Kate from Sydney

Thank you for the birthday wishes and all the goodies.

I've not had a real good look yet Kate. I always like to spend a bit of time with each one, rather than fly through them.
I read that you went with Lizzy to the meet on Aug 10 due to a ''bad knee'' Was it a temporary problem or ongoing ? I've got a left knee which has been assessed as operable, but I would rather ''live'' with it as long as I can manage, rather than be ''laid up'' (NO GARDENING !!!!) for 6weeks or more, and then not be sure that I would be more agile afterwards.The glories of getting older !
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Hi Kate! Thanks for your explanation about the ''oversized'' easy jigsaws. That makes sense to me.

Thanks Kate for your explanation of the 'Easy' jigsaw problems. I presume someone has told Gath?

Great photos from Scotland, Kate. Thanks for sharing.

Hi, Kate! Thank you for the colorful birthday greetings! Can't wait to meet you next year when Kathy and I are in Oz! ♥

Thanks for remembering me on my birthday.

Hi Kate,
Thanks for checking out my pics. I'm really miffed I was on the wrong angle for the kookaburra with the worm photo. It took him ages to pull it out, but I didn't want to scare him off by getting in a better position. The wire is there to protect lettuces from the rotten rabbits!

Hi Kate,
Thanks so much for the explanation on the web casting spider.I thought that might be what he did , but now I'm sure.I just opened your message, so I haven't had a chance yet to view the video.I will though, as soon as I get back to my page. Hope all is well with you and yours.

Hi, Kate! Nice to hear from you. I am so looking forward to my trip to Oz with Kathy. (Rob is not coming, so it will be just 'the girls')! We will be in Sydney from (approximately) 31 March thru 7 April. I'm not sure where we'll be staying yet, and a couple of those days will be spent on a trip to Canberra, but we will definitely want to get together with you while we're there! In any case, I've set up a blog if you'd care to follow our planning process. I hope to update it later this week. Some of the dates have been moved up or back a couple of days. The only dates that are 'for sure' are our arrival and departure dates. Kathy and I arrive in Melbourne on Friday, February 26; Kathy returns home on April 8; and I leave Oz on April 21. Here's the website address: http://jdolphino504.wordpress.com/ ♥Jane

What a wonderful holiday you had, Kate. This is such a great forum to share. Great photos. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for having a gander at my garden pics. We have transformed the front area and are hoping everything grows in together so weeds are less of a problem.

Hi Kate - talking about lion emblems - the state flag of Tasmania is a blue background, Union Jack top left corner and a lion on the right. How very colonial!

You're absolutely right Kate, today would not be a good day! We haven't had any damage here, but we can see and hear evidence of trees down all over the place, you know, the chainsaw symphony! The power went out this morning just past 8 with expected restoration at 7 tonight, thankfully they were wrong, it came back on a while ago.
I believe we are expecting more of the same tonight... :(

Thanks Kate, the panorama was taken on my phone hence the pretty poor resolution. My next phone will have a much, much better resolution - this particular spot was inspiring so I may just have to visit it again and take a higher definition shot! Or maybe I should just bite the bullet and get a decent DSLR.

Thanks for your good wishes, Kate. I'm really looking forward to exploring the South Island again.

Thanks for the explanation about Magpie's Nest. Now I get it. I'm not sure if it's your birthday today, but if it is have a good one. Even if it isn't do so anyhow.

Thanks for the info on the other Kate. I should have known it wasn't your bday, as I sent you a greeting in Feb.

Kate, thanks for your note re fires...we have now done 2 evacuations and spent nights elsewhere...all Ok back here now..lots of smoke..but have greater and greater respect for the RFS and their chief at headquarters..we have friends all over the mountains who have probably hardly slept for days..now it looks as though there's a chance they can catch up with it. Hope you stay clear down your way...I have friends at Gunderman (near Sentinel Box) who tell me about the Webbs Ck fire which seems to have died down now? We just have to keep calm about the coming months and hope for rain!! Cheers, Rob

Hi, Kate. Thanks for your messages about my nephew, Rick. He's like a son to me, so I'll miss him very much. But I also know it's part of life. He and Sarah are now starting their life together. Thank goodness long distance calling is basically free due to cell phones. But I'll miss our Sundays together. As he said yesterday - What's better than Sundays with the 3 F's - Family, Food and Football! And he would often stop during the week as well.

