Free Free Free

Free Free Free, the semester is over!!!!!! Wow, pack up the rods, the bait and off fishing fishing fishing. Lookout Redfin, Trout and Catfish, here I come. The semester was enjoyable but is good to be able to do something else. Wow. Well fantastic. All done for the year. Yayyyyyyyy

Chili Chili Chili

The humble Chili Pepper.

Related to the Capsicum. The smaller the Chili, the hotter. The larger,the milder, These ones were so hot, that the spray from when they were cut up, got in the eyes and they were running for ages. The Chili is great in Chinese Stir-fry, Spaghetti, Soups, Stews, Casseroles, Sauce, Dipping Sauce, Salads, Rice dishes, Pies and just about anything. Chili is good taken when one has a cold (Cleans out the sinus). I know people who eat them straight raw and love them. Chili can be dried, and used later on. Chili can be grown in the backyard vege garden but is suseptable to frost. So protect those little chili plants. CHILIES......I LOVE 'em.

Source

puddy's paw

For years we made cat jokes by the bucket load...dim sim, puddy stew etc and enjoyed the show when puddy got chased out of the yard by a dog, or when puddy ran across the road and just missed being skittled. We thought it was hilarious. But now the tables are turned, and we own our own little puddy. She is the closest thing to man's best friend. She loves one regardless of ones looks or who one is etc, she is trustworthy with food in the kitchen and doesnt wreck the furniture. She is loyal and can even tell the time (time for breakfast, time for a walk, time for tea, and yes even time for bed) So now that we own a puddy all the cat jokes are gone, and we are really glad we have her.

Guess the Doggone picture

Who can guess the location?. Those who are "in the know" are excluded. he he.

Blood Glorious Blood

Well I saw on another blog (wonder who's it was)!!! that someone else gave blood as well. Well it didn't hurt at all and the staff were really nice. It took only about 20 mins, to do, that was coz the donor didn't drink the required amount of fluid prior to donating, otherwise it would have been shorter. Apparantly around 30% of donated blood goes to cancer patients, and there is not enough blood to go around. So if one has a spare half hour and is elegible to donate, I can highly recommend this practice. And a cup of coffee, drink of juice and bickies are the reward for our efforts.

Quack Quack Quack

Here ducky ducky ducky. The common black duck. Is best eaten in a stew with rice, onion, carrot, celery, parsnip and a little salt and cooked in water of course . Can be roasted but tends to dry out a little. Is very yummy in the stew. Only able to be aquired during duck season, and with a shooters licence with "Authority to hunt" added. Found on many Australian rivers, lakes, dams and swamps. Can be very cunning if cornered, and has been known to fly at around 70mph, if chased by shooters. Lives in hollow trees and logs. Hatches anything up to 12 or even more ducklings at a time. Will migrate all around the country to migrate all around the country to where the water is. Eats wheat, grubs and small fish. Will also take bread from humans but it is not good for ducky's tummy. His "Cousins" are the Mountain duck, Wood duck, Teale, Chestnut Teale (Protected), Blue Wing Shoveller (Protected) and Pink Ear (Protected too i think). All (apart from the protected, are yummy. Quack Quack!!!

Oh the memories

The memories of the Boeing 707, which is in the left of the picture. Can u believe an aircraft such as this one is going to be used for spare parts? I remember these aircraft from years ago.I wish now I had taken a photo of just this one. Anyway I guess it is all in the name of progress. Apparantly the 707's engines are too noisey to land near populated areas, so they are being replaced by the A320 Airbus so I'm told. Well technology advances, time marches on, but seeing this one certainly stirred up some memories. Would have loved to have had a ride in it. Glad they have one restored in the Qantas Museum, think it is in Longreach QLD.

Will go and visit one day.

