Around Here - Colour Walk - Blue - 28-06-2026

If you have been a long time reader of my blog you will know that over the years my passion for photography was about photographing our life and my kids.  Fast forward to now and my kids are now 22 and 20 and no longer kids and also no longer interested in being my photography subjects any more.  Photography bought me so much joy for many years and it's been a struggle for one of my main interests to disappear.  I talked recently about my interest getting into street photography and having a day out in the city although I haven't actually done that yet.

I also talked about how I got my 2nd hand Canon AE-1 completely rebuilt so I can take film photos because it had a lot of light leaks and needed repairs.  My very first camera I bought when I was 17 was a Canon AE-1 which cost me 6 weeks wages, massive for the time.  I bought it from Ted's Camera Shop in the city.  My friend had a Pentax Camera and we both did a photography course at South Brisbane and to learn all about aperture, shutter speed, ISO [back in the day this was called ASA].  We also learnt how to process B&W images in the dark room too.

Since I've had the camera repaired I've taken a couple of images but need to take it out as well rather than around my townhouse.  I had my original Canon AE-1 for about 17 years or so and I was at a cafe at South Bank and it dropped from the chair to the ground and I broke the shutter mechanism and I didn't get it repaired, I assumed it was broken for good.  I did buy another camera after that but honestly I can't even remember what happed to it as it was a film camera and I probably sold it after I got my new digital camera.

Around 2002 we got a basic digital camera probably 2.0 mp and eventually the world of digital photography opened up and have been digital ever since.  I was reluctant to change from film to digital however now in 2026 film is making a big come back which is funny just like vinyl records.  Everything old is new again.

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of meeting 5 other ladies for a "Colour Hunt" walk in the city [Brisbane, Australia] which was really fun.  The ladies were lovely and you'd be surprized how when you are given one colour to focus on how it stands out like no body's business.  We walked around together vearing off to take photos and then ended up having coffee at a nice cafe afterwards.  My colour was BLUE so I thought I would share my photos here for you.  Here's the group photo of us below.

I hope you enjoyed my colour walk around Brisbane city looking for the colour "BLUE".

Around here - June 2026

This blog was born out of the "simple living" mantra after coming across Rhonda Hetzel from Down to Earth in an magazine back in 2008.  Sadly I have just discovered that Rhonda has closed her blog completely and is no longer on IG either.  I knew she was not wanting to contribute anymore to the blog or comments but I had hoped her blog would remain online as it was a huge source of information for me over the last nearly 18 years.

I was just going through my blogs I used to read which are linked on the side and so many of them have closed over the years.  Todays fast paced social media is so different than the days of blog posts.  Every morning I would make a coffee and read through my favourite blog posts with words and photos and recipes, crocheting and life of other Mums.  Then Instagram [IG] came along and it was back then a photo sharing app which was also nice but then because of Tik Tok [I've never been on it nor do I have any desire to] IG made everyone do reels [little videos] and hence the fast pace quick vidoes and stories which are gone in 24 hours took over from people's blogs.  It's actually so sad because we are consuming more and more social media than ever before and short form content like reels on IG is just that short form.

I have been getting into watching long form content on Youtube which is more enjoyable, sitting down with a cuppa and watching a 30 minute video about gardening, cooking, homesteading, camping or people's lives from the opposite side of the world.  I find it interesting and worth while rather than scrolling on my phone however I still do that way more than I should which I think everyone can relate to in 2026.

A few people I follow on IG have started saying they feel that photos on IG is what we are all missing where you can look at an image and study it and appreciate it rather then a half a second of an image in a reel, I think we are all getting sick of the fast pase of social media but it's also very addictive to scroll as well.

Not too sure how many people read my blog these days but this blog is a record of our lives and recipes over the years.  I often refer back to things I've posted here and more than likely it's a recipe of some sort.  I did print out my blog each couple of years which a company called "blog to print" and sadly they shut down too because blogs were a thing of the past.  Here's a few photos from recent times.

Home made sourdough bread.

My sister bought this when we were at Woodford on the way back from camping.

This is my caramel fudge recipe.

Meal prepping.

My new water bottle.

I made this Elderberry Syrup after going to a

Winter Wellness Workshop at Vitalia in Brisbane.

You have 10ml a day unless you are sick in which case you have it every 2-3 hours.

This crustless quice was really lovely from Carly Fowler on IG.

See recipe below this pic.

