Top Ten Thursday - St Petersburg

Today for our top ten Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom has asked us to take an imaginary city trip! We picked a location we've been wanting to visit, googled the h*** out of the internet and put together the top ten things we want to see, do, experience, eat, etc. at that place! 

So many places that I would love to visit that it was hard to decide which one to do. I could've chosen Prague, Florence, Ulan Bator, Salzburg, and the list goes on, but instead I've chosen St Petersburg in Russia.

Pixabay.com

Here's my top ten (there are many more things I'd like to do, but these are a start).

1. Drink Vodka in it's home country.

2. Visit Smolenskoe Cemetery - there are several great sounding graveyards in the city, but this is one of the older ones.

3. Wander through the Hermitage Museum which is situated in the Winter Palace.

4. Marvel at the grandeur of the Grand Palace.

5. Reflect on the beauty of the Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood - the name alone is a reason to visit it. This is the church in the picture above with the iconic Russian domes.

6. Pose with the statue Monument to the Photographer.

7. Eat caviar on traditional Russian blinis (pancakes).

8. Soak in the creative vibes at the Street Art Museum.

9. Pay respects to the assassinated Czar Nicholas II in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

10. Be dazzled by the artistic beauty at the Faberge Museum.

Where would you like to visit that you've never been? So many places in this huge world of ours and it's nice to dream about visiting one day.

It's now late so I'll say Dasvidaniya (goodbye) and wish you all a wonderful day wherever you are.

Pamela & Ken

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A Hodgepodge of Happiness

It's Wednesday, it's hodgepodge time, with the questions set by Joyce at the blog From This Side of the Pond.

1. January is National Mentoring Month. Have you ever had a mentor? Been a mentor? How would you rate the experience?

This one is an odd one as I don't always think that we know when we're a mentor for someone and that we choose who we see as a mentor, they can't be assigned us as some people try to do. When I worked in education I hope that I gave good advice and support to student nurses and junior staff nurses, as I remember how difficult that time in your life can be. I've worked with several people over the years that I definitely saw as a mentor, and that was because I could talk to them about anything without being judged, they listened and gave constructive support and they also seemed to understand my slightly odd sense of humour.

2. What current trend makes no sense to you?

It's a trend that's been around for a while and I don't think I'll ever understand it, and that is the trend of pouting in photos. Rather that smiling, the person opts for looking slightly petulant which just seems bizarre to me.

3. I saw a cartoon on facebook highlighting a few 'weird' things that make you happy as an adult. The list included-writing with a nice pen, having plans cancelled, freshly cleaned sheets, eating the corner brownie, cleaning the dryer lint screen, and sipping coffee in that brief time before anyone else wakes up. (Credit for the cartoon goes here) Of the 'weird' things listed which one makes you happiest? What is one more 'weird' thing you'd add to the list?

I can totally relate to all the things on the list except for the dryer screen one as we don't have a dryer. I think my favourite of the ones listed is writing with a nice pen, and if it's a pink one it's even better. What would I add?  Okay, this is going to sound really weird, but I would add the rasp of a cat's tongue when they lick something off your finger.

4. What's the last good thing you ate?

Just before I started this blog post I had a coffee and a lovely ANZAC Biscuit that I bought at the Mountain Cafe in Aviemore. The owner and head chef, Kj, is a fellow antipodean though she is from New Zealand. An ANZAC is an oaty biscuit which Kj adds seeds and fruit to and it's delicious.

5. Describe life in your 20's in one sentence.

Finished my nurse training in Tasmania, visited the south pacific islands and the USA before working in Saudi Arabia and then deciding to move to the UK where I fell in love with the man of my dreams. 
(The shorter version would be: Qualified, worked, travelled, and fell in love.)

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I love street art and when we were wandering around Inverness at the weekend we came across this delight in a side alley. Love the colours and creativity.

What were your twenties like for you? Before you go, make sure you hop over to Joyce's Blog and see what my fellow bloggers have come up with for their responses.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and make sure you eat something delicious this week.

Pamela & Ken
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Farewell 2017, and Welcome 2018

It's only a few hours until we wave goodbye to the old year and welcome in the new, so time to be a little reflective on how the year has been. In January I wrote this post, My wishes for 2017, and I think all of these still apply for the coming year.

