Our Car

It would appear that our car has been somewhat possessed - or at the very least temporarily cursed.

On the way home from our skiing adventures - we were just minutes away from home - when disaster struck - and it struck with an almighty BANG.

We could see the lights of Canberra up ahead - and were starting to look forward to showers, dinner and relaxing after a busy day on the slopes - and a full 5 days away from home - when suddenly - on the road - directly in our path - a large, metal, cylindrical object loomed in the headlights - and as traffic was rather busy (Friday night - many snow-lovers traveling to and from the snow - in this - our best snow seasons in 17 years...........) there was not much space to move - and missing the object completely was - well - out of the question.

We hit it hard - and pulled over quickly to the side of the road.

Friends, travelling behind, followed us - and with shocked faces - explained that they saw numerous sparks flying - and were worried what on earth had occurred.

In pitch darkness - and with just a small flashlight to inspect the underside of the car - not much could be seen - so we eventually decided to attempt driving on - and after a few tentative moves forward - we were back on the road again. Albeit - extremely slowly as the car did not sound 'well' at all.

We limped home - and once in the driveway - the full damage could be seen.

It's amazing really that we even made it home.

A huge 15 x 20 cm hole was gaping under the car - between the wheels - sort of - in the middle - around the 'transfer box' - so I am told.

I won't even attempt to explain further (as really I'm a girl that knows little about the full workings of the car) - but let's just say - it could move no further - as when an attempt was made to back in down the driveway again - a horrible metal-on-metal sound escaped from the underside of the car - and a large broken bolt fell out onto the concrete.

A few days later, we had the car picked up and taken to Ford here in Canberra - after many and varied discussions with our insurance agency.

And here's when the real fun begins.

Over at Ford - the young mechanics were taking the car off the back of the truck - when they lost control - and our car ended up pinning a young apprentice against the wall?!?!

Young mechanic was taken to hospital - and Zesty (that's the name of our car - or should we re-name her 'Christine'??) had large scrapes down one side - and dents left where the young man was once pinned.

Since then - apparently the car has behaved itself - and it is on the mend.

And so is the mechanic. (phew - I was wondering whether to send him a Get Well card from the car?!)

The broken underside has been replaced - and she now goes in for some metal work and little bit of spray painting.

It's been over 3 weeks now - and I seriously am dying to get back my car.

Hopefully, all will be well by the end of this week. Including all curses and possessions completely DELETED.

ICK!!!

John Butler Trio

Last week John Butler Trio were to play in Canberra.

I had tickets.

Sadly - the drummer was sick - and the concert had to be postponed. (he's all betterer now - thanks for asking!!) Perhaps they'll get back here in October - after they finish their touring in Europe.

In the meantime - I found this instrumental on YouTube - title - 'Searching For Heritage' - (very ironic title for me really) - and just had to share it.

I can't stop playing it.

These guys are good. Check them out - if you haven't already.

I've heard they're awesome live - I'll let you know my verdict when they finally play here.

I can't wait...............

UPDATE 1: they've rescheduled the concert - Monday 29th October - YIPPEEEEE.

UPDATE 2: THEY WERE BLOODY GREAT!!!!!!! 
(seriously good concert) 
*love*

What A Blast !!

We're back from the magical white stuff - and what a fantastic time we had.
(I'm talking about the SNOW people - don't go getting any wacky ideas....)

MissJ (almost 5yrs) learnt how to ski for the first time - and MissG (age11.5) and MissE (almost 9) were starting to ski backwards by the end of day 5 !!

The weather at the start of the week was all sunshine, awesome snow-cover & every lift open - and it moved into gale force winds and many lifts on wind-hold. BUT - we had a ball.

We went with CousinR from Holland - who came for a short but wonderful 2.5 week wirlwind visit to OZ - and our good friends - The Smiffs (family of 4).

Loads of laughter and good times had by all - it really was the holiday my psyche was screaming for.

Not much can compare to skiing around the slopes with my girls, my husband, CousinR and my good friends. We're already frantically doing the calculations for the next possible skiing adventure.

DAMN that skiing costs so flippin' much. (note to self - MUST win lottery to help ease the pain in my husband's pocket.......)

Today - CousinR flew back to the land of cheese and clogs - and the house & it's inhabitants seems eerily quiet and a little sad this evening.

He will be greatly missed - but here's hoping it won't be another 7 years before we're all back in the same hemisphere once more.

(oh - and yeah - not much studying going on around here - bugger!!! - better get my nose back into those books................this semester is not quite as exciting as the adventures that have been playing in my surrounds.)

