Busy Busy Busy

Spent most of the day in the laundry and the kitchen today.

Made a batch of Adoring Husband's muesli because he used the last of the last batch this morning and I'm going away tomorrow morning.

I made chocolate brownies and some chocolate truffles, which AH loves and they are healthier than other junk food that he loves.

I also made a delicious meatloaf stack.

Preheat the oven at 180C.

Half a kg of minced beef, mixed with half an onion chopped finely, 3 kale leaves finely shredded, one finely chopped chilli, 3 garlic cloves minced, one egg and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix it all together and divide into two equal parts.

Boil approximately 8 small potatoes in their jackets until tender.  Lightly crush them in a bowl with about 80gms of butter and sprinkle salt and pepper over the top.  Mix until the butter is melted.

Lay half of the mince mixture evenly over the bottom of a loaf tin.  Slice enough tomato thickly to cover the mince layer and then sprinkle salt and black pepper over the top.  Cover that with thick slices of mushrooms.  Over the top of that, lay slices of bacon.

The next layer is the rest of the mince mixture, then slice peeled eggplant to cover that layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  On top of that goes the potato mix.  Grate some parmesan cheese over the top and place in the oven at 180C for 25 minutes, then increase the temp to 220C and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes.

Delicious!!

Anyway, I am off to continue packing for my trip to the Sunny Coast tomorrow morning.

Catch up tomorrow.

Nite all.

Excuse for a Date

We had to put the car in for a service today, so we used it as a good excuse to go on a movie date.

The car dealership provide a taxi service to drop you off anywhere in town, while your car is being serviced, so we got a lift to the cinema.

We watched "Delivery Man" starring Vince Vaughn.

I've never been a big fan of Vince Vaughn, but I really liked him in this movie.  It was a 'feel good' movie with a few giggles and a couple of moving moments.

We had to kill some time before the movie started, so we went browsing in JB Hifi and came out with a handful of dvds.

The latest Dr Who movie, the last series of 'Big Bang Theory' and the movie 'The Lone Ranger' with Johnny Depp.

We watched the movie and with perfect timing, the car dealership sent us a text 10 minutes before the end, to tell us that the car was ready and to contact them with details of where they could pick us up!

We've had some good soaking rain today.  I can hear the garden smiling.

Here is a photo from some time ago.

I'm still editing wedding photos .. I have most of tomorrow to finish them off.  Fingers crossed I can focus long enough to do it!

Nite all.

Making a wish.

I still have 100 photos to edit.

I need more time.

I could have edited some more photos in the time it took me to make this cartoon of myself!

Procrastination is my middle name.

Nite all.

REALLY Scary Stuff!

Remember how yesterday's post title was 'Scary Stuff'?

You ain't seen nothin' yet!!

At the risk of sounding like a bragger ... I won our flickr group challenge for November (2nd month in a row!!  Woot!!  Woot!!) ... the prize is 'a slight boost to your self esteem', which I can always do with, but also you get to choose the theme for the other challenge.

We have two challenges each month.  Our esteemed leader chooses the theme for the main challenge, and then whoever wins that challenge gets to choose a theme for the second challenge.

Last month, I chose a difficult theme, 'One of the seven deadly sins' (pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth) and I was surprised by the number of people who made an effort to submit an entry!

This month I thought something a bit easier, with a Christmas theme would work.

"Self Portrait with a Christmas Theme"

This is my entry ...

Told you it was scary!

So this was my way of procrastinating.

I still haven't finished the wedding pics!!  UGH!!

For the main challenge this month, our esteemed leader has asked us to choose our favourite/best photo taken this year.

This is mine ...

I chose this one because I will ALWAYS remember taking it.

It was just 2 months after the tornado hit our town.  Our house was still in a state of disrepair and I was feeling pretty miserable, sitting in the Lions Park and looking at the bare trees and the devastation still evident in the neighbouring caravan park.

I saw this bird flying toward me from across the river and fully expected that he would veer right and fly toward the mouth of the river - a favourite spot for raptors at low tide - but he just kept flying toward me.

