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It’s been a month….

Yes it’s been what seems like a long month of doing very little except wait for the year proper to begin.

Now seeing more traffic on the roads as workers return from their summer break, seeing grabs on the news about littlies starting their educational journey and hearing the high school bus go by at 8am signalling the return of those on a later part of their journey.

Watching a bit of tennis, and cricket on tv in the evenings. With a book or knitting plus a cold drink close to hand   Wondering how the ‘greats’ of yesteryear are feeling seeing all the ‘young ‘uns’ coming through – fun surprise seeing some of the oldies in action at the AO opening night. And wondering how Nick Kyrios managed to keep his temper in check whilst playing doubles .   
The Big Bash League – The Australian Open 

Wearing cool cotton clothing.  Melbourne finally had  pleasant summery days….mixed in with some ridiculously hot (over 40c/100f) ones and a couple of 20c/68f cool ones. I often wonder how we coped before air conditioning – with the humidity so high on several days the whole of house ducted evaporated system we have is no good (pumps cool moist air) so we resorted to our very old, very expensive to run, hole in the lounge room wall, electric refrigerated system.

Realising it’s little things that make us happy – seeing the smile on The Golfers face when offered a flavoured icy pole on a very hot day plus jelly and ice cream for tea. Treats from childhood he hadn’t realised I’d bought/prepared. We all need a bit of fun in our lives…..agreed???

And wondering how my oldest children (who I love dearly)
became so old – such mature grown up adults 😦

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This little one – my first born son had a birthday early last week.  Well on his way to retirement age but still working for the Defence Dept. I realised time was passing by too quickly when he finished his 20yr term serving with the RAAF – how am I going to feel when his Big R day arrives?

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Say hello to Our Big Girl……..Born February 1st (at home) during one of the worst winters England had experienced. Known as The Big Freeze of 1963 …all I can say is central heating was still a luxury – we had poky little coal fires in the big old house we lived in and it was cold!

Shh…..we won’t tell her she’s 63 now!

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And when Our Little Girl has her next birthday in September she will be will be….well I know how old she’ll be but I don’t know how she’ll feel…..let’s just say that at times I wish I was 62 again 😊

Yes….3 under 3!  All now over 60! None of them Irish Twins. All good fun!  
Helped in a way by living for a couple of years in Singapore where life was more free and easy…..and I had a live in amah.

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This week sees the year proper well and truly begun, my calendar tells me choir, casual book club and a new ‘craft’ group are returning after the long summer break. Thankfully the hot and humid nights have moved on and the overnight temps are now reasonable – lack of sleep combined with pain (yes, same ol’ same ol’ sciatica problem) doesn’t agree with me so on several mornings my warning to The Golfer was – be very wary of what you say or do near this tired
Grumpy Old Woman!

(There’s another lumbar spine scan planned for this afternoon- MRI not CT this time- hopefully it will shine a clearer light on any recent changes in this Grumpy Old Woman’s back.)

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Does anyone know the answer….

For some reason the words to a poem have been going through my head… one I remember from my childhood
I can hear it as plain as day – only its sounds like a musical version
A clear sharp (very English) voice

Theres a sort of rising (almost galloping) tempo to it as the verses unfold  and then it gradually slows down during the last one

Could someone put me out of my misery and tell me if anyone actually recorded it
Or am I remembering someone reciting it
If so – who?

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Vespers

Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands, little gold head.
Hush! Hush! 
Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.

God bless Mummy. 
I know that’s right.
Wasn’t it fun in the bath to-night?
The cold’s so cold, and the hot’s so hot.
Oh! God bless Daddy – I quite forgot.

If I open my fingers a little bit more,
I can see Nanny’s dressing-gown on the door.
It’s a beautiful blue, but it hasn’t a hood.
Oh! God bless Nanny and make her good.

Mine has a hood, and I lie in bed,
And pull the hood right over my head,
And I shut my eyes, and I curl up small,
And nobody knows that I’m there at all.

Oh! Thank you, God, for a lovely day.
And what was the other I had to say?
I said “Bless Daddy,” so what can it be?
Oh! Now I remember it, God bless Me.

Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! 
Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.

Alan Alexander Milne 1882-1956

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Some like it hot….

Friday – sees a whole string of rather warm days coming up

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Guess where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing 😎

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Not like that in my day…..

