Pat a Cake

What a day!

It was a late start for me (nothing unusual there) and after I rode to the coffee shop, I decided to go for a long leisurely ride along the river, beginning at the park and winding my way right to the end of the path. This is something that I haven't done for a long time.

It was a beautiful morning, with a few scattered clouds, vibrant blue water and sunlight twinkling off the waves. There were a few people on the beach, fishing, sunbathing, walking, swimming and making sand castles.

There is still one week left of the Queensland school holidays, so next weekend, the caravan parks will empty, and NSW schools will commence their holidays, so we'll get an influx of new tourists for two weeks.

For that reason, this is not my favourite time of the year.

By the time I pedalled up our driveway, I was feeling motivated to complete one of my job cards. Not a new card, but one that I removed from the board over a week ago .. one that I was dreading, because I knew that it would take me a million years to complete.

It was about 10am when I pulled everything out of my dressing table. It has a row of three small drawers across the top and a bank of four large drawers at the bottom. This is just some of it! There was another large pile on the floor!

Two and a half hours later, I had finished sorting through clothes, jewellery, cards and letters, postcards, receipts, bank statements, ring boxes (why was I even saving them?), scarves, hair combs and scrunchies, buttons in little ziplock bags, CDs, umbrellas, handbag straps, old purses and phone cases, the list goes on and on.

It was about 12.45pm when I finally finished the job and sat down on the couch to take a break. I had to be ready for a lunch date by 1.40pm, but time flew so quickly, that the next time I looked at my watch, it was 1.30pm!! It was a mad rush for me to get dressed (not even time for a shower), splash some make up on my face, grab a bottle of wine, a wine glass and some ice from the freezer, and rush out the door.

As luck would have it, I was the first to arrive and everybody else was late!!

Our lunch was at Chef Pat's house. She turned 70 a week ago and at the time, she celebrated with her family. It has been years since she invited friends for a meal at her house, and we (The Speckled Hen, The Reality TV Queen, The Blond Bombshell and I) were the lucky recipients of a delicious spread of fresh nutritious food, lovingly prepared by Chef Pat.

It was all so good, that we awarded her a Michelin Star!

She and her husband once owned and managed the magnificent Federal Hotel in Childers. She was also the head cook there.

This is us, all having a wonderful time with Chef Pat...

... this is the delicious GF cake that she made and which was served with raspberries soaked in balsamic vinegar. Yummo!

... and this is me!

It was a really great afternoon. We had lots of food, lots of champagne and wine, and lots of laughs.

Chef Pat was a wonderful hostess and we couldn't thank her enough. She is visually impaired, so this was a bigger effort for her, than it would be for one of us. She is an amazing lady.

The sun had well and truly set by the time we farewelled her and the battery was flat on my trike headlight, which made it tricky to ride home. I made it home about an hour before Adoring Husband arrived home from his big day of SES training.

I also arrived home at the same time that I received a message from The Leggy Blond, who is a neighbour, about one of the psychotic dogs barking all day. I had been in such a rush to leave, that I accidentally left one of the dogs (Ruby) outside and she spent the entire afternoon barking at the door to come inside. I bet that made for a pleasant Saturday afternoon for all of our neighbours!

Well, it's just about to strike midnight, so I'm off to bed. It seems to be my usual bedtime lately.

Nite all.

Foolish Disappointment

April Fool's Day has been quite a disappointment for me!

I only heard two jokes all day.

The first was a newly discovered albino spider ...

... and the second was that Jarryd Hayne had quit NFL and had signed with the Roosters for the remainder of the 2016 season.

That's the best we can do????

I ate the last of my salted caramel coconut ice cream tonight. I feel sad about that .. however, it WAS delicious!

I spent a couple of hours with The Motivator this morning. She is off to Sydney tomorrow for a couple of weeks. Thinking that I could cull some clothes that are too big for me from my wardrobe, I took them to her place. She was very appreciative, and in turn, handed me some clothes from her wardrobe that don't fit her any more and now I've ended up with the same number of clothes PLUS one back in my wardrobe!

I had a lovely evening at the club tonight. Only one couple was missing from our group, so there were a lot of us and there was lots of loud conversations happening. There were not as many tourists at the club as I expected, which was a pleasant surprise.

I'm feeling very weary now, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Heaven in a Bucket

OH-EM-GEE! OMG! OH MY GOD!

By a happy accident, I found some coconut ice cream today.  I need to buy a pallet load and set aside one whole freezer specifically for this ice cream.

It is gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, soy free, vegan and organic. The brand is 'Zebra Dream' and it's salted caramel flavoured. They use Himalayan salt which is a bonus! It's expensive, but when you find something that good, expense is no object!!

I wish I'd bought two tubs of it, because I've already eaten half a tub! The tubs are only half a litre.

I spent the day in The Bay with Adoring Husband. I bought a couple of t-shirts, a top, a necklace and a drink flask, lots of delicious organic fruit and veg, some grass fed beef, a dvd that I already have (it's difficult to keep track when you have more than 400 dvds!), and I had the clasp on my 13 year old watch repaired/tightened. I love my watch. I don't think it's going to last much longer.

No guitar practise today or tonight. I thought I would give my ever tender fingers a break for twenty four hours.

I've been watching movies all night. "Nights in Rodanthe" (sob sob) and "Suddenly 30"

It's one minute to midnight. I should try for some sleep.

Nite all.

A Bit of Blah

I had a really great day today.

It started with morning coffee with a few of the girls, followed by lunch with the ladies and ended with a couple of drinks at one of those lady's houses.

I made sure that I sat with different people for lunch. I usually sit with the same friends each month and I never meet any of the new people, or catch up with other friends, so I made a conscious effort to be sociable and have lots of chats with different friends. I caught up on lots of news.

This was a good idea and I really enjoyed myself.

After lunch (which was delicious), a few of us played the pokies for a while and then drove home to The Speckled Hen's house, where we all had a drink and I was the first to leave and walk home.

I made a nice dinner of lamb rack and vegetables.

But I've been sitting here since Adoring Husband went to bed, feeling very blah. I can't tell if I'm angry or stressed or sick or sad or what. Just plain miserable really.

So I'm off to bed hoping that I will wake up in a better frame of mind and feeling happy.

Have a happy Thursday everybody.

Nite all.

 

Play Rest Play

That's the advice that I've been offered. Play, rest, play.

I've been practising on the guitar and my fingertips are now very tender. This means that I can't practise as often as I want! I need to toughen up the tips of my fingers and apparently the best way to do that is to practise in short sharp bursts until callouses develop.

It's a pretty thought isn't it?

I've also been sharing guitar stories with an old work mate who now lives in Canberra. She has recently separated from her husband of twenty something years and is creating a new life for herself, which includes learning how to play the guitar.

She is a little more advanced than I, because she has both a teacher, and a mentor, so she learns something new and then visits her mentor, to practise with him .. while eating food and drinking wine .. that's gotta be an amazing combination!

She sent me this today ...

It's all gobbledy gook to me, but that's the challenge! I want to understand it by the end of the week and maybe even play it!

Adoring Husband was out for the morning, so I got to spend a lot of time with my guitar, hence the tender fingertips, but this music arrived late this afternoon, so I haven't had a chance to play yet.

Anyway, I LOVE my guitar! (in case you hadn't noticed)

I'm looking forward to my tomorrow, which is hump day for most people. Coffee in the morning with a couple of the girls - specifically Lady Lynn - and then the monthly lady's luncheon.

I made some more apple and walnut muffins today, adding some grated chocolate to the mix. I thought they were lovely, but Adoring Husband couldn't even taste the chocolate! His only comment was "they're not as appley".

Must get some sleep now.

Nite all.

