Grumpy

 

Himself sent me the above. It tickled my sense of humour. I hope it doesn't offend anyone but we all need to lighten up a bit these days. There is so much gloom and doom in the news. This morning I heard about businesses being targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters to the point that honest people can't get to work or are too intimidated. It's like the climate change protesters who block roads - a few weeks ago a woman gave birth on the side of the road because she couldn't get through to the hospital. I have no problem with demonstrating but when it impacts innocent people enough is enough and I damn sure that being inconvenienced by a protest is never going to get me to see their side of the story.

Sorry, I seem to be in a bit of a grump today!

Criminology was fascinating. We looked at a stalking case that our facilitator was directly involved in and which changed the laws to make stalking a criminal offense in three states. Sadly, the woman in question was stabbed to death by her stalker - a man who had a long history but when she went to the NSW courts to plead for help and a restraining order and asked the magistrate to contact the Victorian authorities for their findings said magistrate replied he wasn't interested in the past and believed the stalker when he said he had done nothing. Two days later the woman was dead. I wonder how the magistrate felt. The stalker/murderer was killed by a train shortly after. Suicide? We don't know. This happened 30 years ago and we still have too many women killed in domestic violence.

I mentioned to the facilitator after class about our run ins with CW and she agreed the woman is a concern but also agreed an intervention order might just tip her over the edge. She said all we can do is keep detailed records so if things to escalate we have proof. I don't think Himself is taking this seriously though and he is definitely the object of her obsession - she makes no attempt to approach if I am there. He did say they crossed paths yesterday when he was walking the dogs and ignored each other. I just don't trust her to not make false accusations against him. Thank goodness we have people who have witnessed her bizarre behaviour.

Craft after criminology which is always a pleasant change! Today we talked about fishing, people who don't know the rules about fishing, how to store circular needles (after I produced my tangled mess), vets, disabled toilets and much more. I still hadn't received the yarn to start my shadow knitting (it arrived whilst I was at craft!) so I took a jumper I started knitting for Himself a couple of years ago. I just have the sleeves to do and I reckon I spend half an hour trying to remember how to pick up and get going. But I did and that will be my project for the foreseeable future. I need to finish something.

The osteo gave me some exercises to do and told me to start walking short distances so I did a very short walk this afternoon after the exercises and my hip doesn't like me very much at all. I know things would be easier if I lost some weight but it all gets too damn hard when you're in pain. Whinge whinge.

Himself has a spag bol simmering away and it smells delicious. 

He is currently up at the new house seeing a fencer and just rang to say the garage door is being installed. 

Yay. Something is happening.

Late

A very quick post tonight as it's getting late.

History was great fun and very educational. I did not know how far south the Japanese subs got in WW2. A ship was torpedoed off shore not that far from here and a lot further south than the midget subs that invaded Sydney Harbour that we know about. 

Himself and I had a late brunch at our favourite cafe.

The osteo helped my back but flared up my hip which was to be expected.

A good chat with Mermaid, dinner from the freezer (casserole with rice) and I am nearly ready for bed.

Liars!

That is what CW calls us but in this instance I am using it to call out the weather people.

They promised us a glorious autumn day and failed to deliver.

It was chilly and overcast until very late in the day when the sun finally bathed the town in a watery light.

Himself is still crook. He sleeps most of the day but is slowly improving. I think it might have been a bit more than man flu.

Tomorrow is history at U3A and then an appointment with the osteo to see if he can help my back. I am not a follower of fish slapping and chanting in the moonlight but a good osteo (ie not a nutter) can be as helpful as a physio. And we have an osteo here but no physio! 

I am sure I have shared this before but it always makes me laugh.

Yesterday we had a late lunch at our favourite cafe then a lovely long natter with a couple of neighbours in our new house. 

I can't wait to move in.

Sad times

Well yesterday turned out to be a very sad day.

First of all I found out from Fave Sis in Law that her brother (who is only in his very early 60s) has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. He is angry and in denial and the family are trying to work out what to do, powers of attorney, etc. FSiL and Other Brother are due to head back to Italy in three weeks and she is the go to person in the family even though there are two other siblings who can step up. Their mother is in her late 80s and will be so upset. The brother in question has a son who is about 7 or 8 and an interesting relationship with the boy's mother. A difficult situation for so many people.

Later in the day I found out that a dear friend's son had been involved in a freak accident on a remote property resulting in severe leg and pelvis injuries. Fortunately he was with trained first aiders and they had an emergency beacon which alerted the authorities as there is no phone coverage. His mates kept him warm and still and when the ambos finally got in (about an hour and a half after the accident) they stabilised him and he was transferred via helicopter to hospital. He is still very unwell and surgery keeps being postponed as they find other issues but at least he is alive. 

