Is there life beyond 2012?

Have you seen this cartoon on Facebook, or elsewhere? It makes me smile…however

it is more than likely that there will be a 2013.

What are you going to do with it?

I have moved my blog

Life @ Number 8

I have switched to a self hosted blog

come on over HERE

I have only just been told the link to my new blog was broken its there now, Please join me.

farewell Tony Curtis

Oscar-nominated actor Tony Curtis (85) has died.

His daughter Jamie Lee Curtis’ rep has confirmed the news of the legendary actor’s passing.

Tony Curtis, whose real name was Bernard Schwartz, was a most remarkable actor. Talented, good-looking & versatile

Clinical Psychologist Dr Pamela Stephenson Connolly conducted a riveting interview with Tony Curtis. She talked to Tony Curtis, swathed in black & totally bald, hardly recognisable yet still the actor.  They spoke about his violent mother, his guilt over the death of his younger brother and his relationships with some of the most famous women in the world. I found it riveting.

check out the rest of the interview here

6 clues to choosing an iphone plan or cap

a little back ground first.

I wanted to change, as in  lower the Plan I have for my iPhone(3)

I have noticed I have huge amounts of everything left at the end of the month & so I thought I’d keep a little more of my money in my pocket.

Fair enough? You’d think so wouldn’t you?

I went to the website & read all the Plan & Cap details. (this can require the focus & attention used for writing a university paper)

No one so far can explain why a Cap is a Cap (especially when it is unlimited – what’s capped? If you know please tell me.) or a Plan is a Plan.

I thought I had it all figured out, but to be sure I rang & talked it through with a person I trust. Ok. The change takes place on 1st October. However at 3am this morning (30th Sept) I woke in fright.

I called to recheck a few things.I called the provider.

This is what I learned:

1. a $79 Cap is not $79 it’s $84 . Why? Because when you select this Cap there will be a $5 extra fee, as it is not a Cap designed for your phone.

1A there will be a sizeable fee for the privilege of changing your Cap/Plan between contract times. I evoked the I have been with you guys for 6+ years & it was waved.

2. If you select the $79/$84 Cap with said fee you will pay the $5 fee no matter what other changes you might make for the duration of you contract. Bad luck if you have 18 months to go.

3. 24 month contracts are not forever. When you get to the end of a 24 month contract you can in fact change to a 12 month contract.

4. If you call the main Call Center number – by the way this now costs 30cents unlimited time, rather than the 15 it used to cost. Did they tell us about the increase? I didn’t get the message if they did – you can be transferred through to whatever department you need, still for the 30 cents.

5. Calls to 1300 or 1800 numbers are not free from a mobile. Unless they are covered in your Cap/Plan they will be charged at 40cents per 30 seconds & a 40cent flag fall. Nice little money-spinner for them huh?

6. If you have your iPhone set to roaming (its default) then it will automatically search for the strongest signal, & if this is not your provider, again it’s your bad luck. The fees for the time will take  your account to shock level.  I was shown how in settings I could deselect roaming & so now my phone only connects to my server, so no more account shocks. I have never not had service.Depends where you are.

my provider is 3

Generally I have had a good relationship with them, & few troubles.

However the bottom line is that whoever your contract is with, they are a business, they are not there or you. You are there for them. They want your money. And they will get it. So read carefully, read the very small print, check all the * & + additions that are indicated. Ask questions. Lots of them. Then run it by someone else. Then think on it. Then be very very careful.

And by the way when overseas if you have your phone on roaming don’t assume you will have reception. Because largely you will not.

Related Articles

• iPhone 4 Tips for International Roamers (brighthub.com)

Can a Gekko change it’s spots?

or

is ‘Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps’ worth seeing.

Yes!

and New York looks beautiful

‘a fisherman always recognises another fisherman’.

the cancer of greed is still alive in Wall Street…then came the collapse of 2008

ironically Michael Douglas was suffering undiagnosed throat cancer as he made this film.

I hope this is not his swan-song as he is surely getting better with age.

Depending on your age, you might need to see the original Wall Street movie. I wonder what the rating on that was. I can’t recall the language/sex scene levels but I’d guess there were more than in this film. The rating on Wall St 2 I think is for the adult-concept.

