tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80146217077078394892024-03-05T01:58:53.709-08:00Denley DiariesWelcome to my little corner of the world. Here you will find my Food Storage journey, my mad cleaning frenzy and a few crazy bits and pieces along the way. I hope you enjoy your time here.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger242125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-49679899172250686642016-02-03T18:46:00.000-08:002016-02-03T18:46:05.629-08:00Getting the Herb garden in orderMy poor garden was a little neglected whilst I was pregnant (being sick all day, every day) and afterwards, when I was caring for a new little person.<br />
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One of the things I was missing was my fresh herbs.<br />
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And one of the more sillier things I did was plant paw paw trees in this garden, which completely took it over.<br />
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I cut back the passionfruit vine, removed the paw paw trees and went herb shopping. The shopping was the fun part!<br />
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A $15 hose from Aldi meant I didn't have to find time to water the garden every day.<br />
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I came across this 'memory herb'. A few sprigs each day is supposed to assist with your memory. I definitely need that!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-58238527996173822692015-06-07T03:32:00.000-07:002016-01-03T19:50:11.640-08:0072 Hour Kit Challenge week 1The first step is to start drinking juice, and collecting the containers.<br />
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I have washed and dried these bottles. I have one per family member, and one extra to practice on. They won't be for water storage, they'll be to store food in.<br />
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A friend showed me a very clever way of cutting a section at the top of the container and putting the stored food in there, then sealing it back up. Brilliant. More on that later.<br />
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You probably want to cut off the plastic ring just under the lid because we won't be needing those.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-61475128764635261852015-06-06T03:27:00.000-07:002015-06-06T03:27:00.558-07:0072 HOUR KIT CHALLENGEI have given myself a new challenge, and you're welcome to join me on the journey whenever you wish.<br />
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Following the crazy flood I had at my place not long ago, it made me realise how underprepared I was. What if I had to leave my home in a hurry? What would I take? If I had something that was ready just to grab and go, would that make things easier?<br />
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Why a 72 hour kit?<br />
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Because it usually takes at least 72 hours (3 days) for help to come after an emergency from the Government, depending on the emergency.<br />
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Hmmm...relying on the Government to help me out? I think I prefer to be as self reliant as I can. No offence to our Government ;D<br />
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Anyways, there's lot of info out there about why a 72 hour kit is a great idea, but this is my process in putting one together, step by step.<br />
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I'm going to keep it as simple as I can - after all, I do have a 9 month old and very little time to spare.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-32087863956485938232014-09-23T20:32:00.000-07:002014-09-23T20:33:10.395-07:00My life just got a little crazier!I'm sure your life is crazy too. But I welcomed a new baby into our family 3 weeks ago. I think I've lost my mind!<br />
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There is a ten year age gap between this gorgeous baby and my other daughter. It has been very helpful to have two older helpers however goodness knows how I'm going to cope when they go back to school.<br />
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I was really hungry yesterday, and thought I'd make some choc chip cookies to grab whenever I needed a quick snack. The cookies didn't happen - I had a baby that wanted to feed and feed and feed.<br />
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So I started on the cookies at 7am this morning. By 11am this is what happened:-<br />
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I shared some cookies with my two older kids and a kid's friend who was visiting, and I burnt some. Hahahah there goes my perfect mum image ;D Just keeping it real folks! 4 hours has to be my record as the longest time to bake a batch of cookies. One batch! I may have made about 18 cookies, but some didn't hover around waiting for their photo moment.<br />
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But the baby is asleep :D<br />
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I thought about vacuuming my lounge room but there really isn't any point when two older girls are leaving a trail of destruction after themselves. I'll procrastinate the vacuuming for another day. I did throw on 2 loads of laundry and hung one out, then did some washing up in the kitchen before the girls got creative and made more washing up. That means they're not hungry any more though, right? ;D<br />
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Okay, so I know this lounge room might look tidy to some. There is still Lego on that floor and ANY Lego on the floor is painful to step on!<br />
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Anyone got any burnt cookie or Lego walking on stories they want to share?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-82321033129646607892012-06-18T02:51:00.000-07:002012-06-18T02:51:00.546-07:00Decluttering books and CD's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our floors are being sanded and polished in a few weeks, and during that time, we will be living upstairs in the separate granny flat. It means EVERYTHING downstairs has to be moved either to upstairs or outside under cover. What an interesting few weeks that will be!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I thought I would get a head start, and decluttered these CDs. I got rid of a handful of them (only my ones, not Phil's), and dusted every single one of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <em>The pile of CDs to be dusted and sorted</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <em>Back onto this black shelf went the CDs. This shelf was on top of my sewing table, but I moved it to let in more light.</em></span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The children helped me lug all my son's books upstairs, then I dragged the white bookshelf up too. This bookshelf came with the house, and it has come in handy. It is fairly solid, and I believe it was used as a tv unit as well (hence the holes in it).</span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> A big pile of books to sort out.</span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All the books and CDs looking neat and tidy :D</span></em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-8508086250902548852012-06-17T01:57:00.000-07:002012-06-17T01:57:00.239-07:00Mild Renovating - The Kitchen Floor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The lino in my kitchen that Phil installed many, many years ago was only supposed to be temporary. It was from his parent's kitchen floor that they took up before putting tiles of a similar colour down. The aim was to see if we liked it, and if we wanted to purchase something similar. I did...but for unknown reasons, this lino stayed on my floor for YEARS.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today we ordered some more lino for the floor. I'm excited!!!</span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I had to tape the lino for safety reasons. I did not want to fall flat on my face with something hot in my hands tripping up over lino.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZnyfoDndvuMSwaJd-T8OJ-T_RKnHlfghVc9wlwVMSWqYGCE7BAvL9RdRd-d9ZL4fILpQ9one7jcD2c0WeZW2Rcfca3jN9mH95aup2iRR-jQwpGTIBRgNMOfApY-KjpbVNKazz5GQ5Z5n/s1600/16+June+2012+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZnyfoDndvuMSwaJd-T8OJ-T_RKnHlfghVc9wlwVMSWqYGCE7BAvL9RdRd-d9ZL4fILpQ9one7jcD2c0WeZW2Rcfca3jN9mH95aup2iRR-jQwpGTIBRgNMOfApY-KjpbVNKazz5GQ5Z5n/s320/16+June+2012+015.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I started ripping up the top layer of lino. Oh, that's why we put a top layer down ;D</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pavAskbWAfSNn-Wfd8f0pQV5W7dSEnX1hYzMTs1YHRcoSBSHOzILwekJ_8s2yCHBDvw8VdPwPrTvCsM7oYd9NIDIWw9VG8ef7odWtanW_7oG4HQZeZe0vFDP0iFLC99rUq02CWZ7MadG/s1600/16+June+2012+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pavAskbWAfSNn-Wfd8f0pQV5W7dSEnX1hYzMTs1YHRcoSBSHOzILwekJ_8s2yCHBDvw8VdPwPrTvCsM7oYd9NIDIWw9VG8ef7odWtanW_7oG4HQZeZe0vFDP0iFLC99rUq02CWZ7MadG/s320/16+June+2012+027.