A Wintry Day

Well blow me down !!!! Or was that just the high winds in the mountains once again. Had to slow down on the road on the way back from a housesit on the Bells Line of Road to visit the in-laws and had to stop behind a long line of cars. What now?? Over the last year we've have many stops on this road, with pot holes being filled, tree trimming by the electricity people, whole sections re-tarred, new line painting, electric people again - replacing poles and then this time, cleaning up the remnants of yet another tree which decided to lay it;s life on the line - LOL - and lie across the road to try and trap the unwary motorist. Alas, poor tree - you were reported by a vigilant local ! No laying down on the road and resting when you could be someones firewood. Never fall down here where it's been freezing cold and the locals trying to keep warm - you gave them what they wanted - your fine bark upon their fireplaces :)

The heaters are cranked up high and by the smell in the air and the pervading mist of smoke, many fireplaces must be burning brightly in the hearths, thus keeping their owners warm. I love the clicking sound of my own oil heater as it hums along keeping my toes toasty and my brow sweating. LOL. Sometimes I think his Lordship likes being hot - never mind warm. I sometimes think that too hot equals getting sicker quicker, because when we venture outside the brisk wind and icy air sucks the breath out of us and chills us to the bone.

At least the wintry weather is kind to my lavender plants. Have four different types in this collection of twelve and they look good for much of the year. The deep hues of purple come out during Winter. Nice to look at and even better to smell. And the decline of bees although noticeable in the mountains seems not to be too effected within this patch.

A little break between 'sits' and work and so we are busy mending and erecting new fences for parentals, visiting friends, parents, children and grandchildren and tending to the needs of some of our relos who are not in the best of health at the moment. News of births encourage - a little girl for Shiri & Lloyd, a little boy for Rebecca and another grandson to come for me before the year is ended.

And of course, I have to write and let you join in :))

Life goes on and so do we. Enjoying the moments.

Miles of Smiles - Lady Di

Another Milestone - Around my Neck -- Happy Birthday Lady Di

Who said birthdays are fun? Some certain hubby rubbing extra year in face at every occasion - wait buddy cause you've only got a few more years till your next large milestone birthday - OKAY !!! Hear me buddy!! And I WILL write about it on my blog in October - hear me? Anyway at least he remembered and left my birthday presie I selected and laybyed for him to go get so he could say he bought it, only to have to go and pay and collect - then he leaves it in a drawer at my Mum;s home !!! So I did a little retail therapy of my own, some nice new sheets - in a lovely purple shade of course, chocys, oil burner, neck pillow and a yummy mega chocolate birthday cake later - I came home :))

Had just spent a couple of nights with my daughter as her navy hubby was away and had a little girl time with her and hubby just had to go to his sports club on Saturday - my birthday - so I said, go - stuff around and I will go visit my nephew and nieces (adopted by me by choice) and have a cuppa with their Dad as well, Mum was at work :(( shame that - we always have a great chinwag. Then the shopping where I bought an enormous amount of fruit and veg :)) Except when I got home and opened the apples - there was mega soft bits on them - shame veggie shop - shame !!

I had a presie from my bro and sisinlaw - gorgeous stuff she made me - decorated a bag, a triangular doorstop and a hand made wood and glass display for my wall :)) Thanks Nique & Baz. Funniest thing is - we are decorating the same bags :))) So much of our craft at the moment is exactly the same and we live hundreds of kilometres away from each other - amazing again that soe of the items are so close in making its scary lol

This pic is sooooo true LOL

My kids rememberd me this year too - thanx for the sms's - I am soooo worthy of them. Hubby came home and rushed off to have a shower - let's go out and have dinner and go to the movies - so I checked the movies - went through them and stated them out loud - nup not that one - his Lordship says - nope that;s a kids prgram - funny that since it's school holidays again - nup, nup, nope, oh yeah that one - Snow White and the Huntsman. Soooo grown up. So dinner we had - lovely steak and a beer at the pub - yep - the pub and then went to check in at the cinema - WT????? A two hour wait, so we headed back to the pub, which is closest to the cinema and waited for a bit before deciding that 9.25pm was another 1..25 hours away and journeyed home. Have tried again to see it - another two hour wait - must be my old bones - can't walk quick enough to get there so miss out LOL



I particularly like this one - thanx a lot!!