Done and Dusted

The Easter weekend is done and dusted. Most of the Fishing competition crowd has headed home and the town is left with a few stragglers who will stay on for the school holidays. I'm happy that it's much quieter here now.

Adoring Husband and I both rode to the Seat of Knowledge this morning, then got ourselves a coffee before riding to the beach where we sat on a bench seat in the filtered sunlight, enjoying the view for about half an hour.

Some more Harry Potter was in store for AH who has spent the weekend watching all of the movies, and today was the final movie in the series.

Before the football started on TV this afternoon, I made a big batch of these ...

Honey Sesame Paleo Chicken

... I added a finely chopped onion to the mince mixture and heaps of chilli to the dipping sauce. It was delicious and there was enough left over for dinner tonight!

My footy tipping has gone very well this weekend. A perfect round in one competition and in the other competition, I am only two points off the lead! It's very early in the season, which gives me plenty of time to fall behind, but right now ... I would like to brag about it!!

No guitar today, although, it's early, so when I sign off here, I may spend 30 minutes practising what I learned last night.

I hope the girls enjoyed the movie (Lady in the Van) today!! I've been wondering all day!

Nothing else to report.

A quiet and happy Easter Monday.

Nite all.

Fingerpicking Good.

A quiet day at home avoiding the Easter crowds in town. So many people!

I had a lazy start to Sunday morning and took my time getting out of bed. I've become very good at that!

It's been a nothing kind of day. Nothing exciting. Nothing of interest. Nothing worth mentioning.

Until ... Adoring Husband had SES duties for a couple of hours this evening, so I spent an hour attempting to learn something that, apparently, should only take 12 minutes!! I practised some 'fingerpicking'.



I don't even know this guy's name, but so far, I really like the way he teaches and I'm going to follow his lessons for a while and see how I go.

It's going to take quite a bit for me to learn - music is not my forte and I don't have a natural gift for it, so I am going to have to practise all the simple things many times over. The lessons that state 'play this in 12 minutes' mean that it will take me about 3 hours and 12 minutes!! If I'm lucky.

It doesn't matter though, because I'm loving it. I love the feel of the guitar, although my short fingers might struggle with the chords. I adore the sound of the strings as I fingerpick, pluck and strum them.

One day, after lots of practise, I hope that the string positions will become very familiar to me and my movements will become second nature. That will be a day to celebrate! I may even make a youtube video of me playing!

I found a great site with lots of scientific information about turmeric. It has references to follow up and links to check. It's especially good for people who have trouble trusting 'non mainstream' information.

Proven Health Benefits of Turmeric

I'm off to watch the end of the first Harry Potter movie. I've only ever watched one of the movies - the one with Robert Pattinson in it - I don't even remember the name of it. I've never read the books. The Harry Potter movies are a new experience for Adoring Husband and I and there is a movie channel currently playing them all.

I hope everyone has had a happy Easter and enjoyed time spent with friends and family. If you're travelling, be safe and find your way home without incident.

Nite all.

Under the Weather

I had a very big night on Thursday night.

Because the club doesn't open on Good Friday, the Friday night raffles were held on Thursday night instead.

Adoring Husband had SES duties, so because he wasn't home, I did not catch the usual early bus with everyone else. I stayed on til almost 10pm.

This meant that I spent almost 6 hours drinking. I didn't count my drinks and I do remember all of the night out, including the bus ride home (the last courtesy bus of the evening).

I don't remember anything between when I arrived home and about 3am.

I spent a lot of time in the bathroom and I will not go into any details.

I finally climbed into my bed at around 4am, very much the worse for wear.

Good Friday was NOT a good Friday for me. I stayed in bed ALL day. I felt like my internal organs were on life support and that I had killed a good number of brain cells. I even took panadol! Those who know me, know that I don't make that decision lightly.

Yes it was self inflicted and I deserve no sympathy.

Adoring Husband took very good care of me in my hours of need and was much more sympathetic toward me, than I would have been toward him, if the situation was reversed! He has a kinder heart than I.

This is the reason that I did not post here for two days. The first night, I was inebriated, and the second night, I was still in recovery!

I feel fully recovered now and believe it or not, I even had a couple of wines with the Reality TV Queen this afternoon without incident.

Every few years, I do a really good job of reminding myself why I don't party hard any more. I don't want to waste so many days trying to recover!

I think that my recovery day was the second time in five years that I did not open my laptop (the first time was after the tornado hit).

So anyway .. I survived .. I am alive and intact .. embarrassed and a little regretful .. but you're never too old to learn the hard lessons.

I found this today and just had to share it. It's so true of us all.



I'm back!

Nite all.

Friendly

'Friends' is probably my favourite TV series of all time (Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls, The Big Bang Theory, Will and Grace, ER and Cheers are other faves).

A couple of interesting facts about 'Friends' ...

1.  For the first season all six actors were paid $22,000 per episode but by the second season their contracts changed to different amounts for each character. The cast banded together and negotiated until all six of them earned $100,000 per episode. This makes them one of the first casts to negotiate salaries as a group rather than boycotting for individual reasons. By the final season they each earned $1 million per episode.

2.  The show would've been much different had the beloved six not been cast. Kathy Griffin and Jane Lynch both auditioned for Phoebe, Jon Favreau and Jon Cryer both went out for Chandler, and Eric McCormack (Will, from Will and Grace) read several times for Ross.

3.  Matthew Perry went into rehab twice during the show for abuse of prescription drugs and alcohol. He says that while he often came to work hung over, he never drank or did drugs on set.

Speaking of drugs, I found this little piece on addiction very interesting ...



Morning tea with the girls was a lot of fun today. Loud ... but fun!

I'm posting this early today. I am about to clean off my desk, so that I can set it up for guitar lessons. I need room on the desk for my laptop to watch Youtube videos and I need space for my butt on the chair in front of the laptop which will be on my desk.

Here is the 'before photo' ...

Watch this space for the 'after' photo ... I just can't guarantee when :)

Today is Vegan Chickie's birthday! She has had an extended birthday this year and so far, seems to have had a great time! Happy birthday lovely daughter. I hope you enjoyed your birthday picnic with the loves of your life today :)

Nite all.

Cluelessly Strumming

I saw my boys this morning and spent 45 minutes sitting by the river enjoying the view.

You can tell that the season is changing because the air is different, the water is clearer and a deeper blue, and the sea life is abundant and in full view. I could sit on the steps with my legs calf deep in the tepid water for hours. Energising and healing.

I checked for our mail at the Post Office and then visited The Motivator for a couple of hours. She was selling fish, so we had plenty of interruptions from customers, but we still got a few good laughs in.

Adoring Husband was attending to SES duties so I came home and prepared his lunch before he arrived home. I had plans to visit Mum H after lunch, but down came the rains! So we postponed our date.

Instead, I sat on the couch and aimlessly strummed my guitar. I studied my book and attempted to learn some chords, but honestly, I have no idea!! I was going to spend the afternoon in Youtube and watch some lessons, but then I got distracted with housework.

What??!!!

Things are bad when I use housework as a procrastination tool!

I am NOT defeated .. I AM intimidated .. but I can do it! Small steps and slowly does it.

That is my day.

Surprisingly, I didn't require a nana nap today! At 8pm last night, I ate some food with pure raw cacao in it, and have since discovered that it is a stimulant and can cause insomnia! It kept me awake til 4.30am!! I was out of bed by 7.30am, so I've powered through the day on 3 hours of sleep!

I expected to crash and burn some time in the afternoon, but it didn't happen. It's now 9.30pm and I'm still feeling fine. I'll attempt a reasonably early night anyway.

Looking forward to morning tea with the girls tomorrow.

Nite all.

Pretty Chuffed!

So this happened today!!

My bucket list for this year includes 'learning a musical instrument'. I had two instruments in mind, when I made that list and they were piano or guitar. If I was going to learn the piano, I would choose something like a baby grand and definitely not an electronic keyboard. So the difference in the price of a baby grand piano (around $6000 for second hand and up to $19000 for new) or a guitar ($200 - $3500), made the choice pretty easy.

Adoring Husband knew about my bucket list and decided that he would buy a guitar for my birthday (which is still a month away), so we stopped at the music shop in The Bay to ask some questions and check out some prices.

The young man who served us, was 30yrs old (I remember a time in my life when I thought 30 was SO OLD!) and he has been playing guitar for 17 years. He pointed out our best options and then played a couple of them so that I could choose the sound that I liked. Unfortunately, the sound that I liked the best came from a guitar that was way too big for me! He explained that getting the smaller size, changed the sound completely, so that wasn't an option.

I sat down and held a couple of them, and strummed the strings (I have no idea how to play) and I eventually selected the one I liked. I chose a book 'The Ultimate Guitar Chord Chart' so that I could teach myself the chords, and the young man (why didn't I get his name?) told us that he gives lessons at his place, which is an option for the future.

I know a few people around town who play guitar. Both of my sons-in-law play.

My best find for the day is Youtube!! Video after video of guitar lessons for all levels of players, from beginners and beyond. Here is the first one on the list.  



So I'm a bit excited!

What else happened today? Lunch on the water ...

It was about 5pm by the time we returned home. A big day of shopping, repairing Adoring Husband's glasses, new head phones because I've broken two sets in the last month, choosing a yoga mat (for meditation on the beach) and some art supplies because I've decided to attempt some sketching.

I've attempted to sketch once or twice in my life. I loved to sketch when I was 14 or 15 and always did very well in the subject of art at school. I had big plans to become a commercial artist, but was gently discouraged by my parents. A couple of times in my adult life, I got the bug, and scribbled a bit, but never pursued it.

To become good at any kind of art, like anything else in life, you need to practise a lot. I've never done that, but I think I could probably do that now. I have the bug again, so I'll see where it leads me. I've posted my 'beginning' sketch here and maybe, in a couple of months, I can post a new improved version, so that you can see my progress!

Finally a quick nosh up for dinner, considering how late we arrived home from The Bay, and by the time we unpacked the car and gave everything a home, a quick dinner was in order.

I'm feeling pretty chuffed about my day!

Nite all.

Another Lazy Sunday

It doesn't get any more lazy than this! I stayed in bed until 10.45am on this fabulous day! How I love lazy Sundays.

Loved this, thought you might too ...

Nite all.

A Quiet Vote

I saw my boys this morning. I don't see them as often as I once did. They are doing well.

It was beautiful down by the river. The water is so clear and clean, that you can watch the different varieties of fish swimming and you can actually see the bottom of the river.  It was high tide and I walked down the steps near the boat ramp until I was knee deep in what was very tepid water. It was very serene and calming.

I planned some time in the kitchen, so I stopped off at the supermarket to stock up on some necessities before I pedalled home and slipped straight into cooking mode.

Adoring Husband's favourites were first off the mark - apple and walnut muffins - next was a new recipe for carrot and raisin muffins. I added flaked almonds to the recipe and they are delicious too! I roasted a chicken in the oven and we had that with salad for lunch.

After lunch, we watched the movie 'Paddington Bear' on Foxtel. That was a bit of fun. Then it was time to vote! We left it later in the day to vote, so that we could go for a walk along the beach afterwards, and still get home in time for the football.

The advantage to leaving it late in the day, is that there are no queues! We walked straight in and it took us all of five minutes to scan our paper, tick and lodge our ballots and make our way to the beach.

Considering how warm the weather was today, it was very pleasant on the beach. The tide was out, but on it's way in, so we were able to paddle knee deep in the very warm water and there was a nice cooling breeze blowing. The puddles and channels in the sand contained uncomfortably hot water, but there was plenty of birdlife around, including two white bellied sea eagles soaring overhead.

I didn't take my camera or my phone, so there were no photographs taken, but we enjoyed the walk and since I wasn't holding my camera, we got to hold hands for a change, which was lovely.

We arrived home in time to catch kick off for the first NRL game. There have been some upsets today and while I started off well yesterday, my tips are looking a bit the worse for wear this evening. But I am not alone there.

Some more fun from Scamalot ...



... and I could really relate to this ...

Adoring Husband was called out tonight for a search and rescue on the Mary River at Maryborough. Some kids were seen in a boat (which they stole) on the river and later the boat was seen upturned floating in the river, and no sign of the kids.

The first two rescue boats that were sent out, broke down, so a boat was brought in from Tiaro and also from Burrum Heads. This all happened at about 8.30pm. At 11pm, AH phoned me to say that the kids had been found, alive and well and that he would be home soon.

I imagine that those parents are feeling a mixture of relief and anger right about now!

I'm feeling a bit tired right now so ...

nite all.

Friendly Friday

There is a full documentary on Youtube, but just this short video is amazing!



Today has been a nothing kind of day.

I spent a lot of time monitoring Griffith's weather via the BOM and eldersweather.com, after I saw a weather warning for that area on FB. They had storms and terribly strong winds all day, with gust reaching 102kmh!

BGWLBH said that a tree in the school playground split apart and another friend reported a mini tornado on the outskirts of town. Fallen trees caused blackouts to 2000 residents. It all seems to have calmed down now, but the bad weather lasted for hours, and I'm glad that I wasn't there to experience it.

Here's an interesting article from the Paleo magazine How Paleo Can Help Cure Your Chronic Illness

It was very quiet at the Club tonight with only six of the usual fourteen of our group there, and only four people on the bus to come home. No fighting for a seat tonight!

I'm two out of two in the footy tipping so far! Wahoo! Good to see Parramatta defeat the Bulldogs tonight.

That's all I have to say.

Nite all

 

Making Sense

I follow a young woman on FB named Jessie Reimers. She has high functioning Aspergers on the Autism Spectrum. She is both inspiring and worrying.

I met her eighteen months ago, in The Bay, at a health seminar. We shared common beliefs as far as food and medicine and health is concerned and she was fighting her inner fears, to stand before a crowd of about fifty women, to talk about essential oils. It was her first experience talking in front of a crowd as she endeavoured to sell Doterra Essential Oils.

Since that day, she has become one of Doterra's highest selling members. She has come a LONG way and in 2017 will be embarking on a year long tour of Australia, spreading the Doterra word.

She is very open and honest and really doesn't have a filter (an Asperger's trait), so she often purges her negativity and self doubts on FB for all the world to see. On the other hand, she also regularly counts her blessings and talks about all the wonderful positive experiences that she has welcomed.

She has many loyal followers and she has appeared, a number of times, on TV promoting her petition to stop The Heart Foundation and their 'tick and star' programs.

Today, she posted this link about Aspergers, which I found very interesting. Many of these traits I could strongly relate to, and I wonder how many of my friends feel the same way? As BGWLBH often says, "we all have a little bit of autism in us".

It was raining this morning, so I didn't pedal to the Seat of Knowledge. Instead, I spent thirty minutes standing at my ironing board and then showered and washed my hair. I sat at my desk for about an hour editing some photos, then Adoring Husband and I went for a drive to check the mail and drop the usb stick with photos off at Mardi's place.

I cooked a big lunch and spent the afternoon watching a couple of movies. Adam Sandler in 'Bulletproof' and Gwyneth Paltrow in 'Emma'. I really enjoyed 'Emma', which surprised me, because I'm not generally a fan of period movies.

AH picked up the FROG box this afternoon and has tonight, attended SES training at the local shed.

Great to see Cowboys thrash Roosters 40-nil tonight in the first NRL match of the weekend!

That's if from me.

Nite all.

Intermittent Kind of Day

Word of the day: 'Ubuntu' (n) A quality that includes the essential human virtues; compassion and humanity.

What a 'weathery' kind of day!

Intermittent heavy showers. Intermittent strong gusty winds. Intermittent sunshine.

The day started out warm and steamy. At morning tea, three of us used our fans to cool down, but by mid morning, the rain came and the temperature dropped briefly. In Queensland, the rain doesn't cool things down, it just creates more steam and humidity!

There were eight of us at morning tea today and there was lots of loud chatter going on. Many different conversations happening at once. I wanted to be involved in all of them! Unfortunately I'm not talented enough to listen to four conversations at the same time.

Later, I gathered my camera gear (for the first time in months) and took photos of Mardi's house, inside and out. I haven't edited the photos yet (FYI Mardi and The Life Saver), so that job is on top of my priority list!

By the time I arrived home, I was starving! I'd only had a lemon and ginger tea all day and it was 11.30am, so headed straight for the kitchen and cooked up a concoction of chicken, mushrooms, leek, kale, garlic, chilli and cashew nuts. It was quite delicious and very satisfying.

Adoring Husband was called out to an important SES meeting for the afternoon, so I took the opportunity to do a couple of jobs around the house. I had to pedal down to the butcher between rain showers this afternoon because there was no dog food for the psychotic dogs.

I used my intuition to determine when AH would return home, and timed dinner to perfection. More chicken and lots of vegetables. Steamed broccoli, roasted cauliflower, roasted zucchini, steamed beans and baked sweet potato discs. Two main meals today and I'm feeling very sated!

It's a pretty boring kind of post today.

I'm looking forward to another early night.

Nite all.

Jiggedy Jig

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig.

After a morning of playing hide n seek with Chicklet, it was then time to leave.

The Bare-chested Chef and I took Vegan Chickie and Chicklet to the bakery, where we said our goodbyes and then he and I drove to Cooroy, where he dropped me off with my luggage and I spent a very pleasant morning browsing and shopping and savouring a delicious fresh juice made with beetroot, celery, cucumber, spinach, apple and ginger. I also bought some fresh fruit to munch on. The red grapes were divine!

When I made my way to the train station, there was, just like my last trip, a large group of young people waiting for the train.

They were part of an adventure tour and were heading to Rockhampton, where they would disembark and travel further north. This is information that I caught by listening to snippets of conversations. All of them had back packs and other assorted travel bags, which covered a large area of the platform.

One of the girls was sitting beside me on a bench seat and asked if I had a pen that she could borrow. As I searched through my handbag for a pen, she pulled out a beautiful leather bound journal. She expressed overwhelming gratitude when I handed her a pen, explaining that she had lost her pen at the last place where the group stayed.

She had a Canadian accent and it was obvious that she was keeping a journal of her travels in Australia, so I told her to keep the pen. Again, she expressed her gratitude and I know, without a doubt, that my pen went to a good home!

A second group of young people arrived at the station, but without a leader. They had been told that the train arrived at 1.40pm, so half of them walked across the road to get food. By this time it was 12.40pm and train was actually due at 12.58pm. So there was a mad scramble to get them back to the station.

The second group had no idea where they were even going, so the leader of the first group decided to take charge, made some phone calls to Queensland Rail and found out how many there should be in the group and what their destination was.

By the time the train pulled into the station, she had everything under control. She was a high energy kind of girl, not that much older than the people in both groups and she was loud! With 35 young people in their late teens to organise, I guess she had to be loud.

I had a seat to myself on the train and I attempted to read one of my new books, but I just couldn't get into it, so I was a sticky beak and watched and listened to an older woman talking to a younger man about her tattoos.

She may have been a professional tattoo artist because she was scrolling through her phone and showing him photo after photo of tattoos. It seems her favourites were the eagles and she talked about taking pride in the feather detail.

Other than that, even though it was quite full, my carriage was very quiet. I decided to listen to the radio for the remainder of the trip.

The train was running about twenty minutes late, but Adoring Husband was there waiting. It's always so good to see his face when I step onto the station platform at my destination.

The psychotic dogs were happy to see me and I was happy to be home.

I'm looking forward to seeing the girls for morning tea tomorrow. I might even get to bed at a reasonable hour!

Nite all.

To the Point

Just a short post tonight.

Vegan Chickie and I saw the movie "The Lady in The Van" today. We loved it.

It's not a movie for everyone. The pace is quite slow and nothing really happens, but Maggie Smith is absolutely brilliant in this role (as she is in everything!). The other characters in the film are perfectly cast and you almost feel like you're part of the neighbourhood.

I'm so glad that I got to see it, because it's one of those films that you can easily put off seeing, until it's finished at the cinema, and then you forget all about it.



After the movie, we browsed through a second hand book store, where I bought a series of Susan Howatch books, enjoyed lunch at the Canteen Cafe in Noosa and then partook of a little retail therapy. I got a nice shell pendant for myself, and a little decorative owl to hang in my frangipani tree.

We arrived home to house that had been turned upside down because The Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet had built a dragon fort out of all the furniture and blankets in the house!!

Chicklet said to me as we drove home (they came to pick Vegan Chickie and I up) "You won't believe your eyes!!" and she was right!!

It was a very good day and I am feeling quite worn out. 10.30 seems like a good time to close my eyes and drift into dreamland.

Nite all.

Lack of Control

So I am a Grey's Anatomy fan and I watched all four episodes last night, which meant it was after 12.30am when I turned off the light and fell asleep. I am certainly a glutton for punishment, but I just have no control when it comes to Grey's.

You simply cannot keep up with a crazy Chicklet after a late night like that!!

Chicklet was struggling with life today, so we decided to not go out for breakfast as planned, and stay at home for some quiet time, so that she would be ok for her swimming lesson tomorrow.

It was 'touch and go' for most of the day, but we had fun none-the-less.

We started by creating some artworks to send to BGWLBH, including an invitation to Chicklet's sock party, which was today, so BGWLBH didn't attend.

At the sock party, we each wore socks and we danced. I taught Chicklet how to do the 'Dead Ant' which was a crazy thing that our group did at the club and at our parties. Someone would yell "Dead Ant" and everybody would drop to the ground onto their back with their legs and arms pointing skywards and flailing about. Yes, I see the frown on your face. It's a true story!

We also played Knight vs Dragon. Chicklet set up a shop and we played 'shops', where I would come to the shop as a different creature each time (dog, cat, dinosaur, dragon, giraffe, bunny) and buy her wares. When I ran out of money, she would give it all back to me so that I could buy more stuff. I wish all shop keepers were so generous!

We played in the sand pit and made sand castles and sand muffins.

We walked around the garden and picked the 'wish flowers' so that we could make a wish.

We watched the movie 'The Little Prince'.

Finally, it was bath time, story time and then bed time.

A fairly full and busy day considering it was 'a quiet day at home'.

I'm looking forward to seeing how much Chicklet has improved with her swimming tomorrow and then catching a movie with Vegan Chickie afterwards.

Bed time for me now.

Nite all.

Our Mind has the Power

Some interesting reading matter about how the body is capable of healing itself - how the placebo effect is more powerful that anybody first realised.

So powerful, in fact, that the drug companies are having trouble getting their medications approved, because the people who received the placebo, had just as good results as the people who received the real thing!

The mind and the human body are truly amazing.

Why Is The Placebo Effect Exploding In The U.S. But Nowhere Else? - Forbes:

Placebo Effect Grows in the US

Altered Placebo and Drug Labelling Changes the Outcome

Healing with the Power of Placebo

Adoring Husband drove me to the Sunny Coast today so that I could spend three nights with the Chicklet family.

