So Touching

... and by touching, I mean Touch Football!

No wonder The Bay fought so hard to have this event stay in the town.  All of The Bay's and all of Maryborough's accommodation is completely booked out for this weekend.

There are even families (aside from my cousin who is staying with us) staying in our town for it!

179 teams, 2000 kids = 2500 - 3000 parents and coaches in town.

This is excellent for the town.

So far the weather has been good - windy and cold, but at least no rain.   Showers are forecast for tomorrow though, which could be a problem, because some of the grounds are already a bit sodden from last weekend's rain.

Fingers crossed.

So I got a few actions shots.

We won't go tomorrow because we are helping Aussie H decorate the Club for her big birthday bash tomorrow night.

I'm looking forward to the party. It should be a lot of fun!

In the meantime, I am really enjoying having Uncuz and the family here. Even though I am exhausted!! They are a close connection to my Mum and Dad and I feel really comfortable with them here.

Speaking of family ... Adoring Husband received a disc with photos of his new grand daughter today, so I will try to remember to share a couple of those with you tomorrow.

Right now, my head will be SO touching my pillow any minute :)

Nite all.

Seven

SEVEN - the number of times that Queensland have won State of Origin series in a row.  SEVEN - the number of Bee Eaters that I found on a power line this morning.

After my usual morning ritual - we convoyed into The Bay to check out the grounds where the Touch Footy Carnival is being held, starting tomorrow, and then we met Vegan Chickie and Chicklet for lunch.

SEVEN people at the table :D

It was a short, but sweet, visit. Sadly, Chicklet didn't want any cuddles today, but that's ok, there will be other days for cuddles.

We left there, bought ice creams, and went for a walk along the pier. It was cold, mostly due to the strong wind blowing, and the further out we got, the stronger the wind got. Luckily for us, the kids decided to race each other to the end of the pier and back to us, so we were able to turn around and head back to the relatively calmer air.

I got some nice shots along the way.

Then we raced back home in time to watch the sunset from the park. Adoring Husband and I took some photos and Uncuz and I had a couple of wines. Uncuz met up with some friends who are staying at the caravan park in town, and who are also here for Touch Footy.

It was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon/evening.



I had put dinner in the oven before we left, so the lasagne and potato bake were ready and all I had to do was make a salad to go with it, which Adoring Husband helped me to prepare.

It was nice and easy.

I am exhausted. I hope to get SEVEN hours of sleep tonight, so that I can be gone by SEVEN tomorrow morning :o)

Yeah, I'm just being silly now.

Nite all.

QUEENSLANDER!!

Oh how I love State of Origin!  Oh how I love it when Queensland win!  Oh how wonderful is it, to win seven series' in a row!!  What a high!

Uncuz arrived this afternoon with her family.  What a pleasure and a joy it is to have her here.  She is so great, as is her family.  I'm so pleased that I offered our place for their accommodation for this Touch Football carnival!

We all went to the pub tonight for dinner and to watch the State of Origin decider.  It was a good night.

So this is just a quick post because it's already after midnight and I'm cold and tired and ready for bed already.

On my ride this morning, I found the little Grey Fantail again, but only took 4 shots before my camera battery went dead!

I usually have the spare in my bag ready to swap, but unfortunately, the spare was at home still in the charger!

Bugger!

I'll try again over the next few days.

Anyway, enough for now.  Photos tomorrow.

Nite all.

Seventy Today

It was another bloody cold one this morning and we even had a light frost - which scared Adoring Husband from walking.

I still didn't wear sleeves, but I did wear a warmer vest :)  If I had a dollar for every time somebody asked me if I was cold, I could probably buy a new camera!

Even though the temperature was cold, the sun had a real bite to it and I had to move from where I was sitting at the Seat of Knowledge because I felt like I was getting sunburn.

We all met for morning tea and celebrated Aussie H's 70th birthday.  There were thirteen of us because Kaz had to work.

Coffee and cake and sparklers and bubbles and flowers and cards and presents and friends.

