So much to do, so little time.
It's cold. The maximum temperature did not go higher than 10C today. The air was still damp with the heavy rains that we experienced over the last few days and the humidity was over 90% all day. I can feel the cold in my bones .. the girl who doesn't feel the cold, is DEFINITELY feeling the cold!
At least the temperature is predicted to reach 16C tomorrow!
I saw my old hairdresser today .. I could tell that he was disappointed in my current hair situation and he advised me to put a special shampoo in my hair. I wish I could remember what he said. Maybe BGWLBH will remember .. maybe 'silver' shampoo??
Back in the day, 'Magic Silver White' or 'Magic Silver Rose' were popular after putting blond in your hair, so I wonder if that's what he is talking about? I should have asked more questions, but I felt embarrassed. Not necessarily because I've let my hair go 'a la natural', but because it got rained on yesterday and it's fuzzy from the humidity and I didn't straighten it the last time I washed it, so it's very messy and fly-away and kinky.
At least I got some washing done today. Some of it I dried in the clothes dryer and the rest is hanging up in my bedroom .. the weather certainly is not conducive for drying the washing on the line.
More beautiful flowers arrived today.
Tomorrow is going to be a big day, and then we have a date with some friends tomorrow night so I'm off to bed.
It's time to start thinking about returning home. I'll make my decision tomorrow.
Nite all.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Monday, August 24, 2015
The Sky Cried
We knew as soon as we opened our eyes this morning, that the weather was NOT going to be kind.
BGWLBH and a couple of family members left the house early for a 'viewing' before the funeral and being the saint that she is, she stopped on her way back home and bought me a large take away coffee! Just what I needed to help kickstart this emotional day.
The thunder rolled in the distance, the rain steadily increased during the morning, from a light mist to a heavy downpour, the clouds grew darker and as we drove toward the cemetery, the lightning flashed across the sky.
By the time we reached the cemetery, the heavy rain had created thick red clay mud, and it was difficult to find solid footing between the mud, the puddles and tiny clumps of grass as we walked the 50 metres from where the car was parked to where the service would be held.
I think that the worst part, was the fear of being struck while walking across the grounds with an umbrella as the light show continued above us.
There were two gazebos set up on the lawn. One with Dad W's coffin and a dozen folding chairs. The other right beside it with some matting on the ground and with enough room to shelter about fifteen people standing very close together.
Water poured through the gap between the two gazebos splashing onto the ground and creating a very moist atmosphere.
A couple of minutes before the service was due to start, about 60 people emerged from their parked cars, all opening their umbrellas as more lightning flashed across the sky and the sound of booming thunder followed immediately after.
There simply wasn't enough room under the gazebos, so everybody stood in the rain for the service, some sharing umbrellas, some very elderly, some in work uniforms and all looking very sombre.
The service was wonderful and the celebrant did a great job of reading the eulogy and the tributes. People laughed at some of the stories that were shared as they recognised Dad W's silly sense of humour within them.
There were moments for all of us where we struggled to hold it together, but 25 minutes later, it was all over and everybody was rushing to their car to find shelter from the weather. It did not let up for the entire service and in fact, I think it got heavier during that time. The only thing missing was wind!
BGWLBH requested that instead of receiving people in the wet, that they all go to the Leagues Club to pay their respects, so we were all able to get to dry ground as soon as possible. I think that was a suggestion appreciated by everyone.
When we arrived at the wake, there was one wall adorned with photos of Dad W, the staff with whom he had worked over 30+ years as Manager of the Griffith Leagues Club, as well as photos of the renovations and new buildings that he oversaw during his time. There were a number of gentlemen all looking at the photos and recognising old friends and telling a few tales about the history of the club.
The Leagues Club generously gave the family, the use of the auditorium and provided all of the food and drinks for the wake, as their token of respect for the man that Dad W was, and for two hours, his friends and family shared stories and we all felt the love.
One elderly man asked me to take a photo of him standing beside the oil painted portrait of Dad W and he told me stories of Dad W's generosity and friendship over the years. He was obviously sad to have lost his friend and if the weather had been better, he would have given his own tribute at the service. I have promised to send him a copy of the photo.
BGWLBH gave a thank you speech, which was a bit emotional and well received.
I met up with some people from my past and caught up on lots of news.
About two hours later, the crowd had dwindled to just a few family members, so they all took Mum W home and BGWLBH and I spent some quiet time together debriefing and going over our perceptions of the funeral and the people who attended.
We arrived home later to find the living room lined with chairs and family were all in little groups and filling the room with chatter. Tea and coffee had been served and the strong scent of the many bouquets of flowers filled the room.
By now, I was beginning to feel quite exhausted and as we all made our way next door to brother W's house for another barbecue to use up all the meat and salads that had accumulated over the weekend, I was grateful for the opportunity to sit quietly in a corner and eat my dinner, then sneak out and head back to the main house to have some alone time.
At 7.30pm I was struggling to keep my eyes open and BGWLBH decided to get an early night herself, so I washed all the tea and coffee cups and headed to my room.
It's been an exhausting, emotional and full day.
Now I need to close my eyes.
Nite all.
BGWLBH and a couple of family members left the house early for a 'viewing' before the funeral and being the saint that she is, she stopped on her way back home and bought me a large take away coffee! Just what I needed to help kickstart this emotional day.
The thunder rolled in the distance, the rain steadily increased during the morning, from a light mist to a heavy downpour, the clouds grew darker and as we drove toward the cemetery, the lightning flashed across the sky.
By the time we reached the cemetery, the heavy rain had created thick red clay mud, and it was difficult to find solid footing between the mud, the puddles and tiny clumps of grass as we walked the 50 metres from where the car was parked to where the service would be held.
I think that the worst part, was the fear of being struck while walking across the grounds with an umbrella as the light show continued above us.
There were two gazebos set up on the lawn. One with Dad W's coffin and a dozen folding chairs. The other right beside it with some matting on the ground and with enough room to shelter about fifteen people standing very close together.
Water poured through the gap between the two gazebos splashing onto the ground and creating a very moist atmosphere.
A couple of minutes before the service was due to start, about 60 people emerged from their parked cars, all opening their umbrellas as more lightning flashed across the sky and the sound of booming thunder followed immediately after.
There simply wasn't enough room under the gazebos, so everybody stood in the rain for the service, some sharing umbrellas, some very elderly, some in work uniforms and all looking very sombre.
The service was wonderful and the celebrant did a great job of reading the eulogy and the tributes. People laughed at some of the stories that were shared as they recognised Dad W's silly sense of humour within them.
There were moments for all of us where we struggled to hold it together, but 25 minutes later, it was all over and everybody was rushing to their car to find shelter from the weather. It did not let up for the entire service and in fact, I think it got heavier during that time. The only thing missing was wind!
BGWLBH requested that instead of receiving people in the wet, that they all go to the Leagues Club to pay their respects, so we were all able to get to dry ground as soon as possible. I think that was a suggestion appreciated by everyone.
When we arrived at the wake, there was one wall adorned with photos of Dad W, the staff with whom he had worked over 30+ years as Manager of the Griffith Leagues Club, as well as photos of the renovations and new buildings that he oversaw during his time. There were a number of gentlemen all looking at the photos and recognising old friends and telling a few tales about the history of the club.
The Leagues Club generously gave the family, the use of the auditorium and provided all of the food and drinks for the wake, as their token of respect for the man that Dad W was, and for two hours, his friends and family shared stories and we all felt the love.
One elderly man asked me to take a photo of him standing beside the oil painted portrait of Dad W and he told me stories of Dad W's generosity and friendship over the years. He was obviously sad to have lost his friend and if the weather had been better, he would have given his own tribute at the service. I have promised to send him a copy of the photo.
BGWLBH gave a thank you speech, which was a bit emotional and well received.
I met up with some people from my past and caught up on lots of news.
About two hours later, the crowd had dwindled to just a few family members, so they all took Mum W home and BGWLBH and I spent some quiet time together debriefing and going over our perceptions of the funeral and the people who attended.
We arrived home later to find the living room lined with chairs and family were all in little groups and filling the room with chatter. Tea and coffee had been served and the strong scent of the many bouquets of flowers filled the room.
By now, I was beginning to feel quite exhausted and as we all made our way next door to brother W's house for another barbecue to use up all the meat and salads that had accumulated over the weekend, I was grateful for the opportunity to sit quietly in a corner and eat my dinner, then sneak out and head back to the main house to have some alone time.
At 7.30pm I was struggling to keep my eyes open and BGWLBH decided to get an early night herself, so I washed all the tea and coffee cups and headed to my room.
It's been an exhausting, emotional and full day.
Now I need to close my eyes.
Nite all.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
This is it!
It's time.
It's time to say our last goodbyes to this wonderful man who, I have learned, is loved my many. There are so many stories about his goodness, his strength, his loving and supportive nature and his generosity. The big man with the big heart, who quite obviously will be deeply missed.
Of course, it goes without saying that we are all dreading the final goodbye.
By the same token, it means that everybody can begin the difficult task of moving on and learning to live with that huge empty space that he once filled.
I wish that I could do more to ease the burden and lessen everybody's pain, but I know we all have to travel the grieving journey in our own way. It's difficult to watch.
Today, we received more flowers, more food and more family and friends.
It was a very full and very noisy house for a while.
Right now, it's very quiet and I am all alone in the living room, surrounded by flowers and cards and photos. It doesn't feel peaceful though .. I don't know if it's just me, but the tension feels quite heavy in the air.
It's time for me to attempt sleep. I will also 'attempt' to post here tomorrow night, but don't be concerned if it doesn't happen.
Nite all.
It's time to say our last goodbyes to this wonderful man who, I have learned, is loved my many. There are so many stories about his goodness, his strength, his loving and supportive nature and his generosity. The big man with the big heart, who quite obviously will be deeply missed.
Of course, it goes without saying that we are all dreading the final goodbye.
By the same token, it means that everybody can begin the difficult task of moving on and learning to live with that huge empty space that he once filled.
I wish that I could do more to ease the burden and lessen everybody's pain, but I know we all have to travel the grieving journey in our own way. It's difficult to watch.
Today, we received more flowers, more food and more family and friends.
It was a very full and very noisy house for a while.
Right now, it's very quiet and I am all alone in the living room, surrounded by flowers and cards and photos. It doesn't feel peaceful though .. I don't know if it's just me, but the tension feels quite heavy in the air.
It's time for me to attempt sleep. I will also 'attempt' to post here tomorrow night, but don't be concerned if it doesn't happen.
Nite all.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Weather Worries
The weather is looking awfully ominous for Monday.
It is currently raining and the rain radar on the BOM website is showing lots more rain to the West and heading in this direction. The forecast shows 80% chance of rain tomorrow and Monday. Fingers crossed for dry skies at 10am Monday!
We bought umbrellas in preparation.
More family arrived late last night and while they stayed with BGWLBH's brother last night, they were booked into a motel for the rest of the visit and left us late this afternoon to book in. We spent some time with them during the day, and tomorrow, the last brother and his family are due to arrive.
More flowers were delivered this morning, along with a giant fruit basket that included cookies, tomato relish and semi dried grapes.
An elderly neighbour made an emotional delivery of a very large container of home made pea and ham soup (which was Dad W's favourite) and some warm date scones wrapped in foil.
It was nice and easy to heat up soup for dinner. Minimal effort. Minimal cleaning up.
BGWLBH and I cracked open some of our wine that we purchased on our road trip and had a glass each with dinner. It was as good as we remembered.
I was informed that there is a resident Chlamydosaurus in the garden and one of the relatives actually got a very nice photo of it sunning itself on a fence post while I was out today. I wonder if my little Chicklet knows that a Chlamydosaurus is a frill-necked lizard??
Hopefully, I will get the opportunity to take some photos of this little gem before I have to return home.
I ran into an old work mate today. One of my favourite girls, 'Sharpy', and we are going to try for a lunch together next week some time. Fingers crossed our stars align and it happens.
I thought I would share a couple of photos that I took yesterday ...
I love the second one with Mum W laughing. She's one of those people who can't stop talking while the camera is on them, so I demanded that she "shut up and smile!" She thought that was funny and I pressed the shutter button just at the right time.
On these occasions, the big smiley moments are few and far between, so it's magic to capture them when they happen.
I'm sorry to say that my footy team lost their match tonight and now have to share equal first place on the ladder. If they don't pick their game up, they will slip a place or two in the coming weeks before the finals begin. Maybe that's their plan!
