Happy Birthday..

Happy happy birthday to my big sister today!!!
Woo hoo

Here's a cake for you till I see you on Sunday for the big celebration of your milestone!

Attitude...

Today on the way home from work while listening to the radio I heard the presenter talking to a man who was going to cycle from Adelaide to Darwin with some mates. It is over 3,000 kms & is going to take them several weeks, they aren't out to break any records just to fundraise for the Anti Cancer Council.
Good on them, its a big undertaking & I think their rear ends will be mighty sore by the time they reach their destination. They'll need big hearts & strong legs but they have the right attitude to get there. 'Attitude of gratitude' was what he said that struck me, doing it because they can.

It's good to take stock every now & then & be grateful for what we have & what we are able to do.

Cold day...

Yesterday an artic blast swept over Melbourne with freezing winds, rain on & off & a plummeting reading on the thermometer.

Chris wanted to service his car, so donned his work clothes & parked the car in the garage. With the rain pelting in sideways he was cold, dirty & wet!

I tucked up inside, cranked up the heater & did a bit of scrapping.

With Dad on my mind I put together this layout as a tribute to him.

And finished this one for my album

And finished this one - thinking of pleasant days riding

The Ulysses group had a trip riding around & staying in the Grampians this weekend, it would have been miserable riding in the cold & rain. I hope they found a nice place in front of a roaring fire with a hot toddy to keep them warm.

We've ridden in conditions like that when we were younger & tougher, with knees frozen in wet jeans & gloves that you can wring out. We don't have to do that anymore, just pleasant conditions & fair skies thanks.

Today...

On this day 24 years ago my father passed away.

24 years ago we had all gathered at my parents home because it was the Anzac day public holiday. I remember him that last day, unwell in his bed recovering from the last round of chemo, struggling to sit up & raise a glass in a toast.
Later that night my sister rang to say Dad had been rushed to the Emergency room & had died.

Each Anzac Day is a poignant reminder that

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them"

He had succumbed to cancer at just 52 years of age, he would not grow old nor the years condemn. He was such a good father & a really nice man, a gentleman. He loved golf, traveling, cooking, fishing & enjoyed a beer. He had a propensity for putting himself in situations that would make our mother hold her breath.
It was such a shame he never got to be a grandfather, he would have been a fantastic poppy.
It would have been fun to see him with grandsons, as well as the granddaughters, teaching them things as he taught his 3 daughters, all manner of practical things.
There are a myriad of quirky things that come to mind; the way he always cut off your head in a photo, the way he loved to read & rarely watched TV. That he loved to have a piece of chocolate with his beer but didn't eat dessert.



My mother said to me in the last days before her death that she had missed him every single day of the 19 years since he had gone. I missed having an adult relationship with him, being able to ask his opinion or advice, enjoying his company.








I was the only daughter to have him walk me down the aisle, just 3 months later he was gone. The look in this photo was classic Dad.

Still miss you.

Lest we forget...

On Anzac Day lest we forget



I'm off to make some Anzac Biscuits

Stimulation...

I've been stimulated!!!!

Thanks Kev.

But wouldn't you know it, when a $900 bonus comes in one hand it wants to go straight out with the other.

I went to open the fridge door & it came off! One of the hinges at the top just sheared straight off & it was hanging on a pivot point. Its only about 17 years old & has had many many openings & closings. The motor works really well despite a thick coating of dust behind it, & the top houses wallets, phones, pens & gum. Perhaps it was the weight of all the notices, bills, lists, artworks & reminders that adorn it that took its toll. Maybe it was the responsibility of keeping us all updated on where we should be each day but I just thought it would keep on keeping on for ever. The whole unit has been so reliable I was a bit shocked when it let me down. It has been more than a place to keep things cold or frozen, it has been a central, reliable part of the family.

I don't want to spend the stimulus package money on a new fridge so we'll see how long Chris' Mr Fixit job will last.
Hopefully another 17 years.

Locker room...

A little snap of the interior of my locker...


Being the scrapbooker & collage maker that I am, I wanted to jazz up the interior of my locker. 'My boys' greet me each morning when I put my bag & cardigan inside. Some cheeky bugger popped in an extra pic for me - a sumo!!!!

Goodbye for now fellas, I'll see you next week!

After a hard day...

I came home today at 530pm to find this

Erin could hardly wait to get in the door to shed her uniform & this is how I found it. I know how she feels but at least I shed mine in my bedroom.

Routine...

Wow work has been full on since I started back on Monday. My short break zoomed by & before I knew it school & work routines have begun again.
Uniforms are an issue this term. Erin has to wear winter uniform which means finding extra items like stockings & ties & finding extra time in the morning to actually put the whole ensemble together.
It doesn't help that she had grown several centimetres since last year & the winter pants are way too short, she does have a kilt so that means the dreaded stockings. Erin doesn't like the way stockings feel & finds them hard to put on. When they have sport or PE they have to get changed at school & of course that means putting the stockings back on AGAIN!
I will be able to go to the uniform shop on Friday & rectify the lack of trousers, so she will be happier next week.

My personal issue with uniform is that I only have 2 shirts & work 3 or 4 days each week. So I have to fit in a load of washing when I least feel like it - straight after work. Often I will remember to put the washing on but sometimes I'll remember the clothes are still in the machine when I lay down at 11pm. We are issued with 5 pieces of uniform when we first commence with the Health Service but I wonder if they expect you to move on to another job before you need more clothing. No-one will tell me if I'm allowed to have another shirt or if I have to fork out $80 for it myself.
I asked at the uniform shop if I could buy a particular shirt & he looked at me in all seriousness said 'you have to be a nurse to get one of those'. I'll have to go in all official & flash my badge at him before I am allowed to buy a shirt!

The facebook mystery...

Checking in on my blog today I have received a comment from an old friend.

Hi Cassie (madly waving....)

'Catch up with me' she says...on facebook.

I thought I was pretty savvy having mastered the blogging thing but do you think I can get facebook working for me? I have tried several times & I have set up a profile but it just doesn't fit me very well. I much prefer to post on my blog what's going on in our life, let you read & share it & you can comment if you want - or not as the case may be.

I just did a search for Cassie & 9 Cassies came up! Which one are you Cass??? Hopefully I've sent a message to the right one & we can begin catching up. We've got a lot to catch up on.

Cassie was one of the first people I met when I moved in to Fawkner Mansions to begin my nursing training back in 1983. Janie, Marlene, Cassie & I were close friends - studying, working, living together & partying our way through our first years. After that we moved out of the 'Mansion' & moved in with boyfriends/husbands but we remained really close, a great support for each other.

We have loads of stories from those years that can bring on tears of laughter, stories that only we understand & find funny (remember the dusty tissues???) Now we all live far apart & we've lost track of Janie all together - where are you honey? We have children & careers in quite different areas of nursing but the distance & time fall away when we finally see each other.

Maybe Facebook will be the thing that brings us back to regular contact...if I can get it to work.

Butt...

Erin & I went to the Melbourne Zoo today.
It was a nice sunny day but not very warm. We went to see all the favourites & we spotted most of them. The seal enclosure is being remodeled & improved so we were a bit disappointed that we could not see them.
One of Erin's all time favourites is the penguin so we are happy they are going to be part of the redevelopment with a new playground home.

Erin was in charge of the camera & snapped loads of pics. I am having a chuckle as I review them tonight as there is a lot of butts amongst them...emu butt, bear butt, lion butt, monkey butt, mandril butt, zebra butt, elephant butt luckily no baboon butt - gross!

Last week an adventurous gorilla escaped from his enclosure & it took zookeepers 20 minutes to recapture him. That would have been a bit exciting for the visitors! You can read about it here.

A girls night out...

Erin wanted to see Monsters vs Aliens for her school holiday movie date. We decided we would go to the 830pm session & we bummed around at home during the day, washed my car & had dinner before we headed up to Melton.
I was hoping that it would be a little quieter since it was cheap tuesday during the school holidays, but I was so surprised when we walked in to cinema 1 & there was NO-ONE in there.
We had a bit of a giggle & took a few minutes to find the perfect seats, & settled in with our popcorn to enjoy the movie.
Just before the movie started 2 more people walked in. They found their perfect seat in an almost completely empty cinema..... directly behind us!
Any how we enjoyed the movie & headed home at 10pm. Erin needs to learn not to talk during the movie or next time when we choose our seats I'll be sitting in another row!

Persistence...

This is a display of persistence.


Erin tried & tried to run up this large sculpture & just could not get up enough ooomph to make it to the top







A bigger cousin finally helped her by reaching down with his long arm & hauling her up the last bit

It looks like she make it by herself but looks are deceiving

The fun of the game was to repeatedly run up &/or drag yourself to the top

And then to slide down the rough mosiac surface, lucky the jeans/shorts/cargo pants were pretty sturdy!

Success!!!!

Thanks boys for a fun day.

Picniccing...

Easter has been such a lovely break, perfect weather. We finally got together for our annual picnic today, missing only my bro-in-law.

I wanted a group shot, so our camera whiz Hayley set up the timer & set up the shot. You wouldn't think it was hard to gather 12 people together for a photo but it did take some doing.

Elizabeth & I were ready...

Add in a few more, some were eager to head off on the bike ride...

Here comes Erin...


Even the pups had to get in on the act, Chris was 'complaining' about some ear licking...

And we finally got our group photo!

We then pedalled 15 kms or 19 if you were game for a bit extra. The bike trail along the Barwon River is beautiful, hilly in spots & quite busy today with walkers, pedallers & lots of pooches.

Happy Easter everyone!

Look what we made...

We had fun today in the kitchen preparing some goodies to share tomorrow at the family picnic.
This year has been a bit more difficult to get the 3 families together on the same day, maybe next year we should plan ahead more than 1 week!

Erin always loves to help with the icing!!!




Looks pretty good & there are even some left for the actual picnic.

A share...

Another of Erin's creations

She is such a sweet girl. She was very excited about Easter tomorrow & looking forward to catching up with her cousins when we have our family picnic on Monday.

Was it good for you?....

Good Friday that is.


I had a sense today that I had to get certain things done, I did get a lot of housework done, not that you can really tell, but it has not eased off this feeling.


I am on holidays & the pressure is off but I don't have that reassurance just yet. Probably by the time I do my short break will be over.


I should not have any qualms about watching multiple episodes of Gilmour girls while vacuuming or ironing (or NOT painting that damn front door!)


I don't want to waste my time off & I don't want to feel guilty for wasting it .


Whipped up these as well

My version of pea soup
And tried this new recipe - Cherry coconut slice

Check out Jo's bit on the side if you want the recipes

My Easter break...

My Easter break began as of 5pm tonight, 10 days of doing nothing much. I'm looking forward to a lovely sleep-in tomorrow, Chris will leave at 6am for work & I will have the bed all to myself for a couple of hours more.

For years we had a water bed, it was one of our very first purchases as a newly married couple. We thought it was the most comfortable bed ever. It was one of those waveless types with thick foam sides, it was the luxury model. And it was always warm with its little heater running all the time.

A big drawback to the waterbed comes when you need to move it. Emptying out a tonne of water from the bladder was no mean feat & with the foam baffles inside you could never get all the water out, so it was pretty heavy. When you got to the new location it took a while to refill & warm the whole thing up.


But we thought it was our bit of heaven & when we stayed somewhere else we loved coming back to our most comfy bed ever! So after about 23 years of good service, one replacement bladder & still on the original heater we agreed our sore backs could do with a bit more support. A trip the the bed shop saw us return to traditional sleeping arrangements of mattress & base.

Since then we have to admit that our new bed is soooo much more comfortable! Even now when I lay down at night I still expect that familiar dip in the watery foam but am pleasantly surprised at the firm pillow top support. Sometimes I will lay down on it during the day & think I could just go off to sleep but someone will always find me & disturb those thoughts.

These musings are making me sleepy I think I'll head off to my latest love & start dreaming....of comfy beds & straight backs.
Nighty night

Lucky Phil...

This is Phil

Phil is a friend of Hayley's. Hayley needed to say sorry to Phil so she baked him a cake.
Pretty cute eh? I wonder if it did the trick.

School holidays are upon us, & next week I'll be enjoying a break with the kids, just a few more days to work.

Shadow shot #5

Last Sunday we did get out on the Red Dwarf. It was a glorious sunny day & I managed to get a couple of shots while we were on the road.
Pop over to Hey Harriet to see what the other shooters came up with.

Camera found...

These are the pics I wanted to load last night. The camera was located this morning in my handbag. I don't remember putting it in there, maybe I did.

Anyway, these are the unusual flowers I found at a fruit stall on Friday. The fruit stall was amazing with loads of unusual fruits, vegetables & home made produce. I also picked up a sourdough fruit loaf, mini yo-yo's & canneloni stuffed with pumpkin, potato & leek...delish!

The flowers are like velour...rich velvety coral like folds & such a beautiful colour.

I also picked up this room fragrance, gorgeous in its fancy box but also smells divine...fig & pear.

And here are the shots of Erin learning to play 'Sunshine of your love'.

Next she'll be playing 'Stairway to Heaven'!

Note: front door still not painted!
I'm not making any promises as to when it will be done, I just want it finished by Christmas when the family will congregate at our place.

Where's my camera???...

Sat down tonight after a day of running around, taxi-ing Erin to a birthday party in Werribee, to do some blogging & uploading of photos but cannot find my camera. The older two 'borrowers' of the camera are unreachable & I'm a bit teed off!

I wanted to show some of my purchases from yesterdays shopping trip with Ness. I also wanted to illustrate a nice moment from today when Callum was teaching Erin how to play the electric guitar.

Callum has several guitars & plays them constantly, incessantly, often recording pieces onto his mixing program on the computer. The other thing he does constantly, incessantly, is irritate his little sister. So it was a refreshing change to see him showing her the notes to play the riff.
She had asked him to teach her 'Sunshine of your love' - a Cream song!
He was patient with her & she picked it up quickly. Maybe teaching is an avenue for him to explore.

Hope to see you tomorrow with illustrations!

Buddies...

You know your little girl is really in Grade 6 & growing up when she is allocated a Prep buddy.
Erin was looking forward to going to school to find out who she has been given.



Who wouldn't love to have this sweet girl as a mentor/confidant/friend?????