Handy Dandy Lions

The other week, I was walking home and noticed there were a lot of these small cotton-ball like flowers on the ground.  I didn't know what they were called but I have always been fascinated by them because they are really quite pretty.

I took a couple of shots of the flowers as I passed them on the road.

I even noticed one that had little yellow flowers which was somewhat unusual as far as I was concerned.

I remembered that this was the design on the beautiful blue rug in my cousin's living room.

She even had place mats with the same design.

(Check out that beautiful, yummy cake!  Trust me, it was worth the extra calories.)

Then it dawned on me that WE have place mats with this same flower!

We've had our place mats for ages and yet I didn't know what the design on them were called.  

"MyGirl,what are these flowers called?"  I asked MyGirl as we sat at the dining table.

"Dandelions," she replied in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Aren't dandelions yellow?"

"Yes, Mom, but the white flowers are the dandelion seeds," she explained as she googled 'dandelions' to prove that her information was accurate.

She was right.  It's true, the small white flowers are indeed dandelions.

Now I know ... I have been fascinated by dandelions without knowing I was fascinated by dandelions.

Two Fancy Loos

During my travels, I discovered that me and my siblings not only share the same blood type, but we also share the same bladder type.  I could always count on them to say 'I need a bathroom before we go' when I needed to go myself.  So we would make a bee-line to the nearest toilet before proceeding to our next museum or our next destination.  

We visited quite a number of museums.  As expected, aside from checking out the various displays at the museums, we ended up checking out the toilets. Usually the pit stops were purely a matter of going in and out so that we could return  to viewing the exhibits the museums had to offer.  But one particular toilet seemed to be a museum display in itself.  I stopped to take a couple of pictures.

Fancy Loo #1 was found in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. 

Check out those tiles and the window.

This was the logo on the floor outside the toilet.

Having taken some pictures of a fancy toilet, I didn't hesitate to stop and take some photos when I encountered another interesting toilet. It was not the artwork that impressed me, it was the multi-purpose fixture over the sink.  

Fancy Loo #2 was found back in Australia.  

This Dyson Airblade Tap lets out water and air.  

Water to wash your hands and air to dry them.

I should have known the bathroom was fancy the moment I approached it.

The Time Has Come

It came! It came!

Yes I know.  I sound like Sid from Toy Story when the rocket he ordered arrived in the mail.  I can’t help it. I am so excited that the clock I ordered arrived in record time.

It's a dream come true and I honestly did not expect this dream to become a reality.

The dream started when I was a teenager after visiting the house of a family friend in the U.S.  They had a magnificent grandfather clock. The grandfather clock rang on the hour to announce the time. I said to myself, when I grow up, I'd like to have a grandfather clock in my house.  

As the years passed, I realised a grandfather clock was a tad extreme and impractical.  Grandfather clocks are big and heavy, noisy and quite expensive.  So I downgraded my dream to a cuckoo clock.  A cuckoo clock is more practical, I thought.  It is smaller but gets the same job done. I often checked out stores with specialty clocks in the malls while in Manila.  The cuckoo clocks were really quite expensive and once again I pushed the clock dream aside.

When we moved to Australia my clock dreams were somewhat dormant.  Looking for a clock was not something in my mind at all. I was still fascinated with clocks and would often pass by QVB to check out the clocks there.  One of the things I like about work is that our office is located diagonally across Town Hall where the clock in the tower plays the Westminster chime every hour.  Getting to hear the chimes ring always gives me great joy.  

During this last trip to Europe, my clock dream got reignited and redefined when I stayed at my aunt's place.  She has two clocks in the hallway.  There is an old weight driven clock hanging on the wall and a second clock (with the date and day of the week) on the floor.  When I arrived, the clock with the weight on the wall had the wrong time.  I thought it was broken and was being kept for sentimental reasons.  My cousin explained that my aunt was the only one who touches that wall clock.  The next day, I asked my aunt about the wall clock.  "Oh, you just have to pull this one," she said as she moved the weight up and reset the time on the clock.  After that, the wall clock was keeping perfect time and would ring once every hour on the hour while I was there. 

I didn't know such clocks existed.  A clock that rings once every hour...what a concept.  What a beautiful concept!  Obviously I had not done my research. And clearly, I had not really taken my clock dream seriously.  I decided it was high time to change.

