Today I took time out to see a movie all by myself. And, I was truly....all by my own self...not another soul in the cinema...instead, there were other cinemas full of families with kids seeing The Simpsons Movie. It was nice.

The movie I chose to see was "In the Land of Women". It starred the ever lovely Meg Ryan, the good looking Adam Brody(Carter Webb), Kristen Stewart, Makenzie Vega and Olympia Dukakis. Adam plays the role of a guy who is a writer of soft porn (no less!) and he is dumped by his model girlfriend who he thinks is the love of his life. He moves on to another town to take care of his elderly grandmother who is a delightful character full of witt and humorous sarcasm. She keeps saying she is going to die... she is teaching him a life lessons without him realising it at the time (so true of some of us in real life).

Without going on about it anymore and spoiling a great movie, Meg Ryan plays the neighbour across the road from Carter's grandmother...her own journey accompanied by Carter's own life journey makes for a great movie...not a slow one, and not too over the top either. Be warned that tissues are a must for parts of it.

After the flick I went on to watch two of my brood swim. They went exceptionally well and the swim instructor just adores Sarah..as does one of the new teachers at the school. Her comment to me, "Your little girl is such a delight, she has this aura about her that makes people smile". Proud mother hen am I!

Examination time.....in court....

Q: This condition you have... does it affect your memory at all?

A: Yes.

Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory?

A: I forget.

Q: You forget? Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?

Q: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?

A: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?

A: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"

Q: And why did that upset you?

A: My name is Susan.

Q: Can you describe the individual?

A: He was about medium height and had a beard.

Q: Was this a male, or a female?

Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

A: No.

Q: Did you check for blood pressure?

A: No.

Q: Did you check for breathing?!

A: No.

Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?

A: No.

Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

Q: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?

A: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

Starting younger?

Last night on my break at work I flicked through on of those trashy magazines...noooo, not a dirty one, a chick's one...you know, with make up and clothes you could never ever afford that are draped on girls who are about 14 years old and made up to look about 25..yep, you know it...

Anyhow, I got to flick to the centre of he magazine and there was a whole page on how to seduce your man. This mag is targeted at the teenage girl mind you. One of them showed an image of a mn bending a girl over a bannister and having a "quickie". The next was to have phone sex with your man while he is on his mobile driving over to your place. There were a few more there too. YES, I did read it, it was interesting but it was disturbing to me that the age group of he targeted reader is young. Am I getting old? I am no prude I can safely tell you.

The next page had an article about condoms, not related to the steamy previous page. How to store them and when to use them. Then it spoke about EAM's...Emergency Abortion Medications...just in case you forget to use the said condoms you had in your purse. NOT IMPRESSED.... good, yes, teach the girls what is out there BUT... getting info from a trashy mag that speaks on one topic on one page and another on the very next.... I'm gunna hide my girls from the World!!! And hide my boys from the other girls too!!!

Arrgghh, think I might just carry on as I am and answer their questions open and honestly and try to pertain to their level of understanding....yep....carry on...carrying on!!

FRIDAY'S HISTORY LESSON: BRIGHT...

Bright is situated in the Ovens Valley at the foot of the Victorian Alps, offers beautiful scenery and landscape. The air is so clean and fresh and the weather surprisingly mild. It isw 308 kilometres drive away from Melbourne in a N/E direction.

Explored, like so much of Victoria, by Hume and Hovell in 1824, the first pastoral runs in the Bright area were taken up in the late 1830s - one of them by Hume's brother-in-law, Dr Mackay, whose difficulties with the local Aborigines caused him to move to another property. In 1845, Thomas Buckland established the area's first cattle run near the river which was later to bear his name.

(The Weston Family in front of their fruit and confectionary store in Bright, Victoria, about 1865. Source: Museum Victoria Collection)

The real development of the district began in 1853, when W.H. Pardoe discovered gold along the Buckland River. Despite his attempts to maintain secrecy, 3000 diggers swarmed into the valley within six months, turning the river into a filthy alluvial gold mine. 1000 died of disease and others fled until only 500 remained.
The Chinese arrived in large numbers to sift abandoned claims. But in 1857 Bright saw a massive uprising, a riot if you will, between the Chinese and other prospectors. There is so much more to the history of Bright and the Gold rush that it cannot all be said in one post alone.

There are many ski resorts surround Bright, with Mt Buffalo National Park being the closest. This is obviously one attraction to the area, although Bright offers various activities all year around. Fishing during the summer time is also a great experience. I got to have a go at fly fishing back in year 9 in High School whilst on student camp there. It was just so relaxing too.



Mt Buffalo in snow.



Hang gliding Bright, a post card.



A vineyard near Bright.

There are a whole host of walking trails around Bright which are great for bush walkers and cyclists. There are often fabulous lookouts along the way, giving spectacular views of the surrounding area. If you want to look at the area from a different view, then hold on tight to one of the popular hang gliders.
Around the town there is an interesting museum where you can learn about the history of the area, as well as a winery and the pretty Centenary Park.

Bright Post Office.

The post office in Bright reflects the feel for architecture of old Victorian times. I guess you could say that each old town in Victoria has a building similar to this one. I just love the attentiojn to detail both inside aswell as outer of these buildings.

Staying in Bright, and not in the mountains, means you can pick and choose which mountain resort you want to visit each day. It's viable to travel to Mount Buffalo (27 kilometres), Mount Hotham (51 kilometres) or Falls Creek (58 kilometres).

Simone's restaurant is THE PLACE to eat when you visit Bright. It has been there for 20 years and is run by George and Patrizzia Simone. It is set inside a lovely old Victorian Cottage in the very heart of Bright. Italian cuisine at its finest. People from Melbourne have been known to go to Bright to celebrate their wedding anniversary at Simone's.

Bright, a terrific place for a weekend break or a week long vacation, no matter the season. The scenery, arts, the history, the local foods and of course the wines are just wonderful.

Tuesday Shmoozzzdaee!!

What..no smile yet?

Well, if I still had my Tarago Van I could have copied this sticker somewhat, I would just have to add another child to it is all. What would I name them though?
Here's one for Queen Of Dysfunction, our resident funeral home specialist of the day. A funny ha ha tomb stone. Bless Paul and Edith.

My kids start an intense swimming course this week, running for five consecutive weeks. Tom and Sarah swim Tuesday and Thursday and Nick will swim Wednesday and Friday. Any one who doesn't know the season here..it is Winter, yep, and the school seems to like booking in for Winter time to swim. It drives me nuts. Sure, THE POOL is heated, but it is the fact of when they get out of the pool and they are so cold you know? I am going to get a cap for Sarah so her hair doesn't go green from the chlorine.

Anyhow, time to go, I got a date to go to the movies :)

Harry Potter Fever..

I took the kids to see the latest HP flick and they all loved it. I did preview it last week to make sure it was okay for the girls to watch it. There were only a few scary bits in it on the whole, and they were real wrapped to have seen it.



On the way to the flicks traffic was at a stand still. We were banked up behind two trams. At first I thought one of the trams had been in an accident or someone had been hurt or something. But, as we came down alongside the two trams, it was apparent a furniture removal truck had tried to reverse back into a driveway of a house and its axle had broken. The truck was so large that it jutted out across the tram line. I bet the people waiting at the other end of the tram line wondered what was going on? Wish I had my camera

FRIDAY'S HISTORY LESSON: BENDIGO PART 2...

Sacred Heart Cathedral is the principle Church of the Diocese of Sandhurst and the home Church of the Cathedral Parish serving the people of central and north west parts of the city of Bendigo and many visitors to the church and the city. It is a lovely piece of architecture to be sure.


