Clouds, Calendars and Gratitude

It's been just 5 days since I posted off a big batch of my BB calendars into the outside world.

I took over the local Post Office, drove the staff there all nuts because I wanted stamps instead of those awful grey printout prices on each envelope, had myself a minor conniption over the price of overseas postage, then sat back and had a quiet breakdown over whether people who had spent their hard-earned cash on my project would actually like their purchase.

It's what I do.

Despite there being a weekend jammed into those five days since The Great Post Office Visit, and despite the fact that the calendars all dove into the mail way out here in the sticks, at least two lots have already found their way to distant buyers. Go Australia Post!

In fact, by Monday one batch had arrived in MELBOURNE (at the other end of the country!) to the charming gentleman pictured below.

A photo of him holding the BB calendar arrived via email, with this message from his daughter:

Thankyou so much...

(and some other nice stuff that made me blush)...

Attached is a pic of Dad opening his first Xmess pressie for the season.

Aside from the smile I got from the "Xmess" reference, it really hit me that my little publication was actually going to be on walls - other people's walls. And they would very likely be actually looking at it regularly... Like wow!

What an honour...

Anyhow... I just wanted to say a big THANKS to those who have ordered their first edition BB calendar. And to those who have enquired but not yet placed an order, there are just a couple left. If this is you, please email me here: bushbabeaustralia at gmail dot com.
(Yes, Theresa I am talking to you here!)

And I also wanted to thank the NINETY NINE of you who 'follow' this blog, and the dozens of others who subscribe to me via RSS and other means. I think you are all just slightly crazy but love you for visiting me and encouraging my photo-heavy ramblings. It's really nice to know I'm not talking to myself out here!

And to all my real-life friends and family who stay (mostly) silent but visit this blog regularly - I love that you come, even if you think you are being sneaky!

I haff my ways of no-wink*taps nose*.

You all 'ride with me' in my adventures - and I do love a good 'mustering gang'!

To sign off, I leave you with some word imagery.

My twitter word imagery to be exact.

I am a sporadic twitterer but admit that it is fun when I get excited about something and want to share...

I think this TweetCloud says more about me (and possibly my air-headedness) than anything.

It also says I like Robbie Williams just a LITTLE too much.

And I have allowed the word 'dang' to enter my vocabularly.

And it also say that I kinda like clouds...

They are purty...

You want to know what ELSE I am thankful for?

The clouds outside my window.

The ones dropping fat, delicious, juicy drops of H2O as I type.

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What's your weather doing?

Please share... I love a little weather.

(Oh, and THANKS for just being here. Did I say that already?)

It's a goer...

OK. It's done.

The calendar has been wrested and wrangled and sorted, and is off to the printers this week. While I had a little bit of an idea of the fininicky work behind this kind of endeavor (thanks to my fundraising efforts for Heartkids when Dash was a littlie) it was still kinda painful working out my apostrophe's in holidays for three different countries. '

Gads.

Here is a sample date page (requested by Gemisht)... please note it is unedited (apostrophe disaster) and I have fiddled with fonts since this version. But it gives you a feel for the layout.

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Orders are now being officially being taken - some earlybirds are in already (thanks guys and gals) and will be first cabs off the rank. (Wonder how many more metaphors can I jam into one sentence? Heh.) The order instructions are here (its easy) for those keen on a enjoying some bush magic on their walls over the next year. (Mr Incredible wants to know how many loo doors it'll end up on. I have promised to run a poll once they are all out!)

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GOOD NEWS: I have managed to keep the price below $30 per calendar which I am kind of excited about. If I was ordering 10 000 of the them I could make it a tad cheaper, but I have to say, I am NOT mailing out 10 000 envelopes before Christmas. Even if 10 000 people wanted them. (Which is a crazy idea anyway!) But the mailing...the addressing, the checking, the sticking down of hundreds and hundreds of parcels... oi! I would have to call in reinforcements and Mr Incredible has made it clear he's not licking piles of envelope flaps. *pouts*

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So instead of cheap, you get limited edition, personally signed calendars.

