"53 Buddha's and Me"

Just Sit

2012-01-07T22:20:00.001+11:00

I am now back up in Daylesford at the B&B and then back to Melbourne tomorrow to visit Shane and then take him home on Monday. He is doing quite well, it's amazing how quickly they get him out of bed. With all that has been going on in my life lately I have been really really tired and just kept thinking that's OK things will quieten down. This week I have been involved in a forum with a special group of people and I have come to the realization that I am making my life a lot more busy than it needs to be. I need to sit back and just do nothing every now and then. I have always been pretty good at doing things for ME but that is still doing!! Maybe I just need to sit!!

Zoe after she helped me do some gardening - we both then had a snooze

I came across this shop in the city the other day and the window was full of "Gollywogs" Now I am not sure if we are still aloud to call them "Gollywogs" but who cares I just love them to bits.

Hospital - Such Fun

2012-01-05T22:35:00.001+11:00

What an exciting day I have had today. I have spent the majority of it in the hospital waiting room. Shane had his hip replacement today and as I write this he is in recovery, so I am presuming all went OK. I will give another update later, but for now I will share with you the view I am looking at out of the waiting room window.OK we will forget about the photo, can't seem to upload on my iphone. Anyway Shane is now on the ward - pretty good I must say although a little stoned from the drugs they have him on.

Lazy Day

2012-01-04T21:50:00.000+11:00

Boy have I had a lazy old day today. I have pottered around all day - did some ironing - did a little bit of cleaning (the dreaded toilet and shower - don't mind cleaning to much - but hate cleaning the toilet & shower) - had a visit from Rachel & Clare - had an afternoon snooze - played on my laptop. I am the sort of person who always justifies my day by what I have done. So am I going to try and justify my day today - nah - today was just a lazy old day. Tomorrow may be different my partner goes into hospital to have his hip replacement. Thank goodness he will soon be out the unbearable pain he has been in for a while.

New Foods

2012-01-03T21:18:00.001+11:00

Today's weather was a bit more comfortable than yesterday but Rachel, Clare and I still headed of to a shopping plaza to indulge in their airconditioning. While having lunch Clare had her first experience with a whole banana. It turned out pretty messy and Clare with a full mouth of banana which she quickly mushed up in her mouth and swallowed - while Rachel (her mum) and I not to sure if she was going to choke. The moment really gave me flashback as I thought of Rachel when she was just a little older than Clare and she started eating all new foods. For a moment I saw my daughters eyes in her daughters eyes. What a wonderful life I have.

Clare at 8 months (well almost anyway)

Rachel at 12 months

Whats With Our Weather!!!

2012-01-02T23:22:00.001+11:00

We have had the craziest weather this Christmas and New Year. Christmas Day was quite humid and around 30c when all of a sudden we got the biggest hail storm I have ever experienced. I was lucky that I only had a leak in the bathroom but some people had major problems. Here's a shot of Shane's car getting hammered by the hail.

Shanes car getting hammered by the hail on Christmas Day.

Then today we experienced an Aussie Summer at 40c!!! Even though the house was a bit cool with the airconditioner I was starting to get cabin fever. So Shane and I decided to go for a drive. We ended up in Williamstown which is a lovely small historic village. We had good old Fish n Chips for lunch - did a bit of driving around and here we are back home trying to cool down. It's 11.00pm and the temp is still 30c.

Looking at Melbourne (city) from Point Gellibrand - Williamstown - 40c!!!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T22:30:00.000+11:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Hope you have all had a wonderful 2011 Christmas and an even better New Years Eve. I really love celebrating New Years Eve, not only is it a great night to spend with friends (in my case usually celebrating a little to much) but I love the idea of December 31st being a closure of the year and January 1st is a whole new beginning. I used to make New Years Resolutions but as with most of us they were usually broken before January has finished. So now my New Years Resolution is the same every New Year - I will be the best I can be - I will do things just for me on a regular basis - I will cherish my family and friends and above all I will be REAL. Wishing you all the very best 2012 and may it be all you want it to be.

Yes I Am Still Alive!!!

2011-12-14T22:34:00.000+11:00

Yes I am still alive. It's a month today since I last posted on my blog. My life has been extremely busy in the last month - what with travelling between Old Chilli Bed & Breakfast in Daylesford and Eltham twice a week, looking after Shane who is on the waiting list for a hip replacement and my life in general. I am now over half way thru my time in Daylesford, only 5 months until Tim and Brian return from Canada and my adventure is finished. I must say I have loved the past 7 months running a B&B and I am still enjoying it. I decided to make my time in Daylesford to be Davine time and to strive to do things that I enjoy and that would make my life more whole. I think I am succeeding in my journey and I am looking forwarding to it continuing. One thing I have learnt in my Davine time is the truest and most loving gift we can give ourselves is just be true to yourself. I mean REALLY true to yourself. It is quite easy to tell ourselves little white lies about how we feel, what we eat, how we treat others, how much we move our body and many other things. But if we cut out all the crap - scrape the bones clean - and really check out our true self the crap stands out like a beacon. So I believe that if we "Spring Clean" - even in Summer or Winter - a bit of crap out our lives our true self will shine that little bit more. Until next time goodnight and above all love yourself - your true self.

Can't remember where I got this from - but thank you from the author.

Granny Time

2011-11-14T22:42:00.000+11:00

I am having a lovely evening looking after my granddaughter. She has been fed, bathed, cuddled and now sleeping peacefully. She is now 6 months old and even more adorable. It's funny before I became a Granny I just didn't get what grandparents were on about, but now I definately get it. Both my kids have always been the loves of my life and now Clare & O'Shea has made my heart bubble over with even more love.

Batemans Bay

2011-11-07T23:20:00.001+11:00

Beautiful Batemans Bay

Bridge over Clyde River - Batemans Bay

You Are Kidding!!!

2011-10-30T22:47:00.000+11:00

You Are Kidding Qantas!!!!!!!

One easy way to make a nice relaxed week on the beautiful New South Wales Coast get a little stressful. The airline you are due to fly back home on Friday grounds all of their aircraft - worldwide. Now normally it wouldn't worry me but now that I am running a Bed & Breakfast and I have both rooms booked this weekend and I really need to get back to Melbourne on Friday. Plus I am travelling with Rachel and Clare who is only 5 1/2 mths, we would like to have things run smoothing with a little one. I am using all the positive thinking I have in me as I am sure it will all be rectified in the next 6 days. But just in case I will also check what other options we have.

Nelligen

2011-10-28T22:33:00.001+11:00

Today is the start of our weeks visit with my son Shane, his partner Stacey and my beautiful grandson O'Shea. My daughter Rachel, my grandaughter Clare and I caught a morning flight to Canberra which took just over an hour. This was Clare's 1st time on a plane and she was great. All I can say thank goodness she is breast fed.

Clare on her 1st plane flight

Once we picked up our hire car it was of on the almost 2 hour drive to Nelligen. The car we have got is a Suzuki Kizashi (which I have never heard of) and to start and stop the engine you just push a button. Really weird concept to get my head around but it goes pretty good. Clare slept all of the way and Rachel slept most of the way. We are now in Nelligen almost all are asleep and I am just sitting enjoying being with both my children and their children.

Beautiful O'Shea now 3 months

Sad Note: For those out there who have read my blog previously you may have heard me mention Shane & Stacey's two beautiful dogs Mitch and Bosco. Well last week Mitch passed away - he was only 3 1/2 years old and it is thought that he was bitten by a snake. He was such a beautiful well behaved dog and is sadly missed especially by Stacey and his best friend Bosco.

Abundance

2011-09-30T22:59:00.000+10:00

My "Medicine Wheel" theme for September has been "Abundance" and that is exactly how it has turned out. Every facet of my life this month has definitely been abundant. I have have had an abundance of work, even been offered another part time job. I have had an abundance of things to do. But the best part has been that I have had an abundance of "LOVE" in my life. I am now into my 4th month at Old Chilli Bed and Breakfast in Daylesford and I am really loving my time in the country. I can't believe I only have eight more months to go. But my intention was to make this twelve months for ME and that is exactly what I am doing. I am getting myself back into regular meditating, doing some walking and I am also getting lots of arty things completed. As anyone who does any sort of craft knows you always have lots of things on the go and if your like me you will have lots of things half done. With that in mind that has been part of my mission - to finish all of my UFO's (unfinished objects). For someone who is a procrastinator that is a challenge.

Mitch & Bosco

2011-09-22T19:15:00.000+10:00

Bosco

Mitch

It was good to see Bosco & Mitch again while we were up at Batemans Bay.

Sunrise over Clyde River

2011-09-09T19:36:00.002+10:00

Sunrise over Clyde River - Nelligen

Uncomfortable or Not !!

2011-09-08T21:48:00.000+10:00

This is how O'shea fell asleep on my knee - is he comfortable or not!!
Guess he is because he was snoring.

Albury Fog

2011-09-07T21:13:00.000+10:00

Early Morning Albury Fog

Batemans Bay

2011-09-05T09:45:00.000+10:00

I have just spent the past few wonderful days in Batemans Bay with my son Shane, his partner Stacey and my beautiful grandson O'shea. They have only just moved here for Shanes work and they are renting a very nice house with an amazing view over the "Clyde River". Shane has always been a bit of a Gypsy and moved around a lot during his life, but I think now that he has a little family he may stay put a bit more - maybe!! O'shea is now 7 weeks old and a very happy little boy (when he isn't hungry or tired). I have taken quite a few photos while I have been here (mostly of O'shea) and will share them with you over the next few days. We head back home to Eltham tomorrow where I can catch with my girl Rachel and her baby/my beautiful grandaughter Clare.

Hi I'm O'shea and how cute am I???

Pressie Time

2011-09-04T14:01:00.000+10:00

As I mentioned at the beginning of August I wanted to give away a piece of my

jewellery to two of my readers. Thank you all for leaving me a comment and I put all of your

names into a hat and the two lucky readers are:

********************************************************************************

Lou Spiden and Joanna Jenkins.

Congratulations Girls.

********************************************************************************

If you could both email me your mailing address to davinerae@hotmail.com

I will get your prize out to you asap.

It's Almost Spring in Daylesford.

2011-08-14T10:43:00.000+10:00

It's Easy To See That It Is Almost Spring In Daylesford.

Playfulness from "Tiny Buddha"

2011-08-13T22:07:00.000+10:00

This week I read this very appropriate post - "10 ways to make your life more playful" from "Tiny Buddha" and I just have to share it with you. It is so true that as we grow and become adults we either forget or feel all our childish playful activities are inappropriate!! Well might I say that is just plain and simply ridiculous. We all need to connect with that little child inside us every now and then. In my case I try to do it every day. Today I took myself of for a walk through the bush and to make it a bit more playful I pulled on my Gumboots and went a walking through the puddles. Yes I was like a little kid splashing in puddles. I would love to throw out a challenge to everyone to connect with that inner child at least once this week and let us know how your playful time was spent. Don't forget by leaving your comment you do will not only be bringing a bit of playfulness into your life but you will also have the chance of winning a piece of my jeweller. So come on lets have some fun this week.

Even the Kookaburras were having a laugh with me!!!

Family

2011-08-06T22:52:00.001+10:00

My daughter Rachel with her daughter Clare and my son Shane with his son O'shea.

Note: Don't forget to leave me a comment to have a chance at winning a piece of my jewellery!!

Medicine Wheel 2011 - 2012 & My gift to Who?

2011-08-01T21:23:00.000+10:00

Once again this year I have had my Medicine Wheel 2011/2012 done by the lovely Michelle of "Joy Express". I was so totally amazed with my 2010/2011 Medicine wheel that I had no hesitation about going through the process again. So now here I am the first day of August and my message for this month is "Playfulness" - I like this word because I definitely like being playful. We all know what the word "Playful" means but when I really looked into the word and what it means to me I was quite amazed and the many words I came up with. But the one that really resonated in my brain today was "Have a disposition to find or make a cause for amusement". So with that in mind I decided to combine two things in my life. I love my blog and I love designing and making jewellery so these are the two ingredients of my amusement this month. I have decided to give TWO of my readers a piece of my jewellery - yes TWO. To be in the running all you need to do is leave me a comment during August and on August 31st I will announce the winner. So please go on leave me a comment and you never know you just may be a winner.

Medicine Wheel 2011 / 2012

Every Man & his Dog

2011-07-31T20:18:00.000+10:00

With such a beautiful sunny day as we had today it was not surprising to see lots of people at the Daylesford Sunday Market. It was also a given that people would have their dogs out walking with them, but oh my goodness I have never seen so many dogs in all my life. Now don't get me wrong I do love dogs but at some points when there were a few dogs with their owners you couldn't walk past without stepping over a dog.
There were big dogs, little dogs, happy dogs, angry dogs - all sort of dogs.

Dog Day Afternoon at Daylesford Sunday Market

My Little Road Trip

2011-07-26T22:50:00.004+10:00

Last week while in Daylesford I took myself on a little road trip. First stop was Creswick - I haven't been to this little town for years. When my son Shane was at Melbourne University doing Forestry he lived in Creswick as this is where their Forestry Campus is.

Creswick

Creswick was built on the proceeds of rich gold deposits mined from the 1850's, Creswick today proudly displays fine examples of the grand architecture so reminiscent of the era. A stroll down the main street will reveal a number of historic buildings including the former State Savings Bank, Post Office, Library, and Havilah Masonic Lodge.

Creswick

Talbot
Talbot was originally first born for servicing a mining population of over 15,000 during the 1850s, today only a few hundred people live in Talbot. The town retains a number of historic buildings from its prosperous gold mining days which can be observed by taking a stroll along Scandinavian Crescent in the heart of the town.

Talbot

Clunes

Clunes was the site of Victoria's first gold strike. It is located in a steep valley surrounded by rounded hills, which are actually extinct volcanoes (they can be best seen 3 km south along the road to Ballarat).
Clunes is one of the most intact 19th-century towns in the Central Goldfields, boasting numerous bluestone and brick buildings. Fraser St, the commercial centre, is wide and elegant, full of 19th-century shops with original store-fronts and distinctive verandas. Fraser St has been the setting for many films including 'Mad Max' and 'Ned Kelly'. The Djadja Wurrung people were the first inhabitants and these people occupied most of central Victoria. The words Djadja Wurrung defines the name of the tribe and the language they spoke. It is a combination of 'djadja' (yes) and 'wurrung' (speech). Being called the "yes people" suggests that the tribe were considered to be a friendly group of people.

Clunes

Maryborough

When Mark Twain visited Maryborough in the 1890s he described it as 'a railway station with a town attached'. The Maryborough Railway Station is a really a wonder to behold. It is huge and gracious: a vast 25-room edifice which is surely Maryborough's finest building.

Erected in 1890, it is a red-brick structure with plenty of stucco trimming for contrast. Highlights include the ornate clock tower, Flemish gables, massive portico, marble dressing tables in the women's toilets, some attractive wrought-iron work on the veranda, oak wall panels and the longest platform in Country Victoria.

Maryborough

O'shea Ryder Clohesy

2011-07-22T21:42:00.000+10:00

I have finally met my grandson O'shea today. He turns 1 week tomorrow and is very cute indeed. I think he is a mixture of his Mummy Stacey and Daddy (my son) Shane. I have spent my day today cuddling him and when he hasn't been in my arms I have been taking photos of him. But I just have to share this photo of my boy with his boy with you. When I first saw it my heart just melted.

Shane & O'shea

O'shea Ryder Clohesy

I just feel like the luckiest person in the world with two wonderful children who have met and fell in love with two wonderful partners and now given me two wonderful grandchildren. I love my life.

My new baby Grandson

2011-07-16T21:20:00.000+10:00

Well I did have a post all organised to publish today but I have some way way better news. My new little grandson has finally arrived. His name is O'shea Clohesy and he arrived this morning at 8.20am - 2 weeks late and weighed 3.27kg (8.2lb). I don't have a photo as yet but as soon as I do and his parents Stacey & Shane say it's OK for me to put one online you will be the first ones to see it.

My "F....." Week

2011-07-14T21:21:00.000+10:00

No it's not what you think - but yes my week has been an "F" week.

Farewell - Monday was the farewell day,as I dropped Shane of at Melbourne Airport

for his 10 days in Darwin.

Darwin Sunset

Friends - Tuesday I had lunch with some old and new Angel Friends.

These lunches are always so enriching. I always head on home on a bit of a high.

Family - Wednesday was very special as I had dinner with my beautiful

daughter Rachel and my gorgeous grandaughter Clare.

Clare

Fun - Wednesday was also time for some good old fun with Arch. My leg finally

felt good enough to head down the park with Arch to throw the ball around.

Arch loves his ball

Freeway Frenzy - Today (Thursday) my "F" experience was definitely freeway frenzy.

On the freeway I was driving along is currently having lots of road works happening

and there is no emergency lane and some poor person had broken down.

I always feel sorry for people who break down but oh my it did cause a bit of havoc.

Overdue Update

2011-07-10T20:28:00.000+10:00

I have been so slack lately with updating my blog, although I have had a few things on. So what have I been up to since I last posted. I spent most of the week in Melbourne doing a bit of work at "Homing Instincts". I haven't worked there for about a month and Jennie has got lots of new groovy stuff in, so of course I ended up partially spending my wages. I have had the stitches taken out of my shin and the Dr was very pleased with the healing of the skin graft. For those who remember my posting about my allergic reaction that makes my throat/tongue swell, well I think I may have found out what it could be. I also had an appointment with the specialist last week and he also thinks I may have had a bit of a breakthrough. I have always been a bit of a coke-aholic. I have always loved my diet coke and drank a lot. But I have not had any since April 10th and the allergic reactions have all but ceased. Apparently my body has decided to react to one of the additives. I really hope this is the problem. My next grand baby was also due last Friday, but he is way to cosy and doesn't want to emerge just yet. So hopefully sometime this week I will be able to share him will you all. I am now back in Daylesford and have just spent a great weekend with some girlfriends who came up for the weekend - fun fun fun. So that's my recent adventures and now onto my life for another week.

Waiting for "Shaggy"

Well I Never!!

2011-07-02T21:09:00.000+10:00

Back in Daylesford for the weekend, breakfast for my guests was all over so Shane and I decided to go for a drive to Castlemaine. Castlemaine was originally started in the gold rush days but a lot of employment now is farming and one of their main pests are foxes. As foxes are an introduced animal in Australia they can be very devastating to a paddock full of sheep. Driving along the road we came across something I have never seen before. Someone has had a busy day getting rid of their enemy and from their display they are pretty proud of themselves. ### Thats 35 times proud ###. Can you believe I didn't even have my camera with me - so I had to take this shot with my phone. Bit blurry because it was pretty windy and I was getting blown around.

Good Bye Castlemaine Foxes

Bucket List

2011-06-29T22:13:00.000+10:00

Do you have a "Bucket List" - you know that list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket. Well I do have such a list and yes I am working through it. One of my "Bucket List" entries is to travel around Australia in a Camper Trailer. Shane and I have been planning it for quite a few years, every year we would head off to the "Caravan & Camping Show" and dream over all the tent trailers, camper trailers, motor homes and all the bits and pieces that go with them. But our last "Caravan & Camping Show" was the decision making time - we decided it was time to make our purchase. We bought our new camper trailer but had to wait 6 months to have it built. Yesterday was our day to go and pick it up. It is pretty easy to tow, but as it was brand new and we were in peak hour traffic on the way home we were both a bit nervous. But we got it home and now it's time to really start planning for our "Bucket List Trip". Although it won't be a huge trip for a while yet seeing I am enjoying my "Year In Daylesford" at the moment.

Ouch !!!

2011-06-22T21:06:00.000+10:00

Well I had my little skin cancer removed from my shin and unfortunately the skin was to taut to just be sewn together so the Dr's. had to do a skin graft. The process was performed while I had a local anesthetic ( would much rather have been put to sleep) although they did give me something to calm me down so I think I did sleep for a bit of the 40mins it took. I had two Dr's. working on me - one taking the piece of skin from my groin and the other removing the skin lesion. I felt pretty good yesterday after the operation but I think it might have been the drugs I was on because today my leg is quite sore. I have to keep my leg up as much as I can for about 5 days - bit hard when I run a Bed & Breakfast. I am so lucky I have a good friend -Vicki - coming up to Daylesford for a few days to help me out. But at least it is now over and I just have to deal with the next week until I head back to Outpatients and they do whatever they have to do. I am a bit of a wimp so I'm really not thinking of what they have to do.

Even though my poor old leg was hurting my heart was singing while I cuddled Clare - she needed a Granny cuddle as she had her 1st lot of immunisation needles today. She was so good and took it all beautifully.

Sore Leg

2011-06-20T21:05:00.000+10:00

This morning in Daylesford it was once again a foggy, drizzly rainy start to Monday. I think I am probably going to experience quite a few of these sorts of mornings as we work our way through Winter. But I don't mind after all it is Winter. I am now back in Eltham tonight because I am having a small skin cancer removed from my shin tomorrow morning. It is only a small spot but as it is on my shin the Dr. may have to do a skin graft if the skin cannot be stretched enough. So this time tomorrow night I will know just how long I will have to keep my leg up. I am a little bit nervous - but all will be OK.

Daybreak in Daylesford

2011-06-19T20:38:00.000+10:00

Those out there who have followed my blog know I love the beginning of a day, especially sunrise. When I have guests staying at "Old Chilli" I head down the street early to get the days newspaper and if it's market day I get some freshly baked bread. This morning when I headed down the street I was greeted not with a sunrise but lots of fog and drizzly rain. This didn't put a damper on my day at all - I love when it is foggy, almost as much as a beautiful sunrise. I always have loved fog, as a little girl I used to pretend I was in the middle of nowhere. Even as an adult fog gives me the feeling of being able to hide and it may sound strange but it also makes me feel cosy.

Our Little Bunny

2011-06-18T20:19:00.000+10:00

I have just returned back to the country after having a couple of days in the city. The main thing I notice when I get back to Daylesford is just how quiet it is and the amazing show the stars put on when there is no cloud cover. I have had guests every weekend, so I am now quite comfortable getting breakfasts and doing all I have to do. The guests I have had have all been really nice and all comment on just how beautiful "Old Chilli B&B" is. I must say I agree with them, even though it was only built in 2001 it has been designed with lots of older features and there is lots of antique furniture, so you get the feeling it has been here for a lot more than 10 years.
I did have two wonderful days in Eltham looking after our new little angel Clare. She is a very good little lady and at almost 6 weeks she is starting to focus on your face. Here is a photo of her in her little bunny suit.

Olives !!!!!!!

2011-06-13T19:56:00.000+10:00

Tonight's post is a request of help from me to you. This beautiful property here in Daylesford has lots of trees and plants I will eventually be able to get food from. Me being a city girl, I know I am going to have to be a bit of googling to find out the what, when and where of what I have. Now as I don't eat olives this produce is an interesting challenge. I have three olive trees and the fruit have now turned dark so I am thinking it it time to harvest and actually do something with them. I am intending on marinating them (don't know how!!) and giving them to my family, who do eat them. That's where I need your help - what do I do with these Olives ??????

My Three Olive Trees

Are these ready to be picked????

Garden Visitors

2011-06-12T20:02:00.000+10:00

It is so wonderful going to sleep to the sound of frogs croaking to each other around the pond outside my bedroom window and then waking up of a morning to the sound of the many birds greeting each other good morning. I also have a few Crimson Rosella's that visit the garden and enjoy having a chew on the Quinces.

My Daylesford Family

2011-06-08T19:40:00.000+10:00

As well as looking after Old Chilli B&B in Daylesford for the next 12 months I am also looking after "Arch" a very clever Kelpie X and two very beautiful Alpacas "Bilbo" and "Groucho".

Clever Arch

Beautiful Arch

Bilbo

Groucho

Farmers Market

2011-06-07T21:37:00.000+10:00

I love markets, whether they be craft markets, fruit & veggie markets, clothes markets, trash & treasure markets or the Daylesford Farmers Market I went to on the weekend.

Daylesford Farmers Market

Beer

Vegetables

Honey

Love Is.........

2011-06-06T08:47:00.000+10:00

Mother & Daughter
Rachel Maree Clohesy & Clare Megan Walker

Back In Daylesford

2011-06-03T21:56:00.000+10:00

Previously Old Chill B&B had only taken bookings for the weekends as the owners Tim & Brian both had full time jobs. I have continued that system for now but as of June 10th I will open up a few more week days as well. Luckily I am able to open and close days so I can still head back to Eltham if there is anything I need to do in Melbourne.

A Brief History of Daylesford

Gold was the main reason Daylesford was founded, but saw-milling and agriculture played a part after the easily won alluvial gold was exhausted. After 1865 local businessmen approached the Government and the development of Mineral Springs began to play a major part in the growth of the town as a tourist destination. These days Daylesford and the Hepburn Spring area draw many tourists to the area to not only experience the beauty of the area but also pamper themselves with the mineral springs and the many Spas, and massage and pampering businesses. During my time here I fully intend to pamper myself with a few massages too.

Daylesford ca1908

Back In Town

2011-06-01T21:49:00.000+10:00

Wow it's Wednesday already - time just travels way to fast. So after my very enjoyable first few days in the country I am back in Eltham for a couple of days. On the morning I left Daylesford it was a very clear but chilly morning but that didn't deter the local ducks. As soon as they found a bit of sunshine they decided to have a feed on the grass.

Daylesford Ducks - Wood Ducks I think??

As I am dealing with food and people I have to get a certificate in food handling. So that what was on the agenda today. The four hour course was quite interesting and really a lot was just common sense. But now I am happy I have that little certificate and I can cross that job of my list. As the course was short and I was in the city, I decided to have a wander and just enjoy the sights and sounds of Melbourne.

Busker in Bourke St Mall

Some of the Buskers Audience

The Old Shot Tour in Melbourne Central

The best thing about getting home was I get to catch up with my beautiful daughter Rachel and her beautiful daughter Clare.

Clare looks so tiny in the Port a Cot

Survived the Weekend

2011-05-29T20:13:00.000+10:00

Well I have survived my first weekend in Daylesford. Old Chilli B&B only has two guest rooms, so it is not an overwhelming job looking after the guests, preparing breakfast and cleaning the rooms. In fact looking after the guests is actually a pleasure - it's great meeting different people from different walks of life. When Tim & Brian designed and built "Old Chilli" in 2001, they made it so the two rooms are separate from the main house and the guests have their own entry and door out onto the balcony. They really only have to come into the house to have breakfast. So the guests can have as much privacy as they want - yet they have me around to answer any questions they might have. As well as looking after the B&B for 12 months I am also looking after "Arch" the family dog and the two Alpacas "Bilbo" & "Groucho". So as you can see my life for next 12 months is going to be a little different than my norm.

Old Chilli Dining Room

Even though I do love being here but I am missing our new little angel "Clare",
but I will see her on Tuesday.

A Year In Daylesford

2011-05-27T21:32:00.001+10:00

Well here I am sitting in the Bed & Breakfast I am managing for the next 12 months. It has taken quite a bit of organising and note taking but her I sit in the beautiful township of Daylesford in this beautiful B&B called "Old Chilli". I intend for the next 12 months to give you updates on how I am going being a first time B&B manager and also being a first time country girl. I have lived in quite a few locations around the world but this is the first time in the country. I also intend to give you - mainly for my international visitors - a bit of history and interesting things in this location. So for now I will say good night as I have to be up early to prepare breakfast for my guests staying tonight and we will catch up tomorrow.

"Old Chilli B&B"
Daylesford

Break of Day

2011-05-23T21:00:00.000+10:00

I am busy preparing everything for my "Year In Daylesford". For those that don't know as of this Thursday I am looking after "Old Chilli Bed & Breakfast" in Daylesford for two of my very dear friends Tim & Brian. They are of to Canada for 12 months and have put me in charge of their business. I had a trial weekend a few weekends ago and I must say I just loved it. On the Monday morning the day greeted me with the most beautiful rainbow. Oh I think I am going to enjoy my Daylesford adventure.

The Patient Fisherman

2011-05-20T20:34:00.000+10:00

Shane just loves fishing and being in the fishing village of Eden he was in his element. Naturally he would prefer to catch fish but even if he doesn't he just loves sitting throwing a line in, especially in this beautiful sunset.

The Patient Fisherman

Sunsets are wonderful, but what I find amazing is what that retiring sun

does to the clouds left is the sky.

