A Little Birthday Joy

Boy!  Did it bucket down last night!  We had about 150ml of rain overnight.

It was still raining when I woke up this morning, so no trike ride and no coffee from the bakery ... I really don't like starting my Sundays without my morning coffee!

Knowing that we had to be at a birthday barbecue at 11.30am, we had a quiet morning at home - me in my usual place in front of the laptop playing with some photos taken yesterday.

Also, for my 104 group in facebook, I set a mini challenge over the weekend with the theme 'Eyes' and SO many photos had been posted, it took a while to go through them and comment.

The group had been a bit quiet and it seemed that motivation was quite low, so I thought we all needed  something different to photograph, that was not too difficult and was accessible to everybody.

I'm pleased to say that the group responded with enthusiasm and have been posting great photos all weekend!

At 11am, I looked at the invitation to this 60th birthday party and found the letters 'BYO'.  I asked Adoring Husband "Does this mean 'bring your own grog' or 'bring your own everything'?"

He decided to phone them to verify.

The verification was this "Just bring your own grog, but your Adoring Wife said she would make a pavlova for dessert".

AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!

On Wednesday night (State of Origin night) at the pub, the Kiwi Queen asked me if I would make one of my famous pavlovas for her party, and I, in a clean and sober state, with great enthusiasm, agreed to do so...

... and then promptly forgot.

As you know, a pavlova is not something that you can throw together in thirty minutes.

I was horrified.  I felt sick.  I walked around the house cursing myself.  Wracking my brain trying to think of something, ANYTHING, that I could quickly put together as a dessert to feed thirty people.

"Take me to Foodworks!" I demanded of Adoring Husband.  Foodworks is the only supermarket in a 20km radius that sells groceries.

"It's too late now" he replied "Just don't worry about it".

"Don't tell me not to worry about it!" I snapped "I HAVE to do something!"

So off we drove to our local shops.

I walked into Foodworks, hoping agains hope that they sold pre-made pavlovas .. but alas it was not to be.

Then I had a brain-wave!

Our local bakery sells big fat worm shaped meringues.  I rushed in there and bought six of them.  Then went back into Foodworks and bought grapes, kiwi fruit, banana, peaches and 600ml of cream.

Adoring Husband dropped me at home while he went to the drive-thru to get some beer for the party.

I rushed inside and took my big glass rectangular baking dish out.  Crushed and crumbled the meringue into the bottom.  Whipped the cream and poured it over the top.  BGWLBH helped me quickly chop up the fruit and added passionfruit and mandarin pieces that we already had at home.

This was the result ...

I called it my "S&@t I forgot to make the pavlova" pavlova.

When I left the party, there was only one small corner of it left in the dish!  I swear to God, I do my best work under pressure!

It was a really lovely party.  A couple of the guys brought their guitars and we had sing-alongs plus Madam Butterfly, who is a professional singer, brought her gear too and set up in the corner.  She sang her usual sweet melodies for the first half of the party.

The food was good (especially the pav lol) and everyone was in a happy frame of mind.  There was lots of catching up to do and I really enjoyed myself.  Even took a few happy snaps.

The Birthday Girl

The sparkling Woman of Many Talents

We were home by 5pm and I whipped up a chicken stir-fry for dinner.

Woman of Many Talents and I are hoping to play golf in the morning, but after 150ml of rain, we might have to turn around and come home!  We can but try!

So after a little birthday joy, I think I can hear my pillow calling my name.

Nite all.

Lucky, lucky me!

We got away a little late for fishing this morning.

Our original plan was to fish the one hour before and the hour after high tide, but by the time we got bait and then bought our take-away coffee from the bakery, we were more than hour late.

Within 5 minutes, I had caught a Whiting, which I placed in the bucket so that I could offer it to the eagle or kite later.  BGWLBH caught a toad fish, which seems to be her special talent.

A light shower scuttled over us, but I had brought rain ponchos, so I slipped one on and I covered my camera bag with it's rain cover and Adoring Husband put the golf umbrella up over the trike basket to keep everything as dry as possible.

Further up the beach was a couple sitting on folding chairs on the water's edge and fishing.  Above them, I noticed a White Breasted Eagle and a Brahminy Kite, but the couple were oblivious.

I grabbed my camera and BGWLBH grabbed the whiting that I had set aside for this perfect opportunity.  She told me where she was going to place it, so that I could set my camera focus on the spot and wait for one of the big birds to swoop.

As soon as she put the fish on the sand, a seagull ran forward, picked up the whiting and swallowed it whole in one gulp!

BGWLBH threw her head back and burst out laughing, while I cursed at my lost opportunity!

So I began walking up the beach with my camera, watching the birds so that I would be ready if they did anything interesting.

I noticed that the White Breasted Eagle was coming down lower and looking at something on the beach, so I raised my camera, checked through the view finder and found focus.  As he got lower to the sand, I pressed for multi-shots and took about six shots in a row.

