Festival Time

It’s raining.

Will it pass by morning?

Tomorrow is the Childers Festival, which we have attended every year since 2008 (except Covid year) and I’ve been counting down the days!

Rain is forecast and Adoring Husband is not comfortable driving in the rain (I also don't feel comfortable, especially on the highway), so it all hinges on how the view from the window looks in the morning.

Fingers crossed.

My footy tipping is not going as well as I’d hoped, however, I have hit the lead, with two more games remaining for this round.

Today was a quiet Saturday.

BGWLBH did our ironing.

AH had his weekly bro coffee date.

I made honey soy prawns for “fend for yourself” dinner.

Now I’m in bed and ready to fall asleep to the sound of Sex in the City 2.

Nite all.

Ending With Friday

You know that I love my tennis … here is a great story involving the current number one player, Jannik Sinner.

Jannik Sinner calls it “Dogtopia” — a vast 15-hectare facility under construction near Bologna, backed by a $5 million investment from him. It’s not just a shelter, but a healing center for abused, abandoned, or traumatized dogs. “We have training fields, water play areas, 24/7 veterinary care — but above all, we have love.” Sinner shared that dogs are not just pets — they’re family. He hopes Dogtopia will become a national model and inspire other athletes to take action.

BGWLBH had a nail appointment today, so we used the opportunity to do a fairly big shop.

We started with coffee at our favourite little shop - OBC The Original Bike Cafe on Taylor Street.

While BGWLBH was having her nails done, I browsed through Choice, purchasing ribbon x 5, water colour brushes and water paint pallet, stationery etc.

Next I walked to Big W and got bulk tp, a set of sheets for Adoring Husband and a roll of chux dish cloths.

By this time, BGWLBH was finished and we drove to another shopping centre to update our lotto and buy fresh bread and rolls from the bakery. Also a quick visit to the Reject Shop.

Back to Coles and the Butcher before ordering my Su Jus green juice.

Next was Eli Waters to visit Farm Gate for fresh fruit and veg, then fresh seafood for the weekend.

We were home by 1pm.

It took a while to unpack everything and then package all of Harley’s bits and pieces (chicken feet, sardines and beef bones) to freeze, so it was nice to eventually sit down for my quiz shows.

I made the marinade for tonight’s chicken wings and AH did the cooking. 

I’ve been in bed watching the footy since 6pm. My tips are going well, but Parramatta are currently beating my Broncos 18-14 with 34 :minutes to go. I’ve tipped the Broncos, but Mitchell Marsh is back from injury for Parramatta and he makes all the difference!

Now I’m off to send good energy through the TV screen for my team.

Nite all.

Another Week Bites the Dust

Wednesday was very quiet.

I cooked chicken scallopini for dinner with mash, green beans and carrot.

We played trivia.

It was a grey showery day.

Today, I decided to join the art girls at the Lions Park for morning tea. It was a tough decision because I wasn’t feeling very motivated, but I’m so pleased that I made the effort because it was a very pleasant morning.

The weather was glorious, the tide was high and the sunshine was glistening on the water. There were a few boats out fishing, lots of bird life, dolphins way out in the distance and plenty of locals out walking their dogs.

We had lots of laughs and because it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other, there was plenty of news to catch up on.

I arrived home a bit before midday with a small grocery shop and spent the afternoon with Harley on the couch.

After Harley play at 4pm, I prepared crumbed chicken for dinner which I served with coleslaw and a chunky salsa of tomato, cucumber, avocado, pear and radish.

We played trivia and I’m now in bed watching the football.

I’ve chosen this week as my “joker round” which means I get double points for each correct selection.

This is a very close game between Sydney Roosters and Melbourne Storm. Roosters are winning by 2 points and there is still 24 minutes left in the game. I’ve selected Melbourne Storm.

It’s a bit chilly tonight 8° (feels like 6°).

I’m all warm and snug under the covers.

Happy 41st birthday to my Bubbles and happy 64th birthday to The Motivator for today.

Nite all.

Slow Start to the Week

Monday was a day of nothing really.

Lack of sleep contributed. The golf Open in Ireland was the reason.

My only achievement was making my version of Shepherds Pie for dinner.

Today was meditation, which was a great class and afterwards, The Gypsy and I separately found our way to a bench seat overlooking the river near the Lions Park, where we chatted for three hours.

While we chatted, I spotted, high in the sky above the water, an osprey, a white breasted sea eagle, a wedge tailed eagle, a grey crane, many pelicans and an array of the usual sea birds like terns and seagulls.

It was a perfect day, the temperature mild, the sky clear, the birds singing, the tide high but on its way out, there was a soft breeze and there were lots of people out walking, some with their dogs.

There was good energy and our seat was dappled in shade the whole time, so we felt comfortable and could have stayed there all day if The Gypsy didn’t have an appointment to attend.

It was after 1pm when I arrived home.

BGWLBH had repaired some of my mobiles that had fallen from under the Bali hut, so we took the ladder out and rehung them.

We played Sequence until my quiz shows came on, so Harley and I joined Adoring Husband in the lounge room to watch TV.

I cooked up a big batch of vegetables (capsicum, tomato, beans, snow peas, zucchini, carrot and red onion) plus a tray of sweet potato wedges to serve with last night’s leftovers.

We played trivia for an hour.

Then we all headed to bed … at 7.30pm.

I love my bed.

Nite all.

Bingeworthy Sunday

I watched golf until about 2am, so I wasn’t ready to greet the day until well after 9am.

Harley and I played until after 10am.

Adoring Husband was off to work mowing for about 2 hours.

I binge watched a stack of episodes of “Say Yes to the Dress” until the football started.

I tipped all correctly except one.

I cooked chicken and vegetable soup for BGWLBH and served it with garlic bread. Hanaine chicken for AH and I. It’s full of coriander, which BGWLBH detests, hence the chicken soup for her.

We’ve been watching golf until bed time and I’m sitting up in bed watching golf now. It’s the final round of the Open, but the only Aussie has dropped right out of contention. The leaders haven’t even teed off yet and I’m ready to sleep, so I guess I’ll be falling asleep to the sound of clubs hitting balls!

I’ll find out who wins tomorrow.

Nite all.

John Farnham - "Help" (LIVE with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) Reaction

This is one of the MANY MANY reactions to John Farnham singing “Help” with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, that I’ve watched. 

I never tire of hearing him sing this song. It gives me chills every single time and I love the reactions of people from all around the world who hear it for the first time.

His voice is like no other.

I am sitting up in bed watching golf … the Open, Round 3.

BGWLBH and I spent the day at the RSL Club in The Bay.

They have a big golden ticket promotion happening this year. Once a month, they have 5 golden ticket draws. If your name comes out, you get to pick an envelope which has a golden ticket valued at either $1000 x 4, $2000, $3000 or $5000 (I think that’s right) - THEN - in November, you get to come back with all of the winners and one person gets to choose from 100 envelopes, one of which contains $500,000. All the rest contain $10,000.

BGWLBH won a golden ticket 2 months ago, so she’ll be back in November. I tried to win today and four of the five winners had names that started with the same two letters as my name. Alas, my name was not drawn.

Luckily it’s “fend for yourself” night so I didn’t have to worry about cooking because we were quite late home.

Super Saturday football night. Most of us only have one wrong tip this week, with two more games remaining.

I just realised that it’s now after midnight! Best get some sleep!

Nite all.

Perfect Weather

I’m not always successful, but this is my aim …

"Silence is my new answer to any disrespect. 

I no longer react. I no longer argue, and I no longer dive into drama. I simply remove my presence."

There's a quiet strength found in choosing not to engage with negativity. 

For me, silence is now my clear answer to any disrespect. It's a powerful shift from the old ways. I no longer feel the need to react impulsively, to fall into arguments, or to get pulled into needless drama. Instead, when faced with words or actions that chip away at my peace, I simply remove my presence. 

This isn't about avoidance; it's a conscious act of protecting my inner world. It’s choosing peace over conflict, self-respect over pointless battles. In this silence, I find a calm that no argument could ever bring, and I honor my own worth by not allowing disrespect to steal my energy.

Mitra ➡ Tips That Change Your Life  ❤☀

The pool guy came today - 2 weeks late because he claimed that he couldn’t access the property when he came on the usual date. I call BS.

We had to purchase a new pool cleaner. It’s a Zodiac and they only last from 5-7 yrs. Our pool is 7 years old in September! So it’s an updated version and it was on sale. Happy about that.

Adoring Husband played golf today.

I had yet another day in The Bay. Well, we arrived home much earlier than usual, even though we did groceries, searched for a new shower caddy, visited Farmgate for fruit and veg, bought my seafood for “fend for yourself” night on Saturday.

I stopped to chat with the butcher about his big “boys night” that he’d planned on Wednesday night. He’d purchased the boxing match on pay per view between Paul Gallen and Sonny Bill Williams, had slow cooked some beef all day, planned an outdoor fire and to watch the match on the big outdoor screen and was very excited!

He didn’t realise that the fight started at 10pm, which is way past his bed time and he couldn’t stay awake for it! He’s all of 32 yrs old! So he cancelled the whole thing.

We got our usual juices and I added 3 pieces of lemon/lime cheesecake to the order, which we enjoyed after dinner.

I cooked barramundi in butter, garlic and lime juice and served it with fried rice.

AH and I watched the golf until the football came on. He then went to bed. Everybody tipped the winner of tonight’s game correctly.

Now it’s almost 10.30pm and I’m ready for sleep. I have a rear molar that has come very loose and is causing some pain. Not sure what I’m going to do about it yet.

Nite all.

Double Days

Forgive yourself

for what you had to do to survive.

Forgive yourself for who you were

before you knew better.

Forgive yourself

for being fallible, broken,

for being less than perfect.

Touch the earth

in your small humanness.

Feel the dirt beneath your feet,

between your fingers,

and how your tears water

the parched, cracked soil.

Forgive yourself

for not being more, 

for not knowing more,

for learning through experience,

or the hard way.

For what you did to survive life’s winters,

across life’s thin ice.

For your mistakes.

You survived.

You are here.

And in the forgiveness,

let your hands reach down

to soothe your own broken heart,

and from there, 

the broken hearts of others.

For we grow humble in our falls,

compassionate through our imperfection,

not our perfection.

Forgive yourself.

Let the weight of these lessons

hold you firmly

in their dark wisdom 

to the earth —

And from there,

like a sky of shining lanterns,

set your soul free.

( ✍️ Rachel Alana Falconer )

Tuesday was a no-go day for me. 

I didn’t attend meditation and spent the majority of my day in bed, having a long 3 hour nap right in the middle with Harley on the bed resting his head on my legs.

Dinner was leftover spaghetti bolognese sauce with fusilli pasta and salad.

I slept much earlier than usual and enjoyed a solid 8 hours.

This morning, I was feeling much better and BGWLBH and I decided to drive into The Bay where we updated our lotto, got some fresh bread, searched for metal Chinese coins, purchased Harley bones from the butcher and bought our usual juices from Su Jus.

Fried rice was the requested dinner, so that’s what I prepared and added some crumbed chicken strips for AH.

I headed straight for bed after dinner and watched the movie “Made of Honor”.

It’s almost 10pm and I’m ready for sleep.

Nite all.

End of Tournament

On Sunday night, I flicked through the channels to find the movie “The Adjustment Bureau” which I watched and it finished just in time for the tennis.

I watched the first set between Sinner and Alcatraz. The latter looked very much in control so I turned it off at the end of the first set believing that Alcatraz had it in the bag.

When I woke this morning to check the score, I was shocked to see that Sinner won the next three sets to win the trophy!

BGWLBH and I headed into The Bay today.

It was a glorious day.

We were home by 2.30pm and after the usual afternoon routine, I cooked spaghetti bolognese for dinner. We played trivia. Everyone went to bed except me. I watched 1% Club.

Now it’s time to sleep because it’s meditation day tomorrow.

Nite all.

Not Resting

It was Sunday, but not my day of rest.

I didn’t watch the tennis on Saturday night, but I still slept until after 8.30am this morning. I didn’t get out of bed until 9.30am.

I made my cup of tea and took Harley out to play. 

I took my dry clothes off the line, folded them and put them away.

I put another load of washing in the machine.

I made breakfast and ate it on the couch.

I hung out the washing and put on another load.

I cleaned my walk in robe.

I moved ‘stuff’ back into the rear bedroom. Stuff that I’d cleared from there so that Number One Son had space when he came to visit.

I cleaned Harley’s sleeping area - there was enough dog hair to make another two Harleys!

Adoring Husband and I watched the latest Ghost Buster movie (in between hanging more washing and putting more in the machine).

On the very last load, the washing machine broke again, coming up with the “vibration error” on the screen. Luckily, when the machine fixed itself last week, AH didn’t cancel the repair bloke, so he is still coming on Tuesday.

AH attended a golf barbecue at the Lions Park this afternoon.

I watched three games of football this afternoon and evening.

AH and I both had perfect tipping rounds this week!

I cooked chicken saltimbocca for dinner with boiled buttered potato, snow peas and green beans.

I’m not sure if I’ll stay up to watch the tennis tonight. I’m not really invested in Sinner or Alcaraz. If I wake up in the middle of the night to pee, I’ll turn on the TV to check the score and perhaps watch some of the match.

It’s going to be another chilly night.

Nite all.