Day Nine - Someone You Love

Just for a giggle ...

Day Nine - Someone You Love

... and because I can ...

Had a nice long phone call from Number One Son today.  He moved to Townsville to start his new job just over a week ago and moves into his new apartment next week.

There are only eleven days til Christmas and even though our shopping is done, we still have so much to do!

Wrapping, packaging, addressing and mailing all the gifts that have to go to friends and family who won't be at our house for Christmas.  We are running short of time!

Writing up the Christmas cards, addressing the envelopes and mailing them BEFORE Christmas!

Planning the Christmas lunch menu, shopping for it and doing any early preparations.

Christmas drinks at various friend's houses leading up to Christmas.

Finishing the last of the Christmas jewellery orders.

... and last but not least, finishing Chicklet's gift.

So much to do, so little time!

Not much happened with the camera this morning.  I did attempt to photograph a magpie attacking a goanna, but it was in bad light and I couldn't get the exposure right.  The ones that were exposed ok, were too blurred to use.  Such a shame because they could have been great.

I spent the afternoon baking banana and walnut cakes.  One batch of muffin-sized cakes for Adoring Husband and a ring cake for the boys at The Seat of Knowledge, which I will deliver tomorrow.

More beauty sleep required ...

Nite all.

Day Eight - A Bad Habit

Quote of the Day:

Day Eight - A Bad Habit

I never check the settings on my camera before I take my first photo of the day!  A bad habit developed because I used my camera on 'auto' for two years.

This morning, after I left the Seat of Knowledge, I found my way to the edge of some protected bushland.  There is a walking/riding path that winds it's way around the bushland and while I let my trike roll silently along the path, I could hear different birds singing in the distance.

I decided to stop and sit for a while, with the hope that a bird or two might make it's way to the edge of the bushes and I could get a good shot.

So there I sat.  It was a hot morning and there was no shade for protection.  I could feel the sun burning my shoulders and the perspiration was building on my forehead and began dripping down my face.

Just as I had second thoughts and was reconsidering my timing to early morning or late afternoon, a Noisy Friar Bird landed on a branch very close ...

It made a couple of calls to another of it's kind in the bushes and then flew off!

They are not pretty birds, by any stretch of the imagination, but I had not seen one before in this area, so I was quite excited!

There are so many other birds in that bushland and I am going to attempt an early morning vigil, maybe tomorrow,  to see what I can come up with.

This afternoon, Adoring Husband and I drove into The Bay and acquired a couple of iPhone 4Ss.

Then we made a quick stop to visit Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet.  We all had coffee together and I got my Chicklet cuddles for about half an hour and then we headed home.

Yet another storm hit this afternoon .. a little more vicious than yesterday, but not damaging.  We lost our power momentarily.

Since then we have been playing obsessively with our phones :o)  I have been warned by a few people that iPhones become an obsession .. and I can see why!

Put a new gadget in Adoring Husband's hands, and suddenly the rest of the world doesn't exist for four days :o)   (and lots of swear words are uttered frequently!)

It's all good fun!

Nite all.

Day Seven - Fruit

Quote of the day:  "Be with someone who knows what they have, when they have you" - Unknown.

Day Seven - Fruit

In case you were so captivated by the wondrous smile of the beloved Chicklet, the fruit is 'mango'!

Had a great weekend!

A few of our photography group

They are a great bunch and I'm really pleased that we made the trek down for the barbie.

On the drive home this afternoon we drove into a storm that was pretty fierce!  The rain was so heavy, we could barely see in front of us and the wind was so strong, there were branches and leaves all over the road and hitting the car as we drove along.

Luckily, we came to a service station that we could park at until the storm passed.  It was pretty scary at the time.

So the weather was pretty horrible for the whole weekend.

We stayed with the Nikon Queen and her husband and they showed us very warm hospitality and made us feel very welcome.  Thank you both so much!

We made a pitt stop at the Sunshine Plaza in Maroochydore, to finish our Christmas shopping and had some lunch.

We stopped at Gympie on the way home, to photograph the Cattle Egrets that were nesting on the side of the road.

This little chick had fallen out of the nest.

They were very smelly!

