In nominating me for this challenge, Ju-Lyn has helped me realise how narrow my travel interests are. I have visited the same countries over five times. You can deduce from this that I am quite in love with them.
I have nominated Ushashita, who kindly volunteered to join the challenge to post ten days of travel photos, no explanation and nominate other bloggers with each post.
Many thanks, Ushashita for accepting.
A moment of stillness in the day.
For each sunrise, I feel totally blessed.
Linking to bushboy‘s “last photo.”
Variation:
I served the pudding as it was out of the oven. I let it cool slightly and then cut it into wedges, to serve with the sauce and icecream. Pouring the sauce over immediately prior to serving.
* The recipe recommended letting the sauce sit and permeate through the whole pudding, however, I prefer a slightly firmer texture better, than a soggy pudding.
It is up to you how you tackle that!
#onecakeaweek
Follow this blog for more recipes. They are posted weekly at the Home by the Sea
When you are in the midst of your working life, the morning can be rushed.
Not so, in retirement.
I delight in a stroll towards the lake at sunrise, watching for the old man fish Sir Mullet, jumping high above the water.
Why?
To show off his physical prowess like a maritime body builder or as a way to energize himself for the day’s forage feast for food.
On the banks and weedy littoral zone, algae trails dance rhythmically with the tidal ebb and flow of the waters. Always moving, always dynamic.
Meanwhile, triggered by the sun’s first rays, the Willy Wagtail frolicks and flits back and forth up and around on the grassy lawn, in a courtship dance sure to impress a mate.
Me with my dogs alongside of me, skirt the lake’s perimeter, soaking in the natural forces of sun, earth and wind about me.
This place energizes me, urging me to rise with the light and optimistic for the day ahead. Something not felt in my previous chapter.
A meditative time for newly retired me.
Someone asked me this question several years ago on my blog, Something to Ponder About.
This was my answer:
There are more similarities between people from diverse cultures than there are differences. We can learn so much from each other if we keep an open mind.
Amanda Mac – Forestwood
One of the best things about blogging is that it is not limited by geographical boundaries.
Unless you are new to The Home by the Sea , or my primary blog, S.t.P.A, you’ll more than likely know that I live down ‘under,’ at the ‘bottom end’ of the world. Down here in Australia, we can sometimes feel the tyranny of distance isolating us, from the rest of the world and a different time zone doesn’t help to foster good communications, at all.
Yet, the blogger community with its members spread across the globe, are a wonderfully diverse group. As an Australian blogging offers me the chance to expand my perspective, to hear and share different opinions and thoughts, that I’d otherwise not have been exposed to, and to feel the rest of the world is just that little bit closer, all without leaving my desk.
Yet it is still a virtual world, isn’t it?
Thus, when an opportunity arises to meet another blogger, I am pretty keen. Previously, I had met Ineke when travelling in New Zealand, and both of us were surprised to find that, although we originated from different backgrounds, the connection we felt towards each other was surprisingly strong. A similar meeting with Lorelle, in Melbourne, confirmed blogger friends are often on a very similar wavelength.
But did I know Catherine from Cyranny’s Cove, well enough for us to click? I knew little of her life in Canada, even though I had followed her blog for some time. Cyranny was coming all this way to Australia and visiting Brisbane, so I was super keen not to miss the opportunity to chat i.r.l. to another blogger and furthermore, to someone who loves Denmark, as much as I do. In fact, that is how I discovered Cyranny’s blog – browsing the wordpress reader for posts on Denmark, (as I sometimes do)!
Cyranny’s time here was short, and we were hampered in communications by Australia’s unfortunately medieval internet networks, so it wasn’t so easy to find time to meet. Especially since I have recently moved some 30 km away from the city, to the Home by the Sea, but eventually we settled on a time and date and met for breakfast in the city.
This year, Australia has experienced an extremely hot summer and with the fallout from the recent natural disasters of bushfire and floods, I was relieved to hear Cyranny and her partner tell me they had been lucky enough not to have their travel plans disrupted and had in fact, reached the chosen destinations without major hiccups, even experiencing some “up close and personal,” encounters with our unique wildlife that some Australians have not yet had for themselves. That was fun to hear.
Meeting Cyranny ended up feeling like I was having coffee with an old friend – the conversation was easy and comfortable and we settled down to enjoy breakfast, with the added bonus of a nice outlook over the Brisbane River.
Although our writing allows us to enjoy interacting with a completely different blogger set, we do share similar enjoyment in keeping our blog, and I found it so very interesting hearing her thoughts on Australia and the fun things they both had experienced, along the way.
As it is February in Brisbane, the year’s absolute worst month for heat and humidity, we then took a very warm, but pleasant walk along the riverside walkways and through the city’s Botanic gardens.
With the humidity rising rapidly, seeking out the shady colonnades of flowering Bougainvillea vines, at South Bank, seemed like a sensible idea.
I dutifully highlighted various points of interest, along the way: including the State Parliament building, a remnant of French Renaissance sophistication in the antipodes, the two Universities, the famous “City Beach”, and more importantly on a hot summer day, the New Zealand Ice Cream stand, with the totally awesome and weirdly named ‘Hokey Pokey,’ Ice Cream flavour. If you haven’t yet discovered Hokey Pokey, you are really missing something!
Being the local, I also suggested they might like to consider a ride on the City Cats, (Public Catamarans Boats), that traverse the river that night, in order to visit Eat Street – an open air eatery upriver, at Hamilton. Eat Street comprises 180 or more stalls, all serving multi-national cuisine from modified ex-shipping containers. Along with music and twinkling lights, it is a unique experience for dinner on a hot summer night, in Brisbane and I thought might be fun for my Canadian friends.
They were also keen to visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary – somewhat of a mandatory obligation when you visit Brisbane, as it is one of the few places operating since 1927, where tourists can get to hold a koala and hang out with the kangaroos and wallabies. I don’t want to divulge too much more about that, as Cyranny will no doubt tell you more when she arrives back home.
I was a little sad to wave goodbye so soon to Cyranny and her partner, but they had a date, to keep, with a koala. I wish them safe travels back to their home. I do hope they know they are welcome at our Home by the Sea.
Have you met any other blogging friends? How was your experience? Did you find many commonalities?
Bushboy has started a “Last photo” challenge and it is a fun one, that challenges us to post the last photo on our SD card or phone for Jan 31st.
Being a committed shutterbug, I do have an appropriate one tray I feel sure Bushboy will enjoy.
It is sunset over the far end of our estate. Just near the Koala tree.
#nofilter #lastphoto
I hope the sun is not setting on the future of the koala.
Day 18 – Spend time with those you love
Does I need a prompt for this? Absolutely not.
It is the most precious time for me. My family. My children. My dog. There is only one of each of us, in one moment, in one space. Make life special.
Approach each second with loving kindness.
Day 19 – Celebrate how far we’ve come
Definitely some positivity in this prompt.
Look back but only to see how far you have come, how much you have grown.
Almost one year ago, we embarked on a new path in life. A year of new chapters and starts and of course,a few hiccups along the way.
I have never felt like making a #seachange has ever been a mistake. Perhaps others might disagree.
For me staying ‘put’ would equate to to stagnatation. In stagnation, disappointment and regret thrive and life ebbs away til the only thing left is routine or despair.
Be brave. You have almost nothing to lose if you embrace some change in your life.
If you do not have the luxury of changing your environment:
Change perspective
Change attitude
Change preferences
Change thoughts
Change your life
I have been remiss in posting the last week, so here is the catch up in one post:
Day 3 – Remove negativity – I am often trying to do this, even when the world rallies around handing out negative vibes everywhere. This week has been particularly trying as my son has had some incredible challenges which have not been easy to watch. But all the more reason to roll on to
Day 4 and 5 – Message someone special and Think of the Positives – Completed
My positives included a variety of things but especially being able to enjoy a restful and relaxing Christmas now that the hard work of getting the new house ready was 90% complete.
Is a home ever really finished? There always seems to be some little thing that needs doing in one’s home? Weeding the garden and attending to plants is a never-ending task; a shelf needs to be put up, photos attached to the bare Snowy Mountain white walls and there are still some boxes to unpack…. but we are concentrating on the positives here so my mind drifts back to Christmas.
Day 6 – Smile More
Very good advice
There were plenty of smiles on House Handover day – and every morning I wake up in this new house and look around at the fruits of our labour over the last year. It is a joy every day to live in this place. Sunshine, cool breezes, away from the bushfire threats and tonight, glorious rain! I felt like recording the sounds as it is a sound we so rarely here at the moment.
Day 7 – Cook a Healthy Meal – completed
I made these yummy vege frittatas with ricotta and parmesan cheese. Delicious. They freeze well too.
Day 9 – Take a long walk – I walked for 90 minutes – that should do it.
Day 10 – Do Something New – Still debating about what I can do…. I did co-start and join a Ladies Walking Group in my area. Yes, that ticks the box for this day.
Day 11- Read a good book – I finished reading Mons Kallentoft’s crime fiction novel from Sweden – Autumn Killing. A good twist at the end was a surprise. Not a bad read but I couldn’t focus on it properly as I started reading it so many months before.
Roll on Day 12…..
What are you grateful for?
This blog wasn’t intended as a tag a long challenge blog but bringing in the New Year seems like a good time to try something new for a month. Take a big breath and dive in, Amanda.
Um… already I see a problem.
How can I identify the goals I want to achieve in the one moment? I don’t feel that organized. Here goes:
More tomorrow at:
P.S. I would like to Challenge Chris Riley from LifeofRiley to join in.
Thanks to 40 fore Forty for initiating me joining in with the Challenge.
A Home by the Sea 
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