On the buses….

Over the last two days, I feel as though I have done nothing but sit on a bus!!! Yesterday, after the day’s conference proceedings, I jumped on the Llandudno Tour Bus, which went around town from the North Shore to the West Beach, which by way of chance is the home of Alice (Alice in Wonderland) and that of Conway. Conway, is best known for Conway Castle.

Conway Castle

Conway Castle

Alice In Wonderland

Alice In Wonderland

Then, in the evening, we had a function (sponsored by Syngenta) out at Kinmel Manor, Abergele. This was a great function, where I teamed up with some fellow aussies from Western Australia. We sat down at a table in towards the centre of the room, when all of a sudden, the MC for the evening announced the arrival of the Ladymayor'ss and her Consort and they came and sat at OUR table! And, what's more, we also had the CEO of Syngenta also at our table! How embarrassing, but it did have its pluses. That is, when it came to getting dinner, we were the first table to go to the Buffet to get served!!!!!

Then today, the day started early with the technical tours and for me it was off to Edgebaston Cricket Oval, where in two weeks will see the Test match between the Australian team and England in the ashes battle, and toDunstalll Park Racecourse. We had an additional stop that was not advertised to Birmingham City Football Club, and wow what a stop.
So, after a very long day, here are some more pics….

Edgebaston strip

Birmingham City Football

Llandudno garden

Rear Grt Orme

This must be a dream…

Monday 11th July 2005

If so, please do not wake me up! I feel as though I am in the French Riviera, Monte Carlos or some other exotic location. In fact, in today's welcome by the Lady Mayoress and fellow Council member, we were told that this place is the 'Preferred Resort Location for many Brit's' and it is not hard to see why!

This morning, after waking at around 5.30am local time, I went for a walk along the Promenade. It was already so warm that I went for a swim in the little pool at the Eastern end. Then upon returning to the hotel and showering and getting dressed, I went downstairs for another hearty breakfast before heading to the first day of the conference. You know, what I actually came here for!

The day lingered on and on, and I finally got to meet two of the absolute gurus of the Turf world. They are Jim Beard and Prof. Bill Adams. Two of the worlds most highly regarded Turf Scientists in the world.

Anyway, the day continued on until 5pm, which marked the end of the day, so it was now time to hit the town, beach or what ever. I took the swimming option after getting some more pics of the place. Remember though, it is still daylight here until 10PM! That is, the sun is STILL up, so a walk along the Promenade quite late is very comforting indeed.

So here are some more pics:

Llandudno houses

Llandudno Pier

Grand Hotel from Pier

Grand Hotel footings

Little Orme view from hotel
Orme view from Hotel

Pics added, so go BACK!!!

Pics added, so go BACK!!!

Tremendous view

Today, I walked up to the cable-tram that takes you to the summit of the Great Orme. This, at first, looked rather... umm scary, but once we were on our way, it was quite peaceful. It took about 20 mins to reach the halfway house, here we change cable cars, and then about another 15 mins to reach the summit. From here, it is a spectacular view of Llandudno and its surrounds. All I can say is a picture tells a thousand words!!

Llandudno street

Llandudno square

Llandudno shops

Llandudno prom night

Llandudno Prom

Grt Orme half view

Crossing meeting

Decending

City view

City views

Cable Tram

What a beautiful day….

The day started with a lovely breakfast, served approximately 2 hours after waking (6.30am). I had orange juice with corn flakes followed with a 2 x Danish Bacon, poached egg, sausage and tomatoes all served with toast and coffee. After which I scurried on upstairs to my room to wait for the call from Australia. And I waited…. Waited and waited…. In the end I called to confirm the number, (previously sent via SMS) and thought to be a fax by some (L). L was rather surprised to hear from me but excited all the same, and proclaimed that she had just seen off the MIL & FIL and was about to call. So I hung up and within minutes, she had called through as promised. After about 1 hour and 10 or so mins, we decided to call it a morning (for me) and a night for her, as there were more important things to do. For me it was to climb the Great Orme, and explore the sights of Llandudno and for L it was a long soak in a hot tub!

