Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Small finish and lovely visit

Just a really quick post to show my latest small finish – I’m thinking of picking up a bigger project next, so it may be a while before there’s another finish … as well as the fact that I’ll be losing my internet connection again in a few days time.  I’ve just spent a couple of hours uploading piccies for the next couple of months for the Photo Hunts, for that exact reason – I’m not sure when I’ll be up and running for the internet again, and uploading and downloading is a tad harder at an internet cafe than it is at home … anyway, if you don’t see me online for a while soon, you’ll at least see one post a week, as I’ve uploaded posts for the Photo Hunt right up until 3 November – I know I’ve said it before, but I seriously LOVE that functionality of WordPress!!

Anyway, onto the piccie – here is my latest finish:

christmas bellpull 1

Miniature Bellpull Ornament by The Drawn Thread
from 1999 JCS Christmas ornie magazine or 10th Anniversary issue (which is where I got mine from – the 1999 JCS ornie mag is the only one I don’t own … {pout})
Stitched on 36ct summer khaki Edinborough linen
using DMC and Needle Necessities threads as recommended

In other news – my foot is perfectly fine … I had a lot of stiffness and pain in it on Saturday, and went to see a GP as I felt quite worried about it – but she said I hadn’t done any major damage and I still had relatively good mobility, so just to keep applying the ice packs.  Well, you’d never believe it, I woke up on Sunday and hardly had a twinge!!  It feels fantastic! 😀

The other great news from Sunday is that I caught up with Tannia and had a lovely relaxing stitching day (hence the reason my Drawn Thread ornie got finished – I just did a couple more hours when I got home and finished it up).  As always, Tannia is wonderful company, and it was great to just kick back and relax with needle in hand, and old movies on TV, without a care in the world.  There’s also a treat in store for you, Mum, next time you come over – Tannia has very kindly given me some Christmas ornie magazines for you 😀

Not much else to report apart from that … I’m now off to the lounge room to watch a couple more episodes of series 3 of Moonlighting while I put a few more stitches into another ornie, then tomorrow is “clean up” day when I start packing my things away again in preparation of moving out.  I have another week out in Seaford, then I’m looking after a place in Edithvale for 3 weeks with an elderly (and apparently well behaved – that’ll be a nice change) kitty.

 Rightio, time to get cracking again …

(Updated to add:)  Forgot to say, I finished reading Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows yesterday morning – couldn’t put it down in the end!  Even though I haven’t read any of the others yet, I have no regrets whatsoever for reading it.  It’s unlikely I’ll sit down and read the other books yet, and I wanted to read it before I knew what the ending was.  I’ve seen all the movies to date, so at least I knew all the characters and the terminology … although after seeing the movies, I have to say all the characters in the book were now ingrained in my head as the actors who played them … much less imagination needed haha.  Anyway, I have to say I loved it! 😀

PhotoHunt

PhotoHunt – Happy


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This week’s theme is “Happy” – my photo choices are from when we used to own a timeshare in Fiji, on one of the Mamanuca Islands … for a few years we had some immensely happy times during our visits there … it’s a shame that had to change, thanks to the thieves that stole our money and our trust. In the meantime, we still like to remember those happy times, as there will always be happy memories that overshadow everything else – and some wonderful friendships made. The bottom photo is from New Years, on the night of the Millennium … along with the gift I bought Dokko from Suva (a banjo that he really wanted). On the left is Ana (I’m called Ana in Fijian … so we call each other “tai Ana”, which means “my namesake Ana”) – she’s a real sweetheart. Whenever we visited Fiji and didn’t stay at our resort, we always tried to make a special trip out to the islands to visit Dokko and Ana, and brought gifts with us – I miss seeing them, as it’s been a number of years since we’ve been back. Yep, definitely happy days 😀

Cross Stitch, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Evil kitty … and squishy mail (picture heavy!)

I’m sure no-one will be greatly surprised when I recite the story of my morning yesterday … it pretty much follows the vein of the rest of the year, and if I could have seen my own face yesterday it would have had me in fits of giggles for weeks on end, I’m sure!!

So, what happened to bring all this mirth on … well, to be honest I didn’t find it particularly funny at the time – and if my day tomorrow is not pain-free I may not see the funny side yet again … but I’m getting ahead of myself already …

Yesterday was like any other day this week, except that I had a slight sleep-in – the alarm went off at 4.30am instead of 3.30am like the other days this week (thanks to Lucien swapping his 6am shift for my 5am one so he could go and play golf after work).  As per usual when I got up it was a hot and humid 4 degrees Celsius (aaarghhh), and the country was in darkness.  Being a lazy so-and-so for the first time all week I decided I couldn’t be bothered walking up to the end of the hallway to put that light on, then come back halfway up the hall to switch the other one off, I decided to just brace myself, study the layout of the hallway, and memorise the lightswitch location in my brain … considering it’s only a few steps away, it wasn’t too difficult to do … or do I thought …

Someone else had other things on his mind, though … “evil kitty” all of a sudden appeared out of nowhere – I assume it was him, but I have to say I couldn’t actually see him, and it could have been Satan himself for all I knew … all I could hear was a whole heap of meeowing going on from the area somewhere near my feet.  Now I was worried I was going to stand on the stupid cat in the middle of the hallway, so I started swinging my feet out with my footsteps … the only problem was that now I’d been distracted by trying to find the cat in the dark with my less-than-nocturnal eyesight, I also couldn’t work out where in the damned hallway I now was!  Aha, I thought – there is a grey patch over on the wall to the left, of course that must be the laundry, as the light will be reflecting through the door … let me just walk out and reach out to switch on that light which is closer than the other one … let me just take one more step and reach ……………

The next thing I know I’m stepping out into mid-air, then with a comical expression of total surprise I find myself tumbling down the couple of steps at the end of the hallway … ’twas not the laundry light at all, it was the kitchen!!  My mobile phone went crashing off across the wooden floor, but the final Harry Potter book decided to just sit crying in a heap as it wasn’t in a bouncing mood … me, I just sat there in a heap trying to work out which part hurt most, and which part of my anatomy I should try to move first … crikey, it would have been a picture and a half with that stunned look on my face!!

Luckily, though, nothing was majorly damaged – I felt a bit shaken up and a bit queasy, which I’m sure was from the shock rather than anything else.  Because I was on such an early shift I didn’t want to let my colleagues down at work, and seemed OK to drive, so I went into work – by the time I arrived, though, my right foot was throbbing like hell.  I ended up tipping a recycling box upside down and elevating my leg under the desk for a few hours, and Lucien got a great deal of mirth out of watching me get up to answer a phone call at another desk when my legs nearly buckled from underneath me … glad I could put a smile on your face Lucifer! 😉

Anyway, today I woke up feeling as though I’ve been run over by a Mack truck – the muscles in my left leg, especially my thigh, feel as though I’ve done 3 hours hard work-out at a gym and are very strained and uncomfortable.  My right foot also started really throbbing again after about 6 hours, but luckily today we were working with Bernie who’s a Nurse in her other role (she does a few hours after work to keep her qualifications current) – she had an ice pack put on it, then strapped it up for me.  I’ve been given orders, though, that if I get any more discomfort from it tomorrow I’ve got to go to the doctors as she thinks there’s a possibility of it being a hairline fracture – so far there’s only a little bit of swelling and no bruising yet … fingers crossed it doesn’t turn to anything more sinister!  I’m currently sitting here with another ice pack on, so hopefully that will help 🙂

So, that’s been the last couple of days for you … on a good note, though, I’ve had some exceptionally gorgeous gifties over the last week that I can finally share with you as I’ve sent off all my thank you emails.  I’ll show them in the order that they were received – and I have to say I love every single one of them, thank you ladies!! 😀

First up is an exquisite parcel I received from Isabelle – I must say I tried to help Isabelle and Seb out by buying one of Isabelle’s beautiful bags from her Etsy shop (I fell in love with this one hook line and sinker), after finding out what the proceeds were going towards … and Isabelle said she wanted to send something extra with it when it came time to post it out.  Here are all my goodies – am I spoilt or what??!  These were actually posted quite a while ago, and I started wondering if they’d gone missing … it turns out they had – they were found at the East Camberwell post office, after I queried it!  They’d been having a lovely quiet holiday over there, with no-one any the wiser!  No doubt Isabelle will be pleased to know they finally turned up safe and sound.  The blue bag with white lace on the left is the one I chose to buy, and the other bag is an extra one made especially for me.  Aren’t they beautiful?  Not only that, but I now have my very own French XS magazine that I’ve been spreading drool over for days – I think I could quite easily become addicted to these!  But the piece de resistance for me would have to be the little bourse at the back – this has extra special sentimental value for me, as this was made from the fabric from Isabelle’s wedding dress … I had a serious lump in my throat when I read that!  I’m going to use it as a jewellery pouch for my favourite pieces of jewellery.  Thanks again Isabelle – everything will be treasured always, my dear friend – I feel truly honoured to own some of your masterpieces!

gift from isabelle aug 07

Next up is something totally different … while Tessa was away in the UK she found this adorable, gorgeous duck and thought of me when she saw it!  I don’t know why?!! haha.  Doesn’t it have the most awesome character??  I just love it to death, and it will be a most prized possession in my collection.  In fact the day it arrived it spent all day sitting on my desk atop my computer base – it put a smile on my face every time I looked at it.  Thanks so much again Tessa – I really love it to pieces … it’s so sweet of you to think of me while you were away, especially knowing the reason you were there {{hugs}}.

gift from tessa aug07

Now last, but by no means least … I received an absolutely exquisite RAK from Dawn in the mail today!  After tumbling down the stairs yesterday, and feeling crappy for two days, this did an exceptional job of cheering me up today!  Isn’t it gorgeous?  And the colour is so scrummy, and my fave … BLUE!  Thanks again Dawn, for a wonderful RAK – I truly do feel thoroughly spoilt, and really appreciate your gift.  I can’t wait to get it on a pair of scissors!  I love the postcard too! 😀

gift from dawn townsend aug07a

Talking of work (well, I was earlier in the post anyway) … I cashed in my bonus payment this week – and bought my GPS/iPaq.  I decided to go without the WiFi and extra 1GB of memory and bought the HP iPaq 5765, and spent the extra $180 on something different … I spent the rest of the bonus money on upgrading my compact digital camera.  I’ve had my old Canon PowerShot for about 6-7 years now, and while it’s been an awesome camera, technology had most definitely improved over the years and my 3 megapixels are a bit lacking these days.  I wanted something with a better macro capability, and I considered getting a macro lens for my Nikon digital SLR, but it was out of my price range … but I got something even better – in fact it’s seems clearer than my SLR lenses, which is amazing!  Hopefully it’ll be better for taking shots of my needlework once I get my head around all the settings.  The camera make I got was a Panasonic Lumix which has a Leica lens and a 10x optical zoom … I shall say no more!! 😉

Here’s a couple of shots taken on it by Lucien … he spent more time playing with it today than I did!!  Here’s one of our office desks in the area I work in … plus one of me actually doing work while Lucien goofs off!! As you can see, it’s casual dress day today yippee!

