Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

Boxing Day

Well, overnight it has finally snowed! We must have gotten several inches as everything is white, it is just lovely, we have just been for a walk and i even threw some snowballs at DH! lol...

Yesterday was a lovely Xmas, despite no snow, we had a yummy long lunch with good wine, and good company with our friends from Brissy, and just the loveliest way to spend Xmas. After we went for a long walk around the citadel and saw some kids toboganning (in the little bit of snow there was) and some boys playing ice hockey (guess thats akin to our post Xmas lunch cricket or footy games at home).

Today we have just walked around in the snow and taken some photos - hopefully they will be good ones for scrapping. The snow is falling heavily as i look outside.

We met some people from Canberra who were phoning home on Xmas Eve (as we were) and they also had researched the place to come for a white xmas, definitely too many aussies here - and we brought the warm weather with us!

I have been keeping up my exercise (in case PT is reading this..lol..), there is a gym in the hotel and i have gone a couple of times - even went yesterday morning.

Hope you all had a good Xmas
cheers
Debra

No Snow!

Xmas Even

Here we are in Quebec, Canada for our white xmas, but unfortunately, for the first time in over 100 years, they are not having a white xmas - just our luck!! We are not the only ones, there are a couple sitting beside use in this internet cafe, also from Oz, who came here for a white xmas, nevermind, it is definitely a cold xmas.

Quebec is very pretty, even without snow, our hotel is just gorgeous, an old castle in fact and the most photographed hotel in the world, apparently.

Our friends from Brisbane are here with us, so we have had dinners out, and today did a country tour out of Quebec to see among other things, Montmorency falls, really pretty. Yesterday we did a city tour as well.

Tomorrow is Xmas day here, its around 6pm on Xmas Eve, so thats 9am Xmas morning for you guys.

[Catching up on our final day in NY, we had a great time at Radio City Music Hall, the Xmas show was great, followed by a lovely dinner at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, simply scrumptious! ]

We are now off to dinner, Merry Christmas to all our family and friends, hope you get lots of pressies.
cheers
Debra

50 today!

21 Dec 2006
Today i turned 50, yep,just woke up this morning and it had happened, nothing has sagged more, no more wrinkles on the face, just a new number to cope with - 50! How did that happen?

We have just come from Tiffany's where DH bought me a gorgeous gold charm braclet and 3 lovely charms - a heart that says "if lost please return to Tiffany &Co New York" (yeah, sure THATS gonna happen!); a cupcake (the jewels are real jewels including emerald, ruby, sapphire); and a Tiffany & Co shopping bag. They are all so cute - aren't I a lucky girl!!!

Now, catching up on what we have been doing - we got back from Boston and our friends from Spring Hill arrived the same day so the next night we caught up with them for dinner, nice to see them and get to chat to someone else.

I caught the subway all by myself down to the stamp shop in the village and spent ages there checking out all the stamps and ended up coming away with a few. Then caught the subway back home - i felt very brave doing this on my own in NY, but also confident as we had been down there a couple of times together.

The next day we spent the day at the Museum of Natural History - it was fascinating, we were there for 6+ hours. Its the one that Night at the Museum is set in - that new movie which comes out here shortly. Yesterday we walked around and did some shopping. DH was a bit sick with food poisoning.

We are going to the Radio City Xmas Spectacular this evening and then for dinner with out friends.We are off to Canada tomorrow morning. There wont be a white Xmas in NY, but the forecast is saying snow in Quebec, so our fingers are crossed.

Better go, money on card is about to run out.
cheers
Debra

Boston

We are leaving Boston today after staying 4 nights instead of 2, we had so much to do. We have been having such a great time here, we saw the Ally McBeal office, the facade they use in the show, plus we walked the Freedom Trail, visiting all the historic sites, including a tour of Paul Revere's house, very interesting.

Its unseasonally hot here, they are now saying unlikely it will snow for Xmas, but ofcourse we will be in Quebec so with a 100 year history of white Xmas's, we could be so unlucky, could we?

I have seen a few more stamp shops, but nothing too great, and no actual scrapbooking shops, they seem to combine them with paper craft stores, i have still managed to buy a few little things.

We saw the skaters on Frog Pond, very popular to skate there, some of the little kids were really great, some of the adults not so great.

