Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Daddy's Little Angel

This morning I went mud walking (well I kind of walked around the edge of the mud really).

I was amazed at how many birds were enjoying the mud!  There were Ibis, Collared Kingfisher, Shags and some long legged birds that looked a bit like Herons.

Collared Kingfisher

See the little wet marks where his feet were on the stick?
The Kingfishers are so pretty and colourful ... almost as pretty as the Bee Eaters.

But the Ibis!!!  OH MY GOODNESS!!  Has anyone seen them bury their heads in the mud???

They were plodding around in the mud, and at first I saw them just putting their beaks into the mud, but then I watched them for a while and they were putting their whole heads into the mud!!

Ibis burying his head in the mud!
It was disgusting!  When they lifted their heads out of the mud, they had a thick brown coating of sludge glistening in the sunlight.  EW! But I didn't get a photo of the muddy face.

Little Chicklet was a happy little vegemite again today.

Happy Little Vegemite

Bare-chested Chef being a wonderful Daddy.
She loves her Daddy :o)  and she's his little angel.

Nite all.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Signs of Spring

Saw my first Bee Eater of the season today!

Eating a very precious bee!
They are truly beautiful birds, but the problem is,  they eat all of the bees in the garden.  Any good gardener knows that bees are very important in your garden ... especially your vegetable garden.

Question is ... how do you keep the balance?

It was a perfectly glorious day today and the tide was out this morning, which left lots of sand for people and their dogs to run on.



I think I'll wear my old 'mud slopping' shoes tomorrow morning so that I can go for a walk out on the sand banks and explore.  You never know what kind of marine wonders you might find at low tide!



My beautiful little Chicklet was in such a happy and chatty mood today.  She must love her Daddy because she spent most of the day singing  Dadadadadadada!  She is so cute :o)  and so happy!

It's still Winter, but these last few days have felt gloriously like Spring, which is my favourite time of the year.  Tomorrow will also be glorious and will require my full and complete attention, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

I'm FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I spent the morning riding around town in the sunshine and catching up with a lot of locals!

So much fresh air and sunshine ... I'm surprised that I'm not already completely healed!

I took some photos of our front garden today ... for those of you who saw the photos of the new garden on facebook last year, here is an update.

Actually, I will show the before and after shots here as well.

From this ...



to this ...



and now it's this ...







We are considering entering it into the Howard Garden Festival for gardens under the age of three.

The hedge along the front is going to look pretty spectacular in a month or two because they will be in full flower.  Purple and white flowers.

I'll take photos again in Spring.  The Geisha Girl will also be in full flower, along with the two Frangipani Trees and the Kangaroo Paw.

It will look and smell wonderful!!

Ok now I am free to go to sleep!

Nite all.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

My Last Day of Quarantine

I am making today my last day of quarantine!

Tomorrow morning I am going to get out of bed, dress immediately and go out on my trike to greet the day!

I will have my trusty camera (Bob) with me and I will get my coffee and find my way to the boat ramp and my boys!

I'm a bit excited about being back in the land of the living!

By The Sea

Fly Away
A couple of photos that I haven't shared with you yet.

Tomorrow, I hope to have some new, fresh photos to share.  I may even be brave enough to get up at dawn, if it's cloudy enough, and catch some sunrise shots.

Adoring Husband cooked me another delicious dinner tonight and is now sleeping silently beside me in our king sized bed ... which is a bit of a worry, because he is not generally a 'silent' sleeper, but he IS breathing and that is always a good sign :o)

Time to get some beauty sleep in preparation for my big day out tomorrow ... unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to cuddle Chicklet ... there may be some residual germs to shake off yet, but the fresh air and sunshine will fix that in a few days.

I noticed on the news tonight, that they discussed a higher number of flu cases in Queensland than usual, so I guess I am just one of many others.

I reckon my immune system will now be strengthened up for at least the next three years, so I should be healthy as an ox for a while!