Later still Cathy left a comment on yesterday's post telling me to check out Andrew's blog. His news is heartbreaking and I know that the blogging community will be thinking of him in this awful time and I am sure many of us will have shed tears.

We never know when things will happen. Tell people you love them. Hug them and appreciate every minute you have. If you go bush make sure you have the right emergency equipment - it saves lives. We cannot know what people are going through so let's make kind and understanding our default behaviour.

Tired

It's been a big day doing very little!

I gave my pint of blood (or whatever it is these days) and collected Murphy's meds from the vet. 

Usually I breeze through the whole process but today I struck someone who was very thorough to the point that she didn't want my blood if I might have a hip replacement within 3 months. I know you can't donate for 6 months after but I'd never heard about the pre surgery restrictions. We agreed I would discuss with the surgeon. Of course after all that my blood pressure was through the roof so that meant further delay until it came down!

The vet had given me a prescription but no tablets so that was another hurdle. I came home with both.

Himself is at the stage of his cold where if he was a child he'd be grizzling. Getting better but still not 100%.

I put my cloud photo from yesterday on the local Facebook page and it's received well over 150 likes. I'm a bit chuffed.

I think it will be an early night tonight.

A quiet day

Anzac Day is a day of reflection. We never make a conscious decision but that is how we seem to spend it. Quietly and at home.

Himself still has man flu so he spent most of the day in bed.

I spent the day playing on the computer and reading a gentle, English whodunnit. It has been chilly and windy. I even wore my tracky daks for the first time this year. Yes, winter is definitely approaching.

Once the invalid had risen from his sick bed and had a shower we popped into town for more panadol and some other bits and pieces.

The hoards had arrived for the long weekend. If there is a day between a weekend and a public holiday many will take it as a day of annual leave and it seems many had done just that.

We ducked around to Bullock Island to see how rough the Entrance would be with the wind. Not as rough as I have seen but still some good waves.

And behind me, this amazing light show of the sun through the clouds (this one is worth biggerising).

Tomorrow I am into Bairnsdale to donate blood. At least it's only a half hour drive unlike the two hours to Traralgon when I donate plasma!

Quiche and coleslaw for dinner with rhubarb and apple crumble to follow. None of it homemade because kitchen, oven, etc.

Rainbows and cake

It was very hazy yesterday evening. Lots of woodsmoke around and no wind.

It gave the whole place a bit of an eerie feel.

Overnight the wind came up and we had some rain and this was the view this morning.

It is still quite breezy and we have had rain on and off all day and this is the view right now. None of the photos have been touched up or fiddled with so you can see the difference in the light and the colour of the ocean.

It was coffee group today. There were only four of us but still a great way to spend a couple of hours. I bought two slices of ginger fluff sponge for dessert. All their pastries and cakes are made in house and the chef is amazing.

This morning we had the range hood replaced. Now we have a brand new, sparkling clean range hood that won't turn intself on in the middle of the night and refuse to work when we needed it to. Did I mention sparkling clean? Why don't people regularly clean their range hoods and ovens? It has left a gap above the tiles so I guess the owner is going to have to rectify that at some point! This afternoon the odd job bloke came and replaced fittings in taps and stopped a couple of doors from sticking. 

On Monday Himself complained about a sore throat. Yesterday he came down with man flu. Today I have an itchy nose and a sore throat but I can't get sick as I have an appointment to donate blood on Friday. Obviously I will cancel if I do get worse. 

Tomorrow is Anzac Day. I am not sure what it would equate to in other countries as we also observe remembrance day on 11th November. It is so lovely to see young people who have not had their lives touched by war pay their respects at dawn services. I guess it was the first time Australians served in a conflict under their own flag - even if it was fought many miles from home.

Sadly it wasn't the last.

Playing around

I went to criminology and craft today.

Criminology was fascinating. We talked about prisons! I learnt so much.

Craft was a good chat session and I might have bought yarn and a pattern for a new to me knitting technique. I just received notification that the yarn has been posted. I'll probably start this project before the pin loom one!

It is shadow/illusion knitting and when looked at straight on one sees this ...

... but from an angle one sees a tiger ...

He has many shawl and wall hanging designs but I thought it best to try something smaller so I have bought enough yarn to make a double sided cushion or two cushions with plain backs.

I have been playing around with settings on the phone.

Here is my house. What's the missing in the second photo? As John from Wales says, answer on the back of a postcard!

And then because Max is magnificent I played around with options to make him even more so.

Tomorrow we have handypeople coming to replace the non-working range hood and some leaking taps and fix other bits. The joys of renting a neglected house.

Dinner is casserole from the freezer with turkish bread for mopping up and broccolini. 

Just quickly

Today is our 47th wedding anniversary. 