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> It's very...um...busy, isn't it!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt8bor2k9NMp_RHUKRYpW3lxWyukCBlqCVPNgK7FxBeO85COppaNzL7VlYOU6LmD4RnuavmfTVhrh5ffD5k_jq_G9t-12s2uvwzejFq8S1G6_LWbKneQ7EOZDSEt1hPzy3PKFnf9rhvBdb/s1600/16+June+2012+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt8bor2k9NMp_RHUKRYpW3lxWyukCBlqCVPNgK7FxBeO85COppaNzL7VlYOU6LmD4RnuavmfTVhrh5ffD5k_jq_G9t-12s2uvwzejFq8S1G6_LWbKneQ7EOZDSEt1hPzy3PKFnf9rhvBdb/s320/16+June+2012+028.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yup, this was the old lino. I don't even want to know what is under it!</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The new lino looks like stone, and is a light brown and cream tile. We wanted a thick industrial style lino that would put up with lots of wear in a kitchen area. It's amazing what they have been able to do with linoleum these days. So many types to choose from!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-85515375152767111792012-06-16T00:33:00.000-07:002012-06-16T00:33:16.230-07:00Kids Cooking - Chocolate Brownies in the Thermomix<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My daughter really wanted to whip up a batch of brownies because she had found a recipe in one of her 'Princess Cooking' books. I thought she might like to have a go at using my Thermomix.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_OkmYjJECKlsdp4BlvjpyeJAXjWcEdp0S5-k09pbkdGMbrOTb-Ev-QfoPC6kALXRASs88rnu3TRsQiezlI1nBOp5YExpGYf60RRzZQ_N20bE90IeiP5lFoAahr9ZMWw_inJabcbUU36F/s1600/16+June+2012+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_OkmYjJECKlsdp4BlvjpyeJAXjWcEdp0S5-k09pbkdGMbrOTb-Ev-QfoPC6kALXRASs88rnu3TRsQiezlI1nBOp5YExpGYf60RRzZQ_N20bE90IeiP5lFoAahr9ZMWw_inJabcbUU36F/s320/16+June+2012+001.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Measuring ingredients carefully. I hadn't converted the recipe so we were still using 'cups'.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRXPl3xkNAR7DIYMDmuwF3ZQMA10UV5qMAdLBKE561oMDV3C-sNww_56vAqIKYU13ikBIjXwEJ-qiANXuCRerbhjmO9zwDUHPqpPGYW0p8IVFWTJSLnuWWs5V655kYxPR_mykONIuujN8/s1600/16+June+2012+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRXPl3xkNAR7DIYMDmuwF3ZQMA10UV5qMAdLBKE561oMDV3C-sNww_56vAqIKYU13ikBIjXwEJ-qiANXuCRerbhjmO9zwDUHPqpPGYW0p8IVFWTJSLnuWWs5V655kYxPR_mykONIuujN8/s320/16+June+2012+003.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Measuring flour before we level off with a knife.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyp_v7saRvzNEBHdnoOTUdo1Dh-sR390_Hcl6I9Dqmt9HgTrci43RmIgiIpjIZgHb5LKABE-YbC1kS8jfHJsNqRVcGDcQeRm_T98_xdEuVOKyJowe1Kpe5jgu1SbjPyW8-yztt8yDagbJ/s1600/16+June+2012+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyp_v7saRvzNEBHdnoOTUdo1Dh-sR390_Hcl6I9Dqmt9HgTrci43RmIgiIpjIZgHb5LKABE-YbC1kS8jfHJsNqRVcGDcQeRm_T98_xdEuVOKyJowe1Kpe5jgu1SbjPyW8-yztt8yDagbJ/s320/16+June+2012+005.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Into the Thermomix it goes.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjE7sC0CZUq7q5Dt6dwxC-XP9xG5NoKGkYdZWWQTnry_7UZUAustXEFwcvgLZDKAVj9C6qAeJXGLj3Z0aRf3b7KisHeqLCBafuHKAKuooIDfLdkL54oGqZeQQ-xIRInICBeAt2TR1G2r4u/s1600/16+June+2012+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjE7sC0CZUq7q5Dt6dwxC-XP9xG5NoKGkYdZWWQTnry_7UZUAustXEFwcvgLZDKAVj9C6qAeJXGLj3Z0aRf3b7KisHeqLCBafuHKAKuooIDfLdkL54oGqZeQQ-xIRInICBeAt2TR1G2r4u/s320/16+June+2012+006.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Smoothing out the brownies before baking them in the oven.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sorry, no after photos. They were the slightly crunchy on the outside type, and were devoured 10 mins after coming out of the oven.</span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-9561068457004791482012-04-24T05:27:00.000-07:002012-04-24T05:27:00.674-07:00Saturday Child Chore<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was another Saturday chore that my children were asked to do. They have one each Saturday that I set for them, and they haven't complained yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This one again involved a bucket of water each, and a sponge.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRK_36RwX_dkLkIRSHFQ0UqP4xi0XSYoKP_qUKWX5EqtPBcO5VMssasERKToVjaSYz8pFdrmMfgC5VzfpgcaxEEMYSKKZS9E3rAruYeEEo5pjCt1ywXixQ0TZnYqzt0AYqzdJ0eMHVpjrJ/s1600/20+April+2012+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRK_36RwX_dkLkIRSHFQ0UqP4xi0XSYoKP_qUKWX5EqtPBcO5VMssasERKToVjaSYz8pFdrmMfgC5VzfpgcaxEEMYSKKZS9E3rAruYeEEo5pjCt1ywXixQ0TZnYqzt0AYqzdJ0eMHVpjrJ/s320/20+April+2012+019.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> "I want to see that Air Hockey Table shine!"</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZkO63yhLzTBchMbbxHBoIexYeP3evUJe7eVHUuLnVj4ycAGcpXAzSv3nSw7BLNK7TRpHEuToC2MEY1JQZw6E5RhD94XeT7EqPTFqPW0tUEzAj67Y8-CXxv21KTMtWvavERqOHkkpLcqo/s1600/20+April+2012+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZkO63yhLzTBchMbbxHBoIexYeP3evUJe7eVHUuLnVj4ycAGcpXAzSv3nSw7BLNK7TRpHEuToC2MEY1JQZw6E5RhD94XeT7EqPTFqPW0tUEzAj67Y8-CXxv21KTMtWvavERqOHkkpLcqo/s320/20+April+2012+020.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So they did.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb01askdnxVce5GXIYmQi06wfOaP-6XmBdEdKQfDEdh_iwH8B9NmwpJaFXM6Gbmh2WN4__dPzPJTrXQtvIKXtCTYVClnK9pVO91HRbfnoofMXE0m0HGSuyWSCIdHB3P09SUxxLAX8S8jN7/s1600/20+April+2012+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb01askdnxVce5GXIYmQi06wfOaP-6XmBdEdKQfDEdh_iwH8B9NmwpJaFXM6Gbmh2WN4__dPzPJTrXQtvIKXtCTYVClnK9pVO91HRbfnoofMXE0m0HGSuyWSCIdHB3P09SUxxLAX8S8jN7/s320/20+April+2012+021.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They did a really awesome job. There were no complaints, no arguments, they just got right into it and cleaned it thoroughly.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bet they can't wait to see what I have in store for them next Saturday! (I have to think of something fast!)</span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-90784150901348076072012-04-23T05:20:00.000-07:002012-04-23T05:20:00.191-07:00Council Clean Up Part 2...<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before each scheduled Council Clean up, I do a brief walk around the house and note what needs to go and what needs to stay. Sometimes if I want to put items aside specifically for the Clean Up, I will put them in the front part of our garage so they're easier to cart out on to the street.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's also a great excuse to do a little bit of outside cleaning.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-D1KuWxK-CfSGnEdPi62g4S3suPejdsPLyY6jZzIs2SfS3JP57oaB9PWe5_EU9Ba0nPR_L3ykw9-Su5gTOGsR0_pgw6xxxDk1rAn2fsOsx8ZdISsTLPVwAW-g3Yr1gEfj7p3niw8Cv5Y/s1600/20+April+2012+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-D1KuWxK-CfSGnEdPi62g4S3suPejdsPLyY6jZzIs2SfS3JP57oaB9PWe5_EU9Ba0nPR_L3ykw9-Su5gTOGsR0_pgw6xxxDk1rAn2fsOsx8ZdISsTLPVwAW-g3Yr1gEfj7p3niw8Cv5Y/s320/20+April+2012+010.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Here's one of the jobs that really is not pleasant. It's washing off the 'bunny spray' from the Elephant Ear plant leaves. Basically, un-neutered male bunnies like to mark their territory with their scent by spraying their urine everywhere. It's just gross. Even worse when they try and spray YOU! On the plant leaves I find that a bucket of water and a cut up sponge specifically for that purpose works well to bring the leaves back to their usual green self again.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidM9LOKFZp9LslfOo2iX3bdpbyozP4vOnsRS1WnF2aF07p4oABzxEKfFn7_Vwnp-ojAcsBUnyzzCDXmkRMRdr3ahBGrfUHj8XVr20sPgC0F6s_4a78h7_wJK9Ysi6QIIthWNopN5PIzvba/s1600/20+April+2012+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidM9LOKFZp9LslfOo2iX3bdpbyozP4vOnsRS1WnF2aF07p4oABzxEKfFn7_Vwnp-ojAcsBUnyzzCDXmkRMRdr3ahBGrfUHj8XVr20sPgC0F6s_4a78h7_wJK9Ysi6QIIthWNopN5PIzvba/s320/20+April+2012+011.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Sweeping up the carpet leftovers.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8Br3NMJ9wqnidhTEetlKAdK7qxKShp-xHMI7XBM6HaFT7XMe6Ysa94zAHtBUzlc95i2_noyzER_5CWIOp-kqrNjCNVBIiSZejM-GRHi8AL8vulrFzsskMrNT-fDOdmYuLbR635Q7mFJS/s1600/20+April+2012+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8Br3NMJ9wqnidhTEetlKAdK7qxKShp-xHMI7XBM6HaFT7XMe6Ysa94zAHtBUzlc95i2_noyzER_5CWIOp-kqrNjCNVBIiSZejM-GRHi8AL8vulrFzsskMrNT-fDOdmYuLbR635Q7mFJS/s320/20+April+2012+012.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> This area of the house irritates me. I can't do anything with the sheet of asbestos. It has to stay put until Phil decides to organise for it to be disposed of properly and according to Asbestos regulations.