• About
  • Archives
  • Bread/Baked Goods
    • Almond Cake (made with xylitol)
    • Almond Cake (Tarta de Santiago)
    • Ardys’s Sourdough Spelt Bread (overnight method)
    • B & B Mug Muffin
    • Bread and Butter Pudding
    • Buckwheat Pikelets (pancakes)
    • Donna’s White Fruitcake
    • Flourless Chocolate Cake
    • Gluten Free Currant Scones
    • Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Grain-Free Granola (my version)
    • Grain-free, French-style Apple Cake
    • Grain-free, Italian Pear Cake (Torta di Pere)
    • Hot Cross Scones (grain free)
    • Mug Muffin (grain free)
    • My Revised Sourdough (Winter)
    • Nut and Cinnamon Baked Muesli (granola)
    • Pumpkin bars
    • Super Single Muffin
    • Toasted Almond Muesli
  • Favourite Quotations
  • Food
    • Almond Milk
    • Babaghanouj (grilled eggplant, Turkish style)
    • Beef Cheeks Ragu
    • Beef Jerky
    • BLT Salad (with green dressing)
    • Brussels Sprouts with almonds and currants
    • Carrot Cake Style Bites
    • Cashew Milk
    • Cauliflower Cheese and Ham
    • Chicken Breasts with Rosemary
    • Chicken Liver Paté (*adapted from taste.com.au)
    • Chicken Salad
    • Chocolate Pud
    • Cold Brew Coffee
    • Cucumber, Corn, Coconut + Peanut Salad
    • Dukkha
    • Gado Gado (adapted from Charmaine Solomon)
    • Grain-free grilled cheese
    • Green Dressing
    • Grilled Eggplant Strips
    • Grilled Salmon
    • Homemade Ketchup/BBQ sauce
    • Kale with Chilli and Garlic
    • Layered Vegetables with cream
    • My Best Pulled Pork
    • My Pulled Pork (using Romertopf clay baking dish)*
    • Not-Nonna’s Meatballs
    • Pappa al Pomodoro
    • Pasta e Fagioli with Escarole
    • Pickled Eggs and Beets
    • Pumpkin Pie Frappé
    • Ricotta – homemade
    • SANE-eats
    • Slow Cooked Beef Ribs
    • Stuffed Mushrooms
    • Summer Minestrone
    • Taco Salad
    • Turkey/Chicken and Cheese Salad
    • Vietnamese style salad and Dressing
  • Instagram photos
  • Travel Photos

ardysez

~ surrender to yourself

ardysez

Category Archives: Uncategorized

land of the long white cloud…

28 Saturday Apr 2018

Posted by Ardys in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

The weather is straight out of Antarctica today. The rain has pelted down all night and the wind whistles every now and then, just to let you know it is there too! We are in Haast on the southwestern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. If we were at home on a day like this I would make soup and we would hunker down in the warm house. But we need to get some breakfast at the nearby restaurant and be on our way in a while. We had hoped to visit several waterfalls along the road to Queenstown today but that is looking less likely in the pouring rain. Apparently this is normal weather for here. You don’t get all this beautiful temperate rain forest without a lot of rain. In fact this area’s annual rainfall ranges between 1500mm (5 feet) and 8000mm (26 feet). We are supposedly here during the more ‘stable’ time of the year, too!

I’m not much of a travel blogger, so I thought I’d just share with you a few of the highlights during the first third of our trip. Sadly, New Zealand is another good example of how humans have screwed up a perfectly wonderful environment and ecosystem. New Zealand was the last major land mass to be settled by humans, the Maori people, about a thousand years ago. The Maoris brought with them cats and dogs. As white inhabitants settled, thanks to Captain Cook’s multiple visits in the mid to late 1700’s, further devastation happened to the old growth forest covering the islands. The sea animals, especially eels, were fished to near completion and many birds are now extinct. The national bird, the Kiwi is almost extinct but there are a number of programs including reestablishing the habitats, that are ongoing.

We took a cruise up north in the Marlborough Sound that was named ‘the mail run’ in Queen Charlotte Sound. It was so named because it is the run that delivers the mail to the inhabitants living in remote parts of the bay, only accessible by boat. At each stop the resident came to meet the boat, usually with a dog in tow and often a few children who waved at us. The Captain had special dog biscuits with him and don’t you think the dogs didn’t know it! They waited, tails wagging, for their treats. Fun for the dogs and good entertainment for the punters!

