Discombobulated

My brain is so fuzzy today.

I am even finding it difficult to make decisions.

For example, Adoring Husband asked me if I wanted to go to the supermarket with him to choose stuff for dinner and I just looked at him, all the time wondering what sort of answer I should give and how I was going to decide.

Really?  How hard can it be?  Yes or No!

Not a drop of alcohol has passed my lips in 2 weeks, so I can't even blame that for making me fuzzy-headed.

I even came home from my morning ride early.  I think I was home before 9.30am.

It's probably not the best time to be doing it, but I've been researching prices online for printing my photos at small poster sizes - around 30x40 cm.

From there, I began to panic about how many I should be printing and whether they should ALL be that size or not.

Then I realised that I have to print some postcard sized photos to sell at the gallery, along with my jewellery.

I also have to think about how I am going to display my jewellery!

I need a 'to do' list lol.

I need to find somebody who will speak publicly and introduce me and my photography at the opening.

I need something to unscramble my brain.

I need an Assistant!  Who will work for free!  And tell me how talented I am!  Somebody with a clear head!  A mover and a shaker!  A motivator!  Somebody hardcore!

Ok, I am exhausted!  That gave me a sudden adrenalin rush.  I'm over it.  NEXT!!

It may have been a short outing, but I got a couple of nice photos.

Pale Headed Rosellas are one of my favourite birds (of which I have many!).  They are so pretty, and very difficult to photograph because they are so skittish.

These two flew across the road in front of me, into a palm tree, so I stopped the trike and waited to see what they would do next.

I didn't even notice the bird bath until they flew to it.  First one, and then the other.

I took a couple of shots before I crept closer.  Every two or three feet, I would take another shot, just in case they noticed me and took fright (and flight).  I didn't get very close, but close enough to get this shot, which I'm pretty happy with.

I think these Pacific Basas are nesting quite near to the Seat of Knowledge! They have been hanging around there for a couple of days now. I need to start exploring and following them.

Can't wait to see their babies this year!

This has been a nice little diversion, but now it's time to get back to the job at hand - and I can't even sign off with 'Nite all' because it's not even 4pm!

I'm still discombobulated.

Afternoon all.  

Funny how life happens

I met a man today.  He lives in a prominent spot in town but I've only seen him twice in four years and I have NEVER seen his wife.

Today I met them both and sat with them at their dining table drinking coffee, chatting and sharing life stories.

I was pedalling past his house, as I have done, almost every day for 3 years.  He happened to be leaning out of his second storey window, looking at his back garden.

As I looked up and raised my hand to wave (which I have never done with him previously), the wind blew the hat from my head and I was forced to stop the trike to retrieve it.  I don't recall ever losing my hat while riding my trike and this is a very windy town!

It may sound weird to some of you, but I feel like it was one of those 'had to happen' moments - like the universe planned it this way.  (I can imagine some of you rolling your eyes or sniggering disbelievingly at my suggestion)

That was when he noticed my camera and he asked what sort of things I photographed.  When I told him 'mostly birds', he began to tell me about a Sun Bird that flies into his garden sometimes and in the middle of the conversation, he decided to come downstairs to chat.

He invited me back within the hour to have a look at his garden and so I returned, met his wife and spent ninety minutes getting to know them.

An amazing man.  An amazing woman.

He specifically asked me not to share information about him to anybody outside my close family circle, so even though I am bursting to tell you all about him and my experience with him today, I cannot.

I will be going back to learn more and to take photos, some of which, I WILL be able to share, so watch this space!

Prior to meeting this man, I had an interesting time down at the beach ...

These two were building a nest - and they nested in the same spot last year!

This guy was very wary of me and it wasn't long til ...

... he took off with his fish!

There are lots of big birds around at the moment.  I'm having a field day!  Getting lots of exercise as I fruitlessly chase the kites and eagles across town on my trike, waiting for them to come down low enough for me to get a shot!

