A Man and His Dog!

How can you not crack up? These are beautiful pics!

GM and his faithful pup. I love them both immensely.

They both seemed to have the same expression. I thought it was fantastic!

I took some more!

I Love this Pic!

Our Trip to The Dairy Farm pt4

Our Trip to The Farm pt4 or On The Road Again!Ralphy- tuckered out from all the playing he did with Rosie.
Pit Stop- Necessary when you are travelling three hours to get home. . .

A beautiful little boy!

Are you done taking pictures yet?

The long road home. . . I liked our trip!

Our Trip to The Dairy Farm pt3

Cows-Duh. . . I really liked the way this pic turned out though!

We went for a walk, it was lovely!

GM snuck this pic in. . . :)

Ralphy made a friend. Her name is Rosie.

She kept him running!

This is Bruce, setting up the milking.

Eating on one side, while being milked on the other. They have about 80 cows, and some yummy cheese too!

Our Trip to The Dairy Farm pt2

Our family on the bed. Not a great pic, but I like it!

Open Fireplace- Loved it!

Here is where we took a long walk. Beautiful!

Ralph inspected everything!

I wanted to see him climb the tree. . .

Our Trip to The Dairy Farm pt1

This is where we went, it was about three hours from home.

Sue & Bruce were great hosts. I bought some cheese to bring home too! YUMMY!
Ralphy made himself at home. . . .
This is the gorgeous place we stayed.

It was really relaxing, and the hosts were lovely.

GM's Birthday Weekend!

Been kind of quiet lately, I have been really busy, and had lots going on, along with angst about Mother's Day. But, I am trying to come out the positive end of that now.

I have a new employer, which is kind of cool. I am still working in the same office, at the same desk for the same man, doing the same job, but the company that pays my remuneration is different. It was a little stressful getting it all done, but is all sorted now. Works for me!
GM got a year older on Saturday, and partly mid life crisis, partly ours was slowly falling apart, he got a new car. I will take pics, when I get a chance. It is really pretty, and way too fancy for me, but GM is once again in love with a vehicle. . . :) We took delivery of the vehicle on Saturday, and also went out for a big night on the town to see Wayne Brady Live. He is hilarious! He does "Don't Forget The Lyrics" and used to be in "Whose Line is it Anyway" w/Drew Carey. Absolutely fantastic! We caught the train into Melbourne, took the tram up to my work, as I had forgotten my cross stitch, and goodness knows i cannot live without it. . .lol Then we trekked back closer to The Arts Centre- Hamer Hall, where we were due to be. On the way, we stopped for dinner. GM chose Burger King/ Hungry Jacks for his birthday dinner. Then we took a leisurely stroll to where we needed to be. The show was hilarious. I love Improvisational comedy anyway, but this was great! Obviously there was no research on his audience, which actually worked rather well for this. Not knowing what a panel beater, Cootamundra and The Rialto were, made it even more funny. Loved it! Got home around 12:30am or so, and went to sleep after 1:20am. There was also a walk of Zombies on, when we went into town, not to mention the usual weekend night young people stuff. I am in the city everyday, for work-GM is not. That made for even more entertainment. . . lol
Made a roast dinner & White Chocolate Raspberry muffins for GM as a continuation of his birthday on Sunday. Muffins instead of birthday cake. He seems to like them alot. We went and saw his mom for Mother's day, that was really weird, but it went okay.
Guess we will see what the rest of the week has to offer!
Hope you are all well, and stay in touch!

The New Do

Okay, here's the new Hair- do! Much shorter than I used to have it & more colorful. But, I like it, and can still put it in a ponytail, which is important!

Trees!

GM is one of the most thoughtful men ever- most of the time. Last night- well actually on Good Friday, he out did himself. We just got to pick up his good deed yesterday. I love taking pics as you may have guessed, and I especially love taking pics of trees. Well, I took this picI have been in love with these trees since the first time I saw them.
(My dad may or may not know, but he is the reason I have been so fond of trees all my life, so I am happy to 'hunt' them with my camera anytime I can. Thanks Dad!)
I try to take pics of these trees every year. I took this one in March 2009. There is something about them, that involves/intertwines life & death. And also with the ominous sky behind it, I could not resist. I just love these trees.
Anyway, back to the story. . . Last night, I met GM at a store in our home town, and picked up a 12*16 inch copy of the pic above. I was taken aback, and thrilled. i still am. We went directly to get a frame, and it is hanging on our wall. I do not know where it will hang for good yet, but I just love it! Kind of funny, 'cause we both got each other photos, without knowing what the other was doing. . . How bizarre.
So he has a few brownie points, and I love him more each day! Okay, getting soppy.
I have volleyball practice tonight, Yeah! I got my hair done yesterday, very happy about that. Just below my shoulders & striped, who would have thought. . .lol
Hope all is well in your worlds!

