I quite like sitting in a restaurant on my own.

I can observe the people around me.

I examine the decor, I wonder about the life stories of the staff and I compose stories simply because its the way I think.

But I also love sharing conversations and experiences with others. So, I'm rather pleased that this is the last day on my own for the next two months.

Yesterday after work, in the early evening, I decided to take a walk down the main street.

The town was buzzing…. first of all I had to photograph this gorgeous Corvette…..It just happened to be bright orange.!!!!

You know, one of the things we forget to do is to "Look Up"

I love this photo. It was a period of time that the light was fading and I was able to capture the luminosity of the street lights.

If I mention "Melbourne Cup" the Aussies all know what I'm talking about….the horse race that stops the nation…. well it was the "Melbourne Cup: of racing here in Hot Springs yesterday….

A huge event for the community.

At the same time… it was "Prom" night…. so I sat on a seat in the main street watching these gorgeous young people so full of hope and promise taking their first steps to adulthood….

I remember when my babes had their "formal" I filmed the preparation so we have a good record of the event. It's hilarious watching it now. But priceless.

At dinner, I sat amongst the racing fraternity and the youngsters in their finery and thought just how lovely it was……

I worked hard all day today with just a short time out…. I was stuck behind the desk most of the day.

Most of the day the TV, has portrayed the most terrible disaster…

The death toll in the huge storm and tornadoes that passed through here the other day is now at 29. 19 tornadoes were on the ground at one time.

Two people were killed just a short distance from here.

With an escape plan I woke in the middle of the storm. The rain was horizontal and I was worried about my car with the hail….

The corvettes had take every underground car park…so my car was outside.

I began to get dressed (it was about 1.30 am) and i was going to shift it out of the hail…. but  the dark night was lit constantly by the lightening and the noise was deafening. I had second thoughts. In my clothes I went back to bed ready to make an escape if I needed to.

So, to heck with the car !!!!!

I travel all day tomorrow and a reunion with my buddies is much anticipated.

The following week will be a round of media interviews, an event in the quilt shop and my favorite burger…. a green chili cheeseburger….