Thank you......and my first Giveaway!!!

Well hello lovely blog friends. 

With all the celebrating that has been going on around here I seemed to have missed another little milestone. My humble little Blog is celebrating its First Birthday - yay! I have also clocked up 100 Posts, almost 30,000 Page views and 83 Followers, not that these things matter really. But any excuse to celebrate and it's about time for a little Giveaway don't you think? 

However, the Giveaway is not so much about marking the occasion, but rather to say Thank you to all of you who pop in from time to time and have left such lovely and insightful comments. This has been the best part really and has made my blogging journey so enjoyable. I know I get a lot of enjoyment from the snippets into your worlds. This past 12 months I have been so inspired by what I see when I open up my laptop in the evening once the Kidlets are in bed, whether it be your eloquent and witty writing, your photography or your gorgeous creations. I have been delighted when you have achieved your dreams, conquered a goal and celebrated life-changing events. I have also worried about your missing puppies, the trials and tribulations of being a parent and saddened when life has thrown you lemons. Wouldn't it be nice to meet up and finish a lot of these 'half' conversations over a cup of tea?

As for this Blog, if you have been reading along here for a while you may have noticed how much the subject matter of my Posts has changed. Tales of The Big Adventure featuring Camel Rides on Cable Beach, Crocodiles in Kununurra, Swimming with Dolphins at Monkey Mia and Crossing the Nullarbor Plain in our dodgy 70's Caravan have been replaced with my latest knitting creations. Not that knitting isn't exciting. I'm finding this new obsession of mine quite thrilling but it's quite a contrast to how I started and I don't blame you if you are scratching your heads. However, just when I was beginning to fret about my lack of Blog direction and purpose, I read this Post and suddenly I didn't feel so conflicted anymore. For my Blog is a reflection of me and my life. Unplanned. A bit random. Sometimes funny, sometimes serious. I have a wide range of passions and can get excited about almost anything. You would be just as likely to find me climbing a mountain top in Alaska as you would choosing wool colours for my new baby's knitted jumper. I am nothing if not flexible. My Husband refers to me as a conundrum mixed up in an enigma. I aim to please :-) 

I guess the main reason I Blog is a desire to communicate, tell stories, humour myself and document this crazy little life of mine.

Anyway, enough blabbering. Thank you so much for being part of the journey and without further Ado, you have the chance to win 1 of the 5 following items.

1. "Tasmania: The Wild Island". The 9th stunning book by Tasmanian Richard Bennett who is pre-eminent among photographers of Tasmania and Tasmanian Life.

2. I was strolling around my local village today and spotted this gorgeous little wooden bear in one of my favourite Woodcraft Shops. The thought of him sitting on one of your Mantlepieces, the Piano or Bookshelf made me feel a little warm and fuzzy so I bought one for you too.

3. In the same Shop, I found this packet of cute little wooden buttons for you creative types out there.

4. Now don't get too excited but now that I am being more creative, I have made you some homemade things. I made my first heart last night from a pattern from this gorgeous Blog. It is mounted onto a canvas but I may put it in a white frame if I manage to pick one up between now and next week.

5. While I was doing the heart above, I started thinking about Christmas gifts (shock horror!) so if the thought of a Christmas decoration doesn't offend you (it will be October but the time it gets to you) then this crochet heart could find its way into your home too :-)

So all you need to do is leave a comment below between now and next Thursday 27th September 2012, say 9pm if we need to be specific. I will let the winners know on Friday and I will Post to anywhere. You could become a follower if you are not already. I know there are many who visit but don't follow publicly and that is absolutely fine too. But I would love to know who you are and visit your Blog if you have one, so you could always just send a private e-mail.

You could let me know if anything above tickles your fancy in particular.

You could also let me know anything about my Blog as I am keen to do a freshen up. For example:

1. Are you sick of my header photo? I am! Should I change the name to something more generic like Coal Valley Farmlet? There will soon be 5 Kidlets instead of 4 and maybe more Whippets in the future, who knows.
2. Anything you like/don't like reading about here?
3. The Blogroll - a year on and still no Blogroll. Sorry! Are these important? Would you believe I have been meaning to do one since I started but thought I should actually find and read some blogs first. Well, I still haven't done that, what with the interstate move, the galavanting across the countryside, the millions of children and pregnancy, time has been in rather short supply. To be honest I have also been busy enough just keeping up with the lovely blog friends that I've come across from your comments here and haven't ventured much farther. Is it too late to introduce myself to Blogs 12 months into Blogging?

OK, over to you!