Back From The Beach!!

Well ... what a difference a week makes! Or more accurately ... what a difference a few days at the beach makes! :0) I'm feeling much cheerier this week, back to my usual self after a lovely few days at Burrum Heads with my folks. I really do hate winter and it seems that a beach break is the only way to beat my winter blues ... works every time! :0) Now you KNOW I took a few photos to share with you. (I think I have the same problem with the definition of "FEW" that Linda has - A few photos ... a few craft magazines ... a few bears ... a few pieces of fabric in my stash ...! Tee! Hee! Hee!) So ... you might like to make yourself a cuppa and get comfy before we go any further ... OH! And maybe you'd better slop on some sunscreen ... we ARE going to the beach after all! :0)

So ... Thursday saw my Beloved Geek Boy and I throw a few things into the bags, pack the car ... UNpack the dogs who weren't going with us but thought they should be ... and hit the road, heading about four hours north east to Burrum Heads. This has become a bit of a favourite beach escape destination for Mum and Dad and GB and I as it is fairly undeveloped, so still nice and quiet ... lots of serenity to be enjoyed! :0) We usually end up at Burrum Heads for a break at least once a year, sharing a rental house with Mum and Dad. Not only does this share the expenses, it shares the cooking and cleaning up duties, too, as well as giving us a nice catch up with them ... one of those WIN-WIN situations! :0) For the last few years, we've rented the same little cottage facing the Burrum River during our beach breaks, but this time, we were in a different house ...

This was our home-away-from-home for four days (Mum and Dad are still there ... lucky ducks!!) Do you see that lovely little front porch? Well ... that's where I spent most of my weekend ... soaking up the rays! Told you I was solar-powered ... just like the house! Tee! Hee! Hee! And if you stand on that front porch to look out, you'll see ...

... THE SEA!! We were situated right where the mouth of the river feeds into the ocean, so wonderful water views, as well as the entertainment of watching the boats coming and going. Hmm ... do you see those two little specks near the edge of the incoming tide?

Well ... what do you know! It's the brave fishermen! :0) Dad and GB enjoyed drowning a few worms and prawns ...

And here are the mighty fishermen returning with their monster catch in the bucket! ... Or NOT! Good thing we had steak ready! Tee! Hee! Hee! But as GB said ... they spent some time in the fresh air and sun, felt the sand between their toes and the soothing sound of the ocean, so the time wasn't wasted! :0) Don't you love a philosophical fisherman! Tee! Hee! Hee! I have to say, though, he wasn't wrong. We were blessed with some of the most GORGEOUS beach weather. Yes, it was still cool at night, but the days were all wonderfully warm and sunny ...

... with the most FABULOUS blue, blue skies!! I think this is what they call 'Caribbean Blue'. How's this for a postcard picture? :0) None of the colours have been played with ... it really was this gorgeous in real life and the crystal clear water was graduating shades of teal ... it made me wish that I could dip a paintbrush into it to capture the colours!! None of the photos I took really showed the water colour, so I just enjoyed it in person ... sorry! :0)

So ... what did we do during our beach break? Well, you already know the boys went fishing and they also hit a few little white balls around the nearby golf course. Meanwhile, Mum and I ...

... took Sunny the spoilt Chihuahua for some lovely long walks along the beach. Hmmm ... just noticed that if Sunny had stayed very still, he would have blended in with the sand. Commando Chihuahua! Tee! Hee! Hee! And on our walks we saw ...

... some local wildlife. This soldier crab was a little slower than his several hundred brethren who all scuttled away from us and disappeared into the sand before I could take a photo. We returned him to his regiment after the photo shoot. :0) We chatted to a few pelicans ... but the photos I took were a bit fuzzy, so I won't bore you with those.

We also enjoyed looking at the other houses with beach views ... this was my favourite, I think. Not only is it a cute cottage, it has the prerequisite verandah on the front for sun-sitting and contemplation! :0) And there's that FABULOUS blue sky again!! When we weren't toodling along the beach, there was a bit reading all around, a bit of ...

... sewing. Mum made me a cheerful dotty dressing gown cos she can follow dressmaking patterns and I can't!! :0) I stuck to some hand stitching whilst sitting in the sun, but don't have any finishes to show, just some progress on a Secret Squirrel project. There was also a bit of ...

... jigsaw solving. Whenever the four of us head to the beach, we make sure there are several jigsaws packed ... it's not unusual to have all four of us crowding around the table to work on a puzzle ... though it DOES get a little confusing and crowded sometimes! Tee! Hee! Hee! All in all ... the four of us kicked back to rest up from a busy period that involved colds and work stress. A wonderful way to beat the winter time blues! We're such party animals, aren't we?!! :0)

Back to 'real life' and lower temperatures this week, but definitely feeling cheerier and almost completely over my icky cold. Still counting down the days til winter is over, but someone cheered me up today by telling me they think we'll have an early sping! Can you see my smile beaming out to you from here! Tee! Hee! Hee! Hope you all had a lovely weekend and managed to find some time to do something to relax you and make you smile! :0)

*****

On a sadder note ... my thoughts and prayers go out to my blogging friends in Norway. The events of late last week shook not only the people of Norway, but everyone around the world. I think that with the internet, and for me particularly, blogging, bringing people from all over our globe closer together, such tragic events affect us all because it feels close to home. On the positive side ... it also means that there are millions of supportive thoughts and prayers being sent to the people of Norway at the moment. While we can never fully understand the actions of one man, my prayer is that from this sorrow, unity will grow and flourish.

An event like this also reminds us that it is important to live every day to the fullest and take every opportunity to tell our friends and loved ones how much we love them, so lets make sure that we do!! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS