I left home at 10 this morning and got home just before 5 this afternoon.
My Android Auto (via google maps) took me through some road works which was most annoying. I chose to use it to avoid roadworks. At least it took me off the main highway before it directed me back on to it and the roadworks and the relief I felt as I started driving through farmland was almost overwhelming. I find the fields full of cows and the rolling hills in the distance so relaxing they always put a smile on my face and I feel my shoulders drop.
I stopped at Maccas for a piccolo flat white and a toastie and was greatly underwhelmed. The coffee was cold and the sandwich undercooked. I will have to rethink my pre plasma snack (the blood bank do offer snacks but ... meh).
I found a car park and toddled in for my donation. I had a lovely nurse who was probably a few years younger than me. She has only been there since Feb and apparently is struggling to get up to speed (literally - they want her to work faster). There was another nurse there who was pulled up by the woman in charge for minor things. I got the feeling that this is not a happy place to work. I wonder if managers realise how much their clients are aware of these vibes. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as just not going back but I would be interested to see if there was a way of quietly letting the powers that be know that they need to do something about morale. Still, at the end of the day, it's not my problem and the staff need to stand up and say something. I won't be back until next year as I have to wait 6 months after the hip.
After the road works on the way in I decided to avoid the main route which I have started taking from Traralgon as it takes me through Rosedale (which has a new yarn shop that I couldn't spot on the way in) and then the back way through Sale avoiding quite a few towns. One day I will post a map so you know where I am talking about.
As soon as I hit the back roads I was back in my happy place. These photos were taken on the drive home (pulled over or stopped in the middle of an empty road in case anyone asks!)
A favourite phrase of my mother's when we were growing up was "If you think ... (you can avoid tidying your room, for example) ... you have another think coming". More and more I hear "you have another thing coming which sets my teeth on edge. It's another British English vs American English. Make up your own mind.
I'm home. Thank you, country roads!
How odd to have cold coffee at Maccas. It’s made there and then so really should be hot….sometimes too hot. We use them on the drive north because they’re faster than local cafes..not necessarily better but first thing in the morning coffees coffee😊
ReplyDeleteJust slowly getting things organised at the moment- still a few weeks to go.
DeleteMaccas has always been my go to for coffee if I don't know the local cafes. It might not the be the best but it's usually consistent.
DeleteThanks for the think vs thing public service announcement. As someone who's teeth are set on edge by the misuse of things like "less" and "fewer", I hate to use words wrong!
ReplyDeleteAAAAARGH! Less and Fewer. Me and I. She and Her/He and Him. And often from the mouths/pens of so called educated people.
DeleteLove driving country roads at this time of the year, crops starting to grow, cows out of the barn where they are kept during the winter. In a few weeks hay will be cut, love the smell of it in the evening with the dew on it.
ReplyDeleteYou can take the girl from the farm but, you can't take the farm from the girl.
Unfortunate your coffee and sandwich was not up to par.
Down here things are slowing down for winter. The deciduous trees are bare and the hay has been cut and baled. The cows are still out though. Aussie cows are tough beasts and don't need wintering in a barn. And we have mild winters!
DeleteYou live in such a beautiful place. That shot with the mountains in the background is stunning.
ReplyDeleteSo again, I found myself googling after reading a post of yours. "Macca" is not Paul McCartney. It is MacDonald's. A "toastie" is a grilled cheese sandwich. Aha!
You're right about the morale in a workplace. Clients can be made to feel comfortable or greatly uncomfortable by the whole vibe of the staff.
You would think that HR would have cottoned on to this by now. It was so uncomfortable yesterday that were it a hairdresser, for example, I wouldn't go back.
DeleteI am glad I am expanding your Australian vocab!
Signing in as a founding member of the Pedants' Revolt. I have softened on some issues and no longer call for the death penalty for misuse of "beg the question". Life without parole will do it.
ReplyDeleteThat was a lovely ride home. You're sounding good these days, despite health concerns, so I think that move was exactly right for you.
Very bucolic! Must be nice to be just a few minutes drive from country roads!
ReplyDeleteLiving in a small country town we are seconds from country roads and I just love it. We always take the country route from here to our new build which is 5 minutes away on the other side of town.
DeleteAs Denver sang, Country roads, take me home...
ReplyDeleteA yarn shop in Rosedale! Ohhh that’s very exciting indeed as we drive through to go to the farm
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it home safe and sound
Thing instead of think annoys the heck out of me too. I also hope you don't get a Taj Mahal next door.
ReplyDeleteAm I in spam?
ReplyDelete