Time to move into another part of the world, we are now in Asia, which is the worlds largest and most diverse continent, it has both the highest and lowest points on Earth as well as the longest coastline of any continent.
It is subject overall to the world’s widest climatic extremes, and, consequently, produces the most varied forms of vegetation and animal life on Earth.
The name Asia is ancient, and its origin has been variously explained. The Greeks used it to designate the lands situated to the east of their homeland. It is believed that the name may be derived from the Assyrian word asu, meaning “east.” Another possible explanation is that it was originally a local name given to the plains of Ephesus.
Asia has the Arctic Ocean to its north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Indian Ocean to the south.
Asia is separated from North America to the northeast by the Bering Strait and from Australia to the southeast by the seas and straits connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans. The Isthmus of Suez unites Asia with Africa.
Asia is the birthplace of all the world’s major religions—Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. Of those, only Christianity developed primarily outside of Asia and has little influence on the continent, though many Asian countries have Christian minorities. Buddhism has had a greater impact outside its birthplace in India and is prevalent in various forms in China, South Korea, Japan, the Southeast Asian countries, and Sri Lanka.
There are 48 countries in Asia, this number does not include dependent territories or areas of special sovereignty.
Over 2,300 languages are thought to be spoken in Asia, sssthis linguistic diversity is due to the continent’s vast size and diverse geography, which has allowed languages to develop in relative isolation. Asia is home to a wide array of language families, including Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, Dravidian, and many others.
Had a better night last night slept 8hrs 19mins was awake for only 9mins. I got up at 4.40am because I read the time wrong thought it said 4.57 but it was 4.37 silly me.
Tim cooked lunch both Tasha and Jess came, Sam came down but didn’t stay as Tim didn’t cook enough as he cooked crumbed lamb cutlets and I am not A fan of them, I only had a couple of bites and Tasha had the rest.
I am feeling a bit sad this afternoon, not sure well.
BGL:6.6
Steps:8,028=4.06Klm’s
Had a good night slept for 9hrs and 48mins and I was awake for 34mins.
Sue arrived at 7.20am to drive Sam to Tafe and it was 8am before they left as Sam was taking so long to get ready. After they left, I rang Centrelink about if I should apply for a disability support pension or some other payment I will start that tomorrow.
Jess asked is I could wash towels for her as she was already doing a load of clothes, so I did that washed them and tossed them in the dryer.
This afternoon Jess asked if I could do her a casserole in the slow cooker tomorrow so it will be ready when she gets home from work, I said I would.
BGL:6.6
Steps:6,424=3.29klm’s
Had a good night slept for 9hrs and 28mins and I was awake for 39mins.
It is only 7C this morning. I had a moment around 10am when I was so cold thankfully it only lasted about an hour.
Blain came down to say Hi as he was spending the day with his mum, if fact it was the happiest, I have seen Tasha in a long time.
I did the casserole for Jess and was surprised that Tim had two servings of it when he got home from work before Jess took the slower cooker to her house. Jess sent me a text thanking me for making it and saying it was beautiful.
BGL:6.1
Steps:8,150=4.13klm’s
Another good night slept straight through the night didn’t wake at all got 7hrs 50mins of sleep.
Another cold morning only 6C when I got up.
I was watching tv this morning when I suddenly started to feel really cold and had to get up and turn the heater on for about half an hour.
I received two packages from Temu this morning a lot of stuff for me to sort through and label as a good part of it is Christmas or birthday gifts.
This arvo I am feeling very emotional and overwhelmed with life had a bit of a cry which gave me a headache. While waiting for Sam this arvo I started t feel stiff and had to stand and move around a bit also it was bloody cold.
I hope tomorrow I feel better than I do now.
BGL:6.1
Steps: 6,737=3.44klm’s
I had a wonderful sleep woke up feeling great more with it and with some motivation. I had 9hrs & 16mins sleep and didn’t wake at all.
It is 11C and wet outside, thankfully it wasn’t raining when I went with Sam to wait for transport to arrive.
After Sam went to school I got changed and went to the shops with my sister Sue.
Jess sent me a text letting me know that I didn’t need to meet Sam as she is staying at the school to see her boyfriend Bailey’s play and Bailey’s mum will bring her home, she should be home around 8pm tonight.
I rang Sam to see if she was on her way home, she said she would come over and see me when she got home.
Tim got pissed about be referring to Sam as she, say he is a male not a female. I said nothing couldn’t see the point.
BGL:5.9
Steps:8,140=4.13 klm’s
I had a pretty damn good sleep, except for a dream about Tim not loving me anymore, I have these dreams from time to time. I know it is just a dream and have no doubt about how much Tim loves me.
I slept for 9hrs 32mins and was awake for 32mns
Anyway, it is a cold 11C but not too cold so that’s good.
I sorted out the boxes of photos in frames that came off the walls when the house was painted. So instead of having them spread over 4 storage containers they are in 1. I also found a few photos I want to rehang.
Sam said that she will have a new transport driver from Monday, if the new driver doesn’t contact Jess over the weekend, I will have to meet the driver on Monday and let them know that Sam doesn’t’’ require transport on Monday’s as she has Tafe on Monday’s. Jess should be contacted though.
This evening, I started the online0 application for the disability support pension. I will finish it over the weekend.
Tim home late at 8.15 and he is now working Sunday morning.
BGL: 6.1
Steps:5,967=3.10klms
I had another good night had 9hr25mins sleep was awake for 19mins. 10C this morning.
Jess bought me Macca’s for breakfast, but the muffin was so burnt I was unable to eat it.
Jess also said she would send her other work shirt over with Sam a bit latter, well I rang her at 2pm asking for the shirt so I could do the washing.
It has been cold on and off all day.
I fell over while putting the work shirts in the dryer, no damage done.
This Friday we are looking at the national anthem of Haiti which is called La Dessalinienne. It is also sometimes referred to as “The Song of Dessalines”. The anthem was officially adopted in 1903, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Haitian Revolution, and is named in honour of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a leader of the revolution.
La Dessalinienne in English
For the Country, for the Ancestors, let us march united, let us march united. Let there be no traitors in our ranks! Let us be the only masters of the soil. Let us march united, let us march united For the Country, for the Ancestors, let us march, let us march, let us march united, For the Country, for the Ancestors…
For the Forefathers, for the Fatherland Let us toil joyous, let us toil joyous. When the field fructifies the soul fortifies Let us toil joyous, let us toil joyous For the Forefathers, for the Fatherland Let us toil, let us toil, let us toil joyous For the Forefathers, for the Fatherland.
For the Country and for our Fathers Let us train Sons, let us train Sons Free, strong and prosperous We shall always be brothers Let us train Sons, let us train Sons For the Country and for our Fathers Let us train, let us train, let us train Sons For the Country and for our Fathers.
For the Forefathers, for the Fatherland Oh God of the Valiant, Oh God of the Valiant! Under your infinite protection Take our rights, our life Oh God of the Valiant, Oh God of the Valiant! For the Forefathers, for the Fatherland Oh God, Oh God, Oh God of the Valiant for the Forefathers, for the Fatherland.
For the Flag, for the Fatherland To die is beautiful, to die is beautiful! Our past cries out to us: Have a hardened soul! To die is beautiful, to die is beautiful For the Flag, for the Fatherland To die, to die, to die is beautiful For the Flag, for the Fatherland.
Hi, everyone, I guess you would have noticed that during the last few weeks my posting hasn’t been up to scratch but that should be changing as I am going to start setting apart one day a week to write up posts which is what I have done for years but recently I stopped doing that and was writing the post the day I was posting it.
