We Saw The Bridge!!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!! There's my contented sigh after an absolutely WONDERFUL weekend visiting my blogging buddy the Lovely Lilly Linda and her beloved Tim on their island. And even though we seemed to pack lots of adventures into two days and managed to tick off most of our "we'd love to's" from our lists, it was one of the most RELAXING and REFRESHING weekends my Beloved Geek Boy and I have enjoyed in a looooooooong time! :0)

We packed up bright and early Saturday morning (well, early for us night owls! Tee! Hee! Hee!) and headed off down the hill to Linda and Tim's new island home. And although we DID forget we were supposed to say "I can see the bridge!" (the chant Linda and the kids repeat each time they come back to their island from the mainland!) when we spotted it, I DID say "I can see the water!", as that was the little chant that MY family had when we holidayed at the beach.

After warm hugs and greetings from Linda and Tim ... along with the cry of "FINALLY! They're HERE!!" from the kids ... we were shown into our little nest for the weekend ...

Look at that GORGEOUS bedroom!! It was just like sleeping in a little corner of Lilly Cottage! :0) But time was a-wastin' and we had things to do, adventures to have, tea to be sipped and stitching to do! :0) Now, Linda and I very cleverly sent our boys and the kids off on a 4WDing adventure for the afternoon while we curled up in the lounge room with stitching and some quiet music in the background ... which we proceeded to mostly drown out with our chatting! Tee! Hee! Hee! And I supposed that after telling you all the prep work I did on Friday so I could stitch and stitch with Linda, I have to confess that I didn't do QUITE as much stitching as planned ... but it's all Linda's fault! Tee! Hee! Hee! You see, she has a FABULOUS collection of GORGEOUS craft and decorating books in her lounge room that I just HAD to delve into. So ... really, what happened was ... Linda stitched and I looked at pretty, pretty pictures! Tee! Hee! Hee!

After the 4WD adventurers returned home with tales of super bumps and a spot of traction-impairment (the got BOGGED!! Tee! Hee! Hee!) we all piled into the Lilly-mobile and headed (via the fish and chip shop!) to the water's edge to enjoy a sunset picnic.

Here are our lovely hosts, Tim and Linda enjoying our fish and chips dinner. And once we'd eaten our fill, there was nothing left to do but sit back and watch the day end in spectacular fashion. I took a few progressive shots to share the beautiful sight with you ...

Isn't that golden glow fabulous!

... bit lower on the horizon ...

... lower still and almost slipping behind the mainland.

And after the sun finally slipped completely below the horizon, I snapped this shot of the bridge to the mainland. I love the soft mauves and apricots of the sky with the Glasshouse Mountains in the background and the bridge in the foreground. I don't know if you can see it (click to make the photo a bit bigger and you might) but the bridge lights had just flickered on and looked like faerie lights reflecting in the calm, calm water. SIGH!! It would have been wonderful to sit there soaking up the serenity for hours (How's the serenity?! Tee! Hee! Hee! Aussie movie quote for overseas buddies who have no idea what that means!) but the sandflies were starting to get a little TOO friendly, so we adjourned back to Linda and Tim's lounge room where we feasted on raspberry ripple cake with creamy icing, washed down with freshly brewed tea while we chatted ... and chatted ... and chatted ... and chatted ... and ...! :0) OK, so, I think you're getting the idea that the four of us DEFINITELY didn't have to endure any uncomfortable silences or lags in the conversation! Tee! Hee! Hee!

After sleeping soundly and contentedly in our beautifully appointed guest room (thanks for the loan, Courtney!) we woke the next morning to the tantalising scent of sizzling bacon . MMMMMMM!! Did I mention that we were SERIOUSLY SPOILT at meal times throughout the weekend!! :0) Fortified with our delicious bacon and scrambled egg breakfast, we sent the boys and kids off fishing and swimming while Linda and I headed to the local markets where we had FUN!!! We weren't TOO naughty, but thoroughly enjoyed checking out the work of local craftspeople, as well as a browse through the cultural centre where we saw some truly amazing artwork ... and enjoyed a spot of staning under ceiling fans on a scorcher of a summer's day! We then trundled off to meet up with the keen fisherfolk to see what they'd caught (two little whiting that had to be thrown back, but they WERE fish and they WERE caught, so mission accomplished! Tee! Hee! Hee!) And while the kids had a dip and the big boys had naps, I did some of my stitching while Linda enjoyed flipping through a magazine. And if we didn't get as much done as planned, perhaps we can blame it on the view being too distracting ... what do you think?

This is "THE" bridge in the bright light of day. Can you believe how blue both the water and sky were?! And off to one side of where we had set up our mini-camp was ...

The boys were trying to decide which one of these they'd buy themselves if they won lotto! :0) And while we were enjoying our view, we had a little visitor ... a NOISY visitor!!

This baby magpie was nagging the mama magpie to feed him and sounded just like a cranky toddler wanting a snack! :0) Mama scooted out of the photo, so must have been a little camera-shy, but if she's stayed, you'd have seen that while she was black and white, this little bloke still only has his baby feathers so is a browny-grey and white. Bit of Australian fauna trivia there for you! :0)

So, after a fabulous, full, restful and relaxing weekend, we had to say goodbye to the Lovely Linda, the Terrific Tim and their little island-dwelling tribe and climb back up the hill to Toowoomba - SIGH! I suppose that as the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end", but in this case, I think it's just so we can begin planning our NEXT joint adventure! Plans are already in the pipeline and we're working on a way to bring our mutal blogging buddy Kerryanne into the fun, too, so hold onto your hat, Kerryanne! Tee! Hee! Hee! A HUGE thank you and lots of BEAR HUGS to you Linda and Tim for making us so welcome in your home and for showing us such a fabulous view of your island! I just KNOW there'll be lots of return visits!! :0)

And although I didn't get very much of my stitching done, it's a public holiday here tomorrow for AUSTRALIA DAY to celebrate our unique and wonderful country, so I am sure I'll find some stitching time and I promise to come back with some photos of what I'm working on ... the first NON-Secret Squirrel projects I've been working on this year! :0) Hope all you OPAM gals are remembering to add your finishes to your sidebar list, cos it's only a few days til Peg and I begin our round up and draw the first end of month prize for 2010. In the meantime, enjoy your stitching and a very happy Australia Day to all my Aussie buddies!

AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE! OI! OI! OI!

Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS