Faith, Hope and Charity Swap 2012

Yesterday I stumbled across this rather fun idea, and thought I would take part. You can read all about the swap and to sign up HERE

The real basics are:

  • Send your partner a minimum of 3 items and a maximum of 5 items
  • One of those items should be second hand
  • One of the items should be home made 
  • One of the items should have a Jubilee theme
  • The maximum spend (excluding postage) is £12 or the equivalent in your local currency.
  • Sign up – HERE before 10th May 2012
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Sunday Stamps – Australia

This week’s contribution continues with my month long  A-Z Challenge theme of Australia and links in nicely with the Saturday Sepia post for this week
Published Australia 2000
Close up shot!
Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian’s Postcard Blog
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Weekend Cooking – Aboriginal Style

For the month of April I have been taking part in the  A-Z Challenge and this year I have used the theme of Australia. You can read the various posts via this tag line. Over the last couple of weeks other regular blogging posts have also had a Australia theme and I thought this week I would head down under in Weekend Cooking. 

As I reflected on my recent posts none of them have introduced the subject of Aboriginal Traditions and Culture and I felt it was important to do so, although I know fairly little about it. I turned to my rather aged copy of The Elements of The Aboriginal Tradition by James G Cowan that I purchased back in 1992. As I read (review shortly) I became aware that there is no references to food traditions and that set me on a quest to find out more!

 
A search of YouTube revealed this informative video on the Aboriginal cooking of Mullet.

I also discovered a rather interesting short video by Aboriginal chef, Mark Olive who discusses how to cook with indigenous foods and remarks that some of these are readily available in supermarkets. Is this new? or were these foods readily available when I lived in Australia?

Happy viewing!

Taking part in Weekend Cooking hosted by BethFishReads
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Guest Post – Monica Leonelle

Taking part in the SocialPunk Trilogy Book Tour. Good luck Monica with the launch!

Socialpunk Description:
Ima would give anything to escape The Dome and learn what’s beyond its barriers, but the Chicago government has kept all its citizens on lockdown ever since the Scorched Years left most of the world a desert wasteland. When a mysterious group of hooded figures enters the city unexpectedly, Ima uncovers a plot to destroy The Dome and is given the choice between escaping to a new, dangerous city or staying behind and fighting a battle she can never win.

    Read an Excerpt:
    “Twelve cups of water sat on the table, four for each of them. Next to each cup sat a pill—yellow for fat, red for carbs, blue for protein, and green for vitamins.
    Vaughn took the red pill, ripped it in half like a pack of sugar, and poured it into his cup. He set his cup into a contraption on the table and it whirled and hissed. When the machine finished, the cup had a pink, swirly liquid inside.
    Nahum looked at the four cups in distaste.
    “Not up to your standards?” Vaughn asked, shooting his drink. He swallowed the mixture in one large gulp. “I would get you something else, but we’re rebuilding our hash. We can’t afford real food, plus it’s bad for you anyway. Extremely difficult to maintain a balanced diet.”
    “Synthetic food can’t cost that much,” Nahum countered. He grinned. “We had it in our little fake world, at least.”
    Vaughn chuckled. “Synthetic food is even worse for you than real food. Shortens your life. We stopped eating that stuff at the turn of the century. It gave people long-term hyperactivity, which can kill you. LTH took out a lot of the population, kind of like cancer in your day, except a bigger deal because the population had dwindled so low already. Plus, people live indefinitely now.”
    Nahum’s nose twitched as he laughed. “People don’t live indefinitely.”
    But Vaughn looked genuinely surprised. “Of course we do. Have you seen anyone who looks over the age of twenty-five to you?”
    “What does that mean, though?” Ima asked out of curiosity. “How could you live indefinitely? You may not look older, but you still age.”
    Vaughn grinned. “Like I said before—there’s a lot you don’t understand about this world.”

Monica Leonelle is a well-known digital media strategist and the author of three novels. She blogs at Prose on Fire and shares her writing and social media knowledge with other bloggers and authors through her Free Writer Toolkit 

The book is available from 

Amazon (US)
Amazon (UK)

To Visit others who took part in the event click HERE.

