When I got home from work today this beauty was sitting on my kitchen bench, isn’t she lovely.  My husband has great taste don’t you think?

Now to other news.  I’m not sure if it’s me or my blog but over the past week comments have dropped from 5 or 6 per post to only one!  What’s going on, I ask myself?  A friend said she had tried to leave a comment but had trouble, so if you too are having trouble please let me know on madelinedunster@hotmail.com and I will look into it.  If not I’ll take the hint …

Hope your week is going well.

TTFN

I just read this over at A Year From Oak Cottage and I can’t resist writing about it…

“For sale. Baby Shoes. Never worn.”

“Back in the 1920’s, the great writer, Ernest Hemingway, made a bet for $10 with someone, where, he stated that he could write a complete story with just six words. He won the bet with the above. Never have six words been so thought provoking or made one ponder more . . .

I was immediately inspired by the challenge of writing a thought provoking statement in just a few words.  After all, here in blog land we write about our lives all the time, in huge big long posts.  But can I write about my life, or indeed just one day, in a few words?  Do I need to embellish the story to make it interesting or can I just make a simple statement that will tell the tale?

Over the years there have been many short statements that tell a tale, like…

“Huston, we have a problem!”

“I have a dream”

“A dingo took my baby”

“Something Wicked This Way Comes”

I bet you know each of these and maybe know the story too.  They each make us feel some kind of emotion or provoke questions in our mind?  What is the problem?  What is your dream?  Where did that baby go?  What is coming?  We all read these words and are challenged to think.  I’m going to have ago and I hope you will too.  I don’t think you need to limit your words to six, or even use all six, just make a statement that provokes thought or creates an image.  Here is my contribution…

“My page is blank, my pen is ready.”

and

“Quick Mum, I need your help.”

Let me know what you come up with, I’d love to know.  Have a great week, filled with inspiration.

TTFN

I feel like I have run a marathon this week.  It all began last Saturday morning when Lee and I joined forces with our friends, Ash and Jo, to dig up our front yards and replace them with a more drought friendly Tuscan coloured gravel.  Our day began around 8.30am and finished with Jo and I raking gravel in the dark, filthy, sore and exhausted. 

Sunday was no better.  Earlier in the week I had this brilliant idea that Nicholas needed a desk for in his room.  His first year in high school has seen vast amounts of homework, and with only the kitchen table at his disposal the entire family has had to tip toe round while he concentrates, what better gift to give than a study table hahaha!    EBay came to the rescue with the exact desk that I was looking for.  With just a few days till the birthday I only had Sunday to pick it up, all the way over on the other side of town.  To cut a long long long story short, it took most of the day!!  I still had some gifts, cards and wrapping paper to buy, all my washing still in piles on the laundry floor (the laundry fairy didn’t turn up again!), food shopping to do as well as everything else that I would normally have done on a weekend.

Monday was a public holiday here in Aus, hip ra hip ra hip ra to Her Maj. Nick had invited a couple of friends to go to the movies to celebrate his imminent birthday and I realised as I dragged myself out of bed that I had not organised anything.  I spent the next hour running around like a lunatic making treat bags for the boys to take into the cinema with them.  By 2pm we are home and I now have the afternoon to relax get all the things done that I had meant to do the day before, including a visit to my sisters for a new hair do!

Nicholas turned 13 on Tuesday and as usual was up at the crack of dawn to open his gifts.  My parents called and asked if I’d mind bringing Nick over to see them before school to give him his gift,  as he starts school at 8.15 we are in the car and off to Mum and Dad’s by 7.30.  Before I go to work at midday I need to bake the birthday cake and pre-cook dinner as Nick has invited the entire family to eat with us, thanks honey I love you too!  I baked 24 yummy muffins and shaped them into a 13 and prepared his favourite lasagne and garlic bread!  By this stage I’m happy to see the bank and have a rest!

I’m so glad I pre-cooked the dinner as I really enjoyed the evening with our family all around and only a few dishes to put in the dishwasher and a cake board to wash.  The muffins went down well and we even had some left over to put in lunch bags for the rest of the week.

With only parent-teacher-interviews left on my list of things-to-do I was soooo happy to see the end of that hectic week.  I’m truly exhausted.  Today I intend to get my housework done by midday and then I’m going to treat myself to an hour in front of the telly watching my new BBC Classic, North and South.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend of rest and relaxation.

TTFN

I have received the lovely Excellence award, thanks Judy and I also have two memes to do and pass on.  So here goes with the first meme.

What Was I Doing 10 years Ago?
Ten years ago i went back to work following a three-year hiatus while I had my boys.  I actually started work on my Nick’s 3rd birthday.  Luckily for me I didn’t start work until 5pm so I had all day to enjoy his birthday and celebrate with him.  In order to go back to work I had to stop breast feeding Bailey who was 10 months old.  The first night at work was interesting at Bailey’s normal bed time of 8pm when suddenly my breasts began to tingle and there I was sitting in an office!!

5 Things On My To Do List

Ughhhh only 5 things, I need more room.  OK let’s see,

1 I have a basket of folding from last weekend.

2 A basket of ironing from same weekend.

3 A vegetable patch in desperate need of digging over.

4 Winter veg to plant in said patch.

5 And finally I have 20 emails in my inbox awaiting a reply.

5 Snacks I Enjoy

1 Toast, I love toast.

2 Chips

3 Olives

4 Cheese

5 Chocolate

Things I Would Do If I Were A Millionaire

I think the first thing would be to pay off the home loan.  Two new cars for hubby and me, we have never owned a brand new car.  Pay for the boys school education up to leaving age.  Put some money in the bank for the boy’s future.  Have a huge party for all my family and friends.  And finally I would give each member of the family some money with no strings attached.

Places I’ve Lived

Born in Durham, England.  Moved to Germany, then back to England.  Immigrated to Australia, we have had two family homes here.  As a married couple Lee and I have shared the “love shack” our first tiny flat, then on to the “renovators delight” and then we built this lovely home.

I’m passing this meme onto 5 people and they are-

Ann - Still At Home

Molly - Molly’s Knitted Teddy Bears

Annalise - Now and Then

Krissie - Head for the Hills

Marie - A Year From Oak Cottage

And this beauty called The Book Meme.

1. Pick up the nearest book.

2. Open to page 123

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

My book is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, not that I’m reading it but it was sitting on top of a pile of books waiting for the fairy to come along and put it back on the shelf.  Ok let see what’s on page 123.

“You see, Amos?” said Mr Weasley.  “Whoever conjured the Mark could have Disapparated right after they’d done it, leaving Harry’s wand behind.   A clever thing to do, not using their own wand, which would have betrayed them.

I got this meme from the lovely Judy and I am passing it on to-

Katie - What Katie Did

Kirsty - Two Lime Leaves

Brenda - Butlers Abroad

Clair - Nothing Will Go Wrong

Rebecca - Irish Sally Garden

Now if you don’t have a blog you are welcome to join in and just leave a comment here with your book details, but if you got a blog of your own, hint hint, you could join in at your place.

TTFN

As much as I love the little town that I call home, it’s small, it’s clean and it’s safe BUT it’s also FLAT AS A TAC and one of the driest areas in Victoria.  Not a green field, hill or a mountain to been seen, well actually that’s not exactly true, we can “see” a mountain, it’s about a 40 minute drive away and there’s just one of them.  It’s just barely visible on the horizon…

For years now I have felt this inner itch, nothing medical more like a craving for hills and trees and green fields.  One of the few places in Australia that has all of these things and is still small, clean and safe is Tasmania.  Located here…

On our honeymoon Lee “The Love God” and I spent two weeks driving around England without a care in the world.  We stayed with relatives and in Pubs and basically we were carefree and went where the road lead us.  England was hilly and green and there were sooo many little villages and lovely places to stop and spend the day.  So in December Lee and I are packing up the car and the kids and heading off on a two week driving holiday around Tasmania.  Tassie here we come. 

I have booked some tickets on here…

I am so excited, I can hardly wait, and Tasmania has some of the world most pristine rainforests…

Some of the oldest ports in Australia…

 and this…

Yes that’s right … a Cadbury factory.  Soooo good is this tourist attraction that we have been advised, nay WARNED, that we must book now to do the tour of the scrumpdiddleumptious factory as it gets completely sold out and how disappointing heartbreaking would that be if we couldn’t get in! 

To cut down on costs I am going to take the car and all the luggage overnight on The Spirit of Tasmania and Lee and the boys are going to fly on one of those very cheap flights, made even cheaper as they have no luggage and will be “walk on” passengers.  I saved over $1000 on our fairs this way, that’s a lot of chocolate I mean spending money!

This weekend I will be getting out the road map and searching the Internet for accommodation and other lovely places of interest to see.  This should be one fantastic holiday, might even result in a new place to live… one can only dream.

TTFN

One of the things I didn’t mention in my last post was giving thanks.  As I have grown older, ehem, and consequently wiser I have learned that I’m one of the lucky ones.  I have a great life, sure I’m not a six feet tall model, or a millionaire, I’m not a movie star or famous or anything, but I’m happy.  And I’ve learnt in life that I need to give thanks for all of it. 

