I made a list in yesterday's blog post about all the things that I was going to get done over the weekend, while Adoring Husband was at First Aid Training.
I bet you can guess how many of those things I've done today.
If you guessed 'none', you would be so wrong!!
If you guessed 'all of them', you would also be so wrong!!
I did one of those items on the list.
Let me refresh your memory. I planned on editing photos, experimenting with ginger, cleaning, visiting the motivator and spending long mornings in bed.
I bet you can guess NOW, what part of the list got done.
Yes! I had a long lazy morning in bed. Haha.
It was a glorious Winter's day and I didn't waste it completely. At midday, I jumped on my trike and headed to the river, where I rode along the path and took in the sights.
There were a LOT of families and couples walking along the path, and quite a number of them eating ice cream cones that they'd bought from our local ice cream vendor.
The tide was low and on it's way in, so there was plenty of beach available and people were standing along the edge of the water with their fishing rods and buckets enjoying the sunshine and testing their luck.
The Council Caravan Park is quite full with visiting tourists at the moment and many of them were sitting in groups, in their folding chairs, overlooking the river, discussing their recent travels.
There were many people out on the sand flats at the mouth of the river, throwing sticks for their pets or playing ball or chasing each other through the huge puddles of salt water or collecting shells or just strolling hand in hand with their partner.
Before I returned home, I picked up a few groceries to replenish the stocks of coconut milk & cream that I'd used for the curries on Thursday night.
After my hit of Vitamin D, I hibernated in the lounge room and watched a couple of episodes of Grace and Frankie before the football started.
I've only got one of my tips wrong this week so far, but it's enough to put me out of the running for any prizes in the competition. This means, unfortunately, I'm now just in it for the thrill of beating most of the men in the tipping comp. That's ok too!
Tonight, now that the last game of the day is over, I'm watching one of my favourite movies. "It Could Happen to You" with Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda. It's such a feel good movie.
Looking forward to waking up tomorrow and feeling motivated enough to do all the other things on my list.
Nite all.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
All Over Red Rover
Another family holiday done and dusted.
After twelve days of fun and sunshine, Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour flew home this morning.
The psychotic dogs are missing them very much, especially Jack, who has been absolutely spoilt rotten and molly coddled beyond all recognition.
It's now very quiet in our house and Adoring Husband has a big weekend of First Aide training happening with the SES so I will have the house to myself. I plan on editing photos, experimenting with ginger, cleaning, visiting The Motivator and spending long mornings in bed.
I didn't get a chance to post here last night because we all had a very late night.
We invited Best Cousin in the World and Marco Polo to our place to meet Bubbles and KISA for the first time. What started out as a planned barbecue with salads, Adoring Husband as the cook, ended up being a full day in the kitchen for me, because AH was required at SES training for the evening.
KISA is not a cook, not even on the barbecue, and I didn't want my guests to have to cook their own dinner, so I opted to cook a couple of curries. Curries are not my forte. I cook a reasonable Butter Chicken. That's it.
BCITW and MP are Indian Food connoisseurs, and I did not remember this fact until my pots were on the stove simmering away, at which point, I regretted my decision immediately. *rolls eyes*
Anyway, I did a Beef Rendang and a Butter Chicken, with boiled rice, Naan bread and natural yoghurt with cucumber and coriander. They turned out quite nice, though not as full of flavour as the Indian Restaurants, but acceptable.
For dessert, it was chocolate mud cake with chocolate icing and sprinkled with candied pecans. The pecans were candied with maple syrup mixed with a ginger powder that I made with BCITW's and MP's ginger from their farm.
I marinated slices of ginger in a flavoured balsamic vinegar, then dehydrated it in the oven and then ground it to a powder in the food processor. To taste it on it's own, it was very strong and very hot, with a sweet tangy flavour. Because of the strength of heat and flavour, I only used one teaspoon of the powder in three tablespoons of maple syrup.
I drizzled that mixture over pecans and cooked in a hot oven for 12 minutes. After it cools, the syrup mixture hardens to toffee and then I chop the pecans and toffee into small pieces, and then sprinkled it over the icing on the cake.
Surprisingly, the ginger could barely be tasted, so next time, I will add a couple more teaspoons of the ginger powder.
After dinner, and while we were affected by an unknown number of alcoholic beverages, we played Cards Against Humanity. It started out very even, with each of us winning a game. I'm sure MP hit the lead there a number of times, but in the end, I was the victor! Which just shows how sick my mind is!
A good time was had by all and Adoring Husband came home in time to join in for an hour before he had to go collapse in bed.
Everybody went to bed, except for BCITW and I. We sat up talking until 1.30am (I'm certain that she wanted to go to bed at least an hour earlier, but was too kind to tell me to shut up and go to bed!). I could have written a blog post because I lay in bed for almost two hours not able to sleep. It was almost 3.30am when I finally fell asleep.
We drove the kids to the airport this morning, washed the car in The Bay, did a little grocery shopping and came home with just enough time to enjoy a coffee and some nibbles before getting ready for the club.
Tonight, I won $80 on the keno, two pots in the 'lotsapots' and a pie pack in the raffle, which consisted of a large curry pie and a large apple pie direct from the bakery.
I arrived home in time to watch my team, the Brisbane Broncos, defeat the top team in the competition, the Melbourne Storm!! Yeeha!!
Now, it's well after midnight and I am off to bed. I'm exhausted.
I can't believe that I did not get one photo of Bubbles and I together while she was here!
Nite all.
After twelve days of fun and sunshine, Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour flew home this morning.
The psychotic dogs are missing them very much, especially Jack, who has been absolutely spoilt rotten and molly coddled beyond all recognition.
It's now very quiet in our house and Adoring Husband has a big weekend of First Aide training happening with the SES so I will have the house to myself. I plan on editing photos, experimenting with ginger, cleaning, visiting The Motivator and spending long mornings in bed.
I didn't get a chance to post here last night because we all had a very late night.
We invited Best Cousin in the World and Marco Polo to our place to meet Bubbles and KISA for the first time. What started out as a planned barbecue with salads, Adoring Husband as the cook, ended up being a full day in the kitchen for me, because AH was required at SES training for the evening.
KISA is not a cook, not even on the barbecue, and I didn't want my guests to have to cook their own dinner, so I opted to cook a couple of curries. Curries are not my forte. I cook a reasonable Butter Chicken. That's it.
BCITW and MP are Indian Food connoisseurs, and I did not remember this fact until my pots were on the stove simmering away, at which point, I regretted my decision immediately. *rolls eyes*
Anyway, I did a Beef Rendang and a Butter Chicken, with boiled rice, Naan bread and natural yoghurt with cucumber and coriander. They turned out quite nice, though not as full of flavour as the Indian Restaurants, but acceptable.
For dessert, it was chocolate mud cake with chocolate icing and sprinkled with candied pecans. The pecans were candied with maple syrup mixed with a ginger powder that I made with BCITW's and MP's ginger from their farm.
I marinated slices of ginger in a flavoured balsamic vinegar, then dehydrated it in the oven and then ground it to a powder in the food processor. To taste it on it's own, it was very strong and very hot, with a sweet tangy flavour. Because of the strength of heat and flavour, I only used one teaspoon of the powder in three tablespoons of maple syrup.
I drizzled that mixture over pecans and cooked in a hot oven for 12 minutes. After it cools, the syrup mixture hardens to toffee and then I chop the pecans and toffee into small pieces, and then sprinkled it over the icing on the cake.
Surprisingly, the ginger could barely be tasted, so next time, I will add a couple more teaspoons of the ginger powder.
After dinner, and while we were affected by an unknown number of alcoholic beverages, we played Cards Against Humanity. It started out very even, with each of us winning a game. I'm sure MP hit the lead there a number of times, but in the end, I was the victor! Which just shows how sick my mind is!
A good time was had by all and Adoring Husband came home in time to join in for an hour before he had to go collapse in bed.
Everybody went to bed, except for BCITW and I. We sat up talking until 1.30am (I'm certain that she wanted to go to bed at least an hour earlier, but was too kind to tell me to shut up and go to bed!). I could have written a blog post because I lay in bed for almost two hours not able to sleep. It was almost 3.30am when I finally fell asleep.
We drove the kids to the airport this morning, washed the car in The Bay, did a little grocery shopping and came home with just enough time to enjoy a coffee and some nibbles before getting ready for the club.
Tonight, I won $80 on the keno, two pots in the 'lotsapots' and a pie pack in the raffle, which consisted of a large curry pie and a large apple pie direct from the bakery.
I arrived home in time to watch my team, the Brisbane Broncos, defeat the top team in the competition, the Melbourne Storm!! Yeeha!!
Now, it's well after midnight and I am off to bed. I'm exhausted.
I can't believe that I did not get one photo of Bubbles and I together while she was here!
