Sunday, September 26, 2010

Sunday, 26 September 2010


We've had drizzly showery weather this week and the clover and bindi in my lawns are now flourishing madly. I'm wondering if there's any grass left in there? We've not been able to spray because there's been just enough rain for the spray not to work. Ah well, it will be shoes or thongs on feet this summer, no bare feet wandering on the grass!

I attempted to do some painting last night, but managed to seriously mess it up so it's back to the drawing board once again.

My best friend from school lost her step father early this morning. Norm has been unwell for a little while but had a ripe innings and said he was ready to go at 87. He will be sadly missed.

It's been a quiet week really. Jon assures me he has a working bee lined up for a little later this morning to help clear up the yard and do a few loads to the tip for me, so I'm looking forward to that.

I also have a new friend coming over sometime today, who will later be experiencing one of our family dinners!! They have been warned hehe.

I received a surprise birthday gift earlier this week from a dear friend who spoilt me rotten by giving me a digital camera to replace the one I broke recently. I've been trying it out and have yet to finish figuring it out, but all good so far. Of course, today's pic was taken on it :).

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Sunday, 19 September 2010



Well another week has flown by. Gee I seem to say that a lot. I must be getting old. Hmm...

So I've just had my first week back at work and it was a mix of quiet before getting busy late in the week. The weeknights, however, were a different story and it was busy all the way.

Wednesday I returned to my art classes after a 3 mth break and managed to finish a painting I'd been working on for a little while. Thursday was my fortnightly get together with my former school mates, made all the more entertaining by the crazy entrance of my friend Kath who pretended she knew one of my school friends and was gushing madly all over her, telling her how wonderful it was to see her etc etc, while Sharon looked on with that 'omg who the hell are you' type look on her face. Definitely a priceless moment!

Friday saw me take the scenic route (yes, I got lost again) to meet a friend in the city for coffee after work, then Saturday morning spent with a new friend having breakfast, followed by a walk along the jetty and a couple of hours together which was very enjoyable indeed.

Saturday I also looked after my little grandson for the afternoon and overnight while his parents attended a wedding. Very cute, lots of fun, but oh gosh, I am so glad I'm not raising little tiny ones now! Very tiring despite the loads of fun.

Well, that's about it for now as I can't think of anything else to add at this point in time. So I will attach a pic of my latest painting and finish off!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Sunday, 12 September 2010


Wow, it's been 4 weeks since my last post. Hasn't that time flown! I head back to work tomorrow after my time off. I can't say I achieved all I'd planned to achieve while off work, but I did walk more and I did a couple of belly casts, along with another cast, and I had a few days up at Caloundra.

The first week I did a little of the sorting out that I'd planned, which was a good start and I have a fair idea of the next steps with that.

My friend Washuntara had his final performances and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I will be a little sad to see him return to the US, but am very much looking forward to his new album when it's completed. I've had the pleasure of hearing some of his new songs and they're absolutely beautiful.

Last week was a sad week, following the death of my former stepson Jamie. There has been so much sadness and heartache this year, I'm hoping next year holds better things.

I've also had my friend Loraine stay with me for a few weeks while she fulfilled some work commitments, so it was great to see her again and be able to spend time with her. My little granddaughter sat on my lap and sung happy birthday to me all by herself - absolutely beautiful. Today's pic is of some of my family.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Sunday, 15 August 2010


Hmm those last two weeks have flown by! I have just taken an enormous leap of faith and asked (and was granted) for one month's unpaid leave from work. I finished up on Friday. This year has been such a roller coaster and the challenges have been absolutely relentless, so I figured the time has come for some self care.

My aims for the coming month are to start eating properly by eating regularly and eating more fresh fruit and vegetables, get into a better sleeping pattern and actually get more sleep, get some regular fresh air by going for a walk each day, start meditating again even if it's just once a week and pull out my paints. Start painting again. After that, who knows?

Monday, August 2, 2010

Sunday, 1 August 2010


I was awake early this morning, so headed into the markets to get some more of the beautiful flowers I got a couple of weeks ago. I had a wee nap when I came home, then made Josh's girlfriend Sarah a belated birthday cake to have with dinner tonight. Poor girl, for various reasons her birthday cake has been missed, so tonight we're making up for it. My friend Kath came over to join us as well.

I had a phone call from my brother today, always nice to hear from him and he sounds well.

It was an absolutely beautiful day today, one could have been forgiven for thinking it was spring rather than winter. The weather has been unseasonably warm the last couple of days, but will be no doubt followed by some more cooler weather.

That's about it for now. Today's pic is of Sarah's birthday cake and the flowers I bought at the markets in the background.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Saturday, 31 July 2010




I've had a good week, a very full and somewhat tiring week, but a good one just the same. I attended a two day forum on Wed & Thu that provided some challenging days but also provided some steps towards some positive outcomes in my field of work. There are another two forums lined up, one in August and the other in November.

I went to my friend Kharlyn's place for dinner, she'd cooked a delicious curry, and then came home fairly early. How sad is that on a Friday night!!!

Today I took myself into the city to have a look at the Ron Mueck exhibition. His work is fantastic and very life like. Today was the last day of the exhibition so there were lots of people there but thankfully I arrived mid morning so didn't have to deal with the extra long queues.. I just had a long one. After a while it became very long, then extra long and out the doors along the footpath.

I took a stroll through the Southbank markets and enjoyed a walk along the Brisbane River while I was there. I sat for a while in the shade, called my Mum and had a chat to her for a while.

