Life is not all food; there is also Blogland.

*ignore the december date above here on the left – it’s the date i created this sticky.

scroll down to see the latest postings

just trying out a new style image banner – all above photoss © Janezworld

like me, this blog is a work in progress.

♥ ♥ ♥

Loved these forever

getting closer to having one of my own.

Adirondack Chairs

Thanksgiving Countdown

Take the Turkey Trivia Test

Today’s 5 Things I am Thankful for:

1. Modern medication & surgical procedures

2. Laptops, iPhone & the Internet

3. The ability to think.

4. The ability to articulate my thoughts. (and yours)

5. Insight

what are you thankful for?

Make a Cottage Garden

without the cottage?

I have an old blue-washed desk I can’t seem to place correctly in my new HOME

I had been wondering about the small inner courtyard. It gets the morning sun.

NOW I am inspired.

I found these images on a lovely the lovely

DAISY PINK CUPCAKE BLOG

Library Loot

Inspired by Marg’s example

Now that I have moved I have set my Wednesday afternoon walk to include a visit to the local library.

Today I found these books to bring home with me.

Latest in the series

research reading

A ‘Fast Back: 7 Day Loan – can I do it?

even readers have to eat.

Check these out

these were made for and by a group of Twilight fans attending the midnight showing of

New Moon.

fabulous work girls

Thanksgiving: Countdown

wiki commons

We don’t have Thanksgiving in Australia.  To me this very American (yes I know other nations celebrate it) holiday is represented by turkey – just put Thanksgiving into google and see what you get – mad dashes back and forth the country by planes, trains and automobiles.

Stressful family get-togethers (maybe I have seen too many Hollywood movies)

check this list

I know so many people are having a tough time across the world including in USA

however I think & feel there is always room for

Gratitude, thankfulness, or appreciation is a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. (Wikipedia definition)

Here are my top 5

I am grateful for:

1. My children  2. My grandchildren.  3. My parents.  4. Hugs

more tomorrow.

ELLEN seems to be helping some

and now a little history…

Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day, presently celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, has been an annual tradition in the USA since 1863. It did not become a federal holidayuntil 1941. Thanksgiving was historically a religious observation to give thanks  to God,  and is still celebrated as such by many families,                                                     but is now also considered a secular holiday.

Most Americans celebrate by gathering at home with family or friends for a holiday feast. Though the holiday’s origins can be traced to harvest festivals which have been celebrated in many cultures since ancient times, the American holiday is tied to the deliverance of the English settlers by Native Americans after the harsh winter at Plymouth Massachusetts and that event has become the pre-eminent foundation story for English North America.

Happy Birthday dresses

Every year my mother would send me money to buy a dress.

Yes, it’s birthday dress time.

Though  mum is gone now, here are some dresses we may have considered.

~ This year from Nieman Marcus ~

(roll over for designer)

I quite like this one. Mum would like the colour

Love the blue in this, of course, however my cardiac surgery scar might not suit the neckline.

I think we would agree this is a fun dress. Just a tad short for me.

I really like this, though I’d drop the hemline a little. I think mum would appreciate the detail.

I’m so not into black and white and hey I am not this shape either. We’d skip this one.

Now this one, we’d both choose on first glance. I’m not really a pink gal but I’d look great in cashmere if I was that shape. I swam yesterday and walked today. The day draws nearer….

I like this one, but not for an Australian summer.

Can I have this instead?

Love you mum. Forever. xx

new header, and

I made a new image header for my blog, and a new statement.

Check it out here (in case you are reading this in a reader)

remember all is © Janezworld

* * *

the new warning level of

‘Catastrophic’

has been evoked

for south australia’s north west corner.

We hope and pray it does not come to pass.

Bathroom Solution

what Freedom I will have when this is in my itty bitty bathroom.

Word of the Year: from USA

It’s prone to cause drama in the online world.

And, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, it’s the word of the year.

“Unfriend” beat out a tech-heavy field that included “netbook,” “hashtag” … to take the annual honor.

