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, June 9, 2012

To Market To Market

It was raining as I lay my head upon my pillow last night, so I fell asleep expecting to NOT set up my stall at the markets this morning.

However, even though it was overcast and cold, the rain had stopped by this morning and BGWLBH convinced me to 'have a crack' at the markets.

We began setting up a bit later than usual and BGWLBH used one third of the table for her hand knitted scarves and I had the remaining space for my bracelets, earrings and necklaces.

The SES had set up their breakfast barbecue right beside us, so we expected to get some extra passing traffic and we hoped that would provide some sales.

The weather had obviously frightened some of the regular stall holders away because there were about ten less stalls than usual.  Inside the hall was still full, but outside, the stalls were scattered and sparse.

It was pretty quiet until about 9.30am when people began strolling through the grounds and browsing.

Some locals came by and stopped for a brief chat and a few holiday-makers stopped to look as well, but four hours later, neither of us had sold a thing.

The dark clouds were looming and three black cockatoos flew above us.

The old boys at the Seat of Knowledge had recently told BGWLBH that if you see black cockatoos, it means it's going to rain, so when she saw them flying above us, she gasped and pleaded her case of packing up before the now guaranteed rains came!

We quickly packed everything into the car and then drove via Aussie Hilda's place, where she was having a massive garage sale.  She had more for sale in her driveway and garage, than the whole of the markets at the Community Hall!!

She also had quite a few customers hanging around so we didn't stay long.  She was giving cheek and spinning yarns to her fresh new audience, so we bid our farewells and headed home.

After discussions about a short trip or two that we can make over the next few days, to show BGWLBH some more of our area before she heads home, I did some research online and as long as the weather holds up, we'll be driving to Woodgate and Walker's Point in the next couple of days.

We have a few National Parks in the surrounding area, but unfortunately, the recent wet weather makes them impossible to access, so they have been crossed off the list.

Adoring Husband had a rare afternoon at the pub with his mates, so I took the opportunity to have some quiet time on the couch and play with some old photos, while watching the old movie "Paint Your Wagon".

I have a lot of photos of Kites and Eagles to share with you tonight.








They were all taken on the day that we went fishing.  There must have been a lot of food washed up on the beach, or tossed out by the fishermen from the boat ramp, because the beach was busy with birds of prey.

I didn't have to set up any shots.

Now that I have taken so many shots without setting anything up, I think it's more satisfying to get natural shots, and I can't imagine setting up any shots again in the future - but I never say 'never' lol.

A good Wedge Tailed Eagle shot would be a bit of a dream come true for me.

An American Bald Eagle - well they just take my breath away every time I see footage or a photo of them.  An amazingly beautiful bird.  I wonder if I will ever have the opportunity to get a natural shot of a Bald Eagle?

I am doing the June Photo a Day challenge and just to finish off the theme of birds in this post, here is my photo for yesterday ... themed "6 o'clock".




The markets may have been a financial disappointment, but we still had some fun - even though we had to listen to a young busker sing the same three songs over and over and over - one of them very badly.

Much to BGWLBH's disgust, at the end of the day, he made more money than us!!

Nite all :o)

Friday, June 8, 2012

Giggles for Lunch

The many faces of Chicklet.








She is the biggest slice of cute!!  I love her so much :o)

It was a lovely lunch that we had on the water front today.  Vegan Chickie, Chicklet, BGWLBH and I.

The weather not so pleasant, but inside was very comfortable.

Had a couple of drinks with friends at the Club tonight to welcome one of them home after a month away.

Most enjoyable.

BGWLBH and I plan on selling our wares at the markets tomorrow, but it is currently raining, so the odds are against us ... especially since the weather forecast is for rain all weekend!

Best get some sleep just in case our luck changes.  All those giggles over lunch have worn me out!

Nite all.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

My Brain Hurts

The June challenge for our flickr group has been set.

The theme is 'A moving subject taken at 1/6th of a second'

My first thought was "Wow, that's a GOOD one!"

Having tried a few shots today at that shutter speed, I've decided that it SUCKS!!

