A little bit about me...

Ok- so have spent a little bit of time this afternoon fiddling around with my blog page. Still very much a learner but it is starting to look a little like I imagined it. I have had a great day today. I have recently started part time leave without pay and so am currently only working three days a week. I work in admin - I hate the telephone and have never really been what you would call a people person - do you think I am in the wrong job -uh yeh - hence the cutback on work hours. That and the fact that getting eight people out of the house by 8.30am EVERY morning was starting to become just a little bit stressful.

Soooo -today I have dabbled in a little bit of housework, a couple of loads of washing (it was a good drying day in the New England today), a bit of work in Illustrator working on a hang tag for my knitted products, a spot of grocery shopping (the supermarket is a whole other world in the middle of the day), a bit of cooking - I have poached some pears in a vanilla syrup...

...they look yum anyway... and now the blog.

The children -well 4 out of the 6 anyway - are home from school. The baby girl and the middle sized girl are making a batch of choc chip biccies...

They are good at that...they keep the cake tins and the morning tea bags full that is for sure.

The baby boy and the middle sized boy are home too - both doing a really good job at avoiding homework or physical activity. Mind you they do a fair bit of physical activity on the weekends...

hockey...

...and soccer (up the hill last weekend...chilly!!!!)

The big boy and girl are both off doing their stuff this afternoon. The big boy is allegedly at school/basketball (and I say allegedly because he has been a little bit naughty lately and has taken to wagging school which has the Chief Clansman and I almost at our wits end - well me anyway...) and the big girl - well I believe she is shopping for a digital camera. She has been working very hard at two jobs (which is about to become three!!) and managing to save money for the camera. She is off on a school excursion to Brisvegas in August so wanted the camera for that. Mind you, I had it in the back of my mind to buy her a camera for her birthday/Christmas....so I guess it is back to the drawing board for me!!! Ahh well!!!! The Chief Clansman is, of course, still at work.

He and the middle sized boy (and the big boy too if I have my way)are off to Albury and Orange on Monday for PSSA Hockey. The rest of us will stay here and keep the home fires burning...although we don't have a fire to keep burning anymore, not sine the reno's started....let me take you back a bit.

This is what our house looks like...

It's not a bad house - big enough, nice size yard, reasonable location etc, etc. BUT - it had a stinky old fire in the front room which pumped out good heat but unfortunately also pumped out a lot of smoke, ash and dust. The 3am kickstarts were also starting to wear a little thin...so the Chief Clansman and I put our thinking caps on and came up with the great idea that we should take the fire out along with the wall that it sat in that separated the front room from the kitchen. So that is just what we did...

everyone (well almost) got in on that act...note the summer attire...no fire needed when we started!!

then it was just the Chief Clansman on his own...

...nah not really - he was really just the labourer - our beloved Pete was really the man in charge.

Anyway I will show you a photo of the finished product when it is - finished that is!!!!

It is almost there and is looking fantastic...but back to the beginning - we won't be able to keep the home fires burning, but we will have that split system fired up that is for sure.

Well time is ticking on. I feel I have had a reasonably productive day... and you know what? I get to do it all again tomorrow!

C ya.

Weekends...

Don't you just love the weekends??? I do...even the ones that don't include public holidays!! Mind you, this one right now has been especially busy for some reason. There was the haircutting, the de-lousing, the birthday party present shopping, the soccer, the hockey, the netball...and that was all before midday yesterday!!! Since then we have handled call outs to check the alarms at TAFE, cajoled Laddie No. 3 to take the soccer field (he was a little stressed as he was playing against his former team...he took his new team to a 2-1 victory with him responsible for the 2 goals!!), shopped for Laddie No.2s new sandshoes and SKINS for his trip to PSSA hockey in Albury, delivered Lassie No.3 to the first of the two birthday parties she was to attend this weekend, done 5 loads of washing, watched the end of Lassie No.2s netball game, visited someone in hospital, dropped in on friends to collect Lassie No.1 and deliver her to her babysitting job for the night, dropped Laddie No.1 off at Midnight basketball where he was reffing...and then...phewww...we sat down and had a quiet glass of vino while we watched the last episode of Bed of Roses and then the fella's watched the Wallabies... I didn't stick around for that... a quick check out the window to see if it was snowing (unfortunately not) and then it was in to bed to read for a bit and wait for the phone to ring to collect those still out and about...of course it wasn't actually me that had to go and do the collecting...god no, that's a daddy job that one...but I was here providing moral support!!!! And that my friends was just Saturday!!!! Today has been not quite as busy but almost. Washing (it NEVER stops), ironing, hockey, hockey and more hockey (they are still there as I type...), a spot of baking and a bit of craft and now to the blog....and the rest of Sunday, a glass of wine, some comfy footwear, perhaps a spot of knitting, and oh yeah...the de-lousing of my own head....ohhh didn't I mention that?? Ahhwell...

So until the next instalment, have fun and keep smiling....

Public Holiday Monday

Yippee...gotta lurve the public holiday Monday...the only time my "Mondayitis" retreats...