It's hard to choose just one photo for today, so I may even put two or three in.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Sunday, 25 July 2010


Well another week has flown right by. Another week that has held some challenges, however, I have to believe that these are also the times that teach us resilience and remind us to have hope.

This week I have made or met a new online friend and I am thoroughly enjoying our email conversations. Isn't timing a wonderful thing? Serendipity or synchronicity or whatever you like to call it ~ the saying that people come into our lives for a reason comes to mind. Whatever the reason, I'm grateful for the smiles that new friend has given me this week.

Once again, I had the pleasure this week of listening to my friend Washuntara's beautiful music and a couple of new song's that have just been written. They always provide a mid-week lift. Only another 5-6 weeks of performances here before he gets ready to head off again, so again, I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to enjoy his music live.

I was thinking of doing some painting this weekend as I haven't done any for a while, but haven't got there yet. Although the day is still young so who knows? I may do some after all. I was planning to go into the city today to see an exhibition but it has rained over night and it still overcast now, so I'm kind of leaning towards a home day.

My friend Kath came over last night and we enjoyed dinner before settling in to watch the movie Mama Mia. I never seem to tire of that movie and I always enjoy the music.

I haven't done any decluttering for a little while, I've noticed places I want to get into, just haven't got there yet. Perhaps I should go back to setting a time or a corner to work on. Ah well, it won't happen overnight but it WILL happen.

I planted a few more seedlings yesterday so looking forward to seeing them bloom in the springtime.

I'm considering getting a kitten. For some obscure reason I seem to be really really drawn to this idea, yet it's not a logical or sensible one for me for a couple of reasons - one being that I'm allergic to them, so I would have to make sure I always have anti histamines on hand, plus it would have to mostly be an outdoor pet, and two being that I plan to move house in about 6 mths time, so it's always a question of whether pets are allowed. I've been thinking about this idea for some weeks now and had bit of a look yesterday for kittens but didn't find any, so obviously the time isn't right just yet if I am to have one.

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy my son's baby budgie while he is away, noisy messy little critter that it is. It is awfully cute though, so that makes up for the noise and mess.

Well that's probably enough from me for now. I may come back and post more this evening. Today's pic is a slightly blurry image of a beautiful gerbera I got at last week's farmers markets.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Sunday, 18 July 2010


Well you know how I mentioned in my previous post, that the week preceding had been really crappy and I was hoping for a better week? Didn't happen. There were some good parts, but oh my gosh, it made the previous week pale in comparison.

I guess the Universe has decided I need to be challenged. Boy oh boy, am I being challenged at the moment. My sister said yesterday that is seems to be a test of my resilience. I'm so glad she said that, because it gave me encouragement to keep on going. Things are likely to get worse before they improve, that's just the reality of what's happening here at the moment, but I'm also hopeful that it may not be as bad as we've been led to believe. So here's to hope!!

I'm not going to go into the challenges here because apart from acknowledging them in the way I have done here, I don't want to give them more 'air time' (for want of a better way to say it). I'd rather try and keep looking ahead. I know there is more to come and I know there will be more tough days, but I want to keep focusing on hope and being grateful for the good things that are happening in my life.

So talking about the good things, once again I enjoyed a lovely night listening to Washuntara sing and play last Wednesday night. It is such a joy to be around him while he is making such beautiful music. Actually, it's a joy to be around him anytime.

On Thursday night, I caught up with my friend Brett who I'd gone to school with. I've probably already mentioned that we have been catching up reasonably regularly, along with another friend Sharon who is currently overseas.

Thursday had been a truly awful day so it was good to spend time with a caring friend. He was kind enough to buy me dinner as well after realising I hadn't eaten all day.

Friday afternoon was a continuation of Thursday's events, so an out of the blue invitation to have dinner and watch a movie with another friend Kharlyn was greatly appreciated. We had dinner and we talked until late into the night on all kinds of subjects but we didn't get round to watching the movie.

Then yesterday, my dear friend Kath came and took me out for a drive. We had a couple of hours out in the sunshine near the water. Perfect for de-stressing!

An early trip to the farmers markets was the order of today and I've just had a quiet one since then. Very relaxing. I'm planning to do a little gardening too, although if I'm going to do that, I need to get out there fairly soon!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Sunday, 11 July 2010


Well I have to say that this week was one of those weeks that steadily got crappier as the week went on. It started well and went downhill from there, with a couple of nice moments in there as well thankfully to keep my head above water so to speak. I usually enjoy my job and love returning after holidays, but unfortunately this time the joy was short lived. I'm hopeful things will improve as it won't be easy if they don't.

That aside, there were some good moments too. I enjoyed watching my friend sing on Wednesday night, although I was feeling quite emotional that night and his song lyrics touched some nerves. He writes beautiful songs with beautiful messages - a very talented man indeed. He is going to join one of our family dinners sometime soon, brave man!

On Friday night, my dear friend K, came along and took me out for a while. Just the medicine I needed! It was nice to get out of the house for a while.

The remainder of the weekend was fairly quiet until tonight when all the family were here for dinner. Those nights are never quiet but they are a lot of fun. I also looked after Xavier for a couple of hours last night and we enjoyed bopping to the music from Mama Mia.

That's if from me for now. Here's hoping for a better week!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Tuesday, 6 July 2010


Today is my last day of holidays and I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back to work. I could quite easily handle another week off. Ah well, another time!

