My First Christmas

I loved this photo so much I just had to play around with it and here is the result. This one has been sized at 10x10 cm and is going into a square white frame I bought on special at Coles yesterday. Looks great and will remind us of Tate's first Christmas!

A Bowl of Flowers

We have had some much needed rain during the last week and our Hibiscus are flowering beautifully. I couldn't resist going out to pick some this morning to photograph.

Christmas Day

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted but that's Christmas for you. We have been really busy helping sell raffle tickets for our Carriage Club and going to parties and break ups. What has been really good is to just sit and reflect on all the wonderful friends and neighbours we have. Yesterday we had a really special Christmas Day with family and friends. We started off at Lou and Jeff's place with a champagne breakfast with lots of beautiful fruit including mangoes, followed by pancakes cooked on the Barbie with maple syrup and yoghurt. Then it was on to opening the presents and we all received lots of nice things. After that we packed up all our food and drinks and headed down to Golden Beach at Caloundra. Here we set up picnic tables and we all just kicked back, ate, talked and drank. We had nibblies, prawns, cold chicken, ham and some nice salads. This was followed by trifle, mango and ginger cheesecake and rumballs. Awesome!! Brian had brought his Catamaran and a few of us went out sailing but it was too windy for me and sadly too windy to use our kayak too. Never mind we all had a great time anyway. We drove home and could not eat another thing. All in all the perfect Christmas Day. Here is Me and Alan with Tate - his bib reads My First Christmas Ho Ho Ho :) Also there is a picture of our special lunch. We were set up right on the water under a shady tree.

Gympie RDA Volunteer of the Year

I was very proud when Alan was recently announced as Gympie RDA's Volunteer of the Year. Alan always puts 100% and more into everything he does so I think this was very well deserved :)

We have a new Caravan

We have finally joined the ranks of `really retired folks' and we have bought a pop top caravan. Last year we tested the water with a little pop top camper and we liked it so much we decided to trade up to a larger model with a bit more comfort. The Van we have bought has an island double bed, a lounge and a dining table with extra seating around it. There is a lot of storage space, a good sized kitchen and a few extras like a Microwave Oven and a CD Radio with speakers and a DVD player. Also there is an electric fan and good reading lights in the bedroom area. All we have to buy now is a small LCD TV and we have all the comforts of home. No shower or toilet, but there is a good annexe, a solar panel on the roof and a TV Aerial. We don't plan to go away for long, just have lots of short trips. Our kayaks will fit on the Ute, as will our bikes, so we can keep fit when we are away. So `its all good' as they say and we are already planning our first trip away. :)

Christmas is coming

Life for us is really starting to get very busy, all the groups we are involved in are having their Annual `Break Up Parties' and we have 3 Barbecues to attend tomorrow and 1 on Sunday. Whew!! We will have to seriously modify what we eat and drink at all these gatherings. Last Sunday we had our Annual Family Gathering with Alan's Mum Iris and she was able to meet her newest Great Grandchild - Tate - for the first time. Iris and Tate are almost 90 years apart in age as Iris was born in April 1917 and Tate in August 2006.

Digital Artist Trading Cards

I have really been enjoying becoming involved with a group of Digital Artists who exchange ATC's on a regular basis. For those who have never heard of these they are limited edition trading cards the same size as playing cards and you make and then trade them with others. The artists I am trading with all live overseas in the United States, Canada, The United Kingdom and Germany. We make the cards digitally and then send them on by snail mail. It is so exciting to get so much mail each month from overseas, each one with a special limited edition card inside to keep. Our theme for November was `Locks and Keys' and here is my card. :)

Happy Birthday Anne

Tomorrow is my sister Anne's Birthday and I have made her a special card this morning. This is so good to be able to design a card and then email it to Hong Kong right away. Anne if you are reading this I hope you had a great day.

We have bought a Kayak!

