Please Help us send B to Japan

My Goddaughter B... has been selected to go to Japan..YAY.. Twenty students from year 7 and 8 are going to Japan next august. B... has only been out of Tasmania once before and that was for a wedding when she was 10. B... had to submit an application in the form of an essay. Ten students were chosen from her High School and Ten from another High school.

This is a 7 day exchange programme with B.. Staying 2 nights with her host family then 3 nights at a youth camp then back with her host family for the final night.

But... and there is always a but *sigh* B needs to find 1600 dollars for airfares etc. So this is where you come into it..
My Daughter Veronica has a fundraising competition thingy set up on her blog. We are asking people to donate to a pay pal account to help send B to Japan... So could you please click this link to Veronica's blog and just have a look... please :]

There is no pressure to donate at all. None ok... Fundraising ideas are welcome as well. Very very welcome.

B is going fruitpicking in January to earn herself some money.. I had to smile when her mum told me that. Last year B.. spent one day in the orchard picking cherries and swore she would never ever return because cherry picking TOTALLY SUCKS . hehehe

Welcome to the real world honey...Ya gotta work for the money.

Thanks for reading this and a big extra thanks for having a quick look at Veronica's post as well.

cheers Kim

eeeeeeeeeeeeeek

These were clean towels. If you haven't read how much fun it is to do the laundry at my house. click here SCREEEEEAAAAMMMMMMMMMM

The offspring spilled some water. There were dirty towels,sheets newspaper, a fricking mop all close at hand...

Nooo clean towels were the sponge of choice.

wednesday and thursday merge.. eeeek

Today was one of those days....*sigh* Just one of those days, I am so glad that I don't live near a bowls club or something..

The offspring arrived home from school yesterday full of tales of woe and a swollen hand.
The spouse had received a phonecall from the offsprings grade co-ordinator.
(I was out doing the hunter gatherer shit at the time)
When I asked the spouse the content of the conversation his answer was, "I told her you would give her a ring" AAAaaaaarrrrghhh After some skilfull and persistent questioning (notice how nice I am being here).. The spouse mumbled words like counselling and mediation , then retired to the comfort of his shed....OK.

I managed to make an appointment at the doctors for the next morning. The sweet woman that I am, I gently handed the boy some frozen vegetables wrapped in a damp tea-towel and gave him an iboprufen and politely requested that he go away.....politely very politely...

That was the lead up to my completely surreal day today..

I have a new phone.. ok. I used said phone as an alarm clock this morning.
BAD! BAD !BAD!!!!
At six a.m I was woken by "the hounds of hell baying for my blood... "
No, It was the super vibrate ringtone thingy vibrating against my glass of water.... ok *phew*
But it was still BAD..
I put the kettle on and went to have a shower..and .and and.. I had forgotten that there was water in the bath..oops (I need this water for my fruit trees) So I had to step into ankle deep cold water... It is a really strange feeling when the water hitting your head is HOT HOT HOT and your ankles are frozen... mmmm.

Just as we were about to walk out the door, to go to the doctors the Electrician rang..Now I will have to write more about this..later.. *sigh* this deserves a post of its own..
I finally had a person who knew what he was talking about...And he broke my heart..... I had been quoted somewhere between seventy and five hundred dollars by the office girls.. god love their ignorant hearts.... to get three phase power to my house. the spouse had mentioned he reckoned it would be about 3 or 4 thousand. "Ha !",I scoffed..
"HA !HA !HA ! " Foolish me, I believed the office girls...

The electrician quoted 25-50 thousand dollars... I didn't even have time to sit down, faint prettily or request the smelling salts.... I was late late late and had to get the offspring to the doctors....

This was all before 8.45 am... the day could only get better *sigh*

• arrive at doctors....
• get sent for xrays
• wait for xrays
• mentally redesign radiologists waiting room
• mentally retrain office staff
• outlaw giggling
• receive xrays
• return to doctors
• remind self of the laws of karma
• promise to break sons thumb yourself
• ooooops (did I say that out loud???)

I will end with a phrase I will blatantly steal from Kellan.... On the Upside.. His thumb isn't broken. *phew* I managed to get him some new jeans on special YAY. We had Hungry Jacks and scoffed ourselves silly..If you are going to break a diet don't break it EXPLODE IT.

