Perspective ....

It's all a matter of perspective ...

Went up to the Central Coast today to drop off a lawn mower I had been lent; then drove to the nearest beach to take a few pictures.

This first picture shows the surf at Copacabana beach ... looks a decent sized surf doesn't it.

Ah, but see that rock in the centre foreground?

It is about 30cm long (12") so that means the 'surf' is about 30cm high!   LOL.

Without anything to give you a good perspective you imagine that the breaking wave is a few metres high at the very least instead of the tiny little ripple that it is.

There was a westerly wind blowing and it meant the sea was almost flat and calm - just the occasional little wave rolling in.

Loved the wonderful shapes and crystal clarity of the water as it swirled around my feet and these two small rocks; they were even smaller than the one above, probably 20cm across.  I have to say the water was damn cold!

Drove a little further to MacMasters Beach - very pretty beach with an pool one end of the beach, near the little Cafe.

The beach was deserted - you can see how calm the water was - it was a beautiful crystal blue.

Found a couple of pieces of interestingly shaped driftwood which I brought.  Noticed there was a lot of pumice stone littering the beach too; picked up three large chunks to bring home as well.

Made me wonder which volcano they have originated from - amazing to think that I was handling something that had been spewed from the throat of some giant miles from where it ended up.

On the way home I grabbed a Latte at Woy Woy Maccas and took it to Somersby Falls to drink with my lunch.  As I opened my car door I almost had a passenger leap in.

This Brush Turkey decided my car took comfy and there was a good chance I may have something yummy for him to eat.

I did have a bread roll for my lunch but in the end he ate most of it.  I tried to ensue his 'harem' got something but whenever I threw to his girls he raced after them, shooing them off.

With some careful maneuvering, throwing something to him far away and something to the girls in the opposite direction I was able to give them something.  But I think I only gave the girls about 1 to his 12 .... lol.

He was very bold and if I didn't feed him quick enough he came over to my hand to check if I had managed to eat anything myself.  He was actually taking the food from my fingers, obviously everyone who stops there must feed them.  He certainly didn't look like he was starving .... lol

Sadly, it hasn't rained much lately so the falls were a mere trickle but still it was a lovely 3/4 hour with very handsome feathered company.

Bought a copy of Dan Brown's Inferno...  then decided before reading it I would revisit the previous three books.  Finished Angels and Demons, now half way through the Da Vinci Code.  Realised I had lent the third book - Lost Symbol (along with The Hobbit, Brief History Of Time and Green Atlas) to someone and know that I won't see them again so had to go and buy another copy.

I do have it as an ebook but I like 'real' books for those I reread a lot.  When my late husband was forced into a wheelchair I had to bite the bullet and clear rooms to allow the chair freedom to roll ... lol.  Also I had to have a hospital bed in the lounge so lots of stuff had to go.

I filled 18 tea chests will books and 9 book cases that had to be sacrificed and gave them all away.  Not many books were left as room was at a premium after moving the lounge furniture throughout the house.

Now I am slowly collecting real books again ... certainly not much; only 4 book cases but I would dearly love to have one room just filled with books.  Oh well maybe in my next house .... lol.

A Meandering Post....

Add caption

 The weather is finally changing and getting cooler, especially at night.  Looks like our 30 and 40 plus days are packed away until next summer and instead we have lovely mild temps.

I know it is cooler because I have dragged out my knitting needles and sorted through my wool stash (ssshhhh .... also bought some more) to make some goodies for my grand kids.

Starting off with a jumper for oldest grand daughter (3.5yrs) who is very very tall for her age and into size 5 or 6 ... lol.   I had my computer on, ipod music blasting out and was knitting then decided to make a coffee.  Came back in and discovered Mr Spot had decided to to a row or two.  Fortunately he tackle the ball rather than the actual knitting so it was just a matter of untangling and extricating him from the mess .... lol.

I mentioned on Facebook recently that I have to admit to a brush addiction.  I realised this when I ordered some acrylic paint for the Hibiscus painting and added a few brushes to the order.  When they arrived I quickly realised that they brought my total of water colour brushes to over 300 ....

I wasn't game enough to count my oil brushes and add them to the total ..... lol

These are my 'working' brushes - each container holds around 60-70 brushes.  As you can see they are all shapes and sizes ... the ones with the plastic covers still on them are my Kolinsky brushes that I treat like gold.

Then in a drawer I have the remainder which are mainly replacement ones or some really specialised shapes that I don't use on a regular basis.

So yes I am a brush addict ..... lol.

 Another change of hair colour; gone is the rainbow, although I was tempted to have it redone; instead I went for a base colour of  light blondy mushroom and then bright candy pink streaks through it.  Maybe I should start a poll for my next colour .... rotfl.

Went for a drive last week to search out some ideas for painting.  Decided to go to Mt Annan Botanical gardens - was a lovely place but I think it would be better in spring when there are more plants in flower.

Still I took about 30 photographs.  There are some lovely spots in the area, great for picnics - there are covered tables and gas BBQs scattered all through the park (and very very clean toilets...) so it would be a great place to relax with family.