Eden Sunset as a Tug Boat heads out.

The sun has gone but the clouds that are left still make your heart smile.

Beauty in Lake Tyers

2011-05-17T21:47:00.000+10:00

As I mentioned in my last post our night in Lake Tyers last night was a bit chilly. Well it didn't improve during the night - we froze all night. So much so that we woke early and set of for Eden at 7.00am just so we could get warm from the cars heater. As we left the caravan park the sun was just starting to emerge over the horizon. Now that was just to hard a temptation for me to leave, so we headed down to the beach - all rugged up - to greet another day.

Lake Tyers Sunrise

Thought I would share another photo of our beautiful Clare - notice her little black eyes from being so enthusiastic to emerge into our world.

Clare Megan Walker

Cold Feet & a Bad Movie

2011-05-16T21:28:00.000+10:00

Shane and I are on our way up to Eden to deliver some baby furniture and stuff to my son Shane and his partner Stacey. They are due to have my second grandchild on July 1st. By the way my new grand daughter Clare is now home and doing really well. Rachel and Luke are working together as a great team. So anyway as I was saying we are on our way to Eden and tonight we are staying at my cousin Susans caravan in a small town called Lake Tyers. It is nice here but tonight it is really cold - Shane & I are almost sitting on top of the heater, but my feet are still really cold. We are watching a movie called "Decent" with Luke Perry. It was made in 2005 and the Synopsis is - "Oil drilling causes the Earth's crust to sink, pushing the magma up. A crew must detonate nuclear fusion weapons underground and push the crust back into its proper position. Meanwhile, on the surface, there is a debate as to whether to inform the public about the impending crisis." From what I can tell it is a very low budget movie and ratings I could find are no higher than 3.3 out of 10. I think the 3.3 is generous - in my opinion this is a really bad movie.

Just In Time

2011-05-14T08:05:00.000+10:00

With the early arrival of our angel “Clare” we were lucky we didn’t leave Rachel’s baby shower any later or we would have had to have it without Rachel or have with Clair being there. We had a lovely day with lots of food, great venue and lots of fun games. Rachel got some beautiful gifts and they are all things that she is now going to need. It’s no secret in our family that Rachel loves getting presents and this day was no different. I tried my hand at making a “Nappy Cake” or “Diaper Cake” to my Canadian & USA readers. I am really pleased with how it turned out.

Rachel does love getting presents.

Nappy (Diaper) Cake

"I'm a Granny"

2011-05-11T22:33:00.000+10:00

Hi all - I would like to introduce the latest member of our family. Our little Princess Clare Megan Walker was born yesterday, Tuesday April 10th at 1.13pm - 3 1/2 weeks early to my beautiful daughter Rachel and her partner Luke. She was 7.8lb at birth so she would have been a bit of a woppa if she had had gone full term. Rachel was only in labour for 4 hours but they were 4 pretty hard but joyful hours. I am extremely proud of the great job Rachel and Luke did in bringing their beautiful daughter and my cherished granddaughter into this world. To turn a perfect day into an even more perfect day Rachel named Clare after my Mum (Joan Clare). I tell you what it bought quite a few tears to my eyes.

Rachel & Clare (2 hours old)

So True

2011-05-07T20:16:00.000+10:00

"A Baby is Born with a Need to be Loved

and Never Outgrows it"

- Frank A Clark

My Daylesford Adventure

2011-05-06T21:21:00.000+10:00

I think I may have mentioned in a previous post that from June 26th I am managing "Old Chilli B&B" in Daylesford for 12 months. The owners - Tim & Brian - are friends of mine and they are going travelling and working in Canada for the 12 months. This weekend is my first trial weekend totally on my own and I am pretty excited and a bit nervous. The B&B only has two rooms and they are both booked for this weekend and I am all prepared for breakfast tomorrow morning. Daylesford is situated in a really beautiful area and is only 90mins from home so it will be easy for me to shoot off home to catch up with the family. I'm looking forward to sharing the history and beauty of this part of Australia with you all out there. But until then I would like to share the full moon we encountered on our cruise.

Paradise Day 7 to End

2011-05-04T21:08:00.000+10:00

I have had so many Internet issues the last few day I haven't been able to update my blog. At one point I wanted to throw my laptop at the wall. So I will give it another try - hopefully it won't take an hour to load a photo!!
Our last island visit to Noumea was cancelled as there was a cyclone brewing and the captain decided it was just not a good idea for the ship to visit the port. So we had an extra day at sea, but as there was so much to do on the ship the days were filled with fun. On our last day we came into Sydney Harbour at day break and another spectacular sunrise. I am not sure why but there is something very emotional being on a ship sailing underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Paradise Day 6

2011-04-28T23:09:00.000+10:00

Lifou Island is the largest and most important island in the Loyalty Islands in the archipelago of New Caledonia. The island is only 81kms (50 miles), and 16 - 24 kms (10 - 15 miles long). The island is flat with no hills or rivers but has abundant vegetation. We visited a village and learnt about they way they lived, cooked and as they are a very religious group of people we visited a couple of churches. The locals were very friendly and the children were gorgeous.

Paradise Day 5

2011-04-25T20:27:00.000+10:00

Today it was our day in Vila, Vanuatu but firstly the day started with this spectacular sunrise.

We didn't think much of the town centre and then we walked through the market. I thought Shane was going to throw up with the smell, especially when we came across the dried fish and squid. It didn't bother me that much and I just love seeing the local markets.

Dried Squid - didn't smell very sweet!!

Then it was time for us to split up - Shane went of to do a big of reef fishing which he really enjoyed, even though he only caught three little fish. I went to the Ekasup Cultural Village. It was really interesting and I learnt so much. Did you know that up until 1985 a village in the northern part of Vanuatu still practiced cannibalism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Chief

Unlike in Australia, all the spiders and snakes in Vanuatu are non venomous!!!

Paradise Day 4

2011-04-24T22:44:00.000+10:00

Today was our day to visit "Mystery Island" in Vanuatu. This tiny island of only 1.5 square kilometres is uninhabited as the locals from neighbouring islands believe it to be haunted after dark. They do all head to the island when cruise ships come in to sell their wears, but head back to the others island before it gets dark. I did some more snorkeling while Shane did a bit or exploring. On his little exploration he came across this hut with villages selling freshly cooked crayfish (lobsters) at at least 1/4 the price we would pay in Australia. Well being the seafood lovers that we are we just couldn't resist having one and I must say it was absolutely delicious. After a bit more relaxing we thought it be wise if we headed back to the ship on one of the tender boats as the weather was starting to look a bit wet and we were right. All of a sudden we had the most amazing downpour. That evening was once again spent eating and enjoying great entertainment.

Tiny Mystery Island - Vanuatu

Crystal clear waters of Mystery Island

Villagers performing

Yummy Crayfish (Lobster)

Storm Approaching

Paradise Day 3

2011-04-23T23:52:00.000+10:00

This morning we woke to the first of our beautiful sunrises as we dropped anchor at the

"Isle of Pines" - New Caledonia.

Our 1st beautiful sunrise.

The tender ships to take all the passengers to the island were lowered and off we went to spend our first day in Paradise.

The tender boats are lowered

We had booked ourselves on a tour that took us to the other side of the island and I spent a wonderful few hours snorkeling along the coral reef. The fish that were there were just spectacular. After snorkeling we spent the rest of the day exploring other parts of the island, shopping and enjoying a local beer. We then returned to the ship for another evening of good food and great entertainment. It was this night I realized I can't keep eating 3 big meals every day because I will explode!!

This is why it is called the "Isle of Pines"

Danger Rock at Kanumera Bay, is regarded by the locals villagers as a sacred area and although it is ideal for snorkelling around its base in the crystal clear waters, villagers believe that the souls of their ancestors are now the plentiful
"Striped T-shirt" snake. As a mark of respect it is advised not to snorkel or even touch the rock.
I am guessing some people didn't know of this custom or of the deadly snakes as they were sitting on
the rocks at the base of the rock.

Mmmm nice cold local beer!!

Time to get back on the ship.

Back from Paradise

2011-04-22T23:03:00.000+10:00

Yes our beautiful, relaxing holiday to Paradise has ended and we are almost back to reality. As I mentioned in my previous post I had lots of issues with the Internet on the ship so I thought I would bring you all up to speed in the next few days. Today I will cover our first two days and share a few of my photos with you.

Paradise Sensation - Day 1

There was a lot of excitement between Shane and I as we set of on our flight to Sydney where we were to board the ship "Pacific Jewel" for our 10 day Pacific Island cruise. Shane had never been out of Australia before so he was an excited child. Once on the ship it was time to do some exploring and of course some eating. The Pacific Jewel is owned by P&O and is an English ship. It has 6 restaurants to get either meals that are included or ones that you can pay a surcharge. Our cabin was a double with our very own balcony and what a view we had from that balcony for the whole 10 days. Leaving Sydney Harbour the weather really gave us a wet goodbye from Australia, but the Sydney skyline with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House was still an amazing sight. The ship actually sails under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and for some reason it is a very emotional experience and from all of the passengers cheers Shane and I were not the only ones who felt it. There is so many activities and entertainment while on the ship you really don't get bored while sailing to our island destinations. Day one was and early night for us as the 5.00am rise and all our excitement tired us two puppies out.

