Happy Birthday

Today is Neil's Birthday. He decided to go for a ride. He rang a few minutes ago, from the other side of Marysville (~150km away) to say he has a broken fuel line. It is approximately 100degrees C today (ok, it's around 40, but thats really hot)

I have to go to the motor bike shop in sounthbank now to buy parts, see you later!

P.S., He's mad.

Christmas

We, being my family, are not having Christmas this year. I'm feeling a bit ambivalent about that. The dogs don't seem to mind, they just love it when their people are at home.

beads

I have been making my summer princess, she's coming along nicely don't you think?

She has a lot of beads to go, but I have been reluctant to start the beads until I have all of them. I have been missing a packet. I went to Box Hill Spotlight today to find beads, I go quite a few, then rang the Malvern Spotlight, the nice lady even went and looked on the shelf for my (they didn't have the one packet I need for Summer)

I have given up, and I am buying them off the web. They are even a bit cheeper, even if I have to wait for ages :(

My dog is a hardened drinker

here she is at the pub (brewery actually), on a bar stool:

and looking at the bar.

She was a hit with everyone at the party!

Christmas cheer

We had our work christmas lunch at a local pub. I had forgotten to change my shoes before I left, so I worked down in my Motorcycle boots, this meant I was rather warm by the time I got there are the way was very humid. So I took my boots off. When we all went to the bar to order, I had this stoopied bar man come up to me and in the most awful condescending tone tell the that they could serve me until i put some shoes on. On I have no issue with putting shoes on, re: oh&s issues etc... But there is a WAY or asking this sort or stuff, and a tone to use, or in this case not use. I got soooo pissed (probable unreasonable but it was too late by then) I got someone else to order my food and decided not to order any drinks, even though the plan up til then was to get throughly sloshed. Fuck them for being as Grinch-ie as me for the christmas season!

Christmas Parties

Christmas time, a time of hanging out with family, and drunken work colleagues.
Well, the family bit isn't happening for my side of the family this year, due to stuff, but the work side is.
Last Thursday was the SV christmas party, which was fun, see my photos for evidence.
Last night was the NRMS/GHC drinkies, which I rode to on my motorcycle. Unfortunately, there was a distinctly Qld style down poor as I was riding there. I arrived VERY wet. I have decided that there is nothing more miserable than sitting on your motorcycle, in the traffic, not moving in the rain whilst wearing all your summer riding gear. I can't believe how wet I was, both inside and outside my riding gear.
Today is my group and works lunch. This should be good. I actually like the person I had to get a chris-kringle for, which helps. It's at the pub and no one plans on coming back to work. Then I go home on the tram/bus, to home for more drinkies and Neil's first go at smoked Kangaroo for tea!
Yay!

Stolen, but LOVE it!

I'm not creative.......

I sew and do craft. Many people think that because of this I am creative. I'm not. I simply follow the instructions (mostly any way). I notice today, that I haven't done a sewing post since September. I go through phases with my craft and sewing, you just can 't do it all the time (well I can't any way.)
To make up for this, I have decided to take some photos of some of my completed crafty projects to show you. (You: all the millions of people who look at my site. ie, practically no one...... sigh..... no one loves me :( .......)
Any way:
This is a wizard, I made him many moons ago, then discovered when I finished him that although he is great and had a lot of work go into him, I don't really want a shiny wizard on my wall that he taught me to put more thought into choosing patterns to sew up

I started these parrots in primary school, they are so old that I believe Santa might have given them to me. I finished them some time in uni, it might have even been uni the second time (start: 1988ish, finish circa 2000)

Calico Cats. I have a half dozen or so patterns from this lady, I love them. I have only sewn these two up though


For a while I was regularly getting the Jill Oxten's Cross Stitch and Beading Mag (I stopped in the end cos there was too much beading in it) In it, she regularly had patterns I have dubbed "long things". I love them, cos I think they look really quite classy. I plan in sewing up the sea side and a pond/mountain like one, then it's like the desert (ie this one) to the sea. I'm not holding my breath either, given this one took ~2 years and I have started the 'princess project', see below.....

This one was a present from a lovely lady I work with. Isn't he cute!

