Isn't this vintage lady lovely.....

So, yesterday was quite a busy day, I had a lot in my diary to get through, but it all got crossed off by about 8.30 last night. I had to finish cutting out the rest of the dupion silk for the evening bag I am making, as I have another class on that tonight. My machine is apparently due back today, otherwise I will have to borrow one of theirs. I had to run to spotlight this morning, and grab a little bit more silk for the lining as I didn't have quite enough and the sewing shop didn't have any black. I also finished off the arranging of a preservation I am working on, so that should be ready for the framers on Monday. Today is paperwork, paperwork, paperwork....ugh....will it ever end....

I am hoping my machine is back, as I am now a week behind on the MAKE sew along, and want to catch up so I don't fall too far behind. I planted out some seedlings that I sowed some weeks back yesterday, some mini cabbage, some lettuce and some pak choi, I thought it would be a good time to plant them while it has been drizzling a little. I will have to plant out the garlic today or tomorrow, I still have not received the garlic from Victoria, so I need to chase them up on this...grrrr...

And here is my new treasure I bought yesterday. I mentioned to Mum a little while ago that if she sees a vintage singer sewing machine in her travels could she let me know...well she called in to the auction shop on Tuesday and was greeted by this lovely lady as she walked in the door:

Manufactured April 1911, so this lovely lady will turn 100 next year, and is in very good condition, and had only come in that morning. Damian just rolled his eyes, and said...where are we going to put that!, and then admitted defeat and said "do whatever you like dear".....that's the spirit darling....hehehe....it will look lovely in my craft room when I get it back....the machine still works, but it will mainly be a decorative piece, I have wanted one for years....

My craft room is gone :(

I took over Michael's old room a few months back to use as my craft room, it is now currently pulled to bits. We had termites detected here about 6 months back, and we had them treated, but knew that we would have to pull the plasterboard off the wall in the spare room and around the cupboards in there as the termites had travelled along there. So yesterday, as we didn't have much for Michael to go and do work wise, we had him start on the demolition process. This is what we discovered, and how it now looks

This is the termite nest found in the wall where they came in to the house:

This is how the room now looks:

So, I will probably have to push a bit to get this done now, otherwise it will probably stay this way for the next 12 months!!  All of my craft things have been transferred in to the big shed, so I will have to cover it all to protect it from dust and rodents etc.

I also went and had my hair cut and coloured yesterday, the colour I am happy with, the cut I am not. I wanted about an inch cut off and the layers a bit shorter, I think she cut off about 4 inches! So I am basically back to almost short hair. So now I think I may have to go and get it cut again, if it's going to be short, then I would like it cut in a bit more of a modern style...I should have just gone to Jessica, but she is having some issues with the bub and is very tired so I didn't want to hassle her to cut my hair.

I have brought something very special today that I have been wanting for a while. I will post about this tomorrow, but it is just beautiful, vintage and in really good condition.  Mum found it for me yesterday, and I have snapped it up as it is in great condition.

Harvested today:
315 grams sweet potato
90 grams silverbeet
40 grams fancy lettuce leaves
130 grams eggs (2 eggs)

Not sure yet which of these I will use for dinner tonight, either the lettuce in some baked potatoes, or else the silverbeet, sweet potatoes and eggs in something else, haven't decided what though yet...will have to put some thought in for some inspiration. I have spent the last 2 days catching up on paperwork in the office, and catching up on the washing, the washing is done, the paperwork.....well....probably another couple of days yet. I also have to get on to finding a home for George the rooster, he has become boss cocky in the chook pen, and poor sam is relegated to a corner by himself all day and wanders around by himself when out....very sad....

Back home...

We arrived home from our short break yesterday at about 2pm. Had a really nice time. We drove out to Yeppoon on Thursday from Rockhampton, it is a beautiful spot, really liked it there. Had a drive along the coastline, we stopped for a play at a playground for Kasey, and then went and had some lunch and a look around.

  The Singing Ship in Yeppoon, honouring Captain Cook sailing through the area.

