Physio Today

Oh boy - was I sore today at Physio - I had been having muscle spasms all week in my lower back and between my shoulder blades and my skin had been sensitive all over (like having the flu) but this week my jaw had been worrying me again so that is what he worked on. It's the TMJ flaring - who knows why - I've given up wondering why this & that happens. Fortunately once my muscles have been worked on they do settle down and as long as I manage to have either a weekly massage or a physio treatment I'm not too bad.

My arms & wrists have really been playing up again the last couple of months & don't want to settle down at all but unfortunately that is a nerve and not a muscle problem. Grrrrr - it really gets so frustrating at times. There is so much I want to do and I love my craft & computer but have to really pace myself all the time.

My Christmas Decorations

Well I had lots of fun with the PhotoImpact International and PhotoImpact Resource Centre Christmas Challenges this year. I hadn't managed any graphics for a few months because my hands had been worrying me too much but with the warmer days things settled down a bit and having challenges to meet helped me find some inspiration.

This is the Christmas Card for the PIRC - I also made two for PI-I however they are still to be judged so I am unable to show them to add them at present.


These are the baubles which I have made. Some were from last year but I added a few more again this year.




This was a decoration we had to make using different path shapes.


Another challenge we had was to decorate a Christmas tree so I added some of my decorations to the tree, put some presents underneath and added some shining stars.


We were also given a choice of doors to decorate - I altered my hanging decoration and placed that over the door with the long drops on either side and then made a wreath and poincettias which I placed on the front.


And this is my wreath:-

What a Wonderful Christmas

We had a terrific Christmas Day this year. The last two years we have had Christmas at home however my brother and sister-in-law put their hands up this year as they thought that hubby and I might need a break as it wasn't long after we had Dad's 80th party here. We went to Chrismas Eve carols service here in Caboolture and then drove the my brothers in Brisbane mid-morning on Christmas Day.

We had 19 there I think with our family and my sister-in-laws parents and brother. Everyone had bought something to share so we dined on fresh prawns, turkey, chicken and ham as well as some lovely salads. My little sister does the best mango, avocado & crushed pistashio nut salad and mum made her fantastic tossed salad which has so many ingredients it's almost a meal in itself and there was also an oriental salad made with chinese cabbage......yum. Plus my nephew made ravioli which was popular as well.

Then of course we followed that up with yummy deserts. Mum had made a trifle, there was a traditional plum pudding as well as an ice-cream pudding which my sister made and I did a sponge flan filled with mascapone and frozen berries.

We were very fortunate with the weather too as storms had been predicted and after the devastation to The Gap only 5 weeks beforehand we didn't want a repeat. The day was warm but not as hot as the week prior although the kids spent half the day in the pool.

My secret Santa spoilt me with a beautiful silver necklet and a diary. Hubby gave me a compact external hard drive which I can take with my laptop and our son bought me a lovely new pair of sunglasses.

Unfortunately though we forgot to get a family photo which was a shame as we usually manage a Christmas one.

Our Visit to Caloundra

We had been going to hubby's sister & brother-in-law's home for Boxing Day lunch with some other members of hubby's family however I was so tired and sore after being out on Christmas Day that we had to cancel but went up Saturday afternoon instead. We were able to stay the night which was wonderful as I wouldn't have coped with having to travel there & back in the same day so soon after going into Brisbane for Christmas.

We have a lovely time - went for a walk Saturday afternoon along the foreshore and took the two dogs which hubby's sister is baby-sitting for her son. They are the cutest dogs and real people magnets.

Then Sunday morning we went for another longer walk and ended up at the Caloundra markets. We were able to find a cafe with outdoor seating as we had the dogs with us again so had a sit down with a nice coffee before heading back. The littlest dog was funny - about 10 minutes from home she just decided that she had walked far enough and sat down. Poor little thing - she is only about 6 months old and we'd walked about 5kms by then so I think she was getting tired.

