Wednesday 25 April 2012

ANZAC DAY (warning: long post)

Today is ANZAC Day in Australia.  It is a really important day of Remembrance for us - commemorating the Gallipoli landing of 1915. Here is some info about it from the Australian War Memorial site: (warning: longish - you may wish to scroll down past it to the pics - which are worth seeing)

What is ANZAC Day?

ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

What does ANZAC stand for?

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they took in that name endures to this day.

Why is this day special to Australians?

When war broke out in 1914, Australia had been a federal commonwealth for only 13 years. The new national government was eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany.
The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated, after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers had been killed. News of the landing on Gallipoli had made a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in the war.
Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left us all a powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as the “ANZAC legend” became an important part of the identity of both nations, shaping the ways they viewed both their past and their future.

Early commemorations

The 25th of April was officially named ANZAC Day in 1916. It was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia, a march through London, and a sports day in the Australian camp in Egypt. In London over 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets. A London newspaper headline dubbed them “the knights of Gallipoli”. Marches were held all over Australia; in the Sydney march, convoys of cars carried wounded soldiers from Gallipoli attended by nurses. For the remaining years of the war, ANZAC Day was used as an occasion for patriotic rallies and recruiting campaigns, and parades of serving members of the AIF were held in most cities.
During the 1920s ANZAC Day became established as a national day of commemoration for the 60,000 Australians who had died during the war. In 1927, for the first time every state observed some form of public holiday on ANZAC Day. By the mid-1930s, all the rituals we now associate with the day – dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, two-up games – were firmly established as part of ANZAC Day culture.
With the coming of the Second World War, ANZAC Day also served to commemorate the lives of Australians who died in that war. In subsequent years the meaning of the day has been further broadened to include Australians killed in all the military operations in which Australia has been involved.
ANZAC Day was first commemorated at the Memorial in 1942. There were government orders prohibiting large public gatherings in case of a Japanese air attack, so it was a small occasion, with neither a march nor a memorial service. Since then, ANZAC Day has been commemorated at the Memorial every year. 
THIS IS WHERE THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN TOOK PLACE , THE FIRST LANDING WAS ON APRIL 25TH, 1915

THERE IS ALWAYS A DAWN SERVICE AT THE SHRINE OF REMEMBRANCE
MELBOURNE'S SHRINE OF REMEMBRANCE IS A BEAUTIFUL, CLASSICAL BUILDING
A FLAME BURNS ETERNALLY IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE SACRIFICE OF OUR SOLDIERS
WREATHS AND FLOWERS ARE TRADITIONALLY PLACED AT MEMORIALS ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY  (NEARLY EVERY COUNTRY TOWN HAS SOME SORT OF WAR MEMORIAL OR AVENUE OF HONOUR)

THE LAST POST IS ALWAYS PLAYED AND IT ALWAYS GIVES ME GOOSEBUMPS AND MAKES ME CRY
LEST WE FORGET
ANZAC Day has special meaning for me as my Dad was a POW in WWII and even though he has not marched in years (he is nearly 93) it is really important to him and thus to me.  The fact that my Dad was in Changi prison in Singapore for his whole war (three and a half years) has had a significant effect on our family life.  Not in a bad way - my Dad just came home and got on with life as he was ordered to do but it has always been an important fact in our lives.  The fact that my Dad went to war to protect his country and way of life, was imprisoned under horrific conditions for many years and then was able to come home to build a new life for himself, marry and give his three daughters a wonderful life is such an affirmation of his strength as a person. It makes me so proud and that is why I cry every ANZAC Day.

hugs,

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Do you remember? I promised a winner for my travel advice post...

Now, this is really belated, but you might remember that way back when, I asked for packing advice for our trips to the States. I promised that there would be a prize for the best advice.  To refresh your memory, here is a link to the post: Travel advice competiton.

Well, I was overwhelmed by the wonderful responses and advice - over 28 fabulous pieces of advice. Thank you everyone - you are such great blogging friends.

I found it really hard to choose the winner - so I have come up with three.

The three winners are:

1. Tracey from More than just Cross Stitchin'


"I don't have any advice as far as WHAT to pack, but a good friend of mine did give me this tip when we were traveling last year.

You know how you and your spouse usually have your own suitcase? Well, my friend told us to put half of your stuff and half of your spouse's stuff in one suitcase, and the other half of each person's in the other suitcase. That way, if for some reason one of those suitcases gets lost, you each still have something to wear!"

2. Jo from Serendipitous Stitching
"Tracey's advice is brilliant. I've heard it before and it makes so much sense.
On the same lines, pack a change of underwear and a small washkit in your hand luggage just in case.
Roll stuff rather than fold it.
Take old stuff to travel in and discard it as you buy stuff to bring home. ie go out with a suitcase of clothes and come home with a suitcase of stash!"

3. Wagapapa from Wagapapa Creations
"...... I also found this video that may help you to fit it all in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaTlO9JKkjg"

Now, I am not sure what the prizes will be and it may take me a week or two to get organised, but if you ladies send me your addresses, I will post you a little surprise in the not-too-distant future.  

