The View From The Verandah #14: Sunday Fundays - Random Thoughts, Geckos and 3D Photos

Heya Steemians

It's another episode of The View From The Verandah and today is a Sunday Funday with a very eclectic collection of random thoughts. Sometimes they just have to come out of the brain and on to paper (or Steemit in this case). Today we've got a bit of photography, health, music, a recipe and some nature. A lot going on for a day of relaxation I have to say!

Today's view from the corner of our verandah (above) makes me think @cryptoandzen might need to think about the mower soon!)

Actually Saturday was a Funday for me as my favourite girly friends came to visit for lunch. This is in fact a big deal. You see I live up on the coast north of Sydney. And Sydney people think once you have to travel over The Hawkesbury River Bridge you are in redneck country. Especially as all of these girls are what I affectionately call North Shore Princesses ie they come from the snobby parts of Sydney :)

To make matters worse I took them to lunch at a Sports Club (Shock! Horror!) Well there's nothing wrong with being a bogan in my books :) Of course they were quite happy when they got the bill... North Shore Princess still like to watch their pennies!

Note: Definition of bogan - Australian slang meaning an uncouth or unsophisticated person regarded as being of low social status.

Plus after a few glasses of bubbles they boganed it up with the best of them.... As evidenced by the 3D photo snaps taken on the mural outside the club.

Actually 3D photos are pretty fun once you get into the spirit. And it really is quite clever on the part of the artist.

The mural is painted on the wall and partly flat on the ground - so if you get the surrounding walls it doesn't look that great. - eg photo below:

However once you crop the surroundings out it starts to look a bit more interesting.

And then you can really start to have some fun! (They hogged the wall for about 15 minutes so I'll only post a couple of my favourites... . See... all princess have an inner bogan dying to get out!

@cryptoandzen and I are in full prep for our six week Keto challenge starting 28th January - no sugar, no alcohol, very low carb, high fat, moderate protein. I managed to knock 10 kg off last time I did this for about 8 weeks. Its a great way to kick-start a bit of weight-loss or get you off those dreaded plateaus.

For me - preparing for the challenge means starting to incorporate the keto habits into everyday so that its not a big shock going full keto.

For @cryptoandzen it means clearing out all the non-keto stuff in the cupboard and fridge - ie scoffing down as much of it as possible before I bin it!

This will be a fun six weeks I can just tell!

Today's Sunday Funday Spotify mix takes me back to my 90s pop mix and not only is there some spice girls but there's some Steps and S Club 7. We will bootscootin' around the house this afternoon.. I love those annoying songs you just cant get out of your head! Aptly - I have included Kylie's "Can't Get You Out of My Head"

Link to Playlist on Spotify

Today's Recipe

I'm taking a leaf from my Keto meal plan and here's my adaptation on Keto Scrambled Eggs with Haloumi Cheese

Source

Ingredients

4 eggs
4 oz. bacon, diced
3 oz. halloumi cheese, diced
2 shallots
1/2 red capsicum (bell pepper)
1/4 finely diced red onion
8 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
8 tablespoons pitted olives
2 tablespoons macadamia oil (or oil with a high flashpoint for cooking)
salt and pepper

Instructions

Dice halloumi cheese, onion, capsicum and bacon.
Heat oil on medium high in a frying pan and fry halloumi, shallots, capsicum red ionion and bacon until nicely browned.
Whisk together parsley, eggs, salt and pepper.
Pour the egg mixture into the frying pan over the bacon and cheese. Lower the heat, add the olives, and stir for a couple of minutes.
Serve with or without a salad.

2 serves - 4-5 grams carbs per serve
Macro breakdown = Fat - 81%, Protein 17% Carbs 3%

*Please note I have done Keto under the supervision of a trainer and qualified nutritionist. Keto diets are not suitable for all people depending on medical conditions

Finally we've discovered a new tenant has moved into our gardening cupboard.

It's a broad-tailed gecko, southern leaf-tailed gecko, or Sydney leaf-tailed gecko.

These cute little guys are endemic to Australia and will generally camouflage themselves against bark or rock, and if threatened can drop its large fleshy tail as a decoy. The tail is also useful for fat storage. As far as I'm concerned he can stay because he's a nocturnal ambush hunter and loves to feed on cockroaches and beetles.. my kinda guy!

Well thanks for putting up with today's very random thoughts, back to some travel adventures tomorrow.

Till next time Steem on with Love and Light

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