(L) Shia LeBeouf (M) Josh Brolin (yes he still sounds like Jimmy)  (R) Michael Douglas

Related Articles

• ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’ Presents the Next Generation of Financial Sharks (dailyfinance.com)
• Michael Douglas Hits Red Carpet for Wall Street 2 (eonline.com)
• David Weidner’s Writing on the Wall: Gordon Gekko’s real life transgressions (marketwatch.com)
• The Yes List: The Cult of Gekko (thedailybeast.com)
• Gekko Won the Box Office in Wall Street (screenhead.com)
• “Product Placement: ‘Wall Street 2’: Money Actually Sleeps Quite Well” and related posts (theawl.com)

coming soon

To my many readers & subscribers:

I have been creating & learning how to run a self-hosted blog.

Shortly I will be launching it

The new blog will replace this one.(though this one will remain)

It will have an easier URl, plus many functions that will make it easier for you,

to read, to share & enjoy.

I hope you will join me when I switch.

I will let you know when the countdown begins.

could you pass this test?

Image via Wikipedia

Australia‘s dementia week ended yesterday, but I forgot. No,don’t laugh I really did.

Today I was talking with a friend with a parent who underwent a basic questionnaire style early dementia test last week. Or maybe it was the one before.

There were 10 questions & the parent answered 3 correctly. Amongst the ones not answered incorrectly were what day is it? Now this person lives alone. There are no pointers to the day – all the days are the same. All the shops are open everyday, there is no school near by etc. The regular social clues are missing.

My friend said she would find it hard to tell what day it is. Having children in the home means you never get to forget.

We then decided to consider other questions – that would mean anyone in Australia would fail.(answers below)

1. Which political party in Australia has the majority?

2. Who won the 2010 Grand Final? (let alone what is the date of the game)

3. Who is the speaker of the House? (a Governmental/political position)

4. If you book a flight from Brisbane to Hamilton Island where will you land? (another friend recently took this flight with Jetstar & landed back in Brisbane due to the weather – why did they take off given the weather was bad before departure time? She left her home at 7am & arrived back at 7pm same day. )

5. If you book a ticket with Virgin Blue will you get a flight or just a motel room?

6. Explain the Clem 7

7. As a Queenslander why are you being invited to buy shares in QRail, which as a resident of the State you already own?

see how hard it is to prove you are normal?

But really it is a serious issue.

I saw an advertisement:

forgetting your daughter’s name is normal.

forgetting you have a daughter is not

more information here

____________________________

1. it’s a knife-edge situation. 2. No one so far. It was a draw 68/68 the rules mean it has to be replayed. It is always played on the last Saturday in September. Weddings etc planned for the Saturday after are now under pressure. 3. Speaker of the house – who knows?: stand by. 4. It depends on the weather. Take out rain insurance when you book. 5. Their IT system crashed stranding thousands of travellers. 6. That’s the tunnel under the Brisbane River. A financial lemon. Hardly anyone uses it due to the toll. 7. It’s the policy of the current state Government that they forgot to mention before the last election: they are selling off all the states assets. Even though the GEC is over, & down here we are well on the road to recovery.

Related Articles

• Virgin Blue delays as software goes down (news.theage.com.au)

weekend cooking post

I ate regualr healthy meals on the weekend but only snaptured this. I used 5 star heart-smart mince (hamburger), low fat cheese, and fresh salad. Thats extra melted cheese on top of the meat. (scroll down)

I found these great books

h e r e

h e r e

and this fantastic blog

other weekend cooks here

Monday Morning Mosiac

it started with this:

I bought a grain grinder (left rear above) to grind wheat to make bread, and I needed to attach it to something. Enter The Island. The right side of which is a breakfast bar. I needed 3 stools. Finally found what I wanted, so here is the building process. I’m stuck now as I’m not strong enough to assemble them. So there they sit waiting for a strong visitor…hopefully this week.

see more MMs here

c h r i s t m a s ?

photo by me

(I just wanted to use it)

check how many days

natural

232

more hunters here

n a t u r a l

wheat I grind to make bread. Herbs I grow to cook with.

Related Articles

• Fabulous Fiber: Whole Grains (lifescript.com)
• Wheat Bread Outsells White Bread (outsidethebeltway.com)

Roses are red…

& orange, & pink, & cream…I walked passed these on Day 1 of my walking program. I went back to snapture these images.

A life lesson: Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.

Having Headaches?

we are right in the middle of Australia’s Headache & Migraine Week.

(19th – 25th Sept 2010)

Do you suffer headaces?Migraine?

Every day?All day?

How about the ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome‘ headache?

Cluster headaches? Cough, eyestrain? There is a long list to check out

Headache Types
Sign up for the Registry while you are there.

Related Articles

• When does a headache need to be seen at the hospital? (kevinmd.com)

australian surfers go gold

more statues from the beach display. Yes we have Kangaroos & Koalas etc but we tend to think of our surf lifesaving members as truely Aussie. Iconic

patrol cap

weekend Italian

see more weekend foodies here

warm bread with pesto

restaurant

the place was packed out: fabulous food wonderful ambience & and the buzz of enjoyment

penne pasta with chicken & mushrooms

gourmet pasta: lamb & potoato called ‘Gippsland

moasic monday by the sea

M O N D A Y   M O S A I C

see more MMs here

beach side art currumbin gold coast australia

check out the milestone I reached

Related Articles

• General information about the Gold Coast and why it’s such as poplaur tourist destination (goldcoast.mydestinationinfo.com)

a milestone

Go me! How do you celebrate your blog post achievements?

Paul Simon

25 years.

Look, even if you don’t like Oprah this is a beautiful song.

What a master musician. Beautiful lyrics. We can all relate to

‘you’ll be home when you arrive…’

o:46 is where Paul Simon starts…

ok I just learnt a new thing.

I love WED:TED

: ideas worth spreading

Seth Godin: This is broken

Why are so many things broken? In a hilarious talk from the 2006 Gel conference, Seth Godin gives a tour of things poorly designed, the 7 reasons why they are that way, and how to fix them.(TED.com)

one reason is ‘Not my job’ which Aussie’s can relate to from the Barbara of Bankworld TV commercials. Right?

put your drink down & enjoy seeing the craziness of our world

watch here

a new window will open

Biog & other clips of Seth Godwin

I’m sorry I could not get this to embed but take the time to watch – it’s so worth it.

Related Articles

• Seth Godin on How to Successfully Finish Projects (adesblog.com)
• Maybe Seth Godin Was Right About Publishing – FierceCM (byronmiller.typepad.com)

The Declutter Bug

read more here

Peter Walsh (International Organiser) was on TV here yesterday.

He gave a couple of good clues about how to start to declutter.

Take 2 bags, (supermarket bags)fill one with stuff for the garbage, & the 2nd with things to give away – that is stuff to good to toss out, but that you don’t need. Give it to a Charity shop/Op shop whatever you call them where you are.

Then he went on to say we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. So turn all  your hangers one way for the gear you don’t often wear. Make sure the regular stuff hangers face the opposite way. If you wear someting turn the hanger to match the regular wearings. SIX months later you will be able to see what you wear and what you dont.

Bag up the not worn & get rid of it.

Personal Report:

In the last few days I cleared the bedroom of all the stuff/junk from the 2 months of the flu. Hey look carpet! I also sorted & cleared the paper work that had gathered. What happened to the paperless society we were promised?

I also peered into the utensil/gadget draw in the kitchen & wondered.

Related Articles

• Ask the Experts: 5 Steps to Clutter-Free Living (time.com)

Reflecting Upon Junior Masterchef

The 1st episode of Junior Masterchef grabbed all the viewers it peaked at 2.6 million.

Considering the finale of MasterChef Australia broke all records earlier this year, with an audience of 3.96 million for the finale, the 2.6million is amazing. To say the least.

Reviewed in the Business Section of the Wall Street Journal and Melbourne’s herald sun.

…and Fiona, remember her?

This was good to read:

The program was immaculately planned with producers working with health and safety experts, child psychologists, chaperones, timekeepers and the NSW Commission for Children and Young People.

Safety platforms were built so the kids could reach the benchtops, the gas stoves were replaced with induction cooktops, and brightly coloured safety knives were the tools of choice.

