Last Check In Before Christmas

Well this will be my last post before Chrismas and possibly the last post of 2011 - can someone please tell me where this year has gone!!!

So in the count down to Christmas:
Presents - DONE
Tree - DONE
Wrapping of said Presents - yeah right LOL - probably Christmas Eve
Buying of the Christmas Food - Friday
Christmas Alcohol - Friday or Saturday

So basically I am done, I have one more day of work left and then I am on holidays till the 6 January - WHOOO HOOOOO.
I have our new air conditioner for those days that are just to hot to go outside, mulitple tv channels,DVDs, books downloaded to my kindle and cross stitch stash so I am pretty sure that my time away from work will be well spent.

Here is some pictures of a couple of ornaments I stitched for the exchanges I was in....

For Lynne in Canada - Exchange at 123mb

Design is from an older issue of JCS Ornament Issue. I have stitched this one a couple of times now and it is one of my favourites.

For Marilynne in Canada - Exchange at Stitchers Circle

Design from this years JCS Ornament Issue.

So to all of you who read my blog or just stumble across it accidentally I would like to wish you all a safe and happy holiday season and I will see you all again in 2012.

Oh and just a follow up from my last post, I am still to watch Upstairs Downstairs, mum arrived safe and sound and the house was cleanish.........

Feliz Navidad etc etc

This is just a fly by post as I just don't know where the time has gone. Can you believe that it is nearly Christmas. I am going to have to do my usual Christmas shopping blitz and hit the mall with a list and a couple of spare hours on Sunday.......not quite the night before Christmas but pretty close LOL. At least I don't need to buy any Christmas paper as I have a huge stash left over from last year as I went gift bags instead, me wrapping presents is not a pretty sight, have you ever seen an adult get sticky tape stuck in their hair...............

My mum arrives on Friday afternoon and I have but one christmas decoration up and the house is a mess. I did go home with good intentions of doing some cleaning last night but well a recorded episode of Upstairs Downstairs and a glass of wine won the call instead, maybe tonight.

My last day of work before the Christmas break is December 23 and I don't come back until January 9, boy am I looking forward to that break as 2012 is going to be the working year from hell if 2011 is anything to go by!!

I will pop in again next week and let you know how my Christmas shopping went, if my house was clean for when my mum arrived and what happened in the next episode of Upstairs Downstairs so until then..........

And remember

November - The Month That Money Could Fly

November started out like any other month. 30 days, the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening. **Christmas**  fast approaching. Each work day you dream about how long it is till your next holiday blah blah blah blah.............

THEN

The car goes in to get the air con regassed as summer is coming and nothing worse than driving around in hell like temperatures, comes out again costing a couple of hundred $$, yep we can live with that, goes back in because the air con is not running cold. Comes out again a week and a half later with a price tag of over $1500 (apparently the air con had a leak, duh don't they check that before regassing!)..............needless to say that "mechanic" will not be seeing us again or any of our friends that we have recommended him to (I wont go into all the tech talk as I really really want you to continue reading)

We don't use scheme water to water our lawns or gardens we have a bore. For the last few months our bore hasn't worked due to a problem with the power pole out the front of the house and the power company continually going "No problemo" - this has not been an issue as we were still getting rain which was enough. Well the weather is warming up and our lawn is starting to look like this..........

 

So we replace the bore (nearly $1000) get it fitted then find out the the switch that turns it off and on does not work..........now the hunt begins for those invisible tradespeople called ELECTRICIANS!! People have heard of them, but they are rarely seen actually on a job doing electrical work. After 2 failed attempts at getting an electrician around to look at the job let alone replace the switch, oh sorry yes one did turn up but failed to turn up on the day he allocated to replace the switch so he got told where to go.........we resort to dragging the local paper out of the recycling bin and ringing every bloody electrican that is listed. Now tell me what does "mobile phone" mean to you - you are contactable or can ring someone back when they leave a bloody message!!!  (INSERT BIG DEEP BREATH)

Finally we get an electrician that says he will come around and look at what we need doing, insert a couple of high fives, hand pumps, happy dances whatever you want as he does turn up and we proceed to give him a list of what we need done............