Joy to the world!  Quarantine is over!  Let me at 'em!  Wahoo!

Nite all.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Up and About!

This morning, I woke up feeling like my health had taken a step backwards and I was feeling very sorry for myself.

By about 10am, I was feeling good enough to get out of bed, have a shower, get dressed (in actual clothes instead of pyjamas!) put on a little make up and find my way outside to enjoy some sunshine!

This afternoon, when my lovely visitors arrived, I was able to greet them at the door (eventually) and have a little social time with them in our outdoor area.

The wonderful men of the house, Adoring Husband and The Bare-chested Chef, cooked us all a delicious dinner of salmon with a tantalising variety of vegetables and salads to choose from.

So today has been a huge improvement on the last four and that makes me extremely happy!

The lovely Quilting Queen and Little Genius have now retired to their motel because they are heading home early tomorrow morning.

Thank goodness I at least got a few hours of time in with them before they left!

Next time, when Quilting Queen brings her husband, Monty Python Fan, with her, I plan on being incredibly strong and fit and healthy.

The other thing I did today was take a photo to submit in our photographer's group challenge.



I think I mentioned yesterday that the theme was 'glass'.

There have been a lot of photos posted for it and everyone has had some great ideas.

There are no prizes.  Just a boost to our self esteem and the closing date is tomorrow.

Anyway, it's good to be up and about!

Nite all

Monday, July 18, 2011

A Little Ray of Sunshine

This morning I snuck out to the back yard and sat in the sunshine for twenty minutes.

Some Vitamin D can't go astray to aid my healing process.

My photography group on the Flickr website has been issued a photographic challenge entitled 'Glass' and the closing date is 20th July.  I have my thinking cap on and there are a couple of ideas floating around in my head.

Tomorrow, I hope to find the energy to set up my idea and take a couple of photos to enter into the challenge.

Tomorrow is also our visitors' last day here.  The Quilting Queen and her Genius Daughter are on a road trip and have got to spend some quality time with Vegan Chickie, The Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet while I have been quarantined.

I hope to be able to spend a little time outside in the sunshine with them tomorrow, but I am definitely not well enough to go anywhere, and I don't want to spread my germs.

There are so many things that I should be doing by now.

Seeing my boys at the boat ramp on the weekend, Christmas in July on Saturday night, golf yesterday, swimming tomorrow, followed by morning tea with the ladies, and most importantly, cuddling my Chicklet!!

Things that made me smile today ...

How cute!  Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!

Isn't this adorable?!
Vegan Chickie was my Mother's 'Little Ray of Sunshine'.  Chicklet is my 'Little Ray of Sunshine'.  There is a song by Brian Cadd, and sung by the 1970s band 'Axiom' ...


This is the song that my mother dedicated to Vegan Chickie when she was a baby and now I think of it when I look at Chicklet.

Just thought I would share a Little Ray of Sunshine :o)

Nite all

Sunday, July 17, 2011

I'm Home but still Missing my Family!

I have quarantined myself in the bedroom and Adoring Husband is waiting on me and providing me with sustenance so that I don't share my germs with little Chicklet.

My symptoms are, a very raw throat, headaches, aching joints, increasing congestion, coughing, sneezing and lethargy.

These are not symptoms that I would like to share with anyone, let alone a five month old baby.

This is the first time that I've been sick since moving here three years ago and the last time I fell ill, was when I visited BGWLBH the time before last.

I caught that virus at the airport though, because I had seven hours there between flights.

I am generally very healthy and I can nurse Adoring Husband through flus and colds without falling ill myself.

This is really annoying.

I've been home for three days and haven't been able to cuddle my little Chicklet once.  I miss my family and I am willing myself well with every ounce of my being!!






I am even missing out on spending time with our visitors from down south, who have come to town for a few days.

Just another day or two (please?!) for me to be well again.

I promise not to whinge about being sick anymore ... just had to vent one more time.

Thank you for listening!!

Nite all