Bloody Tourists

It's Easter weekend.

Over Easter, our town holds it's annual Easter Fishing Classic, which is a weekend long fishing competition.

The population more than doubles over the Easter weekend. Good Friday is the sign up day and then each day after that has live weigh-ins and dead weigh-ins, and there are prizes for all children's age groups and also for adults. The prizes cover different breeds of fish and crab.

Each day from noon, there are rolling raffles and prizes include assorted fishing gear including rods and reels and eskies. The big prize for the weekend is a boat, but you have to be in attendance to win it.

This fishing competition has been running for over 25 years and brings a lot of money to the town and our local charities.

It is always a very successful weekend and I can't even tell you how much I dislike it!

My town fills with loud, disrespectful, inconsiderate, arrogant out-of-towners. They litter our streets, riverbanks and waterways. They take over our club and pub. They fill the seating at our local coffee shops. They create massive queues in our supermarket and shops. Their cars fill every car space in town. They provoke ramp rage at the boat ramps. They break the rules on the water. They don't monitor their kids who commit crimes late at night. They speed through our streets.

Unfortunately, they also provide enough income for our local businesses to help them stay afloat for the rest of the year, so it doesn't matter how much I bitch about them, I am constantly reminded that the town needs these tourists.

Ugh!

I do my utmost to remain indoors over Easter and avoid the ugly crowds.

I was asked to do the photography for the weekend, but respectfully declined. It's a 'love' job and takes many many hours of precious time. It's also a thankless job. I did it for the first two years that we were in town, so I know what I'm missing and am grateful for the opportunity to say 'NO'.

Anyway ... today was ART day!!

I stained my clay bust ...

... and our work will be fired in a kiln in The Bay some time over the next couple of weeks.

Our next project is a clay tile.

I selected this photo ...

I had to draw it onto a leather tile and then use a leather cutter to slice pieces out of the picture. This is the first stage.

Later, we will cover the tile with soft clay so that the clay fills the holes that we've cut out (like a mould), then we wait for the clay to dry, paint it and then fire it in the kiln. Interesting concept hey?

I just love my art class. The other girls are great value. It's very informal and relaxed and we have some good laughs at each other's expense. All very different personalities when it comes to creativity, and we each take turns to bring lunch every Saturday which is usually sandwiches with GF bread. I love that they take me into consideration and always provide something that I can eat.

After I returned home, I spent 90 minutes taking photos of my jewellery. I did it outside where the light was good, but my silver jewellery seems to have photographed more gold than silver! This is bloody annoying and means that I have to start all over again. They are also not very sharp.

Adoring Husband is going to set up my Lightbox for me tomorrow and we'll see if that makes a difference to the colour. I'm not a fan of the Lightbox, but it might be my only option. I did attempt to set it up myself a couple of months ago, but it just didn't seem right. Let's see if AH is cleverer than me ... there's a challenge for him!!

Here are some of the jewellery pics. A few of these pieces are quite large and the chains aren't included.

So many more to photograph yet! That's my priority tomorrow. Two full days to power through some work!! Wahoo!!

Enough for now. Time for bed.

Nite all.

A Good Friday

Best Cousin in the World and Marco Polo came for lunch today.

I got out of bed at 9am and cleaned the bathroom while Adoring Husband vacuumed and steam cleaned the tiled floor.

I chucked some chicken wings in a baking tray and poured a mixture of Raspberry and Chocolate balsamic vinegar, honey, fish sauce, lime juice, salt and pepper, slices of fresh ginger and one chilli roughly chopped over the top of them. Baked them in the oven at 180C for 45 minutes, turned the oven off and let them sit in the residual heat.

I made up three salads.

A coleslaw with mango mayonnaise.

A rocket pear and salty caramelised walnuts salad. I made a dressing of avocado, chilli coconut mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup.

A salad of baby spinach, lettuce, rocket, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, boiled egg and chopped mint. No dressing for that one.

Adoring Husband cooked some steak on the barbecue.

It was an easy lunch that was prepared (except for the steak) before they even arrived so I was able to sit with everybody and chat until AH cooked the steak and we brought all the remaining food from the fridge to the outside table.

The weather was nice outside today. A sunny day with a cool breeze.

Best Cousin in the World drank a whole bottle of red wine and I drank 3/4 bottle of Oyster Bay SB over four hours.

I drank the wine because BCITW gifted it to me. I spent most of the afternoon after they left in the bathroom suffering the consequences of my actions (and no, I wasn't drunk). At the time, I thoroughly enjoyed sharing some alcoholic beverages with good company, but I guess it takes me a while to learn my lessons. Wine simply doesn't agree with me anymore.

Adoring Husband had SES duties this evening and was gone for about 4 hours. This would have been a perfect opportunity to get some work done on my site, but between my bathroom visits and the football on TV, no work was done by me.

It has been a good Friday.

Tomorrow is my art class, which I'm very much looking forward to, but I'm looking forward, also, to having no commitments so that I can focus on my work on Sunday and Monday.

Seeing that it's only just after 9.30pm and the final game of footy is almost done for the evening, I might just get an early night, in preparation for an early morning.

I just wanted to mention, as a follow on from yesterday's post, my gratitude and appreciation for the support and encouragement that I received from Happy Harry, Lady Lynn and Adoring Husband at the funeral. It was thanks to them, that I found the strength to stand up and read the tribute. Thanks guys xox

Nite all.

The Party is Over

Today we said goodbye to Mum H.

At the service, there were about 100 people in attendance and there were quite a few people out of town and unable to attend.

All the bowlers turned up in their colours and formed a guard of honour as we left the chapel.

The eulogy was lovely and everybody learnt something new about Mum H.

The TV screen at the head of the chapel showed so many photos of her with so many different people, at parties and functions and events. There were photos of her as a young child and wedding photos. A lifetime of photos that made everybody smile.

The music was amazing .. just one song to tug at our heart strings, but the rest were upbeat happy songs that Mum used to love dancing to, and the final song to say goodbye was the old classic "Eagle Rock".