1.  Hook up the new air conditioner that we have just had installed as previously we spent our summers hanging out like this and fighting the dogs for the fans .....

2. Replace  6 ceiling fans

3. Get the bore working buy installing switch blah blah blah

Can't you tell we were so excited that we added things to the original list!

Well this lovely man turned up on Saturday morning, installed the new switch for the bore and proceeded to install the new fans.. here you would think we would be so deliriously happy with this man well we were but I think he might be bad luck or something............

I was getting ready to go and do the food shopping and opened the freezer door and everything had DEFROSTED!!! Opened the normal section and everything was warm, even my wine which is a crime and can not be tolerated at all!!!! That is unless I drunk red wine, but I don't so there!

The fridge had died, gone to that great white appliance ground in the sky, become landfill fodder (just joking on that, we are actually going to get someone around to collect it they can try and get it going again and onsell as a beer fridge or something useful like that)

So was heading out to tell the other half the fantastic news about the fridge and he comes in and goes "Guess What" but I jump in and tell him my fantastic news about the fridge and he loses it - WOW the dogs took off and hid behind the shed, I think the electrician went back down the bore hole he had just crawled out of and our flatmate skulked out the back door. Because unbenonst (is that a word??) to me the other half was coming in tell me that the bore would still not be working by the end of the day as the wires that went from the switch to the bore had broken somewhere underneath our back yard!!!
So Saturday night was spent digging a trench from one end of our yard to the other so that the electrican can lay some new wiring and hopefully come back one night this week to finish off the job....

But I did get a new fridge (totally new story on the delivery driver that delivered it) it has LED lights inside, door alarms and a quick chill section for my wine, which will probably get a good work out once I get my new supply delivered.

So all in all November has probably cost us around $7000 including the new air conditioner. I have come to the conclusion that Summer hates me as all the above are summer related things to assist with making our life so much nicer during the hot months.... oh and if you know of an electrician, love him, treat him with respect, make him cups of tea or coffee as they are a rare breed............and if you read to the end of this thank you :0)

Back from Holidays

Ahhh, the break away was wonderful. Leaving Perth in the wind and rain and stepping off at the other end after only 2 hours into bright sunshine and warm weather - life doesn't get much better than that.
Opps yes it does.........sitting on the deck at the Novotel Resort, slurping a mojito, looking out over perfect blue seas and in the distance seeing a whale breaching. Now that is close to perfect............or is it??

Well how about driving over to the west side parking the car up, walking over the dunes, looking at the amazing blue water and seeing it swarming with turtles which are only about a meter off the shore (yes it was turtle egg laying time, so turtle porn was going on everywhere but it didn't seem right taking a picture of that so here is a couple of basic snaps of the turtles LOL).......

I would have to say that was the highlight of my holiday, seeing all the turtles but then again you turn round the next bend in the road and HELLOOOOO a super cute site greets you..........

Daddy emu out for a stroll with his babies...I learnt that the female emu lays the eggs and incubates them and once they hatch she is off and it is up to the ole man to raise the chicks. What was really cool was that when they were walking down the road the dad was on the outside of all the chicks and when a car was coming along he herded them onto the verge.

So all in all a great holiday away with one of my besties, visiting family, drinking to much, eating to much and seeing the wonders of nature in nice warm weather...........

In The Words Of Madonna and Sir Cliff

Well its not exactly summer and its only for a week but ciao and see you all when I get back ..........

 


We're all going on a summer holiday
no more working for a week or two.
Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,
no more worries for me or you,
for a week or two.

We're going where the sun shines brightly
we're going where the sea is blue.
we've all seen it on the movies,
now let's see if it's true.

Everybody has a summer holiday
doin' things they always wanted to
So we're going on a summer holiday,
to make our dreams come true
for me and you.
for me and you.

Gee Two Posts In One Week :)

Before I actually do my blog post - GO THE ALL BLACKS!!!

Just Popping In.................

Available from here http://www.blyberg.net/card-generator/

Finally A Finish

First off apologies for the bad photo :). But I finally finished something in time for Halloween ( I wont be around for Halloween but that is a totally different story LOL)
This is a freebie from Jaunty Fox Designs, and I can see myself stitching this one again as the design lends itself to a mulitple choice of fabrics and threads.......