There was a spectacular sunset greeting us this afternoon, but unfortunately, I only got the tail end of the 'beauty'.

Huge storms about this afternoon, but luckily for us, it passed right over the top.  A bit of thunder and lightning and some very black clouds scuttled overhead.

It's almost midnight, so I think I'll go rest my weary head.

Nite all.

Day Six - From a low angle

Quote of the day:  "Blowing out another's candles will not make yours shine brighter" - Unknown

Day Six - From a low angle

Bundaberg Post Office

What a fabulous day we've had!

The weather has been horrendous!

It took us four hours to make a three hour trip, due to bad weather, traffic and a stop over in Eumundi.

It was raining when we arrived and we were lucky enough to get about thirty minutes without rain for the entire afternoon.

For most of the time we were huddled under a barbecue shelter that had two tables with bench seats.  There was plenty of room, but it was disappointing that we couldn't take any photos, and then no opportunity for sunset photos due to the stormy, overcast, wet conditions.

A couple of people found some birds to photograph, including some Tawny Frogmouths in a tree nearby.

It was nice to catch up with people we had met before and lovely to meet some new members and others who weren't at the last gathering.

We ate, drank and were merry for four hours and then we all packed up and headed off.

Adoring Husband and I are at Nikon Queen's home right now.  She is one of my favourites from our group and she invited us to stay after we had confirmed that we were attending the barbecue.  She and her husband have a beautiful home and are very generous hosts.

I'm looking forward to seeing their place in daylight tomorrow.

Anyway, I have no photos ready to share from today, but will post some tomorrow.

For now, some beauty sleep is required.

Nite all.

Day Five - From a high angle

Quote of the day:  You miss 100% of the shots that you never take - Wayne Gretzky

Day Five - From a high angle

I figure that if we lived on the moon, the earth would be high, so taking a photo of the moon from the earth would be from a high angle.  Ok maybe it's a little bit cheating ;o)

What a day!

I was awake bright and early and packed the trike with all my market gear and then pedalled down to the Seat of Knowledge, where only two of my boys were sitting, because it was too early for the others yet.

The sky was getting blacker by the minute and the winds were very strong.  As I left to go get my coffee, a few drops of rain landed on my arms.

I ordered my coffee and then went to get some money for my float.

By this time, the sky was even more ominous, so I made the decision to abandon the idea of setting up my stall.

I phoned Aussie H, to let her know that I had canned the idea, and then I returned to the Seat of Knowledge, briefly, where another of the boys had joined the seat.

I made the decision to pedal home before the rain hit, and I got to the end of my street, before it began bucketing down.

I could hear the theme song to the Mighty Mouse cartoon (which is Adoring Husband's ringtone on my phone), ringing in my basket, but I wasn't going to stop in the rain to answer it so I just kept pedalling as fast as my little legs would carry me!

So I plonked myself on the couch, where I remained all day, with the laptop in front of me!

Tomorrow, we are travelling down to Bribie Island for our photography group's end of year celebration.

Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet will be kind enough to take care of things while we are away.  By 'things', I mean the house, the psychotic dogs and the lovely laying chooks.  We are very grateful for their help.

The weather forecast is not good for tomorrow though, so our barbecue on the beach, may end up being a sausage sizzle at somebody's house.

That would be a shame because I'm really looking forward to a sunset photo shoot across the water.  Fingers crossed for clear weather.

The rain prevented me from taking any shots today, except for the full moon tonight, but I hope to have some shots to share tomorrow .. from ANY angle!

Nite all.

Day Four - Something Green

Quote for the day:  "I am not what happened to me.  I am what I choose to become." - Carl Gustav Jung

Day Four - Something Green

Teeny baby plover chick wearing a green leprechaun's hat.

Well, half of the Christmas decorating is complete.

I arrived home from my morning ride to find that Adoring Husband had put up all of the decorations inside the house and on the doors.  The box of decorations for the tree was placed on the floor beside it, waiting for me to arrive home and we decorated it together.

Pretty huh?

I had quite an uneventful ride this morning and got a couple of passable shots to share.

