Day 275 in a Year of my Life

Yesterday, Adoring Husband rescued a pure white cockatiel from the road at the front of our house.

He made it comfortable in one of our back bedrooms, with a portable clothes horse to sit on and food and water in bowls on one of the beds.  Towels everywhere to protect the furniture and carpet from birdie doodoo.

Number One Son and I put a card on the notice board at the local shopping centre, with our contact details,  just in case the bird's owner was searching for it.

It obviously has been hand reared and even though it was terrified, it was happy to sit on Adoring Husband's shoulder, but attempted to savagely rip his finger off when he got too close!

So, by this morning, this is what we were doing ...

Adoring Husband had already named the bird.  Meet Snowy.

Snowy has a new cage, a hanging toy, a special ladder to keep his claws healthy and special cockatiel food which he/she has been eating non-stop for about 6 hours now.

It's possible that our cockatiel could be the size of a sulphur-crested cockatoo by morning!

It's also possible that after spending all of this money, the owners will phone tomorrow and come claim their lost pet.

Se la vie.

I had to move our hat rack away from the bird cage, because one of the psychotic dogs was literally climbing the rungs of the stand and swinging on the scarves, attempting to get onto/into/at the the bird!  Crazy dog!  Thinks it's a cat!

We travelled into The Bay, not just to get the bird cage, but to take Number One Son go-carting.  Unfortunately, the track, we discovered,  is only open Thursday through to Sunday.  *rolls eyes*  So let's try that again tomorrow!

Adoring Husband and Number One Son spent the afternoon playing pool at the pub while I (by choice) stayed at home and cooked dinner.

Lamb shanks and mash for main.  Lemon Meringue Pie (gluten free) for dessert.

Today I am grateful that we could save Snowy and provide a safe place for him to live, whether it be temporarily or permanently.

Nite all.

Day 274 in a Year of my Life

Adoring Husband, Number One Son and I decided to go to the movies today.

We, along with four other patrons, chose to watch the animated movie "Despicable Me 2".

We all agreed that it wasn't as good at the first movie, but we still enjoyed it.

We had lunch on the water at Aquavue, which was nice.

We saw dolphins swimming as we drove along the Esplanade and I hoped they would swim in the same direction as we drove, but alas they did not.

After we got home, Number One Son and I gathered our camera gear and made our way down to the river, hoping to capture a good sunset.

Well, the sky teased and toyed with us, but it turned into a bit of a fizzer.

We might go fishing tomorrow - I think the weather forecast is for a fine day.

Today, I am grateful for movie dates with my boys.

Nite all.

Day 273 in a Year of my Life

WAHOO!!

It's my favourite time of year on television.  I am a huge 'reality tv' fan and right now, is when Big Brother, X-Factor Australia, and Australia's Got Talent, starts.

7pm Monday ... how the hell do you choose??  Big Brother on one channel, X-Factor Australia on another channel and football on another!  Ugh!

Check this out ...

That nasty one on the right, held the other's head under the water for about 20 seconds!  The one on the left eventually escaped unharmed ... although I imagine, emotionally drained!

I recently began following the facebook page of the Dr who specialises in females with Aspergers.  Her name is Tania Marshall.

She posts LOTS of interesting stuff about the syndrome and provides links to blogs being written by women and girls with Aspergers, FAQs just to name a few things that she offers.

Today she posted a link to one of her blog write ups ... "Adult Women with Aspergers" ... a very interesting read.

I could identify with a hell of a lot of the traits listed and I wonder just how many of those traits would indicate the likelihood of Aspergers in me.

I thought I may have been kidding myself, so I began to write down the traits that I identified with, thinking that I was imagining the high number.  By the time I got halfway down my 2nd foolscap page, I gave up because I wasn't even a third of the way through HER list and MY list was already long.

I figured it would probably be easier to write down the traits that I COULD NOT relate to.

So I thought I would share the link on here.  It's so interesting to read and I'm pretty sure that everybody possesses a few of these traits to some degree.

So much to learn!

http://taniaannmarshall.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/moving-towards-a-female-profile-the-unique-characteristics-abilities-and-talents-of-asperwomen-adult-women-with-asperger-syndrome/

Today I'm grateful to have Number One Son here for about 6 days ... even though he is NOT a fan of reality tv :D

Nite all.

Day 272 in a Year of my Life

2013 has been a year of 'processing' for us.