My SIL's SIL Sue had found a cuckoo clock at Vinnie's the other year so I knew it was not impossible to find one here in Australia.  I decided since I had managed to keep my expenses down during my  Europe trip, I would check Gumtree and eBay for second hand clocks.  I figured if I didn't actively look for a clock, that dream would never become a reality.  I was certain that I wanted a clock that chimed but did not run on batteries. I was willing to settle for a single chime per hour if the Westminster chime only came in bigger, more expensive clocks.  It could not be too big and heavy because I wanted something that I could put up in one of the existing hooks in  our gypsum board walls.

Needless to say, when I started looking, I discovered there are a lot of chiming clocks available out there.  Unfortunately availability, practicality and affordability seemed to be mutually exclusive.  I wondered if siblings in Europe would be able to find something for me.  Chiming clocks seemed more common in Europe and I knew that both Sunshine and London Eye would be going to Manila before the end of the April.

I checked out numerous ads.  I looked at several sites. I decided on one that I was willing to pursue.  I sent out a message to both Eldest Sis (I thought the company had an office near her) and London Eye (I found the ad in eBay UK).  I asked whether it was feasible for either of them to get the clock for me.  If Eldest Sis got the clock for me, I was willing to wait until we saw each other.  If London Eye ordered it for me, I asked if she could bring it to Manila when she visited so I could get it when I arrived several months later. 

Well, London Eye said she wasn't comfortable packing a clock and she wasn't sure it would arrive if she ordered it for me.  Then Eldest Sis pointed out that the link I had sent indicated the store was in another state but encouraged me to try to get a clock as something that would make me happy. 

Having received that feedback, once again, I was on my own.  But just when I thought my clock dreams were ticking away, the local eBay flashed the clock and once I got the GO-signal from MacGyver, I was on my way to being the new owner of a brand new clock.

We set it up and it chimes beautifully!

Click here to hear the clock chime

Stamped with Love

Happy Birthday, Mother.

P.S. I kept this envelope from a Christmas card sent by 'you can guess who' 

because the stamps were so beautiful. 

Crumble Down

My cousin introduced me to her version of crumble when I went to visit her earlier this month.

She had the beginnings of the crumble in the fridge when I arrived on Thursday 05 April and she seemed to be waiting for the right time to assemble and bake it.  She cut up some apples and pears the next morning and baked the crumble.  We were scheduled to go out after lunch but she asked whether I wanted to have some crumble before we left.  

Have you ever known me to say 'no' to dessert? 

Besides, the crumble was nice and warm, how could I say 'no'?   

Well, after she got the thumbs up for dessert, she posed the question of what I wanted to have with the crumble --my choices were ice cream, yogurt or custard.  I was on vacation so I opted for the adventurous option, I chose custard. I could imagine how ice cream and yogurt would go with crumble, custard would be new to me. Little did I know that custard was the most involved choice because it didn't come out of a tub found in the fridge or freezer.  She had to measure, mix and microwave to get the custard but I must say, it was definitely a good choice.

I have made apple crumble in the past but her version was so much better.  To begin with, hers had way more crumble than what my normal recipe would have, and it was really nice that way. Plus to top it off, literally, when crumble is served with warm custard, it is really a delicious combination.   

She had gotten the recipe from a magazine but because she likes to have more crumble, she had tried different ratios over the years until she found the crumble ratio to her liking plus added almond flakes on top.  (Smart girl!)  Naturally I had to ask for the recipe.  I was sure the family would love her version of crumble as much as I did.

Within the week of my arrival, I introduced this wonderful dessert to the family.  I made half the custard recipe in a feeble attempt to reduce the calorie count of this dessert.  The crumble was gone in two days and there were only four of us at home at the time because GI was still abroad.  

Apple, Pear and Blackberry Crumble (Serves 8)

2 apples (peeled, cored, cut into 3 cm. pieces)
2 pears (peeled, cored, cut into 2 cm. pieces)
3 T sugar
1/2 T lemon juice
170 g blackberries 

Crumble: 

200 g (~ 1 1/2 c)  all purpose flour
90 g  (~ 1 c)         porridge oats*
80 g  (~1/2 c)       brown sugar
120-125 g (~ 1/2 c) butter, chilled and cubed
75 g (~ 1/2 c)       ground almonds
2 t                         cinnamon
1 t                         flaked almonds (opt)
1 T                        demerara sugar ** 

Preheat oven 200 C
Toss apples and pears with sugar, lemon juice, pinch of salt.
Stir through the blackberries.
Scatter in a 1 litre ovenproof bowl or 8 ramekins 

For crumble : Mix flour, oats, sugar, pinch of salt in a bowl.
Using fingers, rub in butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs with a few bigger lumps. (Add 1 or 2 T of water to get additional lumps, if desired.)  Stir through nuts and cinnamon. 

