It's All About the Shopping!

Oh the shopping ... we lurve the shopping!

We left bright and early on Saturday morning so that we could stop at Eumundi Markets on the way to the Gold Coast.  We were early enough to get a good parking spot and we were so early, that at the first three stalls, our purchases were their first for the day!

Eumundi markets are HUGE and people drive for miles on the weekends to attend them.  There are buskers on every corner and the market stalls are many and varied, selling everything you can think of.

Jams and chilli concoctions, jewellery, beautiful artworks, home made clothes for babies, children, women and men, tie-dyes, pottery, woodwork, fresh produce, make-up, home made soaps, knitwear, hats, musical instruments, scented candles, ceramics, natural therapies and fresh cooked foods from all different cultures, just to name a few!

We spent about three hours wandering around and bought some cute clothes for little Chicklet among other things ... poor Adoring Husband was my pack horse carrying around all the bags of goodies before we decided to hit the road and head for the Gold Coast.

Five minutes before we found our motel, we drove past Harbour Town!

Now Harbour Town is similar to a DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) and I LURVE Harbour Town.  It's my favourite shopping place on the Gold Coast!

So we checked into our apartment and headed straight back to Harbour Town!  Another three hours of shopping!  I was in heaven ***sigh*** As a bonus, the 'end of financial year' sales were on!  How much luckier could I be!?

Poor Adoring Husband was absolutely exhausted at the end of the day after lugging around all of my shopping from both ventures!  He hardly had the energy to get ready for the big party.

Lots of clothes for me ... to replace the bag of old clothes that I took from my wardrobe to give to Lifeline (or similar) last week!  Warmer clothes to take with me to Griffith when I travel there in a couple of weeks.

Then on Sunday morning, after the party was well and truly over, and we started our journey home, we discovered the new Westfield at Northlakes, just north of Brisbane.

It too, was huge with so many specialty stores plus one of my favourite department stores, Myer :o)

We spent about two hours shopping there and only saw a fraction of the shops at the centre.  I got myself a lovely pair of tan boots and we found some cookware that we've been looking for online.

Adoring Husband is the best male shopper that I know!  Thank goodness he's mine!  He doesn't get impatient and he really gets involved in the process, just like one of the girls (and I mean that in the nicest possible way!).

So aside from the great 30th birthday party on Saturday night and catching up with friends and family...

The birthday boy, Jovial Son, in the centre wearing the white t-shirt and standing beside Adoring Husband/Father

.... it was all about the shopping!  We lurve the shopping!

Kasey Chambers - Not Pretty Enough

Day 25 - A song that makes me laugh - My Mum hated this song and would mimic Kasey Chambers, by holding her nose and singing the chorus. Whenever I hear this song, I imagine my mother holding her nose and singing high pitched and nasally.

It's Wimbledon Time!!!

Oh how I love Wimbledon!  Oh how I love to watch the tennis!

It's that time of year again!  One of my favourite times of year.

When I was working, I would take some annual leave for at least a week, usually the second week of Wimbledon, so that I could sit up all night watching the tennis!

Wimbledon and the Australian Open are my favourites of the Grand Slam tennis events.

I've been lucky enough to attend the Australian Open twice and I hope to get there again in the future.

My Mum was a big tennis fan and I was introduced to tennis back in the 70s when John Newcombe, Tony Roche and Yvonne Goolagong were champion players.

She got so much pleasure from tennis and had a little bit of a 'thing' for John Newcombe (along with a million other Australian women!).

She saw the potential in Patrick Rafter when she watched him play his first few tournaments and told me to 'wait and see' how brilliant he would become.

Even though she always barracked for him, she didn't like Lleyton Hewitt, citing him to be a 'cocky little upstart'.

I, however, loved Lleyton and still enjoy watching him play.  What I love most about him is his guts and determination to fight to the very end when he plays.

I never give up on Lleyton in any of his matches until the last ball is hit, because I know that he fights back and that the game can turn around at any time!

Federer and Nadal are wonderful to watch, as well as the Aussie girl Samantha Stosur ... let's hope she can go a bit further this year.

I also like to barrack for the underdog, so I will almost always cheer the least likely winner on!  Not just in tennis, but in most sporting events!

Now that I am over half a century old, I am not as resilient as I once was, so I need to prepare and train like all good athletes.

This means having long naps in the afternoons and it means eating properly, so that I don't want to curl up and fall asleep every five minutes and it means drinking lots of water to keep hydrated.

So, these days, I not only get to enjoy the tennis on TV, but at the same time I remember my Mum and wish that she was still around to have our long discussions about the tennis players, old and new, and how they played the night before.

It's only day one of Wimbledon and it's not even midnight yet ... but I am yawning my head off and I have to be up early for aqua-aerobics.

Time to find the draw and strategically plan my Wimbledon nights!  Choose my favourite players and plan to watch their matches between sleeps!

I've watched a couple of hours of tennis already tonight and now it's time to sleep.

Ah to be young again ... but YAY!  It's Wimbledon time!!

John Lennon - Imagine

Day 24 - A song I want played at my funeral (I also want Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen!)

Not as Young as I Once Was!

We arrived home safe and sound from a great weekend.

We shopped til we dropped on our way home and are both exhausted!

The view from our motel balcony at sunrise this morning was spectacular ...

6 am today

A bit after 6 am today

But right now, I am struggling to keep my eyes open.  This is short and sweet because I am not as young as I once was and any party that keeps me up til midnight sends my brain and body into 'repair' mode for the following three days!

Thank you for your kind understanding and tolerance :o)

Nite all

grow old with you

Day 23 - A song that I want to play at my wedding (and I did!)

30 and Fabulous

The thirtieth birthday party is a SUCCESS!

Just quickly - we left home at 5.30am, stopped at Sexie Coffee for 30 minutes where we had coffee and breakfast then drove on to Eumundi markets.

Shopped at the markets for three hours and then drove through to the Gold Coast.

After we checked in to our room, we went to Harbourtown, which is only about ten minutes from our motel!  We shopped there for almost three hours and then drove back to our room where we got ready for the birthday bash.

Here is the view from our balcony ...

We hope to get a nice sunrise in the morning from the opposite direction to this photo.

We got downstairs to meet up with all of Jovial Son's friends and family and waited for Jovial Son to arrive, at which point we all shouted 'SURPRISE!' (and he was!)

It was fabulous night.  Caught up with people whom we hadn't seen since his wedding and generally had a good time.

But now, it's almost midnight and I can feel the pumpkin thing happening, so it's sleep time.  Catch up tomorrow!

Nite all.

SMILE- Michael Jackson

Day 22 - A song that I listen to when I'm sad.

Weekend to Party

I have to be awake at 4.30am tomorrow.

One of Adoring Husband's sons turns thirty tomorrow and is having a big party which we are attending tomorrow night at the Gold Coast.

So we are leaving very early in the morning and stopping at the Eumundi markets on the way.  We expect to be there for at least a couple of hours and will then drive on to the Gold Coast.

The restaurant where we are attending the birthday party is attached to a motel and that is where we are staying, so at least we don't have to worry about catching taxis anywhere and we can safely stagger home from the party any time we want to leave.

I don't enjoy the drive down there, but once we arrive, it should be a good weekend and we usually have a bit of fun with Jovial Son and his newish wife.  They have a good bunch of friends and a close family, so there is lots of love to be spread around.

Speaking of lots of love ... I have some new photos of Chicklet to share with you all today.

This looks like the beginning of a raspberry to me!

Cutie Pitootie

Adorable little doofus!

She has had a massive growth spurt this week and for me, there is a noticeable difference in her size and shape.  She seems more grown up to me as well.

So that's it for me tonight.  I don't know if I will be able to post anything tomorrow night.  We'll see how the day and evening pan out.

Nite all

James Blunt - Stay The Night [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

Day 21 - A song that I listen to when I'm happy!

Bad Moon Rising!

I wanted to capture a beautiful moon-rise this evening.

Yesterday, at 5.30pm, on the bus ride to the pub where we watched the football, we saw the moon low in the sky, large and beautiful and glowing against the darkening sky.

I decided then, that I would make my way to the beach the following night to watch it rise out of the watery horizon.

So, at 4.15pm today, I hopped on my trusty trike with my camera bag and tripod in the rear basket, and pedalled down to the beach.

I chose the beach at the mouth of the river which had the widest ocean horizon because I wasn't sure exactly where the moon was going to rise.

For over an hour I watched the horizon and waited for the telltale glow to begin peeking over the horizon.

While I waited, I photographed kids playing on the beach, men fishing, birds walking on the sand, dogs running along the water's edge and boats motoring into and out of the mouth of the river.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

At 5.30pm when there was still no sign of the moon, I figured that it must be rising further around the beach and that I would have to go to a different beach tomorrow night and try again.

I began packing up my camera and folding my tripod.  As I went to put the tripod in the basket, I glanced up at the beach and there, to my amazement, was the shining glow of the moon's edge just about to peek over the horizon!

UGH!

As fast as I was able in the low dusk light, I reassembled my tripod, attached my camera and began taking photos as the beautiful golden orb slowly climbed into the sky.

It was difficult in the low light to get the settings correct in the short time it took for the moon to rise just high enough to be less than spectacular.

Pink sky just before sunset

The golden sky right on sunset

The beautiful golden moon rising over the watery horizon

I then had to pedal home in the dark.  The batteries are flat in my headlight on the trike, so it was a little tricky maneuvering the trike over the rough gravel road until I found the footpath to follow.

I think it was worth it in the end, but it was a very bad moon waiting til I was half packed before making itself seen ... which reminds me of the that song ... 'Bad Moon Rising'!

Nite all    

Daydream Believer The Monkees

Day 20 - A song I listen to when I'm angry (it makes me happy!)

Congratulations to Adoring Husband (and all you other Blues supporters)

State of Origin football - game two - was played tonight.

Adoring Husband and I got all dressed up in our supporter's colours and went to the pub where we met up with eight of our friends, ordered pizza and watched the game in the main bar.

Unfortunately, the NSW Blues team won the game and my team lost.  So now, it's one game all and the decider will be played in three week's time, on 5th July.

It was a great night and mostly it was a happy and fun crowd but there is always one, who is a bad sport and tries to stir up trouble.

So ...

Thumbs down to the Queensland Maroon's supporter who mouthed off in a very 'unsportsman' - like manner at the end of the game and tried unsuccessfully to spoil the Blue's supporters moment of exhilaration!

Thumbs up to all of the Blues supporters, who ignored his arrogant, rude rantings and didn't take the bait or try to fight him!

Every year I enjoy being at our 'local' for State of Origin.  Steve, the publican, is a cool guy (even if he is a Blue's supporter) and always puts on a fun night.

There are raffles and then finger food at half time and pick the score.  Most people dress up in their favourite team's paraphernalia.  There are flags and posters and blow-up footballs hanging from the bar.

It's one of the great things about Queensland.  Everybody gets involved.  Shops fly their favourite colours in the form of streamers, balloons and flags.  People decorate their houses.

Adoring Husband and I each have a large flag flying at the front of our house.  Blue on the left, maroon on the right.

When we lived in Sydney, there certainly wasn't the same enthusiasm for State of Origin down there and it was difficult to find a pub or a club that provided any entertainment for the night, so we are really enjoying the positive energy of Origin time here in Queensland.

So, it's all over for another three weeks.  Congratulations to Adoring Husband and all the other blue's supporters, including Number One Son, Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armor.

I hope that on the 5th of July, you will all be congratulating me and Queenslanders will be celebrating six years in a row of winning!!

Nite all!

Bella's Lullaby (Twilight Soundtrack Version Official )

Day 19 - A song from my favourite album.

Joke of the Day

I can NEVER remember jokes!

Almost every morning at the 'Seat of Knowledge', one of the guys, Raymond Claude, tells a joke.  

He is a brilliant joke-teller!

Everybody stops to listen.  

People pause as they walk past, asking him if he has a joke to tell.  

His jokes are always funny and mostly clean.

This means that I hear at least four jokes every week from Raymond Claude and over a period of two years that adds up to over 400 jokes!

I cannot remember a single one of them!

I have this one joke that I heard twenty or more years ago on television ... it may have been Glynn Nicholas on Humphrey B Bear and it goes something like this ....  

The goldfish swam into a wall. He said ... 'Dam!'

Nite all :o) 

TRHPS "Sweet Transvestite"

Day 18 - A song that I wish I heard on the radio

Another Failed Study Session! (AKA Another Successful Friends Marathon)

I tried to do a little studying today while watching 'Friends', but as usual, I got sleepy and ended up having a couple of catnaps (no, not even long enough to be called nana naps!)

My achievements for the day were very few.  A trike ride to the bakery for coffee, thirty minutes at the seat of knowledge, nine holes of golf, some washing, watching season four of Friends, cooking dinner, washing the dishes and now at midnight, attempting to post a token treasure on here.

About the best I can offer is some new photos of my little Chicklet with her favourite toy, Plonker Foot (I hope I spelled it correctly!)

She's my little 'Cutie Possum'.

Adoring Husband is still fighting off his flu symptoms and we have to attend his son's thirtieth birthday party at the Gold Coast this weekend.  Which reminds me ....

It was suggested today, to try 'ivy leaf', to clear up a cough at the end of a flu.  You know that cough that hangs on and just doesn't want to clear up for weeks after a cold or flu??  Apparently 'ivy leaf' does the job.  Must try to get some while in The Bay tomorrow afternoon!

I'm off to bed now because I can't find any toothpicks to keep my eyelids open and besides, I need to be up bright an early for aqua aerobics.

Nite all!  Sweet dreams!!

The Fuifui Moimoi Song

Day 17 - A song I hear often on the radio

My First Kiss

Do you remember your first kiss?

My first kiss was in 1971, when I was not yet 12 yrs old and with a boy named Terry Drew who attended my school - Sunnybank State School in Brisbane.

Having spent about five years travelling around Australia in a caravan, my family and I finished our travels at Seven Trees Caravan Park in Sunnybank and I think by this time, we had been there for about a year.

I can't remember what time of year it was, but my Dad got a new job in Perth, so we had to sell the caravan and move to Western Australia.

My boyfriend at the time was Terry Drew.  It was one of those relationships where you never spend time together, but send notes via friends that read "Do you love me? Yes or No?" (circle your answer).

We girls would sit at the edge of the sports oval and watch the boys play football in the lunch hour, all the while giggling and hiding our faces every time he looked in our direction.

On my last day at that school, which was a Friday (sports day), my friends and I were all sobbing knowing that we would probably never see each other again.  There were goodbye presents and cards.

The teachers were very understanding and there was not a lot of sports played that afternoon.

Near the end of the day, I received a note from Terry, passed on by one of Terry's mates, which read "Can I kiss you goodbye this afternoon?"

You can imagine the mixture of fear, terror and excitement that I felt!  Of course, I replied "Yes" and it was arranged, with notes, for us to meet beside the girls toilets after the last school bell.

The thought of kissing a boy was terrifying for me, so I had to use every ounce of courage that I could muster to make the long walk to the girl's toilets.

I don't know how I did it.  I think it was because I didn't want to look like a coward in front of my friends, who, along with Terry's friends, were standing some distance away waiting to see some action.

So I walked around the corner to find Terry standing there waiting for me already.  My heart leapt into my throat and as I looked at him and choked a "Hi", he leaned forward with tightly puckered lips and planted a quick hard kiss on my unprepared mouth!

He turned and ran so fast that he was gone in less than a blink of an eye!

THAT was my first kiss with a boy.  I can picture it as clearly as if it just happened and as pathetic as the kiss was, I will never forget it or the name of the boy it was with.

The most embarrassing part of the whole experience was that the commencement of my Dad's job was postponed by a week and I actually had to return to the school the following Monday.

There was absolutely no interaction between Terry and I that week and not a tear was cried by anybody the next Friday when I left for the final time - because I don't think anybody really believed that I was going anywhere!

I wonder where Terry Drew is now.  If you're out there Terry .. thanks for my first kiss :o)

Pilot - January (1975)

Day 16 - A song that I used to love but now hate.