On Duty

It has been a very strange day.

It started with me being woken up by Adoring Husband's alarm. It had already gone off once and he thought he'd turned it off, but instead he had accidentally put it on snooze. Of course he was out of the room when the alarm went off, so at 4.30am, I was climbing over the bed trying to find the phone to turn the alarm off.

I get very cranky when I am woken unnecessarily.

Adoring Husband was awake that early because the SES had been activated to go down to Brisbane and assist with the storm damage.

For this reason, I had to go do AH's work for him this morning.

It seems that AH didn't screw the lid on the tall spray bottle of blue cleaning solution the last time he used it. The bottle fell to the ground leaving the spray nozzle in my hand, the blue solution sprayed upwards over both of my legs and onto one leg of my white shorts. It oozed into my thongs, sprayed up the wall and then the bottle tipped over leaving a puddle of thick goo about 30 cms in diameter.

The language that spewed from my mouth was not at all ladylike .. and I did not care!

It took me quite a while to clean up that lovely mess and by the time I got home, the blue had well and truly stained my shorts. I scrubbed them with Sard's Wonder Soap and let them soak. They are now in the washing machine .. I will report on the successful removal of said stain (or non removal).

I changed out of the shorts into another pair of white shorts to go for coffee.

While I was waiting for my coffee, I bought a banana and was chomping away on it, when some woman stopped and said "Is that your breakfast?" When I replied "Yes" she responded with "That's very naughty. Don't you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?" and then she promptly coughed and spluttered all over me - suffering from the flu. So I said "Obviously your hearty breakfast has done you the world of good!"

We had a conversation and I set her straight on healthy breakfasts and what the health and diet industries have lied about for the last 40 years. Her idea of a healthy breakfast, was not in the slightest bit healthy!

I believe she will think twice in the future, before commenting on anything that I'm eating because I'm not backwards on coming forward when it comes to food and nutrition!! She did apologise to me for trying to sound like my mother, but I think she was just sorry that she chose ME to pick on lol.

Then my coffee arrived and as my continuing luck would have it, I spilled the coffee over one leg of THOSE shorts. Seriously!? Another scrubbing session ensued.

By this time, I decided that to put value and safety into the remainder of the day, I should remain at home and try to avoid doing anything. I didn't want to tempt fate any further.

So that's what I did.

Here are the photos of Chicklet that I promised.

Now, I await Adoring Husband's phone call to find out how his day went.

Nite all.    

Touching Base

Yes another short post tonight, and no photo of Chicklet .. let's try again tomorrow night for that one.

Instead, a spider photo that I took today in the garden.

Now I'm off .. seeya tomorrow.

Nite all.

Freak Storm

How terrifying it must have been for the poor people stuck out in the open when this storm hit Brisbane today?!



So much damage and there are more storms forecast for the next few days.

I have to say that I do not like this time of the year in Queensland. The storms are just too wild and too unpredictable!

I arrived home safe n sound this afternoon after an uneventful train ride from the Sunshine Coast.

The worst part of my day was trying to remove a very large toad from my laundry this evening .. UGH!

The best part of my day was being woken up by little Chicklet and Vegan Chickie this morning with a nice hot coffee in bed.

Now, it's after midnight, so I need to cut this short again. Photos of Chicklet tomorrow!

Nite all.

First Time Ever

Well here I am signing in for a brief update.

For the first time ever, my little Chicklet has fallen asleep beside me in my bed!

We had tried this two times on previous visits, but after only a few minutes, she scrambled back to Mama's bed feeling a bit stressed.

Tonight, we both lay down together and closed our eyes listening to one of those voice overs where the lady's soft voice lulls you to sleep. We had tried that once before without success, but tonight, it worked like a charm .. almost sent ME to sleep too!

So here she is (photo taken with my phone), almost 3 hours later, fast asleep beside me ...

She is a very restless sleeper and flails her arms about regularly, so I suspect I could wake up tomorrow morning quite battered and bruised!

Nite all.

Forgotten Post

Well, it seems that I forgot about blogging last night! My mind must have been full of Chicklet visits and packing! I even went to bed early.

Tonight's post will be very short because, as usual, I am absolutely exhausted after a full day of Chicklet play. I don't think it would matter how fit and healthy I was, Chicklet is impossible to keep up with and I will always be exhausted at the end of every day that we play.

I arrived at the Sunny Coast at 7.45am and by 2 o'clock this afternoon, I was struggling to keep my eyes open in the middle of a dinosaur game .. in fact I'm sure that she woke me up twice during the game!!

So, it's now not quite 8.30pm and I am ready to turn off the light and close my eyes.

Before I go, I'd like to acknowledge the anniversary of my Dad's passing. I can't believe that it's been seventeen years. I miss him. xxx

Nite all.

Dinner with Friends

Adoring Husband and I went out to dinner tonight with The Sex Therapist and a small group of friends. It was a fun night and made me realise how much I miss The Sex Therapist. I hope we get to see each other again at least once before Christmas.

It's been an interesting day. I've spent some quality time with people I haven't had contact with for a long time and really enjoyed chatting with them.

Life gets in the way sometimes.

I did take some photos tonight, but won't share them until tomorrow night.

All I have from today is a shot of my second set of Tawny Frogmouths who have also left the nest, but are still hanging out in the big tree.

The first set of chicks have left the nest and also left the area where they were hanging out. I have no idea where they are now.

So we are now near the end of the Tawny season, which makes me a bit sad. It's time to look elsewhere for the next phase of nature .. I have no idea what that might be, but I'm sure it will be interesting and intriguing.

Nite all.

Sharing the Quotes

Friday night facebook share.

Nite all.

Trimmed Up

I can't even remember the last time I went to the hairdressing salon. It must be about 3 months. My hair had grown so long that it was getting caught under my armpits and the split ends were tangling and knotting together.

I had about 3 inches trimmed off the ends today and it's surprising how much lighter and cooler it feels.

Tonight, in the big city of Rockhampton, my 17 year old niece (my brother's daughter) graduated from year 12.  She looked beautiful ...

... and it was nice for my brother to get there from Cooktown, for the occasion.

Other than that, it has been a very hot and humid day today. The weather bureau predicted an 80% chance of rain, but unfortunately it was not meant to be.

I might try for an early night .. it's 10pm .. so now would be a good time to hit the hay!

Nite all.

Something New

I was given some Colloidal Silver yesterday.

One of the ladies who makes my morning coffee had previously talked to me about how she had a special generator to make her own colloidal silver.

To buy colloidal silver in the health shops or chemists, is very very expensive and sometimes it's watered down, so you don't know which brands are worthy of spending your money on.

From my research so far, you can make your own generator and there are any number of instructions available on the net to do that, or for a couple of hundred dollars, you can get a generator and the necessary extras to set yourself up to make your own colloidal silver.

Colloidal Silver is a homeopathic remedy, that consists of distilled water infused with particles of silver ion via a battery-charge.

Colloidal silver is taken internally as an immune booster for treating cold and flu symptoms and for treating a number of other medical conditions.  It can also be applied topically in the treatment of cuts, scratches, and skin rashes. Colloidal silver works by destroying harmful bacteria and toxins.

After much research today and yesterday, I discovered some amazing success stories and the only negative side effect that people have tried to pin on colloidal silver, is a condition called Argyria, where your skin permanently turns blue .. almost like a smurf! But when you look further into it, on the rare occasion that this condition has occurred, it's because the people were ingesting massive amounts on a daily basis and using impure ingredients.

Everything in moderation, I say.

I have a vague memory of my grandparents, aunties and parents using colloidal silver when I was a young child, to treat colds and for wounds like burns, cuts and gravel rash. I remember it being kept in a vibrant blue bottle under the kitchen sink. So I know there is a history of use in Australia.

So I had my first dose this morning. I've started on one teaspoon in the morning on an empty stomach. As with all new natural remedies or therapies, I never expect instant results or reactions, but this morning I felt quite energised and my brain felt like it was on alert .. I wish I could say alert enough to cure me of my procrastination problem .. but alas no .. just alert enough to want to absorb as much information about colloidal silver as I could find!

I've put some colloidal silver in the dogs' water bowl too.

