Kamakaze Magpie

Over the last three of four weeks we have had a young Magpie dive bombing into one of the kitchen windows. He doesn't do it every day, it has happened about half a dozen times. He hits the glass hard and makes it vibrate. This happened last year, but the maggie was an adult male, and it was nesting time. I guess he could see his reflection in the glass, and thought it was a rival, and he was just 'seeing him off'. He also stripped one of the fiberous fillings in my hanging pot to line his nest.
If the present one is a male, and he has ideas of pinching my new fibre fillings, I might get a bit savage! It will soon be Spring, so I will need to be alert.

A good day out.

Sue and I went to Naracoorte yesterday to do some grocery shopping. Neville and I usually go together, and he goes out to the farm for a few hours, but he wanted to go to a clearing sale down that way today, So I asked Sue if she would like to go as she has not been there for a while. I then realized, I had an appointment to have my hair permed today, so had to ask Sue if she would be able to take me down town for it. I did not want to have to change the appointment, as it is very hard to get one, and I wanted to look presentable when we go to my friend's birthday party in Adelaide next week end. Sue very kindly agreed to take me.
We were later than I am used to in getting away yesterday, and did not arrive until after 11 AM. I had some errands to do in Target for myself and my daughter, and left Sue mooching around Trev's Bargain Emporium Then she drove me to the post office. She had to drive around the block twice, before she could find a parking space.
I asked the lady who served me, who happens to me the Post Mistress, and was formally here, if there was a fabric shop in Naracoorte. There used to be one, but they closed down some time ago. She said that no-one had opened one in it's place. I thanked her and left. As I was going out, I noticed a couple of women talking in the queue. I did not look hard at them, as it is unlikely I would know them. When I got outside, one of them came up to me and said she had overheard me ask about the fabric shop. She wanted to know what sort of material I wanted. It was then I realized she was a girl I had gone to primary school with. She had not recognised me either, as I had on dark glasses. We have not seen each other for years. She said her mother-in-law has just died, and she had inherited all her sewing paraphernalia, and she wondered if she would have something I might need. I said I wanted a printed panel to make a cot quilt for my grand-daughter. She said she did not think there was anything like that in her stuff. We chatted a while about grand kids, and then I had to go. As it was after midday, Sue and I went to the pub for lunch. Once again Sue could not find a parking space, so decided to go down the side of the pub. There was one there, but it was on a huge slant. She decided to drive out of there. Only one problem with that, she was going the wrong way in a one way alley! She got a filthy look from a bloke coming the other way.As she came out onto the street, she saw the Entry Only sign. It was bedlam as they were very busy, and it was quite stuffy. I didn't finish my steak, as I suddenly felt very hot and nauseous, and wanted to go and lie down. Once we hit the fresh air, I started to feel better.
Sue ordered chicken schnitzel, and it was nearly as big as her plate!
We did our shopping, and I bought a couple of bottles of wine for my mother, then sat down and waited for Sue. While I waited, a young bloke bought some cigarettes and dropped the receipt in the bin next to me. I just managed to see that it had a petrol voucher on it, which meant he had spent $30.00. When he had gone I retrieved it. You can't waste them.(Sue said in mock disgust when I told Neville, that she couldn't go anywhere with me as I am now fossicking in the bins.) When we were going out of Woolworth's, Sue handed me a small gift. It was the donkey toy from the Shrek movie I had wanted. I hadn't been able to get one as they were
always sold out .I was very tired last night and slept like a log.

A Rose by any Other name. . . . . . .

In this burgh, we have a committee for the beautification of the town. They have instigated many projects, which have received mixed reactions. Mostly unfavourable. They have extended the corners of the streets and put in Chicanes, which block off half the street. They have installed planter pots, firstly half kegs, which have been vandalised and tipped over many times. Last week, they put new ceramic planter pots in place. I noticed that they have put dripper hoses in them and rose bushes. One wonders if they are hoping the thorny rose bushes will deter the vandals from their unlawful practices. I do hope so. The planter pots are a damned nuisance, as they are too close to the kerb, and make it difficult to alight from your vehicle.