ETA: labels for the photos are as follows (I can't work out how to flippy put them inbetween the photos - it JUST.WON'T.WORK. Pfffffttt!!)
Photo 1: Perisher Blue
Photo 2: CousinR & MissJ
Photo 3: MissJ (& me further up the slope)
Photo 4: MissE
Photo 5: MissG
Photo 6: MrW, me & CousinR
Photo 7: The Mob - eating lunch!!
Photo 8 : The Smiffs - D & D.

All About A Bunny

We've had a couple of rough weeks here in House O Possum.
And it's all because of a Bunny.

Name: Bouncer Bunny
Age: 1.5 years
Breed: Miniature Floppy Ears
Nature: Extremely Cute

Two weeks ago, said Bunny escaped from the back yard - and after numerous searches, he was nowhere to be found.

Picture this - 3 girls - various levels of emotional distress - depending on the age and the capacity to feel the full effects of the loss. Mum and Dad just trying to console as best we can.

We just started to move past it all a little - when 1 week later - neighbour tells us that someone up the road had found said Bunny - and had handed it into the RSPCA Animal Shelter - half an hour away - on the other side of this fair city!!!

Photos were gathered to prove ownership. Family flew down the road hoping that Bouncer really could be found. Excitement reigned. Bouncer Bunny was there - and he was brought back to his family home, safe and sound.

(I even had quite a few cuddles over the past few days - and smiled deeply as I watched him once more bounce freely around our backyard during his 'Bouncing Times')

Late yesterday - something was wrong with Bouncer.

He didn't jump away when MissG went to collect him to replace him in his cage. He was in fact rather limp when held - and he was struggling greatly to move at all.

We checked him out. We tried to coax him to move. We attempted hand feeding and giving fluids gently with a tube. I sat for hours with him on my chest, starting to realise that something was just not right at all.

We tried to make him comfortable and warm for the night - hoping that the rest would do him well and he'd be a little better in the morning.

This morning, after dropping off said girls (again in various degrees of grief) off to school and preschool - I rushed straight to the Vet.

I immediately couldn't stop crying as I saw that Bouncer was in fact even weaker than the night before - and this was the same Vet that had to put down both our dog and our cat many years beforehand - on two very seperate and traumatic occasions.

The Vet's plan of action - try to rehydrate - give him a thorough physical - keep him warm and medicated for pain - and see how he was in 2-3 hours. I got to the car and fell into a heap.

Bloody rabbit. Bloody pets. They make our hearts bleed when they're sick.

I kept myself busy for most of the day. Praying, hoping that my worst fears would be swept away.

I called. Not much change. He hadn't moved much all day. Wasn't interested in food. Prognosis wasn't looking real good. But we left it another 3 hours just to see how he would go.

School pickups - and attempts at keeping the troops busy. Not looking them in the eye. Explaining that he really was very very sick. Trying not to let on how upset I really was.

Then at 4pm - I made the call - and together with the Vet - we . decided to let Bouncer go.

So - tonight - I'm a bit of a mess. Until today I didn't realise how very attached I'd become to this Bunny. And now he's gone - and I hurt for him - and I hurt for my girls - who have now lost a very special friend.

RIP Bouncer Bunny.

You were greatly loved and will be greatly missed.

Potter Puppet Pals

A friend introduced this to our family a few weeks ago.
My kids LOVE it.
Enjoy!!!

And Another Set Of Holidays Flies On By.....

WOW - where did the holidays go???

So much for a long break from the studies and the books.

Uni started back this week - and I'm glad to say that my timetable is GOOD - and I'm really looking forward to ticking off another 3 subjects by the end of the year. Assignment workload doesn't appear to be too horrid - so all's good so far there.

The girls started back at school this week, and we're looking at another busy term for them.

We're looking forward to a visit in early August from Hubby's cousin from Holland - CousinR. We're very close to him - there has been numerous visits back and forth between us all - but it's not been 8 years since we've last seen him.

CousinR has various interests and occupations - one which includes skiing tuition on the beautiful white fluffy stuff - otherwise known as snow!! So - we're all going skiing together for 5 days - and the excitement bubbles are starting to grow.

We introduced the kids to skiing last year - and they had an absolute HOOT. So this trip should be a whole heap of fun.

CousinR will be staying in OZ for a total of 3 weeks.

So - for now - that's the news and reviews from House 'O Possum.

We'll now return you to your regular programming.............................................xx

Sick And Feeling BLAH

I've been a bit sick.

I was attacked by some rotten lurgy - and I've been in bed for the last 48 hours. Head pounding, fever, really sore throat, wicked cough - something this household has all come down with in various forms this last week - and it hit me HARD.

