Sniffle cough bleh

I woke up today with a cold. I didn't go to history as we are in a confined space and I don't want to share my germs. 

I'll see how I am in the morning to decide whether to go to U3A. At least those classes are in a large room.

Other Brother and Fave Sis in law are coming for a visit. They will get here around 5.30 tomorrow evening. We will go out for dinner and then decide what to do on Wednesday.

I love sitting on the deck in the early evening with a G & T and my book. The animals join me. 

I saw my GP on Friday and have an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon in 6 weeks. Hopefully I will get a new hip soon after and can get back to enjoying life. This constant pain is ... well ... a pain!

And on that note I shall go and wallow in self pity. I have man flu!! 

Touching base

Not much has been happening. The house continues to develop. Our site manager is in constant contact with updates. 

I ended up buying all the stuff we need from the local business in Lakes. We got some really good prices and our neighbour got some good sales. I took some photos in the showroom but I'll wait until we are in our house before I show you. 

U3A this week was lovely as always. I have a chosen a good mix of things to stimulate brain, body and conversation. Today was coffee group and we had a lunch to celebrate a couple of birthdays. Again ... great company and lots of laughs.

Tomorrow I drive the two hours into Traralgon to donate plasma. This time I will take pain killers and my walking stick in case my hip (+/- back) plays up with the long drive.

This morning we had a routine rental inspection. We passed muster and pointed out some ongoing issues to the property manager. We will give as much notice as we can when we break the lease and hopefully they will find someone to take over asap or we will be up for whatever rent is due until the end of the lease which, at $2,000 a month could be some big biccies.

After a warm day yesterday we had a cold rainy change overnight but the sun has come out and I fancy a sit on the balcony with a gin and tonic and my book.

I will leave you with some snaps I pinched from Amy's FB page of the family when they were down.

Alice throwing sand ...

Sisters ...

Three being an idiot ... (but this mum was so happy to see it!)

Well, hello

I certainly didn't plan to be absent for so long but ended up taking a long break from all things blogging including reading them. I missed you all but was spending a huge amount of time reading, commenting and thinking about what to write and felt I could probably spend that time being more "present in the moment" as Sally keeps telling Three when he spends too much time on his phone. It wasn't just my blogging life - I also made an effort to cut down on my general internet presence (blogging and all things related being the biggest proportiion).

Over the past week I have dipped my toe in the waters and started reading some much loved and missed blogs and today I made a couple of comments. If I haven't got around to yours I will soon, I promise.

So what has been happening chez Merlot?

The build is going along really well. We were able to have a walk through today. The plaster is up on all the walls so we really get a feel for how the rooms will feel. The brickies did a fabulous job and the exterior walls look great. The waterproofing is being done and the tiles will go in soon. The kitchen should be installed in a couple of weeks.

If all continues according to plan we should have handover by the end of May. Which is nearly three months earlier than we expected. 

We met a landscaper on Wednesday and were very impressed with him. Instead of going for retaining walls (expensive and more structured than I wanted but I didn't know what other options there were) we are looking at creating a large rockery where we can plant herbs and colourful, sweet smelling plants in between the rocks. We are still waiting on the quote which will, no doubt, be a big *gulp* moment! But as I said to Himself, we don't move into a house without the walls being painted and I want the garden to be finished as well.

After some gentle nagging prodding, I finally got Himself to agree that we should start looking at furniture and fridges and stuff as you can't just waltz into a shop and say "want that one" (if you know the reference, you know!) and have it delivered. Today we ordered a fridge, a bed and bedside tables and are waiting for availability on a couple of dining tables. We are going with the local furniture shop and made sure we ordered from the kid young man who is our neighbour. He gets the commission and we got a really good price. Win win. 

I have chosen the couches and chairs I want - I just have to work out what configuration. 

I realise this sounds rather spendthrift but we aren't replacing everything and what we are will be donated.

I finally saw a doctor about my hip and his diagnosis was "a very bad arthritic hip". As in let's get some bloods done because you will probably need surgery. I have had xrays done and will see him next week for the results and a referral to an orthopaedic surgeon. 

CW is still causing issues but not just with us! She has a name for herself around town and it's not one anyone would really want.

Three and his lot were down over the past weekend which was a long one in Victoria. It was really hot but better here than in Melbourne. The kids played in the water and we took them all out on a boat for an hour. You don't need a boating licence and it was a great adventure.

This is what the boat looked like (not my photo).

Sally loved being able to drag her hand in the water

Life continues on. Some days are better than others. Some days are bloody brilliant.

I think it is safe to say the honeymoon period of moving to a new place is over but it is still the best decision we made.

Thanks to all who commented saying I was missed.

I guess I'm back!!

Taking a break

I am stepping away from the internet for a few days.

I won't be blogging or reading them but I still loves ya.

I'll be back after my few days in Melbourne. 

Quiet

It has been a quiet few days and I am not complaining.