Happy to Share :o)

Makeshift Boat Trailer

Market day tomorrow.  The last local market before Christmas.  The weather forecast is not good, but they've been known to be wrong in the past ... let's hope they are wrong again!  Although I do like this milder weather since the rain came.

Sixteen sleeps til Christmas!

Nite all.

Day Three - Clouds

Day Three - Clouds

I did a lot of pedalling today!

Adoring Husband had a golf break-up lunch, so I had the whole day to myself.

I pedalled for about three hours and took photos of owls, kookaburras, peewees, butcher birds and a grey heron.

None of them were spectacular, but I posted a couple onto my flickr photostream.

Then I visited Buster's Mum and we discussed the photo shoot and took a couple of practise shots with her sitting in front of the window.

We chose a time for me to return, after dark, so that she could make herself all pretty as my subject.

It didn't take very long to get the shot I wanted.  The lighting wasn't as good as I would have liked, but Kas and Lucy's Man had a fabulous free-standing lamp that provided a nice ambient light and helped provide a reasonable reflection in the window.

Buster's Mum was a very co-operative model and it was all over in about twenty minutes!

The real Buster's Mum

I promised that I would also photoshop a photo to make her look younger as well.

The younger Buster's Mum

I prefer the REAL Buster's Mum to the photoshopped younger version :o)

So I'm very happy with our efforts today and it feels good to have my challenge entry already lodged.  The closing date is 20th December, so I'm nice and early!

Adoring Husband had a good time at his golf lunch and is now sleeping like a baby.

The plan for tomorrow is to decorate the christmas tree and hang the lights around the exterior of the house.  Let's hope the weather co-operates!

Today was another good day :o)

Nite all.

 

Day Two - What you wore today.

Day Two - What I wore today.

Good soaking rain all day today.

I woke up to find that it had been raining during the night and when I left for the Seat of Knowledge, there was a soft spray of rain falling.

I met Lady Lynne and Kaz for coffee at our usual meeting place.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Lady Lynne isn't ALWAYS a lady and that Kaz has a teensy touch of 'evil' within :o)

In my eyes, that just makes them even more special.

During our morning tea, many, many locals stopped to chat.  It was difficult to finish any one conversation, because we were constantly interrupted.

Of course, I'm not going to complain about that, because 'local chat' is one of my favourite pastimes!

The hot topic of 'local chat' is the wonderful rain.

Afterwards, when I was waiting for the rain to ease, I met a holiday maker named Shirley.  She, apparently, comes to our town every year for holidays and this year is here with two of her grand daughters.

She is from Maleny and we stood and chatted for about twenty minutes.  Very nice lady.

I then pedalled home in the rain, because it didn't look like it was going to ease at all.  By the time I arrived home, it was even heavier.  By the time I got inside and sat down on my couch, it was even heavier!

We received two inches of rain in the twenty four hours up to 3 pm.

Great for the locals.  Not so great for the holiday makers.

While I was out, Adoring Husband had pulled the Christmas tree, decorations and lights from the shed, so that when the rain stops, we can  make some Christmas magic around the house.

This afternoon I created four bracelets to fill one of the Christmas orders.

So it's been quite a productive day.

Tomorrow, I am going to visit Buster's Mum and hopefully use her as a model for our next photography challenge.

The theme this month is 'Window' and I hope to capture Buster's Mum's reflection in a window.  Not sure how I'm going to manage that yet, but I'm working on it!

I feel myself turning into a pumpkin because it's after midnight.  I need to get some sleep so that my body can heal the crick in my neck.  Extra healing power would be wonderful.

Nite all

Day One - Self Portrait

Day One - Self Portrait

Today was a good day :)

I awoke bright and early, before the alarm sounded, which gave me plenty of time to get ready for my day out.

Woman of Many Talents was giving me a lift into town and arrived right on time.  It's always a pleasant drive with her.  She's a good egg.

A McCafe coffee was my preferred beverage to start the day and then some browsing through some dvds of which I bought three.

Soon it was time to meet Vegan Chickie, so I made the ten minute walk to the cinema, bought our tickets and some mandetory junk food.

I was just in the nick of time because a whole bus load of school kids suddenly appeared and queued up for junk food themselves!