For just $29 on some really great heavy paper (no curling down, mid-year!).

And you can know it will have been carefully guided into an envelope by my own 'delicate' hands, and handed to my fabulous mail-lady at the red cream can mailbox.

Which I kinda hope looks a little more like this...

Sing with me: I'm dreaming of a WET Christmas...
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To be serious for a nanosecond, I wanted to share the note I penned for the back the 2010 calendar. To share how passionate I am about the images it contains...

This calendar is a reflection of my enduring love of the Australian bush - its unique landscapes, its amazing animals, its action-packed sport and its resilient fun-loving people.
I grew up in the bush, and wherever I travelled, wherever I worked or lived, it has always called to me. I hope you get a sense of this incredible place- even if you cannot experience it first-hand - through this calendar, in 2010.
(Bush Babe)
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I must've had a chardy* before writing that!!

Leaving you with a couple of images that didn't quite make the calendar cut.

Maybe the 2011 could be the Love Licks edition?

*furrows brows in deliberation*

BB

*Chardy = Chardonnay in Oz speak

Calendar Girl...

I have been a wee bit distracted with a little project over the past week or so...

my folding basket is erupting like Vesuvius

and my garden is crispy at the corners

and my patio is ankle-deep in leaves

to prove my level of distraction.

Sometimes my life just like totally gets in the way of my 'art'...

or, as my hubby likes to call it:

'are you still on that computer?'
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I asked a little while ago if readers thought I should put together a calendar of Bush Babe shots - images of some of the strange characters, amazing outlooks and breath-taking action from my life here in rural Australia. And apparently you thought I should.

All 25 of you... heh!
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Now I am not expecting to do a Pioneer Woman here, and hit the New York Times best-seller list (*applause, applause*) but it would tickle me to know that someone, somewhere, is enjoying a 'Bush Babe moment'.

Perhaps they might find themselves smiling at a cheeky goanna, as I did when I shot this fellow (with a Nikon) on a drive through the paddock one day.

Or gazing in awe at a massive wedge tail eagle slowly lifted

from the burnt-orange dirt road,

as I did when travelling with my family late one afternoon.

Or even admiring the saturated hues of a red-fruited cactus

against a vivid blue sky,

as I did while exploring with Mr Incredible one day.

In my (overactive) imagination, this calendar might infiltrate

some corners of my home state (Alpha or Redcliffe or Atherton),

trickle through some mailbox elsewhere in my country (Adelaide or Perth or Tassie),

and maybe even find its way into some far-flung wall of a home

in Pennsylvania or Paris or Tulsa or Montreal.

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How utterly COOL would that be?

(Heck, I'll be stoked if Dash's teacher comes good on a order for one!)
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I admit that I have been a little obsessed with this project (those around me here will testify to this unreservedly) and I managed to chose most of the month's images based on those you suggested here and here.

(Thanks so much! What the heck would I do without you?)
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The front page has caused a little more pain -

and a whole lotta earache for my long-suffering hubby,

and random family members and hapless visitors to Granite Glen -

having morphed from this:

to this:

to this:

And then ...

Mr Incredible (who bills himself as the 'concept man')

came up with this cracker idea:

He suggested I take a snap of my trusty battered Nikon

and add one of the favourite images from this blog.

It took some fiddlin...

but here 'tis:

You like-ee?

I reckon I married a keeper.

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It's being sent to the printers this week...

Any more advice peoples?

Lord knows I cannot make a decision on my own!

Welcome to the

Bush Babe Calendar order page.

Thanks so much for dropping by...

The inaugural (2010) The Beauty of the Bush calendar is now OFFICIALLY on sale.

It is filled with images of the Australian countryside (known locally as 'the Bush'), it's freaky animals, hard-workin' people and gorgeous landscapes. And I have thrown a bit of Aussie horse action into the mix too.

It's a limited edition so it's first in, first served.

And I will sign each calendar personally (indicate if you'd rather an unsigned copy)

Whether you'd like one (or ten) it's easy-peasy!
Here's how....