There were still some lovely plants in flower at the moment like this flame tree, and the Banksia were in full colour.  I love the colours in the banksia; the one shown is a lovely ochre colour with soft cream tips and it is a prostrate form with lots of heads on it; probably only reaching 1/2 metre in height.

There was even a bed of lovely Sturts Desert Pea.

It would be beautiful in July/August as the wattles would be in flower; might have to take a trip then to get some photographs.

I think a trip to Mt Tomah Gardens is next on the list; remember I almost made it there last month except the weather changed.  This time I will plan ahead and check the forecast.  This time of the year would be great as the trees are in their autumn shades.  Should be able to get some great leaf photos.

So jealous - my handsome grandson is off to America for a few weeks with his Mum and maternal grandfather ... wish I could stow away but I doubt there is a bag big enough ... lol.  I am sure he is going to have a wonderful time, I know his grand dad has some great things planned that will remain forever in his memory.  I know he is off to Disneyland, not sure which one and then a few surprise places.

I can't believe that he will be 11 this year ... I can remember when he was born and we were all told the terrible news that he had a serious heart defect, including Tetralogy of Fallot, that would require surgeries.

He was given a shunt between his Aorta and pulmonary arteries when he was 2 months old as a 'stop gap' until correctly surgery could be done. This would mean that the blood and oxygen would flow to the correct side of his lungs.

Tetralogy of Fallot includes 4 defects within the heart structures:

• Ventricular septal defect (hole between the right and left ventricles)
• Narrowing of the pulmonic outflow tract (tube that connects the heart and the lungs)
• An aorta (tube that carries oxygenated blood to the body) that arises from both centrioles, rather then exclusively from the left ventricle
• A thickened muscular wall of the right ventricle ( right ventricular hypertrophy).

Thank goodness that is all behind us and he has grown to be a handsome young man - and a very strong one as you can see!

So have a wonderful time in America and enjoy every minute!!

On the last book of the Harry Potter saga (rereading them for the 14th time lol) and starting to think about what to read next.  I have a few thousand (more like 25,000 - 30,000) ebooks on my computer; I generally load about 200 onto my tablet at a time although I am reading the HP books in hard back.    My problem is deciding which to read, that was why I fell back onto HP.  I had recently reread all the Pern books of Anne McCaffrey which sort of led me to Harry.

Some of my favourite authors have books due out soon - I have pre-ordered Dan Brown's new book so it might be a good idea to reread the two that would come before, Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code.

Matthew Reilly's next book is due out in November - it is called Tournament and a departure from his usual novels, it is set in 1546.  He is also working on another novel - to quote from his Facebook page - "It's not a historical novel like The Tournament and it's not a sequel to any of my existing series. ...... I may - no promises here - get it out in 2014."

James Rollins next novel is due out in June - The Eye of God; I have Kathy Reich's latest - Bones are Forever - to read but haven't read her one before so will wait till I do.

Been going through all my ebooks trying to decide which one to read and I am no closer to a decision.  I need to select something soon because Harry won't last much longer ....lol!

Annus horribilis .....

Well 2013 is looking to be an Annus horribilis for me.

The list of disasters, problems and the bad luck register is getting longer as the months roll by.  I just hope it stops otherwise I will be completely crazy instead of just partly by the end of the year.

• I started the year in hospital; was supposed to be overnight and ended up there for 8 days;
• Post operation complications meant healing/recovery was set back;
• Power failure that saw me have an electrician crawling under the house for hours and having to come back AFTER all the rain had stopped (took 2 months to dry out) - he by passed some power points so I would have electricity but I had extension cords running through the house - $$$$ in his pocket.
• Metal hose on my shower head has a split so water everywhere but shower head (thank goodness I have two bathrooms) $75
• Possible rezoning of my house to public recreation (park) by local council (still pending);
• dishwasher died $350-1000;
• inverter for my solar electricity died ( 4 months after the warranty ran out ... lol) costs for a new one range from $2000-3000 then the electrician costs for putting it in;
• One of cupboard doors in my kitchen came off when I opened it - need new hinges
• got a thorn in my foot and been spending the next three weeks digging out pieces of it (hopefully got the last one out this morning).

All this and it is only the start of April!

And why do all the weirdos in the world approach me?

Some guy who I have never seen in my life approached me in greengrocers and asked me if

1. I would have sex with him; and 
2. if he could ejaculate on my breasts!

I burst out laughing then realised he was serious; he raced out of the shop before I could say anything.  Asked the staff if they knew him but didn't even see him.

I was still chuckling as I drove home - maybe I should have hit him around the head with a bunch of celery but then I suspect he may have enjoyed it.

But apart from that things are great ...... lol!

Working on another painting - surprisingly in acrylics which I rarely use - quite large, about 1mt by 1 mt with a floral subject; something I haven't painted for quite a while.

Thought I would give the nudes a rest for a while .... lol

Rainbow hair .....

Decided I needed a new hair colour - last time it was bright pink and the time before red and purple .... figured I would go all out....lol.  Nothing like a crazy hair colour to make you stand out from the crowd .... rotfl.

