What I made, by Sharon

 We had a four day weekend - Tuesday was Melbourne cup-day so, like most of Melbourne, we took Monday off and made a holiday of it. On Friday after work, Skip and Bee came and got us, and we drove down to Skip's parent's place in Portarlington to borrow their caravan. In the morning Leon and I did our last long run before the half marathon we are doing in Marysville next Sunday. We ran along the foreshore and it was beautiful. Then we drove up to Dick and Carly's place. they live at the foot of the Gariwerd (Grampians) on a great big property and it's beautiful.  A bunch of us camped there. That's Skip and Bee's caravan in the forground, and our little tent in the background. The weather was perfect, and we ate good food and drank good wine. Mostly we relaxed, hung out and breathed fresh air. I visited the sheep: We finally climbed Mt Zero, which is a walk the other way from the Grampians Peak Track. I got a lot of knitting done, and not quite as much reading as

I have two bags I take away with me - my hiking pack and my Country Road Kit bag. Prior to my hiking pack, I borrowed Elise's backpacking pack. I've never had proper luggage. I bought my Country Road bag in about 1996. Anna had one, and I wanted to be like Anna. It cost around 100 dollars. It's been everywhere with me. It comes on planes as carryon, it goes car camping, it's great. Here's it packed for Thailand in 2017: It's got two problems - it's starting to tear at the handles and it's not that comfy to carry full - it cuts off the circulation to my arms. After our last trip to Bendigo I decided to upgrade to a bag that could also be carried on the shoulders. I'm lucky enough to work very near Little Bourke Street, where there are a lot of travel shops, and I went looking for the perfect bag. Which I found at One Planet , who not only made my hiking pack and sleeping bag but actually manufacture in Melbourne. Its a convertible kit bag, that can al