Ride Like a Girl

Here's my bike - isn't she beautiful. After going for that first ride a couple of weeks ago, I haven't been able to stop. It's been fantastic. I put my gear on, drive to the front gate and off I go.

I've ridden 'round and 'round the local residential estate, down to Pirrinuan, over to the quarry grid, down to the school bus turnaround then up the hill to the quarry where I stopped in and talked to Peter for half an hour and on Sunday I rode to town, destination Coffee Club. Gibbo met me there and brought me home. It was a terrific ride, tough in places, but I had a tailwind from

the piggery to town so I felt like I was flying.

Today I rode to the quarry grid, back to the old cattleyards on the highway, back to the quarry turnoff, then home. I ride the uphills in a big gear on the front and as small a back gear as I can manage (I can never remember whether that's a high gear or a low gear) so that I really grind out the miles and get some strength back into my legs after having a few months off.

I have really been loving it and it's a very liberating feeling for me. I feel fit and strong and confident and independent. Sometimes I ride with my ipod and just shuffle the songs so I'm never really sure what's coming up next. Some have great pedalling rhythm, some I skip. Some bring a smile to my face, reminding me of good times long gone or not so long gone.

The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the breeze is blowing, the sorghum is turning from green to red, the grass on the side of the road is bright green and shoulder high, the hay bales dot the paddocks and it's just brilliant.

Ride like a GIRL................................

Visitors and Visiting

Gibbo flew to Surat and back in this. Our guests then had lunch here on the verandah at home and I had one of the best steaks I've ever had - it really was 'aged to perfection'.

We had a visitor, actually two visitors, the same morning. These guys turned up in a white cedar tree next to the driveway. Drew and I saw the baby on the ground as we drove out to catch the bus. When I came back I looked up the tree and there was momma too. So I grabbed the camera and Andrew's magnifier lens and snapped them.

Car Loans and Baby Patty Cakes

Megs came home 2 weeks ago and we went to one of the local financial establishments for her to apply for a car loan. She drove home on the Friday afternoon and I met her in town. She is buying a red Suzuki Swift and is very excited. We went through the application process then met K at the Coffee Club where we had hot chips and gravy and hot drinks. It was a drizzly and cool afternoon so our choices were appropriate.

On the Saturday Megan took Gma shopping. They're a pair together, as bad as each other. They went all over town, to the pet shops, nurseries, chain stores plus more. I think the shopping bug skipped a generation - I don't have that urge at all.

That afternoon I cooked a few dishes as we went out to the G's for an early birthday celebration for Stevie G. I made some thai chicken balls, two potato bakes and some little delicious cakes. They're always fun to make. There was a huge storm while we were there and the wind got up as it always does. I even wore a long sleever but still had to get a jumper from Lisa. Megs drove us home, late.

Swimming Carnival

Chrissie M sent me these photos of Drew from the swimming carnival - and there's the beautiful superhero cape that I didn't have a photo of.

All Shook Up.......

Well we will be in June when the school musical hits the stage. Drew has the part of Chad in All Shook Up. He plays a black-jacketed, rock-and-roll-loving motorcyclist who stops at a garage in a small town in the American Midwest. He is a charismatic rebel who only travels with men while all the girls swoon over him and faint when he walks by. There's a lot of he-loves-her-she-loves-him action happening. During a 24-hour period he brings rock and roll to the town and changes it forever. It's full of Elvis songs and it's going to be a sensation - but there's a lot of stress and drama to get through before we arrive at opening night. Drew is very excited and rehearsals are going well so far. He sang "We're all in this Together" by Ben Lee for his audition song.

Megan has had to (reluctantly) move her 21st party forward a week to the last weekend in May - Cowboys and Indians - it should be wild.............

Freezing Water in Flight

After my ride this morning I grabbed the camera and went out into the yard to see what I could capture with my newly acquired skills. This is what I came up with. Out of 160 photos, another handful!! I've probably gone overboard with posting so many but it's so amazing to think that I took these photos. I thought it must have been quite complicated to achieve a result like this or that you had to do a lot of manipulating with software - but it's so easy when you know how. I love it.

Riding the Flat and Saying Goodbye....

This morning I planned on going into town to do a mini tri (minus the run) with Kat and Lucy but my car was playing up so instead, I rode 20km to Pirrinuan and back. It was the first time I'd ridden since mid November and it was fantastic. I've missed it, without really realising it.

I said goodbye to A, out loud, had a little conversation with her and wished her well then put her in that little wooden rowboat and sent her out to sea. There were so many times we rode and talked and laughed and struggled and cried. In a sense, this morning was a new beginning for me as well as a letting go. Riding the roads around here will always remind me of her and bring up memories but that's ok, they're all happy ones. She was a big part of my life for nearly six years and I loved having her in it. She was the sister I never had, the person in the world that I felt understood me best and there was a closeness and intimacy that I don't have with anyone else. It took me 41 years to find her. I knew what she'd be thinking and she'd know what I'd be thinking. Sometimes we could look at each other and raise an eyebrow and that's all that needed to be said! Our outlook on life was the same. Sometimes I couldn't wait to tell her stuff and sometimes we didn't talk for a week but that was ok. We often texted like a pair of teenagers. I feel sad that she's not in my life anymore but it's a philosophical sadness rather than a teary sadness. A kind of "oh well, that's how it turned out". She was very special.