I am still in shock about the price for the electricity to the kiln though....

rainfall stats.. *sigh*

Another super quick post, I am knackered.. ('hic'...hehehe.)

I found out today that it has been 37 days since we last had any rain over 5 milimetres.
I needed to post this, so I didn't forget.
cheers kim.

Note to Self

I was surfing the blogosphere last night and I came across this little gem of a recipe at Scribbits. It is for Apple doughnuts and It looks great.
And typical me I had forgotten all about it until Scribbit commented on my blog and reminded me of where I had been... phew... thanks.

So note to self.

Tonight I have been over to Lotus at Sarcastic Mom and entered a competition for a great t-shirt.
Also at Lotus' I have joined up for weekly winners.

I was reading Meg's blog and I have dobbed Kelley at Magneto Bold Too in, for a bloggy contesty thing. No winners so no pressure kelley hehehe.
But I couldn't do the linky thing..Veronica please help, eek there is technical stuff I need to do.

Notice that here, where it doesn't really matter I managed to do a marathon of links...*sigh*
cheers Kim..hehehe

Potato Salad From Hell......

Considering that it is 'exackerly' one month til Christmas Day, I feel like sharing recipes. I especially feel like sharing recipes for 'festive food'. Food that I really can't be bothered making except for Christmas, Birthdays and when I feel like doing some Proper Cooking..( or when my family has begged enough..muuawhahah)

So here is the recipe for a really nice Potato Salad. I call it the potato salad from Hell because it takes ages to make...and I make a hell of a mess in the kitchen preparing it...

2 kilos of potatoes
half a cup of olive oil.
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
salt & freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
6 rashers of bacon
1 cup of finely diced celery
1 cup of finely diced red onoion
2 teaspoons of dijon mustard
2 thirds of a cup of mayonaisse
2 thirds of a cup of sour cream
half a cup of chopped parsley
half a cup of chopped mint
half a cup of chopped chives
4 hardboiled eggs sliced

Boil the potatoes until just tender, but firm.. Drain and set aside to cool.
Slice bacon into fine strips, saute, then drain off excess fat.
In a large bowl whisk the oil,vinegar, salt and pepper
Add the potatoes (peeled and chopped into bite -size chunks) to the oil mix.
Turn gently, to coat thoroughly with oil.
When the potatoes are cool, Add the celery and onion.
In a small bowl whisk together the mustard, mayo& sour cream.
Add the herbs,(mint, parsley& chives) to the creamy mix.
Add this to the potatoes with most of the egg and bacon.
Carefully fold the potato salad to combine all ingredients.
Use the last of the egg & bacon as a garnish.

I have copied this recipe out exactly as it was given to me..
and it is really yummy as is.
But I change things to suit myself sooo. It is a really flexible thingy.

I add small cubes of cheese or grated parmesan depending on what is in the fridge or how I am feeling. I also now add diced red capsicum for a bit of colour.

This is a really Yummy potato Salad even though it is a bit fiddly to make.
If you want to make this and have any questions I will answer them in the comments.
No Probs at all.
Cheers Kim

There is a thorn in my foot...

Do these, the men in my life look Sad? Do they feel my pain? No! Not at all... The Offspring is begging for his turn with the SIX INCH NAIL.. eeer needle that The Spouse is using to stab me in his quest to dig out The Invisible Thorn... I am too TRAUMATISED to write any more... I am going to the pub.....
p.s my feet are soooo ticklish, I can't touch them, Hence the offspring's obvious glee. *sigh*

YaY an Echidna..

I am thrilled to bits, that I was able to take this picture of an Echidna today. Echidna's trundle through my yard all the time, they have a rolling, waddling way of moving, sort of like a drunken Daffy Duck. ... They Trundle.. lol.. And I absolutely adore these little creatures.


I had to do an Elmer and cweep down the backward wery wery qwietwy.
Otherwise the Echidnas will put their heads down and try to burrow into the ground and there is no way known you can get a decent photo at all....
This little girl was a superstar though and allowed me to take heaps of pics of her. So here she is...TADAAAA....

Shit Happens.

I have previously posted pics of my lovely well ventilated laundry. The laundry with the breath taking views. *sigh*
Please bear with me as I am about to have a whinge. and for me to whinge properly I need to explain exactly how you wash fricking clothes at my house.

