Well today I have been the handyman around the house, building, finishing and painting a set of shelves for my kitchen
There is something about getting your hands dirty building, constructing, creating something out of wood the smell of it, the texture.
My grandfather was a Carpenter sadly I never got to know him, he passed away not long before I was born.
I still have a few of his tools... strange but when ever I work with wood I somehow feel he is there with me...
...well one more coat and they should be all done. Hmmm what is my next project going to be?...
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Art Of Tea
Has the art of making tea been lost?
As I battle my way through cups of coffee at cafes in the great Metropolis I live in, my quest for a perfect cup of tea all but forgotten, when today I came across a tea shop, not a cafe but a shop that sells all kinds of interesting types of tea, hmmmm I thought I wonder if they have Russian Caravan Tea one of my favorites, that smooth smokey aroma... a passion of moonlit Jasmine on a warm summers night...
I asked the lovely sales assistant if they sold Russian Caravan Tea "Yes" she said "excellent" I replied and wasted no time in purchasing a tin.
As I was waiting at the counter, I looked around at all the different cups and pots they had for sale. Glass, porcelain, terracotta, tea sets form India and Morocco, I also wondered if there was a Magic Teapot hidden somewhere, hmmmm....
Anyway getting back to the reason why I'm writing this article in the first place. The poor quality of Tea in some of the more well known Cafes around the place, mainly the chain cafes but there are others too that don't come up to scratch.
This is how I feel Tea should be made
First it should be leaf tea
it should be brewed in a teapot
it should be in a tea cup not a coffee cup ... there is a difference,
and the milk should not come out of the coffee machine, frothy milk does not make a good cup of tea
Now I have had a teabag in a pot which was passable but, teabags are not for pots they are for a quick cuppa..
I think the worst I have had was a cup of hot water and a teabag on the side $3.00!
There are some very good cafes that make an excellent cup of tea, they have really mastered the art.
Well I suppose I will just keep battling on for that perfect cuppa .
Hmmm now where did I put that Teapot ….
As I battle my way through cups of coffee at cafes in the great Metropolis I live in, my quest for a perfect cup of tea all but forgotten, when today I came across a tea shop, not a cafe but a shop that sells all kinds of interesting types of tea, hmmmm I thought I wonder if they have Russian Caravan Tea one of my favorites, that smooth smokey aroma... a passion of moonlit Jasmine on a warm summers night...
I asked the lovely sales assistant if they sold Russian Caravan Tea "Yes" she said "excellent" I replied and wasted no time in purchasing a tin.
As I was waiting at the counter, I looked around at all the different cups and pots they had for sale. Glass, porcelain, terracotta, tea sets form India and Morocco, I also wondered if there was a Magic Teapot hidden somewhere, hmmmm....
Anyway getting back to the reason why I'm writing this article in the first place. The poor quality of Tea in some of the more well known Cafes around the place, mainly the chain cafes but there are others too that don't come up to scratch.
This is how I feel Tea should be made
First it should be leaf tea
it should be brewed in a teapot
it should be in a tea cup not a coffee cup ... there is a difference,
and the milk should not come out of the coffee machine, frothy milk does not make a good cup of tea
Now I have had a teabag in a pot which was passable but, teabags are not for pots they are for a quick cuppa..
I think the worst I have had was a cup of hot water and a teabag on the side $3.00!
There are some very good cafes that make an excellent cup of tea, they have really mastered the art.
Well I suppose I will just keep battling on for that perfect cuppa .
Hmmm now where did I put that Teapot ….
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Boys And Their Little Forts
Now in my mind of random and unhinged thoughts, I remember back when I was just a boy and the great architectural achievements in the construction of little forts.
Some of the most famous little forts were, a neatly constructed box fort made from your parents sofa cushions, or the drawing pin and Mum's best sheets fort, very good when constructing in corners, and one of my all time favorites the Insto-Fort, the big box the new fridge freezer came in...
Of course one of the great controversys over Boys and their little forts was the
No Girls Allowed Policy
I personally found this rule silly and pointless and ignored it completely.