I once had an epiphany about this very subject.  While sitting quietly contemplating my life and the recent death of my only living Grandma, I realised that the things I had lost along the way were all things I had taken for granted and not acknowledged as being of importance to me.  I realised that it was really important that I acknowledge and give thanks for all the things that I have been blessed with, be them small things like hot running water and gas central heating or larger things like a healthy happy family, good friends and a safe place to live. 

So today I’m going to give thanks in the form of an award, my very own “Let’s Give Thanks Award”!   Yeay!  Now that the applause has died down lets talk about how it will work.  The idea is that you give thanks on your blog for one or two wonderful things in your life, with or without photos, remember they can be as big or as small as you like.  You then pass the award on to three people via email or a comment on their blog; don’t forget to add the award to the note.  The same old award/meme rules apply like posting the award on your blog, giving thanks and then passing it on.  So without-further-a-do lets take a look at the little baby… ta da!!!!

I’ll start the ball rolling with my own list of things I’m so very grateful for.

First up I’d like to acknowledge all the people that left such lovely birthday wishes for me in my last post.  You are all wonderful and I thank you for visiting me here and for inspiring me to write each week about my life.

Thank you to all those lovely friends and family that gave me such beautiful cards, I love each and every one of them.

Thank you Bailey.

I give thanks for the dawn of each new day.

Such an abundant life, filled with all that I need.

And finally to my lovely family who make each day so rewarding.

As this is a brand new award I know you didn’t already get it from someone else SO I’m going to award it to everyone that reads this post, yes that means YOU!  I know, I’m soooooo generous, and modest, hahahahahahaha!  Please let me know when you have posted so I can come and read all about the things you are most grateful for.  Now if you are one of those odd bods that is without blog, I’m shaking my head that such people exist, you can leave a comment here with your list of things you are grateful for.

Have a great week everyone.

TTFN

I’m always a little thoughtful around my birthday and today I’m 44 years old.  What, if anything, have I learned on this 44 year journey?  What do I know for sure?  What can I pass on to my children that will help them grow to be good people?

Listen.  Listen so you hear what is being said, not just the words, but the meaning.  Listen even when know one is speaking.  Hear those that are teaching.  Hear those that are asking for help.  Listen to your own voice and hear the warnings when something is wrong.  Listen.

Give.  Giving is the most rewarding thing I have ever done.  The moment I give I receive.  Give without conditions.  Give from the heart.  Give of yourself.  Give gifts that cost nothing, a smile, a thank you.  Give even when you have nothing.  Give.

Laugh.  Even when my life has been in a ditch I have always been able to laugh.  I can laugh at any time of the day.  Laughter sooths deep pain, rebuilds friendships and lifts us up.  Laughter can be enjoyed at any time of the day or night, when you are rich or poor, on your own or with friends.  Laugh.

Forgive.  The hardest thing I have learned to do is forgive.  I don’t want to, but I do.  If you don’t forgive you will feel its pain forever.  The moment you forgive you let it go and it leaves you.  You can only be responsible for your actions, not others, so forgive and you will be free.  Forgive.

Love.  To love is not as easy as it sounds.  I have learnt to love those that I don’t like.  I have learnt to love even when I have felt unloved.  To really love is to let the person be themself, all the time.  By loving you accept a person for all that they are.  Love.

I hope you know that I have listened to you when you have written to me, I hope that I have given you all something interesting to read, I hope that I have helped you laugh and I have forgiven you all for not leaving comments even when I have written a really cracking post and I love you, yes, even you.

TTFN

I am having so much trouble getting a move on this morning; I think I have a weird kind of scrapbook-hangover.  I got to bed after midnight on both Friday and Saturday midnights and up at 7am on both mornings.  We literally scrapped from about 8am each day, stopping for about half an hour for lunch and dinner and the occasional pee-stop.  I took cans of Diet Decaf Coke with me and I really think I should have taken full strength, no holds bard, sock-it-to-me Coke, maybe now I wouldn’t feel soooo drained.

Of course a weekend away never goes without it’s hiccups and this one was nooooo exception.  We arrived at about 7pm to find we were “sharing” our cabin with five other ladies who had spread themselves out all over OUR BEDS!!! What the??  A quick chat to the organiser and problem sorted all be it to the sounds of five women bemoaning the fact that they only had “six beds between the five of them!”  I know, it made no sense to me either! 