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work2 aug07

Then there are a couple of shots I took on arrival home in Daniel’s garden – the close-up views when you zoom in are exceptional on the flower stamens in the 2nd photo … wow!!  So much so that Lucien is thinking of buying one now too 😉

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daniels flowers 2

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So now it’s back on the wagon again spending-wise … time to pull the horns in again and get some $ back into the bank once more.  Bless you, though, work management for giving us a wonderful gift of cash … I, for one, wholeheartedly appreciate the thought! I thought of being very responsible and putting it towards bills, but then thought “sod it” and went spending haha.  As Mum always says, “it’s money you never had, so treat yourself” 😀

Rightio, time to remove the ice pack for 20 minutes … then it’ll be time to sit back down again with it back on again – if this keeps up you might even see another stitching finish soon … I’m halfway through a Christmas ornie, so you never know your luck in a raffle! 😉

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Round Robins

Stitching progress

Just a seriously fast drive-by to upload these stitching piccies … I’m on 5am shifts at the moment, and I can hardly keep my eyes open, so I’m going to go lay down for a short time – but wanted to post these while I’ve got them on the computer screen …

First up is the latest progress shot of round 4 of our Quaker Friendship Sampler RR.  This is the piece belonging to Barbara, and as normal the photo does the actual piece no justice at all, it’s truly gorgeous!  Love the choice in colours! 😀  I can’t believe we’re actually 2/3 of the way through this RR now, with only 2 more stitching sessions left!  That means I must have Nicki’s arriving on my doorstep next, followed by the last in line (for me), Katrina’s.  I’ve loved stitching this, my very first full quaker design … and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

barbara's quaker rr

Next up is a tiny wee finish, that believe it or not took me three whole days to stitch (yep, my mojo is well and truly lost – I’d normally sit and stitch that in less than a day hmmm).  Anyway here goes – here’s Snow Faces by Just Nan:

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Sorry for the crappy photography just lately – I always seem to be taking photos at night and the lighting here is appalling … but you get the general drift.

Rightio, I’m off for a kip/reading/TV session … no doubt his nibs will be wanting to use me as a cushion as well, so I’d better get my battle gear on ready.  Not sure whether I’ll be reading the final Harry Potter book (thanks to Daniel for buying it, I’m starting my first Harry Potter book by reading the final one – dopey? probably!) … or whether I’ll be watching season 3 of Moonlighting (also compliments of Daniel and Jason – Jason especially LOVES old TV shows, so I’ve been watching seasons 1 and 2 all week) … but either way I won’t be sitting upright! 😉

The GREAT news is that I cashed in some gift vouchers at Officeworks and bought a 2GB flash drive so I’ve FINALLY been able to download this month’s Gift of Stitching magazine – the DVD/CD drive won’t let me copy files on Daniel’s PC, and I won’t have the internet after I leave here for a while … now I’m very very happy as I’ve been able to download and copy the August issue .pdf file plus a couple of online freebie charts back onto my laptop – yippee!!! 😀

Rightio … off to my sofa in the corner I go before I fall asleep in a pile of drool on the keyboard! …

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Update & technical help needed …

It’s a good job I preloaded all those Photo Hunt shots, or my blog would be looking quite bleak at the moment (well, bleaker than it really does anyway) … which reminds me, I must get a few more shots taken, as I only have two more week pre-loaded up!  I have been distinctly missing in action – and haven’t felt like blogging at the end of the day after travelling and making dinner.  I’ve tried reading a few blogs, but it’s incredibly hard work ploughing through so many and never seeming to get anywhere – I still have well over 1000 feeds to read, and that’s something that won’t be improving in the near future either, after I leave here.  It also doesn’t help that when I come into the ‘computer room’ I have to put up with Sean meeowing his head off and bouncing off the door trying to get in … but if I let him in he’s a typical cat and just wants to sit all over the keyboard, desk, or mouse, and throws a tantrum if you don’t give him 100% attention or if you move him out of the way …

I’m still looking at alternatives for replacing my mobile internet, after telling Unwired to shove their crappy service, but I’m not hastily jumping into anything this time but checking out options.  

“Three” have a new service where I can use my Nokia mobile as the modem (just have to work out how to download the software etc, as I’m going to need it on my laptop, and for some reason Daniel’s PC won’t let me save anything to disk), and I wouldn’t have to buy a new laptop modem (a USB one is $299 and a card is $399).  The connection speeds are much much lower (up to a maximum of 384 Kbps hmmm), but if it saves me $399 short term, it could be worth considering …  The costs are $29 for 1GB (which includes both downloads and uploads, which is a pain), $49 for 2GB or $69 for 3GB per month.  I think I need to think about this one some more, but I’m likely to settle with this option after looking at others, mainly because I wouldn’t have to buy a separate modem, and it’s like an ‘add-on’ to my current service, meaning I can cancel at any time without incurring costs.

Now this is where I need some technical help …

The great news is that I’m getting my GPS, thanks to my company giving us a bonus – yippee!  I’ve decided to upgrade from buying just a standard GPS on its own and get either the HP iPaq 5765 or 5965 which is a PDA with built-in TomTom GPS – for only a small difference in price, I get many more benefits (including not having to lug around a bulky diary everywhere with me with my phone contacts etc).  Now here’s my dilemma … I could pay $180 extra for the 5965 which has 2GB memory instead of 1GB, and it has WiFi (the cheaper one doesn’t) … would it be worth the extra money??  I’m thinking I could take it to a cafe in the city, and download my emails (it has Microsoft Office Mobile 5.0 loaded up) without having to lug my laptop around … then synchronise my emails to my laptop at the end of the day.  Would that actually work???  I’m thinking that way I could just sign up for wireless internet at the ‘basic’ level of 1GB downloads/uploads … as long as I had an alternative to downloading my emails if I ran out of downloads etc … ???  And I could just make a trip into the city and enjoy a coffee somewhere while downloading my emails – sounds like a dreadful proposition hahaha.

What else have I been up to?  Here’s a picture of the fur-babies I’ve been living with recently – first up is Alice and Hugo looking serene and peaceful in the sunlight (you’d think butter wouldn’t melt in Hugo’s mouth, would you?)

alice and hugo 1

Then there’s Sean … I’m very happy to report that Sean now follows me around the house like a shadow, and has ceased all of the hissing over the last few days – he’s back to being a very cuddly and friendly kitty who’s a pleasure to be around.  It’s a shame that he’ll probably be back to hissing after a single day of Daniel being home again (although I have to update that – he did it again last night after I moved him, and I got cranky with him and wouldn’t let him back up onto the sofa with me – he sat and sulked for a while on his chair, but I’m not going to put up with his temper tantrums, the little bugger!!) 😦

Anyway, here he is propping himself up on the sofa arm, waiting for me to come and join him in my stitching corner the other night! 😉

sean

Talking of stitching, here are two teeny projects I’ve finally managed to get finished.  I have to admit I’m still finding stitching a major chore, and I’m not enjoying it at all – I’ve forced myself to sit for a couple of hours over three nights this last week to try to get myself back into the swing of it, but I can’t say I’ve loved it one iota.  I’m going to try to get some more done today, and get a wee Just Nan one finished (updated … it’s now finished, but piccies will have to wait).  My Sailor’s Valentine kit will be heading over my way from Perth very soon for the CA Wells class next year, so I’d better hurry up and shape up and get my mojo back again!!!  I also need to get the latest round of the Quaker Friendship Sampler RR completed (updated … it’s 2/3 done now). Anyway, here are my two teeny finishes to date:

planted hearts needleroll 1
Planted Hearts Needleroll by Lavender Wings
Stitched on 32ct waterlily Belfast linen
using recommended threads (DMC)
replaced Mill Hill treasure with another glass bead I had to hand

biscornu side 2
Side 2 of my biscornu using Debbie Draper’s design
from Gift of Stitching Magazine
stitched using Carrie’s Creation threads in Ocean Blue and Lavender
(after Jenna’s recent comment this will always be the Jenna/Anne biscornu now!!)

I also have a gift to share but I need to contact the sender first … I’ll try to update soon with the latest stitching finishes and my gifts sooner rather than later – mind you, I’m on 5am shifts this week, so it could be a good thing to keep me awake in the afternoon! 😉

Melbourne

McClelland Gallery & Sculpture Park

I keep forgetting to post my piccies from my afternoon’s excursion in Frankston’s McClelland Gallery & Sculpture Park about three weeks ago (I’ve had the photos uploaded and this sitting as a draft fora  while) … I have to be honest I’m a very boring and traditional person where sculpture is concerned, and I obviously don’t have a contemporary artist’s bone in my body, ‘cos some of the stuff on display I found just plain ‘bizarre’ and definitely not ‘my’ idea of art.  But I know the saying ‘each to their own’, and some of you may like some of these pieces, so I thought I’d share.  If you are interested and want to see some more, you can check out their website via the link above, and they have a small slideshow happening on the home page covering some more of the pieces that I didn’t bother including below.

First up are a couple that I have to admit I really like (and I absolutely ADORE the large bronze male sculpture – he’s huge, and very very detailed – I just love him!):

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This isn’t the best photo, with all the background clutter, but I wanted to show you the scale of him compared to my wee feathered friend in the foreground … in fact this duck must’ve realised I was a kindred spirit, as he came up onto land and followed me halfway round the lake quacking his little heart out, before he finally gave up and headed back into the water, bless him 😀

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Here he is in a bit more detail

Now we move to the more ‘interesting’ exhibits – I like this one just because it stands out so much in the parkland with its bright whiteness, but still very bizarre … like a pile of huge larvae!

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Ever wanted to know what to do with your old electric frying pan lids? Well, now you know …
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I’m sorry, but this one just reminds me of someone’s intestines on display …

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And this is just plain “what the?” to me … barbed wire shaped into a square … sorry, but it just does nothing for me (my apologies to the artist concerned)

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In any case it’s a nice park to walk around – although there are warning signs for summer saying to be wary of snakes, so I guess I’ll never get Mum in there to look around (I have to admit, I was freaked out enough on my own seeing that sign even in the middle of winter!!).

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I’ll finish with one more piece that I DO like … there are three pieces that are more along the line of the Greek sculptures … much more down my alley!! Here’s just one of them for you 😉

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A more ‘general’ update on what’s happening around here will follow some time over the weekend … I’m not really in a blogging mood (and haven’t been for the last few weeks), but I’ll try to get something together over the next few days …

Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Really quick line

Just to say I cancelled my Unwired service today, so after I move out of here I’ll be going back to using internet cafes to keep up to date.  I’ve been unable to connect to my Unwired modem since moving out from Bentleigh – I assumed I wouldn’t be able to access it in Seaford, as it’s out in the boondocks, but I figured Ringwood as a major suburb will have no problems.  Today when I called up to see why I couldn’t get a connection here, I found out in Melbourne their service is really limited to the CBD area … which means I’m lugging around a very expensive ornament each month for nothing 😦

Anyway, I told them very politely to cancel my subscription, and I may instead look at connecting with Telstra or Optusnet or somebody else … while their prices are pretty much double what Unwired charge on a monthly basis, they’re a helluva a lot more portable – and obviously much more reliable … what a waste of $200 for this stupid brick of a modem 😦

At the moment I’m able to access the internet via Daniel’s PC (while I owe him no thanks whatsoever for teaching his kitty very bad manners, I owe him a huge vote of thanks for setting me up as a separate user on his PC so I can at least access my emails via the webserver).

