When is it gonna get done???

Can't wait till these are up and being used...

Hopefully this weekend I will finally have a towel rack, two toilet roll holders and a couple of hangers for hand towels... I can't wait. :) And they are Stainless Steel too so won't rust. Yay!

I got this set from IKEA but didn't realise till last weekend that it doesn't come with any screws. This means that we have to get some from town on Friday... And all three have a different size requirement... How silly is that. :(

Never mind. After living here nearly 3 yrs I want them up and being used... About time don't you think? I do...

Cheers Damaris

Just the three of us...

A Symbol, My two sisters and I, there for each other, always...

My sisters are very, very important to me... Don't get me wrong I love my brothers just as much but there is a very special bond that Tina, Lis and I have and I am very proud of that... Not many sisters have that from what I have learnt over the years...

This is a statue that Lis gave me when she was first moving to London all those years ago, seven from memory... It has been broken but she mended it again. It has always come with me from house to house having a place of pride on a shelf.

This house is no different. I love this statue and I love that there are three of us in it... One for each sister. :)

Cheers Damaris

Ohhhh I am sooooo relaxed...

Lovely Anthea at Sherwood Forest Park... Oh what a picnic lunch. Divine. :)

View from the back gate of her unit...

An Oriental Lilly starting to open up...

I have just come home from spending the day yesterday and most of today with Adam's mum Anthea. Oh what a treasure she is. I had the most lovely time. It was soooo relaxing. I loved going for our little walks and loved seeing Sherwood Forest Park again after such a long time. Allot has changed. Allot has not...

I must say I find her most fascinating and we the only time we didn't chat and giggle is when we were catching our breath. It was fabulous...

Again Thank You Anthea for having me. I had a wonderful time. I hope you did too. :)

Can't wait for the next time. :)

Cheers Damaris

It has come back to life...

Joshua's candle for me for Mother's Day...

Joshua had made this lovely candle for me for Mother's Day this year and I had only used it once. I tried again and again to light it after that but it just wouldn't. Couldn't throw it out though so just kept with my other candles...

Well last Wednesday, for our Low Electricity Day, he tried desperately to light it and you know what it did... yay I am sooo thrilled as it is a non dripping one as well... He made this one at school and did such a great job. I am so happy that it is in working order again. :)

Cheers Damaris

It's nice to be home...

Stared at this set of doors allot over the last two days...

We have just spent the last two days in Brisbane... At the Mater Hospital to be exact. Timothy had testing to do... First it was the Speech Language Pathologist and then the Occupational Therapist. That was Tuesday... Then yesterday we had a three hour appointment with the Psychologist.

All specialists tried as hard as they could to fit us in so that we could do as many appointments as possible in the shortest amount of time. Boy, I really appreciated that. Yesterdays Therapist Tania was not even supposed to have been working there that day so am really, really thankful to her. :)

We now have to wait for a round the table conference on Timothy so that they can then offer any advice and help for home as well as school. Will be good to see with what strategies they come up with... Hope there is something new that we can all try to ensure life is as easy for him as possible.

Overnight we ended up staying with Russell at his mum's as she is house sitting for her daughter at the moment... Was nice to be there with him during the week. Felt very strange as his mum was not there... Joshua scored well as he got to have two days off school. Couldn't leave him on his own for two days. hehe He was not really impressed though as he loves school and it is the last week before a big break, you know... Timothy did so well during all of the testing. He was truly exhausted by the end of it and was happy to see the back of the hospital as well... Now to wait for the results...

Today is just a 'shut the door and keep the world out' sort of a day. I am off to get some more sleep as have not had much in the last couple of days. A very good friend also passed away on Monday so am feeling very tender at the moment...

Glad to be home, that's for sure. :)

Cheers Damaris

My Treasure, stay away!!!

Nova, is that a bone hanging out of your mouth???

Couple of days ago I gave all the dogs a chicken wing each for a treat. Is great for their teeth too... Well the boys had theirs in about two seconds yet Nova was still going after two hours. In the end she couldn't finish it so will give her chicken necks from now on... Poor darling, those missing teeth are not helping. Gums must not be tough enough yet to act like teeth... She had fun with it though and would not give up.

Clever girl... She even tried to bring it inside... Joshua saw her though... hehe

Cheers Damaris

Pretty nails...

Tiffany always does a beautiful job...

Timothy happily jiggling away in the massage chair...

As we approach a new financial year our budget will be a little tighter which is fine with me but means that our personal spending money is also reduced. This means that I can't get my nails and feet done nearly as much as I would like to. I was getting one done each week but just can't do that anymore. I am also trying really hard to go into town less or I tend to slip up. :)

So when I went in this week I went and saw Tiffany just after Timothy having some Dental work done. He sat in one of the massage chairs and LOVED it. I thought he might but he was buzzing about it still the next morning. He wanted one sooooo bad. :) He changed the programs around to suit him so that he was not overstimulated but still able to enjoy the experience. I am forever grateful to Tiffany for letting him use her chair while I got my nails done. :)

This time she did something new with my nails... Without her realising it she based both nail art pieces on my boys' favourite colours... On my right she used mainly yellow for Timothy and on my left she used pink for Joshua. I can't believe it. I didn't tell her but there they are. They are both beautiful and I even had a diamante put on there as well. She truly is very talented...

It is such a lovely break in my routine to visit her and she even said that she had missed me... How lovely is that??? Can't wait to go again next time. :)

Cheers Damaris

Isn't he clever???

Timothy's creation. :)

Timothy is really enjoying Music in High School. Twice now I have had to make extra trips to his school so he can show me his musical talents... on the computer that it... It is done through a program called Sony Acid Music Studio and he has put together a fantastic 'song'. I would not call it that as it goes for over 10 minutes. :)

He started from scratch and designed it all himself. Other students and teachers are most impressed with his end result, though he wants to just keep going and making it as long as he possibly can. lol

He has converted it and put it on his USB stick so that we can listen to it at home all the time now... :)

Cheers Damaris

Love the Baby Octopus...

Yummy Octopus... :)

Here is a shot of what I cooked myself for lunch the other day... I had bought just eight of them and cut them in half before adding them to the sauce. YUMMM is all I can say... Had nothing else but the Octopus and sauce. Was delish. :)

Cheers Damaris

Baking time...

Joshua's creation... :)

Joshua was making Anzac Biscuits couple of mornings ago and look what he did off his own bat... :) How cute are those bikkies. I got to have one of them. He had the other. :)

Cheers Damaris

Look what I helped do today...

The girls' closet...

What went to charity today. :)

Went to a friend of mine's today... She needed some help and I wanted to help so did... We ended up decluttering one bedroom that sleeps two of her girls. We also did her whole kitchen... I took everything to Lifeline afterwards so there was no temptation to get stuff out and back into the house... lol

It was a very productive day today... I am suitably impressed with Kerri. She did a great job being ruthless. At the end I even got a kiss from Gus (Sophie). :) Gotta be happy about that. :)

Cheers Damaris

Dermal Piercing update...

Bit of blood showing but popped out really easily...

Well it has not even been in for two weeks and last night at midnight it came out... I had my nails done yesterday afternoon and forgot to cover it. That and the fact that I knocked it half out when building a fire in the morning had infected it. I could feel the pain and it was swelling pretty badly... I ended up having to take three Panadol just to get rid of the throbbing... I was up for an hour in the middle of the night, sorting out paperwork in the end till the pain subsided and I ended up sleeping well for the rest of the night.

Didn't cover it. How silly of me is that... $75 down the drain. Never mind. I have decided that once it heals will try again. Not in that spot this time though... I will come up with another spot... Stay tuned. :)

Next time I am in Toowoomba and able to get to that shop is not till middle of July so will see by then if I have come up with some sort of solution to my 'dilemma'. lol

Cheers Damaris

Loving my power bill...

Got my bill on Tuesday... for 90 days it came to $121.80. Woohoo... and that is with boosting half a dozen times too... Had that not have happened I reckon we could have been around $100. Never mind. That is the target for next bill...

So I must say that I am very happy with my panels up on my roof. :) They are doing a great job.

Cheers Damaris

He can do it :)

James copying his name. :)

A friend of mine that is very close to my heart has a nearly 9yrs old boy who is non verbal autistic. His name is James and he goes to a special school... Now this is something that his mum didn't think would ever happen...

He can copy his name. :)

What a proud moment for her. Thanks for writing it in front of me James. Love you xoxox

Cheers Damaris

A new challenge...