We caught a train to Harvard uni to have a look, its as beautiful as what you imagine, and would be a lovely place to study, if you had $40,000 USD per year. MIT is the same price and maybe even more prestigious, they arenot in Boston but across the river in Cambridge.

We are returning to NY on the train today.
til then,
cheers
Debra

NYC

Still here in NYC, loving it. We have been doing a lot of walking, going to museums, caught another show (Chicago) and just enjoying being here. The weather has turned warmer again.

Today i am paying another visit to the stamp shop - just in case those stamps i wanted came in.

Tomorrow we are going via train to Boston for a couple of days.

cheers
Debra

Serendipity, Stamps & a Show

What more could a girl want!! This is how we spent yesterday.

Firstly, we caught the subway to The Ink Pad which is the only stamp shop in Manhattan according to them and i got a few stamps (insert embarrassed emoticon here). The ones i wanted werent in stock, but i will go back before i leave as they may be in by then. I got several Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous stamps. I will share them with you when i come home. Havent yet figured out how to put pictures up - but i did get dh to take one of me in the shop. Its the one Kaye put a link to on the community, and yes, it is the size of a cupboard, with so much stuffed in there its hard to see it all.

After that we caught the subway uptown to visit Serendipity - (one of my favourite movies is set in part here) and for those that dont know the movie, the shop is an Icecream shop, but you can also get real food. I opted for a sundae with chocolate cake - dripping in hot fudge sauce and cream - but it was too big for me and i didnt finish it, but yum! I am taking my friend there when she arrives and may go for the frozen hot chocolate that seemed really popular yesterday. We only had to wait 10 mins to get in, but on checkout the wait was 45 mins, so guess we accidently went at the correct time. I saw the table where they sit in the movie, lots of people were asking which one it was - we werent the only tourists!

Then we went to Times Square and got half price tickets at TKTS to see The Wedding Singer - a musical based on the movie of the same name. What talented people they were, really funny and a great show. Got home around 11pm - after a fantastic day taking in the best of NYC - lol....

We have just booked a couple of days in Boston, we are going up on the Amtrak next week. Our accommodation here is so cheap that we can afford to leave it for a couple of nights to go there. (If anyone is considering coming to NY, i recommend this place we are staying at. Yes, it is small, but all you do is sleep there, and its quiet and comfy and clean. We are having coffee with the owners on Friday, will be great to meet them.)

til next time
cheers
Debra

Cold in NYC

Hi All
No doubt you are all sweating over there - but it has turned cold here now, 37deg F today, thats around 3-4deg C - but its still lovely, no rain or snow as yet, just plain cold.

We came to NY a few days ago and love out little rented bedsit, its tiny, but very functional and so close to everything that NY has to offer.

Before we left Philly we hired a car and drove (dh drove actually) out to Amish country and saw that area. Its just like a postcard, so green and lovely with horse drawn carts clip-clopping everywhere around the place, so cute - it was really interesting to see the farmers tending their farms without machinery (being a farm girl myself) and we saw kids playing at school, and even a lady mowing with a push mower, the women tend the gardens we were told. So glad we did it and dh had no trouble driving the lh drive car.

The train to NY was uneventful, Amtrak is so easy to use. NY is just wonderful. We spent one day just catching the subway around - uptown, downtown, midtown, cross town - really easy once again to navigate and made good use of our $7 day pass.

Yesterday we did a tourist trip around Manhattan on the Circle Line boat, it lasted 3 hours and was very pleasant going along and seeing the city from the water, as well as under all the bridges, Brooklyn Bridge being my favourite. We are going to walk the pedestrian walkway on Brooklyn Bridge before we leave. Today we are doing all the business things, banking, catching up on my emails, updating the blog.

The city is all dressed up for Xmas, so i have taken heaps of photos of Xmas decorations, even the Empire State Building is colored red & green.

til next time....stay warm,
cheers
Debra

The Streets of Philadelphia

After a long flight, we arrived in Philly yesterday. We brought the warm weather with us, its about 20 degrees F hotter than normal, with temps around 65-70 each day so far. Bu they say it will get colder by Friday, and its been snowing on he west coast.

Yesterday we took the trollley tour around the city, the visitors centre people were very helpful. Independence Hall was all ticketed out, but it is holiday season here due to Thanksgiving and a Saturday, so tomrrow (MON)we will go back and get tikets, they ar free, bt they only give out so many each day. Most things are free to enter. The city is quite lovely, with lots of old row houses.