“It has both currency and potential longevity,” said Christine Lindberg, a language researcher for Oxford’s U.S. dictionary program. “In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year.”

Oxford defines “unfriend,” a verb, thusly: “To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.”

 

check out CNN’s report

Powells Books

New Moon

I understand there is a NEW MOON due any moment…

no, not this kind but this kind.

girlfriends have arranged midnight movie session.

I’m not into it all but for those who are

Ellen loves the film. Robert Pattinson is on her show Thursday/Friday depending where you live.

check out these 5 reasons

there are even Twi-mums (I think I know some)

and a 10 things you should know before you see the film video clip

Edward Woodward dies.

wiki

Edward Woodhouse: ’sustained a “brave spirit and wonderful humor” throughout his illness’.

read about The Equalizer

30 hours

 

What have you been doing for the last 30 27 ( ok it turned out to be 27 hours?)

UPDATE:

Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital head of surgery Leo Donnan emerged from the hospital shortly after 1pm to announce the twins had been successfully separated after almost 27 hours of complex surgery.
*UPDATED REPORT HERE

woken up, caught a bus, jogged, worked out, rode to work, eaten, driven, swum, run, facebooked, shopped, went out for dinner, collapsed in front of the TV,  slept etc ?

Consider this:

A team of 16 surgeons and associated medical teams have been operating all that time.

SURGEONS are still working to separate conjoined twins Trishna and Krishna.

The complicated procedure began yesterday morning and had been due to finish by midnight this morning, but was still going at 11am today (Tuesday) (AEDT).

But surgeons say the twins are doing well and the length of the operation is not a sign of problems.  Before the surgery began, the twins’ chances of survival were rated at about one in four.

Many of the complications they have expected have simply not occurred.

read about the long way to go

Lauren Bacall wins OSCAR!

“I can’t believe it – a man at last,” Bacall joked as she received the lifetime OSCAR.

Hollywood actress Lauren Bacall received an honorary Oscar at the weekend in front of stars including Jack Nicolson and Warren Beatty.

Bacall, 85, starred in more than 30 films but never won an Academy Award.

Saturday’s event marked the first time the Academy has presented an award away from the main ceremony in February. It was not televised.

Bacall paid tribute to her husband and fellow actor Humphrey Bogart, who died in 1957.

“He gave me a life and he changed my life,” she said of the Hollywood legend.

read who presented the award to Lauren Bacall and what the connection is.

Good to see the Academy  acknowledging a life of great work.

yes, but…

did he swallow?

Kevin Rudd had a meal with Aussie diggers in Afghanistan for Remembrance Day 2009

back in April we read this

Kevin Rudd has apologised for behaving badly to a RAAF female flight attendant when he did not get the sort of food he wanted on a flight from Port Moresby to Canberra earlier this year.

read coverage from The Age

so…did he or didn’t he?

The sound of taps echoed across the Texas plains

they are not meant to fall at home, within the safety of a military base.

Speaking of the 13 dead, President Obama said “Their life’s work is our security and the freedom that we too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — that is their legacy.”

Grey Nomads?

turning off the freeway I pulled up behind this

Born Now free, as free as the wind blows
As free as the grass grows
Born Now free to follow your heart

Live free and beauty surrounds you
The world still astounds you
Each time you look at a star

Stay free, where no walls divide you
You’re free as the roaring tide
So there’s no need to hide…

words by Don Black, music by John Barry (of James Bond fame) not the Jon-Barrie I know.

today I shed a tear

on my way to a date with my 3rd grand daughter I pulled over, and listened to the last post. I found myself shedding a tear or two, as I thought of those men and women who served, and serve now, that we may be free.

bathroom blues

(no, I don’t mean the colour scheme)

is this the world smallest vanity unit?

It is in my new bathroom.

The fan is there as there are no windows and…er…IS that an exhaust thingy up there?

Who knows, as there is no switch for it.

Most of the space in the cupboard is filled with the plumbing for the sink,

the 3 drawers are itty bitty.

