Labour Day Long weekend..yay!!

Saturday........usual chores followed by a haircut then a  trip to Chermside Shopping Centre.

Westfield Chermside

 I'm going to Airlie Beach for a mini break in a few weeks and need to purchase a pair of swimming bathers. What a soul destroying experience that turned out to be....lol....come to think of it buying bathers has always been a torture. Needless to say I am still bather-less .

As commiseration I hit the movies and saw "Annabelle". I got my usual Choc Top and popcorn and scared myself silly for the next two hours. I felt the need to go home and dispose of all dolls, teddy bears and any other inanimate object with eyes...even a couple of potatoes. I didn't of course but I have been eyeing all of  them with increasing suspicion.

I hit the shops after the movie and got rid of at least 3 million chores that have been hanging over me for ages.

Later picked Lee up from her babysitting gig and stayed up way too late talking and TVing.

Sunday....the plan was to return Lee to her apartment and head off to the Gold Coast to visit and lunch with my sister. The best laid plans fell apart when she took ill so Lee and I visited yet another Westfield......this time at Carindale.. New plan was lunch and movies. I had my first Sushi train experience. Little yummy thing going past on a conveyor belt....all looking delicious but really having no idea what was in anything. I started off safe with spring rolls and got more adventurous as I went along. Made some lucky choices and one really bad one but overall it was great.

We had some time to kill so went to the library and poked around for a while and then to the movie. Saw "Gone Girl"...a book I read a couple of years back. It was very good....and very convoluted....and the main character made Annabelle's wickedness look as benign as a Barbie doll.

An early night and nine hours sleep finished a good couple of days.......and still Monday to go....double yay!!

A Saturday in Brisbane...Riverfire!

A slow start to a beautiful day....my first sleep in for a while because life has been busy and lots of overtime before work for the last couple of weeks. The sleep in  was only till 8am but seemed later lol. After the obligatory housework etc etc I caught the midday train into the city....no good driving as there is too much on there today and there is no way I'd get a park.

I had lunch at the Pig and Whistle....a yummy steak sandwich with chips and a lemon lime & soda....... I watched the world go by for a while...so amazing that we come in so many different shapes and sizes and colours....I do think I was the only female not wearing a tiara...what is that about?

Pig and Whistle British Pub

Yummy streak sandwich

During the course of the afternoon there were several fly overs by a couple of  F/18 Hornet Fighters. Absolutely amazing machines and scared the hell out of me....by the time you hear them they have already whizzed by. AND....they fly so low and are soooo loud. Made the hairs on my arm stand up.......just cannot imagine a war situation if they were dropping bombs or missiles as well.

F/18 Hornets

I walked and walked....and window shopped and finally found myself a good vantage spot to watch the parade of 100 horses from the Australian Light Horse Association. This is the centenary of World War 1 and the ride is part of the Commemorations. Can't help comparing the jets above and the horsemen below - two extremes of warfare a century apart

Australian Light Horsemen 1918

Beautiful

Add caption

After the ride Brisbane had its annual Riverfire celebrations where huge amounts of pyrotechnics are set off in many different sites around the CBD

Story Bridge

Along the River

Spectacular

This made me giggle - if you cant speak English how would you know what it said.

I had  great day but was totally exhausted by the time I caught the train home

Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers

Every year I've lived in Brisbane I've promised myself that I would go to  the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers and I was determined that this year I would make it .....and I did!

Toowoomba is about 130 kms  west of Brisbane and has a population of about 160,000 people. It's perched on top of The Great Dividing Range and the surrounding Lockyer Valley is among the top ten most fertile places in the world......I do believe they are talking about agriculture and not the people lol.

Lee and Nicky and I set off early with the compulsory stop at Micky D's.........followed by the equally compulsory stop a half hour later at the first toilet we could find.....we must really rethink breakfast when we go tripping.lol

It's a beautiful drive and the sights from the top overlooking the valley are quite amazing. Toowoomba is a lovely town with great architecture and and just has a really good feel about it.

We started at Margaret Street markets and fell in love with this little guy.