Today we went to the Philly Museum and i took some pics for my scrapbooking. They had these amazing old doors and doorways - i am already planning the page in my head!!

On an idol note, so thrilled to see Damien won and hoping that i set the recorder correctly.
Hi to all back home. Signing offnow to go do my first scrapping page "on the road".
cheers, Debra.

Packing Up

Well, its almost time for our big trip - we fly out on Friday. I am not excited atm, but hopefully will be come Friday. The bag is almost packed, a few things left to add and a bit of washing to do. Hard to believe after all this planning that we are almost on our way!

I have 2 more sessions with PT to do. He is writing me a program so i can exercise while i am away. Stay tuned for some pics of me exercising my way thru the US...lol...

Damien goes to final!!!

Great idol vote off show tonight seeing my fav Damien go to the final along with Jess. Dean, surprisingly, got voted off. Damien should be fantastic at the opera house. Ofcourse, i wont see it as i will be in the US, but will definitely be taping it. Go you good thing! Go the Irish!

Thank you P.T.

I started out with my personal trainer just 7 weeks ago, fat and frumpy and feeling awful about it. I have now completed my 7th week and in this time i have achieved things i NEVER thought possible, so i would like to thank my personal trainer for how he has turned my life around. Thank you P.T!!!

7 weeks ago i couldnt walk without puffing, the first day i struggled to walk to the top of Ivory Lane, a steep section of road that runs up to the Story Bridge. The other day i ran up it, yes i did say RAN!!!! Ofcourse, i was almost dead by the top, but i did it! I am so proud of myself.

I am still training 3 days a week with him and will til i leave for o/s, but i am also going on the other days and pushing myself. I actually get a bit twitchy if i havent done something each day.

If you live in Brisbane and would like a session you can contact my pt paul@yourlocalpt.com - he has sessions around the north side of Brisbane, as well as one on ones.

2 Touchdowns!

Damien sang 2 fantastic songs last night, Hallelujah and Crying and he got a TOUCHDOWN! for both of them. He was so great.

Tonight Chris went home - so there we are.... left with...so my friend & i are the only ones left in the comp - both dd and dh are goners.

GO THE IRISH!

Damien (me)
Dean (me, df)
Jessica

Idol Chatter

A quick update on Idol since my last post. Lisa and Ricky have both gone, and probably deserve to have gone. With only 4 left now, this week will be fantastic. One of my customers, Virginia, sent me a pic of her with Damien at the Aria awards - what a lovely thing to do- but wish it was me not her!! lol...

Who's Left?
Damien (me)
Chris M (dd, dh, df)
Dean (me, df)
Jessica

Touchdown!

Last night on Idol the lovely Damien - my pick for the winner - got a touchdown! What a great night. Dean got one too. Both well deserved. Jessica was great too.

Who's still in the running? As you may have read my family and df are having a comp to see who could pick the winner from the final 24. Here is the latest list - you can see that i still have Damien and Dean - and just who DID get those touchdowns last night? hehehe....

Chris M (dd, dh, df)
Ricky (dh)
Dean (me, df)
Damien (me)
Lisa (df)
Jessica
Bobby

Ngaire and me

Well, i have completed all my 14 layouts in 14 days (actually 11 days) and i am very pleased with them all. This one is a pic of my and Ngaire Bartlam that was taken at a class i attended with her earlier this year. What a gorgeous lady she is, that's her on the right, holding her Goddess tags. I have tried to do "Ngaire" style to complement the photo and as a challenge to myself. I love the result.

If you want to see all of them go to my gallery . They are under my folder. Thanks to Kim for a great challenge and lots of inspiration.

At Last!

Last night on Idol we finally got rid of Lavina - didnt think we could be so lucky, but she is awful, so glad she went. Yay!! And Damien survived, so that was great. I had to vote for him and so did Mum! He is gorgeous, lets hope next week he does better when its their night.

More in my 14 day challenge

These are some more layouts in my 14 LOs in 14 days challenge, i have now done 9!

Week 2 already

They say time flies when you are having fun! I dont know about fun, but i feel good after i have exercised. I am on to week 2 in my sessions, my PT came yesterday and really worked me so hard and then again today, when my poor muscles barely had time to recover. But i know its doing me good, so i will keep going. He is back on Sunday, meanwhile i will do something every day to push myself.

