Day Twenty-five - Something Pink

Day Twenty-five  -  Something Pink

It was a lovely day with Adoring Husband today.

We drove into The Bay early, but came via Toogoom.

A number of times, when I have caught the bus into town, it has driven past a paddock with a large tree.  Underneath that tree, has been a large mob of kangaroos.  I often thought I'd like to get a photo, so that's where our first stop was today.

Then we drove to the Botanical Gardens in The Bay and spent about two hours walking the tracks and taking photos of birds, dragonflies, butterflies and plants.

Sacred Kingfisher

Across the path to ANOTHER Sacred Kingfisher

Kookaburra eating a bug

Juvenile Nankeen Night Heron

Satin Fly Catcher

That left us JUST enough time to get to the cinema.  We saw 'New Years Eve' and I enjoyed it very much.  There was a slight problem though.

Adoring Husband and I received ten movie passes for Christmas (at our request) and today we planned on using the first of them, HOWEVER, the movie passes all remained on the cupboard in our house, and we had to pay to see the movie today!!  **forehead slap**

After the movie, we went to Drummond Golf where Adoring Husband had some gift vouchers to use.

We had intended meeting friends at the Bowls Club tonight, but we arrived home late in the afternoon and just didn't have the energy or the motivation to get ready to go out.

Hopefully, we will see them at the pub tomorrow night for New Years Eve celebrations.

Looking forward to seeing the New Year in with friends.

Nite all.

Day Twenty-four - Animal

Day Twenty-four  -  Animal

A tourist brought her pet guinea pig on holidays with her :)

The Seat of Knowledge is almost back to normal, now that all but one of my boys has returned from their Christmas break.

One of life's great joys is complaining about the tourists with my boys :D

So you find people who like to feed the happiness INTO you!!

Had a pretty good morning with the camera.  It was quite cool and overcast, so it was easy to sit and wait for the birdlife to do something magical.  Some mornings, the sun bites into you, and you can't sit still for longer than five or ten minutes.

This one has been popular with my flickr group.  I think the Bee Eaters have run out of bees to eat.

Banana Bird with it's blue mask.

If they didn't have that spectacular colour on their wings, you'd never notice them !

I have a date with Adoring Husband tomorrow.  Photo shoot, the movies and lunch.  I'm looking forward to it, so I'd best get some sleep so that I have plenty of energy.

I have nothing more to say today.

Nite all.

Day Twenty-three - Sunflare

Day Twenty-three  -  Sunflare

Another cheater - taken two years ago :)

A glorious December day today.

This is how I started my day ...

The view from the Seat of Knowledge

and this is how I finished my day ...

The lagoon from a distance.

In between was pretty special too.

Before I got my coffee and went to the Seat of Knowledge, I took a detour to my lagoon to check out the bird life during the earlier hours of the morning.

A baby Fig Bird

Weaving my way through the tourists I found my Pacific Baza bird perched in the tree by the caravan park.

Pacific Baza

and then I found my peaceful place away from the tourists on the edge of the national park.

Unfortunately, the birdlife wasn't interested in showing off today, so I didn't get any good shots from there.

Adoring Husband had invited me out for lunch, so after I posted my photos onto flickr, we got dressed and drove to Goodies Restaurant at Toogoom, which is about fifteen minutes from here and right on the waterfront.

I purposely left my camera at home, because sometimes I force myself to take a short break from my obsession, however, the tide was high and the view from the restaurant was so inviting and I found myself feeling very disappointed that I couldn't take a few snaps.

Our meal was lovely and we ran into one of the girls who works at our local pub.  She was there celebrating somebody's birthday and came to our table for a chat.  Our table was in the outdoor area under the trees and there was a cool breeze blowing.  Very very pleasant.

We were there for about ninety minutes before we made our way home.

Not long after we arrived, Mrs Bucket pulled into the driveway and came in for a visit.  She stayed for about an hour and we heard all about her Christmas and Boxing Day.  She was happy... but then she is always happy :o)

So, all in all, it's been a very nice day.  Adoring Husband plays golf tomorrow, but we have made plans for a day together on Friday, to take photos and go to the movies.  I'm looking forward to that!

Nite all.

Day Twenty-two - Hands

Day Twenty-two  -  Hands

I need to harp on about Tourist season again.

This morning at the Seat of Knowledge, only Coral and Bill were there to share the glorious start to the day ... along with hundreds of tourists.