A great quote I like is - The best way to remember your wife's birthday is to remember it once !!

One I made up is - Your birthday lasts 366 days a year - as you never age a day till the next birthday !! Who goes around saying I am 50 years, 8 months, and three weeks and 4 days ???? So 50 for all that time is very good huh? And once you reacdh 50 you are legally allowed to go backwards My choice and I am sticking to it !!!



Am so lucky to have friends, personally, on Facebook and via my Blog. have have heaps of well wishes - it's been awesome - so thank you all very very much -  mwah !!!! Life isn;t so serious when you can chat to a friend. I wrote to a lady only a month or so ago - and feel we have a lot in common already. I know when I am writing I can share funny anedotes, stories and read what you say and hope I respond with care, lightheartedness, fun, concern and all the emotions I feel from your notes.





Well it's time to be off and enjoy another round of cr** on the television and then off to bed.. Am doing some craft whilst I 'watch; - can cope well that way. That's a noisy square shape with pictures flashing on and off in it - at the moment there is a cougar that just caught a large bird and is crunching on it - lovely - :( glad I have already eaten my dinner.......



Dee

A Storm's A Coming.....

hmmmmmm. Just heard on the news channel that the mountains of NSW are going to experience a storm. DER. The television is already mucking up, so we are getting our candles and torches to the ready. Water in the jugs - yes its electric but I have a gas stove and pans to boil water LOL.. And a large bucket or two of water for the loo cause that also requires water - funny that.

So have had dinner and a nice cuppa and might have to go to bed early, cause as soon as there is any thunder - the electricity will be turned off so as not to blow up all our electricals. That has happened before.

Only last week whilst  we were off enjoying ourselves the power went out due to trees falling on lines and an accident on the main road. Unfortunately that buggered up the fridge/freezer and we came home to a mess. A smelly trully awful mess, meat was soooo off and everything else in fridge disgusting too - luckily for us, garbage day was the following day. So there wasn't anything left to eat other than what we keep in cans, luck has it I have rice milk and that is in long life containers and hubby drinks his tea black :)) Have to make a claim on the insurance - about time I got something back after decades of payments.

These pics above were taken during and after the last been 'storm' we had. A carpet of white made it look like the Snowy Mountians instead of the Blue Mountains.

Going to investigate getting some more stuff for the puta and so I can blog more - you know it's old age - you know - the gigabyte thing. I only have 3 gigs a month and the way I am writing and using the computer I will need to increase it as soon as possible. Maybe I should send hubby to Telstra again as when he went today he got positive results after complaining of the 30 messages from Telstra saying his credit was less by the call, though they promised him a longer usage time. Although I reckon I can rock this little boat all by myself. I said to him, behave yourself and you get good results. LOL.  He came back and the first words to me were - I behaved myself and I got results. He was only gone 25 minutes too :)) So we are hoping in 21 days time we don't get messages all day long about running out of credit - cause I know he will do his block.

Going off so my puta lives to tell another blog tomoz

Nite all - Dee

Day Three - Great Ocean Road - Here We Are :))))

Day Three - The Bucket List continues ......

Well would you believe I had written half of my blog when I wanted to add a photo for you to drool on while I write more, and bang its gone. So to start again ........

Our comfy bed at The Grand Pacific

We woke this morning to another happy rainy day :)) LOL I took a few pics whilst the wind blustered around the pier and looked westward toward the ocean to see black forboding clouds. More rain and high winds forecast for the day. Just as well our travel is in a vehicle which has a roof - abliet a sun roof to peek out - and windows that close - lucky us. Lets continue on with this, our GOR trip - its on our bucket list.

Sunrise, the pier and pines at Lorne.

We headed into town to look for some brekky as our hotel didn't serve such through weekdays. Though they do supply a kettle, tea etc so you can have a much needed caffiene start to the days travels. Thanks for that. The town of Lorne dosen't wake up much before 9am though there are some great shops to window shop in. We happened upon a bakery whose window announced that they had the Apprentice Baker of the Year ensconded within. I think I met him as he ladened the shelves with chocolate filled pastries. I ordered two coffees - which were the best we have had for some time and an Apricot Danish for moi. ... yummo.

