Off To Cambodia.

Cambodia here we come!

My daughter and I are off again, this time to Cambodia. We leave on Boxing day, flying to Kuala Lumpur, on to Phnom Penh and a domestic flight to Siem Reap. In Siem Reap, we hope to visit Angkor Wat for a fabulous photo opportunity. We plan to stay for a week there. Temples and the night market are also on the list of things to see and do. 

From Siem Reap, we hope to take a boat down the river back to Phnom Penh where we will be staying in a lovely small boutique hotel not far from where my daughter will be working. She can even walk to work it is so close. I, on the other hand, can visit local temples close by and do some meditation. Day trips are another option and so is sitting around the pool with a mocktail catching up on my blog and writing. Visiting the local market will be fun and we can buy our fruit there. On the weekends we can do some sightseeing and visit the mall to see what is on offer. It is going to be extremely hot so it will be interesting to see how we cope in the heat. At least we have a pool to help us. It is going to be interesting to take photos of all the sites and share them with you, so keep a lookout. 

Bye for now. I have some packing to do...

Book Review-The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society, written by  Mary Ann Shaffer, is a beautiful story with plenty of insight into the life on Guernsey Island during the second world war and beyond. It Tells the story of Juliet Ashton who was a journalist in London during the war years. She makes contact with a man named Dawsey Adams via a letter that he wrote to her about a book they had both read, and a correspondence begins. Dawsey lives on Guernsey and belongs to a book club there. Other members then get in touch with her and friendships ensue. Juliet learns a lot about their lives on the island during the Nazi occupation. Shaffer brings the characters to life in a delightful tale of people's lives on the Island.

The story is written in letter form which takes a little time to get used to, but it flows well and you don't seem to notice. Definitely a feel good book.

There is also a movie about the book which, with the same title, which was a delight.

MaryAnn Shaffer died before the book came to print. She was a former librarian who wrote a wonderful book for us to enjoy.

Here is a list of books to read.

This is my list of great books to read. I have already done some book reviews and hope to do a lot more. I like a wide variety of books and here are some of my all-time favourites.

1] Out on a limb by Shirley MacLaine.

2] Happiness by The Dalai Lama.

3] Out of Africa by Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen)

4] Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

5] A Bavarian Winter by Ronald L. Harmon

6]  Tibetan by Sorrel Wilby

7]    Home Is Where The Heart Is by Geraldine Cox.

8] The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.

9] Committed by Elisabeth Gilbert.

10]  Sissi by Allison Pataki

11] The Happiness Project  by Gretchen Rubin                  

12] Lavender and Linen by Henrietta Taylor.

I think this is a good mix of books. Very different but I hope you find something in there to read and enjoy.

 Happy Reading.

The Viking Exhibition at the Melbourne Museum.

As I am sixty one percent Scandinavian and am writing a book about my Viking ancestors I thought that it was appropriate that I visit the viking exhibition that is currently showing at the Melbourne Museum.

 So, yesterday I met my daughter in the city to go and visit the exhibit. First we had lunch at a noodle shop near the train station - our favourite food. We ate rice noodles with vegetables and tofu, followed by a custard bun. After lunch we crossed the road and did some shopping at Daiso, a Japanese store where everything is really cheap. I bought some plastic sandals, some heat patches, a small white board with pen and eraser and some mango strips to eat. The lot came to twelve dollars. We took a train to Parliament Station, followed by a tram. It was pouring with rain and very windy. Arriving slightly dishevelled and damp, we checked in our bags, bought our tickets and went for a coffee to warm us up. After a brief respite in we went. A large Viking ship greeted us, it's sail a vision in brown and cream patchwork. 

 

The exhibition was well laid out but a little on the dark side. Artifacts from the Viking age were encased behind glass and included beads, jewellery, axes, swords, drinking vessels, glass wear, nails and runes. You could even replicate your name in the alphabet of the time. There was plenty of information to read and learn about the era and how the people lived. A sword was placed so that you were able to pick it up and feel the weight behind it. An interactive game helped  dress a viking in his clothes of the day and to his station in life. It was all very interesting. On the way out was the usual gift store containing all things Viking, like a rubber duck with a horned helmet atop his yellow head. A must have. There were all sorts of merchandise including plastic helmets, silver jewellery, small long boats, tea towels, plastic swords, games, and stone runes. Your imagination could run wild. 

Off we went tired but happy and ready for the long trip home.Collapsing on the couch after our big day we enjoyed a pasta bake followed by a hot green tea. Our day was done. 

Let Me Go

This wonderful drama is a war story which  portrays the lives of four generations of women and their relationships with each other over the years.The grandmother Helga [Juliet Stevenson], has a very distant and strained relationship with her mother Traudi [Karin Bertling], which takes its toll on her daughter Beth [ Jodhi May]. When Helga and her grand daughter Emily [Lucy Boynton] fly to Vienna to visit Traudi dark secrets emerge. This is a story of great depth and heart.

