So this was my Christmas

Ok so I have been trying to write this post for almost 2 weeks now! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! I have been busy... Hold it! That isn't exactly the truth. I haven't been able to write, I guess writers block set in and wont go away.

So here goes back a few days when I actually got something written! WOW!



A little late I know. But I couldn't really help it, so much has happened since that day.


Ok I guess I will start with Christmas Eve. We had planned to go and use our movie vouchers that we got last Christmas before they expired. We all got ready and got everything done early and set out. It wasn't far down the road that the car started slowing and soon we were sitting on 80 kph (which is about 40 mph) and then stalled, I don't know much about cars but automatics are pretty hard to stall, and apparently it takes more than bad driving to do so.


Anyway we never got to the movies. We had a rest day instead, well all except Dad who was working really hard to get the car going again before our long drive the next day to our Grandparents place. The car wasn't going to work so Pop drove up and took us down and also dropped our present off :) it was a barbecue!!! We had one but it was about ready for the junk yard.


It was a pretty good day, we got to see all our cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. There were a few down points of the day, like I had a pretty bad headache and that every time I turned around one of my cousins were talking about what "Santa had got her". I'm sorry to offend any one but I hate 'Santa'. I mean how could parents lie to their kids like that! And how are the kids going to feel when they find out that 'Santa' was just a big lie their parents had fed them? I don't know about you but I would never trust my parents again, I would constantly be asking my self "what else are they lying about?".


Ok enough about the bad side of my day :P. A good point! My aunts and uncles finally figured out that me and my sisters don't want skimpy little dresses but real things, like things for our glory boxes and finally someone found out that I want to write, not play with make up, and gave me a heap of folders and pens and note books :D.


On Saturday we rested. How come life is sooo tiring?!?!


Sunday we went back to Cudgewa and visited our friends. What a wonderful day! We didn't have to be dressed up we just went as we were and got to play games and have real fun, while our parents talked.

Sunday was also the day when my Dad got a text from our boss. They had a disagreement and Dad told our boss that he has 4 weeks to find another person to milk because we were leaving. The last year has been a real struggle to live here, we don't have enough money at any one time and our boss hasn't been very nice and one thing led to another and that text was the straw that broke the camels back... So anyway we have been frantically packing and moving boxes as fast and as much as we can.

And during this time we found time to lend a helping hand to our neighbors just over the hill who got almost completely burnt out by the fires. They have no feed for their cattle so they are having to agist their cattle out to farmers. At our old farm we have about 50 cattle on a lot of land with a lot of feed, so we offered for them to put some of their cattle on our property. Some of the cattle were burnt, it was horrible to see. One funny thing was though, when the cattle got off the truck their heads went straight to the ground the eat, they hadn't eaten well for about two weeks and they looked very content.

There has been so much else going on around here but I don't have to time right now to say everything. I will try get the photos of the fires up soon, I tried today but for some strange reason the storage card that they are on wont work. Ahh the joys of technology

Fire De-briefing party, Christmas Eve, and tomorrow is Christmas!!!

Ok I think I may have mentioned on Facebook that we went to a de-briefing party on Wednessday night. Basicaly it was a barbeque with lots of people I didnt know talking about their expieriences in the fire. There were some people from the country fire authority (CFA) and some people from the rural lands protection board and some from the department of primary industries (DPI), and SOME from Red Cross. We got told all about the loans you can get if you had damages to your property or house, and the money that the Government is giving out. We got heaps of pamflets and papers. And we talked to a Red Cross lady, who (bless her heart, lol) told us all about how there is going to be stress about the fire and that if we feel a bit depressed that we should talk to our friends and let all our frustrations out on Facebook. I just kept smiling and thinking "Stress from this? You have got to be kidding! The stress of every day life is bad enough, the fire was just a bit of fun and excitment for a day!" I mean, yeah its hard to see all the damages and hear of all the devestation others have gone through but right now I am so tired of hearing "oh I am sooo sorry about the fires, are you guys ok?" I am so tired of talking about the fires and hearing about them. I am sorry if I sound angry but I am frustrated about it all and I am sick of people being pathetic, one person was in tears because she thought I was in a bit of shock (by the way I was just a bit bored and wanted to be alone).

A Christmas Eve post

So its Christmas Eve, wow this year has flown! I dont have much time to write much at all because we are going to Albury today and I have no idea when we will be back, so I thought I would put the song Christmas Shoes here :) I dont have the video so you will just have to put up with the words.

It was almost Christmas time
There I stood in another line
Trying to buy that last gift or two
Not really in the Christmas mood
Standing right in front of me
Was a little boy waiting anxiously
Pacing around like little boys do
And in his hands he held
A pair of shoes
And his clothes were worn and old
He was dirty from head to toe
And when it came his time to pay
I couldn't believe what I heard him say

Sir I wanna buy these shoes for my Momma please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry Sir?
Daddy says there's not much time
You see, she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes will make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful
If Momma meets Jesus, tonight.

He counted pennies for what seem like years
And cashier says son there's not enough here
He searched his pockets franticly
And he turned and he looked at me
He said Momma made Christmas good at our house
Though most years she just did without
Tell me SirWhat am I gonna do?
Some how I’ve got to buy her these Christmas shoes
So I layed the money down
I just had to help him out
And I'll never forget
The look on his face
When he said Momma's gonna look so great.

Sir I wanna buy these shoes, for my Momma please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry Sir?
Daddy says there's not much time
You see, she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes will make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful,
If Momma meets Jesus tonight.

I knew I caught a glimpse of heavens love as he thanked me and ran out.
I know that God had sent that little boy to remind me
What Christmas is all about

Sir I wanna buy these shoes for my Momma please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry Sir?
Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes will make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful
If Momma meets Jesus tonightI want her to look beautifulIf Momma meets Jesus tonight

Have a great Christmas Eve! And God Bless.
Till next time!

Fire!!!!

Ok so I never really imagined that this would happen to US!
It was a kind of quiet day, Mum and I went into town to drop Ayala and Sarah off at their jobs and did a few jobs ourselves, we headed home. The Murray Goulburn representative was coming today so we had to be back before 10:30 AM. But at 9:30 there was really no hurry. We stopped to take some photos of the big harvesting machines working in a paddock, and the piles of grain the had already collected.
We got back home at about 10 and cleaned up. The rep was arriving at 11. All was going smoothly. The rep arrived and I sat at the computer for a while, checking emails and Facebook before going to my bedroom with a book to find a comfy chair. There was really no need for my brother and I to be around while the rep was there. They just had to talk over money figures and plans for the dairy. We take these opportunities to read or sleep in my brother's case.
My book was really interesting (it was actually my sister's book from the library but since she wasn't there I thought I would read it). But I got interrupted by the door swinging open from the wind, when it got windy the door had a nasty habit of swinging open and the cats would get inside. I got up and locked it (that's the only way to keep it shut). About an hour my Mum knocked on the door. She told me there was a fire, it was nothing out of the ordinary there had been many times where there had been fires around but nothing ever that affected us. I expected that my Mum would tell me that Dad was going to help and we had to get water bottles ready or something like that. Where? is the normal question when that statement is said. The normal answer is usually the name of a place near here but too far from our house to be of worry.

This wasn't a normal answer! "Pine Mountain" is the big hill right in front of our house! There is the Murray river between us and there but that comfort was short lived when we heard the man on the radio said "On the NSW side of the river at Pine Mountain.". That meant that the fire was raging just about 10 to 20 kilometers North/West of us at speeds of 110 to 114 kilometers an hour with a strong wind blowing South/East. Complicated I know. But it means that the fire was going at about 110 kph right at us! That's when the adrenaline kicked in. Running on scared we filled as many buckets as we could with water, drenched as much of the house as we could until the power went out. Every now and again I would look up and watch the cloud of smoke getting closer.

By this time we had all donned masks, hats, gloves, overalls, cotton shirts and work boots. We looked like we were getting ready to enter a war zone. The wind kept blowing my hat off so I took it off. My hair by the end of the day was a mess from the wind.

Woolen blankets, computers, photos and water found their way to the cars and into the dairy, the place we had chosen to flee to just in case the fire took out the house.

