CAN'T HELP MYSELF......


MY COUNTER CLICKING OVER:-....

OK I have been watching my counter since I put it on, and it is nearly 1000 to me that is an achievement, as I know for sure others have loads more than that. As it is the last day of October here in Australia - and I don't travel in any type of RV OR 5th wheeler OR van OR caravan :- I have enjoyed reading all the blogs. I have learnt about the states in the USA & Canada. I look upon all this blogging & reading about people's adventures as a great learning experience. .. So to all who read - faid away - pop back - thank you all for beining instrumental in my learning...
So please join me in a celebration toast to mark a special occasion. ........    

C

ONE OF THOSE DAYS............




You all know what it is like......swoosh around doing all the repetitive jobs that continually happen..... 

 RUSH TO KITCHEN:-
 
Hands in sink....view out of kitchen window.....


Dishes done...notice dishwasher under bench!! - old habits die hard...  



OK one job down....next one........


That will do it until it is fold-up time, reckon I "done good" for a Friday...........As the kids have all flown the nest, washing for two is a breeze......flapping in the wind LOL 


 Ahh!!!!! thats over - now what next..... NOTHING you are retired remember.....go play on putter - read a book - amuse yourself with mundane blogging.....seems no one reads anyhow???? no comments???  might give up.....find other mundane thingies to do - or maybe not??????

SLOW MAIL DELIVERIES.........


An end of an era is fast approaching:-  These are the private mail boxes belonging to folks that do not have a postman to come along, and pop mail into their mailbox, out the front of their houses..........
  

For a village this size - that is a fair amount of mail boxes - but keep in mind the farms and orchards in the surrounding area rely on picking their mail up here......
They have been a vital link in everyday country life  for many, many years   Not everyone communicates via e-mail/Facebook and all the other electronic ge-gaws that are available now- a- days.
Our village Post Office and corner store (the store part closed down quite some time ago) 

Post office services continued to service the community - the traffic of mail and especially parcels - due to ebaying and online shopping - Is very substantial, and takes up many hours of sorting, notifying and storing....awaiting the eager recipient to collect their new "goodies"

The friendly Postmistress (Cheryl) has decided "enough is enough" and has notified all the post office box holders that the service will be closing in March, 2015...that's next year - oh gosh...take a look at all the boxes?  loads of people having to rely on the postal service to make alternate arrangements?? and we wont know what that will be for some time..

A daily sorting of the mail - along with many parcels - that I forgot to take photos of... 



SO FROM THIS:::::::::::: 



TO MAYBE THIS::::::::::::::::::





 

 

 


MYSTERY SOLVING.......


What is this mess under the tree?? No wind last night?? 

I look up and up - around and around??

I see you - you are the one, along with your tribe,  pecking away at the pine nuts

Ooo Nooo - think she sees me!


Better buzz off - wait until she goes away - keep an eye out.....be back for sure...

That was the end of my investigation....better rush into MLR and tell all  the world what these white cockatoos with yellow crests, are doing around the village......cheers for now.....

P.S. This post is not true to posting date - I do compiling and publish whenever.....

GREEN ENVY MEMORIES......

Browsing brings on memories.....

 

While browsing a local charity shop the other day I came across green glasses....Oh boy! instant memory rewind to about this time last year when I was on a girls only trip to New
Zealand. My daughter, Sister-in-law and her two daughters (my nieces) so that made 5 of us..AND Barbie who had been on several overseas trips where photos had to be taken as proof of her travels.  Needles to say she was back in the suitcase after her photo shoots. We didn't want to lose her as she would have been deprived of future world travel, when passed around. 
 
I do digress. Back to the GREEN ENVY part of this story.  Naturally there was alcohol involved that was forced on us through duty free.  The night after we arrived after settling in - arranging hire car - the cocktail GREEN ENVY was born (still remains a celebration drink today and is often referred to as a "green envy" moment. I really have forgotten the ingredients to this delicious drink - the niece was the mixer of cocktail excellence.....She is very good at all that stuff.
 




