Jigsaw's Thoughts

Signs our economy isn't that healthy

2012-02-02T20:56:00.000+08:00

This is a snapshot of the business section of www.perthnow.com.au earlier today.

Doesn't paint a pretty picture does it?

Is it Jan 13th ALREADY????

2012-01-13T18:40:00.000+08:00

Wow ... this year seems to be flying by. And, so far, it's been an ODD one.

Major highlights:

- Back to work, unfortunately everything at work is 'up in the air' as they've announced they're merging the South Australia & Western Australia offices under a Regional Manager (we used to have a State Manager each) and no one knows if their jobs are safe

- Due to the above situation I've applied for a couple of jobs. Had two interviews for one of these which really seems to be my IDEAL job. Meeting them again next week. I don't really want to leave where I am, but I'm not sure sitting around waiting to see what is going to happen is going to work out in my favour

- Managed to move Shooting Buddy to his new place 300kms north (nearer the shooting properties). Major challenge of the move was that I had to tow a trailer. I'm happy to report that me, car & trailer all survived intact

In between this I've got the girls home on holidays AND I'm off to the Brisbane office for a week on Sunday.

Certainly hoping the rest of the year SLOWS DOWN a bit!How's your year so far?

2012 ....

2012-01-01T01:06:00.002+08:00

Here's to another year! May this one bring lots of good things for you all.I'm just hoping that there will be no major dramas (or dead computers) this year :) Oh, and I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym on a regular basis!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T19:30:00.001+08:00

I want to wish all my readers and their families a very Happy Christmas!!!!

I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-11-28T17:52:00.003+08:00

New computer arrived today so now I can resume all my normal internet activities .. stayed tuned ....

Forced hiatus

2011-10-29T09:19:00.000+08:00

My computer met an untimely death last weekend :( My work computer won't let me access blogs :( Therefore, until the budget can stretch to a new computer I'm not going to be able to blog or join you guys on gbc.

Play nice while I'm gone!

Forget the guns, tell me about the horse

2011-10-15T21:30:00.003+08:00

From today's news:

Boy, 13, with arsenal of weapons found in clapped out ute towing dead donkey, say police

AN armed 13-year-old boy has been caught driving with high-powered weapons in his clapped-out ute while towing a dead donkey.

NT Police may have not immediately noticed the loaded firearm allegedly sitting beside the boy when they pulled him over for a breath test, nor the shotgun, high-powered rifle or 100 rounds of ammo allegedly lying on the back seat.

The ute was towing behind it in the dust a noticeably deceased donkey.

The boy's 52-year-old father is now facing a slew of charges for allegedly allowing his son to drive unlicensed and possess firearms, reports Northern Territory News.

Sergeant Conan Robertson, of the Southern Traffic Operations Unit, said they were doing a rural patrol on Thursday.

He said they pulled over a Toyota Hilux Dualcab for a roadside breath test on Coniston Rd, about 160km northwest of Alice Springs.

"Police found a 13-year-old boy driving the unroadworthy vehicle with a loaded .22 bolt action rifle in the front seat,'' Sgt Robertson said.

"The rifle had nine rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber.''

"There was also a 20 gauge shotgun and a high powered .243 rifle laying across the back seat with more than 100 rounds of ammunition.''

Sgt Robertson said the ute was unroadworthy and had ``severe damage'' to the front end and the bonnet was held down with a tie-down strap.

It also had a damaged windscreen.

Sgt Robertson said the boy was the only person in the car when they pulled it over.

He was allegedly driving from a nearby station towards the Stuart Highway at the time.

The police took the boy back to the station and spoke to his dad. They say he knew his son was driving the car with the firearms.

Sgt Robertson said the man would be summonsed for offences including delivering a firearm to an unlicensed person, failing to secure a firearm and permitting an unlicensed shooter to possess a firearm.

Meanwhile, the firearms have been seized and the boy will be considered for youth diversion for traffic and firearms offences.

Sgt Robertson expressed concern.

"It is very disappointing to find the child was out there armed with firearms and driving an unsafe vehicle with the full knowledge of his father," he said.

"We certainly hope that the fact the father will now face court will make others consider their actions before engaging in such reckless behaviour."

Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/boy-13-with-arsenal-of-weapons-found-in-clapped-out-ute-towing-dead-donkey-say-police/story-e6frfkvr-1226167435077

What do you do when ...

2011-10-15T20:49:00.001+08:00

A new fruit & vegie shop opens up not too far away with potatoes, onions & carrot selling for 29c a kg? You go there, of course, brave 2000000 other people (okay that might be a slight exaggeration), and make soup!

They also had 2 heads of broccoli for 99c; cauliflower heads at 99c each and 500gm of garlic for 99c. The Japanese pumpkin at 1.99/kg also turned out to be DELICIOUS.

When we got back home with our haul all four of us got busy in the kitchen and quickly turned about half the ingredients (and a large handful of home grown parsley) into three soups. Two consisted of the fresh vegetables; with roasted garlic while the third was a roasted vegetable one (roasted cauliflower, pumpkin, onions, garlic, capsicum and carrot).

Tomorrow I'll attack the remaining ingredients and make more soup! Hope there's room in the freezer.

BTW Miss 10 likes roasted cauliflower:

My first car meme

2011-10-15T18:51:00.001+08:00

OldNFO tagged me for this one, so I'll play along - but remember I'm a GAL not a GUY therefore cars to me are objects designed to get one from A to B, sometimes (depending on whose driving) via C - so don't expect too many details.

My first car was a Holden Gemini. I bought it second hand - no idea what year I got it (must have been around 1984/5 though) - I think I paid about $2000 andd it was in good condition. After a couple of years I had it resprayed (it was a light brownish colour) and I took that car everywhere - even bush! Never had many problems with it except once when the timing chain went. My brother arranged to get it fixed for me, which he did, and when he was driving it back to my place another driver ran into the side of it :( This wasn't long after I had it resprayed so I wasn't that impressed!

I'm not even sure when or why I got rid of the car ... it could have been before I went travelling in Europe for a couple of years - sorry folks, details like this don't stick in my mind!

Anyway, let's see who I can tag to play ... JayG from MArooned, Christina from Lucrative Pain and PDB.

Sweet Impossible Pie with Fruit - Take 1

2011-10-14T16:18:00.005+08:00

Regular readers will know that I've been experiementing with "Impossible Pies" and have worked out a recipe for savoury ones that seems to work each time. I've not had the same level of success with sweet ones. The other day I was in the supermarket and spied some blueberries at slightly less than exhorbitant prices so I bought a punnet and went on an internet hunt for an Impossible Pie recipe with fruit.

(Hey who pinched the spellchecker from blogger's toolbar?)

I found this recipe and decided to give it a go.

My version (as I'm totally incapable of actually following a recipe) is below:

Impossible Pie with Fruit
Fills 23 cm pie dish

Ingredients:
80 g butter melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 cups fat-reduced milk
4 eggs (slightly beaten)
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup diced fruit of choice - blueberries

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180C.
Place everything other than fruit in a large bowl, whisk until combined.
Pour into a greased pie dish. Add fruit.
Bake at 180C degrees for 30-40mins until the top is golden and crusty.

The finished product:

Now I've said "Take 1" in the title, that's because even before I eat it I'm not happy with it. I mean it looks lovely from the top, but doesn't have the 'body' that I'm looking for in a pie. So there will be a Take 2 (at least).

[Update] The girls and I have just had a piece. Miss 10 reckons it tastes like eating eggs. Miss 8 reckons it needs to be cooked longer at a lower temperature.

I actually agree with both of these opinions. It is a bit low on taste - not sure whether more vanilla essence or lemon juice would be the best option. And yes, the top was brown and crusty but it wasn't cooked enough in the middle. So definitely a Take 2 planned.[/Update]

PS This is my first attempt too at a 'scheduled post' so I hope it actually appears!

Heard in the kitchen

2011-10-14T09:43:00.001+08:00

Miss 10: "We have a possum"

Me: "Yes, I know"

Miss 10: "In the roof, it was running above my head in bed last night"

Me: "I know, I heard it when I was on the phone to [Shooting Buddy]. He suggested a 22lr."

{brief pause}

Miss 10: "Yum, possum pie"

Just got back from 'up north'

2011-10-13T14:21:00.000+08:00

The family, Shooting Buddy and I spent 5 nights "up north" doing a range of fun things. It's a pretty nice time to visit the region as it's not too hot and the wildflowers were still out (however, so were the flies which weren't quite as nice). We did get some hunting in but there weren't as many rabbits around as I had hoped and we didn't see a single fox.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Found around the farm

A Bush Turkey - first time I've ever seen one

Miss 8 hiding in the Wheat

And Miss 10 checking it out

Miss 10 driving my car (automatic) for the first time, all survived

Miss 8 obviously enjoyed her turn at the wheel

And over at the "other" farm Miss 8's favourite animal

Seen while Out and About
This area is near the farm and is known as 'The Salmons'

Termite Mounds - seen on a detour to Coalstream Park

Still some water around at Coalstream, yes they did get muddy

Pink & Grey Galah - Sitting in a nest - seen at Coalstream

Budgies - again seen at Coalstream

There are lots of salt lakes in the area ...

We found some caves to explore

Can't get away from those *(&*(^ phones

Wildflowers:

All in all a great trip. Check out my previous posts if you want to know more about the area here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

I guess there's limitations to stock photo archives

2011-10-10T10:58:00.002+08:00

Well that's the only reason (other than ignorance) that I can think of as to why this photo is used for this story:

Story here: http://www.news.com.au/world/nypd-cop-saves-his-own-life-by-jamming-finger-under-felons-gun-trigger/story-e6frfkyi-1226162271411

Presented without comment

2011-09-25T17:13:00.000+08:00

http://www.tamponcrafts.com/gun.html

....

Impossible Pies ... again ...

2011-09-25T12:31:00.002+08:00

Well I've been cooking and modifying the recipies for a couple of attempts now and I think I've "nailed" the savoury one and almost there with the sweet one.

Savoury Impossible Pie
* 1 cup self raising flour
* 1.5 cups milk
* 3 eggs
* 60gms butter (melted)
* 1 cup grated cheese
* 1 cup (drained) canned peas & corn
* 1 cup (drained) canned tuna
* Black pepper
* Salt
* 1 tbsp chopped Spring Onion
* 1 tbsp chopped Parsley
* Spray oil

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Spray a pie dish lightly with oil.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined.

Pour mixture into greased pie dish and place in oven.

Cook for 30-40mins

NOTE: I use these for making a dozen muffin sized pies (using silicon pie cases) and a dozen mini-muffins. Cook the mini-muffins for about 17mins and the muffin sized ones for about 25-30.

Sweet Impossible Pie
* 2 cups self raising flour
* 1.5 cups milk
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup lemon juice
* 60gms butter (melted)
* 1 cup castor sugar
* 1 cup dessicated coconut
* Spray oil

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Spray a pie dish lightly with oil.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined.

Pour mixture into greased pie dish and place in oven.

Cook for 30-40mins

Not 100% sure that I've finalised the sweet one, we'll see.

Well I'm making that Ricotta again

2011-09-25T09:06:00.002+08:00

We had some of the Ricotta that we drained for breakfast today (with a sprinkling of black pepper). I had to restrain Misses 8 & 10 from eating the whole thing.

It's very, very, very creamy and everyone (Hubby, Shooting Buddy & girls) said they preferred the drained version to the fresher version last night. I'm not so sure. I think they were both delicious.

It's a very similar process to the Paneer, but with a bit more care and attention and the leaving of the curds to rest before draining them. This seems to make it more creamy.

Artisan Cheese and other stuff

2011-09-24T19:22:00.004+08:00

Thanks to Dr Grumpy I had problems last night with not shouting "bingo" each time the presenter said "Artisan".

Yes I was at a Cheese making demo (with Miss 10) for a company called Mad Millie. As part of the cost of the demo you got an "Italian Cheese Making Kit".

So today Miss 10 and I attempted the Fresh Milk Ricotta. Apart from the fact that it didn't separate initially (we forgot to increase the citric acid in line with the extra milk we used), however we ended up with a very, very, very creamy cheese. We put some in the ricotta basket to drain (which went perfectly with the fresh parsley bread rolls gifted to us by a neighbour), and since that was full, we also drained some in muslin. That's still draining so we'll see how that tastes later.

Apparently there's enough Cheese salt, rennet, citric acid in the kit to make 15 batches of cheese. So we're looking forward to more cheese making in the future.

Additionally, I used this recipe for a quick lunch:

Thai Chicken & Pineapple Fried Rice

1 cup pineapple, canned, cut into pieces
1 cup chicken, boneless, cubed
5 cups cooked rice
4 tbsp oil for stir-frying
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red chili
3 tbsp chicken or vegetable stock
3 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp curry powder

Start by preparing the rice. Add a little oil to the rice (up to 1 tbsp.) and work through with your fingers. You want to separate the grains of rice, so that they don't stick together.

Preparation
Put 3 tbsp. oil around a wok over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and chili, stir-frying for one minute, or until fragrant. Add chicken and cook until it tender.

Mix together the chicken or vegetable stock, soy sauce and curry powder. Stir well, and then add to wok. Stir-fry for 30 seconds.

Now add the prepared rice to the wok. Stir-fry until all the rice has mixed with the sauce and is a uniform color. Break up any lumps with your utensil or a fork.

Stir-fry Tip: Continually lift/scoop up rice from the bottom of the pan, tossing rather than stirring it.

Add pineapple. Stir-fry to mix in. Continue stir frying until everything is integrated (1-2 more minutes).

I also make this slice (in my never-ending quest to find a nice peanut butter slice/cookie suitable for the girl's lunches);

NO-BAKE OATMEAL FUDGE BARS
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. butter
4 tbsp. cocoa
3 c. quick oats
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa and boil for 1 minute. Stir in oats, peanut butter, and vanilla. Spread onto greased jelly roll pan. Cool. Cut into squares.

We had a piece each to try it. The general consensus was that it was very rich but a bit dry.

Green jobs ....

2011-09-19T20:30:00.001+08:00

green jobs (n.): A category of employment properly viewed as belonging to the realm of mythology or fantasy, like the chimera, leprechaun, or centaur; jobs not tangibly observable in the real world but existing in the dreams of ‘progressives’.

(Appropriated from Adaptive Curmudgeon)

Country Agricultural Show

2011-09-18T12:35:00.007+08:00

My hubby grew up on a farm in the wheatbelt. I've been there once or twice but we've never taken the girls (it's 2hrs from home and seriously there's not much reason to go there). However, I discovered on Friday that yesterday was the town's Show Day.

