A Gift from Afar!

Every Christmas for many years I receive a gift from Canada, a Christmas Cake the size of a brick. Today the parcel arrived and I was thrilled. It's the first time the cake arrived after Christmas being posted on the 9th of December.

I first met the lady who makes and sends the cake many years ago on the internet.  I had a 'homepage' with information on it, and it's there the lady emailed me and we have been emailing since.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

& a 

Happy New Year!

May peace and plenty be the first

To lift the latch to your door.
And happiness be guided to your home,
By the candle of Christmas.

Christmas In Australia!

No, we don't have snow where I live at Christmas time, it's summer.
Living in the Southern area of Australia we have a hot 1pm meal, called Christmas Dinner.  People do have Barbecues, some have salads, some eat out for Dinner, many go to family and spend a fair bit of the day travelling, some stay at home, some have Christmas Dinner another day, then some don't do much at all. So with our weather Christmas is not always a hot meal.

The photos below is from an Australian Christmas Card which basically shows the opposite to the Northern Hemisphere's Christmas weather.

The Bush on the way to Josef Chromy's Winery.

The Tasmanian Bush which I love to walk in when I can. I took some photos on the way to Josef Chromy's Winery.
This time of year it's snake time, so it's not always advisable to walk without the correct shoes, clothing and to be ever watchful, as all the snakes in Tasmania are poisonous.
Josef fled his war-torn Czech village in 1950 as a penniless 19 year old after eleven years of Nazi and Soviet occupation. He escaped across borders guarded by minefields, dogs and soldiers, suffering five month of privation before immigrating to Australia. (copied from his website)
Josef has many awards for his wines from the Relbia Winery in Tasmania.

Flowers for Christmas!

A warm day forecast for tomorrow at 37deg C so expect I won't be doing a great deal.

The roses are blooming well as are the lilies. The photo I have below is a common Lilium, they seem to multiply and not die out as other varieties of the Lilium do.

My late mother used to have beautiful Liliums and because they bloomed around Christmas time we called them 'The Christmas Lily'. I do have a photo of them somewhere, but for now a photo of the common one.

Gifts for Christmas!

Sometimes for us it's hard to think of a personal gift for family members. Some are easy to buy for, and some are not.
What I do is phone each of them and ask what they would like, I always get a lovely reply.
Family gets what they want & we pay for it, that way I don't go shopping for presents expect for my husband and my father.
My husband & I have 11 people to buy gifts for which, is not many compared to some people. It's the joy of giving that is the best.
I wonder how others go about buying their Christmas Gifts?

Before Bed!

Often I do have something to drink and eat before going to bed. The past few nights around 11.30pm to midnight I have been have a mug of Cappuccino and a piece of cream cake.
I took the photo and forgot the little camera didn't take a good photo in partial darkness.

The header I made for this blog isn't as bright as it should be, must be blogger!

Nana Mouskouri Rose

I just love this beautiful rose called Nana Mouskouri and named after the singer of the same name. I love her singing also, I can listen to her sing all day, and do.
This particular rose was growing in the front garden till winter time, it's then my husband moved it out to the back rose garden and it's doing very well - as is my husband :)
I have not altered the background or colours in the photo, it comes the way I photographed it, though I did make the photo smaller.

As the rose comes out it goes whiter, but it's not a pure white Floribunda Rose

Greeting after midnight!

The content of photo below was my greeting just after midnight.  This spider is a Hunstman, harmless, can bite but doesn't usually. Often they can appear in the house if it's going to rain, and it did rain!
These spiders run quickly, can hide in cars and often do and fall on your lap :) that did happen to me once.
Anyway I was able to take care of the huntsman last night, so I thought, just about to step into my kitchen putting my foot down on the floor, bare foot might I add, and it landed on top of that huntsman....no harm done to me, but it's gone!

Wikipedia

Shih-Tzu - Down memory lane!

We have had two Shih-Tzu dogs at different times in our married life.
When they ran or entertained you their long coat which was just to the ground would 'float'', such a delight to see and watch. When the play was over the back legs would go straight out behind them, and that is where they stayed to rest before heading to the basket, the bed.

They are what I call a high maintenance little dog, however, I loved every minute of the grooming. Plucking the hair out of the ears, clipping the nails, washing the eyes & face daily and brushing/combing the hair, cutting hair away from the pads of it's feet. Could have taken the dog to a dog groomer, or had one call at home but preferred to do it myself, putting a ribbon in it's hair when it was long. The weekly bath or twice weekly was always a good time, a perfect well behaved dog.
One great thing about the Shih-Tzu's, they have hair so therefore don't leave hair all over the house.

We purchased dog clippers which were good ones so that when the dog became older I could shear him, and when I did I believe he felt naked and would go and hide till his hair grew a bit, then sit on my knee when ever possible. Mum was the word!

When we traveled within Tasmania we would take him with us, he was easily hidden :) being so small and he knew not to bark. When we traveled other states of Australia our eldest son lived at home so he took care of him, doing his best.
Unfortunately he had to be put down a few ago, but we are over that now, and remember our sweet little dog without tears in our eyes - yes it takes time.

Sasha in our backyard.

