goodbye 2011

good bye 2011 you have had your ups and downs. May 2012 be filled with good times, and happiness for all.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!
see ya

The blessed quiet

Well Christmas is over for another year, presses have exchanged and lots of food and drink has been consumed.
This is the quiet after the storm and I relish it!
I hope you all got spilt and that Santa was extra special for you. As for me, spending time with family and friends was wonderful and I was a good girl and did not over indulge.
Now what to do for new years, I just want to stay home but we have been invited to a friends place so we shall see how we feel.
See ya

An Aussie Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Night Before Christmas in Aussie land

'Twas the night before Christmas; there wasn't a sound.
...
Not a possum was stirring; no-one was around.
We'd left on the table some tucker and beer,

Hoping that Santa Claus soon would be here;

We children were snuggled up safe in our beds,

While dreams of pavlova danced 'round in our heads;
And Mum in her nightie, and Dad in his shorts,

Had just settled down to watch TV sports.

When outside the house a mad ruckus arose;

Loud squeaking and banging woke us from our doze.

We ran to the screen door, peeked cautiously out,

Snuck onto the deck, then let out a shout.

Guess what had woken us up from our snooze,

But a rusty old Ute pulled by eight mighty kangaroos.

The cheerful man driving was giggling with glee,

And we both knew at once who this plump bloke must be.

Now, I'm telling the truth it's all dinki-di,

Those eight kangaroos fairly soared through the sky.
Santa leaned out the window to pull at the reins,

And encouraged the 'roos, by calling their names.

'Now, Kylie! Now, Kirsty! Now, Shazza and Shane!

On Kipper! On, Skipper! On, Bazza and Wayne!

Park up on that water tank. Grab a quick drink,

I'll scoot down the gum tree. Be back in a wink!'

So up to the tank those eight kangaroos flew,

With the Ute full of toys, and Santa Claus too.

He slid down the gum tree and jumped to the ground,

Then in through the window he sprang with a bound.

He had bright sunburned cheeks and a milky white beard.

A jolly old joker was how he appeared.

He wore red stubby shorts and old thongs on his feet,

And a hat of deep crimson as shade from the heat.

His eyes - bright as opals - Oh! How they twinkled!

And, like a goanna, his skin was quite wrinkled!

His shirt was stretched over a round bulging belly

Which shook when he moved, like a plate full of jelly.

A fat stack of prezzies he flung from his back,

And he looked like a swaggie unfastening his pack.

He spoke not a word, but bent down on one knee,

To position our goodies beneath the yule tree.

Surfboard and footy-ball shapes for us two.

And for Dad, tongs to use on the new barbeque.

A mysterious package he left for our Mum,

Then he turned and he winked and he held up his thumb;

He strolled out on deck and his 'roos came on cue;

Flung his sack in the back and prepared to shoot through.

He bellowed out loud as they swooped past the gates-

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, and goodonya, MATES

Christmas eve

Well it's Christmas eve here and I just wanted to say a merry Christmas to all my friends in blog land. Enjoy yor time with family and friends and stay safe.
May Santa bring you all you want.
Have a great Christmas
See you

Summer Solstice

Wishing everyone in the southern hemisphere a happy summer solstice!
and to all our friends in the north, a blessed Yule!

Christmas is coming

since the kids are no longe here and having bad news I was not feeling that christmas feeling. So I decided to get some. I used to love watching this as a kid.
enjoy!

talking solar 2

more questions were asked.
There are no batterys as it is not a stand alone. we are connected to the grid. so all the power I produce that isnt used by us get fed into the national grid. and if I need more power than I am producing I draw it from the grid.
The system cost us $15,000.00 after government rebates. We saved the money and have no borrowing costs.
Once again, free energy isnt the main reason we did this, we did this because we care about the enviroment.
If your only motivation is money then you need to do the math. how long it takes for you to get the money back depends on your energy useage and how much you get charged for it. Also how much the energy company will pay you for the energy you put int the grid.
Our provider pays us 66cents a kilowatt for the energy we put into the grid, we pay 21 cents a kilowatt for the energy we use.
So we try and not use alot of power while the sun is shining and once the sun goes down we turn on the washing machine and dishwasher. that way we will be 40cents per kilowatt better off.
The solar panels have a life of around 20 years, so I think then you have to replace them.
I hope this has answered your questions.

