To be sure!

To all you little leprechauns out there

with a dash of Irish blood in ye...

Sorry, it's the greenest pic I've got!

And also happens to be of the delightful rear view of a nephew of a certain friend we shall refer to as:

Wayney Poo

whose birthday it is today!!!!

Have a huge one for me darlin...

Hugs

BB

Come drive with me, let's drive... part1

We have been a little busy here on the property lately.

Lots of bookwork and DNA testing for cows and blah-de-blah blah...

But seeing as how it was our anniversary last week, Mr Incredible took time out to take us all to town for a pub meal (not glam but not-too-bad food and someone else washing up!).

And part of the celebratory day was a drive. Something other than the straight-to-town-and-straight-home route usually taken in the minimum possible time...

Would you like climb into the Prado to join us for part of the journey?

I'll take that as a 'yes'...

Ready?

Firstly I'd like to introduce you to our dash and the view beyond...

For you Yanks, the driver (Mr Incredible) is seated to the right of screen.

Don't freak out.

He knows what he is doing.

And it IS the right side of the car to have the steering wheel!

It's also really important to not be scared of dirt roads.

Really, they are ALMOST as good as bitumen (blacktop), the dust will eventually wash off, and have waaayyy less traffic.

Massive bonus!
And you can stop every so often

right in the middle of the road

without a truck rear-ending you.
Shall we try?

Good, this'll do.

Ignore Mr Incredible's frown.

He's not all that keen on the 'stopping-regularly-to-take-photos' part of being married to me.

Seriously, after 14 years of knowing me and eight years of marriage, you think he'd be settled with it, wouldn't you? Heh.

...
But if you don't stop,

then you can never fully appreciate

treasures like this...

Hello Old Abandoned House...

and Fabulous Wonky Shed...

That little 28-200mm zoom lense was all-out for this snap.

Can't you just imagine the scene half-a-century ago...

A gaggle of kids rounding up shaggy ponies in the paddocks, Ma and Pa having a hot cuppa on that open verandah, looking proudly over the then-new carport housing some pale blue 1950s Holden rig? No TV, no Nintendo DS's, no dial-phones, no internet?

I shudder a little at the final thought...

Then a little further along the track, this fence-and-road-and-horizon-and-power-pole view rises up before you.

I took this one through the windscreen.

It was too soon after the 1950s family home to stop again!!

I love the openness-yet-tamed feel of this scene...
You?

Oh look...

It's a groovy still-used littlechurch sitting calmly on its own, out on the plateau...

It was somewhere near here that my brother asked his girlfriend to marry him. He was in a ute. A red ute. She said yes. They now have three kids and are all happy little Vegemites.

There is good vibe to this place.

You can feel it... can't you?

Had enough yet?

Let me know if you are

carsick, bored to tears,

or ready for another instalment...

-to be continued-

Of hats, horses and gutter conversations...

Guess what we've been up to over the weekend?

Besides me taking too many photos ...

And Dash advising his Dad ...

...to make sure he

'digs him in the gutters'

to make his horse go faster!

(I smiled in spite of myself.)

Hope y'all had a top weekend too!

Aussie humour and My Man

When I first met Mr Incredible, I was taken by many things.

By his eyes - blue and clear and direct;

His imposing height - six foot two with a very upright posture;

His slow smile - a rare grin that reached all the way to those baby blues and took my breath;

and his ability to just BE.

Without feeling the need to show off or impress anyone.

My world was full of show offs.

They left me cold.

I was taken by this man's sure, laidback, understated approach.

...

But the very things that attracted me to Mr Incredible, apparently scared the bejeezus out of others. I recall one of his mate's girlfriends cornering me soon after we started going out. Mr I's house was always being taken over by his mates and entourage, which sometimes didn't thrill him. He would get this stern don't-bother-approaching-me look about him. This girl, looking over her shoulder furtively, asked me in a low nervous voice if I wasn't, well, a bit frightened of him?

Ummm, No, I replied.

(Would I go out with someone that scared me? Seriously?)

...

The fact is I grew up with hard-working, tough, non-emotional men.

And I worked with blokes who thought they were pretty tough

and tried to prove it often.

I knew Mr Incredible could be stern and non-smiling

and inscrutable like no-one's business.

Usually when he was around people who didn't impress him much.

He never said anything negative.

He just hung back and let them prove him right.

Call me crazy, but I kinda liked that.

...

I recall this today, because my father related a short story this afternoon that not only illustrates how my sometimes-stern husband comes across to others, but also the fabulous sense of humour of your average Aussie bushie...

...

Apparently Dad had run into one of riders who had done the campdraft school with Mr Incredible a couple of weeks ago. So, in the course of the conversation, Dad asked this bloke what he thought of my hubby.

...

The guy (deadpan) replies:

Put it this way, mate...

If I found him in bed with my missus...

Well...

I'd just tuck him in!!!

...

For the record, I roared with laughter when I heard this.

As did Mr Incredible.

The Trouble with Danes

OK.

I have been having trouble visiting the Pioneer Woman lately.

Which means I have been there too often, with tears leaking down my cheeks.

It's not her fault. Not really.

But she KEEPS putting these photos up of a stray dog that wandered into her yard, and it's kinda breaking my heart here.

...
Because

THIS DOG...

...looks

EXACTLY

like

my Cosmo...

Don't you think??

...

It's like he's really spent the past two years traversing the Pacific and tramping across America to rock up and say g'day to me via P Dub. Of course, I am not so kooky as to actually believe that... but part of me wants to.

Is that too weird?

OK. Don't answer!
But these are the thoughts that flit through my mind.

And then I start reminiscing...

And all this comes flashing back...

And I start to ache again...

That's the trouble with Danes.

They lollop on into your life, and it doesn't matter if they are there overnight or for seven years, when they go they take a bit of you with them.

It sucks.

Please God ...I want another one.

The Great Bike Ride... and back!

When Jeanie and I were kids, we rode our bikes to the bus stop every day.

And when he was old enough, our brother Pig did too.

(Pig is the baby of our family - and no that is not his real name!)

I cannot remember how old I was when I first started this 1 km journey along our red dirt road from the house to the green tin shed beside the 'main' road, on my own.

Or how old our little brother was when he began that same dusty ride.

But I know how very little Dash seems when I imagine him braving it on his own.

...

It's not something we have pushed - riding the bike to the bus stop - and I have been happy to drive him over the hill, across the grid and over the corrugations past the little green shed and to the cleared bus turnaround area. And he has been more than happy to let me. I need him to decide when he wants to do it - the carrot over the stick approach, if you like.

So when he announced that he wanted to ride his bike to the bus yesterday, I was surprised but happy. Of course we gave ourselves plenty of time - especially after Violet demanded that she tag along on her wonky little trike. Dash insisted on wearing his spanking new shiny blue mud boots, and taking his (handy dandy) notebook.

Oh, the sight made this ex-journo's heart swell...

A chip off the old block!!

I have no idea what he was notating... but he was happy. And busy. And very slow in getting that one kilometre journey under his belt!
And it wasn't just the documentation of each highlight that held us up.

It was the corrugations...

Check out those wobbly wheel marks...
Man, you could lose a child among these road ridges and not sight them again!

And there was the grid.

The big bad nasty shin-skinning, kid-swallowing grid... speed and accuracy and confidence is required to fly over it while staying atop one's pushbike. Ask Jeanie about it one day - she had a kinda hate-hate relationship with the thing.

Previous excursions with my little ones had seen me take over bike duties as the kids nervously tippy-toed across the metal girders while clinging to the siderails for balance, but this time Dash actually insisted on crossing the grid, on foot, pushing his own bike! Slow but sure. My boy!

We were up to the 20 minute mark here and about two-thirds through our epic journey.

I began to glance at the Prado clock and thanked my out-of-character organisation in bringing loaded toothbrushes instead of delaying our start with the pearly-whites procedure at home...

We made to the bus stop with three minutes to spare - just enough time to brush, spit into the grass, and swill from the water bottle. The smiles were white and wide! ...

But wait, that's not all! Not only did we make it UP to the bus stop in the morning...
We also headed HOME that afternoon the same way...
The double!
Meet the toughest chick on Granite Glen...
Violet had her 4-year-old immunisations in town - a needle in each arm - without flinching (let alone crying) thank you very much! And she was still up for a kilometre ride a couple of hours later! I did offer to pick her up halfway - to save her some of the corrugations and the uphill bit.
She scowled blackly at me and took off without a word...

You go girl!

That is one determined little possum there people.

Lord help me.

And our little man...

who has not always known for his endurance capabilities...

All. The. Way.

On. His. Own.

I was so proud of them ...

while they played outside, I decided I needed a strong cup of coffee and a lie down!

And as I nodded off, I wonder if I remembered to get those toothbrushes out of the car?

Favourite things... RM Williams catalogue

I got my hot little hands on this yesterday...

It's a catalogue.

But not just any catalogue.

It's a new, glossy, fabulous RM Williams catalague.

I love sitting down with a tall coffee and flicking through the pages of a publication like this.

It takes me away from the laundry and dirty fingernails and kitchen chaos for 20 minutes or so. My getaway.

Wanna come?

Hello RM.

You old devil.

Hope you don't mind me putting your image up unannounced...

I promise I won't take your name in vain!

(Check this earlier post for a mention of this Aussie icon).

...

Wanna see what what is on offer in this lovely shiny mag?

Coffee at the ready?

Let's go!

Firstly, there are lots of cute men.

(Not that Mr Incredible should be remotely concerned. He knows I like a little catalogue browsing! And he is secure in the knowledge that I think he is a hottie!)

I couldn't see any price tags for these guys. But I suspect I could not afford any.

Heh!

And there are lots of gorgeous photos of gorgeous blue-eyed women.

This one frightens me a bit.

Very Stylish, and Preppie and Icy all at once.

Of course I could be jealous that I have NEVER been able to wear a scarf like this.

And my eyes are muddy brown and not icy blue.

*sigh*

There are gorgeous items of clothing for people who have not yet lost their waists.

If anyone finds mine, could they please post it to me?

Thanks.

Appreciated.

And there are lots of gorgeous photos of gorgeous bridles and other leathergoods.

Like this AUSTRALIA-themed 'Drovers' leather jacket.
I won't tell you the price.
I will say that I needed a good scotch after I read it!
The cost of looking like Hugh Jackman is stiff.
Like my drink!

I totally heart this belt.
It's a divine hand-plaited 'Overseer' belt.
If Mr Incredible is reading this, my birthday is coming up!
*wink*
Now is it just me, or does this guy look totally like George Clooney?
In an Aussie, RM Williams kinda way?
Yum.
Or if you need something a little younger and less mature and experienced-looking,
how 'bout this dude on the right...

Nope. I agree.
Our George lookalike on left still wins.
*sigh*
I love catalogue browsing.
...
If I have whet your appetite for eye candy of the mankind, apparel or leathergoods kind, and you want to peruse some more RM offerings,
click here...
But have your coffee ready.
And a cinnamon roll.
And maybe a bottle of Glenfiddich.
Don't say you haven't been warned.