Bourke

Going to Bourke for three days was absolutely awesome. I hadn't been there since Easter last year so I was missing it heaps.


What I loved about going there most (apart from seeing my friends) was probably the Jet skiing. It was incredibly, awesomely, fantastical! I'd never been before so it was really cool. I was thrown off about five times though and I have bruises to prove it. Nevertheless, I'd do it again in a millisecond.


And, of course, the Splashe! Mmm, the cola! The caffeine! Probably my favourite drink ever. It's 'brewed' in Bourke so I took advantage of that fact when I went into town.


While I was there I also got to spend time with friends and see my brother and his new puppy, Barney who is adorable. But, yeah, it was a great time...

Happy Australia Day!!

Happy Australia Day!

Don't they look awesome? They had more than 100 honks just on their walking to the main street. 20 minutes! Mostly from guys...:)

January Daybook

Date...19th January

Starting time...1:05

Mood...Happy! :)

Outside my window...clothes are drying...nothing too exciting there.

I'm going...to Bourke this afternoon! So excited!

I'm thinking...Tesse looks dead lying on the ground like that....

I'm reading...The Lord of the Rings, Jrr Tolkein

I'm listening to...absolute silence in the house, and wind outside...

My current favorite song...Fearless, by Taylor Swift

I'm wearing...an orange t-shirt and denim shorts.

Yesterday, I...edited photos on Picnik.

I'm excited for...me, because I'm going to Bourke!

I'm sad because...I have a cut on my foot...

I'm hungry for...mmmm...sausages!

The song stuck inside my head is...Tell me Why, Taylor Swift

I want...sausages!

I love...Picnik, my favourite photo editor...

I loathe...trying to do too many things at once.

From my picture journal... This picture I edited of Tessie on Picnik....Hehe, Angel Dog...

Finish time...1:15

Goblin??

It's amazing what you can do with Picnik

Mum is so good to me, letting me put this photo on my blog...

Good Times, Good Times

I'm so glad that it's finally Saturday and the weekend! Not that I really need a weekend as it's still Christmas holidays! (Yay!)

I've spent some of the time doing some work on my blog. I've changed the template, and on the sidebars there's some cool photography as well as the covers of some books that I enjoy.

There's an ice skating rink in town and I'm looking forward to going to that, hopefully this weekend. It's only $13 for two hours and I've been doing some jobs for Mum to get the money since I'm pretty much broke after buying the camera.

I've only been ice skating once, and that was in Adelaide when my family and I were travelling Australia. I don't remember too much about that time apart from the fact that I clung desperately to the wall most of the time, and when coaxed into the middle of the rink I fell flat after a few moments of wobbling.

Emily tried to help me out, but she was hardly any better on her feet than I was on mine.

Hopefully, if I go this time, I'll do a leetle bit better than last time.

Shadow Spinner

Book Review
Shadow Spinner
Susan Fletcher

Every night Shahrazad tells the Sultan another story to stop him killing the other women in the harem. Her tales of excitement and adventure are the only thing that stops the Sultan from executing his many wives.
But what will happen when Shahrazad runs out of stories? After almost 1,000 nights she is beginning to get desperate for more stories and she needs Marjan, a crippled, orphan girl to help her.
Marjan now has the dangerous task of sneaking out of the harem to get stories from an old storyteller. If she is caught there will be consequences not only for her, but the lives of many women, including Queen Shahrazad, depend on her.
This stimulating and thrilling story is a read fit for ages ten to adult.
I truly enjoyed reading this novel as it keeps you on edge for the entire story as well as having an incredible storyline.

“An elegantly written novel that will delight and entertain.” –School Library Journal, starred review.
Some other books by Susan Fletcher are:
· Alphabet of Dreams
· The Anti-Baby-Sitter Plot
· Dragon’s Milk
· The Haunting Possibility
· From Sorrow to Serenity

I would rate this book four stars out of five because it kept me reading excitedly right until the last sentence.

Jaffa Lipstick

JAFFA LIPSTICK!!

Eating Jaffas have never been this fun!!

Empty Cave

EMPTY CAVE

by Gordon Dioxide

Once upon a time there was a cave. It was completely empty except for all the air. The air was everywhere as you would expect.
But you wouldn’t expect to find a double-decker bus in a cave. And you’d be right, because there were no double-decker buses in this cave.
There were however two potato peelers in the cave. One potato peeler was lying on the ground, and the other potato peeler was lying on the ground.
Five minutes later a boy called Boy walked into the cave. Guess what he was looking for?
Thats right, he was looking for his pet skunk called Stinky. Not much in here he thought, so he went away and never came back.
But then he changed his mind and did come back.
He saw one of the potato peelers and picked it up. He took a couple of potatoes from his pocket and started to peel them. Boy carried everything around in his pockets, just in case.
When he finished peeling the potatoes, he took a plate out of his pocket, sat down, squirted some ketchup on, and started to eat them. He wasn’t able to cook them because he’d left the cooker at home in the kitchen.
For pudding he fancied a chocolate ice-cream gateaux, so he looked around the cave to see if he could find any.
No luck, all he could find was another potato peeler. Just what he didn’t need.
Then a very mysterious thing happened. I can’t tell you what it was, because its a secret.
Boy left the cave and went home.
When he got home he found that his mum had made him raw potatoes and ketchup for tea. That was a stroke of bad luck. His mum wasn’t very bright, which is why she had called her son Boy. But for pudding he had chocolate ice-cream gateaux, which was a stroke of good luck.
He told his mum about the mysterious thing that happened in the cave. I can’t repeat what he said because its a secret.
On Tuesday he went back to see if the cave was still there. And of course it was still there because caves can’t move.
He sat down in the cave entrance and started to sing a song about a one-legged giraffe who couldn’t stand up properly. Just when he got to the bit where the giraffe toppled over into a large vat of custard, the mysterious thing happened two more times.
Can you keep a secret? You promise not to tell anyone?
Well, what happened is this.
His pet skunk Stinky appeared like a ghostly vision. He was wearing a long robe and had a crown on his head. Amazingly, he could actually talk.
He was talking in a deep spooky voice and this is what he was saying,
“Treasure! Treasure! Follow me to find the treasure!”
So this time, Boy decided to follow him.
They went through a small tunnel at the back of the cave and eventually came out into another cave. This cave was larger than the first, and guess what it was filled with?
No, not treasure. Potato peelers. Hundreds and hundreds of potato peelers. It was a potato peeler factory, and they were being made by a team of about 20 skunks.
So this is where potato peelers are made, thought Boy. I’ve always wondered where the shops get them from.
But Stinky carried on to the back of the cave, and Boy followed him into another tunnel. This time they came out into an even bigger cave.
There was a sign at the entrance that said “Even Bigger Cave”.
But there was nothing in this cave except for a couple of toe nail clippings.
So they went through another tunnel and came to a sign that said “The Most Biggest Cave of All”.
Boy couldn’t believe his eyes when he looked around. The cave was brimming with treasure. It was truly bulging with treasure. Crammed full with treasure. Jam-packed. Choc-a-block. More treasure than the rest of the world put together.
This will make me rich beyond my wildest of dreams thought Boy.
Stinky said he could have all the treasure. The skunks didn’t want it because they were only interested in potato peelers.
So Boy stuffed all the treasure into his pockets. He had very deep pockets, but there wasn’t enough room for a diamond-covered crown, so he wore it on his head.
On the way home he saw a huge giraffe leaning against a tree. The giraffe was sad, partly because he’d lost three of his legs, and partly because his new shirt was covered in custard.
“Please help me your Highness” said the giraffe. He thought that Boy was the king because of the crown on his head.
Boy felt sorry for the giraffe, and because he was the kindest boy in the world he gave him all the treasure.
The giraffe was delighted. Now he could afford to buy three wooden legs and a new shirt.
Boy took giraffe home and built him a tall shed in the garden. Mum thought up a good name for their new pet - Giraffe!
And they all lived happily ever after.
But remember, if you ever find two potato peelers in a cave and then go through the tunnel to the next cave, and then go through to the Even Bigger Cave and then go through to the Most Biggest Cave of All, you won’t find any treasure there because Giraffe has got it all.