........................................................................................................................

TO ORDER:

1. Send me an email at bushbabeaustralia@gmail.com with:
- your NAME
- FULL POSTAL ADDRESS (where you'd like the calendar to go)
- HOW MANY COPIES of the calendar you would like to purchase.

(I will reply with the total cost - the calendar price itself doesn't vary but the postage does, depending on where you are and how heavy the parcel ends up.)

2. I will send you an invoice from my PayPal account (for all y'all overseas) and it will send an email to you with details for payment. I can also arrange for direct deposit with Aussie customers if necessary.

COST: Each calendar is $29 plus postage*

*varies but within Australia: from $5; overseas from $10 for regular mail. Multiple copies to a single address will of course cost less per item.

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DON'T WAIT TOO LONG!

Be sure to get in early (cut-off for orders will be December 4 - but keep in mind that to get your calendars there before the New Year (or Christmas if it's a gift) I need to have lots of postage time. I will do my very best to get everything in the mail as soon as your funds clear, but don't forget that I live at whoop-whoop and our mail run takes place only twice a week!

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Thanks so much for your interest in this little project. I'd love to hear back from you when your calendar arrives ... and I hope you enjoy a taste of my world throughout 2010.

Cheers!
BB

If anyone is mad enough to wish to put a button up on their blog to link to this page here is the image to copy into your sidebar:

(this version is 300 px wide) and the appropriate link is http://bushbabe.blogspot.com/2009/10/bush-babe-calendar.html

The great CALENDAR question...

OK - am working on a bush calendar...

using some of these photos cleverly selected by y'all (and here too).

But I need some advice - AGAIN!!

(How did I ever make a decision before blogging?)

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The calendars would cost between $37 - $45 (Australian) plus postage

(for a really nicely-printed product on heavy paper).

Is that a reasonable price to pay?

I don't want to compromise quality for cost...

but... if no-one buys any?

Thoughts people?

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To help, here is what it might look like...

This is the large version 11x 17" (centre-bound)

And what a month inside the large version might look like:

And this is the smaller version (8 x 11"or about A4 size) :

And a view of a month:

HELP...

Am taking a poll on the sidebar too to help me decide Yay or Nay..

Perhaps if people go crazy, I can order more and the price will come down for a bulk order?

Hmmmm....

Oh, and another thing...

Does an Aussie Bush calendar HAVE to have a kangaroo photo?

Or two?

I wait patiently for your input, with worms on my tongue...

(that's 'bated breath', apparently)

Path to happiness...

Can mere bricks and mortar make a girl happy?

(Or even a close-to-middle-aged battling-to-stay-brunette female?)

I pose this question today, because over the weekend,

my ever-lovin' Hubby of the Year undertook a mission

which indeed brings me enormous joy.

Remember these pavers?

Of the 'Oh my God, she nearly lost them' variety?

Yar.

Well Mr Incredible put me out of my misery on Saturday

(the lop-sided load in the trailer parked right outside the front gate

was a painful reminder of my perilous trip home from Big Town last week!)

...

So he got to work...

He had some help of course... here Violet does what Violet does best:

Supervise.

"I fink you need more sand Daddy!"

Dash was busily doing his best to actually help but failing to follow instructions completely (as most seven-year-old boys are wont to do) and pour extra water into the wheelbarrow instead of the cement mixer.

Oops.

Mr Incredible did recover, but that first load was mighty sloppy!

...

And our other family member?

Well he sulked a lot after being chained up near the action

- Great Dane puppies and wet cement -

not a combo we were willing to try!

...

Here is the second load of wet cement being poured into the pathway already dug out by my energetic hubby.

Hey... I carried some of the pavers.

(And I have the sore abs and arm muscles to prove it!)

It was totally a team effort!

I liked the look of the tool and the cement...

OK, I was possibly not being particularly useful at this exact moment!

Let's not get picky...

