Ugh! My computer has died...

Yup, my computer has died, so I'm posting this quick message from work for Shadow Shot Sunday participants. I hope to have my computer fixed for the regular SSS post this Sunday, but I can't guarantee things will be up and running again in time. So if you see this message still here on Sunday and you'd like to join in on SSS, there is a Mr Linky below. I look forward to catching up with everyone as soon as I can.

Stooopid computer! Aaaarrrgh! I guess it is kind of funny that my computer chose to die right after my previous post, considering the theme of it. Things makin' me smile. Yeah yeah yeah. I ain't smiling now...

Shadow Shot Sunday #49

Shadow Shot Sunday Participants

1. Margaret Gosden 2. La Vie Est Belle 3. PJ-Pensacola 4. Rinkly Rimes Australia 5. wickedchilddesigns 6. Hot Fudge 7. Sweet Repose 8. High Desert Diva 9. robin-one still frame 10. Bobbie 11. meka 12. Sylvia K 13. Gallery Juana 14. Chris 15. Generik 16. parallelbotany 17. ChickenSue 18. whizkid 19. ctmott 20. Gemma 21. maryt/theteach 22. Raven

23. annette(in this life) 24. Martha - Menagerie 25. meandmy2guys 26. Catherine Bardrick, Mexico City 27. Paz's New York Minute 28. Sarah Wallis 29. The Summer Kitchen Girls 30. Jeri 31. Just Like Martha 32. Ruminations 33. Sunnymama 34. Jen 35. Shannon 36. {S.T.U.F.F.} 37. Long Island Daily Photo,USA 38. Molokai Girl 39. Charlie and Grace 40. Sara Chapman in Seattle, USA 41. Carin 42. Rita/Cashjocky 43. amazed & confused 44. EmBelISH

45. DaviMack 46. CJ @ Pro Artz 47. Chie 48. Ria 49. elizabeth schmid 50. justjody 51. Sherrie 52. Ginger 53. Dianne 54. Tom Hilton 55. Cam 56. Pagan Sphinx - Massachusetts 57. Vicki (Maraca) 58. hejoko 59. Kenobiitti - Finland 60. Diahn Ott 61. Terri - teelgee 62. Linda M 63. Lisa's RetroStyle 64. alexa

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things makin' me smile

Linus: You're so crabby all the time you've forgotten how to smile!
Lucy: Who's forgotten how to smile?
Linus: You have! Let's see you smile! I'll bet you can't! (Lucy tries to smile.) There! See? A smile goes up, not down! You've forgotten how to smile! See? (He leaves.)
Lucy: How humiliating!

Poor Lucy. Here a just a few of the little things that are makin' me smile lately. The right way up even.


Sipping my morning coffee from these cute red vintage espresso cups with perfectly round shaped handles.


Being greeted by this pooch everyday on my walk to work. He's always ready for a chin-wag over the fence.


Looking up at a sun soaked lighthouse after experiencing a long stretch of miserable weather this month.

Lucy: I'm on a new campaign to be nice to people. (She sees Snoopy.) While I'm at it I suppose I might as well include dogs. (pat pat pat.) Here's a nice pat on the head.
Snoopy: Thrillsville!

She's at least making an effort...

Shadow Shot Sunday #48

Howdy! The Shadow Gallery collages feature a selection of photos from participants from last Sunday. If you’d like to join in SSS, please do. How? Shoot a shadow, post it on your blog on Sunday (or close to Sunday), then add your link to Mr Linky, and visit other players. First-time participants are required to click here for further info before submitting links. Thanks heaps and I hope you enjoy all the shadows!

Shadow Gallery

The Shooters:
1. Dianne 2. DiahnOtt 3. Generik 4. ChickenSue 5. ParallelBotoany 6. maryt/theteach 7. ctmott 8. PaganSphinx 9. ahab


The Shooters:
1. TwinkleStarArt 2. Chris 3. SaraChapman 4. SweetRepose 5. MolokaiGirl 6. Alexa 7. ElizabethSchmid 8. MoreOfMe 9. JulieKingArt


The Shooters:
1. Karen 2. jc 3. Raven/Whatever 4. GalleryJuana 5. Raf 6. Chie 7. Kuusela 8. Fog&Thistle 9. Paz'sNewYorkMinute

Here's my Shadow Shot Sunday #48


A shadow belonging to a public art sculpture that can be found over at Portside Wharf in Hamilton. The sculpture didn't really appeal to me so I ignored it and focussed on the shadow only when taking the photo. The shadow very much appealed to me. As they always do! This is the runny-nosed, hurty head, achy all over, oh-woe-is-me-I-have-a-cold-and-better-get-back-to-bed edition of SSS. I had to get up to find some more tissues anyways. Aaachooo! 'Scuse me. Ew! That was a bit icky coz I still haven't found those tissues...

