Scary

Himself wanted to get some new t-shirts. The brand he likes is only available at a shop in Cranbourne. We went. Oh my fricking god. The place was crowded. Masks were worn - under the chin or under the nose. Forget 1.5 metre rule - personal space was non-existent. I bought some undies (they are the one thing I just can't seem to get right with on line shopping; I need to feel the quality and cotton content), he got his t-shirts and we checked out food mixers. Not a great choice so we went to Frankston to the Good Guys. The lass there seemed to know her stuff and I told her about my Sunbeam burning out its motor. She said they aren't any good these days. It was basically between Kenwood and Kitchen Aid.

Ta-daa .... meet Black Beauty

She is a gorgeous thing. Matt black with two bowls and 3 mixing tools. Plus the opportunity to buy 10 extra attachments like pasta makers, mincer, ice cream churner. She is very heavy and will have to live in the kitchen (Sunbeam lived in the laundry due to lack of space and only came out when needed). And why shouldn't she? She's a work of art. A thing of beauty to be admired and cherished.

I told himself that he got his driveway and garage door so I was getting this. 

Amy has a Kitchen Aid. She is an avid and very accomplished baker of cakes and other sweet delights. Three uses it as much and he is more savoury based so I shall be picking his brains. He has already suggested naan using Indian flour, water and ghee. It helps that they live in a suburb with a very high Indian population so they have the shops for the ingredients. I guess I could get ghee in the supermarket, I've never looked. 

This might just be the push I need to get stuck into my kitchen and give it a really good clean and tidy up.

And then I shall bake bread. And biscuits. And cakes.

It will be a very long time before I venture into Cranbourne shopping centre again.

A slab of beer

 

Pat asked what a slab of beer is. It's 24 cans or stubbies generally packed like this picture. Often shrink wrapped in plastic or placed in a cardboard box. I am not a beer drinker although a cold frothy on a hot day goes down a treat. One has started brewing his own and I must say it is very nice. Gin and wine tend to be my poison of choice but I think I need to give the wine away for a while until I can shift this weight. It goes down way too easily. The wine, not the weight, sadly.

The plumber is here and installing the agi pipe. Himself is helping. The whole place is looking really good but it does show up the bits that need a bit of TLC. Oh well, summer is on its way so we can do more outside and spruce the place up. I sat on the deck with a very nice chardonnay last evening. It was most pleasant.

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I think Himself quite enjoyed being the helper this week. He is absolutely knackered though. The drainage is in and the turf replaced and top-sowed with grass seed. 

The radar shows rain but it's missing us. I can feel the barometer dropping. I can always tell as it's going down. I feel weird. 

Murphy is on the mend. The redness and swelling has gone down but he is still tender. The Stig is also fine although still not jumping. Well, he tries and misses. But he's getting higher each day. He chased a bird in the front garden. Speaking of birds a bloody myna got in the house and couldn't find its way out. Jinx was chasing it and jumping at it and at one point caught it in her mouth. I was chasing her screaming obscenities at the top of my voice. Finally caught the bird in a towel and took it outside where it flew away. Bloody things. I was saying a lot worse than bloody. A LOT worse!

Nearly finished.

 

The huge truck delivering the asphalt  (I need to weed my rose bed) and some dude waving at me! They really are a great bunch of blokes.

The asphalt was then wheel barrowed down the driveway, spread and levelled.

Hard yakka and very hot work, too. Himself has gone to buy a slab of beer to drop off for the boys to enjoy.

The plumber will come tomorrow and then they will return next week to do the path. 

We need to work out what to do with the front porch as it is looking very tired, now. It's cracking and peeling.

This morning I spent an hour with my student going over Australian slang and sayings. It made me realise what a crazy language we have. Trying to explain sayings like flat out, final straw, beat around the bush, get to the bottom of it, knock off, takes two to tango and so on. (I realise these are not uniquely Australian).

  

My latest weave. It's called Ocean Waves and uses a textured cotton and a wavy stick. So far so good but wet finishing it will be the tell. Hopefully my waves will hold.

Jinx is trying to climb on my lap and hide under my desk. I don't know what has got into her but she's making it bloody hard to type. So I shall bid you adieu.

I have a moat.

 

Tomorrow the asphalt goes in and on Saturday the agi pipe will be laid. Hooray.

A coffee today with a couple of friends and then I braved the post office to send some stuff to New Zealand and Queensland. I wonder which will get there first. I was shaking in the post office, such is the level of my social anxiety at the moment but I did it. I then did a quick scurry through the local $2 shop which was full of Christmas stuff and very few people so another win for me.

Himself is still digging the trench. At least it's stopped raining.