I had the pleasure of having coffee and great getting to know you type conversation with my musician friend Washuntara. It's the first time we've caught up outside of his work or mine. Two hours flew by very quickly! I'm very much liking this blossoming friendship I share with him.

Yesterday afternoon, I picked up my granddaughter Tiara from daycare and we did some cooking. She's such a delight and it's so much fun spending time with her.

I've been playing around with the sepia setting on my camera. I didn't realise it was on there until my niece informed me last week! Today's pic is of Wellington Point jetty.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Monday, 5 July 2010


Heavens to Betsy! Two posts in a row!! :)

I've just made some scones for the first time in a long while - oh my gosh, they are delicious!! Served warm, with a little blackberry jam and some whipped cream.... scrumptious!!

A dear friend has just lost her mother and has been doing lots of reminiscing. The question has been asked, 'what naughty things did you get up to as a kid?' This simple little question has opened the floodgates on some memories.

Like 'accidentally' hosing people as they walked past the front gate. The grocer from across the road used to bring Mum's groceries over once a week and I'm told he used to keep a spare set of clothes at his shop at one stage.

When superglue first came out, we (siblings and I) super glued coins to the top of our gate and on the sidewalk to see how many people would try to pick them up.

There was a phone box outside our neighbour's house - making prank calls. Asking for Susie Wall, nope, John Wall, nope, Brian Wall, nope, any walls at all there? nope, then you better look out, your roof might cave in!

Picking people randomly from the phone book again, calling them and telling them it was the local radio station on behalf of Henny Penny chicken. There was a competition going and if they could cluck x amount of times in one minute, then they would win a free bbq chicken. Boy did we get into some trouble over that one! I'm told it made the local paper - oops!

My brother offering guests foaming sugar for their tea/coffee.

Around fire cracker time in the days when you were allowed to buy fire crackers, there used to be these little tiny sand filled ones called Tom Thumbs or throw downs. Not much bigger than the size of a pea and perfect for lobbing at the heels of unsuspecting pedestrians walking past the front yard.

The wooden spoon was the preferred method of punishment in our house and was kept in a drawer under the stove top. When Mum went into the shower, if the opportunity was there, we would take the wooden spoon, run up the back yard and hoik it over the back fence. Some years later my father put a back gate in, as our place backed onto a laneway.. he says he found a heap of wooden spoons!

When I was little tiny and just walking, my mother was on the phone and apparently I got into the fridge. She was waving at me to get out and I was waving back while I pulled a dozen eggs out and onto the floor.

Encouraging my little sister to pick up a bee.

I'm sure there are lots more, so I'll come back to add no doubt. Today's pic is of an icy willow tree taken between Rylstone and Mudgee last week.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Sunday, 4 July 2010

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Oops, it's been a little while since my last post. I'm recently back from a road trip interstate. I left on a Thursday, stayed a night with my parents in Tamworth, before heading off to Sydney for a couple of nights. On the way to Sydney, I stopped in Scone for coffee with my friend Querida, then stopped again in Newcastle for lunch with my aunt, uncle and cousins. I managed to get into Sydney right on peak hour which is great on a Friday afternoon!! Only took one wrong turn and with phone directions from my friend Gaby, I found it to her place safely.

I had a wonderful night at Gaby's place, good food, good company (we were joined by Sarah, her partner and Isabella), and good conversation. We had brunch the next day at a place called Flower Power, delicious! and we discussed what we might do at our upcoming palooza in October.

From Gaby's place, I went to Cronulla where I spent the night at my friend Tez's place. Another good night, enjoyed bit of an outing, good food and lively conversation. We slept late the next day and had brunch before a drive around Cronulla.

I decided against battling the Monday morning peak hour traffic and headed off to Rylstone in the afternoon, where I spent the next two nights with my brother in law and niece. It was so good to be back on the farm again and so very hard to leave. They've asked me to stay longer next time, so am definitely going to see if I can do something about that in the not too distant future.

It was rather cool down there with the morning temps around -3.5 degrees celcious and the daytime temps around 10 degrees. The drive back to Tamworth was cold, foggy and icy due to a very heavy frost but very beautiful.

I spent the next two nights in Tamworth with my parents. Helped Mum out with some chores, did some cooking and took her out for coffee at a friend's coffee shop. It was great to see Libby again as I haven't seen her for around 15 yrs or so. I also caught up with my friend Tracey who I've also known since school and I cooked indian curries for Trace and her partner before leaving for home the next day.

Good grief it was cold that morning though. It was -5 in Tamworth when I left and I don't think it was much warmer in Glen Innes when I got there. Glen Innes had experienced -10 degrees for the 3rd morning running! I think I was close to the Qld border before I started to warm up. The heater in my car had decided not to work, so that certainly didn't help.

Since returning home, I've enjoyed a couple of quiet days catching up with friends, doing a little shopping and a little gardening. I've taken so many lovely pics while I was away that it will be hard to choose just one to put in here, so you may see a few of them appear over the next little while. Today's pic is of my beautiful niece Elizabeth.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Monday, 14th June 2010


It's a long weekend and wow, what a weekend so far! Plenty of sorting and purging of both the physical/material stuff along with some emotional stuff added to the mix.

I achieved enough sorting and clearing to do a tip run! I have my room done, may need a little tweaking but pretty much all done and dusted there. I tackled Mt Washalot and succeeded. I've even made a chocolate mint slice today ~ something I haven't done in years!!

