One Hundred Buckaroonies

I won it.

One hundred buckaroonies.

I entered a photo in the weekly whale watching photo competition that the local newspaper, The Fraser Coast Chronicle, is holding over the whale season, and won the weekly prize, which is a $100 voucher from Harvey Norman Camera Dept.

The overall prize for the season is over $1800 worth of Olympus camera + various other assorted camera paraphernalia.

I'm in with a chance.

This is the photo that won.

Adoring Husband demanded that I enter that one.

We dropped Kiwi Gal off at the airport this morning.

The weather was wet at the time, but a storm built up and the flight was delayed by about two hours.  We were a little concerned that the flight might be cancelled because there were storm and weather warnings all the way up and down the coast, as well as inland.

But she finally left and I can only assume that she landed safely in Sydney.  I haven't heard from her since she phoned to say that she was finally sitting on the plane and about to take off.

Adoring Husband and I had a lovely brunch with Vegan Chickie and Chicklet while the storm raged around us.  Lots of lightning and thunder and enough rain to cause localised flooding in The Bay.

After we arrived home, I grabbed my camera with the macro lens and got some shots out in the garden.

The garden always seems so different after a storm.  Cleaner, fresher and the creepy crawly insects come out to play.

Tomorrow will be a lazy day enjoying the peace and tranquility of my home being my own again and wondering how I will spend my one hundred buckaroonies :o)

Nite all.

Just Around the Corner

Do you know what's just around the corner???

Christmas.

There are just eleven weeks til Christmas.

I already have three orders for bracelets, a necklace and earrings.  Everybody wants white jewellery.  It seems to be the colour of preference.  So next week, I must begin creating!

Kiwi Gal flies home tomorrow, and I must admit that I am looking forward to having my house and my life back to normal.

I think she has had a good time and had a chance to regenerate and rejuvenate, ready for her fresh new start at the end of November.  She has lots to do before her big temporary move to New Zealand and this break was meant to be her kick start to a new future.

She has worn me out and now 'I' need a holiday to recover from 'her' holiday!

We had lunch at the pub today, and then tonight we all gathered at the Club to say Bon Voyage to Woman of Many Talents before she goes jaunting across the world to Europe for a few weeks.

This weekend, another friend, Kaz, arrives home from Europe!  We all missed her very much and are excited that she is finally returning after a very LONG six weeks away.

Well, psychotic dogs are telling me that they are ready for bed, so after letting you all know that Christmas is just around the corner, I'd best gather my goods and find my way to bed too.

I hope you are all better prepared than we are for the festive season!

Nite all.  

Art Deco

Something very exciting, and at the same time, very scary, happened for me today.

An accomplished,  award winning local artist, who for now, shall remain nameless, has invited me to partner her, with my photography, and share an exhibit themed 'Art Deco' in September next year.

The exhibit will be at a new Art Gallery in a town close by, which already has a very long waiting list for exhibits.

It's a fabulous opportunity for me, if I can make the most of it.

'The Artist', of course, is not leaving me alone to struggle with this and plans on giving me all the help and advice that I need, because ultimately, this is her exhibit and she wants it to be a huge success.

The planning that she has already put into this, is amazing, and knowing how important this is to her, I feel very honoured that she has asked me, an unknown, to share this experience with her.

Her previous exhibits have been highly successful and I expect this one to be no different.

So now I have to do lots of research into 'Art Deco' in all of it's forms eg fashion, jewellery, decor, architecture, art, furniture etc etc.

I might have to take Adoring Husband on some road trips in search of art deco 'everything'.

It's going to be an adventure and a challenge and scary and exciting and different to anything I've ever done in my life.  An experience of a lifetime!

How often have I marvelled over Art Deco and wondered about the era in which it evolved ... who'da thunk that it would pop so Arty Fartily into my life this far down the track?

Art Deco and Me ... let's wait and see.

Nite all.

Whale of a Time!

Remember how disappointed I was in our whale trip a few weeks back???

This trip was absolutely amazing and we got some brilliant shots of males, females and calves.

You know that I have to share them with you!

There were about fifteen of us from our indoor bowls group, as well as Adoring Husband and Kiwi Gal, who went today on the Tasman Venture.

http://www.tasmanventure.com.au/

The crew were happy and friendly, the boat very comfortable for whale watching, as well as fast for getting to the viewing area quickly.

There were lots of whales and they were very active.  Mothers showing off their calves and males slapping the water with their tails and fins, trying to get the other whale's attention.

