I'm Currently listening to ABC local radio on the web and they are live streaming The Tamworth Country music awards. Troy Cassar-Daly has already won 2 of his 7 award nominations. I love Troy's music have all of his 7 albums. In the last few years I have been there to cheer Troy on. Tonight I'm cheering him on from home.

You Go Troy...

Tracie

I was very excited when I got home from work yesterday. I had a letter from my penpal in Kansas. In the letter was a nice Christmas card and a typed letter. It was so exciting to read about someone else's life on the other side of the world.

Below is my very spoilt cat Kirby. In the next two photos he has made himself comfortable right in the middle of a scrapbooking class. My Wednesday night ladies just love him and don't mind him making himself at home on top of their work.

The poem cats sleep anywhere is so true. Now this is an 8kg cat pictured in these photos. He is a big boy, with OCD. Do cats get OCD (obsessive compulive disorder), He does anything he can not to work on a floor. At the moment it's the slate in the hallway. He finds a way around it without walking on it. This started off with the floor in our bedroom. He is so bad that if there is no alternative route he will siton something and meow till someone comes and takes him over it.

Anyway back on track. In the photos below he is asleep in two cane baskets. he can't fit his body into one so he has spread it across two.

Can you see the evil look I'm getting in this photo. He's telling me with his eyes that I had better not put these photos on my Blog for the whole world to see.

Have a great day everyone. Just thought I would amuse you with photos of my boy.

Tracie

Today I had a busy productive day. I made these Zucchini Choc Chip Cookies. They were yum, my friend Louise came up and we had some for afternoon tea.


Here are some of the Chillies I have been harvesting from my plants, I turned these into 6 jars of my Nana's Chilli Relish. This Chilli Relish is very popular in my family. There are only a few of us that make it.

Here it is chopped up in the pot ready for cooking. I munched the chillies up in the food processor, this made the batch look really red.

Here are the jars sterlising in my new oven. My big oven is broken at the moment and it is $2000.00 to replace it with a new one. I have been looking for a new to me one on ebay but I haven't won one yet. I have to buy a freestanding stove that is 600mm wide, there aren't many on ebay, I have to be patient. So Steve bought me this for chrissy. It works quite well, I baked the biscuits above in it.

Finished jars of Chilli Relish. This lot has a bit of a bite. Can't wait to eat it.

Tracie

What Creature is this???

Does anyone know what creature this is?

I found it in the chook pen when cleaning them out the other day.

Is it friend or foe.

Tracie

Good Morning,

Sitting on the back patio again enjoying the morning, yesterday I went and spent the birthday money I was given. I really needed a new hat with a wide rim and some new sunglasses. I bought both. I had been admiring a hat at Flower Power so I went and bought it. It was $30.00 but they were having a sale so I only paid $26.95 a small saving that went towards my sunglasses. I went to my favourite chemist shop and bought 2 pairs of sunglasses for $25.00, not that I loose sunnies but I am always putting them in strange places and not able to find them when I need them.

My good sunglasses have got too big for my face since I have lost weight and I can't bend down with them on without loosing them. This is frustrating when you're gardening.

My friend Christine gave me a nice blouse which I'm looking forward to wearing. It is white with crocheting on the front.

Oh well I had better head off to work again...

Tracie

Sitting on the back patio in my jammies enjoying the last cup in the pot and thinking I really need to have a shower and get ready for work. Oh well I'll just sit here a little longer and write...

This morning I harvested some of the first tomatoes of my tomato bushes. They look beautiful, they just have to ripen a tiny bit more to be perfect. To date we have harvested 35 long chillies and I have turned them into so far 5 jars of chilli relish. I willdo another three jars when I come home from work this afternoon. The girls and Kirby are certainly enjoying the cooler weather.

It is a lovely cool 20 degrees c sitting out here that is why I don't want to get organised to go to work.

Well have a good day all.

Tracie

Today is my Birthday. I can't believe I'm 47 years old. Where have all the years gone.

I took the children to Oatley and I had a special birthday iced coffee and they had baby cinos, they all love their baby cinos even the 1 year old and she has to sit on a chair like a big kid. She is growing up too quickly.

I usually buy us all a piece of Raisin toast but at this cafe they charge $4.50 for one slice I went to Coles and bought a whole loaf ($3.70) for that price and we came home and had our raisin toast treat. The children just love this special treat. I could have walked around Coles all day it was sooooo cool.

While I was there I picked up some great bargains. Lamb steaks for $2.91 (tray of 6) Twin pk of chickens reduced from $13.70 to would you believe $4.61. plus 2 $30.00 BBQ pks for $6.62 each. I just couldn't walk past these bargains, this will feed us for 2 weeks for less that $25.00.

Tonight we are going to the Masonic Club for a birthday dinner. Cooler than eating at home.

Yesterday I met Alice and Jennelle at "The Nun's Pool" Cafe at Cronulla, for Brekky. It was lovely, they both shouted me as my birthday treat. Jennelle and I then went for a walk along the esplanade and then back to Shelley Beach for a swim, the water was beautiful, but it was too hot to stay sitting in the sun too long. I had a great morning. Thanks guys.

Tracie

Back at work as of yesterday. Funtime was busy, Mums catching up while children played. People stay all day and talk, I would be bored with that after awhile. When I take the kids I care for we are usually home by 12.30pm at the latest. That's enough time for them tohave a good play and wear themselves out.

Back to caring for the children on Monday. Have missed them a little bit. Aidan, Riley and Kelly will be here for the night tomorrow, it will be great to catchup with them.

Made a batch of Chilli Relish this afternoon from my own chillies. The last batch I made a couple of weeks ago I didn't put enough vinegar in it so it is really thick and didn't darken up enough.

I left a few seeds in this batch to give it a bit of bite.

Managed to pick up a box of mushrooms for $2.99. I have cooked these up and they will be yummy on toast for brekky over the next few days. Mushrooms are so filling.

This might help me get back on the weight loss track after the chrissy break. How come it's so hard to stay on a diet over christmas.

Last weekend we spent time in the garden preparing bed so that they can have a rest before we plant them up for winter. We also planted some more corn, the last lotdidn't do too good, Our soil doesn't seem to be holding the moisture so we have treated it with Wettasoil, and see if this helps. When you stick your finger in the soil after watering the soil in only moist for the first millimetre, then it is bone dry.

We have two of the biggest pumpkins that have set on our vine, just hope they can go the distance. The vines are certainly big. We have a Jap that has come up at home, and it is taking over the garden like some alien octopus. I hope we get some fruit on this vine.

Tracie