Mum's turn!!

Well I s'pose it had to happen ..... Mum wants to take over my blog for a day. I gave it a lot of thought and decided I had to let her have her way. If I didn't she'd get all narky and wouldn't do my typing for me so I'll give you a bit of a run down on it and then hand it over to her.  I bet she says something about missing some of the  crafty blogs a few of your Moms did a while back. I've noticed your Mom's have been a bit quiet lately. Thank the Lord, I say, but Mum thinks differently! Anyway to get to the point ..... I've got a new mate C.L.W. Step. He's a real good bloke. You can find him here if you want to check him out:  

https://www.blogger.com/profile/17364713435574660430 

Crikey ..... she did it ..... she's tried before and failed. Every so often the old Secretary comes good, aye??   

I was getting to know Chester( (that's his name) and thought at first he was from New York city but turns out he is from New York State not the big smoke. Mum got all excited when she heard he was from New York state and wants to tell you about an experience she and Dad had there once. Boring said I but she wants to tell you so ..... in advance ...... Sorry!!!!!!! She'll ramble on..... she ALWAYS does. It might take a while to get to the New York state bit ...... Sorry, again!!!!!!!! Crikey ..... here's a few more. You're sure going to need 'em.    Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry sorry!!!!!!!!

C'mon Charlie .... that's NOT fair!!  I don't ramble that much .... DO I???????  Ok ..... I'll try and keep it short.

I'm not quite sure where Chester lives but I do so want to tell you about an experience my husband, youngest daughter (Jenni 11years) and I had in 1988. Jenni had been pestering us to take her to Disneyland for quite a few years and my husband decided that we would take her and have a bit of a look around other areas whilst there. 

Our Jen at Disneyland.  Rotten camera but Mum wanted to show you that she was there. Well Jen was!!

We had NEVER been to the States before. I'm a home body and it takes a lot to get me to go across the street let alone across the world. My husband planned everything as I turned into a grouchy monster, moaning and complaining all the time that we would all die and stating that the United States was full of crooks and  was just wall to wall concrete anyway and nobody in their right mind would want to go there.  Not very nice, I know, but it was my way of saying ...... I didn't want to go ..... I was scared!!!! Well ..... I went. Once I was on the plane my attitude changed and I decided that I would enjoy myself regardless and enjoy myself I did. How wrong was I about the U.S. We visited Disneyland and saw a lot of California and other parts of the west coast and then flew from Seattle to New York city. We spent a week there before hiring a car and heading upstate toward Niagara  Falls. OMD ..... the countryside, everywhere we went, was so beautiful. Where was all the concrete I had heard about and as for the people ..... OMD how wrong was I. The kindness we were shown, EVERYWHERE we went, EVEN in the big smoke, was unbelievable!!!!  We walked from one end of New York city to the other. We went on the underground and not once did we feel as if we had anything to worry about. People stopped and talked to us, gave us directions when we were lost and generally made us feel oh! ...  so welcome. But to get to the upstate New York thing. After leaving the city we didn't really have plans. We just knew approximately where we wanted to go so just headed off  and stopped when we found somewhere we felt looked nice. Our first stop  on our way to the falls was in a small town called Mount Morris. As we drove in we couldn't believe how beautiful it was. The homes were all so well cared for and there were American flags flying everywhere. We decided we would stay the night and drove around, slowly, taking it all in and looking for somewhere to stay. Whilst driving along we stopped a gentleman, who was out for an afternoon stroll, to ask him if he knew of any accommodation in which we could stay. He talked to us for a while and said we mustn't leave Mount Morris until we had seen a particular part of it. I can't remember the name now ..... it was a long time ago. He wanted to show it to us and to do this he would have to get in the car with our young daughter in the back seat. We were a bit dubious but decided to take the risk. How pleased were we that we did. He took us all over the place and showed us all sorts of things we would never have seen without him. He also told us where to stay and told us to go to Jo's diner for dinner that night. Jo's diner?  We thought that sounded a bit dubious too but decided to give it a go. What a wonderful night we had!! Jo, the owner, was the nicest bloke and made us feel so welcome. We had a lovely meal ..... in fact we had three courses each. Jo wouldn't have it that we miss out on sweets. Apart from one other table, at which a gentleman sat by himself, we were the only diners there. Jo sat with us and talked, non stop, the whole time we were there. The gentleman at the other table didn't say a word to us but after he paid Jo for his meal he came to our table, put his hand on my husband's shoulder, and said "Don't judge all Americans by the ones you see in Australia" and he left.  We were a bit puzzled but Jo told us that he was a bit of a loner and a bit weird but a good bloke. At the end of the night when we went to pay for our meal Jo told us that there was nothing to pay as the gentleman had paid the bill for us. There were 3 of us and we had 3 courses each. Not a small bill. We were lost for words. We asked Jo for his name and phone number or address but he said he didn't know where he lived. He only came to the restaurant occasionally and always sat alone, said nothing, just ate and left quietly. What to do???? I felt dreadful that I couldn't thank him. I asked Jo for pen and paper and wrote a very long thank you note with our name, address and phone number and said if he was ever in Australia to contact us. We NEVER heard from him. We also NEVER forgot his kindness and always have wonderful memories of our short stay in Mount Morris. This was not the only act of kindness shown to us on that trip. We were invited to the holiday home (in the Adirondacks) of a couple we met in a restaurant in New York city for a barby or cookout as they called it but we couldn't go. When we arrived home to Australia we received, in the post, a beautiful book on the Adirondack ranges from this couple and every few months we would receive another beautiful  book on another area of the States from them. They were older people and we kept in touch with them for many years. After visiting Niagara falls we traveled all over the place and what a wonderful time we had. We also went to Canada and enjoyed every minute of that as well. I must admit I was VERY pleased to arrive home and we have not been back since but what wonderful memories I have of that trip and the beautiful countryside and the wonderful people we met. AND Mount Morris  will always be very special to me. One day we will return. 