</span></em><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3hslZyc8xhbqvr8LBioxfVbKt30tg96xt1F2pTV0Jx_EaKlVH8ymeM9kKN9XaAMIoa5dtRaftDAwtgNnEiJqooBl0tYRO_a05l6DmDRZ3qoYkhV2RH2sb36cFleR7pyL0qdMMMulQ5b2T/s1600/20+April+2012+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3hslZyc8xhbqvr8LBioxfVbKt30tg96xt1F2pTV0Jx_EaKlVH8ymeM9kKN9XaAMIoa5dtRaftDAwtgNnEiJqooBl0tYRO_a05l6DmDRZ3qoYkhV2RH2sb36cFleR7pyL0qdMMMulQ5b2T/s320/20+April+2012+013.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I did however get rid of this rusting shelf (but not the bricks)...</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLB0nQJNJZsnELTIw3qitKKD9pOxoydCKRLeMGLmmvUjkdpcs_2xmwgws4bN4P7jJLsXDfaXoo_CnDtuFb8Z4yzDT5Gdi4141Ix8l2R2F63hmZWeYYjEewanvBmmaTx4dkekuXYRl4MsDr/s1600/20+April+2012+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLB0nQJNJZsnELTIw3qitKKD9pOxoydCKRLeMGLmmvUjkdpcs_2xmwgws4bN4P7jJLsXDfaXoo_CnDtuFb8Z4yzDT5Gdi4141Ix8l2R2F63hmZWeYYjEewanvBmmaTx4dkekuXYRl4MsDr/s320/20+April+2012+014.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">...and the bunny hutch that Charcoal loved. I found it in a Council Clean-up many years ago, and I got some excellent use out of it. It was falling apart, the wood rotting and wasn't safe for bunnies any more. It had to go.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everything we put out was picked up bright and early Thursday morning. Hooray!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-19213822843441581322012-04-22T05:08:00.000-07:002012-04-22T05:08:00.641-07:00Council Clean Up Part 1<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have a Council Clean-up in our area 4 times a year. They always fall on school holidays as well which is usually handy for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had an idea of the things I wanted to get rid of, and started to round them up. The Council has requested that people only stack a 1 metre cubed pile of rubbish on the curb. I have so much I would like to get rid of though, and I doubt anyone else would want it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First thing was the carpet we ripped up...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQwBefv4avjssKSLPeJ661rQ6-f_ZZxpvzR2Qd-LvuHZgPY6vQV-rayBd20RfxIDAtRB8t5siwSRabKblWxy4naT-4GJJSpgx0dX4ei7G2LJ76x2G_d3cVZBkDLMpOB1Y9UDUpZogOCrO/s1600/20+April+2012+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQwBefv4avjssKSLPeJ661rQ6-f_ZZxpvzR2Qd-LvuHZgPY6vQV-rayBd20RfxIDAtRB8t5siwSRabKblWxy4naT-4GJJSpgx0dX4ei7G2LJ76x2G_d3cVZBkDLMpOB1Y9UDUpZogOCrO/s320/20+April+2012+009.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">... and a broken whiteboard, and why do I need to keep boxes? The recycle bin was overflowing, so out went the boxes.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYJPzhGEgEXc5_ZmAjMgTDeckgFIqswSU-smvmac6zUysoM_p2L43fiUMbr_YETKc8dOaawgXQ71rDTrsH7C2u_Io4vhn4i-xID4MMWhn9Y3cZm6QRYDvMpAkBmW2VOfIoOLOkWPdv5Ce/s1600/20+April+2012+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYJPzhGEgEXc5_ZmAjMgTDeckgFIqswSU-smvmac6zUysoM_p2L43fiUMbr_YETKc8dOaawgXQ71rDTrsH7C2u_Io4vhn4i-xID4MMWhn9Y3cZm6QRYDvMpAkBmW2VOfIoOLOkWPdv5Ce/s320/20+April+2012+018.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found a rusted shelf left behind by the previous owners, an old plastic table and chair left behind by a previous renter and another box. We added a solid brown desk which I had really thought hard about throwing away but no-one wanted it, so out it went.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looking around the house, I can't even tell that I decluttered anything. *Sigh* It never ends, does it!</span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-6469770560155854982012-04-21T04:58:00.000-07:002012-04-21T04:58:01.116-07:00Chores with Water...couldn't be more fun!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My son has a rather large collection of Nerf Guns. I'm not the biggest fan of the things but unfortunately I only get half the say in these sorts of matters. Phil and Matthew get 1/4 each ;D</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Back to the Nerf Guns...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did a bit of a dig around my garage and I came across some old milk crates. Goodness knows how long they had been sitting in my garage. It was time to put them to good use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But first, they needed a thorough clean:-</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9mIyCZqbFB64bHLdJEOxQfIFmoYUFtpBuXnX0hUkBYER1aT4ImKH9boqbds6M8WOKRcu5ev_oBFLBfQHmiknQYpsM4S6Am3fm7iTzi4DbL-ZG6R924Hzdm-fhpUYK6wI3Hd2IlCFy6jWc/s1600/20+April+2012+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9mIyCZqbFB64bHLdJEOxQfIFmoYUFtpBuXnX0hUkBYER1aT4ImKH9boqbds6M8WOKRcu5ev_oBFLBfQHmiknQYpsM4S6Am3fm7iTzi4DbL-ZG6R924Hzdm-fhpUYK6wI3Hd2IlCFy6jWc/s320/20+April+2012+007.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <em>Enter: Child Labour...I mean...chores.</em></span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If there's water, a bucket and a sponge involved...this child will get his hands dirty. Just a little ;D</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLoxkRK5-_8Tlbvo4LOb5aEe-mquqDY5aC0ASLfKHsPzRF8eocDIlcxnC2_7MynWNp1pZVeWQDfI-yeYYCt6MqdzZ0w9LPDS4cd9xoKsnJoHyfuTn7WBUeUAUmBTdBgDmfA6SHlxWV9T4/s1600/20+April+2012+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLoxkRK5-_8Tlbvo4LOb5aEe-mquqDY5aC0ASLfKHsPzRF8eocDIlcxnC2_7MynWNp1pZVeWQDfI-yeYYCt6MqdzZ0w9LPDS4cd9xoKsnJoHyfuTn7WBUeUAUmBTdBgDmfA6SHlxWV9T4/s320/20+April+2012+008.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Drying off in the sunshine once all the cobwebs and dust had been washed off.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These two crates made a perfect home for Nerf guns in my son's wardrobe. They make it much easier for him to pack them away too. I have to say, this has been the first week I haven't peeked into his room and seen Nerf guns all over the floor. Yay for garage finds!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-88222216890074133702012-04-20T04:47:00.000-07:002012-04-20T04:47:18.566-07:00In my Bedroom this time...<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ripping up carpet, that is. The last room in the house to have the carpet removed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I really should have taken a 'before' photo to show you what complete knuckleheads the previous owners of the house were. Most of the carpet was an ugly green colour, but in the very centre of the room was a patch of cream coloured carpet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When we first moved in to our house, the real estate agent explained that the owners had a water bed and didn't think you could actually move them. So when the green carpet was laid, they left the water bed where it was and carpeted around it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yup. Clever!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtiNu6D5Y519xt1GGzRaEneb_dacG5-RuH7KVlBLy1K7OOH6NbBrNL_tyb39p18vVUDxFso310z7zWWAQYQ0QVxoSQQjMsXDm5cUMCZ3r9hE6OuIBGYDsZjxxpVWMBhjPdL9IkvQ1ha6xP/s1600/20+April+2012+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtiNu6D5Y519xt1GGzRaEneb_dacG5-RuH7KVlBLy1K7OOH6NbBrNL_tyb39p18vVUDxFso310z7zWWAQYQ0QVxoSQQjMsXDm5cUMCZ3r9hE6OuIBGYDsZjxxpVWMBhjPdL9IkvQ1ha6xP/s320/20+April+2012+002.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I was very pleased to see great looking floorboards again.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqjBtm2ncUymlz2srb2ZGm1VYpzdwvxGxAd_JgrY-1F39pA2NRsMOwoC4_OYKpDIbKioItmoJUtdSfDKFh4csUxNNzSh93rFiZNi-FE1S9snj5FmTKXmACljhLnNgePce_utM7aP2Elsj/s1600/20+April+2012+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqjBtm2ncUymlz2srb2ZGm1VYpzdwvxGxAd_JgrY-1F39pA2NRsMOwoC4_OYKpDIbKioItmoJUtdSfDKFh4csUxNNzSh93rFiZNi-FE1S9snj5FmTKXmACljhLnNgePce_utM7aP2Elsj/s320/20+April+2012+003.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The carpet in the house is now ALL gone!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwydCbmjgFPGPtWRKBRmZDrel07e0EggSMoKG9YYVu3135K_yKwsgXcM0lxG8r4mtJmOr0m4humjXzxkEWgNhTL_2BoW3XroNAkt6VZE1J8TPvdxjyeFgxkc4D5fAl5JPeRzGqeeDcfuQe/s1600/20+April+2012+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwydCbmjgFPGPtWRKBRmZDrel07e0EggSMoKG9YYVu3135K_yKwsgXcM0lxG8r4mtJmOr0m4humjXzxkEWgNhTL_2BoW3XroNAkt6VZE1J8TPvdxjyeFgxkc4D5fAl5JPeRzGqeeDcfuQe/s320/20+April+2012+004.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> ...but there are a gazillion little annoying staples to pull out. I'm still pulling the rotten things out!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtU5iyV3lbbyihkZbmZYllvfG8gDsowfBKaPSnRdsXM1tXi4ncTkvJaKO22VWjdJXw12Ozanf8vL0EmvjXOTX9kXp-mLIXBAQnQ8bjZC8eEf8xmutbqKLAeTDGyBQXWBOwjGmYDkRcvyj4/s1600/20+April+2012+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtU5iyV3lbbyihkZbmZYllvfG8gDsowfBKaPSnRdsXM1tXi4ncTkvJaKO22VWjdJXw12Ozanf8vL0EmvjXOTX9kXp-mLIXBAQnQ8bjZC8eEf8xmutbqKLAeTDGyBQXWBOwjGmYDkRcvyj4/s320/20+April+2012+005.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looking very pleased about a job well done. Back to staple removing!!!</span></em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-41033489837521609342012-04-14T02:03:00.000-07:002012-04-14T02:03:00.458-07:00There's a Party in my Laundry!