It feels warmer tonight, with the rain, I may have to open a window and get some cool fresh air in the room!
It's heading fast towards midnight, so I'm off to get some sleep.
Nite all.
It is currently raining and the rain radar on the BOM website is showing lots more rain to the West and heading in this direction. The forecast shows 80% chance of rain tomorrow and Monday. Fingers crossed for dry skies at 10am Monday!
We bought umbrellas in preparation.
More family arrived late last night and while they stayed with BGWLBH's brother last night, they were booked into a motel for the rest of the visit and left us late this afternoon to book in. We spent some time with them during the day, and tomorrow, the last brother and his family are due to arrive.
More flowers were delivered this morning, along with a giant fruit basket that included cookies, tomato relish and semi dried grapes.
An elderly neighbour made an emotional delivery of a very large container of home made pea and ham soup (which was Dad W's favourite) and some warm date scones wrapped in foil.
It was nice and easy to heat up soup for dinner. Minimal effort. Minimal cleaning up.
BGWLBH and I cracked open some of our wine that we purchased on our road trip and had a glass each with dinner. It was as good as we remembered.
I was informed that there is a resident Chlamydosaurus in the garden and one of the relatives actually got a very nice photo of it sunning itself on a fence post while I was out today. I wonder if my little Chicklet knows that a Chlamydosaurus is a frill-necked lizard??
Hopefully, I will get the opportunity to take some photos of this little gem before I have to return home.
I ran into an old work mate today. One of my favourite girls, 'Sharpy', and we are going to try for a lunch together next week some time. Fingers crossed our stars align and it happens.
I thought I would share a couple of photos that I took yesterday ...
I love the second one with Mum W laughing. She's one of those people who can't stop talking while the camera is on them, so I demanded that she "shut up and smile!" She thought that was funny and I pressed the shutter button just at the right time.
On these occasions, the big smiley moments are few and far between, so it's magic to capture them when they happen.
I'm sorry to say that my footy team lost their match tonight and now have to share equal first place on the ladder. If they don't pick their game up, they will slip a place or two in the coming weeks before the finals begin. Maybe that's their plan!
It feels warmer tonight, with the rain, I may have to open a window and get some cool fresh air in the room!
It's heading fast towards midnight, so I'm off to get some sleep.
Nite all.
Friday, August 21, 2015
All Set
We are all set and ready for the onslaught of friends and family over the weekend.
It took us half the day, with a lot of help from BGWLBH's friends and colleagues from school, to finish, print out and fold the booklets. 200 of them! We dropped them into the funeral director on the way home.
While BGWLBH attempted a much needed nap this afternoon, I typed up the eulogy, most of which had already been written for a family reunion document a couple of years ago, and then emailed it to the celebrant.
Some visiting family who couldn't stay for the funeral, due to circumstances beyond their control, left after lunch and more family will arrive at about 10 o'clock tonight. There will be many arrivals over the weekend but most are staying in motels and will visit the house at different times.
There has been a regular procession of flowers arriving throughout the day and there are seven beautiful bouquets adorning the living room as I speak.
Corned beef with white sauce and veg for dinner tonight, which, even if I do say so myself, was delicious!
Going by Indi the dog, there are storms coming. She is scared of storms and can give a couple of hours warning before the storms hit, just by her attachment behaviour with BGWLBH. Rain has been forecast for the whole weekend and for Monday. We are hoping the rain will hold off for the lawn service, which will be at 10am.
It's Friday night and I'm hoping that my name hasn't been drawn out for the Members Draw at home .. I would hate to miss out on over $1500. Surely Karma will be kind to me and wait until I return! I hope you girls are all missing me :)
I've been taking photos of the beautiful birds all converging on the clothes line to eat the seed provided for them every day. I hope the photos turn out well enough for me to enter one of them into the flickr challenge this month, which is themed 'Australian Wildlife'.
The football is about to begin on TV, so I am off to settle in for an evening of sport .. but will probably head to bed before it even finishes. I am feeling a little weary.
Nite all.
It took us half the day, with a lot of help from BGWLBH's friends and colleagues from school, to finish, print out and fold the booklets. 200 of them! We dropped them into the funeral director on the way home.
While BGWLBH attempted a much needed nap this afternoon, I typed up the eulogy, most of which had already been written for a family reunion document a couple of years ago, and then emailed it to the celebrant.
Some visiting family who couldn't stay for the funeral, due to circumstances beyond their control, left after lunch and more family will arrive at about 10 o'clock tonight. There will be many arrivals over the weekend but most are staying in motels and will visit the house at different times.
There has been a regular procession of flowers arriving throughout the day and there are seven beautiful bouquets adorning the living room as I speak.
Corned beef with white sauce and veg for dinner tonight, which, even if I do say so myself, was delicious!
Going by Indi the dog, there are storms coming. She is scared of storms and can give a couple of hours warning before the storms hit, just by her attachment behaviour with BGWLBH. Rain has been forecast for the whole weekend and for Monday. We are hoping the rain will hold off for the lawn service, which will be at 10am.
It's Friday night and I'm hoping that my name hasn't been drawn out for the Members Draw at home .. I would hate to miss out on over $1500. Surely Karma will be kind to me and wait until I return! I hope you girls are all missing me :)
I've been taking photos of the beautiful birds all converging on the clothes line to eat the seed provided for them every day. I hope the photos turn out well enough for me to enter one of them into the flickr challenge this month, which is themed 'Australian Wildlife'.
The football is about to begin on TV, so I am off to settle in for an evening of sport .. but will probably head to bed before it even finishes. I am feeling a little weary.
Nite all.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Griffith, I am in you!
I can't remember the last time I was here.
I believe it was before the tornado .. it seems that my entire life is now measured by 'before the tornado' and 'after the tornado'!
I've just remembered that it was 'after the tornado' in January 2014. We kidnapped Mickey Mouse Wizard and took him on our road trip that year.
So much has changed in town since then. A lot of shops have closed. A lot have moved location. A few new shops have opened.
There is still evidence of the mini tornado that ripped through one section of town, where trees were stripped bare, others ripped out completely, some just missing limbs and others purposely cut down due to age or damage. It brought back some fearful memories.
Today we shopped for clothes to wear to the funeral. I had an outfit planned, but my brain was in Queensland mode and my choice is just not going to be appropriate for the cold, wet weather predicted for Monday.
I bought some long black pants and some ankle boots. Both were on sale at ridiculously low prices, so the purchases were not at all painful.
Speaking of weather, there was a heavy frost this morning and it was freeeeeeeezing cold! I stayed in bed til after 8.30am snug and warm between the flannelette sheets and a few light blankets.
Today, we decided to create the Memory Booklets for the funeral service ourselves! *insert a 'what was I thinking?' look here*
I have a program on my computer, which I have never used before, to create an eight page booklet, and I have spent many hours today trying to figure out how to use it. I think I've got it worked out now, but I also have to figure out how to connect my laptop to the printer here and hope that it all works.
We bought some cheap paper to have some practise runs and we have til Monday to perfect the process, so hopefully that will be enough to create a successful masterpiece!
We have lots of photos to add to it, all provided by various members of the family.
I must say, that I've enjoyed listening to the family stories being shared around the living room and they can only get better as more and more family and friends arrive in the coming days.
The brothers have provided some wonderful tributes which I've elaborated on, edited and typed up to pass on to the celebrant.
We are yet to attempt the eulogy, but it's going to be so interesting because even BGWLBH is learning new stuff about her Dad from his early childhood through to his young adulthood that she never knew.
Dad W was the expert on all things family. He was always the 'go to' man whenever anybody needed a year or a name or some other details, but he's no longer here to ask! Hopefully, with some brain storming and some team work, the family can fill in some gaps together.
Tonight, I cooked a nice healthy dinner for Mum W, BGWLBH and I, while the rest of the family ate take away Chinese .. I would have cooked for everybody, but we all got our wires crossed and didn't know what each other had planned. I'm not sure that they would have cared for my healthy meat and veg anyway.
So, needless to say, it's been a full and busy day, but I feel like I'm doing exactly what I should be doing and love that I can be so useful and helpful in this hour of need. I love that BGWLBH knows what she needs and isn't afraid to ask.
The burden of organising everything has been heavily place upon her shoulders while her family struggle to cope with the trauma of losing this great man, so anything I can do to slightly ease the burden makes me very happy.
On that note, it's time for me to go turn my bed into a cocoon and sleep the night away. I need to rest this weary brain, so that it can figure out the really tricky stuff tomorrow!
Nite all.
I believe it was before the tornado .. it seems that my entire life is now measured by 'before the tornado' and 'after the tornado'!
I've just remembered that it was 'after the tornado' in January 2014. We kidnapped Mickey Mouse Wizard and took him on our road trip that year.
So much has changed in town since then. A lot of shops have closed. A lot have moved location. A few new shops have opened.
There is still evidence of the mini tornado that ripped through one section of town, where trees were stripped bare, others ripped out completely, some just missing limbs and others purposely cut down due to age or damage. It brought back some fearful memories.
Today we shopped for clothes to wear to the funeral. I had an outfit planned, but my brain was in Queensland mode and my choice is just not going to be appropriate for the cold, wet weather predicted for Monday.
I bought some long black pants and some ankle boots. Both were on sale at ridiculously low prices, so the purchases were not at all painful.
Speaking of weather, there was a heavy frost this morning and it was freeeeeeeezing cold! I stayed in bed til after 8.30am snug and warm between the flannelette sheets and a few light blankets.
Today, we decided to create the Memory Booklets for the funeral service ourselves! *insert a 'what was I thinking?' look here*
I have a program on my computer, which I have never used before, to create an eight page booklet, and I have spent many hours today trying to figure out how to use it. I think I've got it worked out now, but I also have to figure out how to connect my laptop to the printer here and hope that it all works.
We bought some cheap paper to have some practise runs and we have til Monday to perfect the process, so hopefully that will be enough to create a successful masterpiece!
We have lots of photos to add to it, all provided by various members of the family.
I must say, that I've enjoyed listening to the family stories being shared around the living room and they can only get better as more and more family and friends arrive in the coming days.
The brothers have provided some wonderful tributes which I've elaborated on, edited and typed up to pass on to the celebrant.
We are yet to attempt the eulogy, but it's going to be so interesting because even BGWLBH is learning new stuff about her Dad from his early childhood through to his young adulthood that she never knew.
Dad W was the expert on all things family. He was always the 'go to' man whenever anybody needed a year or a name or some other details, but he's no longer here to ask! Hopefully, with some brain storming and some team work, the family can fill in some gaps together.
Tonight, I cooked a nice healthy dinner for Mum W, BGWLBH and I, while the rest of the family ate take away Chinese .. I would have cooked for everybody, but we all got our wires crossed and didn't know what each other had planned. I'm not sure that they would have cared for my healthy meat and veg anyway.
So, needless to say, it's been a full and busy day, but I feel like I'm doing exactly what I should be doing and love that I can be so useful and helpful in this hour of need. I love that BGWLBH knows what she needs and isn't afraid to ask.
The burden of organising everything has been heavily place upon her shoulders while her family struggle to cope with the trauma of losing this great man, so anything I can do to slightly ease the burden makes me very happy.
On that note, it's time for me to go turn my bed into a cocoon and sleep the night away. I need to rest this weary brain, so that it can figure out the really tricky stuff tomorrow!
Nite all.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Have a Little Faith
I've always had a fear of flying, although these days it's just a small niggle in the back of my mind. Years ago I would throw up as I walked across the Tarmac (before the days of electronic bridges that take you directly from the plane into the terminal), and then I would use up any number of sick bags ON the plane.
I apologise to all of those passengers who had to listen to that over the years!
My fear has mellowed with age and with experience.
I've been thinking today, about how much faith we need to have in our fellow humans, just to take one flight from point A to point B.
You hear stories about terrorist bombs in various random locations around the world, or just some 'nut job' who woke up feeling angry with the world, about planes disappearing in mid air, or being accidentally shot down.
You hear about people getting drunk and trying to open plane doors mid air, or pilots attempting suicide and taking everyone out with him/her.
With those few scenarios aside, you hope that the ground and maintenance crew are on the ball and doing their jobs diligently. You pray that the control tower staff are not hung over or suffering from insomnia or being distracted by some other stress in their lives.
You hope that none of the passengers are using 'ice' or have decided on this day to cease taking their medication for a mental illness.
People these days are so unpredictable and life can change in just a split second.
So I sit here at the airport, having completed the first leg of my journey, grateful for 'so far, so good'.
