Fly By Posting

Quick ... very quick post before I hit the sack, it's late. Monday just kind of vanished today, felt like I looked up at the clock and 5pm had rocked around oh so quickly. Mike is revamping his website and it's been a painful (but learning) process. The program he is using now is all done in html, but he's getting there ... slowly! So I'm going to have to go and drag him off the laptop in a moment.

Here's another page for the book for the boys, taken at the airport the last time we saw them. Just even saying that makes me sad. Such bittersweet photos, smiling for the camera but not really feeling like it was a smiling occasion, but I wanted to put these photos of my mum and the boys in the book because they loved their Grandma Glen. I know I WILL see them again one day, don't know when but I will. So there. Have said that up to the heavens so someone up there will hear me, surely.

Credits Designer Digitals.


Now ... off ... to ... bed !

Losing my mind

If I haven't already lost it. Do you find as you get older that your memory isn't quite what it used to be? I have found I need to write myself sticky notes or particularly if I'm at work and need to remember something for the next day I email myself at home, that kind of thing.

But making lunch today I knew I had cheese, I had bought a huge block, we'd already had some of it, but couldn't for the life of me now find it. Until a bit later I went to the freezer, and there was my block of cheese, frozen solid! What on earth did I put it in the freezer for? So tell me, cheese will thaw out okay won't it? It was pretty solid, that's for sure.

Then the whole memory thing really hit home this morning. Let me backtrack. My darling old friend who used to live across the road, got married in her 70's and moved away. She rings me about once a month to see how things are going, we keep an eye on her house, and we have a lovely little chat. We had one of those chats yesterday morning, probably were on the phone for about 20 minutes.

This morning the phone rang again and it was my old neighbour. "Hello love, it's your old mate here, thought I'd give you a call to see how you're going". I didn't have the heart to tell her we'd already talked yesterday.

So I guess my cheese incident wasn't too bad after all, just an oversight. Now I'm really worried for my old friend.

And again going down the memory path, I have just in the last 30 minutes finished another page for the book for my nephews, so this one is hot off the press, so to speak. I was thinking with the pages I had done previously with Mike interacting with the kids, I better grab a couple of photos of me to put in the album too. So went back through my photos and found these gems. Poor David, whether he wanted to or not, he was getting a hug!! Which incidentally I must add, I'm quite famous for my most excellent hugs!

Credits Designer Digitals.


Must go ... figure out dinner!

iLove iPad

I have entered into a whole new world and got myself an iPad. O--M--G how? How did they work out that one little device could give you so much enjoyment. How does it do it? I have NO idea. It's so quick and the screen is so clear. One of my friends from Designer Digitals said to me it will be my new BFF and dare I say, it is. (You know Sonia, you are my REAL LIFE BFF don't you?, this is just a machine!)

It's amazing. I can now:

Sit in the comfort of my loungeroom and check out the net.

Pin a few pins on pinterest (my latest obsession)

Listen to the radio in Scotland, America, Australia or Timbucktoo.

Play 'Words with Friends' with someone as far away as Canada or close as the next street.

It's tracking my weight (passworded of course so prying eyes - Mike - can't see, ha!)

As of this morning I have been sitting down reading the Women's Weekly on it, all fabulously interactive.

I have my scrap pages on it so I can show my mum before I get them printed out, she doesn't have the internet or a computer full stop so she can't see my gallery.

I can hook up to free wifi when away which I did from my motel room in Horsham so it kept me company.

I have loaded some current knitting patterns on it so no looking around to where I last left them, one click of the button and they are there.

And when I get stuck on a stitch I have an app now that I can key in the abbreviation and a video comes up showing me how to do it.

I can email from it.

Listen to my music on it as it's synced to my iPod.

Check out the recipes from the Channel 2 cooks on it, from a great app I found.

Open up my Yates Gardening app and work out what is going on with my plants.

And I can amuse myself no end with Garage Band, with blows my mind.