Luckily, they were going to a different movie :)

The whole Chicklet family suddenly appeared and I got to see my baby before the movie too!

Vegan Chickie and I entered Cinema 3 and enjoyed Breaking Dawn Part 1 for the second time.

Thank goodness the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet were waiting when we emerged from the cinema, because Vegan Chickie was missing them so much, I don't think she could have waited another 5 minutes to see them!

We drove home, stopping at the takeaway cafe to get fish and chips for lunch.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Adoring Husband had already returned home from his golf function.

After lunch, Vegan Chickie and Chicklet went for a nap, and the rest of us watched one of my new dvds.  'The Muppet Movie'  an oldie but a goodie.

When Chicklet woke up, I got lots of cuddles and we visited the lovely layers at the chook pen, talked to the puppies and did a tour of the veggie garden.

Then it was time for them to go home.

I received a phone call from Lady Lynne inviting me to morning tea tomorrow and then Number One Son phoned and we chatted for about half an hour.

He has just commenced a new job in Townsville, so he's feeling motivated and happy at the prospect of a fresh start after his divorce was finalised recently.

So, I've completed my day one photograph challenge - self portrait, and all in all, it's been a happy day.

Nite all.  

All I can feel is BLAH BLAH BLAH

This is becoming monotonous for you, I know!

I've had a bit of a 'blah' day.

I've been trying to figure out a way to get myself out of the 'blahs' because I'm wading deeper and deeper into the 'blahs', and I don't like it.

So I came up with a couple of ideas.

Firstly, I'm going to the movies with Vegan Chickie tomorrow, to see 'Breaking Dawn' (again).

Secondly, I'm giving myself a thirty day photography challenge, which, effectively forces me to get up and do something different every day, and photography is what I love, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get motivated.

These are the things that I have to photograph.  A different subject for every day.

Day    Subject

1. Self portrait
2. What you wore today
3. Clouds
4. Something green
5. From a high angle
6. From a low angle
7. Fruit
8. A bad habit
9. Someone you love
10. A childhood memory
11. Something blue
12. Sunset
13. Yourself with 13 things
14. Eyes
15. Silhouette
16. Long exposure
17. Technology
18. Your shoes
19. Something orange
20. Bokeh
21. Faceless self portrait
22. Hands
23. Sunflare
24. Animal
25. Something pink
26. Close up
27. From a distance
28. Flowers
29. Black and White
30. Self portrait

A couple of photos from yesterday ...

Buff Banded Rail

White Heron

... and a couple of photos from today ... some kookaburras ...

It seems that my owl families have all moved on now.  Rupert is nowhere to be found, so I'll have to wait til next year to, hopefully, see him again.

Adoring Husband's Mum was admitted to hospital again on Saturday night.  They are doing scans to determine whether she has a bowel blockage/infection.  Hoping she recovers quickly and can return to the nursing home, where she wants to be.

So here's hoping the blah blah blah feelings dissipate soon.

Nite all.

Old Treasures

A few days ago at the Seat of Knowledge, The Kids,  (he's 82 and she's 78) asked me if I wanted to see a photo of them as teenagers.

If my memory serves me correctly, their next wedding anniversary will be their 60th.

I was eager to see a photo of them in their youth, so I urged them to bring the photo with them one morning for me to look at.

This morning was the morning.

He reached into his top pocket and pulled out a small photo, about the size of a mobile phone.

It was black and white, of course.

They were standing in front of a corrugated iron shed, all dressed up ready to go to some social event - they don't remember where they were going at the time.

He was wearing a dark, double breasted suit with a starched, white, collared shirt, a tie, and clean, shiny black shoes.

His hair was slicked back with a quiff ...

For you young people reading this, the above is an example of the 'quiff' hairstyle.

'She' was wearing a cream dress similar to this style but with small sleeves ...

Her hair was long and dark but she wore it in an up-style similar to this ...

She also wore shiny black shoes with a small heel.

They stood close beside each other with their hands by their side, and she had her little finger entwined in his.

He was 22 and she was 18.  So young.

Sixty years ago!  That's an eternity! Here they are, still together and living less than 100 kms from where they were born and bred.  Still happy and taking care of each other.