What do I hope to get out of colloidal silver you ask?

I hope to build on and strengthen my immune system. I believe that it's already pretty strong, but I still have digestive issues related to my gluten intolerance and some other food sensitivities, so I think the colloidal silver can provide a detoxification that will strengthen my good gut bacteria and maybe cleanse, not only the bad bacteria, but any toxins or metals that I have accumulated in my body.

I'm keeping a health diary, so I will have a record of how my body reacts or changes over the coming weeks and months.

I'll try to remember to keep you posted.

One thing I know for sure, is that a good solid night's sleep is important for good health and since it is already after 11pm, I should be in bed already!

Nite all.

Spectacle

Tonight's storm was a spectacle of sheet lightning, and I was still not brave enough to go further than our alfresco area with my camera and tripod.

I will always imagine how wonderful that lightning must look over the ocean at night .. I will never be brave enough to go look for myself .. although perhaps a drive in the car isn't out of the question one night.

I got a phone call this afternoon from some friends offering some tomatoes from their garden. They offered to drop them off at our house during their afternoon walk, so, I rushed around like a chook with it's head cut off, cleaning the house.

As the saying goes .. we can get more housework done in the 30 minutes before guests arrive that the whole week prior to that!

So I dusted quickly in the lounge room, made the bed, cleaned the toilet, tidied the bathroom, hung out some washing and loaded the washing machine with the dirty bathmats and towels. At least the house looked 'just' presentable.

Prior to that, I bathed two of the psychotic dogs. They weren't very pleased about that.

Morning tea was very pleasant this morning too, but we did miss Lady Lynn and little Lola very much.

There is some heavy duty yawning coming from my body right now, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Revelations

Today, while I was channel surfing, I happened across the first episode of a three part series which aired on the ABC called "The Men Who Made Us Fat".

I haven't yet watched the second and third parts, but plan on doing that tonight and tomorrow. I took lots of notes on this program and intended writing a long post tonight, but decided that I would just add the link so that you could watch it yourself.

It's very interesting, and for me, it confirmed some facts that I have suspected for quite some time about the food and sugar industries. It seems that we little people have been manipulated by so many money making industries for so long, it's surprising that we haven't become extinct already!

So, lucky for you, this is just a short post, although I do want to mention something about my Tawny photo that I posted a couple of days ago .. the one with the close up of the eye.

I posted that photo in flickr (flickr is an online photo management and sharing site, where, depending on your security settings, you can share your photos with just a couple of people, or with everybody who uses flickr) and usually I get around 100-200 views of my photos .. on a good day.

Somehow, it was put onto 'explore' which (I don't really understand how this even works) is like a public page, where everybody who is a member of flickr can view it. The photo has had almost 47,000 views and almost 600 people have made it a 'favourite'!

I can't even describe how hectic it was last night as I got notification after notification on my ipad in a constant stream, advising me as the number of views increased at an incredibly rapid rate.

Anyway, it has slowed down considerably this evening, so I don't think I'll get too many more views.

I wonder how photos are selected to go on this page. I wonder if there is a way to stop photos being selected for the explore page? I wonder why it's even a 'thing' and how it is supposed to benefit me, if I'm not running a photography business?

Hmmm all very interesting.

The weather has been very hot here .. how about where you are?

Nite all.

Natural Wonders

I went searching for bugs to photograph for this month's flickr challenge today.

It's amazing what you can find when you go out looking.

... and here are the Tawny chicks out of the nest and looking less like chicks every day!

I had a lovely talk on the phone with Chicklet and Vegan Chickie today and have made plans to visit them in just over a week. Can't wait!

Nite all.

It's a Fine Art

Yes, that procrastination thing again .. it's a fine art that I have honed to perfection.

Surely there is a way to make it an asset or a money maker or something more positive than just for avoiding study or housework!

I spent more than 2 hours sitting at the cafe with coffee this morning.

I had five different people sit at my table for a chat and I spent some time chatting online with The Nikonian. It was a really pleasant way to spend the morning. I have my favourite table, which is fast becoming known as my office .. as suggested by some people who see me there almost every day!

It's a great source of comfort for me to have that familiarity with people and the friendly contact every day, even if it's just a happy 'good morning' or a smile and a nod.

Adoring Husband spent the day selling Christmas cakes to raise money for the SES, but came home for lunch, so after I cooked quite a delicious meal and he left for the second half of the day, I spent some time going through some old photos and checking my study site, to make sure I wasn't missing anything while I procrastinate.

I got a phone call from the 'Sex Therapist' (just to be clear, not a REAL sex therapist, just someone who got carried away with talking about sex at a party once, so we gave her that nickname) who I haven't seen or spoken to for a few months, so that was nice and we'll be catching up in person soon.

Tomorrow, I need to phone Vegan Chickie .. I feel like it's been 'forever' since we talked on the phone, or had any contact at all! It's definitely time for a visit at the end of this month.

Here is my best effort for the day ..

Happy Sunday everybody.

Nite all.

Simple Vision

I have spent most of my day creating my vision board.

I have had most of the pictures for well over a year and I bought the board about 6 months ago, but being the expert procrastinator that I am, it has all been sitting and gathering dust.

For some unknown reason, my brain chose today to create the masterpiece .. probably as a way of avoiding study, because that was my first thought when I woke this morning.

My visions for my future are pretty simple.

Elle Macpherson in the bottom right corner represents me ... because until I see myself in the mirror, that is how my imagination creates my image. I also have admiration for her achievements in both her chosen career and for her business decisions.

The other two females who I chose to share my board, Taylor Swift and Julia Gillard, are also strong women who I admire greatly and who have worked damned hard to get to where they are in their chosen fields and continually fight battles to stay strong and stay on top. A reminder to not rely on luck for any successes that I strive for.

These three women are not my idols, but I do admire them for the strengths that they not only possess but seem to use wisely.

The car represents my wish to some day get my driver's licence .. in my own time .. and not when other people think it's time.

The lap pool .. because everybody knows that one day, I plan on having one in my yard!

The lady in the top right is twice my age, still living at home and healthy as an ox .. I would like to reach that milestone and be as fit, healthy and alert as she is. This would mean that I am only halfway through my life! Perhaps my vision board needs to be extended!

Special mention about the love I have for Adoring Husband, my family and my friendships.

My hopes and plans for continued financial fitness and security.

Also special mention for my health, environmental health, organics, nutrition, fresh fruit n veg and positivity.

All of those smiles winding down the right hand side of the board to convince myself that one day I will be brave enough to visit a dentist and fix my teeth so that I can keep on smiling.

So you see, I don't ask much. There are still a few little gaps in there that I need to fill. All in good time.

It's now hanging on the wall where I will see it every day and seeds of creation will germinate and grow.

Here is the link to last night's episode of Catalyst on the ABC. Well worth watching.

I'm off to get ready .. raffle night at the club awaits.

Nite all.



 

Blah

That's how I have been feeling all day today.

I was awake most of last night with what felt like food poisoning, but Adoring Husband and I ate the same food for the last two days and he has been fine, so I'm not sure.

It's been a while since I spent the night with a bucket and a toilet bowl and I hope it will be a long time til that happens again!

So my food intake has been limited today and I've kept my fluids up and had a long nap this morning trying to catch up on some sleep. A good night's sleep tonight should have me back to normal tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I played with one of my bug photos this afternoon ...

Definitely need to get out with my macro lens and search out some more bugs!

Thank you Judi for your advice for pork crackle and pork belly .. I will put it to the test next time for sure!

Now I have a couple of hours of reality TV to watch, so I'm reclining in my chair and having a relaxing evening with Adoring Husband at SES training.

Nite all.

A Day of Nothing

I attempted, for I believe the fifth time, to cook a crispy skinned pork belly for lunch today.

I am yet to succeed in this area. The same with roast pork. I simply cannot get the crunchy crackling right.

I've tried various recipes without success. I scour the skin. I dry the skin. I rub the salt. I cook it on high for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat for 2 hours. In the first 30 minutes, it looks promising, but then nothing happens.

So if anybody out there has a good fool proof recipe that they want to share with lil ol me .. please feel free .. I would be most appreciative.

I did baked veggies with it .. kipfler potatoes (yes I know they are not paleo), pumpkin, carrot and sweet potato. Then blanced greens. Asparagus, broccoli and beans blanched in water, lime and butter.

My belly was so full, I felt like a big fat pussycat all afternoon and just wanted to curl up in a corner and purr myself to sleep!

Tonight, for a light dinner, I rolled out some GF bread with a rolling pin until is was very thin and very flat, scraped a thin layer of butter on them and then lined a muffin tray with them (butter side down), added some baby spinach to the base and then filled them with a mixture of leftover chopped silverside, tomato, onion, mushroom and egg. Added a thin slice of cheese on top and baked them in the oven for 30 minutes on high.

That was our nice light dinner.

I've taken lots of photos of bugs and bees today, attempting to get a photo for this month's flickr challenge "A Bug's Life", but they are all still on camera. I will share them eventually.

I am also still procrastinating with studying and with reading my book about procrastination.

There is no hope for me.

Nite all.

 

Vitamin D

I was very concerned today when there was a news item on television about the great Australian cricket player and commentator of international cricket, Richie Benaud, and his battle with skin cancer.

His advice was for everyone to 'stay out of the sun'!

The reason he has skin cancer is because he played cricket for probably more than 20 years without a hat. This means that for every test match, he stood in the sun for about 7 hours a day when the team was fielding, and depending on how well he was batting, for a few hours when the team was batting.

He played cricket before sunscreen was invented and he NEVER wore a hat.

Taking all of that into consideration .. a good recipe for disaster.

Of all the advice that I would give to anyone who wants to stay healthy or get healthy by any natural means necessary, vitamin D from sunshine would be in my top three pieces of advice.

Firstly, one of the most preeminent Vitamin D researchers in the world today has identified that vitamin D helps produce the antimicrobial peptides that protect against the flu. This is why people are more prone to the flu in winter when Vitamin D producing sunshine is minimal or nonexistent at some latitudes, or people are too bundled up to get enough skin exposed in the first place.

Supporting Dr. Cannell’s suggestion that vitamin D deficiency is why people get the flu, a study published in the journal Nature Immunology further explains how vitamin D protects us by properly activating T cells, an important part of the immune system.

Bear with me for a moment:

“When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or ‘antenna’ known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D.

This means the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will stop. If the T cells can't find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilize.”

Vitamin D levels have plummeted for every single age, race, and ethnic group over the past two decades.

Vitamin D deficiency can lurk unnoticed until it is too late and you are already sick. The problem is that it takes time, usually several weeks, to raise vitamin D levels, so taking supplements when you're already sick is not going to help.

Here are 10 signs that vitamin D is probably already a serious deficiency that needs to be addressed immediately.

(The best whole food based supplement to bring vitamin D levels into optimal range without the danger of overdosing (like with prescription vitamin D drops) is fermented cod liver oil.)

1. Chronic Pain

Bone pain and chronic pain in general is a subtle symptom of serious vitamin D deficiency. Get your vitamin D levels checked and address the problem.

(A study conducted by Greg Plotnikoff, MD, senior consultant with the Allina Center for Health Care Innovations, makes the point. 150 people living in Minneapolis who came to a health clinic complaining of chronic pain were tested for vitamin D levels. Virtually every single one, 93%, suffered from extremely low vitamin D. “The group with the lowest levels of vitamin D were white women of childbearing age,” Plotnikoff says.)

2. Muscle Weakness

Something that people don’t realise is that most muscle weakness issues are related to low vitamin D levels. The National Institute of Health reports that a person suffering from a vitamin D deficiency will have trouble with proper muscle function.

3. Psoriasis

This is a common skin issue and is an autoimmune disorder that can be vitamin D related. Good doses of pure sunshine or Cod Liver Oil will, at the very least, ease this condition.

4. Constant Fatigue

Vitamin D is necessary for the body to produce energy. If you are constantly tired or struggling to get going in the morning, get your vitamin D levels checked or just start getting regular/daily doses of sunshine.

5. Depression

Feelings of hopelessness can be related to simple nutritional deficiencies. Vitamin D is critical for the brain to produce the happy hormone seratonin. Some people only suffer from depression during winter months, known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is caused by lack of sun exposure and hence vitamin D during this time of year.

