Days 219-225/366

Day 219/366

This richly coloured succulent grows in a rockery at the end of our street.  The morning sun was glowing through the leaves.

Day 220/366

These carvings are part of a memorial to a man called Harry Thompson who lived in his caravan at Shelly Beach Port Macquarie where he became a much loved and respected part of the community.  He made it his job to look after the beach area  and was named the unofficial Mayor of Shelly Beach,  you can read more about his story here

Day 221/366

Hibiscus seed pod.

Day 222/366

Two little projects I have on the go at the moment.  The first is a birthday gift for a sewing friend and the second is...???? Stay tuned :)

Day 223/366

Here is my " mad photographer moment of the week".  I was driving home from work, keeping an eye on a storm front coming up from the South when I spotted a rainbow out to sea. I pulled over, grabbed my camera and raced up the hill in the howling wind.  A pair of Japanese tourists were running the other way back to their car as it was starting to rain,  when I rounded the corner, scarf and hair flying madly in the wind. I was a woman on a mission!    I got to the top of the lookout, took this shot and then....my camera battery went flat  :) 

Day 224/366

One project finished...turned out a bit bigger than I anticipated, but I am really pleased that I have managed to squeeze in a bit of sewing after work this week.

Day 225/366

The reno project is nearly finished, I didn't have the real tools to grout the tiles, so used a bit of cardboard and my fingers - they did the trick.  Now I am just waiting for the edging to dry so I can attach it. It's a cold and wet day today so it might take a couple of days.

Days 212-218/366

Day 212/366

I have a spare butterfly from my Mum's quilt and was thinking of using it for a label. It's a bit too big.

Day 213/366

This artwork is called "Folly" by Rick Reynolds and is situated on Windmill Hill, Port Macquarie.  Windmill Hill was originally called Gillman's Folly until a windmill was built on the site in 1825 to grind wheat and corn for government contracts.  The artwork represents the wooden shaft and stone grinding wheels.  I love it.

Day 214/366

At the risk of being very boring, here is another sunrise and ocean shot. The seas were huge.  My morning or afternoon walks are the highlight of my day as I generally spend the rest of it in front of a computer.  I am so fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

Day 215/366

Sunrise and our Magpie was singing sweetly, whilst standing on one leg.  What balance!

Day 216/366

The sky produced some wonderful colours today.  The sunrise was amazing but the day was cold and grey.  A late afternoon burst of sun and then a beautiful mauve dusk.  This little yacht was all alone and looked rather lovely - for some reason it made me think of the movie "Mama Mia"

Day 217/366

Ever wondered why it says No Hot Ashes on the top of our rubbish bins?  Ah, well,  here is the reason...

My husband cleaned out our fire from the night before and thought the ashes were cold.  Some time later I thought I could smell smoke and when we went outside we found thick black smoke and flames shooting skywards where our bin used to stand. Luckily this was the only damage, and thank goodness it wasn't summer...now we just have to explain our mishap to the local council so we can buy another bin, oops!  :)

Day 218/366

The Firebug and I took a few hours off this morning to visit The Not So Secret Fishing Spot.  It's great, he gets to fish and I get to explore the area with my trusty little camera.  Today I spotted busy bees in the Wattle bushes and a wonderful tree trunk encrusted with barnacles :)

Days 205 - 211/366

Day 205/366

Baking time - Chocolate Coconut Slice and a Carrot Cake :)

Day 206/366

Snowflakes and a very interesting driveway.

Sunrise on our morning walk.

Day 208/366

I ran into the Post Office ,narrowly avoiding a soaking, and look what was there by the time I came out!

Day 209/366

We only have a small crop of lemons this year.

Day 210/366

An Aloe Vera flower bud peeking through the spiky leaves.

Day 211/366

I'm still renovating the bedside drawers - these are the feet in between coats of varnish. 

Days 197 - 204/366

Day 197/366

This was the first day I was well enough to take a walk and it was a beautiful day. 2 Military Helicopters flew by whilst we were walking along the beach so I took a quick snap. I also found this skeltonised leaf and thought it looked quite special with the sun shining through it.

Day 198/366

This is part of a quilt that I have been working on for a looonnnggg time...it's a Block of Month called "Girls Day Out".  I am determined to finish it this year :)

Day 199/366

I am so grateful to be back out walking in the mornings.  The sun was rising as we went around the headland.

