Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Chicklet Share-athon

I had a lovely morning with Chicklet.  She didn't want to be cuddled today, but I did get a kiss before I walked out the door to come home!  I guess she figured that if her Mum could kiss me, then she could too lol.

I love to just sit and watch her and listen to her.  She chatters away like she knows exactly what she is saying - if only we did too!

So I am sharing a whole stack of Chicklet photos with you today, because I took a whole stack and because Vegan Chickie emailed me a whole stack during the week.












You've got to admit that she is really something special hey?

Ok so I am biased :D  I love my baby and I love my baby's baby :D

Nite all.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Golfing Champions!

Ok, so maybe we are golfing champions in our own heads .. but that's the most important place for it to be!

April last year, was the last time I played golf and that was with Adoring Husband down on the Sunshine Coast.

Today, on the first tee, we hit the ball so damned sweetly!!  It was a joy to behold!!  It felt so good and even the walking, which I was concerned about because I've gained weight and done no other physical activity besides riding my trike every morning, was not a problem in the slightest.

We were blessed with perfect golfing weather.  There was a deliciously cool breeze blowing and the air temperature was conducive to aiding the control of my menopausal, usually 'out of control', body temperature.

Our games were so good that the two men in front of us on golf buggies, who were putting on the first green as we tee'd off, were still only two holes ahead of us by the time we reached the seventh tee!

How very satisfying it was :D

I haven't been out on my trike today and all of my photos have been taken inside, which is fine because there are a few on my 104 challenge list that are definitely 'inside' shots.

Denim and Lace - Photo 51 of 104
A Combination of 3 Textures - Photo 52 of 104
... and two from my February photo a day challenge as well.

23. My Shoes
24.  My Bathroom Cabinet
We are up to 296 photos posted on the facebook group wall for the 104 challenge now.  Really, out of the 36 people in the group, there are only half a dozen who are regularly posting photos, so 296 is a great effort!

Adoring Husband is spending the day in the vegetable garden today.

I should have taken a 'before' and 'after' shot!  Actually, my 'hopelessness' shot is a great 'before' shot ... here is the 'before' and 'after' shots of one of the vegetable gardens ...

Before ...
After!
He has performed miracles in the garden and all that fresh air and exercise has done wonders for his demeanour.

A load of fresh soil and compost, a few vegetable seeds/seedlings, some mulch and all will be well in our garden world again :D

Looking forward to some time with Vegan Chickie and Chicklet tomorrow.  Saturdays have become my favourite day of the week :D

Normally, I would sign off with 'Nite all', but it's only mid afternoon as I write this today!

Let's go with ...

Have a lovely evening all.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Damn That Champagne!!

I'm playing golf tomorrow with Woman of Many Talents, for the first time in almost a year!!

According to the weather forecast, we may be rained in and our date may, once again, have to be postponed another week.

This afternoon I visited the Blonde Bombshell at Adopted Sister's place.  (One day I will tell you the story about why she is called 'Adopted Sister')

I took two Vodka Cruisers with me, which I drank, and then a full champagne glass was placed in front of me.  Yes .. I drank that too .. and then another .. and then another!  Ugh!


These are the two trouble makers who influenced me so badly!

Adopted Sister has yellow globes in her outdoor downlights, so it was very difficult to get the fluorescent yellow colour out of the photograph!  If you think this is yellow, you should see the original!

They have been best friends for about 30 years.

I have to be up at the break of dawn tomorrow, so I have one photo from my 104 challenge to post ..


A 'very special' local woman and I'm pretty sure she reads this blog.  Isn't she lovely?

That is all.  It's all over for me.  Damn that champagne!!

Nite all.



    

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Dinner is Served

Adoring Husband cooked Pad Thai for dinner tonight, with prawns.  De-bloody-licious!!

I'm not sure what inspired him to create this gastronomic masterpiece, but I'm so glad that he did!  I think we'll put it on the 'regular meals' list :D

I had a morning of bird encounters down by the river, so I didn't get any shots for my 104 challenge, nor did I take any for the February photo a day challenge .. instead I used one that a visitor to my town took of me in 2009.

The brief for today's February shot was 'Where you Work'.

Since I don't really work, I used a shot of me doing what I do every day..


This is me, about 50 metres from the Seat of Knowledge, at the beginning of my morning ride.

I, yet again, missed a shot of a Kite diving for a feed in the river this morning, but got plenty of other birds in my travels.

Breakfast is served ... for the diving Tern.
The Blue Faced Honey Eater - this one has a green face, which means it's a juvenile.
A boring old Noisy Miner - but I really like the shot, so it stays.
Adoring Husband and I went to the movies today and saw 'This Means War'.  It was silly, but we enjoyed it anyway.  Reece Witherspoon starred in it and I think she grows more beautiful as she grows older.  She has the most amazing eyes.

Nothing else much of interest today.  I spoke to Best Cousin in the World on the phone when she rang to talk about Uncle Ron.  It was nice to catch up with her, even though the initial news was sad.

