It's a Kid's Life This Time

Remember when we were kids, when we went camping we took a pack of cards. Maybe a board game or 2 (with mum threatening all kinds of nasty things if we didn’t bring back all the pieces, which of course we didn’t!).

Here’s my little cousin’s & my daughter, laying in the back of the Ute watching Kung Fu Panda on a portable DVD player.

Seriously, how did we manage to keep ourselves occupied?

And when the DVD ran out of batteries, they just pulled out the IPods!

At least Brittany is reading at the same time.

Keelbottom Creek

I’ve got a friend who giggles every time I talk about this place.

She says it sounds naughty.

I think she’s just got a sick mind.

It's a Dog's Life

We do it tough in the North.

The poor dog had to do with prawns for dinner, I ate all the crab.

So sad.

Family

Saturday night really annoyed me.

Seriously, my family really needs a reality check. I invited them over for dinner and what did they do? Got stupidly stoned, came over & criticized, kept chasing the little kids & telling them what to do (they know what they’re allowed to do in my house, and if they don’t, they ask ME) didn’t eat (‘cause they’d were SMASHED) and then went home when they started to straighten up. I know it's fun to do these things, I do them myself. Not at a dinner party.

And they wonder why I don’t bother to invite them over for dinner very often.

That would be why.

And my poor cousins felt like they were under fire for not watching the babies all night. I didn’t care, they were fine.

And I’d spent a bit of money on the ingredients for the dinner, as well as spending all afternoon preparing it.

Anyway, that’s my whinge, I’m done now.

Well, for today, anyway.

The WWW is Safe!

I didn’t buy a camera, the World Wide Web is safe from my photo spam, for a little bit longer, anyway.

The man in the shop told me to wait another month or two, there’s a few new waterproof ones coming out, so I’m going to give them a try.

I’m over work today. Still doing 3 peoples jobs & the high school just rang, the monster’s got a sore belly. So I’m off to get her, then I’ll come back here & run around like an edjit for a few hours, pick up the prawns from the trawler & then go home for a glass of red & a sit down.

Sounds good to me.

Then a seafood banquet for all the family on Saturday night. We call the blokes "20 sandwich eating bastards" 'cause they just don't stop eating 'till it's ALL GONE. I’ve got the cooking bug & a freezer full of seafood, the trawlers are back in for the first time this year, YUMMY. I’m planning on cooking creamy lemon & garlic prawns (with a bit of marinara mix I’ve got tucked away thrown in, just for a bit of extra flavour & texture), mussels in white wine and I might as well use all those shells and make a prawn bisque to go with it. Oh, and a salad, the healthy bit to go with all that cholesterol.

Should cure or kill the kid.

Will update on how it goes.

Camera

I’m going to buy a camera today.

I keep putting it off because I want the “biggest and flashiest” one going. I keep dropping the stupid things into the water, and then they stop working. Go figure.

So I’ve been looking for a waterproof one. The cheapest is around $350, and that’s not a little purchase at the moment, so I still don’t have one. But bugger it, I was sitting on the front veranda yesterday afternoon, the light was soooo beautiful, glowing through the blinds and reflecting off the hand of bananas hanging next to the table. It was amazing, and all I wanted was to capture it.

So I’m going to go to the Good Guys (a cheapo electrical place here) and getting one for about $90. They’re fine, I don’t want to publish the things for God’s sake, just take some snaps. And at that price it doesn’t matter so much if I involuntarily wash it. Again.

So get ready, you’re going to be inundated with photos. I do live in one of the most beautiful places in the world afterall, so there’s plenty of subject material.

Brittany’s paying off her IPod today as well (that’s why we’re going to the electrical store, I’m a girl, that sort of stuff doesn’t really interest me all that much). She’s so proud of herself, finally buying something with the money she’s earning instead of spending it on nothing. Now I have to get her to start the savings thing. God knows how, I’ve never managed to do it myself very well.

Ah well, the universe will provide!

Geez, I'm good!

Modest too.

Look at that, posting 2 days in a row!

Now that's commitment!!

Well, it is for me.

The Hut

Well, Easter’s on it’s way. I haven’t made any plans yet, I can’t have time off (we’re short staffed) so I’ve only got the 4 days. We usually go over to my brother’s beach hut. I love it over there, you can only get there by boat at high tide so that keeps the rif raf out. And the authorities. I'd tell you where it was but then I'd have to kill you. We've got home comforts there, a toilet (the loo with a view), shower, generator to run the freezer to make ice for the alcohol and the TV when the footy is on, lots of beds & mozzie nets and crab pots & oyster pickers for the hunter/gathers to do their stuff. I'd do it too, but we girls can't emasculate the menfolk too much, now can we. Besides, I cook the smelly things, that should be enough. My brother talks about living over there, such a dream. You have to actually have money to buy the petrol to run the generator for the ice & TV etc. But a beautiful dream, & one that I share.


View from the kitchen. My brother and step son (on holidays from the cold south) are building the toilet and bathroom. Very civilised!


This is my beautiful daughter, Brittany, in her natural state. Good thing she doesn't know this address!

P.S. Best way to cook oysters while at the beach.

Wrap them in bacon, stick them on a skewer, soak in Worcestire (I don't know how to spell it, figure it out for yourselves) sauce for 30 mins & chuck on the BBQ. To die for!
Nice for breakfast on the beach the next morning with a vodka and orange juice with lots of ice. What a life.

Teddy Bear

Update on the cat.

It has been named "Teddy Bear" because Chicko thinks it is her private play thing.

The cat attacks back, of course. Very amusing to watch, I'll have to see if I can video it & post it here. I'm a bit technologically challenged in that way.

Still miss Zoe, I keep calling out to her when I go for a walk or get into the car, but I'm slowly getting used to her not being around. Chicko tries REALLY HARD to make sure I feel loved by her. A bit too much sometimes, but it's appreciated. She's just such a real dog compared to Zoe, who really was just a small hairy person.

Maybe Chicko will become that in time. I don't think so, she's a dog. The cat thinks it's a dog too, we're having a bit of a power struggle at the moment. Very amusing, as long as I'm on the top of the pack!

Bad Blogger

I’m going to start being a good girl.

Well, not really. But I’m going to start blogging, even when I can’t think of anything to say, just so that I get into the habbit. I've got enough bad habbits, I might as well start some good ones!

It’s been silly at work this last couple of weeks. Our jobs have all been upgraded. It isn’t as great as it sounds, that means they’re advertised externally and I have to compete against everyone to win back the job I’ve been doing for the past 2 years. I just love the public service. I’ve just gone through the whole application/interview process, it’s only taken 5 weeks, and I still don’t know if I’ve gotten the job. Wonder why I’m a bit antsy.

Anyway, as a result of all this shuffling, I’m now looking after 2 reception areas and 5 conference rooms, as well as filling in for an absent PA and doing all the banking, because 3 of our staff have just left. On top of my usual duties. I’m starting to get a seriously tired, and when I get seriously tired I’m a very unattractive person. I’m trying to avoid that, but I’m not sure how much I’m succeeding. I think I need to sit on the beach with the dog and a barrel of wine, but I don’t seem to have the energy to get there. It’s a whole 2 blocks away!

Oh well, it'll be easter soon, 4 days off then. I don't think I'll go anywhere this year, I might take some time off after & pop up to Cairns when all the tourists have buggered off. Tourists - necessary evil for the economy, but get out of my way!! Grab a couple of good books and some even better red wine, they make some wonderful stuff in the Tablelands from native fruit, Davidson Plum is my favourite, and flake out next to the pool.

Sounds like a plan, Stan.