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Seriously, there is!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Phil decided for some random reason to install a party light in there. Goodness only knows! I certainly don't have a party every time I do my laundry, that's for sure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The problem is that I can't do any laundry at night - because I can't see well enough in there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is also where our outside toilet is...and for goodness sake I don't want to see what is glowing... (I'll let your imagination do it's thing there!)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4SNM0tSruktMJrURS4AvhaGLNqleKICLZwgICkaIx-mokEwoRRGf0NANOTZ34HNPS2fmWz0e7DG9Tz-o_bL2q_wXzLllhk0Xui8bgBoZ0Addtwm6Qg6KZGIIfqc3irGHLvkjlcZecGmp/s1600/10+April+2012+054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4SNM0tSruktMJrURS4AvhaGLNqleKICLZwgICkaIx-mokEwoRRGf0NANOTZ34HNPS2fmWz0e7DG9Tz-o_bL2q_wXzLllhk0Xui8bgBoZ0Addtwm6Qg6KZGIIfqc3irGHLvkjlcZecGmp/s320/10+April+2012+054.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Phil's Party Light Bulb in the gross light shade that is in my laundry. Goodness knows why we didn't replace that when we replaced all the other light fittings in the house.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgqlDwlvuUUsCYsDxVKXdDhYF9QZ4iZ0sd9t2UhNsgWIUktNz_wCxu91JAV0qY0xdWVRzbpHQG93W7NzB6Wv25TbdpUoFGX3MIxNzuXvzMfhm5vaK6NxbcMBYT7JY7DK7yV0d5DT9UzvA/s1600/10+April+2012+056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgqlDwlvuUUsCYsDxVKXdDhYF9QZ4iZ0sd9t2UhNsgWIUktNz_wCxu91JAV0qY0xdWVRzbpHQG93W7NzB6Wv25TbdpUoFGX3MIxNzuXvzMfhm5vaK6NxbcMBYT7JY7DK7yV0d5DT9UzvA/s320/10+April+2012+056.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> My hand towel glows really well! Apparently my camera likes to have parties in there too, and glowing objects make blurry pictures.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Buz7Yo4MpLTQvEHfPeady2apDxRKxe0yQJl0PUijdaGWilYBPy9ktdwpBFwp4P44OjtpecxYni1YuLyyS4p6h5ENzCJ3sawKcTs4WKCMNYx8ZDvuaTP5hNmjMSRoQjHt0RUHjMEpvwba/s1600/10+April+2012+057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Buz7Yo4MpLTQvEHfPeady2apDxRKxe0yQJl0PUijdaGWilYBPy9ktdwpBFwp4P44OjtpecxYni1YuLyyS4p6h5ENzCJ3sawKcTs4WKCMNYx8ZDvuaTP5hNmjMSRoQjHt0RUHjMEpvwba/s320/10+April+2012+057.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who would have thought that the inside of toilet paper rolls, Phil's underwear, Pink Napisan containers and power points switched on glow under a party light bulb?</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now the question remains. Is Phil going to remember to take the party light bulb out before my family come over to celebrate Jacki's birthday in a few weeks, or are some of them going to get the surprise of their life?</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-42198947323687048072012-04-13T01:52:00.001-07:002012-04-13T01:54:23.387-07:00To Sand or Not to Sand, That is the Question.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our carpet is green and gross. I'm not sure why it has taken us so long to actually do something about it (probably my husband's lack of enthusiasm to do anything about the house until we actually purchased it), but we're going gung-ho now!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The carpet is sitting either in neat rolled up piles outside (my handiwork), or in a mishmash heap (Phil's) ready for the Council Clean-up next weekend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All that's left to do now is remove more annoying little tiny staples from the floor, and figure out whether we want to sand the floors and lacquer them, or put down floating floorboard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We're still deciding...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcOREtja0CZCr4k5QcBmGZtglSxaF8R4W9mPdO24V920wsYNvuGiJJggk-EBNZeOpzxquybkIfz9NkvVOA1ZrmdQFBj4fu_ZljQQ2A8NtpkaJxq-YDRnlQfmsuXMaaVPu9r88Q4k78gc_/s1600/10+April+2012+049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcOREtja0CZCr4k5QcBmGZtglSxaF8R4W9mPdO24V920wsYNvuGiJJggk-EBNZeOpzxquybkIfz9NkvVOA1ZrmdQFBj4fu_ZljQQ2A8NtpkaJxq-YDRnlQfmsuXMaaVPu9r88Q4k78gc_/s320/10+April+2012+049.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Bunnings had a really good deal on these floating floorboard last weekend. Phil bought 10 of them for $10 (an opened slightly damaged box) to see if he liked the look, and to 'play' with them. My guess is that Bunnings might be out of stock on these ones by now - just my luck.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibiZx-QXHOzyyKP6nKDJdQYpOMiIF4PXNxKyo7gcM0E7iORocL0DP5ToUzy3tlUpkRZHwnZcYv2kaoW1EzU6rXOkk7kp4wViM7qVwEcuVdq-wBUT3TMLo8hf8qxyrMXjWA3CGzxiUw4e62/s1600/10+April+2012+050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibiZx-QXHOzyyKP6nKDJdQYpOMiIF4PXNxKyo7gcM0E7iORocL0DP5ToUzy3tlUpkRZHwnZcYv2kaoW1EzU6rXOkk7kp4wViM7qVwEcuVdq-wBUT3TMLo8hf8qxyrMXjWA3CGzxiUw4e62/s320/10+April+2012+050.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> He even played with a roll of underlay. He was able to get an estimate of how many packs he would need to do the hallway.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFwszA3uaswKjciVYWI7pTNItC7JxjgAyTqUIAnvKs3Tev4ZoPPLjUddMQ9TkJxn5yXval_rNo_9fzjL58gkt4atgEqeszH8T0rxYWs82pt5D6Wss2anl9TaecU3ZqOld20lI0vMqLRlZ/s1600/10+April+2012+051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFwszA3uaswKjciVYWI7pTNItC7JxjgAyTqUIAnvKs3Tev4ZoPPLjUddMQ9TkJxn5yXval_rNo_9fzjL58gkt4atgEqeszH8T0rxYWs82pt5D6Wss2anl9TaecU3ZqOld20lI0vMqLRlZ/s320/10+April+2012+051.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> *Sigh* MORE annoying little staples to remove! Seriously, these things are the absolute worst part so far about ripping the carpet up. If we were to put new carpet down, we'd just hammer these down but as my Grandfather says; "If you're going to do a job, you may as well do it properly" and the last people definitely didn't do a proper job. We're going to a good job *crosses fingers*!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3nN_4BSWm9eSZj3D8sN7l7LhoXgI_kuJB_pfuWjIhqqQHqwGRWc-3Sbi_h8jJssRZLPdSQf0afBu78EoFRV37-brqUUEsjdBD2FSBBslYTsg9Ze0AP8tOY0ofnjWYWHho-q7zqCavdDO7/s1600/10+April+2012+052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3nN_4BSWm9eSZj3D8sN7l7LhoXgI_kuJB_pfuWjIhqqQHqwGRWc-3Sbi_h8jJssRZLPdSQf0afBu78EoFRV37-brqUUEsjdBD2FSBBslYTsg9Ze0AP8tOY0ofnjWYWHho-q7zqCavdDO7/s320/10+April+2012+052.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> My tools of the trade for this task. Can't forget the all important ipod docking station!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHp1sxRj-2WZYnpCLwXdo00qF2ytMiOLydAe2vj91yZC5jDg3Rkd5l6N27aj3R2J28h1H1nbTCErpe_uRQ5wH8EJFQGcsoks44_yFOYlx6fITblAMp-0flMnvXyq3XLcLjtkjtzNbZ4xS/s1600/10+April+2012+053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHp1sxRj-2WZYnpCLwXdo00qF2ytMiOLydAe2vj91yZC5jDg3Rkd5l6N27aj3R2J28h1H1nbTCErpe_uRQ5wH8EJFQGcsoks44_yFOYlx6fITblAMp-0flMnvXyq3XLcLjtkjtzNbZ4xS/s320/10+April+2012+053.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">THE best invention ever! I can't believe how much easier this makes pulling out those staples. We were using a screwdriver and pliers to remove them, but this does it much faster. Should have bought two of them Phil! One end is a hammer, the other end is kind of like a pointy screwdriver. The middle acts as pliers but the curve in the head means that you can 'rock' the tool to get the staples out. Brilliant!</span></em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-74399955517319105642012-04-10T19:51:00.000-07:002012-04-13T01:17:38.458-07:00Stumpy Is Getting Bolder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This Eastern Blue Tongue Lizard is getting bold! It no longer hisses at me but tries to jump up on to my hand instead of waiting for grapes to be put down on the concrete in front of it. I didn't even know they could jump!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFipodEU2W_rZVa46tmiKdOxsebtYNm7qTEGSWWzmcb3wK5_E00x3_6GBvkkpRkZGbYFx5tkbmqhPwiUrYwbk9ZrXwZGlqKhY5KZtu-SZnbiK_QEt8st_VLPAg6YEB-6Fusz4wp_rM6Tj/s1600/10+April+2012+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFipodEU2W_rZVa46tmiKdOxsebtYNm7qTEGSWWzmcb3wK5_E00x3_6GBvkkpRkZGbYFx5tkbmqhPwiUrYwbk9ZrXwZGlqKhY5KZtu-SZnbiK_QEt8st_VLPAg6YEB-6Fusz4wp_rM6Tj/s320/10+April+2012+024.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Mmmmm grapes!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3U-o-di0g1ZmOizXhnIQtiy4bGilN3H7okqjKiVLYDaj3W61ust0Eod9CPZkhIJJeivrk6nLgN0bw1ghCctKgPfaRXtanIrONykT3ZMSVpfGLPo2RIfAjdne3YZdGdzh47mAG-tmnuQWf/s1600/10+April+2012+025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3U-o-di0g1ZmOizXhnIQtiy4bGilN3H7okqjKiVLYDaj3W61ust0Eod9CPZkhIJJeivrk6nLgN0bw1ghCctKgPfaRXtanIrONykT3ZMSVpfGLPo2RIfAjdne3YZdGdzh47mAG-tmnuQWf/s320/10+April+2012+025.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Swallowing grapes and dribbiling. They crush grapes up in their jaws then wait until they have two or three lined up, then gulp them all down. It freaked me out at first because I wasn't sure what was wrong. You can see a mass on the outside of their neck moving down internally.