Nite all.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Pausing the Binge
I am not binge watching tonight! Tempting though it is! I need a good night's sleep. Frankie and Grace will have to wait.
Surprisingly, after yesterday's activities in Bundaberg, the kids are feeling the pain today. They discovered muscles where they forgot they had muscles. Even more surprisingly, Adoring Husband and I are not!
Our own Australian version of Cards Against Humanity arrived in the mail today, so we played for a few hours this afternoon. Best Cousin in the World is visiting us tomorrow, to meet Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour, so we plan on introducing her and Marco Polo to the game. I hope that their sense of humour is as sick as I imagine it to be!
AH and I spent the morning in The Bay attending the yearly financial planner appointment. Quite dull really.
The weather has turned from glorious mild Wintry sunshine, to overcast with intermittent downpours of cool rain and bursts of gale force winds. Tomorrow is going to be 5C cooler than today, which is fine by me. I LOVE the cooler weather. It will be nice to lie in bed late again tomorrow and perhaps Adoring Husband will bring me coffee to start my day on a perfectly wonderful note!
Tomorrow marks the beginning of a busy few days for us, so I'd like to start it in my happy place :)
Right now, it's time to drag the psychotic dogs out of Bubble's and KISA's room and put them to bed. Then it's time for me to follow suit. My pillow awaits me.
Nite all.
Surprisingly, after yesterday's activities in Bundaberg, the kids are feeling the pain today. They discovered muscles where they forgot they had muscles. Even more surprisingly, Adoring Husband and I are not!
Our own Australian version of Cards Against Humanity arrived in the mail today, so we played for a few hours this afternoon. Best Cousin in the World is visiting us tomorrow, to meet Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour, so we plan on introducing her and Marco Polo to the game. I hope that their sense of humour is as sick as I imagine it to be!
AH and I spent the morning in The Bay attending the yearly financial planner appointment. Quite dull really.
The weather has turned from glorious mild Wintry sunshine, to overcast with intermittent downpours of cool rain and bursts of gale force winds. Tomorrow is going to be 5C cooler than today, which is fine by me. I LOVE the cooler weather. It will be nice to lie in bed late again tomorrow and perhaps Adoring Husband will bring me coffee to start my day on a perfectly wonderful note!
Tomorrow marks the beginning of a busy few days for us, so I'd like to start it in my happy place :)
Right now, it's time to drag the psychotic dogs out of Bubble's and KISA's room and put them to bed. Then it's time for me to follow suit. My pillow awaits me.
Nite all.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Bundy Tuesdy
After another late night (or should I say early morning) of binge watching 'Grace and Frankie', I struggled to get out of bed this morning. REALLY struggled.
We agreed, last night, to leave home at 8.30am to reach Bundaberg before 10am.
I got out of bed at 8.20am, showered and dressed and was sitting in the car by by 8.45am, which I thought was pretty good going.
There was a lot of traffic on the road, and also a lot of roadworks, but we had a pretty good run, stopping along the way at Childers to get coffee, before reaching Bundaberg by 10.20am.
The Bundy Bowl and Leisure Centre was our destination, where we planned a family fun day.
First game off the rank, was Jurassic Putt Putt ...
Knight in Shining Armour won that round. Thanks to one VERY VERY bad hole for me, I came last!!
Next game was 10 Pin Bowling ...
We played two games and Adoring Husband won that round by a long way! It was a lot of fun, but I've decided that it's NOT like riding a bike (although AH might disagree).
Next, we tried Laser Tag. AH and I have never attempted this activity before and I have to admit, I was dubious and hesitant, but it was actually a lot of fun. Adoring Husband said he's never seen me run so much and we are all preparing ourselves for sore muscles tomorrow after 30 minutes of fast and furious war games!
Unfortunately, the packs on two of our vests didn't register any activity, so Bubbles and I didn't get a score for our efforts. Knight in Shining Armour won that round, even though only he and AH got a score.
To compensate for our failed packs, the girl gave us $20 worth of tokens for the games arcade, where, between us, we won 264 tickets, which we traded for a number of dinosaur related toys and will give to Chicklet at the next visit!
We left the leisure centre at about 1.20pm and drove around the corner to The Waves Sports Club in search of some lunch.
What a nice club it is! The staff were all very friendly and welcoming and the atmosphere was lovely. AH and I both had Veal Scallopini with salad for lunch, which was GF and delicious. Bubbles and KISA shared some hot chips and cheese/bacon/garlic focaccia bread, which they seemed to enjoy.
The bathroom at the club was so classy and beautiful, I was tempted to take a chair in there, just to sit and feel the ambience!
We left Bundaberg for a good run home, stopping again at The Drunk Bean in Childers for another of their delicious coffees.
The psychotic dogs were very excited to see us arrive home at around 4.30pm.
I think the day well and truly wore us all out, but I believe that 'Grace and Frankie' may get another workout tonight, if I can just find my second wind!!
I'm about to cook up some quick tacos for dinner.
Nite all.
We agreed, last night, to leave home at 8.30am to reach Bundaberg before 10am.
I got out of bed at 8.20am, showered and dressed and was sitting in the car by by 8.45am, which I thought was pretty good going.
There was a lot of traffic on the road, and also a lot of roadworks, but we had a pretty good run, stopping along the way at Childers to get coffee, before reaching Bundaberg by 10.20am.
The Bundy Bowl and Leisure Centre was our destination, where we planned a family fun day.
First game off the rank, was Jurassic Putt Putt ...
Knight in Shining Armour won that round. Thanks to one VERY VERY bad hole for me, I came last!!
Next game was 10 Pin Bowling ...
We played two games and Adoring Husband won that round by a long way! It was a lot of fun, but I've decided that it's NOT like riding a bike (although AH might disagree).
Next, we tried Laser Tag. AH and I have never attempted this activity before and I have to admit, I was dubious and hesitant, but it was actually a lot of fun. Adoring Husband said he's never seen me run so much and we are all preparing ourselves for sore muscles tomorrow after 30 minutes of fast and furious war games!
Unfortunately, the packs on two of our vests didn't register any activity, so Bubbles and I didn't get a score for our efforts. Knight in Shining Armour won that round, even though only he and AH got a score.
To compensate for our failed packs, the girl gave us $20 worth of tokens for the games arcade, where, between us, we won 264 tickets, which we traded for a number of dinosaur related toys and will give to Chicklet at the next visit!
We left the leisure centre at about 1.20pm and drove around the corner to The Waves Sports Club in search of some lunch.
What a nice club it is! The staff were all very friendly and welcoming and the atmosphere was lovely. AH and I both had Veal Scallopini with salad for lunch, which was GF and delicious. Bubbles and KISA shared some hot chips and cheese/bacon/garlic focaccia bread, which they seemed to enjoy.
The bathroom at the club was so classy and beautiful, I was tempted to take a chair in there, just to sit and feel the ambience!
We left Bundaberg for a good run home, stopping again at The Drunk Bean in Childers for another of their delicious coffees.
The psychotic dogs were very excited to see us arrive home at around 4.30pm.
I think the day well and truly wore us all out, but I believe that 'Grace and Frankie' may get another workout tonight, if I can just find my second wind!!
I'm about to cook up some quick tacos for dinner.
Nite all.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Shop til we Drop
Adoring Husband had a busy day today, so the kids and I went in to The Bay for some retail therapy.
Each time we left a shop with arms full of shopping bags, Knight in Shining Armour would take the bags to the car and we would start again!
Because of this tactic, we didn't feel like we did that much shopping ... until we arrived home and began emptying the car!!
It felt like the week before Christmas .. you know how you rush out to buy those last minute gifts? The car was chocka-block!!
I ALMOST bought two pairs of shoes. Common sense prevailed.
It was a full day of shopping and I think that I almost wore the kids out ... rookies. I'm yet to find anyone who can outshop me and still have energy to burn haha!!
We have a day of fun planned for tomorrow, which I will explain in full at the end of the day and I hope to have some interesting pics to share as well.
Last night I binge watched 'Grace and Frankie' on Netflix (thanks to Bubbles) and I still have more episodes to watch. It stars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda and Martin Sheen and is only available for viewing on Netflix. What a great show! I watched it for four hours!
Thanks to the Cronulla Sharks football team, I missed a perfect round in the footy tipping this week (along with 11 other people!). Not happy Jan!
I'm off to watch some more G&F (even though I have a big day tomorrow) because I'm hooked.
Nite all.
Each time we left a shop with arms full of shopping bags, Knight in Shining Armour would take the bags to the car and we would start again!
Because of this tactic, we didn't feel like we did that much shopping ... until we arrived home and began emptying the car!!
It felt like the week before Christmas .. you know how you rush out to buy those last minute gifts? The car was chocka-block!!
I ALMOST bought two pairs of shoes. Common sense prevailed.
It was a full day of shopping and I think that I almost wore the kids out ... rookies. I'm yet to find anyone who can outshop me and still have energy to burn haha!!
