Rain or Shine. Or Both.

Don't you love just love the different types of weather?

Yesterday morning I pottered around in the garden, pruning our random tomato plant
and uprooting the zucchini two plants that refused to grow before sitting on 

the porch swing chatting with my best friend who lives overseas.

This morning, after a night of pouring rain,
it had slowed to a steady drizzle so I stood on the back patio
admiring the rain drops that lined the foliage of the jasmine vines. 

I kept watching them drop and decided I needed to grab my camera and take some photos!

The light was amazing! 

Who would have thought?  A rainy day?  Good lighting for photos?! 

I guess that's how we learn, eh?  By doing.

As I was peering through the lens, my eye found a little hidden wonder ...

A gorgeous dragon fly seeking shelter from the wet drops.

And the beautiful white flowers that had opened opened earlier in the week
were tightly shut, protecting their delicate centers from the rain.




Such little beauties.



This little one didn't shut quick enough and was pulled over by the weight of the rain.
I still thought it was beautiful though ...

I do love the rain. 
And the shine.

Do you?

Sun {Corner View} Shine

I love the way the sun and the shadows make prettyness on the walls around here !

This was yesterday morning ....

**

Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.  It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up over at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other Corner Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations of the themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !

day 101 {shine} 365

the view out my bedroom door as i was coming in from exercising this morning

day 22 {sky} 365

totally breaking my 'only one photo' rule today
i just couldn't choose !

both of these photos are straight out of the camera !
taken in the day time ... looking directly at the sun ... with clouds surrounding

i love the first one because you can see the sun



but i love the second one even better ...

rory reckons it looks like you're in a black hole or something.

what do you think ??

{happy} Monday

here's to a great start to a great week ...

{sun} and {sky} and {house}

My contribution ...

Beautiful {Aussie} Beach

One of my favorite things about living where we live is our access to some of the most beautiful beaches on the planet. It's great to be able to hop in the car, drive a few minutes, hop out of the car and be looking out over the ocean ! This morning, we did just that. We went early, as we knew it was going to be a hot day. We were right. It was stinkin' hot so we only stayed an hour or so. We were home by 10:30 am !

Rory and the kids had a swim. I read a book.

The beach was chockablock too ! We think because it's Australia Day weekend, it is Sunday morning when Nippers is on, and it's the last weekend before school starts. All of that made for CROWDED !

We didn't really mind though. We enjoyed our morning, came home, turned the air con on and waited for our lunch guests. Grandma and Grandpa !! We had a great lunch and afternoon visiting ... before heading over to their hotel for a swim in the pool and dinner. All in all, it was a wonderfully refreshing Sunday.

And yeah, we did skip church.

We do that sometimes ... and we're ok with it !

Bits {and} Pieces

Ahhhh ... I love the sun going down over the ocean !
Don't you ?

~~

Corner View tomorrow ... the theme is "white".
Care to join us ?

~~

Speaking of tomorrow, it is Alia's birthday !! She is going to be six. It's crazy, I know !! Scheduling difficulties have meant that we are not going to do an extended family party for her like we do most years. We're just going to have a quiet family party at home. She's been asking me to take her to Subway for ages so we're going to get some take away Subs to bring home. We'll do some party food ( chips and lollies ) with it, have a cake, do presents, maybe play some games ... you know, all the simple stuff that they love !

~~

I've got to work today. Just a couple of hours to keep on top of things over the school holidays. I still don't feel 100 % but if I don't go in, the work will pile up and that is never good !! I didn't pack any lunches last night so I'd better go do that now ...

{garden tour}

who wants to have a peek in our garden ?

the snow peas are fruiting like mad
we go out and pick and eat snow peas straight off the plant every day
they are so crisp and sweet !
help yourself ... there are plenty ...



some of you commented that you didn't know coriander bloomed
well, i don't know i you can call it blooming, even though i did
technically, it's called flowering
once it flowers, the leaves aren't that great to eat
but ... you get the seeds out of the flowers which you can use to grow more coriander
or you can grind to make ...

wait for it ...

ground coriander !!!



we've got roma tomatoes



and cherry sweetbites that are finally getting some color



heaps of strawberries too
we are slowly transferring our strawberries to hanging pots
to give us more room in the garden for veggies



and look ... green beans !!



look what the sky did while i was out there taking photos tonight

i just love it

the clouds

the sun

the colors

well, google reader tells me you all have been busy posting
since i last stopped by so i think i will finish this up and pop over for a visit ...

{Straight Out Of Camera Saturday}

Soaking up the winter sunshine ...

There may or may not be other SOOC's at Slurping Life this week ... perhaps you could just stop by, get to know Melody and her boys a bit ~ you won't leave there without being inspired ! I mean it !

School Holidays ~ Day Three

to answer a couple of questions from yesterday ... 1.) we are eating churros. no i did not make them. we found a restaurant called 'chocolateria san churro' that makes them. the churros themselves are pretty close to authentic ... but they come with chocolate ... not hot chocolate ... to dip them in. but guess what ? my sister has previously posted a recipe to my cooking blog for churros. none of us have tried it out but if you all are keen ... here's the link !! 2.) ice age 3 was goooooooood ! it is my favorite of all three. i laughed throughout the ENTIRE movie. i'm serious ! 3.) it is the dead of winter here ... i know ! i love it !

my friend khrista sent us the most amazing package !! i cannot get green chiles here ... CAN NOT get them ... it's a crime really. but look at how many cans she sent me ! i can't wait to try this recipe. i've said it once, in fact i think i've said it twice but i'll say it again ... THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!!! can you see the other goodies she sent ? things i love but can't get here. bugles. corn nuts. bazooka gum !! and needle protectors for my knitting needles !

It's the little things

The light that sits above a portion of the counter top in our new kitchen.
Perfect for all my food photos.



A lady bug crawling around on my hand.



The sprinkler system sprinkling our growing tomatoes in our back yard veggie garden.



Our kitty cat enjoying a bit of time exploring the great outdoors.



The hibiscus plant on our back patio threatening to bloom.

The sun setting over the houses as we watched the kids play outside this afternoon.

It's the little things

that

brought

a smile

to

my face

today.

********************************

What were the little things in your life today ?

**********************************************************

Tonight's dinner was
Baked Potato Soup.

It was delicious ... I highly recommend it !

The recipe is on the beans blog ! Go get it ...

Sharing A Picnic and Water for Elephants

What a lovely afternoon we shared with friends on Wednesday. Toni and her boys met us at our favorite park for a picnic lunch and hours of sitting under a shade tree, she and I, chatting while the kids played on the playground, climbed trees and rode bikes.

A lovely breeze was blowing the whole time and though it was quite hot out, it didn't seem it where we sat ! I did discover this evening though, as I was cleaning the fish tank, that I got sunburned on one part of my arm. I can't figure out how. It's either a sunburn or I'd left the tank so long that the water was toxic and burned my arm ?! Without killing the fish. Hmm ...

Maybe not.

Abrupt change of subject happening ... now.

I mentioned yesterday about the book I read on the plane that was so good. I wonder if any of you have read it. Shay recommended it to me. I loved it. I'm glad we own it, I'll read it again in a few years. It's pretty rough and tumble in some parts ...

but ...

I love the way the author tells the story. It's from the view point of an old man looking back on his life. The book is mostly set in the "story" but also develops the character as an old man. I found the relationships between the people fascinating. The idea of the circus and all of the crazy things that went on ... drew me in. I was so involved in the story. I was sad when it ended.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Here's the Wikipedia Link ... but I warn you, it tells you what happens so if you're going to read this you might not want to go there ...

Check it out ...

Come back and tell me what you thought !

AND ... I'm in need of a new good book. Any suggestions ? I've checked a couple out from the library ... I'll let you know if they are any good.

Sharing Sweetness

In the midst of the storm, a little ray of sunshine that brought me to tears.

Stuck on the door of my seven year old son's room, replacing the
"Alia is not allowed in this room" that had made his 5 years old sister so sad.

Alia is ...
Kind
Caring
Fun
Loving
Beautiful
Cute
Super
Cool
Funny
She is like a butterfly and a ballerina.

~~

I love this boy !!