I spent the day playing with Chicklet who was very hyper and full of exciting playing ideas that sent her into overdrive.

The one time I got her to sit still on the bed with me to watch a dvd, she saw a GREAT idea and jumped out of bed urging me to follow her so that we could create our own igloo!

We played 'Three Little Pigs', 'Dragon and The Three Bears' (as opposed to Goldilocks and TTBs), we made a litter of dogs out of toilet rolls, we experimented with chalk dust to see what colours we could create and then massaged the dust into some pet dinosaurs and crocodiles, we played on the swing, we played hide and seek, we played tag (she is much faster now - I can't catch her and she CAN catch me!) and we did some drawing and cutting out.

Yes, you might say that I'm feeling a little worn out and after the 'TAG' fiasco, I may be feeling a little sore tomorrow!

We are starting with an early breakfast at The Bare-chested Chef's restaurant tomorrow morning and according to Chicklet, we will be having a 'sock party' some time during the day. Who knows what that will entail???

I'm off to catch up on some episodes of Grey's Anatomy and then fall into a deep slumber.

Nite all.

Hullo Goodye

This is short and sweet.

We are off to the Sunny Coast tomorrow, so I'm heading to bed for a delicious night of sound sleep.

Check this out ... coconut oil

Nite all.

Funny or What?

I read 100 jokes by famous comedians today and only six of them appealed to me. There were a couple of others, but they were too naughty to share here.

• Two cannibals were eating a clown when one said to the other "Does he taste funny to you?"
• I thought I'd begin by reading a poem by William Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine!
• How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
• Do you know how many middle aged men go out for a litre of milk and never come back? Not enough.
• My boyfriend had a sex manual but he was dyslexic. I was lying there and he was looking for my vinegar.
• How come Miss Universe is only won by people from earth?

I thought this little video was hilarious and was I imagining BGWLBH and I in the same situation. 

I spent some time in the kitchen today and was very happy with all the results. For lunch I made crispy skin chicken, cauliflower puree with candied walnuts and garlic butter asparagus.

This afternoon I mad some paleo apple and walnut muffins.

I don't have a photo of dinner, but I made Chicken and Liver Larb. It sounds terrible but it was more like a chilli lime chicken dish made with chicken mince and finely chopped chicken liver. Really delicious with toasted sesame seeds and spring onions and lime juice and chillies and mint and basil and coriander (all fresh) stirred through it and flaked almonds sprinkled over the top. Full of flavour and so nutritious. Served with lettuce and cucumber.

My job from the job board today was to clean the fridge out. The timing for that job was perfect because the fridge was shiny and sparkly clean, ready for all the fresh vegetables that came in the FROG box today.

I spent thirty minutes sitting in the shade overlooking the river this morning listening to music and watching all the boating activity happening on top of the water and enjoying the sea life that was visible under the water. Lots of bait fish about!

I had a short visit with The Motivator this morning too. We laughed a lot.

So it's been a busy and productive day. I must say, that after just four days back on the paleo program, I already feel more energised and clear headed. The caffeine withdrawals have disappeared (hopefully for good) and I'm feeling fine!

It's 10.30pm, so I'm off for an early night.

Nite all.

Under the Stars

Yesterday, I was invited by The Motivator, to drive into The Bay with her, and meet with a group of people on the beach for an evening of meditation under the stars.

Meditation is on my list of 100 things to do this year, so I was very excited that she thought of me!

We picked up another lady on the way. I will call her 'Hippie of Hope'.

We arrived nice and early. They were still setting up on the beach .. not far from Enzo's .. and we introduced ourselves to the two women in charge. J1 and J2. There was a man there lighting candles that were sitting inside about twenty glass jars scattered about the allocated area.

Apparently, the group usually meditates under the full moon, but tonight, without a moon, the beach was very dark and the stars were amazing! We spotted satellites and shooting stars and we got to spend half an hour star gazing before we meditated.

There were probably 25 of us spread out over the sand. Some were sitting in folding chairs, some lying on towels, some sitting in the lotus position, some face down on their belly, some on their back. The ages ranged from 8 to 78 and everybody was happy and friendly.

At around 7pm, J1 began guiding us through the meditation. She slowly weaved her way between us all taking us, with her words, deep into the ocean with golden lights and helping us wash away our fears, our bad memories and our anger, then lifting us with thoughts of love and asking us to spread our good energy and positivity all over the planet, starting with our loved ones and spreading outward to everyone and anyone who we thought needed it.

All the while, a soft breeze was caressing our skin and waves were rolling and breaking gently on the beach as the tide came in.

It was the tide that ended our evening a little earlier than planned. The waves almost reached the toes of the people closest to the water, when J1 brought us out of our meditative trance.

The lesson I learned from tonight, is that my cane mat is not comfortable for meditation purposes. Either a yoga mat, or just a towel would be better. I took a tiny pillow for my head, which was ideal, but the cane mat was very hard under my hips and lower back and the discomfort interfered with the process.

The joys of getting older.

I didn't even think to take a photo. I was too 'in the moment' as soon as my feet touched the sand, but we'll be going for the full moon meditation in two weeks, so I'll try and capture the ambience then and share it here.

It was morning tea with the girls today. As usual, an enjoyable couple of hours. We discussed a website that I often shop at, because I opened a parcel that arrived in the mail, with items bought from there. I promised to provide a link to the site so here it is ...

Zulily

Now it is rapidly approaching 1am, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Still Withdrawing.

Word of the day: 'Somnolent' (adj) sleepy or drowsy

This is how I feel during the day while I'm withdrawing from caffeine .. but then when I go to bed at night, it takes forever to fall asleep!

I am experiencing most of these symptoms ...



... and that's why my blog posts will be short and erratic for the next few days.

We are still working our way through the jobs on the board, although Adoring Husband didn't do his chore today - instead he pinned it face up on the board, so I guess he might get to it tomorrow. I like to watch the cards disappear each day.

I made paleo lamb moussaka for dinner tonight. I haven't made it before and I didn't follow the recipe because it was quite late when I started dinner and I didn't have the time to do it by the book, so I adapted it to suit my time restrictions. It worked well.

It might be time for me to go to bed. If I go now, I might fall asleep by midnight if I'm lucky.

Nite all.

A Bit of WOW

Apparently this film has been making the rounds since 2014, but today was my first viewing of it and I was amazed. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



Today is day one of my ten week paleo program and I haven't had a coffee. I felt like I was doing ok, but it has been a slow and gradual decline and the withdrawals are beginning to kick in with vengeance!

Still no vision board.

Two more jobs removed and completed from the job board, so that's a positive for the day.

Now I'm going to sleep off some withdrawals.

Nite all.

Lots of Jobs!

Word of the day:

'Dysania' (n) the state of finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning.

I do love my bed, and most mornings I enjoy spending an hour sitting up in bed reading or using my iPad. Some days I definitely experience dysania.

It seems, by the many comments (on FB, private messages, emails and here), about how many jobs are on my board, that the rest of the world is a lot better organised and more efficient than I!!

I hope that one day I will become proficient at 'adulting' .. OR .. I will give up, and continue excelling at being a middle aged teenage hippie with no interest in being house proud.  There is always something more fun or more enjoyable or more relaxing to do, than housework.

My vision board didn't quite come to fruition today. I have a pile of magazines stacked beside my 'spot' on the couch, with a pair of scissors and a small box to store the pictures and words and symbols that I choose, but between Facebooking, watching two games of football, cooking lunch and dinner and completing my job off the board, I didn't quite reach the high motivational requirement to be as creative as I wish to be for this board.

Perhaps tomorrow will be the day. Photo still to come!

