They're Gone

Yes Miss Weasley and family have gone to the land of the red, white and blue. Sigh ... Happy and sad all in one. But to focus on the happy :-) ...

Cheryl did end up going on the plane which was probably much better than in a box but I won't think about her being squished into a carry-on.

D-J is now taller than me - which was always going to happen but still. Ever since he was little we used to measure our hands up against each other - I now barely make it to the fingertip joint. I guess that happens when young men grow up :-)

J-Bear is about an inch shorter than me now, and I am sure it will be the last time that I will see her and have the height advantage. Our hands are the same size.

Miss J-May is up to my armpits and her hand is smaller than mine - for that reason alone she is my new favorite ha ha ha!

I went for a walk with Miss J-May to the bookshop - she is a bookworm too and the others were having a little nap. I offered to buy her a book but she thought it would be better if she just sat down and read it there - which she did! Her ability to read has always amazed me and Tuesday was no exception. What I hadn't noticed before was her math skills - she reported that her lunch would cost $4.25 and worked out that if she got one for J-Bear too it would cost $8.50 instantaneously. Figuring out that she would get $1.50 change was just as simple. The girl is 7! I know I could have worked it out at that age but I am not sure I could have instantly done it in my head :-)

It is just amazing how much the kiddlies have grown (physically as well as in maturity) since I last saw them and we had lots of laughs and giggles around the table. And of course Miss Weasley was a part of it all. I think moving around has prepared me for the time when they left for so far away but I can't help notice how much I have missed out on. Anyway, we have MSN, and blogs, and email, and free internet phones and soon to be webcams and hopefully I will be over there next year so it will all be good.

Interesting things I have learned:

• Cheryl smells like me which apparently is neither a good nor bad smell, it just just my smell, which I couldn't smell.
• I have orange hair and apparently I have always had orange hair. I thought I had brown hair but I'm a carrot top - and yes that will be disappearing very quickly.
• The kiddlies were horrified that I was considering changing my name but after much discussion "Pearl" was my favorite option - although they shall continue to call me by my present name anyway.
• According to this part of the younger generation, I am still "cool" but do need to update my glasses frames.
• I take particularly lousy photos :-)

I am honored that this family is a part of my life - and will always be :-)

My Hotel

I stayed at the Airport Sydney International Inn near the airport.

It was very clean and tidy and the bed was comfortable (which is all you want really).

The room was really very small, and the bathroom was tiny but, when I thought about it, there was sufficient room to move around and, located where it was, I assume that most people would just stay for a night on their way to or from the airport - as opposed to actually vacationing there - so it was functional and quite adequate.

The staff were mostly friendly and efficient. There was no problem with parking. The shuttle bus was a few minutes late which was stressing out some of the other passengers who were nervously going overseas but it as literally a few minutes late and everyone had made sufficient time for their journey so it wasn't a particular issue.

There are only two negative things I can comment on.

The first is the room service menu. What made me read over twice, three times and then burst out laughing was a chicken breast, tomato sauce and chips for $24.50, and a roast beef roll for $18.50 (and it didn't indicate that it was freshly cooked so I automatically suspected it was one of those commercial jobs but that might just be my cynical mind). On top of that you can add $8 for a salad and $5 for room delivery! I assumed from those prices that no one would regularly get room service so the seafood basket ($18.50) was probably one of those frozen mixes you just deep fry for a couple of minutes and so on down the menu.

The other was that I was staying in the non-smoking building and whilst my room was clear, the corridors, elevator and foyer absolutely reeked of cigarettes. The building is very clearly marked as non-smoking and lists potential fines. When I mentioned this at check-out the woman just shrugged her shoulders ambivalently and just said something like ' yeah people smoke in there'. So while they advertise it as non-smoking, there is obviously no enforcement or even care about the policy so if you are a genuine non-smoker, you might want to stay somewhere else.

Driving to Sydney

I love a good drive and could rabbit on for pages about my highlights, or weird things or just ways I amused myself but I have narrowed them all down.

