So far the week...

At the house of nunde there has been some activity.

I went and got my RSA cert on Monday night. I think that stands for Responsible serving of alcohol. This means when you come and visit me in the new craft shop/cafe I can hand you a bottle of plonk YAY! "Would you like wine with that doily?"

That night there were more fires on the horizon. Close enough to remind us not to relax yet in Victoria, but far away enough not to be too scared. Apparently this weekend we have been warned of another bad fire day.

There was no Trash Tuesday because I was other wised occupied with my son who is driving me crazy, literally, because he has been at home with an infected foot after standing on a nail. Last night did any of you hear me screaming at him to get back in the house again to put shoes on?... Its not because I care about his pain, I just cannot do another day with a bored 7 year old.

My noisy transmission is worrying me no end also and as my car is my only means of escape from this place and bored 7 year olds I am rather distressed should it be something serious and costly.

Then I had to retrieve my cat from the bushes along the bike track and bring him home to bury him. And then my poor neighbour gives me a hug later that day because of my loss just after she tells me she has lost her poor mum that day also so I am like oh my god you need a hug way more than me!

So I didn't really give a stuff about the environment yesterday.

I don't mean that of course, but come on right, I do have a pretty good excuse or not blogging about it yesterday. Right?....

Today I'm working on getting my groove back. I seemed to have lost it sometime last week.

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I can do craft!

*Wobbley chick doing a happy dance because one personal crafting project is finished.* "Oh yeah Baby." I can do craft...SEE! I now have a bag allocated to embroidery. Embroidery on the bag was done by my mate Pam and the rest sewn by me. Yep, I can sew. I cant dance though so I will stop now.

Cheers
Melanie

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A bit weird

UPDATE I received comments during my blank post phase and after so I think it is just me. Weirdness seems to have fixed itself for the time being and I suspect it might be an issue with our end and my geek husband tinkering ..... Thanks heaps for letting me know how it was being veiwed at your end. You guys really do rock and are so helpful! Now I shall go get crafty. I think I am way overdue for some craftiness.

I dont know if anyone can see this because I know I cant. it seem my posts are missing and there is just a gaping big blank spot between the columns. I wonder if anyone could let me know if they have experienced the same thing?
cheers
melanie

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You know you are old when...

The stuff that you have had since you first left home is now showing up on eBay as Vintage

Annecy Ornamine 516 Made in France

Cheese board that was given to my mum and dad back in England when the world was still veiwed in black and white. I think thats the story anyhow...

Im baking bread. The next batch is home grown herbs with heaps of garlic. Yes, I am proud to say that I bought a bread maker years ago and still use it *glares sideways at family member who said it would be another useless gadget taking up storage*

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Trash talk

I want to ask the question "Do our kids need to learn German and Indonesian in school?"
What do you guys think?
I say NO and see it as a waste of money, paper to make the books and bad use of time a child could use learning something necessary.
I did 4 years of German. WHY? I dunno. Mandarin would have been way more beneficial or Japanese but German.......?

Now my kids are learning Indo half the year (compulsory with books being very pricey) and German for the other half. Thats over $100 worth of books that will be tossed and never ever remembered. The cost to the trees MURDERED for this, priceless!

My 2 high school kids before this one loathed the classes and learned nothing but more dislike for school. What they really needed was more English or Maths. A lot of kids loathe these subject but the more they do it the better off they are. It is never wasted.

Have they done surveys on the benefits of learning German or Indo? Isn't it unsafe for us to go to Indonesia at the moment or is that just my paranoid US husband talking?

Printing books for the sake of filling school hours with subjects that seem to have no benefit seems wasteful and also leads me to ask why are we still using so many text books anyway.
I have had to throw away quite a few because they bring out new editions and I don't even get to hand them down. How many times must they revise a maths book? If you spent more time in math than German you could answer that.

My son is being pestered to get a German text book and I am refusing to buy it.
If my dear friend Elsie reads this I know she will speak calm words of common sense to me before I go running off to rebel against the education department...again. I am not sure it will stop me as I am already at that "How dare you" stage with the Dept of Ed lol.

I wonder how everyone else feels about such wastage. Has anyone ever thought about the cost of resources to teach a subject that is so brief and unnecessary? Maybe there are other areas you know of that I have missed. If so you must tell me just in case I have a quiet week and nothing to rebel against:)

P.S i have just tried to google "the cost of text books on our environment" and nothing came up.
People have time to find out how many boofheads you can pile into a mini cooper but not to find important answers...

Have a triffic night all!
Cheers
Melanie

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Bees are falling from the sky

I am extremely allergic to bees and stupidly went outside to inspect a situation that master nunde had informed me of. Bees were walking across the road according to him and he expressed his deep concern for me whilst warning "mum, you could die, don't go out there."