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Blogging A-Z – April Challenge – S is for …..


S is for…… .Ships
For me, as I research the folk who left the various shores of my ancestry to start a new life in the colony, their journey began the moment in which they boarded the vessel. Here I am going to attempt to gather a few glimpses of those ships.
James Baines

Courtesy of  State of Victoria Library

Josiah Turpin and his young Nephew, Josiah Ellis sailed on board the clipper, James Baines, which arrived into Melbourne in 1855. If you did not read the earlier post, you can read it HERE
The Hohnberg’s, Hartwigs and Noacks arrived from Prussia to South Australia during the timespan of 1841 – 1859.  There were several ships that these families arrived on.
Cesar & Helene (1859)

File:Cesar & Helene. Wooden Two mast ships 1856 J. C. Godeffroy, Reiherstieg.jpg
Courtesy of State Library of Queensland

The Skyjold (1841)

Courtesy of the State Library of South Australia
The Hohnberg’s arrived on the Skyjold in 1841. 

There are more ships that I could have added to this post, but I shall leave it here for now. In some cases no picture or painting has survived. When looking at these vessels, it is so hard to imagine that with a few hundred passengers, crew, enough supplies for the 3 month journey plus luggage, just how they managed to survive the journey; but the did…..

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Guildford Coat of Arms Circa 1920

Published as one of the  “Ja Ja” Heraldic Series.

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In Memory of Lillian Edith Butcher nee Matthews 1912- 1995

17 years ago today, my beloved Grandmother passed away. I thought that I would share a few of my favourite photos of her.

  • Top left – aged 12 years
  • Top right – aged 21 years
  • Bottom left – taken circa 1940
  • Bottom right – taken circa 1948 with my Grandfather and their daughter, my Mum.
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Sepia Saturday 122 – Gardens

Again, it seemed fitting this week to share a postcard that complements the A-Z Challenge; my selected theme for this month long posting is Australia. You can read the various posts via this tag line.


This next picture is from the British International Exhibition held at the Dominion Gardens. Anyone know where the gardens are? I

Taking part in Sepia Saturday


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Postcard Friendship Friday – Phillip Island

Again, it seemed fitting this week to share a postcard that complements the A-Z Challenge; my selected theme for this month long posting is Australia. You can read the various posts via this tag line.


Phillip Island is in Victoria, and home to the incredibly cute Fairy Penguins. They grow to the approximate height of 33cms. These little ones spend all day swimming and then towards dusk they emerge from the waters and hunt. According to my early notebooks, I visited Phillip Island in July 1991, but in 1996 Phillip Island Nature Park was created. Do click the link – there is a short video of the area and a few of the little penguins.
I recall that day in 1991 where a whole group of us were instructed to not take photographs with flash as this hurts their small eyes, but we could photograph them. The sight was amazing as these small little things waddled up the beach from the sea. 

Submitted as part of Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by The Best Hearts are Crunchy 

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Blogging A-Z – April Challenge – R is for …..

R is for…… Religion
Continuing the family of my late Cousin’s wife. You can read earlier posts that connect to this family HERE, HERE & HERE. The Noack’s Hartwig’s & Hohnberg’s were all of the Lutheran faith, which is the oldest Protestant religion dating back to the Reformation and Martin Luther.
Martin Luther was a Catholic Monk who on 31st October 1517 shared his series of theses as a challenge to the doctrine and practises of the Roman Catholic Church. Those that accepted the teachings of Martin Luther became known as Lutheran’s. The origins of the faith are based in Germany.
Having left their homeland, these three family groups remained practising the Lutheran faith. Their new homeland was accepting of the customs, beliefs and practises of it’s new immigrants. 
In Australia there exists a series of Lutheran schools, which are either set up or affiliated to the Lutheran Church of Australia.
Two books which I have recently come across are:

  • The Patriarchs: A History of Australian Lutheran Schooling 1839-1919 by Richard J. Hauser
  • The Pathfinders: A History of Australian Lutheran Schooling 1919-1999 by Richard J. Hauser

The link for the A-Z Challenge 2011 post is HERE

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