Weird Words But Not Weird Things

Some things have really weird names, don’t they? Words and names are borrowed from other languages so are almost pre-destined to sound peculiar. I wonder who decides which foreign words will be used in the english language? Is there someone closeted away in some far-off dusty garret, trawling through foreign language dictionaries, deciding which words are worthy of assimilation into english? Hmmm, I wonder…

Sorry, I got sidetracked there for a moment. Back to the main thrust of today’s post, which is my latest makes.

Last evening I was surfing the net when I came across a video on YouTube showing how to make a biscornu pin cushion. (“Biscornu” is an odd word, isn’t it? I have just looked in three dictionaries to find the meaning but it wasn’t in any of them.) I decided to have a go at making one. I had some precut squares which I thought would be ideal so I immediately   went upstairs and grabbed a couple. It is fiddly to stitch it together but you do end up with an interesting 3D shape. This is how mine turned out:

I have taken the photograph with the biscornu leaning on my brother’s old fireman’s helmet to give an indication of its size.

Having started the pin cushion last evening, I took it to the sewing group this morning to show them how to make one and completed it there.

Also at sewing group this morning, we completed our origami folded pouches that we had begun last week. And there we have our second strange word: origami. I know we are used to it but that doesn’t stop it being weird!

The pattern we used for the pouch was that which we used in the workshop I attended at the Adelaide sewing show. Here is the one I completed today:

Oooh, Hunky Firemen…

I take lots of photographs. When I say ‘lots’ I mean huge numbers. I have already filled two SD cards on this trip! However, I made a terrible mistake this morning. I forgot to take my camera with me when I went to collect a free pass to visit Taronga Zoo. That probably doesn’t make sense to you… yet. To pick up the pass I had to venture into Castlereagh Street in the city centre. “So what?” you say. The pass was in the Control Room at the fire station in Castlereagh Street – and I had to go in there! What a lovely start to the day! Lots of good looking, hunky firies (as they are known in Oz) – yummy! And I didn’t have my camera so I couldn’t take any photos of them! Sorry.

A short while after I’d picked up the pass, Nick rang me to wish me a lovely day at the zoo, as he had arranged the free pass for me. When I mentioned all the hunky firies he asked if I was sure I had gone into the right fire station. I told him he wouldn’t understand as he’s not female, nor is he gay! Are brothers always like this?

The remainder of this post will be photos and videos to show some of what Armand and I saw today.

There was a very clever elephant – 

And an angry iguana –

And these lovely creatures:

This One IS About Katoomba – Honestly!

My last post was going to be about Katoomba but I ran out of time. Sorry! I’ll tell you about Katoomba now.

Katoomba is around 100 km to the west of Sydney, in the Blue Mountains. At the southern end of the town is a viewpoint which overlooks the Three Sisters – a rock formation consisting of three peaks. Also in Katoomba is Nick and Min’s mother, Nancy, whom Nick was going to introduce me to.

Before reaching Katoomba itself, Nick drove to Sublime Point so that I could see the Three Sisters from a quieter spot. The view of the whole area was spectacular!

View of the Three Sisters from Sublime Point

When you look at the photograph you will notice a blue tinge. This is not a problem with the camera but, rather, an indication of how the area acquired is name. They are called the Blue Mountains because of the blue haze that hangs over them. The haze is caused by droplets of oil from the Eucalyptus trees that hang in the air. As dusk approaches the haze can be seen forming and it looks like blue smoke.

We left Sublime Point and drove to Nancy’s home in Katoomba. Just down the road from her home is a building that used to be a Youth Hostel. My partner, Peter, had stayed there when he visited Katoomba in 2002 and said I should look for it. As I’m such a kind person (!), I took a photo of it for him.

The old Youth Hostel building in Katoomba

And so, the moment had come to meet Nick’s mother. It was far easier than I had imagined. She was generous in her sharing of stories about my father, of whom I have no memories, and showing me photographs and other mementos of him. Nick had not seen some of the items previously and was as interested as I. He is going to scan the pictures and papers so that Maria and I may each have copies.

Some

Getting To Know You

I’ve just remembered which film the song “Getting To Know You” is from – The King and I. Now, just because this post is about getting to know my brother, that doesn’t mean he’s a king! Goodness me! I can’t have a man getting above his station – perish the thought!

Back to the matter in hand.

I walked through to the Arrivals Hall which, although it wasn’t completely packed, certainly had too many people for me to be able to see Nick when I scanned the crowds. I paused at the end of the walkway for another look around and caught sight of him coming towards me. I was meeting my brother. For the first time. He was here in front of me. We said hello and then had a huge hug. It was so good to hold him close and draw him into my physical world. Then we started chatting. I don’t know whether it was because of all the emails, phone calls and skypeing, but it all just came naturally. Actually, it probably wasn’t any of those things as his initial call to me lasted about an hour and a half and when I rang him back a few minutes later, we spoke for another hour or more. Strangers, but not strangers. Brother and sister who had only known each other existed for five weeks – it was day 36 of our “relation”-ship.

I was so pleased that we had agreed beforehand that he would meet me alone as I didn’t want to share that moment. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted it to be on television.

He had brought a Fire Service car to the airport – bright red with all the official stuff emblazoned on it, but he didn’t use the Blues and Twos (here they call it “Under Siren”) – the child in me was very disappointed.

The brother/sister teasing began in the car on our journey into the city. I pointed to a red lit sign and asked if the structure it was on was the Sydney Tower. His response? No, it’s a crane. It wasn’t – the crane was further to the left and I knew exactly which one that was. So now the Sydney Tower has been renamed The Crane. You need to know that for when you next visit Sydney, otherwise if you ask for the Tower, no-one will understand what you are looking for!

The Bossymamma Has Landed

It is 14.52 on Saturday in the UK and 23.52 in Sydney.

My flight landed at 18.00 and as soon as it stopped by the gate I jumped out of my seat and took my cabin luggage down from the overhead locker. I could hear a member of the cabin crew calling me to tell me to sit down but I was in too much of a hurry to meet Nick and wanted to be able to dash off the plane as soon as possible. Huh! Fat lot of good that was! I was in row 40 and it took so long to disembark that I am sure every seat in every row in front of me must have had at least three occupants. Why are people so S-L-O-W when I am in a hurry? Didn’t they realise that such a major event was unfolding? 

I did manage to jump a few places in the queue by telling people why I was so desperate, but not enough to make a significant difference. Eventually, after what seemed an age, I finally stepped off the plane. I dashed along to Passport Control, where I was dealt with very quickly, then through to Baggage Reclaim. It felt like three hours that I had to wait for my suitcase to appear. Then, when I went to Customs/Quarantine, I was told to go to area 1. As soon as I was checked there they sent me to the red carpet area. No, this doesn’t mean you are famous, it means they are going to have sniffer dogs check you for drugs and other contraband. I passed that test with flying colours.

And so… out to the Arrivals Hall to meet my brother…