Luminessence Photography and Design

Well hello there (Mrs Mackenzie) ;)

2009-10-06T14:14:00.000+10:00

It has been a long time between posts and so much has happened, but I won't tell you here... pop on over to my new blog. That's right Chels, it is finally here :)

I would love to see you over at www.lumin-essence.com.au/blog

I have so much to share!

Fran xoxo

Testing... Testing...

2009-03-13T09:25:00.003+10:00

My blog will very soon be getting a face lift... YAY!

Until then I want my images BIGGER! So now that I am a flickr user (thanks Miss Sheye!) I thought I would give this a go. Let's see if it works.

This is my Poppy and HER 'Baby Ellah'. Ellah is HER cousin, NOT my niece apparently, even though her mummy is definitely my sister. This is the world of an almost three year old...

IMAGE TEMPORARILY REMOVED

And because I have already had a few questions about the chair... The chair belongs to my Mum and Dad, or Poppy's Granny and Pa actually (because we all know it is ALL about her). They have had this setting for as long as I can remember and talk regularly about replacing it, but it continues to sit loyally in the front lounge of their house. As kids we jumped on it, dove off it and made cubby houses with sheets around it... As teens we lazed and watched TV on it and hung out with friends on it... As adults we drink tea and chat on it and as a pregnant adult I occasionally have a wee snooze on it while Poppy is off in cahoots with HER Granny.

This setting isn't as comfortable as it once was... The seat cushions are propped up with cushions underneath and the lumpiness is becoming more apparent with each visit - and each snooze. It could, however, tell a LOT of stories and is a bit like a favourite jumper that no longer keeps you warm because it is so threadbare - I love it anyway.
I plan to snaffle it when they do eventually replace it ( I can hear my husband's shudder already - 'where WILL we put it Fran?'). I do have three other siblings who may want a look in, but with two arm chairs, one three seater and two gorgeous 'little people' chairs I am sure we can come to an agreement :)

Have a great weekend.

Fran x

Mr Blue Eyes

2009-03-06T10:13:00.005+10:00

Yes, this wee man's eyes really are that blue! His skin really is that soft, clear and pale! He really does smile ALL the time. This was one young man I didn't have to work too hard to capture. He was a dream :)

As always, to see the images better click on them and they will appear in correct resolution...

You can see where he gets his beautiful smile from :)

Have a great weekend everyone

xoxo

Pizza a la Valentine

2009-02-19T22:14:00.006+10:00

Poppy is getting on in months... By the time we have our second bub she will be around three weeks off being three. This age has been such an eye opener for us. She is pretty much toilet trained, can tell us where she is sore, what she wants and how she wants it. She MUST wear a party dress EVERYDAY, MUST help us to butter the toast and MUST brush her own teeth. Most of the time she is a complete joy to behold and we love exploring this new territory with her.

On Valentine's Day last week in honour of her new found interest in all things of the 'big girl'kind, DJ pulled the bathroom stool into the kitchen and together they set about making pizza. Not just any pizza - but a heart shaped, dough and tomato sauce made from real ingredients, pizza. Poppy was in heaven.

I made the most of the opporunity and slunk away to the office to get some work done, but it wasn't long before the aroma and squeals of delight drew me back. These are some of the scenes I came upon:

Oh the joy of mashing tomatoes through a sieve:

I love the little trace of tomato sauce on the corner of her mouth - in true chef style she tasted her creation as she went:

The concentration - making tomato sauce is important work :)

Finishing up the dough and saving some for next time (yum):

And the result:

It was delicious and didn't last long, but I think for Poppy the real joy was spending a couple of hours in the company of her daddy. I don't think it was a chore for him either. They a make a good pair :)

Hope your Valentine's Day was just as lovely, heart warming and delicious.

Fran
xoxo

There are no words

2009-02-05T21:54:00.004+10:00

that can express the sadness of today.

Sheye, I hope you have seen Ava dancing in everything you have done today and remembered with smiles all the gorgeous things about Ava that make your heart sing.

Much love

xoxoxoxoxoxo

3 weeks and wide awake - {Gold Coast Baby Photographer}

2009-02-04T16:02:00.004+10:00

The moment I met Baby A I knew sleepy images weren't on the cards. He was as alert as I have ever seen and already had eyes that knew the world around him. We persevered for some time to capture some newborn sleepiness but it was not to be - Bubba A was just too interested in what was happening around him to sleep. He was so lovely and when I went back yesterday to deliver their images he was just as cute and just as alert - only much much bigger :)

The Photos...

