12 days of Christmas - blogging - day one

Blogging the 12 days of Christmas - staying home, resting and quiet enjoyment.

Lovely, busy day and one spent at home in our fair town, an unusual thing for us as we always travel to be with friends and family at this time of year.

I am thankful that we had a relatively good year and reflecting on the adventures and travel we achieved and new friends and relatives we met and even though JB was very sick at the end of the year, he is recovering well and getting his strength back.

Keeping it brief for the first day... a few visuals from the day.

Our Christmas morning sky for the 25th of December 2013 - fine and warm.

Our 'Christmas Breakfast muffins' were yummy

 

The verandah was cool and quiet

 

 

We played and ate and enjoyed our day.

 

I hope your day was merry merry and you had a nice rest from the every day.

 

@kalgrl

#blog12daysxmas









Blog July - week 3

Driving part of the holiday begins...

Left London - we has GPS (comment from end of driving - thanks be!)

It took us to Kings Lynn - Norfolk 

My Great, great, great grandparents emigrated from here in 1851 to Portland in Victoria. 

Then Scarborough and Whitby

Where we saw a castle (Scarborough) and a ruined abbey (Whitby) and a very lame Dracula experience in Whitby.. So bad!

We then travelled to 'the North' and around the area where JB was born ...

This is known as 'the angel of the north' by the same artist (Gormely) that did the sculptures on Lake Ballard near Menzies in WA.

I lost about 2 days with a virus bug thingy , JB was good to me .. 

We met his cousins and uncle and Aunty. Nice people.

We climbed up to the Penshaw monument... visited the Durham Cathedral, and JB's old house and where he was born - Rose Avenue. 

We left the area with some fond memories of the family we met and the places visited. 

We ended the week with a drive across the country to .... 

Bye for now 

@kalgrl

Blog July - week two

And so to London to see the Queen...'s house

Went to Harry Potter tour at the studios 

And to 221B Baker Street

Then saw Shakespeare at 'The Globe'

And Tim Minchin's 'Matilda' at the Cambridge theatre in '7 Dials'

Ran around the underground, ate, traveled on the Thames went to the Tower of London ( where the guide said 'creepily' Ann Boyelyn [spell?] still resided in her grave)

So tired, so hot (heat wave here in London), and quite happy :)

Off on a new adventure today - driving to the North of England .. Should be cooler and hoping to see the 'Angel of the North' and meet some of JB's family.

One more image to round it out .. 

Portebello Markets - near Notting Hill Gate - London 

Bye for now ... Off to navigate out of London - should be fun if we don't take a wrong turning,.. :)

@kalgrl

Blog July

#summer/winter holiday 

Blog July - week one

A day in Paris

Louvre

Love this image of Michaelangelo's slave and the small yawning tourist. 

I love his work and was happy to see two of his sculptures at the Louvre.

This image was from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower - where we had lunch at the restaurant.

Next was Notre Dame

You can light a candle for a prayer under the Rose window. 

Beautiful place.

Bon soir.

@kalgrl

Any ending is also a beginning - blog the 30th

All good things must come to an end and so with the end of June, #blogjune is over.

I have to say, this year was inspiring and wonderful. 

posts about work, 

posts about play, 

posts about the same time everyday... (2:45 to be precise :)

posts about music

posts about food (yum)

posts about 'embedded librarians' FTW

posts about reading

posts about crochet

posts about our furry friends (chihuahua's rule that one, ok)

I've been sharing, and caring and laughing with you all (yay go PLN)

please keep writing no matter how small...

(Any and all from tweets to keek... )

Thanks to @flexnib for getting us excited and active again. Thanks to you all for writing.

I will be blogging in July, however my access may be limited to free wifi when I can get it... so normal service will not be possible, I hope those who are par-ti-ci-pating in 'comment July', enjoy it as much as Blog June.

So goodbye June *waves*, hello July *bows*...

Yours in possibility

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog everyday in June

Beep...

An - ti - ci - pation - blog the 29th

Anticipation. (With apologies to Richard O'brien)

How do you do, 

Have you met my,

Planning,

Readying, 

and

Wishing?

How shall we go,

Shall we be,

brought down,

strung out,

or

Fine?