So hoping that the rain will hold off we decided to head out.

Apart from quite a few "when will we get theres" it was a nice drive, with Miss 10 reading a book all the way and Miss 8 playing on a DS or counting horses.

What amazed me was how green it was. The rain we've had lately has really made a difference - most of the soaks were full and the crops were looking good.

Anyway, eventually we got to the show grounds and had a look around - some of the highlights:

We had a go of the defib machine at the St John's display. Apparently there are three defib machines around the town and they're trying to educate the local people in their use.

Miss 8 trying chest compressions:

The trick riding demonstration was pretty neat too:

And the little train ride was a hit:

The girls really liked the vintage farm machinery and car display. Miss 8 trying one of the tractors on for size:

Miss 10 enjoyed mainly walking around looking at all the different displays and crafts. The girls found a heap of second hand books they wanted at one of the bric brac stores. And we lunched on roo burgers (well Miss 10 and I did anyway, Miss 8 stuck to a normal sausage sizzle and hubby went for the kebabs). The kids free activity tent was also a hit - with the girls getting about 8 temporary tattoos each!

After wandering around and having a good look (we were there for about 5 hours), we decided not to stay for the fireworks but to have a drive around the town instead - here the girls are standing on a street named after hubby's family:

We then drove out to the old farm - it's still currently in the family, but is up for sale. Hubby's relative was home and he was happy to show us around magnificant house. I wish hubby had got a few more pictures of the place. I was amazed at the height of the ceilings (18ft). Here are the girls standing at the front door:

By now it was getting dark so we headed home after promising to get back in touch and visit again!

A quick trip away

2011-09-15T19:37:00.002+08:00

I've just got back from a quick work-based trip to Melbourne.

I must saying flying domestic is so EASY these days. I did an online checkin and only had carry on luggage, so basically only had to get to the airport 20mins before my flight. Then you go through security - bags go on the conveyor for screening, you walk through the metal detector ... I did get stopped for the explosives check on the way over to Melb .. but that only took a min or so. Next thing you're boarding the plane for the flight.

On the flight over I had no one sitting next to me ... and it was only 3.5hrs. However, on the way back I did have someone next to me (harmless enough but couldn't spread out) and the flight was about 4.5hrs (headwinds).

This was my first trip to Melbourne for work with this company and I was pleased that one of the other guys from my office was travelling with me. We stayed at the Rydges on Bell along with another colleague from South Australia.

We met the other people who have been working on this project for dinner on the Tuesday night at the Waterfront restaurant. Stunning, absolutely stunning - in situation, food and company.

After a lovely evening we returned to the hotel for a "not-to-late-night" as we were starting work at 8.30am the next day.

After a day of meetings and workshops we headed back to Perth. In many ways it was a shame that the trip was so short. It seems however that for the next couple of months it will be a regular trip.

10 years on ...

2011-09-11T18:02:00.003+08:00

I haven't checked out other blogs today, I guess there are a number who have commented on the 10th anniversary of "9/11".

For me it's an interesting anniversary. You see, Miss 10 was born at 10.31pm on Sept 10th 2001. Therefore my memories of 9/11 are viewed through the eyes of a very tired new-mum.

The overriding memories of that time are "disbelief". I saw a video of the plane hitting the first tower with the sound off on the TV. I had no idea of what I was watching and it wasn't until I saw one of our news reporters, sans makeup, come on that I turned the sound on.

Many people died that day, some basically just going about their normal days work. Others there trying to help. Others standing up against hijackers preventing probably more deaths. Some of those who died were the perpetrators of the horror.

Many also have died since - fighting the threat at the source so that their country can be safe.

Many are still fighting to preserve the safety of those "back home".

Let's hope that their fighting and sacrifice isn't in vain and that we never see another "9/11" ever again!

$2000 and 2 years warranty

2011-09-08T20:33:00.002+08:00

Went to a Thermomix demo last night.

For those who haven't had the pleasure, a Thermomix is a very versitile kitchen appliance.

It seems to do most things you'll want a kitchen appliance to do in a very short space of time (well except roasting or grilling).

During the demo we had berry ice-cream; pizza; chickpea soup (mmm that was nice); sundried tomato and capsicum dip; steamed chicken with couscous and lemon pudding! (All in under 2 hours).

The demo was interspersed between discussion on guns and hunting - no the demonstrator wasn't a gun nut, but one of the other participants was. I'm actually not sure what the demonstrator thought - but she was raving on about raw, natural, unprocessed foods so hopefully she wasn't too shocked!

Anyway getting back to the post title. The cost of this little machine was $1939 ... but they only give a 2 year warranty. This worries me. Seriously. I mean you can tell me as often as you like about the reliability of your product BUT if you're only offering a 2 year warranty with no possibility of extension, I do tend to be more than sceptical.

Anyway, as a comparison, I've booked spot of a demo of the Thermochef - it still only comes with a 2 year warranty - but at under $800 that is slightly less worrying.

Thrill Seeker's Bucket List

2011-09-07T16:15:00.007+08:00

While perusing CNN I came across an article (and some very nice pics) of 50 ways to kill yourself as you're crossing them off your bucket list.

Well actually most of the 50 probably won't end in death but I'm convinced there's a few that would.

The 50 are:
1. Be a jet fighter pilot for a day (sounds fun and I think it would be basically safe);
2. Go volcano boarding, Nicaragua (80kms on your butt down the side of a volcano - um, no thanks);
3. Enter the Cage of Death, Australia (that's swimming with crocodiles folks!);
4. Cling to a cliff, China (and I quote "At one point one kilometer above the ground, you have to traverse a slim wooden plank stuck to the face of a vertical cliff.", enough said)
5. Ride Insanity, United States (yep, sure off the side of the 350-meter Stratosphere Tower, however being the US I think this is safer than #4);
6. Go Zapcat powerboating, United Kingdom (mmm, UK could be okay);
7. Climb the outside of CN Tower, Canada (nope!);
8. Perform an Everest skydive, Nepal (I'm thinking I might like to try this - but never having skydived before could be an issue);
9. Jump the Nevis Bungy, New Zealand (no, just no!);
10. Free dive at Dean's Blue Hole, Bahamas;
11. Ride the world's steepest roller coaster, Japan ("The world’s steepest steel roller coaster opened at the Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park in Tamanash, Japan this year" - opened this year, not sure if that's good - as in it's all new - or bad - as in it's not had much time to iron out the wrinkles!);
12. Go Zorbing, worldwide (this one strikes me as inane rather than dangerous or thrilling);
13. Go water buffalo racing, Indonesia (as you're not allowed to race only watch, that sounds fine!);
14. Run with the bulls, Spain (don't see the appeal in this one);
15. Take part in an Office Chair Race, Germany (inane again);
16. Kayak over a waterfall, United States (nope!);
17. Take a motorcycle cab ride, Thailand (nope, again, nope!);
18. Run (or limp) the Marathon des Sables, Morocco (this one and the one above are two ways to quickly terminate progress on the bucket list);
19. Ride around the Nurburgring, Germany (this one sounds fun);
20. Go hot air ballooning, Turkey (again fun, but I'm not sure I'ld choose Turkey as the place to do it);
21. Go whitewater rafting, Zambia (I've heard that this is actually a lot of fun);
22. Dine in the sky, worldwide.. (Can't see the point of this one);
23. Climb Harbour Bridge, Australia (DONE this one - good fun, but it was windy up there);
24. Swim with great white sharks, South Africa (This is one I'ld like to try);
25. Ride the London Eye, United Kingdom (Another relatively safe one ... did a similar thing in Sydney);
26. Run the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race, Chile (Sounds challenging and fun);
27. Wingsuit Fly, Switzerland (No thanks!);
28. Go ice swimming, Finland (Sounds fun!);
29. Run the Spoelana Naturist Race, Spain (no, just no);
30. Paraglide over Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany (mmm, could be fun - however when I was last there you couldn't see anything at all due to fog);
31. Play bossaball, worldwide (yer, sounds fun - bet it kills your legs);
32. Ride the world’s longest zip line, South Africa (NO, seriously NO);
33. Go cheese rolling, United Kingdom (hehehe, I'll watch thanks);
34. Hang glide, United States (#30 sounds more fun);
35. Take part in a Rickshaw Run, India (now as long as you don't have to pass through any of the major Indian cities this could be enjoyable);
36. Go sea kayaking, Antarctica (YES PLEASE ... this, I would like);
37. Go dog-sled racing, United States (this would be fun too);
38. Dive the Great Barrier Reef, Australia (probably should get around to this sometime);
39. Do the Death Drop, Zambia (NO, NO, NO, NO and DOUBLE NO!);
40. Swim in the Dead Sea, Israel (funnily enough this has never appealed to me, probably explains why in my four trips to Israel I never did it);
41. Rally drive, Sydney (sounds fun, not sure why you'ld do it in Sydney though);
42. Cycle the Death Road, Bolivia (this is another one that falls in the "no thanks" category);
43. Walk a wing, United Kingdom (I'ld give this a go);
44. Drive the Himalayas, India (Another one I'ld like to try);
45. Surf Shipstern Bluff, Australia (Surfing has never appealed to me either);
46. Go cliff diving, Mexico (NO, NO, NO, NO, NO and NO!!!);
47. Rescue a hostage, United Kingdom (this is probably my #1 to do from this list - sounds fun);
48. Go snowmobiling, Canada (could be okay);
49. Climb some ice, United States (mmm ... yer, I'ld do it);
50. Take part in a rodeo, United States (nope!);

Interesting reading through a list like this and thinking about which ones you'ld do, or not as the case may be.

So what about you? Done any? Want to do any?

The full article and photos can be found here
http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/play/50-thrilling-experiences-116798?page=0,3&hpt=hp_bn10#ixzz1XFoIBL3F

Impossible Pie - Take 2

2011-09-06T13:47:00.003+08:00

Recently I blogged about an Impossible Pie that Miss 8 and I tried. Today, while working from home (with a sick daughter) I decided to whip up one for lunch.

I used the savoury recipe from the site that I found the sweet one at.

(We also made another sweet one - well I had lots of eggs that needed to be used and a couple of lemons AND some mini ones for school lunches at the request of Miss 9).

The main issue I have with these pies is that the base is extremely thin to the point of almost not being there. While reading a couple of other Impossible Pie recipes on the web and the associated comments I discovered that some people use Self Raising Flour (rather than Plain) AND butter.

So the recipe I ended up with (for the family to eat for dinner) was:

My Impossible Pie
* 1 cup self raising flour
* 1.5 cups milk
* 3 eggs
* 60gms butter
* 1 cup grated cheese
* 1 cup (drained) canned peas (they were in the fridge)
* 1 cup (drained) canned tuna
* Parsley
* Spray oil

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Spray a pie dish lightly with oil.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Don't worry too much if the butter doesn't mix in - it will be okay.

Pour mixture into greased pie dish and place in oven.

Cook for 30-40mins

The base seems much crispier ... here's what it looks like:

[UPDATE]I much preferred the crustiness of this version. I will use this as a base in the future.[/UPDATE]

Birthday Month

2011-09-04T21:35:00.005+08:00

Miss 7's birthday was today, so she's now Miss 8:

Yes, that is a FANTASTIC birthday cake made by Shooting Buddy!

She had a bowling party yesterday with 6 friends. It went well and lots of fun was had.

Miss 9's birthday is next Saturday. However she's already had her "party" - a camping trip with 5 of her friends. She received a very special pressent:

It was a really nice campsite - here's a picture of it in the morning mist:

We had her party early as she really wanted to go camping but the campsite was booked out in September. Luckily we did, because next weekend she's been invited to a Scout camp (she's a cub).

A weekend away

2011-08-21T20:33:00.017+08:00

Shooting Buddy needed to drive his son back to Geraldton and he asked me to go with him as a co-driver. After discussing it with hubby, and him being willing to do the "mum's taxi" for the girls this weekend I agreed to go along.

Plans evolved and we decided to drive up to Geraldton to drop his son off on the Friday and then spend the weekend in Dongara where we have some good friends and drive back on Sunday. As it turned out our Dongara friends weren't there :( But we decided to stay anyway.

The drive to Geraldton was long - it's apparently 450kms north of Perth - I'm not sure what part of Perth they're measuring from as we left at 10am and arrived about 4pm and only stopped once.

However, after dropping Shooting Buddy's son off we did a bit of shopping and headed to Tides for dinner. We sat on the balcony and sipped sparkling wine while watching the sun set. The tasting plate went down a treat followed by entree sized serves of the main course. I had the Prawn Tagliatelle and SB had the Mini Surf and Turf without the Surf. They were amazingly accommodating (see Surf & Turf minus Surf) even though the restaurant was full. We also got a Sicilian Salad (Pumpkin, Red Onion, Tomato, Crumbled Feta, Lebanese Cucumber & Roasted Capsicum) which we struggled to finish.

Being full we decided to skip dessert and head back to Dongara for the evening.

On Saturday we headed up to the historic Greenough townsite, via the local rifle range - however there was no one there and no signage as to when there would be.

At the Greenough museum / shop we sat down to a delicious (and total unhealthy) breakfast of scones while enjoying the scenery.

Breakfast

View while eating breakfast

We then headed up the road to Geraldton to the tourist information centre as we had heard of a winery in the area that was worth a visit.

After a bit of investigation we found out that the winery was the Chapman Valley Winery. It is West Australia's northern most winery - oh and they serve lunch - so off we headed, 30kms or so north.

I haven't travelled north of Geraldton by car ever. I was totally amazed at the scenery we found once we entered the Chapman Valley. I took a number of photos but I don't think they do the scenery justice:

View from Mills Lookout

Looking to the right of the Lookout

On the way to the Winery we stopped off at the Lavender Farm, which seemed really nice but we were in the mood for "something different" - especially as there were LOTS of people there.

When we got to the winery we were pleasantly surprised to see that off the dozen tables scattered around only 3 were occupied. We entered the cellar door and got chatting to the owner while trying the wines. They had four wines on offer - two white and two red. Unusually I liked all four of them! SB likes sweet wines so wasn't keen on the reds. In the end we decided to get a bottle of the Classic White and the Classic Red (with the intent to drink the white and bring the red back). We ordered a "Grazing Platter" to go with the white and found ourselves a shady table to sit at.

About three hours and two bottles of wine, lots of water and coffee later we decided to head back to Dongara. We did stop at the Lavender Farm for another coffee (and a piece of cake) on the drive back.

- We decided to skip dinner and go for a walk in Dongara instead!

Sunday morning started out as a repeat of Saturday - with still no one at the rifle club :( We went back to the shop at the Greenough Historic village as I had seen something for Miss 7's birthday present and decided to go back to buy it.

However, this time instead of heading north we went East towards Mingenew.

The first town we drove through was Walkaway. It's a very pretty little town and is just on the edge of a HUGE windfarm. Some of the towers are right next to the road - which made me feel a touch nervous.

Rather than go directly to Mingenew we decided to take a side trip to Coalstream on the way.

I had been at Coalstream in January. This is what it looked like then:

and this is what it looks like now ...

Facing the other direction, we had this in January:

and this today

The yellow are wildflowers - here's few more pictures of wildflowers that we came across (it's the start of the wildflower season):

After the detour through Coalstream Park we drove to Mingenew then down through Three Springs, Carnamah and down to Bindoon.

The last time I was in the area was at the beginning of May before any rain had fallen in the area. It was wonderful to see green grass, healthy wheat and canola fields and water actually laying on the ground in many areas.

After we went through Bindoon we took another detour through the Chittering Valley. When I drove through there in May it was drier than dry. Now it was totally luscious - it was really amazing. I can see now why people live there.

Eventually we arrive home after a very restful weekend! Looking forward to getting back "up north" with the family in the October school holiday and hopefully camping at Coalstream for a couple of days for a really good look around.

Well done!

2011-08-16T10:04:00.001+08:00

From today's news:

Riverton robbers chased away by shopkeeper

TWO men got more than they bargained for last night when they tried to rob a grocery store in Riverton only to be chased out of the store by the shopkeeper.

The two men wearing balaclavas - one armed with a pistol - walked into the Go Nuts shop on Riverton Drive just before 9pm.

The pair threatened the shopkeeper, who responded by chasing them from the store.

Its understood the shop owner threw a bin at the robbers, who fled empty handed.

The balaclava clad men are described as fair skinned, one is 170cm tall and the other is 180cm tall.

Full story here:http://www.perthnow.com.au/riverton-robbers-chased-away-by-shopkeeper/story-fn8ou527-1226115675965

------------------------------

I'm impressed with the shopkeeper standing up against the would-be robbers and I'm also glad it turned out so well for him! Taking on guys with a gun when your only weapon is a rubbish bin is a big ask!

I'm also surprised and pleased that there is no "We would like to remind people that while this situation worked out with no one injured it is not worth risking your life ... etc" type statements in the article.

Can anyone identify this for me?

2011-08-15T13:48:00.003+08:00

Apparently it's "a replica gun which had been modified to fire ammunition" found when police raided a number of homes in the northern suburbs.

Full story can be found at here

Cooking with the kids

2011-08-14T18:10:00.006+08:00

Earlier today Miss 9 and I cooked some peanut butter cookies. I don't know what it is with Miss 9, me and cookie recipes.

We've tried a few and found that they're either too moist or too dry. This is even when I follow the recipe religiously :( The peanut ones today were too dry. We knew this while mixing the dough, but we decided to "behave" ourselves and "follow the recipe" ... it turned out tasty but crumbly :(

SO does anyone have a fool-proof recipe for cookies. Just simple, plain every-day cookies that you can "add" things to (like choc chips, nuts, dried fruit etc).

Later on, Miss 7 and I made this:

Amber’s Lemon Impossible Pie

Cooking Oil Spray
1/3 cup Lemon Juice
1 cup Caster Sugar
4 Eggs
1 cup Desiccated Coconut
1/2 cup Plain Flour
1 2/3 cup Milk

Preheat your oven to 180C. Lightly spray a pie dish with the cooking oil spray. Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Whisk together the ingredients

Pour into a prepared dish and bake in a preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until set.

It's still in the oven but smells delicious. I'll let you know what it tastes like in about 30mins :)

[Update]
This is what it looks like ...

And tastes great!!!!!!!!
[/UPDATE]

How it was

2011-08-13T21:33:00.005+08:00

Found a link over at Mostly Cajun, All American and Opinionated, to where college journalists at Florida Atlantic University were asked to publish a newspaper with no computers.

It's an interesting read and a good 'look back'.

Part 1 is here and part 2 is here.

And I'm certainly glad I don't have to do my current job with 20 year old technology!

I'm glad we have a boring life

2011-08-09T21:56:00.003+08:00

just filled in the Census form - nothing really surprising asked, although I did want to answer "none of your business" to most questions.

I did it online this year. Resisted the urge to ask for a new form for each child. Resisted the urge to actually think about the questions, i.e. "How many bedrooms does the dwelling have?" - Does this mean "how many rooms are currently used as bedrooms?" or "how many rooms could be utilised as bedrooms?". <>.

Decided that I was happy to have the information made public in 99 years - just in case there's anyone around who is actually interested and can read whatever media these are archived on!

Update

2011-08-04T21:05:00.004+08:00

Well on July 20 I promised you an update on what happened the previous day, needless to say I've been a bit slack on getting this written.

However, on that day Miss 9 was one of the contenstants in a coooking competition sponsored by Brownes.

The way it worked was that each contestant had to submit an original recipe along with a photo of the dish and themselves. From these entries 10 kids were chosen to cook-off.

Miss 9 submitted her Pesto Pasta with Cheese Twists recipe and was invited to cook-off against 9 other kids between 8 & 14.

We arrived at the high school that the cook-off was being held at about 15 mins before the starting time. We met up with another mother and child and wandered around a bit until we found someone who knew what was going on. We were directed to the Home Economics area and met the organisers and the other contestants.

There were people everywhere. The show was going to be recorded for showing on tv at a future date. I think there were three tv cameras and a guy with a digital camera. The cooking area was very small especially as Miss 9 had her pasta maker set up.

The advertised format was 1hr preparation time and 1hr cooking time. Miss 9 had practised her recipe using this format a couple of times before the competition and had managed to get everything done in this time, even though it was pretty tight. The reality of the competition was a bit different as a number of contestants had items that needed an hour or so of time in the fridge etc. So they basically blended the prep time and cooking time together.

However, with a bit of assistance by one of the judges (Chef Emmanuel) she managed to get everything done and plated in the timeframe.

During the cooking we (the parents) were barred from the kitchen however we did get to sneak looks around the corner now and then. All the kids were working hard and surprisingly there weren't too many disasters. The team organising / judging were great with the kids and helped out where necessary.

She didn't win - they awarded first and second place and then gave the other kids a runner up certificate and prize money ($200).

Last night the tv show aired. It was interesting to see. The peeks around the corner hadn't really shown me the variety of things that were going on in the kitchen and the range of food cooked.

Today her picture and recipe appeared in the paper (along with all of the other contestants):

We're very proud of her!

"Here we learn" ...

2011-07-20T11:12:00.003+08:00

Yesterday's activities (there'll be a blog post on this later) saw me at a state high school in our Northern suburbs.

On the door of EVERY classroom was a sticker (A4 size in bright yellow) that said "Here we learn". Unfortunately, it was on the outside of the door implying (to me at least) that learning was only done inside the classroom :(

It's the future - here's your flying car

2011-07-18T21:07:00.003+08:00

Yep, really and truly, any day now ... and for only $227,000.

Full story and pics here and seriously, what is the US army going to do with a flying Humvee???

Now that's an arsenal

2011-07-15T11:21:00.002+08:00

Too many times you see headlines talking about an "arsenal" of firearms being found only to read that this consisted of 3 beat-up old rifles. Here however we have a story where the term "arsenal" may actually fit ...

Rocket man Robert Wakim throws up his arms over gun charges

MILITARY weapons enthusiast or illegal arms dealer?

Robert Wakim has been a licensed firearms dealer for 15 years but, after a bazooka and other illegal weapons were allegedly found in his shed, he now faces 23 firearms charges.

Downing Centre Local Court heard police raided his southwest Sydney storage property late last year and allegedly found a host of prohibited items, including a bazooka, a grenade, military-style weapons, an assault rifle, crossbow and ammunition.

Mr Wakim, a family man with a history of compliance with firearms rules, believed he might have been "set up".

His solicitor Brett Galloway said outside court: "As far as Mr Wakim was aware, he had every possible licence available. He has been in the business for many years and never had a problem."

Police claimed Mr Wakim did not hold a prohibited weapons permit but alleged he was in possession of a number of items in that category.

Documents tendered to the court alleged he was in possession of two 10-round detachable 12-gauge shotgun magazines, extendable baton, two slingshots and unauthorised firearms including a Daewoo USAS-12 self-loading shotgun, and an SKS self-loading rifle.

Wakim also faces two counts of possessing shortened or modified firearms (not pistols), two of not complying with appropriate storage regulations and attempting to deceive authorities. He faces a total 23 charges including four counts of possessing/using military-style weapons without a permit and six counts of possessing prohibited weapons.

Mr Galloway said that there had been too many changes to rules governing the possession of firearms.

The case was adjourned until next month.

(Nice pic can be seen at the source http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/rocket-man-robert-wakim-throws-up-his-arms-over-gun-charges/story-e6freuzi-1226094960608)

Homeowner charged with manslaughter ...

2011-07-12T22:03:00.004+08:00

It will be interesting to see how this one goes:-

Intruder shot, leaves 50m blood trail on street before dying in gutter

A SYDNEY gangster armed with a World War II pistol has been shot dead in a botched Gold Coast home invasion believed to be linked to drugs.

The man, 34, was shot in the leg with a vintage Luger pistol after a struggle with the homeowner at Silvereye Circuit in Gilston in the Gold Coast Hinterland in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Sources say the 29-year-old homeowner told police he arrived home about 1.40am to be confronted by four masked men inside the house.

He told police he wrestled with one of the intruders and the gun discharged, the bullet hitting the man's femoral artery.

Bleeding profusely, he staggered outside and into the street where he dropped dead, leaving a 50m blood trail in his wake.

This afternoon, police charged the homeowner with manslaughter. He is expected to face Southport Magistrates Court tomorrow morning.

Sources said drugs were believed to be at the centre of the shooting and the four men who took part in the home invasion had travelled up from Sydney.

Earlier, Gold Coast police regional crime co-ordinator Tim Trezise said said the spate of gun crimes on the Gold Coast, including the fatal shooting in May of police officer Damian Leeding, was upsetting the community and putting pressure on police.

"It continues to be a concern to police and the whole community in relation to firearm offences and offences of this ilk," he said.

--------------------------------------------------

There are two things in this article that I am not comfortable with:

1. The homeowner being charged with manslaughter when it appears that he was confronted with armed home invaders and it was one of the home invaders' guns.

2. The reference to the "spate of gun crimes". I fear that this event and others of a similar nature this year will lead to more calls for increased regulation and legislation.

Source: Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/man-shot-dead-in-house-in-gold-coast-hinterland-house/story-e6frfkvr-1226092957377#ixzz1RtqkBS00

[UPDATE]Well he has been granted bail (against the wishes of the police). He'll be back in court on October 4th. Latest update here: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/man-who-shot-intruder-is-real-victim/story-e6frfku0-1226093741352[/UPDATE]

Thoughts and prayers please

2011-07-03T20:35:00.004+08:00

Apparently my dad has had a stroke.

He's in hospital 500kms south (Albany), however I've just been told that it looks like he'll be transferred to a hospital up here.

[UPDATE]Thanks for the comments / prayers and emails. They're not transferring him to Perth. However, hubby is going down tomorrow for a couple of days to see how things are. Depending on his report I'll travel down either straight away or next week.[/UPDATE]

[UPDATE2]Sorry for the lack of updates, life has been chaotic lately. Dad is doing really well. He's now out of hospital. Hubby and the girls are heading down there tomorrow to see him again.[/UPDATE2]

Is this evidence of the current education system?

2011-07-01T11:37:00.003+08:00

During a lull in work today (while my computer was processing data without me), I decided to read "Ask Bossy".

Bossy is the Agony Aunt of news.com.au.

Here's an extract from today's submission:

lets call her Nat.
.
me and Nat go back 7 years we use to be best friends during school had a huge fall out because I started dating this guy she had a crush on ( I had no idea) then after high school we re kindled our friendship and moved in together with her brother moving in to.
that was fine, until she took a fancy to my well good friend of many years, we where only friends and I had no idea she once again had a crush on him cause she was always talking about “Patrick “ like how she had a crush ect. wanted to hook up and stuff anyway, things got sexual with my mate of many years (not Patrick) and she found out and acted like I did it on purpose cause she liked him?? we had a cat fights ect (she stole my money, clothes, personal stuff ,rent ) and vowed for revenge

I then met my BF “Nick” (now ex). I told nick very early in the relationship that I dispited this girl for the things that had happened. he understood. well I thought so until we broke up.

when we called it even he said about the elephant in the room that he had seen Nats Bro (nice guy value for money) and that Nat had got his number and had been texting him and that he had been replying but didn’t mean anything more then a friends. I re explained the situation that she was out for revenge. I demanded his phone and read all the msgs and it was friendly but I was MAD!

Didn’t speak for a few weeks then his fam went away for weeks so I stayed with him at his parents house. we fell asleep on the couch and the phone vibrated about 6 times ( I don’t believe in looking in people property with out asking) I ignored but being a iphone I seen Nat’s full name on the pop up msg so I looked and they had been talking, only friendly. I was so furious I just left it.

The author of this is ... 19 turning 20 ....

In Australia 10 years of schooling is mandatory.

(If you want to read the whole thing, check out: http://blogs.news.com.au/bossy/index.php/news/comments/how_do_i_stop_her_texting_my_ex_to_get_revenge_on_me/P80/ some of the comments are hilarious).

Fun on the range

2011-06-22T19:40:00.006+08:00

When I got up to the range today to help set I found one of my ex-trainees already there. He had set up a stage for us. It was BRILLIANT. Here's what he did:

Needless to say, The Doctor was a no-shoot AND no one hit him.

Apart from this stage, we shot another four. The squad today was a great group of guys and we had a lot of fun! It's nice to get some range time in!

Happy Blogiversary to OldNFO

2011-06-15T08:52:00.002+08:00

and Blogger has a sense of humour ...

I was writing a comment to congratulate Jim on his 4 year blogiversary (if you're not reading him, you should be - it's Nobody Asked Me over there in my blogroll*)

The verification word was "gunold" ... really ....

