Results matching “Animals”

Yeah so didn't get too much sleep.  Too humid!!!  Even with the fan on we were pretty uncomfortable.

The sweetie and Sally.  Animals like Stu because he's so soft and squishy :)

The sweetie and Sally

Breakfast on the deck.  Quite civilised really!

Breakfast

They wanted me to kill this march fly, but it was so cute!

March fly

So yeah a fairly slow morning.  Debated going for a swim but I was a bit stressed about getting myself all messed up (we were going out to meet people later that day).  So in the end we just did a big drive around South West Rocks.

We drove through the town and up to Trial Bay Goal and out to the Smoky Cape lighthouse.

Smoky Cape Lighthouse

Beach

Then back into town for lunch.

Lunch in South West Rocks

After lunch, we got ready, then headed out for a slow drive down the coast.

They have police radar traps even on the quiet back roads (not that they're that quiet - there's an awful lot of people camped up and down the coast).

Radar trap

The GPS originally said it would take four hours, but it kept revising it down.  Here's where we hit some dirt road.

Loftus Road

Nice view of the beach near Point Plomer

Beach near Point Plomer

South of Point Plomer was where we were most concerned about the road.  Then we saw this sign

Management track sign

.. and this mud ..

Point Plomer Road

.. and decided we wouldn't tempt fate.  So turned around and headed back to Crescent Head, then back to the Pacific Highway.

South of Kempsey, where they're building the bypass, they have this sign telling people to ignore their GPSes..

Ignore GPS

In Port Macquarie we went to Big W to pick up some stuff for Stu, then we headed out to visit Stu's mum's grave

Grave marker

Then went for a drive round Port Macquarie

Tacking Point Lighthouse

Stormy beach

The sweetie at Tacking Point

Then to our destination for the evening - Finnian's Irish Tavern for a school reunion of sorts for Stu.  He actually only really knew two of the guys there, and they were pretty cool.  Had some squid and some wedges and a couple of beers.  I also might have stolen some of Tom's steak after he declared himself done with only half the steak eaten.. it was nice steak, this would never do! ;)

Pub food

We migrated outside when the band started up, as they made talking over the noise a bit difficult.

The band

And then we headed back to South West Rocks for the night.

Still partying

Yesterday we had our section Christmas party by the lake.  Rain that was forecast during the week never eventuated, so it was a perfectly pleasant afternoon.  Lyn and I spent our budget of $370, and I thought there was going to be a *tonne* of leftovers, but in the end it wasn't so bad.

Section Christmas Party
Section Christmas Party
Of course I took lots of photos of the local birds.

Section Christmas Party
Section Christmas Party
Section Christmas Party
Section Christmas Party
Section Christmas Party
Today I went and helped setup the "family" Christmas party.

Family Christmas Party
Got to have a quick go on the jumping castle before they'd finished inflating it.

Family Christmas Party
After we'd finished setting up I went for a wander around, and had a go on the dodgem cars, since I missed out last time because the queue was too long.

Family Christmas Party
Family Christmas Party
They'd double booked the hall which was a bit unfortunate, but not a big disaster.  Got to see the bride arrive (to a full brass band playing "All you need is love").

Family Christmas Party
One year I'll go on the horse and cart..

Family Christmas Party
I think my favourite thing was the "Patting Paddock", so many cute animals :) 

Family Christmas Party
Family Christmas Party
Family Christmas Party
Family Christmas Party
Family Christmas Party
Just got back from unloading the truck.  Phewf.  (Although not nearly a long a day as the others!)

.. keep going most of a week without blogging that is?  Far out I'm a slacker..!

So a couple of miscellaneous pics from the week..

Some vertical balancing.. I call it Vertical Art
Vertical art
Another foggy cobweb.  I really have trouble getting sharp photos of these things :(
Foggy cobweb
Saturday we went into town for breakfast and to take photos of the Diamant Hotel after the fire.