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT11UBpbNU6hO13skS26H2gbjTZ1FMdlcMZDm5fiFMqXwds0iBJiyXXvtxkhVEdqJMi1Sd94Ms0X2tb2UXi8uY-9rf6s_SjOi7XjnnQBdq5NL-iotvRNygid1extzI_5ctjwH2HpZl5HE6/s1600/10+April+2012+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT11UBpbNU6hO13skS26H2gbjTZ1FMdlcMZDm5fiFMqXwds0iBJiyXXvtxkhVEdqJMi1Sd94Ms0X2tb2UXi8uY-9rf6s_SjOi7XjnnQBdq5NL-iotvRNygid1extzI_5ctjwH2HpZl5HE6/s320/10+April+2012+026.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Trying to eat hair and struggling. I pulled it out and it gagged. Are they even supposed to have a gag reflex? - gross!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmc0J1i9Q1rHfOiAPus15vPz5Ku06aVV80_FZZHRHl66ENJUz4BqTuI1_ZIvUiPbW5MHvIRtuLM5Vw8SGRGeRwVq1wOpAtlfpO9E-ka4CZtqFLu8G8ros-SQ7DkE5oU6o5hixds2o3F2Tu/s1600/10+April+2012+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmc0J1i9Q1rHfOiAPus15vPz5Ku06aVV80_FZZHRHl66ENJUz4BqTuI1_ZIvUiPbW5MHvIRtuLM5Vw8SGRGeRwVq1wOpAtlfpO9E-ka4CZtqFLu8G8ros-SQ7DkE5oU6o5hixds2o3F2Tu/s320/10+April+2012+027.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Back to grapes. Much better.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFVfLg1f5H9bygNrJusT3h_RFvbhoVaYG3Eba4WN6JnardNqUyqKiJGsYB4Vhi6VpOzLdh9hjnWr650FNoCsn6fe-9LhQquuSO2rYT9wejsw4srM3Wh1aePdnTsa_JSqelk2yVOm1KIQS/s1600/10+April+2012+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFVfLg1f5H9bygNrJusT3h_RFvbhoVaYG3Eba4WN6JnardNqUyqKiJGsYB4Vhi6VpOzLdh9hjnWr650FNoCsn6fe-9LhQquuSO2rYT9wejsw4srM3Wh1aePdnTsa_JSqelk2yVOm1KIQS/s320/10+April+2012+028.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These were juicy grapes. They squirted whenever 'Stumpy' crushed them. I hope it's tail heals. It is still weeping a little, and I'm not so sure that's a good sign. It seems happy enough though, and will continue to be looked after as long as it visits.</span></em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-59689699552976250342012-04-09T17:32:00.000-07:002012-04-13T01:18:06.778-07:00Saturday Family Chores<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Recently I have been organising a Saturday chore for the family to do together (or at least for the children and me to do if Phil is out working).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago I decided we were going to have some water fun aka cleaning the garage door and fence near it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0H85S8JnxxXKQbJycju242gk4rCDNOnKGrDgX2pFVJTOt7cwruJKRYTmhvtnu5vQ_P-VRN3HL8t5461Klsy-rj-JHCxUZnUdDh8Y9Uuh3kzUPZ1QgzPohGXCG37VTeQGfcYKyq4DiQnqz/s1600/10+April+2012+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0H85S8JnxxXKQbJycju242gk4rCDNOnKGrDgX2pFVJTOt7cwruJKRYTmhvtnu5vQ_P-VRN3HL8t5461Klsy-rj-JHCxUZnUdDh8Y9Uuh3kzUPZ1QgzPohGXCG37VTeQGfcYKyq4DiQnqz/s320/10+April+2012+017.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> One of the tools of the trade...a soaking wet sponge.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkKwCjq5WQRCYYG0OGAx1FihQWBJGbH3sIopqYxTRh_p8-4CvN_8yj9Yb0G-hygZak0nuvkWiFHd0pB1fPWGPIOv_TakwKtOHzWVjzrzAeH3wL1DNRndZK8e_k_RUdwwwC-f8fM1gH6RCj/s1600/10+April+2012+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkKwCjq5WQRCYYG0OGAx1FihQWBJGbH3sIopqYxTRh_p8-4CvN_8yj9Yb0G-hygZak0nuvkWiFHd0pB1fPWGPIOv_TakwKtOHzWVjzrzAeH3wL1DNRndZK8e_k_RUdwwwC-f8fM1gH6RCj/s320/10+April+2012+023.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> While the children were occupied I took the opportunity to do some gardening.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsQA12BAXDOQ_8TYPHFFeB3ftCCZDv6DU3XMgckIxsEpzQw_Wf_BKis-Zl-sO60Ixloh45TWshzuJbBoPGeNEQov9aSUd3IrUCF1bjsZi5pWapEa7zwIp3KrJIelqTgyj7UVTCct1Mnh3/s1600/10+April+2012+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsQA12BAXDOQ_8TYPHFFeB3ftCCZDv6DU3XMgckIxsEpzQw_Wf_BKis-Zl-sO60Ixloh45TWshzuJbBoPGeNEQov9aSUd3IrUCF1bjsZi5pWapEa7zwIp3KrJIelqTgyj7UVTCct1Mnh3/s320/10+April+2012+019.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I don't think Jacki was soaking wet at that stage, but it didn't take long for the children to end up with suds running down their arms, and then the sponges started flying!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnm0-VvL7OCq8JGifq-JCsmgW__LccVBxe0dfSMUkXuqkjrAiyktCBuLCJcM-yxv7O5p5nW9RcVjFytMMSfvPnKtzB-FtA5g8zrhOHJL0ZbP2xYdOJLmROnxJkZ9ZWvLioEek_aG2J44ZX/s1600/10+April+2012+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnm0-VvL7OCq8JGifq-JCsmgW__LccVBxe0dfSMUkXuqkjrAiyktCBuLCJcM-yxv7O5p5nW9RcVjFytMMSfvPnKtzB-FtA5g8zrhOHJL0ZbP2xYdOJLmROnxJkZ9ZWvLioEek_aG2J44ZX/s320/10+April+2012+018.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The ground was soaking wet, and so were we!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVYehSymbTdwGxEoazNni9sFGa_NUYK56dc8k33gCPYA91d3eN_sZwZ1G2HplORmKHNvWVjcxf4ErGNju0U6hhfq9jwhnGgQ8pp5itbohUesSv0czfjJwKcsDdPN6qG0V9l_1e4G7xJC-2/s1600/10+April+2012+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVYehSymbTdwGxEoazNni9sFGa_NUYK56dc8k33gCPYA91d3eN_sZwZ1G2HplORmKHNvWVjcxf4ErGNju0U6hhfq9jwhnGgQ8pp5itbohUesSv0czfjJwKcsDdPN6qG0V9l_1e4G7xJC-2/s320/10+April+2012+021.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The children weren't quite finished with soaking each other...I mean...cleaning things, so I moved them to the front porch where they cleaned the bars. Ahem...</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqXo4v-jrtP3Onc195TL0XlHn1tjqh_Xb_jrZ8a_01CetQdt-lar1clpBc5fTDsXBNWrdOV8OYioueQiraIsrzGRLBzHSguUwBp3sFMt6mA2ZpqLO6dcijbLWG0lLkr7k0LboYiV2tIwj/s1600/10+April+2012+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqXo4v-jrtP3Onc195TL0XlHn1tjqh_Xb_jrZ8a_01CetQdt-lar1clpBc5fTDsXBNWrdOV8OYioueQiraIsrzGRLBzHSguUwBp3sFMt6mA2ZpqLO6dcijbLWG0lLkr7k0LboYiV2tIwj/s320/10+April+2012+022.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was 3 hours later and there was still a lot of water around. My camera isn't waterproof, so I didn't get to actually take photos of everybody soaked, but the children definitely loved this project.</span></em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-34512476143926589802012-03-19T12:00:00.000-07:002012-03-19T12:00:00.801-07:00Mildly Renovating<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Faced with the prospect of having to move if my son doesn't get into the High School we know he needs to go to, we have started to tidy the place up...which we were going to do anyway. But now there is a deadline. Eek! Phil and I (mostly "I") have come up with a schedule of things that have to be done around the house. No ifs, no buts. Bit by bit they will get done!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first job was ripping up the carpet in the hallway. It was gross green stuff that really should have been removed long ago, but we didn't.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOEitLLS3iM2uP8LNn2rbvGAGlN3KJVITkxyflivT5Jbt0JW3xU0mkXZra9LCjIkRvwyFR0EDmlUo9Z-6CZhqtZvVdNU95gaDkbvnydoVc8EmnOR1rbQQGgRDRZBUvWdGQvP8qpOo6AFFc/s1600/15+March+2012+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOEitLLS3iM2uP8LNn2rbvGAGlN3KJVITkxyflivT5Jbt0JW3xU0mkXZra9LCjIkRvwyFR0EDmlUo9Z-6CZhqtZvVdNU95gaDkbvnydoVc8EmnOR1rbQQGgRDRZBUvWdGQvP8qpOo6AFFc/s320/15+March+2012+004.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I did this much all by myself! It took me 10 minutes of solid work, but boy were my legs and arms wobbly for hours after that!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0frUhMr3euCi8id1mylSdXhTkXWxcQ-a1t24h9WddINBpfI79gp0WoMszZbOzHWAgwfAiVSzTGC-c3dcCMYEhyzdap1TWP0ruGsWiqUkOwkzfTl_h8gXB3SXSxp37v39OqfcANKj24N6k/s1600/15+March+2012+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0frUhMr3euCi8id1mylSdXhTkXWxcQ-a1t24h9WddINBpfI79gp0WoMszZbOzHWAgwfAiVSzTGC-c3dcCMYEhyzdap1TWP0ruGsWiqUkOwkzfTl_h8gXB3SXSxp37v39OqfcANKj24N6k/s320/15+March+2012+005.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The floorboards are in excellent condition! The carpet is so very green!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YOw8YHAm9HBQlGeK148oinRnHcELHvARiDn8YOLGwWWmU133GNwc6EaILVErv9rS7O1E0NjYThuJZlUFFnaXxxd73UZFu7s53oN0zaAGYtN0DH_DExq8G1IfqvJ74KF_OtygXYGq3sNE/s1600/15+March+2012+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YOw8YHAm9HBQlGeK148oinRnHcELHvARiDn8YOLGwWWmU133GNwc6EaILVErv9rS7O1E0NjYThuJZlUFFnaXxxd73UZFu7s53oN0zaAGYtN0DH_DExq8G1IfqvJ74KF_OtygXYGq3sNE/s320/15+March+2012+006.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Then Phil stepped in to help. He does a much better job. He has muscles, you see! It took him half an hour to do the rest of the hallway.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9IOyh5gTGy9LQfFvlQgjDy4LE88vhqxy2oVOg03aJR6CuwKUB-47TlDVC2WpuGIc7UtDCElJ-9dZo_MSyuquf0NNIptP0poAM4IpVfCkXFcetnxHtm8l1Y_cP818V7RDmPM91vYu3w3J/s1600/15+March+2012+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9IOyh5gTGy9LQfFvlQgjDy4LE88vhqxy2oVOg03aJR6CuwKUB-47TlDVC2WpuGIc7UtDCElJ-9dZo_MSyuquf0NNIptP0poAM4IpVfCkXFcetnxHtm8l1Y_cP818V7RDmPM91vYu3w3J/s320/15+March+2012+007.