YULETIDE

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World.

XIPHOID

xiphoid process | ˈzɪfɔɪd | (also xiphoid cartilage)
noun Anatomy
The cartilaginous section at the lower end of the sternum, which is not attached to any ribs, and gradually ossifies during adult life.
ORIGIN
mid 18th century (as xiphoid cartilage): xiphoid from Greek xiphoeidēs, from xiphos ‘sword’.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
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VEGETARIAN PIE

Vegetarian Pot Pie

Ingredients

2 Tbs. corn flour (=cornstarch)

1 and 1/3 cups prepared creamy potato-leek soup

1/2 tsp. dried crushed rosemary

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

500 g mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, cauliflower, turnip, etc), cubed, parboiled and drained

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

Method

Position oven racks in middle and bottom positions, and preheat oven to 230˚C.

Whisk 2 Tbs. cold water into corn flour in medium saucepan. Whisk in soup, rosemary, and cumin, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, and simmer 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, stir in vegetables, then spread mixture in 23 cm deep-dish pie pan.

Unfold puff pastry, and place over vegetable mixture; allow pastry to drape over pie pan. Trim pastry edges with scissors or sharp knife so that it fits tightly in pan. Prick pastry all over with fork or knife. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until puff pastry is puffed and golden.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the My Corner of the World.

UMBRELLAS

Our weather continues to be extremely variable, vacillating between cold-wetness and hot-dryness. As an example, yesterday we had a maximum of 16˚C and periods of rain and wind, while today we enjoyed a lovely Spring day with a maximum of 27˚C. Umbrellas are an essential item in our city, so bring a few when you visit!

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

TREES

As we are in Australia, Summer brings with it not only the hot weather and fun at the beach, but also the real threat and danger of bushfires. For the past few weeks, devastating bushfires have been burning thousands of hectares of bushland in NSW and Queensland. As the hot and windy weather is now with us in Victoria, bushfires are expected here also.

Not only do we see devastating losses of homes and property, but also loss of life as people struggle to save their homes and livelihoods. There is a profound environmental loss also, with trees, wildlife and natural resources burnt and reduced to ash.

Climate change has been quoted as a major cause of our increased incidence of extensive bushfires, but also there are other causes - and for many of these humans are directly responsible:

  Poor preparation for the fire season with lack of back-burning and land clearing in forests;

  Building of homes too close to bushland; 

  Electric power lines in direct contact with trees; 

  Careless behaviour involving fire - cigarettes, campfires, power tools, etc;

  And the most reprehensible of all, arson!

Trees are a valuable resource and we depend on them for not only wood and other products, but also more importantly perhaps, as the conditioners of our atmosphere, our oxygen producers and removers of carbon dioxide. Without trees, our planet is doomed. It is up to us to save our trees, our planet, our lives and the lives of our children.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

QUOTIENT

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
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PAINT POUR ART

The last few years, a new form of abstract art has developed. This is a rather heuristic and serendipitous form of art where acrylic paints are mixed with a fluid medium, a few drops of silicone oil are added, the mixed paints are layered in a beaker and then poured on a canvas. The canvas is tilted so that it is completely covered by the paint and the painting is heated with a butane torch so that the silicone oil droplets laden with paint come to the top forming multi-coloured "cells".

Although one may try one's best to control the process, it is largely a matter of chance what patterns develop and how the paints interact and mix with one another. Until I tried it for myself I discounted it as a mechanistic and "easy" way to make art. However, as is often the case, trying my hand at it convinced me that there was indeed skill involved and the choice of colours, the mixing of paint, and close control of a number of variables that one can control, made the difference between a pleasing end-result or the formation of a picture seemingly besmirched with mud.

You may see a paint pour artist at work in this link. It is a fellow Australian, Julie Cutts, who lives in Queensland and produces excellent instructional videos on how she makes her paint pour art.