 The Kookaburra's waiting for some food at Tannum Sands.

There is so much to do around Rockhampton and in the areas nearby, but we just haven't had the time to do them, but would definitely look at coming back and spending a couple of weeks looking around. We moved on to Tannum Sands just outside of Gladstone on Friday, another really nice spot.  On our way there, an emu appeared out of nowhere on the road in front of us, Damian had to swerve a bit to miss it, it was very surreal seeing this huge emu just appear in front of us, and trying to miss an emu with a huge caravan on the back was a bit tricky...We went for a walk along the waterfront at Tannum Sands and Kasey had a play in the playground, there was a flying fox here so she was very happy.  We think  it would be really nice to come here for Xmas other than the signs warning about stingers and crocodiles!!  They seem to have a dedicated bathing reserve, so need to find out a bit more about that before we would look at heading there for Xmas. On Saturday morning we packed up and headed to Bundaberg. We typed in "shortest route" on the GPS and ended up doing about 40 klms on a gravel road, which was a bit of a worry as we were hoping it wasn't leading us in to a dead end where would end up in someone's paddock, but we managed to get there in the  end. At one stage we were following a huge Brahman bull that was running along the road, which was quite funny...it didn't know what to make of us....We pulled in to our friends place about 1.30 in the afternoon, and had a really nice catch up, and they cooked us up a beautiful BBQ for dinner and breakfast the next day.  We said our goodbyes about 9.30 in the morning, and got home a little before 2pm. We were both pretty bushed last night, travel takes a bit out of you, especially Damian as towing a large van definitely keeps you on your toes and wears you out pretty quickly. I have been confronted with a huge pile of catch up work today, which I will need to get stuck in to this week, as I haven't been spending much time in the office lately (trying to avoid it) so now have lots to do. I need to go and drop back some library books, and quite a few other bits and pieces, luckily I have a fairly light diary this week, so this will definitely be a catch up week for me.

Now in Bundaberg..

Well, we have finally moved on from Mackay today. The ute wasn't ready until about 11 this morning, and by the time we said our goodbyes to friends, it was about 11.30. We stopped in Sarina for some lunch, with the plan to drive to Yeppoon.  We didn't realise how close Yeppoon was to Rockhampton, and we had planned to move on to Rocky tomorrow, but decided instead to go to Rocky and day trip it out to Yeppoon. We are planning on staying here until Friday morning, then going to Gladstone, then on to Bundaberg on Saturday, where we will catch up with friends for a BBQ and then probably home on Sunday.  It was a long drive, we didn't get to Rocky until nearly 5pm, and Kasey was pretty well stir crazy by the time we got here, but she was really good for the drive. Tonight I have done a load of washing and had dinner, everyone else has gone to bed, and I will probably head that way shortly. May head out to the wildlife sanctuary tomorrow, but not entirely sure. My phone seems to have most basic functions back now, so I am hoping to be able to start taking some photos tomorrow, we are having a really nice time so far, so I am sure whatever we decide to do, it will be relaxing and enjoyable....