Diamant Hotel Fire
Diamant Hotel Fire
Diamant Hotel Fire
And in the evening we went out for a (sort of) surprise birthday party for Andrew at Mecca Bah.  I was feeling anxious leading up to going out because I knew I wouldn't know the majority of people there and I'd more than likely have to talk to lots of strangers.  Sure enough, that's what happened.  But the sweetie was able to keep up some conversation, and a little wine certainly didn't go astray!  The food at the restaurant was really good, but almost completely inaccessible - none of the dishes came with any kind of serving implements (we ended up asking for some), and the pide wasn't cut (one of them came with a regular dinner knife, but not all of them even had that!).  It was also crazy expensive for the banquet ($42.90 per person).  Still, we really did enjoy the food, when we could get at it!

Koopa Andrew
Have spent a lot of the past week on the jigsaw.  Made pretty good progress too.  Here's a couple of pics comparing last Sunday night with tonight.  I've basically done the majority of the animals in the middle this week.

Jigsaw
Jigsaw
Cooked a super awesome roast pork with potato bake tonight.  Massive amount of crackling that turned out really well, unfortunately at the expense of the meat which was a little dry.  

And suddenly the weekend is over and it's back to the grindstone tomorrow...

Farmer Boy

Finished the third "Little House" book today - Farmer Boy.  This one tells the story of Almanzo Wilder, who Laura from the other books goes on to marry.  The family was from New York state, farmers, and evidently relatively rich.  It was quite a contrast from Laura's life on the prairie where the family barely had anything to his life where they had a big farm and lots of animals and all kinds of food to eat.  

Quite enjoyed the book.  Again, the stories give a great insight to American (kids) life in the 1860s.

Still Alive

Still alive. Really. Just without a blackberry. Or a phone. Or a workable net connection. Some people would think "ahhh that's the life" .. but me I'm ... "give me the internet back dammit!!" hehe

Having a great time. Poking lots of animals. Dragging Stu up and down lots of mountains. Rescuing birds.

Be home soon, regular programming will resume shortly...

Zoo and other animals

Across the road from our apartment was a fair setting up, but it wasn't due to open til the next weekend. Which didn't stop us enjoying it really. In fact it was kinda nice to wander around without any people or noise :) And Jake didn't really care that the things weren't moving :)

Jake in a boat

I rather like this photo of Stu gazing out into Batemans Bay

Stu gazing

Mogo Zoo ..

Monkey

Iguana

Meerkat

Deer

Ostrich

Zebra

Giraffe

Tapir

Lizard

White Lions

White Lions

White Lions

White Lions

White Lions

White Lions

Rooster

Lion

Tiger

So after a very pleasant Saturday, we had a bit of a hot Sunday. Starting at 7am when Jakey decided it was time to be up. Mind you, it then took three hours to get out of the flat heh. So we wandered down to Mogo zoo, which was not too bad, but a bit depressing to see all the monkeys and big cats caged up and bored. Got some good photos, and lots of mediocre ones. Bars and cages make it almost impossible to photograph things behind them. Not to mention we were there right in the middle of a hot summers day, when all the sensible animals were sleeping. Only us silly Homo sapiens were really out and about. The zoo's star attraction at the moment is a pair of white lions, with two white cubs. *Very* cool.

Had a slightly late lunch at the Scottish Restaurant before heading back to Stu's place. And withered in the heat. For some reason it really got to me. We watched Wag the Dog and I just sweltered. Even a cold shower didn't help much. Didn't really cool down until I'd been lying in front of the fan in bed for a while.

Today, my mission at work was to get one task completed. But so much crap got dumped on me I couldn't even do that. *sigh*. I guess I try again tomorrow...

This was in my TopStuff blog, but I'm nuking it, so moving it here.

Just a few of my favourite things :)
This was compiled from stacks of online quizzes, and then sorted into some sort of category order.

