Posted on by Debbie

Winners and Losers #7 – What made us laugh or cry this week?

Friday Feature on Deb’s World

Winners & Losers #7

Welcome to my weekly roundup, where I share some of the cringe worthy, sad or laugh out loud ‘stuff’ I’ve taken note of during the week. You are most welcome to join me in this quest each week by leaving me a comment with your own winners and losers!

School holidays can be fraught so this video might help relieve some stress 🙂

This Sammy J video made me laugh! Although school holiday angst is a thing of the past for me, I could relate to this and I’m sure you can too!

Just B! 🙂

Isn’t this great advice??

Source: Red Tractor Designs

Family quote 🙂

This isn’t in any way related to the story below about Easter Family Time 🙂

Name Days 🙂

According to Anna, our Hungarian Rotary Exchange Student, the 24 April is the Hungarian Name Day for Deborah. As my birthday is close to Christmas I’m claiming this day as my very own special mid-year day 🙂

Anna explained that Name days are like a second birthday in Hungary. I’ll take the special day without the addition of any years onto my age, thanks very much! A woman is typically given flowers and made a fuss of, on her name day by friends and family and a suitable greeting is boldog névnapot kívánok (neked)! I wish you a happy name-day!

Given that I’m home alone at the moment, it was lovely to have a bike ride around town with a friend followed by tea and a chat at our favourite cafe. Happy Name day to me. Here I am doing what I do best, sitting, chatting, smiling and drinking tea.

ANZAC Biscuits 🙂

An Aussie tradition ANZAC biscuits
ANZAC biscuits

It’s not often I share recipes on here but these are very special biscuits! You can read more about Anzac Day here

**CWA of NSW Anzac Biscuit Recipe**

150g (1 cup) plain flour
220g (1 cup) sugar
100g (1 cup) rolled oats
90g (1 cup) desiccated coconut
125g butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup or treacle
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and lightly grease two baking trays. Combine the flour in a bowl with the sugar, rolled oats and coconut. Melt the butter in a saucepan with the golden syrup over medium heat. Combine the boiling water with the bicarbonate of soda and stir to dissolve. Add to the butter mixture and mix well,then stir into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Drop teaspoons of the mixture onto the trays, allowing room for spreading.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Easter family fun 🙂

Easter was glorious – the weather, the company, family, chocolate and hot cross buns! As the Mathematician was away trekking in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, as mentioned in last week’s Winners and Losers, I was lucky to have lots of family come to visit. My mother, my brother, my sister and brother-in-law, my uncle (mum’s brother), my daughter and son in law and my baby granddaughter – it was a full house!

We all enjoyed relaxing, drinking copious cups of tea and catching up on family news. The fire bucket was fun late afternoon time and we even got the marshmallows out for toasting 🙂

Everyone had travelled great distances to be together, which always makes it much more special – we value family get togethers and make the effort to meet up whenever we can. (Photo courtesy of my brother and taken by my uncle).

(Note: eagle eyed readers may notice my sister and I have the same dress on only in different colours! We do this quite often which is very weird 🙂 And Emilia is enjoying a lamb chop bone in her high chair – she’s so cute!)

Press coverage and news 😦

Why is it that something positive can be reported in such a negative way, to diminish the joy of the occasion? I know there are always two sides to things but trying to be controversial just to make a story is very upsetting! Luckily another story on the same topic was much more positive this week and restored my faith a little!

More sad news in the world with events in Sri Lanka – will these types of attacks ever end?

Here in Australia we’re all getting pretty sick and tired of all the electioneering that’s going on and the continual sniping. How are you coping with it?

Ungrateful sports people always upset me!

Giving the gift of song 🙂 and 😦

I discovered a lovely show this week and laughed and cried! It’s about ABC TV, opening their recording studios for everyday people to record music for special reasons or people.

This week it featured two stories 1: a family who performed together and wanted to give their grandfather the opportunity to sing and record a song – and it was so happy and heartwarming to see them all get involved!