One representative from the Bowls Club was invited to the podium to say a few words on behalf of the bowlers. He spoke well and only faltered at the very end.

In my purse I had a two page written tribute that I had every intention of reading. I practiced at home and I timed myself. It was just two minutes long. I imagined myself standing at the podium, strong and confident and articulating my words clearly and precisely.

As the moment drew closer, I took some slow deep breaths. My stomach and my throat felt tight and I concentrated really hard on relaxing. Happy Harry offered to stand beside me at the podium for moral support.

My biggest concern was getting to the podium and falling apart before the first word was uttered. I am such an emotional blob of jelly in these situations!

When the bowler's tribute was over, the celebrant asked if there was anyone else who wanted to speak.

This was the moment.

I stood up and walked directly to the podium. I did it so suddenly that Happy Harry didn't have a chance to support me! I glanced briefly at all of those people sitting in the chapel. All of those people who were there to say goodbye to Mum H. All of those people who loved her and wanted this opportunity to pay their last respects.

I could feel the emotion welling inside me.

I took a deep breath.

I said to myself "You can do this. Just do it!"

I looked at my printed sheet of paper, opened my mouth and through my quivering emotional tight throat, I spoke.

Almost immediately, I felt myself losing it, but I pushed myself to keep going. My voice faltered so many times and I was terrified that I wouldn't make it to the end. I heard Adoring Husband give a little emotional cough. The last line of my tribute almost wasn't uttered ... but I made it.

I made it to the end.

The people were pleased. I received hugs of praise because my words described Mum H so well and everybody could relate. I think a lot of the hugs were sympathetic hugs because I was such a wuss!

I think Mum H would have been pleased. Her family were grateful too.

It was the best way I knew how to say goodbye and I'm glad that I pushed through the overwhelm and the emotion.

Now I am drained and exhausted but unable to wind down. It's almost 1am! Ugh.

Nite all.

Boring Stuff

For the next couple of weeks, this blog is going to be a bit more boring than usual, because I'm spending most of my waking hours at my desk or with my camera.

I attempted to take photos of my stock today, but couldn't quite get the light right, so I gave up and did some research on marketing and copywriting instead. I also got part way through a course from the Academy - which is always inspiring and helpful.

The photos will need to be taken in the early morning light .. which I will try tomorrow.

Adoring Husband was kind enough to make lunch, which gave me extra time to work.

I did a proof read of the work I've done so far on the website, which was interesting, because I hadn't looked at it for more than two months. It looks pretty good!

I've now laid out a time line. It's basically a 'to do' list and each item has a 'do by' date. I'm hoping that will push me a bit harder and make me more accountable.

Every small step takes me closer to my finishing line.

I read that the first 20% of a project is easy and fast and full of enthusiasm. The next 60% is fairly smooth sailing but the final 20% is the toughest to get through. That's where I'm at.

Tomorrow is a wipe out day. Mum H's funeral is at 12pm, followed by the wake at the Bowls Club and drinks at the Pub and finally the raffle night at the Bowls Club. There'll be no work happening tomorrow.

Good Friday will be another wipe out day because Best Cousin in the World will be visiting for lunch and she will pick up her Le Reve order.

Saturday morning is out, due to my art class which hogs my time from 9.30am - 1.30pm.

Saturday afternoon, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be full time 'head down, bum up' working working working.

I am going to make it happen!

I've created a new story for me ...

"I am capable of anything that I put my mind to and I am in control of my own life. I am smart, intuitive, creative, happy, healthy and vibrant. I can create and develop my own business ideas and make my own income that will help us live more than comfortably. I have a wish list that I plan on fulfilling. Negativity is no longer an option and I will fill my life with abundance and joy. My life has purpose and meaning. I AM GOING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN!"

... and so it will be.

Nite all.

Moving Right Along

Coffee with the girls. Always a hoot! Even if they don't care about my health concerns!! (You know who you are!).

A stop at The Motivator's house to see her and her visitor, Queen of Crosswords. I spent a couple of very pleasant hours with the girls, assisting with a crossword completion, looking at and buying beautiful handbags and chatting about stuff.

I came home to make some lunch for myself because Adoring Husband was still in town attempting to have our car repaired. He was unsuccessful ... or I should say the car yard was unsuccessful.

The rest of the day was spent at my desk where I achieved little, but it was 'quality' little. I feel ok about my progress and since my sister, Squirt, won't be visiting as planned, I have the whole Easter weekend to work on my site.

Fingers crossed!

Another delivery from the gift fair arrived today! Will they never end? Hopefully, there will be one more before Easter.

And now it's time for bed.

Nite all.

Down Time

It has been a strange day for me.

I was keen to get into my office and get started on my website, but my desk and one cupboard had become a resting ground for everything that had come into the office over the last 8 weeks, so I spent about almost 2 hours tidying, clearing, filing, labelling, sorting and culling.

I sat down and found my 'to do' list.

It was long.

I began to research computer programs for keeping an inventory of stock. Ridiculous prices.

I looked at some apps specifically designed for that. They didn't sit well with me.

I gave up on the stocktake and inventory.

I decided that photographing my stock to put on the website was my next priority.

I looked at my camera.

I thought about my stock. I thought about the seven drawers full of jewellery, the cupboards filled with journals, the shelves with wallets and purses.

Where the heck do I even start? Where do I take the photos? How do I stage the photographs? Which stock will I do first? What lens will be the best option? Where will I find the best lighting? Will I use the tripod, or just hand hold the camera? Will I photograph ALL of the jewellery, or just a select few items?

Do I write out the descriptions as I take the photos, or wait until I edit the photos, or wait until I load them onto the site?

I gave up on photographing the stock.

I made lunch. Tuna and sweet potato fritters with a spicy tomato sauce.

I returned to my workspace, turned on the magnesium lamp and put some essential oil in the diffuser.

I shuffled some papers, checked my emails, completed a couple of pages from my academy workbook and returned a phone call regarding an order.