So it’s good to see that the duty of care is being met.  Yes, Monday produced all the ‘experts’ who condemned the show.

For myself, I think that where there is a passion, & an opportunity to develop it, share it &  improve it arises then it is worthwhile taking that opportunity. Does it matter that you are a child? Certainly if you are a very young child., say under 8.  I don’t agree with baby shows/child beauty pageants  which seem to have nothing to do with anything of substance, to me. However, cooking & therefore Junior Masterchef does not seem to fall into that category. I like the way it is set up, with the parents present & all the efforts that have been taken to adapt the situation to the younger contestants.And my goodness, those children are talented. What fortunate mums & dads they have. And how lucky are we to be able to peep over their shoulders in order to learn & be inspired.

Out there in reality-land where you are, the show is causing positive responses.

Bronnie from Junior Masterchef the blog is keen for her children to watch the show, and the want to view it. However in this day of high tekkie entertainment systems unless you have the top of the range ‘taping’ is now a thing of the past.  Bronnie’s children & yours can however watch a missed episode ONLINE.

I know of other mother’s keen to have their children watch; hopefully to learn some cooking skills.  Non cooking mother’s are hopeful a passion will ignite…and save the family.

‘It was originally thought Ten would run just one episode of Junior MasterChef each week. The show will be rested during Ten’s coverage of the Commonwealth Games, but when it returns it will be on three nights a week – Sunday, Monday and Friday.’

School holidays start Friday 17th September (QLD) The Games commence 29th September, & Schools starts up again 4th October (QLD) so there is some time to watch the episodes you have missed, or re watch & let your children practice.

I would hazard a guess there will be adults & teens who will try the Junior recipes.Why not. Go for it. Feel free to share your results here

I have deliberately chosen not to post any images of the children from the show.

Did you watch? Did your kids? Will you be cooking along with the Junior Masterchefs?

Related Articles

• The kids are alright (heraldsun.com.au)
• Kids are fare game (theage.com.au)
• Junior MasterChef recap: The only loser? Katy Perry (theage.com.au)

lovely letterboxes

Although I drive to go for a walk I enjoyed the letter boxes & signs in the street I choose.

visit more here

makin’ pasta at home

check out more cooking here

heading into warmer weather downunder so lighter meals are called for

(It is worth remembering that a cup of flour is not the same as 100gm)

ignore the phone, door & everyone.

so it’s time to get the pasta thing happening…

above: I let the pasta rest in the fridge for an hour.

below: images from the lesson I had, it was hard to make it & take photos while I made the above.

Related Articles

• How To Cook: Pasta Carbonara (coedmagazine.com)
• Makin’ Gnocchi (circleoffood.com)

I’ve been tagged too

I’ve been tagged by The Full o’ Flair Jessi to participate in a fun little game to help get to know your fellow bloggers. She answered questions about herself and then tagged 3 more people to answer them…… I was one of them, each new person gets to add a question:.

what song reminds you of a childhood memory?
The Sound Tracks from My Fair Lady & Oklahoma – my mother played them over & over & over & ….

Are you a night owl or an early bird
a night owl:

Most folks they like the daytime
Cause they like to see the shining sun
They’re up in the mornin’
Off and a runnin’ till they’re too tired for havin’ fun
But when the sun goes down
And the bright lights shine
My daytime has just begun
Cause I’m a night owl honey, sleep all day long
I’m a night owl honey, sleep all day long’ (thanks to James Taylor who wrote it)

Give us a snapshot of the high school you.
not a pretty sight; allergic to cameras. The 13-year-old mentioned below
didn’t get the message from me.

This or that: rain or snow
what’s snow? I live in Australia. The sub-tropical part
so rain or heat? I guess heat as long as I have
a pool and or an air con

Favourite movie quote: I narrowed it down to 2.
1. Casablanca

Rick: If that plane leaves the ground and you’re not with him, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
Ilsa: But what about us?
Rick: We’ll always have Paris. We didn’t have it before…we’d…we’d lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you…
Rick: And you never will. But I’ve got a job to do, too. Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be any part of. Ilsa, I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you’ll understand that. Here’s looking at you, kid.