We have a day of fun planned for tomorrow, which I will explain in full at the end of the day and I hope to have some interesting pics to share as well.
Last night I binge watched 'Grace and Frankie' on Netflix (thanks to Bubbles) and I still have more episodes to watch. It stars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda and Martin Sheen and is only available for viewing on Netflix. What a great show! I watched it for four hours!
Thanks to the Cronulla Sharks football team, I missed a perfect round in the footy tipping this week (along with 11 other people!). Not happy Jan!
I'm off to watch some more G&F (even though I have a big day tomorrow) because I'm hooked.
Nite all.
Catch Up Sunday
Can you believe that I stayed in bed til lunch time today!?
I had an early night, but slept til 9am and then stayed in bed until after noon, reading and playing games on my iPad. It was especially nice because of the mild Winter weather.
By the time I got up, I had just enough time to do a baked Sunday dinner of butterflied lamb with veg and gravy, before getting ready for drinks at The Blonde Bombshell's house.
Bubbles and I spent a couple of hours enjoying the company of my good friends before texting Adoring Husband to come pick us up. We took the Cards Against Humanity game with us because I thought we would all get a good laugh, but Chef Pat was in attendance and her poor eyesight prevents her from reading ... I don't think she would have enjoyed sitting on the side lines watching us play this crude game.
We all had a light dinner and then laughed over some more Cards Against Humanity.
I've enjoyed my day of rest.
A big week has been planned for the remainder of our time with Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour, so I'd best get some beauty sleep. It's after 1.30am!!
Nite all.
I had an early night, but slept til 9am and then stayed in bed until after noon, reading and playing games on my iPad. It was especially nice because of the mild Winter weather.
By the time I got up, I had just enough time to do a baked Sunday dinner of butterflied lamb with veg and gravy, before getting ready for drinks at The Blonde Bombshell's house.
Bubbles and I spent a couple of hours enjoying the company of my good friends before texting Adoring Husband to come pick us up. We took the Cards Against Humanity game with us because I thought we would all get a good laugh, but Chef Pat was in attendance and her poor eyesight prevents her from reading ... I don't think she would have enjoyed sitting on the side lines watching us play this crude game.
We all had a light dinner and then laughed over some more Cards Against Humanity.
I've enjoyed my day of rest.
A big week has been planned for the remainder of our time with Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour, so I'd best get some beauty sleep. It's after 1.30am!!
Nite all.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Marketeers
It has been a big day, with five hours of travelling, three hours of marketing and a quick hour+ visit to the Chicklet family.
I started the day feeling quite unwell, after an uncomfortable night with broken sleep, nausea was my enemy as I climbed into the car to start our day.
I rubbed some peppermint essential oil into both Bubble's and my wrists, which helped much more than I expected. I still felt uncomfortable, but at least the nausea was gone. We may have picked up a minor tummy bug somewhere. The boys were ok.
The sun had only just appeared when we left town and the fog was very thick this morning. Sometimes we could barely see the road in front of us, but surprisingly, it had cleared by the time we passed the Maryborough turnoff.
We arrived at Eumundi Markets before 8.30am and the weather was perfect. We paid for our parking and went in search of some good bargains. Bubbles and KISA went their way, while Adoring Husband and I went ours and we agreed on a meeting place by 11am - unless we wanted to continue shopping.
I bought a necklace, a hat and a framed quote from A.A.Milne. Bubbles suggested a 'Flash' cape for Chicklet and I also found a Lego-like Batman toy.
For an early lunch, Adoring Husband and I found a French food stall and had GF buckwheat chicken, mushroom and cheese crepes. They were huge and I could eat only half of mine. It was also delicious, but after we'd eaten, I discovered that there was a stall selling Monica Topliss food, which is much closer to Paleo than anything else at the markets.
KISA had a baby possum fall out of a tree and land on his shoe! That was the most exciting thing to happen to any of us today!
I'm always surprised by how many people attend Eumundi Markets. I don't think they ever have a quiet day and the crowds were huge today, to the point that I was getting annoyed at being hindered and jostled during my stroll through the alleyways.
After we left the markets, we drove to Noosa Civic to get coffee and treats to take to Vegan Chickie and then made our way to their house.
Chicklet was very excited to see us and loved her presents. She ran around the house wearing The Flash mask (but not the cape, which she gave to her Mama to wear). Bubbles, Poppy and I all had our fair share of time with Chicklet, playing paleontologists in the sandpit, checking out the new safe place in the wardrobe with the twinkling lights, playing catch in the playroom with the giant ball, swinging on the swing and creating Jurassic World with all the dinosaurs on the lounge room floor.
All too soon, it was time to head home, much to Chicklet's distress.
It always seems like a longer trip going home, than when you're heading to the destination, but finally we arrived home a bit after 4pm. Just enough time to feed the dogs and begin preparing dinner, which was Butter Chicken with Rice and Naan bread (for the kids).
It's been a relaxing evening watching the football and planning on our lazy, sleeping in start to Sunday.
It has been a good day, but it was long and we were all very happy to get home.
We will all sleep well tonight.
Nite all.
I started the day feeling quite unwell, after an uncomfortable night with broken sleep, nausea was my enemy as I climbed into the car to start our day.
I rubbed some peppermint essential oil into both Bubble's and my wrists, which helped much more than I expected. I still felt uncomfortable, but at least the nausea was gone. We may have picked up a minor tummy bug somewhere. The boys were ok.
The sun had only just appeared when we left town and the fog was very thick this morning. Sometimes we could barely see the road in front of us, but surprisingly, it had cleared by the time we passed the Maryborough turnoff.
We arrived at Eumundi Markets before 8.30am and the weather was perfect. We paid for our parking and went in search of some good bargains. Bubbles and KISA went their way, while Adoring Husband and I went ours and we agreed on a meeting place by 11am - unless we wanted to continue shopping.
I bought a necklace, a hat and a framed quote from A.A.Milne. Bubbles suggested a 'Flash' cape for Chicklet and I also found a Lego-like Batman toy.
For an early lunch, Adoring Husband and I found a French food stall and had GF buckwheat chicken, mushroom and cheese crepes. They were huge and I could eat only half of mine. It was also delicious, but after we'd eaten, I discovered that there was a stall selling Monica Topliss food, which is much closer to Paleo than anything else at the markets.
KISA had a baby possum fall out of a tree and land on his shoe! That was the most exciting thing to happen to any of us today!
I'm always surprised by how many people attend Eumundi Markets. I don't think they ever have a quiet day and the crowds were huge today, to the point that I was getting annoyed at being hindered and jostled during my stroll through the alleyways.
After we left the markets, we drove to Noosa Civic to get coffee and treats to take to Vegan Chickie and then made our way to their house.
Chicklet was very excited to see us and loved her presents. She ran around the house wearing The Flash mask (but not the cape, which she gave to her Mama to wear). Bubbles, Poppy and I all had our fair share of time with Chicklet, playing paleontologists in the sandpit, checking out the new safe place in the wardrobe with the twinkling lights, playing catch in the playroom with the giant ball, swinging on the swing and creating Jurassic World with all the dinosaurs on the lounge room floor.
All too soon, it was time to head home, much to Chicklet's distress.
It always seems like a longer trip going home, than when you're heading to the destination, but finally we arrived home a bit after 4pm. Just enough time to feed the dogs and begin preparing dinner, which was Butter Chicken with Rice and Naan bread (for the kids).
It's been a relaxing evening watching the football and planning on our lazy, sleeping in start to Sunday.
It has been a good day, but it was long and we were all very happy to get home.
We will all sleep well tonight.
Nite all.
Friday, August 19, 2016
A Quiet Friday
Just a quick update.
It was a very quiet Friday. I think we were saving our energy for tomorrow.
It will be an early start for a big day. We'll be driving to the Sunny Coast for a day at Eumundi Markets and then a quick visit to Vegan Chickie and Chicklet before heading home.
Bubbles came to the club with me tonight, but we were not lucky in any of the gambling events. Not Keno, not pokies, not lotsapots, not the raffle.
I am two from two with this week's footy tips. It's a good start .. let's hope it's a good finish too!
That's it!
So I'm off to bed for an early night .. we will be up with the sun tomorrow morning.
Nite all.
It was a very quiet Friday. I think we were saving our energy for tomorrow.
It will be an early start for a big day. We'll be driving to the Sunny Coast for a day at Eumundi Markets and then a quick visit to Vegan Chickie and Chicklet before heading home.
Bubbles came to the club with me tonight, but we were not lucky in any of the gambling events. Not Keno, not pokies, not lotsapots, not the raffle.
I am two from two with this week's footy tips. It's a good start .. let's hope it's a good finish too!
That's it!
So I'm off to bed for an early night .. we will be up with the sun tomorrow morning.
