Blogtoberfest Introduction Late Day 1

I am visiting the Blogtoberfest participants, will have to stop after Alissa for the night as it is going to be an very early morning tomorrow. I have all those blogs to look forward to visiting tomorrow while babysitting my seven and twelve year old daughters, I guess I can't include my eighteen year old son for fear of offense.

In the style of Alissa's introduction, her photo was very Australian and lovely.

I'm 45, we live in North East Victoria. This is our town. We have no idea we are sitting under that mountain. It is shocking really. We took this photo nearly 2 weeks ago for my other daughter now 16 to take to her host family in Malaysia. There is so much snow around at the moment, I saw it yesterday. Where is spring? My tulips are finishing, maybe they need water or had a hot day, or maybe they are really finishing.

Blogtoberfest ~ Day 2

I copied this excerpt to explain to my readers or friends what Blogtoberfest is. It is from Bellsknits.

Blogtoberfest involves the rather daunting task of blogging daily for the month of October and anyone can sign up. It's run by Cathie over at Tinnie Girl. She wrote about it here and here.

By signing up for Blogtoberfest you agree to:

• spend a fair whack of each day in October writing blog posts
• spend all of October worrying that you won't have anything to post about
• spend all of October worrying that your posts aren't interesting enough
• spend all of October scouting around for material for daily blog posts.

Or to frame it more positively you agree to:

• really give yourself permission to spend time on daily blog posts
• sink your teeth into posting stuff you never thought you'd write about
• come up with ways to keep yourself interested and motivated - after that the interest by other people is just a flow on effect
• find yourself looking with fresh eyes at the world as each moment of each day may contain an image or a conversation or an idea that can be shaped into a blog post.

I like the page where they give suggestions of what to write each day. (Today is Rocktober (music) ). TinnieGirl lives in my State, so maybe by checking out the other posters you will learn more about Victoria and the life here. Mind you I live so far away from Melbourne I may not count lol. They look to be a crafty bunch, so if you like craft check a few out!

Speaking of craft. Last night I was treated to an episode of Kirstie's Homemade Home. It is fantastic. It is about a beautiful English house that hadn't been lived in for a decade or so. Kirstie is the other half of Kirstie & Phil on the Lifestyle channel here, who find properties for people in the UK. Last night it was the kitchen. She learnt how to blow glass, revisit sewing, and make pottery, and by the end, after going shopping at the markets etc. had a lovely kitchen finished.

The show has a beautiful knitted sign of the program.

Am I a crafter? No, and this isn't my main blog. I shouldn't say that, I love crochet, was taught to sew, can knit, but I am not doing it at the present time. But this blog is about writing, and needs a few extra posts, so here we are. I'm sorry I missed day 1. May do a catch up post. I wasn't really home anyway. I am guessing everyone is now winding down, waiting for school to start again on Monday.

Me, I am winding down, just finished packing my daughter's suitcase for her scholarship to Malaysia for 8 days.

Today is her birthday! She didn't get a present, as her brother also won something fairly recently, a phone. He gave it to her, so with the money we usually spend on her present we spent on a game for him. I have bought her some new clothes from Target to take on her trip. However, lots of great clothes my mind found by op-shopping over a period of weeks, and she also bought some new underwear for her. After all her shopping, she didn't send any money for her either.

Today we had afternoon tea with cake, chips etc.

My daughter is learning a song, it basically means My Heart is Happy although I don't have Money

What Decade Are You?

You Are the 1950s

You are a conventional, traditional, and responsible person. You try to live a good life. You appreciate the simpler days of the 1950s, when hard work and family were valued. You believe in doing your best, even if you aren't rewarded right away. Being a moral person is its own reward. You don't like to rock the boat too much. You like your life as it is and aren't looking to change it.

What Decade Are You?

Blogthings: Discover the Parts of Your Personality that Have Been Hiding

Winter slipping away?

