After 25 1/2 years, Neale and I are now empty nesters!!!
On Sunday, we took Laura to Melboune - and left her there!!!
Laura starts at RMIT in Melboune next week. She's going to be doing a Bachelor of Arts in Game Design - she takes after Neale and is very artistic and is very into computer/console gaming etc. We've got her accommodation in a UniLodge about 5 mins walk from the University. We took down her stuff and helped her get settled.
She'll be coming back home this Friday/Saturday and I'll go back with her on Sunday - we'll take some more of her clothes and things for her then.
Laura was given a small scholarship also by the University which is a great help - we've applied for a Youth allowance for her and hopefully she/we will qualify for - anything to help cover the accommodation fees. If we don't qualify, I told Neale to get another job!!!!
Neale is busy this Sunday - setting up his art show at the gallery here in Churchill at Federation Uni. This is Neale's show for his Master of Fine Arts degree. He had to hand in his exegesis in January (19000 words and 90 pages long). he's got 15 of his artworks printed up for this show. Opening night is on Tuesday 3/3 - the culmination of 4 years part-time study.
He's now mentioning do his doctorate - 8 years part-time and will most likely stat that next year.
Sewing wise for me - just some mending and reading lots of magazines. I got a phone call from the newsagents in Morwell requesting that I pick up my collection of Threads and Vogue magazines - 5 of them! Gulp, very expensive to pick up all in one hit!
I finally found pininterest and some time to have a look at it. Have been pinning clothes that I like and what I think that Laura would/might like.
Happy Wednesday
Jen xx
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
So over it!!
Hello from the very smoky Latrobe Valley!!
Fires begun on Friday 7th between Morwell and Moe - The freeway between the 2 towns was cut and so was the rail line - didn't get reopened to Monday morning.
It was a very hot day feb 9th with gusting winds nearly all day with a very high fire threat - which of course happened and the fire started on Friday were helped along by an arsonist (s) on Sunday.
I spent most of the day trying to keep cool and following all the fire reports. Parts of Morwell were threatened and many people were evacuated, and it came so very close to the paper mill at Maryvale (I think it's is/was the largest paper mill in the southern hemisphere!)
It's been over two weeks since 2 very large grass fires joined - and unfortunately, straight to the Hazelwood Open Cut coal mine. A fire did get into the Yallourn open cut mine, but that was brought under control last week.
So many fireys, from around the Victoria and interstate have been battling to put out the blaze. It is burning in a disused part of the mine along a 6km front and about 1km down and several metres into the coal face, and although they have managed to control about 1/2 of it now, it is still going to take many more weeks until it is totally managed. As you can imagine, we are bathed in heavy plumes of choking smoke, lots of very fine ash. Totally horrific. Many people are experiencing side effects and the air quality readings have been abysmal - but apparently there is no long term danger according to the experts???
We evacuated our office last Wednesday as the smoke was so bad and very nearly did again today-only the wind changed and blew the smoke away - rats, I really wanted to go home. My office is about 500m away
from the mine.
I took this photo nearly 2 weeks ago - in the carpark of my office - the mine is up the end of the street andaround the corner
The photo below is one Neale too tonight at approx 5.30pm. He took it at the end of our street here in Churchill - You can hardly see the 8 chimneys of the power station - the smoke kicked up again at about 4.00pm with fire spreading to a coal bunker and conveyer storage area. An incredible amount of smoke and there were 3 huge helicopters flying over and dousing the fire. They were filling up with water from the Hazelwood pondage - which is a cooling lake for the power station. A little while later the roads to Churchill were blocked off in case the fire spread - it was a very warm day and the winds really kicked up - I had hopes that I wouldn't be able to make it to work tomorrow - but the threat passed and I'm sure the roads are open again! (drats)
Regards,
Jen
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Happy New Year 2014
Happy New Year 2014 to Everyone!
I've had a relaxing day today and totally enjoyed the fact that I did not have to go to work.
I managed to sleep in - bliss. Have read several books also. Neale and I went to the cinema this afternoon and we saw the latest Hobbit movie, which I loved.
I planned to go for walk this afternoon, but it has rained all day and I'm not keen on walking in heavy rain - I even prepared and downloaded a pile of audible books to listen to whilst walking.
Christmas was a quiet one just spent with my family. I made it home from work a little earlier than normal, and then Neale and I cleaned up the lounge room and kitchen - everything got thrown/placed in my sewing room. I've nearly managed to get it all cleaned up again!