I have another corner of the living room in my sights for today, not sure if I'll get there or leave it for another time. I'm kinda thinking I'd like to do a little knitting and some R & R would be good given that it's almost midday on the last day of this weekend.

I have a decent stash of wool but jeepers, for the life of me, I cannot find my knitting needles and crochet hooks. They were in a special container thingy and I remember putting them away from one precious little granddaughter, but heaven knows where that safe place is!

Well that's it from me for now. I may come back later and add to this.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Thursday, 10 June 2010


It's been a big week so far which is kinda crazy really considering I had Tuesday off work with a migraine. Thankfully it didn't hang round as long as they usually do and I haven't had the after effects I usually have for a week or so later. Yesterday was a particularly long day at work where I ended up working 11 hours! It's rare that happens but boy you notice it when it does, more so when I haven't slept well for 2 nights beforehand.

I came home intending to have a bite to eat, followed by a shower and fall into bed. I even bailed on my art class. All went to plan until I got to the shower part. I jumped in and forgot about my hair, then realised I'd accidentally wet it all. Dang, it takes ages to dry. Oh well, change of plans then. Gave it a quick wash even though it didn't really need it, got dressed again in some decent gear and decided to go and see Washuntara sing again tonight.

I figured going out would do two things, my hair would be completely dry before I went to bed and I would sleep well after the outing. It worked too!

Music definitely soothes the soul. I so needed it last night. There's something special about sitting in a small room while someone plays guitar (or piano) and sings. So much nicer than listening to a cd if you have the opportunity to do so. Plus the hugs I had from Wash were a beautiful bonus.

I also saw one of my old college teachers there, so was lovely to see him again. He retired last year and went back to work this year. A bunch of his current students were also along to enjoy Wash's music.

Well that's about it from me for today. See you next time!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Monday, 7 June 2010



What a fantastic weekend! I'll include Thursday even though it was before the weekend because it was the lead in. I caught up with my old school friends again for coffee which was a lot of fun and we're planning to try and make this a little more of a regular thing, so our next catch up is in two weeks.

Friday night saw me joining my former neighbours out in their cul-de-sac for a catch up. Lots of laughter, chat and fun, followed by pizza around the fire and more laughter chat and fun.

Saturday I started the day with some baking to use up some ripe banana's. We now have a banana cake and some banana/choc chip muffins. I had a long chat on the phone with Mum, got a little shopping done, had an afternoon nap, read John Grisham's new book from cover to cover and then went out to the movies with my friend Kath. We arrived a little early and as neither of us had eaten, we decided to stop in and try the sushi train. Yummo! After the movies it was a cuppa and dessert from fasta pasta where they do the best passionfruit gelato dipped in chocolate.

Sunday was a very productive day. I cleared out another corner of my room that has been bugging me, then tackled the big job of the day which was cleaning out and defrosting the upright freezer. Hmm, well that was bit of a drama. I'd been given the bright idea some time ago of using the hose to help get rid of the ice. The freezer is awkward to move, so I thought I might be able to do it at the back door if I lined it all up correctly. Wrong! I managed to flood all the tile floor. Oops! Over a dozen towels later, I had that mopped up. So I managed to get the freezer outside, broke a wheel, another oops before doing the hose out thing which worked wonderfully. Of course, then I remembered we had a trolley which would have made moving the freezer so much easier, so I used that to get it back inside. I've also managed to somehow get it off balance a little, I think there is a little foot at the bottom that needs adjusting but I can't get to it properly so will need some help with that one.

I decided to do some cooking and made some chilli, an indian curry and some little meatballs in gravy. All delicious. And I managed to fit in another nap, just a short one this time though.

This morning I've been up early and cleared off another little space in my room, on top of the little book case. It's getting there, only two more places to go and I'm done in here. Might even get that done one night.

Not sure what today's pic is... maybe another bad pic of me (I cant take self portraits for nuts!) with the curly hair version of my new hair cut.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Thursday, 2 June 2010


Wow the week has flown by since I last posted. Saturday I did as promised and while I didn't start on the garage (because a son was busy doing some mechanic-ing in there, I did clear out one of the bookcases. I know have a large box of books to donate or give away and the books remaining fit neatly on the bookcase. I also counted up my stash of unread books and they number at 17! Cripes, I sure have some reading ahead of me.

Sunday was an awful day, one of the worst I've had for a while. Plenty of emotional stuff going on and lots and lots of tears. Think I cried a river of tears.

Thankfully since then, things have settled and I've had a busy, but productive and 'feel good' type of week at work. That always helps immensely.

I had my first decent haircut in years yesterday and it feels so much lighter. The hairdresser straightened it all to cut it (as it is crazy curly most of the time) and this morning I've washed it, so waiting to see what the curlies do now.

I went to watch my friend Washuntara sing again last night, after my haircut. My friend and I walked into a crowded room and I have to say I got a surprise when Wash stopped what he was doing to say (into the mic and all), wow Marika, your hair looks so hot tonight! I was a tad gobsmacked but it was also one of those feel good moments too.

Wash played the piano last night, it's the first time I've heard him and boy oh boy can he play the piano. I've always loved listening to someone play the piano and last night was no exception. It was fantastic! Can't wait to hear him at it again.

