Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Australia

(1 inset image above) When Steve and I got married, we went to Australia for our honeymoon. We spent a few days in Sydney and then flew up to Cairns for a day before departing for the Great Barrier Reef for 10 days of scuba diving on a live-aboard dive boat. The weather didn't cooperate with us and most of our trip was spent in a torrential downpour. However, we made the best of our time there! One of the two days we were in Cairns, we wandered around and found ourselves in a square busy with a small crafts fair. We had a marvelous time looking around and eventually found ourselves in front of a booth of beautiful polished rocks that twinkled with opals! We were smitten! Neither of us had ever seen opals in any other way than just the opal itself and we thought these polished rocks were prettier than any opals we'd ever seen. The couple there told us about their opal mine, which so far hadn't paid off with the lucrative opals yet, but they were getting these pretty opal-infused sandstones, which polished up very nicely and could be sold. They had dozens and dozens, and a great many were strung on leather strings as adjustable-lengh necklaces. Steve and I knew what our precious souvenir from Australia would be! We spent a long time looking at every one, and the couple were kind enough to allow us to carry them over to the sunshine. In the end, I picked this one because it is smaller and also has beautiful colors in the opal flecks. Steve picked a larger one, equally beautiful. We were so happy with our special Australian presents! And from that day until today, these necklaces have never come off except to replace the waxed leather string. Explored on April 18, 2014. Highest placement, #2.

1 more picture in a note above! :) I have a very dear friend over on Flickr who goes by the name "Red Stilletto" , and she is the one who first called me a Pod Sister. Since she didn't have any problems when Flickr changed in May, and she didn't mind the new look, she didn't have any reason to leave, so Lisa and I stay in contact via Facebook. The other day she posted a picture of a cookie called a "Wagon Wheel" and it looked so delicious that I kidded that she simply must send me some if she wanted to live another day, and you know what? SHE DID!!! All the way from Australia, no less!! She sent bunches of them to me and my husband, as well as another kind of cookie called a "Tim Tam" in two different flavors! YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!!! I have always been a Cookie Monster at heart, and the best way to steal my soul is by giving me COOKIES! Therefore, Lisa now owns me! :D THANK YOU SO MUCH, LISA!!! WE LOVE THE COOKIES!!! YOU'RE THE BESTEST!!! *BIG HUGS AND SMOOCHES* :) By the way, Lisa also included a recipe for Wagon Wheels, which you can see on her Royal Auto cooking blog, which also has more pictures! ENJOY!! :D Wagon Wheels Recipe on RAdish Textures used in this image: Jerry Jone's Sunrise and Notaclue1. Thanks Jerry! :) Cookie Monster is a Muppet on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating phrases: "Me want cookie!", "Me eat cookie!", and "Om nom nom nom" (said through a mouth full of food). He often eats anything and everything, including danishes, donuts, lettuce, apples, bananas, as well as normally inedible objects. However, as his name suggests, his preferred food is cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are his favorite kind; oatmeal cookies are his second favorite. In a song in 2004, Cookie Monster revealed that, before he ate his first cookie, he believes his name was Sid. Showing awareness of healthy eating habits for children, since 2006 he has said that cookies are "a sometime snack" and that he also likes fruits and eggplant. Wikipedia: Cookie Monster Explored on September 25, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.