Now for a bit of honesty as I am sure most are aware I have Parkinson’s Disease well the last couple of weeks I have felt overwhelmed and in so much pain day after day, in the evenings I often feel so tired it is an effort to focus and stay awake but when I say I am going to bed early Tim will say something that makes me feel that I shouldn’t be and I know he doesn’t mean to make me feel bad in any way but I do.
My day starts at 5am and yeah, I know some would say why get up so early, but I like the quiet of the morning and I am most productive first thing by 10am I am starting to feel worn out and need to put my feet up and rest for a while. I am thankfully able to do most of the housework there was a while there before I was medicated that I could do bugga all.
During these really cold days I have been getting a lot of headaches and body aches and having moments when everything seems too much to deal with.
I have daily pain and stiffness, at times I have insomnia (but thankfully I am sleeping well at the moment), weakness, and stiffness when standing and walking for a bit till my legs come good. I have to stand and get my balance, and the first few steps can look odd but once things start to work, I am ok. I have had times when sitting is uncomfortable due to my body aching or me starting to feel stiff all over.
I often struggle to get words out the path between my brain and mouth is often blocked and can make things difficult. I will often jumble up what I am trying to say, and it is frustrating to me. Tim often comments that I take too long to answer him but I’m doing the best I can.
Swallowing can be an issue at times and yeah, I know I should take smaller bites, and I do try to do so but there are times I don’t remember to do so, there have been many times when food gets stuck, and I am chocking and coughing trying to dislodge it.
I have gained weight again and this is very depressing for me, telling me to eat less doesn’t help reminding me how much weight others in the family have lost doesn’t help, it just depresses me more.
My body can get very cold during winter and very hot during summer and having someone comment oh you’re cold or oh you’re hot with that shocked tone is also depressing for me. I can’t change how I am all I can do is try and cope the best I can.
Life at the moment is a roller coaster that is moving slow, my emotions are all over the place some days and I feel that the cold wet days are affecting my moods, making it more difficult to deal with the depression.
I cannot thank my sister Sue enough for giving me back a sense of a normal life, I get to go shopping regularly, I have someone to take me to appointments and someone who I can laugh with, and we do laugh a lot when together.
I am blessed with a loving and supportive family and none of them say or do anything to intentionally upset me but there are times when I feel some do not want to take the time to read and understand how Parkinson’s having is affecting me.
Some may think I should take a break from blogging, but it is a big part of what keeps me going day after day, like having to ring Sam 4 or 5 times in the morning to make sure she is up and getting ready for school.
There are days when everything feels like such a struggle and way too much effort is needed to do anything and everything.
Anyway I am hoping that I will continue to improve and I will make sure each Sunday I will take the time to write up posts for the following week.
This week we are looking at some of the national things connected with Haiti the national animal of Haiti is also the national bird. It is the Hispaniolan trogon. It is a colourful bird with a rich assortment of bright feathers along its wings and breast, and a unique pattern on its tail. It’s found only on the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is becoming increasingly rare there due to ongoing habitat loss.
Their national flower is the Hibiscus. Specifically, the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, also known as the pink hibiscus or rose mallow, is the flower often associated with Haiti. In Haitian Creole, it’s called “choublak” or “rose kayenn”.
The hibiscus is a vibrant and resilient flower that symbolizes the Haitian spirit. It is used in various ways, from traditional herbal teas to being a decorative element and a symbol for political parties, like the Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats. The national tree is the Royal Palm.
Haiti’s national dish is soupe joumou (pumpkin soup). It’s a tradition to eat this soup on New Year’s Day to celebrate Haiti’s independence. The soup is made with squash (joumou), beef, and vegetables, and is known for its symbolism of freedom and hope.
The national sport of Haiti is football (soccer) and huge crowds will come out to cheer at games. Children can be seen playing football all over Haiti’s city streets and rural roads.
Haiti’s national drink is Clairin, a rum made from pure sugar cane. It’s produced by small, artisanal distilleries throughout the island. Clairin is known for its rustic, pure flavour, often expressing herbaceous, vegetal, earthy, and grassy notes.
