Shake it off

 

And just like that, another year comes to an end. And what a year it has been.

I started to list the good and the bad and decided to just shake the whole year off and move into 2022.

T and I went to the yarn/cafe place as I really felt the need to clear the air whilst still in this year. It all went very well and they were completely unaware of the extent of the issues. And I bought more yarn.

I hope that you have had some good with the pain that was 2021.

Thank you to the new blogging friends I have made. I look forward to your posts every day.

I am blessed with my family and good friends.

Next year I am focusing on my physical and mental health. It's so easy to get caught up with shit and lose the plot. 

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve wherever you are. Stay warm or cool but above all stay safe.

Done and dusted for another year.

 

The afternoon with the boys and their families was wonderful if a tad noisy. 5 girls aged between 2 and 5 and wee Alice. I never remember my boys squealing like this lot did. Maybe it's a girl thing! They were all delighted with their presents - cue more squealing. They only see each other all together like this on very rare occasions but were the best of mates "this is my cousin" and it was lovely to see.

One cooked a lovely bbq with burgers, snags and chicken. Three couldn't be fagged making his salad and I bought the bread as I couldn't be fagged making rolls for that many. There was plenty of food. Himself popped out to the local supermarket and bought some green stuff for the pretense of healthy but it was hardly touched.

I took my no-alcohol bubbles and red and didn't feel I missed anything. Himself had 2 or 3 beers but was in considerable pain. I looked at him this morning and noticed he is decidedly crooked. I really need to get him to see a chiropractor or physio.

Tomorrow T and I are going to the cafe that is at the bottom of all the drama. It's not their fault but has been blown out of all proportion by JF. Hopefully we can soothe ruffled feathers. If not, at least we will have tried.

And apparently me posting on MY facebook page "If you choose not to vaccinate, I choose not to see you" is discriminatory and was directed at her. Forgetting this was while my family were dealing with Covid themselves. And the unvaccinated seem to forget that they are at the greatest risk of all so we are, in fact, doing them a favour.

And on that note I shall have a full strength drink.

 

We went to Bunnings and bought 2 large carpet squares to replace the plastic that our desk chairs sit on. Not sure if it will work but I am not saying a word. SOMEONE has buggered his back but won't take pain killers, rest or listen to me.

We also bought a pot and soil to replant a philodendron I bought last week to provide some greenery in the top room. A cafe I go to in Hastings (Steamin' Mugs if anyone is interested) has this plant growing all over the shop with cuttings on every table. It looks great.

Then we went to Karingal to look at phones as my contract is about to expire. Himself can't see why I need a new one. I do. I am hoping he can wheel a deal.

Dinner from Aldi and home to wrap the presents for tomorrow. I do enjoy wrapping. I will need to be up early as I volunteered to bake bread show off. 

And that's about it for today. I have vacuumed some dog hair up but can't see the point. It'll be back with interest tomorrow. Who thought it would be a good idea to get a long haired german shepherd. 

By the way, the pizza last night was the best one yet.

What a day

I caught up with T for a coffee. She sent a message to the founder of the craft group. We shall refer to her as JF - we have a lot of J's! That led on to 3 hours of backwards and forwards where we were called bullies, mean, discriminating. It went wild. She has now unblocked us all. The woman has some serious issues and being unvaccinated is house bound. She buries herself in conspiracy twaddle and that doesn't do her any favours.

Two and his lot arrived in Melbourne last night. They are staying in Hastings which is about a 20 minute drive from us rather than Bulleen with his inlaws and about a 60 + minute drive. We met them in Mornington (a lovely, but busy, bayside town) and had gelato and a great chat. We will see them all again on Thursday.

I think I might have caught the sun a bit although I was careful to sit in the shade. My face is burning.

Home made pizza for dinner (unless I stuffed up the dough - it feels a bit sticky).

Panic attack avoided

You know you are truly loved when your husband comes with you to a massive shopping centre (Fountain Gate) to buy Christmas presents for 2 grandchildren. It was chaotic. Crowded. Masks seemed optional. I wonder if the maskless were vaccinated. We managed to find the toy shop with the help of a helpful help desk person. Needless to say the shelves were pretty empty but we got what we wanted and braved the walk back to the car.

We watched "Don't Look Up" last night. I love a good disaster/end of the world movie. This was more a very unsubtle parody of the Trump years. I thought that with DiCaprio and Streep it would be good but, meh. Don't get me wrong, I have no time for Trump but I think that it's time to just put that sad part of our history behind us and move on.