2009-01-20T14:11:00.009+10:00

As promised below here are some images of Poppy's Christmas:

The singing:

Working the santa hat:

And the presents! Cooking Christmas breakfast in her new kitchen:

Discovering Upsy Daisy (Makka Pakka's friend):

Upsy Daisy then had pride of place at the next opening:

And was even read too! She was a big hit - thanks Granny Scotland!

It also seems Poppy has come up with a plan to have Christmas EVERY day of the year. When asked by my sister last week whether she was having a brother or a sister Poppy responded "NOOOO - Santa Claus!!!". Apparently I am going to give birth to the jolly man in red!?! Who would have thought? I am not sure I am ready for that...

On the upside, the Santa fear seems to have subsided :)

Hope you are all well.

I have loads of client sessions to post this week so stay tuned!

Fran x

p.s you can see the images larger if you click on them :)

Santa's not scary - he's a good man...

2009-01-15T15:01:00.007+10:00

Well it has been a long time between blogger drinks. I have a resolution not to make resolutions but if I did it would be to be a better blogger. I will try, especially as this blog is getting a complete overhaul in the next wee while.

I do have a tiny excuse for the lack of blogging:

This little peanut has given me a run for my money and much more morning sickness than I ever had with Poppy Cate. Everyone says that's because I am having a boy but I will believe that when I see it because I come from a long line of women who have many more girls than boys :)

We are now 18 weeks and I am feeling a bit better than I was, although the tiredness lingers much more so than with Poppy. Is that because I have a 2 year old in the house???

Speaking of 2 year olds... We had our first really exciting Christmas this year with Poppy understanding the whole concept for the first time. It was lovely really, getting caught up in her excitment, countless renditions of jingle bells complete with hand gestures (Thanks Miss Jacqui!), and christmas hat wearing.

Our only problem seemed to be Santa himself. Poppy was happy to see the jolly man on TV, in books, and to sing about him in songs but one whiff or glance of him out of the corner of her eye and she became a quivering mess, rooted to the spot and unable to walk any further. Shopping trips were spent negotiating a course through the centres that wouldn't take us past the man in red. Believe me my daughter has the eyes of a hawk and this was no meant feat! Needless to say a photo with Santa was not on our agenda this year...

It made me sad. It wasn't that I wanted Poppy to be completely won over by the commercial side of Christmas, but it made me sad to think that my poor wee girl was truly terrified of something that she really needn't be scared of at all.

Faced with the prospect of the daycare Christmas party, DJ and I started planting a seed in Poppy's head: "Santa's not scary... He's a good man". We wrote a letter to Santa; she asked for a Makka Pakka (a TV character for those not in the know) and for the sick children on the TV advert that always makes her cry to get better. We read books about Santa, drew Santa and sang more songs about Santa and his reindeer. Even my family got in on the mantra and Pa spent time talking with Poppy about how great Santa is; "Santa's not scary... He's a good man".

The day of the Christmas party came and we got dressed up in our 'party dress' and went to daycare. As soon as the words "Santa's here" rang in Poppy's ears along with the sound of his bell she clutched onto me like her life depended on it. I tried to get out into the hall so we could see his arrival and prepare her but she latched her talons around the door frame and refused to be budged. So we retreated to the back of the room, as far away from Santa's chair as we could get. She settled for a while when Santa went into the Babies room, but then the bell announced his arrival into her room and she immediately attempted a pole vault over my head to the safety of outside.

I reassured her and told her to that she didn't have to go anywhere near Santa; that we would stay at the back of the room and watch the other children get their presents and her teacher would bring hers down to her. It did seem to help watching the other children get their gifts and sit with Santa without then being struck down by some awful incident. While she was still very tense, she was much calmer.

I could hear her whispering to herself and when I got within earshot realised that she was trying to reassure herself by saying over and over again "Santa's not scary... He's a good man". I am not sure that I have ever held her tighter than I did in that moment.

It seemed to help. Though she still did not go anywhere near him she did manage a shy smile, a wave and a quiet thank you when Miss Jacqui brought her down her gift. She also managed, after that, to stand at the fence in the shopping centre and watch while children had their photos taken with Santa. She even waved when Santa caught sight of her and rang his bell and waved. Maybe next year she will be even less scared.