The wind was slightly to our right so the first fire front flew past us by about 500 meters and just missed our neighbor's house, then fled up and over the hill and was gone, leaving the sides still burning. The wind picked up the little fires and turned them into a second fire front, picking up speed, it was closer this time but still missed us by heaps. It jumped the main road just outside our boundary and into our neighbor's paddock. The wind changed direction slightly and burnt through one of our paddocks filled with 100 hay bales and 300 silage. It was also wide enough to catch our neighbor's house. It burnt to the ground. There was nothing anyone could have done as the fire was too fierce.

With the fire still burning round the edges, it came down the bank and invaded another of our paddocks. Dad filled up his spray tank and went to take it on. He managed to stop it but it got away again coming closer by the minutes. Thankfully the paddock that it invaded next was all almost dirt, it fed on the stubble for about 200 or 300 meters stopping short 100 meters from our house. Fire trucks and cars came and went all day, I lost count. There were helicopters and airplanes going over almost constantly, getting water and dumping it on the fire fronts. Hundreds of tankers and emergency cars went by. We gave glasses of water out to men I have never met. I kept thinking it was amazing what people who really cared would do for you. One of our tractors had stopped, out of fuel, in the middle of the paddock two days previous, and a neighbor we hadn't met before came with his tractor and without being asked put a fire break around it.

That was the worst of it. We were on alert the rest of the evening as it was about 5 PM by this time. My Dad and brother filled Dad's spray tank up again and went putting out smoldering logs and fence posts.
We went for a drive around the district and it was totally amazing the amount of ground that got burnt.
We went to Tintaldra to see if we could go and get Ayala and Sarah from town but there was a road block and once you went through it you were not allowed back for anything! Ayala and Sarah stayed the night with friends and we drove out to get them in the morning, the road block was still there but since the fire danger had passed mostly we were allowed in and out because we lived there.
We were out of power for 2 days. My grandparents came with a generator for the house but we had to wait all day to get one for the dairy but ended up getting it hooked up only to unhook it again because the power came back on.
I have heaps of photos that I would like to put on here but I don't really have time right now.
I'll write more later today or tomorrow. That was not the end of the story. It still isn't as I m writing this, the fire, although presents no threat to us is still burning a little while away.
I have to go, till next time I post.

I dunno what to call it...

Well I was just checking up on my blog and who has been visiting. I kinda got really excited because there have been people looking at my blog from all over the world! There have been people from 4 different continents right here! And anyway I felt bad because I haven't been posting very much lately. So I decided to write a post. Now all I have to do is think of something interesting to write about, lol!

Why must catastrophes happen when I am writing a blog post??? I'll be right back after I tell my Dad that the cows are in the silage paddock.... Yup, his reaction was exactly as I thought it would be, a loud 'Oh NO!" and with out being told my brother got up and went and got in the car.

It seems that lately I have developed a talent for one of my least favorite chores... cooking... Or maybe its just the everyday practice.

I am kinda typing this post a little slow in between jumping up every two minutes to check on dinner. And the fact that I have the startings of blisters on my hands from riding my bike with wet hands doesn't help any. Ahh the joys of my life, huh?

Yeah I know I have mentioned this fact a couple of times in the last 5 posts but really its my blog I am allowed to write what I want, anyway back to the subject. 10 days till Christmas! I'm not actually excited. Isn't it funny...
~~~
THIS BLOG POST WAS PAUSED WHILE THE AUTHOR SUDDENLY REALISED THAT SHE HADN'T PUT ANY WATER IN THE CARROTS THAT WERE NOW BURNING ON THE STOVE. ~Rule #1 if you are going to burn something you might as well make it taste good (add honey to carrots).
~~~
Oh yeah! Isn't it funny how when you are a kid you spend your entire year looking forward to the 25th of December, and when it arrives you are so excited and happy. Then suddenly one year you just don't get excited and its just another day *sigh* its all kinda sad. You are supposed to remember that our Lord was born on that day but when you think about it, did he really get born on this day? or was it just a day that someone superstitious picked out of a hat? No body knows when he was born exactly and why should every other day be different, we are supposed to remember him every day not just on Christmas and Easter! Christmas isn't even about Christ any more, its about Santa and presents. And this fact is the sadder of the two.

Sorry :P

So I haven't been very good at writing... It seems that every time I get to write a post something happens then I either get kicked of the computer or I forget or I have something else to do, anyway posting is a the bottom of the priority list right now. Maybe I will get more time in the next few weeks because this morning I got rid of all the calves that need feeding milk and I only have one! Yay, its great!

Kurt has been coming out every weekend now and he really is becoming a part of the furniture now :). A friend of us girls came out this weekend for a girly weekend and we ended up spending all the time watching movies and generally relaxing, lol :). We are getting ready because we heard a rumor that our Grandpa is making his yearly visits around this time. And now in a couple of weeks its Christmas! Wow, where did this year go?!

My sister Sarah and I had a stall at the farmers market this past Saturday, we stayed up till midnight cooking the night before and we made heaps of cakes, biscuits, and cupcakes. We were thoroughly sick of chocolate and cakes before the night was over. And with all the stress and a few half nights of sleep I got what my parents think was a very mild case of the shingles. Anyway we had fun and had a good day, we made about $30 which isn't really that much when you look at all the time and money that went into it... Oh well we have 13 more farmers markets to do in the next year, so we have to keep going on for now :).

I would upload some photos that my Mum took of my sister and I cooking but I think Ayala has her camera at work so, hmmm....

Well gotta go
God Bless all this Christmas!!
Kathy

No Internet

So if you had that thought that I might have gone on an unexplained holiday from posting again you would have been wrong :). It was just that the Internet thought it was working too hard and went on strike.

So anway this month, while everyone has been typing their little fingers off with NaNoWriMo I have been helping around the farm, cleaning, cooking, running here and there on the motor bike taking things to and from my Dad (who is usually on the tractor), swimming, having fun with friends and writing some :) so over all a pretty good month.



Today is SUMMER!



Wow!



Its crazy, it seems like yesterday that we were slugging through mud in the middle of winter (well with a little rain it seems like it has gone back to being winter because its cold and there is mud everywhere again :P).



25 days till Christmas... Oh boy... Hmmm... Christmas sometimes ends in the car, driving home from your grandparents place/s and you are tired and all you want to do is be at home and sleep. You seat is covered with the presents you received. Your siblings are falling asleep around you. Its the only moment you have gotten to be half alone all day. You are dressed in a pretty summer dress, probably that your grandmother got you, something that you LOVE but will probably never wear again, you hair is done nice but its kinda coming out because its been there all day. Lol ok just a random thought :).
Till Next time!

So I havent posted...

Now I have taken the step to click on the 'new post' button. No all I have have to do is think of something to say.... :P Apparently I think that might be a harder thing to do than it seems. But then maybe not :).
Ok so harvest is almost over. I have patched bales, watched some strange two kids (Dan and Kurt) tie a car bonnet to the back of the Mule and 'paddock surf', I have tried to count to over 120 (silage bales) and failed, I have gone out in the middle of the night and played amongst silage bales in the dark, I have swam in the rain and stayed there for 2 hours, I have worried my Mum sick when we disappeared at 10 at night to go say hello to Dad up in the paddock, I have ridden the Mule (our motor bike) with my brother and our friend Kurt (which by the way is almost a death wish), and right now my brother and Kurt are turning all the clocks forward an hour for some weird and mysterious reason. Yesterday, because my Mum had a stall at the market at Tintaldra, we rode 8 kilometers on our bikes to see the market (which was pretty boring any way because there were hardly any people there).
What else is new? Hmmm... not much really. I have been playing the piano a lot lately and the other day when I was looking through our music books I found the music too "Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring" it is soo beautiful to play!! I am really happy that it isn't the hardest of songs to learn :).
And... we got our air conditioners installed today!!! YAY!
Well I guess that ends my post for now. I'll post soon :)

Break Time I think...

