Timing...

We have a new phenonemon in our house, it involves all of us heading out the door in the mornings to go to work and school.

Yes that's right, all of us have to negotiate around a bathroom schedule that begins at 550am. And it's all because Callum's news is that he has begun an apprenticeship. Not the motorcycle mechanic apprenticeship he was hoping for but as a plumber with a local company that specialise in heating/air conditioning installations. He has to get up (that's been a shock to his system) and hop on his motorbike (thankfully I don't have to drive him anywhere) and starts anywhere between 6am & 730am.

Tomorrow he will head off wearing the regulation 'blue work pants'. Who decided chippies wear the sandy/khaki coloured work pants and plumbers wear blue? And what trade wear the dark green ones?? But when I went into the work wear supplier the division was obvious. We all have our uniforms to wear now & I thought washing plaster & wax off Hayley's uniform was bad but we'll see how the machine copes with Cal's duds.

Friday again...

Firstly my Friday outfit

Ezibuy woollen tunic
stockings & short boots

 Still cant get used to the Friday posings & now looking back at this photo I will wear leggings with this tunic instead of stockings.

I've done some scrapping, firstly I got Erin's school photos back and used one for this black & yellow layout

This one with her Dad, taken on her birthday

And the obligatory cake shot

We couldn't rustle up 14 candles on the night but she still got to blow out a few.

The sun was shining today, that always makes me happy. My dafs are starting to peep through, I'm hoping for a spectacular showing

The vans...

Today I went for a walk in the sunshine and it was glorious.

We had a very cold night and this morning was frosty, it was just 3 degrees on our way to school, but when the sun came out it was just beautiful.

I changed my route for a bit of variety and went through the half completed new retirement village. The front of the village has a few homes with landscaped gardens, some of them are occupied already. This village will have an entertainment hub with hairdresser and other services etc. An unadvertised feature but a big draw card will be the 'van parking' area I found at the back of the village.

When I turned the bend and saw the vacant land with all the vans lined up waiting for the next adventure I laughed to myself.

Time team...

As I have been digging in mulch or digging holes to put plants in out in the new garden I keep wondering if I will uncover anything interesting. Not that I want to find anything too interesting like bones (only the dog's leftovers) but something that would tell a little of the local history would be fun.

I did find a few little pieces of what looks like blue patterned crockery and the top of an old fashioned glass bottle but that could be just the remnants from the builders who built our house 20 years ago.

Before we built in this area it was paddocks and farmland. Bacchus Marsh was a midway point between Melbourne and the Ballarat goldfields in the 1850's so could have been a camping site for those early prospectors.

I'd like Tony Robinson to come over with his geophysicists and map out some hidden treasures.

Nearly done...

We worked in the garden yesterday while the sun was shining, shovelling another trailer load of pebbles and mulched the garden beds. Luckily we did the work when we did because we had a lot of rain overnight and today. Between showers I took some pics to show our nearly finished backyard.

First a reminder of how bad it was

And now for how it looks today

Some more planting will come in bits and pieces now that all the hard work is done. Now its a place I want to be in, not just hang out the clothes & then dash back inside.

I'm looking forward to Spring.

Friday fashions...

I went out to Big Sisters for a very nice day out in one of my new outfits.



Tunic from local boutique
long sleeve T
leggings & boots
beanie from Target
obligatory scarf!

Erin took the pic late on a pretty gloomy day.

I did some scrapping & might be able to show you tomorrow when the light is better.

I've just registered for another 5km fun run to keep me motivated. I did have a walk this morning, that makes a total of just 2 for the week so far. If I have a goal I will push myself a bit harder and by Oct 30th the weather should make it a little easier. This one is being held in Lara so not so far to go. I'll get back into a walk/run routine to prepare.

You never know I might have some company!

Midweek...

A little mid week crafting colour today...

Not that I made it today, or even yesterday but last week when it was a bit rainy & I couldn't get into the garden. Hayley is such a gorgeous girl, sure she is moody & opinionated at times but she is such a joy to me. It's been a bit hard having her work in my workplace, I can't stop being her Mum & I have to restrain myself from being a lioness if I think something is unfair or harsh for her. She is an adult working in an adults world but she will always be close to my heart.

Back at work now & it doesn't take long to get into the school/work routine, my energy levels have ebbed already.

Hope you are having a good week.

Weeks end...

my very productive week away from work is at an end. I'll be going back for a rest.

A rest from...
shovelling

digging

spreading

washing

painting

meal preparation

sleeping

and darning.  I finally patched up the hole in Chris' woollen jumper and sewed on some leather elbow patches, it looks just like a bought one!

Hayley and I finished off the week with a trip to Daylesford to poke around in the shops and have a yummy lunch. It was freezing up there and even though we were rugged up with coats and scarves I was very tempted to buy a thicker jacket. The cold hadn't put anyone off, the whole town was very busy.

After tomorrow I'll try to get back into some sort of routine.

Painting...

sets, props, staging and costumes for Beauty & the Beast today.

Yes thats right, painting costumes, they have cleverly made character costumes from foam shapes and we (the working bee team) base coated them along with other wooden items.

This painting activity stopped me from doing any more gardening today but I did run the vac over the house & clean the toilets before we went down. Housework has been sadly neglected this week, but its always waiting for us isn't it?

Friday outing...

Today instead of putting on our gardening clothes it felt good to get a little dressed up and head out of the house. I've missed putting on my jewellery and makeup.

We headed up to Ballarat to have a hit & giggle at Mini Golf. Erin & I always have a hit at the Port Fairy course and it was extra fun having Chris with us today. He is pretty competitive at any game so it was not surprise that he won on the day but we all had a good hole or two.

This is the shot I asked Chris to take of me at Mini Golf today, don't know what happened to my head but you can see I'm wearing my jean leggings and a knitted tunic top.Those brown boots I have had since before Hayley was born. I remember they cost me a lot but have been worn every winter since, thats good value  I think. It was sunny but chilly in Ballarat today and I needed just one more layer.

Just wondering...

if shovelling, raking and pushing a heavy barrow is equivalent to exercising.

Haven't been out for a run or a walk for a week now but have been huffing and puffing and working up a sweat with all the effort I am putting into the landscaping.

I think its the same.

I'm telling myself its the same.

Progress...

We made good progress today, shifting 5 cubic metres of rocks. Rocks of various sizes. I am weary but happy with how it is shaping up.

Here is a before pic... weedy, overgrown and out of control

 and this afternoon...after many hours hard graft

Still not finished but looking much better. Now just imagine some trees and shrubs and mulch and some greenery.

But for now we are pleased with our progress.

The dog's bone...

We gave Pippa a lamb shank bone a couple of weeks ago. Keep in mind the dog is very small and even a lamb shank is huge for her. She has been enjoying it since then.

As I have been moving piles of dirt, gravel or mulch I keep finding that one bone. It turns up every day in new place, I'm sure she's thinking will you just leave it alone.

She got the mud off her nose, probably by burying the bone in a variety of places.

I wonder where I will find it tomorrow?

Cabin fever...

todays cold wet weather has kept us indoors today and I think Erin has had enough.

2 weeks of doing nothing much except playing the Wii, watching TV/DVDs or catching up with friends on the web has proved a bit much. She has been' helping' a bit in the yard but after just one or two shovels full the fun has worn off.

Loads of mulch and pebbles have been delivered but only the fool hardy were outdoors today. I am anxious to start spreading and planting but the mud will slow us down. Even browsing around the nurseries was freezing. The bobcat booked for Tuesday may not happen if its too muddy.

Chris and I are both off this week, Erin will be happy as we can do some other activites instead. The last Harry Potter is opening on Thursday, we have discovered a Mini Golf at Ballarat and I want to head down to the coast. The piles will still be waiting for us

Friday fashions...

didn't really happen today, much to my disappointment, as we made a dent in our 3 cubic metres of gravel. We shovelled gravel, moved rocks and gave ourselves some blisters.

Pippa the dog is doing her own kind of helping

and has ended up with a very muddy nose which I tried to rub off but it was quite stuck and I didn't want to hurt her

I'm pretty weary tonight and have more of it tomorrow and the next day and the next day, so I will leave you with this Friday fashion, which I wore on Monday and would have preferred to have worn today instead of the old trackies and gumboots.




Vintage tunic by Bobbie Brooks
black long sleeve tee
I love Billy black boots



The pepper tree...

is gone.

Shire workers came today and took out the pepper tree out of the front yard. They came up to the door, while I was at work and spoke to Erin who is having a week of Wii/DVDs in her pyjamas. She rang me at work and they explained the situation.

Pepper trees are common around this area, they grow quite large and I thought our front corner was the perfect spot for one. I planted it after unsuccessfully trying to grow a gum tree there and it had grown really well. The foliage and berries were just like this pic, I never got around to taking any photos of it.

 Because it had only been in about 2 years it looked like this one...again not my pic.

 It was quite thick right down to the ground  and not able to be seen through and being nearer to the road and we are on a bit of a bend there had been some complaints...apparently.

I had envisaged our tree looking like this

 But it never had the chance. The Shire workers chopped it down and took it away. They weren't prepared to wait for it to grow up any and didn't like my suggestion of a heavy prune to shape it from shrubbish to tree-ish.

I'll never know if it could have looked like this

what happened to?...

what happened to Friday fashions????

Well I was dressed up on Friday, in a Metallicus tunic with tights & boots and I looked fabulous.

Then I went out for lunch at the Plough with my bestie and had a lovely lunch and catch up.

Then I came home and changed in to my 'after fives' as our Mum used to call them - trackie dacks & daggy warm cardy. I got settled in for the night, begrudgingly making a quick meal for the family, then settling on the couch with the Foxtel and the laptop for some www browsing.

In true Homer style, the palm hit the forehead when I remembered I'd forgotten the photos. Next time I'll try to remember not to forget.

Today the daggy fashion continued as we made a start on the landscaping in the backyard and painting at the working bee for Beauty & the Beast.

I'm settled back in my position on the couch right now, I have all the fixings for Crepes Suzette but now I can't be bothered...maybe tomorrow.