F-F-F-Freezing

Oh boy, when the cold snap arrived it hit with a vengeance. It's been so incredibly cold today. And windy. And torrential rain at times.

I've stayed indoors just about all day apart from quick sprints to the shed to see if Mike wanted a cuppa. The menagerie have stayed inside by the fire most of the day too. Must be cold for Lucky not to want to run around like the crazy boy he is.

I got Miss T's quilt back on Friday having been quilted and now I'm setting to sewing the border on. This will be painstaking for me. I have machined the border on and now I'm up to the hand sewing part. Eeeek. So lucky I'm getting it done now rather than a rush at the end of next month. I'm blown away at how fabulously fresh and young and vibrant this quilt is. I love it. Pictures will be forthcoming once the border is on.

Decisions decision for dinner tonight until we decided it would be pizza night (Mike is going for it !!! No way am I leaving the fireplace.) Pizza and Biggest Loser on telly, now there's a match made in heaven! ha. Who will be in the final 4. I hope Tiffany gets through I like the way she's played the game.

So I'm back to playing catch up with my project 365 pages, but catch up I will. Lynne, there's a wee bit of knitting on this one. Am I redeemed?

Credits here.

Back to the warm loungeroom and toasty fireplace I go. Hope it's warmer wherever you are in the world.

Lest we forget

We spent the morning at Penshurst, a very little country town, but my goodness I think the whole town turned out for the Anzac Parade and ceremony afterwards. The had counted around 150 people which was a very impressive count.

Mike lead the diggers to lay their wreaths. It means a lot to these gentlemen to have a piper. They told us in years gone by they had no music, just marched in silence. So it's special for them to have a tribute. Such an easy thing for Mike to do, but it means the world to them on their special day when they remember their fallen comrades.

Lest we forget

Girls night out

Girls night out tomorrow night, mmmmm, we're going to the same place as Mike and I went for our anniversary dinner. What to have? Do I go down the cajun chicken road again? Decisions decisions.

There's a group of four of us ladies here from town that went away last year for a weekend and had a wow of a time. Four married ladies on the loose for the weekend, no husbands, no kids. We enjoyed it so much we are going for an encore.

We're going farther afield next month and heading far across the seas, or well, Bass Strait at least, to Tassie and having a long weekend in Hobart. So tomorrow night we're having a, errrr, meeting. Yes, that's right, a meeting (and I use the term loosely as it's mainly to eat and drink yummy things), we'll also be discussing what we'll be doing in Hobart. There's nothing worse when going away with a group and getting there and then the whole "what do you want to do?" ... "Oh I don't know, what do YOU want to do?" etc. etc. We vow and declare that isn't going to happen, we want to fill our days with definite things and not waste a moment.

Have I said lately how I love my new camera? Oh yes I have, ad nauseum. haha On Easter Sunday we went to the dawn service and I snapped this photo. Lisa Beth, this one was made especially for you, I'll send you a copy and I hope you like it.

Credits here.

So much has happened

So much has happened since my last posting. Where do I start?

Lucky went missing on Friday morning. He's taken to using the cat flap during the day now, we still have the baby gate closed of a night so he can't get to the cat flap. But I got up on Friday, let him out, he'd been in and out a few times while I was getting ready for work. Mike went to feed him and asked "where's Lucky?" Outside I told him. Whistle. Call. No Lucky.

He'd found a little gap in the side fence and gone for a big adventure. I was beside myself, Mike ran up the street calling, I grabbed my car and headed the other way around our usual walking trails, hanging out the car window squeaking his squeaky toy, of course setting off every single dog in the neighbourhood, early on a Friday morning. I would have been popular I'm sure. No Lucky.

We searched for about 20 minutes, met back at home, and were standing on the naturestrip with me crying and Mike trying to console me, and then what do I hear? Tinker tinker tinker, he's decided to stop playing hide and seek and was ready to be found and came running from 2 doors up. Looks like he'd gotten through our side fence and then through the side fence on the other side of next door too.