Sometimes I get to the right spot, but can't get my camera ready quick enough.  Sometimes I carry my camera while I pedal, but the birds swoop into the water before I can even stop the trike!

Honestly, if someone followed me around with a video camera, they would probably get some funny footage!

I was very happy with today's effort!

I'm off to watch the footy with Adoring Husband now.

Nite all.

Cool-ish

I'm wearing long sleeves and slippers!  I'm feeling quite chilled!  This is becoming a habit!

I didn't do much photography last night at all, because I didn't have the props that I needed, however,  I DID finish one of my challenges and that was for 'Cozy' ...

A grotty dog amid all that whiteness - probably not the most attractive cozy, but it's good to have one finished. I tried to squeeze this psychotic dog into an ugg boot, but she wouldn't have a bar of it!
Now to concentrate on 'repetition'.

I tried rippling sand on the beach ...

... but I didn't care for that at all.
I tried rusty wire mesh ...

... but that didn't appeal to me either.

Then I tried a pile of slip rings ...

... but they don't even look like repetition - they just look like a pile of slip rings - if that?!

So I still have a couple of other ideas to try tomorrow and I still have 9 days to play with, so there is no rush just yet.

I had a really great visit with Vegan Chickie and Chicklet today. We had popcorn and watched Playschool, but gosh she seems so much older than 18 months. She has so many words and is such a clever little munchkin. Bright as a button and needs LOTS of stimulation.

I just love her to bits!

Well I think I might have an early night tonight - just so that I can snuggle into my warm fleecy sheets and get this 'cold' out of my bones.

Cool-ish might be an understatement. Perhaps it's actually c-o-l-d!

Nite all.

Bliss

Oh how blissful it is to sit in my work area!  My head feels so much clearer!

I do still have to work on my time management though.  I need to do that fast before my time runs out and I have none left to manage!

Even though it was cloudy today, it was still nice enough to pedal around for a bit over an hour.

I found the Pacific Basa causing trouble in the bird world.

Wherever I hear the birds squawking and screeching, I find this guy perched nearby in a tree. I am yet to find where they are nesting.

Aussie H dropped by this afternoon and I got to show her the photos from her party. I think she was happy with them. She did say that I am now booked for her 75th, 80th and 85th birthdays, but then, I do come at a good price ... free!

I've spent many many days editing 170 photos, then creating a slide show, with the photos in order, comments at key parts of the party and with various music tracks in the background. I've discovered that it can only be played on a computer and not a dvd player. **sigh**

So now I have to download a program that will allow me to save it so that it can be played on a dvd player ... that way Aussie H can watch it on the big screen.

It seems to take me so much longer to teach myself 'stuff' these days.  It's hard work!  A slow process.

Ah well, it's almost done.

A nice peaceful shot this morning on the change of tide.

It was nice to see RR at the Seat of Knowledge this morning. He is not allowed out in the sunshine during his chemotherapy treatment, so he hasn't been able to take his usual spot for a few weeks.

This morning was very dull and cloudy with a few very light sprays of rain, so he came down to sit with us for an hour or so. It was good to have him back.

You may notice that I am here early tonight!

I have a couple of ideas for my two flickr challenges.  Best Cousin in the World and her lovely MIL gave me some ideas to try too, so I'm going to spend some time 'having a go' at them tonight.

If they turn out ok, I will share them tomorrow :D

Nite all

Two Days

Two glorious days of sunshine and now the forecast is for two miserable days of rain - again!  Ugh!

At least I got my washing dry.

Check out the beautiful blue sky in these photos ...

I found him by chance today.

I cut my ride short today and came home to make Roast Chicken and Veggie soup for my friend Kaz who has come down with the flu.

She's had a tough couple of months.

I hope my soup helps her to feel a little better.

Personally, I think my chicken soup cures EVERYTHING!

There was enough left over for Adoring Husband and I to have for lunch and it was damned good!

