Thank Goodness for Xmas Orders!

I arrived at the markets wondering whether my stall spot would still be available, because I missed last month and hadn't made contact with the organisers.

It was a relief to see that nobody had taken my position and pleasing to see that the SES (State Emergency Services) had set up their barbecue/food stall beside me.

That would bring more people near my stall surely??

Across the way was a young man busking.  He played guitar and sang.  He wasn't bad, but he sang the same three songs over and over and over.  He only stayed til 10am and made a bit of money because it took a while for him to pick up the coins from his guitar case, one by one.

The music student who has been busking at the markets for over a year wasn't there today.  He has been trying to raise money for a special event that was coming up (I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I can't remember what that event was), so perhaps the special event is happening as we speak?

I do know that if I sold tricycles, I would make a killing.  Every month at the markets, we have at least six people making enquiries about our trikes - how much they cost, where they can be purchased, how easy/difficult they are to ride etc etc.

Perhaps I should do some research into second had trikes and expand my business!

It seems that every month the number of stalls is decreasing at our little markets.  I don't hold much hope for the future of our market.

Today, there were stalls selling second hand toys, hand-made ironing board covers, wind chimes, leather hats and belts, plants, 4 jewellery stalls, garden wall plaques, home-made cakes and slices, fresh fruit n veggies and the other usual odds n ends.

The only stall that sold anything was the SES barbecue stall.  The other stall holders, like me, were looking very sad and forlorn at the end of the morning.

It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing and there was a lovely cool breeze making the wind chimes on the stall behind me sing, and it carried the delicious aroma of bacon and eggs across from the SES stall.

There were quite a few people walking through the markets today, and I had more people than usual stopping to look, but nobody wanted to buy.

I will do one more market day, next month (the final one before Christmas),  but after that, I will withdraw from the markets.

I do enough business through my facebook page, my relatives and my friends, to keep me busy enough.

We did discuss, today, the idea of selling my framed photographs on the stall WITH the jewellery.  I guess that's an option.

Anyway, a new neighbour from my street, stopped at my stall and asked me to drop by her house and take a photo of a flowering plant in her garden.  She wasn't sure what it was called, but it was so lovely, she wanted a record of it and a photo to send to friends and family.

I think it's from the 'ginger' family.

So I did that, and got to know her a little better and met her dog, two cats and four birds.  They seem like a nice couple.

In a nutshell, I missed out on a morning with my little Chicklet, to sit at the markets and watch people NOT buy anything.  I DID catch up with some locals, who I hadn't seen for a while and I DID make a new friend.  I DID get to spend some time with Aussie H.

Apart from a day of nil sales, it was a happy, friendly day.  Thank goodness for Christmas orders!

Nite all.

A Bit of Family History

Oh my goodness, I can relate to that!

A cousin whom I met once, about 40 years ago, has made contact through facebook, and we have been inboxing each other.

She has been doing genealogy and researching the history of our family, on my father's side.  Apparently we have Doctors and Pharmacologists in our recent history!  Kind of a surprise!

Anyway, she is going to scan some family documents and email them to me and, in return, I have found a few family photos and emailed them to her.

From the left is my Uncle Jimmy, my Dad and then my Mum.  This was taken in the very early 60s at a work function.

My Dad - 14th Aug 1940  -  24th Nov 1997

My Dad (standing) and my Uncle Brian

I have another photo of my Dad with all of his brothers and both of his parents, but I have put it in a safe place, and can't remember where that safe place is!!  Don't you hate that!?  

His father died in 1964 of cancer and his mother, in 1971, of a heart attack.  He has five brothers who are all still living, as far as I'm aware.

So that's a little lesson in my family history.  I'm looking forward to learning more about by father's family.

Adoring Husband returned home today safe n sound.  He disliked being in Sydney and is very happy to be home.

Psychotic dogs, Lovely Laying Chooks and I are happy that he is home too :o)

I have markets tomorrow, so it's now time for me to sleep.

Nite all.

A New Day

This is where I spent the first hour of my day ....

... and I finished my day with Tootsie and the Scotsman, who invited me for dinner, and then had to improvise because I was allergic to what they had prepared!

I spent a lovely three hours at their place chatting about everything and anything.  They are a lovely couple.

Adoring Husband returns home tomorrow, a day earlier than planned.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my 'alone' time, but it'll be nice to have him home again.

For now, it's time for bed, ready for another new day.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Nite all.

It was the best of times. It was the Worst of times.

After spending a bit over an hour at the 'Seat of Knowledge' this morning, I went searching along the river for a turtle that Gentleman Jim, and a couple of walkers, had seen earlier in the morning.

On my first search, I found nothing, so I selected a seat in the shade, right on the river bank and sat with my camera at the ready.

Within ten minutes, I saw a large shadow in the water, just up from me, so I stood up and watched and waited ...

I had also noticed during the morning, that sting rays were jumping out of the river.  They jump a couple of feet out of the water, and have been known to jump INTO boats in the past.

So I decided to ride along the river and attempt, with a lot of luck, to capture a shot of one in flight.

No such luck, but found these instead ...

They were quite a way out, so I couldn't get great shots of them.  A mother and baby and another three dolphins in the pod, but sadly, at no time did all of them come to the surface at the same time.

As I pedalled away from the beach and towards the Post Office to check my mail, I came across this little fellow ...

He was too big to fit through the grid, but appeared to be sunning himself in this position.

