Pins & Needles

Dare I say ... heat wave!

2012-01-29T15:59:00.003+11:00

I don't know if a couple of days in a row qualifies, but I feel like we're in the middle of a heat wave. I really do sound like I'm whinging don't I? Oh well, whinge away I say. Man, it's suffocating out there. It says 37.3 C (99 F) on the Elders weather site, but if feels way hotter. Probably because of the wind. Mike has just come home from band practice this afternoon and he looks like he's done 3 rounds in a boxing ring!

And of course I planned on a roast tonight for dinner and have just popped a rolled beef it in the oven. AM I NUTS? Probably.

I had bought some plants on Friday after work, went to Bunnings and came home with a mega punnet of miniature snap dragons (have had great success with them in the past) and a lovely blue star kind of flower. I bought five of them to plant at various intervals in the flower bed. So pretty. Just popped out to check the tag, they are called Astra Blue. Although I'm keeping the plants watered in their pots, it's been to hot to actually plant them. Once the sun goes down and the shade is on that side of the house I'll pop them in. Don't want to kill them before I actually plant them!

I played along with the Saturday Scraplift at Designer Digitals this week and came up with a facing Boxing Day page for Miss T's future album I'll make for her. I had to make the photograph B&W, we had a hot pink and a emerald green bon bon hat on our heads respectively, looked a bit off on the page.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Righto, now I've posted, I'm off to go pop my head in the fridge for a tick! ha.

Woah!

2012-01-28T15:29:00.001+11:00

I swear I'm about to burst a foofer valve. It's so hot today and we're just hanging around indoors with the AC on. Both Molly and Lucky are completely out to it, sprawled on the slate floor as long and as wide as their bodies can go. Mike is asleep on the couch with his feet up. And I do believe there may be a nap in my very near future too.

Okay it's official, I'm completely OVER summer!

Australia Day. The Muster. OH MY! It was spectacular.

The Muster Committee this year put on "The Drovers Return". It was so incredibly good. Three bushies sitting around a camp fire as Andy the Drover passed them by and went off to drove his cattle. They told yarns, which span into plays and re-enactments and displays under spotlight on the equestrian field. All the while the bushmen (including a crazy one named Whacka!) kept spinning their tales which went into the next act, and the next act. They spoke of Clancy of the Overflow, Mulga Bill and his bicycle, the Geebung Polo Club, the Man from Snowy River, all acted superbly by local families and talent from around the south-west.

At the start when the stock riders came in and were riding around displaying their skills, okay, stupid as it sounds I burst into tears. CRAZY STUFF ! I think I got so wound up that our little town, our little speck on the map, could put on something of this calibre. Kudos to the organisers.

At one point when the bushmen settled down to sleep, Whacka woke up to see a horse riding around. Honestly I've never seen such a sight. The rider had I guess they were two long sticks with some sort of tie between the sticks, so imagine it as a big skipping rope. Except the tie part of it connecting the sticks WAS ALIGHT WITH FLAME. And as he rode he would basically skip with it and the horse jumped over the lit skipping rope, continuing right around the oval. Of course by the time "Whacka" had woken the other bushies to tell of a horse skipping through fire, they thought he must be dreaming.

UN-FLIPPING-BELIEVABLE.

The skill of the riders was something to be believed. I'm actually quite fearful of horses, I don't like being close to them at all, but my goodness they were an extension of the rider. They did everything their rider told them to by movement or touch or spoken word.

My favourite part of the night was the dancing. Imagine if you will bush dancing, you know how it is, a line of boys and a line of girls, you move to each other, bow, move back, move forward again, spin around, side step up and the top couple go skipping through the line of dancers. Are you still with me?

Well they did that with a line of dancing people PLUS there was a line of horses and riders dancing in time too, doing the same steps. Two lines of horses, moved in, nodded their head, backed up, moved in, backed up, side stepped, and then the top two riders galloped their horses down the middle of the line of horses. All in time with the dancers doing it too. Like nothing I've ever seen before.

Because it was all done at night and under light my photos were blurry, so hoping our once a week newspaper has some photos in it next Thursday to show.

Onto the scrapping front...

Finally scrapped some photos from our Boxing Day evening with the kids. I am gradually making each of them an album so they'll each get one of these in their albums with a facing page featuring themselves.

Credits Designer Digitals

And with that I do think I need a cup of tea, the only thing to quench my thirst on a hot day like today is a hot cup of tea strangely enough. And there's scotch fillet steak and salad for dinner to be had. So in that order. Tea, nap, dinner !

Australians all let us rejoice

2012-01-26T19:17:00.002+11:00

Australia day, the flag is flying high on our flagpole, it's a glorious day, sunny, not too hot, light breeze, it's going to be a beautiful balmy evening. Our town is putting on a muster and I'm so looking forward to it. They have a show called The Drovers Return and music, a BBQ, it will be loads of fun.

And that's it from me, Australia Day 2012.

Seriously freaky

2012-01-22T15:31:00.002+11:00

And I mean SERIOUSLY ! I went to get a hanky out of the top drawer of my tallboy in the bedroom yesterday and I pulled out two $50 notes that had been tucked in there! Am I having black outs and hiding money that I can't remember. Honestly. I'm starting to worry. Now I'm another $100 up on unexpected money.

I'm really looking forward to what I'll find tomorrow now! ha.

Temperature has hit 35 C and it feels a lot more. I'm flagging fast, as are the menagerie. I took them out in the shade earlier and we played with the hose, spraying water on them in an effort to cool them down. Now Lucky looks like a lion, he needs a good clipping and around his shoulder area is sitting up like a mane. My little lion boy, he's so funny.

Last night we headed down to Collendina to watch my brother-in-law play in his band Skebang, plus it was my sister-in-law's birthday too. A really fun night. Last time I went to the Collendina would easily have been near on 20 years ago, watching James Reyne pump it out. Although it wasn't a dancing type night, Mike decided to get Ann-Marie up on the dance floor, so fun. Then he got me up with him dancing and started dancing like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. Well what's a girl to do and I matched him back. We looked outrageous I'm sure. Much to the mirth of my brother-in-law up on stage playing the saxophone.

So last night, combined with a late night home, combined with a lazy sleep in this morning, combined with this heat that makes you not want to lift a finger, has made for a very unproductive day.

Onto the scrapping front ...

I think scrapbooking is a great way to tell our story because we scrapbookers do become the story tellers of our family. I think also that scrapbooking is a great outlet for therapy, they call it scrap therapy. Sometimes, even if we don't decide to print the page or include it in our family history, it's just enough to make a page and know it's made. Much like writing the letter you never send. This is one of those such pages explaining about the turmoil I felt on Christmas Day.

Credits Designer Digitals.

So right now I plan on putting the kettle on and making a very hot cup of tea. I love drinking hot sweet tea on a hot day, I find it's the only thing that will quench my thirst.

Excitement plus!!!

2012-01-18T22:39:00.003+11:00

Really need to talk with exclamation marks, there's no other way. So the other day I opened my underwear drawer and got a huge shock. Okay, so not about my underwear, although it could scare people I'm sure, it's a bit random. But okay, lets rephrase, I opened the drawer and got a huge surprise. There tucked in the corner was $60.

Three lovely $20 notes, happy as larry, sitting there just in view. First thought was to jump around excited, did a little scream and clapped like a seal. But then I realised it's obviously *MY* money, but I had just forgotten I'd put it there. Hmmmm, scratching my head, could only put it down to just before Christmas, possibly had a bit extra money in my wallet, was going out to one of the various gatherings we went to and didn't want to take all the money so hid it in with my underwear.

Plausible. Still jumping around Mike came in and saw what I was excited about, well he couldn't really help it, I was flapping the notes in his face. So as I went to show him where I found the money, I found MORE MONEY! Out came a few $50's, till in the end I'm standing there with $250 in my hands.

WHAT ON EARTH?!?!??!?!!!!!! (see, I told you exclamation marks were needed in this post).

TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS !!!!! How on earth had I forgotten about that, it kinda puts a bit of a dent into the fortnight's budget to forget about that kind of money.

Then it dawned, the penny dropped, or should I say the $250 dropped! ha. I remembered in December that Mike had given me $250 to put towards the Christmas presents we were buying the kids and our families. DOH! Can't believe I had forgotten about it, probably due to the credit card society we now are. What a fabulous and unexpected windfall ! Seriously putties up a hole in my savings account after Christmas.

Onto the scrapping front...

In my year of just scrapping the every day, no projects, no big commitments, just the joy of scrapping our stories, whether they be good, whether they be bad, whether they be happy or sad, the stories that make our lives here in our little home in the country, I scrapped the story about the visit to the vet, together with photographs I took that afternoon.

Molly looked just so sad, didn't she, like she knew we had been talking about her advanced years during the vet visit.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Can't tell you what a joy it is to just scrap some photos for the heck of it. Whatever takes my fancy. Whatever stories I want to tell. I'm going to enjoy this year of just scrapping for scrap's sake.

And the best actor award goes to ...

2012-01-15T16:43:00.004+11:00

After an early start this morning where we went across to Port Fairy as Mike was playing in the pipe band, we've come to a standstill this afternoon and had a bit of a cruisey one. Mike has just finished watching a movie "Book of Eli" which got us talking about who we think is the best actor EVER.

That's a big ask. Someone versatile, not typecast, someone who obviously is exacting with his/her craft, someone who strives for excellence, someone who you can really BELIEVE they are who they are portraying.

So who would you nominate for the best actor ever?

For us, without a doubt, no ifs, buts or maybes, it's Denzel. A man so amazingly brilliant in our minds, you don't even need to add the Washington at the end. You know you've made it when someone can just utter your first name and you know who you are speaking of. Except I guess I've never ever known anyone else named Denzel, but that's not the point.

Best actor ever vote from us = Denzel Washington.

Who is your pick?

And while I'm at it, how come we don't seem to use the word actress any more? What's the deal with that? I don't think it was derogatory, it was just a way of defining the gender.

So here we are onto the last month of last year. My book of wisdom December pages.

And a fitting finish, a last photograph of the two of us (taken by moi with my arm outstretched, shaking, holding my heavy big girl camera). A last photo for the last day of the year.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Hope you've enjoyed this trip through last year, moments that caught my eye, which made me want to grab my camera and record an image. Esther asked from the last post whether I see my photography improving all the time. This asked from the woman who does take a photo every day AND published them in a yearly album, one page one photo, and the albums are amazing. As for me, not sure. I guess with anything practice will always improve a skill or a craft. I think I definitely see things differently now. Look for odd angles. Check backgrounds so that lamp posts don't look like martian feelers coming out of someone's head, that type of thing. Although it still happens.

But having done this, I'm looking forward to a year with no specific projects, no album to complete. I might do something at the end of the year, but I'm just looking forward to catching up with the photos I do have, and of course take a few more along the way!

Saturday night

2012-01-14T23:53:00.001+11:00

What a boring blog post heading! I sat here, fingers poised, ready to type and nothing came to mind, except ... Saturday night, cause that's what it is. Mike is working on his website, I've been scrapping, dogs are snoozing on the floor beside both our chairs, the cat is curled up on the bed, and all is right with the world.

I've nearly finished showing you this trip through the last twelve months and what caught my fancy each week. Here are November's offerings.

Credits Designer Digitals.

About that first page, the photograph of the clothesline. I changed history there! Hang on, I'll back up a bit. There's a fellow I work with and he gets so mad when people photoshop photographs, enhance the colour, take out a powerline, make it brighter, make it darker, smooth skin tone, that kind of thing. He gets irate that we change history. A bit of overkill, don't you think?

But I did change history in that photograph. I photoshopped out my knickers that were hanging on the other side of the line. I don't think either this blog, my Gallery, or the world wide web were ready to see those bad girls!

The visit to the vet

2012-01-13T23:54:00.002+11:00

I had a day off today so had planned a visit to the vet for the annual shots for the menagerie. Now, stupid as this sounds, we have always taken them to the vet 50km away. Don't ask me why? Well actually I do know. We had a bad visit to the vet here in town a long time ago. It was the Easter weekend, Molly had cut her paw, I guess we had caught the crabby old man vet at a bad time, he'd been out on some farm tending to a sick cow and then he was called in to see us. He was so off-hand, no bedside manner, or kennel side manner (so to speak) and no personality and I took an instant dislike to him and never went back.

But he's long since gone and a young vet with his associates has taken over the clinic and well I guess time is nigh, Molly doesn't travel well, she gets very stressed in the car and when there's a vet only a block and a half's walk away it does seem a bit crazy to stress out driving 50km with the menagerie to see a different one.

So I bit the bullet and made an appointment, and I was honest, not about the crabby vet part, but that we'd been taking them into Warrnambool and it just seemed silly. The lady on the phone was great, then she told me I'd get a discount if I had them all booked in together, could I bring them in at the same time? To which I answered...

ARE YOU FREAKING CRAZY !!??!!?

She laughed and said if we could bring the two dogs, take them home and then bring the cat in straight after, it could be classed as the one visit and we'd get a sizeble discount. I'm not going to sniff at over $30 discount, so we did just that.

Well the vet we saw was lovely, just LOVELY. Lucky took an instant shine to her and she was all over him. Molly is very reserved in vet visits, and I warned her that unless totally necessary please don't take her temperature because our mild mannered girl will turn into the she-devil and you'll have to muzzle her. But Doctor Sarah said there was no need to take her temperature so that was one relief. It was a good long vet visit too, she spoke to us at length about Molly's age and caring for a geriatric dog.

We weighed her too, last time she was weighed at the vets she was 42kg. Ouch. Yes, that's just over 92 pounds my friends. She's big boned, truly! Well I'm pleased to say she came in at 36.8kg. That's 81 pounds. Way to go Molly. Okay so she was moving about on the scales and Mike just picked a number as it was jumping up and down all over the place. But I think we'll go with 36.8. It's a nice number.

One thing Doctor Sarah did say was that Molly looks as if her vision is starting to be impaired. Not to the point of bumping into walls and the like, but it was something she noticed in her eyes. She said that dogs have good "maps" in their mind of their surroundings so she will be fine in our home and yard.

It does kind of explain some things of late - the night Molly went wandering out of the gate after midnight into the darkness - the fact she gets agitated in the middle of the night and starts pacing in the dark - that one morning I woke up and she was sleeping in the passageway bathed in the light shining out from the bathroom that we had left on for her - and now that we are leaving a light on at night she has been completely content to sleep through the night. Interesting.

Didn't mean to speak so much about the visit today, but it was a good visit and these are my babies.

Onward to last October's photos from the Book of Wisdom.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Mike is a bit miffed at the moment, no reply from His Holiness. Err honey, did you really expect one? And now we open the local newspaper today and find out that the really amazingly wonderful Catholic priest we have in town here is being moved to another Parish way up woop woop. What a loss to the town. Mike, I really REALLY hope your letter didn't have anything to do with it, annoying the big guy.

He's at it again

2012-01-11T23:28:00.000+11:00

Mike that is. After his correspondence with that head honcho from Telstra, he feels he had a victory, a $10 win at that. So he's looking further afield. The other day he announced to me that he was going to write to the Pope.

Righto. Nothing surprises me any more.

So that he did. After not being able to find an email address, which kind of didn't surprise me, he sat down and wrote a snail mail letter. About Father Bob. Well power to you Mike. I guess if you are a member of the Catholic Club, you ought be able to write to the CEO of the organisation. You are one of his flock after all.

Long story short to those not up with the story ... Father Bob is one of those priests you either love or hate. Mike happens to think he's right up there with Bob Katter (okay, so I admit, there's no accounting for taste). He loves that Father Bob tells it like it is. The fact that the Catholic Church is forcing Father Bob to retire is a bit sad, he's obviously still vital in his role, I understand there's standing room only at his sermons. There's a story about him here at The Age if you are interested.

So Mike decided to tell it like it is to the Pope in his letter, which he posted last week, and reminded His Holiness that he himself is actually older than Father Bob, and he hasn't yet been forced to retire. Oh dear. Mike darling, I fear you will not win your $10 here so easily!

So now I'm into September, spring has sprung, in showing you the Book of Wisdom pages.

Credits Designer Digitals.

And with that, I'm off to bed. I have Friday off this week as an RDO, so tomorrow is my last day of work. Yay.

Rainy night

2012-01-10T22:50:00.001+11:00

It's a rainy old night out there, dogs have been out and now settling down for the night. Molly has been at odds of a night time lately, we had put it down to how hot it had been and she's wanted to go outside to sleep. But I think we've finally worked it out. Not sure if her eyesight is failing her, well she's not bumping into walls or anything like that, but I think she's becoming disoriented in the dark and then wanting to go outside where at least there's moonlight. Not sure.

The last few nights we've keep the toilet light on with the door slightly ajar so it's letting some light into the passageway, and she's been quite content, one morning I got up to find her sleeping in the passageway, bathed in the light. So that's what got me to thinking about her becoming disoriented in the dark.

So we'll put up with some higher than normal electricity bills for the old girl. It's like she knows I'm writing about her here, she just came up, sat next to me and put her head on my lap as I'm sitting here typing. Wish I knew what she was thinking. I love this old girl with all my heart.

So onwards we go to the August pages I did for the Book of Wisdom.

Credits Designer Digitals

And so with that, it might be time to call it a night.

There's a moose loose in the hoose

2012-01-09T20:35:00.000+11:00

And I am NOT impressed. I hate mice with a passion. I should have known. Bo was sitting for ages looking intently at a corner of the kitchen and I thought then that she has seen something that I have missed. Then yesterday morning out the corner of my eye I saw the scurrying. Okay Bo girl, earn your keep. But no, she hasn't caught it. A few traps last night and this morning I woke to find a mouse. Eeeeeeek. Of course promptly disposed of by Mike, I wasn't touching it! Yuck.

Shall set a few traps tonight in case it had a friend. All's fair in love and war where mice are concerned I'm afraid.

Right, here we are knee deep in winter for the next lot of pages to show you.

Credits Designer Digitals.

I have sent this book away to be printed and am anxiously awaiting it's return, due any time they say between 16th and 26th January. I'm so looking forward to it, so hopefully by the time I get through showing you all the pages up close like this, I'll be able to photograph the finished book in my hot little hands.

Oh dear, Molly is sitting on her haunches right next to me with her front paws on my lap and a pleading look on her face. I do believe that is "Molly talk" for "hey can I have a treat please!"

Well the tin man does have a heart!

2012-01-08T17:20:00.004+11:00

One of my Christmas gifts from the menagerie, yes yes, we get a gift from Molly, Lucky and Bo, was the DVD of Red Dog. Oh ... my ... God ! Talk about cry, I was sobbing buckets by the end. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it even made His Lordship's eyes get all watery. Okay so they didn't spill over, so he says technically he didn't cry, but there was leakage! ha.

Red Dog ... see it ! Iconic Australian movie (and yes, with the token American lead actor thrown in). Although is he a lead actor, somehow I think Red Dog was! There's a clip at the link.

So we're onto June now, here's the photos of the week that saw me through the start of winter.

Credits Designer Digitals.

And looking at those cookies, it reminds me that I have butter softening out on the bench because I need to make some this afternoon, Mike has to "take a plate" tomorrow. Good arrangement huh? He takes the plate, I do all the work.

And along came May ...

2012-01-07T16:18:00.006+11:00

His Lordship came home last night, tired and dirty, after a camp out with some mates, and only finding one bit of gold, only a little bit, but it still floors me that out of the great expanse of the bushland, he can find an itty bitty little piece. Like looking for a needle in a haystack if you ask me. Did I say he was dirty? He was FILTHY! A combination of the dryness, the dustiness and the wind.

The lads not only found gold during the camp, they also found a big fat 2 metre long Copperhead snake and quickly hightailed it out of his area.

He was expecting to camp out a few nights and well, quite frankly, I was looking forward to having the house to myself for a few days solid, watch a few girly movies, do a lot of scrapping and knitting, but he came home after only one night. The other fellows had already camped out one or two nights and Mike had turned up late, so I am glad he came home, I don't like it when he's out in the bush on his own.