Still in Mackay

We are still in Mackay at the moment. Damian took his ute back into the mechanics yesterday, as it was still having a slight oil leak, after the repairs he had done here a coupke of weeks ago. Apparently, they missed a gouge, so have had to pull the gearbox and everything out again to fix it, so we have ended up staying here an extra day. We have been driving around in the mechanics landcruiser (he is a long time friend) since yesterday. We went around to he and his wife's house last night for a lovely dinner of lasagne and garlic bread, and had a good catch up as we haven't seen them for quite a few years. It was really nice to catch up, they have not changed at all really. We drove out to Sarina today and did a tour of the Sarina Sugar Shed and learnt a bit about how sugar is processed from the growing and harvesting of the sugar cane, to how it is processed and turned in to sugar, molasses, ethanol, alcohol etc. Damian and I found it really interesting, Kasey wasn't fussed one way or the other, and spent the DVD watching time crawling on the floor, and talking the rest of the time....once she gets a bit older she may find this sort of stuff interesting, even when they gave her fairy floss it didn't really change her opinion of the whole thing...we then drove out to Hay Point  to the public lookout and had a look out over the coal processing area including where they load up the ships etc. Damian thought all of this was wonderful, but I could have taken this or left it....definitely a boys area this one.   I haven't been able to take photos of our trip so far, as my phone stopped working yesterday, the screen appears to have gone, courtesy I think of me spilling the Passionfruit jam on the screen a couple of weeks ago....oops....so I am not sure if it was the jam or if the screen has just gone, but there is remnants of the jam in under the side where the screen joins the case, so I think the warranty will be voided regardless, so it looks like I am up for a new phone....again....I have done a couple of loads of washing in the laundry this afternoon, hopefully now that I have caught up, seeing as Damian left me a bag of his washing to do from last week as well, I will be able to use the washing machine in the caravan now, as it only fits a few items in it at a time and would have taken me 2 days to do the amount that was here in the little machine in here.  The caravan is wonderful, I absolutely LOVE it, it is so nice to have a shower and toilet in the van, and also being bigger is great, and the bigger fridge and normal size freezer is a definite bonus. The bed is also longer than in the last caravan, so the bed is really comfy and Kasey loves having her own bunk bed, and is really enjoying climbing up to the top bunk and having her own private little area to sleep in, and is forever pulling the concertina door closed so she has her own little room. Depending on whether the car is finished tonight or not will depend on whether we move on to Yeppoon tomorrow, or if we will need to spend another day in Mackay.  Doesn't really matter either way, neither of us needs to hurry back for anything, so an extra day or 2 won't be a problem...really nice to be able to say that for once. Having cold BBQ chicken, salad and pasta for dinner tonight. I woke up feeling pretty horrible during the night last night, and had to ask Damian to get me a bucket, as I really thought I was going to end up needing it, but managed to keep that at bay, I had a constand headache yesterday as well, so I think it was all related. I have been mostly ok today, but have the occasional bout of nausia here and there, and had a bit of a headache this morning, so hopefully by the morning I will be back to normal. Not sure what our plans are for tomorrow until we know more on the car, hopefully we will know something soon....

Off to Mackay we go....

We flew to Mackay today. This was Kasey's first plane trip, so she was very excited and scared at the same time. 

Kasey just before take off, looking very brave....I managed to prise her hands off mine for a couple of seconds....

We will stay until Tuesday and then start heading back down to Brisbane. We went and did a little bit of grocery shopping and had a bite of lunch while we were out. Other than that we just relaxed this afternoon as we were all a bit tired after a big week. Not sure what the plans are yet for tomorrow. While we were eating lunch part of my back tooth broke off, it seems to be ok at the moment, bit I will have to get to a dentist to get it fixed fairly soon, as it is really annoying me as it is a really sharp broken edge, and  I keep feeling it with my tongue because I know it is there. I am on Damian's laptop at the moment as I haven't been able to get our wireless internet card setup on my computer yet, so I can't load my photos at this point, but hopefully tomorrow I will get it up and running. I am going to head off to bed soon, as I am quite tired.... I will probably phone Toni before then and see how they are all going at home...

Today's Wedding

Today's wedding for Belinda:

Bridal Bouquet

Bridesmaid Bouquet

Flowergirl Hoop

Craft, sports carnival and a little upcoming trip...

I have had a busy couple of days as usual. Yesterday was spent at sewing class for the block of the month class on my back on the farm quilt. I spent the whole day tracing out the designs to be appliqued on to the individual blocks.  Now have to cut all the little pieces out, attach them to the different fabrics and cut those out, and then glue and sew to the blocks, still a bit of work, but definitely getting there. Last night I finished off a pair of crocheted fingerless gloves that I started the night before. They are really quick to crochet up, and this is my first wearable crocheted item I have made, and I am quite proud of it. They are really warm as well.

Kasey had her very first school sports day today. It was really nice sitting down to watch all of the littlies trying their hardest.  Kasey ran a 50 metre race. She had fun..

I have been to a sewing class again tonight for the evening bag. Tonight we embroidered the front flap of the bag. I left my machine there to have a service while I am away, as I seem to be having some tension troubles, and I don't think it was serviced before I purchased it from the lady who sold it to me, so it isn't going to hurt it. I also need the needle threader replaced, as it has been broken since I bought the machine. The embroidery is coming up really nicely. I have a wedding to do tomorrow, and it is also Toni's year 12 formal, and I am picking Damian up from the airport as well, so a very busy day ahead.  I have started on the few things I could do for the wedding, so it shouldn't take me too long to finish it off tomorrow.Damian is flying in for Toni's formal, and we are going to fly back up to Mackay on Sunday with Kasey and spend a few days driving back down with our new caravan which he has left in accomodation at Mackay. I haven't stayed in our new caravan yet, so I am looking forward to setting that all up, as Damian is likely to have set it up with a man's touch, so I will probably relocate a few things....  :)  I am going to head in to the city tomorrow night and pick the girls up after their formal and drive them back home, so it is about an hour's drive in to the city, so it will be a late night by the time I get home....I am going to need a few days off I think....I am going to make Toni and her friend up a lovely wrist corsage each for them to wear, they have asked me for them and I am happy to make them for the girls, it is lovely that they wish to have some fresh flowers to set off their dresses. I will post some photos of their special day after the event.

Back on the farm quilt progress and vege garden overhaul

Saturday and Sunday night I spent doing my back on the farm quilt. I have been working on 4 blocks together, and I now have 5 of the 9 blocks completed. I have a Block of the month class for this on tomorrow, so I am going to trace out the remaining 4 blocks, and make a start on finishing those off. Here is what I have done so far.

Piggy Back Ride

Pigs in a Blanket

Rub a Dub Dub

Swing Low

Top half of quilt arranged together.

 

I also went out yesterday and pulled out the pumpkin vine, and dug manure in and re-mulched both beds. It is now all freshened up, waiting for some fresh plantings. I will plant the pumpkin seeds shortly, and I have a few seedlings coming on, so will plant those out when ready. I also need to put in some supports for the tomatoes and pumpkin to grow up. Here are the beds all freshened up. It was a hard day's work, but needed to be done. Max dispatched of another rat in the storage shed, there doesn't appear to be any more in there, but I think they have moved to the big shed, so have had to put some rat baits in there. I hate using it, but they are getting out of control in there, and there is no other way to get rid of them. I really wish there was another option. I purchased a big enclosed rat station some months ago and only rats and mice can fit in there,  which keeps the other animals and wildlife safe.

I pulled out the last of the pumpkins, there was 3 growing,  1 @ 2.4 kg, 1 @ 4.2kg and 1 @ 5.5 kg's, so hopefully with the few already stored plus these, it will be enough until there is more to pick.  I was going to do some mowing yesterday, but Max has a bad habit of biting the front wheel on the ride on when it starts (as do most cattle dogs it would seem) and he bit a big hole in it, so I had to get Michael to take the wheel off for me, and I dropped it in to get fixed yesterday afternoon, and picked it up this morning, so will be able to mow again, even though time will be serioulsy lacking now until the weekend. It cost $30 for a tube repair, seems pretty expensive to me, but I don't know what is involved in repairing a ride on tyre or if the tubes are more expensive for these, it just seems a lot for a tube....

