HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I wish you all, a Happy New Year. May you and yours be safe and well and not lacking in the essentials.
Last night, we had electrical storms, with much lightning and thunder, but bugger all rain. I was able to watch the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, with some trepidation as to whether the power would go off, or the transmission would be clear enough. The transmission on the ABC is not good here, and sometimes it is totally unwatchable. It was barely so last night. I did enjoy what I could see.
Today, we have been blanketed in DUST! There was not enough rain to wet the ground, and it has been blowing all day, all over the town, and the house, and everything in it is covered in fine black silt.
We have more thunder rumbling now, so this will be a short posting, as I will not run the computer in a storm.
Good bye, and good luck.

Visiting rellies, & meeting new ones.

Last Friday, my nephew Alan and his family, called in here on their way home to Queensland, and had lunch with us. We have not seen him or his two eldest children, for eight years. Isaac is 15, and getting very tall. He has just completed year eleven, and his first year of part time appenticeship, as an Electrician. I am not sure what type of electrician he is training as, but it is not ordinary industrial or domstic.
Alan's daughter, Samantha, is growing into a lovely young lady. She is eleven.
It was the first time we had met Alan's new wife, Dianne, and her six year old son, Kyle. Kyle played Racing Cars on my computer until lunch time. It was lovely having them here, if for a short time. We had Ham salad sangers, (sandwiches) on home made wholemeal bread. Then home made fruit salad and icecream. Isaac was so thrilled to have home made fruit salad, that he had two BIG serves of it. Dianne is very slender, but she can 'put it away' with the best of them.
I hope it is not eight years before we see them again. They all seemed very relaxed and at home with us, which is great.

Christmas 2006

Christmas is over for another year. In some ways, I look forward to this day, and in others, I don't. I look forward to it because it is the commemoration of the birth of the Saviour of the World, Jesus Christ. Everybody knows, if He had not been born, we would not have this day. I don't look forward to it, because it has been taken over in many ways by Mammon. I don't look forward to not having all my family around me at this time. I don't have them all year, but it would be lovely to see them at Christmas. To touch on a sad note, it is also a dreadful time for road accidents, and the fatality count is horrendous every year.I most assuradly do not like that aspect of this time of year.
We had a very enjoyable Christmas Day this year. We spent it with our daughter and her family. They had a couple of male friends there as well. We had cold meat and salad, and I made a Trifle for dessert. It is the only dessert my son-in-law likes, and he reckons mine is the best.Chrismas pud,blah!
On the down side of it, the guys were smoking all day, and me being an asthmatic, it was a wonder I didn't succumb and have an attack. It was only yesterday that I nearly did.

I'm losin' it, I'm losin' it, I'm losin'it!

In a previous posting, I said I was losing it. Not my marbles or the plot, but the weight I have gained over the last 14 years. I am still doing just that. Two weeks ago when I was weighed at the doctor's, I had inexplicably regained half a kilo. I was devastated. I felt as though I had had Christmas taken away from me. I thought it was the same old story. Previously when I have tried to lose weight, I would do very well for a few weeks, and, even though I was sticking to the diet, I would start to gain it all back. This fortnight, I have relost that half kilo, and more. I have lost a total of 3.7kgs, for this fortnight. I have lost a grand total of 8.2kgs!! That is 19.125 pounds, nearly one and a half stone in the old scale. I can hardly believe it. I thought the reason my skirt was slipping off me, was because it is old and the elastic had given up the ghost. Not so it would seem. I have stacks of fabric I have to make up, but, I will wait untill I have reached my goal weight, and then make some new clothes. Speed the day.

How lucky am I?

Yesterday, Neville and I travelled to Adelaide so I could visit my mother, who has been very ill in hospital for over a month. I had not seen her for a month, and it has been a very worrying time, me being so far away and unable to drive, I was very relieved to find her almost back to her old self, and ready to go home, once more.
Earlier in the week, my friend, Sue, had asked me if I would like to go to Naracoorte with her, as she had to pick up a couple of standard electric fans she had ordered last week. I toyed with the idea, then decided to visit mum instead, as it was going to be a cool day, and alright for travelling. I am so thankful I did not go with her, as she rolled the car 20kms from here, and wrote it off! She had her daughter and granddaughter with her, but they were both asleep. This fact would have saved them from serious injury. The little girl is only 18 months old. They were not badly hurt, and Deborah had to crawl out of the window as the door was jammed shut by the impact with the trees Sue hit. Sue has no spinal injuries and apparently no internal injuries. She has a broken arm and a gash on her head. She was flown by air ambulance at 12.45 am today, to hospital in Adelaide. The ambulance got bogged, when they went to meet the plane and collect an air pressure device to put Sue in, incase she had spinal injuries. They took 45 mins and should have taken 10 Her family got bogged too, when they went out to the air strip to say goodbye. As her husband said, it was just as well it was not a life and death matter.

I do hate, being patronised!

All my life I have had to suffer people who think, because I am nearly blind, I am also dumb, dumb, dumb!!! They think it is OK to treat me as if I am a lower life form than they are.
Yesterday, I went into the gift shop to purchase, if they had something that I liked and could afford, a gift for some friends who have a new baby daughter. This shop has some lovely things, but the prices are usually prohibitive for me. I asked where I could find items for the occasion, and chose a really lovely silver wreath picture frame. It has a circle of alternating teddy bears and hearts, and was not, surprisingly, out of my price range. There was another lady being served, and I was told I could go out to the back of the shop, where the fabrics and craft items are, and the lass' mother would serve me. Now, there is no love lost between us, but I am always polite to Heather. I have no idea why Heather dislikes me, but it matters not. I handed her the picture frame, and she very patroninsingly, said , would I like one that was already boxed. I don't remember what exactly I said, but it was along the lines of, I thought what was on display was all she had. She looked at me with a pained expression, and said, as to indicate I should have known,there were others in a cupboard somewhere, and she would get me one of those.
I put that one back on the shelf while she rummaged around and brought another one of the same brand to the counter. For some unknown reason, she opened the box and took the frame out. It was just as well that she did, as it was nothing like the one I had chosen. She then had to go a get the one I had chosen. I managed to contain myself and not say, I told you so. Poetic justice for her unfriendly manner,eh?

Once again, I'm a winner!

Many years ago, when I was about eight, I spent a year and a half at Mundulla Primary School. I was there for year three and half of year four. Then I moved to another school. Mundulla is a small town six miles from here. It has the school, a general store, drapery shop, and sundry churches and houses. There is an old pub, which is heritage listed, and serves as a pub/restaurant.
A couple of weeks ago, I bought some tickets in the school concert raffle. There were twelve prizes, of various commodities. eg.a wheelbarrow full of goods, and vouchers for various things. I put the tickets in a drawer and promptly forgot about them. I never expected to win anything, anyway.
This afternoon, I was very pleasantly surprised, when a young man ( his name is Greg Young. no pun intended) rang me to inform me, I had won the 5th prize. Namely, a $75.00 voucher from the Mundulla General store.
I had to take my cat to the vet this afternoon for her booster vaccination. After I put her back inside, we drove out to the store so I could collect my voucher. I met an old school chum, Tom, and told him of my good fortune. He was very pleased for me, which was nice.
The young woman who owns the store gave me the voucher, which was in an envelope. I asked her how long I had to redeem it. She said she had no idea. She was therefore, very surprised to learn, it was her store's voucher. I curcumnavigated the store several times, it is not very big, and put a few items in my trolley. One of which was some bananas. Since there was a cyclone earlier this year in Queensland, where the banannas are mainly grown, we have not been able to afford them, as they have been over $AUD13.00 a kg. They are starting to come down in price a bit. As I was not paying for them, I thought I would buy some, as my husband loves them. I was not able to find goods tho the value of $75.00, so will have to return to redeem the remainder on the voucher.
This has made my day!

Not happy. Not happy at all!

As previously reported in this space, I have been losing it. Not my mind or the plot, but the accumulated weight of many years. I have tried many diets with limited or no success. At the beginning of September, I had a health fright, which galvanised me into action, and I had lost 6.5kgs. I was ecstatic. This was two eeks ago. I went to the clinic today to be weighed and have my BSL checked. BSL is darn near perfect at 5.3. The clinic sister checked my blood pressure, and it is darn near perfect, too. I got on the scales, after removing my skirt and sandals, only to discover to my immense disappointment, I have gained half a kilo in the last two weeks. Just as well I took off my skirt and sandals, or goodness knows what the outcome would have been! I would probably have burst into tears. The clinic nurse and my doctor were not the least bit phased, and said it is only a small hitch, and is probably due to fluid retention due to the hot weather. They were most encouraging, bless 'em, but I remain unconvinced. My doctor told me to keep plodding along.
I had received another shock earlier in the morning. My friend Sue and I were in the butcher's, and we met our computer repair man and his wife. Sue asked if he was on holiday, and he said yes, a permenant one. He did not want to broadcast the details so kept his voice low. He said he is employed somewhere else, but did not give details. This is very sudden and we are in shock.
From what he said, it sounds as though he was under a lot of pressure and got out before he went under,mentally. I hope we get someone just as competant to replace him. I wish him well as he is a very nice man.

Car trouble

We have a very old car. It used to belong to our son, and we bought it second hand for him,when he was 17. He is now 34.Lately it has been running like 'a hairy goat'. My husband has tried to find out what the problem is. (I must say, it has done a power of work, and is probably just looking for a rest!) Neville took the head off last week, and replaced it and the gasket, to no avail. Today, he put a different carburator on, and it is running like a clock. It still has water being forced into one of the pistons, but now, I don't feel as though it is going to conk out, miles from anywhere.
I mentioned in a recent posting, that the council workers were putting kerbing along our street. They laid the kerbing on Tuesday, and it was fascinating to watch. We had to park the car on the front verge for a few days, but now have a new driveway, and can put the car in the yard again.It is a bit 'sudden' when we drive out, and one would not want to drive out too quickly, or you would damage the front end. They have to finish filling in the ditch and leveling the rubble, but it looks quite good.

