Muster - 3 days on!!!

Ken and I have come home tonight from the Muster as we have Rebecca's wedding tomorrow, and Joshua's 14th birthday celebration at Bronco's Leagues. 

We have had such a wonderful time so far at Muster - catching up with lovely friends who we only see once a year.  I think I'll just let the photo's do the talking!!!

Night 1 - muster ball.  I'm in PJ pants, white shirt, pink fingerless gloves, pink boa, silver & pink tiara and black gumboots with pink pussycat prints on them....  3 days later we still see pink feathers all over muster!  Left is Ken, my partner.  Right is Steve - Muster mate...

At least you can see the tiara in this one.  The guy on the right is Craig - my girlfriend Nicky's husband - they came up from Melbourne for the Muster....

OHS isn't always a prime consideration...

The Crow Bar - one of the main venue's.  See the egg in the tree between the purple and the red flags?  It used to be a crow....

The Muster General Store.  Whatever you need you can get...

XXXX Truck.  That's Ken, my partner, walking backwards as he's cajoling others to go and have a beer with him!

L-R is Mitch, Steve, Nev, Ken.  Mitch is Nev's son.  Steve is Nev's brother.  Ken's my partner.  The boys had been drawing autopsy lines on their stomachs... It was Col Day for them - the day when they dress up in work gear to remember Col, a mate of theirs....

I'm in front, Trevor's next, Ken to the right behind Trev, and Mitch at the back.  Trev's the partner of my longtime friend Maria.  Great guy!!!

We needed a snack...  So we had Kabana, Kransky, cheese, dips, dolmades etc..... this is the table at camp.

The Bra Bar....  aptly named.  I took this as I was waiting for Nicky to come out of the toilet which was on a semi trailer behind me....

L-R is Belinda, me, Nicky, Michelle.  We were enjoying the Wine Bar right as we were about to order some lunch!!!

The "silent disco" - it's where you go into a blow up tent, wear headphones and bop around like it's a disco.  That's Nicky on the left, Steve in the middle.  LOADS of fun!!!

At the silent disco....

Main stage this afternoon.  I don't know who was playing, but it was a bit drizzly and overcast, and there was thousands of people there!!!

Love the Muster......

This is what the Muster site looks like now...

If you look at my previous Muster posts, I've posted some pics of what it looked like all bare. 

I was out there on Sunday evening, and I'm heading out tonight for a week to enjoy the music and fun.  I thought I'd leave you with some pictures of the campground now - still not full though.

Our Norwegian Exchange Student, Henrik.  He is NOT responsible for the bottle pile behind him...

The camp across the road

What happens when you let boys play with fire & glass...  **sigh**

My crocheting efforts so far...

I went to sewing group yesterday, and it was held at the Pomona Community House - the new shed, "The Lawson Shed"...  it was an expo for Seniors week, which started yesterday. 

There was about 7 of us there and we had one small room, so it was very cosy.  We had all agreed to bring hand work, as there was no way we would all fit in with our machines & cutting tables etc., so I took along my crocheting basket.  I had a really productive day, I finished off my floppy beret, and I also finished off several dishcloths that I have been working on.  I still have a lot of dishcloths to finish off (weaving the thread ends into the weave) but I'm pleased with where I'm at so far...

This is the top of the beret so you can see the design...

I only had a flower pot to put it on so that you can see it!!!!!  It's got angora in it, so it's very soft...

These are the finished dishcloths, and the one that looks purple on the top is pink, but it's a hot mat because it's acrylic...

The unfinished pile with tails sticking out all over the shop!!!

So far today I've been very busy.  I've unloaded the dishwasher, have done another load of washing, cleaned the carpet, dyed my hair, checked the radar and decided that I'll have to hang the 4 loads of wet washing in the garage now because it's going to POUR in an hour or two, made a cuppa, hung said washing out, had a shower to get the dye off the hair, had another cuppa...  all is good!

Breakky shortly and then... ahhhhhh... what will I do today!!!

I do have to make dinner for the boys tonight, they are out at the muster and I'm going out to get Henrik and have dinner out there. He'll go to school Monday/Tuesday, then we'll head out for a week on Tuesday.  It's going to POUR soon - so won't be going anywhere near the place till the rain's gone.  I am looking forward to a few days chilling out though!!!

OUCH!!!! Actually - double ouch!!!!! AND my Tea Cosy from Mummy!!!

We have six chooks, and we have been getting about 5 eggs a day.  I trotted into the pen this morning as I was home late as was Ken last night, so we hadn't collected the eggs.  To my surprise, there was 6 eggs there, all cold, so all laid yesterday.  One was HUGE!!!  Ken has weighed it - 95 grams!!!!  OUCH!!!  I'll upload a picture tonight....

The egg on the right is actually a 60 gram egg....

Do you like my new Tea Cosy?  My mummy is very clever and knitted it for me from a photo in the Courier Mail!!!  She's very talented - the flowers are Australian Wildflowers, leaves & Gum Nuts....

I will also be back later to try again to upload some photographs of a quilt from another SS friend of mine - Nana 2 three...  she would love to share them, but needs a secure place so that the gift recipient doesn't see them!  Hotmail's having a "moment" right now, so I'll be back later with those photo's too!!!!

Now it's later... and hotmail's stopped it's moment, so here's the photo's.  Nana - you're TALENTED!! 

My how the time just flies by...

It's been a whole week since I posted on here!!!  A whole week!!! 

I have had a busy week, catching up on things at work that had been left since I've been sick and then had Auditors on my tail.

On the home front, I haven't done a lot of decluttering this past week.  I started this morning with the ensuite chest of drawers - took lots of stuff out of it, started putting like with like, and then promptly stopped and had a busy day again today!!!  I might get back to some of it tonight - there's three drawers that I need to deal with, one is scattered all over the bathroom and the other two are just disasters...

Yesterday I went to the Ekka.  I love the Ekka, but I just don't want to go on a yearly basis.  About once every 5 is about right for me, so I went with Sue, her two children Richelle & Brent, plus our Norwegian student Henrik.  I don't think Henrik really wanted to go - we had one of our neighbours over for dinner on Friday evening, and he had a late night, and then didn't hear his alarm and turned it off, so Ken woke him up at 7.45 am telling him that we were leaving in 15 minutes.... he was very quiet all the way to Brisbane, wore his headphones and didn't say anything.  He disappeared on his own when we got into the Ekka itself, we met up with him a couple of hours later when he'd woken up and was in a better mood - he said he really enjoyed his day!

One of the wonderful displays in the fruit & veg hall...

The Ekka isn't the Ekka without the fireworks...

On the way home, we stopped at Caboolture to meet up with a friend from SS, Karen.  I felt that I had gotten to know Karen very well through one particular thread that we both participate in about eating elephants...  Anyway, I've chatted about Ken's and my love of camping, and how we go to the Muster every year, and Glen Innes, and and and... I also mentioned we were going to be needing a new tent soon because the old one was now starting to disintegrate. 

Karen offered me her tent.  Yep - you read right.  She and her family had decided that they weren't camping people and weren't going to use it, and so it might as well go to someone who would, so hence it's come to our house. 

We love it - oh wow.  We thought our old tent was pretty schmick at 5.8 metres x 2.6 metres.... well - we now have one that's again 3 rooms, although this time they're real rooms, not just curtained off, and it's 7 metres by nearly 4 metres.  How good is that!  On the end is a sunroom/kitchen room that has mesh sides so that you can eat without being gobbled up by mozzies, then there's two other separate rooms.  We won't know ourselves!!!

Ken put it up this afternoon in the hopes that it would drizzle a little on it to make the seams fully waterproof (he knows these things - I'd never work that out) and it is going to make it's first trip to Muster on Thursday when Ken goes out to put it up.  Have I mentioned we're excited about Muster???!!!

Karen and I on our "hot date" - BP at Caboolture.....

THE tent - now up in our side yard....  doesn't kind of show how big it is though. 
Just wait for Muster photo's!!!

Friday I did induction at Katie Rose Cottage, which was also just wonderful.  The cottage is a Hospice located at Doonan, about 15 or 20 minutes drive from us.  I feel the need to go and do more volunteering than I currently do, which I can say isn't much.  I am on the Cancer Council Relay for Life committee in Gympie - which doesn't take much time or effort... It's a lovely place, and I'm looking forward to going there on Tuesday afternoon again...

Journey to the forgotten places... the final episode

So - it's been several days now that I've been working on my cupboard.  I have to say - this afternoon, I am just OVER IT!!!

It's been easy going, just taking it in little chunks, but Ken has decided that this decluttering stuff is good, and so we've been to the dump with a trailer load of stuff, and now he's giving the garage the once-over.  The good thing is that lots is going in the bin, being sorted, and will leave the house... eventually. 

With the demise of my brother's house and now the subsequent sale of their home, I'm sure that he's going to need to be restocking some of the necessities of life.  Such as tea towels, bins, glasses, serving dishes etc.  All of that is in the "to leave" pile but now, instead of removing things immediately, we're storing them in case he needs something.  Hopefully it won't be too long, but I truly can't see the point in getting rid of stuff for him to then go out and need to buy it. 

Anyway, back to the forgotten cupboard.  Have some pictures - the whole way along...

The final product.  I use everything that's in this cupboard regularly...

I'm really glad I took pictures of the journey!!

I took everything out, and again, put like with like.  I could then see what I had and what needed to go back in....

People watching...

A couple of weeks ago I flew to Melbourne for work.  I decided to go from the Sunshine Coast airport, even though that's not my preferred option.  I was there early enough to have a coffee, some lunch and a lovely sit around so that I could do some people watching.

A lady caught my eye and I found myself wondering a bit about her.  She was older, but not old old, I would estimate maybe 60 or so. She was dressed like a well off sort of a traveller, but a traveller.  She had on a white polo shirt, olive cotton style (possibly quick dry or even light moleskin) pants, sturdy walking shoes, and she had a waist bag and a quality backpack. 

Her clothes and her backpack and shoes were good quality, her hair was well styled, but short (easy look after) and she appeared like she had enough money for whatever she wanted to do.  She was neatly attired, a belt on her pants and shirt tucked in. 

What made this lady stand out to me is a couple of things.

1. She was travelling alone.  Yeah, ok, nothing strange about that, but this lady looked like she was almost going backpacking - or heading off to undiscovered lands or at least third world countries.
2. She had obviously travelled a lot before.  She had on her wrists several different things like you would get from the third world countries - tribal plaited wrist bands, leather style bracelets etc., as well as some around her neck.  So, that told me that she was perhaps off on an adventure again.

I love people watching - so many stories, so many experiences, and you can either make them up or deduce them from how they look and handle themselves. 

I hope that this lady is enjoying her travels!!!

On my mind... Holidays!

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join, courtesy of Rhonda's Down to Earth Blog. It opens the door to us sharing our lives through these photos and gives us all a new way to discover each other, and maybe form new friendships. Your photo should show something at home that you're thinking about TODAY. If you're in another country you should join in when you read this, even if it's still Thursday.

To take part, all you have to do is post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to Rhonda's blog. Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When your photo is published, come back and add a comment below, with a link to your blog photo so we can all find you. Please visit all the blogs that appeal to you and leave a comment. Slow down, take the time to cruise around and enjoy your cyber visits.

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It's that time of the year again when I start to think about holidays.  Gai and I are going back to Thailand this year - I am really looking forward to it.

I know that for some people, air travel doesn't fit in with their lifestyle, be it for whatever sort of a reason.  I don't have a problem with flying and overseas / within Australia travel.  I don't purposefully offset my carbon emissions, I feel that the lifestyle that we have here and the choices that I make offsets enough carbon for me.  I believe also that we should learn to live with the technology and conveniences that we have - within reason. 

I don't travel often - probably once a month or two within Australia, and once a year or so overseas.  I get so much out of these trips that I intend to continue taking them as long as I can...

