If you are an avid reader. Booktopia.com.au
 https://www.facebook.com/Booktopia/ 

The site to go to order online for books or ebooks. For books delivery they only charge $6.95 for any amount delivered at one time.

This the first book in the series VERA. 

I found I needed to keep a list of all the characters as sometimes I would have to go back to check the backstory of the character.

I just ordered 6 more books... 3 VERA Mysteries and 3 assorted mystery writers.Got my love of reading books back. Yay.

TARONGA ZOO GORILLAS

Sydney, Australia

Photo by Suzie Lemon

https://www.facebook.com/tarongazoo?fref=photo

My local New Years Eve Picnic.

on the Waterfront, Gosford, NSW

New Year's Resolution to post more.

In the meantime here are some pictures from during the year.


6th October, 2014              Darling Harbour Entertainment Quarter.

25th October, 2014      First meeting between Fred the cat and Barney rescue dog.

30th October, 2014. 

Three months after my brother passed away, my sisters and I get together at the family home to start to pack up the house for sale. My brother lived here all his life.

22nd Decembe, 2014.

I went into Martin Place, Sydney. I walked up it from George Street until I came to Castlereagh Street but I was unable to cross the road to stand closer to the Lindt store. Too much respect for the two who were murdered.

Some of the floral tributes.

There were fears that Muslims would be targeted for violence when it was noted that the shooter was a Muslim so someone on Twitter posted I'll ride with you #illridewithyou if a Muslim was fearful of travelling on public transport.

THE SIEGE AND MURDERS AT THE LINDT SHOP HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH RELIGION OR RACE.

Later, that evening I headed into Pitt Street Mall.

David Jones store

Darling Harbour

Family Fun in Sydney: Sample Sydney on Australia Day 2014 with free/redu...

Family Fun in Sydney: Sample Sydney on Australia Day 2014 with free/redu...: Sydney has a past steeped in history and culture, spanning over more than 200 years. Fortunately, much of this history is not lost and has...

SYDNEY ACTIVITIES OZ DAY

FREE ENTRY - Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery Road, The Domain, Sydneywith special guided tours
*
HALF PRICE ENTRY - Australian Museum, 6 College St, Sydney (oppositeHyde Park)
*
FREE ENTRY (to permanent galleries) - Australian National MaritimeMuseum, 2 Murray St, Darling Harbour
*
FREE ENTRY - Government House, Macquarie St, Sydney 
*
$5 ENTRY - Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Queen's Square, Macquarie St,Sydney
*
$5 ENTRY - Justice & Police Museum, Corner Albert & PhillipSts, Circular Quay 
*
FREE ENTRY - Macquarie the Governor, 1810 - 1921 exhibition, 1 MartinPlace, Sydney
*
FREE ENTRY - Museum of Contemporary Art, 140 George St, The Rocks 
*
$5 ENTRY - Museum of Sydney, Corner Bridge & Phillip Streets,Sydney
*
FREE ENTRY - Parliament of NSW, Macquarie St, Sydney
*
$12|Adult, $8|Concession, $6|Child - Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris St, Ultimo
*
FREE ENTRY - Reserve Bank of Australia, 65 Martin Place, Sydney 
*
FREE ENTRY - Royal Australian Historical Society, 133 Macquarie St,Sydney
*
FREE ENTRY - St Stephen's Uniting Church, 197 Macquarie St, Sydneywith musical program & tours
*
FREE ENTRY - St Mary's Cathedral, College St, Sydney with recitals,tours & mass
*
Discount box office offering $25 same day performance tickets -Sydney Opera House MacquarieSt, Sydney
*
$4 ENTRY - Susannah Place Museum, 58-64 Gloucester St, TheRocks 

FREE ENTRY - Sydney Hospital & Sydney Eye Hospital, Lucy OsburnNightingale Museum, 8 Macquarie St, Sydney.
*
FREE ENTRY TO GROUNDS - Sydney Observatory, Watson Rd, ObservatoryHill, The Rocks
*
FREE ENTRY - The Mint, 10 Macquarie St, Sydney

Happy Australia Day!

A Merry Christmas to all 

from my family to yours.

Today I head down to Sydney to spend the next two days with my sons

 and my daughter and her family.

