Ruby Red/Rednesday: New Zealand

The New Zealand Flag.



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Today is a week since our Christchurch city was struck by the earthquake.

Today, at 12.51pm, the nation will observe a 2 minutes silence. The Mayor has asked even traveling vehicles to stop where they are . "The two-minute silence at 12.51pm is really about whatever you are doing, stop ... and we all stand together as one," he said.

It is going to be a very somber feeling as we pause and reflect and think how we are going to move forward.

Addition:

Our principal assembled all 660 students and teachers under our big tree. It was in the mid of our lunch hour. The weather was hot, most of the kids were in the sun. The kids all came early. We were waiting, when a neighbor went hammering. Our principal went to the fence and told him about the 2 minutes silence. He soon stopped.

We started our silence, and a church bell tolled from far away. The kids were very good. We had a few handicap kids on walkers and clutches. Only an aspergers boy remained in the play ground.

The principal thanked the students for giving up part of their lunch hour.

weekend bridge: Time to catch the boat

http://bayphoto.blogspot.com/


Photographed in Hong kong

Winter Conditions in Bird Alley

Its really hard to imagine that soon (I hope ) that I will be able to walk throuh Bird Alley and replenish my bird feeders with bird food. The feeder pole shown above has a feeder attached to it, but who could tell?It was there in the fall. it is buried under the snow!!!! The next picture shows the story of what has happened in Bird Alley. Here you can only see the wire to the bird feeder that is attached to the tree branch. Another story of a 'buried in snow' bird feeder.


This old cast iron water pump, shown above,a marvellous buy at a yard sale for $2.oo is not really used as pump but is standing on a 2x6 for decoration, and it doubles as a bird feeder when I sprinkle bird food in its spout, But Not this winterthough, the snow is too deep to get to it!

This blue house bird feeder above is no longer serving its purpose as a bird feeder ,but doubles as a shelter: for yesterday morning I saw a Tree Swallow sheltering under it I seldom attempt to venture into Bird Alley anymore as you can see from the picture above showing the partially opened gate there is so much snow. Too much!
These feeders in our back yard stand empty too!. Maybe next winter I should invest in a pair of snowshoes, but no, hopefully we don't have another winter that is as snowy as this one has been. I know spring will return for it happens every year? "Please hurry Spring. " I am waiting for you with open arms and have high hopes of greeting and feeding returning birds!

Scenic Sunday: Photos from the TV news in Christchurch

The student army helping with spades and wheel barrows to remove the liquefaction.



Bob Parker, the mayor




Water is liquid gold. people queue for water from tanks.
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2XkufkdHGp017N2tHQsdsx5mM29Q7jud5MJ6GdYVDN6F_hyphenhyphenufOXR2rQQuf_EJLGb0KPFAxNtGXT3yUFKNZN3wACEqpeaBdOEh-jU07whL3KtTyRRyKxg3YVaTQEyffYWe8ojoqFB9PpL/s1600-h/scenic+sunday.jpg">

http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

I did not go out to take photos as it is a black week in New Zealand . Over at the Sunday Stills meme, the challenge is taking photos from the TV. I am posting some of the photos I have taken for that meme.

mostly black grackle for photo hunter

Today's photo hunter theme of 'mostly black ' provoked another memory trip to my photo archives. This is not a current photo , although the Common Grackle is often the first returning migrating bird I see at my feeders in the early spring. Probably 'I will have my first Grackle sighting in March. May it be soon! This photo shows an almost completely black Grackle with a whit tail feather. This is not a usual sighting. What fun it is to scan a large group of birds looking for something diffrtrnt among them. My camera clicks with joy at such a unique find.

For more photos on this weeks theme of "mostly black'' just click on Photo Hunter or you many click on the icon in the side bar. My thanks to tnchick for hosting this site. Happy Photo Hunting to all!

From Glasgow to Saturn Reading Party

What a hoot! It was a big night at the University of Glasgow's Museum of Anatomy, and the crowd was mighty. That's Alan Gillespie, one of the editors of From Glasgow to Saturn, above, and the lady in the funky grey cardigan in the shot below is Sheila Millar, another of the editors.

Louise Welsh was the evening's MC.

Annelise Mackintosh bravely took the first slot, with a beautifully judged piece that centred on the apostrophe. You can discover more about Annelise here: http://www.anneliesemackintosh.com/Anneliese_Mackintosh/Home.html

Annelise was followed by Duncan Muir, a Hebridean poet who had flown down for the event. I can't find a web presence for Duncan, but he says of himself that he 'spent his childhood riding horses on the beach and terrorising small furry animals.' And he read a poem about shells, citing Marianne Moore, so he's more than OK by me.

