From My Email ...

Here are the 10 first place winners in the International Pun Contest:

1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons The stewardess looks at him and says, "I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger"

2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says "Dam!"

3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says "I've lost my electron." The other says "Are you sure?" The first replies "Yes, I'm positive."

5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.

6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse."But why?", they asked, as they moved off. "Because," he said," I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."

7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."

8. A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.

9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good) a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

10. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh.No pun in ten did.

Well ..... I though they were funny, anyway !!!

Take care,

MEOW

Friday Night Fun ...

Hello my dear Blogging Friends ...

It is Friday night in Australia, so my weekend is ready to go !!

How has your week been ??

I have had a wonderful week, not too busy (for a change), with lots of relaxing things to do. I hope you enjoyed my photos from my day out on Tuesday, and all the postcards I have been receiving. I am enjoying sharing all these things with you. Thank you for all your fabulous comments ... it is so much fun each morning, when I turn on the computer, seeing how many people have visited and commented whilst I was asleep !!

Anyway, I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful weekend, whatever you may be doing.

I will close with something I found in the Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper this week. It was titled "KIDS' ANSWERS AN EDUCATION", and it is supposedly gleaned from school assignments in the US. I think it could have come from anywhere .... there are some interesting things on this list ...

• Water is composed of two gins, oxygin and hydrogin. Oxygin is pure gin. Hydrogin is gin and water.
• Blood flows down one leg and up the other.
• Dew is formed on leaves when the sun shines down on them and makes them perspire.
• Mushrooms always grow in damp places and so they look like umbrellas.
• To prevent milk from turning sour, keep it in the cow.
• The parts of speech are lungs and air.
• The inhabitants of Moscow are called Mosquitoes.
• A census-taker is a man who goes from house to house increasing the population.
• Most of the houses in France are made of plaster of Paris.
• The spinal column is a long bunch of bones. The head sits on the top and you sit on the bottom.
• The word trousers is an uncommon noun because it is singular at the top and plural at the bottom.
• Syntax is all the money collected at the church from sinners.
• Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling for him. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died for this.
• The sun never set on the British Empire because the British Empire's in the east and the sun sets in the west.
• Gravity was invented by Issac Walton. It is chiefly noticeable when the apples are falling off the trees.
• The Magna Carta provided that no man should be hanged twice for the same offence.
• After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline.

Now, I thought these were rather amusing ... hope you do, too !!

Take care, everyone ...

MEOW

Ooooh, More Postcards ...

It was exciting checking my mail yesterday ... there were 5 postcards from my dear blogging friends.

The first one is from Feathers, and shows a beautiful night shot of Chicago. She said she tried to affix herself to the postcard, but it didn't work !!! That is so sweet, Feathers :)

The next one is from Nikki (Connie's niece), and is from Texas. It shows a variety of things, and is wonderful.

The next is another one from Dick & Huggy, and it shows all the beautiful tulips at Tulip Town. My goodness, they are so beautiful.

Here is one from Connie, from St Louis. It has a lovely cut-out heart (gosh, the postal system is rough on postcards ... unfortunately this one arrived a bit torn ... but beautiful none-the-less), and an amazing night time view ... what a gorgeous city.

Last but not least, one from Friday's Child, all the way from the Philippines. The views on the card look just amazing. It is of the Banaue Rice Terraces overlooking Batad Village, and is considered the eighth wonder of the world.

Thank you, dear friends ... this is really interesting, receiving so many beautiful cards. Thank you for taking the time to pick out such lovely ones.

Hope your week is going well.

Take care,

MEOW

Anzac Day & A Drive In The Country ...

Yesterday was Anzac Day ...

ANZAC Day - 25 April - is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.

It is a day where we stop and remember what it was those brave people fought for, where there are ceremonies at most war memorials, where flowers are left in rememberance, where members of the armed forces get together ... it is a very special day.

It is also a public holiday ... yippee !!!

We had a wonderful day ... here's what we did ...

We (being Chicky and myself ... Hubby was asked to do some over-time at work) met a group of friends at Lilydale at 10.30am ... it was a very cold, foggy morning, and we were all thinking that it was a really bad idea to be heading off for a picnic !!! But, we did, anyway.

For some reason, I was chosen to lead the way (apparently I was the only one who had been where we were going, and I knew the way ... but, did I ????? )

Anyway, off we headed, in the direction of Warburton (about 35 km from Lilydale), to go to the Upper Yarra Reservoir (another 24km east of Warburton). As we were driving, the cloud cover cleared into a glorious sunny day, with a forecast 20ºC ... simply beautiful.

We were detoured around a couple of towns, as they were having Anzac Day Services, and the people there spilled out onto the road, so we had to go around. On one of these detours, around Warburton town centre, we ended up on this tiny back-road, where we discovered this amazing building (I guess you could call it that). It looked almost Balinese ... the owner had converted a normal timber home, into an amazing fairy-tale like construction, with something interesting everywhere you looked. Check it out ...

We arrived at the Upper Yarra Reservoir Park, stopped at the conveniences (when you've gotta go, you've gotta go ... and boy, did I need to go !!! ... too much information ???), then drove up to the spillway. The Upper Yarra Reservoir is a part of Melbourne water storage and catchment areas. The dam was built between 1947 and 1957.

Our water catchments are down to about 50% at the moment, but this reservoir didn't look too bad. It was a wind-still day, and the water looked so inviting. As it is our drinking water, no boats are allowed, and I'm not sure if you are even allowed to fish here.

We went back down to the picnic area, and had our lunch, before heading off for a walk. It was only when we were in mountain-goat country, that we realised we were on the wrong track (for our ability), and myself and another girl decided that we'd had enough (we'd been steadily climbing for quite awhile, already), and turned around to go back. The others did the same about 10 minutes later. Turns out the track was graded "Hard - Steep" ... this little buddha body of mine doesn't do Hard - Steep very well ... my knees were complaining, and I thought that I might need to stop so I could breathe !!! As it was, no-one made it up to the top ... too darn hard !!

We explored the park a little ... there was a beautiful water wheel ...

After we let the childen expend some more energy playing football and running around, and had some afternoon tea and nibblies, we jumped back into the car to head home. A few kilometres out of the park, we turned off at the Big Peninsula Tunnel, which is basically a tunnel through a hill, where a river goes through ... very beautiful.

It was around 5pm when we left there, and the light was beginning to go. We still had an hour plus drive to get home, and I wanted to get home before dark (which at the moment is around 6.15pm). The drive home took longer than we wanted ... bridge-works held us up for about 20 minutes.

We had a wonderful day, spent with great friends (it would have been even better had my Hubby been there, though). We had lots of exercise (I know my legs were protesting, and will more than likely be sore tomorrow !!), explored some interesting places. What more could a person want !!

Hope your week is going well.

Take care,

MEOW

Postcards and Pussy Cats ...

Guess what ??? I had a wonderfully peaceful, restful weekend. I did a lot of nothing, and now feel totally refreshed. I feel ready to take on a heap of new projects ... let's see what is in store for me this week !!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend ... What did you get up to ??

I was excited when I went to check my letterbox today, hoping there would be a postcard for me. Well, there was two of them ...

The first one is from Skyblue, with gorgeous pictures of San FransiSco ... it looks like a really amazing place. Another one in a long list of places I want to visit.

The second is from Kimananda, from Denmark, showing a beautiful picture of Prince Frederick and Princess Mary (who is a proud Aussie !!). I guess, Kimananda, we have a connection through this couple !!

Thanks ladies, I love the postcards. This is so much fun, I am really enjoying going to my letterbox daily, in anticipation of the postcards that may be there. Unfortunately, I don't imagine anyone has received any of mine yet, as the Australian Snail Mail is really, really slow. I posted them last week, so they shouldn't be too far away.

I thought I might share with you one of my favourie kitty pictures (no, it is not my cat !!)

Isn't that just the cutest ?!?!? I wish it were me in that chair, sleeping the day away !!