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and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

NATURE

It's Spring and the perfect time of the year to find time to stop and seek out a serene spot where one can find a little wilderness in order to admire the wonders of nature awaking from her Winter sleep. Here in the Darebin Parklands in suburban Melbourne, Australia, the Darebin Creek winds it way through 40 hectares of urban bushland, between the suburbs of Ivanhoe and Alphington.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

MACHINE

Machine | məˈʃiːn | noun:

An apparatus using mechanical power and having several parts, each with a definite function and together performing a particular task: A complex machine with many small moving parts is difficult to fix if it breaks down.

Etymology: Mid-16th century (originally denoting a structure): From French, via Latin from Doric Greek makhana (Greek mēkhanē, from mēkhos ‘contrivance’).

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MELBOURNE MUSEUM

Melbourne Museum is adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building. It was designed by Denton Corker Marshall Architects and finished construction in 2001. It was commissioned by the Victorian Government Office of Major Projects on behalf of Museums Victoria. The museum is a rich response to Melbourne’s urban condition, and provides a place for education, history, culture and society to engage with each other in a contemporary setting. It is now an important part of Melbourne’s soft infrastructure.It is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere, and is a venue of Museum Victoria, which also operates the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks Museum.

The museum has seven main galleries, a Children's Gallery and a temporary exhibit gallery on three levels, Upper, Ground and Lower Level and was constructed by Baulderstone Hornibrook.The Touring Hall is where temporary exhibits are displayed. Past exhibits include mummies from Egypt and dinosaurs from China. The Big Box is part of the Children's Gallery. In addition, the museum has other facilities such as the Sidney Myer Amphitheatre and The Age Theatre. The Discovery Centre, on the Lower Level, is a free public research centre. The museum also has a cafe and a souvenir shop.The IMAX Theatre, which is situated on the Lower Level is also part of the museum complex. It shows movies, usually documentary films, in 3-D format.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

LIBRARY

The State Library of Victoria is the central library of the state of Victoria, Australia, located in Melbourne. It is on the block bounded by Swanston, La Trobe, Russell, and Little Lonsdale streets, in the northern centre of the central business district. The library holds over 2 million books and 16,000 serials, including the diaries of the city's founders, John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, and the folios of Captain James Cook, R.N.. It also houses the original armour of Ned Kelly.

In 1853, the decision to build a state library was made at the instigation of Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe and Mr Justice Redmond Barry, Q.C. (Sir Redmond from 1860). A competition was held to decide who would design the new building; local architect Joseph Reed, who later designed the Melbourne Town Hall, Ormond College and the Royal Exhibition Building, won the commission. On 3 July 1854, the recently inaugurated Governor Sir Charles Hotham laid the foundation stone of both the new library and the University of Melbourne. The library opened in 1856, with a collection of 3,800 books chosen by Mr Justice Barry, the President of Trustees. Augustus H. Tulk, the first librarian, was appointed three months after the opening.

The library underwent major refurbishments between 1990 and 2004, designed by architects Ancher Mortlock & Woolley. The project cost approximately A$200 million. The reading room closed in 1999 to allow for renovation, during which natural light was returned. The renamed La Trobe Reading Room reopened in 2003. The Library’s vast collection dates back to 1854 and includes material on almost every subject you can think of, with a special focus on material from Victoria. From art, children’s books, war and family history to film, business and industry, and Australian history, there is plenty for curious browsers and serious researchers alike.

While most people know about the Library's extensive book collections, there's plenty to surprise in other historical collections, which date back to 1854. They include more than 350,000 photographs, personal manuscripts & diaries, maps, old magazines & journals, newspapers, comics, and even old advertising and theatre programs. There is also an eclectic array of textiles and personal items.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

KITES OF KOULOUMA

Kathara Deftera is an important public holiday in Greece. It is the first day of the forty day fasting period before Easter that starts immediately after the carnival. It is called this way to indicate spiritual and physical cleansing and refers to Jesus Christ fasting for forty days in the wilderness. Katharà or Katharòs means ‘clean’ in Greek. The day of Clean Monday is sometimes called “Ash Monday,” by analogy to “Ash Wednesday,” the day during which Lent in western Christianity begins.

