Friday; Grandparents day at Somerset College;

Today was again Grandparents Day and Easter celebration  at Somerset college.

Grandparents day up to year 5, my youngest grandchild is now in year 3 so I will have two more years to attend this special day.

Fabrizia at her desk.

First we were treated to a concert by Year 11 students. Then the grandchildren came to meet us and accompanied us to the classroom where ...

....we made a crossword and baked a carrot cake for the Easter bunny!

Afterwe finished  we were treated to Morning Tea; after that we went to the great Hall to watch the Easter hat parade!

Grandparents brought their Easter hats and had as much fun as the children.

Somerset College a great school; here is a link Somerset College;

Monday; Fairy tale;

Flying to Rainbow;

.... they met by coincidence. Where are you flying to? I am traveling to Rainbow; ah, interesting, I am visiting there as well, it is a cheerful and beautiful place.That was fast;  we, are already landing; It really looks beautiful, different to any place I have been. Where are you staying? I am staying in that  dreamy, yellow house over there, draped with pink and purple Bougainvillea. How extraordinary it is my destination too.  I am glad I met you, let me help you with your luggage, as we are going to the same place.  It is such a pretty place, look at the Jasmine creeping through the windows and Almond trees have showered their frothy petals over the door steps.  How lovely the sun sets, pink and blue, green  and gold ; two grey heads leaning towards each other, holding hands with a knowing and soft understanding. A glass of red, a cuddle here and a whisper there, the fish frying, bravely overdone and the salad greens waiting with wilting leaves while they dance and flirt in a yellow house scented with Jasmine in the late spring afternoon.

This is a Fairy tale, any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental.

♥

Dedicated to all oldies young at heart.

©Ts 

Sepia Saturday 118; Going out;

Probably 1932

My mother, Rosalia, right and her older sister Victoria. 

I guess on a Sunday outing.

Probably 1938

My aunt Helene her daughter Gerlinde and her nephew Joseph;

I do not know where they went, perhaps to a wedding or to a christening.

Summer 1948

My younger sister and I, going out;

Sunday dress, white socks and white shoes

Going out  to a School reunion 1969

From left, I, my school friend Guido and my best friend Margrit.

That's all from me,  Going out;

 if you like more please click

Sepia Saturday

Thursday; a good excuse...

Today I am going to the Arts center to see the movie "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". Lilli said, Mum a good excuse to make a  girl's day out and lunch at Ferry Road Market. ML comes too, we all love movies.




 Drama / Comedy

Cast: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith. 

Synopsis:The Exotic Marigold Hotel follows a group of British retirees who decide to "outsource" their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel and bolstered with visions of a life of leisure, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self. Though the new environment is less luxurious than imagined, they are forever transformed by their shared experiences, discovering that life and love can begin again when you let go of the past.

May the blessings of each day be the blessings you need most.♥  

Wednesday; peaceful;

Nature is cruel....but also extraordinarily beautiful;

 pleated leaf of  the Bismark palm.

Peaceful for me means, walking around in the garden and take in all the flowery and earthy scents, the visual pleasure of unexpected beauty,  a leaf illuminated, a petal glitter from last nights rain.

Today I am invited to visit Sarah's garden. I am looking forward to see her garden. It is always a pleasure to    talk to a fellow gardener.


Down By The Salley Gardens by William Butler Yeats

DOWN by the salley gardens my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white
feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish, with her would not
agree.
In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white
hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.

Lichen adorning a tree;

© Ts

Tuesday; a tiny speck...

Dawn in the Currumbin Valley;

WHO do you think we are? 

Monday; Sola;

The lovely Setsugekka, Camelia sasanqua; is always the harbinger of autumn, the first of the Camelias to flower. The white flowers pristine, sometimes with a breath of pink. It is deilcately beautiful.

This morning I have to make myself to write about something beautiful; the words are not flowing today;
Outside the wind has chased the clouds to make  room for blue and gold, I did not expect it this morning.
Perhaps my day improves too, something chasing off the clouds.

To cheer me up a few lines of  A MERRY AUTUMN
 It's all a farce,—these tales they tell 
        About the breezes sighing, 
    And moans astir o'er field and dell, 
        Because the year is dying.