I need to go outside. I need to check the tank to see how much water I have. If there is enough water in the 'house tank' ( this is the tank that is the easiest to use) I can turn on the hose, yes you heard me I can turn ON the hose and squirt water into the washing part of the twin tub. If the house tank is getting low*sigh* and it is. I can bucket the water from the 'big tank' into the washing machine. and this is a pain.. A great big fucking time consuming pain...

Ok, We are now assuming that the rotten twintub is full of water. Put 4 school polo tops ( no it isn't a typo I said 4) into the bloody twin tub and and turn the button. 5 school polo tops will make the twin tub stop washing and start tearing holes in the school clothes.. the wash cycle is 4 minutes. kick the twin tub. and click the wash button.. I am now Trapped.. I have to be close to the torture device.. oops twin tub or we wont have any clean clothes.. and my darling son will use this as an excuse NOT TO GO TO SCHOOL..

repeat this every three minutes or so..

assuming the school polos are clean, I put them into the spinner and spin the water back into the machine... Water is precious up here .. and expensive..

I put the school polos into the white bucket .. it is in the pic... and I pour CLEAN WATER, DRINKING WATER, SPARKLING WATER on to them and I attempt to rinse them... now 3 or 4 good dunkings in the white bucket and they smell less soapy. they look less soapy .. So back into the spinner part of the twintub with them,. I have another bucket to catch this water this spinning soapy water. not to water the garden with. But to be set aside to be used to refill the washing machine when it gets low...BECAUSE UNLIKE OUR POLITICIANS I AM LIVING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE.. and it sucks!!!

I put the next load of slightly dirtier clothes into the machine and start to wash again.

Are you getting the idea of just how difficult is is to do washing here?

Anyhow I was planting an olive tree this evening and I asked the son to carry a bag of sheep poo down to where I was digging the hole for the new tree and...

SHIT HAPPENS.. SHIT! SHIT!SHIT! HAPPENS!

Apparently.. the bag of poo broke ACCIFUCKINDENTALLY ...

ALL OVER THE TWIN TUB.....AND IN THE TWIN TUB.. AND NEXT TO THE TWIN TUB... AND ALL OVER THE RINSING IN THE WHITE BUCKET. ETC .ETC.ETC

I should stop here....BUT I DON'T

Hows this for a hypothetical scenario?

Now if you were a teenage boy, and your mother was making totally unreasonable demands on you again*sigh*because your mother is a biaaaatch, and wants to so totally ruin your life... and, and , and,
Wouldn't you feel a teensy bit tempted to throw the bag of sheep pooat her.? oops I meant at the stupid tree she was planting... Because it is so UNFAIR
and it is only down the hill a little bit......AND how would she know anyways...

Unless the Bag broke.., OOOOPS.

GOOGLE CAN SUCK MY BALLS TOO!!!!

The Team from Google Adsense are not playing fair with Veronica from Sleepless Nights. So in protest I have deleted their ads. I will not be clicking any Ads either..

Please click on Veronica's Name to get her Story....

cheers Kim

Sprinklers.

Yep, The roof sprinklers are in good working order Yay!!! One less thing to do. We have a sprinkler system set up on the roof because we live in a High Fire Danger Zone... And anything we can do to make our home as fire safe as possible has to be good.

Not a pretty sight.

This is Not what I wanted to see today, or smell. No! No! No! . I do not want to see smoke when I go outside. I want to see raindrops big fat wet raindrops. Smoke makes me panic and I forget how to do simple things like put my shoes on. Smoke is not good. Panic is not good either. Finally my brain begins to work again and I manage to put my shoes on . It is too hot for shoes today *groan*
Although it is very smoky, the smoke smells old, I don't really know how to describe the difference. Old smoke doesn't smell as gumleafy if you can sort of imagine what I am trying to say...This is a good sign it means that the fire isn't that close another good sign is the fact that the sun hasn't changed colour. The sun is still a comforting yellow *phew* ( A red sun means the fire is quite close)
All this is going through my mind as I am mentally going through my bushfire checklist. All the while telling myself to" stay calm kimmy"

In the 5 minutes it has taken me to get properly dressed and remove the flammables from the verandah the smoke has become very thick and I am starting to have an "oh shit" moment because I am here by myself and the house tank is nearly empty. Eeeek. After I had filled up a few buckets with water I rang the Fire services 1800 number to find out where exactly this bloody fire was. It is about 50 ks away Yay. A very big Yay indeed. I was so relieved that I went outside and took a few photos and started to mentally compose this blog..hehehe

This however has been a very handy little wake up call for me there are things I need to do now so that when a fire actually does threaten us we are prepared. We already are pretty prepared as you cannot live in the bush like we do and not be" fire aware" I need to buy myself some cotton trousers and a new pair of blunnies. I need to buy petrol for the generator and We need to check the sprinkler system is still working. ( we have 3 sprinklers on the roof) We need to make some more ' beaters' (long sticks with a piece of old woollen blanket wired to the end) We need to bring the 44 gallon drums back closer to the house. We need some rain...