Taking Photos with Andrew

I spent yesterday afternoon with Andrew, taking photos of dripping water, ants, drinking bees, frogs and cat eyes. We spent a couple of hours wandering around his garden, looking for things to capture on film. I really enjoyed spending time with him, he's such a great guy. I took stacks and stacks of photos but only ended with a handful of good ones. Afterwards, we had a bbq tea - garlic chilli calamari, t-bones and sliced potatoes. Had a great day.

Drew gets a Badge

At the opening mass for the school year, Drew received his House Captain badge. Mum and I went along to watch.

First Day of School

Every year since Megan started school in 1994 we have taken a photo of Drew sitting on her lap. The very first one, when she was 5 and 1/2 and he was 6 months old, is priceless. This year is the first time since then that she hasn't been here for the first day photo.

Show Team

We've picked our Show Team for this year - 5 pullets; Harriet has a crooked middle toe on one foot so she might not make the cut. She's lucky to be alive as she was badly feather pecked as a young bird and spent quite a lot of weeks living in Annabelle's (my 2nd white rat) cage outside the back door and sleeping inside at night while she recovered. She's a lavender silkie and has a very pretty head. I haven't named the others yet but will do soon. The first show is at Pittsworth on March 7.

We have another nice lot coming on. They're still only young and we won't pick out what we want to breed with for a while yet.

Flowers for Nolan

Drew is a House Captain for Nolan this year and the school swimming carnival was on last Tuesday. He wanted me to make him a super-hero cape, which I did, out of bright yellow satin. It was long and flowing and perfect. I also made some yellow and black flowers in the same style as I did for the debutante ball in 2004. I put a small N O L A N in the centre of each flower and I made some lettered posters as well. Here's the result.

Tennis in Melbourne

I'm not sure how it all happened but some time last year the City/Country Tennis Club decided to take a trip to Melbourne for the Australian Open. Boof and Helsie made it all happen - that's how we found ourselves at Brisbane Airport on January 18, meeting up with the other six members of the Country team to catch the plane to Melbourne. Our City team friends had caught an earlier flight. We shared a taxi from the airport into our motel, all jammed in tightly due to the size of the carry box that Gibbo took down to bring some Orpingtons back for Andrew. It became the source (and butt) of many jokes over the next three days. Boof kept the taxi driver entertained. We booked in, freshened up and met downstairs, dressed for the special dining experience that Kat had booked earlier in the week at Longrain. First though, we walked to a lovely old pub near Federation Square and sampled a few different types of beer in an upstairs lounge. At one stage we had the whole room to ourselves.

Longrain turned out to be a delicious dining experience. A table for 14 was set in the middle of the room. The restaurant is in a 100 year old converted warehouse (heritage listed former horse stables) in the heart of Chinatown - "the impressive red brick building stands on a classic cobblestone street". According to its' internet blurb, it has a hip yet welcoming atmosphere (it did) and warm, friendly service (it didn't; our waiter was a bit too cool). We had a banquet style meal, with three plates of each menu item being brought out at a time for us all to share. Portions were generous. Each dish was as delicious as the last and we all had personal favourites. The menu included Betel leaf topped with prawn peanut mint & chilli paste, freshly shucked oysters (Gibbo had mine), eggnet with pork prawns, peanuts, bean sprouts & sweet vinegar, s&p squid with sweet soy & ginger, slow cooked green curry of grass fed gippsland beef with bamboo & thai basil, crisp rainbow trout with shredded banana blossom & a roasted eschalot dressing, caramelised pork hock with chilli vinegar & deep fried eschalots, stir fried asian greens and rice. A very impressive selection of desserts came last - a range of tastes and styles, all really delicious. My favourite main dish was the eggnet salad - it was so fresh and clean tasting and the mix of flavours was a real delight in my mouth. The eggnet was a novelty too. I enjoyed the caramelised pork too although I couldn't eat too much of it by the time it came out. (When I got home I searched the internet for an eggnet salad recipe and found one on the SBS website so I want to give it a try sometime).

Over the three days we did a lot of walking. We had four sessions at the tennis, two day and two night. We saw Tomic, Federer (twice), Nadal, Dellacqua, Stosur, Ivanavic and Djokovic. The tennis centre is really impressive and works well. We caught trams, took a little ride on a water taxi and had breakfast twice in the same trendy little cafe, Benito's on Little Collins Street. Our last breakfast was at a cafe on the Yarra at Southbank. We walked to the Victoria Street markets and then trudged to Lygon Street where we had a drink in a dingy bar and lunch in an Italian restaurant ("come in, come in, i look after you!"). We spent a couple of hours at the Little Creatures Dining Hall (really a Beer Hall), located in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. It's housed in a building that was originally the Fitzroy Stables (what is it about stables with us?). It is a huge cavernous space filled with long wooden tables, cosy booths (I love booths), industrial fittings and an open front kitchen. It peddles its' own brands of beer and Pipsqueak cider. Not a lot really happening there for me but the company was good and the atmosphere, happy and convivial.

We made sure we had a plan for each day so as not to waste our time. We flew back home on the Wed night and G and I drove to Toowoomba and stayed with Ken. We didn't end up bringing any chooks home - the contact is a Country Fire Authority District Co-ordinator and there was a pretty bad fire on the last day we were there so he couldn't meet us with the chooks - so the cage went down empty and came back empty. It made for good conversation anyway.