Jenelle.net Blog

I have had a presence on the internet since 1996.

Actually, I really think I was blogging before there was such a word.

There is nothing worse than a blog without updated content. It is my pet peeve and life has just got a little bit too busy for me to think about updating a blog anymore. As there has been so much happening, I looked at my long list of blog posts that I needed to write. Then I realized that I didn’t really want to do it. There are more new projects I want to undertake, I am volunteering a lot more and just… busy. Time is more precious than ever and it is time to move on to more fulfilling projects. It is also important for me to understand that there is a need for rest – from blogging/social media/the whole kit and caboodle. I will always have an interest in new technology developments and content management and design but I have so many other interests, something has to give and the blog is it.

The internet has changed. Now, everyone has a blog so it doesn’t make much difference with one less in the blogosphere. Every news article has comments (one aspect I truly despise) and there is just too much ‘noise’. I also feel that blogging has meant that more writers are writing for their audience than themselves and also that the prevalence blogging photos has meant that writing has taken a back seat and to me, it is that lazy blogging that I have become guilty of. I hate going to concerts and seeing more people taking photos or filming rubbish quality videos on their phones rather than enjoying the music, then there is the whole aspect of oversharing and also the way many blogs have just become a vehicle for marketers. The list goes on. Maybe this is just temporary, maybe permanent, maybe I’ll dream up yet another project.. who knows?

Thank you so much for reading over the years!

Jenelle xx

Thanksgiving this year was a bit less eventful than last year without mum, dad and Matthew here… but it was super relaxed and we had a lovely time away.

We got up to Albany in the dark and checked in to our usual hotel… just in time for Bill to head out for his own Thanksgiving tradition – dinner with the guys.

I headed to Denny’s for dinner – I couldn’t wait for turkey any longer so I got their holiday special Turkey sandwich with a strawberry thickshake. It was delicious and a great way to unwind after all the stress packing up our stuff, getting the car and the horrendous traffic getting out of the city.

Our contributions for lunch was a new mashed potato casserole dish (it was great!) and homemade cranberry sauce. Earlier in the week, we made some Thanksgiving favors for everyone. Homemade salted caramels and white chocolate bark. I was meant to make the bark but had a nap on Sunday afternoon… so Bill made it instead. Awww! I did all the candy wrapping and bark breaking and bag stuffing.

Here I am wrapping our caramels -

The White Chocolate Bark -

The end result -

On Thanksgiving morning we slept in and headed out on a drive around town before heading over to the Blevins Homestead. With my Dunkin’ Donuts Hot Chocolate in hand, I had to leave it for a good 20 minutes as it was piping hot. I then went to lift it out of the cup holder and some spilt on my top… then we went over a bump and more spilt. It was still SO hot so I told Bill to quickly pull over… he zipped into a slanted driveway that made me spill it even MORE. I cracked it SO much that I hurled the stupid drink out the car to save me getting burnt any more – sticky hot chocolate was all over the inside of my door and all over me. A less than stellar way to start Thanksgiving… and I have sworn off their Hot Chocolate now until they realize that boiling hot isn’t really necessary for that drink!

When we got home I was able to fix myself up a bit and we could start setting up for lunch. Sister-in-law Pauline cooked two 20lb turkeys so we would have enough for lots of leftovers. We had sweet potatoes, different stuffings, our dishes,’broccoli stuff’ and Eileen made a delicious brussel sprout and pancetta dish.

Some of the Turkey -

Pauline’s Broccoli stuff -

Bill loves Thanksgiving -

Newly engaged… Emily and Brian!

Desserts were then served and we ended up back at the hotel at 5.30 and I was sound asleep by 8.30!

We were up super early on Friday.. not for the sales but for a little trip up to Saratoga Springs.

As with last year and we now think this is our own Thanksgiving tradition, we ended up at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Here are some photos to tease mum and dad –

I love the Cracker Barrel!

Blurry self timed photo -

I loveee the Cracker Barrel shops -

We then hit the road. First we went to Warrensburg to check out Oscars Smokehouse – one of Bill’s favorite places! If you like smoked meats and cheeses, this place is amazing. Warrensburg was a gorgeous little town as you can see here -

View from Oscars -

Then we drove down to Saratoga… first we went to the train station. Because we love Amtrak!

We visited the closed racecourse. It was really creepy seeing everything closed for the season -

Some of the houses… gorgeous!

The main street -

We then went and did some shopping, spent the afternoon with Pauline, then had more leftovers with everyone for dinner and then headed out to do a bit more shopping.

Here was the beautiful Fall sunset that night -

On Saturday we did some more visiting, ran some errands, picked up our first anniversary gift to each other (more about that later!) and then hit the road. With a stop in New Jersey for dinner we were home by 8pm! It was a great Thanksgiving and it is awesome knowing that it is only a few weeks and we’ll be up there with everyone again.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!

It was an early start on the Tuesday as we had another day of driving – this time to Parkes.

Our hotel in Albury was the Hume Country Motor Inn. It was one of the cleanest hotels I have ever stayed in and with the brick walls it felt like so many other Australian country hotels!