Pies, Fudge and Scammers ....

Starting to feel almost normal, well normal for me, after my surgery.  Can't believe how long it has taken and the couple of complications post surgery haven't helped.  Still I guess when you get a lump over 2.5kgs (5.5lbs) removed you have to expect a long recovery at my age....lol; at least there was nothing nasty lurking in it.

Took myself up to Bilpin yesterday and a couple of other places up the Mountains, that's probably the longest drive I have done since I went into hospital and I feel okay today.

Called into the Fruit Bowl to buy some apples; didn't pick them off the tree this year as at the moment I am only allowed to pick up 10kgs - and, of course, I had to drop into my favourite place in Bilpin - Pie in the Sky ... got a curry pie, a vegetable pie and some mouthwatering fresh fudge.

I was heading for Mt Tomah Botanical Gardens but it came over very overcast and a few spits on the windscreen so I turned around and came back home.  The road isn't the best and it has some very winding parts going up and down the mountain; some of the turns are signposted 25kph and there are signs everywhere saying the road is slippery.

Plus there were road crews all along Bells Line of Road and every few kms I had to stop and wait as there was only one way traffic. So I will save my Mt Tomah trip for another day when I am assured of fine weather (and hope the road work has finished).

I love the drive along Bells Line of Road; the scenery is breathtaking in places; if anyone ever visits Sydney and they have a day to spare it is worth the trip.  You can actually make a round trip and go through to Lithgow then come down through Katoomba and the Great Western Highway.

No the bike isn't mine .... lol

Let me welcome some new regular readers - one from Mountain View, California and the other from Blacktown (probably live in the next street ...lol).  Drop a line in the comment section or in an email and say HI.

Haven't bothered at all with the dating scene since last year and don't think I will; figured if I haven't met anyone yet I probably have left it too late .... lol.

Anyway strangely I had a man contact me through Facebook, he said he lived in Sydney and wondered if we could chat and see what we had in common.  He sent pictures and seemed a very attractive man in his mid 50s so I said okay but was suspicious.

His next email was very effusive and that immediately rang alarm bells so I asked where in Sydney he lived.  His reply "the Sydney suburb of Goulburn"  ..... lol.

Now I would imagine any reader from Sydney would be rolling on the ground in laughter at this point.  For my overseas readers, Goulburn is nowhere near Sydney, in fact it is much closer to Canberra than Sydney.

As you can see by the map there is no way you would call Goulburn a Sydney suburb!

I decided to play along and see if I could find out what his scam trick would be so I replied that Goulburn was a little far to be classed as a Sydney suburb and he replied that it wasn't that much of a drive.  I did a little checking and discovered his ISP was from Pennsylvannia and when I asked how that came to be.  He gave me some weird excuse then continued on with the  flowery emails professing love & mentioned he was having a few financial problems and so I said 'let's me up this weekend.  I will drive part way and we can meet up at Mittagong'  ..... guess what?  That was 3 weeks ago and he hasn't replied ..... lmao!!  I am still laughing.

For goodness sake just because I am 63 doesn't mean I came down in the last shower!   I know my way around a computer and I definitely know how to figure out a scammer!

I can't imagine that an extremely attractive man would be contacting a woman in her 60s unless he was -
a) a scammer or
b) wanted someone to warm his bed when he wasn't out with a young hottie ..... lol.

Plus I would be 90% sure that the photograph was a fake.

No wonder I just couldn't be bothered with dating any more when 95% of the people who contact me are scammers from the US or Ghana .... lol.

At least I don't have to worry about impressing anyone any more; by not bothering to try and meet someone I can wander round the house in my daggy paint stained gear, eat when I like and sleep when I feel like it - oh and have crazy coloured hair ...... rotfl.



This painting will be going up for auction to help raise some funds for the Hervey Bay Animal Refuge.  Will keep you posted on when in case you would like to help.

It is watercolour - 27cm x 39.5cm (10.5" x 15.5")

Another Artwork Completed ....

Just to show that I have been working .... lol.  Mind you - now it's finished I have to think of what to do next ....lol

http://sooziiiart.blogspot.com.au/

Trip to Nan Tien .... and a Side Trip ....

Drove down to Nan Tien and was really pleased to see that the Lotus pond was still in flower.  A lot of the blooms were in the creamy white stage but there were still some pretty pink ones.  There were lots of buds still also, so if you get the chance in the next week or so why not take a trip to see them.

Spent the morning there just taking in the peace and serenity of the Temple.  Paid my respects to Buddha and sent some thanks out to the Cosmos via the Gratitude Bell.

  

Also called into Cordeaux Dam - it is a wonderful looking structure.  Building started in 1918 and finished in 1926; it cost 2.5 million dollars.

Height: 57 metres

• Length: 405 metres
• Capacity: 93.640 megalitres
• Catchment: 91 square kilometres
• Lake: 7.8 square kilometres

On the way in to the Dam I saw this beautiful red gum and had to take it's picture.