Andre, my hero.

Andre's concerts have to be experienced to understand what this man and his music do to the audience. I for one was extremely fortunate to be able to attend his first concert in Adelaide, in 2008.
One can only gain a suggestion of the joy, fun and pleasure of the concerts from his DVDs. It is of course very satisfying, to be able to relive any concert one has attended, when the DVD is published. There are many occurances, on stage and in the audience, that are not captured on film, as the camera men can not capture everything.
It is nothing short of snobbery, that the 'purists' denegrate him for his style of presentaion and music. 
Andre encourages his audience to paticipate, by clapping in time to the music, and dancing in the aisles.
 There is a plethora of other classical music for the purists to enjoy, so why do they feel it is necassary to criticize him at all? As to the other classical music, there is much of it I love, and just as much I loathe. 
I say, each to their own preference, and let us enjoy what and whom we choose.

It's a funny old life.

Hubby has still to get his tax done. Being a business, we have a farm, he can leave it later than most. He said he had an appointment for this morning. Then he found the card and discovered that it is for tomorrow morning. Problem. We will be travelling to Naracoorte tomorrow morning, for our bi-weekly shopping. We always have lunch in Naracoorte, and, as the appointment is 11.00 am, I suggested we have lunch here today, instead of worrying about it tomorrow.That worked out fine. Meal was much better this time. The pub is under new management, and they must have a new cook also. We had battered Butterfish. Neville had Golden Syrup Dumplins(? there was only one), and I had a Chocolate Nut Sundae.
They spelled it Sunday 
This is the kind of nut(?) Sundae my grandson would be able to eat. He is allergic to all nuts. There were none on it!!! Not even a trace.
This afternoon, the lass from the accountants rang and asked for Neville. It turns out, they had to pospone his appointment till next week, as 'something has come up'. This is good for us, as we will be able to leave at the usual time tomorrow.

Yay! They didn't 'get' me!

Last week I received a letter from my credit union, informing me my credit card number was in a batch of numbers that had been compromised. This was a shock, as you can appreciate. We know this sort of thing happens, but not to us. I was also informed they would send me a new card and PIN, and I was to ring as soon as the card arrived so it could be activated. I was given the option of doing this on line, but demurred, as I have no idea how safe that would be.
The card arrived today and I then had to ring all people who needed to know the number had changed.  I have a couple of direct debit accounts and various other monthly debits for charities etc. The most sensible, in my opinion, was one lady asked me for the old card no. and then said she would close the account and open a new one with the new no.
One big company told me, it did not matter what the number was for my online payments, as they do not store these details. That was a huge relief.
It is ironic that this happened when it did, as we had just taken extra precautions to protect our identities with the mail. I will not be renewing magazine subs when they expire, as the mags are too big to fit through the slot of the letter box. They are expensive and not of much use or interest. 

Liar, liar!

One thing I detest is being lied to. I also hate being lied about.
About three weeks ago, we traveled to Adelaide to glean information about Solar power, and instilation costs. We called in to a company in Murray Bridge, which is an hour from the city. Hubby went in alone and was there for some time
When he returned to the car, I asked him 'if he had bought the shop', as he was so long. He said, "No, but I thought I might have to go back to work to pay for it, if we were to buy it from these blokes." [Hubby has been retired for quite some time]
We then continued on our way and found a company in the city that will do it for a lot less.
We decided a couple of weeks ago to buy the panels from the ones in the city.
Today, I received a phone call from one of the guys at the Murray Bridge firm, reminding me of our inquiry. He said that he had told hubby he would make a follow up call. Hubby says he did nothing of the kind. Then he asked me if we were proceeding with a purchase of power panels. I told him we were. He then asked my if I minded telling him who we were buying from. I told him I did mind, as it was really none of his business, and said goodbye and hung up.

