Going Away Again !!!

Hello Everyone,

It is the 30th June, the last day of another month, and also the last day of the Australian Financial Year ... yep, that means we can all go out and get our tax returns in, and hopefully get a nice refund ... fingers crossed !!

It is also the first day of the school holidays in Victoria, which mark the end of Term 2 (or First Semester). Yay, two weeks of not having to make school lunches, and all the other rigmorol connected with getting a child off to school in the morning !!

So far, we've had a fairly busy day ... first thing this morning I had to take my kitty to the boarding cattery, as we are off in the morning for a week at Bonnie Doon. Then, Chicky had netball (unfortunately they lost ... boo-hoo!). After that we quickly rushed home, got changed, and headed into Eltham for a Book Launch ... a friend of Chicky's has had a book published ... she is 11 years old. It is a book of poetry and short stories, and is delightful ... she's going to go places, that girl. After all that, we arrived home around 4pm ... phew, I'm plum tuckered out !!

Since coming home, I have sorted washing, organised stuff for the week, packed, gone out to KFC to pick up some dinner (too lazy to cook !!), and am now sitting here, writing this post. The rest of my evening will probably be spent in front of this computer, fiddling around, visiting blogs, computer housekeeping ... I have finished my packing for our week away (other than the food, which I will do in the morning). Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is on the telly, in the background.

Got the fright of my life last night. About 2.30 in the morning, our telephone started ringing. Of course, on this rare occasion, I hadn't replaced the cordless phone on it's cradle (which is beside my bed, part of a clock radio), so had to push the cat off me, get up, and run in the dark for the phone .... of course, I missed it ... darn it !! By this time I was wide awake, and struggled to get back to sleep properly. I must've, though, as I awoke with a fright again at around 4am, the phone had started ringing again (I had replaced it in it's cradle last time I got up). I snatched up the receiver ... hello ??? It was my mum, from Cologne in Germany (I think I mentioned that they were going over for a 7 week holiday ... they left last Wednesday). Silly dad got the time conversion mixed up ... he thought it was 4 in the afternoon ... ummm, nope, 4 in the morning, thank you very much !! After apologising profusely, to which I kept saying not to worry, it didn't matter, I was just happy to hear from them, she told me what they'd been up to. They had spent the past few days exploring Cologne, and having a lovely time. There were going to be picking up their hire car today (Saturday) and heading down to Coblenz (spelling ??), where they were going to take a day cruise on the Rhine. Originally, they were going to take one from Cologne, but were advised that it would be prettier from Coblenz, as it is not as industrial as Cologne. They sounded extremely happy, and I was excited to hear from them (although it was 4 in the morning ... LOL). I hope they continue having a wonderful time. I miss them heaps, though !!

It is continuing to be cold and damp here in Melbourne ... it started drizzling again this afternoon. There is nasty flooding down Gippsland way, where earlier this year there were bushfires !! What is this world coming to ... one minute hot and burning, next cold and flooding ?? Go figure !!

Anyway, enough from me ... Hope you are all having a brilliant weekend, and have a wonderful week ahead. I know I will ... relaxing at Bonnie Doon (I am taking my painting, crochet, cross-stitch, lots of books to read, and a heap of DVDs to watch.). Will write again soon.

Take care,

Blogger Songs CD

Hello Friends,

I have a bit of a dilemma, which I hope you can help me solve, regarding the Blogger CD I am creating ...

From all the comments, I have collated 62 songs, which, when burned as an AUDIO CD, takes up almost 4 CD's. However, when burned as an MP3 CD, it only takes up one.

Here is the question ... of all of you who have requested a copy of the disc (DIANE, DRAMA DIVA, CLARE, PEA, PUSS-IN-BOOTS, MERLE, CONNIE, KRISTY, EBUN, RENAE, JEANETTE, GWEN, GRANNY (ANN), ENID & CATSMUM ... hopefully I haven't forgotten anyone ... if there is anyone else, please email me your address), which format would you prefer ? From what I understand, most CD Players these days can play MP3 discs, although some of you many not have one that does. However, you all obviously have computers ... so the music can be played that way !! Anyway, please let me know which format you want, so I know what to do ... thanks ... your help would be appreciated.

As I said, I will be making the copies and sending them over the next few weeks.

Eagerly awaiting your answers ... thanks !!

Take care,

Rating My Blog ...

How cool is this ...

I saw this over on Granny Ann's blog, and thought I might borrow (steal !!) it ... thanks Granny !



What is your blog rated ??


Take care,

Whoo-hoo, I Got An Award !!

