Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Random Rundown

So this Blog thing is looking very much like my personal journal... vacant.

At the moment we're in the middle of having our kitchen renovated.  I have to admit that I'm really excited by the prospect - not so excited about the pricetag.  The kitchen looks like a war zone and we found all sorts of delightful (mostly squashed) critters behind the old cabinetry, mixed with the oil and steam and ooze that came off the stove, and due to the fact that we didn't have an extractor fan, came to rest behind the cabinets.  But - now they are gone and we eagerly await the installation of the new kitchen.  If I knew how to put pictures up, I would.

We (being the royal we), have just recently planted our vegetable garden for the Spring/Summer season.  The Boss was a great inspiration - she said "I would like this, and this, and this planted" and then I somehow found the motivation to make it happen!  We have planted Sweet Corn, Zucchini, Tomatoes, Capsicum, Snow Peas, Beans, Parsley and Mint.  We already have a herb garden with Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano and Tarragon so we're looking forward to adding to our fresh ingredients by actually including food and not just herbal tea elements.  So far only the Zucchini and Snow peas have sprouted, but there are promising signs in the tomato and capsicum areas.  I think we may have been a little early in planting the corn - I think the soil might still be too cold for it.  We will wait and see.  Again... if I knew how to put photos up, I would.  Maybe that will be my goal for next time - photos... maybe.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Queensland - beautiful one day, flooded the next... then you get a cyclone

After a terrifically awful start to this blogging thing, I think I need to change my habits.  Changing habits... much harder to do than say.

After one of the worst floods in the recorded history of Queensland and a category 5 Cyclone I got to thinking about how easy it is to take for granted the things that we cherish the most.  I have a running semi-serious joke with my wife that we "need a new TV".  We really don't.  The one that we have is more than adequate for our needs and was kindly donated to us by a family member.  After the tragedy of the floods and the storms, you realise how fortunate and how blessed you actually are.  The things I took for granted became valuable.  Like so many others I became truly grateful for all that I had and realised what was truly important.  After some further thought and seeing the outpouring of support from strangers to their fellow-men, I also became a little sad.  I realised that it shouldn't take some great tragedy to bring out those qualities in people.  I realised with a hint of guilt that for too long I had been content with sitting on my hands and watching others struggle through life as though I had performed some great deed that entitled me to the life that I live.  I also realised with a touch of sadness that in a matter of weeks or months or years that everything would return to the way it was and that the stranger I was working alongside in a flood affected house could quite possibly swear at me if I bumped into them accidentally in the Queen St Mall.  I promised myself that I would try not to let complacency become a habit again.