(* “We’ll always have Paris” is ranked #43 in the American Film Institute’s list of the top 100 movie quotations in American cinema; “Here’s looking at you, kid” is ranked #5.)

AND

2.  Somewhere in Time (Christopher Reeve & Jane Seymour)

She is on stage & drawn away in the moment speaks from her heart rather than the lines:
‘The man of my dreams has almost faded now. The one I have created in my mind. The sort of man each woman dreams of, in the deepest and most secret reaches of her heart. I can almost see him now before me. What would I say to him if he were really here? Forgive me. I have never known this feeling. I have lived without it all my life. Is it any wonder, then, I failed to recognize you? You, who brought it to me for the first time. Is there any way I can tell you how my life have changed? Any way at all to let you know what sweetness you have given me? There is so much to say… I cannot find the words. Except for these: I love you.” Such would I say to him if he were really here.’

what colour is your underwear
white, always

What was your dream job (as in what did you want to be when you grew up)
I had none, it wasnt expected I’d grow up.  When I made it to 17 I wanted to
be the person who turned the fountains back on after the drought.

If you could tell your 13-year-old self anything what would it be.
develop strength (of any kind) and shore up your levies; have an emergency plan
and hang on tight.

My addition:

What disturbs you most? intolerance.

Ok, now add your question and pass it on to some fellow bloggers….

1. The Mom Food Project

2. The GnomeAngel

3. Now What, Dad?

7 things you didn’t know about me

The Amazing Annie from Living Life As Me passed me the Kreativ Blogger Meme yesterday.

If you don’t follow Annie on Twitter or read her blog you really should. She blogs about the really important things in life.

So, here are the rules:

1. Copy the award to your blog
2. Insert a link to the person who nominated you
3. Share seven things about yourself that you haven’t told us before
4. Nominate other bloggers for the award – share the love
5. Link to their blogs
6. Tell the nominees about their award.

____________________________________________________________________

1. I can only sleep east/west.

2. I am allergic to capsicum, celery, cucumber, & chilli. (all cs – weird huh?)

3. I’d like to live in Paris, & on a Greek Island.

4. I studied film at University.

5. I don’t like the colours brown/beige or anything near them.

6. I’d like to go to the Grand Canyon & listen to Gershwin’s Grand Canyon Suite while I look.

7. I want a viral blog.

OK, I now pass this Meme on to the following bloggers.  If you don’t read their blogs or follow them on Twitter, you might want to think of doing so.

Stunning Stephanie of write to tell

Caring Cate An Ordinary Life (though her’s is not)

Crayon Wrangler Colouring outside the lines

Marvellous Maryline Franco American Dream

beautiful spring

out & about in the Brisbane Spring.

a butcher bird (above)

Dreaming of Mykonos

M Y K O N O S

When I awoke in ICU I used visualisation of the Greek Isles, & imaging swimming in the beautiful seas as a means of disconnecting from what surrounded me.

where have you dreamed of going…?

Related Articles

• Leon Logothetis: Island Life: Mykonos, Greece (huffingtonpost.com)
• Mykonos Accommodation Center Supports the 2nd XLsior Gay International Festival on Mykonos Island – August 20 -28 (pr.com)
• Island Life | The Latest From Mykonos (tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com)

Australian Election result via Twitter

I sat in the shade of this tree by the sea & read along on twitter as the election 2010 results unfolded.

join twitter here

These are some of the best tweets I saw:

The Press Conference began at 3pm the following occurred as the clock ticked through to about 3:35pm

No sign of Windsor. For crying in a bucket. *head explodes*

Enough already ANNOUNCE IT!!!

Therese_Rein “watching” Presser on Twitter from London. Thank you

This is like a really bad wedding speech. Hurry Up!!!!!

Odds are… We’re about to find out LABOR REMAINS IN POWER … Oakeshott about to speak <= If Tony ever wraps it up.

@bolshymum Tony Windsor obviously isn’t doing the school run today…

@stephjcrawf Am I going to hear Oakeshott’s announcement before school pick up??

Did the school run, got the Maccas ice creams now waiting, waiting, waiting…

mr11 arrives home just in time to watch final decision. he has followed with more interest than others in my family!

Come on I’ve gotta get the kids from school

Where’s that orchestra they have at the Oscars?