The Cathedral was built in two stages. The first, comprising the nave and side aisles, was opened in September 1901. There was then a long interval until 1954 when work recommenced. The second stage was finally completed in 1977.
The Sacred Heart Cathedral is one of the largest churches in Australia and a major tourist attraction for the city of Bendigo. Its initial construction and final completion were made possible through the remarkable achievements of Rev. Dr. Henry Backhaus, the first priest on the Bendigo goldfields. In addition to his priestly role, he was very active in civic affairs and skilled in financial matters. Between his arrival in 1852 and his death thirty years later, he accumulated considerable property. This was left for the benefit of the church and enabled the Cathedral, among other things, to be built.
At the end of the Talking Tram tour we visited the Central Deborah Gold Mine. It is a well known tourist attraction that offers the unique experience of exploring a real gold mine on one of the underground mine tours. Whether it's touring the surface of the mine with its treasure trove of vintage mining machinery, gold panning for riches or taking one of the spectacular underground mine tours, visitors will never forget a stop at Central Deborah.
Sixty metres underground , don a hard hat and miners lamp and walk in the footsteps of miners who discovered almost one tonne of the world's most precious metal on the Mine Experience Tour. Here are Tomas and Nicholas with their special gear on for their tour with their dad.
All attentive, the boys really had a great time and they learned so much and had heaps to talk about once they all surfaced.
An image of the skips used to bring the rock to surface from beneath in the mine. There was a small cinema that the girls and I, along with my grandad, went into whilst the boys were on their adventure. We got to sit and relax and watch the history of the mine and the people who brought about the Gold Rush that occurred in Bendigo and its neighbouring regions.

Boy, am I glad it was the boys that were beneath the earth there...they did say it was warm, but I doubt it was cosy.

Bendigo is a really nice city to visit. Every building in the central part of Bendigo has some part in its history. The talking tram tour soon points this out, and it is so affordable to go on it... you ought to have a go when you get there!

Our Fun in The Snow... Part 1..Part 2 below...

Answering a question...

This is to answer QOD's question in her comment on my last post....yes, this IS how cold it can get here in Victoria. Thing is, this state is amazing. You can drive from the sea on a nice day, and go 3 hours across the state to get to snow if you wanted to. I guess we are pretty lucky like that.

We went to Mt Macedon tonight after the kids finished school because of reports of snow on the Mount...and snow it did. Families came along and all the kids were squeeling with delight.

Me, I hate the snow and the cold, although I do think it is magical as the snow falls. I just liked seeing all the kids play and have a great time. They ganged up on their dad a lot with snow balls, it was very funny.

Off to hugg Mia, she is in a funny mood because she had slept some of the way home from the Mount. Their bed time is now but it will be somewhat interrupted from their short nap in the car.

CATCHING UP......

With school back in, Term 3 here in Victoria, I will be able to catch up on some posts again. I worked four days, split in half by the Bendigo trip last Friday. The kids enjoyed their first day back at school. We all walked home from school together. It was like a mini walking school bus with the six of us walking hand in hand. On the way home, we found a butterfly cocoon stuck to a fence post...signs of Spring to come? Yayyy. It is good that we don't have hills to walk up and down to get home, like in the image above...but doesn't that scene look lovely?

FRIDAY'S HISTORY LESSON: BENDIGO, PART 1.

This morning we drove to Woodend Train Station to catch the V/Line Train to Bendigo. Not before we travelled up top of Mt Macedon to have a look if there was any snow. Nope, the weather was not quite cool enough. But, we were driving up so high that we were inside the white clouds. The gardens of the houses on the Mount are spectacular. Buds are beginning to appear..a sign of Spring to come.

Woodend Station...Platform 1. The opening of the railway line linking Melbourne to Woodend took place in 1861.

Melbourne bound.

Atop the footbridge looking Bendigo bound.

Our train is approaching.

We arrive at Bendigo and walk down to take the talking tram tour. The tram runs along the main thoroughfare of Bendigo. As it goes along a narration plays for the passengers about the history of Bendigo.

Monument to those men that have fallen who served their country and came from Bendigo and its surrounds.

Rosalind Park Bendigo. The glass conservatorium you see pictured was erected in 1897. It is home to many a flower show. Namely the Chrysanthemum Association display on an annual basis. It is empty at the moment yet still lovely to view.