Anyway, friends ... I hope you have a wonderful week. Take time out occasionally, like my little kitty friend ... it helps recharge those batteries.

Take care,

MEOW

What a Week It's Been ...

Well, I feel a bit like this kitty ... lacking sleep, wanting more !!

It has been a tremendously busy week for Meow, this week.

Coming from a long weekend (Friday through to Monday), where we were away, I then spent most of Tuesday recovering from it ... washing, putting things away, tidying up, etc., etc. I also wrote over 20 postcards !!! It was a long night, Tuesday night, as Chicky had developed a shocking ear-ache late in the day ... she cried herself to sleep, eventually, around midnight.

Wednesday, Chicky woke up feeling lots better, but her ear was oozing yucky stuff. I made an appointment for the doctors, as soon as they opened, but the earliest appointment I could get was 10.10am. After her doctor's visit, and a trip to the Pharmacy for antibiotics, she wanted to go back to school (the ear had stopped oozing!), so I had a whole hour (!!!) to go shopping for her birthday present, before I was required to be at a friend's place to do some typing. Then I had to get back home by 2.30, to prepare some clothes, so that Hubby and I could head off to be at a funeral by 4pm (a friend's dad died last week). Afterward, we went back to the family's home for some drinks and nibblies, and to share some memories. Home again, after picking up Chicky, by around 8pm. More typing, then off to bed !!

Thursday (yesterday) was Chicky's birthday (as you would know by yesterday's post). I went grocery shopping first thing, after dropping her off at school, then home to do long overdue housework, prepare cake and nibblies for the evening, and dinner (a school friend of Chicky's was joining us), and then visitors after 7pm. The visitors were gone by 11pm, I tidied up, watched TV briefly, then went to bed. Chicky had a wonderful day, and received some great presents. She sends a big thank you to all you wonderful people who sent their birthday wishes to her via yesterday's post.

Now it is Friday ... wow, what a week !!

This morning I had to go back to the shopping centre to exchange something that I'd bought Chicky for her birthday, as it was faulty. Then I headed round to a friend's boarding cattery, to help out whilst he popped out to run some errands. Then I came home ... phew !

Right now, I am sitting here preparing this post ... when I should be sitting here editing a document for a friend to include in a monthly newsletter. I also should be doing some washing (but it's too cold to be outside hanging up clothes right now, so I'm avoiding the washing until tomorrow !!). I also should be getting back to designing a web-site for another friend ... but I don't really feel like that now. I need to head off in less than an hour, to pick Chicky up from school, then we will be home for just over an hour before heading off to her German school until 7pm. Then home briefly, and the 3 of us (Hubby included) are off to friends for a late dinner BBQ.

Yay, tomorrow we can sleep in, before Chicky needs to be at netball at 1/4 to 12 ... then we have no other plans until Monday, when it is back to the usual Monday to Friday routine ... nothing special planned next week, thank goodness.

So .... how has your week been ??? And what do you have planned for the weekend ???

Take care, all ....

MEOW

A Birthday and a postcard ...

Today is my Chicky's 12th Birthday ....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CHICKY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

She was born at 11.52am, on the 20th April 1994. She weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces, and was 50cm long. She was really cute. Here is a photo of here at just over 2 weeks ...

Wasn't she a cutie !!! She still is, by the way !!

We will celebrate tonight with family and friends, coming over for coffee, cakes, drinks and nibblies. We will organise a party for her buddies at another time.

I was lucky ... I had a very short labour ... I was induced, and when the drugs finally kicked in, I was only contracting for a short 4 and a bit hours. But, wow ... they were a pretty full-on four hours !! Basically, my labour went from nothing, to fairly constant ... I didn't get the slow warm-up !!!

Chicky was born with all her fingers and toes, and everything was in the right place ... she was absolutely gorgeous. However, a little bit of the placenta remained within me (the doctor thought my body would expell it all on it's own ... but that was not to be), which caused me to continue contracting, and hemorrhaging throughout the day, requiring surgery later that evening, and a blood-transfusion. (Sorry if that is all a bit too much information !!) This incident didn't leave any long-lasting problems, thank goodness, and I am healthy as a horse !!

