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#blog12daysxmas Random thoughts

Birds making the meal…

I guess blackbirds must be good for something. I wonder why the ‘true love’ wanted to give the singer four of them though?

(I should probably state upfront that whenever I think of blackbirds, I think of crows. And I don’t like crows. I mean – who does? When I lived in Brisbane and studied for my B.Ed. at Griffith, there were simply hundreds of the creatures at the MtGravatt campus. They were more obvious in the late afternoons, when the student population had decreased for the day, picking scraps out of the rubbish bins and making a horrible mess. Large creatures they were, too. But apparently I’m wrong. Crows aren’t blackbirds.)

Instead, blackbirds are, again, birds used for food – just as the partridges and hens were. The ‘Sing a Song of Sixpence’ nursery rhyme confirmed this. They’re quite a bit smaller than the crows I mistook them for though – which I guess is why you’d need 24 of them in a pie! They also form strong pairing relationships, so they fit in with the ‘devoted love’ theme of the song. Aww.

So back to my original question. Why four? Because you’d need that many for a reliable meal? Maybe so. Food is something at the forefront of my mind at the moment. Not just because it’s Christmas, but because I find myself for the first time, flooded in, and in a situation where we have a limited food supply for the foreseeable future. So for those of you believe in it, I’d love a few prayers sent heavenwards, to stop this rain so we can get some more food!!!

Anyway, best go. Nappies need changing and breakfast needs giving. Have a lovely day, everyone! Til tomorrow and its five gold “rings”!

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#blog12daysxmas Random thoughts

Three hens (the ones from France, please)

Okay, I’ll come right out and admit it. This one had me stumped. “Three French hens.” Seriously? Three hens? Why French ones? (Apparently the song itself is probably French in origin, so why specify the country when you’re living IN the country?)

And why something so bland and mundane after the rapturous “Two turtle doves”? We already had partridges and pear trees in the first verse, so I would have thought that the ‘food’ part of the gift was covered. (The silly section of my brain is saying “Would you like eggs with that?” right now…) Maybe the ‘true love’ was imparting the thought that the raptures of devoted love aren’t enough to meet the practicalities of daily living. Let’s face it. Three hens generally means three eggs a day – one for each meal. (Maybe not enough for two people to live off, but when you combine it with a pear or two, you might survive…)

Being practical makes sense to me, actually. Give me pragmatism any time, I think. People often tell me I’m pragmatic. (Hopefully they see it as a good trait! I certainly choose to take it as a compliment…) Super-organised is another word I get a lot. (Again, I’d prefer to see the positive side of that than the all-too-obvious negative I know that it generally manifests as! But back to my topic…)

When reading up on the song, I discovered that tomorrow’s was actually changed. It’s now ‘four calling birds’ but it used to be ‘four colly birds’ – otherwise known as blackbirds. And I’m mentioning it now because it’s going to take me at LEAST a day to think up what to write about them!!! So if I don’t post ‘til late tomorrow, you’ll know the reason why. Wish me luck in my ponders! And til then, Merry Christmas Day 3 style, all!

 

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#blog12daysxmas Random thoughts

Two turtle doves…

Okay, so I feel less guilty today. At least I checked Wikipedia for this one! (And yes, I was right in my assumptions yesterday about those partridges.) So, for those of you who didn’t know, turtle doves are the symbol for devoted love. (Aww.)

Pretty apt, when you think about the fact that we’re in the Christmas season. God sending His son to the world as a tiny baby, completely helpless in a soiled and sordid world. Now if that’s not love, I’m not sure what is. Becoming a mum recently enough to remember that feeling of utter incredulity at how helpless my own newborns were, I continually find it amazing that any parent could send their child into such a situation. Especially when already aware of the ending! But He did – and I for one am glad. But back to the song…

Today marks the second day of Christmas. The day the ‘true love’ gives ‘two turtle doves’ – birds known for their love and devotion. By the end of the song, the singer gets 22 of these doves. Eleven pairs. I guess the ‘true love’ really wanted to make sure his message was clear!

It makes me wonder though. What, in my life, am I that devoted to? Hmmm…

Thought to ponder for the day. So. ‘Til tomorrow, Merry Christmas, dear readers!

 

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#blog12daysxmas Random thoughts

Of partridges and pear trees

There’s a line in one of my daughter’s Winnie the Pooh DVD’s where Eeyore says to Tigger, “I didn’t know what to get you, so I got you me.” (He had wrapped himself up as a birthday present for Tigger’s first ever birthday.)

That’s kinda the way I’m feeling at the moment. This is my first ‘real’ post on my first ever personal blog, and I’m not really sure of ‘what to give’. In the words of the brief I’m currently writing (I’m studying a Masters in IT at QUT and am taking a Minor Project over the summer semester under the brilliant @katiedatwork) my ‘aims and objectives’ aren’t clear in my own head yet. Not too sure if I’m ‘meeting the needs of my audience’. Heck – who IS my audience even??!! (Do I have one? Probably not. Will I ever??! Hehe! Who knows?!!)

So anyway, here I am. Christmas Day 2010 and my head’s singing “On the first day of Christmas” because of this #blog12daysxmas challenge I’m attempting. (Thanks, @fionawb, by the way, for this fantastic idea! I doubt I would have had the guts to just ‘start blogging’ without your help!) Which brings me back to my initial thought of gifts, and of partridges and pear trees.

I don’t know much about partridges, except that they’re birds. Some people eat them, don’t they? A part two: find out more about topic of blog BEFORE commencing writing of same. Whoops!) Anyway, I’m pretty sure that they belong in the ‘poultry’ category – which makes sense when you pair them with the pears of the same line in the Christmas song. Both edible. (BTW, I liked that ‘paired with pears’, didn’t you? Hehe!)

So maybe that’s something to aim for with this little blog of mine. Something edible. Something to sink your teeth into, dear readers. To provoke thought, even. Something worthwhile. (I hope that I would NEVER waste your time! That my posts will always be worthy of that most precious of your commodities…)

I’m also thinking that I’d love it if I could use this blog to get feedback from you, my audience. (That’s assuming that someone out there actually does read this ramble! LOL) So please, if you’ve the inclination, I’d love to read your comments! I’ll even try to reply when I can!

So anyway, that’s about it for this first ever ‘real’ post. I hope you enjoyed it – and have a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

(PS Just got sent this one. Loved it so wanted to share it with you…)
watch?annotation_id=annotation_485296&v=GkHNNPM7pJA&feature=iv

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Random thoughts

Hello world!

Never had a personal blog before. Wondering how it’s all going to go…