Weekend Coffee Share

weekendcoffeeshareIf We “Were Having Coffee” Firstly I’d say I was glad to meet you all. I have come via Deb from My Weary Mind and although, since going on the paleo diet around fourteen weeks ago, I only drink one cup of coffee per day there is nothing I like more than a chat with a cup of peppermint tea in hand whilst others have coffee. I breathe in the aroma of it and feel very satisfied and peaceful.

Then I’d tell you that I suddenly realised why we don’t call Autumn Fall in Australia. When I prepared my Silent Sunday photo  Fallen Leaf  I wanted to call it simply Fall but knew that this would make those in the Northern Hemisphere think it was autumn where here  this is spring fall. In the colder parts of Australia leaves fall in preparation for winter hibernation but up here in the north it is the winds that come in Spring that create most of our leaf fall. We know summer is not far away once those winds hit.

I’d also tell you that finally, on the day due, I submitted my chapter for the book. I wasn’t happy with the end of it but boy was I filled with joy that finally (until it comes back to me with comments to address) it was out-of-the-way. I could finally get on with the next thing. I have felt a little buoyed all week as I also received back my exegesis and my supervisor has told me that although I am taking a risk she feels it works. Yeah! This means I can see an end in sight and that is reason to celebrate.

But the most exciting news I would tell you is today we picked up our new puppy, Muffin. Thanks to some advice from Deb we bought a crate and she slept happily in it for the journey home. Bundy welcomed the new puppy but was soon sick of how full on she was . Hopefully they will become good pals. Hopefully Roger and I will cope with a puppy. We had hoped to get another rescue dog that was older but for some reason the rescue agencies ignored our applications and from the local RSPCA all we could get were huge dogs, dogs that have a reputation for being pugnacious or little teeny dogs like chihuahas or yappy ones. Still I am (at the moment ) totally besotted by our new bundle of fur and am looking forward to puppy training sessions and lots of time playing with her.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

Thanks for hosting the weekend coffee Diana.

Posted in musings, Weekend Coffee Share | Tagged , , , | 33 Comments

Fallen Leaf: Silent Sunday

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

Posted in pets, photography, Silent Sunday | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Another type of Treat

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

Our blogging community is huge – the entire world and most of those are in the northern hemisphere. Recently I met Angie from Spry and Retiring. I had seen her comment on Norah Colvin from Live love Laugh Learn – Create the possibilities. Norah I know I will meet one day but Angie came quite serendipitously. My husband Roger and her husband are golf partners. Just an amazing co-incidence.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

Today I got another treat. The daughter of a blogging pal NoelleGranger from Sayling Away dropped in on their way to Brisbane from Cairns. A quick holiday all the way from the States. It was lovely to meet Cameron and Nathan and learn of her aversion to the moths that Noelle supplied for Silence of the Lambs and much much more. The connections through blogging are like spider’s webs. They spread far and wide and living down under I don’t expect to meet too many of those that I know through blogging but  what a joy when I do.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

It was such a pleasure to take them to the lookout,

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

and show them the kangaroos down the road from us

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© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

and a quick trip around Hollywood and then our beautiful Noosa River. What a great couple of hours — just way too short.

Posted in musings | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Swiss Treats: Weekly Photo Challenge

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

(20 photos) It was a real treat for me this particular trip to Europe. My mother not only took me first class as she needed care on the flight but my brother showed me a life that I only see in the movies. It was a real treat for me waking up to this view in the morning from the hotel.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

And the hotel was such a magnificent building with decor to match.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

At the same time it was coming up to Halloween and the village of Glion was well prepared for the event which used to be a non event in Australia.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

For my nephews it was a real treat preparing their own pumpkin.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

These were a variety of pumpkin that I had never seen in Australia and I may be wrong but I think that people don’t eat this variety and use it soley for carving at Halloween. I’m sure that some enterprising farmer has twigged in Australia now that Halloween is becoming more popular.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

It looked spectacular placed outside in the dark lit with a candle.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

Another treat for me was seeing my nephew’s face light up when on the merry-go-round.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

And the food was a real treat

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© irene waters 2015

served spectacularly.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

The views as in Glion were a treat.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

The boys dressed to go trick or treating.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

I can’t believe that the treat of first class travel was captured in one shot only and it had to be blurred. It was a treat that will never be forgotten and unlikely never to be repeated.

In response to Weekly Photo Challenge

Posted in photography, Weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Skywatch Friday: 30th October 2015 Noosaville 4.01pm

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

Posted in photography, Skywatch Friday | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Bougainvillea Beauties: Floral Friday

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© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

Posted in Floral Friday, photography | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Schoolboy Capers: Friday Fictioneers

© irene waters 2015

© Dale Rogerson

Humphrey wished he’d said no. Being the oldest he knew he knew better. The consequences flashed through his mind as he pushed his team-mate up the hill. His parents would issue reprimand and remove his privileges, he’d get a fine from court. A jail sentence was unlikely. Anyway, having started he’d finish. Being fitter than Jack, the other pusher, he’d taken a good lead and descended the hill running, finding himself unable to negotiate the bend. John flew from the shopping trolley into the pond and the trolley followed. Desperately Humphrey searched the reeds seeing his crime upgraded to murder.

In response to the photo prompt  provided by Dale Rogerson and the hosting by Rochelle who invites us to write a flash of no more than 100 words and link up via the blue frog on her site. If you don’t want to write have a read as there is always a varied talented selection to read.

Posted in creative writing, flash fiction, Friday Fictioneers | Tagged , , , , | 41 Comments

Phones and computers : Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

In my early life (and you can see that it was early) the only computer we knew was that inside our heads. File storage was in cabinets or lying around on the desk.We were taught early the value of keeping records, adding and remembering. Logical thinking occurred way before fuzzy logic was even thought of.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

Telephones too were stationary. The first phone in my recollection had the number Casino88. It was an operator connect phone on the wall. You spoke into the box and held an ear piece to your ear. We had to get on a stool to reach the mouth piece. Phone calls weren’t made willy nilly. Care and thought had to go into whether it was necessary and the expense. In those days telgrams were used. We thought this black phone was modern luxury.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

And were quite jealous of my aunt who had a coloured even more modern version.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

We got into computers early in the piece and took two with us for record keeping when we were on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu.

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© irene waters 2015

Our friend at the Coffee Plantation on Tanna had an old phone (working) inside the red telephone box. The old A and B version. When you are isolated little things like this really make you feel at home.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

Finally we got the roof on our house and our computers moved upstairs where we could both work at the same time.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

The telephone in the restaurant was vital for incoming bookings and fax messages. When the phone rang and we heard the shrill squeal of a fax it would be all hands on deck. Someone would dive to the generator in the kitchen and start it so that we had the electricity to run the fax machine. Another would go to the fax machine and plug it in the minute they heard the loud noise indicating the generator was now operational. Someone would stay on the phone checking the sound of the squeal. If we weren’t quick enough we would hang up so the agent could try again. They all knew to ring back if unsuccessful the first time. It became a challenge to get them first go and by the end we were fairly successful.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

Our office. Roger has the left whilst I have the right.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

I’m an apple fan

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© irene waters 2015

whilst he likes windows.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

In my other temporary workplace I do all my uni work on the computer they have given me.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

State of the art computers at Sunshine Coast uni are a far cry from the mainframes that even computing students couldn’t get near. Does anyone else remember the rheems of paper they used to generate.

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

In response to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge.

Posted in Cee's Fun Foto Challenge, photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Babbling brook : Wordless Wednesday

© irene waters 2015

© irene waters 2015

Posted in photography, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Blogger Recognition Award

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Firstly I would like to thank Rebecca Patajac from Love a Literary Life for passing this Blogger recognition award on to me in August. She bestowed a great honour that she elected me alongside others that I consider good bloggers on all counts. What makes a good blogger?

That is a difficult question to answer for it will differ from person to person. For me, it is a community where we can discuss issues we have in common, get shown parts of the world that we may not know, showcase our writing and create an understanding and tolerance of different ways of life. To do this we have to communicate – backwards and forwards. Occasionally time constraints become prohibitive in this quest and again we have to show tolerance and understanding that not everyone can keep up the pace that builds as your community grows. Including me although I do try. I appreciate the tolerance everyone has shown me of late as I have been snowed under by deadlines which have to be met.

Why did I start blogging in the first instance. Someone told me that if I wished to build an author platform I must blog. See Charli’s post if you want to know more about author platforms. I imagine many of us started with this goal in mind and I still believe that we do this, but it has become for me a secondary aim with being part of the community more important. I have found fiction flashes are a challenge and as a writer I am being stretched in ways that are very rewarding. Photography posts were not on my radar when I started blogging but now I also find those challenges fun to do. The support of the writing community of bloggers has blown my mind away and knowledge gleaned has broadened my horizons.

Advice for new bloggers – Don’t wait for people to come to you — go visiting and join in the conversations that you are interested in. Above all Have Fun. Don’t let it take you over so it stresses you.

One of the requirements of accepting this award are to nominate fifteen other bloggers. I am nominating this number but please don’t feel obliged to participate unless you want to. I am aware that these are time-consuming posts and most of us are time poor. However I think that you all have great blogs for various reasons and I’d like to introduce others to the wonders of your sites.

http://sherrimatthewsblog.com/

http://ceenphotography.com/

https://saylingaway.wordpress.com/

https://spryandretiring.wordpress.com/

Writing Solutions

http://abracabadra.blogspot.com.au/

http://norahcolvin.com/

http://geofflepard.com/

https://sarahbrentyn.wordpress.com/

http://www.annedallrobson.com/

http://www.cjaiferry.com/blog/blog/

http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdotal

http://lucciagray.com/

https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/this-that-and-sometimes-the-other/

https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/

Blogger Recognition Award Rules:

  1. Select 15 other blogs to which you want to give the award. Do some digging if you must! Find those blogs. You cannot nominate yourself or the person who has nominated you.
  2. Write a post to show off your award! Give a brief story of how your blog got started, and give a piece or two of advice to new bloggers. Thank whoever nominated you, and provide a link to their blog. List who you’ve nominated in the post. Make sure to attach the award! (You can do this by right clicking, saving, and uploading the image above).
  3. Comment on each blog and let them know you’ve nominated them. Provide a link to the award post you created.
Posted in Awards | Tagged , | 15 Comments