Talking solar

Just thought Id answer some of the questions from the previous post. There really isnt any maintenance needed for the solar panels except for getting up there and giving them a wash every now and again.
As for paying for itself, I dont understand the question really. Everytime you get a bill for the power do get anything back for it? If I buy a new car, or a television do I expect the appliance to pay for itself. so why is it that people always ask this question when you buy a green option?
I have saved my money and purchased the solar panels because yes my power bills will be lower but thats not the primary reason.
I have purchased the solar panels because I feel its an investment in my childrens future and in the future of the planet.
It took me a long time to save the money as I was buying green power anyway, and for some reason that is more expensive than the coal fired stuff we produce.
So yes my power bills will be lower and Im sure if I do the sums I will recoup some of the money in a few years time but it was never my primary reason. after all I have spent thousands over the years with the energy companies and I never really expected anything back but my power so why should that change.
Only now I get some of my power from the sun and if I dont use all I get I sell it to the power company so they can then sell it to someone else, who for whatever reason cannot get  the panels but like me would like to do their bit for the planet and buy green energy.

first power bill

We got our first power bill since the complete solare power and new meter box has gone in. Our average bill here was $300.00 a month, including the shed were we run our business from.
This month the total bill was $30.00. Very excited, Im hopeing to keep it as low as this and maybe even lower.
Will keep you updated, although once the heat gets here, it may go up again as I will run the aircon. Theres being frugal and then there is being silly and in pain.
Hope your all having a great weekend.
see ya

Apple slice

I got the receipe for this apple slice from http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/
The apples came from my freezer, I had stewed them and had them frozen from the bag I got from my MIL earlier this year.
There was no sugar in the apples and I only put the sugar in the dough, but none on top. So it wasnt very sweet. But I liked it like that as I am watching what I eat without acually dieting.
Hubby likes his sweeter so tonight Ill make him some custard to go with it.
it was easy, quick and fun to make. So Ill be making some more soon.
give it a go!
see ya

todays harvest

Ok dont know why blogger doubled up on the photos, buy hey here they are!
cucumbers in the fron, zuccinins in the middle and the tops of the beetroot in the back. I will lightly cook the beetroot leaves and then toss some olive oil and vinigar through them for a nice salad.
The tomatoes have heaps of fruit but because the temps have been low they are not ripening. I have been bringing them in when they turn orange and let them ripen in here.
it really feels like autumn here, not summer and I wonder if I will get alot from the garden. But they are growing well so the heat will have to hit eventually and then it will be all stations on deck to deal with the glutt, I hope.
I am hoping the weather is better in your part of the world, and that your harvest will be plentiful.
see ya

Teddy's first haircut

Here is Teddy being held by wonderson. My wonderful SIL has recently qualified as a dog groomer and has set up a doggie salon at home. I took Teddy to visit his aunty and get a bit of a clean up. I didnt want him shaved or anything drastic. But I did need his face cleaned up as Im sure he couldnt see a thing. Also he was a bit smelly as he is too big for the laundry trough. So she cleaned up his face and his private parts and trimmed his toe nails and clipped the excess fur from his feet. She shampooed and blow dried him and he looked wonderful.
This happened yesterday and he still smells lovely and his coat is fluffy.
The bonus is you can now see his eyes and face!
He wasnt too sure about the clippers, sissors or blow dryer but aunty said he was a good boy and it will get better with every visit.
makes a mummy proud!
see ya

luna no show

well I stayed up to see the moon, unfortunately mother nature had different ideas. She decided that we would miss the whole show. Massive cloud cover and thunderstorms denied us a lookin.
I saw some on the live newsfeed, but I was just too tired to stay up and see it all. Knowing there would be photos on the net. So here is one I didnt take just pinched from the web.
I hope you had a better view than I did, the next total eclipse of the moon is in 2014 so hopefully the weather is better then.
see ya

A new toy

This is our new smoker, we bought it from aldi today. Hubby is having fun looking at receipes and all the different things he can cook in it.
we have a pork roast in at the moment, with hickory,apple,cherry and mesquite wood chips in. We got the woodchips from bunnings, but I will keep my cuttings from my own apple and cherry trees in the future. So it will be even cheaper!
will let you know how it turns out.
dont forget the total luner eclipse tonight. it starts around 11.30pm and will go for a while. Everyone in australia should be able to see it, and for others Im sure if you google the net you will find the map that tells you were you can see it. I saw it yesterday but I dont remember where. sorry if I find it I will post a link.
have a great weekend everyone.
see ya

Not good news

today Leanne, her step mum Bec and I were at the oncologist to get the results of her blood test. Unfortunetly it was not good news. Her count was way up and we have now to go  and get her scans done.
Please pray to whoever  you believe in. we need all the help we can get. She is devastated. I dont know how much more she can cope with.
thank you

An Award

Maas Journal has very kindly givin me this award.
So now I have to pass it on to 5 others, who have less than 200 followers.

♥ Cottage Tails ♥ A blog about the goings on of a normal family homeschooling and living the simple life

grannysgarden  a wonderful lady who is teaching me how to be the best granny ever

Greening the rose another great aussie blog

 Simply Self Sufficiency a blog with lots of great ideas to make your dollar go further.

Sandie's Patch a very crafty lady who loves to garden as well.

Ok heres my 5 so pop on over and tell them I sent you.
see ya

My cat after a visit to the beauty parlor

He is not a happy camper, and he definately will not speak to me. But its his own fault. if hed let me brush him he would not get so knoted that he can hardly walk.
right now he is by the fire, its cold today and with his fur coat gone we would be feeling it, so we have lighted the fire for him.
hell get over it and talk to me soon, he always does.
see ya

Oh Christmas tree

 This years Chrissy tree, I love the smell of a real tree. We have been buying our trees from the same place for 23 years.

 All the pressies around the tree, still have some to get. I have absolutely no idea what to get hubby. He has everything he needs. Its doing my head in this year.

 A shot of the tree at night. doesnt do it justice really.

bet you didnt know that giant snowmen came to see the baby jesus when he was born did you.

Zucchini Galor

 Lots of Zucchinis from the garden so I baked lots today. First zucchini slice for tea tonight.

Zucchini Brownies.

and Savoury Cheese, bacon and zucchini muffins. Still have zucchinis to go so I will cook some up with a cabbage I got gifted and freeze it for use in casseroles.
If anyone has a fav receipe for zucchini please share it with me. all these receipes were from the internet.
see ya

Summer

well its the first day of summer and all I can say it what the!
It rained all night long and it cold. the temp today is only going to be 19 degrees celcius/66.2 fahrenheit. Its overcast and cloudy and feels nothing like summer at all.
The only good thing is it might mean a late summer start could mean a late summer finished so I may be able to get a second crop of summer vegies.
Gotta look on the bright side I say.
It also means christmas if fast approaching. Luckily Im almost finished the chrissy shopping with only little things to get.
I hope the start of summer is better for you than it is here, but I still reserve the right to complain about the heat once it gets here.
see ya

not a good day out on the bay

Here is hubby with the fish I caught. The weather was terrible. Wind, waves and rain. I was very happy to catch this guy. not a bad size for whiting. I did get one bite that broke off my line, hubby laughed as he said the look on my face was priceless. Watch the video to see how choppy it was out there.
see ya

another pattern conquered

Ifound this pattern on http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/. Its called in threes and its by Kelly Without A Net.
I thought it was so cute that I bought it on line. I have a similar pattern from soulemama for an adult jacket, but I havnt had the nerve to attempt it. So I thought a baby version would be a great way to start.
Now that I have finished the baby one Ill try the adult one that I have.  The weather is still fairly cool so knitting is still a good hobby to have right now.
I may put this cardy and the others under the kmart christmas tree to be given to people as presents for their kids.
what do you think, Is it a good idea?
see ya

busy weekend.