Strange weather and other stuff.

My friend, Sue and I, thravvelled to Naracoorte on Tuesday, to do some shopping and have a day out. About lunch time, there was a thunder storm approaching, and it did rain, just a bit. There was more lightning and thunder than rain, and the fire siren sounded, just as we were getting lunch. On our way out of town, a CFS (Country Fire Service) unit passed us, and we were surprised to see it was from a neighbouring small town. It was heading the same way we were. They must have been called out because the Naracoorte units were already on their way to the other fire. We could smell burnt grass, and see the smoke, but no fire. There were 90 fires lit by lightning that day, in this state alone. They are still battling fires in other states. We have had a thick pall of smoke over the town most of today. It is drifting in from the west, but we have not heard where the fire was/is. I hope the idiots who light fires for 'fun' , think again, as they put everybody's life at risk, and we are in for a long hot summer.

Haydn's Birthday Lunch.

Yesterday, Neville, his brother Peter and I travelled in Peter's car, to Naracoorte, to join his and Neville's elder brother Haydn, for his 70th birthday celebrations. It turned out that Haydn had no idea that we were coming, so was surprised to see us. There were many family and friends there, but some I expected to see were absent. His elder daughter and her family, to mention one. His youngeer daughter was there from Victoria, minus her husband. I did not expect to see her. She had come over the night before, and had to leave immediately after lunch to travel home, as she has to work.
We were asked to pay for our meals, as they had stipulated NO gifts. I ordered roast chicken sans gravy. When it arrived, and I started to eat it, I discovered that it was not cooked properly, as it was still pink in the bones. I said I would not eat it, just fill up on vegetables. Neville said I should take it back, but I could not be bothered. He could have done that for me. He compensated by telling the waitress when she brought more meals to our table. She apologised and took it away, and brought me another meal, this time it was the breast and was properly cooked. She apologised once more.
It was quite warm yesterday, and more so where we were seated, as it was in the atrium at the back of the hotel, which has been enclosed with clear plastic blinds. My sister-in-law, Irene, asked if the blinds could be pulled up, to let the breeze in. This was done, and it was much better.
After lunch, we drove to our farm and Neville and Pete climbed the frnce and walked to the sheds, where they picked the strawberries, and Pete took them home. As we were leving to go to the farm, Haydn said, 'Hey, Sue. Will you tell this young lady what my nickname is. She won't believe me?' I said it was Tom. The girl in question looked sceptical, and I said, pointing to Pete, that he was called Chink, as his father said he looked like a Chinaman. She said, 'Why did he call him that?' I said she would have to ask him, but as he has been dead for 38 years, it would be a bit difficult. Then Haydn told her that Neville was his brother also. She wanted to know what his nickname was, but I refused to divulge that information. She asked me where I fitted in, and I said, "Anywhere I can!" Haydn told her I am Neville's wife.
Wehile we were at the farm, my grandson from Perth rang me on the moblie. He was having a great ime, as my sister and her husband were with him and my son, and they were showing them some of the sights, as they had not been to Perth before.
We went to Haydn and Irene's house for a cuppa before we came home. This young girl was there, and she was very precocious and 'forward for her age'. She informed me she had discovered Neville's nickname, and proceeded to call him by it. It did not cut any ice with Neville, as he ignored her. She misunderstood the meaning of it, and I was nor about to disabuse her. She wanted to know what mine was, and did not believe me when I said I did not have one.
She is sixteen, and I thought she was about 12. When I put atrificial sweetener in my tea, she asked point blank, 'Are you a Diabetic?' "No, I'm not". Then why are you using that stuff?" "Because I can." I was getting just a tad irritated with her inquiitiveness, by the time we left. Her mother was seated next to me, and did not check her at all.
All in all, we had a great day out, though I was exhausted.

Road Works

Monday, local council employees started making lots of noise and dust outside our house. We have a 'no through road' at the end of our street, and they were laying rubble along it. We were curious to know why. It would appear it is so people can walk through. It seems pointless, as we have been able to do that all the time. A few years ago, they made that end of the street a cul-de-sac,when they did the kerbong , so I can't see that they will allow cars to drive through. Now for some clarification on the above. The council employees have been measuring and marking along the street, as they are about to finish doing the kerbing they started about four years ago. They are doing the kerbing on the other side of the street first. They are removing the culvert pipes, and putting new ones under ground. When they did that on our side, all the rain water runoff seeped into the pit in our shed, as it's natural path had been blocked. It will be interesting to see what happens now.
Yesterday, when Sue and I came back from our coffee morning, there were two council employees standing at the stobie pole on the other side of the street. Well, one was standing, the other was digging a hole. I remarked to Sue, that the one standing was a proper employee, as he was leaning on his shovel! He had obviously received the correct 'training'.For all you non aussies, it is a standard joke, that to be employed by the council as outside staff, you must lean of your shovel a lot, as they are not deemed to be very diligent workers.I hope they don't take too long to complete the work.I have enough trouble with allergies and Asthma, without the added dust they will be kicking up.

Guy Fawkes night

When I was young, many, many moons ago, on this night we would light bonfires and burn a 'guy', and let off crackers and rockets, and other fireworks. It has been fazed out, for the most part in this country, as it is at the wrong time of the year. It is essentially an English practice, and much safer over there, as they are coming into Winter. I believe it is still widely practiced in Britain. I just looked at the date on my computer, and realised this fact.
Today, we travelled to Keith, to pick up my single bed, as I had loaned it to Deb for her mother-in-law to sleep on, before she moved into her new house/flat. We were invited to have lunch with them, which made a nice change, and we could spend time with the children. We don't get to do that with Lachlan much.
We had roast chicken and veg, and gravy. I was not quick enough to say not to put gravy on mine, but, hey, it is only one time. I doubt that it will make much difference to my weight loss efforts.
Deb is far from well. She has had a very nasty chest infection, and now she has a sinus infection. As she is 18 weeks pregnant, the doctor is loath to give her Antibiotics. She looks as 'miserable as a Bandicoot'.
We had a pleasant time with them, and came home about 2pm. I am now doing the washing. It doesn't matter if it is not hung out today, I can finish doing that tomorrow.

Weekend. Same 'ol, same 'ol.

Unlike my son and his family, we never 'do' anything at all, let alone something interesting. Hubby went out for the day to a monster auction just over the border in Victoria, in a town named Kaniva. It is held twice a year, and raises money for charity and some of the public. For instance, there was a 1997 Mecedes Benz for sale. The auctioneer could only raise $10,000.00, but the vendor wanted more. He was selling it for his daughter who has gone overseas. I have never been to one, but am told there is all manner of things brought for sale. It was a day out for Neville, but it would have been boring for me, as I can't stand for long, and sitting around is not much better, or any fun. I did the washing instead. That was a big job , for me. I had a 'Nanna' nap in the afternoon. Two and a 1/4 hours! Must have been tireder than I realised.
Neville is fiddling with his bench saw and wood splitter.Don't know what he is doing to them. He had to bring them in from his brother's place, so they would not get stolen. He had some split Red Gum fire wood out there too. His brother, Peter, asked him last time here was here if he had been cutting or carting wood. Neville said no. Pete said all the Red Gum had gone. I hope whoever stole it needed it, and didn't make money out of it.
Neville left his house key at the farm last week, and I have had to let him in when he returns from his walk at night. Last night I was mucking around on the computer, and I was listening to music on my Walkman. I thought he would be too tired after being out all day, to go for a walk. I turned this thing off at 8.25 pm, so I could watch a couple of programmes on TV. He was no-where is sight, and I assumed he had gone to bed. He is usually back long before that time. I put the passage light on, and quietly opened the bedroom door, to ascertain if he was in bed. In the dim light, and with my poor eyesight, I thought I detected his form in the bed, so I put the bolt in the door, and locked up for the night.
Ten to fifteen minutes later the door bell rang. I assumed, wrongly, that it was my friend Sue. I was most surprised to see it was Neville. I told him all the above, and he said he had said 'see you later' and I had not responded. I told him I had loud music playing through the headphones, so of course I didn't hear him.

Silly Season.

They talk about Christmas being the silly season. I think that the next six months are the silliest season we have, because we have started Daylight Saving. It is of course, a misnomer. We do not in fact save daylight. There are still just as many hours in the day, as there were prior to today. Of course, all the lame jokes about it are starting to be trotted out again. For instance: Any dam water will be evaporated faster, because there is an hour's more sunlight, or, we will need to buy antifade curtains etc, etc.
I wish I were rich enough to be able to afford a place in Perth, W.A., then I would be able to live in a beautiful city and spend time with my son and his family, untill this idiotc time had elapsed.
It is very cold this morning. There is still no sign of Spring rains, which are desperately needed.My husband walked down the street and bought the Sunday paper, then he got the fire roaring, and sat on the lounge with the front door open, with the freezing air wafting in, so he could save a Bob by not putting the light on, so he could read the paper! As they say in America, go figure!

Postscript to yesterday.

When I was about to write my posting yesterday, I had three happenings along the same lines to write about, but when I booted up the computer, one of them slipped my mind. I have remembered what it is, so here goes.
I have been getting Christmas food hampers from a company for five years now. I rang on Wednesday to place my order for next year. I am getting some gift vouchers, as well as a big hamper, and started to tell the girl which vouchers I wanted. I had only gotten to the third one, when she asked me if I would hold the line. When she came back on the phone,I asked her what the problem was. She said I could not make up my order with vouchers, I had to order a hamper that was over $500.00, then I could order the vouchers. I said I was getting to that, and told her which one I was going to order, and how much it is. It is over $500.00. "Oh, well that is alright then." I do wish people would not jump to conclusions and wait until I have finished speaking. They would be much easier to get on with if they did. It is extremely annoying when people try to second guess me.

I do wish, people would listen!