Day 200/366

Wow, Day 200!  I wished I had have realised it on the day, as I would have tried a bit harder to find something interesting for this milestone.  Coffee or tea anyone?  These two enormous mugs hang out in the back of the factory part of the office I work in on Wed and Thurs.

Day 201/366

Lots of textures here.

Day 202/366

Driving home from work with no photo taken, I spotted this band of apricot fluffy clouds as the sun set.

Day 203/366

Apologies but here is another photo of Coco.  I was hanging out the washing and spotted her hiding behind the lattice near the vegie patch..a quick sprint to grab my camera and a bemused cat posed for a photo.  I do think cats are so photogenic :)

Day 204/366

I started another of my "gunna"  projects today, sanding back our bedside drawers to re vamp them.  I love my sander, the only power tool that I have ever bought and fiercely guard (heh heh).  I have refurbished quite a few things and when I get  half way through any project I always wonder what on earth I was thinking.   So I forced myself to keep on sanding until it was all finished with the reward of a cup of tea at the end.  Stay tuned for the finished articles...fingers crossed my idea works :)

I'm back. Days 184 - 188/366

The 'flu has passed through our house, getting 3 out of the 4 of us.  It was very nasty.
I am trying to catch up on my photos, these are from 2 weeks ago and I didn't take any last week, so I am very behind.  I will try to catch up on everyone's blogs over the next few days too.

Day 184/366

My least favourite chore....ironing. I had a big pile but you can probably tell what I really wanted to do by my sewing machine in the background.  It had to wait.

Day 185/366

Spotted on the way home from a client.

Day 186/366

A Camellia from our garden, the photo does not do it justice.

Day 187/366

My favourite of the week.  I spotted this little family whilst at a clients, I grabbed my camera and then ran as quickly as possible up the road to get ahead of them without scaring them.  I felt like the Paparazzi in pursuit of a celebrity!  The ducks were not amused. :)

Day 188/366

It's finished!

The flu strikes...again

I'm sad to say I am not up to posting my photos for the past week. We've had a nasty flu virus going around the family and it has got me too. I've been sick so many times this winter and I just don't seem to able to get well enough to fight the next nasty. Enough of my complaining ... I am using my IPad to post this message,it's great to use when your horizontal, but I can't upload my photos from my camera with it, so I'll do that when I'm up and about again.

Days 176-183/366

Day 176/366

I was sitting on a rock looking out for whales whilst my hubby was fishing (yes, he is obsessed with fishing :) ).  The whales were too far away to photograph, but this Bee wasn't!

Day 177/366

It was looking like a no-photo-inspiration kind of day, until my daughter showed me her new shoes. Wowee!  I did try them on, (I couldn't help myself) , and wished I could still wear killer heels.   They were surprisingly comfortable...whilst I was standing still  :)

Day 178/366

A bit of a contrast to the last photo, but this was the best I could come up with today.  Someone dumped this old wooden ladder at the back of my client's workplace.

Day 179/366

My client has left his stock van with me whilst he is away, so I made the most of the opportunity to take a photo of these little critters :)

Day 180/366

Hmmm,I  can't think of any to say about this other than I was struggling for an interesting photo today, can you tell?

Day 181/366

Fungus on a Pandanus tree, spotted on a walk after work to celebrate the fact that it was Friday!

Day 182/366

All the housework was done and I was all alone in the house..so I took advantage and did a little bit of quilting on my Mum's birthday quilt. :)

Day 183/366

 After a busy weekend of family stuff with a lovely visit from my stepdaughter and her friends, my hubby decided to indulge in his other obsession....golf.  I jumped at the chance to have a stroll around the course with him, with my camera, as it is a haven for wildlife and I wasn't disappointed.  My first encounter was with a very friendly Black Swan that spent ages near me feeding in the weeds, preening and making little noises.  I was a bit apprehensive at first because they can be cantankerous creatures, but this one was rather sweet.
I then spotted a Mum and Bub Kangaroo, the young one had it's head in the Mum's pouch having a little feed.  They were not at all worried by my presence and carried on with their business for quite a while before the baby lifted it's head out of the pouch.
My final treat was to spot a Koala that was actually awake!
Oh yes the golf was OK too ;)