Striking Gold...

Panning for Gold on the first day...

Wettest Sept on record...

Beautiful moth I found.

Joshua's first gold flake...

More panning the next day...

Fishing had to be fit in as well. :)

Couldn't leave without playing golf :)

Timothy had to try out the creek :)

This is our second week of school holidays. Boys go back to school on Monday. So this week we had a night away from home and went camping... We went to Glendon Camping and Caravan Park, in Thane, 38km outside of Warwick. Not far from here at all. About an hour's drive... same distance as to Queen Mary Falls in Killarney...

We got there and straight away saw that there were many puddles of water lying around. There was water everywhere... The dam was full and we tried out fishing there. Timothy swam in the creek and I also did a bit of golfing with him. He had a ball. We also went on walks and for the first time ever we went panning for gold. Yep, GOLD...

Joshua was the first to find some... He found 10 pieces in total, Timothy found 6, Russell found 1 and I found 3 pieces... Oh what a wonderful time we had. It was just wonderful... Mind you the pieces where quite small... Nothing to write home about but we were still happy to find them all the same. :) We only went panning twice as we went home after just one night. We were supposed to stay for two but the weather on the first night was terrible and there were more storms forecast for the next night. So we let the tent dry out properly. Russell and Joshua packed it all up while Timothy and I played golf and then we all went home in two cars. We believe that we will be back. Both the Managers, Karen and Russell were wonderful and did all they could to help us enjoy our time there. Next time though I would say that we will make sure it is not sooo wet. :)

This is the last time that we camping with out tent. It is a huge thing called The Odyssey by Oztrail. Been a great tent but we are in the process of getting a camper trailer and I can't wait to take that one out on the road... Will be ready middle of October... Can't wait :) :)

Cheers Damaris

Flowers from our garden...

Love my flowers...

When I was putting in plants the other day from Lisa, I also took the time to prune back some plants that needed it. The frost is now gone and I needed to cut back the dead bits well and truly...

I also ended up collecting a handful of flowers for inside. I love how it looks on our table. :)

So cheerful... I love it that we are getting more and more flowers each time. I like to have a bouquet inside every couple of weeks or so and have not run out of flowers yet. :)

Cheers Damaris

Being a helper...

The boys working hard...

Allot of steering going on...

Having a ball...

Joshua so wanted to get on the tractor yesterday... Russell was doing the mowing and Joshua was determined to help his Dad... So off they went. Russell was in full control of the pedals. They were also both strapped in with seat belt... Joshua did all the steering...

Sooooo lovely to watch them doing their work together. :) Joshua had an awesome smile on his face after finishing...

Just as they finished off course the rain started again and didn't stop for the rest of the afternoon... If only they had of been able to do the whole 8 acres. I know, need days for that one...

Cheers Damaris

Guess whose Birthday it is today...

Joshua holding our Birthday Boy, Bailey :)

My fur baby is 6yrs old today. Actual years that is. Compared to a human he would be 42yrs old... Old boy that he is. :) Bailey has turned 6 today...

Happy Birthday Bailey :)

Cheers Damaris

Nail time again...

Shiny nails...

I love my nails at the moment... Tiffany and Tina from Flavio in Warwick outdid themselves this time. They are nice and short so I can type allot quicker and easier for the gardening that I am doing allot at the moment. :)

This time they are a shiny silver. :)

Cheers Damaris

Puppies for sale...

The three cuties... and Timothy :)

Aren't those eyes the cutest???

A friend of mine, Fiona and her hubby Dave live in our village. Their dogs have just had puppies... Boy are they cute. :) The boys and I dropped by yesterday to see the family and there Timothy was totally in love with the babies... They are sooooo adorable :)

Mum and Dad are purebred Pomeranian (without papers). Dad is cream and Mum is black. They have left one male and two females. If you are interested let me know and will pass on your details... :)

Cheers Damaris

New Additions...

Some of the cuttings/plants potted up...

And more...

Lisa's Wisteria out in full bloom. This photo is for her :)

Bruce from the outside having a go at King Ralph...

Bruce checking out the new additions...

Pit game hens out and about... :)

Here are some pictures of the plants I scored from Lisa's place on Monday :) Very happy with them. Quite a few trees have already gone straight out into the ground. There was a couple of gums, some wattles and some ginger and Dietes grandifloras as well.

The other pictures are of Lisa's last lot of chooks including their rooster. Three we had to pick up in their nesting box as they are sitting on eggs. Yes three chooks in one box... Made for a funny trip home that's for sure. Luckily I only had to drive about two minutes... We also had to replace Flame as he has gone since Father's Day. King Ralph will do just nicely and Bruce and he have been getting to know each other, through the snake wire. May get a little ugly when they first meet face to face. For now it was funny to watch them eyeing each other off and pecking at the cage from each side... Lots of competition crowing went on yesterday that's for sure.

The Pit Game girls left their cage yesterday. They had been in there for three weeks. Had to leave them in their longer as I knew from their last owner that they were flighty and didn't want to loose any once they came out. Let them out yesterday morning and they behaved themselves all day. Stayed around the chook house, not venturing too far, thank goodness... Last night as we went to shut the chook house up they were sitting at the back of their cage. Took some doing but we managed to catch them and put them into the house. Will leave them in there all together for another hour and then let them out. They need to get to know each other anyway. Though they tend to all just stick together. Seven black little hens. So cute looking :) Timothy has named the smallest Midget, which off course is the most cheeky. She even hid on us last night and we could only see her running out from a little bush when Joshua got too close. She had her tail down even. Never seen a chook hid on purpose before... I reckon that if she ever did end up still outside before we shut the chooks into their house she would be fine and I would not want to be the fox that crossed her... :)

All the same I was happy to know that all the chooks were in the house or in the cages.

Cheers Damaris

Excursion time...

Timothy waiting in a tree outside of school, before the excursion...

As a reward for last term's good behaviour and getting more than 74% of A's and B's in his report card, Timothy was rewarded with a trip to Brisbane. First he went to Mt Gravatt Shopping Centre for two hours and then to Iceworld at Acacia Ridge for another two hours. He had the time of his life...

I am so grateful to Warwick SHS that they provided him with a teacher aide. She had Timothy and another female student. This way I knew he would not get lost. He was assigned a seat before the day came and loved it that he was nearly right at the back of the second bus.

He bought himself some things in Brisbane and when it came to Ice skating he just loved it. We have been there a couple of times when we still used to live in Brisbane but he was younger than.

When he came home he talked non stop about the trip and how awesome a time he had had. Can't wait to get his report card for this term to see how he did again. He wants to work out if he has stayed on Level 3 behaviour. All students enter the school on Level 4. If you go down you get in trouble and there are consequences for your actions. If you go up it is because you are doing your best and also doing extra community orientated projects. He is rather anxious to ensure he stays at least on Level 3 as only Level 1-3 get the reward trips and he is kinda liking them. :)

Speech and Drama he is not sure about, neither with Sports or Home Economics. They are both subjects that are not very structured and he has had allot of problems dealing with that. I know that in all subjects he tried really hard and even if he goes to Level 4 again for a term he will be fine.

Poor kid is stressing allot about it though... As I keep saying... Just try your best that is all anyone can ask of you...

Cheers Damaris

In the paper...

The Warwick Daily News Article...

A week or so ago I was in the paper... And this time the article spanned the whole page. How that happened I will never know...

Toni the reporter had found me through my blog here about a year ago... She had since found like minded people and was doing a series on us. I was the first one off the bat to be interviewed. So that happened on 7 September. On 9 September, Toni came out and took photos and got some more information off me. Then the article was in the paper on 11 September. :)

I didn't actually get to read it till I was in town again the Thursday after (16 September) but had been told that it was a great article. I was itching to read it... Once I did ,I went back to the paper and thanked Toni in person. She really did a fantastic job... I am very flattered...

It certainly rose awareness for people to slow down a little and even brought out people that are doing the same sort of thing and their stories are being followed up now :) Think we may have started something :) :) I hope so anyway. :)

Cheers Damaris

Visiting time...

Regular visitors... Ducks and their babies...

Lisa and our divine lunch :)

Swan on her nest at the park...

The park...

It is holidays. The first week of our two week school break and I knew that seeing our friends from here had moved to Brisbane, that the kids would be dying to see them. And right I was. I arranged with Lisa to come down yesterday so that we could all catch up.

I started out just before 7am and got there just after 8:30am. We stayed at the house and explored the huge yard till after lunch and then we went to a local park. The kids had a ball. Off course as soon as Lisa uttered the words that we were going to the park it started raining. But no matter to the kids. Lisa and I stayed under cover and kept an eye on the kids, which was easy to do as we were the only ones there most of the time, and enjoyed a lovely cuppa. The swans, ducks and other wildlife got a good feed of bread as well.

There were a few stacks with the scooters as it was wet and slippery and the kids were soaked to the skin but boy did they have a ball. :)

We made our way home about 4pm and ended up home just after 6pm. One hairy drive home, I must admit... Especially the Cunningham's Gap. Boy there was soooo much fog and luckily there was no one in front or behind me so I could go as slow as I liked. And that is what I did. :)

A quick dinner was had, dogs hugged and chooks put away and boys had an early night. :) In all we got 14mm yesterday which is nice to have the tanks topped up for us again. I put on a load of washing and the boys needed warm showers from the wet clothes. All in all a fantastic first day to the holidays.