Saturday hubby and I visited his brothers family that live in San Remo near Philip Is. My sister in laws parent were visiting as well and her step mum had helped the kids organise a magic show. So we were lucky enough to see it too! Then saturday night baby girl had her annual dance concert and we was absolutely wonderful in it. She did one dance on her ballet points, just her and another girl who played the boy in the dance and they were soooo good. It looked as good as a professional piece. I was so proud that I almost cried. Ok brag over. lol
Then yesterday hubby and I went on a date day. We drove to Yarragan and had lunch and visited the lolly shop. Spent way too much there! Then drove home through the mountains. When we got home he offered to cook a roast in the Webber and even invited wonderson and his girlfriend over. Baby girl was also home so we all had a wonderful family dinner.
Its weekends like this, filled with family and the simple pleasures in life that I love the best.
Hope your weekend was wonderful too.
see ya

weather map

this is what victoria looks like right now. huge cloud cover and lots and lots of rain.  several severe storm fronts are hitting us right now and for the next few days. I think I will search the internet for plans on how to build and ark. Please have all the animals ready in two by twos to board as soon as I finish.
Really over all this rain. what happened to good old fashioned Melbourne summer, very dry and hot.
I would love that right about now.
How is the weather around your place.
see ya

One mad Hour

Last night the worst happened. You guessed it, I lost internet connection.
I know terrible!
first I tried my laptop and not wireless, so I jumped on the desktop and NOOOOOOO no internet on that either.
OMG
I tried turning everything off, and resetting the modem. but no nothing
So I knew I had to ring the modem people and go through all the rigamarol of resetting everything.
So first I had to find the scrap of paper that had all the passwords on it.
That started the second hot flush, the first when I acually realised I had been unpluged.
I found all the info, turned on  the laptop so all computers would be ready to check to see if and when I was reconnected and rang the help line.
Well 45 minutes later, a really nice lady answered and helped me get it all done. 15 minutes later and Ahhhhhhhh I was back on line.
Ahhhh internet, dont ever leave me again.
hope your all connected and having a good day.
see ya

garden catchup

 My tomatoes are ripening, yummy we should be able to eat some in a few days.

 the potatoes in pots are going gangbusters, hopefully they are making spuds as well as leaves.

My herbs are taking off again, we even had some in a potato salad the other day.

 the tomatoes, zucx and cucumbers in the front.

 More tatters in the forground, with the beans being the second row.

and here we have the beetroot and onions with tomatoes in the background. All are growing fantastically.
At this rate, we might be able to get a second crop in before the end of summer.
see ya

First harvest.

this is the first Zucini for the season, and there are more babies on the way.
I took a photo of it near the phone so you can see how big it is. I will have to go out everyday now and check them. they grow so quickly.
Its very exciting when the garden starts to produce again.
see ya

Remembrance Day 2011

Lest We Forget!
To all those who fought for our country and our way of life, we say thank you.

what a show

 we were told it was coming and we had tied everything down or put it away. Got the dogs settled under the outdoor table and waited. Not till two hours after its ETS that we saw it coming in. Suddenly facebook was alive with photos and because we all lived  in different places we were able to trac it.

There were posts of its hitting Packy now, and Philip Island is drowing, and OMG here comes the storm, hide the children.

Then it hit with a vengence, it absolutely poured down. You could not hear a thing in the house not even the thunder but you could defenitely feel that!
After about 15-20 minutes it did slow down to a low roar, but if continued to rain until I fell asleep at around 9.30-10ish.
This morning I have woken to the sun shining, the birds singing and the only damamge is lots of plant matter on the veranda, no flooding in the house thank goddness. Still large puddles in the driveway and two tomatoes in pots were over, but Ive fix those,
I dont want to have to do that again in a hurry.
I hope others in its path were as lucky as I was.
see ya

thunder and Lightening

Overnight the sun disapeared and the thunder and light show began. I love thunderstorms and eventhough I am aware its happening I am still asleep. If that makes sence.
But last night, even though I was still asleep I was counting the time between the light, bright enough to see even though my eye were closed, and the roll of the thunder. when I got to only 7 seconds apart the rain came down. Thats the last I heard, I must of fallen deeply asleep then.
Its still raining here, quite heavily. So looks like my knees were right again.
dont bother watering your garden Angela, its gonna pour down very soon!
Very wise, Painful, my knees
see ya

Feeling like spring.

 here is a little willy wagtail sitting on her nest. she is in the liquid amber, that our wood pile is under. If you click on the photo I think it gets bigger.

this is a close up of her nest, they are just amazing how they build them.

here is hubby sitting down after a long day cleaning up. why do men love sitting by a fire.
I hope this nice weather continues, not too hot and slightly overcast. Perfect for working outside.
see ya

a short one

My babies fast asleep!
see ya

Update on baby quilt

I dont know what possesed me to do this pattern but its done now, except for the boarders.
Next time the smashed plates, or broken dishes, or whatever its called can stay smashed or broken.
Seriously it wasnt that bad, Its not perfect but not too bad if I do say so myself.
will show photo of it once Ive added the borders. Soon I hope.
see ya

November already!

after the long weekend, its back to business as usual. Only I cant believe its November already.
My god where has the year gone.
Still waiting for the warm weather to arrive, but we live in hope.
Over the weekend we planted onions, beetroot and pumkins.
The rest of the garden is going great, so maybe we dont need the heat. Its raining as I type this so we have our woodfire on just so I can get some washing dried. Its shut down and wont use alot of wood, but it is nice to have it on.
hope the weather is nicer where you are, or at least doing what its supposed to be doing at this time of year.
see ya

playing in the mud.

This is a short vid I took of hubby playing in the mud. They boys love to get the 4x4's dirty. Although we had alot of rain, there was not alot of mud to play in. Which is good really as sometimes they get alittle adventures and in the past have done quite a bit of damage. But now they are older, and hopefully a little wiser this wont happen.
Yeah right.

Camping again

We were off to the Big River state foresst again, and this time Bronwyn and Dave came along with their daughter and her cuz.
since we were so many we decided to have a roast dinner like we used to many years ago when we all used to go.

 I have a camp oven and Bron has one. Mine is on the right with the coals on the lid cooking the roast lamb Bronwyn provided.. In the other one Leannes potatoes, carrots and pumkin are cooking.

I was in charge of peas and corn. With gravy in my pot we had a magnificent feast!
Just because your ruffing it, it dont mean you have to eat substandard food.
I will try to load a very short video of Hubby Don playing in the mud tomorrow.
see ya

A path!!

23 years ago I ask for a concrete path to my clothes line. I wanted to buy a trolley for the washing basket so I could push it to the line and not have to bend over as I was pregnant with my first child.
well that child is now 22 and my path is finally in.
better late than never

 Here is hubby directing where everything should go. You know dirt here, dump dirt there. Very important stuff like that.lol

The path once cut and now being boxed for the concrete.

The finished job. We didnt want to leave a little bit of lawn separated from the large area so we did it all. will make mowing much easier.
I cant say hubby doesnt deliver can I.
see ya

Comment troubles

Hello just a short note to let you know that if you have a comments section where you have to pick an account from a drop down box, it wont let me comment.
Grannys garden and chocolate fishes I tried to comment this morning and it wouldnt work.
Off to quilting class today so must hurry, If spent wayyyyyyy to much time reading your blogs.
see ya

a day on the Bay

Well not really the bay, Westernport to be exact. It the first time we took the boat out this season and it was great to be back on the water. I dont know if you can see it, if you click on the photo it will get bigger. There were heaps of boats out today. At one stage it looked like a fleet was invading there were so many.

I had a feeling that we were going to be visited by the water police so I checked to make sure that I had my fishing license on me. Well bugger me if not 40 minutes later the police pulled up beside us and told us we had to move as a huge tanker was on its way. Hubby now wants me to predict the Lotto numbers. lol

This is the tanker, it had two pilot boats with it and lucky the water police to clear its path as like I said there were hundreds of boats in the water.
Hubby and I both caught a Flathead each and a dont-know-what-sort-of-fish-this-is-but-it-makes-great-bait-fish each. So the tally for this year is dead even.
Lets hope I win as I have a reputation to uphold.
hope you all had a great sunday
see ya