Christine

Posted on January 21, 2025 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged baby names, bloganuary, bloganuary-2024-21, Care, Compassion, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1824, Memory, Name, nominative determinism, Thinking, TimeLeave a comment

Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.

From ancestry.com

Variations Christina, Khristine,

Christie

From ancestry.com

“The name Christine has its origins in the English language and carries the meaning Follower of Christ. It is a feminine name derived from the masculine name Christian, which itself originates from the Greek word christianos. The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages and has since remained widely used in various cultures around the world.”

And yet when I looked up WordPress free image library to find something to illustrate this only four pictures appear. This was the prettiest one, but really not relevant!

I suppose the name has always had some influence on me, even though I don’t really call myself Christian I follow a lot of Christianity’s rules. I believe in compassion, care, equality, freedom, respect, charity. I think the world needs to try and work towards all these things.

Maybe being called Christine is like nominative determinism, the name pushes you into certain paths? I don’t know but I think it influenced me.

No to Orange

Posted on January 20, 2025 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Ceremony, disrespect, Feelings, Orange, Poem, Poetry, Sadness, Thoughts, TV, Vote1 Comment

Something is occurring on UK tv

An orange smarmfest for people to see

So many millions drink the juice

And find their brains are letting loose

Thoughts of selfishness and pain

Their minds are so full of distain

For the poor and the elderly

Veterans too.

No fears in their minds

For those they will hurt

Much rather to vote

For an Orange Jerk.

Dawn branches

Posted on January 19, 2025 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Branches, Hemisphere, incollage, Life, Memories, North, Photo, South, Time, Trees, Waiting, YearLeave a comment

Dawns coming a little earlier everyday. It’s almost a month since the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere (getting dark slightly earlier in the South).

I only really feel the year has turned when there’s still a bit of light in the sky at 5pm. I remember work days when I would go to the work in the dark and home in the dark. I’m just waiting, hoping for sunlight and warmth.

Purple rice

Posted on January 19, 2025 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Courgette, Evening meal, Food, Onion, Purple, red cabbage, Rice, sausage, Tasty, TeaLeave a comment

Tea tonight

Some mixed veg and rice with sausages.

I had some courgette, onion and red cabbage to cook so I added in a handful of rice into a pan of boiling water. I let that simmer while the sausages cooked in my air fryer. I knew that red cabbage releases colour into the water but I wasn’t quite expecting purple/blue to dye the rice.

It was a little bland but I added some brown sauce to liven things up a bit! Tasty

Glass ornaments

Posted on January 18, 2025January 18, 2025 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Glass, glass blowing, holidays, isle of wight, Lens, Memories, paper weights, SunlightLeave a comment

I collect glass paperweights, I have them in a windowledge but out of direct sunlight because if they cause a lens effect they can create a fire! Some people have had this happen and I don’t intend to experience the same.

I started collecting them in the 1980’s when I was given two in exchange for a painting. I must have 20 or 30 dotted around the house. They are very dusty, I don’t move them much because they are quite heavy.

If you ever get to see glass blowing it’s worth it. I found it fascinating when we visited a workshop on the isle of Wight one year.

I see you

Posted on January 18, 2025 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, cats eyes, Collage, Food, Humour, Poem, Poetry, Staring, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

She gave me ‘that look’

It was questioning me,

Looking into my soul

An unblinking stare

From inches away

Looking into me

It seemed to say….

Where’s my tea?

Four years ago

Posted on January 17, 2025 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Bacon, brown sauce, Cheese, delicious, Food, Memories, Oatcake, Ode to the Oatcake, TastyLeave a comment

According to Facebook memories four years ago I was feeling rough so my dear hubby went out and got me a cheese and bacon oatcake. It doest look appetising but with cooked bacon and mature cheddar with a hint of brown sauce, the Oatcake was folded in half, hot and tasty.

We used to have the occasional oatcake over the months, it’s a local delicacy. As the artist, author and poet Arthur Berry wrote :

Ode to the Oatcake: 1980

Let us pay homage to the Oatcake.
Or Otcake or woodcake as the old men called them.
The Oatcake is not a cake at all really.
Not like the fairy cake or the Eccles cake.
Not a cake in that way.
More of a Potteries Popadum [sic]
A sort of Tunstall Tortilla.
A Clay Suzzette.

Justification

Posted on January 16, 2025 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Biology, Chemistry, Environment, Learning, Nature, Physics, rebuttal, Science, science programmes, ThinkingLeave a comment

I’ve got into a bit of a debate on Facebook about whether the exhaust from airplanes is from water vapour (yes) or chemicals (no). I’ve got especially annoyed since they have said they will be getting rid of fact checkers. I think if you see something on line that does not make sense you should not ignore it but at least put in an alternative realistic point of view. I finished one comment with the words Occams Razor.

Following a series of comments when I rebutted each strange argument with an alternative reasonable comment, someone asked where was I getting my information from? I could of course just said Google. But I don’t. I have had a long life and I like learning information. My memory is very retentive. I can remember telephone numbers from more than 40 years ago (0992 37963) my old home number. I learnt the Greek Alphabet for fun… Alpha, beta, Gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, theta….. Etc…

So I answered the question, how do I know things by stating :

Mainly science programmes on radio and TV. Reading the new scientist magazine, I’m also interested in the environment and am a member of various nature groups. I’m interested in astronomy. I took science classes at school (biology and chemistry) and had to take physics in one of my diploma courses. I’ve always been interested in science and try and keep abrest of up to date information. My favourite authors when I was growing up were Arthur C Clarke, Issac Asimov, Carl Sagan and Richard Feynman. I enjoy reading biographies of scientists such as Mme Marie Curie and about the Leakies who discovered the Australopithicine Ape Lucy. I am interested in what’s going on in the world. Does this answer your question? I just enloy thinking things through and trying to understand. If that is wrong I will stop commenting.

I try and be polite and as accurate as I can be.

Early dawn

Posted on January 16, 2025January 16, 2025 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Classical music, Cocoa, Gardening, Insomnia, milky drink, Radio, Sleepless, telephone, TiredLeave a comment

Last night was another sleepless night. I tried a milky hot cocoa then quietly listening to a classical music radio station. I’d stayed downstairs because I have a chesty cough and it’s better to sleep sitting or pillowed up. Finally at just after 7am I gave up and went to bed. I took this photo at the top of the stairs as the faint light blush from the sunrise started to colour the sky. The view is blocked by various trees including a large straggly goat willow. I managed to get comfortable and slept. Then unfortunately someone rang me at 9.15am! After that I’ve been ringing other people so I suppose I’d better stay up.

Comet

Posted on January 15, 2025 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Astronomy, Memory, Sun, Life, Thinking, Comet, Solar system, southern HemisphereLeave a comment

There is a Facebook post saying there is a really bright big comet that will appear in the sky tonight. I do get annoyed with these sort of posts because they are so illogical.

I decided to reply: If it was in the sky we would have seen it coming. It wouldn’t just appear. It might be travelling at a few hundreds or thousands of miles an hour but it wouldn’t appear instantaneously. There is a comet called Atlas (not sure of the full name) that is in the southern sky after recently passing the sun. It’s only a low visability comet and is starting to fly out of the solar system. Visible with binoculars just before sunrise. Gradually dimming as it becomes more distant.

Mallaband-Brown

Author: artbychristinemallabandbrown