Lazy Days

The garden is looking good.  I planted out the azaleas (in the rain!) yesterday and put all the bulbs in.  We bought some troughs for the balcony and I've planted some herbs (parsley, mint, rosemary and thyme ... almost a song!) and pansies.  Hopefully they will survive the strong winds we can get here.

I still have to plant the freesias in the front bed but I'm having a very bludgy day today.

Last evening we went to the club for dinner.  Thank goodness we go for the company, not the food!  Himself and I ordered roast beef ... only it was corned beef that he thought was normal beef and he roasted it.  It was disgustingly salty so we sent it back.  As did several others.  Some people seemed to just plough through.  It really wasn't good enough.  The cook said it should be OK but he hadn't tasted it!  WTF?  They should have pulled it from the menu.  It's not as if they were busy.

I rang my mother to see how she was.  I don't think I'll bother any more.  The last time I spoke to her (Dr Teacher had asked me to check on them when he went away for a few days) she told me I didn't have to ring her every day.  Today she was mono-syllabic  and clearly didn't want to talk to me.  My aunt had rung her earlier and rang me very upset because mother said her leg wasn't healing and she was going to have to go back to hospital.  I spoke to Dr Teacher and he said that the hip had healed fine but her heel was infected and she is on antibiotics but it's not healing as well as it should.  The doctor had said she MIGHT have to go back if things don't improve.  She lives on rice crackers, white wine and soda water.  She says she can't eat anything else.  She isn't going to heal if she doesn't get something decent into her but her obsession with gaining weight overrules everything else.  Dr Teacher will go round there this afternoon and ring me when he gets back.  Seriously, though, I don't want to ring her again or go and see her if she is going to behave as if it is a chore to speak to me.  It's so difficult and I feel so guilty.

Cross stitching beckons.  Rain is forecast for the afternoon so it's a good day to sit on the couch.

Love or laziness?

Yesterday was our 32nd wedding anniversary.  I often say that we are the only original couple I know who are still married after such a long time.  Then I remember that I am Himself's second wife!  He was just a babe when married the first time.  As was she.  They had Stepson, separated when Stepson wasn't quite 2 but remained in touch over the years.  She and I were good friends for a while there and when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer she rang me for advice.  All rather strange to a lot of people.  She and I were very similar in many ways.  Not surprising, really.   Himself was obviously attracted to a certain type of female.  I find it amusing when couples split and then one of them (or, more often, a 'friend' of one of them) gets all offended because he (it's usually the bloke) falls for a carbon copy of the first partner.

We have had our fair share of ups and downs over the years.  We have had some pretty spectacular rows and have considered leaving each other.  But we haven't. We joke that we are too lazy to make the move and I guess there is an element of "better the devil you know" but we are really good friends and I can't imagine my life without him in it.  I guess that's what they mean by "for better or for worse".

How did we spend our wedding anniversary?  We went shopping for furniture for the balcony!  We found some we like and are picking most of it up tomorrow (some still has to come from Queensland).  That meant moving the existing furniture downstairs for Three to use (One has taken the furniture that was downstairs and it looks really good on his balcony).  Today we bought some tubs, dirt and plants for the balcony (herbs and pansies) and will hunt around for the perfect large pots/urns as focal points.  

At the weekend I moved a lot of plants around in the garden and bought 60+ bulbs to plant.  Weather permitting tomorrow I will get them, and the 10 azaleas I also bought, into the ground.  We also bought a grafted lemon/lime tree which is in a lovely deep blue glazed pot on the paving.  It's all coming together.

Tomorrow I also need to do a water change on the fish tank.  I have two buckets of water sitting in the kitchen (as advised by the fish people) and will replace some of the fish tank water with this water.  Sheba had a good drink out of one of the buckets which involved standing on her feline tippy toes.  I don't know what is wrong with the bowls of water we always have around for them.  She prefers the shower, the running tap, pots soaking and any other standing water she can find.  Thank god she hasn't discovered (or can't reach) the toilet!