Cheers I'm off to the pub now..I need to have a calming ale or three... lol.

Froggy Things..

Taz comments on my blogs and for that I am eternally grateful.. I love comments. I welcome all comments . The good the bad and the critical.. I don't care. I wait with bated breath for my next comment.

My name is Kim and I am a commentaholic...

Anyways Taz asked me what type of frogs I had here and of course a light went off in my head. I can turn this into a blog, Yay. But of course things are never that easy are they?
Not when you are a serial procrastinator like myself, No Indeedy...Never Easy. Not when you have the amount of distractions at your disposal, like I do..hehehe.

The Distractions Are....

My Field guide to Tasmanian Frogs was at a friends place. I didn't really need the book as I know my froggys very well. but there was a chance I could be wrong, or I might need the Latin names or SOMETHING..... Lotsa distractions there. I just could not possibly even think about beginning to write about my frogs without the bloody book.

THEN

Veronica my daughter rang me. Von has possum troubles *sigh* Please Mummy can I borrow your possum trap? Please Mummy can you bring it here to me Now?(...insert suitable whiny tone.) Please Please Please.

THEN

Just before I was leaving to deliver the possums doom er trap. The lawnmower wouldn't start, so I waited around for another hour JUST In CASE the spouse needed anything from the servo. No! he didn't But he did need me to borrow Veronicas Lawnmower, BECAUSE the world was going to End if he didn't mow the grass right Fucking now..

THEN

When I got home The Spouse had fixed his lawnmower, so we had a spare mower and an able-bodied teenage son and SOMEHOW I caught the gardening/weeding/cleanup the yard bug as well.

THEN.

It was time for a beer or three *hic*

So I still haven't answered Taz's Questions about the frogs and I will do soon I promise. Unless of course I get distracted..
Cheers Kim...

Look !Look! Look!

I got a prize today YaY, well actually it wasn't just me BUT that doesn't make it any the less exciting.. Kelley at Magneto Bold Too had a competition to name the newest addition to their family....a Rabbit (YUM). Go over and have a look at her blog.. It is worth it...

Anyway back to the Prize.. Nobody won, her Son Boo named the rabbit Amy, a thoroughly gorgeous name by the way. So Kelley gave us all the prize.. YAY YAY YAY... thanks heaps
Kelley cheers kim..

One for Veronica...

Here we go Veronica... Just for you Honey...

The spouse and I attached some chicken wire to the balcony railing today. This was to make it an Amy friendly zone.. I thought Veronica would like these pictures.

Tilly is Veronica's cat and she is not pleased about the wire at all... Ha silly cat.

My newest Garden

Wow It's that time of year again...

Gosh! It is only November and the Grass is already starting to Die off. Normally we don't start to 'brown off' up here until mid-December and sometimes it is as late as January. I have posted these pics for a couple of reasons. One is to share, of course.. The other is to get me off the computer and into the garden.. It is snake -heaven in that tangle of grass around the pond. There hasn't been any rain for a few weeks now, so things are starting to dry off very quickly.

Today is Very windy it is the sort of day that makes me think about Bushfires. We are starting to get a bit low on water as well*sigh* So now I am going to go and empty the washing machine, I will use that water on the kitchen garden I have just started. I will try and post photos of my new garden soon..

Another Meme.

Bec From Bad Mummy Has Tagged me to do this Meme

This is 7 Random or Weird Facts about myself..

The Rules are I must link to the person who Tagged me..* Hi Bec Waves*

I must post the rules.. (am Doing that bit right now)

Tag 7 random People at the end of it and link them as well..

Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blog..


Veronica tagged me for this only the other day, and on that post I didn't really share 7 random or weird facts .I just shared stuff about me.. so this time will be different, maybe?

