HABITUALLY HABITUAL!

17 Fern Street, Gympie...showing middle and rear flat.

17 Fern Street, Gympie Circa 2014

17 Fern Street Circa 2014

Each and every one of us has habits, some good, some bad, and some, perhaps, that are better kept secret!  All right then…if you don’t wish or want to own up, that’s okay with me. 

I’m a creature of habits and traditions.  Traditions of my own making, that is; just my own little personal traditions that have grown throughout the years; so there are quite a few of them because I’ve been strolling, and at other times running along the pathways of my life for a number of years now.  No…I’m not confessing how many years; not today, anyway.  It is enough to admit I’ve not yet reached “three score years and ten”. Whether I confess when, I shall ponder upon over and over again – so until then, I refuse to be browbeaten, and it shall remain unwritten!  

Pondering is habit of mine, too.

Have you noticed a lot of people have the annoying habit of “knocking” everything and everybody?  They’ve done it for so long it becomes second nature to them.  So easily they’ve slipped into the habit of rarely having a good word to say about anything or anyone.  It’s not a very nice trait to have. 

With "rehab" being the word of the day, I wonder if there is rehab for bad habits!

“Tall Poppy Syndrome” is alive and well, unfortunately.  No antidote has yet been found to counteract its venom.  It’s like a vicious virus that can’t be eradicated. Instead of admiring, and perhaps doing one’s best to aspire to the achievements and talents of those who have genuinely accomplished greatness in their chosen fields there are far too many others who prefer to tear down like rotting undergrowth or white ant-infested walls those who have succeeded .   

Envy comes to mind as one of the reasons; a feeling of personal inadequacy is another.  The “knockers”; the “tear-downers” enjoy a false feeling of power when they rip apart those who do well in life. It's a shallow way of behaving, in my opinion; and it’s probably the only thing at which they’ll succeed in doing! That's not much of an achievement...

Sure, we love the “underdog”. We admire humility in a person.  We should also cheer for greatness.  Who knows, some of it might rub off on us!

Jealousy/envy is a wasteful emotion; and it's one that can lead to much destruction, personally and to the welfare and lives of others.

Negativity is very frustrating, but let us not dwell upon it, or we, too, will succumb to the habit! 

When my brother, Graham and I were kids growing up in Gympie we had a neighbour, Mrs. Weller. Mrs. Weller had a habit of adding “you know” after everything she said, whether it was a question or a statement, you know!

We lived in a block of three flats. They weren’t flash. It was a highest construction at the front; and the land levelled out at the rear of the block. From the street it looked more like a single dwelling rather than a set of three flats. The building’s exterior was clad in weatherboard; the interior walls were unpainted tongue and groove. Linoleum covered the floors. 

The premises are pictured above, as it is nowadays.  Some changes, naturally, have been made since we lived there. The two bedroom windows at the front when it was my most modest home (for a period of 17 years) were adorned with window boxes bearing colourful portulaca. 

Along the wall beside the front stairs, my brother, Graham, having caught the gardening habit erected a shelf there; and upon the timber shelf he placed many pots filled with various cacti and ferns (the latter being appropriate, now that I think about it...after all, it was "Fern Street).

A couple of palm trees grew down the side of the property beside the garden path; and a fence separated our dwelling and the house on the lower side. 

The neighbour to whom I refer herein lived in the rear flat with her husband, Mr. Weller – “Audie” to the adults. However, they were always “Mr.” and “Mrs.” to my brother and me; as were all adults, without exception.

Our flat was at the front of the house/buildimg.  To reach the front gate and letter-box our back neighbours had to walk down the garden path that ran down the side of our flat. However, as our front flat was high off the ground there was no chance of them seeing into our home because we actually looked down upon the concrete garden path from the height of our verandah/sleep-out. We didn't look down upon our neighbours, though, other than physically if standing on our verandah!

Sometimes, when passing, Mrs. Weller caught us out on our front verandah and a conversation would ensue before we had a chance to escape…you know!   

We were trapped…you know!

Kids being kids, every time Mrs. Weller stopped for a chat on her way to or from the letter-box Graham and I fell into the habit of uncontrollable giggling fits. Covering our mouths with our hands, we'd almost smother ourselves trying not to be heard, or our mirth be seen. We’d duck down behind the wall on the verandah, out of sight.  While we were collapsed on the floor in hysterical, silent laughter, Mum or Nana or both kicked us (not in an abusive manner) in an effort to shut us up; all the while themselves trying valiantly to keep straight faces,

And every time Mrs. Weller dropped a “you know” into her conversations no amount of kicks from our Mum and/or Nana could stop our muffled laughter.  Poor Mrs. Weller - she didn't have a bad bone in her body.  She meant well; she was a simple soul.