I was watching something else (can't remember but it was set in the 1800s) and a man lit a pipe. It made me realise that you don't see pipe smokers any more. Well not THAT kind of pipe. My father used to smoke one and I loved the smell. Cigarettes make me feel ill (and as a non-smoker of 20 years this year I can say that). Cigars can be ok but, again, you don't see them either. So many butts around but you never found a discarded pipe!

Today was meant to be the kick start to better health. I am now looking at Saturday. Don't judge me!!

A lovely Christmas.

As has become our tradition we went to The Mermaid's house. E was there with her partner D and their puppy Poppy. Our two and Poppy became good mates but Murphy and Poppy had something special. Jinx just wanted to play with Poppy's squeaky toys.

Waiting for Santa .....

New best friends ...

First love ....

We sat in the garden and drank sparkling wine, still wine and lots of gin. I might have come home rather sloshed. We ate delicious food prepared by D (an ex chef). And we laughed and talked and teased and had a wonderful, wonderful day.

I heard from Three in the morning and he sent me photos of Sally opening presents at his in-laws. Nothing from Two and a call from One.

Today we are just pottering around. Himself cleaned the stove top with his steamer and now the automatic lighting thing won't stop clicking. E and D are interested in taking it. They are welcome to it. It's nearly dead but apparently better than what they have in their unit and he has cooked on it and liked it. Guess Himself will have to clean the oven as well! It's a job he took on when I was pregnant with One and I have never claimed back. Our new oven cleans itself.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Three and his lot popped over on their way to the inlaws for day 2 of Christmas festivities. I forgot I had a loaf of bread proving. I hope it will still turn out OK. The clicking has stopped - it appears, according to Google, that Himself cleaned it "too vigorously".

I went looking for a photo of Three being Frosty the Snowman in a grade 2 Christmas concert. He made his dance up as he went and it was hysterical. Himself continued sorting through the photos (and is still doing it) and we found more to embarrass the kids with. Some of us in our much younger days, as well. There was one of me with a perm in my cub scout leader uniform after I had been invested. Sally ran and hid behind her mother and wouldn't look at me. I think I might have traumatised her!

Loaf is having it's second prove and then into the oven. The Mermaid gave us some dukkha made with native botanicals so we will have that with olive oil and the fresh bread - and maybe a glass of prosecco.

I will leave you with a photo of my parents at their last Christmas together. Mother does not look impressed but dear old Dad looks might pleased with himself.

Who goes shopping on Christmas Eve.

That would be us!

We went to Ikea cos Himself decided we needed a new mattress cover. And we bought the stove top. And some glasses. Then we decided to go to Karingal. Silly people. We came straight home. He has gone out on his own. We don't need a panic attack in a crowded shopping centre.

The mutiny has well and truly begun. The founder of the group has blocked us! Who needs this shit.

Three popped over with Sally and Alice so Amy could wrap presents. Alice was fine to start with then after a bottle started to scream. I think she's allergic to cows' milk. 

In the past we would be gearing up for a big Christmas Eve celebration in keeping with Himself's Polish roots. Not any more. It will just be us and the telly. In some ways it's nice not to have to stress over things.

Since the filter was cleaned in the air-conditioner it's quiet and cool. Who'd have thought?!

I can hear a siren. Hopefully it isn't an accident but the local CFA delivering Christmas cheer as they usually do. I can't remember if they did last year. Probably not. 

And on that note I shall wish you all a Merry Christmas. Stay safe. Be kind. Let's all count our blessings.

Out and about

K woke up feeling unwell this morning so our catch up has been postponed til after Christmas.

Himself and I went to look at some light fittings that a friend's husband is selling (he bought a storage container full of stuff at a bargain price and they were in it) but nothing really caught our eye. Nice stuff but more for older style houses.

Then I went to the $2 shop for some more wrapping stuff, the bottle-o for a bottle of gin for Elyse and her partner, the post office to collect a parcel that we weren't home for (nothing exciting - just some containers for bits and pieces in Himself's garage) and then he and I decided to have lunch at our local cafe. There used to be a Target in this little shopping centre but it closed down earlier this year. The concern is that with the new improved shopping centre up the road (that has actual banks in it) this one will eventually close down and I will really miss that cafe.

I woke up this morning to one of the dogs (I think it was Murphy) playing with something (growling and barking and clattering around). When I got up there was bird shit and feathers all over the place but no sign of the bird which looked like it was a bloody mynah. We have a lot of pigeons in the area and a pair are building a nest in the tree right on the gazebo roof. This could end in tears if the cat finds them. Although they seem to manage to kill themselves quite easily by flying into the windows. 