I welcomed Girls into my fittle fort, I mean why not?.... they had pokey squeezey bits ;)
Some of the most famous little forts were, a neatly constructed box fort made from your parents sofa cushions, or the drawing pin and Mum's best sheets fort, very good when constructing in corners, and one of my all time favorites the Insto-Fort, the big box the new fridge freezer came in...
Of course one of the great controversys over Boys and their little forts was the
No Girls Allowed Policy
I personally found this rule silly and pointless and ignored it completely.
I welcomed Girls into my fittle fort, I mean why not?.... they had pokey squeezey bits ;)
Monday, September 15, 2008
MIsty Spring Morning
A beautiful Spring morning, the Sun rises to warm and pull back the blanket of Mist that covers the great Mother this morning. I absorb the Sun into my heart my soul so I may let it radiate from me...
Monday, September 01, 2008
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Sunday Morning
Bananas, Coffee, and Patchouli Incense, a good way to start the day I think.
Mr and Mrs Blackbird are helping themselves to the cat biscuits again, while my cat looks on in complete bewilderment at these two Blackbirds slowly relieving her of her breakfast.
She is only sitting about three feet away from them, aren't cats suppose to hunt birds and small rodents? Maybe my cat doesn't like the taste of bird, or maybe... she is actually good friends with these blackbirds.
So, she lets these birds eat all her breakfast and then complains to me all day that she hasn't been fed... I don't know, it's a beautiful day out there I think I will go and find some sort of outdoor activity to do....
RJT
----------------
Now playing: Edwin Starr - 25 Miles
via FoxyTunes
Mr and Mrs Blackbird are helping themselves to the cat biscuits again, while my cat looks on in complete bewilderment at these two Blackbirds slowly relieving her of her breakfast.
She is only sitting about three feet away from them, aren't cats suppose to hunt birds and small rodents? Maybe my cat doesn't like the taste of bird, or maybe... she is actually good friends with these blackbirds.
So, she lets these birds eat all her breakfast and then complains to me all day that she hasn't been fed... I don't know, it's a beautiful day out there I think I will go and find some sort of outdoor activity to do....
RJT
----------------
Now playing: Edwin Starr - 25 Miles
via FoxyTunes
Friday, July 04, 2008
Fireplace memories
On my morning walk that I do most mornings, my usual dodging unmentionable entities that have found new homes on the path, and avoiding pieces of concrete pathway that so rudely jump out in front of me.
I was over come by this strangely addictive aroma, not a sweet smell of flowers or a womans perfume, and not that horrid and slightly amnesia like smells that happens when one of those unmentionables I spoke of earlier, escapes from it's bodily jail and takes up lodgings in the most inconvenient places.
This was an aroma of the fireplace, wood burning in the hath on a cold Winter morning, that warm feeling of home.
As the aroma of fireplace jumped out of the chimney off the roof and straight up my left nostril, vivid images of my childhood suddenly flooded back.
Waking up early on the farm, the Kettle whistling on the Coal Range, toasting Marshmallows on the open fire, burning the carpet around the fireplace, burning myself around the fireplace, ah what fun those days were....
Isn't fire fascinating to a child the flicker of the flame, Enchanting, Magical, Dangerous!
It is amazing how an aroma can trigger so many memories from th passed....
RJT.
----------------
Now playing: Sarah McLachlan - Answer
via FoxyTunes
I was over come by this strangely addictive aroma, not a sweet smell of flowers or a womans perfume, and not that horrid and slightly amnesia like smells that happens when one of those unmentionables I spoke of earlier, escapes from it's bodily jail and takes up lodgings in the most inconvenient places.
This was an aroma of the fireplace, wood burning in the hath on a cold Winter morning, that warm feeling of home.
As the aroma of fireplace jumped out of the chimney off the roof and straight up my left nostril, vivid images of my childhood suddenly flooded back.
Waking up early on the farm, the Kettle whistling on the Coal Range, toasting Marshmallows on the open fire, burning the carpet around the fireplace, burning myself around the fireplace, ah what fun those days were....
Isn't fire fascinating to a child the flicker of the flame, Enchanting, Magical, Dangerous!
It is amazing how an aroma can trigger so many memories from th passed....
RJT.
