Snapshots from Holidays

Here's a small sampling of photos showing what we got up to during the past week's holiday...

Murray having a ride on Gunsynd in Goondiwindi

Murray at 'The Dish', Parkes

Three Generations of Harders on Christmas Eve

Our Niece & Nephew on Christmas Day

My Brother in Law singing Barnesy on Singstar Christmas Afternoon

The Church at Bright

Murray checking out the view to the snowfields

Up on the Snowfields at Falls Creek/Rocky Valley

Nephew, Niece and Sister-in-law at their new property

Niece and Nephew at a friend's Winery

We hope that your Christmas season was a lovely time of joy and happiness with family, and that 2010 brings God's richest blessings into your families.

Happy New Year!!!

Drives out to the wide blue yonder

Another bonus of 'Ekka' week, is the fact that we get a public holiday smack dab in the middle of it on the Wednesday. Just for the show. The other bonus being that as a public servant in a public hospital, I get paid for it, even if I don't work.

Seeing that the last time we had headed off anywhere remotely distant was back in April (on our grand tour of NSW), I had pretty itchy feet when it came to getting back out on the road. And the Ekka public holiday was as good a time as any.

First stop was Boonah, and a great breakfast at Flavours Cafe.

Then on to Mount French National Park to check out the view of the Scenic Rim.

Looking back towards Boonah

Cunningham's Gap

Then on to Condamine Gorge. We travelled down the 'low road' for a bit. The Condamine river is the head of the Murray Darling Basin, which starts in Queensland and ends in South Australia.

Condamine Gorge

Closer shot of the Gorge

This shot is for my mum

Checking out the RTA car

(this is the land of the free range cow)

Sitting by the side of the 'road'

(a glorified cow trail down to the Gorge)

Almost got that itch!

Don't forget me!

When the signs started telling us that this road was only for 'high clearance vehicles' (with 14 river crosses to get to Killarney), we did a u-turn and headed up to the High Road. First stop here was Carr's Lookout, for another great view of the surrounding area.

I think we go that way!

Looking back over the Gap

Glorious rolling hills

It was still fairly early at this point, so after a quick visit to Killarney, we kept driving over to Stanthorpe.

Queen Mary Falls

And we ran into these fine people and stopped for lunch!

My parents, who had taken the EXACT same route we did,

and had almost exactly the same photos!

After lunch we drove off to Girraween National Park and took a scenic drive through the mountains.

It's not called the Granite Belt for nothing!

Large boulders everywhere you turn

On the road again!

Then it was time to head home. But not before stopping at Vincenzo's (the Big Apple), and having the best Apple Pie I've ever had!

It was a beautiful day, and we hope to stay up there for a weekend at some point.

Ekka Excitement

If you've known me any longer than a week, you would know that I am a big fan of cows. There are multiple posts on this blog highlighting that fact.

I also like 'The Ekka'. To the uninitiated, the Ekka is Brisbane's equivalent of The Royal Easter Show or The Melbourne Show. "The country comes to the city" and all that jazz. Usually referred to by naysayers as a waste of money, a breeder of disease and pointless in this day and age.

Well, this post is a great big raspberry to the lot of them!

I LOVE Ekka. I would go to the Ekka every single day of the show if I could. I jumped at the chance to volunteer this year because it meant an extra day there for free. May have meant 5.5 hours standing in a very warm exhibition hall - but it gave me another day at the Ekka.

I'm seriously considering becoming a member of the RNA (the organisation who hosts the Ekka) just so I can get unlimited access. UNLIMITED!!! Imagine that for a second, will you? As many entries to visit the Ekka as I want in 10 days! As close to heaven as I'll get whilst still alive!!!

Have you guessed why I love the Ekka so much?


COWS.

There are literally THOUSANDS of the bovine beasties available for my viewing during the 10 days of Ekka. I drive down the side street every day on my way to work - and there is NOTHING more exciting to me than looking into the barns as I go past and seeing some beautiful bovine backs!

So, I went to the Ekka on Saturday to work; and then yesterday B and I went back for our day of cow perusal (amongst other things).

We had a great time. On arrival we visited the dairy cattle pavilion, where I was then harassed by a baby cow who only wanted to lick me from one end to the other! On exit we visited the Dexter exhibition (a lowline breed that only grows to around hip height), and I began serious conversations as to the purchase of such a beastie. I fell in love with Dexters about 2 years ago, and with a brother in law currently building a house on a few acres in North-East Victoria, I have a strong argument as to why a small herd of Dexter cattle would be a great investment for him and his family.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our day at the Ekka...

Ruby, the 2 day old calf who wanted to lick me half to death!

Then off to the Woolies Pavilion for plenty of free taste testings

and my own version of a 'wine crawl'!

Miss Moo holding court at Dairy Farmers Milking Barn

I got a badge to prove that I milked a cow!

