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Wednesday, November 30, 2005

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.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

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

Monday, November 28, 2005

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