100th post! My maiden century!
I had a very different post in mind to mark this milestone, but this one will be more fun. And it haz pretty pictures!
Thanks so much for stopping by. Maybe you’ve been here before – thanks for that too! Quite possibly you are my mum, sister or husband and have read most or even all of my posts – you guys are suckers for punishment legends!
I’ve really enjoyed blogging for the past nearly three years (off and on… it’s taken me this long to hit a hundred posts after all) about whatever takes my fancy. I have grown extremely fond of doing photography and travel-related posts in particular though… I might try to do more. More posts in general, actually!
Speaking of photography posts, here’s one to remind me of summer now that it’s over.
… I know that technically it isn’t over until 1530hrs this Sunday but here in Australia the nobs-that-be insist that our seasons line up with calendar months rather than equinoxes, and thus our summer officially ended on the 29th of February. In Queensland summer is more a state of mind anyway.
This summer has seen the boys reach some milestones of their own! For starters Finn has discovered his inner cricket nut.
If he wasn’t hitting tennis balls up against the garage door or begging J and I for a game in the driveway he was watching the Summer Test Series or the Big Bash on the telly. He’s even started commentating our games, going on about ‘in the slips’ and ‘yorkers’ and ‘ramping it’. (Don’t ask me, I have no idea what the hell he’s talking about.)
A 7-12 year olds’ version of the Big Bash – the Milo T20 Blast, where the kids get into teams and play matches for up to 90 minutes – has been running for the past several weeks at Robina, and Finn was so desperate to go we couldn’t say no. He’s absolutely loved it, and there’s even more set for the Easter holidays.
Roars has also impressed. He has achieved the huge personal goal of swimming in the pool all by himself! Roars has always been a reluctant swimmer. Not sure whether it’s because his eczema would itch and sting and distract him, or because I did some stupid thing when he was a baby and gave him a phobia, or just because he was born to be shitscared of water. Either way, he HATED putting his face in, HATED floating on his back, and would always freak out and scream at you if he felt you weren’t holding him tightly enough. He’d go in the pool only if I was there to catch him, or he had his boogieboard to kick around on.
He’s had lessons for the past 3 years but a month ago it finally just… clicked! We’d had a break from lessons while in New Zealand, his eczema, incredibly, finally, cleared up (massive woohoo!) and he was sleeping much better, and when we got back they had a lesson on Saturday morning. And on Sunday he jumped into our pool and swam over to the step like it was no big deal. But trust me, IT WAS A BIG DEAL. I may have got something in my eye. And he hasn’t looked back!
So now I don’t have to go in if I don’t feel like it, which is great because sometimes the boys think they are polar bears. It’s also cool because these little guys also like to hang out around the pool this time of year and I like to chase them with my camera…
We’ve spent plenty of time in the pool, and of course been to the beach a fair bit, though not as much as we’d like. It’s somehow never quite as much as we’d like.
We’re heading to Flat Rock (NSW) to camp at the beach on Friday, so that’ll be another fix. Hopefully there won’t be any last minute cyclones jammed in at the end of the season; all the beaches from the Sunshine Coast to Tweed were off limits last week when the swell from Cyclone Winston (which had hit Fiji over 2700km away!) arrived on the Coast.
What was quite surreal was that the days were brilliant, clear, and perfect with only a light breeze, but the surf raged like a monster. The power of the wind and the four metre storm surge at ground zero must have been terrifying.
I achieved a long term goal of climbing Currumbin Rock on this visit – I nearly chickened out, but after seeing a dozen teenagers scampering nimbly to the top like mountain goats I decided I just had to do it; I had to prove to myself I wasn’t an old fart. I mean I wouldn’t have thought twice about it when I was their age!
… Did I just say “when I was their age“? God I am an old fart.
That’s a few summers away yet though… enough to eventually be okay with the idea…
I’ll miss the piles of stonefruit at the shops; peaches and cherries especially, and leaving all the doors and windows open and walking around barefoot. We’ve already set the boys to collecting kindling and in a matter of weeks my little right toe will turn into an iceblock and we’ll be using the fireplace again.
Most things I love about summer aren’t going anywhere though – and that’s one of the things I love about living in Queensland. The sun, the beaches, the rain. Lush green growth everywhere you look.
In the garden everything’s gone nuts this year, the lemons are overachieving as usual but the limes are doing okay too, and we’re even getting our first orange!
