Diamonds are a girls best friend....

Well in this case... maybe Rubies!?!??

Yes, little Ruby came to stay for a couple of days this weekend...

Fortunately she's now staying with another foster carer (hopefully one that won't get quite so attached to her as we were becoming after just two days), and is up for adoption on the paws website!!

When she wasn't busy tugging at your heart strings... she was off tugging at my shoe laces...

Australians all let us rejoice...

Happy Australia Day!!

For those of you with nothing better to do this public holiday....

http://members.iinet.net.au/~pontipak/redsquare.html

Warning.... highly addictive!!!

Apparently US fighter pilots have to be able to keep it up for two minutes... our very own Australian fighter pilot tried it out, with his top score being 24.172 seconds!! Before you laugh too hard... give it a try...

My current top score is a measley 21.781 seconds....

Aaaahhhhh.... what would we do without public holidays!?!?!?!?!

How much is that doggie in the window...

As most of you know we have been fostering dogs for a rescue organisation called PAWS. We had a bit of a break for the past few months... but got our new foster last night... (plus an extra just for two nights!!)

But before they make their own guest appearances... I decided to put up a PAWS hall of fame for our past foster dogs.

All the dogs have been saved from the pound, where they are only taken when they are due to be put down. Without rescue organisations and foster carers these dogs would never have had a chance. So many of them have had a bad start to life, but still have so much love to give. We found this organisation when we were looking for a friend for Ciska, and stumbled across Archer. The change in him since he arrived is unbelivable, and he continues to amaze me every day!!

Basically foster carers are their chance to develop in a happy home while they wait for someone to choose them... it can be sad, it can be smelly, and it can be frustrating, but it is so rewarding!! If anyone wants to know more, or knows of anyone looking for a dog, I would strongly recommend you check out their website: http://www.paws.com.au/ (I'll put a link on the side later!!)


Anyway....These are our past puppies....


This is Charlie... He was our first... a cute corgi cross that was just so lovable!!

Next came Gilbert... we only had him for one night... he barked and barked and barked if you ever left the room (made going to the toilet quite difficult!!) so we swapped him with a foster carer who was home all day...

We swapped him for Patrick... A lovable larrikin (that scared us half to death when he ran away the first day we had him)... that was always getting into mischief (and next doors back yard!!)

Next came Benny... not a real looker... but found a home quicker than we could believe!!






Simba was surrendered coz he wasn't quite what his new owners expected, but 48 hours later they missed him so badly they decided to give him another try, and with a bit of advice have been happy ever since...




Next came my favourite ever... Little Tilly... She was just the cutest little fluff ball EVER!!

She gets two pics... not just becasue she's my favourite... but because you need to see her before and after her "Cousin It" hair style!!



BEFORE:





AFTER:

Ollie came along next and we had the most trouble finding a name for him that we'd ever had. (Lots of the dogs came with names... ie Benny, Simba, Patrick and Gilbert) We thought we'd found the perfect name... Pepper... but, it turned out we were too late - it was already taken by another PAWS foster dog... so eventually we settled on Ollie.

Stella, our last foster before Christmas had just had seven pups before she came to us for a bit of R&R!! No wonder she's so zonked out in this pic!!

Oh no... Cheeneo....

As promised... the not so new, but most recent addittion to the gang...Chino...






One day whilst Renee and I were having one of our dreaming days, flipping through the pages of horse deals, Renee spots a horse that looks familiar... (this was his pic in the mag...)



After a bit of digging around, it turns out she used to compete against this horse in its younger days. It's been ridden by some of the top showjumpers in the state (including former olympians!!) over the years and been quite successful in showjumping. We went out to have a look at him a couple of times and what a surprise... I fell in love with him!! It wasn't love at first sight... it took a couple of visits and a ride before I was sure, but after getting him home and having a ride I knew we'd gotten the right one!!

No... that's not me jumping him... (another sale pic from the mag!!) But hopefully in the not too distant future there will be a pic of me up on this blog similar to this one.

His vital stats: 19 years old... but still going strong, 16.1 hands high (I have to have a milk crate to get on.... now there's a funny story :) ) Black all over except for his little white foot!! As he has already competed he already has a show name... Yallata...it's a little aborigional town in South Australia... yes... you guessed it...this horse is an Adelaidian - born and bred (so clearly he and I were meant to be!!).

Next week, Renee and I are hoping to get back into riding full on (I've had a bit of a break over Chrissy - and she's been busy teaching) but for this long weekend... Chino will be happy doing what horses do best....

Hit the road jack....

So the whole assignment thing turned into a bit of a disaster....



By 4pm I was incredibly proud of myself for finishing my first draft, and as you can tell from my previous post... my brain was slightly fried!!!



I decided the best idea would be to take a break, and review my assignment with a clear head. Since it was still 800 degrees... i thought a nice drive in the airconditioned car, up to feed the horses was the ideal solution, so i grabbed Archer and set off for the central coast....



Big mistake number one...

Hmmmm.... that seems a little dramatic.... that's not my car on fire!!!

But that is the freeway that takes me to and from the horses.... note the lack of cars.

Not realising the severity of the situation... I continued on my way, traffic was heavey going, but it still only took me an extra 15 minutes than normal to get up to the horses. I was anticipating that by the time I'd fed the horses and turned around the semi-chaos would have cleared and I'd be home free.

Unfortunately... not the case.... it took 3 1/2 hours to complete the 45min journey home!!!

As per my earlier posting i was quite sugared/caffeined up on iced coffee, coffee and well... more coffee.... so for 3 1/2 hours i was stuck in the car by myself, bursting with energy, going absolutely insane!! As time crept on i became more and more panicked about the assignment.

At 10.00 I realised there was a strong possibility I wasn't going to make it home by b11.59 to submit my assignment. Rob to the rescue.... one phone call later he had a list of instructions of changes to the assignment and how to submit it.... only to realise... my phone was dying...

So now.... I couldn't even cure the boredom by talking to people on the phone!!! By this stage... people are getting out of their cars and walking, some even stopping and starting games of cricket!!

The trains had been cancelled and my earlier laughter of the 60 odd people stuck by the side of the road on my way up to the horses came back to haunt me!! Not so funny anymore....

Eventually the traffic began to crawl forward until eventually it opened up... 11.00pm... and i was only 15 minutes from home. Sadly at this point the traffic was flowing past the most spectacular part.... the bright orange haze lighting the night sky was like nothing I have ever seen... so overwhelming... i wish I could have captured it on camera... but had no choice but to floor the corolla all the way home... the passwords I'd given Rob to submit my assignment weren't working!!

Finally at 11.20 I managed to submit my assignment.... probably not the best work I've ever done, but at least I got something in!!

Fingers crossed it should be my last... and after this experience I certainlty hope it is!!

It's getting hot in here.....

It must be about 40 degrees in here today!!!

I am officially half way through what may (or may not) be my last ever CA assignment.

Yes, it's due 11.59 pm tonight...Yes, I only started it at 9am this morning... Yes, I'm crazy...

The fan is blowing hot air on me, and I think I have had enough caffeine to kill a small meerkat.

Obviously the combination of heat, caffeine and study are affecting my brain!!

Oh well.... back to it!!!

Foxy Lady....

Yay... we finally have foxtel....

well almost.... we've had a man here for two and a half hours now.... (yes a foxtel man!!)

surely it can't be much longer.......

America's next top model marathons.... here i come!!!!

My wife... she dead... High Five!!

Hee hee..... saw Borat for the THIRD time last night......

Still Funny!!

He's Ablazing......

Whilst not the newest addittion to the collection, it seemed more apropriate that he should get first mention!! Meet Blaze!!

After writting "horse" on my Birthday and Christmas lists for years as a child, to no avail, I finally gave up!!

But after winning a red balloon days voucher in mid 2005 and getting some horse riding lessons, it became apparent that I'd never really given up on that wish after all!!

So a year later, when we heard there was a horse for sale at the trail riding place where we had been having lessons, we had to have a look!! and a ride.... and ... a think... and another look... and... a horse!!!!

Blaze had been a trial riding horse for about six/seven years, but gets sore where his girth (the strap that holds the saddle on - for all the non-horsey people!!) rubs, and couldn't be ridden all day every day, nor left with a cheap saddle/girth on all day - which isn't too good for business!!

So Blaze came home with us.... well, he's not in our backyard (Ciska and Archer said they wouldn't share the kennel!!) but agisted up at Ourimbah (NSW North Coast).

Renee (horse riding instructor - turned friend - aka horse expert on tap!! Thanks matey!!) has her horses at the property where the pics have been taken below, which is where I take Blaze to ride, to borrow her arena and jumps (once again... Thanks!!) and to get some space from all the people agisting where Blaze is (thankfully - it's only a short walk along the road, between the two properties) and to have the occasional lesson on him.




Ready to go.... Blaze all tacked up...

From his humble beginnings Blaze has came along massively. He was lazy as when we first got him, but through the work we've put in, he's now quite a forward moving horse, and is starting to jump little jumps really well!! We're so happy with him!!




It was quite windy the day we took the photos, below is his wind swept pose for the camera!!




After the ride.... He's a bit sweaty - but you get the idea!! He's still pretty fat - but looks in heaps better condition than when we first pulled him off the truck!! At 14'3 he's not a tall boy, but definitely heavy. With a bit more work - those of you that are interested will hopefully be able to come out for a ride on him soon!!





We're hoping one day he may do a small jump competition at which stage he'll need a show name... current faves "He's Ablazing", "Raising Blazes", "All Ablaze", "Ablazing Maze" and "Heavens Ablaze".

Would love to hear any suggestions.... aside from "Glue", "Pal", "Dog Meat", "Clag".... I believe they're all taken!!

Jingle all the way....

It appears some photos escaped from the work Christmas Party... Me and Ange taking bowls very seriously... I came second in the first game and first in the second game... before retiring gracefully to the bar!!

We then ventured to Iceberg's at Bondi... home of the fateful Oyster... Boo!!

However I did manage to learn very quickly that the best way to lose at Poker is to fold repeatedly!?!?!?

And that's all there is!!!

Lilly Pilly Lane...

Ok... so this is mainly for Nan.... but as you can probably tell... I have an assignment due relatively soon... therefore things like "backyard blitzing" the front courtyard are suddenly of ut-most importance, and can't possibly wait!!

As such... last Thursday we spent a pretty penny down at the garden shop which was having a half price Lilly Pilly sale. After scouring the place and investigating every single Lilly Pilly to find the ones with the strongest constitution, and making promises to the chosen ones that they can only hope we keep...( ie... we really will water you when we can...) we piled up the back of the corolla with more Lilly Pilly's than any one would care to imagine (especially the people driving behind us, who realised anything that wasn't in front of us was in a leafy blind spot) and ..... voila.... our beautiful summer courtyard was ready for BBQ dinner!!!!

NB... Thanks to Uncle for his help with the newly constructed "car-port" you can just glimpse on the other side of the fence!!

"It starts... you think you know a guy..."

So... Ages ago, i was sent links to friends' blog sites....

They captured my attention, read them, laughed, investigated, learned a bit about people you might not have realised, discovered what they considered important/funny/interesting....

And then forgot about blogs....

Then came Youtube.... From no where... it seemed like it was everywhere...

And now like blogs did.... seems some what faded...

But as Christmas and New years creeps further away (and closer at the same time) I realise all those happy thoughts cheered on by the warm and fuzzy feeling you get at Christmas time of catching up with friends old and new, has once again slipped by.

I find my self back at work... guiltily typing out email after email to people I failed to catch up with, and after typing out how I was sick for New Years eve two or three times...the paragraph shortens and shortens until.... "New years - sick - oh well - next year".

So... in an effort primarily to reduce my guilt (It's all about me....well come on... it's a blog after all!!) I bring you the Bibby Blogs!!

OK... some people get Bibby.... for others it will remain an unsolved mystery along with big foot and asparagus... but hey, you get that!! Wether you get it or not, you have to admit "Bibby Blogger" has a ring to it!!

Well.... now... if only I had something interesting to write about.....

There's always tomorrow!!

(And by the way.... don't worry... I don't have any plans to Youtube!!)

Bev

xoxo