22 April 2009

Volleyball-
Had practice on Friday night. That went really well, it was great to re-learn how to volley again, take advantage of the three hits available before it has to go over the net. And have seven people on a side, gives you a big challenge when the team on game night consists of four.

Had a game on Monday night. Only three available to play, and my office chair and I had- had a disagreement in the morning. I was feeling a bit sore & sorry, and went home for a heat bag, cause I hurt that much. We played really well actually, we still lost, but played well. Had a great time even if I hurt.

Have practice again Friday, am looking forward to that too!

Going to get my hair done in a few hours, and meeting my future employer tomorrow. Once I am free to, I can talk more about that. . .lol My employment has been interesting for years. . . :)

Hope all is well in your worlds!

1 April 2009

Three weeks & one day. I had no idea it had been that long. It has been very busy here.

Volleyball on Mondays, dinner @/with in-laws here & there. Moving offices at work, and so much more. . . lol.

Anyway, not much time today either. Happy April Fools day everyone! It has been good here so far. I did however hear that in the city (Melbourne) today, someone had cling wrapped several cars in a parking lot. Sounded kind of entertaining! On the not so funny side, GM hit something on the way to work, and is very worried about the car, and what he hit. I am just happy he is not hurt. I feel for the animal he hit though. Don't want to know, cause it will be sad.

GM & Ralphy & I are all set to go away for the weekend, in the caravan for the first time. I am so excited, it will be absolutely fantastic! We will be able to go for walks, and sit and do nothing for long periods of time. I hope it will be as relaxing as I am envisioning. I will take pics I am sure!

Okay, have a dentist appt tonight, and a Dr appt Friday morning, before we head off to Bendigo.

I will leave some photos for now.

The Caravan
The In-Laws, GM & Ralphy!

Tuesday Already!

What a weekend! Had a good one, but too short, and felt like crap the whole time.
The trip to and from Echuca on Saturday was a little too eventful. First of all we had reserved seats. I thought that meant you actually got a reserved seat, but that did not work out. The conductor ended up finding us all a place to sit. Then had a lovely time in Echuca. GM and I went down to the Murray River, and ate our lunch. Stayed for a while, had a think about where I want to scatter some of mom's ashes. That was a bit emotional, but it was lovely. Then had a slow walk, browsing as we went back to the station. I will try to add photos of the river tomorrow. The train ride home, GM almost got into an altercation w/ someone that was drinking on the train, and about to light up. That was not fun. Then we were told to move seats to our 'assigned' seats. On our way, there were police outside the train, and a handcuffed young man went for the cop, and was pushed up against the train to try and gain control of him. So there was a bit of action on the station, which held us up for at least 10 minutes, then we were told it didn't matter what seats we sat in. . . omg what a pain. But, I was exhausted and didn't feel good, so I was really ready to get home. When we did, got to watch a couple shows with GM. I Love our time together, and I love that he said my "mom would love it here", referring to the Murray River. I know she would!
Sunday I didn't want to get out of bed, I talked on the phone for ages which was lovely, then had enough time to shower and get ready to go to the bbq for GM's boss. That was a lovely 5 hours that flew by. The company was great, and they had cockatoos flying in and out of the backyard to three separate feeders. loved it! The gang is so nice, and I played with a couple gorgeous little girls, it was a lovely social time! Got home after 7:30pm, watched a show or two w/ GM & went to sleep.
Monday, I finally had time to do some laundry (three loads), sweep the slate (1/3rd of our house is slate), vacuum cobwebs, package all the meat we had gotten from the butcher so it could go in the freezer, make a cake for afternoon tea. Which worked out great, because my mil & I went to sil's house to watch an episode of CSI. I was able to take most of the cake, and not bring any of it home. Went next door for scones once we got back, and it was all good. Somewhere in there, I managed to call and wish my brother a Happy Birthday. I sang the whole song to his voicemail. Then called my dad, talked to him, my sis, my brother (birthday boy) wished them all well, then call Lori for an hour.
Okay, I now see why I am still tired, along with the only getting a few hours sleep. At 3:30am, I think it was, GM & I are asking why we are awake. I watched the clock un til after 4am, Then got up just after 5am and took my shower.What a blasted long night. Oh well, I am hoping for sleep tonight- cross my fingers & hope.
Have a sil & her husband over for dinner tomorrow night, a Dr's appointment on Thursday, and dinner at M & D's. I am so hoping Friday is quiet. Oh yeah, may have volleyball practice that night. Had volleyball last night, didn't do too bad, but would like to practice a little more. And maybe work out the coordination in the team. We will see how it goes.
Blah Blah Blah- I think lack of sleep makes me babble too! lol
Hope everyone is well!

