Great Expectations!

During Autumn on my way home I would pass this tree, its green leaves would slowly turn a spectacular golden shade and eventually all the leaves would turned that deep rich golden red colour and it would stand out as a flaming bush amongst brown dry landscape. Well after admiring it now for two Autumns I decided to get one my self, the thought of having a spectacular burning red tree in the middle of my paddocks was awesome. I came across one in my travels and as you can see below it has a long way to go to meet this expectation

The botanical name for it is a Koelreuteria paniculata (have ago at saying that) or the name I like to call it is a Golden Rain Tree, pretty hey. In Spring it has a magnificent display of tiny yellow flowers which fall like rain and carpet the ground, flowers are followed by papery bronze-pink seed pods in Autumn. Awesome don't you think! So that is my Great Expectations.

Now onto the renovations, which are still going on with stops and starts. We moved the front door and hung it here in the new opening and we have a nice lead light door for the front entry. We have finally put the new toilet in and pulled out an old cupboard and the walls of the old toilet and have been putting up gyprock on the walls. I will have photos of this next week

My veggie patch is looking pretty baron with only lettuce, celery and spinach growing at the moment. I have mats down to surpress the weeds as my gardening time is practically zero and it hasn't really had a good down pour of rained here since December last year.

I'm hoping to get my raised beds in this winter ready for spring. The green house is not happening either, we have been too busy with the business,trying to keep things moving and not let the Recession affect us.

Little Ruby the kitten that wandered off the streets into my shop is doing really well now, she has put on heaps of weight and is racing around the house playing with the little dogs, I tell you it is a circus here sometimes.

Freddy's Day At The Beach

I would like you to meet Freddy, he is such a character and he is only 7months old. Freddy belongs to m daughter and son-in-law and when I stayed down there to have my hair make over we went down to the beach. It was Freddy's first time and he had such a good time and he would like to tell you so him self.



Hi my name is Freddy and I am going to the beach with my mum and dad and of course grandma

My dad has to carry me across the road because he says it is very dangerous for a young fella like me and besides I like being carried :)

Mum,Dad and Grandma had a sorbet while we were walking around the Mall, I was to busy thinking about the sand and surf and checking out the gorgeous girls!!!

Like this little cutie, she had already been in the surf and her fur was a bit wet but she still looked good and I really like blondes :)

Dad was a bit slow getting to the water so I had to drag him to it

I like walking on the wet sand and feeling the sand between my toes, ooh

The water kept coming up to me and I was a bit scared

When the surf came up to me I had to run away, not sure why and I hope that little blondie wasn't looking I didn't want her thinking I was a puss or anything

I finally overcame my fear and it was really great and mum and I started running up and down the beach and it was really cool!

It was so nice looking at the surf and I had to let mum catch her breath

Mum really like getting her feet wet and playing in the water with me, Dad and Grandma didn't want to join us they said it was too cold

Mum was really enjoying herself and she like the sand between her toes as well

I had to run up to Grandma and tell her how much fun I was having but she didn't like my wet and sandy feet

She gave me a funny face when I told her that I forgot my towel and I had to get in her car like this, but she said she had one for me, I just love my Grandma

I spotted a rabbit in the plants near the sand and no one believed me, can you see it?

There it is, I wonder if this was its first time at the beach like me :)

we went home and I played with my favourite toy Bernstein Bear with mum

Mum looks good in her PJs (pjamas) doesn't she?



I had a great day at the beach, bye

Love Freddy

My Make Over and look what I found!!

This is the first time I have had to sit down and work on my blog and I have so much to put on here and to discuss. I had four days away sort of business and pleasure but they were jammed packed. I can't put them on here yet but I want to tell you guys this, I had my hair cut and coloured with the hairdressers who do the girls for Australia's next Top Model. My girls gave me this special promotion voucher for Christmas and it has taken me this long to get there, my eldest daughter also had her hair done. I had foils in my hair, a head massage and hair treatment and a cut and blow dry.

Oh My! Now that is frightening. Here I am having my foils. I think I put going to the hairdressers in the same category as going to the dentist :)

My lovely daughter :)

Kylie look gorgeous I'm a little bit wind blown.

The other day while I was working at my desk I heard this screeching sound sort of like a weird cat meow, I looked around and couldn't see anything, turned back around to keep working and heard it again a lot closer , I turned around again and seen this little kitten sitting behind me. It had this deathly meow I picked it up and it was virtually all bone but very fluffy and pretty. I took it out the back and gave it some milk watered down with hot water. To me it looked very sick and frail and definitely wormy so I took it down to the vet to get a verdict if it could be saved or needed to be put down. It was a 50-50 decision so with a $6 worm tablet I took the little one home to a good feed, a hot water bottle and a bed in front of the fire. A couple of days latter it is much healthier and happier plus my daughter said she would like to keep it. She has a puppy called Freddy, I will be doing a post called Freddy goes to the beach in a few days because o my days off I went to the beach with my daughter and son-in law and of course Freddy, anyway she said she would like to have this kitten we now call Ruby.

Here eyes were glazed and not focused. She was also very dehydrated and her gums were really pale.

She is a pretty kitten and with the needed TLC she will make a lovely lap cat.

You know the day after the cat wandered into my shop I had another unepected caller which horrified me....it was a baby

I was closing up my shop and this little one, Ithink she would have been about 18months old dressed in a nappy and eating a biscuit, she came upto me and I looked around and did not see anybody around her. I asked her where is mummy and she turned around and ran down the foot path, I followed her of course and she stopped at a house and I knocked on the the door and asked the woman if this was her daughter and she was horrified that it was and that she had gotten out. At first I was angry that someone was not watching over this little one and ready to let them know when I found them but when I seen how distressed the mother was I let it slide. Children are so quick and need to be supervised all the time.

Have to go now but I will be back with lots of photos of Freddy's day at the beach and my adventure in the city with my girls and I will be doing a video of our shop because when I was away Dave rearranged the shop and added a few more pieces of furniture and it looks great :)