Merry Christmas!!!!

To everyone who takes the time to visit, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Just Temporary!!

 

He really was just temporary, I promise.  I brought him home from work yesterday and he had a sleepover last night. My friend Brendan drove down from Canberra this morning and picked him up. Very, very cute but three cats in the house is probably one too many so a fourth would be ridiculous.

Now we just have to wait with trepidation as to what his name will be. Brendan's last two cats were Merkin and Allcrack (A Manx kitten. Think about it) He suggested it might be Benny  when he was here but I'm sure that won't be it knowing him. 

O' Christmas Tree!!

Nat decorated the trees on Sunday. It was nice to sit back and let someone else do it. Usually I just put everything pretty much on the trees with no particular desire to have a theme. Nat has done the lounge room tree in Silver and gold.

And the dining room tree in green and red. We are all a bit partial to the Dining Room tree!!!!

My Contribution was the little tree in the Hall. Prim of course!!!
Christmas is now creeping into my house. She spent Monday going through the trunk and putting Santa's and all my other decorations all over the house. It was interesting to see where she popped things. I'm still finding them in the strangest places. Sometimes it's good to have a different perspective I think.

Today....

Today was the usual quick tidy up around the house, endless loads of washing and lots of discussion with the boys about rearranging the loungeroom. Of course all that talk wore us out and we decided to think about it again tomorrow. The curtain came down at the kitchen window to be washed and I finally decided to re do the kitchen blind

The horrible yellow one is gone now to be replaced with this. Gorgeous old fabric which is about 50 years old. 

                         While I was on a roll I made cushion covers for the small cushions on my bed.

The Christmas tree is standing naked in the loungeroom ready to be dressed. We've been waiting for Beau's girlfriend Nat to finish work, then we will decorate it. And I have FINALLY put up the new blinds in Beau's room that have been sitting behind his bedroom door for at least three years.
You can't hurry these things you know.

Constant interruptions but good ones

Today I am supposed to be sewing!! There are deadlines looming and it's really just not happening.
I have managed to make my Blog all Christmassy, do some washing and  tidy up the house as best I can. There are some things cut  out, sewn up and a little bit of stuffing has made it's way into one body. It's the constant interruptions that have unsettled me from the task at hand.
My son Dave came home from Bendigo and finally brought my Birthday present home....only 3 months late.

How amazing is that???? A whole box of Big Bosses!!!! He's such a sweet heart. He remembers me buying them whenever we went to football or the swimming pool when they were little because that's the only places you could buy them. Much better than a box of chocolates......well maybe on a par.
Then he wanted a table to set up his computer and where was he going to put it and on and on..... 
I've also been trying to borrow or buy a cage for Kamikaze and her babies. She was so unhappy in the big tin box. So there I was on the phone to my sister-in-law as she explained that she had looked for her old bird cage but had no idea what she had done with it. We both blame old age for that!!! And as I was hanging up dear old Mrs A drove in the drive. On Monday she said she had a cage I could borrow if I couldn't get another one. Well the silly old thing went and bought me a cage!!

It takes time to transfer Mother and babes into a new cage, feed and water them and work out how to get a box in there. Kamikaze is a much happier mother Rat now.
I'm just hoping tomorrow will be a better day and I can get something finished!!!!

Growth Spurt

After another very wet week we finally have a fine day. A day for washing and getting outside jobs done. Definitely not for being stuck inside sewing!!

I'm supposed to be making some amazing things for the December edition of The Chocolate Crow Trader and designing a free pattern. Well, the pattern is made just have to write it up (which is the painful bit)and as for making anything else....it may have to wait for another day. Even though I have very few left before the deadline.....

Dave opened up the cage to check the baby rats and as usual I was very easily distracted from the task at hand.

     

 

 In no time at all the little hairless wonders are looking more like they should. It is amazing how many different colours they are. 

Their little eyes are almost open now and they never stop moving!!

Look at that face!!

So if your stuck for a Christmas present for someone they will be ready to go at Christmas....................

Population Growth

I know a lot of you shuddered when I said Beau had a pet rat. Well he has acquired another one in the past month or so to keep her company. Yep, two in the house are probably two too many, I hear you say.
David came home from Bendigo on the weekend and brought his three....YES THREE! rats with him. Ok that is quite enough your panicked brains are thinking. Five rats is turning into a mini plague!!!!!! On a not very necessary close inspection of Kamikaze ( wife of Godzilla and mother of Son of Godzilla) it was very obvious that there was going to be something happening in the not too distant future.

Yep babies!!!! There are nine hairless little squeaky things in there. So it wouldn't happen again I rounded up a box and some wire and set up a little nursery for Mum and babes.

In only a couple of days they have grown quite a bit, but still very very tiny.

The very awesome Godzilla is an extremely proud Dad though I think this might be the last batch of babies he manages to sire....if I have my way!
So now two or even five rats in the house seem like nothing now there are 14 of them in residence.

Terrible two!!!!