I know this photo is dark but here is our room -

Love the paper on the toilet seat.. I don’t ever see that in hotels here!

Bulk toiletries!

Our morning view -

Out on the deck we were joined by some magpies -

Who loves hotel breakfasts? I do! Sadly, none of the hotels we stayed at had the breakfast hatch that would open and the food would come sliding in but nevertheless, here was our free breakfast!

Our first stop was the Ettamogah Pub. It has been closed down and it was actually quite creepy. I wonder what will come of it? Still, we took some photos!

Careful on the stairs, mate!

Closed

Our next stop was in Gundagai – I could easily live there. I thought it was absolutely beautiful and the main street was gorgeous. It has a little bit of everything and is full of old Australiana.

First we went to the Prince Alfred Bridge at the end of the main street.

Check out the old Bicentenary logo!

Luckily for us there was not an influx of people wanting to all jump on the bridge at once –

Then, we went to the Dog on the Tuckerbox –

Then we went to the pub for a counter lunch -

We then visited St Patrick’s Church. Country churches are so cute!

The old railway station -

Galahs on the side of the road -

The main street -

View from the lookout -

After grabbing an ice cream it was then time to get back in the car as we had to keep driving on to Parkes!

We got to the hotel at about 5pm. We were staying at the Moonraker Motor Inn. Yes, seriously that is the name. I would not stay there again… it was old and really blah.. especially for $130 per night.

Check out our room… I didn’t take a photo of the chipboard hand basin area… it was depressing.

Everyone loves a radio like this -

We decided to dash straight out to The Dish to see it at dusk. It was amazing and it was just us and another guy there. It was so quiet and peaceful and absolutely beautiful to not only be there but to see it move into it’s resting place as the wind was picking up.

We made a movie as we drove out to the site… yes with backing music c/o The Dish soundtrack.

The glow from the sun setting hitting the Dish -

The Dish and the moon -

We made it!

Bill is so strong -

Sunset –

A little panoramic that I took -

I felt like we could have been right in the middle of the story of The Road from Coorain -

It got dark quickly so we headed back in to town and got some Chinese food for dinner. What is it with country towns having some of the best Chinese food you can find? They also all have the same light fittings -

After a very full day at the show, we got up early on Monday morning to pick up a rental car and hit the road. It was going to be a straight trip up the Hume Highway to Albury with a couple of stops in between.

The car was delayed so we hung out in the Europcar office on High Street for a couple of hours- like we had nothing at all better to do! Bill got lots of attention with his New York State Drivers License. We eventually got on the road and stopped in Euroa for lunch.

Bill ordered a steak sandwich. You couldn’t get something that looked any more Australian when it came out on the plate. If you are an Aussie and overseas and reading this… you will get homesick just looking at it!

Egg, bacon, beetroot, grated carrot… the works!

It was also in Euroa that I ended up turning into a side street an straight onto the other side of the road! It seems that I have got somewhat used to being on the other side of the road after all.

We then ended up in Glenrowan. Real Kelly country.

A big Ned Kelly greeted us when we got there -

Here is Bill channeling his inner Ned -

The clouds. I miss seeing sky like that -

A cute post box -

To navigate the scene of the Kelly Gang Shootout, a self guided tour is marked by big wooden ‘statues’ of the parties involved. You can do the same tour here and see the Historical Markers.

The site of the Glenrowan Inn -

The Kelly Gang -

Police were on the scene!

A ‘shot’ Ned Kelly -

The Glenrowan Railway Station -

The Glenrowan Police Station.. just like something from A Country Practice -

We then went on to Albury. First, we went straight to Bethanga. This the hometown of my ancestors, Mark Barrett and Ellen Cleary.

Lake Hume -

Lake Hume -

Bethanga town sign -

St Francis Church – I love knowing that they actually went here!

Scenes around Bethanga –

Give me a home among the gum trees -

I have never seen this part of the country so green before. The drought is well and truly over!

Bethanga General Store -

Bethanga Post Office -

We then had to zip back to Albury for dinner with my most wonderful and longest friend ever, Shannyn, Ken and the kids. Can you believe I forgot to even get a photo with them?! GAH!!! Shannyn made a beautiful corned beef dinner and we sat around and chatted all night. It was so wonderful to see them – it had been over a year since we saw them when they lived on the Central Coast and it had been too long!

After a big day of driving and socializing we collapsed in to bed as we had to be up early the next day for our drive to Parkes!

Means that I have to pay attention to Holiday Tipping.

What is it exactly?

Read this Holiday Tipping guide and find out.

We don’t have a doorman so we just have to worry about our Super and the two maintenance staff. We lucked out with them so we don’t even blink at the thought of a holiday tip of gratitude for them.

Tipping has been probably one of the biggest issues I had to get used to since I moved here. I know it is a real issue for many Australians from the minute they arrive in America. I remember on my US Study Tour when I was at RMIT, one group of students did their whole end of tour presentation on the shock and etiquette of tipping! I can say now that I am so much better than I used to be. I can still picture myself grimacing at handing over tips to the guys at the supermarket back in 2008 and now I don’t even think twice.