Thank you for your great advice, Tracey, Jo and Wagapapa.

hugs, 

Monday 23 April 2012

IHSW update

A most productive weekend was had by me, myself and I this weekend.  I caught up with friends, had lunch with DS1 (who moved out of home just before we left for the U.S.), did lots of baking and lots of stitching.  I would have to say that my IHSW was a great success!  How was yours?

Here is my stitching progress on Cinderella:
BEFORE IHSW

PROGRESS AFTER IHSW

CLOSE UP OF MOST RECENT PROGRESS
 I also had another baking day on Sunday:
Beef Bourguignon

Finger Buns
 Then, Sunday evening, as I settled down to work on my Sunday SAL with Linda and Debbie, I realised that I didn't know where I had oh so carefully put my 12 Days of Santas!!!!  (Sorry Linda an Debbie) So, as I had mentally moved away from Cindy for the evening - I put in a few stitches on Henry VIII and his six wives

I hope that everyone else's IHSW was as productive as mine,

Have a great week everyone,

hugs,

Sunday 22 April 2012

TUSAL and Saturday Baking

I have finally remembered to do a TUSAL posting - only a day late!  Here we go, most of thread is from my progress on Cinderella:



Yesterday, I indulged in one of my favourite pastimes (apart from reading, stitching, shopping....) and did some baking:

Spanish Chicken Casserole
 Mrs. Atkins Fruit Slice (as you can see it didn't even get out of the tin before the hungry hordes aka TraderVic and DS2 descended):


As well, I did lots of stitching on Cinderella but I will show you progress pics when I do my IHSW post. I hope that everyone is having a great IHSW.

hugs,

Thursday 19 April 2012

Belated Easter post

Welcome to all my new followers, it is lovely to have you visit and I hope that we become great blogging mates.  Enjoy!

Well, we came home from America on Easter Saturday morning after having missed DS1's 24th birthday entirely by having crossed back over the international date line.  So, on Easter Sunday evening, despite our jet lag, TraderVic and I put on a birthday dinner for DS1 and for our dear friends, the Friends (yes, that is their surname, they are not Quakers).  Here are some pics of what I baked for my son:

Artichoke and spinach dip - which I think I may have used too much ricotta cheese in it - it should have been less thick, but it was still yummy.

Easter layer cake:
 Some Easter daisies which my DF gave me, they come from her garden, lovely, aren't they?  They are really long lasting as they still look really nice in the vase all of these days later.


Well, off to work now, have a good day everyone.

Hugs, Kaye

(Who really wishes that she could stay home and stitch on Cinderella instead!)

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Just a quick post tonight

.... not feeling too good tonight, I have been to the dentist this afternoon to have two fillings replaced and now the anaesthetic is starting to wear off so my mouth is really hurting!

Also, I am really struggling to settle back into work and my home routine since our return from our wonderful overseas trip to the U.S.  So, very little blogging has been happening on my end - just a bit of blog stalking reading.

However, I have been doing a lot of stitching on Cinderella - I am so enjoying stitching this piece - gorgeous colours and a wonderful design.

Here is my last progress pic:

 And these photos are my latest progress, as you can see I have stitched quite a bit more:





hugs, Kaye xoxox

Sunday 8 April 2012

Home again, Home again, Jiggety Jig

Here we are back safe and sound from our travels.  We had such a wonderful time in the U.S. The people were wonderful and so many fantastic experiences.  I will continue with my retrospective travel diaries once I have myself back in order.  So many blogs to catch up on, though! Lovely!

hugs, Kaye

P.S. Happy Easter everyone.

Monday 2 April 2012

Nashville Diaries: Days 2 and 3


Nashville Diaries: Day 2 - In the morning we went to church in the most gorgeous church - very impressive church buildings and a great service. Then lunch at the WaffleHouse afterwards. Then in the afternoon the guys went to a Vanderbilt baseball game whilst Angela and I hit the shops - safe to say a little bit of damage was done to the bank balance! Then we all pitched in to cook a delicious dinner of grilled pork chops, salad, asparagus and baked potato!
Day 3: Day trip to Huntsville, Alabama to the Space museum - the IMAX was amazing, especially the Hubble telescope film, it really felt like we were in outer space! Saturn V rocket ship was pretty impressive, too, as well as the Lunar landing module and lots of other things. I learnt a lot about Von Braun as well - without his defection to America at the end of WWII there would have been no moon landing! Fascinating! After our day trip, Joe and Woody hit Tootsie's and went Honky Tonk bar hopping whilst Angela and I went to a girl's night in and her lovely friend, Mary's house whilst we critiqued Dancing with the Stars.

P.S. I am sitting in Union Square, San Francisco, with the sun shining as I am typing this, drinking some of the best coffee I have had so far in U.S. - beautiful! Off to Alcatraz this afternoon.
love Kaye  (sorry no photos atm as i am having trouble uploading them)

Sunday 1 April 2012

Nashville Day One

Nashville Diaries: Nashville is a beautiful city! We have done so much whilst we have been here: toured Belle Meade area - gorgeous homes, checked out the Union Hotel, saw the General Jackson paddle steamer on the Cumberland River, had a delicious dinner at the Midtown Grill and then saw Kathy Mattea perform with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra at the Schermerhorn Symphony Hall - and that was just Day One!








Love to you all, Kaye

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