I started going Grey in High School and unfortunately passed that gene on to my offspring..
oops Sorry Veronica.

I like my sandwiches to be cut into triangles. 4 triangles for toasted, 2 for salad.

I have no idea how to format this page so it looks half reasonable...

My favourite colour is purple.

I always wear odd socks.

I buy all my clothes from the op-shop.

I am going to dye my hair purple this weekend..Yay


I have absolutely no idea who to tag for this meme . So I will leave it open.. I know that might seem like I am copping out.. Well you're right I am hehehehe cheers Kim

I just had to go back, didn't I ????

Your IQ Is 115

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional Your General Knowledge is Exceptional

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

What is logical intelligence anyway????

Smooch the Cat...

I was over at Tex's MissusDemeanors and she had photos of her two gorgeous Burmese cats. So I shamelessly stole her idea and here we are with a pic of my Tom cat 'Smooch'.
Animals have always been a part of my life. Sometimes I will choose an animal. Sometimes they will choose me. Smoochy chose me...

We were visiting a friend in town and having a beer in his kitchen with the backdoor open. This friend is a keen gardener and hated cats with a passion. Every time a cat dared to enter his yard he would squirt them with his super high powered garden hose. You've gotta love mains water *sigh*

So imagine his horror when this skinny half grown cat walks into the kitchen, jumps up onto the table and walks over to me, makes eye contact with me and climbs onto my lap.

"Your cat then? "I ask thinking that maybe he had mellowed a bit and also thinking that he was doing a terrible job of feeding the poor skinny thing. I should have realized by his goldfish impersonation that this was not his cat AT ALL NO WAY INDEEDY!!!!!! This was one of the dreaded strays who were deliberately making his life a misery. TF is never lost for words ever. This Cat's pure cheek had rendered him speechless..(At least for a few minutes)

The spouse looks at me and says," No!"
Innocently I ask, "No what dear?"
"No you can't have the cat..."
We were having to raise our voices a bit as TF was sputtering," the cheeky bloody thing, I will sodding well fix it" and like minded threats. And through it all there was this steady rumbling sound, sort of like contented thunder, if you can imagine that.

Two beers later the spouse grudgingly agreed that maybe we needed another cat. I had reminded him that there were mice in the ceiling and that farm cats don't cost much to feed.
I think he secretly admired the cat, just going into TFs yard was risky, let alone into his house. That was outrageously dangerous..

Ten years later I am posting his photo on the internet and telling his story .I called him Smooch because he is a smoocher. The spouse calls him Black Nuts,( not that he has any) it must be a bloke thing lol.

cheers ...

Another meme thanks Veronica...*groan*

Veronica from sleepless nights tagged me to do 7 random facts about me.

There is a list of rules to go with this tag.. but oops I lost it in the cyber-void

I am a really private person. Anyone that knows me in 'real life' will probably be going. "Yeah Right Kimmy" because I am loud and extroverted and I take a wicked delight in shocking people with some of my more outrageous statements. But if aquaintances or neighbours have the totally wrong idea about me. I am more than happy to let the misunderstanding become the 'truth' about me ooops..

I get bored very easily and I need to be doing more than one thing at a time. I cannot just sit down and watch television by itself. I will read a book and watch t.v. Or like at the moment I am writing this and listening to the T.V and thinking about what I will make for tea and eating jellybeans.

I get distracted really really easily*sigh* I think I have undiagnosed attention deficit disorder but I am too embarrassed to talk to the doctor about it because its a kid thing.

I hate being told what to do. The Spouse is a bit bossy and my first reaction to his many and varied imperious demands is always" Oh fuck off will you!!!" Oh dear. Actually he is very lucky that I love him.

• I am a hoarder and a collector. I have a hard time throwing anything away because well, It might be useful one day.Or I definately need it, but not just right at the moment. I will need it though.. Guaranteed the day after I have actually thrown something out. It will be just the thing someone needs ... oh dear.

I used to be a Punk Rocker, complete with leather jacket, chains, outrageous bad hairdo and many and varied studs and safety pins. Sid Vicious died on my birthday you know. *sigh* this was my claim to fame amongst other, lesser punks hehehe.

I know that these aren't random or weird facts about me. Though they are actual true facts about me. Real life stuff my neighbours wouldn't know hehehehe.

I am not going to tag anyone for this meme YET. If you would like to do it, go for your life.