I was hugely excited to be chosen by a wonderful blogger ... Justitia (Michelle) ... for a "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award !Here's what she said about me:

Meow's a genuinely nice girl. She's warm and welcoming and always thinking of new ideas to make blogging fun :)

Thank you so very much, Michelle, I am honoured.

Now I get to choose 5 women bloggers worthy of the "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award - so if you get tagged, place your pretty pink badge on your site and then list 5 of your favorite Rockin' Girl Bloggers.

OK, my five are ...

Greeneyes - Greeneyes is a lovely blogger, who is always full of good cheer. I always smile when I visit her blog, she is just gorgeous. I sure would love to visit her part of the world.
Nicole - Nicole is a fellow Aussie blogger, who decorates the most amazing cakes, and is such a wonderful crafty person ... you should see some of the stuff she makes. A great blog to visit.
Clare - Clare is a fun-loving British girl, who describes her world in the most interesting way. I always enjoy visiting this blog.
DayByDay - DaybyDay is a lovely person, who shares her world with her fellow bloggers. She makes the most amazing jewellery, too.
Diane - Diane is a family oriented, full of life blogger, who shares her dinners and family life with us all. Always a wonderful place to visit.

I have plenty more I could choose, but was only allowed five ... darn it !!

So, on with the post ...

Huge apologies (once again) for being AWOL this past week. It has been pretty busy, and my weekend was flat-out. I was either out, or sleeping (or wishing I was asleep!!). Saturday started out with some shopping, then off to Mum & Dad's for lunch, then more shopping, housework, then off to a party ... a fundraiser for Chicky's netball club. It was great fun, with a DJ and Karaoke. I came home exhausted, with no voice, from singing (no, I didn't do the karaoke, but who can resist singing when the music is all 70s & 80s stuff ... we danced most of the night). Afterward we went to a friends for a little while, before making it home to be around 2am. Sunday was a sleep in (I actually slept till 10am ... totally unheard of for me !!), then I headed over to the market to buy some goodies, then off to another friends place to catch up for the afternoon. Finally arrived home around 6pm, and managed to crawl onto the couch to watch TV, before going to bed quite early. I then worked Monday (gosh, I was pretty tired !!).

I have been working on the CD (well, I think there'll be at least 2 !) of blogger music. Should have it finalised this week, and will probably send them out in a couple of weeks. We are heading off on the weekend for a week at Bonnie Doon, so I may wait till after then to send them out. Thank you to everyone who gave me songs to include, and anyone who has sent me their postal address ... if anyone else wants one, just email me your address. Thanks.

Ummmm, I've got a bit of running around to do this morning, so I may just leave it here.

Have a great Tuesday everyone, and a great remainder of the week. I hope to drop by your blogs in the next 24 hours or so. I also hope to post again before heading off on the weekend.

Enjoy ...

Take care,

Keeping it brief ...

Hello everyone,

Just a quick post from me today ...

It's been a busy week, I worked yesterday, and will again tomorrow, shopped today, and did a heap of other stuff the other days ... too many things, not enough time ... normal stuff, you know !!

I wanted to put out a final call for anyone who would like to let me know their favourite song, so I can include it in a Blogger CD I am making. I will keep it open until the end of the weekend, when I will attempt to put it together. If anyone wants a copy, once it is complete, please email me your postal address, and I'll endeavour to get it out to you in the next few weeks. Thanks.

Hope your week has been going well ... enjoy the remainder of it !!

Take care,

Sweet Saturday, and a Question For You ...

Chicky's team won netball this morning ... yay. They played like champions, were totally exhausted afterwards, but ecstatic that they won. They played the top team, too. Well done, girls.

Afterward, all 3 of us went round to my parent's place for lunch. It's always lovely going over there for Saturday lunch ... we have been doing it for years. My parents are going away in 11 days, on a trip to Germany for 7 weeks ... gosh I will miss them. But they will have a ball. They have so many friends and rellies over there, and plan to visit places they haven't ever been to. (You might not know, but my parents were both born in Hamburg, Germany, but migrated to Australia in 1958. Many things have changed over there since that time !!).

Chicky is currently at the movies, seeing Shrek 3 ... she was so excited, it looks like a wonderful movie. Can't wait to see it myself !!

I spent quite some time last night visiting everybody's (hopefully) blogs. I had over 150 posts (according to Google Reader) to read ... it's been awhile LOL. I think I got around to everyone. Huge apologies if I missed anyones blog ... please let me know if I have been remiss.

I have had an idea, and I hope you can help me with it ...

I would like to put together a CD (or 2 or 3!!) of songs which are your favourites (if that makes sense). I would like you to, if you want to, let me know via the comments, what is your favourite song of all time ... be it a current song, or something older, whichever one is cool ... and I will put them together as a My Favourite Bloggers All Time Greatest Hits compilation. Please make sure you tell me the song title, and artist, in case I have to go hunting for it. I have an extensive music collection, but there definately many things I don't have ... and if you have unusual tastes in music, chances are I won't have it (yet!). I would be ever so greatful if you would assist me with this project ... Thank you, you are all fabulous ... looking forward to your comments.

Anyway, that's about it for me for this post.

I hope you are all having, or will have, a brilliant weekend.

Take care,

Thursday continued ...

My earlier post was a bit brief (I was actually gas-bagging on MSN whilst I wrote it, so it seems I forgot bits to tell you LOL !), so I thought I might share some more with you here !!

This morning must have been the coldest, crispest morning I have ever experienced since living in this area. When I went outside, everything was white (frost), and my car was icy ... now it's been icy on the roof, bonnet & boot before, but never quite like this ... the doors were iced over, I could barely put the key in the door lock, and I couldn't pull the door handles to open the doors. It was cold, damn cold !! I had to go and get a jug, so I could use tap water to pour over areas to defrost them, so I could actually open the doors. It was quite bizarre. It wasn't just smooth ice, either, it was sort of spikey ... looked quite cool, actually !! But, silly me, I forgot to take some photos. How slack is that !! My husband says it was around 1C when he left for work at 5.30am. It was 3C when I got outside. That is unusually cold for here.

About 11am, I left home to go to Eltham to have lunch with Val and Gina, as I mentioned in my last post. When I was almost there, I started hearing a strange noise from my car ... sort of like I had a flat tire (which I didn't). I pulled over and looked ... couldn't see anything, and thought ... bugger, I'm continuing on !! I got to Eltham, and pulled into the street where I was going to park and ... OMG, no brakes !!! I pumped the pedal, and fortunately they worked, briefly ... long enough to park the car, thank goodness. I thought to myself ... should I ring up roadside assist, or should I go to lunch ... lunch won !! The car could wait ... it wasn't going anywhere. Besides, I wanted to catch up with the ladies !!

Anyway, we found one another (Gina had never met Val or I, but Val & I had met twice before) where we had arranged to meet, and headed off down to Volumes for lunch, and a browse. Wow, what a great place ... all those books ... a girl could go mad !!! We ate, chatted, shared stories, and had a lovely time. All too soon it was time for me to leave (I thought I had better get this car sorted out LOL). Val and Gina walked me back to my car, and they headed off to go to a Scrapbooking shop (bugger, I missed out !!). I called RACV Roadside assist, who arrived within about 20 minutes. They fiddled around, took off a wheel, checked a few things, and seemed to fix the problem. I drove home rather nervously, but made it home safely, thank goodness. Hubby checked it out again when I got home, and it seems OK ... probably just one of those things.

So, apart from the slight glitch with my car (when my heart jumped into my throat, and I broke out in a cold sweat when the brakes didn't work LOL), I had a lovely time. Both ladies are wonderful people, very different to each other, but with many similarities, too. It's hard to believe, but Gina is probably crazier about cats than I am LOL. Is that possible !?!? We all have an interest in various forms of art and crafts ... lots of things to share with each other ... fun !! Thank you, Val & Gina, for a fun lunch ... hope we can do it again soon.

I apologise for having no photograph of the 3 of us ... both Val and I forgot our cameras. However, Gina had hers, and took a couple of photos. Check out her blog ... she may have posted one !!

Isn't blogging wonderful ... it allows us to meet people who we may not normally meet. I am forever greatful to my friend, Madi, who introduced me to blogging all those months ago. Although she seems to have given up blogging, I hope to continue for quite some time to come. Thank you all for being such wonderful blog friends, and I will try not to be such a neglectful blogger in fugure.

Ok, enough mush ... I had better sign off now, and get to visiting you all.

Have a great Friday, and a wonderful weekend.

Take care,

Here I Am Again ... Finally ....

Good morning, everyone ... it sure has been awhile !!

I apologise profusely for not being around, but work and a long weekend has kept me away.

So .... how have you all been ?? I will be dropping by all your blogs in the next day or two ... gosh, you have been mega busy, judging by all the posts on my Google Reader that are waiting for me to read LOL

As for me ... well, as I said, I have been working 2 days a week lately ... just enough, without being too much !! Also, last weekend was a long weekend here (Queens Birthday weekend), and we left on Friday, returning home Monday afternoon. We went to our caravan at Bonnie Doon (of course), and had a lovely time.

The weather was lovely ... blue skies and sunshine (although quite cool ... well, it is Winter !!). The nights were very cold ... thank goodness for heating.

We didn't do much, other than chat with our friends. There was a PJ party on the Saturday night ... I'd bought the cutest flanelette PJs ... bright green with bright pink pussy cats all over them (how original !!). It was fun, lots of dancing (oh, and drinking ... hmmm !!), and a great night.

On the Sunday, we went for a 4WD in the Strathbogie Ranges ... it was nice up there, with lots of lovely views. Shame, though ... I didn't go mad with the camera at all this weekend.

However, here are some photos that I would like to share with you ...

The photo above is a view across the lake (without water, still), from the deck of our site ... the cloud hadn't lifted ... it was quite foggy earlier.

Above ... another one from our deck.

The photo above is of some trees on our drive through the Strathbogies ... check out the sky .. it was a lovely day.

Above ... discovered this fungus thingy growing ... they were all over the place. From a distance, they looked like little UFO's jammed in the tree trunk !

This one, above, is just a small portion of all the rocks that are located around the Strathbogies.

Anyway, that was just a small sample of my weekend.

Hope your week has been going well.

I am off shortly to have lunch with Val and Gina, fellow Melbournian bloggers. We will be visiting a lovely cafe in Eltham, which is also part bookshop, cd shop, giftshow ... should be wonderful. I'll let you know later, how it goes.

Enjoy the remainder of the week, and the upcoming weekend.

Take care,

The Picture I Painted ...

As an addendum to yesterday's post, here is a (rather badly taken) photograph of the picture I painted. It was hard to get a good photo, as the flash kept bouncing back off the varnish, and if I didn't use the flash, it was blurry !!

Anyway, the foreground (what looks black) is actually varying shades of black and umber.

The picture was painted on canvas board, with Jo Sonja acrylic paints. It still needs to be framed, but you get the general idea from it here !! Believe me, it looks better in reality, thank in this photo !! Oh yeah, I should tell you, I used a pattern and instructions from a Folk Art magazine to create this picture ... although I made some changes to it, to make it more mine !!

Now I'm hunting through Folk Art & Decorative Painting magazines and books, trying to find my next project (although I still have one more cat coaster to do ... see the other 5 on my Craft & Stuff blog).

Hope your Monday has been (will be, or is !!) a good one.

Take care,

Sunday Night, and All's Well ...

Hello everyone,

It's Sunday night, and I've had a lovely weekend ... hope you have too.

It started on Friday (OK, I know that's not technically the weekend, but in this instance, it is !!).

I went to a craft workshop ... Easy Printing Fun ... with Val, where we learnt different printing methods to use at home, and we made a couple of print blocks, which we can use for card making and the like. It was a lot of fun, and quite messy (LOL), and made me realise how un-artistic I actually am (when it comes to free-hand stuff) !!!

It did, however, get my creative juices flowing again, and I spent a lot of my weekend painting !! Yep, I got back into my Folk Art / Tole Painting / Decorative Painting (whatever you like to call it). I dug through my Folk Art books, and picked out a few pictures I wanted to do, and chose my favourite ... it's on a canvas board (which I had picked up on the way to the workshop on Friday), and it's sort of an outback scene, with a sunset, a building, trees, a horse and cart, a couple of men on horses riding into the sunset, and the whole scene is sort of in silhouette ... it looks great. I have pretty much finished it, just need to sign it, and seal it ... and then get it framed (wonder if Hubby feels like doing some woodwork !?!). Then I may even take a photo of it to let you all see it ... don't laugh, will you !! It made me realise how much I miss painting (I haven't done any since midway through last year, I think !!), and how much fun it is. I have got ideas in my head, and can't wait to get them underway !!

Other than my painting, Chicky played netball on Saturday and .... they won, yay !! It was a great game, they played hard, and did very well. Afterward, Chicky and I went to my parent's place for lunch (Hubby was home sleeping, after a night shift). We had a lovely visit ... I always enjoy catching up with mum and dad, they are wonderful people ... wish they lived right next door, so I could see them all the time !!

So, there you go, that was my weekend.

I'm really excited, that so many of you have signed my guestbook, and added a photo. It's wonderful, being able to see you all, just by opening my blog !! It's fun, too, that a few of you have exchanged MSN addresses with me ... I know it's difficult catching up, as many of you are on a different time and day than I am, but hopefully we'll connect sometime. If anyone else wants to give it a go, my MSN address is wolfgirlkitty@hotmail.com.

I hope you all have a brilliant week ... I am working on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, then we are off to Bonnie Doon on Friday (Chicky has the day off school, and the following Monday is a public holiday ... Queens Birthday), so my week's looking pretty full. Hopefully I'll get a chance to post again, and drop by you all for a visit.

Enjoy yourselves, and stay safe.

Take care,