I was too glad to see him to be angry. Talk about heart stopping moments.

And what a cruisey day we had yesterday. It was our 5th wedding anniversary. We just hung out, went for cappuccinos, did a bit of shopping, and out for dinner last night. I wanted to take a picture for my project page, but I still haven't mastered the art of publically taking photos of meals in restaurants, LOL. So I sneaked my mobile phone out and snapped with that. Not great, but it will do.

As for the meals in restaurant photos, I see a lot of people do that in this project, but I'm still hesitant. I think some manager is going to tap me on the shoulder thinking I'm from an opposing restaurant trying to steal their ideas. I've been told just tell him I'm documenting the year and the meal is so good I need to capture it for my page. We'll see next time.

But OMG my meal was so good. Cajun chicken with avocado and mango on a bed of roasted capsicum and vegetables. YUMMO. I decided to pick something from the menu I'd not had before. Mike had his boring fisherman's platter. It's always something with seafood for him, I can read him like a book.

So five years, wow it's gone fast. That also means eight years since we met. Sometimes I can't even think back to a time that we didn't know each other.

Have used Sharon's new kit Sophisticate for this fun photo I took of Molly. Probably not the best photo in the bunch, but gosh I love her face in it. She's having a good old laugh.

Credits here.

So however you're spending your Sunday, enjoy! I'm about to go make a pav, Mike is up at the gold fields today so I thought I'd surprise him for when he gets home with his favourite!

What a night !

I was up and down all night last night. No, and not from coughing either.

At 2am Molly wanted to go out and started nudging me with her head from the side of the bed. Way to wake up, a bit of dog slobber will do it every time. So out she went. I went back to bed.

At 4am I woke up because the weather we'd been warned about happened. I could hear the wind blowing a gale, the rain was starting, it sounded horrible. So up I get, go to the back door, whistle, Molly comes racing in. I went back to bed.

By 4.05am Molly was anxious, pacing the floors, up and down the passageway, whinging and whining and at one stage she actually tried to jump up onto our bed. No, not going to happen my friend. So I get up and turn one of the lights on in the loungeroom so it wasn't pitch black dark. I went back to bed.

By 4.10am she was at it again, the lightening had started and a bit of thunder was rumbling around. Pace pace pace, whine whine whine. So I get up, take her into the loungeroom, grab the rug, settled her down and lay on the couch. I didn't go back to bed.

By 4.15am I hear rattle crash bang whollop, Molly had tried to hide under the coffee table to get away from the storm. Mind you it was the small end table which is half the size of her. I calm her down, the storm passes, the wind stops. I go back to bed.

By 5am Mike's pager went off. He's recently joined the SES and a tree had fallen over the highway. There was no use going back to sleep, I was wide awake by then. So I just lay there, trying to go back to sleep but not being successful.

By 6.30am I got up, the power had been out for over an hour, I had to boil water in the saucepan just to get a cup of coffee. Mind you by this stage I am tripping over my eyelids tired. I take one look at the menagerie, they are all layed out fast asleep. Arrrrgghh.

This day did not start well.

Onto the digi scrapping front, I recently had the opportunity to use some terrific papers of Sharon's called Summer Fizz. So very pretty and the dotty one reminded me of snow. Ah ha! I thought. I might do another one of the ABC animal pages I had done a couple of previously. How about one of those terrific zoo photos my brother had taken and sent me the CD of. I had some great pictures of a polar bear, so I might do P is for Polar Bear.

I was quite chuffed at the page I'd created and called Mike to have a look. He instantly said "you can't post that". WHAT?!?!? What does he know. Huh! What was wrong with it? The colours? The frames? The lay out? What pray tell do you know Mr. G about digi scrapping? I was getting a bit hoity toity with him to say the least. Until he told me the picture wasn't a polar bear.

Oh.

Now I ask you, if I showed you this picture, would you think it was a polar bear? It's pale coloured, it's near water, I just figured it was a dirty polar bear. I think I was justified in my way of thinking.

