Crabs alive!

During Franklin's most recent (March) rostered locum in Port Lincoln we enjoyed a walk, one evening, along the Jetty."Mr Percival" had gone to bed, but there were some nice "blueys" about. Six or eight of these would have kept my Grandmother and me amused until midnight - with a little hammer, a picker-outer, some vinegar and some bread and butter (to stop us from starving to death between morsels of crab!!) Long after the rest of the family had given up, we'd still be revelling in our evening trip to the Brighton Jetty!

Maybe we should be packing a crab-net for our next visit!!

The quake!

Yes, I did feel it! (3.9 at 11.30pm last night)

My words of response - now etched in history - were "I think that was an earthquake". Profound!

Since Franklin slept on, I shut my eyes and went back to sleep - until it was confirmed on the 6am News! See! Sadly, the report was closely followed by an update of the big earthquake in China. Those poor people!

This morning I noticed that an area at the base of a heater needed cleaning - then I realised that the heater had gone up and backwards by about an inch and a half exposing fluff accumulated since its installation. It also dislodged some books from the book-table. So I saved the evidence until Franklin returned from his hospital rounds.

Malachi's FOUR today!

Franklin and I took Malachi and some over-enthusiastic bulbs down to Sue and John's on Monday. As Suz is still on crutches, poor darlin', she aimed and we dug. Her instructions were "Oh, scatter them around". 'just as well since the little Garden Gnome couldn't see where he was going, but he could "stomp".

All will be revealed in Spring!

And ... there is always something interesting to be examined in Aun'ie Suzie's garden.

Feedjit

After my comment yesterday, I was surprised to find that the Blog Traffic was not being displayed today. I learned from their www that they were "down" for "routine maintenance". I think that their new heading is somewhat "impersonal". I might try to get feedback to them.

Meanwhile, keep visiting. I love to know how far afield (or not) visitors are coming from.

Blog Traffic

I see that aussieoddities has had a visit from someone in Arisdorf, Aargau, Switzerland! How special! Thank you for calling by! I wonder if Arisdorf is anywhere near Faulensee. I actually have a special interest in Faulensee.
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The Marion Quilters Exhibition

Today I was privileged to go, with my friend Barbara, to see a display of quilts put on by the Marion Quilters Circle.

One of the quilts that caught our eye was a "Rose Window".

We met Essie, the member who had appliqued it. Amazing! She had outlined each piece of applique with a velour yarn. It was gorgeous! Congratulations Essie!

My prized purchase was this gizmo. It's designed to make pinning a quilt less tedious. I hope it's going to work as well on several hundred pins as it did on the one I tried it out on. It has two little grooves designed to stop the pin from slipping as it is closed. I'll report back after our next trip to Port Lincoln, where I plan to pin up my Iced Coffee quilt. I wonder if Lizzie, from The Patchwork Pear has ever seen one.
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Hosanna's 21st

The last big event in March was Hosanna's 21st Birthday. Darling Hosanna!

Leaders and Enders was gratefully received,

Lots of photos were taken - so now we actually can carry and produce for "Show and Tell".

Suzanne (L) and Karen (R)
and there were hugs all 'round!

And lots of rain fell. Thank you, God, for everything!

Old Times

I forgot to say that while in Port Lincoln in March I was at The Patchwork Pear one day when someone came in and asked for me. She'd seen my name in the Visitors' Book.

"You don't have any idea who I am, do you?" How right she was!!

She turned out to be someone I hadn't seen since High School (ahem) 50 years ago!!! My name, (Meade) followed hers (Maxted) in the Roll Call!!! She recognised the surname of the young Medical Student I was "madly in love with"!! She also remembered that I had been knitting him a scarf in Med School colours. (Red/white/black - in Moss Stitch!!)

I said "He still wears it!!!!"

We had to have a photo, for old times' sake!

"Cradle Cousins"

"Cradle Cousins" are babies who are born at the same hospital, usually at the same time, but are not biologically related.

I regard dear Orpah - mentioned in a previous blog and seen here on the left - as a Cradle Cousin of Karen, since they were born in the exact-same area (Goroka) in Papua New Guinea.

Orpah brought her friend, Miriam - seen on the right of this photo - to help Sue and John with the grape harvest last month. Now, Miriam's claim to fame is that she was born in the same hospital as was Suzanne!!! (Nonga Base Hospital, Rabaul, PNG). The world doesn't get much smaller, eh? Precious!

