a small adventure

today I ventured out and walked through the rice fields. it was a long walk but very rewarding i took lots of photos and a video on my phone. wow too beautiful. the path was fairly easy to follow except when it  narrowed and got a little bit steep. as i am really unfit it was a bit of a challenge but not too hard. i passed lots of tourist on the way and lots of locals. i stopped to talk to a man who sold me a coconut drink, he lopped off the top and put in a straw. it was very refreshing. he also sold beautiful oils but i didn't buy any. maybe next time. yesterday i tried to make the trip but it got a bit late so i turned back. i'm so glad i made it today. i will try and upload the video and the photos but  they are on my phone and this is on my tablet. i'll try. the weather here is really nice, warm not too hot, food is amazing and the home stay where i am is lovely. the people are marvelous, so so nice. my friend may not be able to come as his mum is sick. maybe next time. i'm leaving ubud on friday to go back to kuta and catch up with some friends. yesterday I had the best massage I think I've ever had at golden hands salon. I can't find out how to add photos on the tablet, I'll keep looking.

my didgeridoo

i have very little to blog about but i'll jot down a few things.  did i tell you i bought a didge in cairns?  i can't remember.  my dil bought my son one too.  great place in the night markets.  he makes his own and paints them beautifully.  i can play it.  yes, i can.  :)  can i play it well?  no way.  i can't get the circular breathing thing happening but i am practicing. my son, on the other hand, is really good.  he hasn't got the breathing exactly right but he's very good.  i'll post a video when i can get my shyte together.  which brings me on to my next topic.  i go back to work on wednesday next and all i can say is ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  it seems ages since i was there and i'm sure i'm not ready.  bring on april next i say (retirement here i come).  they have changed my role completely and we have about four new staff members.  all of our teams and desks have been changed around.  another ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.  but, being the positive little blogger that i am i'm sure that a) i'll have no trouble waking up to the alarm, jumping into the shower and getting myself orjanized.  (sic)  i've been keeping very late hours and waking up really late and eating at odd hours and just bumming around, and b) everything will turn out splendidly.   i hope i am more together when i retire or i will go to seed very quickly.  well, i suppose it's not quite as bad as all that but i need to get my shyte together.  yes i do.  :)  a few pics follow but before i go, is anyone else unable to change their blog around? edit backgrounds etc?  oh yes, i made soup last night and the green split dried peas are undercooked and have spoilt the whole batch.  i'm about to make some ricotta cheese and yoghurt.  wish me luck  :)  

my son playing both of our didges.  mine is the smaller one on the right

a colourful owl for cookie

the beetroot incident x 3

ahh, what can i say.  beetroot is a bitch to clean up.  esp. when it's all over the bench and most of the things on said bench.  luckily, it didn't go on the floor or cupboard doors.  phew.  firstly, i tipped a container of beetroot over in the fridge the other day.  you don't want to know about that cleanup.  :(  today, i was making a delish salad wrap for lunch when ...  i tipped over the container of beetroot.  it went everywhere.  but that's not the best bit.  i picked up the container and it slipped out of my hands and went all over my wrap.  another sad face :( lol. i think on reflection that it is the container that is at fault here.  i need one with a tighter lid.  so i cleaned it all up.  the dish washing water looked a bit ominous.  then, a very sharp knife got knocked off the bench and onto the floor.  this is where i think the accident fairies were looking after me (where were they before?).  it missed my foot by mere millimetres.  phew.  i had thongs on (my feet) and it could have been nasty.  so, it's all cleaned up and i've had a cup of coffee.  i don't know whether to go outside and sweep up some more or go up and have a shower.  my son and dil came over yesterday and we shifted some pot plants and garden stuff.  it's a mess but it's better than it was.  we did lots and were dirty and tired when we finished.  i was supposed to go up and see the kids for lunch today but my daughter couldn't make it so i went back to the garden.  might be time for a shower and a nana nap.  :)  enjoy your sunday

