G'day. Well, as you can see, Ratty, Toad and Mole and our little dog Lucky, are best mates.This morning (Tues) Lucky has been showing them all around the backyard and more than likely showing them where he hides his bones!!! I don't know if the three travelers are interested in bones, but at least it appears that Lucky is willing to share.
It's my one day off work and while I have been busy doing the usual stuff that needs to be done when I am home, I entrusted their care to their new four legged friend. The day is just lovely, weather wise, sun is shining and it's a great day to be outside. Shame I couldn't be out there with them, but someone has to keep the house running and today, that's me. Though I have found time to get another T shirt embroidered for the girl at work, to give to her two nieces.I left the backdoor open so Lucky could bring his new best buddies inside if they so desired and next thing I knew was that Ratty, Toad and Mole were up beside me, checking out the embroidery machine. They were very interested in how it worked and wanted to have a play with it. But after I explained that it was not a toy, they were happy to hop down and have scampered back outside to soak up some more sunshine. I must be careful and keep an eye on them. I don't want them getting sunburn.
They are really cheeky little fellows you know and have already picked up some of our Aussie slang . This morning they greeted hubby with "G'day Mate" and I am sure by the time they leave here, they will be able to talk like a True Blue Aussie. I'm sure they must be getting hungry now, I know I am, so it's time for some lunch. Take care. Liz, Ratty, Toad and Mole and of course Lucky...
G'day.Well, it looks like the lovable Ratty, Toad and Mole have recovered from their jet lag and are determined to make the most of their stay with us here in country Victoria (Australia). I left them to their own devices yesterday afternoon while hubby and I got stuck into making another garden bed and a short while had passed and hubby said "What's that noise"? Coming from the garage we could hear vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom. On closer inspection, there were our three visitors on top of one of hubby's motorbikes and Ratty was was really going for it, jumping up and down yelling "vroom, vroom".
"Why won't it go"? chorused Toad and Mole. I think it has something to do with that key, replied Ratty, as the three of them scampered up to where the key dangled from the ignition.
Please can we go for a ride? asked our three visitors." Maybe another day replied hubby, Liz and I have a lot of work to do here first". Being good little troupers, they hopped off and scampered around the garden, enjoying the sunshine and seeing what fun could be had.
After running around, looking at this and that and asking a lot of questions, they were feeling a bit on the tired side and took themselves off to have a nap in one of the Azalea bushes.
Before we knew it, the day was over and it was time to think about getting tea ready. We were all tired and ready for a good meal.After filling their tummies with some good tucker, our three intrepid travelers were ready for a good night's sleep, with the promise of more adventures tomorrow. Take care. Liz, Ratty, Toad and Mole...
G'day. Those lovable rascals from the Wind in the Willows have finally arrived here in Australia. Ratty, Mole and Toad were exhausted after their long flight from France and even though they had slept rather well on the flight, they still needed to recover from the jet lag.I decided they would surely like to spend the day in the garden with me. The sun was shining and the day promised to be glorious. After a quick tour around and a brief description of some of the things that we were still planning to do, to make our garden look lovely, I realised that my new friends were rather quiet. I think the sun may have been a bit too warm for them, so I left them on a seat and they could still watch what I was doing.
When I checked some time later, they were nowhere to be seen. I just happened to walk past my old wicker baskets and there they were, sound asleep and I am sure it was Ratty that I could hear snoring!!
After letting them get some well earned rest, it was time to come inside.Toad jumped up on my small cupboard to see the little ceramic dog in the basket. Mole and Ratty also seemed very intrigued about this animal. "Why is he just laying there"? asked Ratty. "We want to play with him" said Toad. I explained that the little dog was not real, he was one that I made a lot of years ago when I was still doing ceramics. I did tell them about our real dog, Lucky and that they would get to meet him when he and my hubby came home from work. They were very excited at this news and were talking among themselves about this new playmate they would meet soon.