So I have had writer's block for a while now and havent had much to write about in my blog so I think its time to say bye byes for a while, I dont know how long but maybe a month or maybe two, I am sure if I leave off of blogging I will get very lonesome to write in it again and be back before you know it. :)
Till next time I write!
Your author in training
Kathy

Rural Women's Writing Award

At the presentation, there were lots of photos taken and we were told they were going to be put on the website along with our stories. The photos havent been uploaded yet but if you go HERE you can see the other shortlisted stories and the author's bios :).

Hey and all that...

Well its Saturday morning and I am sooooo tired! But the tiredness is starting to wear off now that I am drinking my coffee, lumb (laugh under my breath) because I am to tired to lol.
I have finally found some time to sit down and write! Now I have no idea what to write about :P.
I'll have to be going down the poddies soon so this may not be a long post.
Harvest is now in full swing. I think the bale count is almost to 1000, but am not sure. We still have quite a few paddocks to cut, rake, bale and wrap yet. I should have been taking photos but I haven't really been out in the paddock much, I expect it to be out there more now because when you start to move the bales they get holes in the plastic wrap and my Mum and I are going to be chief bale patchers. I actually like the job (except on hot days). Your only tools are a knife and lots of rolls of duct tape = fun!!! The trick is to start patching as soon as the start guys bring in the bales in so you can keep up to them. It can get to be a pain when you leave it till the guys have piled up all the bales then you have to get between the bales and if they are stacked a few high it gets dangerous to climb on them. That is the job I get my tan for the summer on, lol!
Well I really must scat, I have about 30 calves to feed this morning and its going to be all done by little old me.

The days I havent posted

Ok, so I guess I have a little explaining to do why I havent posted in ages... Well mostly its been because I have been pretty busy and thanks to a tiny little thing called 'writer's block'. I dont remember a lot of the stuff that has happened since I last posted, so I guess I will start with Yesterday and see where I go from there :).

Yesterday... Hmmm well we went back to Cudgewa to get a beast to kill for our meat, I think the butcher is coming out tomorrow but I'm not sure. Anyway when we got there I found out that we would be spending the day there getting cows in, sorting all the older calves out of the herd to sell them. I didnt think we would be there all day so I forgot to take a hat. It was a really hot day yesterday, it got upto 35 C although it felt more out side under the sun running around cows, in other words I got sunburned on my face and arms *ouch*. Later in the afternoon the stock agent came out to have a look at the calves we had sorted, they were pretty good calves, they had been left alone for about a year on lots of grass and some were still on their mothers and the others were calves we raised from poddies, so they were nicely fat, lol some of them were pretty cute :) (sorry no pics, I didnt take the camera). While we waited for the agent to get there (he is pretty well known for being at least an hour late) we sat around in the old dairy and talked about the idea of turning it back into a dairy. Its a dream but you never know it might come true one day :).

Last Friday Ayala finally convinced me to go to work with her. It was fun but I don't think I am quite cut out to be a teacher's aide, lol. I do have some photos of that but I'm not going to up load them right now. I'll try to remember for my next post.

Sarah gets back from the Gold Coast this afternoon. She left on Wednesday last week so she has been gone 6 days. Its been a little weird not having her here, it will be great to have her back.

Well I think that is just about all the news for now. I'll try to post soon.

Crazy Thoughts

Ok I wanted to write a crazy post just for fun, lol, I am in a bit of a weird mood :D!

Have you ever sat in front of a clock and watched the second hand tic away and thought that every time it passes the 12 that another minute of your life just passed and you wont get it back... personally I get dizzy watching it go around and around in circles, lol.

Carrying on the theme of weird thoughts: I was thinking the other day (sometimes that can be dangerous;) and I came up with this weird question, Is cold colder than hot is hot? I have yet to find an answer to this but I did think of a way to figure out how to get a solution, you find out normal body temperature then go to freezing point then go from body temperature to boiling point. Like I said it was a weird thought and I am no scientist, lol!

Now I get to go completely loopy and burst out in song!

Spring times' coming
On the heels of a winter wind
Balmy breezes will blow across your garden again.
As long as earth and Heaven remain,
God promises the seasons will change.
Spring times' coming

Ok bad song ("Its already spring" *whispers loudly* "dont tell Winter!")!
Now what else can I do to complete the effect that I am out of my mind and you need to stop reading my blog and go do some house work... hmm... Did anyone notice I am bored? Its Sunday afternoon, Dad, my brother and our friend (who came to help) are out in the paddock raking, baling and wrapping the silage, Sarah is watching The Waltons somewhere, Ayala is writing in her blog (Oh by the way, check it out at ---), and Mum is asleep. I'm tired and basically exhausted and this post doesnt really need comments, lol and I think thats where I will end this post :)

A little help that I thought you might need :)

OK, new rules!
If you are really really really stuck you are allowed to Google the question, I thought I would make it hard for you guys but Mum thinks I made it WAY to hard not allowing you to Google anything.

A few Aussie Questions and a lot more!

OK I decided that I would put a quiz up. To whom ever gets the most questions correct, I shall send a prize (right now the prize is a mystery to me as well but I will mention it when I say who won). And if more than one person gets all of them right I will figure out another 5 or ten questions :). Oh and NO GOOGLE or any other search engine's allowed until after you have submitted your comment.

2o questions

1. Name Australia's highest mountain.

2. What is the name of the World's largest monolith? (clue. I can see if from my house)

3. What does this road sign mean?

4. What is the name of Australia's largest engineering feat?

5. What very famous festival, based on a very famous poem, that takes place in my area early in Autumn?

6. What is the name of the poem and the name of the author of the poem mentioned in the above

question? (clue. I have mentioned this festival in my blog a few times, but no peaking!)

7. What is the only thing in Australia punishable by capitol punishment?

8. What are Australia's emblems?

9. How many stars are on our flag?

10. What are the names of the capital cities of each state in Australia?

11. What is Australia's largest dairy exporter? (clue. I am part of it, its name has something to do with the Murray River)

12. Where is most of Australia's fruit grown?

13. On what animal's back did Australia use to ride? (clue. This is a well known poem)

14. Name Australia's most infamous Bush Ranger

15. What is the name of the movie that many non-Aussies associate with Australians? (this one should be easy, it isnt the man from snowy river)

16. What is, my side of the mountains(I have to say this because on the other side of

the mountains they think its something else), name for the Man From Snowy River?

17. What is the name of the famous Australian, who died when a sting ray peirced his heart?

18. Name Australia's longest river system.

19. What is the name of the lake in the middle of Australia, renouned for its bird life (when it has water in it)?

20. Name the Flemington of the bush.

Have fun!!! I know I will, when I read the answers!

My entry to the Elyne Mitchell Rural Women's Writing Award, now that its all over I can show you :)

