Waste Warriors

Saturday 28 January 2012 – Happy Sabbath!

wastewarriors — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:27:20 +0000

Penguiroo and Marian at the Florida Beach Bar, Terrigal

I have Marian visiting today from Sydney before she returns to the US on Thursday. She arrived yesterday and of course we went straight into Terrigal to enjoy the sea air. We had a lime, soda and bitters at the Florida Beach Bar at the Crowne Plaza and there was a really good band playing so we weakened to an appetizer of a snack of onion rings, sweet potato and Taro – very tasty. We went to Fishbonez for a delicious barramundi, chips (oops!) and salad. The fish was sooooo fresh I think it would have been caught that morning. Marian checked to see if the match had started yet at about 7.45pm – but it hadn’t. After eating we went home and watched the Andy Murray/Novac Djokovic match which was very exciting. We ate popcorn and eventually went to bed at about 1am with the party house still raging over the road!

I lost a whole chunk there so will have to do it again!

Here’s a sunrise from a while back.

Sunrise from the Skillion

We had a great day’s bridge on Thursday for Australia Day. Ann had decorated the club and bought some Lamingtons – which are typically Australian -

Here’s a little of their history:

The humble Lamington is an Australian icon but where did it come from? Toowoomba would you believe! In the summer of 1886, Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland took his entourage to Harlaxton House in Toowoomba to escape the steamy heat of Brisbane.
He loved, ‘Snowballs’ – round cakes served with whipped cream. The cook was requested to make a batch for afternoon tea and to cook’s horror the kitchen was not equipped with round patty tins or cream!

Cook was creative and made a big cake which she cut into oblongs, iced with chocolate icing and sprinkled with coconut.
The Governor and his guests were enthralled with the new treat.
Lady Lamington was asked what the cakes were called.
When told there they had no name, the Guests dubbed them ‘Lord Lamington Cakes’.

We live and learn! Off for a walk now dodging the rain drops! Breakfast at Bellyfish.

Aussie Ali at the Australia Day bridge

Friday 27 January 2012 – Aspersing!

wastewarriors — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:59:27 +0000

Our chef! - Peru

I love crosswords! The clue was “slandering” – the answer “aspersing”. I knew the phrasal verb “to cast aspersions” but did not realise that there is a verb “to asperse”. The older I get the more I realise that I have a lot to learn!

Thursday 26 January 2012 – Happy Australia Day!

wastewarriors — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:21:55 +0000

Sabbath School lesson – The hour of Judgement reads: Who hasn’t been the victim of how greedy, selfish and mean people can be? or who hasn’t at some point been the greedy, selfish and mean one? Thank goodness for the God of Grace!

Revelation 14:6-7

The Message (MSG)

Voices from Heaven

^6-7I saw another Angel soaring in Middle-Heaven. He had an Eternal Message to preach to all who were still on earth, every nation and tribe, every tongue and people. He preached in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory! His hour of judgment has come! Worship the Maker of Heaven and earth, salt sea and fresh water!”

Hope you all have a great holiday! You guessed it – I will be paying bridge and then going to lunch complete with my cork hat and Australia Day T-shirt. Enjoy your day.

This is my 179th post. As 7 and 9 are Dad’s lucky numbers, I am making a special mention again of how lucky I was to be born into a loving and caring family – even if we all do not agree all the time. I still love them all.

Crossword clues were pertinent yesterday – I do crosswords every day too!

Clue: Selfless Christian love Answer: Agape Just a reminder for me I think!

Clue: Slandering Answer: _s___sing. Does anyone know that one? I will check it this morning.

Wednesday 25 January 2012 – Robert Burns Day! and Condemnation and Grace …

wastewarriors — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:25:05 +0000

One of the poems of Rabbie Burns is “To a Mouse” and here are my Dad’s favourite lines “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray”:

But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men,
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!

and here is the link! You won’t understand any of it but have fun trying!; http://www.robertburns.org.uk/Assets/Poems_Songs/toamouse.htm

One of the things I love about the Seventh-day Adventists is that they tell us we are all sinners and therefore cannot judge others. The only Being who can judge us is God. We are protected by the robe of Righteousness who is Jesus. We do not pretend to be perfect, or even close to perfect but we have faith that our sins on this earth will be forgiven on the Day of Judgement.

John 3:17-21

17 God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. 18 Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. 19 ”This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. 20 Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure.21 But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”

View from Hillside Farm - Bowness

Just some random photos from my worldwide collection!

On the Inca trail to MachuPicchu

Now if I am wrong and you are right then I have lost nothing. I just die and turn to dust BUT if I am right and you are wrong – HALLELUJAH!

Off to play tennis and then play bridge. The busier I am, the more I do! and the less I have time to think about those who are wronging me!

I never pretended to be a saint but I did (and am doing) my best with the cards which I have been dealt and that is all that my Dad (and Mum) ever asked me to do

Sunday 22 January 2012 – I believe in One God …

wastewarriors — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:19:12 +0000

Matthew 12:36-37 (The Message)

36 Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. 37 Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.”

I do not need to say anything. My God says it all through the Bible. If we speak or write careless, cruel or untrue words they will come back to haunt us. Each new day comes afresh and we can start all over again with a clean slate. Thankfully our God is a gracious God and will forgive most everything if we ask for forgiveness and are sorry for our transgressions.

However, our God is also a God of Judgement and Judgement Day is coming soon. The heading for the Sabbath School lesson for today is Judgement Day. It refers to many texts in the Bible about that Day. Here are two:

1 Peter 4:17-19 (The Message)

17 It’s judgment time for Christians. We’re first in line. If it starts with us, think what it’s going to be like for those who refuse God’s Message! 18 If good people barely make it, What’s in store for the bad? 19 So if you find life difficult because you’re doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he’s doing, and he’ll keep on doing it.

