Day 74 in a Year of my Life

Last night, I went to bed three hours earlier than usual, believing that I would naturally wake up around 3am or 4am, and would rise early enough to catch the sunrise and play with the soft morning light.

My sleeping history has shown that I cannot sleep longer than 5 or 6 hours, because my back doesn't like being horizontal for longer than that.

So, I woke at precisely 2.20am and needed to visit the bathroom.  This was just a tad too early to head out on the trike, so I climbed back into bed and promptly fell asleep.

The next time I woke, was 6am!  That's more than 8 hours sleep with only one interruption!  Unheard of!!

I missed the sunrise, which by all accounts, was a non-event anyway.  Didn't get to the Seat of Knowledge til after 7.30am.

Here are my photos from today.

There is a story that goes with the White Breasted Sea Eagle shot, but to cut it short, I didn't even see him until he was low in the swoop, so I only just got the camera up in time to press the shutter, hence the poor quality shot.

What's worse, is that he dropped the fish on that first swoop, but I didn't see that, because I was checking the back of my camera to see whether my shot was successful.

When I next looked up, he was swooping again, but this time I could not get my camera up fast enough and I completely missed the shot.

Soooooo frustrating!  However, it really was beautiful to watch.

I am off to bed earlier than usual again tonight.  I'll make it to bed by 10pm and this time I will set my alarm.  I WILL wake up tomorrow for sunrise!

My other plan for next week is to make an 'Inspiration Board'.

Apart from lots of weekend photography trips, we have nothing else 'big' planned for this year, so I am seriously going to think about what I want to achieve with my photography, among other things and create an inspiration board that I can look at every day and be 'inspired' to make it happen.

We will find out what is happening with Adoring Husband's health, at the end of next week, then we can focus on making him as well as possible and make some solid plans for our year.

Adoring Husband and I cooked a delicious Thai Green Curry together tonight, with a green curry paste that we bought in Maleny, while on holidays on the Sunshine Coast.  We used chicken and prawns and vegetables and thoroughly enjoyed the end result.

Today, I am grateful for our 'together' cooking times, even though AH has a little trouble letting go of control in the kitchen... but he is getting there :D

I think I should definitely leave the 'presentation' to him though - I simply have no presentation skills with food.  He, however, is creative and artistic and makes food look too good to eat!

Nite all.

Day 73 in a Year of my Life

I actually got out of bed at 4.10am, looked out the window to check the cloud formations, because we all know that clouds are important for a good sunrise!

There was some nice fluffy and wispy clouds forming above and toward the East, so I got ready and by 4.40am I was on my trike and pedalling toward the river.

I've decided that the light is just so beautiful at that time of day and I'd like to get out every day at that time.  Especially in Summer.

It means that I can get a couple of hours of photography in while the light is so lovely, then go grab my coffee and head to the Seat of Knowledge for an hour or so and still be home by 8.30 or 9.00am before the day gets too hot.

This, however, means earlier nights to bed!

So here I am before 9pm, already yawning, sharing my day and my photos, so that I can go to bed and begin the snore-fest.

The new flickr challenges for January are 'Sunrise or Sunset' and 'FUN'.  One should be very simple and the other might require some brain work!

Today I am grateful for Chicklet voicemails (have I been grateful for them before?).  When I don't hear my phone and later find voicemails from Chicklet, it brightens my day so much.  I love the sound of her voice :D  I had two voicemails today.

Nite all.

Nana's Pantry

NEVER go to Nana's Pantry on an empty stomach!!

https://nanaspantry.com.au/

... and make sure you have plenty of time to browse!

You will find everything from the healthiest foods to the least healthy foods - of which we bought an abundance of both.

I shopped there while Adoring Husband took the new car in for it's first service.

I had my arms full of goodies and decided that I'd best stop and go to the counter before it got out of hand.  I estimated roughly that I probably had well over $50 worth of stuff.  The lady tallied it up and I was pleasantly surprised to see the total was only $30.

So, I dumped the goods in the car and AH and I went back to Nana's and spent another $15, which again, was less than we expected.

Everything is priced per kg and even though they have scales so that you can calculate as you go, we didn't do that ... my head automatically and instinctively calculates as if I am in our usual supermarket.  So it's a pleasant surprise to find everything is so much cheaper than expected!