Ours
by Katherine McFarland
Sitting beside the calf pen in the warm May sunshine with Djaq, my Kelpie cross German Coolie cattle dog sitting in my lap, makes me feel content and safe. There aren’t many warm sunny days in May so I figure I might as well enjoy this one.
Djaq starts squirming and licking my hands. I smile at her as she looks up at me with her weird amber eyes. She is a truly beautiful dog, her coat always gives me a mental picture of someone stirring a big pot of caramel sauce and randomly dropping chocolate chips into it. It is coming up a year that we have had her now. I sometimes wonder what we ever did without her, she can be a pain a lot of the time but over all she is a good dog. I remember the morning we were given her, it was a cold, wet, foggy morning....
There were shouts of “Josh is here!!” from my younger brother Daniel. The caravan door slams, probably Dan in a big hurry.
I take a sip of my packet mocha coffee as I peer out the fogged up windows of the caboose.
Josh is a twelve year old boy whom my oldest sister, Ayala, tutors. He is also a friend of my brother. And seeing as though we don’t get many, any visitors are very welcome.
I step out of the caboose, and onto the crate we use instead of a step. “Hey Josh.” I call as I lead the way between the three caravans that we now call home.
There is a mumbled “Hi” in return.
The ‘kids caravan’ door opens with a loud creak; that sounds like the door is about to break off, it never does so I just ignore it. Ayala is waiting, school work already laid out on the table. I find a place to sit and be a good example by reading a thick book.
A little while later, Mum puts her head in the door “Kath can you go and feed the calves please? And don’t forget to give the youngest one colostrum, ok?”
“Yup I’ll be there in a minute.” I say putting the book down and following her outside.
The caravans are parked in a shed at the end of the dairy yard, so there isn’t far to go.
I shove my feet into a pair of too-big gumboots and head out of our shed.
In the dairy pit, I grab two green calf feeders and pull the lid off a test bucket. The colostrum is thick and a dark yellow colour, for some reason I have to fight to keep my stomach in the right place for a split second before lifting the bucket to pour some of the gross stuff into the feeder. I am thankful that only one calf is young enough to have to drink that! I fill the other feeder with normal white milk.
As I carry the two feeders out to the cattle-yards-turned-calf-pen, I try to keep my hands clear of the colostrum, it never works; I always seem to splash myself.
I let myself into the pen and hook the two feeders on the fence. The older calf is right there trying to suck my elbow, but I stick my fingers in his mouth and guide him to the teat. The younger calf on the other hand has retreated to the end of the pen, most likely he will give me a run around before I can catch him, I take a closer look then correct myself, its’ a heifer. Great, a heifer with an attitude!
I close in slowly, trying to corner her so I have a better chance of grabbing her. She sees me and tries to bolt out into the open, but its’ too late, I grab her ear and swing my leg over her neck to stop any further escapes. With her head firmly between my knees, I put my milky fingers in her mouth and hope that she knows how to suck and I won’t have to teach her. Her mouth moves around my fingers for a second before I feel a feeble suction, then it gets stronger. I say a prayer of thanks before half dragging her and half leading her to the other side of the pen and to her feeder.
She sucks pretty strongly but the older calf is still finished first. I am still standing over her with her head between my knees, the other calf butts the back of my thighs and tries to suck my knees, and I swat at him and laugh.
I unhook the feeders but the heifer refuses to let go of her teat, she is sucking air but she doesn’t really care. I twist it away from her and make a dash for the gate.
Back inside the dairy again I give the feeders a hose out and my hands a rinse under the hot tap. My Mum, Dad and sister are just washing up as I walk through.
I wash my hands again at the back of the caboose with soap and warm water, the calf slobber leaves a slimy film over my hands and you need soap to get rid of it. There isn’t much I can do about my jeans and jacket; I am going to be just getting dirtier later on, so I might as well leave them on.
The caravan door creaks again. It is wonderful and warm inside. My brother and Josh are still working on their times tables. I sit back with my book again. It isn’t long before my brother goes outside, it isn’t really his lesson so he is allowed.
A car pulls up at the front of the dairy, I glance up and say “Probably your Dad.” He nods and keeps working.
A minute or so later, my sister steps into the caravan and hands Josh something then cuddles a very small cute puppy to her chest, there were a few cries of “Its’ so cute!” from around the table. From what I can see of it, it is dappled brown all over, and even though its nose is buried in its paws its amber eyes were peering around the small cramped space.
I glance at Josh to find he is also cuddling a puppy, but it is more black, red and brown; and, unlike the puppy Sarah is holding, Josh’s pup is squirming to get down, to explore.
“What kind of dog is it?” is the first question asked.
“She is a Kelpie German Coolie cross. She is a she. And she is ours.”
“Ours?” I ask raising my eye brows. Mum and Dad had never let us have a pup before; we already had a dog and they always said no to another.
“Ours.” Sarah answers with a grin “Dad says we are going to train her to be a cattle dog.”
“Yeah,” Josh pipes up “That’s why we got this one. Dad says we are gunna make a real good cow dog out of him.”
The next question “Does she have a name?”
Sarah grins again “Nope, that’s our job.”
Josh pipes up again “We’re gunna call this one Bundy.”
“Like as in the beer?”
“Yup, see ‘is colour?”
I have to admit he does look like a bottle of beer. But we have to find a name for ours. How could we do that? She looks almost un-name able! How could you name a dog that was so cute anything?
“I think we should call her Plaster.” My brother says, referring to her one white leg.
I shake my head “No way! She is too nice to be called Plaster! We have to find something better.”
After a while of cuddling we take the puppies outside for a run around in the now clean dairy yard.
We call her Pup for a while but she needs a real name. My brother is still adamant about calling her Plaster. And it is getting rather annoying when he tries to make her come to that name.
“Come on Plaster, come!” But she wasn’t listening. Bundy was much more interesting.
“Well Plaster sure isn’t going to be her name!” Sarah, who is sitting beside me, comments “What other names can we think of?”
I shrug “I don’t know, but we need to think of something soon.”
“Hmm.” Sarah thinks out loud “What about... Honey?”
“No... I don’t think it really suits her.”
“Yeah I guess... well what about...” there is a pause “Djaq, you know like as in Robin Hood?”
“Yeah that suits her. I wonder if she will come to it.” So we try it. To our utter amazement she turns and looks at us.
“Well!” I turn and look at Sarah “She has a name!”
I finally bring my thoughts back to the present. I glance at my watch, lunch time. Djaq is asleep in my lap. I push her off and stand up.
“Come on dog, time to go home.”

(By the way, this is my writing so if you want to copy it please ask me first!!!!)

Ok last thing before I sign off on my 100th post

The picture of my shotlisted award from the Eylne Mithchell Award Presentaion

Bonus Question: Name the birds on the Elyne Mitchell banner :) (BTW you dont have to but you can if you want)

99 and still counting :)

Well amazingly I have made it too 99 posts! Whoo! Ok so maybe I'm slightly off my rocker, but who cares, I'm happy!! I'm at 99 and still no ideas what to do for my 100th post... Ideas are still very welcome :D. I'm thinking maybe I'll upload some photos... hmm I really have no ideas!!!!
Ok I think I will make a list of all the things my friends have done then go through it crossing them off one by one :).
Well I guess that's it for number 99, and anyway I have to go feed the calves :P.
Till 100!

Elyne Mitchell Rural Women's Writing Award Presentation

Ok for the news some of you might have been waiting for :) no I didn't win the "Award". But I did win something...

But I guess I should start from the start, lol and keep you all in suspense!

We had a wonderful day yesterday, at midday we went to pick Rachel up from in town, because I invited her to come with us, we went to the op-shop and found some really nice CDs, there were a few singing ones but the ones I really like is the one with a Cello playing hymns and another one with a violin playing hymns, both of them are really beautiful :).

We came home and while listening to the violin CD I read my book. I had a shower and got dressed up, Ayala insisted on putting make up on me :P (I really dislike make up, I used to say it made me feel sickish, which it did, but I looked at myself in the mirror after she had finished with me and I didn't really like the way I looked, anyway that's off the subject), which I endured.

We left it late to leave and the sun was just setting as we came into the Corryong valley, it was pretty magnificent with all the clouds turned gold and sunlight coming through here and there. I had grabbed the violin CD as we went out the door so it was amazing to be listening to Morning Has Broken being played on the violin and watching the sun go down, my idea of a very beautiful scene :). I also had some private thoughts which makes it a bittersweet memory.

There was a $10 entry fee for all the people who weren't contestants and everyone was given a raffle ticket for the door prize (it was just a couple of copies of the shortlisted stories, some jams and chutneys and things). I looked at my number, 45, and though 'oh great! It isn't even one of my favorite numbers!' and thought no more of it.

They had pictures and a short biography of each of the shortlisted contestants up on the wall, lol I took one look at them and thought 'I haven't got a hope!' because there were two girls who were 22 or 23 and they were both in university and doing creative writing course thingys! I was the only local person in the Emerging category.

After all the speeches had been made about thanking the supporters and one lady got up and sang a poem that Banjo Patterson had written, then Eylne Mitchell's daughter, Honor, got up and gave a speech about her Mum and writing and all that, she would be an amazing person to sit down with for 2 hours and talk to her :)!


When Marita, one of the organisers, got up to announce the raffle, I was joking to Dan and comparing what numbers we had, he had number 44 and I already said I got 45. Marita called out a number, 45 (LOL) and I turned to Dan, who had suddenly started staring at me and was about to say "Haha, its you!" when I realised that I was the one holding 45 and was more like "EEK its ME!" I just never win those things and I was so shocked and it was so hilarious that I just started laughing.