I suddenly felt tired and queasy in the stomach.

I lay on the bed and attempted to sleep.

I read for a while.

I gave up.

Adoring Husband suggested that we go for a walk along the beach, which we did. I felt amazingly better after that! Unfortunately, it was time to cook dinner, so I couldn't even take advantage of my newfound energy and mood lift!

This evening, I've done some work on my book idea, so I feel like I've accomplished something for the day.

A good night's sleep might help me for tomorrow's attempt at working.

Nite all.

End of Tuan Time

They were very warm and fond farewells.

We were up, breakfasted (is that even a word?), cleared, cleaned, packed and driving away from Tuan by 8.35am, and what a team effort it was to have the house looking spick and span and the cars all packed with our gear in record time, so that we were ready to convoy out of the driveway earlier than planned!

Everybody had somewhere to be.

Even though we were sad to say goodbye to each other, we were all very relieved to say goodbye to the midges and mosquitoes

Unfortunately, our car suffered a recurrence of last month's medical condition and Adoring Husband was unable to pick me up, so The Nikonian, with great kindness, drove two hours out of her way to bring me home and then return to the Sunny Coast for an important appointment.

Adoring Husband greeted us with a happy smile and a small gift for The Nikonian to thank her for her kindness.

I unpacked my multiple bags ... containing food, clothing, alcohol and camera gear ... and then made my way into my workspace to edit some photos from last night ...

Suddenly it was lunch time, so I prepared a nibbles platter containing prosciutto wrapped rockmelon, smoked salmon, cherry tomatoes, grapes, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, carrot sticks and guacamole dip with chilli.

We spent the afternoon watching football, until it was time to drive to the park to meet up with Lady Lynn, Happy Harry, Rebel Mardi and The Lifesaver for fish and chips by the river.

The evening was so pleasant, with a soft breeze, a pretty sunset ...

... and bloody sprinklers timed to go off at the most inopportune times!! Twice we had to move when the sprinklers came on and sprayed our picnic table. Time to call the council.

Anyway, it was nice to eat with our hands, share videos of our grandchildren and spend time with good friends.

I said my second lot of fond farewells for the day and we returned home to watch a replay of the football - Sharks vs Storm - and the Sharks won!! I tipped them!! Yay me!!

I'm off to sleep in my wonderful bed that is not surrounded by buzzing mozzies :)

A big thank you to The Nikonian for being a fabulous host over the weekend, and also to JMan and Earth Mother for providing nutritious healthful meals for us.

Nite all.

Chance of Rain

It has been exceptionally windy today in Tuan.

Thanks again to Jman and Earth Mother, our tummies have been filled with nutritious and delicious paleo fare all day.

We walked this morning and we're almost blown to Maryborough!

Other than that, it's been a lazy day chatting, laughing, peeling prawns and this evening, we finally got our photography experiment right.

We had no intention of doing anything this evening and were even contemplating going to bed at 8pm, when Mellylicious jumped up and suggested we try something. We grudgingly followed her lead ... two hours later, we returned to the house having had so much fun and with some crazy photos that none of us can edit until we get home.

We were climbing stumps and traipsing through water and running along the beach and striking poses and making crazy demands of each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and am well and truly ready for bed!

We will all be returning home early tomorrow morning, feeling rested, refreshed and all caught up with each other's news.

My only regret is that I wasn't at the Bowls Club on Friday night to claim my $500 badge draw money! After 9 yrs, my name was finally drawn out and I wasn't there to claim it! Ugh!

Ah well, better luck next time.

Nite all.

The Gang's All Here

Mellylicious arrived this afternoon and that makes a full complement!

The gang is all here!

We started our day with a delicious paleo breakfast of coconut yoghurt with Bircher muesli, berries, dragon fruit and banana and raw honey. Soooooooo good.

We walked along the waterfront with our cameras taking photos of nothing in particular and planning our next meal ... it seems that most of us are more obsessed with good food and good health, than good photography theses days!

The best part is that we are all pretty much on the same page and our chatter is non stop about all things that provide healing and wellbeing.

Actually, no, the best part is that Jman loves cooking even more than I do, and he has spent lots of therapeutic time in the kitchen preparing all of our meals. His amazing wife, Earth Mother, has also provided deliciousness to die for and I am in food heaven!

Lunch was liver pate, Vietnamese chicken wings, Aussie ham, tomato, cucumber, avocado, olives, a vegetable salsa, leftover butter chicken and paleo crackers that I MUST get the recipe for.

After The Nikonian and Jman returned from Maryborough where they picked up some more pantry supplies, we waited for Mellylicious to arrive and gathered our cameras and tripods for a shoot on the water.

We had a particular experiment in mind, but the light and our equipment didn't quite gel to provide the result that we were hoping for, so we returned to our deck and yet another dinner to die for.

Pulled pork, caramelised onion, cashew cheese, guacamole and marinated tofu and nuts in lettuce cups. Once again ... amazeballs!!

The mosquitoes and midgies are doing their darnedest to spoil our weekend and we are all covered in red itchy welts, but it would take a lot to dampen our spirits. It's such a beautiful, peaceful spot, the weather has been perfect, the food amazing and the company just fabulous.

It has been so relaxing and we all have so much catching up to do with each other.

I wish that I had a photo to share here, but they are on my camera and I didn't bring my laptop. I'll have to take a couple with my phone tomorrow.

I currently have the air conditioner running beside the bed to keep the mozzies and bugs at bay while I write this. It's working very well, so I think I'll leave it on all night!

Best get some sleep now.

Nite all.

Tuan, I am in you!

Here I am, sitting in the dark, the only light source is this iPad and it is attracting mosquitoes and giant bugs, so this will be short and sweet!

The weather is quite cool - almost cool enough for me to think about a jacket. That's saying something!

JMan and his amazing wife Earth Mother, cooked a delicious paleo meal for us tonight. Butter Chicken with roasted cashews, cauliflower and zucchini rice and a naan bread. OMG!! I am in heaven.