Adoring Husband was diagnosed in January with Parkinson's Disease.  A week later the tornado hit our town and caused extensive damage to our home and contents, not to mention the destruction to the town.  In June, we lost one friend to cancer and another was diagnosed with it.  This month, my little Chicklet was diagnosed on the Autism spectrum.

That's a lot to process in the space of six months.

If we don't keep a close eye on ourselves, the internal confusion and turmoil can slowly begin to overwhelm us, so I've been looking at ways of reminding myself to let life lift me, instead of the other way round.

I found this list of gems.

21 Habits of Happy People 

1. Appreciate Life
Be thankful that you woke up alive each morning. Develop a childlike sense of wonder towards life. Focus on the beauty of every living thing. Make the most of each day. Don’t take anything for granted. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

2. Choose Friends Wisely
Surround yourself with happy, positive people who share your values and goals. Friends that have the same ethics as you will encourage you to achieve your dreams. They help you to feel good about yourself. They are there to lend a helping hand when needed.

3. Be Considerate
Accept others for who they are as well as where they are in life. Respect them for who they are. Touch them with a kind and generous spirit. Help when you are able, without trying to change the other person. Try to brighten the day of everyone you come into contact with.

4. Learn Continuously
Keep up to date with the latest news regarding your career and hobbies. Try new and daring things that has sparked your interest – such as dancing, skiing, surfing or sky-diving.

5. Creative Problem Solving
Don’t wallow in self-pity. As soon as you face a challenge get busy finding a solution. Don’t let the set backs affect your mood, instead see each new obstacle you face as an opportunity to make a positive change. Learn to trust your gut instincts – it’s almost always right.

6. Do What They Love
Some statistics show that 80% of people dislike their jobs! No wonder there’s so many unhappy people running around. We spend a great deal of our life working. Choose a career that you enjoy – the extra money of a job you detest isn’t worth it. Make time to enjoy your hobbies and pursue special interests.

7. Enjoy Life
Take the time to see the beauty around you. There’s more to life than work. Take time to smell the roses, watch a sunset or sunrise with a loved one, take a walk along the seashore, hike in the woods etc. Learn to live in the present moment and cherish it. Don’t live in the past or the future.

8. Laugh
Don’t take yourself – or life to seriously. You can find humor in just about any situation. Laugh at yourself – no one’s perfect. When appropriate laugh and make light of the circumstances. (Naturally there are times that you should be serious as it would be improper to laugh.)

9. Forgive
Holding a grudge will hurt no one but you. Forgive others for your own peace of mind. When you make a mistake – own up to it – learn from it – and FORGIVE yourself.

10. Gratitude
Develop an attitude of gratitude. Count your blessings; All of them – even the things that seem trivial. Be grateful for your home, your work and most importantly your family and friends. Take the time to tell them that you are happy they are in your life.

11. Invest in Relationships
Always make sure your loved ones know you love them even in times of conflict. Nurture and grow your relationships with your family and friends by making the time to spend with them. Don’t break your promises to them. Be supportive.

12. Keep Their Word
Honesty is the best policy. Every action and decision you make should be based on honesty. Be honest with yourself and with your loved ones.

13. Meditate
Meditation gives your very active brain a rest. When it’s rested you will have more energy and function at a higher level. Types of meditation include yoga, hypnosis, relaxation tapes, affirmations, visualisation or just sitting in complete silence. Find something you enjoy and make the time to practice daily.

14. Mind Their Own Business
Concentrate on creating your life the way you want it. Take care of you and your family. Don’t get overly concerned with what other people are doing or saying. Don’t get caught up with gossip or name calling. Don’t judge. Everyone has a right to live their own life the way they want to – including you.

15. Optimism  

See the glass as half full. Find the positive side of any given situation. It’s there – even though it may be hard to find. Know that everything happens for a reason, even though you may never know what the reason is. Steer clear of negative thoughts. If a negative thought creeps in – replace it with a positive thought.

16. Love Unconditionally
Accept others for who they are. You don’t put limitations on your love. Even though you may not always like the actions of your loved ones – you continue to love them.

17. Persistence
Never give up. Face each new challenge with the attitude that it will bring you one step closer to your goal. You will never fail, as long as you never give up. Focus on what you want, learn the required skills, make a plan to succeed and take action. We are always happiest while pursuing something of value to us.

18. Be Proactive
Accept what can not be changed. Happy people don’t waste energy on circumstances beyond their control. Accept your limitations as a human being. Determine how you can take control by creating the outcome you desire – rather than waiting to respond.

19. Self Care
Take care of your mind, body and health. Get regular medical check ups. Eat healthy and work out. Get plenty of rest. Drink lots of water. Exercise your mind by continually energizing it with interesting and exciting challenges.

20. Self Confidence
Don’t try to be someone that you’re not. After all no one likes a phony. Determine who you are in the inside – your own personal likes and dislikes. Be confident in who you are. Do the best you can and don’t second guess yourself.

21. Take Responsibility
Happy people know and understand that they are 100% responsible for their life. They take responsibility for their moods, attitude, thoughts, feelings, actions and words. They are the first to admit when they’ve made a mistake.

Begin today by taking responsibility for your happiness. Work on developing these habits as your own. The more you incorporate the above habits into your daily lifestyle – the happier you will be.

Most of all: BE TRUE TO YOURSELF.

Some days, we just need a nudge to remind ourselves.  Today I am grateful for the reminder.

Nite all.

http://www.altering-perspectives.com/2013/06/21-habits-of-happy-people.html

Day 271 in a Year of my Life

I woke up early enough for a sunrise this morning, but when I looked out the window, there was not a cloud in the sky, so I climbed into bed for a little while longer, knowing that there would be no colour for anything interesting.

I did get up early enough to catch some nice morning light on that lovely boat on the beach, but when I arrived, there was no sign of the boat!

They were either out sailing in it (I hope), or their holiday is over and they've gone home *sad face*.

So I hung around on the beach and got quite a few shots, which I will share here in the coming days.

Because it was low tide, I decided to pedal out to the end of town where the mangroves grow, with hopes of seeing a Kingfisher.

The beach there is quite badly eroded, so to get down to it, there are 'cliff-like' walls that are just a little bit too big for my old body to climb down or slide down.

So, I decided to follow a path through the scrub along the edge of the cliff, to see if there was easier access further up the beach.

I was feeling a little nervous because the path is a little overgrown and I was worried about snakes.

I had just reached the beginning of the path, when behind me, I heard a Whistling Kite.  It was close.

If you know me, the sound of a raptor will immediately grab my attention.

If I am talking with you and I hear a Kite whistling, I will stop talking and search for the bird in the sky or in the trees.  I will head in the direction of the sound every time, til I find the bird.  I am just a little obsessed.

So today, I turned around and walked away from the path to search for the bird.

There he was sitting way out in the open, on the dead branch of a tree, whistling his heart out!

So I found the best spot I could and took a couple of shots.

Right in the middle of the shoot, a female appeared, landed on the branch below him and in an instant, he jumped on top of her and they began mating!!  Right in front of my lens!!

It lasted all of 15 seconds and it was over.  They sat beside each other on the branches for about a minute, preening themselves and then flew off over the scrub.

Right place.  Right time.

So then I found the path again and followed it a short way to discover easy access to the beach and the mangroves.

I found a Grey Fantail but didn't get a shot.  I found 2 Pale Faced Rosellas mating, but they were way too quick for me to get a shot!  I also found a Striated Pardalote and got a poor shot of it.

Certainly nothing that I can share.

Then I had a little accident.  I wasn't watching where I was going and hit a mangrove branch with my shin.  It snapped the branch and gouged skin out of my shin.  It bled quite a bit and stung like billyoh!

I decided that it was time to come home and Adoring Husband played nurse, cleaned my wound and put disinfectant and 2 bandaids on it.

Today I am grateful for 'right place, right time' shots and for Adoring Husband's excellent first aid skills that I'm sure will prevent my leg from having to be amputated!

Nite all.

Day 270 in a Year of my Life

Nothing much to report.

Spent a good portion of the morning at the lagoon and got quite a few shots, but I only have one to share for now ...

Nothing spectacular, but pretty cool for a Spoonbill.

It's just after 10pm and I am now going to sign off immediately and climb into bed.

If I sleep well, I will head out early for a sunrise.  Wish me luck.

Today, I am grateful that my football team won by two points, against the odds.  Wahoo!!

Nite all.

Day 269 in a Year of my Life

Another beautiful morning.

I attempted to pedal around town again, but seemed to bump into all sorts of people for long chats, so I got nowhere fast.

It was nice to catch up with those people, but I ran out of time for photography as the light changed after mid morning.

A photo from yesterday.

I'm pretty sure that this boat is here on holidays.  It was here last year at the same time and then disappeared.

