One Year Of Blogging ... Whoo-Hoo !!

Hello, Dear Blog Friends ....

IT'S MY ONE YEAR BLOG ANNIVERSARY !!

HIP-HIP-HOORAY !!

I can't believe I have been doing this for a whole year. It has been so much fun, and I have met such wonderful people (take a bow, you know who you are !!).

I still remember when a friend first told me about blogging ... I had never heard of it. It sounded interesting, so I thought I'd give it a go. I haven't looked back since !!! I loved it so much (and still do), I was posting almost every day, sometimes twice !! Gosh, where did I find the time ??? Unfortunately, my blogging-time has taken a battering, and I am lucky these days if I can post and visit once or twice a week. Hopefully, soon, my time will be less busy, and I can come out and play more often.

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to visit my blog, and become regular readers. I consider you all to be such very special people, and I love coming by and visiting your blogs, too, to see what you have been up to.

There is such a diverse range of blogs out there, covering all sorts of subjects. Some are serious, thought provoking type blogs. Some are actual journals, where people share what they do every day. Some are full of jokes, which always make me smile. Some are just very strange !!! Some are fluffy, fun-loving blogs, which are there just to give others a smile (or perhaps a cringe !!) ... I think this is the category where mine belongs (smile, or cringe !?!?!). No matter what category, or subject, a blog is part of, there are readers out there who will come back again and again. That's what makes this blogosphere so fascinating, and amazing. I am proud to be a part of it.

I had better head off again, to do a bit of blog visiting (hopefully I will drop by and visit you all within the next 24 hours !!), then back to my typing. I am still working on the Grade 6 Yearbook, for Chicky's school, but am on track !! I still need to get onto my Christmas cards, Christmas shopping, writing some more postcards (yes, I know I owe quite a few people cards ... sorry, I haven't had a chance to write them ... they will get to you eventually, I haven't forgotten you !!), and get on with all the other pre-Christmas stuff that needs to be done.

I hope you all have a great week.

Take care,

MEOW

Happy Thanksgiving & Have A Great Weekend

I just wanted to wish all of you who are celebrating it,

HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

(Ooops, just realised that it is actually TODAY ... I apologise if I am late ... we don't do Thanksgiving over here, so I wasn't sure of the date !!)

I hope you are able to share this day with all your loved ones, and have a wonderful time.

Don't eat too much (wouldn't be a turkey for quids, at this time of year !!).

Don't drink too much (or if you do, please don't get behind the wheel of a car).

Tomorrow is the end of the week, so ....

I still have a huge amount of typing to get through, and this weekend has a lot of stuff happening ... netball for Chicky on Saturday (with me as taxi-driver and cheer-squad), out to dinner on Saturday night with another 3 couples (I think I'm taxi-driver again ... bugger !!), Christmas party in the park for Hubby's work on Sunday (Santa will be there ... whoo-hoo!!). Somehow, I also need to sit at this computer and continue typing ... oh well, guess I won't be sleeping much ... tee-hee !!

Take care, everyone and ...

I'll be around and about, here and there, even if only lurking.

Hugs and best wishes to you all,

MEOW

Bonnie Doon

Seeing as how I always seem to be writing about Bonnie Doon, where we go to frequently, I thought I might share some information about the place !!!

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. There are three caravan/camping parks in and around the town and one Hotel which is situated on the waters edge.

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.

Map of Victoria ... Bonnie Doon is to the left of the words High Country, sort of underneath Benalla !!

Map of Australia ... Victoria is the Southern-most state on mainland Australia ... Tasmania, however, is further south, though not connected to the mainland.

The caravan / holiday park where we always go, and have been going since early 1996 when we bought our caravan there, is about 9km out of Bonnie Doon, on the shores of Lake Eildon (well, when there is water there, anyway !!). For those of you who were wondering what I am always talking about when I say we go to our caravan at Bonnie Doon, here are some pictures. This one is from the front of our site ... it is actually a big, old (1970s era) caravan, with an aluminium annexe (on a concrete slab) connected to it. It is all roofed over, and we have added a big decking area out front.

This one is looking from the back ... you can actually see the old caravan there !!

Inside the caravan ... looking from the front towards the back ... our bedroom !! (The kitchen is to the right of the photo !!)

Inside the caravan again, looking from the bedroom to the front.

Looking from the stairs of the caravan, into the annexe, out the front door !!

Looking from the front door, across the lounge, at the caravan door (Hubby lined the outer caravan wall with pine panelling, so the caravan cannot be seen from inside the annexe ... looks really cosy !). We have stacks of photos on the wells. The wall on the right backs onto the bathroom, and there is a hallway down toward the right, along the caravan wall.