Continuing on this trip down memory lane, catching you up on the May pages I did for the Book of Wisdom.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Oh dear, the bagpipes have just started up in the loungeroom. Lucky will be singing his little heart out soon enough, he throws his head back and howls to the moon when Mike starts playing, funny little dog he is.

And onto April's photos of the week...

2012-01-05T22:29:00.003+11:00

I've had a lovely evening scrapping my heart out! Gotta love that. I have a knitting project I want to finish but that can wait till another night. I'm hanging out for a cuppa and then bed, so without further ado, here's April's offerings.

Credits Designer Digitals.

And now my cuppa awaits me, followed closely by my bed!

Recap of March

2012-01-04T22:47:00.005+11:00

Gaaaahhh! I've just had a TV night tonight, watched three TV shows straight, started out with Four Weddings and ended with Criminal Minds. Couldn't be further apart huh? Had a big cry in Criminal Minds, now I feel overwrought. I get so involved in storylines, what a sap.

So the weather, thank goodness, was cooler today. Relief! Lets hope this lasts for a while. Although about 3am last night there was a bit of an electric show outside, lightening coming from all sides, Molly was beside herself. I can't imagine feeling such fear, her eyes were wide, her ears were back, she was shaking, trembling, drooling, all I could do was hold the poor old girl. She eventually fell asleep in the hallway with the light on, where she couldn't see a window so in turn couldn't see the flash, and I stumbled back to bed. Wrecked today!

So onto the pages of my Book of Wisdom for March. Enjoy.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Off to bed, lets pray for no storms tonight!

Onto the next month...

2012-01-03T22:13:00.007+11:00

But before I do, I must relay to you an email exchange my cheeky husband had last month with Telstra. Any Bigpond customers may remember a certain weekend in December where the system went haywire, you could send emails, you couldn't receive, or vice versa, and internet connections were all over the place. Of course with a big company things happen and glitches occur and you are understanding of that. But this particular night Mike received an email from Telstra and, well, he'd had a couple of after dinner drinks so decided on some tomfoolery.

Email from Telstra entitled "We are sorry we let you down this weekend" :

As you're aware some of our online services were unavailable from
late Friday 9th to late Saturday 10th December due to an earlier internal
systems issue.

I want to sincerely apologise for any inconvenience you may have
experienced this weekend because of the disruption.

Services are now back up again for the majority of our customers, and
your BigPond services should be working as normal.

The decision to temporarily reduce access to these services was not
taken lightly and I know that our actions resulted in a poor online
experience for you and was a source of frustration.

Once again, I apologise for the disruption to your service and thank
you for your patience.

Best regards,
Executive Director, Customer Service

Return email from Mike to the Executive Director:

No worries Peter, Apology accepted.

It was an inconvenience for me this weekend when it happened. What will you do to make it up to me ?

Cheers
Mike.

Email from Kylie from the Bigpond Team back to Mike:

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your email, my name is Kylie and I appreciate you taking
the time to contact us. I understand that you are querying what Telstra will
do to make it up to you.

I sincerely apologise for any downtime you experienced with our online
services and for the inconvenience this has caused.

BigPond can provide a credit of $10 for the period of time your Internet was
down and as such I have applied this credit to your account.

Kind Regards,
The BigPond Team

Email from Mike to Kylie:

Thankyou Kylie, You have reconfirmed my faith in Telstra.

Cheers
Mike.

Thank goodness the email exchange ended there, I fear we would have ended up with shares in the company. So moral to this story is if you don't ask you won't get. Sure it's only $10, but imagine if they gave $10 to every customer the disastrous weekend affected. Another moral to the story, don't let your husband loose on the email if he's had a few tipples after dinner!

Continuing on with my Book of Wisdom, onto February:

Credits Designer Digitals.

Oh that photo of Rastaman ... I don't think I will ever forget that day as long as I live. I had been practicing panning but unfortunately Lucky was way too quick for me, so that was when Mike had the brilliant idea of running for me. But oh no, he couldn't do just any type of running, he had to do it in style, and that's how Rastaman was born! Except Rastaman nearly gave himself a heart attack running all round the front yard, to the obvious delight of the neighbours peering through their loungeroom curtains!

And I swear, when I was packing up the Christmas tree yesterday, Mike looked longingly at the red velvet Christmas tree skirt, before I dumped it in the laundry basket to be washed!

I'm melting!

2012-01-02T17:04:00.005+11:00

Isn't that what the witch said in Wizard of Oz? Well I'm hardly going to call myself a witch but oh boy, I'm melting big time. It's 41.5 at the moment, which is 107F and on the odd occasions we've gone outside today it's been like being hit by a blast furnace. I think we put the AC on around 9am and it's been on all day, goodness knows what the electricity bill will be this month.

Back to work tomorrow, festivities are all over, done and dusted and back into some semblance of routine. The decorations came down today, all done by moi ! Well I put them all up myself, was there going to be any difference in packing them all up? It's like the Christmas magic fairies came in and did all the work. Hmmmph. And of course I've left the one obligatory decoration out, grrrr. Happens every year. I don't suppose a glass santa boot filled with lollies could be a year round decoration? Now I have to find room to put it away with the rest of the Christmas paraphernalia which only JUST fit back into the chest that I got them all out of.

I have finished my 2011 Book of Wisdom and just hit the order button about half an hour ago. I have been very slack in showing the pages here, mainly because I got waaaaay behind and did a mammoth scrap to catch up. And catch up I did. I'm so happy with it, but I have made the decision along the way not to do a project of this type in 2012.

In 2009 I did Project 365 and loved it, and I do believe it makes you look at things in different ways, trying to get a unique photo every day, and well practice makes perfect, like anything, we need to hone our skills.

In 2010 my big project was Mike's secret book, I'm still thrilled with pulling that off without him knowing.

In 2011 I did the Book of Wisdom as a Project 52, a photo each week to depict something that happened. I found a few of the weeks we must have had some boring moments because there's quite a few flower pages in it! I'm glad I've done it, but also glad it's over.

So 2012, I've decided no big projects. I might do some type of December Daily perhaps at the end of the year, but throughout the year I want time to catch up on individual scrapbook pages for the books I'm making for the kids, just random pages of our lives, I might put some of the pages together in some calendars for Christmas presents (oh yes, already thinking that far ahead!). I might even take some classes along the way if they jump out at me. But mainly I just want to catch up. Get my scrap goodies into some semblance of order. Get my photos into some semblance of order. Get my pages into some semblance of order. GET MY LIFE INTO A SEMBLANCE OF ORDER!!!!

Yep, feeling a tad out of control.

So over the next couple of weeks I will catch you up on my "P52 Book of Wisdom". Excuse if I've shown some of the earlier pages way back in the piece, you can just enjoy the first few all over again. Welcome to my whacky life...

Credits Designer Digitals.

Off to stick my head out the door to see if the cool change has arrived, please please please. (Oh and if any of you Queenslanders are reading this, yes I know we're soft down here!)

My last post for 2011

2011-12-31T14:19:00.003+11:00

Well here it is, my last post for the year. Do I need to say something profound? Sorry, don't have it in me at the moment! It's so hot here today, a stinker if you will. Mother Nature is finishing the year with a bang, that's for sure. We have no energy much to do anything, it's a hot wind out there too. I looked at the Christmas decos before and thought nahh, they can stay up another day.

I bathed Molly and Lucky this morning, Molly is still a bit damp, laying flat out on the slate in the back room. At least she's cool, she was overheating earlier. It's going to be a tough summer for the old girl.

Must show you what his Lordship gave me for Christmas, and as suspected all the clues he gave me earlier were made up. I figured that. The only one that was correct was it started with the letter "S".

It turns this...

Into this...

And for non-knitters amongst us, is called a Swift...

Method in his madness, although he has been very patient in the past with his arms in the air holding the skeins of yarn as I wind them into balls, now he knows I can do it much more quickly, neatly and on my own. I have happily been winding all the skeins of yarn I own here, which pleases me no end.

Incidentally Mr. G also gave me that yarn, isn't it gorgeous? He picked the colour out himself too, he couldn't have picked better if he tried. I'll turn that little baby into a pair of socks for moi !

Now, in finishing up the year, however you are spending this last day of 2011, I hope you stay safe and that 2012 will be bigger, better and brighter than ever before. Thank you for your company this past year. Hope to hear from you again in 2012, I love reading comments, so I know I'm not just here talking to myself, which happens quite a bit if truth be known!

Happy New Year.

Christmas Day!

2011-12-27T21:03:00.003+11:00

We spent Christmas Day with Mike's sister and family, their first Christmas in their new home. Mum was invited but declined. Sad yes, she still can't face spending Christmas with family and friends. I know that dad would have wanted us to continue to enjoy Christmas so I aim to do just that, because that's what he would want.

It was lovely being surrounded by Mike's family. Plus my brother-in-law's parents were there also. We had a lovely lunch of turkey and ham and all the trimmings. And the most magnificent plum pudding. Now I'm not a fan of plum puddings, not at all. I will have a serving just to be polite. But honestly this was so good, I went back for seconds! Apparently it was a recipe that was in a book by Susan Duncan. No idea which book. But I *have* to get this recipe. Even Mike had 2 helpings and he doesn't like cooked fruit AT ALL.

Probably the only serious photo of the day

Then funny faces started to emerge

Even bah humbug faces, does that hat suit him to a tee or what?

Shocked faces, brother-in-law cooking the prawns, caught in the kitchen.

Beautiful faces from Tilly the dog.

Strange Uncle Mike faces.

Funny grandpa stances

Yay, another normal photo!

Grandparent photos with my niece and nephew.

Brother-in-law's father, looking right pleased with the santa shortbread we gave him.

Master Sean quite pleased with the day.

Miss Jessica with her balance bird, very clever.

More grandparent shots with the children.

Unwrapping gifts.

Larry the bird even joined in.

Then afterwards we went to see my mum on the way home, so Mike made sure we got a photo there too. I like these two.

So tired by the time we got home, and then we got to do it all over again on Boxing Day, Mike's kids came for dinner, but will show those photos another day, once I finally get them off the camera!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T23:12:00.003+11:00

The day is almost over and we are heading off to bed, have eaten way too much, enjoyed ourselves, and as I wish you all a Merry Christmas I also think of my dad. Four years ago today.

I love you and miss you dad. My Christmas Angel.

Well it's almost that time

2011-12-24T16:13:00.005+11:00

What has been bought has been bought. What has been wrapped has been wrapped. Nothing much more to be done here. I might make some shortbread in a tick, I have the butter on the bench, it's probably melted into a puddle right now, it has been so warm today. Gearing up for a lovely hot day tomorrow. Temperature forecast is 28 C with late thunderstorms.

I had to buy a quick emergency present because one of the online gifts I bought (with guaranteed delivery before Christmas) hasn't arrived! Grrrrrr. So down to the giftshop I went to buy a replacement present, plus buying myself a lovely blue/green scarf at the same time. I'll just do a swap with Christmas/birthday, all good. Annoying, but good.

It's been such a hectic week at work, getting everything done with earlier than normal time frames because of the public holidays. But we did it. We all ate a fair bit of chocolate during the week too! Light on with staff, but festive all the same.

Mike and I went out looking at the Christmas lights around town. Not as many houses this year, but Bushy's farm was just as fabulous as ever. He lives on the outskirts of town and takes about a month to put up his lights, you actually drive into the farm and around the yard, it's quite fabulous. Sometimes Santa is there to greet you. He has the most beautiful alpacas as well, that you can see in their pen (one of my dreams is to have a little bit of land and a few alpacas). I told Bushy that I look forward to this every year, and after a busy lead up, it really has gotten me right into the mood and the Christmas spirit.

We also went to a lovely relaxing BBQ for dinner during the week. Some very good friends here from town, it was fantastic, just sitting, eating, talking, laughing. Five couples and assorted children. Just what we needed in an effort to try to slow down and breathe.

Tonight Mike and I will go to the local Church service. The church is just up the road, so a short walk for us. Afterwards everyone catches up on the lawns outside the church, it's a nice time.

So however you will be spending this last day before Christmas, I hope it is exactly how you want it. I've been lucky enough for my days to be just that.

Merry Christmas everyone from me, his Lordship and the menagerie...

Credits Designer Digitals.

Feeling snoozy

2011-12-18T15:16:00.003+11:00

I think events of the past week have really caught up with both of us. Mike fell asleep on the couch just before 3pm, air conditioner going, and he's happily dozing. He had channel 2 on, some documentary that has finished, and now it's opera singing on it. ha! He'll get a surprise when he wakes up. Oh and the minute my father-in-law left yesterday afternoon, I lay down on the bed and didn't get up for an hour.

I've just done a bit of baking, well not baking because it didn't use the oven, I just made some cherry ripe truffles courtesy of my friend Lucy's recipe. Delish.

1 packet Nice biscuits
1 can condensed milk
3 cherry ripes
2 tablespoons cocoa

Whiz in a food processor, roll into balls and coat with coconut.
Refrigerate until firm.

How easy is that. Actually I didn't quite need the whole can of condensed milk, in case you are planning on making it.

I took Lucky for a walk earlier to mail the last of my Christmas cards. And that's been the sum total of our day. How decadent.

Not many things planned for next week, anxiously awaiting the postman to bring the last two orders I had made of two gifts. I may have to dive down the street and get an emergency present if they don't come. Why oh why do I have brilliant ideas so late in the piece.

I love to do heritage pages, telling our story is one of the reasons I have this scrapbooking passion. This is part of my story from yesteryear.

Credits Designer Digitals.

It's been a loooooong week!

2011-12-16T22:23:00.002+11:00

I know the build up to Christmas is exhausting, but this week has been like no other. I just now want to curl up in bed for, hmmm, let's see, how about 2 whole days! ha.

Tuesday we had his Lordship's 50th birthday. So for the man who did not want to do anything, we did just that. I got his favourite Thai takeaway and we had that for dinner.

Wednesday during the day I headed up to Tarrington (near Hamilton) to a lovely cafe there for our annual Christmas party for work - we have staff members that come from all round there so it's nice to travel up that way.

Wednesday evening three of Mike's four children (sans the one who lives in Melbourne) came for dinner, which was really lovely. He actually allowed us to sing happy birthday that night!

Thursday we headed over to Terang for a Christmas party for lodge over there, a very festive night with a really wonderful meal. Probably the best steak and pepper sauce I've had in a long long time, followed by cookies and cream cheesecake. OMG, it was delicious.

And then tonight we had the town's Christmas Parade and Carols by Candlelight. FINALLY this year no rain! After the torrential rain of last year and the year before, it was nice to sit out in the village green and enjoy the local talent amongst friends. Although when the sun went down it did get chilly so lucky I thought to bring my coat. With Mike being one of the key organisers amongst other lodge members, it's been an exhausting time for him, and even tonight he was running around with the clipboard, co-ordinating.

And now here it is, 10.30pm on Friday night and I'm ready for bed, ready to sleep forever I feel like. But I'll be up early again I know because my father-in-law is coming for a visit, so I will make something special, I know not what.

Then I swear, after he leaves, I sleep!

I haven't done many Christmas layouts this year because I'm busy catching up on my Project 52, but when I saw Katie's upcoming Elf kit I knew I had the most perfect of photographs to go with it.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Must admit I have been intrigued by this whole Elf on a Shelf phenomenon I've been seeing. Has it been around forever? I've seen it all over Pinterest. And of course now I want to get one it's sold out at Book Depository and Borders. Not to worry, I'm sure there'll be another fad next year.

It's someone's birthday today!

2011-12-13T22:47:00.002+11:00

And a GOLDEN birthday at that.

Photo taken last year when he was still young and in his 40's ;-)

Credits Designer Digitals.

I'm here!!

2011-12-10T18:15:00.004+11:00

You are forgiven for thinking that Sonia and I had such a good time last weekend that we have run away, never to be seen again!

We did though, not the run away part, but we had a BRILLIANT time in Melbourne. So much fun. So much shopping. We ate with the beautiful people down at South Bank, ha, I told Sonia they seat the ugly people inside, so we must be part of the beautiful crowd! I think we were delirious in each other's company. So much laughing.

We also realised that as we get older things start to hurt! ouch. All our "hinges" hurt by the end of the weekend - ankles, knees, hips! All that walking.

We crammed so much into the weekend - checking out the pretty decorations in Melbourne, tramming all over the place, the atrium at Crown, eating at Southbank, eating at Chinatown, eating down the little laneways of Melbourne, did I mention we did a lot of eating! The chocoholics tour of Melbourne which was a lot of fun, Docklands DFO, a visit to Queen Victoria Market, the light projections at St. Pauls Cathedral and the State Library, I swear I stood there with the goofiest grin on my face, they were so beautiful.

Lots of photos to come, but to tide you over here's one of the first things I got us to do, unbeknowns to Sonia. I had us line up with the kids at Myer to get our photo taken. I did say to Santa I wouldn't sit on his knee for I fear his chimney climbing days would be over, but he did tell us that we were both on his good girl list, quite right up near the top. So there, I have it from good authority!

Love you heaps Sonia!

One more sleep

2011-12-01T23:09:00.004+11:00

Tomorrow morning it's up early to catch the train to Melbourne, up early for Sonia to catch the plane to Melbourne. We are both so excited.

Lots of talking to be had.
Lots of laughing.
Shopping.
Eating.
More talking.
More laughing.

It's been three years or just over, since we've seen each other. How has that happened? Time is fleeting isn't it.

Here's two of my favourite pages I made when I made "our" album. Photos from a long time ago.

Can't wait to make more memories with my bestie.

Three more sleeps

2011-11-29T21:59:00.003+11:00

Can't wait till Sonia and I hit Melbourne for our big weekend. I am so jazzed about everything we have planned, but most of all that we will be together for the first time since goodness knows when. I thought of a really cool idea of something else we can do on one of the days there, and I know Sonia will be reading this and it will drive her crazy not knowing, but one must have some surprises up one's sleeve, mustn't one?!? ha.

Stay tuned! ;-)

Last lot of pages to show of the book for the boys.

The book needed a title page and I thought a letter from us would be perfect.

And a set of school photographs I do believe are a must. I think back to my own school photos and it's neat to see how I changed over the years.

And boys and girls alike always should have photographs of their very first day at school. How terrified does young Matt look in these photos.

Credits Designer Digitals.

I was parcelling, packaging, boxing up overseas Christmas presents tonight and ouch, I really once again haven't thought things through very well. One of the gifts was 2kg!!!!! OUCH! I am going to see if a postpac for that one brings it under the 2kg mark instead of the box. Each year I say I'll be more savvy and each year my thoughts go out the window in search of the perfect present. Perhaps online direct mail shopping next year!

Big day

2011-11-27T23:13:00.003+11:00

Headed down to Geelong today to go to the Christening of a dear sweet little girl of friends of ours. It was a lovely big Christening, mainly due to the female side of the couple being an Italian family. I have decided I love canoles. I don't even know how to spell them. But these delicious pastry twisty round things filled one side with vanilla custard and the other side with a chocolate custard. To ... die ... for. A huge meal was had mind you, but it's all about the dessert really, isn't it?

Can't wait ... 5 more sleeps and then I'm meeting up with my best friend in the big smoke for our weekend away. She's flying in from Tassie and I'm training up from the south west. CANNOT WAIT! We've been planning this since July and it's nearly here. We were like giggling schoolgirls on the phone tonight.

Another couple of pages to show you from the book for the boys. I really like this first one, we've often commented on that last photo there that it's like dad is looking down on them smiling and loving the relationship they formed. It was a fun coincidence that young Matt and mum had the exact same birthday. So special for the two of them.

I needed to do a remake of this following page. I loved it so much but I had lost it when my computer went kaput in 2010, so I kind of recreated it, but using different but similar coloured items and papers. The photos however are just the most fun. Crazy kid he is.

Oh and yes Polly, if you are reading this, yes that's the shower cap you gave me in the middle picture. I'm pretty sure it was from you from memory. I still have it and I love it !

Credits for both pages from Designer Digitals.

Now, must go to bed. I'm still sniffing but not like it was. My lips are cracked and dry though, still feel like a duck! After sleeping most of the way home in the car this afternoon I hope I can actually get to sleep tonight.