So off I went downstairs where I met the lovely owner’s wife. She was commenting to the head of housekeeping to my size (6’3”) and so on, and after about 20 mins or so, it was all about me the colonial lodger whom needed a longer bed! Not that there was anything wrong with my bed (or view) apart from the fact the wardrobe at the end made a lovely stop for my feet!!! So, they decided I needed better and I was moved as a ‘Person of size’! Can you believe it? When I have watched Airlines on TV, they use this line to make a person pay for two seats! I hope they are not going to charge me for two rooms!!! But, seriously though, they are truly lovely people here as they even offered to do my (small) amount of laundry, and I get to use their Internet connection!!!

Why I here you ask? Because the stupid Department of Environment and Conservation gave me a laptop with NO Internet to connect to, bloody idiots!

A comedy of errors…

The day started with fond farewells with Auntie Pat. We walked up to the nearby bus stop and I jumped on the No 53 to Liverpool Lime Street to catch the train back to Manchester Airport. Once on the train, which was full by the way, there were two young girls travelling chatting on how one of them met this Australian guy, “6’3” he was” in a rather strong scouser accent. Anyways, they trying to determine what was 6’3” so me being me couldn’t resist myself stood up and said in my strongest Aussie accent, “about this tall!” They then asked if I was an aussie, (as if they had to ask) and that was about the end of it as the train was approaching their stop.
Next thing you know, we were pulling into Manchester Piccadilly, where I had to change trains (huh) to the airport. Upon arrival, I was informed that I had to go out and catch a bus, which is when I panicked as I had to catch a shuttle to Llandudno at 2.30! Well, out I went and catch the bus I did which seemed to go on for ages. I arrived at the airport at 1.45 and tried to find out where I had to go to catch the shuttle. After looking around for a while, there was nothing to see that might indicate where I was going so I went to the information booth for some help and was told that there were a few other delegates here and we would be called.

Move ahead to 4 pm when there was no sign of any shuttle so we huddled together and decided that we now had to get our own way there. I went off to the car rental people, where 4 of the 5 had nothing and the last had one for 86 pounds. The lady from Sygenta had a driver and a mini bus for 156 pounds and off we went.

After arrival I found the hotel (very VERY nice) and unpacked. I then went off in search of dinner (1.20 pounds of chips) ate dinner, went for a walk, SMS ‘L’ and off to sleep.

Ormescliffe Hotel

101 view

while you were sleeping addendum

or should it be 'glass replacement 101'. I didn't get near the privet, and the glass is yet to be replaced in the windows ......

Glass replacement lesson no. 1
Measure the frame for the window pane twice ..... did that to the nearest millimetre for no less than 15 window panes.
Measure the frame from the outside ..... or you will be out by up to 1cm .... and this is where I went wrong.
Have a first aid kit on hand (pardon the pun) .... for the repair needed for the slicing of finger whilst handling freshly cut (and wrong sized) glass .... something I didn't have on hand (pardon the pun), so am now sporting a strip of old flannellette nightie from the rag bag wrapped around finger with masking tap holding it in place (thank you, mum).
Stay calm when all goes wrong (thank you, dad) have a cup of tea and piece of sweet bun, continue to spend the rest of the day chiselling out putty, measure windows twice from the outside and with a metal ruler (dad came prepared, he had a feeling about this job), and if you're as pathetic at the home handyperson stuff as I obviously am, and have a great mum and dad, they will come back during the week to finish the job.

Next weekend ... 'pointing 101' or remortaring brickwork.

while you were sleeping

please excuse me, but I am not sure which email address I am meant to be using to converse with my husband.

B, I must apologise for the dozen or so SMS's I sent you this morning (your night), it was lovely to get your SMS to say goodnight/morning. I did try calling but the number you gave me at the B&B went to a fax machine. I should have tried the mobile (by the way can you please get that 2 card thingy for your mobile) however, I just do not know which number to call. It took me some time to work out the area codes and Miss Jas (the little witch) had left me a wet present on the floor, so that by the time I rang and got the fax machine, and sent the SMS's, I was quite worked up.

Anyway, so far whilst you have been sleeping I

• have moved quite a few of the pot plants off the front lawn and out back, including the lime, it looks quite good.
• mopped the floors, I figured if I had to clean Jas's mess I might as well do the lot.
• got the ladder out and attempted to reach the gutters out front (it looked like rain) but gave up when I realised the ladder was about a metre short and I could do myself an injury.

I am now waiting for mum and dad to arrive so that we can cut down some of the privet and replace the broken window panes. It is not going to be fun, it is a really horrible day, with howling winds that are icy cold. I have the heater on and am huddled under a quilt at the computer at present.

On a pleasant not though, I have discovered that sitting at the computer and looking from this window I can see Centerpoint Tower. Another reason why the Liquid Amber must go.

I will ring you around 6ish my time, I am guessing that they might switch the phones to fax after a certain time. Although could you check the number you sent me?

L

a day of mixed fortunes

Well yesterday, I went down to Furness Vale to visit Gaynor with whom we stayed with last year. Gaynor is a relative of 'L's Manager Ruth. So I caught the train down and changed at Stockport for the final leg into Furness Vale. But, when I got off the train, I knew I had to walk up the hill up a very narrow road and turn at a Y junction but which one was it?? After about 30 mins or so, I gave up as I was getting more than a little and not wanting to get LOST!!!!
When I did get back to Liverpool, I had a 'date' with Auntie Pat to go to the Bingo here at the Retirement Village. It would have been a hoot except for the fact that I had a 'quick' lie down at 6.20pm which ended up being a 2am wake-up!! WOW I must have been dog tired.

Today, in about 20-30 mins actually, I will be off back to Liverpool Lime Street station to catch the train back up to Manchester Airport. It is from here that the conference organisers have put on a shuttle bus service into Llandudno. So hopefully there will be some spectacular scenery that I can get some photo's of. And I promise that when I get to the hotel I will send across some pics!!

Oh, before I go, today marks the return of summer here with temperatures ranging from 26-28 degrees!!!!

what happened to summer????

Ok, now some of you might be thinking huh bad luck, but I thought I was coming over to the UK for a summer. But, I am saddened to say it is not the case as it is bloody cold here!
After all of the good news from yesterday with London being granted the Olympics, it went into chaos this morning with the bombings in Central London. Big news over here really, but we were still to hear about it when my brother 'D' called here to see if I was alright! Mind you, Liverpool is nowhere near London!!!!
Today, we walked along the Mersey River where there are about 30-40 bronze statues positioned along in the sand. Very weird really with all these statues either well out of the water, just in or way out in the 'surf' so to speak!!!

Mersey exhib

Pat on Mersey
We also went up to my Uncle Joes place who has recently come out of hospital. After that, we came back to the flat and I had a 'quick rest' which ended up being a full on sleep with Auntie Pat knocking at the door at the time that we were due at the restaurant for dinner!!
After a yummy dinner, I am now back at the flat and about to go and have a well earned sleep.

my god it's wet in Japan!

Hi, and welcome to Japan,
I arrived after the night flyer of QF21 to Narita. I was really lucky in my seating, as I changed my pre-assigned seat, in an attempt to get an exit row. The seat I was assigned was 20C (aisle) but when I got onbord, there was almost no leg room as it was up against a wall!! The lovely check-in agent gave me 65K, which was not obly a window seat, but 2 window seat!!! There was a tonne of leg room, even though the child in front was for the most part of the first 3-4 hours, putting here seat up then down then up and then down. Thank goodness her mother finally got jack of it and told her to stop it or the plane will fall out of the sky!!
Looking out the window here in the internet cafe, all I can see is rain, rain and more bloody rain. The approach was almost not visible due to the low cloud (rain) and it was a bit bumpy.

Narita airport

We arrived a little late, even though we left Sydney early. I had a quick look around here for any goodies to bring home, but I will get them on the return I think.

pikachu

Well best be off for now, and I will add in the pics when I use the laptop so stay tuned!!
Note, Japan time is 1 hour behind!

off to warmer climes....

Passport..... Check

Passport..... Check again (I am British too you know!!)

Ticket(s)..... Check

Greencard to exit Australia..... Check

Bags packed..... NO!!!

