Thursday, February 07, 2013

— My Alphabe-Thursday (2nd), the letter "L" / Thursday Two Questions —

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New Zealand and Australia; more of our most recent cruise pictures
Here we have some pictures to honor Alphabe-Thursday letter "L"

 
"L" is for Laugh.  Today I have some pictures from our recent stay in Sydney that may make you laugh.  At the least, I do hope they will make you SMILE.

We stayed in Sydney three and a half days and three nights after our New Zealand Australia cruise on the Diamond Princess.


 

This giant rubber duckie made me laugh a little, Mrs. Jim is smiling.  Sitting in Sydney Harbor, it is a piece of art commissioned for the Sydney Festival.  It was created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman [Zap2it Blog for more].  We enjoyed the Festival activities all over town.   Saturday night we went to a concert in the park.
 
On Sunday we walked down to the Market City (link) on Hay Street.  It has Haymarket and Chinatown, both to add to the sense of being in a large city market.
 
   
 
Here is Mrs. Jim on the draw bridge when we walked back from the Nautical Museum.  The fellow in the background wearing a yellow vest is a part of the Park Guide force.  I had asked him a question about the yellow duck anchored below.
 
Nothing to exciting about the lollipop tree but I smiled.  It was a part of the souvenir shops located on the bank row of shops along the Harbor.  We did buy a plush kangaroo. 
 
 
We had a pleasant ferry ride (Sidney Ferries) around the Harbor on the Inner Harbour Ferry.  It left the Circular Quay and sailed over to the Australian National Maritime Museum.  I liked going under the Harbour Bridge.  You can see the Sydney Opera House in the background.
 
We rode the train over and back across the bridge, we took took the ferry to Manly Beach for a morning, we rode the tram to the Harbor Fish Market, and took the bus to Bondi Beach for our major rides.  There were many more as Sydney has a wonderful public transportation system.  Since Mrs. Jim and I were seniors our all day tickets to all modes were $2.50 AUS each day.
 
 
Riding with the pedaling fellow in this bike mobile looks like it would be fun but he didn't have many takers.  Mrs. Jim and I did ride in one of these in China and the ride was not fun.
 
The street painter was going to donate his painting to a local Salvation Army unit.  There were a lot of people in his painting but I couldn't figure out what he meant it to be.
  
 
 
These two pictures I took at Manly Beach.  Kids, perhaps a very small adult, could enter an OZBOBBLE to jump and roll around.  It didn't look like fun to me.  It cost $10 but I don't know how long a person could stay for that ten.
 
We didn't see a Water Dragon at the beach.  Thank goodness, it could bite.  They are Australia's largest lizard, the females grow to be a couple of feet long while the males grow to three feet long.
 
   

When was the last time you saw a Woolworth's Store?   We haven't had them in the U.S. for years and years.  This one had merchandise similar to what our Target Super Store would carry. 
 
The plate?  That is my last breakfast aboard the Diamond Princess.  The porters had taken our luggage and all we could do was to wait for our turn to disembark.  This was a good breakfast I got in the buffet.  It had English and American bacon, one egg broken yolk over hard, one small pancake (under the egg), sausage links, a pineapple wedge, and some canned peaches. 
 
That breakfast held me until after our Sydney Opera House tour that started at 1:30 p.m.  We had already checked into our hotel and then caught the free shopping bus back down to the Harbor.
 
==> You can see other "L" letter posts by visiting Jenny's blog post, Alphabe- Thursday. My letter "L" portion of this post will be critiqued by Head Mistress Jenny. I always hope for a good grade.
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Now for my Thursday Two Questions.

My last post last week was about a "K" word, Kangaroo.
My Two Questions for this week (you can answer just one if you wish):.
 
1. Do you ever laugh at things that make you smile?  What was the last thing you smiled about or laughed at?
 
2. What does your community have for mass public transportation?.
I wish the Houston Metropolitan had decent public transportation.  If yours does you should feel lucky.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite "L" word?
. .
==> My post is for Amanda at her Thursday Two Questions blog, Self Sagacity.