The males and the calves were breaching and having a wonderful time on such a glorious sunny day!  It was only at the end of our trip when the skies became grey and gloomy, but it didn't matter to us by then.

Afterwards, we all gathered at the Boat Club for a very nice lunch.

I am a very happy chappy and I had a whale of a time :o)

Nite all.
 

Family Picnic

We had a fabulous picnic at the park by the river on a glorious Spring day with the family, including my lovely little Chicklet.

Here are the photos (Come on!  You knew I would have photos!)

Three generations of US!

The lovely happy family.

...and again!

Happiness is ....

Adoring Husband had the camera.

Tomorrow, we have another whale watching trip and the weather should be even more glorious than today!  I'm very excited.

Kiwi Gal has never been whale watching.  It's always fun taking a friend on their first whale watching trip :o)

Yes, of course, there should be some MORE whale photos too!

I think I'm going to need a holiday after Kiwi Gal has finished her holiday.  I'm exhausted!

Anyway, our family picnic was a success and even though we won't do it every week, there will definitely be more of them in our future!

Nite all.

Day Trippin'

We took Kiwi Gal on a day trip to the Sunshine Coast today.

Two and a half hours drive in glorious Spring, sunshiny weather brought us to, firstly Eumundi, for morning tea and then on to Maroochydore for some heavy duty shopping!

Some camera gear, some clothes and a handbag later, we enjoyed Japanese food for lunch and then went on a search for Point Cartwright.

Point Cartwright lighthouse http://www.lighthouse.net.au/lights/qld/Point%20Cartwright/Point%20Cartwright.htm#Area

has been photographed by some of our flickr group, including our workshop tutor, many times, and we wanted the opportunity to do so as well.

The GPS decided that it didn't know where Pt C was, so Adoring Husband followed his nose, and eventually we found it way off in the distance.

We found a lookout spot that had 'far off' views of the lighthouse and snapped away with our cameras ...

Also in the distance, but in a different direction, there was a whale frolicking!  He was too far out to get a good shot, but I could see him through my camera lens and it was a real thrill for me!

Then, sadly, we had to find our way home.

The day started out a bit shaky, when Adoring Husband forgot our voucher for the camera shop that we were heading to, and we had to turn around and come home for it ... BUT then he couldn't find it, and by the time he did, we ended up leaving home almost 40 minutes later than planned.

Then ... Kiwi Gal decided to organize a prescription from her Dr in Sydney, to the Dr in Eumundi while we were having morning tea, and what should have been a 20 minute break, ended up being a whole hour!

So with more than an hour and a half gone from our day before we even arrived, this little possum was not having a happy start!

However, it ended up being a lovely day and we arrived home safe n sound n happy n tired.

A quick, throw together dinner and now Kiwi Gal is draped on the couch with the psychotic dogs, Adoring Husband is snuggled up in bed snoring gently and here I am telling you about our day trippin'.

I'm looking forward now, to a lovely lunch at the park by the river tomorrow, with Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet :o)

Nite all.

  

I believe ...

I believe ...
that two people can look at exactly the same thing and see something completely different.
I believe ...
that your life can be changed in a matter of minutes, by people who don't even know you.
I believe ...
that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I believe ...
that the people you care about most in life, are taken from you too soon.
I believe ...
that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had, and what you've learned from them, and less to do with how many birthdays you've had.
I believe ...
that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.  Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I believe ...
that no matter how badly your heart is broken, the world does not stop for your grief.
I believe ...
that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I believe ...
that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean that they don't love each other and just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
I believe ...
that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I believe ...
that you should always leave loved ones with feelings of love, and a hug.  It could be the last time you see them.
I believe ...
that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I believe ...
that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
I believe ...
that no matter how good a friend is, they are going to hurt you once in a while and you have to forgive them for that.
I believe ...
that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.
I believe ...
that you either control your attitude, or it controls you.
I believe ...
that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, that passion fades and there had better be something else to take it's place.
I believe ...
that heroes are the people who do what has to be done, when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I believe ...
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I believe ...
that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and still have the best time.
I believe ...
that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones who help you get back up.

Nite all

Dear Me ...

I was reading a women's magazine at the hairdressers yesterday and it had a regular feature where a famous person had the opportunity to write a letter to their teenage 'self' to offer advice, warnings and insights.

I thought this was an interesting concept and tried to imagine what I might tell my own teenage self in a letter.

