So how does the Greene household celebrate Australia Day? Well, probably not the same as the majority of Aussies. First up, chinese mass produced Aussie Flag souvenirs are out. We have an actual Aussie flag, although this year we discovered we have nowhere to hang it. Must sort that out before next year. We're not the boozy BBQ sort either - we had a quiet day and finished it off with a walk at the waterfront with the pups. So what's so great about being an Aussie? Here's my top five:
AND, best of all, we have great authors. Have you checked out the Aussie authors over at Aussie Month on AusRomToday, where they are running a competition with cash prizes of $1000? I'm heading over to the AusRomToday site on Friday the 30th, so make sure you catch me over there. Happy Australia Day everyone!
January in Queensland!
We've just suffered through another heatwave - although luckily for us it is wet heat this year. Our neighbouring states - Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales are all suffering through dry heat, and as par for the course - bushfires. Next week, it's a year since our fire. We've finally got enough feed and water that we don't need to travel down to our rural block every weekend. We generally do a 50:50 weekend split, but in 2014 it was closer to 90:10. I've had the last few weekends in town with the pup, while Hubby does a day trip down to check everything is ok. He comes back for puppy school on a Sunday morning (which we passed) and we have a quiet Sunday. It's been nice and I've missed the bulk of the heat down there. This photo was taken a few weeks ago now on our rural block - during a big dry spell. The ferns are thriving in the crack in the rock because of the condensation. I love how despite owning the block for nearly ten years, you can still find something you've never seen before. This is also our first year in twenty-five years without a swimming pool back in the city. For the first eight months I cheered at how much less work it is without a pool. In the last two weeks, I would have installed one here, given the chance. Instead, I've done the sensible thing and upgraded my gym membership to gym/swim - full access to the three pools from 5am-9pm daily. Night swimming is a must when you've got sun-sensitive skin like mine. Writing - I've just finished my Little Gems entry for 2015, I'm about to enter Home for Christmas into the Ella Award (Romance Novellas) and I'm trying to catch up on my Year of the Novel Course work. Wish me luck. In the last fortnight, I've had three different sets of bad news. The first was the death of someone who I was really close to in the late 1970's and early 1980's (aged 57) and the second and third were a breast cancer diagnosis for my best work friend from the early 1990's and for one of my close writing buddies. Two very different diseases, based on the treatments being planned, and both with excellent survival expected post treatment.
It really got me to thinking about what's important in life (and what isn't) - and the thing I don't do often enough is stop and smell the roses. Or in my case, watch the sky. I love watching the clouds form and move, and the sun and moon rise and set. It's one of the things I don't love about this new house - you can't see the sky from inside. Our living area was at 5m above ground level in our old house and there were so many windows - where other people had artwork on the walls, we had curtain-free windows and the sky. I'm going to make more of a conscious effort to take five minutes out of every day, and just watch the sky. How do you like these photos - taken just now. I call this "back to school" sky - because when school goes back in January - we have hot, humid weather with intermittent heavy showers. The one up the top is facing east and the one below is facing west. Even just turning 180 degrees, its a whole different sky. My final check in on the 101 things to do in 2014, and I have to admit, the report is not great. Of the 101 things on the list, I completed 29 of them. Two were unable to be completed because the business closed, so if I add those in, my completion rate was a third. Disappointing, but actually, that's not bad when I add in all the other things I did this year, none of which were on the list:
So, how's the New Year's Resolution for 2014 looking. Well, this year its about a few choice goals:
I hope your festive season was great, and that 2015 brings you everything your heart desires. What are your resolutions for 2015? |
Fiona Greene AuthorWhen you set out on a journey and night falls, that's when you will discover the stars." Archives
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