Fun and Games.

We have had our grandson, Lachlan, to stay for a couple of nights. He is a very quiet boy, and is happy to do what ever projects are suggested. We played Snakes and Ladders and Uno on Friday afternoon, then he did some drawing and wrote a letter to go with a drawing of a truck, which we took over to give to our neighbour Dick, the next morning. Dick drives trucks, and was very pleased to receive it and said he was a champion and gave Lachlan the rest of a packet of Minties.
Lachlan played games while I cooked lunch. I never do much cooking, as there is only the two of us, but when some one stays I go mad. Neville is left with the job of washing all the dishes. He doesn't seem to mind.
I cooked meat loaves in diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes,sweet corn and Champinions. I put a small amount of rice in it to thicken the sauce without using corn flour. We had strawberries and icecream for dessert. Lachlan loves them.
He had porridge both mornings and this morning he also had toast and hot chocolate.
I cooked veges and a jam steamed pudding with custard for lunch yesterday. I had cooked some meat the day before.The amazing thing about this visit was that Neville turned off the TV and sat at the table with us!! He usually has his meals in front of the telly. (Will the real Neville please stand up?)
Yesterday arvo, we went down town so Lachlan could play on the swings etc. He made Neville and me laugh when he lay down on the slight rise and rolled down hill. Neville said he had obviously done that before. We went to the wild life sanctuary to see the white Kangaroos, but it started to pizzle with rain, so we went to see my brother for a while. I had to be back here by 3pm, as I had arranged to make Sue a coffee as she was coming around to pick up the bucket of food scraps for her chooks. When we were coming down the main street to come home, we passed Sue at an intersection. She followed us home Neville reckoned he could not see her in the rear view mirror, but she said she was right behind us.
I put the jug on to boil and then the door bell rang. It was Dick, so I invited him in for coffee too. It has been a 'looong time between drinks' for him.Over here, that is.
Lachlan played more computer games after tea last night then he had a bath. It is a bit of a novelty, as he usually has a shower at home. I read him a couple of stories and he went to bed about 9.30. He said he had a good time and can't wait to come again.
Sue photo copied some stencils of a Stegasaurus for him to colour in and we stuck them on cardboard this morning. It was murder on my poor Arthritic hands cutting them out so he could put them together with flat pins (The kind that fold open with two spikes on them.)
We realised that we needed a couple of the stencils copied, that done, we then tried to put it together, only to discover it did not need to be stuck on cardboard, as it was supposed to made into a hat! Bugger.He has put it away to finish next time.

What was she thinking?

On Tuesday when we went out for coffee, my mate Sue told me she had embarrassed her daughter the previous day when they were in Horsham. I asked her what she had done, and she said I would probably not want to be seen with her if she told me. She said she embarrassed herself too. Now, her daughter is not a very pleasant young woman, and makes her mother's life very difficult. She gets upset and overreacts to everything Sue says or does. In light of that, I thought the problem would be a minor one, and not worth the fuss her daughter would have made. Sue told me they went to Macdonald's for lunch. She needed to 'powder her nose', so off she went. She was washing her hands, when a small boy came in and used the facilities. Sue thought nothing of it. As she was about to go out, a man pushed the door open and came in. The penny dropped, and she high tailed it out of there. I just packed up laughing. I can just imagine her daughter's reaction.

Recycling glitches

Yesterday saw the start of the new recycling system. Two or three weeks ago, we were given a new smaller wheelie bin with a red lid. We were told, via leaflets, that the council are going to replace the lids on the old bigger bins with a yellow lid. These older bins are to be scrubbed out and have a sticker which reads Recycling Only stuck to them, so there is no confusion for the garbo, as to which bin is for what purpose. Now, I may be getting older but I don't think I am less astute than I was, but, I can not for the life of me see why it is necessary to change the old bin lid as it is green.( I presume the garbo is not colour blind). It has the sticker on it and I presume the garbo can read. I know the sticker will not last for ever, but the bins are a different size too.
There was some one driving around town yesterday, apparently in radio contact with the garbo, and if the garbo came across a bin that did not comply with the new regulations, he radioed him and he drove to where the garbo was and placed a 'contaminated' sticker on the bin. The rubbish was not picked up I know this because my friend Sue said her husband flouted the rules and got caught out. I don't know what will have to be done with that rubbish/recycling material now. I daresay it will all need to go in the rubbish bin next week. I am not sure if there will be fines for noncompliance either. Time will tell.
My husband told me yesterday, that it is costing ten million dollars to implement this scheme and the state government takes half. This has me 'whacked'. I will never understand how these things work. I think the money is coming from council rates.

