Not much happening

Not much has happened this week. it's been a week for Birthdays!!!!

Happy Birthday again to Lisa and Edna. The birthday girls celebrated in style no doubt.

We've out seafood shopping today and fruit shopping. I'm in heaven when it comes to both.

Sand crabs - $4.99 each
Trays of mango's - $15 a tray
Fresh apricots - $1.99/kg

yummmmmmmo

did i mention the pineapples. Now if i didn't i'm also obsessed with them. The fruit shop man and lady seem to know me now. They must think i'm stalking them. I've been making plenty of pineapple sorbet which david LOVES. i'm just making sure our local fruit shop doesn't go broke by supporting them and their pineapples. :-)

The weather here is dodgy too so we can't do to much swimming this week. We did however, go on a 40klm bike ride which was hot and i was buggered. I have Kirrily on my bike so i have a major handicap.

Voting was another interesting part of today. We had to line up for 30mins before we reached the polling booth. Normally i vote at the little school on Lookout Road and there are only 2 stations set up and 1 lady taking your name and no wait. different story up here. It's been hectic at all polling stations with ques all day long.

I must head off now. I've smashed my toe against the cupboard today while making sorbet (maybe i need to stop making it) and it's now black/blue and now a mozzie has munched on the toe next to it. Not doing too well.

No Dragons today

The Varsity Lakes regatta that i said we were paddling at, didn't happen. The regatta did but we didn't go. David had organised to go outrigging at Mooloolaba. "only paddle for about 1/2 hr" he said "in the canals and calm water" he also said.

Out through the Mooloolaba breakwall we go, into a 3-4ft swell with nice large waves breaking. I was nervous (now that is also an understatement) as i hadn't paddled a boat through waves like this since....... we sank the dragonboat in Newcastle Harbour. My previous sinking experience was flashing before my eyes, thoughts of sharks eating me..... but never fear, i'm alive to tell the story.

Those waves, fantastic to catch with the 6 man outrigger. The water was 24 degrees, crystal clear even 1klm out from the beach and my arms were about to fall off but it was great. We came into the beach to swap some paddlers so i sat out a bit and watched David go back out to catch some more waves. then i jumped back in and caught heaps more waves.

After 1 1/2 hrs i was buggered. my arms were burning, my back a bit stiff and my shoulders were rather sore but our coach man said it was a 3 hrs 'come and try' paddle. No way, Jose. i headed off to see what Kirrily was up to and then they decided it was capcise training. As my underwear wasn't going to appreciate getting that wet, i definately wanted to sit out.

It was a great surprise but i'm not sure i'll do it again. with the club fees being over $1,000/yr and the dragonboating only $40/yr i think i'll be a dragonboater.

Once we win lotto, I might join. Maybe.........

Beware the Dragon

Well it's official - we are now members of the Sunshine Coast Dragonboat Club.

We need to take it in turns to paddle as Kirrily is still a little bit young to be drummer up the front of the boat (however, she is making progress with her snail drum so we are getting her started early).

I paddled last night but with the strong southerly wind blowing and only 12 paddlers, it made for a tough paddle. I also got drowned with water when we paddled into the wind from the splashing paddles.

Next regatta is on at Varsity Lakes (near Robina) on the Gold Coast on 18th November so we have decided to paddle. Apparently there are plenty of mums, nanna's and granddads that would love to help us look after Kirrily so she is coming too. We can't wait to paddle somewhere different. we've paddled in Canberra, Penrith, Sydney, North Shore of Sydney and the Hinze Dam but not Varsity Lakes.

I must get some new paddle booties though as the booties are still suffering from 'Throsby-itis". this is a serious illness when booties come in contact with Throsby Creek and they stink and stink and can't stop stinking.

Many Green Thumbs Make Light Work

What can i say. try and keep me out of a garden for longer than a few days.

We had some seriously ugly plants at the front door. the Lirriope's were OK but the other grassy plants, not OK. the Camillia's - Dead!!! not a pretty site at your front door. so off to Bunnings we go and bought some beautiful new Gardenia's (True Love variety) with the strongest perfume i have ever smelt on a gardenia - 6 of those in a row near the front door. Then off to Mitre 10 (haven't been there until y'day so this made a huge change from the regular visits to Bunnings) and we have some minitastic azaelia that are a mini shiraz coloured azaelia. looks awesome. PHoto's - none today. too cloudy and had other shopping to do.



These are what our new numberplates look like too. Obviously not the same combination as i can't select. David has the blue one's, and i have the pink one's (very boy and girl really). Henry (the new Honda) is wearing David's new plates, while Harry (now refered to as the work-horse Honda or 'the old car' has my pretty pink plates. We also don't have a photo of the cars with their new plates on either. must get cracking on the photo's soon. and then get some more memory for my computer before i kill that with photo's. :-)

signing off. it's late - 9.33pm. and for a Queensland, that's way past bed time. do you know the take away shops shut at 6.30pm and the late one's, 7pm. Might be because the first light in the day is 4.20am so most people are buggered by 6.30pm and off to bed.

I must also tell you all this before i sign off. Queensland has been described to me as "one hour and 20 years behind the rest of Australia" and after this week, i'm starting to realise. Firstly, the supermarkets shut at 5.30pm. I'm talking coles/woolies not the little guys. Now if that's not bad enough, when your used to 24hr service at The Junction, the take-away shops shutting at breakfast time (well nearly) the latest for me was surprising David with a raisin loaf on Sunday morning. Off i went to the Wurtulla bakery. after i asked the man "do you have a raisin loaf" as i couldn't see any, his reply "oh no, we don't bake those on Sundays". WHY NOT!!!! isn't that when people have pancakes, toast, something else different? apparently not. oh well. :-)

What a Rainforest in Kawana Forest

Well they don't call it Kawana Forest for nothing. Just 150m away is a beautiful rainforest.

I'll set the scene:

5.30pm (no daylight saving here), close to sunset. A nice, relaxing walk in the rainforest before dinner sounded like a lovely thing to do. First, we headed for the paddock (for those that know, it's like Billinudgel in your backyard) with kangaroos, cows, birds and paddocks. then we walked across to the rainforest. ahhh, the sun setting, the birds singing, the frogs ribbitting. And then, they struck MOZZIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If we were 1 kg lighter, we would have been carried to 'Mozzie Land'. Hundreds and hundreds (not exagerating here) of mozzies filled the back of our shirts, our pants, our socks, our hats, inside Kirrily's shade cover. the Frogs - Toads. So as you can probably tell it went downhill - fast. We ran out as fast as we could back home to find - the front door key is jaming and not working so therefore the mozzies had another chance to strike. We also spoke with a lady around the corner to find those lovely kangaroos chased her through the estate too. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. anyone for a visit to Queensland? :-)

THE thongs

Well it's been a beautiful day today in sunny Queensland. A little bit of cloud cover makes perfect weather for bike riding. We've been up and down the Currimundi creek on both sides now as the cycle path winds along the banks of the creek/lake. There are swings and bbq's and tables/chairs about 100m apart along the whole path and it's a brilliant path covered with shade. Kirrily loves her bike rides and sings along, then waves to the trees going "bye bye, bye bye" and "hello" to the plants and birds.

Once we got home, she found 'The Thongs'. She has learnt how to put her shoes on already but didn't realise these one's were a little bit big. Doesn't matter when your little, everything is yours so these thongs of mine had to be tried out.