What’s New?

Light Bulbs- an old one but a good one

Light Bulbs- an old one but a good one

Comments 0 Comment

How many Facebook group members does it take to change a light bulb?

One to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been
Changed.

Fifty seven members to blame Facebook for burning the bulb

Fourteen to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how
The light bulb could have been changed differently.

Seven to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs.

Seven more to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about
Changing light bulbs.

Three to correct spelling/grammar errors.

Six to argue over whether it’s “lightbulb” or “light bulb”.

Another six to condemn those six as stupid.

Fifteen to claim experience in the lighting industry and give the
Correct spelling.

Nineteen to post that this group is not about light bulbs and to
Please take this discussion to a lightbulb (or light bulb) forum.

Eleven to defend the posting to the group saying that we all use
Light bulbs and therefore the posts are relevant to this group.

Thirty six to debate which method of changing light bulbs is
Superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light
Bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are faulty.

Seven to post URLs where one can see examples of different light
Bulbs.

Four to post that the URLs were posted incorrectly and then post the
Corrected URL.

Three to post about links they found from the URLs that are relevant
To this group which makes light bulbs relevant to this group.

Thirteen to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety
Including all headers and signatures, and add “Me too”.

Five to post to the group that they will no longer post because they
Cannot handle the light bulb controversy.

Four to say “didn’t we go through this already a short time ago?”

Thirteen to say “do a Google search on light bulbs before posting
Questions about light bulbs.”

Three to tell a funny story about their cat and a light bulb.
AND

One group lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now

Promises, Promises

Promises, Promises

Comments 0 Comment

1188565857-hr-228  At the back of my mind are a number of nagging thoughts. One of them is that I must get back into the swing of of blogging…. well catch up on the missing bits. Facebook is fine for quick 2 minute hellos, likes and random statements, but sometimes a good old ramble is called for.

I’ve been on 3 overseas holidays since the last post and continued with renovations, developed a close friendship/relationship and have created a couple of websites (work and business). My daughter got married last year and my son will be married this year and I am in the process of setting up a Bed & Breakfast business with/for my partner. My primary work/employment is becoming difficult to be enthusiastic about and I’m trying to decide where to adventure to this year.

I need a holiday!

Stay tuned…………………………………………………………..

The Money Pit ~ Maintaining my House

The Money Pit ~ Maintaining my House

Comments 0 Comment

It all started late last year when I took some extended leave. Initially it was to get some yard work done and to have my old deck, which was about to collapse, replaced and made bigger. But then………. I also had my side fences replaced, the neighbours contributed to that cost. I needed to have work done on my gutters as every time it rained I had a water fall at the back of the house onto the stairs from the deck and at the front of the house onto a garden bed which then resulted in runoff that went under the house 🙁

Old deck
The Old Deck
New Deck
The New Deck

Next I decided to replace my old electric cook top, which only had 2 hot plates working, with a nice big 5 burner gas cooktop. I also decided to install a small dishwasher (to replace Stefan as he decided to move back to his Dad’s).

before
after

Next the barge boards at each end of the roof needed replacing..I replaced them with painted metal ones. Meanwhile the hotwater heater blew up. Well, it split it’s seam and leaked everywhere and I had no alternative but to replace it.

And all the while, after Stefan moved out, I embarked on my protracted house painting adventure! 🙂 After 4 months I have 1 wall in the lounge room to paint….I had to wait for help to move furniture and that happened yesterday…woohoo!!……. all the little bits in the family room and kitchen, like the fridge recess and under the kitchen bench and the built in book case. Then all that is left is my bedroom!

dining room, then
Now
Lounge, now
Then

I donated the old white (grey) vinyl Family room lounge suite to one of the organisations I do work for and decided to replace it with a sofa bed for guests. This was fast tracked when I invited a friend to visit. I set out thinking I would just buy a cheap one..ha ha…but pooh brown or lime green was not going to work for me and a thin foam mattress and wonky frames wasn’t either. I persevered and found the perfect fit at a not so  perfect price. But the store said they could order  more of same material as the sofa bed for me, which I want to recover my dining chairs with…another job..Doh!!

Family room, before
Family room, after

So, what’s next? I’ve been told I better replace my car port. It is a bit of a worry. It does have a tendency to move/wobble if you push on the uprights and I really don’t want it to collapse on my car!! And I still want to get to Italy later in the year…..wish me luck!!

The End of the Road

The End of the Road

Comments 2 comments

The Purpose of Dogs

“Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten year old Irish Wolf hound named Belker. They were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found that he was dying of cancer. I told the family that I could do nothing for Belker and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog at home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six year old Shane to observe the procedure. The felt Shane might learn something form the experience.

The next day I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker’s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped away peacefully.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s dying without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s death wondering about the sad fact that animals’ lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening, piped up,”I know why.”

Startled, we all turned to him,. What came out of his mouth stunned me. I’ve never heard a more comforting explanation. It as changed the way I try to live.

Shane said, “People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life – like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?”

The six year old continued, “Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay long.”

Live Simply, Love Generously. Care deeply, Speak kindly.”

Remember if a dog was a teacher you would learn things like;

• When loved ones come home, always run to meet them.

• Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.

• All the experience of fresh air and wind in your face take to be pure ecstasy.

• Take Naps.

• Stretch before rising.

• Run , Romp and play daily.