I sat staring at the photo for a long time trying to imagine how they were feeling, what they were thinking.

Trying to imagine their 60 yrs of life together and how they had grown from a young, happy, innocent couple to the wise, confident, loving couple that they are today.  

Trying to imagine the joys and woes that they had struggled through together.

Trying to imagine the hardships of living in the bush during an era with few of the comforts that we enjoy today.

Trying to imagine the memories that they must have.  Always a story to tell.

Having to keep up with the technological advances that happened so rapidly during their era, must have been daunting.

So much life experience between them.

I could easily have stared at their photo for much longer, but thought it might seem a bit strange to them, so I grudgingly returned the photo to him.

All of the boys from The Seat of Knowledge have shown me photos of themselves and their wives when they were much younger, mostly their early twenties.  They always seemed to stand proud and tall back then.

They often tell stories from their childhood and their youth.  Mostly funny stories.  I love to listen to them.  Sometimes they unknowingly repeat stories, but it doesn't matter to me.

My boys are oldies but goodies and so are their stories.

Perhaps I should start writing down their stories and one day create a book entitled 'Old Treasures'!

I could scan all of their photos so that I could record them in the book.

Imagine what a priceless treasure that book would be to their families.

Perhaps that is something that I can look at more seriously after the Art Exhibit next year.  A new goal for 2013.

Nite all.

Fragile Me

It's a week today since Adoring Husband's Mum took ill.  She was so ill, that we thought we'd lose her.

Happily, that was not the case, however, it was still very traumatic.

I was sad to be losing our Nellie and sad for Adoring Husband that he had to go through this and worried that I wasn't going to be with him to help him deal with it.

This event also triggered the residue sadness that I felt after the loss of my brother's wife and also my dear friend, Di, in the previous month.

In the midst of this, we had a financial concern, which I won't go into here, but it was stressful at the time.  It has since been resolved, but was an added unwanted stress to handle.

On Thursday, I had a lovely day with a couple of girlfriends, but in doing so, upset another friend who is now acting a little coolly toward me.

So, with all of that in mind, today, I topped off an overwhelming week, with a trip on a bus that did NOT go as planned.

I caught the bus into the Bay, as I do on a Saturday morning, so that I could visit Vegan Chickie and Chicklet.

My bus driver was unable to work the computer to give me a ticket for the trip I wanted to take, so he wrote one out for me to show the next driver, for the second leg of my trip.

When I arrived at the depot, the connecting bus had gone (it left earlier than it should have), so I asked my bus driver which bus I could catch, to take me to the pier.

He told me the number 5, which was the Maryborough bus.  It was pulling into the depot as he spoke.

He jumped off the bus, telling me that he would explain the 'situation' to the other driver, which he did, while I stood in the queue to board the number 5.

So I'm on the bus, and it appears to me that it has taken the route directly to Maryborough.

I'm thinking that it's a real pain in the butt that I have to go all the way to Maryborough (a one hour round trip) to get to the pier, which was only fifteen minutes from where I boarded the bus!

We arrive at a bus stop where the last of the passengers alighted and the driver turns around to look at me and says "This is the last stop".

I reply "Excellent!", thinking that it meant we would now be returning to The Bay.

He said "No, I mean this is it.  I don't return to the Bay for two and a half hours.  What stop did you want?"

When I told him that I wanted to go to the pier, he explained that he had already been to the pier before he picked me up.

Obviously, my original driver was new and inexperienced and when he said he was explaining the 'situation' to this bus driver, he was explaining about the written ticket, NOT explaining that I wanted to go to the pier!

Well, with that, I very uncharacteristically, burst into tears!

The bus driver was very sympathetic, but obviously couldn't drive me all the way back into the Bay.  He kindly went out of his way to drive me back into the CBD of Maryborough, so that I would have something to do for two and a half hours.

When I alighted the bus, I sat down on a brick fence and sobbed like a baby for about ten minutes.

I think it was just the accumulation of everything that's happened in the past couple of months that sent me over the edge.  I struggled to pull myself together and even now, am feeling a little discombobulated.

I'm pretty sure, that some time soon in the future, I will be able to tell this story filled with mocking laughter, but today I felt so anxious and fragile that I didn't even recognise myself.