Paradise Sensation - Day 2
Oh it is so nice having our cabin steward Aidhou (pronounced I do), we don't to think about making beds, replacing towels or anything. Even when we thought we left our cabin clean she would clean and organise our belongings even more. We spent our day and night at sea having some drinks in some of the many bars. I had a go at the Quilling Class and we finished the day off watching a great song and dance show called "You Can Dance"

Paradise Sensation

2011-04-17T09:26:00.000+10:00

Yeah I have finally been able to get on my blog - still can't upload photos yet but it am working on it. Our cruise is just wonderful, I am now addicted to snorkeling and the drink Midori Splice. Today we are supposed to be docking in Noumea, New Caledonia but the is a tropical cyclone brewing so the captain has had to change course and we are now spending an extra day on the ship on our way back to Sydney. The seas so far have been fairly smooth, we just get a rolling motion every now and then. As I have said I am still working on uploading some of my photos - I think some are pretty good - even if I do say so myself.

Dodging food !!

2011-04-05T20:02:00.001+10:00

Last night I had a very enjoyable night out with some girlfriends. We went out for dinner to Kobe Teppanyaki Japanese Restaurant. Teppanyaki is always fun to experience with a group of girls. For those out there that may not have had teppanyaki, it is basically very fresh food cooked in front of you while having some of it thrown at you. Yes we all had food thrown at us and we mostly caught it, with lots of laughter. What a great way to spend an evening - great food, lots of laughter and the great company of girlfriends.

Kobe Teppanyaki Restaurant

Good Catch Alice

I am starting to get excited about the 10 day cruise Shane and I are going on next Sunday. We are going to various islands in New Caledonia and Vanuatu. I am going to endeavour to update my blog while we are away, hopefully I won't strike to many internet connection problems.

Another Day Trip

2011-03-30T08:31:00.000+11:00

Yesterday Susan, Bosco (Shane’s dog) and I had another day trip northward. I decided today we would take Bosco along with us as he travels really well in the back of the car. He enjoyed his day with the wind blowing thru his fur – although he did lay down and sleep most of the trip.

Bosco - ready for his adventure

After driving through some beautiful green countryside we made our first stop of at the tiny town of “Candelo”. My son said to go and have a look here because he thought we would like this little town. Now “little” was the operative word – there were about 3 stores, but it is still nice to see the small towns of our wonderful country. Candelo is set in the Bega Valley and although small is well known for it various festival held throughout the year.

Candelo

We then set off along the banks of the Candelo Creek to next small township of “Central Tilba”. We were amazed by the devastation of the recent floods; there were literally hundreds of tress that had been flattened down by the force of the flood waters that had hurdled down the rivers recently.

Trees flattened by the floods

After about another 30 mins we arrived at the delightful township of “Central Tilba”. I have visited this little town on many occasions and I still always look forward to visiting. This delightful little town is a working heritage village and is classified under the a National Trust and has been named as one of Australia's top 20 heritage sites. It is located in the foothills of Mount Dromedary. It is only one small road filled with lots of interesting shops that sell mostly handmade goods. Susan and I had a good look at all the shops while Bosco patiently waited for us outside. He is really a very well behaved dog, although we did find out today that he is a bit frightened of wooden rocking horses. He growled, barked while backing away from them – it was quite hilarious.

Dromedary Hotel - Central Tilba

Bega Valley

Bosco - the perfect travelling companion

Then it was time to head back to Eden and enjoy our last dinner out with Shane. Now today it is time to head back home and start planning for the cruise I am going on in April.

Girls Day Out

2011-03-28T21:55:00.001+11:00

Today Susan and I decided to go on a bit of a day trip to a couple of small townships. I must admit we did get ourselves slightly lost (talking to much I am thinking) so we decided just to keep driving and see where we ended up. After leaving Eden we stopped at Merimbula for a little shopping. Merimbula is a town where I have camped on many occasions with my ex husband when my kids were little. It holds a lot of good and sad memories for me, so it was good to be there with Susan to see it with different eyes. Then it was onto Bega - known for it's yummy "Bega Cheese". We drove a little further north to Cobargo and then we headed east toward the coast and the delightful township of Bermagui where we had a yummy feed of the very freshest fish. Bermagui is a very nice township with a really good feeling about it. One of the tourist attractions in Bermagui is the saltwater "Blue Pool" that would be a very refreshing place to go for a swim and hang out on a nice warm day - today was just a little to chilly.

Bermagui's "Blue Pool"

Then it was onto Tathra where the "Historic Steamer 1862 Wharf" is located.

Tathra Historic Wharf

We then headed on the road back to Eden for a nice relaxing evening with my boy - Shane. Tomorrow we might try and find the towns we couldn't find today.

Eden - Day 2

2011-03-27T21:13:00.001+11:00

This morning Susan, Shane, Bosco and I had a very enjoyable walk along the beach.

Bosco had heaps of fun playing on the beach.

Another Sunrise

2011-03-26T21:17:00.000+11:00

Today I had the pleasure of watching the sun rise on another wonderful day. This time I wasn't able to get any photos as I was driving. I got up really early to commence my 2 hour drive to Traralgon to pick up my cousin Susan and then we were of on our road trip to Eden which was another 5 hour drive. We are spending the next 5 days up here with my georgous son Shane. He has recently just got a new job here and is now waiting for Stacey to come down from Cairns to join him. Then in July they are due to have their new baby. Eden is a coastal town in the south coastal region of New South Wales. The town, 478 kilometres (297 miles) south of Sydney near the border with Victoria, is located between Nullica Bay to the south and Calle Calle Bay, the northern reach of Twofold Bay. Eden's population is approx. 3,006.

A Week In Torquay - over

2011-03-18T20:51:00.002+11:00

Now home and looking back at my week in Torquay, I must say I ended having a very nice relaxing week. After our initial flood the weather for the rest of the week turned out to be quite enjoyable. One day we even had a dip in the ocean. My last day I got myself up while it was still dark and headed down to the beach to get some shots of the sun coming up. Oh what a wonderful way to start your day when you start it with this sun raising its head.

Before I show you some of my photos from my week in Torquay

I just have to show our flood comparison from 2010 to 2011.

Muddy Feet - Day 1
2010

Muddy Feet - Day 1
2011

Point Lonsdale Lighthouse

Good Morning Wednesday

A Week In Torquay - Days 2 to 5

2011-03-13T21:45:00.000+11:00

What a mixture of weather and events we have had over the past four days. I'll start at the beginning, which is the best place to start. During our first night we got torrential rain all night long and the front part of our tent flooded a bit, but luckily our bedroom was completely dry. It was quite a "Ground Hog Day" experience. This same weekend last year (2010) I took a photo of my feet up to the ankles in mud here in Torquay.
This years photo of my feet on our day two in 2011 looks almost exactly the same. Then the next morning Shane decided to relocate one of the tent ropes so he removed the tent peg out of the dirt and as soon as he did water started bubbling out of the ground. So now our small flood in the tent was slowly turning into a lake. To cut a long saga short the plumber eventually arrived and fixed the little fountain and the park manager had arrived and worked out that we could move our camp to the site next door. So between six of us we basically picked up everything and shuffled to the left a few meters. Since then we have had beautiful weather and our little tent is very comfortable. Yesterday Alice, Robyn and I even went do the beach and had a bit of a dip in the ocean. Today Shane and I headed of to the Sunday Market in Angelsea then a drive along the famous "Great Ocean Road" for a yummy meal at Wye River. I have taken quite a few photos but I am having trouble uploading them so they will have to wait for another post.

A Week In Torquay

2011-03-09T17:03:00.000+11:00

Today is our first day of our "Week In Torquay". Shane and are spending the week camping with two other couples - Mick & Lois and John & Robyn. I'm sure I will have a chance to show you a photo of them at some stage during our time here. As you can see the new tent is up with only a little bit of tension between Shane and I. Considering this is only our first use of this tent (2 practice sessions previously) a little bit of tension is pretty good. We were going to bring a tent that we have had for years, it actually belonged to my Mum & Dad. But after having it up in the back yard for a few days of lots of rain and some of that rain ending up on the inside of the tent we decided we had to seek alternative accommodation. Thanks goodness my friend Jenny used to own a store called Paddy Pallins and they specialised in all outdoor equipment and she had some left over stock. I really enjoy camping, it is so nice sitting outdoors even if it's not so warm. So I am now of to go an sit with friends and have a quiet drink.

Our Date

2011-03-01T21:48:00.000+11:00

I have had such a wonderful day out with my daughter Rachel. Our date started with a venture through one of our favorite shops - IKEA. We have both always loved wondering around Ikea, even when we were on holiday in Vancouver we still had a wander. After we had bought what we needed and wanted we then went onto another favorite place. We went to "TGI Fridays" for a yummy lunch. Rachel and I have had many a date at good old "TGI Fridays" - we love the food and have our definite favorites and today was no different. They only difference today was I don't normally eat desert but somehow Rachel talked me into ordering this rather large Hot Chocolate Ice Cream Sundae - even though I knew I was being a bit of a piggy I still ate it. Rachel is now 6 months pregnant and today I felt my grand baby kicking, wow how amazing. This was actually the first time I have ever felt a baby kick - other than when I was pregnant. What a great great day with my baby and her baby.

Busy Day in the Studio

2011-02-28T19:35:00.000+11:00

No work today - so I decided to get creative and I had a busy day in the studio. I am now feeling very satisfied with the jewellery pieces I have designed and made.

I also tried a couple of new things - here are my first attempt at making a couple of wire wrapped rings

and also some resin pendents.

Creative Time

2011-02-27T22:00:00.000+11:00

Hi I'm back - I've had quite a busy few days. My massage last week was absolutely wonderful. I felt so totally relaxed at the end of my indulgence. Thanks everyone for sharing your idea of your ideal self indulgence. I have had a couple of days creating some jewellery and organising some dates that I can get involved in a couple of markets. I am now going to work on uploading some photos onto my DavineRaeDesign website. Maybe I will even get my ArtFire website up and running. The time has come for me to move forward.

