WEDNESDAY WISDOM No 16

I felt there was much wisdom here as well as being a hint of fun.

and that's not always easy to do.

MONDAY MIRTH No 16

I found this the other day and it really made me laugh.  I hope it will bring a smile to your face and help start the week off right for you.  Are you one of those people that just can't resist popping the bubbles?  I must admit I do it sometimes and Phil gives me such a funny look 'cos he is one of those people that never has the urge to pop a bubble.

FRIDAY FAVOURITES No 17

I threatened I would include a lot of Roger Whittaker singing as I can sit and listen to him for hours.  I actually only discovered him a few years back and yet I remember hearing "Wind Beneath my Wings" when it came out (he was the first person to sing it) but didn't take any notice of the name of the singer.

On YouTube this time I have found him singing a song he wrote and I think his rendition first class.  The person who put this on YouTube has added pictures in "tune" with the words and I think he/she has done an excellent job.   The song is "Why" and I feel with the world's climate going rather haywire it is quite appropriate. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

MY FAVOURITE GARDEN FLOWERS

I found it difficult to choose between gladiolus, gerbera, gardenia and geranium.  In fact I couldn't choose.

I find gladioli so majestic with glorious colours.   A tall vase of gladioli always look magnificent.

 Glads always remind one of Dame Edna Everage.

My mum and I have both grown gerberas over the years and as they have developed them, they have become much larger.  I particularly love the yellow ones.

Gardenias I love for their perfume and their whiteness, although the creamy ones are also beautiful.   (I remember as a teenager going to a tennis club dance with a friend.  During intermission we sat with our boyfriends in a car just outside.  June and I both had gardenias in our hair and with the windows closed the scent of the gardenias was overpowering.  It was a wet night so we went back into the hall as we couldn't, of course, wind the car windows down.)

As for geraniums, I love them and have always had some growing either in my garden or in pots over the years.  They are so easy to grow as pieces that drop off will take root very quickly.  I currently have a beautiful dark pink one in flower as well as a paler pink and some reds.  The dark pink bush is about 3 feet high and has grown from a slip I stole from a bush at the local school several years again when we went to vote in one election or another.  I am sure it was never missed as it was only a tiny slip. (Is my guilt showing there perhaps?)

Which is your favourite "G" flower?  I didn't mention gloxinia which are also beautiful.  My dad used to grow them in his glass house but I don't regard them so much as a 'garden' flower.

WEDNESDAY WISDOM No 15

There are so many words of wisdom out there but this I thought particularly good.  Hope you do too.

I feel that really is a true mark of maturity.

MONDAY MIRTH No 15

First I must apologise as when I've tried to access people's blogs over the past couple of days I had no success.   I will try again soon as I am sure it was only one of those glitches that happen from time to time.

Meanwhile I hope this brings a smile to your face and helps begin the new week in the right mood.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone.  I thought it hilarious.

FRIDAY FAVOURITES No 16

I wonder if anyone remembers Carmen Miranda, the lady with the very elaborate head dresses which sometimes involved feathers or fruit or a myriad of other items.  I was 9 when this film "That Night in Rio" was made but I know I saw it perhaps a few years later when I used to go the pictures (movies) with mum and dad.  I always rather liked this tune "Yi Yi Yi" and I hope you will enjoy it as well.  As usual I found it on YouTube (what would we do with YouTube?)

Incidentally, I wonder if anyone remembers the others stars in the film:  Don Ameche and Alice Faye.

MY FAVOURITE GARDEN FLOWERS

There are of course a large number of flowers beginning with the letter "F" that are very beautiful but of late my preference has turned to FRANGIPANI.  I need something easy to care for and these take very little looking after and these seem to fill the bill.  My daughter has a large number of them, a few in the ground but mostly in pots, and it started me collecting them as well.   These are two of mine that flowered last years (1) George Brown and (2) Cotton Candy.

I love the way the colours of the flowers change as they age and the different shades of colour on the one plant.

Many frangipani growers hope for seed pods to appear on their plants but this needs a lot of patience as it can sometimes take years.  Some plants drop their leaves very quickly at season's end while others hold theirs right till the end.   Sometimes you have to clip them off leaving a tiny bit of stem if you don't want to wait.   It is exciting to see the new leaves forming and wondering which plant will produce the first inflo (flower buds).   There are many growers now growing their plants from seed or cuttings and it has become quite big business around the world.   There are of course stringent quarantine rules in place so it is best to buy from a local grower if possible.

