A downer.

Well after the excitment of the past week waiting for the weekend to come, it all went to sh*t. Spent a quiet day on Saturday watching the Winter Olympics then the football, during half time the announcers said the Carlton Family Fun Day had been cancelled due to the weather apparently Melbourne had copped a real downpour, we had 2 small storms go through our area but there was more lightning & thunder than rain, we lost power for around 2 1/2 hours (at least it wasnt as hot as the previous night) just after cooking dinner.
The power came back on in time for me to watch my team (Carlton) get beaten by 28 points by Geelong, I stayed up and starteded watching the movie "Jaws" ( I first saw it when I was 10, it had just been released...) but sleep got the better of me.
Got up this morning to a cooked breakfast provided by my dh, of scrambled eggs, bacon & toast. We worked on repairing the chicken coop for the next 2 1/2 hours, dh then mowed the front/back lawns before heading down to Bendigo to visit his parents. Not wanting a cooked meal he decided on Hungry Jacks, he even brought me home a burger.
So I spent the night watching that really inane movie about the category 7 storm, what a waste of 3 1/2 hours on my behalf.
I should have spent the time working on my scrapbooking challenge, "What it means to me to be an Australian" either that or sorting out my new patterned papers.
So I suppose all is not lost of this weekend, at least the chickens won't blow away in the next big storm...and I wont get lost in the grass hanging out the washing.

A bit of excitement.

Gosh, it's been over a week...and I'm only just getting time to do another entry. Iv'e only got my telephone line up and working again, Iv'e been without the internet for 3 days and it felt like my arm had been cut off. It started with some static in the line which I could live with, but then the line crashed and all I was getting was 4.1 kps (yes...dial-up and its oh so slow). I called Telstra and they had someone in the area so they repaired it...it was good for an hour then it crashed again. I rang Telstra again the next day and the same technician returned, this time replacing over 1 km of cable, he blamed the cows/sheep for the broken line...(funny how the line runs on the outside of the property). Touch wood its been good since then, the line runs at anywhere from 28.9 kps to a whopping 33.2kps on a good day.
On Saturday morning I arrived home from collecting my Avon orders (Yes, Im a ding dong lady) my dh Dave had pulled all his car seats out of the EA and was pressure washing them (saying they would be dry in 24 hours), so not to be outdone I decided to wash my car, it was in bad need of de-bugging, so I spent a good hour on the job. after all the scrubbing I decided a lie down was in order. Whilst lying down my dh polished & waxed my car.
That night dh decided to ring his friend in Geelong to see if he wanted to go to the Ford Open day, ( I opted for a quiet day at home) so the alarm was set for 4am. Dh set off in the EA with a towel on his seat.
I spent a lovely quiet day at home reading my book and playing spider solitaire (which Im addicted to), dh arrived home around 10pm with 94 photos...thank goodness for digital cameras. Dh's 1948 F100 doesn't look as good as the one in the photo (he's been working on it for 7 years now).
Monday rolled around with the house empty again...did the obligatory housework and played on the computer until it had cooled off outside. Spent 3 hours pruning the Rosemary, Lavender & Curry bushes...they had grown out of control...
After dinner I was lying down watching the Biggest Loser and the phone rang...couldn't be bothered to get up to answer it as I knew dh was in the lounge (right next to the phone). Dh comes in and says "Guess who was on the phone?" So going through a list of people..and not getting any I gave up. He said "Anthony Koutafides". "Yeah right" I said...along with a few other words, to which dh replied "we've been invited to the Carlton Family Fun Day on Sunday".
Still not believing him, all I could do was laugh and say "As if, the captain of Carlton is going to ring you up..."
But he was serious...and we are off to Melbourne on Sunday, dd Melissa hasn't decided if she's going to come or not. You get to meet the players, so hope to get loads of photos so I can scrap some.
woohoo the footy starts again...I know its only the nab cup but at least its something to watch on a Friday/Saturday. Go the Blues....

Our Weekend

We had a good weekend, Elisa and the children came over in the afternoon as we were all (including Dave & Melissa)going to the Dingee Family Festival. We got there around 7pm as we had to wait for Dave to come home. there was a jumping castle for the kids as well as bags of different coloured fairy floss, we shared a purple bag. Dinner was an all you could eat affair with spit roast pork, lamb, beef, cold chicken, salads, hamburgers and sausages...there was heaps of food. The entertainment was a Highland Pipe Band as well as a couple who sang popular songs from the 60's & 70's. After dinner everyone was treated to an ice cream, we arrived home around 10.45 pm with 3 very tired children .
Sunday arrived with the children up early...
Dave had his first sleep in, he hadnt had one for over 2 years, so he really enjoyed his lounge in bed. The girls had a picnic lunch consisting of fairy bread, grapes, apples & bisciuts on the front lawn whilst Elisa & I sat inside had coffee and chatted. I have asked her to consider staying an extra couple of weeks so that we can celebrate Matthew & Eloise's birthdays before they leave for Perth.
Here's hoping.....

Its happened again

Yes Ivé been tagged again, this time by Jenni.

What were you doing 10 years ago? I was living in Newman, WA and working 13 hour rotating shifts in the Mobile Equipment Workshop as a Maintenance Scheduling Clerk for BHP. My dh Dave was also working on site in a different workshop. My dd Melissa was in her last year of primary school and dd Rebecca was in grade 4.

What were you doing 1 year ago? Living on a farm in Dingee, Victoria with dh Dave & dd Melissa along wiht numerous animals. I was milking every afternoon a herd of around 380 cows, with the odd morning milking thrown in. Dh was away all week working in Echuca so I was left to look after the place.

5 snacks that you enjoy:

• bacon & onion dip with celery/carrot sticks
• camerbert cheese with cracked pepper crackers
• pissastio nuts
• cabana with water crackers
• nachos

5 songs to which you know all the lyrics:

• Bat out of hell - Meatloaf
• American Pie - Don McLean
• Cat's in the cradle - Cat Stevens
• Most people I know think that Im crazy - Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
• Don't walk away - Toni Childs

5 things you would do if you were a millionare:

• Buy a decent sized modern house on some acreage in the mountains where it rains.
• Give my children a deposit for a block of land or house.
• Update my car.
• Buy more scrapping supplies especially sizzex alphabets dies.
• Buy a new lounge suite and king size bed.

5 bad habits:

• I am a martyr.
• I am too self critical.
• I pick at my nails.
• I smoke...yes I know Im trying to quit.
• I suffer from foot in mouth syndrome.

5 things you like doing:

• Scrapbooking
• Reading
• Having coffee and a chat with my sister/s.
• Observing the moon/stars through my telescope.
• Having my neices and nephews around me

5 things you would never wear, buy or get again:

• boob tube
• DIY electrolosis kit
• grease pants
• home brand coffee
• bunderburg rum

5 favourite toys:

• computer/internet
• digital camera
• telescope
• scrabble
• yahtzee

5 people I am tagging:

• Jacquie
• Pam

Tagged again

This time Ive been tagged by Elisa, so here goes:

1. First time you got kissed was in Derby 1972 his name was Robert Young, I was 7 years old , he was 9. His brother's Jack & Ivan along with myself and my sister Jacqui would hang out everyday in the bush, playing up in the boab trees or playing on the mudflats, we would all go to the outdoor pictures every Friday night and it was there that Robert kissed me.
2. First time you drove a car was sitting on my Grandads lap driving his Holden FJ out to a sheep station (somewher in the mallee) where my Nan was the cook, but the actual driving of a car was when I was 15 yrs & 9 mths I had just got my permit and Mum took me out for a drive in her Toyota Corolla in a new building estate so there was no traffic.
3. First time you scrapbooked, well I used to make scrapbooks as a kid but as a serious hobby not until my dear sister Elisa introduced me to it when she moved over here 3 years ago, I went to a couple of CM classes but didn't enjoy them as I found them too limiting.
4. First time you went on a date was in Broome 1977 with Andrew Fisher we went to the outdoor movies to see a Bruce Lee film and he bought me a carved pearl shell/leather necklace.
5. First time you fell in love was in 1980, I had the hugest crush on this guy who was in year 12, he didn't even know I existed, I had a photo of him which I carried everywhere, his name was over all my books and his initials were always written on my arm, funnily enough his name was Andrew as well.
6. First time you cooked for someone, does cooking for my sisters count? We were living in Wyndham I was 9 years old and our Mother was playing golf and Dad was next door having a beer, so I cooked sausages, mashed potato and peas for tea, I burnt my hand in the frying pan by leaning over the stove reaching for the oil, I slipped and put my hand in the hot pan. A hard lesson learnt.
7. First time you got on a plane was in 1972 we flew from Melbourne to Perth on a TAA 727 then from Perth to Derby on a Foker Friendship plane, I remember the hostesses spraying us all with an aerosol can before letting us off the plane, as to this day I have no idea to what it was.
8. First time you shaved your legs was in 1979, I had moved from Derby to Perth and was starting at a city high school so I used my dads electric razor, got in huge trouble as I didn't clean it.
9. First time you put on make up was when I was around 4 living on the farm in Swan Hill, my sister Jacqui and I would dress up in mums clothes and wear her jewellry and make up, we thought we were Princesses.
10. First time you moved out of your home, technically my parents moved out in 1982 and left me living there. I actually moved into my own place in Midland, Perth in 1983.

It's been awhile

I just checked the date on my last post and was horrified to find it's been almost a month since I last posted, so I thought I'd better do a catch up.
I have managed to do a few layouts over the holidays, this is my favourite so far, its a picture of my neice Ashley holding her brother Nathaniel the title says Precious Memories which I thought was so apt as their surname is Precious.
The last 2 weeks have been spent going to the doctors in Echuca for Q fever testing, the first test is a scratch and a blood test to see if you are already immune, then a week later the immunisation, anyway i had my test done and within minutes a huge lump appeared on my arm then 2 days later a rash covered my torso, I also had constant pins and needles in my fingers. my dd Melissa who had the same test had no reaction like mine. I went back last week to find out that during my lifetime I have somehow contracted Q fever so now Im immune and NO injection required. so now I'm covered to work in any livestock industry.
Last Tuesday was a really busy day, Elisa rang me as her car battery had dies and the kids needed to get to school, so I left home and drove to Rochester to pick up the girls for school in Elmore, they were about 40 minutes late. Back to Rochester to try and fix Elisa's car, which I was unsuccessful at. Off to Echuca to see the doctor and Elisa bought me lunch at a great cafe called the Green Olive, I had an iced coffee & a chicken, bacon,cheese and tomato foccacia. We then wandered around Big W then checked out the LSS where I was very controlled and only bought 3 papers. Then visited my dd Rebecca before heading back to Elmore to pick up the girls, they had had a great day.
Back to Rochester where Elisa cooked an early dinner of chicken kebabs and salad before heading off to watch the girls at their karate practice. It was facinating watching them go through all the moves and the reasoning behind them. Eloise was allowed to join in and it was so funny watching her little legs trying to kick up at the kick pad.
All of last week was taken up with ebay as I have opened a shop called
Jenni's Needful Things and was busy loading the store as well as auction items, I have cleaned out my scrapping room and decided to get rid of what I don't need or use. I also cleaned out my bookcase, I have already sold over 50 books and there's still that many to go.
My dd Melissa was to start a new job at the Pyramid Hill Abertoir on Thursday however a friend from the old piggery where she worked called over on Saturday and offered her a job at Bears Lagoon Piggery, he is now the manager there. She thought about it and rang him on Monday to say yes to the job...she started yesterday and is in the nursery part of the piggery so she is rapt.
So yesterday was the first day Ive had at home on my own in over a year and would you believe I had to spend it in bed as my back had spasmed, it took 4 panadine forte and 2 valium before I was able to walk, so I lazed around and watched the cricket, at least there's something to watch on tv now as all the good shows have returned. Yes Im a TV junkie...my favourite shows are:
CSI - all of them, Desperate Housewives, Supernatural, Without a Trace, All Saints, McLeods Daughters, ER, Lost, Prison Break.
Do you think I need a life?