I rang a specialist's rooms today, to cancel an appointment that had been made on my behalf, by my Orthopaedic surgeon's PA a couple of months ago. This doctor speialises in stomach banding, but I had decided when Roger first suggested it, that I would not have anything to do with it. I gave him my reasons at the time. He broached the subject again in August, when I saw him here.
He wanted to help me with my weight problem, so I can have my knee surgery, and said I should get the 'low down' from someone who knows what it involves, and not listen to horror stories in the media. I reluctantly agreed. I have been mulling it over for the last two months, and decided I was not going to see this doctor, as my feelings about the procedure have not changed. When I rang Dr. Wilson's rooms, the receptinist said the phone was playing up, which indeed it was. She took my phone number and rang back about five minutes later.
I started to tell her what I was calling for thus:- I gave my name and said that Dr. O.....'s P.A. had made an appointment for me in December. She interupted me and said, No, No, No, this is not Dr. O 's rooms, you have the wrong number. I told her I knew that, and asked her very firmly, if she would please listen to me! I then explained that the appointment had been made for me by Dr. O's P.A., and I was ringing to cancel it. I gave her the date, and she suddenly 'saw the light'! If she commented to her workmates that I was rude, she should look in the mirror and say that. She was rude for not giving me her undivided attention it the first instance.
Funnily enough, the very P.A. who made that appointment needs to keep her mind on the job, too. She rang me yesterday on my mobile phone, to confirm my appointment with Dr.O, here on Friday. I told her I thought that it had been cancelled, as I had an Email with the dates and times for the above appointment and one in September, which stated that I was to see Dr. O here in the New Year, at a time to be advised. She obviously had not checked her emails, or she did not receive it. Anyway, I said I was not expecting to see Roger tomorrow.

Unexpected Compliments.

Whilst I was waiting to see the doctor this morning/afternoon, (my appointment was for 11.45. I did not come out of the surgery until 12.40 pm.) I was chatting to an elderly woman that I know, only slightly, as you do in such situations, and she was trying to make small talk and asked if I had family. As I don't know her very well, i was somewhat reluctant to divulge too much about myself to her. I said , yes, I did have family. She asked where they went to school, was it Mundulla. ( A small town, 10kls from here, with only a Primary school.) I laughed and said I was a grandmother three times over, with another one on the way, and my eldest two are six. She was quite incredulous, and said,"Are you really?" I assured her that is the case. As I have been feeling haggard and old of late, to think some-one in her eighties thought I was that young gave me a huge boost. I got a lot of pleasure from it, I can tell you. It truly blessed me, and I have not been able to wipe the smile off my face.

I'm Losin' it!

Some would say I already have, but I am not referring to the 'plot' or my 'marbles'
I have shed half a stone in the last five weeks. That is just over 3kgs. Feeling dead chuffed, I are.
I just hope I can maintain the momentum, and reach my dream weight, and have my knee replacement surgery, soon. Well, in about six months, anyway.
My blood sugar has fallen back to 5.8, which is brilliant. My doctor and the clinic nurse are VERY pleased with Moi. (So am I , just quietly.) I know I have a long way to go, and am taking things one day at a time. It is a nightmare trying to do the shopping and having to read the labels, with my poor eyesight, but, must soldier on.Wish me luck, people.

Lachlan had fun.

On Thursday afternoon, I asked Neville to put the seat back in the car so we could all go down the street, as I had some errands to do, and Lachlan had to sit in the back. He has had the seat out for ages, as he uses the car as a 'ute' for the farm. I had asked Lachlan what he would like to do. Would he like to go to the Wild Life Reserve, or would he like to go to Apex park and play on the swings etc. He said he would like to do both, but when we got there, he decided he would like to play on the swings etc. After I had done all my errands, one of which was paying off a bill and layby at Betta Electrical, I bought a couple of CD Roms of games. One is three different kinds of car racing, and the other is over 1,000 games of Solitairre, we came back to Apex park, I went with him so he could play safely. Neville sat in the car. He never gets involved with the grandies. It would be nice if he did, as it is very hard for me with my crook back and knees. But, this Leopard ain't about to change his spots!
After Lachlan had played for a while, I asked him if he ate pizza, and did mum make them, and what did he like on them. He said he liked chicken pizza. I have never made one, so had to ascertain what ingredients I needed so we could get them while we were down town.
He couldn't remember all of them, so I rang Deb and she thought that something must be wrong. I said nothing was wrong, and asked her what he liked on his chicken pizzas. we bought the nessacary items, and came home.
When we got home, Lachlan asked if he could play games on the computer. I had to load one of the racing games, but we could not work out how to start it! It said to click on space to start.
I set up some games for him to play, while I made pizzas in my toaster oven. I had to make frequent trips in here, to show him what to do. I gave him a bath before tea, and afterwards, he played with the army men and other toys. We started to watch Chitty, Chitty Bang, Bang. Lachlan started to go to sleep, so I turned it off, and read him a story, as requested. He then snuggled down on the lounge, and went to sleep. I was surprised that he did so early, as it was only nine o'clock, and those children are still up around 10 pm. I don't know if that applies on school nights.
I asked Deb about the racing game, yesterday, and she said it probably meant to click the space bar. Duh!
It is for children over 8, but Lachlan tried it, and had a bit if fun, but kept crashing and burning his car. Riley decided to stay when Deb and her friend Kylie went shopping. This is unusual for him. I thought he was very subdued, and discovered he had been reprimanded by his grandfather for running around with a big stick, and pointing at Pop. He was told several times to stop, but ignored him. He said if he didn't, he would smack him. Riley didn't take heed, and suffered the consquences. I hope when he starts school, his teachers can channel his exuberence positively, and not break his spirit.
We played Animal Farm on the computer, and Riley is very clued in, and picked the objects by their name sounding and pictures, very well. He will be four next month.
Deb said when they were leaving, that Lachlan had asked if he could stay another night. She asked him if he wanted to go fishing or stay here. He said he wanted to go fishing. They all love their fishing trips. I hope they catch something edible this time.

Been busy.

Last Thursday, Sue and I travelled to Keith, to spend some time with my daughter and her boys, but also to get away from here for a while. We arrived at Deb's, and I was surprised to see their car was not in the driveway. Sue could see the children peeping through the curtains, and I was a bit concerned that they were on their own. I rang Deb on the mobile, only to see her walk out of the house. I asked where the car was, and she said Pete had it. Silly me. I thought she drove him to work so she could have the car. She must only do that on shopping days. Sue removed one of the child seats so Lachlan could sit in the back with Deb and Riley. We went to the Keith bakery cafe and had morning tea. Then we went to a bargain shop which sells/hires videos, toys, craft items and cigarettes, just to have a squizz. Then we went back to Deb's for a while.
I had arranged to have Lachlan for the weekend, but Deb asked if it would be OK if it was only for the night, and she would pick him up on Friday, as they wanted to go fishing today.
She rang me early on Thursday, to ask when we would be arriving, as she had one very excited little boy who had been ready for an hour. This was at nine o'clock. We didn't get there untill 10.30 am! Luckily, Lachlan is a patiant child. We all trooped down to the local pub, and I bought lunch. Deb had Calamari rings, the boys had Chicken Nuggets and chips, Sue had Chicken Schnitzel, and I had a child's serve of the same, as they are far too big for me to manage. We ate outside, because Riley was in a particulary boisterous mood, and making a lot of noise. No ammount of reprimanding from his mother made an impact. It was quite chilly outside. It was a huge contrast to the day before when it had been 37c.
Sue and I liked the bread that was served at lunch, and walked across to the bakery and ordered a loaf each, and Deb brought them yesterday. They are half and half wholemeal and white done in a plait. Very nice.
We went back to Deb's and got Lachlan's gear and came home.

Winning. Sometimes easy, sometimes not.

As stated in yesterday's post, I had a bone density scan this week. I went to see my doctor yesterday to get the results. I was very pleased to discover I have very strong bones, and it would take considerable force to break one. This is good news. Winner No. one. Winner No. 2 was finding out I have lost 2 kilos this week, by just cutting out sugar altogether. Yay! I have to try to keep that up. everthing tastes digusting, but I will have to persevere. Winner N0.3 was being told, because I have started to lose weight, and cut out sugar, I am NOT a Diabetc! ( Feel like eating a piece of cake to celebrate) Just joshing!
The doctor is confident, if I continue to lose weight, my blood glucose levels will get back to normal.
Losing weight is not going to be easy, but I am determined to try my bset to succeed. Winner No. 4 was a competition in a Hardware catalogue. The prize is a six piece dripper set and 25m hose. I was an instant winner. My daughter rang me while I was in Adelaide, very excited, to tell me she had won one of them. I got my catalogue yesterday and entered the comp. There are only 100 to be given away Australia wide. Howzat?

Adelaide trip.

