Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
This last week was full of major random events that should work together next week to move my life forward even though singularly one wouldn’t have thought so. Next week I am looking forward to seeing how this new direction plays out.
http://ceenphotography.com/2016/02/08/share-your-world-2016-week-6/
This tree in the Shoalin Temple, China is the oldest living thing I have ever seen. Our guide told us it was 1500 years old, which initially left me speechless. I struggled to understand the changes that would have occurred in it’s time. However, once I grounded myself, I enjoyed spending several minutes in this grand old masters presence mindfully connecting with both past, present and future. I love trees, they give me energy, especially those that have been around for a very long time.
What is the oldest living thing you have seen?
Today is Australia day. To celebrate I would like to share my A-Z of Australian things. Although far from a complete list it is fun way to share Australia. Included in the list are:
A: Aboriginal Art – Paintings by indigenous Australian often using a dot design.
Anzac biscuits – Australian biscuits eaten by our troops on the shores of Gallipoli hence the name. They are made from rolled oats, golden syrup, coconut and butter.
B: Beaches – Australia is known for its sandy beaches. The most famous being Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Black Box Flight Recorder – The black box voice and data recorder was invented in Australia.
Beetroot – Your typical Aussie hamburger include beetroot, lettuce and tomato.
Baby Safety Capsule – Developed in 1984 to make sure babies and small children could be safely locked into a seatbelt.
C: Cockatoo – There are 21 varieties of Cockatoos in the world and all can be found in Australia. In my area the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo is common and are often seen on the ground in groups looking for food.
Caramello Koalas – Small Australian chocolate bar
D: Dual Flush Toilet – Toilet with two flush buttons—able to flush either a half or full load of water dependent on amount required.
Dame Edna – Australian iconic entertainer known for her
Didgeridoo – An wind instrument, invented by Aboriginals and originally found only in Northern Australia. It is thought to be the oldest musical instrument in the world.
E: Emu – Australian flightless bird
Esky – Portable coolers keeping food and drink cool in the Australian sun.
Electric Drill – originally invented to drill through rock this technology was later adapted to household use.
F: Fair Dinkum – Aussie slang meaning true or fair. Used when wanting someone to believe you.
Fridge – In 854 the first mechanical ice making machine was invented in Australia that lead to the development of the refrigerator—”fridge.”
G: Great Barrier Reef – World’s largest coral reef covering 2,300 kilometres off Queensland
G’day Mate – Australian welcome
Google Maps – 2003-4 Australian’s Lars and Jens Rasmussen developed the platform that developed into Google Maps.
H: Holden cars – Holden is an Australian automaker based in South Australia. With limited choice for cars in the early days many families had a Holden.
I: Icy Pole – Famous Australian water ice block
J: Jackaroo/Jillaroo – Male and Female workers on a cattle or sheep station in Australia.
Jumbuck – name for sheep in Waltzing Matilda.
K: Kangaroo – One of Australia’s most iconic marsupials
Koala – small bear-like herbivorous marsupial that eats gum leaves.
L: Lamingtons – Spongy butter cake coated in chocolate sauce and rolled in coconut.
Long wearing Contact Lens – Were developed by the CSIRO as the original ones couldn’t stay in day and night for long periods.
M: Melbourne Cup – “The race that stops the nation” is the richest two-mile handicap horse race in the world. Run the first Tuesday in November, it is a public holiday in Melbourne.
Meat Pie – The meat pie is an Australian icon. Traditionally it is pastry filled with beef and gravy just big enough to fit into your hand, making it easy to eat on the go.
Macadamia – A tree nut specific to Australia with a creamy texture.
N: Nullabor Plains – 1200 kilometre stretch of desert runs from South Australia in the east to Western Australia. Its name means no trees, just flat mostly straight road. In fact, the Nullabor holds the record for the worlds stretch of straight bitumen 146.6 kilkometres.
New South Wales – My home state between Queensland and Victoria.
O: Opera House – Multi-purpose entertaining venue on Sydney Harbour. A white building during festivities it is changed dramatically using lights.
Outback – The Outback is the large, remote, arid space that covers a Australia. Usually covered in red soil.
P: Platypus – Unique Australian mammal that looks like a cross between a duck and beaver
Plastic Banknotes – Invented by the CSIRO, making bank notes tougher and reducing their ability to be counterfeited.
Powerboard -Invented in 1972 allows multiple electrical devices to be powered from one electrical socket.
Q: Quokka – Australian macropod about the size of a cat found on Rottnest Island off Perth
Quoll – Carnivorous Australian marsupial first seen by Captain Cook in 1770.
Queensland– Australian state north of New south Wales.
R: Rotary Clothes Hoist – Clothes line that raises and lowers as well as swings around in the wind.
Rottnest Island – 18 kilometres off Perth, it is home to Quokkas, pristine beaches and world-class surf.
S: Sydney Harbour Bridge – The world’s largest steel arch bridge and connects Sydney to the north shore. I travel across it everyday on my way to work and never tire of the sight.
Surf Life Savers – Australians classics that keep our beaches safe by rescuing swimmers in difficulty
Surf Ski – Australian invention to assist in saving lives see above photo
Speedos – Australian men’s swimmers—sometimes colloquially referred to as “budgie smugglers.”
