Day Sixteen - Long Exposure

Day Sixteen - Long Exposure

Another great day today, although not quite as full as yesterday!

Went to another friend's house for Christmas drinks and nibblies this afternoon.  The nibblies were the equivalent of a six course meal!

So I took individual photos of all the women there and they asked me to photoshop them younger and show them a before and after shot.

They knew that I had done similar for Win, when I did the window challenge, so tonight after I got home, I began photoshopping faces.

I finished a couple of them, but still have quite a few more to go, which is why I am so late posting this tonight.

I don't think the ladies would appreciate me posting them here, so I will respect their privacy, unless they advise me otherwise.

All my boys from the Seat of Knowledge have gone away for Christmas.  There may be two left behind who I can sit with for little while in the mornings and drink my coffee.

Our little town is beginning to fill with tourists.  It's not my favourite time of year, that's for sure.

These little guys are a little more difficult to find now that Spring is over.

Scaly Breasted Lorikeets

That bottom one looks a bit nasty!

Time for me to sleep now.

Nite all.

Day Fifteen - Silhouette

Day Fifteen - Silhouette

Taken early in the morning.  Four men about to board the tinny to go fishing.

What a great day I've had today!

It all started with my morning kiss from Adoring Husband :)

Over the last few weeks I have spotted this bird, which I thought might be some kind of Kestrel, and I followed it a couple of times hoping to get a shot, but it always eluded me.

A couple of times I chased it for a good thirty minutes, but to my disappointment, it always disappeared.

This morning as I rode along the lane way towards the river, there, in a branch about ten feet above me, was that bird!

I hit the brakes immediately and slowly reached behind me for my camera, all the while keeping my eyes on the bird.

Just as I lifted the camera to my eye and peeked through the view finder, some lunatic on a bicycle came hurtling along the pathway yelling "Good Morning!"

AAARRRRGH!!

Off the bird flew!

I began pedalling when I heard that familiar bird call and as I came around the corner, there he was in the next tree looking down at me!

I grabbed the camera and began snapping away madly.

He hung around for a good ten minutes and much to my delight, I got a few different shots in before he flew away.

After I arrived home today, I posted these photos onto my flickr photostream and discovered that this bird is a Pacific Baza, and not the Kestrel that I first thought.

I was very happy with my find!

So I went on to the Seat of Knowledge and sat with my boys for an hour, before heading back to the shops to meet the girls for morning tea.

After a very pleasant ninety minutes with them, Aussie H and I pedalled back to the river and sat on a bench seat under a giant fig tree, waiting for an eagle to appear.

During morning tea, I had watched the eagle flying above the two big trees that grow beside the council caravan park, so I hoped that I might catch another glimpse of him.

Sadly, he did not re-appear, and after a nice thirty minutes chatting with Aussie H and a couple of other locals who stopped during their morning walk or ride, I headed off to visit my Princess of Wales.

What started off as a ONE hour visit, turned into almost four hours, when The Travelling Wilberry arrived from Gladstone and we began drinking some Christmas cheer!

We all carried on like long lost friends until eventually I had to beg my leave.

Poor Adoring Husband had been waiting at home for me to return for lunch and had cooked a delicious meal, which was now stone cold, but luckily, still very delicious!!

Only an hour later, we had to leave home again, to visit our neighbours for Christmas drinks, before they depart for Christmas with family down south.

It was about 7.30pm when we finally came home for the last time and plonked ourselves on the couch, happy but exhausted!  I should probably speak for myself only - I am exhausted!

To finish the day off perfectly, Vegan Chickie emailed some wonderful shots of my little Sweetie Possum, who has discovered the joys of playground swings!!

Isn't she lovely?

Nite all.

Day Fourteen - Eyes

Day Fourteen - Eyes

Christmas drinks this afternoon was a very pleasant affair.  There were quite a few people there and it was nice to catch up with some we hadn't seen for a while.

I took lots of photos, so I might post a couple of them tomorrow.

I had my hair done today.  It's a little darker than usual, but it won't take long lighten.

We finalised the last of the Christmas gifts today too.  It's a relief to have that done.

Other than that, I'm too tired to think of anything else to tell you.  I will put more effort into tomorrow's post... I promise :D

Nite all.

Day Thirteen - Me, with 13 things.

Day Thirteen - Me, with 13 things.

Not what you expected?  Many thanks to the Lovely Laying Chooks for my props :o)

My walk along the beach this morning only produced one shot - a Pied Oystercatcher.

I've seen these guys around here before, but not often.  He spent the whole time running away from me, so it was tricky business trying to get a clear shot.

The Bee Eaters were next on my hit list.