An important stop on the 4.5 hour cruise, was a place called Ship Cove. This was the exact place where Captain Cook stopped a documented five times on his explorations of this part of the world. Whatever else he was, Cook was a great navigator. To have found this idyllic, protected cove once would have been a good thing, but to be able to find it again, four more times, is nothing more than genius. This area is blessed with ‘old growth’ vegetation and is so dense you can hardly imagine it being much different in Cook’s time. The sound of birds was quite pronounced, and a few Weka came to see if anyone would feed them, and a very cute, wren-like Fantail flitted around me at one stage until I thought it might even land on me! Both birds are natives. But it was on our return trip back to the port of Picton, when we encountered a large pod of bottle nose Dolphins. In this part of New Zealand the dolphins commonly reach a size of four metres, about 13 feet. They were not at all perturbed by our presence and the captain hovered in the area for probably 10 minutes until the pod had passed and swam into the distance. It was truly a memorable experience…all of it.

Much of the original native vegetation has been encouraged to regenerate and one can now drive along for kilometres on roads lined with gorgeous ferns and native trees. One stretch of road on the drive between our overnight destination of Haast, and Jackson Bay, the southernmost settlement on the Southwest Coast of the South Island, was certainly one of the prettiest drives I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately we couldn’t stop at the section of the drive that was the best, but just near it we stopped and I took a photo so you can have an idea.

At Jackson Bay, there looked to be about six houses. Some enterprising person had brought in a little diner style demountable, painted bright pink and named it the Cray Pot. The rain was teaming down and no place to pull over so I couldn’t get a photo, but imagine the most crisply new and brightly coloured little rectangle overlooking the turbulent sea, and surrounded by the accoutrement of a tiny fishing village, and several very modest homes. The lights were on and it looked quite cheerful and I’m sure it is a favourite place for the locals and also a welcome sight to those who have ventured all the way to that remote point and want a place to stop. Here are a couple of photos taken from the car, looking at the tiny village an its jetty, and also looking out to sea from about where the ‘main street’ of the village would be.

This blog writing from an iPad is less than satisfying and more into cumbersome, possibly due to user ignorance, so I will not try your patience further on this post. I’ll see if I can refine some technique for future mobile postings. The bottom line is, New Zealand is amazing!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

The blossoming.

23 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by Ardys in Uncategorized

≈ 26 Comments

IMG_6940“Progress is incremental for us, both as individual creative beings and together as a society and civilisation. The flower doesn’t go from bud to blossom in one spritely burst. It’s just that culturally, we are not interested in the tedium of the blossoming.”  —Debbie Millman

 

I thought you might like to know how my break, and my blossoming is going. The break has gone fast, the blossoming a bit more slowly.

A few people have asked if I missed writing the blog…well yes, and no. I’ve missed expressing myself with words. And I missed touching base with you, though I have managed to keep up with some of you by other means. I realised, when I was considering taking a break, it felt like I needed to just live my life for a while without looking for stories or wisdom about which to write. It is the old story of the well running dry.

A week or two ago I was listening to a podcast and heard:

You can’t connect the dots by looking forward, only by looking back.

That made sense to me. So, I began connecting some dots. And then within a day or two I read something Joseph Campbell wrote:

If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.

Do you see that these quotations speak to the opposite ends of the spectrum–the getting of the wisdom, and the invocation of wisdom as we seek our way? Or maybe you see it differently–do tell me!

So I have been reading and listening and walking, cooking, painting, photographing, traveling, learning and yes, even a small amount of writing. I have been filling up my vessel with life. Whenever you wonder where your wisdom or ideas come from, allow life to wash over you and seep into your being. The seeping is important. Seeping takes time.

One day, six months ago, a friend had received a bouquet of tulips the day before she had to go away. She wouldn’t be able to enjoy them so she asked if I would like them. The light that shone on and through the tulips in subsequent days was beautiful. I couldn’t resist photographing it. At first the petals grew more translucent and opened wide, then little by little, petal by petal, they began to deteriorate and fall away. Still the light shone each day and I gave myself over to photographing their demise. It wasn’t tedious, it was beautiful. It was life.

Author, William Gibson, has a succinctly descriptive term, “personal micro-culture”, by which he means all the things you surround yourself with—people, books, and any kind of ideological input.

So this has been part of my personal micro-culture, the nourishment for my blossoming. I have returned to blog again and share thoughts with you, and hope you will share your thoughts with me too.

xx Ardys

IMG_7202
IMG_7067
IMG_7146
IMG_7090

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

the murky truth…

29 Sunday Jan 2017

Posted by Ardys in Life, Uncategorized

≈ 41 Comments

Tags

blogging, clouds, truth

todd-river-clouds

clouds reflected in the receding Todd River

I took this photo earlier this week. It is the clouds, reflected in the Todd River, after the last lot of rain had stopped. Well, nearly–we had a little shower again yesterday morning despite my phone app insisting all was ‘clear’ and there was ‘0%’ chance of rain. Meh.

As I was studying the photo, I realised that its reflection was mirroring my own, ongoing lack of clarity. Often when we are about to burst forth into a new skin, things can be cloudy…lack focus. Sometimes, I have noticed, I need to leave one thing behind before the new one makes itself known. Step off the precipice and see what rises to meet me.

This is not a sudden decision, it has been rolling around in my mind for months, but the time seems right to take action. I have loved blogging for the last five and a half years, and am so appreciative to those of you who have read, liked or commented. Having never taken an extended break, now, with things seeming a bit murky, the time seems right. In approaching this decision I tried to think which would make more sense to you, to just drift away, or to tell you that I’m taking an extended break. So now you know what I have decided to do.

Be well.

xx Ardys

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

please watch this…

12 Saturday Nov 2016

Posted by Ardys in Recommendations, Uncategorized

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

sociology, TEDtalks, Wisdom

Many of you probably already subscribe to or watch TED talks and you may have seen this one. It is informative and uplifting, without being judgemental. If you want to understand, this 20 minute interview is a good place to start.

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

a frosty few words…

01 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by Ardys in nature, photography, Uncategorized

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

Alice Springs, nature, photography

IMG_9406As you may recall I wrote about the hail storm we had a couple of weeks ago. I have been busy with insurance claims and organising repairs but all in all things are going well. This week we had another ‘ice event’ that was just too much fun to photograph, to be missed. The frost did some damage but not quite as bad as the black frost we had last winter. However, it must be said, between what the grasshoppers ravaged and the hail shredded, the frost has furthered the case for bulldozing everything and starting over. Our corner of town is looking very sorry for itself at the moment.

Still. There is beauty to be found.

frost-droplet-grass

That moment between ice and droplets

The morning the frost was heaviest, the temp was 2C (35.6F). That was the morning I took most of these photos and when most of my toes were lost to all feeling. They have regained it, thankfully. One of the few difficulties taking photos with the iPhone is the ‘touch screen’. It doesn’t like cold digits nor ones appropriately garbed in gloves. However we persisted, with the occasional ‘sotto voce’ epithet disappearing as ice crystals into the atmosphere.

Here you are, epithet free, my version of frost in the arid lands of Alice.

IMG_9370
IMG_9393
IMG_9389
IMG_9345
IMG_9357
IMG_9360
IMG_9365

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

the gift…

14 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by Ardys in Uncategorized

≈ 18 Comments

One evening I was at the kitchen sink, cutting up veggies for dinner. The window in this part of the kitchen faces mostly southeast. Aware of the golden light shafts coming into the kitchen from behind me, I turned, looking over my shoulder to the northwest which is the position of the setting sun this time of year. After a very cloudy couple of days, it was especially glorious. But my eyes found a few whiskers of grass, rimmed with golden light and I dried my hands and ran for the iPhone. The grass was probably 12 metres outside of the door. When I returned, I showed my bemused husband what I was photographing. He said “How did you see that from across the kitchen with your back turned?” I replied, jokingly, “It’s my gift.” And later I realised, it really is one of my gifts. That is why I am a Light Chaser. I have to be, to share my gift.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

seeing more clearly

20 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by Ardys in Family, Life, Uncategorized

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

family, life, Travel

It is raining steadily today, having transformed from tiny ice crystals trying to decide whether or not to be snow. It is the last official day of Winter in Ohio, but of course Mother Nature is in charge, so the nasty stuff seems committed to the final hour just after midnight tonight! Robins hop along looking for good nesting material, geese are pairing off and the weather suits the ducks and their frisky pursuits without bother. While the earth is being reborn, the life who gave me life, and has been the repository of family love and knowledge is slipping away.

image

Fine weather for ducks

Every trip we have ever made to the Southern Ohio region, since growing up here and leaving it, has been important to us. But none more so than this trip. On our way here a couple of weeks ago, I checked email messages just as we arrived in Melbourne, Australia. There was word from my brother that Mum had been taken to hospital in an unresponsive state but had regained consciousness. It was with that limited information we departed for the USA the following morning. I knew there was nothing more I could do; we were getting there as fast as was possible. Still, I didn’t sleep a wink on the 14 hour flight, plus another 12 hours before arriving at 10pm that night at our destination. An update in LA told us she was awake, but even after a battery of tests the hospital staff was uncertain of the cause. She had two more episodes in hospital, nearly ‘coding’ and with the electric paddles and cart at bedside, ready.

imageWhen we arrived at the hospital they were prepping her for surgery to insert a pacemaker. There was SO much factual as well as contradictory information for us to absorb. I was the only child/next of kin present when the surgeon asked if we knew her medical history. I knew she had not had a history of this kind of thing but I had not seen her since early November and emails and video chats do not carry this kind of information. Things can change. I try to keep up but there is nothing like being there to inform a person. At least I knew who had the answers and could direct the surgeon to my niece who is a nurse and has good knowledge of Mum’s medical history. Eventually we were able to stop the procedure but not before Mum was on the table, draped for surgery! The surgeon, and we, thought it likely that the medicine she had been prescribed after a stent procedure in early January, was probably the cause of the episodes.

We brought her home to the assisted living apartment where she lives and began to try and unravel the cause of a variety of problems ranging from miscommunication between emergency crew to family response. It was so confusing. Every day there was a new piece of the puzzle to fit into the picture, and most days a new complication as well.

Home again with great grandson

Home again with great grandson

Finally we established the cause of most of the issues. It was a small piece of paper called the File of Life that hangs on Mum’s fridge, in case of emergency. It had not been updated in nearly 4 years! So, in her unconscious state, incorrect information was given to the hospital, which was not even the hospital from where her heart specialist works. Incorrect facts layered upon misunderstandings. The situation surely could have gone a devastating way very easily. That dated piece of paper could have been the File of Death.

Despite our best efforts, we have all learned we must be more vigilant and proactive. Mum is not able to advocate for herself any longer. It is a shock and a steep learning curve when these things happen, but they happen to most of us in one form or another. It is obvious to me we were meant to be here exactly when we arrived, and doing exactly as we have done. I can see clearly now, the rain is gone… even if I can’t see all the obstacles in the way.

Ornamental tree in blossom
Ornamental tree in blossom
Early sign of Spring
Early sign of Spring
Robin feather
Robin feather

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

what is your superpower?

13 Thursday Aug 2015

Posted by Ardys in Uncategorized

≈ 25 Comments

Do you ever feel a bit ‘shrill’? Like you are saying everything with capital letters and exclamation points? Okay, it’s just me then. That is how I feel at the moment, and whenever I need to chill out a bit. Last week, amidst credit card debacle and setting up my new groovy, amazing computer, someone asked me for 30 pieces of my jewellery for their Christmas Boutique. I said ‘yes’. Now, why did I do that? It’s complicated. I knew the pain of credit card replacement would be like a bandaid ripped off quickly, and soon be over. I was pretty sure the computer transition would be mostly short-lived as well. And I have five perfectly good weeks before our next trip, so why not drag the jewellery makings out of storage and have one more go. I’ve been on a break for over a year, and wasn’t sure I’d ever go back, but after 20 years of on and off making jewellery, it seemed likely that I would go back. It’s a darn shame not to because I’d finally reached a point of having a ‘style’ and finally had all the beads and findings a person could need, so why not take advantage of that enviable situation? I’ll tell you why not… because maybe it was the journey to get here that was what I needed/wanted. Maybe. I can’t be sure yet. So I’m making jewellery again, for five weeks. It takes about 5hrs for each necklace. Each one is slightly different, but the style is the same, so they require individual attention. If they didn’t I wouldn’t be doing it at all. I can’t bear repetitive activity. It is mind numbing.

Photo edited in Waterlogue app, recent necklace creation

Photo edited in Waterlogue app, recent necklace creation

So. Now I’m taking a new photo every day for the 365photochallenge, I’m making jewellery, and also writing a blog, as well as my normal home duties. And today I have to take time out to see the doctor at the eye clinic about the glaucoma I’ve had for a couple of years. One of the luxuries of later life and not having to go to work each day is that I try to minimise my scheduled activities. That is, I try to allow myself plenty of ‘play time’. I’m still learning what that looks like–what constitutes play and what feels more like work; what time each thing needs, too.