Need a really big bread roll and some tomato sauce

Cute - don't know if I want goat goo on my lips though.

Not having had enough to eat at Macca's we headed to the Toowoomba Sports Club for lunch. Had a  Fisherman's Basket - yummy.  I must say everyone we met seemed really nice and friendly.......certainly a place to re visit.

Now at this point I have to say we hadn't seen a flower and after asking for directions we got a few vague."there are displays in all different spots" but it was a bit hard to pinpoint exactly where those spots were....and being strangers we really didn't know where to start. The answer was to get in the car and drive around....we eventually spotted tents and carnival paraphernlia and car parking people so headed that way. No flowers but they did have carnival rides and ice cream. Lee decided to risk her life on the ride below but Nicky and I decided we were food or rides people....definitely couldn't do both. To do both would court disaster....for all within throwing up distance.

Yes...those are legs in the air...like a giant Bamix.

By this time it had clouded over and we were freezing...still no flowers......so we took off again....in despair. Suddenly we saw them....flowers everywhere. Gorgeous, colourful and definitely worth the trip.

We even became flowers ourselves

Good trip home and hopefully I won't be hearing from any of the many police speed traps I saw.........counted about 8........how many didn't I see? Gulp!.

Started out for point A...got lost.....ended up at point B,C & D....never did find point A....but had a great day anyway

Lee and I set out at 7 am this morning with the intentions of having Breakfast at Maccas and to visit the Tree Top Walk in the Lamington National Park....... and.....before you ask.....yes.......I did see a lady eating a lamington!

Firstly, you need to know that in all Lee and my travels there is always a third "person" in the car with us. That irritating trout mouthed woman on the GPS. Lee hates to be interrupted while talking so she turns GPS lady off or the volume down. I however, feel she needs to be on full volume and I also wish she had a stick with which she could  prod us. The reason is simple....Lee and I get talking and we totally ignore GPS lady and we go past turn after turn that GPS lady is yelling at us to take and she's constantly demanding we do a U turn......even when it would be an obvious death sentence. Then she starts recalculating then re calculating her recalculations.....and it all ends in tears.

Short story is we never did get to Tree Tops but we did risk life and limb on some very narrow, windy hilly roads. We saw a couple of wild kangaroos and a whole herd of happy alpacas. We found a lake full of turtles and a toilet just in the nick of time.

We decided not to take this path - 100 metres down it we could see a huge sign saying DANGER Not really sure if they were warning the Python or us! We didn't go the other way because we're not morons (bad pun)

We did

This guy was so cute and he needed braces on his teeth

This was one of many turtles in the lake....see photo below...beautiful spot

By lunchtime we were tired of being lost so headed to Miami Beach to meet up with some friends in the Ocean View Caravan Park for a BBQ.

Miami Beach Qld... how damned nice!

No lifeguards in sight though...sad face

Andrew

Lee

Wendy and Brigit...really don't know how to spell that

Nice drive home, once again deaf to GPS lady's pleas and we totally missed the turn off to the Yatala Pie Shop....so sad. Sorry Michael...it was Lee's fault.

We did get home tired and pieless but safe and had a great day.

Secret Places in the Suburbs

In March 2013 I blogged about a place called Whites Hill Reserve -  170 hectares of native bushland right in the middle of the suburbs. If it wasn't for the occasional overhead jet you wouldn't even know you were anywhere near civilisation. Last week I found Tinchi Tamba Wetlands - another adventure close to home. Today I found another. While it hasn't got the feeling of the remoteness of Whites Hill and doesn't have the watery expanses of Tinchi Tamba, it is a beautiful walk with lots of amenities - slap bang in the middle of the Chermside/Geebung area.

Mountains to Mangroves

The day was warm and a bit overcast but no wind. I walked a total of 10 km but only about 5 of them were in the actual corridor - the rest was getting there and back. The actual corridor is about 20 kms long and incorporates Downfall Creek. (so called because of many accidents that happened there in the early bullocky days)

The corridor is full of birds and wetlands and exercise equipment and playground equipment and picnic areas and BBQ'S

Lots of signage everywhere - even I can't get lost

Exercise equipment.......

....and more of the same

Downfall Creek - a bit dry at the momnt

Picnic spots

Beautiful area -very peaceful feel about it

I will certainly go here again.

My week went fast - I worked overtime every day and walked 3 km every lunch time. The only excitement was the attack on my person by a couple of over-protective magpies. It's mating season and I guess these birds thought there was a chance I might climb the light pole and steal the eggs from their dodgy nest - as one does. I solved the problem by taking a stick with me and defended myself accordingly. I am currently winning.

My exercise program is in full swing even though I'm still feeling the after effects of the swine flu....I think they call it that because it's a swine to get rid of. While I was down and out for 4 weeks I put on the weight I'd lost the weeks before so I'm back to square one. Doctor says I need to get my cholesterol down or go on medication..so I bloody well will. Don't want medication....every thing they give you seems to have side effects that you need to take something else for to combat the first pill. I WILL NOT TAKE THE PILLS

Having a day out with Lee tomorrow - looking forward to it - We haven't had any time together since I got the flu.

Busy Little Day

Slept like a log and woke up to a sunny Sunday morning. A spot of breakfast and then I headed off to the Tinchi Tamba Wetlands....only about a half hour drive from home.It's a lovely spot for a Sunday walk....a place I've been meaning to get to for ages but finally made it! Better late than never.

Being Fathers Day there were a lot of picnicking families and fisher-people and boats - wonderful place.

The sounds of the birds were wonderful

The opinion of the Jet Ski rider was that the water was F***ing Freezing. I'll take his word for it.

Is there anything as sad - or as useless - as a single lost shoe. Made me wonder whether the rest of him sunk in the swamp...or maybe got eaten by Crocs lol...I need to get out more

Two trees in love - all wrapped up in each other

Now...it really did look like a snake.....truly...and I didn't scream all THAT loud...did give me a fright though

Got home about mid day because I had a few things about to finish on E Bay - made $120 from the sales so was suitably impressed with myself. Listed some books for next week and took off to the movies. Went to see Into The Storm......was again impressed when they gave me a free ticket as I tend to go to the movies quite a bit...nice! The film was great...quite scary and mesmerising and I don't think I drew a breath for a couple of hours....this is again true....I'm sure I turned blue....well maybe a slight exaggeration. Another bonus on leaving......scraped into the under 3 hours by 2 minutes for the car park so that was free too. Now if only my choc top and popcorn were free it would have been quite a profitable day.

Again I am pooped.....will sleep well again tonight.  All that fresh air and free stuff fair did me in.

I think it's time for Midsommer Murders...then a few more episodes of Nashville. Early start tomorrow ...a bit of overtime....maybe if you do it BEFORE the work day starts they should call it undertime...I'll need to think more on that...or not :)

Saturday 6 September 2014 - Zillmere - Brisbane

Finally starting to feel human after a long and nasty bout of the flu. Nice sunny day so I started catching up with all the things that have been left undone whilst I was unwell. Lots of housework...which in my tiny place means an hour at the most....if you take your time.lol

See what I mean......

Lounge

Bedroom

Kitchenette

Laundry/bathroom

.......that's it...that's all there is to clean......love it.  100 yards away is the supermarket & pharmacy. Library next door but one and ten minutes in the car to work. The hardest part of the day was cleaning the balcony which has been neglected all winter and covered in dirt and grot due to the block of flats being built over the road. Will be very glad when the building is finished and the trucks stop rolling up with building materials and making the dust fly.

Flats under construction

Anyway....for the time being my balcony is clean

After my "monumental" housework I walked up the road to the Zillmere Multicultural Festival. Zillmere is a very diverse area with people from all corners of the earth so I was keen to see the festival...and eat some food :)

Food wise I had a Brazilian BBQ Roll and a Kangaroo sausage and an Indian Vegetable roll...which was very nice and very spicy.

I'm still not 100% over the flu and am feeling pooped so I think it's time to hit my armchair and watch a few more episodes of Nashville