I reluctantly pulled the camera from the bag and took a couple of photos to make sure that my settings were right and then sat there watching and waiting.

He flew straight at me!  As he got to me, he turned and circled and then slowly glided with wings outstretched to within just a few metres.  My heart was pounding so hard and I began talking to him and telling him how beautiful he was and repeating OMG OMG OMG.

I had always wanted to capture, with my camera, a White Bellied Sea Eagle, and here he was, right in front of me - so close that he almost didn't fit 'in frame'.

I couldn't get home fast enough to check the shots on the computer monitor and was so pleased with the results.

This White Bellied Sea Eagle lifted my spirits and chased my blues away that day.

Such a spectacular bird.

Nite all.

Scary Stuff

There are males all over Australia who have in the past scoffed at me for suggesting that Roundup was a dangerous and toxic chemical.

The standard response "Roundup neutralises as soon as it hits the soil!"

PFFT!!

Monsanto and all the big chemical companies have been sucking us into their web of lies for years and we, along with our loved ones, are suffering the consequences of those lies now.

There are elderly men all over the world, who are taking medications for all sorts of diseases like Parkinsons, Diabetes, Dementia, bowel problems and cancers (including the prevalent prostate cancer), who have happily been using Roundup in the garden, without protection, for many many years, believing that it was totally safe to do so.

Well, I'm here to tell you that there is more and more evidence to show that Roundup is not safe and they are now comparing it to Agent Orange and DDT.

Follow this link for more information, including the results of a recent study.

Why Monsanto's Roundup is the most toxic chemical in the environment

This is of special interest to me because my granddaughter has recently been diagnosed on the Autism spectrum and my husband has Parkinson's Disease.

Here are some more links to follow - especially to those women who I know read this blog and who might be concerned about the use of this chemical in their own gardens.

Heavy use of Roundup herbicide linked to health dangers - US Study

Lethality of Roundup weed killer extends beyond plants to humans.

Weed Killer kills human cells

Dutch city of Rotterdam bans Roundup

Roundup Herbicide causes smorgasboard of fatal diseases

There are so many more links that I could add here, but I'm sure that if you are as concerned as I am, you will find plenty of information on the web.

... and now for less serious matters

A couple of photos from the wedding .. yes I am still working my way through them and hope to have them finished by the weekend.

I think that I've recovered from last weekend's celebrations and my body should be back to normal, ready for this coming weekend's celebrations!  I will definitely NOT be over indulging!

Time for bed - hopefully for a sound night's sleep.

Nite all.

Microwave-free Household

We don't own a microwave oven.

I can't even remember when our house became microwave-free.

I'm pretty sure it's been around 4 years.

If my memory serves me well, the microwave oven that we brought with us from Sydney, died some time after we arrived here and when Adoring Husband began to search for a replacement, I announced my dislike of them and we decided that since the only reason we used them, was to reheat leftover food, it was an unnecessary expense that we could do without.

There are many reasons why I dislike microwave ovens.  If you're interested in any of my reasons, here are some links that you might like to check out ...

11 Surprising Facts and Myths About Microwave Ovens

Are Microwave Ovens Safe?

The Proven Dangers of Microwaves

Studies Show Microwaves Drastically Reduce Nutrients in Food

There are many things in this life, the safety of which, is questionable.  I have never felt comfortable using a microwave oven.  I have never liked food cooked in or reheated in a microwave .  I figure I should always listen to my inner voice or my instincts.

I try to avoid eating in restaurants where I know food is reheated or cooked in a microwave (yes I know that the majority of restaurants use microwave ovens in their kitchens).

I know that our local pub has 6 microwave ovens in their kitchen and that most of their food is pre-prepared and then reheated in a microwave.  I ate there, for the first time in over a year, just last week.  I didn't enjoy it.

I use our conventional oven ALL THE TIME.

I'm a lazy cook and don't like having to stand in the kitchen watching over what I'm cooking.

I'm happiest when I can prepare the food, put it in the oven, and walk away.

All of our reheating happens on the stove top or in the oven.