Cinnamon chops

Daffy Duck and I have only one thing in common, and that is, our 'daffyness'.
A couple of night ago, I was cooking chops for our evening meal. I have a jar with a sprinkler top on it that has spices in it. I don't use it very often, and the fact that A, it looks similar in colour to the Cinnamon Sugar and B neither has a label anymore, probably accounts for my mistake. I thought it would be nice to add some flavour to the chops, and grabbed a jar that I thought had the spices in it.
I sprinkled some of the contents on the chops, and immediately realised it was Cinnamon Sugar. Oooops!
Hubby was not at all fazed, and as it turned out, we could barely taste it.

Soup? Not what I call soup!

Dear reader, I have oft written and described pub meals we have endured, rather than enjoyed or relished.
Yesterday was another occasion of non -enjoyment of a meal. We went to our usual hotel/pub for lunch, after we had done shopping etc, in Naracoorte. I should have decided after the last time, not to order soup again. But, I always like to give people a second chance. Bad move as it turned out. The so called soup last time was supposed to be tomato, bacon and parsley. Not at all appealing or tasty.
I decided to have another bowl yesterday. This time it was supposed to be, ooops, memory lapse. Do not recall what it was called. Anyway, I think the cook has absolutely NO idea how to make soup. He just opens several tins of diced tomatoes, and adds bits of what ever he can find and bungs them in a cooking pot and hopes for the best. Just remembered, it was called, Beef and Vegetable soup. It, like last time, was mostly tinned tomatoes and onion. Very watery and not worthy of the title soup. Yuk!!! I was luke warm too. Ugh!
Funny thing is, I am not really much of a soup lover, so it surprised me that I chanced it. Never again.

Don't mess me about!

I have been far from well the last two weeks. I have had a recurrence of the throat/sinus/chest infection I had less than three months ago. As mentioned in previous post, we had to travel to Adelaide for an eye check up, on Monday just past, I had been ill since the previous Monday. I thought I was beating it, but it had other ideas. I attended out patients on Sunday evening, and was given a course of antibiotics. I finished those today, but still feel less than fit, and have a hacking cough. We went down town this morning, as hubby wanted to go to the council chambers for more info about solar power. He had seen the CEO on telly last night but had not managed to see all the news item.
We did that and I called into the clinic and managed to get an appointment this arvo, but not with my usual GP, as he is away. I had only consulted this fella once before, and was not all that enamoured.
I am allergic to a few drugs, one of which is a commonly prescribed one. Erythromycin, I had a bit of a 'set to' with this doctor about another matter, so the tone was set for him not to take heed of my concerns. He did not discuss his choice of medicine with me. I asked him what he was going to do for me and he said, rahter brusquely, he was giving me antibiotics. I inquired which one, and said not to give me Penicillin, or it's derivitives. He said it was not that but was from the same family of drugs as Erythromycin. I expressed my concern and he assured me it was more than likely OK for me.
I was stunned to discover the script was $24.90 and for only THREE tablets
I very seldom read the information leaflet in drugs boxes. For some reason I did this time. Thank God I did, as it clearly stated, if the patient was allergic to Erythromicin, NOT to take this medication.I rang the chemist and he said I only had two choices. If I decided not to take it, he would take it back. I then rang my daughter and she very firmly told me not to take it, and to ring the doctor and ask for a different script. I have never had to do that before and was aprehensive about it. I did ring, and the receptionist took my number and got him to ring back. I told him what was in the leaflet, and that I had a very bad feeling about taking it. I also told him I had finished up in hospital the last time I had the Erythromicin, and would he write me a script for the Cefalexin my Dr. had given me. He acquiessed very readily. I was extemely relieved I had not had to 'get tough' with him.

'Bombay' lettuce!

Yesterday we had to travel to Adelaide to our two yearly eye check up. We were in the city beforehand, and, as it was lunch time, and I was waiting for hubby, to return to the car park, I went into the little cafe to buy something to eat.I asked if they did salads to take away. The man said they did, and asked what I would like in it. I said, "A bit of lettuce, bit of carrot, bit of cucumber and a bit of tomato, please" He turned to one of the women there and said, 'she wants a bit of this and a bit of that etc'. The lady asked me what sort of lettuce I would like. Would I like iceburg of 'Bombay' lettuce. I had never heard of it and asked what it was. She said' I will give you Iceburg, then' I said, "No, hold on, I have to see this other kind." I walked to where she was, and asked her to show me this new lettuce. She pointed to a bowl of mixed lettuce leaves. I said, "That is what is called Bombay lettuce is it?" The penny dropped and she realised her mistake. She then told me it is Gourmet lettuce. She assured me they did not have any Indian lettuce and all their products are sourced locally.The other lady and the man were killing themselves laughing.
I said I would try it. As I was leaving, they said "Enjoy your Bombay lettuce." I said I would and would spread the word.
I struggled to chew the stuff, and remarked to hubby that i now knew why cows had to chew everything twice.

Pastry and suchlike delecacies.

Now, there are those of us , male or female, who are just gifted pastry chefs. And then there are the rest of us. There are those of us who can turn our hand to any kind of cuisine, and create master pieces that look so wonderful, it is a crime to devour them. I, for instance, can not make a sponge cake to save my life. I can do the process up to the point of adding the flour, then it all goes horribly awry. They always turn out like paving bricks. I remember my late mother telling me as a young girl, how she was making all the sponge cakes for one of her sisters' weddings. As we lived on a farm there was no shortage of eggs. Well, not when she started baking that is. She said the first one or two were lovely, then they started to resemble my efforts in later life. Mum was getting progressivly more frustrated, and worried, and shorter of eggs, and had not made her quota. When the next one came out flat, she 'chucked a hissy fit,' and the cake, at the wall! She had no more trouble after that.
Today we made our fortnightly trip south to do the shopping.After I had finished the grocery shop, I walked across town to the post office and, then had a look at an upright freezer. I have been thinking about buying one for some time, as hubby does not like the fact that the ones we have are a. old. b. draw too much power.
When I returned to the shopping plaza, it's too small to be called a mall, I went to the cafe and ordered a cappuccino and a caramel tart. I had had very little breakfast, and was feeling a bit woozy.
The cappuccino was, as always,very good. The tart however, left a lot to be desired.
It had pastry that was as hard as the hobs of hell. It was very difficult to cut with the little dessert fork I had been given.Other than that, it was very tasty.
It reminded me of the times in cooking class in high school. I hated having to make pastry. I am a dab hand a short crust pastry, but flaky or puff pastry, forget it folks! Paving slabs again.
It seemed apparent that the cook had rolled and rerolled the pastry too many times. This will always make it hard and dry, because too much flour has been introduced in to the mixture. Luckily, there is no call for me to make sponges any more. Packet sponges turn out well though. He, he.

Pet Peeve #7 b

As I stated in pet peeve part#7a, I get ticked off when people ring up and want my husband and do not identify themselves, or acknowledge me. The same woman rang again tonight and wanted him. I knew who it was, but asked her who was calling. She is a doctor, and I was just thinking that an undertaker would treat his clients with more courtesy and dignity than this female.
I have had to consult her once and that was once too often
She has no bedside manner, let alone manners to speak of.

The silly things some people do.

I am including myself in this group, as I , like everybody have done things when we have not been consentrating properly.
I had an appointment at the hairdresser this morning. Hubby drove me and then waited in the car. He had to go to the chemist nearby, and I was surprised that he was not in the car when I had finished. I waited about 15 minutes for him. He told me as we were driving home, that a lady was trying to put her key in the wrong car lock. I ascertained he meant our car. Her car was a Mazda further along the row of cars,,ours is a Ford.
I asked him if he was in the car at the time. He said he was. I can imagine how embarrassed she must have been when she realized her mistake and saw him, a total stranger, sitting there.

Losing the plot, who's losing the plot? Not me!