Today's pic is a rather bad pic of me, with the bed hair version of my straightened new do. It looked heaps better last night but this pic is just to give an idea of the change. Although the curly variety will be different again.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Friday, 28 May 2010


Feeling a bit lost tonight so figured that's a good enough reason to update my blog. I've had a busy week with work which is always good as it makes the time go faster. I had my holiday leave approved, so I can seriously start planning my time off and a little road trip I have in mind. Actually, it's pretty much planned but just have a few details to tweak.

I've finally decided to get my butt into gear with this de-cluttering thing. Tomorrow is the starting point. Well the new starting point, seeing as how I started a few weeks back but didn't keep it up. I'm aiming to spend a minimum of one hour each weekend on this task. If I do more, that's a bonus, but the bare minimum of time dedicated to the job is one hour. Wish me luck, I may need it! Oh and if I don't surface for a month or two, then probably best to send in a search party.

Only a short post this time as I don't seem to have much to say tonight.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Sunday, 23 May 2010


I do believe another weekend has just flown past ~ did anyone see it on it's way through? I'm quite convinced there are less hours in a weekend than there should be.

So what did I get up to this weekend? I had a long overdue massage on Saturday. I'd love to say it was relaxing, but alas, it was a tad bitey. I have to say I felt heaps better afterwards and yes, I ended up feeling very relaxed later on.

This morning I was up early and headed down the Gold Coast to meet up with my friend Emelisa. From there we went in the one car down over the border into NSW and onto Bangalow. Such a pretty little town! We had a wander around the little markets they host once a month, lots of beautiful stuff to be found there, so a very enjoyable morning and a great way to have a catch up.

One of these weekends I'm going to make a start on this decluttering thing. I think it'll be a shock to the system when I actually get to it ~ both for whomever is reading this blog as well
as me! It's just one of those horrid jobs, especially when it feels overwhelming and other people's stuff is in amongst it too. Ah well, it won't happen overnight, but it will happen!

I'm in the midst of planning a trip to see my parents, my niece and catch up with a few friends along the way as well. Now I've started planning it, I'm really looking forward to it.

Today's pic is of a lunar moth. I'd never heard of them until recently and I'm not even sure if they are found in Australia, but aren't they beautiful!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Thursday, 20 May 2010


I've had a strange week because I've been feeling quite tired all week. I've been ready for the weekend since Tuesday!! So I've decided it might be time to start planning my next little break from work. Just a week but enough to recharge the batteries.

I met up with a college friend last night and went to an old local hotel to watch a singer/songwriter/musician friend play. It was lovely to spend a night in good company listening to great music and nice to get a couple of Washie hugs too.

I'm looking forward to hearing him play again before he heads back to the US for 6 mths. If you're interested in taking a peek at what he does, his website is www.washuntara.com

Just a short post today, maybe I'll have more to add later. Today's pic is of Washuntara.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Saturday, 15 May 2010







Well it's been a few days longer than I thought it would be. My much loved father in law would have been 90 on the 13th if he were still with us. He was a very special man and one who has been sorely missed.

Today has been a special day here in Australia. It's been 210 days since 16 yr old Jessica Watson left our shores to sail solo and unassisted around the world. Today she accomplished her dream and arrived back to what she termed as an overwhelming welcome back. There was a huge flotilla of boats on the water and thousands of people who came to see her sail back into Sydney Harbour and dock at the Opera House. Being in a different state, I an armchair viewer of all the action. What an inspiring young woman she is!

One of the things she said really got to me here is a snippet of what she said about her achievement.

For Watson, it's not about accolades but personal fulfilment. "I am still just Jess," she said yesterday.

"That's really important to me because I am. I am completely ordinary. That's the thing. I just put a lot of effort in, had a great team around me and I think that goes to show you don't have to be anyone special to achieve something big. You just have to want it."

You don't have to be anyone special to achieve something big.

Quite profound in a simplistic way really. Makes me think about my life and the many things I've wanted to do and achieve. Yes I've done a few, but gee, there are still a couple of big dreams there that I've had on hold for a while. Why are they on hold? Good question and perhaps time I started to really look at them and do something about it, rather than just thinking!

That's it from me for now and today's pics will be a small collection of young Jessica Watson.


Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Tuesday, 11 May 2010


Happy birthday to my lovely Mum who is celebrating her 79th birthday today! I hope you have a wonderful day Mum and glad my little package arrived on time.

We had a busy but good weekend. On Saturday I took Bob to get a massage for his birthday, we then had some thai food for lunch, before heading off to the city to see the musical Dumped which was hilarious, and then went out for dinner in the evening!

Sunday was Mother's Day and we were up early and off to the markets. Came back home for some breakfast and a lazy morning. I received text messages from my youngest son, plus my second son and his wife, and my adopted daughter. My eldest son came around early afternoon to take me out for lunch ~delicious! All of this was topped off by a family dinner, so a lovely day!

Not much else happening in other news at the moment, so this is it for today's post!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Wednesday, 5 May 2010


Happy birthday Bob! I hope you have a fantastic day and I wish for you a year that is
filled with many joys.

So apart from making happy birthday wishes, what have I been up to? Nothing majorly exciting in the last day or two. I had a quiet but good day at work yesterday and today will mostly be a non contact day with clients, but a full on day with staff meeting and later supervision.

I've seriously been thinking about counting up my stash ~ as in counting up the books I have waiting to be read. I'm worried there may be more than I think. My guess at the moment is there is around a dozen books waiting to be read. Might be interesting to see just how many there really is.