By midnight the temperature had dropped to an itty bitty 0’…. fa fa fa freeezing!  When we dragged our selves away from the scrap tables some time after midnight we found our cabin was really, really cold and with no electric blanket, no hot water bottle and only, what felt like, a flimsy doona to protect me from the cold night air my sleep time was a tad miserable.  I got my head under the cover and curled up into a tiny ball and did my best to sleep. 

Luckily for Jenny and I a girlfriend was joining us on Saturday afternoon.  Following a quick SOS call to Kylie a much needed hot water bottle and sleeping bag were on their way.  I had no idea how wonderful a hot water bottle was, were I not married I’d definitely consider a long and lusty relationship.

8am Sunday morning and Jenny, Kylie and I find we are first into the conference centre where we discover, brrrrrr, gee it’s a little chilly in here!  Anyone cold?  Ohhhh nooooo the gas has RUN OUT, NO HEATING!  So scarfs and coats were the order of the day.  But hey, I came to scrap and nothings going to stop me, not even frozen toes!

Look, apart from the chilly reception in our room and the chill in the air I had an absolutely wonderful weekend.  I got nearly every single photo cropped, scrapped and into the album I was working on, I also got to meet lots of lovely ladies and eat oodles of chocolate while I was at it!  It just doesn’t get any better than that.

So today I’m trying to detoxify a bit of the chocolate from my system, get this house sorted and try to find some kind of motivation to come back down to the reality that is my day to day life, washing, vacuuming and cleaning.  Oh well only four and a half months till the next retreat…

TTFN

For several years now I have been addicted to Genealogy and I have spent hours and hours at the computer searching for family details, you know the kind, births deaths and marriages.  About a year ago I found that I had gone back as many generations as the Internet would allow and I had loads of names and dates but not one photo of my ancestors.  My father’s parents were fairly poor and had no camera and the only photo is one of my father as a baby and the next thing he’s 14 and in the army.

I thought the only way I was going to find photos of my grandparents and their parents was to find some living relatives.  One of the saddest things I ever heard was my Dad say was that he didn’t know what his father looked like and so finding a photo of my grandfather became a priority.  I had one lead.  In an old photo from the 60’s of a family gathering there were two youngish cousins of my father.  I knew only one of their names and so I set about looking for that person, not knowing whether they were dead or alive, they may even have immigrated from the UK just as my family had.  With a little help from Marie and some darn good luck and a bit of persistence I was able to contact my Dad’s cousin Sandra.  She is a lovely lady in her 70’s and we have had some fantastic conversations on the phone. 

This past week I received a little parcel from Sandra containing eight photos that Sandra had of our grandparents, great grandparents and even a beautiful great great grandma!  But one in particular left every member of our family speechless, it was of a man in uniform sitting on a chair.  That one photo was able to finally answer my Dad’s question “What did my father look like?”.  Now Sandra is not certain that this man is my Dad’s father, but I’ll let you make up your own mind on that one …

I have thanked Marie in the past with words here and a gift in the mail but honestly there really are no words or gifts that can completely express my gratitude to her.  The total joy at seeing my Dad’s face when he first laid eyes on the photo was priceless.  It took his breath away and brought tears of joy to our eyes.  So just once more  I’d like to say THANK YOU MARIE.

I’m off this Friday to another scrapbooking retreat for the weekend so I probably wont blog again until Monday.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

TTFN

What a lovely sound to hear as I woke today … rain, rain, rain.  Here in Melbourne we have had at least seven years of drought with very few wet spells.  Today the weather bureau have promised, yes they have promised, that it will rain all day, and so far they are keeping their word.

I’ve spent the morning madly rushing around like a loon-on-speed as I’m having a party this afternoon.  Not one of those loud music and lots of booze kinda parties, better than that, it’s a scrapbooking party.  Woohoo, bring on 2 o’clock.  One of my lovely friends, Kylie, has decided to become a scrapbook consultant and I have agreed to hold a class for her.  I’ve invited lots of friends that wanted to learn the art of scrap’n, put together a beautiful thank you gift which include a full kit to make the concertina mini album I’m showing here.  I’m about to whip up a delish dip to nibble on while Kylie does her demonstration and chill a nice bottle of wine.

Thank you to all that came and read my last post, and also to those that commented here and emailed me.  I’ve had to delete the link to the Sunday program as it has now been taken off their web site but I’m sure if anyone is interested that I could get a transcript of the segment.  I’m going to leave the 1000 Hours tally  and link on my side bar so that anyone wanting to register in the future can do so.

Finally it has been twelve months since Red the wonder dog arrived at our home, he was so small and cute and now he’s big and beautiful. Happy Birthday Red!

Have a great weekend everyone.

TTFN