2. a girl who has spent a lot of time in hospital due to cystic fibrosis wanting to give back to the hospital staff and patients. She said she’s not good with words so she wanted to sing for them. My goodness her voice was superb and her song brought me to tears!! Here are two short little snippets I thought I’d share.

Bloggers

I am lucky to have found a supportive and encouraging ‘tribe’ of bloggers from all over the world and I value each and every one of my readers, especially those who take the time and effort to comment on my posts. And thanks to those who voted for me in the Annual Bloggers Bash Awards – voting has now closed and winners will be announced in London on June 15!

I know I often get overwhelmed at the reading, commenting and sharing that I make myself do. I enjoy it and although it can be time consuming, I feel it’s worth it to build up relationships, connect with others, learn from others and find like-minded bloggers out there. I’m not into conflict anymore.

I love my weekly linkups with Denyse’s #Lifethisweek, Terri’s #SundayStills and Sue and Leanne’s Midlife Share the Love blog party #mlstl. These groups always have interesting, relevant and timely posts, suitable to my stage of life and interests. There are others like Lorna’s Gin and Lemonade group and Esme’s Senior Salon #senisal

The purpose of these groups is to connect and I enjoy this immensely. I am trying to cut back on my involvement with other groups, mainly due to lack of time. But I do have my favourite bloggers who I always check in with on a regular basis.

If I could just ask you, on behalf of all bloggers to:

  • Click on links on Facebook pages and read their posts.
  • Leave a comment, especially if you enjoyed what you read. Tell them why you enjoyed it. I know it can be a hassle sometimes logging in and filling in boxes but it means a lot to us. We love having conversations with our readers.
  • Share their posts on your other social media platforms.
  • Follow them on social media – they will usually respond by following you back.
  • Subscribe to get new posts or updates.
  • Recommend their blogs or Facebook pages.
  • Encourage them with your words or emojis.

The reason why I ask is this – many of my blogging friends, like me, aren’t in it to make money but we are sharing our thoughts, talents and words with you on a creative level and it’s nice sometimes to get feedback. Blogging is hard work at times and in this fast paced world, many of our posts are gone before we know it, after hours of work they get replaced by the latest news! Just a thought 🙂

I’m a very grateful blogger.

A very special post 🙂

My daughter wrote this post for me a few years ago and when I’m feeling a bit low and wondering what I’m doing with all this and where I’m going, I dig it out and read it over and over again. At the time she was my first Guest Blogger and I’m so proud of her 🙂

My beautiful daughter Eliza

A Special Guest Blogger – My daughter wrote this for me, about me

So that’s week #7 of my Friday Feature done and dusted.

Do you have any thoughts on any of these winners or losers for the week?

What made your winners/losers list this week? Let me know if you have any suggestions for me on books, Netflix, movies, podcasts – anything!

If you missed earlier posts you can find them here – Winners and Losers

Keep smiling and thanks for reading.

Deb 🙂

  • You're the worst

Visit Deb’s World’s Instagram for photo updates

You can also find Deb’s World in lots of other places – stay in touch by clicking any of the buttons below.

50 Replies to “Winners and Losers #7 – What made us laugh or cry this week?”

  2. Hi Deb,
    Love the name day…I wonder when Nancy is? I would love another “special day” not necessarily connected with aging, lol!
    Visiting from #MLSTL

    Like

    Reply

  3. So loved reading this and thank you kindly for the shout out for my link up! Your recipe for ANZACS is so close to mine from the Presbyterian Ladies Cookbook…they have 3/4 of coconut. I had a spur of the moment idea to make the biscuits on the day itself (as you do) and found I only had ‘in date’ shredded coconut. It worked. Yay.
    Denyse #mlstl

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks for dropping by and reading my post Denyse, I always appreciate hearing from you. I’m glad to hear our recipes are similar, they always work for me and I like them chewy rather than crunchy. Also good to hear the shredded coconut worked. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