Until Mike pointed out that the Bundy Bear is a polar bear. Then the penny dropped. So I had to do a quick whip around on the net to find an image that I could use, thank heavens for stock.xchng. So this was the end result after the great polar bear fiasco! ha Yes my "ah ha" moment was complete, I now saw the difference.

Credits here.

Before I go, Jodie of Organised Chaos very nicely bestowed on me the Premio Dardas award.

The award acknowledges the value every blogger shows in their effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literacy and personal values everyday. The rules are simple enough! They are: 1. Accept the award, post it in your blog together with the name of person who granted the award and a link to their blog. 2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Contact them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Now I will be back on the weekend to pass the award on, after my early morning hijinks, I'm off to bed right now and I take these things seriously!

Thank you Jodie. I don't know how cultural I am, considering I didn't know the difference between the polar bear and the whatever other bear that was, but I do appreciate it.

Cough cough splutter splutter

Yes, I'm still coughing to the point of distraction. And my voice is sounding like the husky Demi Moore, except on a bad day! Either that or Rod Stewart's gargling with gravel sounding voice. I did however spend the whole night in bed last night, I didn't have to get up and cough my lungs out in the loungeroom, so thank heavens for small mercies. Although I did have to sit upright in bed all night, lots and lots of pillows. The minute I'm down flat I cough. Actually sitting upright here at the computer desk, I'm coughing too, so there doesn't seem to be rhyme or reason.

Easter long weekend is over, back to work tomorrow. It has kind of passed me by though, apart from the dawn service on Easter Sunday morning, I really haven't done much, just pottered and ... coughed! ha.

Catching you up with the Project 365 pages, I'm still on track. I'm quite astounded that I've kept it up. Although there are quite a few at Designer Digitals who are doing the Project also so we're kind of spurring each other on. Plus we get ideas from each other to keep the momentum of something new to snap.

I am pedantic, I had to finish March on one page and start April on a new double page! Is that a bit obsessive compulsive? I wonder.

Credits here.

Easter Greetings

I was up early this morning. Well yes, early due to this jolly cough cough coughing, but also early as we went to the Easter Sunday dawn service. It was a great morning for it. Cold yes. But still, no wind, and more importantly no wind chill factor to contend with. So we were rugged up with coats and scarves and made our way to the bonfire. Mike greeted the congregation with his bagpipes and we then walked up to the cross on the hill where they had the ecumenical service.

Afterwards everyone has hot cross buns and coffee and chocolate easter eggs for breakfast. It's a nice tradition we do each year and a very nice sense of community.

April 10th has now come and gone and are you ready for this? It marked the 100th day of the year. WHAT?!? 100 days have whizzed by already? My goodness. But that also means 100 photographs in 100 days for Project 365.

The Designer Digitals Flickr group set a challenge to photograph something with 100 in it. How easy for it in our metric neck of the woods to meet that challenge huh? Off I trudge up the highway to get this photograph, not sure what the cars going by thought. I wonder what stories they conjured up of this woman on the side of the road photographing the 100kph sign!

But I thought I might just celebrate my 100 photos, actually I've got a wee bit more than 100 because of Miss B's deb. So here's my celebration of this stage of Project 365. It's quite cool looking seeing all these photographs en masse like this, although I do think I nearly broke my photoshop with all these layers!

Credits here.

So today, however you're spending Easter, hug your loved ones tight, reflect on your life and enjoy.

A very sad knitting story

Has a week nearly gone by since I last posted? Mike's "man disease" became a "woman disease" and I have not had a good night's sleep all week. I have usually woken around 2.30am with a coughing fit. Mike of course could sleep through anything so he doesn't hear a thing. So up I get at 2.30 and have a hot sweet cup of tea to try and soothe the cough, then back to bed. Broken sleep + me = crabby!

And do you know the crap that is on telly at that hour of the morning. Let's see, I found out how to take away my wrinkles with the stroke of a magic pen (thanks Heidi Klum), oh and there was a pilates sit up machine thing to flatten my stomache (yep, really need to be told I'm fat at 2.30am in the morning), and yes of course there's the fabulous Victoria with her stopping the aging process cream of something or other. Every channel something different. HOW MANY WOMEN ARE UP AT THAT TIME OF THE MORNING WATCHING THIS STUFF???? Maybe their target audience is the women up in the early hours feeding crying babies, who probably already feel uneasy about their bodies, so these adverts only emphasise the fact. Arrrrgh.

Okay enough of that rant, onto a very sad knitting story. If you have a queasy stomach then click away now.

I love scarves. Absolutely love them. Wear them every single day in winter and any cold snap. I have a lot of favourites but one up there at the top was a lovely soft as soft multi-grey scarf I had knitted some years back. It draped around my neck so gently, matched everything in my wardrobe, and basically was the PERFECT scarf all made by me.

I've been wearing it this week as it's been so cold. But Wednesday I think it was I went to work, donned my coat and couldn't find my scarf. Not to worry, perhaps I had left it at work the night before? I couldn't remember. So off to work I go.

I park in the exact same park as I'd used the day before and what do I spy on the road under the tyre of the car parked next to me? MY SCARF !!! Very very wet, very bedraggled, a bit torn and stuck under the tyre of a car. Obviously I had dropped it the day before and it had been run over by car/s and there all night in the rain.

And quite obviously a very dead scarf. It was still under the tyre of the car when I left to go home that night too. So I'm in mourning at the moment, my beautiful--soft--match-anything--not-too-hot--not-too-cold--scarf. Gone.

So now I'm on the lookout for a similar yarn. I have no idea what it even was. So if anyone has any ideas, something very soft, something a little bit furry (but I don't think it was a novelty yarn, I do remember it being quite expensive), please give me a suggestion of any current yarns that might fit the bill. Oh and it must be grey!

Okay now onto the scrapping front ... twolittlepixels has undergone a facelift. Hmmm, maybe Sharon has been up at 2.30 in the morning watching some of those adverts too!! The shoppe has moved from Zen Cart to X-Cart for an improved shopping experience, and there's some fabulous new designers on board. Ana Reis has moved in and I spy some wonderful krafty paper, you know how I loooooove kraft! Not to mention our dear friend cherpea designs. I can't wait to see what else she'll come up with. And another fabulous new designer The Doodle Factory. How utterly gorgeous. Add to the new designers all the fabulous (I'm not going to say old ones) exiting ones, plus guest designer Lynne-Marie, and you have the most wonderful digi shopping experience ahead of you.

Have fun! Oh and one very important point - if you were already a customer of twolittlepixels whilst Zen Cart was operating, you'll need to re-register. The registrations couldn't come over to the new X-Cart. So go forth and register scrappers!

Back again to edit the post ... now the goodies are in the shop I can post the page I did using the new super fabulous goodies from The Doodle Factory. My best friend's daughter, quite a few years ago now, absolutely cute as a button.

Credits here.

2nd grade drop out !

LOL. Poor Lucky, he didn't pass Grade 2. But if I want to look at this as if the cup is half full, none of the dogs passed Grade 2. It was a hard grade to pass and all dogs needed work. OMG, today Lucky was trying my patience. It was misty raining a lot of the class, the grass was freshly mowed and damp and obviously smelt delicious to the dogs who wanted to play and roll and sniff. Everyone was having problems with their dogs today.

Mike was proudly on the sidelines, cracking up at me (yep, thanks Mike!!) in fits of laughter. Oh he was laughing WITH me, not AT me, that's right! But honestly I reckon if anyone went down there with a video camera they would make a zillion dollars on Funniest Home Videos, cause it really is quite hysterical watching the dogs that just don't want to play the game go through their own paces.

So here's a small selection of today's events. Enjoy! (remember, laugh WITH me okay?)


A good start, lining up with his other classmates. Note how he is the littlest dog in the class. But unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) he honestly thinks he's as big as his mate the Malamute standing next to him. Watching the two of them play is quite funny, Lucky isn't deterred at all by his size.

Okay Lucky, when I say sit, it doesn't mean play. SIT !! Ooops, are those treats you can smell in my pocket.

Drop! I said drop! You're meant to be laying on the ground. Don't trip me up right when the teacher walking in front looking at us. Arrrrgh.

Awww, I can't be mad, you've certainly come a long way since you came to be our forever dog and we're proud of you.

And after a morning of heel, sit, drop, stand, left turn, right turn, playing, scratching, rolling, butt sniffing, it all got a bit too much on the way home in the car.

An extra hour of sleep tonight

But that's only if we get to bed at the normal time in the first place right? Considering my computer has thought we've been off daylight saving now for a whole week, after last Sunday's debacle, hmmmph, that won't happen again.

Tomorrow is Lucky's last lesson in Grade 2 obedience class. I am not sure, but I don't think he will pass, I think I've been sprung giving him treats once too often. Don't get me wrong, he does what he's told, but only after I've told him a couple of times. Those bigger dogs have been show offs and drop straight away. Although we have been practicing a lot this week and even now Molly is dropping. Heck! She's never dropped of her own free will when I've told her 'DROP'. And now she is. Who says you can't teach an old girl new tricks huh? So we'll see tomorrow, I shall report back.

I've caught up with my Project 365 pages, yay me! So here's another view into my absolutely scintillatingly exciting life! LOL

Credits here.


Oh and before I go I must tell you that peace reigned supreme tonight. Bo actually had a snooze in her cat basket in the loungeroom WHILST Lucky was wandering around in the loungeroom too. I think Bo snoozed with one eye open and one eye shut, but this was a huge turning point. She's not been in her basket whilst Lucky has been in the room since we got him. I think having the fireplace on was a bit of a sweetener seeings it's cold here tonight. Nothing like a nice warm loungeroom to gather in on these cold nights.

Wish me luck for tomorrow with Lucky. Will he graduate? That's the burning question in my life at the moment, hahahahaha.

Another Friday night

They roll around so quickly these days don't they? Easter almost upon us, OMG I have to dig out that cookie recipe and get that sorted this week, plus the containers to put them in, ribbons to wrap around them festively, oh and more icing and the icing colour stuff, did I say this was going to be my easy option around Easter? Hmmmmm.

It's 11.15pm and Mike is still working! One of the joys of working from home huh? He's decided to put the football on telly in the background and keep working away. I decided to scrap but I haven't even opened Photoshop yet. I've just been doing a bit of blog hopping.

No plans really for the weekend. Cleaning. Supermarket shopping. Will cruise around being the town papparazzi with the camera. Mark my words the weekend will whiz on by.

Here's a fun page of my bestie's daughter I did a short while ago, but haven't shown here yet. Using Sharon's Little Dancer kit, such a perfect photograph for it! I turned Miss E into a sticker! I wonder how she feels about that? te he

Credits here.

Okay well order for the rest of the night is a quick cup of tea whilst sorting through photos for my next double spread in the Project 365 and then bed for me. Have a lovely weekend.

Man Disease

I think I mentioned a few posts back that Mike had gotten Man Disease. I say that in the nicest way. You know "are you really sick or are you man sick"? That's one of my stock questions if he's feeling poorly.

So today he's feeling better and my throat started feeling like razors, so I ended up not going to work today. I have been quite lethargic all day. Probably the weather hasn't helped, I'm sitting here with a fan on right now, it's very warm in the house. One day the fire is going, the next the fan is back on. Craziness.

So did you get caught today for April Fools? I wonder. I saw on the news all the cars in Melbourne that had been glad wrapped. It made me laugh, not because of the prank, but how come when I go to get some out of the cupboard I am always running out, and here's glad wrap in abundance.

Certainly time for bed for me right now. But before I go, one of my favourite photos I took at Miss B's Deb.

Credits here.