Good morning all you little chocolate bon bons!
Another wonderful night's sleep without any offspring needing to talk the hind leg off a donkey to me in the wee hours, no cats trying to smother me with their love as they try to sleep on my face and, lastly, no dogs demanding extra bed space/toilet/brekkie/playtime/gnawing on my toes in the unlit hours!
As I said, a very good night's sleep!!!!
Oddspot-
When a ferry steamer, "Pearl", sank in the Brisbane River in 1896, Charley Briggs jumped overboard with an umbrella and the loaf of bread he was taking home.
Treading water, Charley opened the umbrella, turned it upside down and put the bag inside it. He floated it downstream for a quarter of a mile until he was rescued.
His bread remained perfectly dry and he enjoyed it for his supper that night.
1840 Captain Hobson was feeling his oats on this day when he claimed British sovereignty over the whole of The Land Of The Long White Cloud (NZ for those uneducated yokels) even though the haggling, bartering and compromises weren't yet done with.
Great Aunt Hepzibah's Handy Hints-
To clean the hard to get at insides of a vase or kettle (or similar) fill the container and drop in 2-4 denture cleaning tablets and leave for about 2 hours. Rinse and reuse as needed.
1856 The world's first 8 hour working day was carved in stone by the marches and vocal noise of the stonemasons of Victoria.
Madame Babooshka's Star Sign Reading For The Day-
The current full moon is influencing the tides in the star signs of Wallaby, Kangaroo and Magpie - but only one of these will face an opposing AFL team this coming Saturday.
1930 The ever shy and retiring little poppet *cough cough*, Malcolm Fraser, 22nd PM of Oz, was spawned in the Bunyip patch. So popular was he, he inspired a graffiti poem that was found in many, many places -
I'm proud to be free.
But I wish I was a dog
And Fraser was a tree."
Great Uncle Rupert's Not-So-Refreshing Remembrances-
Ha ha ha ha *cough cough* pass me that water jug, will you? Thanks. Ahhh that's hit the spot! Ha ha ha *cough cough* no, that was just tap water but ahhhhh, my home brew would go down even sweeter than that at any time of the day. Yes, the home brew we started with was making a hell of a racket under the chook house and Father was getting suspicious. We decided, in our young lad's wisdom, to bottle it early and we had a heck of a time pinching those empty milk bottles from 'round the back of the local milk bar. Glass bottles meant money in those days! You could get a halfpenny for every intact glass bottle you took back to the milk bar, we were recycling before your generation even coined the word ha ha ha *cough cough*...
Will Father find the milk bottles?
Will Great Uncle Rupert explain how they sealed the top of the milk bottles?
Will Mother ever get an egg from the chooks again?
Bring your queries along tomorrow to see what the old fussbudget has to blather.
1948 Brit pop warbler Leo Sayer, who now calls Australia home, was found in the munchkin patch.
Miss Ed Ma Kate Shun's Elucidations-
Let the kids read about and make their own quills, practicing to use them afterwards.
2004 Stanislav Petrov was awarded the World Citizen Award.
Never heard of him?
You won't forget his name when you realise the USSR's early warning system malfunctioned in 1983, indicating nuclear missiles had been launched at the USSR from USA but Stanislav refused to believe it and Did Not Push THE Red Button. Read about the man who refused to start World War 3 HERE.
Grandma Mehitabel's Menu-
Vegetarian Pasta Sauce-
Get out your meat grinder and, using the fine teeth attachment, grind up 2 medium onions, 2 carrots, 2-3 broccoli florets, 2-3 cauliflower florets, 1 medium zucchini, 1 medium green, red and yellow capsicums and 3 stalks of celery. (other vegies may be included or substituted).
Throw the lot, well mixed, into a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of butter and let it simmer away on a gentle heat.
Add seasoning and lemon pepper seasoning to taste.
Throw in 1 tin of tomatoes, stir thoroughly and serve with pasta of choice.
...Thing!Hints this week are -
- It was used to repair a particular type of clothing.
- Every "good" wife would industrially use this at least once per week/month when she had a pile of this particular type of clothing to mend.
- It wasn't a favourite chore of any woman.
- The particular type of clothing would be stretched over the wide end for mending.
- These are no longer used today.
Congrats to Lightening, it was indeed a sock darning mushroom, as everyone seemed to know -obviously they're in good supply but not in good use!
Do the smarty pants tango and grin like the Cheshire Cat for 5 mins, Lightening!
Thanks to all who had a go, the next Name That...Thing! competition will be posted up again next Tuesday.
A stunningly wonderful day to you all!
After a quiet day that involved a nana nap and a solid, full night's sleep, Feral Beast and The Tribe are bursting with energy, happiness and all spark plugs are sparking merrily away!
Today is Eliza Doolittle Day to encourage and celebrate the proper use of language.
So learn ya vowels an' stop droppin' yer haitches an' gees when yer yappin' yer trap, eh?
Oddspot-
While eating a lollipop in the early 1900's a young girl in Adelaide felt a tickling in her throat and coughed up small snake.
A doctor figured out that when she'd been eating watercress several weeks earlier she had swallowed an egg which had somehow developed.
That'll teach everyone to wash their watercress thoroughly!
1804 The last of David Collins' failed Sorrento Settlement upped sticks and hied themselves forth in high dudgeon to the Derwent.
Great Aunt Hepzibah's Handy Hints-
When removing sticky labels or stickers from items, smear a little mayonnaise over the sticker and leave for 30 mins. Gently prod the sticker with the edge of a paint scraper or like and the sticker will come away without any problems, leaving no residue behind.
1818 Father O'Flynn, who was gaoled for not having the correct flowing robes or documentation or looked sideways at someone official, was deported. Here's your hat, what's your hurry?!
Madame Babooshka's Star Sign Reading For The Day-
The full moon has moved into the 18th quadrant of the house of Koala, leaving those born under this sign open to rain showers, daylight and possible communication with others.
1839 Moreton Bay penal settlement really wasn't everyone's cuppa tea so it closed it's doors and was reinvented as a leisure resort for businessmen looking to hide their tax income...or some such.
Miss Ed Ma Kate Shun's Elucidations -
Let the kids pick one native endangered animal to study for a week. They can then write about this animal, create a diorama to show it's habitat, draw pictures of it's prey/food and also pictures of it's natural enemies. A map can be included to show where the animal once roamed and to what smaller areas it is now confined. Discuss what action is needed to protect this animal and to help bring it's population numbers back to a sustainable level.
1839 When they shut down the Moreton Bay penal colony the drought ended in NSW - coincidence or divine intervention? I dunno but it makes the conspiracy theorists a tad rabid....
Great Uncle Rupert's Not-So-Refreshing Remembrances-
Ahhh, those night's when all we had was a kero lamp to see by, those were some times to remember. People talk tosh about "the good old days", hmph, don't know what they're rabbiting on about. The kero cost a small fortune and we could only have one lamp lit. Poor Mother had to wash, cook, mend our clothes and correct our schoolwork by that piddly lamplight; Winter nights were the worst when it got dark early and we had chores to do and still tried to get as much done by natural daylight as possible. Candles weren't much cheaper, they didn't last long and the light was even worse to try to practice the times tables by. Mind you , there were a few upsides to this - no one saw whether you managed to get to the thunderbox or the lemon tree in the middle of the night or where the home brew was hidden ha ha ha ha *cough cough*...
Will Great Uncle Rupert ever get around to talking about his home brew?
Will they ever get the electricity connected?
Will Mother discover exactly why her lemon tree is producing so many lemons?
These questions and more will probably be ignored by the crusty old bugger again tomorrow.
1927 The Domain Rd site was approved for the Shrine of Remembrance.
Tis National Archaeology Week all over Oz. Click the link HERE to discover what activities and events are available in your neck of the woods for everyone of all ages.
1929 The first Aussie airmail stamp was flogged to the masses, costing a mere threepence. Oh for the days when Aunt Mavis would cover herself in these stamps and have herself a happy holiday overseas....
Grandma Mehitabel's Menu-
Try and cook vegies in water mixed with a little stock, this will remove the very tart taste of the likes of cabbages,broccoli, etc. This works with rice also. Save the water and use in broiling chops/steaks in a pan, this will keep the meat tender, add to the flavour and is economical.
That mongrel Murphy, who had caused his mischief at Kelley's and CopperWitch's homes recently, cast his beady little eyes in my direction last night.
Feral Beast had a meltdown.
A very over-due meltdown as he hasn't had one for ages, and fortunately this one only lasted for a little over an hour, but Murphy decided we needed to be reminded how good we've had it lately.
Murphy, you're a bloody pooh-head!
