New banner and colour...

I just thought it was time for a new banner and a bit of fall colours since we are well into the autumn season here in the land down under. Enjoy...

Sunrise...

Nothing interesting about this post I just wanted to share the great sunrise we had yesterday morning. The picture was taken from our back deck looking east of course down to the harbour. Enjoy...

The old but new doors...

I mentioned in an earlier post that we were going to refinish some bi-fold doors that were up in the house before we bought it. The doors were taken done by previous owners and set outside in one of the sheds in our backyard. We have talked about fixing the doors and putting them back up for two years and we finally got around to doing just that with help from our friends. The doors separate our lounge room (living room) from our kitchen. We're not sure why the previous owners took them down. We felt that they would make the lounge room cozier especially in the winter, which is just around the corner for us. So without further adieu here are the pictures of our work and the progress it took.

How it looked before without the doors.



The adventure begins. What do we do first?



Find the tools, sandpaper, varnish, etc.



The old varnish comes off.

and on with the new...



If we put them here they should work. I hope....



Yeah it worked!



Nice...



Excellent...





Nice and cozy... What do you think?

Special thanks goes to Cin and Hop for all of the hard work and help!

Update....

I know it's been a few days since I've posted anything and then that post was a list/meme so it was rather boring. I'm going to tell you right now this post won't be much better. Here's the deal. You are aware, or should be, that we have had visitors for the past few weeks and this is their last weekend here in fact today is their last day in Hobart. We all fly over to Melbourne tomorrow morning to spend the day there. We will spend Saturday night at the airport Hilton and then they fly back home on Sunday and we fly back home to Hobart. Why am I telling you all this? Well for one it fills up space and secondly to let you know that I will be back on a more active schedule as of next Monday.

We have really enjoyed our time with our friends but as usual time flies when your having fun. It seems like just yesterday that they arrived but alas it was back at the beginning of February. We have tried to show them a bit of where we live and we hope they have not been to bored. Life here in Tasmania is not for everyone. We lead a rather quiet existence but it works for us. Anyway, I'll be back with regular posting next week and as promised I will have pictures of our work and the eventual end result in relation to some doors we found in the shed and have refinished and hung in or house. We must thank our freinds for all the work they put into helping us with this project. Thanks Guys!

Until then take care and keep watching this space.

Answer me this....

Here's more useless insight into who I am and what I've done. Enjoy...

Name: Anthony (aka Tony, TJ)
Birthday: November
Birthplace: Michigan
Current Location: Tasmania, Australia
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Blond
Height: 5' 7"
Right Handed or Left Handed: Right
Your Heritage: English and a bunch more but too many to list
The Shoes You Wore Today: I'm currently barefoot but will eventually put on tennis shoes
Your Weakness: Food
Your Fears: Snakes
Your Perfect Pizza: Sausage, Canadian bacon, hamburger with BBQ sauce and dabs of sour cream (Hardens the arteries right up)
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year: Drop a few pounds (doesn't everyone?)
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger: I don't use this way of communicating
Thoughts First Waking Up: God my hands hurt! (I'm having some sort of arthritis type pain. We're not sure what is causing it and are just trying to control the pain)
Your Best Physical Feature: I'm told my butt. I toss up between butt and calves
Your Bedtime: 11:30 p.m.
Your Most Missed Memory: My dad
Pepsi or Coke: Pepsi
MacDonalds or Burger King: Nope, I don't eat fast food.
Single or Group Dates: Neither, I have a husband
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: If I have to choose it would be Lipton
Chocolate or Vanilla: Vanilla
Cappuccino or Coffee: Neither, I drink hot tea
Do you Smoke: No
Do you Swear: Yes, way too much
Do you Sing: Not very well and only when I'm alone
Do you Shower Daily: Yes
Have you Been in Love: Yes
Do you want to go to College: Never finished the first time around. Why would I want to try again?
Do you want to get Married: Been there done that (x2) with women before I was honest with the world and came out. Now I have a partner that I have been with over 8 years and we don't need to get married, but we deserve the same rights as heterosexual married couples as our relationship is no less than theirs.
Do you believe in yourself: Sure, just sometime I need a little encouragement and reminding that I'm okay :)
Do you get Motion Sickness: Not until recently and now I do occasionally in the car while on a long drive through the hills around where we live. We think it may have something to do with all the new medications I have to take including the pain medication.
Do you think you are Attractive: I don't think I'm ugly.
Are you a Health Freak: Nope
Do you get along with your Parents: Yes
Do you like Thunderstorms: Nothing better, except maybe a nice snow fall with me inside in front of a fire.
Do you play an Instrument: No
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol: Yes
In the past month have you Smoked: No, I already said I don't smoke!
In the past month have you been on Drugs: Prescriptions only and way two many of those!
In the past month have you gone on a Date: No
In the past month have you gone to a Mall: No
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos: No
In the past month have you eaten Sushi: No
In the past month have you been on Stage: No
In the past month have you been Dumped: No
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping: No
In the past month have you Stolen Anything: No
Ever been Drunk: Yes
Ever been called a Tease: No
Ever been Beaten up: Yes, when I was a kid
Ever Shoplifted: Yes, when I was a kid
How do you want to Die: In my sleep
What do you want to be when you Grow Up: What's grown up?
What country would you most like to Visit: England
Best Clothing Style: Casual
Number of Drugs I have taken: It's all a blur
Number of CDs I own: Lost count but don't really buy anymore CDs now that I have my iPod. I just download what I want to buy now.
Number of Piercings: One
Number of Tattoos: One
Number of things in my Past I Regret: I try to live my life without regret but If I had to think of something I would say I regret not being honest and coming out sooner to myself and everyone that was important in my life. however if I had I would not have been given my beautiful daughter who has now given me a equally beautiful granddaughter