I'm sure Adoring Husband would love to have a microwave oven again.  He is also a lazy cook and would prefer to eat leftovers cold out of the fridge, than spend the time reheating on the stove top or in the oven.

Our out-of-town visitors are always shocked to discover no microwave oven and are then stumped as to how they are going to cook whatever food they've brought/bought.

I know that while the decision is mine to make, I will never have a microwave oven in my house.

******

Something that I found today, that I am definitely going to try this week, is home made Vitamin C!

Apparently, the Vitamin C manufacturers are now making these supplements from genetically engineered corn.  I've read enough to know that I will always attempt to avoid genetically engineered food.

So I found this recipe to make your own Vitamin C, that is even better for you than the supplements that you buy (I'm not a fan of synthetic supplements either - but I'll save that story for another day).

It's important that you only use 'organic' fruit for this recipe, because there are too many chemicals/pesticides/herbicides/insecticides etc sprayed on non organic produce, and the skin is where all of this yukkiness is absorbed.

What homemade vitamin C DOES have, that bought supplements DON'T have, is live enzymes that allow the vitamin C to be 100% assimilated into your body. It has its own natural source of rutin, hesperidin, and bioflavonoids.

It’s easy to get, easy to make, and even tastes good, too. It’s just orange & lemon peels.

Any organic orange or lemon peels left over from the fruit you buy will do the trick.

Save all of your peels after you eat the fruit and cut them into thin strips.

Place them on a plate on your dining room table and let them dry at room temperature for a couple of days until dry and crisp OR you can also dehydrate the peels with a food dehydrator and then store them for about a year in a dry container.

For consumption, one idea is to break up peels into smaller pieces and mix them with your favourite tea. This makes the tea taste great, but the downside to this approach is that heat destroys the enzymes.

A better option is to place the peel strips into your coffee grinder and grind them into a powder (which won’t hurt the enzymes) and use to mix with your early morning smoothie. One rounded teaspoon will supply you with more organic vitamin C complex, rutin, hesperidin, and bioflavonoids than your body needs for the day, regardless of your size.

Apparently, this homemade citrus peel powder mixed in your blender with some fresh organic apple juice tastes good too.

Sounds bloody good to me!

Nite all.

Christmas Lights

Our first Christmas here, in 2008, we began a collection of Christmas lights.

Our plan was to add to it every year until we had a spectacular Christmas display that would be on a 'must see' list every year, for the Christmas light fanatics.

Last year, we didn't even put a tree up.  No decorations.  No lights.  A non-event Christmas ... followed by a destructive tornado!

This year, Adoring Husband pulled all of the decorations out of the shed, only to discover that, after 5 years, some of them had disintegrated, as had the plastic attachments that held them to the roof.

So we've had to replace some of the lights, as well as buy a couple of extras.

We got some solar powered candy canes for the path and some solar powered fairy lights to drape over the Geisha Girl shrub in the centre of the front garden.

We also got quite a tall green Christmas tree that glows and flickers green lights.

It looks very Christmassy!

Our tradition for Christmas dinner is to have seafood.  Lots of it.  Crabs and prawns and fish and calamari, as well as the traditional ham and salads.

In Australia, it's too hot in December to have a cooked dinner ... you know, turkey and vegetables and pie, not an option in our house.

So our seafood is ordered.  Our ham is in the fridge.  Our lights are hung.  Our tree is up.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Nite all.

Friday Night

You know the drill.  Friday night.

All I've had to eat today is a medium popcorn at the movies.

We watched "The Hunger Games - Catching Fire."

Great movie!

With an ending that has us hungry for more!!

An unlucky night at the Club tonight.  3 glasses of wine and no wins.

That means .. time for bed.

Tomorrow night, I will take a photo of our Christmas lights at the front of the house - we added to our collection today.

Last year, we didn't even put decorations up for Christmas ... this year, we are making up for it.

Nite all.

I Did It!!

At last!  My desk is clear!  It took me about an hour, but now it is clean and shiny and white again.  My brain feels clearer and tidier and ready to embark on some long blog posts.