Fence Cat by Jaunty Fox, stitched on 28ct Mulberry Linen using Carries Creations overdyes with a  touch of Kreink Glow in the Dark

The A-Z (I say zed!) of me!

A-Age:

How rude!

Over 45!

B-Bed size:

Queen

C-Chore that you hate:

All of them!

D-Dogs:

Well with two I them I have to say “love em”

E-Essential start to your day:

Waking up!

And Shower!

F-Favourite Colour:

All!

G-Gold or silver:

Silver, but I have started wearing some gold in the last year or 2 as they are special meaning pieces

H-Height:

5'4" ish

I-Instruments you play:

Took guitar and piano lessons at school but really can’t play a lick LOL

J-Job title:

Executive Support

 

K-Kids:

No thanks, couldn't eat a whole one.

L-Live:

In an old housing commission home, big block but house is built in middle meaning subdividing is gonna be so hard LOL

M-Mothers name:

Janice

N-Nicknames:

Dragon, Vicks, Vickster etc

O-Overnight hospital stays:

Yep, just the one

P-Pet peeves:

Where do I start?!

People who don't take responsibility for themselves and their actions, empty containers left in fridges or cupboards......amongst others!

Q-Quote from a movie:

“Whoa, whoa. You better watch what you say about my car. She's real sensitive.”

If you can guess the movie you get a prize :)

R-Right or left handed:

Right!

S-Siblings:

1 bro

T-Time you wake up:

5:30am week days-it's not natural.

U-Underwear:

Yep

V-Vegetable you hate:

Brussel Sprouts, horrible little cabbages!

W-What makes you run late:

Other people!

X-X rays you've had:

Teeth, Leg and I think that is about it…..

Y-Yummy food that you make:

Mexican,Indian! Lots, as I am a keen cook!

Z-Zoo animal:

Otters and Meerkats

I've Got Me An Addiction!

Hi my name is Vicky and I am a kitchen gadet addict! I just couldn't resist my latest purchase it was all red and shiny and with summer heading our way I am sure it will get a lot of use.

I actually did a test run on Sunday and made some raspberry icecream. I had the raspberries in the freezer, went low fat on the milk etc. I was surprised how much it made. If anyone has any good ice cream recipes that they care to share please email me :)

Yes I Am Still Stitching LOL

But I am currently stitching exchange pieces so no pics until sent and recieved :)

Yesterdays mail day was great, I got my copy of ............

Spent hours drooling last night and after going through it about 4 times figured out that there is probably only 3 or 4 things in the whole bookazine that I am not interested in stitching. Me thinks 2012 is gonna be the year of Halloween stitching LOL

Good Mail Always Comes After The Weekend

Monday was a great mail day. I have been waiting for these DVD's with anticipation (nearly a month in a couple of cases). But of course they couldn't arrive in time for the weekend nooooooo they have to arrive on a Monday. But oh well guess next weekend is looking great......... Now which one to watch first LOL

Do You Remember.......

In the days before computers, when we were still at school one of the things to do was have a penpal. I remember having penpals in Scotland and Japan but as most things go when you are growing up writing letters takes a back seat to running amok after school (ahem that should be doing homework after school), finding out that the opposite sex is interesting etc.

Well a blogger friend decided to bring back the art of penpalism and set up a secret penpal exchange, via normal post . We are to send a card or letter to our person the first week of the month up until Christmas. The person I sent to received their card earlier this month ( I sneakily checked out their blog) and I received a lovely letter from my person yesterday in the mail. Getting a letter or card in the mail sure is different than getting an email from someone. You forget how nice it is to hold something solid in your hand and read about someone,something, some place.
Bring on next month !!

I Got Mail :)

The blogging world is amazing. I was reading someones blog and they were talking about some jewellery that was available and part proceeds went to the Christchurch Earthquake appeal. Now as some of you remember I was there in February when the earthquake struck and the devastation to the places and people of my hometown (yes it is still my hometown even though I haven't lived there in 20+ years) was heartbreaking.
I checked out Cloud Nine Creative and ordered a necklace. Let me tell you this has been one wonderful experience. The communication with the owner has been great. Australia Post actually managed to get it to me in a super quick time (check out my previous post LOL) and I have managed to make a donation to help Christchurch. So all in all a very warming experience.