Is it the way we look,

Or how we feel,

Shall we,

Will we be,

ok &

Climb?

An - ti - ci - pation

Things are often very different to expectation...

I hope your anticipation for the rest of the year matches your experience, if you wish it to.

Yours in blogging

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June

Gadget redundancy - blog the 28th

Bought one of these small stylus thingys for the eye phone.

How 'rock and roll' am I? 

Looks nice - reasonable quality - good spring.

I lost it on my desk 'between phones' and found it yesterday.

It was bought for an eye phone 4 which has the earphone jack on the top... So plug the thingy in and it hangs ready for use.

However ...

The earphone jack is on the bottom in the eye phone 5 ... Renders the thingy useless as dangles, gets in the way.. Etc. 

This is the same for anything i used to use with the 4 and even my bedside clock with player is no use now. I liked that gadget. The changes to the charging cord also mean I need 2 cords when travelling as my eye pad is now different to the eye phone. 

I think I will give it to ms 16 who inherited the 4.

I don't really like this sort of phaffing about any way. Perfect for a teenager. :D

#update - she loves it. 

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June

Search for meme (ing) - blog the 27th

Doing a meme today - my way...

Idea lifted from @flexnib 

5 things you don't know about me

1. I'm allergic to rubber. (so no bondage for me - unless hmm leather? O.O)

(Yes I can hear the 50 shades of 'what did she say??? Omg - it's a joke Joyce)

2. At high school I chose the wrong subjects - all of them - took me years to recover from 'economics'. 

Just don't get me started on the periodic table or the chemical formula for DiHydrogen Monoxide. 

3. Very young, I  broke down late one evening on lonely road. In the parents car. I could not find the spare tyre. Older Subarus have them strapped to the top of the motor, and I forgot. 

Then two, very drunk, hard rock Miners, mature friends of my father, stopped to help change the car tyre. It. was. hilarious. (Slippery gravel, no light.. You get the idea.) 

4. My husband owns my iPhone - it's a Phone company rule - for the 'one account' to rule them all..

5. Cannibals frighten me. I mean some one who eats people on purpose - vomit. 

(Plus those running spiders / we have big ones here.)

@kalgrl

#blogJoke 

Blog every damn day in June.

ps. even on holiday. I'm dedicated & I love reading everyone's posts & nearly there - 'party'.

July is BIG for us... 

And now a picture via FB

Progression - blog the 26th

Wordless Wednesday - well sorta

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June 

Art connection - blog the 25th

Today I attended a 'public consultation' for Regional Arts Australia in Kalgoorlie at the Goldfields Arts Centre - function room

The attendees were a varied group, from practicing artists, gallery owners, community arts groups, local government, state government, federal government and other interested parties.

We had a great discussion on community connections, promotion, arts practice and professional developments needs.

The contributions were interesting and diverse. 

I met the artistic director for the 2014 RAA national conference and festival. 

Mr Ben Fox. (He has a QR Code on his card! Yay)

Then we were asked about what we thought the conference should include, I suggested an online - interactive presence. (Now I have to put my money where my mouth is and give some examples of what I mean.. Any links to share PLN?)

In all a good experience and gathered a lot of information.

This was on display - beautiful work of hand dyed & printed cotton - artist name not there, but I can find out if interested.

I believe the skirt is recycled 'sample bags' from the mines. I would love to learn more about the process. 

Yours in Arts

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June 

Brevity - blog the 24th

in the interest of brevity and finding your voice on twitter @lgreenpd has a great post...
in the interest of mini treats The Foodie Librarian has a post on airplane schwag...
in the interest of keeping it brief today, here is an image of a cat  reflection.

keeping it brief for Monday.

@kalgrl

#blogjune

blog every day for June 

Super Moon - blog the 23rd

We went up Mt Charlotte reservoir to look at the Super moon. It was quite big and beautiful. 

It was still very light when it was rising at just after 5:00 pm.

It got dark very quickly - this is a panorama using the iPhone. 

Hope you all had a relaxing Sunday.

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June 

Relax - blog the 22nd

Had a lovely day - conversation, cake and champagne with good friends...