Was soooooo lovely to catch up with Lisa, James and Kate :) Will probably go down again soon as there is a Gem Festival on in a couple of weeks... Will see...

Cheers Damaris

And they were married...

Beautiful Rebecca and Mark :)

A friend of mine from Ladies' Group got married today. Mark and Rebecca got married at St Mark's Church in Warwick at 4:15pm this afternoon. I felt very privileged to be able to have attended the Ceremony.

Rebecca looked so radiant and was truly beautiful. They made a very cute couple. :)

Cheers Damaris

Chess time...

Love this chess board...

One thing I love to do once Timothy has left for school of a morning is set up a game of chess with Joshua. With Timothy I like to play at night by candle light. :)

Joshua is getting soooo much better too... This last week he has gotten me twice. He is getting awfully clever :) Timothy is also on the rise as far as expertise is concerned. :)

Absolutely love to play chess. Another game Joshua and I got out this week (which had not been played in a while) was Pictionary... Oh the laughter that filled the room as we try to beat the egg timer :) :) Think it is time for another game of UNO again soon too. :)

Now who needs a computer or DS when you can have so much fun with something made out of paper or stone...

Cheers Damaris

More seedlings coming up...

Cabbage seedlings...

This morning I checked and there were more seedlings still coming up. Only a couple of leeks coming through and the Cabbage is going off... Celery is also on the slow side. Parsley is to show itself as yet. Shallots are doing well... Bit more warmer weather and they should go off with a bang :)

Cheers Damaris

Jump Rope for Heart Jump Off :)

Just a couple of skipping ropes...

Joshua and friends jumping...

Joshua being bouncy :)

Joshua was eager to get me to school yesterday :) At 2:30pm there I was waiting for the school kids doing their jumping. It was wonderful to watch and am glad that my iPhone has video on it as I taped it all for Russell to watch when he comes home tonight. Joshua had a lead role as well, taking the kids around a circle twice. He was rather proud of himself. Though he was down on himself a little as two vital triple jumps he didn't quite make either of them. He was soooo worried about it that morning and it showed in his last minute practice... Was all good earlier in the week and then nerves set in. Never mind.

I still have a ball watching him. He is sooooo bouncy. :)

Considering there are only 14 kids in the school they raised an awful amount of money as well. Between $300-$400. Amazing achievement... Well done Maryvale SS kids :)

Cheers Damaris

And then there were two... Dogs that is...

Our beautiful Toby...

All of them sleeping together...

Timothy saying "Goodbye"

Dogs all seeing Timothy off, together one last time...

Toby and his new necklace... What a cutie...

This is a post I have been dreading, I don't mind admitting it... Here is the whole story...

Where we live we are considered to be Rural. This means that I don't have to register my dogs. Before moving out here and on two other occasions, I rang Council and made sure that I was allowed to have three dogs. We had only Bailey at that stage. On their advice, which each time was... "Yes you can have as many as you like as you are Rural and on 8 acres"... we then went ahead and adopted Nova and Poppy... We came out here and all was wonderful.

As you know Poppy passed away May 2009 and so then it was just the two, Bailey and Nova... In May this year before adopting Toby, again I rang and they said the same old story...

Well there is new Dog and Cat State Legislation coming in from 10 December 2010 and so I went into the Council office a couple of weeks ago to see about getting some registration forms. I would never dream of going against the law so knew I had to fill out forms for our three babies.

While there, I am told that I can't have three dogs. I never should have had them in the first place. They tell me that because I am rural I can get away without registration but can still only have a maximum of two dogs... So here I am in tears as I don't know what to do. They have my name and address. I feel hunted and very, very hurt as I had done the right thing in asking three times as it was. Why were they changing their minds now???? It was not fair.

I ended up the next day, through blurs of tears, talking to a Planning Officer in the Council who I should have been put through to in the first place when asking about numbers of dogs... There this lovely lady proceeded to tell me that I either had to rehome a dog or apply for a Kennel Licence. This entails me displaying a sign at my gate that I want to have Kennel Licence, announce it in the paper (which I have to pay for), apply to council for the permit ($950) and then it goes to planning. If it is approved and no unreasonable objections are lodged and all my neighbours agree, I can then have the three dogs for a cost of $200 per year, as long as they keep agreeing with me keeping them... I mentioned that I had enquired about this on three occasions and have suggested, strongly, that their staff that answer phone calls be trained better. This is just not good enough... But unfortunately I just don't have those sort of funds...

A friend of mine had offered to adopt Toby and then he holiday with us but I didn't really feel good about that either. Me and my having to be a rules girl...

So in the end we have put Toby up for rehoming... Why Toby you ask? Because Bailey has back issues that he will need medication for eventually. Nova on the other hand is 10yrs old, is blind in one eye and has backward ear canals so also on frequent medications... Toby on the other hand is in perfect health and only 3yrs old... He would have a much better chance. But was not letting him go just anywhere...

To say that we are devastated is an absolute understatement... All along we have done the right thing and yet Timothy and us too are being punished. I can understand that a crackdown on loose dogs and cats has to be done. There are allot of owners out there not doing the right thing. But we are not one of them. We have done nothing wrong. We are enjoying the company of our four legged friends...

A place like Warwick I never thought this would happen in that's for sure. We are on 8 acres and not bothering anyone. They are inside dogs that only go outside to do their business and to lie in the sun...

I am encouraged that he will go to a friend of mine who not only lives in Warwick but who has three kids and another small doggy. They will get on fine and this way Timothy is really relieved that we can still see him. Toby will also be able to come and visit us sometimes. Toby will love their company and love being loved.

We wish we could keep him... We will truly miss him... Toby, you will always be in our hearts...

Cheers Damaris

Trying something new...

My Fish Oils and Vitamin B Complex Pills :)

I have been feeling rather up and down for a while now and so I asked some friends of mine what it could be. I got everything from pre menopausal to stress. I know that my hormones are out of whack still. I have always had problems with that. A big reason why both my boys are fertility babies...

So I thought instead of going on anti depressants (which I had been on for a long time and didn't want to go onto again if I can at all help it) I would try something a little bit more natural.

I ended up going on Fish Oils in the liquid form as it stretches the dollar much further than the capsules. I take 10ml a day in the morning with my first mouthful of Rice Bubbles. Then I down two Vitamin B Complex Horse Pills... Yep, they are huge but go down the throat just fine.

I have been on this concoction for 3 1/2 weeks now. Apparently it takes about a month to kick in and start working properly. Hopefully soon it will help with the moodiness and broken sleep that I seem to be stuck in at the moment.

Have tried to reflect and be really impartial... I know that I don't like it when the house is tidy and within 5 minutes of the boys or Russell for that matter, come home and they make a mess. I realise that I don't like the dirt coming past the front door rug. I realise that I don't like the kitchen being a mess when it can go straight into the dishwasher. I seriously feel like a broken record with the repetition of asking them to all put things away, etc.

I also realise that my primary love language is: Acts of Service. Words of Affirmation comes a close second... I love to do for others, especially my family.

Must work on those. It is humbling to realise that we are not perfect. We all have faults and I am no different. I have been working very hard to be less cranky over the last while and know it is making a difference. After all... If Mum ain't happy, ain't no one happy... Allot of pressure on us Mums that's for sure. I sometimes forget just how much power I really have. Power to build my children and husband up or to hurt them in some way... Hurting is something I don't want to do but does sometimes happen... But I do apologise and they accept my apology, which I really appreciate.

Here is to learning more about life and each other. :)

Cheers Damaris

Frogs are calling...

Oh, I soooo wanted to see a frog...

This little fellow was on our house wall couple of weeks ago... :)

When I planted out the potatoes last Tuesday, I also took the opportunity to go over our 8 acres as I wanted to see what sort of plant life we have after the winter and after the cows have now gone 9 months... I found a large bush right at the back, lots of native grass which Land for Wildlife says is very good for local species and quite a few of those horrible weedy bushes that have horrible heads on them with thousands of seeds in them. The seed heads pop when you squish them with your hands. Sounds like fun at the time but they make it allot harder for the next few years pulling out the baby plants. I pull those out whenever I see them.

I also found allot of water sitting behind one of our contour banks. In it there was a heap of reeds growing and all I could hear was frogs talking to one another in the middle of the day. Was wonderful to listen to :)

Was trying to be really, really quiet to see if I could see one but alas they knew I was there. In the distance I could still hear them croaking but not near me. Am so happy to have found their little playground though. Hope it doesn't dry up too quickly for them... Hope they lay eggs and have babies. :)

Cheers Damaris

What a sky...

Everywhere you looked the clouds said something different. It was amazing. I got out of the car last week and this is what I saw in all different directions...

Cheers Damaris

Joshua using the Sun...

Clever boy using the sun to power his toy :)

This afternoon the sun was out in all its glory... Not a cloud in the sky, which was amazing as we got 10mm yesterday from all the clouds that were around then :)

So he started tinkering with his balls and made some bits spin very, very fast. Pumped by the sun off course. Meanwhile out the back the sun was doing a great job drying my clothes on the line... :)

Cheers Damaris