(Even if I do say so myself!)

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing exhibit stuff.

Then to top it off nicely, I had a call from Number One Son! It was a good call and it was nice to catch up with him.

Now I'm off to bed before I turn into a pumpkin.

Nite all.

Sunny Day

I can't begin to tell you how glorious this day has been!

I woke to the sight of a perfectly blue sky and not a cloud to be seen.

The sun was shining brightly and as I neared the Seat of Knowledge on my trike, the sunlight was glistening like diamonds on the water.

My boys were all sitting at the Seat of Knowledge, obviously happy to see the sun and to get out and about.  I think we've all had enough of being stuck indoors!

While I was there, we noticed this shag out in the water with a fish that looked way too big for it to swallow.

Hovering above the shag was a Brahminy Kite.  It swooped a couple of times, but the shag ducked under the water too fast for the kite.

It was very interesting to watch ... but I really hoped the kite would win ... as long as I got the shot of course!  It didn't and I didn't!

After I left the boys, I rode along the path beside the river until I reached the beach.

The tide was on it's way out, so I decided to go for a walk along the beach to see what I could find.  It the best time to see the kites and eagles in action - they search for the fish that get caught in the rock pools and puddles.

There were quite a few of them way out over the ocean - too far for my lens to reach them.  One solo pelican came almost close enough for a photo, but decided to stand on a sand bank just out of reach.

There were plenty of seagulls out and about - a bit boring.

I took photos of ripples in the sand for my 'repetition' challenge, but when I saw them on the big screen, they didn't really appeal to me.

I found some rusty wire mesh which looked interesting to the naked eye, but not so, through the view finder.

Then I had a quick visit from a Whistling Kite.  He flew right over my head and I swear he was looking right at me!

He didn't stay long, but I got a quick shot.

I finally, but reluctantly, found my way home. I so wanted to enjoy the whole day of sunshine, but there was work to be done at home.

I did some washing and then tidied up my work area where I usually make my jewellery.

I needed a quiet area where I could focus on editing my photos. I've wasted far too much time on the couch being distracted by the TV and Adoring Husband, so now I have no excuses.

Time to get down to business!

So I've had a productive and most enjoyable day. The burst of vitamin D triggered my motivation beautifully and I'm feeling very enthusiastic about tomorrow :D

**raises fist in the air triumphantly** Onward and upward!

Nite all.

I See Stars!

No ... I didn't hit my head!

The rain has stopped and I walked outside about an hour ago and saw stars in the sky!  How exciting!

I could see the cloud clearing out to the west this afternoon and it provided a beautiful sunset over the lagoon.

Red sky at night, shepherd's delight ... isn't that what they say?

By the time I realised the colour was happening, there wasn't time to get down to the river.  I'm sure it would have been pretty spectacular down there - however, the lagoon was pretty special.  I didn't have the tripod with me either, so I had to take the shot hand held.

So, by rights, the sun should be shining tomorrow and I plan on getting some good hours of photography in - although I might need to get some good hours of washing in too before I run out of clothes to wear!

In the meantime, I have two challenges for this month in our flickr photography group.

"Cozy" and "Repetition"

Any ideas out there?  Would love to hear them?

Time for bed ... I will star gaze out my bedroom window, until I fall asleep.

Nite all.

I'm Baa-aack!

Thank goodness for JB Hi-Fi which just opened their store in The Bay last week!

They had a battery charger to replace mine.

All is right with my world again.  **sigh**

Oh ... except for this incessant rain!

My wish is for the rain to stop between 7am and 10am every day ... then it can continue for the remainder of the day.

I can't go riding.  I can't take photos.  Ok, so I can take indoor photos, but you all know how I love to take my photos outside!

I set the mini challenge in the 104 group this week as 'Food', which was pretty handy considering how miserable the weather is for outside photography!

All prepared lovingly by Adoring Husband.