Well, guess I know what I have to do over the next couple of hours then!!!!!
Well one and all, it is off I go, but it will be a couple of days until I get back (almost) full time online. So until then, it will be a matter of internet cafes and the like. Actually, I recall that in Tokyo airport, there is a nice window view in the Internet cafe, maybe I will go there again whilst I am in transit!!
Hoo Roo until I get to the other side!!!

See ya

lost kitty in first time out of the new house....

This evening, I took the trailer we had been using in the move, (which thankfully is now complete) back to the F.I.L!

Upon my return, I was thinking "god am I glad to be home, 'L' was going to have cooked dinner to which we could sit down and rest afterwards...... NO"!!

'L' came out to me with the engine barely turned off FRANTIC......... "she's gone, we've lost her"
Oh god I thought, this is the last thing we (I) need, as on Tuesday, I am off to Wales... Did I tell you I am going overseas, No? I will later...

Anyway, back to the story, 'L' told me she looked EVERYWHERE!! And everywhere included under the new bed (thanx Stevie), in boxes, cupboards EVERYWHERE!!

She had been outside calling her, I went outside call her (god knows why as she doesn't like me, and why would you go to someone you don't like???), and the best I could say to 'L' was "lets not get stressed here (Outright LIE as I was stressed out about how stressed 'L' was going to be!!!), lets just let it go for a little bit, and see what happens.

Well, 'L' had cooked dinner, a roast rack of Lamb, YUMM! But, the stress she was under, and the fact that the new house has a fan forced oven, meant that it was now well and truly cooked and there was no sign of any thing else to go with it (potatoes, veges etc)...

'L'' started to get some rice cooked and some peas, and I snuck out around the block which would have been particularly nice if it wasn't for the circumstances, calling for Jasmine. I even snuck out the back when I got back, with her full bowl of food, tapping the side of it with a spoon which normally gets her into the house double time!!

So we sat down for dinner when all of a sudden L got all excited and asked if I had heard that??? You see, this is new to us as Jasmine has a new collar on with her name and phone number that tinkles a lot.... So I listened a bit, and upset her with all I could hear was a cricket *sigh*
Well after an hour, L was in the rear lounge room and I got an SMS from my friend Josh, the other 'B's brother and went to my mobile to get it, read it, answer it and send it on its way. I thought, I will go outside in the cold (glad to be going to the UK where it will be warm) and have another look, when at the door was our little white ball of fluff sitting waiting patiently to gain her entrance pass. Apart from wanting to kick her to kingdom come (something I would NEVER do by the way) I let her in without saying a word and followed her to the rear lounge. It wasn't until she shook herself that 'L' looked at her and just stared at her for about 20 seconds before realising that she was actually looking at Jasmine. Needless to say she was very happy to see her again, but also cross with the fact that she had gone on her own little holiday at the same time. Tears were now flowing.....

A happy ending after all.

Now, with me going overseas next Tuesday, I am off to Llandudno Wales to attend the 10th International Turfgrass Research Conference. I am going via Tokyo Japan, then onto Copenhagen Denmark before landing in Manchester, where I will go to my Auntie Pat's place in Liverpool. After the conference, I will be going down to London for a couple of days (4-5), and I might catch the Eurostar across to France for a treat before heading back home. Can't wait to get on the plane, but I will miss the lovely 'L', who as we bought the new house, can not come along, but she has until Tuesday to change her mind, so stay tuned!!!

Gotta go and unpack my bag so as I can start packing for my trip hey....

'L'' how can I help.......

bring on the removalist....

Well dear listeners, we are finally on the move. After weeks of (L) packing, and after days of (L) moving the boxes, we are nearly at the new house. Mind you, this is in no way thanks to the real estate agent from which we bought it through!!!

Let me take you through the process...

We originally had our first meeting with the bank about this house on the 8th Feb, just a couple of days after looking through it for the first time. Since then, Sam had been calling us almost every week if not day. But we had told him (numerous times) what we wanted him/vendor to do...

Eventually, things were completed by the previous owner and we signed the contracts just after I got out of hospital, and we hadn't heard a thing from him since! Now, on Monday the settlement went through thanks to the lovely solicitor and her legal sec, I called Sam to arrange collection of the keys, and he said that he will leave them with the girl in the office as he will not be there!!

