Exercising Democracy

We voted today.
The actual election day is Saturday, but we like to get in early… our area has a lot of independents running (the senate paper overflowed the voting booth), so it took a bit of research to figure out who was running for what.
A friend posted a link to Build a Ballot, which we found helpful in sorting out preferences.
Have a go! 🙂
There are also links there to the various parties’ sites – you can check out what their actual policies are. We didn’t want to waste our vote by not knowing who we were choosing. Sweet Bean spent ages weighing up different parties and policies – he’s happy to have made his choice 🙂

Although we usually go for a coffee on a Wednesday, there’s an appointment to stay home for tomorrow.
So we indulged in a Tuesday coffee!

(… and cake! ❤ )

And, speaking of democracy –
what great things can people do when they get together!
I have never been to a Pub Choir evening in person (I will one day!), but I did a few Couch Choirs in lockdown. Over the last few years they have been recording a phrase or line from Bohemian Rhapsody in every place they go. Here is the end result.

Go forth and vote!

And sing.
With coffee.
😀

Published in: on April 29, 2025 at 10:11 pm  Leave a Comment  
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A Chosen Day

My Babe and I go out for a cuppa together every fortnight or so, but we tend to get any shopping we need after, and then go home.
Because of some lovely people, we were able to go out on an Actual Date today 🙂
We had wanted to see “The Chosen:Last Supper”, but hadn’t managed to before Easter. It’s still on at Hoyts in town, though, so – yay! 1pm on a Tuesday afternoon – we were the only ones there. We’d looked at the daybeds, but decided against them – too close to the screen, and the danger of falling asleep… So we chose recliners.

Leaning back, with a footrest and plenty of space to stretch out.
No, we didn’t fall asleep 😆
It was very comfortable.

As for the movie – loved it!
(Go and see it!)
It was only part 1 (it ends with Jesus turning over the tables in the temple courts), so we’ll go and see part 2 mid-Mayish.

Afterwards we had a look at a pop-up gallery in Booval Fair, then back to town to pick up some proper curry (i.e. not the cheapest option) at Indian Mehfil – another recommendation for a great day out. We got there just as they opened, so had to wait outside for a bit, as the sun went down.

A lovely day out, and one I’m glad we got to choose!
❤

Published in: on April 22, 2025 at 11:10 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Nightmare Kitty And The Fruit Of The Tree

Somewhere, in the not too distant past, I read of someone who liked to “rescue” people’s handmade trinkets from charity shops.
I thought of that when I saw this.

Cute?
I think so.
It does seem to have strange deep pools for eyes, though.
I wonder what it’s seen?

Here’s a side view.

Why?
I don’t know…
Feeding Kitty obviously wasn’t a high priority for its previous owner.
Nor, apparently, was a sense of proportion.

This week saw the mowing of the grass (yay!) after recent rain kept the ground too soggy for a while. Not only do we have a lovely short lawn, we also have fruit on the tree near the fence! 🙂

We think they’re guavas.

It was a bit of a surprise. I hadn’t even seen flowers!
There was a wasp buzzing around, so not sure if the fruit is any good.

Autumn is wandering in, and fruit is appearing randomly.
Maybe it’s the start of a metaphor…

Published in: on April 5, 2025 at 9:26 pm  Leave a Comment  

Stepping Up To Burn

I had a lovely morning, spending time with friends from church at the Women’s Conference. We heard about what it means be an overcomer, and heard how some of the women had seen it in their own lives.
And we prayed.
And sang.
And listened to song.

And then went home to shine a light
in such a time as this.

Published in: on March 29, 2025 at 8:24 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Words

I’m loving the new chill in the air!
Could it be…autumn??

It’s an easier week – time to take a bit of a breather between due dates. I’m still doing bits and pieces in my art room, but I’m taking my own time.
I was sitting, listening to a CD, enjoying the cool and my cup of coffee, and looking around at my “words”. I like my inspirational quotes and coffee cups 🙂

Maybe they’re a little twee, but I like them.

Especially when they match with my other decor.

😀

You can find cheer in a bit of broken jewellery…

…some left over scrapbooking paper,

maybe some cards made for the purpose.

Or even a sticker

…or two!