Splayd – Australian invention that combines the spoon fork and knife
T: Tim Tams – Iconic Arnott’s biscuits that involves two layers of chocolate biscuits joined together with chocolate cream and covered in chocolate.
U: Ugg Boots – Unisex sheep skin boot with fleece on the inside.
Uluru – Also known as Ayers Rock is a large sandstone rock in the Northern Territory.
Ultrasounds – Invented in Australia through work with the Department of Health.
V: Vegemite – Sandwich spread most Australians won’t travel without and most of the rest of the world try but find it very bitter. Below is the original ad that explains alot.
http://youtu.be/0yA98MujNeM
Victoria – Southern State of Australia on the East Coast—Capital is Melbourne.
W: Wiggles – The original Wiggles —children’s entertainers—are Australian.
Wine casks – Wine casks are an Australian invention to carry large amounts of wine in a plastic bladder with a simple pouring spout
Wi-Fi Hotspots – Wi Fi technology was invented in Australia through research at the CSIRO.
X: XXXX Beer – Famous brand of Queensland beer
Y: Yackandandah – Small tourist town near the New South Wales and Victorian border
Z: Zeehan – Former silver and gold mining town in Tasmania
Back in September 2015 I was surprised to hear the story of Chris The Sheep, as it had never occurred to me that his could happen. Chris was found wandering in the bush on the border between New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory, his fleece so massive he could barely walk or see. The size of his fleece makes professionals estimate that Chris had wandered around in the bush not shewn for about 6 years possibly after wandering off from previous owners.
When Chris was spotted the RSPCA ( Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was called in to get him help. They organised a rescue team and for Australian Champion Shearer Ian Elkins to shear him. After two shearing passes, a new world record was set for the heaviest fleece — 40.45 kilograms or 88 pounds. The previous record holder was New Zealand with a 28.9 kilogram fleece. Due to the damage that carrying this amount of wool around can have on a sheep’s tiny body let’s hope this record is not broken again.
Oprah arrives in Australia today so I thought it might be fun to take some of her sage advice and make it this weeks Wisdom Wednesday’s quote.
Oprah’s quote is very powerful and one I agree with. Sometimes despite the grass seeming to be greener on the other side making a decision to cross or remove any option of crossing in the future is difficult. Sometimes you have to get advice from the experts, weigh up the pros and cons and then take a leap of faith. Either way it’s not simple. But to move forward you have to make a choice—one way or the other.
What type of popular candy you do not like to get?
I am not a big candy fan however if I am in the mood I can eat most types. The candy I have consistently refused to eat all my life is candy bananas. I like fresh bananas however anything else banana flavoured including candy or lollies as we call them in Australia is a no go zone.
What do you feel is the most enjoyable way to spend $500?
A mini-break to the Blue Mountains would be a great way to spend $500.00. It has been years since I have visited the Three Sisters, Echo Point or Leura . The Blue Mountains are 100 kilometres west of Sydney so they are ideal for a quick and relaxing get away. Spring is a great time to visit before it gets too hot and bush fire season settles in with many walking trails closed due to risks.
Where do you eat breakfast?
I eat breakfast most days at the computer working on Inspiring Max or visiting other blogs I follow. Everyone else in the house is usually asleep so my connecting with my digital world doesn’t mean my family is rejected.
Would you rather ride one of the world’s longest zip lines or bungee jump one of the highest in the world? This will come with a 5-day all expense vacation.
I would never bungee jump as I am concerned about the effect of the bounce back on my body. A zip line however I would love to try. To me they are a flying fox on a much bigger scale and I have always loved playing on a flying fox even as a adult. Once on a family camping trip my father made a flying fox and we had hours of fun on it.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for this week and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
During the past week I am grateful that I have been able to return to blogging and was able to blog on average every second day, a doubly of my recent posting rate.
This week at Toastmasters we are having our first ever speech-a-thon. A night with no other assignments just 10 speech instead of the usual 4. It will be an inspiring night from which I know I will learn new things.
http://ceenphotography.com/2015/11/16/share-your-world-2015-week-46/
If you could split your time evenly between two places, and two places only, which would these be?
For a period I would love to be able to spend 6 moths in Australia and 6 months in Canada. There is so much natural beauty, flora and fauna and history in both places, devoting time to exploring it would be amazing. The question I would struggle to answer is where to begin? Maybe I could use the following acrostic poems as a guide.
Adelaide
Uluru
Sydney
The Great Barrier Reef
Rottnest Island
ACT
Launceston
Illawarra
Albury – Wodonga
Charlottetown
Alberta
Newfoundland & Labrador
Algonquin Park
Drummondville
Arctic Bay
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/a-tale-of-two-cities/
The most amazing physical boundaries and divides I have explored are high in the Taihang Mountains, China. The Guoliang Tunnel shown in the photos below was carved by hand to allow Guoliang village people access to the outside world. To be even more inspired by this amazing part of China and learn more about the Guoliang Tunnel please visit my previous post https://www.inspiringmax.com/guoliang-tunnel/
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/boundaries/
The following two monochromatic photos of a wild goanna we found at Minyon Falls are interesting. Taken from slightly different angles they truly show how his camouflage works. It was fascinating to see him in the wild from a distance of course.
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/monochromatic/