Nite all.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Scaryborough
For the first time in about two years (maybe more), we attended the Maryborough Thursday morning markets in Adelaide Street. This was specifically for the benefit of Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour.
I bought a hanging whale tail for my tree (I have two frangipani trees in the front garden, from which I hang crystals, beads, ceramic shapes and animals, lead light ornaments, glass art etc).
I bought some clip on buttons for a necklace and bracelet set that I bought at Urangan markets a few weeks ago. The buttons are interchangeable so you can create the colour and style that you desire.
I bought a beautiful bunch of sunflowers that are just about to bloom.
I bought a bag of avocados.
I bought two large punnets of Eumundi strawberries.
From there, we walked to Gattaker's Artspace to show the kids where my Photography Exhibit was displayed in 2012. There was some really beautiful, colourful art hanging in the upstairs galleries.
Behind the gallery is the War Museum, which has the most amazing memorabilia from all the war years and from the wars that Australia has been involved in, and where an elderly gentlemen greets visitors with stories about each and every item and the people to whom they belonged. He is very proud of the museum and very proud of the friends and associates whose stories he shares.
We considered having lunch at the new 'Muddy Waters' Cafe, but it seems that their menu options are quite limited, nothing was marked GF and all the choice tables were reserved, so we moved on.
Earlier in the day, I had google searched eating options in Maryborough and found a place called 'Mitchell's Pantry'. The reviews were all very positive and talked about the huge number of gluten free options - especially the sweet treats like tarts and muffins and cheesecakes. So we went in search of that one.
It was very similar to Nana's Pantry, with the walls lined with containers of flours, nuts, seeds, grains, dried fruits etc and a whole room out the back full of gluten free products.
The difference was that the floor had tables and chairs at which we could sit and dine.
For lunch, I ordered a GF lasagne with salad for Adoring Husband and I had GF Shepherds Pie with salad. They were both delicious and full of flavour. The accompanying salad was fresh with a delicious dressing.
On the way out, I bought some sweets to take home. A GF citrus tart, GF chocolate brownie, GF salted caramel and macadamia tart and a Paleo banana muffin.
We walked through a long alleyway (of which there are many in Maryborough) and found some art worthy of a photo ...
From there, because of roadworks on the highway that provided long delays if you got there at the wrong time, we decided on a different route and came home via Hervey Bay. We stopped at a little crafty gift store, where I found a great little book about dragons for Chicklet, lead light letters to spell my name (to put in the tree) and a little concrete platypus for the garden.
There were fabulous, though rustic, gardens to wander through, with chickens, birds and guinea pigs to admire ...
... and a broken down, but stunning, old upright piano on the verandah of the old house where the craft was on display.
We picked up the FROG box on the way home and we were all ready to slob around and relax for the first hour after we arrived home.
Home made hamburgers for the kids for dinner, while I reheated some of last night's meatballs and had them with some raw onion.
Adoring Husband had SES training tonight, so I watched the Broncos thrash the Bulldogs in a fiery game of football.
Now, it's time to get some sleep. I will definitely be sleeping in tomorrow and enjoying a lazy morning in bed.
Nite all.
I bought a hanging whale tail for my tree (I have two frangipani trees in the front garden, from which I hang crystals, beads, ceramic shapes and animals, lead light ornaments, glass art etc).
I bought some clip on buttons for a necklace and bracelet set that I bought at Urangan markets a few weeks ago. The buttons are interchangeable so you can create the colour and style that you desire.
I bought a beautiful bunch of sunflowers that are just about to bloom.
I bought a bag of avocados.
I bought two large punnets of Eumundi strawberries.
From there, we walked to Gattaker's Artspace to show the kids where my Photography Exhibit was displayed in 2012. There was some really beautiful, colourful art hanging in the upstairs galleries.
Behind the gallery is the War Museum, which has the most amazing memorabilia from all the war years and from the wars that Australia has been involved in, and where an elderly gentlemen greets visitors with stories about each and every item and the people to whom they belonged. He is very proud of the museum and very proud of the friends and associates whose stories he shares.
We considered having lunch at the new 'Muddy Waters' Cafe, but it seems that their menu options are quite limited, nothing was marked GF and all the choice tables were reserved, so we moved on.
Earlier in the day, I had google searched eating options in Maryborough and found a place called 'Mitchell's Pantry'. The reviews were all very positive and talked about the huge number of gluten free options - especially the sweet treats like tarts and muffins and cheesecakes. So we went in search of that one.
It was very similar to Nana's Pantry, with the walls lined with containers of flours, nuts, seeds, grains, dried fruits etc and a whole room out the back full of gluten free products.
The difference was that the floor had tables and chairs at which we could sit and dine.
For lunch, I ordered a GF lasagne with salad for Adoring Husband and I had GF Shepherds Pie with salad. They were both delicious and full of flavour. The accompanying salad was fresh with a delicious dressing.
On the way out, I bought some sweets to take home. A GF citrus tart, GF chocolate brownie, GF salted caramel and macadamia tart and a Paleo banana muffin.
We walked through a long alleyway (of which there are many in Maryborough) and found some art worthy of a photo ...
From there, because of roadworks on the highway that provided long delays if you got there at the wrong time, we decided on a different route and came home via Hervey Bay. We stopped at a little crafty gift store, where I found a great little book about dragons for Chicklet, lead light letters to spell my name (to put in the tree) and a little concrete platypus for the garden.
There were fabulous, though rustic, gardens to wander through, with chickens, birds and guinea pigs to admire ...
... and a broken down, but stunning, old upright piano on the verandah of the old house where the craft was on display.
We picked up the FROG box on the way home and we were all ready to slob around and relax for the first hour after we arrived home.
Home made hamburgers for the kids for dinner, while I reheated some of last night's meatballs and had them with some raw onion.
Adoring Husband had SES training tonight, so I watched the Broncos thrash the Bulldogs in a fiery game of football.
Now, it's time to get some sleep. I will definitely be sleeping in tomorrow and enjoying a lazy morning in bed.
Nite all.
Cinematic Disappointment
Before heading off the movies this morning, I had my usual Wednesday morning tea with the ladies. Only four of us this morning because the other four are out of town enjoying holidays, road trips and great grandchildren. It was still a fun morning. It doesn't matter how many of us are there, we always manage to have a good laugh.
I left morning tea a touch earlier than usual, because the family had planned a trip to the cinema.
Don't go see 'Suicide Squad'.
It is not worthy of 145 minutes of your valuable time.
Margot Robbie (who is Australian) is the only actor, in a sea of famous names, who was good. Her character (Harley Quinn) was my favourite in the movie. For all the hype about Jared Leto playing The Joker, he was the biggest disappointment.
All of the jokes and one liners fell flat. The special effects weren't that great. The storyline was pretty woeful. The acting was poor. The characters were bland. Adoring Husband slept through a good portion of it and I admit that at about the one hour mark, I dozed momentarily and had to sit forward in the seat to stop myself from falling asleep.
Even the music, which is what attracted me to the movie in the first place, was disappointing.
This movie had the potential to be better than ok, but fell way short of my expectations.
After the movie, we picked up my framed photo from the framers ...
... did some grocery shopping, bought some take away coffees and then headed home.
Crispy skinned chicken with vegetables for dinner and then another quick game of Cards Against Humanity.
Everyone is now in bed as I write this and we plan on a trip to Maryborough tomorrow for the markets, a visit to the Art Gallery and possibly a game of ten pin bowling.
So this is my brief post before climbing into bed for some much needed sleep. Two nights at 2am with early morning rises, is catching up to me and I'm feeling very weary.
Nite all.
I left morning tea a touch earlier than usual, because the family had planned a trip to the cinema.
Don't go see 'Suicide Squad'.
It is not worthy of 145 minutes of your valuable time.
Margot Robbie (who is Australian) is the only actor, in a sea of famous names, who was good. Her character (Harley Quinn) was my favourite in the movie. For all the hype about Jared Leto playing The Joker, he was the biggest disappointment.
All of the jokes and one liners fell flat. The special effects weren't that great. The storyline was pretty woeful. The acting was poor. The characters were bland. Adoring Husband slept through a good portion of it and I admit that at about the one hour mark, I dozed momentarily and had to sit forward in the seat to stop myself from falling asleep.
Even the music, which is what attracted me to the movie in the first place, was disappointing.
This movie had the potential to be better than ok, but fell way short of my expectations.
After the movie, we picked up my framed photo from the framers ...
... did some grocery shopping, bought some take away coffees and then headed home.
Crispy skinned chicken with vegetables for dinner and then another quick game of Cards Against Humanity.
Everyone is now in bed as I write this and we plan on a trip to Maryborough tomorrow for the markets, a visit to the Art Gallery and possibly a game of ten pin bowling.
So this is my brief post before climbing into bed for some much needed sleep. Two nights at 2am with early morning rises, is catching up to me and I'm feeling very weary.
Nite all.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Cards are Bad
There's a new game in the world.
It's called Cards Against Humanity.
It's as bad as the name suggests and is described as 'a party game for horrible people'.
Adoring Husband and I must be horrible people, because we even shocked Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour.
So much laughter. Laughing in shock and disbelief. Laughing in disgust. Laughing with genuine hilarity. Laughing uncontrollably.
I was expecting to struggle through the game and be offended and possibly quit well before the game was over, but much hilarity ensued and the competition was fierce.
AH stayed up for three hours longer than usual, even after a late night last night, and in the end, he was forced to go to bed because he felt like he might collapse.
It's been a long time since I've heard him laugh like that, and quite often I had to take his card and read it for him, because he was incapable of reading through his hysteria. It was good to hear, and my cheeks are sore from laughing and smiling.
A good night was had by all.
Now it's time for bed because we have a big day planned for tomorrow.
Nite all.
PS I was the winner!!
It's called Cards Against Humanity.
It's as bad as the name suggests and is described as 'a party game for horrible people'.
Adoring Husband and I must be horrible people, because we even shocked Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour.
So much laughter. Laughing in shock and disbelief. Laughing in disgust. Laughing with genuine hilarity. Laughing uncontrollably.
I was expecting to struggle through the game and be offended and possibly quit well before the game was over, but much hilarity ensued and the competition was fierce.
AH stayed up for three hours longer than usual, even after a late night last night, and in the end, he was forced to go to bed because he felt like he might collapse.
It's been a long time since I've heard him laugh like that, and quite often I had to take his card and read it for him, because he was incapable of reading through his hysteria. It was good to hear, and my cheeks are sore from laughing and smiling.
A good night was had by all.
Now it's time for bed because we have a big day planned for tomorrow.
Nite all.
PS I was the winner!!
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Trio of Welcomes
What an eventful day!
It started with work, followed by some last minute grocery shopping. I also had a few last minute chores to do around the house before my visitors arrived.
The Blonde Bombshell picked me up at 11am and we drove to the airport to await the arrival of Knight in Shining Armour's plane. We had just enough time to order a coffee before we heard the plane land, but then it seemed to take forever for the luggage to appear on the conveyor belt!
The psychotic dogs were pretty happy to see KISA, once they realised it was him!
We had about 3 hours to catch up and then it was time to head off to the train station to meet Bubbles' train. She arrived right on time and the psychotic dogs were doing backflips when they saw her walk through the door. They've had lots of cuddles and are already in heaven from the spoiling.
I did lamb racks with baked veg, snow peas and beans and carrots for dinner.
I had no sooner finished cleaning up and loading the dishwasher, when Adoring Husband phoned to say that they had arrived in town from their trip home from Fairbairn Dam and they were dropping everything at the shed and would be home soon.
I expected that they would eat dinner on the way home, but that wasn't to be, so I had to figure out what to prepare at short notice. Luckily I had some curried chicken in the freezer, so I popped that in oven.
It had been a very stressful weekend for AH so he needed desperately to wind down and relax. With a full belly, a beer and some debriefing, he finally climbed into bed shortly before 11pm and is now fast asleep.
Everybody is now in bed, except for me ... of course ... it's well after midnight and here I am watching the Olympic Games and feeling wide awake because I've had three coffees today!
The coffee machine is now repaired, so all going well, I should be able to get my morning coffee tomorrow.
So for now, all is well and it's lovely to have family at home.
Nite all.
It started with work, followed by some last minute grocery shopping. I also had a few last minute chores to do around the house before my visitors arrived.
The Blonde Bombshell picked me up at 11am and we drove to the airport to await the arrival of Knight in Shining Armour's plane. We had just enough time to order a coffee before we heard the plane land, but then it seemed to take forever for the luggage to appear on the conveyor belt!
The psychotic dogs were pretty happy to see KISA, once they realised it was him!
We had about 3 hours to catch up and then it was time to head off to the train station to meet Bubbles' train. She arrived right on time and the psychotic dogs were doing backflips when they saw her walk through the door. They've had lots of cuddles and are already in heaven from the spoiling.
I did lamb racks with baked veg, snow peas and beans and carrots for dinner.
I had no sooner finished cleaning up and loading the dishwasher, when Adoring Husband phoned to say that they had arrived in town from their trip home from Fairbairn Dam and they were dropping everything at the shed and would be home soon.
I expected that they would eat dinner on the way home, but that wasn't to be, so I had to figure out what to prepare at short notice. Luckily I had some curried chicken in the freezer, so I popped that in oven.
It had been a very stressful weekend for AH so he needed desperately to wind down and relax. With a full belly, a beer and some debriefing, he finally climbed into bed shortly before 11pm and is now fast asleep.
Everybody is now in bed, except for me ... of course ... it's well after midnight and here I am watching the Olympic Games and feeling wide awake because I've had three coffees today!
The coffee machine is now repaired, so all going well, I should be able to get my morning coffee tomorrow.
So for now, all is well and it's lovely to have family at home.
Nite all.
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Experimental Gingerizing
Best Cousin in the World visited today, her arms loaded with coffee from Sexie Coffee. What a life saver!
She was also loaded up with a box full of ginger from her farm.
We peeled it and sliced two different types of ginger, and lay the slices onto six trays of the dehydrator.
I flipped the switch to turn on the dehydrator.
Nothing.
No lights. No motor. Absolutely nothing.
I found the manual in the filing cabinet, while Marco Polo found it online, but there was nothing in that to help.
So Marco Polo asked for a screw driver and pulled the back off the box to check the motor.
I thought it might be damage from geckos - they have a habit of eating through wiring - but we couldn't see anything. Then he broke my house. There was an almighty spark and the power went out!
He found the power box and the power returned, but not to the dehydrator.
We achieved nothing and still have no idea why it's not working.
This meant we had to use the oven on low.
Best Cousin in the World and I are both photographers and neither of us thought about taking photos of our ginger experiments in the kitchen!
After we'd finished peeling and chopping, it was time for lunch. I made Hainan Chicken and then we had chocado mousse with berries and chocolate coconut ice cream. It was very filling and we enjoyed it with a couple of glasses of wine.
Being farmers, with errands to run and responsibilities to fulfil, they left at about 2pm.
The ginger has now finished dehydrating. The pieces that were cut quite thickly, have set like concrete, but the very thinly sliced ginger is nice and crispy and crumbly. I am going to grind it up and add it to some curry spices for a green curry. I'll also try some dips, like a ginger hummus and maybe a carrot and ginger dip. Chilli, garlic and ginger might be nice too.
After chewing on some of the ginger, I swallowed a mouthful of wine to cleanse my palate and OMG the taste of the wine combined with the ginger was DELICIOUS!!
That was my gingery day.
Now I'm preparing for Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour to arrive tomorrow!
Adoring Husband will also be returning from his SES exercise out west. Tomorrow should be a good day!
Nite all.
She was also loaded up with a box full of ginger from her farm.
We peeled it and sliced two different types of ginger, and lay the slices onto six trays of the dehydrator.
I flipped the switch to turn on the dehydrator.
Nothing.
No lights. No motor. Absolutely nothing.
I found the manual in the filing cabinet, while Marco Polo found it online, but there was nothing in that to help.
So Marco Polo asked for a screw driver and pulled the back off the box to check the motor.
I thought it might be damage from geckos - they have a habit of eating through wiring - but we couldn't see anything. Then he broke my house. There was an almighty spark and the power went out!
He found the power box and the power returned, but not to the dehydrator.
We achieved nothing and still have no idea why it's not working.
This meant we had to use the oven on low.
Best Cousin in the World and I are both photographers and neither of us thought about taking photos of our ginger experiments in the kitchen!
After we'd finished peeling and chopping, it was time for lunch. I made Hainan Chicken and then we had chocado mousse with berries and chocolate coconut ice cream. It was very filling and we enjoyed it with a couple of glasses of wine.
Being farmers, with errands to run and responsibilities to fulfil, they left at about 2pm.
The ginger has now finished dehydrating. The pieces that were cut quite thickly, have set like concrete, but the very thinly sliced ginger is nice and crispy and crumbly. I am going to grind it up and add it to some curry spices for a green curry. I'll also try some dips, like a ginger hummus and maybe a carrot and ginger dip. Chilli, garlic and ginger might be nice too.
After chewing on some of the ginger, I swallowed a mouthful of wine to cleanse my palate and OMG the taste of the wine combined with the ginger was DELICIOUS!!
That was my gingery day.
Now I'm preparing for Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour to arrive tomorrow!
Adoring Husband will also be returning from his SES exercise out west. Tomorrow should be a good day!
Nite all.
Saturday, August 13, 2016
No Coffeeeeeeee!!
The world, as I know it, has shifted on it's axis and I don't know what I'm going to do!