Mum got this for me in France, eventually it will become the pin cushion is is meant to be

These patterns come from a fantastic NZ Lady. My plan for these most lovely postcard sized thing-ies is to have 3 portrait and 3 landscape and mount them together (two frames, one in portrait one in landscape) It looks ace in my head, just take my word for it



Of the 5 or 6 cross stitch I bought in the UK (most of which had Scotties on them) this is the only one I have finished ;) I wonder why???

I made this a few years ago for my sister. I like it.... She better too, or if not, she better not tell me..... It was fun to make, especially the custom pages in the little book.

This is my current project. She is one of 4 'princess' I plan on making. This one is Summer. You can't tell yet, but she is covered in Gold thread (an absolute pain in the bot bot to sew with) and she will have tiny little beads all over her. She is sooooo lovely, you just wait till she has a face!

(this photo is a bit crap, she want very flat when I took it.........)

Stolen, but still cool

Stolen from a Scottie club member (I hope she doesn't mind)

Clara v's K9

I'm not sure who the winner is.........

But they both have glowie eyes so maybe they will make friends in the end!

How can one dog have such cute feet?

Rain

It's absolutely pissing down and has been for nearly an hour. Which is great, except that the bath room has started to leak :(

I took about 10 photos of the leaking bath room roof, but they all looked crappy

I can't even complain

Oh No.. Tonight was the last night of Sideshow on the ABC. We have done our best to watch this show, and now it's ending!!!!. I want to complain, on a website somewhere, and I can't even find anywhere to complain, I'm devastated :(

What can I doooooooo????

Dog Show

Clara got a new ribbon today, in the Scottie show we went to. She came second, cos there was one other dog, but apart from being parked in and then having the car not start, we had a good day :)

They arrived....They arrived

Finally after what feels like months of waiting (but in reality is really only 10 weeks, so actually that's fairly close to months!) the glasses we bought in Bath have arrived. They a re every bit as pritey as I remembered, and more importantly, in one piece!!!

Fire

Why is anything to do with Fair such a complete disaster?
Oh well, Clara enjoyed our trip to Horsham


Clara the fire dog........

Busy Weekend

I have had a very busy day. We did a huge tidy at Neil's Mum's house in his old room (only 40 years worth of accumulated crap, does he NEVER throw anything out?) We took Clara on the trip to Neil's place and she spent the whole time being very busy, running up and down the stair case and helping us tidy. Then we took her to the park for a round of fetch. She also fell in the fish pond! Needless to say she was completely stuffed by the time she got home.
We bought a ladder and whilst I was mowing the lawn and whipper-snippering Neil pulled a rats nest out of the roof (thankfully no rats were in residence at the time).
After tea, we watch telly while Clara slept on me.
Saturday was the complete opposite. I played Sims, all day :)

Neil is a nut bar.......

He decided to go to Deniliquin today. To drop off some wood. Then come back. By motorcycle. Does this sound mad to anyone else? If it doesn't, it should. His excuse for coming back via Chiltern (ie adding an extra 238km in to the trip by going round 2 sides of a triangle) was that he took the direct way on the way up. I mean I know he's got the touring motorcycle and everything, but geeeeeeeesssssss. Nut bar.

CAMS

Yayayay..... It's only taken 18 months, but the CAMS outputs are finally translated!! I'm glad thats over, and now I'm going out for a beer, together with the other people who have made it all happen :)

Look what I got

I'm sure I really don't need it, but Neil got it for me. Clara hates it!

He's remote controlled and talks to you. You can also chase the dogs around with him. Not that I'd ever do anything like that to them.

5 years

I just realised that I have had my motorcycle for 5 years! Thats a long time! I love my motorcycle :)
Here is a photo that was the on the first day I got it:

And here is a photo from just the other day:

Here is a mile stone :)

I hate foxtel

The man of ethnic origin can round the other day to offer us free connection, free one month trial and no contract to foxtel. We said yes, just in case any of Telstra's delivery partners ever come up with a good deal to deliver cable internet using that infrastructure. Anyway, the man and I decided that today would be a good day for installation. So (not only to make the dalek) I have taken the day off to wait for him "between 12 and 5pm" (what a helpful time bracket).
Anyway, at 2.30pm I ring, cos I haven't heard anything and no one has turned up. The man on the other end of the phone helpfully informs me that I am booked in for Saturday the 3rd of November, with a tone that clearly says "You've forgotten you stupid cow". I inform him that "thats very nice, I have taken the whole day off work and it would have been good for someone to tell me it wasn't the day I had signed on my agreement!" He was eventually grudgingly apologetic. I wasn't at all impressed.
People Suck.........

