YES!!!! It is time for the Supercheap Auto 1000 @ Mt Panorama once again! I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since sitting hillside witnessing the rivalry of Holden vs Ford.

Ahhhhhhh! What a week ahead we have! We have spent the past few days anxiously counting down the hours & packing the Trailer & cars. This year even though fuel prices are against us, we are taking 2 vehicles to ensure everyone is comfortable on the journey. This will also allow us plenty of room for the packed camp gear etc. It’s amazing how much stuff you take for a week’s worth of camping!

So off we head tomorrow to set up camp in The Chase as per last year. As of Thursday we will be able to sit back & relax with a few JD cans & the rumble of the V8s at our feet. Hoping to catch up with an old friend of mine from Berridale which we see only once a year at the mountain. I will be cheering on Team Red & generally just enjoying the best week of my year. Other than that, I am looking forward to doing SFA!

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A couple of days have now passed since my Birthday. After turning 30 I became well aware that the years just pass with nothing anyone can do about it. It does make me sad that we cannot turn back time however it has taught me that I need to make the most of it while I can.

My 2 nieces H & L had spent the week with us since Monday as it was School Holidays.

My family from Sydney & family from Batemans Bay spent the day (& in fact overnight) with me as well as everyone here in the home. It was a wonderful way to spend the day & we ended it with a little Finger Food party with home made foods & Birthday cake to celebrate. I got lots of lovely presents & feel very spoilt indeed.

On Friday being ANZAC Day, a group of 8 of us went Tenpin Bowling. A good chance for SK & myself to get some practice in & for the family to do an activity together. My mother, who celebrated her 70th Bday in Feb bowled her very first game of Tenpin Bowling! As she is fairly frail, we used the gutter bumpers for her & she started off pushing a 6 pound ball from the Ball Rail. However by mid game first game she was in fact bowling the ball with two hands by herself & no rail to assist! She ended up playing 3 games all up & on her last game bowled the last 2 frames with a 10 pound ball! Do you believe she even got a strike!!!! We were all very happy & so proud of her. Standing a mere 4ft8, she was a treat to watch. My eldest niece H was her greatest help. She guided her up to the lane & handed her the ball each turn. I know that Little Nanna (mum) enjoyed every second of it. I was the proudest Aunty in the whole universe

My Brothers & my sister in law enjoyed playing too, as well as my niece L. H & L had in fact already bowled the same week as SK, Mum T & myself took them on Tuesday evening to play. My Sister In Law D had never bowled before either, so it was also a treat for her. Both of my Brothers had played League many moons ago & has been a long time since either of the 2 had picked up a ball or shot at the pins. I couldn’t have been more happier than to see everyone enjoy themselves as much as they did.

It seems this may become a popular outing when the family is visiting. There aren’t any alleys close to my Bro K in Batemans Bay which means they don’t even have the opportunity to go bowl a few games anyway.

Today SK, Mum T & myself ventured north to Corrimal for a few games at Northern Bowl. I hated almost every second of it! I think I have become accustomed to playing at Shellharbour Bowl & I swear my allegiance to them after the feelings I went through bowling elsewhere. I just could not get a grip on myself! I literally felt like I was going to pass out with sweats, shakes & giddiness. I know I sound rather silly, but I just felt so out of my comfort zone. I know this is something I need to get used to if i’m going to play elsewhere for any reason. I just cannot explain what came over me. I put some of it down to the mug of hot gritty sugar drink they called Hot Chocolate which I managed to gulp only half of it down before retiring it. Then followed it up with a Chicken & Gravy roll, which was basically the stickiest, thickest goop of salt i’ve ever swallowed in my life. Knowing how much money was wasted on this stuff, I decided it was best to eat it rather than throw it out. By the time I was finished, my hands were sticky & slippery at the same time & kept sliding out of the ball as I was on the swing of my turn. I was also so thirsty that I believed I was going to die without a drink. Although as I have no money these days, I felt guilty asking for yet more to drink. However as it was, I was on the brunt end of a “Coke Frame” so SK took the initiative to go buy the round of cold drinks for us all. Thankfully for him I left Corrimal in a decent state of mind. LOL

So all in all, it has been a busy past few days. But now things have settled back down to everyday living & I am to find things to do with myself during the days as the job hunting continues at a slow & sad pace.