Watching the world go by. Watching so many people (including me), absorbed in their electronic devices. Watching. Waiting. Listening. Wondering.
It reminds me a little of when Dad died and after we left the hospital, while it felt like my world had come to a standstill, I watched the rest of the world continue on regardless.
It's kind of surreal that someone important in your life has suddenly gone and someone even more important is hurting, but the world just continues on.
It also reminds me of that ad on TV about depression, where the everything is happening in fast motion, while the person with depression stands there with a blank expression.
Anyway, today, I have complete faith in all of my fellow humans. I have faith that you will all be doing exactly what you should be doing, to keep my world, and everybody in it, as safe as humanly possible.
On a brighter note, I was pleasantly surprised to find the option of a delicious pumpkin and coconut soup with Thai spices for lunch, at the airport! I enjoyed it very much, followed by an equally delicious latte!
My flight will be boarding in about 35 minutes so I'm off to do some more people watching.
Nite all.
PS Don't be concerned by my melancholy xo
I apologise to all of those passengers who had to listen to that over the years!
My fear has mellowed with age and with experience.
I've been thinking today, about how much faith we need to have in our fellow humans, just to take one flight from point A to point B.
You hear stories about terrorist bombs in various random locations around the world, or just some 'nut job' who woke up feeling angry with the world, about planes disappearing in mid air, or being accidentally shot down.
You hear about people getting drunk and trying to open plane doors mid air, or pilots attempting suicide and taking everyone out with him/her.
With those few scenarios aside, you hope that the ground and maintenance crew are on the ball and doing their jobs diligently. You pray that the control tower staff are not hung over or suffering from insomnia or being distracted by some other stress in their lives.
You hope that none of the passengers are using 'ice' or have decided on this day to cease taking their medication for a mental illness.
People these days are so unpredictable and life can change in just a split second.
So I sit here at the airport, having completed the first leg of my journey, grateful for 'so far, so good'.
Watching the world go by. Watching so many people (including me), absorbed in their electronic devices. Watching. Waiting. Listening. Wondering.
It reminds me a little of when Dad died and after we left the hospital, while it felt like my world had come to a standstill, I watched the rest of the world continue on regardless.
It's kind of surreal that someone important in your life has suddenly gone and someone even more important is hurting, but the world just continues on.
It also reminds me of that ad on TV about depression, where the everything is happening in fast motion, while the person with depression stands there with a blank expression.
Anyway, today, I have complete faith in all of my fellow humans. I have faith that you will all be doing exactly what you should be doing, to keep my world, and everybody in it, as safe as humanly possible.
On a brighter note, I was pleasantly surprised to find the option of a delicious pumpkin and coconut soup with Thai spices for lunch, at the airport! I enjoyed it very much, followed by an equally delicious latte!
My flight will be boarding in about 35 minutes so I'm off to do some more people watching.
Nite all.
PS Don't be concerned by my melancholy xo
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
A Few Pics
Here are some of the pics from last week ...
Except for a much needed and enjoyable morning tea with the girls this morning, it's been a long day. Time goes so slowly when you want, and need, to be somewhere else.
I'm all packed. I've prepared a couple of weeks worth of dog food. The freezer is chock full of bone broth, curry sauces and other food for Adoring Husband. I'll make some chocolate energy balls in the morning and then I'll be set to go.
This time tomorrow night I'll be where I should be.
I may or may not post here tomorrow night.
Nite all.
Except for a much needed and enjoyable morning tea with the girls this morning, it's been a long day. Time goes so slowly when you want, and need, to be somewhere else.
I'm all packed. I've prepared a couple of weeks worth of dog food. The freezer is chock full of bone broth, curry sauces and other food for Adoring Husband. I'll make some chocolate energy balls in the morning and then I'll be set to go.
This time tomorrow night I'll be where I should be.
I may or may not post here tomorrow night.
Nite all.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Depths of Sadness
My heart is breaking as I think of my bff, BGWLBH, and her family, who are right now, dealing with the passing of Dad W.
He was a big man with a big heart and he loved his family with his whole being. He has put up such a strong fight for such a long time and I can't believe he's gone.
I felt like he was my 2nd Dad. He was one of the first on the phone after the tornado, to check that I was ok. He tried many times, to have Skype calls with me, but we had trouble with our monitor microphones. He called me for advice about camera lenses when he wanted to buy BGWLBH a camera lens for her birthday. He let us use his car for our road trips. He always seemed happy to see me when I visited and loved to show me his wounds and injuries and scars .. because I was always excited about how impressive they were!
His passing will leave a huge hole in our hearts and even though we didn't see each other often, I will miss him.
I'll be travelling south on Wednesday to hopefully be of some help and support for BGWLBH and her family. It's going to be tough holding back the tears and being the strong support that I know she wants me to be.
I will do my best.
RIP Dad W.
Nite all.
He was a big man with a big heart and he loved his family with his whole being. He has put up such a strong fight for such a long time and I can't believe he's gone.
I felt like he was my 2nd Dad. He was one of the first on the phone after the tornado, to check that I was ok. He tried many times, to have Skype calls with me, but we had trouble with our monitor microphones. He called me for advice about camera lenses when he wanted to buy BGWLBH a camera lens for her birthday. He let us use his car for our road trips. He always seemed happy to see me when I visited and loved to show me his wounds and injuries and scars .. because I was always excited about how impressive they were!
His passing will leave a huge hole in our hearts and even though we didn't see each other often, I will miss him.
I'll be travelling south on Wednesday to hopefully be of some help and support for BGWLBH and her family. It's going to be tough holding back the tears and being the strong support that I know she wants me to be.
I will do my best.
RIP Dad W.
Nite all.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Commitment-phobic
By commitment-phobic, I mean that when I make a plan for myself, I simply cannot commit to it!
Yesterday's blog post is a perfect example.
I said that I hoped to get up early and go out with my camera .. didn't do it.
I said that I hoped to go through the photos that I took last week while I was away .. didn't do it.
I said that I was going to make a plan to methodically clean my house for Spring .. didn't do it.
I said that I was going to cook a roast dinner .. I DID do that!
For the first time, I used tallow to cook the potato, sweet potato and pumpkin in the oven. It cooked much faster than when I used other oils in the past and the vegetables were well caramelised and the potatoes nicely crisp on the outside. I didn't need to use much, compared to oil either.
So I'm liking the tallow, the duck fat and the ghee for cooking, as well as coconut oil.
I stayed in bed until about 8.30 this morning. An enjoyably lazy start to a Sunday.
I rode to get my coffee and while I waited outside at a table for it to be ready, a lady stopped with her very large dog (a great dane almost the size of a horse) and she asked if it was ok to leave her dog with me while she ordered her coffee inside.
She told me that because these dogs have such large hearts and their bodies are so heavy on their skeleton, their life expectancy is only 8-10 years! How horrible!
I googled "What is the life expectancy of a dog in Australia?"
Australian Shepherd 12-18 years
Shetland Sheepdog 12-13 years
Chihuahua 17 years
Boston Terrier 12-15 years
Jack Russell 12-13 years
Miniature Schnauzer 12-14 years
Shih Tzu 12-16 years
Dachshund 13-15 years
Great Dane 6-8 years (her dog is already 6 years old)
That's just a few from the list and is encouraging for us because we have 2 x chihuahua/maltese and one Shih Tzu/maltese. They were born 6 months apart, each to different parents and the oldest is now 10 years old.
We've been told by a couple of people to expect the worst because dogs only live to about 10-12 yrs.
I poke my tongue out at those people ... although I know that anything can happen, but at least it's nice to know that my dogs have a good life expectancy!
Anyway, while I was looking after this dog, many, many people stopped to pat her and make comment about how huge she was. My coffee came and so did more people, so by the time the crowd had dispersed and the dog returned to her owner, I had finished my coffee, so I ordered another!!
On the way home, I stopped to visit The Motivator and bought some crabs. We chatted til lunch time, mostly because we were often interrupted by customers wanting crabs! A busy Sunday for her!
It took me just over an hour to shell the crabs and put the meat into a container ... I'm getting faster at that!
I watched the end of a movie called 'Serendipity', by which time the footy started.
Adoring Husband arrived home from his SES flood boat training in time to see the end of that game and then watch the second game.
He was a very tired boy and headed off to bed early.
The Paleo Way stories were quite interesting tonight on '60 Minutes' and on 'Sunday Night' and it was good to see the two reporters have great success with their health results and with losing weight. It bothered me a bit that one of the stories still made out that Paleo has a high meat content, but I loved that finally, the stories were positive!!
Hopefully, tomorrow, I WILL have some photos to share here. Wish me luck on that one!
Nite all.
Yesterday's blog post is a perfect example.
I said that I hoped to get up early and go out with my camera .. didn't do it.
I said that I hoped to go through the photos that I took last week while I was away .. didn't do it.
I said that I was going to make a plan to methodically clean my house for Spring .. didn't do it.
I said that I was going to cook a roast dinner .. I DID do that!
For the first time, I used tallow to cook the potato, sweet potato and pumpkin in the oven. It cooked much faster than when I used other oils in the past and the vegetables were well caramelised and the potatoes nicely crisp on the outside. I didn't need to use much, compared to oil either.
So I'm liking the tallow, the duck fat and the ghee for cooking, as well as coconut oil.
I stayed in bed until about 8.30 this morning. An enjoyably lazy start to a Sunday.
I rode to get my coffee and while I waited outside at a table for it to be ready, a lady stopped with her very large dog (a great dane almost the size of a horse) and she asked if it was ok to leave her dog with me while she ordered her coffee inside.
She told me that because these dogs have such large hearts and their bodies are so heavy on their skeleton, their life expectancy is only 8-10 years! How horrible!
I googled "What is the life expectancy of a dog in Australia?"
Australian Shepherd 12-18 years
Shetland Sheepdog 12-13 years
Chihuahua 17 years
Boston Terrier 12-15 years
Jack Russell 12-13 years
Miniature Schnauzer 12-14 years
Shih Tzu 12-16 years
Dachshund 13-15 years
Great Dane 6-8 years (her dog is already 6 years old)
That's just a few from the list and is encouraging for us because we have 2 x chihuahua/maltese and one Shih Tzu/maltese. They were born 6 months apart, each to different parents and the oldest is now 10 years old.
We've been told by a couple of people to expect the worst because dogs only live to about 10-12 yrs.
I poke my tongue out at those people ... although I know that anything can happen, but at least it's nice to know that my dogs have a good life expectancy!
Anyway, while I was looking after this dog, many, many people stopped to pat her and make comment about how huge she was. My coffee came and so did more people, so by the time the crowd had dispersed and the dog returned to her owner, I had finished my coffee, so I ordered another!!
On the way home, I stopped to visit The Motivator and bought some crabs. We chatted til lunch time, mostly because we were often interrupted by customers wanting crabs! A busy Sunday for her!
It took me just over an hour to shell the crabs and put the meat into a container ... I'm getting faster at that!
I watched the end of a movie called 'Serendipity', by which time the footy started.
Adoring Husband arrived home from his SES flood boat training in time to see the end of that game and then watch the second game.
He was a very tired boy and headed off to bed early.
The Paleo Way stories were quite interesting tonight on '60 Minutes' and on 'Sunday Night' and it was good to see the two reporters have great success with their health results and with losing weight. It bothered me a bit that one of the stories still made out that Paleo has a high meat content, but I loved that finally, the stories were positive!!
Hopefully, tomorrow, I WILL have some photos to share here. Wish me luck on that one!
Nite all.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Catching My Breath
Today was spent just being lazy and catching my breath as I considered my educational future and contemplated life.
For the second time since I began my studies, the 'powers that be' have moved the goal posts and I am discouraged enough to withdraw completely.
I have a number of reasons for doing so, which I won't go into here, but the 'cons' far outnumber the 'pros' at this point and I'm actually feeling positive about my future without study!
So many areas of my life have suffered in varying degrees during the last 18 months. The housework, my photography, my time in the kitchen (which I have really missed), time with the family, my social life and even time with Adoring Husband.
For a 'part time' course, it sure took a LOT of my time.
The one thing that has not suffered, and in fact my skills have become more honed, is my ability to procrastinate!! I was always good at that, but now it has almost become my super power!
My plan for tomorrow is to go through the photos that I took while I was away last week, cook a Sunday roast and then make a plan to methodically clean my house over the next couple of weeks in readiness for Spring, during which I hope to be out with my camera taking amazing shots of nature at it's best!
