The Ginger Factory

Nestled in a little town called Yandina is a tourist attraction called The Ginger Factory. Last week they held their annual three day Ginger flower and food festival. Entry was free so we decided to have a look. Now a Ginger plant is nothing special..when not in flower. However when these unassuming little plants bloom they are the most spectacular I have ever seen. Of course I took my camera and here are some of the beautiful blossoms we saw...

Aren't they fabulous? As well as the flowers, there is a lovely little heritage style village with gift shops, a Herbal shop, and a sweet shop filled with all sorts of gourmet yummies, like candied ginger, macadamia brittle, pistachio nougat, and mouth watering fudges (my favourite being the Turkish delight fudge). There are lovely gardens with ponds and fountains and a little wooden bridge, or you can stroll through a forest trail (we couldn't do this as it was too wet). There is a little steam train to take you on a tour of the whole park, as they are also a ginger processing plant. There was some cool entertainment and lots of delicious food stalls as well. 

However, we decided we wanted to visit the town of Yandina itself so at lunch time we drove into the town centre and found a lovely little bakery and had the BEST pies, washed down with a cold passiona. 

It was a really nice, family day.

To all my Aussie friends out there...

HAVE A GOOD ONE!

Bad news...

Don't you hate it when someone says that? You immediately think the worse.. someone's died.. or something else equally horrible..
The other day, after fetching a few groceries, Hubby walks through the door and says "Bad news".. all terribly serious. My heart does a little flip flop. I am thinking holy crap what's happened? Do I really want to know..? I thought he'd had an accident, or ran over something fluffy...


Anyway, he then proceeds to tell me that the back passenger door of the car isn't locking. 
.....that's it?
Are.you.f**king.kidding.me???


I then calmly ask him if there is some way to disable the door handle until we can get the parts to fix it... he googles it and yes. There is. Crisis averted.


Bad news..? No. Just mildly inconvenient news. 


So MY mildly inconvenient news is that I didn't get the job. It seems he wants someone who can walk in and magically do the job to his unrealistic standards without any instruction at all. Even though I did hit the 30 books and hour a couple of times, it appears that not doing it every time (again, I was still learning the ropes..) isn't good enough. Oh well.. 
At least he paid me in cash for my efforts. Lovely, tax-free cash..


Ah well.. back to the job hunt...

I am being employed now...

We had such a big day today and I am so tired but I couldn't go to bed without telling you all that Yes I DID get the job.. woohoo! well technically I am still under a probationary period.. but I am going back on Monday to do a full day.
Basically my job so far is.. gather stack of books... wipe them clean (they have bits of book guts all over them from having three holes drilled in them on the spine).. then I take some binding string and a needle and bind stitch the spine. which is harder than it sounds.. the binding string is strong stuff and could probably garotte someone if I was so inclined to do so.. as it was I had to put bandaids on my fingers in the places where the string bit into my skin.. (apparently all the ladies had to do it when they first started). then I have to put on a barcode sticker and spine label and other id labels. each school/library is very specific where said labels are to be placed. So that's all it is really.. but they are very particular and this process needs to be done quickly. The ideal number is 30 books an hour. At my four hour assessment on Thursday I DID 30 books an hour and the boss was impressed.
The only thing he said that concerned him was that I didn't really look like I enjoyed it or look like I wanted to be there.. I assured him that it was just nerves and I really liked the work.. I mean seriously.. I would have felt dumb sitting there grinning like a weirdo on my first day.. of course I was going to be nervous and shy.,.. gheez!


Anyway.. Hubby and I are happy I have a job.. it means we can pay for.... oops! I can't tell you WHAT just yet.. you will have to wait... hehehee

Wish Me Luck!

So after months of sending out resume's I finally have a job interview tomorrow.. and can I say I am more than slightly nervous about it. I haven't had to DO an interview for years... (last one I had was on my mobile in the bowls of an IKEA.. my phone dropped out on my future boss.. TWICE! ...awkward...) and this one is more than just an interview.. it's a four hour assessment. It's with a Book processing company that gets them ready for dispatch to libraries. SO I will be covering, barcoding, binding.. that sort of thing..I will be taught by some lady who has been doing it for years. If I get proficient at it I will be expected to do about 30 books an hour.. which is 2 minutes per book... pressure! Hopefully I wont find this work as difficult as the guy who rang me made it sound. *blubber...* 
Anyway.. I was zoned out on mega painkillers (having got my period...you know what mine are like) curled up in the foetal position and I get the phone call.. so he proceeds to conduct a mini interview over the phone.... err...
Apparently I must have impressed him enough for him to ask me to come in for a training and assessment session.. WOOHOO! I am sure I could have been way more articulate.. but anyway.. Tomorrow I have to be up with the birds to be at their warehouse, 50 minutes drive away, at 8am. 
At least I don't have to figure out what to wear as he told me just wear shorts, t/shirt and sneakers. Hubby asked me WHAT t/shirt am I going to wear... why? is my HELLO KITTY T/shirt not the way to go? maybe my shirt with CHEEKY MONKEY emblazoned across my boobs is not appropriate either...? I will go for the tame plain t/shirt I think.. lol..at least until I know I have the job...
Wish me luck :) 

A message to Facebook users..

You know what pisses me off? People who mindlessly copy and paste a status on their page which then urges others to pass it on without actually seeing whether said statement is actually true..


How fricken hard is it to do a little research? I mean just now I see this on someone's page..

PARENTS !!!!! BEWARE !!!!!!!!! To all parents of children who have a profile on Facebook !!!, there is a man who is attempting to contact kids to talk about sex! His name is Thierry Mairot. Please copy and paste on your wall. This info is to be shared, PROTECT OUR CHILDREN, He is also using the name of Justin Bieber on his profile !!!!!


I saw this and immediately googled this Thierry Mairot name. Low and behold.. a dozen myth/hoax buster sites with this persons name on it. My favourite being THIS ONE .
Like the article says, it is ridiculous and potentially damaging to pass dribble like this on without proof. Not to mention the damage it is doing to the poor unfortunate person who bears the name of said deviant.


It's just dumb and it annoys me to no end.


That being said, I think it IS wrong for young children to be allowed a Facebook profile. Or at the least to only use under strict adult supervision. There are, unfortunately sexual predators out there and yes they can slip through the cracks. Sometimes. 

One year Anniversary..we remember..

Tomorrow, the 10th of January,  marks the one year anniversary of the terrible floods that swept through Toowoomba and the valley below. It devastated everything in its path, taking not only houses and cars, but people as well. Many families have suffered terribly from this tragic day. Some had to wait weeks before their loved one's were found and finally be put to rest. There are people, one year on, who are still trying to re-build their homes and their lives.
Tomorrow people will come together as one to remember and celebrate the lives lost on that tragic day. 


We will not forget. 

Migration..

I normally do my drawings in an A5 sized sketch book.. but I like the pod pattern so much that I decided to do a much larger picture. It took a lot longer but I think it was worth the effort. I call it "Migration"

Sorry the photo isn't that clear.. I couldn't scan it as it is too big for my scanner.. but you get the general idea. I love the bubbles..


I had to go back to the doctor yesterday to get another shot in my shoulder, and right now I am in a goodly amount of pain.. I am under strict doctors orders not to do "anything" for a few days at least. It's so sore (really don't want to take too many painkillers) and I am so bored... there is only so much TV one can watch.. tried drawing last night. learnt a new pattern I will show you soon , and have done another one that involves "jellyfish-like creatures".. I have definitely noticed a oceanic theme going on with my art lately...
Oh and I received this award from thefriskyvirgin.. Thanks so much Frisky! lol.. anyway I love all your blogs so I am passing it on to all of you to.. do with it what you will...

I also received this one from ...um... someone... I am SO SO BAD! I really can't remember.. If it was you can you let me know and I will give you the cudos for it.. lol! 

I can't even remember the rules for this one.. Oh well.. just take it to! :)

Two drawings...

So I combined two of my favourite patterns to make this new drawing...

And this next one is my latest.. I hated it when I began and nearly ripped it out of my book and screwed it up.. but I kept at it and I think it may be my most favourite yet! Which goes to show that nothing is a mistake in art...persevere and you may be pleasantly surprised!

What do you think?

The Unfortunate Chicken..

So how was every ones New Years Celebrations? The Sprite family had a nice one over at friends. Sprite had more bubbly, and food, and cake! Cupcakes to be exact..
For dessert I made these little babies..

White-chocolate Mud cup cakes with white chocolate ganache topping and chocolate sprinkles! WOO! What a mouthful. (pun fully intended)

Anyway... I was not allowed to bring the remaining three home..that's how much they loved them...


You are perhaps wondering about the title of this post.. well....
For Christmas Hubby had planned his yummy chicken and bacon stuffed roast chicken.. He had prepared the stuffing before hand and frozen it in a log shape..thinking that it would be easier to "insert" into the chicken when the time came to cook it. After a bit of grunting and a lot of swearing I finally ventured into the kitchen to see what the problem was and was confronted with THIS...






...I warn you, it's NOT pretty..










....last chance to look away..





OK but I DID warn you...

YIKES!!!

Seems it is not such a good idea to freeze the stuffing and then try to shove it up a chickens butt.
You live and learn...




"Don't you dare blog this..." Hubby warned me...


"cause I won't Hun..."