The coffee machine where I get my daily coffee has broken down and nobody will even look at it until Monday and then who knows how long they will take to fix it!!
Best Cousin in the World is coming to visit me tomorrow to experiment with her ginger and my dehydrator, so I've requested that she drop in to Sexie Coffee on the way here and buy me two large lattes.
That should get me through tomorrow and then Monday morning!
Ugh!
Our local markets were held this morning and there were quite a few of the regular stalls missing. There were two new stalls. One that looked deceptively like a hippie woman selling crystals and semi precious rocks and gems, but in reality, she was selling dyed rocks and some semi precious gems, of which she didn't know the names. She was a bit ditzy, but I like to support the local market, so I bought a cage pendant with an amethyst stone inside.
I bought a hanging crystal from the jewellery lady who is a regular, a string of colourful stained glass hearts for my scarf window, some blank cards with beautiful artwork on the front from a local artist and a $3 cane fan. The gentleman wanted to reduce the price to $2, but I wouldn't let him.
I was hoping that the coffee van would be set up at the markets, because the baker in town doesn't open on Saturdays, but unfortunately there was no coffee to be had in town. Luckily I had one in the fridge from yesterday that I heated up when I got home!
My scarf window got a make over today. I had to pull all the scarves off the rod so that I could put the crystals and hanging hearts in between them. It's difficult to see them in the photos though ...
Bubbles was part of the wedding party today at her best friend's wedding in Noosa. She sent me this photo ...
I would love to show you a photo of the bride, but I think that one has to remain private until the bride decides to share.
Knight in Shining Armour phoned tonight to confirm the time of his arrival on Monday. Getting closer now!
I'm off to bed so that I can get up early to prepare lunch for the fam.
Nite all.
The coffee machine where I get my daily coffee has broken down and nobody will even look at it until Monday and then who knows how long they will take to fix it!!
Best Cousin in the World is coming to visit me tomorrow to experiment with her ginger and my dehydrator, so I've requested that she drop in to Sexie Coffee on the way here and buy me two large lattes.
That should get me through tomorrow and then Monday morning!
Ugh!
Our local markets were held this morning and there were quite a few of the regular stalls missing. There were two new stalls. One that looked deceptively like a hippie woman selling crystals and semi precious rocks and gems, but in reality, she was selling dyed rocks and some semi precious gems, of which she didn't know the names. She was a bit ditzy, but I like to support the local market, so I bought a cage pendant with an amethyst stone inside.
I bought a hanging crystal from the jewellery lady who is a regular, a string of colourful stained glass hearts for my scarf window, some blank cards with beautiful artwork on the front from a local artist and a $3 cane fan. The gentleman wanted to reduce the price to $2, but I wouldn't let him.
I was hoping that the coffee van would be set up at the markets, because the baker in town doesn't open on Saturdays, but unfortunately there was no coffee to be had in town. Luckily I had one in the fridge from yesterday that I heated up when I got home!
My scarf window got a make over today. I had to pull all the scarves off the rod so that I could put the crystals and hanging hearts in between them. It's difficult to see them in the photos though ...
Bubbles was part of the wedding party today at her best friend's wedding in Noosa. She sent me this photo ...
I would love to show you a photo of the bride, but I think that one has to remain private until the bride decides to share.
Knight in Shining Armour phoned tonight to confirm the time of his arrival on Monday. Getting closer now!
I'm off to bed so that I can get up early to prepare lunch for the fam.
Nite all.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Bizzzaaaarrrroooo
The weirdest thing happened to me this evening.
Every so often, I do a search on Facebook, for people from my past. I rarely find any of them, but about 2 years ago, I searched for a guy who was a neighbour at the time that I split from my first husband, and with whom I had a brief relationship which lasted about 6 months. We broke up when I discovered that he was already in a long term relationship and that I was 'the affair'.
Anyway, two years ago, I thought I'd found him. The photo certainly looked just like him, except he was greyer, after all, I knew him thirty years ago. His FB page gave away no real information about him and it showed that he lived in Calgary, Alberta and nobody on his friend's list was from the Riverina, so I figured that I must be mistaken.
Roll on to today, two years later, and I'm Facebook stalking The Motivator, checking out her friend's list ,and amazingly, I come across this same guy's profile pic!
So I decided to message The Motivator and ask her if he is Australian and how she knows him.
She replies to my message with 'Yes, he's Australian and omg, I think he is from Griffiths (sic)'
The only information that she gave me, was that they met at Thredbo years ago and that she thought he was a nice guy.
Instead of having long detailed chats online, I'm going to visit her tomorrow so that we can gossip about somebody from my past. How freakish that the two of us know him from so many years ago!
That man broke my heart. When I discovered his deceit, I sobbed so uncontrollably, that I had an asthma attack and I'm not even asthmatic!! He was not a nice man.
Weird huh?
Today, Adoring Husband and I went to the cinema to see 'Bad Moms'. Great movie! Put it on your list!
While we were at Stocklands, there was a book kiosk set up in the middle of the walkway and I grabbed two boxed sets. One for learning the guitar and one for meditation ...
Adoring Husband has a three day SES flood boat exercise coming up, so this afternoon I whipped up some energy balls for him to take with him. He will need all the energy he can get!
It's raining here!
Nite all.
Every so often, I do a search on Facebook, for people from my past. I rarely find any of them, but about 2 years ago, I searched for a guy who was a neighbour at the time that I split from my first husband, and with whom I had a brief relationship which lasted about 6 months. We broke up when I discovered that he was already in a long term relationship and that I was 'the affair'.
Anyway, two years ago, I thought I'd found him. The photo certainly looked just like him, except he was greyer, after all, I knew him thirty years ago. His FB page gave away no real information about him and it showed that he lived in Calgary, Alberta and nobody on his friend's list was from the Riverina, so I figured that I must be mistaken.
Roll on to today, two years later, and I'm Facebook stalking The Motivator, checking out her friend's list ,and amazingly, I come across this same guy's profile pic!
So I decided to message The Motivator and ask her if he is Australian and how she knows him.
She replies to my message with 'Yes, he's Australian and omg, I think he is from Griffiths (sic)'
The only information that she gave me, was that they met at Thredbo years ago and that she thought he was a nice guy.
Instead of having long detailed chats online, I'm going to visit her tomorrow so that we can gossip about somebody from my past. How freakish that the two of us know him from so many years ago!
That man broke my heart. When I discovered his deceit, I sobbed so uncontrollably, that I had an asthma attack and I'm not even asthmatic!! He was not a nice man.
Weird huh?
Today, Adoring Husband and I went to the cinema to see 'Bad Moms'. Great movie! Put it on your list!
While we were at Stocklands, there was a book kiosk set up in the middle of the walkway and I grabbed two boxed sets. One for learning the guitar and one for meditation ...
Adoring Husband has a three day SES flood boat exercise coming up, so this afternoon I whipped up some energy balls for him to take with him. He will need all the energy he can get!
It's raining here!
Nite all.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Practise Makes Perfect
I say that with hope in my voice!
Most of you know that I have never been a fan of photoshop. It's a complex editing program that takes a long time to master. Especially for me.
My closed mind has only made it more difficult to learn - it was the same for me, years ago, when I was learning to work a computer for the first time. I believed that I wasn't smart enough ... and so became the self fulfilling prophecy ... until one day, I believed that computers weren't THAT difficult to use ... and so my mind opened up to the possibilities.
My mind has now opened to the possibilities of photoshop, which is kind of funny because I think that most professional portrait photographers use photoshop for very basic editing. Presets, filters and actions are the popular way to go, to enhance photography these days.
I guess I'm falling behind the times and need to catch up!
The most frustrating thing, is that I want to know it all NOW and I lose patience when there are so many steps to each process!
Anyway, just to keep Rebel Mardi happy, I am sharing one more photo from the shoot, which includes her beautiful grandson ...
I hope that one will keep her happy while I work on the remaining photos. Three fabulous smiles!
Even though there were only four of us, morning tea with the girls was very enjoyable today.
It's date day with Adoring Husband tomorrow, so I need to get to bed. It will be an early start!
Nite all.
Most of you know that I have never been a fan of photoshop. It's a complex editing program that takes a long time to master. Especially for me.
My closed mind has only made it more difficult to learn - it was the same for me, years ago, when I was learning to work a computer for the first time. I believed that I wasn't smart enough ... and so became the self fulfilling prophecy ... until one day, I believed that computers weren't THAT difficult to use ... and so my mind opened up to the possibilities.
My mind has now opened to the possibilities of photoshop, which is kind of funny because I think that most professional portrait photographers use photoshop for very basic editing. Presets, filters and actions are the popular way to go, to enhance photography these days.
I guess I'm falling behind the times and need to catch up!
The most frustrating thing, is that I want to know it all NOW and I lose patience when there are so many steps to each process!
Anyway, just to keep Rebel Mardi happy, I am sharing one more photo from the shoot, which includes her beautiful grandson ...