In Haiti, the age of consent for sexual activity is 18 years old. The legal age for marriage is also 18 for males and 15 for females but can be lower with parental or presidential authorization.
The traditional dress for Haitian women is know as a karabela. The dress is made of blue cotton or linen with red lace to symbolize the colors of the Haitian flag. Orange, yellow, and green lace are also used to accent the dress. It is full-length, normally worn off the shoulders.
Slept well didn’t wake at all during the night got 9hrs and 18mins sleep and the watch says I was awake for 21 minutes.
It is still wet outside and the temp is 13C
Tim and Jess went to Bunnings as Tim is going to move one of her security cameras but not today due to the wet weather. It stopped raining long enough for Tim to work on the security camera.
Jess also helped her dad do his tax return and it looks like he will get a small refund.
I have done bugga all in the way of movement done some stuff on the computer and vacuumed three times but that’s about all.
BGL: 7.1
Steps 3,445=1.7Klm’s
Slept well didn’t wake at all during the night got 7hrs and 52mins sleep and the watch says I was awake for 8 Sue drove Sam to Tafe and went down and bought me postage stamps.
It’s a nice day, we have had some rain but not all day.
I have felt sad this afternoon due to how much I can feel my body and jaw moving.
BGL:6.1
Steps: 6,682=3.40klm’s
LILLIANA BIRTHDAY SHE IS 8 TODAY
Slept well didn’t wake at all during the night got 8hrs and 54mins sleep and the watch says I didn’t wake at all.
Although I woke up with bugga all energy I brushed my teeth and washed my face went into the bedroom to dress and just sat on the bed I didn’t feel like doing anything.
I have improved by 9am but still don’t have a lot of energy.
By 1pm it was quite warm, and I needed to change my clothes as I was hot. I also went through the clothes in my gift box and labelled them.
I went to wear thongs to walk up and meet Sam, but I stumbled a few times and ended up taking the scooter, no more wearing thongs for me.
BGL:6.1
Steps: 5,669=2.85Klm
Slept well got 7hrs and 17mins sleep and was awake for 28 mins. I did wake with a headache.
It has been a warm day, I have had a productive morning, ran the dishwasher and unpacked it, did a load of washing and hung it up to dry.
Kathy rang me she is off work sick and feels shocking, she said she will ring Tim tomorrow night.
I walked up to meet Sam this arvo without any issue.
It has been a lovely day.
BGL:5.6
Steps: 7,404=3.77klm’s
Slept well got 9hrs and 15mins sleep and was awake for 58 mins. I did wake with a headache.
It was fine when I got up but had started to rain by 6am.
It was raining heavy when I went up the top to wait with Sam.
I am going shopping with Sue, she thought she would drive up Hillsborough Rd, that wasn’t a good idea after 30mins we weren’t even halfway up the road, so Sue turned around and we drove up Bayview which was better but still slow. Took us an hour to get out of Warners Bay it should had taken no more than 10 minutes.
It has been a cold day and this arvo I ache all over and have zero energy and concentration.
I am having an early night
BGL:5.9
Steps: 6,637=3.38klm’s
LANDON’S BIRTHDAY HE IS 13 TODAY also
TOM’S BIRTHDAY HE IS 30 TODAY
Slept well got 9hrs and 51mins sleep and was awake for 23 mins.
It has been a cold but dry day Tim will be home late.
Tasha brought me a finger bun which she dropped off this afternoon. I will eat it tomorrow.
Another early night for me.
BGL:6.1
Steps: 6,755=3.44klm’s
Had a not so good night well it was ok till 2am when I got up to pee and had a lot of lower back pain, this kept waking me up after 2am and I ended up getting up at 4.20amm as the pain was so bad. I placed a heat pack on my back and that has helped a lot.
I had in fact 8hrs and 29mins sleep and I was awake for 59mins.
It has been raining since I got up.
Tim got up at 9am and he is in a mood, complain about a sore throat and other stuff.
Tim and I went shopping at Big W, I bought a new top and new socks.
Had a visit from Blain and Ta’lia it was nice to see them, they are moving into a shared house with 3 other people, I hope it all works out for them.
Hi everyone it’s the handsome black kitty here, aka, Luca this week Nana has a video of me over the front door at my home I’m so high up, I like being high up one reason is the damn dog can’t get up here…
This week we are looking at the giant panda, which is a bear, I never thought of them as being part of the bear family.
Giant pandas belong to the bear family, whereas red pandas are in their own family, and they are more closely related to raccoons. Interestingly, giant pandas are more closely related to polar bears than to red pandas.
Giant pandas are typically 4 to 6 feet long and stand 2 to 3 feet tall at the shoulder. They can weigh between 220 and 330 pounds, with males tending to be larger than females, Newborn pandas are very small, about the size of a stick of butter.
Giant pandas live in the mountain ranges of southwestern China, specifically in the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu. They inhabit bamboo forests at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. Their habitat is characterized by humid, wet conditions and is often shrouded in mist and clouds.
A panda’s daily diet consists almost entirely of the leaves, stems and shoots of various bamboo species. Bamboo contains very little nutritional value so pandas must eat 12-38kg every day to meet their energy needs.
Scientists are not sure how long giant pandas live in the wild, but they are sure it is shorter than lifespans in zoos. They estimate that lifespan is about 15-20 years for wild pandas and about 30 years for those in human care. Chinese scientists have reported zoo pandas as old as 35.
Pandas are dependent on their mothers for the first few months of their lives and are fully weaned at 8 to 9 months. Most pandas leave their mothers when she becomes pregnant again, usually at about 18 months. Gestation takes from 95-160 days. Pandas normally give birth to single young. Twins seem to be born more frequently in captivity, when artificial insemination is used. The reproductive rate is about 1 cub every 2 years.
They are friendly and cheerful, Pandas have bundles of energy and warmth. They are confident and love trying out new things. Sociable and party-loving, they enjoy seeing friends and often put their friends’ feelings ahead of their own.
While pandas are known for their clumsy and lazy behaviour often observed in captivity or during feeding, they are actually proficient tree climbers and swimmers.
There are the only two panda species found the giant and the red.. Despite their similarity in name, the two are not scientifically connected. They share the same geographical area and similar food.
I have written about some countries in the Caribbean area but will do a few more, the Caribbean is comprised of 13 independent island nations: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, These nations are recognized for their shared cultural heritage and location within the Caribbean region. There are 12 dependencies and 7 overseas territories as well various disputed territories.
This week we will look at Haiti which is a country located in the Caribbean. It shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, located to its east. While it was once a plantation colony of France based upon slavery of Africans, Haiti gained its independence in the year 1804.
The population is 11.77millon, Haiti has two official languages, Haitian Creole and French, everyone in Haiti speaks Haitian Creole. Some scholars estimate that approximately 90-95% of the population is monolingual, speaking Haitian Creole.
The Haitian Gourde (HTG) is the official currency of Haiti, a nation located on the western part of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean.
Haiti’s capital city is Port-au-Prince, it sits on the Gulf of Gonâve. The Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien honours the nation’s history and founding fathers. The Iron Market, a large 1891 covered bazaar, has produce and handicraft vendors. Nearby is the immense Notre Dame de l’Assomption Cathedral, reduced to a ruin by a 2010 earthquake. Colourful gingerbread-style houses from the turn of the 19th century dot the city.
The Haitian flag is a bicolour flag with two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red (bottom). In the centre, there is a white rectangle containing the Haitian coat of arms. The coat of arms includes a palm tree topped with the liberty cap, surrounded by cannons, flags, and other weaponry. The motto “L’Union Fait La Force” (“Unity Makes Strength”) is displayed on a banner below the coat of arms.
Jo-AnneRamplings 