I went to history at U3A wherein there was a spirited discussion about the current tendency to blame white people for all the sins of the world. I, wisely, kept schtum. I am, after all, the new kid on the block. Not sure how we got there from the early middle ages! I do love how we can have the discussions and still accept others' opinions. There are only 8 of us but how cool if more could do similar.

I nearly forgot my eye appointment but the husband proved he's good for some things!! I have scarring and will need laser treatment. The procedure is quick. The wait for an appointment could be months!

A nice bottle of bubbles and lamb on the barbie for dinner.

See you tomorrow 

Testing

Ok, here goes. A post written on my phone.

I haven't done much at all today but play around with settings on the phone and take some photos so that's all you're getting!

It's easier to do a post on this device over my Samsung as the screen is larger and the predictive text a bit more user friendly.

I also uninstalled the blogger app which seemed to be the problem last time. 

Now let's see if I can upload photos...

So far so good. The birds were having a wonderful time in the bushes. Hopefully I can get some bird friendly plants established quickly in the new house as we have some beautiful birds around here.

Now to post this and then see if it works on my PC and, of course, make sure it works for you. Please let me know if you have any issues.

Dinner from the freezer tonight. Chilli and rice.

Feeling happy

The kids arrived on Thursday evening but we didn't see them which is completely understandable after a day on the road.

I was up early (for me) on Friday and had breakfast which I don't usually have until the middle of the day but I wanted to take a celebrex which I did with two paracetamol. I then hotfooted it down to the bridge and walked across it to find Two and his lot. So many lovely cuddles although Henry has obviously forgotten me and basically swiped me away!

After realising that having coffee anywhere near the water was not going to work as Henry is his father's son and kept making a beeline for the lake, we meandered to the doughnut shop where the Lakes' tradition continued. Himself in the meantime was walking the dogs and was able to say hi to everyone as we passed but the girls were very wary. Audrey did stand closeish to Jinx which is a huge start. Murphy, of course, was carrying on and talking loudly which would be offputting to anyone unsure of dogs. 

We decided to gently wander down to the playground which is a bloody long walk if you're a cripple or a small child but, with breaks to watch the water, boats, birds and jump in the sand the children and the cripple made it (the cripple did not jump in the sand). At some point after Audrey had pushed Billie over, the trusty pink walking stick came out (distraction works every time) and Billie and I shared it.

We made it to the playground and shortly after it decided to rain and then did so pretty much for the rest of the day. Himself had taken the dogs home and came and picked Two up so he could go and get their car. 

The kids were getting hungry. They hadn't eaten for over an hour and had had a long walk and a big play. We took everyone up to have a look at the house to kill a bit of time and they had to see it. We snuck in and showed Two and the girls around the outside and peeked in the windows. Nobody is working on the place at the moment so it wasn't a big issue. I found out that the back sliding door is unlocked! I was very tempted but there is no way I would enter the house without the site supervisor.

We went to the pub for lunch (still raining) and then we went to play mini golf. One of the FIVE courses in Lakes is under cover so a great (and dry) time was had. I didn't play as I had done a lot of walking and my hip was grumbling a bit. I scored and cheered everyone on instead. An important role. Two "wore" Henry in a sling contraption and watching him play with Henry's assistance was hysterical. As was watching Henry share Two's post game icecream. He sucked on it with eyes half closed in ecstasy (Henry, not Two).

By this time the younger members were in need of some quiet time and/or a sleep so they all returned to their unit and we came home.

After a while Two came over by himself and we had a proper catch up. I took him on a tiki tour of Lakes as he wanted to see the entrance and other highlights. I was surprised at how much I have learned about the place in the months we have been here. A call from Mads suggested food for the starving would be needed fairly soon so we came home, collected Himself and went to their unit while Two got fish and chips. We opted to leave them to it as we were still full from lunch and, much as I love those girls, they are very noisy! Big hugs all round and we said our goodbyes. It was a flying visit and I was sad it was so short but they have promised to come down again and spend a bit more time here and I will endeavour to get up to them in the latter part of the year.

They headed off this morning as the town was bathed in glorious sunshine. 

HImself walked the dogs then came home and asked me if I fancied a coffee so we went to the recently upgraded slipway (the link is old but that's pretty much how it turned out with an injection of funds from government entities). Murphy has a fan in the manager of the coffee shop. This explains why their milk is so special. I plan to take Three down there for an ale when he is next down and if we are lucky there will be live music as well.

We decided to wander down to the newsagent so Himself could put his lotto on. I chose to stop and sit in the sun after a bit. Let's not overdo things, eh?

A drive past the new house (essential as it gives us hope!) and then home. Himself went back up to mow the grass as the more we can keep it under control the easier it will be for the landscapers - and our site supervisor is happy for us to do it. 