I currently have a giant pot of prawn stock on the boil - almost ready to strain and pack into the freezer.

I also have the slow cooker simmering away with about 6 chicken frames, making a big batch of stock.

Yesterday's batch of bone broth has been packed away.  First, I scooped the layer of fat off the top and stored it in the fridge to use for cooking.  Hmmmm yum.

Bone broth.  Who knew that it was so good for you?

I don't recall my grandparents making bone broth - but I do remember reading about bone broth in period novels, set in England and Ireland.  My memory recalls that bone broth was fed to anyone with an illness.

Here is what I've learned about bone broth in the last week ...

1.  Bone broth is excellent for your joint health.

The health of your joints depends upon the health of the collagen in your ligaments, tendons, and on the ends of your bones. Collagens are a large family of biomolecules, which include the glycosaminoglycans, very special molecules that help keep our joints healthy.

Bone broth is loaded with glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). You've heard of Glucosamine?  Yep, those supplements that everyone is taking for joint health contain one of the GAGs we get from consuming bone broth.

This is why Real Food is better than supplementation…

Notice I said that glucosamine is just one of the GAGs contained in bone broth?  When you consume broth you also get chondroitin, hyaluronic acid, and a bunch of other equally important GAGs.

The best part is that the GAGs we get from bone broth are resistant to digestion and are absorbed in their intact form. These intact GAGs like hormones, stimulate cells called fibroblasts which lay down collagen in the joints, tendons, ligaments, and even the arteries.

It’s truly powerful stuff!

2.  Bone broth heals your gut.

We all experience some kind of gastrointestinal challenge at some time in our lives .. especially as we get older — constipation, diarrhea, food sensitivities, leaky gut, or even autoimmune disease.

One of the most vital nutrients for healing the gut is gelatin.

There was a time when gelatin was the most studied nutrient under the sun for all of its healing virtues. 

Times have certainly changed.

The intestinal lining is supposed to be permeable in order for nutrients to pass through. However, this lining can become too permeable due to lifestyle factors such as poor diet, stress, long-term contraceptive use, as well as bacterial and fungal overgrowths.

This is how leaky gut — or gut hyperpermeability — works. Undigested food particles can slip through the gut lining and pass directly into the bloodstream.  When this happens, the immune system freaks out and starts attacking the very foods you eat — we call these food sensitivities.

Over time, this can turn into an autoimmune issue by which your immune system thinks your thyroid — or any other tissue, for that matter — looks like the piece of steak molecule it’s been fighting off for the past few years, and your body starts to attack itself.

According to some, autoimmunity will soon be the number one cause of death. Gut hyperpermeability is a big reason why.

The gelatin in bone broth fills the excess holes in the gut lining, a bit like silly putty!  It should be part of any gut-healing protocol.

3.  Bone broth is excellent for your hair, skin and nails.

I know people who, in a quest to recapture a youthful appearance, will pay top dollar for products that boost collagen — also the main constituent of hair, skin, and nails.

As we age, production of collagen declines and we start to see the outward signs of aging.

Botox — a drug made from a toxin produced by the bacterium clostridium botulinum — is all the craze for the reduction of lines and wrinkles.

In my opinion, it's weird that people choose to inject that into their bodies .. and it's expensive!

Personally, I’d much rather prepare and consume bone broth to keep my skin, hair, and nails looking fabulous than have a toxin injected into my face.

But that’s just me.

4.  Bone broth helps remove toxins.

The liver is the master organ of detoxification, but it was never intended to withstand the very toxic, chemical nature of today’s world.

The liver is under assault on a daily basis, and its capacity to detoxify is limited by the availability of the amino acid glycine.

Guess where you can get tons of glycine from? Bone broth!

For now, forget about all the fancy detox programs you’ve heard about.  Do your liver a favor by giving it what it needs to do its job most effectively.

Get down to your butcher and grab yourself a stack of beef bones (they are surprisingly inexpensive) and simmer them away with some veggies and some apple cider vinegar (which helps draw out the good stuff).  Simmer on low for about 12 hours to get the best out of them.