For some time now Alan has been keen on the idea of buying a Kayak and we found a secod hand one locally and at a good price. It's designed so that it can be used for fishing and has several neat little compartments. I love it so now we may have to buy another one. I just love floating about on the water and it is a really cool and peaceful activity on a hot day. Here I am on the lake on Saturday having my first `kayak experience'. Seems like it will be good exercise too . We have quite a few places locally where we can kyak and picnic or fish so this will be fun. It is easy for the 2 of us to load on the back of our ute.

A Very Good Book

I have just finished reading a really interesting book called `Raven Road' by Cassandra Pybus. This book combines travel, adventure, history and autobiography as Pybus, who is a historian as well as a writer, journeys from Vancouver up through British Columbia to the Arctic Circle. She is following the trail of a woman called Lillian Alling who undertook the same journey alone in 1927. It's a wonderful story (in the US it is published with a different title `The Woman who walked to Russia'). I hate this, it happens all the time I know but the title of a book is significant and I think `Raven Road' is a much more evocative title. Anyhow you can read more about it here :http://www.4w8w.com/bookpybus1.html I am now on the lookout for more of Pybus' work.

An Enjoyable Family Sunday

We had a great day today. We drove down the coast to Kawana to watch our Grandson Joel compete in the Queensland School Kayaking Championships. It was held on a man made lake at Kawana which is a really awesome facility for this kind of sport. We watched Joel and his kayaking partner come second in their K2 event. Later they achieved another second which was great. At the same we were able to catch up with Tate who is doing really well and looking cute and chubby so I was able to have a cuddle :)

Some Beautiful Rain

Yesterday we received some much needed rain. We had almost 2 inches and we both felt like going outside and dancing in it. It has been way too long and we now hope that the Summer will bring some more :)

Some more Art

Too hot to do much today (I know it's still October but this is Queensland) so I have been playing around with a stock photo to create this LO. The photo is B&W and is of a Cemetery in NY. I have added a quote, some brushes, a cross and done a bit of blending.

Some thoughts on Art

The more I become involved in Digital Art the more I love it. Here is a LO I did over the weekend and I loved this so much I had to print it out. The actual size is 8x8. I like this size as I can print it myself.

Hard to believe that a week has gone by since I last posted. We have just enjoyed being at home this week. I finally made it to the library and borrowed a whole heap of books so we have both been reading. We have a really cosy and comfortable reading space in this house and it's very tempting. We have also bought a shipping container which we will use as a storage space and we have sold our larger Sulky and bought a small harness. We had a really enjoyable morning at RDA on Wednesday and we were back again on Saturday for a training workshop. Here is a photo of me driving a cones course. :)

Venice 1993

Writing about Italy has inspired me to find a picture of Venice I took at Christmas 1993 and do something Arty with it. I really enjoyed re visiting this beautiful place in my memory whilst working with these images. :)

A few good books

I was shocked to realise yesterday that I haven't been to the library since early May just before we went on our holiday to Bargara, an indication of just how busy we have been since then. I have been reading though as I had my Birthday Books and a couple I bought for myself. I am currently reading `Just a little Italian' by Sally Hammond about her travels in the south of Italy. This is a less travelled part of Italy and as I have been to some of these places I am really enjoying this book. I am definitely an `armchair traveller'. I love reading travel stories of all sorts and about any place at all but Italy has a special place in my heart. I have also just finished reading the biography of artist Margaret Olley `Far From A Still Life' by Meg Stewart. I have always loved Olley's work and of course now she is an official `National Treasure'. I really enjoyed this book and it has inspired me to do some `still life painting with pixels'. Next in a completely different genre Sue gave me `Running with Scissors' by Augusten Burroughs for my Birthday. This book was very different and not one I would have bought myself (one reason I like receiving books as gifts) and I found it really fascinating. One for all those people who thought they were brought up in a weird family - Burroughs can outweird everyone :) I have also been reading `Stupid White Men' by Michael Moore - very interesting. It reminds me that most of the men I admire the most are black. Food for thought.