She was presented with her State of Origin jumper, so that she can wear it proudly tomorrow night for the final game.

Of course the Big Bash is on Saturday night. There will be about 100 guests at her party to help her celebrate such a momentous milestone. The event of the year.

She finished her day nicely by having dinner out with her family, who arrived yesterday to celebrate with her and they will stay til after the party.

I managed to get some time for photos after morning tea and before I came home to do some yukky housework.

I don't know what this little fella is, but he is very cute.

Grey Fantail shaking his tail feathers.

Grey Fantail NOT shaking his tail feathers.

I was hoping for an early night tonight, because Uncuz arrives tomorrow and it will be a late-ish night at the pub for State of Origin. I need to get some sleep, because I am exhausted!

Too much tennis, too much socialising, too much housework ... I wish I could say too much sleep, but I can't seem to ever get enough of that, not in solid blocks anyway ... and I don't even have young children as an excuse for that!

So that's it from me. I'm done for the night.

Nite all.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

Crikey it's cold.  Even I am feeling it.

I've got my warm slippers on, but my toes are cold AND I am wearing a jacket.

I don't think I'll stay up much longer watching the tennis - I have some warm flannelette sheets calling my name and an Adoring Husband upon whom I can place my cold feet until they become toasty warm again :)

Spring is on the way though - the birdlife is proof of that.  My first Tawny for the season ...

and the Bee Eaters have arrived in town ...

This morning at the Seat of Knowledge, Gentleman Jim asked me if I had ever seen flocks of Ibis in flight, because apparently, they fly in a V formation. I couldn't recall ever seeing flocks of Ibis in flight - only one or two together at a time.

An hour later, I was pedalling down the street, when I looked up, and what do you think I saw?

What a co-incidence!  Even though, when I first looked up, these Ibis were in a perfect V formation, they were not a very organised flock, because they changed from a V, to a straight line, to a scrambled mess, to this and all sorts of other formations.

I will tell Gentleman Jim what I think of his theories tomorrow morning.

Such a busy week ahead.

Tomorrow is Aussie H's actual birthday and there is a morning tea in her honour.

In the afternoon, we will be tidying up a few loose ends and getting the rooms organised for my cousin 'Uncuz' and her family, who arrive on Wednesday.

Wednesday night is the final State of Origin game and we will all head to the pub for that.

Thursday will be lunch in The Bay with Uncuz + family and Vegan Chickie + family.

Friday could be a nice rest day at home... and by 'home', I mean pedalling around town with my camera 'looking', as I do.

Saturday is the Big Bash for Aussie H's 70th birthday, so I will help decorate in the morning and set up a spot for photos to be taken.  I will do lots of candid shots too, but a spot for people who want a photo with Aussie H or groups who want a shot taken together would be nice.

So tonight, I will watch the end of the Roger Federer match (maybe) and then climb into my warm bed.  Maybe I will climb into bed right now lol.

Nite all.

No News Today

A wonderfully lazy Sunday.  Soaked up some Vitamin D early in the day, while riding my trike.  Sat outside with Adoring Husband while he read and I played with photos on my laptop.  Watched the footy on telly this arvo, and now watching some old episodes of Sex and the City.

So, here are some of the photos with which I played ...

Brahminy Kite nesting in a tree on my regular trike route

Gus Beutels Lookout - between Toowoomba and Esk

Fishermen on the rocks - Sunshine Coast

The Road to Esk

More from the Sunshine Coast

More, again, from the Sunshine Coast

Seagulls on my beach at low tide this morning

Kookaburra about to take off

Got a busy week ahead of us, so it's good night from me!
Nite all.

Saturday has been cancelled

"We apologise for any inconvenience"

The 'Outdoor Living Expo' was cancelled because the grounds were flooded from the rain.

We decided to check out the new farmer's markets anyway, but when we got there, only three stalls were set up and apparently, the markets had been cancelled due to the sodden grounds.