And the list goes on and I am probably using it to 1% of its ability.

Let's just face it ... I am SERIOUSLY IN LOVE with my iPad ! I have the world hanging out with me!

So if anyone is on this ride that I'm on, please share some names of apps you have that you love. I don't know if I need something until someone tells me I do! hahahaha

Still working on some photos for the book for my nephews. I love love LOVE this photograph I took covertly of Mike and Matthew, such a special relationship they have. This particular day they were visiting and I had made a huge pot of thick vegetable soup for lunch. Matt through a tanty of epic proportions, he didn't want to eat any vegetables. He wasn't going to eat a thing. I hadn't planned for this contingency but Uncle Mike to the rescue when he showed Matt that the best way to have his soup was to dunk the bread in it ... delicious! He won him over in a heartbeat, but just quietly I think if Mike said "hey let's fly to the moon" Matt would have believed that Mike had his own personal rocket ship. A bit of hero worshipping going on there.

Credits Designer Digitals.

What to do for the remainder of the afternoon? I know there's a vaccuum cleaner in the laundry calling my name, but so is photoshop. What to do?!?

It's a blanket of stars up there

It's 10pm and the G man is just about home, he texted me about half an hour ago that he was leaving so by my calcs he's got about 20 mins left. As he's driving through bushland, I always get him to text me when he leaves, so I know if he goes way over that time, he may have come a cropper with a kangaroo or the like on the road. That's when I can start worrying.

So I just went out to open the gates and I stood there for a good five minutes just looking up. The stars are magnificent. It's like a blanket of twinkling lights. No city lights where I live interfering with the view. It's just a black sky that goes on forever dotted with a sea of twinkles. It's absolutely gorgeous. And makes you feel quite insignificant.

So there's my ramblings for tonight, ha!

Another page here for the book I'm putting together for my nephews of their time spent down here. A bit of an unrealistic view of Australia I'm afraid, I've never even been that close to a kangaroo. Oh well. Lots of fun photographs for them on this page. Plus Pattie Knox's fabulous rendition of a big red roo in the bottom corner!

Credits here.

The weeks are going way too fast for my liking. I did a bit of online shopping recently and a parcel came today. Dare I say, they were some Christmas presents I had purchased!

Speaking of Christmas, I kid you not, Target had Christmas decorations in store last week. NO KIDDING AROUND HERE! Can you believe that ?!?!?! Of course I nabbed one! hahahahahaha Every year I buy a Hallmark dated ornament and they had the display of those so I made sure I got in before everyone else got the good ones.

But really Mr. Target ... don't you think it's just a tad too early?

Beee-you-ti-ful Day!

Finally FINALLY a sunny day. It's still chilly out, but the sky is as blue as blue as blue, it's a sight to behold. I'm waxing a bit lyrical here I guess, but after all the rain and grey we've had, I'm savouring this. The menagerie, all three of them, have been out sunbaking and basking in the sun and it's just lovely. Mike has gone bush today with some friends, but he'll be back tonight (that's if he doesn't get bogged up there), and I've just lolled about, a bit of gardening, a bit of scrapping, a bit of knitting, it's been glorious.

Wednesday afternoon I went up to Horsham for work and not back until yesterday. It's been cold and bleak during that time, but I've got to know a lot more people in the bigger picture at work. Long days training, very heavy eyes. They fed us well though, can't complain there! And a lovely social night on Thursday night where I got to network more. I'm so mindful with work functions, you spend a lifetime at work building up an integrity and it can be lost in a moment at an out of hours work function. I behaved very well. Actually I was a cheap shout, I was only drinking lemonade! ha.

I was about to post a page about my shadow, and she just walked in and sat beside me and put her paw up on my leg. Yes, she certainly is my shadow and more so as she is getting older. I got Mike to take a photo of my girl and me last weekend, and okay this is a little bit obsessive, but being that I wanted to scrap with purple, I made sure I wore my purple jumper! haha. Nothing like it huh? Planning clothes around a scrapbook page.