The couple in the chairs were totally unaware of what was happening right in front of them!

My heart was pounding very fast knowing that I had taken a good series of shots, but unsure if the timing was good enough to capture 'that' moment.

This is the moment I was hoping for ...

It's still not perfect.  I think the exposure is a little off, but I'm happy because it's my best so far!  This is my new favourite bird ... he is spectacular!

As you can imagine, I didn't get much fishing done!

As excited as I was about the hundreds of shots that I took this morning, I wasn't able to go home and look at them on my monitor until much later, because Adoring Husband suggested that we go to Howard for the monthly markets.

The Howard markets are usually HUGE, but some short showers this morning scared more than half of the usual stall holders away and it wasn't half as impressive.

I got a nifty little folding stool that is so light, I can carry it on my camera back pack, for when I want to go sit in the middle of the bush to photograph birds.  It was second hand and only cost $5.  Bargain!

After the markets, we drove around Howard to show BGWLBH the town.  I asked Adoring Husband to find the cemetery because I'd heard stories about it and I was interested in seeing some of the old headstones.

We found it hidden on the outskirts of town down a dirt track through some bushland.

As we were leaving, we spotted some little Red Backed Fairy Wrens, so Adoring Husband stopped the car in the middle of the dirt track and I spent about 30 minutes trying to get some photos, while Adoring Husband watched Dr Who on his iphone and BGWLBH read magazines in the back seat!

I was pretty happy with this because I've been trying, for about a year, to get a decent shot of the red backed fairy wren.

So it's been quite a successful day with the camera.  I captured two of the birds that I've been stalking for about a year and we've spent a rainy afternoon inside all snug and comfortable, watching the football and now the French Open Tennis.

Home made chicken and vegetable soup for dinner - perfect rainy day food!

I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds ... because today has been a lucky day for lucky me!

Nite all
 

Invitation Only

When BGWLBH and I arrived at the Seat of Knowledge this morning, a crowd was building and all eyes were pointed out over the river.

We followed their gaze to see a driver-less boat, with the motor running, spinning round and round in circles over the water.

Nearby was another boat with a couple of men in it and the local dog whisperer standing on his paddle board watching on.

They asked me to look through my long lens to see if there was anybody in the 'out of control' boat, but I couldn't see anybody.

Apparently, the man from the boat had somehow fallen overboard much further up river.  Somebody had witnessed the event and came running to the boat ramp to ask some men who had just put their boat in to go rescue him.

They rescued the man and then followed the boat as it spun out of control and it was dragged by the outgoing tide toward the mouth of the river.

How it missed all the yachts and boats moored in the river, I will never know ... pure luck!

Eventually, the boat ran out of fuel, and the Dog Whisperer climbed aboard and tied a rope to the boat so that it could be towed back to the boat ramp.

When they came back to shore, the man who had fallen overboard, who was quite elderly (I would guess around 80 yrs old) was looking pretty sore, sorry and a bit fragile.

Soon the crowd dispersed and our Seat of Knowledge went back to normal.

******

I've been discussing with a number of the boys, the idea of doing a 'Full Monty' calendar with a dozen of the old local boys as the stars of the show.  At the moment, it's just a seed of an idea, but I'm working on it and I hope that I can figure out a way to bring it to fruition before the end of the year and maybe raise some money for a worthy local charity.

It may not even happen til next year, to be complete for 2014, but I'll work a bit harder on it after September.

******

I spied a Brahminy Kite in the tree by the river this morning and it was looking decidedly hungry, so I decided to sit by the tree and wait for it to go fishing for it's breakfast.

I must have stood there for a good 25 minutes with the camera in preparation.  I know how quick they can be, and I didn't want to miss it.

My arms were getting tired from holding the heavy 400 lens + camera and my legs were starting to feel it a bit too.  

Then Stretch, a local bloke, walked up behind me and said 'G'day Roz'.  

As I lowered the camera and turned my head to say 'G'day' back, the Brahminy chose that particular moment, to  quietly and gracefully fly down and pluck a fish out of the water.  He was so fast, there was no time to raise the camera to my eye and focus, so I completely missed the moment.

My consolation prize was this photo of him returning to the top of the mast with the fish in his talons.

Stretch apologised profusely for causing me to miss my opportunity.  It's not the first time that it's happened and it probably won't be the last, but one day, I will get the perfect shot!

Gosh but the life of a photographer can be frustrating at times!

So after an eventful morning at the river, BGWLBH and I took ourselves to Aussie H's place to write out her 70th birthday invitations. 

Ok, so WE didn't actually write them out.

BGWLBH used her calligraphy skills to write them all out by herself, then did the envelopes as well.  Aussie H and I folded the invitations, put them in the envelopes and then stuck them down.  (We did the easy bit!)  It took a little over two hours.

BGWLBH did a fabulous job!

