Falling off the face of August.....

Seriously, where has this month gone.

I'm flailing in my lack of date recognition and the disappearance of the days.  I'm really pinning all my hopes on the longer days meaning I get back on top of things again - in my world, we're only just into the first week of the eighth month...very disappointing, and more than a tad scary, to realize with a jolt that we're nearly into September already.  I'm just not ready.

That being said, a lot has been happening in this neck of the woods lately.  A blog post in each to be sure, but in a nutshell.....(not, as the LOML would say, you're a nut-Shell)....

......it's been Languages and Cultures Festival time again....

.....I've been working long enough to accrue a week and bit holiday - so we headed south and spent a week and a bit in Melbourne and Sydney....

(I loooovvveee hotel freebies)

....saw some sights...

Could I get a bigger pole in the centre of my frame????

 ....made a few donations....

.....welcomed home some olympians....

....did some shopping, met some rellies and then headed home loaded up with goodies....

.....I've since been out in the garden with gusto (this weather is glorious, just plain glorious!)....

.....we've also been cranking up the little Webber on the deck again with the LOML showing off his chicken-stick prowess...

Hopefully now I'm back in the routine of blogging, just like I'm back in the routine of exercising.  But while I despise with the white hot intensity of one thousand suns the necessity which is exercise in my life, (a routine that is a must.  M.U.S.T.), blogging (both reading and writing) is my outlet and my release and I'm glad to be back into it.

Cheers!!

The Haul

I ventured down to the veggie garden today to pick a few tomatoes for a salad.


Good thing I took the basket.

....yes, that's another monster zucchini at the back.  I really need to be getting down and picking them more often!

I also had to use the front of my shirt in a very-unattractive-good-thing-the-neighbours-can't-see-my-pasty-wobbly-belly make-do basket thingy to carry the beans.


I think I might add some sauce making to my to-do list today....

I went into the world today....

....and this is what I saw....

 Busy bees.....

 ....on the shallot and broccoli flowers.

 More little potatoes sticking their heads up through the mulch...

Broad beans and garlic thriving nicely....

 Some nosy girls...

 Daisies sunning themselves in the glorious winter sunshine...

 Jasmine flowers telling me that spring is not that far away now....

The camelia tree doing its thing....

 Lemons....

 and mandarines by the treeful....

 A bunch of bananas hanging in through the frosty mornings...

Lavender flowers poking their heads out above the chicken fence...

 My first attempts at growing cauliflowers waiting to be picked for dinner...

 as are the peas....

.....and another busy bee hard at work pollinating the broad beans.

Days like this remind me what a wonderful world my own backyard is.

:)

I went into the world today....

....and saw lots of things but forgot to take my camera to take pictures of them....So here's a picture of where I would rather have been walking....

and a written description of what I actually saw....

I saw the trees losing their leaves - glorious autumn browns and oranges and reds and yellow - being blown off in the hundreds by the gale-forced wind we have going on today.

I saw some beautiful fences out the front of gorgeous (and some not-so-gorgeous) houses.  I'm a big fan of fences - big, solid, privacy ensuring fences.  I don't see the point of low, just-step-over-it fences.  

I saw lots of beautiful, old-people-tended gardens with their staked daisies, manicured lawns, mulched garden beds and their roses in full bloom.  Plus I saw a few rented house gardens (non existent - just mow that sucker) and a couple of housing commission gardens (lounge in the middle of the yard, kids toys/clothes rained into the ground, car on blocks in the carport.  Classy).

I saw only one other person out walking which was strange.  Sure the wind is gusty and bitterly cold but that didn't stop me (well, it almost did but I figured if I'm not going to walk in this I'm sure as hell not going to get out and walk when it's sunny!).  On a fine day you say 'good morning' about every 10 steps.

And then finally, I saw my neighbours out mowing their front lawn and cleaning their car.  Good on them.  Me, I went straight inside for a hot shower to try to defrost my toes and bring a little blood flow back into my cheeks.

A good start to the day. :)

I went into the world today....

....and this is what I saw....

A single lime still growing amongst some amazingly long thorns....

Our second bunch of bananas this year - given the price of them in the shops at the moment, these are worth more than their weight in gold....

A pumpkin vine taking over...

Kiwi fruit in the hundreds....

Our lone custard apple....

A nosy chicken...

Persimmons coming on nicely...

Macadamias too...

The loquat tree starting to flower....

A monster cucumber that managed to escape detection for a number of days....

Passionfruits waiting to ripen....

Yummy winter strawberries....

And a beautiful flower to brighten my afternoon!

It's show time!

I love regional show's.  They have a relaxed country feel to them that city exhibitions can only try to replicate.


This week has seen our town's regional show come and go and I just had to go for a wander.  

Horses and rides - that's what it's all about!

It's been years since I was last at a show - I think it was the Ekka 5 years ago and it put me off.  When I was a kid the show was the year's family outing - a whole day to fill in at one place.  I remember circuses, fashion parades, show jumping, tractors, hay bales, horses, cows, $2 show bags filled to the max with horrible tasting lollies and cheap and nasty toys, the Holden stunt drivers, fireworks and wood-chopping.  What's not to love about all that!

You don't see tractors like this at the Ekka!

And I have to say that this year's show didn't let me down.  Sure, the entry price was more than I expected but I guess they have to pay their bills too but once in those gates, I could have been a kid again!  Actually, considering all the cool things I saw it would have been great to be a kid again!

Oh to be a kid again!

I had a good wander around the handicraft displays as well - sussing out the standard.  Next year I am entering a few categories for sure!  This year I missed out on nominations by a day!  Oh well, that's what I get for not being organised.


So it's all over now.  Three days is all we get but three days is all we need.  


Till next year...!

Rockin Rods

Get your motor running
Head out on the highway
Looking for adventure
In whatever comes our way

Born to be wild!

Today the main street of town was taken over by about 150 Hot Rods for the Hot Rodders Hi Altitude Rod Run - Show n Shine (phew, what a mouthful!).

It rocked. 

There were fantastic cars, great music and dancing in the street. 

What a top Sunday.

The best part - when the Rods fired up their engines.  Aaahhhh the sound, the deep, rumbling, beefy sound....made me a little weak at the knees!  Now I'm not really a fan of hotted up cars, I prefer bikes, but I am always a sucker for a deep rumble whatever the source!

Here are some piccies so you can share the day.....

The band was The Song Dogz and they played from the back of a truck from 9am.  What a Sunday!