 Such principles are most absurd,— 
        I care not who first taught 'em; 
    There's nothing known to beast or bird 
        To make a solemn autumn.

 Now purple tints are all around; 
        The sky is blue and mellow; 
    And e'en the grasses turn the ground 
        From modest green to yellow.

 The seed burs all with laughter crack 
        On featherweed and jimson; 
    And leaves that should be dressed in black 
        Are all decked out in crimson. 

                Merry Autumn, a wonderful hymn by Paul L. Dunbar.

Somewhere over the oceans is an other world where spring sows tiny bells of happiness.


♥


A favourite;

As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.


And an other favourite
...tomorrow is another day.

Sepia Saturday 117 - Scouts;

Scouts is a difficult meme for me, no photos, nothing, nobody past or present has been a scout. My middle daughter had once a go at cadets in her first years at Maclean Highschool. Nothing has come out of it not even a photo. As far as I know my father did not like organised obedience. He hated it when he had to do his obligatory military training and also the successive  trainings every year for three weeks and after 40 for 2 weeks.  My daughters never showed any interest to be a  "Browny" what the girls were called in those day I have a nephew he has refused to do military training and service and had to something else, like community service. Before that many went to jail which was the only option if you did not do military service. For the females it was optitional.
I remember the scouts in Switzerland, they were little busy bodies feeling very important in their khaki uniforms and big hats. In lieu of the missing scout pictures I post some from the early years of military service of my dad.

I do not know the year of  this picture, but I know it was  in the second  world war, when all Swiss men had to go and defend the borders. Here he was in the cooking brigade, I think he did not mind it because he liked cooking! He always cooked on Sunday for us. My dad is right at the edge of the picture.

It looks like there were a few more which were not amused.

My mother with some  Swiss soldiers;  No clue why they are here, I guess my mother might have cooked for them. My father is not in this picture. He might have taken the picture. 

To me it looks rather odd, at that time it must have been  serious.

Here in front my father not wearing his uniform, why? His hands in his pockets, a very big no no; standing there not very elegantly  but very sure of himself.

No clue when or why?

This is my contribution of uniformed men, hope you enjoy.

 please click Sepia Saturday

Wednesday; Treats;

From Fabrizia with Love...

8 years old;

As Grandparents we have the privilege of being hugged from little arms and whispers, I love you goi. (Grossmammi) and we receive delightful paintings of the family dog.

It was a thank you for a sleep over on March the 30. 2011 

Panda Love 2009

6 years old;

Snowmen in SUMMER was Fabrizia's interpretation of her Painting. 2007

She was 4 years old.

Pantry doors as gallery for memories; drawings and paintings from the grandchildren

♥Happy days with your grandchildren♥

Monday; From Evolution to Revolution;

HOPE

“Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero”' 

Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity  and change at every level of biological organization.
Earth and its inhabitants are in a continuous evolutionary process.
In the process of  evolution we are building up but we are also destroying.
Our knowledge has given us an arrogance which we can follow through history;  We think we are unbeatable, we do not reckon with the balance of nature in evolution. We pick at it, take it apart and put it the wrong way together. We make and try out a huge amount  new molecules. We make new food chains to combat diseases in crop but create in doing so new ones. We manipulate  all the food that is available today and we think we get away with it.  What we gain might be lost also, a terrible dilemma. We change DNA, we frack the earth, we pollute the oceans, we pollute water and earth with  poisons whiche will not ever be retractable, it is evolution in a negative process which nature has in store for us because we are “blessed” with bigger brains.

In the process of evolution, people have always been on each other throats for superiority. On all fours we fought for food;  Then advanced on two legs and found the club to hit each other on the head. Then we advanced a bit further to the sword and were able to cut us to pieces. A bit later we advanced to make a gun and  we all know the consequences it brought.  Our evolution is still pushing us, we have now the nuclear bomb. It has already been used and evolution does not let us stop here, as bad as it sounds but the people’s arrogance plus addled brains, drunk by success, do not see their downfall.
It has nothing to do with religion or what ever the prophecies are, it is pure evolution  of a species with a bigger brain; what goes round comes round.

