Calendar sketches and another family outing...

Another week is over and I'm pleased to say 

that I've been managing the calendar sketches daily. 

I've also discovered that it's not all that easy to sketch 

something tiny and detailed in such a small space.
Each square is 3cm which is just over an inch across.

I'm not using specific prompts 

just whatever I feel like sketching on any given day. 

However, some may have meaning  

for a particular day

....others not so much. 

For example, April 9th was a sketch of the gold and blue macaw 

we met at Currumbin...he is pictured in my previous post in case you missed it. 

April 14th is a white tiger cub because on that day 

my Granddaughter, Mikayla, introduced me 

to her new, white tiger cub plush toy. 

She named her 'Snowflake'.

April 15th, I decided to sketch a favourite animal 

of my other Granddaughter, Madelyn. 

She loves Pandas!

April 4th is an 'L' which represents my son 

getting his Learner Driver's Licence on that day. 

Congratulations, Aaron! 

April 13th, is a pig because I have always had a soft spot for them. 

You may actually guess that I love animals in general 

and I plan to paint and sketch a lot more of them. 

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches this week. 

You can check out the other participants HERE. 

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Last Sunday, April 10th, was the first anniversary 

of my father's passing. 

We went to Wellington Point for a family outing 

with my brother's family and my Uncle and Aunt
as it holds many great memories 

for us with Mum and Dad. 

The weather was beautiful and we found a nice spot 

fairly close to the water. 

A view of the jetty from a distance

On the jetty

Views from jetty 

Boat ramps 

After lunch and a walk on the jetty, 

we went for a walk out to King Island across the sand-bar 

as the tide had gone out by then. 

Earlier in the day, this was well under water. 

Stopping for selfies along the way. hehe

King Island 

In 1887, King Island was formerly declared a reserve and protected by law

It is home to eight shorebird species and soldier crabs. 

Today, it is classified as a regional park 

and protected by the Nature Conservation Act of 1992.

The mangroves buffer the island against bad weather. 

Walking back to the mainland. 

That is Beau (my son), with Mikayla (my granddaughter). 

Alex (my son-in-law) and my other granddaughter, Maddy 

are following behind. 

The sandbar and a view of Wellington Point

Family selfie on King Island 

Family group 

Me with Mikayla walking across the sandbar. 

It was such a great day 

and I know Dad would have been proud. 

A family day at Currumbin

Hi everyone,

Last Thursday, we decided to take advantage of the great weather 

and headed off to Currumbin for a family day out. 

I thought you might like to see a few pics from the day 

and even an unexpected sighting.

Alex, my son-in-law is down at the water's edge with 

Mikayla and her boogie-board.

Our little spot on the beach.

Michelle in the beach tent feeding Kenzie, now six months old, 

Aaron on his mobile phone, as teens do, 

and Bradley in the green T-shirt. 

The views were amazing! 

Some time after we ate lunch, 

I went for a walk with Michelle (my daughter) and baby Kenzie 

to check out the rocky areas of the beach. 

Amazing rock formations weathered away by the sea

The tide was out so the water level is quite low in these pics.

 Thousands of limpets (shellfish) attached to the rocks 

Now to the unexpected sighting.... 

As we were leaving to go home, 

we spotted Pablo, a blue and gold macaw, 

also leaving the beach with his human companion. 

Pablo's caretaker left him on the fence for us to admire
while she took things to her car 

so we were able to get close enough to pat him.
He is a year old so only a baby
as they can live into their 80's.
Apparently, they can be quite a handful to care for
and can throw tantrums like a child too.
Pablo loves cuddles and lots of attention.

He was stunning and quite tame. 

Blue and gold macaws are not native to Australia and
while I admit it was amazing to see one up close and personal,
a part of me still feels very sad that we have turned these
beautiful, exotic birds into a commodity.

Will we ever learn?

I ended up with a terrible migraine from my heavy backpack
pulling down on my neck.
Bradley and Aaron both ended up being badly sunburned
and yes, they did use sunscreen but obviously not enough.

I'll post pics of our family day at Wellington Point in my next post.
Another lovely day.

Stay tuned...

More calendar sketches...

Just a very quick post today.

I'm running a little late for Sunday Sketches 

but thought I'd post a pic of some calendar sketches 

from the past week. 

I haven't had time to upload the others to my computer yet.

You can check out the other Sunday Sketches participants HERE.

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Yesterday, April 10th, marked a year since my father passed away  

so we went to Wellington Point with family

as it holds many beautiful and fun memories with Dad.

I miss you every day, Dad.

Love always ~ xo

Bullet journaling and calendar sketches

Can you believe it's April already?! 

My birthday month (March) flew by 

before I could blink.  WHOOSH!!!! 

I have been a busy bee.

I set up my bullet journal for April. 

I'm not sure if I have mentioned my bullet journal before 

but I started my first one in January of 2015 

and I've been an addict ever since. 

It's the only journal/planner that I haven't given up on.

 If you haven't heard of the bullet journaling system before, 

do check out the video below by Ryder Carroll, it's creator. 

I love the bullet journal system because it's so flexible. 

You can make it completely your own 

and it's so easy to use. 

My favourite part is the daily task lists 

because they help me to stay focused in the present. 

Kara at Boho Berry has some great videos on her YouTube channel 

if you are interested, check out more of them HERE. 

I've also set up an April calendar page 

in my Moleskine sketchbook. 

I figure I can manage a tiny sketch/doodle each day.  

No daily theme/prompt, 

just whatever I feel like sketching that day.

Above - A pic of the calendar and BuJo together. 

April 1st is my brother's birthday 

hence the cupcake. 

I figure these teeny calendar sketches will be suitable for Sunday Sketches. 

You can check out the other participants HERE.

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I have also joined the #RockYourHandwriting challenge

on Facebook and Instagram. 

We are given daily prompts each month and 

we practise and develop our handwriting skills. 

Not sure if I'll stay with this one 

but I do love putting pen to paper.

You can check out more details on this challenge 

at the following links - 

Kara at Boho Berry

Kim at Tiny Ray of Sunshine

Dee at Decade Thirty 

Jessica at Pretty Prints and Paper

Happy Sunday to you all!