Ok, me thinks and thought nothing more of it, but when yesterday he arrived at the new house to collect the signs out the front, and all he was interested in was the fact there was one 'SOLD' sign missing and did we know where it was????? No, "Congratulations on your new home" or "Are you happy to be moving in, when are you moving in??". NOTHING!!!!!

Oh well, that's all I have time for right now, so see you from the new house. Oh by the way, after tonight, we will be off the WWW for a couple of days, so sorry for delays in posting...

valet Brian Strutt

Not really in the mood for a blog at the moment, but I must say that it is with great sadness my Uncle Brain passed away tonight, after a long battle with cancer.

packing up the house

I am very fortunate to work in an organisation that provides three days moving leave. This has enabled me the next few days for packing and moving what I can carry myself ahead of the removalists on Thursday. So far I have managed two trailer loads to the new house and packed a third trailer load. I am having a few minutes rest before heading off again, although I am not that keen, as it is now quite dark. B has gone to get more boxes from my brother and SIL's before he has to head off for physio. I can't believe the number of boxes we have needed - we have availed ourselves of the free boxes from Bunnings, some from Coles the other night care of the early nightfill*, boxes from Mum and Dad, and boxes lent to us from B's friend from work Mel.

Here's some photos of the packing in progress.

Packing assistant

OK so whats in here???

*I will never complain about the nightfill again, even though I can't comprehend how they always seem to be doing it when I do my shopping, no matter what time of the day it is, and always in the way of items I need

90 next thursday

Birthday cake for 90

My (grand)Pa turns 90 on Thursday, and Sunday the extended family* and friends held a celebration at my grandparents house. It was afternooon tea with the usual catering to excess, skillfully put together by my mum and Auntie Christine.

Cupcakes care of the next sister down

It was also the youngest cousins 15th birthday, and it was actually her birthday on Sunday.

birthday people

family

more family and friends

dad, brother, littlest sister, next sister down, and partners

It was a great day for our family, but in the ying and yang of life B's family were not having such a great day and thoughts go to them and B's uncle who is very sick in hospital.

*As a postscript - I hate it when people from the eastern suburbs say they will get a nose bleed coming out to the western suburbs or even crossing the bridge, grow up and don't be so boring. You should be ashamed of yourself at your age, you stupid woman.... and your eyebrows are too thin!

i told you bread was baking

yumm bread

posted by L

i'm in need of a cure for insomnia

I couldn't stay in bed a minute longer, so the plan is to catch up on emails, blogs and general surfing. I don't know why I get the insomnia thing - especially now. I have been so tired this week. I have struggled to stay awake past 9.30pm and apart from getting through my exam (tuesday), I have had so much to do and none of it involved packing for the move to the new house next week - that is this weekends priority. Also happening this weekend:

• accompany B to get a haircut, I have cancelled the eyebrow wax, and manicure (what was I thinking),
• shop for presents for the youngest cousin (she'll be 15, a straw pole of acquaintances with teenagers tell me they want money most of all, so that will be easy) and a present for my (grand)Pa, and this one is proving difficult, he'll be 90 - and the grandmother has stipulated it must be "consumable, nothing that means she'll have to find a space in the house to put it",
• make a Bailey's dip and accomanying fruit platter for the birthday celebration on Sunday, and
• attend birthday celebration (not before a cucumber or cold teabag eye compress, and I am going to sleep Saturday night right through to Sunday morning).

As it is now almost a reasonable hour of the morning - I am back to bed and will wake just as the bread finishes baking (I can smell it now and it smells pretty good) , and I will not look like I am allergic to the littlest sister's cat ( I am, and my eyes are still sore, but it was fun visiting them yesterday), and will be able to string sentences and thoughts together which I am struggling to do at present.

Ciao

in need of a cure for ebay?

then you should visit this link (care of angry chicken) it is real scary.

I know I should be studying but the occassional visit to my favourite blogs breaks the monotony.

boofhead of the week goes to ....... b

I think I am going to enjoy this. Online war has commenced, and I know whose going to win. I'll let you however, be the judge over coming weeks. This is going to be fun....

Boofhead of the week goes to B who was so adamant it was A's (of BMJ fame) birthday on Wednesday (when really it was Tuesday) that both Natski (of Rock the Kazbaar) and I (who should have known better and really did) didn't ring A until Wednesday to wish her a Happy Birthday.

B has known A for longer than either of us (20+ years???) and he has a range of excuses that A seemed able to forgive him, but I am not going to be so kind. You made Nat and I look like idiots buddy! So I am awarding you 'boofhead of the week' twice!

And how was this for trying to score points.... last night B cooked a special birthday dinner* for A and for entertainment dropped his trousers to reveal his new blue monkey boxers. The strategically positioned bananas got a laugh.

Blue Monkey Boxers

*Nat made a cheesecake (from scratch, that always impresses me the cook whose offerings are generally burnt) and it was yum - ginger biscuit base, praline and very creamy. Although the boy was spoilt, not liking cheesecake Nat had taken care of him with a mini mudcake.

Blue Monkey B'day

boofhead of the week goes to....... L

Let me paint you a picture. As L has already mentioned about the toilets, here is a truer rendition of what really transpired. You see, the toilets had been slowly leaking from the washer in the very bottom of the inner workings of the cistern, you know the type, a $2.39 part that would take a tradesman $200 to replace!!! Well, L's dad offered to come over to fix it a couple of weeks ago, and one morning, L had a hissy fit, and I had one back and went to Bunnings to get the bits to fix it, and fix it I did. But, they needed some (gentle) fine tuning so as the float would stop at a point where it did not overflow into the bowl.

Now, I have not really been sleeping that well, and I have generally be awake until about 3.30am. On the said morning from L's last blog regarding the toilets, it was around 5.20am when a very dejected L came back to bed, rather cold I might add. I asked as to what she was doing, and the conversation went something like this:

L: Nothing much....

B:Ok then....

L: But there is something, do you promise not to be cross?? (who me??)

B: Ok, what is it (Thinking she had been at the now banned website eBay)??

L: Umm, you know how you fixed the toilet in the bathroom by bending the float arm to stop it overfilling into the bowl....

B: Yes????

L: I did the same in the downstairs one as it was driving me mad....

B: Well done honey that's great...... (Thinking about going back to sleep).....

L: Now you DID promise NOT to get cross right....???

B: (Now VERY awake) What happened?

L: I broke it!

How to go from this.....

Before boofhead treatment

Too this...

After boofhead treatment

And on it went... 7am, and it was off we went to Bunnings to see if we could get a replacement part. But, when we got in there, it was not me that was going to be asking for it, it was going to be L!!! And, I am sure that the guy L asked thought it was all that funny, thinking I had actually done the deed and using my wife as a front, but this was NOT the case is it L?

The irony of all this was that today, both F.I.L and my M.I.L (Father In Law & Mother In Law) were coming over that day for the F.I.L to fix it! So, we got the correct part and went home, installed it and then found out, it was correct, but the original center bit that controls a half/full flush would also have to be replaced as it was not allowing for a smooth action of the replaced other bit that fills up the cistern!!! We had lunch and said our goodbyes to the F.I.L and the M.I.L and went back to Bunnings to replace the next bit as well.

Finally, after 3 trips (the original one to get the 2 washers and the 2 trips to get 2 different parts), we now have proper functioning toilets!

No! It has now become apparent, that the toilet that L originally broke that fine morning, is leaking from where the tap meets the pipe that goes up to the cistern. So after another trip to get a braided piece of hose to install tomorrow, hopefully it will now be fixed. If not, I will move out. Hang on, I already am!!!!!!

for lease

the sign is up, its official we will be moving in a couple of weeks. So far in preparation we have bought a pad of notecards to let people know of our new address, and made a list of things to be done before we move out. The list isn't very long though and some of the tasks we have already completed. I think I am missing some things. The list so far:

• replace silicone seal around bath
• remove shelf in bedroom and patch up paintwork
• pull up hippeastrum bulbs done
• patch hole in bathroom ceiling done
• fix leaking toilet sort of done (B had it fixed, until I did a Sunday 5am adjustment which meant 2 more trips to the hardware, still the toilet is leaking except from a completely new spot)
• replace flyscreen on back door done, but at the rate Jasmine is clawing at it, it might need replacing again.
• clean carpets, and
• pack, pack, pack!