Finally Friday!

Boy, this week has been busy & fast! Glad it is a three day weekend though- Thank you for Australia's Labour Day! Let's see, this weekend will consist of. . . . . .
Saturday- Train ride to Echuca. The Train leaves Sunbury @ 9:52am, and gets into Echuca around lunch time. I will make lunches tonight, so we will have a lovely picnic lunch next to the Murray River. The Murray River is where All the Rivers Run was filmed, and where we will eventually scatter some of my mom's ashes. So, in essence this is a field inspection trip, and an excuse to relax I think. We will get a few hours up there, then will be on the 4:10pm train back home. I think it gets in just before 7pm. It will be a long, but forcibly relaxing day. lol I have a cross stitch to work on, a book to read, and a puzzle book, if the 5 other people going with GM & I is not enough entertainment. . . Just kidding- kind of.
Sunday- SLEEP IN! This is very high on my priority list, as I definitely have not been getting enough sleep lately. After a few days, without enough sleep, I do not function very well. I am hoping to morph into a very happy go lucky had lots of sleep person this day. :) Then we have a bbq to go to, that will be lovely, as the people are from GM's work, and they are all pretty darn good people! That is early afternoon. And if we don't stay until the weee hours of the night, I may get my husband home in time for a movie! Don't know yet, but am hoping.
Monday- Housework. I have laundry to do, make that mountains of laundry to do, rooms to clean, I am still putting the craft room back together, and the kitchen needs a scrub. Our little boy Ralphy is in dire need of a bath, and a haircut, I have forward planning cooking to do, and hopefully some craft time for an hour. . . lol GM will be going to the tip (dump), and cleaning the garage a bit with his dad. Oh yeah, and volleyball Monday night. It will be a very busy weekend, but hopefully very productive too!
I may add some more of my favorite recipes as I go. As I am trying to type a recipe a day for my family back home, might come across some nice ones to share too!
Hope everyone is well, and it would be nice to see Lori & Rainbow back in action! I guess it just means you guys have a life. :p Take care, & talk to you soon!

Tuesday, 3 March 2009

Boy does life fly by. . . .

Had volleyball last night, loved it! I so love playing. First game of the season, and considering we were playing against an inexperienced team, we did really well. 64 -10 points I believe was the final score. The subject of a mixed team was brought up too. I think that would be SO much fun! I asked Geoff, and he was not that keen, but I am hoping I can change his mind. How much fun would it be to play sport with my husband! I would enjoy it way too much I think! Will keep you posted on that.

I have also been typing up a few recipes for my dad & sister. I may start sending them to my brother & his wife. Not sure yet. They may have their own recipes they like. . . I have found a few of my mom's recipes and am trying to get them on the computer, so I don't lose them.

Has anybody had Lattice chicken, it is easy, & fabulous! I may post that on here tomorrow. . . I love it, and used to be able to eat WAY too much of it. It is pretty healthy & yummy!

Kind of excited, GM and I are in the process of buying our In-Laws Caravan. It is a 1992 Windsor Statesman, and it is beautiful, and exactly what we have wanted. And having a Caravan, we can grab Ralphy, and run away for the weekend if we want to, which is awesome!

