Still here!

Well for all the family and friends that have rung txted and emailed... the bush fires are not currently headed our way.  I still dont feel safe.. they are way too close for comfort.  Today i have decided to pack a box of 'this would have to be saved stuff'',  So i guess that tells you where we are at.  We shouldnt be affected.  But if the wind changes direction....  The odd thing is that when we moved to Melbourne the bush fire smoke was really bad, it hung over the city like a blanket.  right through Canberra, through Albury Wodonga and then down into Melbourne, we drove through this heavy dark haze.  I guess it is the wind direction but we have none of that.  The wind is obviously sending it the other way, it does mean that we have nice clear blue skies, but in the distance we can see the smoke.

I guess everyone has seen the footage on the TV, it is certainly more than anyone can believe.  I tend to cry through the news, feeling so awful for the ppl who have lost so much, including their lives.  With the speed of the fires you obviously needed to be able to make an instant decision if u wanted to go and even then that wasnt always enough.

On a more personal note, Sara over at Sweet blossom Designs has released her Sweet Valentine Kit.  It is pretty cool, absolutely beautiful reds and whites, with wonderful elements.  I am always so blown away by her kits, and she prices them so cheap... they are a real bargain.



Also available for nothing.. like free.. is the Sweet Valentine Add on... incredible value!

[caption id="attachment_44" align="alignnone" width="390" caption="sweet valentine kit add on."][/caption]

So head on over to Sara

http://sweetblossomdesigns.blogspot.com/

Here are my layouts with the kit.



[caption id="attachment_42" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="This is Caitlin a few years ago now"][/caption]

I have done a bit of scrapbooking lately as my back has been disgusting.  May 22 is the 2 year anniversary of my back injury which apparently was minor and should get better quickly.  Now i feel like i am facing permenant disability.  I have been through a few weeks of really feeling depressed.  whats the point of getting out of bed to deal with pain?  I am trying to get myself more motivated... have a new physio plan, back to the pilates and determined to try and be as good as i can be.  But I still have to battle with workcover who think i should be better and are arguing about paying for time off work and the mri and... anyway upshot is a Medical Review.  I go and see an independent doctor and he says how good i am... or not.  I was a bit concerned when I read the letter as the appointment is for December 30th.  1899.  No i didnt type it wrong.  I think maybe they did!  So i rang and the appt is 20 February.. this year.  Makes more sense.

So Sarah has some more new kits and stuff coming out so I have been a busy little scrapper even if nothing else is working well!  The photography course is going well.  We did lighting last tuesday and have a practical day on Sunday at the Treasury Gardens.  It is a huge travel committment as it is about an hour each way for each session.  But I am learning!  I took a whole bunch of photos of Lucus the other day which look pretty good.  Now i need to download them and have a look.  I have aperture priority sort of working, but i am not too good with shutter priority.  maybe i will just practice them one at a time.  Looked into a tripod, apparently what i really need is a carbon fibre job, which are around $1000.  Damn.  There is one on ebaby for about $300 from China.  you just dont know do you.  It might be a piece of crap... but it could be the bargain of the century.  but at $90 postage you cant really be affording to post it back.  However the same place has camera hoods which I need and they also have polarising filters, once again, at a tenth of the price... worth the risk... I just dont know.  I figure the lens hood is a piece of plastic so it cant affect my photo.  But the filter is going over my lens... it could affect my photo.  but.. risking $14 is perhaps not such a bad idea.  I mean.. in real terms that is just two big mac combos right?

Ok.. you can tell that i have nothing to do right now coz i am waffling.  However i will finish with my other bit of news.  I am currently working on a new blog over at blogspot as it is far more customisable.  I want to get it all set up before i move, but hopefully soon i can have a much more interesting blog with slideshows and stuff.

Finally books.  i wanted to put books in here coz i read so much and I have to say that Stephanie Meyers books were an absolutely wonderful read.  wow!  I was so hooked.  Right from the first page.  i was so lucky and they were lent to me by one of Caitlin's friends so i didnt have to buy them or wait for them.  Brilliant.  What a great read! I have not yet seen the movie, but am prepared for disappointment.  Then I had a week of magic with Terry Brooks.  I have read a few of his before, some of the Elfstones books were quite good.  Then i saw a series called Genesis of Shannara with the first book titled Armageddons Children.  As a lover of post apocalyptic stories i was hooked.

[caption id="attachment_45" align="alignnone" width="240" caption="Armageddons children"][/caption]

So i managed to get all 3 of these from the library and loved them.  Easy to read, plot doesnt drag.  Characters are interesting.  Have passed them on to Mike who is on book 3. (that means they are quite a quick read as he does read quite slowly)  I believe we may now own book one as Mike dropped it in the river when we were camping and I dont think it will ever look the same.

And then with that series finished Caitlin brought me some more Jacqueline Carey. Kushiel's Justice. This is the second book of the second trilogy.  I do not recommend these to the prudish.  They are at times a little explicit and perhaps not mainstream.  Brilliant read though.  I loved her first series and own them and am really enjoying series number two.

[caption id="attachment_46" align="alignnone" width="100" caption="Kushiel's Justice"][/caption]

So.. that is me.  Frustrated by my ongoing back problems.  enjoying my photography but wish I understood it a whole lot better. ( i dont want to learn, i want to know) Scrapbooking is going well.  Angelique, Caleb and Lucus have moved to a 2 bedroom unit about 10 minutes away and seem relatively happy.  We are a bit torn.  It is nice to have some peace back but we miss Lucus like crazy.  Will post some of my new photos tomorrow... or when i get to it.

Linz