Happy Sunday!
Shadow Shot Sunday Participants

1. robin-one still frame 2. Cindy-spring in WM 3. Gallery Juana 4. maryt/theteach 5. Tom Hilton 6. raf 7. Sylvia K 8. Sweet Repose 9. Bobbie 10. meka 11. Generik 12. Catherine Bardrick, Mexico City 13. The Summer Kitchen Girls 14. alexa 15. Jen 16. ramblingwoods 17. cara, brisbane, australia 18. Hot Fudge 19. wildeve 20. Gemma 21. Shannon

22. Terri - teelgee 23. More of Me - Canada 24. ahab 25. ChickenSue 26. Jeri 27. Rinkly Rimes Australia 28. parallelbotany 29. whizkid 30. Laurie 31. Lisa's RetroStyle 32. Paz's New York Minute 33. Molokai Girl 34. Ria 35. Chie 36. Rita / Cashjocky 37. Diahn Ott 38. Carin 39. zendotstudio 40. EmBelISH 41. ctmott 42. Ginger

43. Sarah Wallis 44. CJ 45. wickedchilddesigns 46. Elizabeth 47. Long Island Daily Photo,USA 48. Müge 49. Honey 50. Kerslyn 51. Joanna P 52. Two Barking Dogs 53. Vicki (Maraca) 54. hejoko 55. BABYLONEZOO (France) 56. jc 57. Sherrie 58. storyteller 59. Ruminations 60. amazed & confused 61. Christy 62. Sara Chapman in Seattle, USA

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Hello, Ruby Tuesday

While looking through some photos I wanted to post that I had taken on a recent visit to a Taoist temple I noticed a lot of red and I thought, Hello Ruby Tuesday! So I'm posting a day earlier than usual so that I can participate in the very cool Ruby Tuesday photo meme that Mary hosts each week. I've enjoyed following this meme for some time now and it's nice to be able to join in for a change instead of simply being an observer. Want to check out more reds or post your own, then click here. Thanks for hosting this Mary!







The Evergreen Taoist temple was built in 1991 at Deagon, Brisbane. The complex includes the Hall of Three Purities, the Hall of Three Masters and the Hall of Spiritual Guardian. There is also a Memorial Hall for Ancestors, providing opportunities for people to attend memorial services and pay their respects to their ancestors. Other services offered are Lai Dau, Star Worship, Blessings for Good Luck, Predicitions, Name/Time/Location Chosen, Thanksgiving and Wedding Ceremonies. Other regular events at the temple include calligraphy contests, bonsai exhibits, and Taoist Cultural Relics Exhibitions. Well worth a visit.

And another red photo taken a few weeks back while the sky was still blue in Brisbane. Come back sunshine!


I snapped this photo just moments before this little red mini took off into the sky. I am so very sorry that my batteries died before I was able to capture an image of the mini zooming through the sky. It was truly a brilliant sight! Do you not believe me that minis can fly? Ha! You should have seen this baby overtake the slow moving flying pigs directly ahead! Fine then sceptical folk. Doubt me all you want. I know what I saw.


Ruby Tuesday can be found here

Shadow Shot Sunday #47

Howdy! The Shadow Gallery collages feature a selection of photos from participants from last Sunday. If you’d like to join in SSS, please do. How? Shoot a shadow, post it on your blog on Sunday (or close to Sunday), then add your link to Mr Linky, and visit other players. First-time participants are required to click here for further info before submitting links. Thanks heaps and I hope you enjoy all the shadows!

Shadow Gallery

The Shooters:
1. Bobbie 2. Lisa'sRetroStyle 3. HotFudge 4. Tameka 5. Amazed&Confused 6. BLOGitse 7. SarahWallis 8. Annette 9. EmBelISH


The Shooters:
1. JustLikeMartha 2. SummerKitchenGirls 3. RinklyRimes 4. Christy 5. Whizkid 6. Kym 7. Robin 8. CatherineBardrick 9. Hildegarde


The Shooters:
1. Gemma 2. JoannaP 3. Jane 4. Rita 5. BlackStar 6. Sherrie 7. Hejoko 8. Kenobiitti 9. Jen

Here's my Shadow Shot Sunday #47


There hasn't been a lot of sunshine in Brisbane this past week so I had to go underground in search of shadows. While waiting for the train at Brunswick Street station I spotted the above image on the wall across the tracks. Snapped photo. Boarded train. Happy commuter. I have a giant chocolate bunny beside me begging to be devoured. The temptation is too great and I can't wait any longer. Chomp chomp...mmm!

Happy Easter Sunday!
Shadow Shot Sunday Participants

1. La Vie Est Belle 2. maryt/theteach 3. Sweet Repose 4. Gallery Juana 5. robin-one still frame 6. Sylvia K 7. Bobbie 8. ctmott 9. Kym 10. High Desert Diva 11. Chris 12. ginger~amazed & confused 13. Generik 14. Rinkly Rimes Australia 15. whizkid 16. Fog and Thistle 17. Jen 18. jc 19. elizabeth schmid

20. The Summer Kitchen Girls 21. Just Like Martha 22. Sacred Ruminations 23. Raven 24. Gemma 25. More of Me - Canada 26. alexa 27. Terri - teelgee 28. parallelbotany 29. ChickenSue 30. Lisa's RetroStyle 31. Twinkle Star Art 32. Honey 33. Dianne 34. BABYLONEZOO (France) 35. Hot Fudge 36. Sara Chapman in Seattle, USA 37. Molokai Girl 38. BLOGitse

39. Rita/Cashjocky 40. raf 41. Chie 42. DaviMack 43. Kuusela Finland 44. hejoko 45. ahab 46. Christy 47. Julie King Art 48. Sherrie 49. Paz's New York Minute 50. Pagan Sphinx - Massachusetts 51. Kenobiitti - Finland 52. Catherine Bardrick, Mexico City 53. Ladynred 54. Karen ~Georgia Angel 55. Diahn Ott 56. Jane

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What's the Point? Wello.

Wellington Point (also affectionately known as Wello Point) is one of many of Brisbane's charming bayside villages, and only a 30 minute drive from downtown Brisbane. King Island, is a tiny conservation area attached to Wellington Point by a sand spit and people often walk out to the island at low tide. With the exception of the unpredictable and ever-changing weather on the day that I happened to take a stroll along the sand spit, it was still an enjoyable trek. Many others appeared to be enjoying themselves also. I walked past energetic children collecting seashells, cosy couples walking hand in hand, happy dogs frolicking in the water, and a couple of kitesurfers sailing by. It was a fun four seasons in one day kind of a journey...


Autumn

Winter

Spring

Summer
If anybody can help me identify what those things are in the 'Winter' pic I'd be most appreciative. A couple of the objects look like giant giraffes to me. As much as I would like for them to be giant giraffes I don't think they are. If it helps any, I took the photo standing at the most southern end of King Island, aiming my camera north-west across the bay. I thought I was looking towards where the airport may be? Sorry, I'm hopeless with directions. If someone could possibly help me out that would be great. I am very curious. And baffled. And I am beginning to obsess about giant giraffes roaming around the streets of Brisbane...

Shadow Shot Sunday #46

Howdy! The Shadow Gallery collages feature a selection of photos from participants from last Sunday. If you’d like to join in SSS, please do. How? Shoot a shadow, post it on your blog on Sunday (or close to Sunday), then add your link to Mr Linky, and visit other players. First-time participants are required to click here for further info before submitting links. Thanks heaps and I hope you enjoy all the shadows!

Shadow Gallery

The Shooters:
1. Shannon 2. SweetRepose 3. Storyteller 4. S.T.U.F.F. 5. TomHilton 6. SylviaK 7. Terri 8. Barbara 9. Vicki


The Shooters:
1. HighDesertDiva 2. Carin 3. ChickenSue 4. Jenn 5. Jo 6. Jeri 7. Generik 8. ElizabethSchmid 9. GalleryJuana


The Shooters:
1. MoreOfMe 2. Meka 3. Raven'sViews 4. Paz'sNewYorkMinute 5. SaraChapman 6. MaryT/TheTeach 7. MolokaiGirl 8. JulieKing 9. PaganSphinx

Here's my Shadow Shot Sunday #46


This week I took a wander around a Taoist Temple located in the suburb of Deagon, just a little way north of Brisbane. It was a fascinating place to explore. The photo above was taken of a door I stumbled upon in the Longevity Peach Garden Party passage. There is a chance that I'm mistaken and the door belonged to the Eight Immortals Attending the Jade Longevity Gathering passage. But I'm quite certain it was the former.

