Annie's Blog

 Gosh. Now it is NOVEMBER! How time flies while having fun.  Or perhaps bring otherwise engaged ...mainly in (thankfully) minor medical procedures. Most notable being cataract surgery ..all done but waiting on new glasses!  Went to the beach the other day ..thinking I'd beat the schoolies! Almost. There were a lot of people swimming at midday on a warm day....and kids running around in school uniforms etc  https://photos.app.goo.gl/ Nn3JuFyyf5T5Ag9g9 This is a bit of a boring way to show photos! (I'll leave it here for the moment  to see if it worked ok) I will have to try to show at least one here differently! ( whew, I did it ...not sure how!! ) It has been very warm lately and as I write this we have had a very wet morning, with a little low sitting over us here on the Sunny Coast! Looking forward to some family gatherings to come in the next months!! That is me with my sunnies after surgery! Haha. Been doing some reading, a fair bit before the cataract surge...

  There has been an Anzac Day parade since I talked last also some birthday celebrations A quick visit at the Craft Cottage while popping into the church as well the zygocactus tries valiantly to flower each year! plus the usual popovers to the beach occasionally Altogether a fairly unremarkable few months, with the French Open tennis along the way!

 It's now February 2024! Christmas has gone, The Australian Open is over, and the kids have all gone back to school! I finally got to visit the beach again after letting the visitors have it to themselves over the holidays! Always a nice little trip for me, especially on a reasonable day, although today was verging on a little too warm! I didn't stop for fish and chips today, did that a week or so ago, on a rainy day with a friend! So I scurried back to get petrol and groceries, had a quick look at the craft gallery on the way home! There is not a lot of news, apart from it has been a frightful summer with too many warm days, requiring a retreat into the air-conditioning! At least we have had more rain than we were expecting, verging on flooding at times, with a cyclone or two around, mainly they stayed in the north, though rainfall effects were felt throughout the state here! Last week a trip to the beach was included in a trip to the dentist for a lovely friend! I was able to...

  Gosh, I don't get here very often..so I'd better wish y'all a Blessed Christmas in advance!! Hope all well with whomever is reading this. The news in the World is not always very good, but I do hope there are rays of sunshine for you as you walk through this season of Advent. Have enjoyed seeing some family lately, and a nice couple of unexpected covid safe dinner and  swimming invites. Very enjoyable, even though I do feel a little like a whale when trying to get in and out of the pools!  Our Queensland premier resigned/retired today, somewhat a surprise but I guess she has been here a while, and it can't have been an easy job especially during the last four years! Have been enjoying some television shows like All Creatures Great and Small, as well as some quiz shows, and puzzles on the internet, namely Worldle, Wordle Quordle etc etc, all good fun! Not to mention a few good books from various libraries. A young grandson did well at an invitation only chess competiti...

 Gosh, here it is the end of August and I have missed three months of posting here! My face has cleared up nicely after the skin cancer treatment/ Watched the French Open and Wimbledon And now it is the US Open, so that will be fun! As you can see there is no real news to report. An occasional trip over to look at the ocean, a trip to the doctor to find I have a fatty liver and sludge in my gall bladder, argh. Have enjoyed crocheting my rugs thru the cooler months! There have been road works at the entrance which ahs necessitated putting my car outside early mornings, a bit annoying, but should be finished tomorrow hopefully! Not sun watching the traffic trying to navigate in and out only one entrance or exit open! I'll have to see if I can find a photo for you! In the meantime, have a good week, or month, or 3 months! girafffes at the waterhole in the Namib Desert!

 May 2023 Lucky to have escaped catching the dreaded Covid after minding a grandchild who came down sick with it the next day! Unfortunately most of the rest of the little family, mainly all the males, tested positive for Covid19 and had some time off work and school. Mum was not well, but it wasnt the same virus according to her RATS. The boys went to a chess tournament soon after going back to school, one winning his section and the other with a Merit ribbon for winning most of his games! Well done boys! Pleased I escaped the virus and it's possible complications as I was dealing with a very scratchy itchy  angry face after a rather aggressive 4 week skin cancer treatment on it. Thank goodness that has come to an end! Starting to settle a little now. whew. Not much fun, but glad it is over now! The coronation of King Charles happened also, photos of that would have been a little more exciting. I'll try to find one! There we go...managed to find the photos! Have a great week....

 Well, Easter and a birthday and Anzac Day have all gone past,  and now it is May Day here in Queensland. Labor Day. So much for my posting each month, hmm. Anyway, here is a photo of an interesting fungus I saw on my walk yesterday! I'll have to check whether there is anything else worthy of note to post. Just a tick, be back in a minute.. Ok,,,found one from Anzac Day last week... here we go.. And there's a photo of three mad ladies having a grand time out in March. Unfortunately after celebrating a special birthday, or several special birthdays, quite a number of people came down with Covid19. A hit rate of  about 10 out of 16 people at the party got it. I was lucky and didn't catch it as I didn't spend as much time with the others and wore my mask more often, whew, close shave for me! So be careful indoors with people at gatherings from now through winter. Have your vaccinations, wear masks, avoid spreading Covid (and flu) everyone!! Stay safe, but have fun. And don...

 Let's try for a post a month!  I do enjoy getting to see the ocean now the tourists have gone home!  Have I said that before, sorry! And over the summer break I found a new website to follow, a livestream camera from The Namib Desert. Very interesting to see the animals wander up to the waterhole....giraffes, zebras, ostriches etc Just google Namib Desert livestream, quite a family friendly, well moderated chat to go with it.  They post timestamps on the hour for the various animals seen during the last 12 hours or so, so you can rewind to see anything that takes your fancy! It will make your day!  Enjoy. And have a great week! God Bless. Prayers for those ill, grieving, for those suffering during the latest earthquakes and associated social upheavals, as well as the effects of climate change... floods or fires in various parts of the country.

 The Magnolias go on blooming,  the leaves continue to fall... Christmas and New Year have been and gone without my posting here The Covid19 pandemic continues, despite people and authorities trying not to believe it... School has started back again, and the Australian Open has almost finished. I haven't been as terribly excited by it this year. The families have had their holidays, some of them in NZ and some locally, it has been good to catch up with some of them! It's fun to look at old photos sometime...occasionally.. I like to call this one Madonna and child...God bless them (all)! I do hope you have had a great Christmas and New Year and if not great, that you had some company and food to eat along the way and a roof over your head as well! The housing situation seems to be not good at times,  prayers for all those looking for a place to stay/live. Prayers also for those who travel, who are starting back at work, and school or university. prayers for those who are i...

 It won't be long before it's Christmas! Sometimes the days are long but the weeks are very short!  How can that be? twas good to get to the beach last week...before all the tourists come back for the holidays. Last night I cooked myself some barra instead of battling schoolies week over there!! Covid is not over, and here is hoping it does not flare up too much over the holidays!! Hope you can stay safe and avoid it! God Bless and have a great week!

 Finally today the weather has decided to warm up a little  It was a rather nice day when I popped over to the beach for fish and chips the other day!   Most days have warmed up a little, but it has been pretty cool inside my house most of the time! But strange to feel a warm breeze blowing in the front door today as I walk past!! I'll have to get back here to include a couple of new photos that I promised last post!! In the meantime, have a great day. ps The covid19 case numbers do seem to be going down, here is hoping it will be a continuing trend. Unfortunately the number of deaths here in Queensland reached over 100 last week. a few weeks following our all time record daily case number of 11,000 !

 How time flies !! Last post here was back in May. Since then we have had the French Open and Wimbledon. Not to mention a lot more rain!! It has also been VERY COLD...well for here anyway! So I have been doing some more crocheting. as well as puzzles!! Had a family function out in the country to celebrate some birthdays. It was good to be back on the road, but taking care not to catch covid is very tricky, and means avoiding crowded rooms, dinner inside at night, as well as wearing masks. So far I have escaped! This was the vivid sunset on our way home after a lovely fine afternoon, in between many  rainy days!! I haven't been over to the beach during the school holidays, prefer to leave it to the tourists!! But here is a photo from a nice fine day before the holidays when I did venture over there! Hope you have had a good /ok couple of months... and hope the next month is kind to you! Hopefully more and different photos next time I tune in here! Been trying to see how to do i...

 Yes, that's right. Election Day has been and gone, and Australia has decided to ditch the Liberal National Coalition and elect a new PM, Anthony Albanese. It will be interesting to see how they get on. Already he has been to Tokyo the day he was sworn in to take part in the Quad talks with Japanese, Indian, and the US leaders? Did I miss anyone? Managed to get over to the beach for a bit of fish n chips. Water very choppy,  And yes, it is still raining!!! ARGH. Apparently SE Qld has had an average of 3 hours of sunlight per day during the month of May. What a gloomy depressing month it has been! I should not complain about rain, but honestly we have had more than enough. It is well and truly saturated, and I do wish and pray for the rain to move to places that need it more than us! Well, there hasn't been much more to note, apart that the effects of the pandemic are still with us, hospitals getting busy again with most restrictions lifted, and the problem being compounded by ...