We were all awarded a certificate for being shortlisted so that was the second time I had to walk up to the stage thingy, I got to shake hands with the mayor :D (which isn't the greatest of honors because she is friends with my grandmothers, lol)!! And as we all left the stage Honor stopped me and talked to me, because I was the local!
And after some more speeches, photos, talking and congratulations from people I have never met before, that was basically it and after Sarah and I helped in the kitchen we went home :).
I would upload the picture of my award but its on the other computer and there is some trouble with the connection so I cant right now :P. But I will as soon as I find a memory stick.
Well I have to go, till next time!
P.S. 2 posts to go!!!

Post 97 and just thoughts...

Yup 97... Only three to go until three digits :D!
Its been raining here a lot lately. Been kept inside not doing much, it can get boring and I could have made it to 100 already, but like I said I haven't been doing much.
Yesterday I was looking for ideas for a dress I wanted to make and I came across Anne of Green Gables costumes on the Internet and that gave me the idea of looking for the middle movie to see if I could get a better view of the dress but unfortunately I didn't find it because it is still back at our old house in storage :P but in my search I happened upon an old video with Inspector Gadget on it! I hadn't seen that movie in years, it is a bit corny but its still pretty funny :).
I ended up settling on a pattern we already have for my dress. I am in the process of making it now. I am not far into it yet I am just cutting all the bits out but I guess that's always the hardest part isn't it?
Well gotta go, I expect I should be posting tomorrow :)
Till next time
P.S I still have no idea what to do for my 100 post celebration, so any ideas would be helpful!

Its Monday morning...

Today is Monday, you know some people say they hate Mondays... Since I don't usually go along with the flow, lol, I disagree :). This morning was a lovely morning and since I had a very restful weekend I am very much looking forward to this week! I got up at 6:30, about half an hour ago to an almost red gold light coming over the top of my curtains (as I occupy the top bunk the sun comes in over the top of my curtains at about 6 to 6:30 every morning, except of course cloudy ones). I got up and had the pleasure of seeing my parents before they went to work at the dairy (one thing I miss about dairy farming is that when you get up your parents aren't there and you wont see them till you go and start your jobs). Then I put a CD on (Sons of Korah, the best thing to wake up with and go to sleep with :O *yawns*, possibly a bad thing :), and now I am sitting here drinking my morning cup of coffee, writing my 76th blog post and listening to beautiful psalms being sung.
Well anyway the other day, think it was Saturday, I decided to post on my other blog so please take a look here. I hope I can keep up with posting on both my blogs :).
Thursday is the Elyne Mitchell Award presentation. I am kinda nervous but not overly so, it would be pretty amazing to get the award but I think I could live without it. I am pretty excited that I get to go at all.
Yesterday one of our cows gave birth to twin boys :D. They are so cute! They are almost identical but one is brown and the other is black :).
Harvest should be starting soon but its a little hard because it keeps raining! My Dad is a little frustrated that we haven't started yet. I don't think we will get a very good number of silage bales this year as the grass is a little sparse, that is good news for me because I will be sitting on top of the pile of bales patching any holes with duct tape and bad news for Dad and the rest of the farm because there wont be as much food for the cows as they need.
Well I need to go, my babies don't like to have their breakfast kept waiting (my Dad usually isn't all that happy about it either :).
Till next time (when ever that is, lol)!

A few hymns and some thoughts

Onward Christian soldiers,

Marching as to war,

With the cross of Jesus going on before.

Christ the royal Master,

Leads against the foe.

Forward into battle,

See his banor go.

Onward Christian soldiers,

Marching as to war,

With the cross of Jesus going on before.

How many times have you stopped and thought what this was about? I've known this song almost all my life, I have fond memories of singing this song amongst others in the car on the way somewhere. We would always sing a hymn (usually more than one, lol) when we were in the car, it became like a habit. But I never really stopped to think about what the words meant. I would always get an mental picture of a whole army of warriors dressed in immaculate red tunics, chain mail with the metal helmets and swords marching along singing "Onward Christian Soldiers" then a (very clean) battle scene, that image changed along with my knowledge it became a parade of priests dressed in their long flowing white robes and the front man carrying a cross. But now I think its time to change, it should be a mental picture of someone kneeling down in prayer with their Bible not far away, unaware of anything else except their God.

What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear,

What a privilege to carry

Every thing to God in prayer

Is there trials and temptation,

Is there trouble anywhere,

We should never be discouraged

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Basically self explanatory :).

Take my life, and let it be consecrated,

Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.

Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

This is another one of those first songs I ever learnt, singing them in the car.

Come, thou Fount of every blessing,

tune my heart to sing thy grace;

streams of mercy, never ceasing,

call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount!

I'm fixed upon it,

mount of thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;

hither by thy help I'm come;

and I hope, by thy good pleasure,

safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

wandering from the fold of God;

he, to rescue me from danger,

interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor daily

I'm constrained to be! Let thy goodness,

like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

prone to leave the God I love;

here's my heart,

O take and seal it,

seal it for thy courts above.

This isn't one of the first hymns I ever heard or learnt but it is my favorite. But I do not like the story behind it. Apparently the man who wrote this fell away from the Lord and died in his sin. It saddens me that he could write this song and in it say "Oh to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be! Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above." and not believe the words he wrote!

Amazing Grace,

how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me....

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now, I see.

T'was Grace that taught...

my heart to fear.

And Grace, my fears relieved.

How precious did that Grace appear...

the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares...

we have already come.

T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...

and Grace will lead us home.

The Lord has promised good to me...

His word my hope secures.

He will my shield and portion be...

as long as life endures.

When we've been here ten thousand years...

bright shining as the sun.

We've no less days to sing God's praise...

then when we've first begun.

And the grand old classic. I sometimes wonder if this is the first song people think of when they hear the word Christian... Just a thought.

Will try and put these songs on my playlist as soon as possible.

Just a little quiet ;)

*Sigh*.... It has been a beautiful day. And now I am sitting here in the dining/living room amazed at the serene quiet that has suddenly surrounded the house. My mum went to bed early (not sure why, I think she might be coming down with the same flu that I have, poor Mum), my sisters both went out to the flat, Ayala to finish some Brailling and Sarah (who is also sick-ish) to go to bed. My brother has just appeared from his room to talk to Dad about something about fixing cars and things. And my Dad is sitting in his chair reading the paper, Oh and I am writing this blog post :) lols! I think I am getting better (YAY!), I only have a blocked nose and I cough sometimes :P so not quite better! I cooked dinner tonight (as I seem to be doing most nights now), and amazingly, with the limited amount of vegetables, it turned out quite nicely :). The truck is just arriving... Its 20 minutes to 9 PM. I should be heading to bed but I just want to write some.
Today was the Farmer's Market, Mum had made a heap of soaps to sell, so we had a stall. We made $107 all up, and we had some offers from places that want to sell our soap in their shops :). So all up is was a success. Mum is trying to talk me into growing vegetable seedlings for the next market. I dont know, I know that I could and it wouldn't be that hard and the money would be good, but, and, and... And I'm tired and I am rambling and I forgot to say thanks to my friends who helped me out big time with the Elyne Mitchell thingy magigy, and I cant say thanks to one of them and I am sad about that and I need sleep and I need to attach that photo to that email and I am sick of having so many things to do. I'm going to go sleep, Goodnight!

News, news, news!!!!

I have news :). First of all...
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I GOT SHORTLISTED FOR THE ELYNE MITCHELL RURAL WOMEN'S WRITING AWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I am still like "WOW!!" and it was two days ago that I found out :D! I am sooo happy, ecstatic, excited and just plain amazed that I could have gotten shortlisted out of hundreds of contestants!! 10 people get shortlisted for each category (there are 2 categories) and out of those 10, one is the winner. The standard for judging is pretty high so only very good writers get to be shortlisted. Right now I don't care if I win, because I have won anyways, being shortlisted IS winning! It's one of those things that will look good on a future job resume :).

The whole presentation is on the 15'th of October (on World Rural Women's Day), that is when the winner is announced and all that.

Anyway, other news.