Himself is just about to dish up dinner (BLTs - yum) and then a good night of telly and some cross stitching.

I think it's love, not laziness that's keeping us together!!

At last ... back to normal shifts

Yesterday saw the last of the extra shifts I have picked up (reluctantly) to cover the flu season.  Next week I am back to my normal 5 day fortnight.

Today I went and had my hair cut (getting shorter) and coloured.  Then I caught up with the Mermaid for coffee and came home and did sweet bugger all.

One moves into his new apartment tomorrow with Ebs.  We saw it last night in the fading light.  It is very nice and very One.  Himself, Two and Three will help them move.  I will stay home.  I can't lift anything that they can't manage and it's not my place to put things away.  That's the best bit about moving, especially when it's your first place away from home.  Ebs' mum might help but that's her job.  Not mine as mother of the boy.  So I will do a quick dust and vac.

Next Wednesday is our 32nd wedding anniversary.  I had suggested going to Tassie for a few days but Himself got all picky about air fares and "what do you want to do" so I suggested Canberra but that would have been two days driving and hardly any time there.  Then he suggested Lakes' Entrance but I figure why drive for 4 hours to stay in a motel, eat at crappy restaurants, walk on a beach and play golf when we have a perfectly good house, plenty of crappy (and not so crappy restaurants), a lovely beach and a fabulous golf course RIGHT HERE!  Plus he has bitched and moaned about his bad back but won't see anyone so I told him that I was NOT going to sit in a car for hours with him so he could make his back worse.  So, at the moment we will be staying home.  

That could, of course, change at any time.

Today was a perfect autumn day.  I should really have played golf but I am feeling somewhat knackered at the moment so I'm glad I have just pottered.  The sun is going down and the light reflecting off the houses on the other side of the river is just gorgeous.  No wind, birds singing and sun sparkling on the river.

I think it's going to be a lovely weekend.

Hope yours is.

Post Easter

I really, really, really need to a) find my camera, b) find out how to upload photos onto my macbook and c) get the camera in my phone bluetoothing to said macbook.

We had friends for dinner on Saturday night.  It was a great success and the table looked lovely (see c) above).  The meal was nearly all prepared before so the kitchen stayed clutter free (and disaster free!).

I played golf on Friday with One, Two and Three (great fun), on Sunday with Two and GGF (superb weather and a lovely round of golf) and again yesterday with a friend (still glorious weather but pathetic golf ... not helped by smashing the club into the ground on the second hole and badly jarring my right hand which made the rest of the round rather uncomfortable!)

Himself was working in the garage on Friday afternoon and managed to drill his hand to a piece of wood (insert poor taste Good Friday/crucifixion joke).  He then had to UNDRILL said hand.  He came upstairs requesting first aid (before I knew what he'd done) and then proceeded to dance around the bathroom holding his hand in the air as I tried to get a look at it.  His comment "you're a fucking nurse DO something" did not go down well as I couldn't DO anything cos I couldn't SEE the damn thing!!  Eventually I was able to get a look (which was when we realised he had drilled through the hand - but fortunately the fleshy bit twixt thumb and forefinger heading towards the palm).  He was lucky ... a few mms to the right and he would have hit bone and other nasty bits.

Also fortunate that I had not long got home from golf with 1,2 & 3.  And was in the process of making the dessert for Saturday.  A divine (if I say so myself) chocolate truffle cake.  And so easy.  And rich.  The entree and main course were light so all was good!

On Sunday I briefly caught up with my parents.  Dr Teacher and his wife had arranged lunch as Other Brother and Mrs Other were down.  Mother made out that she couldn't get in the car but dad let slip that she finds the family too tiring.  Which means that when we are all together she doesn't have enough attention directed at her.  Sounds bitchy but the truth.  'Nuff of that.  I don't want to turn into her!  So lunch was lovely.  Himself was behind in his weekend project so I told him to stay home and work ... slowly and carefully!  Then I came home and played golf with 2 and ggf and they stayed for dinner. 