The writing assignment at A thousand words...and then some is:

What does Fall hold for you? Or is it called Autumn in your part of the world?
Are you sorry to see summer go, or are you, like me, excited to welcome Fall?

Winter doesn't slip away like summer, I wonder what word you would use instead? Fall is called autumn in Australia, but that is not until March. We are 26 days into spring and winter has a firm grip even though we are into bluebell season. All the trees have leaves, but they are very small at this stage.

Our spring flowers include these wattles, which are very nice at the moment. Because I live in the bush, we have eucalypts and these wattles and a purple ground cover. In autumn nothing really changes in the bush as you can imagine.

The temperatures are still on the verge of freezing point at night.

We had our little American styled fall in the form of a thing my daughter did a couple of weeks ago during her gymnastics concert. She was dressed with yucky teeth, and a brown black costume with bat wings I suppose they were. Another girl was dressed as a pumpkin to go with the theme. I adore the look of the American pumpkin candy, but I don't care for the taste so much. That is a shame as the bags of Halloween candy my husband brought back from the States and Canada? years ago was lovely.

Am I sorry to see winter go? And what does spring hold for me.

All the plum blossoms are gone, those white trees by the roadside where I live. I have been looking at the thickets of them, actually proper plums gone wild, and think of the now leaved trees and the plums that will be there by the roadside to harvest next summer. I have a particular tree in mind.

We have October and November to go. In October my daughter is going to Malaysia where there are no seasons, she hopes to share pictures of our snow covered mountains with them. It will be her birthday the day before she leaves. November is when our son finishes his exams. He then hopes to go and live in the city with his brother. So this is a big event for my spring, and the exam period as well.

We hope to go to the zoo when we pick our daughter up from the airport. So as far as spring goes, I don't feel like it is coming. We have let the wood heater go out twice, but lit it again. When the air inside does warm up we are going to continue painting the ceiling of our bedroom at our new house.

We are taking advantage of the lingering cool to shift some plants that need shifting. I think the answer to my spring is that we hope to paint and spring clean. I don't mind that it isn't going faster towards the warmer weather because of the memory of the horrible bushfires in Kinglake and Flowerdale last year. I hope to see the area when I visit the zoo. It is very cold there in winter, and I'm sure those people will be glad for the warmer weather, yet not so glad as well.

The girls have started talking about togs and swimmers. At the moment we have no water restrictions as the dam here is full. Maybe they will get a go in a pool in the backyard before the water restrictions come back again.

Excited to welcome spring? No too much happening, but in some ways it will be good to finally do the things we plan for and start getting used to the changes. I need the time to prepare as well.

Cheap Mince other than Beef

I had the opportunity to shop at Coles at the regional centre again. I have tried three Coles, this one was very pleasant. They had every mince (or hamburger/sausage) cheap as long as it wasn't beef. They also had a half-price goldfish bowl, my daughter was very happy. Now to catch a fish from our pond.

Thursday ~ Bacon & Cauliflower Soup with Parmesan Crisps (uses bacon bones)
Friday ~ Pot Stickers or Pork & Ginger Dumplings
Saturday ~ Broccoli & Bacon Pasta
Sunday ~ Tuna & Mushroom Spaghetti
Monday ~ Tuna Pilau
Tuesday ~ Left-over Rigatoni Bolognaise below
Wednesday ~ Stir-fried Lamb, Vegetables & Noodles
Thursday ~ Szechuan Lamb Rissoles with Asian Greens (when the 3 kids aren't home)
Friday ~ Chorizo & Vegetable Soup
Saturday ~ Pork Mince & Cabbage Stir-fry
Sunday ~ Pork Mince Stroganoff
Monday ~ Italian Sausages & Beans
Tuesday ~ Rigatoni Bolognaise made with pork sausages & veal mince
Wednesday ~ Mustard Sausages, Potatoes & Beans & Tomato Sauce (when the 3 kids aren't not home)

Everything Is Fine

Lying Around The Garden

No, I don't mean junk, hoses, old newspapers, I mean you.  Do you do it?

I have determined, it probably depends on the privacy aspect.  Last weekend I was lying on the yet still unpainted garden bench.  The only small problem is a neighbours window a block away, but still it is there at the back of his house.  If it wasn't for that it would be perfect.  This is at my new house, the current one is very overlooked, read on the side of a hill.

Allposters

I think it is important to simple living.  I remember once lying on the back lawn of our rented farmhouse.  It was great.  Our landlord chose that moment to visit his farm.  Isn't it always the way.  It was fine, but not the same as just with family until whenever you feel like getting up.

Retro Simplicity

Pay Dirt

My supermarket now has a rack of spices from Herbies, and some French style lentils. Both are very exciting.

Thursday ~ Mexican mince
Friday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise
Saturday ~ chipolatas or sausage casserole
Sunday ~ tuna casserole
Monday ~ Singapore pork sausage styled fried rice
Tuesday ~ pork sausage pasta with rosemary
Wednesday ~ Pork mince with brussels sprouts
Thursday ~ Pork mince & Ginger dumplings
Friday ~ Spicy Pumpkin & Beans
Saturday ~ Lentil & Basil Soup
Sunday ~ Spicy pork mince with asparagus & noodles
Monday ~ pork & veal meatballs

Spare: Broccoli Pasta
Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry
Beef Mince & Pea Curry

Teaching Kids to Take Capsules

My daughter has to take antibiotic capsules. It didn't work. The doctor said to keep the capsules and if she found she could take them she could use them if the other medication didn't work. So backed into a corner I found this advice, and it worked a treat from the Royal Children's Hospital. Within minutes we had the yoghurt, the snake lollies or candy, and the medication was swallowed.

Basically she has been taking the capsule in a spoonful of chocolate yoghurt.

Do you think this is it for the year?

You can see what my husband and son were busy doing last weekend. Hopefully it will be enough, it is still very much like winter here, except it is not very cold like it was. It is still like the weather conditions of our hometown which is still in North East Victoria. I am still wearing the same clothes, but maybe less of my jacket.

Our heater fan broke while my husband was away last week. He was away on Monday and Tuesday and also the previous Friday night to Sunday night. He struggled with the hot heater and got the fan fixed. It was a little chilly while it was switched off, but not overly so, just cold as usual.

As you can see, he also cleaned up the drive, a pile of woodchips there that was annoying.

The stack is bigger than we usually have. It was his first try of his new chainsaw. The old one that we bought from a family member who were selling their hobby farm was stolen. Prior to this my husband used his antique chainsaw. He originally bought that at a clearing sale many years ago, I think in pieces, I think he got another in pieces as well which is probably still like that or maybe he finally got rid of them, not sure.

When we first moved to a rented farmhouse in 2003, he got his antique chainsaw out of the shed and started using it. The first year here in 2004 we bought wood, then have been cutting it every winter since. When the chainsaw went missing, I think we brought back the wood we had cut ready for us at our new house. We were to move in at Easter. We brought it back in the back of the 4x4 each week. When that ran out, he went back to the antique chainsaw and found it hurt his back. It wasn't maintained before he put it in the shed, so he came back with only small pieces of wood. He got it fixed, borrowed a trailer I think after a bit of running around. Ours needs new tyres, $300 worth. We have done our tax, so maybe that will be rectified soon. We are expecting money back from an education thingo that repays half of your internet costs.

So this weekend he borrowed a workmates private trailer which was very generous of him, took the new chainsaw (he was so shocked to get a cheque all except $100 in the mail) and he said he kept cutting, not knowing he had cut too much. Still the trailer was a large one. Even so it requires towing it up a very steep hill. Very steep.

There you go, we are thankful we are still able to keep ourselves in wood. The time freed up when spring comes will be greatly appreciated as well.