Our day at the Garden expo

What a gorgeous day outside today! The weather is beautiful this morning, lovely sunshine and warmth without that horrible summer swelter..I have opened up the house to let in some lovely fresh air. I hate having the house all closed up over winter.  Kasey and I got up early yesterday and headed up to the Nambour garden expo. It was a lovely day. Kasey was pretty good considering that I was trapesing around from one end of the place to the other, in between lectures and workshops. She was getting decidely bored until I finally found the playground, then I had some bribing power! I attended probably 5 or 6 workshops, which I really enjoyed and learnt quite a bit. I spent most of my time at the Giant Kitchen Garden, as this is my area of real interest. I can get plants and buy garden bits and pieces any time of the year. I picked up a perpetual moon calendar for $12 which I can use year after year, and I also picked up a HUGE organic garlic from the same man. My other garlic that I planted the cloves of about 3 weeks ago is finally starting to sprout (yay) I had started to give up on it. Apparently I am best to put the garlic I purchased yesterday in the fridge for a couple of weeks, and according to the moon calender I am to plant it out on the 29th and 30th July.  This along with the sprouts I ordered from Vic should hopefully see a nice big crop in summer, and then I can plant my own cloves...here's hoping anyway.  There was a whole new concept in the Kitchen Garden with how to manage your vege and food crops, and your animals etc. I picked up lots of new info, and lots of info of day workshops etc coming up, which I have yet to read through. Here is a bit of a picture account of what we saw and did at the expo.

Protective planting for establishing fruit trees.

Frog  habitat using a black tub

Spiral herb garden

Ad Lib photo at the solar cooking demonstration

 Teacup ride 

 More teacup ride

Fun on the slide

Companion gardening

 

Protective growing frame for summer vege gardening

Teepee frame for peas and beans and other climing plants

 

Mixed planting vege garden

 

More mixed planting vege garden

 

More mixed garden planting.

  All in all a lovely, productive and enjoyable day. Will definitely go again next year. Seeing as it's such a lovely day outside, I will probably do a little mowing just around the house where it is a bit longer than I would like, the front paddock doesn't need any mowing, and I will probably pull out the pumpkin vine as it is now past it's prime, and will replant some new seeds later in the week, I will plant by the moon calendar which says I can plant from Wednesday, I think I am going to get a LOT of use from this little calendar.

  The vine has it's last 2 huge pumpkins ready to pick, but it is looking very scraggly and the new fruit is not growing, just rotting on the vine, even when hand pollinated, so time for a replacement.  I would like to put some climbing teepee style frames in this time for them to grow on, as they definitely seem to grow better when the fruit is elevated. The other option is some reo mesh, and either of these two options will hopefully contain the vine a bit as well, so it doesn't take over the garden so much.

Making things, My first Capsicum and a mouse invasion....

Yesterday was quite busy. I managed to get through a long list of things to be done. I also made passionfruit jam

The recipe called for 5 cups sugar, which for the amount of fruit and pulp, seemed to be way too much for me, so I only used 4 cups sugar, which is plenty sweet enough. It is very yummy, I have never tried passionfruit jam before, so it is different to what I would normally have in jam, but I will definitely have on my toast etc.

I also made some Lemon  Spread

I thought that I would have filled this jar, it is a 500ml one, but probably should have used a 250ml jar instead, but no matter. This is delicious, and I am definitely going to use this to go in the centre of a sponge cake, and also for scones and I am thinking it would be very yummy on pancakes with icecream....not very diet friendly, but ahh well.... I also finished off the embroidered flowers which are going to be accenting the front of the elegant evening bag we are making

These are done by embroidering the design on to wash n go stabiliser, and then washing the stabiliser away to just leave the stitching, very nifty... I have also picked my very first capsicum ever grown in my vege garden, what an exciting milestone

I could have left it until it had gone completely red, but I quite like them this way, as I prefer the green capsicums over the fully red ones. I have never had the pleasure of eating a home grown capsicum before, and just feeling how firm it is over the supermarket ones is amazing, I thought the supermarket ones were fairly firm when fresh, but they don't have a patch on this home grown one..... I checked on the progress of my corn drying in my pantry yesterday, and it would appear we have had a little mouse visit and chew through the mesh bag, and it has eaten all of the drying kernels.....damn it, grrrr....I now have to take steps to eliminate the mouse/mice...they cause such damage and mess....luckily I changed most of the dry goods in the pantry into glass storage over the last few months, so there hasn't been too much else for the mice to get in to. So, I had better go and sort out dinner, probably chicken kiev tonight, and then I am going to do a bit on my back on the farm quilt tonight, and then off to the garden expo tomorrow....I am really looking forward to this, especially the giant kitchen garden, just the ticket for some inspiration....

Election 2010 Spoof Trailer - GetUp!

I think this is really well done....a bit of political humor, especially with Kevin's comments when he is on his knees.....I wonder who has the time or inclination to make these things...

Garlic, embroidery and the garden expo...

I ordered some garlic yesterday.  I have ordered sprouting seeds, so they already have the shoots started, which should guarantee 100% success, and because they are already sprouting, it shouldn't matter that I am planting a little later than usual. I have read that I can plant out garlic until the end of July, so hopefully all should be good. I also had a look a chest freezers yesterday, and now just have to decide between a 500 litre and a 360 litre..I want to get rid of the 2 door fridge freezer in the shed, as it is probably 20 years or so old, and probably uses a heap of power...the 500 litre will cost about $60 a year to run, and the 360 litre will be about $40 a year to run, so very cheap compared to what the other older 1 is probably costing me. I am going to pick up a power monitor today, and work out exactly how much the old fridge is costing me ro run so I will have a more accurate idea. I also got some small knitting needles for Kasey yesterday and started teaching her to knit, I think it will take a long time, and because she is left handed it is really difficult, so I can only show her the right handed way, and she finds that really hard...so I think I need to find a left handed knitter to show her. I also went to sewing class last night, and started embroidering out the flowers for the front of the bag. They are constructed using a wash away stabiliser, so will end up as lovely little individual flowers. I will finish sewing these today hopefully, and then post a couple of photos of the finished flowers, they are really pretty. I am currently making some passionfruit jam, I am just waiting for the skins to cool and I can scoop out the white pulp and add to the mix and start to cook it off. I want to make some lemon curd as well, not sure if I will quite get to that today. I am hoping to go to the Nambour garden show this weekend, they have a giant kitchen garden setup that works on the organic and permaculture principles, so I am really interested in having a look and sitting through a couple of the demonstrations.  I will have to make sure Kasey brings her Nintendo, I may have half a chance of her sitting through a couple of demonstrations that way, as she doesn't have the patience to sit through those. Ok, off to make jam and get through my list of projects for today...

A long night.....and a busy day ahead....

I have snuck in a few sleep ins the last few days, and I paid for it last night/this morning....no sleep, not even a few minutes....by 4.30 this morning I figured there was no point in trying to sleep any longer, so just got up. It is very peaceful this time of the day, even though the eyes are quite red....I have a bit planned for today, I have been trying to get a daily routine schedule drawn up over the last few days, I am really over having no direction each day and just flailing along day by day. I much prefer to work to lists and a routine, and my routine has been sadly lacking for a long, long time. I don't think I am alone in not knowing where to start each day, and this has gone on for such a long time now, but so many people say the same thing, and that is that they just don't know how to get the routine back in their life...I am definitely in this category at the moment. I tried the flylady thing about a year ago, but it just wasn't really my thing, there was a lot of good points to it, but I just felt like I never stopped and that I was spending all of my time cleaning!  I think a modified version would work for me. The problem I am having is that I just can't prioritise what I should do first, so I end up not doing much of what I actually want to do. And I have so many things I want to do, that I don't get to any of them. I also find that even when I make up a list at the beginning of a week detailing what I need to achieve that week, while it helps immensley, I still need to be more structured with how long something takes me to do, and how long I should actually spend on it. So I have so far done up a day by day plan for Mon-Fri of each week. This will be the core things I will do each week. I have slotted in some free time on the Friday's that I am not doing weddings, and after dinner each night to do craft and sewing etc. I have done it up on an hour by hour basis, so that I know what I should be doing at what particular time of the day....if I find this too hard, then I will perhaps do it up a bit less structured, with a simple am and pm format...but I will try the more structured format first. Yesterday I stripped my bed and washed the sheets, doona and cover, pillowcases and pillow protectors, and I vacuumed the pillows and woollen underlay. It was lovely getting into a lovely fresh bed...not that I did any sleeping...I also made a batch of soap last night, it turned out really well...probably the best batch I have had in some time, I made the oils and the lye a little cooler this time, and it seemed to make a big difference...I need to go out and get a couple of things today, I also want to go to Spotlight and get a few craft things for Kasey, I am looking at getting her a pair of small knitting needles and some wool, and she can start to learn to knit. I may also get her one of those french knitting looms, and she can try that as well, and if they have any cross stitch suitable for her age, I may look at that as well. I want to try and make some lemon butter and some passionfruit butter today or tomorrow as well. I have a sewing class tonight, we are starting on a beautiful elegant evening bag, it is absolutely stunning...so I hope mine turns out that way!  I have heaps written in my diary today, I was thinking last night that maybe there was too much written there, but as I am getting a nice early start it should hopefully be achievable....