14 layouts in 14 days

I have taken up Kim's challenge of doing 14 layouts in 14 days. Day 1 was yesterday and i managed to complete 3 layouts - only 11 more to go!

Good Day/Bad Day

Do you ever have a day when its good and bad? Well, today was one of those days for me, evidenced by the fact that its nearly midnight and i cant sleep as i have too many things to process in my head. Forgetting the bad, today was a good day in the shop, with my lovely customers coming in to shop and chat, plus i taught a class after i closed and that was fun. Love teaching people new things! Afterward i went for a walk, tried hard to keep up the pace but failed (bad day) so i just have to try harder tomorrow. Of course, tomorrow is IDOL day, so thats always a good day!

I even got to do some scrapping today, did a LO for the cybercrop that was held last night on The Craft Attic (my little shop) and am really pleased with it. I only managed to get one done, but nevermind, one is better than none.

I am also gearing up for my 14 layouts in 14 days challenge with Kim & some others at The Craft Attic. Cant wait for that. I am going to scrap my travel photos from Argentina, we went there in 1999 and i never did finish scrapping them all, so thought that would be a good place to start for my big challenge.

Staying Strong

Without my trainer today i walked for 1h 15m up a lot of hills, and had fun. Last night dh took me for a walk, so am happy that i am doing it without my PT.

Back to scrapping, i made heaps of cards today, have some new 7Gypsies papers that i wanted to try out so started making them and easily got 20+ done. Just every day ones.

No scrapping today, tonight is The Craft Attic cybercrop for Sept run by Kim Geling. Should be a blast, no doubt she will have some great challenges for us.

Day 2 - what a work out!

Today was my second day with my trainer, and it was a good workout. He got me a heart rate monitor so i can see when i am really working - when i cant speak and struggling for breath is a good indicator, but nice to read that the HR monitor thinks the same thing. Today we did a quick walk up a nearby hill to get the HR up and then did fitball, boxing and weights in my backyard. It was fun, but also very hard work, especially since my butt is hurting still from yesterday.

i am now on my own til next Tuesday, but will keep on walking everyday if i can til then, and not avoid those hills!!

Day 1

Today was my first day with my personal trainer - boy did he work me hard. I am starting to ache all over with muscles i didnt even know i had. I am still pouring sweat (nice!) and no doubt will feel it tomorrow. But it was good and he is nice, so not too bad really, i still have those lovely endorphines floating around making me feel good.

I am to keep a food diary as well as an exercise diary. Today i walked up hills i never thought i could and also up 2 stairs at a time!! Tomorrow is my second session and i am really looking forward to it - its all about self belief! I can do it! I am like the little red engine that could!! i think i can! i think i can!

Klancie, you're outta here!

Last night's idol verdict show saw Klancie go - and probably deserved, but it would've been nice to get rid of Lavina - gosh i cant stand her. Anyway, perhaps Klancie should not have picked a song called I'm Outta Here, it was a good prediction.

Fabulous, fit & fifty

Well.... i am not fit or fifty yet! but ofcourse i am fabulous! ;-)

However, i am going to be fifty very soon, and want to be fit, so to reach this end i have hired a personal trainer to come and get me and exercise with me 3 times a week! I am starting on Tuesday, so if you want to know how progress is going, check back here....provided i actually have the strength to type after my first session.

I have 7 weeks of intense training, i am wanting to get fit, but if i lose a few kilos in the process i wont be disappointed!!

Trivia

Last night dh and dd and i went to a trivia night, and what a blast we had! we didnt win - actually we came 19/22 teams, but we had such a great night. Most of the tables had 6 or 8 people on them, so in terms of brain power we were slightly outnumbered. I think we were the only table with 3. Anyway, it was fun, we are going to go next week and test ourselves.

Good to keep the grey matter working. DS is coming with us next week. We could have used him last night with the songs from the noughties(thats what i call the years 2000+)

cheers
Debra

Reigan goes...

Well, the idol journey is over for Reigan. I am so disappointed as i really loved her, but felt her song choice was way off and her voice is gorgeous as well as being a beautiful girl. I am sure she will go on to bigger things.

Down now to 10!