Hebrews 10:30 (The Message)

30 This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing,” and, “God will judge his people.

On the evening of 20 January, I was shocked to find a comment on my blog dated 8 December 2011 (nearly three weeks after my beloved Dad passed away) which was sent from my Dad’s email address. It was horrible, shocking and untrue and was sent to make me crumble. However, it has the reverse effect. It makes my faith in God much stronger. God is gracious but his wrath is mighty against those whose hearts are impure. Using a dead person’s email address must be an indictable offence – so be careful whoever you are because God is watching.

Friday 20 January 2012 – Happy Sabbath

wastewarriors — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:55:36 +0000

It is 10.40pm and I am just about to try to go to sleep. It is a hot night – beautiful – so the party house opposite is raging – although I don’t hear any music – just the incessant chatter.

Had a great day today. Went to Terrigal. Played tennis. Had breakfast at Bellyfish. Went to the Bush Nursery at Erina Heights and bought two Passionfruit vines to plant in the garden outside Bellyfish – hopefully to grow up the post. Took some oregano from home to plant too and planted some rosemary too. Did a bit of pruning of the geraniums and tidied the garden a little. Went to Dad’s Apartment to check everything was OK and then went for a great swim at Terrigal Beach. I seem to do that most days now. The water is wonderful. Dried off by walking along the beach and picking the odd pieces of flotsam trash – including two pieces of a tin can which had been ripped apart and would have been very painful if someone had stood on it – there are some very sick people out there who think it is fun to leave jagged cans on the beach where children walk. I am glad my parents brought me up differently – to care about others and about the world and our environment. I love and miss you, Mum and Dad. Had fish and chips at Fishbonez in Terrigal and then came home to watch Hot Seat. Everything I do reminds me of the good times with you both. Thank you for all my blessings, Lord.

Somebody seems to be using Dad’s email address and writing messages as if they are from him. That is a very sick mind and it must be illegal to use and abuse the email address of a person who has passed away. I will discuss that with my solicitor on Monday.

Of to bed now for another good night’s sleep.

Monday 16 January 2012 – Romans 1:18

wastewarriors — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:14:13 +0000

As a Christian I have to be forgiving of all those around me who are mean to me. It is hard but I am trying. The thing that really keeps me going is that I should give the problem to God apparently and let him deal with those who are mean. He is not happy at the moment with some of my family’s sins – and the rain keeps coming … but He still loves the sinners! The devil makes them do it.

Thankfully, most of my family are very supportive, which I really appreciate. Thank you, guys.

God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

It is raining here again and I believe that God is telling us something … You need to work it out for yourself though.

My Message Bible makes a very interesting read for those who are being mean to other members of humanity. I could not say it better myself.

Romans 1:18-32 (The Message)

18 But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. 19 But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! 20 By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. 21 What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. 22 They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. 23 They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand. 24 So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. 25 And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them – the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes! 26 Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn’t know how to be human either – women didn’t know how to be women, men didn’t know how to be men. 27 Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men – all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it – emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches. 28 Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. 29 And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, 30 fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. 31 Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. 32 And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care – worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!

Enough preaching for today! Off for my morning walk then I intend to play bridge with a friend – the first Monday bridge since my Dad passed away. It will be a hard time but I owe it to my Dad’s memory to keep going with the bridge. When you play bridge you can think of nothing else. It is a great way to clear the brain …

Have a great day!!

Friday 13 January 2012 Unlucky for some …

wastewarriors — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:16:49 +0000

… but not for me!

http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/content/documents/370The%20Future%20We%20Want%2010Jan%20clean.pdf

and check out this great website if you want to stay healthy! Eat more dandelions!

http://sergeiboutenko.com/

Thursday 12 January 2011 – Say no to plastics PLEASE…

wastewarriors — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:43:36 +0000

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3405538.htm

PLEASE watch this and say NO to plastics

Friday 6 January 2012 – Happy Wedding Anniversary, Pam and Neil …

wastewarriors — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:49:42 +0000

It would have been my Dad’s 89th birthday yesterday so family members celebrated his life at the Erina Leagues Club – the club where Dad loved to treat his family to their $8 lunches. We had a great day reminiscing about our wonderful life together. Many happy memories. Thank you, Dad.

Strangely, as I was doing my regular early morning walk yesterday, I met a lady, Susan, who was walking her 15-year-old dog who had the same colouring as my Dad’s old dog, Paddy. I took a photo.

Obi – 15-year-old dog like Paddy

It turned out that Susan had lost her father in June so understood entirely when I started to cry as I spoke of his love for our dog, Sali, who was a ‘Heinz 57 variety’ daughter of Paddy. A poignant moment for both of us.

This is a Waste Warrior’s blog so I need to show you this horrible piece of plastic which I found washed up on Terrigal beach while I was trawling the tide line for debris. What damage it might have done to our innocent aquatic animals.

What damage this 'trap' might have done to our marine life

A big “thank you” to Joanne McCarthy for her great article in the Herald Sun “Beach trash treasures” about the many volunteers who happily clean their local beaches nearly every day. We are lucky in Terrigal to have early risers who love to see our beach area clean. Thank you, Delle, Ewan, Harold and Glenda. I love you all!

View from our apartment in Edgecliff

Some photos from Magali and my trip to Sydney on her last day in Australia until the next time!

Best view of the Sydney Opera House

Actually this photo was taken from the spot where we managed to park our car under the Sydney Harbour Bridge – the best aspect which I have ever seen of the beautiful iconic Opera House.

We had an amazing thunderstorm last night. Someone up there is not happy with what some people down here are doing to our world! No tennis or kayaking for me today – too cold and wet! I will walk though and have breakfast at Bellyfish Cafe in Terrigal.