On the right is a double towel rack, attached to the wall and on the left,

as I took the photograph is the shower.

The total width is half a tile wider then what you can see on the floor at the bottom of the picture.

I am sure that even Millie feels better about HER bathroom reno; and who knows, I might be her MOTH’s new best friend, for the perspective I have added.

So suggestion ARE NEEDED!  where and how to put everything and make it look good.

Majic Monday

I understand there is a hurricane in the Mexican Gulf

everyone seems to worried about if Britney did or did not lip-sync

and 2o years ago the Berlin Wall came down. 20 years?

That means almost a complete generation has lived without it existing.

I know there is a while world of events going on out there –

however for me…

I just want to get sheets onto my bed, all smooth and tucked in.

wonderful children: fabulous adults

my children came and unpacked and set up 3/4 of my new apartment.

They have named the windowless storage room, built under the stairs, ‘the panic room’

Coming home…

I have been gone for a couple of years…geographically. and through the grieving time

but now

I feel I have come home.

a small apartment

breezy & light

in the perfect location

Australia: in perspective

though we ‘love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains..’ sometimes we forget, or don’t really grasp just how large the land downunder is.

Help Find Madeleine

Why do we continue?

• There is absolutely nothing to suggest that Madeleine has been harmed.
• Madeleine is still missing and someone needs to be looking for her.
• She is very young and vulnerable and needs our help.
• We love her dearly and miss her beyond words.

Please watch ‘A minute for Madeleine’

Find Madeleine

close encounters

of the cardboard kind –

lots of these today and tomorrow.

Actually, I am on the home stretch.  (hate all the fiddly bits)

a conversation

I rang a hardware store.  (no that’s not Christmas writing)

A recorded voice informed me all the operators were busy but one would be with me as soon as possible.

After Company ID and enquiry how they could help me.

Me: I want to find out how to measure a hexagonal piece of glass.

Operator: I put you through to DIY department.

DIY Dept:  H-e-l-l-o

Me: I want to know how to measure a hexagonal piece of glass, from a coffee table.

DIY Dept: …well, you will need a tape measure!

Me: (sigh) Yes I know that but how do I measure it – to get the dimensions.

DIY Dept – (slowly) you will need to measure it top to bottom and side to side to see if it is a rectangle.

Me: (Patiently) I want to measure a hexagon

DIY Dept: Silence

Me: IS there someone, senior to you there?

DIY Dept: uh no...

Me: Well, please go find someone.

Pause.

DIY Dept #2 Hello

Me:  I want to know how to measure a hexagonal piece of glass, from a coffee table.

DIY Dept #2:  Long Pause. I don’t think I remember how to do that. I will find someone who does.

Me: Thankyou (well at least he was honest)

music music

Store Operator: Can I help you?

Me: (for the 3rd/4th time and slightly less patient)  I want to know how to measure a hexagonal piece of glass, from a coffee table. To replace it with wood.

Store Operator:  Wood? Putting you through to the timber yard…

At this point a 2nd call came in and I was grateful to opt for ‘Hang Up this call and answer’.

So I did.

©Janezworld 2009

Please Choose

please leave me a comment as to your choice and why.

I want/need to buy a rug.

The room has, or will have white walls, with a duck-egg-blue chair rail.

The carpet in the room is dark green/blue.

the furniture is like this

and this, with a 3 seater couch in this style fabric

revolving doors

Revolving Doors

a symbol of life?

(cursor over image will reveal location of the revolving door)

The entire door is termed as – one revolving door.

A “wing” is each one of the revolving door sections separating the multiple compartments.  For example, a 3-wing design has three revolving compartments; and a 4-wing design (the most common) has four compartments.  The wings usually attach to a “center shaft”.

The arced sides surrounding the wings and compartments are called the “walls”.  There are usually two walls, allowing for an “interior” opening side and an “exterior” side.