Our Salisylate challenge is about to start...

So we survived Amines... Now to the other nasty... Salisylates... Not looking forward to this at all I must say... Luckily for Russell, we start it tonight with dinner and he is off to Brisbane for the next few days for me to do it on my own. :(

We start with tonight's dinner and will pack as much of the nasties in as possible... There will be pumpkin soup with onion and carrot. There will be Sweet corn and for dessert we are giving the boys Rockmelon Sorbet... Yum and full of the stuff. :) We are going high levels of Salisylates as this way we get to see a definite reaction and if they do react we know to cut out all the food that is high in it. Then we try low and moderate level veggies and fruit.

Should be interesting to see how long it takes to show us any difference. I am hoping by tomorrow night and if they can at all hold out maybe till the day after??? Then Russell is home again and it is sooo much easier doing this with two adults not just one...

So there you have it. We have done amines and hope to have the other resolved sooner rather than later as well... Here is hoping. :)

Cheers Damaris

One of his passions...

This arrangement is supposed to be a spaceship...

Coins in their currencies...

Timothy loves to collect coins... He has always, all his life, loved getting coins out of my wallet, or anyone else's... and lining them up... At one stage in Preschool we had to ensure that teachers and teacher aides locked away their handbags as he loved finding the coins and putting them into piles and lining them up. No not to steal. He has not a clue of that concept but just to play with them, touch them and to make an as long a straight line of coins as possible.

To this day he still does this. Now that he is in High School he has taken up picking up coins with a vengeance. Whenever he is at school you can bet that he will come home with coins. He has found 24 one day. 18 coins another day. It is amazing, as he has his head down most of the time it truly amazes me what he can find. This doesn't just include coins either, could be an unusual looking bottle top or trinkets of some sort. As long as it is shiny...

So yesterday he decided to add them all up and put them in piles. With pocket money he ended up with over $50. Amazing that this is mostly from coins that the kids at school drop and he picks them up. He was called a scab allot of the time for the first few months but that seems to have stopped now. He used to get really upset when others said it but in the end he realised that if he doesn't pick it up, someone else will. So he might as well. hehe

He loves the shiny ones the best off course and at the moment is into collecting as many New Zealand coins as he can. He loves the Kiwi especially... :)

Cheers Damaris

Joshua has started something...

Joshua's complete sets, many more to go... :)

Our local school only has about 15 kids in it at the moment. That number will decrease again at the end of term when another two much loved students leave...

Joshua has started a craze there recently... Mighty Beanz... He is mad for them and most of the other kids have some too now. Not as many as he has as he spends all his pocket money on them just about...

He is only onto Series 1 and there are at least another two that I know of... He loves looking at them on Ebay, not that we let him get any off there...

At one stage I had a list of what he had and what he still had to get. That list is gone now and I believe his Dad will be conned into getting some from Brisbane on his travels from now on as there are no more exciting packs in Big W here... When he does get them he is still getting at least half with Beanz that he doesn't have yet. He is also getting a little collection together that he can trade with but mostly he gives them away. Generous young man that he is. :)

Cheers Damaris

Look what I got???

My award...

Aren't I lucky??? Thank you so much Donna for this lovely award. :)

I got this award from Donna at Littlecottageinthecountry.blogspot.com

To receive this award, one has to do three things:

1. Thank the person who gave it to you.

2. List 10 things that make you happy

1. My little family for being unique;
2. Painting, something I will do more of very soon...
3. Friends, having a coffee or fellow shipping with them;
4. Baking, keeping my family nourished also nourishes me... :)
5. Our little piece of heaven on Earth; :)
6. Simple Savings Forum;
7. Listening to inspirational messages;)
8. Sleeping with my puppies...
9. Growing our own food... :)
10. Helping others...

3. Passing the award along to three others

Ohhhhh this is a hard one. I love all the ones that I have on my blog list... here goes:

1. Ann, from: http://www.eightacresofeden.com/
2. Julie, from: http://www.towards-sustainability.com/
3. Helen, from: http://helen-alifeworthliving.blogspot.com/

Again Thank you very much for my award Donna. :)

Cheers Damaris

The things kids get excited about...