Now I really must turn this iPad off because I am surrounded by bugs and they are biting me!

I will write more tomorrow in the daylight hours.

Nite all.

Off Again

Another day gone and my website still at a standstill.

*sigh*

The day was still quite productive.

Adoring Husband and I sat down and discussed the big bash for his 60th birthday, which will be taking place in October this year.

He's been talking about it for a long time - at least the last 6 months - but so far, the only thing he's done is book the Bowls Club for the venue.

Today we discussed a budget, the food, the theme, decorations, entertainment, invitations and possible accommodation for the guests who travel.

We typed up the guest list.

Adoring Husband designed, personalised and printed out the invitations, so they are all ready to both hand deliver and mail out.

So we've definitely moved in the right direction today.

I've packed my bag for the weekend.

I did some washing and some ironing.

I cooked a big batch of lamb shanks and vegetables so the AH has hearty meals for while I'm away.

I cooked a boneless lamb roast so that AH has some cold meat for lunches.

I made a marinade for some chicken wings so that I can take some Vietnamese chicken wings away with me, along with some alcohol, mix and lime.

Now as it approaches midnight, I must get some sleep so that I can be fresh for a fun photography weekend.

Nite all.

At a Loss

A fabulous morning tea with the girls today.

We had four in attendance and enjoyed each other's company until after 10.30am.

I shopped for groceries and meat, and came home to make myself a toasted GF sandwich for lunch, then made a couple of phone calls and watched some TV for a while. I cleared some emails, charged up my camera batteries in preparation for the afternoon photoshoot and the weekend shoot, then packed my camera bag.

At 3pm, Adoring Husband kindly drove me to Craignish for the photoshoot, which went very well and very quickly. By 5pm I had edited and sent the pics through to 'Teach' who needed them for her new website.

I prepared dinner and then had to go in search of some 70th birthday pics of Mum H. Her family had accidentally left the disc of pics behind when they drove home this morning, so I emailed a dozen pics through.

It took me a while to find them because they were stored on my old laptop.

I chatted in messenger with Mum H's daughter in law in Brisbane and her niece in England, before posting details of Mum H's funeral on FB. We are trying to reach as many people as possible.

Now, before I head to bed, I have to go package and freeze the chicken broth that I've been making in the slow cooker.

It's already 11pm.

Nite all.

Back in the Groove

I didn't even know where to begin!

Finally, I got back into my workspace, but it felt like I was starting from scratch and I had so many tasks to complete, my brain completely shut down.

So, the only option for me, was to return to the Leonie Dawson Academy and find some inspiration and motivation from the guru.

It worked a treat and now I'm feeling much better about the next steps that I need to take for the business.

I'm just not sure when that's going to happen!

I seem to have booked myself to the brim and I have four free days out of the next sixteen.

It's about time that I committed myself to this task. It's time that my website became my top priority and I want it launched before my birthday, so that I can have a birthday SALE!

Commitment and dedication to the task at hand. That will be my mantra after Easter.

This weekend I have a three day photography shoot with some fabulously wonderful human beings from the original Flickr crowd. It's been about two years since we all got together and I'm really looking forward to catching up with them.

It means that I need to dust off the old camera. It hasn't seen the light of day for some time and I also have a professional shoot tomorrow, so it seems I'll be back in the swing in no time!

This is where I'm up to with my pottery bust ...

and just before I go ...

Nite all.

Quite a Sunday

As I begin to write this, the clock is ticking over to 11.15pm.

It has been a long day and I'm feeling very weary.

This morning, I visited Mum H's son, The Peacemaker, at her unit. It was emotional and draining and enlightening and interesting and heartwarming. I was only there for an hour but it was quality time and I left there feeling very different to when I arrived. They really are a lovely family.

The Peacemaker gifted me something from Mum H's wall. They were photos of her and I taken at various parties and occasions that she'd had framed. I was surprised and touched, not just by the offer of the gift, but also for the realisation that I meant that much to her.

There is no confirmed date for her funeral, but it could possibly be the Thursday before Easter.

After my visit, I returned home to make a delicious brunch for Adoring Husband and myself. The Motivator kindly gave me a diamond scale mullet yesterday, so I lightly fried it in butter, salt and pepper and then squeezed some fresh lemon juice over it. I served it with a salad and I thoroughly enjoyed eating it while AH finished mowing the yard.

He came inside and showered before I served his brunch.

Next on my agenda, was to groom psychotic dog, Colli.

Before ...

After ...

This took two hours! She is squirmy and cranky and jumpy and hates being groomed. This is a chore that I hate more than ironing!

At four o'clock, I had an appointment with The Motivator for a 'journey' and I didn't get home until after 6.30pm, at which time I had to cook a quick dinner.

It is now an hour later than when I began this post, so I'm off to bed. I think I might sleep in tomorrow morning.

Nite all.

We're Back!

Finally! Phone and internet coverage at last!

This is what I wrote on Thursday night, but couldn't post ...

********

Debbie is angry!

The warnings came out this morning and Adoring Husband was on SES duty at the shed very early.

Cyclone Debbie quickly made her way down the coast - over 1000kms - to reach us, the Sunny Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast today.

Hundreds of millimetres of rain. Winds gusting over 120kph. Incredible flash flooding, property damaged, schools closed, workers sent home before lunch, trees down, power outages, wild storms, sports events cancelled and no end in sight.

Our bad weather began around lunch time.

Right then, I decided to cook our chicken for dinner, just in case of possible power failure. That was a good decision.

We received 80mm of rain in two hours and our wind gusts were around 65kph - at a guess.

I was doing ok until the last hour, at around 2pm, when Higgins Storm Chasers put out a warning about possible tornados.

At the same time, we lost power, so there was no TV or music or anything to drown out the noise of the storm.

The sound of the wind whistling and thumping around the house was too much me me to cope with and I packed all of my fully charged devices into the walk-in robe, JUST IN CASE!

An hour later, the weather cleared, but 7 hours later, we are not only without power, but also without phone and internet service, which we lost at about 9pm!