Sister in law is still crook. She feels worse than yesterday but her temperature is down a bit. Brother is still ok. 

Found this on a local news site. I shake my head in dismay ..

"If somebody is unconscious, if someone has chest pain, somebody has shortness of breath, if there are injuries as a result of a motor vehicle accident, please call emergency 000."

"If you can't sleep, if you have a toothache, if you have a splinter, if you want to check the opening hours of testing clinic or follow-up on a COVID-19 vaccination, please do not call emergency 000." 

Covid and Kitchens

Bloody Covid has struck again. My sister in law has it. She was singing in St Paul's Cathedral over the weekend and one of the performers was positive so she is now and who knows how many others. She is blaming the filthy brass section that were standing next to her. Their spit goes everywhere!! It means they will miss Christmas and we won't be having Boxing Day here. She is quite unwell and has lost her sense of smell. She has underlying cardiac conditions but is double vaxxed so we are hoping she doesn't get any worse. Her heart is behaving at the moment so she should be ok. The border/testing issues mean that Two and his lot might have difficulty getting tested and down here for next week. Mads' uncle died yesterday and they are waiting to hear when the funeral will be so another reason for them to get down to Melbourne.

We were in Bunnings buying a plant (a philodendron which I hope will climb up the wall in the family room) so we popped into Harvey Norman to see if they had the Bosch cooktop we wanted. No such luck but there was another brand and Springvale had some in stock. Springvale is where Ikea is. As we were leaving I received a text message to say my dishwasher was ready so, well, we had to go to Springvale (incidentally there are no more of those dishwashers to be had in Victoria). 

Collected the dishwasher easy peasy with click and collect and then went and looked at stove tops at HN. After being convinced we would never have an induction cook top we are now looking at an induction cook top! They are more expensive than gas but Ikea have exactly what we want IN STOCK and at a better price than the gas Bosch one we wanted. We are waiting to hear back from our electrician to make sure our power stuff will work with it and if it will then Himself can go and get one. Now I just need the actual kitchen!

The founder of the craft group has still not put anything on the group to say her 4 admins have resigned. She sent a message to J asking to still be friends and inviting to catch up for coffee after Christmas. J replied that she doesn't feel comfortable around unvaccinated people as she has a 95 year old mother in law and a 14 month old grandson. The reply was along the lines of "I understand you have to do what you have to do but do you ask everyone when you are out shopping?" J replied that she socially distances, wears a mask and sanitises everything. She hasn't contacted the other 3 of us. I think we're in the poo.

We went to Aldi for the electric knife. There was one left. It had been taken out of the box but everything seemed to be there. I sliced the loaf which is a couple of days old so the crust was a bit hard but I think we are on a winner here. Thank you Andrew.

Himself cooked the perfect steak last night so I have sent him to see if he can find more. If not marinated chicken from Aldi with salad and spuds. 

The pressure is off to finish the scarf by the weekend so I think I will concentrate on getting the neck of the jumper I'm knitting for himself finished. After that it's mindless knitting.

Dishwasher

I signed up to Ikea and got texts and emails saying the dishwasher was back in stock. In my eagerness I nearly bought 3! It will be ready to be picked up on Thursday. Just the cook-top to get. No going back now. After Sunday we will start taking things out of all the drawers and deciding what we actually use and where we want to keep things.

I caught up with J and C for lunch and gift exchange. C nearly didn't come as she's still crook but was glad she did. (Mental health crook, not Covid or any other such shite). We are all looking forward to next year where we will focus on ourselves and our friendships rather than the larger group. The founder of the group hasn't even had the decency to acknowledge our resignations and hard work. Boo sucks to her.

I see Aldi have an electric knife in their special buys tomorrow. It's only $20 so we might get one and see if it helps with the bread slicing.

Finally, after more calls to the council, they came and mulched the tree across the road. The debris was drifting more and more across to the middle causing a major traffic hazard and with the hot dry weather it was also a significant fire risk. Himself rang the council again yesterday and today it's gone. Squeaky wheels and all that.

Counting down the days

When everyone was much younger this was an exciting time of year. Now I am just making sure things get done. I am not looking forward to the weekend with any great enthusiasm. 

Yesterday was a quiet day. My brother in law came up from his farm (4.5 hour drive each way) and he and Himself went and saw their mother. She was much the same. 

While they were gone I faffed around a bit and then got stuck into some weaving. We had steak, chips and salad for dinner with mango and icecream for pud. 

