The first half of 2012 in review...

I know I have been a bit slack on the postings this last couple of months. I blame the discovery of Instagram! I have to admit, I am hooked! I drive Jeff crazy by whipping out my iPhone everytime I see something I would like to share. I have also been following a couple of "Photo - a - Day" challenges.
Both are fellow bloggers and here are the links to their blogs:
FatMumSlim and Kootoyoo.
These two ladies have really inspired me to get creative this year.

I am posting a few of my favourite pictures and projects for the year. Please enjoy!

The beginning of 2012 saw some rather stormy weather in Northam!

January 20 -Lightning - couldn't believe I managed to capture this!

January 20 - Storm Clouds

January also saw me tagging along with Jeff to his cycling events. These photos are in January in Toodyay for the Mark Weber Memorial race that goes from Toodyay to Gidgegannup.

The end of January saw the inaugural meeting of the Northam Photography Club. It coincided with the opening of the Northam Sound Shell in Burwood Park where summer concerts are held. Thanks to Jenny Utting and Martin Carter for making this fun club happen with lots of fun meetings.

February saw our first critiquing for our photos of the sound shell. I learned a lot!

March was my very first beginners DSLR workshop with Seng Mah from Venture Photography. I can thoroughly recommend this workshop!

April saw me getting up at ungodly hours to go to cycling with Jeff. Since I have finished work, I have been doing volunteer work with Jeff's main club Australian Time Trials Association (ATTA). Unfortunately apart from a few meets around Toodyay, Gidgegannup and Chidlow, this means getting up at around 4am to be at the other venues in time. It is not fun in Winter though it is the only day of the week I do have to get out of bed before 7.30am!

Bibra Lake at Dawn

Bibra Lake at Dawn

In April, we also had the pleasure of hosting friends from Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. Jean is one of my online quilting friends with whom I have been 'chatting' with via email for the past 15 or so years. Her lovely husband Blaine is a physics professor who manages to swing a teaching gig at Hue (pronounce 'whey') University in Vietnam ever few years. This year they extended their visit to Australia too. It was so much fun having them around! Jean is besotted with Australian wild life and says the highlight of the trip was getting to pat Big Bub the Wombat!

At the Bell House Cafe in South Perthon arrival in WA with Charlie the Koala

Blaine put his feet in the Great Southern Ocean in Augusta

And the Indian Ocean in Dunsborough

International Quilting Buddies

Jean and Blaine with Big Bub the Wombat and her handler - oh! and Charlie the Koala

Charlie the Koala from Virginia meets one of his Australian relatives

Blaine impersonating the Kangaroo or vice versa!

Reflections in Fremantle

May saw my best friend Gilly and I head to Hong Kong for a few days.

Hong Kong from the Peak Lookout

Gilly with her new camera bought in Kowloon

On the way to the Exhibition Centre

Kowloon by night

The smallest escalators in the world!

My bestie Gilly hamming it up at Disneyland Hong Kong.

Wintry June didn't let us down with some pretty spectacular skies...

and that is the first half of this year for me in Pictures!
Second instalment to come soon!

To be continued.... :)

October will be on Instagram

I have decided to try and do most of this month's FatMumSlim Photo a Day challenge for October via Instagram.

If you would like to follow along, my user name (Ha! typed Usher instead of user!) is tusherau.

I may miss a few - like I have already as I am off on my holiday tomorrow. The other side of this, is I might get some really different pictures to what I would have taken in I was at home!

The list of photos is as below:

Cheers!

October Photos

I have made the decision not to do the daily photo for October because it will be too hard for a couple of reasons.

1. I am travelling (yep - just have to remind everyone that I am off overseas again!)
2. Blogger unfortunately does not make it easy to upload photos from an iPad.

So I will resume my daily pictures in November.

So to add some colour to today's post, here are a couple of photos I took at a recent trip to Araluen with our local photography club.

The theme for the 1st of this month was  "You, now". Today, the last day, is "You, then." As I missed the first four days of this month before beginning this challenge, I have posted both today.

The first photo is of 'Me, now." This was taken earlier this month while at lunch with my school friend Stan and our year 7 teacher.

The "Me, then" is me at about 12 months old with war wounds. The story behind this photo is that apparently I thought the best way of learning to ride my trike was to head straight down the front steps of our home at the time! Ouch!