Home made Woolwash

I have made this wool wash, rather than buying it, and it works brilliantly. It leaves the woollens really soft and smelling lovely, and I also use it when I am wanting to freshen up sheets and doonas etc, and for sterilising these items while they wash. It's also great for towels. I have had this 1st batch for at least 6 months, and I freshened it up a week or so ago by adding some hot water to it, as it had hardened up and was becoming hard to scoop out. It is now really good again, and should last many more uses before I need to make any more. This is the recipe:

Home Made Wool Wash
200ml methylated spirits
300g lux pure soap flakes or grated laundry soap
100ml eucalyptus oil

Mix all ingredients and store in a wide necked jar.

Use 1- 2 tablespoons per wash.  Mix with hot water and then add to a warm wash.

Typical...

Here is Penny

Here is Sam not real happy with Penny...

Here is Penny...crowing!!! Oh dear...... :( Just typical, 50/50 chance of getting a boy....they swore he was a girl.....I'll have to learn how the tell the sexes of chickens.....

Kasey came running in yesterday afternoon telling me that Penny was crowing, and I said"Nah....Penny's a girl, she would have just been clucking" Kasey said, "No Mum, she was crowing" So I went outside and sure enough....2 roosters crowing!!!....What a pity, he is such a spunky rooster....but I can only have one, so one will have to go.....they are just starting to fight, so will have to do it soon.....anyone want a rooster???  Don't know which chook the tiny, yolkless egg came from...but it obviously wasn't Penny....er...George.....I've had my suspicions for a few weeks, just by the look of him with the way his feathers have been growing so long and rooster looking, but the tiny egg really threw me off, as all of the other girls have been laying for ages.... I am really disappointed, he reminds me of the country roosters you see in all of the artworks and on mugs etc.....and he would have made gorgeous chickens

How things have changed.....

I was sent this as an email today...I have seen it before...so true....thank goodness a couple of things have changed (asbestos, seatbelts, Mum's smoking and the lead paint, etc) but pity about most of the other things...certainly brought back lots of memories.....(not until the 70's though, just clearing that up!!! :)    )

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1930's 1940's, 50's, 60's and early 70's ! First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds , KFC, Subway or Nandos.

Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on the weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy  Toffees, Gobstoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii , X-boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels on SKY ,

no video/dvd  films, 

no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no
Lawsuits from these accidents.

Only girls had pierced ears!

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time...

We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays,

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet!

RUGBY and CRICKET had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Getting into the team was based on MERIT

Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and bullies always ruled the playground at school.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.

They actually sided with the law!

Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla'

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL !
And YOU are one of them!

CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

Today's Wedding...

Today's wedding flowers for Amber, gorgeous oriental lillies, the perfume was gorgeous...

Op shop bargain and Seed order

While Kasey was at gymnastics this morning, I went to the local shopping centre just around the corner to see if I could find some storage boxes for my cotton reels. I really didn't want to get plastic ones, but haven't been able to find anything else. Anyway, I couldn't find anything, and on my way back called into the op shop next to the gymnastics centre, and I found this:

It does this

I have got to finish filling it up, but I love it....it was only $10 too.

I also got this:

Just because it is very cute....

My seed order also arrived from Eden seeds, they were out of stock of the gourds :(.... They were so quick, I only ordered them online very late Wednesday night, and they arrived today..very impressed with the service.