Murphy was at the vet this afternoon as you wouldn't know he's been castrated such is the swelling. He had to be dragged in and the vet struggled to get a good look but he's on antibiotics and pain killers. 

The Stig is improving every day so I am feeling less worried about him. He took himself outside for a bit and came and shared some ham with Jinx while Murphy was out.

The news reported that Aldi was being stampeded for a particular frozen potato (roasted in goose fat - obviously a Christmas special). Himself went to 3 Aldis before snagging the last two packets in the store. We had some last night with an Aldi boneless roasted chook and very nice they were. So the leftover chook heated up tonight with more spuds. 

Tired

Last night I managed to cut off a chunk of matted fur from Murphy's hind leg and that seemed to make him much happier. I think it was pulling when he walked.

The Stig is slowly getting better. At this stage I don't think the vet is needed. He is eating, drinking and purring. He managed to jump onto a low table although it did take two attempts. I think his back and legs are bruised. I'll keep an eye on him today.

Himself has dug a massive trench right across the front of the house. I really hope the plumber can lay the agi pipe sooner rather than later. It's bloody dangerous.

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The plumber is coming on Saturday. Himself needs to dig the trench deeper (the plumber originally told him 300mm now wants 400mm) and it's been raining since lunch time with no sign of letting up. I foresee a very grumpy husband in my tea leaves.

For some reason of late I am just so tired. Just have no oomph in me at all.

But I did get this finished. 

Weaving is about the only thing I have any interest at the moment. And yes, that is a muddy paw print. The dogs got into the spare room and I haven't vacuumed yet. See above.

Damn animals.

Today I am going to attempt to syringe the hairs away from Murphy's nether regions. The actual swelling is not as bad although he's still whingeing.

Yesterday we struggled to find the Stig. He had come in the night before but was scarce all day. I saw him go under our bed so wasn't overly concerned. Then I found him hiding behind a curtain and realised he was not well. He was obviously in pain and kept licking his front paws. Examination of those paws showed the claws had been shredded almost completely away. This is a sure sign of an altercation between cat and car. He doesn't appear to have broken anything as he is weight bearing on all four legs albeit tenderly. I'm guessing he was clipped as he crossed the road.

Yes, I know cats should be kept inside. He is inside at night (which is the council's curfew but I don't like him out at night anyway). During the day he usually just wanders around but does like to go across and sit in the neighbours' garden. I'm guessing that's when he was clipped. Also the downed tree is still there and people slow down to stare at it and wouldn't see a tabby cat crossing the road. I know if he was to be killed it would be down to me but when we have kept him inside all the time he ended up on anti-anxiety medication as he was overgrooming to the point of scabbiness. And a scabby tabby is not a pretty sight nor is it comfortable. Since we've allowed him out during the day he has come off his meds.

I spoke with Dr Teacher (the ex-vet brother) and he advised me to keep the Stig comfortable and monitor him. He is better than he was yesterday evening and is eating and drinking. I can still see a visit to the vet tomorrow with both boys if they don't improve a lot by then.

Himself is digging a trench for agi piping to go along the front of the house. It's bloody hot out there but at least he's wearing a hat. 

It's nearly 3 o'clock. The best time to go out on Melbourne Cup day!! 

I spoke too soon.

Last evening Murphy became quite agitated. He would jump as if something had bitten him. With great difficulty we managed to get a really close look at his wound and it appears to have been weeping a bit which in and of itself isn't too much of a concern but his long hair had dried into the ooze and every time he moved it must have pulled. Being the hard hearted bitch I am, I found this quite funny to watch but I gave him a pain killer and he spent the rest of the evening completely zonked. Which was also funny. This morning he seems fine. The wound could do with a good clean but I think I will have to zonk him again.

Himself has taken his car to be assessed. The more we look at it in the daylight the more damage we find. Just little dents and dings but on more panels than we initially thought. I will wash get Himself to wash my car when the tradies have finished and have a really close look at it but I honestly think it is ok. I wonder if the ceramic coating I had put on it might have saved it from being scratched.

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I think these two will always be close.

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We thought the car would be a write-off but, no, it can be fixed. Assuming the insurance company agrees, of course. Himself was honest and told the panel dude that the marks on the rear bumper were old (caused by dog claws getting in and out of the car) and he replied that it could also be tree damage. So there you go!

The bricks have all been laid and the asphalt will go down on Friday. I have really enjoyed listening to the banter of the tradies (and watching them work - sorry Andrew, I couldn't get a photo - I'm sure you would have enjoyed the view as well).

I gave Murphy a pain pill and tried to bathe his nether regions with little success. If he's no better by Wednesday we'll take him back to our vet. I'd rather not pay the fees at the out of hours emergency vet - unless I have to, of course. And of course, tomorrow is a public holiday.