I have been subjected to pitying looks and head shaking in the past, for having 'senior moments', but hubby takes the biscuit in that department.
He went to the farm this morning and intended to stay overnight. He packed the Esky to that purpose, and made a thermos of tea. I did some washing and generally mooched around the place. I watched some videos and mucked around on the computer.
I was coming and going outside most of the day. I got a shock therefore when I heard a familiar voice calling from the back door about 5.30 pm, "Is anybody home?" I thought I was hearing things. It was fairly dark inside as I usually only have the desk light on.
I got up to investigate and was dumbfounded to bump into hubby. I asked him what he was doing home and his reply was," Are you blind or something?' I asked what he meant and he said he had left his food in the Esky on the back verandah. I had walked past it many times and had not seen it!
The irony is folks, I am almost blind. Have been all my life.
So much for ME going dippy. Tch,tch. I said he must have been hungry, but he said he had gone in to Naracoorte and bought some cheese and bacon rolls. He did remember to take his thermos of tea.

Mother's Day/ Stupid chair!

I know it is nearly a week since we had Mother's Day, but I have not felt like blogging untill now.
I usually have a bleak Mother's day, as I usually spend it at home missing my family. The day was started off by hubby cooking me breakfast, and no, it was not a bit of burnt toast and a cup of tea. He cooked bacon and an egg and toast and made a cup of tea, and it was all done to perfection. He and our son also gave me some money which I have put away as I want to buy a DVD/VCR combo with HD tuner so I can dispense with the set top box. This year I had a wonderful day. My husband and I were invited to our daughter's for a BBQ lunch.
We had fabulous weather and a terrific few hours with our daughter and her family. Lunch was eaten inside and consisted of home made burgers, sausages and steak. We had one of our girl's lovely salads too. She does know how to make a mean green salad with prawns. Yum!I also recieved two boxes of chos from my daughter and her family.
To cap things off nicely, my son sent me a wondeerful ecard, and phoned me.
After lunch I played cards with the boys, and tried to interact with our grand daughter as well. She is three and had just received her first bycycle with trainer wheels. She takes to everything like the proverbial duck to water.
We also went outside and the boys played a sort of cricket with a tennis ball and racquet. Grand daughter got a two gallon bucket and tried to make sand castles. She was a bit disappointed when I said I could not get down on the ground to play with her. [So was i just quietly.] The sand was not damp enough to retain it's shape.
Yesterday our daughter, hubby and daughter came here to do their grocery shopping. Willow wanted to get in to my rocker recliner and was not having any luck, as every time she tried it tipped forward. She got a bit frustrated and muttered, "Stupid chair" Her mum put her in it and she rocked away quite happily.

Soup, glorious soup !

I have not been very well of late, and therefore have not felt up to preparing meals.
This has not been helped by the fact, the sheep hubby killed last week, went off! This has never happened before in living memory. He usually lets it hang overnight, but last week, for reasons best known to himself, he decided to leave it for another day before he cut it up and bagged it and put it in the freezer. Unfortunately, Wednesday was quite warm, and we do not have a cool room. This meant I did not have meat to cook and therefore very limited choices for meals. Hubby does not like pasta.
I did not eat anything much besides icecream the first three to four days after I became ill, as my throat was so painful, so food was not high on my agenda.
Last night I made a Mornay. I forgot to put the left overs in the fridge, and, as it had Salmon in it, I ditched it this morning. Can't take chances where fish is concerned.
I had some stock in the freezer and decided to thaw it and make soup. Now, my soup is very thick. It has vegetables, perle (?) barley, split peas and some kind of pasta. With all that in it, there was not a lot of liquid. I got myself a bowl of it, and when I went in to the lounge, where hubby was watching the news and having his lunch, the soup was 'it', I could not believe my eyes when I looked, as he had his soup on a dinner plate, on a piece of toast! ! ! I said to him, "It is soup." He said, "I have to be able to cut the bread"
There is nowhere to go after that. I dunno.

Not as green as I may be cabbage looking.

I have a pre paid moblie phone and it is not one of the main phone service provider's either. I had a call yesterday from some bloke I do not know, asking if he could talk to George Brogan. He was very politely told I did not know the gentleman, and this is not his phone. He then told me that Telstra had given him the number, to which I replied, "I don't think so." Then he had the audacity to ask me what my address was!!! I told him in no uncertain terms that I do not give that sort of information to total strangers, over the phone or at any other time. Then I hung up. Cheek! I may not be very techno savvy, but I am getting better at it. My daughter told me that Telstra can't get my phone number and would be it deep schtum if they did and gave it to other carriers customers.

