At last...

At last a lovely day.

Sunny, warm, not windy, not raining & I didn't have to work...bonus!

I went to Louise's & we went for a walk in the sunshine for about an hour with her 2 little dogs, who were very well behaved & didn't poo once! Not like Pippa who has a bowel movement as soon as she leaves the backyard.


Then down to business, the business of making thankyou cards for Hayley to send out.

Just some simple ones with a handmade touch


I'll show you some more as she actually writes on them.

Oh & I waited til 6:15pm to see Dr Rob who spent 5 minutes with me to book an excision of the 'seborrheic keratosis' on my back on the 7th Sept. Hopefully his broken thumb will be better enough to do a good job!

Wild weather...

We have been having very wild weather lately, lashing rain, winds & a savage wind chill factor.

I'd like to be able to tell you how many millimetres of rain we have had but unfortunately our rain gauge blew down & the only indicator is the trickling of overflow from the 5,000 litre water tank in the back yard.

And here it is...

And here is the layout.

I promise I will leave this photo be for a while. I'll try to find one just as good.

Shadow shot Sunday # 6

I am in love with this shot.

I have pasted it to pages, albums & 'favourites'. I have printed it off & scrapped it (you'll see it again in a layout as soon as I finish it)

I think Hayley's experimenting with her new camera is brilliant. She is trying different settings, exposures & poses & this one is from a series of about 6 shadow shots.

I love it because she is looking so intently at the camera.

And I love it because I love her.

A hard day...

Callum came home from his day 'on the tools' at about 4pm. The borrowed boots were covered in mud as were the tradie pants he had also borrowed from his father. He had a busy, physically hard day & had the scratches & sore muscles to prove it.

With just one day notice of this try out day, he luckily has the same size foot as his father so had boots to wear. As for the pants, Chris had some from when he was working on the caravans, but Chris has a few kilos more on his frame than Cal. Just as well Cal was not concerned about the baggy fit, as the low crotch look is very in. No 'plumbers crack' for this generation...Bonds underpants take care of that.

Hopefully the Tradie liked the way Cal worked today & will pick him over the other boys that will try out over the next couple of days. It was good for him to do a hard days work & get some cash at the end of the day.

Back in the day...

Today I received an email, you might have seen something like it. It extolls the virtues of the 'good old days'...when we were kids we didn't wear seat belts, rode around in the back of a ute or station wagon, we didn't have mobile phones & rode around til all hours on our bikes without helmets, we survived the lead paint on our cots,etc, etc.
It went on to say congratulations for surviving such dangerous unregulated times but as I read it I thought that lots of people did die from such things or were seriously harmed.
As we learn of dangers we try to protect ourselves & our children from harm. I will concede that at times it does seem ludicrous the lengths we go to & that children could spend more time outdoors but not everything from the past is better!

And on a brighter note, Callum is starting with a roof tiler tomorrow. Hopefully this will be the break he needs to get out working. The 7am pick-up will be a shock to his system! I also hope to be able to tell the school formally that he now has a legitimate reason for not attending school.

A new leaf...

This is precisely why I want to start walking more & getting out on the bike. I was huffing & puffing just cycling on the flat & hate the bulges I see that weren't there before.
The view from the back is better than the front view!




Do you recognize these girls?...




Jemima (Play school) & Angelika (Rug rats) had fun at Alex's 21st playing dressup. Even Noddy (Alex's Dad, Ian) put in an appearance.

Random...

Just because...here are some random photos. Everything & anything is being photographed around here at the moment.

I was browsing through some of Hayley's recent downloads....


Albert the enormous guinea pig is going strong. He survived the vicious heat wave & some pretty severe frosts out in the backyard this year. His enviable constitution will see him last a while yet. Maybe guinea pigs are related to cockroaches, they too are bullet proof.

Erin needs two hands to carry him!

I love this self portrait Hayley did, experimenting with shadow.


And just to prove that Callum has other actions apart from 'guitar playing' & eating or sleeping...


We got him to leap in the air!

Around the corner...

Spring is close, today the weather was mild...sunny & warm. A teaser for what is a few weeks away.

Erin had mid term break so we had a sleep in.

I was able to open up the windows & let the balmy air into the house.

On my walk I spied blossoms & buds on trees & shrubs. Leaves will shortly unfurl on trees & we will have green again .

I look forward to hanging the washing on the outside line & have it flap in the sunshine.
Hayley, Erin & I rode our bikes in the sunshine & just enjoyed the warmth.

After the rainy days we have had recently it was a real boost to our spirits. And while I enjoy the cold weather & rugging up in coats & scarves, I am looking forward to the next season.

Plane crash...

With all the talk at the moment about the small plane that has crashed in the jungle near the Kokoda track in Papua New Guinea, it prompted my memory back 30 years.

Our friend, the pilot, died in very similar circumstances in a plane crash in the jungle of Fiji.

I had kept the clipping but had cut off the date from the newspaper & am estimating it was about 30 years ago.


I have one photo of Gary that I had scrapped with Elizabeth wearing her handmade clothes. Our families were friends & as a young teenager thought Gary & his twin brother Ian were 'it & a bit'.

I am sad for the 13 people who have perished this week on their way to what was going to be a trip of a life time for them. The Kokoda track has a big appeal for Australians as a right of passage, not only for those who have direct links to the soldiers who fought & died there, but also for those who want an adventure, a challenge & a life shaping experience.

Good baby...

Little baby Arrah came to Hayley's party, just 11 months old & as cute as a button.

We haven't had a baby in the house for a long time...since Erin, or Connor my nephew & he is 9.

