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places to visit Random thoughts

‘Where the rainforest meets the reef’

I love that slogan. It’s just so picturesque. And it’s certainly got me hooked. I want to see it for myself, which is why the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation area (apparently now all just called ‘the Daintree’, to encourage tourism) is number three on the list of four ‘places I want to visit prior to death or rapture’.

And the good bit is – unlike the Kimberley’s, which was number two on the list – it’s (apparently…) accessible by caravan! (Yesterday’s post described how enamoured I am with my caravan, if you missed it.) Although, having travelled that far, up to the Daintree from all the way down here in S.E.Qld, I’d probably want to keep on going and end up right at the northern tip of our country. Just to experience it, and be able to gloat that I’d been. But apparently, taking caravans further north than the Daintree is just foolhardy. Again – a pity. But that’s okay… I’ll get there one day! (Hopefully I have a lot of time left before my death /rapture…)

So I have the caravan, the 4WD, and the road to get all the way to the Daintree. Which means that the only thing holding me back is ‘time’. Cos I have absolutely NO idea on exactly how long it would take to drive that far. And once we got there, how long would we want to spend exploring the area? A week? Two? A month? More? And how about exploring the areas on the way up / the way back? (To date, we’ve ‘seen’ as far as Yeppoon, with the exception of when we flew into Proserpine and bussed to Airlie Beach on the way to the Whitsundays for a pre-kid holiday.)

Which brings me to my dilemma. I’d like to spend at least 3 weeks there, I’d say. Minimum. Plus a week up(-ish?) and about a similar time back. Around 6 weeks or so. Which is tricky to find when hubby only gets 4 weeks off a year. But I’ll manage something, I’m sure. Stay tuned… I’ll blog our adventures one day, I promise! But not tomorrow. No – tomorrow we head overseas again. Destination Number Four, last on my list, promises to be one to fill the senses. Intrigued? Well, have a lovely day and I’ll see you same time, same place, tomorrow!

PS Some more piccies – again, taken by others. Unfortunately.

 

CC Images courtesy:

Daintree rivers
from thiery49

Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets the ocean By dirk huijssoon

 

River in the Daintree
from Mozzer

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places to visit Random thoughts

Travel all over the countryside…

I was one of those kids, growing up in the early eighties, addicted to the Leyland Brothers. What a brilliant show it was! What a sense of adventure it instilled in me, together with the desire to see as much of this wonderful country as I possibly can.

Here I am though, a few decades later, and still barely left Queensland except to do short trips just on the other side of the border. Fartherest south to date? Melbourne. (But that was too cold for me. I’m a sun lover, and probably always will be.)

But all that will change. I’m determined. I am recently the proud owner of a gorgeous, brand-new Montana Hastings caravan, and plan on using it as much as I possibly can to see as much of this extraordinary country as possible! It’s a pretty tiny thing, especially when the three kids are underfoot as was the case just the other week when we were stuck on the ‘island’ of 1770, unable to travel due to the 6+metres of water covering both access roads. (By the way, if you were planning on using the Baffle Creek road any time in the next four months, don’t. It’ll be out for at LEAST that long, they’re saying. The bridge will need complete replacement. Sorry about that, being the bearer of bad news an’ all.) Anyway… back to my caravan…

Yes, I LOVE it. The kids do too. And hubby doesn’t mind it either, which is pretty good seeing as he does all the organising of maintainence, all the driving (to date, anyway! I think he’s a little worried I’ll roll it…) and understands all the ins and outs of the fridge workings and the tuning in of the TV antenna. (Both extremely important, I’ve discovered!) So we’ll be getting away whenever we can, and ‘seeing’ Australia for ourselves.

Well, as much as we can, anyway. Unfortunately, there are a number of places I’d like to take it, but it’s just not going to happen. And today’s post, (which was meant to be the second of four on ‘places I want to visit prior to death or rapture’, but kinda got sidetracked onto ‘my caravan’,) is on one of those places. It’s the Kimberleys, over there in WA. A gorgeous spot, judging by all I’ve heard, but not particularly kind to caravans. Pity. I could spend ages just looking at photos taken from that region of our great land. (Could, but don’t. Too darn busy.) But just looking isn’t going to cut it for me. I want to SEE those places with my own eyes. So once the younger two are out of nappies, I’ll be planning it. Maybe I’ll still be blogging then, and take you all with me in my laptop bag?! LOL!

Til tomorrow, when we meet Destination Three…

Ceridwyn

PS Just thought I’d share some (other people’s) photos that inspire me…

CC Images courtesy:

Kimberley Ranger Forum 2010
from KimberleyLandCouncil

Bell Gorge
from Chip_2904

Hiking through the Bungle Bungles
from David Busch Aus

Palm Spring S32663
from yaruman5

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#blog12daysxmas places to visit Random thoughts

Okay, okay. We get the picture now.

I can’t recall coming across many sarcastic songs. But I think I’ve just realised, at the age of 36, that “The Twelve Days of Christmas” which I had always thought of as a beautiful love song, is one such song. Over the past twelve days, I’ve looked at each and every gift, making comment on the meaning behind the gift, and the possible intention of the giver – the so-called ‘True Love’.

