Well Hello Strangers .....

Forgive me, Friends, for I have been naughty …. It’s been quite a few days since my last post ….

Hi there, and hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and holiday break. For those of you back at work … bad luck, wish you were with me here in sunny Bonnie Doon.

We arrived here on Christmas Day, and it has been sunshine and blue skies ever since (excepting early Wednesday morning, when we had an amazing thunder and lightning storm). Didn’t manage to catch any lightning in the camera lens, just lots of clouds. But Wednesday late morning we were back to summer sunshine. The weather has been in the mid 30s (Celcius, that is !) and the nights nice and cool for sleeping.

Spent Tuesday and today (Thursday) down by the lake, playing in the boats and water. Lovely. It is really busy here this year, as the caravan park has new owners (the previous owner was a right royal pig (I’m being polite !), and no-one wanted to be here). Everyone is curious about the new owners, who are wonderful people, and the park has improved 100%. We had a lovely day, and intend to continue to do so until around the 8th January, when we return home.

Thought it was time to finally get back behind the wheels of my computer, and let you all know that I am still alive. I hope to get a chance to visit all of your blogs in the course of the next few days. Thank you all for your loving Christmas Wishes.

Anyway, just a short-ish post for me today. Will post again when I have something interesting to say.

Take care all,

MEOW

Merry Christmas Everyone ...

I don't know if I'll have much chance to do any blog posting in the

next few days (I'd be surprised if anyone does !!!),

so I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my new

and old friends a

Very Merry and Safe Christmas.

Please enjoy your time with your families and friends,

and take care of yourselves.

Looking forward to many, many more hours of blogging with you all.

All the best

MEOW

Only 4 Days Till Christmas .....

Well, only 4 days to go ... is everyone ready for the man in the red suit to pay them a visit !!?? I am almost there, only a couple of little things left to get, and the grocery shopping to do. Done all my parties, luncheons, get togethers, for the time being, so can now begin to relax.

The weather has turned here in sunny Melbourne. It is getting mighty windy, there is thunder and lightning, and we have had some rain. The temperature has plummetted (I think it was over 30C earlier, now it is only about 20C). I think we may be in for some stormy weather.

School has broken up for the year ... 6 weeks of relaxation now, no uniforms to wash, lunches to pack, etc., etc. Thank goodness.

My Chicky has been taking the camera around the house and garden the last couple of days. Thought I might share a couple of photos she has taken. Wonder if Santa is bringing her a camera of her own ???

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday. Take care all.

MEOW

A parrot in our apricot tree

The ferns out the front of our house

Some of the shells we collected on our trip to Cape York

I Still Hate Mondays ...

What a day !!!

Ÿ Had to go back to a store I went to last week, to exchange a DVD player that decided to not work. A good ½ hour drive later, a quick 5 minutes in the store, then I was on my way home again. Don’t you hate it when something you buy, brand new, doesn’t do what it is supposed to ?!?!?

Ÿ On the way home, I got a phone call from Chicky’s school, asking me to pick her up, as she was unwell. She’ll be OK, just a rather nasty cold. Funny, midway through the afternoon she was feeling much better !!! (Only 1 ½ days left of school … they finish Wednesday afternoon around 1.30pm, then 6 weeks of holidays.)

Ÿ I also had a vet appointment for my kitty, who had been acting strange, like she had something caught in her throat. Of course, me being somewhat negative at times, imagined the worst. In the end, she only has a huge ulcer in the back of her mouth, and is being treated with antibiotics. Thank goodness it was nothing sinister.

All in all, a somewhat stressful day. Thank goodness it is almost over. Got heaps of running around to do tomorrow, to make up for what I couldn’t do today with a sick child in the house. Hope I get it all done. I did do stuff at home today that I wouldn’t have done had I been running around. So I guess in the end it’s “6 of one, half a dozen of the other”!!

Hope everyone had a better day than I did.

MEOW

A Little Quote To Share With You ...

Happiness is like peeing in your pants.
Everyone can see it,

but no one feels the warmth as you do.

J. Tilse

I thought this was cute, and funny, and just had to share.

MEOW

An Arachnid Adventure ....

A few months ago I had an interesting experience (if you can call it that !!).

I had been taking some shopping out of the boot of my car, when I noticed a huge (saucer-sized) big, black hairy spider sitting in the gutter-thingy on the edge of the boot opening. Oh My God, it was huge. I panicked … how do I get rid of it. Found something to flick it off with … too slow. It crawled into the boot, never to be seen again. Believe me, I searched, and searched – to no avail. Damn.

From that day on, every time I set foot into my car, I was paranoid. Hope that spider can’t get in, hope it’s gone, hope it doesn’t pay me a visit. It was really not nice being in that car.