I'm happy to report that when I finally returned to the Bay, I still got to spend some quality time with Vegan Chickie and Chicklet.

It gave me a happy ending to my miserable day.  Smiles and cuddles from my Chicklet - enough to heal the tender wounds of fragile me.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Nite all.

Easy Breezy

It's so nice to feel a cool breeze.

The heat has been building for weeks now, with weekly promises from the weather bureau, of rain and storms to ease the pressure.  Finally, the rain and storms arrived yesterday!

We didn't get much here, but it sure dropped the temperature by about 8C and my comfort level is where it should be.

Adoring Husband and I drove into town today to get food for our animals, do some Christmas shopping and shop for groceries.

While we were there, we looked in the ABC shop for a book that Vegan Chickie has been after - "Twas The Night Before Christmas" - which we found, in a nice hard cover version.

For me, it was the perfect excuse to go visit them to deliver the book!

I got to spend almost an hour with my little cherub, who was as happy as ever!

These photos were sent through by Vegan Chickie this afternoon.  Chicklet and I were mucking around with the book in the photos, this morning, and she had a very serious frown on her face as she listened to me trying to make various cat sounds.

When my kids were little, one of their favourite books to have read to them at bed time was "The Boy With The Drum", which was a 'Little Golden Book'.

I have searched for a copy of the book around various book stores and at markets, but haven't found one yet.

This evening, I searched online for a copy and was horrified to discover that, a 'used' copy of the book will cost me anywhere from $14 - $20 plus postage and if I want a 'new' copy, $100!!!!!!

Sheesh!  I'd have kept ALL of our Little Golden Books, if I'd known they were going to be that valuable in my future!  We had such a wonderful collection!

Ah well, no doubt she'll be using an E-reader any minute and paper books will be redundant!  Oh the times, they are a changin'.

This morning I attempted to get a shot of the new owl family.  All four of them are huddled in the tree amid quite thick foliage, so it was very difficult to get a clear view.

It was also very windy, so there was a lot of movement in the leaves.

Considering the tricky conditions, I'm pretty pleased with the shot.

So that was my day.  Pretty easy breezy in more than one sense.  Going to visit Vegan Chickie and Chicklet again tomorrow :o)

Nite all.

A Big Day Out

"Learn how to be happy with what you have, while you pursue all that you want" - Jim Rohn

**********

A section of the Bundabert Post Office building

There are few things interesting or attractive about Bundaberg, but the facade of the Post Office is interesting.

I did see some Art Deco buildings that look like they might be worth a second look.

I visited the Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery, while Woman of Many Talents worked and Mrs Bucket was doing her own thing.

They currently have an exhibit in Gallery One entitled "Ranamok Glass Prize".

http://brag-brc.org.au/

Gallery Two has an exhibit with pieces by three art groups from the local area who interpreted and responded to the word "cracked".

Lunch at the local RSL Club was delicious.

The weather was oppressively hot and humid, and as we left late this afternoon, a storm was rolling in from the West.

Thankfully, it rained most of the way home, which reduced the temperature a little.

I had a really nice day with Mrs Bucket and Woman of Many Talents.

We once had regular lunches, movie days and shopping trips together, but this is only our second outing together this year.  There was lots to catch up on and even though Woman of Many Talents had to work a couple of hours, it was a nice 'girlie' day.

It's been a big day.  We left at 8am and returned after 6.30pm and I'm feeling a little brain dead tonight - perhaps you can tell by these vague ramblings!

So, I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Blogger's Block

Since February this year, I have posted on this blog 323 times!

I've updated here every day, although sometimes it's been after midnight, so some days show no posts and others show two.

Some nights I sit here for hours trying to think of something to write.  Sometimes, my imagination escapes me and sometimes, it's my motivation that escapes me, however, I continue to post every day, even if it's a small token update.

Tonight is one of those difficult nights.

It's very hot and humid.

Adoring Husband is watching a movie at full volume, which hurts my ears but is obviously just right for him.  It's very distracting.

I spent hours this afternoon completing the second module of my degree, so my brain has been over-used already today.