Our Kitchen Garden

One nice thing about our new home is that it has an established Kitchen garden, although at the moment it is probably what you would call `fallow'. The previous owners let it die off as they were moving so we have a bit of work to do but the basics are there. There is a large rosemary bush, some tomatoes, basil, a Curry tree, parsley, mango, orange, mandarin and lemon trees, plus quite a few other things which we can't identify but which look very interesting. One of the pluses is that we have several tall and prolific paw-paw (papaya) trees and we currently have 6 large paw paws on our kitchen bench and yesterday we gave 2 away. The problem we had though was how to pick them. Anyhow Alan has invented a `paw-paw picker' which is 2 old broomsticks joined together with a plant pot cable tied on the end. The trick then is to twist the pot so that the fruit breaks off and lands in the pot. Sometimes works sometimes doesn't but it is better and safer than a ladder and we can use it for mangos too :)

Digital Visitor's Book

I have always liked the idea of having a Visitor's Book, it is a really good way to look back on a lot of great social moments while at the same time having a record of dates, names and contact details etc. So in our new home rather than buying an old fashioned book I have `done it digi'. I am printing out a 6x4 page on photo paper which is inexpensive and can be easily put into an album. I ask every visitor to write their name and contact details and to include a comment if they like, then I can scan this and make it into a brush (like a digi stamp). Then I just add a photo and some of my own thoughts about the day. Next I am going to buy a beautiful 6x4 album to put them all in and then any time I like I can look through it. Also handy for keeping contact details of all these wonderful people who come to visit :) Here is an example of the one I did from yesterday. I have erased the personal details for my Blog but you can see the general idea.

A Very Social Week

I have been a bit slow updating this week but my excuse is that we have been very full on being social, entertaining and being entertained and it has been really busy but a lot of fun. Last Monday Alan's sister Margaret arrived to visit for 3 days. We really enjoyed this as we love seeing Margie. Then on Saturday we had Sue, Brian and our grandchildren Joel and Sam for lunch and dinner. We also all watched the AFL Grand Final This was great as we got to test drive our new barbie which went well. Then on Sunday we drove down to Brisbane for our friend Carita's 18th Birthday Party. Carita has her Birthday on the same day as Alan and they both love horses so they share a special bond. This was a lovely party where we even got to be part of the entertainment doing some rap dancing, I wore a rainbow beanie and Alan had a hooded jacket :) Then we continued on to visit Alan's Mum in the Nursing complex where she lives. Iris is 89 and doing wonderfully. After this it was back to Margaret's overnight to watch the NRL Grand Final and have some wine and pizza... Yum!! Monday morning we went shopping in Brisbane for our new Plasma TV and an Electric Wok, then home via Louise and Jeff's at Caloundra for a pitstop for afternoon tea and some time to play with new grandbaby Tate who is doing really well. We finally made it home at about 7.30pm after doing about 500 kilometres. Then on Tuesday it was Alan's Birthday and we had friends Nancy and Margaret for morning tea so I made a cake with 1 candle so Alan could make a wish while we all sang Happy Birthday. We enjoyed this visit and then after lunch we whizzed into town to buy a lowline TV Cabinet for our new TV which is still in its box. We also bought some really nice fresh fish and a bottle of bubbly to celebrate. I steamed the fish for dinner in my new wok and it worked out really well (I have never steamed fish before) Whew........ So now I am having a very quiet morning with some time to myself.

Another Busy Week

We are still settling in and getting organised but we do know that we really love our new house and also we seem to have some lovely neighbours. Last week we also were able to connect to a DSL Internet Service which after slow old Dial Up has been totally awesome. We have been on Dial Up since the mid 90's when we first got internet access and each year it has been harder to use with many sites no longer even accessible due to all the blinking and winking graphics. Also it is great not to have our phone line tied up while we are on line. Woo Hoo!!!

In the mean time Louise and Tate have been in hospital for over a week, (are still there). Tate has had feeding difficulties, Louise has had mastitis and other related problems and now Lou and Jeff have both contracted rotavirus. It has just been ongoing stress for us all but on the bright side Tate is starting to smile, drink his bottles and put on weight. Hopefully their whole little family is now on the improve. Louise has had a really tough start to motherhood but we are all so proud of her and the way she is coping with it all. We are also really impressed by the wonderful staff at Nambour Hospital where they are now and where Tate was born. I have finally managed to find a window of time to some artwork, I have used a picture here of Alan with Tate the day after Tate was born.

Still Unpacking

We have been in our new home for 2 weeks today and we are still unpacking! Trying to find the right place for all those odd bits and pieces is frustrating. We have also been shopping for a new barbecue and a new TV. We took one look at our ancient old Weber barbecue when it came off the truck and we both just went `nope stick it in the garage'. It was second hand when we bought it in 1991 and we think it has reached the end of its life... with us anyway. We have found a new Weber which looks like it will be the one we will buy. The TV is harder. We love the big Plasmas but we don't have the room, let alone a `Media Room' so we are now looking at LCD Models. The choice is mind blowing. We left the shop more confused than when we went in. In the meantime we are trying to work out where we could put it. We have also replaced a couple of light fittings. We are keeping the chandeliers in the family/dining room though as they seem to fit in with our `retro shabby chic' decor. LOL This morning we were invited to have Morning Tea with all our neighbours in the Cul de Sac on Friday morning. I think we will really like living here. Also this morning while I was in bed drinking my early morning cup of tea I looked out the window and saw a kangaroo hopping past. He hopped through our garden and then crossed the road. Nice to see but I can see we will definitely have to fence our kitchen garden as we also have rabbits. We had a beautiful paw paw ripening nicely yesterday but the birds have just beaten us to it. We are going to have to learn to be quicker than they are. We have loads of paw paws ripening on about half a dozen trees so we are lucky as they are quite expensive to buy

Settling In

Here I am finally back on line and Blogger. Thanks to everyone for your birthday wishes and also for your best wishes re our move. We made it without too much stress but it has been a very tiring week. We have been in our new home for just over a week now and we really love it. We have already met some of our neighbours and they seem really nice and welcoming. We are in a Cul de Sac where all the blocks are 5 acres and it seems everyone gets on really well. There are even 2 ponies next door for our 3 to talk to over the fence. We are appreciating being so close to town (5k rather than 20), having a weekly rubbish collection, a dishwasher and a beautiful modern kitchen. I am also looking forward to saying a fond farewell to dial- up internet :) We have a nice garden with lots of herbs and fruit trees and a kitchen garden already constructed. Bella and Lewis have settled in well and have met the neighbours dogs. We love the colour scheme - mainly pale blue, a restful colour we both love and we have a lot of blue furniture for this reason. We have given away or sold all our country style furniture and decor and we have switched to something a bit different, not really definable but we like it. The colours will be pale blue, aqua, pink, yellow and some brighter touches. I am finding that I love the chandeliers in the family dining area so they are staying. Anyhoo here is a photo of our dining area with the kitchen in the background. Also a beautiful rose I photographed in our garden yesterday.

We Move Tomorrow !!

OMG we are so not ready - stuff everywhere, not enough boxes etc. etc. I am trying to stay calm. This is my 30th move in my lifetime & I should have it all together by now :) It is now about 5.45 am and this is my last post for a while until we get the puta all plugged in at the new place. We are both feeling a little sad too at the thought of leaving here, as you do -and I am trying to focus on all the good things about our new house. This morning we have to go into town to drop Lewis the cat off at a pet motel, visit our bank, solicitor & financial adviser, drop a large sheepskin rug off to be cleaned, pick up some empty boxes and buy something for dinner tonight whew!! No take away food in the country and I did baked beans on toast last night :) Tomorrow is also my birthday (Woo Hoo 55 Go Me!!) but I may have to cancel that as there will be no time for it. Anyhoo wish us luck.

We have a New Grandbaby

We are all so excited as Louise and Jeff now have a son and we have a beautiful new Grandbaby ! Tate Timothy was born on Friday evening and weighs 7lbs 2oz (I love that babies haven't gone metric yet). We are all so proud of all of them and Lou and Jeff are still on Cloud 9. Here is a photo of me with Tate taken yesterday :)
I have also included the front and the inside of a card I made for them all :)

A Week in Review

I know that I haven't posted for a while but time on the puta is so limited this week :( We have been on tenterhooks (whatever they are) waiting for news that Louise has gone into labour. As of today no news but she will be induced tomorrow so soon the wait will be over :) In the meantime we have been busy packing. I just can't believe we have so much stuff, either that or the boxes are soooo small. We have sold all our Silky Chooks, our Cattle, some horses, our Tractor and various other things. We have taken a whole ute load of things to the RSPCA Op Shop and we have given away another ute load of things to friends. We decided against a garage sale and just kept on giving instead. None of these things were rubbish, just things we had outgrown in one way or another and the recipients were very happy to put them to good use. One example was my Bendigo Pottery Bread Crock, bought in 1974 and moved with me to a dozen or more places. Now it has gone, the new owner loves it and I think to myself that it never was a good place to keep bread LOL. Next week we will give our old front load washing machine to Vinnies. I love moving, such a good feeling to clear things away - good feng shui !

In some sad news we have also lost 2 cows recently with tick fever and we have heard that a horse we recently sold has died from a snakebite, also a Silky Rooster we gave away has been killed by a dog. Life with animals can be so rewarding but also so sad when you lose them, and no matter how hard we try in the country `stuff happens' and we just can't always prevent it. Lewis our cat is starting to `smell a rat'. He will be booked into a pet motel for the move. Here is a LO I did of him recently. I am so missing my creative time but it won't be long now till things get back to normal :)

Some words of wisdom

These wise words were sent to me by my sister Anne some months ago and I was struck by the wisdom of these thoughts. This is the kind of knowledge we only really arrive at at a fairly late age - and we wish we had known earlier. That's life I guess :)

I believe - that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe - that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe -- that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe- that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe- that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe- that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe- that you can keep going long after you can't.

I believe- that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe- that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe- that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe- that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I believe- that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe-> that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe-> that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe- that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe- that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other and just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I believe- that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe- that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe- that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe- that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you you will find the strength to help.

I believe- that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe-> that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

Books etc

Apologies to my Blog readers for my slackness lately - packing etc. is really the pits. Anyhoo for a change in pace I found these questions about books on Kate's Blog and thought I would have a go at answering them. I am still finding time to read however and packing books has a way of sidetracking one all too easily :)


1. One book that changed your life!
`Winnie The Pooh' - he is one cool little fat dude
2. One book that you've read more than once:
`The Shipping News ' - I re- read it straight after I finished it and I will read it again :)
3. One book you'd want on a desert island:
Something practical with survival tips :) and I would like to re- read`War and Peace' to pass the time
4. One book that made you laugh:
`Notes From a Small Island' by Bill Bryson, in fact anything by this guy makes me ROFL
5. One book that made you cry:
`To Kill a Mocking Bird' and `Jane Eyre' - a close tie
6. One book that you wish had been written:
`How to survive life on a small acreage with horses and cattle in SE QLD Aust.' :)
7. One book you wish had never been written:
`The Da Vinci Code' - IMO it just doesn't live up to the hype and I can't believe I bought it let alone read it :(
8. One book you're currently reading:
A Biography of Daphne Du Maurier
9. One book you've been meaning to read:
`The Outlander' (AKA `Crosstitch' by Diana Gabaldon - one of those interesting novels about time travel and the first in a great series

We Have Started Packing!

