Our Casuarina Beach Holiday

My husband and I spent a lovely week away down at Casuarina in October. We were very lucky with the weather as the week prior had been windy & rainy. We did have a couple of showery days but nothing too much.

This is when Graham, myself (to the left in the photo) and my friend Kezzie spent the day in the Numinbah Valley and visited Natural Arch. Such a picturesque area.

The walk down to the pool is through rainforest. It's an easy grade and only a short walk so well worth the effort.

When we were kids I can remember swimming in this pool and the water was ice cold however it is fenced off now and swimming isn't allowed. There was always foolhardy ones too which jumped into the pool through the hole in the roof where the water cascades in.
Some of the mosses, lichens and ferns growing on the sides of the path. Because we had so much rain in the weeks prior everything was lovely and green.
These photos were taken on the beach just in front of where we were staying. We were able to go for a walk most mornings and afternoons.

This was taken just on sunset and the light from the lighthouse is just visible. I didn't know whether I would be able to get this shot as it had to be timed perfectly with the light.
Graham and I went for an afternoon drive just south of where we were holidaying. Here you are able to walk along a boardwalk up to the top of a hill overlooking the ocean.
These are Pandanus Palms which have unusual fruit and root system.
Not very clear but there were whales not far off where we were but I was only able to get a photo of this small spout.
Part of the boardwalk.
The root system of the Pandanus Palms.
Pandanus Palm fruit.
A friendly dragon which we found at the top of the hill.
We also spent a day down at Byron Bay. This day was overcast and showery however we managed to dodge most of the rain. This photo of myself and Kezzie was taken at the Byron Bay lighthouse.


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Beautiful Birds

Aren't these Lorikeets just beautiful. I love their bright colours. They are very cheeky birds and will sit in the tree where I hang a bird feeder and screech to let me know they want some seed. This one is perched on the flower stalk of one of my grass trees in the front yard at home.

Stampin'Up! Seminar in Brisbane

In September I attended the Stampin'Up! Seminar in Brisbane with a few fellow demonstrators. I wasn't too sure about going as crowds and myself don't mix well but my up-line, Robyn, was wonderful and made sure I was okay. We had a wonderful day ...... I learnt some new techniques and was was totally blown away by the wonderful array of swaps and displays.

These are the two swaps which I did for the seminar. I used some of the new SU In-Colours.
And these are some of the samples which I received in exchange.

We also had the opportunity to make some lovely things with kits which were supplied to us including this lovely stamp set. These are two of the items - one a card and the other a little gift box. We were also given a kit for a gift tag and also a scrapbook page.

September Stampings

The following cards were what we did at Deception Bay Library this month. I love the little Japanese girl. It's such a cute stamp set.
This is one of my flowers made from the Five Petal Punch.
Another of my flowers - this time made from the Fancy Flower Punch.
The cards from my September home card workshop. I gave each participant the choice of two different cards from each kit.

Stud Book Pony Show at Caboolture

My sister and niece came to stay for the weekend in September as my niece was showing her pony at the Stud Book Pony Show in Caboolture. Fortunately we have the acreage so that my sister is able to stay the night and have Camarina in one of the paddocks.

This little mare is just the most stunning pony I have seen plus she has the most beautiful temperament as well.

My sister showed her in the led class on Saturday and then my niece also showed her in the led class on Sunday as well as rider class, pony mare under saddle and two dressage tests. She won her rider class which was wonderful as there was some stiff competition.

August Crafting

Well August was quite a busy month for me as I not only attended a couple of workshops but also decided to become an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. It's something I had been considering for some time and when Robyn (my upline) mentioned it to me I was ready to take on the challenge.

This was an interesting card workshop which mum and I attended at Robyn's. It was called 'Stamp A Stack' where we made 5 cards using one sheet of paper which we decorated ourselves with stamps.
The following two cards done at one of Robyn's advanced card workshops.

At the two initial demonstrations which Robyn held for me at home everyone got to make this cute truffle box. Everyone was thrilled with their efforts.

This 'Bag in a Box' was one of the first workshops which I ran at home myself. We made them as an early Father's Day gift.
These three cards where what we did at Robyn's regular card workshop.

These were the cards which we made at my first Card Workshop. I CASEd one from Robyn's workshop but changed the colours to a black & white theme.

August Ramblings

I bought a new dog in August - from Australian Working Dog Rescue. She is just beautiful ... Kelpie with a bit of Cattle Dog. Such a wonderful temperament. She settled in really well with the other dogs .... Heinzie who we took in when Mum and Dad moved into a retirement village and couldn't take him with them and Coco .... who we've been looking after for nearly 18 months while his 'parents' are travelling.

Charlie .....................
Charlie sooking up to Graham ...............

We had interesting visitors last week. These Spoonbills were around for a few days before heading off. We have had them drop in once before but they aren't regular visitors.

The wattle is in full bloom at present. They are such beautiful flowers ... like 100s of little pompoms all clustered together.
This is one of our eucalypts which is flowered at the moment as well.