DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS

December is a very busy month for birthdays, so here goes. Happy birthday Jordja, Judi, Byron, Dearne, Craig and Tricia. Wishing you all every happiness for the coming year and may your dreams come true.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

We had a very different Christmas this year. Took Jordja to see the Myer windows , followed by a visist to see Santa. Usually we spend Christmas day with The Clark's but this year had Christmas with them on Christmas Eve and then cooked lunch on the big day at home. Christmas night we had dinner with Simon and Clare. Too much food and some great pressies ... all in all a great day.

WHAT I'M READING

I have recently read some great books so was very disappointed when the new Michael Connelly which I had been waiting for turned out to be a very ordinary book, in fact have only read half of it and but it aside. The next book in the pile is Val McDermids latest so hopefully it will be good. Have ordered the latest Louise Penny book and hopefully that will arrive early in the new year. Its a pain having to wait so long for books from Canada but am sure it will be a great read when it gets here. Have just about finished P D Martin's The Killing Hands the fourth book featuring FBI criminal profiler Sophie Anderson. A great series by an Australian author. Am off to the library this afternoon to collect two books both by Australian authors so will be good to see how they pan out.

HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE

Our eldest granddaughter Steph has turned 16 and we wish her a very happy birthday and a great year ahead. Besides all the great pressies she got and her surprise party on the night she also passed her learner's test on the Monday. Well done Steph.

DJERRIWARRH PARADE

The annual Djerriwarrh Festival kicked off this weekend with a street parade. The Parade has been going for about 35 years. It has changed over the years but is still a great parade. All the schools have floats and the sporting organisations and many other community groups all march. The theme this year was circus fun and it was certainly taken to heart by the participants. After the parade there is many activities on the local Police Paddock and surrounds including stalls, displays etc. Also the carnival and rides are in full swing.

BLOCKED DRAINS

There is nothing worse when there is a downpour to have water sitting 2 inches deep outside the laundry door and the dogs not being able to get outside. On Thursday Phil started investigating where the blockage in the drain was and after 5 holes in the yard and half the paving pulled up he finally found where the blockage was. Right in the middle of the backyard nowhere near the side of the house where he thought it was. It appears our neighbours Elder was the culprit is roots having broken through the pipe and its massive root system blocking up the pipes. Anyway repairs made and now just have to restore the yard back to normal.

BRIGHTON BEACH BOXES

On Saturday morning Byron, Jordja and I went to Werribee to get Jordja body armour so that she can ride her motor bike without the trainer wheels. After that we head off to Brighton to see of photography exhibition by the photograhper who climbed Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hilary and photographed him reaching the summit, after that we headed to Brighton Beach to have a look at the beach boxes which I had never seen. It was a lovely sight with the sun shining on them and pleasant way to spend an hour. After that we headed back to StKilda and had lunch in Acland Street and then purchased some very naughty cakes to take home for afternoon tea. All in all a very good day.

BATHROOM RENO

Finally last Saturday the new shower screen was fitted and the bathroom is now finished. It has turned out very well and we are pleased with the result. Unfortunately Phil has now given himself tennis elbow and has to have physio on it for the next couple of weeks and hopefully his shoulder and arm will come good.

GRAND FINAL 2010 REPLAY

GRAND FINAL REPLAY
Today I went to my first Grand Final to watch the Saints play Collingwood at the MCG.





Luckily for me when we had a draw last week I was able to get a ticket to the game. Byron drove me into the city and walked me to the "G". It was certainly an interesting day, and although we didn't win I enjoyed myself. Unfortunately the Saints were not up to job but we will be back again next year.

WHAT I AM READING

THE GRAY MAN by Mark Greaney. This is another new author I have discovered and added to my reading list. "Courtland Gentry is a good man and a great assassin. To those who lurk in the shadows, he's known as the Gray Man. He is a legend in the covert realm, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible and then fading away. But there are forces more lethal than Gentry in the world. Forces like money and power. And there are men who hold these as the only currency worth fighting for. And in their eyes, Gentry has just outlived his usefulness. But Court Gentry is going to prove that, for him, there's no gray area between killing for a living and killing to stay alive.." Must admit have so far thoroughly enjoyed this book, another character along the lines of Lee Child's Jack Reacher.

GRAND FINAL REPLAY

I am very excited I have just purchased a ticket to the grand final replay next Saturday. I was only able to get one ticket with my membership so will be going by myself, anyway Phil will be away in Queensland. I will be sitting at the very top of the Ponsford Stand but at least I will be able to look down on the goals and see the entire ground from my perch. As I have never been to a grand final ialthough have been to many prelim finals to watch the Saints this is the first time at a grand final and only because of the draw last Saturday. All I can say is GO SAINTS and another thing off my bucket list of must do things.

