Send gin

Well, that was an experience I don't want to repeat any time soon.

They played relatively well together. One thing I learned about little girls is that they can be in floods of tears one minute because we didn't like what the other person said and then they are best friends the next.

Dinner, bath, pjs and bed went smoothly. Silly Granny was lulled into a false sense of security. 

It was a hot night, I will give them that. Lily wanted the light on. Sally did not. Lily touched Sally. Sally touched Lily. I put a small pillow between them but that didn't work because now they wanted to cuddle each other. Both girls had melt downs and missed their mummy, daddy and sister. And dog. And cats. And other grandparents. These meltdowns were not simultaneous. Oh no. Finally at around midnight I decided that I would sleep with Lily and Sally could sleep in our bed with Grumpy.

Half an hour later I had been kicked out of a queen sized bed by a sleeping 5 year old.

Himself kindly said he would sleep on the couch and I could sleep with Sally. We had to keep the dogs away from the bedrooms because Jinx had taken a liking to Lily's teddy - another source of angst - and the cats were on my side of the door because their food and shitty litter is in our bathroom. I lay awake listening for Lily and could not drop off to sleep. Just as I was about to head into the land of nod Max decided that he missed his canine brothers and yowled the house down pacing up and down the corridor outside where Lily was sleeping.

The last time I checked the clock it was just gone 3am. Sleep had eluded me. I tossed and turned and finally fell asleep to be woken just after 6 by Lily who had had enough and was ready to get up and get going.

Poor Grumpy had slept on the couch the dogs use (the 'good' one was too short for him) and his allergies flared up overnight.

Sally was up about an hour after Lily and they played and argued until 9 when One arrived, followed shortly after by Three. Himself had gone off to bed and slept until mid morning. 

Three came back around lunch time to start going through Himself's parents' photos and papers. He has an interest in his history and his mother in law studies genealogy so she can point him in the right direction.

The photos date back to the late 1800s and there are some really interesting ones of my mother in law's family and we could trace a lot through the war to when they arrived in the UK. Father in law's stuff only starts during the war.

This was when Three going through some very old documents from Germany during the war using Google translate to work out what they were. It seems like a lot were extracts of births, deaths and marriages which MIL's mother probably procured to prove they were legit. Although they were from Poland there were at some time or another under German occupation hence the Germans being able to proved the documentation going back three generations. Three will research more. It will be interesting to see what he finds.

It was made all the more special using this to look at tiny photos taken during the war to identify people. It was in with their papers and I reckon could tell a story or two.

Three has now gone home and I am going to set up the scrabble board. To hell with the diet - I am going to have cheese and biscuits and a decent chardonnay tonight. I think I deserve it.

Cousins

Amy went back to work today so we had agreed to have Sally. She will stay over as they are going to see Elton John tonight  Alice will stay with the other grandparents and Three and Amy will stay the night there as well.

I invited Lily over for a play with Sally (I HATE the term play-date).

Sally arrived in her pyjamas. Lily arrived in a purple frilly dress.

They played a bit, watched a bit of Matilda and then Grumpy bought them a happy meal each for lunch. They were both adamant they wanted the 6 nugget pack. The dogs will be happy.

After lunch they played with a colour your own unicorn money box kit I bought them and a Bluey sticker kit. No wonder the supermarket bill was high this week!

They then went outside to draw on the pavement with chalk. I had to stay and supervise in case the big black bug came back. Country girls these most definitely are NOT!

After some cartwheels they came inside and got changed. Lily in yet another frilly dress (that was making her itchy) and Sally into day clothes (finally!). They then started to play with the very limited number of toys I have. I need to get to Ikea to get more train tracks.

Lily wants to sleepover as well so her Mum will drop the necessaries over later. They will share a queen size bed. Sally was so excited they could stay up all night. She later amended that to midnight. I have news for news for both of them!

After watching half of another movie they announced the wanted to go to the park.

So we did.

You may note the girls have changed again. Fortunately Lily only came with one change of clothes. 

After a while Sally asked if I had any lollies (sweets/candy) at home. I said I didn't but we could go to the shop. They said they were hot. I said we could buy icecreams.

So we did - even Granny as it was so damned hot.

 

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And then she had a large gin.

You will get the full details of the sleepover tomorrow. If I do not post, send help. Or more gin.

Thursday late again

I am often asked if I want to go back to HongKong. I went there as a 4 year old in early '61 and left as a 15 year old in late '71. This is why I never want to go back. The top photo is what I remember.

For those who wanted to se my loom. This is an Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom. Actually it is two. I clamp the smaller one onto the larger one.

It's another late post because we played two games of scrabble and he won them both (which makes for very long games as he thinks every strategy). With the tiles I had below (same game but over several rounds) you can see why I lost the first game, at least!!

And I am now going to cook dinner with veges from the garden. Pork steaks in a sauce made with cider vinegar, seeded mustard and creme freche. And the parsley in the sauce also came from the garden.

Catch you tomorrow.

 

Witless Wednesday

A late post today. I didn't do much but I did warp my loom with some yarn I fell in love with yesterday. After doing it I had a thought that it might not work. Oh well, win some lose some and if you don't try you don't learn.

