Tag: fun

Coffee Catch-Up #45

inspiringmax

If we were having coffee I would tell you that my virtual coffee dates are very similar to my real life coffee dates. I love them but they are often a long time coming. That aside, I was happy to see that Natalie is still hosting our #weekend coffee share. Thank you. I find it welcoming to catch up with old friends as well as make new ones. I was surprised however to realise today that I had been MIA for nearly 12 months. How quickly that time has gone. I am hopeful that 2024 is the year that I get my blogging act together.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I am still working 3 days a week despite giving a lot of thought into retirement. It’s weird. I know that I am ready but part of me doesn’t know who I am when I’m not a mental health nurse. At present I am on long service leave and not missing work at all. We have a few big trips planned for the next 12 months so I am thinking I have about 18 months left in me. Who knows, whichever way it goes I will definitely be taking Dolly Parton’s advice.

“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”

If we were having coffee I would tell you that my husband and I have become cruisers. Last year we went on 2 cruises to various parts of the South Pacific. Our first one was to New Caledonia and Vanuatu onboard the Carnival Splendor. It was a lot of fun. We visited Noumea, Mystery Island and Lifou.

In October, we joined The Mutiny On The Bounty cruise with P&O’s Pacific Adventure which followed the journey of Willliam Blythe. During the cruise we visited places associated with the mutiny including stopping for half an hour on the exact spot it occurred. We also stopped at Norfolk Island, Nukualoka and Vava’u (both part of Tonga) as well as Fiji’s Dravuni Island and Lautoka.

We found both cruises very relaxing however we were very unhappy with P& O’s food. It was lacking inspiration, very repetitive and you had to pay for choices such as pizza and burgers. Both of which were included on Carnival six months earlier.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that X (our grandson) turned one a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, we couldn’t spend the day with him as he was in Japan with his other grandmother. Despite this my daughter and I celebrated in our own way. We had Australian party food, party pies and sausage rolls as well as our family favourite cheese dip. Unfortunately, hubby was away minding X’s rabbits. To add to our enjoyment we had a few celebratory drinks and watched Shrek 1 & 2.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I lost my mother just before Christmas. Unfortunately her death was a long goodbye as her body slowly shut down. Like every thing she did in life, her death was in her time. Looking back I think it is very interesting that my first and last visit to the nursing home were on the night shift. At least the first time I was returning her after a family celebration.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I am continuing to enjoy my creative side again learning more about my Cricut cutting machine. I Love it when the items I design turn out well even if they aren’t perfect. My favourite things recently have been personalised chocolate wraps, my glitter baubles wall chart using our Christmas family colours of the last 20 years. Last year was Ice Christmas – white, silver and pale blue. I also created the gift boxes for the table settings. To complete this I also learnt to create stickers.

If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world?

Thanks to Natalie for hosting

Truby Travels: Magnetic Hill

inspiringmax

Truby Travels is a new post series on Inspiring Max based on our adventures in Truby (our slide-on camper named Ruby and our Iveco called True Blue.) It will replace the older series Ruby Tuesday.

One of the first places we visited was Magnetic Hill, Orroroo. This tourist attraction is free and unique and gives the feeling of travelling backwards up a hill. Hubby and I had a lot of fun playing with it. We went up and down the hill many times because we could until someone came along to spoil our fun. It was fascinating to us that despite our heavy vehicle it did feel like we were rolling up hill.

Although we had never heard of them before, magnetic hills are found around the world. Australia has 4 of them. They are special and come about because of the local lay of the land. They are formed when the horizon is either curved or you can’t see it. It is an optical illusion.

When we got to Magnet Hill the sign asked you to turn off your ignition, put your car in neutral and take your foot off the brake. We were told steel cars go up the hill while aluminum and plastic cars go down.

Photos courtesy of Orroroo government website as we were too busy playing to take photos.

We loved the giant magnet that they have added to the roadside to help explain the phenonium.

Magnet Hill really was something to be seen to be believed.

CMMC: Christmas Bush

inspiringmax

In Cee’s Midweek madness Challenge the first week of the month is about Macro or close up photography. So as it is nearing the end of the Christmas season I thought I would celebrate our Christmas Bush. It is an Australian native that blooms with a soft pink colour around November and its colour deepens to turning red around Christmas time.

We love our Christmas Bush tree. It is a beauty standing about 10 metres tall. Every year it never fails to deliver. My husband has even developed his own Christmas traditions around it. Sometime in the week of Christmas he makes his Christmas bush run. He cuts and delivers bunches of Christmas bush to family and friends whether they are home or not. Everyone loves it and is very grateful. Maybe because I saw smaller bunches on sale at the local florist for $15.00 a bunch.

When I was taking the photos for this blog post I took a much closer look at Christmas bush than I ever had before. I was surprised to notice the unusual shape of the leaves.

CFFC: The Big Galah

inspiringmax

To start 2023 with some excitement I am joining Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge. The challenges are divided into series which cover 5 weeks. This year starts with the series theme of Body Parts Human or What??And this weeks topic is – Eyes.

For me the answer was simple. The Big Galah. Australia has over 150 big things made specifically to attract tourists. The Big Galah is 8 metres high and is found outside a road house in Kimba. Kimba is half way between Sydney and Perth. In Australia galahs are found everywhere, often hanging out in groups. They are a type of cockatoo which is pink and grey.

I love the Big Galah. She is gorgeous. Her eyes call tourists and other travellers to stop their journey and visit. When I saw her I stood staring at her for a good 5 minutes from many angles. As I moved it felt like her eyes were following me. Thinking about her still brings a smile to my face.

Planning For Fun

inspiringmax

This week is Inspiring Max’s 8th birthday. When I started blogging on Mother’s Day 2014 I didn’t have a plan. I learnt as I went and took each new experience as it came. Like my life really. During the first few years I found inspiration easily. The older I am however the more distracted I get. As I am nearing 60 I am looking to the future. Retirement is coming so work needs to give way to fun. What changes do I want to make and how will I achieve them. Now is the time to start planning. This will ensure I achieve what I what and not have hours lost to distraction. To help my motivation I found the perfect quote.

To give this quote even more power I have added it to a sunrise photo I took from my drive way only weeks ago. For me this will mean starting with a weekly plan that is then dividing it into a daily one. This week I am going to start with a blogging plan. This will ensure that Inspiring Max has direction and over the next two years I can aim for 1000 posts. I am currently sitting on 665 which was only increased by 90 since my 6th anniversary blogpost, due to a lack of planning. Having a plan for the A-Z challenge this year made blogging fun and doable again. Blogging is fun. And I want more fun in my life. To do so I will stop overthinking things and start making them happen.

X: Xtremely Amazing Coastline

inspiringmax

To begin to round off this year’s A-Z challenge I thought I would share with you more of the amazing coastline. Torquay to Port Fairy is 299 kilometres via the Great Ocean Road. This journey runs along the south western coast of Victoria. And can I say that none of it is the same. Around every bend the views were constantly changes, often taking away one’s breath. The other very interesting variant was the weather and the season. For this reason I am sure that the next time we visit, the experience will be different again.

O: Oddments of Interest

inspiringmax

During our trip every now and then something would surprise me. So I thought I’d put some of them together for today’s post.

Ruby Glass

I discovered Ruby glass at Cape Otway Lightstation. It is panes of red coloured glass that is put in lighthouses with a special light that shines lower out to sea. Because the Ruby glass doesn’t shine as far out to see as the usual light if a ship’s captain could see it they knew that they were too close to shore. Off Cape Otway the Ruby light would shine up to 6 kilometres out. This was because the reefs in many place went out to 4 kilometres. I was also interested that originally the ruby glass was made by adding gold to the glass mixture.

Pyrenees Pies

I couldn’t believe it when were walking down the street in Avoca, Victoria and saw the bakery’s menu. You could choose from crocodile, venison, emu, camel, kangaroo and buffalo pies as well as the usual range. If it had of been lunchtime I might have been tempted but I still am not sure which one I would have chosen.

Thong Tree

Walking along the Murray River at Barham we came across this thong tree. It was outside the caravan park but had no explanation. If we visit again we will bring a donation to the tree.

Bra Fence

In Mathoura on the Cobb and Co Highway a bra fence was commenced in 2018. The idea was to help educate people about breast cancer and fundraise for cancer treatment in the area. It was a huge success and now 4 years later they have added a prostate cancer awareness section with people adding underpants (jocks). Everyone is encourage to leave bras or jocks on the fence in memory of someone they know who has suffered cancer. There is a donation box.