In so many instances now, I do see and also appreciate the difference in service so I don’t mind a bit. It is only group dinners that I find I need to use my Tipping app on the phone and before we go away, I make sure I get a stack of dollar bills from the bank so we are always covered as I have found as we operate mostly cashless, the feeling of dread of having to use loose change as a tip is something that I like to avoid!

Sorry to be jumping around on blog posts… here we are back in Australia!

On Sunday (aka the day after the Grand Final) the plan was to avoid all news, tv shows and phone calls we could about the football. The Royal Melbourne Show (aka The Show) was the PERFECT solution to all those post-Grand Final blues.

We got up and out early and it was so much fun being on the train and there was a good crowd on the train for a Sunday morning for the show and also because there were races at Flemington.

We walked through the main ride area first an it was crazy.

Want to go on a ride? That will cost you… $15!!!!

The main ride area -

Ugh at the Ghost Train -

Here is some video we took of one of the rides, also with a bit of the ‘scene’ outside the Ghost Train and then some wood chop competition footage.

The wood chop was great – here are some of the young guys -

The wood chop ‘arena’ -

Outside the arena we found… water!

The one thing we had to line up for was the animal nursery. It was so gorgeous…

For lunch we hung around in the Tastes of Victoria tent. Look what Bill got.. THE BEST LUNCH IN THE WORLD!!!!

I could have eaten all of these lollies -

It was also time to teach Bill all about SHOWBAGS. The line to get in the main show bag pavilion was so packed that we didn’t even get in there.. but lucky for us after all the research into the show bags using the Herald-Sun Showbag Guide while we were still in New York, all of the bags Bill wanted were able to be bought outside the pavilion.

Bill waiting to buy his Cadbury bag -

Some other random showbag sights -

Bill was excited with his swag -

Funnily enough.. they were serving some fine American fare at the show too!

Some things never change at the show… these are all things that have been around for years an years. Like the people sitting around the pavilion area resting their weary legs –

The Ferris Wheel -

The Pie in the Sky -

And… waiting for the train, hoping to get a seat and listening to all the kids scream and hit each other with inflatable hammers -

The day was the perfect remedy to the heartache from the day before and gave Bill the chance to see something that I had grown up with. Loved it!

We got married!

We exchanged vows, we celebrated and we laughed through the whole day.

The past year has been wonderful in the ‘life is so normal’ way. We had adventures, we’ve eaten cold pizza for breakfast, we’ve crossed things of to-do lists, we’ve mopped the kitchen floor, we’ve fallen asleep watching TV.

We’ve.

That is the difference.

All those little things are now ‘we’

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Even though the whole day was so much fun and so memorable – it really does get better every day and I definitely do realize how lucky I am to have found someone who puts up with all my… drama. We epitomize ‘You say tomato, I say tomato’ (and we actually do speak like that!) but for us, it just seems to work.

Happy Anniversary darling Bill – my husband, best friend, colleague, roommate, lunch pal, chef, driver, channel flicker, travel partner and big hugger.

New mani yesterday!

Here is CND Shellac in Cocoa.

My salon has just become fully stocked in Gelish polishes so I may try them next time. Love this color for Thanksgiving week!

I love Days of our Lives. I have got back into it after being off the bandwagon for some time – a few years ago I was absolutely obsessed. To the point of getting Soap World magazine and Soap Opera Digest.

A little heads up – if you want to start watching it OR you did watch it once and gave it away, you should start watching it now. Aussie readers, I know you are a little behind but you have lots to look forward to.

Carrie and Austin are back.
John Black and Marlena are back.
Bo and Hope are still happening.
And… stuff is happening again between EJ and Sami!

The only thing I would LOVE NBC to do (and I know I am not alone) is to bring back the original theme -

At the moment, this is what we get. It is not the same.

I actually spent a good part of last night watching EJ Wells fan videos I found on You Tube.

Now I think I have shared enough!

… walk in to a Texan BBQ place in New York City.

It really did happen!

This week Chris, one of my footy pals from Melbourne (who is now going to be living in the UK) was visiting New York so we caught up for BBQ with him and his bride-to-be, Deb, who is from Newcastle in England. It was an interesting mix of accents at the table that was for sure!

Last time Chris was in New York we went to Rub BBQ in Chelsea, this time we went to Hill Country on 26th. I had been there before and really liked it. The staff are great and the smell of the place is amazing.

We got piles of meat and sides and it was such a fun night that continued when we got home because we couldn’t escape the smell of the BBQ. All of our clothes had to go straight into the washing basket – we smelt like we had been right in the smoke pit!

It had been a couple of years ago that I first went there and really enjoyed their BBQ – it has a kick to it so you get a bit of spice happening but very easy (actually too easy) to eat. They’re cutting up meats right in the middle of the restaurant. You order by the weight and you pick what you want – it really is like you are in the middle of a BBQ market.

Here we are – looking like we are being bbq’d by the neon lights!

Here I was back there with Deb, Alice and Josie back in 2009 – you can see how you basically eat out of paper, with your hands and it is totally fine!