We had three hours of lazy time after lunch and then we went for a walk (she walked, I triked) for an hour or so, while Adoring Husband cooked dinner (again).

I took an old fish out of the freezer and when I discovered a Brahminy in one of the tall trees, I tossed the fish out in the open and waited with the camera ready to capture his swoop.

Unfortunately, it was too late in the day, with poor light and I couldn't set the shutter speed fast enough to capture the action without blurring.

I will try this idea one morning when the light is a bit better.  One day ... one day **sigh**

Our trip to Eumundi tomorrow has been postponed indefinitely due to inclement weather.  We might get to do some local markets, if we are lucky, and hopefully visit the Chicklet family.  

One thing is for sure, as long as it's not pouring with rain early in the morning .. there WILL be some fishing to be done!  Any fish that I catch, will be put aside especially for my lovely big birds of prey!

Productivity for the day?  Invitation only.

Nite all. 

Adoring Husband Phenomenon

If you read this blog regularly, you may remember one of my posts about Adoring Husband and how 'if it's gunna happen, it's gunna happen to Adoring Husband' http://agechallengedrqqzy.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/if-its-gunna-happen.html

Today was another one of those days.

Our plan for the end of this week, was to help Aussie H write out her birthday party invitations on Thursday afternoon after lunch (today).  BGWLBH is a wizz with calligraphy, so she offered her skills to Aussie H.

Then on Friday we would drive to Bundaberg (just over an hour north).

Adoring Husband was going to look at camper vans and the drink factory while BGWLBH and I shopped at Spotlight for wool and other arty farty crafty bits and pieces.  Perhaps do lunch  and show BGWLBH around because she has never been to Bundaberg.

Then on Saturday, we were going to drive to Eumundi (about two and a half hours south) to see the rest of the markets and so that BGWLBH could buy some gifts for friends and family back home.

This morning, just before BGWLBH and I were about to walk out the door for our morning exercise routine, Adoring Husband asked if we could change our plans and go to Bundaberg today, so that he wasn't driving two days in a row.

After contacting Aussie H via text message, we re-arranged our plans, came home early from our walk, got ready and just after 9.30am, we headed north.

Halfway there, the dark clouds closed in and the rain came down.  Miserable.

We wanted to do some geocaching on the way, but I lost mobile coverage before I was able to download the app, so we decided to wait til we got to Bundaberg, set ourselves up with the app and do it properly on the way home.

Well, we arrived in Bundaberg with a plan in mind for where to stop first.

We stopped ... and the store was closed.  

It's 'show day' in Bundaberg ... which means it's a public holiday ... which means that almost all the shops were shut, especially the shops that WE wanted to visit.

After a little cursing, the decision was made to find coffee.

About 30 minutes later, after driving past MANY closed coffee shops, we found a quiet little coffee shop attached to the drink factory that Adoring Husband was going to visit.  We sat down and ordered coffee, but there was no food available.

I downloaded the app for geocaching and searched for the cache in Childers that we wanted to find.

Our next change of plans, was to find a calligraphy pen for the invitations, go to Joyce Mayne to look for a big torch (like the one that The Nikonian has for night photography), do a little grocery shopping and then head to Childers for lunch.  After lunch we would geocache and then go home.

It took us a while to find a calligraphy pen.  Joyce Mayne had no torches.  We did our groceries.  We drove to Childers and as we arrived there, the heavens opened up again.  We found our cafe (where we regularly stop for sustenance) was also closed for the show holiday!!

Taking our bad luck into consideration, it looked like lunch at home was the next best option and as we walked back to the car, Adoring Husband's bad knee buckled under him and he began limping.

Thank goodness, he was ok to continue driving!

In the downpour, we missed the turn/stop for the geocaching and the weather was too bad to stop and turn around, so geocaching was cancelled.

Further down the road was an unmanned fruit stall selling oranges, lemons and mandarins.  We had seen it on the way to Bundaberg and agreed to stop on the way home for fruit.

We stopped.  

Adoring Husband added up what we wanted to buy and put the money in the locked box provided - then discovered that the tray of juicing oranges was actually a tray full of 1/4 oranges and 3/4 mandarins, which is NOT what he wanted.

Meanwhile it is still pouring with rain and Adoring Husband is standing in it trying to decide what to do, since he can't get his money back now.  "Just take the tray!" I blurted.  So he did.

We finally arrived home at 2.45pm.  Hungry, tired, cache-less, wool and craft-less and with more mandarins than anybody can use in a lifetime :o)

The highlight of the day was when the radio played Ganggajang - Sounds of Then (This is Australia) and BGWLBH asked Adoring Husband to turn it up really loud, so that we could sing.

He complied with the request and we sang loudly (and badly) hoping that perhaps some lightning may crack from the sky over the canefields as we sang.

So the 'Adoring Husband Phenomenon' strikes again ... if it's gunna happen ... it's gunna happen to Adoring Husband!

It wasn't a complete loss.  BGWLBH got to see Bundaberg for the first time.  We sang a good Aussie song loudly and badly.  We arrived home safe n sound.

Adoring Husband cooked  a delicious leg of lamb with baked vegetables tonight and the icing on the cake was when he tried to make gravy with stock powder instead of gravy powder and couldn't figure out why it was so salty!

After we got that all sorted out, dinner was REALLY good.  Adoring Husband did the dishes (in the dishwasher) and then we played trivia.

Adoring Husband's luck had finally changed!!  He has now taken the title of trivia champion!!

Tonight I finish off with a photo of a visitor at the Seat of Knowledge this morning.

Nite all.

Geocaching Success

I've been using my 400mm Sigma lens a LOT.  It's been used so often, that there is paint missing from various parts of it.

The problem with this lens (and it was mentioned in the reviews), is that when it's used at it's full focal length, the image it takes is soft (meaning that the photo is not sharp), so to get a good photo, I have to pull it back to about 300mm.

So, for some reason, I decided that I would take the 500mm lens out to try to get some closer shots of the Brahminy and Whistling Kites, which like to sit high in the trees, or fly high in the sky.

I forgot how difficult it is to use and it is heavy and cumbersome.

This morning, I had the most amazing opportunity to capture a Brahminy Kite swooping for fish and then landing majestically on an outer branch of a tree.

I took a LOT of shots.  All of them at various focal lengths, from 500 through to 300 and not one of them was sharp.

There were two kites and both of them were sitting in good enough positions that I could spend time trying to capture the perfect shot.

It didn't happen.  **sad face**

From more than 100 shots, this was the best.

I hope there will be more opportunities - especially after my new lens arrives next week!  A Canon 100 - 400 mm.  I'm excited!

So today was the big Geocaching day!

We met Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet at the rendezvous point at the agreed time of 10am.

Chicklet was already toddling off across the field trying to make friends with a magpie when we arrived!

From there we had to walk onto the beach, turn right and then keep going for 300 metres.  Once we were in the vicinity of the cache, the iphone app couldn't help us any more and it was a matter of searching the area.

We were searching for a good ten minutes when Vegan Chickie announced that she had found it.

About 8 metres from the edge of the beach and partially hidden under a fallen log, was a plastic container, about the size of a bread box, full of little treasures like a keyring, business cards, a pink beaded bracelet, a plastic white polar bear, a toy plane to name a few.

There was also a little notepad where we wrote our names and the date, to verify that we had found it.  We also logged our success on the Geocaching website after we got home.

After Vegan Chickie added her own little treasures to the stash and then returned the box to it's hiding place, we all walked back to the car and drove about two kilometres down the road to another beach walkway in search of cache number two.

This time we only had to walk about 100 metres.

While I concentrated on taking photos of Chicklet, the others searched for the treasure.

This time the Bare-chested Chef was successful and found the tiny cache hidden inside a hollow chopped tree trunk which was right on the edge of the beach.

The cache was the size of an old camera film canister which was sealed in a ziplock plastic bag and hidden in the trunk under various sized bits of bark.  Well found by the Bare-chested Chef!

By now, it was almost Chicklet's nap time, so after a little break, and some giggling fun with Mum, we parted company and went for a drive through Toogoom looking for a coffee and possibly lunch.

We had coffee at one restaurant and then walked across the road to the new bakery.

Much to our delight, we discovered that they had a good range of gluten free items on their menu, so we decided to stay for lunch.

It really was delicious, but I think they may have given me the wrong bread, because I was decidedly unwell by the time I arrived home.  I recovered quickly, but it is most unpleasant when that happens.

So I've been onto the Geocaching website and registered our success for the day.

We are going to Bundaberg on Friday and Vegan Chickie has sent me a map of all the caches to be found between Brisbane and Bundaberg.  There are quite a few between here and Bundaberg, so we just might stop for one or two along the way!

'Thank you' goes to my Chicklet family for introducing us to geocaching and showing us how it is done today.  We look forward to trying it on our own in the coming days :o)

After geocaching success, I am weary and in need of sleep.

Nite all.

Pelicans Visit

Because I stayed up til after 1am watching the tennis yesterday, I was, again, running late this morning for my trike ride to the Seat of Knowledge.

BGWLBH walked with me and as we arrived, a huge flock of pelicans flew above us, circled and then turned out over the water.

They kept flying back and forth, like they were lost and unsure where to go next!

So we waited.  We finished our coffee and chatted with the boys and eventually, the pelicans found their way to the sand flats.

It was low tide, so BGWLBH and I followed our noses to the end of the Lions Park, where she found a comfortable seat to take photographs from a distance and I gingerly tiptoed across the sand towards the pelicans, hoping to ge some close-ups.

The beach has recently been coated in mud.  Storms and heavy rains have washed this mud down the river and it has landed on the sandy beaches, causing deep pockets of mud that can suck your legs up to the knees if you're not careful.

There is nothing to indicate where some of these pockets are, so with every step, you have to test the pressure of the land under your foot before you put all of your weight down.

The pelicans were on to me almost from the word go.  The closer I got to them, the further away they moved.  I did get a couple of good shots in before they moved to where the deep mud was and I gave up.

There was also a juvenile Black Winged Stilt nearby so I got a nice one of him too.

The locals get very excited when the pelicans come to town.  This evening, when we went for our walk, all but one had disappeared.  The remaining pelican was making a hell of a noise, grunting and snorting as he paddled at the end of the boat ramp!

The sunset amounted to nothing, but it didn't matter because I was so happy with my pelican shots today.

Tomorrow, we are meeting the Chicklet family for a spot of Geo-caching, so stay tuned for the outcome of that!  Photos and a story to follow :)

In the meantime, check this out ...

http://www.geocaching.com/

Nite all.

Tennis Golf Fishing

I got all excited when I remembered that the French Open Tennis Grand Slam had already started and that Lleyton Hewitt would be playing tonight.

So I'm all set up on the couch.  Everybody has gone to bed.  I change the channel to FOX Sports 3HD which has the tennis 'live'.  I'm expecting to see Lleyton's game, but instead I see Li Na (from China) thrashing her opponent.

I hear them announce that Djokovic will be playing next.  I am concerned by this because I really want to see Lleyton play, so I look up my 'Tennis Live' app and discover, to my dismay, that Lleyton is mid game with Kavcic and is losing.  **sad face**

So I continue watching the live tennis and check my app an hour later, to discover that Lleyton has lost his match **sigh**

I'm trying really hard to keep my enthusiasm and energy levels up for an 'all nighter' but it's already after midnight and I feel so tired that I could actually fall asleep MID BLOG!

I played golf this morning with Woman of Many Talents.  It was a bit chilly to begin with, but compared to our usual 6.30am start, this morning we tried for 8am and that meant the real chill had left the air by the time we hit our first ball.

By the fourth hole, we were patting each other on the back and forming a little 'mutual admiration society' because we were playing so well!

Of course, the very second that we do that ... our games turn to poop!  I even lost two balls today!  Ugh!

There were a lot of people playing today and they were all playing just as badly as us, so it didn't matter.

I returned home to find that BGWLBH had cleaned my silver teapot up all shiny and new!  I bought the teapot from the Caringbah markets a couple of years ago for about $3.  Definitely a bargain - it certainly hadn't been cleaned or polished prior to me buying it.

BGWLBH also cleaned a whole lot more of my jewellery - I will post a photo tomorrow.

We are going fishing tomorrow afternoon.  The tide comes in around 2.30pm, so we'll go to the ramp and fish the changing tide.

Of course, the camera will accompany us!

I really have to go to sleep now - I really am physically having a lot of trouble keeping my eyes open as I type!

Tomorrow will bring fishing adventures and photos!

Nite all.

Acclimatised

My fourth Winter in Queensland this time around.

This is the first year I've required warm clothes - long sleeves in particular!

It was difficult to climb out of bed this morning and even more difficult to find warm enough clothes to wear!

I am famous around town for my sleeveless attire all year round and I guess that I have worn sleeves, perhaps half a dozen times in four years (if that).

Generally, I just don't feel the cold.

By crikey I did this morning!  Icy cold outside and it got even worse when I triked down to the river and that sea breeze sprang up.  Brrrrrr.

I even cut my ride short and came home so that I could put on my fluffy slippers and sit outside in the warm sunshine, out of the wind.

I spent the morning setting up different ideas for our monthly flickr photography challenge which is themed 'Frozen in mid-air'.

My first idea was to attempt catching the streamers exploding from a party popper, but that failed miserably.  They just pop way too fast!  Even though I captured some streamers flying through the air, the reality was that they didn't look half as spectacular as they had in my imagination.  Ain't that always the way?

I was going to show you my failed attempt, but I just remembered that I deleted them.  Bugger.

My second idea was to make some multi-shaped, multi-coloured sequins bounce on the mini trampoline and capture them in mid-air.

At first, I was going to bounce a bowling ball onto the trampoline but I decided that something smaller, like a golf ball, would bounce enough.

Unfortunately, I have really BAD aim and I kept missing the trampoline!

So BGWLBH suggested putting her foot under the trampoline and bouncing the mat from underneath, which worked a treat!

Then we decided that it needed a darker background to make the sequins stand out, so we put a sheet of black cardboard as a background.

It didn't really work, because the sequins no longer looked like they were in mid air.  They looked like they were stuck to a piece of black cardboard!

I wandered around my house and my garden, trying to think of another idea, but in the end, I decided to go with this ...

I wrack my brain for 3 weeks trying to think of original ideas, but they just don't come!  In the end I throw something together in a hurry and feel disappointed that I don't have a fabulously outstanding and original idea!

Adoring Husband also got his shot done for the challenge and while we were uploading, deleting and editing our photos, BGWLBH was cleaning all of my jewellery.

I have two very large jewellery cases full of jewellery, which ranges from excellent quality, expensive stuff, to reasonably priced semi-precious gems set into pendants and rings, to cheap as chips dress jewellery.

She made a good attempt, but her fingers and hands got sore about a third of the way in.

It's nice to see them sparkling again and it's been a while since some of it was worn, simply because I was too lazy to clean them!

Tonight we all played trivia and unfortunately, I have lost my crown to BGWLBH, who annihilated us tonight in just over an hour.

Adoring Husband cursed every fifteen seconds, so we decided to fine him.  We used toothpicks as counters and by the end of the game he had racked up $133 worth of fines!

There were a couple of giggle-fests where we almost lost control, for example,  when words like 'Uranus' and 'Probe' were included in the questions.  Honestly, talk about childish!

Everybody else is in bed now, so I will show you my kangaroo shots from yesterday...

... and now it's time for me to sleep.

Big golf day tomorrow with Woman of Many Talents.  I expect it will be cold  when we start too .. brrrrrr.

I never believed that I would acclimatise to a Queensland Winter - what a wimp I am!

Nite all

Quite Full On

We left early this morning and drove into The Bay to have breakfast at Aquavue, which is a lovely little cafe right on the water front.

Unfortunately, the weather was quite chilly this morning, so being outside and on the water front was not quite as alluring as it usually is!

Breakfast was delicious though :)

We had a little visit with the Chicklet family ...

She is quite a bit more grown up now!

We did some shopping and BGWLBH and I bought a stack of wool and giant knitting needles to create something wonderful ... which reminds me ... I must take a photo of the beautiful shawl that she knitted me, and which I put to good use today.

We arrived home a bit later than expected, so I was late for my party date at Mrs Bucket's house.

It was a fun two hours and I'm booked to play golf with Woman of Many Talents on Monday morning at 8am, which I am looking forward to very much.

By the time I arrived home from the party, the clouds were looking pretty spectacular and again, with high hopes of a spectacular sunset, BGWLBH and I walked down to the river.

Not long after we got there, Adoring Husband pulled up in the car park with his camera gear too and we set our tripods and cameras up on the riverbank and waited.

It was worth the wait ...

Home made pizzas for dinner, a couple of games of football on telly, the movie 'The Green Mile' and now I'm ready to climb into my warm bed and start snoring.

The day has been pretty full on and tomorrow will be photo challenge day, but that's about all on the agenda at this stage.

Nite all.

Driving Rain

We went driving in the driving rain to the other end of The Bay for the birthday lunch today.

Firstly, we started at the Seat of Knowledge, where BGWLBH asked the boys "How long do you think we have til that rain hits us?", to which they replied "Nah you've got plenty of time.  It's not going to rain yet."

Within twenty minutes the heavens opened just a little and gradually it got heavier until BGWLBH and I were triking and walking home in a steady drizzle.

Luckily, we had plenty of time for a hot shower before getting ready for our lunch date.

We drove to Aussie H's house first to pick her up and then made our way into town.  It was miserable weather and horrible to drive in because the road has so many places where water pools and makes it tricky.

But BGWLBH is a competent and careful driver in all situations, so I didn't feel unsafe at any time.

We arrived at our destination much earlier than the agreed time, so we signed in, found a table, bought drinks and were quite settled in when the others arrived twenty minutes later than the agreed time!

I was disappointed to discover that The Boat Club doesn't have a gluten free menu, so I risked steak and salad.  I also had a lemonade and two glasses of wine.  Something that I ate or drank did not agree with me ... so there was gluten in SOMETHING!

The discomfort is quite intense, in waves, and I'm going to bed early so that this passes quickly and I can wake up refreshed and feeling better tomorrow.

The weather seems to have eased now and we three are going to The Bay tomorrow to run some errands and see the Chicklet family (can't wait).

I had a nice moment this evening when one of my photos triggered a happy childhood memory for The Nikonian.  Even though it wasn't a great photo, it's now special because it gave her a happy, warm and fuzzy feeling.  I really love that!  Sometimes, that's even better than a fabulous photo that everyone wants to compliment.

A couple more photos from the rock star road trip ...

... and a couple of potential bird shots.  Disappointing, but oh what could have been!

On Sunday, we will be experimenting with shots for the 'frozen in mid-air' challenge, which closes on 28th May.  We'll be cutting it fine!

I almost need toothpicks to hold my eyelids open ... so I'm outta here.  Let the driving rain be gone tomorrow!

Nite all.

Trivia Champion

I started the day quite late in the morning and didn't even leave home til after 7.30am.

BGWLBH walked with me while I rode the trike, firstly to the bakery for coffee and then to the Seat of Knowledge, where only two of the boys were waiting.

We spent an enjoyable hour with them and after we parted company, we made our way along the river path and then directly home.

BGWLBH and Adoring Husband cleaned their cars in the driveway and I desperately tried to firstly 'tweezer' the prickles out of the passenger side floor mat and then vacuum til the vacuum cleaner stopped due to over heating!

It was about the second week in, when we went on our first drive to catch a sunset in Griffith, and I stepped on a blanket of prickles which I then 'unknowingly' wiped on the floor mat of the car.

Instead of attempting to clean the mat immediately, I have spent the last 6 weeks rubbing them deeper into the threads of the carpet.

IMPOSSIBLE to completely clean even with both tweezers and a vacuum cleaner!

It is, at least, now passable - by BGWLBH's standards anyway.

I have spent the rest of the day going through my holiday photos and posting some to facebook.  None of today's photos are worthy of going to flickr, but here are a few that I shared in facebook.

Tonight the three of us played Trivia from the 1990s.

Surprisingly, I won!

No doubt we will play a few more times while BGWLBH is here and I rather imagine that she will thrash me ... although I must say that Adoring Husband has some pretty scary trivial stuff stuck in that brain of his too.

Actually, when I think about it, it was a fairly even game.  Even if it's only briefly, I am still going to boast that I am the current trivia champion in this house!

Tonight, I'm keeping 'The Rev' in my thoughts and hoping that he is strong enough to get through this health scare.

Grannymus, I know you must be doing it tough during this worrying time, but I'm sure you have enough love and support around you to help you manage.

My love goes out to you both.

Nite all.

QUEENSLANDER!!

Yes, it's that time of year again :D  State of Origin football.

Seven years ago tonight, my Mum passed away at the end of the first State of Origin game.

I thought of her tonight, as I do every year at this time.  It's like a heavy wave of darkness that engulfs me, so that I struggle to keep my emotions under control, ever so briefly, and then the moment passes.

I'm a Queensland supporter and we've won the series for six years running.  Tonight, we won the first game of this year's series (best of three).

Adoring Husband (NSW supporter) and I caught the courtesy bus to the pub and watched the game on the big screen with some friends tonight.

There was a rowdy crowd there and for a change, there were mostly QLD supporters there.  Usually, the NSW supporters outnumber the QLD supporters, two to one.

It's great to be a Queenslander!

I picked up my beloved computer today and thank goodness it was a simple problem that could be repaired quickly and now all is right with my world again!

Tomorrow, I hope to go through all of my holiday photos ... well probably not ALL of them, but a LOT of them!

I was going to try to go to indoor bowls for the first time in 3 months tomorrow, but I think I might wait til next week and give myself all of tomorrow to catch up on work that I've missed while the computer was getting repaired.

So, before I head off to bed, I would like to wish my friend 'Woman of Many Talents' a very happy birthday.  I'm looking forward to the birthday lunch on Friday and catching up ... it's been so long!
I hope that you've had a great day today!

I apologise for my brevity, but I'm all footballed out and the sugar high that I was on from the three cans of lemonade that I drank tonight, has now well and truly dipped.  I need sleeeeeeeeeeep.

I promise photos tomorrow ... oh, here is one that I worked on earlier ...

Nite all.

Chicklet Heaven

Before Chicklet arrived today, I took my camera outside to where we would be eating and placed it beside my table setting, so that I would remember to take photos.

You know, I always become so involved with her, that I forget to take photos and I always kick myself for it afterwards.

It has been six weeks since I saw her and I REALLY wanted to get a nice current photo to post here and share with all of you.

Can you believe that I completely lost focus on everything around me, except Chicklet.

Not a single photo was taken.

She has grown up so much while I was away and she has so many words in her vocabulary now.  A regular little chatter box.

We played for a long time together and she sat in the chair for ages playing with the little stuffed animals that BGWLBH had brought for her.

We went for a walk in the garden and talked to the chooks.

She toddled through the pebbles along the back fence and then tried to eat some of them.

She pointed to the birds and the frog garden ornaments, making the appropriate noises to match.

She named the Psychotic Dogs.

She pointed to the fish on the walls and said 'fish'.

She knows most of the animals and their sounds.

She likes to have long conversations with words strung together that nobody can understand ... but she speaks so confidently, like we ALL know what she is talking about!

She is always checking out of the corner of her eye, to make sure that Mama and Papa are still close by.

She says 'help' if she needs help.

She's just adorable and I can't get enough of her!

It was a wonderful afternoon for me.  I have no idea how everyone else felt, because I was focussed on my baby. 

After the family went home, BGWLBH and I went for a walk down to the river hoping to capture a sunset OR the impending storm, but both fizzled out. 

The dark clouds filled the sky so that no pretty sunset light showed through them and then built up beautifully, but fizzled to provide just a light shower just after dark.

I got a couple of photos down at the beach.

... and I played with a couple of photos from the last few days since we arrived home ...

We had a light dinner of chicken and vegetable soup that I made yesterday and everybody, including Psychotic Dogs, are in bed sleeping peacefully.  No snoring coming through the walls tonight!

No word on my computer yet.  Nerdy computer man said to wait 24 hours and that he would contact me ... I will now give him til lunch time tomorrow and then I will be on his case big time!

I need my computer back!!  If I can't have my computer back, then I need to get a new computer NOW!!

Ugh ... the frustration of it all!

So after a day of Chicklet heaven, it's time for me to sleep so that I can be prepared for the computer onslaught tomorrow. 

Nite all.

Menopausal Madness

My computer is now hospitalised **sad face**

He doesn't know how much work needs to be done, or if he can even fix it **sad face**

He will let me know tomorrow, how much he expects it will cost with parts and labour, and then Adoring Husband and I will determine whether it's worth doing, or if we are better off getting a new one.

All I really care about are the holiday photos and it shouldn't be a problem retrieving them.

I miss my computer **sad face**

Tomorrow will be catch up time with the ladies at morning tea and then the most exciting part of the day will be lunch with Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet, who are all coming here ... finally, I get to see them after almost 6 weeks!

I can hear Adoring Husband snoring through the walls tonight ... not really inspiring me to go to bed, but tomorrow will be a big day, so I need some sleep.

Speaking of inspiring ... I wish I had something more interesting to write tonight, but I am too tired to think!

Oh!  Just an interesting little thing that I've noticed recently...

**warning to males reading this - I am about to talk women's business, so step away from the monitor if you are squeamish about women's business**

I began my 'strictly' gluten free diet approximately one month before I flew to Griffith - so that means I have been gluten free for about two and a half months. 

Prior to this diet change, you may recall that I was complaining of all the menopausal symptoms that I was experiencing ... I calculated that of the 34 symptoms that are associated with menopause, I was experiencing 36 of them!

All of the physical symptoms, like hot flushes, dizziness, nausea, claminess, itchy skin, heart palpitations, aching joints, swollen joints, fluid retention, cravings, digestive problems, sore breasts, bloating and burning feet have all either disappeared or eased dramatically.

I still have mood swings, irritability, memory lapses and difficulty in concentrating, loss of libido and brittle nails - but it seems that my menstrual cycle is regulating itself again and these are occuring as PMS symptoms for the week leading up to my cycle.

It's very strange, but the change is incredibly noticeable to me - especially the hot flushes, waves of nausea and the intense digestive problems which have all gone (my digestive problems recur when I accidentally eat gluten).

I almost feel like a new person AND, as an added bonus, I have lost 3 kgs!

I think I'll stick with this gluten free thing.  I thought this information might be interesting to my female friends out there who are struggling with their own little batch of menopausal symptoms.

When I say 'strictly' gluten free ... you have to check the ingredients of EVERYTHING - it's worth checking out the Coeliac website to get all the information that you need ... there is even an app for the phone that lists all the bad ingredients/additives that you have to avoid.

It may not be for everyone, but boy I've noticed a huge difference!

Enough of this frivolity.  Once again, no photos to share and now it's sleep time for me.

Nite all.  

Stoopid Computers

Oh the frustration of it all.

I think that Adoring Husband's negative force field around technology is wearing off onto me!

This computer has a mind of it's own and the touch pad is so sensitive, that I find myself looking at pages and sites that, as far as I was aware, I did NOT request.

It takes longer to switch/toggle to the different pages that I have open and it processes everything a lot slower.

My Mac does everything instantly (well ... not at the moment ... but when it's well, it does!) 

The print is tiny and so is the cursor, so I spend half of my time trying to see where the cursor is.

Ok, now that the whinge is over ... thank you Adoring Husband for giving me the use of your computer ... at least I can visit my friends on facebook and keep my blog up-to-date.

I was even able to edit a couple of photos and post them today.  So all is not lost.

BGWLBH is feeling a bit run down today, so tomorrow I'm going to make big batch of chicken soup and I hope it will be enough to help pep her up.

We were going to visit Vegan Chickie and family tomorrow too, but she is sick, so I have to wait a little while longer before I can visit my precious little Chicklet.

At least I can send my Mac to the Dr and hope beyond all hope that she can be fixed quickly and efficiently.

I saw my boys this morning, down at the Seat of Knowledge.  They were very excited to see me, as I was to see them.

The river greeted me with a beautiful high tide of clean blue water and the morning was absolutely perfect.  Not a cloud in the sky and so many birds singing, I almost joined them!  The turtles were cruising on the tidal flow and lots of people were out in their boats.

 The caravan parks are beginning to fill with people.  The people who travel here from interstate to spend Winter in our town, because it's the best place in Australia for Winter!

It's good to be home and Adoring Husband is spoiling us with delicious cooking for lunch and dinner.

So, apart from the stoopid computers ... it's still good to be home :D

Nite all.