I then ran into Aussie H on the way to the Post Office, so after we checked our mail and did a little shopping, we pedalled home together.

I left her at her driveway and as I got to my street, instead of turning the corner towards my house, I looked up the street ahead and noticed a large tree.

Over the past couple of years, I had heard stories of owls nesting in this tree, and I had never gone to investigate.  Today, I decided that I should.

This is what greeted me ...

Father Owl

Mother and one baby

Three adorable little babies!

I was positively beside myself with excitement when I saw these three babies!!

After all of that excitement, when I got home, I discovered a message in my facebook inbox from a friend in my old town.

My old boss and dear friend, had a major stroke at work this morning and is currently in hospital on life support.  They suspect a brain tumour.

After her mother and three sons arrive and are gathered together, the Drs will be turning off the life support.

She is only 47 years of age.  She is a happy, loving, caring, supportive and loyal friend to so many of us.  As a boss, she was fair and just, as well as empathetic and sympathetic and she felt more like family, than a friend.

She has been a part of my life for almost twenty years and she is one of the most amazing women I have ever known.  I am praying for a miracle, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.

My day has been the best of times and the worst of times.

Nite all.

New Challenge

The new photography challenge has been set for November.  The theme is 'Symmetry'.

As an example, our tutor posted a photo of a tiger's face.  He took the photo when he was at Australia Zoo last week with his daughter.

It's a fabulous photo and it provides an example of symmetry in nature.

The closing date is 23rd November.

In the meantime ...

I had morning tea with the girls this morning.  Aussie H, Lady Lynne, Kaz, Maid Marion and Michelle Mabelle.

There was a lovely moment as we were saying our goodbyes, when Lady Lynne and Kaz, both with a tear in their eye, acknowledged my blog post from 1st November, Age Challenged rQQzy: Isn't it Funny? about my son, Jamie.

I was touched by their kind words and felt very loved.  Thank you girls :o)

... and today was family lunch day, so Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet came over for a few hours and we ate and played and napped and played with electronic devices lol.

I love family lunch day :o)

I skyped with Adoring Husband tonight after the power was restored.

Sydney had a massive storm and the power was lost in a few suburbs for a couple of hours.  People were stuck in electric trains for two hours and shops and restaurants had to close their doors.

Adoring Husband and our flickr friends have posted all of their fabulous photos from Sunday's night shoot in Brisbane and I am feeling very jealous to have missed out.

I'm not a fan of the city, but they have all made the city and the beautiful lights look warm and inviting and oozing with wonderful energy.

I hope I have the chance, sometime in the future, to take such great shots.

Night shoots also pose a cool challenge.

Nite all.

Rocket Rod

Three years ago, after Adoring Husband and I moved here, the daily bus would travel past our house at what seemed like the speed of light.  I nicknamed it the 'Bathurst Bus'.

http://www.bathurst1000.com.au/

After a few months, the bus slowed down.  I have since learned that the original speeding bus driver had moved to Brisbane.

Well, guess what?  He's baaaa-aaaack!

A few weeks ago, after Vegan Chickie & fam moved into The Bay, I began catching the bus on a Saturday morning to spend some time with them at their new unit.

The very first Saturday was harrowing!  The bus driver sped like a maniac and I felt very unsafe.

The following few weeks were fine because it was a different driver.

Today, Aussie H and I caught the bus into town for a girlie day and we had the maniac bus driver.

His nickname, apparently, is Rocket Rod, and he has been reprimanded in the past for his driving abilities.

After today's trip, I am emailing the bus company to lodge a complaint about his speeding, his cutting corners (a car coming in the opposite direction had to brake quickly to avoid a collision with our bus), and his missing passengers' stops.

A man with a prosthetic leg had to walk 30 metres to get to the bus, after the driver overran the stop on the main road and was unable to reverse in the traffic.

Then, on the return trip, the driver had to reverse 20 metres because he overran a lady's stop.

I will stop using the bus service if he continues to drive like that.  Apparently, he was removed from this route once previously because of his speeding.  Crazy man!

ANYWAY ... aside from the crazy driver, Aussie H and I had a lovely day in The Bay.

Aussie H bought some new darts.  She has been playing competition/social darts at the local club and really enjoying it, but she has been using some cheap darts that she won as a lucky door prize.

Now she has some fabulous new weighty darts, so she should tear her opponents apart this week!!

GO Aussie H!!!!  Oi! Oi! Oi!

Then we did some girlie shopping and bought clothes and shoes and dvds and hats.  We had lunch together and then made our way home.

It really was most enjoyable and I hope we get to do it more often :o)

I did a couple more silly picture quotes this afternoon ...

... had a Skype call with Adoring Husband ... and now it's time to sleep.

I imagine I'll be having nightmares about Rocket Rod!  Wish me luck!

Nite all.

This is what happens ...

I couldn't get any good shots today, so I played around with some old shots and came up with these ...

... and then, Vegan Chickie emailed me some wonderful shots of my little Chicklet.

This one is my favourite :)

They make me LOL every time I look at them!

This evening, I decided to pedal down to the park to check out the sunset.  There were some fabulous cloud formations that had the potential to create an overwhelming sunset, and it almost looked like it might happen, but unfortunately it fizzled out to nothing.

This was at it's peak.

Bummer huh?

This is what happens in a day of my life, when Adoring Husband, goes off to do a night shoot in Brisbane with twelve of our flickr friends.

I hope he got some fabulous shots of the Brisbane night lights!

Nite all.