Tourists walking on the path that meanders along the river.

Tourist's children riding their scooters and bicycles and skateboards along the same path.

Tourists and their pets.

Tourists in long queues backing their boats down the boat ramp.

Tourists speeding along the river on their jet skis.

Tourists paddling their kayaks and canoes along the river.

Tourists lined up along the river bank with their folding chairs and their fishing rods.

Tourists cooking bacon and eggs on the gas barbecues at the park.

Tourists floating on foam noodles in the shallows of the river.

Tourists working themselves into a rage because there are too many tourists attempting to do all of these things at once.

My lovely sleepy little town has turned into an Anger Management Resort for the Rat Race Escapees.

I did make one satisfying discovery today about tourists...

... the river is their magnet, which makes the bushland surrounding the town a peaceful haven where I can  search out nature's gems without contending with hustle and bustle.

Honey Eater 

Wattle Bird

There are Whipbirds in the bushland too.  I heard them today.

The first I heard of Whipbirds, was at Bunya Mountains when we were there a couple of months ago.  They make a wonderful sound which has two parts.  The male sings the first part and the female finishes it.

I was so close.  They sounded about ten feet away from me, but the bushland was so dense, I just couldn't see them.

It's good to know that they are there though.

If someone had said to me ten years ago "One day, in your future, you will be creeping through bushland with a camera trying to find birds to photograph"  I would have laughed in their face.

An important lesson that I have learned in life is NEVER say NEVER!

Nite all.

Day Twenty-one - Faceless Portrait

Day Twenty-one - Faceless Portrait

Adoring Husband awoke on Christmas Eve morning to find many missed phone calls from the nursing home where his Mum resides.

When he called them, they advised him that his Mum had been rushed to the hospital during the night and that it looked like she may have had a heart attack.

He then phoned the hospital in a panic, expecting the worst, considering that she is 94 yrs old and this is the third time in a month that she has been taken to hospital.

Planning in our heads, another trip down to Sydney.  Wondering if we could even get flights to Sydney at short notice at this time of year!  Wondering how serious it was.  Wondering if she was suffering.  Wondering if she was afraid.

The hospital informed him that she was fine and that she would be returning to the nursing home that day.  They had found nothing wrong with her.

No heart attack.

This is becoming an emotional roller coaster for Adoring Husband ... and me, for that matter!

It's difficult being so far away because we can't just jump in the car and visit her, to see for ourselves, how she is doing.

We are relying on the nursing home and the hospital to give us accurate information and more often than not, that information is conflicting.

It's quite draining.  No, it's VERY draining.

Today, we fell asleep around lunch time.  I slept for three hours and Adoring Husband slept for about four hours.

We were supposed to attend a Boxing Day barbecue with friends at the Lions Park.  We missed it.

 **sigh**

At least my morning wasn't a complete waste of time.

After my usual time at the Seat of Knowledge, where only one of my boys was sitting, because the others are away with family for Christmas, I pedalled down to see Aussie H.

She was setting up for the big barbecue at the park.  Mrs Bucket and her hubby had gone home to get eskies and the remaining goodies that didn't fit in the car on the first trip.

So I chatted with Aussie H for about 30 mins before setting off to find something to photograph.

Bee Eater with a dragonfly

I'm informed this is a juvenile Whistling Kite

Mature Whistling Kite

Somebody commented about the amazing birdlife in our area, so I went into my flickr photostream to have a look at the birds I had photographed during the past eight months.

I was amazed to find so many bird photos, it would take too long to name them all in here ... although I may put that list of birds in a future post.

Time to sleep ... again.

Nite all.

Day Twenty - Bokeh

Day Twenty - Bokeh

Merry Christmas everybody :D

What a fabulous day we had today.  Our first with little Chicklet.  Good food, good company, lots of giggles.  Just a wonderful family Christmas.

It seems like I spent a LOT of time in the kitchen though!

We had a Skype call with Bubbles this afternoon and tried to call BGWLBH's Dad on Skype but got the 'call failed' message.  It would have been so nice to introduce Chicklet to BGWLBH and her family on Skype.

Earlier in the day there were phone calls from Number One Son, my sister Squirt and Adoring Husband's son JS.

Right now, I am absolutely exhausted and we have a big Boxing Day barbecue to attend tomorrow, down by the river, so yet another short and sweet post tonight.