Anyways, that's about all for today, although I may come back later and add to this as it's only 8am, so the day is early.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Monday, 3 May 2010


Here we are near the end of a long weekend and I can't say I've achieved a whole lot this weekend, however, I have enjoyed a very quiet relaxing weekend. I've done a little gardening, a little washing, a little baking, a few chores and watched a few dvd's.

Plenty of other things I thought about doing, but didn't get to them ~ they will wait for another day. I thought seriously about doing some more decluttering but the enthusiasm factor wasn't quite high enough, so that too will wait. I did consider where I was going to start next though and have it narrowed down to a choice of 3 places!

Seeing as my three previous posts have been of mammoth length, today I'll leave this one as a 'shorty'. My pic is of today's effort in the kitchen, some banana choc chip muffins. They were scrumptious too by the way.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Saturday, 1 May 2010


I did think about posting yesterday, but I thought it might set a precedent if I kept posting so regularly. Yesterday was a good day, I went back to work and then got to finish a fraction early for the long weekend!

I'm on pet patrol this weekend, as my sons have all scattered for the the night. All except the one who doesn't have any pets. So I have umpteen fish spread through approximately 6-8 tanks, 2 guinea pigs and a dog to care for. The dog is by far the cutest and most affectionate.

So on this very quiet long weekend, I've decided to do a little gardening and plant a few seedlings. I haven't done that yet as I'm pacing myself. However, I did get one of those push type mowers, put it together and even managed to adjust the blades without losing any fingers! It works beautifully, or at least I'm sure it would if my grass wasn't so dang long. It's been a little over 2 mths since the last time it was mowed and we've had a little rain recently to help it along. However, I will conquer the jungle one way or another before the weekend is out.

Seeing as it's most likely just me myself and I here tonight, I have a chick flick hired from the dvd store, some food for a nice dinner should I feel like cooking and if not, then I'll either go without (my appetite is not yet back after the bug I had) or wander off and find something deliciously appetising.

I must be getting old because I picked up some more yarn this afternoon while I was out ~ I have more scarves than I need, but the yarn just calls me. I can't even knit or crochet well and it's not like I have an abundance of patience to learn how to do bigger projects, like socks or a jumper. I like the smallish basic projects, so that's what I'll stick to for now.

Talking about yarn though, I was thinking after I'd bought it (pity it wasn't before) that I really need to knit my stash so to speak. I don't need more wool, I need to use what I have before acquiring more. The same with books. I need to read my stash. My guess is that I would have around a dozen books waiting to be read. Possibly more but I'm not willing to actually go and have a count up at the moment. So I also need to read my stash. You know, I have overflowing bookshelves with enough books on them that a friend regularly comes around to borrow from me rather than the library. It's true! I have some decluttering in mind for my bookshelves too.

Well that's probably enough of my waffling for today. I might go and plant these seedlings and play with the dog for a while. Thanks for reading.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

A 2nd Thursday, 29 April 2010 post!!


Good grief, what on earth is going on here? Normally I can't manage to string two posts together on consecutive days, let alone two in one day!! Must be a full moon or something. Umm actually, I do believe it is a full moon, if not today then tomorrow if I remember rightly. Well perhaps that has something to do with it.

So the reason for this unexpected second post of the day? No major reason, a little insomnia to dislodge and I thought sitting up writing may help. I actually had a marginally productive day today, which is great considering I was home on sick leave (see previous post for way too much information on the reasons behind my sick leave).

If you happened to read my earlier long winded post, an Ernest post as a dear friend of mine might say, you would have read that I was planning a de-cluttering attempt near my desk area. I have to say I was successful in that endeavour. One small step for Marika and one big step for.... hmm, doesn't sound quite right does it?

It has, however, made me realise that my vision of completing an entire room in a single day might be a little more of a challenge than I'm up for, so I need to reframe that little vision of mine and perhaps look at something a little more realistic. Perhaps aim for certain parts of a room and maybe aim to complete a room within a time frame - a week or a fortnight or a month, depending on how much there is to be done.

I can be quite pernickety you know and quite ruthless when the mood finds me to declutter. All of this takes time too, I need to be sure I truly want what I'm deciding to keep and once I am, the remainder is gone! I guess that's the aim though isn't it?

Seeing as clutter is one of my least favourite things, yet one of the things I'm so good at accumulating, especially when living in house full of people which sounds kind of whacky as you'd think it would be the other way around, then it can become rather a chore this decluttering thing. One of those chores you continually put off for another day, as I've been doing for a number of months. I have no excuse now though as the summer is gone and the weather is slowly cooling, making it much more pleasant for doing these kind of chores. Well any kind of chores really. Summer and I do not get along, but that's a whole other story.

Earlier, while I was unsuccessfully trying to sleep, I was thinking about my friends. I read some beautiful posts today about a friend who died recently. These posts were all written by one of her close friends and were kind of a memory lane of their friendship. It was beautiful, poignant, heartbreaking, and inspiring. Inspiring in a way that makes me really treasure my friendships, which I've always done but this just reached me on another level.

And it made me remember some things I hadn't thought of in a while about a particular friend of mine that I met a few years back. We've been online friends for around 5 yrs and we've spent time together just once, but it was definitely memorable. He thinks the only thing I remember about my visit was the graveyards we visited. He continued my love of graveyards and reading headstones.. sigh. But no, that's not the only thing I remember.

I stayed in a motel for the first night of my trip as he was commuting for work and we had to drive the next afternoon to get to his place. He came in to where I was staying that night and brought me chocolates. I don't think anyone has done that for me before. And they were one of my favourites, so that definitely put him on the Christmas list!

He took me out for dinner, to some type of asian restaurant. I can't remember exactly where or what it was, although I do have a vague recall of it being in a street on a slight hill. We had some steamboat type of dish, something I've never had before but it was delicious. Talked and talked, he went to the bathroom, then later I went to the bathroom.

When I came back to the table, he says, are you ready? Lets go. So I'm not moving real fast thinking we were about to pay for our meal and he suddenly says quietly, c'mon, lets get out of here! And he kinda nods his head towards the door. As we get out the door, he starts running and says c'mon, hurry up and I'm trying to say.. but what about paying? And he's still running and laughing.. and I eventually realised that no one had seemed at all perturbed, no one was chasing us, and I was the only one concerned. He'd obviously paid while I was in the bathroom but boy did he put the wind up my sails for a moment there. I grin whenever I think about that still!

We also went to a little local pub one night, actually a couple of times but the first time we were there and were just yabbering on about all kinds of weird things and I don't know how but somehow we started talking about geology. Now anyone who knows me, knows I'm geographically challenged at times and once you start talking geology and rock formations, then I'm completely lost. But we had this in depth discussion on geology, by the time we left I could even remember a tiny amount of it, however, if he were to ask me now? Jeepers, I'd have to do a quick google search in attempt to get my facts straight!!

Ok, so I'm rambling and it's probably time to finish this post. Who knows? I might share more about some of my friendships during my blog. Reading the posts about Amy today made me want to preserve those memories somewhere, even if it's in an online blog, just in case my memory totally deserts me someday. I guess then I'd be unable to recall the blog anyway but perhaps someone else may enjoy it.

Not sure what pic I can add to this post, unfortunately I don't have any pics of my friend and I but I may be able to rustle up one from somewhere on my trip down there.

Thursday, 29 April 2010


Well the rest of the long weekend was relaxing and uneventful, until Monday night, just after serving up dinner for my family, when I was hit with a bout of gastro which saw me spend much of the night in the relative safety of my bathroom, sitting on the toilet with a bucket on my knees! Such a delightful image that conjures up, but boy oh boy, was it a nasty little bug. It is now Thursday and I'm still off work, although I am much better today than I have been thankfully and I will definitely be going into work tomorrow. I thought I was today but my stomach had other plans. I've informed my stomach what it could do with those plans and so far, it seems to be heeding my warning.

Needless to say, nothing much else has happened this week. I wasn't well enough to attend my art class last night, although I did complete a 'repeat' painting over the weekend. I loved the one I did as a gift for my friend's wedding earlier this month, so I painted another for myself. So that could be today's pic.

I know I was recently thinking and talking about writing my story, but right after thinking and then deciding to actually do something about it, Bob decided to pick up the threads of his book idea again which has lain dormant for over 2 years and I got involved in putting together bit of a memory jogger for him. Unfortunately, in my enthusiasm, I also managed to stir up a hornet's nest. So while the hornets have been soothed somewhat, my involvement with his book writing is now firmly at an end and I wish him all the best on his book journey. He has plenty of material to work with, that's for sure.

As to mine? Well who knows? The ideas are still there and one day, I may regain my enthusiasm for doing something about it. I'm feeling as though I need to do things for me at the moment and in doing so, not feel I'm somehow in competition with others doing similar things. Obviously the time isn't right for me just yet and I'm sure when that time comes, the opportunity will present itself. Let's hope I'm listening and hear the message!!

The other project I've had in mind is sifting through the clutter. I've made a wee small start on that this morning and sifted through much paperwork and gatherings that were about the desk in my bedroom. I know, the bedroom is not the place for a desk, I totally agree but we seem to be pressed for space here at the moment and here is where a small desk fits, so here is where it lives at this point in time. There are good things and bad things about that though. Good is when I want to shut myself off and write as I'm doing here, I can do so without being interrupted usually. The bad is it makes it harder to switch off at night. I guess it's all about balance really and I know I need some more of that in my life at the moment.

Well this has proven to be a very long and reflective type of post. If you by some obscure chance, happen to be reading and you've actually made it to the end, then I thank you and I hope my writing has been at least mildly entertaining or amusing or even thought provoking.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Sunday, 25 April 2010


Today is Anzac Day, one of those days that carries different emotional ties for different people. I haven't attended a service so far today and don't plan to this year, but it is in my thoughts and in my heart and I will go to the local memorial later in the date to have a look at the wreaths. I always enjoy the dawn service if I'm going to attend, something very beautiful and heartfelt about it. I have such mixed feelings about Anzac Day, I honour our forefathers and the young men and women who have represented our country in the most recent wars. I strongly believe they should be honoured for putting their lives on the line. However, I don't believe in war or in glorifying war, so it brings a mixed feeling about it.

In other goings on ~life is moving right along. Had a couple of yuck days but that's life isn't it? So we keep on keeping on and try to keep our heads up. This weekend is a long weekend, so gives time to take a breather and refresh. I might even make some Anzac biscuits today! I also plan to do bit of a clean up around the yard and at some stage between today and tomorrow, will do some painting.

Well that's about it from me for now. I will be back later if I think of anymore to add, otherwise I'll be back another day!