Then on Boxing day I travel 500km car journey north 

to spend a couple of days with my older sister, Cathy and her family.

Then back home for New Year Eve.

Sydney and her neighbour Countries' Fireworks

 Welcoming 2013

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan & Dubai

Last night I went along to a Seafood raffle at a local club.

Look what I won!

Lots of yummy Prawns

The Entrance Farmers Market

The Entrance Farmers Market this morning, fine and sunny, crowded, lots of stalls. Bought my home-made soap, vegetables and home-made sausage rolls which I wished I had bought more of and put in the freezer.

Looking towards The Entrance Bridge

with the children's wading pool in the foreground left.

Great graphic of Cyclone Yasi's path as it heads towards Mount Isa, tonight

http://www.abc.net.au/news/infographics/cyclone-season-2010-2011/

as it passes over Mount Isa it will then continue across the state border

into the Northern Territory and then head towards Alice Springs

---------------------------------

"Mining giant Xstrata is evacuating personnel from its operations at Mount Isa and Cloncurry in the face of Cyclone Yasi. Only a handful of essential personnel will remain on site for critical site monitoring activities after 4pm #TCYasi"

http://www.facebook.com/QueenslandPolice/posts/109105539164108

Weather bureau downgrades Cyclone Yasi

to a tropical low as it nears Mount Isa.

Cyclone Yasi.

Jo Nova of joannenove.com.au reports >To give you some idea of just how expansive Yasi is, look at the size of it compared to the continental USA, and the UK just for scale.

More here

Cyclone Yasi to on its way to Northern Queensland

Yasi will cross the coast Wednesday night and is expected to gain momentum and strength. It is currently a category two and predicted to be a category four on touchdown.

Looking at the WeatherChannel site you can watch the movement of the cyclone. To me it looks like a giant comet is about to crash onto the coast.

I have been on Facebook to check how my nephews living in Brisbane are going ... Adam's street has been closed and the flood is on the other side of the hill, they are hoping the hill protects them.

Later, I was on the phone to my sister and Adam rang to ask his dad to go on ebay and put a bid on for him. :-) (on a bike he wants) as he now has no internet.

Brisbane River currently at 4.26m and rising.

+++++++++++++++++

John Birmingham writes >> It always comes out of the west ... more

++++++++++++++++

More video footage from 10 January floods in Toowoomba.

Thanks to whitelightbringer for uploading to youtube.

These waters are heading East towards Brisbane.

On Thursday, the city will have 6,500 homes in danger of flooding.

Extraordinary footage of flash flooding in

Toowoomba, Queensland today.

NewsOnABC

This is scary, people were in these cars.

Eight Dead, 72 Missing.

ABC News(Australia) have asked the flood victims to record their experiences of the onset of the floods in their regions.

Anne and Bruce Chater, a schoolteacher and doctor from the small central Queensland town of Theodore returned from a trip to Nepal on 20 December in time for Christmas and are now coping with floods waters surging around their house and surgery and are now providing updates and photos.

http://blogs.abc.net.au/news/after-the-deluge/

I will try to get along to see some of these films.

Flickerfest Shorts 2011

Bondi Beach.

Flickerfest 2011 Festival Trailer

May the Shorts be With You!

Check out the trailer for Flickerfest's upcoming 2011 festival,

screening at Sydney's beautiful Bondi Pavilion,

by the sea and under the stars, 7-16 January, 2011.

Flickerfest celebrates its 20th year in 2011, and is Australia's only dedicated short film festival that is Academy® accredited and recognised by BAFTA!

We'll be screening 100 of the best films from around the galaxy,

hand-chosen from over 1790 worldwide entries!

Join us for the summer cinema season at a venue near you

- find out more at www.flickerfest.com.au

Two photos of the floods in north eastern Queensland.

Depot Hill, Rockhampton.

(MECHIELSEN LYNDON/AFP/Getty Images

Rescued Kangaroos, Wellington.

Rodney Dowton ferries a boatload of kangaroos

through floodwaters near Wellington, Australia.

(AP Photo/Lake Burrendong Sport and Recreation Centre, Tracy Woods

I got these two photos from

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/01/australian_flooding.html

My brain has been in holiday mode

and I am finding it hard to put fingers to keyboard

to type some posts.

Last day of my hols tomorrow.