All Eyes on a Boomer
Monday, 24 December 2007
Where's Santa now?
Posted by Mispoetic at 22:11 1 comments
And so this is Christmas.....
I MUST get back to the kitchen.....I have the trifle soaking in sherry, and a kilo of potatoes to peel....those yummy chocolate sprinkle biscuits will be cooking on Tuesday, the children & i agreed to make the day not JUST about presents[we have little money this year lol] but to make it a feast in honour of one man's birthday! [see the recipe here http://mispoetic-debbiestevens.blogspot.com/2007/12/food-glorious-food.html]
Now, hop over to http://freesiafever.blogspot.com/ and turn up your speakers!!!!!
All my best wishes to each and all bloggers and those merely passing through!
Posted by Mispoetic at 02:33 3 comments
Thursday, 20 December 2007
Could ONLY happen to me.....
Pregnancy-A time of simple pleasurable days, complete with wonderful and amazing memories.
Happy days, overflowing with exuberance and a constant support network. Baby showers, all the ’goos’ and gaas’ as the mum-to-be holds up those gorgeous tiny sets of baby clothes…oh indeed, it can be such a sweet experience, and so it should be.
Hmm, my third pregnancy was slightly different. Oh yes I had my partner, family and the small entourage of supportive friends, but I also had many strange mishaps and one which stands out from all others. It could well have been described as a screaming farce!
Here I was, only days away from the due date of my delivery, looking like that typical descriptive ‘beached whale’, the main attraction of what felt like some scene taken direct from a Woody Allen film.
Let me set the scene for you.
My sister-in-law, her partner, myself and my youngest two children, and the local lakeside park. It was fairly overcast and cool, but we had arrived with all intention of making the most of the day. I hadn’t really felt up to much that week, but my sister-in-law insisted we get out of the house saying how much fun we could have and just how much I would benefit by doing so.
For a Sunday, the park had far more activity happening than normal this was due to the unusual amount of tourists that had descended there.
A mass of Japanese tourists, all wearing ‘larger than life’ smiles, and most carrying a camera. They were busy feeding the park’s inhabitants which had lived there for years. It was usually the ducks which attracted people there…and who could blame them? They were cute, for sure, but they were also quite comfortable in these surroundings, regardless of the human intrusion. They’d become quite used to human contact obvious by their interaction with one another. A great place to come for a family barbeque, plenty of utilities and also the convenience of the local Kiosk, which stocked everything needed for the ‘happy camper’. An assortment of climbing equipment, swings and slippery dips, and the park had its own carefully routed tracks for those wanting to do some bushwalking and exploring. Not really what I had in mind, but whenever you spent time with my sister-in-law, you had to expect the unexpected and this would be one of those days. Her eagerness for bushwalking had both children just as keen, and any thought of sitting back at our table while they went alone, well it wasn’t on their agenda! So, as they walked briskly down the winding tracks, through thick scrub, I stayed well back, hanging onto the arm and company of Carol, my sister-in-law’s partner. Luckily for me, Carol shared the same uneasy feeling and at one point stopped, asking if perhaps we should have been dropping rocks, or the crusts from the bread which we were to feed the ducks with? Yes, something right out of the Hansel & Gretyl tale, with me reminding her just what happened to their bread!
“Come on!” shouted my sister-in-law. She didn’t understand why we were so slow and not as eager to climb the rocks, which for me at that time, seemed like ‘climbing every mountain’! Even with her out reached hand offering support, I wobbled nervously, thinking they may need the assistance of some sort of crane to get me down.
The fact I actually made it without causing any bodily harm, to any other person was an accomplishment! “Can we go back now?” my voice almost bordering desperation.
The little hiking group had fun, they located a cave and that was enough to satisfy their exploring for one day.
Once near safer grounds, I took a stroll down towards the lake where by this time, many of the Japanese tourists had gathered for their lunch. My 2 young children ran ahead of me, enticing the ducks with their bag of bread. I took my time, slightly un-balanced, after all, I had extra luggage on board! Out of nowhere, a couple of rather large ducks approached me, beaks open, quacking as they waddled towards me. Not wanting to display my rather uneasiness by this, I threw a piece of bread I’d found on the ground, hoping to distract them enough to get away. Not likely, especially as my children saw this humorous so continued to feed each duck that came out of the water. Soon, I had a family of ducks hot on my trail and an audience of tourists all laughing with great amusement! Cameras snapped pictures which I’m sure made for great conversation somewhere!
One very pregnant woman waddling from a park, followed closely by a family of ducks!
Posted by Mispoetic at 00:52 1 comments
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
Christmas and pets....our 'duty of care'
How could anyone mistreat an animal? When we bring a pet into our home, it means we have taken on board a responsibility to that pet. Be it a dog, cat, brid, fish, rabbit, hampster, snake or WHATEVER, it is YOUR duty to protect, love, nurture and provide a safe-haven. This is called 'duty of care', sadly somthing so many of us lack in today's society, and according to what we see in the news, STILL do! These creatures depend on us...they rely on our conviction to care for them, and to just love them. There have been shocking tales of cruelty to animals, with some perpetrators being only children! Can you imagine?? A child wanting to inflict horrendous & insideous acts upon something as helpless as a baby kitten??? It happens, TOO often! We won't discuss the actual injuries, they are way too scary, but we will discuss an amazing organisation that does everything in its power to protect our animals from cruel and barbaric acts! They are without a doubt, the animal's best advocator by seeing these creatures have someone in their corner, ready to fight for their rights, no matter what it takes! I am proud to support and share their work here today, because as always, when Christmas rolls around we find more and more family pets abandoned, tossed aside for various reasons....the worst culprit here being the holidays. When ther's no one available to care for the family pet during holidays, more and more are either duumped, left to fend for themsleves or passed over into the loving hands of the R.S.P.C.A-
Each year, we care for over 40,000 animals across the state. Our Inspectorate is dedicated to investigating cruelty reports and prosecuting offenders. Our Veterinary Clinics look after the health and wellbeing of shelter animals. They also offer medical services to the beloved pets of our supporters. And our shelters provide temporary homes for surrendered, seized and abandoned animals in need.
Christmas is a busy time for the RSPCA. Over 3000 extra dogs and cats arrive at the shelters in December. Many are surrendered on Christmas Day. This places extra pressure on staff, animals and resources. Donations collected at the City of Sydney Concerts will go towards giving our shelter animals a very merry Christmas.
The RSPCA is a charity, not a Government agency, and we rely on supporter donations to continue our life-saving work. We are extremely grateful to the City of Sydney for adopting us as their 'pet project' for the second year in a row
You can make a donation at our Christmas Concerts or visit http://www.rspcansw.org.au/.
From my adorable pet, to yours....HAVE A SAFE AND LOVING CHRISTMAS -WOOF!!
Posted by Mispoetic at 19:56 2 comments
Monday, 17 December 2007
Food, GLORIOUS Food!!
Being someone who loves to write, also means having the option now of many places to share my thoughts, opinions and comments-Now that we are really & truly into the final leg of our challenge, 24 Blogging Days of posts, what else could I add today??
DOUBLE CHOCALATE SPRINKLE BISCUITS
40
Ingredients
250g butter, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
250g packet white choc bits
375g packet milk choc melts
1/3 cup hundreds and thousands
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and condensed milk until light and creamy. Add flour and mix on low speed until dough almost comes together.
Stir in choc bits. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on prepared trays. Bake, 1 tray at a time, for 12 minutes or until light golden. Stand biscuits on trays for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Place choc melts in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH (100%) in 30 second bursts, stirring every 30 seconds with a metal spoon, until smooth. Spoon melted chocolate into the centre of each biscuit. Sprinkle with hundreds and thousands. Allow to set. Serve.
SourceSuper Food Ideas - April 2006 , Page 78
Recipe by Janelle Bloom
20 minutes
Cooking Time
60 minutes
Ingredients (serves 8)
225g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour
55g (1/2 cup) almond meal
60g (1/3 cup) icing sugar mixture
125g chilled butter, chopped
1 egg yolk
Lemon filling
5 eggs, lightly whisked
300ml thin cream
155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
1 tbs finely grated lemon rind
125ml (1/2 cup) fresh lemon juice
Meringue
3 egg whites
100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
Method
To make the lemon filling, whisk together the egg, cream, sugar, lemon rind and juice in a bowl until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour to develop the flavours.
Meanwhile, place the flour, almond meal, icing sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and process until dough just starts to come together.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until just smooth. Shape into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 3mm-thick disc. Line a round 5cm-deep, 18cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin, with removable base, with pastry and trim any excess. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
Cover the pastry base with baking paper and fill with pastry weights, rice or dried beans. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and pastry weights, rice or dried beans. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 160°C.