Frangipani are native to Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America.  They need plenty of sun and a good friable soil as they don't like being waterlogged if grown in pots.  They are easily propagated from cuttings of leafless stem tips in spring.  The cuttings are allowed to dray at the base before being planted in well drained soil.  The more sun, the more water, the less sun, the less water is one rule that is most important.

There are more than 300 named varieties of Plumeria (frangipani).

WEDNESDAY WISDOM N0 14

I am not sure this is wisdom but I rather like the thought behind it.

Maybe it means we should persevere when we feel all is lost.  That is how I look on it.  Mum always said "when one door closes another opens" and that certainly works for the caterpillars of this world.

TUESDAY CHAT (running very late)

Once again I am running slightly late but it IS still Tuesday so here goes.  You will realise when you reach the bottom of this post why I have chosen this pair of smilers.

 Australia has a new Prime Minister and it would appear the majority of people are quite happy about it.  We can only hope he will lead our country well through what is a difficult time for the world in so many ways.  There will of course be a change in the front bench and it will be interesting to see who stays and who goes.  Will there, I wonder, be more women among the newcomers to the Ministry? I feel it is quite possible there will be.

We are now virtually recovered from those nasty head/chest colds although Phil still coughs when he in bed.  He does have mild emphysema and has had a chest weakness for many years so he doesn't recover as quickly as I do.  Dr Ken has him on antiboitics every winter for about 4 months to avoid a chest infection so I doubt there is a real problem right now.

I visited Dr Ken today for a regular B12 injection (I have 6 each year in lots of 3 with a 3 months break in between.   I told him about Phil still having a cough (although not a real chesty one) and he thinks he will be all right but said to have him pop in if we are worried.

Possibly I may have mentioned that my last MSU showed some rather bad results with a possible urinary tract infection.   Today the doctor told me the result of last Thursday's MSU was completely clear in every aspect.  Maybe the antibiotics I had for my cold helped there too.  Who can say but I am delighted all is well in that department.  Phil and I both have blood tests to be done so probably Thursday morning as we both have to fast. 

Phil, as you know, does our grocery shopping and I decided to try out online grocery shopping.  I had no idea how to go about it so enlisted the aid of our eldest granddaughter who is experienced in online shopping.   She rang while I was sitting at the computer and ran me through how to sign in and then left me to it to place my very first order.  I asked for it to be delivered between 3-6pm today (knowing we would not be here all morning) and was becoming rather worried when it was 5.59pm and no groceries.   I looked out the window and there was the Woolworths truck just pulling up.  

A very nice man brought the crates in on his trolley and then took the bags of groceries into our kitchen for me.   I think the total was just below $90 but with no delivery fee.  I wondered if this was perhaps because it was my first order.   Guess I'll find out next time.  All was present and correct and I think Phil is pleased I have decided to do this.  He can of course still but things such as bread, milk, eggs, vegies and fruit in small quantities.  I actually found it quite exciting and realised, heading towards 84, I am still able to do these things on the computer without too much trouble.  I am hoping it will keep Phil's back in better shape not having to carry heavy bags of groceries.

Our number two great-granddaughter has been doing well in her ballet exams and has a silver medal  for one exam which makes us feel very proud of her.  Well done Immy.  She of course showed us her dance routine on Father's Day when we were up at our daughter's home.

Tomorrow is our 48th wedding anniversary.   We decided we don't need cards or presents to prove to each other how happy we are to have 48 pretty wonderful years together.  How many more are left to us of course we don't know but will try to stay here for each other as long as possible.  We are not going to do anything lavish but will probably pop over to a nearby shopping centre and have a light lunch there.   I need some more wool for my rug crocheting so a good excuse to do both.  It will be just another day but a little more special than most.  I may even have a small glass of wine to celebrate.

MONDAY MIRTH 18

Once again I hope this brings a smile to your face and begins the new week well for you:

Funny how cats keep popping up here!!

MONDAY MIRTH No 14

I am not sure you would call this real humour but it something I have said many times during my adult life.   I never understood, or enjoyed, algebra (or decimals for that matter) although I am sure it stood some people in good stead if they went on to a profession where that type of mathematics was needed.