I got lots of gluten free stuff.  Pastry mix.  Bread mix.  Tri-coloured Quinoa.  Dried peas for our next pea and ham soup cook off.  Vegetable chips - which are just like potato chips except made with zucchini, carrot, eggplant, beans, potato etc.  Too many gluten free lollies and chocolates to mention.

Love that shop.  It'll definitely be a regular stop on shopping days.

I hope to be up bright and early for a sunrise tomorrow.  I awoke early this morning and glanced out the window to see a beautifully coloured pink sky with lots of purple and orange puffy clouds scattered about.  I was too tired to find any enthusiasm, but it's the third morning in the last week that the sky has looked pretty, so I'm going to take my chances tomorrow morning.

Which is why I'm getting this post done before 9.30pm - an early night for an early rise!

I've been trolling through heaps of other people's blogs tonight.  It's amazing how many blogs are still sitting idle that haven't been touched for more than two years.

Some of them are so interesting - I almost joined a couple of email lists, just in case the person came back to continue the blog.

Ok, I'm done with all this yawning.  See you tomorrow - hopefully with beautiful sunrise shots.

Nite all.

 

Day 71 in a Year of my Life

Well, the boys loved the photo of their belly buttons and only one of them could identify his own belly button!

More strange weather today, but I got these photos before the rain came again.

On my morning ride I ran into quite a few people who I haven't seen since a few months before Christmas, so it was nice to stop and have a chat and catch up.

Then another day of cricket.  Australia won the Test and there was another Twenty Twenty Big Bash game between the two Melbourne teams which was pretty close.  Tennis is finished for a couple of days.

An uneventful day really.

I am grateful for uneventful days because we have got quite a few appointments coming up in the next week or so and we will be 'on the go' and probably dealing with a little bit of emotional stuff.  We need days like today just to 'be'.

Nite all.

Day 70 in a Year of my Life

What a strange start to the day.

It was overcast when I left the house this morning and Adoring Husband was washing the car (that should have been a clue right there!).

I was at the Seat of Knowledge for about an hour when the first shower of rain hit.  Heavy enough for me to cover my camera bag with the plastic rain poncho

Luckily, I had already taken the series of belly button photos that I had been challenged by The Nikonian, to take!

One of the subjects in this week's mini challenge that The Nikonian set, is 'fluff'.  So I decided to take photos of the belly buttons that belong to the boys at the Seat of Knowledge ... because we all know that fluff gets trapped in belly buttons!!

I made a very attractive collage ...

Ok, so it's not THAT attractive.  The oldest belly button here is 82.  Only one of the boys declined to have his belly button photographed and the other four had already left before I arrived this morning.

I photographed the Tawnies before I headed off to the beach.

Unfortunately, a mini storm hit while I was stranded way out on the beach at almost low tide.  Strong winds and heavy rain and I couldn't move fast enough over the wet sand to get to shelter!  Here I was struggling in my thongs and wet glasses and trying to protect the camera under my clothes!

If only someone had a camera to take THAT photo!

I was heading home in the rain, when it stopped as abruptly as it began.  So I decided to go looking for the kangaroo that one of the locals had told me about.  A kangaroo with a joey in it's pouch that had apparently been hanging around on the edge of the national park that borders our town.

It didn't take long to find her, but she had two male guardians that kept me at a safe distance.  Having heard a news story recently where an elderly man had been attacked by a buck in a town about 15 minutes from here, I decided not to take any chances.

Further up the road, I went in search of the Fairy Wrens.

Then it was time to head home, later than usual.  Adoring Husband thought I had run away from hime!

Test Cricket has been on TV all day - Australia V Sri Lanka.  Twenty twenty Big Bash cricket is on tonight - Hobart Hurricanes V Adelaide Strikers.  After this is the tennis.  A deliciously full day of sports for the dedicated lounge lizards that Adoring Husband and I are.

Today I am grateful that I am able to recognise that my life is wonderful and I am happy!

Nite all.

Day 69 in a Year of my Life

Today's smoothie:

Half a small papaya, a dozen grapes, a chunk of fresh pineapple, 1 carrot, half a stalk celery including the leaves, 2 T lemon myrtle yoghurt, 1 cup water, hand full of ice cubes and 2 t Vital Greens powder.  Makes three glasses.  The colour is not pretty, but it tastes fabulous!