We've had lots of great Days of Fun and found some really unique things to see and do. There is so much incredible history to explore where we live and in January we visited a remote church which sheltered Highlanders during the clearances in 1847 and has words scratched into the glass by these long ago people - A Scottish Tragedy Preserved in Glass.

We attended a world championship in which the Swedish reigned supreme, ironic really as it was the World Porridge Championship and it's one of the dishes that Scotland is known for.

April saw me taking on the A to Z Blogging Challenge for the second year, this time I had a theme and it was all about the Scottish Highlands which made it much easier than 2016. Read my thoughts on the experience and some of the great blogs I found in Reflections on the A to Z.

I ticked two things off my bucket list this year. The first was Glamping in Glenshee - basically camping in a glamorous style. It was a beautiful tent with a low bed, a small wood burner for heat, and a fantastic view of the countryside. It was so lovely that we're going back in April to stay in an old train goods carriage.

The other bucket list item was eating a Deep Fried Mars Bar. I know this sounds like a really strange thing to have on my list, but it's one of those weird food items that I'd heard about for years and had really wanted to try. The verdict - yummy but I wouldn't want to have them very often.

We had a wonderful holiday home in Australia, three weeks of catching up with family and friends whilst still managing to find interesting things to visit and explore. In Tasmania we had a great day out visiting the Murals and Mailboxes of Northern Tasmania and during our brief stay in Melbourne we explored the laneways and Street Art of this fabulous city.

I continued to take part in Top Ten blogging which is hosted by Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom and this year we've done a very diverse range of topics from movie quotes, favourite summer foods, rudeness, random photos, and this one, Favourite Place on Earth. It's a small town in Tasmania called Stanley which I absolutely adore. I love lists so this prompt based challenge is perfect for me.

During the year I found two more prompt based challenges which have been great fun to do. On Wednesdays there is the Hodgepodge which is hosted by Joyce From This Side of the Pond and one of my posts included Problematic Confetti.

The other prompt based challenge is hosted by Annie at McGuffy's Reader and is called Friday's Friendly Fill-Ins - here's one of my posts from October, Friday's Friendly Contemplations. Annie also hosts Sparks on a Monday which is a place for us all to share positive thoughts to spread out into the world - it's a really lovely idea and my first contribution in October was Sparks of Hope.

Throughout all this blogging my beloved is there being his wonderful supportive self, exploring our part of the world with me and making me coffee when I'm sitting at my laptop. I'm truly blessed to share my life with this gorgeous, thoughtful, adorably funny man.

As for our furbies, Princess Cookie Cat is nearly 14 and has started to show her age in small ways - the biggest being that I can catch her quite easily now which makes going to the vet much less stressful. She's sitting beside me as I type this, but of course she's got her back to me so I'll share a photo I took earlier.

Bramble Jelly Sassy Pants (our Cocker Spaniel) is as energetic as ever and still hasn't learnt that if she annoys Cookie too much she will get a whack on the nose. I love this picture as Bramble looks so innocent and Cookie has her paw in the air ready to strike.

With one hour to go until midnight, I wish 2017 a very fond farewell - we had ups and downs like anyone does, but along the way we shared lots of love and laughter.

In 2018 I'm sure I'll find lots of other challenges to take on and hopefully we'll tick a few more things off our bucket list. Starting tomorrow, on the first day of the year I'm going to start the 100 Happy Days Challenge which I was inspired to do by Tamara who did it earlier in the year. This involves taking a photo everyday for 100 days of something that makes you happy and sharing via your preferred social media - mine is going to be on my instagram account.

We wish all of you a year filled with peace, health, love, and lots of laughter.

Happy 2018

Pamela & Ken
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Top Ten Thursday - The Beauty of Art

This week's Top Ten is all about art whether that be paintings, classical music, sculptures, literature, theater plays, or operas. Thanks to Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom for the great theme that I think is going to show just how eclectic my tastes are.

1. Brett Whiteley's matches entitled Almost Once. This is my favourite sculpture anywhere in the world as I think everyone sees something different in it. It is in Sydney and next to one of the really busy roads, with thousands of people driving past it every day. I'm not sure what the Australian artist Brett wanted it to represent but to me it is life and death and the beauty of both of those.

