Review: A self-reflecting piece...

So, the first month of the year is pretty much over. That means that the first month of the challenge is pretty much complete. But how have I rated?

The uploading of photos has been alright. But...there haven't been photos for every day. That's the failure so far. That means more getting out there and making sure they are taken. But sometimes you just want to come home and sit and chill, not go out and find something. That doesn't mean that you can't take photos wherever you work, play, or go after work, or anything like that. The key to this challenge is just being prepared to take a photo whenever one is inspired to.

Here's hoping for more photos - one for every day - from here on in.

By the way: no, I haven't checked how many photos I have taken (more than 31, I realise, for this month), but I know there isn't one for every day. I think I'm missing about 10. Homework failure there.

Well done, Mum!

We had a barbecue that hardly ever got used. We have another barbecue - a newer one - but it's not going in the same tray that the old barbecue sat in. Not sure why...might be due to the size of it, or something like that. Anyway! Instead of just getting rid of the old tray table the old barbecue sat in Mum decided to turn it into a full table to be used for holding things when having a barbecue or salads, etc. To do that, she had to put five new slats in the top to match the other ones that were already there. This is the result she has achieved, before she paints it roughly the same green as the back fence.

(And it's the photo for today in the challenge.)

Mum's great job at fixing up the old barbecue tray table

This isn't another flash photo, but she's done a great job, considering she hadn't used a chisel to get grooves at a certain depth before. I contributed only slightly by nailing in some of the old timbers at one end, and demonstrating how to chisel out the grooves.

Well done, Mum. Great job.

Choices, Choices...

If it's one thing some women can't decide on it's who is the best hero out of certain shows. It is easily the case for two certain gentlemen who have been in several shows before and after the roles they are depicted in below. However, for fans of period drama shows, these two gentlemen (the characters, not the men) are definitely up there are the definitive hero. Who can, after all, dispute that Fitzwilliam Darcy (Colin Firth, Pride and Prejudice, 1995) and John Thornton (Richard Armitage, North and South, 2004) aren't two of the nicest guys out there?

So...if it came down to choosing, who would you pick? The quiet, brooding, well-mannered but shy...hang on...isn't that both of them? At times, definitely. Oh dear...they certainly are qualities women go for when escaping in a book.

Good luck in deciding.

As you can see, the Enchanted Serenity of Period Films created this poster, and there is a bit of a poll going on here, if you would like to participate (on Facebook).

Yesterday Afternoon

After doing the Jane McGrath Classic in the morning, I decided I'd not done enough for Australia Day, and went down the coast all the way to Wollongong, stopping off at Bald Hill, and going via the Sea Cliff Bridge. Here's some pictures from that trip out.

Enjoy!

Just a by-the-by: there were actually 14 tankers/container ships off Wollongong's coast yesterday, but I didn't get all of them in the picture.

Low cloud at Wombarra (I think it was there...)

The Sea Cliff Bridge from Bald Hill - the low cloud can be seen in the distance

Low cloud over the ocean, with the tankers/container ships just noticeable

It was enjoyable to see sun in the afternoon after a few days of rainy, wet days.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Australia Day.

A bit of variety

So, today's photos are of things I saw in my street. The first couple are of a plant that I thought looked nice, interesting, and pretty. The second was of coils of wire found on the nature strip - we're having a clean-up at the moment. The last is of twigs out to be collected. I used the macro on my little camera, and it doesn't look as though it does a bad job.

Enjoy them.

The pretty flowers

One of the blooms

Same bloom, different angle

Someone's life is in a coil?

Twigs

Who knows what tomorrow will bring for photos.

Another important message through film...

This film starts with being flippant and cheeky. It's to catch your attention. But the message is important and poignant the further it goes. Growing up in Australia, I've had to watch being out in the sun for too long so often due to my skin - I burn easily and it is a killer.

You may already know this video - it's been widely shown on facebook and twitter, as well as being sent around through email, no doubt. Yet, you can never show this message too often: cover up in the sun, or else you may have to suffer consequences like those demonstrated in this film.

You may not like the message in the end, but it's an important one. It's one that should be told in all countries where being 'sun smart' is being intelligent and not going out and getting horribly burned and tanned. Having a tan is fine. But I hope you don't end up with these consequences. Not saying you will...but you never can tell...

It's Australia Day...

Once again, the 26th January has come around, and we celebrate as a nation the landing of Captain James Cook at Kurnell, thereby marking the beginning of English settlement of Australia. If you wish to call it an Invasion that is your choice. However, I'm not here to start a controversial piece on whether Australia should or should not have been settled, or whether the Aboriginal Australians have been ill-treated in the past due to the settlement.

