the week that was... foam fun

We've had constant rain, high winds, flood warnings and closed beaches round our region in the past week or so.
Although there were floods and roads closed north and south of us, all we had to deal with was copious amounts of foam on the beaches! No swimming last week or this as the waters in the river and ocean are dirty as. So we just got out and about in the foam!

beachin' it

Arh... just another cruisy evening at the beach chilling with the hubby. Yep. I'm cloud and scenery obsessed.  Will bring you some crafting and op shopping real soon...I promise!

fish-n-chip friday

Many couples have date nights... we call ours marriage night as a reminder to us both that this time is vital to our marriage - to our communication, to quality time and memories together, making sure we have one night each week where we have a chance to talk about more than just how our day went - to share some quality time away from distractions and make sure we're clearing the air, learning together and keeping on track with our marriage.

It has become 'fish-n-chip Friday'.  We grab some terribly unhealthy, salty, fatty goodness from our local and head down by the river to sit and take in the week that was. 

Seemed we were the only locals out this evening so we had all the seagulls to ourselves!

The start of a lovely day of rest on Saturday to revive and refresh our bodies, minds and souls before taking on another week. If you don't give yourself a day of rest each week or a marriage time with your spouse each week - I recommend it. Book it in sometime soon!

hello chinies my old friend

Haven't been to my favourite beach 'Chinamens' in many months. Sad how getting rid of our second car stopped me taking myself on adventures here. All that is stopping me is a large hill to walk up! I'll give myself that challenge for this week!

We had the beach to ourselves this evening. Amazing, since it was school holiday time and tourists have invaded every inch of our town!

See you again soon dear friend.

just another day...

Everyday we can, my hubby and I walk to the break wall.  My favourite time of day. Stresses from the day drift away, breathing in deep the smell of the sea... and you just never know what you're going to see.

This was about 6pm... loving daylight savings and seeing people out enjoying the water till after 7pm!

This day we saw dolphins in the river (still struggling to capture a good piccy of dolphins! Looking forward to getting my mum-in-laws old cannon camera to play with!), police escorting a boat into the marina, full on large police patrol boat waiting for the little police boat out past the bar, old school plane doing laps over head (I think he was checking out the patrol boat too!) and someone's discarded bike that had been selvaged from either the river or the ocean.  What an outing! Surprising what can happen in our quiet piece of the world. :)

may days

a rural drive, learning guitar from my old hymnal, flowers and fruit - my favourite table toppers, and a glorious morning at the beach.

welcome to the start of my may days. :)

its a bright sunshining day

proof we don't really get autumn here... winter is autumn... autumn is summer.. spring is summer... summer is summer... why would i live anywhere else?!

a morning at my favourite beach...

beach highway...
first time i've seen bike tracks through the rock shelf!

sorry if the fish is gross.
i find the cycle of nature interesting. after all, nature has its in built cycles of being resourceful and recycling.

i don't have a great camera for distance shots so these aren't fantastic... but everyday i see dolphins out in the sea i stand in awe. what is it about them that is so peaceful and fascinating??
(might have to click on these ones to view it full sized)



a pod of about 8 dolphins out there today

 

hard to see but they're diving through the wave.
so cool that they're an animal that plays.



surfers on the left, dolphins on the right.
this is when i'm jealous of competent surfers. one day i'll be out there.





















i never know what i'm going to see at the beach but am starting to take my camera to keep a picture record of how the beach changes with time and weather... and the different signs of creatures and humans in my favourite environment.

love sharing a bit of beach sunshine with you on this lovely autumn day.
blessings, nais.



free living challenge - catch up... day 34-13!!

goal... to abstain from spending hobbies - to focus on finding daily joy in no cost living.

joy from past days...

got a lot to summarise in today's free living post.

have to confess... i visited my mum a couple of weekends ago and our favourite thing to do is op shop together. so we went to 1 store... only 1!  i'm now 27 and she still treats me with 'just coz' spending money to make me feel special. love you mum.

so what have i been up to?

i organised up my sewing space...

love watching the weather out the side door...

the space is about 2.5ms sq... have all ready decided this is not enough space! i've already filled 3 lots of shelving with materials i've had around the house.

have had a play making my own pattern for some of my own softie creations... hmmm... need more practice for consistency!!

and started making some quiltes... discovered i love sewing much more than hand needlework!

 

and made some practical things like bread bags from old linen tea-towels. very impressed with these. we go through a home-made loaf of bread in 2-4days. it stays moist in these bags for that time. they would dry out and be only good for toast after 2days using our old recycled plastic bag method. definately an improvement.
(yes yes, i'm a queenslander through and through!! squeezing a bit of QLD love into our very NSW dominant family!!)

have enjoyed the growth of my peppermint plant being able to pick a few fresh leaves and make my own peppermint tea. so lovely.

and of course there have been many bike rides to the beach...

the other most fun adventure was my sister-in-law's wedding where i got to play with flowers and decorating... could do it every weekend!  as i said in my flower joy post a few days ago, so lovely being able to go to the farm where the flowers were growing, pick them with a group of great girls and play with them the night before the wedding for bouquets and vases for the reception. here are some more pics for you...

such a lovely location. yamba shores tavern.  if you're ever in the area, i recommend a look-see. its a lovely spot on the river.  we were there at sunrise (yes ohmygoodness) on the day of the wedding and then there at night for the reception. just as good feel at night.

phew!  great to be able to share my adventures with you. 

would love to hear of some of your free-living adventures.  we can't always achieve it but i think there is a greater sense of fulfillment when we are able to fill our day with nature, with family and friends, with simplicity and free joy. i challenge you to look for a way to simplify your adventures this week. then share it with others and maybe you'll inspire another one or two. blessings, nais.

free living challenge - day 40

goal... to abstain from spending hobbies - to focus on finding daily joy in no cost living.

today's joy...

finished off my envelopes

started to make a handy dandy for my mum... i'll need to grab some of her lavender to include in the wheat pack...

  

my ride today took me along the river through the national park... had it all to myself today.  and who said a cruiser isn't an off road bike?!

  

 

and was able to snap pics of these little guys... they appear on mass at low tide at the river... its so fun to chase them as you can out-run them unlike other ones you see at the beach.

a quiet day today but a little brigther than yesterday. didn't miss shopping at all today. and found some online sewing courses I can do in coming months. excitement plus!