So that was the theme of Christmas 2008 I guess. Poppy got great gifts from Santa - a kitchen, just like her big cousins Ethan and Ellis and Makka Pakka of course, because Santa is, afterall, a good man...

Poppy's other wish is a longer term one I think but if you have a spare few dollars this year I am sure the Children's Hospitals could really use it!

I will post some pics of Christmas later in the day because if I wait to post this it may be another 4 months before I do!

I hope the New Year is being good to you all.

Fran x

We're home.....

2008-10-14T12:50:00.004+10:00

Well, we have been for a few weeks now but we are just now starting to settle back into non-holiday life! And let me tell you, for those that don't already know, travelling with a two year old is NO FUN AT ALL!

Don't get me wrong, the actual holiday part was fabulous!!! Watching Poppy meet and interact with her Scottish family was delightful! She had loads of fun with her Granny and Shen and all her Cousins and Aunts and Uncles. She also had a great time meeting up with and creating havoc with all of DJ's friends' children. We had a great time too. Very relaxing and quiet which is exactly what we needed...(more details soon). It's just that getting there was really really tough, coming home was really tough and pulling Poppy through jetlag was near on impossible!!!

Poppy vomited the whole 30 hours between leaving Brisbane (actually she didn't start until we got back on the plane at Sydney airport) and arriving in Aberdeen. Actually she did manage to stop vomiting somewhere over Afghanistan or the Caspian Sea - it just felt like the whole way because we didn't have any spare clothes for us and therefore we continued to be accompanied by the aroma... We actually must make a very public thank you to the wonderful Service Manager on the plane who managed to apply successfully to their medical board to release a Panadol suppository from their locked medical case. This ensured we did not have to land the plane to get Poppy to medical attention - you can imagine my look of horror at that suggestion as we were flying over the borders of Afghanistan...

ANYWAY, enough about that. We had a great time and the flights will simply give us something to talk and laugh about in the future I am sure!

Just wanted to let you all know we are back and safe and had a great time. Looking forward to catching up with you soon.

Fran x

Here are a couple of my favourite snaps...

Meet my niece...

2008-08-03T10:12:00.006+10:00

This is Ellah! My beautiful little niece born on 3 July, one day before Poppy's birthday, three weeks early. And let's just say it is a good thing that she was three weeks early because she was born weighing in at 9 pound three ounces (over 4 kgs)!

She was born by Caesarian because they finally discovered that the excruciating back pain Clare had been experiencing was actaully Ellah completely taking over the room that once belonged to Clare's kidneys. The kidneys were not happy (the sonographer told Clare they were 'angry kidneys') and Clare went into the early stage of kidney failure. Ouch!

Things are on the fast track to improvement now though and honestly, if there has ever been a big enough reward for such pain and drama it is Ellah - she is absolutely gorgeous! She has got THE MOST INCREDIBLE HAIR I have ever seen on a newborn!

I flew to Townsville for the day (yep life is that crazy at the moment) to meet her and take her newborn photos (We had intended for the the three of us to go up for a couple of days this weekend but Poppy's three millionth ear infection and the threat of grommets put an end to that as well...). Clare warned me before I got there that she really didn't look very newbornish so I shouldn't get too excited about newborn poses... And wow - not many two week olds look this alert:

But after some cuddles with her Aunty Fran Ellah did snuggle up for me so I could take some photos of her looking semi-newbornish:

Oh the hair! It reminded me of the hair styles of the 1920's - so cute!

She might be big for a newborn but she was still tiny for me considering my baby is now two! And she was still little enough to be cradled in her Daddy's hands (just):

With Mummy:

You may remember the next image from their maternity post. We did the same again with Ellah - cause we all know that this is where the bumps REALLY begin - unfortunately the weather wasn't as beautiful but we will do it again next time I head up that way :)

Much love to you all up there! Can't wait to see you again :)

Fran xoxox

two men and a baby...

2008-07-28T21:27:00.002+10:00

Shiloh - another beautiful baby...

2008-07-15T21:41:00.002+10:00

So many beautiful babies at the moment!

This little one is the bubby of Gaylene and Damien whose maternity post is here

I love everything about this next image - the wrinkles, the little fist, the pursed lips - she really is too cute!