Boys' Pokewalkers

So there I was minding my own business, serving dinner when the boys were discussing how many steps they had taken during the day and how many points they had in total... Yep, they were talking Pokemon stuff. With the last couple of versions that have just come out not long ago, they all came with a Pokewalker. You clip it on your pants and then take steps. Depending on how many you have you can then trade the points in for certain things that they could then get in the game.

Don't ask me how it all works but it does... The boys were really chuffed to find out that for the first time they both had exactly the same amount... That doesn't happen, it just doesn't. :)

The number they both had last night??? 9999. This morning they both went over the 10000 and quickly put the points onto their DS game so that they don't lose the points... Kids, you gotta love them and man that technology... Leaves me for dead... Give me a game of Rummy any day. hehe

Cheers Damaris

PS. So what do you think of the new layout??? I am not much for change but thought this one looked kinda nice. :)

More on decluttering. :)

Lovely cleared up coffee table...

This is what our babies where doing while I worked. lol

Today I have been busy already... Joshua was busy this morning in 2 degree cold making sure I had plenty of wood for the day. He brought up three crates worth. Thank goodness we have a trolley to help. The back would not be in good condition otherwise. :)

Decluttered the whole coffee table and three drawers. One is stuck and will pay anyone $5 if they can open it. Will offer that to the kids and see who can do it... :) Looks nice and neat again now... Wii fitness board has a new home as well and DVD's are stored properly...

Have also done the painting table this morning. Put my brushes away for now as not using them and set it up so that I can actually paint. hehe I intend to after putting away the bread, cooled muffins and bikkies from this mornings efforts. :) Relaxing time then... Oh no forgot got to do the top of the Walk In Robe first. Then it is all ready and waiting for Russell to come home to and be amazed. lol

I can't wait to see his face when he walks in... So much still to do but I had a list on my iPhone, yep am still a list girl... and it was over two pages. Is only 11.6 and already I have less than one page left. Yay!!! Have now organised to strictly do certain jobs on certain days that MUST get done so that I do my whole list by end of June. Is very, very doable. :)

Cheers Damaris

Miracles do happen...

Timothy's first knot, EVER. :)

This morning Timothy was attempting to help Joshua rekindle the fire... Joshua wanted him to make knots in large pieces of newspaper as that way it lasts longer in the fire... Well the problem with that is that Timothy doesn't know how to tie knots. I know nearly 13 1/2 and still can't do it. It's an Aspy thing. Trust me. :)

Anyway this morning, Joshua got him settled enough so that he could show him how to do it... And what do you know he did it. :) I am such a proud mum right now I must say. My youngest taught the oldest how to tie a knot. From the picture you can probably tell that it was not a good one but it is there. Yes it is clumsy but again, it is there... Hopefully he might tie his own shoes soon... That would be nice... Have not had any shoes with laces for years as it caused too much grief but things are looking up. :) :)

Am so proud of my little one for having the patience first thing in the morning and for my big one for taking such a huge step. Woooohoooooo

Cheers Damaris

Getting stuff done...

Major rearranging has been done at the base of the pantry...

My vacuum cleaner finally has a home. :) (behind the ironing board)

The smaller Toy box that is left...

This was binned... :) :)

This week's challenge was do declutter the pantry and the toy box, amongst other things...

In the pantry I got rid of a 150 litre container of bottles that had lovingly been collected over the years but not used for the last four so out they went. Into the recycling bin which is being picked up tomorrow morning. :)

I also rearranged the other side of my pantry so that now I have the vacuum cleaner packed away and the ironing board is not in the road. I hate having it in there but there is no room elsewhere... So now it is nicely tucked away and I can get to my shelves much easier. :)

The toy box went from a 150 litre container to 95. I am sooo happy about that one as it was causing me stress having it in the lounge room area all the time. Now the Lego is in its old container still but under Joshua's bed. Timothy has another large container now to put more of his rocks into which works out well for him as well. And it is out of my life so to speak. Win, win I say. :)

So yesterday and today has been very successful... Also got rid of another seven towels that have been with me since I married Russell 17 years ago. They can go to another home for sure. :) Another blanket also gone, don't tell Timothy it is his favourite but it is sooooo frayed it just has to go. He is not home right now so will put it in my car for charity now while he is not here. :)

Tomorrow is all about the Tupperware cupboard and my walk in robe. :) I can't wait for Russell to come home at the end of the week and he finds an actual place to put his suitcase and not just dump it when he walks in... It will have its own special place. :)

Cheers Damaris

Being spoilt...

Lisa's divine cooking at its best. :)

Yesterday I baked a heap in the morning and then was to spend three hours with Lisa to help her pack up her house... Yep they are moving and I don't like it. Yes I will get over it but it is a little hard...

When I got there she was in immense pain... Needless to say we didn't get any boxes packed but she did spoil me with this for lunch. Yummmmm It was Divine. :)

We ate this while watching Sherlock Holmes. Love Robert Downey Jr. :) Then a friend dropped in so had a long chat with her as well. Was a lovely day. Lisa did end up finding out that she had a pinched nerve in her neck and is slowly getting better...

Cheers Damaris

Cactus is finally flowering again...

My beautiful flower...

Only one flower but am happy that it has opened up finally. There were a whole heap one other time about half a year ago and then they all just dropped off. One I accidentally knocked off... There is another bud coming so can't wait for it either. I have this one in the bathroom so love to see it every day...

This one started flowering while I was at the retreat with Carer's on the weekend so am glad that it was still around for me to capture it on camera and to enjoy it. :)

Cheers Damaris

Brad is aging...

My lovely Brad has done 30000km...

Yep, he has done 30000km already. Must say that I am rather proud of him as I have had him since 9.12.08 and it was only four days to when he should have reached the 30000km mark. You know they say the old 20000km per year. Being out here too I would have thought that I would reach that target sooner but am doing good... All is well and he is having his service next Wednesday...

Now that I am not going to Toowoomba every month it will also be better with km's. :) Don't like doing the long distances. Hardly ever go to Brisbane anymore either, just the way I like it. :)

Am also rather chuffed that I bought the car when there was that special that any warranty services only cost $120 so that is all it will cost next week... So good to be able to plan for these things and not having to guess what the service might cost. :)

Cheers Damaris

Being 'Out There'...

Latest 'addition'...

What it looks like under the skin. :)

While I was away at the retreat these last few days I went with one of the ladies to hold her hand (sort of) while she got her nose stud done. I already have one so was happy to come along. I needed to get a bike tube for Joshua's bike anyway so why not...

While I was waiting for her to get her piercing, I was flicking through their folder of what they are capable to doing. And there it was... I couldn't believe it and HAD to get it done... There goes next fortnight's pocket money. hehe

I got a diamante Dermal Piercing done. It is situated on my left hand on the middle finger. I don't wear any rings on that finger and now it looks like I have a diamond on it but no ring. It is soooo lovely. After six months of healing I can even change the top to different ones but am very happy with my little sparkler. :)

What surprised me most of all is that there was hardly any pain. They take out a 2-3mm piece of skin in order to go deep enough for the anchor to go in and sit well. Once the hole has been made they let it bleed for a couple of a minute to ensure a completely clean wound. The they get the stud which has the rod and anchor already attached to it and wiggle from side to side till it is in as deep as possible and the diamante sits flush with the skin. All components used are also surgical steel. Apparently there is a small chance of rejection but I sooooo hope that will not happen to me. I actually really love it.

Russell on the other hand is increasing my life insurance, hehe, getting me a glove so he doesn't have to see it and sending me to a shrink... He believes I have lost the plot. :) I put up a picture on my Facebook page and sure enough he bit. :) His sister commented that he had no sense of adventure. hehe

Anyway I am really happy with it. Have to spray it with anti bacterial stuff morning and night for the next couple of weeks. The anchor has holes in it also so the flesh will grow through it and therefore keep it in place. People have these in all sorts of places but I didn't want it catching anywhere. Wear gloves for washing and gardening anyway and will just generally have to be more careful. That is always a good thing I guess. :)

One of the mums in our village has a sister that had hers done on her leg and due to complications had to get hers removed after about 6-12 months. I soooo hope that will not be the case with me...

Will let you know how it goes...

Cheers Damaris

Retreat time...

The en suite I accidentally scored. hehe

Mother of a TV

Lovely Kitchen...

The view from my private balcony...

Beautiful details...

Toowoomba at night...

Have just come back from a three day, two night retreat in Toowoomba. We ended up staying in the Hotel across from the Town Hall... We were in two Penthouses and I loved accidentally getting one room with an en suite... I was half unpacked before realising it was even there. hehe

For me it was not so much a retreat as we didn't really have allot of down time. I tried Bowen Therapy for the first time and was really happy to find that even after just 15 minutes of manipulation that I was able to sleep the last two nights without pain for two hours before falling asleep. The patella is very worn behind my left knee so have allot of pain when I first try to fall asleep... Last night I slept like a baby. First night, not so much... The noise, sirens, lights all got to me. I love my country quiet that is for sure... The sessions on reflection were nice and it was wonderful to see how far people had come from their P.A.T.H. and family plans from when they did them to now. I loved re reading mine. :)

This was the retreat to finalise things for the 2 year Pilot Project that I have been on. It was for the Family Collective which is apart of Carers Queensland and was funded by Disability Services. I must say in allot of ways it will be sad to not see everyone anymore on a monthly basis... On the other hand, I am rather exhausted right now and am glad it is over for now.

There are a few that I will continue to stay in contact with but am not interested in going to Toowoomba once a month or even once every couple of months just for this. I have gained allot of knowledge from some very knowledgeable people within the group and was glad that I was able to learn about new disabilities at the same time. Most of the families were associated with Asperger's Syndrome but there were others as well.

Now it is time for a new Family Collective that will be run for three years this time. I wish them all luck and hope they get out of it the good bits that I got out of ours. :)

Cheers Damaris

Guess what...

Yep, she is pretending to be asleep. :)

Tried to get in front of the fireplace yesterday and guess who wouldn't let me get my chair... Yep, Nova. Cheeky girl. She just laid her head down, closing her eyes slowly, tail not wagging as normal to make me think she was sleeping... Cheeky girl. :) Love her to bits but... :)

Cheers Damaris

Baking day...

My bake off this morning. :)

Prawns with Shallots, cream, garlic, butter and a little salt... YUMMM

Today is the first time in a while that I have had the day at home during the week... Will happen again next week but has been rather tough the last couple of weeks. I so much rather enjoy having the day at home instead...

So today I needed to bake up a storm. I made bread to start with, then muffins for the boys morning tea and Anzac Biscuits. I bought some prawns yesterday while getting lovely fish and tried to copy a friend of mine's recipe... Turned out not bad at all. Felt a little bad for having it all to myself... only a little though. Kept some for Joshua or he would have gone nuts... :)

Glad to have the baking done, now off to do some sweeping and then some more decluttering. Love it that I have dedicated the month of June to do that as I have compiled a lovely list that I am enjoying ticking off as I get rid of things or rearrange to what our needs are. :)

Cheers Damaris

A new month... new challenges...

New month, new challenges...

Today is the first of the month... of June. :) Where on earth has this year gone to I wonder...

All week and most of last we have had overcast and wet days here... Not much to write about as most of it is spent indoors or I have been busy being out. Last week was a nightmare, this week is not much better. Tomorrow is my only day at home and even then after picking up Timothy from the bus I have to go to Brisbane for an appointment. Timothy is having a mole frozen off... It is on his leg and will be a pain. I can tell. He loves wearing his long pants so hopefully will be able to adequately wrap it up.

Thursday I am off for three days and two nights... I am off to Toowoomba for the Carer's Qld Family Collective Respite getaway. Lots of loose ends to tie up and at this retreat we also decide as a group whether we keep meeting even though funding will have ceased. Will be a good time to get even closer to the families that we have spent nearly two years with on a monthly basis.

Today was a very rewarding day. I went to the monthly ASD Parent Support Meeting in Warwick and we had a guest with us today. She is working in the Education Department and is the person you seek out when you have trouble dealing with things at school. Very lovely lady and had spoken to her on one other occasion before. Glad I don't need to yak in her ear but good to know her face all the same. :) Quite a few parents were able to have their worries heard and will be followed up on which is so good to hear. Was a fantastic meeting. :)

Last night I made up a long list of things that I need to still declutter and this list will be my main challenge this month. I will be working through them as I need the clutter gone out of my house and life. Started this morning and gave a huge bag of wooden plain and painted blocks to a friend who has two littlies that will appreciate them. They are always playing with them when they visit so could not think of a better home for them to go to.

Best start on my list, after making dinner that is. :)

Cheers Damaris