Unfortunately, the photos were not as good as I'd hoped, and I haven't been through them all yet, so I will probably post a couple tomorrow night as well.

For now, enough,

Nite all.

Day Nineteen - Something Orange

Day Nineteen - Something Orange

Christmas Eve!

The caravan parks are filling up with caravans, camper vans, camper trailers and tents, which translates to 'overflowing with tourists'.

I'm not a big fan of tourists.

I wouldn't mind tourists if they treated my little community with the respect that it deserves, but in tourist season there is more crime, more graffiti, more litter, more damage, more noise and more traffic.

In saying that, I always smile and say 'Good Morning' as I pedal past the tourists.

I think I've got things pretty well under control for Christmas lunch tomorrow.

I've baked the vegan chocolate cup cakes and the vegan savoury pastries for the Bare-chested Chef.  I also have vegan dips, corn chips and biscuits.

I've made a pavlova for Vegan Chickie and Adoring Husband.

Tomorrow I will make chicken and pine nut cous cous for Vegan Chickie and wombok salad.

Of course there will be the usual turkey, ham and prawns, plus the assorted salads and bread rolls.

There will be roasted pumpkin and carrot for Chicklet and mango galore!  I may even have her favourite ... fresh lemon!

I am also proud to announce that my photo of the Bee Eater was voted as everyone's 'Favourite Photo of the Year' in our flickr group today!

Our tutor hasn't judged the 'Window' challenge yet.  I imagine it will take him a while to get that done, considering it is his busiest time of the year right now in his shop at Montville.

Right now I have to wrap one more present to place under the Christmas tree and then I'm off to bed.

Merry Christmas everybody.  May your day be filled with love and laughter.  Keep safe.

Nite all.

Day Eighteen - Your Shoes

Day Eighteen - Your Shoes

Of course, these are not ALL of my shoes.  I have a lot of shoes.  NOT as many shoes as some of my friends, but a LOT more shoes than I've ever had at one time in my life before.

Until I was in my forties, I never owned more than four pairs of shoes at one time.

One pair for work.  One pair for dressing up.  One pair of runners.  One pair for casual/relaxed.

Except for the runners, my shoes were always black.  Black goes with everything.

Back then, I would wear a handbag out before I bought a new one.  My handbag was always black too ... so that it matched my shoes!

In the last seven years, I have spent more money on shoes and handbags, than the rest of my forty four years put together.

It feels good :D

Christmas groceries done today.  We spent enough money and bought enough food to feed the whole town, including the five of us who will be here for Christmas day!

I gave my girlfriends small gifts tonight to thank them for putting up with my solemn attitude over the last couple of months and for being so caring.

I appreciated their thoughtfulness and their kind words when I was feeling down and it was nice to know that they would still be welcoming me with open arms when I decided to step back into the world of the living.

Small steps.

We have a lot to do tomorrow, so this will be another short and sweet post.  Need to build my strength up for Chicklet eskimo kisses!

Nite all.

Day Seventeen - Technology

Day Seventeen - Technology

My great day was going to end with a ride around town on my trike with Aussie H looking at Christmas lights.

The text that I sent to Aussie H was "Let's leave at 7pm.  If there is no rain, I'm definitely going"

I opened the door and stepped out at exactly 7pm and the heavens opened up!!

So, no lights tonight.

While Adoring Husband played golf this morning, I pedalled all over town looking for photographic opportunities.

I also ran into Toots and Dochs, who needed help with an email, so I met them at their house where they served me coffee and cookies and we spent a very pleasant hour discussing each other's Christmas plans.

My sister, Squirt, phoned tonight too and we chatted for about twenty minutes.

Tomorrow is a big grocery shop day, which we are going to do bright and early, before the Christmas rush.  That way we don't have to go into town on Christmas Eve!

Two more sleeps til Christmas :o)

I really must make a 'to do' list and be conscientious about marking it off and getting everything done.

Right now I am going to turn off this piece of technology and get some sleep.

Nite all.

Day Sixteen - Long Exposure

Day Sixteen - Long Exposure

Another great day today, although not quite as full as yesterday!

Went to another friend's house for Christmas drinks and nibblies this afternoon.  The nibblies were the equivalent of a six course meal!

So I took individual photos of all the women there and they asked me to photoshop them younger and show them a before and after shot.

They knew that I had done similar for Win, when I did the window challenge, so tonight after I got home, I began photoshopping faces.

I finished a couple of them, but still have quite a few more to go, which is why I am so late posting this tonight.

I don't think the ladies would appreciate me posting them here, so I will respect their privacy, unless they advise me otherwise.

All my boys from the Seat of Knowledge have gone away for Christmas.  There may be two left behind who I can sit with for little while in the mornings and drink my coffee.

Our little town is beginning to fill with tourists.  It's not my favourite time of year, that's for sure.

These little guys are a little more difficult to find now that Spring is over.

Scaly Breasted Lorikeets

That bottom one looks a bit nasty!

Time for me to sleep now.

Nite all.

Day Fifteen - Silhouette

Day Fifteen - Silhouette

Taken early in the morning.  Four men about to board the tinny to go fishing.

What a great day I've had today!

It all started with my morning kiss from Adoring Husband :)

Over the last few weeks I have spotted this bird, which I thought might be some kind of Kestrel, and I followed it a couple of times hoping to get a shot, but it always eluded me.

A couple of times I chased it for a good thirty minutes, but to my disappointment, it always disappeared.

This morning as I rode along the lane way towards the river, there, in a branch about ten feet above me, was that bird!

I hit the brakes immediately and slowly reached behind me for my camera, all the while keeping my eyes on the bird.

Just as I lifted the camera to my eye and peeked through the view finder, some lunatic on a bicycle came hurtling along the pathway yelling "Good Morning!"

AAARRRRGH!!

Off the bird flew!

I began pedalling when I heard that familiar bird call and as I came around the corner, there he was in the next tree looking down at me!

I grabbed the camera and began snapping away madly.

He hung around for a good ten minutes and much to my delight, I got a few different shots in before he flew away.

After I arrived home today, I posted these photos onto my flickr photostream and discovered that this bird is a Pacific Baza, and not the Kestrel that I first thought.

I was very happy with my find!

So I went on to the Seat of Knowledge and sat with my boys for an hour, before heading back to the shops to meet the girls for morning tea.

After a very pleasant ninety minutes with them, Aussie H and I pedalled back to the river and sat on a bench seat under a giant fig tree, waiting for an eagle to appear.

During morning tea, I had watched the eagle flying above the two big trees that grow beside the council caravan park, so I hoped that I might catch another glimpse of him.

Sadly, he did not re-appear, and after a nice thirty minutes chatting with Aussie H and a couple of other locals who stopped during their morning walk or ride, I headed off to visit my Princess of Wales.

What started off as a ONE hour visit, turned into almost four hours, when The Travelling Wilberry arrived from Gladstone and we began drinking some Christmas cheer!

We all carried on like long lost friends until eventually I had to beg my leave.

Poor Adoring Husband had been waiting at home for me to return for lunch and had cooked a delicious meal, which was now stone cold, but luckily, still very delicious!!

Only an hour later, we had to leave home again, to visit our neighbours for Christmas drinks, before they depart for Christmas with family down south.

It was about 7.30pm when we finally came home for the last time and plonked ourselves on the couch, happy but exhausted!  I should probably speak for myself only - I am exhausted!

To finish the day off perfectly, Vegan Chickie emailed some wonderful shots of my little Sweetie Possum, who has discovered the joys of playground swings!!

Isn't she lovely?

Nite all.

Day Fourteen - Eyes

Day Fourteen - Eyes

Christmas drinks this afternoon was a very pleasant affair.  There were quite a few people there and it was nice to catch up with some we hadn't seen for a while.

I took lots of photos, so I might post a couple of them tomorrow.

I had my hair done today.  It's a little darker than usual, but it won't take long lighten.

We finalised the last of the Christmas gifts today too.  It's a relief to have that done.

Other than that, I'm too tired to think of anything else to tell you.  I will put more effort into tomorrow's post... I promise :D

Nite all.

Day Thirteen - Me, with 13 things.

Day Thirteen - Me, with 13 things.

Not what you expected?  Many thanks to the Lovely Laying Chooks for my props :o)

My walk along the beach this morning only produced one shot - a Pied Oystercatcher.

I've seen these guys around here before, but not often.  He spent the whole time running away from me, so it was tricky business trying to get a clear shot.

The Bee Eaters were next on my hit list.

This looks to be a young one because he has a shorter tail and beak and the colours in the feathers aren't as dark as the adult's.

Finally, in a last ditch effort, I visited Cheelii Lagoon, but nature wasn't forthcoming there either.  Some beautiful lilies in full bloom, but I really liked the simplicity of this shot.