Today is a day of more weaving (I need to get a scarf finished by the weekend), shopping for presents for my crafty mates, baking bread and whatever else comes up.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The mutiny has begun. Three of us have resigned as admins. The fourth will tomorrow. It's too bloody hard and when you're dealing with the likes of the founder it's all too much. We will start our own group and keep it small and friendly. The only problem will be the days we can meet up, as once restrictions are eased and the unclean unvaccinated are allowed loose in society, we will have a clash booking L'Arte. Unless we get in first. Gloves are off, ladies and gentlemen. This could get messy. Welcome to the gentle arts.

I baked the bread. Himself cut it straight out of the oven. Warm rye bread with carraway seeds and lashings of butter. Heaven.

I bought the presents and am pleased with them and really enjoyed the process.

Came home and did some weaving in between messaging the mutineers.

We have had a thought that the dogs may have taken The Wallet and destroyed it but no evidence has yet been found.

The split system air-con in the family room has been a bit noisy lately and not really cooling. Himself read the manual and apparently we should have been cleaning the filter every 3 weeks. We have had it for about 3 years. 

Say no more. 

And a great day was had by all.

We had our craft group Christmas/End of Year get together and it was a resounding success. 18 people (including wee Alice), gifts for all courtesy of us admins and 5 rounds of celebrity heads which were taken very seriously! 

Everyone said they had a wonderful time and were grateful for the effort we put in. Next year will be interesting as we want changes but the founder of the group will be a stumbling block. There may be mutiny and a breakaway group. Stay tuned for more news of the cut throat world of crafting. Be afraid - we have hooks and pointy needles.

I still have some Christmas shopping to do which I should get done on Monday, I hope. Tuesday I will be trolling the Ikea website hoping to score an elusive dishwasher. I still have a scarf to make by Saturday, food shopping for Saturday and Sunday (although Sunday could be done on Sunday if I'm not too hungover from Saturday), and a couple of catch ups with friends. It will be a busy week. Happy busy but still a bit stressful.

Cold meat and salad for dinner with garlic focaccia which I didn't make (hanging my head in shame). Apple crumble with ice cream and custard for pud. 

Photos were taken today which shocked me. New lifestyle starts on 27th December. 

Update on Amy

 

The poor girl has really been given the run around. She is trying to get in to see a doctor for her mental health plan. Impossible with Alice unless she returns a negative Covid test because she has a cough which has been diagnosed as silent reflux and NOT Covid by a paediatrician. Amy explained that she had been told by the testing station doctor that they wouldn't do it as she would still be shedding the virus but won't be contagious. She was told to just get the test and quarantine for a fortnight and then come and see the doctor. Over Christmas. 

She was then offered a video consult (tele health isn't possible as it's for a mental health plan and they need to see her). OK, let's do this. Oh sorry, your doctor doesn't do them. We can let you see another doctor who does but you have to have seen them within the last 12 months for a mental health plan so can you come in and see them after getting a negative covid test for your baby .....

At this point Amy lost it and said that she has post natal depression and they want her to wait 2 weeks in quarantine over Christmas without giving a thought to her mental health and possible actions? A bit dramatic but they said they would see what they can do. I have offered to have Alice but that really isn't the point as a) not every new mum has support and b) they need to see how she is relating to the baby. 

Now we wait.

I caught up with my student for coffee. It was lovely to see her face to face. I am thinking about dropping this next year but will still see Annie as a friend.

We are now going to visit mother in law. I will be back. Probably with gin in hand.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The gin is a very large glass of wine.

Mother in law was thrilled to see the dogs. She was also concerned that I had left my baby at home unattended. And her son has now taken up with her husband's paramour.

We then decided to go to Ikea to check out things we want in the new kitchen - like spice racks and cutlery drawers and where we want things and so forth. We found out the Ikea appliances are either Bosch or Electrolux. Bonus. We went to Harvey Norman (sell everything) and price checked - hell no!! Back to Ikea to find out if they had any in stock. They did. The range hood and the oven.  But ... remember the wallet debacle of 2021? Well, we have been given the details of the new credit card but the information needed was at home. So the nice man at Ikea reserved our items, we hot footed home, did something appy on Himself's phone to activate the card (with him trying to do it on his computer even though he had been told to download the app and use that - I did it) then raced back to Ikea and completed the deal with bated breath as we weren't sure it would work. We are now the proud owners of a top of the range Electrolux-with-a-funny-swedish-name oven and equally funny named rangehood. We may have to wait for the dishwasher but I can live with that. They are expecting 4 on Tuesday and if I am quick enough I might be able to grab one. Appliance supplies have gone to hell in a handbasket this year. Even the locally made stuff thanks to border closures. 