Dreary weather.

Today has been one of those drab, dank, damp, dreary overcast days, that look as though they are going to rain any time, but never do. They are not the sort of days to get washing dry. I did the washing over Sunday and yesterday, as it is too much for me now to do all at once. Anyway, I had unexpected guests and one can't desert them to do one's chores. The previous two days were, for a change, bright and sunny. It serves me right for not bringing the washing in last night. I now have to put some of it in the dryer.
Sue and I went out for our Tuesday sojourn, and accomplished quite a bit. I was not feeling all that flash, as I had woken up too early, and was unable to go back to sleep. I went back to bed at seven, but had not been there long, when my son rang me on the mobile. He asked if he had gotten me out of bed, and I said, in a manner of speaking, he had. I do love our chats.
I went back to bed after Sue left, but would have been lucky to have had ten minutes sleep. I will just have to take a pill tonight.
As it is Tax time here, it probably is world wide, I receive some letters and statements from companies I deal with, in case I have to lodge a tax return, and am eligible to receive a rebate on monies spent. (A chance would be a fine thing!) Today, I received a statement from my health insurance company. The thing I found amusing was, they have listed my date of birth on one page, and next to it my 'current certified age' which is six years younger that I am. Somebody, a. can't do simple maths, b. is not paying proper attention to details. I sent them an email to this effect and asked them to correct it. I was three years older than the age stated, when I joined!

Nice surprise.

Yesterday afternoon the phone rang, and when I answered it, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the voice of my brother-in-law, Lew. He asked me how I was, and said that he and his wife would be here in about 8 mins, and did I have the billy on, as they were coming for coffee. I knew they were traveling around the country, but had no idea they would be heading this way.They have bought a small motor home and they slept in that. They said it was not as cold here as it was in Millicent. They also said it had rained every day since they had left their home in Queensland. Today was the first sunny day so far.
They had been to Geelong last month, to the 70th birthday of another sister-in-law. We were not invited, which suited me, as I have never gotten on with her. They then traveled to Millicent, where they used to live, to visit friends. They were coming up from there yesterday, when Lew called.
We had coffee and sat around chatting. I had not seen them since March last year. In the evening, Lew asked us if we would like to go out for tea. I said that was very kind, and yes we would love to. He said he was paying. As I had not known they were coming, it was the only thing to do, as I had nothing prepared.We went to one of the pubs, The Railway Hotel.We had a lovely time and the meal was great. They were in no hurry to leave this morning, and when my daughter rang last night and told me she was coming down to do some shopping, they said they would stay so they could see them. Lew and Maureen had not met Riley or the new baby.
I did not know what time they would leave, and my brain was not working, as I had not given lunch any thought. I hastily did something about it at 11.30. I did not think it was much chop, but they said it was AOK, as they would normally have just had a sandwich. They left straight after lunch
Great to see them.They think our grandies are terrific, and I had some photos taken so I could finish off my film. I will get them put on disc as well as having prints made.

Thursday.