Initially, I was impressed at his pragmatism. He gave gifts that showed his understanding of the real world. That relationships need practicality too. The partridge and pear tree, both edible, came before the two turtle doves – symbols of devoted love. Hens and more edible birds followed.

As the days went past, the ‘True Love’s organisational skills impressed me. Not only was he able to source some pretty interesting gifts (geese that always laid, swans known for their singing ability) but he also managed to get a LOT of them. Six geese per day, since Day 6, means (let’s see my maths skills in action again, shall we…) that today we now stand at 42 geese. Seven swans per day since day 7 means 42 of them too. That’s a lot, in my opinion. Finding them, purchasing them and organising them all to arrive on the exact day that they were needed, would have been a task-and-a-half as well, I’d say.

But then the sheer enormity of her household started making more and more of an impression. By Day 8 we were adding people. Milkmaids (with cows, I’m assuming), then ladies dancing, then leaping lords (which again would have been a difficult find!). And finally yesterday, we added musicians. Eleven bagpipers would certainly add to the cacophony.

All of which led to my change in opinion. From incredulity, to suspicion. (Okay, I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, I’ll admit it. Took me til Day 11.) With that much noise, I’m now of the opinion that his intentions may actually have been the opposite of what I had originally thought. I’m starting to think that he may not have been particularly fond of the singer – rather, he wanted to give her a mental breakdown. My proof? Circumstantial, I admit it, but still. Today’s gift is drummers. Twelve of them. All drumming. What’s the bet that they don’t just perform one song?! So by now, we have… 12 drummers, 22 bagpipers, 30 lords flirting with 27 dancing ladies and 40 milkmaids (and I’m guessing, at LEAST 40 cows), 42 swans, 42 geese, 40 pheasants, 36 blackbirds, 30 hens, 22 turtle doves, 12 partridges and 12 pear trees (well… at least they’re quiet!)

Now I don’t know about you, but that to me sounds as though he has had a bit of an agenda, and disguised it with supposed kindness. Sneaky. Underhanded. Not the nicest person you’d want to be your ‘True Love’. So all in all, I’m left feeling rather disappointed. I hadn’t expected that this process would end up as a bit of a downer. Sorry, folks.

On a happier note though, I must admit that I’m very glad I joined in this #blog12daysxmas challenge. I had expected it to be a more difficult task, blogging each day, than it was. Maybe it was easier due to holidays, or something, but now that I’ve started, I’ve decided to continue blogging. And I like the idea of using a ‘list’ on which to structure my writing. @haikugirlOz gave me the idea, actually, tweeting about Wilsons Promenade – a place I’d love to go to, but haven’t. (Yet!) So that’s my plan. Starting tomorrow, I’ll work through the Top 4 places I’d like to visit one day, and why. Stand tuned for Ancient Rome, this time tomorrow! Have a lovely rest-of-the-day, dear readers!!!

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#blog12daysxmas Random thoughts

Nine ladies dancing…

By now, there would be a lot of birds at the singer’s house. Just a quick tally tells us that there would be: 9 partridges, 16 turtle doves, 21 hens, 24 colly birds, 25 pheasants, 25 geese and 21 swans. There would also be at least one cow (although it’s more likely that there would be AT LEAST eight of them!) and eight milkmaids. So – to today’s gift. Let’s just add nine ladies, shall we? And yes, they’ll probably have to dance just to get around all the others! (Although that’s not entirely true. The 21 swans should be in the lake, you’d think. The requirement was that they be excellent swimmers…) And perhaps that’s why the lords coming tomorrow need to be skilled in leaping?! Hehe! Still, it’s an interesting household to ponder.

Speaking of pondering, I’m going to continue this thought with my head on my pillow. It’s been a long one today, and I’m exhausted. Sunburnt too, which makes it more pronounced, I think. Sorry it’s a short one today, dear readers.

See you tomorrow!

 

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#blog12daysxmas Random thoughts

Wouldn’t it be nice…

… to win a million! (How ‘bout that 31 million last night?! But bummed I didn’t win it. Oh well.) What would YOU do with that much money?

Me? Well, after the mortgage and paying off the vehicles, credit cards, etc and donations to worthy charities (not forgetting my bank account, of course!) I must admit that one of the first things I would do is to get a housecleaner. I quite despise cleaning. Sad, and very un-motherly, un-wifely and all the rest, but very very true. So to be given, like the singer, eight maids, would probably be a dream come true. (Although I wonder. If I had eight today, eight tomorrow, eight the days after etc until I had 40 of them, would that be 39-odd too many?!) And are ‘milk’ maids different from ‘normal’ maids?

Hmmm… what do they do when they’ve finished milking? Go on to the next cow, or bludge for the rest of the day?! (Heck, with 40 of them, there’s almost enough for them to form a union on me!!) And does the cow or cows come supplied WITH each maid? Because if not, there’s not a whole heap for them to do. After all, the singer mentions nothing about her true love supplying the cows as well…?

