Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Waiting ...

Waiting for Mike to come in from the shed so I can throw the pasta on for dinner. That's one downfall to working from home. It's easy to say "oh a little bit longer". Heck, he's been known to do some of his indoor quiet work here up to 2 in the morning. It's easy to sometimes let it take over.

Not like me, I like being a public servant (hard working one at that of course). I sign on and sign off, I get holidays and leave loading, I can ring in sick if need be, I'm protected by a pretty good award and a union. I do my job, and do it well, don't you worry they get their pound of flesh from me. But I do sometimes dream about being at home, finding something fabulous that I could do and work from here.

We'd drive each other nuts though, ha!

In an effort to fill up some middle years, I've delved into the photo pot again and come up with Christmas 1996. I'm not great in putting a lot of photos on the one page, so I thought a template would be the way to go.


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Credits here.

This elderly man in these photos is my grandpa (mum's dad) and I loved him to the moon and back. He was sick here with pancreatic cancer, you can see how much weight he had lost. I adored him. And what a character he was too. Love that pic of him and grandma, he was offering her a cheezel ring for her finger, being all romantic, hahaha and she was saying "Oh Harold, get away with you". I can hear their voices now.

And yes there's me in the bottom right hand photograph with the bright red lippy on, eeek. I never wear lipstick that bright or dark now. It looks really strange seeing that face looking back at me, albeit much younger than I am now.

Oh yes and you can really see the short gene in our family can't you. Check out how much shorter mum is from dad, you would have seen it in the last posting too. She's 4 foot 11 and a half inches. She said that "half" tacked onto the end is very important. And grandma was even shorter than mum. Guess I'm lucky I split the difference between mum and dad and hit 5'5".

Enough strolling down memory lane for tonight, it's hit 6.30pm and I think I need to do a raid on the shed and get him in here so we can eat. Then I see a night of sewing in my future, perhaps with an episode of X-Files thrown in. Lovely!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Well ... there's always next year

Gutted is the word I would use to describe how I felt on Saturday afternoon ... oh about when the final siren sounded. I am not going to be an armchair critique because I couldn't kick a ball to save myself, but direction I know, I can see the big white sticks and I'm thinking with all their finesse it wouldn't be too hard to aim in the middle, particularly when standing right in front of them. That's all I'm going to say.

We did have a lovely afternoon though. With some friends for a BBQ, and bless Mike, he wore the beanie all afternoon, even in the 26 degree weather! We were doing anything to will those boys over the line.

Full of anticipation before the match started ...



... smiles were shortlived though.

I think I mentioned a few posts back that I had put together a grid of sorts and put thumbnails of the family book in, so I knew which pages were where, and which would be left and right so I was mindful of not losing journaling or pictures in the binding. I went to check it last night and the darn thing wouldn't open, I'd lost the lost. Arrrrrggghh. I sat looking at all my layouts thinking which order did you all go in.

So laboriously I have recreated a grid and put all my thumbnails back in so I can see where the gaps are ... AND I BACKED UP THIS TIME! What a job.
One thing I've discovered is I need more middle year layouts with mum and dad in them, so I dug this little gem of a photo out and put this together this morning. It's some time in the 70's, got to love those lace sleeves on mum's dress huh?


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Credits here.

The journalling you won't be able to read on the screen goes like this : “Mum and Dad’s big night of the year was the Umpires’ Cabaret. Even though dad didn’t dance, they enjoyed the night, often coinciding with mum’s birthday. Mum would bring home all the memorabilia to show us – the leis, swizzle sticks and the menu. Actually anything she could get her hands on. She would often bring home the table centerpiece too!”

Oh yes, mum used to take the centrepieces home, whether they be flowers or balloons or she'd even pick up glittery stars they may have sprinkled. Please tell me she's not the only one? Surely there are others out there, a self-help group maybe? haha

When Mike and I got married the centrepieces for the tables were supplied by the function centre and as long as they stayed put, we didn't have to pay for them. I read the riot act to mum ... NO NICKING OF THE CENTREPIECES !!!!

Well dinner is almost cooked, corned beef tonight. Some love it, some hate it. I am in the former category. Best part about it is corned beef and tomato sauce sandwiches for work tomorrow!

Friday, September 26, 2008

I will let Molly do the talking tonight

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For my overseas friends (or those Australians who live on another planet), tomorrow is that "one day in September" that the whole football year culminates in ... the AFL Grand Final. This year my team Geelong Cats vs. Hawthorn Hawks.

You may remember my excitement last year when I announced we had done it, after 44 years. 2007 premiers, the last time we had won the premiership before that was 1963, which incidentally was on the day that mum and dad got married. Can we do it back to back? I reckon we can!

GO CATS !!!

Last time Geelong and Hawthorn met in a Grand Final was 1989 I think it was reported. I actually went to that match with dad. Through absolute sheer luck I was able to snaffoo two tickets and took dad to see his beloved Cats.

What a day, I can remember it like yesterday, 1. because it was the Grand Final and 2. because it was total father/daughter time. We took the train to Melbourne, got to the MCG early and sat from the first match in the morning to the final siren. We went to a hamburger place on the way home to eat and then took a later train home to Geelong, then went down to the town hall to "welcome the boys home" along with thousands and thousands of other Geelong-ites! What a wonderful memory to hold on tight to.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Practice makes Perfect

Not one but two episodes of the X-Files were on the agenda tonight. I wonder how long it's going to take before I'm sick and tired of them. Not yet anyway. We got to the end of one episode and took one look at each other and said "ahhhh just one more", ha.

Thursday tomorrow, how did that happen? Over half way through the week and I feel like I've been back at work for months. Doesn't take long for that holiday glow to just vanish. I think someone is missing me. Molly I'm talking about. She's taken to sleeping right next to my side of the bed. She has her bed over in the corner of the room mind you, but no, she'd rather lay out on the floor as close to me as possible. She pads along after me of a morning when I get up and waits outside the bathroom while I'm in the shower. Then she goes out for breakfast. When I get home from work my shadow is right behind me every step of the way. And when we're sitting on the couch of an evening, feet up on the coffee table, she's stretched out under our legs. A bit clingy you might say? haha

Oh and right now she's stretched out on her side right beside me at my feet asleep. One ear up and one ear down. Yep, she's my shadow alright.

I thought I'd share this page with you tonight. Music was a huge part of my upbringing, brass bands to be particular. My dad played bass (or some may call it a tuba) in a brass band, his dad played bass drum, my maternal grandfather whilst not playing was librarian of a brass band, his father and a couple of great uncles also played, so I guess it was in the gene pool that I would take up an instrument too.

There was always a lot of noise at home, particularly if dad and I got together to practice. And of course the size of the bass was a novelty value for some, as you'll see my brother trying to get into the act, he would just make obscene sounds through the instrument as young boys were prone to do, ha.

Now of course with the powers of photoshop I was going to take my red puffy cheeks out of the equation and well lose the fly on my jeans that was coming undone, but I thought what the heck, leave them in, it was life as it was. And what is more lively than that purple swirly skivvie, eeeeeek! Well, it was the 70's after all.


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Credits here.

Isn't that paper here by creashens clever, it looks just like Trevor's pyjamas! Almost a perfect match.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

How did I miss this?

Before I even start about going back to work, I need to question myself and my tv viewing habits of yesteryear. How on earth I ever missed watching the X-Files??? What was I doing instead? Probably watching the Hardy Boys or Partridge Family, who knows. How on earth did I go through the 80's (I think it was the 80's) without ever seeing one episode of the X-Files?

Stepson number 1 has all 9 or however many series there were of it, totalling about a zillion episodes and he's left them here for us to watch. We're slowly watching our way through series 1. AND I'M HOOKED!!! I actually woke up the other day with the X-Files theme song in my head. How hooked is that?

And I'm loving giggling at Scully's fashions - those big big shoulder pads. What a crack up.

As for work, oh it's been hard having the alarm wake me up these past two mornings. And soon enough, I think probably by about 10am on Monday morning, I felt that my 4 weeks off was merely a dream. Oh well. Roll on the next lot.

Alright now you are all sworn to secrecy here, absolute total secrecy. Can I count on you? Since I'm talking about the 80's I am daring to show a layout I've made for the family album which has pictures of me when I was 19 and with a very very bad perm. I have been reliably informed that "don't worry, we ALL had bad perms in the 80's" but I'm not so sure. This one was a shocker.

Promise not to laugh will you? I did say this album will have the good AND the bad !!



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Credits here.

You know when I was putting these photos together and working out the date I did a few other calculations and worked out that in these pictures my mum was exactly the same age as I am now. (GULP). We always think our parents are so old don't we (I say that with the utmost respect) but looking back and thinking heck, when we were on our cruise, mum was my age now. I never think of her like that. We forget they were us once.