So we watched Chicklet run around the grounds .. or should I say we watched the Bare-chested Chef 'almost' run around the grounds, as he followed Chicklet in her explorations.

She is a constant source of entertainment - or maybe that's just me.  I love to watch her.  She is learning new things, every second of every day and it's magical to watch.  All that wide-eyed innocence and the little sparkle in her eyes.

I'm having an early night tonight.  All that tennis during the week has worn me out and I need to catch up.

One photo from the road trip taken while we were at the Sunshine Coast.  I've been looking at some photoshop tutorials on Youtube and I will practise on this one if I ever get motivated enough to really concentrate. **Oh look!  Something shiny!**

One of the modules in our study, covers photoshop, so I have no choice but to 'have a go'.

Well, our Saturday morning plans were cancelled and now I am cancelling Saturday night.

Nite all.

Glorious Sunshine!

Oh ♪♫ what a beautiful morning ♪♫ Oh what a beautiful day ♪♫

The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the birds were singing and the air was fresh and clear.  Absolutely glorious start to the day!

It was so good, that even Adoring Husband went for a walk ... and that NEVER happens!

When I arose this morning, he was nowhere to be found in the house, and I found his note telling me that he was walking.  I had to read it five times because I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!

So I pedalled down to the bakery to get my coffee and headed toward the Seat of Knowledge, where I found Adoring Husband perched at the table chatting with my boys!

We were there til about 8.45 and then went our separate ways.  I was hanging out to spend a few hours with the camera around town, now that the sun was shining and the rain was gone!

I could feel my body soaking up the vitamin D and I didn't get home til almost 11am.  I didn't even get any spectacular shots, but I didn't care - it was just nice to be out.

Soaking up some sunshine

The kookaburras were certainly enjoying their spot in the sun. There were four smaller birds going crazy in the branches above them - I think the smaller birds had nests nearby and were attempting to frighten the kookas away. It wasn't working!

We should have good weather for at least a week now.

There is some kind of outdoor expo on in The Bay tomorrow, so Adoring Husband and I are going to have a look at that.  The ground where it will be set up, was VERY wet yesterday, so I think I'll take my wellington boots with me.   

The new farmer's market will be at the community hall too, so we hope to stock up on some fresh fruit and veggies.  Yum.

I hope we'll get to visit Vegan Chickie and Chicklet around lunch time.

Time for bed, so that I can rise and shine to more glorious sunshine tomorrow :o)

Nite all.

Chicklet Afternoon

Rainy, windy, cold, grey, miserable weather ... BE GONE!!

This is my fourth Winter in this town.  I love Winter in Queensland .. except this one!  It's how I imagine English weather to be.

This morning, the forecast for tomorrow was for a fine day with some cloud.  Now, it has changed to ... surprise surprise ... overcast and rain.  Ugh.

I got to spend a couple of hours with Vegan Chickie and Chicklet this afternoon.

We played peek-a-boo.

Peek-a-boo

Mama calls her 'cheeky monkey'

Mostly, she just wandered around the house amusing herself. She watched a little 'Playschool', sat in her pram for a while, then in her bike for a while, put things 'into' the bucket and talked a LOT. Little Miss Chatterbox ... just like her Mama :D

Bright as a button!

Such a cutie.

After we left there, it was STILL raining, but we stopped at the Ice-creamery and got a small cup of gluten-free macadamia nut ice-cream. I hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch, so that was my snack to tide me over til I got home for some lunch.

I made myself 3 rice paper wraps with ham, grated carrot, tomato, capsicum, onion, cucumber and mushroom. They were delicious!

Adoring Husband made dinner tonight. Salmon steaks with salad. He always does a good job of that.

I think if it's still raining tomorrow, I will work on some of my holiday photos. I might even look at the third module of the Diploma that Adoring Husband and I really must finish!

Time to watch a little more tennis and then I'm off to bed. Hopefully I will wake up to some sunshine!

I had a lovely Chicklet afternoon - she always brings me such joy :D

Nite all.