Laura went camping at Seaspray the weekend before Christmas with a group of friends - Neale and I worried. Even more so when we received a text from her to say that she had hurt her arm, but she'd live. Anyway, she arrived home on Sunday afternoon - her arm was very sore and swollen and Neale took her to the hospital and it turns out that she's fractured her wrist and is now in a 1/2 cast. It's her right arm as well! We'd hope to take her out for driving lessons to build up her required hours, but that has been put on hold until she's now out of the cast. She's a trifle annoyed that she can't do her art and that she can't play the playstation she got for Christmas!
I can't believe that with our 3 boys - all they managed to break between them was a little finger, and this broken arm no. 3 for Laura!
I made a trip to Spotlight last Sunday and managed to pick up 6 patterns and some lengths of material. The patterns were 3 for $10-00 and the material was 40% off.
Jen
Friday, 6 December 2013
December Already
It's been awhile since I've updated this blog.
Laura read my blog today and tells me I'm very boring!! Love you too sweetie!!
My new little car is still very excellent and a pleasure to drive. It had it's 1000km service today and I drove the station wagon instead today - totally different.
Neale loves the Mazda too - so much so that he had a day off work early last week and bought himself one too. Our station wagon was used as a trade in and it leaves us on Monday. Neale bought a red car ( he tells me red cars go faster!) and his car has the manual transmission, whereas mine is automatic. On Saturday, I'm planning on cleaning out the old car, before it's handed into the car yard - it's a bit of a tip!
Laura has now graduated from high school. I can't believe that my last baby has finished her secondary schooling. Where did that time go?
She was having trouble finding a dress and two weeks before, I stupidly offered to make her a dress to wear to the graduation dinner. We got the material - a cranberry charmeuse with black chantilly lace to be overlaid on top, chose the pattern - McCalls M6698. I traced off the pattern started altering lots of cutting and slashing and spreading. Several more tracings, toiles, lots of tears (mine), fittings and even more tears of frustration, I started warning her to go dress shopping and fast!
I'd begun questioning my ability and skills and got myself pretty worked up that I just couldn't get the bodice to fit straight away. I'm now determined to get it sorted out - mainly because I need to make the same adjustments to patterns to fit me. I'm just a couple of sizes bigger than Laura though. She's also taller than me - yep, I'm the shortest in the family at 163cm - so unfair (I blame my parents! I'm also the shortest out of my 2 brothers and 2 sisters. not cool!)
She ended up finding a dress on an Ebay site in England and we hoped that it would arrive in time - it did and I think it fitted her perfectly. I'm still determined to finish her dress - but it might very well be in time for her University graduation now!!!
She had her hair done and re-dyed black - I was really hoping she'd go back to her blonde hair, but no. She decided to go sans glasses to the dinner - and had trouble seeing. thankfully, Laura didn't break her neck as she walked across the stage when she was awarded her Year 12 certificate!
Laura's now waiting for her Year 12 results which are published in a couple of weeks. She's applied to University and has received letters from both universities offering her a place in the first round of offers - provided she passes the English examination. The course she's wanting to do is game design which is only offered in Melbourne at RMIT - eekk! I'd really prefer her to stay local and study art at Federation Uni and build on her art skills first before going to Melbourne.
We had a good time at the graduation dinner, which was last Tuesday night - until Thursday. Laura was up through the night vomiting and Neale had to cancel and interview in Melbourne that she was to attend. At lunchtime Thursday, I became ill. Definitely not fun at all - turns out it was food poisoning and more than 40 people were struck down. The local Health Dept. are investigating as they had received many more reports after the event. Not a fun time.
I missed my brother and sister in law's joint 40th Birthday celebration on Friday night. Was so looking forward to that and catching up with all my brothers and sisters, but just wasn't well enough to attend. I'm still peeved that it took me 4 days to recover fully - Laura was sick only for the the 1 day. Neale told me it was because I was older than her. Not a pleasant experience at all.
Work is incredibly busy and going to become more so. There are four of us in the office, our Manager, Steve, two contract managers and I'm the administration manager. Denise the senior contract manager is scheduled to have surgery on Monday and unlikely to return until after Christmas and Nathan, our other contract manager is supposed to take 3 weeks leave straight after Christmas. Our Melbourne office now tells us that we will not be getting any help to cover Denise and Nathan whilst they are off - Denise is also taking 3 months long service leave from February and no cover is to be provided for her absence either. Lots of work is scheduled for January - that needs to be done. Pretty sure that many of my cleaners will make themselves unavailable too - curses!
