Lovely Sunday

We had a lovely drive up to my cousin's place yesterday morning. Arrived in time to chuck some snags, hamburgers and chops on the BBQ. There was some competition between us cooking the meat and a swarm of European Wasps that had magnetically attracted to the scent of the BBQ warming up. Scary as Hell, but they did not want us at all. Apparently this Summer, this drought, has made them appear in force more than any other year. Let's hope some rain will come and flush them out. They nest on the ground.
My cousin looks so healthy, she is almost 20weeks term in her 6th pregnancy. It is so exciting, the kids are over the Moon about it. Bryleigh wants her mum to have another girl, that'd make it even..3 boys, 3 girls. Of course, Ethan, the eldest, wants mum to have a boy, because boys rule! haha.
Tom and Ethan rode the motorbike all afternoon. They also had a swim in the dam. The afternoon actually felt alot warmer than forecast by the bureau. The four girls played dolls houses, then they ran around out in the bush and rode bikes along the tracks through my cousin's property.
The men, they went out four wheel driving. They also cut up some fallen trees with chain saws. There is so much dry timber up there, much drier than it was in December. Upon approaching my Cousin's road, we did see just where there had been a big fire a few weeks ago. It was back when the major fires were out of control.
My cousin said they were fighting spot fires from Dayelsford back then. That the Muskvale fire had thrown them many a burning ember. Anyway, until the laws change on clearing property they sit tight and have their chain saws at the ready. It is all they can do.
We got home at about 10pm last night, all exhausted from a fun day in the fresh country air!

Turn back time..

This was the first book I ever bought for myself. I always received books from my Aunt for Christmas and Birthdays and she instilled in me the love of reading, the love o the smell of a book..and now, I just love the smell of books shops too!
I bought this book after much searching and I almost cried when I opened the package last week. I have been reading a few chapters a night to Sarah and Mia and they just love it. Of course, Mia being a six year old wanted to see illustrations. I had to tell her to close her eyes and imagine what it is I was describing as I read the book. It worked!
A summer spent in a rented house while Gail Simmons waited for school to start, started out normal, looking through the attic of the old coach house, Gail found a trunk with a side saddle and riding habit. She was a good horseback rider, her and Candy (short for Candlelight) had even won awards together but she had never ridden sidesaddle so the dusty saddle interested her. Spending her afternoons on Candy, riding in the orchard, she found a gate in the old stone wall, they went through and followed a path and were surprised to see a summerhouse (gazebo type building) on the other side (Babylon). The girl, Hilary was there, drinking lemonade and dressed differently than Gail was. Through out the summer, the two girls became friends and together they taught Gail how to ride sidesaddle and drive a pony cart. The whole time, Gail knew there was something so different about their friendship, she just was not sure and in the end, the time difference was so much more than the ride through the simple woods.
Fun and easy read, short chapters, the concept of time is subtle only pointed out by the differences between dress style, transportation forms, and several words. The girls become friends with several similar interests including the love of horses, riding, and being outside in the summer. I shant tell you the end!

"How many miles to Babylon?
Three score miles and ten.
Can I get there by candlelight?
Yes, and back again.
If your heels are nimble and light.
You can get there by candlelight."
- Mother Goose

It is only flat on the bottom!

(A corsege of flowers made from punctred bicycle tyres!)

Yeah, well, that was my rear tyre on my bicycle..half way through our River Run today it got awfully difficult to push that bike over a small hill. Looking down I said, "Damn! The second puncture in a year!" Oh well, we walked back and repaired the thing.
Then we decided just to go for a long walk any how. It was a weird windy warm and yet humid day today.
The kids all had a great day at school. Nick got to see the Royal Navy Band play great music. He loved it..his toes are still tapping away :)

Hard Rubbish.

It is Hard Rubbish dump-out-the-front time in our area. It irks me when people dump things on the nature strip in front of their place and don't secure it when the weather is windy. All sorts of garbage is then strewn across the road causing problems with traffic. Worse, is the amount of "bower birds" stopping without indicating in the centre of the road. They are looking for items to grab. There is always the same guy that drives around with a ute and a trailor ready to pick up any white goods that are put out. I am guessing he restores them and sells them. That'd be ok if he knocked on doors first to ask if he could take them. Anyway...
Today it rained (yayy!) and the boys' cross country run was cancelled. They were disappointed. My friend and I rode along the river. There was no one but us and our bikes and some ducks on the river. It was a peaceful day in the end.

Great Weekend..

My girls at Gembrook Park.

We spent the weekend cathing up with friends, some of them I had not seen in 20 years! None of us have changes at all personality wise. It was just so relaxing and fun. Most of us have children, who all played very well together. We all brought salads and sweets and drinks for the BBQ.

A view of hills and Valleys out of Gembrook.

The track we drove along, not to the end as it was closed due to danger from the recent fires here in Victoria.

We stayed the night there at my friend's place. Today we went for a drive up through the mountains, we went of road, sort of, they were wll made dirt tracks really. It was nice warm weather, the Sun shone brightly, the air was very fresh. Just what the nurse-y ordered:)

Mia turns 6!

Today at 7:12pm Mia turns six. The weather was as warm on that day as it is now, about 30 degrees celcius. Only difference is, when we were on our way to the Hospital, the wind and the dust blowing in the air was very harrowing. I called my friend to say I was having this baby and she better come to the Hospital if she wanted to witness my pain :) Her reply, "Can you hold off for another 40 minutes? I am at netball" You can only guess my expletives that may or may not have been used in reply!

Tomas named Mia, Mia Carolyn....and she is as gorgeous now as she was then :) Happy Birthday Mia!

Shakin' Baby!

I was sleeping after my third night shif in a row when I felt the bed shake and move. I thought one of the kids was creeping in to say hello and wake up Mum but it was another Earth Tremor!! Unreal!

My New Wheels...

We picked up the Nissan Pathfinder TI and went for a drive to Eastern Beach in Geelong. It had been sprinkling with rain which set for a balmy kind of evening.

Next day I drove the vehicle up to the Brisbane Ranges and around Anakie Gorge. The incline of the winding road was amazing!

I took these images with my mobile phone as I had forgotten my digital camera. The view was amazing atop the hill. The smell was also lovely and fresh.

There she is atop the crest of the hill :)

Excursion to The Melbourne Museum

This morning began very early as we prepared to get to school early to catch the bus into Melbourne. Bus loaded, kids accounted for and lunch/snacks stored beneath the bus and we were on our way. We got to the Westgate Bridge and it was like a parking lot. The bus driver diverted off of the Freeway and we went through Yarraville and North Melbourne, past my work and through Lygon Street and up to the Melbourne Museum where we all alighted.

First we had snack time and the kids had a play. Not enough to make them too tired for our day at the Museum though. Get into our groups, I had 5 children to monitor all day. One boy and for girls, one being my Sarah. Fist we went to have a look at the Children's Forrest. It was lovely. Moss grows on what would be naked tree trunks, water flows, a turtle here, a fish there, a frog and some tadpoles over yonder. Just where there is a sign for a lovely Blue Wren..one appears and chirps at us. Some lizards bask in the sun and images of all the above named creatures are placed strategically around the open aired exhibit.

We then went into the Bugs Exhibition. Not for the faint hearted. Many life cycles of all bugs known to man are displayed. Some are able to be played with, books to read, fossils to uncover in a sand pit..some optical illusion mirrors adorn the walls...it was just great! Hands on Science at its very best. The first image you see above is the children inside a plastic bubble..they have bull ants crawling all over the plastic!

Time to look around a bit more before lunch we sat and watched a film about a Whale that washed up at Lorne on the coast a few years back. It illustrated for us the process of stripping the carcass of the whale and then cleaning it up further, using nature, and then placing it as an exhibit at the Museum as we see it today. It was a mammoth task that took 8 years to complete.

Lunch time and the kids ate then ran around playing in the park. It was a nice enough day to do so, a little humid even.

Back inside we went into the special exhibit for school kids. Arachnaphobics be warned! Yikes. The kids loved it there. We got to look though magnifying glasses at insects and non-insects..it was great. The subject of mini beasts is something the kids are concentrating on at school right now. They did very well answering questions of the curator of the museum, which is a great reflection on the teacher as well as parents :)

Coming home the Westgate bridge proves itself to be a car park again. We get back after the school bell has already gone. Not to matter, the school was notified. Some of the littli'es fell asleep on the bus.

A rewarding and tiring day for us all. Phew!

Long Weekend...

The long weekend came and went so fast it is amazing! I worked some of it but the days I had off were lovely and warm..a little humidity in the air as well. The kids and I spend part of each day at the park with Bondi. I rode my bike. Tomas is starting to get so tall. He delivers great shots into the basketball ring at the local park now too. Nicholas created some great Bionicles. I washed his nice green hooded windcheater after he had a blood nose and he forgot to take out some of his collector Yugi-Oh cards..Gah..it went all through the washing :(
Sarah coloured in some great designs and Mia collected bugs, as usual! I can't wait until the next school holidays already!

I am excited!

My Pa emailed me that my cousin will be adding to the number of Great Grand children he has, making it number 17. I did not let on. So this morning she calls me to ask me to meet up with her and the kids at Scienceworks in a few weeks time and she says, "I am going to be a little bit fatter by then" (In her left toe! She has always been a lovely thin girl)... I exclaimed "Yeahhhh!"

She will have 6 children, I have my four. I cannot wait! She is due this September. It is right around the time her brother gets married! There is always an impending birth at each Wedding.. woopa! Above is an image of my Nicholas with my cousin's youngest two babies. They all have blonde/white hair.