I hope that one will keep her happy while I work on the remaining photos. Three fabulous smiles!
Even though there were only four of us, morning tea with the girls was very enjoyable today.
It's date day with Adoring Husband tomorrow, so I need to get to bed. It will be an early start!
Nite all.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Govt Fail
Well! What a big hullabaloo over the ABS website going down while everybody was attempting to complete their census online!
My Facebook feed is full of very angry people, all over Australia, complaining very loudly about the site going down before they had a chance to do it.
I went online at 6.45pm and had it completed and submitted by 7pm without a hitch. I would have completed it faster, except I had to call Adoring Husband into the room to ask where his parents were born and what his ancestry was.
I've had a fairly crappy day today (pardon the pun) ... meaning that I spent a good deal of it on the royal throne. My tummy has been very unhappy since yesterday afternoon and it has made it very difficult to concentrate on the fabulous videos that I selected for my photoshop tutorials.
It could be my body detoxing since I commenced taking some very strong probiotics. It usually takes about two weeks for the body to release all the nasties in the gut, and I may have to cut back and take one every second day, instead of one daily.
I guess it could be a tummy bug, but it doesn't feel like any tummy bug that I've had before.
Whatever. It's not pleasant at all.
I did get a little practical work done with the photoshop tutorials and I found a really great guy on youtube whose channel is called Phlearn. His name is Aaron Nace and I really like him a lot. He explains photoshop in a way that I can understand, and that means a lot because my brain puts up a big barrier to photoshop. I don't know why!
The Flickr challenge this month is 'head and shoulders portrait'. It must be an adult human portrait. So I will put my photoshop skills to good use and create something worthy of submitting into the challenge.
I'll be able to practise on Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour while they're here next week. I might even talk the boys at The Seat of Knowledge into sitting for me. A wrinkly face with a bit of age to it, might make for an interesting portrait!
I wanted to stay awake to see how the Australians perform in the equestrian event tonight. The Aussies are in first place at this stage of the three day event and are looking good for the gold medal, but I don't think I can stay awake for much longer.
I guess I'll have to catch the news in the morning.
I'm looking forward to morning tea with the girls, so I'd best get my beauty sleep!
Nite all.
My Facebook feed is full of very angry people, all over Australia, complaining very loudly about the site going down before they had a chance to do it.
I went online at 6.45pm and had it completed and submitted by 7pm without a hitch. I would have completed it faster, except I had to call Adoring Husband into the room to ask where his parents were born and what his ancestry was.
I've had a fairly crappy day today (pardon the pun) ... meaning that I spent a good deal of it on the royal throne. My tummy has been very unhappy since yesterday afternoon and it has made it very difficult to concentrate on the fabulous videos that I selected for my photoshop tutorials.
It could be my body detoxing since I commenced taking some very strong probiotics. It usually takes about two weeks for the body to release all the nasties in the gut, and I may have to cut back and take one every second day, instead of one daily.
I guess it could be a tummy bug, but it doesn't feel like any tummy bug that I've had before.
Whatever. It's not pleasant at all.
I did get a little practical work done with the photoshop tutorials and I found a really great guy on youtube whose channel is called Phlearn. His name is Aaron Nace and I really like him a lot. He explains photoshop in a way that I can understand, and that means a lot because my brain puts up a big barrier to photoshop. I don't know why!
The Flickr challenge this month is 'head and shoulders portrait'. It must be an adult human portrait. So I will put my photoshop skills to good use and create something worthy of submitting into the challenge.
I'll be able to practise on Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour while they're here next week. I might even talk the boys at The Seat of Knowledge into sitting for me. A wrinkly face with a bit of age to it, might make for an interesting portrait!
I wanted to stay awake to see how the Australians perform in the equestrian event tonight. The Aussies are in first place at this stage of the three day event and are looking good for the gold medal, but I don't think I can stay awake for much longer.
I guess I'll have to catch the news in the morning.
I'm looking forward to morning tea with the girls, so I'd best get my beauty sleep!
Nite all.
Monday, August 8, 2016
Forgotten Skills
Oh my gosh.
I spent quite a bit of time sorting through the MANY photos that I took yesterday and selecting the best shots for editing, but I'm feeling a bit pressured to do a 'better than usual' job, so I spent some time this afternoon watching some youtube videos on editing in photoshop.
I've created a list of short tutorials to watch tomorrow before I begin the task of editing, so hopefully, by the end of the week, I will have them ready to share with the Mardi family!
I have to say, I don't think I've ever seen a more photogenic family. It almost seems silly to edit them at all.
Pork belly was on the menu for lunch today, and for the first time in my life, the entire crackling was crunchy! The meat was tender too and it wasn't even marinated! I did a fried rice with the basic bacon, egg and onion plus home made sweet potato chips, roasted beetroot, feta cheese and balsamic dressing.
That was for Adoring Husband. I ate a section of the crackling, and for dinner tonight, I toasted some Paleo Bread and had some pork belly sliced onto it with raw onion. I can guarantee that tomorrow, I will be craving vegetables, so luckily, I have a crisper full of bok choy, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, cabbage and sweet potato. I feel a veg nosh up coming on!
I think I'm all done with my Olympic viewing for today, so I'm off to bed. I'm feeling a bit weary tonight .. brain weary, rather than body weary.
Nite all.
I spent quite a bit of time sorting through the MANY photos that I took yesterday and selecting the best shots for editing, but I'm feeling a bit pressured to do a 'better than usual' job, so I spent some time this afternoon watching some youtube videos on editing in photoshop.
I've created a list of short tutorials to watch tomorrow before I begin the task of editing, so hopefully, by the end of the week, I will have them ready to share with the Mardi family!
I have to say, I don't think I've ever seen a more photogenic family. It almost seems silly to edit them at all.
Pork belly was on the menu for lunch today, and for the first time in my life, the entire crackling was crunchy! The meat was tender too and it wasn't even marinated! I did a fried rice with the basic bacon, egg and onion plus home made sweet potato chips, roasted beetroot, feta cheese and balsamic dressing.
That was for Adoring Husband. I ate a section of the crackling, and for dinner tonight, I toasted some Paleo Bread and had some pork belly sliced onto it with raw onion. I can guarantee that tomorrow, I will be craving vegetables, so luckily, I have a crisper full of bok choy, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, cabbage and sweet potato. I feel a veg nosh up coming on!
I think I'm all done with my Olympic viewing for today, so I'm off to bed. I'm feeling a bit weary tonight .. brain weary, rather than body weary.
Nite all.
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Welcoming
This morning I woke to the sound of rain on the roof.
It was a lovely way to start the day, and to make it even better, I had my coffee from yesterday, in the fridge ready to heat up, so that I didn't have to pedal to the shop in the rain!
I sat up in bed until 10.30am, drinking coffee, reading, Facebooking, checking my emails and listening to the rain. I couldn't even imagine a better way to spend a wet Sunday morning.
At about the same time that Adoring Husband would have been boarding his plane in Sydney, I decided it was time to get out of bed and do something productive, like housework - ugh.
The ironing board had been set up in the family room since last Wednesday, so I decided that this morning would be a good time to do the ironing that I'd planned on doing last week, so that I could put the board and iron away with a clear conscience.
I made the bed, tidied the kitchen and did a couple of loads of washing, fed the chooks, put my camera gear away and put lunch in the oven so that it would be ready when Adoring Husband arrived home.
AH's lift stopped in the driveway at about 1pm. The psychotic dogs were very excited to see him and they all did their crazy bark and ran around in circles. Ruby was even squealing, she was so happy!
I was happy to see him too, but I didn't put on the same show as the dogs.
By the time we ate lunch, and caught up with all the news, the Sunday football had started, so we spent the afternoon watching TV and complaining loudly about the results! The only saving grace is that everybody else picked the favourites to win too, so even though they lost, there is no change to the positions on the tipping score card.
Tomorrow's plan includes editing the photos from yesterday, so I'm really looking forward to seeing them all on the big monitor and then sharing the best ones with Mardi and her family.
The countdown has begun for Vegan Chickie's trip overseas and she is preparing Chicklet with a bat countdown ...
... and care packages for each day she's away, which I assume are full of activities and ideas to fill our days ...
The ideas that Vegan Chickie comes up with, really make babysitting a breeze. Even 'I' get excited about what each day has in store for us!
Meanwhile, we are just one week away from a Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour visit! It's all happening!
Time for me to sleep.
Nite all.
It was a lovely way to start the day, and to make it even better, I had my coffee from yesterday, in the fridge ready to heat up, so that I didn't have to pedal to the shop in the rain!
I sat up in bed until 10.30am, drinking coffee, reading, Facebooking, checking my emails and listening to the rain. I couldn't even imagine a better way to spend a wet Sunday morning.
