Merry Christmas Graphic

Christmas 3D letters to read 'Merry Christmas'.  Had fun making this over time.

Christmas, Dad & Ella

Like most of us we have been buying presents, going out and about at this time of year.  My legally blind dad (88) is staying at our house. This morning our eldest son bought his daughter Ella to see her Great Grandfather.  Ella is nearly 8 months old, has a bit of a cold no doubt due to her getting her first tooth soon.

The bracelet on Ella's arm is gold with a locket which has a little bluebird on it, a small teddy bear is on one of the links, her name is engraved on the plate and who from on the back...My dad's Christmas Gift to her.

Christmas Graphics

Been making Christmas Graphics since October.  I lost them and had to redo.

I wish everyone that passes this way a Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Precious Gift

Sweet little Ella now 8 months old is the youngest of our grandchildren.

Helicopter in the Yard!

This house is over the next hill from where I live.  Interesting to note a private Helicopter has been added to the owner's mode of transport, parked by the side of his house.  Just one skip, jump and hop and you are sitting in the seat & can fly off whenever you wish!

With a bit of luck you can see the Helicopter on the right of the photo.

3D Graphic Animation

Just been fiddling with Digital 3D Graphics and Animation.
This is my first result.  Maybe a little too dark, will work on it :)
A few more.

Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania

The Entrance to the Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania was discovered in 1804 by a William Collins. The Gorge as it's known locally or the Basin is short walk from the city.
Many an hour I spent as a teenager here at the Basin, swimming and sunbaking.  Oh Yes, I was delivered to the Basin by my father in a Police Car and collected a few hours later in same :)
That's how it was being the only daughter (child) of a Policeman.

 View of The Alexandra Suspension Bridge first built in 1904.

The Basin, no one ever knew how deep it was until recently - 19 meters deep, 62ft. in 2011.

 A view for the path going towards the swimming pool.

The Basin & Swimming Pool which is unsupervised. There is a Cafe, a few barbecues.  The city of Launceston is behind the hill.

Thieves in the Night!

Several years ago we owned a business which was a very successful one and still is. Whilst owning this business we were often called out at night by the Police or Security Guards whom we paid to look after the place.
We had security cameras around the building and inside the building, we sold many things that people wanted to steal..oh dear!
One such night the security guard phoned home about 2 or 3am in the morning for one of us to go over and join him as we had been robbed once again.
Next day, I went through the recorded tape which went for 8 hours, yes, I know it sounds boring but I used to fast forward and mainly only looked at the tapes if we had had a robbery.
So this day I found the thieves x 2, continued to play the tape and just happened to look up at the security guard and lo and behold he was stealing too!!  Yes, a security guard stole some chocolate frogs.
So what do you say about chocolate frogs, let the guard go and don't say anything, but then on the other hand it could have been diamond rings that cost more money - so the thing is I rang his boss and it went from there, he almost lost his job, he wasn't permitted to do security work anymore.  The young men were taken to court, fined and that was that.
I wonder how they would feel if they saw the video below.....

The video goes for 59 seconds, is FLV and 9.15MB....watch carefully and you will see the 2 young males, and the security guard taking the frogs out of the big plastic frogs mouth....it's a little hard to see but you will see it. Also have cut a lot out of the video, but you get the idea.

Corinna, Tasmania, Australia

Corinna is a very small town on the North West Coast of Tasmania, Australia. 
The town only a few people living there, and is on the edge of what is known as the Tarkine.

A video of some of the scenery and about the area goes for about 7 minutes and is well worth watching.

http://vimeo.com/43390387

The site below tell of the history of Corinna, well worth the read.

http://www.corinna.com.au/homepage/a-colourful-past/

Inisde the Tarkine Hotel.

One of the Cottages that you can stay in at Corrina.

Blooms at the Gorge!

The Cataract Gorge is well known for the lovely show of Rhodendron blooms in the spring time.
I think when they planted them many years ago they only had a few colours.

The Rotunda was once where a Band played and is now information centre.

A blaze of the one colour. Rhododendrons.

On the way down the steps you see this Rhododendron bush.

Part of the pathway down to the Gorge - there are several.

Peacock at the Gorge

Went for a walk up the Gorge this afternoon and came across several Peacocks.
Now it has been my aim to get a photo of one of the Peacocks with his plume out in a fan - today after many trips up there over the years, it happened!  Big smiles on my face and I got some beautiful photos of the Peacock.

 So beautiful.

Golf at Bothwell, Tasmania. Australia

Bothwell Golf Museum is situated in Bothwell which is the gateway to the highlands of Tasmania, Australia. This Golf Course was and is the oldest in Australia.

As a child I spend several School Holidays at Bothwell staying with relatives in a very old house with a large kitchen, and a wonderful very large open fireplace where my Auntie used to cook potatoes and vegies, and of course always had the kettle on the side boiling. Auntie did have a stove as well.

Then there were the stairs! How I loved the stairs. Of course my cousin and I were not permitted to go up the stairs as they were not safe.  Fancy telling ME that!
Off we would go if we thought Auntie wasn't watching to the rooms up above, they were large and not used, plus there was an Attic.  Oh, we did have such fun up there, my cousin and I.
Yes, we would consistently get into trouble, which only made us want to go more often Upstairs.

One set of my GGGrandparents are buried at Bothwell, two of the many Pioneers of that area.  The Homestead still stands today, actually distant cousins live in it and farm the land.

The Bothwell Golf Museum.

Oh Dear, Twice!!

It's a hard situation to be in, but that is life and certain things do happen.

My best friend also my husbands cousin was out and about, fit as a fiddle, the next morning at 3am she couldn't get out of bed, 3 ambulances came.
4.10am, she was gone.

A male friend of my husbands and myself, been in hospital for 1 week, died 10 minutes before our cousin and best friend.

Then there was a family 90th birthday party held the same day, too late to cancel it, however it got all the family together for hugs and so on, was good therapy for all.

Two funeral now in one day this week.

So sad, May They R.I.P.

I made this graphic earlier this year, I changed the verse this morning.

Launceston, Tamar River, Tasmania

The Tamar River in Launceston, Tasmania, only a few minutes from the city even on foot.
Once ships came with Free Settlers from European Countries.
I did a little HDR on these photos to make them slightly different.

 View North towards the Tamar Valley and if you were to board a boat you would come out at Bass Strait.

Looking towards the Cataract Gorge, and West Tamar.

Mt. Barrow, Launceston, Tasmania

Mt. Barrow is not that far from Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.  The Mountain is to the north east and is a mere 1413 meters above sea level.  Snow falls once in awhile in Winter but is usually gone the next day. TV towers are up there plus various other towers.

View on the way down Mt. Barrow.

Samsung S3, 4G Camera

Pleasantly surprise by the 'Burst Shot' on the Camera of the Smartphone. This feature takes 8 photos then selects the 'best' one all by itself - it does an ok job as long as you hold the camera very still which is sometimes hard to do. Also if the breeze is blowing a little because of the speed in which the camera takes the photos you usually get a good one.
Today I ventured out in the breeze in my garden to see what flowers I could take....they are below taken with my Smartphone.

Banksia Rose - not really a rose.

Banksia White Rose.

Jasmine. We have two poles which this White Jasmine grows up and forms an arch effect over the barbecue area.

Nana Mouskouri, the Rose and is the first bloom of the spring in the Roses.

Coles at Wilmot, Tasmania. Australia.

 Wilmot is on the way to Cradle Mountain and is a small rural town.  The very first G.W Coles store in Australia which trained a few of the family and in it's time employed about 15 people and Coles owned some trucks that used to supply the surrounding areas. Thus began the 'Coles' transition to Variety Stores to the Coles Supermarket we now know of today in Australia.

Still has cobwebs handing from the ceiling. It's like stepping back in time.

Coles Store in Wilmot, Tasmania. Australia.

What shall I Choose!

A big decision is looming within.
What will I choose, which Smartphone!

I have an iPhone, I like the look of the Samsung Galaxy S3 4G which came out this week to Telstra.  I need a new challenge with the phone. iPhone is so to easy to use now, plus issues with a lot of new iPhone 5's, it looks as if I might go for the Samsung for a change.

Tomato Plant Hardening!

Here in Tasmania most of us who wish to grow our own fruit need to 'harden' the tomatoes before planting about mid October, then you pray you don't have a frost.

The tomato plants are put on the Garden Centre/Nursery shelves in late September till the end of the season.  Hardening is required by putting the plants outside firstly under cover then gradually less cover until strong in their pots.  Once done then after a few weeks plant them in the garden and watch them grow.  It always has been considered the best time to plant these fruit after the Royal Launceston Show Day, (mid October) hoping that there wasn't a last frost. Of course there usually is one, so hence if the fruit is not hardened there is the chance that it will be bitten and more required to be bought. Sometimes it's hard to get what you want the second time.

We bought my dad some tomato plants and a couple for ourselves, so now we will have two small areas of tomatoes growing and hopefully will have them coming out of our ears in the summer.
Chutney will be made by my husband, I don't like it nor does my dad, however it will save wasting tomatoes. We don't make tomato sauce as we are not fans of it.

Dad enjoys watering the tomatoes, he can only guess where they are planted :) It's a hobby for him thus gives him an interest outside.

 Hardening the tomatoes.

Tasmanian Tomatoes which were grown in a hot house for sale in our supermarkets.

Asparagus Fern which is growing in our garden.

All photos taken with my iPhone.

Spring Flowers!

Springtime is one of my favourite times of the year, to see the new blooms coming out, nature at it's best. Driving down the highway to my dads, in some areas I am greeted along the way on both sides with all the Wattle Trees out in bloom, so the bush is almost ablaze with the colour yellow and it's so pretty amongst the green.  The blossoms are just about finished now.

A Wattle Tree blooms.

After arriving I noticed in the garden where my mother's roses are still, this lone tulip.

The next door's neighbors blossom tree.

Glasses!

