Life in the Australian Army.

I received this email today and had a chuckle




Text of a letter from a kid from Eromanga to Mum and Dad.

(Eromanga is a small town, west of Quilpie in the far south west of Queensland )

Dear Mum & Dad,

I am well. Hope youse are too. Tell me big brothers Doug and Phil that the Army is better than workin' on the farm. Tell them to get in bloody quick smart before the jobs are all gone! I wuz a bit slow in settling down at first, because ya don't hafta get outta bed until 6am. But I like sleeping in now, cuz all ya gotta do before brekky is make ya bed and shine ya boots and clean ya uniform. No bloody cows to milk, no calves to feed, no feed to stack - nothin'!! Ya haz gotta shower though, but its not so bad, coz there's lotsa hot water and even a light to see what ya doing!

At brekky ya get cereal, fruit and eggs but there's no kangaroo steaks or possum stew like wot Mum makes. You don't get fed again until noon and by that time all the city boys are buggered because we've been on a 'route march' - geez its only just like walking to the windmill in the back paddock!!

This one will kill me brothers Doug and Phil with laughter. I keep getting medals for shootin' - dunno why. The bullseye is as big as a bloody possum's bum and it don't move and it's not firing back at ya like the Johnsons did when our big scrubber bull got into their prize cows before the Ekka last year! All ya gotta do is make yourself comfortable and hit the target - it's a piece of piss!! You don't even load your own cartridges, they comes in little boxes, and ya don't have to steady yourself against the roll bar of the roo shooting truck when you reload!

Sometimes ya gotta wrestle with the city boys and I gotta be real careful coz they break easy - it's not like fighting with Doug, Phil, Jack, Boori, Steve and Muzza all at once like we do at home after the muster. Turns out I'm not a bad boxer either and it looks like I'm the best the platoon's got and I've only been beaten by this one bloke from the Engineers - he's 6 foot 5 and 15 stone and three pick handles across the shoulders and as ya know I'm only 5 ft 7ins & eight stone wringin' wet, but I fought him till the other blokes carried me off to the boozer.

I can't complain about the Army - tell the boys to get in quick before word gets around how bloody good it is.



Your loving daughter,

Sheila

ALDI - Smarter Shopping

Smarter Shopping - YUH!

I returned to Aldi today. I did. I'm not a fan. Apparently I'm missing something by not going there. I'll tell ya what I'm missing - a horrible experience!!!!!

There is an Aldi in Ashgrove now so since I was passing through that suburb today I thought I'd give it a go. I took my bags with me and went in. As I wasn't planning on getting much I didn't get a trolly (that you have to pay for. Good idea I guess so they get them returned but also doing someone out of a job). I would only need a little carry basket. Oh, they don't have any. How odd.

As I meander my way down the idles of stacked boxes, very stylish, I actually recognised one product. Vegemite! I picked up a few things and proceeded to the very long checkout. Not a long queue a long conveyor belt. The checkout guy was whizzing my items through like there was no tomorrow. What was his rush I was wondering, there really aren't a heck of a lot of customers in here?

I was putting my purchases into my bags, as quick as I could. The guy kept piling them up on top of this tin of biscuits I bought and I kept removing them so I could get the tin in the bag first. I asked him if he wouldn't mind stopping that and what was the rush anyway? I tell ya, that place is just horrible.

I've definitely learnt my lesson - stay away!!! And really, it's not even that cheap anyway. I took a brochure with me and there are a few things going on sale tomorrow but I must stay away!

The Garden Shed

Finally, after months of waiting, we have a new little garden shed to keep all the stuff for the pool in. Our pool is in the front so as soon as you drive up our driveway you can see it and all the mess. Well now there's no mess! Yahoo!

Here are some photos I took over the last two Saturdays. Such a small shed was awfully complicated to put together. The instructions left an awful lot to be desired. Mr Mumfies is no dummy and he was having trouble.

The kids all had to help, which they happily did! No they didn't! They helped but there weren't a lot of smiles to be seen. Fuzz Ball was probably the most helpful, as usual. The other two just aren't work bees. Foo even tried to sneak into the pool a few times.

But it's finished and I'm happy - for now!

Still having trouble with photos. Try again soon. Grrrr

Got some up. Had more trouble. Some were only half showing. Grrrrr again. Back to it late then.

Happy Birthday Nonni :)

Another birthday, busy times!

My Mum is having her birthday today. Lots of love from all of us xxx

This photo was taken a few years ago. I couldn't get a recent one. I'm having terrible trouble with my photos lately!

Mum is the blonde on the left.

Fuzzball is now 14!

Yesterday (Oct 21) our dear darling first born, Fuzzball turned 14. He was born a cute little bub weighing 8lb 11 1/2oz. He's now a solid fit guy who is a whisker off my height. He's had a bit of a growth spurt this year - thank goodness! Won' t be long and he'll tower over me. Fuzzball is a pretty good kid, just drives us nuts! Gotta luv 'im!



Here are a some pics I took of him on his bed after school.



Took this little clip of Fuzzball mowing out at Mr Mumfies seniors the other weekend.
Well, after a few hours of having it loading, I decided it was too much hassle! No idea why it took so long. Stupid computers! Here's a photo of him mowing, just imagine it moving!
Far out - now I can't get the photo up. I tell ya... I'm going insane! I'll try again later.

Brisbane Barbie

A friend sent me this email and I found it quite funny! It can be adapted to suit any town, which I'm guessing it has been. The photos wouldn't copy over so that's a shame. There were pictures with Barbie to do with each suburb. It took ages for me to be able to publish this as there were codes not allowed. What the?! The one term of IT I did years ago wasn't quite enough!! Anyway, I figured it out. Didn't get the photos in though. Seem to have odd line spacing too. Too complicated for me!!

Mattel recently announced the release of limited-edition Barbie Dolls for the Brisbane market:

"Ascot Barbie"

This princess Barbie is sold only at Eagle farm racetrack. She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade Handbags, a Lexus SUV, and a long-haired foreign dog named Honey and a designer kitchen. Available with or without tummy tuck and face-lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.

“Clayfield Barbie"

The modern day Homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Explorer and matching gym outfit. She gets lost easily and has no full-time occupation. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.

"Woodridge Barbie"

This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife, a Ford Rodeo with dark tinted windows, and a Meth Lab Kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills) ...unless you are a cop, then we don't know what you are talking about.

"Hamilton Barbie"

This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of BMW convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own cappuccino cup, credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won't be able to afford any of them.

“Caboolture Barbie"

This pale model comes dressed in her own Jeans West jeans two sizes too small, a similar sized t-shirt and tweety bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a carton of blonde full-strength beer and a Jimmy Barnes CD set, as well as lots of boof boof

Music. She can spit over 2½ metres and kick mullet-haired Ken's butt from midland to Boya, when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a Bad Girl sticker absolutely free.

"New Farm Barbie"

This collagen injected, rhino plastic Barbie wears a leopard print outfit and drinks cosmopolitans while entertaining friends. Valium prescription available as well as warehouse conversion condo.

"Logan Barbie"

This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out of Barbie's Butler house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter-top. Mobile home also available.

"Westend Barbie"

This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow. She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Bacardi Breezers and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.

"Ipswich Barbie"

This Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include a Medicare Card and Centrelink bus pass. Ex-crim Ken and his 1979 Commodore wagon were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.

"Wellington Point Barbie"

She's perfect in every way. We don't know where Ken is because he's always out fishing.

"Fortitude Valley Barbie/Ken"

This versatile doll can be easily converted from Barbie to Ken by simply adding or subtracting the multiple snap-on body parts.