Diving is a beautiful weightless sport. In my opinion it looks more weightless when you dive outdoors in the sunshine. Here is my daughter practising what we nick named her flying dive. She makes it look so effortless as she blends with the sky.
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/weightless/
It has been over two months since our last coffee catch-up and life has been pretty busy.
If we were having coffee I would tell you I’m feeling a little confused. I began preparing this post as I usually do, by adding links to earlier posts. However, this time, with my new WordPress version the result is a little different. I don’t know if it’s the same for everyone or only WordPress.org blogs. My next question is can anyone re-blog my posts now as this has been a problem in the past and it would be great to have it changed.
If we were having coffee I would tell you about Berry Christmas. My sister and her family do an excellent job of hosting the event—decorating their home in theme colours, preparing gift bags for everyone and organising and preparing food. We had a great day reconnecting as a family—sharing the joys and dealing with the dramas of the past year. Christmas is definitely my favourite holiday, although because I live in a different city south of my family on Christmas day it takes 3 hours to get there. I don’t enjoy the travel but Berry Christmas was worth it.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that over the Christmas period I was initially frustrated that my blog wasn’t working because of problems with my Jetpack. I tried to fix the problem, however when I couldn’t and Jetpack staff where on vacation I decided to surrender to the moment and use my time more efficiently doing other things.
If we were having coffee I would tell you how much I enjoyed my husbands and my date to the city over the Christmas New Year period. We decided to catch the ferry into Sydney. The trip along the Parramatta River takes about an hour and it was a glorious day. As it had been several years since we had caught the ferry we enjoyed every moment. We then had lunch at a little pizza restaurant at the Rocks before spending the afternoon wandering around Sydney’s Botanical Gardens. We saw many places I had never been before. It was a great way to round off 2015.
If we were having coffee I would tell you how excited I was that my first sugar cookie Christmas tree worked out so well. I iced it a blue-purple to match our berry theme and at the end of the day most of it was eaten.
If we were having coffee I would tell you about the champagne fountain trial on Christmas Day. The science of what was the best way to do it kept many people entertained and in the end they were proud of their working efforts.
If we were having coffee I would tell you about the huge moon on New Years Eve that was as mesmerizing as the Sydney Fireworks. Unfortunately, I choose not to take my camera as I am not good at photographing fireworks—a rookie error I won’t make again. The fireworks were fantastic and our viewing place, a hill, is only a 10 minute walk from my house. While we couldn’t see the fireworks coming off the bottom of the Sydney Harbour Bridge we could see the top of it through the trees. We could also see the fireworks going off up and down the Parramatta River and from the other side of Sydney. At times it was like 360 degrees of fireworks. Once the live fireworks have ended we went home to watch the taped version on television and catch the ones we missed.
https://youtu.be/viqQGXVeb8s
If we were having coffee I would tell you how much I enjoyed the second week of my holidays being a full-time writer. I spend many hours everyday working on the last stages of editing of my book. With the amount of work I did I was hoping to finish it but no I still have work to do. It is getting exciting however, as it nears completion and the next part of its journey begins. Just when I thought I had the chapters in the right order, I decided to rearrange the early chapters again and to my surprise the order I have changed it to is my second order. I think my lesson is trust your gut.
If we were having coffee I would tell you how excited I was on Christmas Eve to win the hamper at the local bottle shop. I had gone in the draw after buying two bottles of champagne for an early family Christmas party a few days earlier. It was fun investigating my laundry basket full of goodies and deciding who to give each item to.
If we were having coffee I would ask you what you have done and how you have been since we last met. Let me know in the comments what you have been up to.
Tell us about the top five places you’ve always wanted to visit.
When planning my holidays I like to divide my time between Australia as well as international travel. For this reason I am going to write a buckets list for each.
Australia
International
Starting with the South Island of New Zealand early next year these places are the basis of our next 10 year travel plan. I love the planning and discovery stage of new adventures as I gather the information and start to think about what I will see when my day finally comes and I’m off to great places.
Photo Credit: Google
It is 12 months ago today that my husband and I accidentally discovered Mallard Cottage, Quidi Vidi, Newfoundland, Canada. We were walking in the snow enjoying the picturesque scenery as the city turned from green to white, when we arrived at our destination—Quidi Vidi Village—a small fishing hamlet just outside St John’s. We arrived mid afternoon and hungry from all the walking decided to stop at Mallard Cottage for some coffee and cake, before continuing on our journey. Boy were we surprised. Coffee and cake were $10 from memory for—all you can eat homemade old-fashioned cakes. There were about 10-12 to choose from. They were amazing. We sat and relaxed for over an hour between us tasting at least a small amount of every cake—okay I admit it some thing more than once—because we could. Unfortunately we were too busy eating to take any photos, sorry.