Tomorrow night, some of you might be interested in watching both Sixty Minutes and Sunday Night because both have a story on the Paleo Lifestyle. Mike Willesee and Charles Wooley will be guinea pigs for the Paleo Lifestyle. I'm very interested to see how they handle the stories.
Well, I may have an early Saturday night into bed and if it's not too chilly in the morning, I might attempt to get up early and head out with my camera! We'll see. I really do enjoy spending these chilly mornings snuggled under the doona. This weather doesn't last very long, so I like to make the most of it while I can.
So watch this space for some family pics tomorrow.
Nite all.
For the second time since I began my studies, the 'powers that be' have moved the goal posts and I am discouraged enough to withdraw completely.
I have a number of reasons for doing so, which I won't go into here, but the 'cons' far outnumber the 'pros' at this point and I'm actually feeling positive about my future without study!
So many areas of my life have suffered in varying degrees during the last 18 months. The housework, my photography, my time in the kitchen (which I have really missed), time with the family, my social life and even time with Adoring Husband.
For a 'part time' course, it sure took a LOT of my time.
The one thing that has not suffered, and in fact my skills have become more honed, is my ability to procrastinate!! I was always good at that, but now it has almost become my super power!
My plan for tomorrow is to go through the photos that I took while I was away last week, cook a Sunday roast and then make a plan to methodically clean my house over the next couple of weeks in readiness for Spring, during which I hope to be out with my camera taking amazing shots of nature at it's best!
Tomorrow night, some of you might be interested in watching both Sixty Minutes and Sunday Night because both have a story on the Paleo Lifestyle. Mike Willesee and Charles Wooley will be guinea pigs for the Paleo Lifestyle. I'm very interested to see how they handle the stories.
Well, I may have an early Saturday night into bed and if it's not too chilly in the morning, I might attempt to get up early and head out with my camera! We'll see. I really do enjoy spending these chilly mornings snuggled under the doona. This weather doesn't last very long, so I like to make the most of it while I can.
So watch this space for some family pics tomorrow.
Nite all.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Earthquake Madness
Home safe n sound after a very long and slow trip home on the train.
A magnitude 4 earthquake that struck approximately one hour before the train was due to arrive at my stop, meant that it had to slow down to 40kph, which made it 30 minutes late to my station.
The trip to the next stop, would normally take 40 minutes, but took two hours.
Of course, I had no idea about the earthquake, and no idea why the train was travelling so slowly ... until I overheard one of the attendants tell another passenger that the train would take another 90 minutes to reach the next station, which is normally a 40 minute trip.
Finally, an announcement came over the system "As you are all aware, the earthquake has caused long delays with our travel today"
Nooooo, I was NOT aware that there had been an earthquake and NO I was NOT aware that there were delays!!!!
Ugh!!
So Adoring Husband offered to drive to Maryborough and pick me up from there. That wonderful man was waiting at the station AND had bought coffee on the way, so that I had a delicious hot latte waiting in the car for me.
He dropped me at the Club and then drove home to get ready himself.
I hadn't eaten all day .. I'd had just two coffees. I drank two glasses of wine at the club and by the time we arrived home I was 'hangry' .. for those of you who don't know, hangry is a combination of 'hungry' and 'angry'. AH heated up some pre-made curried sausages and boiled some rice for a quick and delicious dinner.
So I guess he was my Knight in Shining Armour today. Thank you Adoring Husband :)
Now I am looking forward to climbing into my own bed and sleeping the night away.
My Dad would have been 75 years old today. Happy birthday Dad. I expect that wherever you are, you were there to welcome Uncle Ken as he passed and you just might be sharing a beer right now.
I hope that's how the hereafter works!
Nite all.
A magnitude 4 earthquake that struck approximately one hour before the train was due to arrive at my stop, meant that it had to slow down to 40kph, which made it 30 minutes late to my station.
The trip to the next stop, would normally take 40 minutes, but took two hours.
Of course, I had no idea about the earthquake, and no idea why the train was travelling so slowly ... until I overheard one of the attendants tell another passenger that the train would take another 90 minutes to reach the next station, which is normally a 40 minute trip.
Finally, an announcement came over the system "As you are all aware, the earthquake has caused long delays with our travel today"
Nooooo, I was NOT aware that there had been an earthquake and NO I was NOT aware that there were delays!!!!
Ugh!!
So Adoring Husband offered to drive to Maryborough and pick me up from there. That wonderful man was waiting at the station AND had bought coffee on the way, so that I had a delicious hot latte waiting in the car for me.
He dropped me at the Club and then drove home to get ready himself.
I hadn't eaten all day .. I'd had just two coffees. I drank two glasses of wine at the club and by the time we arrived home I was 'hangry' .. for those of you who don't know, hangry is a combination of 'hungry' and 'angry'. AH heated up some pre-made curried sausages and boiled some rice for a quick and delicious dinner.
So I guess he was my Knight in Shining Armour today. Thank you Adoring Husband :)
Now I am looking forward to climbing into my own bed and sleeping the night away.
My Dad would have been 75 years old today. Happy birthday Dad. I expect that wherever you are, you were there to welcome Uncle Ken as he passed and you just might be sharing a beer right now.
I hope that's how the hereafter works!
Nite all.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Another Loved One Gone
This is just a brief post to honourably mention, my Dad's brother, Ken Griffin, who passed away yesterday.
He and Aunty Fay have been married 56 years this year - they were married on the same day as my Mum and Dad. They lived in Mt Isa for many years and retired to Mackay in the 90s where they did this ...
Environmental Achievement Award – Ken and Fay Griffin
Turtles throughout our region will be joining in the applause for husband and wife team Ken and Fay Griffin, worthy Environmental Achievement Award winners.
They have been volunteers for Mackay Turtle Watch Association since it was established in 1992
Over the past 23 years they have spent tireless hours observing the laying habits of turtles and monitoring and collecting vital information about the turtles that lay upon our shores.
The Griffins have passed on their experience and knowledge, training other group members.
They have also implemented information sessions for school groups and the general public, and helped families, children and individuals witness the amazing experiences of turtles laying and hatchlings emerging from nests and dashing for the sea.
Last year Mr Griffin initiated a satellite tracking program in conjunction with James Cook University (JCU) to learn more about where the turtles go when they leave our shores.
And adding to their environmental credentials, they've collected tonnes of plastic rubbish from along the region's beaches.
Their dedication is made even more remarkable by the fact that Mr Griffin's ill health means he needs portable oxygen.
Mackay Turtle Watch won a state award in 2013 and was a finalist for a national award in 2014, where they were highly commended.
This evening the Griffins were presented with this individual Australia Day honour for the role they play in this wonderful organisation.
He and Aunty Fay have been married 56 years this year - they were married on the same day as my Mum and Dad. They lived in Mt Isa for many years and retired to Mackay in the 90s where they did this ...
Environmental Achievement Award – Ken and Fay Griffin
Turtles throughout our region will be joining in the applause for husband and wife team Ken and Fay Griffin, worthy Environmental Achievement Award winners.
They have been volunteers for Mackay Turtle Watch Association since it was established in 1992
Over the past 23 years they have spent tireless hours observing the laying habits of turtles and monitoring and collecting vital information about the turtles that lay upon our shores.
The Griffins have passed on their experience and knowledge, training other group members.
They have also implemented information sessions for school groups and the general public, and helped families, children and individuals witness the amazing experiences of turtles laying and hatchlings emerging from nests and dashing for the sea.
Last year Mr Griffin initiated a satellite tracking program in conjunction with James Cook University (JCU) to learn more about where the turtles go when they leave our shores.
And adding to their environmental credentials, they've collected tonnes of plastic rubbish from along the region's beaches.
Their dedication is made even more remarkable by the fact that Mr Griffin's ill health means he needs portable oxygen.
Mackay Turtle Watch won a state award in 2013 and was a finalist for a national award in 2014, where they were highly commended.
This evening the Griffins were presented with this individual Australia Day honour for the role they play in this wonderful organisation.
********
Sadly, another of Dad's brothers has been fighting lung cancer for quite some time and today was given the news that he has just 8 weeks to live.
Not a good day for the Griffin family.
Uncle Ken sent me emails every Christmas and every year on my birthday, (always calling me Rozzy Pozzy, as he did when I was a little kid) and sometimes emailed me when something newsworthy happened with the family. He was a loving Dad, Gramps and Great Grandfather and the love he showed for the extended family was far reaching and warmly received.
He and my Dad were very much alike and had the same sarcastic, dry sense of humour. They even looked alike and while that was always a comfort to me after Dad passed, it always distressed my sister who struggled to be around him.
Many years ago, our families spent a lot of time together and his oldest daughter, Terri, and I were very close. The years, and life, have widened the yawning gap between us and we seem to only catch up at funerals these days. When we are together, it still feels very comfortable though.
It's a shocking realisation that the older generations that we loved and relied upon, are thinning out and we that are left are now the older generation being relied upon.
For now, I am feeling the love and appreciating the wonderful memories.
RIP Uncle Ken.
Nite all.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Food Heaven
Today, I was introduced to another cafe in Noosaville that is a little piece of food heaven.
The 'Deli Cafe' which is totally gluten free and located on Weyba Road, is very spacious, with a large deck which has a bohemian, rustic and relaxed style and serves the most delicious food .. especially their sweets and desserts!
Blueberry and lemon cheesecake, white chocolate tart, turkish delight slice, lemon meringue tarts, chocolate brownies, passionfruit cheesecake, salted caramel tarts and the list goes on and on. They sell different flavoured kombuchas, delicious coffee, paleo meals, vegan meals and a variety of fresh salads to die for.
If I lived in the area, it would be my 'go to' whenever I wanted to eat out.
After lunch we took Chicklet to the play area in Civic, while the Bare-chested Chef shopped for some groceries. Upon his return, we tag teamed and Vegan Chickie and I went for a short stroll to check out some tops that I admired on the way in and then bought some fresh juice and a smoothie, while TBCC watched Chicklet playing.
This afternoon, as Chicklet and I played 'artist' on our iPads, a huge storm blew over us providing very large black clouds, an amazing light display, cracking thunder and heavy rain .. all lasting for about an hour. We got about an inch (24mm) of rain out of it.
The Bare-Chested Chef covered the dining table tonight, with an array of prepared salad items, dressings, cheese and nuts so that we could create our own salad for dinner. We had avocado, watercress, red & green capsicum, snow peas, radish, pea & bean sprouts, lettuce, fennel, carrot, artichoke, goat's cheese feta and flaked almonds.
My body was so grateful for all of that fresh, crisp, healthy goodness.
I attempted to eat the lemon meringue tart that I had brought home from the deli today, but didn't even get halfway through it .. I am hoping that tomorrow will bring more success .. I'm not used to all that sugary sweetness!
It's almost 10.30pm and it's definitely sleep time for me, but just before I go ...
Nite all.
The 'Deli Cafe' which is totally gluten free and located on Weyba Road, is very spacious, with a large deck which has a bohemian, rustic and relaxed style and serves the most delicious food .. especially their sweets and desserts!
Blueberry and lemon cheesecake, white chocolate tart, turkish delight slice, lemon meringue tarts, chocolate brownies, passionfruit cheesecake, salted caramel tarts and the list goes on and on. They sell different flavoured kombuchas, delicious coffee, paleo meals, vegan meals and a variety of fresh salads to die for.
If I lived in the area, it would be my 'go to' whenever I wanted to eat out.
After lunch we took Chicklet to the play area in Civic, while the Bare-chested Chef shopped for some groceries. Upon his return, we tag teamed and Vegan Chickie and I went for a short stroll to check out some tops that I admired on the way in and then bought some fresh juice and a smoothie, while TBCC watched Chicklet playing.
This afternoon, as Chicklet and I played 'artist' on our iPads, a huge storm blew over us providing very large black clouds, an amazing light display, cracking thunder and heavy rain .. all lasting for about an hour. We got about an inch (24mm) of rain out of it.
The Bare-Chested Chef covered the dining table tonight, with an array of prepared salad items, dressings, cheese and nuts so that we could create our own salad for dinner. We had avocado, watercress, red & green capsicum, snow peas, radish, pea & bean sprouts, lettuce, fennel, carrot, artichoke, goat's cheese feta and flaked almonds.
My body was so grateful for all of that fresh, crisp, healthy goodness.
I attempted to eat the lemon meringue tart that I had brought home from the deli today, but didn't even get halfway through it .. I am hoping that tomorrow will bring more success .. I'm not used to all that sugary sweetness!
