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August 9, 2007August 28, 2007

Misery and Redemption Tour

Sunday night in short the most touching or moving concert I have ever been to. I have been to concerts where I have loved the music and danced or grooved the show away but to have a concert where the three headliners reach inside and touch you with each song they sing is a rare occurrence. There may not have had any fancy lights or a packed house but the music was soul music. Music about Iceland, about life, about travelling and just music. When I eventually got home, I wept not cried, not sobbed but wept myself to sleep as I was just so moved by the music of Tom, Pete and Svavar. Sunday night also set the stage for two days of fun on Monday and Tuesday with the Icelandic Posse as Clare called it. I was with one of my best mates (Clare) and made a swag of new friends as well. What more can you ask for?

First up was local lass Tara Simmons. I haven’t seen Tara play an entire set before so it was nice to finally catch a set and it was quite nice to start the night off with her.

Next up was Pete or Owls of the Swamp as he is known. Pete, touched something inside a few of us on Sunday night as he talked and sang about his experiences in Iceland. There were times when you would think to yourself, hey I have been there or I know exactly what he means. And as much as you want to get on the next plane to Iceland and see all those familiar sights again and give endless hugs to your nieces and nephews you know that you can’t.

Mr Woodward, Tom Woodward. Mr Tom has a song called Reminding Me Of You(follow link for a listen) which in 20 years time I can see people drunkenly singing it in Pubs along to the covers band in the corner or on the Karaoke machine. I reckon that Reminding Me Of You is the “Sweet Home Alabama” of 2007. Since Sunday night I just can’t get it out of my head. And with a mop of curls like this how could you not just love him.

Svavar. Frankly words don’t describe it from Clemetine to a lullaby to the rip roaring drinking song and everything in between it was pure magic.

Check out the Rave review for more flowing and structured notes on the night, I think you all know by now that I don’t do/can’t do that sort of review. I am very much looking forward to seeing all three of the guys sing again either round Aus or in Iceland.

Oh and Clare, the polaroid is coming. How could I not share that.

July 8, 2007

Eungella National Park

We ended up spending three nights in Eungella and not once did we utilise the QPWS campsites that we had booked before leaving. The reason you ask? We were prepped and ready to attack the Mackay Highlands Great Walk. We had been looking forward to it for months now. Mackay is in the tropics. That means they have a Wet Season and a Dry Season. It is meant to be the Dry Season at the moment. Well as a further example of the really weird weather we are having in Australia at the moment. It decided to pour for the first couple of days that we were up there. We are talking constant rain for days. Rain that made it impossible to complete the walk as planned. Instead we walked parts of it and the final two days will have to wait for another time.

I think I have mentioned before how much I love backlit foilage, so here is another healthy dose of it.

The stinging tree aka Gympie Gympie (Dendrocnide moroides) is one beastly plant. Yes in Australia, we don’t only have animals that attack, we have plants that attack. There are six Dendrocnides in Australia ranging from 40m trees to shrubs. Native animals are not harmed by the stinging tree but humans and introduced animals are. In having a closer look at the plant and picking a few of the berries so that Mum could have a closer look, I brushed my hand on the stem and by boy did my hand feel like fire when it got cold in the week following my attack. Touch wood that it doesn’t flare up again.

These are just some general snaps from the walk.

June 12, 2007

big weekend

This past weekend has been the Queen’s Birthday long weekend and what a weekend I have had. Saturday I worked as usual. Sunday, Mum and I did a 22km kayak round Coomera River and Sanctuary Cove with NPAQ. Sunday night, I went to the Wallflower Records launch at Bar Soma. Monday morning, I went to work as usual at 5am and then met up with the POTN Brisbane photographers in the City for a day of camera filled fun. When I went to bed on Monday night at about 8ish, I had had just 4 hours sleep in the previous 38hrs so I was buggered and I have about 350 photos to go through. That would be fine in terms of processing them all if I hadn’t spent the last 19 hours in bed, I have come down with some sort of bug which has really not been kind to me. I woke up in the middle of the night with a really sore stomach and a headache and I am very lucky that I decided to get out of bed and go to the toilet as I then proceeded to be quite sick. Luckily though I haven’t vomited since then and am slowly starting to feel a little bit better.

Lots of posts to come in the next couple of days hopefully.

Here is one photo from yesterday I processed last night before I went to bed, one of the guys lent me his Sigma 105mm macro for the day yesterday I had a ball with it 🙂 There was actually lots of lens swapping yesterday and on my part camera stealing where when a few people were not looking I would pick up their camera and take a few random photos for them :p.

May 20, 2007May 21, 2007

among the gum trees with Missy Higgins

I don’t know how cohesive this post will be. I keep on having random thoughts about the night.
Please, click here to continue reading 🙂 “among the gum trees with Missy Higgins”

May 13, 2007

On the Street

A determined boy on a scooter, a younger brother moving as fast as he can, a mother watching her two boys with pride and a wee bit of concern.

On Friday, Leanne and I made a trip to a scrapbooking shop that was having 30% off to celebrate their second birthday. I came home with a nice little stack of Bazzill and some lettering. After a play in the playground at Maccas, it was home time for little boys to nap and for Helen to go home and have her own nap before going to work that night. Just as we arrived back at the house, Ethan begged to show me his scooter skills and the speed at which he can ride his scooter. Luckily they live on a pretty quiet street which meant that Ethan was able to race up and down the street, whilst I rolled round on the bitumen having a ball taking photos. Joshua was more than happy to to race up and down the street following Ethan as fast as his hands and knees can take him. Leanne got to act as mother and shepard Joshua from not racing too far away 🙂

April 27, 2007

Two precious little boys

My nieces and nephews are 15 900km away on the other side of the world or the better part of AU$3000 in travel costs. Which kind of makes it hard when you want to go over and have a play. One of my friends, Leanne has two little boys and they are not 15 900km away in fact they are only 10 mins or so away. Ethan and Joshua are always up for a play and it is always nice to spend some time with Leanne. Ethan is always ready to show me what he has been doing and to play trains or build blocks.

I popped over yesterday for a visit and Leanne grabbed my camera and took a few photos of the boys and I. Well mainly Ethan and I, Joshua is 14mths old and much prefers crawling round to sitting still for very long. Then before I knew it was time for me to go to work and for the boys to have a nap.

I grabbed this one of Joshua whilst he was strapped in the high chair and not going anywhere 🙂

These ones Leanne took. Aren’t the boys cute?