    1. Thanks so much Victoria, it’s quite interesting to see what takes my fancy during the week. I’m actually noticing that I’m far more observant as a result. I’m always happy to hear from others. I might even pinch that as a title – the good the bad and the ugly!! 😊

      Like

      Reply

  5. I’m glad to see your week was loaded with mostly winners, Deb. Winners for me this week were getting to one of my granddaughter’s football games and taking my first hike of the season. Losers were, like you, political sniping and violence. I just keep doing my best to spread love and kindness in my little corner of the world. #MLSTL

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Christie, your winners sound fabulous. Isn’t it interesting that no matter where we live the politicians are the same the world over? Yes I love that we have a great tribe of like minded bloggers who share kindness and love.

      Like

      Reply

  6. Your yoga video had me laughing and I shared it to my page! “Feel the rage” should be said in all yoga classes (NOT!) Love your round-up posts and yes, you and your sister are uncanny!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. Now, I have to ask, but do men have special name names too, or is it just the ladies? Like you, as somebody who has a birthday at Christmas time, I often feel as if I miss my birthday. Still, I guess that means I don’t get older. Who am I kidding, Debbie?

    Loved your roundup for this week. The family picture is lovely and, no, I didn’t notice that you and your sister had the same dress on but in different colours.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. I love Sammy’s yoga videos. I think his Brexit one was one of my faves. I ducked over and had a read of your daughter’s post & the Anzac one. I’ve heard good things about The Recording Studio, but given I cried when watching just a short clip on gogglebox don’t know how I’d get through a whole episode!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Jo, thanks for your comment and popping over to some of the links in the post. The recording studio is just lovely and so heartwarming but you definitely need your tissues. I love all of Sammy J’s videos!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. love the yoga videos; son’s girlfriend has just qualified as a yoga teacher – hope she’ll see the funny side!
    The songs at the end were very touching, weren’t they? Very powerful. Have another good week.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. What a huge week. Easter and Anzac Day in the same week has made it more about relaxing and holidaying with many people taking advantage of this week to have a getaway. For us Easter was catching up with family and attending a 70th birthday of a good friend. I love this time of year because the weather is always a lot milder than the sizzling hot summer months we’ve experienced. I really enjoyed reading the “Just B” poem. So true!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Kathy, yes it has been big due to all the public holidays, although being retired the days all roll into one! The weather is lovely at this time of year and you are in a great place 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  13. Another great Winners and Loses Deb and thanks for the mention! Loved the yoga video and it really is close to the truth isn’t it? Love the Public Tantrum pose LOL:) The ‘B’ advice is brilliant and how lovely for you to have family visit during Easter. Susan’s Name Day is 11th August in some countries and Poland has 3 days I must be popular 🙂 I was very touched by your daughter’s tribute to you and you can’t beat a CWA recipe. Are these Anzac biscuits chewy or crunchy? I think I like both. Another winning post this week Deb. x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much Sue, it’s always interesting what I take notice of these days knowing I’ll be putting it all together. It’s also the closest thing I have to a blogging schedule, so you’ve rubbed off on me!