It's my birthday (nearly)

Yay, finally, I get to make my Dalek Birthday cake. So I have wagged work today to get it all ready. I cooked the cakes last night and put it all together this morning. It's a bit wonkie here and there and if you look at it in the wrong way, it looks more like a man than a Dalek, but I'm fairly happy with the overall result.

The finished product!

Triumphant, at the pub

10 minutes later :)

Dinner

Look familiar?

Well is should!! Neil has again pulled off a most successful vegetarian pie. Delicious!!

And here is the desert, he's really pulling out all the stops!!

Lure racing and Earth dog day!!

I have been looking forward to this event since we got back from OS. This is the Scottie Clubs annual fun day, and it sure was!! Here are a few Highlights and I have put the rest of the photos on to Picasa, so have a look!! Now!

Engagement

No not mine! But a friend from work. It was a good party and good to see people from work out side their normal 'zone'. As the dress code was 'cocktail', this caused a few dramas for the both of us, as to what we would actually where, but I remembered I have a cocktails dress which I hardly ever where, and that god actually fits me, so that was me sorted, then the kilt came to the rescue for Neil.

Quandary

Somewhere out there I have a heap of family I don't really know about. I'm not really sure what to do about finding them. I don't think I really know enough to find them. I am getting increasingly pissed about the fact that:

• I feel like I should/need to find them
• I have only enough info to know about them but not find them
• I haven't really got anyone to ask
• I can't solve this one!

I'm really not sure what to do..... any ideas?

First aid course

It's nice when you go to something that your completely not looking forward to and then you find the people on it are really nice, and you end up having a fun time. That was my day today on a first aid course re-fresher.

Dinner

I forgot to take a picture before we cut it, but here is tonights excellent creation by Neil:

The story behind this on is that when we were in England, we went to a organic restaurant, some thing we would have never done here, it's just that we were in need of some fresh food. We ordered a vegetarian pie. Even though it had spinach in it, we loved it and drew a picture of it (side on construction diagram type picture) so we could make one when we got home.
The general opinion is that it was a great success. :)

slackers

So here's me having a busy day, finally catching up with the last of the posts to the travel blogs from our holiday, Neil's also having a busy day at the Steam Club, fixing some pump thing, and look at these two dogs:

Are they helping? No! are they doing any thing? No (unless you actually count sleeping on the couch as doing something) Geeessss

Wilderness (sort of)

I think it's a bit of a push to call Sherbrook Forest in the Dandenongs a wilderness, but despite the joggers, kids, tourist buses and the gentle calls of Lyrebirds imitating cars, it was peaceful and there were trees etc. so it was a pleasant way yo spend a morning. I have never bushwalked with a pusha before.

As I had strain my hip a bit during the mornings activities, I decided I wasn't up to the afternoon walk. The rest of the group decided that the pub sounded way to tempting for lunch, so we decanted there:
As you can see, it was a struggle!

Next bushwalk must be to somewhere I can take the dogs

Scotties on show

Today was the Scottie Clubs annual championship show, which Clara wasn't being shown at, cos we were away when you had to register :(
Any way it was fun, but the light was awful so the photos turned out crap. I spoke with lots of people (OK 2 lots of people) who want Scotties and convinced then that it a really great idea. I also chatted to a nice family, that last year didn't have a Scottie, but this year they do. She's 5 months old, a little barrel and called Molly. She had no issues with me carrying her around for ages at a time! Very cute, maybe i need another one?

"Don't you know Scotties need their own chairs?" Clara defiantly needs a hair cut!

Arrrrrrr - Pirate day

Our turn out wasn't as good as last year, bit we had a great day. We even got an article in the departmental newsletter the next day. Here are some pics of our antics:

Pirates-a-sewing

It been a busy last little while, making sure that Richard's coat will be ready for pirate day. He will have a lot of button sewing to do, but things are looking like they will run to schedule!

Claymore

Jack Jack requested my presence at a Claymore gig (Claymore=Jack's favorite band, cos it has bagpipes in it). A few beers and some fun later, and I was drunk, for a change: