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!