Cheers kim

More car problems *sigh*

See these lovely professional looking invitations.These are invites to an exhibition of ceramics. My work is in this exhibition, work that I actually like. Work that I hope to sell. My car has decided to break. A-FUCKING-AGAIN.

If you want to read the saga of the car click this, If you want to console me, comment and/or send me alcohol. *sigh*

As I have mentioned before it is really hard being an optimist BUT the car will be fixed by Wednesday evening. So I am not stranded up here for weeks like last time, well it felt like weeks ... (It's a long walk to the pub you know.)

So I am sending all my best wishes to my fellow students.I hope you have a ball and sell all your work. cheers Kim.

This makes up for the chihuahua (sort of)

I am still in a bit of shock. hehehe I definately must have had a touch of sunstroke yesterday. Obviously I gave the wrong answers. The sunstrokey type of answers. How could I be a chihuahua Puppy? I hate those dogs. Loathe those awful small dogs, with their evil pop eyes and their snarly little faces. Ugh they look like Mutant rats. Apologies to all the rat lovers out there.

So the sensible person that I am I decided to do another cyber quiz. YAY. hehehe.

Your Superpower Should Be Manipulating Electricity

You're highly reactive, energetic, and super charged. If the occasion calls for it, you can go from 0 to 60 in a split second. But you don't harness your energy unless you truly need to. And because of this, people are often surprised by what you are capable of. Why you would be a good superhero: You have the stamina to fight enemies for days Your biggest problem as a superhero: As with your normal life, people would continue to underestimate you

What Should Your Superpower Be?

twelve hours late oops

I do not know your name, but I know you died

I do not know from where you came, but I know you died Your uniform, branch of service, it matters not to me

Whether Volunteer or Conscript, or how it came to be

That politicians failures, or some power-mad ambition

Brought you too soon to your death, in the name of any nation You saw, you felt, you knew full well, as friend and foe were taken

By bloody death, that your life too, was forfeit and forsaken

Yet on you went and fought and died, in your close and private hell

For Mate or Pal or Regiment and memories never to tell It was for each other, through shot and shell, the madness you endured

Side by side, through wound and pain, and comradeship assured

No family ties, or bloodline link, could match that bond of friend

Who shared the horror and kept on going, at last until the end We cannot know, we were not there, it's beyond our comprehension

To know the toll that battle brings, of resolute intention

To carry on, day by day, for all you loved and hoped for

To live in peace a happy life, away from bloody war For far too many, no long life ahead, free of struggle and pain and the gun

And we must remember the price that was paid, by each and every one

Regardless of views, opinions aside, no matter how each of us sees it

They were there and I cannot forget, even though I did not live it I do not know your name, but I know you died

I do not know from where you came, but I know you died.

by Kenny Martin © 2003

WTF??????

You Are a Chihuahua Puppy

Small, high strung, and loyal. You do best in the city with a adults - young kids could crush you!

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

I can not believe this.

Yeah right. lol.

Now I have posted 3 posts. notice I am much more subdued this time around*sigh*.By finding the "Lost pic" of Taylors dam and then posting it. I somehow made the post of our fishing adventures, complete with pictures of my sons awesome sunburn Vanish pffft into yet another computer void.
The comments on the now vanished post are still there. Not making any sense at all though. Oh well at least people will think that its Veronica making inane comments and not my poor posting and computer skills lol.

Ha that's what she gets for tagging me for yet another meme.

cheers

The less said , the better ....

This is my dog Harry. This is my frogpond. The black spots you can see are tadpoles. The less said the better. We had been out fishing all day. Harry is an active dog, he is a collie/heeler cross. He had been home all by himself. (very very boring on the chain) So once we came home there was just enough time for a quick game of backyard cricket.. I really really like my tadpoles.grr. Luckily I love my dog. And it had been a hot day. . And for those of you reading from mainland Australia, It does so get hot in Tassie. lol.

Not lost in the void at all. YAY

Yay here is the photo of Taylors dam. The photo that I thought I had lost. This is the photo that went pfft into the computer void. I am rapt that I have actually gotten it together and posted 3 three THREE posts today. Did you notice, did you did you???? I posted THREE TIMES. I didn't find this photo though. *sigh* I assumed that because it had vanished off the screen that it was lost.So I didn't actually look for it. Or really give it any thought at all. Veronica told me that she had tagged me for yet another meme, so I clicked onto" frogpondsrock" looking for the dreaded meme and VOILA there was the photo.Yay

Meme, the big eight . .why are there only 7 then mmm???