So I went out with socks on, camera in hand, convinced he was full of rubbish and couldn't see a bloody thing. Then my eyes adjusted to the fading light and I was surrounded by dozens of bees walking across the road............. CRIKEY... and here is me in my socks and no glasses on..... There is a gum that I suspect they might have been feeding from but a hive I would have sensed. How odd! Smoke inhalation perhaps? I will not be going outside with out shoes on for a while that is for sure. It is a disturbing sight none the less and I know the great importance of bees , however, if they come near me I will karate chop them in the face.

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The Cheery Post of Froof

My creation
Originally uploaded by nundecreations

I love a bit of Froo Froo and here are some cheery pics as promised to lighten up my mood and chill me out. All works in progress on my work bench. Pictures taken in my 10 buck light studio box(now that does cheer me up)

These are all little gifts to me from me. I especially love the gift I am making for myself up the top. Gold chain Garland with various hearts 3 metres long and no where near complete. I found much of the parts for this by buying up necklaces at a DIVA store. They were throwing them all out for $2. Now that cheered me up no end:)

Of course I will show and tell when all is finished.

It is almost Sunday

Sunday is

Sleep ins

Gardening

Hanging out with my pack of dogs oh and the family

then writing lists for the next week.

Cheers

Melanie

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HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Even evil disgusting and murderous Dark Eldar's have a valentine somewhere. I hope it's not you.

Have a fab night whether you are a V'day hater or a Dark Eldar lover or anything in between. Have fun whatever you're doin.

Cheers
Melanie

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Cereal Rocks - Modified Chocky Rocks

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A disgruntled nunde. You may want to skip this post!

last night my husband and I watched the news with their "up to date" info and found they were a bit off according to Statewide Current Incident Summary

News really gives me the ^&%$'s. Can't they report without the theatrics and the stunning hair when they are out in the field and must they say" channel idiot were the first on site here at blah blah blah". Even with disasters it is all about ratings. Oh I know, I sound bitter. I hate the falseness of the media especially in a crisis and their choreographed melodramatic tones. And what about the cricketer when he patted the cricketing community on the back and said they would be proud just because the cricket team showed up for a while. BIG DEAL. The big ol' organisational pat on the back because we are seen to care BS. I was pleased with them to be honest until they started big noting their efforts.
Celebrities Bleh
News bleh
Good people just do good because they can and they do it quietly.
Good people like the ordinary folk that are rallying to make stuff, buy stuff, give their spare 5 bucks because that's genuinely all they have. Folks that cuddle the animals, clowns that crack up the kids, ladies that knit blankeys for the babies(how many are knitting away as we blog) and the man power given freely by a zillion volunteers from all over. All done quietly. Speaking of quietly, Ill go quietly now.

I promise, cross my heart, that my next post will be so cheery you will gag from the cheeriness.
Cheerio!
Melanie

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At The Homestead

Furniture is still in bubble wrap
Tradesman still wander in and out doing tradesmanny stuff

I got to be useful with a screw driver and my coffee making skills

And as I worked and sweated and found myself in the most unattractive positions trying to get frames to line up with pre drilled screw holes, I thought to myself, "self. I love it here, this is going to be awesome".

And so it will be.

These pictures are all of where I work and the grounds where my the club I am in are. Yeah, its harsh working in surroundings like this and in a heritage building.

I picked up my uniform today. Pink top and black pants...sexy! I will get a froofy pink flower thing for my hair too. The woodworking club I am a member of is right next door so they should get a cackle seeing me a little bit dolled up. Not too much though. I just don't do "dolled up" well.

I will be working there Fridays from 10 until 3 when we open and I hope you include the Old Cheese Factory and The Homestead if you are doing your touristy thing around the SE suburbs of Vic. Even if you don't spend a cent here there is a lovely park with an awesome playground like a fort and this is of course for free. It costs nothing to look.

Well I have to get cracking. I have to make stock.


Have a great Friday tomorrow,where ever you are and when ever your Friday arrives.

Cheers!

Melanie

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What can we do to help

Here is an example.
Coles will donate profits from its 750 stores on Friday to the appeal fund and will receive donations at checkouts.

For more detailed info on the many ways you can help without really spending more than you would have go to Corporate Australia digs deep for Victoria bushfire victims
I will be doing my fortnightly shopping at coles on Friday for sure.

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Trash Talk

A Cool Use for Recycled Glass Sparkly trash, I want some.

Did You Know That? Wacky Facts: Why Recycle? - Good things to know.

REsolve to REduce, REuse and REcycle - brilliant tips for everyone.

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You guys rock!

Thank you for kind comments, well wishes and concern. You guys are awesome. We are fine and got more of a scare than anything thanks to the fire brigade.



I had to delete a rant on fire bugs(arsonists/murderers) and the devastation they caused this week because I was getting far too angry for my nice happy blog.
On a lighter note. -
some things thrive in the heat. My bougainvillea doubled in size recently and is giving us a display that defies all theories that everything suffers in this heat.




And dont forget like I nearly did, leave dishes of water out for birds and animals that get exhausted when it is hot. Even in the suburbs. A green parokeet looking bird far from its natural habitat was 2 feet from our front door gasping and I forgot to put water out. He flew off as I brought him some

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If not for our firies( volunteer fireman)

I would be still standing out the front, shoes on, ready to leave my house for dust

All I can say is that was too close and I wish every one else good luck tonight that needs it.
(Photos taken from my house.)

I am not ready to put the dog leashes, the cat carriers and the shoes all by the front door away yet.
Cheers all
Oh and to all of you fireman and woman from here and abroad THANK YOU!

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Thank you to who ever I got this from.

This is me. I can sing every word to every sex pistols song around

or I can sit quietly and listen just as passionately to gorgeous music like this.

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Today I am gearing up to go

I love Amazon.

I hate learning to build websites.

Hopefully this book from Amazon will help

Now have the book, I have to start.

I went to take a peek at the Old Cheese Factory. Soon there will be chairs here with people chatting and coffee being consumed. The gift shop is inside, where my stuff will be. I guess I better hurry and finish some.

This cheeky bird dropped a plum on my head as I looked around

Later I went to have coffee with the girls and help with the old shop. I saw this book and made a fuss over how I loved old books like this. PS said she left that for me 3 months ago, its mine. YAY LOOT!

And finally I have more string to make a string bag.

I am still weighing up doing a 6 month course on multimedia but I just cannot get excited about it. If I was rich I would pay some one to do it all. Nah, I probably wouldn't, I'm too tight:)

So it is all go here. Soon, very soon, I will have some creative show and tell FINALLY!

Cheers to you all

Melanie

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I am a sucker for

House and garden type mags. This is my new fav. It always has stuff in it with patterns on them that make the pattern loving part of my brain go Ooooooooh! And it does say "real living" so the title alone makes me think it is realer than other mags

I am also a sucker for music. If some one, lets say you, told me that you heard this fab music that you thought was the best thing since double choc tim tams, whether you are 10 or 100 I would want to hear what you were passionate about.

So I heard some one mention this youtube peice, I hunted it down, found it, then bought the CD from Amazon. Now it kind of reminds me of my Pink Floyd days when it illegedly may have been mandatory to smoke weird plant matter whilst listening to said music. This music was just like that. And I liked it. And no, there was no plant matter smoked by me. I don't need to, I am a space cadet enough with out it. The song I bought it for was Trio, an instrumental piece which I adored the first time I heard it on the you tube clip.
I have searched for it to share and see that many of them have been taken down from you tube. Oh well.
Thank you to the person that lead me to it, who ever you are. So sorry, I forget.

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Trash Talk

Bread bag tags

0ne bread bag tag a day, every day for a year for the last 10 years.

That is 3650 bread tags that I have thrown in the garbage, thoughtlessly and without remorse. Until today.....Seems I was a little slow in the realisation that there needed to be some thought behind the disposal of these items and I have turned to the internet to source advice on the matter. Here is what I found

• Slightly interesting but not really - wikipedia


• Burning a hole in my drawer


• Recycle This!


• Snopes


• Bread bag tags can KILL you ?

On a more personal note I walked 12 kilometers today and I didn't cark it. My Nokia95 told me so. My garden has suffered much sunburn and it is still too hot I'm my work shed.

So I have got nothing clever, nothing even froofy to show and tell. I will have to work on that indeed.

If you have any bread bag tag ideas please share.

Oh and P.S

I finished this roll of string and my bag was looking fabbo but Spotlight doesn't stock it anymore so if one of you awesome ladies recognizes this flattish cottonyish string and has some spare in this color or knows where to get it please please let me know. I will buy it off you of course if you have some.

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I have been busy

Wu ( Shar pei x Staffi)

So I learned this year that if I pine solidly for months and months after a child leaves I will finally get that puppy. Now, I need to work out how to make the other 3 leave.

What's on @ nunde's in February
More photography practice
More routine
The start of new habits
More exercise - I abhor that bit
More gardening
More creativity, much more.

Good luck to the mums that will need tissues tomorrow for the first day of term.
See you all tomorrow, after school begins and normality returns YAY!

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