Finally we have started packing! We have hired a container and now we are rapidly filling it with `stuff'. Believe it or not we also have a removal truck booked but the container will hold all our farm equipment, gardening, camping gear etc. and we can pack a lot of this ahead of time. I am sorting through a lot of things and filling several boxes of things to donate to the RSPCA Op Shop in Gympie. I opened a box yesterday which travelled with us 3 years ago and which I hadn't opened since then. I literally hadn't missed any of this stuff in that time ROFL. Alan finds it impossible to part with a lot of his old things (stamp albums, things that were owned by his Mum & Dad, his 21st Key - the list goes on) so I am putting all this in a special box, labelling it `Alan's Memories' and he can keep it in his garage at the new place. At least photos can go in Albums which are much more accessible and easy to keep in bookshelves where they can be seen. I have so many packets of photos and only a fraction of them are worth keeping. I am just beginning to realise how much money I have wasted over the years getting very ordinary photos printed. Thank God for digital cameras and CD's :)


And this is what we are leaving behind :( I took this photo last week from our back door on a beautiful cold and misty morning.

A Wet Sunday

Today has been a wet and dismal winter Sunday, so perfect for being a `mouse potato'. Alan just came in and suggested I might be getting square eyes or RSI :) but he is watching the football on T.V. I just wish I had some chocolate but luckily for my waistline the shop is too far away :) I found an old family photo earlier today and decided to play around with it. I have found that these Kodak Instamatic snaps from the 70's are the hardest to work with, they were very poor quality to begin with and the colours have faded badly. Anyhoo this one is of my Dad and my sisters and brother all kicking back on a Sunday afternoon in October 1973. I love these unposed tableau style family photos from any era as they really draw you in. I cropped and added a tint to the original. This LO is 6x4 a size I love for its versatility and cost effectiveness.

Gunalda Harness & Draught Horse Carnival

It's been a while since I posted - so much happening here and almost no time to even turn on the 'puter - woe is me :( We have sold the farm - it was on the market for only about one week and the first person to see it has bought it. We will be settling at the end of August on my Birthday which is a very auspicious day to begin life in a new home. We have found a really nice almost new house on a 5 acre property only a few minutes from town so we are getting excited about moving. At the moment we are downsizing horses, cattle and chooks and planning what and who we will take with us. We will have room for 2 ponies at the new place and probably about 3 Silkies but no cattle. Then on the first weekend in July our Carriage Driving Club had its annual Carnival at Gunalda. So much work and fund raising has gone into this and as Treasurer I have been really busy before, during and after the event. I have really only just been able to stop and take a breath in the last few days. Alan and I did find time to take some photos of the weekend though and I have included a couple here. The photo above is of the Grand Parade and the Baker's Cart is completely original and has been restored perfectly. You can see that the driver and his passenger are even wearing authentic Baker's clothes. The top photo is a Draught Horse ploughing and I have played a bit with this image in PSP to give it the impression of a painting.

Digital Artist Trading Cards

These mini `Works of Art' are designed to be shared and traded and they are often a `limited edition'. I have a number saved on my computer and they remind me of some very special artisits I know, not in person but from an online connection. This is my DATC - it just says something about me, where I live, and it is available to be shared with anyone who wishes :)

I Am a Life Artist - Woo Hoo

Well I have just been reading a Blog which talks about Life Artists and I realise that is definitely what I am - wow such a wonderful description, this comes from the Blog of Ali Edwards:

`So who is a life artist? Do you take photos of your family, yourself, your environment, your world? Do you tell stories? Do you bring them all together onto paper, into your computer, onto a canvas (or some other cool concoction)? Do you create art journals with all kinds of wonderfully interesting pieces of your life and thoughts and emotions? Do you celebrate your life through your art?
You are a life artist.
I am a life artist.

