What a Year!

So let's start by saying a big "Happy Birthday" to my little sister, Squirt, who turned 40 yesterday.

I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to share the fun last night, but I'm glad that you had a good time with your friends.  I'm glad that your head wasn't sore this morning too lol.

Luvyalotsxxooxx

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Yesterday, I mentioned Baddow House in Maryborough.  The home is Heritage listed.

http://www.greatsoutheast.com.au/gsec2cqw/story.asp?weekID=587&storyID=2861

It doesn't have a dedicated website, unfortunately.

The Artist and I crept around the property like a pair of 'would-be' thieves, casing the joint!  We didn't go inside.  

We circumnavigated the property, trying to find a good angle to get a photo and this required some hiking through bushland, a little mountain climbing and some tricky navigation ... and all in heels, thank you very much!

The Rear Entrance. 

Picture Perfect

It is a pretty spectacular home.

This morning during my ride to the Seat of Knowledge, I rode past my owl family, but the tree was bare!

As I scanned the nearby trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of the family, I noticed two babies and an adult sitting high in a tree, about 20 feet away from their nest.  

While I was wondering where the other baby was, I happened to glance down at the fish scaling table at the base of the tree.

There, trying really hard to look like a branch, was the third baby.

I found it difficult to leave him alone there, because I was worried that some kids would find him and harass him.  I will be visiting him first thing in the morning!

Adoring Husband's Mum has taken ill down in Sydney, so he will be flying down to be with her tomorrow.  My love goes with you my darling.  We need to be prepared for the worst, but at the same time, let's hope for the best.

What a year!  The highest of highs and the lowest of lows.  A never ending challenge.

Nite all.

Arty Farty Friends

Finally!  After two postponements and a false start, I got to Maryborough with my arty farty friend, The Artist.

She was right on time, and on this very hot day, we drove to Maryborough and straight to the Art Gallery, which is called Gatakers Artspace and is situated on Kent Street.

http://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/web/guest/gatakers-artspace

The Artist introduced me to all of the staff and then showed me around the floor space.  We then made inquiries as to what props and other resources were available to us for the exhibition.

We discussed some ideas over coffee and scones in a little coffee house/book store.

The Artist took me to the art supplies store where I met an incredibly talented artist by the name of Bette Phillips.  She creates the most amazing pastel paintings.  The photos of her art on the website really do not do them justice.

http://www.bettephillipsartist.com.au/index.html

In particular, I love her Wine and Music collection.

Then we drove around Maryborough looking at some Art Deco architecture and taking a few shots before heading to The Muddy Waters Cafe for lunch where we shared a smoked salmon pizza and wine and discussed some more ideas for the exhibition.

There were some fabulous photo opportunities on the old wharf there.  After the floods in January, there is only a small section of the old wharf left, which is fenced off for safety reasons

Part of the old wharf on the Mary River.

An old rusty mooring ballard.

We visited the Golf Club, where one of The Artist's works is hanging in the entrance and then drove around some more for other photo opportunities.

Art Deco style home.

Topiary

On the way home, we drove past the cemetery and decided that there would be some Art Deco headstones that I could photograph, but decided to do that another time because it was getting quite late and it was VERY hot.

All in all, I had a really good day.  I met some lovely people.  I saw some fabulous pieces of art.  I learnt a lot about my friend, the Artist.  I discovered some parts of Maryborough that I didn't know existed, including Baddow House, which I will talk more about in tomorrow's post.

It's just the start, of what I expect to be, a big year ahead.  So much to do, so little time!

Thank you, Universe, for my arty farty friend.

Nite all.

14 Years Already

Today is the fourteenth anniversary of my Father's death.

Fourteen years ago today, my family and I had to make the decision to turn off my father's life support.

The decision was not a difficult one, because all of his organs had shut down, after his brown snake bite had been incorrectly treated, at the Gladstone Hospital.

My father had applied the correct first-aid to his snake bite wound, which was confirmed by the ambulance paramedics who met him halfway to the hospital.

When he arrived at the hospital, it was like a comedy of errors, from the second he was wheeled through their door.

He knew, after the staff's first mistake, that he was going to die.  He told my mother as much.  Such was the enormity of that first mistake.

The hospital staff told my mother not to worry because they had never lost a snake bite victim.

He was, after more mistakes, put into an induced coma and flown to Royal Brisbane Hospital.

He never woke from that coma and two weeks after he was bitten, we made the decision to let him go.

He was 57 years of age.

After a lengthy court case, my mother was paid a large compensation payment, after it was proved that he had died as a result of the hospital staff incorrectly treating him.

It didn't bring him back and it didn't take away her anger, but it did allow her to have a comfortable lifestyle during the eight years that she lived after his death.

One of the conditions of that compensation settlement was that Mum wasn't allowed to discuss the case with the media or speak publicly about it.

However, 'I' can tell you ... don't go to the Gladstone Base Hospital if you are bitten by a brown snake!

I think we will always feel a little bit angry about the unnecessary loss of our Dad.

There has been too much sadness in my blog over the last month, so I would like to end this post on a more happy note.

I went to visit the original three baby owls, whose photos I posted here a few weeks ago and they are almost all grown up!

The third baby was further along the branch pretending to be just that .. a branch!  They are growing so fast!

After I left there, I headed to Cheelii Lagoon and discovered a little hidden patch of bank where many species of bird were congregating.

There were Heron, Spoonbills, Cormorants, Ducks, Water Fowl and Ibis.  They were the birds that I could see.  There were smaller birds but I couldn't determine what they were from that distance.

Cheelii Lagoon and a little hidden pocket of birdlife.

It was very very hot today and the weather bureau has promised rain and storms for days now, but they never eventuate.  It just gets hotter!

I'm ok in the air conditioned comfort of the house, but tomorrow is the big trip to Maryborough and it's always hotter there by a couple of degrees.

We have survived the fourteenth anniversary and I can't believe it's been that long.  I wonder how he would have felt about being a great grandfather?

Wish me luck for tomorrow!

Nite all.    

False Start

Thought it was my big day today.

I got all dressed up, ready to meet with The Artist, and head to Maryborough to check out the exhibit space at the Art Gallery and meet important people.

I noticed that she was online and forwarding jokes via email at around 9am, so I sent an email asking if the agreed time today was 10am.

She replied that our date is Friday, not today!

**forehead slap**

So I changed into casual clothes, loaded my camera bag into the basket of my trike and headed towards the river.

I have recently been spoken to, rather tersely, by the man who runs the council caravan park.  He chastised me for riding my trike on the walkway beside the park, after he put signs up which banned bikes, skateboards, roller blades and scooters.

Locals told me that he shouldn't have put the signs up and that the path was not part of the caravan park, but I needed the 'official' word on the matter before I felt comfortable riding on the path.  (I must admit that the rebellious teenager in me rode on the path a couple of times after he had chastised me lol)

Anyway, there was a meeting last night in the town hall and I have since been informed that council will be telling him to remove the signs from that path, as well as other signs that he erected without permission.

So, this morning, when I found out that today wasn't my date day, I hopped on my trike and rode down to the path to gleefully ride along it.

The signs are still there.  Obviously, council haven't taken action yet, but at least I know that I am within my rights to ride the path.

I visited my owls again ...

This photograph is terribly over-exposed, but I thought it amazing that the owl's eyes still stand out clearly!

This is Mum in the tree opposite.  I learned today that Dad stays with the chicks during the day, and the mother does it at night.

Cute little chickie with Dad protecting from behind.

So today was a false start for arty farty adventure/challenge.  We'll have another try on Friday!

Nite all.

Babysitting Gig

First of all, I'll get today's photo out of the way.  This afternoon I had my camera out because there were a large number of magpies in the back yard and I was hoping to catch a shot of Jack (one of our psychotic dogs) chasing them from the yard ...

... when all of a sudden, I heard a very angry sound coming from the rear neighbour's roof!  When I looked up, this is what I saw ..

It's ON!  Two kookaburras ready to rumble!

************

Today, I got to spend two wonderful hours with my little Chicklet, while Vegan Chickie and the Bare-chested Chef had a movie date.

We went shopping together.

We had coffee and mango.

OK 'I' had coffee and Chicklet had mango.

We tried on clothes.

OK 'I' tried on clothes and Chicklet offered helpful advice.

We collected our lotto winnings.

OK 'I' collected our winnings, while Chicklet threw her toys on the floor.

We paid for some new swimmers and a top.

OK 'I' paid for the goods while Chicklet charmed the salesperson.

We had Chinese chicken and vegetables for lunch.

OK 'I' had Chinese chicken and vegetables while Chicklet gargled and dribbled about 300 mls of water down her shirt.

We had a long conversation.

OK 'I' thought we were finished after a short conversation and got ready to move on, and Chicklet yelled at me because she wasn't finished yet.  So really, we had two short conversations, which equal one long conversation :)

We went for a long walk from the shopping centre to the movie cinemas to wait for Mum n Dad and as soon as we sat down to wait, Chicklet fell asleep in her pram, and was still asleep when Adoring Husband arrived and still asleep when Mum n Dad came out of the movies.

I thought it would be nice for Vegan Chickie to find us alive, happy and well, waiting for her when she came out.

I also thought it would be nice for Chicklet to wake up from her nap to see her Mum's face smiling down at her, so I was praying that she wouldn't wake up before they came out!

Just one thing though, I have strained my back from trying to steer the pram ... which I liken to a shopping trolley with a wonky wheel in the supermarket.

It actually didn't hurt until I sat down for dinner tonight, when I felt a slight twinge, but it has gradually got worse during the night.

If I can get a solid night of sleep, my body might just heal itself.

I was wondering if I can claim compo???   ***moan***  ***groan***  ***whinge***

But REALLY, of course I'd do it all again and I am looking forward to my next babysitting gig, whenever that may be.

Nite all.

It's a Wonderful Life!

Another goanna sighting today ...

Honestly!  They are everywhere!

Everybody loves Spring right?  The beautiful weather, the flowers blooming, the birds singing, little animal babies being born, bees buzzing, butterflies fluttering by and the Winter woollies get packed away for another year.

I have always been a big fan of Spring, but until I got my camera and began my daily search for photographic opportunities, I just didn't comprehend the 'vastness' of Spring.  

Every day I am surprised by what Mother Nature has to offer.  The sheer volume of certain species inhabiting the local area, and then when you travel even 100kms, there is a whole new range of species to discover.

Just when I think I've run out of things to photograph, somebody will stop me in the street and point me in a new direction.

It's wonderful!

What else is wonderful, is the fact that I will be babysitting my little Chicklet tomorrow while Vegan Chickie and the Bare-chested Chef go to the movies.

My first babysitting gig.  How exciting is that!?

I will tell you all about it tomorrow night, but for now, I need a big nana nap!

Nite all.

Beat the Heat

It seemed, this morning, that even nature was in hiding to beat the heat.

I left the Seat of Knowledge just before 9am and headed out to the beach flats, as the tide was still making it's way out.

Hoping to find some treasures trapped in the rock pools, like the time that Adoring Husband and I went exploring a few months ago.

That day, we found a large turtle hiding under some rocks and a sting ray trapped in a pool of water, as well as fish, crabs, coral and shell fish.

As I walked across the flats today, I could already feel a bite in the sun, so I knew that I shouldn't linger too long.

In thirty minutes, all I found was a seagull resting in the rocks, a shrimp (whose camouflage was so good, I couldn't see it in the photo!) and some more soldier crabs.

The First Marker 

Resting Gull

Low Tide Stroll

So I arrived home quite disappointed with my photographic opportunities today, although, on my ride home, a huge goanna raced across the road in front of me and hid on somebody's front porch.   I just wasn't quick enough to grab my camera!

Today, I have consciously changed my eating habits and am keeping a food diary.

In three years, I have gained over 17 kgs!!  I am feeling very unhealthy and lethargic, my clothes don't fit me and I'm losing any enthusiasm for socialising, withdrawing into myself and my home.

Aside from those reasons, the sudden deaths of two young women in my life, in the last month have motivated me to look more closely at my health and lifestyle.

Without going overboard, I am going to look more closely at the food that goes into my mouth and make sure it is healthful and that my diet is more balanced.

Although I ride for at least 30 minutes to an hour every day, I am going to find other ways to increase my fitness level - must ask Adoring Husband to get my mini trampoline out of the shed!  Morning walks along the beach would also be beneficial!

So that's the plan!  I know I had this plan earlier in the year, and it kind of fell by the wayside, but my motivation is high right now.  My future involves beating the heat and battling the bulge, so, once again ... wish me luck!

Nite all.