Once in a Blue Moon

Or should that header read A Ramble Around?  As usual this is one of those here and there posts that has no real beginning, middle or end.  But at least I’ve remembered to put headers in again like I said I would months ago.

Following

Oh No!  I’ve just ticked the box to follow another blog.  I went from Kay’s blog to one by a girl in Ohio called Yaya.  The first post of hers that I read was just about an ordinary day but I loved the writing style and ticked the dreaded Follow box.  I am now following 115 blogs and websites.  OK, about six of these are my own (why on earth am I following myself??), another dozen or so are family, then there about twenty or thirty that seem to have died but which I leave on in case their owners ever resurrect them. That leaves around 65 to 70 that are active to a greater or lesser degree.  Fortunately the ones that blog daily are few and far between and some of these bloggers only post every few weeks or months.  The problem is that they are all interesting in their own ways. 

They range from Baby Hugo’s sweet blog to Moannie’s battle with cancer and even ‘Girlie Magazine’ which is exactly what it sounds like – a regular posting of girlie pictures. But what pictures.  Most of them are from forty to eighty years ago or thereabouts but some are back to Victorian times and I find it hilarious to see what provided titillation for the discerning gentleman in those days. 

Garters and suspenders have never appealed to me!  (I don’t know what is in modern Girlie Magazines but I suspect they are somewhat raunchier nowadays!).

While blogs like Girlie Magazine come and go from my list some are there on a permanent basis and I like to think that the writers have become real friends over the years.  I wish there was an easy way to separate the two categories out in Blog Reader so that when I come back from a break of some sort I can catch up with my friends and ignore the others. I suppose I could update my sidebar listings but that sounds like one of those jobs that will always keep moving down my project list and never actually get tackled…

Broadband taking industrial action

I’m not sure if there is an American equivalent term but over here industrial action can include a ‘strike’, a ‘work to rule’ or a ‘go slow’ though only the first one is official (I think).   Well, my Broadband is on a go slow in parts of the house, including my study, and on strike in other parts, including Richard’s room.  It is a nuisance.  I’m not expecting any sympathy or help I just wanted to take this opportunity to moan…

Postcards

I’m still working my way through the cards that came while I was on holiday.  Heaven knows when I’ll get them blogged onto my postcrossing blog/ In the meantime. Here is one of my favourites…

Thanks Danielle.

It’s a BlueMoon

A rare "blue moon" occurs tonight and Neil Armstrong's family has suggested anyone who sees it gives it a wink in memory of him.

The phenomenon occurs when there is a second full moon in one calendar month and we have already had a full moon this month - on August 1.

Full Moon August 1^st 2012

The next blue moon will not take place until July 2015. The last "blue moon" was in March 2010.

It is uncommon because the full moon cycle is 29.5 days - hence the phrase "once in a blue moon" to signify a rare event. It doesn't actually mean the moon will be blue although that does happen occasionally when ash clouds from volcanoes colour the atmosphere.

 GB photographing the full moon on 1^st August

Have a good Blue Moon…

271 and what’s happening in my world

Two hundred and seventy one.  I think that’s about the number of ideas I have for blog posts at the moment.  But I could be a few dozen out either way…

I haven’t got my photos edited yet. In fact, I haven’t even downloaded the last couple of days of our holiday from the camera.  That’s how busy I’ve been.  Yesterday the sun shone in the morning so Son-who-watches-films and I got out into the garden and re-discovered the paths and lowered a hedge or two so we could see over them.  We cut the willow in the front garden so the postman could get in without getting dripping leaves down his neck. And Son-who-watches-films turned over his vegetable plot ready for more planting. 

We also disconnected the old washing machine which died while Partner-who-loves-tea and I were away.  It died in the middle of a wash so Son-w-w-f was stuck trying to get his washing out. Eventually we managed to convince the machine of the merits of moving on through the cycle and his socks emerged – soaking wet but at least we’d got them back without having to use a tin-opener.   Foolishly I then decided to try another wash to see if it would behave. It has stuck on us before but a flick of the start button has always moved it on until now.  It took me another day to get the blasted thing to disgorge its contents and when it finally did they were unwashed and soaking wet.  A new machine is now on its way so we will have to survive the next eight days on what clean clothes we have.  I won’t mention – yet again – my foolish attack on the Gods of Data Transfer and other technology back in January…  

I have had the pleasurable job of looking at all the postcards that arrived while I was away and sending thank yous to those postcrossers and friends who had taken special care to send me lovely cards.  All cards are gratefully received (and were acknowledged without me seeing them while I was away) but some are particularly nice and deserve a second thank you. (My Spillchucker rejects the idea of writing thank you in the plural because ‘yous’ is not a word.  But then again trying to run the two words together as ‘thankyous’ also got rejected.  It’s obviously an ungrateful Spillchucker!) . 

