Photo Overdose

The 70th birthday bash was celebrated last Saturday night.

By the end of the 70th birthday bash, I had taken 695 photos!

By the end of the first day after the 70th birthday bash, I had deleted 185 photos!

By the end of the fourth day after the 70th birthday bash (today), I had edited 380 photos!

There were approximately 100 guests at the bash, and each of them wanted a photo with the guest of honour either individually, or in groups.

There were family photos.  Individual photos as well as the family group.

There were photos of cake cutting and singing 'Happy Birthday' + other assorted celebratory songs.

There was the speech.

The Entertainer for the evening.

The gift table.

The group dances eg Nutbush - always being led by the birthday girl.

Couples dancing both the fast rock n roll type dances and the slow romantic dances.

Individuals doing silly things like dirty dancing or shoving pencils up their nose.

There are a LOT of memories among these photos.  A LOT of happy smiling faces.  A LOT of friends who wanted to share this special day.  A wonderful record showing Aussie H how well loved she is in this little town.

Even though the photos are my gift to her, I feel a huge responsibility to present this record of her celebration in the best way possible.

It's time consuming, to say the least, even though my editing is very basic and less time consuming than using photoshop, I'm surprised by how long it's taking.

Will I be finished by the weekend??

We will see.

If you are reading this Aussie H ... I am twenty years younger than you and I have no idea where you get your energy from, but I can't keep up with you!

The calm before the storm.

Could it be the Nutbush?

The best looking girls there.

Good thing you wore white - you are easy to spot in all the photos!
Now, I'm sure that I've hit photo overdose ... but it's back to the job for me :)

Nite all.

Sharing the love

I shared the love with ...

... this week.

It has been a good week :D

That is all.

Nite all.

Empty House

Our visitors left at 10am.

It was sad to see them go, but at the same time, Adoring Husband and I are pleased to be alone in our home for a while.

I watched most of the Wimbledon final last night, but crawled into bed at almost 3.30am.

This means that I am making this a short post, because I'd like an early-ish night to bed.

I promised a few nights ago, to share photos of Adoring Husband's new granddaughter ...

I haven't met her yet, but what big eyes she has!  I think she will be cheeky and full of mischief, just like her Dad ... and her Granddad for that matter!

I have found some owls to watch, and they are living in a frangipani tree in a local man's back garden.  I hope that they nest there, because it would be the perfect spot for me to follow their progress.

All of the big birds appear to be nesting now, so I hope that there will be lots of photos to be had in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, I am about to stroll through my empty house, to my empty side of the bed, to sleeeeeeeep.

Nite all.

Finals Fever

Heading towards 1am and I'm sitting here watching the Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Andy Murray - hoping that they don't take it to five sets, because I will definitely miss the end of the match if they go that long.

Uncuz and her son JJ sat up til midnight to see some of the match.

I've had a pretty lazy day today, recovering from the 70th birthday bash last night.

I drank 5 glasses of wine!  That was over a 6 hour period, but my body is not accustomed to alcohol, so I got a bit tiddly, especially because I hadn't eaten lunch.

I felt a tiny bit hung over this morning - just a bit fuzzy - no pain or anything like that, but fuzzy and slower than usual.

A couple of photos from the party ...

Setting up the balloons

Me and Adoring Husband

The Entertainer

I have a LOT of photos to go through (500+) before I can give Aussie H her disc of photos, but I am pretty happy with the majority of them.

Considering I had a bit of trouble with the camera yesterday and for part of last night - how stressful was that!?  I was panicking that my job as photographer would be a big fat failure!  I even considered sending Adoring Husband home to get his camera for me to use.

But luckily it all came together and I have lots of photos to play with.

It was a really happy night.  Everybody had a good time.  Lots of laughter and dancing and singing and Aussie H was the star of the night.

She was an excellent hostess and made everyone welcome and comfortable.  She made her way around the room to chat with everyone and had her photo taken with all her different groups - her darts friends, her indoor bowls friends, her party friends, her family.

Adoring Husband and I were honoured to sit at her 'family' table.

A good time was had by all and when we left at 11pm, the only people left at the club were Aussie H and her family.