So that is definitely me and I hope that one day in years to come, when I am long departed from this world, someone, somewhere will read and look at the Art I have made and gain something from it :) Well, at least be a little bit interested in it and perhaps wonder about the kind of person I might have been and the lifestyle I lived.

Here are a couple of my recent `Works of Art'

Helen in Wonderland

I am so loving Blogging and reading other people's Blogs :0) It has been wonderful to hear from Kate in Canada - Kate if you are reading this I will be putting your Blog in my faves. I have a sister named Catherine who is Cate to all her family and friends. Anyway I digress, I have been having fun tonight doing some abstract Digital Art which I love almost more than digiscrapping, I guess they are very closely related. I do most of my LO's now at 6x4 and 200 dpi. Anyhow I titled this one `Helen in Wonderland'. I started with a photo of some flowers, posterised it and then used a lot of brushes. The `me brush' I made from the photo I posted earlier this week. The doll image is from Graphics.com and the flower tiara is by the very clever Maya whose artwork I really love, so quirky and different - sooo it all came together into a colourful surreal kind of collage and here it is :)

Happy 40th Jeff

On Saturday we were down in Caloundra overnight for our Son-in-Law Jeff's 40th Birthday Party. It was a great night, a big group of us went to a Mexican Restaurant called `Meg's Joint' in Caloundra. We ate Burritos, drank Sangria and for dessert we had some decadent chocolate mud birthday cake. It was a great night and everyone especially Jeff :) enjoyed themselves. Jeff and Louise are expecting their first baby in only 7 weeks time and we are all very excited about this. For Jeff life really is going to begin at 40 :) Louise took this photo of Alan and me and I have used it in a 6x4 Layout.

A New Baby Calf

Last week one of our cows - `Itsa Secret' gave birth to a little Bull Calf. He doesn't have a name just yet as will probably be steered, however he is really cute. I did a mini 6x4 LO of him to keep as a reference.

What a Week !

"Be kinder than necessary. 'Cause everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

I loved this quote which I found in one of those circular emails today, it struck a real chord with me as I had been thinking just that same thing this morning. Everyone - even those people who on the surface seem to `have it all' , is fighting some kind of battle, so that is my thought for the week. I always think of this when we are at R.D.A. where everyone is `kinder than necessary'. On another Blog this week I found this wonderful extract from a book called "A Slant of Sun' by Beth Kephart, a writer and mother of a child with a developmental disorder.

`When I fly I think about all the spirits we're passing through. The few I knew and the billions I didn't, their vapors mingling in the air all around us. My grandmother is up here somewhere, pinning a hat to her head; my favorite uncle decorating the universal Christmas tree; my father's parents; my great-aunts and -uncles; children I have heard about on the news; great writers. I think of them when I am aloft in an airplane. I think of the extreme significance of every single human being and the vast insignificance of us all. The earth is just one rock in a universe without limits; we exist in the blink of an eye. We are impossibly small against this dimensional hugeness, and yet we care, gigantically, about our place in things, survival. We attend to the tiny details of our lives, attend to one another, make room for the miracle of a child. Put his toys in a bag and draw him mazes and take him to places, for adventure. Fight the systems and labels on his behalf so that he, in turn, can fight the systems for others. "

This is a book about the power of love and commitment. At its heart, so very tender and true.


I haven't blogged for a while as we have been way too busy for my liking. Our Carriage Club is preparing for our Annual Carnival on July 1st and 2nd and we have been fundraising, having endless meetings and as Treasurer I have been busier than at any other time of the year. I spent nearly all day on Tuesday doing diagrams of each obstacle event on the 'puter and I am still not finished *!!**. We are also looking around for a smaller property, this may or may not happen depending on what we find but it is very time consuming. Looking at Real Estate can be a very frustrating experience especially as we have specific criteria which is hard to meet. In the end we know we will have to compromise somewhere and some of our horses, a lot of our `stuff' and all the cattle will have to go but that's life. :) We are feeling that the time is right to downsize so fingers crossed it will all work out.