Food, glorious food. Hard to find in this town!

There are not very many eateries in this burgh, and the ones we have, are not up to much. It is embarrassing when we have friends call unexpectedly, and we want to take them out for a meal.We have two pubs/hotels and three cafes and a deli. One of the cafes is part of a bakery, and is therefore only open for usual business hours. Likewise the new cafe. this last establishment sells beautiful home made fare, but, the prices are sky high.
The other bakery/cafe is open on weekends but by then they sell the left over somewhat stale bakery products. Not my taste at all.
My brother-in-law and his wife are travelling around in their motor home, visiting rellies They arrived on Tuesday night and rang quite late, and asked what time they should call the next day. I was caught on the back foot, so to speak, and did not know what to say. I jokingly said they should come after breakfast. He said he would not be coming before. That attempt at a joke fell flat They arrived about 9.45 am. I knew they would not feel like a cuppa straightaway, as I had rung earlier to say they could come any time, as it was after 8, and we had had breakfast. I was informed they were just having theirs.
I made us a cuppa about 11 am, and close to lunch time it occured to me, to ask what their plans were for the rest of the day, especially lunch. We discussed things and decided to go to one of the pubs. I then realized it was my day for the home help lady to come. The guys had suggested that wwe would go to the farm after lunch. I rang and asked for the office to contact my cleaner, and she rang me and we changed the times. She has a client after me who she also takes shopping. This lady was very pleased with the time change, so it worked out for all concerned. We decided to put off going to the farm until the next day.
Now about the food. The only pub we grace with our presence has had a succession of cooks, and there is little difference between them. None of them would last in a shearing shed, let alone a quality hotel.
The menu choices were not at all enticing. There was rissoles in gravy or mini beef parmegiana. For dessert the choice was between bread and butter pudding or apple crumble.Hubby and I chose apple crumble and our guests the bread and butteer pud.
Hubby said his rissoles were quite nice, but the other things were not to my liking at all. When the desserts were served, I was horrified after taking my first mouthful, to discover the apple crumble was stone cold straight out of the refrigerator!! I ask you. Doesn't anybody know how to serve food properly? The bread and butter pud was no better. It is supposed to have sultananas in it. There was a minute amount of apricot jam way down deep in the bottom of the bowl. It is at times like that I wish we had a Hungry Jack's or some such in this town. At least the food would be the correct temperature, and more appetising.

Service, with a smile.

I am aware that my jottings are those of someone who does not have a lot happening in her life, but, not being in a position to do very much, I can only write about what I can do. This of course will not be of much interest to very many people.
I am very grateful to my friend who takes me out on Tuesdays for coffee and a little retail therapy. I look forward to it very much.
We have been loyal customers of a certain establishment for the past four and a half to five years. I am not sure how long it has been now.
On a few occasions I have had to 'remonstrate' with the staff, for bungling our order, or for serving coffee that was either too hot or too cold.
When it occured again last week, I rang my friend later in the day, and suggested that, as I pay for our morning tea, coz she drives me where I need to go, would she have any problem with us going somewhere else on our day out.
She said that would be okay with her. Yesterday, we went to a lovely florist/gift/coffee shop on the main street. The atmosphere and the food and service are a vast improvement. The service is prompt, and the staff very pleasant and friendly. We had become accustomed to second rate food, and did not realise how bad it was until yesterday. This establishment uses only first grade ingredients. We ordered Doorstop open sandwiches, with Avocado, chicken and cheese, plus mugs of coffee. We ate our food and then went shopping. We both felt a little queasy later, and put it down to the cheese. Now, there was nothing wrong with it, it was just good quality, and we had been used to eating melted 'cheese' that resembled rubber and tasted like soap!The bill was only a couple of dollars more and I think, well worth it. There is much more choice in what we can order, so we do not have to have the rich cheese.
I will enjoy my coffee mornings again now.

Pet peeve #7

I did not think when I started to write these, that there would be very many. But, there seems to be another one every so often.
My 'beef' this time is people who ring wanting to speak to my husband,and do not identify themselves, or ackowledge me in any way. I get VERY ticked off with these ignorant people.
It happened again tonight. This person had rung on Wednesday evening and asked to speak to him. I said "I am sorry, he is not here. He has just gone for his walk." She said she would call Thursday morning, but I told her we would not be home untill the afternoon, and would she please ring after 3 pm.
She did not ring yesterday. When she called tonight she just said, after I had answered with,'Hullo, H.. house' that she wanted to talk to Mr H.. I asked her who was calling and said who she was. I told her I did not think hubby would be able to hear on the phone. [He is fairly deaf.] But I gave it to him and he heard her quite well!!!
I do WISH people would learn how to make a call, and answer the phone.

I didn't do it!

'Mr not me's' cousin has surfaced in our house. When the kids were small, if asked who had done something, they invariably said, 'not me'.
Last week, after I had made a loaf of bread, I did what I always do, and put the pan in the sink and half filled it with water.I do this each time so any bread that comes away on the mixing paddle, does not go hard, thereby making it difficult to remove when it is washed.
Hubby went to the farm again on Thursday and Friday. He had things to do and he wanted to go to a clearing sale in a nearby town, as he was hoping to buy a second hand twin disc plough.
It is himself who does the dishes, as I can not stand for very long
He did the dishes on Saterday morning, and asked me later where the thing was, as he had not seen it after he had done the dishes. I wanted to make another loaf of bread, but the paddle was no where to be found.
He returned to the farm this Monday and Tuesday. When he came home Tuesday arvo, I told him I could not find the paddle, and could not make bread. I have another bread maker and had tried to make bread, but it was a total flop for some reason.
He said 'I' must have put the thing somewhere! Moi? I explained the above to him, and said I NEVER remove the darn thing, it is left up to him. He said it might be in the rubbish bin, or the icecream bucket that we put food scraps in for a friend's chooks. He duly went through both of them, to no avail.
I, meanwhile, was praying for help to find it, as that bread maker is the best I have used. This morning, it occured to me to look in the cutlery drawer. Voila! There is was, in with the tea spoons!!! I said, 'thank you Lord'
As HE, [hubby] puts the cutlery away, he had obviously put it in without noticing.
In typical male fashion he would not acknowledge the obvious. Hence the title.
Was it a 'senior moment' I wonder?

It's a pup, you bloody idiot!

I had a doctors appointment this morning at 11.10. I was on time and the receptionist told me there were two people in front of me and if I waited, it would be about half an hour. I usually ring about ten minutes before the appointed time, to ascertain how late the doc is, and take it from there. I had a theory that as they book about four people for each appointment, if you ring first, they can tell you anything they want and put someone else in before you. It became academic today, as I had to wait about 65 mins and FIVE people went in before me, and the doctor came out and called each one! I came out at nearly 12.25. I had other things I needed to do, but had to postpone them as we needed to get home for lunch, as it is not a good idea for a diebetic [my spouse] to go too long without food.
When we went back down town, I had to go to two banks for different errands. As I was about to enter the ANZ, I heard a young bloke calling his dog. I looked around, but could not see it. I turned around to walk through the door, and stopped as there was an adorable black Labrador pup sitting in the way, wanting to play. I stood still so as not to make it harder for it's owneer to catch it. He kept calling it, but, as the pup is only about two to three months old,it has not learned to come on command yet. The owner had to come past me to pick it up. As he was leaving I told him he should have it on a lead. That is when he abused me and said, "I'ts a pup, you bloody idiot!' I do not know this person from 'Adam', but there is no excuse for his behaviour.
The young ladies in the bank heard him and agreed there was no excuse for what he said, and one of them said he would be the 'bloody idiot' when he has a squished dog!
I do not konw if the local by-laws pertaining to dogs having to be on a lead if they are in the town precincts, apply to pups, but it makes sense to start training them as soon a possible.

Weight loss firms, what a rip off!

