Tag: postaday2011

cakes · chocolate · music · nostalgia

The Icing on MacArthur Park (and My Christmas Cake!)

Joanne4 Comments

On Christmas Eve I iced my Christmas cake, as I am known to do every year, during one of the preceding days leading up to the big day itself.

As a general rule, the icing stays put. But not this Christmas!

The moisture in the air, due to the massive amounts of rain we have been experiencing over the last few weeks, had my chocolate icing venturing to places on my cake where chocolate icing was not intended to be!

(The humidity level has regularly hovered around 80 – 90 % for some time now.)

Immediately, I had music in my head…

“MacArthur’s Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down…
Someone left the cake out in the rain…”


Yes, I know, my icing was sweet brown icing and no, I did not leave it out in the rain! Although it looks for all the world as if I did!

Do you remember the song, “MacArthur Park”? It was written by Jimmy Webb and recorded by actor, Richard Harris in 1968. The song became an instant one hit wonder for Harris, the actor.

I remember the song well, from listening to my mother constantly singing it around the house, whilst going about her housework! She was totally besotted by the song!

As to the actual recording of the song, even as a child I found Richard Harris’s voice haunting. Still do, for that matter.

Not that I had a clue as to what the lyrics were going on about!

It got the better of me. I had to take myself off to YouTube and find the song. Just to hear that voice again. And the orchestra. And to feel the sensation of goose bumps….

Yep, I’m my mother’s daughter. I’m besotted by that song!

I came across a few trivial facts to share with you also, just in case you’re interested in Richard Harris, or his gorgeous voice, or his acting, or that song…

Richard St. John Harris was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1930.

His movie career began in 1958 and included roles in such memorable movies as “The Guns of Navarone”, “Mutiny on the Bounty” and “Camelot”.

In 2002, Harris played his final movie role in “Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets”, as Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.

Unfortunately, Harris passed away just two and a half weeks before the release of the movie.

As to my not understanding the lyrics of “MacArthur Park”, apparently they are meant to symbolise the ending of a love affair!

You can watch and listen to a YouTube video here ~

to hear snippets of the song, as sung by Richard Harris, along with interjections of anecdotes about the song and Harris himself.

For an uninterrupted (shortened) version of the song, go here ~

This second link is “A Tribute to Richard Harris”. Whilst he is singing the song, various photos are flashed across the screen, of Harris as he appeared in some of his movies roles. At the end of the video, an Irish Blessing appears, reading,

“May you always find blue skies above your head,

Shamrocks beneath your feet, laughter and joy aplenty,

Kindness from all you meet,

Good friends and kin to miss you if ever you choose to roam,

And a path that’s been cleared by angels themselves

To carry you safely home”.

Isn’t that a lovely blessing?

And so ends my “Richard Harris / MacArthur Park walk down memory lane and trivia quest”.

The humidity has dropped today to around 60 %, the rain is gone and the sun is shining, but I’ll be waiting a while before I add any icing to any cakes I bake!

freedom · gratitude

Looking Inside the Mind of an Optimist

Joanne2 Comments

“Never mention the worst. Drop it out of your consciousness. This practice will bring all of your powers to focus on the attainment of the best. It will bring the best to you”. ~ Norman Vincent Peale.

2011 is the first year in which I have actually gone out and purchased a Gratitude Diary and started to make use of it immediately.

You see, it’s all a part of my master plan. I have chosen my word for the year, for the theme which I have chosen to live by throughout all of this year.

My chosen word is “Freedom” and a main aspect of my theme that I am aiming to achieve is freedom from unwanted thoughts.

I love the word “Freedom”. It encompasses such a wide range of aspects, all relevant to the ultimate achievement of my goal to attain freedom.

Like all new habits, banishing unwanted thoughts from your mind takes time. I know that is true for me. The easiest thing to do, and the biggest mistake to make, is to allow your thoughts to wander off, unchecked, when you are wishing to form your new habit!

Reining in your thoughts could be likened to beginning a healthy eating plan, or a new exercise regime. Old habits have a happy knack of dying hard.

But anything worthwhile is worth sticking to and before long a whole new series of habits have taken the place of the old ones.

Another point I will be paying particular attention to is, as Norman Vincent Peale says in the above quote, “never mention the worst”.

If mention of the unwanted must be made, I have discovered through many years of practise that your statement can be turned around, from the negative to the positive.

It’s the old scenario of not saying that your glass is half empty, but rather your glass is half full!

Example : You could complain about not having any room in your cupboards, due to having too much unwanted “stuff” stashed away inside of them….OR….

You could tell the story of how much pleasure you will feel when you have discarded all of your unwanted possessions, leaving you with available space inside the cupboards.

It’s a subtle difference and it can change your whole mindset, by focussing on the positive scenario.

That’s where a Gratitude Diary can make a huge difference to your life, forcing your thoughts into a state of appreciation, hence forming a whole new habit, for you to easily live by.

I’m a firm believer that regardless of how dreadful any situation may appear to be, especially when it has just occurred and feelings are raw, there is always a reason for the event taking place.

Sometimes it may take a little bit of deeper delving into a situation, to discover the message the Universe is sending. Don’t give up ~ search hard enough and you will find your answers.

Stay optimistic, show appreciation and the best will find you. 🙂

Footnote : Today I can celebrate, as this is my one hundredth post here at Home Life Online; Everyday Inspirations.

Today, I am grateful for having come up with 100 ideas for topics to write about!   Jo.

Australia · floods

When Times Get Tough….

Joanne2 Comments

I’m sure the majority of you have heard about the massive deluge of rain in certain parts of Australia just now, with the state of Queensland being the worst hit.

Well, yes, it is that time of year, the rainy season in these parts, which I spoke about the other day in my post “My Country”.