This is the gateway to the History of Chinese settlement in Bendigo. Back when the Chinese first came to Australia chasing the Gold Rush that had hit this region, the people got off the ships in Adelaide in South Australia and walked all the way to Bendigo. They have a remarkable place in the history of Bendigo's mining, and are still to this day a large part of the town's Culture. Beyond this entrance is the Golden Dragon Museum. It houses the famous Sun Loog Dragon, the longest imperial dragon in the World. During the Easter Fair in Bendigo, Sun Loog makes an its annual appearance. This is an image of the Bendigo Steam Tram. C. 1892. When these were in use, they used alot of water and were, for the most part, very noisy for passengers. It is said that the noise alarmed many people taking the tram, whether it was to work in the mines, to go to the station or to go to church on a Sunday. Needless to say, they were phased out.

There are up to 40 tram cars in the depot being worked on or waiting to be repaired back to their original condition. Being that it takes time and of course money, this is something that will take a good deal of years to accomplish. One of the tram cars they had there was in a very bad state. It had been found out back of an old ladie's place, thought to have been used as a storage shed or chook shed.

A picture of Sarah with her Great Grandad. He was very excited to see us all up in Bendigo.

An image of the Gas Works in Bendigo.It was built in 1859 and was in operation for over 100 years. It is the largest coal gas producing plant with horizontal retorts left in Australia. Bendigo had gas lighting as early as 1861. These gas works closed in 1973 due to the arrival of natural gas.

Due to the influx of people to this area during the peak of the Goldrush there was a problem. People had machines set up all along the Bendigo Creek, as many as 1200 at one time. These sorted the rock and dirt out and hopefully showed some glistening of gold. The by product of this, being that water was needed and a point of drainage also needed, was lurky muddy water. In order to combat this, the council of the time lined the canal with concrete, rocks and wooden sides. Which can be seen in the image above. Right now, the water level is low due to the drought. Yes, there has been some rain in this area, but not enough to fill any reservoir or this canal

Anyhow, there is much more to this tour, and much more to Bendigo..stay tuned for next week's Part 2 of Bendigo History.

"Whopper" Giant Squid Washes Ashore in Australia

Yet more marine stuff from I Don't Do Mornings...this time it is a Giant Squid. Not as gorgeous as the pink dolphin, you have to admit, but isn't it amazing?
I was on my way in to work yesterday and heard about the find on the radio. A passerby made the discovery.
We have a Giant Squid frozen in time here in Melbourne at the Aquarium too. It's eyes are the size of a dinner plate!! It freaked the kids out when we were on excursion there last year in May.
Of course, this Squid ALOT larger than the squid we caught down Rye last year.

The kids enjoyed the play the went to last night. They said that the lead character, who is supposed to be a grandma, was ill. So, the understudy...A MAN... dressed up as Grandma and had to read the lines out from a book!! I am guessing the understudy was, therefore, not studious? LOL

Time to go....off to work I go.

Amazing Dolphin...

I just came across this rare find while reading a few articles. It is purely amazing that this Pink or Albino Dolphin has survived. It was sited in Calcasieu Lake in Louisiana by charter fishing boat Captain Erik Rue. See the article HERE.

We always get excited when we see the dolphins riding the waves created by the Queenscliffe to Sorrento Ferry, but a PINK dolphin, WOW.

Of course, pink being Mia's favourite colour, she wants one of these dolphins NOW, hahaha.

Busy Time Here...

Apparently this is my 260th post. My events are never ending, and as has been recommended to me many a time, I ought to write a book...or perhaps it is already written right here? So much is not written too... so does that mean that the book, even if published, is half a story? A chop short of a Barbie? A peg short on the clothesline? Whatever...I will think about it.

I know my blog is not as exciting as some others that I read. Take for instance, Steph from Sydney..Hi Steph :) She has never ending stories of fun and frivolity. She takes the piss out of herself but does not realise she is actually smart..no, not a smart arse, intelligent smart.