A peek into our bathroom (the loo is to the left, beside the vanity unit, behind the shower).

Chicky's bedroom, and storage space (always a mess !!) ... there is a double bed, and above a single, with a couple spare mattresses, also.

So there you go. That's our home away from home at Bonnie Doon. (Apologies for some of the photos ... Blogger decided to cut off the bottoms of them ... don't know why !!)

We had a wonderful weekend up there, this last weekend. The park was very quiet, but we had a productive weekend, doing some long overdue spring cleaning. It's incredible the amount of stuff that can be accumulated over the years. I had a huge cleanout of my pantry ... gosh, the amount of food that was past it's use-by date ... so wasteful !! So, we are now all ready to take up more junk at Christmas, to spend a wonderful couple of weeks of well-earned R&R.

Now, back to the typing, and the business of Christmas shopping !!

Have a great week all, and I hope to be by to visit within the next day or so.

Take care,

MEOW

Psssst .....

PIECE OF CAKE ANYONE ....

JOIN ME FOR A BIT OF A DANCE ...

A DRINK PERHAPS ...
(I HAVE NON-ALCOHOLIC, IF YOU PREFER)

I'M SO GLAD YOU COULD JOIN ME ...
WHAT'S A BIRTHDAY WITHOUT FRIENDS !

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING HOW OLD I AM ... I AM 21 AGAIN !!!

(I WAS BORN IN 1964 ... YOU WORK IT OUT !!)

Technically, my iPod (which I got in August) is my birthday present, but Hubby and Chicky went out shopping last night and presented me with a wonderful bag of goodies this morning (at 5am, no less !!). There are all sorts of things in there ... stuff that only a gorgeous 12 year old girl could choose (soap, smelly crystals, tea-candles, oil burner jel, notepad, body butter, clogs ... you know, those rubber ones that are all the rage at the moment) !! Hubby did have a say in it all, too ... he chosea tiny little speaker thingy that just plugs into the top of the iPod ... real cute (I hate using earphones ... I can feel them in my ears for days after I have taken them out !!). I can just imagine Chicky dragging Hubby from one girly shop to another ... he looked exhausted when they came home. *giggle*. It was well worth it, as far as I'm concerned, as I love it all.

We are not doing anything special today ... we are off to Bonnie Doon (again !!!) ... we are running away from home for the weekend !!! It's been a big week (again), so it will be lovely to get away from it all for a couple of days of R&R. I have been working hard on the Grade 6 Yearbook, which will (hopefully) look great when I am finished with it. It is a lot of work, but it will be worth it.

I hope that you all have wonderful weekends planned. I hope you can all sneak in a bit of R&R yourselves ... I know it is not always possible, but we really all should try !!

Have a great weekend, friends.

Take care,

MEOW

The Concert Is Over ...

Well, Chicky's dance concert is over. It went really, really well. They had 2 performances ... one on Friday night, and one on Sunday afternoon. I went to both of them ... on the Friday I was there alone (well, there were others in the audience, of course, but not with me !!) ... and all our family and friends went to the Sunday one. Both concerts were wonderful, but the Sunday one was more finely tuned ... all the problems discovered during the Friday night show were ironed out, and it went perfectly !! The photo above was one of the only ones that worked out, unfortunately, other than a few that were taken at the end when all the kids were on stage for the presentations. Technically we weren't allowed to video, or use flash photography, and it was difficult to get a good shot, with the varying lighting, particularly when they were moving around the stage (which is what they tend to do when they are dancing !!). The photo shows the opening of Chicky's first dance, a tap number, to "These Boots Are Made For Walking". Her group were in a total of 4 dances, with wonderful costumes. I am so proud of my Chicky ... she just looks fabulous on stage (bit scary, really, as she looks quite grown up ... too grown up !!), and just loves being up there ... her face just shines with happiness.

Anyway, now that the dancing is over, we have our Monday nights back !! Monday nights are generally hectic in this household, with Chicky and me coming home from school around 3.40pm, quick change of clothes and feeding frenzy for a hungry Chicky, then out the door by 4pm for netball training, which goes until 5pm. Then jump in the car again, off to dance class from 5.30 until 7pm. Home again by 7.30, cook dinner, homework (for Chicky), me usually typing, etc., etc. ...... Get the picture !!! Yesterday it was wonderful, it was raining, so netball training was cancelled ... bliss !!

I have finally gotten into the typing I have been putting off due to having so much other typing to do ... the Grade 6 Yearbook for Chicky's primary school graduation. I really enjoy this sort of typing, as it is all about people I know, and it is interesting reading what the kids write about themselves !! I have a multitude of photos of all of the kids, which I need to edit in varying ways to include throughout the book. It is actually quite fun.

Our weather has become quite Wintery again ... it has been raining, but nothing particularly substantial. Apparently tomorrow (Wednesday) it is supposed to be only around 15ºC in Melbourne, with a chance of snow in the alps ... for goodness sakes, it is nearly Summer, what is going on !?!?!?!

I will leave it there, as I am going to do the rounds of all your blogs, before getting back to my typing.

Have a wonderful week.

Take care,

MEOW

I've Been A.W.O.L. Again ....

Hi There,

I've been running around like a headless chook again this week (for those of you who don't know ... sorry ... a chook is Aussie slang for a chicken !!). I've barely had time to scratch, let along blog. I hope you have all been well, and I plan on checking out your going-ons in the next couple of days.

Chicky had her end of year dance concert on Friday night, and today is the second one ... a mattinee. We will be slicking down her hair with hair product in the next hour, pinning on a hair piece (her hair is very fine, and won't curl well, so I bought a gorgeous curly pony tail for her a few years ago ... looks real, matches her hair colour perfectly !!), and plastering on the stage makeup. Sounds awful ... but she really looks stunning done up for the stage !! The costumes are just gorgeous, too.

I spend last week, after returning home from our long wekend away, preparing costumes, taking Chicky to dance class, typing, laundry, housework, shopping ... generally keeping busy !!

I hope to be back on track with my blogging eventually ... I know, I have been saying that for quite some time now !! It is just such a busy time at the moment ... stop the bus, I want to get off !!! I am enjoying it all, though, and seem to thrive with the pressure of time lines and dead lines. I seem to get more done, the less time I have. Go figure !!

Anyway, better hop off now and get a few things done, before starting the concert preparations.

I wish you all a wonderful rest-of-the-weekend, and a great week ahead.

Take care,

MEOW

A Weekend Away ...

Hello Dear Blog Friends,

We are at the tail end of a (sort of) long weekend. It is Tuesday, Melbourne Cup Day, where we get a public holiday so a horse race can be run ... they call it "The Race That Stops A Nation". Go figure !!

Anyway, we went up to our caravan at Bonnie Doon, which is on Lake Eildon, a man-made lake in Central Victoria. We only stayed a couple nights, as Hubby needed to work last night (Monday night). Today is a vegie day, to catch up on stuff (Blogging, mostly ... hopefully!). The lake is currently at only around 18% (I think), and is dropping rapidly. Quite sad, really, and it is very difficult for the farmers, as this is one of the major irrigation lakes, feeding a large part of Victoria.

Although there is a lack of water for boating (oh, and of course irrigation!), it makes for interesting 4WDing around the lake bed. As it is a man made lake, many properties were flooded in the 50s to create this lake. Many remnants of these properties are now out of the water. It is very interesting to explore. This one is of a sheep-dip thingy. One wall has been knocked over at the far end.

This is just an abstract picture looking up through a dead tree at our amazingly blue skies !!

An old fence line ... you can see all the dried up mud covering the posts and trees. Looks really eerie !!

Looking down what would have been the drive-way of the property.

These fence posts are just amazing. They were hand-made in a time when there was no machinery like we have now. My guess is that each square hole was chiselled out !! This photo looks just stunning in black & white, although I love it in colour as the contrast of the grey and blue is incredible.

This is all that remains of the lake outside the caravan park at the moment ... the original river.

I don't know if you can see the numbers up this post, but when the lake is full, it is right up to the top number, just under the railway line !! As you can see, there ain't no water under this bridge at the moment !!

I know I have posted a similar photo before, but I just love this view under the Bonnie Doon bridge. The sun-light gave it an interesting effect, too.

We had a lovely weekend, the weather was hot, hot, hot. The park wasn't exceptionally busy, for a long weekend, but there were still plenty of people around to play with !!!!

Back home here in Melbourne, it is drizzling today, and quite cool. I even have the heating on !! I hope you all had a great weekend, and that the week ahead will be a good one for you all. I will try to stop by all your blogs during the course of today and tomorrow, to see what you have been up to.

Take care everyone,

MEOW

Can You smell Friday?



I tell ya . . . It's Friday!!!

I can smell it. . . . the weekend's getting closer!!!

Keep going . . it's nearly the weekend



Put your hands in da air and wave 'em like you just don't care. . . . cause

IT'S FRIDAY!

It's time to do the Friday dance



Have a great weekend!

MEOW