it’s just not australian

it’s just not australian, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

mon jan 26
237/365

first up, i had to work – TODAY – australia day. very unaustralian.
and secondly, what is with all this patriotism?
every second car i have passed this week has had australian flags flying off it.
a house around the corner has no few than 6 aussie flags draped over the balustrading.
people are having bbq’s in the park with big australian flags attached to tree’s.
do these acts make you a true blue, fair dinkum aussie? what is that anyway?

i feel very blessed to have been born in the ‘lucky’ country. i have been afforded freedoms i deeply appreciate. i also realise there are many, many people in this country for whom it is not the ‘lucky’ country at all, and as a nation our track record in some areas is absolutely abysmal. it would make sense to me to foster a sense of national pride by addressing some of these issues, rather than by merely displaying our flag.

song “tenterfield saddler” peter allen

sleepover city

sleepover city, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

sun jan 25
236/365

i am over this weather
it is hot, humid and ever so sticky
there is so much moisture in the air – nothing will dry
on a brighter note – sleepover city tonight

song “you’ve always got the blues” kate ceberano & wendy matthews

tagged

i got tagged, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

sat jan 24
235/365

i got tagged…

1. flickr name / real name
2. right or left handed
3. favourite letter to write
4. least favourite letter to write
5. write that sentence
6. who you will tag

song “sway” the kooks

dreaming

dreaming, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

fri jan 23
234/365

dreaming…
wishing i was back there

song “steal my kisses” ben harper

nova’s good but…

nova’s good but, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

thurs jan 22
233/365

argh
more busyness again today
and it’s revoltingly hot and sultry
one at cricket camp
another at gym camp
2 at the movies
so much running around

then a refreshing swim at the kynaston’s to cool everyone down
where i just happened to make the comment to louise that if for nothing else i was happy to be back in brisbane for the good music on nova!! (mama lou lou was deeply hurt by my lack of tact!)

 
and then i remembered brisbane is also good cos jonathon brown and bernard fanning live here…

 
oh and the best reasons of all…
 this &  this
(crazy clarks went into receivership this week…it need not have happened had they been aware of all the uses the kids found today for those big plastic containers they sell)

 
somehow the boys were lucky enough to go on another night skate this time to capalaba – on ya paul

 
song duffy “warwick avenue”

hit the ground running

hit the ground running, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

wed jan 21
232/365

so we got home last night
paul picked us up and we all spent the rest of the evening together

such a warm welcome…thanks for the cute cards thea and shimmi!

it was so good to see everyone
(the kids all had SO much to say to each other – considering they have been in almost constant contact via sms/msn/flickr – they were very funny each trying to get an excited word in)
but i still feel jittery at the thought of the year that lies ahead
we only had 3 weeks away this time compared to our normal average of 5
and i feel it was not long enough
i usually come back completely revitalised and invigorated ready to tackle the hugeness of another year
but this time
meh
am i being selfish and spoilt?
a year is just such a long stretch
i know it will be filled with lots and lots of good times
but right now i am just not feeling it

anyway we spent today madly running
7 kids in tow (they were all excellent and made me look like the most fabulous parent in the entire world)
uniforms to buy
phone calls to make
forms to fill out
flitting here there and everywhere

and then some goodness
a visit from my hashi and her girls
and the skater boys too
the poor oldies at lutwyche didn’t know what had hit when we all descended upon them – it was bedlam
and just for old times sake the boys went on a night skate to cooparoo & sleepovers have returned

song “here i am” air supply

torn

torn, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

tues jan 20
231/365

torn
between this
and

this

song secret garden “bruce springsteen”

almost over…

almlost over, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

mon jan 19
230/365

penultimate holiday day today
and what did we do??
you guessed it
we skateboarded (kurri kurri, maitland x 2, largs, mayfield & islington)
we swam
we ate
and
of course
i took photos

song “i was made for loving you” kiss

the pumphouse & crazers

the pumphouse, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

sun jan 18
229/365

today was lots of fun. we walked, seemingly for miles, across potentially snake filled long grass wearing not so protective footwear (thongs), while dodging rampaging bulls and an angry herd of cattle just to take some pictures of the old pumphouse. how brave are we??

next was a dip at crazers the local waterhole. the pictures speak for themselves; needless to say the kids had a ball jumping off the trampoline and rocks into the water. jye was the only one brave enough to tackle the rope swing.

we headed into town for dinner at our all time favourite chinese restaurant, the pearl river. it’s my dad’s favourite too so he is always happy to take us there every time we visit.

song the killers “when we were young”

honeysuckle

honeysuckle, originally uploaded by lovethehalls.

sat jan 17
228/365

it was overcast this morning so we took advantage of the cooler weather and visited croudace bay skatepark
we called in briefly to the shops to grab some lunch – and karen we saw steve’s doppelganger. zach was convinced he had moved back to oz! this guy was so much steve’s twin it was unbelievable…same mannerisms and all
this afternoon we walked around honeysuckle wharf, an old area recently revitalised. mum wanted to take us there cos she said it was the new flash part of town where all the trendy people go. so i guess that makes us trendy too!

song “sweet escape” gwen stefani