At about the same time that Adoring Husband would have been boarding his plane in Sydney, I decided it was time to get out of bed and do something productive, like housework - ugh.
The ironing board had been set up in the family room since last Wednesday, so I decided that this morning would be a good time to do the ironing that I'd planned on doing last week, so that I could put the board and iron away with a clear conscience.
I made the bed, tidied the kitchen and did a couple of loads of washing, fed the chooks, put my camera gear away and put lunch in the oven so that it would be ready when Adoring Husband arrived home.
AH's lift stopped in the driveway at about 1pm. The psychotic dogs were very excited to see him and they all did their crazy bark and ran around in circles. Ruby was even squealing, she was so happy!
I was happy to see him too, but I didn't put on the same show as the dogs.
By the time we ate lunch, and caught up with all the news, the Sunday football had started, so we spent the afternoon watching TV and complaining loudly about the results! The only saving grace is that everybody else picked the favourites to win too, so even though they lost, there is no change to the positions on the tipping score card.
Tomorrow's plan includes editing the photos from yesterday, so I'm really looking forward to seeing them all on the big monitor and then sharing the best ones with Mardi and her family.
The countdown has begun for Vegan Chickie's trip overseas and she is preparing Chicklet with a bat countdown ...
... and care packages for each day she's away, which I assume are full of activities and ideas to fill our days ...
The ideas that Vegan Chickie comes up with, really make babysitting a breeze. Even 'I' get excited about what each day has in store for us!
Meanwhile, we are just one week away from a Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour visit! It's all happening!
Time for me to sleep.
Nite all.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Shootfest
I did NOT want to get out of bed this morning, but I had to go to work, so I hit 'snooze' twice before reluctantly climbing out of bed and fulfilling my duties.
From there, I bought a coffee and visited my boys on The Seat of Knowledge.
Upon my return home, I contemplated climbing back into bed, but opted instead to take the chicken wings, which had been marinating overnight, and put them in the oven to cook for lunch. Then I fed the chookies, checked the water for the chooks and SEB, watered the outdoor plants, hung out some washing, swept the floor and then parked myself in Adoring Husband's recliner to watch some of my recorded TV programs.
I was booked this afternoon for a photo shoot with Rebel Mardi and her family. Her lovely kids arranged to surprise her for a belated 60th birthday present and have some family photos taken. I was very honoured when they asked me to be their photographer.
We were to meet at a prearranged location at 3pm, so I filled the back of my trike with a tripod, monopod, light reflector, camera bag full of my camera with assorted lenses, a bottle of water, a thermos cup full of wine and ice, a towel and then I stopped at the shops to buy two cups of coffee! One to drink immediately and one to bring home so that I can reheat it tomorrow morning. That way, I can have a lazy Sunday morning in bed!
While I was waiting for my coffee, the heavens opened! I couldn't believe how heavy the rain fell and even though it was only a small cloud moving above us, it took it's time and had me very concerned about not having a Plan B!
Eventually, the skies cleared and I headed to the shoot location, where I took a few photos to test the light and checked out the different spots that I had in mind.
There is one small grassy area with tall trees, a bridge over a little creek full of mangroves, a kids park with play equipment and through a small walkway is the beach which has fallen trees and driftwood, a concrete pipe with timber framing which makes it look like a small jetty and a long sandy beach.
Unfortunately, the tide was out, so there was no beautiful blue water as a back drop, but instead, miles of grey, wet, sandy flats. However, our beaches have beautiful golden sands and stretch for hundreds of metres, so we took advantage of that.
Each shot, in each of the spots that I mentioned, took all of two minutes. Rebel Mardi and her family were pretty amazing, incredibly photogenic, and perfect subjects for posing while all smiling at the same time when instructed.
This was the very first photo taken within 5 minutes of them arriving on location ...
I asked each couple to choose a tree and stand on either side of it. Then I asked that they lean across, on the count of three and in their own unique way, give each other a kiss. This is pretty much what I had in mind when I planned the photo, and I had an inkling that 'The Circus Duo' would attempt an acrobatic kiss using the tree as a prop.
This photo epitomises each couple so well and I'm very happy with it.
I've had a quick look at the other shots and I'm really looking forward to editing the remaining photos tomorrow. There are some good ones there!
I had allotted 2.5 hours for the shoot, but I had all the shots that I wanted in less than an hour, so, much to the joy of the family, they spent a good thirty minutes playing with all the circus toys - hula hoops, spinning plates, juggling balls, colourful flowing fans and an acrylic sphere, among other unusual props.
These provided a few good candid shots, as well as a couple of set acrobatic shots to add to the mix.
It was a really fun afternoon. A beautiful, loving and happy family who made a shoot that I was quite nervous about, so easy and enjoyable. It has been a very long time between shoots (about 18 months), so my confidence was low, but I think they helped me find my mojo! Or my phojo!!
Thank you Mardi's family. Big hugs and kisses to you.
Adoring Husband returns home tomorrow. It's been a long four days, and knowing what he's had to endure while in Sydney this trip, I've really missed him and I'm looking forward to getting him home.
So I'm off to bed.
I remember when we first moved here, in 2008, for the first two years, every Saturday night was party time at somebody's house. It was exhausting!! Even though we had a fabulous time, and made some great memories, I'm so glad that Saturdays are now non-events. I love staying home and watching the footy instead of partying.
Nite all.
From there, I bought a coffee and visited my boys on The Seat of Knowledge.
Upon my return home, I contemplated climbing back into bed, but opted instead to take the chicken wings, which had been marinating overnight, and put them in the oven to cook for lunch. Then I fed the chookies, checked the water for the chooks and SEB, watered the outdoor plants, hung out some washing, swept the floor and then parked myself in Adoring Husband's recliner to watch some of my recorded TV programs.
I was booked this afternoon for a photo shoot with Rebel Mardi and her family. Her lovely kids arranged to surprise her for a belated 60th birthday present and have some family photos taken. I was very honoured when they asked me to be their photographer.
We were to meet at a prearranged location at 3pm, so I filled the back of my trike with a tripod, monopod, light reflector, camera bag full of my camera with assorted lenses, a bottle of water, a thermos cup full of wine and ice, a towel and then I stopped at the shops to buy two cups of coffee! One to drink immediately and one to bring home so that I can reheat it tomorrow morning. That way, I can have a lazy Sunday morning in bed!
While I was waiting for my coffee, the heavens opened! I couldn't believe how heavy the rain fell and even though it was only a small cloud moving above us, it took it's time and had me very concerned about not having a Plan B!
Eventually, the skies cleared and I headed to the shoot location, where I took a few photos to test the light and checked out the different spots that I had in mind.
There is one small grassy area with tall trees, a bridge over a little creek full of mangroves, a kids park with play equipment and through a small walkway is the beach which has fallen trees and driftwood, a concrete pipe with timber framing which makes it look like a small jetty and a long sandy beach.
Unfortunately, the tide was out, so there was no beautiful blue water as a back drop, but instead, miles of grey, wet, sandy flats. However, our beaches have beautiful golden sands and stretch for hundreds of metres, so we took advantage of that.
Each shot, in each of the spots that I mentioned, took all of two minutes. Rebel Mardi and her family were pretty amazing, incredibly photogenic, and perfect subjects for posing while all smiling at the same time when instructed.
This was the very first photo taken within 5 minutes of them arriving on location ...
I asked each couple to choose a tree and stand on either side of it. Then I asked that they lean across, on the count of three and in their own unique way, give each other a kiss. This is pretty much what I had in mind when I planned the photo, and I had an inkling that 'The Circus Duo' would attempt an acrobatic kiss using the tree as a prop.
This photo epitomises each couple so well and I'm very happy with it.
I've had a quick look at the other shots and I'm really looking forward to editing the remaining photos tomorrow. There are some good ones there!
I had allotted 2.5 hours for the shoot, but I had all the shots that I wanted in less than an hour, so, much to the joy of the family, they spent a good thirty minutes playing with all the circus toys - hula hoops, spinning plates, juggling balls, colourful flowing fans and an acrylic sphere, among other unusual props.
These provided a few good candid shots, as well as a couple of set acrobatic shots to add to the mix.
It was a really fun afternoon. A beautiful, loving and happy family who made a shoot that I was quite nervous about, so easy and enjoyable. It has been a very long time between shoots (about 18 months), so my confidence was low, but I think they helped me find my mojo! Or my phojo!!
Thank you Mardi's family. Big hugs and kisses to you.
Adoring Husband returns home tomorrow. It's been a long four days, and knowing what he's had to endure while in Sydney this trip, I've really missed him and I'm looking forward to getting him home.
So I'm off to bed.
I remember when we first moved here, in 2008, for the first two years, every Saturday night was party time at somebody's house. It was exhausting!! Even though we had a fabulous time, and made some great memories, I'm so glad that Saturdays are now non-events. I love staying home and watching the footy instead of partying.
Nite all.
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