Look around –
see what shines in your world!
❤

Published in: on March 25, 2025 at 10:45 pm  Leave a Comment  

De-Floodified

After last weekend’s uncertainties, it’s good to get back to normal.
We waited a couple of days, then started moving stuff back into the vulnerable spaces.
My favourite bit was taking the heavy curtains down from the art room windows – light and fresh air again! I’ve even been doing some work 🙂

I rearranged some of my shiny things.
The week has been mostly dry, and I intended to get more done than I have. We’ve been feeling very tired and wondering why – eventually decided that even though we didn’t do much after making the house as safe as we could, we were waiting to see what was going to happen. Even though we weren’t overly worried, we still kept track of wind and rain, and probably overdosed on adrenaline without realising it…

I’m hoping that the temperatures start going down soon 🙂
Until then – a walk into the past.

The first song is one that I first heard done by Enya, although this is much older.

…and here’s something to have a giggle at –

😀

Published in: on March 15, 2025 at 10:24 pm  Leave a Comment  

How To Have A Lakefront Property

Even though there doesn’t seem to have been much rain today the water has been steadily rising.
Nobody seems to have been moving about much here – it’s been very quiet.

That about sums up our day 🙂
Both bridges down the road went over today, so we’re a bit cut off – although there’s apparently a back way out, but not sure where or if it’s safe.
This is what our view was this morning.

You can see the river at the back, and the water making its way from the side. Normally we can’t see the river at all.

This is one of the last photos I took before it got dark.

It’s a bit harder to see, but there’s water coming up beside the fence where the pool is as well.
So – welcome to our lakeside property!
We won’t be going swimming.

Published in: on March 10, 2025 at 10:58 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Low Or High?

So Alfred has crossed the coast, and was downgraded to a tropical low.
And now seems to be picking up speed again.
I think.
I’m seeing reports of strong winds on the northside, and floods predicted across this part of the state.
We’ve been pretty much at home, waiting…did the work yesterday, and waiting now to see what happens. We did prepare for winds, but the water rising was always the more likely outcome here.
So – we’ll see what happens.
We’ve prayed, and prepared.
Keeping an ear out for what’s happening in the neighbourhood…

I do think it was funny that my favourite group put out this song today –

Well, we’ll have the rain. And sun.
Sometime.

Published in: on March 8, 2025 at 10:59 pm  Leave a Comment  
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A Dance And A Shuffle

Still waiting for Alfred.
It seems to have been dancing along the coast, with a bit of a shuffle here and there…
It’s been a bit weird here – lots of sun, but everything seems to be holding its breath.
We sorted out downstairs today. Put things up off the floor, or brought them upstairs. I rearranged the art room a bit more, and put the heavy curtains back up. We’ve filled the bath and various water containers.
The wind has been blowing doors closed, so I thought I’d hold the inner front door open with a doorstop. Forgot how far it was off the floor…

😆

Also decided to bring my plushy things into the lounge, where they watch me read.

And we brought in some statues from the garden – they were there when we moved in, so we don’t tend to remember they’re there. The only one still out is a big wombat, which could be a formidable missile. It seems to be stuck to the rock it’s on, though, and that is planted in the ground.

I thought we’d done most of the preparation in the last couple of days!
I woke up with what felt like a cold, complete with slight temperature. I’m pretty much OK now, but the day felt a bit strange – like a minor fever dream…it was interesting 🙂
Too busy to get this kind of treatment!

😆

So now – we wait.
(again…)

And read lots of books.
❤

Published in: on March 7, 2025 at 10:31 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Waiting For Alfred

Been a bit windy today.
We’ve battened down some hatches, and assessed the pantry contents.
Got some bottled water (but left what we could for others – the shelves were a bit empty).
We have tidied up the yard, and looked at what we would need to do for different scenarios. Went down to Bunnings to look for something to plug up the windows – hopefully we can stop any upstairs floods before they start! Empty plastic boxes in the back sun room for the leaks.
I’ve put the knick-knacky things in the art room into boxes so I can get them shifted quickly if necessary…we’re not panicking, but I am aware that the side and front of the art room are basically glass from floor to ceiling.
So. Here we are. Pretty much as ready for a random cyclone as we can be!

We were still able to go out for a coffee this morning – much enjoyed…

I forgot to take a photo before we started…

😀

Since we’re looking at a fair bit of rain soonish, here’s a sunflower.

If you look closely at the upper petals, you can see that a kind insect has made a little heart for you.
❤

Would you rather while away the hours (well…minutes) watching talent show auditions?
Here are some that showcase the amazing things people can do.

Warning – contains extreme sword swallowing (third segment).

If you prefer seeing what people are capable of creating if they let their imaginations roam…

Enjoy.
Stay safe.
And remember –
if the power goes out, that’s just a sign that you should be reading a book!
🙂

Published in: on March 5, 2025 at 11:41 pm  Leave a Comment  
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