I went for a walk along the beach this morning.  The tide was out and I got a couple of nice beachy shots.

These blue jelly fish are thick in the water, bringing with them, lots of sea lice.

For the 'photo a day' challenge.

Possible submission for a competition themed 'Tree'.

The rest of Australia is sweltering in record breaking heat (temperatures over 40C) and there are bushfires destroying homes and properties.  There are also huge seas caused by recent cyclone activity off the East coast which are contributing to injuries and near drownings.

Today, I am grateful to be living in one of the few areas of Australia where the temperatures are reasonable and a breeze continually blows through the house.  Where there are currently no bush fires and no dangerous seas (aside from the over abundance of blue jelly fish).  We are so lucky!

Nite all.

Day 68 in a Year of my Life

This morning I made a delicious smoothie.

In a blender - 6 frozen strawberries, 1 cup watermelon, half a lime (peeled), 1 carrot (head removed), half an apple, 12 grapes, 2 T lemon myrtle yoghurt, 1 cup of cold water and a handful of ice cubes.

DELICIOUS.

All that pulpy goodness - except for the sticker that I forgot take off the apple!

Today I bought a huge range of fruits and vegetables that I can use in smoothies and I plan on making a different one every day.  Today there was enough for two big glasses, so I had one for breakfast and the other with lunch.

I just remembered that I have this to add to my smoothies ...

http://www.australianvitamins.com/products/view/874  It's been in the campervan pantry cupboard since we returned from holidays!  Must get it out tomorrow!

I'm going to experiment more with light nutritious lunches and I need to change my afternoon snacking habit from GF chocolate biscuits or potato chips, to something more beneficial to my health.

I need food that is going to give me more energy, instead of lulling me into nana naps on the couch every afternoon.  Food that will activate my brain instead of putting me in the 'zombie zone' by mid afternoon.

Today I am grateful to have found the motivation to make a start on my new year's resolution to be a little fitter and healthier this year.

It takes three weeks to create a new habit.  Watch me do it.

Nite all.

Day 67 in a Year of my Life

OH JOY! OH JOY!

It's tennis season in Australia!!

It's difficult to choose which television channel to watch!  Channel Ten has the Hopman Cup being played in Perth.  Tonight is the Serbian - Djokovic V the Aussie - Tomic.  I'm not a fan of the Aussie player but for the sake of patriotism, I am supporting him.  I do like Djokovic, so I don't mind if he wins :D

Then on Channel 7TWO we have the Brisbane International where there is a men's match in progress.

Next week, we have the Moorilla Hobart International, the Apia International Sydney, and then after that the World Tennis Challenge commences in Adelaide.

All of these tournaments lead up to the Australian Open in Melbourne which commences on 14th January and ends on 27th January.

Love my tennis and I'm looking forward to seeing the Aussies play well this year.  Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur are my favourites to watch, but I like to see any of the Aussies do well of course.

Just wanted to share a few inspirational and/or funny quotes that I have found in 'Pinterest' lately.

Today I am grateful for the Australian Tennis Season, when I can watch tennis all day and half the night and still get a good night's sleep - unlike The French Open in May/June, Wimbledon in June/July and the US Open in August/September, when, if I want to watch the tennis, I have to stay up all night - a difficult task as I get older!

Off now, for my 2nd early night in a row!  It's part of my new year's resolution - becoming a little 'healthier and fitter', includes getting plenty of good solid sleep!

Nite all.

Day 66 in a Year of my Life

Adoring Husband and I kind of 'slid' into the New Year very quietly in the comfort of our lounge room.

We started at the local club and we'd been looking forward to the night, knowing that all of our friends would be there with us to share the occasion.

The best way to bring in the new year, is surrounded by friends or loved ones... everybody knows that!

The food, hot nibbles, which were served in single cardboard chinese containers to each individual, was less than average.  The majority of the crowd were served fried curry puffs, mini spring rolls and other mini fried pastries.

There were three of us who required 'gluten free' foods and we were given some tasteless felafels, two mini gluten free party pies and some potato wedges.  Also less than average.

I had two glasses of white wine and a jug of iced water.

The music started off very slowly with country music and old time songs from my parent's era.  By 10pm it had moved up a notch, but not enough to provide much enjoyment or entertainment for Adoring Husband and I.

The weather was muggy after some heavy showers and not much ventilation was provided.  Most windows had to stay closed because of the rain.

Just after 10pm Adoring Husband and I decided to call the courtesy bus and make our way home. Eight of our friends chose to join us on the bus and there were another 9 people waiting for the bus to return to the club and take them home too.

As disappointing as it was to not spend the celebrations with all of our friends, we really loved seeing in the new year together in the comfort of our own home.  Quietly and very happily.

For the month of January, I'm once again doing the Photo a Day challenge.  Day One ...

1.  Today

and the other challenge for the year is to have a 'Happy Jar' and whenever something especially happy or wonderful happens, we write it down and place it in the jar.  The aim is to have a jar full of wonderful moments to remember on New Years Eve 2013.  Here is my happy jar...

Today, I'm grateful for new ways to be reminded of the happy times.  Aiming for a positive and happy life in the coming year.

Nite all.

Day 65 in a Year of my Life

So ... I'm thinkin' ... since it's New Year's Eve ... and since I'll be out tonight ... I should update my post right now ... just in case it's too late when I return home, or I'm too drunk!

The latter is highly unlikely.

My New Year's resolution is to become a little fitter and healthier in 2013 - so beginning the year with a hangover would definitely NOT be the way to a successful start.

So to wrap up a pretty good year.  Some of the things that I can look back on with a smile ...

• Started the facebook group '104 Things to Photograph in 404 Days' and in the process found a wonderful group of people with whom I can have a laugh every day.
• Adoring Husband gave me a fabulous Valentines Day that I will never forget.
• Experienced an amazing photography road trip with my BFF that I am still enjoying as I wade through the photos almost every day.
• Our Granddaughter Evie was born.
• Reconnecting with my brother after a long, long time.
• Two whale watching trips that I shared with some special people in my life.
• My first Photography Exhibition, which was a huge success and put the biggest smile on my face for weeks afterwards!
• An incredible holiday with Adoring Husband in the new campervan that was so relaxing and fun, with little planning and lots of spontaneity and everything that I hoped it would be.
• A three day Chicklet feast that was so exhausting and so exhilarating at the same time!

These are just a few memories off the top of my head.  There were some sad moments as well, but I won't dwell on them.

All in all, it's been a great year and I hope that 2013 will have more fun and laughter and happiness and by the end of it, a stronger, healthier and fitter me.

To all of my friends and family who read this ... thanks for caring, and being interested enough to read this self indulgent blog of mine.  You are what I am grateful for, today.

I hope that 2013 is all that you hope for, and brings you overwhelming positive energy,  the strength and willpower to follow through with your plans (whatever they may be), problem-free health so that you can be all that you want to be, and of course, love ... love from all who are important to you.

I'll see you next year!

Nite all.  

Day 64 in a Year of my Life

I've been participating in December Photo a Day.

Here are some of my favourites for the month.

4. Black and White

9. Out and About

10. Under

12. Hat

15. Outdoors

19. Something beginning with 'S'

26. Mess

30. Something that made me smile this year.

I rarely answer my phone when it rings, because I always leave it in my camera bag or in my trike basket and I always keep the phone on 'silent'.  Often I will go looking for my phone at the end of the day and find messages, hours old, on it.

Today, I am grateful for voicemails.  Especially voicemails with Chicklet's voice in them!!

Nite all.

Day 63 in a Year of my Life

It's been a hot day and the storms have skirted past us making lots of noise without touching us directly.

They did, however, drop the temperature by about 4 degrees, which we needed desperately.  Today was definitely a day for the air conditioner!

Adoring Husband spent the first half of the day in the garden, fixing the lawn mower, mowing the lawn and then fiddling about in the shed.

I have spent the day editing some old photos taken while down south on holidays last month.  Photos that I was tempted, at the time, to delete, but decided I would hold on to them 'just in case'.

Given a little time, you see your photos through different eyes and they can be salvaged.