Wondering if SSS will happen next Sunday? You betcha! Rain, hail, or shiny foil covered choccie eggs it will.

Happy Sunday!
Shadow Shot Sunday Participants

1. Lisa's RetroStyle 2. robin 3. High Desert Diva 4. GalleryJuana 5. Sweet Repose 6. Sylvia K 7. More of Me - EG WoW! 8. Generik 9. jc 10. maryt/theteach 11. Bobbie 12. meka 13. tameka 14. ctmott 15. Rinkly Rimes Australia 16. Hot Fudge 17. Happily Retired Gal 18. Gemma 19. Just Like Martha

20. Raven 21. Paz's New York Minute 22. Terri - teelgee 23. Jo 24. wildeve 25. The Summer Kitchen Girls 26. BABYLONEZOO (France) 27. Sara Chapman in Seattle, USA 28. EmBelISH 29. Rita/Cashjocky 30. amazed & confused 31. BLOGitse 32. Kenobiitti - Finland 33. Honey 34. Sarah Wallis 35. Sherrie 36. Christy 37. annette {in this life} 38. katie/Blackstar

39. elizabeth schmid 40. Long Island Daily Photo,USA 41. whizkid 42. Dianne 43. hejoko 44. Jane 45. Martina 46. Vicki (Maraca) 47. Pagan Sphinx - Massachusetts 48. Molokai Girl 49. Jeri 50. Hildegarde (Flanders,EU) 51. Jen 52. Catherine Bardrick, Mexico City 53. Kym 54. Joanna P 55. CJ @ Pro Artz 56. That is the Chicken 57. Cate

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The eXceptionally crafty Xue!

When I recently saw photos of some very cool handmade stamps that Xue (Xue Originals) and her children had been had been making lately, I was totally smitten with them and I immediately wanted to purchase one. Problem was that these stamps weren't available for sale because they were simply a school holiday project that Xue had been working on with her kids. Lucky pair of youngsters for having such a clever and crafty mother! I contacted my friend Xue and asked about the possibility of her doing a custom made stamp for me. The answer was yes! I was very happy. I was even more happy when my stamp arrived a couple of days ago. I then went into happy overload upon discovering all the extra surprises in my parcel!


This is the awesome parcel of goodies that I received all the way from Japan from my very good friend Xue. Everything was so beautifully wrapped and even the outside of the parcel was a work of art! I was in awe of the pretty packaging! Included was a sweet homemade stamped fabric pencil wrap, which included a nice set of water colour pencils (btw, there's an 'All in a Wrap' available to buy from Xue's Etsy Shop), a set of four little kawaii magnets (made with the assistance of her crafty children Annika and Niklas), cute-as-button hairbands, a packet of gorgeous origami paper, a bunch of Japanese stickers and...


MY STAMP! Isn't it the cutest thing? Xue asked for my input before starting the design but I completely left it up to her to surprise me because I just knew that she would create something fun that I'd love. And she did! I can't wait to get started on my stamping frenzy. I may even start stampin' my walls any minute!

I wanted to somehow convey the diversity of Xue's creative talents, so I've sourced a selection of photos from Xue's blog to give an example of the variety of her crafty endeavours. I believe the following images do give some insight into the versatility of the inspiring and incredibly gifted artisan known as Xue.


A small sample of some of the stamps Xue has recently made

Xue illustrates magazines

And creates lovely card cases

And bakes delicious looking treats!

Designs and sews very stylish bags

Creates beautiful jewellery pieces

Gets crafty with her children making cute kawaii magnets

And creates more jewellery in the form of sweet mama pendants

Lastly is this set of 'Candy House' drawings by Xue's nine year old daughter Annika. Impressive stuff from one so young! Looks like little Annika is already following in the footsteps of her talented mother. Xue's Etsy shop can be found here. Xue's blog can be found here, where you'll discover a mix of Xue's latest creations/projects, yummy food, travel adventures, family celebrations, and beautiful Cherry Blossoms!


Domo arigato-gozaimasu Xue!