We headed back from whence we came as we wanted to take a pic of the entry point to The Great Ocean Road - now throughout our holiday to be known as GOR. We turned into the layby and was met not with just the sign across the road, but written and shown in a statue the whole reason the GOR was there in the first place.

From 1918 when our returned servicemen came back from World War 1, two gangs at a time, built the GOR. They worked tirelessly hewing and digging the road to make the road us Australians take for granted. I did not know till this point that the reason that the GOR was built was to re-assimilate these ex-servicemen back into society.  His Lordship and I said the same thing at the same time and that was , this is how they rewarded these men? By re-assimilating them this way? Hand picking and digging, slogging away - not many young men would do this now - as money came in to build.

A truly lovely tribute

There at the beginning of the road is a monument to these men and their tireless work. So our thoughts were very much with these men as we traversed this difficult start to the GOR. We stopped at the plaques dedicated to their work and read them with gusto.  Even though the sky was black in parts and the rain splattering against our window, we kept thinking about these WW1 men and what they had achieved so that we may enjoy the fruits of their labour. To them we say a heartfelt THANK YOU !!!
We will remember you every time we see our photos.

Along the GOR there are many plaques for the traveller to read. If you are visiting - please stop to read, you will be amazed at the information there.

Great Ocean Road in inclement weather

The rain had caused some land slips along the way and there were verious groups of workmen cleaning up, and it looked as they had been there for some time previous. We reached the township of Apollo Bay and stopped to take a peek at the Tourist Information Centre. Helpful staff there gave us maps and brochures of things to see and do for the coming days.  Lunch was freshly cooked fish and chips (the fish rolled in rice flour for everyone and much appreciated by me since being diagnosed as a Coeliac) - Butterfish :)) Yummo.  After sitting at the beach which had been beaten by furious Mother Nature in the days preceding, we ate lunch and then we headed off to our accomodation for the next few days - Beacon Point Ocean View Villas. And they did not disappoint - Have a look below at the view from our deck. We can see the same from the bed in the main bedroom and the lounge dining area. Gorgeous!!

We were given breakfast supplies for the time we are at this accomodation, as well as a welcoming bottle of wine from a local winery. Thank you again. We shall enjoy that one evening. The villa is well appointed with everything you need - comfy bed, premade for the tired traveller. This was not expected as we thought we had to bring our own linen, so bonus :)) Coffee grains for perculating sat in the fridge - will go nicely with brekky. There is even a dishwasher, washing machine and BBQ. As the weather was turning cold and starting to rain again, his lordship loaded up the fire, after fixing the fire door handle (theres more) - funny work always seems to comes with us - we sat and gazed into the flames like mesmerised butterflies. I chanced to look out the window towards the deck and a little wren came to say hi.. So close to the window, dashing and darting about, I had to keep up with it to get a photo. Shortly, the wren was joined by two others and I truly enjoyed watching them.

Planning tomorrows journey at the moment while Lord S snoozes. The fire is still glowing and keeping me toasty warm while blogging.  Hoping you are enjoying my travels with me. Till tomorrow ......

Dee :)

(Please excuse the pics cloudiness - I am an amateur photographer - but keen. You can get the idea though of the beautiful scenery)

Day Two - The Travellers go on......

After leaving Albury, Chiltern saw our first stop, the Rest Stop is being done up and lots of travellers were using it.  Looks like many of the Rest Stops are being updated :)  There isn't a great deal to see off the Hume Highway (now Expressway) in Victoria without having to go off it to go to the townships. Sad that we have to do that nowadays - miss towns and all they can offer. Stopped for coffee at a service station/eatery - was nice too :) Zipping closer to Melbourne saw us a little confused as there is much roadwork being done into this city. We did find somewhere to purchase some lovely deli foods and continued back onto the main roads to Werribee Point which overlooks Port Philip Bay. We would have gone to the zoo but my mobility stopped that. After travelling my back says no when the head say I wanna go see. Maybe another time.

We travelled on to Anglesea - couldn't work out any motel accommodation here so decided to continue to Airleys Inlet. We pulled in to the Lighthouse Motel to book in. Lord S went in to get us a room and the buzzer went off as he entered the reception area. Hopefully we thought, someone would come serve us ..... not. So I got onto the net and surfed for somewhere to stay in Lorne and found the Grand Pacific Hotel, booked us a room and online. When we got closer to Lorne we stopped off to get a night-time pic - yes it was dark now - not planned - and heard a noise. Wound down the window and the ocean greeted us :)

Back on the road to the hotel and we walked in and received a lovely welcome. The lady who served us in the dining area/bar was very pleasant as was all the staff - thank you ")  Upstairs - two flights - ugg - was a quaint small room - but clean tidy ensuited with a bath - just lovely. Downstairs we enjoyed a nice cold beer with a small meal and started watching Origin footy with some overseas visitors but tired we approached our room where the NSW team is now 16 vs QLD's 10. Lets hope the game is completed safely and NSW achieves their much anticipated win.

Pic from the web

We arrived later than we expected but was greeted with lights ablazing the verandahs. The Grand Pacific Hotel Lorne is housed in a fully restored classic building, originally built in 1875.


After a lovely soak in the bath, this bed seems to be so much more comfy.
No pics of today's journey as the camera is still in the car and this traveller is weary - even more when she thinks of the two and a bit flights of stairs :))

Adiou and Nite to all :)) Dee


For all your Lordship and Ladies - Check my alter ego - Quilt n Craft Diva for the beginning of my travel with Lord Stephen LOL..........

There be pain for Lady Di

Being a Lady doesn't stop you from feeling a wee bit of pain. As a Lady my smile means a lot to me so visiting the dentist regularly is a must though sometimes at a cost!  I had my wisdom tooth removed Friday and not at 2.30pm - tooth hurty lol but at 2pm. The procedure was an emergency as I was in a lot of pain - cracked it :(   My dentist also thought removing my wisdom teeth would help my debilitating migraines. We will wait and see.......

The bruising is now showing on the outside of my jaw - looking a little like I have been in the boxing ring. No photo of me this time - who wants to see a Lady with a huge bruise on her chin - though I am preparing for the " Di, did you walk into a door" question.

I was researching information about what dentistry would be like a hundred years ago and even though today we still experience pain relief - the tugging, poking and pulling of teeth are still rating within the - I dont like dentists horror stories - we are so lucky to be able to mostly go home with little pain or pain that we can bear. Below is a very interesting link which tells stories about Dentistry.

Information from this link and shared for you from
http://kosmo.hubpages.com/hub/A-Short-Painful-History-of-Dentistry

In the 1700s, John Hunter of England began transplanting human teeth. Hunter would pay people for their healthy teeth and then implant them in the mouths of his patients. These implanted teeth would be tied to adjoining teeth until they stabilized. However, they rarely lasted for longer than a few months.

In the American colonies of the middle 1700s, many dentists implanted dentures and bridges. Patriot Paul Revere was one such dentist. Revere was the first dentist to identify a corpse using postmortem dental forensics. John Greenwood worked on George Washington's teeth, which tormented the poor man his entire adult life, though he never had wooden teeth; they were made of hippo ivory. Moreover, during the American Revolution, scavengers would rob graves for teeth to be used as dentures.
Dentistry began to take its modern form in 1728 when Frenchman, Pierre Fauchard, published his book The Surgeon Dentist, a comprehensive work whose use eventually crowned Fauchard as the father of modern dentistry.

In England during the middle 1800s, anybody could become a dentist without any training whatsoever, though some people paid as much as $1,000 to learn the trade.
The first root canals were performed in the United States in the 1830s. Arsenic was used to devitalize the pulp or root, which was then scooped out, all of this done without anesthetic.

In 1773, nitrous oxide (a.k.a. laughing gas) was discovered by chemist Joseph Priestly, but it wasn't used as an anesthetic until 1844. About the same time, ether was also used as an anesthetic in dentistry. Then chloroform drew people's attention, first used as an anesthetic in 1847.

In the Western dentistry of the time, early amalgam fillings contained a mixture of silver and mercury. By itself mercury is quite toxic. If it doesn't bind completely with the silver, leakage can occur, harming the patient. And these fillings were poured at a temperature of over 200 degrees, certainly very hot when applied to the exposed nerves in one's teeth!