I had my hair cut with a new stylist on Friday. I am happy with what she did so we will see how things go.

The roof tin has been delivered and that should go up tomorrow all things going well. There is a slight issue with the scaffolding which could delay it from an OH&S perspective. There was a time when you only needed scaffolding for two storeys or higher but now all roofs must be scaffolded before installation. 

MW is still sitting outside her house and taking photos of Himself when he walks the dogs. Not my business. As long as she keeps her aggressive mouth shut I will leave her alone.

We have had lovely late summer weather. Clear and sunny with gentle breezes. Even when we have the inevitable hot days I can be comforted knowing the autumn is not far away.

I suggested a drive this afternoon so we drove to Bruthen and then took a back route home along dirt roads through beautiful farmland. We are so lucky to live here.

On Wednesday I am heading up to Melbourne. The Mermaid is excited to have me visit so I will head off earlier than I initially planned. I will pick some prawns up on the way (assuming the fish shop has them) and spend a day and a half with her. Then Fave sis in law on Friday and the night with One and has lot. Should be a nice break.

My right hip is giving me grief. I could barely walk after driving to Traralgon on Thursday and it hasn't really improved. I don't know what sort of pain one feels when one requires a hip replacement but this is not the same as the bursitis pain I had last year. I'll make an appointment with the doctor and get some xrays done.

Well, that was unexpected

I mentioned in my previous post (the day before yesterday) that there was a cool change imminent.

The storm was the strongest I have seen in many a long year. We lost power at around 7pm and it finally came back on this afternoon around 2.30. Most of Lakes seemed to be back on line yesterday evening but our pocket took longer. Some people in Victoria are still without power. Phone reception was also affected as was internet so for most of yesterday we were completely cut off.

It was interesting but I wouldn't want to experience anything like it again for quite sometime. Lessons learned ... know where the candles are and always have a stock of batteries! 

We managed to charge our phones and my kindle from the car so I could read at least once it got dark. During the day I could knit and do my puzzles. Himself was at a loose end as he is very dependent on his computer and phone.

Our house was unscathed. The fencing fell down which was to be expected but everything else stayed put. I am glad they hadn't started to install the roof - those metal sheets could have been interesting.

A neighbour's house was less fortunate! Their builders portaloo blew over and their waffle pods blew all over the estate. I feel for the builder as they will have to get a whole new lot delivered and dispose of the damaged ones.

Today I had to drive to Traralgon for a plasma donation. It was fortuitous as we received an email last evening (when the internet restored itself at 8pm - the email had been sent at 4pm) saying that the bricks we chose were unavailable at the moment. Seeing as I was already in Traralgon (a 2 hours drive away) I was able to pop into Metricon's offices and choose a new style which is actually a better brick and I like the colour. It is very similar to the one we chose initially so everything else will still tie in.

It was so lovely to be out in the country again. I needed to get away from this house and away from Lakes just for a few hours to clear my head. I have decided that MW is not worth the time of day. "What someone else thinks of you is none of your business". A wise saying.

Speaking of MW, her antics were the talk of the Metricon office! People are amazed at her stupidity and craziness.

Yesterday morning I was meant to catch up with someone who is a friend of Andrew and his partner. I wasn't able to contact her until late in the day but hopefully we can still meet in a couple of weeks when I am back from a quick trip to Melbourne next week. 

Tomorrow I am going to the hairdresser. My previous one is on maternity leave so I will see what Jade is like. Hopefully she can do something with the mop on top of my head. Himself likes it long and I don't. I know it's my hair but I did wear it cropped short (ie shaved) during covid. There is enough length in it to play with, now.

On the way home I was listening to spotify and singing at the top of my voice as is my wont. This song came on and the words struck a chord for several reasons, I think.

I give you the late, great Joe Cocker.

Hot

The last two days have been extremely hot. Like well over 30*C hot. I have gone out when I had to (U3A) but otherwise I have stayed home and we even put the air conditioning on and I had a nap on both afternoons which is most unlike me. As I write there is a cool change with storms heading our way which will be a huge relief.

I have done fairly well keeping MW out of my head (Mad Woman as suggested by Andrew - Nutty Neighbour made her sound somewhat cute and that she ain't). That's not to say that we haven't see her car - if she sees us driving on to the estate she will do a Uturn and follow us - but I keep telling myself that we have done nothing wrong and anything she does to us I can report (ie take out an inteverntion order).

This might sound silly but I have always had a strong sense of doing the right thing and if I feel I might have done something wrong or illegal I get incredibly stressed and anxious. I won't even stop in a no standing zone for a second. It's not a fear of being caught but just doing the wrong thing. Not breaking the law - just the wrong thing. The only thing I knowingly do is speed a bit and even then I am terrified of getting caught. This is partly why MW has got into my head so much. It isn't just the stalking bit but the feeling that she feels we have done something wrong and therefore maybe we have (I know we haven't but if someone thinks I have I go over and over in my head making sure).

At no point did I say I was sane and logical!