I have realised that taking pain meds makes gentle walking possible and crikey moses it felt good.

I got to spend time with a much loved kid and his fambly.

I have bitten the bullet and put the evil vodaphone sim card in the beautiful new google phone. I shall burn sacred herbs, scatter dew gathered at midnight and chant healing incantations when I get a new sim from a better network but the way things are going, it will a cold day in hell before that happens as Himself is dragging his heels and as all that stuff is in his name there is nothing I can do. Nagging does not a happy household make.

Fish and chips for dinner tonight. 

And maybe another little walk tomorrow.

Bubbles of excitement

Two and his tribe should be getting close now. He is also with Vodaphone so any chance of actually making a call between the two of us while he is coming over the mountains would be slim!

Tomorrow will be an early start for us but I don't want to miss a minute of time with them as we only have tomorrow,

And while I was typing that, Two rang to say they were at Cann River which is about an hour and a half away but at this time of the day (dusk) it will probably be more of a two hour drive as the roos will be out and about and it's a shit drive between Cann River and Orbost.

Himself saw an osteopath today about his shoulder. I doubt it will do any good as he needs to actually do the exercises and he prefers a magic pill or knife. 

I am thinking I might go and see the bloke (even if he did say he came to Lakes because God told him to) and he might be able to address my back issues which can only help the hip bits.

You can see it has been another day with not much going on. 

I did google Ashe Magnolia after Ms Moon showed a bloom and described it so poetically (see below).

The blossom is as big around as a dinner plate and the petals, as you can see, are magnificently white. The stamens are impressive in size and arrangement and those little purple dots are like kisses by angels wearing lipstick. 

I should probably have actually read her description and seen the bit about blooms the size of a dinner plate rather than just focussed on the purple lipstick angel kisses. That would have given me a hint that it ain't a small tree! Apparently there is a dwarf variety but it still grows to 12 feet+. 

I guess I will be looking for something smaller. Oh well. That's the fun part of establishing a garden.

BLAT rolls for dinner with apple rhubarb crumble for dessert (thanks to Ms Sarah Lee) which should be followed by an early night so I can get out of bed before lunch time! We are rewatching "The Lincoln Lawyer" on Netflix. A bloody good show.

See you on Saturday as I expect I will be busy tomorrow!

Can't think of a title

I didn't make it to U3A yesterday. I just couldn't face getting out of bed.

Consequently I had a bit of a blah day and didn't feel like posting anything.

We caught up with the landscaper and have decided to go with him. We could save some money by getting the bloke who will do the site clean to prepare the ground for the concrete so Himself will see if he is happy to do that for us. He has already agreed to lay some crushed rock so it will just be a bit more than that.

I had a chat with the couple across the road. Apparently CW has still be giving her builder grief. They have been there every day and she still doesn't appear to have taken possession. They are either really shoddy builders or she is a nit picker - most likely a bit of both, I think.

I had coffee group today. There were four of us and lots of laughs. It is 12 months since the cafe opened and the owner had her chef bake a birthday cake for all the customers and very nice cake it was, too!

I received an email from the company I ordered the pinlooms from. They have had manufacturing issues but I should get them in a couple of weeks. I was right, the yarn will arrive from Denmark before the looms from Australia. I was tempted to buy one from Amazon but it will be shipped from America and cost twice as much. I will just have to be patient.

Three has taken the second week of the July school holidays off as annual leave and the plan is that he and Sally will come and stay with us which will be lovely. I can spoil him and make sure he gets a well earned rest and he and Sally can have some daddy/daughter time and do special things.It is highly unlikely we will be in the new house but we should have the keys so they can have a look around and Sally can help me put things away.

This time in three weeks I will have seen the orthopaedic surgeon and hopefully have a date for surgery. It can't come fast enough. I am now taking Celebrex almost daily. Drugs are good but not all the time.

Two et al come down tomorrow. We won't see them til Friday as after nearly 12 hours in a car they will all be ratty but it will so good to catch up and get some Granny hugs.

BBQ chook, spuds, peas and gravy for dinner followed by chocolate eclairs from my favourite cafe.

Autumn

This is, without doubt, my favourite season of the year.

The chilly mornings, often with a bit of mist or fog. The clear, sunny days where the sun still has a bit of a bite if you stand in it. The still air with a sense of everything slowing down. Woodsmoke, changing colours in the trees (although not as spectacular as the northern hemisphere) and the smells of casseroles and soups wafting from windows.

Today was one such day although the casserole smell was in my house and it has made my mouth water all day! We are looking forward to dinner tonight and I am looking forward to making more of these slow cooks both here and in the new house. I don't know why I haven't made them before in this place as they are easy to prepare, don't heat up the house and don't require the range hood which has gone to god.