Can you believe what people had to do? Even having old teeth removes and someone elses healthy teeth stuck into your mouth! Poor blighter who needed money and food so badly they sold their teeth for well to dos.

Check this info I founbd about the history of dentistry in Scotland . http://www.rcsed.ac.uk/site/345/default.aspx

If you would like to be a Lady like moi - follow the links on my  page or try the following link - Lord Title | Buy a title | Laird Title - Lochaber Highland Estates

www.lochaberhighlandestates.com

Holiday Time in Australia

What has happened to the sunny days of Summer in Australia???

At my usual abode in the Blue Mountains the weather hasn't been the
kindest to the mountian folk. Thought it will be warmer than on the
coastline of Victoria !  I will be thinking of my daughter's horses on
Sunday when a thunderstorm is predicted with lightning :((
  They usually find a spot to hide along with the odd visiting Kangaroo or Deer. Yes - Deer !!

This was taken 1/10/11 and this hailstorm made our roof leak



Two older and a smaller version were spotted last week - don't know where they may have come from at all. Venison anyone?? As long as they don't bother Rusty or Sir Toto - why worry?

In Apollo Bay on the Victorian Coastline the weather is much the same

as the rest of Australia, Today its just been cloudy and about 22 degrees celcius which isn't really our best summer weather.

Tomorrow and Saturday the Meterological people say we are in for another wild day. Thunderstorms and about 26 degrees Celcius, and the humidity is up to about 62%.

I don't mind summer or even the storms, I just can't handle all the humidity :((( Sunday is supposed to be sunny and cloudy though the temperature needs us to be ready with cardigans and jumpers as at 16 degrees - its a tad cool near and in the water. As long as the fish don't mind and jump on a baited hook,who would complain?

The storm build up over Bass Strait  is amazing. This is the 'ocean' that lies between the Victorian and Tasmanian coastlines and it is well known for its rough seas in bad weather. Hopefully by the time Boxing Day comes the waters will be calmer for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. 

Black water laden clouds stand fiercely in the sky - usually waiting till we go outside before dumping their loads on us and usually when we don't have the umbrella at hand LOL.  Next week won't be much better with prediction's of 17-19 degrees being our lot.

Apollo Bay in Victoria - Clouds at night

Can't complain too much when I see the weather forecast for Scotland. It even made our television news headlines with the weather being stated as like Hurricanes!!!   And I thought there would be just snow. Below are the photos shown on Aussie news websites !

Largs Promenade in Scotland

Helensburgh on the Scottish Coastline

Wondering how many readers will check our the websites listed on the right hand side of my blog? Check out http://www.highlandtitles.com/ for more info on how to become a Lord, Lady or Laird of Scotland and the weather that comes with it :))



Wonderful weather for Aussie New South Wales Glencoeans

Well, its almost Christimas time here at the top end of the world . (Not my fault if you live the wrong way up) The sun is shining and the promise of summer is longingly awaited by most Aussies. Not me, I'm afraid. I like the cool. It's easier to put a jumper or sloppyjoe (sweater, cardigan etc) on but harder to take your skin off cause you are overheated. I have always wondered what a white Christmas would be like. Watching all the lights and trees being raised and decorated in the snow brings all the songs of Christmas to my ears. I hum then sing along to the carols, okay in a choir - maybe not so great by myself in a crowd . LOL. What a hoot.
Now our Christmas Caroling could be in trouble this year - because ..........


Its been raining in NSW - a LOT! My gumboots are getting a workout and the clouds are getting theirs. A bit of thunder and a staggering amount of water - once again. The tanks are full and the only animal that enjoys this rain are ducks - most other animals and humans are inside a house, cabin, shed or tent or under a tree, in a hole and wherever the birds go to hide during wet weather.


Below is a wee pic if what the rain is doing to us at the moment. The wind accompanying it blew so hard that we experienced a leak :((( So not good. One's castle is supposed to be secure and safe to live in without using buckets to catch drops of that wet stuff. Alas tis the life of the Colonial Glencoeans, Our castles are not built like those of years gone by.