Chicky was always a pleasant baby, who constanly smiled (she still does, too !), and we were very lucky. She got through all her milestones with ease, and has now turned into an amazing little girl (well, not so little, really ... she is almost a teenager, and is growing in leaps and bounds). She is into dancing, netball, german language lessons, and any other physical (and not so physical) activity she can have a go at. She is a wonderful girl, very well mannered, always cheery, and we love her to bits. I couldn't have picked a better child, if I had've had the chance to hand-pick my own. She is simply the best ... our NUMBER ONE.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHICKY
WE LOVE YOU TO BITS

OK, next subject ...

I got another postcard yesterday, from Dick and Huggy, who were recently having RV adventures, and were telling us all about them. Very interesting, with lots of great photos.

This one is from Oatman, Arizona, and he says it is a fun town to visit.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I had better go and vaccuum, then get ready for tonight's visitors. Will be back tomorrow, to visit everyone ... apologies if I haven't been by to visit lately ... I have had a lot on, and unfortunately my blogging has suffered.

Take care, friends,

MEOW

Postcards, and Memes ....

I was terribly excited when I went to my letterbox yesterday, and found 4 postcards. I love getting mail, especially from new friends.

I got one from DaybyDay, showing some work from the Detroit Art Museum ....

There were two (yes, two) from LoraLoo, from Las Vegas (seems she couldn't make up her mind between a day-time view and a night-time view !!) ...

And one from a fellow Aussie, Peter, from the Kuranda Scenic Railway, near Cairns in Far North Queensland ...

Thank you, friends, for sharing a part of your world with me.

I wrote my cards last night, and will post them all today, so for those of you who exchanged addresses with me ... stay tuned to your letterboxes (although I wouldn't be in any hurry ... I don't imagine Australia Post will get them to you in under a week !!).

I was tagged by Viamarie for this meme ... it is all about 10 SIMPLE PLEASURES ...

Name ten of life's simple pleasures that you like most, then pick ten people to do the same. Try to be original and creative and not to use things that someone else has already used.

So, here goes, in no particular order ...

1. Enjoying loving cuddles from my daughter and husband.
2. Listening to the contented purring of my beloved kitty cat.
3. Being happy to be alive in this wonderful world we live in.
4. Blogging.
5. Reading a wonderful book.
6. Listening to the innocent laughter of children.
7. Sunshine.
8. Listening to the rain falling on the roof, knowing that I am inside, warm and dry.
9. Chocolate ... in all shapes and forms.
10. Holidays with my family and friends.

I don't know that I will tag 10 people, but I will tag a few .... Greeneyes, Nicole, Chloe, DaybyDay, Kyahgirl, Feathers, and anyone else who cares to be tagged ... I'll leave it up to you !!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

Take care, until next time ...

MEOW

What We Did Over The Easter Long Weekend ...

Hi there, my friends. I hope you had a wonderful Easter ... we had a fabulous time ... let me tell you about it !!

We left bright and early Friday morning (Hubby was on night shift, so as soon as he came home ... 6.30am ... we packed the car, and were away by 7am). It was cloudy, and cool, and we could see the rain coming.

Seeing that it was so early, and a public holiday, the roads were blissfully empty ... we had a brilliant run all the way to Bonnie Doon. Those people that arrived later in the morning were cursing the traffic ... apparently it was really busy !

We unpacked, and relaxed for awhile, before all our friends either arrived or awoke (some had arrived the previous evening). The weather was yucky all day ... very cold, and very wet. All we really did, and could do, was chat, and then chat some more !!

Saturday arrived to more cooler weather, although the rain did clear later in the day, and the sun came out. We went into Mansfield (about 25 kms away) to go to the Bush Market ... I bought us all some new moccassin slippers, some lovely handmade soaps, and some other stuff ... great fun !

