a stunning array of firey delights

Look at this stunning array of dragon's teeth! So shiny and RED! We've strung them together with a needle and multiple layers of cotton threaded through the stalks. Very easy to do.

Last year Meyles took seeds from a supermarket chilli and planted them in our garden. He did this because the plants we got from the nursery were always different chillies to what we wanted. So the only way to ensure we got the right plant, was to grow it yourself from seed taken from the actual chilli.

Here they are hanging in the laundry window where the sun comes in. They will dry out here (hopefully) and get used at our leisure. Next weekend we will probably have another string full!

Life of Pi_my thoughts

I knew very little about this movie so didn't know what to expect except that the idea of being marooned on a lifeboat with a wild tiger was going to be a good story. One reviewer of this movie says:

Don't expect to leave this story behind as you leave the theatre. Life of Pi has something to say.

I agree. But WHAT is it trying to say? Where comments on Google mention the visual cinematics, special effects, rah rah rah (which are fabulous, BTW)... I think it's sort of a modern day parable in that a story which may not be completely factual, illustrates a spiritual concept like the nature of belief.

Pi v Pissing
The big theme of the movie is a spiritual one. The first clue about this is the name "Pi" itself. It is shortened from the unfortunate name of "Pissing". The name 'Pi' represents a mathematical mystery which is never resolved or finished - similar to mysterious spiro-themes. This is a much preferred name to 'Pissing' wouldn't you agree? So each person who meets Pi, must choose whether to think of him and refer to him as "Pi - the mystery", or "Pissing".

Survival @ Sea
The factual evidence of survival at sea in a lifeboat during storms, hunger, thirst and fear with a wild tiger, orangutan, hyena and zebra is also called into question at the end of the movie by the Japanese insurance representatives that wanted to hear a story that was 'believable'. So Pi told them another story which involved people rather than wild animals. So the insurance boys have 2 stories. In parrallel.  One is involving more 'believable' behaviours of humans in survival mode, the other is a somewhat fanciful but beautiful animal story. 

Then Pi asked the insurance reps a question,
"Which story do you prefer?"

And that, ultimately, is the point that the movie is trying to make - that belief in God is connected strongly with the story we prefer.

have your say
Have you seen this movie? Or read the book? What do you think the movie was about?  Come on tell us.

tis the day before christmas

Tis the day before Christmas and all through the hood
Aromas of great cooking are smelling so good

Gifts are ready in pretty green wrap
We've survived the shopping, the crowds and crap

His Majesty is sprawled in his favourite chair

Unalarmed by the kookaburra’s call in the air

And Meyles in his sunscreen and sensible hat

Is tending the veggies to make them grow fat

The neighbours have put their Christmas lights on

And pressure to conform is second to none

Theirs twinkle and blink with syncopated passion

While ours sort of cough in a half working fashion

Our neighbours are louder and friendlier now

And we’ve scored some invites to barbies and chow

The Olds are coming in a while to stay

I’ll make up the bed in the spare room today

The Ole Lade will drink coffee and fall asleep in a chair

While Bull will watch cricket and the TV will blare

We’ll meet at the Swamp for Christmas day lunch

I’m making a salad with lots of nut crunch

Cooby’s made pudding with sixpence money pieces

And trifle and ginger balls will arrive with the nieces

We’ll swap gifts together and share some cheer

And miss those who couldn’t make it this year

We’ll eat till we’re nearly ready to burst

But not without singing grace together first

So have a good time with your family and kin

A safe and merry Christmas from Cardinal Cyn

the true story of bill and vera

A couple of starry-eyed teenagers once found themselves on the deck of a ferry. The year was 1948 and the place was Western Australia. They were college buddies who were in the very first stages of romantic interest.
 

This is that couple, 63 years later, at the
wedding of one of their grandsons.

He was amazed and delighted at her willingness to talk and be honest and open with him. This was a direct contrast to his previous girlfriend who would pout and give him the silent treatment on a regular basis. But that was over now.

And then she said something which pierced his heart with its beauty, and which, 63 years later, he still closes his eyes and recites with all the memory and emotion of that magic moment 63 years before. It was a beautiful poem -short, precise and articulating exactly the desire of both their hearts. It went like this:

If I knew you, and you knew me
If both of us could clearly see
And with an inner sense divine
The meaning of your heart and mine
I'm sure that we would differ less
Would clasp our hands in friendliness
Would look each other in the face
And find therein a truer grace
Our thoughts would pleasantly agree
If I knew you, and you knew me

This is my parents' story and one I heard for the first time a week ago. It's beautiful isn't it!


<< And this is their beautiful grandson and his happy bride.

Do YOU have any romantic stories from your parent's era?

buskers and random people of melbourne

Hoop-Girl performed a great act, adding ever more hoops to her routine. She was very watchable as she attracted a huge crowd for lunchtime shoppers in the Bourke Street Mall.



A man sits at a firmly closed church door. Quite a statement.



I snapped this couple who were waiting for their meal to arrive in a cafe.

You are lucky to find a table at one of the De Graves Street cafes. The outdoor tables are covered by umbrellas while heaters help to keep customers warm on chilly days.



This rabbit busker attracts a crowd. He demonstrates great skill on that there gui-tar. He emits great 'happy vibes' with his costume, jig and  happy tunes.

A harpist positions himself in the Botanical Gardens in the surrounding tables at the cafe. His gentle strains are peaceful and calming.



A passer-by chats to the horse-driver until the next passengers arrive on a Saturday night.

Amazing friends we haven't seen for years. How good to see them again.

A stylish accordian player adds atmosphere in the Centre Way arcade for breakfast time patrons.

Hungry and colourful customers wait for a table to become vacant in De Graves Street.

Oooh a sneaky photo I tried to take without being caught. I loved this guy's sense of style.

I've tried to capture the essense of what makes Melbourne an attractive and interesting place to visit. Do you think I've succeeded?

mogo zoo

Mogo Zoo is a privately owned zoo dedicated to rare and endangered species.

Fallow deer, up close and personal. Their noses are soft like velvet as they sniff your hand for food.

Go froggie!  This guy's about as big as a fist.

 

 

Mr Gibbon. He's quite shy, but very distinguished. Silvery gray body with a smart looking tuft of reddish hair above the eyes, and a fashionably curled beard of white. All very neat and sharp-looking.

Giraffes and ostriches look elegant and content.

This is a Golden Lion Tamarind - a small monkey with long, golden hair. About as big as a rabbit.

This is another Tamerind, and I refer to it as the 'gremlin' because it's got a white mo-hawk hair-do. It also has a really wierd little square face.

Meer cats.

You can pay to sit in certain cages and feed the animals. This couple are feeding the meer cats, and loving it.

Otters. They have such thick tails. We watched them rolling in the water, and foraging for their food. But here, they are enjoying the sun together.

These little guys were my favourite. Pygmy Marmosets. They are tiny little monkeys, no bigger than a rat. This one was very curious and came right up to the glass to check us out.

You can see the size of these little fellas. I so want one of these!

A snow leopard wasn't too comfortable with us being so close. A beautiful, elongated animal which preferred to be a bit further away.

We watched a couple of tigers displaying mating behaviour - snarling and groaning. This one was in the pen next door, and quietly cleaning himself.

I could not believe I was seeing this! A sort of "5-legged" Tapir. His 'relaxed' state was made even more unbelieving by the shape of the 5th leg - it had a funnel shape at the end and he was stepping on himself as he walked along! 

Zebras.

 

This is a very rare white lion with 2 cubs! We watched her licking them.

Mogo Zoo is 10km south of Batemans Bay in NSW. It was a total delight to discover. The animals all looked healthy and happy.

a quirky mix of graffiti and food in melbourne

A sign makes claims about the quality of the coffee within. After an appropriate sampling, I am happy to report that the coffee was, in fact, 'bloody good'.

Breakfasts in the Centre Way laneway are squeezed into tiny cafes with barely enough room to stir coffee. The atmosphere buzzes as a hoard of hungry patrons find their breakfast specials.



Centre Way laneway at breakfast time. The pipe-smoking accordian player (left) adds his musical lilt for the diners' pleasure.



I now consider myself 'educated' when it comes to ordering lattes in coffee shops. Especially in Italian coffee shops. Lucky I don't drink lattes.



Hosier St Laneway is a cobbled-stone street which has been colourfully decorated by graffiti artists. Access to the MoVida spanish tapas restaurant is from this lane.




This graffiti wall hosts helpful messages which are a refreshingly positive type of graffiti.



The graffiti itself has become a tourist attraction.

Tourists click cameras as they view the graffiti. Much more interesting that the otherwise gray old walls of the inner city.

Mountains of gelato in Lygon Street tempt the passer-by.

Various types of pasta are displayed in a shop window in Lygon Street.



Italian food is the rage in Lygon Street with 'Godfather' movie thoughts mixed with the scene.



This busy Italian eatery hosted a long bar where patrons would sit and eat. Each was served a bowl of spaghetti, a chunk of buttered bread and a glass of watermelon granita.