Delicacy. A Movie Review.

Last night I went to bed early deciding to watch a movie on SBS on Demand on my computer as there was nothing decent on TV. I stumbled across a movie with Audrey Tautou. I love to watch her movies. It also starred Francois Damiens as her love interest. This was a French movie so there were sub titles and the title of it was Delicacy. 

Audrey plays Natalie a young happily married woman who finds herself widowed after her husband is killed by a car while outrunning. She throws herself into her work life to get over her grief and one day a few years later kisses a colleague, Marcus a Swede, on an impulse. 

A friendship between the two develops and feelings start to shift between the pair. 

This movie is delightful and very easy to watch. Great cuddled up under the blankets on a winter's night.

Film 2011-Drama / Romance. 

Directed by David Foenkinos and Stephane Foenkinos.

Produced by Xavier Rigauly and Marc-Antoine Robert. 

My Nursing Years.

This post would take a lot to cover with the stories that I have so I will condense it and give you a briefer overview. 

Firstly P.T.S. which was our first three months of training. Intense and non stop. We spent most of the day in class and demonstrations with practice sessions to follow. This covered bed baths, basic dressings, cleaning, Anatomy and physiology, nutrition and lots of testing. We were then ready to be let out on the wards. And what a shock this was. My first ward was 1A and held the amputees. Never before or since have I seen so many people without their limbs and not only that most were diabetics who do not heal well and the areas were gaping. Most were smoking as this was allowed in those days and looking back at makes me cringe. 

The hospital where I trained was a specialist hospital and held the respiratory unit, the endocrine unit, the cardiac unit and the Psychiatry ward. All fascinating in their own right. There was also general medical and general surgical.

The years flew by and it was not long before I was a senior nurse on these wards managing the drugs, IV's and patient care.

I graduated in May 1976 and decided to leave New Zealand for greener pastures and more opportunities. I had a friend living in Melbourne so decided to move over for a year, get a job and see what happened. The job I got was working on the medical ward of a hospital on night duty. It was very interesting and I nursed a lot of Jewish people who had survived Auschwitz. This was challenging and an eye opener to the world for me. 

 I saved enough to go travelling to Europe and then returned to New Zealand where I staffed at the Women's Hospital on the termination and surgical ward. I also did a lot of hours in Gynaecology Casualty. 

Two years in I decided to return to live in Australia so applied back at the same hospital that I had previously worked in. From there I moved house and suburbs and ended up in various places including agency nursing, rehabilitation, geriatric and general medical which I loved. 

I nursed people from bush fires who had been severely burnt and needed so much help to get back on their feet again.

For eighteen months I worked in a large hospital in the CAT scan, nuclear medicine and ultrasound departments and then transferred to the infectious ward. MRSA [golden staph.]  was beginning to be a huge problem then as it is today.

Working in many fields of nursing gave me so much experience. Most of this time I was on night duty which I loved and when I had my daughter it fitted in very well with the school routine.I slept while my daughter was at school.

My last job was on the road as a community nurse mainly doing dressings and assessing people for care. This too was rewarding. 

 I had an interesting and varied career and now that it is over I can move on satisfied that I contributed a little to help others.

  

A Family History of Smoking. Book Review.

Starting in a village between Austria and Hungary this book tells the story of a family caught in time between the first and second World Wars. There are many interesting characters and Mr Andrew Riemer tells his family story with insight. He commences with his great grandfather David who lost his fortune  and continues on with his mother who although world war two was in progress was strong and courageous throughout it. Some love to smoke to deal with the realities of the situations. Andrew paints a remarkable picture of Budapest during the war years which is very enlightening.  

 The author eventually ends up living in Australia. He reviews books for the Sydney Morning Herald and has written several books won several literary awards. 

This book was a great historical memoir to read.

An Afternoon of Art at the Albertina.

What a wonderful afternoon we had at the Albertina Art Gallery in Vienna. Firstly we had spent the morning at the Nacht markt where there were plenty of  teapots to choose from. How I wish  I could have bought one but the suitcase was already full up. 

We then had a coffee and apfel streudal at the Mozart Cafe across the street from the Albertina before we went over. 

 Climbing up the steps to the Albertina was a thrill. Buying our tickets and entering the lovely space displaying the art works within was even better. The art work was truly magnificent.

The Egon Schiele exhibition was on. 

                                      

Picasso plates and paintings.

Modern art was on offer as well.

We were thrilled to see Durer on display.

There were also the State rooms to walk through and enjoy.

 What a great day we had. I just wanted to crash on this couch and put my feet up. Goodbye to the Albertina.