Day 341 in a Year of my Life

Number four on the list 'Light and Bokeh'

Number twelve on the list 'Negative Space'

Today I'm grateful for late sleep-ins and time spent in the sunshine on the garden swing with apple and cinnamon water .

Nite all.

Day 340 in a Year of my Life

Number two on the list for this month's challenge .. Old/Rustic/Broken

My options are fairly limited here in town, so this was the best that I could come up with.

I've been sitting here for an hour trying to think of something else to write, but I have been distracted by the end of one movie and the beginning of another, so I am signing off.

Today, I am grateful for slow cookers .. which tonight, provided a delicious meal of lamb shanks, potato, sweet potato, onion, tomato, carrot and mushrooms.  There's nothing nicer than coming home from a couple of hours at the club and having dinner already prepared and ready to serve!

Nite all.

Day 339 in a Year of my Life

The first thing on the challenge list was 1. Peace/Piece.

That's the first one out of the way.

SEB (the cockatiel) has laid an egg in the nesting box.

She spent about 6 hours in the nesting box yesterday, probably longer, but today, she came out and left the egg unattended.  She hasn't been back in the box and nor has OB (the other cockatiel).

I might have the egg for breakfast tomorrow morning.  Come on!  I'm kidding!  Just testing to see that you're paying attention!

Today, I caught some crows in our veggie garden.  They've been picking at our tomatoes!

Tonight, for dinner, I used quite a bit of produce from our garden ... asparagus, tomatoes, parsley, mint, celery leaf and chillies.

I cooked tuna steaks, and served them on a bed of chilli salsa.  I made the salsa with tomato, red capsicum, cucumber, onion, asparagus, avocado, crumbled feta cheese, chilli, mint, celery leaf, basil and parsley.  For the dressing, I used lemon juice, coconut oil, balsamic vinegar and raw honey.

Adoring Husband had the leftover salsa after he finished dinner.  I know that's a good sign.

Today, I'm grateful that another storm passed without incident.  It looked spectacular!

Nite all.

Day 338 in a Year of my Life

I think I've decided on this photo for number 6 on the challenge list that I showed you yesterday.  It's for 'macro'.

Macro photography is taking extremely close-up images of subjects. The technically correct definition would be to take an image at a 1:1 ratio but, in general usage, the term has come to mean any close-up photography.

I am waiting to upload the photo, because my anal brain is telling me to upload them in the order that the list states.  I can't believe I need to do that.  Once upon a time I wouldn't have cared, but strangely, as I get older, these things matter to me.  Who'da thunk??

Maybe some of Adoring Husband's traits are wearing off on me!

It rained during the night.

At around 2.30am AH had to get up and close the bedroom windows because the rain was blowing in and landing on his face.

I didn't hear a thing!  Apparently, we got 10ml of rain, which we definitely needed, and we could do with some more.

I've ordered my next organic FROG box (organic fruit n veg) to be delivered next Thursday (they pause operations over the school holidays).

I also ordered some extra goodies, like coconut oil, coconut water, maca powder and some extra vegetables, including 'KALE'.

I don't know about you, but I've never tasted kale!

It is one of the super vegetables as far as nutritional value ...

Some of Kale’s Many Benefits

Kale is rich in iron, vitamins K, A, C, and minerals manganese and copper. It’s also high in fibre, low in calories, and has no fat. There are several things that make it a healthy food, like other healthy foods. But those things that elevate it to super-food level are not your average vitamins and minerals.

The antioxidant concentration in kale is truly remarkable. It is particularly rich in carotenoids and flavonoids. Lutein and beta-carotene are two carotenoids that work to protect the body from oxidative stress while also boosting eye health and preserving vision – both are found in kale. As a result, kale may reduce the risk of eye problems like macular degeneration and other health problems related to cellular stress like hardening of the arteries and COPD. In addition, kaempferol, a flavonoid, and quercetin are both tied to cancer-prevention, and like the other carotenoids, kale has plenty of them.

Another powerful substance in kale that has been shown to help activate the detoxification enzymes within the liver is known as sulforaphane. This compound is produced when you chew or chop the vegetable.

So, what can kale actually do for you? Given the power of the numerous beneficial compounds within the vegetable, it is likely that kale can provide:
Protection against cancer
Improved digestion
Boosted immune function
Vision health
Heart health
Anti-inflammatory benefits
General detox
Reduced cholesterol

So, over the years, I've heard people talk about kale, but I've never noticed it in the supermarkets, and I can't say that I ever noticed it in the farmer's markets or organic markets that we once frequented.  

I must check to see if it can be grown easily in this sub tropical climate of ours. 

I'm looking forward to trying it.  I can add it to my juices and smoothies, and also to salads.  It's best eaten raw because cooking it can remove some of it's nutritional potency.  Steaming it, on occasion, is ok. 

I'm looking forward to trying it.

Today, I'm grateful for quiet time to catch up on some photography tutorials and photoshop lessons.  Time flies when you're having fun!

Nite all.

Day 337 in a Year of my Life

My 104 photography group in facebook decided they wanted a new list of challenge photos for the month of October.

So here is the list ...

1. Peace/Piece
2. Rustic/Old/Broken
3. Creative Blur
4. Light & Bokeh
5. Bikes and Cars
6. Macro
7. Clouds
8. Spring
9. Obsession
10. A random stranger - speak to him/her and attach their story
11. Faces
12. Negative Space
13. Rivers/Lakes/Oceans

Each of the 'regular' contributors offered a suggestion, so everyone is involved and I'm even offering a prize to the person who 1. completes the list and 2. is judged as having the best photos.

I might get Adoring Husband to judge it or maybe I will form a panel of judges!  Not sure yet.

I'm quite keen to get started on this.  I hope the others feel equally keen.

Today I'm grateful to have a new photography challenge to obsess over ... I think I have number 9 covered :)

Nite all.

Day 336 in a Year of my Life

I have no photos to share today ... I'm all photoed out after spending last week putting together the Photo5 submissions and two flickr submissions.

I spent today watching Creativelive tutorials on photography.  Thoroughly enjoyable, very relaxing and incredibly informative.

So I think it might be time to share some facebook quotes.  No funny ones today.

Today I'm grateful to have been able to finish the Canon Photo5 submissions within the required time frame PLUS two flickr challenge photos and THEN spend a day learning a little more about my craft without guilt or interruption.

Nite all.

Day 335 in a Year of my Life

I went to bed at 'stupid' o'clock this morning and I set my alarm for another 'stupid' o'clock so that I could get the sunrise ...

Not very spectacular, but it was a beautiful morning and worth being up to watch the sun rise.

I spent a good part of the day trying to get a decent photo for the final Photo5 brief.  Still not 100% happy with the final outcome, but I'm OVER it, so I submitted this one tonight, for the 'Shadows or Stencil' brief ...

That's about it for my day.  Very quiet.  Very relaxing.  Very enjoyable.

Today, I'm grateful that the black, thunderous storms skirted their way past us this evening and all we got out of it was some rolling thunder for a little while.

Nite all.

Day 334 in a Year of my Life

What a great night we had tonight!

We caught the Burrum River Quest over to Walker's Point, where the Woodgate Bowls Club buses picked all 20 of us up and drove us to the Bowls Club.

We relaxed and chatted over a drink.  A couple of us played the pokies for half an hour and then we all ordered dinner, which was served promptly by friendly, happy staff.

The food was delicious.

We discovered one of our group was celebrating a birthday, so we all sang 'Happy Birthday'. 

A couple of drinks later, we were sitting near the dance floor and a rock and roll band was playing.  The members of the band, all elderly, were having a rocking good time.  We knew most of the songs, so sang along and a couple, all dressed in their dancing garb, got up and let loose on the dance floor.

Some of our group also got up for a dance.  As usual 'Nutbush' was the most popular dance song!

At 8.45pm the buses drove us all back to the boat ramp, where we met Burrum River Quest again, which took us back home.

There was a good old fashioned singalong on the boat and some belly laughs were had by many.

It took a bit longer to get home because the tide was out, so we had to manoeuvre between sandbanks and moored yachts, in the dark.

Who knew that we had such pretty lights lining the shores of our river??  (Excuse the quality of photo - taken on a moving boat and without a tripod)

We made it back safe n sound and were home before 10pm.

A thoroughly enjoyable night and I'd love to do it again!

Despite the weather forecast being for possible storms and strong winds, the weather was calm and perfect.  Not a cloud in the sky on the way home and the water was like glass.  We couldn't have asked for a better night to be on the water.

So a good time was had by all!

Today, I'm grateful for opportunities to do something new and different, with good friends and new friends.

Nite all.