Should I feel guilty?

2011-11-25T23:48:00.005+11:00

Okay, give me your honest opinion. You know I've felt like crap this week, even sleeping through most of Wednesday. I'm still not feeling 100 percent, my nose is still so stuffed up, but at least I'm not sneezing any more. So Thursday night oh at about 10.30, just about to go to bed and Mike pipes up ... "oh by the way, the fellas are coming around here Friday night for a meeting" ("the fellas" being the committee who are putting on the town's Christmas parade and Carols by Candlelight).

Err tomorrow night?

You tell me at 10.30 in the evening?

Why did you not tell me at 6.30 tonight, so I had a chance to vaccuum and tidy up before Friday?

Oh, didn't think about it then.

So imagine if you will that the place here looked like a bomb had hit it, I've had no energy to do anything this week. And I was working all day Friday and would not be home from work until after 6pm, and the fellas were due to arrive around 7.30pm. So I simply said, "right, so you decide, do you want to vaccuum and dust or do you want to cook our dinner, either/or, because I can't do everything in an hour and a half when I get home from work."

So Mike decides to do the vaccuuming and the dusting, cleaned the bathroom too, and he did a magnificent job of it I might add, he's been hiding his light under a bushel, that's for sure. And I did dinner.

So 7.30 comes and goes, no one turns up. 7.45 still no one. I told him to ring them. They had decided that they didn't need a meeting after all but didn't tell Mike. HA! Oh I bet he wishes they told him earlier in the afternoon. Now I don't have to do ANY cleaning at all this weekend!

So I ask you once again ... should I feel guilty? Because I don't.

It has however given me lee way today to wrap wrap wrap Christmas presents. I'm going gung ho at the moment, I'm knee deep in paper and sticky tape and ribbon, and in my element.

Catching you up on the final lot of pages in the book for the boys. I'm so excited to get this back, I'm always excited to get a book back in print. I've ordered a second copy for myself.

Credits for above all from Designer Digitals.

Okay, back to the wrapping I go.

Sniff, cough, sneeze, splutter

2011-11-23T12:42:00.004+11:00

That is the sum total of me, yesterday and today. I initially thought I was getting a bout of hay fever earlier this week, but it has developed into a head cold and I can't stop sneezing. So to give you an insider tip, buy up some stocks of Kleenex because sales are going through the roof the way I'm using them!

I took the day off sick and have slept through most of it. At one stage I got up to make a pot of tea and imagine this if you will ... my hair looked like a birds nest, my nose is swollen and red raw, watery eyes, saggy daggy tracksuit on and Mike looked at me and I couldn't help it, I said "Mike honey ... do I look pretty?" ha he didn't know which way to look.

Must ... Get ... Better. Sick of myself at the moment.

I hit "order now" on the book for the boys so it is finished. Still a few pages you are yet to see so shall pop a couple here now. Honestly I could just have kept scrapping these boys, so many stories and words I want to say to them, but it had to end one day so I could actually get the book printed.

Really, the picture of innocence, isn't it?

Credit Designer Digitals.

Now ... back to my best friend, the bed I go.

Weekend is over

2011-11-20T19:40:00.003+11:00

Here we are, Sunday night yet again, another week over and a new one beginning. Sunday nights, what to do now that Underbelly is finished, ha! Had a big weekend with a nice night out last night. We were at a Masons Installation and ended up on a really fun table for the banquet.

Had a cruisey Sunday, just on finished the book for my nephews and just about ready to hit the print button. I set it out and some double pages just didn't fit so have had to make a quick few pages to fit on opposing pages. I will be sad when the project is over.

Here's another page from the book showing the special relationship between Mike and Matthew. Matt absolutely idolised Mike and was his little shadow whenever he was here, and quite frankly I know the feeling was mutual.

Credits Designer Digitals.

And now here we are on the downward slide of November. I must get a grip on Christmas, I've shopped like there's no tomorrow, but haven't been updating my spreadsheet, I'm all over the place.

I've finished birthday shopping for His Nibs, now just waiting for the delivery. A fun (and quite ridiculous) 50th present for sure. Stay tuned.

Disaster

2011-11-18T23:30:00.004+11:00

I had a disaster last night, or I should say this morning, in the very early hours of this morning in fact. I lost Molly. Oh God! I am thinking of what could have happened and it tears me up. Many many tears last night, from despair to happy tears. This is what happened.

Mike was over in Portland so was going to be home very late. I had gone to bed but just after midnight Molly started pacing. Back and forward. Coming up next to the bed and thumping her chin on it to wake me up. Pacing again. I figured she probably needed to go out for a wee and told her to hold on.

Pace pace pace even more.

So at 12.30am I groggily got out of bed, dressing gown on and took her outside. She went over to where she usually goes, but then decided to turn and walk into the front yard, so I followed. Then she saw the front gate was opened ready for Mike to drive in, and before I knew it she walked right out.

Black dog + black night = frantic Carol.

I started to race after her but she completely had disappeared into the night. Quickly inside, grabbed her leash and a torch but she was gone. Oh God, my poor dear sweet Molly, I was in tears when only a few minutes later Mike's car came round the corner, he was home. Wondering what I was doing out in my pyjamas. In tears I told him.

So he grabbed another torch and what a pair we made. Walking down our street, shining torches into people's yard, softly calling out "Molly" ... me in my pyjamas and Mike in a tuxedo! No sight nor sound. How far could she have gone. She's 12 years old, she gets muddled.

We drove around in the car after that, round the block, nothing. No moving shadows, no barking dogs, nothing. By this stage I was in despair. Came back home to check in case she was sitting by the back door, she wasn't. I pulled on clothes and Mike decided to head down to the highway which is a block away, the trucks hurtle down there of a night. I decided to head up our street up to the golf course which is one of her favourite walks.

By this stage it had gotten to about 1.15am. In tears we met back, well okay I was in tears, Mike was all business. What to do? My heart ached when Mike said we were looking for a needle in a haystack in the night, that we should leave the gate open, the back light on and hope against hope that she would curl up in someone's garden where it was nice and cool and we'd go out at first light and find she'd be laying in her bed at the back door. I knew I wouldn't sleep a wink.

We were both just looking at each other in the loungeroom when Mike thought of a crazy idea. Could Lucky track her? I thought he was stark raving mad and had watched way too many Lassie movies as a child, but anything was worth a try. I grabbed Lucky's lead and he thought all his Christmasses had come at once going out for a walk in the dark.

Running down the driveway he was pulling like he always does at the start of a walk, making his little sounds, leash was jingling and all of a sudden out of the dark Molly comes running in the driveway, I guess thinking she was missing out and almost pounced on him to play.

OH THANK YOU GOD!

I grabbed her, put her leash on and quite frankly forgot all about it being nearly 1.30am and started yelling out, "Mike, Mike, I've got her". Goodness knows what the neighbours must have heard, particularly as it was a very still night. I didn't care, I had my girl back.

I can't bear to think about the what ifs. What if she decided to head to the highway and was hit by a truck hoofing it through town? What if she made it to the golf course and got through the wire fence and got herself lost on the fairways? What if she just didn't know how to get back from wherever she went? Which now I think about it she was probably in a yard very near to where we were, but we just don't know.

What a night. After 5 and a half hours sleep I was up for work. I have been wrecked all day. A bit long winded? Sorry about that, but it was certainly a night for lots of emotions last night. This girl is one of the greatest loves of my life and it was all my fault and I would never have forgiven myself if anything had happened to her.

On the scrapping front...

One of the latest pages I have made for the book for my nephews. Err yes, that is my hat! Surely everyone has a hat like this? Anyone? Anyone at all?

Credits Designer Digitals.

And with that I'm off to bed.

Okay, it's official

2011-11-16T22:14:00.004+11:00

I am completely OUT OF CONTROL. No ifs, buts, or maybes. I took stock just a moment before of what is on my plate right now:

* We are knee deep in politics at work and I'm the kind of girl that just wants to go to work, do my work, come home. I am not liking this.
* Plus the union has us doing work bans at the moment, which I don't agree with but when you are a union member what do you do?
* Finished scrapping a Christmas card this week so I could make the deadline for a huge vistaprint sale.
* Ended up spending waaaaay too much at vistaprint, even with their sale, made some customised t-shirts, etc.
* Now I'm seeing the 2 for 1 calendar offer at Snapfish and wondering .... NO, no time!
* Finishing up the cover for the book for my nephews, must get that off to print. I'll get it sent direct I think and take advantage of free USA shipping.
* Have a special birthday, no not me, next month and his Lordship does not want to do anything special for it. Arrrrgh. That is soooo not my style.
* Having said that I need to shop for a 50th gift, something special, even though, as you know ... it's just another day. If I hear that one more time .........
* Arranging a Kris Kringle gift exchange at work, always a bit stressful because you want to make sure everyone plays along nicely, no bad gag gifts, etc.
* Need to block the lacy scarf I have knitted.
* Was going to finish a book of layouts for number 1 stepson, but that doesn't look like it will get done.
* Trying to finish up overseas shopping so I get the gifts I need to send out on time.
* And just now trying to order a couple of books for gifts from Borders online to take advantage of their 30% and the voucher code won't redeem.
* And amongst all that trying to remember to breathe.

I really am out of control aren't I? I haven't even listed all that's on my plate at the moment there. And if I think back to the start of the year, remember my one word for the year was "simplify". I didn't really take that on board.

Still showing you pages for the book for the boys. I found some great sites online along the theme "rules for a good life" and so picked some of the great ones, the relevant ones, the ones I can imagine I would sit down with young David if he were here and as an Aunty would try to impart the wisdom of my ways, ha! I hope this page is a welcome addition to the book and he'll look back on it many times and take the words to heart.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Now, an early night, well it's 10.30 so not so early, but I do believe I need to sleep. With Molly laying at my feet which is her usual position when I'm on the computer, she's snoring and making me tired too.

Half way through November

2011-11-15T23:00:00.003+11:00

Can you believe it, half way through November. I always say that November is the quickest month of the year. You're sitting there quite complacently, then all of a sudden December is on you and the silly season has begun.

I'm doing very well with my shopping, buying a lot online this year. Sooo convenient. I've ordered my Christmas cards from Vistaprint last night, a huge sale. Can't wait to get them, of course one of the menagerie feature, I was going to post it here, but I can't spoil the surprise for those I post cards to that read this!

Ordered some other unique items from Vistaprint as well, it was a bit of a treasure trove last night. I love that you can personalise things. This is becoming quite a non-post really isn't it? I can't even tell what that is in case Mike clicks on my blog and reads, because it just may be for him.

I'm doing the count down till the first weekend in December when I am going away for the weekend to Melbourne with my bestie. Just Sonia and me, it will be terrific. Staying in a boutique hotel in the city, we have plans for a few things, lots of laughs, good food, shopping, what more can two girls on the loose in the big city need!

Nothing much more to report here, except that it's a special day. Half way through November, means 15th and that means it would have been my dad's birthday today. Mike and I made a special dinner, a lovely porterhouse steak which was one of my dad's favourite meals. Okay so I burnt the steak, but it was still edible. Mike made a lovely toast to my dad, taken too soon, and then he said that one thing my dad did leave on this earth was a daughter with so many of his good qualities. Of course that made me burst into tears. Happy tears though.

Happy birthday dad. You would have been 72 today.

This is an old photo from a long long long time ago (I was a lot thinner!!!). And I might be making a goofy face with my silly smile like that, but I like this photo. Happy times.

Exhausted just watching them...

2011-11-12T22:44:00.002+11:00

A couple of fellows from my workplace set themselves a 24 hour treadmill challenge, in an effort to raise money for some local charities. Yes you read right, 24 HOURS RUNNING ON A TREADMILL !!! They started 12noon on Friday and ran, walked, didn't stop moving until 12noon today (Saturday).

I popped down to the Green to see them after work on Friday, they were setting quite a pace and had already done 36 and 47 kilometres respectively in the first 5 hours. It was exhausting just to watch. Heck, I get winded running out to the clothes line when rain is threatening.

I had to go back into town today to get my hair cut so went earlier and spent some time down at the Green cheering them on. They were still going, both looking quite worse for wear, but still running. Unbelievable but true.

At the 21 hour 38 minute mark one of them had run 137 km and the other 153 km. That's a LONG WAY by anyone's standard. That's a trip for me to go back to my home town. I am so impressed and admire them, the money they have raised by way of sponsorship, raffles, community events this morning like the group aerobics session, the fun run, the extra treadmill that you could pay to run alongside them.

What spurs a person on to do something like this? Such goodness of heart, mind, body, spirit, that's what. Good on them, big round of applause.

On the scrapping front ...

Working on the last few pages for the album for the boys. I'm a bit behind in showing off the pages here so bear with me over the next few days to catch you up.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Thought I better get my mug into the book on a few pages, I'm usually behind the lens but every now and then I hand the camera over. I particularly like this set of photos, shows what a fun relationship we have with the boys.

Sunday

2011-11-06T22:29:00.002+11:00

Just about over, time for bed ready to start the week again.

Nothing is going to plan tonight. I decided I would upgrade the ipad to that IOS 5 that I'm meant to do, had to upgrade itunes first. With that out of the way tried to do the ipad and it keeps erroring. I can't be bothered now, will try again later or ring up the apple care or whatever it's called.

Then my virus checker/internet securitywhich has been counting down, so it's been letting me know, but I've had my head in the sand and all of a sudden "one day to go". Ack! So have just purchased same over the net but there's a 24 hour delay in sending whatever they send to me. Double ack!

Watched the last episode of Underbelly tonight. We both have thoroughly enjoyed this particular series. I did watch the first series, semi-watched the second, was there a third series? can't remember, if there was I didn't watch it, but we both watched every episode of this series with the razor gangs of Sydney. Wow, what a time in our history, so glad we didn't live it.

On the scrapping front, just scrapping the last few photos of the boys for their album, I want to get it done and dusted and to the printers. I like to journal on my pages. Visually the photograph can be key to the page, but I love to tell the story, probably as much as I like to talk. And sometimes even the story behind the story. In years to come that will evoke as much memory as a photograph, even more so.

Credits Designer Digitals.

So this photograph was taken on the day we said goodbye to the boys and despite the photo being pretty ordinary, I really wanted to include the memory of my mum taking this particular photograph. So must take this on board more often, the photographs do not have to be perfect, the fact I am getting down a memory is perfect enough.

Over and out.

This week

2011-11-05T16:40:00.003+11:00

It's been a tough one. Allister. A beautiful man from our little town who passed away earlier this week and his funeral was yesterday. An amazing man, a gentleman and a GENTLE MAN. He lived 85 years on this earth and jam packed every bit of living he could in those 85 years. I was astounded at the stories they told at his service.

Mike did the Masonic part of the service at the gravesite and I was so proud of him, he never lets on but he was nervous, we could see his hands shaking, but not a waver in his voice. He paid such due respect to this lovely lovely man.

Moments with Allister stick in my mind. He was a little man and always with a cheeky smile and a giggle and always with a yarn to tell. The first time I met him I had been here in this town perhaps a few years and I wanted to take some photos of cows, and Mike suggested we head down to see the highland cattle. HUH? We had highland cattle in our town? Why did I not know this? So we head down this little dirt road on the outskirts of town and Mike says "Oh Allister's car is there". HUH? You actually *KNOW* the man who owns the highland cattle? Why did I not know this either?

Well Allister was more than pleased to take me around his prize cattle, walking amongst these amazing beasts, curiously following us, a bit unnerving with their huge horns not far behind us, but I felt so safe with this little man who did carry a stick to ward off any horns that may come a bit close and move them on in another direction.

I spent more than an hour with him on that particular day, learning the history of his prized cattle, he proudly showed them off to me, including the babies who were milking from their mothers. He made sure he placed me in such a way with them that I could get the photographs that I wanted to take. Such an AMAZING experience and one I will never forget.

And I'll never forget Allister either. Rest in Peace dear man.

First past the post

2011-11-01T22:10:00.002+11:00

Well despite my little rant about the race that stops the nation, I entered the Melbourne Cup Sweep at work and won! ha. Thank you Dunaden. For an outlay of $2 I walked away with $32.50! Nice work.

After my post of yesterday, the news of the fire at one of my favourite fabric stores in Ballarat has hit the net now. Gail's Patchwork Emporium, such a beautiful beautiful place, to visit, to meander through marvelling at the array of fabrics, the gorgeous quilts on display, the nick nacks. I feel so sick for the owners, they must be devastated. I'll link up the story and photographs fom the Ballarat Courier.

On the scrapping front...

Still a few more pages of the boys, absolutely loved this photograph I took of them last year at our house, posed in front of our little tree. Their smiles just really are the best tonic.

Credits Designer Digitals.

So I think an early, well early for me, night is in order after my very early start today to get into town for the Melbourne Cup breakfast at the TAFE. Delicious by the way.

Hot tip anyone?

2011-10-31T22:28:00.005+11:00

For the race that stops a Nation? You know to be honest I couldn't care two hoots for the Melbourne Cup. To get a public holiday for a horse race that lasts only a few minutes, when the majority of people wouldn't even attend, is beyond me. Although we actually don't get a public holiday where I work, as our council has declared workers in the vicinity of our council borders has a day of local significance instead, so our equivalent public holiday is actually back in May.

Be that as it may I am going to a Melbourne Cup breakfast tomorrow at the local TAFE training restaurant. Well ... I didn't say anything about food, now did I? :-) So to get there in time I have to leave at 6.45am, yikes! What a rude awakening, I only go back to work from 3 weeks of glorious holidays today and already I'm leaving at all hours of the morning.

AND ... I can't find my hat. I have a black hat which I rimmed in red ostrich feathers. It's a terrific hat and I have hunted high and low. Surely I haven't leant it to someone and forgotten? Oh well, I will have to wear my pink flower in my hair that I wore to the Royal Wedding high tea!

Still scrapping for the album for the boys, I'm on the home straight, not many photos to go but I have some real keepers of photos that MUST go in the album. Like this one. The last photo of all of us before they left. A memory that must go in the album.

Credits Designer Digitals.

On a sad note, I had a shock email tonight from someone I work with, that my absolute favourite quilting/fabric store burnt down or was severely damaged over the weekend. I am horrified, all their beautiful beautiful fabrics and such an exquisite store. I've tried to find news of it on the net but can't so I can only presume that the information I received was correct.

In an effort to not to create mass hysteria amongst the quilting community of Victoria I don't want to post it here, just in case it isn't correct. So if you want to know which store in an effort to make your own enquiries, send me an email.

I don't bounce back like I used to

2011-10-30T15:30:00.003+11:00

Oh me oh my! I'm tired and aching and sore today. My feet are throbbing still and my knees feel like they are shot to pieces. I danced up a storm last night at the wedding, it was so much fun.

Back track first. The weather was not kind. Oh dear. It was miserable and raining and blustery and gloomy. And considering we were going to an outdoor wedding we were very apprehensive so we went armed with coats and umbrellas. This was the view out the car window as we were heading there. Note: I was *NOT* driving! ha.

Oh and yes the secret present. I really hope she liked it, it's unique I can say that. I made a subway sign wall art for her on canvas. Subway art seems to be the latest craze and as it happened I made one for us with our home town on it, and Mike instantly said "that's it" ! So this is the end result.

As with all weddings lately that I've been to, I have made a heart good luck charm for her wrist for after the wedding. I got this gorgeous sparkly material, champagne was the colour, and stitched their names on it, some pretty gauzy ribbon and a crystal completed it. Here it is laying on the gift.

And here's some photographs of the happy and beautiful bride, who was oblivious to the weather, the smile showed it all.

So the reception was a cocktail reception and there was so much fingerfood, ahhh my type of food! So very yummy. And the band was terrific. We danced and danced. It was a lot of fun. But oh boy I am paying the price today. And all I had was one glass of champagne being the designated driver. Is this a sign of getting old? All the aches and pains of a night of dancing? ha!

I've had quite an easy day of it today, Mr. G however has had to go to pipe band practice this afternoon! Oh dear.

Nearly over

2011-10-27T18:56:00.003+11:00

Well my holidays are nearly over, I guess tomorrow really is my last official day off, then the weekend and then back to work on Monday. It's been so lovely just getting up of a morning, no plans, pottering, I'm such a homebody.