Two games of scrabble (one all) and a yummy dinner of chicken with satay sauce and salad.

So in lieu of anything from my brain I give you some snaps from my phone.

On Saturday I cooked a beef rendang and while I was chopping the meat I had Murphy on my left ...

... and Max on my right. They have learned that there are often little bits that fall on the floor when I cook!

The sunsets have been spectacular. 

My friend in Junee very kindly has agreed to put me up when I travel to NSW. She has a pool and being February in central NSW it will be hot. Today I bit the bullet and ordered a swimsuit. I have no idea if it will fit but nothing ventured nothing gained. I have enough time to get another if necessary and it wasn't that expensive compared to many. I will look nothing like this but you get the idea~

And finally I leave you with the TWENTY DOLLAR BUCKS grin.

 Hopefully tomorrow I will have make the time to write something decent.

Blue

I went to my favourite yarn store today with J and C. We had a wonderful time chatting and knitting and then we had lunch and then we went back and knitted some more. I am making good progress on the colour work jumper I have started for Billie. Audrey's and Henry's will be next. The fabulous Mel helped me work out where I had gone wrong and showed me an easier way to knit colour work (all about holding the yarn) so I am racing along (must remember that thing about pride and falls!). 

I also bought some really interesting yarn to try weaving. It wasn't cheap but I'm worth it! I should get two scarves out of it so that's not bad.

When I came home there was a jacaranda tree sitting in a pot on the front porch.

I had shown Himself a garden nearby which is full of the glorious blues of jacarandas and agapanthus and I said I wanted that look in the back garden with some hydrangeas thrown in for good measure.

He listened and heard me (two different things!)

So next summer I should have one of these

Some of these (if I can work out how to keep the dogs from trampling them)

And of course lots of these. We have them all over the place and Dr Teacher has heaps for me to take as well. Some consider them an invasive weed but until the local council removes them from their own plantings and says no one else can have them I will continue to enjoy their glorious colour - they are everywhere in my suburb.

It is now gin o'clock and scrabble time and I am hot and bothered because it's summer in Melbourne.

I heard back from Two and it is all systems go for my trip to NSW in Feb. Just need to arrange accommodation on the trips up and back and plan what to take. It will be hot and humid. Just my kind of weather. Thank goodness for airconditioning!

Happy Birthday to Knee

3 years ago today I got a total knee replacement. I started to write a post about the experience but it was getting long and scrabble called so I shall finish it later and keep if it I need a post when I am away.

Sally and her Dad went away over the weekend with a group of blokes (including her other grandfather, Gramps). They had a wonderful time and she lost her first tooth.

Three showed great initiative and quick thinking as the tooth was not expected to drop just yet. He told her that they couldn't put the tooth under her pillow as the tree fairies might take it to confuse the tooth fairy so they had better wait until they were home and then she could also show mummy. 

The tooth was duly placed with a note and some precious things to show said tooth fairy (her idea) and in the morning she woke up to, and I quote from her voice message to me, "TWENTY DOLLAR BUCKS!" 

I think the tooth fairy has been hit by inflation. Apparently the first tooth gets the most. Some parents pay $50. More money than sense and setting such a sad precedent for those with less cash to splash.

It was another warm day. We did the supermarket shop and I had to lie down because my back was killing me. I might have fallen asleep for an hour or so. Before we went out we set the oven to cremate and Himself finished the cleaning process while I lay down.

It is now late, again, and we are about to sit down to dinner. 

I'll get my act together one day!

Look forwards not backwards

Thank you everyone, for your input and comments on retirement.

I am not unhappy with retirement (although officially I have until 4th March before I can claim the age pension and get off the jobseeking treadmill). I just find dealing with Himself who does struggle at times, a bit of a challenge. I have some ideas from all the comments. Now to make a plan. A cunning plan.

I think that working people heading towards retirement could do with some education on what to expect. Suggestions on how to plan for it. Not financial - there is plenty of that - but more what changes to expect, how to look after your mental health, how to tap into groups, that sort of thing. Retirement is NOT just one long weekend as so many seem to think it will be. Many people (mainly men) have their entire social network revolve around work and when that stops they are left stranded. I know women work more these days and I'm sure many women find themselves in a similar boat but we seem better at creating and keeping those social networks outside and beyond work.

My issue when we moved here in 2017 was that I left my network behind and although it wasn't that far away it was far enough. Thanks to the internet and craft I have made some good friends but I was horribly lonely here for a while. Funnily enough, one of my dearest new friends has moved to the area we used to live in and we still catch up. I guess our friendship is more about things we have in common rather than where we live.

I weighed myself this morning and I have lost 2.9kgs which isn't bad. I do realise most of this is water as our bodies use our glycogen stores as a first resort for energy when calories are reduced and every glycogen molecule is linked with a water molecule so those molecules have to go somewhere once released from the glycogen (usually down the loo and the weight goes with it!) - at least that is what I remember from my uni days!

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We had a couple of games of scrabble - one all. I have touched base with Mads to lock in a time to head up there so things are settling into place.

Chicken pesto tray bake for dinner. 

Life really isn't that bad, is it?