Enough of this frivolity.  I'm going back to the tennis.  I wonder how long I can stay awake - it's now almost 2am!

Nite all

The Big Bash

Exhausted!

Six hours bouncing around a party taking photos.  Sooo tired.

The Birthday girl

Just can't do it tonight.  Must sleep.

Happy birthday Aussie H.  I look forward to going through the photos tomorrow.  I loved seeing your family tonight and I had a great time.  Thanks for allowing me to photograph the occasion and thanks for letting me harass your friends and family the way that I did.

Nite all.  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

So Touching

... and by touching, I mean Touch Football!

No wonder The Bay fought so hard to have this event stay in the town.  All of The Bay's and all of Maryborough's accommodation is completely booked out for this weekend.

There are even families (aside from my cousin who is staying with us) staying in our town for it!

179 teams, 2000 kids = 2500 - 3000 parents and coaches in town.

This is excellent for the town.

So far the weather has been good - windy and cold, but at least no rain.   Showers are forecast for tomorrow though, which could be a problem, because some of the grounds are already a bit sodden from last weekend's rain.

Fingers crossed.

So I got a few actions shots.

We won't go tomorrow because we are helping Aussie H decorate the Club for her big birthday bash tomorrow night.

I'm looking forward to the party. It should be a lot of fun!

In the meantime, I am really enjoying having Uncuz and the family here. Even though I am exhausted!! They are a close connection to my Mum and Dad and I feel really comfortable with them here.

Speaking of family ... Adoring Husband received a disc with photos of his new grand daughter today, so I will try to remember to share a couple of those with you tomorrow.

Right now, my head will be SO touching my pillow any minute :)

Nite all.

Seven

SEVEN - the number of times that Queensland have won State of Origin series in a row.  SEVEN - the number of Bee Eaters that I found on a power line this morning.

After my usual morning ritual - we convoyed into The Bay to check out the grounds where the Touch Footy Carnival is being held, starting tomorrow, and then we met Vegan Chickie and Chicklet for lunch.

SEVEN people at the table :D

It was a short, but sweet, visit. Sadly, Chicklet didn't want any cuddles today, but that's ok, there will be other days for cuddles.

We left there, bought ice creams, and went for a walk along the pier. It was cold, mostly due to the strong wind blowing, and the further out we got, the stronger the wind got. Luckily for us, the kids decided to race each other to the end of the pier and back to us, so we were able to turn around and head back to the relatively calmer air.

I got some nice shots along the way.

Then we raced back home in time to watch the sunset from the park. Adoring Husband and I took some photos and Uncuz and I had a couple of wines. Uncuz met up with some friends who are staying at the caravan park in town, and who are also here for Touch Footy.

It was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon/evening.



I had put dinner in the oven before we left, so the lasagne and potato bake were ready and all I had to do was make a salad to go with it, which Adoring Husband helped me to prepare.

It was nice and easy.

I am exhausted. I hope to get SEVEN hours of sleep tonight, so that I can be gone by SEVEN tomorrow morning :o)

Yeah, I'm just being silly now.

Nite all.

QUEENSLANDER!!

Oh how I love State of Origin!  Oh how I love it when Queensland win!  Oh how wonderful is it, to win seven series' in a row!!  What a high!

Uncuz arrived this afternoon with her family.  What a pleasure and a joy it is to have her here.  She is so great, as is her family.  I'm so pleased that I offered our place for their accommodation for this Touch Football carnival!

We all went to the pub tonight for dinner and to watch the State of Origin decider.  It was a good night.

So this is just a quick post because it's already after midnight and I'm cold and tired and ready for bed already.

On my ride this morning, I found the little Grey Fantail again, but only took 4 shots before my camera battery went dead!

I usually have the spare in my bag ready to swap, but unfortunately, the spare was at home still in the charger!

Bugger!

I'll try again over the next few days.

Anyway, enough for now.  Photos tomorrow.

Nite all.

Seventy Today

It was another bloody cold one this morning and we even had a light frost - which scared Adoring Husband from walking.

I still didn't wear sleeves, but I did wear a warmer vest :)  If I had a dollar for every time somebody asked me if I was cold, I could probably buy a new camera!

Even though the temperature was cold, the sun had a real bite to it and I had to move from where I was sitting at the Seat of Knowledge because I felt like I was getting sunburn.

We all met for morning tea and celebrated Aussie H's 70th birthday.  There were thirteen of us because Kaz had to work.

Coffee and cake and sparklers and bubbles and flowers and cards and presents and friends.

She was presented with her State of Origin jumper, so that she can wear it proudly tomorrow night for the final game.

Of course the Big Bash is on Saturday night. There will be about 100 guests at her party to help her celebrate such a momentous milestone. The event of the year.

She finished her day nicely by having dinner out with her family, who arrived yesterday to celebrate with her and they will stay til after the party.

I managed to get some time for photos after morning tea and before I came home to do some yukky housework.

I don't know what this little fella is, but he is very cute.

Grey Fantail shaking his tail feathers.

Grey Fantail NOT shaking his tail feathers.

I was hoping for an early night tonight, because Uncuz arrives tomorrow and it will be a late-ish night at the pub for State of Origin. I need to get some sleep, because I am exhausted!

Too much tennis, too much socialising, too much housework ... I wish I could say too much sleep, but I can't seem to ever get enough of that, not in solid blocks anyway ... and I don't even have young children as an excuse for that!

So that's it from me. I'm done for the night.

Nite all.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

Crikey it's cold.  Even I am feeling it.

I've got my warm slippers on, but my toes are cold AND I am wearing a jacket.

I don't think I'll stay up much longer watching the tennis - I have some warm flannelette sheets calling my name and an Adoring Husband upon whom I can place my cold feet until they become toasty warm again :)

Spring is on the way though - the birdlife is proof of that.  My first Tawny for the season ...

and the Bee Eaters have arrived in town ...

This morning at the Seat of Knowledge, Gentleman Jim asked me if I had ever seen flocks of Ibis in flight, because apparently, they fly in a V formation. I couldn't recall ever seeing flocks of Ibis in flight - only one or two together at a time.

An hour later, I was pedalling down the street, when I looked up, and what do you think I saw?

What a co-incidence!  Even though, when I first looked up, these Ibis were in a perfect V formation, they were not a very organised flock, because they changed from a V, to a straight line, to a scrambled mess, to this and all sorts of other formations.

I will tell Gentleman Jim what I think of his theories tomorrow morning.

Such a busy week ahead.

Tomorrow is Aussie H's actual birthday and there is a morning tea in her honour.

In the afternoon, we will be tidying up a few loose ends and getting the rooms organised for my cousin 'Uncuz' and her family, who arrive on Wednesday.

Wednesday night is the final State of Origin game and we will all head to the pub for that.

Thursday will be lunch in The Bay with Uncuz + family and Vegan Chickie + family.

Friday could be a nice rest day at home... and by 'home', I mean pedalling around town with my camera 'looking', as I do.

Saturday is the Big Bash for Aussie H's 70th birthday, so I will help decorate in the morning and set up a spot for photos to be taken.  I will do lots of candid shots too, but a spot for people who want a photo with Aussie H or groups who want a shot taken together would be nice.

So tonight, I will watch the end of the Roger Federer match (maybe) and then climb into my warm bed.  Maybe I will climb into bed right now lol.

Nite all.

No News Today

A wonderfully lazy Sunday.  Soaked up some Vitamin D early in the day, while riding my trike.  Sat outside with Adoring Husband while he read and I played with photos on my laptop.  Watched the footy on telly this arvo, and now watching some old episodes of Sex and the City.

So, here are some of the photos with which I played ...

Brahminy Kite nesting in a tree on my regular trike route

Gus Beutels Lookout - between Toowoomba and Esk

Fishermen on the rocks - Sunshine Coast

The Road to Esk

More from the Sunshine Coast

More, again, from the Sunshine Coast

Seagulls on my beach at low tide this morning

Kookaburra about to take off

Got a busy week ahead of us, so it's good night from me!
Nite all.