Above, is the “canopy”, or “cornice”.  Its top is the “roof”.  Its bottom, visible to your customers when inside the door, is the “ceiling”

continue to revolve here

When one enters a revolving door one does so with an expectation: to either come out the other side; that is to enter or exit a building space.

or

to simple go around and come back to where one began

as TS Eliot wrote

What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.

and

‘…We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time’.

and thus it is with me.

I shall be returning to what was a ‘end’ in my life and begin again.

In the bottom drawer are some 100,000 words waiting to see what I can do with them.

In my heart are unfulfilled dreams.

In my mind things unexplored.

In my soul echoes of emptiness.

Cultural thirsts seeking drought bursting opportunities.

Creativity desperate for expression.

My spirit seeking to soar.

A feast before my anhungered soul;  I shall go one day at a time.

© Janezworld 2009

This Is It! Promised Review

a friend went opening night to see the Michael Jackson movie ‘This is it’ along with her 17+ yeas old daughter

Wow! An unbelievably energetic 50 year old dances across the big screen. He certainly does not look hours or days from ‘death’s door’. Michael Jackson is portrayed as a gentle, yet exciting and creative genius. The producers of ‘This Is It’ have compiled the best of M.J. It is obvious that he was well liked by coworkers and held in the highest esteem. During ‘This Is It’ we are allowed a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse of M.J. and the effort, time and energy he puts into his work to create, and please his audiences. His high expectations of himself force him to settle for nothing less than the best. A bonus for us, the audience. The atmosphere in the cinema was tense as fans did not know what to expect. They left satisfied, their hero had not been demeaned in any way. Tears were shed, awe evident as we watched M.J. in his last performance.

He is aptly named the KING OF POP.

lets be honest here this was written by the mother while the daughter was asleep on the couch. Daughter is drummer in a band so a pretty intense interest in MJ and the movie.

The band lead singer, when asked : yes i loovvvvveddd it;)

check out Brighter at Night here

Christmas Lights

image courtesy of

Ok! are the neighbours in the house on the right, environmentally concerned?

Lazy? Smart?

or

paying tribute to the late

Patrick Swayze?

This Is It –

reviews coming

I have asked a mother and daughter who attended the film together

to review this doco/movie

stand by…

The Great Pumpkin cometh.

image from here

 

seems like it is getting near pumpkin time.

Sweet Paul is running pumpkin week.

I guess after they have been candles

they can be pies?

Erin over at 5dollar dinners writes about 2009 pumpkins.

I am an Australian so  to me pumpkin is a savoury vegetable.

Though I do quite enjoy pumpkin pie, and have even made them

Of course all this pumpkin talk evokes childhood memories of

Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang.

Enjoy!

Is ‘This Is It’ really it?

The red carpet is filling up, the fans are pumped.

However after a mere 4 months I am wondering what this is about?

Money, Michael Jackson?

something else?

Sure we live in a fast moving world…but 4 months.

There will be protests, there are already online; there will be tears, cheers and jeers.

There will be money.

The endless trailers are spectacular –

Yet I find myself wondering if the 1st anniversary might have been better.

Though I cannot argue with the media comment this morning

‘It’s about Michael Jackson so how can there not be controversy?’

Good point.

Except – there are 3 children who have lost their father.

so, Is this It?

colour in my world

there is so much beautiful colour in my world.

delightful reds: harvest time.

fire engine red: fun dressy flip flops (maybe I will retake this shot)

forest green: chilli tree

bollywood yellow: fun flip flops (maybe I will re take this shot)

breakfast

just practicing image-placing and copyright placement

what do you think?

Summer heat.

planning to stay cool in the burbs.

or the government’s insulation rebate program at work?

iphone covers get groovy

After reading Ken’s Thoughts (post: Sep 23, 2009) about iphone covers.  I was out with a friend an we both put our iphones down on a table. When we collected them we had some trouble working out which was which.

I did an online search, and found that covers were available. In black, or black.

I then did worldwide search and found this, I also bought it in tan. there were many options.

Trouble is my friend bought the same red one, hence the butterfly sticker on mine.

SENA provided the solution. SENA now had flipper cases

I’m loving these new cases and might order a couple while the dollar is up.