What were your favourite maths subjects when you were at school?

FRIDAY FAVOURITES No 15

This is harking back a number of years but I remember this song from my childhood and I know my folks enjoyed it too.  It is probably more a nonsense song than a serious one but nevertheless I will include it among my favourite songs.   Do you remember Gracie Fields singing The Biggest Aspidistra in the World?  She first sang it in 1938 and here Gracie sings it on the Parkinson Show in 1977.  There are other versions on YouTube.  If you don't know the lyrics I found them on Google and have typed them out for you as the recording is not all that clear.

For years we had an aspidistra in a flower pot on the whatnot, near the 'atstand in the 'all
It didn't seem to grow till one day our brother Joe had a notion that he'd make it strong and tall;
So he crossed it with an acorn from an oak tree and he planted it against the garden wall.
It shot up like a rocket, till it nearly reached the sky.  It's the biggest aspidistra in the world.
We couldn't see the top of it, it got so bloomin' high; It's the biggest aspidistra in the world.
When father's had a snootfull at his pub, "The Bunch of Grapes: he doesn't go all fighting mad and getting into scrapes
No, you'll find him in his bearskin playing Tarzan of the Apes off the biggest aspidistra in the world.
We have to get it watered by the local fire brigade so they put the water rates up half a crown;
The roots stuff up the drains, grow along the country lanes and they came up half a mile outside the town.
Once we hired an auditorium for a hot house but a jealous rival went and burnt it down
The tom cats and their sweethearts love to spend their evening out up the biggest aspidistra in the world;
They all begin meowing when the buds begin to sprout from the biggest aspidistra in the world.
The dogs all come around for miles, a lovely sight to see
They sniff around for hours and hours and wag their tails with glee
So I've had to put a notice up to say it's not a tree....it's the biggest aspidistra in the world.

MY FAVOURITE GARDEN FLOWERS

When I arrived at "E" I was completely stumped to find a favourite flower and the only ones I could come up with were Erica and Euphorbia, both of which I know very little about.

ERICA is a genus of approximately 860 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae.  The English common names "heath" and "heather" are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance.   Erica is sometimes referred to as "winter (or spring) heath" to distinguish it from Calluna (summer of autumn heath).

Most of the Erica species are small shrubs.  All are evergreen with minute needle-like leaves 2-15mm long.  Flowers are usually outward or downward facing.  Seeds are very small and, in some species, may survive in the soil for decades.

At least 660 of the species are endemic to South Africa forming the largest genus. The remaining species are native to other parts of Africa. Madagascar, the Mediterranean and Europe.

Although I have never grown these flowers myself I am sure, over the years, I have seen them growing in gardens of family or friends.

EUPHORBIA is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the spurge family.  Some are well known and widely available; some are cultivated as ornamentals, or collected and highly valued for the aesthetic appearance of their unique floral structures, i.e. the Crown of Thorns plant.

....and that was when the penny dropped.   I remember as a child my dad growing a magnificent Crown of Thorns in his shade house.  When I had been married a couple of years we had a small shade house and one of the plants I acquired was a Crown of Thorns to remind me of my dad.   I can't say it is a favourite garden plant but it is one that has a very special meaning for me.

Whilst researching the Euphorbias I have discovered there are many wonderful and varied plants, some of which are really delightful.  These are just a few of them:

WEDNESDAY WISDOM No 13

Obviously the great man also had some doubts!!!   There are times when I have to agree with him.

TUESDAY CHAT

Here I am bringing you up to date with the past week.  Hopefully a little more exciting than the previous couple.

Phil and I are slowly recuperating from those dreadful colds we both had.  As Phil is on antibiotics for about 3-4 months each winter he didn't need another lot and I took my last Amocycillin Monday night and they do seem to have helped clear my chest infection although still a little 'croaky'.

For some reason we are both incredibly weary so one can only assume that as we grow older our bodies take longer to recover from any illness.  We are however smiling a little more now than we had been previously..

On a brighter note.  It was Father's Day on Sunday and we drove up to daughter and son-in-law's home for a picnic lunch.  They supplied rolls, butter, ham, cheese, tomato and avocado and we made up our own lunch the way we wanted it.  I thought it a wonderful idea and much less work than a BBQ and probably healthier too as no fried meat. 