Mothers!

She warned us, over and over. Put on sunscreen, wear a good well-sleeved top, if necessary; a hat. She warned us, but now, the tides have turned...She's sunburnt and peeling!

Wellll, not really. It's actually a face mask. Although I was shocked when she came to me with it on. She looked like she had blood running down her face and it was all drying around her mouth, and the smell of slightly rotten oranges wifting fragrantly around her face. Still, we managed to get the mask off of her face in one piece. It sure looked weird. That flabby piece of, whatever it was, clinging half on, half off her face.

I was slightly disturbed.

Also, last night, I watched Star Wars 3 for the first time.

I cried.

But it wasn't my fault! See, Obi Wan and Anakin were fighting and Anakin is evil and Obi Wan has to kill him because he's turned to the dark side. And Anakin's dying and he's all angry and all, 'I hate you!' and Obi Wan's all, 'I loved you Anakin, you were like a brother to me.' And I'm all, 'Cry....'

Very depressing, I assure you. It might take me a while to get over this.

Tuesday, the 5th

Yesterday was my Friday the 13, My Ides of March, my (according to Garfield) Monday.

It started while washing up. I washed up happily, no thought of complaint, and then accidental spilled about half a cupful of hot water on my shirt. With a slightly less happy look I wiped my shirt with a tea towel and continued washing. A few minutes later. Bam! It struck again. I spilled a little more hot water on my shirt. I frowned a little, wiped my shirt and continued. This happened three more times. Unbelievable. I know.

Then, the sound of a dying manatee drifted into my ears from the lounge room. Alarmed I ran in to find........

......Mum and Dad playing Singstar Disney, 'Aladdin'. It's amazing how much Dad sounds alike to a manatee when he sings...(Jenna once threw up when Dad began to sing Happy Birthday to her. Her excuse was that she was already sick and vomiting, but I know that's just her excuse. She's always had a weak stomach.) Anyway, Jenna put it in a slightly meaner fashion saying that Dad sounded like a 'Constipated Wiener Dog.'

And the third bit of bad luck started when I challenged Mum to High School Musical Singstar. I was confident for two reasons:

1. I used to be a big High School Musical fan and had sung the songs and knew them a lot better than she.
2. I had versed Emily on this many times and had won EVERY single time. As she is the family's singer, I had gloated on this fact many times. Ah, pride comes before a fall.

Anyhoo, I versed Mum. She beat me in a good quarter, no HALF of the songs that we sang. I'm so ashamed.

Sunshine Coast Report

Last night at 3:00 AM we got back from our holidays at the Sunshine Coast. Our Grandparent's house is right next to a canal, so I found myself walking a fair deal. I was looking for stingrays mostly.

I really wanted to get a good picture of one, but whenever I had a camera with me they mysteriously disappeared. I saw about eight of them altogether though. As well as stingrays there were fish. Dead ones. Ones that never made it into the water as the tide went in. I nearly stepped on them because I was so focused on finding stingrays.

Every year since we were little, Canal Santa has come visiting. Throwing sweets onto the shore for the canal children. Thank you Canal Santa!

Canal Santa wasn't wearing a beard, but Jenna and Mum made up for it at Christmas time.

Kylie sent us a box of little presents, including a chocolate spoon for hot chocolates. Isn't it cool?

Anyhow, it was a very relaxing time, even Tesse got into the mood.

Half of the reason we went up there was for my cousin's wedding. This is just a couple of pictures of when we were all ready.

This has been a very random blog. No particular subject really. I just wanted to show off some of the pictures I had taken on my new camera. Pancakes are ready, so I have to go.