So it is now 9pm. I have a large glass of wine ... ok now half a large glass of wine ... and am eating a microwaved Coles mushroom and truffle risotto which, actually, is quite good. May as well get used to it. I won't have a kitchen for several weeks other than a kettle, air fryer, microwave and rice cooker. And the barbie. I see some interesting menus in my future.

Bubbles

Lots of bubbles. And cheese and crackers and dip and cold meat and laughter and fun.

I had J,T & K, fellow admins of the craft group, over for a planning session for our Christmas break up on Saturday. 5 hours later I think we nailed it. Or the warm boozy fuzziness will dissipate and there will be a frantic regrouping tomorrow.

Regardless, it was a great evening and Himself is driving them home. It's too late for fish and chips so no idea what we will have for dinner.

I feel confident next year will be a good one. At least with this group of friends.

Drama

Himself went to take the dogs for a walk and couldn't find his wallet. Oh my lord what a drama!

We searched high and low, he rang the supermarket where he last used it, turned out the car, the garage, the shed, the rubbish. I was Ms Cool and Calm. He was almost having a heart attack. 

We couldn't find it anywhere so he has been on the phone to banks cancelling everything. Bills get automatically deducted from the credit card. His mother's account has a lot of money in it and he had her debit card linked to it. Our account is never full so I wasn't concerned about that. 

He went to VicRoads to get a replacement license. Fortunately he had my debit card which hadn't been affected as he couldn't get a new license without paying for it! What part of "lost my wallet" don't you get? They took a new photo. It's been a few days since he had a shave and banged his bald head under the house when sorting out the garage. I think he is going to look rather dodgy!

He is now off to Centrelink/medicare for replacement cards there. What a kerfuffle.

I cannot use Paypal or by anything on Amazon until the credit card is replaced. Right on Christmas! Fortunately my kindle is well loaded with books and I have some old fashioned ones as well.

I can guarantee that the damn thing will turn up soon.

A better day

Thank you for the kind words.

I have suffered from anxiety in one form or another since I was 14 (just before my 15th birthday). I vividly remember the first attack although I had no idea what it was at the time. After suffering badly with post natal depression I made a point of talking about it as it was (and still is to a much lesser extent) a huge stigma that I felt strongly should be discussed without judgement.

I manage my mental health issues with input from my gp. My meds have been doubled which should see things improving in the new year. Things always improve in the new year! The last couple of years have played havoc with mental health and I feel for everyone who is struggling. Don't do it alone. Talk to someone.

Three send me a video of Alice laughing and giggling and then I realised she was in a hospital. Last night she wouldn't stop screaming and Amy rang the GP who said if she got a negative Covid test they could make an appointment in a few days. So she took her to the Children's Hospital and Alice stopped screaming. They said Alice was fine but gave her an appointment with a paediatrician. They also recommended that Amy get a mental health plan and seek some help. (For those not in Australia, a GP will write up a mental health plan which means you can get a certain number of psychologist appointments, the bulk of which - if not all - is paid for by Medicare; our government funded health care system)

Hallelujah!! 

I rang her and asked her when she was going to do this. She said when she could find time. I told her to hang up and call me back when she had done it!. She has an appointment with a GP tomorrow and I will get Himself's psychologist's details for her. She saw someone after her brother committed suicide in 2016 but that was specifically for families of suicide victims and was provided by the police as her arsehole father is member of the force.

Himself went on another steak hunt and after a couple of attempts was successful. So steak and salad with crispy duck fat potatoes (from Aldi) and blueberries and vanilla icecream for dessert. I have pizza dough resting in the fridge so that is tomorrow night taken care of.

I have finished two scarves that are Christmas presents. Just need to iron and wrap them. I have the loom set up ready to warp the last one I need to make. 

Wine o'clock.

Anxiety

For some reason my levels are through the roof. I have no idea why other than it is that time of year.

Himself, bless him, has been cleaning windows and venetian blinds. After Christmas I think I will sell them and put up sheers that can at least go in the washing machine and actually provide more privacy and diffuse the light.

He has now gone steak hunting for dinner tonight.

I am finishing off Christmas presents for people. Crocheting, putting fringes on scarves and that sort of thing. I have one more scarf to weave and a few bits and pieces to buy but all should be good.

I am giving blood/plasma tomorrow. If the anxiety doesn't subside my blood pressure will be through the roof.

This constant sense of impending doom is just horrible.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

The steak hunt was unsuccessful. We are having Aldi lasagnes for dinner with salad. 

Fringeing is going well (it probably should be fringing but that sounds and looks wrong!) it's going to take me as long the fringe the bloody things as it did to weave them!.

Anxiety is still there. I just have to remember to accept it as part of my life. Good old ACT training from years ago that I keep forgetting to put into practice.

Brunch

Three rang me yesterday asking me if I'd like to have brunch with him today. Just him and me. Of course I said yes but was worried cos I'm a mum. It turns out they are struggling with Alice and he feels Amy isn't coping (blind Freddie could see that). Unfortunately she is her own worst enemy so there isn't much anyone can do but keep offering support. Money is always tight and he works long hours and travels an hour to and from work. He is exhausted but still shops, cooks, does housework and looks after the girls when he's home. 

Brunch was lovely. He had scrambled eggs with confit mushrooms and caramelised onions on sourdough toast. He loves food and cooking! I had housemade crumpet with whipped butter, local honey and pistachios. Yum. I am definitely going to have a go and making my own crumpets. How hard can it be?!

He has now gone home to get ready for the next week of work. I worry about him terribly.

I have made some curried mince for dinner which we will have with rice. I am now going to weave.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

I didn't weave. I faffed around on the computer, did a couple of puzzles and had a long chat with Three (yes we only saw each other a couple of hours ago!) about whether Sally should be placed with a talent agency. They are very expensive ($750) and no guarantee of work. I am sure Sally would be brilliant but she is starting school next year. I suggested it would be great if she could join a musical theatre sort of group. She loves her ballet but it doesn't really give the opportunity to express herself. Regardless, school must come first. She is only 5 after all.

Whoosh

 And just like that, it's 5 o'clock.

We walked the dogs to the park where they played chase the ball. A woman came with two yappy chihuahuas and I was worried the dogs might snap as the little shits kept barking and nipping at my two. They didn't thank goodness. Jinx is still a little cow when it's time to go. Murphy will come when called but Jinx thinks it's a game.

I did many code crackers (my latest time wasting obsession but I claim it's for my brain). 

I baked a loaf of bread.

I tried a new recipe for biscuits and baked a huge batch. They're OK. Not as sweet as the sugar cookies (unsurprisingly, really) but will be nice with a cuppa.

I didn't get any weaving done and now I can't be bothered.

Three rang inviting me to brunch with him tomorrow. Just mother and son. Hopefully he just wants to chat and there is nothing wrong. 

I was going to cook curried mince and rice tonight but Himself bought Aldi fishcakes so we will have those with the remains of the coleslaw and potato salad and I will do mince tomorrow. Dessert will be another Aldi tart.

Next Thursday I am having J, K and T over for drinks and nibbles. We are all admins of the craft group. The founder of the group is a rabid anti-vaxxer so we are left to organise the get togethers. It will be the first time J and K will really get to know one another. I hope they like each other! J will bring some nibbles and I think I will make a platter of watermelon and feta cheese. If you haven't tried the combination you should. Salty feta and sweet, juicy watermelon. Heaven.

And on that note I shall go and do another puzzle.

A good day

Fridays are generally good days. They are the day our craft group meets and it's always lovely. Today was really pleasant. One of the women became a first time grandma this week so lots of talk about babies. Alice was perfect. Granny fed her. Alice pooed. Granny handed her to mum. 

A quick coffee with a friend afterwards (3 coffees in one day - sleep could be interesting tonight!) and then an Aldi visit to see if they had anything suitable for the two remaining grandkids. Nada. But that's OK. I have time as we won't see them til 30th and I can go to Big W, Kmart and Target.

A lovely chat with the owner of the florist at L'arte and my centrelink issues might be solved as might be able to volunteer with them.

A stupid bird flew in the house again this morning. I finally worked out that if I close all the curtains bar the one to the door the idiots will fly out. Well this one did. They are horrible birds but I just can't let the dogs get them. 

L'arte pies with coleslaw for dinner followed by Aldi black forest tart (to DIE for) and a couple of bottles of Aldi red. It's Friday, after all.

A silver lining.

I have been knitting Himself a jumper. I purchased the yarn during lockdown and it wasn't exactly the colour I had hoped it would be. It was quite pink, and while Himself doesn't have a problem wearing pink, this particular shade was not really flattering. I had nearly finished the body, had made several small mistakes and just wasn't really feeling it.

This morning at around 5 one of the dogs was scratching at the door. Himself got up and the next thing I heard was "What is THIS?? BAD dogs". Oh shite, I thought and got up to see what had happened. Someone had decided that the knitting in my bag was rather nice and had dragged the knitting bag to the back door, removed the knitting and had eaten the wooden needles. Fortunately the bag was unharmed as I am rather fond of it. Himself was rather surprised I wasn't angry but deep down I was quite thrilled. Now I had a good reason to buy a colour I prefer and knit with more concentration and fewer mistakes. Hooray - a trip to Little Woolie Makes in Hastings. Best yarn shop in the world.

I put a call out and T came with me. I bought yarn I am happy with. Had a drool over all the beautiful new yarn they have in stock and got some cotton to crochet face scrubbies for the daughters in law. They work up really quickly and are a great way to wash your face/remove your makeup without using those indestructible 'disposable' wipes.

T and I then went and had lunch. My shout to pay/thank her for making a doll for me to give Alice for Christmas. I just don't have time.

Home to spend a couple of hours weaving and I now have 3 more runners to take to L'arte tomorrow. Tonight I will cast on jumper v.2.

It looks as if Boxing Day lunch will be here. Himself doesn't appear overly thrilled but too bad. I just have to do all the prep myself and not get stressed. I am thinking we will do everything (bar the wine) from Aldi. And keep my fingers crossed people can behave like adults!

Craft group tomorrow. 

Now it's wine o'clock.

M.I.A.

I have been feeling very blah of late hence the paucity of posts.

It is, sadly, the norm for me at this time of year. As I have mentioned before, being the mother of boys means that I don't get a look in over the festive season. They all go to the other side of the family. 

I used to love Christmas. The shopping for gifts, the planning, the wrapping, the decorating etc. Now I don't even bother. One would think shopping for the grandkids would be fun but they have everything. Even books are hard as I have no idea which ones they own. 

This year is added to by a rift between Himself and Other Brother. OB and his wife came over between lockdown 77,098 and 98,452. Sister in law and I made the mistake of going and picking veges from my garden leaving the blokes alone. Himself and OB got into a "discussion". Not sure exactly what it was about but it would have been political. OB yelled for SIL and when we came inside he was shaking with rage, Himself was sitting looking bemused but determined and a hasty retreat was beaten. To this day we have two different stories from two different husbands. Sadly, my brother never forgets a slight (disagreeing with or questioning him is a cardinal sin but Himself chose to ignore that memo) so it is unlikely we will get together with them over Christmas. I have put it out there and we shall see. Dr Teacher will agree although Mrs Teacher #2 is questionable. #1 was lovely. This one seems to need to prove something generally by lecturing everyone so conversations are difficult. 

I caught up with Sister in Law today and we had lunch and a really good chat. She is the sister I never had. Living with my brother is a challenge and he doesn't get easier as the years go by. At least Himself has mellowed over time. A bit.

So, my blogger friends, that is why I have been missing in action.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better and my funk will have lifted.

Debby posted this. It made me snort into my wine. 

Musings

After reading Andrew's post this morning about music it got me thinking about some of my favourites. Here, in no particular order are some ...

This is my favourite carol and this clip has a bonus - DRUMS!!

This cracks me up every time I watch it.

I could go on but that's enough for today.

Music calms me down, revs me up, makes me happy, brings me to tears. Sometimes the tears are because I can't stand what I'm listening to but on the whole there is little I really don't like - apart from opera. And doof doof.

Speaking of bringing me to tears - this does it every time.

They were only kids.

Weekend

I couldn't get up the energy to post yesterday. It was a lovely day with craft group, a sleeping Alice, steak for dinner and a really nice red wine.

Today I am planning to do another 2 runners after swearing I wouldn't but I will make them simple. Hells bells, I might even do 3.

Himself is pottering in the garage whilst watching Bathurst (super car racing for those non-australian/nz).

I have a loaf of bread proving and pizza dough in the fridge for dinner.

Below I will post the before and after shots of the driveway. As much for Chris who has had a shocking time with tradespeople lately. What has happened to customer service?

This was after they had dug up original patterned concrete driveway and were laying the crushed rock.

Getting ready to lay the brick edging. This took a good 2 days.

The completed drive. Neat and tidy.

It's a loooong driveway!

The path. They didn't bother ripping the old one up. Just laid bricks and poured the asphalt. Thank goodness it's not a slipping hazard any more.

So there you have it. We love it and whilst it wasn't cheap, it was less than we feared. The company is local and the owner is a lovely young bloke. The care they took was refreshing.

Right. Off to get the bread in the oven and start weaving. I should probably change out of my jammies but it is Sunday!

Lodged

 The rain to the wind said,

"You push and I'll pelt."

They so smote the garden bed

That the flowers actually knelt,

And lay lodged - though not dead.

I know how those flowers felt.

Robert Frost

I love Robert Frost's poetry. Yesterday's evening storm put me in mind of this poem. At least it wasn't as ferocious as the last one although the wind initially was a bit scary. Then lots of thunder and lightning (which should actually be lightning and thunder as that's the way they happen). Heavy rain which left us feeling hot and sticky with the humidity. Eventually the storm cleared and the air was cool and washed and lovely.

Today I caught up with the craft group. Only a handful of us which was disappointing. People are busy at this time of year but a personal bug bear is replying yes then not turning up. Alice was unsettled. I have spoken to Three and he has agreed to have both girls tomorrow afternoon so Amy can have some true down time. Granny can only do so much.

Chris makes amazing runners and I ordered these. They arrived today. I giggle inside every time I look at them.

I really need to get into the Christmas spirit. Like do some shopping. 

Maybe next week .......

Friends

I caught up with T and K for brunch today. We are different in ages (65, 56, 41) and circumstances but we all share mental health challenges, a love of craft and a wicked sense of humour. K has a lot of issues at the moment and is being taken advantage of by so many people including her family. It upsets me when lovely people are treated like this. I hope our 3 hours of nattering helped her.

I then went to the $2 shop and got some Christmas crap for my front garden to add to the elf and next year's diary (the diary isn't going in the front garden). I do like a paper diary as it enables me to check things that happened ages ago. I should start culling them I guess. Maybe I will get a yearly planner thingy and write all the important things in one place. I don't really need to know when I had coffee with a friend but health things and animal things and stuff like that are important and my memory ain't what it used to be.

Himself has gone to the supermarket. We need vanilla ice cream. I told him to get the vanilla bean ice cream from Aldi. He asked which one. I told him to decide how poor he felt when he was there! He'd better get the expensive one - it's a whole $2 more but much nicer. Aldi lasagne again - his choice - with salad for dinner and fruit and ice cream for dessert. My virgin wine box arrived yesterday so we have some very nice reds to choose from. If the change doesn't come through soon I might have to have a beer as well. I don't dislike beer but it has to be one I like and only one; more than that and I start to feel uncomfortable. I don't understand how people can down so many in one sitting. Wine - now that's another story!

The rains are coming....

Ikea wins.

We got the quote from Barb. She came in slightly less than Ikea but because everything we get with Ikea is brand new and with Barb we will still have the existing cabinetry we have decided to go with them. Himself has spoken with Amy's step dad who did our bathroom and other renos and he can do it around March. Next step is to make the final appointment with Ikea to pick exactly what we want with fixtures and drawer innards and so on.

The call with the aunt and the financial adviser and step cousin went ok. She said she has a credit card which is $7,000 in credit. That freaked me out as if it gets stolen the bank will only reimburse her the credit limit. I am calling her this afternoon to find out what the story is there. Otherwise there were no surprises. She is still very naïve when it comes to finances and is easily confused. I am ringing her at 4pm. Gin o'clock will be early today!

They came and cut up the remains of the big tree that came down in the great storm of 2021. The needed a crane to get it onto the flat bed truck. A contract chipperer will come later to turn the rest into mulch. It's too much for the council chipperers to do. Shows you how big it was. Himself had a lovely chat with the blokes and found out that every single tree in the City Frankston that is on nature strips and parks (not the bushy bits) is identified and checked every two years. If it turns out this was overdue or nearly due we might have a case but I'm not holding my breath.

I am giving the brioche one more go. It's outside on the balcony proving (it's over 30* C today). We are having Aldi fish cakes with salad tonight so some fresh bread would be nice. If it doesn't work I won't buy it again. Simples.

Pruned the roses this morning before it got too hot. I tried yesterday but burnt my feet so I wore flip flops/thongs/jandals. Poor things are really struggling with the black spot and I think I have lost one. Once the weather cools a bit I will spray them and feed them.

Right. Time to get some weaving in before The Phone Call. I think I will have Green Ant gin and tonic water tonight.

********************************************************************************************

Well, the best laid plans and all that. I rang Amy to see how she was going and she wasn't coping so over I went. Alice was very unsettled. Even Super Granny couldn't calm her down for long. I tried a few things and they worked initially but I think the heat and impending storm had her discombobulated. The aunt rang at 4.05 as I was wrangling a screaming baby. Told her I'd call back in half and hour. We bathed said baby and in the end gave her some panadol. Something was obviously causing her grief. She settled and I was walking out the door at 4.35 and the aunt rang again. I wish I was closer as she gets very stressed. Got home to Himself all stressed because he broke the secateurs he bought me FOR MY ROSES cutting up rosemary and couldn't find the receipt. And the brioche loaf I left him with strict instructions for? Burnt. 

I ended up having a very strong gin.