7 things sunday - places I have lived - blogtoberfest day 30

1. Kidderminster
Kidderminster is where I was born and spent the first 18 years of my life.
It is in the West Midlands of Englad is is well known for -
carpets
a football team called the Kidderminster Harriers
a local paper called the Kidderminster Shuttle.
Famous people from Kidderminster include Sir Rowland Hill who invented the postage stamp and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame ( brush with fame - he used to come into a pub I worked in....)
There is a statue of Sir Rowland Hill in the middle of the town...but I don't think there is one of Robert Plant!

Kidderminster, Worcestershire, a photo by lisby1 on Flickr.

2. London. I lived (boy, did I live !!) and studied in London. In lovely south Kensington near Kings Road, Chelsea and also in North Kensington near Portobello Road where the awesome markets are.

Portobello Road market

3. Reigate. Where I worked as a house-mum in a boarding school for a while.
I can only remember that there was a pub across the road and there were some nice walks in the area.

Reigate Heath windmill image from wikipedia

4. Sydney. I lived in a few places in Sydney, none of which had this view -

5. Blue Mountains, west of Sydney where I have lived off and on for a few years.

6. Parkes - famous for The Dish

7. Tucson - famous for being in the desert and hot and having these amazing, enormous saghuaro cacti.

tucson photo from flickr

How many places have you lived in?
Where have you lived? Anywhere exotic?

One more day of blogtoberfest tomorrow!
If you are taking part - how are you going? Did you manage to post every day? Or did you take some time off?

You can find blogtoberfest participants here.

Blogtoberfest giveaways are here.

7 things to do on a sunny winter's sunday afternoon

We are having such lovely weather at the moment.
Even though it's winter and the mornings are a bit chilly we have clear sunny days.
It made me think about the best ways to spend such wonderful days. Often in summer it's too hot to do some things, or it's too wet or too windy.

What are your favorite ways to spens a lazy sunny sunday?

Here are a few I thought of.

1. Go for a bushwalk.
Many of you know of my passion for bushwalking and this is a perfect time to get out into the bush. Not hot, no flies!
You dont have to go very far - just a few minutes along a track can give you wonderful things to see!

2. Go for a bike ride - for most of the same reasons that this is a good time of year for walking it's also great for bike riding.

3. Walking or bike riding too energetic?
How about a picnic? We are so lucky to have wonderful parks around here and then ther is the Blue Mountains National Park with the great picnic area at Euroka clearing. If you are in Sydney it would take you about an hour to get there - and there are kangaroos!

image from here

4. Get in a boat and mess about on the river.
Take a ferry ride.
Hire  row boat.

5. Dust off your tennis racquet - it's Wimbledon time!
Who doesnt have an old tennis racquet?
Even if you don't have a tennis court near you, have a hit in the back yard, the street - somewhere!
I guarantee you will spend so much time laughing - you will ache!

6. All those things too energetic?
Invite some friends round for afternoon tea.
When did you last chat to your neighbours? Invite them round and sit in the sun with them.

image from here

7. Too much socialising?
OK! you can just find a comfy, sunny spot and curl up with a book....and maybe a nap.
Maybe you just need to recharge your batteries.

image from here

How did you spend Sunday?

7 things sunday - what to do on a rainy day

1. Clean out your bathroom cabinet - you are sure to find many out-of-date drugs, hair dye that has leaked out onto the shelf, half-used motel courtesy soaps and forgotten tubes with just a little bit of stuff in.

2. Eat gourmet cheeses, dips and relishes



bought from the Carrington Cellars in Katoomba.

3. Take advantage of New Year sales and credit card reward points to go shopping and buy rugs to replace very worn ones.

4. Colour hair with forgotten hair colour from #1

5. Watch a movie - maybe Robin Hood which daughter bought recently.

6. Throw out old perished swimwear from 10 years ago.
Plus old perished underwear, socks etc - you get the picture!

7. blog!

Seven things Sunday - my 7 wonders of the World

This is highly subjective of course and involves very personal choices as I shall explain.
Everyone's 7 personal wonders will be different, and changes over the years.
There are places I still would love to go to which may boot some of these off my list.