Strain the lemon mixture through a fine sieve into a jug. Pour into the pastry case. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until just set. Remove from oven and set aside for 15 mins to cool. Place in fridge for 1 hour to chill. Increase oven temperature to 180°C.
To make the meringue, use an electric beater to whisk the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoonful at a time, whisking constantly until thick and glossy. Spoon the meringue mixture over the tart and spread to the edge of the pastry. Use the back of a spoon to lightly touch the meringue to create peaks. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool. Cut into wedges to serve.
Notes & tips
Prep: 20 mins (+ 1 hour infusing, 1 hour resting, 30 mins cooling & 1 hour chilling time)
SourceAustralian Good Taste - July 2006 , Page 103
Recipe by Sarah Hobbs
Posted by Mispoetic at 19:18 0 comments
Labels: affordable, cakes, christmas, food
Sunday, 16 December 2007
It's beginning to look alot like Christmas....
Posted by Mispoetic at 06:35 0 comments
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
WISE CAT-Special Edition
www.lulu.com/freesiagal
Now that I have published "Wise Cat" with i-procliam, I decided to give others who don't posess a credit card, an equal opportunity to purchase so have re-published with lulu! So now, it is already a Special Edition! I hope to make this a series collection while I continue to plod with the completion of "SIlent Denial"....hopefully, the New Year will see its release!
Reunite this Christmas
Missing People-I thought it might be a good time to talk about this subject. We all take so much forn granted, until it is taken away. Christmas time....we reflect on the year gone by, all that has happened all that has been. We have those who are fortunate to have a Christmas without incident, maybe the odd argument, but hey, that's part of being in a family.
Imagine if your Christmas had no family...many people this year will notice loved ones missing from their gathering. It could be due to the death of a loved one, a break-down in communication where members refuse to appear, or they may really be, 'missing'.....Every year in Australia, 30,000 people are missing from their homes, their loved ones. Trying to get through the festive season is just a sad reminder of their absence making it almost impossible to feel any Christmas Spirit. The article below focuses on the recent re-appearance of John Darwin.....but every case is different, to a degree.
This Christmas, I intend to place a very special gift beneath my tree, a prayer for God, one that will ask he help reunite just one family with a missing family member. Imagine if we all tried this? There is power in numbers, and imagine the gift we could be giving when that prayer is answered?! It isn't going to cost you anything, and only takes a pen/pencil and a piece of paper/card.......Dear Lord, while we are grateful for all that we have, we ask you look around to the homes that have loved ones missing from their lives, and help guide that loved one back to their door...Amen
Merry Christmas!
Lord Lucan, before he went missing.
· Around 600 people go missing every day; which amounts to some 210,000 people a year. Around 99% of missing cases are resolved within one year.
· People who go missing for longer periods of time tend to be older men.
· Between the ages of 13 and 17, it is more likely for females to go missing. Over the age of 24, it is more common for males to disappear.
· Figures from a study by Missing People showed that around two-thirds of missing adults had deliberately chosen to leave.
Article continues
· Some 20% of those who had gone missing returned to the place they had left, a study from the Missing Persons database suggested in 2003. Around 40% of found adults chose not to contact those who were looking for them.
· The main reasons for adults to go missing include a relationship breakdown, to escape from a crisis, and stress or mental health problems such as depression.
(Source: Missing People)
Famous missing persons cases
· In April 2005, a young man was found wandering around Sheerness, in Kent, dressed in a wet suit and tie. Although he did not speak a word, he grabbed international headlines after he gave virtuoso performances of classical music at a piano in the Medway maritime hospital's chapel, earning the nickname "Piano Man". He was later revealed to be Andreas Grassl, a 20-year-old man from Prosford in Germany who was suffering from depression. Gressl was taken back to his home in August of the same year.
· Stephen Fry disappeared for 11 days in 1995 after suffering an attack of stage fright. The comic was then starring in a West End play called Cell Mates, which had been badly received by critics. Fry later said that during the time of his disappearance he contemplated suicide and escaped to Belgium, before returning to the UK a week later to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
· John Stonehouse, a former Labour politician, went missing after he faked his own death in 1974 by leaving a pile of his clothes on a beach in Miami. In actuality, he escaped to Australia under the pseudonym of JD Norman to live with his secretary, Sheila Buckley. He was found on Christmas Eve of the same year by Melbourne police, who had received a tip-off that he was Lord Lucan. Stonehouse was eventually sent back to Britain to face a seven-year jail sentence for fraud, theft and deception.