This post will probably not even get to my blog until tomorrow. It feels weird to not have any contact with the outside world.

Luckily, we have a generator, so we get to watch TV,  have a fan, and the capability of charging the phone and iPad, although right now, that seems pointless.

It's getting late so we'll have to turn off the noisy generator soon.

The skies are clear and the stars are twinkling brightly, but the forecast is for gale force winds tomorrow. I hope they are wrong.

I feel for the people down south. The weather has now reached NSW and Lismore residents have been given an evacuation order. I understand the damaging rain will go as far south as Byron Bay. Scary.

Cyclone Debbie has been on a hell of a road trip!

Good luck to everybody in her path. Stay safe and remember ... IF IT'S FLOODED, FORGET IT!

I think it's time to concede defeat and go to bed.

Nite all

********

So, it seems that we got off lightly in comparison to many other towns and cities in Debbie's path of destruction. She has left a trail of disasters in her wake.

More sad news for our town was the passing of Mum H on Wednesday night.

I wrote on her Facebook page tonight ...

Dear Mum H,

I phoned your home number today, but no-one answered and it went to your voice message. I wasn't expecting to hear your voice and I wasn't prepared for the impact that it had on me.

Your involvement in our Burrum Heads community has been profound, your support for the town charity events has been significant and your tireless volunteer work for the Bowls Club has been remarkable.

You've been the life of many parties and almost always the last to leave. Your energetic and exuberant dancing had us shaking our heads in awe because none of us could keep up with you!

Your cheeky sense of humour and missing filter (as already mentioned by Kayla) should have got you into more trouble than it did.

You were a Jill of all trades, a fashionista, a sporting hero, a karaoke star, a dancing queen, a party animal, beer brewer extraordinaire, barrel girl, seamstress, dog and house sitter, crazy triker girl and I just don't know how much longer Home and Away will survive without your loyal following!

It will be a while before Burrum Heads recovers from the shock of your passing, because we expected that you would outlive us all.

Thankfully, I have an album bursting with nine years of fun memories and each of those memories brings a smile to my face (or an embarrassed grimace lol).

I will miss you, you crazy woman.

May you rest in peace

With Love ... Sweet Pea xo

Nite all.

A Brief Moment

It's 3.30am and we've had no phone coverage or internet for more than 30 hours (but who's counting?).

So in this brief moment when I'm able, I just wanted to quickly let you know that all is well here. Our little town is one of the lucky ones, but I don't know how long it will be until the cyber world is accessible again.

Watch this space.

Nite all

Margarita Success

My day began at 5am.

I don't know why, but for the second day in a row, I was wide awake at 5am!

So I got up, got dressed and got cracking in the kitchen.

I made a paleo chocolate birthday cake with a middle layer of strawberries and chocolate ganache and a top layer of chocolate ganache. Delicious!

I made apple and walnut muffins.

I made a big fruit platter.

I made two cheese platters.

I made guacamole dip.

I made a plate of veg sticks to dip.

I poured some plain chips into a bowl.

I made two jugs of Margarita mix.

I made a non alcoholic punch.

I made Midori Illusions.

I whipped cream.

I sliced limes.

I set up a tea/coffee station.

I set up a mini bar.

I printed out cocktail recipes.

I cleaned my bathroom.

I washed my hair.

It took me 6 hours to do all of that. I met a bunch of ladies at the pub for our monthly luncheon

I was home again by 1.15pm tidying up some loose ends in preparation for my guests.

Forgetful Steph arrived at 1.50pm to set up the Le Reve table, followed by my 7 guests who staggered their arrival.

It was great to have that many guests because 8 out of the 9 people who have standing first priority on my invitation list are currently out of town or committed elsewhere, so I was concerned that I would only have The Motivator and myself in attendance!

We drank Margaritas, Midori Illusions, Champagne and non alcoholic punch.

We sang happy birthday to Arty Cat and she blew out her candles.

It was a very successful party and I received more than $500 worth of products for $131.

I am having another party on 27th April. That will be my last. By then, I will have all the Le Reve products that I want.

It's 10.30pm and I am exhausted.

Nite all.

Just Not Right

There is something just not right.

I am still feeling lethargic and my joints not only ache, but also feel tender when I stand up or attempt to walk. They have felt like this since I returned from Melbourne.

I feel like a very old woman.

My sister has suggested Ross River Virus. She suffered with this last year apparently and her symptoms were the same as mine.

I will try being extra vigilant with my diet, follow the health advice that I received while in Canberra, do some juicing, and hopefully, weather permitting, get some sunshine and do some grounding.

Even though I had so much to do today, I spent a good portion of the day in bed, resting my joints and napping.

So I guess I should get an early night.  That way I can wake up early to do everything that I couldn't do today! If I can get my time management right, there should be no stress involved.

There seems to be some very heavy rain about tonight. I hope the dogs don't decide to suffer PTSD and keep us awake with their crazy stress levels.

Have a happy Wednesday!

Nite all.

Newsworthy

Cyclone Debbie.

Ugh!

This cyclone is a long way from us, but as a consequence, we will probably receive some heavy rainfalls later in the week.

My niece, her husband and their baby are in Mackay and have decided, much to the horror of my sister,  to remain at home and ride it out.

Even though Cyclone Debbie is going to touch land a couple of hundred kilometres north of Mackay, being on the southern end of the cyclone, is the worst place to be, and king tides will cause major flooding which has prompted the evacuation of more then 25000 people from that town.

Still, my niece, going against my sister's pleading, refuses to leave.

There have been many tears.

I also have a cousin on Magnetic Island, north of the cyclone. It seems that the predicted weather in that neck of the woods won't be as bad as originally expected, so I am less concerned about his safety  now.

Mother Nature is ugly sometimes. She is breathtakingly beautiful sometimes too.

This Wednesday, after our lady's luncheon, I am having another Le Reve party. It's going to be a cocktail and mocktail party with nibbles and a birthday. cake, because one of the ladies is celebrating her birthday on that day.

