aussie grandbabies m and f live in what is clearly a two-spiderman household
Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. ~Marc Brown
Mar24
Tag Archives: australia
Mar22
you are all stardust
No moon in Southern Australia gives a great view of the Milky Way.
dedicated to you, my aussie family, so far away. and sharing the same sky.
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photo credit: the intelligent optimist
Jan29
‘i am two with nature.’ – woody allen
michigan, united states – shot in january from space
and on the ground, in michigan, the falls are so cold they have stopped flowing.
it hits me like an avalanche on fire – i am in the united states, and talking to my daughter in australia, and i realize, that while we are both sharing this exact same moment in time, on the exact same planet earth, we are simultaneously experiencing extreme weather temperatures that are 100 degrees apart.
australia – shot in january from space
and on the ground, in australia. the trees are so hot they have not stopped burning.
as my aussie grandson, m, once said, on his first winter visit to the states, when looking out the window of the cottage –
‘look peaches, there must be a fire!’
‘oh, m, don’t worry, that’s just blowing snow.’
‘oh, then there must be some snow on fire.’
has hell frozen over?, i wondered.
One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. – William Shakespeare
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image credits:the ann arbor news, andy mcfarlane, http://www.esa.int/, inhabitant.com
Jan19
‘There’s a monster outside my room, can I have a glass of water?’ – M. Night Shyamalan
my daughter and her aussie family, having decided to take on an easy pet, went the “cute little guinea pigs” route. my grandsons enjoyed playing with them, they were cuddly, and loved to run around in the yard, (grandkids and pigs, both). living in the southern hemisphere, and with a very warm climate, it was not unusual and worked out well for everyone.
until one day, when it got just too hot for them, and the little guys, (the pigs, not the grand babies), decided to make a run for it and head for a cooler location, under the house. they haven’t really seen them since, (the pigs not the babies). i suggested to my daughter that she send the littlest guy, (baby, not pig), under the house on a hunting expedition, with a headlamp and a net. he is the only one who would fit under there, has a huge love of hands-on adventure, and would probably find the mission quite exciting.
my daughter and i discussed the possibilities if they didn’t find them:
‘are they vegetarians?’
‘oh they won’t go hungry, they can eat as much grass as they like out there and always be full.’
‘but isn’t everything massive there, you have super races of every animal, who have adapted and are highly developed survivors?’
‘what if they run out of grass? what if they have to eat a bug or something to survive?’
‘yeh, once they have a taste for blood, they could go after bigger things. the neighbor’s cat, a kangaroo, and even us.’
‘we could come home one day and find them to be giants, roaming the yard, looking menacing, making eye-contact with us and hungry!’
‘yes.’
‘it would be like a bad b-movie, with us as the running, shrieking victims.’
‘could you possibly videotape it for me and i could make a fun family movie out of it?’
soon after, i noticed that she had put up an offer to local friends on Facebook – “looking for a good home for cute guinea pigs, our yard will just not accommodate them since we’ve moved.” following is a very real part of that exchange:
a: Are they child friendly??
h: Not really lap guineas, need more handling. I have a leash and everything but don’t think they are quite there yet.
j: be warned everyone !! they are the guinea pigs from hell !!! they would be perfect extras as pets for the dudes of Sons of Anarchy !!!
apparently, people have different perspectives about them, clearly divided between those who’ve met them, and those who haven’t. but really, leashes?!
You can’t create a monster, then whine when it stomps on a few buildings. Yeardley Smith (voice of lisa simpson)
image credits: freeamigurumipatterns, news.bbc.co.uk, theguardian.com
Dec9
happy birthday with notes from my heart
happy birthday to my eldest daughter who lives in a very different time zone and place and across the seas and over the lands and on the other side of the international date line and below the equator and in another hemisphere. as far away as we physically are from each other, our letters – long and flowery, on beautiful papers, or short and scribbled on scraps, or captions made on things to note, using pens and pencils and markers and paint and crayons and cut-outs and news, are one of the things that keep us so close.