Revolution;
A revolution (from the Latin revolutio, "a turn around") is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.
 Aristotle described two types of political revolution:
Complete change from one constitution to another Modification of an existing constitution.
Revolutions have occurred through human history and vary widely in terms of methods, duration, and motivating ideology. Their results include major changes in culture, economy, and socio-political institutions.
A  Revolution can only help us now to come out of our quagmire if we have a complete turnaround. Change our behaviour towards nature, towards anything living. Unfortunately,  I do not think that this is possible, evolution  has its own way with us. Revolutions work for a while, a very short time, until it falls all in a heap again.
The movement which is now in control of the world stops at nothing even if it destroys itself in the process.  So I say, seize  the day while you can.

'Carpe diem' is usually translated from the Latin as 'seize the day'. However, the more pedantic of Latin scholars may not agree if you suggest that translation. 'Carpe' translates literally as 'pluck', with particular reference to the picking of fruit, so a more accurately translated  “enjoy the day, pluck the day when it is ripe'.
The phrase 'carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero' translates as 'Pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the future'.

©TS

Sepia Saturday 116; Hair;

Beards, are absent in my family, always have been. My ancestors must have been completely against facial hair.

They all looked as clean shaven as Richard E. Grant as Sir Percy aka Scarlet Pimpernel.

I had to call again on my grandson Lucian who has a head full of curls which I think make up for the best beard. This was in 2004.

In 2006 he was in year 12,  17 just before University. At this time he slicked his curls down with lots of gel!

Is this called a good head  of hair?

Enjoy

Sepia Saturday

Thor's day’s I don’t like; Satire;

Jacek Yerka

Being a little different is bliss...Ts♥

 Thursday is the fourth day of the week according to the international standard adopted in most western countries.  It falls between Wednesday and Friday. The name is derived from Old English Þunresdæg and Middle English Thuresday, which means "Thor's day".

Since the Roman god Jupiter was identified with Thunor (Norse Thor in northern Europe), most Germanic languages name the day after this god: Torsdag in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, Hósdagur/Tórsdagur in Faroese, Donnerstag in German or Donderdag in Dutch. Finnish, a non-Germanic (Uralic) language, uses the borrowing "Torstai". In the extinct Polabian Slavic language, it was perundan, Perun being the Slavic equivalent of Thor.


Jupiter's day
In most Romance languages, the day is named after the Roman god, Jupiter who was the god of sky and thunder.
In Latin, the day was known as Iovis Dies, "Jupiter's Day". In Latin the Genitive or possessive case of Jupiter was Iovis/Jovis and thus in most Romance languages it became the word for Thursday:
Italian giovedì, Spanish jueves, French jeudi,


In Australia, most cinema movies premieres are held on Thursdays. Also, most Australians are paid on a Thursday, either weekly or fortnightly. Shopping Malls see this as an opportunity to open longer than usual, generally until 9 pm, as most pay cheques are cleared by Thursday morning.

Monday's child is fair of face

Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

Sweet Thursday is a novel by John Steinbeck.  The titular day, the author explains, is the day after Lousy Wednesday, and the day before Waiting Friday.

This Link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thursday
will  tell you more of  boring Thursdays;

I  could do without Thursday; it’s not here nor there. According to wikipedia it would not be much to lose.  It could be obliterated from the week.  We could get rid of 52 Thursdays, such bliss. Instead we could have 7more weeks and three days in the year, that would give us 59 weeks and 3 days. This sounds so much more interesting then boring old Thursdays.

 Imagine  more,  but,  shorter weeks; more pay,  less work, how long have they got away with this, telling us a week has to have 7 days, that was very clever, but slowly we are getting there, because we are getting cleverer as well since  we are getting rid of Thursdays. 

We can get rid of  Thursday which is anyway all trivia, no thunder which scares the dogs, anymore. Boys whom are christened a poncy name like Thorsdag, what name is that anyway, can be easily renamed John, or Bill, proper boy’s names! 