Carly is the first of Hayley's peers to have a baby & she is doing a great job at mothering this little bundle.Such a good baby, I didn't hear a peep out of her for the 4 hours she was here. Not a grizzle, not a tired cry at all & she was passed around a lot of strangers. Erin had a ball with her, entertaining her, pushing her pram or shoving toys in her face. The house isn't exactly baby friendly but under the watchful eye of her mother & Erin she didn't find anything too dangerous.

The idea of a baby is appealing to Hayley, more like a toy, as long as you can hand it back after a little while & go out with your friends.
And I think Erin was glad to hand her back after she had had her fun 'playing with the baby'.

I am very out of practice with babies too. Hopefully it will be quite a while before another baby comes to visit.

Scrapbooking memories...

At Hayley's 21st celebration yesterday we didn't do 'speeches' as such because she didn't want it. I had planned to do a slide show of photos from her birth to present day but ran out of time with all the cooking & preparing I had to do. I suppose we could have gathered around a computer screen inside the house to view said slide show if I'd managed to compile it.

But I did have a moment of pride when instead of the slide show I was able to pass around the 2 completed albums I have scrapbooked for her.

One album is from her birth to 4 years old, the second album chronicles Kinder years to present. The latter album is not finished but has most of her school photos & a good cross section of her life & activities.

I was really proud that I had achieved so much for her albums when they were passed around family & friends. Hayley's friends had a good giggle at how she looked & how they all had changed very little over the years. Our family enjoyed looking back at themselves also.

I started scrapbooking in 2000, & while I do bits & pieces for everyone's albums it is very rewarding when you can pull out such treasures & enjoy them.

It has given me renewed enthusiasm for my hobby.

After the party...

The party was a big success...food aplenty, lots of friends & family to celebrate Hayley's birthday.

It turned out just as Hayley had asked....a 'high tea' party.


Which had taken me hours to prepare but was worth it in the end.

The presentation was spot on...


I was pretty busy during the day plying people with food & drink so didn't get to take many photos.
Hayley was also busy with her guests but did manage to take photos with her BRAND NEW Canon digital SLR.


She is really happy with her camera & will no doubt learn many of its features as she plays with it. She has already taken about 600 photos since Friday.

Phew...

Just sat down for the first time today, with a wine, to take a breath.

Phew that is good.

Its been a hectic day preparing, cleaning, cooking & decorating. Just a few more things to do before the guests arrive tomorrow at 1pm. I'll take some photos of all the food when I lay it out on the fancy dishes I have collected from friends & family.

During the day Erin borrowed the camera & came in saying how she had set up this shot by misting the clover with a spray bottle. I like the colour & the effect. The photography bug in this house is rubbing off. (How lucky to have an abundance of clover to play with!)



Anything to get out of tidying her room.

Happy Birthday...

My lovely baby has grown up into a wonderful, lovely young woman.

Who got all emotional when she opened her gift this morning...



She was very pleased as she wasn't expecting it today


Happy Birthday to my Birthday girl, 21 today!

Summer edition...

I came across this new (for me) photography blog.


And I wanted to join in on their latest photo competition.

In the midst of winter I was looking back at our Summer holiday photos remembering the lovely days. Our Christmas time holiday at Port Fairy was a great trip & when you are caught up in the daily grind its easy to forget.



Erin loves the beach, doesn't matter if it is summer or winter, she loves to play in the sand & in the surf. We don't get to the beach very often which is a shame, but it is such a big effort to get there.
I love this photo, she was pretty cold as even though it looks sunny & warm, it was a cool day & the water was chilly. She & Olivia had jumped around in the surf & tried to ride their boogie boards for about 1/2 an hour before she gave in.

The birthday week begins...

Hayley informs me this is her birthday week! She has lots of activities/events (& outfits) planned starting off with a dinner out with her second family to celebrate Lucy's 20th birthday.

I made lots of biscuits today in the shape of teapots & numbers 2 & 1, & we are heading off to Lombards after school to pick up some deco's.

And just to keep with the birthday theme I finished this layout today that has been sitting around for ages (since the June birthday anyway)



Thanks to Gina for the inspiration, I used it to make a direct copy! I loved the one she did for her daughter recently.

Busy, busy, busy...

I cooked up a storm today...sausage rolls - tick, meringues - tick, mars bar slice - tick, thai chicken balls - tick, palmiers - done. Under construction...pumpkin slice & profiteroles. Tomorrow I should get just as much done & I feel much more organised. I wonder how my sister will feel about whipping up Jenny's jelly slice seeing as how Jenny is in Qld & not available for catering assistance.


Erin was up for helping me & got to enjoy assistants privilege - licking the beater & the icing bag!




Hayley is rehearing in a 20 piece orchestra for the local theatre group's production of The Mikado. She has been playing the flute for 11 years now & has played in many productions. After yesterday's rehearsal she came home with a ....glockenspiel! Apparently playing the flute is not enough this year & several of the musicians were given glocks to play for an authentic Japanese feel.

With a bit more practice it should sound really good.

A good cry...

I am yearning to see the movie 'My sister's keeper'. I read the book a few years ago & loved it. I went on to read a couple more of Jodi Picoult's novels but this was my favourite. I know I will cry during the movie so am debating whether I'll wait until it's released on DVD so I can do the crying (& probable sobbing) in private.

I was very glad I watched 'The secret life of bees' last night at home, as it is a 3 hankie movie also. I really enjoyed it...you should have a look. Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, & Alicia Keys might seem an odd combination but the story & their performances were fabulous.