Zentangle - have you heard about it?

While processing books at work, I came across Beckah Krahula's "One Zentangle a Day: a 6-week course in creative drawing for relaxation, inspiration, and fun".

I immediately put a reserve on my local library's copy so that I could have a better look.

I really like the concept of Zentangle as a means of meditation, and a way into being able to draw again. The act of repeating the patterns takes your focus into the drawing and away from the distractions of everyday life.

So I did a bit of dabbling using the patterns in Beckah's book, did some surfing on the net and found a whole community of tanglers out there. Their work is inspiring and I really need to sit down and tangle more often.

I did this one for one of the Diva's Challenges.

This is one of my earlier efforts.

I would recommend anyone to try Zentangle - even people who say they are hopeless at drawing. The instructions for each pattern are clear and easy to follow. Before you you know it, you are off and running with a small (3 1/2 inch / 9cm square) drawing that YOU did!

Check out these sites:

http://tanglepatterns.com/book-reviews/one-zentangle-a-day

This is also a great site for getting tangle patterns to use.

http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/weekly-challenge-195.html

This is an interesting challenge from last month, scroll sown to check out all the responses.

https://www.zentangle.com/zentangle-method

The founders website with links to blog & newsletter.

Do you worry about your health ... and about the cost of health?

It doesn't consume me, but I do worry about both my health and the cost of keeping myself healthy. Two of my doctors (the heart specialist and my local doctor) want me to have a comprehensive full blood test.

This means fasting, waiting until 8.30 am (or later depending on where I am in the queue) and then ending up black and blue because they can't find a vein that doesn't collapse.

For starters, at 6.00 am when I normally eat breakfast - I have to remember NOT to!
Next, I have to sit around at home for a while, then go stand in a queue outside the pathology office.
Then, I go through the wonderful experience of some poor pathologist trying to get blood.

All that, just so the doctors can tell me that I'm borderline diabetic, my kidney function is dodgy, my cholesterol is only just within the acceptable range, and my thyroid function hasn't really changed since last time.

At least, I hope that's what they would say.
I certainly don't want to move from being pre-diabetic to having type 2 diabetes.
I would also prefer the other health problems stayed within acceptable levels.

Hopefully once I get the test done, the doctors will tell me to watch what I eat, to get more exercise and write prescriptions for the five tablets that I take each day (at least that is down from the seven I was taking a couple of years ago).

And there's my next whinge ... the cost of prescribed medication.
I am 61 and not likely to get off any of these medications in the near (or distant) future.
Why then is it costing me about $70.00 per month to get my prescriptions filled?

Surely as a senior person with chronic health issues, I can get some help?

It seems not ... I am working too many hours and earning too much money to qualify for a health care card and my seniors card doesn't get me a discount at the pharmacy.
Thank goodness, I am only taking five tablets now instead of seven or I would probably be spending over $100.00 per month for medication I CANNOT stop taking.

Trove Tuesday - Things were done differently back then!

I have just finished correcting text for an article about first-aid classes in Frankston in 1927. The article asks that those desirous of taking the classes should register their interest with Mr. Krebs, the manager at the E.S.& A. Bank.

Just imagine walking into the ANZ Bank (successor of the E.S.& A.) and asking the manager to add your name to the class list. Things were certainly more relaxed back then in 1927. Also Frankston would have had a much smaller population and no doubt Mr. Krebs knew lots of the locals and they in turn knew him.

Here is the link to the article from the Frankston & Somerville Standard of May 6, 1927:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/74991508

Trove is a great resource for getting an historical perspective on life - whether you are researching family history or looking at past events. I love the little insights I get into life in 1927 while I am correcting text for my local paper.

What were you doing 25 years ago?

There has been a lot on the TV lately about Tiananmen Square and the events of 25 years ago. This has made me think about what I was doing then, which was travelling around the Middle East and reading about events in China in the Herald Tribune, which because we were rough camping and had no access to TV, was the only way we could keep up with world events and was usually the only English langauge newspaper we could find.

In March of 1989, I left my job and flew to Kathmandu to join several like-minded individuals and embark on a journey to London, camping or staying in rough hotels in India, Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Greece, Yugoslavia (as it still was), Austria, Germany, and Belgium. Some of our group got visas for Iran and travelled through just before the death of Ayatollah Khomeini. Those of us who did not get visas, did a little tour along the Black Sea coast of  Turkey before joining up with the others near Mt Ararat in eastern Turkey.

At about this time of the year 25 years ago, the group I was travelling with had just spent a couple of days in Jerusalem - such a rich history and so many religious sites/sights - it was almost overwhelming. From there we travelled to Syria - marvelling at architectural and archaeological wonders like Jerash and Palmyra, exploring crusader fortresses like Crac des Chevaliers,  and wandering around old Damascus with my fellow travellers. We were met with nothing but goodwill while travelling through Syria and I find it very sad to see what is happening to the country and more importantly the people.

This was my first big trip overseas and it gave me a taste for travel to slightly exotic destinations - the following year I went to northern Pakistan and into China to Kashgar. A couple of years later, it was Egypt and some Greek isles. Work got in the way for a few years, until I went on a family holiday to New Caledonia with some cousins, and then I did some trips in Australia - Perth, Lake Eyre, Kakadu.

Travel is a wonderful thing - whether you go overseas or travel in your own country - it gives you a chance to meet a wide variety of people, to see how others live, how they work and how they fill their leisure time. Sometimes it's not that pleasant, but the experience of it broadens your horizons and makes you a more rounded, knowledgeable person.

So that was what I was doing 25 years ago - travelling through what is now a war-torn country, enjoying the weather, the food and the hospitality. I'm glad that I was doing that, as I have good memories of Syria and don't just know it from the TV news.

Renovation TV

Are you a fan of all these TV shows about renovation or new builds? I am. Not that every show actually gives you a good look at the rooms and layout ... which is what I'm most interested in.

I've always been fascinated by house plans and I'm always drawing up plans to remodel the house I am currently living in, or designing a whole new house - trying to maximise the winter sun, minimise the summer heat and give me the optimal space for living and cunning storage for all my craft supplies and BOOKS (including of course, books about houses and design).

I love it when a new season of Grand Designs comes on the telly ... and not just because that means more Kevin McCloud! Even if the house being showcased is not your style or you think the people building it are nut cases, you will always see some new product that may make it into the mainstream or get some great idea you could use, and let's face it, the houses are always interesting even when they are a bit too disco or a bit too greenie.

Compared to the other shows on offer, Grand Designs concentrates on the building and design process and even when Kevin gets a bit critical, the show keeps my attention for the whole 50 minutes. The other shows wander about sidetracked by history, repeating the same scene over (and over) again, concentrating on dissension (between partners or teams) - the actual renovation/room reveal seems to be an afterthought sometimes.

To my mind, fans watch the shows because they are interested in renovation, building, design, even interior decoration - so to take up too much time on other things means that fans don't get what they want out of the show. I quite like the history aspect of Restoration Home, but it does get a bit laboured at times. I absolutely hate all the arguments and sometimes sheer nastiness on shows such as The Block and House Rules - so I just watch the room/house reveals. And as for Australia's Best Houses - well that's just one big advert and they only scratch the surface with showing the houses.

So thank god for Grand Designs which concentrates on the house - how it is designed and how it is built, with a little bit about the personalities involved, some information about new or innovative products used, sometimes a bit about the decoration - but overall the house design is king.

Thank-you Kevin and team.

Trove Tuesday - Same Old, Same Old

It's funny how local issues never really change all that much. The local newspapers of 1927 often have articles or letters about the state of Kananook Creek or the roads, and comment pieces on things like the possibility of a local hospital or even port facilities in Westernport.

With talk once again of a deep water port in Westernport Bay, here is an article from the issue of the Frankston & Somerville Standard, dated 25 March, 1927, talking about exactly the same thing. This article by a local councillor, also looks at what industries could be brought into the area as well.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/74991134

Of course, in 1927 it was all about exports and helping the fruit growers; today it is all about imports and being able to unload more containers. Here is an article from the Age in 2010 explaining why we need a new deep water port now.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/port-for-hastings-back-on-agenda-20101226-197y4.html

Almost ninety years later, Australia has changed considerably and Westernport is no longer the rural area it once was. The difference in attitudes is very obvious.

Trove Tuesday

Apple and Pear Varieties - where have they all gone?

So here we go again with something from the local paper in 1927. This time it is a list of prizes available at the Somerville Show in March 1927. It was a really long list but what struck me was the number of apple and pear varieties that they were offering prizes for.
So here's the list.... how many varieties can you find for sale these days? How many varieties have you even heard of?

APPLES
Reinette de Canada
Five Crown
Jonathan
Emperor
Cox's Orange
Chandler
Stone Pippin
Gravenstein
Rome Beauty
Munro's Favourite
Duke of Clarence
Delicious
King David
Granny Smith
Tasma or Democrat
Alfriston
Stewart's Seedling
Sturmer

PEARS
Ganzell's Bergamot
Beurre de Capimont
William Bon Chretien
Vicar of Winkfield
Keiffer's Hybrid
Black Akan
Broom Park
Madame Cole
Beurre Bosc
Beurre Clairgeau
Howell
Winter Nelis
Winter Cole
Beurre d'Anjou
Packham's Triumph

Of course the district was a big producer of apples and pears, that's why there are so many cool stores around the place. Not that they are being used for their proper purpose any more.

Anyway here is the link to the article listing the prizes available and also the link to the list of prize winners (if you are interested). I have to tell that they are very long lists and it's not just apples and pears, there are prizes for a few (very few) vegies, flowers, fancy work (embroidery), cows and horses.

Prize List: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/74990954
Winners: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/74991068

TROVE TUESDAY

For some time now I have been participating in a project for my local library correcting the OCR text for historic issues of the local newspaper which has been scanned into the Trove database.

I have been assigned 1927 and have just finished correcting the issue for 18 March 1927 of the Frankston & Somerville Standard. Occasionally you find something that just tickles the funny bone, like when the scanning software reads Frankston as Prankston - that's a bit of a favourite. Perhaps Frankston could have some sort of practical joke festival!

The other thing you notice is the way the meanings of words have changed over time, for example the word "gay". When I was growing up gay meant bright and happy - now you couldn't use the word in that context at all. So imagine my surprise when I saw the following headline in the paper,
When Our Town Goes Gay
in relation to the Traders' Picnic. And then they also used the word further down the article when describing the crowd.

Here is a link to the article which describes in detail, the day of the Traders' Picnic.

 http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/74990842

Happy reading.