In a couple of posts from other bloggers I have recently seen references to their ‘superpower’. The thing that they do better than anything else. One of them said her superpower was knowing when to step back and recharge/relax. Oh that that was my superpower! But it got me to thinking. What is my superpower? It could be very useful to know, especially if it is something I’m unaware of and could use to better advantage.

gum leaf with sliver cabochon droplets of moisture

gum leaf with sliver cabochon droplets of moisture

The other evening I looked at my husband and asked “What do you think my superpower is”? He mockingly looked at me (he’s used to my weird questions) with his unblinking eyes wide open, as if after 32 years I was about to reveal that I had x-ray vision. So I had to explain that I was asking him what he thinks is the thing I do best. It turns out, what I think I do best is not exactly the same as his response, but it’s not that far off, either. I was expecting some surprising revelation, but our evaluations were actually pretty close.

So, his answer was that he felt the consistent style for everything I do in life was my superpower. He went on to explain he felt I applied a similar approach to my creative endeavours, home duties, friendships, etc. Well, that’s a pretty nice thing, unless of course you are terrible at all those things, which I might be, but at least he doesn’t seem to think so! It implies integrity, I think. Not so much the ‘high moral’ ground kind, but the kind of structural integrity a good building needs to have.

Still, there is the question of what do I think is my superpower? Where is my superwoman vision beneath the geeky glasses? For a long time I have harboured the thought that ‘lateral thinking’ is a secret, superpower of mine. I remember being in Art School when the term was first bandied about. Supposedly it was first used in its modern way by Edward de Bono in 1967. It refers to creative thinking, or thoughts, that do not take traditional logic, step by step. It is a sideways (lateral) train of thought, rather than a linear one following a more predictable path.

Photo of some of my favourite things edited using Waterlogue app.

Photo of some of my favourite things edited using Waterlogue app.

It seems to me this way of looking at the world is in alignment with the consistency of style my husband was talking about. It’s about being deeply in touch with one’s inner self and having the confidence to follow one’s intuition, to trust the outcome. Inside my head, lateral thinking also has a lot to do with how easily a person can let go of what one has been taught, or suggested should work, in favour of trying one’s own solution. There’s a fine line between doing as you are told and veering slightly one way or the other to see if another way is better for you. Even moving to Australia was probably one of those things for me. I’d lived in several places in the USA and none of them quite resonated with my inner self the way I felt it needed to.

What will you do with your one wild and precious life? –Mary Oliver

“I will not bang my head against the proverbial brick wall.”–ardysez

So, if you are waiting for me to reveal to you that my superpower is brain surgery or playing polo, you will be disappointed. I’m just good at figuring things out in a sort of non-linear way. And as life skills go, I’ll gladly accept this one. And I’ll work at the relaxing thing.

Feeling quieter, a little less shrill now. Thank you.

What is your superpower? I’d love you to share in the comments below.

corkwood-tree

Silver ‘painted’ Corkwood Tree in late afternoon light.

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

O to be Organised

23 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by Ardys in Inspiration, photography, Uncategorized

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

files, inspiration, old photos, oranisation, photography

How does one stay motivated to be organised? I’ve been asking that question for a few years now. I am managing to keep a fairly orderly life, but only just. Years ago I was an organisational tsunami.  But lately I have realised I need to start simplifying my life, especially the things we have stored in cupboards. From time to time, I still have moments of clarity as with my kitchen drawers:

spices...

spices…

plastic storage...

plastic storage…

knives...

knives…

Okay. So I seem a bit OCD.

That all happened three and a half years ago with the kitchen renovation. Since then they have worked perfectly and stayed completely organised and easy, and I can see that I need the rest of the house to work as well as that. It’s easier than wasting time looking for things, or having to move clutter when dusting.  And I’m lazy.  I like easy.

IMG_8922I’ve chosen to start with my print photo collection. It was out of control. The digital photos are somewhat organised, the old print photos accumulated from family and friends over a period of 20 years… that is another story.  They occupy two shoe boxes, multiple envelopes and an RM Williams boot box.  They do not take up a vast amount of space in the grand scheme of things, but they are valuable, and they are useless in their current state. I think micro changes are the most difficult to organise for, and why a person loses track.  You wake up and look at a very cluttered shelf or table top one morning and think ‘God, how did that happen?’