Now

Then (1962)

Now lets see how I go for October!

Errand

Today's topic is "Errand". I didn't have to go out anywhere today and as most of what I was doing today I class as chores, not errands, I was wondering what I was going post.

I have spent the morning in the kitchen cooking up a storm for lunch guests. They have just left. 

I came into the office to see what I can cross off my 'To Do' list for today and I had to pay a bill. In the old days before internet banking this would have been an Errand but these days it is a few quick keystrokes on the computer and a number from my banking doo hickey!

What a great day it was today. The weather was fine and sunny and I baked and baked all morning. Jeff had invited two of his cycling friends up for a ride this morning followed by lunch. Ali and Dave arrived about 9.30 and the three of them headed off for a ride through Toodyay and Coondle and then back to Northam. While they did that, I started on lunch.

First on the agenda was to get the bread dough started and doing its first rise which is about 6 hours long. Then I made delicious Lemon Butter cakes for desert for lunch followed by a batch of scones for the freezer. I then made the main course for lunch. Spinach Lasagne Rolls which is a spinach and ricotta dish. Yummo. I got that in the oven and started on the salad. Rocket and spinach leaves with tomato, avocado, basil and black olives. 

I pulled the Lasagne rolls out of the oven just as the cyclists walked in the door after their ride. A very entertaining afternoon ensued and not one word about football until it was time for the guests to head back to the city. Then it was just that the roads should be quiet because every one would be watching the grand final!

I have since learned that Hawthorn lost to the Sydney Swans but my care factor is pretty much zero!

Love/Hate

This was NOT hard:

One thing I have a love/ hate relationship is my family history research.

I love the research. I love uncovering the mystery that is my ancestors but I HATE genealogical brick walls more than anything in my life!

At present (and for the last 4 years of searching) I just cannot locate my mother's paternal grandparents. I know the names of my grandfather's parents. I know who my grandfather's paternal grandparents are. But who exactly is his father and when on earth his mother came from is a complete mystery. There are no marriage records. There are family stories, none of which can be confirmed; there are rough dates. The only certainty we have is my grandfather's birth record. I have the certificate! Grrrr!

When I finally get over this brick wall, I think I may create another blog and write down my family history. Who knows!

Well back to trawling the records on Ancestry.com, Find My Past UK and The Genealogist UK!

Near..

...and dear to my heart.

Today's topic is 'Near'. You can interpret this many ways. "Near and Far", near by, etc..

I didn't take the shot I have posted today. It was taken almost 2 years ago now at Caris and Thomas's wedding. It is the three people nearest my heart.

The men in my life.

These are the three people most important to me. My hubby Jeff, and our children, Matthew and Michael.

All three will cringe if they read this post!

Day 21- Frame

What happens when you drop an empty picture frame onto the couch while you go to get your camera for your daily photo?

This!

My beautiful boy Chi decided that inside the frame was a great place to catch a quick cat nap! One thing I can say about this is it saved me having to wonder just what I was going to do with said photo frame (why did I want to spell that "Phrame"!)

Because the picture was all orange and beige, I decided to crop and desaturate the shot and just paint back in the frame. I think it worked well.

Here is the original:

More tomorrow!

Photo a Day - Monday

Today it is "3 Things".

This is three thing I did today:

I went to quilting at Gilly's and attached the two flowers shown in the photo. We then went shopping and then Gilly gave me a manicure before I came home.

One other thing I did today was upgrade my dear old iPhone 3GS to the new iPhone5. I was going to add it in the photo but I need to do stuff with it.  So exciting! Right now, Gilly's husband Bill is giving me a hard time over the fact I decided on a white phone. The reason for this is I give him a hard time because he has a white iPad! Now, the white iPhone looks fine but the white iPad is lame! The other reason I have a white iPhone is because that is all that was available and besides, my old one was white too so why break the trend!

Gillian and I are getting very excited. Our trip to the USA is getting closer and closer!

11 more sleeps!

No Photo a Day

I missed my first day yesterday after starting this challenge on September 5. And not because I forgot! I just wasn't inspired.