CAPE SCHANCK

On Saturday morning we got up early and headed of to Cape Schanck. It was a cool overcast morning but we enjoyed ourselves. The walk down to the beach was via a long flight of timber stairs. Once down on the foreshore we discovered that the beach was mostly smooth rocks and no seashells or sand. There was a bit of a swell so the waves were breaking on the rocks. Next came the long walk back up the stairs to the top which proved to be a bit of a struggle but finally made it to the top. We then returned to the kiosk which had opened and got our tokens to go through to the lighthouse and surrounds. We very pleasant way to spend a morning. We then headed back into Rosebud and had morning tea before making our way back home to watch the Grand Final.

DEARNE'S VISIT

Dearne had come over for a quick few days to catch up with her family and I was luck enough to have her staying with me for a couple of days. I collected her from the airport on Wednesday night and on Thursday we had a girls day out shopping at Watergardens. I don't think we stopping talking the entire time. It's amazing how you can spend six hours shopping and not actually buy very much but enjoyed looking and trying on things we didn't buy. On Friday morning Emma picked Dearne up on her way through to Melbourne. It was lovely to be able to spend time with her.

WHAT I AM READING

Have just discovered this author. He is Australian and is from Victoria. Have read Head Shot and am currently reading his second book Blood Sunset. Have enjoyed the first book and am about a third of the way through the second one. If you like reading Australian crime then you will enjoy meeting Ruben McCauley a detective with the StKilda Police.

BROOME

CAPE LEVEQUE
Don't you love the shoes. We had to wear them when we went mud crabbing in the mangroves. I didn't go into the mangroves I spent the time strolling along the waters edge and mud flats. Phil went into the mangroves after crabs and came back covered in mud up to his knees but he enjoyed himself. He and young Joshua the son of our guide found a huge crab but couldn't get it out from under a rock so they only brought back its big claw which Joshua took home for his tea. They ended up with two crabs which they cooked on an open fire on the beach, we all got to have a taste. This was another experience we would probably not have had if we hadn't gone on the tour. This tour lasted 14 hours by the time we got back to Broome. The biggest time consumer was the 90kms of unsealed road which was in a very poor condition.

BROOME

One of the fun things we did was to do the camel ride at Cable Beach. Have to say that I was a little nervous about doing this and as it turned out have to say I was not that comfortable riding on a camel. As Phil weights more than me he got to be at the back. When the camel stands up you have to lean back as you get tilted forward in the saddle. In the soft sand they tend to sway a far bit but once on the wet sand it got better. Enjoyed the scenery and it was lovely to watch the sunset as we strolled along the beach. Dismounting is nearly as bad as getting on but survived and thats another thing off the bucket list.

BROOME

We have just had a wonderful 7 days in Broome. The weather was hot about 33 degrees each day, clear blue skies and a gentle breeze late in the day. We stayed at the Broome Vacation Village which is about 4 kms from the centre of Broome on the way to the Port area. The cabin although not flash was comfy and meet all our needs. When we arrived on the Sunday we collected our hire car a little 4 door Getz and on the way to where we were staying dropped into the Information Centre and then had a quick look at the weekend market which is held at the court house each Saturday and Sunday, after a quick look around and a hamburger (yummy) we checked in at the caravan park and set about organising ourselves. Found the supermarket and got supplies. On Monday we booked several tours and in the afternoon did the Pearl Lugger tour and the camel ride at Cable Beach. Tuesday we went to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek.On the way we stopped at the Boab Prison Tree. On Wednesday we drove to Derby for a look and lunch and on Thursday we did the big trip to Cape Leveque. We visited Beagle Bay where the beautiful Scared Heart church is. The main alter is made from white pearl shell.. something to see really beautiful. From there to Lombadina and then to the Cape where we had lunch on the beach followed by swimming for those who wanted too or like us strolled along the coast line.We then returned to the other side of Cape Leveque to the red cliff area and then met up with our guides who took us to One Arm Point to go mud crabbing.

WHAT I AM READING

Have just finished reading the Maisie Dobbs book.Once again, author Jacqualine Winspear has transformed us all back to the early 1930's where Maisie and her assistant Billy have been asked to assist Special Branch find the writer of a letter threatening massive loss of life if certain demands are not met. This is the sixth Maisie Dobbs mystery and as with the others a very well written story.

The Dirty Secrets Club is by Meg Gardiner who is an author I have not read before. Slighty different style of writing to what I am used too, but have managed to get comfortable with it. It tells the story of Jo Beckett, "deadshrinker" a forensic psychiatrist who profiles victims' lives to help solve their deaths. Will let you know the verdict when I have finished it.