Nothing was smashed although feet and fists were flying - Feral Beast's, not ours - and we were able to contain the meltdown hysterics to a small part of the house...the neighbours didn't get a Sunday pre-dinner floorshow this time around.
I know how they must feel like they dipped out...NOT.
So now Feral Beast is reclining in my bed, reading The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime, feeling strangely tired and drained of energy.
I know how he feels, lol!
So he may not update his blog for a day or so, unless he does his usual trick of bouncing back as fresh as a daisy the next time I blink at him lol.
And the usual Oddspots, handy hints, recipes and bizarre star signs will have to wait their turn till tomorrow, coz I'm knackered 
1830 Polish explorer Strzelecki, having tripped over a large lump of land in south-east Victoria, named it Gippsland after the Governor of NSW George Gipps.
1861 Helen Porter Mitchell, better known as Dame Nellie Melba, was pupped. Read more about Nellie HERE.
1915 Lance Corporal Albert Jacka won the first VC awarded to an Aussie for the action at Courtney's Post, Gallipoli. Read about this great bloke who called a spade a bloody shovel, HERE.
1915 John Simpson (Kirkpatrick), better known as The Man With The Donkey, was killed. Read about the bloke who was recommended for the VC twice and the DSO but has received neither while his donkey was awarded the Purple Cross in 1997, HERE.
1948 Federal Govt, making a sensible decision for once, announced that all railroad gauges would be standardised by 1951.
1991 Manning Clarke became part of his beloved history when he popped his clogs. Read more about him HERE.
Another glorious day after 24 hours of pure, persistent, precipitation (it was p!ssing down) soaking into the ground, down deep where the soil was dry and where the bunyips were having a union meeting to sort out this drought thing....
1736 Dust off your broomsticks, girls, and let the cat out of it's cage - the witchcraft laws were repealed in England.
Oddspot-
The fastest Chinese food cook was Ron Coe who, on July 5th, 1980, cooked 5 dishes - steak in black bean sauce, sweet and sour fish, garlic prawns, lemon chicken and Cantonese beef - in 5 mins and 40 secs.
1854 Keep a lump of sugar in your pocket as a horse-drawn railway started plodding between Goolwa and Port Elliot in South Oz, which was in fact Australia's first public railway. Read more about this HERE.
Great Aunt Hepzibah's Handy Hints-
If a kitchen table is too low for you to stand and work at comfortably, attach rubber stoppers to the feet and this will raise the height of the table.
1865 Angus McMillan, the explorer, kicked the proverbial bucket in a pub at Iguana Creek in Gippsland. Well, if you're going to pop your clogs, a pub is as good a place as any....
Madame Babooshka's Star Sign Reading For The Day -
Platypus star signs will discover that attending a picnic with the likes of those born under the sign of the Tiger Quoll could prove both memorable and hair raising.
1953 The 100,000th FX Holden, that classic car with sweeping curves, style, class and beauty, was completed at the Fisherman's Bend factory in Victoria.
Great Uncle Rupert's Not-So-Ripper Refreshment Remembrances-
Ahhh yes, well you've got to understand that Father wasn't adverse to a tipple himself. Why, his drag racing a horse and dray cart down St Kilda Road wasn't the sort of caper a sober chappie would try and I'm sure he would have blown the constable's helmet off if they'd have tried to breathalise him that day ha ha ha ha *cough cough*. No, Father won a hefty wager when he beat the grocer's cart into second place and we had free cabbages for a month...oh how we dutch ovened the house at night! I marvel at Mother's bravery for lighting the kero lamps at all during The Cabbage Month ha ha ha ha *cough cough*....
Will Great Uncle Rupert reveal what happened to his secret brew?
Will Father go drag racing again?
Will Mother ever look sideways at another cabbage?
None of these questions will probably ever be answered in tomorrow's episode...
1978 Prince "I talk to the trees but they don't listen to me" Charlie Chuckle-Head popped into Melbourne for former PM Menzies funeral.
Grandma Mehitabel's Menu-
For a quick hot meal, throw 3 packets of minute noodles into a pot of hot water with some frozen mixed vegies and a family size of soup powder. Boil until cooked through then serve in a bowl.
Otherwise get a meat pie from the local milk bar.
Yes, this is a very late entry but technically tis still May 17th in this part of the spinning globe.
Some enthralling things happened on this day, one of which was when Jimmy Cook spied the Glasshouse Mountains in QLD and named them in fond memory of the Yorkshire glass furnace chimneys in 1770, but it wasn't in 1824 when the Supreme Court of NSW was birthed or when Andrew Petrie falling over the Mary River in 1842, nor was it Port Augusta having it's standards lowered by being linked to Adelaide by a railroad in 1882.
I could be wrong but perhaps one of those exciting things was the recovery of Charlie Chaplain's stolen corpse in 1978, which had been on the loose for 10 weeks or maybe the 1990 find that 3 of Churchill's radio speeches had been read by an actor named Norman Shelley...stop snoring, it's exciting, I tell you!
Anonymum has started another rolling post titled Too Splendid and began the mayhem with herself, followed by Lightening, JavaQueen, Evyl then Anja.
My addition will be in italics.
Too Splendid.
The sun was orange as it set against the ocean.
As Natalie walked along the beach, she felt the sting of tears as they sprung to her eyes. How could he do this to her? What would she do now?
She had invested 12 years of her life into their marriage, thinking they were happy, only to have him say he was leaving. Her question of why had been left unanswered. There was no explanation or reasons. He had merely looked at her sadly and walked out the door without so much as a backward glance………….
The sand felt cool against her hot face as her legs buckled and she surrendered her weary body to the comfort of the course sand. She curled up into a foetal position, her mind willing her body to simply evaporate. The darkness enveloping her was barely recognisable against the darkness that enveloped her heart. A darkness that had been slowly creeping in over the past decade. Somewhere in the distance, a baby cried…. a cry that tortured her heart with memories of a dim and distant past……
Alone in the sand Natalie couldn’t stop thinking what if. What if she had been able to have a child? If she could have given him that, would she be in this situation now? At one time they had been so happy. She had foolishly thought that they could make it work by just loving each other. Natalie had told him from the start that she might not be able to have children. Back then he just looked in her eyes and said the only thing that mattered is that they had each other. Why had she believed him? Now, after twelve years of marriage she was all alone. They had tried for so many years to have a baby, but they never could. She had been through seven miscarriages and had given up hope. Now her husband had left her. She felt empty inside. If only he had known the truth.
It was all a lie. No that wasn’t quite right. There was nothing false about the love at least not for Natalie. Yet the long nights lieing against Brad after the loving exchange of heated passion, whispering softly of the hopes and dreams of the sweet pitter-patter of small feet treading through the carpeted halls of a loving home. The faked faked miscarraiges were not something that Natalie was proud of but it had been her last resort at maintaining a thin veneer over the stained lies that haunted their relationship. For though in her heart, soul, and mind, Natalie was one hundred percent woman, Natalie was born Ned. Yet, how could she have told Brad the truth. For Ned and Brad had been best friends in grade school. Playing catch at the ball park, racing bicycles down the quiet suburban streets, camping in the backyard until that fateful day, when everything changed.Natalie stared at her perfect breasts in the mirror. That surgeon was worth his weight in gold. She was every man’s dream - beautiful, successful, able to strip an engine faster than any man, but she was missing that one thing - a uterus. Natalie thought she had given Brad everything he wanted. She knew what men wanted in bed; she knew that men liked hot sex, cold beer and sport on the tube. Who was better to know what a man wanted than someone who had spent half of their life as a man, and her husband’s best friend. Life was wonderful until that barbecue with the new neighbours. Curse that little baby with her gummy grin and corn flower blue eyes. Natalie knew their lives would hit a road block when Brad said “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had one of our own?” Natalie could do everything for a man, be everything for a man, apart from one thing… a mother.
Natalie knew there was one last trump card to play, although it was going to be a doozy -she would go back to her surgeon and discuss Changing Wombs. She decided that, after all these years trying to be the perfect woman for Brad, she'd like to experience that female condition with the roller coaster hormones, strange food cravings, sleep deprivation, painful boobs, constant toilet stops and be able to scare the bejebus out of other mums at Playgroup with her own horror birth story. Her surgeon had offered the optional plumbing in his original surgical assessment but Natalie had dismissed it, not considering for a minute that the sport-lovin' Brad she had her eyes on would succumb to natures tug on his goolies. Having kept several bucket loads of Brad's love juice on ice at a private storage facility proved the post-op turkey basting would not be a problem and could be a great surprise with which to win Brad back to her side. Natalie made her appointment, booked her ticket and was soon winging her way to motherhood.
Bettina, baby, you're up next!
Hilary