Chris M (dd, dh, df)
Lavina
Guy (dd)
Ricky (dh)
Dean (me, df)
Damien (me)
Lisa (df)
Klancie (dh)
Jessica
Bobby

I love Damien - he is my all time pick!! Go Damien!!! Go the Irish!!!

My New Toolbox

I got this great toolbox from bunnings, raw, and painted and decorated it up last week. Its really heavy so wont topple over, which was the issue with the other things i have used to store my tools in, plus its big enough to take everything, there is a long bit on the sides, and then some raised sections in the middle, so far i love it. I painted it white to start with. It was really quick to do once the paint dried (waiting, waiting, waiting for that paint to dry), maybe only took 20 mins or so. I could have spent more time but just wanted to get it into service!

IDOL Moments

Those that know me know that i absolutely LOVE Australian Idol!! I have watched every season, and while last season seemed a little dull, i think this one is going to be a ripper.

With the final 12 in place, we are off and running. The family has put bets on from the last 24 as to who will get thru. The following people were chosen.

I chose Dean, Paul, Damien and Reigan
dd chose Chris M, Brendon, Guy and James
dh chose Chris M, Chris G, Klancie and Ricky
My friend Chris chose Lisa, Brendon, Chris M and Dean.

So, with the final 12 consisting of the following 12 people, we all got some thru.
1. Chris M (dd, dh, df)
2. Reigan (me)
3. Joseph
4. Lavina
5. Guy (dd)
6. Ricky (dh)
7. Dean (me, df)
8. Damien (me)
9. Lisa (df)
10. Klancie (dh)
11. Jessica
12. Bobby

With last week being "sing anything" night i thought some of them chose dodgy songs, particular Joseph who bore the brunt of his dodgy song by being voted off on Monday Night.

Tonight is ROCK night!! Yay!! Lets see who can step up to the plate. Roll on 730pm.....

The Return of the Children

With both the kids (they are actually young adults) now back home, having moved in over the last week or so, the house is pretty full. Luckily we have 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 3 levels of space to fill up, but adult children dont travel lightly.

We have new rules in the house now, and of course, i can always escape to the shop for some respite....lol... and then of course i can lose myself in my scrapping to ease the pain!!

I am not sure why i am soooo lucky. I can tell you, my cenus form was REALLY FULL this year. That was a first for a long time.

These boots are made for walking....

Yesterday i went and got some new boots for our big trip later in the year. They are gortex in and out and will protect my little feet from the snow that will be around. I also got some socks - at $39 per pair i only got 3, but will get another 3 before i go. They are extremely warm and cosy, a must have in the weather we will be getting.

I will take a picture of them when i get home, I am sure they wont be as clean when i come home again!!!

an unexpected find...

I was at Mum & Dad's this week when Dad produced a photo my his parents wedding! What a surprise. When i had asked in earlier years i was told there were no photos and Dad doesnt remember ever seeing one either. But fate stepped in!

My grandmothers sister, who is in her 90s is moving to a nursing home and in her house her daughter found some old pictures, including the one of my grandparents wedding (pictured). What a fantastic find it was. How young my gm looks - she is only 17. The groomsman is my grandfathers brother Evan. My son looks incredibly like him. We think the bridesmaid is my gm sister Evelyn, but not yet confirmed. There is no writing on the back, we are just going from other photos.

Isnt the background just gorgeous? I have now scanned it and will scrap it shortly. I am so pleased to have found it and have another treasured memory to add to my album.

SOAPBOX: Road congestion

Here i am on my soapbox - i am allowed to do that since its MY blog...lol... My topic is the road toll, road congestion and general road usage. I have thought of a way to lessen the road toll and ease city congestion - it would cost NOTHING, ZERO, ZIP, NIL, NADA...but it may have some people up in arms.

My solution is this....ban all vehicles weighing more than 1 tonne from using the roads between 7am-7pm. Their road usage would only be allowed from 7pm to 7am in the morning.

My reasons to believe this would work are:

- trucks go slowly up hill and fast down hill, thus on highways it is difficult to pass safely since uphill passing can be troublesome if there is not a clear passage. Downhill is hard to pass as they go so FAST, much faster than the allowed speed limit of 100km/hr. In fact, on my last journey at Easter most trucks were whizzing past me and I was doing 100km/hr.

- without trucks on the highways for 12 hours per day accidents will still happen but perhaps without so many fatalies. How many times do you hear the newsreaders say "... and the driver of the truck walked away with minor injuries"

- long distance truck drivers would also be forced to have a 12 hours rest period, thus also reducing the road toll and accidents due to sleepy drivers, or drivers affected by pills to keep them awake.

- in the city trucks slow the traffic down as they take off from a stopped position, and then they hurtle down the hills, they are BIG, take up more than the lane they are allowed and also take the space of at least 3 cars in length, so without them traffic would be eased. Instead of having 1 truck and 10 cars in line = 13 cars, you would have only 10 cars.

- stop trucks making deliveries are clogging up the city and shopping centres, causing problems for drivers and pedestrians alike. they often park illegally, over laneways and on footpaths. If deliveries were forced to be done from 7pm at night, this would assist with current problems.

- it would also prevent people weaving in and out of lanes to avoid trucks thus avoiding accidents. There is a big sign on the motorway at times saying WEAVING CAUSES ACCIDENTS. Get rid of the trucks the weaving would be reduced.

Now i know this wont be a popular view amongst truck drivers and families of truck drivers, it would cause disruption and rearrangement of peoples schedules, but if it was YOUR life that was taken by an accident involving a truck would you really mind all that much?

REMEMBER THAT THIS MOVE WOULD COST THE TAX PAYER NOTHING!

[[while i am on this soapbox i also think Peter Beattie needs to stop those useless advertising vehicles that circle around and around the city clogging up the traffic. Usually there is 2 or 3 of them following each other, making a nuisance of themselves and generally wasting space. If they were young guys in cars endlessly circling i am SURE something would be done about it. Perhaps making a toll to drive into the city that is prohibitive so everytime they circle they have to pay and their cost escalations would hopefully prevent them in doing so. Better still, class them as bloody nuisances and just say NO!]]

Caxton St Seafood Festival

This morning we wandered down to Caxton St Seafood Festival to have a look, mainly because Dan England, that is Dready Dan from Australian Idol 2005, was performing. He was great, sang 4 songs, some originals and i took lots of pics so i can scrap them.

Russell Crowe was also singing there with his band. We didnt stay to see him, but the crowd was building as we left, so probably all there to see him.

The food was nice, just stood and ate it as there were no seats left, but still nice. The weather was just so hot, way too hot for this time of year. It was a good couple of hours.

Here is a pic of the dready boy for all those fans...

a trip down memory lane...

This easter weekend i went "home" to my school reunion. I only spent 7 years in Cowra, from aged 10-17, but i consider this my home base. I flew to Canberra and caught up briefly with my daughter, then drove 2+ hours to Cowra. I actually grew up on a farm 14 miles from Cowra, but went to the local primary/high schools.

While there i went around and took photos of spots that held memories for me...the main steet, the local cafe where we used to hang out, the primary and high schools, the farm i grew up on, my nana's house...

The reunion itself was an absolute blast, seeing old friends, most of whom i had not seen since the last reunion about 15 years ago.

I am now going to scrap these pages so i have those memories saved for posterity.

In canberra i went around and took photos of each house i had lived in - well most of them, some of them no longer exist. I am doing an album on places i have lived, so these photos will assist in completing that. I also took some touristy photos as these will make great scrapping pages.

Critic's Choice: THE BOY FROM OZ

What: Stage show
About: The life of Peter Allen

Ok, i know this is not around yet, but for those considering seeing it later this year with Hugh Jackman....

I have seen this in Sydney and Brisbane (both with Todd McKenney) and once in New York with Hugh Jackman, and the Aussie production runs rings around the NYC production - but both were great. I love Todd, he is so wonderful in EVERYTHING he is in and Hugh was great, but the show was had a lot more darker undertones iykwim than the aussie one that was quite joyful..

If you have never seen it then i would recommend a visit...
If you like Hugh Jackman (who doesnt??) then i would also recommend you go...

We had only been in New York 5 hours and only a few days in USA, but when Hugh sang "I still call Australia Home" it brought a tear to my eye - swear!!

Rating: Aussie production - 5 star; USA production 3.5 star

As a side bit of info, they auctioned the black T-shirt that Hugh wore in the show after it and the bidding was crazy, from memory up to $US1800, and there were 2 women both bidding, eventually they gave them both one, for that price EACH! and a photo with Hugh as well.