And it all hit after a very very busy week.

Last weekend I travelled by bus to Sydney with 2 girlfriends for a weekend away from the kidlettes.

It coincided with the Quilting and Craft Show in Darling Harbour - AND the many sales that mid-year Sydney retail produces.

We had a ball - lots of chatting, lots of walking, lots of shopping, good food, good wine, good company - a great weekend away.

Back at home - it's school holidays - and we have had a visitor staying for almost 2 weeks. My husband's 2nd cousin - from France - (MissC - 16yrs) - is in Australia for 6 weeks - and it was our turn to show her around our part of this big and beautiful country of ours.

It was a delight to have her here - as she slipped into our fam quite easily. She just became the oldest sister - and my kids had an absolute ball.

Her English was far more coherent than our non-existent French - so communication was relatively easy - especially as having fun is a universal language - so that's mostly what we've done this last 2 weeks.

She's seen almost all of the sights and museums that Canberra has to offer - and we even managed a couple of days without rain. (and I'm NOT complaining about the rain - as we've been in drought for a few years now - and the sound of rain on our roof is music to my ears - let me tell you!!)

Today I had to say goodbye to MissC as hubby and the girls have all driven up to Sydney to drop her back to his family - who will look after her for one final week before she heads back home to Paris. Hubby has a sister in Sydney - with 3 daughters - so MissC fits in well there also - and she stayed there before her visit to us.

Anyway - I'm still at home - obviously - as I seriously couldn't get out of bed - and I really thought it best not to spread this lurgy around more than it needed to be.

The fam should be back home tomorrow afternoon - and in the meantime - I'm taking things very very easy.

The kids have one week left of holidays - and so do I.

So I intend to have myself a whole lot of rest - some good family time when they return - and I'm looking forward to getting 3 more subjects finished by the end of the year.

Never a dull moment in House Possum - that's for sure!!!

The Results Are In

Finally - I received my semester results for Uni.

PHEW - another 3 subjects out of the way. (Possum does the Happy Dance!!!)

Again - I had to drop one subject midway through this semester - and I will now only be taking 3 subjects each semester for the next 2.5 years.

Twice now I have tried to do the full load of 4 units - and have almost been put into the nut house on both occasions!!

This will bump my degree out to 5 years - but it's for the sanity of our wee family unit that has caused me to make this decision.

Trying to study full-time whilst trying to maintain some type of normality within one's immediate family - is just NOT GOING TO HAPPEN - especially in this 3-kidlette house.

The house looks constantly like a tornado has passed through the place / kiddy homework gets more and more stressful for us parents to cope with as each term rolls on / all contact with one's family and friends comes to a complete standstill (YES - we are still alive - we're just unable to string together any words into a coherent sentence) / and life seems to travel faster than the speed of light - and before you know it - I'll be finished this degree - but my children AND husband may well have left for greener pastures.

So - FIVE YEARS IT IS.

(surely that will mean that I'll be a smarter-er teacher in the end - huh??!!)

I'm not saying that anything will get better - as 3 subjects is still a heap of work - but at least that way we may actually get through it all in one semi-held-together-with UHU glue-piece.
Here's to December 2010 - that's not so long away - is it?????

All About Me

For those that don't know me -

• I am forever 21! (that's what I tell the kids - and that's what I'm sticking with)
  
• I am a wife to a wonderful, understanding, patient man - MrW - who has been my husband since 1990. He was a Navy man for 23 years (yep - the uniform did it for me) - but he now works for the Dept of Defence as a civilian.
• I am a Mum to 3 gorgeous girls (no bias at all!!), born in '96, '98 and '02.
• I was born & raised in Sydney.
• I attended High School at an Anglican School For Girls - and I survived.
  
• I was once an exchange student to Sweden. (yes - I learnt Swedish - and no - it's been of absolutely no use to me throughout my life - but the experience was a blast!!)
• I worked in the Travel Industry for 8 years - and travelled lots.
• I was an ENJO consultant for 3 years - and travelled some more.
• I now live in Canberra - since 2000 - and I really don't hate it nearly as much as I thought I would - hence - we're still here. (I kinda really like it)
  
• I am finally back at Uni to finish my Bachelor of Education (Primary Teaching). I took a two year break to earn some $ and get my head back together - but now I'm back and should be teaching by mid next year.
  
• I love to let loose my creative streak every so often.
• I love to ski, scuba dive (although haven't done for some time), play piano, sew, travel, spend time with friends, drink champagne, create things, blog and breath!!

I'm looking forward to writing stuff about my life.

I hope you enjoy the ride.

Poss. xx