This year, I have been paid for:

• Taking a portrait shot for a business card.
• Taking photos of a neighbour's garden.
• Taking photos inside a home for a real estate web site.
• Doing portrait shots as Christmas gifts.
• Repairing and restoring old photos for two different people.
• Approx twelve photos from the exhibition in September.
• One photo to be used as a painting on corrugated iron.
• A pelican photo from my flickr photostream.

This year I donated or gifted my time and photos for:

• An 89th birthday morning tea.
• An 80th birthday morning tea.
• A 70th birthday party.
• A 60th birthday party.
• A retirement luncheon.
• A fund raiser for a local charity.

Today, I am grateful to have had all of those opportunities above, which have added to my photography experience, and helped me to improve along the way.  I've enjoyed every second of it!

Nite all.

Day 62 in a Year of my Life

Another short post tonight.

It's storming all around us and I'm very tired after a big evening at the club.

Look what I found under the clothes line this morning!!

Freaking me out!

Now I'm afraid to let the dogs out the laundry door in case they find where this snake is hiding!

There are no markings on the skin and it looks suspiciously like a brown snake skin.

It's only small, about the length of one and a half iphones, but if it's a brown snake, the venom is just as deadly in a small one, as it is in a large one!

Makes my skin crawl.

I had a lovely talk on the phone with little Chicklet this evening.

She answered yes to every question that I asked - which is a big improvement on the silence that I usually hear on the other end of the phone when she calls me. lol.

I love it when she calls me.  Little treasure that she is :D

Enough of this frivolity!  I am off to bed.

Today I am grateful for finding a snake 'skin' under the clothes line ... and NOT a 'live' brown snake!

The skin is something that I can carry with me and show people and have interesting conversations about.

Less dangerous and less deadly than a live snake!

Whew!

Nite all.

Day 61 in a Year of my Life

The best our town has to offer ...

People have already started to dismantle their Christmas lights and it's only two days after Christmas!

We drove into The Bay today and braved the after christmas 'sale' crowds.  It was hectic and chaotic but I still got some shopping in and even managed to nab a few bargains.

My wardrobe is now pretty much complete for Summer but I'll have to cull a few more items out of my cupboards to make room for the new outfits.

Today I am shallowly (is that a word?) grateful for after Christmas sales - not so grateful for the crowds that I have to wade through to get to the sales - but grateful for the savings!

Today, we received a lovely gift in the mail from my brother and his 'non' girlfriend.  They sent us a beautiful hanging crystal with turquoise and silver beads.  I'm yet to find the perfect position for it, but I must phone tomorrow and thank her (my brother never sends gifts for any occasion, so I know it's Charlie Chuckles who I should thank).

So, Christmas is over and we are heading rapidly towards 2013.

How quickly 2012 has passed.  The older we get, the faster the years seems to speed by.  **sigh**

Nite all.

Day 60 in a Year of my Life

I'm very happy to announce that Adoring Husband's mother is doing very nicely, has no injuries and has returned to the nursing home.  She's a tough old bird!

Thanks for asking :)

Boxing Day = Test Cricket, Sydney to Hobart Yacht race and the Dr Who special to begin the new series = Happy Adoring Husband.

More Tawny Frogmouth photos = Happy ME :)

and my favourite photo that I took this year (submitted for the end of year flickr challenge) ...

Today I'm grateful for two re-runs of 'Friends' that I watch every night before I go to bed.  They send me to bed with a smile on my face.

So, I wake up every morning and spend time at the Seat of Knowledge for smiles to start my day and then watch late night episodes of Friends to end my day with a smile.

Simple but effective.

Nite all.

Crappy Christmas

2012 will be forever known as our 'crappy christmas'.

I don't mean that in a bad way because it has been a very pleasant day.

No tree, no decorations, no lights, no gifts for each other or anyone else, no family or friends.

Just Adoring Husband and I watching dvds all day, napping and enjoying this lunch ...

... and just to add a touch of extra crappiness, we got a phone call from the nursing home where Adoring Husband's Mum resides, to advise that she has had a fall this evening and has been taken to hospital.

Now we wait for the phone call after the tests.  Let's all hope that the outcome is the same as last time and she returns happy and healthy to the nursing home tomorrow.

I hope that you all lay your head on the pillow at the end of today with a smile on your dial and feeling the love.

Peace Love and Joy to all.

Nite all.