My very smart husband told me a few months ago, if ever you decide to file or organise the photos (I was complaining I couldn’t find a particular photo, I think…) do it by years.  Based on his extensive study, using library resources, he says people usually remember things based on a timeline. Brilliant.

laundry reno... so far

laundry reno… so far

I determined while the laundry renovations were proceeding would be a good time to work on this project.  I have a ‘thing’ about having workmen in the house… I don’t leave them unsupervised for long periods of time.  Even when they are jack-hammering…much as I would love to escape. This house has too many nasty surprises. Renovation work on an owner/builder house –for which you were not the owner/builder– is too full of idiosyncrasies for comfort. (Check back, about a week from now, when the project should be finished)

So I ‘hang’… which is different than ‘hover’.  I appear to be busy while they are appearing to be busy… a skill I perfected when our daughter was a teen, and was temporarily replaced by an alien being, and wanted nothing to do with me.  One keeps one’s ears wide open, even if one’s face is directed elsewhere!

Where did I get the inspiration to get organised? Partly out of necessity, but the following two links helped as well, if you are interested. (http://bemorewithless.com/archives/ and http://www.oprah.com/home/Declutter-Tips-Organizing-Strategies ). While the workers are using their phones, talking about what to do, having morning tea, and, oh yes, working… I am sorting photos and making files. At first I sorted about a third of the photos just to see how it went. What I had, was a surprise.  Most of the photos were taken in certain years and there were a few years with almost no photos. So I decided to label the files in five-year increments.  There may eventually have to have sub-files, as there are a lot of photos for some years.

While my husband was correct about how people normally think of events, he did not account for the fact that at least half the photos have no years or dates on them. Ugh.  I have newly developed love for dates and labels on photos, and new skills for estimating those without dates…based on hairstyles (especially my own), or, the shoulder pad situation. But beyond that, a five year spread in the file means I have five chances to approximate the year correctly.  This will, hopefully, make things easier to find … when I am searching for photos to blog for you.

I will close with this 50 year old, poor quality polaroid photo I have discovered. My two brothers happily running arm in arm. What treasure.L&S running

-Ardys

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Let’s play, spot the glasses.

19 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by Ardys in Life, Uncategorized

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Goddess of small lost things, lost and found, lost glasses

Let's play, spot the glasses.

Let’s play, spot the glasses.

My friend Joanna is the Goddess of small lost things. I am her understudy. Last Spring when I was doing some gardening I lost my glasses.  I didn’t miss them until I came back inside, so had no idea in which part of the garden I’d lost them. They were not my good glasses, just a pair of magnifying glasses I take travelling with me, in case my good glasses are broken or lost, which they were (broken) on a trip last year. But I like them, and I wanted them back!

My husband walks to his desk at the Uni every day, mostly to work in a bit of exercise to his daily routine, but also to leave the car for me since I’m the one who does most of the shopping and errands.

This morning, about fifteen minutes after he left, he returned.  His glasses were missing from his face! He looked genuinely bewildered and told me the following… ‘The flies and honey bees were particularly bad along the footpath where a bush is in blossom. I raised my hand to shoo them away and hit my glasses and knocked them off my face and into the grass, or somewhere, and I can’t find them.  A lady who was passing by tried to help me and neither of us could find them.’

I quickly ate my last few bites of breakfast and said I would go back with him to look.  His glasses are very expensive, and this particular pair took them three tries to get right, so we had a bit invested in them already!

We drove the car so that I could take him on to Uni for an early appointment, and then bring the car home with me so he could walk home this afternoon (he’s very dedicated). The  grass was recently clipped, and you would have thought, should easily reveal a pair of metal glasses.  But of course, when you wear glasses, it is hard to see without them, though he does have good long distance vision even without them.

Can you spot them?

Can you spot them?

At the risk of jinxing any future good fortunes…within a few seconds I had spotted them. As opposed to my own lost glasses last year, it was a piece of cake. We knew within a few feet, where they had to be.  Before he picked them up I said ‘WAIT, I want a photo to show Joanna!’

Afterward, we drove around near the Uni and I let him out of the car near the path he likes to use as a cut through.  He called out as I was about to drive off and I looked up, to see him laughing and holding a large fork he had just found on the ground.

Feeling done, dear?

Or just forked??

–Ardys

 

photoIn case you couldn’t see them, I’ve cropped the portion of the photo with the glasses… xxx

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 719 other subscribers

Recent Posts

  • after the blow…
  • the gift of the little frog…
  • a year of small things…
  • the luck of it…
  • No. You can’t have that.
  • what can go wrong…
  • my summer of wintering…
  • one year ends, another begins…
  • call me late for dinner…
  • to see…

Archives

Categories

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Instagram

No Instagram images were found.

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • ardysez
    • Join 542 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • ardysez
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: