Birthday Bonanza!!

Hello to all of you gorgeous creatures out there in blogland! I hope your week is off to a fabulous start. I meant to be back here a little sooner but then the title of this blog post happened & I got a wee bit sidetracked. :0) Just a warning to my buddy Chookyblue ... This could take a while, so grab yourself a cuppa! Tee! Hee! Hee!

In case it's still early in the morning while you're reading this & you're not quite as quick on the uptake as usual so haven't worked it out yet, it was my birthday last week ... & it seemed to kind of last all week. :0) So ... Tuesday was "B-Day" & I think I spent most of the day eating ... Lunch with my usual Tuesday lunch-buddy Lynda at one of our go-to cafés followed that night by dinner with my Beloved Geek Boy & my folks at Toowoomba's Park House Cafe ... Another go-to spot for special occasions. Apparently we were too busy eating to remember to get a photo. :0)

Then on my day-off-Friday, I went with Mum & HER Partner-In-Crime Marg to the cute historic railway station of Spring Bluff for lunch at the Spring Bluff cafe  where we all had a snack-size first course so we could save room for the DEEEEEEEELICIOUS Dutch pancakes on offer ...

Not only did we enjoy the pancakes (even Marg managed to finish the huge yummy serve!) & chatting, we were also treated to a symphony of one of my favourite bird calls, the bell birds' song. Just magical!

I barely had time to scoot home after our leisurely lunch & throw a few things into a bag, when GB arrived home to whisk me away for a weekend at a B&B. Yes ... I'm keeping him! :0) We didn't have a long journey to arrive at our weekend destination ... Just 15 minutes' drive, in fact, as GB hadn't wanted to go somewhere that ate up a lot of time in traveling to & from, so he had chosen Anduramba Homestead B&B  just north of Crows Nest. On arrival, we were welcomed by the official greeting officer ...

This is Theodore ... Better known as Ted. :0) Isn't he handsome!! And his mate, Mimi, was just as gorgeous. Did I mention that I LOVE West Highland Terriers, or Westies as they're most often called?! It was love at first sight with this furry duo ... & they're bigger fur-siblings, Thomas the Border Collie & Geoffry the Blue Heeler ... Who was actually a girl ... I never did find out the story that just HAD to be behind a girl dog being called Geoffry. :0) After lots of pats, licks & doggy cuddles, we finally checked out our room ...

... Fresh cream & green colour scheme with pretty poppies on curtains & cushions as well as ...

... A lovely bunch of native flowers & some Ferraro Rocher choccies because GB had told our hostess Sandra that we were celebrating my birthday. NOICE! :0) After settling in a bit & kicking off our shoes, we were invited to relax in the lounge room & enjoy ...

... A complimentary cheese platter & a glass of port. A lovely way to end the work week.

Saturday morning, after a HUGE home cooked breakfast, we embarked on one of our "where does this road go?" exploration mini road trips & ended up in Blackbutt, where we stopped to visit the gallery of local artist Janet Skinner. Janet holds the Guiness World Record for designing the world's largest 'paint-by-numbers' mural & she has written a number of books, as well as sketched & painted many historic railway stations. There is a lovely display of her work to enjoy, including ...

... Larger than life pink mushrooms ...

... With a resident elf. Hmmm ... Probably too big to be an elf! :0P After a naughty sweetie-treatie at the bakery two shops down from the gallery, we hit the road again ... & some time later found ourselves at Bunnyconnellan to taste some locally produced wine & olives, as well as check out the lovely gift shop ...

It's not the best photo, as the sun was in the wrong spot, but boy did we have fun there! :0) Bunnyconnellan also has recently added cottage accomodation to their repertoire ...

Don't you love the rustic charm of the guest cottage? We then decided to head back to Anduramba Homestead for a cool drink & some quiet time & took a wander through the inviting garden,

The first view you have on arrival at the historic home.

The circular garden from the other side. We'd like to do something like this one day at the front of Edward House ... Perhaps on a slightly smaller scale. :0)

The homestead is actually two historic houses joined together, which leaves plenty of scope for hidden nooks & outdoor spaces like this garden room. Have you ever seen a staghorn as big as these two specimens?

Another outdoor room & lush lawns to meander over.

You pass through a gazebo to ...

... A platform deck where you can take in some of the panoramic views ... No, I don't mean GB ... Though I do think he's pretty picturesque! Tee! Hee! Hee!

...and looking back at the house from the look out deck. We were joined Saturday night by another couple who were celebrating their wedding anniversary, so hostess Sandra cooked a delicious special meal for us all. We felt VERY spoilt!  But sadly, all good things must come to an end & Sunday morning (after an even bigger breakfast than the day before!) we said our last farewells to our furry friends ...

Did I mention we were in doggy-lover's heaven? :0) We thanked our hosts Sandra & Andrew (toast cooker extraordinaire!) & headed home ... Via a very round-about & circuitous route. :0) We can HIGHLY recommend Anduramba Homestead B&B if you're looking for a relaxing rural retreat ... & love doggies! :0)  And big smoochies & bear hugs to GB for spoiling me for my birthday. It almost made up for having to admit to being another year older. :0)

A big thank you to everyone who sent emails & Facebook messages for my birthday ... I felt very loved! And while I am very aware of it always, it reinforced to me how very BLESSED I am to have such wonderful family & friends around me. :0)

And after that epic report of our adventures ... It's time for me to do something about cooking dinner, so I'd better sign off for now. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, too ... Even if it wasn't your birthday. :0) Take care & til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Anduramba Homestead for a cool drink & some quiet time & took a wander through the inviting garden,