Saturday Gathering

The local markets were on in town today, so I visited Adoring Husband as he helped the SES cook the bacon and egg rolls and the sizzling sausages, and while I was there, I supported the local stall holders.

I bought some home made cards, some hand crafted towels, some massage cream to help AH with his aches and pains and a stained glass owl to hang in my frangipani tree.

From there, I came home and spent a couple of hours in the kitchen making chicken meatballs in honey chilli sauce and a chocolate tart.

My plan was to finish Colli's grooming, but the kitchen took too much of my time, so she is on hold until tomorrow. Here is the 'before' photo ...

Poor thing. She is half done and is running around full of energy, like a great weight has been lifted from her shoulders! I look forward to showing you her cute little face tomorrow.

I pedalled to the Blond Bombshell's house this afternoon, with the basket of my trike loaded with the food that I cooked and some wine.

There were about fifteen of us gathered (not all at once), each of us arriving with a plate of food, so we spent the entire afternoon eating and drinking until we couldn't swallow another bite!

It was a pleasant afternoon, although I must say that I wasn't feeling very well for most of it. I can't even pinpoint what was wrong, but I felt weak and a touch nauseas and a bit clammy. I'm feeling fine now, so I don't even know what it could have been.

I only had one glass of wine and then drank water for the remainder of the day.

I brought home a doggy bag for AH and he got to eat some party food too.

That was my day, and once again, it's almost midnight.

Nite all.

A Start

I spent 90 minutes attempting to groom one of the psychotic dogs today.

The older she becomes, the less Colli likes to be groomed. Once upon a time, she would lie or sit or stand exactly where I put her, and not move until I was finished. She was so easy.

Now, she dislikes it immensely, and I'm lucky to get her to sit still for 5 minutes at a time. She's jumpy and growly and I'm sure that one time soon, she is going to bite me!

Today, I kept a little ball of raw mince under the towel and every ten minutes I told her what a good girl she was and gave her a little piece of mince. I must say that it did not work a treat, but I got 90 minutes of her time, until she decided that she was done.

I estimate that it will take another hour to finish her properly, which I hope to do tomorrow.

Adoring Husband bought me some salon quality scissors this afternoon, so that should make the job a little easier. She doesn't like the electric clippers .. which is why it takes me so long!

I figured that it might be interesting to see what Youtube had to offer on dog grooming...



This dog is much better behaved that Colli, that's for sure.

When she wouldn't let me do any more, I figured that I would give her a bath to wash off any loose hair. I set the hose attachment to the tap in the laundry tub, lay a clean towel down and brought the scissors in, just in case she let me do a bit more of my handy work.

Then I called her ... and I called her again ... and I searched for her ... and called her again ... I finally found her in the far back corner of the yard lying down in the long grass, quite obviously hiding from me!

I figured that if she was going to that much trouble to avoid me, I wouldn't stress her out any more with a bath. She will have no choice tomorrow though!!

Tomorrow, I will show you the 'before' and 'after' photos ... and you will understand why it took so long!

Once again, it's midnight, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Not a Lot

Nope, not a lot happened today.

A brief visit to the Seat of Knowledge, coffee and then home.

I watched two movies - the two Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movies and then 'My Blue Heaven' starring Steve Martin. It was made in 1990, so it was fun seeing all the stars as they were, almost 30 years ago.

I made a quick steak with mushroom sauce and salad for Adoring Husband before he headed off for SES training.

I chatted with Number One Son on the phone this evening.

That's the long and the short of my day.

I'm off to bed for an early night.

Nite all.

Just Relax

I was running just a touch late this morning.

I should have been at morning tea by 8.30am. I opened my eyes from a good night's sleep, at 8.38am!!

I jumped out of bed, had an incredibly fast shower, added a tiny touch of make-up and jumped on my trike, to arrive at morning tea by 9am. That's pretty quick hey???!

From there, I came home for yet another quick change, to get picked up by Rebel Mardi at 10.45-ish so that we could see a movie in The Bay. Maid Marian and Lady Lynn joined us for the movie "Brooklyn" starring Saoirse Ronan.

It was very much like "Lady in the Van", in that nothing much really happened in the movie, but it was still very good. Quite emotive in parts and giving us reason to judge on one hand, but on the other hand, wonder about our own life's choices, or what we would do in the same situation as the movie's main character, Eilis, especially considering the era that it was set (1950s).

I enjoyed it very much.

Afterwards, we got to enjoy a little retail therapy while Rebel Mardi attended an appointment.

Tonight, I made a quick dinner of chilli chicken wings with salad, so all round, and considering how the day began, it has been a pleasant and relaxing day.

Just to add to the relaxation process, I was watching Rachel Hunter's 'Tour of Beauty' where she travels all over the world and uncovers beauty secrets from different countries. She attempts or experiences everything from ayurvedic health practises to beauty treatments to yoga, meditation, mineral baths etc etc etc.

Tonight, while in India, she tried Yoga Nidra. It very much appealed to me, so I did a search in Youtube and found this for beginners...

Yoga Nidra

I've only listened to the first ten minutes of it, but will definitely get my yoga mat out and listen to it in it's entirety sometime tomorrow or Friday. I could feel my body moving into a deep relaxation in just that short time.

I have to groom the dogs tomorrow, so I think some Yoga Nidra might be in order afterwards!

Meanwhile, for my lovely friends who have recently begun an exercise program, I though you might find this useful ...

Now it's time for some sleep.

Nite all.

It's a sad shame

I always wondered why the world blamed Monica for the scandal, when she was just a young 22yr old and Clinton was a 49 yr old man and supposedly the most powerful leader in the world. He got off easy and poor Monica .. well, this says it all really...



It was so nice by the river tonight. The weather was a touch milder than it has been, so the slight breeze was a pleasant change and made our friendly barbecue all the more enjoyable.

Good food, good friends and good wine, always a great combination.

I shared the links to some of these episodes when I watched "The Truth About Cancer" last year, but it is now available for free again. I swear that you will be amazed by what you learn and that you will receive lots of information about preventative measures from this series as well. Try to find some time to watch even a couple of episodes if you can.

The Truth About Cancer

I'm off to bed now, and I hope to be going to the movies with the girls tomorrow.

Nite all.

Good Muffin Bad Muffin

Good Lord! I've had some dreadful failures in the kitchen this week!

I took advantage of Adoring Husband's absence today and spent the entire morning in the kitchen.

The chocolate tart is delicious, but VERY rich, so it's not something that you can pig out on all day.

The apple and walnut muffins are, as usual, delicious and probably won't last very long.

The zucchini and sun dried tomato muffins were the most disgusting muffins I've ever tasted in my life and I threw them in the garbage after one bite.

It was an epic clean up after 3 hours in the kitchen, so it was nice to put my feet up in between loads of washing. I watched 'Meet Joe Black' with the most beautiful version of Brad Pitt possible.

Adoring Husband brought home two tubs of my Zebra Dream salted caramel ice cream *insert huge cheesy grin here* so that went a long way towards easing the pain of my failed cooking experience.

I had a little practise on the guitar .. my plucking fingers are feeling great today.

I'm off to bed and closing with this ...

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Nite all.

Woozy Sunday

I woke up with a touch of vertigo this morning. It came and went all day, which was both tricky and annoying. I was SO ready for a busy Sunday working bee with Adoring Husband, but my brain kept floating and spinning, so I couldn't do it.

It was a quiet and uneventful Sunday of watching the football and then tonight, cooking a meal that was so disgusting, neither AH or myself could eat it, followed by a couple of movies. "Hot Pursuit" and "New Years Eve".

I must confess that the vertigo is getting the better of me, so I'm off to bed.

But first .. I love James Corden's carpool karaoke and this is his latest effort with Jennifer Lopez.



Today, my little Chicklet made some Powerpuff characters ...

This is me...

This is BGWLBH...

This is Chicklet...

This is grumpy Dadu...

This is Mama...

This is Poppy B

They made my day :)

One more thing to share.

Nite all.

Pat a Cake

What a day!

It was a late start for me (nothing unusual there) and after I rode to the coffee shop, I decided to go for a long leisurely ride along the river, beginning at the park and winding my way right to the end of the path. This is something that I haven't done for a long time.

It was a beautiful morning, with a few scattered clouds, vibrant blue water and sunlight twinkling off the waves. There were a few people on the beach, fishing, sunbathing, walking, swimming and making sand castles.

There is still one week left of the Queensland school holidays, so next weekend, the caravan parks will empty, and NSW schools will commence their holidays, so we'll get an influx of new tourists for two weeks.

For that reason, this is not my favourite time of the year.

By the time I pedalled up our driveway, I was feeling motivated to complete one of my job cards. Not a new card, but one that I removed from the board over a week ago .. one that I was dreading, because I knew that it would take me a million years to complete.

It was about 10am when I pulled everything out of my dressing table. It has a row of three small drawers across the top and a bank of four large drawers at the bottom. This is just some of it! There was another large pile on the floor!

Two and a half hours later, I had finished sorting through clothes, jewellery, cards and letters, postcards, receipts, bank statements, ring boxes (why was I even saving them?), scarves, hair combs and scrunchies, buttons in little ziplock bags, CDs, umbrellas, handbag straps, old purses and phone cases, the list goes on and on.

It was about 12.45pm when I finally finished the job and sat down on the couch to take a break. I had to be ready for a lunch date by 1.40pm, but time flew so quickly, that the next time I looked at my watch, it was 1.30pm!! It was a mad rush for me to get dressed (not even time for a shower), splash some make up on my face, grab a bottle of wine, a wine glass and some ice from the freezer, and rush out the door.

As luck would have it, I was the first to arrive and everybody else was late!!

Our lunch was at Chef Pat's house. She turned 70 a week ago and at the time, she celebrated with her family. It has been years since she invited friends for a meal at her house, and we (The Speckled Hen, The Reality TV Queen, The Blond Bombshell and I) were the lucky recipients of a delicious spread of fresh nutritious food, lovingly prepared by Chef Pat.

It was all so good, that we awarded her a Michelin Star!

She and her husband once owned and managed the magnificent Federal Hotel in Childers. She was also the head cook there.

This is us, all having a wonderful time with Chef Pat...

... this is the delicious GF cake that she made and which was served with raspberries soaked in balsamic vinegar. Yummo!

... and this is me!

It was a really great afternoon. We had lots of food, lots of champagne and wine, and lots of laughs.

Chef Pat was a wonderful hostess and we couldn't thank her enough. She is visually impaired, so this was a bigger effort for her, than it would be for one of us. She is an amazing lady.

The sun had well and truly set by the time we farewelled her and the battery was flat on my trike headlight, which made it tricky to ride home. I made it home about an hour before Adoring Husband arrived home from his big day of SES training.

I also arrived home at the same time that I received a message from The Leggy Blond, who is a neighbour, about one of the psychotic dogs barking all day. I had been in such a rush to leave, that I accidentally left one of the dogs (Ruby) outside and she spent the entire afternoon barking at the door to come inside. I bet that made for a pleasant Saturday afternoon for all of our neighbours!

Well, it's just about to strike midnight, so I'm off to bed. It seems to be my usual bedtime lately.

Nite all.

Foolish Disappointment

April Fool's Day has been quite a disappointment for me!

I only heard two jokes all day.

The first was a newly discovered albino spider ...

... and the second was that Jarryd Hayne had quit NFL and had signed with the Roosters for the remainder of the 2016 season.

That's the best we can do????

I ate the last of my salted caramel coconut ice cream tonight. I feel sad about that .. however, it WAS delicious!

I spent a couple of hours with The Motivator this morning. She is off to Sydney tomorrow for a couple of weeks. Thinking that I could cull some clothes that are too big for me from my wardrobe, I took them to her place. She was very appreciative, and in turn, handed me some clothes from her wardrobe that don't fit her any more and now I've ended up with the same number of clothes PLUS one back in my wardrobe!

I had a lovely evening at the club tonight. Only one couple was missing from our group, so there were a lot of us and there was lots of loud conversations happening. There were not as many tourists at the club as I expected, which was a pleasant surprise.

I'm feeling very weary now, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Heaven in a Bucket

OH-EM-GEE! OMG! OH MY GOD!

By a happy accident, I found some coconut ice cream today.  I need to buy a pallet load and set aside one whole freezer specifically for this ice cream.

It is gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, soy free, vegan and organic. The brand is 'Zebra Dream' and it's salted caramel flavoured. They use Himalayan salt which is a bonus! It's expensive, but when you find something that good, expense is no object!!

I wish I'd bought two tubs of it, because I've already eaten half a tub! The tubs are only half a litre.

I spent the day in The Bay with Adoring Husband. I bought a couple of t-shirts, a top, a necklace and a drink flask, lots of delicious organic fruit and veg, some grass fed beef, a dvd that I already have (it's difficult to keep track when you have more than 400 dvds!), and I had the clasp on my 13 year old watch repaired/tightened. I love my watch. I don't think it's going to last much longer.

No guitar practise today or tonight. I thought I would give my ever tender fingers a break for twenty four hours.

I've been watching movies all night. "Nights in Rodanthe" (sob sob) and "Suddenly 30"

It's one minute to midnight. I should try for some sleep.

Nite all.

A Bit of Blah

I had a really great day today.

It started with morning coffee with a few of the girls, followed by lunch with the ladies and ended with a couple of drinks at one of those lady's houses.

I made sure that I sat with different people for lunch. I usually sit with the same friends each month and I never meet any of the new people, or catch up with other friends, so I made a conscious effort to be sociable and have lots of chats with different friends. I caught up on lots of news.

This was a good idea and I really enjoyed myself.

After lunch (which was delicious), a few of us played the pokies for a while and then drove home to The Speckled Hen's house, where we all had a drink and I was the first to leave and walk home.

I made a nice dinner of lamb rack and vegetables.

But I've been sitting here since Adoring Husband went to bed, feeling very blah. I can't tell if I'm angry or stressed or sick or sad or what. Just plain miserable really.

So I'm off to bed hoping that I will wake up in a better frame of mind and feeling happy.

Have a happy Thursday everybody.

Nite all.

 

Play Rest Play

That's the advice that I've been offered. Play, rest, play.

I've been practising on the guitar and my fingertips are now very tender. This means that I can't practise as often as I want! I need to toughen up the tips of my fingers and apparently the best way to do that is to practise in short sharp bursts until callouses develop.

It's a pretty thought isn't it?

I've also been sharing guitar stories with an old work mate who now lives in Canberra. She has recently separated from her husband of twenty something years and is creating a new life for herself, which includes learning how to play the guitar.

She is a little more advanced than I, because she has both a teacher, and a mentor, so she learns something new and then visits her mentor, to practise with him .. while eating food and drinking wine .. that's gotta be an amazing combination!

She sent me this today ...

It's all gobbledy gook to me, but that's the challenge! I want to understand it by the end of the week and maybe even play it!

Adoring Husband was out for the morning, so I got to spend a lot of time with my guitar, hence the tender fingertips, but this music arrived late this afternoon, so I haven't had a chance to play yet.

Anyway, I LOVE my guitar! (in case you hadn't noticed)

I'm looking forward to my tomorrow, which is hump day for most people. Coffee in the morning with a couple of the girls - specifically Lady Lynn - and then the monthly lady's luncheon.

I made some more apple and walnut muffins today, adding some grated chocolate to the mix. I thought they were lovely, but Adoring Husband couldn't even taste the chocolate! His only comment was "they're not as appley".

Must get some sleep now.

Nite all.

Done and Dusted

The Easter weekend is done and dusted. Most of the Fishing competition crowd has headed home and the town is left with a few stragglers who will stay on for the school holidays. I'm happy that it's much quieter here now.

Adoring Husband and I both rode to the Seat of Knowledge this morning, then got ourselves a coffee before riding to the beach where we sat on a bench seat in the filtered sunlight, enjoying the view for about half an hour.

Some more Harry Potter was in store for AH who has spent the weekend watching all of the movies, and today was the final movie in the series.

Before the football started on TV this afternoon, I made a big batch of these ...

Honey Sesame Paleo Chicken

... I added a finely chopped onion to the mince mixture and heaps of chilli to the dipping sauce. It was delicious and there was enough left over for dinner tonight!

My footy tipping has gone very well this weekend. A perfect round in one competition and in the other competition, I am only two points off the lead! It's very early in the season, which gives me plenty of time to fall behind, but right now ... I would like to brag about it!!

No guitar today, although, it's early, so when I sign off here, I may spend 30 minutes practising what I learned last night.

I hope the girls enjoyed the movie (Lady in the Van) today!! I've been wondering all day!

Nothing else to report.

A quiet and happy Easter Monday.

Nite all.

Fingerpicking Good.

A quiet day at home avoiding the Easter crowds in town. So many people!

I had a lazy start to Sunday morning and took my time getting out of bed. I've become very good at that!

It's been a nothing kind of day. Nothing exciting. Nothing of interest. Nothing worth mentioning.

Until ... Adoring Husband had SES duties for a couple of hours this evening, so I spent an hour attempting to learn something that, apparently, should only take 12 minutes!! I practised some 'fingerpicking'.



I don't even know this guy's name, but so far, I really like the way he teaches and I'm going to follow his lessons for a while and see how I go.

It's going to take quite a bit for me to learn - music is not my forte and I don't have a natural gift for it, so I am going to have to practise all the simple things many times over. The lessons that state 'play this in 12 minutes' mean that it will take me about 3 hours and 12 minutes!! If I'm lucky.

It doesn't matter though, because I'm loving it. I love the feel of the guitar, although my short fingers might struggle with the chords. I adore the sound of the strings as I fingerpick, pluck and strum them.

One day, after lots of practise, I hope that the string positions will become very familiar to me and my movements will become second nature. That will be a day to celebrate! I may even make a youtube video of me playing!

I found a great site with lots of scientific information about turmeric. It has references to follow up and links to check. It's especially good for people who have trouble trusting 'non mainstream' information.

Proven Health Benefits of Turmeric

I'm off to watch the end of the first Harry Potter movie. I've only ever watched one of the movies - the one with Robert Pattinson in it - I don't even remember the name of it. I've never read the books. The Harry Potter movies are a new experience for Adoring Husband and I and there is a movie channel currently playing them all.

I hope everyone has had a happy Easter and enjoyed time spent with friends and family. If you're travelling, be safe and find your way home without incident.

Nite all.

Under the Weather

I had a very big night on Thursday night.

Because the club doesn't open on Good Friday, the Friday night raffles were held on Thursday night instead.

Adoring Husband had SES duties, so because he wasn't home, I did not catch the usual early bus with everyone else. I stayed on til almost 10pm.

This meant that I spent almost 6 hours drinking. I didn't count my drinks and I do remember all of the night out, including the bus ride home (the last courtesy bus of the evening).

I don't remember anything between when I arrived home and about 3am.

I spent a lot of time in the bathroom and I will not go into any details.

I finally climbed into my bed at around 4am, very much the worse for wear.

Good Friday was NOT a good Friday for me. I stayed in bed ALL day. I felt like my internal organs were on life support and that I had killed a good number of brain cells. I even took panadol! Those who know me, know that I don't make that decision lightly.

Yes it was self inflicted and I deserve no sympathy.

Adoring Husband took very good care of me in my hours of need and was much more sympathetic toward me, than I would have been toward him, if the situation was reversed! He has a kinder heart than I.

This is the reason that I did not post here for two days. The first night, I was inebriated, and the second night, I was still in recovery!

I feel fully recovered now and believe it or not, I even had a couple of wines with the Reality TV Queen this afternoon without incident.

Every few years, I do a really good job of reminding myself why I don't party hard any more. I don't want to waste so many days trying to recover!

I think that my recovery day was the second time in five years that I did not open my laptop (the first time was after the tornado hit).

So anyway .. I survived .. I am alive and intact .. embarrassed and a little regretful .. but you're never too old to learn the hard lessons.

I found this today and just had to share it. It's so true of us all.



I'm back!

Nite all.

Friendly

'Friends' is probably my favourite TV series of all time (Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls, The Big Bang Theory, Will and Grace, ER and Cheers are other faves).

A couple of interesting facts about 'Friends' ...

1.  For the first season all six actors were paid $22,000 per episode but by the second season their contracts changed to different amounts for each character. The cast banded together and negotiated until all six of them earned $100,000 per episode. This makes them one of the first casts to negotiate salaries as a group rather than boycotting for individual reasons. By the final season they each earned $1 million per episode.

2.  The show would've been much different had the beloved six not been cast. Kathy Griffin and Jane Lynch both auditioned for Phoebe, Jon Favreau and Jon Cryer both went out for Chandler, and Eric McCormack (Will, from Will and Grace) read several times for Ross.

3.  Matthew Perry went into rehab twice during the show for abuse of prescription drugs and alcohol. He says that while he often came to work hung over, he never drank or did drugs on set.

Speaking of drugs, I found this little piece on addiction very interesting ...



Morning tea with the girls was a lot of fun today. Loud ... but fun!

I'm posting this early today. I am about to clean off my desk, so that I can set it up for guitar lessons. I need room on the desk for my laptop to watch Youtube videos and I need space for my butt on the chair in front of the laptop which will be on my desk.

Here is the 'before photo' ...

Watch this space for the 'after' photo ... I just can't guarantee when :)

Today is Vegan Chickie's birthday! She has had an extended birthday this year and so far, seems to have had a great time! Happy birthday lovely daughter. I hope you enjoyed your birthday picnic with the loves of your life today :)

Nite all.

Cluelessly Strumming

I saw my boys this morning and spent 45 minutes sitting by the river enjoying the view.

You can tell that the season is changing because the air is different, the water is clearer and a deeper blue, and the sea life is abundant and in full view. I could sit on the steps with my legs calf deep in the tepid water for hours. Energising and healing.

I checked for our mail at the Post Office and then visited The Motivator for a couple of hours. She was selling fish, so we had plenty of interruptions from customers, but we still got a few good laughs in.

Adoring Husband was attending to SES duties so I came home and prepared his lunch before he arrived home. I had plans to visit Mum H after lunch, but down came the rains! So we postponed our date.

Instead, I sat on the couch and aimlessly strummed my guitar. I studied my book and attempted to learn some chords, but honestly, I have no idea!! I was going to spend the afternoon in Youtube and watch some lessons, but then I got distracted with housework.

What??!!!

Things are bad when I use housework as a procrastination tool!

I am NOT defeated .. I AM intimidated .. but I can do it! Small steps and slowly does it.

That is my day.

Surprisingly, I didn't require a nana nap today! At 8pm last night, I ate some food with pure raw cacao in it, and have since discovered that it is a stimulant and can cause insomnia! It kept me awake til 4.30am!! I was out of bed by 7.30am, so I've powered through the day on 3 hours of sleep!

I expected to crash and burn some time in the afternoon, but it didn't happen. It's now 9.30pm and I'm still feeling fine. I'll attempt a reasonably early night anyway.

Looking forward to morning tea with the girls tomorrow.

Nite all.

Pretty Chuffed!

So this happened today!!

My bucket list for this year includes 'learning a musical instrument'. I had two instruments in mind, when I made that list and they were piano or guitar. If I was going to learn the piano, I would choose something like a baby grand and definitely not an electronic keyboard. So the difference in the price of a baby grand piano (around $6000 for second hand and up to $19000 for new) or a guitar ($200 - $3500), made the choice pretty easy.

Adoring Husband knew about my bucket list and decided that he would buy a guitar for my birthday (which is still a month away), so we stopped at the music shop in The Bay to ask some questions and check out some prices.

The young man who served us, was 30yrs old (I remember a time in my life when I thought 30 was SO OLD!) and he has been playing guitar for 17 years. He pointed out our best options and then played a couple of them so that I could choose the sound that I liked. Unfortunately, the sound that I liked the best came from a guitar that was way too big for me! He explained that getting the smaller size, changed the sound completely, so that wasn't an option.

I sat down and held a couple of them, and strummed the strings (I have no idea how to play) and I eventually selected the one I liked. I chose a book 'The Ultimate Guitar Chord Chart' so that I could teach myself the chords, and the young man (why didn't I get his name?) told us that he gives lessons at his place, which is an option for the future.

I know a few people around town who play guitar. Both of my sons-in-law play.

My best find for the day is Youtube!! Video after video of guitar lessons for all levels of players, from beginners and beyond. Here is the first one on the list.  



So I'm a bit excited!

What else happened today? Lunch on the water ...

It was about 5pm by the time we returned home. A big day of shopping, repairing Adoring Husband's glasses, new head phones because I've broken two sets in the last month, choosing a yoga mat (for meditation on the beach) and some art supplies because I've decided to attempt some sketching.

I've attempted to sketch once or twice in my life. I loved to sketch when I was 14 or 15 and always did very well in the subject of art at school. I had big plans to become a commercial artist, but was gently discouraged by my parents. A couple of times in my adult life, I got the bug, and scribbled a bit, but never pursued it.

To become good at any kind of art, like anything else in life, you need to practise a lot. I've never done that, but I think I could probably do that now. I have the bug again, so I'll see where it leads me. I've posted my 'beginning' sketch here and maybe, in a couple of months, I can post a new improved version, so that you can see my progress!

Finally a quick nosh up for dinner, considering how late we arrived home from The Bay, and by the time we unpacked the car and gave everything a home, a quick dinner was in order.

I'm feeling pretty chuffed about my day!

Nite all.

Another Lazy Sunday

It doesn't get any more lazy than this! I stayed in bed until 10.45am on this fabulous day! How I love lazy Sundays.

Loved this, thought you might too ...

Nite all.

A Quiet Vote

I saw my boys this morning. I don't see them as often as I once did. They are doing well.

It was beautiful down by the river. The water is so clear and clean, that you can watch the different varieties of fish swimming and you can actually see the bottom of the river.  It was high tide and I walked down the steps near the boat ramp until I was knee deep in what was very tepid water. It was very serene and calming.

I planned some time in the kitchen, so I stopped off at the supermarket to stock up on some necessities before I pedalled home and slipped straight into cooking mode.

Adoring Husband's favourites were first off the mark - apple and walnut muffins - next was a new recipe for carrot and raisin muffins. I added flaked almonds to the recipe and they are delicious too! I roasted a chicken in the oven and we had that with salad for lunch.

After lunch, we watched the movie 'Paddington Bear' on Foxtel. That was a bit of fun. Then it was time to vote! We left it later in the day to vote, so that we could go for a walk along the beach afterwards, and still get home in time for the football.

The advantage to leaving it late in the day, is that there are no queues! We walked straight in and it took us all of five minutes to scan our paper, tick and lodge our ballots and make our way to the beach.

Considering how warm the weather was today, it was very pleasant on the beach. The tide was out, but on it's way in, so we were able to paddle knee deep in the very warm water and there was a nice cooling breeze blowing. The puddles and channels in the sand contained uncomfortably hot water, but there was plenty of birdlife around, including two white bellied sea eagles soaring overhead.

I didn't take my camera or my phone, so there were no photographs taken, but we enjoyed the walk and since I wasn't holding my camera, we got to hold hands for a change, which was lovely.

We arrived home in time to catch kick off for the first NRL game. There have been some upsets today and while I started off well yesterday, my tips are looking a bit the worse for wear this evening. But I am not alone there.

Some more fun from Scamalot ...



... and I could really relate to this ...

Adoring Husband was called out tonight for a search and rescue on the Mary River at Maryborough. Some kids were seen in a boat (which they stole) on the river and later the boat was seen upturned floating in the river, and no sign of the kids.

The first two rescue boats that were sent out, broke down, so a boat was brought in from Tiaro and also from Burrum Heads. This all happened at about 8.30pm. At 11pm, AH phoned me to say that the kids had been found, alive and well and that he would be home soon.

I imagine that those parents are feeling a mixture of relief and anger right about now!

I'm feeling a bit tired right now so ...

nite all.