----------------
Now playing: Sarah McLachlan - Answer
via FoxyTunes
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Morning Walk
Up early before the Sunrise, with a stretch and a slap in the face, I moved zombie like to the bathroom to throw icicles into my face from the cold water tap, and of course preforming the most popular I almost slipped over on the tiled floor dance', after forcibly removing the cat of the bed, and then under the bed...and then off the bed again I felt it was time for my morning walk.
I walk most days, I like to keep my body in good order, I'm not a fitness freak though far from it.
I'm not a string bean ether, though, I thought was a Radish once... not sure why, as I said I like to keep my body in good order, my mind is another story.
So I quickly got dressed, grabbed my umbrella, which was large and slightly flamboyant umbrella, actually I've always believed it is a good idea to take an umbrella with you when walking, apart from keeping the rain off your head they have so many other uses, and the more flamboyant the better I think.
So off I go, open the door and the cats back in, Bugger!
As I said before there are many uses for umbrellas one of them is getting a cat out from under a bed, so once again I removed my cat from under the bed then off the bed and so on and so on, until I managed to get her outside again, anyway locking the door and glaring at the cat, I set off again.
Just a little way down the road I suddenly thought 'did I turn off he heater?' Back up the road up the driveway unlock the door my cat seeing the chance catapults herself through the door and into the house, then magically disappears somewhere, giving up on the cat all together I headed for the heater which of course as always, the damm thing was off! So I grab my umbrella, blow the cat she can stay in the house and off I go, lock the door down the drive onto the foot path and away.
The cold but fresh morning air on my face was just what I needed, the Sun hadn't quite made it up yet maybe stuck behind a bunch of Stars, you know those Stars just yak yak yak, always holding up others from getting where they are going, silly stars it's well passed there bed time I think!
but there is always the few that hold out till the end.
The sky was deep blue, almost cloudless apart from one rouge cloud that was looking a bit lost,
and a bit whispery to, must have had a hard night out on the town I think, staggering across the blue sky leaving bits of himself everywhere, with no sign of any other of his cloud friends to help him on his way, as the cloud randomly wandered off into the distance I said to myself almost stepping in something unmentionable, "what a beautiful morning."
Walking a bit further I ended up at the main road, well sort of a main road I think it wants to be a main road but it doesn't get enough traffic, a wee bit in the mornings and again in the afternoon, but apart from that not much at all, quite often the other roads make fun of it, "silly road" they said "look at him trying to me a main road when he hardly gets any traffic, silly road" they said again.
Walking up this, well some would say silly road I did notice that there was a fair amount of traffic going back and fourth and thought this road may qualify as a main road after all, walking towards the top of the road and with all the traffic noise around me, cars, trucks, Buses and the occasional Bicycle I thought it can sometimes be quite hard to keep in touch with nature living in suburbia, the bird song, the rustle and bustle of leaves as the trees chat away to each other, all drowned out by the the mechanical noise of the 21st Century.
As I eventually made it to the top, feeling like the noise was ever increasing in volume and great mechanical beasts were closing in around me, by this time I was starting to feel a wee bit depressed about my morning walk. For at leased half of my joinery I had been walking with my head down only glancing up at a very loud and a annoying vehicle that happened to drive past, so I hadn't noticed that the last of the Stars had gone off to bed and the Sun had popped up and broken the drawn.
I felt a warm glow on my face, looking up I saw the first beams of Sunlight peak through the clouds, that had gathered in the east probably to greet the Sun and maybe to tell those naughty Stars it was well past there bed time. The warm sun on my face and the truly beautiful colours the clouds were making, probably from the large amounts of Alcohol they had consumed the night before, but beautiful colours all the same. Somehow the great mechanical beasties and the noise had all magically disappeared, my depression had passed and I was in touch with nature again, so much so that I didn't even notice that cheeky bit of Concrete jump up from the pathway and try and trip me over, "Aha! You can't get me that easy" I said.
Heading home the rest of my walk was in good spirits, the Sun was up the Earth was awakening for another day and I was keeping an eye out for cheeky pieces of Concrete.
As I returned back to my house, and walked back up my driveway I looked up at the blue morning sky and smiled, an excellent start to the day I said as I opened my door, well who should be sitting there looking bloody annoyed at being locked in, was my cat
Well I suppose sometimes you just can't win can you .... ;)
RJT.
----------------
Now playing: The Cult - Wild Hearted Son
via FoxyTunes
I walk most days, I like to keep my body in good order, I'm not a fitness freak though far from it.
I'm not a string bean ether, though, I thought was a Radish once... not sure why, as I said I like to keep my body in good order, my mind is another story.
So I quickly got dressed, grabbed my umbrella, which was large and slightly flamboyant umbrella, actually I've always believed it is a good idea to take an umbrella with you when walking, apart from keeping the rain off your head they have so many other uses, and the more flamboyant the better I think.
So off I go, open the door and the cats back in, Bugger!
As I said before there are many uses for umbrellas one of them is getting a cat out from under a bed, so once again I removed my cat from under the bed then off the bed and so on and so on, until I managed to get her outside again, anyway locking the door and glaring at the cat, I set off again.
Just a little way down the road I suddenly thought 'did I turn off he heater?' Back up the road up the driveway unlock the door my cat seeing the chance catapults herself through the door and into the house, then magically disappears somewhere, giving up on the cat all together I headed for the heater which of course as always, the damm thing was off! So I grab my umbrella, blow the cat she can stay in the house and off I go, lock the door down the drive onto the foot path and away.
The cold but fresh morning air on my face was just what I needed, the Sun hadn't quite made it up yet maybe stuck behind a bunch of Stars, you know those Stars just yak yak yak, always holding up others from getting where they are going, silly stars it's well passed there bed time I think!
but there is always the few that hold out till the end.
The sky was deep blue, almost cloudless apart from one rouge cloud that was looking a bit lost,
and a bit whispery to, must have had a hard night out on the town I think, staggering across the blue sky leaving bits of himself everywhere, with no sign of any other of his cloud friends to help him on his way, as the cloud randomly wandered off into the distance I said to myself almost stepping in something unmentionable, "what a beautiful morning."
Walking a bit further I ended up at the main road, well sort of a main road I think it wants to be a main road but it doesn't get enough traffic, a wee bit in the mornings and again in the afternoon, but apart from that not much at all, quite often the other roads make fun of it, "silly road" they said "look at him trying to me a main road when he hardly gets any traffic, silly road" they said again.
Walking up this, well some would say silly road I did notice that there was a fair amount of traffic going back and fourth and thought this road may qualify as a main road after all, walking towards the top of the road and with all the traffic noise around me, cars, trucks, Buses and the occasional Bicycle I thought it can sometimes be quite hard to keep in touch with nature living in suburbia, the bird song, the rustle and bustle of leaves as the trees chat away to each other, all drowned out by the the mechanical noise of the 21st Century.
As I eventually made it to the top, feeling like the noise was ever increasing in volume and great mechanical beasts were closing in around me, by this time I was starting to feel a wee bit depressed about my morning walk. For at leased half of my joinery I had been walking with my head down only glancing up at a very loud and a annoying vehicle that happened to drive past, so I hadn't noticed that the last of the Stars had gone off to bed and the Sun had popped up and broken the drawn.
I felt a warm glow on my face, looking up I saw the first beams of Sunlight peak through the clouds, that had gathered in the east probably to greet the Sun and maybe to tell those naughty Stars it was well past there bed time. The warm sun on my face and the truly beautiful colours the clouds were making, probably from the large amounts of Alcohol they had consumed the night before, but beautiful colours all the same. Somehow the great mechanical beasties and the noise had all magically disappeared, my depression had passed and I was in touch with nature again, so much so that I didn't even notice that cheeky bit of Concrete jump up from the pathway and try and trip me over, "Aha! You can't get me that easy" I said.
Heading home the rest of my walk was in good spirits, the Sun was up the Earth was awakening for another day and I was keeping an eye out for cheeky pieces of Concrete.
As I returned back to my house, and walked back up my driveway I looked up at the blue morning sky and smiled, an excellent start to the day I said as I opened my door, well who should be sitting there looking bloody annoyed at being locked in, was my cat
Well I suppose sometimes you just can't win can you .... ;)
RJT.
----------------
Now playing: The Cult - Wild Hearted Son
via FoxyTunes
Sunny Day :-)
Well it's Monday here in Aotearoa New Zealand and after a most wet and stormy week and weekend, the sun has come out to awaken us with those warm rays of light.
The birth of a new day, something very special but often overlooked and taken for granted.
I have always felt there is time to to stop and and take notice of your natural surroundings and feel nature within your heart, body and spirit.
We are Human, we are part of this beautiful planet Earth, it is our planet, we are part of her and she is part of us. The sun is shining the birds are sing beautiful songs, and my cat is chasing nothings ;)
...Thank The Gods for this beautiful day...
----------------
Now playing: Michael Franti and Spearhead - Never Too Late
via FoxyTunes
The birth of a new day, something very special but often overlooked and taken for granted.
I have always felt there is time to to stop and and take notice of your natural surroundings and feel nature within your heart, body and spirit.
We are Human, we are part of this beautiful planet Earth, it is our planet, we are part of her and she is part of us. The sun is shining the birds are sing beautiful songs, and my cat is chasing nothings ;)
...Thank The Gods for this beautiful day...
----------------
Now playing: Michael Franti and Spearhead - Never Too Late
via FoxyTunes
Monday, June 09, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
Music For The Houses Of Parliament
We all know that music can alter our mood and feelings, even change our lives. We also know that it has a similar affect on plants and other animals too
so I've been thinking what if we could have music in the Parliaments of the world, could we get more rational decisions from our politicians?
So lets see,
For Kim jong-il maybe a bit of Bob Marley, those mellow reggae beats might just make him think twice about executing the hundred people that accidentally smiled when not ordered to.
Maybe If Deng Xiaoping was listening to the meaningful words of John Lennon he wouldn't have had to run over so many students with his Tank
George Bush, being a man of feeble mind and withered genitals, all I can suggest for him would be the Teletubbies song, it might just stop him dropping bombs on people who happen to disagree with him.
And in my own country a whole lotta System of a Down to wake up those bloody idiots that walk around with there eyes and ears closed, who think youth suicide is something that only happens in other peoples country's.
I wonder who could benefit from Ren & Stimpy's
Happy Happy Joy Joy song...
so I've been thinking what if we could have music in the Parliaments of the world, could we get more rational decisions from our politicians?
So lets see,
For Kim jong-il maybe a bit of Bob Marley, those mellow reggae beats might just make him think twice about executing the hundred people that accidentally smiled when not ordered to.
Maybe If Deng Xiaoping was listening to the meaningful words of John Lennon he wouldn't have had to run over so many students with his Tank
George Bush, being a man of feeble mind and withered genitals, all I can suggest for him would be the Teletubbies song, it might just stop him dropping bombs on people who happen to disagree with him.
And in my own country a whole lotta System of a Down to wake up those bloody idiots that walk around with there eyes and ears closed, who think youth suicide is something that only happens in other peoples country's.
I wonder who could benefit from Ren & Stimpy's
Happy Happy Joy Joy song...
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Music to Aid Healing
I was wondering can Music be used to aid healing, I'm not talking about the lyrics here but more the chords, the way they are molded together.
Music definitely can change your mood, they say it's food for the soul.
So in cases of trauma when the mind and spirit need to be healed as well as the physical body can music help?
This may already be in practice, music is used to help people who suffer from Alzheimer's and also in aiding coma patients
One song that moves me is The Great Gig In The Sky by Pink Floyd. strange but true ;-)
Music definitely can change your mood, they say it's food for the soul.
So in cases of trauma when the mind and spirit need to be healed as well as the physical body can music help?
This may already be in practice, music is used to help people who suffer from Alzheimer's and also in aiding coma patients
One song that moves me is The Great Gig In The Sky by Pink Floyd. strange but true ;-)
Music From The Earth...
A few days ago I decided to go for a hike in the bush, just to let you know any Forrest or woodland area in New Zealand is called the Bush.
This of coarse was not a new idea of mine, many times before I have thought of going for a walk in the bush and at the same time coming up with excuses such as, I have the wrong shoes, I woke up to late even though their was about seven hours of sunlight left in the day and I will go tomorrow.
So last Saturday morning as i gazed down at my ever increasing land mass of a belly and saying to myself "where the hell did that come from" I said. Right! I'm going to make a lifestyle change and I'm going to do it now. So I grabbed my water bottle, camera, and sunglasses and off I went to the nearest national park, which in my case is about a 10 minute walk down the road so obviously I drove there.
At the park I found myself in front of a large sign detailing all the different hikes and treks that could be done. "Ah perfect" I said looking at the sign a 40 minute to 1 hr walk for beginners, so off I went along the well marked track into the bush. About half an hour had passed and there I was huffing and puffing, taking photos here and there and tripping over rocks that so rudely ran out in front of me, when I started to get that feeling, that getting back to nature feeling, which we all know and have felt at some point in our lives, after all we are just another species of animal on this earth.
Though I had only gone a short way into the bush I felt completely cut off from the industrial age, no local factory noise, no screaming neighbours no young guy that lives in your street tearing up and down the road in his clapped out no muffler oil burning bomb of a car, just peace.
Excited I decided to take a joining track that went deeper into the bush, after about two hours I had gone quite a way in and was completely stuffed, so I found a clearing just off the track and sat down to catch my breath. I sat there for a while looking at my surroundings, and suddenly realized it was not so quiet after all, which brings me to the title of this article The Sound of the Earth Mothers Music.
So I closed my eyes and listened. wind through the trees the bass thump of a wood pigeon as it's wings beat the air flying from tree to tree, the stream witch I had followed most of the way up, water running over the rocks and falling into a pool below, and the birds with their beautiful and unique songs. We have allot of birds in New Zealand actually most of our native wildlife are reptiles and birds, oh we do have a small Bat that would fit into the palm of your hand not a very good flyer though, and often bangs into things so it mostly just walk about on the Forrest floor.
Anyway these sounds of nature are the Music of the earth you can find them anywhere in the world, every song is unique and the music never ever stops, you just have close your eyes an listen you will never here a more beautiful piece of music than the earth...
This of coarse was not a new idea of mine, many times before I have thought of going for a walk in the bush and at the same time coming up with excuses such as, I have the wrong shoes, I woke up to late even though their was about seven hours of sunlight left in the day and I will go tomorrow.
So last Saturday morning as i gazed down at my ever increasing land mass of a belly and saying to myself "where the hell did that come from" I said. Right! I'm going to make a lifestyle change and I'm going to do it now. So I grabbed my water bottle, camera, and sunglasses and off I went to the nearest national park, which in my case is about a 10 minute walk down the road so obviously I drove there.
At the park I found myself in front of a large sign detailing all the different hikes and treks that could be done. "Ah perfect" I said looking at the sign a 40 minute to 1 hr walk for beginners, so off I went along the well marked track into the bush. About half an hour had passed and there I was huffing and puffing, taking photos here and there and tripping over rocks that so rudely ran out in front of me, when I started to get that feeling, that getting back to nature feeling, which we all know and have felt at some point in our lives, after all we are just another species of animal on this earth.
Though I had only gone a short way into the bush I felt completely cut off from the industrial age, no local factory noise, no screaming neighbours no young guy that lives in your street tearing up and down the road in his clapped out no muffler oil burning bomb of a car, just peace.
Excited I decided to take a joining track that went deeper into the bush, after about two hours I had gone quite a way in and was completely stuffed, so I found a clearing just off the track and sat down to catch my breath. I sat there for a while looking at my surroundings, and suddenly realized it was not so quiet after all, which brings me to the title of this article The Sound of the Earth Mothers Music.
So I closed my eyes and listened. wind through the trees the bass thump of a wood pigeon as it's wings beat the air flying from tree to tree, the stream witch I had followed most of the way up, water running over the rocks and falling into a pool below, and the birds with their beautiful and unique songs. We have allot of birds in New Zealand actually most of our native wildlife are reptiles and birds, oh we do have a small Bat that would fit into the palm of your hand not a very good flyer though, and often bangs into things so it mostly just walk about on the Forrest floor.
Anyway these sounds of nature are the Music of the earth you can find them anywhere in the world, every song is unique and the music never ever stops, you just have close your eyes an listen you will never here a more beautiful piece of music than the earth...
Friday, May 23, 2008
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