Among the blog postings I want to do are a couple of ones about Hebridean flowers, one of the beautiful beach at Arisaig, a piece about sheep, a book review summary, a diatribe about the iniquities of Kenco coffee packaging… Oh dear, there are so many.   In the meantime I'll leave you with a few pictures from Annandale Water Service Station on the M74.

 

When I itches, I scratches. 

So how long can YOU stand on one leg? 

As long as you, any day!

 There's a head in there somewhere!

Would anyone like a sandwich?

 

Every girl needs a mirror. 

That's a big wake for a little girl. 

Did someone say 'Bread'? 

Look out, here come more of the big guys... 

Now I’d better answer a few e-mails.  Bye.

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads

I’m not sure how I wandered

Into the imaginary garden.

It was one of those things

It just happened.

An Imaginary Garden

With Real Toads.

A Peculiar Name

Until I read

‘Poetry’

By Marianne Moore.

Within a few hours

I was

Captivated

And Motivated;

Moved

And Improved;

Astonished

Admonished;

Amused and

Bemused;

Baffled

And Boggled.

I was Toppled,

Unsettled;

And, by turns,

I was Saddened

And Gladdened

As the Visual

And Verbal

Waves

All Washed

Over me.

The poems, they

Made me

Delighted,

Excited;

Playful

And Thoughtful;

Cheerful

And Doleful;

Fearful

And Soulful;

But most of all

Grateful.

Overwhelmed

By the Skill

Of these Poets Unknown.

I Wondered

And Pondered;

I Laughed

And I Cried;

I Struggled

And Sighed;

And

I Marvelled.

My Mind

At a Tangent,

Bent into new

Ways of Thinking

By the Words,

And their Form;

The Lines

And the Sounds

They created –

Or the Silences.

I wanted to say

A simple Thank You.

But instead

I Pretended

To be

Robert Southey

And gave

You,

All,

A Waterfall

of Words.

Scriptor Senex

(In a future post I shall tell you about my very personal encounter with Real Toads and the kindness of the poets who visit it.)

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads for Open Link Monday

Neil Armstrong

Just catching up on what has been happening in the world and discovered that Neil Armstrong - one of THE names of the 20th century - has died.

Back Home

Partner-who-loves-tea and I are home.  We had a super long journey back, taking five nights and six days.  We saw the sun a couple of times – briefly. We saw wet stuff falling from the sky – a lot.  Jo met a couple of midges at close quarters and they left their mark. We drove down to Harris and got the ferry; travelled over the Isle of Skye; then visited Plockton and Fort Augustus before driving along the Road to the Isles; went through Glencoe and over Rannoch Moor (according to the map – we couldn’t actually see anything in the rain and cloud); had a double night stop at Inverarary; drove alongside Loch Lomond; then called at Gretna Green before leaving Scotland.  Once in England we spent a night in the Lake District and explored Ambleside by night and day.  We ate well and too much! 

Sizzling Salmon and a bridge of fresh Haddock.

We shopped –probably also too much; at least in my case as I bought loads of postcards for sending to friends and fellow postcrossers. We enjoyed each other’s company, taking this rare opportunity to do so without the interference of Jo’s work or other commitments.  All in all it was a great little holiday, prefaced by a spell on Lewis (very long for me and all too short for Jo).

One of the highlights of the journey home was undoubtedly meeting this wild female red deer at close quarters.

Another highlight was visiting the Museum at Auchindrain where the buildings of a whole community have been conserved. 

We saw the Hogwarts’ Express on the Glenfinnan Viaduct.

And Jo got to sit on a beach in the sun for a while.

I refuse to make a list of jobs that I need to do but one of the first ones will be to thank those people who sent me postcards while I was away.  Hopefully all got a brief acknowledgement as Jo and Richard kept me informed of their arrival but seeing the cards themselves there are a number that require a special thank you. Some postcrossers put a lot of effort into sending cards that are really appropriate to the recipient’s profile.

I got a lot of cards with books on and one or two maps of which this was my favourite, especially as Laima had taken a lot of effort to explain some of the pictures on it.

 Gradually I shall post them all on my postcrossing blog.

And this card made me smile, just as it was designed to do.

 I think this translates as 

"What more people are doing"

{or is it 'What more people should do'? -
see Meike's comment}

I don’t know what major events have been happening in the outside blogging world while I’ve been travelling. I do know from a quick glance at my dashboard that there are some interesting posts awaiting my attention.  And I know my friend Roz Russell has opened her new vintage store which is well worth a visit. 

Whatever has been happening in your world I hope it was good.