Nostaligic Saturday

For some years when I was growing up, playing cricket all summer was something of an institution. I got my first cricket bat for a Christmas present and faithfully applied linseed oil - rubbing it until it glowed. Then dad gave me an even better present - he built me a cricket pitch.

We lived on a 10 acre property and there was a section of clay soil that wasn't planted with any crops over the burning summer so it was a perfect location. The dimensions were exact, the surface levelled perfectly - yes, you could really do the car key test on it.

So the neighbor's kids and other friends turned up and we were set. Most of them were boys but that was neither here nor there - there was cricket to be played.

House rules were pretty simple - if it went over the channel you were six and out - and had to go get the ball. And girls (not me of course) didn't have to bowl properly - and you weren't allowed to bowl really hard at the girls either (they were girls after all - didn't want them crying). Oh, and the game finished went the sun went down.

So our version of Lillie and Thommo and Marsh and the Chappells and dozens of other individuals from various other international teams starred at their respective, batting, bowling or fielding talents. And not only did we have the Test matches to draw on for inspiration - there was that new game of one day cricket that was making its mark.

It was magic and one of the true highlights of my life.

I did thank my Dad for building me my beloved pitch just last year. He had no memory of it at all. He did recall mowing a bit of grass near the pine tree at one point where we all had a bit of a whack every now and then but that was it. Could that be all it was? I certainly don't care - I like my version of the story so much better - and I still dream of linseed oil, and hot summer days and the whack of the ball. Magic!

Pat on The Back

Wouldn't it be wonderful if now and then through the day the universe gave us a sticker of congratulations and encouragement. "Best Person in Difficult Circumstances" or "Winner - you Didn't Hit Them (although we all would have agreed it was justifiable in these circumstances)" or "Best Dinner Prepared with Three Kids Shouting and You've Had a Crap Day" or "Good Try! We Knew he Would Never Listen but It Was Worth A Go" or even just a plain "Congratulations: Tidiest House Award - Even Though it Will Only Last Until the Kids Come Home". You get the idea.

It is great that there is a range available for kids at school but sometimes I think there should be some available for the rest of the us as well

And?

I reject your reality and substitute it for my own.

Adam Savage

Art: Galatea of the Spheres by Salvador Dali

What Does Your Taste In Music Say About You?

What Your Taste in Music Says About You

Your musical tastes are reflective and complex. You are intellectual to the point of being cerebral. You are very open to new experiences, and even more open to new ideas and theories. Wisdom and personal accomplishment are important to you. You are naturally sophisticated. You are drawn to art, especially art by independent artists. You are likely to be financially well off... and not because you were born that way.

What Does Your Taste in Music Say About You?

I got this from Miss K :-) Okay it is very complimentary as a result but it didn't ask any Meat Loaf questions - would that have made me more cerebral or less so! lol

Friday Feast 191

Appetizer

What is the nearest big city to your home?

I live about halfway between Brisbane and Sydney but i think Brisbane is a little closer.

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets?

10! I am a great secret keeper - and I pride myself on it.

Salad

Describe your hair (color, texture, length).

Very curly, thick, browny/red hair that, when straightened (when it is wet), reaches my waist

Main Course

What kind of driver are you? Courteous? Aggressive? Slow?

I try to stick to the road rules and just cruise along. In my younger years I felt the need for speed but eventually got the message when the speeding tickets dug into my budget. I hate rude or discourteous drivers so I try not to be one myself :-)

Dessert

When was the last time you had a really bad week?

It has been a while ... one back in October really stands out and for the moment I think that would have to take the title

Is this what the world has come to?

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles today indicted a woman of fraudulently using a MySpace.com account to "cyber-bully" a Missouri teenager who later hanged herself because she believed she was being rejected by a 16-year-old boy she met on the social networking website.

Lori Drew, 49, of O'Fallon, Mo., faces three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress on the girl and one count of conspiracy.

The case set off a national furor when it was revealed that 13-year-old Megan Meier was the victim of a hoax perpetrated by Drew, who was the mother of one of the girl's former friends.

The rest of the story is in the LA Times here. Yes you did read correctly - she is 49 and the girl was 13...

