Week 26 of 2025

I slept for 8hrs and 54mins and I was awake for 36mins, and woke feeling good, although it took me a while to get moving when the alarm went off.

I have had a productive morning did two loads of washing, tossed the sheets into the dryer but hung the clothes on the clothes hoists and took them outside to dry.  Also put the work shirts in the dryer so they shouldn’t be too difficult to iron.

BGL:5.2

Steps:5,758=3.00klms

My watch says I slept for 5hrs and 3mins and I was awake for 8mins, maybe that’s why I don’t feel fully with it. I will have a shower after Tim leaves for work as I am going to the doctors and my hair feels yuck. I also am going to have my blood taken for my six-monthly blood work check.

After the blood was taken, we drove Sam to Tafe and then I went to the doctors for a new referral to see the neurologist that appointment is on the 14 July and is a telehealth appointment. He also said my eye has healed nicely after the fall.

Sue made my appointment with the optometrist that this Saturday at 11am.

Also went and picked up scripts from the chemist.

Tim rang to let me know he will not be home till around 10pm, he is doing emergency rail.

7,351=3.68klms

My watch says I slept for 7hrs and 43mins and I was awake for 7mins, I do feel ok at the moment as in awake and functioning.

No school for Sam today she has an 11am appointment with the hairdresser and Jess can’t see the point of sending her for only a couple of hours.

It is a cold day, and we have had rain around 11am. Around 2pm someone came and repaired the roof so hopefully no more leak.  

Sam haircut looks good.

BGL: 5.2

Steps: 4,688 which equals around 2.35klms

My watch says I slept for 8hrs and 20mins and I was awake for 48mins, I am feeling good this morning, have already vacuumed out and tidied the kitchen.

After Sam left for school, I decided to mop the bathroom and kitchen floors, while doing the bathroom my right knee felt like it started to dislocate but then it didn’t, and the knee has been very sore and unstable since.

When I go to meet Sam this afternoon, I am going to use the scooter as it feels like it may give way at any moment.

Just had plumbers arrive to look at the roof, I told them someone was here yesterday he said he would check it out anyway. I was waiting for him to come and tell me if all was good but nope, he just left.

BGL: 5.1

Steps:6,015= 3.11klms

My watch says I slept for 8hrs and 56mins and I was awake for 14mins, I had a shower and let the hot water run over my knee and it has helped with the pain and movement.

Sue and I went to Charlestown Square to meet up with Sandy and she had Denni with her and our niece Samantha was there and her eldest Hayley and our nephew Dawson was also there it was really great seeing everyone. Sue did her grocery shopping and then we left, by the time I got home I was barely able to move.

I put a heat pack on my right knee and sat and rested for a while after an hour or, so I was doing much better and able to walk and move without too much pain.

I still took the scooter up to meet Sam by Monday I am hoping I will be ok.

BGL: 5.2

Steps:5,111=2.56klms

My watch says I slept for 9hrs and 57mins and I was awake for 55mins, my knees yes both of them are painful this morning.

I did a load of washing and hung it up to dry and by the time I was done I was exhausted, and my back ached something shocking. I had to have a rest before doing anything else. I didn’t take the washing outside as it felt like it could rain, and it did end up raining around 1pm.

Thankfully it wasn’t raining when I went to meet Sam.

I am extremely tired this arvo and even though it’s only 6.30pm I am off to bed as I am falling asleep sitting here.

BGL:5.8

Steps: 4,506=2.30klm

My watch says I slept for 10hrs and 41mins and I didn’t wake at all during the night. I am feeling fine this morning and have already vacuumed once and cleaned the kitchen.

Sue took me to have my eyes checked and all is good with them.

It has been a cold day; Tim has been saying he is bored as the yard is too soggy to work on. After a while he found something to do but once he did that he was bored again.

Steps:5,129=2.62klm’s

Jordan National Anthem

The Royal National Anthem is the national anthem of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The translated name literally means “Peace be upon the King of Jordan”. As-salamu alaykum is the greeting in Arabic, therefore the name of the anthem can also be regarded as a Royal Salute.

In 1946, the National Anthem was written by the late Abdul Munim Rifai, a renowned Jordanian poet who later served as prime minister. Abdul Qader Tannir composed the music.

The first version of the lyrics was very short, as it only contained the first stanza of the current version. Since then, the anthem has been expanded. The abridged version of the anthem is usually used, while the full version is reserved for special occasions.

The lyrics are below.

Long live the King!
Long live the King,
His rank exalted,
His flags flying high,
In sublimity.
We realised our aspirations,
When you regenerated for us
A renaissance that motivates us,
A renaissance that towers
Above the high, rising stars.
 