Today's pic is of one cheeky lovable little boy!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Tuesday, April 20th 2010



Have had some of those whacky mixed up few days where you feel all over the place. The past couple of months have held lots of emotional turmoil in one way or another. Anyways, I decided on my way home from work that it was a good day to stop and hire a dvd to watch tonight as distraction can be a good thing.

So I found one with Uma Thurman and an actor I've seen before in something, not sure what but it would be another movie because I don't watch tv. This guy has dimples you could drown in and there's just something about him that really does it for me. So move on over Richard Gere, Colin Firth, George Clooney and Mathew McConaghy - Jeffrey Dean Morgan is coming on through!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Sunday 18 April 2010


So it's Sunday evening and I'm here wondering where on earth does the time go? Although when I stop and think about the things I've done this weekend, it has been enjoyable. The weekend started off on Friday night looking after my beautiful grandchildren, Tiara and Xavier. Tiara had a sleepover and Xavier just stayed for a few hours.

Saturday morning we did a little shopping with Tiara before her parents came to pick her up, then we headed back out to get some salt for the pool and a few seedlings. Had a brief nap in the afternoon, went out for a quick birthday drink for Jon's girlfriend's birthday and then settled in to watch Mao's Last Dancer. What a fantastic movie - I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Had a slow start today, enjoyed a sleep in which almost never happens, a lazy breakfast before deciding I felt like cooking today. A zuchini slice, a sticky date pudding for tonight's dessert, some chocolate chip cookies and some brownies before putting a leg of lamb and some veggies on to roast. Played around with the pottery bells I made but I have them strung too far apart and they are heavier than anticipated, so I need to start over on that little project.

I'd planned to do some painting but didn't quite get there so perhaps tomorrow night. And that was my weekend. Still no progress on the decluttering, which I must seriously do something about deciding where to start - I do kind of have a thought or plan of how to go about it, so I guess that's a start isn't it? And no progress on the writing either.

Today's pic is my absolute favourite of my Tasmanian pics. It was taken at a lookout point between Strahan and Queenstown.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Tuesday, April 13th 2010.


Wow, here I am two days running - I'm on bit of a roll don't you think?

This glorious photo is of Lake Rosebury in Tasmania. So many beautiful places to see down there and feel at peace.

The big boat that lives in our part of the canal left this morning. He seems to go away for 6 months of the year, following the warmer weather I imagine. The boat is big enough that it's quite an exercise to back it up the canal and turn at the end so it can go straight again. It's a rather majestic sight.

It kind of reminds me about how life continually moves on, sometimes we need to move one way, then another, turn around, before sailing on.

I sometimes have days where I feel life is sailing on by, leaving me behind. There is so much I want to do and achieve in this life, and I'm so aware of time passing that I'm fearful I will run out of time to follow my dreams.

I know there is an affordability factor to some of these things too, but a lot of it is getting bogged down in day to day life and putting off the things we really want to do. Perhaps it's time I started addressing some of those things.

Well that's it from me for today - a deep and meaningful start to the day. If you're reading this, I hope your day is a good one.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Monday, April 12th 2010


Two posts in a week, that's got to be a good start! I've been contemplating blogs on other topics as I mentioned last time, but would that be manageable? Or should I keep it all here? Decisions decisions.

In the two years I've been in this house, it seems to have become more and more cluttered which just about drives me nuts. Probably something to do with the fact we've had 5 households move into one! Anyways, I don't like clutter at all yet I seem to be surrounded by it. I would like to sort and turf. Well perhaps even sell some unused, unwanted stuff, but most of all I want it to not be here.

My dilemma is that it's at overwhelming proportions. Possibly because not all of the stuff in this house is mine. But I find it all overwhelming because I'm unable to get to some of my gear easily which makes it that little harder to sort. So to do this would be bit of a mission and I'm thinking I may need to start by tackling one room at a time, starting with my bedroom and then doing the common areas of the house before ending up in the garage which is the stuff nightmares are made of.

So the de-cluttering is one line of thought for a blog. The other is writing a book. I've had one book part written for a few years now and haven't added anything for at least 6 yrs. I have another small one I wrote in that time that I sent off to one publisher and got a 'good' rejection letter (it's funny how they are kind of graded isn't it?). I think with some tweaking, it might be worth while sending out again so that's another project in it's self.

But the one that's been really playing on my mind of late, is a story that's been simmering away the last 5-6 years. I want to use some of my experiences as a springboard for a fiction. I knew it was a story I wasn't ready to write for quite a while and I think the readiness to write it, is almost here. It's been on my mind a lot lately. Characters, names, scenes are popping into my head and I need to jot them down.

And there we have it. Two blog possibilities - Decluttering and Writing up a Storm - or something like that. Would it be too much to have more than one blog on the go? Will that mean I'm spending all my time writing on blogs rather than book writing? Or can the blog writing be helpful with the book?

So back to the purpose of this particular blog - a photo a day. A photo journal if you will. We looked after my grandson Xavier this weekend. He's walking now, is ever so cute and has the cheekiest little grin. Today's pic is Xavier. It's not the clearest pic ever but you can get my drift on the cheeky grin.

Friday, April 9, 2010

April 9th


Well it has been a while! Almost 5 months to be exact. Not sure whether to continue this as a daily post or what. I've been thinking about blogging on a totally different scale, but perhaps I need a separate blog for that rather than this one which is primarily about taking a photo a day.

So in view of the photo a day, I'll add a pic that was taken in Tasmania when I was visiting last week. This pic was taken in Strahan on the west coast.