• On my side of the road, I saw 11 L-plate drivers between home and about Mt White - and thought that that was quite a lot

• On the trip down and back I saw 6 Porsches and 1 Lamborghini

• I saw 4 flowers that I hadn't seen before - one was a smallish status-like plant that wasn't status; one was large cream bells on what big prickly looking things (please note I am using technical words to describe them); another was tall stands of cream puff-balls on top of a plant I never saw; and the last was a bright orange flower on a dark green tree. Yes I should have stopped an taken photos but I like driving past and trying to figure things out :-)

• When I was driving through the "canyons" just before Sydney the water was running down them in trails that looked like tears had been falling down their 'cheeks'.

• It rained from Newcastle south - but never consistently - I had to adjust my wipers virtually every minute (literally) to cater for rain that was so heavy I could barely see through to a light mist.

• Petrol prices at home are virtually the same as Sydney - and everywhere in the middle is more expensive.

• I never want to eat fast food again - blecch!

It was long and I was tired but I really enjoyed the trip :-)

What You Need

The grand essentials of happiness are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

Chalmers

Dr Martin Luther King Day

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame

I rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

Maya Angelou

Dr Martin Luther King Day

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'”

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

"Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.”

"Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.”

"The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"”

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

"It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.”

Happiness :-)

Happiness is inward, and not outward, and so it does not depend on what we have, but what we are.

Henry Van Dyke

Tortilla Stack

I have wanted to make one of these forever and being the latest Super Food Ideas has one on the cover, I have been prompted into action. It was easier than I anticipated.

I cooked up some burrito-style mince (diced onion, mince, burrito seasoning) then added some corn and kidney beans. I wanted the mixture to be 'dry' rather than sloppy so I didn't put in a can of tomatoes but if I had more time to wait for it to reduce, then I would have. Anyway, put a tortilla in the bottom of a spring-form pan, add a little meat and spread to form a layer, sprinkle over some shredded cheese and repeat until you reach the top or all of your meat is used up. Bake at 180 C until the cheese is golden (I think I left mine in for about 30 minutes). I then let it cool a bit and sliced it up - and served with funky lettuce and sliced tomato. If I hadn't put corn in the actual stack, I think I would have served a corn cob on the side with the salad.

It keeps it shape really well so I think it would be great for to take to work for lunch or even picnics, as well as a quick and very easy dinner. Eat hot or cold.

BTW - this is just what I 'created' as I went along - I am sure there are a million possible variations.

Coodabeens

Does anyone else listen to the Coodabeen Champions on Sunday night (Local ABC)?

I love their eclectic show, their weird senses of humor, their "Magic Moments' , their love of obscure Australian music, their combined personalities.

It is also a great spot to fully appreciate the skills and talents of Greg Champion - his ability to play 'most anything on the guitar with virtually no notice is just amazing.

As well as the Sunday night show, they do "The Idlers" on Saturday nights.

And why do I mention this now, well I will miss out tonight cos the tennis is on. Now this isn't quite as tragic as when Phillip Adams is unavailable but still, it is worth a post :-)

BTW: (L-R) Ian Cover, Billy Baxter, Jeff Richardson and Greg Champion

New Name

I really don't like my name - never have. Sigh....

I have considered it often enough but thought it was much harder that it actually is. And when I went to the beautician on Friday, she said in passing that I didn't look like my name. So with firm resolve I been searching again for a new name.

I may not like my name, but I can't find anouther name that fits me - except Mountaingirl. It is the problem I always come back to :-)

Mind you I have had my kid's names picked out for years (not that they ever came along) - but somehow it is harder to name yourself :-)

Makes You Think ....

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily. Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide. Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina. Food expenditure for one week $341.98

Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca. Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-JeziornaFood expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

Egypt: The Ahmed family of CairoFood expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

Ecuador: The Ayme family of TingoFood expenditure for one week: $31.55

Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey VillageFood expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing CampFood expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

From King B

Tie Dying

Miss A and were talking about a tie-dying project for work project a while ago which inspired me to do my doona cover - you see I have wanted a new one for ages but can't find one that is really 'me'. That was in November and ... well I just never got around to it.

