Busy Week

Well, my little hissy fit over Centrelink tired me out so much, it's taken me all this time to get back into blogging...

I faxed everything off last Monday, haven't heard a thing yet, so I'm waiting with bated breath...let us hope I don't expire...

Actually, I've had a pretty busy week...I've been Ebaying. Yep, spending more money. It's so much fun. So far I've bought a new doona cover set, new sheets and a new set of towels. Here is the one of the pillow cases to give you some idea of what the doona cover set is like.

The colours are soft mauve, mauvey-grey and cream

with asymmetrical stitching on the body of the pillow cases and doona cover.

I've tried to show the detail...pintucking at the top and small sequins strategically placed on the mauve-gray part. It's really pretty and quite unusual. I haven't put it on the bed yet as I'm waiting for the cream sheets to arrive and I'm also watching a pair of cream vintage crocheted pillow cases. Once it's all put together, I'll show you. I'm also watching a pair of bedside lamps in the wood and wrought iron like my bedhead and bedside tables. They're going for $1.99 pair so far. They have white shades and one of them has a water mark, but I'll be getting new shades in the lavender/purple tones so I'm not worried about that. I'm also watching a pair of lovely cream lace curtains...see, it's all very exciting.

The weather has been so lovely lately. No more cold...yay! Anyway, we've been eating breakfast and lunch on the patio and last night we had a barbecue. Roger and Wendy, from over the back, and their kids came. We had sausages, two lots of marinated chicken and I marinated some pork spare ribs, along with salads, and Turkish bread slathered with garlic butter and warmed in the oven. Ohhhh, bliss. Dessert was fruit salad, which included watermelon and mango, with Neapolitan icecream and I also made a chocolate cake. It was a really lovely evening. Of course, we had wine o'clock beforehand with nibbles and then a glass of wine with our meal...very civilised.

Have a look at some of the colourful hippeastrums in the garden. There are clumps of them everywhere making a beautiful show.

These are just two...we have orange and white stripes, solid blood red, pink and white stripes, orangey-red ones and they look spectacular right throughout the garden.

This is a port wine magnolia. The flower is rather insignificant, but the perfume...one could get quite tipsy breathing it in...hence the name.

Gabbie and I go to New Zealand on 03 November...her mother tells me she's counting down the days. Yesterday I found a lovely cattery to take Mitzi and Bella. I'd had a look at a couple and was not impressed, but this one's lovely. There wasn't even a faint smell, you could almost eat your dinner off the floors, they had a lovely run with lots of climbing posts and hidey holes and such a variety of foods for their fussy boarders. One place I went to look at had one brand of food only, no raw food at all and looked pretty shabby. Plus the quarters for the cats was small and cramped, with no run for them...I didn't even consider it.

Anyway, my two will not be impressed at all...but at least they'll be disgruntled in relative luxury and I'll have piece of mind.

My grandson, Anthony, turned 17 on Thursday. It's school holidays at the moment and he is staying at his mum's so yesterday, I made a chocolate cake and took it down along with a gift voucher. He only has another seven weeks at school and then grade 12 is finished for him. As poor old Ant has a learning difficulty and had ADHD when he was younger, he's no scholar and admits himself that he gets his good marks purely for turning up at school. Actually, it's probably not quite as extreme as that, but the thing is...he's kept at it and gone right through school. He's thinking of going into the military.

The Australian Defence Force has a scheme whereby kids can try it out for 12 months in their gap year before signing up. Ant wants to become a mechanic and a couple of his mates have done this, so he's thinking of doing the same. It's a terrific opportunity for kids...and they're pretty well paid, don't pay any medical, dental, food, accommodation or have to buy clothes, plus they're taught a trade.

Anyway, I went to see him yesterday and I meant to take my camera. Not to get a photo of Ant, but my daughter, Toni, has some new additions to the family. She is a registered Dalmatian breeder and her prize bitch has just had five puppies. Two died, unfortunately, but there are three boys and two girls surviving. I wanted to get photos to post...and as I say, forgot my camera. Never mind, I'll get some when they're a bit older. They're very tiny and cute...and Taya, their mother, is so proud, but as she lost two, she keeps checking on them all the time...to the accompaniment of squeals of protests from the babies. She'll settle down in the next few days and relax into it...she's a first time mother, so it's understandable.

Darryl, Toni's husband, is a builder and was home yesterday afternoon doing some more on Cooper's adventure playground. He will have a wooden walkway, a cubby and obstacle course equipment (kid sized, of course), because it won't be long before he'll be having little friends over to play. Anyway, Darryl's out there building this, with Cooper "helping", Akubra hat and all, just like dad... He (Cooper) is growing so quickly...it's sad in a way, yet it's wonderful to see what a little man he has become.

Well, that's it for the time being. I'm going to get my washing off the line. See you next time...