One returning -Adventure holiday - cruise of a lifetime on flooded rivers in Europe.

One learning - social networking - just joined FB - still not completely sure it is her thing.

One leaving - *sniff* - going off to a fantastic job out of town.

We had great conversation, ate and drank and chatted happily for a few hours. Such a nice day, the sunflowers on the table added joy.

I hope you all had a great Saturday.

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June 

Luck - blog the 21st

As luck would have it, I entered a competition for some new luggage. 

It was an RACWA competition in conjunction with Samsonite Australia.

I needed new luggage as my current bags gave been damaged/worn out over the years and badly need replacing.

This was a twitter competition promoting their #racantarctica and I WON! 

(I believe I deserve that exclamation point.)

I can't wait to use them, and here is a picture... Lovely blue...

Huzzah 

So excited. They have the spinner wheels and everything. 

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June 

Winter - blog the 20th

Down the back yard

Near our dogs address

The fog now is lifting

No early planes - at a guess

Winter might be here now 

We really could do with rain

Winter in the desert

Can really be cold brrrr

(Hey, who says it has to rhyme :)

We got to 5c minimum brrr ( it's still about that now) - Shout out from my warm bed to the worthy souls doing boot camp or other torture. *waves*

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June

Grateful -blog the 19th

I was reminded today Via a tweet from @flexnib that I should be grateful for what I have, so here goes (adapted from Pick the brain blog)

• What are you grateful for? A quiet hour each morning. 
• Who are you grateful for? My family JB, BB, VB and Max the dog.
• What is abundant in your life? Work and books. 
• What is working wonderfully in your life? My relationship with JB 
• What are things you’re happy about? Tea and hot showers & music. 
• What can you celebrate? 6 years in librarianship. 

My favourite thing is still my camera in my phone... 

What are you grateful for ?

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day in June

Monday meme on Tuesday - blog the 18th

Monday meme via dpgreen.net 20 questions.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? 

Do I really need to wash my hair?

2. What shirt are you wearing? Black long sleeve t shirt

3. Do you label yourself? Yes, don't like to, but I do.

4. What does your watch look like? I don't wear a watch.

5. What were you doing at midnight last night? Half-awake wondering if JB will stop snoring.

6. Last furry thing you touched? Max our dog

7. Favourite age you have been so far? 37

8. What is your current desktop picture? Photo of Tiffany's window at the Raffles in Singapore (I had lunch at Tiffany's)

9. If you had to choose between $1,000,000 or to be able to fly what would it be? The money, please. ( sorry, flying - every time... I read this wrong initially.)

10. The last song you listened to?  

One of these mornings by Moby

Love this, it ended a very emotional episode of  Torchwood and fitted the mood beautifully.

11. What time of day were you born? 23.59 (Mum said)

12. Where did you live in 1987? In my first home with JB

13. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Get grumpy and vow to 'never use the machine again' ( until next time)

14. Would you move for the person you loved? Yes. 

15. Name three things that you have on you at all times?  Glasses, mobile phone, clothes (except showering)

16. What’s your favourite town/city? The next one I visit. Or Perth and Melbourne.

17. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? Lunch

18. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? Not sure, do birthday cards count? Last week. Actual letter, um years ago.

19. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear? I dressed up in fancy top and pants for a semi-formal lunch for my Mothers special birthday.

20. Does anything hurt on your body right now? Small surface cut on right index finger. Hurts like blazes.

Arthritis in hands.

Meme anyone?

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog everyday for June

Journey - Blog the 17th

I've been thinking about journeys a lot recently, and remembering a conversation I had with a colleague years ago about the first steps we were both taking on a learning journey, me to attend Librarian school and her to learn alternative medicine, and complimentary therapies. The following quote was our mantra at the time...

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)   

We completed those journeys and embarked on others of various length and duration.

Big journeys, like the one my friends Tim and Allison are on, exploring the world, the 'work/life balance' journey that k-k-k-Kate another friend now believes is a myth. Or the journey another friend is experiencing from a wheelchair. 

All of us with our careers at different times, places and levels... 

Little joyful journeys to wish my Mother happy 80th birthday, trips to complete training or tasks. Tiny minutiae of daily journeys to work and home to fill out the hours before we sleep, and yes sleep can also be a journey, my husband would say, you were lucky if you get some, he has insomnia. That is his journey.