Anyway - to start at the beginning!

1. The Acropolis, Athens, Greece.

When I was a small child I would look at pictures of this and think it was the most beautiful place in the world.
The way it sits up high and it's lovely white columns march all around it.
Little did I think that I would be ever able to see it, but when I was a university student in the UK I went on a bus tril through Europe and suddenly there I was! And there it was.
And It didn't disappoint at all - in fact I fell in love with Greece and made 3 trips there travelling to various corners and islands - and I would go back.

2. Opera House, Sydney, Australia

Many years later I moved to Sydney -

and was thrilled by the harbour, the bridge and above all the opera house.
Every time I drive over the harbour bridge I get a thrill from seeing the sparkling white sails of the opera house floating on the edge of the harbour.

3. Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

I am so lucky that I have lived in three countries on three different continents.
In the 90's hub got a job in Arizona and did we make the most of sight-seeing!
It was a few hours drive to the Grand Canyon and we saw it after rain, in the heat of summer, the south rim and the north rim.
It is so vast that you could spend a lifetime exploring it.
And we never tired of going there.

4. Empire State Building, New York, USA


This one is also part of mythology from my childhood.
It used to be the tallest building in the world.
I know there are taller ones, but this is special - the architecture is beautiful, it's a very stylish building, it's very 2oth century.
When I finally visited in 2004 my husband and two teenage kids were with me and we spent several hours up the top (or as far up as you can go). The view is so fascinating, so totally amazing.

5. Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia.


It is huge, it is dying, but it is so so special.
You have to go out on a boat, and you have to snorkel (or dive) and you will see so many corals and so many fish.
It is totally unbelievable!
I am totally in love with snorkelling, floating around with my face in the water looking at the otherworld that is the underwater world.

6. Angkor Wat, Cambodia.


This is a recent addition to my 7 wonders list, as I never really knew much about it until we went there last year.
This temple Agkor Wat is one of many temples from different eras in this part of Cambodia, and it is the most spectacular in terms of size, architecture and decoration.
As with most wonders photos cannot do it justice - you just have to be there.

7. Grose Valley, Blue Moutains, Australia


Last but not least - a local one.
I am so lucky to live in a very beautiful part of the world, indeed in a World Heritage Area.
Just up the road are the sandstone cliffs, escarpements and valleys of a very ancient landscape.
Not only that they are so accessible. The main road west from Sydney to the rest of the country passes through the Blue Mountains, indeed the mountains were an almost insurmountible barrier to the early settlers. But once they were accessed people started building roads, paths, steps and other tourist friendly amenities.
So although there are many remote and wilderness areas you can still easily experience the beauty of my backyard.

What are your personal 7 wonders?
Would you like to share them?

Remember if you leave a comment you get a chance to win a surprise every Thursday!

photos by me, trekearth, national geographic, oznadends, cairns.com.au,

7 things I have never done

another 7 things sunday post!



1. Watched Oprah, and now I hear her show is finishing, so maybe I never will.

2. Learned to crochet - but I suspect I'm not the only one.

the great australian granny square by epheriell

Now before all you crochet experts say anything, I dont have anything against crochet, I think it can be amazingly beautiful and versatile - I just dont want to go there.

3. Been on a cruise. I think you are either a cruisey person or you aren't.


I aren't.

4. Owned a dog. I was quite keen a few years ago, before marriage and kids, for company I guess. The dog I wanted was this -

an Hungarian Puli.

but I didnt.
and I guess I never will. I'm really a cat person after all.

5. Participated in a competitive race. I dont run, walk, cycle, swim competitively. We never had athletics at school or out of school. I have walked in fun runs (the ones you are allowed to run in).



The closest I came was at the kid's infant's school when i tried the mum's sack race - but I fell over! Does that count? I dont think so, therefore I maintain I have never 'raced'.

6. Learned to roller blade.


I always wanted to when the kids were younger and had rollerblades, but I didn't and now that I have had one fractured ankle, I dont suppose I ever will learn.

7. Tightrope walked!


But then who has?