2. Gustav Klimt's The Kiss. I love the passion and vibrancy of this piece of art which was created in 1908.

3. Les Miserable. My favourite musical of all time and I have seen it on stage at least six times and my beloved very kindly bought me a copy of the 2012 film so that I can watch it anytime. I've seen professional productions in Sydney's theatre land and on London's West End, and I've seen a local theatre production in the suburbs of Sydney - all were equally as good, as the storyline, the music, and the words are impossible to get wrong.

I think the casting of Hugh Jackman and Russel Crowe in the movie was inspired and I love the fact that the role of the Bishop was given to Colm Wilkinson who played Jean Valjean in the original stage production (Hugh Jackman's character).

4. John Glover's paintings of Tasmania. He was born in England in the 1700's but moved to Australia in 1831 and took on the beautiful landscape of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).

5. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and Dead. This is a play by Tom Stoppard which features two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the ill fated Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. I studied this at secondary college and loved it from the first time I read it at the age of 17, and always wanted to see it on stage. About three years ago I finally got the chance and saw it in the West End, and it was every thing I dreamed it would be.

“We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.” 
― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

6. Aboriginal Art. Whenever I see Aboriginal art, wherever I am in the world, it gives me a feeling of home. The colours, the hidden stories, and just the sheer beauty of it just say Australia to me.

7. Cats. No, not the musical, the living creatures, and of course for us it is Princess Cookie Cat. Cats contain an innate beauty and I very much appreciate it.

“There's no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat. ”― Wesley W. Bates

8. John Lowrie Morrison (Jolomo). A Scottish artist that creates the most beautiful, colourful depictions of Scotland, especially the West Coast where he is from. The first time we came across John's work was in a gallery in the Cotswolds and Ken recognised the bank in front of his childhood home in one of the paintings. We'd love one of his paintings but we'd have to win the lottery first.

9. Nessun Dorma. All of Puccini's opera's are amazing, but this song stands out from all the rest, and as I have seen him perform it live, I have to choose Jose Cura singing it.

10. Street Art. Love the variety, the way people express themselves, and how it can really brighten up an area.  I also love the nebulous nature of it as the artists don't know if their work of art will last a day, months, or years - it could be painted over so easily. It's a bit like building a sand castle that you know is going to be washed away by the tide, you still build it to enjoy it for the short time you have it (sorry, I'm rambling now).

Do any of these make your top ten of art? Before you go, why don't you hop over to Tamara's Blog and see what my fellow bloggers have come up with.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and enjoy the art of your part of the world this week.

Pamela & Ken

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The Street Art of Melbourne

On our recent trip to Australia we spent three wonderful days in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria. Ken had never been to Melbourne and I hadn't visited for about 23 years. One of the things that I really wanted to do whilst we were there was to check out the street art as I love how what used to be taboo is now such a mainstream form of art that people come from all over to see.

Two of the laneways that we explored were Hosier Lane and Union Lane - both still have the cobbles under foot and every bit of space is covered with paint - in some places there are many layers of art and you have to step back to appreciate what was there and what is there now. Here's a selection of the art that stood out for me.

Around the streets of Melbourne there are also interesting art installations that you suddenly come across - love this purse that is lying in the street. People were sitting on it to listen to the buskers that were nearby.

These three shoppers are in the middle of a street which really made me smile watching people walk through the middle of them - I love art that is tactile and not behind glass, away from the people who want to enjoy it. You maybe can't see in this photo, but someone has put a half smoked cigarette in the first man's mouth.

Around a lot of the CBD in Melbourne there are anti-terrorism blocks to stop attacks by vehicles. Have they been left as boring grey blocks - NO!! These blocks have brought out the very different artistic talents of the people of this fabulous city. Here's a selection of the blocks and the art on them.

This was my favourite one, as it's so simple but it states such an important belief that would be wonderful for us all to live by.

I hope you've enjoyed this look at just a small sample of the street art of Melbourne - if you're ever in Australia, make sure Melbourne is on your list of places to visit. I'll leave you with this beautiful cat in one of the lanes.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and take time to appreciate the unusual beauty of wherever you live this week.

Pamela & Ken
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