If I didn't have a two year old giving me a run for my money at the moment I would have asked if I could take her home!

I am taking some more photos this week at their family session so I will post more then.

Fran x

The very unmerry unbirthday...

2008-07-14T08:33:00.000+10:00

Friday week ago was Poppy's 2nd birthday and we had invited a small bunch of family and friends around to celebrate on the Saturday afternoon with a BBQ. Poppy had been given a trampoline by Granny and Pa for her birthday and was looking forward to jumping merrily all afternoon. She was quite excited about the fact that it was her birthday and had been singing 'Happy Birthday dear Poppy...' for a week in preparation.

Saturday arrived and she was in a top mood all morning playing and chatting away. We had started the preparations - balloons and all - when it started. One minute she is fine and running around, the next - well let's just say it wasn't pretty... We thought she may just have put her fingers in her mouth a little too robustly but three more incidents later we decided that it could infact be contagious and that we should cancel the party... What does one do with 60 or so cupcakes?

Some images of the party that wasn't...

The beautiful invites by Sarah Jane Studio on Etsy:

Decorations:

Party favours:

The cake, made with lots of love by Granny after Poppy requested a 'tramampoline' cake:

Granny flew home from Townsville in time for Poppy's unbirthday party. She had made a dash up there a couple of days before for my sister who had her baby early due to complications (can't WAIT to get up there and meet the new wee family member!). Given mum made all the party food we thought it only right that we still cut the cake while Granny was here - she headed back up to Townsville a couple of days later with my Nan to do what it is that Mums and Nans do best - cuddles, care and washing ;0)

Happy Birthday my darling Poppy Cate! It was a very memorable day...

And to my Mum who always goes above and beyond the call of duty - you are simply the best!

Fran xoxo

Eve: a little ball of gorgeousness...

2008-07-11T14:46:00.006+10:00

I first met this little miss in hospital where she was not at all interested in having her photo taken! A week later when she was 10 days old she was sleep personified and I had a great time photographing her! With so many great images from this session I had a hard time deciding what to post but here they are:

Isn't she gorgeous?

I'll be in touch soon Charlie!

Fran x

My lovely Clareby...

2008-06-27T20:46:00.006+10:00

I know tonight seems hard and it is! But I want you to know how brave you are and what an incredible journey it is you are embarking upon. It really is such a beautiful thing... I can't wait to meet my niece/nephew and I can't wait to call you a Mummy!

Your body is an amazing machine and it knows what to do. These sleepness nights you are having are exactly why your body will give you lots of lovely endorphins and adrenalin when you meet your baby - it will give you the strength and will to keep going despite the sleepnessness. I am not going to lie to you - it is hard work, but it is so so so so worth everything that it takes to get you there...

I love you!

Fran xoxo

My snapshot project

2008-06-18T10:01:00.000+10:00

For those of you wondering about the toning in the photos below, I thought I might tell you a bit about my 'snapshot project'.

A personal project of mine at the moment, it is about ensuring that I let go of the 'need' to have every image of Poppy be a 'portrait' and make sure we have plenty of the kind of snapshots that I have from my childhood - the kind that tell me who I was and what I did on a day to day basis. Like the fact that I loved to wear bowls on my head... that I loved nothing more than hanging out in my hula skirt... and that once, even if it was only for a few years around my third or fourth birthday, I actually did look alright in a bikini :0)

As a photographer, I have a tendancy to judge ALL of my images by a professional standard and thus not wanting to 'keep' images that are not perfect. But after spending some time looking through our own baby and childhood photos DJ made me promise that I would provide Poppy with this kind of memory. This is harder said than done for me because it means not immediately throwing out the out of focus images (see the photo of Poppy below with her hands out asking 'where'd it go?') or under exposed images. It is also hard for me because it means I have to be in photos sometimes. Yuck.

But more importantly, what it will mean is that Poppy will always have the memory of her looking like a ghetto princess with her dummy in her mouth and the fact that on the day she first met her shadow she tried to outrun it with her tongue hanging out of her mouth...

So back to the toning. Part of this project is about experimenting with colour to 'match' the tonal qualities of my childhood images - the yellowed, faded kind. This is also part of my effort to ensure that people can see, when our photos are side by side, that Poppy does in fact bear a resemblance to me and is not simply a DJ clone ;0)

I am not sure if the toning will stay but it serves a purpose for now and experimenting is all part of the fun :0)

Fran x

"Where'd it go?"