*This is posted from that silly computer that doesn't like linking

Oooh, now that's an odd thing for a cop to say ....

2011-06-14T09:00:00.002+08:00

From today's news:

Woman kicks cowardly armed robber in the groin

A FORRESTFIELD woman retaliated while being robbed yesterday by kicking her attacker in the groin.

Sergeant Gerry Cassidy said the 33-year-old woman, who works as a carer for the disabled, was with a wheelchair-bound client in the carpark of a Salvation Army store in Gosnells at 2.15pm when she was approached by a man.

“He demanded her wallet, and when she’s refused he’s punched her in the mouth, causing bleeding, and he snatched the wallet,” Sgt Cassidy said.

“The only bright note is she retaliated by kicking him in the groin and he hobbled away towards the TAB and the Coles store down the road.”

The attacker is described as dark-skinned and in his 30s, 175cm tall, with a medium build, dark wavy hair, and wearing a grey hooded jumper and jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.

------

I've bolded the bit I found interesting. Here there is a real emphasis of not resisting or retaliating so it is interesting that the cop has put her actions in such a positive light.

I'm also not sure where the "armed" bit in the heading is from (and while we're at it, where they get the "cowardly" bit either) - probably journalistic licence!

Source: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/woman-kicks-cowardly-armed-robber-in-the-groin/story-e6frg13u-1226074748952

There are reasons I enjoy my job ....

2011-06-09T21:39:00.003+08:00

I'm on a very busy project at the moment. This involves working a couple of 10 hour days (and more over the next couple of weeks) and I've "given up" my Friday's off for the time being. (I'm only supposed to work 4 days a week).

However, I've spoken to my boss about still having a couple of hours on the fourth Wednesday of the month off to go help run the shoot at the gun club.

Well guess what? We've got a deadline on the 21st and one on the 23rd. Today I discover that the Consultants who are coordinating (running) the project are coming over on the 22nd for a meeting.

The 22nd is the FOURTH WEDNESDAY :(

My boss has told them that I won't be there in the afternoon so we need to get through as much as we can in the morning. He also told them why AND he's thinking of inviting them up to the range as well.

I told him that was a great idea and to see what he can organise :)

Yep, I like this job (well, some parts of it anyway).

A day of cooking

2011-06-06T20:26:00.003+08:00

Well decided I needed to do a major cookup this weekend (for freezing).

I cooked:
1. Beef Vindaloo
2. Beef & Pineapple Hotpot
3. Beef, Beans & Vegetable Hotpot
4. Chicken Yellow Curry
5. Chicken, Beans & Vegetable Hotpot

Had the Beef Vindaloo for dinner - it was about as hot as I can stand it. Oh, and delicious. Miss 9 had the Beef & Pineapple and Miss 7 the Beef, Beans & Vegetable Hotpot. Everyone enjoyed their meals.

Hubby then asked what was for desert. I don't normally cook deserts but decided that I would like to try a Sticky Date Pudding. I found this microwave version:
Sticky Date Pudding

Ingredients:
* 250g chopped dates
* 1¼ cups water
* 125gm butter
* 1 tsp ground ginger
* 1 tsp bicarb soda
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1¼ cups SR flour
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
SAUCE
* 1 cup water
* 1 tsp cornflour
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 125gm chopped butter
* 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method
* Combine dates, water, butter & ginger in a microwave proof dish and microwave on high for 1 minute, or until butter has melted.
* Stir in soda and cool slightly. Stir in sugar, eggs, sifted flour and mix well. Pour mixture into a greased and lined 1.5 litre capacity pudding basin (microwave proof)
* Cover and cook on high for 14-16 minutes until set in centre. Stand covered for 2 minutes.
* Serve topped with caramel sauce and cream or icecream.
SAUCE
* Blend the cornflour with water in a saucepan then stir in the brown sugar, butter and vanilla. Stir on a low heat until the sugar and butter are melted then increase the heat and continue stirring until it boils and thickens.

Source: http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/7476/microwave-sticky-date-pudding

I've bolded the sugar as the original recipe omitted it. We added 1/2 cup, but it does need a bit more.

I didn't make the sauce though. Decided just to have it with vanilla icecream.

Potato Soup

2011-06-04T21:01:00.002+08:00

Miss 9 enjoyed cooking my standard Potato and Corn soup the other day, similar to this one.

Today I asked her if she'ld like to help me make another soup. It evolved over the cooking process with her and my input and sorry, no pics.

Vegetable and Bean Soup

Ingredients

200gm Pepperoni (finely chopped)
1 Tbs Oil
2 tsp Mixed Herbs
1 tsp Asfotedia Powder
5 sticks Celery (finely chopped)
2 Carrots (chopped)
1 Head of Broccoli (chopped)
Vegetable stock
2x420 cans of corn kernels (drained and rinsed)
2x420 cans of green peas (drained and rinsed)
420gm can of Bertollini Beans (drained and rinsed)
420gm can of White Beans (drained and rinsed)
420gm can of Lentils (drained and rinsed)
420gm can of Red Kidney Beans (drained and rinsed)
7 medium sized Potatoes (I microwaved these in the skins)

Method
1. Heat oil in a large heavy-based stockpot, add mixed herbs, asfotedia powder, pepperoni and celery. Fry until pepperoni is crisp.

2. Add stock and rest of the ingredients - except potatoes.

3. Bring soup to boil, adding water if necessary.

4. Rice the potatoes and add to the soup.

5. Simmer soup on low until carrots are tender.

6. Serve.

We ate it with toasted turkish bread and it really went well!

Dr Jack Kevorkian is dead

2011-06-04T14:28:00.005+08:00

From today's news.

I mentioned this to my hubby in the hearing of the girls so, of course, they had to ask a million questions - "Who was he?", "Is his death good or bad?" etc.

So I attempted to explain why he was significant. Towards the end of the conversation it went like this:

Me: "So if a dog is hit by a car and in a lot of pain and nothing can be done to fix it up, we 'euthanise' it. This means we're allowed to give it drugs so that it dies. We're not allowed to do this with people. We can only try and help minimise the pain until they die naturally."

Miss 9: "People are weird."

Getting back to the article I liked his three stated missions in life:

"... Kevorkian said that he had three missions in life ...
One of his missions was to warn mankind of "impending doom" that will come from the culture of overabundance....

His second mission was to educate people about assisted suicide, ...

Kevorkian's third stated mission was to convince Americans that their rights are being infringed upon by bans on everything from smoking to assisted suicide."

Now I do have a problem with the "who makes the decision" bit relating to assisted suicides. However, I do like the way he summarised three major challenges we are facing today.

No kidding ....

2011-06-03T08:39:00.004+08:00

From today's news: War on drugs 'has failed'

I was going to write and in depth piece on why this isn't news but just stating the bleeding obvious but then I read what Daddybear wrote and thought I might just send you over there for a read.

(As this is the computer that doesn't like me linking you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way ...
http://daddybearden.blogspot.com/2011/06/perpetuating-prohibition.html
...)

Like Daddybear I've not used illegal drugs, I don't want my girls using them (ever!) but I don't believe that legislating what adults can and can't do to their own bodies is reasonable.

Yesterday there was an explosion a couple of suburbs away from where I live when a drug lab went up (http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/blast-leads-cops-to-83rd-drug-lab/story-e6frg13u-1226068502117), apparently it's the 83rd illicit drug lab uncovered in Perth this year!

People are doing this because there is money in it. I would like to see these products legally available (using existing health requirements and regulations for the production of pharmaceuticals) and taxed. Then use that money for health and education campaigns just as we do with cigarettes / alcohol.

Next celebrity fad?

2011-05-28T13:21:00.004+08:00

Will be interesting to see if this is part of a new trend:

The Mark Zuckerberg diet - only eat what you kill with your own bare hands

MARK Zuckerberg has a heart after all.

A goat's heart.

And a pig's and a chicken's.

The man popularly portrayed as a cold, ruthless dispatcher of friends is sort of, kind of living up to that reputation by publicly announcing his new challenge for 2011.

"I just killed a pig and a goat," he wrote on his private Facebook page on May 4, after telling his friends that 2011 was the year he would only eat meat that he's slaughtered with his own bare hands.

Zuckerberg sets a single new goal for himself every year.

In 2009, he wore a tie every day. Last year, he learnt Chinese. Both were fairly innocuous, but his latest campaign has caused some consternation amongst his Facebook fans.

Fortune reports that Zuckerberg was introduced to the practice by Silicon Valley chef Jesse Cool in his home town of Palo Alto, California.

She directed him to some nearby farms and helped him knock off a chicken, pig and goat.

"He cut the throat of the goat with a knife, which is the most kind way to do it," Cool told Fortune.

Zuckerberg started his kill-to-eat diet by boiling a live lobster.

His girlfriend Priscilla is also keen consumer and the two recently carved up a chicken together, eating the heart and liver and making stock from the leftovers.

According to Fortune, he posted a pic of the chicken on his Facebook page and listed all the meals he made from it.

"Every year in recent memory, I've taken on a personal challenge - something to learn about the world, expand my interests and teach myself greater discipline," he wrote by way of explanation in an email to Fortune.

"This year, my personal challenge is around being thankful for the food I have to eat.

"I think many people forget that a living being has to die for you to eat meat, so my goal revolves around not letting myself forget that and being thankful for what I have."

Zuckerberg said his next step was to go hunting.

Sourcee: http://www.news.com.au/technology/the-mark-zuckerberg-diet-only-eat-what-you-kill-with-your-own-bare-hands/story-e6frfro0-1226063975449#ixzz1NcbRwQV0

Things you find on the web ...

2011-05-26T20:40:00.002+08:00

Seven Blunders of the World

The Seven Blunders of the World is a list that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi gave to his grandson Arun Gandhi, written on a piece of paper, on their final day together, shortly before his assassination.

The seven blunders are:

* Wealth without work
* Pleasure without conscience
* Knowledge without character
* Commerce without morality
* Science without humanity
* Worship without sacrifice
* Politics without principle

This list grew from Gandhi's search for the roots of violence. He called these acts of passive violence. Preventing these is the best way to prevent oneself or one's society from reaching a point of violence.

To this list, Arun Gandhi added an eighth blunder,

* Rights without responsibilities

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The mind is a weird thing ...

2011-05-23T08:48:00.002+08:00

I've been working in this job for just over a year. So every workday I drive down the main road, pull into the turning lane at the lights near my office, turn right (you've always got to wait at these lights) and then turn left into a private road that runs down the back of the building, then into the car park.

Last Monday, I did the above, only to discover that they've closed the private road. Not a big deal, do a U-turn right out of the private road, turn right at the lights, travel down the main road a bit, pull into a turning lane, cross over and drive in the front entrance of the building.

Discover, via email, that the private road is going to be closed for months.

Now, I discovered that last Monday ... TODAY was the first day I've NOT turned right at the lights to head down the private road!!!

I can't believe that it took a whole week for me to get through to my brain that YOU don't turn right at the lights any more!

Now, I'm just hoping that today's success isn't a once off.

Honey and Harissa Glazed Eggplant

2011-05-22T19:56:00.005+08:00

I picked half a dozen nice sized eggplants from the garden today. The variety I'm growing is mini-Lebanese so these were all about 12-15cms long and about 3-4 cm in diameter.

Awhile back I had gone searching for eggplant recipes and amongst the hundreds of "interesting" ones found I had located one for Honey and Harissa Glazed Eggplant.

Mum gave me a jar of Jalapeno harissa about a month back so I had been looking forward to trying it in the recipe. Here's the original recipe with my comments in purple.

Honey and Harissa Glazed Eggplant
serves 3-4 as a side dish

Ingredients
750g eggplant (about 2 medium-large), peeled Didn't weigh the eggplants just used what I picked
50ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon for frying
3 small cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tblsp finely chopped fresh ginger Didn't have fresh so used about 1 1/2 tsp dried
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp harissa paste Used 2 generous tsps of the Jalapeno one I had
1/4 cup (60 ml) honey
2 tsp tomato paste Used a bit more of the paste - probably about 3-4 tsps
2 tblsp lemon juice
1 tsp sea salt

Method
1. Preheat oven to 200C. Line a large oven tray with baking paper.
2. Halve each eggplant crosswise then slice each half into 6-8 wedges. Place the wedges into the baking tray and drizzle with 50ml of olive oil. Coat the wedges thoroughly in oil, then spread them out in a single layer. Roast the wedges in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until they are deep golden, turning them halfway through the cooking time. I used a "turbo cook" to roast them in worked fine. Next time I'll coat them by putting the oil in a plastic bag and shaking them in there rather than the 'drizzling' method.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over low heat. Add the garlic and ginger to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Then stir in the cumin, cinnamon, harissa, honey, tomato paste, lemon juice and salt. Cook until the mixture starts to boil, then turn off the heat.
4. Remove the eggplant from the oven and carefully place into the honey mixture. Cook in a single layer for 8 minutes, turning once. Be careful, as the honey may start to burn.
5. When the eggplant is cooked, season to taste with extra lemon juice and salt, if needed. Then put them into a shallow serving dish, and spoon over any remaining honey glaze. The eggplant can be served warm or at room temperature. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for a day or so; just reheat in the microwave for 40 seconds (it tastes even better then). I'll be trying the leftovers tomorrow :)

Recipe adapted from delicious (June 2010)

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I'll certainly be making this again. I think it would work great as a side dish for a roast.

PS Miss 9 and me also made a roast cauliflower soup that Miss 7 devoured (even with a chili in there) and Miss 9 also created her own seasoning for fried eggplant along with a tomato based sauce. Very yummy!

Illegal hunters?!?

2011-05-20T09:05:00.003+08:00

From today's news:

Horse shot and skinned in paddock near Esk

FOREST HILL police in Queensland are searching for a person who shot a horse and skinned its head near Esk.

Detective Senior Constable Scott Petrie, of the Forest Hill Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squad, said the horse was in its own paddock off Esk-Crows Nest Road in Biarra when someone shot it in the heart sometime between May 8 and May 12.

He said whoever shot the four-year-old thoroughbred also skinned its head.

Det Senior Constable Petrie said the skin was not left at the scene with the body.

"It's a bizarre occurrence," he said.

"People need to be aware of illegal hunters in this area and if anyone sees anything to call us or Crime Stoppers."

The horse was bay with a white star on its forehead.

-------------

Awful, terrible and I hope they catch the person that did it and prosecute to the full extent of the law but where the heck did the comment on "illegal hunters" come from?!?