Veronica from sleepless nights, tagged me to do this..Great , thanks heaps *groan*

Eight things I am passionate about.

1. Totally ANTI-WOODCHIPPING.The destruction of Tasmania's old growth forests for less than ten dollars a tonne of woodchips is criminal.Total Insanity..
2. The freedom to protest against injustice, in a peaceful way. Without fear of persecution or prosecution.
3. I am pro-choice. I believe that it is every womans right to choose for herself.
4. Free Education. Free Education Free Education.
   
5. Not killing animals for sport. I believe you should only kill an animal if you are going to eat it. I practice what I preach, on this one.
   
6. Did I mention Free education?
   
7. Paedophiles should be Named, Shamed and Chemically Castrated.
8. My family of course

Eight things I would like to do before I die.

1. Live for another 60 years (in good health) I would then be 101, YAY
   
2. Travel to New Zealand.
3. Enjoy heaps of grandchildren and great grandchildren
4. Have my own studio
5. Not have to worry about water. *sigh* (we are on tankwater)
6. Have a perfectly clean. SQUEAKY CLEAN shining house, just for one day
7. Have photographic evidence of the perfectly clean house.
8. Be able to sing out loud, without my family covering their ears and groaning.
   

Eight things I say often...

1. What part of No don't you understand? ( said to teenage son, often oops)
2. Now tell me, What did I just say? (said to spouse as well as teenage son, *sigh*)
3. Has anyone seen my?? (keys, purse, phone, sunglasses)
4. Get this SHIT off my tv!!!! (teenage son likes jerry springer* vomit*)
5. What would you like for tea AND DON'T SAY FOOD!!!
6. I am NOT PLAYING ON the computer.
7. Why is there an empty packet in the pantry?( said to teenage son AFTER I have been shopping)
8. It's 10pm on a Sunday night and NOW YOU TELL ME you need a costume/hat/cake/etc for TOMORROW MORNING AAAAAAARRGHH!!!!!! .
   

Eight books that I have read recently...

1. Illustrated dictionary of practical pottery by Robert Fournier
2. Guilty creatures by Sue Welfare, this is so funny.
3. I know this much is true by Wally Lamb.
4. Stark by Ben Elton
5. Maia by Richard Adams
   
6. The Stand by Stephen King
7. Gridlock by Ben Elton (again, but he cracks me up)
8. A Field Guide Identifying Australian Birds.. Simpson and something the name has rubbed off , oops.

Eight songs that I could listen too, Over and Over... this list really depends on my mood and how much alcohol I have consumed at the time. so I will just list Songs that I absolutely Love...

1. Butthole Surfers.... Avalanche.
   
2. AC/DC .... Thunderstruck.. Awesome guitar by Angus... *drool*
3. Cat Stevens..... Hard Headed Woman.
4. Lou Reed.... Sweet Jane.
5. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.... Do you love me.
6. Roy Orbison and K.d Lang . ....Crying
7. Violent Femmes,. ... Blister in the sun
8. Nirvana..... Come as you are..

Eight things that attracts me to my friends.

1. A wicked sense of Humour
2. Her ability to see through my bullshit to the real me.
3. She likes me.
4. They actually are real live people.*waves*
5. The ability to have a conversation about "stuff" and not a bitch-fest YAY!!!
6. She finds my children as interesting as I do. and Vise Versa.
7. They giggle when I sing and don't gag me.
8. My friends all know how loud my snoring is and still invite me to stay the night...YAY!!!

Eight people who should do this post... MMMmmm

1. Bendy girl from Benefit Scrounging Scum
2. Tex from Tex's chainsaw massacre
3. Tricia from momuv3
4. Tracey from Why Bother
5. Maddy from Whitterer on Autism
6. Kellan from On the Upside.
7. And anyone else who wants to.
8. Phew I have finished...YAY
   

Spring

Spring is well and truly here. I am sitting on the step above my washing machine. if you look at the pics of 'my laundry' you will see that these two pics are closeups of a part of the garden, that is very close to my front door. phew that was a long sentence. My high school English teacher would be ashamed of me.

