korea,
 the steamy jungles of Vietnam
And the heroic battle of Kapyong and 
that epic victory at Long Tan.

Fathers, sons and brothers, 
together they fought and died
That we may live in peace together, 
while at home their mothers cried.
When that final bugle calls them,
 to cross that great divide
Those comrades will be waiting,
 when they reach the other side.

Apr 24, 2011

ANZAC DAY

I know every year I post on Anzac Day.. and I will continue to do so as long as I write a blog.. Tomorrow morning thousands of Australians and New Zealanders will gather at dawn to remember the ANZACS, it stands for the Australian New Zealand Army Corp.
"ANZAC Day goes beyond the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. It is the day we remember all Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. The spirit of ANZAC, with its human qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity. On ANZAC day, ceremonies are held in towns and cities across the nation to acknowledge the service of our veterans."
Tomorrow morning we will attend the dawn service here where we live at HMAS Cerberus .. and remember those who fought for out freedom, we will remember those men and woman who still serve today and those men and woman who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Lest We Forget.

There's no flowers on a sailors grave,
No lilies on an ocean wave
The only tribute is the seagulls sweep,
And the tear drop on a loved ones cheek


"There are no great men - only ordinary men who, from time to time,
are called upon to do great things"



Apr 23, 2011

An hour in the kitchen

Managed to spend an hour or so in the kitchen in not to much discomfort sooooo I got cooking..
I know it looks like Im boiling my dirty dish cloths, but under the bubbles are bacon bones, lentils, split peas and barley - tomorrow I will make a pot of bacon and veggie soup for ANZAC Day lunch.

The start of tonights dinner.. homemade pizza. We have been eating a lot of one pot meals lately to save me standing to long at the stove.. so I thought the kids might like pizza tonight.. whats more

Im making pudding, something we don't even eat  much when I am functioning 100% but this will be self saucing chocolate pudding, here is the recipe:
Preheat oven to 190c
In a bowl, put 100 grams softened butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract beat till smooth, then add 1 and 1/4 cups flour, 1 tablespoon cocoa, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 cups chopped nuts (optional) mix well and put into a 2 liter greased casserole,
Then in a separate bowl mix, 1/4 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cornflour ( I add a tablespoon of instant coffee as well) mix well and sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter. Gently pour over the back of a spoon, 2 cups of boiling water. Cook for about 40 minutes or until the centre is firm..server alone or with ice cream.. such a simple pudding. The water and sauce wiggles its way to the bottom of the dish making a tasty gooey sauce.
Then there is Dim Sim aka "Meow" here she is, sitting on my kitchen mat waiting for her dinner.. she was making a ruckus until she seen the camera and decided to sit nicely for a photo!
.

Im also looking forward to tomorrow morning when my husband will be home. There is a roast of pork in the fridge so he can have a special dinner.. oh and Olly will be happy, he wants his nest back :-)




Apr 21, 2011

Sharing a Blog

I was reading my way around bloggdom this morning and stopped by one of my favourite blogs.. and there I found something pretty cool. Worm farming.. Where I lived in Western Australia, I never saw worms in the garden, and I kept saying I am going to get a worm farm. I never did, mainly because it is a bit hard to convince the Navy into letting you ship a thousand worms around the country.. I digress though, here is a link to Narelle's worm farm plan and rather awesome blog.

Just Like My Nan Made: EASY CHEAP WORM FARM

Apr 20, 2011

Autumn leaves and apologies

A wee apology to my followers, for having such a slow blog presently, I know I shouldn't but I feel like a real blog slacker..  At the, risk of joining the bitch and moaners club I have not been that fighting fit since we got here to Victoria, and over the last several weeks, I have been having more trouble keeping up with daily stuff. Even a walk around the supermarket leaves my hip and spine in serve pain.  I have even struggled with my soap making. One would think with not doing as much as usual, I would have plenty of time to blog, but  it has been doing my head in and screwing with my happiness.
I was referred to a rheumatologist a month ago, but he has said that what ever is going on is not a re-occurrence of an old problem, but it seems besides some spinal degeneration, he thinks there is something wrong with my hip, a FIA/ laberal tear.. I have had an MRI last week, so now I  have yanked on my big girl pants and I'm just doing what I need to until next Thursday when I hope, all the eggs I have put in one basket, will magically make things better i.e cortisone into the hip and lower spine.. so will keep you posted, if you excuse the pun.Moving right along...

Now to some people, autumn colours are something they see every year, but for me it is the first year to be seeing them again after living in a very dry arid state, with nothing I can claim as winter.
The trees on my front lawn making a pretty, leafy carpet
The tree in my fairy garden.. same as the one out front but I have no idea what it is

Not exactly a Autumn colour, but he is more my constant companion then before.  From this chair, we can see the tree above and watch the leaves falling.. very peaceful. Parker aka Mister P, rarely sits on my lap now - which is odd he always slept there.  Now he hops up and straight off goes and sits on the arm of my chair and waits for me, or will sit there instead of my lap, makes knitting a bit hard but we manage. I wonder if he knows something isn't right at the moment.

He really is such a sookie boy.. holding on to Derek's hand, while giving it a jolly good clean..lol

Apr 8, 2011

Nooks and Crannies

We don't have much of a garden in this house, but there is a cute little nook which is visible from my lounge room window.. I also look out over it when I am doing the washing up.. I think it is a little forgotten on the whole..
But it is very pretty... this is the fence the crow sits on to watch me doing the dishes in the mornings.. I often wonder if fairies dwell here.

I hope for the fae folk,  but this naughty gnome is a surety, he tends to find himself in most of my gardens..

And this magical view is out of my front window.. I love it, and it is especially pretty when there is mist on the ground, looking forward to winter when the sea mists tend to come in.

Apr 1, 2011

Appreciation

You have to love a wonderful husband, who carries your brand new besom to the car, battling through the crowded, lunchtime streets of Melbourne, all the while getting glances from pompous business men who do not understand the ins and out of having a witchy wife.. bless mine, he is such a treasure.