More rain about town.  No storms.  No sunset.  De-bloody-licious dinner :D

Nite all.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

A Busy Morning

It all started when I slept in this morning!  I hate that.

I was really hoping to be up early enough to wash, dry and straighten my hair before going out this morning because I was having morning tea with the girls.  I thought it would be nice to look presentable for a change, instead of looking like I'd just completed a ten kilometre ride.

Alas, it was not to be and I only had time for a quick shower before walking out the door forty five minutes later than usual.

I got my coffee and then spent a short time with my boys at the Seat of Knowledge.

Rumour has it that there was a croc sighting along the beach at the other end of town a couple of days ago.

Highly unlikely, but I wasn't able to walk along the beach due to the unusually high tide this morning, so I didn't have the opportunity go searching for it myself.  There are a lot of large tree branches, logs and driftwood along the beach at the moment, so it would be easy to mistake one of them for a croc.

To catch up on my challenge photos.  February photo a day ...
20. Handwriting (Mum's entry in my autograph book - again)
21.  A favourite photo of me (A wedding pic)
... and the 104 challenge ...

Hummingbird - Photo 48 of 104
A Newborn Baby - Photo 49 of 104
After morning tea, where I caught up with some of the lovely girls, I pedalled around to see the Blonde Bombshell and my Adopted Sister.

No champagne today and I actually arrived home just in time to share Adoring Husband's lunch with him.

I will, however, be making a return visit later in the week.  The Blonde Bombshell will be going back home on Sunday, so I will visit with her one more time before then.

We had a spectacular light show when a massive storm hit this evening.

I took my camera and tripod out the front of the house to watch the storm approaching ... hoping to capture some lightning shots, but after about thirty minutes and at least 100 unsuccessful shots, I began to fear for my life and scuttled inside.

There was sheet lightning, spider lightning, forked lightning and cloud to ground lightning.  Like I said ... spectacular.

No shots from me tonight :(

Tomorrow, Adoring Husband and I are going to the movies.  We still have four movie passes left (Christmas gifts) and they expire early March, so we must use them in the next couple of weeks.

We'll be seeing 'This Means War'.

So now I'm off to bed.  At least the storm has cooled the temperature down, so sleep should be easier than the last couple of nights.

Nite all.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Gone but not forgotten

I lost my Uncle Ron today.

He was a funny old bugger.  Full of love and full of fun.  Always having a joke and a laugh.  So cheeky.

Apart from my parents, he and Aunty Pat were the only family who I invited to my first wedding.

He was my Mum's older brother.  She was one of eight kids and now there are only three left.

Aunty Pat, his wife, passed about three years ago.  Maybe they are together now.  I hope so.

Instead of writing a sad dedication to him, which I know he would scoff at, I am posting something that I think he would get a real kick out of ...


Wherever you are Unc, I hope you have some good belly laughs and get to tell some real corkers!

Nite all.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Surprise! Surprise!

Today, I received an email from myself!

Last year, while I was in New Zealand, Vegan Chickie introduced me to this website http://www.futureme.org/

You can send yourself an email into the future - you can have it sent to you in a week, a year, 5 years or 10 years, or even longer I imagine.

It was quite a surprise because I had forgotten all about it!

So after I read it, I wrote another one to myself to be delivered in another year.

We/I have so much happening this year.  Just off the top of my head ...

  • Adoring Husband has a week in Sydney next month to help celebrate two milestone birthdays - his mother's 95th and a friend's 50th.
  • I have a road trip with BGWLBH in April for approx 3 weeks.
  • We have another grandchild due to be born in April.
  • Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour should be coming up for a week in May or June.
  • MUST finish the photography degree by June.
  • Vegan Chickie + fam may be moving away, around this time.
  • Aussie H turns 70 in July.
  • Final month preparations for the exhibit.
  • The photography exhibit is in September.
  • Planning a holiday in Tasmania in November-ish.
In a year, I'll know the outcome of everything on my list.  So my letter to myself mentions these events and what I hope to have achieved.  I know I will forget all about it again and there will be another surprise next February for me!!

One more photo for my February photo a day challenge ...

19. Something I hate to do.
Two photos for the 104 challenge, because I can't decide which one I prefer.

Hovering Dragonflies - Photo 47 of 104

I don't 'love' either of them, but I've given up trying to clearly capture a dragonfly hovering!  Too frustrating!!

The days are so warm lately, that it's too hot to be riding around town after about 9am.  I'm thinking that if I go to bed a couple of hours earlier, then I can get out for my photography ride BEFORE I get my coffee and go to the Seat of Knowledge.

Then I can come straight home before the day starts to heat up.

It's quite difficult to kick yourself out of an entrenched habit though and my brain has difficulty shutting down so early in the night.

However, tonight is the night!  It's now 10pm, which is more than one hour earlier than I usually head for bed.

I am wishing you a good night and surprise surprise, making an attempt to change my entrenched habit.

Nite all.