It's almost 10.30pm and it's definitely sleep time for me, but just before I go ...
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Zawsted!!
After two bad nights sleep, eating poorly today, meeting up with Bubbles and the Chicklet family, playing in the park, shopping at the Plaza, having fun at Underwater World, saying goodbye to Bubbles, arriving at Chicklet family's home, playing with the new toys, having a bath, reading the bed time books to get Chicklet off to sleep and then eating dinner...
I am absolutely exhausted!
I got lots of great photos today, but unfortunately I have to wait til I get home to download, edit and then share them here because I don't believe that this laptop can cope with any more photos!
Here is one taken with my phone today ...
It has been a pretty big couple of days and at 9pm (right now) I am going to attempt to get a good night's sleep so that I can put in some quality time tomorrow with my little Chicklet.
*yawn*
Nite all.
I am absolutely exhausted!
I got lots of great photos today, but unfortunately I have to wait til I get home to download, edit and then share them here because I don't believe that this laptop can cope with any more photos!
Here is one taken with my phone today ...
It has been a pretty big couple of days and at 9pm (right now) I am going to attempt to get a good night's sleep so that I can put in some quality time tomorrow with my little Chicklet.
*yawn*
Nite all.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Sunny Coast, I am in You!
This morning, I arose much earlier than I have for probably a year.
I had a 6am start.
I made 50 energy balls for Adoring Husband and then some curry sauces ... two large containers of curried sausages, two containers of Butter Chicken sauce and two containers of Korma curry sauce.
I showered, washed and blow dried my hair, finished packing and then we left with enough time to get two coffees and check the mail, before driving to the train station in Howard.
I had an easy train trip, although there seemed to be a lot of kids and babies and one woman who wanted to spend 90 minutes of a two hour trip talking very loudly on the phone .. I could even hear her over my ear phones on full volume while attempting to listen to a Harry Potter movie!
The Nikonian was waiting for me at the station and with lots to catch up on, we chatted non stop as we headed into Montville for lunch at 'Poets' cafe. The food, as always was delicious and afterwards we browsed through some shops, but didn't buy anything (yes that may seem surprising coming from me!)
We bought some alcohol and nibbles and headed home for a relaxing afternoon of drinking, eating and talking.
I already feel like I've been on holidays for a week. It's been fun and relaxing catching up with my friend.
It's already after 11.30pm and we have an early start tomorrow, so I'm signing off right here.
It's going to be a big day and you know what it's like the first night with my little Chicklet, so I may or may not be here for tomorrow!
Nite all.
I had a 6am start.
I made 50 energy balls for Adoring Husband and then some curry sauces ... two large containers of curried sausages, two containers of Butter Chicken sauce and two containers of Korma curry sauce.
I showered, washed and blow dried my hair, finished packing and then we left with enough time to get two coffees and check the mail, before driving to the train station in Howard.
I had an easy train trip, although there seemed to be a lot of kids and babies and one woman who wanted to spend 90 minutes of a two hour trip talking very loudly on the phone .. I could even hear her over my ear phones on full volume while attempting to listen to a Harry Potter movie!
The Nikonian was waiting for me at the station and with lots to catch up on, we chatted non stop as we headed into Montville for lunch at 'Poets' cafe. The food, as always was delicious and afterwards we browsed through some shops, but didn't buy anything (yes that may seem surprising coming from me!)
We bought some alcohol and nibbles and headed home for a relaxing afternoon of drinking, eating and talking.
I already feel like I've been on holidays for a week. It's been fun and relaxing catching up with my friend.
It's already after 11.30pm and we have an early start tomorrow, so I'm signing off right here.
It's going to be a big day and you know what it's like the first night with my little Chicklet, so I may or may not be here for tomorrow!
Nite all.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Date Day with AH
I struggled to get out of bed this morning and missed my time with the boys at the Seat of Knowledge, but I did go for an extended trike ride to soak up that glorious Winter sunshine after I bought my coffee.
I've begun my search for Tawny Frogmouth nests, but I may be a touch early .. end of August, early September is the usual time for their nesting to begin, so when I return from the Sunny Coast, I will really get serious with my search.
Adoring Husband had to spend the morning in SES uniform, but then invited me to 'Goody's on the Beach' in Toogoom, for lunch.
It was a beautiful sunshiny day, with just the softest breeze blowing, so conditions were perfect for eating outdoors with water views and enjoying wonderful easy listening entertainment.
I had a Pumpkin and Rocket Salad with Pine Nuts and Prawns, while Adoring Husband ate Moroccan Pork on Wild Rice. We had GF Orange and Almond Cake with Pouring Cream for dessert. I could have easily spent the entire afternoon drinking, eating and listening and enjoying time with AH.
Needless to say, there was no study today. No cooking as I'd planned.
We arrived home, just in time for the football on TV.
I've partially packed my suitcase for my trip tomorrow and I'm excited that the stars have finally aligned and I get to spend tomorrow and overnight with The Nikonian at her home. I worked out that it has been over a year since we've spent any time together .. just one morning tea in February this year, so there may be a wine or two to share and heaps to catch up on!
The next day, I get to see Bubbles again! She is up this way for an engagement party and the Sunny Coast is about the halfway point between our place and where she is staying.
Of course, I am also excited about seeing the Chicklet family and spending a few days with them!
It's going to be a great week.
So, in saying that, I should head to bed and get a good night's sleep, so that I can wake early and at least make AH his energy balls to keep that sweet tooth of his happy while I'm away!
Nite all.
I've begun my search for Tawny Frogmouth nests, but I may be a touch early .. end of August, early September is the usual time for their nesting to begin, so when I return from the Sunny Coast, I will really get serious with my search.
Adoring Husband had to spend the morning in SES uniform, but then invited me to 'Goody's on the Beach' in Toogoom, for lunch.
It was a beautiful sunshiny day, with just the softest breeze blowing, so conditions were perfect for eating outdoors with water views and enjoying wonderful easy listening entertainment.
I had a Pumpkin and Rocket Salad with Pine Nuts and Prawns, while Adoring Husband ate Moroccan Pork on Wild Rice. We had GF Orange and Almond Cake with Pouring Cream for dessert. I could have easily spent the entire afternoon drinking, eating and listening and enjoying time with AH.
Needless to say, there was no study today. No cooking as I'd planned.
We arrived home, just in time for the football on TV.
I've partially packed my suitcase for my trip tomorrow and I'm excited that the stars have finally aligned and I get to spend tomorrow and overnight with The Nikonian at her home. I worked out that it has been over a year since we've spent any time together .. just one morning tea in February this year, so there may be a wine or two to share and heaps to catch up on!
The next day, I get to see Bubbles again! She is up this way for an engagement party and the Sunny Coast is about the halfway point between our place and where she is staying.
Of course, I am also excited about seeing the Chicklet family and spending a few days with them!
It's going to be a great week.
So, in saying that, I should head to bed and get a good night's sleep, so that I can wake early and at least make AH his energy balls to keep that sweet tooth of his happy while I'm away!
Nite all.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Negative Motivation
Struggling with motivation again today. I did not finish my essay. I may never finish my essay. *sigh*
I had a nice morning, starting at the Seat of Knowledge, followed by coffee and then a stroll through the local markets.
I got some fresh lemons and mandarines, a couple of little gifts to put away for Christmas, a yellow handmade carved timber owl which is now up on the wall in my study and a basket made out of old timber and a bit of driftwood for the handle, which is now sitting on my kitchen bench filled with fresh eggs.
I chatted with the lovely couple who made these crafty items. I bought a gift for Vegan Chickie at the markets in February this year from the same couple. The husband remembered me and said "Goodness, you've lost a lot of weight and you look so healthy and vibrant! What have you been doing?"
We talked about his work with drug addicts and alcoholics and he admitted that he had learned a lot about himself by spending time with them and he even touched on childhood abuse issues just briefly.
They are a lovely couple and I wish we had been able to spend more time together.
I pedalled home fully intending to cook and study and make my day productive, but within twenty minutes of arriving home, all motivation flew out the window.
I did some washing, made some lunch, organised some of my packing, edited some old photos and watched some TV until the football started.
Very happy to say that I got three out of three today with my footy tips.. unfortunately I got none last night, but then most people got none last night!
Some of the photos ...
... and this is a current video, taken today of some White Bellied Sea Eagle chicks being fed by their parents! How cool is that!?
I finished off the bone broth tonight and now I'm ready to climb into bed.
Nite all.
I had a nice morning, starting at the Seat of Knowledge, followed by coffee and then a stroll through the local markets.
I got some fresh lemons and mandarines, a couple of little gifts to put away for Christmas, a yellow handmade carved timber owl which is now up on the wall in my study and a basket made out of old timber and a bit of driftwood for the handle, which is now sitting on my kitchen bench filled with fresh eggs.
I chatted with the lovely couple who made these crafty items. I bought a gift for Vegan Chickie at the markets in February this year from the same couple. The husband remembered me and said "Goodness, you've lost a lot of weight and you look so healthy and vibrant! What have you been doing?"
We talked about his work with drug addicts and alcoholics and he admitted that he had learned a lot about himself by spending time with them and he even touched on childhood abuse issues just briefly.
They are a lovely couple and I wish we had been able to spend more time together.
I pedalled home fully intending to cook and study and make my day productive, but within twenty minutes of arriving home, all motivation flew out the window.
I did some washing, made some lunch, organised some of my packing, edited some old photos and watched some TV until the football started.
Very happy to say that I got three out of three today with my footy tips.. unfortunately I got none last night, but then most people got none last night!
Some of the photos ...
... and this is a current video, taken today of some White Bellied Sea Eagle chicks being fed by their parents! How cool is that!?
I finished off the bone broth tonight and now I'm ready to climb into bed.
Nite all.
No Winners
Very quiet in our corner of the Bowls Club tonight.
Maid Marian, Apple and I.
Nobody won the membership draw. Nobody won on keno. Nobody won on the poker machines. Nobody won on the raffles.
I got a lift home with Apple.
Adoring Husband hibernated at home after a big SES day.
I spent the day doing everything BUT my essay.
I made up a two week batch of dog food. I have bone broth in the slow cooker. Roasted a chicken in the oven ***yay my oven works***
I almost stayed in bed all morning because it was 4C with the wind chill factor! Very chilly!
Luckily I pedalled down to the Seat of Knowledge because the Dancing Queen was waiting there with her new iPad mini and had lots of questions to ask me. I sat with her for about 45 minutes giving her a few lessons on how to use Facebook and her Gmail account.
Of course, my morning coffee was next and then I got some chicken frames from the butcher for the bone broth.
When I arrived home, I noticed that the frames still had the parson's nose attached, so I cut them off and fried them up to munch on. YUMMO! My favourite part of the chicken.
I decided to pedal back to the butcher and ask him if he could keep the parson's noses separate for me and I will buy them by the kilo every Friday. He was happy to oblige.
I'm now imagining baking up a big batch of parson's noses, with honey and garlic, in the oven every Saturday afternoon to munch on while watching the footy! Drool.
Right now, at 12.40am, I am watching Australia get annihilated by the Poms in the cricket. I've decided that it's just too painful and torturous to watch, so I'm heading off to bed.
No photos to day. No videos. No quotes.
Have a happy weekend!
Nite all.
Maid Marian, Apple and I.
Nobody won the membership draw. Nobody won on keno. Nobody won on the poker machines. Nobody won on the raffles.
I got a lift home with Apple.
Adoring Husband hibernated at home after a big SES day.
I spent the day doing everything BUT my essay.
I made up a two week batch of dog food. I have bone broth in the slow cooker. Roasted a chicken in the oven ***yay my oven works***
I almost stayed in bed all morning because it was 4C with the wind chill factor! Very chilly!
Luckily I pedalled down to the Seat of Knowledge because the Dancing Queen was waiting there with her new iPad mini and had lots of questions to ask me. I sat with her for about 45 minutes giving her a few lessons on how to use Facebook and her Gmail account.
Of course, my morning coffee was next and then I got some chicken frames from the butcher for the bone broth.
When I arrived home, I noticed that the frames still had the parson's nose attached, so I cut them off and fried them up to munch on. YUMMO! My favourite part of the chicken.
I decided to pedal back to the butcher and ask him if he could keep the parson's noses separate for me and I will buy them by the kilo every Friday. He was happy to oblige.
I'm now imagining baking up a big batch of parson's noses, with honey and garlic, in the oven every Saturday afternoon to munch on while watching the footy! Drool.