Today was the day and while the result it 'ok, it isn't as defined as I was hoping. The really dark bits (which is what I wanted more of) came about when I accidentally poured the dye directly onto the fabric instead of dissolving it.

The more I look at it the better I like my 'new' doona cover but I think I will have another go in the next few weeks - ignoring the instructions this time and doing my own things.

Will keep you posted :-)

Do You Believe?

Some things have to be believed to be seen.

Ralph Hodgson

Image from Lorelei

Hairy Moments

I grew my hair so the kiddlies could see it long - they were little or unborn last time it was longish. Then, I figured they could see it , I would shave it off and do something different. Then I figured I would let it dreadlock and when I got sick of that I would shave it off and start again.

Now I have decided that because, when it it wet and straight, it is so close to my waist (about 1"), I may as well just let it grow. First goal is for it to hit my waist when it is wet. The next goal is for the curls to hit the waist.

Why? Well I have no idea but I have made my choice so that is that ... for now :-)

PS This photo is from early October (doesn't time fly) so it has grown a bit since then...

Treating Myself

Not only am I going to Sydney on Monday, I am staying in a hotel.

Now I say this as if it is a big thing and it actually is - normally I just pull up somewhere safe and sleep in my car (rather comfortable believe me). I will be staying in a real hotel (I was thinking about the backpackers but decided if I was in for a penny I would be in for a pound) which also has the convenience of a shuttle bus to the airport so I won't have to worry about paying for parking - or finding parking - or driving in airport traffic when I have no idea where I am going to.

So I will leave work at 10.30 am on Monday, sleep and drive (separately of course) until I get to Sydney, sleep in my comfy bed, get up by 6 am, take advantage of the shuttle service to and from the airport, get home, sleep for 3 hours and then go to work :-)

Sounds easy doesn't it :-)

Thought for Today

There is nothing noble in being superior to someone else. The true nobility is being superior to your previous self.

Image from Carmen Waterman

Miss Weasley Leaves Oz

Tuesday is coming around all too quickly - yes Miss Weasley and the kiddlies (which are now far to grown up to be called kiddlies) are heading home to Dallas - not the for annual visit but to stay.

Very sad but I have had a looooong time to get used to the idea - ever since I met her I knew she would be going home one day - so it's okay. I have already started to save for the airfare, I have my new free internet phone account set up AND I found out that they have a six hour layover in Sydney.

Yes folks, SIX WHOLE HOURS - now imagine Mountaingirl dancing wildly with joy.

Guess where I will be playing on Tuesday? Yep, the airport in Sydney.

Happy happy girl!

PS: If you are new to this blog and notice a slight mood change yesterday, please don't think I have "problems" - I am almost always happy and when I am not, I bounce back as soon as I can :-)

Another Day, Another Smile

Count your age by friends - not years.
Count your life by smiles - not tears.

Some Days

My neighbor K passed today. Yes he had been poorly ever since I had known him, and had had a couple of scares before now but it doesn't make it any easier.

I am having a bit of a tough time with it I must admit. K is a mightily awesome person and I will miss his cheery smile but I am somewhat selfishly feeling so washed out for another reason.

It is ironic that I was trumpeting on Saturday as to how well I got through the anniversary of John's passing and now that I see K's wife's V's pain (she was his carer as I was John's which adds another parallel), it brings my own journey back in such a blinding rush - it almost is as though it it day one again.

And dumb things like he has only been gone for a few hours but V is in the stage of contemplating funerals and the like. When John passed we came up with the brilliant idea of having cremated (as requested) immediately but it was about 10 days before we had the service. It gave us all lots of time to get over the initial shock, as well as to deal with the shock before all of the extra stuff needed to be done. I wish I could share this with her.

I know V has a really good, if not powerfully incredible, support network, and that she will get through this the way we all do but ...

I have been keeping busy - I am working on getting Cheryl's travel plans finalized, I am obviously blogging, I have taken photos, I Scrabble as always - but not too busy. I had a quick chat with the amazing MW today and he assured me this was all very normal, that I should be honest about my emotions, and yes it would all pass.

Not looking for sympathy, just filling in a few more minutes....

Photo from These Fleeting Moments

It's All in the Attitude

Don't mind criticism.
If it's untrue, disregard it;
if it's unfair, keep from irritation;
if it's ignorant, smile;
if it's justified, learn from it.

Frangipani Splendour

Continuing the 'flowers on the ground' series ha ha ha.
Mind you I hadn't noticed before that the back of the flowers were just as pretty as the front view ... you learn something new every day :-)

I Love Wednesdays

Yes it was cooking group day again - they are almost always the best moments of my week. 'Indian food' was todays theme and (again) it went extraordinarily well.

The menu for today was:

Madras Beef Curry
Butter Chicken Curry
Gujerati Style Potatoes
Chilli Mushrooms
Cauliflower with Shredded Ginger
Gajar Mutter (Peas and Carrots with Cumin)
Dahl
Tomato and Cucumber Raita
Pappadums
Rice

In the next day or two I will post all of the recipes on Yummy Tucker cos there is just too many to post here! We didn't use any prepared jars or pastes but they were dead easy to do and we only had an hour and a little bit to get everything from raw ingredients to the table so I would consider them to be quick too (especially considering we did them *all* in that time :-)

Gotta love Wednesday's :-)

Butterfly Moments

The butterfly counts not months but moments and yet has enough time.

Wet Web

I can't get 'the perfect shot' but the web is too pretty not to post :-) The probably look better if you click on them...

It Makes Me Think

On the way home from work this morning, in the rain (no, not showers, but rain) I passed a woman walking on the side of the road. She was perhaps in her late 20's dressed in office clothes with a cute pink backpack. She had no umbrella, hood or any other protection from the water. She was unhappy, not as in angry at the circumstances but as in really sad.

My car was full so I drove past but immediately felt guilty and prepared to turn around and offer her a ride - this was about 7km out of town so I figured she had a walk ahead of her.

And then as I was looking for somewhere to turn around I realized that I hadn't passed a broken down car and I wondered where she came from.

There was a good supply of farm houses, easily visible, but she hadn't gone to one of them. And the clincher for not turning around was that I realized she wasn't hitch-hiking, not only didn't she not put her thumb out, she moved from the edge of the road, past the wide verge and well into the grass on the side of the road. If she stayed on the verge she was well out of the way of getting splashed, or posing a danger to traffic. It occurred to me that her body language and behavior was definitely not indicating she wanted a ride.

Who was this woman? What was her story? Did I do the right thing?

KOTO - Know One, Train One

KOTO is a not-for-profit restaurant and vocational training program that is changing the lives of street and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam.

“The greatest accomplishment for the person who has helped you, is to see you stand on your own two feet and then in turn help someone else that reminds you of yourself, because if you Know One, then you should Teach One.”

Mr Jimmy Pham,
KOTO Founder and Director

Jimmy Pham once helped four street kids get clean, now he runs a remarkable charity that has attracted international support, writes Fergus Shiel.

Since its establishment in September 2000, KOTO has trained well over 100 kids as skilled hospitality professionals, hosted international dignitaries including US president Bill Clinton and won the backing of the Australian Embassy among others. Graduates have the world at their feet with job offers coming from some of the best resturants and hotels in Vietnam and abroad.

Pham's life changed forever during a brief trip to frenetic Saigon in the mid-'90s.

"One evening I went for a walk and met four kids selling coconuts who told me they showered next to an open sewer twice a week and paid for the privilege. Next day, I organised for them to have a proper wash and by the time I left I was paying for 60 kids to wash and eat."

Pham financed KOTO with close to $100,000 borrowed from his family, having spent four years building trust among Hanoi's street kid community, supporting up to 60 of them on the money he earned as a travel industry consultant and tour guide.

KOTO is mostly self-funded but can always use help. It is a story of a hand up not a hand out.

Under the Tuscan Sun

I am still working my way through this book but I couldn't wait until I finished before I posted it.

This book was obviously written just for me.

It follows and American woman and her partner that have bought a property in Tuscany (Italy). They live there for three months of the year - the summer specifically.

They renovate the house and the property. They live the Italian life, as opposed to the tourist version of the experience. They have fabulously simply food made from incredible, local produce (yes recipes are included).

It is a gentle walk through their days - similar to getting personal letters from a friend - or sharing a glass of wine while sitting on a porch watching the sun set and catching up on each other's news.

Sigh ....

Let there be many windows in your soul, That all the glories of the universe may beautify it.

Ralph Waldo Trine

Animal of the Day

Hands up who has heard of the Onager?

It is a wild-donkey from the Middle East. Depending on which reports you read, it is virtually extinct in the wild - two herds have been reintroduced from a captive breeding program but otherwise, that appears to be that.

Wiki adds that Onagers stand "at about 290 kg and 2.1 metres (head-body length), and are a little more horse-like. They are short-legged compared to horses, and their coloring varies depending on the season. They are generally reddish-brown in color during the summer, becoming yellowish-brown in the winter months. They have a black stripe bordered in white that extends down the middle of the back. They are notoriously untameable."

The Leaf

MG Muses

Now I am just rambling here and I admit that up front. I am not fishing for compliments, but contrustive comments will be welcomed :-)

I can't find another blog like mine - some are cooking, or family or politics or art or ... well you get the idea. Most combine a couple of interests , or even a few, but a friend of mine commented 'that you just never know what you will get on your blog'. Now that was meant as a good thing but it has got me thinking...

Now this isn't a problem, nor do I want to change anything. Nor do I think my blog is better or worse than anyone elses. I am just noticing it - and enjoying the experience :-)

Do You Think They Are Just Talking About Rabbits?

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

From The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

Boy is Empowered by His Weakness

Michael Guggenheim's dysgraphia, a learning disorder that impairs his writing, spurred him to open a nonprofit that teaches homeless students how to use computers.

By Francisco Vara-Orta, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Every Wednesday in North Hollywood, Michael Guggenheim teaches a handful of students how to type their names and basic phrases in Microsoft Word and how to work with math, vocabulary and typing programs.

At a recent tutoring session, Michael moved between the laptops used by shelter residents Alicia Lewis and Heaven Sanders, both 7. He coached them for 30 minutes on typing their names, then switched to a half hour of vocabulary and math games.

But Michael is not just another teacher. He is 12, a sixth-grader at Los Encinos School in Encino. He can't drive, vote or write much with a pencil, but he started a nonprofit when he was 11 and teaches computer skills to elementary students once a week.

He doesn't regard his dysgraphia, a learning disorder that severely impairs writing, as a disability. Instead, he has turned it into a driving force.For starters, he was quick to discover that he could use a computer, and now he earns straight A's using a laptop for course work.

Later, he started the nonprofit organization that takes laptops and educational software to elementary school children in homeless shelters.

"The tool that changed my life was a laptop, and it's a skill that's necessary to learn to get good grades and a good job so you aren't left behind."

Dysgraphia, a form of dyslexia, makes it difficult to write by hand. It is a lifelong condition that has nothing to do with intelligence. Like some people with dysgraphia, Michael experiences pain while trying to write. His written work is illegible after a few sentences, and even tying his shoes can be difficult.

Michael was inspired to start his nonprofit -- which he christened Showing People Learning and Technology, or SPLAT -- after participating in school-sponsored volunteer work and observing that some children had little or no access to technology.

So far, he's been able to acquire four laptops and about 20 CDs of donated software by writing to manufacturers and businesses, painstakingly signing each letter.

"Where I think some may see having dysgraphia as a disadvantage, I don't, because my computer skills and teaching these kids is helping me gain even more knowledge," Michael said. "And it exposes me to people I may have never met."