Another election would have been quicker

Omg I’m sitting on the side of the hway with a tiny transistor radio which will die any second. Just. Say. It.

Am waiting for the #masterchef fireball!!!

Why is it that politicians have to ruin things by speaking?

There are going to be alot of kids hanging around school gates at 3.30pm

Oakeshott’s forgotten the question and is about to toast the bride & groom.

Someone THROW SOMETHING AT HIM

@TracyGrimshaw Just ducked out to read War and Peace. Has Oakeshott announced yet?

Fidel Castro gives shorter speeches than these.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the outcome, Australia. Really. Don’t. It’d be dangerous.

Makes Katter seem mute.

maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate.

I feel sorry for Oakeshotts kids. Must be a form of child abuse at that dinner table.

My 12yo is screaming OH MY GOD! at the tv. She is waiting for me to make a toasted sandwich.

Oakeshott’s future career as a hostage negotiator that bores terrorists to sleep is assured.

Won’t need a decision. By the time he finishes it will be time for the next election.

KevinRuddExPM MY POLITICAL ASSASSINATION WAS QUICKER THAN THIS

ok, my brother has driven to my house from orange in the time this speech is taking. remarkable.

This is like getting a lecture from your parents. You lost me at Hello.

LaurieOakes The way Oakeshott is going we could be here for another fortnight.

And the children of Australia go hungry for their after-school snacks while Mr Oakeshott goes on. And on. And on.

LaurieOakes It’s Labor.Official.At last.

We have a government. I can pee now 🙂

So what happened to the four-minute rule, Oakeshott?

Hmmm.. Barbra Streisand comes on with Send in the Clowns straight after the announcement, coincidence?

Australia’s political limbo almost over

(there is an image can you see it?)

THEIR time is up – Australia has waited 17 days for a new government and this afternoon a decision will finally be made public.

The three Independents – Bob Katter (center) , Rob Oakeshott (left)  and Tony Windsor (right) – are holding a final meeting this morning with an announcement tipped for just after lunchtime.  A press conference has been scheduled for 2pm AEST

The Gillard Government went into caretaker mode on July 17, the day the federal election campaign was called.

While it may not seem that the political limbo in Canberra is having much of an effect on everyday life, there are some ways it is having an impact: these are well worth reading

New Zealand Earthquake

CHRISTCHURCH is still shaking 48 hours after an earthquake rocked the Cathederal cities very foundations.

Bad weather comes as at least 500 buildings, including 90 properties in the central business district, have been designated as destroyed following the 

7.1-magnitude quake.

More than 20 aftershocks yesterday threatened to cause more buildings to collapse, but as of last night there were no deaths.

In fact, the opposite was true. A record number of babies were born since Saturday’s 7.1 magnitude quake.

Daily Telegraph

News.com.au

Related Articles

Napier Earthquake 1931 (the big one)

• Christchurch Earthquake Visualizations (gearthblog.com)

Serendipity & Victoria

A couple of months ago I decided to purchase a Kitchen Island. These are the before & after picture. Yes, it is a small kitchen.

One side is designed to be a breakfast bar & so I have been on the outlook for 2 or 3 stools.

Last Friday at about 4:20pm I felt to go & look at a local Antique Center.

There I found some stool sets, however they were all the wrong height. I worked my way up & down the aisles making sure I hadn’t missed corner.  I turned & saw this:

then for some reason I turned around to look behind me & I found 12 more copies. This week I will organise all the copies I have, to see which ones I still need for my

Victoria magazine collection. I am collecting from the original publications when

Nancy Lindemeyer

was editor – I keep them all here

Mean time I still need 3 stools.

What serendipitous finds have you made?

PS

I won! I was so surprised….

MM: no chocolate involved

Spring has sprung…but look who is hiding in the leafless tree.

weekend food: made with TLC

visit more cooks here

Spring arrived on Wednesday, & a hot summers day on Friday.

Saturday night was the Riverfire fireworks, the opening the Brisbane Festival.

Dinner on the balcony looked like this

Today (Sunday) winter has returned.check out how to make a Quiche & carrot/zucchini slice

hot

H O T

see more

carrot & zucchini slice

I made a comment in twitter about going off to eat some of this & thick n fast came requests for the recipe.

With thanks to NJ who gave it to us in the first place

but 1st, I use 1 or 2 of these & a regular square pan.

Also it freezes well, if it gets that far.

Grease & flour the baking dish/tins you will be using

set oven to 180C/350F/ set rack in middle

now gather together:

5 eggs (I use large)

1/2 (thats half) cup of grated zucchini (Courgette)

1/2 cup grated carrot

1 cup grated cheese (meltable)

1/2 cup vegetable cooking oil (pour in 1/4 then mix then maybe a little more?)

1 large brown onion: diced:I  saute this as part of the preparation

3 rashers bacon – saute with onion: drain well

(if vegetarian I think maybe you could leave the bacon out)

1 cup Self Raising Flour maybe a little more.

salt/pepper to taste

♥

Method:

in a large bowl

Lightly beat eggs together.

Add all the ingredients (this is why you have to do all the prep before you start)

mix well

Pour into the prepared dish/pans

Place in oven

cook 30/40 minutes(keep an eye on them the 1st time you make this)

They will rise, and it needs to look like in the photos.(but even higher)

Remove from oven, cool a little: serve with crisp salad.

bon appetit

Butterfly Friday

“I love these!’

I am a guest poster over at Nirvana Mamma’s Blog: Late Summer Dreams

spring snaptured

I think it is great spring has arrived in Australia. And living up near the tops of trees I have come to understand why wind is useful, in fact is needed. I have photos to back me up but not today…

Write to tell & AM also mentioned it. The arrival of spring, I mean. (& yes AM, I wonder the same thing)

Out in the fresh spring air yesterday.

views of New Farm Park

more here

Spring & TED

Dan Cobley is a marketing director at Google, where he connects customers and businesses, helping both navigate digital space to find what they need

Don’t be put of by the physics terms if they are unfamiliar to you…hang in, it gets exciting.

To celebrate the 1st day of spring I had lunch in the park & thought about this TED presentation. Here are my thoughts..

I was really struck by some of the concepts in this presentation & how they can be applied to family life.  Teenagers certainly understand the idea of brands; in fact pre-teens may also grasp this easily.

If presented to the family, that as a family we are a Brand, lets say The Lyon* Family. As off shoots to that main brand there are the Mary Lyon, John Lyon, Suzie Lyon, Timmy & Tilly Lyon Brands. The standards & policies the  people in the Lyon family agree to, create the ethics of their Brand.  And the energy of the brand. The individual brands are separate, yet hopefully they will echo the family values. However, we can see that if Suzie Lyon decided to  make bad choices, & make them over & over pretty soon her Brand is going to lose value. Just as Dan Cobley demonstrates with Toyota, Tiger Woods etc. So if Suzie has devalued her brand power by becoming untrustworthy then it stands to reason people will not trust Brand-Suzie so much. In time her weaker Brand may cause the Lyon Family Brand to be of lesser value.

*Names chosen at random.

Lets look at some real life examples: Paris Hilton,. Pre this Paris (the socialite party girl) the Hilton name was a stong brand.  When we heard Hilton we thought of Hotels, good hotels, or a guy married to Elizabeth Taylor. Now we think of what the Paris Hilton Brand presents to us: vanity, shallowness, & over indulgence. She has already been to jail, & found it traumatic. Yet a few weeks ago in South Africa she was arrested for possessing drugs. Yes she got off…it wasn’t her bag.

2:22/ the bigger a brand the more difficult it is to reposition it. Not impossible but difficult.

Think of Robert Downey Junior….Nicole Ritchie/add your own examples.

4:33 One contrary data point can blow your theory….you can invest in a brand for a long time but a single event..Now Paris has been arrested again (so she is beyond a single negative) The drugs fell out of her bag, and again, the bag was not hers. (this is her claim) However, the Brand Paris Hilton is not now perceived as a Brand of honesty, honour & integrity. So what happens? We don’t believe what she said, we don’t believe she is innocent of the charge. And we are sick of hearing about her misbehaviour.

Contrast Paris with her previous best friend, Nicole Ritchie. She also danced her brand around the world & into jail.  Apparently she learnt from the experience. Now she is married, has children & is involved in charity work. We rarely hear of her.