I'm here to tell you what I got up to this morning.

Some of you might know that we have had breast cancer problems in my family in the past. Well, I support a few things to do with raising money to find a cure for cancer, and one of those things was the Jane McGrath Classic this morning, held on Wanda Beach at 7am. Now, if you know me well, 7am is an EXTREMELY early time of the morning for me - especially the last day of the holidays. Yet, it was all in aid of a good cause, so not missing that fun!

Fun. Yes...walking 2.5kms in soft sand can be fun...when you take your time. This was not quite fun, especially as I wanted to do it in a fairly fast time to push myself. This was the first real fast walking I've done these holidays, so it was good to get in there and participate well. I finished around middle of the pack, because there were a lot of walkers and only about 10 people who really participated in running. We walked up towards Green Hills and then back, passing the start/finish line, going towards Elouera and then turning and finishing. All in all, I believe I did it in about 30 minutes. That's not too bad. You should have a go.

For the occasion I thought I'd wear my new McGrath Foundation shirt that I bought at the Sydney Cricket Test as a commemorative shirt for that particular test match (it's the Pink Test, and we went on the Pink Day). It fitted in really well, but we were also given a darker pink singlet when we got there to put on over anything we were wearing. This was to tell who was competing in which event, because there was something called the Wanda Xtreme6 held at the same time. This event is where runners run towards Green Hills, but instead of turning round, they continue running up into the sand dunes there, going over one or two of them, and then turn around and complete the course that was the Jane McGrath Classic. A bit too much effort required for that one.

Next year, I hope to see more people down there, having another go. The problem with this year was, where was the advertising? Didn't see much at all, only on Facebook. Go figure. But the numbers weren't bad for a public holiday, an early start, and a not-so-great looking morning.

Anyway, photos for today are of what I took while down there, using my little camera, not my big one.

Enjoy.

Looking out towards the sun...behind the clouds

A little more zoomed in

Looking towards Elouera and Cronulla

Zoomed in towards Elouera and Cronulla

Taken while out on the walk (looking a little dark...)

Surfers gathering in a circle...taken after the walk

I hope you are all having a great Australia Day (26th January), especially those that are overseas or cannot be with friends or family for some reason. Hope you're having a great time, anyway!

A Walk in the Park...

Today was a trip into the city, with lunch and a walk around the area. Went from Darling Harbour round to the Art Gallery and then down through the Botanical Gardens. Took two pictures today and going to put both of them up. The first one is of the menace that is terrorising many trees, residents, and goodness knows what else - better known as Flying Foxes. They are a pest and a nuisance, but we aren't allowed to do anything about them as they are protected. Now, I don't mind them. They are fine. But when the population gets larger than what is good for the gardens (and the rest of Sydney), then it's time to do something about them.

The second picture is of a flower that grows in the Koi Pond in the gardens. I don't know the name of the flower, so if you do can you please leave a comment and tell me. It's pretty.

Enjoy.

SOME of the Flying Foxes - they were located in many trees around the gardens

The flower in the Koi Pond at the Botanical Gardens

The Spider Wasp

So, today's photo is kinda dramatic...but not. This was found in the backyard dragging a mostly fully-grown Huntsman spider away (no doubt) to its nest. Huntsmen spiders are large Australian spiders (can grow to roughly 5 inches across, leg span) and don't really hurt you (unless you provoke it and it bites you, then you'd better get to the hospital). So, Huntsman spiders are allowed to live around the backyard in peace, and sometimes have to be kicked out of the house - but never killed. Therefore, this wasp was a dead man walking from the moment we saw it. Plus...it didn't look as though it would be particularly healthy to have something like this around the house. Here, perhaps, I should mention that it's at least 3cm in length, this wasp. Yeah...not great... Who knows where the nest is/was, but it ain't getting spider to eat tonight.

Yes, it's cruel to have sprayed it, and then trapped it...but it wasn't liked, so it was done. If you don't want to see it then stop looking now.

The Spider Wasp:

Oblique view

Top view

Side view

Keep an eye out in your backyard for these guys, Sydney-siders. You never know, they might be lurking there in the undergrowth...

Not flash...but important.

So...today's photo is not very exciting, or anything flash. But it's important to think about. You never know when you might need one, you never know when it might come in handy. So...today's photo is as follows:

Don't knock it. It's a first aid kit for the car. You never know when those skills you have learned sometime in the past (if you're a teacher, or had some training for some reason), or when the book provided, will help you in helping someone when they are in need of aid. I'm not going to go so far as to  say "save someone's life". That would be unlikely. But yes...it could come in handy sometime when you least expect it.

The last couple of days' photos will be up tomorrow some time.

Time for an overhaul

So, if you've been one of these people checking out my blog lately you'll see a change to it from now onwards. Yes, as you can see, this blog has been updated - especially noticeable in the background. I have changed font styles (but not all that much) and colours, to match the background.

Hope you like it. It might be changed again in the near future if I don't really care for it...so keep an eye out!

What Nellie Did Next...

Well...thought I'd do a little bit of a write up of what I got up to while away from the 'Big Smoke'. Just a couple of days out of town, but it's nice to get away.

Last Tuesday I took a friend and her brother back home to Dubbo. Hence visiting the place. Always a nice place to get away to. Visited another friend while out there. Driving out there took up most of Tuesday, and we got to the farm in the evening as darkness was approaching, but not before I was able to get the photo of the sunset (featured below).

Wednesday was a nice easy day where we just stayed at home and read, and relaxed, and vegged out on some Phantom of the Opera (25th Anniversary edition, live at the Albert Hall, London). That was very good. Nice easy day. Hence me forgetting to actually take a photo.

Thursday was going into town. We arranged to meet up with another friend at the South Dubbo Tavern for lunch (which they don't do too badly, at all) and then drove into town after dropping our friend off at his house. In town I was able to pick up a great bargain: an Espirit dress that I had seen for $149.99 in Sydney at the beginning of Summer Wear Season. Not a bargain at that price, hence leaving it until coming out to Myer Dubbo, where they had it (towards the end of the season, yes...) for $79.99, and then it was reduced some more, and because of a gift voucher given to me for Christmas two years ago, I got it for $34.95. Not bad, not bad at all... After a little bit more browsing of the shops we went and had coffee with the friend we met up with for lunch to look over his house (that's relatively new, still). Bought a book, too, that should help with writing things about books that I've been reading all year, and should help me keep reading during the year. That was good, and it wasn't long before we started heading back 'home' for the evening.

Next day was another trip into town to see the latest Sherlock Holmes movie, as well as visit the Old Dubbo Gaol. The movie was good, and quite enjoyable. More intrigue, or something (or a better plot line?), made it quite good, and worth seeing. Horror night at Old Dubbo Gaol was worth going too, as well...even if I did ruin one of the 'ghosts' little gig by seeing her moving, getting into position to try and scare my friend and me. We got back to the farm a little after midnight, having had ourselves some fun driving back. If you must know, I like night driving sometimes better than daytime driving due to sunlight being a hassle at times.

Anyway...Saturday was the day I was driving back, and didn't leave until an hour and a half after I was expecting to...due to my own fault at procrastinating it. I had fun looking at the property guide for the area...and dreaming the prices in Sydney were the same for the same types of properties. Oh...to dream. 3-4 bedroom homes at $300 000. Oh...to dream...

The drive wasn't very eventful apart from roadworks and fog in the Blue Mountains. It was great to see...and fun to drive through. Nothing major, and got home fairly much at the expected time.

So, that was my few days away. Nice and easy, and fun, with many relaxing moments. Twas good, 'twas good, and hopefully shall do it again sometime this year... Maybe winter time.

Cheerio!

Here they are

So, the photos that were meant to be put up yesterday are finally here. They'll be explained as they are 'listed'. Enjoy.

10th January:

Sunset where I was staying

11th January: photo I forgot.

12th January:

Going 'home' from 'town' - that was sunset

13 January: Horror Night at 'Old Dubbo Gaol'

We were entertained about stories of prisoners by the 'Governor'

Prisoners who's stories we were told about

A little bit of mischief made by the people who run the Gaol

The 'Condemned Man' in his cell - actually based on a prisoner

14th January: Coming back to Sydney

A beautiful day around Lake Windamere

At the top of Mount Victoria, with fog starting to appear...

...and getting thicker...

...and continuing on...

The fog kept on going until down past 450m in elevation. Got to love driving the Blue Mountains in summer, when anything can happen!

Hold on a moment...

Okay...so I promised to put the photos up for the last four days as soon as I got home. Or something like that. Well...I'm going to do that tomorrow, because I'm not awake enough to do it right now. That's because I travelled home from Dubbo today, where I have been staying with friends and seeing the sights, as I always do. As well as spending money...because I always do my shopping in Dubbo. Just ask one of the friends I stayed with.

Anyway, because I do touch-up work to the photos sometimes...and that takes time...you'll have to wait a moment...or a day. And I missed a day up there. I was going to take a photo, and just forgot, so that's two days so far that I've missed. Oh well. Such is life.

Take it easy, and I hope - if you're on holidays, or ending your holidays - you're relaxing and having fun.

Yes, yes, yes...there is no photo up for FOUR DAYS!

Hey there, people.

I know, it's shocking: there hasn't been a photo up for four days. That's because I'm out visiting friends away from my usual computer and things like that. Therefore, I will upload photos for the time I've been away once I get home...which is tomorrow.

Wait until then, and you won't be disappointed, and you'll see that I've been keeping up with my challenge!

Ciao!

Subject: The Moon

So, we all want to 'reach for the moon' at some time or other in our life, and it looked fairly close tonight for those wanting it right now. They aren't great...but enjoy, anyway.

With some soft focus on

As I took it, fairly much...

8 January Photo

Today is a rather boring photo of my African violet. Yep. Not desperate for a photo, but it's not the most interesting of events/subjects. Just pleased that it's got so many flowers on it at the moment, is all.

Enjoy.

So many flowers...

...and it has more buds down in it's 'heart'

First Festival Night or is that Festival First Night?

The name is tonight, the first night of the Sydney Festival. It started off with a real crowd-pleaser with 'the troc' occurring in Elizabeth St, near Martin Place. (There were other events occurring around the city as well, but this was the one most appealing to me.) Trocadero dancing is what they describe what occurred during the late 30s, the 40s, and some of the 50s. So, early rock 'n' roll dancing. Unfortunately there is only the one performance of this dancing this year at the festival (tonight's event), with last year there being 4 performances at the Sydney Town Hall. Apparently there were meant to be more, but they cut it back. Silly move, the crowd would have wanted more, and probably come to more. Anyway, these are the photos for today's challenge, showing off some of the lovely sights of this evening.

'the troc' from way back in Martin Place. Big crowd.

'the troc' - anyone want to dance?

The band has started, and dancing is underway.

The dancers were great!

My friend, Faye, showing off St Mary's Cathedral, all lit up.

In front of St Mary's Cathedral.

Hope you enjoy today's photos for the challenge. So far, so good for the challenge, as there has been no slacking, though the uploading is taking a while to get there. Didn't get home until after midnight, so give me a break about today, please.

More photos from yesterday (Day 3, Aust. vs. India)

As promised, I've included more photos below of things occurring at the cricket (Sydney Cricket Ground). It was the third day of the test match (out of 5, if you don't know), and Clarke and Hussey did a brilliant effort in putting Australia well and truly into the lead. Clarke declared once Hussey reached his 150* runs, stopping with himself on 329*, 5 runs short of equally Sir Donald Bradman's high score. Only Bradman and Taylor (on 329), and Hayden (on 380) are in front of Clarke on the table...now...what stat was that one? They were feeding us stats left, right and centre yesterday...and I've forgotten that one exactly. Highest score for Aussies, perhaps.

If you're wondering why there is so much pink everywhere, this is the 'Pink Test', raising much needed funding for the McGrath Foundation, so they can help provide Breast Cancer Care Nurses. These nurses provide very important care for women with breast cancer, from just being there, to explaining what they are going through, and helping their families through the process, as well. So far, the McGrath Foundation has been able to place 65 Breast Care Nurses across Australia. This has benefited 10 000 families. Definitely a vital cause. From the McGrath Foundation website - Our Nurses (click here):
Having access to a breast care nurse allowed me to be Jane McGrath, the friend, the mother and the wife – not just Jane McGrath, the breast cancer patient.

Jane McGrath
Founder
McGrath Foundation
1966-2008

Anyway...photos. Enjoy.

The start of play, Aussies well positioned even then

Mark Taylor looking flash in his Pink Day suit

Who I went with - The Wheelers

The Ladies Stand dressed up for the occasion, renamed the Jane McGrath Stand for the day

A long shot of the Ladies Stand.

A partnership that can't be broken

A milestone passed by the Aussies - 500 runs on the board

Hussey

Another milestone for the pair

Hussey

Clarke

Clarke hitting the ball for yet more runs

And away it goes, again...

552 runs...Where will it end???

Hussey adds to the run total

Clarke - this time with his baggy green on

Hussey reaches 150...

...acknowledging the crowd

The Indians come in to bat before Tea

They can actually hit some runs at the SCG

If you held your pink sign up at Tea...

...you could possible win the chance to meet Glenn McGrath

The shade has come again

The Indians jump to hit the ball?

Well done, Gambhir...on the way to his 83

Gambhir, Sehwag or Dravid - if you can tell, please let me know

Gambhir, Sehwag or Dravid - if you can tell, please let me know

Gambhir, Sehwag or Dravid - if you can tell, please let me know

Tendulkar

After Dravid got bowled by Hilfenhaus, the umpires had to change a bail

Tendulkar sending the ball away for runs

Tendulkar again

Tendulkar

If you click on the actual photos they should get t the size I made them. Enjoy, as I said.