Back at work today.  I need to have a meeting with boss and colleagues so we can get the department working more efficiently.  At the moment this job sharing is not working.  We need to allocate specific tasks so we don't spend half our time working out what someone else has or hasn't done. 

Good diet and plenty of exercise?  *pphhtttt*

And on that note I am going to cook dinner.  Hope your Easter was full of family and fun.

2 posts in one day and a movie critique.

"Knowing" with Nicholas Cage. Was a quite disappointing with huge gaps in credibility.  But I guess when you mix aliens with the bible it would stretch credibility.  We did have fun playing spot the Melbourne landmarks!

Fireman Sam can't make golf tomorrow so Three is coming instead.  The weather looks promising.

Himself has popped up to Bunnings (cos it's closed tomorrow - as is everything) and will spend most of the weekend fixing up the space under the stairs for extra storage in the garage.

And I am going to sit and relax.  And look forward to Hot Cross Buns tomorrow.  Yum.

Autumn ...

I love Autumn.  The nights are getting chilly.  Daylight saving is FINALLY over.  The days are still fairly warm but with the crispness that hints at winter.  The rain we have had has started to turn things green again and there is a sense of the world settling down after the chaos of summer.

Unfortunately it's also germ time and so many people have come down with colds and other odd viral infections.  My colleague with whom I have been immunising has a nasty cold and I have the vague headaches and sore throat that suggest something is brewing.  I just don't feel quite right.

But, I have days off and I intend to make the most of them.  I spent most of Tuesday sitting on the couch cross stitching as I had to work late into the evening.  I was home by midnight so it wasn't as bad as I first thought.  Yesterday I caught up with the mermaid and went to the butcher.  Today, Three and I are going to see Knowing, do some supermarket shopping and One and Ebs are over for dinner.  Speaking of One, he will be moving into a brand spanking new one bedroom apartment not quite 15 minutes away.  I am very happy to have him closer and he is very happy to be living in an area with everything a young couple could want.  Pubs, public transport, night clubs, supermarket, bottle shops, beach .... you get the idea!!

Tomorrow I will  play 9 holes with One, Two and maybe Fireman Sam.  Then I shall make a truffle cake for dessert on Saturday.  We are having two couples for dinner on Saturday night.  So Saturday we will potter around making sure the place is clean and tidy and preparing as much beforehand as I don't want to be clattering around in the kitchen when our friends are here.

Sunday ... who knows.  Monday - golf.

And some sitting and reading and sitting and cross stitching and some walks by the river.

And now I am going to the movies.

Happy Easter!!

Perhaps Saturday is the best day of the week!

Today was lovely.

We had a great time at the trivia night last night.  We came second.  The meal was good (carvery with yummy veges followed by a cheese platter), the company was great and the wine flowed.  I'd definitely do that again.

Today we had to be up relatively early cos a rep from the builders was coming to have a look at a few things that Himself is still not happy with.  After having to share a bathroom with Three for nearly three weeks I was not prepared to have our shower gutted again.  It's a SHOWER for chrissake.  So we live with the tiles that are out of alignment by 9 mms over nearly 2 metres.  Yes, my husband is a perfectionist and it makes for some interesting times.  I wish he was a bit fussier when it came to picking up after himself!!

Then we caught up briefly with the Mermaid before going to the butcher.  Our butcher has a rewards card whereby you get goodies for every $60 or so spent.  So far this year we have snaffled dip, salt flakes, King Island yoghurt, gourmet soup, ready to cook veges, wine, a kilo of snags and today we got 50% off our bill.  2 eye fillets for roasting, 3 kilos of minced rump, 6 lamb cutlets, 2 pieces of eye fillet steak (steak dianne for dinner ... yum yum), 2 bottles of pinot noir and 2 tubs of dutch jelly babies (he is an interesting butcher!) for $95.  Not bad, eh?  And we got a new card so we can do it all again.  People think we are extravagant with our meat but we have compared the prices with the local supermarket and they are certainly competitive and sometimes even cheaper ... and the quality just doesn't compare.

We are in a recession (only don't tell anyone ... apparently it's a secret the government doesn't want anyone else to know about) and I feel it is my civic duty to do my best to stimulate the economy.  Or something.  So we went to my favourite shop ("heart" David Jones) and bought a couple of sets of towels (on sale, mind you), a can opener (for Two who told me last week he doesn't own a can opener or a bottle opener so has tins of soup in his cupboard he can't use and a cut on his finger from trying to open a bottle ... kids - sheesh), 3 (count them T.H.R.E.E.) springform tins in different sizes, a baking tray, ceramic pebbles for blind baking and an electric frypan.  I had plans to come home and bake a cake using the electric mixer I bought a few weeks ago so I could bake cakes only to find that I didn't have the right tins (see springform tins above).

But.

We decided to drop in on old friends we lost touch with several years ago who now live about 15 minutes away.  He was driving out as we arrived and looked at us as if we were something to scrape off the bottom of his shoe until he recognised us.  She opened the door with "Jesus, Mary and Joseph"!!! (a catholic upbringing never leaves you!).  It was so good to see them again.  We didn't stay long but did a quick catch up and exchanged phone numbers (they have an unlisted number which is why we had to drop in) and will make sure they come over for a meal soon.  And I feel so good about this.  We have a strange history, this friend and me, and one day I'll tell you about it (crazy neighbours, stalkers, house breaking ... ) and we don't see each other for a while and then pick up where we left off.  True friendship.

We also went and saw Mother in the rehab hospital.  We didn't stay long as the physio arrived and mother wasn't in a mood to do anything so we left to make sure she at least walked and didn't use us as an excuse for not doing anything.  She goes home on Monday and I will probably drop in on Tuesday before my night shift.

After we came home I went for a walk down to the beach whilst Himself went to Bunnings (it IS Saturday!!).  We really are so fortunate to have such a lovely walk at our doorstep.  One day I will take photos for you (I have to find the camera and the connecting leads).

I am now drinking a rather nice Pinot Grigio whilst Himself cooks Steak Dianne.  Gotta love that garlic.  Cos if you don't you are somewhat screwed!!

One and Ebony looked at apartments to rent.  They have found one which they really love.  It's in a good area, close to trains, lots of pubs and bottleos (his observation, not mine!), shops and the beach.  And is only 13 minutes from us (he checked!).  I really hope they get it.

Tomorrow ... DAYLIGHT SAVING ENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I have looked forward to this.  So, after an extra hour we will go and have our final golf lesson in this series.  Then back here for lunch (not sure what we will have yet as we missed the deli when we decided to drop in on the old friends and I refuse to buy from the supermarket's deli unless I'm going to cook - as in bacon).  Then a game of golf somewhere.  Then we will have most of the tribe here for dinner (see huge amount of meat mentioned above!).   

All in all, a great recipe for a perfect weekend.

Weather

We're in for quite a bit, by all accounts.

It has become dark and gloomy and there are rumblings of thunder.

Three and I went for a walk down to the beach and back this morning and we could feel the change coming through.  It was most invigorating.  I was meant to play golf with Suze this afternoon but it's looking doubtful even with the golf cart.  Thunderstorms and golf courses are not a good mix.  We shall see.

We are going to the club for a trivia night tonight.  Should be fun.  

Yesterday I did a huge clean and went for a walk with Three.  My feet were horribly painful.  I took one of Himself's anti-inflammatories and it helped a bit but my left foot is still feeling very uncomfortable.  It's probably arthritis and even more reason to lose weight.

And here comes the rain .... what a lovely sound.

knackered

The past two weeks have been ... interesting.

I have worked 8 days out of the past 9, mother is in rehab and has been a bit ordinary (but Dr Teacher has handled most of that, poor bugger) and I now have 4 days off.

Himself is cooking bangers and mash (or seared fingers of seasoned beef served on a bed of garlicky potatoes with caramelised onions and smashed baby peas!!!!) and I am enjoying a very nice glass of cab sav.

Tomorrow I will clean the house and go for a walk.  And if all goes according to plan I will come back here and write more.

Til then .......