I'm starting the 10 week paleo way program again tomorrow.

Having re-introduced certain foods into my diet, my body is sliding back into it's unhappy 'pre-paleo' state. Too much coffee, dairy, potatoes, rice and sugary fruit has helped see the return of aching joints, broken sleep, fluctuating energy levels, duller skin and crazy mood swings.

I want to feel vibrant, energetic, calm and glowy again .. especially after all the work I've had on my mouth to help me reach a healthier state.

So it seems that I'm trying to gain control in a few areas of my life at the moment!

Tomorrow morning, I'd like to find my way to the water and possibly catch some wind surfers out practising. Burrum Windfest is on this week, so I might dust the camera off and attempt some action photography.

That means I need to sleep now.

Nite all.    

How to Train Me

Word of the day:

'Petrichor' (n) that pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a period of warm, dry weather.

There are some great storage ideas on this site that I found today ...

Simple Ways to Organise Your Wardrobe

I spent some time yesterday writing out 28 cards, each with a chore that needs to be done around the house.

Things like:

• Clearing the junk drawer
• Culling the filing cabinet 
• Sorting through and donating clothes and shoes
• Washing windows
• Cleaning my desk drawers
• Dusting the skirting boards and the paintings hanging on the walls
• Clearing my unread emails (all 899 of them!)
• Getting the ironing up-to-date
• Donating recipe books and other old books in the bookcase
• Tossing all the boxes that once housed our kitchen gadgets, electronic devices and other assorted electrical appliances. Adoring Husband likes to keep them for a while and I believe there may be approximately twenty boxes in various locations around the house.

Today, I pinned the cards on the cork board, and each day, Adoring Husband and I will take a card and do the job that's written on it. Between the two of us, we could have all of the chores completed inside two weeks, but there will be days when we've got other commitments, so I hope that a month will cover it.

I did one of the chores today, without taking the card down. All of my emails are now read and/or deleted/saved. That job took more than two hours. No wonder the list, on it's own, looks so overwhelming!

Here I am, with 24 hours every day to fill. No work commitments. No children. No responsibilities. Yet I can't create a routine or schedule to get my life organised. I wonder how the hell I worked full time, raised three kids, looked after a house as well as fulfilling sporting commitments and social activities!

Obviously, I work better under pressure!

I've got a batch of chicken bone broth in the slow cooker as we speak and I juiced some pineapple, watermelon, mint and coconut water this morning, to help AH recover from a morning of mowing in this horrible heat and humidity.

We've spent the afternoon watching Super Saturday football. So far, I've tipped two from four, but loving the new footy season!

Tomorrow, after I've completed one of my chores, I'm going to create my new vision board for 2016. That should be fun. I'll post a photo in tomorrow's blog.

Nite all.

Whaddaya reckon?

This looks interesting ...

Personal Development Event

I'm going to check it out, as are a couple of my friends.

Time for bed.

Nite all.

A Day in The Bay

Word for the day 'drapetomania' - (n.) an overwhelming urge to run away.

The history of that word is not pleasant, but I won't go there.

I think I suffered from drapetomania for a lot of the time that I lived in Sydney.

There was no cleaning or de-cluttering today.

Instead we spent the day in The Bay. The first stop was Go Natural where I stocked up on organic chicken carcasses for my broth, a whole chicken, a tub of plain coconut yoghurt, a jar of kimchi, organic apples, coconut water, almond meal, coconut flour and a couple of other odds and ends.

We bought coffee from the place next door to Go Natural (I can't remember the name of the shop). They refuse to provide (with a sign on the counter to warn us)

• sugar
• anything extra large
• anything extra hot
• any syrup that you can normally buy at a coffee shop

They have a couple of GF options for sweets and one very delicious looking option for a lunch meal each day. I keep coconut sugar and plastic spoons in the glove box of the car specifically for when we buy coffee at this shop. The coffee is delicious, but I don't think they make it hot enough.

Next stop was the mower shop for some new blades.

We selected the Bay Central Tavern as our stop for lunch. The tavern has just completed major renovations and they've done a great job. It has a nice friendly atmosphere and there is a large sports bar, a well hidden poker machine area and a lovely restaurant which includes the huge deck that wraps around two sides of the building.

The food was nice, but a touch bland. There were only three GF options and they were quite expensive. Lunch with a drink each cost $63.50 altogether. I don't think it was good value for money, but apparently, our lady's group is going there for lunch this month, so I'll give them a second chance.

It was nice to spend the day out with Adoring Husband.

After lunch we did some more grocery shopping, I bought what I hope will be the winning Ozlotto ticket and found a big tin money box to help me save money for the next road trip (just in case lotto doesn't pan out). I stole AH's $2 coins to start my saving stash.

We picked up our FROG  box and arrived home mid afternoon.

Plenty of time to prepare for the first NRL game of the season between my team, the Brisbane Broncos and Parramatta Eels. Broncos won 17 - 4 and I picked the margin correctly in the WWOS footy tipping competition! Yay for me!

I'm so excited that the football season has started for 2016! I always miss it over the Summer.

I'm now watching Pretty Woman. One of my favourite movies. It always reminds me of Mum.

I forgot to mention yesterday (Wednesday) that it was the 37th anniversary of (my first son) Jamie's death. I'm pretty certain that there are only two people left on this earth, who remember Jamie's birth and death dates. (Thank you Grannymus for your email).

I kind of feel sad that there is nobody else left who can remember that he existed and who can remember the important dates connected to him. He is just a distant memory to my brother and sister, they don't remember the dates and never mention him.

I really must take the time to scan some old photos and share them on here, just so that they will be saved for posterity. You never know when someone in the future might wonder about him.

For any new readers, who don't know this story, Jamie was my first child, born 31st October 1978 and died of SIDS at the age of 17 weeks on 2nd March 1979.

It was a big year that year. In the space of twelve months, I got engaged, fell pregnant, turned 18, got married, gave birth 9 wks early to a baby who spent the first 8 weeks of his life in hospital, brought him home in time for Christmas and 9 weeks later, attended his funeral.

Inside the following five years, I gave birth to three healthy babies, and they have all grown into fabulous adults, so there was a happy ending!

I guess I can use this blog to keep Jamie's memory alive each year.

It has been a good day today! Tomorrow I might have a go at this 'cleaning' and 'de-cluttering' business. Small steps might make it work. I'm more of a 'big picture' kind of girl, so 'small steps' are tricky for me. I'm certain that I can do it.

Nite all.

Cyber Space Gems

It's amazing what you can find when you look!

You know how I've been whinging about housework? About how much I detest it? About needing to do the job properly, or not at all? About my lack of motivation to do it? About wishing for an easy routine?

Well, I decided to do a search in youtube for some hints and tips on making housework easier, quicker and perhaps even more enjoyable (haha - as if!).

There are endless short and long videos with hints and tips on everything:

• Folding and storing clothes.
• De-cluttering closets, cupboards, drawers and rooms.
• Faking a clean house when visitors are arriving unexpectedly.
• Cleaning out your kitchen cupboards.
• Organising your laundry.
• 31 days to get organised.
• Organising paperwork.
• Tackling the bathroom vanity.
• Taming the junk drawer.
• Maintaining a clutter free home.
• Cleaning hacks.
• Spring cleaning. 

Or this one ... How To Clean Your Bedroom Closet

Or this one ... Cleaning Your Kitchen Cupboards and Drawers

Or my easy favourite ... 31 Days To Get Organised

For your amusement, I spent a good three hours sitting on the couch watching numerous videos on cleaning and de-cluttering and did not spend one single minute actually cleaning and de-cluttering!

Procrastinators unite!!

It's all fabulous and awesome in theory. Tomorrow, we'll find out if it's fabulous and awesome in practise!