BATHROOM RENO'S

Still making slow progress with Phil back at work but I did manage to paint the bathroom and toilet door frames and the window in the bathroom. Now just a matter of cleaning up the residue from the grouting and then having the shower screen fitted and the new handbasin and tap. Nearly there.

SCRAPANALIA WORKSHOP

CHRISTMAS ALBUM

This was the first workshop held at the factory. It was a good night and we made this Christmas Album ready to put all our photos in to celebrate the festive season. Am very happy with the results.

BATHROOM RENOS

Well the bathroom is nearly finished. Phil has worked very hard to get it to a stage where he could leave it and go back to work as our driver has resigned and he is going solo for awhile until we can get another driver.

We did manage to get to the football last weekend to the Saints v North game at Etihad. It just doesn't seem possible that we are in the last couple of rounds and heading into the finals. It feels like the season only just started.

Other news is that Mel and Ben's house is nearly ready just the final paperwork to get done and its theirs. A very big house but that is the trend these days, so will take a bit of furniture to fill it up. Anyway congrats guys on your new home.

Will post photos of the bathroom next time.

SCRAPANALIA OPENING

Congratulations Trish and Ann Marie on the opening of the shop. It was a good night even though the weather was terrible but you had a good turnout so fingers crossed for continued success.

STAMPIN UP CLASS

Along with Trish I did another workshop at Julie's making these lovely cards. It is fun and am looking forward to the next workshop.

RENOVATION UPDATE

Phil has worked hard over the last couple of days and had laid new floor tiles in the toilet and repainted it. It is now complete unfortunately when the toilet was original installed it was off centre but can't help bad luck. Work continues on the bathroom and Phil has just about completed the wall tiles. Just the last few to do then he can start the floor tiles. Then comes the big grouting job.

BATHROOM UP DATE

The bathroom is slowly nearing completion. Phil worked hard last week to get the bath moved and arranged to have the taps moved and now it is ready to be tiled which will be a big project. Phil hopes to do it in a day so later this week hopefully he will get it done. Once the tiling is done he will refit the shower and it will be finished. When checking out the new tap fittings discovered that the spout for the bath was dented but luckly were able to a replacement one so didn't have to change all our fittings. Have finally decided on the new hand basin so just need to buy it and a new mixer tap.

Had a quote for a new shower to be installed approx $625. So Phil has checked out prices on ebay and found a couple of outlets which sell the same shower for considerably less so he will look into further and check whether he is able to install it himself.

MARY POPPINS

For my birthday earlier in the year Trish bought me a ticket to see Mary Poppins. Trish, the girls, Chrissie and I went to see on Tuesday night. It was fantastic a great show, the cast was very good and the young woman who played Mary Poppins was excellent. It is good to see such talented performers creating such a wonderful show.

BATHROOM RENOVATIONS

We decided earlier this year that we would upgrade our main bathroom as it was showing it age. Phil had spent time working with a friend in Darwin and felt confident that he could do the work. Last Sunday he started removing the bath, all the old tiles and the shower screen and the floor tiles. What a mess it took ages to vacuum up. On Monday he renewed the cement sheet on the walls of the shower and painted them with sealer. Over the next few weeks he will tile the walls and then put in the new shower and put the bath back, then do the floor.

STILL HERE

Haven't been blogging for awhile but need to get back into the habit. Since my last entry I have had a birthday which was very enjoyable. Went out for dinner and as it was St Patricks day enjoyed some great entertainment.

Have managed to have a short trip away in our caravan to Warrnambool and look forward to getting away later in the year. I suppose the biggest event was our trip to Canada and Alaska which was just fantastic. Although we were flying for about 28 hours i.e. Melbourne - Auckland 5 hours with a 3 hour layover. From there to LA 12 hours, then another layover for 4 hours, then a 3 hour trip to Vancouver it was worth it. We had a spare day in Vancouver so headed off to Whistler to have a look at where the winter olympics where held. A very pretty place and our first chance to see snow capped mountains which were to become quite a familiar sight for the next 8 days.

Our cruise up the inside passage was wonderful, the scenery so breathtaking and the thing we noticed the most was how clean everywhere we went was. The weather was perfect about 14deg c and clear blue skies, the only rain we had lasted about 1 hour in the morning. We saw glaciers, spectular mountains covered in snow, went whale watching, toured a disused mine, went on a fantastic train trip at Skagway into Canada (the original route to the Yukon) and on our final day did a half day cruise at Seward before busing it back to Anchorage. We fly back to LA late that night and had two days there before heading home. We enjoyed the cruise and met some lovely people as usual. We even won the final of the trivia contest with a couple we met and spent time with. All in all a very good trip.