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> But he says when he got to this part of the hallway, he was feeling that jelly-like wibble wobble in the arms and legs. I got the job of clearing out the carpet and underlay, and sweeping up the remains.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkk1Sir0ms3KFAvIRGH5Qhkpyd7nQ2bdp8Vn2dLiKYPBSiAIf6OAtGu5s_4WUMGWP0cMWxATbg3IRI69a98hHwWhympySAj62yKXD7Yitg6m-_o6LZ15ak0Yefwyh-3ty4ZTo7MzdTIMR2/s1600/15+March+2012+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkk1Sir0ms3KFAvIRGH5Qhkpyd7nQ2bdp8Vn2dLiKYPBSiAIf6OAtGu5s_4WUMGWP0cMWxATbg3IRI69a98hHwWhympySAj62yKXD7Yitg6m-_o6LZ15ak0Yefwyh-3ty4ZTo7MzdTIMR2/s320/15+March+2012+008.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just the carpet in the two bedrooms to go now :D (and a time frame of one week to remove all the little 'staples').</span></em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-68948181555210492092012-03-18T15:21:00.000-07:002012-03-18T15:21:36.315-07:00Having one of those days?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm having a slow morning. You know the ones? When your alarm goes off and even though you know you've had what should be enough sleep, you're bone dead exhausted. (Phil had gotten up 2 hours before I did - poor him!!).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Gfro_xNhJzJa3HV0t_zaua19pBSwIikUu_z7WT7PSXl7oFM06EKb-rkAONtMPhr-TRaJITh8nP__BJUVTLoj3kTYMx6O4x0hfntPNg1Ns9rhWDRhJWFlSvA-X6Q_tPQcXLxMBx_EMicP/s1600/Yawn.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Gfro_xNhJzJa3HV0t_zaua19pBSwIikUu_z7WT7PSXl7oFM06EKb-rkAONtMPhr-TRaJITh8nP__BJUVTLoj3kTYMx6O4x0hfntPNg1Ns9rhWDRhJWFlSvA-X6Q_tPQcXLxMBx_EMicP/s320/Yawn.png" width="296" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had to get up so I could wake the children up. It took them half an hour before they even put their feet on the floor. Definitely a slow morning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Piano practices were done, children showered and dressed, hair brushed, lunches made, breakfast was on the run today, prayers said, hugs and out the door. Well, the children were out the door. I love being able to say goodbye to them at our gate. It takes them 5 minutes to walk to school across the oval at the top of our street. There are no roads to cross, and with other children walking to school at the same time, I feel it is safe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now I'm sitting here in my dressing gown and ugg boots with leftover raccoon mascara that I thought I had completely removed last night, contemplating the never-ending list of things I have to get through today and wondering where to start.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">;D So I started on chocolate mud cake.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-35296425902826515592012-03-10T01:12:00.000-08:002012-03-10T01:12:07.900-08:00Please Mum, Can I Have a Lego Cake?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A Whaaaaaat???</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I came up with this. I did leave it to the last minute to bake and throw together, so here's what I did in 2 hours (including baking time):-</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJMmqxQMlmMVuEoQnXXRANhNS1Xw3uoF39pRXgPcMtzA1lGzChHc_zS1bSzIKHQFX-rnxaxCSCNVme_9oKM80khx7gCWcPoTAkgWYFVEFql-1lNfBqe0YpbGtp10tJXr4Yzv1x_jF6leLK/s1600/6+March+2012+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJMmqxQMlmMVuEoQnXXRANhNS1Xw3uoF39pRXgPcMtzA1lGzChHc_zS1bSzIKHQFX-rnxaxCSCNVme_9oKM80khx7gCWcPoTAkgWYFVEFql-1lNfBqe0YpbGtp10tJXr4Yzv1x_jF6leLK/s320/6+March+2012+010.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> 1 chocolate and 1 vanilla cake with strawberry swirls.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHY_tDnm745hyphenhyphenAJmnbYa0i53HdlmQSrfe01AA6uKQgLBtrhUIIDB7ENBaZoi6D8snlfZYmVQQIFhUGzV3s5wbfy4bjEG3yL_bADfVh4XAErLk6Sn0fhO61WatZ_DWI3MHlOa9kYdFfwSv/s1600/6+March+2012+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHY_tDnm745hyphenhyphenAJmnbYa0i53HdlmQSrfe01AA6uKQgLBtrhUIIDB7ENBaZoi6D8snlfZYmVQQIFhUGzV3s5wbfy4bjEG3yL_bADfVh4XAErLk6Sn0fhO61WatZ_DWI3MHlOa9kYdFfwSv/s320/6+March+2012+013.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I went with Orchard Icing. I bought two packs, but should have gone with three. I was so rusty on my cake decorating skills!!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54o388msHNTGbGOYrSXf1n82Hyrl9mPea0LqvnwbD5kAqS0mUcjNUoTxsuMROMCearygtU6NLUZTT6DyAOtID-boIlTGMUd35xko9Hy0pMHY_MXe-0EiNtlmwIHZDUbgj41JUyNIiGU3f/s1600/6+March+2012+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54o388msHNTGbGOYrSXf1n82Hyrl9mPea0LqvnwbD5kAqS0mUcjNUoTxsuMROMCearygtU6NLUZTT6DyAOtID-boIlTGMUd35xko9Hy0pMHY_MXe-0EiNtlmwIHZDUbgj41JUyNIiGU3f/s320/6+March+2012+014.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I didn't have any colouring paste, so I had to make do with some extra icing sugar and liquid colour. It worked just as well.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPxPhOfakTbN95GvN21jtM-gTDFhH7DjulypaLoGbLQvkhPvSgFjGZA0cs5_CdfRu-RT0JCPu0Nb2CM0cjPhv7z85F2H41nqbQNtMG-xODoqipkUzvDvkBc8N5_kRFcRsuroPmtrB0s9v/s1600/6+March+2012+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPxPhOfakTbN95GvN21jtM-gTDFhH7DjulypaLoGbLQvkhPvSgFjGZA0cs5_CdfRu-RT0JCPu0Nb2CM0cjPhv7z85F2H41nqbQNtMG-xODoqipkUzvDvkBc8N5_kRFcRsuroPmtrB0s9v/s320/6+March+2012+015.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I cut the cakes like this...</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsFkCumDs7Um5Kj-o1VwXCfuf1E5pLzR_4e4mY0YGO99o3e8gC0VOp251wfW4ZK_MRCMeBIGvDOA5zTaoBhCnqdNU1FjoGVREv5oGXN_eR7iNklpAc0cYr1yzLfcoXr-I13WcTroqC12O/s1600/6+March+2012+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsFkCumDs7Um5Kj-o1VwXCfuf1E5pLzR_4e4mY0YGO99o3e8gC0VOp251wfW4ZK_MRCMeBIGvDOA5zTaoBhCnqdNU1FjoGVREv5oGXN_eR7iNklpAc0cYr1yzLfcoXr-I13WcTroqC12O/s320/6+March+2012+018.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To get this. Lego pieces! You do need to brush the cakes with runny jam (for vanilla ones) and a chocolatey drinking powder mix for chocolate cakes otherwise the icing doesn't stick. I was really lazy with the yellow and red blocks and didn't do that. Silly me - I should have known better! But I did with the blue cake (a chocolate one) and it was so much easier.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I used the screw on end of a piping nozzle (not the actual nozzles themselves though) to cut out the circles. I guess it looked like a mini scone cutter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I was more patient, I would have let the cakes sit for a bit more, smoothed the icing out more, and possibly allowed some more time (not to mention the jam!!) but I had to get the kids from school and then it was on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Needless to say, my son loved it anyway :D</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-84350254797855110892012-03-06T01:40:00.000-08:002012-03-06T01:40:23.631-08:00Show Scones With Jam and Cream<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These scones are my husband's absolute favourite. He devours them whenever I make them. They do have to be eaten on the day, and preferably once they hit the 'just cool' stage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I made this batch for my children to enjoy as an afternoon snack.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5z9BuOn1xd-NU33PA1C9V7ksFXjihVcCXAXsERg0IfrVu_di0GvdKtY_JVtafZxeeG2yIcoiF70Kpu9EmyO6_ec_88O2-scyhgmWLKrlPQQh2EViqlQn_zlV9l3wfjKOyc58qC6KWi3Yt/s1600/6+March+2012+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5z9BuOn1xd-NU33PA1C9V7ksFXjihVcCXAXsERg0IfrVu_di0GvdKtY_JVtafZxeeG2yIcoiF70Kpu9EmyO6_ec_88O2-scyhgmWLKrlPQQh2EViqlQn_zlV9l3wfjKOyc58qC6KWi3Yt/s320/6+March+2012+003.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnrC6MlhDAnSK2Pa9tnOON6781UDP9167zPLGa_CO7tL8YnjK_fbfQJRQXb6X1hYWgFoXPtQl3-JkvKxmzQwi22d2qGZPjhoLUjLwKGuOQrPKi6vc4_4xAH5NmfFWjhtgyB1Cx6kaGsAq/s1600/6+March+2012+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnrC6MlhDAnSK2Pa9tnOON6781UDP9167zPLGa_CO7tL8YnjK_fbfQJRQXb6X1hYWgFoXPtQl3-JkvKxmzQwi22d2qGZPjhoLUjLwKGuOQrPKi6vc4_4xAH5NmfFWjhtgyB1Cx6kaGsAq/s320/6+March+2012+006.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvV9RBYJb7WMDh2eJ7Bqxz-kGHxaoYALV_6yRLVRt-sOdQ1DEVBaO3eF4_m98Ae1me7bHiy85kCON7t9ktvtdpm1oNRLoD2tEbkSOkgLyqBydtFT4Al7ZHFNZPX4PMNi3MHCOMimgPuLe/s1600/6+March+2012+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvV9RBYJb7WMDh2eJ7Bqxz-kGHxaoYALV_6yRLVRt-sOdQ1DEVBaO3eF4_m98Ae1me7bHiy85kCON7t9ktvtdpm1oNRLoD2tEbkSOkgLyqBydtFT4Al7ZHFNZPX4PMNi3MHCOMimgPuLe/s320/6+March+2012+008.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mmm!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I used:-</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- 4 cups Self Raising flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- 1/2 teaspoon salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- 250 mls cream (you should use pouring cream, but I used the remainder of whatever I had purchased from Aldi)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Up to 400 mls milk (add carefully)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mix all these ingredients lightly. I usually use a big bowl and a butter knife for really light results, but this time I used the Thermomix on a gentle mix until all ingredients were combined.