And while I love summer afternoon storms, I don’t need to miss them because they never really go and can happen any time. I remember one sunny winter morning in June we sat down for brunch at 10am, the leading edge of a massive storm hit us at 10.15, and by 10.40 it was all over. Weird! I love it.
– Michelle
Still Not A Journal. 
You’re right. Beautiful pictures, and your site looks amazing. We’re just gearing up for summer here, but you sure made me want to visit there. The boys are darling. I am at work, but I see in the sidebar a post called “Twerking”. Yeah, I’ll be back tonight 🙂
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Ha! A lot of people seem to be drawn to that post! It was great fun to do, and write 🙂 And thanks, your comment made my night. Off to bed.
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Can I nominate you for a Liebster? I got one today and have to call out 11 other deserving blogs. Let me know.
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Sure, if you want – what is it? Do I have to dress up or can I receive it in my jammies?
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Ha! You might want to look it up before you accept. Much will be required of you for this honor, but you can do it butt nekkid on your couch.
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Okay I looked it up – I hardly classify as a newbie but I accept! Hope the questionnaire isn’t too hard…
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Ha! Just general questions: Why did you pick that name for your blog? Stuff like that. No studying required 😉
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Lovely photos as always. You’re making me nostalgic; it’s been ages since I’ve seen a plumeria tree and that is just plain unacceptable!
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Thank you Nutty! Oo, plumeria… is that the proper name for a frangipani? A Kiwi friend (who’s lived the past 15 years in the UK) gave it to us and he couldn’t remember what it was called… “something like pyjama party tree??”
So now of course its name is The Pyjama Party Tree. 🙂
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Yes, that’s the one. My parents and I used to go to Hawaii a lot when I was a kid and they were everywhere. I loved wearing the flowers in my hair.
I’ll have to remember “Pyjama Party Tree”, though. That’s super cute.
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There are so many bits in this one that made me stop and go awww- all this going on up there and I’m missing it! And the boys are huge. Stop feeding them will you? They can resume development once I’m there to not notice it’s happening!!!
Ps you can advent sunset photo to my list…
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Well technically you aren’t missing it because I just told you about it? I know what you mean though 🙂 And okay I’ll stop standing the kids in horse poo so they stop growing so damn fast. Rory in particular seems to have grown long stork legs and lost some baby fat recently… soon the little bugger will start losing teeth and then I will freak a bit.
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great post – and I’m an even older fart. Sigh. Can’t believe how much the boys are growing up! xx
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Thanks Mel. And don’t worry, on the sliding scale of old farts you and me are still spring chickens 🙂 R must be absolutely massive now – not voting yet I hope!?
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Awesome to have found you – here from Half1000Miles ;)! Always wanted to visit Australia (it’s on my bucket list) and I am happy to get a glimpse of the whole fun you are having there 🙂 looking forward to read more through your posts!
Back in Romania, we also have it that the season finishes on the last day of the month… I live in Canada now and after 14 yrs it’s still a battle to understand WHY they don’t do the same lol (and don’t get me started with daylight savings shenanigans)
Happy 100th post and Happy St Patrick’s Day!
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Hi Laura, thanks for visiting my blog! And of course you HAVE to come to Australia. It’s awesome, though unfortunately I can’t take any credit for that 😉 New Zealand too, if you can swing it! From Romania to Canada – wow, the mountains and wildernesses you must’ve seen! I visited Canada back in 2008 and I’d never seen so much snow.
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Congratulations on 100 posts–and here’s to 100 more! And thank you for my daily reminder that I need to visit Australia. Especially Queensland. I used to grow some plants from Queensland: sundews. Lovely little plants that had the added bonus of eating insects.
Of course I’d also go for the Vegemite. I’m the only Yank I know who loves the stuff. There was an annual Australia Festival where I live and I’d buy a jar to last me the year. Then the organizers moved away and took their festival with them.
It was also my only chance to see live cricket matches. The game is still a mystery to me but it looks fun.
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Thank you! For reading and commenting… I think I’ll keep going for a good while, I enjoy this blogging gig! And you do need to visit Oz – you like vegemite and that makes you an honorary Aussie! I’m impressed you like vegemite – you obviously have the smarts and didn’t slap it on thick like chocolate spread like I hear most non-Aussies do.
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