• Thrive on attentions and let people touch you

* Avoid biting when a simple growl will do

* On warm days, stop and lie in your back on the grass

* On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree

* When you’re happy, dance around and wag your whole body

* Delight in the simple joy of a long walk

* Be loyal

* Never pretend to be something you’re not

* If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it

* When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

*ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!”

Re visiting Penang

Re visiting Penang

Comments 2 comments

Ever since I finished High School I have wanted to go back to Malaysia where I had spent some of my childhood while my father was deployed at Butterworth with the RAAF. //mandasmusings.com/2008/03/28/more-school-days-nostalgia/

In September I  had that opportunity….after  37 years!!

Groups of ex RAAF School Penang students have been organising reunions in various cities across Australia since 2003. There have also been a couple of Penang visits. This year, another reunion was organised to be held in Penang in September. I was determined that I would go. I made sure I booked and paid my deposit in January. No turning back now!

On September 26 2010 my bag was packed and I headed out the door en route to Penang. Firstly, I had to catch a bus to Sydney airport, a 3 hour ride from Canberra. I figured, by the time I check baggage in and board, fly to Sydney change terminals etc, it would have taken 3 hours anyway and going by bus would save me a couple of hundred dollars which I could add to my spending money 🙂

When I got to Sydney and checked in my luggage the checkin staff asked “Are you going to that school reunion in Penang?” I said, “OH? Have you had a few others?”, “Quite a few!” was their response.

The flight  to Kuala Lumpur was smooth and whilst waiting to change plane to Penang I caught up with other travellers I knew. There were about 30 others going to the reunion on our flight. We arrived in Penang sometime after midnight, it had been raining and was hot and steamy…lovely!!! just as I remebered.  It was then a half hour bus ride to our hotel at Batu Ferringhi.  Along the way, in the dark it was hard to recognise anything, yet it was all familiar and there was something about the atmosphere that felt like returning home. We were given our room keys, itinerary and instructions for the next day and found our way to bed.

I have to say, the bed was the hardest bed I have ever slept on! I ended up turning the airconditioner off as it was too cold for me….and I hate coming out of cold airconditioning and hitting the outside like a wall of humidity…not the way to get acclimatised! Other than that my room was huge and I could spread out though I wasn’t planning on spending much time there.

All in all there were some 280+ RAAF School students,teachers and family members all together. As I was attending on my own,  I teamed up with a couple of other solo attendees…. Fred McArdle who I had met previously through the last Canberra reunion and Glynis Enright, who knew Fred from her stay in Penang in the ’60’s. My old friend and neighbour, Jeff Flemming was there with his wife and youngest, Kerry Crag from my ’70’s holidays, Dave Neilen from the 60’s Dolfins swimming club days and a few others who I knew of  but didn’t actually have freindships with.  However, the special part of being part of this RAAF School family is the shared experience that we have…….. it doesn’t matter that we were there at different times/years, that we never actually met, we all experienced as children, that special thing that was living and going to school in Penang.

The next couple of days, apart from Happy hours, breakfasts and dinners, was made up of some organised sight seeing tours to refresh our memories of those places we had seen so many years ago.

Glynis, Fred and I then added some other excursions we felt we had to do….. visit Penang Hill and shop along Penang Rd and we also had some eating must do’s!……. Chili crab, Satay and Hokkien mee soup !!!!… and now for some pictures 🙂 Click on a picture to see a larger ‘Gallery’ veiw

Manda, Glynis and Fred

Goodbye my Freinds!!

Goodbye my Freinds!!

Comments 3 comments
Ha!!...... I found this in my old email, Sandy sent it out way back in the good
 old 40:5's days!

Dear Friends,
I have decided to change my life completely. The Red
Cross needs
volunteers
and I decided to become one of them. I will be
spending most of my time
at
field hospitals with other volunteers helping sick,
dying people. I am
starting on March 1, 2003 and I am really looking
forward to it!!
Please do not try to stop me, I made up my mind!
My co-workers have sent me a picture to welcome me on
their crew
(please see the attached photo).

Have a great day. I will never forget you!


The Crew!
Dog Sitting

Dog Sitting

Comments 0 Comment

At about 4.30 pm yesterday I arrived home after dog sitting while my mother was at my sisters place for the weekend. I walk Bella every morning anyway and it’s only 5 mins from home. It was like having a weekend away by the lake. Today was a glorious sunny Canberra winters day. I took Bella out at 7.30(a bit later than usual) it was still frosty and as I came out of the back patio door the Swan saw us and came waddling up towards us as if to say “where the hell have you been, I’ve been waiting for some more breakfast”  I led him back towards the water as I don’t like to encourage him too far away, especially on the weekend with extra people and dogs about. I always make him have his food in the water with his ducky friends. Bella wasn’t too impressed as in her mind ‘we don’t feed swan until we are on the way back for our breakfast’,  she needed to get moving.

We did our usual walk and dawdle along the lake and swan met us again around the corner as he swam along the lake shore, off to where ever he goes during the day, and we headed home home again for breakfast. Later in the morning after cleaning up and vacuuming, almost midday, Bella and I went out for another walk (and pooh stop) and when we got home, sat out on the patio in the sun and read for awhile (Bella watched the parade  of people and dogs go by , walking , riding and running, woofing occasionally but staying with me, and spread herself out in the sun) We both headed inside at about 2.00pm for late lunch and I had some work to do, Bella went  to have a sleep near the front
door. A lovely relaxed morning!

%d bloggers like this: