Done and Dusted

Party time is over.

My week of fun and frivolity is done and I have arrived home safe and sound.

Tomorrow it's back to the grind!

It was a great week but I'm happy to be home, and Adoring Husband, along with the three psychotic dogs, seemed happy to see me too.

Now I have a week of TV shows to catch up on (which Adoring Husband recorded for me) but I also have some intense study happening for the next 3 weeks, so I might just have to watch one show each day during my lunch break til I catch up.

I hope to post some photos tomorrow. Watch this space.

Nite all.

Touristy

Today, I did the touristy thing and visited Brisbane City Hall.

I was there three months ago filling in time until our train departed, and we attended the Saturday morning markets. They are a bit 'up market' with beautiful hand crafted goods on offer at quite high prices and Adoring Husband purchased a beautiful ceramic bangle for me.

Today, Woman of Many Talents and I got there early, as suggested by a couple of the ladies in our group, only to discover that we had to wait 45 minutes for the exhibits to open and the tours to commence.

So we decided to go exploring on our own.

We found our way into the domed hall.

The Main Auditorium and the Father Henry Willis Organ (located within the Main Auditorium) are key heritage features of iconic City Hall.

I took photos, which I will share with you after I get home.

Spectacular! We sat quietly taking in all of it's splendour and I recalled the time, more than 40 years ago, when I attended this auditorium as part of our school choir and actually stood on the stage in front of that amazing organ singing my heart out.

I must say that it did not look as big today, as it did back then when I was about 10 yrs old.

We decided to do a tour of the clock tower and luckily were in the first group for the morning. The tour is only 15 minutes long because they have to get you back down out of the tower before the bells ring .. which happens every 15 minutes.

The lift that takes you to the tower is an original lift from the 1930s and is operated manually with brass fittings and instruments and is surrounded by a fine mesh cage. It takes you almost to the top, but there are 28 steps to climb to reach the summit, where you have a 360 degree view of the city and can take photos (which I will also share with you when I return home).

The massive clock face and the five enormous bells, that combined, weigh some astronomical amount were a real treat to see. It was a fascinating tour and I'm so glad that I did it.

Next was an exhibit of photographs taken by an amateur photographer named Alfred Elliott and his historic collection of glass plate and film negatives was discovered in the early 1980s, stored in cigar boxes under a house in inner city Red Hill. Incredible photos of history and all I could think is that the world is so lucky to have we amateur photographers obsessing with our cameras and keeping a record of 'our' times in each generation.

My favourite part of the day was an exhibit of 'Costumes from the Golden Age of Hollywood'. There were stills of movies with the actor/actress wearing the costume and then the actual costume was on display for viewing.

Esther Williams swimming costumes, Yul Brynner's belt from 'The King and I', a June Allyson dress, Barbra Streisand's red velvet cloak from 'Funny Girl', Elizabeth Taylor's wig from 'Cleopatra', Gene Kelly's vest from 'Singing in the Rain', a Lucille Ball dress from 'The Long Long Trailer' and others from Fred Astaire, Marlon Brando, Julie Andrews, Judy Garland, Lana Turner and soooo many more.

The display triggered so many memories from my childhood as I remembered watching those movies and seeing those costumes so many years ago. I absolutely loved it and am not afraid to confess that at times, I felt quite emotional.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos of the display, so I can't share any of that with you.

Later, we walked to the casino where we planned on having lunch, but the options were not very good, so we returned to the Paleo Cafe where we ate yesterday and enjoyed a healthful and delicious meal, yet again.

This evening was canapes at the Marriott.  We also enjoyed a few beverages and witnessed a domestic dispute, where the police were called. Since none of us knew the full details and only saw a brief volatile encounter between an older gentleman and a young man, we all made up our own stories about the circumstances surrounding the incident. It made for an interesting evening.

So our holiday is over and tomorrow we head home. I've had a very good time and am looking forward to going home, even though it means cramming for two exams over the next 3 weeks!

Nite all.

Quickie

It's already after midnight, it's been a big day and I'm well and truly ready for bed, so here is a quick post with some pics taken with my phone this evening.

Woman of Many Talents and I spent the entire day walking and shopping.

We had breakfast at the Marriot at about 8am and left for our shopping day at about 9am. We shopped and walked til lunch when we stopped for 30 minutes to have lunch at the Paleo Cafe in town ...

