Live at the Quarry - James Reyne and Mark Seymour

We went to see Mark Seymour (used to be in Hunters and Collectors) and James Reyne (used to be in Aussie Crawl).  The venue was at the Quarry Ampitheatre in Floreat, what a beaufiful venue, small, intimate and the sound was fantastic.

I was not particulary excited about going but my husband has always loved both of these guys music so I bought the tickets for his birthday, we had seen both of them numerous times previously so I thought it would be same old same old. 

First on stage was Mark Seymour who came on stage with his guitarist, Cameron and his drummer, Peter.  He was helped out by his assistant Stan who handed him a new guitar after every song.  It was still light when they started , it must be so daunting to open your soul to people sitting so close and looking at you.  Their sound was crisp and clear and we all sang along to Tears of Joy, Do you See What I see and Throw your Arms Around Me.  It was a fantastic performance, his voice is unique and amazing, they had me foot tapping throughout the 15 songs.

Next on stage was James Reyne, the last time we saw him in concert, was at a pub in Joondaup, I had always been a huge fan and was very excited to see him again.  Unfortunately he was very very late, surly, rude and didn't sound that great, a huge disappointment, I expected a bit of the same.  He came on stage with a lady singer and her brother as guitarist.  This performance James Reyne was gracious fun and his voice was totally fantastic, he has definately improved with age.  We sang and had an absolute ball listening to his old tracks, Hammerhead, Reckless, Every Day Above Ground is a Good Day, Errol.  The lady complimented his voice beautifully, her voice was lovely and her brother sure can play guitar.  James Reyne's singing was sublime.

Then the finale of the night, they all came on stage together and sang 6 songs, what I can remember was Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll, Phycho Killer (Talking Heads), April Sun (Dragon).  We were bobbing around in our seats and singing away.

This was one of the best gigs I have seen in a long long time, I cannot express how much we both enjoyed it.  I am sure that part of it would have been the magical venue, the intimacy of the gig, the relaxed way you can bring your own food, drink your wine and the balmy perfect night.  It is on again tonight, if you can get tickets GO, you will not be disappointed.

Wave Painting

I have had fun painting waves lately here are a couple.

Lockdown in the Suburbs

Before you decide on how best to punish your children, you need to stop and think,  how will this affect me.  By this I mean once you have grounded your beloved child, you need to think of the consequences.  My darling son is in lockdown after stupidly sending a text message to me instead of someone else.  Yes you did read correctly, he was BUSTED!  It was beautiful actually no better way to get caught, yes we can all laugh about it together but the lockdown still stands.

The first thing was no outside contact, he could not take calls nor go on facebook or msn.  This he could handle.  Then we informed him no computer nor play station, this he could not handle.  Well we did manage this for a day, but honestly he has driven me crazy.  His punishment has ended up feeling like I am also being punished as putting up with this winging child has had me tearing my hair out.  After day 2 I did succumb and allow him limited time on his computer game and playstation as I could no longer stand the long face and he was allowed to take phone calls from his friends.

During this lockdown he has not left me alone, he follows me everywhere, stating "what can I do mum", I told him calmly to clean his room, sort his wardrobe out, read a book, play a game, draw, empty the dishwasher, watch a movie, hang out the washing, bring in the washing, do the ironing.  He followed by "there's nothing to do, why can't I just go on my game, I don't understand, its so boring" blah blah blah all friggin day!!

As much as I have complained I have actually enjoyed my time with my son, he has been much more communicative, he has played me in numerous games of Uno and lost and has had to cook dinner, Taco's!  He has started drawing again, he is actually very good.  He has helped around the house, and was forced to watch Sex in the City 2 as he had nothing better to do and announced that it was the worst movie he has ever seen and if he had to watch it again he would rather poke his eyes out with a pair of scissors!!

He just called me and asked what are we doing tonight, and I replied oh I don't know maybe we will have a huge big party and party all night, he said I can't invite anyone over.  I replied with a grin, "well you can just party with your parents, don't you like the sound of that party with your parents".  He replied in a monotone voice, "that sounds Horrid!"  Horrid what an unusual word for one so young, he must stop reading those Enid Blyton books hee hee. 

So before your ground your children, seriously think of how it will affect your time in the house!  Lockdown is not always a good thing but it may make him seriously consider saying NO next time ......... or not!

Breaking Wave

Finished another piece on the weekend, breaking wave at Ders, Surf Spot in Yanchep.

Doctor Fish

I stumbled across this photo today taken whilst we were in Singapore.  You place your feet in a tank full of fish and they eat away your dead skin.  They all swarm in and nibble on your toes, eeek.

For the record, the picture above is not me.  Yes I do need a pedicure as my heels are getting a bit dry from all the summer thong wearing and could do with a bit of a scrub but as much as I may have neglected my little tushies my legs are definately not that hairy!  I could not bring myself to lower my feet into a tank full of fish so I will save my pedicure for someone that can also apply nail polish!

Time to Detox?

Christmas is such an enjoyable time, we don't worry about our weight, and really why not, it is the only time of year that we don't have to exercise, we can wake up when we want, read all day, watch movies, there are no demands on our life during this blissful time.  The only exercise I got during the Xmas break was getting up from my sun lounge or armchair to refil my glass or to take a dip in the pool.  It is not until we actually get back to regular life that we realise how much weight has crept on during this time. 

Why does it take so little time to put the weight on yet triple the time to lose?

I went to put on my work clothes and realised with horror that they were very very tight, yes I could do them up but the unattractive muffin top that spread over my pants was a very depressing sight.  I even tortured myself further, even though a little voice was in the back of my mind shouting "don't do it!"  Yes I stepped on the scales and nearly cried when I realised I had actually put on quite a bit of weight. 

I can almost categorize my kilos, I am going to award 1 kilo to Mr Bassett, who makes the most delicious licorice allsorts known to man and one handful is never enough, hence why I only allow myself to eat them once a year!  The second kilo is awarded to Mr Kiplings who makes exceedingly good mince pies, washed down with a cup of tea, this is the first stage of Xmas, you have had your fill of mince pies before Xmas even arrives.  The third kilo is awarded to Moet because if you are going to get fat you may as well do it in style!

So I am faced with this dilemma, do I eat salads for the next month and increase my cardio or do I start a detox.  You can't exercise and detox as you just don't have the energy.  I have done a detox before and yes I did lose weight but it is something you cannot take lightly and you have to get your head around it before you start and be fully committed.  I don't know if I can manage a detox alone, it would be nice to have a friend suffering the same fate, anybody up for a post Xmas detox?

New Beach Artwork

During the Xmas break I managed to complete one painting and finally sat down last week and started on a new piece, just finished it yesterday.


Here they are fresh off the easel....

 

 Both are for sale, I do not have enough wall space left in my house!

Is Maccas a Code Word for Something Else?

My 14 year old son, who is a total sloth child at the moment has to sms me throughout the day to let me know his whereabouts during the school holidays.  They, and I say "they" as during the holidays he is almost never alone but has his usual side kicks with him, who all manage to sleep in the same bed, fully clothed I might add.  They rush out of the house the minute they wake up, which is never before 11am, he is told to be home by 5pm, which he almost never seems able to manage and always calls at 4.55 begging to be picked up.  If it was to get out of the house he would walk to the Antarctic and back yet, when he has to return his poor little legs cannot carry him.  They are odd creatures boys at that age, his friends slept over the other night and my son spent the evening on his computer playing a game while the other two sat on his bed, one playing playstation and the other playing with his phone????  They may as well have been alone....

If you scroll through my messages from the said child they range from "just got up", "going to Chippies" (the local chip shop) and the usual "going to Macca's" (McDonalds).  All he seems to do is wake up and graze on food moving from from place to place.  It got me to wondering as I am sure they are up to no good half the time, is Macca's really a code word for something else??  I have tried to stalk him on facebook but he won't add me as a friend and I can't really bring myself to go incognito and set up a dummy account just to spy on him..... although the thought has crossed my mind.

All we can do is hope and trust that they come through the otherside unscathed and don't end up obese in the process.

I'm back and Happy New Year!

I have been missing in action for a while.  I would love to tell you that I have been sunning in the carribbean, sailing in the Greek islands or on a safari in Africa but no I stayed home and enjoyed every minute of it. I normally get bored after 2 days relaxing but during the 10 days break from work, I rested, swam, drank oodles of champagne, bbq'd with my beautiful friends and family, read books, had nana naps, went to the beach and was not bored once soooooo


Happy New Year to all, I hope and wish everybodies dreams come true whether it be a want for lotto wins, the usual after xmas 5 kilo weight loss challenge, following your dreams and stepping out of your comfort zone, live for the moment, seize the day or just world peace. Whatever your resolution is I hope it all comes true.

Mine is to come back to myself, I have been helping others all year and have lost a bit of myself from being totally absorbed by other things so this is my year! I promise to myself not to sweat the small things, to stop thinking too far ahead and stay in the moment. I am number 1!


I had to participate in a dry day this week after going back to work the fun week nights are over and it is back to exercise and being good mid week. Not having a drink has been surprisingly hard, on Tuesday night I was having dinner thinking what is missing and it was my nightly glass of wine, I missed it so much. With a sigh party time is over, it has to be done, wave goodbye to the silly season and save it up for Easter, oooh we do have Australia day that will do and its not too far away!

Coming back to reality sucks!