The topic for Sunday Sept 23 was "Before Bedtime". What do I do before bed? Eat dinner, watch telly, shower, clean my teeth. Nothing terribly inspiring. Gilly suggested today that I should have taken a self portrait of me cleaning my teeth before bed, but I want to keep this blog G Rated! I am usually naked when I clean my teeth at night!

So. No photo for Sunday 23 September 2012!

Araluen

was today's destination for the bi-monthly outing of Northam Photography Club. A perfect oportunity to get my picture for today's theme "Up."

This photo was taken by me, today, while laying FLAT ON MY BACK in the middle of a pathway looking up at the tulips at Araluen Botanical Park.

Apparently my dear next door neighbour, Gaye, who came with me, snapped me while doing this. I look forward to see that photo - Not!

While the day started out quite windy and cloudy, it fined up beautifully and I was very happy with some of the pictures I took. There were many people out enjoying the tulip display at the garden. We watched one little girl toddle around chasing bubbles blown by her mum. It was so cute. She had little shoes on that squeaked when she ran. That along with her giggles of delight at the bubbles had every one around her smiling. Unfortunately, I did not get a good photo of her.

There was also a family group dancing in the park. The mood of the park was infectious. It was a  happy vibrant place to be!

Friday's Photo

Today the subject is 'Sometimes'.

Easy! Every time I get into my car, I think "I must wash this sometime!" So here is a lovely cobweb growing on my rear number plate!

I did plan on washing the car today. I cleaned, vacuumed and Armour-Oiled the inside but the weather today is so feral, I couldn't wash it! This is when I got the idea for today's photo!

I truly hope the weather improves tomorrow. My next door neighbour, Gaye and I are heading to Araluen for Photography Club. It is tulip season and Araluen is renowned for its tulip display this time of the year.

Photos will be forth coming of the visit. There will be tulips. Be warned!

And here is today's Photo.

Today was "Man Made."

What is more man made than a good batch of yummy scones!

Jeff requested scones last night, so they were on my agenda today. Yummo!

I had a great day today. The best part was hearing from a primary school friend I have been trying to track down for a while. Beverley and I were friends in Grade 7 and I wrote to her parents a week or so ago. It really made my day when her email popped up in my inbox today! Now, after 38 years,  I am in contact with all the other three from the foursome we had at school.

Old school friends 1974
L to R: Leanne, Beverley & Leonnie
I am behind the camera, even back then!

Underneath.

I took this yesterday. Really! I just forgot to post it!

Subject for Wednesday was Underneath. I decided I would take a picture of the underneath of the first thing I saw when I walked out the back door.

Done deal!

This is the underside of the palm tree outside my laundry door. I am quite happy with it as it is straight out of the camera. No crop, no enhancement.

Now to get out and find today's gem - "Man-made".

Later!

Nearly forgot!

I have just come home from my monthly patchwork get together and realised I hadn't taken my shot for today. The subject today is "Price."
The brief is  "Snap a price, on an ad, a tag or somewhere else. Hmmm....

It is late. I have nothing with a price on it within easy reach without disturbing the husband unit who is sleeping soundly right now. Then I turned on the computer and the first email I see is this:

Saved by the junk email! A quick snap and crop and I am saved. My record is unblemished and I can now go to bed and sleep in peace!

Night all!

It is Monday again!

And today's challenge was "In My Fridge!" What a dilemma. My fridge desperately needs cleaning and I have been in Perth all day today! Erk! How to take a picture and not let on just how bad the state of the fridge is?

Easy!

Try the trick of zooming out while the shutter is open. I am very happy with this result!

I think the top of the photo looks a bit like a supermarket aisle instead of a fridge.

I had a fun day today. I go to Perth every Monday but today I had lunch with our Exmouth friends, Bev and Darryl. They told me the good news that they are looking to move to Perth at the end of the year. That means all three of my besties will be living less than an hour away!

Nothing Strange!

Today's topic was "Strange". But I didn't see anything strange today to post, so I have added the photo below instead.

Is this strange enough for everyone! Deb and Lee are going to kill me for this!

This was taken last November at Captain Cook's Cottage in Melbourne while visiting my sister Deb along with my other sister Lee and her daughter Amy. 

Left to right it is Lee, me ( obviously channelling my younger son Michael when he was aged about 10!), Amy and Deb! We had a fun week together in Melbourne with quality girl time and lots of shopping. 

Really have to do it again sometime!