Happy New (seasonal) Year, dear Reader!
I hope today and the rest of the year, right through to the last day of Winter, 2025, are wonderful for you!
– KRidwyn
Tag: favourite places
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29/52 Things I’m grateful for :)
New starts. The fact that I awoke this morning with a wealth of opportunities to enjoy and spend my time on.
The warmth of the sun on my back in spite of the chill in my toes (within of just socks but also ugg boots – have I mentioned before how much I don’t enjoy the cold?) and the fact that our house was warmed by a fire last night.
I’m listening to my daughters (aged 19 and 16) voluntarily spending time together, talking and playing with Kiya now we’re home after church.
My house is not clean. The list of ‘stuff I should be doing’ is huge. But I am happy. Even with the hedge clippings that my eldest daughter shook off her clothing, yesterday, in the sunroom, which still litter the floor near my feet.
These clippings mean the mock orange hedge beneath my bedroom windows is now looking amazing, and through my daughter’s – and not my – efforts. They’re glossy green, meaning the plants are healthy and have enough water in spite of the lack of rainfall here in this part of Queensland. Again, through no effort of mine. That’s a God thing.
My part to play in all this? Enjoyment. That’s it. (And pick up the leaves in the sunroom.)
What an amazing blessing that is!
Have an amazing week yourself, dear Reader!
– KRidwyn
Yesterday was a red letter day. I finally succeeeded at something I’d been unable to do: finish dessert at The Pancake Manor.
Eating there is a pleasure I share with my Mum. Not sure why, but whenever we’re in Brisbane for the day we make a point of eating a meal there. And although I ensure my stomach is growling prior to entry, I’d never yet made it through a meal AND dessert due to the huge meal sizes.
So yesterday, Brisbane bound with Miss16, the challenge again was to consume the entire dessert. And we did it!
(Admittedly, we shared one dessert between us, and both of us were wise enough to only order the ‘entree’ sized meal… but we did it!)
And it was DELICIOUS!!! and so decadent 🙂 🙂 🙂
In case you’re intereseted, I had the Chicken crepe (chicken and mushroom filling on a bed of mashed potatoes) and Mum the seafood crepe, and our dessert was the Macadamia Madness. And even now, writing about it, I can feel my tastebuds watering behind the smile playing around my lips.
It was truly a memorable day!
Here’s hoping yours is as well, dear Reader 🙂
- KRidwyn
[Also, sorry for the shocking photo quality. But we all know how badly I take photos…]
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#BlogJune Day 23
Today was sunny, without too much wind.
It was Sunday. Church day. Meet my friends and worship God together day.
I bought a roast chicken for lunch with the kids; it was delicious.
I watched a movie and crotcheted, then Hubby and I walked Kiya together.
I was able to clear up a GoCard issue (very needed) and now I”m heading for an early night, in preparation for a big week ahead.
It’s good to be able to count blessings, isn’t it?
Have a blessed day yourself, dear Reader!
- KRidwyn
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#BlogJune Day 22
Today was meant to be a shopping morning, followed by a party tonight.
But Miss16 decided that shopping could wait for another day, so it was ‘just relax at home’ before party instead.
De-cluttering happened. Organising happened. Numbers of Gilmore Girls episodes happened, and now I’m with Kiya in her favourite spot. And I have to agree with her, it’s one of my favourite spots too.
Here’s wishing a relaxing day for you too, dear Reader!
– KRidwyn
Gone 5pm and I still haven’t blogged. That’s ’marking time of term’ for you!
But I *did* get the time to walk Kiya just now… and check out the entrance to one of my neighbour’s properties!
The colours don’t do it justice, I’m afraid. God is so amazing the way He uses the colour palette He designed!
Here’s wishing you a colourful day as well, dear Reader!
- – KRidwyn
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#BlogJune Day 5
I found a waterfall today. I’ve visited this particular park in Nambour nearly every Wednesday during term time for the past year or so. Today was the first time I decided to take my dog Kiya with me while we waited for Mr15 to have his oboe lesson.
Imagjne my surprise when we discovered a waterfall at the end of the path!
Here’s hoping you too had a day of lovely surprises, dear Reader!
– KRidwyn
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11/52 On marking
It’s a lovely feeling when it’s done! But my current marking is still firmly in the ‘present’ tense, so when it comes to writing this blogpost I’m rather time-poor, I’m afraid.
So here’s a photo Mum found the other week – me when I was 5, in Bristol, England – for you to smile at:
and I’ll see you next week, dear Reader!
- KRidwyn
Yes, that’s right. The 2024 school year starts back tomorrow. It’s been a wonderful holiday… not the least of it due to family gaming time.
Decades ago now, Hubby was an addicted gamer, to the extent that I was a ‘computer widow’. Since I couldn’t beat him, I joined him, and once multiplayer games became a thing (yes, I did mention ‘decades’, didn’t I) we had some pretty amazing sessions, some of which bordered on the truly epic.
Fast forward to sometime in 2021, I introduced our son to Caesar II and the Age of Empires franchise. Fast forward again to the 2023 / 2024 summer holidays: we had our own Mum-Dad-two-teenagers slaughterfest on AoEIV (Anniversary Edition) where it was me getting slaughtered, Hubby barely hanging on, and our daughter (who’d only just started playing two days earlier) just narrowly being beaten by our reigning champion son. Hours and hours and hours of fun was had! And humbling experiences too, I must admit, for me, as well as Hubby…
Seeing my little computer villagers building castles got me inspired to also spend some time re-reading one of my favourite trilogies: The Heaven Tree series, written by Edith Pargeter (who also wrote as Ellis Peters, of the Bather Cadfael series). The protagonist is a master mason who dedicates his life (literally… he gets killed as soon as its done) to building of a castle on the English border with Wales. It’s a magnificent story, and the writing style is sublime 🙂
And then, to bring it all ‘into the real world’ as it were, this showed up in my Facebook feed:
What a simply stunning piece of architecture! Isn’t it inspiring that someone had the courage to design such magnificence – let alone the bravery of the people who built it (and maybe even, who lived there!)
Anyway, I just wanted to share these thoughts with you, some reflection time, just prior to heading into the chaos of this school year.
Happy first week back of school, dear Reader!
- KRidwyn
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My Stihl Chainsaw
I can’t remember if I’ve blogged about my chainsaw before, but I was looking at it just now (I’m out gardening aka clearing scrub) and realised it’s probably the tool I love best.
Apart from my phone, of course, which I’m blogging on as I sit here looking at my chainsaw.
Because it’s just so incredibly handy (the Stihl chainsaw, that is. Not the phone – although that is too!) And easy to use. And lightweight. And no matter how roughly I treat it (oil? What oil?) it still works.
I love it!
Here’s hoping you have a love-ful day as well, dear Reader!
- KRidwyn