While we were eating our cakes the friendly wait staff began telling us of the properties history. Mallard Cottage is one of the oldest wooden buildings in North America. Originally built-in the early 1700’s it is older than our country—Australia. This felt weird to think about given the beauty of the restoration and how perfectly it blended old and new. It also turns out that our accidental find has developed a reputation as one of the best restaurants in St John’s area. No wonder we want to go back. If your ever in the area, it is well worth the visit.
For this week’s challenge, share an image that depicts transition. Let life itself be your muse.
When he designed the Sydney Opera House I am sure that JØRN UTZON could not have envisaged the amazing displays this centerpiece of VIVID SYDNEY creates each year. I spend hours fascinated by the transitions that unfortunately because of their speed are difficult to photograph. The following photos are from 2014 and I loved the bright colours. If you are in Sydney during late May or early June it is well worth the visit.
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/transition/
If you could split your time evenly between two places, and two places only, which would these be?
For a period I would love to be able to spend 6 moths in Australia and 6 months in Canada. There is so much natural beauty, flora and fauna and history in both places, devoting time to exploring it would be amazing. The question I would struggle to answer is where to begin? Maybe I could use the following acrostic poems as a guide.
Adelaide
Uluru
Sydney
The Great Barrier Reef
Rottnest Island
ACT
Launceston
Illawarra
Albury – Wodonga
Charlottetown
Alberta
Newfoundland & Labrador
Algonquin Park
Drummondville
Arctic Bay
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/a-tale-of-two-cities/
In the grounds of the historic Bendemeer Hotel this old statue of “Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil” caught my eye. The concrete frogs dressed in the Australian colours of green and gold gave the tradition monkey image an Australian twist. How fitting for a pub that has served and entertained the public since 1864.
I celebrate my little victories of life regularly as a way to encourage more positivity in my life. My most recent interesting victory was getting my head around kissing a frozen cod-fish to take part in Newfoundland and Labrador’s famous Screech-In ceremony.
My husband and I choose to be screeched-in at Trapper John’s Pub and Museum, once voted best pub in North America for its fun, food and hospitality. The pub was very interesting however dark which although adding to the ambiance made taking good photos difficult.
The experience began with the ringing of the Screeching ceremony bell. This alerts all patrons in the pub that someone has requested to be Screeched-In.
We choose Sunday 5pm just as the pub was opening for the night for our ceremony. Because of this the pub had limited patrons however all stopped what they were doing, making us feel very welcome as we went through the ritual to become honorary Newfies—Newfoundlanders slang name for themselves.
For more information about the Screech-In ceremony and our experience please visit my earlier post https://www.inspiringmax.com/honarary-newfies/
We loved Newfoundland so much that one day we hope to visit again, next time for several months.
For 36 years between 1976 – 2010, CN Tower was the tallest tower in the world at 553 metres in height. So last year when my husband and I visited Toronto, I was excited to reach the top and cross off one of the original things on my bucket list.
From the moment I entered the elevator I was amazed. It takes 58 seconds, yes less than a minute to travel 132 floors. There is also a glass panel in the wall and the floor so you can look out— if you dare. From the main viewing platform, the views were spectacular as we had chosen a clear winters day.
My favourite part of the CN Tower however is its glass floor. Built in 1994, it was the world’s first glass floor. I had set myself a goal I was going to walk into the middle and look down. Initially, although I knew it was safe—I was petrified. I started with taking a few steps out, sitting and looking down. Determined to not let it beat me, I kept persevering until I could walk across the glass floor. My mindfulness training paid off and I was able to enjoy this unique experience even though our photos don’t show the distance below well.
If ever you visit Toronto, Canada take the time and experience the the joy and challenges of CN Tower. In 2013, we visited Canton Tower in Ghangzhou, China which in 2010 became the tallest tower in the world however this honour is now changes regularly.
Treats and indulgences can take many forms. Share yours with us!
I love Disney so going to Disneyland is my favourite treat. Unfortunate, living in Australia means it is many years between my indulgences. I hope you enjoy these photos taken at Hong Kong Disney in 2012. They brought a smile back to my face.