Then yesterday as we were double parked and unloading a wheelbarrow full of raffle prizes from our truck Alan's back went out and he was down for the count. This happens every few years, usually when he is under pressure. So now he is in bed and I have my nurse's cap on. Luckily there was a Doctor's surgery at the shopping centre where we were selling the raffle tickets so Alan was able to see a Doctor, borrow a wheelchair, get a script for Tramal and an injection to get him home. What was really great was how nice and helpful all these total strangers were to us. It seems this Doctor has a 3 week waiting list yet he saw Alan almost straight away. It all reinforced my faith in human kindness.

An Arty Farm Image

While we were at the farm buying our new ponies I was able to photograph some old farm machinery which I thought looked so interesting. I have made this image into a painting using Paint Shop Pro X. I think this would be great printed on canvas and framed.

Baby Lambs

2 New Ponies

Well we now have 2 new Ponies - we actually only intended to buy one but they had 2 for sale and they were both such good friends and both sooo cute. Well you can justify anything right :)
Annie is the white one (short for Acanthus) and Misty is the Bay who looks like he has a lot of Shetland in him. Annie is trained for Harness and came with a Harness and a carriage. Both of them are very quiet and can also be ridden. Annie's feet need a bit of work but we both feel that she is worth the effort as she is a beautiful quiet little pony. While we were at the farm looking at the ponies we saw 2 beautiful little new born lambs and I couldn't resist a photo :)

Another Heritage LO: Summer 1949

I enjoyed doing this LO yesterday - a group of photos of my mother and father taken just after their marriage in 1949. :)

It's Showtime

We arrived back from our holidays last Sunday and straight into a really busy week. A long Carriage Club meeting on Monday night, a RDA Committee Meeting for Alan on Tuesday night, RDA on Wednesday and then the Gympie Show opened on Thursday. We went on Thursday as we were rostered for a 2 hour stint helping at the RDA Snack Bar (Drinks, pies, sandwiches, hot dogs etc). We were able to look around and watch some of the Dexter Cattle judging as we know all of the people who were showing Dexters. Then on Friday night we were back again as our Carriage Club were doing a demonstration. Alan didn't drive but we were all there to help out and it turned out really well. Alan groomed for our President Ken and Ken's horse Sparky bucked all the way around the obstacle course so they were good entertainment for the crowd :o)

After this we stayed to watch the firework display which was really good. It lasted 15 minutes and was also set to music. I was taking photos and some turned out OK but none of my carriage driving shots were any good. Partly my fault I think as taking good images in the dark is tricky. All in all a very busy and enjoyable week.

A Holiday at Bargara Beach

We have just returned from a wonderful relaxing week on holiday at Bargara Beach. For anyone who hasn't been there I can really recommend it. We stayed in the caravan park opposite the beach but there are also loads of other options. We went with 2 other couples and we all took our bikes - there is a great bike/walking path from the caravan park right through Bargara town, along the beachfront and round to the natural rock swimming pool. We went out on our bikes every day and came home via the coffee shop - well we had earned it :) Luckily we had great weather. We had 2 dinners out and some lunches, we read books, walked on the beach, slept and enjoyed `happy hour' every evening before dinner. All in all the perfect holiday :)




This is Alan asleep after lunch and a long bike ride which obviously wore him out - he was building up strength for later on in the day when he had to get up and open a stubby or 2 :)

Something that really intrigued us was Council's ingenious method of catching coconuts

and thereby avoiding litigation. (They can hurt if they drop on your head) These baskets
are designed to collect the nuts, when they are full someone just climbs up, pulls the string and out they fall :)

This is the beautiful beach at Neilson Park just opposite the Caravan Park where we stayed. This photo was taken on a weekday afternoon last week and as you can see it is very quiet :) This beach is patrolled in the summer months. From just north of here is a walking track that goes to Mon Repos where you can see the baby turtles hatching in the evenings between November and March.