This looks to be a young one because he has a shorter tail and beak and the colours in the feathers aren't as dark as the adult's.

Finally, in a last ditch effort, I visited Cheelii Lagoon, but nature wasn't forthcoming there either.  Some beautiful lilies in full bloom, but I really liked the simplicity of this shot.

If only there had been a single gold fish swimming between the stems.

We have a busy day tomorrow.

Adoring Husband has an early Drs appointment, to which I will accompany him.

Then I have a hair appointment, to which he won't accompany me.

We have Christmas drinks with friends in the late afternoon.

So I'd best get some sleep before I turn into a pumpkin again.

Nite all.  

Day Twelve - A Sunset

Quote of the Day:  "Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, or say, or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day, regarding the attitude that we embrace.  We cannot change our past.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing that we can do is play on the one thing that we have - and that is our attitude.  Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you ... WE are in charge of our own attitudes." - Chuck Swindoll.

Day Twelve - A Sunset

I couldn't get a sunset shot tonight because it was too overcast, so I dug out this old favourite of mine.

Either, nature is having a long nap, or my inspiration is waning.

It has been a couple of days now since I got a photo worth sharing.  I hate that!  Tomorrow, the tide is low in the morning, so I might go for a long walk along the beach and see what it has to offer.

Surely, either the beach and sand will hold some treasures worth aiming my camera at, or the bushland that joins the beach to the land will share something with me.

I'd really love to find some beautiful scenery and take some landscape shots.

When I visited Chicklet today, I took my camera with me, but I get so mesmerised by her, that I forget all about the camera!  How annoying!  It happens all the time :(

I promised BGWLBH months ago, that I would send regular photos of Chicklet to her, but I can't even remember the last time I took a photo!  I am a bad grandmother :(

Next week is Christmas.  I MUST take a gozillion photos on Christmas day!

Anyway, we had a delicious lunch at the restaurant where the Bare-chested Chef will be starting work next week.  We've eaten at this place often, but today was the best meal we've had from there.

At the end of the day, Vegan Chickie, emailed me this little gem of my Sweetie Possum ...

A never ending source of joy :o)

I'm so glad that I can share this with you!

Nite all.

Day Eleven - Something Blue

This is not how I am feeling today ... but it is how I feel sometimes.

Day Eleven - Something Blue

That's cheating a little.  An old photo.  But it was the first thing that came into my head when I thought of something blue :)

Well, we mailed the Christmas cards today.  We also wrapped, boxed and mailed the Christmas gifts, however, I'm not sure if they will arrive at their destinations before Christmas now!

Spent a few hours pedalling around town this morning, but it was a little frustrating due to a few scattered showers which meant that I had to keep packing my camera away and then wait for the rain to stop.

It seems that Spring is definitely over!  There is not a lot to photograph at this time of year.  Not even sunsets, because it is so overcast or rainy every afternoon.

Tomorrow I am visiting Vegan Chickie and Chicklet.  Let's hope the bus trip is less eventful than the last one!

So it's a short, but sweet, post tonight.  We made the effort to dress up and go out tonight.  Just to the raffles at the Bowls Club, but I'm feeling a little worn out, so it's off to bed for me!

Nite all.

Day Ten - A Childhood Memory

My chuckle moment:

Day Ten - A Childhood Memory

This is the diary that I mentioned in my very first blog post.  It's opened on the page that my mother wrote on.

My first blog post http://agechallengedrqqzy.blogspot.com/2011/02/i-think-im-now-blogger.html

Remember how I made the banana and walnut cake yesterday?  And how I was going to share it with the boys on the Seat of Knowledge?

Well ... this morning when I got to the Seat of Knowledge, I was reminded by one of my boys that it was the Indoor Bowls Christmas break-up day and that I had to take a contribution to morning tea!

I haven't been to Indoor Bowls for a few weeks, so I wasn't aware it was break-up day!

So, what a lucky co-incidence that I had made the banana and walnut cake!

I did cut one slice to give to one of my boys before I left for bowls :o)

I only played one out of the three games of bowls because Adoring Husband and I had an appointment in The Bay today, which we attended and then did some light shopping and got coffee.

We bought a dvd the 'Green Lantern' starring Ryan Reynolds, which we watched this evening.  It wasn't a bad movie, not my 'cup of tea', being a comic book action/adventure/fantasy,  but the special effects were pretty good.

It's now pouring with rain, and has been for almost two hours.

I didn't take any photos today.  I did go for a ride on the way home from bowls, looking for an opportunity, but not a lot was happening on the 'nature' front.

Once again, I am writing this leading into midnight.  Ugh!

Nite all.

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.