It's beautifully made and I'm a bit besotted, so I expect to get a few photos over the next few days.  The tide will be very low tomorrow morning, so if I get up early enough for some nice light, I could get something special.

I've got a funny feeling that the weather might work against me .. if the weather forecasters are correct!  I know .. they are rarely correct these days.

Today I am grateful to finish updating this blog before midnight .. I'm off to bed!

Nite all.

Day 268 in a Year of my Life

Well, it's BEFORE midnight .. in fact, it's not even 11.30pm yet .. it will be, by the time I finish writing this post though.

I didn't wake up til almost 8am today, after a very late night.  I think it was close to 2am when I finally fell asleep.  I'm creating a bad habit of waking late in the morning and missing what I consider to the be the best part of the day.

In the past, I always liked to be out of the house before 7am, but now that I don't visit the Seat of Knowledge, I'm not so motivated to get moving.

I need to change that, because I'm also missing the best light of the day for my photography.

Despite that, I went for a long ride on my trike this morning, because it was the most beautiful morning we've had for weeks.

The sun was shining, the air was clear, the water was a deep blue and twinkling in the sunlight, it was high tide and people lined the river banks with their fishing lines dangling in the water.

With not a cloud in the sky, I sat on my trike on the riverbank and just soaked up the beauty of the day and felt the warmth of the sun on my skin.

Then I rode to the other end of town to the lake, hoping to see some birds.  The flickr challenge this month is 'birds' so I really hoped for something special.  Unfortunately it wasn't to be, but I did stumble across this ...

I've posted the photos on facebook hoping that someone can identify this lovely little fellow.  So far, we've got Keelback, Brown Snake and Brown Tree Snake on the list.

Today, I am grateful that this snake was a long way from me and that I had a long lens to get the shots!

Nite all.

Day 267 in a Year of my Life

Firstly, because I know she will read this tomorrow (well, I guess, since it's after midnight, officially it's today) HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUBBLES.  I hope your day is amazing!

All I have to share with you tonight is a couple of photos of our delicious dinner, the recipe for which, I found on facebook!  Who knew facebook could be so useful for something other than wasting time and procrastinating!

I added a layer of eggplant as well.  I also added chilli to the tomato sauce mix.

Adoring Husband and I weren't keen on the top layer of Ricotta cheese and egg.  It was a bit bland.  I would probably add some feta cheese to the mix next time and maybe even toss in some of the chopped toasted walnuts that I keep in the cupboard.

As you can tell by the caption in one of the photos, we served it with roasted duck breast and roasted red capsicum.  It was quite delicious!  We'll have it again.  Apparently, the vegetables used, are good to boost the immune system.

It's heading close to 1am again.  I really should work on this blog during the day, instead of stupid o'clock at night!

Today I am grateful for cold wet Winter days that are good for curling up on the couch and watching dvds with Adoring Husband.

Nite all.

Day 266 in a Year of my Life

Way after midnight again and I have been engrossed in a movie with Michelle Williams and Seth Rogan in it, called 'Take This Waltz'.  I really enjoyed it ... but I was so mesmerised, I didn't touch this blog til now!  Ugh!

So briefly, here are a couple of photos ...

Nice morning with the camera.  Nice day on the computer.

Today I'm grateful for 'nice' days.

Nite all.

Day 265 in a Year of my Life

It's very late, and I almost decided not to post tonight, but knew I would take longer to fall asleep if I didn't post SOMETHING.

My jewellery party was very successful today.  I had a nice time, although I almost felt like it was an 'out of body' experience.

One lady, whom I had never met before, came as a +friend, because she wanted to meet me!

She admires my photography and even attended my exhibit in Maryborough last year!

So we had a long conversation about photography - she is an enthusiast, and a member of the Maryborough camera club, but she lives locally.

I had set my new large screen monitor up so that my flickr photos ran as a slide show, so she got to see some more of my work.

She was lovely and was very good for my ego - which needs a boost every so often.

So it was a nice crowd and I got to have a chat with most people individually, but like I said, it felt a little surreal and 'out of body'.

I had enough sales that I could buy three items at 50% off, so I bought some lovely shiny, sparkly bling.

Tomorrow's big task, that will require some focus on my behalf, is to write up a quote for a number of my photos.  If this person accepts my quotes, it will be my second international sale!!  Sounds good doesn't it?  "International sale"?