I also wanted to thank you for all the wonderful photos you post.

Loved your video and photos!

Hi Kate. I have to sort through my NZ photos to check on the few birds I was able to photograph, but one, from memory, looked very like your coot. I'll be interested to see if they are one and the same.

Hi Kate, there certainly is a lot of work to do in Christchurch, but they are very proactive and creative. I'm going to post some of the things they are doing when I get a bit more time. On another note... Tonight we were checking our cattle and there was a platypus and 4 ducklings on the dam. It's the first platypus we've seen for a few years. It's going to be my camera target until I get a pic!

Hi Kate. I think we are alike. If we take a photo we are happy with, or if there is a story to tell, we like to share!

Thanks for the info on 'Artist's Walk', Kate. Must be fun to go there and celebrate.

Thanks, Kate. We had such a great time. I can't wait to head off again.

Thanks Kate. I hope all's well with you. Those Lake Tekapo pics were a couple I found later and added them on. I've just put on a couple of cheeky kookaburra and blue wrens.

I've started looking at your pics, Kate, but I'll have to come back later, when I don't have to rush. I've spent too much time on the pooter already to day.

Silly me Kate. I've just written a reply to you on my page. If you'd like to slip across it will save a retype!

Hi Kate, We had a fantastic time. Our holiday lasted for over a month and most days were full of activities. We went to Sleuths restaurant in Orlando one evening http://www.sleuths.com/ and people at our table told us that we had seen far more of the USA than the average American ever does. I suspect they are right.

Enjoy your weekend, Kate.

Thanks for the zillions of comments that you posted on my page. They were all very nice. I'm glad that you liked my photos. Gee, you must surely take out the prize as the keenest and most dedicated Sudokuland member. Have you got shares in the company (just kidding). Keep up the good work and keep having fun.

I was happy to jump from the Stratosphere Casino tower in Las Vegas but I will never go bungy jumping. The human body was not designed to hang upside down. Some people end up with detached retinas in their eyes after a bungy jump. No thanks.

Thanks for your kind words Kate. Yes, I was most impressed with the man who came to my aid. Unfortunately I was a bit dazed after the fall and when he asked me if I was all right I said I was OK, he patted me on the shoulder and went on his way. I never did get the chance to thank him properly.

Thank you Kate,had a great birthday lunch with family. Miss having your photo's on easy.

Hi Kate, I want to upload a few pictures for people to view after the Sudoku puzzle has been solved but I am not having much luck. I am using MS Paint to edit the photos. I am able to cut a square section out of a rectangular photograph and re-size it to 300 x 300 pixels but when I do that, it is 58Kb in size. When I re-size it again down to 50Kb the photo becomes 261 pixels x 261. I can go back and forth trying to get the pixels and file sizes right but every time I repeat the exercise, the quality of the photo gets worse and worse. Would by 300 x 300 pixel photos be accepted by Gath if it was 58Kb? Alternatively, would he accept my 50Kb photo if it was only 261 x 261 pixels? I uploaded some photos months ago and they were never displayed. Please advise. Thanks in advance.

Hi Kate, Thanks for the information. MS Paint just wouldn't produce a 300 pixel x 300 pixel image for me under 50k in size. Neil kindly offered to help me out. I have since successfully uploaded 3 photos. Now, we will just have to wait. Gath's link didn't work.

Kate. It appears that the astronomical facts don't get in your way. The astronomers define the seasons by whether the sun is north or south of the equator at noon.

Wishing you a wonderful day with family and friends

Merry Christmas to you and all those you care for Kate, and have a peaceful and prosperous 2014!

Merry Christmas, Kate. I hope that you and yours have a wonderful day. It's been so much fun communicating with you this year. Enjoy the day with family and friends, and have fun.
Best wishes, Jackie.

Hi Kate, nice to see you back. Thanks for visiting my page. I had lots of entertainment from the Wattlebird as it gave the kookaburra heaps. This went on for a few weeks - great fun!