We waited at the stage door afterward and finally he came out and signed a few things, including our stuff, and i said "Hello Hugh" -cos noone else was talking to him - and he immediately recognized the aussie accent and asked where we were from. That was a couple of years ago. He was gorgeous.

Critic's Choice: INSIDE MAN

I am starting what will hopefully be a regular review of movies, plays, stageshows that we see. This first one is a movie review.

Movie: INSIDE MAN
Story: bank robbery

Stars:
- Denzel Washington - shaved head and a bit fat imo, not the usual yummy Denzel but great acting as usual.
- Clive Owen - didnt see much of his face but yummo! He is also great
- Jodie Foster - wasnt quite sure what her role was all about and whether the movie would have been better off without that role. She is a great actress but the role did seem a little superfluous to me.

General Comments: very intriguing movie, lots of twists and turns for a bank robbery movie.

Stars: 3.5

Our Family Tree

I have been tracing my family tree since i was 16 years old and my dh has also been tracing his for the last 10 years - due in part to my interest rubbing off on him. We have now set up a web site that contains links to our family trees, so anyone can check them to see if they are related somehow.

My dh found some really cool software that converts GEDCOM files into a cool HTML website. Today we purchased a url (www.sdfamilytree.com) and set up a home page. We will be linking our family trees off this when time permits - hopefully very soon. If anyone is interested in the software that we used (we got it off the web - its free) then please contact us to find out where to get it.

Our new website has been listed under GRANDMA'S HOPE CHEST. Happy searching.

School Friends

Last weekend i went to visit some old school friends that i have not seen for 27 years - it was such fun and i would recommend it to anyone. It was just like we had never been apart and we had a great day of reminiscing. I hope to keep in touch with them now.

I am going to a school reunion over Easter weekend as well and hopefully that will be as much fun. Anyone who wants to get in touch with old school friends or work mates go to www.friendsreunited.com.au and search there for them. It's free to search and put yourself up, but to send emails to people you need to join up. Its $A20 a year to join.

The school reunion is being held in country NSW - i am also catching up with my daughter in Canberra while i am down there.

Travel Tales

Well, we are currently planning our big trip later this year. We are leaving in early Nov and at first we were going around the world, but have worked out that the time taken to do that is more than the time we have (9 weeks) so now we are just going to be doing the USA and Canada.

The object of the exercise is to get across to New York where we have a room booked for 21 days to explore this great city. We were there a couple of years ago but only for a few days and loved it. I have always wanted to go to NYC, and having been there i must say it is my favourite city in the world. Not that i have been to that many, but hopefully i will get to a few more later this year.

If anyone has any great places in the US they recommend please let me know. Nothing on the west coast as this doesnt interest us at all.

This time we will also be going back to Boston and then flying up to Canada for a white Xmas in Quebec City.

Mice In The Attic

I have added a menu called Mice In The Attic - this section has links to The Craft Attic related websites. For example, some of the design team have blogs so their blog links will appear there. There will also be links to website operated by the craft attic such as the Scrapbooking & Stamping Events calendar.

I hope you enjoying exploring these other blogs and websites.

Who Came To My Door Today?

This morning my doorbell rang ( i have a little bell at the door, on a hanger so it sounds really nice when it goes off by NOONE ever uses it) and i was quite surprised. There was a young girl there (anyone under 30 is considered "young") and she was looking for share accommodation. She asked if i had any rooms...uh, no this is a house. Oh, so you are full, she said. Ah..yep, just the two of us. She was looking for somewhere to stay close to the city as she is going to uni at QUT. I wasnt able to help, i called a friend of mine who sometimes rents out her spare room but there were none spare. I guess she knocked on my door because she thought our big 3 storey home (and yes we do have an attic) looked large enough to accommodate lots of people...lol...I do hope she finds somewhere as she seemed like a nice girl.

Hi

Hi and welcome to my new BLOG!

The Craft Attic is an online and bricks&mortar store in Carina, a suburb of Brisbane Qld.

I shall share items of interest about The Craft Attic here and also other personal items and items about Brisbane in general.

You can visit my online store The Craft Attic

or visit me at
Shop 1
10 Kenrose St
Carina Qld 4152