A Little Rain Goes a Long way

We have had about 61mm rain in the last 2 weeks, and the effect on the plants is amazing. Even a bush I tried to kill a few months ago is sprouting again....grrr. So will have to dig it out when the ground is a little softer. So the rose is drought proof, will grow on a "bitumen road", and is reasonably vermon proof. For those who are fence crazy a row of rose bushes are ideal to deter intruders both animal and human. So three cheers for the rose!!!

Congrats Glenn McGrath

Congratulations to Glenn McGrath on an outstanding career in world class cricket. He is one of a handful of Australian Sportsmen who are worthy to be looked up to by the up and coming young sportspersons. He is a really good role model and a true professional in the game. Hopefully he will be followed by up and coming players with the same values and love of the game. A career well played. Let's see more "Glenn McGraths" on the field.

The drought is broken

Hallelujah the rains are here. We got 41mm in the last 2 or 3 days. The new shoots of grass are about 1.5inches high in the backyard, and the car got a legal wash. The ducks got a wash, as they are insistant on sleeping outdoors no matter what, even tho they have a house to go to in wet weather. The rain of course only comes from one source..God. Man cannot manipulate rainfall as we have currently been seeing. Man cannot create water from the sky and has only one choice and that is to acknowledge that there is only one provider of rain....God. So praise and thanks be to God , Jehovah Jireh....our provider.

What to do when there's nothing to do

Ever wondered what happens when older people move into Residential Care (Nursing Home)? Well some of the elderly are lucky enough to have family that care about them, visit them regularly and attend to their needs that crop up from time to time.
But some of our elderly, who just happen to have no family left, or as in some cases have family that do not bother to visit them at all, are just left alone to spend the rest of their lives seperated from the rest of the world and what it has to offer. These people rely on a good hearted nurse to buy their 'bits and pieces' in her/his time off, or any other requirements they might have. So with this in mind, I would say that if anyone is bored and/or lonely then here's the thing . Go visit a nursing home(and there are plenty of them ) and brighten up an elderly persons day. It will be well worth the effort and will be very rewarding for effort put in. As one would be aware, the Nurse-Patient ratio is high, which means that nurses are run off their feet and don't have the time to just sit and talk with these people. So the benefits are two way...to the visitor and the resident. Go visit a Nursing Home today....yaaaayyyy

Thankyou Jetstar

On our recent trip to Tassie we can't speak highly enough of the high level of service Jetstar provided. The cabin crew were really helpful and the Pilot and First Officer displayed skill and expertese in getting the A320 down at Hobart Airport in typical gale force winds coming from the Southern Ocean. (Winds that make it hard for one to stand up mind u). Our youngest was experiencing flight for the first time, and thanks to Jetstar the trip was a joy. So I would recommend Jetstar to anyone anytime. Go Jetstar.

Hmmmmm

Well after being pressured again to blog, here we are . Have been busy,yes this is the reason yet again. With car trouble putting it off the road again (cam shaft and valve lifter) one has to get used to driving 2 different cars yet again. Anyways no need to complain coz it could have been much much worse, and it will be fixed soon. So time taken up with tree pruning, sewing, visitors, bus driving , computer probs.grrrrr and just time consuming STUFF. So the blog has been done again for now. Wanted to put a photo on for a guessing competition but cant crop it so no use putting it on. Well am nearly asleep so will finish up now until next time, Adious.

Hmm the blog has been read

Well when the chookie has come to the end of her life. Life gets tough. One can"t sit on the perch anymore, one can"t get to the bowl in time, one is last to the scraps heap and need I go on. There are still 3 ducks left in the yard, so I can"t understand what the fuss is about. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh History Makers Band is on. .yeeeeeaaaaaaa. "You"re Amazing". A good night at church go to Victory Church Bendigo.
Anyway all good chookies come to an end of a long egg laying life. Fact of life. (With a few fights thrown in by the way) And a few fights in the duck pen would also be avoided if a certain individual was seperated.

Back to the blog 2

Hmm after hounding from another blogger, I will do this post. Even tho I have nt still got time to do it . Time spent on outstanding and urgent jobs is the reason yet again. This time it is:
Fitting cargo screen in wagon, fixing toilet cysten, cleaning up chook yard, cleaning out and rearranging garage, making bible covers, finding nursing home and doctor for elderly parent, fixing fences and chopping more tree branches off. So of course there are still jobs to come, like knocking off 2 redundant chooks(bet that will get a comment) , mowing lawns, etc etc and more sewing to do to(yuk). Well anyway have done the blog and guess will await the comments. And WOW did not see one spider in the garage during the cleanup. Actually I tell a lie, there was one redback and egg, so she is now deceased by boot. So now I can back the car in so that Ican check the oil and water before starting it up. When it is driven in one cant get to the front to check.

Back to the blog

Well I am still alive, and have returned to the blog. Life has been too busy to blog. It's called building fences with the neighbour, buying and FIXING cars, selling cars , getting towers removed, chopping trees, looking after elderly parent, fixing carport with brother, making wheelchair ramp, sending ducks to new homes (yayyyy) and other usual stuff that happens. So hopefully can do the blog thing again on a regular basis. So the xe has gone and the xf has arrived. Sporting a reconditioned motor, new clutch, new battery, washer bottle, reverse light switch and of course the manditory door handle (exclusive regular requirement for ford). So we are almost on the road with only a new kit for the carbruetter, steering lock adjustment and seriously a car that will, I expect last for 10 plus years. Has a bigger motor in it so have to continually watch the speedo. Oh and the cargo screen has to be fitted too. So we are "on the road again"

When a bad fishing trip is better than a good days housework

Well we finally got the boat out of the garage, made it legal equipmentwise, and headed for Port Albert. Pulling the boat and trailer over those Gippsland hills called for second gear and a lot of groaning from the diff. But we got there ok anyway. Got the boat in the water, and then tried to nut out the boyuage system, since some of them were missing. Also nearly got stuck on a sandbar. After freeing the boat off that, I noticed a storm coming with quite a few lightning ground strikes in it. So since it seemed to be coming our way we decided to head for shore. Well by the time we got half way in the storm was upon us and pouring rain. Anyways, we got into shore and headed for the car. After the storm passed an inspection of the boat turned out to be more water in the boat than out , and also while we were sitting out the storm the tide also went out and the boat is aground. So after about another 20minutes we had freed it only to be presented with storm no.2. So we decided to call it a day and go home. All this time everywhere else in Victoria was steeming hot. So like I said , a bad days fishing is always better than a good days housework. He he.

The Great Bush BBQ

Well a great bbq was had recently in the great Australian Bush. Gum trees, broombush, magpies, ants and of course tree spiders. Anyway it is Gods great creation and I love it. Peaceful, not too many tourists and lots to see and do. Feeding the magpies was great and watching mother dealing out the food to 6 young ones was entertainment plus. All this and only about half an hours drive from home. Who would want to live anywhere else?

when things dont go to plan

Well Lucy is now at the end of the 28 day sit. She hatched 4 ducklings and there is now only one survivor. Think she is standing on them but not sure. It maybe chill too coz the weather is cold at night and not too much warmer during the day. But who knows. She gets first prize for dedication though. Maybee the incubator and brooder needs to be bought out of retirement. It is up to Isobelle now to provide us with duck dinner. hmmmm

12 days to go

Well Lucy the duck has been sitting on 10 eggs for 16 days now. She is very dedicated and will hatch some ducklings. Maybee not 10 but think she will have about 70% success rate. It takes 28 days for a duckling to hatch, and about 12 weeks if I remember rightly for a duck to mature as an adult. Then it is roast duck. Yum yum. Last time she hatched 3 ducklings, from 4 eggs. One egg was a dud, she trampled on another duckling which died, and the 2 survivers are down the back, being a duck and a drake. She is a Muscovy duck and is a good mother. Go Lucy.