· One of the most famous missing persons stories remains that of Richard Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan. On November 8 1974, the nanny of Lucan's children was found murdered at the family home. Lady Lucan had also been attacked. When the police went to find Lucan at his home, he had disappeared. To this day, he has yet to be found, although there have been claims of sightings around the world.
· The Austrian schoolgirl Natascha Kampusch went missing on March 2 1998 when she was ten years old. Eight years later, she re-emerged, having been kidnapped by IT technician Wolfgang Priklopil and imprisoned in his house during that time. She had managed to escape from him and was later reunited with her parents. Priklopil committed suicide while being chased by police.
Posted by Mispoetic at 00:14 0 comments
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
"WISE CAT"
I said I would do it, and I HAVE! I finally comleted my 'secret project' in the early hours of this morning...a new book, something completely different, but it's done!
"WISE CAT", a fictional tale about a very wise feline, who just like her owners, goes through dramatic changes, and learns some very valuable 'life-lessons'-
Hopefully, this will be the first in a line of series, and each book will just continue to get better on every adventure! So, here is a sneak preview of the cover and the availability details:
Out December 12th, 2007
Published at http://i-proclaim.com/ AVAILABLE NOW! To order from the i-proclaim site you will need a credit card-
I am about to publish again, at lulu.com so stay tuned.......
Posted by Mispoetic at 06:29 0 comments
Sunday, 9 December 2007
Q & A- "The Golden Compass"
Posted by Mispoetic at 16:45 0 comments
Labels: Blogs, christianity, Golden Compass, Opinions, Phillip Pullman, Posts
Friday, 7 December 2007
A PLIGHT FOR OUR POLARS!
Here's a cool idea -- adopt a cute Polar Bear Family, Cub, Group or adorable Mother and Cub! Each is the perfect gift for you or any loved one who cares about saving these beloved bears.
With each $50 symbolic Polar Bear Family Adoption, you or your gift recipient will get a big 13”, super-cuddly polar bear plush toy, a personalized Certificate of Adoption suitable for framing, a beautiful 5”x7” polar bear photo, a fact sheet chock-full of great information about these beloved bears and an optional Kids Wildlife Activity Book to help the kids in your life learn about the importance of wildlife conservation.
Polar Bears are one of the largest carnivores on earth, but their problems are even bigger. Some scientists predict that polar bears could disappear from Alaska and most of their habitat in the next 50 years and become extinct in the wild within 100 years.
Global warming is robbing these Arctic icons of vital marine habitat - the older, stable sea ice they need to survive. Already, polar bears are drowning and even resorting to cannibalism as their home and feeding grounds melt away.
To make matters worse, Big Oil continues to relentlessly lobby Congress to open the Arctic Refuge the most important onshore denning habitat for polar bears -- to destructive oil exploration and drilling.
Help protect these magnificent giants --Adopt a Polar Bear Family today.
Scientists have warned that destruction of habitat is severely impacting the polar bear population. Climate change is causing stable sea ice to disappear, leaving little for denning and hunting. This is resulting in thinner, less healthy adult bears and higher mortality in cubs. Drilling and oil development could cause mother polar bears, disturbed by the noise that comes along with oil drilling, to abandon their dens, leaving their helpless cubs to fend for themselves. A cub’s chance of survival without its mother is almost none.
We need your support to stop Congress from handing the home of polar bears and other wildlife over to Big Oil and pass responsible legislation to address the global warming to reverse the destruction of critical polar bear habitat.
Adopt a Polar Bear Family, Cub, Group or adorable Mother and Cub and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing you are doing your part to help protect polar bears for future generations.
Posted by Mispoetic at 15:39 0 comments
Labels: adoption, advocate, blog, global warming, polar bears, wildlife
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
New Book!
Posted by Mispoetic at 18:49 0 comments
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
I received a lovely little book from a dear friend awhile back, and because it shares real simple words of meaning I have decided that each post, I will try to include something from this little gem! Book title: "An Apple A Day"-Daily inspirations & fruitful living-Karla Dornacher
Hebrews 13:15
Posted by Mispoetic at 05:29 0 comments
Monday, 3 December 2007
WOMEN POWER TALK-RADIO!
You know, God REALLY does work in mysterious AND sneaky ways! lol He just KNOWS when to pick me up and say "Alright debbie...you had a real bad day yesterday, and as much as it pained me to put you through it, I knew TODAY would make up for it!"
Posted by Mispoetic at 14:26 0 comments
Sunday, 2 December 2007
24 Blogging Days!
Posted by Mispoetic at 23:48 3 comments