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Knead lightly on a floured surface, roll until 2-3 cms thick. Cut with scone cutters and place on tray.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brush with a little milk and into a hot oven they go for approx 12 mins or until golden and risen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Serve with butter hot, or with jam and cream when cooled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I adore these with the Morello Cherry jam from Aldi. It has just the right tartness for my liking with the sweetened cream I make.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-42244452901180840052012-03-03T13:00:00.000-08:002012-03-03T13:00:02.099-08:00Friends Becoming Bolder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My friendly Blue Tongue Lizard came back for a visit. To tell you the truth, I can't figure out if this one is a male or female. I know that the males have pointier 'noses', and the females have wider heads. This one's nose looks pretty pointed to me...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I do know that the males are the wanderers, and the females tend to stay put. I also have a massive Blue Tongue that likes to sun bake between my retaining wall and my front steps but she's very skittish. If I can catch her sun baking, I'll take a photo.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuO6-umlYvJhpvzYUqAd472LUnXPxJOzg6k_V5D17NdPNIhzY8wGuCxbGfqjrVZdmjSEfABC3GHEO31QVmseTWob__G6NmxZqLOtVdALTUf1nfS3dhbSWuo2py4UChV7a1vwa7hCL_N59/s1600/28+February+2012+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuO6-umlYvJhpvzYUqAd472LUnXPxJOzg6k_V5D17NdPNIhzY8wGuCxbGfqjrVZdmjSEfABC3GHEO31QVmseTWob__G6NmxZqLOtVdALTUf1nfS3dhbSWuo2py4UChV7a1vwa7hCL_N59/s320/28+February+2012+003.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Out the back of my yard, lazing away in the sun and waiting for grapes.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCGbl2WZTKeR68pxcYFANDWFaVRQS_eC7D5nqjAfZD0sJxo8gaLf3CpdQHhl8VQWlRYbkX6GeZWkWUG6iIQNh4pcI8QNiRHRQTwMr7WmUV1N1_0ysww9Z1Wy_3YEWDK_ngaqNsnoVZWYt/s1600/28+February+2012+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCGbl2WZTKeR68pxcYFANDWFaVRQS_eC7D5nqjAfZD0sJxo8gaLf3CpdQHhl8VQWlRYbkX6GeZWkWUG6iIQNh4pcI8QNiRHRQTwMr7WmUV1N1_0ysww9Z1Wy_3YEWDK_ngaqNsnoVZWYt/s320/28+February+2012+005.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> "Grapes, I said. Not cassava melon!!"</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bluey's back leg appears to have healed nicely, and its tale has healed too, although I think it might take a loooooong time to grow back.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0B24TcRfDQmWL8TVBeb5zXbq3y_GUh7sAi589dOzlS9x9xCaYFc7ihIys487AI4gCYayM81ukdTcSulrSWSbm0hwB3V7cDMRQI8Sc1lhOIMY8w9jVGOkccukf8GDZLP4NyazzkXO9tF03/s1600/28+February+2012+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0B24TcRfDQmWL8TVBeb5zXbq3y_GUh7sAi589dOzlS9x9xCaYFc7ihIys487AI4gCYayM81ukdTcSulrSWSbm0hwB3V7cDMRQI8Sc1lhOIMY8w9jVGOkccukf8GDZLP4NyazzkXO9tF03/s320/28+February+2012+006.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> "Excuse me human, have you got any grapes for me today?</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I certainly did. Bluey ate 8 grapes. I had to chop them up in thirds, of course.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXzeE0hu2quAMoWaTGsuQzVTf8dkMXCwbdvbg5UN4TlDQvdtC6DpU7s8mwe5AlFjxwkZzyrc-NpAttwYFrdgAz-fFQRsYjB6HH5kLrlJpbU6oeiC9oCGqPYLH1vl2Cfbag_pig2H-ti8j/s1600/28+February+2012+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXzeE0hu2quAMoWaTGsuQzVTf8dkMXCwbdvbg5UN4TlDQvdtC6DpU7s8mwe5AlFjxwkZzyrc-NpAttwYFrdgAz-fFQRsYjB6HH5kLrlJpbU6oeiC9oCGqPYLH1vl2Cfbag_pig2H-ti8j/s320/28+February+2012+008.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Bluey, how can you even fit that many grapes inside your body?</span></em></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bluey was a very content lizard after all those grapes. He/she was so keen on grapes, it was licking my fingers before I even put the grapes down. For a lizard who was hissing at me 3 weeks ago to being this tame is a slight worry :D If it stays in our yard, no harm will come to it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yard that is. Not the house ;D</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-42077088730401889092012-03-02T16:00:00.000-08:002012-03-02T16:00:38.924-08:00Piano Tuning<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I felt so guilty about not looking after our piano properly for so long - it costs a bit of money to keep a piano maintained especially if you are teaching on it every day, have two children practising it every day, not to mention your own practise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had been meaning to get my piano tuned for years but didn't quite have the cash flow to justify it (silly, I know).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had the number of a brilliant piano tuner, had the cash in hand to do it in December/January but couldn't get hold of him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally in February after some Google searching and other enquiries, I found out that he passed away. Such a shame - I didn't have the privilege of meeting him. I did look up the Australasian Piano Tuners and Technicians Association (</span><a href="http://www.aptta.org.au/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.aptta.org.au/</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">) and found the name of a local guy who was accredited with them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am happy to say that he did a brilliant job, and my piano is back in working order (still a practice pedal to be tightened up but that wasn't part of tuning).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I didn't realise just how much having an out of tune piano was messing with my sense of pitch. The piano wasn't sounding honky tonky, but it certainly wasn't in tune. I found it was harder to play in tune on my violin - not a good thing when you're a violin teacher. It is so much easier now. What a difference! When you're playing the violin, the finger being 1 millimetre out can make a big difference.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was $190 for about an hour of tuning. Standard price for members of the APTTA. I was happy to pay that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just in case you were wondering what the inside of a piano looks like, here you go:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdnjyEQQtPt07F9iTPCupZiM19rBJGpBO0QR3AHYsOwlwe9pAc9TucyZr6EDSraWgqJhqryi_vhtKqWYC9KavVzXpPGlUA-HfIP5AvnUowFHf96imkKHEz5lWtkhuFycl-fgheXY-tF9W/s1600/28+February+2012+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdnjyEQQtPt07F9iTPCupZiM19rBJGpBO0QR3AHYsOwlwe9pAc9TucyZr6EDSraWgqJhqryi_vhtKqWYC9KavVzXpPGlUA-HfIP5AvnUowFHf96imkKHEz5lWtkhuFycl-fgheXY-tF9W/s320/28+February+2012+002.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Something else I found out: Piano Tuners mark carefully the inside of the piano when they tune it so the next tuner knows how long it has been since the last tune-up. This one was tuned in Tamworth last! How about that!! Apparently they mark it in chalk, so it can be wiped off easily and not do any damage.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-58604331732113884802012-02-16T19:46:00.000-08:002012-02-16T19:46:00.422-08:00Mini Pizzas - Lunchbox Lunches<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I got up nice and early this morning (well, perhaps a little too early - I was wide awake at 4am!!) and decided I was going to make the kids mini pizzas for their lunch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Complete with dough from scratch. Well, in the breadmaker, because kneading dough really makes my hands, wrists and arms ache (thanks arthritis and RSI).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is what they got:-</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfB3w79CYqBb5w80falDP9OqYH-JWDzI3RT9WONdaRxNDqg6KUXe6sULOWV9IT0lipxxYNEKofhQ6QUHEOJnSAYniTKR6tKdIieGEXqaFPopEh7tT4ypyNAzVNA_OvsG94XnkSHpSmMao4/s1600/15+February+2012+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfB3w79CYqBb5w80falDP9OqYH-JWDzI3RT9WONdaRxNDqg6KUXe6sULOWV9IT0lipxxYNEKofhQ6QUHEOJnSAYniTKR6tKdIieGEXqaFPopEh7tT4ypyNAzVNA_OvsG94XnkSHpSmMao4/s320/15+February+2012+013.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Dough rolled out into circles. Oops, well circular-ish shaped objects! We did a bit better on the next batches.