Duncan was followed by Kirsty Logan, who built an immersing story using different narrators. Kirsty hangs out here: http://www.kirstylogan.com/

And then it was Raymond Soltysek (he's got a BAFTA!), who was bloody brilliant, bloody terrifying and used a lot of bad words. He's here: http://www.soltysek.com/

I rather embarassingly spent the whole evening calling him George. I think his surname made me think of Sir Georg Solti.

I rounded off the event, and was a bit miffed about being so tired and having a headache, but think I did OK. Pretty sure I'm reading Homemaker here, hence the glower.

Issue 20 of From Glasgow to Saturn has just hit the internet. You can find it here: http://glasgowtosaturn.com/currentissue/

I'm pretty sure it's not password protected.

Finally, you may have realised I didn't have my usual photographer with me (Mr T) as all the above shots are pin-sharp and well-composed. So let me just big it up for Joanne Smith, senior admin assistant, office manager and the-one-person-who-knows-everything from Arthritis Care Scotland, for it was she who took the pictures.

Just two more hell weeks to go. Ayr on Monday...

Update: Aha! Mr Soltysek has got his own back on me by completely misspelling my name! His report on the evening is here: http://raymondsoltysek.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/asking-difficult-questions-from-glasgow-to-saturn-reading-party-24211/
which includes an interesting discussion on writing about dark (very dark) matters.

Macro flower Saturday:Clivia

These flowers grow in my school garden. I dedicated this post to Christchurch city which is devastated by a massive earthquake on Tuesday.

My school canceled our annual picnic and next Friday, we will wear Red and black and the students are encouraged to give a donation. Red and Black is the colour of Canterbury which is the region where Christchurch is.

The colour red is usually accepted as the colour of human endeavour, of effort and sacrifice. The colour black is the symbol of the soil. Together the people and the soil make the future of the province. The tight bonding of the red and the black demonstrating the closeness of partnership. Every person who understands the symbolism of the Canterbury Flag adds his or her own contribution to that partnership.



Macro Flower Saturday




http://blueberrycraftandhobbytime.blogspot.com/p/join-my-photo-challenge-flowers-on.html


Clivia (pronounced /ˈklaɪviə/)[1] is a genus of monocot flowering plants native to southern Africa. They are from the family Amaryllidaceae. Common names include Kaffir lily and bush lily.

They are herbaceous evergreen plants, with green, strap-like leaves. Flowers are bell-shaped flowers on a stalk above the foliage, and they are can be any color except blue, black, and brown.[

skywatch Friday: Land of the long white cloud

http://skyley.blogspot.com/

I was teaching my students, another name for New Zealand is the Land of the long white cloud. Hawaiki, the legendary homeland of the Maori peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand, from whence we migrated to this land about 1000 years ago. Where is Hawaiki? Many have speculated that it lies somewhere in the Pacific, somewhere in Polynesia

Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori,
The word can be broken up as: ao = cloud, tea = white and roa = long, and it is therefore usually glossed as "the land of the long white cloud"

watery Wednesday" Ripple

http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

Soil liquefaction describes a phenomenon whereby a soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress, usually earthquake shaking or other rapid loading (force), causing it to behave like a liquid.

This photo is a water ripple, but it looks like the liquefaction in Christchurch that has become a popular word. This is day four, and the tragedy continues. Today, the death toll is 103.

Moving Deer for Thursday Challenge

My photo archives are a source of pleasure and memories. I have a lot of white tailed deer photos and the theme of this week's Thursday Challenge is "movement"; and I knew if I looked through my old photos I would find some photos of a deer photographed in motion. The picture displayed here is one of a male deer running into someone's yard after having crossed the highway. The beautiful set of antlers on this deer was a bonus! Seldom do I see a deer with antlers.

'movement', is this week's photographic theme for Thursday's Challenge. To view more photos posted on this theme, or to join in on the fun yourself, just 'click' on the highlighted name.

Handmade RAK giveaway!!

So Jessie is trying to reach 75 followers and she will be giving away an awesome handmade RAK!! Here is a link to her blog so you can go and become a follower and have a chance to win some amazing goodies! http://littlechicbowtique.blogspot.com/2011/02/so-i-was-not-going-to-do-this-till-1st.html


Here are a few pics just to get you going!

NEW DUSTY ATTIC RETAILER!!

Here is a sneak peak at some of the Dusty Attic goodies---and you can have a chance to win this!




Vicky is going to be selling Dusty Attic and she is also giving away a great giveaway. Here is the link to her blog for a look at all the goodies and also to get the downlow on the dusty attic goodies!! The link for her etsy shop is also below so go by and check it out!! A big congrats to you vicky and good luck on your venture!

http://simplypaperandcreativity.blogspot.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickyalberto

Through A Tunnel, Darkly

It having been a mini-half-term here, Mr T took the small boys off to Fort William for few days adventuring, stopping en route to collect big brother and two of his university pals. They mountain-biked, climbing-walled and, most importantly, skied their socks off (big boys boarded, as that, it appears, is what big boys do now.)

Meals taken on the mountain

Anyway, now they're back I'm off for a few days, sadly not Madeira but Glasgow for work.

However, on Thursday night, between the hours of 5.30 and 7.30 pm, I will be one of the readers at the From Glasgow to Saturn Reading Party.

It's in the Anatomy Museum of Glasgow University, best idea is to bring your own bottle, and the writers appearing will be:

Raymond Soltysek, Duncan Muir, Anneliese Mackintosh, Alan Bissett and me.

For more information and directions, you can go here:

http://glasgowtosaturn.com/
which is exactly the same place that you can find this lovely e-journal, and peruse it at your leisure.

Catch you later, dudes. I'm off to pack.

Ruby Red/rednesday: Breaking news

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http://www.suelovescherries.blogspot.com/

Christchurch had a big earthquake at 12.51pm. My TV is now as I follow the news.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/video-early-pictures-canterbury-quake-2pm-1-59-4038353


I took these photos off the television.

scenic sunday: Taro/yam

On the 15th of the Lunar New Year, the Chinese like to eat yam. I asked my older and wiser siblings if they knew the history to it.

y sister Elizabeth: The Chinese people likes anything fa fa fa. U plant 1 stem of yam it will multiply very fast. Fa sounds like prosperous.

My brother Charles: Becos Yam can be kept for more then 6 months it is important staple food especially if the usual growing season pattern is severely disrupted by unusual seasonal factors

I just like to eat it once in a while, but I don't like preparing it as the sap can make you itch. I don't serve it because the rest of the family don't like it and don't adhere to Chinese values.



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In my Kwong Liang dialect, we call yam HU TOU. We eat them different ways, and there are different types and sizes. We eat the leaves and stems as well.

The Polynesians have some very big ones, and by the time they ship to Auckland, they are very expensive. They also eat their leaves. Often at parties and pot luck dinners, they will bring a big pot of boiled taro with corn beef, or leaves.

During the reunion dinner, I met S & R for the first time. S is a Foochow, E. is a Teo Chew. We started talking about Teo Chew food and the Teochew restaurants I have been. I was describing their famous teo Chew dessert ORH NEE. It's literally a glob or lump of white paste. Everyone just spoons froom the communal dish. S. explains that it is yam made with lard and ginko nuts. It is very sweet and you don't have to chew the paste. It is a dish that you have to get used to. But the Teo Chews like it, because when ever they have a function, they always serve it.

Yesterday, J brought some Yam fritters and some fried NIEN GAO. J sliced the NIEN GAO very thinly and sandwiched it between two thin slices of yam, then put in a batter of glutinious rice flour. This is a New Year goodie. For nostalgic reasons, and knowing how much work has been put into making it, I tried some. I don't normally like NIEN GAO, but I like yam. My friend K. back in Singapore knows this, and gives me raddish/daikon cakes instead.

When I was in primary school, the school tuck shop operator was a Foochow Family. They sold yam cakes or ORH KUEH. They were big slabs and we ate them with chilli sauce. years later, I was in Kuching, where there were mainly Hakkas like the water engineer. The yam cakes were dainty and I voted with my legs.

In my junior secondary school, my teacher Mrs. T taught us beef puffs with a yam pastry. I took some home and everyone liked it. Mum was very smart, and in no time, she learnt to make it. You can eat this at restaurants serving HU KOK during the Dim Sum.

In some restaurant, they have a yam basket. Thin strips of yam are sandwiched between two Chinese sieves, and deep fried. The result is like a basket or bird's nest. Fried veg and morsels of meat are served inside the basket.

Then for a sweet watery dessert, there is the Bobo Chacha. It's a concoction of tiny cubes of yam, sweet potatoes, sago pearls in coconut milk. I don't like this because it is very sweet and the coconut milk makes it very rich.

There is a smallish red yam which comes from China, and they eat it during the Moon cake festival. I first saw them in Singapore.

I actually prefer the yam boiled, and eaten with some salt and a little butter. My Grandpa used to grow them, he also had a smallish ones, but are brown and bigger than the China red ones.

***The yam here is what people in the West call Taro. In South Est Asia, they call it yam***

Another thing mother made was abacus, it was the 1st time I ate it and super nice, it was not like the abacus I see in Singapore. Maybe mother wasn't successful, hers was very spherical, but it was better than the sticky and chewy ones here. It is not easy to find it here, so every time I see it, I buy and I remember mother's. Grace

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