We were not only celebrating Father's Day as a family but also our eldest great-granddaughter's 19th birthday.  Her birthday had actually been on the Friday and although she and her mum had spent time with her grandparents we gave her her gifts on Sunday and enjoyed sharing a very fancy and tasty icecream cake, one which her mum Aimee had ordered from Wendys (a well known icecream shop).

After lunch 7 year old great-granddaughter donned her ballet costume and danced for us to the tune of Sugar Plum Fairy and she was just so good.  Rather than dance on the paving which may have proved dangerous, she danced on the lawn and didn't miss a step.  She then later danced to some modern type music (don't ask me what it was) and showed us the movements used in modern dance.  I think it may have been Cyrus something or something Cyrus; I should have asked for more information.  Phil thought it rather a strange type of dance but then he still lives with music of Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt etc so it would be even more beyond him that it was beyond me. No matter what it was, Immy did a wonderful job.

Of course 3-year-old great-grandie had to get into the act and she also performed some dance movements for us.  Quite different to those done by Immy but still very graceful.  I think she is also going to dance classes as she seemed to know just what she was doing.  It was a lovely warmish, sunny spring day and to have Imogen and Ava entertain us was a bonus to what was a delightful few hours spent with our family.

Later this morning we are driving up to Kelmscott so I can visit my optometrist for my annual eye check up.  Have to make this a regular event as with diabetes one's eyes can suffer without actually knowing it is happening.  Phil already has glaucoma in one eye although his pressures were excellent when checked earlier this year.  Unfortunately his long time (20 + years) eye specialist died in June so our doctor has referred him to another chap and Phil will see him at the end of Sepember.  Phil has had one cataract op and we need to find if his other eyes needs attending to.  I think the specialist will do a full check so no need for Phil to see our optometrist as well.  After my test we will probably pop over to the small shopping arcade nearby and have a light lunch.

On Wednesday we will have our hair cut (our Louise comes to our home which is great), on Thursday our lovely Jenny comes to clean and on Friday Phil meets his two lady friends for their poetry session although this week they are talking about excerpts from their favourite prose ... just for a change.  Me, I enjoy some poetry but am much more a prose person than a poetry one.  I find some poetry just too far out although I suppose some prose is as well.

Quite a busy week but a peaceful weekend ahead, apart from two finals matches involving both our Western Australian AFL teams.  They finished 1st and 2nd on the league ladder and one player earned the Coleman medal for kicking the most goals this year, so Western Australia really in the limelight right now.  As you can imagine many of we West Aussie are very proud of their achievements.  There could be another medal coming here but we won't know until after the Brownlow count in a couple of weeks.  We certainly hope both Fremantle and West Coast will win their two matches this weekend.

I sincerely hope your week is also going as well as you want it to with no serious mishaps and are managing to steer clean of this cold that is doing the rounds.

MONDAY MIRTH No 13

I couldn't help laughing as soon as I saw this one and I hope you also find it funny.  A good laugh to start off your week for you.

I wonder if anyone has ever tried it out??

SMALLER COUNTRY TOWNS No 3

COSSACK is an historic ghost town located 1,480 kilometres north of Perth and 15 kilometres from Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.  The nearest town is Wickham.  The mean maximum temperature is 31.9ºC (89ºF); mean minimum temperature 20.1ºC (68ºF) and annual rainfall 295.0mm (11.6 inches).

Cossack is located on Butchers Inlet at the mouth of the Harding River.  It is reached by a single, sealed road that follows the original causeway across a series of tidal flats.  The overall landform of the region around Cossack is a low, flat plain with occasional rocky hills and ranges.  The vegetation is mainly grass, spinifex and low shrub, with occasional trees (mangroves) along watercourses and in gullies.  The mangrove scrub becomes quite dense along the shoreline and at the mouth of the inlet.

The main road from Roebourne to Cossack continues past the town of Wickham and the Cape Lambert iron ore port (operated by Pilbara Iron), and terminates at the fishing town of Port Samson.  The townsite is not visible from the main road and only becomes apparent as the road rounds Nanny Goat Hill.