This morning I had my history session with U3A. It's as much about the chit chat before hand and we had a good talk about the tragedy in Sydney, the problems that face children adopted from other countries and potential hip replacements. 

This afternoon we took the dogs to the vet. We saw the lovely vet who treated Jinx for her girly problems and she was thrilled to see how well she has done. They both got a good going over and their vaccinations and Jinx got something to treat a bit of a rash and Murphy got some medication to deal with his anxiety. Himself isn't too sure about the latter but I have assured him we will give it a few months and then reassesss. Hopefully things will settle once we have moved but if he has to stay on it to keep him calm and content then so be it. As the vet was explaining about serotonin I put my hand up and she did the same!

Tomorrow is another U3A day although I have withdrawn from the Qigong - I am in too much pain. The teacher rang me to say I could do it sitting down but she didn't seem to get that pain is pain sitting or standing and I don't enjoy the exercises at the moment. As the criminology class is right after Qigong I shall make sure to hobble in with my bright pink walking stick although it won't be an act.

In the afternoon we have an appointment with the landscaper - we got his quote over the weekend. It was a triple scotch quote but not unexpected. Himself started talking about what he could do. NOTHING was my reply. This is why we are paying someone to do it and the odd bit here or there is not going to make that much difference in the overall scheme of things. We can play with the plants but we are NOT playing with the infrastructure. Yes, we will have to dip into our super which is a bit scary but once the house is done we will be able to live quite efficiently. We don't travel. We don't eat out a lot. We don't have expensive hobbies (shush) and we don't have expensive taste in clothes.

The yarn has been dispatched from Denmark but I haven't heard from the loom people. I shall send them an email tomorrow as I haven't had acknowledgment of the purchase other than the Paypal receipt.

Time to stir the casserole and make the house smell even more divine.

NOT AWOL!

Yesterday was a bit of a nothing day so I didn't get around to writing anything.

Himself went up to the block and did some work on the storm water drain (he has permission and supplies from the developer but they obviously can't be bothered doing it themselves) and then did a bit of a tidy up of the building site. Strictly not allowed but it was bugging him. The trades (young fellas) do tend to leave a bit of a mess so Himself just went around picking up drink cans and offcuts of this and that and put it in a neat pile.

The estate is really coming along. There are now three houses completed and lived in, one nearly done (CW's and her builders are going around touching up all the things she found fault with so she shouldn't be far off finsihing), us and another couple well on the way to finishing and another three at slab/frame stage. At least one of those will more than likely be a rental. It is the same design as ours but a bog standard version and the owner is an Indian solicitor based in Melbourne. Andy (site supervisor) says he has overseen a few lately that have been built by Indians based in Melbourne and they are all investment properties which, I hope, will help the long term rental market down here and not just the short term, holiday rental market. As far as I am aware, the other houses will all be owner occupied (apart from one of the completed three which is currently housing CW and will then be a short term rental with the owners using it as a holiday house - it is right up the other end of the road from us so any party types won't bother us).

The topic on everyone's mind is, of course, the awful situation at a shopping centre in Bondi in Sydney where yesterday, a man went on a rampage with a knife and killed 8 people - mainly women. He was shot dead by a police inspector who happened to be in the area and responded to the call. It is believed he had severe mental health issues for many, many years. I wish the bloody media would stop sensationalising this. It is a sad situation where nobody wins. At least we learnt from Port Arthur after which our gun laws changed or it could have been so much worse.

Later ...

Himself has walked the dogs. I am so envious. I try to walk but the pain makes it impossible. The appointment with the surgeon can't come soon enough (8th May) and then I have to wait for an opening in his theatre list. I just hope that the issue is the hip and not something that can't be fixed. Yes, I am catastrophising but pain makes you do that.

We went to the supermarket. The hip/back/knee was so bad today I had to use a trolley to lean on. Steak for dinner and the makings for a slow cook which I will prepare shortly and then turn on in the morning and dinner will be ready in the evening. My favourite kind of cooking!

I am sorely missing my weaving and although all the looms I have could be considered small and portable they still require setting up and take up a bit of space and time to use. Yesterday I found an Australian company that sells pin looms and showed great constraint in only buying a 4" square and a 4" hexagon. This afternoon I went to Hobbii and bought some variegated cotton with which I plan to make some place mats for the new house. It comes from Denmark but they ship very quickly and I used them a lot during Covid. The yarn will probably arrive before the pin looms!!

It should go well with the colours we have chosen. 

Later still ...

I have prepared the ingredients for tomorrow\s slow cook. Beef which I tossed in flour, pepper, salt and dried herbs then fried off. Added onion and garlic to the pan and fried them off. Deglazed the pan with 500mls of beef stock (no, I don't make my own!) then a couple of spuds, some onions, butternut pumpkin and carrots. A squirt of tomato paste, a handful of bay leaves and a good slurp of red wine. It will sit over night then I can turn it on when I get up and we should have a lovely rich casserole/stew for dinner with plenty for leftovers and hopefully the basics for a soup. If I had my own kitchen I would bake some bread but I'll get some from the bakery tomorrow to mop up the gravy.

Speaking of tomorrow, U3A is back and I am looking forward to it. I am going to have to pull out of qigong for now as I can't stand for the half hour the class goes for but I should be able to go back once the hip is fixed (see ... thinking positively).

I did a load of washing earlier and it is still on the line. There is a controlled burn happening close by and the air is full of smoke. I have a feeling I might have to rewash my clothes. Or walk around smelling like an old fashioned Autumn where everybody burned the dead leaves in the gutters and had open fires and incinerators. 

How many Aussies remember those days? 

The brick incenerators in the back yard where if it wasn't composted it was burnt. The piles of leaves smouldering down the street. The smoke whisps from chimneys as the first fires of the season were lit with the promise of chilly Winter evenings to come. 

Your weekly bin collection was a couple of old fashioned metal bins with lids that would clang as the garbos tossed them off and threw the contents of the bins into the truck that never stopped but slowly kept moving up the road. Not that there was much in those bins. Very little came in or was wrapped in plastic. Meat came from the butcher wrapped in paper. Veges from the greengrocer in paper bags. Water came from the tap. Drinks came in glass or cans that went into a black recycle bin as we embraced the reduce, reuse, recycle mantra.

Oh those garbos. Fit young men (often off-season footy players) wearing short shorts and singlets running behind the truck. Many is the time I was stuck chose to slow down behind them. 

Memories ...

Take 2

I deleted the previous post. Something went horribly wrong. I shall play around with the new phone as I think that was the problem. I will probably repeat a bit of what I said so sorry if you read it before it went into the naughty bin.

Today we went into Bairnsdale to get kitty litter and to talk to Telstra. 

***For the non-Australians out there we have three main mobile networks: Telstra (who used to be Telecom and before that the Post Master General's Department and were, once upon a time, owned and run by the govt.) Optus and Vodaphone. Other companies buy bandwidth from some or all of the three and sell them on to the public with varying degrees of coverage.***

If you live in the sticks (or even some metropolitan suburbs) you do not want to be with Vodaphone. Trust me on this! Optus has had some issues lately with data hacks and major service outages so we were looking at Telstra.

It turns out that one of the, shall we say, budget companies is actually owned by Telstra. Boost. Think Jetstar and Qantas. Apparently if we go with Boost we get the coverage as if we were with Telstra but none of the benefits - like concert tickets and free this and that. A bit of a no brainer, really. Anyway. We forked out the grand sum of $4 for two sim cards and Himself is tasked with setting things up. Worst case we will blow a month on Boost ($22) and go to Telstra. The challenge is moving our numbers from Vodaphone and cancelling the direct debit. That is a Himself job.

Andy, our site supervisor extraordinaire, showed us through the house today. Oh my giddy aunt the place is looking so good. The walls have been painted. Most of the cabinets are in. Doors have been hung. The bathroom cabinets need to be replaced and that will slow us down a bit so we are now looking at a mid June handover. I don't mind. I have so much space. So many cupboards and drawers in the kitchen I won't know what to do with it all. I might have to buy some more appliances! It is very hard picking colours from small samples and I am thrilled with the way everything is coming together. I knew the walls would be OK as the scheme is similar to that which we had in Langy but the kitchen cabinets were a bit of a risk and it has paid off.

We popped into my favourite cafe for a late lunch and they had sticky date puddings to go. So guess what we are having for dessert this evening? It will be left over spanakopita (from Aldi and bloody delicious) and coleslaw for main. 

Last night Himself lit the wood heater. I was concerned I would have to call the fire brigade as anything is possible in this house but it worked really well and was very pleasantly efficient. I understand why wood heaters appear to be the heating of choice in all the older houses here. You used to be able to get wood from trees that had fallen in the bush but nowadays that is not allowed. Also the powers that be don't want us burning any sort of fossil fuel so new houses are forbidden discouraged from having wood or gas heating. (Sending it overseas is OK apparently but that is a political conversation I ain't having right now).

There is a glorious sunset ouyt there. I shall go and take some photos on the new phone so you may or may not get to see them!

Progress

The scaffolding came down today so you can see the latest progress pics.

The interior is still being painted hence the overspray on the windows (which are protected!). There is still some exterior touching up that needs to be done but you get the general idea of how the outside will look. We are very happy with it.