What does a picture say about you?

I saw this neat thing over here and thought I would give it a try. The result is as follows:

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

If you would like to try this neat little widget start here. Several pages will come up one after another and on each one you are asked to pick a picture that relates to the title. At the end you get this neat widget to add to your blog. Enjoy!

Busy as usual...

You know when I retired I was supposed to relax, well it seems now I have more things to do than I know what to do with and they just keep coming. Anyway, this is my feeble attempt at telling you why I haven't been posting lately but it is true, I am doing all sorts of things right now that keep me from posting. Lets see:

1. Refinishing two bifold doors to go between the lounge room (It's what we call the living room in Australia) and the kitchen. The doors were in the shed when we bought the house and we have talked about fixing them and putting them back up for two years but I/we never had time to focus on this so now I/we do. I'll take a picture of the finished product.
2. I have been baking up a storm. I know this is a choice but we have guests right now and besides everyone loves my cakes and pies. Recently creations have included dutch apple pie, peanut putter pie and just yesterday a carrot cake. I realize that this is not a necessary chore but it has kept me busy none the less.
3. We went to Cradle Mountain last weekend and once again walked around the mountain but not as far as we did last time when James almost met an untimely demise. This also is a choice not a chore but it did keep me away from the computer.

Okay, the list isn't that long but it's all I've got so as I said it's my excuse, feeble and all. Anyway, I've got doors to varnish so shellac you later. (Hee hee... I'm trying to be funny, talk about feeble)

Happy Anniversary

James and I are celebrating our anniversary today. We have been together for eight years and we have been through so much since the beginning. We flew back and forth over the pacific for the first year and a half, which got prohibitively expensive. Then we went through the whole permanent residence thing with me which lasted four years and cost us thousands of dollars. That four year period was not an easy time because we never knew when and if the government was going to decide if I could stay or I had to leave and if I had to leave I would have had twenty-eight days to do such. We even had to get a psychological assessment to make sure we were on an even keel and were really in a relationship. Funny thing that assessment the person who assessed us in the end said we could be role models for most straight couples. We didn't need that validation to know we loved one another but it was an interesting comment. Anyway, during that time we were supposed to live normally and wait. It was tough but we eventually made it and two years after that I finally became a citizen making sure I would be able to stay with the person that I love.

We have a beautiful home, an odd cat and a good life so I have nothing to complain about in that department. I just want to take this time to publicly acknowledge my husband and to tell him I love him.

Happy Anniversary James with all my love here's to many more!