2008-06-17T16:08:00.001+10:00

A couple of weeks ago now Poppy and I were hanging out outside on a Monday. It was a beautiful sunny day and I had decided that my weeks project was going to be playing with full sun photography. We were playing with the 'pretties' (as Pa and Poppy have renamed flowers) when Poppy suddenly stopped and stared at wonder at the black 'spot' on the ground that moved when she did...

It was one of those beautiful moments when I am reminded that there are so many things in life that Poppy Cate has to discover. I watched for ages while she waved at her shadow, touched her shadow and tried to run away from her shadow before I realised that I had a camera in my hand!

When Poppy moved into the shade of a tree she looked up at me intently, arms out, and asked 'where'd it go?'

She looked backwards and forwards, down the drain and behind her back before she stepped back into the sunlight and screamed with delight when she discovered it again. She then proceeded to wave to it and run away from it again with childlike abandon. Her giggle is so infectious. I could barely contain myself.

She is growing up before our very eyes. Can it really be two years in three weeks? 'Where'd it go?'

Fran x

On the move...

2008-06-13T15:20:00.005+10:00

Only a half hour or so till I leave with my Mum and Sis1 to head to Townsville for Sis2's Baby Shower and a girls weekend away. I can't wait to see her!

I will be doing their 'fullish' term maternity shots on Saturday afternoon and Clareby has checked out some cool spots so I am soooo looking forward to it. I also have a couple of other shoots so it will be a busy weekend.

Here are a couple of other shots from our last session together:

More soon,

Fran x

By special request...

2008-06-13T14:27:00.004+10:00

Just for your Gaylene, because the look on your face when I said I didn't have them to show yesterday was truly sad :(

I hope you like them :)

Fran x

working it out...

2008-06-10T22:04:00.002+10:00

OK - are there any Blogger experts out there??? I am having trouble working this 'stuff' out and would love some help! Specifically, how to optimise images for uploading to Blogger and also taming the formatting. See my post below? Irregular spacing is driving me CRAZY!!!

So if anyone has some pearls of wisdom for me I would greatly appreciate it!

Fran xoxo

Maternity with a twist...

2008-06-10T09:35:00.013+10:00

I knew this maternity session was going to be fun when I heard the words - 'we don't care what you do, we trust you and want something different'. Yay! I LOVE it when I have sessions like this... Damien and Gaylene were totally up for anything and this definitely came through in their images. It was gorgeous to see how much they were both looking forward to their new life.

So when I got to their home, I was greeted by the most beautiful abode, straight out of the pages of a glossy magazine! They have done all the work themselves and it really is beautiful. I can't wait to use it as a backdrop for some newborn shots in morning light!

I was also greeted by their first child, Teddy - a small ball of fluff with so much personality who I am afraid to say stole the show! I know maternity sessions are supposed to be ALL about the belly, but Teddy stole my heart and definately pride of place in many of the images I took... Lucky Gaylene and Damien were happy with that arrangement :)

We took a few images inside before venturing out:

Damien dreamt up this pose all by himself and I know he is waiting to see the results:

Then we headed out to use the yummy afternoon light. I LOVE sunflare thus the next couple of images:

I love this next series which probably has a lot to do with my current obsession for lush, tall green grass :)

Gaylene and Damien's little girl is due in June and I simply cannot wait to meet and photograph her. I am going into the hospital to do some 'brand new' shots and then some more when they are settled into their gorgeous home. Can't wait!

Thanks for being so much fun!

Fran x

It's a wild up and down ride...

2008-05-20T12:15:00.008+10:00

A couple of weeks ago, on a Monday - my favourite day - Poppy had had a particularly busy day and was grumpy and tired at dinner time. I can't remember what she was getting all teary about but I do remember the resignation with which I sat at the table with my chin on my hands watching her. All of a sudden a smile broke through the tears and this is what she did...

I have never been so glad my camera was right beside me.

Happy Tuesday...

Fran x

From all the fish in the sea...