&*%$!!!@# Popups

Okay I have done a little research and it appears the unwanted popups are most likely caused by the use of widgets. I only use two so I have deleted the most recent (bye bye My Linky) so for those devoted people who have stuck by me during this pain-in-the-butt time, could you let me know if you are still getting popups.

I have two more steps to take if they are still happening.

Thanks muchly

Photo Challenge - Number

Booking Through Thursday

Scenario: You’ve just bought some complicated gadget home . . . do you read the accompanying documentation? Or not?

Do you ever read manuals?

How-to books?

Self-help guides?

Anything at all?

I read the manual before I played with my new camera, I didn't read the manuals for various kitchen gadets...

My "how to" books are recipe books - or those on food technology - which I read constantly...

I have certainly read my share of self help guides - the latest is "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying"...

I read anything and everything :-)

Ruffled Feathers

Life Is ...

I found this artist and I love her work and her attitude so much I can't possibly wait until tomorrow to post this!

When life hands you lemons ... shove them down your bra and make your breasts look bigger.

Art: "When Life Hands You Lemons" and quote from Melia Dawn Newman - BeMused Art

Life Is ...

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

George Bernard Shaw

Art: Colorful Dress by Melia Dawn Newman - BeMused Art

Love Q #3

What are the 5 types of men that you can’t stand and whom you think a woman should never marry?

1) Stupid men - men who aren't able to listen to another point of view, or accept the differences in others

2) Men who are "God's gift" - well give me the docket, I am heading for the refund counter

3) Men who are pigs - those who hog their food, hog the bed, hog the limelight ... you get the idea

4) Travelling men - yes those who carry all their baggage with them

5) Men who are all tied up - usually to their mothers - if she is that good, you definitely don't need me

For this week, don’t forget to link Nurin and Abbey up. As usual, write up your post with a link back to Short Sweet Love Poems here and then leave your post URL at the comments section.

Photo Challenge Update

It's that time of the week when you either need to start clicking, or narrow down whatever options you already have :-)

This Friday's theme: Number
Friday 23 May: Taste
Friday 30 May: Man-made

I had a comment/suggestion last week that it might be an idea to post all of our photos in one place. Is that something we (as a group) would like to pursue, or are we happy with Mr Linky registering participants and we go visit each other's blogs, or is there another option completely that you would like to put forward? Looking for feedback ...

PS: Yes I do do the rounds every couple of hours on Friday and add you to Mr Linky in case you forgot but if you know of anyone new joining in, please direct them to my photo to add themselves, or leave me a comment somewhere and I can do it for them. Don't want people missing out on their oohs and aahs lol

Works For Me :-)

Literature and butterflies are the two greatest passions known to man.

Vladimir Nabokov

Art by Jill W Lang

Free To A Good Home

My neighbors' Great Dane.
Black in color.
Healthy in appearance.

Favorite hobby: barking incessantly when I am trying to sleep.

Pooh Bear Tuesday

When late morning rolls around and you're feeling a bit out of sorts, don't worry; you're probably just a little eleven o'clockish.

Winnie the Pooh

Rain and Rainbows

Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.

Douglas Pagels

Art from PatriciaD

Booking Sunday

I got to pick up my books I bought form Ebay yesterday - I love my Booking Sundays :-) And yes I got bonus books (yah!) but my highlights were two that I managed to (surprisingly) buy for very reasonable prices.

The first is a Pooh book from 1944 and the second is a boxed set of AA Milne from 1971. The second, a box set of 4 books (in immaculate condition), are reprints of the original AA Milne books : "Winnie-the-Pooh", "The House at Pooh Corner", "When We Were very Young" and "Now We Are Six". All are Pooh books and the illustrations are by EH Shepard (who does the illustrations for my Pooh Tuesday quotes).

So very exciting :-)

Dad's Here

Dad arrived yesterday (yah!) and on the way home from the train station we stopped for lunch.

We sat under the old camphor laurel trees of Bellingen enjoying our food (I had pasta, dad had curry). The day was one of those perfect autumn days - sunshine but not to much heat, a caressing breeze but not a wind. Just lovely :-)

And after lunch, and a little walk through the town we stopped at the bakery for coffee and dessert. I was still full from lunch so I didn't partake but Dad's profitterole was just so divine it was worth a photo :-)