      Like

      Reply

    1. Thanks Sam, it’s been a good time, despite my husband being away for the last two weeks walking the Kokoda Track with other leaders and school students. They’ve just finished their trek and will be home on Monday 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  15. Lovely to have yourself a special name day now to celebrate too!
    Sri Lanka news saddened us all 😢
    Both 😊 and 😢 for me – we are back to school. 😊 Because ita a bit if a break from the craziness of the Easter break, and my new patient. 😢 Because I don’t get to stay at home reading!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. Another great collection Deb – very diverse this week. Thought 1) that yoga guy has very long feet and toes (a little wierd I know) Thought 2) lovely to see you enjoying Easter with the family – we did too. Thought 3) you’re so right about interacting with other bloggers – the trouble is that non-bloggers are very reluctant to engage in commenting online – none of my IRL friends will leave me a comment on my blog – I get them as FB messages or face to face. I guess we just get acclimatized to it and forget how scary it is for others. Good luck with the BB Awards xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Leanne! So interesting that you noticed Sammy J’s long feet and toes 🙂 Our Easter was fun with the family here. I know the non blogging readers feel a bit weird about leaving comments but I thought it was worth mentioning. I feel strange sharing posts to Facebook and don’t do it all the time for that reason, although I’m starting to get better at it. I’m always surprised when someone down the street mentions my blog, as it shows that they actually do read it sometimes. I’m not holding my breath about the awards, did you see some of the competition!!!! I’m honestly thrilled to have even been in the mix with you, Sue and others. I really do appreciate your comments and support.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Hi Deb – just popping back to say hi from #MLSTL and I’d be more worried about the Bloggers Bash Awards if there was substantial prize money or kudos in the mix. Seeing it’s just for fun, I don’t really care and I know I got a few votes – but the competition was pretty stiff – as you said though, it was nice to be included with my favourite bloggers!
        Shared this on my SM x

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  17. Great round up of your week Deb.

    One MASSIVE winner for me this week was becoming a grandmother again! Baby no-name-yet is SO adorable and I can’t wait to meet him in person.

    Even though he’s grandson #9 for me (and grandchild #13), the thrill of becoming a grandmother again is still as strong as when my first grandson was born 20 years ago.

    Enjoy the rest of your week …

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks for your comment Sharon 🙂 Yes it was a big week but your news is best of all, a new healthy grandson – huge congrats! He is very gorgeous. 13 grandchildren is a pretty good effort and nice to know it’s just as much a thrill for you as it was back 20 years ago.

      Like

      Reply

  20. So many great things to love in this post Deb. Sounds like you had a lovely Easter, it’s always special to spend time with family isn’t it, and I loved the B meme too. Your ANZAC Day biscuits sound delish. I had them in mind to bake yesterday but got invited out and didn’t get around to it. Much like blogging and reading these days, it’s hard to get round to everything. And I just noticed that somehow WP has kicked you off my reader and apparently I’m no longer following you! So annoying but I’m glad I realised. Anyway, wonderful post as always Deb. Have a great weekend 😊 xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I’m finding it hard to get around to everything too Miriam and with Grant being away for the past two weeks it’s thrown me a bit! He comes home from Kokoda on Monday with lots of stories to tell I’m sure. i didn’t make any biscuits as I don’t need to eat them but I always enjoy sharing Anzac Day information. How dare WP kick me off your reader!!! So glad you noticed it and I did wonder when I saw the notification of you following me 🙂 All good! Thanks for your lovely comment! Enjoy the weekend x

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. Hey Deb! Allow me to be the first to comment. What is “dessicated” coconut? I’ve never heard that term before, and I’m curious. And I love coconut! That’s funny about your sister and you wearing the same dress; my sister and I have been known to do this too! We often have the same taste in fashion. In fact, the first time I saw her in person after getting engaged to my Hubs (30 odd years ago), we realized we had the same exact wedding set. Weird, isn’t it? Anyway, sweet post!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much for your comment Rhonda! Desiccated coconut is different to shredded coconut and I found this which may help – Shredded coconut is mostly dry, but it usually retains more moisture than full-on desiccated coconut. But really, the main difference between shredded coconut and desiccated coconut (and flaked coconut, too) is the shape of the coconut. Shredded coconut comes shredded; it’s in thin strands or strip. Does that help? We can buy it here in Australia and it’s smaller and finer than the shredded variety.

      Isn’t it funny how fashion choices can be a family thing? We do it with lots of things, the shape of reading glasses, clothes and we are always surprised! Our mother used to dress us in handmade outfits and we sometimes got taken for twins despite me being older. Lovely to have you join me and thanks for being the ‘first’ one to comment 🙂 Enjoy the weekend ahead!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Let's keep the conversation going...

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog at WordPress.com.