I am going to a wedding on Saturday and soooo looking forward to it, one of my dear friends from work. I am looking to the heavens too, willing it not to turn nasty. I do believe "a chance of rain" has been forecast, but then again it's been forecast for the last couple of days as well and it hasn't, so fingers crossed.

I have taken a risk and actually made something for Miss Anna for a wedding gift. I can't show it on here until Sunday at the earliest because I know she has this blog address so just in case she is looking all will be revealed later. I'm going to blame Mike if she doesn't like her gift. I made one of these (cough cough) things for here and he liked it so much he immediately said "make another one for Anna's gift". To be honest I thought he would think it silly and I'd have to fight him to display it. So yes, all will be revealed on Sunday! I'm pretty jazzed about it and how good it came out.

Recall !!

Hey and I received a letter from Honda this week in the mail, my car has been recalled. After I've had it for how many ... five years now. Apparently some design fault in the electronic window switch, that if you use cleaning products containing silicone or something or other, it might make its way into the switch, creating overheating and in some cases the switch will ignite. Heck! I told Mike that there's a bright side to me hardly ever washing my car then! ha!

And on the scrapping front...

I am going gung ho to finish this book I'm making for my nephews, I want to get it done and dusted by the end of October so I can get it away for printing and sending overseas. Then I can concentrate on finishing the book I'm making for number one stepson. So many projects, so little time.

I really like how this page turned out and yes that is my photograph of the moon I have extracted on there. YAnd yes this book may end up being the sappiest thing they've ever received, but I want them to know we are always here for them, despite being on the other side of the world. And even if the next time we see them, who knows, they might be grown men, they will always have these words from me and Mike to remember.

Credits Designer Digitals.

So I've done a lot of scrapping these holidays which has suited me just fine, and to his credit, Mike hasn't given me the raised eyebrows about being on the computer so much. So good man Mike! I've alternated it with knitting time with him of an evening watching telly, so all is good ;-)

Weekend over

2011-10-23T20:29:00.002+11:00

But still a week to go on holidays, YAY!

Saturday I headed up to Dunkeld to the Festival. Such a beautiful little town. I wasn't going to go though, the weather looked doubtful, Mike wanted to stay home and do his BAS, always leaving it till the last minute. And let's face it, a festival on your own? Probably not the funnest thing to do.

But still I went and so glad I did. The impetus for me to go was that one of the activities was to meet with a professional photographer and really get into the nuts and bolts of your camera. I hung around until 1.30pm and headed up to the Aquila Eco Lodges, about 6 km out of town. Dan Ryan was the photographer and such a lovely chap he was. As he finished with one group, I was the only one waiting to commence at 1.30 so I had him all to myself. One-on-one with a professional photographer, it was like the floodgates had opened and all the questions I ever had came spilling out.

About an hour into the session another lady arrived so he continued on with the both of us. Photographing wildflowers, shooting on manual, showing us the way to frame the photograph, shooting on manual, explaining metering, and shooting on manual. Oh, did I mention, I shot on MANUAL !!!!!

To my surprise when I got back to the car it was 4.30. I had spent 3 hours with him. What a treat. And I totally love the shots I got, so once I download them I will pop them on the blog. They are still on the camera at the moment.

On the scrapping front I have completed Lesson 2 of Jana Morton's Blending & Beyond Class at Get it Scrapped. The blended figure this time was to have almost a pencil sketch look about it. I think I like the outcome of Lesson 1 better, but still onward and upward, more to be learnt.

Credits Designer Digitals

And with that I am shutting off the computer and I do believe a cup of tea is in order and knitting the rest of the night is the plan. The rain has just started pelting down all of a sudden, Molly has gone wide eyed and I can hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.

A scrapping good day

2011-10-21T15:50:00.004+11:00

I swear that's all I've done all day, except earlier on I went down the street to buy yet another copy of the newspaper (his nibs was in it this week!) and grab some take away cappuccino to bring home. So the rest of the day I have scrapped my little heart out. Love days like this. Mike is doing his BAS so I'm leaving well enough alone seeings I have no idea how to use the MYOB program.

Funnily enough I haven't had any food cravings today. I don't know if that's just me or something deeper from yesterday. I am however looking forward to dinner, we are meeting some friends down at the local pub for a meal, I'm already salivating over that. But I haven't snacked today at all, so that's a good thing.

I put together this page for the template challenge over at Designer Digitals. A fun template to use which I switched around a bit and was able to document some of my memories from the 60's and 70's. I was having such a fun trip down memory lane, I could have made this into a two page spread. The more I delved the more I found.

Credits Designer Digitals.

You can see the template I have used here, templates don't need to remain how you have received them, switch them around, turn them upside down, back to front, it's all good, it's all a starting jumping off point to then turn the page into your own. You just have to have fun with it.

I'm toying with the idea of heading over to Dunkeld tomorrow to the Mosaic Festival. It will depend on the weather. One of the activities is a nature photowalk with a local photographer, so that's really my impetus to wanting to go there. We'll see, I'll stick my head out the door and see what the weather holds before I decide tomorrow.

You are getting sleepy!

2011-10-20T22:09:00.002+11:00

Well today I did get sleepy, in fact I paid $59 for a good nap this afternoon. A friend from town here and I went to a group hypnosis session for weight loss. Now I don't feel any different, not at all. I still wolfed down my dinner tonight like there was no tomorrow. Maybe that was because I hadn't eaten any lunch, who knows.

I do know that I have never felt that relaxed so quickly. How come I can lay in bed for seemingly hours without sleep arriving, but this afternoon I felt like I went so deep so fast. I could hear everything that she was apparently telling my subconscious mind, but my conscious mind I guess could hear everything in the room, the lady behind me that sniffed, a lady a few rows back who did a little snore, the hum of the air conditioner, someone in the far corner shuffling their feet. I heard every single one of those noises magnified, whilst she was talking in her very lilting sing songy voice.

And at one stage I felt like even though my hands were on my lap and my thumbs were touching my forefinger on each hand, it felt like my thumbs were lifting up, strange sensation, but then I pressed them and yep, they were still touching my forefingers. Likewise when I was laying on the floor, yes she had us having a laying on the floor session too, I lay there with my knees up if you can picture that, but with my feet flat on the floor. I felt during the session that my feet were slipping further and further away as if my legs were lowering. Except they weren't.

Did it work? Time will tell.

It's meant to make me want to make good choice, it's meant to make me want to leave food on my plate and not finish everything, it's meant to make me want to get out and about and move, it's meant to make me want to crave water. Actually every time she said water, she actually said "water water water". I don't know if that was significant.

In the meantime I'll just grab a cookie to have with my cup of tea! giggle.

On the scrapping front...

Just loving the new goodies appearing at Designer Digitals this weekend, glorious colours. And whilst I'm just flipping through the remainder of photos I have of my nephews, I've decided not to sweat it and try to create a masterpiece, I'm letting Studio Double D create it for me and I've used this fabulous new Layer Works. So easy, pop a photo in, add a few embellishments if you want, pick your coloured papers and call it a day.

Credits Designer Digitals.

And with that I'm waiting for my poo-bah to come home, he's at a meeting over in the next town. I have two very sleepy dogs beside me on the floor waiting for the lights to go out and go to sleep.

Actually that's funny, I've been thinking of Christmas cards, well it is coming up you know. Lucky was snoozing quite peacefully on the couch so I grabbed the reindeer ears and put them on him, still he slept, and I snapped some photos. I'll see what I can make out of those photos.

The weekend that was

2011-10-18T17:38:00.005+11:00

Slowly recovering after Saturday and Mike's Installation and the subsequent entertaining of the ladies and the dinner afterwards. Such a huge build up but it all went off swimmingly. I was nervous as all get out, having to entertain 25 ladies whilst the men were all doing their secret squirrel stuff in the Lodge across the road.

I had a few fun quizzes, a lucky chair, some very yummy nibbles and a guest speaker, a local historian who has such a passion for geneology and history and he is enthusiastic about it and hugely entertaining. He was a big hit. After he spoke for about 45 minutes, you couldn't see him for ladies surrounding him asking his more questions. In fact one of the ladies there discovered during his talk that she was a distant cousin. What can we say, geneology rocks!

I said to him that us scrapbookers are getting rid of the middle man, we're getting our stories down now so people in 50 years, 100 years, 150 years time don't have to do the research. He just laughed.

The dinner afterwards was a lot of fun. It's all quite, well shall we say, formal. Because there was a Scottish theme we got piped into the hall by 3 pipers and a drummer, the tables looked very festive with my tartan table runners and candles. Mike had arranged a haggis for entree and one of the Scots there did the "Ode to the Haggis". Honestly I couldn't understand a word he said, his accent was so thick.

Mike's kids were, will I say in awe? Maybe not in awe, but strangely curious at all the ritual and speeches that went on. One thing I will say for certain they were really proud of their dad and Mike was so glad they were there to enjoy his big night with him. So special.

The kids had control of my camera so here are some random shots of after the secret squirrel behind closed doors stuff ! ha.

Yes there's even a cake to cut.

My sister-in-law waiting for her dinner!

The boys, Wes and Tristan.

I said no faces.

Miss Tabby and her boyfriend.

Miss Britt with her grandpa.

Such a special night for Mike, but we're both so glad it's over. Now for the year ahead!

On the scrapping front I had mentioned I was doing Jana Morton's Blending and Beyond class at Get it Scrapped. Absolutely wonderful class and so glad I'm doing it. I have fiddled around with blending before but not in this way and it so much fun. I was pleased as punch with this first effort, which just may become the front cover of Wes' book.

I love how the photographs have almost taken on a painted quality. I haven't doctored the photographs at all in that way, just blended them into the background paper.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Well I guess I best go make some dinner, it's been lovely and warm here today and to be honest I have a case of the "I can't be bothereds". Just looked over at Lucky, he's laying in his bed half in and half out, so funny. I know the minute I move he'll wake up, would love to give you a visual.

Oh but before I go, I had the most fastastic experience last night, I have used "Facetime" on my iPad for the first time. TERRIFIC. My beautiful best friend Sonia and I spoke "face to face". I got to see her new haircut, she got to see my three chins! Honestly there's no way to hold that darn thing without showing lots of chins, I'm sure. Oh well. It was like a big show and tell, I made Lucky get up and see Sonia and Molly too, and of course Mike had to stick his mug in a few times so Sonia got to see him too. Sooo much fun. The iPad and iPhones are worth it for Facetime alone, to be sure.

Woo hoo! Funny how things happen.

2011-10-12T22:17:00.002+11:00

Funny indeed. For those in the know, I live in a little country town and our local supermarket is an IGA. The nearest Safeway or Coles is a good 50km away so unless I stop in on the way home from work, or make a special trek on a Saturday, I pick up the "in between" things that need stocking up on at the IGA. That's Independent Grocers of Australia if anyone wasn't aware.

Well IGA is running a birthday bonus competition at the moment. Spend over $30, enter online with a chance to win. I had saved my docket and had the flyer for the competition sitting on the bench. It had been sitting there for a few days and I just screwed up the docket and threw it in the bin this morning because I couldn't be bothered getting online to enter. A few hours later I walked back into the kitchen and the competition flyer was still on the bench. Wonder why I hadn't thrown that away too? Hmmm, was it a sign?

So I dug out the screwed up docket from the bin (yep, call me a bin scab!!) and smoothed it out and got online and entered.

BINGO!
If I had flashing lights here, I'd use it!

A screen came up when I hit submit and I had won one of the day's instant prizes a $500 gift voucher!!!! YAY me! $500 worth of free groceries. Yahooooooooooooooo!!!!!! Just had to send my docket by registered post today and all being well in 28 days I'll receive my voucher in the mail.

On the scrapping front I am taking Jana Morton's "Blending and Beyond" class at Get it Scrapped. I have been in awe of her amazing blended scrap pages since I first laid eyes on them. I'm half way through the lesson and in the middle of a page right now, who knows where it will end up.

Watch this space.

Here's another page I recently did, and before you think I'm ultra mean in posting this, Mike has said go for it. Don't you love a man who can laugh at himself, what a trooper. I took this photograph whilst he was in the throes of "Man Flu" which as we women know is waaaaay worse than Female Flu. Hmmmph.

Actually he did cop the flu badly three times this year, it's been a bad one for him, one of those times ended up with him in hospital on oxygen because his chest felt like it had swords in it. So whilst I do jest, I know just how badly he did get it this year. But we can still laugh at this photo right, particularly the hair!!!

Credits Designer Digitals.

Mike has just gotten home from his meeting and a cup of tea and we will call it a night.

Holidays

2011-10-11T23:18:00.005+11:00

I'm on holidays and it's absolute bliss! Can I say that I do holidays very very well. I completely unwind. This is my first week of 3 weeks of leave, yay me! I have major plans of things I want to accomplish, I bet I'll be bemoaning in a few weeks time that I haven't achieved even a quarter of my list. No matter. Because ... I'M ON HOLIDAYS!

Although today I was running around Warrnambool like a mad woman, going through the huge list I had made of everything I needed to get for the weekend. There will be a function in town here where Mike becomes grand poohbah, ha! that's what I call it anyway. So he will be "installed" is the word they use and we're not just planning the regular old dinner, oh no, not us! We're planning a dinner DANCE in the big hall. We have about 80 guests who have RSVP'ed, so I've been having a quiet freak out. I have to entertain the ladies who are attending for about 3 hours while the men do their secret men's business and then join us for dinner.

It will be a huge deal for Mike and best of all his dad and sister will be coming to it, his dad playing a very important role on the night, plus the four kids are also coming. I'm so glad they were able to see the significance of the event for their dad, despite it being waaaaay daggy!

Oh and because we are big on themes in the G house, this night will have a Scottish theme. There's a haggis being cooked for the occasion also, not by me, but by an expert haggis maker in the next town. Who knew you could rise to such levels of honour! Plus a few other Scottish surprises. Not to mention I have made 15 tartan table runners this week, all different coloured tartans that I picked up for a bargain price on ebay, YAY EBAY! So I think with every table being a different tartan on the white table cloth it should look quite festive.

Onto the scrapping front, did you realise that the other day it was 9/10/11. 9th October 2011 for my American friends, I know you say the date backwards to us, so it probably didn't make sense the way I wrote it. I only realised the date about 6pm that night when I looked at the calendar, and knowing at that moment there would be a scrapbook page in the making, I said to Mike that had I realised I would have made sure we had more of an interesting day to scrap about! Ahh well, we have to scrap the "normal" too don't we?

Credits Designer Digitals.

Pretty chuffed too, the page ended up on Gallery Standouts also. Always a thrill when you spot a layout on there. :-)

More on the Secret Christmas Gift...

Thank you for the suggestions, keep them coming. I can confirm that Mike reports that the gift is NOT:
A sports car
Santa himself!
Shares that will mature in 12 months
A swimming pool that will take 12 months to build
Or a spa bath

HINT NUMBER 5: He says it will take a lot of sticky tape to wrap up.

I am wondering now though if he's winding me up with these silly hints. Only time will tell. 11 weeks to be exact. Oh boy! That's what they said on the radio today, I swear I nearly drove off the road.

That means there's only about 7 weeks till I have a very special weekend planned with my best friend Sonia. I can't wait.

I need help

2011-10-05T22:16:00.004+11:00

Mike is being very cryptic tonight. I got home from work and he was really excited because (in his words) he had decided on the most perfect Christmas present of all time for me. And he was proud of himself because it's not a last minute decision and he's made it with a couple of month's grace. He was feeling well and truly chuffed about it.

Now just to refresh your memories, here's an old layout I did from my Christmas memories book of last time he thought he had the most perfect Christmas gift idea. So you can understand my apprehension at the moment wondering what has gotten him all hyped up.

So where to from here? He of course gave me hints, so I will detail the hints here and please try and guess what it is. Put me out of my misery.

HINT NUMBER 1: Because it's quite expensive I'll probably only get this for Christmas, rather than a number of smaller presents.

HINT NUMBER 2: It starts with the letter "S".

HINT NUMBER 3: I won't be able to use it this year. I apparently won't be able to use it until December NEXT year.

That has me seriously baffled - I quizzed him further - so I open it on Christmas Day right, but I won't be able to use it on say December 26th this year. The answer was no. Even though I will have it, I can't use it. But I will be able to use it December next year and then January, February, etc. after that. A whole 12 months away!!!! Hmmmm.

HINT NUMBER 4: After asking him if it was a personal gift he said that he could probably use it too.

HELP !!!!! Help me decipher the clues, pleeeeeeease put me out of my misery.

WHAT IT IS NOT: A trip to somewhere starting with "S" like Scotland, Spain or to see my bestie Sonia. I've at least narrowed it down that much.

There are no words

2011-10-02T23:35:00.001+11:00

Probably because I have no voice left! te he So I will let this speak for me!!!! :-)

Credits Designer Digitals.

Ahem ...

2011-09-30T23:38:00.003+10:00

Cough cough, clearing my voice ... ready ... begin ...

Twas the night before Saturday
And all through the land
Everyone was stirring
History was at hand
The Woods will get wobbly
And we will be grinners
Cause when the final siren is sounded
The Cats will be winners!!!!

I just made that up. Excited???? You betcha.

Well I've seen everything now!

2011-09-28T23:00:00.005+10:00

I was in Geelong Monday/Tuesday to be with my mum and stay with her overnight as she was having her cataracts done. Is "done" what you say? Anyway basically this week she was having one eye fixed and next week the other eye. More about that later.

While waiting for her procedure to be over, I had a wander around the streets and invariably ended up at the wool shop.

Well I've seen everything now. The window was decked out in all manner of blue/white knitting, included knitted bunting! But the piece de resistance was a knitted bicycle. I had to take a photo it was terrific. Crazy crazy Geelong people ... and I can say that because I'm originally one of them ;-)

Back to mum ... I sat with her in her little waiting room, veeeeery nice the new St. John of God day surgery building. The little room was nice and comfy, TV, magazines, comfy chairs. Every so often a nurse would come in and put drops in her eye, prepping her I guess for the procedure. Finally the surgeon came in and with a texta put a small mark at the top and bottom of her right eye.

I looked at him and suggested he have a bit of fun and draw eyelashes on her, and you've gotta love a surgeon with a sense of humour ... HE DID!!!! Here's Raggedy Ann here after the surgeon's artistic hand with the eyelashes. Thank goodness he had a steadier hand in the procedure.

She's feeling terrific now. She's worn glasses since she was about 5 years old, the glass on which are almost as thick as coke bottles, and already she can see out of her right eye clearer than ever, she says everything is so much brighter. The surgeon believes that once her left eye gets done next week, she'll end up not having to wear glasses at all. Incredible.

We did it !!!

2011-09-25T15:08:00.006+10:00

And obviously because Molly was a great help in supporting, right?? Geelong and Colly-wobbles, err Collingwood, in the Grand Final next week. It has to be Geelong the victor, right? It's just got to be? What a fun week this will be in the build up.

My mum is a HUGE Collingwood fan. She thinks because she grew up part of her childhood in Collingwood that she has extra special rights as a Collingwood supporter, I'm sure. She's been black and white one-eyed since forever. She told me on the phone last night that she's started decorating the windows of the house and the front yard with black and white streamers. Hope it rains and they turn into a yucky grey mess! hahahahha Oh I am ruthless aren't I?

My dad used to be in the football umpires, umpired for many many years in the goals, over 500 matches throughout his umpiring life, then went on to the appointment board so after waving the flags for all those years, then started rating and appointing the umpires. It was his life. And he was known for it.

One of his friends had a sports store and remember those life sized football cardboard cutouts that they may have had advertising something or other to do with football in the sports stores, well they were having a clear out and he rang dad to see if mum wanted to take one, he was giving it away. It was a Collingwood player, I have no idea of who it was now.

She was over the moon and the footy player "lived" in the front window of their home for all the world to see. Whenever I went over there, by stealth, I would turn the player upside down so it looked like he was standing on his head in the front window and all you could see were shorts and legs flying up in the air. And she would have no idea until she left the house. It was a long standing joke between us.