I am another year older. Not sure if I am that much wiser, but what I do know is…. There’s no place like home. I LOVE SHELLHARBOUR BOWL!!!!

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As is custom in my family, we made the annual trip to the Sydney Easter Show last Sunday. The day was also marked by my Brother’s (Maddoggie) 49th Birthday.

Because we moved further south, our day began by leaving home a little after 6am. ShadowKnight, Duff, Mum T, Dad T & myself travelled up in 2 vehicles. We stopped along the way for Maccas Brekky before arriving at Maddoggie’s house in Sydney. My 2 nieces were awaiting us & were quite excited about the day ahead. We did the presents then headed off to Homebush.

We started out our day once arriving at the Show similar to years before. We immediately headed off to rent a couple of lockers (This year we had 4 large lockers) then head into the Showbag Pavilion. We waited a few minutes for the crowd to roll into the building once the doors were open, then shot straight in. There wasn’t many people to have to mingle with which was fantastic. We got all our Showbag purchases done & immediately took them to the lockers to hide them away till the end of the evening.

From there we decided this year to hit the rides next. We played a few sideshow games trying to win an Elmo. No such luck! My nieces H & L went on a few rides with each other which pleased me & made me extremely proud of them! They tried a couple of new rides & were also quite pleased with themselves. They went on a couple of rides they were familiar with then finally talked me into going on the Ferris Wheel with them. This seems to have become a custom of ours as for the past 3-4 years we have done this as the last of the rides for the year. I am somewhat afraid of heights & really don’t enjoy rides at all so to do this each year gets my adrenalin pumping & the hands sweating!

We wondered off in different directions after this. Maddoggie, H & L went to see the animal pavilions & wonder about together. The rest of us headed into the Fresh Food Dome to check out the Art, Craft & Baking competitions, then into the Agriculture section. We find this each year to be one of the busiest areas no matter what time of day you hit it. This year we actually had room to breathe in the crowds which was a nice change of pace. However we did have to walk single file a few times & keep an eye out for each other. Our group of 5 split as well & SK & I wondered around looking at the things we enjoy the most. Again as is custom, we found the Chilli Factory stand & bought a Showbag deal. We chose 5 different sauces & chutneys which SK will enjoy over the year. We actually passed up the Mourish Nuts stand, which we normally buy from each year. However we did sought after a Honey stall. After coming across the 2 we found last year, we decided upon buying a $19 Showbag from Clayridge Farm. Inside the bag is 1 jar of Honey, 1 jar of Creamed Honey, 1 Lip Balm, 1 Honey Dipper & 1 bottle of BuzzMe Honey Drink. We purchased an extra bottle of drink so SK & I had one each. We quite enjoyed it last year so were happy to get it again this year. We found out Clayridge actually sell Online & have offered Free Delivery for orders over $20 Aus wide (except W.A). this has delighted me as it doesn’t take long to order over $20 worth of items once you check out their range. Upon seeing their website, they also sell Lavender products which delights me to no end!

Afterwards we met back up with the rest of the crew & headed into the Main Arena to get seating for the evening & have a few bites to eat.

The evening show was awesome with one of the biggest Fireworks displays i’ve seen there yet! The entertainment is thrilling for young & old, with continual action right into the night. We left at the end of the Show to drop off the Sydney-siders to their homes, then travelled on South before arriving home not much before midnight. We quickly went through our bags, chatted about the day in general then hit the sack.

It was again a fantastic day with no regret at how much we actually spent on the day. It’s a once a year event & we expect to “waste” money on the day. Many people prefer to spend as little as possible & though we prefer to do the same, we know that our day at the Show is enjoyed without a second thought given to the loss of money. We don’t go too overboard & this year spent a little less than normally expected. So we are indeed happy with ourselves & look forward to next year’s Show already!

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