Bike Ride

Two years ago when we moved house I promised the kids we would all get bikes so we could go on bike rides together.  Well the kids got bikes but I never got around to getting one for myself and also needed to purchase a bike rack as I have an adult bike and currently the kids bikes just go in the boot of the car which is quick and easy.  Last week I organized a bike rack, a bike and helmet for myself and off we went on our first official family bike ride along a bike track not too far from home.  We had to drive to the starting point of the bike track which went past the paddock of cows in the middle of suburbia.  Everyone uses the phrase "it's like riding a bike" or "it's like getting back on the bike" however I have not been on a push bike for in excess of 20 years I think so I was a little wobbly to start with which I didn't expect.

We went on a bike ride took some photos and got some fresh air and exercise.  Right at the end of the bike ride I realized that my seat was up way to high and it had been put up high by the bike shop owner so the "attached bar" would be level when I put the bike on the rack.  I completely forgot to put the seat back down before I rode it so I think next time it will be better.  I did pull off the side of the bike path onto longish grass and stopped and fell off to which some kind person called out was I okay and I replied yes (after all it was just grass and not a concrete path).  I was a little bit embarrassed but not overly since I seriously had not been on a bike what seems like forever but the kids loved it and we will go on more family rides in the future.  Here's a few pic's of our little family bike ride.

In the Garden

Last night I was checking out the veggie garden when it was nearly dark and I grabbed the camera and took some photos of the garden and house from a different perspective which I loved.  Our veggie garden is small (3 boxes each 1.2 mt x 1.2 mt) however when I was crouched down low the garden looked abundant and I loved the look.  Here's a few pictures which were taken last night in our suburban backyard.

Rainbow Lorikeets

The Paper Bark trees are full of Rainbow Lorikeets at the moment and I love hearing the sounds of birds in the trees in our neighbourhood.  Here's a couple of pics I took on Saturday afternoon.

Little Veggie Patch

Here's a look at the garlic, sugar snap peas and bok choy we have growing.  It's the first time planting garlic and it's very exciting to see it looking like this.  The womboks are growing extremely well and there are a few tomatoes on last years bushes.  I've thrown in a couple of pictures of pretty flowers at the bottom.

Library Make Over

Our local library has been going through a huge renovation in the past few months and it's having opening celebrations on the 15th June, 2013.  They have added a huge deck to two sides of the library and are also getting a little coffee vendor shortly like they do at the Ashgrove Library.

At the front of the library they have planted and Orchid of Lemon and Lime trees and Annette McFarlane was involved in the team of consultants on the library makeover and will be there on the day of celebrations.  The library are going to get local interested gardeners to volunteer and attend to the trees.  The theme for the whole library is Lemons and Limes which is reflected in the metal fretwork and green and yellow stripes on the glass doors etc. and the big murals inside the library.

It looks amazing and I know that the kids and I will get a lot of use out of the lovely space on the deck over the holidays.  Hopefully they will have a coffee vendor by then as I know they have tenders out for that position at the moment.  They will be having the little coffee cart which is locked up and makes so much sense because they don't have to run an entire coffee shop but provide coffee so it's a great fit I think.  The deck is just beautiful and overlooking the park you couldn't get a better spot.

Libraries all over Australia are in prime locations and it makes sense to make these function more like a community centre rather than just a place for loaning books.  The "what's on" library booklets that have been coming out of the library this year have been amazing in terms of the size of the little booklet, the organic look and feel to the booklet and what courses and community groups are doing and is more in touch with what people in 2013 are looking for.  I am thrilled that we have such a great look new library and last week the kids each got their own Library Cards which they were excited about.  It now means that I have to keep track of 3 library cards now not 1 now but James really wanted a card on his own so we filled out the paperwork and now they both have them.  These days you can borrow 20 items and they have cds', dvd's not so many great movies but lots of tv show series etc.  I was wanting the River Cottage series but they didn't have it which I was surprized about.  Years ago you used to get 3-5 books and that was it so the library is an amazing resource and great that it has still been provided to the community all these years for free.  We do pay 80 cents to order a book in which is a regular occurrence with James however I'm happy to do that because he is the avid reader and it means I'm not buying a $20 book each time.  Have you checked out your local library facilities lately?

Here's some photos from our wonderful new look library, orchard and deck.

Below is was what the Library looked like before.

Green Heart Fair 2013

This afternoon the kids and I went to the Brisbane City Council's "Green Heart Fair" over at Chermside.  I debated whether going because the weather has been terrible, homework was still not done and the house is a mess.  It went from 9.00 am to 2.00 pm and at 11.30 am decided we needed to get out of the house for a couple of hours so headed over there.  The grounds were a little muddy but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.  We walked around a little had a "snow cone" and listened to 2 songs from the band but after Sienna was complaining she was bored gave up and let then have ten minutes kicking the soccer balls and then we went home.  Just as well because about 20 minutes later the heavens opened up and it poured rain.  There seemed to be a lot of stall holders but it didn't really grab me today and the kids and I must prefer going to "Regional Flavours" each year.  I know the two are different however with Regional Flavours they have sustainability talks, gardens, chickens and more interesting to me so I don't think I would go next year but that's just my personal opinion.

And don't get me started on how disappointing a huge campaign and a waste of taxpayers money to come up with the slogan. Any five year old could have come up with a better logo for Brisbane and why we would have to copy New York.  I "Green Heart" BNE.  I mean........seriously everyone in the world knows it's "I Love NY" and no one refers to Brisbane as BNE unless you are looking at an airline ticket.  I think "Brisvegas" is well known but it's just crazy that after all that time and money a couple of years ago we can't come up with our own logo, it's embarrassing.  Well that's my piece on the slogan so here's a few photos from our hour and a half at the Green Heart Fair.