Happily we will slide from Wednesday to Friday, no more boring old  Thursdays. Puff they are gone for ever and we will be liberated from Thursdays, because  in relation to…whatever…most people don’t like Thursdays. If you are one of the 7billion 999million you can help obliterate Thursdays. If we are successful with this one we can then perhaps proceed later to obliterate more days, like per example Mondays, but that can  be easily achieved  later.

©TS

Monday; feeding the brain cells;

A paradox is a logical statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which if true defies logic or reason, similar to circular reasoning. Typically, however, quoted paradoxical statements do not imply a real contradiction and the puzzling results can be rectified by demonstrating that one or more of the premises themselves are not really true, a play on words, faulty and/or cannot all be true together.

 The word paradox is often used interchangeably with contradiction.

For example, "Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair" or "When the battle's lost and won"

in Act 1,Scene 1.  Shakespeare.

...Nothing is

But what is...

In the big picture, nothing matters;

for the individual everything matters;

Don't give your brain cells a rest, they will quickly wither, dissipate to dust! 

♥

I found that many people are superficial; they can not or will not think beyond their perspective.

The question; how to think rational when the brain is occupied by nothing else but  trivia,  emotional fragments and debris?

Do not take this to serious, it is Monday, did I say Monday?

© TS

Sepia Saturday 115 GAMES;

My grandchildren came for a visit  and are playing a game together. I don't remember what sort of game it was. The picture was taken on the 7Th. December 2004.

The picture is  in colour, but I changed it to sepia to keep it  "authentic."

Lucian, my oldest grandson used to make his own games, when he spend  holidays  with us.; this one was called  "Attack of the green goo monster."  I think he was 10 when he made this one. At school his nickname was Mole, so he was super Mole,  our dog Taj was his super mutt Taj  etc.

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday, Games; I did not find any old sepia or black and white "gamblers"!

Enjoy Sepia Saturday;  Sepia Saturday 115 Games

Monday; A passion in life;

Passion from the Ancient Greek verb paskho meaning to suffer is a term applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something.

The term is also often applied to  an eager interest  for a cause  an activity or love - to a feeling of unusual excitement, enthusiasm or compelling emotion, a positive affinity  towards a subject, idea, person, or object.

♥

Everybody should be passionate about something in life.  I am passionate about  nature, growing plants.

Sometimes I think the garden consumes me, but I wont complain as it is a passion and has no limits.

One day I will evaporate in  my garden like water droplets at sunrise.

♥

Probably I will haunt this garden as long as it will exist. I will look over the shoulders of the next generation of gardeners; and he or she will shrug me away like a mosquito.

♥

♥

Here she is,  Jacquei, blue jersey, black pants, on a charity  bike ride.

My middle daughter is passionate about her bike. She has all the trimmings for it. She joins big bike tours.

Her last bike ride was from Broom to Perth , I think she pedaled  about 2400 km. Her next big bike tour will be from Darwin to Broom. 

♥

Bill, Lilli's Partner is very passionate about his cars.  He is also a Pilot and is very passionate about flying.

He brings  "lotions" to polish my car to make it look perfect.  I am so not bothered when it comes to cars.  It does not matter to me what  sort of car I drive. 

♥

My dearest Papa long past away  and my sister Rose.

My dad was very passionate about Mountains, Trees and Nature. He was a forester, managing  the forests of some municipalities.

My sister Rose was passionate about knitting. it was done to the highest standard. She knitted the most beautiful  jumpers, jackets, anything one could wear.

♥

There is so much more, practically anything in Life one can be passionate about. At last but not at least LOVE ♥

If music be the food of love, play on

Shakespeare  Twelfth Night – Act 1, Scene 1

Photos TS

© TS

Sepia Saturday 114; Shoes;

Sandals 1951

These Sandals are 61 years old. mine were red and my little friends sandals were brown.

This photo was taken when we visited  Kaiseraugst -  Augusta Raurica

Unfortunately I have not got a photo when we were wearing Roman sandals in 15 BC

Augusta Raurica is a Roman archaeological site and an open-air museum in Switzerland. Located on the south bank of the Rhine river about 20 km east of Basel near the villages of Augst and Kaiseraugst, it is the oldest known Roman colony on the Rhine.

Enjoy Sepia Saturday

Thursday; Unpredictable;

Life is unpredictable, extempore  like the weather.
It can be a big, bad bruise,  cracked and crazed,  leaves everything in its path bereft, or  a snack time of happiness with colours of vitality, bright, fresh and hopeful.
Do we have a choice? Or are we puppets of fate?

Horace  quoted: squid sit futurum cras, fuge quaerere
Do not ask what tomorrow brings




...and in Shakespeare's words who looked deep into the nature of mankind

Menenius: Thou rascal, that are worst in blood to run, leads first to win some vantage.
But make ready your stiff bats and clubs;
Rome and her rats are at the point of  battle;
Cericlanus Act 1Scene 1




Queen Margaret; O Buckingham! take heed of yonder dog; Look when he fawns, he bites; and when he bites His venom tooth will rankle to the death....
sin, death and hell have set their mark on him, and all their ministers attend to him.
Richard III Act 1 Scene III


Puck;....Now are frolic; not a mouse shall disturb  this hallow'd house; 
I am sent with broom before, To sweep the dust behind the door.
A Midsummer Night's dream; Act V  scene I


O Romeo, O Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Romeo and Juliet; ActII Scene II




.....  dear P.L.Dunbar knew happiness and sadness; and had  wonderful expressive words and a tender soul.

Invitation to Love


Come when the nights are bright with stars
Or come when the moon is mellow;
Come when the sun his golden bars
Drops on the hay-field yellow.
Come in the twilight soft and gray,
Come in the night or come in the day,
Come, O love, whene’er you may,
And you are welcome, welcome.


You are sweet, O Love, dear Love,
You are soft as the nesting dove.
Come to my heart and bring it to rest
As the bird flies home to its welcome nest.


Come when my heart is full of grief
Or when my heart is merry;
Come with the falling of the leaf
Or with the redd’ning cherry.
Come when the year’s first blossom blows,
Come when the summer gleams and glows,
Come with the winter’s drifting snows,
And you are welcome, welcome.


BY PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR
♥

Wednesday; Nonsense; plus an authentic Swiss Roesti.

I have heard of a heart of gold, or a golden heart, but never heard of a potato heart.

Well here it is in its full potato heart glory. Does it  not look splendid in its original dirty jacket.

I mean what is  a heart of gold, I have never seen one but  this heart of potato is real, it is so real one can cook it, eat it and...i guess that is about all one can do with a potato heart.

...and here is the original recipe for  a authentic Swiss Roesti.

the first job is to cook the potatoes in their jackets.

It needs 1 liter  water,  1 tsp salt, 1kg  slightly floury potatoes;

cook the potatoes until soft for about 20 min,  take the potatoes out of the water and let them cool.

Peel the cold potatoes  and use a special implement called a "Roestiraffel" it dices the potatoes ,
otherwise you have to dice them finely by hand.

Roestiraffel


Put 2 1/2 tblsp. butter or lard  in  frying pan, when melted and hot but not smoking add the diced potatoes, add the salt;
Let the potatoes fry  and turn slowly until slightly brown then you push the potatoes together to form a flat cake, now you put the lid on and do not stir the potatoes anymore.
On med to light heat let it fry for about 15 min until you get a golden crust, then you add 1tblsp of butter and leave it for another 5 min.  Turn the Roesti, the crust on top, on a nice plate  and  it is ready to eat.


It is very easy to prepare and to cook and is truly delicious. Bon appetit.




The potato is about 80% water and 20% solids.


The Irish referred to potatoes as "spuds," the name that came from a type of spade used for digging potatoes.


Hot potato -- a problem nobody wants to deal with

William Shakespeare had one of his characters proclaim, in The Merry Wives of Windsor ,

"Let the sky rain potatoes!" Some people of Shakespeare's time thought that potatoes were an aphrodisiac!

I do like nonsense, Dr Seuss is so right;  “Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”   TS

Tuesday; Flirt with fantasy;

Jacek Yerka, Painting

You say why dream  things that never were, I say why not? TS





The gift of fantasy means more then learning,  at my age.  TS



“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain 

It is early morning, exactly 6 hours and 13 minutes, ticking away; still raining heavily with some interludes. The garden has a big, green smile on its face. Let the day begin....