44

Isn't it funny, to some the idea of turning 44 is awful while there are those of us who wouldn't mind being that young again. Well, today is our 44th wedding anniversary and it's quite scary how quickly the years have flown by and what wonderful (and not so wonderful) things have happened in that time.
Do I have words of wisdom for those embarking on a lifetime together? No way! Probably the two most important things in our lives have no training, a few boring manuals for sure but basically we go into marriage and parenthood in total ignorance. That's how it should be, we each carve out our life and if you're lucky enough to find your soul mate, so much the better.
I've seen good marriages fall apart and feuding couples stay together forever. There's no foolproof recipe for success and let's face it, a calm and uneventful life together could become a little dreary.
So, while I cherish the love of my life and our wonderful family, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we have at least another 26 years together because I'm really enjoying the ride.

Tuesday Tip

I'm baaack. New computer and hopefully no more glitches, although I still can't post a comment on Cabbages blog so, for the record, my last comment to Sandra was
"You would enjoy the animated movie The Triplets of Bellville" it's really good by the way.
This morning my car had a flat tyre, hence this tip.
Don't play the car radio too loud as you may notice an emergency just too late.
I was listening to Sacred Spirit, Native American music which as you no doubt know has a lot of "Yay, yay, yay, hey, hey" and "dum, dum, dumdumdum" ( voices and drums). If the volume was way up I wouldn't have heard the "flippidy, flap, flap" of the deflating tyre. Fortunately I did and I was able to make it to the nearest garage. Thanks to the great guys at Letchworth Service Station who changed the wheel for me - I didn't even have time to eat a bucket of chicken, they were so efficient.
But it is important to be aware of the goings on around your car, the ambulance or fire truck that needs you out of the way before you can say "Loud heavy metal", not to mention those sneaky motorbikes, now you see them, now you don't and where did he come from?
Take care out there, you're irreplaceable

Birdy news

On my way to work this morning I stopped at the lights and looking around, saw about twenty white birds on the grassy knoll (I've waited years to write the word knoll) at the side of the road.
They were those white birds that sit on the backs of cows, Egrets I think but I'd have to ask "he who knows everything about birds", aka Sion. They remind me a little of Riff Raff in the Rocky Horror Show.
There they were pecking away at the grass below the steak house which made me wonder "just how rare is the steak they serve up there?"
They also reminded me how every bit of life is connected and serves a purpose. I was trying out one of those hugely expensive - but worth the cost - space age pillows. The lady serving me was telling a horror story about the number of mites in the average bed and how they come out and eat all the dead skin from our bodies. Yuch. But how awful we'd look with dead skin hanging off our arms, like something out of Shawn of the Dead (brilliant movie by the way). No matter how humble or gross, how huge or beautiful, most of nature works in synergy, each action having purpose and giving results.
It's about time we, the so called top of the ladder, most intelligent on the face of the earth gave this synergy stuff a try. Each action has consequences but I don't think that throwing a burger wrapper out of the car window, littering and thus creating work for the street cleaner is what we need.
Let's rather apply ourselves positively, taking on a pay it forward mentality, doing good, no matter how humble our effort, to create good thoughts and actions.
Do not confuse this with being a "DO-GOODER", people to be avoided at all costs.
It IS the little things that count. Smile at someone and perhaps this evening there won't be yet another family fight in their home. You get the idea, a little kindness goes a long way.
So what if the bird's sole purpose in life is to catch a few ticks on a cows back. Without his small act of kindness the meat eaters out there wouldn't have such nice beef, or those warm leather shoes and swanky bags.

Out of the mouths of babes

Clearly the person who coined that phrase had no idea Bay Watch would one day hit the world. This one is about Kelly, she's no longer a babe but no doubt will be one in about ten or so years.
Yesterday her mum and I were discussing Jason Statheham? (does the spelling really matter?)He of Transporter fame. The main topic was his build. M. said he definitely has an eight pack.
Kelly was listening, as kids do, and you could almost hear her mind working.
Thinks,"my dad has a six pack, this guy has an eight pack?"
She came over to us and said
"I have a nine pack" we looked mystified so she added "When I sit down"
Go figure!

Hold the back page!

I read the news headlines each day, from England, South Africa and Australia. While there is some really good news to be had, the stupid items are the ones that catch my eye.
"Kim Cattrell does not wear knickers" Now really, why would that be of interest to anyone who isn't personally involved with Ms Cattrell?
"Miley Cyrus gives older man a lap dance". Here's the thing, at her age she really shouldn't know how.
"Warhol self-portrait sells for $36.33 million" Who cares if they're US or Oz dollars, the man was no oil painting in real life.
"Naked news readers" MTN say nudity isn't porn, I quite agree but will the wobbly bits go down well after a few weeks exposure?
"Man battles for life after eating slug for a dare". I feel genuinely sorry for this man and his family but this is the kind of thing those insurance for women types latch on to.
An Australian woman was scammed out of A$9000 by a Nigerian fraudster. What can you say? We're so used to daily requests from around the world that it's hard to believe there's still someone who'll fall for it. In the light of my mis-spelling of troops I would like to point out that the person who wrote in the newspaper comments section really should have checked the dictionary before typing "how dumb can these in-breads be?"
On the really serious side, how awful to be sitting watching TV one minute and the next to have you and your house swallowed by a giant sinkhole.
However, the most exciting item I read today is that Voyager 2 may have been hijacked by aliens. This doesn't come from some nutty rag, it's genuine. (I hope).
You may recall that some 33 years ago Voyager 2 was launched into space to collect data. On the side of the craft is a 12 inch disc containing music and messages in 55 languages. Voyager has now begun sending signals back to Earth in an unknown data format.
As one who treated Close Encounters of the Third Kind as a semi-documentary I'm blown away by the thought that in a mere 33 years the hijackers may be here to see Earth for themselves. Wow!

Learning

Sara-Jane came over yesterday afternoon, to spend the night with us. I was making Buttermilk Rusks, something I do once a month, and she was chatting and helping as they were made. After that we made a (delicious) mushroom tart from a recipe in Taste magazine. She wasn't being taught but a lot of it will have rubbed off on to her. Rather like the young man in Slumdog Milionaire we absorb so much knowledge that we may not be aware of until it's needed.

I, for instance, know how to pluck a chicken. I live in hope that I'll never have to do the dirty deed but, from watching my Gran doing it when I was a child, I know how. I'm fussy about mashed potatoes because I remember my mum's and try do do the same. It's a kind of legacy I suppose and also how we evolve.

I rather enjoy doing laundry, I'm a tad fussy about it and I know that a lot of my attention to the task came from Rowland's Ouma. When she came to stay with his folks I would watch in amazement as she marshalled the troups to catch every last bit of sunshine in the small garden. Moving a shirt here, a towel there.

It just soaks in, this knowhow and it's why we have to be careful what we pass on.

My dad didn't swear (that I know of). When he was really angry he said "Damn it all"and I don't recall hearing anything else. I rarely swear, I have two words reserved for ghastly occassions, neither one would be banned in a movie, or beeped out. Had he been a cusser of note well, things may have been more colourful.

So we evolve, tasks becoming commonplace without being taught, to make place for new abilities. Young boys observe their dad's every move, how often they walk in the same way or have the same mannerisms. Girls may take up a hobby their mother has because deep down they know that half the learning has been done and they just have to fine hone the rest.
Some times we may surprise ourselves by discovering things didn't realise we already knew. I think it makes life interesting, there's always something new waiting for us to soak in, just try to recognise the good and ignore the rest.