We travelled to our capital city yesterday, as I had to have a bone density scan, in the afternoon. I arrived at my mother's, at a little after 11 a.m. We had a cuppa, and she showed me some photos of my sister Alison and her family, that were taken at her second daughter's 18th birthday in July.
I have not seen Alison for thirty years, and have never met her other two girls, or her partner, Aiden. There were pics of all of them. Ellen is a beautiful girl, with flowing red hair, and a full figure. That is not to say she is over weight. Not at all. I have spoken to them all at times, when I have rung Alison. They are all very nice.
I took mum some flowers. Blue Irises and white Geraldton Wax, and a bunch of red rose buds. She was very pleased to receive them. We had lunch, and afterwards, we played two games of Scrabble. Mum won the first one by 9 points, and I the second, by 16. She declared, in jest, that she was not playing me again, as she does not like to lose. Before we had finished the second game, Neville had returned to take me to my scan appointment. He said KMart had canned peaches out for 0.99c each. You could purchase a box of 12 for nearly $12.00. I rang my daughter and asked if she would like some. She said , yes please. We bought three boxes.
We then travelled further along the road to the hospital, where I had to go for the scan. He dropped me off at the wrong gray building! It was my fault, as I am nearly blind, all I saw was the first part of the word, Ashford, and assumed it was the hospital. It turned out to be an eye clinic, and retirement home construction, office. The hospital was just a short way further down. Neville had to get off the very busy Anzac
Highway, and try to find a park. I was concerned, as he does not have a moblie, and I was unable to inform him of my mistake. `
When I got inside, I had to fill out a form, as I expected. Guess who left her glasses in the car?
That was a first! I had to ask one of the receptionists to help me fill it out. She was very obliging.
When she called me up to the desk to fill out the form, I sensed someone was standing next to me, and turned around to discover it was Neville.
I did not have to wait long to be called in for the scan. I told the radiogropher that I had several things wrong with my spine, and would find it very difficult if not impossible to get up off the exam table, as they are so hard and it causes me such pain. When the scan was finished, she stood next to the table and said I could get up by myself. She did not give me one iota of assistance, even when she could see how difficult it was for me. I guess they have to be careful they do not injure themselves, and people do 'bung it on', but with minimal assistance, it would have been so much easier for me.
We then procceeded to the Central Markets in the city, to check out the fruit and veg prices. As we came to the end of one aisle, I noticed a couple, the guy was in a wheel chair. I do not like to 'stare' too long to see if I know people, especially one's in wheel chairs. They don't know I have deffective eyesight, and think I am staring for the sake of it. We were just turning into the next aisle, when all of a sudden, I was acosted by the woman in question, and realised it was my cousin Patti, and her husband Ric. I have not seen them for years. Ric broke his neck in a horse
riding accident, 18 yers ago. He had a stock businees, and was rounding up cattle in the market yards, when the horse went under the overhead walkway, and Ric was looking the other way.
He is now a Quadreplegic, with slightly impaired use of his hands, and a world class Paralympian, and artist. He was Young South Australian of the Year a few years ago. They are lovely people.
After we had made our purchases, we headed for home. We called in at Tailem Bend and I bought tea, and we went to Neville's brother's place to eat it. He was very pleased to see us.
We left his place about 8.30. We stopped at Keith to apend some time with our daughter and her family, and got home around 11p.m. I was mighty glad to see my bed!

Tanks.

I do not mean water tanks. I mean those great thundering weapons of mass destruction used in the army. It has been reported in the media, that the department of defence has purchased some of these things from America. They are about thiry years old, and have been reconditioned. They cost huge amounts of money. Over $M500 has been cited. They each weigh over thirty tons, and because of that they are too heavy to transport by train,or truck, and too heavy to cross bridges and they use far too much fuel in comparisine with more modern ones.They have also purchased helicopters that are out of date and possibly dangerous. This begs the question, do they even care about the safety of our militry personnel? They certainly don't care how they spend our tax dollars. It begs another question, what sort of doctor was Brendon Nelson,was he as inept as he was as Minister for Education, he is worse than useless as Minister for Defence. To wit, the Jake Kovco affair, to name one instance.

Water.

There is not one drop more or less in the world today, than there was when the world was created, but we humans treat it as though it is not at all important. It is vital to sustaining life, any life, and we need to be more careful how we use it. We have droughts of course, but we do not utilise it prudently when it is in abundance. It was stated in the media, by some 'bright spark', that the way to make people think more carefully how they use it, is to make them pay more for it. Why do our pollies, or contributors to the letters pages of our papers, only think in terms of money, and how much we have to pay for anything, when they are trying to solve any crisis of consumption of power, water etc. We need people in politics who have more imagination and vision, than that. I certainly do not have the answers, but we are 'screwed' enough for everything we purchase now. I don't think this is the answer. The Federal Government has now implemented a new office within the Prime Minister's Department, and Malcolm Turnbull has been given the job of CEO, to try to 'nut' out the answers. He has been quoted as saying, we will have to pay more for water. Time will tell if he can acompilsh his goal. Hopefully, it will be with more finesse than that.

Get it right, folks.

I do so hate inefficiency! I went to Adelaide two weeks ago, to consult a specialist physician,on the recommendation of my Orthopeadic surgeon, to see if he could ascertain the reason or reasons I can not lose weight. I need knee replacement surgery, and my surgeon is not willing to put me at risk and wants me to lose some weight. He has not told me how much as yet. He sent me to this man, and he ordered a whole raft of blood tests and urine tests and a chest x-ray. One of his receptionsts rang me yesterday, and informed me I have an infection, and she was posting me a prescription. The same woman rang again today, and told me the other test results were back, and my blood glucose level was of concern, and I should see my own GP, poste haste, and discuss it with him. She said she was sending a copy of the results to him. I rang the clinic and told the receptionist what I had been told, and she said the results had been faxed to the doctor just before I rang. She spoke to my doctor, and he said he would squeeze me in this afternoon at 2 pm. I went down to the clinic and got in at 3pm. I was not concerned about having to wait, but when I got in to the consulting room, and told the doctor what I had told his receptionst, he tried to find the results on the computer, to no avail. He then rang the desk and asked, rather curtly, where they were. He also said, he only agreed to see me because he had had his arm twisted. He said he was late, late,late and people were waiting for him at the hospital. You can imagine how that made me feel! We talked about other things, and I got him to write me a script for some other medication while we waited. He then rang the desk again, and told the girl to ring the doctor's rooms in Adelaide and see where the test results were, after telling me to make an appointment next week to to get the results, only to be told they were being faxed at that moment. He told me to wait, and we would sort it out. When they finally came through, it said my blood suger level was 13. This is not good, and usually means the person is diabetic.I was devastated at the prospect. He then decided to get his clinic nurse to do a finger prick blood test and see what it was. I had foreseen this occurance, and had not eaten anything since breakfast. When she did the test, I was greatly relieved to see it was 6.5, which is quite OK.As my husband is a diabetic, the docter said to have some random tests done by Neville,over the next few days, and to go to the clinic at random times every day next week for more of the same.
My doctor also gave me a prescription for some Reductil, to try and help me lose weight. I took the scrip to the chemist, and asked for a price before I let him make it up. I am mighty glad I did I is over $100.00 a throw!!! I will have to make another appointment, and tell him to think of something else. Even if it works, and there is no garrantee that it would, I can't afford that sort of expense.

I forgot me poi!!

I have always maintained, that no-one would be able to hypnotise me. After playing Crazy Eights for most of the morning, and watching those cards go back and forth, I am not so sure. I was mesmerised, and finished up have a snooze, before lunch, because they made me so drowsy!! When I woke up, I had something to drink and stared to watch a DVD of the movie, Exodus. It was made it 1958, and released two years later. I remember seeing it about then, but can not remember much about it. It was on sale for $9.95 a couple of weeks ago, so I bought it. I found a small apple and custard tart in the fridge, and put it in the toaster oven with aluminium foil over the top. I had originally put the heat up fairly high, but for some reason, I turned it right down, and played computer games, for several hours. I have just remembered it, and thought it would be burned to a crisp, but no, It had not even heated up, the thermostat was so low! I have just eaten it cold. Not as nice as if it had been warm. Ah, well, such is life.

Computer Games.

I was given a soft ware CD by my freind, Sue, so I could download some new games, a few weeks ago. I have been having 'the fun o' Cork', ever since. I already had some games from another company, but these are far superior, as they have other 'people' that talk, and can sort of interact with my created image. I have discovered this week how to make mine 'talk'. There is a T Rex, called Marvin of all names,Harley the Grizzly Bear, Cap'an Scurvy, a rather vitriolic pirate Parrot, and sundry others. It is great fun.I have been playing a lot of Crazy Eights, a card game, and not that easy to win. I do not know how to play a lot of the games, as I can't play Euchre, Bridge, Poker, Pinoche, Cribbage etc.There isn't an ordinary game of Solitaire, which is a shame, as there are other kinds.It is a great time waster, and my brain still gets a work out and I get a giggle out of the other 'players' comments.
Strange Auction.
Neville went to an auction today. He said a little while ago, that when the people arrived, they were given a number, and then had to walk around the items for sale and place a price they were prepared to pay for it, on the item, next to their number. The people who were running it then decided if the 'bid' would be accepted. He said they complained sometimes, and said it would have to be auctioned in the ususal way. He said they should have just auctioned everything and not wasted so much time. I don't know if it was a Dutch auction or not, but I have never heard of it before. The vendor is a friend of my aunt and uncle in Adelaide, and fancied himself as a wine maker. My aunt, my mother's sister, give Mum a bottle of his 'wine' on Christmas. Mum said it was 'Chateau Naff du Crapp", and poured it down the sink! She said, at least the drain would have had a good clean.

Don't patronise me, please!!

My friend Sue, came around this arvo with my ironing. She has been doing it for me for nine months. It helps her earn a bit of pin money, and helps me, because I can't do it because of health problems. We went down the street and had coffee, and while there, she told me someone had asked her if she was my carer! The lady in question knows I have very poor eyesight, and, as Sue is the official carer for her legally blind husband, and we get around together a lot, she made the assumption she was caring for me too.Sue told her we are just very good friends. We went past the shoe shop later, and I spyed a nice pair of tan shoes in the window. I went in to enquire how much they were, and was ignored by the proprietor, as she was otherwise engaged with her other sideline, namely, Avon.Sue came in, and started looking at the small purses and wallets. Rosemary, the owner assumed we were together and Sue was the 'shopper', not me as I was sitting down.
I got sick of waiting and put my glasses on and ascertained the price of the shoes myself. It dawned on Rosemary that I might have wanted service too, so she asked me if I had wanted something. I told her I had, but had found out for myself. She asked what, and I said the price of the shoes. She said 'They are all different prices." She assuned Sue ad told me, as she has known for years my eyes are bad. I said I had seen for myself. Then she said, I must have had an operation as the price tags are very small, and I am not wearing glasses. I tried to explain, but she is a very bombastic person, and kept talking over the top of me, so I took my 'specs' out and showed her. When she saw them, the 'penny dropped'. She just hadn't seen me use them.When she realised I had to have thing up so close to read, she said I must feel a real dill doing that in public. I said I didn't give a s..t what people thought. Then we went to the butcher on the way back to the car. I bought some things, then asked about the price of some cooked seasoned pork. The young man is new, and does not know me. That does not excuse what he did next. He said' Oh, that is cooked cold meat for slicing. You can't have it all'. I said 'I know that. I wanted to know how much it is a kilo'. Duh! When we got back to the car I asked Sue if I had 'silly old lady' stamped on my forehead!