On Clean Monday, many Greeks travel to the countryside to fly a kite and to enjoy a picnic meal together. You can see kites everywhere on Clean Monday, they symbolize the spirit flying to heaven. The Greeks call this exodus to the countryside Koulouma. Families and friends meet and everyone will bring fasting foods and drinks. Wine is very popular on this occasion and there will often be singing and dancing. Clean Monday, however, is not only associated with eating permitted fasting food, it is also considered to mark the beginning of the spring season, the kite flying is also part of this tradition.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

JEWEL BUG

Jewel Bugs (Family Scutelleridae) have broad rounded bodies with an undivided shield covering the whole abdomen. Jewel bugs get their common name from their bright colours. Jewel Bugs have the scutellum expanded to cover the whole abdomen and both pairs of wings, leading to their other common name, Shield-backed Bugs.

Australian jewel bugs suck plant sap and feed on a broad range of seeds, either while they are still attached to the plant, or after they have fallen to the ground. In Australia, some are known as Harlequin Bugs, a common name used for several other sorts of bugs elsewhere in the world. There are 25 Australian species of jewel bugs in the Family Scutelleridae. 

The Hibiscus Harlequin Bug, Tectocoris diophthalmus, sucks sap from hibiscus plants, bottle trees and related species. Its main foodplant is the native Beach Hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus). It is also a minor pest of cultivated cotton, a member of the hibiscus family Malvaceae, leading to its other common name, the Cotton Harlequin Bug. In our garden it was feeding on a native hibiscus bush.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

ILLUSTRATION

An interesting, illustrated book is ideal for infants learning their ABC... Especially if accompanied by ice-cream!

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

HANDMADE

A handmade embroidery family heirloom made using traditional folk designs.

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GRAVEYARD

The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large necropolis located 2 km north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North.  The cemetery was opened on 1 June 1853, and the Old Melbourne Cemetery (on the site of what is now the Queen Victoria Market) was closed the next year.  The Melbourne Cemetery has much history and home to more than half a million stories.  This cemetery is full of fiery preachers, con men, courageous women, scandals, disasters and joyous occasions. Musicians, actors, scientists and ordinary people who have helped make Melbourne the metropolis it is now. The grey tones of this photo seem to suit the mood of the graveyard...

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FIRE

Making a fire by a campsite provides flames for a cheery sight as night falls. Then it's time for some fireside tales by the warmth and flickering flame light... Be sure to put the fire out afterwards as the fiery friend can become a fiendish foe that can devastate a whole forest!

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

EVENING FALLS

Melbourne Docklands is a waterfront development in the heart of Melbourne, located on the spectacular Victoria Harbour with three kilometres of Yarra River frontage. With extensive waterfront promenades, urban art, interesting architecture, historic and contemporary buildings, state-of-the-art marinas, stylish waterfront restaurants, cosy bars and active waterways, Docklands has plenty to offer.

The views on the water include, as well as the numerous leisure craft, the Bolte Bridge, which is a large twin cantilever bridge. It spans the Yarra River and Victoria Harbour in the Docklands precinct to the west of the Melbourne CBD. It forms part of the CityLink system of toll roads that connects the Tullamarine Freeway from the northern suburbs with the West Gate Freeway and the Domain and Burnley tunnels to the Monash Freeway and the south eastern suburbs.

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DEGAS' DANCER

Edgar Degas The little fourteen-year-old dancer (La Petite danseuse de 14 ans) 1879–81, cast 1922–37 bronze with cotton skirt and satin ribbon 99.0 x 35.2 x 24.5 cm Czestochowski/Pingeot 73 (cast unlettered) Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Assis Chateaubriand Donated by Alberto José Alves, Alberto Alves Filho and Alcino Ribeiro de Lima (426 E)

This is a sculpture by the French impressionist master Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917), which is in the permanent collection of the NGV in Melbourne. In 2016 The NGV held a fantastic exhibition of works by this artist and it was a fantastic experience seeing some of his magnificent works again.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
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CITY

The City of Melbourne viewed from the Darebin Parklands, about 7 km away. This nature reserve in the middle of the metropolitan area provides a valuable asset for city-dwellers who can leave the hustle and bustle of the urban environment behind and relax in a piece of countryside right in the middle of the city.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.