Well I had to go to the dentist on Tuesday (the 29th) and have 2 teeth pulled out :P (actually its a bit of a "YAY!" because that means the last trip to the dentist in a long time!!). And my sister decided it would be a good idea to share her germs with me and I got the flu (nother :P), that is one time I do not like sharing, lols, so I am sitting here with a sore mouth (cos I chewed on something the slightest bit hard) and the flu!!! :(

Ok, on a better (brighter!) note. Monday, because I was bored I decided to start sewing rectangles of fabric together and now all I have to do is sew the binding on the edges and I have a blanket for my Glory Box :) (will try to post pics and instructions soon).

We haven't had Internet for the last 3 days (that explains my absence from the blogging world).

Well I think that is all news for now.

Gotta go! Till next time!! :D

92 post... 8 till 100!!! :D

As the title says, I have only 8 posts till I reach 100 posts! :D It has been a long time coming and I was wondering what I should do for my 100'th post?? Any ideas? What did everyone else do on their 100th post?? Ok if anyone has any ideas please leave a comment and let me know!!!

Now to normal posting... Well this week we had Kurt staying, AGAIN! He is really starting to become part of the furniture, lols. No I'm just joking, he will always be welcome here :).

On Friday Grandma came up, for Dan's birthday (its so hard to believe that he is a teenager now! Well actually not really... he is getting almost taller than me now! And the best part... He has been taking over some of my harder jobs, yay!), and stayed till Sunday morning (Mum took Kurt home Saturday lunchtime.). We sat inside all day Saturday watching TV (it was only the football, boring :P) because it was windy and rainy and really just miserable outside. Then after Grandma left, Sunday morning, we packed ourselves up and took the 2 hour trip to Bathanga to my other grandparents for a kind of three person birthday party/get together Mama had going (it was Sarah, Dan and my uncle Jed's birthdays), so all the aunts and uncles were there (except one uncle and his family), so we got to see all our little cousins, Abby and Grace are getting so big and grown up!! And the three little boys, Charlie, Izak and Joseph are soo cute (Izak is Abby and Grace's little brother, Charlie and Joe are brothers)!! Here are some photos.

Izak and his Dad, my Uncle Brendan

Yours truly, very tired and a bit cold, the warmest I was all day I think. (sorry this isn't a great photo all the other's Ayala got of me were worse than this :P).

Little Joe :) so cute and the youngest of all the cousins.

Charlie, Abby and Izak

My beautiful Aunty Cynthia and her two gorgeous sons, Joe and Charlie.

Abby and Sarah thinking about the cryptic message I just gave them in Spot this Object, lols.

Grace and Sarah, the two second children :)

Little mister cutesie pie is making funny faces :), Gotta love the little fella!

Gracie and Dan

Aunty Patrice, Izak and Pop

And that is all the photo's I am uploading because it took me hours to upload this lot!! And I am not exaggerating!!

Honest Scrap Award

Well Cassie was so kind as to include me in this award/tag. Thanks Cassie!!

Here's the Rules :D.

1. Say thanks and link to the person who gave you the award. (Done that :)

2.Share ten "honest" things about yourself. (I have no idea what to write!!!)

3.Award this to seven people who's blog design/content you admire or who have encouraged you, and inform them of their win and of the rules of this award. (I think I'll just have to pick a random few people because my sister told me she is getting sick of being tagged :P!)

Okey Dokey! Here goes :)

1. I cant stand being bored or not doing anything.

2. I like taking long walks in the paddock (except I haven't done this in a while)

3. I like haying season because it smells so great!

4. When I wash dishes I organise the dirty knives, forks and spoons in the cups and I get

annoyed when someone puts them in the wrong cups (because of this my sisters jokingly say I must have Autism, which I find vastly amusing).

5. I drink a cup of coffee almost every morning.

6. I like photography (but I cant say I am very good at it :P)

7. I don't have a favorite colour, they all have their place in the world and in their place they are

beautiful.

8. I like watching birds, small birds mostly.

9. I like modifying clothes.

10. I get annoyed very easily (something that I need to work on).

Oh boy that was hard! Why is it so hard to think of things about your self??

Ok now to tag someone! Just so you know I am tagging you almost completely randomly!

Tia, Earwen and Sierra

Anyways I have things to do so I gotta go!!

Bye, byes!!

A Young Maiden's Daybook 21/9/2009

A Young Maiden's Day book
Today... Monday, 21 September 2009
Outside my window... Its a sunny warm day with a tiny breeze
I am thinking... That Ayala should really start a daycare center! LOL!!
I am feeling... A bit cold. I hope I can spend some time in my garden today (in the sunshine!).
I am thankful for... That Ayala and Sarah did the poddies yesterday and that I didn't have to be there.
I am wearing... bare feet, dark pink ankle length skirt, purple and white plaid 3/4 sleeved shirt, and my blue watch :) (sorry about the long winded account of my clothing, but I did have to answer the questions, lol)
I am reading... nothing right at this moment in time.
I am creating... A late birthday present for my sister Sarah.
One of my favorite things... Sunny days.
For education this week... I have no idea!!
A keeper at home skill I am learning/using... cooking, cleaning and sewing.
A spiritual lesson I am learning... to be diligent
A Godly character trait I plan to work on... Being the girl God wants me to be, not the one I want to be.
Scripture I plan on memorising (I changed that cos I'm not learning one right now, lol)... Not sure where it is but it goes along the lines of "We should be in this world but not of it.".
I am praying for... Its a secret.
For the rest of the week... Ayala's little boy is coming out tomorrow, so I will probably be helping babysit!

Da di dum dar da di dum dar

Yup, you are correct I am bored, a little crazy and seem to have suddenly inherited my Dads funny word concoctions.
Well anyways I'm sorry I haven't posted in about a week I have been busy and not much has been happening :) (contradiction, kinda). For some reason this week my Mum and I have found ourselves in town every day since Monday and twice on Tuesday and Thursday. BTW for anyone who doesn't know 'town' is a half hour drive away, an hour round trip! Before you know it the whole day has gone and you are left with an hour or so in the morning and an hour or so in the afternoon before going into town and after going to town, and between milkings! And silly us were thinking about taking today and going to Albury/Wodonga (about 2 hours away) to see a movie with Mama (grandmother on Dad's side) because she wanted to do something with her grandchildren she doesn't get to see very often... Great idea, but we have this afternoon that we aren't doing anything and then we are having visitors tomorrow! Can any of you guess how tired I am? that's right VERY! And this morning I woke up with a sore throat so I hope I am not coming down with anything!
OK on a brighter note, my second oldest sister, Sarah, turned 17 on Thursday! I was talking to Ayala the other day and she made mention of the fact that in a year and a half she will be 20!And in a week my baby brother will be 13! Where did all that time go?? It just seems like yesterday that Ayala was 13 and we were having little picnics in the paddock at Cudgewa with oranges and cheese, lol :).
'Nother subject now! I finally sent my assignment off last week, I got it back Tuesday... I got 80% and a distinction, YAY! I know it probably wasn't my best shot but its a lot better than 74 on my last one :). I have one more assignment in this book then I have to download another book! which is exciting :D!
Well I really need to go because its time to feed poddies and I have about 4 new calves to teach to drink so its going to take a while!
Til next time!

Picnic :)

The last few days have been really nice and warm... Actually maybe slightly too warm! It has been up in the mid to high 20s (degrees Celsius) which is really hot for early spring. We took advantage of the wonderful weather and went for a picnic :). We asked our neighbor if we could go through her property and picnic down at the river. She has the most beautiful spot down there, its all green and there are a heap of gum trees everywhere.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story :)

Happy, slightly crazy... hmm I am thinking this might just make my new profile pic :)

My happy beautiful mother, preparing damper by the looks of that, mmm yum!

Lazy-bones sister (dont worry that drink she is holding is completely non-alcoholic, lol)

This is Kurt, for some reason looking a little bit grumpy (which by the way is not normal!!) :)

Dad had spotted a White Clawed Murray Crayfish and sent Dan and Kurt to get it, Dan was a bit scared so Kurt risked his toes only to lose the cray in deeper water (I have no idea how only the three of us got in this picture because everyone was crowded around).

Dad, Kurt and Dan getting the rods all ready to catch some fish (BTW we didnt catch any :P. Why is it when you have visitors, they always end up in the photos???)