Melbourne Earth tremor... 6 March 09

We were watching The Wedding Singer on television as a family, Nick and Mia were on the floor, Sarah Hubby and I were on the couch. All of a sudden Nick and I looked at each other exclaiming, "Did you feel that? There was shaking..the Earth moved!"
Now, a few hours later, there is breaking news on the telly, there WAS an earth tremor approx 4.6 on the richter scale? Epicentre was in Korumburra, a place I love down Gippsland way.
See, we really were not kidding around :)

Is this rain?

Driving into work yesterday for my afternoon shift it made me quite cross at the way people were driving. It has been sprinkling with rain the past few days which is absolutely GLORIOUS! However, people have forgotten, or just don't give a toss, how to drive in wet conditions. The roads are slippery, and even more so along the tram lines that I drive beside.
A woman was driving a yellow ex-taxi cab car. It had faded paint work, a whole length of rubber strip (that surrounds the back left hand passenger door) hanging out and dragging along the road, and two broken tail lights. She was speeding and she did a 360 degree skid in the centre of a busy shopping hub at Newmarket. It was her lucky day, as the cops were right there..along with many witness pedestrians.
The thing that amazes me, and I do not intend to offend anyone at all, is the fact that she wore a full berka. Surely this must obsrtuct peripheral vision, which is vital to drive safely? I think Andrew has spoken of this before at Highriser?
So, with all of this going on out on the roads, business was too busy at the hospital. Car accidents and cyclist accidents aplenty when the wet weather hits.
I hope that the rain is hitting the reservoir...I believe it was at a super low 33% capacity the other day. The rain makes people complacent with their water saving efforts... I did see someone watein their garden, in the rain, the other day! Perhaps they just never have saved water? Who knows?

************************************************************************************

Better half took Mia to another prescription eyewear place yesterday. The place I originally went to wanted $375 for one pair of specs. They also wanted either 50% or the full amount put down on them before them being made for her, and it would take 7 to 10 days to be completed. So, husband shopped around, got Mia's report off original eye place and went to the another one. Now, Mia will have TWO pair of prescription eyewear for $199. They will most likely be complete in 7 days time. She is so excited! We are excited too. I cannot wait for her to be able to read with ease. All the hard work we did over last year and Summer vacation time and I wish I had known she needed specs. I did think her claim to headache was her saying she had had enough of the tasks at hand. I feel guilt, however I could not have known she was long sighted could I?

Reach for the heavens...

I cannot wait the 90 days count down to "Journey into a Galaxy Far Far Away".. I am going to jump onto that Landspeeder and zoom away...just try and stop me!! Who is up for a ride?

A lick of rain..

This morning I woke up to the sound of rain. A foreign sound to all of us in Melbourne, contrary to the old popular belief, that we are the city of dreary rainy weather.
By 11am the wind cropped up and was hitting over 80km/hr... now it is gusting to 100 in some areas. It is garbage day here in our area which posed as a problem. I went out and wheeled our bin in as the first truck came around. Looked to the right, wheeled in our neighbour's bin..and then shut the lids of the recycling bins.
I then went out back and put the trampoline on its mat side. I was worried it might end up in someone else's yard!
Keeping a watch on the fires..especially the one at Musk Vale up near Dayelsford. There is also one at Redesdale... change of wind and the fires may go my Aunt's way. Of course there are flying embers too, which can travel sky high and a few kilometres away, so they pose as a major hazard.
The kids look tired after school today, cool, then warm, then windy and hot.. yukk, it tires the best of us.
Today I had some good news,I get to go to the Melbourne Museum with Sarah's class next week. I cannot wait. I haven't been for so long. I will take pictures of what we see to share with you all of course!

The eyes have it..

Bondi eyes off the I Can Has Cheeseburger site on te laptop above.

Mia had an eye examination today. Her teacher had an idea that she was struggling to keep up in the day and when Mia said, "Miss, the white board looks all blubb-le-ley from here" a light bulb lit up. I promptly made an appointment for the optometrist.

She was so good during the exam. Even more amazing, she let the optometrist put in eye drops to dilate her pupils, to relax them. This allowed the gentleman to test Mia's eye when it is not under stress and see the variant, if any, in her site. Particularly her left eye.

So, she is long sighted. Something, the optometrist says, that the school nurse would not have picked up on last year. They are good at picking up on short sightedness and stigmas, but extensive tests are needed to diagnose long sightedness.

With that don, Mia had to choose a frame for her spectacles. The lady Dorothy placed a few pairs on her. Mia was not saying anything, until she put a dark green pair (admittedly awful looking) and Mia exclaims, "They're gay!"

Please, someone open up the Black Hole and suck me up now! I almost died! We ended up choosing a purple/pinky colour frame... with some flowers on them..they could very well be Dame Edna Everege (whom I adore!) style..but I won't tell Mia for a while! The cost... I won't mention. Just that it will be marvellous for her to actually be able to see and to be headache free at the end of the day.

More hot windy days forecast..

Bracing for bad weather conditions on Tuesday, please do not let it be a repeat of what has been the most awful event thus far in our bushfire history. An article in our Herald Sun points it all out. I dare say my cousins children won't have school again this week.