So CARN THE CATS, I ***DO NOT*** want the Collywobbles to win next Saturday. I will never live it down.

Friends

I am really lucky to have friends, from lots of facets of my life, from the past and from the present, from clubs I have been in, from interests I have had, from the town I live in, to everything in between, I am really lucky.

And of course a wife counts her husband as her nearest and dearest. But there's nothing quite like a girlfriend. Am I right there?

Having said that I have only one best friend, who knows me inside and out, who I can tell ANYTHING to, who I can be myself with, who never judges, who laughs at my jokes, sympathises with my miseries, who listens to me and really hears me, who knows all my secrets, who will be by my side if I need her, and who I would do the very same for her. Most of all she forgives me if I do something really really dumb. Which you'll read about when you read the journalling on this page.

Credits Designer Digitals.

I love this photograph of the two of us and with Sonia living in Tassie (heaven on earth) and me here in Victoria, we don't see each other as much as we used to. Oh the weekends we would spend with each other, just hanging around up in her place in Melbourne when she lived there, such memories.

And I can't wait until the start of December when Sonia is coming over and we are having a girls weekend - just me and her - in Melbourne. YAY!!!!

Trying to plan a bit of an itinerary, we KNOW we will be doing the Chocolate Tour of Melbourne! ha. What's a girl's weekend without chocolate right? What else to do??? Anyone know any good restaurants or eateries to try? We're up for it for sure. Can't wait.

Mum

I'm spending the next couple of days in Geelong with my mum, and likewise the Monday/Tuesday of the week after too. She is having cataract surgery on her eyes, one eye at a time. A lot of people have said that it will be such a success that she will wish she did it years ago. But she is scared stiff.

She has worn glasses since she was a wee little thing and is just about blind as a bat without them now, she's so worried it won't be a success and she'll lose her sight and in turn lose one of her greatest joys of reading.

So think good thoughts for us will you, it's day surgery so she needs me to stay with her overnight and while I'm there I'm going to cook up some soups/casseroles or the like and freeze them for her.

I have no words

2011-09-24T11:47:00.003+10:00

I am waaaaaay too excited, I will be sitting glued to the TV this afternoon willing our boys over the line. Win this and we're in the Grand Final, yahooooooooooooooo!!!!

Molly looks pretty excited too, don't you think??? Honestly, she'll do anything if there is cheese on the other end of it!

Disclaimer: No animals were harmed in the taking of this photograph!

Out of sorts Saturday

2011-09-17T22:24:00.005+10:00

I have felt out of sorts all day today. Didn't help that the day started at 6.30am when the cat decided to jump on the bed and start head butting me as she wanted to be let out. I stagger to the back door to let her out almost tripping over her in the process.

Back to bed I go.

I reckon I had just closed my eyes, I swear they were closed 2 minutes tops, and then Lucky wakes Molly up and they want to go out. I looked at the clock. 8.30AM. How could that be? I swear I only just closed my eyes. Again stagger to the backdoor and let them out. The cat races back in. I feed her.

Back to bed I go.

Mike having slept through all this decides to then wake and get up. Aaaarrrgggghhhh!!! Why not wake up 5 minutes before and do all the staggering and the feeding.

I decided to go back to bed and lay for a little bit, I was so incredibly tired this morning. Next thing I know it's 10.30am.

TEN-THIRTY A.M. !!!!!

How did that happen? I was sleeping - waking - sleeping in two hour increments. But again it felt like I had just closed my eyes. I must be really depositing into my sadly depleted sleep bank at the moment, because I'm always the first one up - always on weekdays and 90% on weekends.

But then I've not been able to shake it, this really out of sorts feeling I've had all day today. Very uninspired. I even took myself over to Terang to the quilting shop to see if I could be excited by the rows and rows of eye candy of material, bought a metre of material for I know not what, ha! But even that didn't perk me up. Just a case of the sads I think.

Rainbow Bridge

Of late my brother and I have had a tenuous relationship at best, but we spoke last week, the first time in months. Mum had told me that his beloved cat had disappeared so I rang him. He has been beside himself. Bowie ... yes yes, I know, my cat is Bo, his cat is Bowie, I didn't copy, truly, Bo's real name is Bojangles ... Bowie has disappeared and at age 17 or 19 or something phenomenal like that, it's more than likely that he has gone away to die, as I've been told cats tend to do. He had been drinking a lot of water lately and at times would be sitting contentedly and then let out a huge meow very unlike him.

Bowie and Trevor have gotten through a lot of hard times together, dare I say Bowie has even survived two marriage breakups with him. Constant companions. Bowie wasn't always Trevor's cat though, when he bought the house he is currently in the previous owners had Bowie. Despite moving *with* Bowie, Bowie kept coming back to the old house, so in the end they gave him to Trevor being that Bowie obviously was more attached to the old house than to them.

So it has been devastating Trevor, the not knowing. He has searched everywhere, spoken to neighbours, been to the animal shelters, to no avail. And now he is at the stage of facing what he believes to be the truth that Bowie has passed away, hopefully peacefully. Gosh, I'm tearing up just writing this.

So I wanted to make a page for Trevor which I will print and send him, one of my favourite photos I had taken of Bowie a few years ago, he was laying in the sun in the loungeroom by the almost full length window basking in the warmth.

Credits Designer Digitals

I tell you, Rainbow Bridge gets to me every time I read it.

We are a crazy bunch

2011-09-15T21:56:00.008+10:00

This is what was happening in the "G" house yesterday.

I got home, Mike had his pipes out playing "happy birthday" as I walked through the door, he was actually doing a bit of rehearsal but swung into the tune when he saw me pull in the driveway :-) Found the party hats and he took this photo! Ahhh, Molly and Lucky will do anything if there's a treat balancing on the end of the camera!

Another year older, not necessarily wiser though!

Well ... I'll be

2011-09-12T21:31:00.003+10:00

A monkeys uncle that is. Hope everyone uses that saying, because I sure feel like a monkey tonight. We still have a baby gate up at the entrance to the little area in which the laundry, the bathroom and the toilet come off. So that Lucky or Molly for that matter can't get to the cat's food which is kept in the laundry. Bo our cat, she's a grazer, she eats all the live long day if she could, just comes in, checks out the smorgasbord has a bite and then leaves, to do it all again 10 minutes later.

So tonight everything was quiet so I went looking. Lucky nowhere to be found. Except I heard a tinkling thinking it was the cats collar clinking against her food bowl.

NOT SO!

Lucky has worked out how to open the baby gate. Un-freaking-believable. He was on the inside of the baby gate looking out with 2 empty cat bowls in clear view behind him in the laundry.

Now admittedly we didn't have it snibbed as such, just shut, but for him on the passage side of the gate, it opens in. How on earth has he somehow stuck his paw in the gate, opened it toward him and slipped himself inside, is anyone's guess. But he was looking mighty pleased with himself when he was licking his chops from the cats food.

There is a neverending story with that little rascal.

So Designer Digitals had their third-quarter Scrap and Chat on the weekend. Too bad in Australia you end up sleeping through half of it whilst the rest of the world is awake and having fun. However I did catch Lynn Grieveson's chat and was able to pull together this page using her beautiful soft freebie of 2 green papers, a ribbon and a foliage and added a few other assorted goodies.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Yep, you guessed it, another page for the book for my nephews.

Had my father-in-law here for dinner tonight and it was a treat to come home to see Mike already had dinner well underway. Can we say it was a big show for his dad? ha! Looked impressive. They were going to a meeting tonight and then FIL is heading back home, with strict rules that we need three rings on the phone whatever time he gets home just so we know he's made it back okay. That's the penance for not staying with us as we had begged him to.

So about an hour ago the call came out. There were more visitors at his meeting than initially thought and they weren't going to have enough supper to offer them. Mike knew we had a bag of 30 dim sims in the freezer, could I bring them down with my "dim sim cooker".

Now to be honest I don't think he knows how I steam my dim sims, I usually just put 3 or 4 in a microwave bowl, covered with a bit of water and zap them. Only 3 or 4 at a time. So I figure I would take my steamer and pop it on and they should be done by the time they'd finished the meeting. I got down to the kitchen and had completely forgotten they don't have an oven in the meeting room. DOH! So I've emptied them into the steamer (frozen as they are), covered them with hot water, put the lid on and cross fingers they'll be thawed by the time they came out. Boys only though, I wasn't allowed to stay.

I'm sure there'll be a story to tell about half frozen dim sims when he comes home.

Sunday blues

2011-09-11T16:39:00.006+10:00

Do you get them? On the downward slide of Sunday thinking that the weekend is almost over and all the plans you had and things you wanted to get done are still not done? I get these types of blues every Sunday. The elation I feel of a Friday night starting the weekend has all but evaporated. Ahh well, roll on next weekend right? The way the weeks are flying by, it will be Friday night again before we know it.

I've done enough pages now to have a 20 page book for the boys, but 20 pages feels a bit flimsy, you no sooner open it and it's ended. So now I'm just going back through my photos of the boys and selecting my favourites and scrapping them to be inserted in the book. Mind you, I haven't made any plan except that it will be in roughly date order. I have probably got more left side pages than right, or vice versa. I will have to make do. There's something to be said for being a centric scrapper, you don't need to worry about such things, I need to work on that. Having said that, this page will fit nicely either side. :-)

Credits Designer Digitals.

Such a photogenic boy David is, the eyes get me in each and every time.

I took Lucky for a walk earlier on, oh my goodness the wind is positively bracing out there. As we were walking there was a car broken down in the service lane of the main road. Two big strapping young men, dressed all in black, long hair, tattoos, scary looking and three girls, also scary looking if I don't mind admitting, were standing around the motor trying to fix it.

I was just walking on the footpath, looking straight ahead, but of course Lucky stared them out, walking his tough little walk and not taking his eyes off them. The young men started laughing and the girls let out a simultaneous "awwwwww". It was funny. I wasn't exactly wary of them, but they looked pretty tough individuals for our little town, amazing how a little Jack Russell who thinks he is six feet tall can break the ice!

Mike has been suffering yet another bout of the flu and has been down for the count the last few days. At the moment he's watching a DVD laying out on the couch, but the antibiotics are working, thank goodness. Can I say I'm sick of us both being sick!

Happy Fathers Day

2011-09-04T22:04:00.004+10:00

Well this is a first, attempting to blog from my iPad, we'll see how I go.

Fathers day here in Australia today. Bitter sweet for me. We had Mike's kids coming for lunch so I was busy making sure I had something yummy prepared, the perfect pavlova made, everything ready. I took a moment during the morning to just stop and think.

Think about my dad.
Think about the last time I was with him.
Think about how much I miss him.
Think about the fact he has been gone almost four years.
Think about how on earth could time go so fast.

So I said a little prayer and just knew that he would be loving the fact we had the kids, now all young adults, coming to see us and knowing he would be wanting me to enjoy the day with them and make sure Mike was King for the day. And he was. Sitting at the head of the table just beaming.

I should say that over the last few years the kids have made phone calls for fathers day, or one of them may have come out or stayed the weekend, but not all of them at once, not since they were little, and definitely not of their own idea, including a surprise visit from Mr W from Melbourne.

So, it has been a very good day. Oh and after the kids left, the King for the day had a royal snooze on the couch!

Here's some pics from today that I have scrapped already.

Fly By Posting

2011-08-29T23:24:00.004+10:00

Quick ... very quick post before I hit the sack, it's late. Monday just kind of vanished today, felt like I looked up at the clock and 5pm had rocked around oh so quickly. Mike is revamping his website and it's been a painful (but learning) process. The program he is using now is all done in html, but he's getting there ... slowly! So I'm going to have to go and drag him off the laptop in a moment.

Here's another page for the book for the boys, taken at the airport the last time we saw them. Just even saying that makes me sad. Such bittersweet photos, smiling for the camera but not really feeling like it was a smiling occasion, but I wanted to put these photos of my mum and the boys in the book because they loved their Grandma Glen. I know I WILL see them again one day, don't know when but I will. So there. Have said that up to the heavens so someone up there will hear me, surely.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Now ... off ... to ... bed !

Losing my mind

2011-08-28T16:36:00.004+10:00

If I haven't already lost it. Do you find as you get older that your memory isn't quite what it used to be? I have found I need to write myself sticky notes or particularly if I'm at work and need to remember something for the next day I email myself at home, that kind of thing.

But making lunch today I knew I had cheese, I had bought a huge block, we'd already had some of it, but couldn't for the life of me now find it. Until a bit later I went to the freezer, and there was my block of cheese, frozen solid! What on earth did I put it in the freezer for? So tell me, cheese will thaw out okay won't it? It was pretty solid, that's for sure.

Then the whole memory thing really hit home this morning. Let me backtrack. My darling old friend who used to live across the road, got married in her 70's and moved away. She rings me about once a month to see how things are going, we keep an eye on her house, and we have a lovely little chat. We had one of those chats yesterday morning, probably were on the phone for about 20 minutes.

This morning the phone rang again and it was my old neighbour. "Hello love, it's your old mate here, thought I'd give you a call to see how you're going". I didn't have the heart to tell her we'd already talked yesterday.

So I guess my cheese incident wasn't too bad after all, just an oversight. Now I'm really worried for my old friend.

And again going down the memory path, I have just in the last 30 minutes finished another page for the book for my nephews, so this one is hot off the press, so to speak. I was thinking with the pages I had done previously with Mike interacting with the kids, I better grab a couple of photos of me to put in the album too. So went back through my photos and found these gems. Poor David, whether he wanted to or not, he was getting a hug!! Which incidentally I must add, I'm quite famous for my most excellent hugs!

Credits Designer Digitals.

Must go ... figure out dinner!

iLove iPad

2011-08-27T14:07:00.006+10:00

I have entered into a whole new world and got myself an iPad. O--M--G how? How did they work out that one little device could give you so much enjoyment. How does it do it? I have NO idea. It's so quick and the screen is so clear. One of my friends from Designer Digitals said to me it will be my new BFF and dare I say, it is. (You know Sonia, you are my REAL LIFE BFF don't you?, this is just a machine!)

It's amazing. I can now:

Sit in the comfort of my loungeroom and check out the net.

Pin a few pins on pinterest (my latest obsession)

Listen to the radio in Scotland, America, Australia or Timbucktoo.

Play 'Words with Friends' with someone as far away as Canada or close as the next street.

It's tracking my weight (passworded of course so prying eyes - Mike - can't see, ha!)

As of this morning I have been sitting down reading the Women's Weekly on it, all fabulously interactive.

I have my scrap pages on it so I can show my mum before I get them printed out, she doesn't have the internet or a computer full stop so she can't see my gallery.

I can hook up to free wifi when away which I did from my motel room in Horsham so it kept me company.

I have loaded some current knitting patterns on it so no looking around to where I last left them, one click of the button and they are there.

And when I get stuck on a stitch I have an app now that I can key in the abbreviation and a video comes up showing me how to do it.

I can email from it.

Listen to my music on it as it's synced to my iPod.

Check out the recipes from the Channel 2 cooks on it, from a great app I found.

Open up my Yates Gardening app and work out what is going on with my plants.

And I can amuse myself no end with Garage Band, with blows my mind.

And the list goes on and I am probably using it to 1% of its ability.

Let's just face it ... I am SERIOUSLY IN LOVE with my iPad ! I have the world hanging out with me!

So if anyone is on this ride that I'm on, please share some names of apps you have that you love. I don't know if I need something until someone tells me I do! hahahaha

Still working on some photos for the book for my nephews. I love love LOVE this photograph I took covertly of Mike and Matthew, such a special relationship they have. This particular day they were visiting and I had made a huge pot of thick vegetable soup for lunch. Matt through a tanty of epic proportions, he didn't want to eat any vegetables. He wasn't going to eat a thing. I hadn't planned for this contingency but Uncle Mike to the rescue when he showed Matt that the best way to have his soup was to dunk the bread in it ... delicious! He won him over in a heartbeat, but just quietly I think if Mike said "hey let's fly to the moon" Matt would have believed that Mike had his own personal rocket ship. A bit of hero worshipping going on there.

Credits Designer Digitals.

What to do for the remainder of the afternoon? I know there's a vaccuum cleaner in the laundry calling my name, but so is photoshop. What to do?!?

It's a blanket of stars up there

2011-08-22T22:01:00.003+10:00

It's 10pm and the G man is just about home, he texted me about half an hour ago that he was leaving so by my calcs he's got about 20 mins left. As he's driving through bushland, I always get him to text me when he leaves, so I know if he goes way over that time, he may have come a cropper with a kangaroo or the like on the road. That's when I can start worrying.

So I just went out to open the gates and I stood there for a good five minutes just looking up. The stars are magnificent. It's like a blanket of twinkling lights. No city lights where I live interfering with the view. It's just a black sky that goes on forever dotted with a sea of twinkles. It's absolutely gorgeous. And makes you feel quite insignificant.

So there's my ramblings for tonight, ha!

Another page here for the book I'm putting together for my nephews of their time spent down here. A bit of an unrealistic view of Australia I'm afraid, I've never even been that close to a kangaroo. Oh well. Lots of fun photographs for them on this page. Plus Pattie Knox's fabulous rendition of a big red roo in the bottom corner!

Credits here.

The weeks are going way too fast for my liking. I did a bit of online shopping recently and a parcel came today. Dare I say, they were some Christmas presents I had purchased!

Speaking of Christmas, I kid you not, Target had Christmas decorations in store last week. NO KIDDING AROUND HERE! Can you believe that ?!?!?! Of course I nabbed one! hahahahahaha Every year I buy a Hallmark dated ornament and they had the display of those so I made sure I got in before everyone else got the good ones.

But really Mr. Target ... don't you think it's just a tad too early?

Beee-you-ti-ful Day!

2011-08-20T16:23:00.004+10:00

Finally FINALLY a sunny day. It's still chilly out, but the sky is as blue as blue as blue, it's a sight to behold. I'm waxing a bit lyrical here I guess, but after all the rain and grey we've had, I'm savouring this. The menagerie, all three of them, have been out sunbaking and basking in the sun and it's just lovely. Mike has gone bush today with some friends, but he'll be back tonight (that's if he doesn't get bogged up there), and I've just lolled about, a bit of gardening, a bit of scrapping, a bit of knitting, it's been glorious.

Wednesday afternoon I went up to Horsham for work and not back until yesterday. It's been cold and bleak during that time, but I've got to know a lot more people in the bigger picture at work. Long days training, very heavy eyes. They fed us well though, can't complain there! And a lovely social night on Thursday night where I got to network more. I'm so mindful with work functions, you spend a lifetime at work building up an integrity and it can be lost in a moment at an out of hours work function. I behaved very well. Actually I was a cheap shout, I was only drinking lemonade! ha.

I was about to post a page about my shadow, and she just walked in and sat beside me and put her paw up on my leg. Yes, she certainly is my shadow and more so as she is getting older. I got Mike to take a photo of my girl and me last weekend, and okay this is a little bit obsessive, but being that I wanted to scrap with purple, I made sure I wore my purple jumper! haha. Nothing like it huh? Planning clothes around a scrapbook page.

Mike keeps telling me I have to prepare myself for one of these days, my Molly won't be around. I can't even bear thinking about it. I just see Molly, I forget the fact she's 12 (maybe more). She's an old geriatric lady and I've never known unconditional love quite like this. She definitely is the poster girl as to why everybody should have a dog.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Shhh ... don't tell Lucky, he thinks he's my favourite! Actually that's given me the giggles, I should grab the out takes of this photo to show you. Trying to get a photo of me and Molly on our own was quite difficult as Lucky kept jumping up trying to get in the pic.

Off to enjoy more sunshine. Roll on Spring.

A lazy Sunday

2011-08-14T16:00:00.009+10:00

It's been quite the lazy day today. Still chilly out, but the sun is shining and there are warm spots in the yard that the menagerie are sunbaking in. Just glorious. It will take more than one day of sun though to soak up the water laden yard.