While we were in The Bay today, we drove over to have coffee with Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet (Chicklet didn't have coffee).

I think this photo shows how much she loves her Mama :)

Tonight was Christmas in July at the pub.

We only decided to go this morning when we received a phone call from The Speckled Hen telling us that some people had dropped out and we could take the seats if we wanted them.

It was a pleasant night, but we were home before 9pm.

There was entertainment - a female singer, who had a lovely voice, but not much personality to entertain.

There were lucky door prizes, of which we won NONE.

The meal was a smorgasbord of chicken, turkey and ham with roasted potato and pumpkin and boiled mixed veggies.  Some type of Christmas pudding and custard for dessert.  For an extra $2 and for being gluten intolerant, Kaz and I got to have pavlova for dessert instead.

I don't think we'll go again next year.  It didn't feel any different to any other night at the pub.

I do think I might go climb into bed and let the sound of the rain on the roof lull me to sleep.

Tomorrow, I might finally get to finish Aussie H's birthday photos!

Nite all.

Dead battery

It appears that my computer battery may have burnt itself out! This is most inconvenient! Just as I was finishing up on Aussie H's photos! So I have figured out how to do this on my phone, but I am making it short and sweet, just so that you know that I am alive and kicking :D I feel like I've lost my right arm! Nite all.

Eight Weeks!

Eight weeks until the exhibit opens!

Far out!

I can do this.

I do my best work under pressure!

Leave everything til the last minute and it will fall into place beautifully.

It always does.

Just breathe.

Ok, remember earlier this year, I 'exposed' myself a little to you?  To refresh your memory ...

http://agechallengedrqqzy.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/allow-me-to-expose-myself.html

Let me expose a little more today.

I am having huge doubts about my photography and whether I am good enough to display my photographs to the world in an art gallery.

I am so afraid that people will walk in and say **insert derogatory comments here**.

I am afraid that because I don't use photoshop to manipulate my photographs until they resemble oil paintings or other types of artwork, that I will be rejected as a fraud.

I feel safe showing my photographs to friends and family because they love me and like whatever I do, because they understand me.  They know the love that goes into my photos.

Strangers don't know me.  They don't understand me.  They don't know the love that goes into my photos.

They will compare me to prominent and famous photographers and I will fall short ... by a long way.

This is a huge deal for me ... to make myself vulnerable to the world.

I am terrified.

As the date looms closer, I become more terrified.

I keep chanting in my head "You can do this!  You CAN do this!  YOU can do this!  You can DO this!"

It's easy to be terrified of the unknown.  Give me strength.

I can do this.  Really, what have I got to lose?  A bit of pride and self-respect?  Pfft - who needs pride and self-respect?

My photos may look good on a computer screen, but many will fall short when it comes to printing.

How will my definition of Art Deco compare to other people's definition?

Ugh!  Doubts, doubts and more doubts.

Just keep chanting.

YOU CAN DO THIS!  YOU CAN DO THIS!  YOU CAN DO THIS!  YOU CAN DO THIS!

One photo to share tonight ...

I can do this! (in my finest squeaky voice)
Nite all.

Photo Overdose

The 70th birthday bash was celebrated last Saturday night.

By the end of the 70th birthday bash, I had taken 695 photos!

By the end of the first day after the 70th birthday bash, I had deleted 185 photos!

By the end of the fourth day after the 70th birthday bash (today), I had edited 380 photos!

There were approximately 100 guests at the bash, and each of them wanted a photo with the guest of honour either individually, or in groups.

There were family photos.  Individual photos as well as the family group.

There were photos of cake cutting and singing 'Happy Birthday' + other assorted celebratory songs.

There was the speech.

The Entertainer for the evening.

The gift table.

The group dances eg Nutbush - always being led by the birthday girl.

Couples dancing both the fast rock n roll type dances and the slow romantic dances.

Individuals doing silly things like dirty dancing or shoving pencils up their nose.