Hippeastrum bulbs

We have contacted four removalists, one out of the local paper which provides a basic service - hourly rate, 2 men and a truck, and 2 big names whose quotes were frightening (one in particular), but have decided to go with Giraffe Furniture Removals, who provided a mid range over the phone quote of an hourly rate for 2 men and a truck. I am going to get them to do the bulky stuff (furniture, fridge, washer and such) and I will do anything I can carry, myself. If anyone who reads this has used Giraffe Furniture Removals in the past or knows of anyone who has used them, I welcome your feedback.

r u going round the twist

what's wrong with this picture?

odd shoes

This morning I was feeling pretty good about myself, I had on a new skirt and top and was not running late for work. I even had time to put petrol in the car and happily accepted the compliment from the petrol station attendent who commented on my "great skirt" and that I looked like I was "ready for a hot date". Wow, this was going to be a great day!

A short time later I was sitting at my desk having a cup of tea, going over some reports to be discussed at a meeting at 11.00am when a couple of my colleagues arrived. After a brief bit of chit chat one of my colleagues very worriedly and gently pointed out to me that I had on two different shoes.

Me: No way, Have I?, No I wore the same shoes yesterday, MY GOD You're right. LOTS OF LAUGHING
BR: Yes, I noticed yesterday afternoon, but as you were leaving soon, it didn't seem a big deal.
Me: That's so funny, well at least they're both black.

As another colleague arrives, and asks what's funny, I explain and she too says she noticed yesterday.

Me: Didn't you think that was a bit weird of me?
KR: I thought maybe you had a sore foot or something, I dunno really

The crazy thing is though, in my mind I believed I was wearing the shiny pair of shoes with the ribbing across the top and the right shoe (the one I am not wearing) has some loose stitching, and when I went to the loo the day before I clearly recall looking at my right foot and thinking "didn't that shoe have some loose stitching......I must have got that repaired".

Anyway B saved the day, being at home he was able to bring me out the other half of one of the pairs I was wearing.

damn PC's and trying hard to sleep....

What a weekend.....

On Friday evening, not sure how but that's not the issue, this old PC got a virus! You see, we have the latest version of Norton, but for Uni work, we have had to turn off some parts of it. So when it (Norton) did it's normal Friday scan, it showed that it had a problem....

So, in an effort to try and get rid of it, suddenly our 'favorites' disappeared, the 'quick launch' items also disappeared, and I thought this is not good, and it wasn't. So, it was the order of the day to wipe it all, after copying files to CD first of course to back-up important files, I thought that I had fixed the problem by wiping the hard drive clean of all files and re-installing Windows operating system and went to bed to sort the rest of it out tomorrow (Saturday). But, when I got into it on Sat afternoon, I downloaded all of the latest patches and service packs etc from Microsoft, I was shocked to see when I next booted up, there was two versions of my operating system!! F*@K is what I though!!

So after doing some further internet reading on how to fix this problem, I eventually got it done , did I say it was now Sunday afternoon by this stage??? So, now it is Sunday evening, I have a single Windows XP Home edition running smoothly, all of which is up to date, Norton installed and almost all of my other applications re-installed. So what's the problem now??

I still can't get any sleep! Now yesterday was a great day, I installed all of our favorites (I was lucky enough to find where they were before wiping them off), B from Wangaratta came up for a visit; the cleaner had done another fantastic job, and the PC was running smoothly for L who is now back in the groove of studying. So why in GODS name am I up at this time of the morning unable to sleep???

WHO KNOWS!!!!!

tripping-out on drugs (for pain relief of course!!!)

Well, last night we made a trek to the shops as I was going MAD in the house after 5 weeks, and I thought I was 'tripping out' after taking my Endone for pain management before heading out....

Tripping out on this Mazda 121

But, it was confirmed by 'L' that I was not actually tripping-out, as she could see this little Mazda 121 as well....

DAMN!

frustrations......

Have you ever had one of those nights when NOTHING you do, you just cant get to sleep??