The items arrived in less than 4 days by Fed-Ex

rain rain DON”T go away

rain – yayyyy

today

you know what this is – right?

so have a screen, make a donation & support the women you know and love.

first family 1st

photograph by Annie Leibovitz

I think it is lovely to see a healthy happy family – anywhere. For sure this one has privileges, however the responsibilities & stresses are way beyond my imagination. Good on them for remaining close & loving.

ENTREPRENEURIAL WOMEN

Are you an ENTREPRENEURIAL WOMEN?

A SAHM with an online business,  yet another resourceful woman making ends meet….?

Then I would like to hear from you.
I am hosting avatars with links to your website or blog. No strings no cost…
I believe that entrepreneurial women ought to be encouraged.

so leave me a comment and we can arrange everything.

You don’t have to be Australian.

Please help me dig a well.

My iPhone app tells me there are 62 days 1 hours and 17 minutes (and counting down) until Christmas etc ..how much will you spend? …how much will be waisted?

This is Caroline. Beautiful smile, right? She’s smiling because she’s drinking clean water for the first time. She used to walk three hours every day to fetch dirty water. But not anymore. Her village just got a well. Clean water will change everything for Caroline and her community. For every Caroline, there are millions more children hoping to smile like that. Almost a billion people on the planet don’t have clean water right now. Who knows how many people you will impact. This is where it begins. Start a campaign, create a group, invite your friends. Give up your birthday, climb a mountain and run a marathon. And smile. Because what you do here changes lives.

PLEASE HELP ME DIG A WELL

yes but…will you be judged by it?

the cover of this book, on a display shelf at my local library, grabbed my attention.

Then I thought, who would want to be caught reading it?

check out the Amazon blurb

of course you could get it and use one of these

book city jackets

Book City Jackets are updated versions of the classic paper bag book cover.  Our goal is turn books into a new kind of affordable art that can be displayed on bookshelves and coffee tables, in cafes and classrooms, on planes and trains …

winding down

Kuranda village in the rainforrest

how is cheese made?

here is some of what I saw at ‘Gallo’ Dairyland.

check out their website

Gallo

enjoy this

Nicole Kidman: goodwill ambassador UN Development Fund for Women,

Australian Oscar winner Nicole Kidman has given an emotional address at a congressional hearing in Washington DC, citing violence suffered by women in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Congo.

Kidman was part of a delegation testifying before the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organisations, Human Rights and Oversight.

Congress is examining whether to support the International Violence Against Women Act. ‘wether to support’? is there an option?

read an Australian report here and New Zealand here

IN the Pink

A NEW fleet of pink taxis driven exclusively by women cater to those tired of leering male drivers.

The fleet of 35 pink Chevy taxis at the Mexican city of Puebla come with beauty kits, a GPS system and an alarm button that alerts emergency services.

The pink taxis refuse to stop for male passengers.

Cities from Moscow to Dubai have embraced women-only taxis.

What a great idea!

walkabout: grounded

image: all hat no cattle

OK I couldnt find a grounded plane except a crashed one and I didn’t want that image:wrong message!

after a couple of flights where the need for oxygen from a tank, via a mask became, well kind of necessary

I have grounded myself. For the time being.

Brisbane City: home sweet home

I’m On My Way
I’m On My Way
Home Sweet Home
soon soon
I’m On My Way
I’m On My Way
Home Sweet Home

You know that i’ve seen
so many romantic dreams
Up In Lights, Fallin’ Off
The Silver Screen

My Heart was Like An Open Book
For The Whole World To Read
Sometimes Nothing
Kept Me Together
At The Seams

I’m On My Way
I’m On My Way
Home Sweet Home
soon soon
I’m On My Way
Just Set Me Free
Home Sweet Home

Original lyrics: Carrie Underwood. italics by me.

just looking for the right place – the place to call home.

quick note

my You Tubes from FNQ will be uploaded in a  couple of days.

SIghts and sounds of tropical Queensland.