Christmas Eve - Day 58 in a Year of my Life

I've decided to recap my year, some time between Christmas and New Year, instead of tonight.  Christmas Eve just doesn't seem like the right time.

Vegan Chickie and I have a tradition.  Every Christmas Eve, no matter where we are in the world, we watch the movie 'Love Actually' together.

We set a time and then text each other when we are ready to press 'play'.

I'm not sure how long ago it started - perhaps 5 or 6 yrs ago?  She may correct me if I'm way off.

So tonight we agreed on 7.30pm as our start time.

It's been an interesting day.

It started at the usual place after I got coffee.  I had to buy two small coffees because they had run out of large take-away cups!  On Christmas Eve!!

After about an hour with my boys at the Seat of Knowledge, I pedalled down to say 'good morning' to my Tawny Frogmouth family.

While I was taking some photos, I attracted a crowd of about 8 people.  I don't like to do that, because I worry that others aren't so respectful of nature and I fear for the safety of my birds.

I took the uv filter and lens protector off my lens and discovered how much clearer my photos are without them!

I did some last minute grocery shopping and then after much difficulty, Adoring Husband got one of the printers to work and I printed out a couple of photos of Fergie to frame for his lovely wife for Christmas.

I hopped on the trike again and pedalled towards her house, but got pulled over by a lady who had bought two of my photos after my exhibition.

She pleaded for me to stop for a moment and go to look at the photos, now framed, quite beautifully, by her husband.

They did look quite fabulous!  I'm glad that I stopped.  Her two grown children will be the recipients of my photos this Christmas :D

Back on my trike and off to see Mrs Fergie.

She has 90% deafness in one ear and 75% in the other, so it is quite an ordeal getting her attention!  She always had Fergie to hear for her before.

She finally caught sight of me out of the corner of her eye and she welcomed me into her home.  She opened her present and cried.  I cried.  I knew it would be emotional, but hoped that I could stay strong.  It wasn't meant to be.  Ugh.

I stayed with her for about an hour chatting about Fergie and his final days and what she has planned for her future.

Then I left, promising to visit regularly.

Adoring Husband and I drove to the Bowls Club thinking that there would be raffles tonight, which there would have been if more than 7 of us had turned up!!  I won $300 on the pokies instead :D

We left at about 6.30pm and drove all over town in search of spectacular christmas lights.

We were very disappointed to discover that, like us, very few people have made an effort this Christmas.  Perhaps 4 homes lit up in full Christmas glory and another 6 made a small effort.

I didn't have my camera with me but we plan on going out next week with our cameras and tripods to get some photos.

We arrived home at 7.25pm, just in time to receive the text from Vegan Chickie to press 'play' for our movie.

We love this traditional viewing and text each throughout the movie when it gets to our favourite parts.

Adoring Husband made a nice easy, but healthy, dinner for us and then watched the movie with me too.

It's been a pretty good day and today I'm grateful to have found the strength to visit Mrs Fergie for the first time since Fergie passed away.  I have put this visit off for so long because I was dreading it.  It was as difficult as I'd imagined but I'm so pleased that I did it before Christmas.

She loved the photos.

Nite all.

Day 57 in a Year of my Life

It's HOT!

So early in Summer and already we are experiencing above average temperatures.

I love living in Queensland and in particular, here, but at this time of the year when it gets really hot, I struggle and question our sanity!

How nice it would be to have two homes - one in a cooler climate for the Summer months!

Perhaps a pool would help?????  :D

Today, I delivered some photos that I was commissioned to take of somebody's house and garden.  I walked under the main tree as I walked to the front door and looked up (for the first time) and saw this ...

So beautiful.  I think I would like a tree like this in my garden ... right beside the pool :D

Today I am grateful for air conditioning and cooling fans and afternoon breezes that stop me from melting and fading away in the hot Summer weather.

Tonight I am having an early night and will make a concerted effort to create a more Christmassy and detailed post tomorrow.

Nite all.

Days 55 and 56 in a Year of my Life

I've been reading over my posts for the year and working out how to recap my 2013 but it's taking me much longer than expected.

I'm falling asleep at my computer (gosh, what does that say about my writing?), so instead of rushing it, I will recap tomorrow.

I only have one thing to share with you today

I hope it rains tonight!

Nite all.