I haven't taken any photos for almost a week, so I'm hanging to get out tomorrow morning with my camera.

Meanwhile, it's almost 1am ... I must go to bed.

Today, I am grateful to have so many lovely people attend my party and spend up!  They were all happy smiley faces ... naturally ... retail therapy, good for the soul.

Nite all.

Day 264 in a Year of my Life

I would like to introduce to you, the newest member of my Apple family ...

With a 27" screen, bad photos look REALLY REALLY bad, however, the good photos look A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!

It's a bit of a learning curve, because this one is slightly different to navigate around, compared to the laptop, but I'll get there.

I certainly don't need to wear my glasses while working on this one!

Tomorrow, I'm having a Fifth Avenue Jewellery party.  I expect there will be somewhere between ten and twenty ladies here, so right now, I should be doing a little tidying up, so that I don't have too much to do tomorrow!

I'm having too much fun on my new toy though.

Adoring Husband is on SES duty tonight.  The annual 'Christmas in July' bash is on at the local hall and he is doing his share of setting up, cooking, cleaning, clearing and other such chores.

So I've had a very pleasant evening with some nice background music, no TV and an easy meal of home made soup for dinner.

I made two soups tonight.

Creamy pumpkin and cauliflower with a little chilli and sprinkling of roasted walnuts on top.

Creamy cauliflower, potato and leek with cayenne pepper, also with a sprinkling of roasted walnuts on top.

Both of them are delicious and I've got four single serve containers of each in the freezer for my enjoyment at a later date.  Adoring Husband is not a fan of my creamy cauliflower based soups.  That's ok because it means more for ME!  Yum!

Today, I am grateful for new toys that will ultimately improve my ability to edit photos.  I hope that others will notice the difference in my work!

Nite all.

Day 263 in a Year of my Life

I love being with my family in the Sunny Coast.

I love spending time with my little Chicklet.

I love being able to go on photo shoots with my photography friends.

I love the energy.

I love the beaches.

I love the shopping.

I love how accessible everything is, including Brisbane city.

I love how close it is to the mountains and rain forests.

I love the markets.

I love the availability of organic produce.

I love the cafes and restaurants and the gluten free options available.

I love so much about the Sunny Coast, that when I am there, I imagine living there and changing our lives.

Then I come home.

As soon as I step inside the door, I know where I'm meant to be.

I love my home.  I love my town.  I love my life.

I think I'll just have to love visiting the Sunny Coast on a regular basis.

Today I'm grateful for a safe trip home to a waiting Adoring Husband with a smile on his face and three psychotic dogs, all psychotically happy to see me.

Nite all.

Day 262 in a Year of my Life

This is my last night in the Sunny Coast with my Chicklet family.

I had a great day with my little Chicklet today, while her Mama and Dadu went to the movies.  We had lots of walks and played at the park and watched Playschool and played with all the new toys.

She asked if she could come home with me tomorrow, which was nice, but I suspect it was more about riding the 'train' than actually being with me lol.

I will miss her, but I'll be back in the not too distant future of course.

I have no photos from today .. too busy being a grandmother.

No other news.

Today, I am grateful for time.  Time spent with my family and feeling the love.

Nite all.

Day 261 in a Year of my Life

GO QUEENSLAND!!

Winning 8pts to 4 right now.

I had a pleasant wander around Noosaville this morning.  Found a lovely gift for Vegan Chickie's work area ... three beautiful silk sunflowers ...

... and also found some great little gift shops to browse.  Time passes faster than you think when you're browsing.

It was a nice way to spend the morning while little Chicklet was at the library with Dadu.

The Bare-chested Chef cooked up a storm this afternoon and we had the most delicious meal for dinner.  It was a Malaysian lamb curry that I can't remember the name of, with coconut rice, roasted peanuts, cucumber, pickled cauliflower, boiled egg and dried anchovies.

Everything was placed in separate plates spread over the table so that we could help ourselves and it was AMAZING.  I should have taken a photo!

Today, I am grateful to have a very good chef for a son-in-law and I'd like to add that his cheffing ability is just one of his many assets.

Nite all.

Day 260 in a Year of my Life

Four hours with my little sweetie possum, Chicklet, today.

We went to the shopping centre and bought some toys to play in the sand, then we went to the park where we made crab castles and then we came home and did some reading and I impressed with my juggling skills.

The day started out very rainy, but turned into a beautiful sunshiny day.

Today, I am grateful to have the most amazing and wonderful grand daughter EVER!

