This is great!

I have just tried out the new Blogger. It is fantastic. I wish I wasn't such a 'nervous Nellie' where things of this nature are concerned. I just know, I am going to enjoy blogging much more now.

Done, done, all done!

It is a case of, if all else fails, read the instructions. I have just changed over to the new Blogger. I was on the phone with my son, and could not access it. After we hung up, I tried again. This time I read the instructions. Simple. It is not easy for me to do things on the computer, if I am otherwise distracted, as I can't focus my eyes and brain at the same time. Sometimes. I was trying to enter the wrong account name and password. Duh!!!

Kiddywinks.

Yesterday, my daughter and her boys, and her friend, came to do some shopping. It is not as cheap as Naracoorte, but is MUCH cheaper than Keith. Neville had gone down to my late cousin's former farm, to cut fire wood. Iy is safe to do it now, as we have had some good rains, and there is less risk of starting a fire with the chain saw.
I got Deb to drop me and the boys off, so I could do a couple of errands, and then we went to the nearby park, so they could play on the swings etc. It was more fun for them than traipsing around the super market, and gave Deb some peace.
It was a very pleasant say, not too warm, and the boys had lots of fun. Riley got one of his sandals wet, as the water from the rain had pooled under the slippery dip/jungle gym. It was hard to tell there was water there, as it has a thick layer of bark on top of the sand.
After about an hour or so, I rang Deb on her mobile, and asked her how long she would be. She said they were just going to the butcher, and I said I was going to the cafe over the road from there, to buy us all a drink, and would meet her back at the park.
The children had a great time, and so did I.

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to.....

Last week, my friend Sue was here in the evening, and we got talking about our school days. I told her about a girl who sat beside me in grade seven, and on Fridays, when we had spelling, mental arithmetic etc tests, she would 'crib' some of my answers, as I was NOT very good at mental arithmetic. She was a'ball of wax' and loads of fun. I have not seen her for many years. She and her husband used to live here, but moved back to Padthaway some time ago.
The next day, Neville and I traveled to Naracoorte so I could do the grocery shopping. I got the check out girl to do a parcel pick up, as we had other things to do, and I did not know when Neville would be back from the farm.He arrived back at 11.30, and suggested, as it was my birthday the following Monday, we have lunch at one of the pubs in Naracoorte. This suited me, as I am not very enamoured of the two here.
After lunch, we went back to Woolies, and Neville went to the desk and asked for our groceries, while I sat on one of the benches in the forecourt, and waited. A woman walked past me, stopped suddenly, did a 'double take', walked back to me and put her hand on my shoulder, and said,'I bet you don't remember me'. I looked at her, and said she had me at a disadvantage, and she said she was Sandy Merrett. I instantly recognized her as the girl I had been telling Sue about the night before! I had forgotten her married name, and she had changed a lot. She obviouly spends a lot of time outside, and looks fairly weather beaten. I remarked that I couldn't have altered much, if she recognized me so quickly. She said I have not aged much. I told her Iwas nearly 59, and she said she is already sixty. She sat down for a few minutes, as she was in a hurry, and said she had only mused to her husband that week, that she hadn't seen me for years. I told her about the instance the night before, and she said 'Small world, isn't it?'
She then asked me how 'Robbie' was. I was very amused, and I guessed, correctly, she was referring to my brother, Robert. I said no-one called him that in the family, and the rest of the town calls him Bob. Funny how things occur.I rang my brother that night, and we had a long chat about them and others we had known in the dim, distant past.

Kids say the darndest things.

Yesterday was my birthday, and my daughter and her two boys came down, not just for that reason, she had to see someone at the local Community Health Cottage. I minded the boys for her. It made it easier for her, and it was a pleasure for me. She had told me the previous night, that the boys were very excited about coming here, and she said 'How about we make some birthday cards for Nan? ' This suggestion was greeted with much alacrity, and they set to the task. (It is comforting to know one is loved that much!)She said, 'What does Nan like?' The enthusiastic response was, 'Cats!They both did drawings for me as well. Deb downloaded some card designs from the Net, and also made envelopes from the Net. They are the best cards I have ever received. While the boys were here, Riley, who is four, picked up my deflated neck cushion, and asked what it was. I asked him what he thought it was, his instant reply was, 'Elephant ears!' I packed up laughing, and told him what it was, and tried to blow it up, to no avail. The children were no trouble, as they watched a Thomas the Tank Engine video, played with the blocks, and I read Riley a story. Then Riley watched a bit of Postman Pat on the ABC.
Today I received two parcels from my sister in Wales. She sent me numerous items, when ONE would have sufficed.
When they were going to the car to return home, Riley protested loudly he wanted to stay for 'Nan's party'. His mother told him I was not having a party. He said. Why not?' This was a sentiment echoed by by grandson in Perth, W.A. when he rang me last night. I didn't have a plausable answer for that. I MIGHT have a small one next year.

When is 'service', not service at all?

It would appear, it is when you live in this burgh! Last June, my mother bought herself a new washing machine, as the one she had had the kind of lid that prevented her from having a clothes dryer, as she lives in a unit in a retirement village, and it is of necessity, smaller than a house. She purchased one with a folding lid, plus a dryer, and asked me if I would like her 'old' one. It is not that old, only about three years. A couple of weeks ago, I was half way through the washing, and it suddenly would not spin. The pump was working overtime, but to no avail. Luckily, we still have the one we replaced this one with, so I was able to finish the washing.
Last Monday, Neville told me to ring one of the white goods shops, and ask Harvey to come and get it and fix it. I duly did as I was bid, much against my will. I do not like these people, as they had the monopoly for years, and are still very blase about supplying any prompt service.
I was told by his wife, that he would be around just after lunch, as I was going out in the morning. It was 42celcius that day. I waited until 4.10 pm, and no sign of Harvey. I rang the shop, only to be told, in her usual 'who gives a hoot' attitude, that he was not coming that day, as his son had decided to install an air conditioner for an elderly lady, and got dad to help. Dad of course, was 'done up' and would not therefore be coming to get my washing machine until the next day. She assured me he would be here before 11am, as I had said I needed to go down town the next morning. 11.10 came, an there was no sign of Harvey, so I rang the shop, feeling rather p....d off. I did not speak to the wife, but the shop assistant, and let her know I was not happy about being kept waiting again. She said he had just left to come to my place, made some other comment, and I said I was not interested in her excuses and was fed up with being kept waiting for people who did not show up when promised. She said she had just got back from holiday and knew nothing about it, and slammed the phone down in my ear.
Harvey arrived about that time and took the machine away. The next afternoon I had to go outside for some reason, and the washer was back on the verandah. I asked Neville when Harvey had brought it back, and he said he had no idea. The silly man didn't even ring the bell and tell us it was back or what had been wrong with it. Unbeknown to me, their shop had been broken into the night before. Nothing much was taken, just a couple of cheap mobile phones.
Another case of, 'you can't complain about the service, coz there ain't any.'

And the rains came down!

The late Country Music man, Slim Dusty, had a song called, 'And the Rains came down in July.' Well, it is only January, and boy, did they come down in some places in South Australia! Rain was forecast for Thursday of last week, but we had heard it all before, and nothing of significance had ever eventuated. We were getting low on water, and, as we run rain water through the house for everything but the toilet and auto washing machine, it was getting very dicey indeed.
At about 6.30pm on Thursday, down it came, straight down! We had 16 mm in about 10 mins, which is 64 points in the old scale, or just over half an inch. It has rained fairly steadily for the last three days, and all told we have had 249 pts. Nearly two and a half inches.Our tanks are nearly full, which is fantastic!!
We were informed a couple of weeks ago, that the El Nino weather patterns have gone, and we should revert to normal weather patterns this year. This will be great for the farmers and market gardeners, and the dams supplying the cities.Bring it on!

Grandies to stay.

Last Friday, my grandson, Lachlan, came to stay for a couple of nights. It is always lovely to have him here, as he really enjoys himself. Neville went to Penola, which is about an hour's drive south east of here, towards Mt. Gambier, to a clearing sale. He was interested in buying a slasher, as we have large varigated Cabbage thistles on the farm, and if he doesn't cut them down soon, they will take over and there will be no feed for the sheep. He did not buy it, as it was too old and drecrepit.
Lachlan did some drawing, then he played games on the computer, and watched a Bob The Builder video. I had cooked a chicken earlier and we had that and veges for lunch. I also made a fruit salad.
On Saterday morning, Neville and Lachlan walked to the shops and bought a news paper. Neville reckons it was a slow trip. He has to remember, Lachlan has only got little legs, and can't take great strides, like he can.After breakfast, we went to the shops and I bought some beef stir fry strips and some other things, then we let Lachlan play in the park for a while. I then remembered I needed to pick up my photos, so we drove up to the shop and got those, plus some more films. I cooked the stir fry for lunch.
Lachlan played outside for a while, as Neville was working in the yard. After lunch, we drove to Mundulla, as I had won a gift voucher from the store, in a raffle before Christmas. I had 'spent' some of it when I collected it. I wanted to redeem the rest, and it was something different for Lachlan to see and do. We showed him the school, as I had attended it when I was slightly older than he is now. Then we drove around looking at all the flash houses that are being built.
Neville and Lachlan had left over stir fry for tea. Neville watched the news, and then Lachlan watched The Simpsons. He watched about an hour of Ghostbusters 111, but said it was too spooky. I read him a story each night, of his choosing, when he got into bed.
Yesterday morning, I did the washing, or most of it, and cooked fish and chips for lunch. Lachlan was looking for 'treasures' in the yard. Old nuts and bolts, stones etc, to take home. When we took him home, THAT did not go down at all well with his father! Altogether, he had a good time, but it was ruined by his father's reaction to his 'treasures'.

Neville's Birthday Lunch. Nearly a Non Event!

I started to write this posting last night, but before I had finished it, we had a power outage. I was slightly panic stricken, as I am not sure what to expect under those curcumstanses. I was assured by my son and daughter, that it should be alright. It has not been in past occurances. Thankfully, it is this time.
Now, back to my scribblings. Monday was my husband's birthday, and I had promised to take him out for lunch. As he goes to our small farm every Monday and Tuesday, it suited my plans to have to wait until Wednesday, as that is the day one of the hotels here has a $10.00 two course menu, for the over fifties. It was 40 degrees celcius yesterday, and not the type of day I like to venture out in, but, a promise is a promise, so off we went.
We arrived at the hotel at noon, and I was very surprised to note, there were very few cars. My immediate thought was, maybe the town's folk had more sense than we, and had stayed indoors.
When we got to the door, we discovered two notices on blackboards, to the effect that there would be no meals served that day, as the power was off, because the management were installing new air conditioners. Neville was all for calling it quits and going home. Not this little black duck! As I had planned this outing, I had not prepared anything for lunch, so we had no choice but to go to the other hotel. There are several cafes in town, but he does not like that sort of place or food. There is nothing wrong with it, it is very good food, but not his taste.
We arrived at the other establishment, and placed our orders. Schnitzels, chicken for me, beef for him, sans gravy. We bought soft drinks and sat down. 35 to 40 mins later, our meals finally arrived. They were NOT busy, in spite of the other hotel being closed for meals, so I was puzzled as to why it took so long for them to cook a couple of schnitzels. The 'salad' consisted of a couple of lettuce leaves, some tomato wedges and some slices of unpeeled cucumber and some raw onion, served on the plate. I said to Neville, if I were running the place, the so called cook would not get a job working for me. There were very few patrons for lunch. They were mostly locals, but there was one family passing through. Not exactly what I had planned, but such is life.