NEW YORK.

The good old days when you were able to travel here and far.

This photo was taken in Auckland Nautical Museum, NZ.

My son 36yr: Mum, If I put my legs through the sleeves of my dressing gown will it keep my legs warm during the night.

   Me: Ha Ha. just put an extra blanket/doona on your bed. 

 💤 😂 

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My 2 sons moved back home 5 years ago 
for 6 months and are still here.

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Not that I mind as they do all the cooking that
 involves roasting and slow cooking.

It's nearly Christmas and I still have not bought all my presents for family. For the ones who have said ...  surprise me.  Bunnings gift card for you, as you are adults I have no idea what your current likes and dislikes are so enjoy your after Christmas sales. : ) .

WALKING IN SYDNEY CITY CENTRE | George Street - The Main Street In Sydne...

Luna Park, Sydney Harbour

Earthquake Live Stream - 24/7 Seismic Activity -- Global unrest + Deep E...

WoW!!

Earthquake Live Stream

I have been playing around with another blog and I am totally lost the way to do things on it.

Very confusing ... blogs were easy to navigate when I first started. Too many options now and very hi-tech.

But I will persevere ... onward and upward.

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.

25 Things To Do in Tokyo, Japan (Watch This Before You Go)

Making up a wish list 

Trying to decide on a cruise for later in the year. A Diamond Princess cruise looks good, departing from Yokohama, Japan on a 22 night cruise to Sydney Australia

http://www.princess.com/find/cruiseDetails.do?voyageCode=M741

Photo: OwenWilson

I have always wanted to go to Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Darwin, Northern Territory and then to Sydney, NSW Australia. So this covers everything,

6029 - Wagga Wagga shuttles - June 2015

I'M GOING TO MARS ... YIPPY YIY YAY
MARCH 2016

Australia: an American's view  

  https://www.facebook.com/pbaker3460?fref=photo

Interesting set of observations from a visitor from the other side of the Pacific.'Value what you have and don't give it away.' There's a lot to admire about Australia, especially if you're a visiting American, says David Mason. More often than you might expect, Australian friends patiently listening to me enthuse about their country have said, ''We need outsiders like you to remind us what we have.'' So here it is - a small presumptuous list of what one foreigner admires in Oz.

1... Health care. I know the controversies, but basic national health care is a gift. In America, medical expenses are a leading cause of bankruptcy. The drug companies dominate politics and advertising.
Obama is being crucified for taking halting baby steps towards sanity. You can't turn on the telly without hours of drug advertisements - something I have never yet seen here. And your emphasis on prevention - making cigarettes less accessible, for one - is a model.

2... Food. Yes, we have great food in America too, especially in the big cities.
But your bread is less sweet, your lamb is cheaper, and your supermarket vegetables and fruits are fresher than ours.
Too often in my country an apple is a ball of pulp as big as your face.
The dainty Pink Lady apples of Oz are the juiciest I've had. And don't get me started on coffee.
In American small towns it tastes like water flavoured with burnt dirt, but the smallest shop in the smallest town in Oz can make a first-rate latte.
I love your ubiquitous bakeries, your hot-cross buns. Shall I go on?

3... Language. How do you do it?
The rhyming slang and Aboriginal place names like magic spells.
Words that seem vaguely English yet also resemble an argot from another planet.
I love the way institutional names get turned into diminutives - Vinnie's and Salvos - and absolutely nothing's sacred.
Everything's an opportunity for word games and everyone's a nickname.
Lingo makes the world go round.
It's the spontaneous wit of the people that tickles me most.
Late one night at a barbie my new mate Suds remarked, ''Nothing's the same since 24-7.'' Amen.

4... Free-to-air TV. In Oz, you buy a TV, plug it in and watch some of the best programming I've ever seen - uncensored.
In America, you can't get diddly-squat without paying a cable or satellite company heavy fees.
In Oz a few channels make it hard to choose.
In America, you've got 400 channels and nothing to watch.

5... Small shops. Outside the big cities in America corporations have nearly erased them.
Identical malls with identical restaurants serving inferior food.
Except for geography, it's hard to tell one American town from another.
The ''take-away'' culture here is wonderful.
Human encounters are real - stirring happens, stories get told.
The curries are to die for. And you don't have to tip!

6... Free camping. We used to have this too, and I guess it's still free when you backpack miles away from the roads.
But I love the fact that in Oz everyone owns the shore and in many places you can pull up a camper van and stare at the sea for weeks.
I love the ''primitive'' and independent campgrounds, the life out of doors.
The few idiots who leave their stubbies and rubbish behind in these pristine places ought to be transported in chains.

7... Religion. In America, it's everywhere - especially where it's not supposed to be, like politics.
I imagine you have your Pharisees too, making a big public show of devotion, but I have yet to meet one here.

8... Roads. Peak hour aside, I've found travel on your roads pure heaven.
My country's ''freeways'' are crowded, crumbling, insanely knotted with looping overpasses - it's like racing homicidal maniacs on fraying spaghetti.
I've taken the Hume without stress, and I love the Princes Highway when it's two lanes.
Ninety minutes south of Bateman's Bay I was sorry to see one billboard for a McDonald's.
It's blocking a lovely paddock view. Someone should remove it.

9... Real multiculturalism. I know there are tensions, just like anywhere else, but I love the distinctiveness of your communities and the way you publicly acknowledge the Aboriginal past.
Recently, too, I spent quality time with Melbourne Greeks, and was gratified both by their devotion to their own great language and culture and their openness to an Afghan lunch.

10. Fewer guns. You had Port Arthur in 1996 and got real in response. America replicates such massacres several times a year and nothing changes.
Why?
Our religion of individual rights makes the good of the community an impossible dream.
Instead of mateship we have ''It's mine and nobody else's''.
We talk a great game about freedom, but too often live in fear.
There's more to say - your kaleidoscopic birds, your perfumed bush in springtime, your vast beaches.
These are just a few blessings that make Australia a rarity.
Of course, it's not paradise - nowhere is - but I love it here.
No need to wave flags like Americans and add to the world's windiness.
Just value what you have and don't give it away.

David Mason is a US writer and professor, and poet laureate of Colorado.

VIVID SYDNEY 2015

I will be going into to Sydney to see this stupendous display in June. What a lovely time to take photos of Sydney.

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

Some photos of my visit to Sydney.

Sydney harbour is so lovely.