Photos from Dad's Party

Well I finally have the photos from Dad's birthday party. There is one of him cutting the cake ..... we weren't able to get one of him blowing out the candles as he doesn't actually do that but moistens his thumb & forefinger & just extinguishes the flame by smothering it between his fingers. Not a good party trick though in front of the littlies. He's such a worry - LoL. Then another just after his non-existent speech.

I was also able to sneak in a photo of my brother and our son. Usually our son hates having his photo taken but because he & my brother were fooling around I was able to snap one.

Had a lovely day today.

Boy - it was another warm one today - the temperature at home reached 34degC (which is about 98 - 100deg F) however I went to lunch with the ladies I walk with. It was really enjoyable as they are a lovely group (there is 4 of us in total) and we have known each other for quite some time now. It was so lovely to actually be able to have a pre-Christmas get together as I had been feeling a bit left out of late. Hubby has been to a couple & our son has had more than his share ...

So we were able to escape from the heat for a few hours too & then afterwards browsed the nearby shopping centre.

My Rag Angel

I was part of a ornament swap for a craft group which I belong to and wanted to make something special for my swap partner so decided on this rag angel. I first made these years ago but have made a few since. This might be my last one though as I had awful trouble tearing her skirt this time .... forgot about the effort required in gripping the calico and ripping it.

If anyone would like the instructions on making one I can either post them on here of if you want to leave me your email addy I can email them to you.

Dad's Birthday

Well dad had a wonderful 80th birthday. Starting with a morning tea on Thursday which was his actual birthday. Mum had a few friends from neighbouring cottages come over to help him celebrate.

Then on Saturday we had a brunch for him at home. There were 32 here including family. Hubby & my brother did a lovely bar-b-que of bacon, tomatoes, eggs & chippolatas. There were also bread rolls, chocolate danish, cheese danish & croissants as well as lovely fruit platters.

The day was a bit warm although a lovely breeze picked up however we did end up having the cake & coffee in the breezeway as under the pergola was starting to get very warm by then. Although the kids thought it was great as they were able to swim most of the day.

My two sisters and SIL were terrific with organising the food and cleaning up although our family is always like that - it's always fun chatting in the kitchen while working.

Bark And An Unusual Fungi

Hehe - yep - have been busy with the camera again. I just can't resist the different barks on the trees at home this time of the year as the eucalypts start shedding theirs. There is such a variety of colours and patterns.

The last photo is of a fungi of some type which is coming up in a couple of the gardens after all the wet weather that we have had. This is so unusual - has like a lacy look to it.

Visiting the Christmas Lights

I had my niece stay on Friday night so the two of us went to look at some Christmas lights. There is one street near where I live which wins their division every year and also has the winning residence. Some of the houses are incredible. This place you can actually wander right up to the front & look in the windows are the beautiful displays.

Our Friendly Frog

We have the most beautiful big green frog which is usually hiding in the gutter or downpipe however during one of the recent storms he must have been washed out and was sitting on our back gate one night.

He is quite unconcerned about having anyone near him & even with the flash of the camera just keeps looking at you.

Since all the rain the past month or so there have been lots of little green frogs and marsh frogs getting around which is great to see.

I've Been Tagged !!!

I've been tagged .... so now I have to let you know 5 things you don't know about me - well 5 things I don't think you know about me.

1. I have everything colour co-ordinated in my linen cupboard & get feral if someone puts something in wrong place.

2. I can't walk past a garden & see a weed without wanting to pull it out.

3. I am addicted to collecting digital graphics.

4. I found giving away horse riding after 40 years the hardest thing I have ever done.

5. I much prefer the bush to the beach.
So now I tag these 3 people --

Sam (samsscrapsandsigtags)
Gail (aussiescraps)
Dnad (dnadryad)

The Nativity Stable - Finished & Lit-Up

Isn't this beautiful .......... Hubby went up to adjust the lights last night so I tagged along with my trusty camera & tripod. Hehe - think he gets sick of me saying - hang on - just one more photo. I didn't know what to expect as I had only seen the stable which dad made and had heard about the wonderful figures which mum & dad's neighbour painted.