Right now, at 12.40am, I am watching Australia get annihilated by the Poms in the cricket. I've decided that it's just too painful and torturous to watch, so I'm heading off to bed.
No photos to day. No videos. No quotes.
Have a happy weekend!
Nite all.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
I'm Booked
An hour in the beautiful Winter sunshine was just what I needed this morning. The perfect start to the day.
Coffee, then I booked my train trip to the Sunny Coast for Monday, then more coffee, then home.
Study was intense for a couple of hours including a live seminar that was interesting.
I cooked steak and salad for lunch and then I roasted a big pot of vegetables in the oven to have with sausages and bacon for dinner.
That is the total excitement of my day.
I hope to finish my essay tomorrow so that I can then focus on preparing for my week away. Making up some sauces for Adoring Husband to add to his protein and then some of his favourite chocolate energy balls to keep him energised while I'm gone. I think there is enough bone broth to keep him going, so I won't have to make any more of that.
I feel quite weary tonight and it's only 11pm.
Sorry for the short and sweet post, but some days there is just nothing to report and the brain can't stretch it further than a mini post.
Nite all.
Coffee, then I booked my train trip to the Sunny Coast for Monday, then more coffee, then home.
Study was intense for a couple of hours including a live seminar that was interesting.
I cooked steak and salad for lunch and then I roasted a big pot of vegetables in the oven to have with sausages and bacon for dinner.
That is the total excitement of my day.
I hope to finish my essay tomorrow so that I can then focus on preparing for my week away. Making up some sauces for Adoring Husband to add to his protein and then some of his favourite chocolate energy balls to keep him energised while I'm gone. I think there is enough bone broth to keep him going, so I won't have to make any more of that.
I feel quite weary tonight and it's only 11pm.
Sorry for the short and sweet post, but some days there is just nothing to report and the brain can't stretch it further than a mini post.
Nite all.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Day of Therapy
Yes, of course! Retail therapy!
I got to spend the day with Adoring Husband and we drove into The Bay and did something similar to a 'pub crawl' except the crawl involved all of my favourite shops!
We started at Office Works because AH needed supplies for his SES duties and I needed nothing, but that didn't stop me from spending money on some items that I WILL need in my study future.
Our next stop was Nana's Pantry where we stocked up on a few items for our own pantry.
Then, of course, Stocklands shopping centre.
AH had an appointment with Bay Audio, so I got to do some shopping in his absence and left the area loaded up with bags full of goodies! We also did some grocery shopping and rushed home to prepare for the oven man to arrive.
You guessed it!! I HAVE MY OVEN WORKING!! Yay!
I actually popped next door for a belated New Years drink with my neighbour, 'P2'. Yes, it's August and we've been talking about and trying to plan an afternoon since November last year!
My plan this afternoon was to stay for one hour, but time flew by while we chatted away at a mile a minute about everything and anything, until we realised that two hours had passed and our husbands were waiting patiently for us to emerge and prepare their respective dinners!
Luckily, I had an easy dinner planned and it didn't take too long to prepare. I did NOT use my newly repaired oven ... but I WILL be using it tomorrow!
The third and final flower photo for the three day challenge that The Nikonian sucked me into (thanks for nothing) ...
and now it is almost midnight, so I'm off to snooze.
Nite all.
I got to spend the day with Adoring Husband and we drove into The Bay and did something similar to a 'pub crawl' except the crawl involved all of my favourite shops!
We started at Office Works because AH needed supplies for his SES duties and I needed nothing, but that didn't stop me from spending money on some items that I WILL need in my study future.
Our next stop was Nana's Pantry where we stocked up on a few items for our own pantry.
Then, of course, Stocklands shopping centre.
AH had an appointment with Bay Audio, so I got to do some shopping in his absence and left the area loaded up with bags full of goodies! We also did some grocery shopping and rushed home to prepare for the oven man to arrive.
You guessed it!! I HAVE MY OVEN WORKING!! Yay!
I actually popped next door for a belated New Years drink with my neighbour, 'P2'. Yes, it's August and we've been talking about and trying to plan an afternoon since November last year!
My plan this afternoon was to stay for one hour, but time flew by while we chatted away at a mile a minute about everything and anything, until we realised that two hours had passed and our husbands were waiting patiently for us to emerge and prepare their respective dinners!
Luckily, I had an easy dinner planned and it didn't take too long to prepare. I did NOT use my newly repaired oven ... but I WILL be using it tomorrow!
The third and final flower photo for the three day challenge that The Nikonian sucked me into (thanks for nothing) ...
and now it is almost midnight, so I'm off to snooze.
Nite all.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Terrific Tuesday
So much for getting early morning sunshine!
This morning I woke up to a dark, gloomy, overcast sky. It had been raining earlier and thankfully, it stopped for me to pedal to the shops, then the soft spray of misty rain fell for quite some time during our morning tea.
Only three of us turned up for coffee this morning. Tweedle Dum, the Reality TV Queen and I. Even though we missed all of you lovely ladies, whom I imagine to be having a fabulous time, we did have a very pleasant morning and we all jumped to attention at 10.30am when we realised the time!! Time flies when you're having fun!
Right on cue, the rain stopped so that I could pedal home without getting wet.
Earlier in the day, we really thought that our monthly evening barbecue might have to be cancelled. It was so cold this morning .. even I felt the chill in the air! The cold combined with the rain didn't seem very conducive to a pleasant evening.
Thankfully, the weather warmed up, the clouds cleared and the sun shone.
So we had a good roll up. For those of you who are missing ... we had D & J, J & J, N & G, P & D, I & J with their friends S & B and then Adoring Husband and I. Considering how many of our regular group are out of town this week, fourteen was a pretty good number!
It was a good night. I pedalled down at 5pm with all the food and drink packed into my trike basket and AH arrived later after an SES meeting. So at the end of the evening, after two glasses of wine, I pedalled home with all the lights flashing on the trike.
I loudly announced my departure and told everyone to be wary of my flashing trike as they drove home .. but there was no sign of any cars on the road for my whole journey home.
The new theme for this month's flickr challenge is 'Australian Wildlife' so I'm pretty excited about that. It's right up my alley really.
Finally, The Nikonian nominated me (and two others) for a three day flower challenge so this is today's flower offering ...
Heading off to bed before midnight.
Nite all.
This morning I woke up to a dark, gloomy, overcast sky. It had been raining earlier and thankfully, it stopped for me to pedal to the shops, then the soft spray of misty rain fell for quite some time during our morning tea.
Only three of us turned up for coffee this morning. Tweedle Dum, the Reality TV Queen and I. Even though we missed all of you lovely ladies, whom I imagine to be having a fabulous time, we did have a very pleasant morning and we all jumped to attention at 10.30am when we realised the time!! Time flies when you're having fun!
Right on cue, the rain stopped so that I could pedal home without getting wet.
Earlier in the day, we really thought that our monthly evening barbecue might have to be cancelled. It was so cold this morning .. even I felt the chill in the air! The cold combined with the rain didn't seem very conducive to a pleasant evening.
Thankfully, the weather warmed up, the clouds cleared and the sun shone.
So we had a good roll up. For those of you who are missing ... we had D & J, J & J, N & G, P & D, I & J with their friends S & B and then Adoring Husband and I. Considering how many of our regular group are out of town this week, fourteen was a pretty good number!
It was a good night. I pedalled down at 5pm with all the food and drink packed into my trike basket and AH arrived later after an SES meeting. So at the end of the evening, after two glasses of wine, I pedalled home with all the lights flashing on the trike.
I loudly announced my departure and told everyone to be wary of my flashing trike as they drove home .. but there was no sign of any cars on the road for my whole journey home.
The new theme for this month's flickr challenge is 'Australian Wildlife' so I'm pretty excited about that. It's right up my alley really.
Finally, The Nikonian nominated me (and two others) for a three day flower challenge so this is today's flower offering ...
Heading off to bed before midnight.
Nite all.
Monday, August 3, 2015
A Notch Happier
Today was a slight improvement on yesterday.
I seriously believe that I need to increase my sunshine/vitamin D intake. I've only spent time at the Seat of Knowledge four times in the last two weeks, so I'm not getting enough happy morning sunshine. I'm going to make a concerted effort to pedal there every morning this week.
I bought some more sand crabs today, and as much as I'd have liked to waste some time with The Motivator, I didn't hang around, but came home to shell the crabs and then eat them all for lunch.
I spent a couple of hours studying and after my brain shut down, I chilled on the couch watching 'Love Actually'.
The day seemed to go very fast and before I knew it, Adoring Husband was home from his SES duties and it was time to cook dinner!
Boring old chicken and vegetables tonight, because my oven is still not working. Two more sleeps and it should be done!
Very very surprisingly, I came second in the flickr challenge with my bird's eye photo! I don't think my photo deserved it, but who am I to argue with a bunch of strange people who make such decisions with their votes!?
I collected a dozen eggs from the chook pen today, proving that Adoring Husband has been neglectful in his duties. I also picked an orange from our orange tree. There were two on the tree and it's our first crop since we planted it about 5 years ago (if not longer). I ate the orange and it was just a tiny bit tart, so it may have required a bit longer before picking.
Our peach tree has peaches and our mulberry tree has mulberries! The garden seems to think that it's Spring. I also noticed that the Rainbow Bee Eaters are back with a vengeance and seem to be everywhere!
So while the world is blossoming and blooming, I am a notch happier than I was yesterday. Tomorrow, I will be another notch happier .. even though I will miss my girls, Lady Lynn, Mardi and Maid Marian tomorrow at morning tea and then again at our monthly barbecue by the river tomorrow evening. I hope that you're all having a good time without me!!
Here is another photo of the male Lyre Bird from our road trip.
Time for bed.
Nite all.
I seriously believe that I need to increase my sunshine/vitamin D intake. I've only spent time at the Seat of Knowledge four times in the last two weeks, so I'm not getting enough happy morning sunshine. I'm going to make a concerted effort to pedal there every morning this week.
I bought some more sand crabs today, and as much as I'd have liked to waste some time with The Motivator, I didn't hang around, but came home to shell the crabs and then eat them all for lunch.
I spent a couple of hours studying and after my brain shut down, I chilled on the couch watching 'Love Actually'.
The day seemed to go very fast and before I knew it, Adoring Husband was home from his SES duties and it was time to cook dinner!
Boring old chicken and vegetables tonight, because my oven is still not working. Two more sleeps and it should be done!
Very very surprisingly, I came second in the flickr challenge with my bird's eye photo! I don't think my photo deserved it, but who am I to argue with a bunch of strange people who make such decisions with their votes!?
I collected a dozen eggs from the chook pen today, proving that Adoring Husband has been neglectful in his duties. I also picked an orange from our orange tree. There were two on the tree and it's our first crop since we planted it about 5 years ago (if not longer). I ate the orange and it was just a tiny bit tart, so it may have required a bit longer before picking.
Our peach tree has peaches and our mulberry tree has mulberries! The garden seems to think that it's Spring. I also noticed that the Rainbow Bee Eaters are back with a vengeance and seem to be everywhere!
So while the world is blossoming and blooming, I am a notch happier than I was yesterday. Tomorrow, I will be another notch happier .. even though I will miss my girls, Lady Lynn, Mardi and Maid Marian tomorrow at morning tea and then again at our monthly barbecue by the river tomorrow evening. I hope that you're all having a good time without me!!
Here is another photo of the male Lyre Bird from our road trip.
Time for bed.
Nite all.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Sad Sack Day
So if this research is already three years old, why are cancer patients still fed lollies and icy poles while they are having their treatment? Is this kind of research not shared far and wide with everybody working in the medical industry?
Helping kill cancer cells
It is lunch time on Sunday and I am feeling so blurgh.
Nope, not alcohol related lol.
You know, some days you wake up feeling a bit crappy and then every tiny thing just drags you down further? Woe is me. It's not taking very much to trigger my anger response. I don't like myself or anybody else today.
I'm certainly not in the mood to study and it's taking all of my will to stop myself from sending an email to withdraw from the course.
It's such a beautiful day outside and I'm cowering inside feeling sorry for myself and feeling angry at the world.
Perhaps I should just go plonk myself on the couch and ride the day out.
Tomorrow will be a better day.
... unlike this beautiful Bald Eagle ...
Yes, tomorrow will be a better day.
Nite all.
Helping kill cancer cells
It is lunch time on Sunday and I am feeling so blurgh.
Nope, not alcohol related lol.