Firstly, I need to squish the procrastination bug and then I need to find the motivation serum. Once I've got that all sorted, I should be able to begin the organisation/routine process.

Stay tuned for my report.

Nite all.

You Can't be Serious!!

Just call me 'Forgetful Jones'!!

This is a day that I'd like to forget!!

Apparently, I was supposed to join the girls for aqua-aerobics this morning.

I remember having a discussion about it. I remember saying that I would see if my swimmers fit me before I could decide whether to go. I don't remember saying that I would go .. however, I MAY have agreed to do this after a bottle of wine on Friday night .. in which case the girls simply HAVE TO forgive me because I've warned them before that all conversations on Friday nights are null and void.

I may have agreed to join them over the lady's lunch .. which also includes wine .. same rules apply.

Anyway, the girls apparently waited in my driveway this morning .. while I slept soundly.

The girls called the home phone. Adoring Husband was at home, but watching TV with his headphones, so he heard nothing. We can't hear the home phone when the bedroom door is closed, so I heard nothing.

The girls called my mobile, which was switched to silent, so once again, I heard nothing.

Upon waking up, and discovering the missed call on my mobile and the message on my home message bank, I felt confused and guilty. Ugh.

I didn't phone anyone, because tonight is the monthly barbecue, so I decided to wait and to offer my apologies at the barbecue.

Well, guess what?

By mid afternoon, I had forgotten about the barbecue. Adoring Husband had forgotten about the barbecue.

We missed the barbecue.

At 10.30pm .. just thirty minutes ago .. I remembered the barbecue.

I cursed.

Loudly.

I've been looking forward to the barbecue since last Thursday. How the hell could I forget something like that?

So today is a day that I choose to forget.

I'll see the girls in the morning at our morning tea, so I will offer my apologies and hopefully they will forgive me for forgetting two dates in twenty four hours!!

Sorry girls :(

I didn't even have a busy day. There is no excuse!!

This was nice ...



I wonder if men, anywhere in the world, would take the same kind of notice of this ad, as women?

Time for bed.

Nite all.

Maximum Minimum Effort

For me, when it comes to housework, it's always minimum work, but maximum effort. You know that, because I've explained it here in the past.

I would rather pick one job and do it well, than spend hours doing a lot of jobs badly.

This is kind of contradictory because even though I WANT my house to be spotless and perfect, my motivation levels don't allow me to do housework often enough, and that means, my house is never completely clean. *rolls eyes* Okay, it means that my house is almost always messy.

Today, I found a little motivation and cleaned the main bathroom and toilet. I also did some washing and made some chilli paste.

Chilli paste was on my 'to do' list for February, so I only just made it in the nick of time! I completed all but one item on my list this month. My desk/office didn't get touched, so it will be on top of my March list.

Thanks to Lady Lynn and The Lifesaver, I tossed my chillies (three big bags) into the food processor with coconut oil and avocado oil and some salt. I whizzed it to a paste and then plopped spoonfuls into 95 mini muffin patties and placed them on a tray into the freezer.

Once they were frozen, I put the patty pans into a container so that I can simply remove one whenever I need it.

I swept the floors. The worst thing about having three dogs and a husband who works out in the garden, is the amount of dirt and grass that gets traipsed into the house every day. I sweep a full dustpan of muck out of the house every day.

I detest housework! It really is 'never' done. If only the fresh and clean would last for days instead of minutes .. or if we're lucky .. hours.

I found this movie trailer today, and even though it's a kid's movie, it looks hilarious. We all have pets, so we can all relate to the cheekiness and quirkiness of the animals here.



I'll definitely look forward to watching this with Chicklet.

Tonight, I'm setting myself up to watch the Academy Awards. I may have to record the second half, because it goes til 1.30am and I doubt I'll stay up that late!

So nite all.

I Feel the Need to Heal

While I'm struggling to get this gum disease under control, I've been doing a bit of research into boosting my immune system to help me heal. I've always been a fast healer, but it seems that my body is struggling with this one.

It has been two weeks since my procedure and I'm still not completely healed. I feel like one specific part of my gum is really fighting off infection, so I need to help my body get stronger.

During the last couple of years I been following a woman called Dr Sarah Ballantyne (PhD) who strictly adheres to the paleo way of living but also needs to follow the Autoimmune Protocol due to a number of health issues.

*The Autoimmune Protocol is a diet that helps heal the immune system and gut mucosa. It is applicable to any inflammatory disease. AIP addresses inflammation in the gut that causes AutoimmuneDisease.*

Aside from those health issues, she was morbidly obese, and through a heavy fitness program and changing her eating habits, has lost a lot of weight.

She does her own scientific research, as well as reading and explaining to the common person, the results of other research and studies.  

I recently acquired a copy of her latest book 'The Healing Kitchen' which I need to find time to sit down and read properly - there is so much information to absorb, so I need to commit some time to focus on it.

I'd also like to get a copy of her original book, 'The Paleo Approach Cookbook'. It costs around $60, but I currently have the highest bid of $25 on ebay for a pre-owned copy, so fingers crossed on that one!

While we wait for the outcome of that bid, I thought you might get a good giggle out of this guy ...

Nite all.

Lessons in Love

I wonder if we need a refresher course in flirting. Are we all still flirting with our husbands? I think that I probably look as silly as this polar bear when I flirt .. hopefully in a cute and attractive kind of way! Maybe my flirting days are over?



I hope this video has helped all you single gals out there as well. Imagine how weird it would be to see girls doing rolling somersaults at night clubs? And sliding face first across the dance floor. Maybe not.

The highlight of my day was making an Indian curry with basmati rice, cucumber yoghurt and pappadums for dinner. It was quite delicious and I made HEAPS so there is enough for another three meals!

Facebook reminded me this morning, of the three course meal that Adoring Husband cooked for me six years ago for Valentines Day. I had been away, so our valentines day was delayed and he spent all day in the kitchen creating a gastronomical delight. It was a flirtatious success!

Prawn and pork rice paper rolls for entree (it had a spicy dipping sauce)

Home made pasta - Tagliatelle with smoked salmon and asparagus

Green salad with bacon, parmesan and a balsamic dressing ..

Baked lemon cheesecake with fresh strawberries and strawberry coulis ..

I will always remember that valentine dinner. It was amazing and memorable!

AH is a great cook.

Have a happy Sunday!

Nite all.

Windy City

It may become gusty on Saturday!



I hope that they are wrong. Another update posted on facebook today predicts that Winston will reform to a category 1 cyclone and move north along the Queensland coastline.

Ugh.

I had a fairly full day today. I actually got some housework done. My new bedding arrived, so I changed the sheets on the bed and I'm showcasing the new stuff ...

I made a big baked leg of lamb with veg for lunch so that I wouldn't have to put too much effort into dinner after the club tonight.

It's been a good day and a pleasant evening. Now it's time for bed.

Nite all.

Geographically Shared

Foreign Correspondent, Stan Grant, is a Griffith boy. He lived in the same street (Housing Commission area, Parkinson Crescent) as I did, though not at the same time. My son went to the same school as Stan.

The 'Three Ways', where the majority of the indigenous community lived, was just across the paddock from us and watching this episode of Home Delivery sure brought back some unpleasant memories for me.

It feels strange to me, that when Stan's family was given a housing commission home to live in, they felt like all of their dreams had come true, yet when I, as a single mother with three very young children, was offered a home on the very same street, I felt like my life had become a nightmare.

We lived in that street for three long years from the end of 1988 til early 1992. Our next door neighbour once had a molotov cocktail thrown on his front porch during the night, and there was a siege directly across the road from us, where armed police were hiding behind the trees on our front yard with guns drawn, and the street was blocked by police cars.