Oh I suppose you want to see what I got..............well here it is!

The other side is black.  I did have to pull back and not order the earrings but hey that might be a treat for me in the future LOL

WOW

Well what can I say, Wicked was in one word "Wicked". I went having no idea what the storyline was going to be and came out after the show like a kid at christmas. The humor was great.
The cast were fantastic and it was great to see Bert back in the saddle again.
This is one show that if it ever gets put out on DVD I will be getting a copy to watch again......

Going to See.........

On Sunday 31 July. Can't wait!!

Participated in Swap

I recently participated in a swap over HERE, it was really well run and the participants all appeared to have fun and there were no flakers :)

This is what I received from Shannon who has a wonderful blog *here*

 She did the most amazing finish on her stitched item, I am so jealous.......

This is what I sent to Ann, who has a wonderful blog *here*
I did pinch the picture from Ann's blog as the picture I took was crap as most of my photos are LOL.....

Australia Post have just put up postage rates so I am going to have to rethink which exchanges I participate in from now on which is a big shame as they are great fun.

This is one of the most beautiful places in the world and you can see what they want to do to it HERE. There are other places or options for the "gas hub", this is just Greed at its greatest!

It Arrived!!

Whoot Whoot, my parcel finally arrived.............

To see what it is going to become and where to order this funky stuff from CLICK HERE and let me say that the customer service from this place is great. Next time I visit Brisbane I am going to pop in for a visit.

Total Ramblings!

I love online shopping but it is so much harder to hide your purchases when you are not the first person home from work :) I could use my work address for deliveries but then I would have to haul my purchases home on public transport! The downside to online shopping is having to wait for your "goodies" to arrive, I have been waiting a week for some yarn to arrive and I have itchy knitting needles to calm down every evening. Now this is not the fault of the supplier it is stupid Australia Post who have no concept what so ever of good service.
An example of their not good service is that I have 3 postal agencies near me and when you aren't home you get a card with the pick up post office stamped on it. A few months ago I got a card and the stamp was smudged so I went to the post office that is closest to me (we will call this one "A") and the man behind the counter goes "not here try the "X" post office", so off we go to "X", get to "X" and "X" goes not here try "A", I explain that I have already been to "A" and they sent me to "X" - duh this took about 5 minutes for them to understand and finally they  said try "Z". Now "Z" is not the closest post office to me but the farthermost away and the busiest. But low and behold after going to "Z" standing in line for 20 minutes while MOTH is parked in a 5 minute parking zone I got my parcel. What is so hard about putting a parcel into collection at the persons closest post office and having a card that is legible??
I posted a parcel to the US last week and because the parcel was over 500g I had to pay an extra $9 dollars or whatever - they try to palm this off as a fee put on by US customs to cover the extensive screening of mail now but how come no other country is charged this "fee"!

Speaking of public transport I had to ring up and complain about a bus driver this week, the knob head was talking on his mobile phone while driving the bloody bus, he thought he was hiding the fact by having the phone on speaker, but hey I may be blonde but even I know that bus drivers have to pass certain tests to make sure that they are competent to drive a bus loaded with members of the public, and I am pretty sure that talking to yourself is a test they have to pass. He was so engrossed in his phone call that he didn't even hear the bell ring for my stop and proceeded to drive past it until I yelled at him to stop!

I have been stitching but can't show any pictures yet as it is for an exchange that I am in. The mailing date is the 20th and I just have a little bit more to do this afternoon and I should be finished - whoo hoo, then I can go back to "me" stitching :) So I might put in a DVD kick back and get my fingers flying so I can finish this part of the exchange get the rest of the goodies together and mail it off and let Australia Post slug me extra for it going to the US and weighing over 500g!

Boy I just realised that this is a whingey whiney post, not sure why, could be the weather, could be it is Sunday or could be that I have to face a 5 day working week.............

Wherever You May Be.......

Enjoy your weekend when it gets here!