Sleepy

2011-02-23T22:29:00.000+11:00

I am just way to tired to think of anything to type tonight. Today was my seventh day straight working at Homing Instincts. I must say I do love working there but I am getting to old for seven days. I have a few days of now and tomorrow I have booked in for a two hour facial and massage. My beautiful daughter Rachel gave me a massage voucher for Christmas. I am so looking forward to my two hours of self indulgence. I would love to hear what your ideal self indulgence would be if you had a whole two hours to spare. Now keep it clean!! Please leave me a comment - we all love to get comments on our blog don't we? So until tomorrow I will say good night and wish you all a lovely night or day, depending on where you are.

Something to think on....

2011-02-22T20:18:00.000+11:00

I received the following words in an email from a friend of mine and was asked to forward it on. I don't normally send these messages on but this one really hit a cord with me. Recently I have been going through my late parents things and became aware that I had so many beautiful things hidden away in boxes and if something happened to me tomorrow I would never get the joy of using them. So I have now been getting some much loved items out and getting some pleasure out of using them.

Something to think on.....

A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and
picked up a silk paper wrapped package:
'This, - he said - isn't any ordinary package.'
He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.
'She got this the first time we went to New York, 8 or 9 years ago.
She has never put it on, was saving it for a special occasion.
Well, I guess this is it.
He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other
clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.
He turned to me and said:
'Never save something for a special occasion.
Every day in your life is a special occasion'.
I still think those words changed my life.
Now I read more and clean less.
I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.
I spend more time with my family, and less at work.
I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.
I no longer keep anything.
I use crystal glasses every day...
I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.
I don't save my special perfume for special occasions; I use it whenever I want to.
The words 'Someday....' and ' One Day...' are fading away from my dictionary.
If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now....
I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell..
I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels.
I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favourite food.
It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come..
Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.
Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.
If you got this, it's because someone cares for you and because, probably,
there's someone you care about.
If you're too busy to send this out to other people and you say to yourself
that you will send it ‘One of these days’,
remember that 'One day' is far away... or might never come.....
No matter if you're superstitious or not, spend some time reading it.
It holds useful messages for the soul.

Sad Day

2011-02-19T22:00:00.000+11:00

Today hasn't been much fun as it is 12 months since my dear old Dad left me. I had to work and I was glad, otherwise I would have just sat around all day and felt sorry for myself. I know we all have to go through the loss of a parent but when you are in the midst of the emotion you feel like the only one in the world that is suffering. I want to thank all of my wonderful friends for putting such lovely comments on my facebook page and I want you to know that your words do help. My Dads name was/is Keith Pitcher and he was a wonderful man. Yes I was a daddy's girl (even at 56) but you could asked anyone who knew him they would all tell you what a great bloke he was. He was the true epitome of a gentleman - he always opened the door for a woman, always walked on the road side of the footpath, just as they did back in the 30's, 40's and 50's. I never ever heard him say a wrong word about anyone, I remember we did have one relative that was quite the busybody and quite annoying. When people in the family would be complaining about her all my Dad would say was "She means well". He also had a very cheeky sense of humour, he would be serious in a conversation and all of a sudden this cheeky little boy would show up. The people he loved most in the world were his Mum - Myrtle, his wife and my Mum - Joan and me and us three woman were very honoured to have had him in our lives. Thanks Dad for helping me be me.

Memories of Bali

2011-02-16T21:03:00.000+11:00

Here's a couple of photos I took while in Bali in November. This was the night us girls had a scrumptious seafood dinner on famous and beautiful "Jimbaran Bay".

Bintang Beer & Bali

Bali & the Beauties

Austin Healeys & Lunch

2011-02-15T17:23:00.000+11:00

Here's some more shots from our Sunday together. The Austin Healey Car Club were having a show and then it was time for lunch at the "Fish Bar". The fish was really nice and fresh - Mmmmm.

1954 Austin Healey Streamliner

It was apparent to me that most Austin Healey owners like their cars RED.

Lunch at the "Fish Bar" was yummy.

Early Valentines Day

2011-02-14T20:45:00.000+11:00

Shane & I spent an early Valentines Day yesterday at Waterfront City, New Quay in Melbourne. It was nice to spend a day just being. Waterfront city has become quite the place for tourists and locals to head for to spend a nice day. The precinct currently features a number of bronze statues including John Farnham, Graham Kennedy, Kylie Minogue, Dame Nellie Melba and Dame Edna. All Australians know these personalities and some of my International readers may have heard of some too. Thought I would share some of the shots I took.

Dame Edna

Graham Kennedy

John Farnham

Kylie Minogue

Out of Sorts

2011-02-13T21:28:00.000+11:00

I have been a bit out of sorts the past week, with lots of weird emotions sneaking up on me and biting me on the bum. At first I was bewildered as to why I have been having a hard time when only two weeks ago I was on a real high. Now I know why, next Saturday it will be 12 months since my Dad passed away and I have know noticed that I am continually thinking about the things I was doing and emotional turmoil I was in this time last year. I am guessing we all go through these feelings so I will just tackle each day as they are presented to me.

Gadgets

2011-02-08T20:41:00.000+11:00

I must admit I am a bit of an IT gadget freak. It's not that I buy lots but I love to read and learn about all the goodies that are out there. But I saw this little gadget on the "Catch of the Day" website, and I couldn't resist buying it. It was a reasonable price too, only cost me A$18.70. What is it I hear you ask? It's a USB Digital HDTV & DAB Tuner, which in English s a little gadget that enables me to watch and record T.V and radio on my laptop. Why did I feel I had to have this gadget? I think it will come in handy when we go camping to Torquay next month, I will be able to watch the news and see whats happening in the world and if it does happen to rain I can watch some telly.

Interesting --- 2011

2011-02-05T22:45:00.000+11:00

I receive a monthly newsletter from Diana Cooper and I just have to share a paragraph from this months newsletter. I just love it when there are events such as this - very interesting.

"The cosmic moment on 11.11.11 at 11.11 promises to be more awesome than any of us can comprehend. It will literally bring in divine energy that will transform us if we are ready. So prepare yourself and be ready to receive it. It may help to be at a high frequency place or portal.

This year we will experience 4 unusual dates. 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11. Now take the last 2 digits of your birth year plus the age you will be this year and it will equal 111. Try it. It works."

Feeling Sorry for Me

2011-02-02T14:51:00.000+11:00

I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before but I have some sort of allergy (I think) that cause my throat, tongue or lips to swell up, but it is only ever half my throat or tongue or lips. I have been to hospital and an allergist to check it out but to no avail, they can't find what I am allergic to. It has been happening for about the past 3 years but usually only about every couple of months. But I have had my throat swell twice in the past 3 days. So today I am totally exhausted as I haven't had a proper nights sleep for 3 nights now and I'm bloody tired. Whenever it happens I write down everything I have eaten but there is never a common thread. So now I am writing the ingredients of what I have eaten just in case it is a preservative. But so far still no common threads. So right about now I am over it, I just wish I could work out what is causing it as I don't want it to get so bad one day that I can't breath!! If anyone out there has any suggestions I would love to hear them as I am just about out of ideas and the Dr's seem totally confused with me as well.

Mitch

On a completely different not - Queenslanders are now preparing themselves for a category 5 cyclone. I feel really sorry for everyone up there but I must say I am very glad Stacey and Shane are in Eden not Cairns. One of there dogs "Mitch" is in boarding kennels up there but he has been evacuated to one of Stacey's friends. Stacey has organised for someone to batten down the hatches at their house and hopefully their house and car will be OK.

Extended Families

2011-01-30T22:32:00.001+11:00

Friday Nights Family (extended) BBQ was a very enjoyable night.

My Pregnant Girls - Rachel my daughter and Stacey my son Shanes girlfriend.

My family - Luke, Rachel, Stacey and Shane
There was lots of laughter as the boys tried to stick their bellies out
as their pregnant girls.

Davine, Rachel, Stacey and Paul (my ex)

City Catch Up

2011-01-27T22:58:00.000+11:00

Tonight I ventured into the city to have a drink, meal and catch up with two very dear friends, Kath and Kaye. I worked with both the girls at the Tasmanian Travel Centre for quite a number of years. Kaye now lives in Sydney with her partner Danny and her beautiful little girl Ava. Kath is now married to Paddy and is due to have their first child in April. I have said it before and have to say it again. Aren't friendships great when you don't necessarily see each other a lot but when you do you just slot back into the comfort zone - this is true friendship. Melbourne is a bit of a buzz at the moment with the Australian Tennis Open being held at the moment. Tonight Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were playing and lots of people were gathered at Federation Square to watch the game on the big screen. It was a beautiful summer night to be in the city and enjoying the sights and sounds of Melbourne.

Crowds sitting at Federation Square watching Tennis on the screen.

Federation Square Screen

Creative Week

2011-01-25T20:42:00.000+11:00

My creative week has gotten off to a good start, but not as I had expected. When I said I was going to do something creative each day, I was intending on making some jewellery or do some other sort of craft. But my Guides have had other ideas. Yesterday I did heaps of clothes mending and alterations, and other varied sewing that had been sitting around for a while. Today I have also been creative in a different form - I have recreated my Dads old bedroom from a store room back to a bedroom. I have used this room as a dumping room ever since Dad passed away because I just couldn't bring myself to go through the stuff that was being stored in there. But as with going through his clothes last week, the time had now come where I am ready to face the room. Now that it is all emptied, cleaned and looking beautiful I am so happy and feel I have had a very "Creative Day".

Dog Harmony - How long will it last?

Yesterday I captured this cute photo of Bosco and Zoe sharing a bone - strange I know.

That all changed today when they had a bit of a disagreement.

Oprah

2011-01-23T22:57:00.000+11:00

I'm sitting here watching the final episode of the "Oprah In Australia" shows. Blimey the whole audience have all just been given a diamond necklace from Argyle Mine!!. Now I know I'm an Aussie and I don't want to brag, but jeeez if I didn't live here I would definitely visit Australia it looks absolutely beautiful. Oh now it's the finale and they are singing "I Still Call Australia Home" and this song makes me cry every time I hear it!! Yes I now have tears.

Makes me want to share some of my Aussie photos.

My view of part of the Great Barrier Reef from the air

Bruny Island - Tasmania

Melbourne by Night.

OK now that I have recovered - hi everyone. I have been working at "Homing Instincts" all weekend and even though I really enjoy it I am a bit weary now. Hope you are all having or are enjoying your weekend. I don't have a lot on next week, not working until next Saturday so once again I am giving myself a few challenges for the week. My challenge for Davine is to do something creative each and every day.

Ups and Downs

2011-01-21T23:15:00.000+11:00

The last couple of days I have been on a bit off an emotional roller coaster. At the beginning of the week I had set myself a task that I knew was not going to be easy but it had to be done and I felt I was now ready for it. My task was to go through all of my dear old Dads things and decide what things I could let go of and what things just had to stay with me. I finished that process yesterday and by last night I felt OK. Then today it was time to get rid of his old bed. This process stirred up more emotions than I thought it would. But now I sit here with my task all completed I am once again OK. I know that no material things are needed because Mum and Dad are with me all the time anyway.

Here are a couple more photos that I took at the "Melbourne Aquarium".

The underside if Stingrays always look like a smiley face to me.

This Octopus was rather large - these guys always freak me out a little.

These Penguins were just hanging out near the nursery - I wonder if they are the Mums or Dads?

This guys came to say hi - but he was moving to fast for me to get a clear shot.

Day in the City

2011-01-18T21:44:00.000+11:00

I was just to tired last night to update my blog, but my tiredness was from having a really nice day/evening. Shane & I decided to have a day in the city - I wanted to get some photos developed - for FREE. I get my photos developed from the shop I have bought a couple of cameras from - Camera House. I have always got a really good price from them and as a bonus you get 1000 photos developed free for 12 months. Very worthwhile when you are scrapbooker. After getting my photos and wandering around the shops for a little while we went to the Melbourne Aquarium to see the "Baby Hammerheads". The aquarium itself was really good but the baby hammerheads were a bit disappointing as you couldn't really get a great view of them. Then last night I went out for dinner with two old friends Janine and Vicki ( not old as in age - old as in knowing them for a long time). Isn't it great when you can sit down with girlfriends whom you may not see all that often and still feel right at home and let all the good, the bad and the ugly hang out. Sitting talking to the girls really bought home to me that all of us should really turn to our friends when we need someone to talk to, or just of load to. Also there shouldn't be a day go by that we don't do something, whether it's bit or small for ourselves EVERY day. Today has been a bit quieter, but I have just returned from picking up Rachel (daughter) and Luke from their three week holiday in Malaysia. Boy has her tummy grown in that 3 weeks!
I don't think we stopped talking all the way home - had to make up for the 3 weeks we never spoke.

Looking back at the city along "Old Sandridge Bridge"
The Sandridge Bridge is a historic former railway bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne,
which was redeveloped in 2006 as a new pedestrian and cycle path featuring public art.

Mr. Murray Cod
Murray cod are large fish, with adult fish regularly reaching 80–100 centimetres (32–39 in) in length in all but the very smallest waterways. Murray cod are capable of growing well over 1 metre (3 ft) in length
and the largest on record was over 1.8 metres (6 ft) and approximately 113 kilograms (250 lb) in weight.

I think this cute little frog is called an "Arrow Frog" and they have extremely poisonous skin.
Mmmmmm not so cute after all.

This prehistoric creature is an Australia Water Dragon

I just love looking at jelly fish - mind you I wouldn't be so interested in them is I was in the water.

Window Shopping

2011-01-17T00:02:00.000+11:00

After I have finished my year at the Daylesford B&B "Old Chilli", Shane and I are intending to travel around Australia in a campervan. So as today was such a lovely day we thought we would go and do a bit of window shopping. In an ideal world I would really like to purchase a brand new "Jayco Swan", but if we came along a good second hand one at the right price that would be great, because they aren't cheap. So to help things along I already have a picture of what I want on my "Vision Board" and I figure if I put my intention out there maybe my "Guides", "Angels" and anyone looking after me will help me along.

Rain, Holes and Eyes

2011-01-15T22:33:00.001+11:00

This week I have spent a few days with my cousin Susan who as most of you will remember has been very sick in hospital. Well she is now home and on her way to recovery. She still has a fair way to go but is a lot better than I thought she would be at this stage. It was so good to spend time with her and have a conversation. On Friday it was Victoria's turn to get heaps of rain and while I was driving back from Traralgon (2 1/2 hours) I was in the thick of it the whole drive. I must say it wasn't an easy drive as I couldn't see the road for most of the journey.

Not a fun drive!!

When I arrived home all was OK, except Bosco had decided he was going to try and dig to China!!! This photo doesn't show it properly but this hole is about two feet deep!!

Hole to China

I was pretty angry with him until I realized he had a sore eye - oh poor Bosco. So off to the vet we went, got some cream and forked out $90. Mmmm I guess I will be getting that back from his owner - my son Shane - although I won't hold my breath waiting for the money.

Bosco's Sore Eye

What is going on in Australia...........?

2011-01-11T21:18:00.001+11:00

What is going on in Australia? We have bush fires about 100kms south of Perth in Western Australia and devastating floods in a huge area of Queensland. Is sickens me to read that the bush fires in WA are believed to have been deliberately lit. What possesses someone to light a fire that has the potential to not only damage a persons property but take lives. I know they say that firebugs have a mental condition but I just don't get it.

WA Bushfires - news.com.au

On the other side of the coin the devastating floods in QLD are an act of nature. I feel so much for the people up there, they have had so many years of unrelenting drought and now it is like all the water is coming down in one fail swoop. It is sad that so many will loose houses and businesses but the real tragedy is that some will and have lost their lives. My heart goes out to all who are suffering not only at the hands of others but also at the hands of nature. Whats going on in Australia............?

QLD Floods - Brisbane Times

Successful Challenge

2011-01-10T21:17:00.001+11:00

This week I have joined some online friends in a week long challenge. I love and thrive when a challenge is placed before me. It's like I play a game with myself to complete something in a specific time frame. One of the things I wanted to do was to make myself a shoulder bag in the style of one I saw at the night market last Wednesday night. It has lots of pockets to fit all the essentials us girls need but still small enough for me to hang across my shoulder and still have my hands free. Having been a quilter I certainly have no shortage of fabric, so my challenge for my Monday was to start my new shoulder bag. I am now sitting here satisfied that I have succeeded in my Monday challenge. Not only did I start my bag but I finished it. It is amazing how doing anything creative with my hands I am so amazingly as peace.

My new Shoulder Bag - Front

Back of my shoulder bag.

Sunday Road Trip

2011-01-09T23:14:00.001+11:00

Today Shane and I ventured out on a lovely "Sunday Road Trip". We didn't have anywhere in particular we wanted to go, we just decided to get in the car and drive. The first place we found ourselves was a small farmers market in Yarra Glen. Shane got his nice hot coffee and we bought the tastiest cherry's I have ever had.

Shane's Coffee

Where to next - we then drove up through Healesville but there were just way to many people. On the road again we drove up through the "Black Spur" which is such a beautiful area to drive through. Two years ago when Victoria went through it's devastating bush fires the "Black Spur" was one of the areas that was hit. The landscape is now quite amazing with the trunks still blackened and the fresh green shoots seemingly just poking out the sides.

"Black Spur"

Lunch was next on the agenda, so we stopped of at the "Black Spur Inn" which is in a small township called Narbethong.

Black Spur Inn

For our return trip home we decided to make our road trip a circle rather than back track. So it was onto Alexandra, then Yea and just before we got back home we stopped of at Sugarloaf Reserve to check how much the water has risen since we were last there. Sugarloaf is a very popular waterway for recreational fishing and the first five minutes we were there a young boy and his Dad caught three Yellow Belly Fish. Sugarloaf is also one of the major water catchments that provide Melbourne with it's water. The last time we went to Sugarloaf Reserve was when we took my dear old Dad there and we sat and ate fish & chips for lunch. I was amazed how much the water had risen I would say probably about 20 metres.

Sugarloaf Fishing

Sugarloaf Reserve

Now back home I am a bit tired but have really enjoyed a great Sunday.

Suzuki Night Market

2011-01-07T22:06:00.002+11:00

On Wednesday night Shane & I went to the "Suzuki Night Market" which is held each Wednesday night from November until March on the grounds of Melbourne's famous Queen Victoria Market. This market is a hive of activity consisting of over 150 stalls selling everything from unique clothing to jewellery to original prints. There is a huge range of eclectic choices. This year I have a friend who has a stall selling the most original summer foot accessory I have seen in a while. Kristy sells her original creations "Fancy Feet" and they are comfy and fun to wear.