The site of the former town is defined by Nanny Goat Hill, Tien Tsin Lookout, the hilly ground to the north-east and north-west, and Butchers Inlet to the east and south-east.  Past the townsite, the road winds up to the Reader Head Lookour, from which sweeping view of the surrounding coastline can be seen.  Many of the building in Cossack are listed by the National Trust.  The erstwhile Tien Tsin Harbour is now known as Port Walcott.

Post-contact history:  In May 1863, Walter Padbury landed his stock at the mouth of the Harding River near the present site of Cossack.  The town was first known as Tien Tsin Harbour, after the barque that carried Padbury and his party.  Th ship that brought the State's Governor, Frederick Weld, in December 1871, was named HMS Cossack and the town adopted this name in 1872.  Cossack was the first port in the north-west of Western Australia and was critical to the development of the pastoral industry in the region.

Cossack wharf on the Harding River:  

Pearling:  In 1866 the town of Roebourne was declared. and the pearling industry began in the region.  Cossack was the birthplace of Western Australia's pearling industry and was the home of the colony's pearling fleet until the 1880s.  Many small boars off the Port Walcott coat dived for pearl shell during the 1860s using Aboriginal labour, including women and children.  By early 1869, there were 14 small vessels pearling in the area, with an average crew of three Eueopeans and six Aboriginals.

By the early 1870s up to 80 luggers were operating in the area.  The pearling industry also attracted a large Asian population and by 1895 there were 989 Malays and 493 Aboriginals employed on 57 vessels at Cossack.  The high number of Asians in the industry, including Japanese and Chinese as well as Malay, led to the establishment of an Asian quarter known as "Chinatown".

In 1881 a cyclone damaged the town, an every pearling vessel then operating either foundered or was beached.  In 1885, 44 vessels were operating out of Cossack.  In that year a parliamentary select committee recommended the closure of several pearling banks in the area due to depletiong.  In 1886, the main pealing industry moved to Broome.

Causeway and Tramway:  During the 1870s, a causeway was built across the tidal salt flats that separate Cossack from the main road and this causeway still forms the only access to the town from land.  Carting wool from Moolina Station to Balla Balla north of Cossack:

A horse-drawn tramway between Roebourne and Cossack was completed in 1887, the same year that the municipality of Cossack was declared, and the north-west gold rush commenced.

Cossack in 1898:  

Heritage Buildings:  The main stone buildings were constructed in the 1880s.  Administrative and other public buildings built there in the 1890s continued a style adopted by the emerging state; these have been surveyed by state heritage groups and determined to be architecturally and historically significant.

Decline of the Township:  Following the move of the pearling industry to Broome and the decline of the gold rush, the population dwindled.  The harbour proved unsuitable for the larger ships of the early 20th century.  Between 1902 and 1904 a jetty was constructed at the nearby halet of Point Samson and in 1920 the port moved there and the municipality of Cossack was dissolved.  In 1913 a leprosarium was established on the other side of the river, moving to Darwin in 1930.  Wool bales and pearls would be loaded on to a lighter for transport to ships 3 miles off shore whih would take the cargo to England.  Inhabitants of the town in the early twentieth century included greeks and other Europeans, jamanese, Malays, Timorese, Koepangers and Aru Islands. 

The region is subjected to violent storms and cyclones and was severely damaged at different times in its history.  Its use as a port for the profitable pearling industry and other economic booms saw investment and backing from Perth and it remained an important northern port.  The town was abandoned after the 1940s, leaving substantial stone buildings in a state of disrepair.  The state government established a survey in 2007, into the potential for restoration and revitalisation of this remote town.

*Cemetery:  Cossack contains a small cemetery comprising separate European and Japanese precincts.

The pearling industry of the 19th century was notably dangerous, with many pearlers losing their lives.  Those buried in the Japanese cemetery were mainly divers and others involved with the pearling industry; others, including many Aborigines, were lost at sea.  The first internment in the cemetery i believed to have taken place in 1869, when a man died while walking to Port Walcott in the heat of January and was buried in Cossack.

There are at least 41 Europeans and 7 Japanese buried there, with the last internment recorded in 1915.  Those buried there include William Shakespeare Hall.

*I can remember mum talking about visiting Cossack and other north-west towns on a tour of the top end of W.A. and she said it made her sad to see a number of graves belonging to babies and children which made her realise what a hard life it must have been there so many years ago.