My initial thought, and most important advice was ... "Get psychiatric help.  NOW!"

But seriously ...  here goes ...

Dear Me ...

Be brave enough to make your own decisions and thereby your own possible mistakes.  You will learn from them, and will have the satisfaction of knowing that you tried.

Don't let other people convince you that anything is a bad idea.  Do your own research and trust your own instincts and judgement.

Be brave enough to take that first scary step when you want to try something new.   Learn how to talk yourself 'into' something instead of talking yourself 'out' of it.

Being successful is not 'showing off'.  Don't be afraid to be great.

You are special and will be loved for who you really are, so don't waste your life being who you think others want you to be.

Your parents are 'people' just like everyone else.  They have flaws and issues, and have raised you the best way they could with the limited knowledge and experience that was available to them.  This means that their way was not necessarily the right way.  Create your own 'right way'.

Love and sex are two completely different things ... learn the difference.

You are a good person, with the intelligence, common sense and potential to create your own wonderful life.  Love yourself enough to take your own path and not be dragged along other people's paths.

Work your way through the bad times, they will pass, and you will be stronger for them.

Appreciate the good times and feel every moment of the happiness that comes your way.  Find joy in the smallest pleasures and try to find the positive in what may appear to be a negative.

Take control of your own health.  Don't wait til the age of 40 to decide that your health is important, because the damage will already be done.

Everything happens for a reason.  The people who come into your life will be there for an important reason.  Learn from them.

Be a good listener.

It's ok to be alone.  Really!

If you follow all of that advice, your life will be very different, and you probably won't end up where I am now ... but ... you need to know, that your children will turn out much better than you ever imagined AND the love that you feel for your first grandchild (and probably all the others who follow) will overwhelm you with it's intensity.

Lotsaluvmexx

I'm sure, if I really thought about it, I could find plenty more to say ... but really ... would a teenager focus long enough to even read it?

Would teenage ME read it without rolling her eyes and thinking "Yeh.  Whatever."

I got to spend some time with my little Chicklet today ...

**sigh**

Dear Me ... disregard everything I said above.  If you follow my advice, 'you' won't end up where 'I' am now and THIS is where you want to be now :o)

Nite all

Uncontrollable Yawning

That's what I am doing on the couch right now ... yawning uncontrollably!

After the usual start to the day, I pedalled around town for an hour (which is ALSO becoming the usual) taking photos, while Kiwi Gal pedalled down to the beach, had a swim and then lay in the sunshine for a while.

Just before I got home, I almost literally bumped into Aussie H at the final corner.  We chatted for a while and then she offered me some lettuce and capsicum from her garden so I followed her to her garden and picked some veggies.

I came home and played with my photos, as I do ...

Heron in Flight

Three kids building sand castles with serious moats.  The sand was flying!

After lunch, I needed a nap!  I'm getting old!  But then, I WAS woken in the night by the sound of Adoring Husband cursing because he woke up at 2.30am for the fifth night in a row!  Ugh!

I got a little pampering this afternoon when I went to the hairdresser for a couple of hours.  A change of colour in my foils, and a trim, makes the world of difference!  I feel like a new woman!

Arrived home just in time to get dressed,  hop on the courtesy bus and head to the bowls club for the raffles and badge draw.

No luck at all tonight for Adoring Husband, or I, but Kiwi Gal won some money on the Keno and four drinks.

We had dinner at the club tonight with some friends and I drank two glasses of wine!  Very unusual.

It was a very nice evening.

So, all of that is what has caused me to yawn uncontrollably on the couch.  I get to visit my little Chicklet tomorrow.  I have an early start,  so I'm going to stop yawning and head off to bed.

Nite all.

Jewellery Order

It's nice to know that people haven't forgotten that I make jewellery :o) even though 'I' had forgotten!

While at indoor bowls this morning, one of the new ladies asked me if I would take an order for a bracelet and matching earrings!  I'm so pleased, and now that Christmas is just around the corner, I might get more orders.

I think I will carry the jewellery box to bowls each Thursday, and see if I can sell some for Christmas.

It appears to be quite still at the moment, but we have had gale force winds most of the day, which made it difficult to lurk around town for the usual photographic opportunities on my trike.

Instead, I took the macro lens into the back garden to satisfy my overwhelming desire to use my camera today, and under difficult conditions, took 'heaps' of photos.

The results were surprisingly satisfying!

I have no idea what this is, but considering the state of our veggie garden, I figure it can't be good!

You would never know, looking at this, that conditions were cyclonic!

These Wattlebirds have, for the second year running, built a nest in our alfresco area in a pot plant.

Kiwi Gal has settled in nicely and has found her favourite place on the couch in the family room with the dogs.  She is more than happy to do nothing, after leaving Sydney and her very stressful work and family life behind her for ten days.  She has turned off her mobile phone and is quietly de-stressing.

We've planned a whale watching trip next week and we might all drive down to the Sunshine Coast on another day.  Tuesday has just got to be movie day!  We both have hair appointments tomorrow.  Not too much happening, but just enough to make it a holiday.

Just so long as I have enough spare time to design and create my jewellery order.  After all, business is business.

Nite all.

Good start ... lousy finish.

It all started with some flashes of luck with the camera and the local birdlife this morning!

Baby Plover looking a little the worse for wear in the wet grass.

A young Butcher Bird.

Green Parrot.

Adult Plover.

Dolphin - which I was sure was a Kookaburra, but obviously I was wrong!

Luckily, for me, I have an Adoring Husband who thinks logically, when I can't!

Three occasions in a row, I went out with my camera and the 400mm lens taking photos.  I probably took more than 200 photos each time, but when I got home and looked at them on the computer screen, they were all blurry and I had to delete them all.

I got so cranky!!

I swore and told him that we had to return the stupid lens because it wasn't working properly!

So he tried it with and without the tripod and had the same problem.

Then he wondered if it was the filter on the lens and tried to remove it.  It was stuck fast and we both tried to unscrew it without luck.

After about twenty minutes, Adoring Husband walked into the lounge room and had successfully removed the lens filter.

He cleaned the lens AND the lens filter and tried it again.

SUCCESS!!

So the lens and filter obviously has so much crap on them, that the camera was focussing on THAT instead of the subject that I wanted to photograph!

**rolls eyes**

Adoring Husband seems to find his secret drawer of common sense when I can't find my usually abundant supply!  Thank goodness for that!

We picked up Kiwi Gal from the airport today and on the way home, we stopped at Toogoom and had lunch at Goodies restaurant on the water.

Kiwi Gal and I shared a bottle of bubbly and the food was good.  It was a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours in the afternoon.

Psychotic Dogs were very happy to see her and have been getting lots of cuddles since she walked in the door.

Late this afternoon, Adoring Husband and I rushed down to the river for what looked like being a fabulous sunset.

Unfortunately it fizzled out to nothing.

I took an incredibly under-exposed photo which captured the red sun beautifully, but that's all it captured.

Red Sun

None of the correctly exposed photos had a sun like this!

Maybe next time :o)

Photographically speaking, it was a good start to the day, but a lousy finish.

Nite all.

Early to Rise

It was a bright and early start to the day!

As I heard the garage roller door open and Adoring Husband drive out, I looked across at the clock and saw that it was 5.15am.  I had set my alarm for 5.30, so I turned it off before it rang out and jumped out of bed ready to start the day.

Because it was 'family lunch' day, we had to leave bright and early for Maryborough so that we'd be home before lunch.

There is a lake behind the golf course in Maryborough that is home to many different types of birds including ibis, ducks, geese, swans, lorikeets, bush parrots etc etc.

Adoring Husband noticed all of this birdlife when he played golf nearby a couple of months ago.

Unfortunately, some of the birds must have gone into hibernation, because we didn't see a lot, other than ibis, ducks and lorikeets, however we did get some good shots.

The water lilies were lovely 

I have no idea what these birds are.  I looked up and there they were!

I think I shall name it 'Ibis Island'

After we left, Adoring Husband suggested that we stop in at Lenthalls Dam

http://www.widebaywater.qld.gov.au/quicklinks/lakelenthall

A great camping and picnic area with a boat ramp for boating and fishing.  Beautifully landscaped and quite a large area.

The drive in, wasn't too much fun, because the dirt road had obviously been damaged during the floods earlier in the year and there were still some large muddy puddles that we had to drive around, but it was still drivable without a 4WD.

Photographically speaking, there was not a lot going for it, although, as Adoring Husband suggested, it would be a great sunset location, given the water and tree-lined banks.

The gates close at 8pm so we could get a sunset or two in before Summer.

We had a lovely family lunch.

Tomorrow will be a trip into the airport to pick up Kiwi Gal, who will be with us for ten days, so I'd best get to bed so that I can be ready for another early rise tomorrow!

Nite all.