Well you would think they knew exactly what I was telling them wouldn't you? Sorry the photo isn't very good but you just have to grab these little moments when you can. They are great mates  but we quickly get over the cat  constantly attacking Machicho . He actually straddles her and goes for the neck!!! At the moment he is Fred because for some reason I am having a very hard time finding the right name for him. Fred doesn't really suit him either.

 I rarely mention my website on my Blog but this week it is The Back Shed's second birthday. Pretty much everything has been reduced (except for the new stuff) so you might find a cheap Christmas present in there somewhere .

Summer

Summer will soon be here and with it comes flies, unbearable heat and snakes. Unfortunately the snakes are arriving a little early. Cato and Machicho found this one up the back yard the other day. We now know for sure that Cato hunts them and machicho will attack them. Hopefully that will be the last one we see????

After the rain

We have had 250ml or 10" of rain over the past two months and my garden has definitely benefited from it all. It is the best it has looked for many years.

Murphy's Law

Murphy's law........ The one week you actually get all your stuff done early for your Website the Internet decides to die the day before! And then when you finally get sick of waiting and 24 hours later you head off to the library to email everyone and let them know you'll be late listing this week, the phone rings just as you get there....Yep, they'd just fixed it!!!!

A bit of baking

Chocolate Cake

1 cup Self Raising Flour
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat really hard for 3 minutes. It does make quite a ‘wet’ batter. Pour into a greased cake tin and bake in a moderate oven (180˚C/350˚F) for 30-40 minutes.
Allow to cool for a few minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

I'm always on the lookout for simple but nice recipes and found this one in a very old cookbook at my Mum's. It was a recipe book made by a Primary school Mother's Club (as they were known back then) probably in the late 70's.
While I was flicking through the book I came across some other recipes I thought I would share. You may have seen them before or something like them anyway.


A recipe to make us Happy and Agreeable

1lb Good Temper               3lb of Unselfishness
2lb of Forbearance             1lb of Fun
1lb of Patience                   2lb of Cheerfulness
2lb of Contentment
Mix well with 2 parts of Human Kindness.
Dose:1 glass full first thing in the morning to be repeated as soon as the effects wear off.

Warm Children and Love

Take 5 or 6 children-sprinkle over a wide field. Add some water-a cooling babbling brook. Stir in some excitement. Add a generous portion of love and a pinch of laughter. Cover with a clear blue sky and allow to bake for several hours in the warm summer sun. When done and golden brown, wash and tuck into a soft bed.

Happiness Cake

Mix together thoroughly....1 cup of good thoughts, 1 cup of kind deeds, 1 cup of consideration for others, 2 cups of sacrifice, 2 cups of well beaten faults, 3 cups of forgiveness.
Add tears of joy, sorrow and sympathy. Flavour with Love and kindly service. Fold into daily life, bake well with the warmth of human kindness and serve with a smile any time.

And finally something that you wouldn't see published in a Cook Book now days even though it is intended as a joke. Preservation of wildlife is terribly important and what is done to Elephants for the sake of their tusks is intolerable. I hope you can  take this in the way it was intended...........

Elephant Stew

1 Elephant
2 Rabbits (optional)
Brown Gravy
Salt and Pepper

Cut Elephant into bite size pieces. This should take 2 months. Cook over a kerosene fire about 4 weeks at 405 degrees. This will serve approximately 4000 people. If more guests are expected 2 Rabbits may be added. Do this only if necessary as most people don't like hare in their stew.

Done and Dusted

Well it is over!!! They have walked the 269km in a week and raised over $8000 in the process. A very good effort.
I headed off the Friday after they left and found them on the road, of course I had to stop and chat for a while especially as I had Beau's girlfriend, Natalie with me.

Still full of energy and with lots of stories to tell. Only two more days to go!!!!

We finally managed to get away from the them and headed off for the rest of our drive to Lakes Entrance. Very handy that my Mum lives there! Nat and I spent Saturday getting a few surprises like a Banner and a celebration dinner sorted.

 

Sunday afternoon they Officially arrived at Lakes Entrance Post Office with family and friends there to greet them. Nat and I were very proud of our Banner!!! Oh, and we're proud of Beau Elly and Flynn too of course!!!! Sunday night we gathered at Mum's for a celebration dinner. It was nice for all the families to get together and hear the stories from the trip.

Monday they became TV stars when they were interviewed by WIN news.

 

 

And after eight days of being together they are still friends!!!!

Poor Machicho found it all very exhausting!!!!!

And nanna was feeling a bit on the short side!!!

Now we can resume life as normal I hope. We can concentrate on getting the school year finished and maybe even with a Pass??  There was some discussion of doing another walk, Elly thought Darwin??? I don't think the boys were overly impressed with that idea at all.

A bit of a catch up.

Well all the celebration and kerfuffle that comes with having a 50th Birthday is finally over. I had a wonderful week. Thanks to everyone who left Birthday wishes for me. What made this Birthday so amazing was not so much that I received so many gifts but that everyone put so much thought into them. Since my Birthday I have received more parcels in the mail, gorgeous patchwork fabric, more violet China and an apron with a Doily pocket with Violets embroidered on it and a yellow Rose bush and flower seeds for my garden all the way from South Australia. Another parcel contained a treasured piece that a friend decided to share with me, it holds many special memories of a friend we lost a couple of years ago. These four friends know me so well. The thing is none of us have ever met!!!!  Technology has enabled us to meet and sustain a friendship for a few years now but one day we will find a way to be in a room together.
The kitten is still here and I am letting him become part of the Family since no one has laid claim to him. The biggest hurdle is  of course the Man of the house but he is such a softie where animals are concerned I don't think it will be too much of a problem. I take it as a positive sign when I catch them napping together on the couch! The poor little thing still doesn't have a name, that will be next week. I have to go pick up Beau on the weekend, so if the kitten is still here after a few days with Ross I know I can name it.

Sunday we toddled off to the Post Office at 7am, it's the start of the kid's walk!! I can tell you that Beau and Flynn weren't too enthusiastic getting up so early and Beau was wondering what the hell he'd got himself into.
A few friends and family turned up to wave goodbye and some walked the first 10km with them.

Ross and I headed up to where they were camping the first night......just to reassure ourselves he would be OK I think. They'd walked over 40km the first day, just as far the second. Yesterday they had done over 120 km all up, almost half way. Thankfully the weather has cleared up and there is no rain forecast.  Ross headed off this morning to spend some time with them today on the road. I will meet them at Lakes Entrance on the weekend when they get there.
Meanwhile I am enjoying the peace and quiet and a tidy house while Beau is away.

Found

He was outside on Monday night. I could hear him crying under the house and when I finally coaxed him out one of the dogs barked inside and off he went. I thought that would be the last time I saw this little man but today I found him sitting in the Rose garden. A dish of Cat food soon had him quite happy to come to me.
He is a smoocher, a purrer and just a real sweet heart. He rubs on the dogs, gets on any lap available and is very much at home already.  It is obvious he has belonged to someone at some stage and I'm sure they miss him terribly. I've rung the Vet and will post a few Found notices around town. If you lost him let me know and I may very reluctantly give him back that is if you can satisfy me that you really are the owner..

Party Time!

And the story continues................

My family and friends helped me celebrate my 50th Birthday on Saturday night. It was such a nice night with lots of talking, drinking and eating, (So much food!!!!) There were quite a few surprises too.
This cake for one. My beautiful daughter, Nicky and her wonderful boyfriend Ben turned a quite nice Chocolate mud cake into something a little more personal. They had round buttons and chook buttons, a tape measure, bobbins, thread, scissors and a thimble. An idea and suggestion from Ross, my husband had Nicky emailing my sister and together they  put together a heap of photos and made a lovely collage of ME!!  Not only that he also got her to put my picture and a Birthday greeting in the local paper too.

As if that wasn't enough to get this old chook teary my family gave me my Birthday present. (none of them wanted me to wait until tomorrow which is my actual birthday, to open it because they wouldn't be here to see my reaction then)

Yep this is what I got!!!  Ross and the kids pooled their pennies and got me this Camera. Hopefully I'll learn how to drive it.

There were lots of other presents too...Jewellery, flowers,beautiful soaps, bottles of wine, and more violet china for my collection. My workmates gave me a very generous gift voucher for my favourite shop in town.

I made my Mum and myself cry by giving her a gift and thanking her for her 50 years of being my Mum. 

The very best thing was spending such wonderful night with my husband and children, my Mum, my Sister and her family and my friends. The fire pot was lit, candles were scattered everywhere, IT DIDN'T RAIN and food and drink was plentiful. What more could you ask for really?

Congratulations!!!

We all celebrate milestone birthdays, the ones with an 0 on the end. Everyone makes a fuss of us and we groan as we realise we are getting older. As I near another of my milestone birthdays (not groaning because the alternative isn't that great really) I realise that as the eldest child I should be sharing the celebration with my Mum and Dad (if he was still with us)

Soon it will be 50 years since Joy and Dave  became parents.

50 years of caring and supporting that tiny little life changer even even when she became an adult with children of her own. If we celebrate all those momentous occasions in our life like marriage and birthdays then I think becoming a parent is probably one more we should add to the list.Having your first child is probably one of the most life changing experiences we ever go through!!!!

Not only have they been parents for 50 years, they have been Grandparents as well for 25 of those years.

Now we wait for the story to continue.......but in the meantime.
Congratulations and thank you for becoming parents 50 years ago. Thank You for all that you have done and all that you will probably do for me, my sister and brother and your grandchildren.

Bit Damp around here!!

The Road at the front of our house. It had receded a little at this stage.

The front lawn and drive became a little submerged and I think Gumboots might be needed to collect the mail!

I took the dogs for a walk down the paddock at the back to see how much the creek had come up. We lost the creek and gained a mighty river!!!

But what's that in the distance????

My son David and friends(sidekicks) decided to take advantage of all that water and do a little boating, Don't you love the outfits??

Errol (the one on the board) came back to report that they had extensively checked out the flooding and had only two reported deaths. A Turtle and a cow.  Boys!!! They are all about 20, so not really boys any more but they do know how to have fun!!

All this was at 4.30 this afternoon, we'd had 50ml of rain. Sadly it is still raining so tomorrow things will definitely be wetter.