So, we are looking at going away for a weekend in April, I cannot wait. We will not fully own the Caravan, but are lucky enough to be able to use it before it is paid off!

I have also booked GM , Ralphy & myself into a Bed & Breakfast on a dairy farm for our birthdays in May. I will give you details on that later, it sounds like a lovely place though!

Okay, gotta run, hope to catch you soon!

Happy Monday!

Monday Again!

Well, have had a hugely busy weekend!

The carpet got laid last week, and it is beautiful. Funny enough, it is made in the USA. . . lol GM got the craft room painted, and once it was sufficiently dry, GM & I started moving stuff in last night. It is such a beautiful room w/ new carpet and paint. We moved back into our bedroom on Thursday night, which was really nice, I love our bed! Here are some pics from the destruction. . . I mean renovation of our house over the last little while.

Slumber Party- Living Room What a mess!
One room with the carpet pulled up.
The old carpet- 20 plus years
The Old Carpet again.

The New Carpet.
The new carpet in our bedroom.

It looks like it changes colors- almost.

The craft room before I moved back in.

The craft room as we move stuff in.

Went for scones yesterday, and had sweet & sour chicken & rice for dinner. A lovely weekend all in all! Just busy. I finished Sadie's cross stitch, I think it is really cute! I just hope she and her parent's like it too!

Okay, that's enough for now. Hope you all are doing well.

18 February 2009

Happy Birthday Rainbow! Hope you have/had a great day!!


Volleyball was good on Monday. I am not as sore as I thought I would be. Didn't win, and felt what negative energy can do to a team, but had a good time anyway!

As we are continuing our slumber party in the living room, I am sleeping like crap. And because I am getting home so late, and not eating till late, I am coughing throughout the night. It feels like heartburn, but is not. Bummer. Oh well, I will make the most of it, and look forward to sleeping in my own bed on Friday night if at all possible! Tonight I get a little time with GM, before I go to sleep, so I may fall asleep in his arms, whether he likes it or not. . .lol

Work is going well, my boss is pretty darn cool! We don't tell him though. :) There is no tension at work now, which is amazing, because it was tense for so long. I am enjoying it.

GM has a Dr appointment tonight re: his breathing. I think he is suffering from asthma more, now that our house is dusty from the carpet, and the bushfire smoke all around outside. We will get him taken care of though. My poor little niece in the states is on the nebulizer 5 times a day right now. She is only four months- poor baby. Hope she feels better soon. I think that kinda sounds like what little Drew was going through? ?

Tomorrow (Thursday) night is dinner out with the court (the court/cul De sac we live in) friends. It will be nice to catch up, and wish Shazz a Happy Birthday! Friday GM has radio club, and there was talk of Mexican with the girls, we will see if I am up to it. Especially if my waterbed is calling!

I guess it's all pretty normal stuff here. I have a Dr appointment next week- about girl stuff. That will be interesting. At least I know I am still a girl. . . lol

Okay, that's it for now!

It's Monday!

Tonight is volleyball, I am a bit excited, and looking forward to is. I wonder how sore I will be tomorrow- lol.
Had a busy weekend. Friday night's "Body Shop" party was a ripper! Enjoyed myself immensely, and outlasted the usual party animals. . .lol. Saturday morning, got up a little late, luckily no hangover, and got started on boxing stuff up, and getting everything moved out of the three main bedrooms, including my craft room. OMG there is sooo much stuff. But, The great GM & I were able to get everything out by Sunday afternoon. Then I took a break for a cuppa tea, and he started "playing"- ripping the carpet up. It is the original carpet from the late 1980's, and has sooo much dust I was not able to stay with it for too ling. But GM is having a ball ripping it all up. Tonight before I get home, he will have taken up all the foam underlay, and swept the dust up & out I hope.
We had a slumber party in the living room last night, I slept on the couch, and he slept on a mattress next to the couch, with Ralphy. We have a water bed, and there is no use filling it for a couple nights. The carpet is being laid on Friday, so that will be nice, and a whole lot less dusty. I am really glad GM talked me into getting new carpet. I think it will be fantastic!
I might post pics of our slumber party room, if it is not too embarrassing. . .lol
Hope everyone is well. Talk to you soon!

PS-Congratulations to Chris & Jenn they finally found a house in Tracyton on 4 1/2 acres. Yeah, I cannot wait to see pics.

It's Friday- Yipppeee!

Went to the dr yesterday and all is well. Tonight I have a "Body Shop" party I am attending at my Sis-in-laws house. Should be fun, and I hear there are cocktails which will make Friday the 13th quite delightful!
Stayed up waaaayyyyy too late, watching the Australia Unites-Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009 telethon on tv last night, and am feeling the effects today. Tired and achy. Boy it was touching to see all the generosity,and heartfelt love from sooo many people, all over the world really. It was amazing! And they raised a fantastic amount of money to help all these people rebuild their lives.
I am going to be doing alot of packing this weekend, trying to get my craft room packed, for the new carpet that is being put in next Friday.
Wow- emotional break- I just realized that my mom passed away 28 days/4 weeks ago today. That really sucks! I miss her sooo much! What a crappy dawning while at work. How many times can your heart break? I Love You Mom!

Cold dinner on a hot day & bushfire tragedy!

Silly but true. On Saturday 7 February 2009 we had record heat- over 114*F and massive bush fires. So, for dinner, GM & I had the above for dinner. Cold meat, boiled egg, beetroot, pineapple,mushrooms and potato salad. Funny, but good for a horribly hot day.

Some of the bush fires are about an hour north from here. This is the Main Page of The Herald Sun newspaper. There is an interactive map that shows you where the fires are. It is scary, but a fact of life here. The whole thing is very emotional, and sad as can be. There have been over 170 deaths so far, and they are guesstimating there will be over 300 by the end of the fires. Outrageous!

Anyway, I hope all is well, and that life is good in your worlds!

Friday!

Well, today is Friday, and I am going to get through it. . .lol

Happy Early Birthday Lori- It is the 6th here! :) Hope you have a wonderful one- miss you!

I am still very tired, but I get home about 7pm tonight, and think I could be asleep by 7:05 if I tried. :)

Life is moving right along. I have volleyball observation Monday, a Dr's appt Thursday, a "Body Shop" party to go to next Friday. Doesn't sound like much, but it eats up a bit of time, when you work over 40 hours a week & commute over 10 hours a week. . .lol Anyway, at least I am able to do these things.

Tomorrow is supposed to be more than stinking hot- more like Africa hot as it was referred to in my childhood. I will be locked in the air conditioning I think. I may even sleep all day. Goodness knows I need it. I may even go through a bit more of my mom's stuff, and box up a bit of the craft room in preparation for the new carpet.

Life keeps on chugging along. Hope all is well in your worlds!

Reality Bites!

Exhaustion is setting in. Went to lunch with a lovely lady I used to work with. Told her a bit about my mom, and heard about the death of hers. Was great, She is so sweet. Then last night we went to dinner for My Sis-In-Laws 50th birthday last night. It was really lovely, except for Me thinking about how lucky everyone was to have their entire family there. Self centered I know, But I am still dealing with the death of my mom. It was a lovely dinner, and everybody was really lovely. And My Sis-In-Law looks FABULOUS!


Didn't get 'good' sleep last night, as it is still really hot for me here. Evidently I fell asleep while sitting up according to GM. How funny!


I woke up with a lovely migraine I will just call ouch. And have been taking drugs, but nothing is touching it. I think I need down time. . .


I have committed to joining a volley ball team. I will go and watch this coming Monday, and might start the following Monday. Nervous, imagining how much wiggling I can do on a court. But also kind of excited. I used to love playing volleyball. It is so fun, and will give me some exercise and a social outlet too! Of course my niece is the captain, so I will probably be the oldest girl there. . .lol Does not matter, it will be a good experience for me, if nothing else.

I have doctor's appointments, and various stuff happening over the next three weeks, should be interesting. And on the 20th of February, we are getting new carpet put down in part of our house.

Under the circumstances I think I am doing pretty darn good. I have been calling my sis & dad everyday to make sure they are okay. I am glad to hear that they are okay. My little sis not so much as my dad. But, she will be okay. And most exciting, my brother and his family, my dad, and my little sis are talking about coming out here for Christmas. I am so excited by that, and don't want to get my hopes up just in case. But man it would be cool!

Here is a pic from Mine & GM's last night in Bremerton this trip. I Love My Family!