I tried telling Steve the other day that I needed all of January off (jokingly) and he told me I could request it - but it wasn't going to happen!!!!
2015 - I'm taking January off for sure!!!! (mind you, I've threatened that every January since 2009!)
Christmas is fast approaching and I'm so not prepared and organised. Several more presents to buy and wrap. We are having the McDougall family Christmas dinner (my family) at a restaurant in Traralgon on the 15/12/2013. One of my sisters and her family won't be attending - as they are holidaying in Queensland and won't be back until a couple of days before Christmas. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up with her after Christmas sometime.
I've got to clean up the house - psyching myself up to do that! I keep offering my house as for the cleaners from work to practice on - but no takers yet!!
Jenny
Laura read my blog today and tells me I'm very boring!! Love you too sweetie!!
My new little car is still very excellent and a pleasure to drive. It had it's 1000km service today and I drove the station wagon instead today - totally different.
Neale loves the Mazda too - so much so that he had a day off work early last week and bought himself one too. Our station wagon was used as a trade in and it leaves us on Monday. Neale bought a red car ( he tells me red cars go faster!) and his car has the manual transmission, whereas mine is automatic. On Saturday, I'm planning on cleaning out the old car, before it's handed into the car yard - it's a bit of a tip!
Laura has now graduated from high school. I can't believe that my last baby has finished her secondary schooling. Where did that time go?
She was having trouble finding a dress and two weeks before, I stupidly offered to make her a dress to wear to the graduation dinner. We got the material - a cranberry charmeuse with black chantilly lace to be overlaid on top, chose the pattern - McCalls M6698. I traced off the pattern started altering lots of cutting and slashing and spreading. Several more tracings, toiles, lots of tears (mine), fittings and even more tears of frustration, I started warning her to go dress shopping and fast!
I'd begun questioning my ability and skills and got myself pretty worked up that I just couldn't get the bodice to fit straight away. I'm now determined to get it sorted out - mainly because I need to make the same adjustments to patterns to fit me. I'm just a couple of sizes bigger than Laura though. She's also taller than me - yep, I'm the shortest in the family at 163cm - so unfair (I blame my parents! I'm also the shortest out of my 2 brothers and 2 sisters. not cool!)
She ended up finding a dress on an Ebay site in England and we hoped that it would arrive in time - it did and I think it fitted her perfectly. I'm still determined to finish her dress - but it might very well be in time for her University graduation now!!!
She had her hair done and re-dyed black - I was really hoping she'd go back to her blonde hair, but no. She decided to go sans glasses to the dinner - and had trouble seeing. thankfully, Laura didn't break her neck as she walked across the stage when she was awarded her Year 12 certificate!
Laura's now waiting for her Year 12 results which are published in a couple of weeks. She's applied to University and has received letters from both universities offering her a place in the first round of offers - provided she passes the English examination. The course she's wanting to do is game design which is only offered in Melbourne at RMIT - eekk! I'd really prefer her to stay local and study art at Federation Uni and build on her art skills first before going to Melbourne.
We had a good time at the graduation dinner, which was last Tuesday night - until Thursday. Laura was up through the night vomiting and Neale had to cancel and interview in Melbourne that she was to attend. At lunchtime Thursday, I became ill. Definitely not fun at all - turns out it was food poisoning and more than 40 people were struck down. The local Health Dept. are investigating as they had received many more reports after the event. Not a fun time.
I missed my brother and sister in law's joint 40th Birthday celebration on Friday night. Was so looking forward to that and catching up with all my brothers and sisters, but just wasn't well enough to attend. I'm still peeved that it took me 4 days to recover fully - Laura was sick only for the the 1 day. Neale told me it was because I was older than her. Not a pleasant experience at all.
Work is incredibly busy and going to become more so. There are four of us in the office, our Manager, Steve, two contract managers and I'm the administration manager. Denise the senior contract manager is scheduled to have surgery on Monday and unlikely to return until after Christmas and Nathan, our other contract manager is supposed to take 3 weeks leave straight after Christmas. Our Melbourne office now tells us that we will not be getting any help to cover Denise and Nathan whilst they are off - Denise is also taking 3 months long service leave from February and no cover is to be provided for her absence either. Lots of work is scheduled for January - that needs to be done. Pretty sure that many of my cleaners will make themselves unavailable too - curses!
I tried telling Steve the other day that I needed all of January off (jokingly) and he told me I could request it - but it wasn't going to happen!!!!
2015 - I'm taking January off for sure!!!! (mind you, I've threatened that every January since 2009!)
Christmas is fast approaching and I'm so not prepared and organised. Several more presents to buy and wrap. We are having the McDougall family Christmas dinner (my family) at a restaurant in Traralgon on the 15/12/2013. One of my sisters and her family won't be attending - as they are holidaying in Queensland and won't be back until a couple of days before Christmas. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up with her after Christmas sometime.
I've got to clean up the house - psyching myself up to do that! I keep offering my house as for the cleaners from work to practice on - but no takers yet!!
Jenny
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
My New Car
Neale and I went car shopping last Saturday morning and we bought a car. It's our first 'brand new' car in 26 years. We decided on a Mazda 3 2013 Neo hatchback in the graphite colour. Neale will now get the station wagon and we will probably sell his car (a little Hyundai Excel) to a wrecker. The dealership offered us $250 for it. I've just paid the car rego, so if we hand the plates in soonish, we'll get a fair portion of the $600 we paid for the registration back. I'm planning on getting personalised number plates - but my order wouldn't process. Will have to ring and get that sorted out.
The kids were all asking Neale as to who will drive the new car - Neale's comment is that according to the Ferengi 138th rule of acquisition - Jenny gets the new car!!!!
I drove the car home from the dealership - very nervously and very sedately!
My material shelves. (they do stand straight - don't think I was though!)
My son Morgan was around and just the right time - and he got the job of putting these shelves together for me. I'm tempted to go and buy another set! Neale hasn't realised (but will, if he reads this post!) that I've smuggled in 3 tubs of material that were out in the shed - they're now housed on the kitchen sideboard. I've still got another 3 tubs out in the shed, so might bring another one in.
Am so looking forward to Tuesday - it's a public holiday for the running of the Melbourne Cup. Being the most dedicated and conscientious worker that I am - I'm taking Monday off as an annual leave day - giving myself a nice 4 day weekend. Hooray! Mind you, I've got to make sure that all my work is done on Friday - pay sheets for my house cleaners need to be done and sent for processing with all their work organised for Monday & Wednesday.
Laura sat her first Year 12 exam this morning - English. She says she thinks it went ok. Only 3 more exams to go and her schooling life is over. Next weeks exam is for multimedia. I'm having to leave work early on the Friday to get her to Warragul (about 40 mins away) to sit this one.
Hadden (no 3 son) is pretty disappointed today. He's applied to ADF and today has received a letter telling him that due to his peanut allergy (he carries an epipen - which thankfully, we've never had to use) he is medically unfit for service. His allergy hasn't been assessed for quite some years - hopefully with age, it might have lessened - anyway, we've told him to go to the Doctor/Specialist and get retested and check. Not a happy chappy.
Jen
The kids were all asking Neale as to who will drive the new car - Neale's comment is that according to the Ferengi 138th rule of acquisition - Jenny gets the new car!!!!
My son Morgan was around and just the right time - and he got the job of putting these shelves together for me. I'm tempted to go and buy another set! Neale hasn't realised (but will, if he reads this post!) that I've smuggled in 3 tubs of material that were out in the shed - they're now housed on the kitchen sideboard. I've still got another 3 tubs out in the shed, so might bring another one in.
Am so looking forward to Tuesday - it's a public holiday for the running of the Melbourne Cup. Being the most dedicated and conscientious worker that I am - I'm taking Monday off as an annual leave day - giving myself a nice 4 day weekend. Hooray! Mind you, I've got to make sure that all my work is done on Friday - pay sheets for my house cleaners need to be done and sent for processing with all their work organised for Monday & Wednesday.
Laura sat her first Year 12 exam this morning - English. She says she thinks it went ok. Only 3 more exams to go and her schooling life is over. Next weeks exam is for multimedia. I'm having to leave work early on the Friday to get her to Warragul (about 40 mins away) to sit this one.
Hadden (no 3 son) is pretty disappointed today. He's applied to ADF and today has received a letter telling him that due to his peanut allergy (he carries an epipen - which thankfully, we've never had to use) he is medically unfit for service. His allergy hasn't been assessed for quite some years - hopefully with age, it might have lessened - anyway, we've told him to go to the Doctor/Specialist and get retested and check. Not a happy chappy.
Jen
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