Carly Flower’s Crustless Spinach Quiche

📝 Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup fresh spinach (roughly chopped)
• 1 medium tomato (sliced or chopped)
• ½ cup cottage cheese
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Salt & pepper, to taste

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👩‍🍳 Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a medium baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and egg whites.
3. Stir in cottage cheese, sour cream, parmesan, cheddar, flour, and baking powder.
4. Fold through spinach and tomato. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour mixture into prepared dish and smooth the top.
6. Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until set and lightly golden on top.
7. Rest for 5–10 minutes before slicing.

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💡 Notes

• Great for meal prep (keeps 3–4 days in fridge)
• Can swap spinach for zucchini or kale
• Serve warm or cold with salad

One of my favourite books.

Home made date loaf which is delicious.

I'll have to do a post on the lovely date loaf recipe as it's super quick and easy so stay tuned.

Around here May 2026

My last post was in January and here we are nearly at the end of May.  Time just seems to fly by and I have already been in my new place 9 months now which seems to have gone so fast.

One of the downsides to living in a townhouse is being close to the neighbours which for first 6 of the 9 months has been a nightmare with a barking sausage dog right next door to me.  We have 7 dogs in 8 townhouses so we are all very dog friendly and have no problems with dogs.

We understand dogs will bark from time to time however the townhouse next door had a sausage dog that barked night and day.  Everyone complained for many months and finally the tenants were asked to leave at the 6 month mark so life has been very peaceful since then thank goodness.  The main problem was they were out all day and the dog was left outside and just constanly barked.  I also had never heard them call the dogs name in that whole time which is so weird ie they never told it off for barking or called it inside.  Life is very peaceful again and I'm thankful they were tenants and not owners.

Look at my cute dogs face, little Teddy.

On the downsizing front, my single garage still has lots of boxes to go through but I'm taking my time because there's decluttering and there's decluttering.  I have a whole china cabinet of stuff in 2 large boxes which I haven't even unpacked.  I sold my china cabinet from my old house as there is no room in my small living area so there's no point getting those things out of the boxes as there is no where to put them.  I don't want to donate all of it because they are my things that I love so for now my single car garage is my storage area.  It's a process and over time I'll go through them again but for now I'm giving myself grace as it was a huge year in 2025 getting the house ready for sale, getting rid of 90% of my furniture.  Also moving to a smaller space takes time to rework where things can go and adopting new storage solutions in a small space takes some creativity.

The back garden has grown heaps and is lovely and green and I've finally planted my Glen Large Garlic which I got a couple of months ago.  I've got seedlings to plant however I've run out of space so I'll have to remove a few of the summer basil and rocket in order to do so.  

As you know I love photography but haven't done much since the kids are now young adults and it's been a big part of my life that has been missing which brought me so much joy.  I'm not really into food photography as in styling for food photography even though I take pictures of things I bake.  Recently I came across a youtube channel of a Street Photographer called Mike Chudley and I would like to try of this out at some point.  I love the way he talks about his street photography like it's a lovely way to get out of the house, getting a good coffee, getting in your step count for the day and if you get some good pics it's a bonus.  He says if he didn't have a camera he wouldn't be at some lonely seaside town in the rain looking for things to photograph.   He said he has visited lots of places because he has a camera and he gets out and about to explore places he otherwise wouldn't.  I love this way of thinking and would have to agree.

For the last few months my friend and I have been doing a little iPhone project sending each other a photo a day.  I pop them side by side in a little grid with the date and send it back to her.  It's so simple and a lovely way to keep in touch daily without the need for a full on phone conversation in between coffee catch ups.

Another thing I have had to downsize is my camping equipment as we are no longer camping as a family.  We had a 3 room tent which I sold before I moved house and I also sold 4 large stetcher beds that were really heavy and took up a lot of space. I have now bought a Coleman Northstar Instant Up 6 Lighted Darkroom Tent which I love. My friend and I are going to start going camping and we went in March to test out the new tent.

It's weird to me that the camping industry still measures tent capacity using the absolute maximum number of sleeping bodies that can physically fit on the floor — not how people actually camp.  The rating system came from lightweight hiking/backpacking logic, where saving weight mattered more than comfort. Manufacturers kept using those numbers because bigger capacity figures sell better.  Ideally you half the number so a 6 person tent in reality holds 3 people and in our case one stretcher on one side, one on the other and a walkway between the two with Teddy in between at the head of the stretcher.

I was going to go for the 4 person tent as it packed up smaller however the inside measurements would only fit the stretchers and there would be no room for a back pack at the end of the bed.  I'm super happy with what I got because it's a good internal size and it comes with strip lighting on the ceiling that you either pop batteries in the battery pack or use a USB power bank which is very handy having lighting already installed.  Also it has darkroom technology and I swear when your eyes were open or shut in the tent it was the same darkness so makes it easy to go to sleep at night.

I also bought a small stretcher which packs up to 28cm so it all helps with having smaller items to store in the garage and having smaller items to pack in the car to go camping.  Here's a few photos from the first camping trip in about 5 years.

Our camp site set up.

Beautiful and shady area.

A bit of crosswords and a snack, I think Teddy was wanting some too.

Sitting by the campfire.

Nothing better than sitting by a campfire.

Camp dinner of spaghetti bolognese.

Until next time...Kathy

Around here January 2026

Well January is nearly over and it's been a hot one in Brisbane and while the garden is growing well the hot days certainly were hard on the veggies.  I'm so thrilled with the progress my veggie garden has made in 2 short months.  I wish I was able to have more veggie boxes however I like also having the greenery in the courtyard as well.  Still, this little veggie garden has already brought me so much joy and thrilled that it finally got set up 3 months after I moved into my new townhouse.

The swimming pool at our complex was a welcome relief with the hot days here in Queensland.  My sister was visiting from Perth for a week so it was nice catching up with her.  We did a day trip to Montville one day and honestly it's been years since I've been up that way.  Coffees and BBQ's and chats for the week was great.

This week I picked up an old cross stitch [UFO - Unfinished Object] which was done on linen.  It's probably pre-kids that I was doing this which means it's at least 22 years since I picked it up and my eyesight was struggling a bit as it's so fine.  My friend has a little lamp which has a light and magnifying glass so I went to Spotlight and bought myself one of those to make it a little bit easier.  I ropped in two friends for a once a month craft night catch up which is how it all started finding the cross stitch in my craft boxes.

The living/dining/kitchen area is finished and upstairs boxes have been unpacked but not put away as I have to figure out the organization part of it.  When you downsize you have to get rid of lots of furniture that used to store photo albums, books, china etc. so when those things don't exist anymore a new system has to be created which takes time.  Also pretty much 6-8 months of 2025 was working on getting my house ready to sell, cleaning, fixing things, decluttering, getting rid of furniture etc. Then moving in here without lounge/dining furniture for 3-4 months until it arrived honestly you just burn out from it all and need a break.  The main things that need doing is sorting out the spare room and study desk which is a 4 metre built in desktop but no storage which is in the hallway and then of course the single car garage which has 2 cupboards of kitchen stuff and everything else that was in the garage storage at my old house.  It's certainly a process and one that requires a lot of energy so I'm just having a little break from that and then will get stuck into either upstairs or the garage.  I think upstairs is probably easier because the garage everything will have to come out and declutter, and sort so that will require my sisters help and a couple of days.  

Do I miss my old place?  I don't miss the upkeep of the lawn that's for sure however I do miss my beautiful next door neighbours and the dog park.   I still drive back to the dog park as that's were we have made friends and Teddy knows the other dogs and there is not a fenced in dog park near me that I have found I like so it's just as easy to drive back to the old one.

I love my new place and when the construction next door is finished it will be a lot quieter.  They shut down for Christmas and it was so lovely and quiet.  I'm in Stage 1 of our complex and Stage two which is the rest of the townhouses will be finished mid year so there is construction on our site but it's a far way up the hill.  Right next door to my townhouse is another complex which is the one that is more noisy as it's right next to me and that is expected to be finished mid/late 2026.  I knew it would be like this for a little while so you just have to be a patient until it's all finished.  Teddy is much easier to manage here as well because the backyard at our old place was large and he was always getting into things and you couldn't catch him whereas I have a tiny courtyard so it just seems easier.  I certainly don't miss mowing the big backyard.  I have a small patch of grass out the back here and a tiny patch near the carport about the size of the two rubbish bins and it takes me about 30 mins all up to whipper snipper both, edge it and blower vac so that I love.

I hope you are all having a great start to 2026 here's some photos of January musings.

Breakfast at home.

Breakfast out with the family while my sister was here from interstate.

First home grown minature cucumbers.

Home made wraps with home grown cucumber and tomatoes.

Home made wraps.

The corn is coming along.

Home made English Muffins made into Bacon & Egg Muffins.

The two veggie garden boxes 2m x half a metre.  The tomatoes are much taller now than in this pic.

Of course any photo of Teddy is pretty cute.