So I am off to watch a bit of television before I retire for the night.  I bid yea all adiou for the night of the 7th Decmber. Its summer here ROFL !!!!!


Lady Di




Check out Glencoe Highlands by visiting one of the websites regarding becoming a Lady, Laird or Lord of Glencoe = http://www.highlandtitles.com/ or  http://lochaberhighlandestates.com/.

Here Be Dragons...... Lords, Lairds and Ladies

The Three Sisters

Here in the Colonies of New South Wales we have the faith of the Scots, in knowing that there be dragons all over the world. For the believer that is. In the Blue Mountains of NSW and almost at my doorstop lies some of Australia's finest National Parks and dragons lie therein.

Maybe I should re-name the National Park behind our property - to Australias Glencoe Woodlands heehee - but I reckon I would get myself into so much strife, so I'll leave it alone. I don't have that power anyway. Luckily most of the land in our National Parks haven't been violated by man's destruction. As these photos show, its a beautiful vista of how Mother Nature intended for all of us to see her in her glory.

Mountain Ash

A Few pics of the World Heritage Listed Blue Mountains for you to drool over :)))

Now, here is a little info about three such 'Dragons' -  these 'beasts' that 'scour' our native parklands.

 Eastern Water Dragon
(Physignathus lesueurii )  This is the Eastern Water Dragon who lives on the Eastern Coast of Australia and its hinterland - From the top of Australia at Cape York Queensland, NSW and Victoria.  

This picture shows the dragon approximately 20" long (50cm) from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. Mature Water Dragons can grow up to 3 foot long (90cm). The picture is of a male - shown by his red neck which will get a little darker as he ages.


Water Dragons hibernate from late Autumn to early Spring which is now in Australia. Mostly these animals lie in wait for an insect to land nearby. Then they'll jump on their victim and grab it on their tongue...


               Mountain Dragon (Rankinia diemensis)

Then we have the Mountain Dragon which is probably the smallest of lizards that bears the name dragon. LOL. They grow to around 20cm in length.You would have to imagine a massively big lizard but alas it is but a wee one. They can be found in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Victoria as well as in Tasmania where it is the only native agamid. Mountain dragons are found in dry woodlands and heaths with access to open areas for sunning themselves giving them energy. They are oviparous and feed on ants and other small invertebrates.They are not quick footed relying instead on camouflage to evade predators.

Overall colour is grey to reddish brown, with two rows of lighter coloured paravertebral stripes or blotches running down their back. These stripes are deeply scalloped, so that they appear like two series of blotches. They have a cream coloured belly. Individuals can grow up to 20 cm in length, although the average length is somewhat smaller, with females typically growing larger than males. They have a row of enlarged spinose (spikey) scales on each side of the tail-base.  (Thanks Wikipedia for the info!)

Lying in wait in the leaf litter for tasty ants

      



Sitting on the leaves of the Isopogon
commonly known as Little Drumsticks




Isopogon anemonifolius



                         Southern Leaf Tailed Gecko

                                 (Saltaurius wyberba)

The Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko is a master of camouflage. Instead of scurrying away, it will lie perfectly still to either catch its prey or prevent it from become something else's. This Gecko grows to approximately 15cm in length. Kinda ugly little fellow but we love all our Native Fauna. There is a second Southern Leaf Tail - Saltaurius swaini - known to live in rainforests

They are found in the Greater Sydney area up to wher I live in the North side of the Blue Mountains., and live in dark sandstone crevices and even our shed and garages, They have three defence mechanisms too - their colouring, a noise like a squeal or bark and the dropping off of their tail which is a last resort. The squeal is amazing when you first hear it - such a loud sound from such a little creature.








The tail keeps wriggling letting the Gecko get away though the regowing tail is somewhat smoother for a while. I found these two photos on the internet to show    what the tails look like.
There are many more species of Lizards with a few more being called Dragons, but these are the ones more likely to be seen here in the Blue Mountains. I must check the woodlands on http://www.lochaberhighlandestates.com/ and see what sort of 'Dragons' still remain in Laird's Wood. Only 1% of the forest remains, but, regeneration may entice back some of the wild and native fauna of the Scottish Highlands :)) One tree has been planted in our name to assist though I think quite a few more will be needed to help along the way.