Flatten out fruit as much as possible using back of spoon.
Scatter crumble on top. Sprinkle over demarara sugar (and flaked almonds if using).
Bake until golden brown. 40 minutes for large container or 25-30 minutes for ramekins.
Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with double cream, ice cream or custard, if desired. 

*Or use mix of rolled oats and quick cooking oats**Or use brown sugar if demerara sugar not available 

Custard

(serves 8) 

4 egg yolks
1 T cornflour
1/4 c sugar
600 ml low-fat milk
1 t vanilla extract 

Pour milk into a saucepan and bring to boil
Meanwhile, combine egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in a heatproof bowl and whisk until smooth.
Remove hot milk from the heat and slowly pour milk onto the egg yolk mixture in a steady stream whisking constantly.
Return the mixture to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until thickened.  (If you are able to draw a well-defined line through the custard on the back of the spoon using your finger, then the custard is ready.)
Custard can be refrigerated up to three days.

Lest We Forget

We celebrate ANZAC Day today in Australia.   

Traditionally, sprigs of rosemary are worn on ANZAC Day.  The smell of rosemary is thought to improve the memory and today is a day of remembrance.  Rosemary grows wild on the Gallipoli peninsula where Australia and New Zealand Army Corps landed this day in 1915. 

For a more accurate account of history, this is what the Australian War Memorial Site has on The Anzac Day Tradition:

When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federated nation for only 13 years, and its government was eager to establish a reputation among the nations of the world. When Britain declared war in August 1914 Australia was automatically placed on the side of the Commonwealth. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany.

The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated from the peninsula, with both sides having suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. More than 8,000 Australian soldiers had died in the campaign. Gallipoli had a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who died in the war.

Another symbol of remembrance is the poppy.  For Australians, the poppy is traditionally worn on 11 November, Remembrance Day.  In 2018, 11 November will ward the 100th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War (1914-1918). On the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, a minute of silence is observed and dedicated to the soldiers who died fighting to protect the nation.

During the First World War, red poppies were among the first flowers that grew in the battlefields of northern France and Belgium. Canadian doctor Lt. Col. John McCrae wrote a poem in the spring of 1915 entitled "In Flanders Fields" shortly after losing his young friend and former student Lt. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa (killed on 2 May).  Since then, the poppy has been adopted as a symbol of remembrance

London Eye brought me to the Victoria & Albert Museum last 2 April.  As we were running out of time, she asked me if there was any particular display I had wanted to see before we left.  I asked her to show me the poppies.  During the weekend, as she was showing me around, she had mentioned what had been done in front of the Tower of London in 2014.  The moat was filled with ceramic poppies to represent the number of lives that were lost during the war.  She said that the V&A Museum had purchased 16 poppies to commemorate the 16 V&A staff that had died during WWI. 

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red

July to November 2014 

Sixteen Ceramic Poppies from

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red

(Paul Cummins; Designed 2012; made 2013-2013)

These poppies formed part of a temporary installation at the Tower of London in 2014, marking 100 years since Britain entered the First World War.  Each of the 888,246 flowers comprising the commemoration represented a British or Commonwealth military life lost.  The ceramic artist Paul Cummins drew inspiration for the installation's title and concept from a poem that he discovered by an unknown soldier killed in Flanders.

The poppies were hand-made in Derby, Stoke-on-Trent and Warwickshire under Cummins' direction.  Thousands of volunteers 'planted' them progressively in the Tower's dry moat, in a scheme devised by the stage designer Tom Piper MBE.  Over five million people visited the installation, drawn by the dramatic sea of red, to reflect on the scale of lives lost.  Afterwards, all the poppies were sold and proceeds from their sale were given to Service charities.

Of the vast number who died in the War, 16 were V&A staff.  Their names are recorded in the Cromwell Road entrance on a memorial tablet by sculptor Eric Gill.  The Museum bought 16 poppies, every one subtly different, to honour the sacrifice of each individual.

It Was Wicked!

Wicked was awesome!

No photos allowed during the show.

But we approached the stage after the show.

I took these two photos of the orchestra pit.

I think I see their Oscar awards.

 I got London Eye to take a picture of me against the Oz map backdrop as we were leaving.

Wicked selfie!

(You can tell we enjoyed the show.)

Hamilton was playing around the corner.

But according to London Eye, the tickets to Hamilton were like gold dust.

We were happy with Wicked.  It was the first time for both of us.