Journeys are perspective. We see then from our own point of view.

My minutiae may be a large journey for someone for various reasons.
My large journey may be second place to someone who travels for work or who has visited many places.

Currently I am in a sort of 'holding pattern' for the start of a large journey for me, small for other seasoned travellers and minutiae for people who travel all the time.

This holding pattern seems to have lasted for weeks and I have been imagining myself in the places I am going to visit for a very long time. I have danced around Mayfair, wintered at the Palace, met friends at the Eiffel Tower and imagined the water above the channel tunnel, waves tossing in dark delight. The endless thoughts about what might be, and what I might experience, and the questionable  weather from the part of the world we are visiting, are all exciting and will be my journey.

This one just needs to begin.

So currently my journey is one of planning and saving and excitement and looking forward, so much so that am glossing over the little journeys and forgetting the tiny tasks I need to complete.
So please forgive me if I have forgotten to post your birthday gift, answer that tweet, pay that bill (oops). I will try to get all the 'single steps' done in time to relax and let the big journey happen, it will so soon be over, this journey of a thousand miles.

And then maybe I can start another... With pleasant memories of the road and places visited.

Happy journeys to you all.

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June

Cook books - blog the 16th

This is partly for @flexnib cause she likes to browse and for @katiett who loves the Moosewood cookbook as much as I do :))

I have cookbooks in bookshelves in various parts of the house. The shelf in the lounge room is my favourite with 'the cooks companion' and 'the Jane Austen cookbook' amongst others for browsing, reading and dreaming of feasts for friends and loved ones. Amongst this group is Ian Hemphills 'Spice Notes' one of the better spice books... Reading this I can dream of being retired like Cadfael and sitting in my garden in the sun, surrounded by delicious smells, flowers and bees. (Until there is a murder of course. :)

The lounge room set ' the enchanted broccoli forest' is a companion book to the Moosewood.

The messy kitchen stash - currently enjoying 'a season in Morocco', beautifully illustrated and tangines to die for. The small green book and the yellow one next to it are 'muffin magic' and 'more muffin magic' by a local food and nutrition teacher - still my favourite muffin books as they are ' never fail'.

'Love and a wooden spoon' - this was my first cook book and birthday present from a lovely lady Allison Nagy. A New Zealander married to a Hungarian who worked with my Father in the nickel mines.

Mining towns were always, and still are a large mix of nationalities and transient families who all knew each other and moved where the work took them. She gave me this for my 21st and I treasure it. 

My first cookbook 

Beautifully illustrated and wonderful recipes and poems.

My new cookbook is the Internet and I'm currently looking up 'Thai pumpkin soup', seems to involve red curry paste... Hmm shopping tomorrow.

What are you cooking up?

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June 

Shopping - blog the 15th

Shopping with a teenage girl is hard yakka (strine for difficult) and if I remember correctly teenage boys are just as much fun.

1. First you have to get them out of bed - simples you might say, but no, not on the weekend.

2. Convince them they have to be there, to try on the clothes, shoes etc. Note: this campaign has usually started days before with the warning from you that they need X and we need to get it on Saturday. Accompanied but much groaning and complaining from you both.

3. Drive to the shop, stopping at food outlet of their choice as bribe to actually getting them in the car.

4. Find something they deem worthy of trying on.

5. Trying things on, while dodging that fellow student from school, who works at the clothing outlet they ' don't like' and this is embarrassing to be seen buying, um clothes?

6. Not allowing you to actually look at the dress on her, she has decided she can't live without, even though you think it's, well, tasteless ( but what do i know?.... decided at the last minute she didn't like it, phew).

7. Finally getting into the swing of shopping while you are dropping with fatigue. "Let's go to The games shop... I can show you all these cool things".

8. Home at last. Try's on all her wondeful new things, so glad she took you shopping.

9. Time for a cup of tea and a good lie down, while she tumbles to her friends.

10. NTS remember we didn't get the shoes we actually went for.. *smacks head in frustration*.

The end.

Do you have a loved one who hates shopping?