She was a very accommodating cow too!

Another cute baby to cuddle

Oh yeah - we did check out the horses too!

And what would a day to the Ekka be without a Strawberry Sundae?

Who Am I

I haven't actually been tagged for this, but I've seen this on a couple of the other blogs I stalk, and seeing that I can't actually hook up my camera and blog what I want to about the past week just yet, I'll do this instead.

Here we go.

What Is Your Current Obsession?
Apart from the usual (babies and Africa)? The most current one is probably Twilight. I know that's completely unoriginal, and that many of my friends are in exactly the same predicament - but hey, at least we can mutually appreciate the sadness that is our escape into Forkes.

What Are You Wearing Today?
Well excluding the very glamorous towel on my head, I am wearing my comfy jeans, teal long sleeved tshirt, purple polo neck 'skivvy', and my very fancy very new silver ballet flats.

What's for dinner?
I'll be at work during dinner (late shift for me, hurrah!), so it will most probably be spaghetti on toast.

What Would You Eat for Your Last Meal?
It would be a grand meal. First off the entree would be a delicious steaming bowl of mum's slow-cooked pumpkin soup. Then the main meal would be chicken schnitzel on a bed of sweet potato. Dessert would be a very nice piece of wildberry cheesecake, or mums apple cinnamon teacake. And then a platter of Maleny triple cream brie, proscuitto and olives.

Drinks would be Coffee Club Pine Lime Ice Frappe Splice for the entree; Forest Estate Pinot Gris for the schnitzel; Brown Brothers Dolcetta & Syrah for the dessert and then Irish Creme Latte (with Baileys) for the platter.

What's the Last Thing You Bought?
The ballet flats I'm wearing. Along with Dr Pepper for hubby; a scarf for me; and a pair of black ballet flats (it was a 2-pair deal!).

What Are You Listening To Right Now?
A lot of P!nk. Otherwise the 'fast song' playlist on my IPhone (again with the Pink, No Doubt, Powderfinger, U2, The Cat Empire, Muse and Evanescence).

If you could go anywhere in the world in the next hour, where would you go?
Rwanda, obviously. Passing that, probably London. Or Washington State.

Which language do you want to learn?
Kinyarwandan, obviously. I'd really like to go back to intensive French, just to get my speed up and the grammar down again.

What do you love most about where you currently live?
I love that my family is close by. I love the fact that we own this house, and that it's bigger and better than I ever expected to own at my age. I love that we are really close to the ocean, and also not too far away from the mountains. I love the sunshine in winter; and I love that we don't have the traffic issues of some other places.

What is your favourite colour?
Purple. Definitely. Although I do own a lot of black, white and deep blue in my wardrobe!

What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
It's a tie between two corsets. One is a deep red with black embroidery and the other is a blue with metallic-type gold woven through it. Couple either of these with my long black satin skirt and my calf length lace up 'emo' boots.

What were you doing ten years ago?
I was still recovering from my first breakup. Half way through my first year of my BNursing degree. Still living at home, and adjusting to mum's remarriage/the addition of stepsiblings/the new house.

Describe your personal style?
I'm very much a comfort girl. With my job, I really don't have the time or reason to be as quirky as I'd like. If I did have the time and the money, I'd probably have a look not disimilar to Abby in NCIS (minus labcoat).

If you had $300 right now what would you spend it on?
Totally unglamorous, but probably getting the drains fixed at home. Or, if I was going to splurge, a 2 day minibreak at the Marriott Gold Coast. With the breakfast.

What are you going to do after this?
Check that the upgrade to my IPhone worked. Then dry my hair and go claim money on medicare and get some more drugs.

What inspires you?
Reading about people who do an "Africa Change". People who work with NGOs in Africa. People doing medical work in Africa.

What are your favourite films?
Michael Caton-Jones' 'Shooting Dogs' has been my favourite for about 2 years now. I don't see that changing. Honourable Mentions include Amazing Grace, Sometimes in April, The Kite Runner and Juno.

Who's work/designs are you inspired by?
I'm very inspired by Bells, my blog & forum friend. We've never met, but I always find her blog posts about her latest clothing creations cheer me up and inspire me to get creative.

On a more 'Africa' front, and a different type of work entirely, I have been very inspired by Dr Catherine Hamlin (started Fistula Clinics in Ethiopia); Gemma Sisia (started the St Jude's School in Tanzania); Gary & Marilyn Skinner (started the Watoto villages in Uganda); Donna & Errol Spence (started the VANA village in Chivhu, Zimbabwe).

And I'm really inspired by my best friends Dion and Bek Allen, and their work in Zimbabwe (with VANA) at the moment.

Your favourite books?
We Wish to Inform You that We Will be Killed Along With Our Families (Phillip Gourevitch) is one of the most heart-wrenching and impacting books I've read in a long time.

The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) is a book that I don't think will ever leave me.

And who could go past Austen?

Do You Collect Anything?
Cows! Soft toy ones. I don't really tell many people that, simply because I'm very particular as to the cows that come into our family, and I don't want to turn around and be overrun by cowprint one day. I'm sure you understand.

What makes you follow a blog?
Most of the ones I follow are written by friends. Although I do like reading blogs by people who are working in Rwanda. And I do read a few blogs by people going through infertility/assisted reproduction.

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?
Probably the cup of coffee and piece of chocolate cake I just ate. It was a pretty lousy day before that.

What's one thing you dream of doing?
Living in Rwanda, with my children and my husband, running or at the very least working as part of an NGO based around women, women's health and children.

And, my final question...

Who's getting tagged?

Emma

Beck Head

Liz Mac

Kirsten

(I'd tag the Allens too, were it not for no power and limited internet access when they DO travel to get emails and read blogs!).

Holidays - Larry joins the establishment

Have you managed to miss the fact that I am oh-so-slightly obsessed by cows?

Whilst we were down at Blueys, we went across to Myall Lakes and found this amazing little cafe called 'Two Cows Cafe'.



A warning as you enter the cafe



The namesakes



This cafe was such a treat! There is memorabilia over all the walls, amazing photos and newspaper articles of the areas from the 1800s and with a definitive theme of everything bovine.



My amazing tablemat - a 'scrapbook' of various newspaper cuttings and photos of the area from the early 20th century.



The mug my scrummy mocha arrived in.



On the way out my ever-spoiling husband agreed that I could choose a new 'adoptee' from the expansive collection of fluffy cow toys. And so Larry became an integral part of our growing bovine family.



B, meet Larry



Making himself comfortable



And so then came the hard task of introducing our well-travelled 'child', Murray, to the new addition.



Murray, meet Larry



Muuuuu-uuuuuum, he smells funny!



I promise you Larry, it's not THAT high up!



Ok you two, time-out!!



By the end of our holiday the two were firm friends, and were found more than once snuggling up on the backseat on the way home.



AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

There's a reason I love cows

Well apparently cows point north.

No, I'm serious. Apparently scientists have studied Google Earth (yep, I swear, I'm not making this up), and have discovered that when cows are resting or grazing, they face in a northerly direction.

The theory is that they have a built-in compass, which would have come in handy back when cows migrated (who knew?!) across Africa, Europe and Asia to locate better grazing areas during winter.

Aren't cows like the smartest mammals EVER??

Cows held responsible for late night chaos & disorder

Why is it morning???

Yesterday was a very LONG day. Ended up scrubbed in for 4 hours on one case, and really knocked me around a bit (very frantic). Only to unscrub, and agree to being oncall again last night (I was oncall on Saturday night - no call in).

Now, I knew I was going to be called in, and here's why.

a) I NEVER get called in, whenever I'm on-call.

Fluke, luck, blessed - doesn't matter what you call it. Been on-call once a month every month since January, and always had a full night's reprieve (which is good, except then you wake up feeling very grumpy that you COULD have gone out/had that glass of wine/watched that late movie/etc etc).

This pretty much shows I should have a giant target on my chest saying 'due for call in'.


b) The woman who called in sick, seems to attract patients.

As soon as I heard who I was covering for - I knew it. I even told Brad. That's it, I'm getting called in. She's just a magnet for it. And I knew if I was 'playing' her, the magnet would follow me.


And the REAL reason I got called in???

c) I didn't see any cows.

Now, to your garden variety theatre nurse working in a city of 1 million people (or whatever) - this seems like a hallucination. Cows? What cows???

But, you have to understand - it's the Ekka. Which means cows. LOTS of cows. Thousands of them (ok, slight overstatement, but you get the point). Cows walking around, calving, getting judged, eating, mooing - just being cows.

I.
LOVE.
COWS.

Biggest crackup of my life is seeing cows on highways and roads. Ask Brad. We go for a drive - the ultimate goal is to see a free range cow.

And the Ekka means cows. Cows on the side of the road diagonal from the hospital I work at every single day. BLISS!

But there were no cows on the way to and from work. And DID I LOOK? You betcha!! No cows. Udder tradegy (ha!).

So there it was - I knew I'd be called in. And called in I was.




10:50pm, phone rings. Sasch, knowing ahead of time the lack of cows GUARANTEED a call-in, went to bed at 8pm. So she was ready!

11:25-2am was her time in theatre. Recovery room nurse.

(I should add, to further the reasoning, there still were no cows as she went down the road. This DEFINITELY meant chaos and disorder)

And chaos and disorder there was.

So now, she has a 12 hour break. Which means 3 hours at work.

(A side note - there were still no cows as she drove home this morning).

Sasch is NOT happy.