2008-05-01T15:13:00.004+10:00

This is Clare and Ben. Clare is my little sis and better known to me as Clareby. She is also one of the most generous, loving and kind hearted people I know... Clareby and Ben are due to have their bub around the end of July and I don't think I have ever seen two people more excited. They have been through so much together to get to this point and I am so very happy for them.

We had so much fun on this shoot. They are so silly together and it was great to see their happiness and excitement spilling over.

This series is called From all the fish in the sea... and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. There are heaps more from this shoot that I will share soon but Clareby has been asking me ever so nicely to see some, so here is your sneak peek Clareby...

Love you!

The 'Y' Family Sneak Peek...

2008-04-29T13:43:00.005+10:00

The Y Family welcomed new addition Little Miss M to the family a little over 8 weeks before our photo session - so cute!

We rescheduled our first session, as often happens with new bubbas, and met again in a beautiful park to capture some images of their family.

Scroll down to also see some of the girls in their own entries...

Miss 'M' of the 'Y' Family

2008-04-29T12:02:00.005+10:00

Little Miss M is a cutie-patootie...

Miss 'C' of the 'Y' Family...

2008-04-29T11:21:00.008+10:00

Miss C is going to be a dynamite when she grows up. She is one now... She plays cello, dances and holds dinner parties for friends. Here are some of her images...

I love Mondays...

2008-04-26T11:50:00.001+10:00

Mondays are lovely. A day off with Popster, and every fortnight with DJ too, Mondays are time to breath and play and sometimes even think. With DJ around on a Monday our days vary but when it is just Poppy and I we generally do the same thing...

It starts with a walk around the see the horses to which Poppy cheerfully calls 'HOORRSSEEYY....' until they finally see her and trot over to say hello which delights her no end. The horses near us are very friendly - thankfully, because if they weren't up for coming over for a visit I am sure Poppy would be most indignant.

After our walk down the laneway to the horses we continue on to our local cafe for our weekly coffee and cake treat. Poppy loves watching the world go by and so I am treated to a relaxed 10 - 15 minutes or so where I can just sit.

Once we are over that which generally happens at the conclusion of the cake we head home, stopping to look at the 'pretties' (flowers) and butterflies and often 'the mooooon' if it is still visible in the sky. My camera always comes along with us and I use Mondays to play with focus and lighting.

Poppy is generally ready for a bit of inside play then and we sing, read books, build lego buildings for her hoorrsseeyys and generally make a good old mess.

Nap time means an hour or so to get some washing done, catch up on some computer work or just stop... followed with more play in the afternoon and generally a run around outside with Ceilidh pups.

Yep, Mondays are good days.

Here are some images from our last couple of Mondays together...

Where are we on the rollercoaster?

2008-03-28T14:37:00.001+10:00

Hi!

I hope you will like it here.

I plan for this place to be a little bit us, a little bit life and a lot photography!

About us:

* Fran - photographer, mum, wife and more...

* DJ - Catchment Officer, extraordinary dad, fabulous husband and can't do without him photographer's assistant

* Poppy Cate (20 months) - daughter, expert teether and model

It seems relevant for our first post to tell you about our last couple of months. It has been interesting and exhausting...

Poppy got all four eye teeth at once. When I say at once, I mean all together - not quickly. They took three months to come through... Poppy is not an easy teether. Her teeth like to make sure we all know they are coming through. I have friends whose children 'wake up with teeth'. No signs, no symptoms - they just arrive. What bliss! Not Poppy. She struggles with every symptom known to teething - horrific nappy rash, fever, pain, runny nose, grumpiness, clingy-ness, sleepness nights, early morning wake up calls - you name it she experiences it. And we experience it right along with her. For 3 months this time.

So just when we thought Poppy might be our only one (how could we possibly put another wee one and ourselves through this) things seemed to turn a corner. Poppy went to stay at Granny and Pa's place for the night and came home different - pain free and happy. The offending teeth stand tall like icebergs - pointy at the top with more lurking underneath - and for now they seem to have ceased giving her trouble.

We have started to breath again and are rejoicing in the return of our happy and curious toddler.

Someone seems to have hit the fast forward button on her development again. She is talking more, has outgrown ANOTHER pair of perfectly brand new shoes and last night took my hand and led me into her bedroom to show me that she wanted to go to bed!!!

So please tell me that this new found 'settledness' will last a little bit longer and that we are not almost at the top of the next rollercoaster climb with another hurtling fall into reality just around the corner :)