PS  I promised to show you Adoring Husband's third place photo for the group challenge and here it is

Nite again.

photo5 Box

It's here!  It's here!  My photo5 box arrived in the mail today!

I've been popping into the website a few times a day to look at the new submissions and there are very few unique ideas.

I seem to be looking at repeat photos.  Same composition, different colours.

This seems strange to me.  If we can all go to the website to see the entries so far, why would we submit photos exactly the same as the ones that are on there?

Yes I know how difficult it is to think of something new and different, but we still have three weeks to work on it!

I may end up submitting something similar myself, but I certainly plan on thinking long and hard about it and practising different ideas leading up the closing dates.

Anyway, in the mean time, I have a couple of macro shots to share.

Star Bee

Star Flower (Hoya)

Tomorrow morning, Adoring Husband and I are driving to Maryborough, on a photographic mission, so hopefully, I will have more to share in my next update.

Adoring Husband came third in our group challenge this month with a photo that I am unable to show you in this post, but I hope to tomorrow!  He is on a roll!

These things happen in threes, so I wonder what brilliance he will come up with next!

Sadly, he has decided to not enter the photo5 competition.  I think he should.  I can still talk him into it between now and the closing date.

Finally, our Chicklet photo update ...

Perfectly gorgeous.

I will take a photo of my photo5 box and it's contents to post here tomorrow.

Nite all.

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

I can't believe that I have no photos to show for it, but we attended the Pier Festival in The Bay today!

After starting the day in the usual manner, at the 'Seat of Knowledge', then having a short ride on the trike with Aussie H,  then chatting with her while sitting on our trikes in the middle of the road outside my house, I finally came inside and Adoring Husband suggested that we go into The Bay and check out the Pier Festival.

I did, however, take a photo of Ross Street Trader sitting on my trike this morning.

77 years of age last birthday

They call him the Ross Street Trader, because he buys used lawn mowers, boats/trailers, cars and other various tools and vehicles, does them up and then parks them on his front lawn and sells them.  He has a pretty good reputation in town for selling good quality stuff... but I'm pretty sure I've told you that before, in another post.

He was checking my trike out to see if he could bend his knee enough to pedal one.  He couldn't.

So Adoring Husband and I drove into The Bay and wandered around the festival, sampled the coconut prawns, bought some home-made dog biscuits, enjoyed a coffee, walked part way along the pier in gale force conditions, decided that there were no stalls selling anything else that we were interested in and then we made the decision to leave.

As we got closer to the car, we decided to have some lunch at the resort where Vegan Chickie is living, so I sent her a text to let her know where we were.

Chicklet was napping, but as soon as she woke up, they came downstairs and joined us.

I had a lovely couple of hours cuddling with Chicklet, while Adoring Husband wandered across the road and began photographing some kite surfers who were taking advantage of the wind.  He got a couple of good shots too!

Lunch was delicious and the Chicklet time was great ... I could watch her for hours ... my conversation skills go right out the window when she is around.

It was a great way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.  Let's do it again some time!

Nite all.

It's a Winner!!

I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is that we didn't do any good in the garden competition!

I'm looking forward to seeing the garden that won, because personally, I think ours is pretty special and the only reason we put our garden in the competition was because so many different people suggested it!

The garden that won must be a beauty!

The good news is that Adoring Husband won the photography competition with his hibiscus photo.

I predicted that he would win with this photo, but apparently they had trouble deciding which of his photos should win!  He had also submitted a frog photo that was very good, and it received a 'highly commended'.

He is feeling pretty chuffed, as well as guilty, for taking my crown from me!  I won the inaugural competition last year.

This one was even more special because the quality of the entries were of a higher standard this year, and there were also a lot more entries.

This is his first competition win, so it's a big deal.

Well done my darling :o)  I'm proud of you!

I spent a lovely morning with Vegan Chickie and Chicklet.  We went for a walk and sat in the shade near the pier with take-away coffee and fruit salad.  I also had a little butter chicken pie which was very nice.

Of course I got the obligatory Chicklet photos ...

There is cuteness in the air.

Ok so it's photo time again is it??

Oh should I smile now?

How about a giggle?  That usually gets a reaction!

I love my Mum.  Can you get her in the photo too??

I know I say this after every visit, but .... she is growing up so fast!!

I'm off now to watch the second half of a very close NRL footy match between Melbourne Storm and New Zealand Warriors.

Adoring Husband is a winner and I hope that Melbourne Storm will be winners tonight too!

Nite all.