River flats with huge gum trees, just beautiful!!!

My Internet Silence (if you call it that) and a Young Maiden's Daybook (ie. Long post)

Well if you have read my blog in the last week you would know I have been spending the last 4 days in Melbourne. Oh do I hate big cities!! I am not joking! After the second day I wanted to come home... The water tasted like a pool, there was no where to go and have a quiet moment if you needed one, there were so many people, it was so noisy, and there was hardly anything to do, and most of all my whole family wasnt there (each of those should be followed with an exclaimation mark, lol, and yet not lol).

(I wrote the above on Sunday night, so I will try to finish and publish this post before I get off the computer again and forget about it)

Ok... Now where to go??? Ok, we went shopping on the second day. We went to THE biggest shopping center I have ever seen and could ever imagine! It was almost scary, the size of the place! We walked around that for about two hours and didnt see all of it! We went into David Jones and just out of curiosity looked at the price of a simple cotton dress... Wait for it... The price tag read $600!!! We didnt feel like touching anything after that, hehe. After the two hours were up Aunty Lynne (who isnt actually our aunt but Uncle Bob was best friends with my grandpa and so my Mum and her brothers and sisters called them Aunt and Uncle and so thats what we call them) took us to to a factory outlet where thankfully almost every thing was within our price range and we didnt feel quite so intimidated, lol!

On the third day Ayala and Sarah had to go to their course and I stayed at home with our friends. Aunty Lynne has the biggest scrapbooking/cardmaking collection I have ever seen, and she was kind enough to give me some papers, stamps, and punches :) so that is what I did with my morning then in the after noon Aunty Lynne and Uncle Bob took me to some craft shops, which without my Mum I have to say wasnt very interesting... I would see something I knew she would like but she wasnt there to see it too. And in the evening we met up with some other friends who we hadnt seen in a long time.

And obviously on the fourth day we came home. Do you have any idea how wonderful the feeling of heading home is? It was the best feeling I have ever felt, I think :D.

We had Monday at home but today we were back in Albury/Wodonga because my brother had a dentist appointment. And right now I am so worn out it isnt funny!! I am so sick of towns and being in a car I'd rather stop talking about it all, lol (it probably isnt that bed but I just have some other stuff to write right now.).

A Young Maiden's Daybook

(that I should have written yesterday)

Today... Tuesday 8 September 2009

Outside my window... I have my curtains closed but from the sound on the roof its raining quite heavily and its dark.

I am thinking... About the new book Mum bought, that I should email a few of my friends (I'm sorry I havent yet), wondering, a little bit confused and somehow happily so, about things in the past.

I am feeling... completely worn out, kinda sad about some stuff I have said and done.

I am thankful for... The actions of others that have shown I did something right, my Mum and her motherly wisdom.

I am wearing... black flat shoes, blue jeans, and a very ew yellow coloured woolen jumper.

I am reading... For Young Women Only, by Shaunti Feldhahn and Lisa A. Rice (If anyone is wondering, this is the cause of my slightly weird thoughts, feelings and thankfulness and yes I am going to say something about it). Wow, what a book! I have often wondered and sometimes exclaimed "What was/is he thinking?!", this has been about my brother and sometimes my friends who are guys. I am one of the worst girls for misunderstanding guys, I am sorry if I sound like I am putting myself down but its true. How many of us girls actually realise that some guys would actually prefer to be respected rather than loved? The cause of my weird thoughts has come from I guess examaning how I have treated the guys in my life, wether it be my Dad, my brother or my friends. And thinking "How could I have acted better in such and such a situation?"... (BTW, have only read the first two chapters).

I am creating... Nothing right now, I need some ideas :)

One of my favorite things... Home

For education this week... Actually there might be something this week. I asked Ayala to help me get back into school work and stuff, I dont know how this is going to go but hopefully it will work out.

A keeper at home skill I am learning/using... cooking

A spiritual lesson I am learning... Not to keep anything from God.

A Godly character trait I plan to work on... Being the girl God wants me to be, not the one I want to be.

Scripture I plan on memorising (I changed that cos I'm not learning one right now, lol)... Not sure where it is but it goes along the lines of "We should be in this world but not of it.".

I am praying for... My Dad, that he will be able to make the right decisions.

For the rest of the week... Hopefully not much :)... Resting, school work, writing work (thinking about that I planned on doing that today but I guess I ran out of time), house work.

Well I guess thats it for now. Will write some other time. Soon, hopefully :)!

Just thinkin' that I want to write somethin'

Its 10 minutes to 9 PM, on the second day of spring. And I am sitting here thinking that I should probably be packing my bag to go to Melbourne tomorrow, listening to the best music (ie. Classical, is there any other? :) and my favorite song, Pachelbel, I think it is also called Canon in D. And thinking (I mentioned that already, didnt I?) about random stuff, like my friends (most of whom are probably just waking up about now), tomorrow, spring, my garden, dirty feet (from wandering around in bare feet, yeah I know, crazy, right?), the project I am almost finished, prayer requests I received earlier today. You know its funny, when I receive prayer requests and I pray for the person, I find myself praying that God's will be done... I'm tired, I probably should go to bed.
I was working in my garden today. Yesterday I got potatoes planted and tomatoes in the green house. I was never very good at gardening... I was always too impatient for the plants to grow and it always seem like an age for anything to happen :)! Why is it that we get so impatient about things? I'm not only talking about plants but life in general... Well I think that will be a good note to ponder on while I sleep :).
I dont know if I will post tomorrow, so this is probably to be bye for about 4 days.

The rest of the post I didnt finish last Sunday :)

Well (let me just read over what I wrote on Sunday...), even though it doesn't sound like it, we did have a lot of fun on Saturday when we went snowboarding/skiing.
After I wrote that post my Aunt found that she only had two bikes so I stayed at the house and Dan and Aunty Jane took Sheba (her dog) for a run on the bikes, so I could have very easily finished this then but I really didn't feel like it (yeah, yeah, lazy bones, right?). Anyways after they got back we took our wet clothes down to the laundromat to get dried (because my Aunt doesn't have a drier, and we didn't have time to wait for them to air dry) after a bit of drama we managed that and while we waited we went to see great Grandpa at the nursing home, he has lost a lot of his memory and had no idea who Dan and I were, he really didn't have any idea who Aunty Jane was either...
After that we picked up our washing and went to my cousin Jorjah's 1'st birthday party. From there we went home. That was the most welcome place to be that day :).
Life went on like normal until tomorrow. My sisters and I are getting on a train to go to Melbourne.
Well basically that is the end of this post, lol.

My weekend...

Well at the moment I am sitting at my Aunts computer, drinking my morning coffee, writing this post :). (the last part was obvious!)
On Friday, we dropped Ayala and Sarah off at the train station (did I mention that they were doing a sign language course?), then my Dad dropped Dan and I with Aunty Jane at Tamgambalenga (dont worry about pronoucing it correctly, lol!! But just for your information it is said Tam-Gam-Bal-Enga).
Yesterday we went skiing, it was foggy and it rained sometimes, by the end of it my legs felt like they were going to fall off and I was going to die of hypothermia (ok, I admit I am exadurating slightly, lol but right then it seemed to be the easy option!). I was soaked to the skin and Dan and Aunty Jane werent much better.
Well will finish this later because we are going gor a bike ride...

American V. Australian

Sigh... I am almost 100% sure that I am one of the only Christian Australians on blogger.com! It must be an American thing to have a blog... Why? I have no idea! I know of only 2 people (outside my family, my family would make it 4) who have blogs who are Australians! One of them has NEVER written in it and is not a Christian (so he doesnt count!) the other I dont even know her name :P.
I would like to be proved wrong that there are only 3 Christian people in Australia who blog... Anyone???

Once in Royal David's City

This morning I started humming... I was not thinking about what I was humming and in truth I didn't know what I was humming! I was indeed surprised when Mum told me that it "Was not Christmas yet." :), I then realised that I had been humming the song Once In Royal David's City, a song I the opportunity to learn a few years ago on the piano and a song I hadn't heard or played in about a year, it was a completely random song to be humming! I realised that I had never read the lyrics to it, so I did a google search (the wonderful things I learnt off you Kate S. :D) and thought I would share my findings with all my followers (and of course those anonymous people who would ever happen upon my blog).