So Adoring Husband and I headed into town today for supplies of the alcoholic variety. The only alcohol I had available was a bottle of SB wine, a bottle of Vodka and half a bottle of Midori. That's not going to make any tasty drinks!

Now, I have Tequila, Bacardi, Cointreau, Blue Curacao, Kahlua, SSB wine, bubbly stuff to have with strawberries and lots of juices and soft drinks and fruits and parasols to make punches and cocktails and mocktails.

I also bought a punch bowl! I needed one of those ... and some cocktail glasses, and champagne flutes. Now I have a drinking vessel for all occasions!

Having done all of that shopping, I have since discovered that most of my friends are currently out of town, so  I'll be lucky to get 4 or 5 people here at the current rate of declines!

This bothered me until just now, when I saw the Higgins Storm Chasing video of how cyclone Debbie is going to travel and develop over the coming week.

It seems that we (as in the Hervey Bay Area) are going to get many inches of rain accompanied by winds gusting up to 100kph by Friday. This does not please me, but at least I will have a house full of alcohol to numb the pain!!

Ugh!

Bed time for me.

Nite all.

Sunday Setback

I woke up this morning feeling like utter crap.

My body ached all over and movement caused me great discomfort. Ankles, knees, hips, back, neck, every step and every twist and turn hurt. I felt like I'd been hit by a bus!

Not only that, but I felt sad and angry and unmotivated and lethargic and frustrated and miserable and completely out of sorts.

To a lesser extent, I have felt like this for three days, but today was much worse. I feel like my body has been building up to today's crescendo.

As tempting as it was to remain in bed and feel sorry for myself, I dragged myself to the bathroom, had a hot shower, got dressed and went for a ride on my trike.

I rode down to the river and followed the path. Because of the recent heavy rains, the river is not as clean and blue as it was when I left town a couple of weeks ago.

Against my better judgement, I decided to buy a coffee before visiting The Motivator. She and The Fisher King were sitting down to breakfast, so I joined them at the table and poured out my misery. I felt guilty for bringing my negativity to their Sunday, but I felt a little better for having done so.

After breakfast was finished, The Motivator and I caught up on our news and before I knew it, it was already after 12 noon!

I rode home and put a boneless leg of lamb in the oven with some vegetables and let them cook while I watched some more Grace and Frankie with Adoring Husband.

I was in no fit state to do any of things I planned for my day, so before, during and after lunch, I remained firmly parked on the couch.

We were invited to a neighbour's house for a barbecue dinner, so at 6pm, we hiked two doors up with our esky full of alcohol and enjoyed a very pleasant evening catching up with these neighbours, who I haven't spoken to for so long, I can't even remember.

I think that my body is struggling right now because of poor eating habits for the last 2 weeks, 6 weeks of travelling and being out of my regular routine, the knowledge that my week is so full that I'm not going to get anything done with my website and having an intimidating 'to do' list that is getting longer by the day.

Anyway, there were some interesting cloud formations this evening as we left for our dinner date ...

They were both taken at the same time. The top one looking East and the bottom one looking West.

... and I really love this quote ...

It's 11pm and I'm off to bed.

Nite all.  

 

Behind the 8 Ball

Sadly, I've missed the last two art classes, so I am way behind everybody else and have a lot of catching up to do.

The other beautiful sculptures have evolved into amazing characters and I am envious that I don't have the time to develop my own bust's character in the same way.

Today, I had to split my head in half, scrape the clay from inside the skull, punch holes into it, rejoin the head, create ears and then begin adding the hair. I decided on dreadlocks, which are tricky because they can easily snap off in the firing process. I had to punch little holes into each dreadlock and then partially refill them. This could be my downfall.

I hope that by next week, this will begin to look more impressive and have more character. The others have Peter Pan, an African Woman and an amazing Witch. They are all fabulous!

We were working/playing for more than three hours and not one of us looked at our watch. We could easily have stayed there all day. Eight hours of clay work would have suited all of us very well. It's very therapeutic.

I love it.

The remainder of my day was spent watching the first two series of Grace and Frankie (third time for me) with Adoring Husband, who had not watched any of it prior to today. I guess series 3 will be tomorrow!

It's been a good day.

It's midnight.

Bed time for me.

Nite all.

PS Have a happy Sunday!

Quietly Does It

After so much time away from home during the last 2 months, I'm slowly easing my way back into my life.

Adoring Husband and I spent the day watching all the TV shows that he recorded for me while I was away ... well ... SOME of them anyway.

I did make a conscious effort to pedal to the river this morning before making my way to the shops to check the mail and buy a coffee.

I haven't even unpacked my suitcase yet.

It's sitting on the floor in the dining room.

I've removed my dirty washing and washed it.

I've removed my toiletry bag and emptied it.

That's it.

Even dinner was an easy lamb shanks in red wine, tomato and onion sauce, cooked in the slow cooker. Little effort, but plenty of flavour.

I have my art class tomorrow, which I'm excited about!

On Sunday, I hope to groom the dogs ... they've waited long enough!

On Monday, I hope to sink my teeth back into my new business. Head down, bum up and no more dilly dallying!

I've just watched the first two episodes of the new season of Grace and Frankie. As much as I want to binge watch the entire series, I would like to be bright and awake for tomorrow's art class, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Hell on Rails

My day began so perfectly.

I experienced a delicious night of sleep in a very comfortable bed. The weather was just right, with the window open and the ceiling fan on low.

Upon waking, I was able to spend 20 minutes in bed, enjoying the solitude and easing myself into the day. I showered, dressed and repacked my suitcase so that I was ready to leave at a moment's notice.

I walked out of the bedroom to find Rebel Mardi sitting in the kitchen, so I greeted her with a happy good morning and she offered to make me a delicious 'real' coffee. She made my coffee with lots of love and it was quite delicious!

The Lifesaver shared with me, his junk mail ... oh how I miss junk mail!! All of those lovely catalogues with all of those lovely sales!

Rebel Mardi and I spent a leisurely hour or so sitting on the deck talking, talking, talking and talking (we are pretty good at that).

Eventually, we packed all of my gear into the car and headed of for a morning of adventure.

The Lifesaver took me to a shop that he was certain I would love. He was right!! I could easily have spent a couple of hours wandering around that huge warehouse sized gift store and thanks to his generous offer of looking after a big item that I wanted to buy, and bringing it to me on their next visit, I bought a gorgeous big 'abundance' buddha which is now sitting in a box in the boot of their car!

From there, we drove to my favourite organic marketplace, Kunara, where we all enjoyed an early lunch and more talking. Before we left, I bought 3 delicious sweets to take on the train. I got a raw mars bar, a beetroot chocolate cake and a key lime tart.

Rebel Mardi and The Lifesaver were kind enough to not only drive me to the train station, but wait with me until the train arrived. They made me feel very special!

A big thank you for making me feel so welcome in your home and for being so generous with your time. Even though we only had 24 hours together, it was quality time and I really enjoyed myself.

Thank goodness I had such a wonderful start to my day.

I climbed onto the train and had nowhere to store my suitcase. The luggage compartment was overflowing with backpacks, suitcases, folding prams, walkers (for the elderly) and other assorted travelling paraphernalia. The two of us who boarded the train, had to leave our luggage in the walkway.

I walked to the end of the carriage where my seat was located, to discover that it was already taken. There were seats spare, but the people who were sitting there had only gone to the food kiosk which was located about 4 carriages away.

I decided to walk into the next carriage and discovered that there were only 6 people in that one, so I sat in a seat there and made myself comfortable ... for about 10 minutes ... until the conductor came along and said "This carriage will be filled to the brim at the next stop. I'm sorry madam, but you will have to return to your carriage."

So I told him of my dilemma and pleaded with him to NOT send me back to that carriage. He apologised, stating that they were unusually busy today and that all of the carriages were very full. He took me back to my carriage and sat me in a spare seat beside an older lady, who I discovered later, was also going to Howard.

I sat down and was surrounded by young people. There were eight of them in one group, plus a grandmother to one of the babies.

Young people drinking rum and coke from cans.

Young people who smelled of alcohol, cigarettes and sweat (body odour).

Young people who were talking loudly and using language that even made ME blush!

Young people who had young babies - one about 4 weeks old and another about 6 months old.

Young people who were either stalking people in Facebook who they didn't like, or were watching offensive videos in Youtube.

Young people who were bragging about their friends (or 'bros') who drive on the highway at 180kph while texting, or who spin out on roundabouts five times in a row, or who turn off their headlights while speeding down mountain roads to scare their passengers, or intentionally 'drift' on the road in competition with their mates.

Young people who were complaining loudly about Centrelink and their payments, and how they were breached for not attending interviews.

One young man (who I guessed to be 16 or 17, but was buying alcohol, so must have been at least 18) said to his 16yr old girlfriend (with the 4 week old baby) "I'm just going to buy one more rum and coke and then I'll give you the keycard so that you can buy stuff for Bub okay babe?"

She asked him to buy her a rum and coke too and he replied with "No babe! There is only $16 left."

On the trip between Nambour and Cooroy, which takes less than 30 minutes, he drank 4 cans of rum and coke. Who knows how many he'd had before I boarded?

The 16 yr old girl then began talking to her baby. Oh the language and the threats that came out of that mouth. It made me feel nauseous.

Meanwhile, at the front of my carriage, there was another young girl. She looked to be about 18 yrs old. She was sitting on the very front seat with twin babies, a boy and a girl, about 3 months old and she had her top off and was breast feeding them (which is not a problem for me) and she also had two other children. A girl of 4 and a boy 2.5yrs.

The boy was out of control. If he wasn't climbing all over his seat or other passengers, he was running up and down the carriage or he was having a tantrum, for no particular reason that I could tell. This poor girl was doing her best in very difficult circumstances, but didn't appear to be stressed at all!

There were two other men sitting together, one of them with particularly evil looking eyes (in my opinion) and he was playing what appeared to be 'mind control' games with the other. He was chanting in a low voice and clicking his fingers in his friend's face and telling him to repeat certain words and feel certain emotions.

It was at this moment, I had an epiphany! I was feeling so stressed and so uncomfortable in this environment .. and knowing that I was going to be on the train for 4 hours, I couldn't bear the thought of sitting in that seat and listening to this for another moment.

I remembered that these old diesel trains have a club car!!

I gathered up my gear and began walking. It's quite a hike to walk the length of 4 carriages!

Then I saw it.

It was as if the heavens opened and these beautiful rays of light shone down to reveal that beautiful club car with those comfortable booths and the sound of peace and quiet. You know the sound of angels singing? I heard those angels.

Just as I opened the door, a lady stood up and left, leaving just one booth available ... for me.

Oh the relief.

I sat down and opened my little box of sweets from Kunara, then opened my iPad and found Netflix, which automatically opened to 'Grace and Frankie'.

I sat back and breathed a sigh of contentment.

For the remaining 3 hours, I giggled my way through three episodes of Grace and Frankie, shared my booth with an older couple for about 20 minutes and eventually found my way back to my seat for the last 20 minutes of the journey.

That's when I had a conversation with the lady sitting in the seat beside me.

I was SO happy to reach Howard and see Adoring Husband waiting on the platform for me.

I was SO happy to finally get home.

Today, in Australia, it is Vegan Chickie's birthday, but in USA where she is, it's not yet her birthday. So ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY VEGAN CHICKIE! I hope this is your best birthday ever! Big hugs and love from your mother in the Southern Hemisphere!

I think I need to sleep now.

Nite all.    

Terra Firma

Thank goodness my feet a firmly planted on terra firma.

I'm done with flying for a while I think!

I slept very poorly last night.

After the fire brigade arrived at our doorstep with two trucks and sirens sounding, it took a while to settle the nerves and by the time I tidied and cleaned the apartment (to make it look as good as when I entered - as the instruction sheet requested), and by the time I set both of my electronic devices to wake me five minutes apart, I still couldn't seem to settle.

I was so worried that I would sleep through the alarms and miss my flight, that I just couldn't relax!

It was 1.30am when I fell asleep the first time. I woke at 3.30am and my alarms were set for 4.30am and 4.35am, so dozed restlessly for the last hour.

The shuttle was booked for 6am and I had to be waiting on the footpath in front of my building by 5.50am. It didn't arrive until 6.30am.

By the time we picked up other passengers, we didn't get on the road to the airport until quite late. It was raining steadily and the traffic was heavy. The last 7kms took 21 minutes. We were crawling.

Melbourne airport is not as straight forward as every other airport in the land and at first I was a little confused about where to go, but I finally got it sorted and then found myself a morning coffee.

There was nothing gluten free for me to eat at any of the cafes and I hadn't eaten dinner the night before, so I was feeling peckish. The coffee seemed to fill the void and I still had 2 hours until boarding, so I bought myself a magazine and made myself comfortable. This was my view ...

At 8.40am I went to the gate that was printed on my boarding pass, but the TV screen said that it was a Sydney flight boarding there. I went looking for the big screen to discover that I was boarding at gate 5 now and that the flight was delayed by 30 minutes and not boarding until 9.35am.

My flight actually took off at 10.20am.

It was a turbulent flight, like a roller coaster ride and the trolley service was even suspended for 20 minutes because it was too dangerous. I practiced meditation to drown out both the fear and the screaming children. This also made the 2 hours go much faster.

I was very grateful to plant my feet firmly on the ground and even happier that an Uber driver was only two minutes away and was able to drive me directly to Rebel Mardi's and The Lifesaver's home.

And what a beautiful home it is! I love these guys and they made me feel welcome as soon I stepped on their driveway.

Rebel Mardi had to work this afternoon, so I hitched a ride with her, and while she worked, I stepped into the first hair salon that I saw and got my hair washed and blow dried. I hadn't washed it for eleven days!! It really didn't look that bad, but was starting to feel a bit oily on my scalp.

I made up for my lack of shopping in Melbourne, by doing a Boutique crawl in Buderim. Gorgeous little boutiques just waiting for my money. When I was almost broke, I walked to the top of the hill to the tavern and ordered myself a vodka and tonic. A perfectly relaxing way to spend an afternoon!

We came home and made ourselves presentable for dinner at the Creek Tavern. Rebel Mardi and I enjoyed a GF chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto and served on a bed of sweet potato mash with asparagus ...

... The Lifesaver enjoyed a "sensational" Aloha Parmigiana! (sorry, no pics of that one).

Rebel Mardi and I talked and talked and talked and talked and then talked some more, until we were both exhausted and excused ourselves for bed.

Here it is, 11pm and I am in desperate need of sleep!

So ...

Nite all.

One More Sleep

Even though the day started out very rainy, I've had a lovely solitary day in Melbourne.

I've walked a lot (without being lost) and I window shopped. Yes you read that correctly.

'Window shopped'

Not one single solitary thing was bought, except for coffee and food.

I'm considering visiting the casino this evening. I did go there briefly after lunch, but I was feeling overwhelmed by the city and I also felt a little tired, so I've spent the afternoon in my apartment, which has been very quiet and very calming and very relaxing.

My shuttle bus is booked for tomorrow morning and unfortunately the 7am bus was full, so I'm on the earlier 6am shuttle. That will give me plenty of time to play with once I'm at the airport, so I'm ok with that. A leisurely breakfast might be in order.

I'm looking forward to catching up with Rebel Mardi and The Lifesaver tomorrow. It's been FOREVER!!

I'm also looking forward to getting home and sleeping in my own bed.

It's 7.30pm and I'm feeling a bit peckish. I didn't think I would want dinner after a decent lunch, but my tummy tells me otherwise.

I think I will steer clear of the casino and order in .. apparently there are restaurants nearby that deliver!

Have a happy hump day!

Nite all.

Time's Up

Well, Dadu arrived today, to take over Chicklet caring duties.

Chicklet was so excited to see her Dadu, that Bozzy Wozzy was able to leave with a fond farewell - no tears from either of us!

It warmed my heart to see them getting on so well. They were both glowing with happiness and there was laughter and animation.

Chicklet was getting annoyed that I was taking Dadu's attention away from her, so that was when I figured it was my best opportunity to depart without there being a scene.

I left notes regarding everything, as well as explaining everything, but Chicklet has a handle on it all anyway, so she will issue the necessary instructions.

Here I am in a 17th floor apartment overlooking the city, the river and the casino. This is the view from my bed - I was lying in bed as I took this photo.

It's almost midnight on a Monday and looking at the traffic on the road and the people walking the streets, you would think it was the weekend. It's crazy busy down there.

It's almost midnight and I am exhausted.

When I wake in the morning, I will have 24 hours to myself. What to do. What to do.

Nite all.

East is West and West is East

Google maps told me to head East.

I searched for 'Melbourne Aquarium' and Google Maps told me to go East.

So, of course, I headed West.

Why? You ask.

Beats me.

I KNOW which direction East is, from our front door. I have no idea why I chose to go in the opposite direction.

I have no idea why I kept walking in the wrong direction for fifteen minutes!

I have no idea why it took me that long to double check Google maps to discover that I was on the wrong side of town.

Chicklet and I have now named ourselves 'Team Lost'.

We gave up and walked the lesser distance to the Vic Markets and bought some Pokemon miniatures. Then we walked home and played Pokemon battles all afternoon. I believe that made for a more successful afternoon that the aquarium would have been anyway!

Chicket's challenge for the day was to draw a picture of her favourite activity with Bozzy Wozzy for the week that I've been here.

She drew a picture of us having Pokemon battles in the lounge room.

I didn't eat until dinner time today and I'm feeling very weary ... not enough energy going in, for the energy that I used up.

Bed time for me.

Nite all.