But, it wasn't long and the three weary travelers were fast asleep again. I quietly tiptoed out of the room and let them sleep.
We will have more adventures tomorrow.
Take care. Liz. Ratty, Toad and Mole...
G'day. I have spent most of the weekend pottering around in the garden. The spring weather here has been just lovely, to nice to be inside.
I purchased this lovely wrought iron, three tier plant stand last Friday and it is just perfect for the three cyclamen that I have had for some years. I think they were meant for it, don't you?
I mentioned some time ago, that I am hosting three of the lovable characters from the Wind In the Willows series. These have been made in fabric and hand painted and they have been winging their merry way around the world. They have been visiting with Troc, Broc and Recup in France trocbroc.blogspot.com and have been having a great time and are now on their way to me here in Australia. I look forward to having some fun times with them and letting you all know what we get up to.
One of the girls at work asked me last week would I embroider a Minnie Mouse on a couple of T shirts for her nieces. After saying that I had only had the machine for a short while and was still practicing on it and didn't feel confident about doing something like that just yet, but somewhere down the track I might give it a try. I would have thought that all of that was plain enough and that I didn't want the responsibility of tackling it and stuffing it up. She didn't listen. Two days later, in she came with two store bought T shirts. I nearly fell off my perch to say the least. I patiently explained once again that I was still learning the machine and embroidering on a T shirt was totally different than just on a single square piece of fabric. She was not to be deterred. So, after asking various people, visiting the shop where I bought the machine, (this is an hour away and luckily we had to go up that way last Friday) I with much trepidation sat down yesterday afternoon and gave it a go.I had purposely stayed out in the garden all day Saturday and much of Sunday, so I didn't have to do the blessed thing, but in the back of my mind, I knew it was waiting and that I couldn't put if off. It took a bit of working out to get it centre, which is not as easy as it sounds and also I had to pull the back of the shirt completely up and out of the way of the needle and hold it with my hands to keep it free. This shirt is a size 4, a small size here in Oz, so it had it's problems. But, I am proud to say, it turned out perfectly. I am sure it was just a fluke, a one off lucky chance. I had spent considerable time worrying about tackling this project. But, it is not over yet, there is still the second one to do, that is a size 7, a bit bigger thank goodness, but nonetheless, still a headache. I must learn to say no and put my foot down a bit harder. Some people just won't accept that you are reluctant to do things for them.Of course it's not all her fault, I am just as much to blame for not being louder and firmer with my "No". Take care. Liz...
G'day. It's just a little over four months until my son and I go back to Paris. I have just heard from the travel agent, in whose capable hands I trust for everything to go smoothly. She has never let me down.
She contacted me with the good news to say that the hotel we booked some months ago, will now serve us breakfast each day at no extra cost and because we have a very late evening flight when we leave Paris, they will let us have the room also at no charge. This will be handy in case we want to have a rest or a shower before our super long flight home. This hotel is costing us quite a lot of money each, mainly because of it's location to the Eiffel Tower and the time of the year, which probably still comes under the New Year period, that's their story anyway and breakfast was not originally included in the price, but we could have it if we wanted to part with something like 20 Euro each and that in Australian dollars is close enough to $38.00 a day. Way too much for us. So at last some good news.
Anyway, enough of Paris. I have been having great trouble with my blog, only for the simple fact that Blogger said I have a problem with something malicious trying to worm it's way in. Though, when I contacted them, my site was coming up clean all the time. Through much angst in trying to sort this problem out, I was advised to remove all blogs that I follow and in doing that, silly, silly me, removed all followers as well. Oh dear, what can I say? Hubby would say that I was having a blond moment. It appears that by removing the sites I follow,the problem has gone, at least I hope so.One of those sites (I couldn't isolate it) had been hacked. If anyone has trouble with my site, can you please let me know, as another blog friend (Michelle) did last week.