Once in royal Davids city,

Stood a lowly cattle shed,

Where a mother laid her Baby,

In a manger for His bed:

Mary was that mother mild,

Jesus Christ, her little Child.

He came down to earth from heaven,

Who is God and Lord of all,

And His shelter was a stable,

And His cradle was a stall:

With the poor, and mean, and lowly,

Lived on earth our Saviour holy.

For He is our childhood's pattern;

Day by day, like us, He grew;

He was little, weak, and helpless,

Tears and smiles, like us He knew;

And He cares when we are sad,

And he shares when we are glad.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,

Through His own redeeming love;

For that Child so dear and gentle,

Is our Lord in heaven above:

And He leads His children on,

To the place where He is gone.

The week I didnt post...

Why is it when ever I post lately I am tired and worn out? I personally dont know... Well anyway here is the rest of the week that I didnt post.

On Wednesday my Mum and I got some small square (they are actually rectangle) hay bales, for my garden. I prepared the ground a couple of weeks ago. So anyway I now have a half made (bodged up) greenhouse. I (with the help of my Mum and my dear little brother :) made a square with the bales and put bent pipe over the top and tied it all down... now all I have to do is get my Dad to help my find some clear plastic (back at our other farm).

Thursday my brother gave me a driving lesson in the old car we use to go around the farm. *Shudders* I dont think I'm very good, I kept stalling it! But... I am probably not the worst person to ever drive that car :D (ie. my teacher, lol). I am glad I am learning now so I have a year to practise before I am lawfully allowed to drive on the road!

Friday... what happened Friday?... I dont think anything happened Friday :D

Umm I think that is it... Sorry this is kinda short, I just dont have much to say this week. I guess I should go plant some potatoes :D (or something like that, lol)!

80 posts! Rain water and weekend

Yay, I have 80 posts! Only 20 more till I reach 100!

Its Sunday afternoon, its raining cats and dogs and my Dad is collecting rain water off our roof to make Coloidal Silver , and we tested the water and it is almost exactly pure water! The water on the farm is out of a dam and it has like 200 parts per million (which it really disgusting! I think Dad said that the drinkable limit is 500 parts per million) and the water that came off our roof is like 10 parts per million which is practically pure!

The weekend... *Sigh*... Exhausting!! LOL but fun :). We had Kurt staying out again, he has got so much energy! After a weekend of watching him you feel exhausted!

Friday, after I wrote, it was a pretty normal day until we noticed another cow having trouble calving! The calf died... It is so annoying! Two in one day! It is so hard not to let it get to you, you just have to harden your self and get on with the day. I know from experience that it is hard, really hard! It is impossible to grieve for every little calf that dies, if you did you would get depression!

Well I really need to go (and do what I am not sure, lol).
Till next time then!
Katherine Alice

hectic morning!

Well after I wrote the last post I went and got 6 cows and calves in to the dairy yards and was trying to get another one in when I saw a heifer lying in the creek having trouble giving birth. It was obvious that the calf was dead and had been for sometime. After a lot of hassle and elbow grease we got the calf out about an hour or so later (at about 10). By that time we knew we weren't going to make it into town before 12 to put my job application in, so I came back to the house and finished it off (ie. getting the referees, making phone calls and uploading the forms) and with 15 minutes to spare sent it in via email.
This morning when I found the cow, I knew that it would probably take a few hours so I just prayed "Father in Heaven, if its your will I apply for this job YOU do the miracle! And I wont worry about it.".
I dont really care if I get this job, it isnt what I want to do in my life but right now its an open door and if it isnt right thing for me God wont let me get the job, now all I have to do is wait and oh I hope the rest of the day doesn't hold any more surprises! Tatblol (The Author of this Blog is Laughing Out Loud)!
Gotta go, still have things to do!
Bye for now
Katherine Alice

I'm so excited!!!!

I checked my inbox this morning and I had an email from the editor of a Aussie girls magazine called REAL (Respect. Enjoy. Aspire. Love) asking if I wanted one of the articles I wrote for Heywire (mentioned it in the last post) PUBLISHED!!! :O I was so surprised, I still cant believe it! LOL!
Well I gotta go, I have a lot to do today, I have to put my job application in (I'm excited about that too:) and right now I have to go check cows and feed the calves :D.
I'm sooo excited! LOL!

An Update

Well since I last posted (on Monday) hardly anything has happened but I am kind of bored so I guess I will try ramble on about nothing.

Some time last week my Dad accidentally hit his shin with a big hammer and was limping around then the next day or so he was working in the dairy and he got a little bit mad at a cow and he kicked it *shudders*. He saw the doctor yesterday and had an X-ray... He has successfully broken his toe in about 4 pieces!!! So he is kinda stuck inside, I will just make mention that my Dad hasnt spent more than a day inside in his whole life (!) so he is getting really bored, lol (and he will have to spend the most of the next 6 weeks indoors)!

I have been sick since last weekend, it is getting really annoying... Not that is much I can do about it!

I have started to write for a website called Heywire, its a competition but you can put blog posts on it as well, its for teenagers in farming Australian, its interesting to see what other farming Aussie kids are writing about. Actually it can be quite depressing :P, but interesting all the same.

I am up at 11:00 PM writing Key Selection Criteria, my application letter and my resume (actually I finished my resume this morning) for this job that I'm going to apply for, lol still cant tell you what it is (well I can but I am not going to:). Ayala is up with me helping me (well that was until she got side tracked talking to someone on Facebook, lol, no seriously Ayala helped heaps!) and we are practically done now. We still have to think of two people who can act as referees! I didnt realise that I dont know very many people.

Well gotta go, am really tired and need to finish off so I can go to bed.

Till next time I write!

Ahh Monday again... which means A young Maiden's daybook

A Young Maiden's Day book

Today... Monday 10 August 2009

Outside my window... Its half cloudy half sunny, quite cold.

I am thinking... That I am really tired and that I feel sickish.

I am thankful for... Being able to put stuff into words sometimes.

I am wearing.. Track suit pants, long sleeved blue and red checkered shirt, green jumper.

I am reading... I Isaac Take Thee Rebekah by Ravi Zacharias, great book, not finshed yet, and I started reading The Secret of the Notebook by Eve Haas, its really interesing.

I am creating... nothing really

One of my favorite things... sleep and feeling well not sick

For education this week... writing (like always) and what ever else I get time to do.

A keeper at home skill I am learning/using... none this week (yet).

For the rest of the week... feeding calves every morning and trying to rest to get over this cold/flu.

A picture to share... This is soo cute! But its bad cos every time I look at it I want to fall asleep :)!

Photos

A weed leaf that I thought looked a bit weird cos of all the holes.

Yours truly (this has got to be the best self portrait I have ever taken!)

Random shot...

Our Momma cat, she was a good model.

This would make a good blog header I think... hmmm...

I dont know what this is *Shrugs*

Nother one of our cat (like I said, she is a good model!)

"I's (eye's) watching you!"

This is the hay rake, I was hoping that this would turn out slightly better.

I dont know which one I like better... hmmm.

I'm not sure what this piece of machinery was called but it looked kinda cool.

Is this "The egg was THIS big!"? or "This is the size of the posts."?

I was supposed to upload these earlier, I know! But I guess I just got too busy and didnt think... After I said I would upload the photos sometime today I went outside to do my daily jobs (getting any cows that have calved in, feeding the calves... etc.) There were two cows that needed to be got in, one who had calved yesterday, and the other was one who I am 100% sure she had had her calf but seemed to have misplaced it, lol they seem in the habit of doing that sometimes! The cow with the calf was pretty easy to get in but the other cow... Hmm let me just say she is NOT my favorite cow right now.... Anyway if I continue I WILL ramble on and on till you (or me, which ever comes first) are bored out of your brains!

I hate uploading photos cos they always take ages!! (I guess that is why there arent many photos on my blog :). I have a heap more I took that day of my brother's handywork lol, so I will try post them sometime soon!
Till then!