Here's a photo of our caravan / annexe setup ... the caravan is on the left, the annexe is on the right, and the huge timber decking is out the front (that's really all you can see !!) ... the caravan and annexe are all under a roof, so from the front it really no longer looks like a caravan and annexe !

Saturday night I helped run a Trivia night (thank you to all of you who contribued questions ... I actually used most of them !). It went well ... we went through 6 sets of 20 questions. Some were hard, some were easy ... everyone seemed to have fun. Afterwards, Hubby and I played Easter Bunny, and hid the chocky eggs around the caravan for Chicky to find in the morning.

Sunday morning ... Easter Sunday ... started off lovely. Chicky enjoyed hunting for her eggs, she ended up with quite a haul !! During the course of the weekend, there were all sorts of competitions happening in the park ... golf, tennis, table tennis, lawn bowls, Daytona, BMX, coloring competitions, and others. Chicky entered into a BMX bike riding competition ... she was the only girl in her age group ... what a champion !! Unfortunately, her times didn't earn her a place (she also didn't have a BMX, just a normal mountain bike), but she did well ... and I imagine it was pretty scary for her, being the only girl !!! She got a special mention that evening, at the presentations. In the afternoon we went with 3 other cars for a drive down into the lake bed, and up a few hills. Here are a few photos showing views around the lake bed ... the lake is currently only around 20% of capacity.

We climbed up a hill - by car - called Chinamans Hill ... unfortunately the photos don't do it justice ... it is really quite steep.

The views from the top were amazing ... this one is looking south, down the main arm towards Eildon ...

Some of the boys decided to drive down the steep side ... some of us went down the same way we came up ... personally, I don't like the steep side ... it is reaaaaaally, steep !! Once again, the photo doesn't do it justice !

We went and explored some more, after coming down from the hill. It is really beautiful around here ... at least we think so !!

It was a wonderful day ... we finished off with a few drinks on the deck of one of our friend's caravans, and had a not too late night (all this fresh air tires you out !!).

Monday started off really foggy, but cleared up into a beautiful day. We ladies all went for a walk to the water's edge ... mainly to take some more photos. It is fascinating seeing what appears when the water disappears ... the trees have an eerie look about them, and there are many creeks and ditches around the place.

So, all in all, we had a wonderful weekend. The traffic on the way home was absolutely disgusting ... what normally takes 2 hours, took almost 3 !! I think it would have been this way, no matter what time of day we left ... as it was, we left around 4pm, got home just after 7pm.

I hope everyone's weekend was as wonderful as mine, no matter how you spent it. Thank you to everyone for your wonderful Easter greetings.

I think I had better go now, off to the boarding cattery to pick up our kitty-cat from her holiday, then some washing, housework, write some postcards (which I didn't do over the weekend ... naughty me !), and a multitude of other stuff.

Have a great week, everyone, and take care.

MEOW

Happy Easter ...

Just a quick one from me today ...

We are heading off in the morning (Friday) for a 4 day weekend away. I thought I'd post a quick Happy Easter message to all my wonderful blog-friends. I don't know if I will have much chance over the weekend to get on the internet ... depends on time, and of course, the availability of network coverage up at Bonnie Doon (which has become notoriously unpredictable!!).

So, in case I don't get a chance to catch up over the weekend, I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter, and the opportunity to get together with family and friends, do some long-overdue relaxing !!

I would also like to say thank you to all the people who decided to take part in the Postcard Challenge. I have received via email about 20 addresses from you all, my wonderful blog-friends ... wow, that's a lot of hand-writing ... writer's cramp coming up !! I haven't yet written out the cards, but will do them over the long-weekend, and will post them out on Tuesday. Thank you, everyone ... this is so exciting !! I only hope the snail-mail from Australia isn't too slow ... who knows, sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't !!

So, that's it from me ... gotta go fold mountains of washing, so I can pack our clothes, then the food, then anything else that we need to take. I also need to get to school early, as they have a Easter Hat parade for the younger year levels, and my Chicky, being a big Year 6er, has been chosen to be the Easter Bunny and, with helpers, hand out Easter Eggs to the littlies ... she's gonna look so cute ... gotta remember to take the camera !!