Over looking the Maroochy River, Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Stayed over looking the Maroochy River at Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland on our recent holiday. Each Apartment is self contained and ours had two bathrooms, one for me and one for 'him'. The Apartments all face north so hence we had lots of sun plus a lovely balcony.

Up on the roof under cover there are spas and barbecues and one of the spas was being replaced with a crane lifting it into place.

Someone sailing by, written on the sail, Hobbie Island :)

On an odd occasion a plane flew overhead, I managed to capture this one.

Great Day!

My 89 year old blind dad has been in a Private Hospital in my home city for two weeks and had 2 lots of surgery. I brought him home and stayed with him for two more weeks, then after dad being home for 5 weeks I had to come and get him, a 3 hours journey, and take him back to the Private Hospital for observations for just over a week. We are at his house staying for a few nights, and dad is much improved so back home tomorrow.

Whilst here this time the next door neighbour and my husband have put up a new fence.

Dad, neighbour, my husband.

Noosa, Queensland.

Once a few years ago we found a beach in Noosa and everytime after that we never could find the same beach until this year.  Noosa is a place that one can get lost in to some degree, but it is easy in the end to find your way out.  I took a few photos of various 'things' to do with the beach and sea. 
There's a few coffee strips and restaurants, plus you can catch a ferry to Frazer Island.

Noosa sea gulls.

Coast Guard Building.

The warning sign.

There were several people playing the guitar on the rocks in various places.

One of the beaches.

A beach south of Noosa as the sun was setting, however the sea faces east :)

Bush (Brush) Turkey's in Noosa, Queensland

Off to the beach in Noosa in Queensland, and whilst there Bush Turkeys are many, known as Brush Turkey.  They seem to be fairly tame and just wander around along the pathway, across the road and into the car park and beyond to the bush.

Narrabri, NSW

Narrabri in NSW is one of the towns we travel through sometimes when visiting our youngest son his wife and family on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
Narrabri is another clean and tidy town that offers much for the traveler. The population is about 5, 900 people, and a cotton growing area, wheat, beef and lamb.

I took some photos in the main street the morning before we left to travel north.

The Coat of Arms on the Court House in Narrabri

The Court House

The War Memorial in Narrabri

I figured that Santa plus the sign stays on the building all year.

A Bank

The Post Office

Jerilderie in NSW + Rememberance Day.

Jerilderie is a small town of just under 800 people in NSW.  Lovely and clean.  Canola, Rice, Wheat and lots of other crops are grown there. It's also a farming area.
There is a War Memorial also which are in most towns, and as we are coming up to 11 day of the 11 month I thought it appropriate to post a photo I took of some of the names from that area of those that died in the War...

Lake Jerilderie

Known as the Steel Wings windmill which were made in Sydney 1907 and 1911 with only six models ever erected. The windmills comprise a steel frame and fan which turns to the wind between a bearing at the bottom and a swivel at the top, all supported by Guy-wires. The fully restored windmills, the only two known working examples in the world, are unique because their fan is contained and spins within the fully pivoting frame.

This Steel Wings was restored by Clive Langfield and George Cornish (now dec.) spending some 600 hours to bring it to its present working condition, pumping 9 litres (2.4 US gal) per revolution from the Billabong Creek to the Jerilderie Lake using a 15-centimetre (5.9 in) draw plunger with a 48-centimetre (19 in) stroke.

The Jerilderie windmill, the larger of the two stands 17 metres (56 ft) high with a 9-metre (30 ft) fan.
Thanks Wikipedia.

Mathoura, NSW

This town is small about 650 people, but it's a very clean town and we were taken by the Steel cutouts...Cockatoos.

There is a Post Office, Golf Course, a Soldiers Memorial Garden plus a few shops. 

Peacock at the Gorge.

A trip up to the Launceston Cataract Gorge this morning for a bit of a walk before the heat of the day.
Being springtime the Peacocks are about with the males and their plumes, showing off.  I took a few photos of a very active male. He was quiet and still, then he got a bit active, it was hard to get a clear sharp imagine of his plume.
There is a post/photo [here] of the peacock I took last season, that one stayed still.

Great Southern Right Whale!

How lucky was I to see a Great Southern Right Whale from my dads window in the sea of Bass Strait which is the sea between Tasmania and mainland Australia.
I just sat glued looking out the window watching for ages. Unfortunately my dad couldn't see it due to his blindness but I described what I saw, and many smiles came upon his face :)

There is a sculpture of the Great Southern Right Whale at Cockle Creek on Recherche Bay at the bottom of Tasmania, a [photo] which I took of the sculpture in an earlier post.

Bay whaling was performed extensively during the 1840's and 1850's.
The southern right whale spends summer in the far Southern Ocean feeding, probably close to Antarctica. It migrates north in winter for breeding and can be seen by the coast of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Namibia, Mozambique, Peru, Tristan de Cunha, Uruguay, Madagascar, New Zealand and South Africia.

 This photo is borrowed.

After the Bush Fires. Coonabarabran. NSW

Many properties were destroyed in the bush fires in January 2013 up on the Timor Rd, West of Coonabarabran in NSW. The Telescopes were saved and the photos I took were taken 6 months later.

Taken by the NSW Rural Fire Service.

Taken by the NSW Rural Fire Service.