What has eventuated over the last two days, however, is nothing short of a freak of nature!

The beautiful town of Toowoomba, just west of Brisbane and part of The Great Dividing Range is situated at 2,267 feet, or 691 metres above sea level. The last thing the residents of the town would have expected would be a flood, which has left, at latest report, eight people dead and seventy people missing.

The city of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, has also been experiencing unexpected high rainfalls (even for this time of the year), over a rather short period of time, causing the Brisbane River to break its banks.

The loss and damage to homes and businesses during times like these are unimaginable. I know. I’ve lived through it myself.

It’s times like these, when the situation becomes beyond critical, that brings out the best in people.

Here are a few ways to help ~

Appliances Online Australia has announced that for every Facebook member who “likes” their Facebook page, they will donate $1.00, up until 5pm on January 21, 2011. Their target to donate is $100,000.

If you have Facebook, please take a moment to show your support here.

The Queensland Government is accepting donations to help the flood victims get their lives back to normal sooner, rather than later.

Donations can be made by going here.

And last but not least, please say a prayer for the safety and well being of those who have been affected by the floods.

Look at the photo I have added at the top of the page, showing Toowoomba in all of its colourful, floral glory, and picture the town returning to the picturesque status it is so well known for.

Ah yes, Australia is Australia and our harsh climate does indeed send us some very trying times.

It is at these times when we all rally together and help in any way we are able, large or small, then life moves on.

The poet Henry Lawson sums the Australian way of looking at things up very well in “Send Round the Hat” when he says ~

“Now this is the creed from the Book of the Bush –

Should be simple and plain to a dunce:

If a man’s in a hole you must pass round the hat –

Were he jail-bird or gentleman once.”

Uncategorized

The Sounds of Silence

Joanne2 Comments

How long has it been…three, perhaps four weeks, since I have spent the day alone, at home?

I can’t quite remember; it’s been so long, too long.

Days of solitude are a necessity to me, as essential as food and sleep.

But it hasn’t always been that way.

When my four children were all much younger the house was continually noisy, in one way or another. Talking, television switched on by the first child out of bed in the morning, music playing (in more than one room), phones ringing, and usually all at the same time!

On the odd occasion when I would be in the house, in silence, I couldn’t cope; I simply had to switch on music, or the television, anything to cut the deafening silence!

I’m not sure how the changes occurred, the changes within myself, which brought about the demand (yes, it was a demand!) for peace and silence around me.

The sounds around home have altered now. My second oldest lives in her own home now, my eldest is quiet by nature (thank you, God!), and then there’s the two teenagers.

As is the case with many siblings, they are constantly bickering, only pausing long enough to sing together. Yes, sing. They have the same taste in music and, as teenagers do, know every word, to every song they hear.

Their singing can actually be rather entertaining, especially so when I way up the pro’s and cons…would I rather listen to squabbling, or the singing? Hmm…

Today there will be no voices, no phones, no mobile phones, no skype, no texting, no online chatting ~ everyone is out.

I have the house to myself.

My herbal tea is made and my ironing awaits me. Whilst ironing, the only sounds I will hear will be the pattering of the raindrops falling, the occasional chorus of frogs croaking and the distant buzzing of the cicada’s.

It’s a day to restore my equilibrium, to silence my busy brain, to focus on the here and now.

A day to appreciate the Sounds of Silence….

(Photo credit ~National Geographic at Google Images)

Australia · nostalgia

The Blue Mountains

Joanne6 Comments

Two days ago I mentioned here on my blog page that I had lived in an area prone to bushfires ~ The Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

The Blue Mountains was my first home, the area where I spent the first thirteen years of my life.

Many years later I still reflect on those thirteen years with feelings of immense nostalgia. I’m sure I could start a separate blog entitled something along the lines of “Memories of my Early Life; Growing up in The Blue Mountains” and never run short on content!

They were happy years, filled with magical discoveries, exploring, adventure and learning, back in the days when the world was young and I possessed not a care in the world. *sigh*

The famous Australian poet, Henry Lawson, penned the most perfectly descriptive poem about the Blue Mountains, which I would like to share with you today.

Henry Lawson is an Australian icon, born in Grenfell, N.S.W. in 1867. Henry departed this world at an extremely early age, in 1922. I’m certain that upon his demise he took with him many untold stories and poems about Australia.

Today’s photo is another oldie from my first photo album. ‘Tis a very young “me” again, this time taken at Echo Point, Katoomba, the lookout of the world famous “Three Sisters”.

I do hope you enjoy the poem. It was written in 1888, after Henry had spent a few years living in the Blue Mountains himself.

The poem was copied from the book, “The World of Henry Lawson”, a book I discovered and purchased in 1983. No internet links provided for this one! 😉

I’ll leave you now with Henry Lawson, who is far more capable of describing the breathtaking landscape of the Blue Mountains, more lyrically than I would ever be capable of! 🙂

The Blue Mountains

Above the ashes straight and tall,

Through ferns with moisture dripping,

I climb beneath the sandstone wall,

My feet on mosses slipping.

Like ramparts round the valley’s edge

The tinted cliffs are standing,

With many a broken wall and ledge,

And many a rocky landing.

And round about their rugged feet

Deep ferny dells are hidden

In shadowed depths, whence dust and heat

Are banished and forbidden.

The stream that, crooning to itself,

Comes down a tireless rover,

Flows calmly to the rocky shelf,

And there leaps bravely over.

Now pouring down, now lost in spray

When mountain breezes sally,

The water strikes the rock midway,

And leaps into the valley.

Now in the west the colours change,

The blue with crimson blending;

Behind the far Dividing Range

The sun is fast descending.

And mellowed day comes o’er the place,

And softens ragged edges;

The rising moon’s great placid face

Looks gravely o’er the ledges.