How was that Charlie?  Did I ramble too much? I kept it pretty short, I think?  Ok ..... not short enough, aye? Sorry everyone!!

Crikey ..... thank goodness that's over, aye?   I won't bore you anymore by my ramblings. I'll just add a few pictures and pretend it's wordless Wednesday. 

Our Jen and our Lucy on graduation day!! Lucy was such a little puppy Mum and Dad couldn't leave her home alone. She ate those tassles!!

My new lookout point ... any great whites out there?????

A new friend I met at the beach. Stella ..... we have a great time running and wrestling.  She's a great looker, aye?? It's platonical though!!

Dad was playing golf the other day and stopped playing to take a picture of this little bloke. His Mum is relaxing on the fairway. This bloke must be looking for Dad's ball. It ended up in there somewhere!

Wanna run ... Love, Charlie. 

My Enid's back!!

Crikey ...... my Enid's back and I'm so happy.  I was VERY confused at first.  She'd been gone for soooooooo long and I'd been very worried.  I searched everywhere for her.  I left her messages.  I sent her pictures and ... NOTHING!  So I went on a PLATONICAL date with Whitley and Finley and that very day ... ENID came back!   Fair dinkum!   I was a mess ..... I didn't know what to think.  I didn't know what to do!  I was soooooooo confused ... but not any more!!!!   I THINK she still loves me. How good is that!!!  She recently went to a beautiful garden with her folks.  Did you read about it. 
You can here if you want to.  Sorry my Secretary doesn't know how to do the linky thing but here's the address:-

http://enid-aboutenid.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/a-good-old-english-garden.html

There were 3 dogs there.  Did you see those big black,  ugly lookin' things sniffin' my Enid.  I'd have given them something to think about.  The hide of them.  I sure would have liked to do some, up close and personal,  sniffin' of their butts.  Might just have taken a chunk or two out of 'em.  AND ..... that video ..... did you see that???  What was that joker playing at??   What a show off AND bossy boots.  What was he on about??  Fair dinkum ..... lucky I wasn't there!  What were her folks thinking? Taking my beautiful Enid to a garden with monstrous,  brain deficient,  deviates like that. Hmmmmmmmmmmph!   Humans ...... sometimes,  I wonder!!!!!!

Anyway I just wanted to show my Enid the beautiful garden I went to not so very long ago. I hope you all like the pictures of my garden. I'm going to take Enid there one day. It has the most beautiful little chapel. You never know when you are going to need a chapel, aye?? 

How pretty is wisteria, aye?

the chapel!

they are only little now but how lovely will they be when they are big!!

 

Inside the chapel!

 Hope you liked my garden, Enid.  I'm off for a snooze now and I won't be dreamin' of big black dogs. I sure hope you won't be either!!

Crikey Enid ..... I MISSED you!!

Love, ALWAYS .... Charlie!!

Wanna run ... Love, Charlie!!

My Jo's crook!!

Crikey ...... I'm still exhausted from date day but I just wanted to show you what my two legged brother in law did for my favourite Gandkid, Jo.  My Jo's got tonsilitis and she is VERY sick. Her Mummy is away for a week on a conference and her Daddy is looking after her. She was missing her Mummy so he tried to cheer her up. I must tell you she has a pet chook. I'd love to eat him but I'm NOT ALLOWED!!!  Anyway this is what Jo's Daddy did to cheer her up.

Pretty funny, aye??  He's a good Dad!!

Looking pretty crook, aye??  Crikey she loves that chook .... what's with that??

Wanna run ....  Love, Charlie

My Date with Whitley and Finley!!!

Whitley .... ain't she sweet?

 

Finley - Cute, aye??

OMD did we have a good time or what! It mightn’t have been a conventional date but boy what a date it was.  As you all know Whitley AND Finley were my dates for the day. They wanted to go on a Roo hunt and here is how it went.:-

My good Mate Zaidie owns a lear jet.  Well he owns a whole fleet of lear jets actually but that’s beside the point.  Anyway VERY early in the morning he flew over to Scotland where he picked up Bouncing Bertie.  I don’t think Bertie had EVER been in a plane before.  He'd been on a train and he climbed mountains, often ... but a plane? I don't think so!! He was very nervous. Thank goodness for seat belts.  It was the only way Zaidie’s crew could stop him from bouncing all over the plane.  You should have seen the feast Zaidie had supplied for the big trip to Australia. There was everything imaginable,  including those cat burger things.  He went overboard as usual.  He even had special Texan food seeing as my TWO dates were from Texas. The inflight movie was Oklahoma! I'd asked Zaidie to arrange this as it is Whitley's VERY favourite movie ever!!  Crikey he’s a good stick!  Once Bertie was all settled down Zaidie set off for the United States.  He had quite a few different places to go so he didn’t waste any time.  The first stop was Michigan where  Mr. Jack Freckles Sir, hopped on board.  Talk about nervous …. OMD ….. he’d NEVER been on a jet before.   Next it was  Idunno for Zoe with the beautiful eyes.  Zoe’s a Sheila but she’s wasn’t my date.  Zoe’s a bit of a bloke really. Well she’s not a bloke ….. she’s a Sheila but she kinda acts more like a bloke and I think she likes hangin’ out with blokes better than sheilas.  She’s real nice though … but she wasn’t my date.  Next stop was New Mexico for Puffy.  Crikey … everyone was so pleased to see him but sad at the same time. You see it’s always been Puffy and Coco Rose until just a few days ago. Coco Rose left for the rainbow bridge, very suddenly, and everyone is still a bit in shock.  I think being with all his mates for a day will do Puffy the world of good.  He was all ready to go.  Crikey …. What on earth did he think he was going to do with all those stuffies!!   Oh well ….. to each his own. The next stopover was in the middle of nowhere.  That’s where my mate Buddy lives.  Buddy wanted to come along too.   Zaidie wasn’t too happy with him going aboard though. Apparently he had been out exploring earlier in the morning and had found something or other to roll in and he smelled REAL bad.  Next stop was Texas for Whitley and Finley,  my TWO dates!!   OMD how lucky am I?  Those two certainly know how to dress for a good time.  I’d told them it was going to be a casual thing and they dressed accordingly.  Not that they don’t get dressed up for special occasions.  They do!  They have the BEST wardrobe of any Sheilas I’ve ever seen.  Well apart from Coco Rose that was.  Coco Rose’s dress sense was something to behold. That was one Sheila that could certainly make an outfit look good. Crikey Coco Rose …… we miss you!  But I said casual so casual Whitley and Finley were.   Whitley was dressed in army fatigues.  OMD was that sexy or what??  Finley looked incredible too.  She opted for a very stylish sporty number in aboriginal art fabric.  Crikey did she ever look the part.  They were both certainly dressed for action.  NEXT STOP AUSTRALIA!   I believe the trip out was a whole heap of fun but as I wasn’t there and only heard about it I’ll leave it up to someone else to fill you in on the details.  I was a bit worried about Bertie but I hear he was right at home.  Matter of fact I heard he was the life of the party.   Who knew?  He and Zaidie got on like a house on fire.  He lives in Scotland and Zaidie was born there so they had a lot to talk about.   Zaidie played his bagpipes and I heard tell that Bertie did the highland fling.  OMD!  Bertie did the highland fling????? I would have liked to see that! They landed at Amberley in Queensland. That’s our air force base and it’s where Wills, Kate and Baby George landed when they came to Queensland. I was there to meet everyone. I’d already picked up a few of my mates from around here. I thought Zoe would feel happier if she weren’t the only sheila without a date so I asked Flossie along. She’s a westie and very feisty. She’s a bit of a bloke too and she sure knows how to bark. Between her, Zoe, Whitley and Mr JF Sir those Roos won’t know what’s hit ‘em.  Along with Flossie there was Clancy the kelpie. Thought he’d be good to round the roos  up and last but not least and just for fun ….Paddy …. He’s an Irish wolfhound and he’s just a pup and all gangly and uncoordinated. Thought he’d probably confuse the Roos. He sure as anything confuses me. I had asked another good friend, Libby, but she's a collie and I've heard somewhere along the line that my Whitley has a bit of an issue with collies so I had to put her off at the last minute. We all piled into the jet and I told Zaidie of my plans. Off we went into the wild blue yonder and before we knew it we were at our destination. Ayers Rock or Uluru as it is sometimes known.

I’d hired a big Trakka bus (complete with a fully stocked bar) and we all piled in and headed off to climb the rock.  Crikey ….. who do you think got to the top first?  Well ….. it wasn’t fair really. After all I am built for speed. I was sure impressed with everyone though.  It was VERY hot and they scaled that rock like you wouldn’t believe.  Freckles was really impressive for an old bloke. Crikey he can move when he wants to AND the westies …. Fair dinkum …. You should have seen those little legs pumpin’. Zoe kept stopping to  bark at everything and Clancy was running around everyone like a maniac trying to keep us all together.  Puffy (being a bit older and slower) didn’t think he’d be able to manage the climb but good old Paddy told him to hop on his back and they took off together.  You should have seen Paddy.  Talk about uncoordinated. There were legs going in all directions. If only the back of him knew where the front was he might do ok  but crikey he was a sight to see. I’m not sure if Puffy enjoyed the ride but he didn’t complain. Buddy got to the top ….. took one look around and said 'Crikey …. And I thought I lived in the middle of nowhere'.  Did you note the 'Crikey'. He was really getting into the swing of things, aye?

 

Ayers Rock

Once we were back on the ground we jumped back into the Trakka and headed off for our big adventure …. an outback Australian, Kangaroo hunt!! We all refreshed ourselves from the bar. It was thirsty work climbing that Rock. Crikey those Sheila’s like a cocktail or two, aye?? Now if you thought a date should be more romantic than a roo hunt then all I’ve got to say is….bully for you.  My date,  Whitley and Finley wanted to chase some Roos so that’s what we did and we found a whole mob of 'em.  