Nearly missed the wedding!

Last Saterday, the 12th, Deb and the boys and I travelled to Tailem Bend, which is about an hour and a half from Adelaide, to attend my former sister-in-law's wedding. I have always loved Denise, and am very pleased, dead chuffed in fact, that she has found such a lovely man, and is so happy. The anouncement in the local paper of six weeks ago said the wedding was to be at 2 pm. We left early, about 9.30 am. Deb had to come and get me, as I don't drive, and Neville would not have taken me to Keith, as he has never liked Denise. He is not the most accommodating person in the world.Deb phoned her friend, Bonnie,who lives in Tailem, and asked her to find out where the church was for us. Deb said we had oodles of time to go to Murray Bridge, which is 30 mins further up the wallaby. We pulled into the BP road house, for a pit stop and refreshments.
Whilst Deb was in the loo, her mobile rang. I have no idea which button to press to answer it, as she has a new one, that is nothing like mine. When she came back to the car, I told her it had rung. She checked it, but didn't call back. I will explain why in a mo.
We continued on our way, and went to Target to try to buy some clothes for Lachlan and Riley. There was not a lot to choose from. The shop seemed almost empty, as though they were moving to another premises. Then we went to Bi-Lo, so Deb could get a few things. I got some more batteries for my camera, as I was not sure how good the one's in it were. They have been there yonks. Suddenly, Deb came 'screaming' down the aisle yelling, 'Mum, the wediing's at 1 o'clock!!' It was at that time, 12.35 pm. She said Bonnie had rung and told her it had been moved up and hour, and that it had been her who rang and I couldn't take the call. It had shown up as a privte number, because she had called from a phone booth. Her phone is playing up.
We had to get through the check out, and back to Tailem, and it takes half an hour. I told Deb it was not worth getting a speeding ticket, that we would get there in time to see some of the wedding, even if it was only the reception. We got there just as Denise and Trevor had finished signing the register.I got a couple of pics as they came down the aisle, and some outside, and where they had the reception, which was next door in a tin shed. The church is very new, and has not in fact been finished, so I daresay they need to raise more funds to build a proper hall. It really was NOT my day, as I had something to eat and a drink of Lemonade, and then went to the loo, which is inside the church.I had to queue, as there are only two cubicles. This was fairly early in the proceedings, and while I was 'away', they cut the cake. I got back just after, and people were taking photos. I couldn't believe it! Deb said, "Don't worry, it is all on film."
One of the guests, who also comes from Bordertown, said to me, he had seen us when we pulled up at the BP, and had thought about asking me if I knew the time had been changed. He and his wife and her mother were in there having a cuppa. Would have been a bloody pity if some one had told me!!! Apparently, the minister had changed the time. Denise doesn't know why. Bit incosiderate in my book. She said she thought someone from here would have made sure I knew. I guess it was one of those times when everyone thought someoe else had done it, etc.
Laclan made his mum and me very proud. He was outside waiting for us, as we were talking to Denise, and he picked some Gazanias and brought them over and said, "These are for you, Auntie Denise." He then tried to give her a hug, but could only reach her behind. She bent down and hugged him and kissed the top of his head. She was very touched by his spontaneous gesture. Lachlan hardly knows her.
He is a lovely boy.

Our Weekend.

Last Sunday, Neville and I went to Gawler, which is north of Adelaide, to my distant cousin by marriage's 80th birthday party. The lady's name is Daphne, and she has always been like a second mum to me. Her husband and his elder brother and my late dad, all attended Tech college together, and had always been great mates. Two of them are dead now, but we keep in close contact with Malcolm and Daphne. The party was at Daphne and Malcolm's daughter Dianne's home. She and her partner, Dave, have a beautiful home. It would not be suitable for me to live in as it has many levels, steps etc, and I had to be very careful all afternoon when I moved around. The patio, where they held the party, has two levels ad there are three steps made of lovely gray slate and old railway sleepers. The slate does not meet the top of the sleepers, but curves down to the top. A trap for someone with impaired vision and not too agile, like myself. I was able to hold on to the steel post that held the awning, so I felt secure. On one occasion, George, offered to help me down the steps but I declined the offer, as he was pretty well tanked when he got there and drank anything that was uncorked. I met him at Malc's 70th, nearly 11 years ago and didn't like him one bit. I Don't like being around heavy drinkers, and am fussy who I allow to touch me. I am not prejudiced, I have never been comfortable around them, as I am not accustomed to it, and have been pawed by too many in the past.
The food was superb and plentiful. They had chicken mornay, spicy beef, Rogan Josh, I think, fried rice, Shashliks and party pies, pasties, and sausage rolls. Dave and Dianne did all the cooking and would not allow Di's parents to pay for any thnng but the drinks. For dessert we had fresh fruit skewers, cream puffs with Chantilly custard filling and chocolate on top. There were other things but what they were eludes me. The birthday cake was magnificent. A huge square sponge, covered in cream, flaked almonds and strawberries, with a chocolate plaque with Happy 80th Birthday Daphne, on it.
We left at 5.45pm. Just as we were about to go, Yu-Jin rang me and I had to tell him I would ring him back. We got down the road a bit, and Neville agreed to go to the city to find a bed for the night, so I rang our usual motel, and was able to secure a room. I asked for a twin room and we were given a room with a queen sized bed plua a single one. Neville slept in that. I watched a bit of telly, but was very tired, so went to bed and 9.00pm. I had turned the air conditioner on to warm up the room, but turned it off when I got into bed, as I thought Neville would not be able to sleep with the noise. About 3/4 of an hour later, I woke up shivering violently, and thought it was because I was cold, so turned the AC back on. It made no difference, and then I got some twinges in my middle, and thought 'Oh, no. Why now,why here?' Went to the toilet and thought that would be the rnd of it. Not so. I hastily rang reception and asked for a plastic bucket, which the guy brought over poste haste, and I was promptly ill. I do wish 'Murphy' would not lurk around me quite so much! After I had booked the room, I rang Yu-Jin and we had quite a long talk. He is a lovely boy, and I miss him greatly.
I spent Monday with my Mum, and we had a good day. When I arrived, we had a cuppa out in the sun on her back porch. We played three games of Scrabble. Mum won two, but not by much. We
had lunch then went to the local shopping centre to get a few things from Foodland and the post office. Mum said it was good to have someone with her in the car, as she has lost a lot of confidence since her op in March. As mum has recently been in hospital, again, and as I can never visit her there, I took her a bottle of Tawny Port, some chocs and flowers. She asked me why I had brought so much and I explained as above.
Neville got back about 4.30, and we had another cuppa, then we left. We were heading down the freeway, and I got a very urgent call of nature. We had to make a detour at the first exit. We had no idea which town it was, as it was dark by then. We finally found a small service station that was still open, and I made a mad dash inside, and asked if they had any loos. Got back in the car, and we could not find our way back on to the freeway! We drove around a lot of dark towns and winding roads and got a bit lost. These old towns don't always have signage, so we didn't know where we were most of the time. We drove for 3/4 of an hour and Mother Nature came aknocking again!! I very nearly didn't make it. After that, I was OK. We finally found the exit to Murray Bridge, and headed to there, then on to Tailem Bend, to get some tea and see Neville's brother Peter, who has just moved there. Because we were so late getting there, Pete thought we were not coming. We had never been there before, and it is not easy finding a place in the dark, especially as there are few street signs and hardly any house numbers. We found his house about 8.30 and stayed for an hour. We had another cuppa and our tea. I was whacked by 9.30. and said we had better make tracks. This we did, and arrived home at 11.45. I slept most of the way, and for a further 8 hours when I got to bed.

I've had a very busy week.

For someone who usually does not go out very much at all, I have had a busy week. I have gone out three days in a row, so far, and will probably go out again tomorrow. I went to Keith Tuesday, out to lunch here, yesterday, and down to Naracoorte today, to do the rest of the shopping, and so Neville could do some jobs at the farm. I am feeling a bit exhausted I must say. Have to slow down next week and take it easy!
After I had finished the shopping, I went to sit on one of the benches to wait for Neville. There was an elderly lady sitting on the only bench that had a vacant space. I asked if anybody else was going to come and sit there, and she said no, so I sat down. We got chatting, and I discovered who she was. She was someone I had only heard of, but I knew, some of he family, slightly. She said she was waiting for her nephew to come and pick her up. It transpired her nephew was a bloke I had gone to school with in grades six and seven.
She couldn't place me, even though I had told her my maiden name, but instantly knew when I told her my late father's name. Funny how people don't remember my mum. Her nephew duly arrived, and I said G'day. I don't suppose you remember me?' He looked hard, then said I think I do. Yes, you're Sue, aren't you?' I am not sure if I would have recognised him if he had been in the street, as he has filled out a bit. It has been 46 years since I saw him, too.
Neville came in and they had a chat, then I asked Neville to get the groceries. Edward asked me where my sister was now. I said, 'Do you mean Alison?' He said, 'No, the older one.' I said,'Bronwyn?' He said, "Yes, Bronny. That's the one. This is what I was talking about, before. No-one remembers me, they all remember Bron. This has been the way of things all my life. I never existed if Bron was in veiw!
We went to one of the three pubs for lunch, and Neville asked me how old Edward would be. He said,'He wouldn't be 50 yet, would he?' I said he is the same age as me. He said, 'Well, he doesn't look it.' I said, 'Thank you very much, I will kick you in the shins any time now'.
I rang me mum, who is in hospital once again, when I got home, and told her all about it. She is much better, and should have gone home today, but the doctor was going to put her on oral antibiotics, yesterday,then let her go home, But she still has not started them. She said he probably forgot to write them up! I bought her a bottle of Tawny Port, which she loves, just to give her a boost. I will see her next Monday, and will be able to spend some time with her, which will be nice.

I had a good day, mum.

My friend Sue and I went to Keith today, to see my daughter and her young son, Riley. Her husband is off work because he has done his back in, again. We normally go out on a Tuesday for coffee and to do errands, but decided to have a change of venue. We had coffee and cake at one of the cafes , Deb had a salad roll. Then we went into a shop called The Purple Paddock. It is a shop where people can sell their handy crafts, paintings and cooking. They also had some beautiful pieces of old furniture that had been restored. The prices were very much today's, though. I bought four coasters with Aussie farm scenes on, to send to my sister in Wales. When I told the lady serving me where they were going, she said it had been a bit of an international day, as there had been a french lady in, who had bought some things to take home with her, and someone else who was sending things somewhere, but it eludes me.Then Sue and Deb and Riley went to a craft shop. It was too far for me to walk, so I went to the newsagent's and checked my lotto and bought some magazines. I went across the street to sit and wait for them. It was quite chilly, as it has been an overcast day, and the wind had a chill factor of about -5. When they got back, I asked Deb if she was coming to lunch at the pub with us. She declined, as she had just had a salad roll. She asked Riley if he would like to come with us. At first he said no, as he is a bit shy, in spite of his exuberance and chatterbox nature.(The lady in the Purple Paddock said we would never be lonely with Riley around) We met Pete and his mum, Margaret, who is on two weeks holiday from the meat works, and Riley decided he would come with Sue and me. We all had bangers and mash and oinon gravy. I asked if they did children's serves, but was told , no. He ate nearly all of it by himself, with no coaxing from us! I don't know where he put it all, as he is not very big. Half way through the meal he said, "I'm having a good day". When we got back to Deb, he told he that too. It was very gratifying to hear. We went to Deb's house, so I could drop off some things she asked for when I had my cupboards cleaned out last week, and to see the new Bull Terrier pup. Then a van pulled up, and Deb was very excited, as she said they had come to fix he washing machine. When the men had a look at it, I heard one say they had the wrong parts, as they were told something quite different needed fixing. Goodness knows when she will get it fixed now.
Sue and I didn't stay long and came home and did some shopping and other jobs here. We were quite 'done up' when we got back, and had a cuppa and a chat. She looked through her catalogues she had got in the mail. I had a bit of a rest, as my legs were giving me 'hurry up'.

Riley

Last Friday, Neville went to the doctor, as he is a diabetic,the doc has him participating in a trial whereby he is gathering data about the disease and it's effects. Deb came down to do some shopping, and I usually give her a small box of Smarties for her boys. I gave Riley his, and he said thank you, and immediately asked, "Where's Pop?' I said he had gone to see the doctor. He came straight back with, "What did he do?" I said, 'Nothing, he has gone to get some more tablets". No flies on this one!

Naracoorte Sojourn.

We went to Naracoorte today to do the rest of the fortnightly grocery shopping. Neville dropped me off at the supermarket, and went out to the farm. He fed the sheep some Barley, and did a few other jobs. (He says he can't remember what, exactly?!) We have three dozen lambs, three sets of twins. The first ones are a month old, and he will have to tail them soon. I did the shopping, and had them put it out the back to be collected later. Then, I struggled down the hill to the main street and did some other errands. Chemist, video shop where I ordered Pretty Woman, then to the 'el cheapo' shop to buy paraphanalia for making cards, amongst other things. Then I struggled back up the hill, to find Neville waiting for me. He was earlier than he thought he would be. I sent him in to pick up the groceries. He said the girl asked him where they were. Were they at the deli? He said, no, they would be out the back somewhere. Duh! It was only 11.25 am, and I had no idea what he had planned to do for lunch, but it transpired he was planning on going to the pub. A different one this time. It was too early, so we sat in the car and chatted for a while. I was not too enamoured of the idea of the pub he had in mind, but decided to give it a go again. The last time we had lunch there, it was decidedly down at heel and scruffy, and the tucker was no better. This time it was not bad at all. Neville had the rissoles, onion gravy & mash. He said it was very nice. It looked it, too. I had three beef(mince) and spinich rolls. They were in puff pastry, and served with fries. (chips) Not bad, but nothing to write home about, either. We stopped at the post office, and he posted a letter for me. I was absolutely done up, and we came home. I slept all the way.
I bought some things for my mate, Sue, and rang her when we arrived home, and she said she would be here soon. That was three hours ago! Her daughter is a manipulative little minx, and makes use of her mother shamelessly. Sue babysits her daughter, and she shirks her parental duties whenever she can. She doesn't consider her mother at all. I daresay she will be here after tea, as there is nothing on 'the box' tonight.

Jessica.

I was blogging earlier, when my friend Sue came round with her son's girlfriend, Jess. Sue had been telling me last night how Jess had sorted out her cupboards for her, unasked. Sue was thrilled with the result, and I said she could do my pantry and cupboards if she liked. I said I would pay her of course. We decided to do it this arvo. This is why.
On Monday morning, before Neville went to the farm, I asked him if we could go to Naracoorte to do the shopping, as Deb was unable to take me this time. Her husband had only had one days pay after returning from holidays, as there had been no work on Monday. The pays are done on Wednesday nights. I had said it was another expense fuelwise, but he said, 'They're still making it, aren't they?' I asked him which day he would prefer to go, and he said Thursday. When I asked him last night what time he wanted to leave this morning, he said we were not going till Friday. I said that he had said Thursday. He was adamant that he had said Friday. I realised it was pointless arguing with him. This morning he said, 'Are we going to Naracoorte today or tomorrow?' I said that he had told me we were going Friday, and that I had made other arrangements accordingly. This is why Jess did the jobs for me today. This is not the first time he has done something like this, and it worries me. There are four possibilities for his behaviour.

Not a lot happnin'.

Well, not a lot that I can write about, or that you would be interested in reading. We have sold two semi trailer loads of fire wood , one last month and one this month. 22 & 15 tonnes respectively. The second one was a bit less, because the driver had some of his own to sell. Not a bad little earner, though the wood yards sell it for far more than they pay us.
Pete's mum is not driving the car Neville fixed for two reasons. One, the battery out of her car that they put in it is dead. Two, she is originally from Queehsland, and forgot to renew her licence. She will have to change her address on it, and has not bothered as yet, as she gets a lift to work. I guess she will do it when they can afford a new battery.
Neville's brother, Peter, has left the district, so he will mis him quite a bit. He has not managed to sell his property here yet, and will come back every fortnight to check on it. It used to belong to his son, and he had it on the market for a couple of years before Pete bought it. He has had to drastically reduce the price, but no luck. I think there have been quite a few people look at it, but it is next to a sheep skin tannery, and I guess people think there will be a nasty smell from that. That is not so, but some people you can't convince.
I am starting to get into making my own cards. I am gradually acquiring the nessecary equipment. It can be expensive, if you don't go to the right place. We have a shop in town that has things at very cheap rates, but they do not have a lot to choose from as yet.
My friend, Sue, does all kinds of crafts, and she is willing to help me, and do it with me.
Maybe more later.

Blowing one's stack!

As my readers will know, I am legally blind, and , unfortunately that seems to make people think I and interlectually challenged also, and not entitled to any consideration or courtesy. For over a year now, I have been receiving Home Help with the house work , as I have chronic back pain and two bung knees. This year I was, unbeknowst to me, allocated an extra privelidge, namely getting the outside of my windows washed. I was visited by a woman who had been given the job of allocating the funds, and was never told whether I had been sucessful in gaining this extra.
This morning, my friend Sue came to pick me up as usual for our Tuesday morning coffee at one of the local cafes. Just as she got to the door, I heard someone else call out, "Hey, Sue. Are you home?" Why she could not ring the bell, is beyond me. I am NOT some animal that needs to be summoned in this way. I opened the door and said,"Who have we here?" As soon as I opened the door I recognised her, and she said she had come from Handy Help and was going to wash my windows.
The job of window washing, pruning etc, had been subcontracted to Handy Help. I knew this from some weeks ago. My reaction, or over reaction to this news stunned even me. I went right off the beam, and said it was not good enough that I had not been, a. informed that they were going to do the windows, or, b. when. I let her know that I was not happy about the total lack of efficiency etc, either. Of course, it was not the poor unfortunate woman's fault, and I have probably 'cut my nose off to spite my face' and will not be surprised if they don't do them now. I was not about to go out and leave strangers here with the place unattended.Not that I think for a nanosecond this woman is in the least dishonest. I wonder what would have happened if Sue had not been late?!
I have had to deal with the patronising, condescending attitude of people all my life. They either talk loudly and slowly, because they think I am deaf and slow witted, or they treat me with utter disdain .
I am a perfectly normal woman, not brilliant, but not dumb either, who happens to have bugger all eyesight. I have run a home, and worked on farms, and raised two well adjusted wonderful kids. I can sew, kint and many other things. I can also use a computer. The thing that is scary is, it struck me I am turning into my mother. Some may say that I always was, but not those who have known me all my life.

Blackout.

I was reading the paper this morning at about 7.35, when the power was interupted. As it is winter here, it was still quite dark at that time, and for someone with very limited eyesight, it was very difficult for me to continue to read, but continue I did. At about 7.50, I rang the power company on my mobile phone, to report the power failure, to be told that they were already aware of it, and were trying to discover the whereabouts of the failure, and it's cause. I was also told of the extent of the failure. As this is Australia, we have some very strange, to some, district manes. These originate from the Aboriginal tribes of this country. They are very hard to pronounce at times. For instance, a couple of the areas that were affected were, Geegeela, and Pooganagoric. The recorded voice ronounced them thus, Gee-gee-la with a hard emphasis on the G. It is in fact Jeejeela. Pooganagoric, is Poojanagoric, but was pronounced Poog-an-a-goric. Again, a hard emphasis on the G. Many years ago, I was listening to the local news on the radio, and Kybybolite, was mentioned. It was pronounced Ky-by-bow-lite. I was it stitches! It is in fact, Kyby-bow-lite. The power was restored at 8.25. Thankfully,this meant I did not have to reset my programmes on my video recorder, as the power had been off less than an hour.
Yes, it has been a slow couple of weeks newswise.

Public loos.

Nobody likes them much, but they are a nessecary evil, as the saying goes. We went to Naracoorte an Monday, and I had to use the loo. They have just had new loos built, and it was the first time I had used them. They are not at all attractive on the outside, being a dull, uninspriing dark grey. They appear to have been architcially designed. Probably by some 'new age' up and coming young male, with very little imagination. They are semicircular on the outside, and quite spacioue inside. The deco could have been more colourful, as well. They doors are painted a pale khaki green. I wonder if that was someone's idea of a joke? The seats are black, concave and hard as the hobs of hell. Most uncomfortable and quite painful to sit on. As we pay rates in this council area, I have been toying with the idea of writing to them, and telling them what I think of this aboniation.

Stick 'em up, Riley!

I have sent activity books with stickers to my three grandsons, and my daughter told me that her son Riley loves stickers, only problem is, he sticks them on himself and anything else they will stick to. I sent him a Bananas in Pyjamas book, and he was running around with a chook sticker on his forehead, so she decided that it would be prudent to stick them in the book for him. Deb has just rung me, and I asked he about it again, and she told me all the above, and that she and her brother,(Frugal Bastard) and their step cousin, Nick, bought a roll of stickers when they were very young, and stuck them all over our car. I have no recolection of the incident, and their father only vaguely remembers it. It seems I am going to have to rethink my 'Granny gifts' for Riley, in future.
They were all here yesterday, as they had hoped they could get Deb's Corolla going, so her mother-in-law could have it to drive to work. Riley was very excited, as small boys are about such things, and ran inside to tell me what was happening. Neville could not turn the motor over, and has had to take it out again. He said the crank shaft had siezed as it was too tight when he put the motor back in before. It has been sitting in the back yard for six months or more, and that is not good for it, either. He has put the crank shaft bearings in back to front, according to the diagram, as it is the only way to get the motor to turn over. Pete's mother, Margaret, has just bought an old Ford station wagon, and of course, as she went on her own to buy a car, she got 'dudded' by the salsman. She put $30.00 petrol in it last week, and it was all gone when she got home from work that night. She only had to go roughly 60 miles, there and back. Hence the need for a more economical car.

Adelaide sojourn

Last Thursday, Neville & I went to our capital city for business and medical reasons. He had things he needed to buy for the car and farm, though he was not very successful on either score, and he had a chiropractor's appointment. I met my mother and sister at Castle Plaza shopping mall, as mum as having her hair done there. Mum had shopping to do as well. While mum was at the hairdresser's, Bron & I went and had a drink and a chat, at one of the food kiosks. My mother is recovering from knee replacement surgery, and is doing very well indeed. She had a cane, but doesn't really need it to walk, but it is a security thing. It was a nuisiance most of the time, as she does not have a strap on it to put over her arm when she is paying for things. When we got to Coles, mum gave me a list and asked me to go to the bargain shop and buy her some cards. Thank you, sympathy, male and female birthday.She wanted several of each, but didn't give me any money. That was not a problem, as I knew she would pay me back when we got to her place. Bron came over and gave me some money from mum. Don't know who remembered.
We went to a much larger shopping mall down south.Westfield Marion. Mum had to pay her rego, and get other things. We had lunch at a bistro, We had doorstops on Turkish bread. Mine was cream cheese, smoked salmon, avocado,and melted cheese. Yum! It was very rich and very filling, but as mum was paying I didn't feel I could leave too much. Don't like waste, anyway.
By the time we got back to mum's, I was exhausted. It is a real struggle for me to get about as my back and knees are 'shot'. Mum cooked Porterhose steak and veg for tea. I' hit the sack' early. Very early! I was in bed by 8.30. I don't usually go to bed before 10.30. We stayed the night at Mum's. It was a first for me.
The next day was mum's birthday. It has been a long time since I have been able to spend any time with her on the day. Neville went back to the chiro early, and mum and I had a nice quiet time chatting over a cuppa. She had opened her presents the night before, as she said it would be too lonely doing it on her own, on the day. We gave her a blue plant pot with some bulb potting mix and Fresia bulbs, which I planted for her the next morning.We also gave her some Ferero Rocher chocs, and I gave her some boxed note cards for Mother's Day, which was the previous weekend.
When Neville came back, we had to make haste, as we had to be at the eye specialist's for our biannual check up. All is well in that department, though I think our doctor must have had 'vinegar off a fork' for breakfast that morning. He was in a very 'funny' mood. He was quite rude to me, which is unusual. After the eye check up, we made our way into the city, which is close by, as I had an appointment at Daved Jones for a fitting. After that, we went and got the car and I grabbed a couple of Pasties for lunch. They hardly filled a small crack, so I bought salad sangers when we stopped at Big W. I tried to buy some track pants for one of my grandsons. They had them in his size in every colour but navy, which was the colour required.

You learn something every day!

We have a very old car. It used to belong to our son. We have two other very old cars that are in the shed. They have not been going for a long time. The old car we use does not have a shed to protect it from the elements. This has not been a problem, untill this morning. It has been raining, well, drizzling anyway, over the last week. This morning when we wanted to go to the shops, the car would not start. Neville discovered it has moisture under the dizzy cap. He wiped it with a rag, and tried again. No luck. He tried several times, still no luck. He then poured some petrol down 'it's throat'. Still nothing. He sat in the car and said idly, that when this happened in the 'old' days, you could put it in the oven for a few minutes and it would dry it out. I said he could still do that. He said we don't have an oven. I am very proud of the fact I held my tongue and did not make any comment on that score. It is a VERY sore point. We don't have an oven as such, as the damn thing has not been working for nearly THREE years!! I said he could put it in the toaster oven. This he did for about two minutes, and it did the job, and we were able to go to the shops. The guy just does not get it, or he is being deliberately obtuse!

Telemarketers. (Nuisiance phone calls!)

My mum has been having trouble with this type of call. She had one Indian bloke ring her every day for nearly two weeks. This is not something that is easy to take for the rest of us, and my mum is in her eighties, and has recently had major surgery. She was advised by her phone company, to leave her answering machine on, to screen the calls. This caused another problem, she then had to play the message and ring the caller back, thereby adding to her phone bill.
I had one of these calls on Monday. The young lady sounded Asian, probably Thai, by the sound of her name. She was calling on behalf of some discount travel firm. I hung up when I heard this. If we want to go for a holiday, we will decide where and when and how much we can afford to pay. I object very strongly to being 'head hunted' so someone can get a commission when they get so many 'hits'! It is to no avail that I try letting the calls go to the message bank, as there is not set time for them to call. I also had an Indian bloke call from somewheere,but the call dropped out. I wish I was quicker, and could remember to ask them for their number, and say I will ring them back, reverse charge. I think they would hang up pretty quickly.

Fun with Grandies.

This past weekend, we had the very great pleasure of one of our grandsons to stay. This does not happen very often, one reason being, the two eldest are at school, and one of them is too far away. We do not get to see this one all that often, because school takes up a lot of his time.
This weekend, Lachlan and I played Fish, (a card game) Connect Four, a game of strategy, he did a jig saw puzzle, and played games on the computer. I read him a couple of stories the first night. Saterday, he went to the Town Hall, where a clearing sale was being conducted, with his Pop, (grandpa.) Pop bought a good netball among other things, for Lachlan to play with. He bought himself some overalls, a new pair of boots, and a hat. That afternoon, we all went out to get a load of fire wood. That evening, Lachlan played with the Lego.He did some water colour painting in a big scrap book . He told me it is very quiet here. I guess he gets sick of the constant noise at home. He ate all his meals no trouble, even when I accidently put gravy on his Saterday roast, after he said he didn't like it!
He and his cousin turned six this week end. Lachlan is a very quietly spoken lovely boy. He said he had a good time.

Crime is not for the fainthearted!

I was talking to my aunt tonight, and she told me about her daughter and her fella,who live out of town, and how they had been having trouble with thieves stealing fuel from their bowser. They have two medium sized dogs, which they normally keep inside at night. I think they must have had a good inckling as to who was flogging their fuel, so one night, they chained both dogs up, just within reach of the bowser. Sure enough, in the wee small hours, the thief came again. Took the top off the bowser, then suddenly, whoomp, one of the dogs landed in the middle of his back. There was much consternation from his family, and many nasty things said. One being the obvious, 'You'll have to have the dogs put down.' The police said, as he had not been bitten, that would not be happening, and please explain what you were doing out there at that time of night! Most of the locals have been very supportive, and made comments to the effect, 'So, you fixed that theiving (bloke's name) have you? '

That Riley Boy!

My son said we have to watch what we say, as you never know who knows who. It is also true, we need to be very careful what we say in front of children. With video games etc, it is very hard for kids to get a proper sense of reality and perspective on life.
My three year old grandson, Riley, is finding it hard to understand/believe what he is told about anything. He is going through a phase where he contradicts everything we say. F'rinstance:- this morning, he and I were sitting in his mum's car and we started talking about people's names. I told him my name is Susan, 'No it's not, it's Nan". I said it is, and he was having none of that. Deb's friend, Kylie got in the car, and I told her he didn't believe me, and she told him, it is true. 'No it's not'. Kylie said everybody had a Nan. Even she had one,though she was not around anymore." Where is she?" I said she went to heaven. "Is she dead?" "Yes". said Kylie. "Who killed her?" "Nobudy killed her, She just got old, and wore out".
Video games have a lot to answer for.

He's at it , again!