 
So Barbie got to see New Zealand along with the 5 of us.  What a wonderful time we had - Barbie meet Ken as well...But was pushed aside for most of the image taking.  Well it was a girls only holiday - lets face it....LOL


Barbie and Ken amongst the stuff the duty free officers forced on us..Notice they both got dressed up for this occasion...but we still wouldn't let them have any....

 
There are lots more photos and stories to tell - but  1st -  I would have to get permission from my fellow travellers (Barbie isn't a problem - she has been everywhere) and  2nd - I love random things to give the memory a nudge......Cheers form MLR......

Oh! ! NO YOU'RE NOT......

VET/DOG GROOMER Here we come:-

Today we had an outing... can you guess where we went? GIVE UP? O.K. it was a pamper day.... is the fancy do-dah around my neck fetching or What!  So I may be STRAY but I sure landed in a honey pot place here - got trimmed,  shampooed,  patted, and finally trimmed again around my collar area....

 


Well if he thinks he's special I have news for him.  I am MD .  Which stands for "my dog".....get it...I am No.1.  So any fancy Do-dah around both our necks makes not a 'lick' of difference. ....



Will you PLEASE give up - I know I  am cute,  but enough is enough with the photos,  I am trying to come to terms with this thingie around my NECK. ...


Come on- come on, Pleeessseeee. ....I'm  looking & feeling grand - let's go, show off someplace.....


Well, I reckon the front step is as good a place as anywhere - do you reckon the village can see me??


I've told you before - NOW LISTEN- He is mine OK I am MD and you are Stray - so back away and remember your place.



I must thank http://rvsueandcrew.net/ for teaching me the art of taking pictures, then putting a story to them - It is a new concept that I have unashamedly copied..but give full credit where it is due...Thanks Sue

Stepping out of MLR to wash-up and clean-up the kitchen....Cheers for now

CLICK GO THE SHEARS............



The very interesting shearing shed activities and livestock that was very popular with the crowd.  We waited until 3.30 hoping the hoards of kids would be on their busses and back to all their schools before we ventured into the shed......we made the right decision....

The shearer was of the old guard as he wasn't bent into his harness.....most of shearer's today always use the support to help protect their backs....Hard yakka being a shearer....my hubbie knows...He has been there done that.......
A demonstration of how it was done in the "olden days" - clipping away with hand shears...... 


An inside look at the size of the original shed....I posted a link about the history of this station in a prior blog WOOLSHED HISTORY HERE..  again if you are interested - It sure is worth a look..... 

And finally this fine example of a Ram - It was so huge it looked like a cross between a sheep and a Shetland pony.  We were assured of its fine lineage and gob smacked at the worth of this fine breeding animal - many thousands of $'sssssss but worth every penny.  The wealth this Ram can produce for the farmer is amazing...
 
That's all for now from MLR.......CHEERS....

OHHHH!!!... MY ACHING FEET......

 More of the day out of MLR:-  The exhibits were many and varied.  Centered around all the farming opportunities available today - from livestock to cotton,  rice, wheat etc there was even a butcher set up in one of the marques - in a glass enclosed butcher shop he demonstrated how to dissect a carcass and what to do with each piece cooking wise.......




 All the displays were well laid out and hoards of school kids were trouping in and out of the tents with work sheets and pencils in hand.  I later heard one brave teacher ask for the pencils to be returned.....then she received 3 out of 11 back from her group....who could guess where the other 8 pencils ended up????


A fine example of a cow - sectioned into parts that are able to service man with meat, milk and any other bits & pieces minced up...to be consumed.  I wonder if any little vegetarians were formed that day?????




This young man was working extremely hard - it was getting very warm and he was struggling when his axe was stuck - he had to wiggle it to free from the log. 

some of the many school groups settled in the shade for rest and lunch
And that's all for now - saving the shearing shed and large rams for another blog.....they deserve a page of their own............

GIDDY UP.....AROUND WE GO...