My life, I would not change it for anything. My kids and my other half and I have good health. We stick together through thick and thin. We fight like cat and dog but at the end of the day we know we love each other. How do I know this? Because when I get told I am just "Such an awful mum, you don't let me do anything!" (Door slams) , I know that at the end of the night when they come up to me and gimme one two and three smoochy cheek kisses that the love is still there. OF COURSE I rub it in and say, "Soooo, I am such a bad awful suckie of a mum hey...butcha still love me hey" ..and we all laugh and I say goodnight..until the next morning.

Not everyday is the same, even though feeding time at the zoo (breakfast) begins at about 7am usually. I am happy with progress of the kids at school and they seem to be coming home with a new achievement certificate on a weekly basis. Yeah, I know, we learn something new everyday and all that jazz!! But, it is great that the school does recognise the achievements in a positive manner...who said Public Schools were no good?

Anyway, tomorrow is the start of the last week of vacation time for the kids. I plan on taking them to Science Works and into town for some Krispy Kreme..yeah, that is what they wanted and they haven't had it for a very long time as there are only a couple of stores about (thank goodness). Oh, and the kids are going with their Grandma to see a play in our fine home town which is based on an Australian book. They cannot wait as they know the story well now.

Me, I am going to work a few shifts as hubby has 5 days off of work coming up. I do love my work, it allows me to get in there and fine tune my assessment skills. You see, people may think I sound like I am 12 years old, but I have acquired much knowledge in my years of nursing.

At the end of the day, I may be tired when I get home, but I know I made a difference even if it was for 8 hours of some one's life. No more than when my colleagues and I bring someone back to life, using our skills, what a rewarding day that is. Although, you know, I don't wish it to happen to anyone and most certainly not every time I work!

FRIDAY'S HISTORY LESSON: The Grampians

If you wanted to relax in tranquility, get a buzz out of some adventurous hiking or rock climbing, or just admire the wildlife around you, then the Grampians would be the place to go. This is one of Victoria's most popular holiday destinations. The Grampians region is approximately three hours from Melbourne by car. Which would depend on if you took a break to take in some of the lovely towns along the way...advice which ougt to be well taken!
For people who prefer other modes of transport, there are options to go by train (V/Line) or by light commercial aircraft too. Although, this way, you would miss out on stopping at all the towns in between. A map of Grampians location.
Amongst the many things to see there are many markings left by Aborigines who inhabited the area for thousands of years. Rock art and oven mounds can also be found upon walking many a trail, more evidence that the Gariwerd people lived here.
There are approximately 60 rock art sites and 4,000 motif sites that have been identified so far in the National Park. Keeping the tradition and more importantly, the Aboriginal mythology alive. Mt William(Mt Duwil)
The Grampians is described in sections. There is the Southern Grampians and the Northern Grampians. Mt William(Mt Duwil) Trail is located in the Southern section. There are four trails in this section of the Grampians.
This trail is 1.8 kilometres long. It takes 45 minutes each way. It's tallest peak is 1168 metres abover sea level. Alongthe way, you can see panoramic views of the whole area, espcially as you gain altitude. Keeping an eye out for the koalas and local birdlife is a must. For flora lovers, local vegetation is also an eye opener.
Venus Baths
There are 11 walks in the Northern Grampians section. Venus Baths is one of them. It is 2.3 kilometres return trip, amounting to about 40 minutes hike. At the end of a lovely scenic walk, you are greeted by the rockpools pictured above. What a treat!

With about 80% of Victoria's art sites in the Grampians, you can read a bit HERE about the Aboriginal Heritage of the area, aswell as about European Heritage whic reportedly began in 1836. I would have believed it to be earlier, only because my Grandpa traced our family heritage back further than that in this particular area. Something to talk about another time I guess.

There are so many areas in the Grampians to check out, and too many o speak of in one post. But it is one area that ought not be missed by tourists or locals, that is if you want to get to see the grand state of Victoria.