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.

Here we go, again.

I have given up several of my favourite magazines as a cost cutting exercise. I am seriously thinking of giving up one more. I am really ticked off at the lengths to which their writers, journos, call them what you like, go to to get a story published. One week it is Bec & Leyton, the next, it is the Warne's. It is the Warne's turn this week, and we are told by the bold pink headlines, they are 'back together'. Inside is a different story though. Simone says they are separated, single NOT together, have three great kids, and just happen to live in the same house. She wil not say 'never' though. Blah! I did not read it, my friend did and told me what was said. If it weren't for the other great human interest stories, I would 'chuck' it.

Beware, scammers!

I had read about a scam that is doing the rounds at present, and it disturbed me very much. It concerns an American organization of unknown name, either ringing people, or puting something on their computer(s), usually a questionaire, saying how they can win a car or a holiday. I had one such phone call a couple of days after reading about. I was informed by a Yankee male voice, that I had been randomly chosen to win a holiday in California! As I had not entered any competition, I waited until he drew breath, and asked if he was a real person, or a recording! As there was not response, I hung up. So people, beware. They want you bank details and then they will suck your account dry, and more.

Hounding by organisations years after you have cancelled subscription.

I used to belong to two different book clubs. I cancelled my meberships about two years ago, but they are still hounding me to 'come back'!! They have sent me their lastest offers by mail, which I have tossed into the bin. They offered me free shipping and handling forever, and numerous other 'goodies', which have not tempted me to relent. They have written to me and now one of them has phoned me. I think it was the second time they phoned me, last week. I explained at the time, 'though I did not need to, why I was cancelling,to no avail. I got very stroppy with the poor girl who rang last week, and explained that the reason I was no longer a member was still the same. There is a well known cosmetics company who do the same thing. They have tried numerous times to get me to rejoin as a rep. I have never been one! They do not understand the word NO either. I wish I knew how to get them to remove my name from their mailing lists.

I'm baack!

I wonder if anyone noticed that I had been 'off the air' for nearly a week? I have recently had my computer in dock for repairs. I only had it back a couple of days, and it started playing up again. When I turned it on, on Thursday night it showed a blue screen with white writing, which means trouble, as there are no icons and no cursor and no start icon to shut it down. Frantic SOS to my friendly computer techie, and he talked me through the process of shutting it down. I have not been game to use it since. He has just been here again, and altered some things. I guess I will discover what he has done soon enough. Fingers and toes crossed that I won't need him for a long time! He thinks I may need a new gizmo to give me more power to some of the components.

The cost of living just got a bit cheaper.

Nearly five years ago, we bought a slightly damaged , (just a wee scratch,) 68cm TV at an auction in Adelaide. It is a brand our children rejected with much disdain, but it was just the 'bees knees' as far as we were concerned. We have a Sharp tv that this one replaced, which now sits on a cupboard in the main bedroom, and is 27 years old and still going strong. It is not connected to an arial, just plugged into the power socket. Yesterday morning, Neville turned the telly in the lounge on in the morning, and zilch! Just a thin white/blue line across the middle. There was sound but nothing else.
Today were went to Naracoorte 80kms south of here, to do some shopping,and I firstly asked at a tv repair shop what the problem could be, and was told by the gauche young man, 'There's something wrong inside it'. I thought that was obvious to 'blind Freddy, but refrained from saying so. When I mentioned the brand name, I was stopped in my tracks by the girl behind the counter saying they don't touch them, as they can't get the parts or backup to fix them. We went and did our errands, and I asked at one of the electrical stores if they could tell me what the prob was. He said the tube had gone. We accepted that, and discussed buying a new one.
Later in the afternoon, we went to one of the two electrical stores and saw a very nice 68cm Palsonic tv for $AU399.00. We then went to the other store to enquire about their tvs. One thing is for sure, you can't complain about the service, coz there ain't any. The prices were far more than the first store, so we went back, and Neville went in to ask if they would knock any more off for cash. I thought he was pushing the envelpoe a bit, but was pleasantly surprised when he came out to be told they had brought the price down to $ 359.00
It has been delivered, and is working fine. The woman who delivered it said she doubts that the tube has gone, and so do I. If it had, there would be no sound etc. We will see if it can be fixed, and it will probably go into the bedroom.
P.S. The irony of this little tale is, our daughter and son-in-law now have an 80cm TV the same brand as the one we just replaced!!??

RU486

Only an athiest or a total moron would think the debate about this drug is one about women's health issues and their right to choose to abort a baby that is conceived at a time that is inconveniant to the mother or the couple. This is about life and death. The life and death of the unborn child, and the possible death of the mother. Several women have died after using this drug, and more testing needs to be done, before a final decision is made. Society as a whole, needs to lift their game, and start living in a more reponsible and moral way. Sex is not the 'be all and end all' and people should keep it in it's proper place. I can't for the life of me, understand how any doctor could consider using this drug to effect an abortion, as they swear to 'do no harm'. Itsaddens me to know that society has sunk so low, as to not value human life.

The snakes crwal at night

The title is a title of a song by Charley Pride, and is very apt for our federal pollies, in the matter of the present debate before parliament about the so called abortion drug. The snakes have done the dirty on health minister, Tony Abbot, and stripped him of his veto power in said debate. I suspect it is because he is a Catholoic, and they are not sure how he will vote, but, to be sure they can get their own way, they have gotten him out of the way. I know I will upset, if not enrage, many, particularly women's libbers, by saying I am impacably opposed to abortions , and cannot for the life of me understand why ANY doctor is willing to use this drug for this purpose. The Hypochratic oath in part, says they will do no harm to anyone. Why is abortion viewed as being unharmful? It is taking a life, and has been known to cause the deaths of some women. There needs to be much more testing done before it is released on to the market, as every person reacts differently to each drug they are given, and no-one can know what the outcome will be in any given circumstances.

Snakes of a different kind.
It was reported in the news tonight, that another person has been bitten by a snake and been flown to Adelaide for treatment. It was a Tiger Snake this time, and they are deadlier the King Brown snakes. The patient is in a stable condition. Thankfully. They are really getting about more, as the weather has been cooler of late, and they do not like very hot weather, due to the fact they have to crawl along the ground.