Nite all.

Day 259 in a Year of my Life

Chicklet time is wonderful and fun and joyful and educational and silly and exhausting!

We read stories and jumped over string and watched movies and played catch with Mike the Monster.

I was a horse while Chicklet climbed on my back for a ride around the lounge room.  I was a tiger with a tiger tail and mask, while Chicklet wore a dinosaur tail ever so briefly.

The dinosaurs didn't get much of a look in today.  Bunny rabbits and monsters were the choice of toys.

Games on the ipad filled in time while Bozzy Wozzy rested.

We've got another big day planned for tomorrow and I hope that I can get some nice happy photos of her.

Meanwhile, tonight, I played with some photos from the weekend.

Today I am grateful to have found a coffee shop nearby that sells delicious coffee and I am grateful that my body is holding out while Chicklet pushes me to my physical limits - which admittedly aren't that strong to begin with!  Perhaps I will leave here stronger and fitter!

Nite all.

Day 258 in a Year of my Life

After only 4 hours of sleep, we got an early start this morning to attempt to capture a nice sunrise at Mooloolaba.

Before sunrise

Three minutes of colour 

Stormy coastline.

After a little light rain, a brief wave of colour, the sky cleared and we three girls sat in glorious sunshine to eat a hearty breakfast to help us continue through the day.

And let me tell you, I needed a hearty breakfast to get through the afternoon with my little Chicklet!

I've been a dog, on all fours, chasing her around the couch.

I've been a dinosaur (Triceratops to be exact) stomping around the lounge room floor with her in the role of Tyrannosaurus Rex.

I've been a dancing dinosaur!

I was even a hurdling dinosaur!

I was also a snapping crocodile and a back flipping frog.

A grandmother of many talents I feel.

Today I am grateful to know the names of, and recognise the bodies of, many more dinosaurs than I ever imagined possible.  Who'da thunk that a two and a half year old could provide me with such knowledge?

Best get some sleep in preparation for more dinosaur action tomorrow!

Nite all.

Day 257 in a Year of my Life

Another fizzer sunset BUT we'll try for a sunrise tomorrow!

Cooloolabin Dam is a really peaceful and lovely place for a sunset - one day soon, I hope to see something spectacular from The Nikonian or one of the other JPEGGERS.

I've had a really great day, from beginning to end, and it was nice to meet some more of The Nikonian's lovely family too.

Today, I am grateful for warm Winter sunshine and relaxing days with friends.

Nite all.

Day 256 in a Year of my Life.

I keep losing my internet connection, so I'm going to make this a short post and share some quotes from facebook.

Having a great time with The Nikonian and her amazing family at the moment.

Today, I am grateful for the really genuine people in my life whose purpose in life is to make the world a better place and put a smile on the faces of those they love.

Desperately need a solid night of sleep.  Wish me luck!

Nite all.

Day 255 in a Year of my Life

A quick post before bed.

We spent a couple of hours at The Ginger Factory today.  Guess who forgot to take her camera?

I know!!  First of all ... when the hell do I EVER forget my camera????  It's always an anguished decision about whether I should leave it at home!

Being around my Chicklet makes me all fuzzy with love and I just don't think straight.

Therefore ... no photos of our day out.  *sad face*

I made up for it this afternoon and got lots of photos in the lounge room.  I'm only sharing two of them tonight though.

She's growing up so fast isn't she!?  

I didn't do too much to these.  Changed them to black and white in iphoto,  added the circles of light to the top one and a rose glow to the bottom one.  I'll play with them both in photoshop sometime in the future and do a better job, but I quite like how these have turned out.

I can't believe it's almost midnight.  I was falling asleep on the couch while Chicklet climbed on me this afternoon, then I got my second wind and here I am 7 hours later!

Today, I am grateful for family outings that include boats and trains and purchases of fudge!

Nite all.

Day 254 in a Year of my Life

Well after 3 hours sleep last night, a 2 hour train trip, a short bus ride to the Chicklet family home, much play time with Chicklet, a half hour visit with a very old friend, and a delicious dinner cooked by the Bare-chested Chef, I am now in bed (since 7pm) and ready for sleeeeeeeeeep.

It has been raining all day - a very grey day and I even felt cold today.  Since I didn't pack for cold weather, I might have to make a quick trip across to the shopping centre and get myself some track pants and a sloppy joe!

So, no photos today.  I've been too busy enjoying the company of my family and catching up.

My precious little Chicklet is as wonderful as ever and already working hard at wearing me out!

Let's hope the weather clears a bit tomorrow, so that we can get out and about.

Today, I am grateful for a stress free travel day, where all the plans fell into place beautifully to start off my little holiday in the best way possible.

Nite all.

Day 253 in a Year of my Life

Saw the movie The Lone Ranger today.

LOVED IT!!

Now I'm packing for a trip down to the Sunny Coast to see my Chicklet family.

It feels like FOREVER since I've seen them and I'm a bit excited!

There is also a photo shoot organised for the weekend with a bunch of us from the JPEG group, which should also be fun.

And of course, some girlie time with The Nikonian.  Woot!

No photos today because we were too busy all day AND I didn't take my camera with me.  So I've used an old photo for day 9 of July Photo a Day...

Tomorrow, day 10, I need to find something 'smooth' - that should be interesting between here and the Sunny Coast!

Today I am grateful for dates with Adoring Husband.  Nice relaxing together time.

Nite all.

Day 252 in a Year of my Life

Our house is very quiet.

No photos taken today, but I have one to share from last week.

and my 8th July Photo of the day ...

I have a hot date with Johnny Depp tomorrow, so I'm off to bed at a reasonable hour ... comparatively speaking.

Today, I am grateful that Wimbledon is over and my sleeping pattern can get back to normal.  Congratulations to Andy Murray for his win last night (I'm sure he is a regular reader of mine!).

Nite all.

Day 251 in a Year of my Life

I don't think I have the stamina to even last out the first set of the Men's Wimbledon final with Djokovic and Murray tonight.  It's being telecast on TV as I write this and it's already taken 34 minutes to play 6 games and they are three games each.  I think it will be a long match .. as finals should be!

I have three photos to share.  One from my morning trike ride ...

One from July Photo a Day ...

... one from this evening's sunset.

I went to the Lions Park with my visiting family.

The kids and The Birdman played touch footy on the beach (like they hadn't already had enough touch footy this weekend lol) and Nellie Noo and I took photos of the sunset from the tip of the Lions Park.

It's been a great five days with Nellie Noo and her family here.  We love having them come to stay.  Low maintenance visitors who are a lot of fun and full of enthusiasm and a terrific zest for life.

I've been on such a 'low' just lately, it's nice to feel a different energy surging through the house, which in turn affects my energy levels in a more positive way.

So thanks for coming guys.  You know you are welcome ANY time .. next time, we'll ALL go go-carting and we photographers will get some amazing shots of you drivers in action!

The psychotic dogs will miss you all ... especially Roxy!

Today, I am grateful to have you as my family.  Please come again :)

Nite all.

Day 250 in a Year of my Life

I seriously believe that I may have lost count along the way.  I notice that I have doubled up on some of my days in my year!!  Ah well.

Today has been a pretty full day.

I didn't wake up til about 7.30am and there on my bedside table was a take-away coffee from the bakery, that Adoring Husband kindly placed there a little earlier.  It was still hot.  So I lay in bed and checked my emails on my ipad while I drank my coffee.

I thought that Nellie Noo and the fam had already left, because they were supposed to be at the grounds at 8am, but then I heard them leave at 7.45am so they were running late.

It was an easy decision to have a leisurely shower and take my time getting ready to head into town to watch the kids play their games.

On the way to the grounds, we stopped to get some water and a gluten free chocolate mud cake from the Cheesecake Shop.  I later bought some fresh strawberries and double cream to accompany that delicious dessert!

We arrived at the grounds with plenty of time to spare and caught up with Nellie Noo and The Birdman as they made their way to the field where Sporty Spice was to play her second game for the day.

I attached my long lens to the camera and got some shots while she played.

Next up was Chunky's game, and I got a few shots there too.

We left straight after that, to get some groceries for our home made pizza night.

So we all made our own pizzas for dinner (except me, who had dessert only for dinner!) and then there was chocolate mud cake with strawberries and cream for dessert.

Of course we had to work all that food off, so it was time for some fun in the back yard, playing with glow sticks, torches and the camera with some long exposures.

These are just a few of the photos taken over a two hour period.  Such fun!  I think we were all exhausted after that.  Lots of experimenting and a bit of brain storming.

So today, I am grateful that I'm old enough to choose to have dessert for dinner AND to have enthusiastic extended family to help create a fun evening that was even educational for me!

Nite all.