I'm on a promise with the blog today. My friend Janet is too-ing and fro-ing as to who to print a scrapbook with, being that shutterfly continues to make life hard for us digi scrappers with their new interface. I recently printed a book through Blurb and was really impressed with the product. So easy to put together, the printing was just as good, if not better, the quality was superb and it came in record time too, plus the postage to Australia wasn't exhorbitant.

The thing that Janet is worried about, which worried me too was the "Matt cover". Now I was worried that the word matt meant it was a cardboard or paper kind of feeling to cover. Not so. It's not as glossy as shutterfly but still has the waterproof feel to it. It's just that it's matt. I guess much the same difference as gloss/matt photographs.

So taking photos of the latest book which I made in conjunction with my friend Tanya, a recipe book as a tribute to her mother's life, and compared it with the cover of shutterfly printed book. I think my photography skills have left much to be desired, I was aiming to show the gloss and matt, but I think they've both ended up much the same in the photo. Sorry Janet, I don't think I've been much help, but here are the comparisons anyway.

Onto the digi scrap front, I have been wanting to scrap one of the traditions we attend in this town for a while. We have the annual Steptoe Auction at one of the local churches. Now I've been reliably informed that the British comedy series Steptoe & Son was remade as Sanford & Son in America, but in any case, this auction is modelled after that series.

Lots of donated usely goods (junk mostly) auctioned off with proceeds going to the church. More often than not you end up donating the prized (junk) possession back the next year for it to be auctioned off to some other poor suspecting soul, and so the cycle would continue. I took photos at the last Steptoe Auction of some of the auction goods. Yep, even a bathtub! (rusty as it was)

Must admit, the best bargains we have got over the years, Mike paid the grand price of $2 for a student desk, nothing spectacular, but it cleaned up okay and has served him well when working on his reeds. My best buy was $5 for a box full of daffodil bulbs. Now when I saw a box full, I mean a BOX FULL! About 50 daffy bulbs in a supermarket box. BARGAIN!

Credits Designer Digitals.

Now off to tend to my roast pork in the oven, it smells delicious! And do a tad more knitting. Yes Lynn! Knitting! Photographs will be forthcoming! :-)

Friday night laugh of the week !

2011-08-12T21:31:00.005+10:00

I'd love to start a regular segment, but you know me, I'm a bit hit and miss with the blog.

Today after quite a trying and stressful week, the funniest thing happened. Not that I'm prone to talking about my work, but late this afternoon we got an email from a lass up in one of the Melbourne offices, she had sent to all HR areas across the state, just to let us know something was awry on our computer system.

I nearly fell about on the floor laughing when I read her last line ...

"We apologise for any incontinence that may occur."

Actually I DID fall about on the floor laughing when I read it. I laughed until my sides hurt. I laughed until I had tears. It probably wasn't THAT funny, but like I said it had been a stressful week and this was the cherry on top that broke all that pent up stress. Both myself and the lady I share an office with I think laughed a good ten minutes.

Onto other things...

Last time we had the two eldest here for a visit I grabbed the opportunity, never one to miss an opportunity am I? And told them they weren't allowed to leave until I got the obligatory photograph. Love love love this photo of Mike and his two eldest. What happened to these little children I first me around 10 years ago? It's scary that time flies like it does.

Credits here.

Well time for a cuppa and a bit of knitting I do believe. I have a few projects on the go :-)

Oh what a night

2011-08-11T22:05:00.004+10:00

APPARENTLY I snored the night before last. I say apparently because who really knows. Mike says he tries to wake me up, he says I wake up, talk to him, then promptly go back to sleep and snore again. I have no memory of it. And it doesn't happen every night, I dare say it's only when I'm really tired.

So about 1.30am he ended up getting up and going and sleeping on the couch. How come not the spare room with a lovely comfy double bed? Errr, he said I was reverberating through the wall. Oh dear.

I was on an earlier start than normal so I was up at 6.15 so gently woke him to go back into the bedroom as I was going to have to put the light on out in the lounge/kitchen/dining area. He groggily grabbed the sleeping bag and stumbled up the passageway to the bedroom. Behind him I closed the door to almost shut so as the light didn't shine in.

Next thing there was a crash bang whallop. He had walked into the post of the bed, whacked his thigh on the post, tried to stumble back out to the passageway in the light, didn't realise the door was shut and it sprang open as he walked into it, it flew opened, hit the stopper and then flew shut back in his face nearly knocking him out.

All because of my snoring APPARENTLY!

Last night I gave him 10 minutes head start to get to sleep before I slipped into bed, just in case.

Ahhh, the joys of marriage.

Another page for my nephews book for Christmas. Not the best photos in the world but memories of a very fun day. The first Easter Egg hunt I had plotted and planned, Easter eggs all round the front yard, squealing boys running from plants to trees to letterbox to fence palings to watering cans. So much fun. I do hope they remember the times like this, all the more reason to get these pages into the book for them.

Credits Designer Digitals. Love these Layer Works by Studio DD, pick your colours, add the photos, perhaps a few more elements and call it done.

Okay time to get the dogs out for the final time tonight before settling down to sleep. Although Molly has beat me to it, she's asleep at my feet as I type this.

Yet another funeral today

2011-08-08T16:47:00.004+10:00

Yes, another funeral today, this is my fourth in about 5 or 6 weeks now. I've decided that's it, no more, not for a while anyway. Now I wouldn't normally talk in great detail about a funeral, particularly that it was the father of a dear friend here in town, but this funeral was like nothing I'd attended before. A few times that you had to laugh, which I think is a good thing at a funeral, kind of breaks the atmosphere, and such a magnificent job done by the priest.

Okay, the funny bits. It was a graveside service, now mind you it was a nice sunny winter's day but after all the rain we have had it was very soft underfoot, not to mention the cars driving into the cemetary, and there were more than a few cars that got bogged, tyres revving about in the mud, and had to be towed to drier ground by the 4WD that were there. About 100 mourners mingled and gave condolences and waited ... and waited ... and waited. No priest. He'd gotten lost. Maybe about 15 minutes after it was due to start we look up and see a white ute flying down the dirt road towards the cemetary and nearly missed the gate and pulled up with a squelch of tyres in the mud. Yep, the priest had arrived, hair flying about all over the place. Then when he spoke with an Irish accent it almost did me in. Not dissing the Irish, not by any means, but I always associated that Irish accent with comedy, probably too many times watching Jimeoin.

The service was beautiful, this retired old priest in his own way did a service like no other. All the grandchildren had something significant to put on the coffin - their grandpa's old shears, a tuft of merino fleece (the man was a shearer in the day), drawings they had done, some of his favourite chocolate, his spectacles, etc. The priest one by one gave them the microphone to tell everyone why they chose what gift they left for their grandpa and a story about him. From the youngest grandchild to the oldest. It was really moving. He had such patience because there were a LOT of grandchildren and great grandchildren to get around.

Plus there was a magnificent piper there playing too, not that I'm biased or anything. ;-)

A fitting tribute to a man who will obviously be missed by all.

Okay onto the scrapping front, I had to scrap some of the photos I took at the football the other weekend when we went to see number 1 stepson umpire. Nothing like having your own papparrazzi, is there?!

Credits Designer Digitals.

These pages will be tucked into the boy's album I'm making for him.

Miffed !

2011-08-07T20:17:00.002+10:00

Well tonight was the night, Masterchef Finale. Couldn't wait. All afternoon I've thought about it. Making dinner I thought about it. Eating dinner, watching the Sunday night program on whatever channel it was on because there was nothing better to watch, sitting there watching a story about Jack flipping Vidgeon, who cares, I wanted to see who won Masterchef. Hurry up 7.30. Planning the night, knitting and watching the finale. It was 7.25, just finished the dishes, asked Mike to switch over to channel 10.

To what?

To them giving out the scores, that's what !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What the flip happened?!?!?!?! They started it at 6.30!!!!! Yes I am using an abundance of exclamation marks because for the next 10 minutes that's exactly how I talked. Plus in a higher than normal pitched voice.

So what the heck kind of finale is this? They show an hour, split in the middle by another tv show, and then the rest of the finale is at 8.30? Are the seriously playing with our heads.

SHAME MASTERCHEF SHAME. And a few of these !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for good measure.

Going to calm down now and share a page I did of one of my sweet nephews with his dog, which they sadly left here in Australia when they went back to America. A picture like this simply has to calm me, look at Miss Nelli sitting there wide awake while young Matthew sleeps, exhausted from playing with her. Her little paw resting on his arm. Is that the sweetest thing you've seen? Sweet innocence I tell you, this could be the poster advertising sweet innocence.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Okay, it's 8.27pm, at least I get this last split hour. Who will win????

And the weekend has rolled around again...

2011-08-06T11:45:00.005+10:00

I keep saying I can't believe how quick the time is going, this year is on warp speed for sure. Plus it's been a busy week.

Last Monday I went to a very moving police funeral of one of the dear Sergeants I have had the pleasure of knowing for 22 years. He was not only a gentlemen, but a gentle man. I've never known someone so gracious and giving. And if there's a lesson to be learned from all of this, is not to wait until tomorrow to do and say what you need to today.

I've borrowed a photo from the newspaper which I have linked up to the article. If you've never been to a police funeral I can tell you it's the most moving tribute, to see a guard of honour stretch out and salute as the hearst goes by. But the thing that choked me up the most on this day is that they then took this great man on a final patrol of his town, flanked by motor cycle police with their lights flashing, up and down all the residential streets he had patrolled for the last 22 years. What an honour to have been there to say goodbye to a man who was so incredibly respected.

The funerals I have been to lately have really made me sit back and take stock. I attended the funeral of my Aunty Mavis a few weeks prior. Not really my Aunty but because of our age difference I called her that. She was my dad's cousin. It's really made me appreciate the here and now. I usually wear my heart on my sleeve at the best of times, I'm going to be unbearable now.

Credits Designer Digitals.

And dare I even say I am attending yet another funeral this coming Monday, the father of a dear friend of mine in town, one of the girls that I go away with once a year, passed away, so I will be there for her. I know it's part of life's cycle but fair go, there's just too much death around at the moment.

In amongst all this sadness though, during the week I took delivery of my new iPad. I was told it would be my newest best friend. You're not wrong! (okay Sonia, you know I don't mean that, you are still my very VERY best friend). I've had such fun setting it up, and the information out there to be had, oh my goodness. I'm still working my way through the apps I want to install, I don't want to just fill it with crap. I will write another blog post soon with what I have installed because I'm finding the whole exercise quite fascinating and how handy this device is going to be, not just for entertainment, but for every day use.

And with that I do believe lunch awaits. Well it doesn't actually await, I'll have to make it, but just ham, cheese and pickle sandwiches today I think. Left over curry tonight for dinner, yay! I don't have to cook, and it will taste even better. I think I've got today's food planned quite nicely.

A proud papa !

2011-07-31T23:21:00.003+10:00

We went to Ballarat today to watch Wes umpire a TAC match. Can we say ... sooooooo proud! I don't know how Wes felt to have his own personal papparrazzi but I think I took over 100 photographs. Hmmm, the only thing with goal umpiring photographs is that most are from the back or at the very least the side. Oh well.

Such a nice day. I was fearing the worst and got out the thermal underwear! You know Ballarat, cold and wet. But it was a lovely crisp day with a blue sky. Sure, still needed the scarf and coat, but it was just lovely.

Before the match Wes met with an AFL goal umpire who was giving him some tips and who watched throughout the match and spoke to him again at half time and at the end with some observations. Advice like that is pure gold to Wes and he'll take everything on board and run with it.

Here's one of the photos I took near the end, can someone say ... a proud dad?

Mike really did need to be educated in the art of watching a local football match though. Best place to park around the ground, etc. This is how I grew up, following dad around umpiring the local matches. Every single Saturday we'd be parked at some ground around Geelong and the coast, watching dad, eating our pie out of a paper bag, mum with a thermos of hot chocolate in the car, horns blazing when a goal was kicked. The look of shock that Mike gave me when I started tooting the horn at one stage. Yep, the poor man really needed to be educated.

Speeding towards the weekend

2011-07-27T22:42:00.006+10:00

Light speed really, hasn't it been? Is time going so fast for everyone and not just for us here? I think we're in warp speed heading towards Christmas. I actually got my Christmas list out the other night working out a few things to look out for in the coming months. Ridiculous? I think not.

We watched a great TV show tonight on Channel 2, the start of a series I believe. Judith Lucy's Spiritual Journey. Absolutely loved it. Humour, the questions that the average Joe Blow might like to ask, a bit naughty and intriguing. A description of the series from the website:

Australian comedian Judith Lucy grew up so heavily
Catholic that she wanted to become a nun.By the time she left school, she was a
committed atheist. Now she's convinced there must be something in between those
two extremes ... she just doesn't have a clue what it
is.

Join Judith Lucy on her quest to discover something to
believe in, when Judith Lucy's Spiritual Journey starts Wednesday 27th July at
9.30pm on ABC1.

It really was a good watch. Roll on next Wednesday!

Out internet connection is going waaaaaay slow tonight, it's painful, so I do believe this blog post will end here for fear I will never be able to save it.

Shall finish this post off with a page I did recently on a seaside theme. A fantastic photograph I have of my grandma and grandpa either when they were courting or perhaps just after they were married. Photos like these really make you wistful that you didn't ask more questions while they were alive. I want to know everything about it, where were they? what time of their lives were they in? what was happening with them? why were they there? So now I just have to wonder. Not fair.

Credits Designer Digitals.

I'm so seriously behind on my blog reading as it's just been way too cold to sit for any great length of time up this end of the house. I am sooooo over this winter weather. So with that time to fill the hot water bottle and I'm off to dreamland! :-)

Forgive me blog

2011-07-18T23:08:00.004+10:00

Forgive me blog for I have sinned, I have not made a blog post since the start of the month ... oh the shame.

So get ready for a round up.

Mike's friend came, went and came back again getting prepared for his father's funeral, such a sad time for him and I'm so glad we were able to be there for him. But just quietly the man is a creature of habit. He always showered before bed time, no matter what. One night he stayed up talking with Mike until after 1am. Mike came to bed which woke me up, and then the next thing we hear the shower door bang and the shower come on. At 1.15 in the morning! Each to their own.

Then Tristan came to stay for a weekend which was so nice to have him here. Although we already had plans for the Saturday night so he came along. Errr ... much to his horror!

We had seen in the newspaper about a Buddhist Monk teacher who was coming to Warrnambool and you could go along to hear his words. We had thought this might be something quite different to do and were interested to hear. So poor Tristan came along too.

First faux pas...

We walked in, signed the visitor's book, spotted three chairs and promptly walked over to it and sat down. Looked around. Everyone had their shoes off. Oh dear, they were taking them off at the door and we just strode right through the room with them on. We quickly slipped them off and popped them under our chairs.

Second faux pas...

Mike had a honking big hole in the toe of his socks and while sitting there with his legs crossed, delighted in poking his toe through and wiggling it around to my horror! He thought no one could see except for me. Then the Lama caught a look through the gap in the chairs. He looked right at Mike's toe. Oh the shame!

Third faux pas...

Tristan fell asleep. He kept getting lower and lower in his chair and I swear he was going to slip right off it. He says he was meditating. I know better!

It was really interesting though. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but everything he said made so much sense. Although he didn't speak English and had a translator, also a Buddhist Monk. His name was Geshe Doga and he has lead quite an amazing life. Have a read. It's quite an incredible journey he has made through his life.

Other than that it's just been day in and day out. We're both completely over our illnesses so that's good in itself. We had a bit of a scare with Molly weekend before last. She was off her food, she was listless, she just lay in the front yard all day, not interested in anything. Broke my heart. Even Lucky stayed a cool distance from her. Mike keeps telling me I have to start preparing myself, our old Molly is quite a geriatric now. But I can't, not yet.

That was the Saturday and then the Sunday she was back to normal, running around, chasing Lucky, eating up a storm. I went from distressed to elated in the span of 24 hours. I had taken a photo and you know the only way to get through a crisis like that is to scrap about it, so I did. Doesn't that face just break your heart? She couldn't even look at me.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Time for bed, I have a big day tomorrow, which I'll come back and write about then. Until then, good night!

What we women do ...

2011-07-02T22:52:00.006+10:00

Cook.

In a time of crisis.

I'm right aren't I? One of Mike's oldest friends is staying with us at the moment, his 90 year old father had a stroke and a fall and has been in hospital last week. Friday night we were still all up talking and the phone rang very late and as soon as I heard B answer it I knew. His father had passed away. So incredibly sad.

So today while B was out with his siblings who had come to town during the week to organise the funeral and care for his mother in a nursing home over in the next town, I did what any woman would do at a time like this.

I baked.

It's a nurturing thing isn't it? You give the condolences, you try to make things easier for the person, you understand, and you feed them. And you keep on feeding them.

Project 52

Ahhh yes remember that? I started it and then promptly fell off the bandwagon with a thud. Well I've dusted myself off, gone back through my photographs and jumped back on that bandwagon with a fanfare. Well okay, consider a fanfare from an out of tune dusty old trumpet if you will, but I'm getting there.

Here's weeks 5 and 6 for your viewing pleasure. Who can resist this darling face, I ask you? He's learnt when the camera comes out, posing wins treats!

And who can resist a man that will go the extra mile when I need a subject? I was doing an exercise in "panning" and you may remember the story here. It really HAD to be my photo of the week, didn't it?

Credits Designer Digitals.

Hoping for no rain tomorrow, even though it is forecast. Pleeeeeaase (looks up above).

Weekend round up

2011-06-27T21:44:00.002+10:00

Had the most brilliant night on Saturday night. Saw in the newspaper an advert for a local theatre production over in Camperdown of Godspell, so we decided to go. Absolutely fantastic. The actors were so good, not a bit of fear, they were up there singing and dancing their hearts out to a full house.

We had a nice meal at one of the pubs in town first, enjoyed the show, and I love that at interval we got a cup of coffee and a cup cake! :-)

Plus I also loved that the program had the cast and where you'd find them around town - the doctor's office, the local bakery, the librarian, etc.

So much fun, we decided on the way home to look up more nights out like this. Because it was so nice to have a fun night out and not have to drive 2 or 3 hours each way to either Geelong or Melbourne.

New looks for the menagerie

The menagerie got new collars recently, not because the old ones were worn out, but every time animal registration rocks around I think a new look is in order for the new tag to go on. And much like the first day of school, that means a picture is taken. They were looking up because Mike was standing there with a treat held in his hand, ha!

Aren't they great collars though. I have stumbled onto a fabulous lady on etsy who makes them, and they are really sturdy for the leash to attach to as well, and look oh so stylish, the best looking doggies in the street! So if you are in the market for a bright new look for your dog or cat, Coley's Collars are the go. And the price is excellent even with the postage and the USD conversion.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Oh Lordy Lord!

2011-06-24T22:52:00.002+10:00

We just finished watching The Shining. Remember that? Jack Nicholson. "Heeeeere's Johnny". I was shocked to see it was 30-odd years old. So that made me mid-teens when I saw it at the movies. I remember being terrified, absolutely bone-shakingly terrified.

So we're watching it tonight on Fox Classics and the whole way through it Mike decided to make scary noises, all of a sudden like, to make me jump. Or Hannibal Lector noises (wrong movie I know). Anything to get a rise out of me. Make me jump. Make me annoyed. MAKE ME VERY ANNOYED. Arrrrrgggghhh. When you want to be scared, sometimes you just want to be scared in peace, yanno.

Still flipping scary movie 30-odd years on.

Am still finding some fun photographs to scrap of my nephews. This was from one day when they came down to visit, the day we went to my friends when they picked out Nelli. My friends have some land next door and Gertie the boy sheep (yes read the journalling) was in the paddock. Check out David and Matt's hands. They were going no where near Gertie. It was so funny. Love these photos, and thankfully again, some of the photos that Sam's husband was able to retrieve from my dead hard drive. I still can never thank him enough.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Tomorrow Mike and I are going out for dinner and to see a local production of Godspell. I think local productions are a lot of fun, the community putting on a play. Looking forward to it, and I figure as long as I don't jump up and down (which obviously won't happen) I won't get the coughing fits that I'm still prone too.

So now ... do I dare go to the bathroom, because I just know as soon as I do, Mike will be waiting round the corner to scare me! haha. He really has never grown up, has he?

