Day 196 in a Year of my Life

We had a short sharp rain storm this afternoon just before sunset.

The sky had so much potential with some amazing clouds full of depth and the sunlight playing on them beautifully, until the crucial sunset moment ... then nothing ... the clouds closed in and the light disappeared and once again I was left feeling disappointed.

My consolation photo.

A funny moment the other day when I was sitting with my boys at the Seat of Knowledge.

This Noisy Mynah chick was learning to fly.  It had clumsily tumbled from it's nest to the ground under a tall tree nearby and then attempted to climb the tree, without much success.

Gentleman Jim attempted to pick the bird up to place it back in it's nest, but it panicked and flew straight under the shelter and landed straight on The Little Gnome's cap peak.

It climbed up his cap, left it's calling card and then flew off into the shrubbery.

Meanwhile, Gentleman Jim was being swooped by a number of adult Noisy Mynahs for getting too close to their baby!

A bit of a comedy really.  Thank goodness I had my camera handy!

Adoring Husband arrived home from his golfing week in Victoria, this afternoon.  He had a good time and appears to be pretty relaxed .. the Life Saver told me before they left that he hoped he could help Adoring Husband relax after such a horrible start to our year.  It appears to have worked :)

I am feeling pretty relaxed too :)

Today I am grateful for a week of relaxation for both of us.

Nite all.

Day 195 in a Year of my Life

This probably means that our lime tree is in big trouble ...

Interesting looking creature up close and personal hey?  He was hungry and ate that leaf pretty quickly.

Adoring Husband might be disappointed to hear that I didn't kill it.

You would think that Helen (the one remaining Lovely Laying Chook), who has been freely roaming the garden for the past few weeks, would have kept these blighters at bay wouldn't you?

Had a lovely chat on the phone with Best Cousin in the World today.

Nothing else to report.

Today I am grateful to have a Best Cousin in the World, who sells my hand made bracelets in her far away land.  Saleswoman of the year!  Thanks Cuz!

Nite all.

Day 194 in a Year of my Life

I ask myself this question .. Can I be any more relaxed?

I kept all the windows and blinds closed, because it was another cool, windy and wet day.

I spent the morning in my work space.

I talked on the phone with Chicklet and Vegan Chickie.

I made Pad Thai with chicken and prawns for lunch.

I watched 'Some Kind of Wonderful' and 'The Breakfast Club' on dvd.

I had leftover lunch for dinner.

I am wearing my Winter slippers!

I am going to bed.

I am grateful for the way my home (now that it is repaired),  feels like a pair of strong arms wrapped securely around me, and when I walk in the door, I feel a wave of warmth engulf me.

*contented sigh*

The answer to my first question is a resounding NO!

Nite all.

Day 193 in a Year of my Life

Photos taken for a challenge - 'Choose a subject and photograph it five different ways'.

I chose a hibiscus flower as my subject.

It's been a cool wet day today, so after I visited my boys this morning, I came home to the safety and comfort of my lovely home and spent the day playing with my camera.

More showers are forecast for tomorrow.  I can handle that :)

Today, I am grateful for the cool wet days that allow me to hide at home with the windows and blinds closed and indulge in my favourite pastime of photography without interruption.

Nite all.

Day 192 in a Year of my Life

Day 192 has been very quiet.

I have been relaxing and enjoying some time at home doing not much of anything.

I am grateful for days like this.  They are good for the soul and I feel quite rejuvenated.

Breathe in.  Breathe out.

Everybody should try to have a day like this.

No demands.  No guilt.  No deadlines.

From the minute you wake up in the morning, til the second you fall asleep that night - all for you, to do exactly as you please.

Time at home by myself is a great luxury for me and one of my favourite things.

I catch up on new dvds or watch my favourite old ones.  No set times for eating.  Take up the whole bed while I sleep.  Sing loudly to the radio.  Dance around the kitchen while I cook.  Doze on the couch during the day.  Paint my toe nails.  Catch up on my reading - usually old subscription magazines (photography) that I haven't had a chance to get into.  The list goes on.

Today has been a very good day.

Nite all.

Day 191 in a Year of my Life

I spent a really pleasant morning in my friend's native garden today.

'Snow White' and 'The Woodsman' invited me for morning tea and afterwards, we wandered around and through the garden admiring the native plants, the orchids, the home grown vegetables and all the resident creepy crawlies and beautiful creatures within.

They are such a lovely couple and the atmosphere in their home and their garden is indicative of their happy and kind natures.

They have some lovely flowers almost ready to burst from their buds, so some time soon, I hope to get a phone call so that I can head back out there with my camera for some more shots.

Their family also includes two beautiful Golden Retriever bitches.  Such loving and friendly pooches who love nothing better than cuddles and pats from anyone who enters their front gate!  I could easily have brought them home with me.

So just as the heavens opened, I arrived home to the noisy greetings of our own psychotic dogs, who were very happy to see me return.

I spent the rest of the day inside my own head, which was also a pretty good place to be today!

Today I am grateful for new friendships that sometimes develop from unusual circumstances and with people you least expect.

Nite all.

Day 190 in a Year of my Life

I almost sold my old trike today.

I haven't advertised it yet, but a man stopped and asked me about my new trike when I was at the park this morning, so when I told him that I had an old one to sell, he was very keen and took my phone number.

He and his wife came to the house this afternoon to look at it and although he was very keen - he wants it to transport his fishing gear to the river and likes the rod holders on the back, as well as the large basket - but his wife was not keen.

They both had a ride of the old trike as well as the new trike and she preferred the new trike.  I'm not sure why she gets to choose what he rides, however, they said they'd get back to me.

While they were looking at at, I was feeling a bit reluctant anyway.  It's my baby, and even though I have every intention of selling it, I wasn't expecting it to happen this soon!

So, I told them about the trike that's advertised on the notice board at our local shops.  $450 brand new.  They are going to follow that up, so I should get to keep my baby for a bit longer.

I met another man at the beach today.  He was with his friend Reggie...

Reggie is a 13 week old male Eclectus Parrot.  He is a beautiful bird, but if he was mine, I don't think I'd take him out on the beach, especially at low tide when all the Kites and Eagles are out hunting.  He would make a delicious meal for them if they swooped from behind and snatched him from the man's shoulder!

Notice how I got the parrot's name but not his owner's?

I have seen this Grey Heron out and about lately.  He was catching fish in the little streams left as the tide went out, but as I tried to sneak closer to get a good shot, he took off!

He flew high into the trees and annoyed the smaller birds.

So my mission tonight is to finish watching 'The Man from Snowy River' on dvd, so that I can return it to it's rightful owner tomorrow.  I borrowed it from one of my boys, a week before the tornado hit and then it got packed away with all of our belongings while the house got repaired.

He reminded me about it today.  Luckily we just unpacked all the dvds last week, so it was easy to find.

The movie is better than I remembered it.

Today, I am grateful for the sounds of silence.  No TV and no radio.  Just the silence that surrounds us at night when the residents all go inside and close their doors til morning.  Feeling the serenity.

Nite all.