They didn't stand still like that for long, aye?

This one's got a pouch full of Puffy's stuffies.

Crikey it was exciting.  Those Roos didn’t stand a chance with us around.  Buddy dug a hole soooooooo big you could almost have put Ayers rock itself into it.  Clancy rounded ‘em up,  hoping they would all fall in the hole Buddy dug but no such luck.  They just kept going round and round in circles.  Whitley,  Mr. JF Sir,  Bertie,  Zoe,  Flossie and even Zaidie barked ’em real good.  Paddy after confusing the heck out of her,  pinned a big female down and Puffy filled her pouch with some of his old stuffies.   Oh! …  if only Coco Rose were here. She would have fallen off her high heels laughing at the antics of everyone. I hope she was watching from above. Everyone got a bit hot and bothered so we decided to give the roos a break and headed off to Mataranka Springs for a quick dip.  

Mataranka hot springs. Pretty, aye?

Mataranka falls.

Edith falls. They're not hot so you do have to look out for fresh water crocs but they're pretty harmless.

 

Crikey Zoe ..... this blokes eyes are almost as beautiful as yours, aye?? No eyelashes to flutter but an awful good set of chompers!

Whitley and Finley had a great time.  I knew they liked a game of pool ball so I’d asked the Australian Women’s water polo team to meet us there for a game of water polo. Crikey they were good sports!  They let us win!  Can you believe that???   We had the best time.  The springs were mighty hot so we headed off to Edith falls,  for a dip under the falls. A few more refreshing drinks were consumed on the way.  Crikey those Sheilas sure liked those cocktails, aye??  We lost Zoe and Clancy for a bit at the falls.  I'd noticed Zoe fluttering her beautiful lashes at Clancy earlier in the day and I have to say I was a bit jealous. I thought she only did that for me. She's a bit of a tease that Zoe! We were just about to set out on a search for them when they, very sheepishly, returned.  Zoe looked VERY disheveled and Clancy had a beam on his face from ear to ear. Hmmmmmmmmmm!!!!  

Now for the good part …. I had arranged a huge surprise for Whitley and Finley. I had organised a special dinner for them so it was back to Ayers rock to get ready for the date part of the day. I’d sent all the others off for a bit of a barbie and a hot air balloon ride over the rock  at sunset so they were happy. Well … all except Bertie. You see I had a feeling that Finley was a bit keen on Bertie and as I had two Shei…  ummmmmm … wee lassies I thought Bertie might like to come along as Finley’s date for the night. He agreed. How good was that?  I’d bought real pretty dresses for Whitley and Finley and I’d arranged a room for them at the swanky Rock resort so they could change out of their casual outfits. Bertie and I got all spruced up too and just before sunset we picked the Sh …. lassies up and headed out to watch the beautiful sunset and then to enjoy our romantic dinner, beneath the stars, at Ayers rock. 

Dinner under the stars!

 Whitley and Finley looked amazing and I think Bertie and I looked pretty good too.  Crikey we had a good night.  That Bertie sure knows how to treat the Sheilas. What a gentleman!  I tried so hard to be gentile like him. I hope I succeeded. The sunset was incredible and we saw all our mates go sailing right over the top of the rock in the brightest blue hot air balloon you’ve ever seen. I had to control Whitley when she saw the balloon. She wanted to bark at it but when I told her how all our mates were in it she got herself under control.   Fair dinkum ….. we had the best time!!!!!!  And I don’t know for sure but I think Bertie and Finley really hit it off.  Finley was all shy and gooey.   Who’d have thought?  Finley and Bertie?  Crikey!!!   All too soon the others joined us and Zaidie said it was time to head for home.  Zoe was a bit reluctant to board the plane and Clancy looked downright forlorn. He'd get over it though ..... I saw him wandering off with Flossie and Paddy. What a good time we had all had and what a wonderful date day it was. Thanks so much Whitley and Finley for being my date. You two are the BEST!!!!  

Can you see all my mates in there??

A perfect sunset after a perfect day!!

Wanna run …. Love, Charlie.