Farewell Fair Friend

After 10 years of service, we've retired our tent. We've certainly had our money's worth.

I vividly remember when I got it. Here's what happened (please, don't judge). I was on maternity leave  and rocked up to Kmart with all the kids in tow - George was 12, Jaz was 11 and in a wheelchair, Elle 7 and Sass 5 months in a pram on a mission to buy one of their $24 strollers to take on our driving holiday to Tasmania. Technically, Sass was still a bit small for a stroller, but there was no room for a pram.

We'd recently been camping at Easter with the six of us wedged into our one room tent and enduring a horrendous storm in which George's sleeping bag got soaked (with him in it!). That had sparked the need for a larger one - but right then, there were other priorities.

Back to Kmart. I spotted a two room tent on sale and called Geoff. If he promised to sell the old one, I'd buy the new one. Done!

I grabbed the tent, the stroller and the usual stuff you discover at Kmart that you didn't know you needed until you saw it.

Chatting with the ladies at the check out, I confess I wasn't paying much attention. I paid, organised George and Elle to help push the pram, the wheelchair and the over-flowing trolley back to the car. As I was loading kids and gear, I suddenly thought That can't be right when I recalled the finally tally of our shopping. I dug out the receipt and confirmed my suspicions. Among the chaos, the chat and the price checks, the tent had been put through at $24 and no no sign of the stroller.

I was not going back.

So there you have it. Pretty much a free tent.

After 10 years though, the zipper on the front was dodgy, we discovered half a pole missing (The Grampians last year?) and a small hole had appeared in the floor. So after camping this year, we packed it up neatly into its bag (missing one wheel) and left it by the bin.

PS I'd like to point out that I always tell a cafe if they'd missed a coffee on the bill or if I think a business has undercharged me. In fact, the electrical mechanic told me he'd never had anyone call to check that he'd remembered to charge everything! So please don't think this is my usual behaviour!!

Happy New Year!

For many today (or yesterday depending on when I get this out!) will have been your first day back in the office. Another reason I'm loving working at home - although best I start focusing more of the kind of work that pays, as opposed to trying to get this house sorted!

It's been a busy break - Christmas day, roast pork and the excitement of Santa, turkey dinner on Boxing Day because my brother couldn't make it for the actual day and then Geoff's birthday on the 27th. We headed home from South Australia on the 30th for a night of rest before heading up to Ruffy to a friend's farm for New Year - and what a party! We kicked on until 2am - including Sass - which was loads of fun until about 5.30am the next morning when the sun hit the tent we'd pitched in their garden. Within about 30 minutes, it must have been 40 degrees. Geoff had bailed at about 30 degrees but at six, I dragged my sleeping bag and pillow out of the tent and into the shade of a hedge for a little more shut-eye. Sass appeared shortly there after and I suggested she check on her sister and her friend Charlotte, who were both in 'onsies' (those silly in all one sleeping outfits usually reserved for the under two's as anyone older is in grave danger of a huge wedgie), in sleeping bags, under a 'mink' (ie 100% polyester and very heavy and hot) blanket in a tent reaching sauna-esque temperatures - just to see that hadn't expired and perhaps, at least drag the blanket off them.

Back in town, the 'gathering of gear' for the year away at boarding school for Eleanor began. Like many women I know, I quite enjoy a shop, but after two days of buying hiking gear, underwear, a sleeping bag liner (that's what we needed on NYE to absorb the sweat!!), toiletries, linen, trail shoes, water bottles, a compass, blah blah blah.... even I had had enough! Now I need to sew name tags on about 8,000 items and she'll be ready to go. She and my adopted daughter Frankie have sewn on quite a few but Frankie's gone back to Sydney and Eleanor is doing Surf Life Saving Cadets down the coast, so it'll be up to me. My gorgeous friend Penny B has offered to help - bless!

And interjected into this period of 'relaxation' was Elle's 14th and Sass's 7th birthdays. Geoff bought Sass a laptop - yes - that's right, a full fledged, Windows 7 laptop. She was straight onto eBay - ahhhhh!!

And we've also had time to have a go at dipping the girls' nails in vodka and then pressing newsprint onto them - it really does work! It'd be better with foreign language print - but we only had The Age. You need to press quite hard and then add a clear top coat. Check them out.

Elle's 

Frankie's