Interesting concept, to be defined by what you do. It’s something I’ve been mulling over for the last little while. You see, for the last month, I’ve been ‘unemployed’. As in, no certainty of what paid work I’ll end up with this year. (I finished up at both Coolum Beach Christian College and Glasshouse Country Christian College in the first week of December, deciding that I needed a three-day-a-week job with ONE employer, rather than two-and-a-half days over two employers.) It’s the first time in 15 years that I’ve had no real inkling of what my future entailed. I have a B.Ed degree, so I guess that makes me a ‘teacher’ – but if a teaching job is not what I end up with this year, should I still be defined by my degree? I’m studying a M.IT majoring in Library / Information Services, and would LOVE a job in the LIS field somewhere – but again, should that be my identifier? I’m a wife, a mother, I run the goodoldtalk.com website, and hubby and I are the QLD distributors for Mosquito Magnet machines – so what, exactly, should I choose to define myself by?

It’s a pity, but I guess it’s the way society works. People are defined by what they do. These eight maids are known by the fact that they milk. Me? Well, I am known for… hmmm…

Dear readers, I will let you make up your own minds. (Feel free to let me know your opinion, by the way. And of course, any offers of employment are also extremely welcome hehe!) Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you all tomorrow. Have your dancing shoes ready!

 

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#blog12daysxmas Random thoughts

Seven swimming swans (make sure they’re swimming now, mind!)

Well, today spells the last of the bird gifts. Some interpretations of the meaning behind the song state that each gift represented something special for each month. Meaning that the swans would have been a gift for the seventh month. July. (Although I’ve also heard that October used to be year’s end, just a few hundred years ago, so maybe the seventh month for the ‘true love’ and his ‘singer’ wasn’t the same as the seventh month for us? I wonder…)

Anyway, why swans? Unlike the partridge, the hens, the ‘rings’ (pheasants) and the geese, they’re probably not edible – well, they’re not known for it, are they?! So maybe, like the turtle doves, they were included for aesthetic reasons, instead. (Their swimming abilities, methinks?! Hehe!) And I never quite decided why those Colly birds were included on Day 4, did I? Oh well… Swans, for me, remind me of that Fairy Tale “The Ugly Duckling”. I loved that story. The duckling had so much to be bitter about, but wasn’t. Something to aspire to!

Interestingly enough, that was one of the DVD’s I played for my kids in our long drive home, late last night. (Yes, we’re no longer flooded in – yay! As of yesterday, 4am, we were still on the “island” of 1770 / Agnes Waters, but by 6 had sneakily crossed over to Miriam Vale, by midday were doing a reccy of Gin Gin, and by 4pm had made it through Gin Gin and headed home. Twas a very late night, but SO worth the huge drive just to get to dry clothes and mud-free sheets!)

But back to the song. It looks like tomorrow’s on to the people. Maybe the ‘singer’ told the ‘true love’ that she’d had enough of birds?! But that, I guess, is a ponder for another time.

See you tomorrow, folks!

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#blog12daysxmas Random thoughts

gold = yet more birds??! You’re kidding, right?

So what’s with all these birds? According to the ever trustworthy Wikipedia, “The fifth day’s gift of gold rings refers not to jewellry but to ring-necked birds such as the ring-necked pheasant; or to “five goldspinks” – a goldspink being an old name for a Goldfinch.” The entry then goes on to say “When these errors are corrected, the pattern of the first seven gifts all being birds is restored.” So again, I ask you – what’s with all these birds? Hmmm…?

So yes, that was a bit of news for me. I had always thought that the ‘golden rings’ were just that. Gold rings. So finding out this next bit of trivia didn’t surprise me in the slightest:

The ‘Christmas Price Index’…

“Since 1984, the cumulative costs of the items mentioned in the song have been used as a tongue-in-cheek economic indicator. This custom began with and is maintained by PNC Bank. Two pricing charts are created, referred to as the Christmas Price Index and The True Cost of Christmas. The former is an index of the current costs of one set of each of the gifts given by the True Love to the singer of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” The latter is the cumulative cost of all the gifts with the repetitions listed in the song. The people mentioned in the song are hired, not purchased. The total costs of all goods and services for the 2010 Christmas Price Index is $23,439. The original 1984 cost was $12,623.10.”

In 2009, this article was written: “Making one’s true love happy will cost a whopping $87,403 this year… according to the latest cost analysis of the items in the carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

That’s the grand total for the single partridge in a pear tree to the 12 drummers drumming, purchased repeatedly as the song suggests, according to the annual “Christmas Price Index” compiled by PNC Wealth Management.

Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investment for PNC Wealth Management… has been calculating the cost of Christmas since 1984. And the reason for the increase in 2009? He writes, “The main driver behind the higher cost is that the price of gold has increased 43 percent, bringing the five gold rings up $150 to $500.” Ha! I was not alone in my misconceptions then!

Still, for the gift to be 5 more birds – I guess the singer must be fond of eating bird meat?! I must confess – all birds, to me, taste like chicken. Hehe!

See you tomorrow, folks! (P.S. The rain seems to be stopping. The Laundromats all have queues out the doors, the bread’s all gone, and the local servo’s run out of petrol, but there’s hope that maybe we’ll get to something other than longlife milk yet!!!)

 

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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

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