There are a LOT of memories among these photos.  A LOT of happy smiling faces.  A LOT of friends who wanted to share this special day.  A wonderful record showing Aussie H how well loved she is in this little town.

Even though the photos are my gift to her, I feel a huge responsibility to present this record of her celebration in the best way possible.

It's time consuming, to say the least, even though my editing is very basic and less time consuming than using photoshop, I'm surprised by how long it's taking.

Will I be finished by the weekend??

We will see.

If you are reading this Aussie H ... I am twenty years younger than you and I have no idea where you get your energy from, but I can't keep up with you!

The calm before the storm.

Could it be the Nutbush?

The best looking girls there.

Good thing you wore white - you are easy to spot in all the photos!
Now, I'm sure that I've hit photo overdose ... but it's back to the job for me :)

Nite all.

Sharing the love

I shared the love with ...

... this week.

It has been a good week :D

That is all.

Nite all.

Empty House

Our visitors left at 10am.

It was sad to see them go, but at the same time, Adoring Husband and I are pleased to be alone in our home for a while.

I watched most of the Wimbledon final last night, but crawled into bed at almost 3.30am.

This means that I am making this a short post, because I'd like an early-ish night to bed.

I promised a few nights ago, to share photos of Adoring Husband's new granddaughter ...

I haven't met her yet, but what big eyes she has!  I think she will be cheeky and full of mischief, just like her Dad ... and her Granddad for that matter!

I have found some owls to watch, and they are living in a frangipani tree in a local man's back garden.  I hope that they nest there, because it would be the perfect spot for me to follow their progress.

All of the big birds appear to be nesting now, so I hope that there will be lots of photos to be had in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, I am about to stroll through my empty house, to my empty side of the bed, to sleeeeeeeep.

Nite all.

Finals Fever

Heading towards 1am and I'm sitting here watching the Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Andy Murray - hoping that they don't take it to five sets, because I will definitely miss the end of the match if they go that long.

Uncuz and her son JJ sat up til midnight to see some of the match.

I've had a pretty lazy day today, recovering from the 70th birthday bash last night.

I drank 5 glasses of wine!  That was over a 6 hour period, but my body is not accustomed to alcohol, so I got a bit tiddly, especially because I hadn't eaten lunch.

I felt a tiny bit hung over this morning - just a bit fuzzy - no pain or anything like that, but fuzzy and slower than usual.

A couple of photos from the party ...

Setting up the balloons

Me and Adoring Husband

The Entertainer

I have a LOT of photos to go through (500+) before I can give Aussie H her disc of photos, but I am pretty happy with the majority of them.

Considering I had a bit of trouble with the camera yesterday and for part of last night - how stressful was that!?  I was panicking that my job as photographer would be a big fat failure!  I even considered sending Adoring Husband home to get his camera for me to use.

But luckily it all came together and I have lots of photos to play with.

It was a really happy night.  Everybody had a good time.  Lots of laughter and dancing and singing and Aussie H was the star of the night.

She was an excellent hostess and made everyone welcome and comfortable.  She made her way around the room to chat with everyone and had her photo taken with all her different groups - her darts friends, her indoor bowls friends, her party friends, her family.

Adoring Husband and I were honoured to sit at her 'family' table.

A good time was had by all and when we left at 11pm, the only people left at the club were Aussie H and her family.

Enough of this frivolity.  I'm going back to the tennis.  I wonder how long I can stay awake - it's now almost 2am!

Nite all

The Big Bash

Exhausted!

Six hours bouncing around a party taking photos.  Sooo tired.

The Birthday girl

Just can't do it tonight.  Must sleep.

Happy birthday Aussie H.  I look forward to going through the photos tomorrow.  I loved seeing your family tonight and I had a great time.  Thanks for allowing me to photograph the occasion and thanks for letting me harass your friends and family the way that I did.

Nite all.  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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.