Beautiful weather in my part of the world today, gorgeous blue sky, only a few white fluffy clouds. All is well and everything is pointing to happiness.I am going to brag now and tell you that at the Weight Watchers meeting last Tuesday night, I had lost another 1.5 kg. All up, it's 18.1kilo off now and I am hoping for a good result tonight. My goal was to get 25kg off before our trip, if that happens, well and good, if not, then so be it. I am proud of myself. I can even get my favourite jeans down now, without undoing them if I so wanted!!! Take care. Liz...
G'day. Do you ever have one of those days where you just can't be bothered doing anything? I hope so, because I don't want to think it's just me...
It's my day off work and I am in a funk. I just can't get my act together for the life of me. The sun is shining, the sky is a beautiful blue, much better than the cold wet days we have been having lately. I should be outside doing something, but I don't know what.
The back garden areas are now all finished. There are no weeds to be seen. Yeah... I can't do anything out the front until we get a digger in to dig up the whole front yard, mainly to level it out. Our new front fence is not yet finished, why I don't know. The company doing it hasn't been sighted since last week. Until that is completed, the plans for my front garden have been put on hold. I have even been looking at some of the lawn area in the back, wondering if I could make another smallish garden centred around a bird bath.But, that's probably making more work for myself.
I can't even motivated myself to do any sewing, or use my new, you beaut embroidery machine today.I am never like this. I relish my days off to do all the thing I love, like gardening and sewing or reading a good book etc, but it has all gone out the window for some reason.
If I am to be honest, I think I know what the problem is, it's my work, my place of paid employment. I have to go back there tomorrow and face a rather unpleasant task, one that I have dealt with in the past, but one that is never easy. I was laying in bed early hours this morning, trying to rehearse what I was going to say and what was the best way of saying it. This is never easy when another persons feelings are involved. I still haven't found the right words of what I need to say and I suspect I won't get much sleep tonight either.
On a lighter note, the pansy's in the picture are just beautiful, they are a giant pansy and one of my favourites. They brighten my day just looking at them.The ceramic watering can is one I made and painted many moons ago, a craft that I don't do anymore. Take care. Liz...
G'day. Well, as you can see, I am still playing with my new embroidery machine. After all I do have to get to know how to use it, don't I? Why spend all that money and just leave it sitting there. Doesn't matter that the house is overrun by dust and the garden has been neglected, but in fairness, it hasn't been that bad that hubby has to cook the meals and my paying job still has me there on my rostered days on. So all is not lost, yet!
Apologies for boring those of my followers that are not interested in sewing, but it is a big part of my life and it's nice to share. That's my story anyway and I am sticking with it.
We are still in winter here in Australia and last Thursday in my part of this beautiful country, Mother Nature let us know it. Late afternoon saw a massive thunderstorm come through, the streets were awash with water, windscreen wipers on flat out, hail, you name it, we got it. Only lasted about twenty minutes or so, then magically the sun came out, the sky cleared and you would never have known that a few minutes earlier we were in the grip of a full force storm.
I happened to look outside some time later and there was our boy laying in the garden bed near the back door, sunning himself, when only an hour or so beforehand he was hiding under one of the beds. What a good life he has.
Oh bye the way, I am still going to Weight Watchers and have now lost 17.1 kg. It was 17.7 last week, but I had been naughty and put on .6.The team leader is trying to get me more motivated and keeps telling me that she wants to be able to present me with a certificate when I lose 20kg. I should have been well past that mark by now, but I'm not and that's all there is to it. I was hoping to have 25kg off by the time I go to France next January and I will still keep trying. I haven't given up yet.
I also apologise to my followers that have had trouble with the word verification, I didn't realise that it was on. I know that many of the blogs that I follow have it and it can sometimes be very frustrating trying to read the words, even with my glasses on, it is a struggle and after a few attempts, I have had to give up and not leave comments.I have turned mine off, at least I hope it's off!!
That's all for now. Take care. Liz...