I will no doubt, cop some flak from people who disagree with that statement. I am willing to be proven wrong, if, and only if, it can be itemised and leave no doubt that it is money well spent and not really expensive.
I am still struggling with the excess baggage, and contacted a well known firm, that I have previously joined, to ascertain how much it costs, availability of meals, (they deliver to the country)etc. I had sent them an email last weekend, and they finally contacted me Thursday.I was in the process of buying my L-A-Z Boy recliner. I had gone out to tell #1 spouse I had bought it, and to ascertain when he would be able to bring it home, and my mobile was ringing.I had left my bag in the car for him to mind, as I had not intended to buy anything.
It was a lady from said company. I said I was unable to take the call right then, and would she be able to call me in about an hour and a half, as I would be home then.
She said that would be OK. We were home over two hours when she called back. This company no longer has a branch in Mt. Gambier, they operate from Adelaide.She told me they have an arrangement with IGA/Foodland in some country towns,so that their customers can pick up their weekly/ fortnightly meals.
The cost of the meals, even for a pensioner, are prohibitive at $280.00 pf, and the closest town for me to get them is Penola, which is 160 miles round trip. It would add quite a bit to our fuel consumption too. Not to mention the inconvenience. She said they are looking in to getting this agreement with our local Foodland super market, but even at the reduced cost of $100.00 a week, it is still a no go for me.Guess I will have to battle on by myself.Ho Hum!

Wish I could remember.

Yesterday, as we were about to take the groceries to the car, I bumped into an old school chum. He is a really nice guy, and we do not always see each other. He said hullo and pointed to a very large chap, who was sitting on one of the benches in the mall forecourt. He said to me, "I bet you don't remember this guy." I looked at the man and said, I did not know him. Edward said "No, and he could not place you either untill I told him who you were." Edward said we had all been at Padthaway Primary School together. He told me the other chap's name and I do remember his mum and dad, but not him or his siblings. Funny thing is, absolutely EVERYBODY remembers my elder sister, but they can never recall me. I obviously did not make an impression! I had quite a long chat with Robeert S, and we recalled quite a few other people we had known back in the late 1950's I do not remember much of my school days, as it was not the happiest time for me.When I rang my brother and related this to him, he brought back a lot of people's names I had forgotten.

It's NOT fair!

My daughter and her family came here today as it is there shopping day. The boys were with them, and I was a bit surprised as it is a school day. It is school sports day too. and as the eldest was away sick last week and could not participate in the trials for sports day events, he was not included in any. I am not sure why the younger one was not picked, but he was here too.
Both boys and their sister wanted to stay with us while mum and dad did the grocery shopping.
Li'l sis was NOT impressed when I said I had a hair appointment, and she would not be able to come this time. I explained we do not have a booster seat in our car, and mum and I tried to make her understand why she could not come with me this time. She was told to get in the car but she folded her arms, stamped her foot and said, "It's not fair!" She is not quite three.
I know how she felt, but it is part of growing up. In the end, only the younger boy stayed and we went down town a bit eairlier so I could buy some nuts.
Nuts to that! I took one look at the prices and dropped them pronto! Mum and dad were just going through the checkout, so R stayed with them and I scooted off to my hair appointment.

Been a bit extravagant, I 'as.

We have been on our fortnightly shopping excursion, and as I have been wanting to purchase a rocker recliner for some time, I went to one of the furniture shops just to browse. I was unaware they are having a sale on these chairs, and it only has a couple of days to run. The deal is to buy two recliners and you pay much less. I only wanted one, as #1 spouse does not like them. As it turned out, the only one that was suitable for my particular needs, was the last one in this colour. It is seude, kind of burgundy. The actual name is Merlot. That is a type of red wine. It is really lovely and I will be very happy when #1 spouse brings it home next week. It was priced at $1,100 or $1,300 and I paid $899.00.