today, i think of you and picture you opening the letter that i have written for you to celebrate this very special day. and who knows? one day, you may even look into your rolling ocean and see a bottle bobbing there, or look to your blue sky and see a balloon tied to a note, or turn to a colorful bird, sitting atop a lovely flower in your front yard, holding an envelope in its bill, or watch a kangaroo jump towards you with a packet emerging from its pouch, and know there is a message in there, from me to you, just waiting for you to open –
More than kisses, letters mingle souls. – John Donne
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Nov21
i wish you really couldn’t leave forever.
with the holidays soon arriving, i’m missing my aussie part of the family. spent most of the summer with them down under, and loved this note that my young grandsons dictated to my daughter to give me as i was leaving. i was especially taken with the line used as my title of this piece. i also love that it involved pinatas, lasagne, fairies, my scent, and a warning.
Nov9
knock knock.
who’s there?
giant stick.
giant stick who?
giant stick mantis knocking at your door. can you come out to play with me?
aussie grandson m welcomes a friend who came knocking at his door one fine morning
—
One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.
Aug5
a horse, a horse! my kingdom for a horse!
a human adventure of the finest sort brought to life from my recent time down under. i was so taken by this, i’ve decided to share it even though i’ve since returned. while i was there, an extraordinary woman passed away. this is her story.
Not what I have, but what I do is my kingdom. Thomas Carlyle
tributes poured in from around the world with the news that princess shirley casley, of hutt river, age 84, had passed away, surrounded by family and friends. shirley was the wife of self-proclaimed prince leonard casley, and matriarch of the principality of hutt river, a 75sqkm micro-nation north of perth.
prince richard casley, one of her seven children, said the family ‘was reeling from the loss of their rock, a woman who lived for her family, and a true matriarch.’ a fine familial tribute if i’ve ever heard one.
the casleys, a farming family, made history in 1970, when they declared their property to be a separate country apart from all of australia, in protest to the government’s imposition of low wheat production quotas. under australian law, the government had two years to respond to the declaration, and their failure to do so resulted in the official birth of the principality in 1972.
shirley and her prince leonard, the love of her life, bought their wheat farm in the 1960s, were married for 66 years, and raised seven children, twenty grandchildren, and thirty + grandchildren there. once the principality came into being, they introduced their own currency, postage, and visa requirements.
prince richard said his mother preferred to stay out of the spotlight, but was the behind the scenes driving force behind the principality – hosting dignitaries, media, and the 40,000 tourists who visited each year. ‘we’ve had messages from people all over the world who knew her. she was a very special woman to so many people – she enjoyed life,” he said. an understatement i’m sure.
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Our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each one of us; and true progress is to know more, and be more, and to do more. Oscar Wilde
Jul24
Looking back in my rearview mirror to see Australia – objects may appear smaller than they actually are
What may be the world’s smallest golf course – less than 1 meter square – freemantle
A friendly creature with a great approach – balingup
Hard to resist this taste sensation – Margaret river
The Aussie version of snow, sea foam – bunbury
Stark beauty – Wellington dam
Maze where I hooked up with a random family to help me find my way out – yallingup
Evening walk around the estuary – found my way with the help of a homeless man and 2 teens with nothing better to do
Found myself in the ancient mangrove
Found my way out again
‘Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.’
Charles Schulz
Jul22
Do you ever wonder?
Finally back on American soil after a long and crazy journey home. One last layover and one last flight and I will be home. Along the way, I realized it was my wonder and amazement with people and their choices that kept me smiling. A random sampling for your reading pleasure:
A. My Aussie seat-mate of many hours and ultimate gentleman, who jumped over the back of our seats, so as not to wake me when he got up.
B. The woman who chose to wear a cow costume without a head, but with a pretty blue hair bow instead, who shared the line with me in customs.
C. The mysterious woman who left her ample bra hanging in my airport restroom. I long to know her story.
My sincere thanks to all above, and many more, who made my travel adventure so much more entertaining.
I didn't have my glasses on.... 