Mike keeps telling me I have to prepare myself for one of these days, my Molly won't be around. I can't even bear thinking about it. I just see Molly, I forget the fact she's 12 (maybe more). She's an old geriatric lady and I've never known unconditional love quite like this. She definitely is the poster girl as to why everybody should have a dog.

Credits Designer Digitals.


Shhh ... don't tell Lucky, he thinks he's my favourite! Actually that's given me the giggles, I should grab the out takes of this photo to show you. Trying to get a photo of me and Molly on our own was quite difficult as Lucky kept jumping up trying to get in the pic.

Off to enjoy more sunshine. Roll on Spring.

A lazy Sunday

It's been quite the lazy day today. Still chilly out, but the sun is shining and there are warm spots in the yard that the menagerie are sunbaking in. Just glorious. It will take more than one day of sun though to soak up the water laden yard.

I'm on a promise with the blog today. My friend Janet is too-ing and fro-ing as to who to print a scrapbook with, being that shutterfly continues to make life hard for us digi scrappers with their new interface. I recently printed a book through Blurb and was really impressed with the product. So easy to put together, the printing was just as good, if not better, the quality was superb and it came in record time too, plus the postage to Australia wasn't exhorbitant.

The thing that Janet is worried about, which worried me too was the "Matt cover". Now I was worried that the word matt meant it was a cardboard or paper kind of feeling to cover. Not so. It's not as glossy as shutterfly but still has the waterproof feel to it. It's just that it's matt. I guess much the same difference as gloss/matt photographs.

So taking photos of the latest book which I made in conjunction with my friend Tanya, a recipe book as a tribute to her mother's life, and compared it with the cover of shutterfly printed book. I think my photography skills have left much to be desired, I was aiming to show the gloss and matt, but I think they've both ended up much the same in the photo. Sorry Janet, I don't think I've been much help, but here are the comparisons anyway.

Onto the digi scrap front, I have been wanting to scrap one of the traditions we attend in this town for a while. We have the annual Steptoe Auction at one of the local churches. Now I've been reliably informed that the British comedy series Steptoe & Son was remade as Sanford & Son in America, but in any case, this auction is modelled after that series.

Lots of donated usely goods (junk mostly) auctioned off with proceeds going to the church. More often than not you end up donating the prized (junk) possession back the next year for it to be auctioned off to some other poor suspecting soul, and so the cycle would continue. I took photos at the last Steptoe Auction of some of the auction goods. Yep, even a bathtub! (rusty as it was)

Must admit, the best bargains we have got over the years, Mike paid the grand price of $2 for a student desk, nothing spectacular, but it cleaned up okay and has served him well when working on his reeds. My best buy was $5 for a box full of daffodil bulbs. Now when I saw a box full, I mean a BOX FULL! About 50 daffy bulbs in a supermarket box. BARGAIN!

Credits Designer Digitals.


Now off to tend to my roast pork in the oven, it smells delicious! And do a tad more knitting. Yes Lynn! Knitting! Photographs will be forthcoming! :-)

Friday night laugh of the week !

I'd love to start a regular segment, but you know me, I'm a bit hit and miss with the blog.

Today after quite a trying and stressful week, the funniest thing happened. Not that I'm prone to talking about my work, but late this afternoon we got an email from a lass up in one of the Melbourne offices, she had sent to all HR areas across the state, just to let us know something was awry on our computer system.

I nearly fell about on the floor laughing when I read her last line ...

"We apologise for any incontinence that may occur."

Actually I DID fall about on the floor laughing when I read it. I laughed until my sides hurt. I laughed until I had tears. It probably wasn't THAT funny, but like I said it had been a stressful week and this was the cherry on top that broke all that pent up stress. Both myself and the lady I share an office with I think laughed a good ten minutes.

Onto other things...

Last time we had the two eldest here for a visit I grabbed the opportunity, never one to miss an opportunity am I? And told them they weren't allowed to leave until I got the obligatory photograph. Love love love this photo of Mike and his two eldest. What happened to these little children I first me around 10 years ago? It's scary that time flies like it does.

Credits here.

Well time for a cuppa and a bit of knitting I do believe. I have a few projects on the go :-)

Oh what a night

APPARENTLY I snored the night before last. I say apparently because who really knows. Mike says he tries to wake me up, he says I wake up, talk to him, then promptly go back to sleep and snore again. I have no memory of it. And it doesn't happen every night, I dare say it's only when I'm really tired.

So about 1.30am he ended up getting up and going and sleeping on the couch. How come not the spare room with a lovely comfy double bed? Errr, he said I was reverberating through the wall. Oh dear.

I was on an earlier start than normal so I was up at 6.15 so gently woke him to go back into the bedroom as I was going to have to put the light on out in the lounge/kitchen/dining area. He groggily grabbed the sleeping bag and stumbled up the passageway to the bedroom. Behind him I closed the door to almost shut so as the light didn't shine in.

Next thing there was a crash bang whallop. He had walked into the post of the bed, whacked his thigh on the post, tried to stumble back out to the passageway in the light, didn't realise the door was shut and it sprang open as he walked into it, it flew opened, hit the stopper and then flew shut back in his face nearly knocking him out.

All because of my snoring APPARENTLY!

Last night I gave him 10 minutes head start to get to sleep before I slipped into bed, just in case.

Ahhh, the joys of marriage.

Another page for my nephews book for Christmas. Not the best photos in the world but memories of a very fun day. The first Easter Egg hunt I had plotted and planned, Easter eggs all round the front yard, squealing boys running from plants to trees to letterbox to fence palings to watering cans. So much fun. I do hope they remember the times like this, all the more reason to get these pages into the book for them.

Credits Designer Digitals. Love these Layer Works by Studio DD, pick your colours, add the photos, perhaps a few more elements and call it done.

Okay time to get the dogs out for the final time tonight before settling down to sleep. Although Molly has beat me to it, she's asleep at my feet as I type this.

Yet another funeral today

Yes, another funeral today, this is my fourth in about 5 or 6 weeks now. I've decided that's it, no more, not for a while anyway. Now I wouldn't normally talk in great detail about a funeral, particularly that it was the father of a dear friend here in town, but this funeral was like nothing I'd attended before. A few times that you had to laugh, which I think is a good thing at a funeral, kind of breaks the atmosphere, and such a magnificent job done by the priest.

Okay, the funny bits. It was a graveside service, now mind you it was a nice sunny winter's day but after all the rain we have had it was very soft underfoot, not to mention the cars driving into the cemetary, and there were more than a few cars that got bogged, tyres revving about in the mud, and had to be towed to drier ground by the 4WD that were there. About 100 mourners mingled and gave condolences and waited ... and waited ... and waited. No priest. He'd gotten lost. Maybe about 15 minutes after it was due to start we look up and see a white ute flying down the dirt road towards the cemetary and nearly missed the gate and pulled up with a squelch of tyres in the mud. Yep, the priest had arrived, hair flying about all over the place. Then when he spoke with an Irish accent it almost did me in. Not dissing the Irish, not by any means, but I always associated that Irish accent with comedy, probably too many times watching Jimeoin.

The service was beautiful, this retired old priest in his own way did a service like no other. All the grandchildren had something significant to put on the coffin - their grandpa's old shears, a tuft of merino fleece (the man was a shearer in the day), drawings they had done, some of his favourite chocolate, his spectacles, etc. The priest one by one gave them the microphone to tell everyone why they chose what gift they left for their grandpa and a story about him. From the youngest grandchild to the oldest. It was really moving. He had such patience because there were a LOT of grandchildren and great grandchildren to get around.

Plus there was a magnificent piper there playing too, not that I'm biased or anything. ;-)

A fitting tribute to a man who will obviously be missed by all.

Okay onto the scrapping front, I had to scrap some of the photos I took at the football the other weekend when we went to see number 1 stepson umpire. Nothing like having your own papparrazzi, is there?!

Credits Designer Digitals.


These pages will be tucked into the boy's album I'm making for him.

Miffed !

Well tonight was the night, Masterchef Finale. Couldn't wait. All afternoon I've thought about it. Making dinner I thought about it. Eating dinner, watching the Sunday night program on whatever channel it was on because there was nothing better to watch, sitting there watching a story about Jack flipping Vidgeon, who cares, I wanted to see who won Masterchef. Hurry up 7.30. Planning the night, knitting and watching the finale. It was 7.25, just finished the dishes, asked Mike to switch over to channel 10.

To what?

To them giving out the scores, that's what !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What the flip happened?!?!?!?! They started it at 6.30!!!!! Yes I am using an abundance of exclamation marks because for the next 10 minutes that's exactly how I talked. Plus in a higher than normal pitched voice.

So what the heck kind of finale is this? They show an hour, split in the middle by another tv show, and then the rest of the finale is at 8.30? Are the seriously playing with our heads.

SHAME MASTERCHEF SHAME. And a few of these !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for good measure.

Going to calm down now and share a page I did of one of my sweet nephews with his dog, which they sadly left here in Australia when they went back to America. A picture like this simply has to calm me, look at Miss Nelli sitting there wide awake while young Matthew sleeps, exhausted from playing with her. Her little paw resting on his arm. Is that the sweetest thing you've seen? Sweet innocence I tell you, this could be the poster advertising sweet innocence.

Credits Designer Digitals.

Okay, it's 8.27pm, at least I get this last split hour. Who will win????

And the weekend has rolled around again...

I keep saying I can't believe how quick the time is going, this year is on warp speed for sure. Plus it's been a busy week.

Last Monday I went to a very moving police funeral of one of the dear Sergeants I have had the pleasure of knowing for 22 years. He was not only a gentlemen, but a gentle man. I've never known someone so gracious and giving. And if there's a lesson to be learned from all of this, is not to wait until tomorrow to do and say what you need to today.

I've borrowed a photo from the newspaper which I have linked up to the article. If you've never been to a police funeral I can tell you it's the most moving tribute, to see a guard of honour stretch out and salute as the hearst goes by. But the thing that choked me up the most on this day is that they then took this great man on a final patrol of his town, flanked by motor cycle police with their lights flashing, up and down all the residential streets he had patrolled for the last 22 years. What an honour to have been there to say goodbye to a man who was so incredibly respected.

The funerals I have been to lately have really made me sit back and take stock. I attended the funeral of my Aunty Mavis a few weeks prior. Not really my Aunty but because of our age difference I called her that. She was my dad's cousin. It's really made me appreciate the here and now. I usually wear my heart on my sleeve at the best of times, I'm going to be unbearable now.

Credits Designer Digitals.


And dare I even say I am attending yet another funeral this coming Monday, the father of a dear friend of mine in town, one of the girls that I go away with once a year, passed away, so I will be there for her. I know it's part of life's cycle but fair go, there's just too much death around at the moment.

In amongst all this sadness though, during the week I took delivery of my new iPad. I was told it would be my newest best friend. You're not wrong! (okay Sonia, you know I don't mean that, you are still my very VERY best friend). I've had such fun setting it up, and the information out there to be had, oh my goodness. I'm still working my way through the apps I want to install, I don't want to just fill it with crap. I will write another blog post soon with what I have installed because I'm finding the whole exercise quite fascinating and how handy this device is going to be, not just for entertainment, but for every day use.

And with that I do believe lunch awaits. Well it doesn't actually await, I'll have to make it, but just ham, cheese and pickle sandwiches today I think. Left over curry tonight for dinner, yay! I don't have to cook, and it will taste even better. I think I've got today's food planned quite nicely.