If only there had been a single gold fish swimming between the stems.

We have a busy day tomorrow.

Adoring Husband has an early Drs appointment, to which I will accompany him.

Then I have a hair appointment, to which he won't accompany me.

We have Christmas drinks with friends in the late afternoon.

So I'd best get some sleep before I turn into a pumpkin again.

Nite all.  

Day Twelve - A Sunset

Quote of the Day:  "Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, or say, or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day, regarding the attitude that we embrace.  We cannot change our past.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing that we can do is play on the one thing that we have - and that is our attitude.  Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you ... WE are in charge of our own attitudes." - Chuck Swindoll.

Day Twelve - A Sunset

I couldn't get a sunset shot tonight because it was too overcast, so I dug out this old favourite of mine.

Either, nature is having a long nap, or my inspiration is waning.

It has been a couple of days now since I got a photo worth sharing.  I hate that!  Tomorrow, the tide is low in the morning, so I might go for a long walk along the beach and see what it has to offer.

Surely, either the beach and sand will hold some treasures worth aiming my camera at, or the bushland that joins the beach to the land will share something with me.

I'd really love to find some beautiful scenery and take some landscape shots.

When I visited Chicklet today, I took my camera with me, but I get so mesmerised by her, that I forget all about the camera!  How annoying!  It happens all the time :(

I promised BGWLBH months ago, that I would send regular photos of Chicklet to her, but I can't even remember the last time I took a photo!  I am a bad grandmother :(

Next week is Christmas.  I MUST take a gozillion photos on Christmas day!

Anyway, we had a delicious lunch at the restaurant where the Bare-chested Chef will be starting work next week.  We've eaten at this place often, but today was the best meal we've had from there.

At the end of the day, Vegan Chickie, emailed me this little gem of my Sweetie Possum ...

A never ending source of joy :o)

I'm so glad that I can share this with you!

Nite all.

Day Eleven - Something Blue

This is not how I am feeling today ... but it is how I feel sometimes.

Day Eleven - Something Blue

That's cheating a little.  An old photo.  But it was the first thing that came into my head when I thought of something blue :)

Well, we mailed the Christmas cards today.  We also wrapped, boxed and mailed the Christmas gifts, however, I'm not sure if they will arrive at their destinations before Christmas now!

Spent a few hours pedalling around town this morning, but it was a little frustrating due to a few scattered showers which meant that I had to keep packing my camera away and then wait for the rain to stop.

It seems that Spring is definitely over!  There is not a lot to photograph at this time of year.  Not even sunsets, because it is so overcast or rainy every afternoon.

Tomorrow I am visiting Vegan Chickie and Chicklet.  Let's hope the bus trip is less eventful than the last one!

So it's a short, but sweet, post tonight.  We made the effort to dress up and go out tonight.  Just to the raffles at the Bowls Club, but I'm feeling a little worn out, so it's off to bed for me!

Nite all.

Day Ten - A Childhood Memory

My chuckle moment:

Day Ten - A Childhood Memory

This is the diary that I mentioned in my very first blog post.  It's opened on the page that my mother wrote on.

My first blog post http://agechallengedrqqzy.blogspot.com/2011/02/i-think-im-now-blogger.html

Remember how I made the banana and walnut cake yesterday?  And how I was going to share it with the boys on the Seat of Knowledge?

Well ... this morning when I got to the Seat of Knowledge, I was reminded by one of my boys that it was the Indoor Bowls Christmas break-up day and that I had to take a contribution to morning tea!

I haven't been to Indoor Bowls for a few weeks, so I wasn't aware it was break-up day!

So, what a lucky co-incidence that I had made the banana and walnut cake!

I did cut one slice to give to one of my boys before I left for bowls :o)

I only played one out of the three games of bowls because Adoring Husband and I had an appointment in The Bay today, which we attended and then did some light shopping and got coffee.

We bought a dvd the 'Green Lantern' starring Ryan Reynolds, which we watched this evening.  It wasn't a bad movie, not my 'cup of tea', being a comic book action/adventure/fantasy,  but the special effects were pretty good.

It's now pouring with rain, and has been for almost two hours.

I didn't take any photos today.  I did go for a ride on the way home from bowls, looking for an opportunity, but not a lot was happening on the 'nature' front.

Once again, I am writing this leading into midnight.  Ugh!

Nite all.