i found this lovely blue and white ball at the shop the other day

my son and g/daughter having a swing after gardening yesterday

lovely son and lovely dil Sharlene

remember the tree the council cut down recently?  it's growing again. my dil said i should have shade again in about 15 years. to be fair the tree is starting to rot from the inside.  it's not very healthy

me gardening.  i'm such a klutz at times

the beetroot mess, well some of it anyway

 

a few things

i haven't posted anything for a while so thought i'd do a small catch up.  i had two procedures last wednesday and they went smoothly.  minor problem found, nothing serious.  i'm back at work now and nothing much changes there.  bedlam.  new staff, new positions, we are not holding our breaths.  supervisor comes back from europe soon, she's been away for a month.  we've been a little bit 'relaxed' at work while she's been gone.  they've put up the date for the start of the new library system.  no big surprises there.
i had lunch today with the g/kids and my daughter.  i bought the kids a mobile phone each.  they were half price and they are really nice little touch phones.  i sat at lunch with the three of them on their phones. i may as well have had lunch alone.  not quite.  i exaggerate just a tad.  i just made some pumpkin soup which isn't too bad so having that and some toast for dinner.  working tomorrow and you know how much i enjoy that.  :)  it's been our coldest june for 25 or so years.  lots of rain too.  i should have gotten some washing done today but it was too wet.  tomorrow maybe

lotus in friend's garden pond

i like the late afternoon sun reflected on the building and in the trees and clouds

Cookie made cupcakes last weekend. they were yum 

i saw a program on the teev the other day about people picking up old thongs (flip flops) from the beach and recycling them into sellable items.  it's a great way to increase their meagre income and they have a website - http://www.theffrc.com/  it's a program about the indian ocean and it's really good.  i think it's on sbs1

delicious

honey, ginger chicken.  whilst i was in bali i went to one of my fave eating places, basil leaves.  i have several favourite eating places in bali.  no surprises there.  they serve vietnamese, thai and indonesian delights. i've never had a bad meal there.  it's such a simple little place.  it's in a back lane next to a club that plays 60s favourites (really badly). my favourite dish is the honey, ginger chicken and the lovely friendly people that work there let me watch it being made.  i should have videoed it but i took notes instead.  i looked through a small window into the kitchen which was absolutely tiny.  here is the recipe:

1 chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
1 onion sliced
1 tbs ginger, finely chopped or grated
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely or crushed
1 tbs oyster sauce (i used hp coz i don't eat oysters and ran out of the vegetarian version)
1 tbs kecip manis (thick, sweet soy sauce)
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs honey
1tsp sugar
pinch salt

stirfry the chicken and onion in peanut oil until well done.  the cook used about a cupful of oil but i just used about 1 tbs.  she did remove some after the chicken and onions were cooked though. i tried to ask what kind of oil but didn't really get an answer coz she didn't understand my indonesian.
add the sugar, salt, garlic and ginger and cook for a minute or two.  add the sauces and honey and add a little bit of water if necessary to make the sauce a nice consistency. it should be thickish, not too runny.  i also cooked some broccoli and served both on steamed rice.

mine was so different to the original but it tasted very similar and was really delicious.  maybe i will add a tiny bit more honey and ginger next time.  if you give it a go i hope you enjoy.  pics below are of warung indonesia and a few other great eateries in bal.