HAVE A EVERYONE

Stay safe, take care,

MEOW

My Favorite Parts of Victoria ... Bonnie Doon ...

One of my favorite places to holiday is Bonnie Doon, which is located at the northern end of Lake Eildon. It is only a 2 hour drive from our front door. You may or may not know that we have a permanent site / caravan set up in one of the local caravan parks there. We have been coming to Bonnie Doon for almost 15 years, initially as campers, then as "Annuals" (which is what they call people with permanent sites in the caravan park). Prior to regularly visiting this part of Lake Eildon, we used to go regularly to Jerusalem Creek, which is at the southern end of the lake.

A view from Maintongoon Road across to the Maroondah Highway bridge over Lake Eildon at Bonnie Doon, looking approximately South to North

Bonnie Doon is a small town situated in North East Victoria on the edge of Lake Eildon. It is most well known these days as a holiday/weekend destination for waterskiiers, fisherman and boat enthusiasts.

It has a small population, but in holiday periods the population swells to several times its normal size.

The area of Bonnie Doon was first passed through by white man in 1824 by the explorers Hume and Hovell. It was first settled in 1834 and the township originated in the 1860's.

The town was originally called Doon but the name was later changed, in 1891, to Bonnie Doon.

The discovery of gold in the area caused a immense growth of the town, and from this emerged a strong farming community. There was once quite a few Hotels and other shops as well as a butter factory.

In 1955 Lake Eildon was enlarged to store more water for irrigation and unfortunately Bonnie Doon township was going to be submerged. The town relocated nearby further up a hill where it currently stands today. This involved moving the highway and railway and the building of new bridges. Many residents moved elsewhere rather than rebuild in Bonnie Doon.

After the enlargement of the lake, the potential for tourism became apparent and a caravan park was built. Then boat ramps, picnic areas, hotels and motels were built to cater for waterskiers.
Today the Bonnie Doon area contains 3 caravan/camping grounds, 3 Motels, 1 Hotel, numerous housing estates dotted around the lake and is growing in popularity all the time.

A rare photo of the Bonnie Doon end of the lake when it is full !!

Lake Eildon offers wonderful fishing, at various times of the year. Like anywhere, sometimes the fishing is really slow !! We only seem to manage to catch carp, which are classified as vermin fish here in Victoria. There are, however, Redfin, Cod and various other fish ... all of which don't seem to like jumping onto our hooks !!

Unfortunately, with the lackof substantial rainfall in the area for the last few years, the lake levels are extremely low ... currently only at about 23% of capacity (the lake hasn't been "full" since around 1996). We, as recreational users tend to complain about the water levels, however the lake was built and designed for irrigational use. The water outflows into the Goulburn River, travelling for many kilometres, eventually feeding into the Murray River. We are once again hoping for above average rainfall, in order for the lake to come up to at least 50% of capacity. Maybe we all need to do a Rain Dance !!

A map of the lake and surrounds ... Bonnie Doon is at the northern end

When the lake is low, we tend to do a bit of 4WDing, both in the dry lake bed, and up in the nearby High Country (usually only in the warmer months, as the High Country becomes the ski fields in Winter !). It is a beautiful area, with plenty to do and see.

Craigs Hut (photo taken March 2005) ... purpose built for the filming of "The Man From Snowy River" ... in the Victorian High Country

A view of the Mt. Buller ski fields from the top of Mt. Stirling (photo taken in the Australian Autumn ... March 2005)

Bonnie Doon also became quite infamous due to being mentioned quite frequently in a wonderful Australian movie called "The Castle". Don't know if it was released outside Australia, but if you get a chance to see it, it is very very funny !!

So, there you go ... a little bit of background about one of my favorite places ... Bonnie Doon.

We are heading up to Bonnie Doon for the Easter break ... Friday through to Monday. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us. We haven't been since early March, so are really looking forward to getting up there again. I will be sure to get some new photos to share with you all.

Have a great day.

Take care,

MEOW

The Great Postcard Exchange ...