In November 2007, Richie created “The Richie Madden Children’s Foundation”.In May 2008, Richie and Madden shot a UNICEF public-service announcement to generate aid for the cyclone-devastated Myanmar.In February 2010 Nicole Richie and partner opened a playground in Los Angeles to encourage children to get outside and play. The project was funded by the Richie-Madden foundation. source Wikipedia

Would you buy Brand Paris or Brand Nicole?

So the message is take care of your brand. This means take care of your name, your family name. Your brand. You will need it in the future.

I wonder how this contemporary attitude to brand might help a teen make better choices? Do you agree? How might you apply it?

Blog-Land

Today my travels will be around Blog-land

1st I think we ought to visit Cate & Tracy to help make Dainere’s last wish come true.

I met Erin, the power packed cheerleader while do ProBlogger‘s 31DBBB program. Pick up her BLOG for a CAUSE button & sign on.

Jaime demonstrates humour & courage in the face of great challenges,  as does Selena She also reminds us it’s almost National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. (wish it was international)

Downunder, here in Australia the elusive A-M is still house dreaming, Millie is planning an escape with her MOTH.  Kimberley is showing high tea.  Annie will make you think. As will Jessi who is not ‘downunder’.

& lastly,

Bon Voyage to my Darling friend & her family as they are London bound.

photohunter time

running late

228

framed

more here

weekend cooking: a new resolve

I have resolved to eat healthy & homemade.

r i s o t t o

look what other weekend cooks have been up to?

going nowhere

I have made an executive decision, that since I am meant to be getting the pressure down, I am – for now – not going anywhere.

~the blog upgrade is on hold~

those 6 words again

running away from home sometimes helps

read more

Photohunter 227

n u m e r i c al

this is the manufacturers panel inside my car door

sorry I had to remove the image

Lauren Bacall, Zemanta & you

Image via Wikipedia

I woke to found an email from WordPress telling me I could now

Jazz Up Your Posts With Zemanta

So, I thought I’d try it out.

Lauren Bacall is an American actress ( I am writing this to activate the zemanta search thingy)

who was married to Humphrey Bogart, he of the famous gangster-style movies of the 1940’s such as The Maltese Falcon.

The Z thing is now analysing what I have written.

To the top right of this text Z has ‘recommended tags’ and then further down there are images for me to choose from – the picture to the right of this text was the one I clicked on.

I clicked on a 2nd but it didn’t come up, well it did but it replaced the one I had there, so I guess you have to be have enough text so I am going to click on a HB image now. Hmm Ok it replaced the 1st so I chose one of them together. I wonder if it depends on where the cursor is. Let’s try that…nope so now I am a bit stumped.

I will resolve this is a minute

Below the images there is a list of ‘Related Articles’ which this time seems to include you tube options. The 1st one tells us how this Z thing has been a regular plug-in for self hosted WP blogs and has now reached us here on .com.

Brisbane: your kind of city?

you saw my sunrise now see my city

h e r e

sorry I could not get the link to embed.

if there is a problem please leave me a comment

vBlog: the arrival of Wednesday

I decided to see if I could share dawn with you all

(this was an experiement)

these are the views of the arrival of Wednesday 18th August 2010

my voice is raspy due to 9 weeks of flu-coughing

5:30am pre-dawn

(this is the longest but less than a minute, the rest are approx 30 seconds)

5:38am

Life without borders

Image via Wikipedia

Here in Australia we live without borders.

I am in Queensland.

East of me is the Pacific Ocean.

South is another Australian State, New South Wales (NSW)

North is the Torres Strait

I grew up in New Zealand where there are no states.

So no borders of any kind.

and west is either Northern Territory or South Australia.

I have been to the border of North & South Korea.

I didn’t cross it.

I have only ever flown over a border.

I am really curious about what borders you have crossed?

Related Articles

• Torres Strait islanders win ocean rights (guardian.co.uk)

check out all this cool stuff added via WPs new

Zemanta what do you think of it?

new ways to leave love

WordPress has added a couple of extra options

you will need to click on ‘comment’ below

but now you can express how you feel without have to write at all

however I love to read what you think & feel from your visits here. so dont stop. please.