I'm only assuming that the Det Senior Constable used full sentences and maybe a paragraph or two that the journalist didn't manage to write down?

I hate "pieces of paper" ...

2011-05-20T08:27:00.004+08:00

I was filling in a form for our insurance. Apparently firearms aren't covered under house contents insurance (with this company), unless a separate form is completed and submitted.

The form isn't that onerous, I guess, there were only 5 questions:
1. "Address where the guns are normally stored" (mmm I'm applying to have it put on my contents insurance, I would have thought the address was given)
2. "Do you belong to any firearms clubs, if so, name and address". None of your business really but hey what the heck.
3. "Are the guns stored in a safe? If so list make and model". They give you one line for make and one line for model. Um, okay, this is where things are going to get tricky. We have three firearms safes. One is a custom built one (to appropriate legislative standards) which of course doesn't have a make/model. So I just wrote that "we have a number of safes which comply with appropriate legislation and have been inspected by the police under this legislation", let's see how that goes!
4. "Is the safe securely attached to the building? Please provide additional details". At least they give you four lines here, but as the safes are all attached in different ways I decided to go with "all safes are secured in accordance with relevant legislation". I NEARLY gave them the appropriate legislation to go look up but decided that was going overboard.
5. Then there are 4 lines on which we're supposed to list the make / model / serial number / bore size of each firearm and state whether or not they are licenced.

As owning an unlicensed firearm here is a criminal act I'm interested to know if there really are people who would submit all of these details for unlicensed firearms. Maybe there are?!?

Anyway, between me and my husband we have more than four guns - not the arsenal that some of my readers posses, but more than four. I filled in the information scribbling on the bottom of the sheet of paper wondering what people who had good sized arsenals did?

While I was filling in this form, I needed to get my licence - not because they ask anything about it - but because the make and serial numbers are all listed there.

I then noticed that the licence (in my Firearms Licence folder) is expired! The expiry date on it is 24 July 2010.

OH NO! Panic.

A) It is illegal to have unlicensed guns in your possession
B) You are responsible to ensure that the licence is up to date even if you have not received a renewal notice
C) The licence system here is so um, "messed" up that a lot of people are discovering that their licences are years out of date or guns have mysteriously disappeared off the piece of paper ... so I'm now thinking that I didn't get the renewal and life could get difficult

So I ring Firearms Branch - some of my longer-term readers may remember the joyous experience this has been for me in the past. I get through straight away!?! To a PERSON!?! Things are looking up.

I initially ask what the story is if you have an expired firearms licence. Apparently if it is less than 12 months expire you can just renew it - phew - however, if it is over 12 months you HAVE TO REAPPLY FROM SCRATCH!?!

(Now, I'm secretly thanking the insurance company for their stupid rules and forms).

Anyway, I ask her to check whether or not my licence is actually expired. It isn't! Apparently I renewed it 10 June last year. So now I have a paid up licence but not the piece of paper that I'm supposed to have.

So I ask her what to do? I can obtain a copy for $41.50 BUT as it is due in July and I should be getting a renewal (which is a copy of your licence to which you affix the receipt of payment) in June it really doesn't seem worth selling out $41.50.

So I decided that I'll just live without the piece of paper for (at the most) a month and hopefully won't have any issues. She concurred with this decision. (I'm guessing a copy licence would take as long to get here anyway).

One thing I've forgotten to mention is that the licence is a PIECE of paper (well for me, I know people with two or three pieces of paper). Each piece is full-sized (A4) which is a PAIN to store and carry (you need to carry it when you transport your firearms). I'm really, really, really not sure why, in this day and age, we can't have a credit card sized licence (real licence not the credit card sized Extract of Licence that we also have, don't ask) that can be put in the wallet with all the other cards and forgotten about.

I really hate having to look after a piece of paper ... not quite as much as I hate this whole licence scenario thingy anyway.

Guys, if you live somewhere without gun licence and registration FIGHT to keep it that way.

Vote for me ... please ..

2011-05-14T13:50:00.004+08:00

Bleg time ...

I've just entered a competition and need people to "vote for me" ...

Click here to vote.

Oh and you can vote once per day :)

Thanks

Specialisation is for insects ....

2011-05-08T09:57:00.005+08:00

The comments on my last post got me thinking about the phrase "specialisation is for insects" and whether on not this was true.

Bob (in comments) is correct when he stated that you really don't want brain surgery done by the local GP.

I think there is a place for specialisation. In many ways, this is what a career is all about. Becoming skilled in something so that you're employable. But even within these confines there's advantages to having a wide range of skills rather than just one. I see no reason why a brain surgeon shouldn't be able to bake a loaf of bread.

One of the benefits of having a wide range of skills is that pretty much no matter the economic circumstances there's a job that you can turn your hand to. You might need refresher course (or a bit of reading) to get up to speed with the latest developments in the area, but having a basic understanding of something is a good place to start from.

Or, if you are unemployed, you can do a lot of things that need doing without shelling out cash for an "expert" in the field.

Looking back over my working life the people I have most enjoyed working with and those I have the most respect for were those who were not only good at their jobs but who also had a wide range of knowledge, interest and skills of related and unrelated fields. I found these people stimulating and challenging to be around. The time spent on learning and acquiring skills did not detract from them mastering their primary specialities either.

I have also worked with people who are brilliant in their field, but have no idea of anything else. I find these people, on the whole, frustrating to work with and for. Mainly because they have such a narrow view of things they don't even understand how something "upstream" will affect their project. It's like (to pinch an analogy from Cajun) they turn on a light switch expecting the light to go on, with no understanding of the multiple stages the electricity needs to pass through to get there.

I guess most of you who work in the computer field have heard the "pack it up and take it back to the shop and tell them you're too stupid to own a computer" joke, well unfortunately, in my experience, this isn't that much of a joke.

I'm not sure the education system is to blame, or whether people have just lost the ability to be curious but it really seems that on the whole people don't look around and ask questions.

One of the things I love about spending time with my girls is the number of questions they ask. (It can also be frustrating too :) ). It seems as if they want to know the "why and how" of everything. I hope they never lose this desire to understand the world around them. This also serves to remind me of how little I know and how I should be looking at the world and asking the same questions.

I've often asked myself what "life skills" I need to pass onto the girls. And so far, the skills that we have decided are important for them are:

* Reading
* Clear and articulate pronunciation
* Neat writing
* Ability to read music and play an instrument
* Ability to swim
* Development of a range of physical skills
* Ability to read a map and use a compass
* Ability to shoot a firearm
* Ability to cook basic meals
* Ability to do basic maths in their heads
* Basic computer skills
* Basic housework skills
* Care for an animal
* Behave in a restaurant
* Speak in public
* Speak a foreign language
* Write a letter

All of these the girls have or are actively developing.

In addition there's a few more I would like them to be able to do in the future
* Touch type
* Kill, skin and prepare a rabbit
* Drive
* Navigate by stars
* Build a fire
* Basic knowledge of first aid

I think all those skills are important regardless of what career they choose. (There's probably more, but these are all that I can think of at the moment).

What about you. What skills do you want to pass onto your children (or think children of this generation and the next need to have)?

Something to think about ...

2011-05-07T23:23:00.002+08:00

“A human being should be able to:
* change a diaper,
* plan an invasion,
* butcher a hog,
* conn a ship,
* design a building,
* write a sonnet,
* balance accounts,
* build a wall,
* set a bone,
* comfort the dying,
* take orders,
* give orders,
* cooperate,
* act alone,
* solve equations,
* analyze a new problem,
* pitch manure,
* program a computer,
* cook a tasty meal,
* fight efficiently,
* die gallantly.

Specialization is for insects.” — Robert A. Heinlein

"Wasn't in his right mind ..."

2011-05-04T08:23:00.003+08:00

"Wasn't in his right mind ...", well that bit of the story makes sense, the rest, well ... judge for yourself:

Man 'high on bath salts' arrested in bra, panties, accused of stabbing goat

A US man found wearing women's underwear and standing over a goat's carcass told West Virginia police he was high on bath salts.

Mark L Thompson of Alum Creek was arrested at his home on Monday. A criminal complaint in Kanawha County Magistrate Court charges the 19-year-old with cruelty to animals.

Sheriff's Deputy JS Shackelford says witnesses reported Mr Thompson standing near a neighbour's pygmy goat in a bedroom. He was wearing a bra and female underwear. The goat had at least one stab wound.

Corporal Sean Snuffer says Mr Thompson indicated he had been high and "wasn't in his right mind".

Mr Thompson was held on $50,000 bond yesterday at the South Central Regional Jail. Jail records didn't indicate whether he had a lawyer and no listed phone number was available.

Source:http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/man-high-on-bath-salts-arrested-in-bra-panties-accused-of-stabbing-goat/story-e6frfku0-1226049655286#ixzz1LL3zmoON

Bin Laden is dead

2011-05-02T14:24:00.003+08:00

Breaking news today is that Osama Bin Laden is dead.

This is GOOD news. Although I would have liked to see him stand trial.

However, unfortunately I don't think this will make the world a safer place.

Range Report and Newbies (Twofer)

2011-05-01T19:30:00.008+08:00

Well I went up to shoot a match on Saturday. It's my first weekend shoot in I-don't-know-how-long and I was pretty nervous.

Due to hubby running late I got there EXACTLY on time. Everyone had just broken up into squads and headed onto the stages. With the help of Shooting Buddy, I signed in, grabbed some score sheets and joined a squad.

It was a nice squad, four 'old' club members, three of my 'ex-trainees', Shooting Buddy and myself.

There were four stages set up. The squad had finished the 'walk-through' on the first stage before I joined them, so luckily I was shooting second last and had plenty of time to get an idea of the layout before I had to shoot.

The stage went well. I didn't have a 'good' grip on the gun but even so managed 1 Alpha, 1 Charlie on pretty much all the targets.

By the second stage I was feeling more settled. Also a good shoot. Had a better grip this time and got mostly As. I was reasonable slow though :( Seriously out of practice.

There wasn't anything stunning about stage 2 and 3, but on four I couldn't get the first round to chamber when I loaded.

I tried both type of mags I carry (Chip McCormick 38mags & the standard Springfield mags). So I asked the RO if I could shoot later and went to an adjacent range to see if I could figure out what was wrong.

Turned out to be a projy stuck in the barrel?!? Checking my rounds I discovered that for some reason they didn't seem to be crimped and when I unloaded at the previous stage the projy must have stuck.

I asked one of the other shooters for a rod and removed the projy. I managed to shoot the stage without further issue - listening very carefully for any squib loads. I will have to check my press to see what has gone wrong and recrimp the rest of the rounds.

It was fun to shoot with the weekend squads again. Will have to try and get there more often.

-----------------

After the shoot two gals that I chat to on gbc came up for a shoot. They have had some but not a lot of exposure to firearms.

We started with my Ruger 22/45, moved onto the Glock 9mm and my 9mm Springfield. They really seemed to enjoy themselves - here are the pics:

Easter Break

2011-04-27T19:13:00.010+08:00

Easter Break this year was 5 days and it coincided with school holidays. So we decided to take the girls, Tame Chef and go camping.

Now we did think about heading "up north" (away from the people with similar plans to us), but as the girl's granny was going to be "down south" and we've not seen her recently we decided, very late on, to change plans.

So late on, in fact, that pretty much everywhere was booked solid :( However, we did get into an unpowered site at the Nannup Caravan Park.

I took half a day off on the Thursday (had some time owing) and set off about 3.30pm. We drove down the South West Highway and stopped for dinner in Donnybrook – quite yummy. We then decided to take the Donnybrook-Capel Road / Jarrahwood Road route rather than the Balingup / Nannup route.

I had forgotten that Jarrahwood Road was a gravel track. By the time we got onto it, it was dark. We decided to let Tame Chef go first in his (very large) 4WD. I'm glad we did because he met a roo in a close & personal (and not good for the roo) way.

We got to the campsite around 8.30pm. Met up with the caretakers who took our money and showed us to our patch of grass. It was quite a nice 6mx6m spot – unfortunately with two large trees in the middle. We managed to arrange the tent and all our stuff so that it fitted in the spot and settled down for a nice cuppa tea.

We decided that we'd do nothing on the Friday. So we just hung around the campsite – did take a walk or two and get the girls on their bikes. Miss 7 was still a bit nervous about her bike initially. Most of the day was spent watching family after family arrive at the campsite and set up. Talk about amusing. It was very, very obvious that a large proportion of the 'campers' had either bought new tents just for this trip or had never been camping in their lives. We did occasionally go and rescue people when it got beyond the amusing and into the 'too painful to watch' stage.

By late evening the campsite was more or less full :( There was a large family group camped near us (by large, I mean 11 tents worth). The caravan park only had three male & three female showers, so it did get challenging at times. Luckily we were pretty self sufficient when it came to cooking and we didn't have to try and use the camp kitchen.

We did think about putting the canoe into the river that ran past the caravan park. That was until we saw the river … stagnant green ponds … yuk! Did I mention how DRY everything was looking?

On the Saturday we decided to take a drive and do some sightseeing. There was a "Barrabup pool" sign-posted just up the road from the campsite so we went up there first and discovered quite a nice picnic spot.

There was water in the pool but it was very deep right from the edges so the girls weren't too keen on getting in. They did also said something about the water being cold, but I think that was just an excuse. Tame Chef and I took a walk to another "pool" – apparently it was only 1.2kms away – felt like that coming back, but for some reason, it felt a lot further on the way there … strange.

After lunch, we decided to take a drive across a road we'd never been on before to Balingup. It was a nice road, however, again we couldn't get over how dry the whole area was. On the way we stopped at a Cheese Factory. I LOVE cheese, but I was so full from lunch that I couldn't even face tasting it :( Miss 7 convinced me to buy some local honey (Karri) and we had a cuppa. Miss 9 and Tame Chef faced the cheese and LOVED all of the ones on offer. However we resisted temptation and didn't buy any.

In Balingup we checked out a winery. And bought a quite pleasant red. Then went to the Tinderbox – which stock the best "herb sprinkles" (a nice mix of herbs to use in cooking) and did a tasting of the latest offerings (well all the offerings) at the Fruit Winery. Then looked for coffee, but everywhere was shut :(

We thought we'd give the Old Cheese Factory a try for a cuppa on the way out, but they had closed down their café, so we spent an hour wandering through the shop looking at all of the wood products / antiques and other things they have there.