O King of the Arabs,
You are greatly honoured
By being a descendent of
The best Prophet,
A great lineage
That all major books spoke of.
 
The glorified youth
Are your devoted soldiers.
Their resolve will never subside
And die away,
Because from you,
They learn perseverance.
 
O King of the Arabs,
You are greatly honoured
By being a descendent of
The best Prophet,
A great lineage
That all major books spoke of.
 
May you always be
A light, a guide
And a master among people,
Delighted and exalted.
And under your flags,
The glory of the Arabs
Rises high.
 
O King of the Arabs,
You are greatly honoured
By being a descendent of
The best Prophet,
A great lineage
That all major books spoke of.

Israel’s National Anthem

This week’s Hodgepodge is here: https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2025/02/hodgepodge-because-its-thursday.html

This week we are looking at the national anthem of the country Israel.

The anthem is a song called Hatikvah (The Hope, it was written in 1878 by Naftali Herz Imber, a Jewish poet. The theme of the song reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jewish people to return to the Land of Israel which is not the country but refers to the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. As in a biblical reference, to the Land of Canaan, or the Promised Land also known as the Holy Land.

When the State of Israel was established in 1948, “Hatikvah” was unofficially proclaimed the national anthem. It did not officially become the national anthem until November 2004, when an abbreviated and edited version was sanctioned by the Knesset in an amendment to the Flag and Coat-of-Arms Law (now renamed the Flag, Coat-of-Arms, and National Anthem Law).

In its modern rendering, the official text of the anthem incorporates only the first stanza and refrain of the original poem. The predominant theme in the remaining stanzas is the establishment of a sovereign and free nation in the Land of Israel, a hope largely seen as fulfilled with the founding of the State of Israel.

The lyrics are below.

Kol od ba’le’vav p’nima,Nefesh yehudi ho’miyah.

U’lefa-atei mizrach kadimah,

Ayin le’Tziyyon tzofiyah.

Od lo avda tikva-teinu,

Ha’tikvah bat sh’not al-payim

Lih-yot am chofshi b’ar-tzeinu

Eretz Tziyyon v’Yerushalayim.

Translation:

As long as within our hearts

The Jewish soul sings,

As long as forward to the East

To Zion, looks the eye –

Our hope is not yet lost,

It is two thousand years old,

To be a free people in our land

The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

New Zealand’s National Anthem

                            Short version

This week we are looking at New Zealand’s national anthems, yes, they have two national anthems.

The main one is “God Defend New Zealand” but they also use “God Save the King” at formal ceremonies involving the King, the Governor-General, or the royal family. 

The anthem’s lyrics were written by Thomas Bracken in the 1870s, and the music was composed by John Joseph Woods in 1876. The song was translated into Māori in 1878 and was called ‘Aotearoa’.

In 1976 a petition was presented to Parliament asking “God Defend New Zealand” to be made the national anthem. With the consent of Queen Elizabeth II, it was gazetted as the country’s second national anthem on 21 November 1977, on equal standing with “God Save the King/Queen”.

The anthem was officially adopted in 1977. The lyrics are in both English and Māori, with slightly different meanings. At major events, one verse is sung in Māori and then repeated in English.

Some people find the lyrics to New Zealand’s national anthem, confusing because of their antiquated or obscure words and concepts. For example, some of the words used include “thy”, “thee”, “ramparts”, “assail”, and “nations’ van”. Some also find the song difficult to sing at its original pitch. 

E Ihowā Atua
O ngā iwi mātou rā
Āta whakarangona
Me aroha noa
Kia hua ko te pai
Kia tau tō atawhai
Manaakitia mai
Aotearoa

God of Nations at Thy feet
In the bonds of love we meet
Hear our voices, we entreat
God defend our free land
Guard Pacific’s triple star
From the shafts of strife and war
Make her praises heard afar
God defend New Zealand

Men of every creed and race
Gather here before Thy face
Asking Thee to bless this place
God defend our free land
From dissension, envy, hate
And corruption guard our state
Make our country good and great
God defend New Zealand

Peace, not war, shall be our boast
But, should foes assail our coast
Make us then a mighty host
God defend our free land
Lord of battles in Thy might
Put our enemies to flight
Let our cause be just and right
God defend New Zealand

Let our love for Thee increase
May Thy blessings never cease
Give us plenty, give us peace
God defend our free land
From dishonour and from shame
Guard our country’s spotless name
Crown her with immortal fame
God defend New Zealand

May our mountains ever be
Freedom’s ramparts on the sea
Make us faithful unto Thee
God defend our free land
Guide her in the nations’ van
Preaching love and truth to man
Working out Thy glorious plan
God defend New Zealand

                                                                Long version (full length)