New Pets...

I have added some pet turtles to my blog...if you click on the background you can feed them...they are well trained, they will follow your mouse around.

Click here for more...

You can add penguins, spiders, stingrays, hamsters, fish, frogs...

Extreme Sheep...

I haven't been around much of late, for a number of reasons really...been a bit busy, a bit unwell, a bit down, a bit lost for ideas...

I have a couple of posts I am working on and should be up in the next couple of days but thought I'd post this video I received by email today. It's just brilliant. We happen to really love Sheep Dog Trials in our household and have been to watch them on more than one occasion...this really made me sit up and take notice...the way these people work with the dogs is nothing short of incredible.

We Have A Winner...

Last week I announced my very first giveaway.

In honour of the passing of Summer and advent of Autumn I would like to bestow one lucky reader with a jar of home made Apricot Jam.

Without further ado, and using a Random Number Generator, I'd like to announce that the WINNER is....

Lissy...

...from Walking Along A Stone Street.

Congratulations Lis, I will package and post your parcel this week, hopefully it will arrive before the weekend and you can enjoy it for a slow weekend breakfast.

Thanks to everyone who posted...I loved reading about your home towns and favourite seasons.

Utter Disbelief...

John works as the State Director for a large (well-known and respected) organisation that provides services & accommodation for people with a disability. On Tuesday evening he came home looking somewhat bemused and recounted the following reported to him by one of his Managers.

Person A is his Manager, Person B is a contact that works for a State Government Department. A has been in daily contact with B regarding finding a service for one of their clients, I'll call the client C. This situation has been going on for some time.

A: Is anything happening with our request for C ??

B: No, not as yet, in fact I will not be handling C's case file any more, I have referred it to my supervisor for her attention...

A: Oh, would she be in please, I would like to speak with her ??

B. No, she is not in at the moment...

A. When would be a good time to speak with her ??

B: Actually there isn't a good time to speak with her, she is on leave at present...

A: Okay...

B: As a matter of fact I am acting in her position while she is absent...

WTF ???

At this point in time I am incredulous.

Does B actually realise the utter stupidity of what he was saying..?? I doubt it. Keep in mind that B is a Manager in a State managed government department, almost certainly with a university qualification, a number of years experience and a commensurate salary.

People like this give the Public Service it's much maligned reputation. Days later I am still gobsmacked.

The date of my very first giveaway has been extended to this Sunday 8th March, International Women's Day. Click here to leave a comment and join in.

Oops...

Had a bit of a sleep in yesterday morning, being Sunday and all. I got up around 9ish and realised I didn't have any of my usual medication left.

Sunday was hot here, I chose a cool, floaty skirt to wear. After my shower I headed off to the Pharmacy, put my script in and had a wander around the shop while I was waiting for them to make it up.

Then it dawned on me...

I had forgotten to put knickers on...!!!

It wasn't intentional, there weren't any in my drawer that I liked to wear so I dressed and was going to get some off the clothesline.

I just forgot, got distracted and it slipped my mind. I wandered around the shop, grinning to myself, anyone looking on would have thought I was a bit of a loon. When I left the shop I made sure the breeze didn't get hold of my skirt.

I came home and told John, he found it highly amusing, titillating even...Matilda wasn't so impressed, quite mortified was her response in fact...she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

How terribly embarrassing for her...

Please also remember my first giveaway...here. It will be drawn next Friday 6th March.

New Season, New Look...and a giveaway...

To celebrate the changing of the seasons I thought I'd give my blog a fresh look...I liked the Autumnal tones of this background. Will leave it up for a while and see how I feel about it,
have had a play with fonts & colours and feel more at home with it now. What do you think..??

The seasonal changes in the subtropics are more subtle than in the southern states. I have noticed mornings this last week have been a few degrees cooler than they have been over Summer...there has also been a heavy dew on the grass. I have always welcomed Autumn...cool days, trees changing and the beginning of the apple season.

Having said that, it's 36 degrees here today (that's about 97F)...very hot, it seems Summer isn't content to slip away gently...

There's not a lot happening in our garden at the moment...the passionfruit have become prolific, it looks like we will be picking upwards of 50, not bad for a first season's fruiting. The next crop of lettuces and salad greens are ready for picking. The last rain we had around 10 days ago has resulted in rapid growth of the macadamia, olive and paw paw trees, they are now close to two metres tall.

There's number of things I really miss about living in Victoria...the changing seasons is certainly one of them. The town, Castlemaine, we used to live in had an amazingly diverse population with a community that encouraged & embraced difference. Autumn was just glorious...the Botanic Gardens were a beautiful place to walk, reflect and collect your thoughts. Matilda & I lived there for over 11 years, the longest I have ever lived anywhere.

We will live there again one day, I'm quite certain of that. I can't imagine living anywhere else in Victoria.

Now for my very first bloggy giveaway...

To celebrate Autumn I'd like to bestow one reader with a jar of my very own home made Apricot Jam...(sorry Kel...). All you have to do is leave a comment letting me know your favourite season and something that is dear to your heart about the area you live.

The giveaway will be open until next Friday 6th March...and yes, I will post internationally. I'd especially love to hear from those of you who read but have yet to comment. Don't be shy, say hello, I don't bite...(unless asked nicely).

Looking forward to reading your responses.