We headed back to camp along the Balingup / Nannup road. This road is my favourite road. It winds up and down through some of the most beautiful countryside. Well, normally anyway. Everything unfortunately was just so dry it was depressing. We did however see a large number of kangaroos on the way back.

Tame Chef offered to buy Fish & Chips for dinner. We ended up with Chicken & Chips which was very tasty.

That night the weather changed. I really shouldn't have complained about how dry everything was because the rain came down with a vengeance! There was lightening and thunder too. We ended up having to cover the girls' tent with another tarp to keep them dry. Our tent survived okay (even though it's really a summer tent).

It had stopped raining by morning and we went out to survey the damage. The large family group, I mentioned earlier, were bailing out three of their tents. They had placed them at the base of a small hill and the water, of course, ran down the hill and straight into the tents.

Other than that, not too much damage but power apparently was pretty tenuous for the rest of the day (this didn't affect us as we were running off batteries and using gas for cooking).

On the Sunday we were meeting up with Granny and her husband in Bridgetown. We drove there via the Brockman Highway and ended up taking a detour up the Maranup Ford road. I've spent a lot of time in this area but have never driven up that road before. It's pretty stunning and there's a quite little caravan park right at the top of the hill. So I've made a note of it for the next time we decide to go camping in the area. This road took us to Kirup, so we headed back down the highway into Bridgetown.

Mum had invited us to lunch at the Red Panda, which is a great place if you're looking for good priced, tasty food and good service. After lunch we headed to the river and put the canoes in for the girls to play with.

After a nice afternoon (and a yummy Easter Cake made by Granny) and a detour via the Cidery we headed back to camp.

On the Monday we packed up (with wet tents), even though the Tuesday was a holiday, and headed home via Balingup.

We stopped at a cheese factory that we hadn't discovered before and they had the BEST marinated chili feta you have ever eaten (so we had to buy that), and some of their garlic & chili feta and, at the request of Miss 9, their Romano.

In Balingup, stopped for lunch which was a bit of a mistake as it was CROWDED due to our arrival coinciding with the local ANZAC service finishing. And while the pies at the Magic Mushroom were tasty the service was a bit um, not-so-good.

We then took a detour through Dardanup before heading to the 'HaVe' cheese factory just outside Harvey where we sampled the ice-cream and watched cheese being made (and yes, sampled the cheese too!).

Then it was back home to the unpacking and six loads of washing :(

Map of the area:

We decided to come home on the Monday as the girls started a 'basketball camp' on the Tuesday (6 hours of basketball a day), I think they will be tired out as the week progresses :)
[UPDATE] A pic:
[/UPDATE]

Lest we forget

2011-04-25T20:36:00.003+08:00

ANZAC Day

ANZAC was the name given to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey early on the morning of 25 April 1915 during the First World War (1914-1918).

As a result, one day in the year has involved the whole of Australia in solemn ceremonies of remembrance, gratitude and national pride for all our men and women who have fought and died in all wars. That day is ANZAC Day - 25 April.

This was read out at the ANZAC service at my girls’ school. (The school held the service on the day they broke up for the holiday).

After The Service

I saw a man parade today, in uniform complete,
His hat cocked neatly on his head, clean boots upon his feet,
His buttons highly polished, and his belt was shiny too,
His head held high, his shoulders back, like I once used to do.

The pride in him was evident in every move he made,
The smile and twinkle in his eye, that time would never fade,
So young and fit and confident, with his gun upon his shoulder,
And I prayed that he would never see his mates with him grow older.

For if I could alter history the wars would not have been,
No-one should ever have to face the horrors I have seen,
In the stinking, sweaty jungles, with the bullets and the bombs,
And the fever and the insects, in a world so full of wrongs.

I saw fighting in the deserts too, in blinding, searing heat,
Saw men go mad with thirst, or fear, or not a thing to eat,
I saw injuries and damages that no-one could believe,
And saw months of non-stop "action" without a day of leave.

I was part of ocean warfare in a ship and submarine,
Part of sinking other tortured souls - a memory obscene.
I saw oceans full of burning oil, and lifeboats upside down,
And officers and "other ranks" who would either burn or drown.

I piloted a bomber and I bombed from in the skies,
I saw planes explode, or crash to earth, and airmen, too, likewise,
I also flew a fighter and I flew it mighty well,
And I reckon what I saw of war would coincide with hell.

I was nursing sick and broken men to bring them back to health,
And I did all that I could do to protect the Commonwealth,
I fought and fed and flew and rode and drove and sailed and nursed,
And if I could have a dying wish, I’d see those days reversed.

Then no-one would be hurt next time, no mates or cobbers fall,
And everyone would understand the futility of it all,
Now I pray that that young man I saw will be just a sentinel,
And I pray that I’m a dying group, - for I am the R.S.L.

Jeff Cook

To all those who have and do serve “Thank You”

[UPDATE]A pic from the service:

[/UPDATE]

A Quick Eggplant Recipe

2011-04-16T18:52:00.003+08:00

In the previous post about the garden I mentioned the eggplant bushes.

I actually read the label on the plants and they're the "Mini Lebanese" variety of eggplants.

So far I have only got one off the bush which was about 15cm long and had a diameter of about 4cm (at the widest part), so not huge but a good size.

Tonight I decided to make a quick Tomato and Eggplant side dish for dinner.

Ingredients
Eggplant
440gm Can of Diced Tomato
Black pepper
Red wine
Basil & parsley (with stock) ice cube (I mince basil & parsley -out of the garden - with a bit of vegetable stock and put into ice block trays).
Olive Oil

Method
Slice eggplant very finely
Poor some olive oil into a griddle pan and place on the heat.
When hot, lay the eggplant in a single layer over the pan.
Turn until both sides are browned.
Remove eggplant and cook more.
While doing this, open the can of tomatoes and place in a small saucepan, along with the black pepper, red wine and the basil & parsley ice cube. Bring to the boil and boil until most of the liquid is reduced. At this point turn down to low.
Once all the eggplant is cooked, mix it into the tomato mixture and keep warm until ready to serve.

I served it with a slice of veal and some mashed potatoes.

Now I just need to wait until another eggplant is ripe (not long away) to do it again! This time I'll try for photos.

Need a present for a special lady ...

2011-04-15T22:12:00.003+08:00

A very SPECIAL lady ...

Fargginay Bacōn is made with “11 popular pure essential oils and an ever so slight hint of . . . bacon” and it’s already being marketed as bacon in a bottle. The wacky cologne is supposed to be a rediscovered secret recipe by John Fargginay, a Parisian butcher who, at the beginning of the 20th century, “discovered the ability to elevate his customers’ mood” using a combination of bacon, essential oils and herbs. Unfortunately, the original recipe was lost during a fire in 1924, but John Laydon, current owner of Fargginay, has attempted to recreate the scent and bottled it up as Bacōn.

Truth in advertising ...

2011-04-15T10:18:00.001+08:00

Found while surfing a job site:

Veggie Garden Update

2011-04-13T19:52:00.003+08:00

Got an email the other day asking how the veggie garden was going as I hadn't posted about it recently.

For those who don't remember it, here was Day 1 and here's the garden a month later.

Yesterday I took some photos, as you can see the garden has grown pretty well:

We've had so much basil from the garden that we've made lots of ice blocks with the mashed basil and stock. Tame Chef and Miss 9 also made two large containers of Pesto (yum!).

The eggplant at the back are going well, I thought I had bought Zucchini, but no, they're eggplant. I'm hoping I'll get some hot chilies off the chili bush because I have a wonderful recipe for spicy eggplant.

The weekend

2011-04-12T21:46:00.007+08:00

Well last weekend we went off to a scout camp. It was a combined Joeys, Cubs, Scouts and Rangers family camp.

All up, I believe there were 43 people there.

The camp started on Friday night, however it was going to be a challenge for us to get there before 8pm and with showers forecast and the fact that we were tenting, we decided to go down on the Saturday morning instead.

We got there about 8am on the Saturday, found a grassy spot and put the tent up.

The camp site was right next to a river and most of the activities were centered around the river.

The girls had a great time. They got to fish (first time); canoe (first time) and raft (following on from the CubTiki a couple of weeks back).

Miss 9 took awhile to warm to canoeing. Miss 7 loved it straight off and even went with an adult on a couple of "rescues" for other kids who were struggling.

Here's couple of pictures:

Camp site, with a leader showing off

Miss 9 out on the canoe

Miss 7 out on the canoe

Miss 9 on the raft. She got to name it as she did a lot of the knot typing.

Miss 7 with the kids fishing

Miss 9 getting "rescued" by a ranger going for a badge. She was a very compliant drowning victim :)

I really enjoyed getting away for the weekend, just wish it was longer.

Oh, and the scout troop want to come shooting, so need to organise that.

Well, he drove

2011-04-11T15:12:00.001+08:00

Just a quick update - will do a more detailed post later - but I wanted to share the good news with you all.

Hubby has now driven twice!!! Without any issues at all.

So now I can start getting him to do more running around :)

Say what?

2011-04-07T09:22:00.012+08:00

Crossbows prohibited weapons from Saturday

CROSSBOWS will become a prohibited weapon in WA, effective from this weekend. Currently, as controlled weapons, crossbows can be legally purchased through a number of specialised outlets.

However, changes to the Weapons Act 1999 to reclassify crossbows to a prohibited weapon will come into effect this Saturday across Western Australia.

Police Minister Rob Johnson says the changes will help reduce the likelihood of a crossbow falling into the “wrong hands”.

Mr Johnson said he had been in regular contact with the Halstead family, whose son Christopher was killed with a crossbow in Karratha in 2009.

However a number of exceptions will apply for the possession of crossbows from this Saturday:
● Exempt collectors - genuine collectors of crossbows will be able to possess and continue collecting crossbows
● Exempt arbalest - anyone engaged in crossbow events or competitions and who belong to an Archery Australia Inc. member club (the changes will only allow those people who are currently engaged in the sport to continue this activity)
● Dramatic productions - producers of dramatic productions can apply in writing to the Commissioner of Police for an exemption notice in respect to any prohibited weapons (including crossbows) listed in Schedule 1 of the Weapons Regulations 1999

The provisions in respect to collectors, arbalests and dramatic productions will not commence until July 1 in order to give these groups and police enough time to process approvals without people committing offences.

Mr Johnson said he had met with a number of groups which indicated they had no objections to the changes.

Anyone with a crossbow who does not qualify for one of the three exceptions will need to lawfully dispose of their crossbow, destroy it or surrender it to a police station.

The penalty for buying, possessing, selling, supplying or manufacturing crossbows outside the exemptions is a $36,000 fine and three years jail.

Okay, so just as "gun laws" stop guns falling into the wrong hands (because we all know that criminals are basically law abiding) we now have laws against crossbow ownership!

However, the bit that REALLY concerns me is the section I bolded above.

● Exempt arbalest - anyone engaged in crossbow events or competitions and who belong to an Archery Australia Inc. member club (the changes will only allow those people who are currently engaged in the sport to continue this activity)

How to kill off a sport in one easy lesson. From this article it appears that you can not decide to join an Archery club to obtain the 'right' to have a crossbow !?!

Source: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/crossbows-prohibited-weapons-from-saturday/story-e6frg13u-1226035127257

I decided to go looking for the (alleged) backstory of this "ban" - the story of the killing of Christopher Halstead.

A 28-year-old man was tonight found guilty of manslaughter after he fatally shot a man with a crossbow during a dispute over a one-night stand. A Supreme Court jury took about four hours to clear Fraser Macaree of murder but convict him of unlawful killing, which carries no intent to grievously injure or kill.
...
During the trial, the court was told Mr Halstead, 26, was trying to help friend Steven Bruce after Macaree had a one-night stand with Mr Bruce’s girlfriend the previous week.

They went to Mr Macaree’s house in Karratha on February 19 last year and Mr Halstead was standing outside when Mr Macaree emerged with a loaded crossbow and shot him through the chest with a hunting bolt. It went through Mr Halstead and landed 30m away.

Mr Halstead, who did not know Macaree, died in minutes.

Defence counsel Colin Lovitt argued the crossbow was found to have a malfunction with its safety device and his client had never meant to shoot the weapon, which he had carried out of fear.

(full story at http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/6998912/crossbow-killer-guilty-of-manslaughter/)

Mmmm, so he went with his mate to confront another guy and ended up dead and now all crossbows are banned.

Wonder what is next on the list?

It's going to be a busy year ....

2011-04-06T22:08:00.004+08:00

Went along to the Scout group's (did I mention the girls have joined Cubs?) AGM tonight.

There were only 6 of us there :( The Treasurer was retiring as his daughter was no longer in Scouts so I ended up volunteering to be the Treasurer for the coming year.

This is in addition to being the Secretary of the Little Athletics group my girls are members of. Next meeting for that is Monday night.

It's a shame that more parents aren't willing to be involved however I am looking forward to helping out with both organisations.

Hubby Update

2011-04-05T20:59:00.004+08:00

Okay, it's official. I HATE Fremantle. Hubby's appointment was 10.50am this morning. Normally, his appointments have been earlier, like 9am. At 9am you can find parking somewhere near the hospital. Apparently, at 10am, you can't.

We seriously drove round and round and round looking for parking for AN HOUR, while negotiating rubbish trucks, cranes, road works, cyclists, pedestrians and, for some unknown reason, HUGE trucks double parked on narrow streets. In the end I dropped hubby off and parked 1/2km away.

Hubby had already checked in and was sitting in the waiting room when I got there. A friend of hubby's niece was on the reception desk so we had a bit of a chat with her about how long we had still to wait. Apparently we were fourth in line.

Just over two hours later we got called in to see the surgeon. Well into another waiting room anyway. Only to be told that hubby needed an x-ray. Why they couldn't have done this during the 2 hour wait, we'll never know!

So off he treks to x-ray. Then back to the second waiting room. Eventually the surgeon comes in.

Bit of a chat later. Surgeon is a bit concerned that hubby is limping when he walks. However, the x-ray shows no issues, so the surgeon puts the problem down to muscle wastage. I ask about when hubby can start driving again and the Surgeon said when he felt that he was safe to.

Woo hoo!!!!!!

The Surgeon also wanted a blood test to ensure that there was no infection. So after thanking the Surgeon, we headed to pathology for a blood test (we'll get a call if there is an issue) and then walked back to the car.

I was impressed with hubby. It was probably the furthest he had walked since August last year.

We then headed to the Licensing Centre to get hubby's licence renewed (he had forgotten to pay it back in June last year). Last time I went to the Licensing Centre it took me 2hrs to get my licence renewed, however this time we were in and out of there in under 15mins.

So now hubby IS ALLOWED TO drive and is LICENCED to drive ... woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers everyone.

Thursday - Showers

2011-04-04T20:01:00.007+08:00

So they say. Maybe I'm tempting fate by blogging this but they're forecasting RAIN for THURSDAY - that's like the day after tomorrow.

The better news (sort of)# is that they're forecasting this weather for the next couple of days:

Friday......Early morning shower possible.......Min 9.....Max 22
Saturday....Chance of an evening shower.........Min 7.....Max 25
Sunday......A few showers.........................Min 15....Max 24
Monday......Morning shower........................Min 13....Max 23
Temps in Celsius of course

#The "sort of" is because we're going camping this weekend - with the girls' cub troop.

Now why is this worth blogging, you ask?

Let me point you to an article from today's news:

PERTH'S equal-biggest dam is just 9 per cent full - its lowest level ever - sparking fears of a water shortage after months of record-breaking heat and drought.

After Perth's hottest March in a century, longest period without rain and lowest inflow to dams on record, the Water Corporation said the situation was "dire".

"It's almost getting to the point where we can't rely on our dams for any water," spokesman Ben Jarvis told The Australian.

He said the 138-gigalitre South Dandalup Dam had only 12GL stored, and the similar-sized Serpentine Dam was only 22 per cent full with 31GL - and a lot was unusable "mud and muck" on the bottom. One of the smaller dams, Samson, was completely dry.

"It is dire. There's only so long you can go with almost no rainfall without having to have some cutbacks," Mr Jarvis said.

"We've identified a shortfall of 76 billion litres that needs to met by either inflow into our dams or reductions in consumption, and unfortunately we only had about 13 billion litres in total for the entirety of last winter spread across our 13 dams."

In a normal year, the inflow was about 100GL.

Mr Jarvis said Perth used about 1GL of water a day but the last drop of rain was 62 days ago, when 0.4mm fell.

Bureau of Meteorology statistician John Relf said many records had been smashed.

"The previous driest two-month period for February-March in Perth was 0.8mm back in 1877 and in 1973. Both those years had 0.8mm - so this is the driest in over 130 years," he said.

"It was also the sunniest March in more than 110 years, with 11 hours of sunshine a day compared to the average 9.5 hours, and in the last three months Perth also had its hottest nights on record."

We NEED rain, desperately. So let's all hope that the weather bureau has got it right and that it does rain on Thursday.

[Update]Just heard on the news that there are now 5 southwest towns which are totally reliant on water being trucked in. I've never heard of this happening before.[/Update]

Okay I'm a couple of years late

2011-04-03T20:09:00.003+08:00

This apparently was displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2007, however I didn't find out about it tonight until I saw it on an episode of "Top Gear".

It's a personal mobility device, with a range of up to 30kms per charge (I could get to work, but dropping the girls off at school on the way could be a challenge!).

I like the idea. Especially for short trips around the city.

Check out here for more details.

What do you think?

Fun site for kids

2011-04-03T10:21:00.006+08:00

Over the last couple of days Miss 7 has been challenging the rest of us to a game of checkers or chess.

I played her in chess and was surprised at how well she played. She was a bit sketchy on the all of the rules but did have an understanding of the basics and wasn't bad at strategy.

So after the game I dug out a website that I had come across about 6 months ago and sat down with her to work through some of it.

I like the way that it is presented even if I think they spend too long on each topic for littlies. Anyway, if you've got a child who is interested in learning chess check (lol) it out here.

[pdate]I have just found (by actually reading the site's front page) an updated version of the website, here[/update]

[update2]The girls prefer the original site rather than the updated site. It's not as easy to navigate but it's written in a much more fun way.[/update2]

Upate on Hubby

2011-04-02T16:49:00.004+08:00

Skul asked in a comment on my last post how hubby was going, so I thought an update was due :)

He's going pretty well actually. He's walking more and more often without crutches or a cane. The physio wants him to use these when he's out, but around the house he's free to walk unaided.

He's therefore able to do more around the house too (yay!). This makes my life a lot easier :)

On Tuesday he has a post-op appointment with the Surgeon. We're hoping that he will be given the 'okay to drive' then (so fingers crossed please).

Once he's back driving he'll also be able to start looking for work (yay!).

SO all being well, life will get a bit easier :)

Thanks to everyone for their support.

I'll let you all know how Tuesday's appointment goes.

In other family news - Miss 7 had an operation on her ingrown toenails two weeks ago and is now pretty much fully recovered but Miss 9 has an allergenic cough and a secondary infection - so she's keeping all of us up at night :( Saw the doctor today with her, hopefully the stuff he's given her will help!

Me? I'm well, thanks :) (Just tired!).

View from at sea of Japan ...

2011-03-30T21:51:00.001+08:00

Just thought I'd send an update from life today on Reagan. Some of you have seen of this and some haven't. Its been quite a week. Many challenging times, avoiding radioactive plumes and contamination in the environment both air and water. Sailors here are happy to help in such a trifold disaster but its also been pretty scary at times for us too. I think all the rad we've seen is safe low levels but we do hear of high levels now and again.

Since we are a nuclear carrier we have all the requisite devices to measure radiation in the environment and keep the ship safe, however, not sure the chain of command ever considered having to use these devices in a situation quite like this.

Continue reading at OldNfo's blog.

The girls - an update

2011-03-27T10:22:00.007+08:00

I have been remiss in posting updates and photos on family activities.

Since I last wrote the Little Athletics season finished. Miss 7 and 9 both ended up with two medals - a bronze and a silver each.

Miss 7 competed in a gymkanah at the riding school she goes to. It was a VERY HOT day but she enjoyed hereself. Here's a picture of her with the ribbons she won:

Miss 9 has been doing more cooking - including a very tasty Guinness Pie:

Both girls have changed from Girl Guides to Cub Scouts. The Guides group they were in weren't very outdoory or active. Cub Scouts suits them better. Already this term they have done a 'cub-tiki':

As you can see a great day was had by all.

Miss 9 took some photos of Miss 7 ....

2011-03-27T10:10:00.002+08:00

Miss 7 doing her homework ...

2011-03-25T12:04:00.002+08:00

mmm, 6+4?, mmm, 6+6=12-2=10, 10!

Okay then!

This is still a democracy, we'll just tell you how to parent ...

2011-03-22T09:29:00.002+08:00

From today's news:

NSW Greens out to ban junk food in schools

THE NSW Greens will introduce legislation to ban the sale and advertising of "junk" foods in schools when a new parliament is formed after Saturday's state election.

The party is expected to win at least one lower house seat and could hold the balance of power in the Upper House.

It wants a "traffic-light" labelling system on all packaged foods and in fast-food outlets.

Greens MP David Shoebridge says the system already exists in the UK.

"We know that red, amber and green signals on salt, fat and sugar are the very kind of signals that allow consumers to make the right decisions as they're making those quick decisions heading down the grocery aisles," Mr Shoebridge said in Sydney today.

Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton said NSW school canteens already used the traffic-light labelling system and red-light foods could only be sold twice a term.

"The fast-food companies and some of the manufacturers of various junk foods sneak into the schools by sponsoring various programs," Dr Stanton said at the same press conference.

Mr Shoebridge said the NSW Greens would take action once parliament was formed after the election.

"We will be putting legislation before the state government to ban the promotion and the sale of junk foods in any schools here in New South Wales," he said.

Other Greens proposals include banning the advertising of foods high in fat, sugar and salt during prime television hours for children.

In addition to the proposed traffic-light system, The Greens want warnings on products containing artificial trans fats, artificial food dyes associated with hyperactivity disorders in children, and foods derived from genetically modified organisms.

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown, who joined Mr Shoebridge and Dr Stanton for the announcement, said his party was out to curb obesity.

"The Greens are the people who will take legislative action at both state and federal levels on doing something about the obesity problem which is growing in Australia," Senator Brown said.

But fast-food restaurants and fish-and-chip shops were not in danger of being shut down, he said.

"The Greens aren't there," Senator Brown said.

"Some other (political) party might be but this is a democracy."

Source: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/nsw-greens-out-to-ban-junk-food-in-schools/story-e6frfku0-1226026005102#ixzz1HHtkuspw

Grrrrr ... seriously, in my opinion it is up to the PARENTS to determine what their children eat.

I hate the "legislate because people can't parent" attitude that seems to be permeating our society.

(I know I'm not in NSW but as you can see they are aiming to broaden this to a federal level too).

Presented without comment

2011-03-15T11:22:00.002+08:00

Snake dies of silicone poisoning after biting Israeli model's fake breast

A SNAKE who bit Israeli model and actress Orit Fox in the chest died after being poisoned by an unusual venom - the silicone in the buxom blonde's surgically enhanced breasts.

Spanish TV channel Telecinco's footage of Fox's encounter was racking up YouTube hits Monday, with some users lamenting, "R.I.P. snake," and the less-informed commenting: "I wish I was that snake!"

The video shows the model fondling and licking the serpent for a feature in Israeli DJ Shmulik Tayar's radio show, before the snake got fresh with Fox and latched on to her bountiful left breast.

The model yelped as a man wearing a T-shirt with a Spanish profanity written on the back rushed over to help.

Fox was taken to Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera, northwest of Jerusalem. After a tetanus shot and a few hours of observation, she was released, according to Telecinco.

But the snake did not fare so well. Days later, Telecinco reported that the creature had died of silicone poisoning.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/snake-dies-of-silicone-poisoning-after-biting-israeli-models-fake-breast/story-e6frfmqi-1226021568658#ixzz1GdQr0aWD

- there's also a link to a video here

What do men think of apart from sex?

2011-03-08T19:58:00.002+08:00

Well you can buy the book and find out. Except that the book has sold out on Amazon.

You could always download the Kindle version.

It's a 200 page book - that's blank :)

The author's next research project is a PhD on the subject of what women think apart from sex.

Apparently RALPH (the men's magazine) expects the book to be 1000 pages of text.

More of the story here.

Why would you ask THAT question?

2011-03-03T19:30:00.003+08:00

On the ninemsn home page there was a poll asking this question:

Should the number of kids removed from at-risk homes be capped?

My first thought was "why on earth would anyone even ask the question" so I went looking.

A quick google turned up the following:

Burney slams Liberal's `cap' for vulnerable children

COMMUNITY Services minister Linda Burney has slammed the Liberal Party’s plan to cap the number of children taken into care.

She said the policy would place the most vulnerable children in society in extreme danger.

``Barry O’Farrell is putting kids lives at risk to save a buck,’’ Ms Burney said.

``It is one thing to talk about savings through job cuts, but to attempt to save money by returning children to where they have been abused or neglected beggars belief.

``When I heard of the Liberals plan it sickened me.’‘

This morning, it was revealed the NSW Liberals plan to cap the number of children taken into care for the next four years.

After which, they plan to reduce the number of children in care by 20 per cent.

``Keeping children safe should be the first consideration of any policy on child protection.

``At present, trained and experienced caseworkers and the court system make the decisions regarding the removal of kids based on what is in the best interests of the child.’‘

Under the Liberals for former abusive parents to get their child back, they would have to sign a contract saying they no longer have a drug or alcohol problem and have not committed an act of domestic violence for two years.

Source: http://mt-druitt-standard.whereilive.com.au/news/story/burney-slams-liberals-cap-for-vulnerable-children/

----------------------

Wow!

While I have issues with people wanting the .gov to parent their (or others) children I have even greater problems with a proposal to "cap the number of children taken into care".

One would hope that they're are only taking children who need to be "rescued" into care and if this is the case then how do you "cap" it?

I also think that asking parents to sign a contract is just ridiculous.

I'm not sure what the intent of the proposal is. If it is to "save money" then I could think of a lot of other things that should be considered before this. If it is to bring about some social change then I don't think it will achieve anything at all.

What do you think?

Taking a break ...

2011-03-03T19:24:00.002+08:00

Don't worry it's only for the weekend!

As I don't work Friday and Monday is a public holiday I've decided to take Shooting Buddy and head out for some hunting.

We're going to a "new" property "up north". It's only a smallish one, and we're not sure if there are any animals there but if not, we'll move across to the place we normally hunt at.

I'm looking forward to a good break - hope hubby will survive with the girls, as he's still not able to drive they'll be house-bound!

BTW Hubby has now started to walk without the crutches and seems to be going well.

Linky, linky - no thinky

2011-02-24T17:11:00.003+08:00

If you're not a regular reader of Say Uncle, then you probably haven't seen this masterpiece.

Well, it's not actually the article by Unc that's the masterpiece per se, it's the comments.

Read, laugh, enjoy ....

Standing up for oneself ...

2011-02-22T08:57:00.003+08:00

I found this news article today very interesting ...

Police seek would-be robbers

POLICE are looking for a man who tried to rob a bakery in Merriwa this morning, possibly with a handgun

The man entered the Bakers Delight store on Baltimore Parade, Merriwa, through an open door about 2.50am.

He approached three staff members in the bakery and demanded their wallets, car keys and money from the till.

Police say during the attempted robbery he pointed to what is believed to have been a silver handgun at the employees.

The staff members refused to hand over their property and the man escaped on foot empty handed.

Mt Hawthorn

In a separate incident, a man tried to rob a pharmacy on Green Street in Mt Hawthorn just before 7pm yesterday and demanded money.

When the pharmacist refused, the man turned his attention to an elderly female customer standing near the counter.

He attempted to take her purse but she also refused and he fled the scene empty handed.

The offender was wearing sunglasses, a grey-hooded jumper, dark shorts, white sneakers and was about 30 years old.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Source: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/police-seek-would-be-robbers/story-e6frg13u-1226009958380

--------------------------------
The thing I found interesting was that there was no statement from the police saying "We do not encourage people to stand up to would-be thieves" or words to that effect.

I'm not sure if this is a change in attitudes - both people standing up to those that threaten them and there being no "it's never worth it" statement issued - or whether it's a one off. I'm hoping it's the start of "people are allowed to defend themselves" trend!

Why are we so stupid?

2011-02-17T13:37:00.003+08:00

This question was asked by OldNFO over at his blog.

Here's a few extracts from the post ...

It's not wonder we (gun owners) are always under attack from both the right and the left. Rather than having open minds, people seem to ONLY want to advance their personal agendas, rather than taking a big picture look at what is happening, or actually admitting there may be another point of view.
....
1911 vs. plastic semi-auto vs. revolver- Honestly, who frikkin cares???
...
Open carriers vs. concealed carriers- Same thing...

Shotgunners (skeet/trap) vs. shotgunners (tactical/hunting)- Same thing...

EBRs vs. "hunting" rifles vs. "target" rifles vs. "patrol" rifles- Same thing...

What we NEED to do, if we can't have open minds, is at least be courteous to those who differ with us.
...

Go, read the whole thing. It's definitely worth it.

(As this computer won't let me embed links, you'll have to do it the old fashioned way ... http://oldnfo.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-are-we-so-stupid.html )

Bathurst storage facility packed with guns

2011-02-16T15:51:00.004+08:00

From today's news:

Bathurst storage facility packed with guns

DETECTIVES in the state's Central West have uncovered a major stash of firearms and ammunition during raids at Bathurst.

Police executed a search warrant at a storage facility on Corporation Avenue at Bathurst yesterday.

Inside a secure storage shed, officers allegedly found a .22 calibre semi-automatic pistol; Bruno bolt-action .223 calibre long arm with scope; lever-action .22 calibre rifle; black assault-style, pump-action shotgun; black assault-style, semi-automatic shotgun; and a can of capsicum spray.

They also seized thousands of rounds of ammunition and various gun parts – including gun barrels, stocks and trigger mechanisms; SKS magazines; and silencers.

Meanwhile, police located and seized a body armour vest, ammunition, prohibited drugs and drug paraphernalia during a subsequent search of a house at Llanarth, on Bathurst’s northern outskirts.

Local detectives are continuing their inquiries to identify and locate the owner of the weaponry.

Anyone with information that might assist investigators with their inquiries is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

Source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/bathurst-storage-facility-packed-with-guns/story-e6freuy9-1226006930691

Five guns! ... Five guns apparently is now considered a "major stash of firearms"!

The italics in the article are mine. I put them in where I considered emotive rather than factual language was used.

Update on Hubby

2011-02-15T17:11:00.001+08:00

Sorry, I've not written anything lately, life really hasn't been that exciting :(

Anyhow, I thought I would let you all know that hubby starts physiotherapy on Thursday afternoon. He's been going quite well and actually took a couple of steps the other day without using crutches.

I'll let you know how he's feeling after the physio.

An edible cup ....

2011-02-11T16:13:00.003+08:00

It started in the kitchen, I had placed a plate out with two cookies on it and a plastic cup, in which I was planning to pour milk ...

Miss 9: "Is that afternoon tea?"

Me: "Yes"

Miss 9: "The cup might taste a bit plasticy! Hey I know how to make an edible cup. I'm make it later on."

Me (with visions of a soggy slice of bread): "Maybe not tonight."

Cut to after afternoon tea

Miss 9: "I'm off to make an edible cup."

Me (reluctantly): "Um, okay ...."

Very short time later, Miss 9 reappears with something behind her back ...

Miss 9: "Here's your edible cup ..."

I'm impressed :)

Win a life makeover

2011-02-10T11:00:00.003+08:00

No, I'm not giving you the link* … I'm rambling on the idea … but, yes, it is a real competition being advertised.

What would a life makeover look like?

According to the prize, a life makeover involves:
• $5,000 from Commonwealth Financial Planning
• Return flights to Sydney for you and a friend, with $250 spending money for each of you.
• Two nights' accommodation at The Observatory Hotel, Sydney.
• Four private sessions with the body+soul experts for you and your friend
• 30 minute private spa therapy session
• Three course dinner with matching wine at The Observatory Hotel
• Plus, a free financial advice session with Commonwealth Financial Planning when you return home to your state.

Mmm, sounds like a nice prize. But is it a "life makeover"? I guess the $5k and the session with the financial planner might contribute to made-over life. But the rest, sounds more like "time out" than a real change. Not sure about the four private sessions, I guess they could be a bit like the financial planning thing.

I guess for a real "life makeover" one of those magic wands would be needed as most of our lives are the calumniation of a number of different decisions made over a long period of time. Changing some of these isn't easy, others may not be desirable for a variety of reasons and their effects on others. And, to be honest, not everything is in our control. Sure how we react to things we can control, but the "I want to wake up tomorrow and for everything to be perfect" option isn't often achievable no matter how much time and effort we put into it.

To enter the competition you need to "simply tell us in 25 words or less why do you need a life makeover?".

Don't worry, I'm working on the 25 words or less bit. A weekend in Sydney would be very, very nice – not that my life would currently let me have the time off :( Wonder if there's a time limit on when you can take the prize.

(*link not provided, because I'm feeling greedy!)

Blink, blink, say what?

2011-02-09T11:10:00.003+08:00

From today's news:

US shop launches offer to trade in guns for sex toys

A shop in the US state of Alabama has launched a Valentine's Day offer it hopes will trigger a large response in a limp economy: customers can swap their guns for sex toys.

"In today's economy, this is a way of helping people who may feel they can't afford something for Valentine's Day,'' said Sherri Williams, the owner of the "Pleasures" sex toy shop, where assorted erotica during the next week can be obtained in exchange for cast-off firearms.

"This way, they can take something that's just lying around and swap it for something they can take home and make love, not war with," she told AFP.

A video posted on its website said the shop, housed in an old bank building in Huntsville, "is trading guns off the street for fun between the sheets."

As soon as Pleasures opened its doors on Tuesday, a customer came in and exchanged an Iver Johnson revolver for a $40 gift certificate to be spent in the shop, which stocks everything from steamy videos to naughty negligees.

The gun was inspected by licensed gun dealer and gunsmith David Smith, who happens to be Williams' husband.

Guns can be exchanged at Pleasures from Tuesday until February 15, the day after Valentine's Day.

Firearms found to have been stolen or used in a crime will be handed over to the police, while others will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to victims of gun violence, said Williams, who said she is not looking to make money out of the deal.

"I'm in it to help people enjoy Valentine's Day in a tough economy," she said.

"I'm also in it to get guns off the street - to take them out of the hands of people who would potentially do harm with them, and put them in the hands of collectors."

Williams conceded that the guns could be resold at auction, in which case they might end up back on the streets, but said the effort still is worthwhile.

"We might just change one person's mind," she said.

"You never know, maybe there will be someone who says, 'I've got this gun that I could go rob a liquor store with, or maybe I can get me a blow-up doll for Valentine's Day, instead."

Source: http://www.news.com.au/world/us-shop-launches-offer-to-trade-in-guns-for-sex-toys/story-e6frfkz0-1226002946205#ixzz1DQZwGujM

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Um?!?! Well, I guess at least the guns won't be destroyed like in other 'buy-back' programs.

Fire - The Aftermath

2011-02-08T18:06:00.005+08:00

Apparently 71 homes were lost to the fire in my area and many more damaged.

No one lost their lives, for which we can be very grateful. The work done by the fire brigade and volunteers was amazing!

The fire is not yet out - but it is contained and controlled. Most people have been let back into where their houses are / were, but not every one - some areas are still too dangerous.

Living near the fire you hear stories of friends / acquaintances / relatives of friends at every turn.

There's the good news stories - 8 out of 9 houses in one street were destroyed, the one left standing belongs to a family with children in my girls' classes; mother and aunt of a work mate still have their respective houses although one hasn't got in to see it yet.

And the sad stories - 17 families at the school (probably only 250 families in the school in total) have lost their homes; there's a notice up at the local shops about a young mum, she's okay, but her and her 5month old bub have lost everything. Friends have provided a place to stay, but she needs clothes, and baby stuff and everything else.

And then there's the impact that you don't initially think of - access to the area has been impacted by a bridge being burnt down, so now the journey to my girls' school is longer and on a road that isn't designed for the amount of traffic it is now taking. So they've reduced the speed from 70kph to 40kph - so now the trip takes even longer. Girl Guides was cancelled on Monday night - the hall is behind the fire station and access is now blocked off so not to interfere with emergency vehicles. These are, of course, minor things but it does bring back to you how intertwined things are.

Most of the people have insurance, so that will help (eventually) with the rebuilding of their homes, but there are so many things that insurance can't replace.

You do what you can, give what you can but you really feel it's not enough.

Wind and fire

2011-02-06T18:14:00.007+08:00

I was woken this morning around 1.26am by the sound of a massive gust of wind. There were a couple more over the next couple of hours, so it was with a bit of trepidation that I looked out the door around 9am.

Luckily, there appeared to be no damage to either my place nor those of my neighbours. However, later in the day I saw this (four blocks from my house):

In other news, we heard about a fire north of us (Redhill area) - we decide to take a drive up there to watch the helitankers.

On the way back we were listening to a news report that said a fire had broken out in our suburb.

We were expecting visitors so we headed back to our place and down the main access road into our suburb. Quite close to our place we found the road blocked by four ambulances, two fire engines and a variety of police vehicles. We then turned round and headed home where we rang our visitors and provided alternative access information.

The fire was only about 6kms from our house but it was heading north north east away from us - which was good for us, but not so good for other people. Apparently, at this point, it is believed that 35 houses have been lost :( There are no reports of loss of life, hope it stays that way.

The fire is still burning out of control and the wind is gusting up to 60kph, so my thoughts and prayers are with those people in its path and the firefighters and volunteers fighting it.

A news report on the fire can be found here.

[UPDATE] Apparently this fire was started accidentally by someone doing grinding.[/UPDATE]

I think she takes after sister

2011-02-06T10:34:00.003+08:00

Miss 7 is talking to hubby, complaining about the fact that I've asked her to fold the dry tea-towels and put them away.

Miss 7: "I had to fold and put these away yesterday."

Me, walking past: "Well I fed you breakfast yesterday and lunch and dinner. Maybe I should only feed you once?"

Miss 7, after a short pause: "You're not in this conversation."

Post Op Update #5

2011-02-03T12:46:00.001+08:00

Just heard from hubby. Looks like someone made a mistake yesterday and that he is actually clear of infection.

They've stopped the antibiotics and are working on the release papers now.

Thanks for all your support everyone.

[UPDATE] He's HOME!!! [/UPDATE]

Post Op Update #4

2011-02-02T21:38:00.004+08:00

Hubby's release from hospital has been delayed.

Apparently some of the cultures show signs of infection. We don't know the full story yet nor the implications of this.

Thoughts and prayers please we're all a bit shaken up by this news.

Thoughts and prayers for those in the path of Cyclone Yasi

2011-02-02T13:04:00.002+08:00

TOP PRIORITY
TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 15
Issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane
Issued at 2:57pm EST on Wednesday the 2nd of February 2011

Details of Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi at 3:00 pm EST:
.Centre located near...... 17.0 degrees South 148.4 degrees East
.Location accuracy........ within 30 kilometres
.Recent movement.......... towards the west southwest at 35 kilometres per hour
.Wind gusts near centre... 285 kilometres per hour
.Severity category........ 5
.Central pressure......... 930 hectoPascals

Northern Queensland is in the path of this giant.

For some idea of how big this thing is, here's a picture of the cyclone area overlaid on a map of the USA.

Thoughts and prayers for the safety of everyone in its path.

Post Op Update #3

2011-01-31T20:59:00.004+08:00

Saw hubby today. He's looking very well and walking with the help of a single crutch only.

The doctors and physiotherapists are very happy with his progress - so much so that they're thinking of evicting him either tomorrow afternoon / Wednesday morning.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

His mate is going okayish. They're talking about transferring him to the local hospital - which would be more convenient for his family. Please keep the prayers coming for him in this regard and his recovery.

Post Op Update #2 with a twist

2011-01-29T20:06:00.002+08:00

Took the girls in to see hubby today after Miss 7's gymkhana (will post photos later).

He was just on his way to have an x-ray when we rocked up. This was the x-ray that he was supposed to have when I turned up last night. Apparently they don't start any physio until after an x-ray.

The girls were happy to see their dad and he was, of course, happy to see them. Miss 9 commented afterwards on how well he was looking.

They took his morphine pump away as he hadn't used it enough in the 24hrs after surgery. He is back on oxycontin, but I'm not sure of the dosage.

He hadn't seen the surgeon. He had been told that he was on his way earlier that morning, then he was told that he had been called into surgery.

However, things must be okay because I had a call from him a little while ago and the physio had had him up standing and taking a few steps!!!

THEN I got a call from him about 10mins ago to tell me that a friend of ours, who was going to visit him this evening had had a fall and was in the same ward! Apparently, he had been to see a movie with his wife before going to visit hubby and had tripped and broken his leg.

He had rung hubby from the ED and hubby had spoken to the nurses and managed to get him into the same room. So at least they'll get some time to catch up. I do, however, feel sorry for his wife!

So thoughts and prayers for both of these guys please. Especially for an infection free speedy recovery!

Girls Movie Update #2

2011-01-29T19:59:00.003+08:00

MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS

Paint Your Wagon - 20 Jan 2011: Watched it with the girls. Might be best to avoid with young kids unless you want a discussion on prostitution :). Oh and a woman being married to two men can also raise questions. The girls however enjoyed it
The Black Hole (12+?)
Oklahoma
The Shootist
Silent Running
The Final Countdown
Hawk The Slayer
Original Star Wars Trilogy
Tron (original)
Quigley Down Under
Flight of the Navigator - 29 Jan 2011: Watched it with Miss 9. Miss 7 occassionally took notice of it but preferred playing with her sister's DS. Miss 9 enjoyed it.
White Fang
The Princess Bride
The Never Ending Story
War Games
Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan
Willow
The Labyrinth
The Dark Crystal
Back to the Future
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Hallelujah Trail
Pete's Dragon
The Ugly Dachshund
The Boatniks
They call me Trinity - 9th Jan 2011: Girls laughed a lot
Trinity is Still My Name
Snowball Express
Midnight Madness
Scavenger Hunt
Condorman
Ghost in the Noonday Sun
Swiss Family Robinson
No Deposit, No Return
Candleshoe
Dragonslayer
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark
The Journey of Natty Gann
The Man From Snowy River
Return to Snowy River
The Cowboys
McClintock
Rio Bravo
El Dorado
Big Jake
Fortress(?)
The Watcher in the Woods(?)
My Name is Nobody
Short Circuit - Jan 2011: Girls enjoyed it
Short Circuit 2 - Jan 2011: Girls enjoyed it

I guess it's in the job description ...

2011-01-29T18:10:00.002+08:00

Heard in the car today

Me: "Please play by yourselves for a few minutes."

Miss 7: "Why?"

Me: "Because I'm too tired to listen to whining and fighting."

Miss 9: "Are you too tired to be a mother?"