Well, this has been happening to me for the last two weeks at least!! I can just about tell you what is (or isn't) on TV during the wee hours of the morning, but BB05 up late is.... amusing to say the least!!

Although last night we had a bit of an exception to this. Can I just say ... Jasmine 5 mouse (ies) 0!! You see, after trying unsuccessfully to get comfy on the lounge downstairs where at least I was near to where L was studying, at around 8.30pm I had enough and went upstairs to bed. This was OK by all with Jas amusing herself somewhere in the house and Macc was already fast (dog tired ... ha ha) asleep on the bed. Next thing I know, is that L is coming to bed (9.30ish) and all is well, but I was now awake and was tossing and turning again trying to get back to sleep.

Anyways, next thing you know Jas is running around the house like a mad cat with a 'play toy' in her mouth..... here we go again!!!!

After about 30 mins or so chasing the cat who was chasing the mouse who was chasing somewhere to hide not only from the cat, but a pair of humans (one of which was screaming her head off anytime it came within a mile of her) as well!!

Once all things were caught, and with Jas now completely P#*@ed of with me from removing her 'toy' we again settled down to sleep, but alas this was not to be, and before to long it was now 1.30am and I was wide awake......

FRUSTRATIONS!!!!!!!!

william zachery

born yesterday 6.30pm ish and weighing in around 9 pounds something. William Zachery has a touch of blonde hair and is very pink.

William Zachery

Max is a big brother and very proud. He was very pleased with the new addition to his family and supplied the new baby with plenty of kisses and cuddles. Although, he was a bit mystified as to why Will couldn't hold the toy sheep he had brought him as a present.

very red

Congratulations little brother, SIL and Max.

Family

famous by association

the National Library of Australia has requested to archive loobylu.com in their databases because it is an "electronic publication... of lasting cultural value". As a contributor to the Month of Softies on a couple of occassions (December 2004 & January 2005) I will become famous by association. Pathetic, I know.

May flowers project
I have commenced my contribution for this month (themed May Flowers), it was a great excuse to do something from this great knitting mag I bought a couple of months back.

knitting-mag

blue star

The last of the parcels have arrived and the feedback is in. We have finally qualified for a blue star on eBay. Having reached this monumentous occassion I will now try to break a habit that has been cultivated since 10 September 1999.

Habits can be hard to break but with the assistance provided by my place of employment (I discovered today that access to eBay has been denied to all employees) and the need to study for an upcoming exam, not to mention a shrinking bank balance, I might find success in saying goodbye to eBay. At least for now.

gone to the dogs.....

Ok, ok, now this is just WAYYYYY to cool.

Gone-to-the-dogs

If you were born a dog, what kind of dog would you be?

Open this link and let it open completly.
On the left side of the screen, click on the word "GAME".
You have to answer 10 questions and then the site will tell you what breed you could have been.
You will also be shown a photo of the breed.

Didn't I tell you its cool, and you will have to reply and tell me WHAT breed you are!!!!!

Want something FUNNY?????

This is just what I needed to day, thanks B from south of the border......

Go to Store Wars

And thanx also to Phil (again south of the border...) for this one....

Go to Llama song

BUT, be warned, play one at a time.....

B

at work

my team is all in and it has been a busy morning catching up on projects.

My car is booked in for a visit with Holden tomorrow because it is leaking power steering fluid and is making a terrible grinding sound. With only 11 000km's on the clock this is not good.

My phone keeps ringing with all sorts of things that could have been sorted last week when I was at home looking after the invalid. This is a bit annoying.

For an interesting post I suggest you visit those to the right under 'favourite blogs'.

going postal

I am back at work this week, so B is having to manage on his own. I have only had one phone call so far, and that was 2 minutes after I left the house this morning. B was only ringing to say that the eBay parcel I was hoping would come last week had just arrived. Typical.

After craving the return to work, today so far has been a bit lonely as the rest of the team are not in (two are on a flex and the other is sick).

So far I have trawled through over 80 emails, sorted through the contents of my in tray and rung mum because I remembered in the weeeeeee hours of this morning that I had left a bottle of diet coke in her freezer the day before.....