. . . . .
The sun is shining and my boys are on holidays,
so I’m going to take a little breather to spend time with them.
Take care, have fun, and I’ll see you all in a couple of weeks or so!
. . . . .
Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category
Breather
Posted in Musings on September 27, 2011| 30 Comments »
Thomas the Tank Engine
Posted in Food & Friends, Musings on September 5, 2011| 41 Comments »
We had the most wonderful time last weekend when Little T came for a visit.
At two and a half, he’s a big fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, and he’d certainly come to the right place.
For almost a decade, our sons were completely besotted with these trains. And despite the fact that it’s been nearly eighteen years since Big Boy was given his first die-cast engine (the little blue Thomas below), we’ve never been able to part with any of them. There’s a lifetime of memories tied up in them, and they’ve all been loved and treasured deeply. Even though they’re a little battered and in need of new paint, every single one is still in reasonable working condition.
My favourite engine was always Duck – no-one ever called him by his real name of Montague, as he didn’t like it. He was a Great Western Engine, and proud of it…
His friend Oliver was also a GW engine, and rescued by Douglas from the scrap yard. Gordon once referred to him as “sagacious” – the word lover in me was thrilled…
Toby the Tram Engine was Big Boy’s favourite, and so very kind and wise…
Gordon the Express Engine was always in a hurry, and quite arrogant. He’d often end up being taken down a peg or two…
And Henry the Green Engine was much better after they fixed the shape of his smoke box so that he could steam properly…
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Here is my all-time favourite episode – much to Pete’s amusement, just watching this can make me misty-eyed. It’s such a reminder of halcyon days!
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A couple more…here’s Toby’s Tightrope – Big Boy’s favourite…
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And one for Joanna and Brian…with James and bees!
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Do you have Thomas fans at your place?
And if so, do they have a favourite engine?
Here Comes The Sun
Posted in Musings on August 14, 2011| 18 Comments »
Wishing you all joy this Sunday morning!
We’ve been listening to Small Man’s favourite song…
. . . . .
Dinner Conversations
Posted in Musings on July 21, 2011| 73 Comments »
Some days I feel like I cheated on a test to get into this family.
As it often does, the conversation at dinner last night went something* like this:
. . . . .
Small Man: I was thinking, if there is an atom with two electrons in its outer shell and another atom with three electrons passes near it, will it lose one electron to the first atom?
Big Boy: No, because then it would be unbalanced again, so it wouldn’t work like that. Have you been learning chemistry at school?
Small Man: No, I’ve been reading about it in a book. We haven’t done chemistry in science yet.
Small Man: Also, about organic chemistry – you know how life forms are carbon-based…do you think it’s possible for there to be life forms that are based on another element?
Pete: The reason carbon is important is because it readily forms compounds with a range of other elements and the possible combinations of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen are practically limitless and the complexity of these molecules makes it possible for them to act as locks and keys and catalysts for complex interactions.
Small Man: do you think it’s possible for there to be silicon based lifeforms?
Pete: Some people have written papers on that – they think because silicon can behave in a similar way to carbon that it might be possible, yes.
Small Man: do you think that’s how they came up with the idea in Star Trek?
. . . . .
Sigh…
Over the past fortnight, they’ve discussed supercluster galaxies, communism and the Cold War, the physics behind Green Lantern’s power ring, the chemical structures of noble gases, the use of gyroscopes in rocket guidance systems, and whether or not Schrödinger had an invisible cat.
I can remember a time when the conversation at dinner centered around why Toby the Tram Engine needed a cowcatcher.
I could contribute to the discussion back then, without sounding like a git.
Now I just smile serenely and listen to the three of them in awe.
* Please don’t leave a comment to tell me that the science is wrong – I did my best to remember what was said, but I was having trouble keeping up. Oh, and I know Schrödinger didn’t have an invisible cat – I just put that in to annoy Pete.
How I De-Stress…
Posted in Musings on May 24, 2011| 51 Comments »
When life gets a little overwhelming, I go into the garden.
If it’s a sunny day, I’ll lie on the pond bridge…
…and listen to the water running over the rocks…
…and take pictures of the water plants…
…and the blue sky through our jacaranda tree…
…and then I’ll watch our lovely fat hens tucking into their favourite weeds. Their contented clucking can be very soothing!
PS. If you listen carefully around the 0.08 second mark you’ll hear the chok-chok call of our resident Red Wattlebird. And watch the shadows at the 0.22 second mark, and you’ll see Queenie jump on Maggie’s back to show her who’s boss – Maggie picks herself up and fluffs her feathers afterwards!
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