Years ago when I was a ‘teenager’ we lived in a small village in Nottinghamshire.  My father was stationed at the nearby airforce camp so I wasn’t classed as a local but via the school bus, church and youth club I did get to know some of the youngsters.  Saturday was the day (because nobody went out on school nights except to the youth club on Wednesday evening) I’d meet some of them in a cafe on the High Street.  Not a greasy spoon type but not posh either.  It’s one deciding factor as a meeting place where my generation was concerned was that it had a juke box 

Just down the road from where I live now there is a nice little coffee shop.  It’s a lovely place to meet with friends – there’s an assortment of seating indoors and also out in the garden.  Inside you’ll find little round bistro type tables and chairs, comfy couches with low tables for intimate chats while enjoying your food and drink also wooden benches and solid tables that cater for ‘groups’ as well as along one wall there are upholstered benches with tables that suit some of the larger sized ladies because they can ‘spread out’.  And because it’s at Montrose, set in the foothills of The Dandenongs  there is a wood burning heater that feels so good and welcoming when it’s cold and chilly outside in the winter (or even in a spring and early summer like the one we just had where it was still feeling like winter)

Now as well as coffees and teas of all shapes and sizes catering for all needs and wants they have snacky type goods (cakes pastries sandwiches) – things you can enjoy with those teas and coffees BUT their claim to fame are the handmade chocolates the little company has specialised in for years.  In fact they describe their coffees shops as ‘cafe style chocolate shops’   And along with your order you are offered one of their – ooh yummy – delights.

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So as I said it’s a great place to meet up with friends – not so much for ladies who lunch but those who enjoy good company along with a few laughs.  Manners are adhered to – small sips from the cup, small nibbles taken of food and especially no elbows on the table

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Some days we have company – more than can sit at our little table so they have to spread out onto one of the large wooden ones. Yes,  we let some of the old fellas come along – they enjoy their own company, happy and relaxed talking of shared times gone by!  Usually about ‘when we were young lads’ – mainly all things air force with flying thingies thrown in for good measure.  They don’t always stay in the past, sometimes up to date topics arise.  Things like aches, pains, pensions – even why the weather was so temperamental. Not sure about the manners part – look at all that slouching and elbows on the table.  Some mothers would not be happy if they saw that LOL

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One of my friends mentioned how there seemed to be an ‘us and them’ look that day – her mother would not have been happy at us (ladies) being excluded……as it wasn’t like that in her day. She wouldn’t have understood that we weren’t ’excluded’ we had sat apart by choice. It gave us all a chance to chat about similar interests

I’ve always felt that no matter what age (or gender) we are, the ability to meet and freely communicate with other like company shouldn’t be denied because of convention.

How about you – sit together or mingle?

What are you musing about on this Monday?

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Just a little note….

I sent a little note to Lee who has been absent from her blog – Kitchen Connection- since June last year
Blogger was not playing nicely at all – she became quite disheartened and decided to have a break from it all

I can tell you she is fine and well, and has recently moved house. Still up the back of the Gold Coast at Tambourine Mountain where she has been living for over 20 years

“……Thank you for your concern….please pass my best on to our fellow bloggers.. I wish everyone well for 2026….take very good care….stay safe

Cheers

Lee….”

I just thought that maybe a few bloggers would like to know

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📘 You might also call it ‘two-timing’

Two timing – to deceive someone you are having a relationship with

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So I hung around with two books last month
Two largish books…….

Both part of series of family sagas I’ve had my eye on for a while – telling myself I’ll get round to them sometime

Doorstoppers in December appeared somewhere on a book blog – the idea sounded interesting, not to ‘register’ but do my own thing – it seemed as if sometime had arrived.
I read them in tandem- side by side…..occasionally putting one down in favour of the other – there were long descriptive passages in one, yes relative to the storyline but I did get a bit ‘weary’ at times

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Long Summer Day – R. F. Delderfield pp 600+
A Horseman Riding By #1.

Paul Craddock is still young when he is invalided out of the army after the Boer War and he discovers the neglected estate of Shallowford in a secluded corner of Devon. It seems remote from the march of progress. But as storm clouds gather over Europe, Paul learns that no part of England, however remote, can escape the challenge of the times.

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The Light Years – Elizabeth Jane Howard. pp400+
Cazelet Chronicles #1

For two unforgettable summers they gathered together, safe from the advancing storm clouds of the Second World War. In the heart of the Sussex countryside these were still sunlit days of childish games, lavish family meals and picnics on the beach. Three generations of the Cazalet family. Their relatives, their children and their servants – and the fascinating triangle of their affairs . . .