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4Ey7BObxjpTbZhtXaQIT9vz1b9hrIUUqkzwHRMS9f4a_XlQN9Sr_Wi9fCAhEgQbLmKHDTAR2CXrAUH7Q978H12vJ8Dmce1JpZMNyKAW6zdMAz-QhWihbnYoUT8v876TmY56RplevZr71/s1600/15+February+2012+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4Ey7BObxjpTbZhtXaQIT9vz1b9hrIUUqkzwHRMS9f4a_XlQN9Sr_Wi9fCAhEgQbLmKHDTAR2CXrAUH7Q978H12vJ8Dmce1JpZMNyKAW6zdMAz-QhWihbnYoUT8v876TmY56RplevZr71/s320/15+February+2012+014.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> All the things you need to make mini pizzas. We used tomato paste with some dried herbs and water all mixed together, chopped ham or thinly sliced Danish Salami and mozzarella cheese.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpZ4X0givKRpOOczQEukqcT68wEOT-1HLGibvTE1P_amuFPi-7Wyn8W4Ims2rQEwmKcvpiFIOa4E-QDFzLDWutlzOzVqgofQ-FZoWRHQjuTvs67XiGlglTzJp5xVaocxditRa3HFmC1vw/s1600/15+February+2012+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpZ4X0givKRpOOczQEukqcT68wEOT-1HLGibvTE1P_amuFPi-7Wyn8W4Ims2rQEwmKcvpiFIOa4E-QDFzLDWutlzOzVqgofQ-FZoWRHQjuTvs67XiGlglTzJp5xVaocxditRa3HFmC1vw/s320/15+February+2012+015.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Ready to go into the oven.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PeQLkoEbpUq6ec3sGrlA4oufZt-gGYZ4HhKH0wf2MCAtFPWYxsoHX1k23oRFnWMVn-eZaYQC2pPQU8eJn7TRaVvQCvW5B8D3OXUb9J2v3L_JX9caf7Vf6-s3oaYu6QaG7HU6ZkHc90QQ/s1600/15+February+2012+mini+pizzas+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PeQLkoEbpUq6ec3sGrlA4oufZt-gGYZ4HhKH0wf2MCAtFPWYxsoHX1k23oRFnWMVn-eZaYQC2pPQU8eJn7TRaVvQCvW5B8D3OXUb9J2v3L_JX9caf7Vf6-s3oaYu6QaG7HU6ZkHc90QQ/s320/15+February+2012+mini+pizzas+001.JPG" width="240" yda="true" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One batch of dough made 16 mini pizzas.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The children got to eat some warm on the way to school (goodness knows why they couldn't eat them at home, but anyways...).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They seem much cuter than giving the children a great big slice of pizza. My daughter informed me that all her friends will now want one tomorrow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear friends of my Daughter. Sorry, but I don't think I can wake up at 4am every morning. I will turn into a grumpy psychopath!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-80660744884767500712012-02-15T19:31:00.000-08:002012-02-15T19:31:00.179-08:00Valentines Flowers...My Garden Loves Me!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't get flowers from my husband from Valentine's Day. In fact, we don't celebrate it...another commercial day that Phil and I don't need. He says we don't need a particular day of the year that tells him he must buy me flowers. He can do that any time he likes. Or I just go and get my own anyway ;D</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My garden has mostly loved the rain we've had, apart from the flooding which has killed off plants.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8GX96XW05FbAFFkBtWTIf2PNOYNtjrRD6z6rTlqEymtQNmISOKGSv4jlq-WECpamqtXf-Z575naOqUopmKYpOXsWt10Nvo2yW6jLkBEbAgh4X5xRjIW_7S4J3NH6f52TaQNE78j7DJvG/s1600/15+February+2012+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8GX96XW05FbAFFkBtWTIf2PNOYNtjrRD6z6rTlqEymtQNmISOKGSv4jlq-WECpamqtXf-Z575naOqUopmKYpOXsWt10Nvo2yW6jLkBEbAgh4X5xRjIW_7S4J3NH6f52TaQNE78j7DJvG/s320/15+February+2012+005.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> All the snapdragons in flower at the moment are purple. On four separate plants. Odd, but I'm not complaining!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jn6WfOSc_YesVvmkPDocFnKb40XkvtANiEX6i0aicDMsN1tnFYuTZXejuaG6YbsyS7a7BsDLEhyjDOqILp78SwASJ26Zid2JdNz9ZQrWDKAgWUWbvxCoEIQy7viILGFUmGuutEvxikKV/s1600/15+February+2012+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jn6WfOSc_YesVvmkPDocFnKb40XkvtANiEX6i0aicDMsN1tnFYuTZXejuaG6YbsyS7a7BsDLEhyjDOqILp78SwASJ26Zid2JdNz9ZQrWDKAgWUWbvxCoEIQy7viILGFUmGuutEvxikKV/s320/15+February+2012+006.JPG" width="240" yda="true" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> More sunflower buds</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAp0uc07V90pPcLjNk4OVQONVySk5GIiFnzTTtJoi6S2-U-lsOYxjSWjkioV83QXuHs-ZtcBKC2C-D46NeXgqOurBJmT_ELUCTGYTU7S3VV6bdmxH6JtnWAfzdf3MQuWGK_Dji3rksDumz/s1600/15+February+2012+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAp0uc07V90pPcLjNk4OVQONVySk5GIiFnzTTtJoi6S2-U-lsOYxjSWjkioV83QXuHs-ZtcBKC2C-D46NeXgqOurBJmT_ELUCTGYTU7S3VV6bdmxH6JtnWAfzdf3MQuWGK_Dji3rksDumz/s320/15+February+2012+007.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> A red impatiens peeking through. It nearly drowned!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLmZHR2QZ9SRKErvLEu4kmiYPQblwWnDyo3Z8XwUNHu7mt-3w4b4jBCEe1MuMGh5HWcmTlrEQ1qQxBCciun0-XBZgQiUEle4pCxwD_zWvfGWMNfzzzQXx5p2LXdydXTeFYmEI_z91hrIPV/s1600/15+February+2012+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLmZHR2QZ9SRKErvLEu4kmiYPQblwWnDyo3Z8XwUNHu7mt-3w4b4jBCEe1MuMGh5HWcmTlrEQ1qQxBCciun0-XBZgQiUEle4pCxwD_zWvfGWMNfzzzQXx5p2LXdydXTeFYmEI_z91hrIPV/s320/15+February+2012+008.JPG" width="240" yda="true" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I don't remember what this is called any more, but it's very pretty!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEger3aszoYzttcQ21zhs2N060tBMdPj5neox0yZEWFRiWI0g_ckYT2_qovVbjnSFOx22-1kqjScUltSlzkS441qiSd2uekpcbxKTke9T91MRCFgtdHN0MjS9bO1di2dY6Co4AXt-hWtKQDg/s1600/15+February+2012+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEger3aszoYzttcQ21zhs2N060tBMdPj5neox0yZEWFRiWI0g_ckYT2_qovVbjnSFOx22-1kqjScUltSlzkS441qiSd2uekpcbxKTke9T91MRCFgtdHN0MjS9bO1di2dY6Co4AXt-hWtKQDg/s320/15+February+2012+009.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Another mystery plant that I used to know the name of but can't remember any more. It is thriving where the capsicums used to be.</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttUL1XKlDZb_HLUcvQc7NP2IyNYCz2DWL9uuXG1b5ngwBEOknTm1fyrIyfsJ2E4ea5fkyuYDqRh0hjBT6ZUvRJSaaIrdngyot1Mv4sq8hpt9YNv63vFRdW2ZDKelR8KzeksDkz6tokMuh/s1600/15+February+2012+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttUL1XKlDZb_HLUcvQc7NP2IyNYCz2DWL9uuXG1b5ngwBEOknTm1fyrIyfsJ2E4ea5fkyuYDqRh0hjBT6ZUvRJSaaIrdngyot1Mv4sq8hpt9YNv63vFRdW2ZDKelR8KzeksDkz6tokMuh/s320/15+February+2012+017.JPG" width="240" yda="true" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Not a flower, but I'm so glad this ginger root is growing. Mr Storm sat on it after he chewed the top off. I thought it was gone forever!</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivfqK4-11cBkT6RXZEj9hrGhowmtPYJwt3m_gSY1A1MKAPqaYM4ox1sLtgjZ2C9i-S0ffkEkhylCIKY79KNNY90IymcLOPcF0sPCXTJgcoLnlNgxZGC-PXuYt5xPkdB75S8Z2wJB6YX5I/s1600/15+February+2012+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivfqK4-11cBkT6RXZEj9hrGhowmtPYJwt3m_gSY1A1MKAPqaYM4ox1sLtgjZ2C9i-S0ffkEkhylCIKY79KNNY90IymcLOPcF0sPCXTJgcoLnlNgxZGC-PXuYt5xPkdB75S8Z2wJB6YX5I/s320/15+February+2012+004.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My least favourite thing on any day of the year...those green grubs chewed my bean plants and apple cucumbers to bits. My Daughter found this one on the basil. I asked her to check every leaf carefully, so she did and found 3 more even smaller than this one. So small in fact, that my camera wouldn't even focus on them.</span></em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014621707707839489.post-74549748930699690402012-02-14T19:20:00.000-08:002012-02-14T19:20:41.580-08:00Anyone Else Have a Kitchen Like This??Those days when you hope the doorbell doesn't ring, and no-one sees your house the state it is in, let alone your kitchen?<br />
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Well, I'm feeling brave today, and I'm going to let you walk in on my mess.<br />
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Here it is:-<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_o8vRQhpOkle4iMTnvDh5PuKWVwtKbc2GVKTtIwlLoiNMDbBFFrBI2-3B90V21uA-OjrwsEP9CKG9c3PHq-R7-eyfsah_oQy-yIcpKc6ym53xaC2OljdoO4zCbD0wUN_7NnWyz3uaxlaZ/s1600/15+February+2012+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_o8vRQhpOkle4iMTnvDh5PuKWVwtKbc2GVKTtIwlLoiNMDbBFFrBI2-3B90V21uA-OjrwsEP9CKG9c3PHq-R7-eyfsah_oQy-yIcpKc6ym53xaC2OljdoO4zCbD0wUN_7NnWyz3uaxlaZ/s320/15+February+2012+011.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div>
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<em> Wow, what a mess! I had stuff everywhere, the remains of a pancake breakfast, a full sink, dishwasher to empty, a deep fryer to put away and a floor to clean.</em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheT4y1KK06zj4EGSARucF6CGx3UFTuzk_Ssyr-q46VVs9Liv2271JZTIygMMrnax-CsOzjV-PE2CQV95q8_TFXv-FSZOkYCs2BFNqPDRYhjN-Xhua538_iNhOmwh0tA9ivMx5xvf-__FQo/s1600/15+February+2012+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheT4y1KK06zj4EGSARucF6CGx3UFTuzk_Ssyr-q46VVs9Liv2271JZTIygMMrnax-CsOzjV-PE2CQV95q8_TFXv-FSZOkYCs2BFNqPDRYhjN-Xhua538_iNhOmwh0tA9ivMx5xvf-__FQo/s320/15+February+2012+012.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div>
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<em>After 30 mins, what a difference! Just a floor to clean and some odds and ends to put away :D</em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0