******

Adoring Husband and I have been discussing getting a bigger freezer.

We have a small upright freezer and two fridges with freezers attached, but all of them are absolutely chock-a-block full of soups, stocks, stewed fruits, home-made ice creams, gravies, sauces, pestos, meats and garden vegetables.

I will struggle to find space for the stocks that I'm making today.

I need to stay out of the kitchen for a while and we need to use up what's in the freezers!

Nite all.

  

Big Plans

Well, yes, I had big plans for tonight's blog post, but time got away from me, so I'm afraid it's another short and sweet effort.

 A couple of black and white shots from the wedding last month...

I still haven't tidied my work area and I think it's having an effect on my brain!  Messy work space, messy brain.  Just can't seem to get my act together.  Perhaps I should seriously dedicate tomorrow morning to creating a more user friendly work space ... no more procrastinating!!

I won the flickr challenge for the second month in a row for 'Vertical Landscape' with this photo.

My self esteem is suitably boosted (which is the prize for each challenge).

'The Nikonian' won the other challenge (One of the 7 Deadly Sins), also for the second month in a row!

We are on a roll!

Now I have to think of a theme for December's challenge.  I'm off to find my thinking cap.

Nite all.

So Interesting!

I spent all day in the kitchen today, cooking up a storm!

Real bone broth ... still simmering away, after 14 hours.  I'll keep it going til tomorrow morning, so it will be 24 hours.  All that marrow and deliciousness oozing it's way into the broth.  Yummy!

I also slow roasted a rolled beef and made some real gravy out of the juices.

I used the old tomatoes in the fridge, some red capsicum, onion, two chillies and a little kombucha to make a spicy tomato sauce.  I got 3 containers out of the batch, so froze two of them and will use the third tomorrow.

I made 3 containers of Coriander Pesto.  It's full of brazil nuts, pine nuts and pepitas, as well as lemon juice and macadamia oil, plus loads of organic coriander.

I cooked a batch of chocolate brownies, but unfortunately I got distracted and left them in the oven a little longer than I should have, so they're a bit dry .. but still taste great with strawberries and whipped full cream!

Last, but not least, was a batch of Chocolate Coconut Truffles.  I was very impressed to get a batch of 45 truffles (the recipe stated 36), which I hope will last a while .. although Adoring Husband might have his eyes on them, since he didn't buy any of his special chocolate this week.

Tomorrow, I have 2kgs of chicken frames to make up a batch of chicken stock, but other than that, I will focus on photos and editing .. I still haven't finished editing the wedding photos .. so slack of me!

In the meantime, I found this video today, which was made three years ago and is still very relevant today.  Dr Oz has even supported this theory and I have always been a firm believer in eating your way to good health and curing some diseases this way.

The video runs for almost 25 minutes, but is very interesting!  I wouldn't share it if I didn't think it was worth your while.



I've enjoyed early bedtimes for three nights in a row now and have slept soundly for about 7 hours each night (unheard of for me, for about 8 years - since my mother passed away in 2005).

I've also enjoyed waking up earlier and getting a few chores done before I go for my ride to the Seat of Knowledge.

I'm feeling great, and although my back struggled with standing on the tiled kitchen floor for so many hours today, a few 20 minute breaks in between each recipe, helped, and right now I am pain free, so I'm very happy with that!

It looks like tonight will be another early night!

Nite all.

Birthday Boy

Tonight was a celebration.  Happy Harry's 70th birthday!

We were a group of friends gathered together at the local pub, to share his day.  Friendships that have developed over only a short period of time but have already endured heartbreaks and enjoyed celebrations, all of which, create strong bonds.

Happy Harry is a favourite because of his big heart and his warm and generous nature, not to mention his cheeky sense of humour.  He is always a gentleman.

WE LOVE YA HAPPY HARRY!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Nite all.

Cooking up a Storm

After a fantastic breakfast at the Lions Park, by the river, catching up with old friends, I pedalled home, hard against a strong head wind so that I could get started in the kitchen.