So BGWLBH is on a mission to do as much research online as she can, to come up with a variety of ideas that we can try over the coming days.

We have a couple of ideas to try tomorrow, because today's attempts were terrible failures!

This is the good thing about The Master's challenges ... we learn a lot from them.  They can be as frustrating as hell, but in the end we learn and we improve.  That's what it's all about.

We spent a long time out and about this morning.  BGWLBH in her new walking shoes and me on the trike.

She got to explore some parts of the town that she hadn't seen before and she got LOTS of exercise.


There is almost always something going on at the Seat of Knowledge.  This Little Pied Cormorant has been hanging around for a couple of mornings now.


This one was Adoring Husband's favourite.

I've been sitting up tonight, hoping to watch Sam Stosur play in the French Open semi-finals, but there has been a rain delay, so I'm off to bed.

I'm hoping to have a Chicklet family afternoon tomorrow, so I don't want to be tired for that!

So I apologise for my short post this evening, but my brain hurts from trying to think of something outstanding for the flickr challenge!

Maybe tomorrow will see some success.

Nite all.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

As Exhaustion Sets In

Went to bed at almost midnight last night.

Woke up at 4.22am.  Got out of bed at 5am.  On the road at 6am.

So many roadworks along the way!  It seemed never-ending!

It was a beautiful morning, a little crisp at 7C, but it quickly warmed up with blue sky and sunshine the whole way.

Arrived at Caboolture Train Station carpark at 9am-ish.  We had to park quite a distance from the station and walk there.  We JUST missed the train, so had to wait 30 mins for the next one.

Boarded the train to Fortitude Valley at 9.50am, after Adoring Husband found life saving coffee at a bakery across the road from the station.

Noticed, as the train pulled away from the station, that there were signs everywhere stating "No food or drink allowed on the trains".  So we gulped the coffee down quickly and hid the cups in our back packs!

It took an hour to get to Fortitude Valley, and about 5 minutes before we arrived there, the guards walked onto our carriage and asked for everybody to show proof of their ticket purchases.

We had about an 8 minute wait for the free train to the Exhibition grounds - where the Caravan and Camping Show was being staged.

We handed over our 'complimentary passes' and walked in the direction that they sent us, which just happened to be directly to the 'Jayco' pavillion - and THAT just happened to be the pavillion we specifically came for!

So we checked out the 'Jayco Swift' camper van.  This is the camper trailer that we are going to buy for taking short weekend trips away for our photography.  It's small, practical, reasonably priced and is the correct weight for our car's towing capacity.

This is the point that we should've begun our return trip home.

Firstly, I needed sustenance.  Almost midday and my only intake was a coffee at 9.30am.

So after much searching, we found a hidden cafe upstairs and I had a gluten free steak and salad, which hit the spot and I was recharged and ready to handle anything that Adoring Husband came up with.

Of course he had to do the rounds of the showgrounds to make comparisons with all of the different brands of campervans and camper trailers.

Personally I liked the $99000 caravan - the brand name escapes me right now - and if we were going to travel around Australia for a couple of years, it would be ideal - but way too big and not the slightest bit practical for weekend jaunts!

After a while, it got the better of me and I simply had to get my camera out of the back pack and start snapping away, while Adoring Husband browsed.


Some Wandering Minstrels
Roma St Station
As you can see, I took the opportunity to take a couple of photos for my 104 challenge.

I hadn't been to the Exhibition Grounds since I was about 16 yrs of age, so there were quite a few flash backs and memories flooding in every so often.  I took some photos of the old grand stand and a couple of the buildings that had triggered some memories (which I will share with you when I am less tired!)

Finally, it was time to return home.

As we left the showgrounds, me with camera still in hand, the uniformed woman at the gate asked if we were members of the "Press".  When we replied "No" she proceeded to lecture us about the fact that -

It is illegal to take photos at the show grounds of any event that is occurring, due to copyright laws.

She let me off with a warning!  **Note to self**  Must get myself a fake Press ID!