Anyway, a week or so later, I guess I was getting a bit blasé … that spider had gone (or so I thought !!). I was driving to the local shopping centre, in a heap of traffic, when what should crawl across my dash, right in front of me !!! I nearly died on the spot. (I know in an earlier post I said I had a fascination with spiders, but not when they are a few inches from my face, ready to crawl on me …. Eeeeewwwww !!). I was shaking, couldn’t breathe properly, ready to hyperventilate !! What do I do ?? There are cars everywhere. Hang on, there’s a break in the traffic … quick, over into that car-park. All the while watching that damn spider !! In the meantime, it had crawled into a vent along the inside of the windscreen. After I had stopped the car, do you think I could find it ?? What to do ?? I got back behind the wheel and went grocery shopping !!!! The paranoia was back, though, I was nervous as hell !!!

On returning to my car, after shopping, I searched again … to no avail. I drove home, cautiously, in the left hand lane in case I had to stop in a hurry ! Got home safely, unloaded my shopping, and returned to my car with the biggest can of insect spray !! I had a weapon !!!

I sprayed into all the vents, where I knew the nasty critter had gone … just my luck it wouldn’t be there anymore. Hang on, what luck … there it is, crawling out, quite groggy !! It still had some spunk, though, as when I approached it with a stick to flick it out, it tried to crawl up the stick. OMG !!! Anyway, I eventually flicked it out of the car. Thank goodness. I could now relax again. Although, every-time I got in that car for the next few days I nearly asphyxiated from the smell of the bug spray !!

Now we get to yesterday …. I was just arriving into that same shopping centre car-park, when what goes crawling along the outside of the drive-side window … not quite as big, but pretty substantial in size, anyway. OMG, not again. At least it was on the outside. When I parked my car, I literally jumped out of the door, in case the nasty thing was sitting there waiting to ambush me. Luckily it was over the other side of the car. I went over, tried swatting at it with some paper, but it ran back to the other side (luckily the door was closed !!). We played chase back and forward for a few times, until it decided to park on my wipers. Please, don’t crawl into the vent !! I got to it, flicked it off the car and chased it away. I was free of spiders. Hope it didn’t come back to visit once I had gone into the shops.

Hopefully, we are now spider free. I do have a cautious look around every time I get into the car, however.

Hope your life is spider free.

MEOW

T.G.I.F. ....

Thank God it's Friday .... 2 days to sleep in, then another 2 1/2 days of school for Chicky, then we're on holidays ... yay !!! Well, my husband is still working until Friday night, but us girls are finished for the year :-) We will be heading off on Christmas Day for 2 weeks at Bonnie Doon ... can't wait to get away from home for awhile, and do a lot of nothing ... sit in the sun, read, listen to music, swim, go out in the boat, eat, drink, be merry !!!! Should be fun.

I think I got my Christmas shopping under control today. Only a couple of little things to get, to finish off a couple of gifts. I might even start wrapping them tomorrow. Posted my Christmas cards (don't think the ones to Germany will make it on time !!!), and hand delivered the ones for the neighbours (well, Chicky did that, not me !!!!)

Picked Chicky up from school today (as usual), and she was really sad. They got their school reports and grade lists for next year, and she isn't with a few of her favourite friends. It's not like they will be a world apart, only in the classroom next door, and they can play together at recess and lunch. Why is everything to dramatic with 11 year olds ?? Her report was good, what I expected, and she is thereby promoted to Year 6 next year. They don't go back to school until the end of January, so it will be a good break before the final year of Primary School ... then off to High School. That will be major.

Anyway, not much to say, really. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Take care.

MEOW

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task,

but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks

as if they were great and noble."

Helen Keller

A Beautiful Sunrise ....

"If you do not shine as brightly as you have been destined to shine,

you not only betray yourself -

but the world is less of a place than it could have been.”

Robin Sharma

Five Things About Me ...

Cathy (Here I Go Again) asked me to do this, so here I go ....

Five things that fellow Bloggers may not know about me:

1. I am a first generation Australian. My parents (and parent’s – parents) migrated to Australia in the late 1950s. They all settled in Victoria, and have stayed there ever since. My parents and I traveled back to Germany (originally to live, then decided after 3 months to come back home to Australia !) in 1974. Being a kid at the time, I cannot now remember much, although what I can remember was that it was a beautiful country. I hope to travel back some time in the future. This German background prompted me to get in touch with the local German Language school, so that my daughter could learn the language. (I am married to an Australian, so Chicky doesn’t get to hear German spoken very much.) It was here I met a group of wonderful people, one of them being Madi, who introduced me to blogging.

2. I am scared of the dentist !!! Dentists are evil (sorry if anyone reading this is a dentist!). I think that this fear has manifested itself onto my Chicky, who also has an unnatural fear of the dentist … however, having had 2 fillings in the past few months, her fear is diminishing somewhat. Mine, however, continues to grow. I know procedures have changed, and pain relief is a lot better than when I was a kid, but I am absolutely terrified. Last time I went (about 6 years ago … ooops !) I think I left fingernail imprints on the armrest of the chair (better that, than in the dentists arm, I guess !). I know the dentist wrote on my chart – “Very nervous, take care”.

3. I don’t really like shopping !!! All you women are probably thinking I’m a freak ! I just don’t like shopping. I will go to the shopping centres (or malls) when I need something, go to the relevant stores, buy what I need, and then get out of there. I hate window shopping … what’s the point, looking at something and not buying it. I’d rather not see what I, perhaps, cannot afford !! Christmas shopping, in particular, I loathe. I will have my list, race in, get what I want, stand (very impatiently) in the queue at the register, and go home again. Yuk !!! I hate the crowds in the shops at Christmas time … they make me nervous (perhaps there is a touch of agrophobia happening, who knows !!).

4. Like Cathy, I have some rather strange food fetishes ! I love Twistie rolls (a buttered bread roll, filled with Twisties … these are cheesy corn snacks – not sure if they are something found outside Australia). Potato chip (crisps) rolls are nice too !! My favourite snack, whilst watching TV is a can of Diet Pepsi, a block of Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate, and a packet of plain potato chips. Yum, the flavours and textures and really interesting ! I love Dutch salted liquorice … not everyone’s cup of tea, I know, but yummy nonetheless ! I don’t drink tea or coffee, may occasionally have a hot chocolate, and get my caffeine kick from Diet Pepsi.

5. I love amusement park rides !!! We have a handful of huge theme parks in Queensland, where I only get to every 4 or 5 years, but when we go there, we have to go to them all. They have some awesome rides. One, in particular, called the Giant Drop, I can’t get enough of. Basically it is a huge tower, with a carriage thingy attached. You are strapped in, taken to the top in the carriage, wait patiently, then are released into a freefall all the way back down. The feeling of weightlessness, and your stomach jumping into your mouth, as you fall is just incredible. I go on this one over and over and over….. you get the picture !!! I also love the rollercoasters … the higher, curvier, upsidedownier the better. Love ‘em, love ‘em, love em !! Anything, high, fast, upside down … you can’t keep me off it. I think I would be in heaven if I could go to Disneyland, or Disneyworld, or whatever the hugest park is in the US.

So, there you go … 5 things you may or may not have known about me. I would love for anyone else to have a go at this. I don’t know any of you well enough, so anybody would be great. How about you, Madi ??

Bye for now,

MEOW

Weird Signs ...

After seeing a great sign photo that was posted by Jay Are on her blog, Derring-do, I thought I might add a few of my own which I photographed on our trip up to Northern Queensland (Australia) a few months ago.

Outside Cooktown:

Somewhere in Queensland:

On Thursday Island:

Near Mission Beach:

Unusual, huh ?!?!?

MEOW

Success At Last ....

I finally got into my Christmas shopping this morning. I think I have completed approximately two-thirds of my shopping … yay !! Only a couple of things to get, mainly something for my husband, and a couple of little things for Chicky. Maybe something for myself, also, in case I’m the only one that gets me something !!!

One year, my husband asked me what I wanted, and I said “Oh, nothing really, don’t worry about it.”. Well, that’s exactly what he did … he took me literally and got me nothing!!! Lucky I had bought myself something, and had it wrapped under the tree, otherwise there would have been nothing for me. How sad is that !!!! Ladies, never tell your husband you don’t want anything, in case that happens to you. Men need to realize that we don’t always mean what we say so literally. In any case, he now makes a point of going searching for something really special (and secret) for me, so I get a real surprise now, which is lovely.

I also completed my Christmas cards yesterday. I design them on the computer, add a special photo (this year’s photo is of the three of us, standing at Cape York – the northern-most point of the Australian continent, taken during our trip a few months ago), and print them out. I have an address list set up, and the cards are mail-merged, so that everyone has a personal message. I also mail-merge the envelopes. This way, I don’t get writer’s cramp (I send approximately 100 cards), and they are all original (even though everyone gets the same card !). You can’t buy my cards in the shop !! I know this sounds like the cheats way out, but I get some wonderful comments about my cards. One year I wrote them out, on store-bought cards, and I had complaints … people were disappointed they didn’t get their photos !!! Now all I need to do is fold the cards up, and stuff them in their envelopes, buy a stack of postage stamps … vwala, finit, done !!

Here is the photo I have included in the card this year … you can’t really see us clearly, but I like the shot anyway.

I will begin wrapping the presents later on this week, may even do some baking ….. I feel so calm now that I am up to date.

Enjoy your Tuesday.


MEOW

QUESTION ....

This is gonna sound really stupid, but being fairly new in the blogging world, I keep reading something I have absolutely no idea what it means.

What does it mean when people talk about "meme" ?? Is that like in me, me (rather than you, you !!) ??

I know I'm coming across sounding dumb, but could someone please explain.

Thanks, in anticipation !!!

MEOW

A Cute Picture To Share ....

Thought I might share a photo I received via email a few years ago.

Enjoy.

MEOW

Home Again

Well, our weekend at Bonnie Doon is over. We are home once more, unpacked and back to reality. It is so nice to have somewhere to go, that only takes two hours to get to, where all we need to take is some clothes and food. Everything else is there waiting for us.

Once again, today was glorious weather. It was quite hot, actually. Not sure of the temperature, but I reckon in would have been somewhere around 30C. There was no wind for most of the day, so it felt warmer than if there had’ve been a breeze. Too bad we had to pack up and go home !!!

This here is a photo from the road, looking over at the Bonnie Doon bridge. In the past few years, there has been no water under the bridge, as the lake level has been really low. This year, for the first time in quite a few years, it has reached nearly 50% of it’s capacity. It’s amazing to see so much water again. I’m looking forward to putting the boat in over the Christmas break, and going for a drive underneath it again.

For those of you who don’t know Bonnie Doon, it is only a small town, which is reliant on the tourist trade to survive. During the Winter months it is the traffic heading to the snowfields, who use all the facilities in town. In Summer, it is the boating people who frequent the area. The town, and nearby areas, are literally swarming with people during the Summer. The banks of the lake are crowded with shade houses, cars, boats, and people, all there to enjoy the beautiful lake, and endless sunshine. It is certainly a sight to behold.

On our way home, we detoured off road a bit, touring through the countryside, exploring a little bit. Took a few happy-snappies.

Loved this spider in it’s web … sorry if it freaks you out. I have always had a fascination with spiders, they are so interesting. Used to have a huge one (similar to a tarantula) in a jar when I was a kid.

Anyway, I’d better go now, must write my Christmas cards. Only two weeks to go. Think I’ve almost left it too late.

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. Take care.

MEOW

Sunshine & Blue Skies

The view from our decking amazing ... the lake is currently only 50% full, when it is full, it is just in front of the row of caravans in front of us.

Have had a wonderful day of relaxation here at Bonnie Doon. Wish you were here with me. The weather has been wonderful … blue sky and sunshine all day. Done a little bit of housework – only the bare necessities !! Put up some Christmas decorations, cleaned some windows, dusted & de-spider-webbed. Nothing much else. Managed to get in a bit of reading. Fed a few birds (see picture !!). Talked a lot !!! All in all, a great day. Another one tomorrow, then we head home tomorrow afternoon. We will be back at Bonnie Doon on Christmas Day, after Santa has done his stuff, and will stay for about 2 weeks. Can’t wait.

Enjoy your Saturday evening. Bye for now.

MEOW

Aaaah, The Serenity !!!

We’re going to Bonnie Doon ! We’re going to Bonnie Doon ! Aaaahhh, The Serenity !!

For those of you who think I’ve gone mad, and have no idea what I am talking about, you probably haven’t seen the wonderful Australian movie called “The Castle”. It stars some great Aussie actors, playing some amazing, eccentric characters. Grab yourself a copy and have a look … I guarantee you’ll love it.

Anyway, back to what I was trying to tell you !!! My husband, Chicky and myself, along with one of Chicky’s friends, are off tonight for the weekend to our caravan, which is located in a lovely caravan park near Bonnie Doon, which is a little town, on the northern end of Lake Eildon, in North Central/Eastern Victoria. We have had our caravan, which is permanently set-up, with an aluminium annexe, built-in bathroom (including loo), and is totally un-towable, for about 11 years now. Chicky has more-or-less grown up there, and has a huge network of friends. We try to get up there at least once a month. It is only a 2 hour drive from our front door, which makes it easy to get up to at short notice.

We have a ball when we are there. In Summer we use our little jet-boat out on the lake. Chicky plays around on her blow-up water toys, and her knee-board. We set ourselves up on the banks of the lake, with our shade-roofs, chatting, eating, drinking, and generally relaxing. It is wonderful. Every evening is spent at a different caravan, with mini-parties happening most nights (sometimes not-so-mini !!!). We will be staying up there for 2 to 3 weeks from Christmas day … can’t wait !

In Winter, it is just a really relaxing place to be, away from home. It is cosy … we have heaters, blankets, TV, DVD – basically everything we have at home. Only, we are not at home, and it is just wonderful to get away.

Of course, we take our mobile phones, our laptop computer (which I know have a portable internet thingy, so I can still play … and now, also, blog !!!), and anything else we might want, so we are not really “roughing-it”, but who cares … we are having fun, and having a holiday.

So, there you go … We’re going to Bonnie Doon !! Take care everyone, have a great weekend. I’ll try to post a blog whilst I’m away. Talk to you all again soon.

MEOW

Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness ....

I spent part of my day washing my hands …. over and over and over …. five times in a row, in fact ! No, I’m not obsessive-compulsive, I was just taking part in a Market Research project on hand-washes (soaps, liquid soaps, etc.).
Today was day two of a three day project where I attend the offices of the market research company, for approximately 35 minutes a day, test a number of liquid soap samples (there were 3 yesterday, 5 today, and, I think, another 5 tomorrow). They want us to dirty our hands with an un-brushed, un-washed potato, then wash our hands with the relevant sample, then answer a stack of questions about the product. As well as that, last night and tonight we got to take home a bar of soap, which we need to use in the shower in place of our usual product, and answer more questions.
It’s quick, (clean !!), easy work to do, and after the third session I get paid $100 cash …. for washing my hands a few times !!!! Not bad, huh ???

I have been registered with this market research company for a few years now, and often get calls from them, where they ask a bunch of questions to decide whether I qualify for the next research project, and if I do qualify they invite me to attend. It may be skin care products; taste testing of biscuits, frozen chips, meat pies, etc.; or any number of other products …. Sometimes it is just answering questions based on videos and advertisements they show you. Easy work, good money. Something to do, I say !! If you ever get a chance to register with a market research company, go for it …. it can be quite profitable for very little work !!

Have a great day,

MEOW

A Tree Grows In Mossman

I thought I would share a photo of a most beautiful tree we discovered whilst driving through Mossman in Queensland a few months ago. I just fell in love with it. It was almost creepy looking, from close up, with it's furry-looking branches. Please enjoy.

MEOW

Crash, Bang, Boom

We had the most amazing thunderstorm last night. The skies were lit up, over and over, by the intense lightning. The booming and crashing of the thunder was just incredible, it was so loud. It caused my windows to rattle, and my daughter to wake up in fright and come to me shaking with fear. I don’t really understand her fear, as thunderstorms have always been something I have found to be totally awesome.

I love being outside (preferably not under a tree, for obvious reasons !!) when there is a thunderstorm. The electricity in the air is just amazing, and the sounds are beyond description. I particularly love it when we are out camping, just laying in the tent, knowing that there is only a thin piece of fabric between me and the elements. There is also something really special about sitting on the beach, watching the storm arrive over the water. It is mesmerizing.

We are lucky (or, unlucky, for those who are frightened of them) here in Melbourne, in that we get quite a few thunderstorms during our Summer months. I feel that we have had more than usual so far this year, particularly during the Spring, than is the norm. We even had some beauties during the Winter (which I thought was really unusual, but special none-the-less !).

One bonus with all these extra thunderstorms this year has been the rainfall. We are sorely lacking in rainfall down here in Melbourne, and our water catchments are looking somewhat poorly. The extra rain has been a godsend, as it has given us extra water at a time when we really need it. Hopefully we will have lots more. Roll on the next thunderstorm.

Have a great day,

MEOW

Hey, The Lights Don't Work ......

What is it with Christmas Tree lights. Every year, before putting them on the tree, you try them out …. Yes, they always work – but better to be safe than sorry. The one year, when you don’t test them out first, guess what … they don’t work. You spend ages replacing each globe with one that works, to try and find the faulty one. Hey, it doesn’t happen !! The damn lights still don’t work. Bugger !! What now ?? Take them all down, go shopping to buy a new set, TEST THEM OUT, then re-string them onto the tree. Hopefully in the re-stringing process, you haven’t knocked any of the lights, and they still work. Plug them in …. Yay, they work. Success !!!

Hope your lights work for you .... Good Luck :-)

MEOW

I Hate Mondays

There's something about Mondays that I really dislike. Don't know what it is, but I find Monday a really difficult day to get through. Maybe it's just the let-down, that the weekend is over, particularly if it has been a great weekend (which this one was, by the way !). Maybe it's the thought that another week has passed us by, and it means it is another week closer to the end of the year .... isn't the year flying by ? Maybe it's a remnant from my working days, where Monday meant going back to work for another week of drudgery ! Who knows ? Does anyone have any ideas ? Whatever it is, the Boomtown Rats song "I Don't LIke Mondays" says it all for me !!!

On a lighter note, I thought I might share a photo of my Christmas Tree. It's around 6ft tall - not real huge, but big enough for our small house. It looks real pretty at night with the lights on.

Have a great evening,

MEOW

Nighty, Night !!!

It's been a long day.

Have a great week.

MEOW

Oh What A Night !!

Don’t you just love the morning after a big night out !!! Your hair’s like straw, you smell of smoke, your throat is sore from yelling & singing, your mouth feels like the bottom of a bird-cage …. Need I say more !!!!

Well, that’s how I felt when I woke up the morning. Now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t really over-indulge, just had a few glasses of bubbles. Had a great night, danced for hours, especially when they started playing the music I grew up with … Kiss, Abba, Eagles, Sweet, Time Warp …. You know the stuff I’m talking about !!!

It was an engagement party at a really great venue. As is usual at these do’s, it was sort of broken up into 3 groups of people … the friends of the engaged couple, the friends of the parents of the engaged couple, and the family. We actually fit into 2 of these categories … the family, and also the friends of the parents, as we hang out with and play with a bunch of these people. I reckon the friends of the parents seemed to be having the most fun. It’s great to be able to let go, and not worry about having to impress anyone (as many of the young ones would have to, having perhaps brought along dates, rather than long-time partners).

I think my mum saw me in a different light, I also think she thought I was totally drunk … which I wasn’t – just happy !! I actually got her to get up and dance with me. Admittedly, it wasn’t a very good song to dance to (it was before they started playing the good stuff !), but I think she was a bit sozzled too, so danced along anyway.

It was a great night, nothing untoward happened, no fights in the carpark (nor anywhere else) that we were witness to, generally a really fun night.

Think I might go have some breakfast, then need to take Chicky to a party. Might write something more meaningful this afternoon.

Have a great day everyone.

MEOW

It's Been A Slow Saturday

It’s an overcast Saturday afternoon here in Melbourne (it seems Summer has let us down, yet again !!) I have been doing a lot of nothing all day … watched a bit of TV, dusted a bit, played on the computer a bit. Overall, it has been a really blah type of day. I guess I am feeling somewhat blah, also. No reason that I can think of, that I should be feeling this way, but I am !! Couldn’t even work up the enthusiasm to post a blog, until now. How sad is that ???

Had a bit of a sleep in (that is after my naughty kitty decided it would be fun to annoy the crap out of me at 3am), had my shower, breakfasted around 11.30, and basically didn’t do much else.

Chicky has been out riding her bike, hanging out with friends. Hubby has been sleeping (he’s a shift worker, just finished a night shift).

We have, however, got a party to go to tonight, and it’s hubby’s turn to drive … yay !! Should be a good party, a great bunch of people. I’ll let you know tomorrow how good it was J. It’s an engagement party, so the drinks and nibblies should be flowing freely !! I guess the thought of a party should perk me up. What’ll I wear ??? OMG, my wardrobe is full of dinosaurs … never mind, some classics never go out of style (I hope !!). Better start thinking about that, hadn’t I ?!?

Gotta go now, have a great Saturday evening, everyone. Will catch up again tomorrow.

MEOW

The Christmas Tree is Finally Up !!!!

Hi there !! It is late Friday evening, and I’m buggered !!! I have just spent the whole afternoon (apart from a couple of hours whilst Chicky and myself attended German Language School) putting up Christmas.

Yeah, I know I said I was going to do it yesterday, but I was so lacking in motivation (OK, OK, I was sitting at the computer playing all day LOL !). I should have started first thing this morning, after dropping Chicky off to school, but guess what I did instead !!!! I finally had to turn off the computer, so it didn’t keep looking at me and tempting me to come back and play, in order to get out all my Christmas boxes and start putting it all up. Let me tell you, it was a real challenge !!!

Success, finally, it is all up and I am happy with the result. All I need to do tomorrow is a bit of dusting, and vacuum up all the bits of tree and tinsel all over the floor, and I can relax again (Translation: Play on the computer some more).

Think I might go to bed and read for awhile. I’m getting sleepy rather early at the moment as my naughty young kitty (who is a recent addition, about 2 ½ months ago, and is around 10 months old) keeps waking me up around 5am for a feed … guess I’m the stupid one for getting up and giving her one !!! At least it gets light early now, so I can let her out once she’s eaten, and I can go back to sleep !! Yay, I can sleep in tomorrow for the first time in ages. Chicky’s netball season is over, and we have no Saturday morning commitments for the time being. Yippee !!!

Have a good night, all, and sweet dreams.



MEOW

Are You Bee-ing Good Today ??

I like to experiment with my camera, as you probably have noticed, and it is great when I get an interesting result. I took this one last weekend at the Melbourne Botanical Gardens.

Enjoy.

A Confession .....

I have a confession to make ….. I’m obsessed !!!! Obsessed with this world of blogging, that is !

It is weird, but since last Sunday (only a mere 5 days ago), when a friend (that would be you, Madi !!) introduced me to the idea of blogging, my life has been taken over with thoughts of what I’m going to write down next. It makes no difference whether anyone reads what I write or not (although it is wonderful that some people actually are …. Thank you so much for your wonderful and entertaining comments, Madi & Michelle :-), but it is so good to put words to paper (so to speak !). I guess it is a form of outlet for those thoughts roaming through my head, which may or may not go unspoken, depending on the thought and the person who I may be speaking to at the time.

I know that what I am writing may not be of interest to many, and it may not be particularly well written, but it is me … that’s who I am. I am no literary genius, I never excelled in English Expression … I am, usually, a good speller (now, don’t go looking for spelling errors, I sometimes can’t control my fingers on the keyboard … they would be typos, not spelling errors !!!), and I am usually pedantic about punctuation, layout, and stuff like that. I spent many years as a secretary, whose boss just scribbled out letters, or told me what he wanted to be written in a minimal number of words, and off I went … presentation was my forte !! Well, over the last 12 years of being out of the work-force, I have been out of practice. Hopefully this blogging will return my long-lost skills.

I have been spending some time browsing through other’s blog sites. There are some wonderful ones out there, it is worth spending some time reading them.

So thank you, Madi, for my new-found obsession.

Bye for now,







MEOW

Lavender Butterfly

When we first got our camera, a few months ago, I was snap-happy - taking photos of anything and everything. Here I was trying out the Macro function, whilst standing on the side of the road, near Yea in central Victoria, waiting for friends. Boy was I surprised when I saw the result. That little butterfly was in the right place at the right time.

Summer In Melbourne

Boy is it hot !! It is currently in the low 30’s, here in sunny Wantirna South (for those of you who don’t know where that is, it is an outer eastern suburb of Melbourne). Makes a nice change to have Summer weather, particularly seeing as how it is the first day of Summer, after all !! I even have the air-conditioner on, as our house warms up rather quickly.

Our Melbourne weather is so unpredictable, it can be really frustrating. However, I know that is one of the things that makes me love it here. I don't think I would want to live anywhere else. I love Queensland, but I think I’ll save it for holidays … don’t know if I can cope with warm weather all year round. I love to put on warm clothes in the Winter (and Summer, sometimes, too !!). I love to put on our ducted heating, and snuggle up under a fluffy blanket. I love the sound of rain falling on the roof. I love the snow.

That being said, I am glad it is Summer. There is nothing nicer than a sultry warm Summer’s evening, where all the doors and windows are open, and you can sit outside listening to the cicadas singing, and the mozzies buzzing, having a few drinks with friends. Bliss !!

I love Melbourne !!!

MEOW

It's Nearly Christmas

Well, folks, it is late afternoon, 30th November 2005. In my world, that means tomorrow is "Put Up Christmas Day". Yep, I'm gonna spend the day decorating my house, getting ready for Christmas. I like to do it as early as possible, as we head off on Christmas Day for a couple of weeks of R&R at our caravan at Bonnie Doon .... Yes, that would be the Bonnie Doon of "The Castle" fame .... aaaah, The Serenity ! Anyway, if I didn't put up Christmas early, and left it to Christmas Eve (as is the tradition of many people), I wouldn't get to enjoy it. I'm not really looking forward to the work of putting it all up (I have heaps of stuff, decorate the whole house, even the bathroom !!!), but looking forward to the end result. Must motivate myself !!!! Must also get into the Christmas shopping. As usual, I haven't really started, apart from a couple of things for my daughter. Oh well, last minute shopping usually nets good results, anyway. Must motivate the bank-account for that one !!! I guess I'm gonna be one tired kitty tomorrow evening.

Take care, until next time,

MEOW

Along The Old Telegraph Track

We were driving along the Old Telegraph Track, heading for the Jardine River in Far North Queensland, when the trees cleared and we saw this fabulous termite mound. The colours really took my breath away.

CAT RULES: Rules For Cats To Live By

This has been doing the email rounds, and as I think it is hilarious, I thought I might borrow it and share it. Enjoy .... MEOW

BATHROOMS:
Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It is not necessary to do anything. Just sit and stare.

DOORS:
Do not allow any closed doors in any room. To get door open, stand on hind legs and hammer with forepaws. Once door is opened, it is not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an "outside" door opened, stand halfway in and out and think about several things. This is particularly important during very cold weather, rain, snow, or mosquito season.

CHAIRS AND RUGS:
If you have to throw up, get to a chair quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there is no Oriental rug, shag is good.When throwing up on the carpet, make sure you back up so it is as long as a humans bare foot.

HAMPERING:
If one of your humans is engaged in some activity and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called "helping," otherwise known as "hampering."
Following are the rules for "hampering:"
1) When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You cannot be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on and then picked up and comforted.
2) For book readers, get in close under the chin, between eyes and book, unless you can lie across the book itself.
3) For paperwork, lie on the work in the most appropriate manner so as to obscure as much of the work as possible or at least. Pretend to doze, but every so often reach out and slap the pencil or pen.
4) When a human is holding the newspaper in front of him/her, be sure to jump on the back of the paper. Humans love to jump.
5) When human is working at computer, jump up on desk, walk across keyboard, bat at mouse pointer on screen and then lay in human's lap across arms, hampering typing in progress.

WALKING:
As often as possible, dart quickly and as close as possible in front of the human, especially: on stairs, when they have something in their arms, in the dark, and when they first get up in the morning. This will help their coordination skills.

BEDTIME:
Always sleep on the human at night so he/she cannot move around.

LITTER BOX:
When using the litter box, be sure to kick as much litter out of the box as possible. Humans love the feel of kitty litter between their toes.

HIDING:
Every now and then, hide in a place where the humans cannot find you. Do not come out for three to four hours under any circumstances.This will cause the humans to panic (which they love) thinking that you have run away or are lost. Once you do come out, the humans will cover you with love and kisses and you will probably get a treat.

ONE LAST THOUGHT:
Whenever possible, get close to a human, especially their face, turn around, and present your butt to them.Humans love this, so do it often.

And don't forget guests!

Vrylia Point

We spent 5 nights camping on the beach, with no amenities, at a place called Vrylia Point, which is on the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula. There were spectacular sunrises, and sunsets, and stinking hot weather every day. We had a fantastic time. It was a shame, though, that with such a beautiful beach, we couldn't swim in it (unless we wanted to be shark and/or croc bait !!) Boy, did we ever enjoy that first shower we had, at Bramwell Station, after leaving the beach.

ONLY CHILDREN, LONELY CHILDREN .... I DON'T THINK SO !!!

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting chatting with some mums at an "End-of-Netball-Season - We-Finished-On-Top-Of-The-Ladder" celebration at the local wave pool. Somehow we got chatting about "Only Children". Now, I am an only child, was never a lonely child, nor a "spoilt brat" (as only children are often called). I grew up in a street with heaps of kids to play with, had heaps of cousins .... our house was always full of kids, it was great. I never suffered as an only child, and was always amazed by those kids who had problems with being only children, or the parents who felt sorry for me for being an only child. It was never an issue for me.

It was never a conscious decision that we made, but my husband and I are also parents of an only child, and are happy with the decision we have made to only have one child. Our 11yo daughter (I'll call her "Chicky", to keep her anonymity!) is quite comfortable, also, being an only child, and never complains about having no siblings. She has lots of friends, and is well liked amongst her peers. As I was, she is also fortunate that we live in a street with lots of kids, so there is always someone for her to play with. She is a very social child, who gets along really well with kids of all ages, and has no problems approaching kids she doesn't know to make friends. She also gets along really well with adults, which I think is a bonus. Most people, on first impressions, are not aware that she is an "only child", as she is not anything like the stereo-type.

I guess, as she was growing up, I was always very paranoid about her becoming the stereo-typical only child, so made sure that she was well "socialized" so as not to become a loner. We have made a point to not jump to her every whim (the "spoilt brat" thing really worried me). And she knows that money doesn't grow on trees, it has to be worked for and earned. According to comments from other parents, when Chicky has been over at their homes for "play-dates" with their children, she has displayed nothing but "normal" behaviour, is very polite, remembers her manners, and is over-all a very nice kid. Of course, she IS a kid, so we also experience the not-so-nice stuff, on occasions, that all parents of multiple children also experience. She is, after all, just a normal kid ... only child, definitely not lonely child.

In this day and age, I think we will find more families opting to have only one child. With the cost of living being what it is, it is easier to provide the best you can for only one child. That being said, I greatly admire parents who have chosen to have more than one child. I imagine it is a challenge, but a wonderful challenge. Also, if one child gives huge amounts of love and cuddles, I guess multiple children give the love and cuddles in multiples too !!!!

I think we all need to just love and appreciate what we have, as with times being what they are, who knows what we may find around the corner.

Take Care, Until Next Time,

MEOW

Elliot / Twin Falls

Just a little sample photo, to tempt your taste-buds !

This is one of a group of waterfalls, along the Telegraph Track in Cape York, called Elliot / Twin Falls.

There is also another one nearby called Fruit Bat Falls, which is also spectacular, and has a huge swimming hole (which they guarantee has no crocs lurking !).

The kids swam (not at this particular point, however) in the shallow areas nearby, the men found a water hole which was like a spa, and I wandered around photographing everything in sight.

What a wonderful day that was.

A New Beginning ????

Hi There, and Welcome to my Blog.
In case you don't become aware of it, as you read through my post, I am new to this blogging caper. I was introduced to it only yesterday, and thought it might be something I would enjoy. I love to talk, and I love to write, so this is a perfect way to combine both these things in a manner that might be of some interest to somebody (or so I hope !!).
Anyway, it is currently around 1pm in the wonderful land of Oz. It is a sunny day, although it is threatening to cloud over and rain. It is, however, fairly warm, and I have all the doors and windows open to enjoy the fresh air.
My day today has been fairly uneventful ... I took my daughter to school, stayed for Monday morning assembly (which turned out to be very "same old stuff, different day" ... but I like to be there to show my motherly support !), then (how unusual) I went grocery shopping, then came home to play on the computer (again, how unusual !!).
It's very weird, I can't seem to get back into the normal reality of life again, as my family (husband, 11yo daughter and myself), along with 4 other families recently spent nearly 7 weeks on the road, travelling from Melbourne Victoria, all the way north to Cape York in Far North Queensland. We left home late July, and returned home early September. Although it is now late November, it feels like only yesterday, and I wish we could pack up and go again tomorrow.
We had a brilliant time, took heaps of photos (around 1700, to be precise), met some fabulous people, saw some amazing sights .... then came home !!!
Now, I know life isn't always one big holiday, and we need to work to earn money to have these holidays, but I wish we could still be there in Far North Queensland.
Don't get me wrong, I love my normal life, live in a great house, have wonderful friends, love my family, but what's wrong with wanting that wonderful holiday to never end ?? If you have ever been up there, you'll know what I mean ... there is something so wild and amazing about being off the beaten track, camping in the middle of nowhere, taking in all those wonderful sights, not knowing what's around the next bend in the road. It was just magical.
Anyway, I imagine after reading these ramblings, that you can guess that I am feeling a bit stir-crazy. I am hoping that by writing down my thoughts, sharing my life experiences, showing some photos, that I can get myself back to reality somewhat ... d'you reckon ???
There, I might leave it at that, having totally perplexed anyone who may read this. You probably think I am totally mad (perhaps I am !!), but I hope you may find some interest in my blogging.
Take care, until next time,
MEOW