I made the nutty seedy bread that I've been dying to try for a couple of weeks.

It's very heavy and very nutty and seedy.

I waited, as per instructions, until it had cooled to room temperature before cutting and then I slathered butter on it to taste ... very nice ... then I added some raw honey ... delicious.  Tomorrow I will try it with avocado.  I'll also attempt to toast it and see what happens.

The bread making took about 4 hours and it's not your regular crusty bread with a soft fluffy centre.

In between times, I made some more of my magic muesli for Adoring Husband.

For lunch I fried up some zucchini fritters.

For dinner, chicken breast with chilli paste and onion, baked on a bed of orange slices.  To accompany the chicken, potato mash with raw onion, broccoli, cabbage and kale chips on the side.

I still have quite a pile of recipes to try tomorrow.

Last night, I stayed awake til 2.30am watching Australia win the Rugby League World Cup final against New Zealand.  It was played in England, hence the stupid time that I was watching it!

So after my poor sleep over my three days away, and then last night's effort, my body is definitely starting to feel it tonight.

As soon as I sign off here, I will be climbing into bed for an 'earlier than usual' night.

One photo from the weekend away.  The lovely 'Woman of Many Talents' ...

I hope to spend some time tomorrow, finishing off the wedding photos and starting on our 'Lady's Christmas Party' shots.

... and it's "Goodnight" from me.

Nite all.

Hi Honey! I'm Home!

It's good to be home and I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.

Unfortunately I had a nap this afternoon, so it's almost 1am and I think I'm almost ready for bed now.

A good time was had by all on our lady's trip away.

Of course, what happens on the Sunny Coast, STAYS on the Sunny Coast!

You can know that we shopped til we dropped, drank til we were done, ate til we were full, bopped to the music, had a little flutter and laughed til we almost peed our pants.

We were especially excited last night, while eating dinner at the Surf Club, to learn that one of our husbands back home, had a MASSIVE win on the Keno!

We had a great time away, but we were all looking forward to coming home again.

It was a rainy drive home and the day has been very grey, but as the sun was setting, some cloud cleared and produced a lovely sunset ...

Adoring Husband has spent the day hanging Christmas decorations and setting up the Christmas tree, so it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our house.

Tomorrow, I hope to share some holiday snaps.

Right now, I need to go to bed.

Nite all.

Sleep Still Eludes Me!

I chose to sleep on the couch last night.

The room that I was allotted is a bit small and stuffy, with only a small window, and when it's open, lets in all the street noise, from cars and buses, to drunks leaving the night clubs.

It has a ceiling fan, but I'm sharing the room with somebody else, and my body temperature is so high, I need the room to be very cool ... which is freezing for anybody with normal body temperature.

The lounge room is open and airy, with the choice of a fan or air conditioning, that doesn't affect anybody else in the apartment.

I slept soundly on the couch, until just after midnight, when a very large crowd of young, intoxicated people marched their way past our apartment block, making a LOT of noise.  There were many groups during the night and they seemed to pass by in waves.

Just as I dozed off, another raucous would build .. so 4.30am arrived and very little sleep had been had by me or anybody else.

It helped to have another delicious and hearty breakfast at the Surf Club .. that gave us enough energy to commit to another shopping spree before lunch.

This afternoon, I've had a quiet time regenerating and preparing for a fun evening.

I bought a dress.  YES!  You heard correctly!  ME!  I bought a dress ... a white dress!

I'm wearing it tonight for dinner.

There will be photos taken tonight .. finally.

Having a ball ... wish you were here :D

Nite all.  

Sleep eludes me

I think it was about 10.30pm when I climbed into bed last night and I fell asleep quite fast.

I also woke up 3 hours later.  Couldn't get back to sleep, so I got out of bed at 3.30am and took my ipad out onto the balcony to watch the sun rise .. which didn't happen til 4.30am!

Thank goodness it wasn't too spectacular!  I had to use my ipad to take this photo, because I still hadn't been able to charge my camera batteries.