everything's broken

what's going on?  my suitcase, camera and glasses whilst i was away - broken.  (glasses fixed).  now my laptop crashed and has a disc error.  the other laptop won't charge.  the power cord won't go all the way in to charge it.  ahhh  i got a second hand lappy recently for when the kids come over.  that in itself is not a good thing, we should be outside playing in the fresh air.  :)  i can't find my windows 7 disc anywhere and the cord for the external drive which has my recovery file on it has gone missing too.  bloody hell.  i'm a little bit over computers atm.  so, i'm going to turn them both off and go and clean something.  in a minute or two, when i finish this.  i had an awful day yesterday.  i put some rice on to cook and forgot about it.  half an hour later i smelt something not quite right. saucepan cleaned up really easily thank goodness. the installer came to put the new screen doors on and they have that thick mesh on them so that the house looks a bit dark.  my computer crashed etc etc.  i had to have a chocolate brownie and a coffee and felt much better.  i have to go back to work tomorrow after a month off.  hmmm  interesting.  on a bright note i think i've fixed the keyboard that was repeating letters willy nilly and had a nice breakfast with my son and dil this morning.  it's the little things.

this is one of Dizzy's pups.  the kids are keeping her.  cute and mischievousness. she chewed a shoe this morning 

i'm back

https://picasaweb.google.com/princessyevisha/May272012

click link above for a few photos.  nice to be back actually.  three weeks in the same room/hotel with my sister was enough.  we should have stayed in a few hotels.  next time.  i had a fab time.  some highlights/lowlights:

• got my suitcase off the carousel and it had a broken wheel.  not good. bought a new one.  i hate it. it's too small
• broke my camera. bought a new one.  old one works perfectly now.  two cameras :)
• kuta is a building site.  a new modern hotel going up on every other corner
• i really miss having my washing/ironing done.  my meals cooked for me.  delicious food.  and someone coming in to clean my room.  
• we went up to git git waterfall which is spectacular.  clean gorgeous air.  so green.  noisy too.  :)
• bedugul, the water temple, is wonderful.  i had a pic of it on my computer, now i've seen it in person.
• gorgeous happy people everywhere.  i went shopping when i got back and no-one smiled at me and pulled me into their shop.  go figure?
• fab flight over.  smoothest landing ever.  thanks Bev
• lovely to get home and see the kids and grandchildren.  missed them so much
• got to save up for next time
• very small,  tiny motor bike incidence.  small graze.  i'm fine :)
• broke my glasses.  fixed my glasses.
• sister finally got prescription glasses.  two pairs
• shopping, lots of shopping
• we were underweight coming home  
• three hours shoe shopping with my sister was three hours too much.  
• juice.  fresh juice.  watermelon, avocado, mango etc etc
• noodles
• bali  coffee
• swimming and going to the beach most days
• oh i nearly forgot, massages and more massages.  i can't believe the price.  even the bad ones were good
• temples and culture so different from ours

now it's back to work on friday for me and the dreaming starts planning the next one.  maybe we should go to thailand next time :)

it's been a while

hello.  it's been a little while since i blogged.  nothing too much has happened.  i'm having a bit of a thing with my daughter atm.  i won't go into it but it's been quite upsetting. not for the first time or last i guess.  my aunt died on Thursday (my birthday) and the funeral is on tuesday.  she was elderly and went into hospital a few days before she died.  my cousin is coming over from canberrra with her family and i haven't seen them for many years.  we are not a close family really.  i'm going to bali next monday and although not really packed i'm mostly done.  i'm looking forward to a break as it's been a yucky time since my last trip.  what with the cancer and other things ahhhh. i'm hoping a tsunami/earthquake/bomb doesn't go off while we are there. my sister's health is not good either, her blood is too thick. she's worried about it too and is booked in to see a specialist.  her son broke his collar bone at football the other day.  first game of the season.  he was booked to go to bali too and will probably  have to cancel.  it's a very bad break.  they are coming to the hospital Tuesday.  ahhh again.  on a much brighter note i had a lovely birthday.  before  it went pear shaped (daughter problems) we went to breakfast and had a nice day.  son and family gave me a dwarf meyer lemon tree in a specky pot. i will attach a photo.  we went out to lunch yesterday to celebrate.  ???   i guess it's something to celebrate still being around at my age and so far surviving the big c.  should that be C?  lol.  sorry for such a down blog.  i hope you are not about to slash your wrists coz i've depressed you.   shall i tell you a joke to brighten up the mood?  yes?  ok.  q. why did the koala fall out of the tree?  ... scroll down for answer ....













a.  it was dead.   i hope you are laughing and not thinking what a bad taste joke to tell.  i'm laughing.  

at work bird of paradise came out in flower recently.  lovely

the girls plus beetle

dil planting the lemon tree.  i hope it thrives

hello

a few things have happened since my last blog.  let me fill you in...
i got my galaxy s2 at last.  i know it's bad to like a phone so much.  the only thing i don't like is the way it displays my contacts.  no biggie.  and the alarm clock doesn't work if the phone is off.  slightly bigger biggie.

i had a lovely  lunch with maz today.  we went to greek on halifax.  i love greek food.  very nice to catch up.  we exchanged christmas presents.  yes, i know that's pathetic.  we live about 10 kms from each other and speak on the phone for hours two or three times a week but we hardly ever catch up.  it's her birthday while i'm away too.  we are going to catch up when i get back. that's the plan anyway.

i saw this (photo below) at my local shops the other day but it was nothing compared to the sight  i saw at the local supermaket the same day.  i didn't have my phone handy.  a tattooed young girl in a  fairy costume.  she looked quite colourful.

please note the blue bintang tshirt on the left

i'm having the kids over tomorrow for a day or  two.  i'm looking forward to that.  i'm minding my other granddaughter on monday.  i hope my friend Carol can come over on sunday for lunch.  i can't  get used to the end of daylight saving just yet.  on sunday night i went to bed exhausted and looked at the clock and noticed it was only 9.30 pm.  unheard of for me to be in bed so early.  i worked sunday so that would  have made me tired too.  

i also noticed that the 'edit' function is back on blogger.  thank goodness for that.  

enjoy your Easter break wherever you are.  i'm lucky enough to have days off until wednesday.  lovely  

a birthday and a panda

birthday girl

i didn't get home until 8 tonight coz i went up to see cookie as it's her 12th birthday today.  harmony day too.  she had a lovely day and we went out for dinner.  i gave her a name necklace for want of a better name.  she has a very unusual name, she's the only one i've ever heard of, so i got one made by a jeweller in melbourne.  silver with swarovski crystals. she loved it.  her parents gave her clothes which she loved too.  she's having a party on sunday at the local park.  she's excited.  it should be a lovely day.  now i'm pooped.

so on to the panda.  well!  i was at the end of my busy desk shift and doing three things at once as usual.  i looked up and there in front of me was a 7 foot panda.  well, a person in a panda suit to be precise.  i said hello, as you do, and he waved at me. he could have been there to rob us for all i knew.  he was carrying a gift basket.  i asked him a question and he shook his head no.  i asked if he wanted to give out the lollies around the library.  he shook his head.  then i noticed that he was tapping on his gift basket and written on the box was the name Sarah.  drrr  i finally got it.  he was there for sarah.  so after getting a very embarrassed sarah out to the desk the basket was presented to her.  by now a large crowd had gathered.  camera flashes went off.  it turned into something of an event.  it seems that the person inside the suit has a bit of a crush on sarah.  he's older than her and she doesn't really reciprocate his feelings.  he stayed around for ages, i thought he was waiting for a tip or maybe he was going to strip. a stripping pandagram.  he finally left and things settled down when all of a sudden a young woman came in to the library with a gift basket for sarah.  the two are not connected at all but you have to admit it was a doozy of a coincidence.

it's hard to understand panda sign language

my brain

the good news is that they found one.  yay.  i had a cat scan recently.  nothing serious wrong with me.  everything normal except that i've got brain atrophy.  sounds serious.  oooooh.  i googled it,  it just means my brain has shrunk.

the pattern and rate of progression of cerebral atrophy depends on the disease involved. diseases that cause cerebral atrophy include: 

age  bingo***

stroke and traumatic brain injury

depression (mood)  my brain has shrunk, that's enough to depress anyone***

alzheimer's disease, pick’s disease, senile dementia, fronto-temporal dementia, and vascular dementia

cerebral palsy, in which lesions (damaged areas) may impair motor coordination

huntington's disease, and other genetic disorders that cause build-up of toxic levels of proteins in neurons

leukodystrophies, such as krabbe disease, which destroy the myelin sheath that protects axons

mitochondrial encephalomyopathies, such as kearns-sayre syndrome, which interfere with the basic functions of neurons

multiple sclerosis, which causes inflammation, myelin damage, and lesions in cerebral tissue

infectious diseases, such as encephalitis, neurosyphilis, and aids, in which an infectious agent or the inflammatory reaction to it destroys neurons and their axons

epilepsy, in which lesions cause abnormal electrochemical discharges that result in seizures

anorexia nervosa

i've never heard of some of these.  basically i'm a bit young to show signs of it.  it's usually in older people.  it could or could not be a precursor for alzheimer's among other things.  there's no way of telling.  there's no swelling or inflammation and everything else is normal.  i had no idea what is was and had to hold on to the chair.  fancy having the other thing and a brain tumour.  no brain tumour.  yay again.  now for the really scary part.  i've shrunk.  dr weighed and measured me.  i am 168 cm.  well, not anymore.  163 cm now.  i wish my feet would shrink.  my cholesterol level has gone down a bit.  6.8  the hard part is that i have to lose weight.  dr also said that my good cholesterol is high and that would put up my overall reading. bp is good.  well.  after all that i had a lovely lunch with my son and his fam.  he's hurt his back again and will see chiro tomorrow.  all that and a little shopping.  not too horrible.  it's been pouring with rain all day here.  garden will like it. 

dinner

my sister is down for a short visit.  she went to the hospital today but we ended up in emergency coz her bp was too high to go through with the procedure.  we were in hospital for the afternoon.  we went to sunflower, a vietnamese restaurant a few neighbourhoods away for dinner.  the food was delectable.  honey chicken, satay chicken, king prawns and beef curry.  all with rice and drinks.  yum.   we are home now and i have to go back to work tomorrow after three days off.  yuk.  i'm working sunday too.  double wammy.  :)  my sister is staying over until monday coz i'm going back for my first check up.  going to bed now.   goodnight :)

i'm going to give it another try

i'm going to try these even though my last attempt was pathetic.  call me a fool for punishment and wish me luck.  there's lots of cheese though.

Lasagne "Cupcakes" from http://www.emilybites.com/2011/07/lasagna-cupcakes.html

Ingredients: ½ lb 95% lean ground beef 1 ½ t Italian seasoning 5 oz mushrooms, chopped 16 wonton wrappers, 4 oz fat free Ricotta cheese, 1 ½ oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated 1 c pasta sauce, 4 oz reduced fat 2% shredded Mozzarella cheese Directions: 1. Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 8 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside. 2. In a sauté pan or large skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground beef and Italian seasoning and brown beef, breaking it up with a spoon. Add mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until mushrooms are browned as well. 3. Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the eight sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Using about half of the ricotta, spoon evenly into the wonton wrappers. Follow by spooning some of the meat/mushroom mixture into each cup (using about half the total mixture) and then splitting ½ cup of the sauce between each cup. Sprinkle about half the mozzarella and half the Parmesan evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients. 4. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin. Yields 8 lasagna cupcakes.  we shall see.  i'll let you know how they go.  sans pics this time i think  :)  sorry it's in imperial measurements not metric.

Emily

this is what they are supposed to look like :)

i'm watching Baz Luhrmann's version of romeo and juliet.  it blew me away when i saw it on the big screen all those years ago, 1996 in fact.  it still does.  it's an amazing movie. it's stinky hot here and i'm just about to make a milo smoothie. the movie is quite long i think and i worked today so  will probably be a late one.

lasagne - fail

oh dear.  the lasagne turned out worse that i thought it would.  it looked dreadful and didn't smell so good either.  i put it in the slow cooker all night. the recipe was on youtube and theirs worked out nicely.   i thought i'd have some for lunch but i couldn't eat it. i make wonderful vegie lasagne but can't make the  meat variety.  go figure.  look at the pic at your peril.  it looks disgusting.  :(   better luck next time hey?

lasagne - fail  

i have been procrastinating more than usual lately.  i  didn't do much today as it was 39 degrees in the shade, so i stayed inside all day and vegetated.  i must get my stuff together and do something useful.  i hung a blind today.  that was a start.

breakfast

Carol, a friend of mine from work, and i are watching our diet as we both have high cholesterol.  she gave me some recipes the other day and some hints about what she's doing with her diet.  for breakfast she has uncle toby's cereal and yoghurt.  i tried it and it's nice but the yoghurt is full of sweeteners.  yuk.  also, it doesn't taste good every day.  so, i went out and got some greek yoghurt and strawberries and voila.  a very healthy and yummy breakfast mixed in with the cereal. i find milk on cereal doesn't always agree with me.  i was having porridge most mornings through winter but there's only so much porridge (with a few sultanas) one can eat.  on sundays i sometimes have fried tomatoes and toast, and if my son comes over for breakfast i'll have that.  i love fried tomatoes. years ago i didn't eat breakfast but now i need it.  it's nice on w/ends to eat it when i'm ready instead of because it's breakfast time.  enjoy your w/end where ever you are.  i've got to go, it's coffee time and rage is going retro this morning  :)

how NOT to make breakfast by me

Put two frypans on stove on medium heat. Realize I forgot a light spray of canola oil. Pick up first frypan (without handle). Hmm warm. Spray frypans. Go to fridge for two eggs. Lovely organic eggs from sister’s chicks. Decide to make scrambled eggs for a change after contemplating an exotic tomato and herb omelette affair. Break eggs into a small bowl and take out white spermy bit with two teaspoons. This is quite difficult and can take some time.  Also, I think I’m the only person in Australia who does this. I also cut all the bloody bits from chicken breasts. Yuko. Marvel at how yellow the eggs are.  Add a bit of milk to eggs and mix. Add pepper and salt. Pour into too hot pan and curse yourself for putting the frypans on too early. Realize there is another too hot frypan on the stove. Go to fridge for a tomato. Can’t find tomato. Sure I had another one in there. Swear a bit. Finally find tomato at back of fridge behind leftover artichoke salad. I’m kidding, who has leftover artichoke salad in their fridge? Wash and cut up tomato and add to too hot pan. Burn finger on frypan. Go to freezer and get out two slices of pumpkin seed bread. Nice. Place in toaster. Turn eggs a bit and add pepper and salt to tomatoes. Turn off eggs. Put toast in again as it’s too pale. Forget toast. It’s a bit brown now but still passable. Turn tomatoes. Butter well done toast and put eggs and tomatoes on a plate. Fill jug with water and put lovely indonesian coffee in a mug. Yes, i make it in a mug.  Make coffee and add a dash of milk. Go into lounge and watch an old filmclip of toni basil singing mickey. Bop along a bit. Enjoy breakfast and leave some toast. Return to kitchen and fridge and put a dollop of lime marmalade on remaining toast. Eat. Enjoy. Drink coffee. All in all a very nice breakfast considering what a shambles it was to prepare. Return to kitchen and wash dishes. Ok, that bit I made up. A very young Bon Scott is on the teev now singing let there be rock. Time to bop.

 the lone tomato.  note to self - buy tomatoes

i didn't have this beauty for brekky.  i don't know what it is.  a sort of cauliflower/broccoli something.  looks exotic doesn't it?  

and finally a little ac/dc.  Angus should be in skool not hanging around a demolition site with those chain gang escapees.