This evening, our daughter rang and asked if I knew if some local farmers still sold bags of potatoes
She said the school was selling 50kg bags of spuds, for $45.00 as a fundraiser. She wanted to know if we could get them cheaper. I did some ringing around, and discovered that one farmer had one bag left, and they were $15.00. I said we would take them, and come out after dinner, and collect them. Neville had bought 10kgs from the super market, for $7.00, and is NOT impressed! I rang our daughter back, and she said she would be happy to go halves with us. She will sell half of them to her friend.
We duly tootled out to pick them up, but when we got going in the car, there was a noise, as though a piece of wire was caught on the car somewhere, and it was banging in the wind. Neville stopped the car and had a quick look, and found nothing. We set off again, but it was still making the noise. He pulled up further along and got out to have a proper look. Still could not find the source of the noise. It was nearly dark by now, but we continued on our way. Suddenly, he said, "I know what it is. I have left the other key in the door!" This key has a piece of tin on it, so he knows what it is for, as he has many keys for the car and the farm. He wound his window down and pulled it out of the door. Problem solved!

More funny things husbands do.

I do wish I could video some of the things my husband does. This morning, he asked in a roundabout way, if I would like him to trim the Ivy back. After his efforts in trimming my Bouganvillia to near anihilation, I made sure he knew EXACTLY how far he could trim it back! While I was in the shower, which took all of three minutes, he had trimmed it back. While I was sitting on the verandah, waiting for my friend Sue to come and pick me up so we could go down to the shops, he started to put the Ivy into the wheelie bin, He came over and picked up the step stool and took it back to the bin. I jokingly said was he going to push the Ivy down, thinking he would use the step stool to do it. He said of course he was, how else was he going to fit it in. He then proceeded to climb onto the step stool and into the bin, to press the stuff down. Some mother's do 'ave 'em!

Party, Party, Party.

We don't travel at Easter, as a rule, but this year my elder sister's 60th birthday was on Good Friday. He son and his wife put on a Bruch party for her on the Saterday. We travelled to Adelaide on the friday, and went to see my mother, and take her some home made Apricot jam, and some Easter eggs. (Red Tulip, of course) My mother is recovering from knee replacement surgery, and is not very well. Her knee is still very swollen, and she is still in considerable pain. I made us a cup of tea and we stayed and chatted for about an hour and a half, then we went to my friend, Lesley's place as we were staying the night. If we lived closer, we would have gone down on the morning of the party, but it would have been too much for me. We would have had to get up very early, as it is a three hour drive, and the Brunch was at 10.30 am. Neville wanted to stop at our daughter's for a while anyway, as he wanted her to give him a much needed hair cut. She would NOT have appreciated being hauled out of bed at 6,30 am!
I tried, several times, ringing my friend to let her know we were on the way, but she didn't answer.
When we got there, she was surprised to see us and said the phone had not rung. I tried it with my mobile, and it was dead. I reported it, and hopefully it will be repaired today.
My friends from Queensland have just arrive. See ya later.

The Funny things Husbands Do.

As I am not able any more to do gardening, I get my husband to do the few tasks I require. I bought some Spring flowering bulbs, and wanted them planted in large pots. I already had the pots, and Neville put some soil in the top and mixed it through. It will hold the moisture better than just potting mix. As one of the packs of bulbs had four different kinds in it, he came in and asked me if I had a 'new one of these.' He was holding a green hilighter. I asked him what he wanted it for, and he said he needed to write on the pots so we will know what bulbs are in which pot. I gave him a black marker instead. I had a look yesterday afternoon, to see what each pot had in it, only to discover he had written,Fulham Favourites, on all of them.That is the brand name, so I am none the wiser as to the contents.

Pseudo Food

As reported in last posting, I went to a local cafe last week with my friend, Sue, and had a Mongo smoothie. I asked about the other smoothies this week, and discoverd two things, 1,they are all the same price, 2. they come out of a packet! They have a scheme, for want of a better word, whereby you are given a small card which is divided into squares, with pics of cups of coffee in them, and every time you have a coffee or other drink, they stamp it and when it is full, you get a free drink.
I was . of course, horrified to discover that the smoothies are not made from fresh ingredients, and have resolved never to have another. I did wonder about it, as the Mango season is a very short one, and uaually finishes in February.
Sue had her 9 month old grand daughter, Stacy, with her, and she has got to the stage where she hates being restricted, and wants to go, go, go,! It makes it very awkward for Sue to have her drink in peace, as she usually has Stacy on her knee, and she jumps and throws herself all over the place.

Friends

I have a 'new' friend, who is also called Sue, and her husband is also called Neville.He is legally blind like me, but from a different cause. Sue and I have been friends now for about a year. We met many years ago just once, when she drove me home from an evening out somewhere. We renewed our aquaintance in 2004, when we did a biginners computing course. It wasn't untill about a year ago that she started to call on me on a regular basis, a couple of times a week. Our friedship has progressed in leaps and bounds, and she very kindly takes me down the town to do my errands when my Neville is not home.
Last week she picked me up and we went and did our errands, and then went to the bakery cafe for a coffee, or what ever else we felt like. Sue has her nine month old grand daughter to look after on working days, as he daughter is now working full time, so Stacey comes with us. She is a lovely baby. This week when we got to the coffee shop, I wanted something cool to drink, but didn't fancy one of their iced coffees, as they don't make them properly. After our visit last week I noticed a list of new smoothies on the door as we were leaving. On top of the list was a Mango smoothie.I remarked that I would have like to try that, but had not noticed the advertisment as we went in.I had forgotten about it, but as I was having trouble deciding what to drink, Sue reminded me about it, so I ordered one. I got the shock of my life when the girl said it was $5.00! I thought, what the heck. You only live once, go for it.It was very nice, but it wil be the only time I buy one. I will wait untill mangos are in season again, and make my own.

Family, Friends & Fun.

Yesterday started out to be just another boring day. The same ol' same ol'. I was feeling so 'flat' and fed up and tired, I had an early 'Nanna Nap' just before lunch. I awoke about 1.30 pm, and heated up something for lunch. I had just finished it about 2pm, when the phone rang. I got the shock of my life when the woman said "Hi, Sue. Joan here. We have just arrived in B'town and will come around to see you in about half an hour." My heart sank down to my boots on hearing that, as I do not have a happy history with this sister-in-law, and I was dreading it.I told her Neville was not here and my house was a pig sty, as my cleaning lady had not been as the previous Monday had been a holiday. She assured me it didn't matter and they would come around and get me and take me back to the caravan park to their cabin. I have not seen Joan or her husband Athol, for three years, and that was at the funeral of my mother-in-law. I find Athol very heavy going as he never talks any sense and tells outragious lies and stories. He is a very sick man and looked dreadful yesterday. He is a diabetic, and never took proper care of his health. Joan tried desperately to make him eat the right things, but he refused. Now he has to suffer the consquences.
About an hour later they finally arrived, and Joan said she had rung Neville's brother Peter and discovered another brother, Lew and his wife were at his place, likewise Lew and Maureen's friend Dawn and her fella, Ron. Dawn is a ball of wax, and when she and Maureen get together, there is no telling what they will get up to! I like her immensely.
We went out there and had afternoon tea, amid much chyacking (?)and merriment. It was then decided we would have a BBQ tea, so the fellas went in to town and bought some meat, while the other three women made salad and fruit salad. I felt as' useful as a hip pocket on a singlet,' as I can not stand for more than a minute at a time, and they said they could manage. While we were waiting for tea, Athol started making outragious statements about my late father, and how he used to kill and skin Porcupines, (Echidnas) and sell the skins. I was of course, insensed by this and hotly denied it, but he was not about to back down, especially as Dawn fell for it! I could not make her see that he was pulling her leg. My dad never did kill one on purpose. Who in their right mind would believe such rubbish? What could the skins be used for, anyway? It turned out to be one of the nicest days I had had for a loooong time. Athol and Joan were travelling to Naracoorte today to see another brother and his wife, and to go to our farm to see Neville.

Sports Days.

Yesterday we went to Keith to wath Lachlan in his sports day events.It was not the best weatherwise, as there were intermittent 'squiffy' showers. It was not the most well organized event I have attended, either. The weather didn't help, but the children were all over the place. We only managed to watch Lachlan in one race, as Deb and I had to go to Naracoorte. He was awarded a ribbon, which he will pick up on Monday, just for 'having a go!'

Commonwealth Games.

As my readers will see, if they read all this, I am NOT a sports fan. We Australians are said to be very sports orientated, Not this little black duck! I have no idea what percentage of ozzies are passionate about their sport, but I imagine it is not as great as we are lead to believe. So, you will understand my lack of interest in the Commonwealth Games that are now upon us. The opening and closing ceremonies will, no doubt, be pretty spectacular, if they are anything like those of the Olympics of recent times. The reason I have such a jaundiced view of sport is I suppose, because I have very little eyesight, and therefore cannot see much of them. Another reason for my attitude is, there will be nothing much to watch of 'the box' for the next two weeks. Ah, well, I guess I will have to rotate my videos and DVDs, and see if there is something I can watch, again. Having said that, We are going to Keith tomorrow to watch(?) one of our grandsons in his school sports day. I will probably not see much, but it will be a chance to see him, and suppot him. It beats being shut up in these four walls all day! As Lachlan is only in first grade, the sports only lasts for a couple of hours.
Yeah, this is a slow news week.

Law enforcement.

It is sad to say, but true, our law enforcement officers are not infallible, and do sometimes get caught out. This long weekend just passed, there were two off duty police who were caught out by our state's new tougher drink driving laws, and blew over the limit and were booked by their fellow officers, and lost their licences on the spot. I know they are only human, but they know the law and the penalties better than most and should have been more careful, and set a better example. If they can't, then they should look for different employment. It might sound harsh and judgemental, but they can't have it both ways. The law applies to them the same as it does to the rest of us. I just hpoe they are dealt with the same as anyone else.