Lucky for me, one of my photography friends from the Sunny Coast came to my rescue and dropped off her charger to me at Sunshine Plaza.

So now I have three freshly charged batteries and my camera is primed and ready to go .. finally!

What a life saver she is!

I am feeling incredibly weary after about 5 hours of shopping and LOTS of walking today.

We've had some good food, starting at the Mooloolaba Surf Club this morning.  A vegetarian breakfast of poached eggs, spinach, mushrooms, tomato, hash browns and 2 pieces of GF toast, accompanied by a very nice latte.

Plenty of shopping, eating and drinking .. and as much as I would love to give you lots more details, I can barely keep my eyes open, so I'm going to attempt sleep.

Nite all.

Crazy Ladies

So here we are.

A bunch of crazy middle aged women all away together for 3 days and 3 nights.  An esky full of wine and the only rules are the exercise rules, both weight bearing and balancing rules ... that we lift our full wine glasses, evenly between our left hand and our right hand.

The first group of men to pass by us, while we were socialising in the barbecue/pool area, were equally middle aged and attempting to capture our attention by being charming and friendly.  One of the girls commented on how attractive the big belly and noticeable breasts were on the leader of the pack.

I screwed my nose up and questioned the sanity of we women ... and the attractiveness of said men.

The second group of males to pass by were young, mid 20s in various states of undress.  Tanned tone bodies, six packs .. you get the picture.

The leader of our group was quick to point these males out to me and challenged me to capture their attention .. I love a good challenge!

Two fingers raised to my mouth and a very long and loud wolf whistle emanated from within.

This made the girls ... all 11 of them ... squeal with delight and giggle like teenagers, while the males in question, all smiled with pride, as if we were much younger and much more attractive than we really were.

They must have been chuffed and flattered, because when they returned from their walk up the road, they came straight back past us (to the sound of another wolf whistle) and spent a good deal of time in the pool spa.

The leader of our group had just enough wine to spend a short period of time chatting and flirting with said males.  Nothing would ever eventuate there, but never let the truth get in the way of a good story (good advice, I have discovered, from a fellow photographer).

As I sit here, the second apartment, just across the hall, which is full of the real party animals, is pumping with music and giggling women, who have all had just a little too much to drink.

This apartment, that I am sharing with 5 other women, is quiet ... after the obligatory "night grandpa"  "night John Boy"  "night Mary Jo" and everyone has settled into their comfy beds ready for a good night's sleep.

I am incredibly annoyed with myself, having brought all my camera gear, and prepared to be the recorder of all things embarrassing, my battery ran flat after about 30 photos ... I came back to the room to change the battery, only to discover that the second battery was also flat.

Luckily, I keep a third battery for just such occasions, but alas, it was also flat!!

I checked my suitcase and even worse, I have not packed my battery charger!

So the girls have been given a reprieve tonight.

I announced that their antics would not be recorded tonight, and that they should make the most of it, because tomorrow night, I will make up for it!

So the only photo that I have to share today, is the one that I took with my iphone from the balcony of the Mooloolaba Surf Club this afternoon, as we drank our $14 cocktails.

A good time is being had by all.  The party is still rocking next door and the snoring is getting louder from the rooms in this apartment.

Nite all.  

Full Day

It's been a full day of dinosaur loving with Chicklet today, which included a dinosaur picnic with the new picnic set and tea set.

We made pretend pancakes (sakata rice crackers in the plastic frypan), pretend meatballs (sultanas in the other frypan), carrot soup (chopped carrot in water in the pot), salad of cucumber, carrot and mango, cashews (better known as moon nuts) and copious cups of tea (water poured from the teapot, most of which poured onto the coffee table).

Two trips to the shops to buy new dinosaurs ... I think we've lost count now.

Word for the day was 'blist' ... don't even ask.

My day ended with a very pleasant dinner at a local Indian Restaurant with my brother and his girl.

A couple of D&Ms where tears were shed, some home truths, and some good old fashioned belly laughs.  The food was good and I really enjoyed the night.