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Wednesday, February 06, 2013

"Our" Old Hat -- Two Shoes Tuesday # 23[second] - Old

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You are looking at "our" old hat. 

Please don't look at me, I just finished having a 'sun spot' removed from my nose and cheek.  I will be fine.

I don't know how old the hat is but when I first got hold of it was in 1978.  It was the year my niece, Barb, was married.  Our daughter, Karen, was four and she was the flower girl.

Karen made it up to the front of the church but then when she saw her Aunt Lois (my sister) she sat down beside her and there was no more flower girl.

When we were ready to leave the church no one was there except Lois's, my parents, and our family.  This hat was hanging on a coat hook and I asked Lois about it. She said it had been there for a couple of years.

I took it over to her house when we left.  I hung it on her hall tree and promptly forgot about it.  The next time she came Houston way she brought it down to me.  I really didn't want it but I had it.

So the next time we went up to see her in Iowa I brought it back up and left it in her house without telling her.  From that time one for several years we had the game of "bring the hat and hide it in your house."  That is why I am calling it "our" old hat.
 
I have had in now for several years without trying to get it back to her.  But I will.  Just have to be clever about it. 

By the way, it suffered these moth holes from being in her basement too long.


These hats pictured above are three of the oldest hats in our house.   On the left is a hat that Dad sometimes wore in the nursing home.  It says "Sugar Daddy."  I don't know why he wore such a tattered had when he had some really nice ones.

In the middle is the moth eaten hat that Lois and I take turns having in our homes.  Then on the right is my old golfing straw hat for summer golf.  It was wet from a rain and lost its form so I had to get another.

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Two Shoes Tuesday is a place for bloggers to share what we enjoy doing most... writing! Each week Josie provides a one-word writing prompt and invite us to share a short story, poem, essay, thought, or photo relating to that topic.

The writing prompt for February 5, 2013, in honor of Josie's birthday this week is "old". For a list of and links to those participating, go here.



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Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Free TV License for the Old or Blind -- Two Shoes Tuesday # 23 - Old

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I ran across this message for old folk and the blind 
in my e-mail inbox this morning.
 
There is another post I will make this afternoon but in the meantime I thought perhaps you might enjoy reading my latest e-mail.

If you're 75 or over you're entitled to a free television license. You can also get TV license concessions if you're registered blind. Or if you live in nursing or residential care or in sheltered accommodation.

To do this, call TV Licensing on 0300 790 6131, minicom 0300 790 6050.

To apply for the blind concession, you'll need to send TV Licensing your name, address, telephone number, TV License number and the following:

- a photocopy of the blind registration certificate from your local authority or ophthalmologist
- your license renewal notice (if you have one) payment by cheque or postal order of the half-price TV license fee

Post your application to:

TV Licensing Blind Concession Group Bristol BS98 1TL.
Remember to include your name, address, phone number and TV Licence number.

Get a new TV licence within ten working days of receipt of your application.
 
The fine print (Jim's editorial addition): 
The above applies to British only, living in the U.K.  Americans in the U.S. ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE LICENSE TO OWN AND OPERATE THEIR TV's.
TV's for the blind are hard to come by.  Be sure to ask that the subtitles are able to be displayed in BRAILLE.
 
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Two Shoes Tuesday is a place for bloggers to share what we enjoy doing most... writing! Each week Josie provides a one-word writing prompt and invite us to share a short story, poem, essay, thought, or photo relating to that topic.
The writng prompt for February 5, 2013, in honor of Josie's birthday this week is "old".  For a list of and links to those participating, go here.
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Sunday, February 03, 2013

Succinctly-Yours

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Angela had the formula:
1. Take the tow rope instead of the lift;
and
2. The rule for her, 'girls go first'
equaled a happy day.

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126 Characters counted and spell checked by MicroSoft Word.

µ-fiction Story Copyright

© 2013 Jimmiehov
All Rights Reserved


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Picture prompt furnished by GMa
Optional, Word of the Week:formula -- Succinctly Yours Week 98
Rules: Use the photo as inspiration for a story.  
..Maximum of 140 characters OR 140 words.

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