6. Sweaty Head

This is probably the weirdest symptom of vitamin D deficiency. Back in the 'olden days', doctors used to ask new mothers if their heads were sweatier than normal, to pinpoint a probable vitamin D deficiency. A sweaty head is also a subclinical symptom of rickets, possibly the most prominent and dangerous form of vitamin D deficiency in children.

7. Constant Respiratory Problems

This warning symptom is related to flu as a vitamin D deficiency disease. If low vitamin D puts people at risk for flu, it stands to reason they would be at risk for other respiratory problems too. Studies have demonstrated that vitamin D protects against respiratory illness, particularly in children.

8. Hypertension and/or Cardiovascular Disease

The Vitamin D Council recommends adequate vitamin D levels in order to avoid this silent, symptomless killer which afflicts 4 in 10 people worldwide.

The American National Institute of Health has identified vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor which can lead to congestive heart failure.

9. Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease is a growing health concern and a primary and powerful predictor for premature cardiovascular disease.

Not surprisingly, given that cardiovascular disease itself indicates a likely vitamin D deficit, research indicates that those that suffer from chronic kidney disease are also vitamin D deficient.

10. You are an Infection Magnet

If you suffer from one infection after another, it would be wise to get your vitamin D levels checked as soon as possible. As I mentioned, T cells, which are an important part of the immune system, are properly activated by vitamin D. So, if levels are low or even undetectable, adequate and effective immune response to any infection in the body will be severely hampered.

I know that's a lot to take in, and some of you probably just skimmed over the top or skipped the whole thing, but you really need to know that VITAMIN D IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT FOR GOOD PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH.

Don't stay out of the sun. It's the worst thing you can do.

I just wanted to mention that I went to bed at 7.30 last night! I woke up thinking that it was about midnight, but when I checked my phone, it was 8.30!!!! It didn't matter because I fell straight back to sleep and didn't wake up until 6.30 this morning. I must have really needed that sleep!

I feel good for it today.

Nite all.

It Caught Me!

So I think exhaustion has caught up to me today. I thought I was exhausted on Saturday night and took Sunday to recuperate, but I felt a lot more lethargic and unmotivated today.

All I've done today, apart from my normal morning routine, is some cooking and two loads of washing.

So, I share this with you before I head off to bed for an incredibly early night.

Nite all.

Procrastinating with Rest

Today, I posted this in facebook ...

"PROCRASTINATION comes from the Latin 'pro', which means "forward, forth or in favour of", and 'crastinus', which means "of tomorrow".

I should be either, doing housework OR studying, however, I am procrastinating by reading a book about 'PROCRASTINATION".

I thought of procrastinating about reading the book on procrastination, but everything I need to do is already on my procrastination list.

By the end of the day, I hope to have finished the book and have the new title of 'go-getter' and 'winner'

PS This is me procrastinating instead of reading the book about procrastination."

Nobody asked me the name of the book, but plenty of people could relate to my dilemma, because it seems we all procrastinate .. some do it more than others and some, like me, are so bad, that it has a huge effect on their lives.

I'm hoping this book will help me overcome this problem and change my life in a positive way ... if only I could stop procrastinating and sit down and read it from cover to cover!!

*****

Here is a short excerpt from the book ...

University students are the biggest procrastinators of all and often miss deadlines for essays and assignments.

Their most infamous excuse for missing deadlines is to claim the death of a grandparent. Mortality of grandparents increases several hundredfold during final exams, a statistic that, if taken seriously, suggests that seeing the grandkids being tested is extremely stressful for the elderly!

*****

Anyway, today was a day of rest for me. After such a big day on Saturday, I needed to kick back and take it easy. Lucky for me, my life allows me to do that.

So after our ride down to the Seat of Knowledge and coffee at the 'local' while reading the Sunday papers, Adoring Husband and I came home and I went straight to the bedroom to continue reading my book about 'Procrastination'.

After about an hour, I cooked our lunch, which was Snapper and eggs, poached in chilli, lemon and coconut milk with kale, then sprinkled with coriander, chives and toasted pine nuts. It was something that I made up on the spur of the moment because I had absolutely nothing planned for lunch, but AH loved it and wanted seconds .. unfortunately, there wasn't any seconds left!

Back to the bedroom for some more reading, but I lasted about 30 minutes and then napped for about an hour.

Even though I planned on finishing the book on procrastination, I decided to procrastinate and do some cooking in the kitchen instead. As you do! 

I made some chocolate/hazelnut fudge and some chocolate seedy bliss balls, both of which are very very rich, so they can only be eaten in moderation, which is a good thing for AH, who likes to eat everything to excess! They are incredibly healthy, so it really doesn't matter if he wishes to eat these to excess.

So that was my day. I did get photos of the Tawny chicks out of the nest, but they are still in camera, so I'll share them some time during the week .. unless I procrastinate too much .. but you'll see them eventually!

Nite all.

  

Exhaustion Sets In

We set our alarms for 4am, arrived in Maryborough at 5.30am and were on the train to Brisvegas at 6am.

Luckily, the train was running right on time because the appointment with Professor Silburn was for 10.30am, which gave us 40 minutes to labour our way up the numerous steps and the steep hills to get to his room on time.

Thirty minutes later, we were back out on the streets looking for somewhere to get a coffee and something to eat.

Adoring Husband asked 'Siri' on his iphone to find us some gluten free food nearby and it just so happened that the restaurant directly across the road from where were standing, was about to open for drinks and snacks!

It was a great restaurant attached to a bar, with an outdoor area to eat and drink. There was a cool breeze blowing and the outdoor area overlooked the Roma Street Parklands, there was relaxing music playing in the background, the coffee was 'to die for' and the food was fresh and delicious. The service was friendly and the furnishings were very comfortable. Personally, I could have spent the whole afternoon there.

Once our bodies were fuelled up, we took a decent walk through the park and down a lot of stairs towards Queen Street Mall, but stopped at the Town Hall when we saw that there were markets inside. Adoring Husband bought me a beautiful resin bracelet.

We found Myers, where I tried on a billion tops but didn't buy anything.

We found the ABC shop where AH spent a gozillion dollars (ok so I exaggerate a little).

While we were in Myers we were contacted by QLD Rail to tell us that our train home would be delayed by 2 hours. It was supposed to leave at 3.45pm but now it was leaving at 5.45pm and we had to be at the station by 5pm.

So we found a pub close to the station where AH had a couple of beers and I had a glass of wine while we waited for 5pm.

At least the train (The Spirit of Queensland) left dead on 5.45pm and we had our own TV screen to choose from movies or TV shows or music videos. They took orders for dinner and we both had roast chicken and vegetables, which was delicious.

Before we reached Gympie, we could hear (over our headphones) a commotion at the end of our carriage and a female was loudly abusing rail staff. By the time we reached Gympie, we saw the police on the platform and the woman was escorted from the train .. it was not her planned destination, so she was complaining loudly about how she would get home. I have no idea what the whole thing was about or how it started, but it made the train fall another 15 minutes behind schedule.

At one stage I looked up to see a tall thin gentleman dressed in dark jeans and shirt, heavy black boots with a heel, an ankle length black coat and a leather cowboy style hat. He had shoulder length white/grey hair and a shiny badge pinned to his shirt with a name tag attached to it.

I didn't see his face and I didn't get to read the name on the tag but I'm wondering if it read 'Wyatt Earp' or something similar! He certainly had an interesting and mysterious air about him as he walked very slowly up and down the carriage a couple of times.

During the trip, we watched a Jack Black movie "Bernie" which also starred Shirley Maclaine and Matthew McConaughey. It was a strange and interesting movie that left us with a bemused frown on our faces.

We finally arrived in Maryborough at 9.45pm and pulled into our own driveway at 10.30pm.

It's been a long day and we are exhausted. It's taken an hour for us to wind down and I can hear my bed calling my name, so I'm off!

Oh and the Professor has prescribed a new and different medication for AH, so hopefully that will provide some relief. If not, we've got another appointment in 4 months to discuss other options.

Interestingly, there were 9 Neurologists in the one building!

Nite all.