Seeing each other three times in the last 2 years is pretty amazing, since the previous three times was over a 16 year period, and included our parents' funerals and then his last partner's funeral.

I wish I'd thought to take my camera tonight, to get pics!  DOH!

So it's been a full day, and tomorrow, I head off to meet the girls for our 3 day Christmas party.

I'll be back again in a couple of weeks, so I'm not too sad to leave.

Nite all.

Fearsome Storm

Yesterday afternoon had Adoring Husband and I hiding in the wardrobe as a terrifying storm with gale force winds, horizontal torrential rain, hail, thunder and lightning ripped through our town.

Luckily for us, no major damage to our property, but a few houses lost their colorbond fences and at least one local suffered damage when the repairs to their house after the tornado in January didn't pass the first test.  Major water damage where windows and the roof leaked.

The storm didn't last long, but it was terrifying none the less, and really packed a punch.

At the end of it all, as the clouds began to clear and the sun was setting ... this is the view that met me when I opened the front door...

I am now at the Sunny Coast with Chicklet and the family, in dinosaur heaven once again.  Our newest dinosaur is a Kentrosaurus.

We have a big day planned for tomorrow, which we hope to spend together while Mama and Dadoo have some time out.

I'll share it with you tomorrow.

Nite all.

Easy Peasy

I have two easy peasy things to share today.

One is an interesting article that I came across in my internet travels and could be an easy way to lose weight (tongue firmly in cheek) - just stop using anything that contains fragrances!

Does this body lotion make me look fat?

That’s not a question you hear very often! If your lotion contains fragrance or parabens (a family of preservatives commonly found in body lotions, makeup, shampoos, and a ton of other personal care products) it may very well actually be making you fat.

This is because these chemicals are obesogens.

What are obesogens?  Find out more here

... and the other easy peasy thing was our lunch yesterday.  I call it ...

"rQQzy's Hodge Podge Layered Meatloaf"

Ingredients:

500 gms of minced meat.  (Ours was beef, but I think any kind of meat would work.)
1 egg
1/2 onion chopped finely
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1 cup mashed sweet potato (I used the purple variety and I mix in 1 T butter and 2 T sour cream)
1 large kale leaf chopped finely
1 bacon rasher chopped
3 asparagus sticks chopped
4 good sized mushrooms chopped
1 large tomato
A drizzle of agave nectar (or maple syrup, honey)
salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Mix the meat with half a chopped onion, one egg, salt n pepper and then divide the mixture in half.

Line the bottom of a small non-stick loaf tin with half the mixture.

Then sprinkle crumbled feta (I used our home-made chilli and herb feta) over that layer.

Mix the chopped kale, bacon, asparagus and mushroom and tip it on the feta.  Press it down firmly.

The next layer is purple sweet potato mash.

On top of that, you put the rest of the meat mixture - flatten it out on a chopping board to the desired size and shape and then place it on top of the sweet potato.

Layer 3 thick slices of tomato on top of that and then drizzle a little agave nectar (or maple syrup/honey) over the top of the tomato.

Pop it in the oven at 200C for 40 minutes.

I should have let it rest for 10 minutes before serving, because the layers fell apart when I removed it from the tin too early, but it was very colourful!!  Purple, green, red, white, brown.  Also very tasty!

I served it with mashed potato (with finely chopped raw onion and some more sour cream mixed through it) and fresh steamed asparagus.

Adoring Husband ate what was left over, cold, for dinner.

I'll definitely put that on my 'repeat' list of dinners.

Having had a gluten free diet for almost 2 years now, I was very interested in the following article and after reading it, felt that a few people in my circle, could well be either Celiac or at the very least, gluten intolerant.

10 Symptoms of Gluten Intolerance

More than 55 diseases have been linked to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. It’s estimated that 99% of the people who have either gluten intolerance or celiac disease are never diagnosed.

Find out more here

I'll be away from home for the next 6 days.  I'm off to spend a couple of days with my little Chicklet and then a few days with some girlfriends, as a Christmas get-together. 

I'll still be attempting to blog every day.

Nite all.