Due to the circumstances, though, it might be wise for anyone who wants to contact me directly to drop me a line at work … depending on my shifts sometimes it can take a short while for me to reply, but it’ll be a darned sight quicker than waiting for a response when I can’t access the internet down the track … ho-hum …

Rightio, that’s all I wanted to say … I’ve just got in from work very very late, after driving straight to a friend’s place for coffee and a catch-up … and ended up watching most of The Illusionist movie before driving home at 9.45pm (the movie was OK, even though I abhor Edward Norton as an actor), and having to pick up a Red Rooster meal on the way home, as I hadn’t eaten since lunchtime … now it’s time to hit the hay again.  By the way, Mum, it was Dawn and Phil I caught up with – not sure if I’ve told you already, but they’re back together again.  Next Tuesday we’re catching up for a night out at the movies as well, which will be fun.  And I came home with a pile of new trousers tonight, compliments of Dawn who’s lost oodles of weight, so she kindly handed over her good ‘fatty clothes’, which fit me perfectly! She’s going to go through her wardrobe before next week and see what else she can find that will suit me too … woohoo! 😉

In fact that was this pay-day’s big splurge … I went out and bought two new tops and a new pair of bras.  And boy, oh boy, it felt so good!  I’m trying to treat myself each pay-day to something I’ve been putting off buying because I couldn’t afford it, and it’s been just wonderful!  I’ve been doing a few things as gifts for dear friends lately as well, while I’ve had the funds to be able to do it, but now I’m back in the mode of pulling my horns in again, and getting some money put aside … but I’m still going to have a fortnightly or monthly treat, regardless.  First of all my treat was the little stash splurge, then the last one was a new watch in the sales (my old one was battered and disgusting), and now my new bras … I wonder what next pay-day will bring …

Mind you I might not have chance to go shopping next pay-day, as it’ll be a very very social week next week – Monday night is Trivia night at the local pub near work with about 8 work colleagues (and after 4 months of not getting my hair cut yikes, I’m getting it cut and coloured beforehand), then movie night Tuesday, then Friday night I’m off out to dinner and perhaps drinkies afterwards with Fraze and my ex-work colleague Jason … then I’ll be in dire need of a rest, me thinks, as will my wallet! haha.

Rightio, enough waffling (so much for a quick note) … time to remove the Red Rooster carcass, de-poo the kitty litter, and hit the hay for the night 😉

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Melbourne

Quick drive-by

That seems to be all I do these days … pop on here for a quick update then sod off again for days on end!

Thanks for all the comments about my resident fur-monster.  In fact he’s sitting right outside the computer room door meeowing his head off as I type this … I used to let him in, but he started hissing when I’d move the mouse etc, so I turfed him out, and I’ve kept him out ever since.  I have to admit I’ve started using the water pistol on occasion, and it seems to be working a bit.  He was trying to get on me while I was stitching last night (that’s a miracle in itself these days!!), and had his paws/claws digging into my shoulder … when I went to move his paws, his ears flattened back and the hissing started – well, he moved pretty damned quickly when the water pistol was picked up!  He doesn’t seem to hold grudges, though, and came back again 5 minutes later to get my attention.  He didn’t try to climb up, though, and just sat next to me so we spent a bit of time in civil peace 🙂

I’m still considering moving into a new place in November/December – but then again it depends on how I go with the housesitting over the next 3 months before I make my big decision.  I’m thinking, though, of moving to somewhere like Mordialloc which is a bit further out of town but close to the beach again – rent is a bit cheaper, and my down time will still be in nice surroundings … food for thought, anyway …

Seeing as I still don’t have any stitching piccies etc to share, here are a few I took on my walk up Frankston beach in the freezing cold just over a week ago – don’t let the sunny sky fool you, it was only just starting to clear up, and the wind was strong and icy!  I love the fishermen at the end of the pier in their winter gear 😀

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Here was a bit of the local flora from my wander back to the car via the canal walkway:

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Next time I’ll post some piccies of an sculpture park I went to later that same day … it’ll be some time before I post a progress piccie, so this’ll have to do for now 😛

OK, it’s time to head back to the lounge to see if Sean is going to play nice tonight – he’s in an extremely smoochy mood tonight and has hardly left me alone for 2 seconds … it’ll be interesting to see if he stays that way for the next hour while I sit and stitch and watch TV (crikey, that really IS a miracle, two stitching nights in one week, what IS the world coming to?? haha) 😉