You know, some days you wake up feeling a bit crappy and then every tiny thing just drags you down further? Woe is me. It's not taking very much to trigger my anger response. I don't like myself or anybody else today.
I'm certainly not in the mood to study and it's taking all of my will to stop myself from sending an email to withdraw from the course.
It's such a beautiful day outside and I'm cowering inside feeling sorry for myself and feeling angry at the world.
Perhaps I should just go plonk myself on the couch and ride the day out.
Tomorrow will be a better day.
I'm definitely feeling off balance ...
... unlike this beautiful Bald Eagle ...
Yes, tomorrow will be a better day.
Nite all.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
A+ for Procrastination
I'm really pushing my luck and putting myself under pressure to do everything that I planned, before I head to the Sunny Coast this month. Why do I do this to myself?
I had the perfect opportunity to put in a whole day of study today, but instead, I chose to go visiting and spent more than two hours with The Motivator, before buying six sand crabs from her. It took me 90 minutes to get all the meat out of the crabs and I sat down with my plate of crab meat and my study material, when I received a text from Vegan Chickie asking if I had felt the tremor!
A 5.6 tremor was felt between The Bay and Brisbane. I didn't feel it at all, however, another one an hour later, at 5.3 moved our house! I felt the floor under my feet move from side to side, giving me a feeling like vertigo .. and I was sitting down at the time! I could feel the couch move as well and the house made rickety, crackling sounds.
It didn't last very long, but it was long enough to make my heart race!
That rattled me enough to take my focus completely away from studying.
Meanwhile, last night, I finally decided on this photo for the flickr challenge...
It's the eye of a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo.
There have been some great photos submitted, so I won't even get a place, but at least I honed my procrastination skills by wasting ridiculous amounts of study time worrying about a photography challenge that I had no chance of winning .. and for which there is not even a prize, other than a boost to the ego!
Honestly! Where are my priorities?
Here are a couple of pics from the black cockatoos yesterday ...
... and on that note, I'm off to bed. Aside from study, I'm going to make the Raw Chocolate Raspberry Tart because my oven is STILL NOT FIXED!! Hopefully this Wednesday will bring me oven happiness. I miss my oven!
Nite all.
I had the perfect opportunity to put in a whole day of study today, but instead, I chose to go visiting and spent more than two hours with The Motivator, before buying six sand crabs from her. It took me 90 minutes to get all the meat out of the crabs and I sat down with my plate of crab meat and my study material, when I received a text from Vegan Chickie asking if I had felt the tremor!
A 5.6 tremor was felt between The Bay and Brisbane. I didn't feel it at all, however, another one an hour later, at 5.3 moved our house! I felt the floor under my feet move from side to side, giving me a feeling like vertigo .. and I was sitting down at the time! I could feel the couch move as well and the house made rickety, crackling sounds.
It didn't last very long, but it was long enough to make my heart race!
That rattled me enough to take my focus completely away from studying.
Meanwhile, last night, I finally decided on this photo for the flickr challenge...
It's the eye of a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo.
There have been some great photos submitted, so I won't even get a place, but at least I honed my procrastination skills by wasting ridiculous amounts of study time worrying about a photography challenge that I had no chance of winning .. and for which there is not even a prize, other than a boost to the ego!
Honestly! Where are my priorities?
Here are a couple of pics from the black cockatoos yesterday ...
... and on that note, I'm off to bed. Aside from study, I'm going to make the Raw Chocolate Raspberry Tart because my oven is STILL NOT FIXED!! Hopefully this Wednesday will bring me oven happiness. I miss my oven!
Nite all.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Here They Are!
Most of these pics are straight out of the camera, unedited ... because I've lost my usual editing program (iphoto has been discontinued and it was my favourite editing program because it was easy to download and do basic editing there and then import them to other programs to get into the nitty gritty) and I'm still trying to figure out what program to use now.
I think you can tell that most people were having a pretty good time!
I'm posting this early so that I don't have to worry about it tonight - especially since I promised pics.
I've spent the morning doing housework. Vacuuming, changing bedding, washing and finding a home for 8 pairs of my shoes lying round the house! How did that even happen?
I also found my four black cockatoos again this morning and I knew the person whose yard they were in, so I got quite a bit closer than last time. I'm going to have a quick look at those photos now and see if any are worth sharing here.
There are a couple of good ones, so I'll save them for tomorrow. I've just realised that this is my last chance to submit a photo to the 'simplicity' challenge! Eep!
I'm off to do that now. Watch this space tomorrow .. hopefully, I will have come up with something interesting!
Nite all.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Bingeing Socially
I feel that I must confess to recently developing a social binge drinking problem!
Yesterday was lady's luncheon day at the Golf Club in The Bay. There were about twenty of us who car pooled and met there at midday.
Their menu was excellent, with a good selection of gluten free meals available. I enjoyed grilled king prawns with slaw, sweet chilly sauce and aioli. I also enjoyed sharing two bottles of wine with Apple and then a couple more glasses at The Speckled Hen's house where a few of us met after lunch.
I phoned Adoring Husband to come have a drink with The Speckled Hen's husband, The Dirty Old Man, so he arrived and sat in the shed with TDOM drinking beer.
We were having a lovely time, laughing and drinking and telling stories when a horrible accident happened.
Apple's chair snapped underneath her and she fell backwards, hitting her head on a house post. There was a lot of blood. Luckily, sober AH with his fresh first aid qualifications was handy. He came to investigate and then suggested that we call an ambulance.
We are very lucky to have a resident ambulance paramedic in town, so he was in the driveway quick smart and came to Apple's rescue. She passed all the concussion tests, but it was difficult to stop the bleeding. Apparently it was 8pm before the bleeding stopped.
AH and I decided it was time to come home and the last thing I remember, is pulling into our garage. Apparently, I cooked dinner! I do not remember that! I made spaghetti bolognese with zucchini noodles. Yes, scary isn't it?
I woke up in my bed at midnight, fully clothed.
This is my third such episode in a matter of months. I think it's time I take control of it before IT takes control of me!
Needless to say that I had a late start to my day this morning. Out of bed at 9am and out on the trike for coffee. While I was out we experienced an earthquake!! It was a 5.3 magnitude earthquake that was felt as far north as Yeppoon and south as far as the Gold Coast.
I felt nothing. Lady Lynn felt nothing. Adoring Husband was on Fraser Island and he definitely felt the tremor, phoning me immediately to see if I had felt it too.
It was BIG news and social media was alive with stories from people who were 'moved' by the experience (pardon the pun).
I had a quiet day at home, interrupted by a wonderful phone call from Vegan Chickie and Chicklet that lasted about an hour.
I watched an interesting movie called "Lucy" with Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. It was very violent and quite graphic, but the story was intriguing and the Lucy character was very strong. It was a good movie.
Tonight, I made another curry from our box of curry powders/spices. Parsee Chicken and Cashew Nut Curry Masala. I did a cauliflower fried rice with it. Delicious! It was the same curry that I taste tested at Childers.
Tomorrow, I will share some pics from the Christmas in July party and a couple more of the black cockatoos.
I hope that my body will get back to normal tomorrow and I can have a more productive day at my desk writing some more of my essay.
Oh! I also got a message via flickr to tell me that my twin tawnies photo had been stolen and was on a website for sale! So I've sent the site an email advising them of copyright laws and asking them to remove it immediately. This is the photo...
Do you remember it? How rude!!
Anyway, it's almost midnight, so I'm off to rest my toxic brain and body.
Nite all.
Yesterday was lady's luncheon day at the Golf Club in The Bay. There were about twenty of us who car pooled and met there at midday.
Their menu was excellent, with a good selection of gluten free meals available. I enjoyed grilled king prawns with slaw, sweet chilly sauce and aioli. I also enjoyed sharing two bottles of wine with Apple and then a couple more glasses at The Speckled Hen's house where a few of us met after lunch.
I phoned Adoring Husband to come have a drink with The Speckled Hen's husband, The Dirty Old Man, so he arrived and sat in the shed with TDOM drinking beer.
We were having a lovely time, laughing and drinking and telling stories when a horrible accident happened.
Apple's chair snapped underneath her and she fell backwards, hitting her head on a house post. There was a lot of blood. Luckily, sober AH with his fresh first aid qualifications was handy. He came to investigate and then suggested that we call an ambulance.
We are very lucky to have a resident ambulance paramedic in town, so he was in the driveway quick smart and came to Apple's rescue. She passed all the concussion tests, but it was difficult to stop the bleeding. Apparently it was 8pm before the bleeding stopped.
AH and I decided it was time to come home and the last thing I remember, is pulling into our garage. Apparently, I cooked dinner! I do not remember that! I made spaghetti bolognese with zucchini noodles. Yes, scary isn't it?
I woke up in my bed at midnight, fully clothed.
This is my third such episode in a matter of months. I think it's time I take control of it before IT takes control of me!
Needless to say that I had a late start to my day this morning. Out of bed at 9am and out on the trike for coffee. While I was out we experienced an earthquake!! It was a 5.3 magnitude earthquake that was felt as far north as Yeppoon and south as far as the Gold Coast.
I felt nothing. Lady Lynn felt nothing. Adoring Husband was on Fraser Island and he definitely felt the tremor, phoning me immediately to see if I had felt it too.
It was BIG news and social media was alive with stories from people who were 'moved' by the experience (pardon the pun).
I had a quiet day at home, interrupted by a wonderful phone call from Vegan Chickie and Chicklet that lasted about an hour.
I watched an interesting movie called "Lucy" with Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. It was very violent and quite graphic, but the story was intriguing and the Lucy character was very strong. It was a good movie.
Tonight, I made another curry from our box of curry powders/spices. Parsee Chicken and Cashew Nut Curry Masala. I did a cauliflower fried rice with it. Delicious! It was the same curry that I taste tested at Childers.
Tomorrow, I will share some pics from the Christmas in July party and a couple more of the black cockatoos.
I hope that my body will get back to normal tomorrow and I can have a more productive day at my desk writing some more of my essay.
Oh! I also got a message via flickr to tell me that my twin tawnies photo had been stolen and was on a website for sale! So I've sent the site an email advising them of copyright laws and asking them to remove it immediately. This is the photo...
Do you remember it? How rude!!
Anyway, it's almost midnight, so I'm off to rest my toxic brain and body.
Nite all.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Black Joy
There was a fabulous cold change last night and I climbed into bed with a strong icy breeze blowing through my bedroom window. I literally smiled myself to sleep feeling that breeze caress my face as I pulled the doona right up to my chin. My idea of bliss.
It was still nice and cool when I woke up, so I lingered in bed feeling that breeze some more and then headed off for morning tea with the girls.
There were seven of us this morning all taking turns to catch up with the previous week's events. Always enjoyable with my girls.
I picked up another coffee before I headed home, and decided to take a route that I used to take every day for a couple of years, back when I was obsessive with my photography. It takes me past bushland full of birdlife.
The reason that I chose that way is because there was a bushfire last night and I wondered if I might see signs of it from the road.
I didn't.
What I DID see, was a family of four Red Tailed Black Cockatoos!
I've seen quite a few black cockatoos lately. There were eight of them flying over the council caravan park before I went on the road trip and since then, three or four of them fly over the boat ramp in the mornings and head across the river, squawking as they go. But they are the yellow tailed black cockatoos, which are quite common and I've never been camera ready whenever they've been close, so there have been no photos of them for me.
I have been in search of ANY kind of black cockatoo for five years .. ever since I got my first good camera, so today, finding the red tailed birds .. was exciting!
There was a male and a female and a juvenile, but I'm not sure where the 4th bird fit in the mix.
There were a few problems for me. The light was ever changing because there was scattered cloud that kept hiding the sun. It was very windy, blowing the branches that the birds were perched upon and blowing their feathers all over the place. The birds were very high in the trees .. stretching my lens to it's limit.
Taking all of that into consideration, I was pretty happy with the few shots that I got. If only I could train the birds to stay perched on a branch, out in the open where I could get a clear view, half of my problems would be solved!
Needless to say, I didn't get as much essay work done as I wanted, because I was too excited about editing my black cockatoo shots!
Tonight, I played with a couple of photos from the Christmas in July party, hoping they would be suitable for the 'Simplicity' challenge ...
I'm still searching my brain for better ideas. Please feel free to throw ideas in this direction, if you have any.
I have a big lady's luncheon day tomorrow, so I'm off to bed for an early night .. looking forward to that cool breeze through the window again!
Nite all.