My photography this morning, was disappointing.  I did find a new owl family, but they were camouflaged behind so much foliage, that I couldn't get a clear shot.

I did get a shot of my favourite little owl, who today, I named Rupert :o)

Rupert.

He was very high in another tree with sunlight behind him, so the conditions weren't good for the shot.

I'm sure that he's beginning to recognise me when I appear with my camera!

Anyway, tomorrow I'm off to Bundaberg with friends, for a bit of shopping and a bit of lunch.  Maybe there will be interesting stories to tell tomorrow evening.

Blogger's block BE GONE!!

Nite all.

Out of the Loop

I am surprised!  I suppose I shouldn't be.

Adoring Husband and I have been 'out of the loop' for a few months now.  I can safely say, for most of this year.

Due to a number of circumstances, we've missed most of the parties, dinners, functions and gatherings that our large group of friends have organised this year.

There have been a few Friday nights at the Bowls Club where we have caught up with people, from time to time, but nothing regular.

So, this week, after our dramas with Adoring Husband's Mum, and us having to withdraw, once again, from another group party, I have been surprised by the number of phone calls we have received.

People who care about us and who are concerned about how we are coping with our seemingly endless dramas just recently, have called to check in and offer assistance if needed.

I think I expected that being out of sight, meant being out of mind, and that people would forget about us and allow us to disappear into the dark abyss of lost friendships.

So ... thank you to those who phoned, or dropped in to check on us.  Thank you for your offers of help and your voices of concern.  We appreciate you more than you know.

It is comforting to know that so many people care and reassuring to know that we can call upon them in times of need.

On a cheery note, Adoring Husband arrived home safe and sound today and in a much happier frame of mind than when he left.  His Mum is doing well and we can allow ourselves the luxury of resting easy for little while longer.

Cheerier still, was family lunch with my lovely Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet!

As promised, I had the camera on hand and took a few happy snaps at the lunch table.

Who couldn't love a face like that?

My lovely little hippy baby.

She is so happy and brings joy to my world.

So, even though we have been 'out of the loop' for such a long time, and even though we have experienced deep sadness these past six weeks, we are feeling thankful for good friends and our sweet little granddaughter who melts away all our worries with just one smile.

Nite all.

Good News!

Big smiles all round!

Adoring Husband's Mum is a tough old bird, and today, was well enough to leave the hospital and go back to the nursing home!

She is much happier back in her own environment and this outcome is so much better than we ever expected.  Adoring Husband is a happy chappy!

I love a good news story :o)

Had a good morning on my trike ...

King of the World!

This guy is parallel with the ground looking straight down on me.  I took this looking directly up!

Amazing clouds that I watched all day, hoping they would hang around for a sunset.

... and then this afternoon, the cloud formations were still looking good for a beautiful sunset...

The potential is there!

The dirty big black cloud came scuttling from behind me and parked itself right in the middle of my beautiful sunset!

I thought I would try a different setting for the sunset.  I chose Cheelii Lagoon for a change, instead of the river or the beach.  

Aren't I lucky to have such wonderful options for sunset shots!

Vegan chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet will be picking up Adoring Husband from the airport tomorrow morning, and then coming here for lunch.

So the camera will be out for some Chicklet snaps!

Tonight, I go to bed feeling happy about our good news :o)

Nite all.

  

Ok on the Southern Front

Adoring Husband's Mum is doing as well as can be expected and Adoring Husband is coping well under pressure.

I have no photos to share today and I had a very quiet day after Adoring Husband left for the airport.

I did drop in on Mrs Bucket and Woman of Many Talents this afternoon and we had a couple of drinks together.  It's been a few months since we got together, so it was nice to catch up.

I also got a phone call from Vegan Chickie tonight, which was nice.  Little Chicklet was in the background gargling water and goo-ing and gaa-ing, as she does.  It was cute.

Actually, I have some photos of Chicklet to share with you.

It must be a month since I shared!  These wonderful shots were all taken by Vegan Chickie.  What a happy little vegemite she is and just look at her happy parents!  Who couldn't be happy with that much cuteness in the room!?

While it's a relief that things are going ok on the southern front, and Adoring Husband is managing well, it's now time for me to sleep.

Nite all