It's been over two years since I went to the Optometrist so off I went had the eyes tested, yes new lenses were required as my 'eyes' have improved.  Amazing, it's not often we are told that.
I decided I wanted new glasses, so instead of slim black frames I chose dark purple with slightly thicker frames, the glasses look a light black when on the face.

Waited one week, and I have them along with new lenses in my computer glasses, but I have found that because I had not worn glasses much for the past week, I can focus much better without them, however my eyes ache, so on with the glasses which takes me about 15 minutes to get used to them.

The photo below are my everyday glasses, my computer frames I use again with new lenses for the computer.

I found my everyday glasses on the net, they came from England so it seems.

Stanley, Tasmania Australia

Stanley is on the North-West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.  It's a sweet little town with farming and fishing. It's population is less than 500 people, so we could say that most people know about other peoples business :)
The Port was opened in 1827.
Australia's 10th Prime Minister was born at Stanley.  Joseph Lyons.

The Nut as it's called was discovered by Bass & Flinders in 1798. The rock is a volcanic plug which forms when the magma hardens, there are several or these volcanic plugs around the world.
The Nut is 152m above sea level and flat on top.  When we used to visit Stanley we would climb up the hill and walked on the top have magnificent views of land sea and sand.  Today there is a chair lift for those who do not wish to walk. 

The Nut with the pathway to the top.

Closer view.

Where Joseph Lyons was born, Australia's 10th Prime Minister.

A quaint coffee shop and tea rooms.  There are several places to eat as it's a tourist town.

Church of Apostles in HDR

I really like the effect of the Church of Apostles in HDR.  This is the same church that I was married in, the same church I played the pipe organ sometimes during lunchtime when I attended the Private School behind the church.
The first Church was built in 1842 but had to be replaced 20 years later.  The foundation stone was laid in 1864, it was called the Queen of the Apostles Church was open 1866 eventually called the Church of Apostles.
In 1889 the foundation stone was laid for the tower & spire but wasn't completed for another 100 years.

 The HDR looks a little bright, but I like the effect.

 Facing towards the Altar.

The back of the Church and the Pipe Organ.

The Chook!

When living at New Norkfolk I had a swing which consisted of two ropes hanging from a tree and a wooden seat, in the backyard.  One day my father had to chop one our chooks heads off so mum could cook one for a meal, not the head but the fowl.  The axe was sharpened the chopping block was checked and I was swinging on my swing being a small child.  A few neighbours came to visit and watch the big event.
The head of the chook was axed and that was that, until this dead chook started to fly, I took off and it followed me with my father telling me not to be frightened as it was normal for this type of thing to happen.  Eventually after a few minutes all was calm thank goodness.

The above photo was taken by someone else - I have borrowed it, and of course it's a rooster.

When I was 3

When I was about 3 years of age I lived in a Police house with my parents in New Norfolk, Tasmania for approximately 4 years before my dad was transferred to another town.
I remember many things that happened in New Norfolk when I lived there.

My dad used to polish the long wooden polished boards in the hall by having me on a soft rug and pulling me slowly down the hall, it was a big giggle.

My first dog was given to me at New Norfolk, I was terrified of dogs as a child so the dog was to help me overcome that hate of dogs, which it did.

I remember going down the street, my shoes getting dirty, and crying about it, they had to be wiped and then polished with my dads or mums hanky.

New Norfolk was where I first went to school  at the age of 3, came home at lunch time stood on a stool and turned the stove on for a meal to be cooked, both my parents came home for lunch.  After school I would go to the home of the nuns till one of my parents came to get me, sometimes I would be picked up by a young women who looked after me whilst my parents worked.

I recall one night when my dad was on night duty hearing footsteps at the front door, my mother and I hid behind the lounge, then my mother remembered that my bedroom window was open plus the back door - so she headed off to lock both as the person knocked loudly on the front door, then I could hear him walking down the side of the house in the dark of the night to the back door, both my mother and I scared as we were told to never open doors to strangers....it turned out this 'man' came looking for my father to do him some harm - this type of thing often happened, then I was a target for many years to come, one of the joys (I think not) back then of being a Policeman's daughter!  It was a great life.

The house I lived in once.

What's in Bloom in the Garden!

Always good to arrive home and find spring flowers blooming in the garden.  Always pick bunches of Daffodils and bring inside and keep them in a vase.

My dad was so pleased to see us, and I guess it's rather daunting for a elderly legally blind man to be left by his only child (me) to go away thousands of klms for over a month.  One good thing is that a Government Institution send a person whom my dads trusts a little, once a week to take him shopping.  So now I am back into my normal mode of traveling to my dads, staying then back home - hence I still have two homes to take care of.  I enjoy all of this immensely having friends in 2 cities, you could say I have 2 of everything just about, expect husbands :)

Anyway my spring blooms that are our in the garden at this time.

 Magnolia bloom, this tree is kept trimmed for they can grow rather large.

Japonica Margaret Davis Camellia.

The beginning of the blooming Irises.

A Trumpet Daffodil.

White Daffodil.

What is commonly known as Eggs & Bacon.

Freesias.