Book Goodies

Taya's adventures are on sale over at E. J. Gore's website at the moment. You can purchase them separately or in packs of two or three.  

Cool, eh?



Treasure Hunter with Code Breaker.

Taya has to solve the mystery all by herself in Treasure Hunter but Chris is there for moral support in Code Breaker.

Treasure Hunter with Dog Sitter.  

This is the most popular combination at the moment, I believe.

Dog Sitter is the book where we meet Chris for the first time and, of course, the fabulous Minette.

Dog Sitter with Code Breaker.

These both feature Taya working with Chris to solve the mystery.

Or why not grab the whole set for only $25?  Bargain!  








Another great place to look for Christmas gift ideas is the Book Goodies Gift Guide 2013.  
Find it here.
You will find books for all ages in the guide.  

Better get in fast though - Christmas is only 10 days away and you need to allow time for your books to be delivered.

"The more you read, the more you know.  The more you know, the more you read."  

Christmas is coming.

Hi Everyone,

Well, Christmas is coming and we are all wanting to give our friends some little Christmassy treats.

Here is a cute idea for a sweet treat….Reindeer Noses.  They are actually Maltesers and one Jaffa (for Rudolph's red nose).

You just need some cellophane bags which you can find in the dollar stores and some labels. The ones in the picture are available from theorganisedhousewife.com.au but if you are clever with the computer I reckon you could make your own.

Put eight choc noses and one red one in each bag, seal them up and add the label.  Done!


The website above also has labels for bags of Roo Poop…chocolate covered sultanas or peanuts.  Chris says he would give his friends Roo Poop not Reindeer Noses.  Boys, eh?  You can always count on them to go for the icky, (but funny),  option.

Bye now. Remember to be good - Santa's watching.

Taya :)

Be an Author

I found this great site where you can create your own stories.

You have to type in a few things in answer to some questions - like 'name a part of the body' - and then the website takes your answers and weaves them into a story.

It's fun.  I made a story about a killer toenail.  Ha ha.

Here's the link.  Sisters Grimm


Have fun!

Taya

Decorative Candles

Here's a great idea for Christmas gifts or just to decorate your house.
I found it on the Thrifty Sue blog…Thanks for the brilliant idea, Miss Sue.

DIY Decorative Candle

All you need for this project is 

• Plain light coloured candle (the size is up to you)
• Permanent markers
• Wax paper
• Blow dryer

Instructions

Draw your design on wax paper with permanent markets and wrap around your candle. Heat until the image has been transferred, typically 3-5 minutes does the trick. Then remove the wax paper!

Super simple!

How easy is that?   You can make any design you like and transfer it onto the candles.  It comes out best if the candle is white or another light colour.  On a darker coloured candle the design is hard to see.

If you make some of these, take some pictures and post them for everyone to see.  

See you!

Taya.

Baby Giraffe

Baby Giraffe 

At Australia Zoo in Queensland, they have a new baby giraffe. She was born yesterday and the people at the zoo have named her Skye. She is really cute.  

Female giraffes are pregnant for 400 to 460 days. That's a year and a half. Wow! 

Newborn giraffes are about 1.8 metres tall.  Wow again!  When they are born they have to stand up right away so that they can suckle from their mothers and also in case of danger. Lucky for little Skye that she doesn't have to worry about being in danger. The people at Australia Zoo will be taking very good care of her. 

The little knobby things on the top of a giraffe's head are called ossicones. when the baby is born the ossicones are lying flat but they stand up after about three days.

Skye will grow to be about 830kg and stand 5-6 metres tall.

Here is Skye with her mum, Rosie.  

Here is what the "Courier Mail" wrote about them this morning.

Believed to be the first giraffe born in Queensland, Skye arrived happy and healthy at Australia Zoo yesterday.

While she took two or three attempts to stand up, the Sunshine Coast zoo said she was doing well and already suckling from mum Rosie.

``Mum and bub are both doing well,'' the zoo said in a statement online yesterday.

``Giraffes give birth standing up, and the impact of hitting the ground stimulates the calf to take its first breath.

``It took little Skye two or three attempts to stand up, but she has taken her first wobbly steps and is already suckling - we couldn't be happier with her progress.

``Rosie is also doing well and is a fantastic first-time mum, and seems quite content with her new little calf.''

Fifi the carpet python

This is a carpet snake or carpet python. One of these snakes lives in the roof of Chris's grandma's house. Her name is Fifi. The Greek word for snake is fithi but, when Chris was a little boy, he couldn't say that. All he could say was fifi so that became the snake's name.

Fifi is not poisonous. She squeezes her prey until it cant breathe.  Erk!  Anyway there are no rats or mice at Yia Yia's place thanks to Fifi.

The first time I met Fifi, I freaked out. I wasn't ready to find a two metre long snake when I visited the bathroom.  You do not expect to come face to face with a Fifi when you are washing your hands. Apparently Fifi was feeling a bit warm so she went looking for a cool spot to sleep in....like the basin in the bathroom.  She was curled up there looking very comfortable when I disturbed her peace and quiet.
Sorry about that, Fifi.

Now Fifi and I are used to each other. She feels really weird when she slides along.  I was expecting her to be slimy but she actually feels smooth and very strong. If you just sit still and let her move around you, she doesn't squeeze. That only happens if she gets a fright.

Don't you think the pattern on her skin is lovely.

Birthday Party

Do you remember I was telling you about Chris and me having a double birthday party this year?  He is going to be 13 and I am turning twelve.  Well, we've been trying to sort out what sort of a party it would be and, finally, we have decided on paintball followed by swimming followed by a big barbecue.

Chris's grandma - he calls her Yia Yia - lives in this big, old, rambling house that sits on about two acres of land.  When the original Cominos arrived in this country from Greece, they bought the land and farmed fruit which they sold at the markets.  These days they have a large fruit store two doors down from my place.  Chris's Uncle George still grows some fruit on the family property but the stock for the fruit shop comes from heaps of other farms.

Anyway, back to the party...Yia Yia said that we could have the party at her place because there is a lot of room for us to race around playing paintball. There is also a creek where we can swim and, of course, heaps of space for barbecueing.  We are really excited now because it is only a couple of weeks away.  Chris and I are going to visit Yia Yia this weekend to figure out the final details and have a good explore of the place.  I am going to make sure I know where all the good hiding places are for when we are splatting each other with globs of paint. He wants us to play in teams - boys versus girls - because he reckons the boys will beat the girls sooooo easily.  Ha!  He'd better be ready for some girl power.

We are going to have heaps of food too.  The mothers have gone into overdrive planning that sideof things. I have asked for an ice cream cake and Chris wants his Mum's special Death By Chocolate cake.
Oh, yum!  

Catch you later.
Taya