Any time Graham and I went a bit too far with our mischievous behaviour, Mum and Nana, of course, got into the habit of glaring at us and/or kicking us under the table, out of the eye range of others, in an effort to control our childish behaviour.  Graham and I always knew when we’d gone too far; stepped over or gotten too close to the demarcation line; when it was time to pull our heads in and behave ourselves.  

I don’t recall ever being slapped or spanked.  I remember the threats; they were enough to stop my brother and me in our tracks, quick smart. I do remember the glares and the nudges under the table, too!  It became a habit of mine, and, no doubt, Graham became similarly afflicted, as well, to do some under-the-table-kicking, too!  It was a family trait.  It was part of our DNA.

Immediately after finishing dinner, Nana had a habit of asking us “what do you feel like for dinner tomorrow night?” 

In reply, our habit was to groan loudly while rubbing our full stomachs!

Querulously, I ask the following questions –

When does a habit become a tradition?

When does a habit become an addiction?

When does a habit become piece of clothing? 

Of course, not all habits are bad. However, the habit of having cream doughnuts for breakfast every day is – I guess!

Doughnuts can easily become a holey habit, you know!

Basic Doughnuts: Beat 2 eggs until creamy and lemon-coloured. Add 1/2c sugar, 2-1/2tsp baking powder, 1/4tsp salt, 1tsp hot melted butter, 1/2tsp nutmeg, 1/2tsp ginger, 1/2c milk and 1-1/2 sifted plain flour. Dust surface with flour and a little ginger; roll out dough to ½-inch thick; cut with cutter. Let stand 1 hour, covered with tea towel. Deep fry at 185C; drain; shake in a bag full of cinnamon and caster sugar.  

Sour Cream Doughnuts: Cream together 1c sugar and 3/4c thick sour cream. Beat 3 eggs with a fork; add to mixture. Sift 1tsp each baking powder and baking soda; add a small bit at a time to 1c sour milk.  Sift in 3c plain flour; and then add about 1c or amount necessary to make soft dough. Chill a little, then roll dough out on floured surface; cut with floured cutter. Don’t handle dough more than necessary because it will become tough. Fry in hot oil. Drain; roll in sugar. 

Honey-Dipped Doughnuts: Sift together 3-3/4c plain flour (sift before measuring), 2tsp baking powder, 1tspn baking soda, 1tsp cinnamon, 1/2tsp nutmeg and 1/4tsp salt. In bowl, beat 1c sugar, 2 eggs and 3tbl butter with hand-held mixer at med-speed. Blend in a little milk; stir in dry ingredients until well-blended to a soft dough. Wrap; chill 2 hours. Place dough on lightly-floured surface; roll to ½-inch thickness. Cut out with floured cutter. Drop doughnuts 2-3 at a time into hot fat. Fry, turning once, until golden; drain.  Heat 1c honey to just boiling point. Dip doughnuts, one at a time, into hot honey, coating well; then dip half of each doughnut into flaked or shredded coconut. Place on racks to dry.  

Apple Cider Doughnuts: Make a glaze from 2c icing sugar and 1/4c apple cider; put aside. Boil 1c apple cider until reduced to 1/4c; cool. Beat 1c sugar with 1/4c solid vegetable shortening until smooth.  Add 2 large eggs; mix well; add 1/2c buttermilk and cider. Stir together 3-1/2c plain flour, 2tsp baking powder, 1tsp baking soda, 1/2tsp cinnamon, 1/2tsp salt and 1/4tsp nutmeg in another bowl. Add to liquid ingredients; mix until just enough to combine. Transfer dough to lightly-floured surface; pat to ½-inch thickness. Cut with cutter.  Fry doughnuts a couple at a time, turning once, until golden. Dip doughnuts, while warm into glaze; serve warm. 

Spudnuts: Put 3pkts dry yeast into enough warm water to cover; let activate.  Combine 1c sugar, 1c butter and 5 eggs; add 3c mashed potatoes, 1/2tspn nutmeg, 1tsp salt, 1tsp lemon juice, 4c milk and activated yeast; mix. Add enough flour to make a soft dough; let rise. Roll out; cut; let rise; then fry.