We went to Thailand and one of the places that we visited was the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi, near the Bridge on the River Kwai.  This place is dedicated to conservation of Tigers, and I learnt a lot about these magnificent creatures, even though it just looks like we're playing with them... which we were!  The babies were just like little kittens - only 2 months old!!!

We're going back to Thailand later this year and this is on the list of things to do!!!

He weighed about 200 kilograms I reckon!

2 months old... how cute!

They are bees on Thai desserts - they were after the honey

At the floating market, this gentleman was one of the boat rower/pushers.  I love his face!

If you would like to see the all incredible photos that we took, here is the public link to my Facebook album... 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.412471114006.182907.547769006&l=08b9997e68&type=1

The forgotten cupboard - the journey continues!

Tonight I have done a second 15 minutes.  I can see progress, but maybe you can't...  I've tackled the top 3 shelves, and have started pulling things out, chucking some things, and putting like with like to get a handle on what's in the cupboard.

Here's progress so far:

I'm kind of sensing a theme for the main problem here in the cupboard.... Can you see it now that "like's with like"????

Journey to the forgotten places...

As you may have heard me mention before, I am a member of an Australian/NZ savings site, called Simple Savings.  One of the threads that I post to as often as I can is "Organised Chaos". 

The gorgeous ClutterCath spends the whole week dreaming up what bit of our chaos we're going to organise the next week, and then on Monday she posts it for us all to participate in.  We've done all sorts of stuff - last week it was organising for Christmas, this week it's the journey to the forgotten places. 

Some of these are vewy vewy scarey.....

Here's her lovely opening post from Monday this week:

Morning to all! Time to start a new thread and a new week and a new month! Gosh golly! I hope you enjoyed a quick visit to Christmas-time - the star on the top of the tree went to Chatterbox who organised and even WRAPPED some gifts!! Great job!

Well it's a slippery slope downhill towards spring now, so let's get started on a few of those forgotten jobs in the locations we dont check on often! When was the last time we remembered some of the following.....

* top of the fridge/freezer
* bottom of the crisper
* under the front door mat
* inside the letter box
* back pockets of the car seat covers
* under the washing machine
* lint filters
* tops of picture frames
* under the sink
* inside the BBQ
* the range hood
* the spice rack/drawer/basket
* bottom shelf of the wardrobe
* coat rack
* whats hanging behind all the doors?
* bottom of the handbag
* inside the microwave (oh the shame as I think of my own...)
* the glovebox
* top of the clothes dryer
* under the lounge cushions (that money is MINE!)
* cleaning the phones
* smudgy light switches
* the bottom of the craft basket
* the bottom of the shower curtain or track
* inside the kitchen bin or compost container
* inside light fittings and tops of fan blades
* shake out the keyboard?

There are probably some other forgotten places in your house you could travel to - let us know in case we have forgotten them too! Some of them are, to use a technical OC term, quite blerky. But necessary all the same. So own up, step up, and see what we can encourage each other to wrangle this week.       

So anyway, after I had run away crying, picked myself up & dusted myself off, I decided that this week would be the kitchen storage cupboard.  And in the true spirit of the OC thread, I have decided to post a picture here of my very scarey kitchen storage cupboard.

We had the cupboard put in when we moved in to give us more storage.  It's become a dumping ground though, for stuff...

Time for it to change!  Stay tuned!

More homemade.....

We had leftovers for dinner tonight.  Leftovers from two nights ago - stick sausages from the SS forum.  Gosh they were yummo!!!

The real recipe is:


STICKY SAUSAGES  (serves 4)

Ingredients

8 thick sausages
4 tblsp tomato sauce
2 tblsp dark brown sugar
1 tblsp mustard powder
2 tblsp soy sauce
Garlic

Method

Set oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Mix all marinade ingredients in a shallow ovenproof dish. Add the sausages and coat them in the marinade. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Serve with mashed potato.



What I actually did though was use thin sausages, and dijon mustard (didn't have powdered kind). They were good all the same.

It was a lovely way to dress up a plain jane ingredient like sausages!!! I was quite surprised actually at just how good they actually were.....  Do you have a quick, easy & cheap recipe that you love?  Do share if you do!!!!