Well I managed to drag myself out of MLR for a day trip to "Tuppal Food & Fibre Festival".   
Tuppal was a famous station with a fantastic wool shed. Here is a link that explains completely - well worth a look....CLICK.....http://tuppalfoodandfibrefestival.com.au/about-us/woolshed-history.aspxa most informative (more in a further blog to come...) outing - BUT what took my eye was this amazing little merry-go-round completely operated by horse power.  The wooden (Balsa Wood) horses are around 90 years old - they were first built in 1890 originally in Belgium Each one has individual...expressions - ears etc...

There were little kids there with their teacher anxiously awaiting the horses to giddy up.  BUT what the kids had no clue about....no real horse no ride on the merry-go-round - because this is powered by a real horse named "Penny".  Penny is 8 years old Strawberry Roan (Draft Horse) - very well trained to stop & go on verbal commands.......








Hand carved horses with individual expressions on each one....





Penny waiting to be hooked up...........

And away she goes around and around and around - giving lots of little kids a ride.........

I am sure the little kids were unaware of the age and history of their exciting ride.  I sure knew it was special and that is why I took so many photos and spoke to the informative man and his wife who went to the trouble of saving, preserving and presenting something from the past to give us all pleasure in different ways......


More of my outing to come......stay tuned..........for next blog...........

PEEK A- -BOO........

What can you see......? - Stray amusing himself in my lounge room (MLR)  while I sit at my computer and investigate the WWW world as well as read blogs and construct my blog.  



You may notice the collected mess above my computer desk!!!!- I am a beader??? -  I enjoy constructing new creations.  Bead selections are so great,  when I see new beads my mind instantly goes into design mode.  I have also been through the card making phase as well.  I guess this blog is fulfilling my creative juices at the moment...



Well I have to go into town - so I will leave MLR for now - will visit the town library's free Wifi to upload - gather some reading material - check mail etc..etc.....

ORANGES EVERY WHERE.....


As I mentioned the orange sculptures constructed in the main st.......3k's into town.....I thought I would show you some of the village we live in..... and you guessed it -  we are surrounded with oranges.  They are highly perfumed when the blossoms are on.  You can smell them all the way up the road.  If you are a sufferer of sinus, the sweet, highly perfumed smell can set you off..... 



The orange orchard I can see from my back porch..............

SPECIAL GREETINGS rvsueandcrew.net





Tomorrow is rvsueandcrew.net BIRTHDAY.... well there are a couple of days difference between OZ & USA but it is on the 15th October.  


She is a great inspiration to many  travelers and her followers are in the hundereds.....A lot of   people always read her blog.....but when her little dog "Spike" passed on, the silent readers came out of the wood work to offer words of encouragement and comfort.  I know a lot of folks follow the blog SO I AM SURE WE ALL WISH YOU MANNY HAPPIES........ and safe travel's......
www.rvsueandcrew.net

CELEBRATIONS.....


This week our town celebrates the Festival of the Gardens - Passionate gardeners open their grounds for viewing.  Bus loads of gardening enthusiasts come from all over to view and enjoy their efforts.  A focal presentation in the main street   -  Orange sculptures - Erected in the main street.........





Each year various clubs, schools, local firms, get together to erect these amazing sculptures made with oranges, donated by local growers.  There is some technique they use with chicken wire and rubber bands to hold the fruit together resulting in interesting symbols and shapes.


Noticed the Airplane in the background - local landmark near the Tourist Information Center.  It is known as the "plane on a stick" and if you have to meet visitors from out of town, it is an easy place to describe and find......

STRAY TAKES OVER........


AS PROMISED story of "Stray" who wandered into our tiny village about 2 years  ago - I have my suspicions he was dumped as he was wearing a collar with no name tag....we live directly behind a park, so close and handy for wandering kids, dogs etc..... Vet could not find any chip in stray announcing any owner or phone no. - by this time I refused to name him as I thought that would be far too permanent....WRONG! he is still Stray and still HERE......


MD IS about 13 years old now -  becoming grouchy,  possessive and generally top dog......    They are good  companions and often look for one another if  they do not have eyes on each other........