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, April 9, 2016

Saturday Gathering

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nite all.

A Start

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

Nite all.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Not a Lot

Nope, not a lot happened today.

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

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

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

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

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





I'm off to bed for an early night.

Nite all.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Just Relax

I was running just a touch late this morning.

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

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

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

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

I enjoyed it very much.

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

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

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

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

Yoga Nidra

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

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

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


Now it's time for some sleep.

Nite all.

It's a sad shame

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



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

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

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

The Truth About Cancer

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

Nite all.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Good Muffin Bad Muffin

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Nite all.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Woozy Sunday

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

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

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

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



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


This is me...

This is BGWLBH...


This is Chicklet...


This is grumpy Dadu...


This is Mama...


This is Poppy B



They made my day :)

One more thing to share.


Nite all.

Pat a Cake

What a day!

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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


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

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

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

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

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

Nite all.