I am borrowing this idea from DaybyDay (it's OK, she said I could !!) ... it is such a wonderful idea. Here goes ...

I would like to do a Postcard Exchange with anyone who would like to join in. It would be fun to receive postcards from friends, with a little note on it, showing the official postage from whatever country the card is coming from.

So, if you are interested in joining in, please email me (my email address is on my profile page), and we can exchange addresses. I'm on my way out now, to purchase a bunch of gorgeous Australian postcards, ready to send off !!

Let's get this happening ... it should be fun. There is nothing nicer than receiving something in the letterbox that is not a bill !!

Thanks, friends ..... MEOW

The State Where I LIve ...

For the lack of much else to say at the moment, I thought I might share with you some facts about where I live ... Victoria, Australia.

I borrowed some details from Victorian information websites ... most of this is not my own words !!

FACTS ABOUT VICTORIA:

POPULATION: 3.5 Million.
CAPITAL: Melbourne
AREA: 227,600 Sq Km ... roughly the size of the British Isles
LOCATION: In the South-eastern corner of the mainland of Australia.
CLIMATE: Highest temp. 50.8, C at Mildura in the north-west. -12.8. at Mt. Hotham in the Snowy Mountains.

Victoria (usually) has a high rainfall, with extremes of heat in summer in the western and north western regions. (At this state of time, we are still in drought conditions throughout most of the State ... I think ... and have been on permanent water restrictions for a few years now.)

Melbourne was first settled in 1835.

Victoria is Australia's smallest mainland state with 1800 km of coastline.

Victoria floral emblem is the Common Heath (Epacris impressa).

Victoria's capital, Melbourne is located around the shores of Port Phillip Bay. The city itself sits beside the Yarra River, about five kilometres from the bay. Renowned for its sense of style and elegance, Melbourne boasts glamorous festivals and events, Australia's best shopping, a lively passion for eating and drinking, and a flourishing interest in the arts. Great vestiges of nineteenth-century architecture, built following the discovery of gold, are heady reminders of a prosperous age, while beautifully tended parks and gardens present a therapeutic respite from the pace of city life.

Melbourne's Flinders Street Station

Victoria’s regions:
Victoria is a small state ... it is broken down into 11 regions, for the sake of tourism.

Melbourne ... A city of world-class events, shopping, food and wine, and a fabulous arts scene.
Macedon Ranges & Spa Country ...Everything you need for the indulgent short break or weekend away.
Yarra Valley, Dandenongs & the Ranges ...Victorian fine wine and tall forests under an hour from Melbourne.
Mornington Peninsula ... Olive groves and vineyards with sea views, and great local restaurants and markets.
Phillip Island ... A popular destination for families, lovers of water sports and wildlife.
Great Ocean Road ... Stunning ocean views, beachside activities, laidback coastal towns and maritime villages.
Goldfields ... Spectacular historic towns, architecture and gold history.
Grampians ... Adventure activities, superb national and state parks and native wildlife.
Legends, Wine & High Country ... Nature-based adventure, food and wine in alpine landscapes.
Gippsland ... Coastal wilderness, national forests, mountain streams, and spectacular touring routes.

The Murray ... Home to Australia's longest river, deserts and wetlands.

I have lived most of my life in Melbourne (or a suburb thereof), and find it a wonderful place to live. I have done some travelling throughout various states of Australia, but would prefer to live right where I am. We have the luxury (??) of experiencing all 4 seasons (sometimes all in one day !!), but do not really get the extremes in weather (although we do have some very, very hot days in Summer). If we want "real" Winter temperatures, and snow, we are only a few hours away from the ski fields ... we have great snow most Winters, and the ski fields are amazing.

I hope you have enjoyed this little snippet of the part of the world I live in. I may take some of my favorite parts of Victoria, and provide you with some information and photos, at another time ... so that you may discover some more of the life of Meow.

I hope your weekend is going wonderfully ... it is now just after 1pm on Sunday afternoon ... not much left of my weekend !!

Take care everyone,

MEOW