That was our second illegal act for the day!  And the last .. thank goodness!

The trip home seemed so much longer than the trip there (doesn't it always?).

The traffic was quite heavy on the way home - especially the on-coming traffic.  So many trucks!

Unfortunately, we didn't have time to drop in to see the The Nikonian for coffee, because we were way behind schedule.  Next time for sure!

It has been a very long day and as exhaustion sets in, I can barely hold my eye lids open!

Nite all.






Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Chicklet for Lunch

Lunch is always a very casual affair on family day.

Between us, there are so many different dietary requirements, that it's just easier to provide something similar to a smorgasbord.

The table covered with lots of different salad fruits and vegetables, beans, cheese, meats, chutneys and relishes with various types of bread.

Every now and then, I'll make a special vegan dish or dessert.  Sometimes a dessert especially for Vegan Chickie.  Mostly, it's standard fare.

... except when BGWLBH gets involved!

"You be my assistant" she states confidently.

Translation: "You be mandrake the magician, have the ability to do 3 things at once while every 30 seconds I will tell you which kitchen utensils and ingredients I need and we will use every kitchen gadget known to mankind in the process."

A large platter of various dips (all home-made) with oven-crispy gluten free bread and gluten free crackers.

Moroccan Hummus
Carrot, Orange, Cumin, Poppy Seed and Sesame Seed dip
Chickpea, Ricotta and Mint dip
Beetroot and Yoghurt dip
Pineapple, Cream Cheese and Chilli dip

A fresh fruit punch with freshly juiced apples, oranges, mandarins, lemons, passionfruit and ginger beer.

A big bowl of roasted sweet potato, potato, cauliflower and walnuts.  A smaller bowl of roasted tomatoes and onions (these were things I had planned for myseld anyway)

On top of all that - mashed avocado, grated carrot, cucumber, tomato, pasta salad, mushrooms, cheese slices, capsicum strips, roast chicken (which we cooked first thing this morning) and ham.

All of this with bread rolls and a french stick fresh from the bakery.

I think we actually worked pretty well as a team.  BGWLBH had specific instructions and directions and orders.  We had everything prepared and all the cleaning up done with about twenty minutes to spare - so we sat back and relaxed until they arrived.

I would have made a "S%@t I forgot to make the pavlova" pavlova for Vegan Chickie, but I bought all the meringues from the bakery on Sunday and they haven't restocked the shelves yet!  Next time :D

I got a few nice shots of Chicklet today.





Tomorrow, Adoring Husband and I are off to Brisbane to check out the Caravan and Camping Expo. Vegan Chickie very conveniently won two tickets so we have free entry!  Thank you my lovely daughter!

I'm hoping we will get to have a quick visit with The Nikonian on the way home too.

I had a lovely Chicklet family lunch today, but I gotta be up before the sparrows in the morning, so I'd best hit the hay.

Nite all.

New Lens

Well, we packed the car with our golf gear and set off, fingers crossed, for a clear drive to golf and with high hopes of a reasonably dry course.

One hundred metres out of town and part of the road was covered in water.  Another hundred metres and more road covered by water.

We looked at each other and said "If it's bad here, it's always much worse nearing Howard.  Let's turn around and give golf a miss this week."

Disappointing.

So after unloading the golf gear, I hopped on my trike and headed off to the bakery for my cuppa.  The baker comes from Howard.  The Baker's wife told me that the road was completely clear except for the two spots coming into town.  Ugh!

Ah well.  Doesn't matter.  The tide was high, the sun was shining, the river was a hive of activity with boaters off to chase Whiting, the birds were singing and the boys at the Seat of Knowledge were in fine form.

On our way home, I received a phone call from Adoring Husband to tell me that my new Canon lens had arrived, so I rushed home to take possession of my wonderful new toy!

My first photo taken with the new lens was of Psychotic Jack ...


Adoring Husband had some chores to do in The Bay, so BGWLBH and I took the opportunity to go fishing on the low tide out on the sand flats.

Of course, I took my camera with me to test out the new lens.