We survived on a pension for two of those years. I had some cleaning work to supplement the pension until one day I decided to complete an administration course at TAFE. I immediately snagged work at the CES and within a year, we were able to move into our own home, shabby as it was, in a better area.

Stan has certainly come a long way since his days in Parkinson Cres!! While he feels the happy emotions welling up within as he drives through his old stomping ground, I feel old repressed fears bubbling within, and shame that I ever forced my children to endure that.

It was possibly the lowest point in my life, BUT, at the same time,  my circle of friends, which included BGWLBH, provided strong support for me, so I never felt alone in the world.

My parents even gave me the opportunity to move to Blackwater to be closer to them, but my stubborn desire for independence kept me living in the worst street in Griffith for a long time. I believe that it was the right decision for us at the time.

So that is a little snippet of mine and Stan Grant's lives. Though the two of us have never even met, I do know his mate Richard (Ditchy)!

A short trip down memory lane.

Nite all.

For the Ladies

Ok girls, first practise will be Friday night Make-up tricks haha!

It was a nice lunch today at the Chinese restaurant. I would like to go back when I'm able to chew food properly, and order a hearty, meaty meal with lots of crunchy vegetables! Today I had curried king prawns, which was a delicious meal with a nice spicy curry sauce, but I couldn't eat the vegetables.

After lunch, instead of going straight home, we ducked in to the RSL club for a quick flutter and then drove to The Speckled Hen's house for another drink .. or two .. or for some, many many more!

Luckily, Adoring Husband had eaten a big late lunch, so I didn't have to cook tonight. I think I was right on the verge of having had too much to drink today, so I was grateful for the opportunity to plonk myself on the couch and stay there.

I'm now sitting in the same position listening to Sweet singing 'Action' on Foxtel Tunes.

It's definitely time to sleep now, so I'll share this video, which I know that some of you have seen on facebook in the past, but I figured that since we are now in the final week of Summer (yay!!!), the weather might start getting cool enough to open up the scarf drawer!



I do believe I can be in bed before 11pm!

Nite all.

Procrasti-youknowtherest.

Remember how yesterday I said that I would catch up on housework today, so that my lady's luncheon would be the reward?

Well, yeah nah...

I consciously decided to turn on the TV to a music channel - the all Aussie music channel to be exact, and I turned the volume up, fully intending to do housework to the music. Unfortunately, the music had accompanying videos .. it was all over for me!

Videos from back in the 70s, 80s and 90s. John Farnham, ACDC, The Angels, INXS, Jimmy Barnes, Natalie Imbruglia, Split Enz, Noiseworks, Kylie Minogue, Midnight Oil, The Divinyls, Bardot, Delta Goodrem, Australian Crawl, Peter Andre, Human Nature, Paul Kelly, Eurogliders, Little River Band, Deni Hines and the list goes on.

There is no way that I could walk away from that!

I spent a good hour in the lounge room dancing like a teenager. Head banging. Bouncing around the room and singing loudly (and badly). It was probably more than an hour. You know how time flies when you're having fun!

Then Adoring Husband arrived home from his SES meeting and the fun was over.

I got all of my washing done.

I've had the mini upright freezer defrosting all day - and I mean 'all day'. It only has four drawers, but the top two drawers have been frozen shut for months. All of the meat in the top two drawers has now been tossed and after eight hours, the freezer is finally turned back on and the door closed.

I cooked a dozen apple and walnut muffins and a dozen gooey chocolate mini cakes.

For dinner, I was done with the kitchen so I took a beef stroganoff out of the freezer and heated that up for Adoring Husband's dinner. I took a spoon of the sauce and some mushrooms out of the mixture and had that with a piece of zucchini.

For dessert, I gave AH two gooey chocolate cakes with crumbled freeze dried strawberries sprinkled over the top and then covered in whipped cream and shredded organic dark chocolate. Can you believe that he then asked for an apple and walnut muffin as well???? I swear he has no 'full' button!

That's about the long and short of my day.

Very much looking forward to lady's luncheon tomorrow!

Nite all.  

Time Will Tell

I have come to the realisation that my mouth is going to take a bit more time to heal properly.

The dental work was quite invasive and extensive and it will take time and diligence to bring it all to optimum health.

My gums feel a little damaged, so I've decided to return to foods that don't require chewing, to give them a rest and a chance to strengthen and heal.

I need to be patient.

I can't wait to tell you about my bingo experience today!

Once upon a time, more than ten years ago, bingo was a regular activity for BGWLBH and I. We would play a couple of times each week in the evenings and during school holidays, if I took my annual leave at the same time, we would play during the day as well.

The prizes, where we played, were meat trays, fruit and veg trays, vouchers for the local butcher or supermarket, vouchers for the club restaurant or free bingo tickets. Legally, they weren't allowed to offer money as prizes.

We used paper booklets of bingo tickets, with dobbers, which were plastic bottles of ink with a spongy end that we dabbed the numbers with as they were called. I had a hand made timber box with a lid that I used to store my dobbers. The box was shaped like a wedge and I used a butterfly clip to hold the tickets to the box as I played.

That was back in the old days.

Today was certainly an eye opener as far as advances in the world of bingo are concerned!

These days, they used electronic devices that look similar to a tablet or iPad and either your finger or rubber tipped stylus pens to touch the numbers as they were called.

The sheet on the left shows all of the games. Each card has two games eg a short game to win the first prize of the card and then the full card to win another prize. The prizes were pretty good too .. $20 for the short game and $40 for the full card.

The first game of the day is worth $500 if you get the full card within 50 calls.

This machine shows two bingo game cards at a time (I think there are 5 cards for each game) and keeps the others in the background. As you mark off the numbers, it automatically brings the two cards with the most numbers marked off, to the front screen.

The other crazy thing, is that it gives you a signal when you have one number left to win. The screen changes to a happy man that looks like an M&M and flashes the number that you are waiting for.

Unfortunately, I didn't win today, and I only got down to one number once .. so at least I got to see my little M&M man on the screen .. I did win a $2 scratchy in the break when they drew the raffle prizes, so I guess that's a bonus. I haven't scratched it yet, so I could be rich and not even know it!

It was a pleasant and different way to spend a Monday morning and when bingo was finished, we met up with Reality TV Queen, Speckled Hen and Party Pat for lunch. I selected slow cooked roast beef and vegetables from the menu. It was ok.

Tomorrow will be spent catching up on some housework, so that I can reward myself with the lady's luncheon on Wednesday.

February is quickly coming to an end, and as scary as that seems (because it feels like new year was just yesterday!), it means that Summer is also coming to an end! We can all breathe a sigh of relief as the weather cools down and we can live in comfort again.

Nite all.

    

Diligence is Required

My fraction of an 'ugh' has now grown to a full 'ugh'.

I have not been as diligent with my mouth rinsing today because the pain had gone this morning. I only rinsed with the peroxide once this morning (it really tastes gross!) and by about 5pm, my gums felt inflamed and tender again.

Obviously, I need to continue my full rinsing regime for a while yet ie oil pulling, peroxide and colloidal silver.

I've had a reasonably busy day, starting with a ride to the Seat of Knowledge, followed by coffee with The Blond Bombshell and Reality TV Queen, then rode home to put some lamb shanks in the slow cooker and prepare the vegetables to be cooked later. This afternoon I rode over to Woman of Many Talents' house for a couple of wines before she went out for dinner.

When I'd been there for about an hour, Reality TV Queen also joined us for a drink.

I arrived home in time to finish preparing dinner.

I really loved this today ...



Now, I can't believe that it's already midnight! I'm off to bingo tomorrow and I'm being picked up early in the morning, so I'd best get my healing beauty sleep!

Nite all.