Twilight

Went to see a movie today called Twilight and was surprised at how much I loved the movie. Quite an unlikely favourite as was about a love affair between a vampire and a human. Almost like a modern day Romeo and Juliet with a twist. Really loved this movie! I guess it says a lot for the power of love and passion crossing cultural barriers. Go see it if you have the chance.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=k1GbukZnl1Y

Holiday break...

Am enjoying my Christmas break so far. Managing to get a bit done around the house and shopping in the post Christmas sales. Had father-in-law over recently and he asked me to help him surf the web dating sites for a "hot new woman" now that he is single. He holds to the theory that all people in his generation lie about their age on these sites, so he is planning on registering as a younger man. lol.
Weather has been quite hot lately so often find myself relaxing by the pool reading magazines and drinking cocktails. Mmmmm. As you can see my pet crocodile watches on... and the killer creepy crawley is also lurking a little too close for my liking! lol Below, is the blue tongue lizzard which we discovered lives in our garden, mostly by the pool. He is about 30cm long and relatively harmless. We call him Gary. lol

Christmas

I survived another Christmas. Was fun actually. Didnt get to see any of my family as all gathering for a hot one in Queensland, but did spend time with the inlaws. We always do Christmas day in a house overlooking Sydney's Northern Beaches. Was beautiful weather once the sun started shining; warm, with a gentle cool breeze.

We always share the task of preparing food, so I made a salad and rum balls to share. There is also the annual family competition to see who can eat the most chicken wings. I'm not even a contender cause I just ate one, but my husband ate 21!!! Damn! He is the king!!! lol

The secret life of plants...

Took some more photos over the weekend of the secret life of plants. You could call this blog the Penthouse of Floral Art really (lol), cause upon reflection, a lot of the photos are of stamen (the reproductive organs). Damn pervert that I am! lol

You take the good, you take the bad...

Had a lovely afternoon with several neighbours who all gathered next door for pre christmas drinks and nibbles. Such a nice change to meet people who are so friendly and welcoming. We've only lived here a matter of months, and already we've been invited to several parties and coffee mornings. In contrast, the last place we lived for 12 years we were only on common cordial greetings with neighbours (some of whom we didnt even like! lol).

After a few Baileys, we got chatting about interesting things about the neighbourhood, and I proceeded to learn that the guy next door is into art and photography (GOOD for me), but also that the previous owners of our house found a poisonous snake in our backyard a couple of years back and also there are numerous poisonous spiders in our area which we have to look out for (all BAD for me! lol). Now Im hoping that I misheard the latter bit of information and will put it down to having had too many glasses of Baileys... Ignorance is bliss, so they say? lol

Before and after renovations...

We've done a bit more to the house lately, and now pleased to report that our lounge area is finalised and complete with a new 6 seater lounge and a large footrest which doubles as a coffee table and also opens to a queen sized bed. Below is a photo of the lounge room when we first inspected it, with the previous owner's decor and furniture. Below is our decor... its much more modern and cosy.
Here is another walk through living area as it was when previous owners lived there.

And above is our makeshift library, with wall to wall books, DVDs and CDs. Still heaps to do, but we're on our way!

Attack of the killer creepy crawly!

Was a nice warm day today, so did the done thing in Sydney and lazed about in the pool. I did it in style too, cause was sitting in the rest area in the deep end while tanning my shoulders (was topless too, but shhhh, dont tell the neighbours! lol) , sipping on a ginger beer and talking on my phone. Ahhhh, sweet blisss....
The sun was so hypnotic that I found myself lulling into a daze, my eyes closed for much of the time.... until... i felt something tugging against my leg.... aaaggghhhhh!!!! It was the creepy crawly pool cleaner which had been set on automatic timer to start. It scared the ......... out of me cause I was off in la la land. lol
Once I had regained my composure, I couldnt help but laugh at the notion that it could quite easily become the synopsis for a Steven King horror movie! He did, after all, have a killer clown and killer car... so why not a killer creepy crawly? lol - Perhaps I should get writing and patent my script before forwarding it to Hollywood!

Its amazing how much can be achieved doing very little! lol

Nature at its finest

I rediscovered my love for macro photography over the weekend. Was swimming in my pool on a gorgeous summer's day (yes, Im bragging lol) and I noticed all the amazing flowers in my garden... Now Im no gardener... in fact, for anything to survive in my garden, it needs to thrive on neglect! lol So just imagine how my surprise to discover God's finest work in my own back yard! Amazing!
As you will notice, many of these pictures are so spectacular, that they look almost fake... To trick you, I have included one photo of a flower that is not real... I bet you will find it hard to pick which one that is :-) Enjoy...

Wow, you dont often get to capture a dragonfly this close... Just a pity I didnt get a more focussed shot.

I bet you couldnt guess which flower was fake! lol

And by the way... I the flower above doesnt grow in my garden... someone brought it to work today and its sooooo beautiful I had to photograph it too... its called a passionflower.... WOW!