BGWLBH caught a LOT of whiting.  Only one of them was big enough to take home, and even though we strongly considered feeding him to the Eagle, we decided to set him free before we came home.

It was a full moon evening.  5pm the moon was going to rise, so we all headed down to the river.  BGWLBH walking and Adoring Husband and I driving.



The moon was certainly a spectacle to behold!

We have the Chicklet family coming for lunch tomorrow.  Right now, it's heading fast towards 1am, so I'd best get some sleep so that I can play with my baby without dark tired circles under my eyes!

I'll have to attempt some Chicklet shots with my new lens too!

Nite all.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

A Little Birthday Joy

Boy!  Did it bucket down last night!  We had about 150ml of rain overnight.

It was still raining when I woke up this morning, so no trike ride and no coffee from the bakery ... I really don't like starting my Sundays without my morning coffee!

Knowing that we had to be at a birthday barbecue at 11.30am, we had a quiet morning at home - me in my usual place in front of the laptop playing with some photos taken yesterday.

Also, for my 104 group in facebook, I set a mini challenge over the weekend with the theme 'Eyes' and SO many photos had been posted, it took a while to go through them and comment.

The group had been a bit quiet and it seemed that motivation was quite low, so I thought we all needed  something different to photograph, that was not too difficult and was accessible to everybody.

I'm pleased to say that the group responded with enthusiasm and have been posting great photos all weekend!

At 11am, I looked at the invitation to this 60th birthday party and found the letters 'BYO'.  I asked Adoring Husband "Does this mean 'bring your own grog' or 'bring your own everything'?"

He decided to phone them to verify.

The verification was this "Just bring your own grog, but your Adoring Wife said she would make a pavlova for dessert".

AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!

On Wednesday night (State of Origin night) at the pub, the Kiwi Queen asked me if I would make one of my famous pavlovas for her party, and I, in a clean and sober state, with great enthusiasm, agreed to do so...

... and then promptly forgot.

As you know, a pavlova is not something that you can throw together in thirty minutes.

I was horrified.  I felt sick.  I walked around the house cursing myself.  Wracking my brain trying to think of something, ANYTHING, that I could quickly put together as a dessert to feed thirty people.

"Take me to Foodworks!" I demanded of Adoring Husband.  Foodworks is the only supermarket in a 20km radius that sells groceries.

"It's too late now" he replied "Just don't worry about it".

"Don't tell me not to worry about it!" I snapped "I HAVE to do something!"

So off we drove to our local shops.

I walked into Foodworks, hoping agains hope that they sold pre-made pavlovas .. but alas it was not to be.

Then I had a brain-wave!

Our local bakery sells big fat worm shaped meringues.  I rushed in there and bought six of them.  Then went back into Foodworks and bought grapes, kiwi fruit, banana, peaches and 600ml of cream.

Adoring Husband dropped me at home while he went to the drive-thru to get some beer for the party.

I rushed inside and took my big glass rectangular baking dish out.  Crushed and crumbled the meringue into the bottom.  Whipped the cream and poured it over the top.  BGWLBH helped me quickly chop up the fruit and added passionfruit and mandarin pieces that we already had at home.

This was the result ...


I called it my "S&@t I forgot to make the pavlova" pavlova.

When I left the party, there was only one small corner of it left in the dish!  I swear to God, I do my best work under pressure!

It was a really lovely party.  A couple of the guys brought their guitars and we had sing-alongs plus Madam Butterfly, who is a professional singer, brought her gear too and set up in the corner.  She sang her usual sweet melodies for the first half of the party.

The food was good (especially the pav lol) and everyone was in a happy frame of mind.  There was lots of catching up to do and I really enjoyed myself.  Even took a few happy snaps.

The Birthday Girl
The sparkling Woman of Many Talents
We were home by 5pm and I whipped up a chicken stir-fry for dinner.

Woman of Many Talents and I are hoping to play golf in the morning, but after 150ml of rain, we might have to turn around and come home!  We can but try!

So after a little birthday joy, I think I can hear my pillow calling my name.

Nite all.