Cain't stop laffin'

It is just as well I have a very finely honed sense of the ridiculous,weird sense of humour to the uninitiated.
Yesterday,after church, I was having a coffee and talking to one of my friends,when another lady came over and spoke to us. She then procceeded to lift the hem of my skirt, ever so slightly, and addressed her remarks to the other lady.
Conversation went something like this,
first lady," Isn't this a nice shade of green? I have been admiring it all morning" ( why was she not paying attention to the pastor????)
Second lady, "Yes,it is. Not too dark or too pale.Very nice indeed."
First lady,"Hmmm, yes.Very nice. Nice fabric too." It is not a new skirt I have had it for about four years and worn it many times to church.
Neither of them addressed one word to me and it made me feel like a store Manniquin!!
I have been laughing about it ever since.My friends at Bible study this morning laughed heartily too.

Pet peeve #6

I do not know about you, dear reader, but I get pretty ticked off when the TV chanels advertise a pregramme and then, on the day put someting totally different on.
Why go to the trouble of advertising it, writing up the blurb and then not sticking to the programme?
There may be a legitimate reason for the change, Maybe the programme did not arrive in time, so they had to use a sbstitute. I know there is also a disclaimer to the effect that they reserve the right to change programmes without notice to us, the viewing public. All the same, it is very annoying.
A similar thing occurred the weekend before last, when a totally new series was advertised, and it did not eventuate. They broardcast The Biggest Loser instead, for TWO HOURS!!!
Said series is supposed to air this week. Time will tell.
The other reason I get annoyed is because I set the VCR to record only to find when I sit down to warch what I thought I had taped, some hideous programme instead.
If we are not meant to tape/record these things, why do they sell us the devices so we can?

Life as we know it

I have been endeavouring to attack the problem of accumulated junk. It has been piling up for some years, as I have gotten progressivly less able to keep up with the maintainance of order in this house. I HATE not being able to keep up with things. I have been ruthless in tossing things and papers out. I have filled the wheelie bin once, and will no doubt, do it many times yet. I am being vigilant in making sure none of the papers or documents that are disposed of have any identifing information on them, as I do not want to run the risk of identitiy theft/fraud. Consequently, the indoor wood heater has been put to good use. There is a lot to come, and it will take me quite some time to get the job done. The Salvation Army shop will be the recipient of much of the goods I no longer need.
As it is my husband's birthday on Friday, I need to cease my tidying for the moment, and concentrate on clearing up the kitchen. This is where I have been doing the sorting, as I can sit down to do it. I have a large box that I am using as a bin. I put it next to the wood heater, intending to burn the contents at some stage. Yesterday was my morning coffee day with Sue. I was walking past said box, and almost tripped over it! I managed to prevent myself from falling, by grabbing the door frame, and in the process, severly scraped my leg, drawing blood and knocking some skin off, and I will have a bruise down half the side of my lower leg. I did not think a cardboard box could be so vicious! I was fairly 'shook up'. as I am terrified of falling. With my bad back and legs, and the fact I was home alone, I would find it nigh on impossible to get up if I fell.
Life's little irritations.
We went to Naracoorte today, insted of our usual Thursday, for two reasons, 1. we wanted to sell some wool, and the buyer is only available on Wednesday.2. It is going to be sooo hot tomorrow.As I mentioned, as it is spouse's birthday Friday. I purchased some small pavlova shells and some strawberries to use in them, for tea that night, as our daughter and her family are coming to have tea with us. Yes, it is a 'special' birthday, which is why we are pulling out all the stops. Hubby does not like parties or crowds, so, we decided this was better than not acknowledging it at all.
When I was coming through the checkout, the girl asked if I would like the fruit and veg put into one of my chiller bags in the fridge. I always get them to do a parcel pick up, as we have lunch and do other things before we head for home. I therefore, do not have anywhere to put the groceries, as Neville has the car, and I do not want them to spoil in the heat.
I was appalled to discover when unpacking said bag, that she had put the strawberries on the BOTTOM of the bag, under the heavy watermelon, cabbage, and apples! We joke among ourselves when these dimwitted things occur, 'there is not a lot of it about'. We are referring to common sense! Why, oh why, don't the supervisors teach these kids the basics of sensible grocery packing? Why don't they THINK? Luckily, the strawberries are not too badly damaged, and, as I bought three punnets, I will be able to salvage enough for my desserts. Phew!!