Kristy's Fancy Feet

The market also has a huge array of international food stalls, ranging from French to Vietnamese and quite a few bars as well. So while sitting, eating and enjoying a nice cold beer you can also listen to music from bands on one of the two stages. For anyone in Melbourne of visiting our fine city between November and March I would certainly recommend a visit to the "Suzuki Night Market".

Mmmmm Paella for dinner.

Yummy cookies & fudge stand

This stand was filled with items made from waste.

Suzuki Night Market

Goodbye 2010 - Hello 2011

2011-01-03T21:54:00.001+11:00

Goodbye 2010 - what did the year hold for you?

As with every year, the twelve months are filled with good, bad, happiness and sadness. I love the celebration of finishing one year and love looking forward to the adventures in the new year. 2010 for me was one of many emotions, it was the year I became an orphan when I lost my beautiful Dad in February. It was also a year that I got a brand new sexy black "RAV4" car, I had a wonderful holiday in "Far North Queensland" spending some time just indulging myself in myself, which was exactly what I needed at that time. I decided to leave my career in travel that I had worked in for 15 years and just do casual work when I wanted to work. I spent some wonderful times with my family and friends. I had a great holiday in Bali with a great bunch of girls. I realized just how much I loved and relied on my cousin Susan when she was very sick and now that she is on the mend, I am even more aware of just how short our lives are.

2011 - What will the next 12 months hold for us?

I know my 2011 is going to be a fantastic one as I already have a few things on the horizon. Shane and I have a cruise organised to some of the islands of New Caledonia and Vanuatu in April. In May I start an exciting 12 months looking after friends Bed and Breakfast in Daylesford. Then my very exciting news for the year is that I am going to become a Grandmother!!! Yes a Granny - to two babies - both my children are expecting babies. Rachel and Luke are due in June and Shane and Stacey are due in July.

I am very excited!!!!

Bosco .... What the !!!!!!!!

2010-12-28T22:41:00.026+11:00

Bosco

This is my son Shane's dog Bosco. He is a lovely dog - well he's still actually a pup at 11 months old and maybe I should add he is lovely most of the time. He is a very muscular solid dog for his age and is a mix of breeds but mostly a Blue Healer/Staffy cross. We are dog sitting him for Shane for the next four weeks, which is fine as he really is a nice people loving dog. BUT - the first morning that Bosco arrived we awoke to a back porch that looked as though we had had a cyclone. Bosco had obviously gotten bored during the night and found everything that wasn't metal and chewed it to pieces. Luckily nothing that he demolished was of any value. All we could do was laugh - and get Shane to clean up his dogs mess. So every night since then we are going to bed prepared - there is nothing anywhere near him that he could possibly chew.

Bosco's Mess

Boxing Day 2010

2010-12-26T22:15:00.000+11:00

For me Boxing Day would have to be the laziest day of the year and Boxing Day 2010 hasn't disappointed me. After my Christmas Day visitors had all left and the rest of the clan had headed off to do their socializing I decided to take full advantage of being in an empty house. I soaked in a hot bath, watched a movie, and pretty much just lounged around all day. Prior to going to Bali I had given myself lots of house projects to complete once I got home. But as with all well laid plans life can sometimes put up road blocks. So now that my life is almost back to normal - well as normal as my life gets - tomorrow I am going to start completing my to do list. Also I thought I would now share some of my Bali photos with you.

"My Bali Bedroom"

This stone business was "Davine Paradise" -

so many Buddhas and all to big and heavy to bring home.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T22:25:00.000+11:00

Hi everyone - I would like to wish everyone out there a very Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays. I have found it difficult to get to my blog the past six weeks or so as my mind and time has pretty much been consumed with work and my cousin Susan.Susan is now on the road back to better health. She came out of hospital on Christmas Day and is heading back to her home tomorrow. She still has a way to go but slowly but surely she is getting there. My Christmas Day has been wonderful, although with it being my first without either of my parents I wasn't really looking forward to it. But as it has turned out I have spent it with the four most loved and important people in my life and has been one of my most happiest days. I am fully intending to get back into my posts now so please stay with me. Hopefully I have something interesting to say!!

Onward and Upward....

2010-11-29T22:59:00.000+11:00

I would have to be one of happiest people on earth tonight. Sue was finally taken out of Intensive Care today and is now in the Neurological Ward at St Vincents Hospital. We went to visit her tonight and when we got there she was sound asleep, still with some drips attached to her tired frail body. The nurses asked us to step out for a while so they could reposition her in the bed. After about 10mins we went back into her room and to our sheer delight she was awake and very aware of who we were. Although she is not speaking as yet she smiled, nodded and made some small facial gestures as we spoke to her. Thank you for everyone out there and the universe for your prayers in getting my Suzie back. Even though it will probably be a long road at least we are heading in the right direction. Even though there have been a lot of tears this past week tonight's happy tears were the sweetest I have ever tasted.

I now feel I can share some of my photos from Bali - I just couldn't get my brain to think of anything else until now. While we 8 girls were in Bali 5 of us decided to get a tattoo. When Sue and I turned 50 we decided to get ourselves a tattoo - she got a Chinese water symbol - she is a typical Aquarius and very attached to water. I got mine on my ankle, it is my initials and I designed it myself. As most of you would know I am a bit of a crazy person when it comes to Buddhas so I felt I had to get a Buddha tattoo - but what design. Finally I found a drawing of the "Lotus Buddha" and decided this was to be my gift to myself. The next decision was to the position. Considering that you should never get a tattoo of Buddha below your waistline I decided to get my tattoo behind my ear - yes you heard right - behind my ear. It didn't really hurt, just vibrated in my head a lot. I got Alice to hold my head when the tattooist first started because I didn't want to move. But all was OK and I love it and I don't feel I need any more.

Here we got - ready or not!!!

Now that wasn't to bad.

My new Tattoo - Lotus Buddha

Update on Suzie

2010-11-28T22:59:00.000+11:00

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, prayers and best wishes for my darling Suzie. I feel like the past week has been one of the longest weeks I have ever had. But this morning we have had a bit of a positive move. The Drs. bought Sue out of her induced coma around 11.00am and she is now off all sedatives. Her eyes are very alert looking straight into our eyes and watching the movement of others in the Intensive Care Unit. She is not responding to any commands as yet, but I figure having been away for the past week it may take time for her to start responding. I think we still have a very long way to go but oh it is so lovely to see her eyes. So if I may be so bold as to ask, could I still get you all to say a small pray that my Suzie comes back to us as she left us. This past week has been a sad way of me really seeing how fragile and unpredictable our lives can be. With this in mind I ask you all to do a favour not only for me but for you and your loved ones. Please make the most of every day, do things you love to do, take time out for yourself and please please tell those you love just how much you love them.

Suzie

2010-11-23T22:12:00.001+11:00

Hi everyone - yes I am back from a wonderful time in Bali and I promise I will upload some photos at some stage. But firstly I have a favour to ask each and every one of you. Those of you out there that are regulars to my blog would know of my cousin Susan, as I have written about her and our closeness many times. Susan is much more than a cousin to me - our mothers were not only sisters but best friends and Susan and I were born only 6 weeks apart. We have been like sisters all our lives - sharing all the childhood, teenage and grown up experiences together. Somehow when one of us is feeling low the other one can sense it and will automatically make a call. Well last Saturday Susan took ill and between then and now she has been put into an induced coma, helicoptered from her town 2 hours from Melbourne to a hospital in Melbourne and endured many many test while in intensive care at St Vincents Hospital. She has been diagnosed with encephalitis and the Dr's are keeping her in the induced coma for a while and pumping her with some heavy duty drugs to fight the infection. In my heart I know she is not going to leave me or her wonderful family. My request from you all is if you don't mind could you say a small pray to whichever God you have to please return Suzie to us the way she was before this event. She is a wonderful woman, always caring for others and never asking for anything in return. My request is also very selfish because I want my Suzie back as she is my backbone.

Suzie & my son Shane in Outback Australia

Fish Food

2010-11-15T18:31:00.000+11:00

Davine, Alice & Melissa feeding the fish

Weird feeling.

At last I have been able to uoload some photos.

Ahhhhhhh Bali

2010-11-13T11:05:00.005+11:00

At last I can get to my blog and at last I am back in beautiful Bali. Our flights here were great, no problems considering that the day before most flights had been rescheduled due to volcanic activity from Mount Merapi in Indonesia. But we got here after our 4 hour flight from Melbourne to Darwin and then after about an hour stopover we then headed on our 2 hour flight to Denpasar, Bali. As I mentioned last time this is my 4th visit here and I still love it as much, if not more from my first visit. I love the peacefulness, the hustle and bustle of people trying to sell you something, the weather (as long as you have a pool close by}, the smells (some are a little bit challenging), the sights, the bargains and of course the people, they all have a smile even when they are not trying to get money out of you. Yesterday we just did our first little venture shopping in Seminyak - just have to get back into the swing of bargaining, which might I add I am not very good at, I keep forgetting what my last price was!! Alice, Melissa and myself also went and had our feet chewed - sucked on - cleaned (what ever you would like to call it) by some "Garupa Fish". It was a very weird sensation, sort of like puutting you legs in a big tank of bubbling soda water. The accommodation we are staying at is called "The Villas Hotel & Spa - Seminyak and has to be the most beautiful place I have ever stayed. The shot on the opening page is our villa. We have a 3 bedroom villa with our own pool and chef that comes and cooks our breakfast each morning. I will try and attach their link and some photos but no photos can do it justice. It is absolutely amazing. This morning we are of to have a massage and then I am going to check out some wholesales for my jewellery and maybe get some batik fabric. Oh I do love it here. So for now Salamat Jalan.

** Sorry I can't download my photos - connection way to slow - will try next time**