Movies 
Movie:At the moment my favourite movie is Peter Pan. My longest running favourite movie would have been Labyrinth, I watched it every week for a year and a half.
Actor:Jason Isaacs
Actress:Nicole Kidman
Type Of Movie:I like all sorts. I do tend to like the big Hollywood blockbuster though.
Action movie:Terminator 2
Animated movie:A Bugs Life or Toy Story
Dramatic movie:The Hunt for Red October
Funny movie:Flying High
Kids movie:Peter Pan
Musical:The Sound of Music
Romantic movie:When Harry Met Sally
Scary movie:Don't have one. I don't like scary movies. Actually I take that back. In 1991 at the end of year 12, our maths class went out to see a movie. They chose to see Silence of the Lambs. I didn't want to see it, but eventually was talked into it. The silly thing is I really liked it - I think even more than anyone else that went!
Sci-Fi movie:Star Trek VI
  
TV 
Cartoon Character:Tough one. Bugs Bunny perhaps
Cartoon:Looney Tunes
TV Show:MacGyver. Probably ER at the moment.
TV Station:I'd say CBS except we don't get that in Australia :) Probably channel 9
  
Music 
Band:Queen
Female Artist:Maybe Madonna or Alanis Morrisette
Male Artist:David Bowie or Billy Joel
Concert you've been to:Either Billy Joel, David Bowie or Brian May. All very good.
Music:80s Rock
CD:At the moment the Peter Pan soundtrack, or some of the Harry Potter sound tracks. I also have this cd Marc burnt for me which was essentially Star Wars in techno, very cool.
Song:Probably Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. It's been my favourite since 1986 basically.
80s song:Gosh there's so many! You're the Voice by John Farnham was one of my earliest favourites. Don't Worry Be Happy, Electric Blue, It's the End of the World as we Know it, Love Shack, Patience, and many others are all up there
Depressing song:Probably Spending My Time by Roxette. It came out the week I broke up with my first boyfriend, and it described exactly how I was feeling
Love song:Possibly All I Want is You by U2
Upbeat song:Pressure by Billy Joel
  
Entertainment 
Author:Roald Dahl
Book:Star Trek VI by JM Dillard
Kid's Book:Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
Game:Pictionary
Board game:Pictionary
Card game:Cribbage
Computer game:Spider Solitaire at the moment
Video game:Mario Kart
Celebrity:Aside from Jason Isaacs? :) Well aside from an actor or actress, maybe Ray Martin
Comedian:Billy Crystal
Hobby:Playing with Lego
Magazine:I used to collect Smash Hits magazine. Internet.au published a photo of mine every month for three years which was pretty cool
Radio Station:Triple M
Show:Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and the Lion King were both spectacular
Talk show:The Shebang on TripleM
Thing to do:Waste time on my computer/the internet
Thing to do during the summer:Go somewhere air conditioned
Thing to do on a rainy day:Stay inside and play on my computer
Thing to do on the computer:Read email, browse the internet, read blogs, look at lego etc etc
Thing to do on the weekends:Catch up with everything I don't have time to do during the week
Thing to do with friends:Play games
  
Food 
Food:Roast pork
Breakfast:Bacon and eggs
Lunch:6" pizza sub on italian herb and cheese bread
Dinner:Roast pork, with crackling and apple sauce, and baked vegetables
Drink:Orange juice
Alcoholic Drink:Baileys
Non-Alcoholic Drink:Orange juice
Cold Drink:Orange juice
Hot Drink:Hot chocolate
Juice:Orange juice
Soda:Solo/Lift - that's a lemon flavoured softdrink which you cannot actually get in the USA
Cereal:Kellogs crunchy nut cornflakes
Fruit:Strawberries
Vegetable:Potato
Condiment:Mustard
Dessert:Lemon cheesecake
Salad Dressing:Caesar
Cake:Sponge
Candy:Jelly beans
Chip:Cheese
Chocolate Bar:Flake
Fast food:Subway
Gum:Spearmint Extra
Ice Cream:Choc mint
Junk food:Chips or chocolate
Midnight Snack:I don't eat after I brush my teeth at night
Movie snack:Popcorn
Pie:Apple
Pizza Topping:Pepperoni
Snack:Chips
  
People 
Name:I always liked Ariel from the Little Mermaid, but I would spell it Arielle, so people didn't pronounce it aerial
Boy Name:Jareth ;)
Girl Name:Arielle
Family Member:Dunno. Maybe the little brother, although he doesn't care for me much
Sibling:Well I only have one sibling, my brother :)
Aunt:Probably Aunty Rhonda
Uncle:Uncle Colin on Dad's side and Uncle Graham on Mum's side
Cousin:Don't really have a favourite cousin, I never see them much anyway
Friend:Luc
Female friend:George
Male friend:Luc and James
Ex bf/gf:Toss up between Hao and Guy. I *liked* both of them, and still do. Even went to both of their weddings heh
Teacher:I had a few.. Mr Allen, Mr Francis, Mr Jirsa, Mr Pynsent probably best
Person to be with:Probably Luc and Cynthia. Always have a lot of fun with them
Person to talk to on the phone:Peter is just about the *only* person I talk to on the phone for more than just "business"
  
Places 
City:Sydney!
State:New South Wales
Country:Australia!
Holiday:My three trips to the USA were all awesome
Restaurant:Does Subway count as a restaurant? If not, then how about Golden Corral, although they don't have any of them here :)
Store:GoLo!
Shopping Centre:Miranda Fair is pretty cool (and big)
Hang out:The movies
Place:My study probably
  
Fashion 
Article Of Clothing:My black jeans, although they are too big because Jeans West changed their sizes without telling anyone
Clothing brand:Millers
Clothing color:Black, although most of my clothing is blue of some shade
Fabric:Velvet
Outfit:Jeans and a tshirt - my uniform ;)
Pair of underwear:That's getting a bit personal isn't it? :)
Pants:Jeans
Shirt:A tshirt
Shoe:My hiking boots
T shirt:They're all the same mostly, except different colours. I do have a Batman tshirt I got in 1989 that I can't bear to throw out
Hair color:My hair is blonde. Although I always though Morticia's hair was very cool. And Marc had cobalt blue hair at one stage which looked fantastic
Hair length:Long
Hair style:Heh, no preference
Hat:I don't wear hats
Shampoo:Sunsilk
Perfume:Don't wear perfume
  
Internet 
Online buddy:James is the only person that I have extended conversations with via email all day. They're not long emails, just conversational, and sometimes have fun threads like word association threads
Online phrase:"heh" or *sigh* - which I actually say in real life :)
Way To Talk To Someone (icq,phone,email-etc.):ICQ
Website:Aside from Google and my blog, the sites that I frequent most are our local television guide, and the local 128km weather radar
  
Time 
Day:Saturday. The only day I can sleep in *and* stay up late, and I can do whatever I like in between
Time Of Day:Sunset
Month:December - Christmas and New Years yayy
Year:1999 was a very good year. 1989 was pretty good too.
Season:Spring
Age:Well I was 26 in 1999
  
Animals 
Animal:Birds
Bird:Cockatoos and other big parrots
Insect:Butterfly or cicada
Pet:My fish! Although if I had the space I'd probably get a dog for the companionship and exercise
Stuffed animal:Does a pom pom count? I have a woollen toy I made in about 1983 that went all over the world and Australia with me
Wild animal:Lions are pretty cool. Deer are too
  
Plants 
Flower:Carnation
Tree:Liquid amber
Pot Plant:Ferns
  
Senses: 
Color:Aqua
Color combination:Red, Green and White - Christmas!
Feeling:Feathers, velvet, warm clothes out of a drier, warm paper out of a photocopier, serotonin release, dopamine release
Smell:Roasting meat
Sound:Tinkling
Taste:Bacon
  
Other Stuff 
Car:1997-1999 WRX
Dream:That I could fly
Eye color:Brilliant blue
Grade:High Distinction :) Only got one of them once - for my Honours Degree
Job:Out of the three full time jobs I've had since uni, probably my current one is the best
Letter:K
Memory:Gosh, that's a hard one. First kisses are always pretty cool. Feeling alcohol go to my head the first time was also pretty memorable.
Number:Don't really have a favourite number. Maybe 1 or 10.
Obsession:Lego, or Jason Isaacs :)
Picture:That changes all the time too. There's a beautiful one of Jareth that I drew once.
Poster:Well the only one I have up in the study at the moment is a picture of Sydney from space. I'll say it.
Quote:Live long and prosper
Religion:Christianity
School Subject:Maths and Science
Shape:Star
Sport to play:Hockey was really the only sport I ever played
Sport to watch:Lots of Winter Olympic sports are good
Symbol:: and ) used in combination
Tool:Philips head screw driver
Toothpaste:Colgate
Word:Antidisestablishmentarianism
  
Thing in the whole world:Flying

I've memed about this before, but I've changed my mind. I think if I were going to be an animal, I'd be a seagull. I mean look at all the things they have going for them:

  • They look good
    I mean how many animals can be such good scavengers and still look as good as they do?
  • They can soar
    These birds are designed for flight. They can soar for as long as they like with next to no effort at all.
  • They can swim
    This bird has it all - they can fly, walk on land *and* swim! How good is that!?
  • They can eat *anything*
    I could live on any diet I liked as a seagull and still survive

    They're just an all-round great animal. I think I'd be a seagull if I could be an animal.

    Seagull

  • John mentioned this at lunch today, and Mushroom posted about it also. Unfortunately I missed the show :(

    Last night on the ABC, they apparently listed Australia's Top 100 Favourite Books, as voted by viewers. Below is the list, with the ones I've read highlighted bold.

    1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
    2. Pride and Prejuidice by Jane Austen
    3. The Bible (Various Contributors)
    4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
    5. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
    6. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (Book 5) by J. K. Rowling
    7. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
    8. The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
    =9. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
    =9. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
    10. A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey

    And the rest of the top 100 are:

    11. Dirt Music by Tim Winton
    12. 800 Horseman by Col Stringer
    13. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
    14. Zhaun Falun by Li Hongzhi
    15. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (Book 3) by J.K. Rowling
    16. Captain Underpants And The Invasion Of The Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies From Outer Space by Dav Pilkey
    17. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
    18. The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
    19. The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame
    20. The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
    21. The Pillars Of The Earth by Ken Follett
    22. Magician by Raymond E. Feist
    23. Possession: A Romance by A.S. Byatt
    24. Dune (Dune Chronicles) by Frank Herbert
    25. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
    26. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
    27. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
    28. One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
    29. 'Fighting' McKenzie Anzac Chaplain by Col Stringer
    30. Deltora Quest Series by Emily Rodda
    31. Tomorrow, When The War Began by John Marsden
    32. Perfume: The Story Of A Murder by Patrick Suskind
    33. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
    34. The Ancient Future Trilogy by Traci Harding
    35. The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
    =36. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (Book 4) by J.K. Rowling
    =36. The Power Of One by Bryce Courenay
    37. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
    38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres
    39. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
    40. Anne Of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
    41. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
    42. Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon
    43. Persuasion by Jane Austen
    44. Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
    45. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
    46. Life Of Pi by Yann Martel
    47. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    48. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
    49. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
    50. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
    51. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
    52. Love In The Time Of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
    53. Rage by Steve Gerlach
    54. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
    55. The Mists Of Avalon by Marion Zimmer-Bradley
    56. Cafe Scheherazade by Arnold Zable
    57. The Bone People by Keri Hulme
    58. Jessica by Bryce Courtenay
    59. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (Book 2) by J. K. Rowling
    60. The Fortunes Of Richard Mahony by Henry Handel Richardson
    61. My Family And Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
    62. War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy
    63. Wild Swans by Jung Chang
    64. Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
    65. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
    66. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
    67. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
    68. Memoirs Of A Geisha by Arthur Golden
    69. The Riders by Tim Winton
    70. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
    71. Angela's Ashes by Frank Mccourt
    72. The Age Of Reason by Thomas Paine
    73. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
    74. Middlemarch by George Eliot
    75. Emma by Jane Austen
    76. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
    77. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
    78. Matilda by Roald Dahl
    79. Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
    80. On The Road by Jack Kerouac
    81. The Bfg by Roald Dahl
    82. Animal Farm by George Orwell
    83. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
    84. A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving
    85. Boyz Rule by Phil Kettle
    86. Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly
    87. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
    88. Looking For Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
    89. Watership Down by Richard Adams
    90. The Thorn Birds by Colleen Mccullough
    91. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
    92. Winnie The Pooh by A. A. Milne
    93. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone (Book 1) by J. K. Rowling
    94. The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
    95. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
    96. Heart Of Darkness by Conrad
    97. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
    98. Goosebumps by R. L Stine
    99. The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay
    =100. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
    =100. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

    not that many actually. But then I never was into reading much. I haven't even *heard* of half of them! Funny that all five Harry Potter books made the top 100 .. :)