This path originally had several large pavers that Mum had bought 'temporarily' placed like stepping stones between our patio and the gate - over about 7 metres.
Couch grass used to grow between them but with so much foot traffic (dog and young human mostly) it had become very bare and dust (or muddy) and a bit of a nightmare for anyone contemplating cleaning floors in our house. (And I do occasionally contemplate such activity. Sometimes I even do it!)

So it was with great excitement that I anticipated a non-dirt walkway for my house-bound traffic. Mr I would pour a couple of loads of cement and then carefully lay the pavers on top.

This is a clever scheme to simultaneously prevent the pavers from moving AND stopping weeds erupting from the path...

Dash and Violet were particularly helpful off-siders.

Dash even managed not to step in the wet concrete...

And while I carted armfuls of the bricks back and forth, I admired the precision of my paving man... here he demonstates the herringbone pattern.

As they say in the classics: I LOVE HARD WORK...

I could watch it all day long!

And that's pretty much how long it took.

As you can see from the shadows, this was taken at about 4pm.

Still a few more pavers to cut for the odd-shaped holes in the path,

and a heap more landscaping to do around it,

but my path is basically built.

Viola!

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Of course, not everyone understands my excitement at such things....

Axel appeared to take up 'stick-smoking' to break the boredom.

Projects... Number 1

Mr Incredible has been busy this year. The man has quite literally worked himself to the bone (he has lost over 25kg since we arrived from the city) out in the paddock. And I am sorry to say that even when he arrives home for some much-needed and deserved 'down time', he has been put into service around the house. I'm not sure what union is supposed to look after him, but whoever it is is doing a shocking job!

...

So anyway, when he arrives all hot and sweaty and dusty and tired at the end of the day, he finds little 'hints' on my trusty whiteboard. Things like:

• BBQ shelter (construct)
• Vege garden (construct)
• Remove old pool slide
• Take down high tank
• Whipper snip around yard
• Tidy shed

Of course, I have check boxes instead of dots, because no list is complete without a proper check box (note to self: contact Blogger about including check boxes in formatting). There is little more satisfying in the world than ticking off a job-well-done. My life is that simple. Even if the job I am ticking off is done by someone else (say, my husband)... it's a good feeling. Try it. You will notice that this list includes NOTHING I can attempt on my own. Mr I has even decided he likes my shins the way they are, and the whipper snipper is off limits! And I have put the shed off limits. I can barely keep the house under control - the shed is just scary.

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So in the spirit of sharing my good fortune in marrying a man who is not only younger (heh), and very handsome (mmm), but also amazingly talented in the "handyman" department (no, I do not share!)... I give you Project Number 1.

The Pool BBQ shelter.

It had to fit into a landscape of things that have long been part of the Granite Glen vista. This is taken in the late afternoon light from the Love Shack end of the Pool. (heh! That sentence makes me smile. Simple. That's me!)

And here is a detailed explanation of almost everything in that very busy photo... not so simple!

There was an enormous amount of digging, tree felling, barking, snigging, and lifting-up-with-tractoring. Not to mention swearing when we realised we had a triangle sail and a rectangle sail instead of two triangles. Did I mention that Mr I designed this little set-up? He did engineering for about six months and is therefore qualified in all matters technical and design-like.

Here he is lighting the BBQ for Violet's birthday dinner - please ignore the horse yards in the background of this shot. And the furniture mover that doubled as a log relocator. And yes, the supports are supposed to be that angle. Something about forces and gravity. Ask Mr I.

Me? I just love that we have some shade in the middle of the day over the BBQ. So Mr I doesn't get too sunburnt cooking. I love him hot and sweaty, but not really magenta and peeling! I think it looks pretty groovy, and fits right into our bush setting. Here one of Mr I's brothers (leaning up against the fence, look hard!) is providing moral support in the barbecuing. It's what Aussie men do at parties. Or anywhere for that matter. But that's another story for another day...

I like this angle of the project... you knew I'd go for the visual appeal side of things there, didn't you? Silhouettes and sunsets. And weird nautical balls in the foreground. Sweet.

Ah, and ticking off that checkbox? Awesome!

Now... do you want to see my vege garden??