It was still nice and cool when I woke up, so I lingered in bed feeling that breeze some more and then headed off for morning tea with the girls.
There were seven of us this morning all taking turns to catch up with the previous week's events. Always enjoyable with my girls.
I picked up another coffee before I headed home, and decided to take a route that I used to take every day for a couple of years, back when I was obsessive with my photography. It takes me past bushland full of birdlife.
The reason that I chose that way is because there was a bushfire last night and I wondered if I might see signs of it from the road.
I didn't.
What I DID see, was a family of four Red Tailed Black Cockatoos!
I've seen quite a few black cockatoos lately. There were eight of them flying over the council caravan park before I went on the road trip and since then, three or four of them fly over the boat ramp in the mornings and head across the river, squawking as they go. But they are the yellow tailed black cockatoos, which are quite common and I've never been camera ready whenever they've been close, so there have been no photos of them for me.
I have been in search of ANY kind of black cockatoo for five years .. ever since I got my first good camera, so today, finding the red tailed birds .. was exciting!
There was a male and a female and a juvenile, but I'm not sure where the 4th bird fit in the mix.
There were a few problems for me. The light was ever changing because there was scattered cloud that kept hiding the sun. It was very windy, blowing the branches that the birds were perched upon and blowing their feathers all over the place. The birds were very high in the trees .. stretching my lens to it's limit.
Taking all of that into consideration, I was pretty happy with the few shots that I got. If only I could train the birds to stay perched on a branch, out in the open where I could get a clear view, half of my problems would be solved!
Needless to say, I didn't get as much essay work done as I wanted, because I was too excited about editing my black cockatoo shots!
Tonight, I played with a couple of photos from the Christmas in July party, hoping they would be suitable for the 'Simplicity' challenge ...
I'm still searching my brain for better ideas. Please feel free to throw ideas in this direction, if you have any.
I have a big lady's luncheon day tomorrow, so I'm off to bed for an early night .. looking forward to that cool breeze through the window again!
Nite all.
Much Ado About Raptors
Today was a beautiful day.
Some days just hit you with natural beauty. I sat by the water at the Seat of Knowledge for almost an hour, soaking up the sunshine and falling more deeply in love with the natural beauty of our river. It was a diamond day.
After I collected the mail and bought my morning coffee, I returned home to study, but I got a little side tracked and did some housework first. I did eventually get into the study and put in a few good hours. Satisfactory progress.
Mid afternoon I went for a ride to get more coffee. It's unusual for me to leave the house after lunch, but the sun was still shining and the day was still glorious, so I decided to brave it. It was worth the effort.
I tried out one of the curry spices tonight by preparing one of the recipes on the sheet provided in the box of jars. It was a southern Indian masala curry and I used chicken as the protein. I don't think I used enough salt, but the flavour was very nice.
After I had prepared dinner, I grabbed my camera and raced out on the trike hoping to capture a decent sunset. The cloud formation was just right and it came so close to being spectacular a couple of times, but didn't quite make it. I got a couple of shots but nothing worth sharing.
I worked on these two shots today for the 'simplicity' challenge ...
I doubt that I'll use either of them .. unless I get desperate, because I only have 4 days left of the month and ideas are scarce!
It's already after midnight and I'm watching a movie called 'Healing' with Hugo Weaving. My favourite thing about this movie is the birdlife. It's about a prisoner rehabilitation program where the prisoners are given the responsibility of healing injured raptors before releasing them back into the wild.
There are owls and wedge tailed eagles and other raptors, all beautiful birds, but the wedge tailed eagle just takes my breath away. Spectacular and majestic and captivating. What I wouldn't give to get up close and personal with a creature such as that .. or at least close enough to get the perfect photograph.
Not quite a wedge tailed eagle, but check out this video of a crow - has to be the cleverest of all the birds. This left me shaking my head in disbelief!
Well, my movie is now over, so I'm off to bed. I've got morning tea with the girls tomorrow and then I need to contribute some more time to my essay, so I need to get my beauty sleep.
Nite all.
Some days just hit you with natural beauty. I sat by the water at the Seat of Knowledge for almost an hour, soaking up the sunshine and falling more deeply in love with the natural beauty of our river. It was a diamond day.
After I collected the mail and bought my morning coffee, I returned home to study, but I got a little side tracked and did some housework first. I did eventually get into the study and put in a few good hours. Satisfactory progress.
Mid afternoon I went for a ride to get more coffee. It's unusual for me to leave the house after lunch, but the sun was still shining and the day was still glorious, so I decided to brave it. It was worth the effort.
I tried out one of the curry spices tonight by preparing one of the recipes on the sheet provided in the box of jars. It was a southern Indian masala curry and I used chicken as the protein. I don't think I used enough salt, but the flavour was very nice.
After I had prepared dinner, I grabbed my camera and raced out on the trike hoping to capture a decent sunset. The cloud formation was just right and it came so close to being spectacular a couple of times, but didn't quite make it. I got a couple of shots but nothing worth sharing.
I worked on these two shots today for the 'simplicity' challenge ...
I doubt that I'll use either of them .. unless I get desperate, because I only have 4 days left of the month and ideas are scarce!
It's already after midnight and I'm watching a movie called 'Healing' with Hugo Weaving. My favourite thing about this movie is the birdlife. It's about a prisoner rehabilitation program where the prisoners are given the responsibility of healing injured raptors before releasing them back into the wild.
There are owls and wedge tailed eagles and other raptors, all beautiful birds, but the wedge tailed eagle just takes my breath away. Spectacular and majestic and captivating. What I wouldn't give to get up close and personal with a creature such as that .. or at least close enough to get the perfect photograph.
Not quite a wedge tailed eagle, but check out this video of a crow - has to be the cleverest of all the birds. This left me shaking my head in disbelief!
Well, my movie is now over, so I'm off to bed. I've got morning tea with the girls tomorrow and then I need to contribute some more time to my essay, so I need to get my beauty sleep.
Nite all.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Out of Control
It's been a big couple of days!
Saturday night was Christmas in July. A good time was had by all. The food was good and the entertainment got everybody up dancing. Great prizes for the lucky ticket holders (which was nobody at our table!) and everyone was happy on the night.
I met some new people and had some interesting conversations. I actually got up and danced, which is a rarity for me and it was also great to see a few business owners at tables supporting our local SES. Even nicer to have so many of our friends in attendance. It really made the night for me.
It was all over a lot earlier than I and a few others would have liked, because we were enjoying ourselves and wanted the night to continue for a bit longer. Better planning next year should extend the night for another hour or so.
I did have a little more wine than I should have, hence the missed blog update last night!
However, not so much that I was too hung over to go to Childers for their annual Multicultural Festival today!
We were up bright and early this morning so that we could arrive in Childers with time to get a good parking position. We like to pay for parking in the Catholic School grounds because it's close to the festival and Adoring Husband is able to unload our shopping when it gets too heavy and be ready to start again!
Also, even though it's Winter, our experience is that it gets very very warm as the day wears on and there is nothing worse than having to walk a couple of kilometres to your car in the hottest part of the day, when you have already spent four or five hours on your feet.
So we arrived there just after 8am. The festival is advertised to commence at 9am, but all of the stalls were operating when we arrived and there was already music being played by some of the musicians at various points along the roadway.
The air was still cool and there were not many people about, so we could browse and take our time and buy without having to fight the crowds.
We bought a giant timber dinosaur for Chicklet, a couple of crystal rocks, a pair of shoes and a silver bracelet (for me) and a box of mixed curry spices, a couple of which we got to taste test in lamb and chicken dishes. So nice! Included in the box was a stack of recipes for various curry dishes, which I'm looking forward to trying.
After a couple of hours, we realised that having skipped breakfast, we were feeling very hungry. I was on the lookout for a Mexican stall that I knew sold delicious GF mini meals packed full of flavour, but after searching the entire festival, the stall was nowhere to be found.
We decided to get some Hungarian sausages with sauerkraut, onion and cheese. It was a great choice and AH went back for seconds. We found ourselves a shady spot under some trees, to sit and eat our brunch while listening to some music.
We enjoyed the sounds of two different bands and a solo musician. Slip on Stereo was the first band, which I enjoyed very much, then a guitarist by the name of Al Davies and then a jazz reggae band by the name of Jahbutu.
It was a great way to spend about an hour.
Eventually, we decided to go check out the rest of the stalls, but by this time, the crowds had built up to the point of 'impossible to manage', so I decided it was time to head home. I don't like crowds that size and it was impossible to see anything because people were two and three deep at each stall. It was even difficult walking up the street through the sea of humans all going in different directions.
It was a relief to reach the car knowing that we would soon be escaping the madness.
As we drove out of town, the parked cars went for miles and large groups of people were all walking towards town. It was obviously only going to get busier. So happy to head home.
It was a great morning. We were disappointed to miss the festival last year, for the first time in seven years, so it was good to reconnect with it this year.
I didn't take my camera today, so I have no photos to share. I DID take photos of Christmas in July, but I haven't had a chance to look at them yet, so watch this space later in the week.
Now I think I need to rest my weary bones so that I can focus on study tomorrow. No excuses this week. Full on study! Essay should be completed by Friday! I need to get ahead so that I can fit in a Chicklet visit soon.
So .. nite all.
Saturday night was Christmas in July. A good time was had by all. The food was good and the entertainment got everybody up dancing. Great prizes for the lucky ticket holders (which was nobody at our table!) and everyone was happy on the night.
I met some new people and had some interesting conversations. I actually got up and danced, which is a rarity for me and it was also great to see a few business owners at tables supporting our local SES. Even nicer to have so many of our friends in attendance. It really made the night for me.
It was all over a lot earlier than I and a few others would have liked, because we were enjoying ourselves and wanted the night to continue for a bit longer. Better planning next year should extend the night for another hour or so.
I did have a little more wine than I should have, hence the missed blog update last night!
However, not so much that I was too hung over to go to Childers for their annual Multicultural Festival today!
We were up bright and early this morning so that we could arrive in Childers with time to get a good parking position. We like to pay for parking in the Catholic School grounds because it's close to the festival and Adoring Husband is able to unload our shopping when it gets too heavy and be ready to start again!
Also, even though it's Winter, our experience is that it gets very very warm as the day wears on and there is nothing worse than having to walk a couple of kilometres to your car in the hottest part of the day, when you have already spent four or five hours on your feet.
So we arrived there just after 8am. The festival is advertised to commence at 9am, but all of the stalls were operating when we arrived and there was already music being played by some of the musicians at various points along the roadway.
The air was still cool and there were not many people about, so we could browse and take our time and buy without having to fight the crowds.
We bought a giant timber dinosaur for Chicklet, a couple of crystal rocks, a pair of shoes and a silver bracelet (for me) and a box of mixed curry spices, a couple of which we got to taste test in lamb and chicken dishes. So nice! Included in the box was a stack of recipes for various curry dishes, which I'm looking forward to trying.
After a couple of hours, we realised that having skipped breakfast, we were feeling very hungry. I was on the lookout for a Mexican stall that I knew sold delicious GF mini meals packed full of flavour, but after searching the entire festival, the stall was nowhere to be found.
We decided to get some Hungarian sausages with sauerkraut, onion and cheese. It was a great choice and AH went back for seconds. We found ourselves a shady spot under some trees, to sit and eat our brunch while listening to some music.
We enjoyed the sounds of two different bands and a solo musician. Slip on Stereo was the first band, which I enjoyed very much, then a guitarist by the name of Al Davies and then a jazz reggae band by the name of Jahbutu.
It was a great way to spend about an hour.
Eventually, we decided to go check out the rest of the stalls, but by this time, the crowds had built up to the point of 'impossible to manage', so I decided it was time to head home. I don't like crowds that size and it was impossible to see anything because people were two and three deep at each stall. It was even difficult walking up the street through the sea of humans all going in different directions.
It was a relief to reach the car knowing that we would soon be escaping the madness.
As we drove out of town, the parked cars went for miles and large groups of people were all walking towards town. It was obviously only going to get busier. So happy to head home.
It was a great morning. We were disappointed to miss the festival last year, for the first time in seven years, so it was good to reconnect with it this year.
I didn't take my camera today, so I have no photos to share. I DID take photos of Christmas in July, but I haven't had a chance to look at them yet, so watch this space later in the week.
Now I think I need to rest my weary bones so that I can focus on study tomorrow. No excuses this week. Full on study! Essay should be completed by Friday! I need to get ahead so that I can fit in a Chicklet visit soon.
So .. nite all.
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