Similar yet different, both are set between wars – involve ‘changes’ in attitudes, relationships, misunderstandings, affairs and divorce. Descriptions of countryside flora & fauna, trips up to town and the coast….how those with ‘status’ live…..with all the trials and tribulations similar to those of ‘ordinary’ people. Two good reads to end the year
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I didn’t put up a Books Read list on the blog this year – Goodreads says they total 90. Some were picked for a reason, others at random

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And these are the months in which I read them

This year (2026) I’m going to try out those funny little A-Z challenges again. Picking books using letters of the alphabet for the authors name or (not counting A & The) a book title…..maybe having a theme during a particular month. No hard and fast rules – the 52 Book Club with its prompts always seems like hard work to me – so hopefully by the end of the year, in the manner of the Alphabet Soup challenge, my bowl will be filled with books of various genres, from various sources- but not purchased- covered by letters of the alphabet – even those tricky ones like Q X & Z.

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🧶 New days – new ways

Well yes and no….

The calendar says New Year which means new beginnings….
…….warm sunny summer has arrived here in Victoria which selfishly for me is a blessing….we’ve had cool wet ones before but I just couldn’t face the idea of working my way through another.

However spare a thought for people in Far North Queensland having to work their way through the ‘gift’ they have been given – now making its way east to Cairns and down the coast – past Bowen (on that little point between Townsville and Mackay) moving on down to Rockhampton. And to add a little ‘excitement’ to their days there’s talk of a possible cyclone forming off the coast – something to look forward to later in the week
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-05/far-north-queensland-cyclone-forecast/106199464

Yes, The Wet is a yearly event so not a new one, it’s just sometimes it’s a bit wetter than expected!

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Coastal areas from Rockhampton all the way to the top end are set to receive a barrage of rain this week. (Weatherzone)

https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-weather-forecast-flood-affected-areas-set-for-rain-fears-fresh-cyclone/8fb16cb1-9c5c-4ac6-8d45-aaaed6252357

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-06/northwest-queensland-flooding-continues-as-low-approaches-coast/106201374

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At the moment, until various ‘regular’ activities begin again my days seem to be continuing in the same way as before. Yes, you guessed it, enjoying the outdoors reading and crafting on the deck

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New plants are coming into bloom so I’m enjoying them before the expected ‘heatwave’ arrives…..41c/105f tomorrow (Wednesday – fire ban declared ) followed by a couple of high 30s/high 90s
The warm air is picking up the wonderful aroma of the little gardenias which contrast well with the deep pink of an old variety of Oleander. There’s still a few Dietes flowering (their ‘show time’ is around Christmas) so with the blue heads of Agapanthus starting to pop open I was able to come up with a posy.
Call me old fashioned but flowers make me feel comfortable

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Taking an afternoon recently ‘going through’ and ‘sorting’ with a view to donating some old knitting patterns was like a walk down memory lane. This rather bedraggled looking one (plus several others) turned up, priced at 6d – well before the change to decimal currency in England, Feb 1971.
Can’t remember which of my 1960s babes I used it for but do remember Quickerknit (lovely & soft, easy to knit with) was discontinued long ago. Nowadays the patterns work out just as well using 8ply/double knit….uk10/3.25mm – uk8/4mm.

Quickerknit Baby Wool is described as “thicker than 4-ply and finer than double knitting” – evidently double knitting was not thought suitable for babies, but this would knit up more quickly than 4-ply. Source

Even though it’s an easy knit the lumberjack design (top left) is a style I’ve not come across elsewhere. – similar to a cardigan with buttoned fronts yet has a waistband like a jumper, you can maybe just see it in the deck photo above. It looks good made in outdoorsy colours, just right for a little boy (or even a girl – no discrimination these days) has been made as a charity knit lots of times and I always hope modern mums (no matter their circumstances) don’t mind the unusual fitting.

It’s possible the dolman jumper will be next on the list….simple, back/front sleeves included. A large area available to add a different stitch pattern or even motifs. Baby knits have fewer stitches than children’s so I’ve been known to grimace when visualising 100 stitches on the needles at one time – there’s only a dozen rows that length so it’s really not ‘that bad’.

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I’m sure the copyright to this has expired

And the book on the table……
Well, after a year of being half hearted where my ‘proper’ book club was concerned I decided I’d take it seriously- no matter the book we were allocated to read – I would read it.
Easier said than done!
To say I am struggling this month is an understatement.

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Ask again, Yes – Mary Beth Keane 2019
Please don’t judge me if you enjoyed this book
I am finding this novel to be really boring, the writing is as flat as a pancake and I have no interest in any of the characters. And I’m only half way through.
There – I have said it!
But…..on Friday January 23 I will chat and discuss it with the others. Can’t win ‘em all can you!

I do have plans for my ‘day to day’ reading though.
I’ll let you in on them another day

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If you’d like to see what others are making, reading and talking about just click on ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘…….

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Says it all…..

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I’ve been ‘not very good’ at visiting others lately so on the off chance some of you may come visiting me…..Happy New Year to you all!

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