This is our bedroom window

This shows our bedroom on the right, the front door in the middle and my room on the left. 

We have decided not to have a path/steps up to the front door but will access it from the driveway which is off to the left. I plan to have a bench outside our bedroom window to sit and enjoy the evening sun in winter and a tree where the green stuff is. We will have rocks on the sloping bit and I want to get some hydrangeas in there somewhere. I am still not convinced that I have chosen the right colour for the front door but will need to see everything finished before I change anything. It will have a security door in front of it which I think will make it work.

We are very lucky to have lovely next door neighbours. They keep to themselves but always have a wave and a chat if we are outside. I will miss them when we move but we have some lovely neighbours in the hew house (bar one, of course!) 

Mrs Nextdoor gave me some glorious home grown tomatoes not long after we moved in and the other day she rang the doorbell with some soap and a cat bed. They don't have pets but a friend of hers was getting rid of stuff and she knew we had cats so she took this for us. Minnie loves it - her pissed off face is because a) she is a cat b) I was taking her photo and c) she is a cat.

Coffee group was lovely. There were only four of us but we laughed and sorted out the problems of the world. I bought a couple of vanilla slices for dessert. I have been eyeing them off for weeks and today I succumbed. 

Himself has been building me a desk for the new house. It has been frustrating because his tools are packed and hard to find (see previous post) but he said how much pleasure it is giving him.

This has made me think that maybe I need to drag out my small RHL and warp it up for something. Anything. My knitting and crocheting don't seem to be doing it for me right now. 

The dogs are going to the vet next Monday so that has been ticked off the list. 

Quiche again tonight (one does us two meals) and vanilla slice for afters. 

Life could be worse!

ccccccold

We heard back from the specialist that Himself needs to see. They can't bring the appointment forward so it will be mid-June. He will stay with the Mermaid and she will drop him off and pick him up. The hospital is not far from her so it makes sense.

I have checked the diary and there may be an overlap with my surgery and his procedure. The cats will be OK on their own for a couple of nights but the dogs will need to go into kennels so I had better make an appointment at the vet for their vaccinations. It is also around the time the house will be finished and the landscaping and fencing going in. Hey ho. It's feast or famine.

Himself went to the Shed this morning to cut some timber for a desk he is making. Unfortunately their equipment is not in the best of nick but as the new boy he cannot really say anything that could be construed as criticism. The Shedders are very proud of their wordworking prowess. We will, therefore, be going into Bairnsdale to buy a saw. He can have it as our anniversary present which is in a couple of weeks. I will need to think of projects for him to make to justify it (in his mind). It's funny that I can make something because I want to see how something will turn out or because it's something I've wanted to try. He needs to have a practical reason to make something.

My washing machine is singing. I had better go and hang it all out before the cold change comes through. At least it's windy.

Later ... 

This is what is heading towards us.The speckled bits are cold, Antarctic air and it goes from left to right. We are roughly above the 4 in the 2024 time stamp. 

We didn't buy a new saw as Himself found one in his boxes of tools but he did have to go to Bairnsdale to get screws and glue and stuff. It's a Bunnings thing!

Quiche and coleslaw for dinner. It will be a cold day in hell before I eat certain foods again. As Himself said this morning, it's getting harder as the end of the build gets closer. 

I am struggling but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. So much going on and I could talk about it but not right now. 

Coffee Group tomorrow. Such a great bunch of women.

This and that

I will try writing bits and pieces through the day and then hitting publish at the end. We shall see if that makes things easier.

HImself has taken the dogs up to the block for their walk. I wonder if he will run into CW. When I had another look at the messages she sent yesterday it was as if we had come in at the middle of a conversation. She must talk a lot in her head. It can't be fun in there.

Later ... well CW did her thing of following Himself around when he was walking the dogs. I guess she is back into defending her property from us. Apparently we have copied her interior as well as her exterior. As I have no idea what her interior is like (and couldn't care less) I wonder if she has been peering into our windows!

The aunt rang. She was feeling very lonely and miserable. Tomorrow is her 55th wedding anniversary but her husband died 27 years ago and she still misses him terribly. She was also worried she might be getting dementia because she forgets things. I told her I forget things at 67 so at 92 she's not doing too badly. I made her laugh a bit and she went off to make herself a tuna sandwich for lunch at my suggestion. I wish she was closer but it is too far and too expensive to just pop up to see her. It would take two days of travel to get there from here.

While I was on the phone Himself took himself off to the Shed. He has been gone nearly 3 hours. I will take this as a good thing.

When I last stayed with One he introduced me to Broadcastify. If I get an alert on the vicemergency app or hear the siren go for the local volunteer firebrigade I listen in to the local area and can hear what's going on. Quite interesting and, I would imagine, quite valuable if something serious was happening. 

My parents lost everything in the Ash Wednesday bush fires in 1983. They were lucky they didn't lose their lives. Mum had gone outside to put something in the car and heard a call to evacuate from the end of the street. The whole thing was poorly managed and nobody seemed to be prepared or know what to do. We learned a lot from that but, sadly, not enough to prevent the shocking loss of life and property in the Black Saturday fires in 2009. Finally, with technology, we are getting more warnings and there is the ability to target people and areas more specifically. We live in a bush fire prone country and there is always the threat and worry of another big one (like 2019 which burned for weeks). More and more people are moving to country areas (like us) and newcomers need to have a fire managment plan. Also the greenies need to pull their heads in and stop hindering the various efforts to reduce the fuel load in fire prone areas. Very few seem to live in the areas and aren't well thought of but they do have the power of keyboard warriors from the safe inner suburban dwellings.

I have spent way to much time faffing around on the computer so will go and make a cup of tea and do something a bit more productive.

Later still ... Himself had a lovely time at the Shed. I wasted an afternoon. I was going to fiddle around with knitting but couldn't find the mojo. We went to the shops then up to the block. The site supervisor rang to say there was a hitch with the bathroom cabinets. The installer wasn't happy with the quality and wouldn't put them in. Can't complain about that. We are still ahead of schedule and the painting is steaming ahead.

I looked at a youtube on how to power up the new phone. I don't want to transfer data from one phone to the other. I want to treat it as a virgin phone so will have to transfer my contacts across one by one. A good opportunity to cull. 

So how did the wittering through the day go? Not sure that it made me any more erudite but at least it got fingers to keyboard and brain cells sputtering into life.

Butter chicken from a packet for dinner. Nothing like the curry I had last Friday but I fancied rice and spice.

Blah.

Yes, I have been MIA again and I apologise.

I need to work on my time management and maybe write here in the mornings.

Apart from that, though, nothing much is happening Chez Merlot worth writing about and I seem to have lost the ability to waffle creatively. 

I firmly believe that living in this house has a lot to do with the general sense of malaise that seems to affect both of us. I wouldn't be surprised if there is mould or some other nasty hiding in the woodwork. Add the constant pain from my hip (and then knees and back etc) into the mix and I am not a happy or pleasant person to be around right now.

The Man Flu lasted about 5 days and then, of course, Himself came down with it. It was a virus that hit hard and heavy and then disappeared leaving a nagging cough. 

I was able to catch up with Other Brother and Fave Sis in Law in spite of the lurgy. Fortunately we live in such a lovely part of the world that they were able to enjoy their time here without my constant presence.

Sally came to stay last week. I collected her from Stratford which is about an hour from here. Three et al had been camping at Dargo with Amy's family and friends and Stratford was the most logical pick up point. Unfortunately it was Easter Monday and the traffic heading back to Melbourne was horrendous. I managed to get completely lost in the back of Bairnsdale trying to take a detour but did discover some lovely countryside! 

I returned the child on Friday and whilst in the big smoke bought myself a new phone. I found a deal where I was able to get the 512GB version for less than the 128GB normally retails. It is still in the box as I need to learn how to drive it! Actually it isn't a phone that takes photos, it's a camera that I can make calls with - and a hand held computer. We need to stop calling these devices phones. 

We are going to change our service provider as the one we are with currently (and have been since mobile phones became a thing) has shocking coverage in the sticks and their customer service has gone to the dogs. We just need to decide which devil to go with. Optus or Telstra. That is a job for Himself. He is the seeker and negotiator of deals in this house (ie he talks to people and I don't).

On the new build front things are coming along really well. The exterior is nearly finished and I am so pleased with how it is looking. Once the scaffolding is down I will show you. The interior is also zooming along. We think we have chosen the landscaper and all things going well we should be in by some time in July. 

The Crazy Woman went quiet until today. We had stopped to chat with her immediate neighbour (Bee) as you do. As we were getting back in the car she drove around the corner, saw us and stopped and glared. Had she been a minute earlier she would have seen us chatting to Bee. Within half an hour Himself got a text from her telling us to stop snooping around her house. I replied and told her we were talking with Bee, couldn't care less about her house, were fed up with her behaviour, to mind her own fucking business and keep her nose out of ours. I was a tad pissed off. She has since sent a couple of other messages which we are ignoring.

My craft has been limited to some basic knitting. A crochet project ended up in the bin. The local yarn store has closed down but I did buy some lovely stuff for future projects. I just need a happy place in which I can create.

So. You can see why I haven't been updating or even commenting on my blogging mates. I am a bit of a misery guts and have been hibernating. Time to put on my big girl pants, pull up my socks and get over myself. Feel free to suggest other metaphors!