This made me so sad

2011-06-23T21:56:00.003+10:00

I don't give a lot of news commentary on this blog, but an article in the Herald Sun yesterday and I near on cried. The thought of this poor darling dog, who was a victim of his own appetite, but also a victim of very cruel owners, who in their misguided way thought they were doing him a favour I'm sure, but in my mind they need to be prosecuted for animal cruelty and named and shamed.

Labs love their food, there's no secret in that. They are a walking garbage disposal unit, but responsibility means to make sure they can't get into food while you're not watching and have a regular meal time. Feeding this poor darling dog hamburger and pizzas and whole roast lambs? You have GOT to be kidding me. If they could afford that type of food for him, they could afford good quality weight controlled dog biscuits.

And now poor Sampson at 8 years old and it's all gotten too hard and they've handed in over and given him up for adoption. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Get this dog into this state and then it's all too hard. Too bad they didn't give him up about 40 kg ago.

Can you tell I'm mad? I'm furious. 85 kgs my friends, that's 187 pounds.

Does this dog look happy to you?

So so sad.

And yet still it rains

2011-06-18T15:27:00.004+10:00

Still raining out there, just more of the same. It's definitely going to be a very wet winter. Slept like a starfish last night and even the menagerie didn't wake me up this morning until around 9am. So lovely.

So I've been watching some home improvement shows on telly this afternoon whilst waiting for Mike to head home. It sounds like they had a fine time last night. My SIL texted me a few times about how raucous Mike and his dad were getting, obviously whiskey was involved!

Another of my pages of my nephews to show here. WARNING! Pitiful photograph. When we took Kim and the boys to the airport, because of the amount of suitcases and that mum came too, we took two cars. So this was the result when I offloaded my lot and we were waiting for Mike to make his way to us after parking his car. I think Matt's look here reflected everyone's mood. Oh and that was a steel post he was learning up against with the cases, it's not a rubbish bin. I just realised how bad that looked if you thought otherwise.

Credits Designer Digitals.

So I'm thinking a pot of tea is the next order of business, I'll put another log on the fire and settle down for the rest of the afternoon.

Still barking

2011-06-17T23:46:00.003+10:00

I'm still barking. This is never going end. There is NO light at the end of the tunnel I fear.

The first time I've ventured down the street at lunch time, big mistake. Abbey Lane, a very nice gift shop, was having a 30% off everything in the store sale. There were some beautiful smelling diffuers, I think that's what they are called. Those bottles of liquid with cane sticks hanging out of them. I sniffed and that was the end of me. My cough caught in the back of my throat and I swear I was dying. I coughed and coughed and coughed and bore the wrath, or at least the evil eye of everyone in the store. I hightailed it out of there and coughed my way up the street. Note to self - no smelling scents.

Mike is feeling so much better, he's almost back to himself. He's visiting with his dad at the moment before his dad heads off to Scotland. So tonight I vegged out. I brought home my favourite Thai takeaway - Penang Curry with Chicken. Mmmmmm. Then I watched Master chef Master class, my favourite episode of the week. Now a bit of scrapping and tidying up my hard drive. The fireplace is blazing. It's lovely and warm in here. My cat Bo is sitting on the desk beside me. Life is good.

On the scrapping front I am busy making pages of my darling nephews, so I can put them all in a book for them for Christmas, so they never forget us. This is a fun idea, what they call "subway art" that I got from my friend and fellow CT mate Doris. And apologies to the Beatles for a bit of leeway I took with the lyrics.

I love the conspiratal nature of this photo. Is that such a word - conspiratal. I know what I'm trying to say. Matt just idolised his Uncle Mike and I just love the sentiment behind this photo. The fact that Mike had time for this 6 year old, would spare him all the time in the world which in turn made Matt feel quite important I think. Or at least that he mattered.

Sorry Mike, the blending of this photo highlighted the bags under your eyes, it had been a long day when this photo had been taken!

Credits Designer Digitals.

And with that it's time to crawl into my warm bed. Soon enough then Lucky will jump up and curl around my feet on the doona at the bottom of the bed, what better way to keep my toes warm.

Sniff, cough, bark, wheeze ...

2011-06-13T17:24:00.003+10:00

Yep, that's why I've been absent this past week. The first half was spent making sure Mike was okay as he was in the throes of it, and then Wednesday I came home from work, took one look at the couch and collapsed on it about 6.30pm, dragged myself to bed a while later, and didn't get up until 1.30pm the next day when Mike woke me as he had made an appointment for me to see a doctor.

Now I'm on antibiotics for whooping cough no less. Apparently I don't have whooping cough, but my symptoms and the type of cough I have were similar. So Thursday and Friday were a blur, mostly sleeping. We've both never been this sick at the same time before that all we want to do is sleep, no energy, it's really taken the stuffing out of both of us. Saturday Mike started coming good, even though the tiredness creeps up as the day goes on. I've started feeling human today but still so flipping exhausted.

So what a waste of a long weekend.

Oh, and by the way ... Happy Birthday QE2 !

Well this has been a day and a half !

2011-06-04T21:49:00.004+10:00

We had tickets to see the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Melbourne Museum today. They were actually my wedding anniversary gift for Mike from April, just that we were going today. Mike is an Egypt freak, he has seen every documentary on TV about Egypt. I think it may have come from him being a small boy voyaging from Scotland to Australia, around the coast of Egypt and through the Suez Canal. Perhaps that's why Egypt has always stuck in his mind and been a passion.

In any case he'd been looking forward to this for weeks. BUT ... yesterday a scratchy throat started and he went downhill from there. I told him this morning we weren't going when he woke up and was shaking, I was pulling rank. Except obviously my rank doesn't rate very highly! ha. Mike was still smarting over missing the Bat Out of Hell concert and as I've nicknamed him today, Scrooge McMike didn't want to waste more money on unused tickets.

So like death warmed up we drove to Geelong to train to Melbourne them tram to the museum. That was the plan. Got to Geelong and the trains were out because of track work, so we bussed it to Melbourne instead. Which was still good and timely. We took it easy when we got there and had a short walk through DFO and a Starbucks coffee, then found the tram to take us to the museum. A few photos out the front and then to the exhibition.

Well it nearly did poor Mike in. Every room he had to sit for about 5 minutes to catch his breath. He loved it, absolutely loved it, the grin on his face showed that, but he was struggling. It was a shock to find we had spent nearly 2 hours in the exhibiton, which was WONDERFUL, so I highly recommend anyone to go. But he was ready to go home. He looked green by that stage. So we trammed back and then bussed back to Geelong and on the way home here he said to me words that you just don't want to hear "I think you better take me to hospital".

Mike doesn't "do" doctors, let alone hospitals, so I knew it was serious. He was having so much trouble breathing on the way home that anything other than a shallow breath felt like razor blades in his lungs, and his ventolin was making no difference. So we went to our country hospital in the next town where he was put straight onto Oxygen. At that stage I had a small quiet little freak out. Mike just doesn't "do" sick. He's now on antibotics with a chest infection, and taking it very easy tonight.

The exhibition though was everything and more than we could have expected. Simply stunning. And so hard to get my head around how old the artefacts were.

Mum and Me

This is a special page of a special day recently spent together. No more words needed except that we are healing. These photos were taken on the first day we have spent alone together since November 2009. (thank goodness camera have self-timers).

Credits Designer Digitals.

My wish came true tonight

2011-05-28T23:06:00.003+10:00

The cats thrashed the Goldcoast Suns! Yahhhhhooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

And all I can say is ... "Gary who????" Sweet victory!

As for today it was wet, it rained, it was cold. Nothing more really to say about the weather. Probably more of the same tomorrow. Mike was going to go camping this weekend and I was looking forward to having the house to myself for a weekend (is that bad???) but too wet and cold so he stayed home. We've all got cabin fever.

We did go and see daughter number 1 late this afternoon though. It's her birthday this weekend, 20! Where did the years go? Not a teenager any longer.

On the digi front, here's another page that will go in my nephews album. I love this photo of young Matt and Mike. Matt was always Mike's shadow whenever he was here. Just looking at this photo it's utter delight on his face that he is with his "Uncle Mike My Buddy My Pal". Matthew even had a framed photograph of his Uncle Mike on his bedside table and would say goodnight to him each night. Now that's a bit of hero worship that to be frank I think Mike was tickled pink about.

Credits Designer Digitals.

I have been scanning lots of photos today, it's been a tedious exercise but a worthwhile one nonetheless. Now I get to scrap them!

Twice in two days - unheard of !

2011-05-24T22:39:00.005+10:00

Back again. Sitting here in this cold office up the other end of the house from where the wood fire is, and I'm actually wearing a scarf. I think a hot chocolate at this time of night might hit the spot before bed.

Another bleak day of cold and rain. Mike said the menagerie were stir crazy today, it's way too cold for old Molly's bones to be outdoors so she was only briefly out between rain breaks. Poor darling, although we have her on the Sasha's Blend, she takes a bit of time to unwind when she's been laying down, as do we all ! ha.

I was late home tonight, didn't get home until 6.30pm, so not my usual time. Mike said that Molly and Lucky were just chilling until about 3 minutes before I arrived home and then they started pacing and checking the door and pacing and back to the door, then up to the bedroom to see if they could see out the window to the street, then back to the backdoor. How did they know I was nearly home? We truly think they are psychic at times!

Oh and Sharon, yes you did warn me about Lucky's innocent face and the chewed shoes in my future, and whilst yes, I have lost a pair of new sneakers and the tops of my $120 ankle boots had the leather, shall we say "worked", oh and a pair of fluffy slippers were found in bits on the front lawn, he now seems to have grown out of that. Cross fingers.

The Album for my Nephews

Over the course of the remainder of the year I am planning to make random pages from photos I have taken over the time I have known my gorgeous nephews. These will all go into a book for them for Christmas so they'll never forget us. And yes I guess some will be sad and about how much we miss them, but some will be happy and funny and silly. So I'll show you them as I make them.

Here's some of the last photos I took of the boys while we were at the airport waiting for the last possible moment they would go through those international gates. A photo of my mum and the boys.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Oh and Margaret, the nighty night possums from yesterday was from the telly, when they say that at about 7.30pm when it's time for the kids to go to bed. :-)

Yet another week has begun

2011-05-23T22:54:00.002+10:00

I was looking at the calendar today on my desk at work and with shock realised that May is now almost shot to pieces and with June hot on it's heels (I say "hot" figuratively because it means Winter!) the weather is already becoming horrid. Rain, cold cold mornings, more rain, wind, even more rain. I think it's going to be a cold wet few months for us.

Master Chef talk

So who is Mastercheffing? (I'm sure that must be a new word in the dictionary). Loving it but at the moment I could write the script, predicting each time whose time it is to go. Still barracking for Sun and Kate.

And in the shadow of Masterchef, dare I say we had on the weekend steak, green vegetables and ... wait for it ... potato rosti courtesy of Friday night's master class. Very nice. Although I'm not going to buy a rosti pan just to make it in. So I used egg circle things, heck the name escapes me at the moment, what are they called? Egg doova-lackies. So my rosti didn't turn out as good as the chef on the show's, but still mighty yummy considering how easy it was to make. Why have I not known about potato rosti before this?

Birthday Boy

Yes a few months ago now but we celebrated a "coming of age" in the household. Lucky turned 21. Well in dog years that is. The birthday hat didn't last long on his head, only as long as the treats held out! Smart boy that one.

Credits Designer Digitals.

I'm Proud

Yes I am. I am so proud of my oldest step-son right now, well I always am, but especially after his efforts on the weekend, where he umpired on the hallowed turf of the MCG at the U/18 curtain raiser to the Dreamtime match between Essendon and Richmond. Can you even imagine how exciting it must have been for him to walk out onto that ground.

And as professional and serious he is about his umpiring, I love that he commented "It was great watching myself signal on the big screen" !!!

For my overseas friends who read this blog, the MCG is the premier football ground in the country, this was a very big deal for my stepson. And you know there's going to be a scrap page in the making naturally!

And with that, time for bed! Nighty night possums.

Like a bat out of hell :-(

2011-05-15T11:51:00.004+10:00

Sad face for sure. This is what we were going to do last night. We were going to see the Bat Out of Hell concert at the Palais. But things have a way of going awry when you book things so far out in advance. We were going with friends. Their son had an emergency appendectomy on Thursday so they weren't able to go, Mike ended up getting sick this weekend so all bets were off for us too, there was no way he was going to be able to sit in a car for a 6 hour round trip. So there would have been some happy people in the audience with 4 chairs in front of them with no boof heads in the way.

:-(

And it was too late to get the tickets to people in Melbourne to go, so we did our dough.

So it's been a rather quiet weekend. I've just made a purchase on etsy which has brought me joy! A poster about old dogs. Love it. I bought a B&W/grey version of it which I'm going to frame in a black frame and perhaps a red mat and put it on the wall here near my computer.

Even as I sit here typing this post, Molly is laying flat out on the floor by my feet (keeping my feet warm in the process mind you) gently snoring her little heart out, not a care in the world, every now and then she issues a satisfied groan which is most unladylike, but we can forgive her for that, she's geriatric now being 12 years old.

Isn't the sentiment on this poster terrific? I got it from Bubby and Bean.

Onto scrapping, I finally have scrapped some photos I took on the weekend away I had in Halls Gap with my friends here from town. So much fun, having a house in the middle of the bush with the wildlife just at your door, seeing the mountains around you in all sides, smelling that fresh air, I soooooo want to live up there. Always have, always will.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Now despite Molly's warmth at my feet I am feeling quite a chill in the air so off to stoke the fire!

MC anyone?

2011-05-11T21:27:00.002+10:00

Anyone at all? Who is already hooked on Masterchef. Oooh it's going to be a long journey I think and I will thoroughly enjoy it. I already have a couple of favourites that I think I'll follow. Sun, Kate and Danielle. Go the girls!

At least I have a few girls at work who are into MC. Talk at the morning tea table usually turns to the program, can't help but be caught up in it.

And talk here usually turns to digi scrapbooking, and I'm turning out some pages that will be put into a book for my two nephews for Christmas, so they don't forget their Australian Aunty Carol and Uncle Mike, because no matter what happened, we'll always be that. So here's another one of those random pages from a random photograph I took. And a little tip I had heard of and used quite extensively with the more serious of my nephews, David.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Well we're just finishing hump day and now it's downhill till the weekend. Where is the time going? The weeks are just flying by.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:42:00.003+10:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there. Hope you've had a wonderful day.

I have.

I went to Geelong and took my mum to a secret destination lunch, secret from her, not from me obviously as I had planned it! We went to the Black Sheep Restaurant for their mother's day special lunch, delish! Then afterwards went and toured the National Wool Museum. I haven't been there since it opened, and it hadn't changed all that much but it was good to see again. Plus they had a special exhibition about women who had turned bad!! Women who had been jailed at Long Bay Jail and their files and stories from back around 1915-1940's I guess it was. Really really interesting.

It was a really nice day. Considering oh, over about the last 18 months mum and I have had quite a tumultuous relationship which culminated in us not seeing each other for just over 12 of those months. We're gradually on the right road now though.

I had made this layout with mum in mind and got it printed on a card from Snapfish. It turned out brilliantly. She didn't realise at first until she looked at the back and I had printed on it "Made especially for you from Carol 2011". Then she looked a bit shocked and then "oh" and then "ooooh, ooooooooh". Nice to get that reaction from my scrapbooking.

Credits Designer Digitals. It's a loooooong credit list.

During the afternoon my phone buzzed and I received a lovely mother's day greeting from number 1 stepdaughter. It thrilled me, the fact that she thought of me on mother's day. I love Mike's children with a passion, they are brilliant brilliant kids. But apart from one mother's day many many years ago, they've never acknowledged mother's day with me. So it thrilled me no end, and of course got me all misty.

So I hope all the mother's, grandmother's, nannas, daughters and sons of mothers had a lovely day full of everything you hoped the day would bring. Happy Mother's Day.

How to win friends and influence people

2011-05-06T23:54:00.006+10:00

Oh dear, one of my fellow workers totally put a foot in it today, completely and utterly. She got an email from one of the people in a department in Melbourne who help us, except the woman had a different last name.

So my fellow worker got straight on the phone and exclaimed "Sarah!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!! When was the big day, how absolutely exciting, tell us all about it".

Silence followed from my fellow workmate and her face went beetroot.

Sarah had gotten a divorce! Hence the change in surname. Ouch.

Which gave me fits of giggles. Not for poor Sarah, not at all, not for my fellow worker, but for the ridiculousness of the situation. Okay, so I was rolling around the floor laughing, it's usually me who puts my foot in it, both feet usually at the same time. So it was quite refreshing to see someone else do it for once!

What we can learn from this story - never ASSUME as it makes an ASS out of U and ME.

Names changed to protect the innocent ;-)

Here's a quickie to show you, a page I did a while back from a photo that was taken of us when we went out on the Tall Ship in Corio Bay. My father-in-law was crewing on it at the time and it was a wonderful joy sail (do you say that? You say joy flight, so I will use that term joy sail). Although I can imagine if we were way out in the heads I would have had my head over the side!

Credits Designer Digitals.

Now, off to bed! Mike is still watching Terminator so I will leave him to it. Sweet dreams await me.

Still on the royal wedding

2011-05-03T22:43:00.002+10:00

I got this photo sent to me on the email today, I laughed and laughed, just the way the Queen looks to be kind of looking but not moving her head and I can imagine Prince Philip answering this.

I can't stop chuckling at it. I'm sure the world has said enough about Beatrice and Eugenie's outfit and make up attempt, it really does look like they are little girls playing in their mother's wardrobe. Terrible.

Onto scrapbooking, you are going to have to indulge me over the next few months in the pages I'll be making of the boys. I'm going to put them all together in an album to send over to them so they never forget their Aunty Carol and Uncle Mike and the fun they had with us.

This would have to go down as one of my all time favourite photographs. I remember this day so well, I don't think the boys had much exposure to dogs and it was their first visit to see us way down here. David and Lucky because firm friends and Lucky just loved having someone to run around the yard with. They wore each other out and this photograph was the result. Precious isn't it?

Credits Designer Digitals.

It's getting late. Must ... go ... to ... bed.

Fun !

2011-05-01T22:12:00.005+10:00

I had fun scrapping the photos from Friday, Anna's templates make it so easy and how perfect her paper from her newest palette was the exact match for the Queen's outfit! ha. That was most fortunate! It did end up in the local newspaper, with four big photographs from the event. We weren't outrageous enough though to appear!

Credits Designer Digitals.

Last night we went to a Ceilidh last night hosted by the Warrnambool Pipe Band. So much fun, so much talent, my ears though were ringing by the time we got home! It was a huge day yesterday, with the sun shining we had been in Halls Gap all day at the Grape Escape. Talk about getting around the countryside! Exhausted today though, it all caught up with us.

Lucky we did go to Halls Gap yesterday, the sun was shining, it was lovely, at one stage I even went sleeveless as it was so warm. But today ... it has been cold, miserable and rainy, with more following during the week. Wish the weather would make up its mind.

Royal Wedding Fever

2011-04-29T16:22:00.003+10:00

I have had such a fabulous day. This morning I attended a "High Tea" in Terang. It was a fundraiser for the local community health centre. The invitation was to come dress appropriately for the royal wedding.

Well dress they did. There were hats and feathers, tiaras and furs, even a toy corgi on a leash, everyone really got into the spirit of the occasion and a lot of money was raised for the health centre.

Oh and we got titles, we walked the red carpet and were escorted to our chairs either in the east wing or the west wing! They played it to the hilt. I was Lady Carol. My friend was Countess Michelle. There were Duchesses, Dames and other titles I can't remember. The place settings were so cute, with our name and title tied to a shortbread biscuit and all the crockery was lovely bone china.

The magical moment when the Queen arrived...

After God Save the Queen was played the goodies arrived. Scrumptious!

They stayed in character ... "Countess Michelle, would you like another cup of tea?"

People enjoyed themselves immensely. Lots of chatter.

What's that? The royal engagement ring I spy...???

All too soon it came to an end. Bravo to the organisers, such a fun morning for a good cause. Plus it let a lot of women play dress ups for just a little while.

And before I leave you, picture this if you will. Imagine the wedding has happened, the vows have been said, and they're back at the castle for the balcony scene. Kate and Wills moves forward and kiss to the cheers of the people below. Can you just imagine the Queen doing this behind them ....

Fun fun fun!!

Ouch!

2011-04-28T22:21:00.003+10:00

I have a sore and sorry husband at the moment. The other night around 11pm he remembered the dog food for breakfast (for the dogs not him!!) the next day was still in the freezer out in the garage, so made his way out in the dark ... in socks mind you! Stubbed his little toe on one of the volcanic rocks we have around the garden bed near the garage and split the nail on his little toe so badly that half the nail came off and blood everywhere.

I missed all the commotion, but apparently he was out there, hopping around, reciting all the letters of the alphabet with a lot of F's thrown in! I can only imagine what our neighbours must have thought if they heard.

By this stage I became aware of all of this and Mike, deciding to be the strong silent type that he is, decided to put pure dettol on the toe. I think at that stage he nearly went through the roof.

On his way out of the bathroom, we have a baby gate at the entrance to the wet areas, so that the dogs don't get into the laundry and pinch the cat's food, and Mike hit the same toe on the gate. It was not pretty! Poor love.

Two days later the toe looks horrible, it's now purple, with half a nail and he's still limping, and I don't mind thinking he has broken the toe, although he can wiggle it so maybe not broken. Of course going to the doctor is out of the question, arrrrgh men!

Stay tuned, this saga isn't over I'm sure.

The Wedding!

What wedding you may ask? (if you live on another planet). Okay who's excited? Because it's prime time on Australian TV on Friday night, I plan to get into my pyjamas, wear my plastic tiara and be a couch potato all night.

There happens to be a bagpiping event in Warrnambool on both Friday and Saturday nights which Mike wants to attend one of them. When he told me about it and how about Friday? I looked at him like he was stark raving mad. Hmmm let's see bagpiping or royal wedding? I think he had his answer.

I'm looking forward to all the pomp and ceremony on a grand scale. No one does it quite like the royals, although having said that I'm not overly a royalist. I just remember getting caught up in that whole royal thing when I visited London many years ago.

I've swung an RDO for tomorrow and am attending a High Tea fundraiser. That's a fundraiser for the local community health centre, not a fundraiser to help HRH pay for the wedding! ha. The invitation read to dress appropriately for the wedding, to come along and enjoy a high tea to celebrate the occasion, corgis welcome!

So I've grabbed out the pearls, found some play/dress jewellery which I will loosely call "my diamonds", I've bought a terrific big pink flower for my head, although instead of being like a fascinator type thing, I'll probably end up looking like Bill & Ben the Flowerpot Men! Ahhh but it's all a bit of fun.

Talking about fun, I saw this on Facebook:

In honor of the big wedding on Friday, use your royal wedding guest name. Start with either Lord or Lady. Your first name is one of your grandparents' names. Your surname is the name of your first pet, double-barreled with the name of the street you grew up on. Let's do this!

My Royal Wedding Guest name is : Lady Irene Molly-Poplar.

What's yours?

On to Scrapbooking

Here's a page a did recently which just screams summer to me, it was the end of the season for roses, but I did find some beauties in the main street in Terang. So so pretty.

Credits Designer Digitals.

So just in case Wills and Kate read this blog (insert hilarious laughter here) congratulations to the two of you, a word of advice Kate ... don't slip!

5 day weekend, come and gone

2011-04-26T16:33:00.011+10:00

Well we're at the end of a lovely 5 day long weekend - add Good Friday to Easter Monday to Anzac Day and we had a super dooper weekend.

We went to Penshurst yesterday so Mike could take part in their Anzac ceremony. It's hard going back year after year and seeing the same faces, some not there any more, and oh how the old soldiers age each year. But they really appreciate the live piping, and Mike is thrilled to do it for them.

I've jumped back on the bandwagon with the All About Me challenges at Designer Digitals and the most recent one was a beauty, about where you live. It really made you step back and appreciate your town. I was lucky enough back in 2009 to take a helicopter ride over my town and buzz my house in the process!!! So this photo was from that ride. OMG it was fabulous! One of the things on my bucket list was to ride in a helicopter - tick!

Credits Designer Digitals

Oh and I have been remiss, last Monday was our wedding anniversary, seven years! Okay, so I haven't exactly been in the blogging mood and I guess I should have done a layout to commemorate it, but there you have it, been and gone, we went out for a lovely meal and gave each other a gift.

I got us tickets to see Tutenkahmen (excuse the spelling but I'm too lazy to look it up) at the museum in a month or so's time. Mike said he had put some thought into my gift ... oh Lord! I've heard that before (thinking back to the hair removal cream episode). But he had. He proudly announced when I opened the gift of 4 bracelets - 3 wooden and a gold one, that 7 years was WOOD and so he matched the gift to the anniversary year thingy. He had gone to the newsagents first and asked what the seventh year was in modern and traditional, then gone to the gift shop to find the bracelet.

I was later telling mum that on the phone, how romantic that was that he went to that trouble. She started laughing. Either Mike had misheard or Chalky at the Newsagents didn't have his glasses on, because the seventh year is WOOL not WOOD !!! How funny.

So I hope your long weekend wherever you are has been a lovely, restful, chocolate filled weekend.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T21:53:00.003+10:00

Things I have learnt this Easter:

1. Too much chocolate makes you sick.
2. If you go to the dawn service it will involve a granny nap later in the afternoon.
3. Too much chocolate makes you sick.
4. If you go to the dawn service you will have no energy to do housework or anything else.
5. Too much chocolate makes you sick.
6. You definitely do not need to have dessert in any of the days over easter, oops.
7. Too much chocolate makes you sick.
8. And just for good measure ... too much chocolate makes you sick.

Do you see a theme going on here? Oh dear. I hope your Easter has been enjoyable.

I spent time with my mum yesterday, yes you read right. Our first one on one day in well over a year. We went out for lunch and survived, it was nice. I also spent some time with my in-laws down at the coast seeing their beautiful new house they've built. I'm envious.

Today we went to the Easter Sunday dawn service and had breakfast down at the lake with the rest of the community - hot cross buns, coffee and easter eggs, yes it started early in this household! Tabby and Wes came over during the afternoon which was so nice, and of course never one to miss an opportunity got some nice photos of them with their dad.

However you have spent your day, I hope it was full of love, laughter and fun.

Oh and I was especially proud of my Easter gifts this year, my first hybrid project (apart from printing out in book form), from the computer screen to an Easter present.

And here's a close up:

Credits Designer Digitals.

Printed on card and folded in half and stapled over the top of the bags. I had them lined up on the kitchen bench and Mike came in and said "hey they are cool, where did you buy them?". Ahhhh the ultimate compliment.

Righto, another big day tomorrow for Anzac Day. How will you be spending it?

Forgive me blog

2011-04-13T21:22:00.004+10:00

Forgive me blog for I have sinned.
It's been over a month since my last entry.
I've fallen off the face of the earth.
Just that I've not had anything (happy, interesting, wonderful, cheery) to talk about.
My bestie has rung me worried about me not blogging.
I've been sad, very sad.

In a nutshell I had to say goodbye to these amazing, beautiful, smart, funny, loving, cheeky, darling, incredible boys, my nephews. The American nephews I instantly inherited when my brother married my new sister-in-law.

Sadly for all of us, my brother and my SIL have split, with my darling SIL returning to America with the two boys.

These photos were taken on what was probably one of the hardest days both Mike and I have experienced in the last oh so many years. We were able to spent one last day with them before taking them to the airport and in a puddle of tears saying goodbye. Even writing about it now puts a pain in my chest.

David and Matt are two really great kids and they know their Uncle Mike and Aunty Carol are always here for them, no matter what, no matter when.

Life really sucks sometimes. But with the wonder of modern technology messages across the net are easy and we're keeping in touch, so that's a good thing.

So that's what has taken up my thoughts in recent times and it's just been way too painful to blog about.

Hot !

2011-03-12T20:55:00.003+11:00

The other night we had the fire going, and now it's turned hot again. I'm sitting here with the fan on, Molly is sprawled out in front of it, so she's feeling it too. We had number one step-son here for dinner and now we're up to choosing a movie to sit down and watch.

I forgot to mention about last Friday night. We went with some friends to a Rock & Roll night. Oh my goodness, what fun! Although I must admit, there was a time I'd bounce back the next day after a rollicking night like that. Not so any more, my knees were shot to pieces!

We danced like there was no tomorrow. There was a rockabilly band and they were terrific. A rock & roll dancing group were in attendance too, all in their big swirly skirts, it was a pleasure to watch. Mike and I did try to copy but ended up with arms twisting wildly and nearly knocking each others heads off as we were trying to twirl. Ahhh, at least we were entertaining.

Here's a recent scrap page I have done, loved the colours of these papers which just lended themselves to B&W photographs. And I'm loving finally being able to scrap a lot of these 2010 photographs that my friend Sam's husband was able to retrieve from my dead hard drive.

My brother and I ... at times when we're together it's like we're kids again, poking each other, teasing each other, silly silly stuff. Usually never a serious photograph, so it's a fluke we got this one, not before a lot of other whacky faces. Oh Lord, the bags under my eyes, you could pack for a holiday in them! ha.

Credits Designer Digitals.

As a final note tonight, my thoughts are with those in Japan at the moment, those with friends and family in Japan, and just the horror that they've experienced. So incredibly tragic.

I'm here!

2011-03-06T16:46:00.005+11:00

No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I'm here, I really am. I've had a horrid few weeks at work, really really busy, frantic, panic making weeks. Not fun! Plus I've had a trip to Melbourne during that time for some training, left home at 5.30am and stepped back in the door at 10pm. Darn that there's only 3 trains a day back here. Well there was some shopping done while I had some free time up there so there was a small bonus.

Last weekend I was asked to photograph a wedding. Eeeek. I did everything I could to get out of it, I don't *DO* this. She kept insisting that she only wanted candid shots, nothing posed. Yeah right, famous last words huh? Until the photos come in and you don't see the photos you were really hoping for. It is an older lady in town, she said she's been there done that, and that's why she only just wanted a representation of the day. She showed me some photos from her daughter's wedding from last year and I thought heck, I could do that, they truly were happy snaps.

So with much trepidation I said yes. Mike was already going to be playing pipes at the wedding. It was a really plush but low key affair, does that make sense? She had it at home, and by home I mean the most amazing gardens you've ever seen. A big marquee out the back with chandeliers no less. No dancing, no cake, just a string quartet and a dinner party afterwards. And after flitting around during the event I think she got what she wanted, it was truly divine.

Except it rained, only during the ceremony. But you roll with the punches right? Here's the happy bride and groom, I think the brolly is a great touch. All the guests were standing on the verandah of the homestead. I'm going to call it a homestead because it really was that much more than a house. And yes, this is her backyard.

She really was radiant throughout. Never wiped that smile off :-)

The reception set up in the marquee.

The menu

I was on the verandah of the house here looking over to the marquee, she had these beautiful tea lights all along the verandah in clusters, it looked all so glowy and inviting.

Okay so I will do better with my blogging, I must I must. I'm about to start on a new scrapping project for a friend and she's given permission for me to post pages here, so I'm quite excited to get this project started. More later.

Sunday oh Sunday how I love you so

2011-02-20T15:09:00.004+11:00

Yes I do, I love Saturday too. Oh and Friday night. Don't get me wrong, I like my job, but I so much more love being at home.

Mike has been at a working bee all day, he left at 8am this morning and it's now gone 3pm. I mentioned some posts back that we had some devastating news that some friends had been in a very bad car accident. The working bee was out at their farm to build a fence and feeders for their goats, so that when Mr. C comes home he doesn't have to feed them by hand any more.

I've just been out there and visited and they've done a mammoth job. Mrs. C came home during the week, although not out of the woods yet, but it was so nice to be able to visit with her. She has to wear a brace for the next 6 months. She has a broken sternum, broken rib and a bad crack in her L2 that still has to heal, I must google that to find out exactly where it is. I was able to give her a very gentle hug, and truth be told the hug was for me more so, I have been so worried about them. But she has the resiliance of a country woman of many years, and their healthy living has aided a lot in their recovery. Still a long road ahead of them, but with their many friends and family they will get to the other side.

The Weather

So I guess people talk about the weather when they don't know what to talk about, but honestly the weather is really on our minds of late so it is topical. Thursday night we had the storm to end all storms, fire, brimstone, mother nature threw it all at us. Our power was off for about 3 hours, we had the dogs inside with us, Molly was panicking, Lucky couldn't care a toss, and Bo ended up fronting up the back door a bedraggled wet soaking mess.

So what to do? We'd had our dinner, thank heavens it was leftovers from the night before so I was able to heat it up with the gas oven. We were sitting there listening to the battery radio that is usually in the bathroom.

Me: "I'm bored"
Mike: (silence)

Me: "Want to play a game?"
Mike: "Hmmmm nope"

A moment later...

Me: "Sure? Want to play scrabble, we can do it by candlelight?"
Mike: (gives me "the look" more of exasperation, he really didn't want to play a game).

A moment later...

Me: "Wanna make out?"
Mike: "I REALLY just want to sit here and listen to the radio".

So there you have it. 3AW talk back with Derek Guille is more scintallating than making out with me. We have officially hit the seven year itch! ha.

The Weather

And onto scrapping, the small photographic group I'm playing along with at the moment has had some challenges which I've mentioned in the past. There was a challenge to fill the frame, no cropping afterwards allowed. Goodness knows what the neighbours thought when I lined Mike up outside the shed so I had the cool metal behind him and had the camera lens sooo close to him. I think they're used to strange things with me and my camera by now.

Love the whole manly feeling to this page.

Credits Designer Digitals.

And with that, I must start thinking about what to make for dinner, decisions decisions!

Another weekend gone

2011-02-11T23:10:00.005+11:00

Where are the days going? Honestly, this is ridiculous. Life is really fleeting isn't it? We need to grab each day and enjoy otherwise zoom, and it will be gone. I'm sounding a bit tragic aren't I? Not meaning to but it's scary how quickly we start Monday and all of a sudden its Friday night and the weekend is upon us.

I've been doing some fun photographic exercises with a small group of women, it's been a load of fun so far. We have a theme for a week and then go out and snap and then share the photos on flickr. This past week the theme was panning. Have a moving object and follow it in the view finder and click click click as it goes by.

Well what better object than Lucky. Mike was at one end of the yard with his plastic bone toy throwing it to the other. I took about 50 shots in all up and back and up and back and he was so darn quick I've got heads, I've got rear ends, I've got bits of feet and only a few with him in the shot, a lot blurry because I was laughing so much. But I got a couple of okay ones. How fun!

He's certainly focussed on the end result here! Too bad about the toy tyre on the ground in the second shot, nothing that a bit of photoshopping can't make magically disappear though.

So after I finished these shots I thought I needed another subject, Mike to the rescue. He volunteered to run up and down the FRONT yard! But only if he was a superhero. Oh My Lord!!! So we got out the red velvet Christmas Tree skirt so he had a cape, and he grabbed the rasta hat I made him for a fancy dress a few years ago, and all of a sudden RASTAMAN was born!! I don't know what his super hero powers are though.

So he did about 5 laps of the front yard and a couple out the back where the light was better. I can only imagine the eyes peering from the neighbours houses. But no matter, all I could think of was how lucky I was to have a husband who joins in the spirit of the occasion, no matter what. I think we're both as crazy as each other. Until at the end he said no more and was gasping for breath, I thought he was going to have a heart attack.

So I introduce you to ... RASTAMAN! One of the few photos I got that I wasn't falling about laughing.

Onto scrapping...

Lots of fun this weekend at Designer Digitals with their famous quarterly sale, so go grab a bargain. And then of course on Saturday (US time) it's their all day chats, I've been to a few of these chats, surival of the fittest. Sometimes there's hundreds in the chat room, all talking scrapping and the chat moves so fast. Lots of freebies every hour. I'll miss the start because it starts 12midnight hour time.

Here's the timetable, bear in mind it's listed as eastern US time.

8am Package Inspiration with Andrea
9am - Talking Type with CathyZ
10am - Add Flare with Anna
11am - 30MM with Cassie
12pm - Dates, Numbers etc with Elena
1pm - Collageable with Katie
2pm - Felt Friends with Pattie
3pm - iTunes with Mel
4pm - Templates with Kayleigh
5pm - Embellishing with Kathleen
6pm - Scraplift with Lynn
7pm - Family Time with earlofoxford
8pm - Color Challenge with Anke
9pm - Singing Bee with Jesse
10pm - Fitting The Words On The Page with Ali
11pm - Last Call with Randy & Katie

And of course I will show a scrap page I recently did. I was feeling melancholy thinking about my grandma and wanted to scrap photos of her throughout various stages of her life. Blink of an eye, yep, this is how quickly life goes.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Time for bed, over and out.

I have discovered...

2011-02-05T15:49:00.004+11:00

When you make a discovery, you just want to share, right? Well I have discovered that licorice and a sweet cup of tea just DO NOT MIX. They are definitely not a match made in heaven. What a horrid taste. I rarely eat licorice and yet Mike decided to bring some home yesterday. I just munched on some and then took a sip of my tea.

GAAAAAAAAAAGGGG !!!!

Not good. Don't recommend it.

Funny old day today. The top of our state is copping it with rain again and yet we've only had a tad of rain here today, and it hasn't been hard, and up to today it's been hot. The world has gone crazy. Let's see, 2011 has brought to us in Australia floods in Queensland and beyond, floods in northern Victoria, bushfire in Gippsland, Cyclone Yasi in North Queensland, locusts are making their way across Victoria and now floods again in North East Victoria.

I said to Mike the other night there's a lesson to be learnt from all of this. Don't piss off a woman.

How so? he asked.

Well as I figure it, Mother Nature is surely pissed with us at the moment bringing her wrath on us like this.

The Garden

Now I do believe I have mentioned once or twice that I am semi - getting into this whole garden caper. Still not enjoying it by a long shot, but I am loving all the colour I have going. I have had a wee bit of a snail problem and much to my dismay have had to replace some plants. I got a great tip from the nursery man to sprinkle sawdust around the base of the plants. He even GAVE me a punnet of petunias he had on sale to get me to try it and if it worked remember him and come back and buy more. Great service that was! Of course I went back.

And it worked a treat. Sure there are some snails making the trek and crossing the sawdust, and might I add probably getting splinters in their bellies trying. But the great majority have given up. Perfect solution seeings we can't put down snail bait because of the menagerie.

But the evening of me first putting the sawdust down, the following photographs resulted. Too too funny seeing Mike out on snail patrol.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Planning dinner tonight, I have two delicious looking porterhouse steaks to cook, baked potato and sour cream and a yummy salad. Doesn't that sound good?

Waiting waiting

2011-01-30T18:41:00.003+11:00

Mike is off somewhere in town coin detecting and I'm waiting for him to return. I have a roast chicken ready to serve. Why oh why do I pick the hottest days of the year to make a roast, I'll never know. It has been a stinker here today.

I've had the doggy pool out and Lucky loved bounding in and out of it, making big splashes. It was fun to watch. Molly stayed inside most of the day with the AC on. She's done it hard today.

And me? I've scrapped! :-)

Here's the next two instalments to my Project 52 - week 3 and week 4 for your viewing pleasure. Oh and the bridge, the flood waters didn't do that. This is the old bridge that is still standing, but fenced off. I was leaning over the fence to take the photograph, not standing precariously on a wooden plank, I assure you.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Oh and yes, we are one of the very few houses in town that have a flag pole. I'm always a bit freaked particularly with lightening storms as it's attached up past the pinnacle of our big shed out the back, so it's high enough to be seen flying from the street. It's not really the done thing to have a flag flying in houses in Australia, although I know having been to America and Canada flag flying seems mandatory. Must say though, half the time our flagpole has the Lion Rampant flying (for Scotland) or in December there's usually a Santa Claus flag flying. So don't think I'm being too patriotic!! te he.