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June

Science fiction book meme - blog the 14th

Blog every day for June

Meme time :))

From SF Signal 

Here is a sf/f/h book-related meme for a lazy Saturday…
For EACH of the following questions, name 1 or more science fiction, fantasy or horror book titles…

1. The last sf/f/h book I read and enjoyed was:  The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M Banks
2. The last sf/f/h book I read and did not enjoy was:  a Stephen King -{shudder}
3. A sf/f/h book that I would recommend to new sf/f/h readers is: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
4. A sf/f/h book that I would recommend to seasoned sf/f/h readers is: Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
5. The sf/f/h book I most want to read next is: Iain M Banks - next one *sniff*
6. My favorite sf/f/h book series includes: Dragons 
7. I will read anything by this sf/f/h author: Phillip K Dick
8. The first sf/f/h book I read was: gosh um .. Short stories - "there will come soft rains" by Ray Bradbury
9. The sf/f/h book I’m most surprised that more people don’t like is: Contest by Matthew Reilly
10. The sf/f/h book I’m surprised so many people do like is: 2001 a space odyssey by Arthur C Clarke
11. The most expensive sf/f/h book I own is: The best Australian science fiction writing. A fifty year collection. 
12. The number of sf/f/h books I own and have yet to read is: not many as I tend to read them straight away. 2or 3 from a library sale probably. 

Do you like scifi?

Tell me please... So I can explore your favourites :D

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June 

At the theatre - blog the 13th

Theatre - working the bar - so tired - good night .. 

Backstage

Front of house

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Missed one day bahwah 

Waiting - blog the 12th

Inspired by @flexnib waiting for a plane *waves* (hope you are home and warm)

"Waiting is not in the first 100 things I'm good at" Abby - NCIS

5 'waits' I did today

1. Waiting for the alarm 

I do this every time I set an alarm - I wake up 10 mins before it goes off.

2. Waiting for the coffee machine to start

Longest wait of the day - Self explanatory 

3. Waiting for ms 16 to be ready 

Teen age girl with hair - Self explanatory

4. Waiting for 'desk shift of death' to finish

Seriously - four hours is a long time (staff illness) 

5. See image below - its dry and freezing here in the desert. 

Did you wait today? How was it?

I'll wait to hear... :))

@kalgrl

#blogjune

Blog every day for June

Theatre - blog the 11th

Our local theatre group the Goldfields Repertory Club opens its season of 'The Man From Muckinupin' by Dorothy Hewett this Thursday. It's a Musical play in two acts and was first performed by the National Theatre Company at the Playhouse, Perth on the 31st of August 1979.

The cast included Bill Kerr, Noni Hazelhurst and Jenny McNae.

I did some classes with Jenny years ago and she was lovely and very professional. I learnt a lot from her.  

It should be a great show from what I have seen of the set and the cast. I'm working in the bar and on front of house for this one - playing to my skill set of client service. 

Break a leg everyone ! 

Training, yes please - Blog the 10th

Training, yes please *hand up*


Last week I had the opportunity to participate online to learn about a tool that would help researchers in the area of bibliometrics, using the Web of Science database. I am beginning to appreciate the significance of this area of my work and was interested to learn more. Research Rules OK.

The course was online, delivered at 9:00pm on a Tuesday in the US to us on "Singapore time" in WA at 9am on Wednesday. (in the interwebs, the ability to time travel is a wonderous thing)

Two of my colleagues from our Perth main Library were also online and at their desks in different buildings. The presenter was, I believe, French if not then he spoke with a heavy accent, the participants were largely from New Zealand and Australia.

This was done over an online session to which we registered and connected through a link and we were able to view the desktop of the presenter, make comment and ask questions.

Apart from a few hiccups with mike volumes and muting to overcome a noise problem the session ran smoothly, and I learnt a lot.

I tried producing a couple of reports after the session and it seemed to work well. Now I need to learn more about the content of the reports and gather information about how it could help the clients here.

Training is a good thing and now technology has caught up and I can participate any when/where all I can say is "bring it on and I will try to do it justice".

@kalgrl
#blogjune
Blog every day in June

communication, golden clock towers and frangipanis

A mining town can be an interesting place to live.