... and then shopped and walked til 5pm.

At 6pm we left for dinner at the Marriot (which was delicious) and we were all back at the motel, in our pyjamas for drinks by 8pm.

We have an early start tomorrow with quite a lot planned for the day, so I am signing off and ready to hit the hay.

Nite all.

What happens ...

... with the Burrum Ladies, stays with the Burrum ladies.

Just want to say that the first night has been a lot of fun, and I have broken my Paleo program and I drank wine tonight.

The table was full of goodies, like cheese, cabanossi, gerkins, crackers, dips, chips and pates, but I didn't touch any of that.

Dinner was prawns, ham, chicken, salads and breads. I had prawns and salad.

So my only downfall has been the wine, but I planned this holiday before I planned the Paleo Program, so I am joining in with the ladies and wine will be on the table for me for the next 2 days.

I had a lovely morning tea with The Nikonian this morning even though she is struggling with the effects of cutting all the bad stuff from her diet with the Paleo Program, she still made the effort to come see me. I so appreciate her effort and am impressed with her resolve to take on this positive change for her health and I am excited to have another ally in this move towards a healthy lifestyle.

Keep up the good work my friend :) xx

Meanwhile, it is almost midnight and while everybody else has crashed, I am lying here in bed writing this and feeling like I could take on the world.

I have been up since 6am, spent 3 hours with Chicklet, spent 2 hours with The Nikonian having a late breakfast and checking out some OPP shops, then a 2 hour train trip into Brisbane. We caught a taxi to the motel, then went for a 'good' walk to do some grocery shopping for our dinner tonight, carried a load of heavy bags home. Four hours of drinking, partying and gossiping ... and now bed.

I haven't, at any stage, felt tired or worn out and I really love this feeling!!

Before it hits midnight, I am turning out the light and plan to get some good sleep before a full day of walking, shopping and exploring tomorrow.

I have pics and hopefully will get to share some tomorrow night, depending on how the day pans out .. maybe you'll have to wait til I get home .. who knows?!

Nite all.

Pretend Birthday

Today was Chicklet's 'pretend' birthday, because I won't be here for the actual day.

We had a great day, starting off with the amazing birthday cake for breakfast no less! Even I broke my 10 week program momentarily to share some birthday cake with my girl.

That was followed by a wonderful day at Underwater World. She loves sea creatures more than dinosaurs at the moment, so this is one of her favourite places to be. I can understand why, because I love it too. It gives me energy and peace at the same time.

Next was a late lunch at Sizzlers where I had steak and lobster. It was better than my last few experiences at Sizzlers and it wasn't too busy or too loud, so it was a relaxing lunch for us all.

We ended the day with cake in the bath and five storybooks before she fell sound asleep in Mama's bed.

She handled the day very well and we all had a good time.

I'm off on the next leg of my week away from home tomorrow. Catching up with The Nikonian in the morning and then meeting Woman of Many Talents at the train station where we will catch a train into Roma Street Station and then on to meet the rest of the ladies for our few days of fun.

Can you believe that I powered through the whole day today without feeling the slightest bit tired or in need of a break. It's almost 11pm and I still feel like I could go for a couple more hours. I think this Paleo Way lifestyle has provided me with some stamina, the likes of which I haven't experienced in years. I like it!

Nite all.

Bozzy Wozzy Time

It's been full on in the Chicklet household with plenty of play time.

We've spent a LOT of time practising our drawings. This is me beside a talking crayon.

This is 'Art by Juniper and Bozzy Wozzy'. (A ghost's birthday party)

We've watched 'Finding Nemo' and 'A Bug's Life' and 'Alvin and the Chipmunks Squeakquel' on the laptop.

We've had long baths.

We've read about 25 books.

We've had picnics in bed.

We've played on the swing.

We've played 'catch'.

We've both started out in Bozzy Wozzy's bed for two nights but both times, only one of us stayed in Bozzy Wozzy's bed ... can you guess which one of us that was? Aha, yes, Mama cuddles are just too good to miss out on every night.

Never mind .. small steps.

I must say that my energy levels have been pretty good for this visit and I slept very well last night.

Tomorrow is Chicklet's 'pretend' birthday and we start the day with cake for breakfast, then a visit to 'Underwater World' and then somewhere for lunch. That should be enough to wear us all out!

So I'd best build up my energy again ready for the big day!

Nite all.