Scary Stuff !!

What a day ...

My baby girl (well, not so baby really ... she's 16 years old) passed her test for her Learner's Permit today.  She did really well, and is very excited.  She has been studying really hard, and doing the practice tests offered by Vicroads online.  Wish she studied half as hard for her school exams !!

Anyway, this means she is now allowed to drive with a supervising licenced driver beside her.  She has to total up 120 hours of driving, all logged in a special book, including 10 hours of night time driving, before she is allowed to go for her driving test (once she turns 18).  Then she will have a probationery licence for 3 years, the first of which she must display a red P Plate (red background, white P), and the 2nd and 3rd years she must display a green P plate (green background, white P), the whole 3 years being .00 blood alcohol level ... no drinking and driving !!

She has had a little drive or two in the 4WD, out bush, off the main roads ... Baron took her, and she coped quite well.  She is pretty nervous about driving on real roads, though.  We will probably start on the weekend, in a local industrial estate, when all the factories are closed, and thus the roads are empty ... apparently this is what all the learner drivers do ... road experience, without the traffic experience, yet !!  Both Baron and I drive manuals ... his a big Nissan Patrol 4WD, mine a little Daewoo Lanos ... two very different cars.  The poor kid has no choice but to learn on a manual car ...

We have decided that Baron will take her initially ... he has more patience !!  My dad took me in the beginning, too, as Mum and I would just clashed ... as I imagine Elisabeth and I would, too.

So, this is where we are at right now ... me, a nervous mum, with a teenager who needs to learn to drive.

Wish us luck, people ...

Take care,

The Quilting Kitty

Hey There,

Just a quick note to let you know that I have started a new blog ... The Quilting Kitty ... just for all my quilting stuff, so that I don't have to bore you on here !!

This is the link, if you are interested ...

http://wolfgirlkittyquilt.blogspot.com/

I hope to continue toupdate both of these blogs ... this one and the new one ... as often as possible.

Take care,

My Year (so far) In Pictures ...

Thought I might give you a brief photo journey of what we've been up to this year ...

Our campsite set up on the banks of the Murray River near Cobram / Barooga in December / January ... it was very hot ... we had a ball !!

The beautiful Murray River from our campsite, at sundown.

Visitors at our campsite, on our last day !

Mum, Dad, Baron and myself having a few drink in our spa on a hot day ... the spa had been out of action for a number of years, but Baron managed to get it up and running again. We still need to get the heating aspect of it fixed, but in the hot weather, who needed heating !!

At a waterfall, during our day trip to Woods Point.

A waterfall, found during our drive to Woods Point.

A view of an old property at Woods Point.

An old building in Woods Point.

We had a ripper hail storm during February ... these are just two of the hailstones (they had already shrunk somewhat at this stage !!) ... they did a lot of damage (my car still bears the scars !)

At Easter we stayed at a Farmstay / Campground near Buchan called Stonehenge for five days ... we had a lovely time, and the weather behaved, too !!

Within The Royal Caves at Buchan.

In the Royal Caves at Buchan.

In the Royal Caves at Buchan.

A view from a lookout outside Lakes Entrance, on a day trip from Buchan, during the Easter break.

Elisabeth's grafitti in the sand at Lakes Entrance.

An old rail bridge we discovered on our way back from Lakes Entrance to Buchan.

A little Koala we saw whilst driving near Buchan.

McKillops Bridge, spanning the Snowy River

The Snowy River (it used to be a huge river ... somewhat depleted these days due to it being dammed for hydro-electricity ... I think !)

Portsea Surf Beach ... Mothers Day 2010

Elisabeth & Baron on the pier at Rye ... Mothers Day 2010

A view from the Rye Pier ... Melbourne is in the distance

Well, that's just a brief group of photos of what we've been up to this year ... there are plenty more photos (obviously) ... and we have done other things ... life has been pretty busy. I hope to share more of my world with you again soon.

Don't be shocked ... two posts from me in a matter of a couple of days !!! Hopefully this will now become a regular occurrance again !!)

Bye for now ..

Take care,

Just Checking In !!

Howdy Blogger Friends,

Yep, it's been absolutely ages since I last posted (ummm, think it was Christmas ... ooops !!) ... but you will all be happy to know that I am still alive.

I've been browsing through your blogs, through Google Reader ... so please know that I haven't forgotten you all.

I also follow many of you on Facebook ... there aren't many of you anymore that aren't Facebookers, though. For those of you who aren't ... I am so sorry I haven't been in touch ... please know that I do think about you all regularly.

My world has been plodding along nicely. Haven't done any major 4WD trips this year. Haven't even done alot of camping (other than Christmas / New Year on the Murray River, near Cobram/Barooga ... and Easter at Buchan, exploring the Buchan Caves.) ... we have simply been enjoying life !!

We are all well, and fighting fit (oh, other than Winter colds ... but they are only minor). Baron was very ill back in April, spent a week in hospital ... but he's all better now, thank goodness.

Elisabeth (Chicky) is 16 years old now ... quite the young lady. She goes for her Learners Permit in a couple of weeks ... look out world, there will be a new driver on the road. Although, fortunately for us, she cannot drive alone until she turns 18, and has passed her driving test.

I have been attending a couple of classes this year, through the local U3A. One class, Creative Writing, is heaps of fun, and allows me to do plenty of short story and poetry writing ... I may just have to share some stuff I have written with you next time !! Another class, Beginners Patchwork, has got me back into sewing ... big time !! So far, I have made a bag, and a Quillow (pictures below) ... and am working on a sampler quilt (using aboriginal / indigenous fabrics), and a Stack & Slash quilt. It is heaps of fun, and at times, quite challenging !!

This is the handbag I made ... I was pleased with how it turned out !!

Another photo of the handbag

The front of the Quillow

The Quillow showing the back

The Quillow folded up into a pillow ... Quilt to Pillow, hence ... Quillow !!!

Ummm, what else can I tell you .... Oh yeah, Bambi is still a happy and healthy kitty cat ... she continues to get more and more cuddly (when we got her she was a very aloof cat ... we are gradually wearing that out of her !!). She seems to genuinely love us, and is forever wanting a pat and cuddle and a sleep on my lap. Nothing nicer than a cold winter's night, sitting in front of the telly, with a kitty curled up on your lap !!

Hmmm, I guess that's enough from me for now ... as usual, I hope to be back soon.

Sending love and best wishes to you all.

Take care,