Mr Percival

Mr Percival is the pelican in the book/movie "Storm Boy". Storm Boy was written by Colin Thiele and filmed in South Australia. It's a lovely story - even if a teensy bit scary for the very young.

We were in Port Lincoln for a week, again, in March. One morning, after I'd dropped Franklin at the hospital - and before I went to the Quilt Shop - I took a walk along the Jetty and there was a great-grandchild of Mr P! I watched in high delight as he went about catching his breakfast!

Our children used to say:

"What a funny old bird is the pelican! His bill can hold more that his belly can!" :D

Mary

And no doubt Mary continued to ponder these things .....
(ref Luke 2:19)

He is Risen!

He is Risen!

He is Risen, Indeed!

Music for Passover

Of course we sang!! .. and listened.

Meshach played a very contemplative piano solo as we settled back indoors after dinner. Thank you, Meshach.

I do have one VERY favourite Passover song. I am delighted that I was able to find it on You-tube. Suzanne and Naoko confirm that it IS, indeed, in Japanese - which makes it even more special, because of our Japanese friends. Thanks, girls! Naoko tells me it is from "a church in Fukuoka (the Kyusyu Island of Japan)". I especially wanted Hannah, in Kentucky, to hear it. Do you know it, Hannah?

Here we go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11VoBNzE6Y&feature=related

... and if you know what to do with guitar chords (!) and, more especially, if you'd like to read the words in English!!:
http://www.pwsonglyrics.com/under-the-blood/

Yes, we are not Jews, but ...

... Jesus was a Jew, and we know that He celebrated Passover with his family e.g. that's when he got left behind at the Temple. At around the age of Meshach in the photo below, can't you just imagine it?? And on several other occasions His association with Passover is mentioned.

So, once indoors Franklin again had the privilege of having two of our grandchildren at the Passover table ... and the questions were asked according to Exodus 12:26.

I was so happy to discover that I could extract a frame from a video-clip, even if it did come up somewhat yellow! Meshach was in the process of directing one of THE Questions to his "Baba".

Below, Josiah was dealing with an outbreak of boils!! You can see that he's already had to do battle with flies and frogs! I'm sure they'll remember Passover 2010!

The following photos are self-explanatory, though possibly not in strict order...

The ladies present kindly catered for the main course. Thank you! And dear Susan, who was not able to attend, had sent her husband along with a hot-pot. *Susan, here's the photographic evidence that Che followed your instructions! (and it was delicious!)

It was a perfect evening for eating outdoors.

The Haggadah

There must be as many different scripts for use in hosting a Passover as there are sands on the sea-shore!

According to QANTAS "every aircraft is subtly different". It's certainly the same with every Haggadah that we've used - usually depending on who we expect to attend. If there are going to be children present - which is the ideal, in accordance with "telling your children's children", it is different than for an all-adult group.

The April evening provided an opportunity to include the music of "All in the April Evening" - heard frequently in my youth, and sometimes still heard on classic radio at this time of the year.

Last night Franklin used the binder of the Haggadah that our Pastor, the late Barrington Kimber, used when he led our church in our very first Haggadah-experience in 1985. We noticed that the "sleeves" were spotted with grape juice. This reminded me of the famous "Sarajevo Haggadah", created in Barcelona around 1350. It is written by hand on bleached calfskin, and illuminated in copper and gold!! Its pages are stained with wine indicating that it was, indeed, used! Because of its historical importance it's now valued at around US$700 million. Amazing!

ref: http://www.haggadah.ba/?x=1

The Media

Forget FM103.9 !

Last night we "heard it first" on 94WS

The News Reader (Meshach) announced:

"Christian pilgrims from all over the world have come to Jerusalem to remember the death of Jesus Christ. It is reported that people as far away as North Adelaide, South Australia, are also gathered in homes and churches to remember the last time that Jesus celebrated the feast of Passover with a group known as his 'disciples' ".

He went on:

"The beginning of Passover is marked by the sight of the first star in the sky, after which the shofar is heard, and Passover officially begins."

After the News - came Josiah, the Weather Man, announcing:

"The weather for Passover in Jerusalem will be sunny, with some cloud. The temperature will range from 12 to 26 degrees".

We were also reminded on the News bulletin that if the leaven had not been found and dealt with, we should "do it now!"

So we did, and prayed:

Almighty God,

to whom all hearts are open,

all desires known,

and from whom no secrets are hidden:

cleanse the thoughts of our hearts

by the inspiartion of your Holy Spirit,

that we may perfectly love you,

and worthily magnify your holy name,

through Christ our Lord.

AMEN

At this point we watched for the first star (as you do!) - It nearly got the better of Andrew, for whom it's been a busy week! Thank you for lugging the tables and chairs from the church on Wednesday!

Then ... we heard the "shofar", (and so did the neigbours!!) :D

Well done, boys!! 'great job!

'time for a Group Photo before going inside.

FM 103.9

This is the radio station that we most commonly tune in to early in the day, until after Margaret Throsby has conducted her Morning Interview! This morning we were treated to Jupiter, from Gustav Holst's Planet Suite. Apart from it being a fine piece of classical music, a hymn that we sing in church is based it. For you musos, the hymn tune is Thaxted.

O God, beyond all praising,
We worship you today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1bEnGWYORw (or first line via your favourite search engine)


'better go! 'off to buy some horseradish!

Teamwork!

Thank you, Franklin, for all your help with preparation.

Thank you, Andrew, for bringing tables and chairs from the church.

Thank you, ladies, for taking care of the main course for dinner tomorrow evening.

Thank you, Lord, for giving us reason to celebrate!

It's really nice to be at this point on the day before Passover.

The only thing I forgot is the horseradish! 'must have horseradish!

Passover-mode

Since my last entry we have been down to Sue and John's to lend a hand with their harvest, over to Port Lincoln for a week while Franklin did a locum for the Surgeon there, and helped our grand-daughter celebrate her 21st Birthday. (puff-puff!) More of all that later - but for now we are very much in Passover-mode.

On Sunday we brought out our little lamb which is now lots of years old, having been bought for the first time that we celebrated Passover. We've become quite fond of it as it reminds us of great times of celebration in the past. We always bring it out on Palm Sunday, and keep it somewhere visible until Passover. It gets shifted around. As we move about the house it is a constant reminder of Easter approaching and the significance of lambs, over the years and, now, of The Lamb of God.


As we did last year, Franklin and I will lead a Passover celebration for our Home Fellowship group, in our home. There will be 19 of us. Plans are well underway.

TWO birthdays

Hosanna came in with Lisa, Ellen and Jing, to wish us both a Happy Birthday on Saturday afternoon.

Thank you, people.

Hosanna couldn't believe that - having carried these flowers all around Rundle Mall - one of them went "pop" as I put them in a vase! Sorry! But I've kept the rest of them alive!!!!

March 13 is a bit congested, actually. I can name 5 of our friends who celebrate on the same day as we do!

#5

For those who have kindly asked about Sue, shown here after application of her second plaster cast because the original became so loose after the swelling subsided:

A tibial fracture has since become evident! Yes, that does make FIVE.

She's doing remarkably well! Thank you for your concern.

No, she's not camera-shy. She's on the phone to John. :D

Belated birthday greetings!

I've just realised that this blog has had its first birthday!
..... Hannah would have baked a cake!

On 28th February THIS year we were travelling back from Mt Gambier.

It takes us 5 hours driving to get to or from "The Mount". I have renewed my membership with our local library and we have enjoyed many hours of Spoken Word CDs during our drives.

"In the Middle of Nowhere" is the story of a young student nurse from St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. On the day that one of her patients met her he told another patient "I'm going to marry that girl". He was a young cattleman from a remote station the size of Luxembourg - in the north west of Australia. The story is read by the author, Terry Underwood. She cautions that the listener will laugh and cry with her - and we did!

We come and we go ...

February heralded another 2 week locum in Mt Gambier for Franklin ...

"Some" people's communications were restricted by the length of the telephone cord!!

"Some" people managed to get wireless access! :D

The local quilters warmly welcomed me to their "Show and Tell"

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I thanked God that a puncture declared itself in the driveway of my cousin in Lucindale and not while we were hurtling along at 110kph!! Malcolm helped Franklin to change the wheel and, once again, we were thankful not to be roadside when we had to unload the boot to access "the spare".

On easy grade and rubber tyre

The tourist car goes through,

They halt a moment to admire

The far-flung mountain view.

The tourist folk would be amazed

If they could get to know

They take the track Black Harry blazed

A Hundred Years Ago.

(extract: Black Harry's Team" by 'Banjo' Patterson)

The "mountain views" were a bit "far-flung" as we headed home.

Mulberry season

... "if only I could ............."

There's always something to do at Aunty Suzie's!