And with that I'm off to bed!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Last day

Last day of freedom! Back to work tomorrow. Early to bed early to rise and all that jazz. I know I'll soon be back into routine and these last four weeks will seem like but a memory. Oh well, that's how it goes doesn't it, to pay the bills.

I still have Australian Idol to look forward to tonight. It's quite windy out there, stepson number 1 is stopping in for lunch on his way back to Melbourne, I always worry about him on his motorbike in A. rain, B. wind, C. traffic. I guess that covers the lot doesn't it, it's just a motorbike thing.

The best thing about being on a creative team for digi scrapping is that the designers are always open for new ideas, what we think would be a great addition to the shop. How lucky are we, it's like Christmas - we write a wish list and get it answered. I had suggested to Sharon a hardware pack and poof, there it is. And I love love love it. Lots of fun things there to add dimension to your pages. Click on the picture to take you to the shoppe.

So I had to dig into my photographs for a shed page. I thought I'd done a pretty neato page here, a nice one of father and son hard at work in the shed, father teaching son the intracacies of a doo-dad-thingamybob-whoosawatsit-loud thing. I think that's the proper name of it. And Mike took one look at the page and said "what on earth are there gumleaves doing in my shed?!?!?!" I told him a bit of literary licence goes a long way with these pages and get over it. ha


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Credits here.

What is it with boys and their sheds anyway? We have a huge shed, absolutely HUGE. It needs to be as Mike works here from home, but I take one step in there and there's crap everywhere. Oh yes his beloved machines are lined up beautifully in their spots. The old fish and chip shop closed down here in town years and years ago and when they were demolishing the insides Mike decided the fish and chip shop counter, you know those long long long counters, would make a great workbench. Must say he has made it work. I won't even go into the trouble we had getting it to our house and in the shed, eeek.

I did play a little joke on him when I moved up here. As my furniture and things were being moved in I took a little walk round the shed, rubbed my hands together, and said "so which part of it do I get?". The look on his face was priceless, wish I had my camera handy.

Never mind the cobwebs and sawdust in the shed, give me a craft area and a computer and I'm happy as larry.

Friday, September 19, 2008

It is raining cats and dogs out there

It's absolutely teeming (or should that be teaming???) down at the moment. Where I live here I'm sure it's a rain belt. Sometimes the rain starts so quickly that it's like someone up there has turned on a tap and then just as quickly turns it off again. And when it rains, it rains hard. It really doesn't give credence to the state being in drought at the moment. I've often said if they built a reservoir here we'd be able to service the whole of Victoria I'm sure.

Funnily enough though it was beautiful and sunny this morning, one of the neighbours was even mowing their lawn, and now it's grey, dismal and raining. That's the way the weather is in this neck of the woods. I've never known anything quite like it.

Well this is my last official day off work, apart from the weekend of course. There's four weeks of your life you won't get back! I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, I'm such a home body and I do love to potter. Oh how to get paid to do this huh? Next week I'll be back on the talking books and driving that dismal road 100 kilometres every day to get to work and back. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

I have been able to make huge inroads into this family album. I've actually set a Word document up and put a table in it with side to side book pages and put thumbnails of each layout where it would sit in the book, so I can see where the gaps are and more particularly which side the binding will be on, don't want to lose any precious journalling.

I was able to dig out some fabulous old photographs from when our family home was being built so have put together a page for the book. I've covertly asked mum a few leading questions about the house, gosh she's going to get a giggle when she sees her words being read back in this book when she gets it.


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Credits here.

This is the only family home I've known, mum and dad built it in 1963 and mum is still there today. It's me that's moved from pillar to post since I've left home! I took a nice pic of the house the other day when I was down there so I'll do an updated version for the back of the book I think, so many changes, there's no fence now, the driveway and a bit to the side got tiled when we had three cars that needed parking, then a ramp was put in at the front when dad had trouble walking. But the feel of the house is the same, because it's my family home.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Doing the count down

I hate it when you are at the tail end of your holidays and you start doing a count down - 6 days to go, 5 days to go and now I'm up to 4 days to go of lovely days off before Monday looms and I'm back at work. Where did that four weeks go? Hmmmmm.

Oh I know, lots of pottering and cooking and scrapping and knitting and shopping and coffee and caking and birthdaying and sewing and visiting and chatting and just generally doing anything that I darn well pleased and it's been wonderful.

So I've had a couple of days down at mum's and whilst down there I visited with my brother and scanned the last of the family slides, all 242 of them! whew. It took a total of 4 and a half hours, non-stop. But they are done now. At last. Now I have some of the missing years so will be able to fill those pages in the family album. Hooray.

I must say that our photographic skills led a lot to be desired, it seems that the younger we were the better the quality photograph, these middle years seem to have a lot of not so great, not so clear not so wonderful shots, I'm thinking perhaps we graduated from the box brownie to an instamatic which wasn't all that great. Can't beat those old box brownies.

Whilst I'm thinking of scrapping, and if you are a digi scrapper, I wonder if you realise that Sharon of [ksharonkdesigns] has a fabulous grab bag out. Let me tell you, you won't be disappointed. Beautifully distressed paper, fun doodles, a fabulous calendar, oops have I said too much. All that and more for only $3. Here's the link to twolittlepixels. Go grab a bargain as it's not for too much longer.

Here's another page for the family album, love this white paper which may just be in a certain grab bag I've mentioned (whistles innocently).



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Credits here.

How cute were my brother and I, playing on the trike? ha. I am beyond guessing years at the moment so I haven't put one on, but it's the same day as the "nursie" layout judging by our look and the clothes we have on.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Let's get real ... literally

I am meaning reality TV. Okay so you know my dirty little secret from my last post. Tonight I was in heaven.

First round results for Australian Idol and whilst I really like Sophie I don't think she'll last the distance against the rest with the calibre of singing they have shown so far. I will go out on a limb and say that Wes and Mark will be in the final with Wes the ultimate winner. Let's see how I go with that one.

As for the rest of my evening, the last episode of Project Runway Australia. If you haven't watched it look away now. Go Juli !!! She was my pick right from the start, flawless, gorgeous gowns and she seems nice as well, no back-stabbing (that I can remember), just lots of giggles and perfect outfits.

Commiserations over the weekend for any 'woods fans out there. Mum of course is devastated. She is one-eyed Collingwood through and through, came from growing up part of her childhood in the suburb I think. Must tell you a funny story from quite a few years ago now. Remember those life size cardboard cut outs you might see from time to time at sports stores? Dad happened to know the owner of a sports store in Geelong and they were clearing out some and one was a Collingwood footballer, I have no idea who it was now, and he gave it to mum. She proudly displayed it in the front window of the house for all the world to see, there was a footballer standing in the front room. It was quite the talk of the street.

Except ...

Many times when I went over to mum and dad's to visit, I would turn the footballer up on his head and stand him upside down. Mum would have no idea until they maybe got in the car later on in the day and were backing out and she had a view of upside down legs in the front window of the house.

Ahhh memories!

So in honour of mum and alas all those 'woods fans out there, I'll show you a page I have done for the family album.


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Credits here.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Today I am 40 ... plus GST

te he. Yes that way I can get to be 40 again really can’t I? For those not from Aus and who don’t know, GST is Australia’s 10% Goods & Services Tax. So there you go, do your math!

I have been very spoilt. Yes some men bring flowers, some bring chocolates, but mine brings lots and lots of more RAM for my computer. The way to a girl’s heart. He even wrapped it up and told me I had to be very very careful. I took one look at it (you know what I mean, a bit of the doo dads of the innards of a computer) and said “what is it?” because it was just a computer part to me hahaha, but when he told me what it was I jumped for joy. He's already put it in and everything is running just that much faster. ~~sigh~~

There was quite a start to the morning though and I've flagged fast throughout the day. I woke at 5.30am, a combination of the Bo the cat walking on me and the torrential rain and wind that was bucketing the house (tin roof and all). So in my sleep induced haze took the cat to the backdoor as she wanted out and she took one look out there and thought better of it. Grrrrr. Back to bed with me.

10 minutes later meow meow meow, she decides that yes she does want out (see our cat is too hoity toity to use the kitty litter, she has a spot in the backyard she calls her own). So muddled my way to the back door and out she went. I decided at that moment she could stay out. Back to bed with me ... yawn.

At 6.30am Molly the dog decides that she might like to start her day and go out. She comes to the side of the bed, shakes her head so that her collar will jingly jangle. When that doesn't wake me (I'm pretending to still be asleep, if you ignore it, it will go away won't it?) so she decides to thump her head up and down on the bed next to me. Okay okay, up again, wander to the door, bump into some walls, and out she goes. Back to bed with me for what? the third time!

Another 10 minutes and Mike decides to snore like there was no tomorrow, like a thousand buzz sores had started up in the house, like we were being attacked by killer bees.

So I decided to get up at that stage and put the kettle on and do some knitting. Arrrrrggghhh.

Happy Birthday to me. What a start to the day.

We have been out for a lovely lunch though, and he surprised me with some friends coming around yesterday when a birthday cake was produced. See, the surprise being the birthday cake the day before the birthday. At least he remembered this year, but shhhh, we won't talk about that year, even though I remind him from about a week before my birthday each year now, hahahaha.

So I decided to do a very self-indulgent scrapbooking page, it will be fun to look back on to see how things change over the years. So go to it, this is me, at 40 plus GST.

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Credits here.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Yikes!

I have a confession to make. My cat is a d.r.u.g.g.i.e. (I don't want to put that as one word for fear google bots will pick it up and I'll get wierdos visiting my very tame little blog).

Last night was pool night. Every Tuesday night she must know, she hears the car pull up the drive and waits patiently by the door. For what you might ask? My chlorine soaked towel! She LOVES it. I'm not kidding, I will take a picture of her one of these days. The routine used to be that as soon as I went to the bathroom to take a shower she'd scoot into the bathroom too and spend the next five minutes luxuriously rolling about on my towel. I thought this was quite funny and it happened every Tuesday night. Ahh, whatever floats her boat right?

Then I mentioned it to one of the girls from the pool and she told me chlorine is like crack for cats! OH MY! I'm enabling her, hahahaha. Has anyone else had similar experiences with their cats and the smell of chlorine, I'd love to know.

Designer Digitals have a fun challenge each week called the iTunes challenge where they get a record/CD cover and challenge people to do a layout using it as inspiration. I thought I'd give it a try this week. You can see the CD cover here, Death Cab for Cutie's Forbidden Love ep. And this is my take on it of beautiful step-daughter no. 2, one of the pictures I took on Father's Day. Yes, she is the eclectic one, can you tell? I love her to bits.

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Still scrapping

I've never found a craft that has fulfilled me as much as scrapbooking, being able to get down on paper the stories and preserve the photographs, it's really filling a creative outlet for me. Although I did take a trip over to the next town yesterday and just wandered amongst the beautiful materials, thinking hmmm step-daughter no.1 is turning 18 next May, maybe I'll make her a quilt although her favourite colours are hot pink and lime green at the moment so I fear there may be sunglasses necessary when sewing. Plus there's that sock that needs to be grafted and the pair started.

Ahhh so many projects, so little time.

Another page for the family history book, I do love these vintage pages especially, they are so fun to do. I used the Afternoon Cha kit again. The paper really made me think of the pretty patterns on the dresses we wore. All in our "Sunday best" visiting my great grandmother (my grandpa's mother). She has long since passed away now, she was born in 1900, no hiding her age, we always knew how old she was due to the year we were in. But being the first great grandchildren for her, I know we had a special place in her heart.


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Credits here.

Now back to the dining room table with me, I'm knee-deep in Christmas stockings. Yes, you read right. A number of people have asked whether I would be making them again this year and I am, so stay tuned. I may need ear plugs though, Mike is working on his bagpipes at the moment in the house, it's LOUD !!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Father's Day

Well we've had a full house here today for Father's Day. It initially started off with some very quiet plans, Mike and I and number 2 daughter was staying for the weekend. In the end number 1 son rode down on his motorbike from Melbourne and my father-in-law came as well. Three generations and I think it really tickled Mike pink. He's not one for fuss or bother. But I'm so glad it turned out like it did.

A beautiful roast lamb for lunch, followed by banana cake and icecream for dessert. Perfection. Mike did a little toast to my dad at the beginning of the meal and the tears really brimmed ready to flow. My first father's day without my dad. I do note though that my father-in-law hugged me that much more tightly which made me feel quite warm and fuzzy.

So because it's Father's Day I thought I'd show you a page I did of my dad that I don't believe I've shown before. This photograph appeared in the Herald Sun after the Moomba procession was held in 1979. Moomba is a big procession in Melbourne, with floats and bands and huge huge crowds. And let me tell you it's a long march blowing a brass instrument, I can say that from experience because I've marched in my fair share too, although never getting my picture in the newspaper like this. It was a shock having breakfast the next morning, I remember dad was flipping through the pages over his bowl of cornflakes and sees a picture of himself large as life before him.

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Credits here.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Another weekend

Although every day is a weekend to me at the moment, and I'm loving it like that. I have a day set out in front of me to knit, to sew and to scrapbook, I'll pop on a roast lamb for dinner and the day will be just about perfect.

We were down in Geelong yet again yesterday as my brother got married. His girlfriend of 4 years has immigrated from America with her two boys (who yes, they will be my scrapbooking victims too because they are as cute as can be) and they were married in the backyard in a very simple ceremony. They plan on having a more "girly" ceremony next year in the nice weather.

I do believe I know every single lump and bump in that so called highway right now, ha.

I have made another page for the album, a picture of my dad and his dad, just hanging out on the back porch at home. I wonder what they were talking about? From looking at the other slides and the clothes they both had on, I do believe this was Christmas Day 1965, probably the aftermath of opening presents and both of them disappearing while the "girls" were doing the lunch dishes more likely.

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I used the beautiful new kit by creashens called "Afternoon Cha". Click on the picture to take you to twolittlepixels.


And Sharon brought out this most beautiful paperpack, so soft and pretty, so I had to go borrow a friend's baby and scrap these cutest pictures. Expect more of this little cherub, I have a whole CD of beautiful pictures to scrap of this bright eyed girl.

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Using Paper Essentials-Shadowed Soft by [ksharonkdesigns] and other goodies. Credits here.


Thursday, September 4, 2008

Spring has sprung

A beautiful day today, how is it that you turn the calendar to September and all of a sudden Mother Earth knows it is Spring. The rainy days that we've had ad nauseum for weeks on end just stop mysteriously and the sun comes out. Most strange.

And we actually ate dinner tonight with the back door open. And there's no fire going in the fireplace at the moment. That hasn't happened since before winter began.

I wonder how long it will last.

Another page for the family album, it's fun being able to discover these old pictures of our lives and to be able to share them with you. I would dare say I had this little nurse's costume to copy off mum who used to be a mothercraft nurse, complete with red cape. What a little "mini me" I was, te he. It does really make me giggle because anyone who knows me knows I adore fancy dress, looks like it was engrained in my early years.

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Credits here.

Thank you for your thoughts about the candle yesterday. It was a nice day. We met at the cemetary although our timing wasn't all that great, there was a funeral a couple of rows over arrive just after we got there. Then we took my father-in-law out for lunch, then on to my niece and nephew's school to surprise them with my sister-in-law when she had to collect them. The look on their faces were priceless. They came running up to my sister-in-law as per usual and then stopped, did a double take, and then kept running again straight into Uncle Michael's arms. Too too cute.

Then because it was that kind of day, we went to the other cemetary over the other side of town and visited my nanna and poppa's graves (from the story time in daddy's arms page). Mike had never been there before to see where they were buried.

We meandered the couple of hours home, made dinner and lit Pat's candle. And that was our day.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Back again, but not for long

I'm back again, for tonight, then back to Geelong tomorrow for the day. I know every single pot hole in that "so called" highway I do believe. Tomorrow is, well was, my mother-in-law's birthday. Being so close to her passing we wanted to spend it with my husband's family.

I gave Mike tonight a candle I got from that beautiful shop Dusk. It is absolutely gorgeous, cream coloured with almost sparkles on it, will burn a zillion hours, so hopefully will last our lifetime, and it's sitting on a lovely glass plate with like mother of the pearl shell tiles around it. That will be Pat's candle. Whenever he feels the need to light it. Her birthday, mother's day, Christmas, whenever. He got a wee bit emotional about it. He said we'll definitely be lighting it tomorrow.

Another page to show for the family album. A rare photograph with my nanna and poppa (dad's parents) in it. Nanna passed away when I was about 5 or so. I have no memory of her apart from photographs. Another reason this family album is such an important project of mine and has become almost an obsessive passion to complete.


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Credits here.

I got home this afternoon and Molly came racing over to the car, saw me get out, very excited, then ran around to the passenger side to wait for mum to get out, alas no mum. Molly was very put out, it made me laugh. I think she's in love with my mum.

Although I'm so tired right now, I'm hanging out till 11.15pm to watch the repeat of Project Runway which I missed last night. It's the wedding dress edition, so should be good. I really am addicted to reality tv. Not all, but some. And of course the beauty of being on holidays from work means I can get a sleep in tomorrow morning! Either that or I'll snooze in the car as Mike is driving.