Rain, Rain and yet more Rain.......

Let me say straight up that I have all the sympathy in the world for those that are currently in drought.  I lived it and breathed it for more than thirty years and it is one of the reasons that we chose Julatten as our retirement place.  Here, we have a proper wet season with rain falling out of the sky with every cloud that passes over us from December to March and sometimes beyond.  There is nothing in the world I enjoy more than falling asleep to the sound of rain on the roof.  We have certainly had our far share lately though.  We have recorded more than 600ml in the past week and as I write this blog, propped up in bed, the rain has just begun to fall again.

The birds have all been taking shelter on our veranda 

So what's been happening in our world this past week.
As I said in my last post, all my scrapbooking supplies have found another home and I have been working on cleaning my office/craft room.  I didn't realise it was such a big space until everything was removed.  We had thoughts of turning it into a fourth ensuite bedroom but I think we will leave it to the next owners to decide whether they need or want that.

I was given a bag of figs this week that were very soft so I decided to make fig jam.  Not only is this delicious on toast but it is a wonderful addition to a cheese platter with some crispy lavosh bread.

We are continuing with healthy lifestyle choices and exercising daily - weather permitting.  I am continuing with yoga twice a week and Philip and I have also started Tai Chi again on Tuesday mornings.  We only have an alcoholic drink if we are eating out and we keep it to one only.  I am still forging ahead with my 8 hour eating programme and the weight is very slowly dropping off - the best way to do it.  Fast weight loss = fast weight return!  My last meal for the day at around 4pm is usually a smoothie and check out the colours of this one.

Of course we had to celebrate Australia Day with the traditional Meat Pie.  I always make my own pies using Donna Hay's Beef and Ale Pie recipe.  The pies are very easy to make but it does take time as I cook the meat the day before to give it time to develop the flavour.  The end result is amazing!  To keep these pies gluten free I use Fodmap friendly plain flour.

We had a trip to Cairns on Friday to have the Toyota serviced and my eight week visit to the Audiologist to have my Lyric's changed.  And also......tadaa.....to pick up my new camera.....

Of course we enjoyed eating out while we were in Cairns and today it was back to one of our favourite restaurants Noa at Edge Hill.  Gosh this place is good.  The food comes out super fast to the table and it is always delicious.  Today my brunch choice was the smoked salmon hash with poached eggs and avocado and Philip chose Eggs Benny.

The rain continued to tumble while we were in Cairns so we were relieved when Toyota rang us at 11am to tell us the vehicle was ready to be picked up.  Driving around Cairns in pouring rain is not pleasant and nor was the drive home along the normally beautiful Great Barrier Reef Drive.  We had to call into Port to pick up the mail so we decided to head to Rattle and Hum for lunch.  We virtually had the place to ourselves but that is to be expected for the next couple of months as the tourists all head home.  I love Port Douglas at this time of the year when we can reclaim our town...

With all the rain it has been impossible to go outside and do anything at home so we have planted ourselves in front of the TV to watch the Australian Open and when that hasn't been interesting Philip has watched Netflix movies on his iPad and I have been practising with my new camera.  

Here are some of my practice shots with the Olympus Pen F and the Olympus M Zuiko 12-40mm 2.8f lens (for those that are interested).  I'm very impressed with the camera and lens so far and I am getting as much practice as possible before our big trip overseas in March when I hope to be able to keep you all updated with our travels.

Until the next time.  Namaste.

(“The divine light in me bows to the divine light within you.”)