Sand Sculpture

It was grey, overcast and rainy when I walked on Warrnambool beach to explore this vision further. Initially, I thought that it was a giant sandcastle. It wasn’t until I got close that I realized it was an amazing sand sculpture. The intricate detail was so creative. I don’t know why it was there. It was in pristine condition so my guess was it must have been done earlier that day.

Coffee Catch-Up #41

inspiringmax

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I can’t believe it has been nearly 3 months since our last chat. To be honest this is very similar to my real life coffee catch-ups that aren’t very regular. As you possibly know by now for 4 weeks of this year my husband and I went touring in Truby. ( Our slide on camper and Iveco. ) On many other weekends before and after, I was working to make up my shifts. After work I mean to blog but often don’t make it to the computer.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I am again participating in Blogging from A to Z. Writing a blogpost daily is helping get my mojo back. Also, having a theme, our recent holiday, makes the decision of what to write easy. So, it is simply a matter of writing it. Each day I find this to get quicker. Just like when I started blogging in 2014 and I was following the daily word prompts. I have also realsied that when April is finished I still have a lot of other topics to write about.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that my daughter has moved home after living in regional NSW. She is easy to live with so beside the extra stuff around, everything is going smoothly.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I have spent a lot of time covering my new secondhand books in contact. One of the things I love about traveling is going to second hand book shops. It is a great way to support the local communities and increase my library. Sometimes I have specific books that I am looking for, otherwise I accidently find new authors. My husband can now work out my book style based on the artwork on the front cover. We were even able to find some of his much rarer books at reasonable prices. Below is a photo of most of the novels I found.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how surprised I was back in January to hear our most famous children’s group had won the Triple JJJ’s Hottest 100. This countdown features the most popular song for the previous year. It the classic example of doing what you love and success will follow.

If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world.

Thanks to Natalie for hosting #weekend coffee share

D: Deniliquin Ute Muster

inspiringmax

Deniliquin, a small town in south western New South Wales wanted to be famous. They wanted a festival that made a statement about who they were. After much deliberation and collaboration the idea of celebrating the ute was born. In country Australia utes are everywhere. They are the backbone of country life. So it is no surprise that the first Deniliquin Ute Muster was a huge success. Held in October each year people come from everywhere to celebrate all things country and utes.

The first Deni Ute Muster created a Guinness World Record for the number of utes gathered in one place. Over the last 20 years this has been exceeded on several occasions.

Over the years the festival has grown adding more fun things to include all. There is now a blue singlet count, ute parade, tradie challenge and many other activities including stars of country music. Below are the poster and layouts for this years muster. I would love to go one year but I think Covid will need to be more under control before I join the thousands. We did tour the Deni Ute Muster museum and had a great time learning about it.

I personally love how the ute theme has spread throughout the town. Deniliquin certainly did put itself on the map. My favourite was found in a park and was called Re-utilize.

2022 A-Z Challenge: Recent Travels

inspiringmax

Wow I can’t believe it’s April tomorrow. Where has this year gone? For me, over a month was spent travelling around regional New South Wales and Victoria in Truby. (Our Iveco and Slide-on camper). It was our first trip and we had a great time exploring our country and learning about the grey nomad lifestyle. Despite being nearly 60 most of the places we explored I had never been to before. We found many interesting places, history stories, hidden surprises and the amazing natural beauty of Australia.

Initially our aim was to travel the Great Ocean Rd one of Australia’s and possibly one of the world’s most iconic roads. It was truly breathtaking. For our remaining two weeks we made it up as we went along and had a ball. We drove over 4500 kilometres.

Whilst travelling I decided the best way to share my experiences is by again joining the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. This is a world wide blogging challenge that I first joined in 2015. It will be the fourth time that I have participated and each time I have grown as a blogger. The goal is to post every day in April except Sundays. Most people have a theme that connect their blog posts. This is only half of the challenge however. The other equally important part is to visit other blogs and connect through commenting. I love it and have meet some amazing people on my journey and am hoping to meet many more this year.

If you are interested in joining here is the link Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.