Spring is here. the new growth has been fantastic. The weeds are winning. bugger.actually I don't weed very much.I tend to ignore most weeds and think of them as being just a part of the garden. Except for three. Chickweed,Fumitory and the bane of my bloody life Couch Grass. Ugh!

These pics show what a tangle my garden really is. I live in hope that the raspberry canes will grow faster than the couch grass and shade it to death. Ha! It's a hard life being an optimist. I am making slow progress though.The Fumitory has been removed from the red currant patch. Fumitory is a climbing strangling weed. Luckily it is shallow rooted, so it is easy to pull out. It is still a big pain in the bum though.

Chickweed is also shallow rooted and fairly easy to deal with. Except that it is bloody everywhere you look*sigh*. Luckily It is edible and high in iron so I tend to smuggle it into a lot of salads. I use it when I haven't got any spinach it's very similar in taste. Also chickweed is good for your skin. I will write about that later on though.

Couch grass*UGH* my pet hate. The one weed in my garden that almost makes me want to give up. Rotten Hateful Stuff. Even the wallabies won't eat it. I have given up trying to get rid of it. I am at the stage where if I cant pull it out, I just cut it back. I console myself with the thought that the unruly tangle of grass around the frogponds, at least gives the frogs some extra protection from predators. *sigh*.

The spouse is getting grumpy.

cheers kim.

Mmm good ventilation.

I like my Laundry it is well ventilated. Mmm Well maybe I am being generous with the word like.Can you see all the mod cons I have in my laundry?The view is breathtaking. Especially in winter, brrr. Ok Ok enough joking around. I am really pleased that I actually have a washing machine. I am exceptionally super dooper pleased that I don't have to carry buckets of water to this washing machine. See the hose, It is actually connected to a tap that works.YAY

I wanted to share this with you for a couple of reasons. One being that Veronica in her 100th post mentioned that she grew up in a house without running water.Two I was in the middle of the rather complicated and time consuming washing routine, when Ronni rang asking could I look after Amy for a bit. Veronica was sick and needed a break.

I gladly abandoned the washing in favour of my gorgeous granddaughter. Veronica did look unwell. Actually Veronica has looked unwell since 2002, but that is another story.

I am getting GET OFF the computer looks from the spouse, so I will leave this unfinished. I will tell more about my experiences raising children in a tapless house. tomorrow.

cheers kim.

I can and I will...

I have spent some time tonight reading and commenting on other blogs. I am bit of a lurker. I feel a bit funny commenting. Specially if there are millions of comments before me. Also I read what I have written when I have commented and it always seems a bit superficial. Mmm i will have to get over this. Sooner rather than Later. I am always thrilled to bits when I get a comment though.

Funny isn't it, when I am out and about I will compose blogs in my head. When It is time to actually sit down and write,I am empty. pffft all my words have vanished. I am finding it very hard to find my voice here. Maybe I am just overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things I could write about.

I could write about the ongoing battle with the elements I have up here in the hills at B******.

I could write about my obsession with clay.

I could write about lots of stuff.

I think I will just jump off the deep end and write about stuff.

Cheers. Kim. xoxoxox

A Cheese Update

The cheese is now 7 days old. It is starting to look really yummy. Or it was .This morning I noticed orange bits on the cheese. Eeeek. The cake rack had started to go rusty. Oh dear. I don't think it will hurt too much. I hope it doesn't anyway. Mmm maybe because my cheese has gone rusty, I won't have to share it with Veronica. Oh well I am sure I have eaten worse things than rusty cheese.

First day, after the fire..

My son, David went back to school today. 9 days after his high school burnt down. I could feel the fridge sigh in relief.He is a growing boy, and boy he contributes to my growing grocery bills.

Dave was very nervous about going to a new school.Even though he was going there with all his classmates. I had done my best to reassure him,well at least I hoped I had. He did smile when I pointed out that most 13 year old boys are really short and spotty. Dave is tall and only has a few pimples.

All in all I don't think it was too bad of a day. He didn't get into any fights. The grade 10 boys that were acting like Neanderthals towards the new boys, didn't do any damage. It reminded me of one of those nature docos with the monkeys with the bright red bums. All these teenagers competing for territory in the playground. When, what all the males were doing really, was nothing more than banging their chests and baring their teeth, and hopefully not showing off their shiny red bums... hehehe.

David did say the girls were nice . Typically though his most lavish praise was reserved for the canteen. Apparently the food was Awesome!!! Yay!!!