We went to Naracoorte yesterday, to do the fortnightly shopping. Neville dropped me off in the main street, as I had to do an errand for my daughter.
I then went to Target and put an electric blanket on lay by for myself. I am sick of freezing at night.
Then I walked up the hill to Woolworths and did the shopping. After that, I bought a local paper, and had a cappuccino in the Blacksmith's Cafe. Then I went and sat on one of the 'park' benches in the plaza. and read the paper while I waited for Neville. While waiting, an old school chum, who brings his 95 year old aunt to do the shopping, came and said hullo. I have met Edward the last three or four times I have been shopping there, and he always has a chat. I always liked him at school, though he was too shy to talk to many people then. He is a very nice bloke.
When Neville came back, we went to the pub for lunch as usual. I had steak and he had fish, which was very nice. After lunch I asked Neville if there was anything he needed to do before we picked up the groceries and he said no. Then he remembered he had told me about a Ford ute that is parked in a paddock, near our farm with a For Sale sign on it. He said it looked to be in good condition. He asked if I would like to have a look at it. We drove back out of town and he went and asked about it. He was given the key and he walked down the paddock and checked it out. The owners wife had phoned her husband, and Neville had spoken to him. The owner said it was a bit hard to start in the cold, but once it was going it was OK. Neville said it did take a bit to get it going, but ran alright. I asked him why it would be hard to start, and he said the valves could be in need of grounding and re-seating. I said we could be buying all sorts of trouble. He agreed. The guy wants $1,300 for it. It has done 200.000 klms. Neville thinks it is a late 1980's model. I don't think we will worry about it.

The Myystery of the 'Magic' Pudding Basin.

I have had a very amusing phone call from my mother. She rang to say that someone had sent her a Teflon coated pudding basin. She said there was no letter inside the parcel, and the post mark just said Australia. It was wrapped in the Sunday Mail and some blue paper with sunflowers on it. She asked if it was me. I assured her it was not. I burst out laughing as it seemed such a funny, strange thing for anyone to do. She said it did not seem to be from my brother, as it was not his hand writing. She said it was not from her friend Joan, as she was coming down from Whyalla, and would not post it. I said Joan would not spend the money on the pudding basin, let alone postage. It had her totally mystified, and me too, I might add. She said if I had any ideas as to who had sent it, to let her know. She said,"Sorry to worry you." I said, "You haven't worried me, you have made my day!" I promptly rang my brother and asked him if he had sent anything to mum in the post this week. He said yes. He was being his usual cagey self, not giving anything away. I asked if it was a pudding basin. "Yeah, it was." "Why did you send her a pudding basin?" "Years ago, she accused me of pinching one of hers, and I have been trying to find one to send her, just to mystify her." I said he had certainly done that! I asked him why he had not put a letter in it, and he said he didn't think of it in time. I asked if he was going to disabuse mum, or did he want me to. He said I could, as he would speak to her later.
I rang mum back, and said I should set myself up in business as a super sleuth. She asked why, and I told her I had solved the 'mystery'. I told her it was Robert, and what he had told me. She said she did remember sending him a Christmas pudding one year, but not about the missing bowl. Mum was very relieved to hear who had sent it, as she thought someone was trying to send her mad." I assured her that would not be why this happened.

I thought another one had bitten the dust.

Technology has progressed rapidly in the past few years,(I know, I know. That is stating the bleeding obvious.) and it is hard to keep up with all the new fangled gadgets and gizmos. For someone born in the forties, it can be a bit dizzying and confusing, but I have surprised myself with the ease with which I have grasped this stuff. My husband has not, much to my annoyance at times. It really isn't THAT hard. We have had our microwave oven nigh on 30 years, and it has only been in the last ten or twelve, that he has become au fait with how it works. He is only just getting to grips with the TV remote. The feature he loves most on that is the mute button.
We do not have enough power points in this house for all our appliances, and have to resort to using power boards and extension cords. Not the best way to go, I know.
Neville was heating some drinks in the mic last night, when it suddenly 'died'. I instantly realized it was not a power outage, as everything else was still working.
I thought, "Ah, well. It is pretty old and had to go some time. Not to worry. I have the one Mum gave me, when she moved house,to give to Deb. I'll just use that." This morning, I replaced the power board and plugged it in, and Voila, it works! Neville checked the other power board, and it had popped the safety button because the cord was pulled out a little bit. (I have no idea how it got pulled out.) He has repaired it, and it works perfectly too.

Coulda knocked me down with a feather!

My friend Sue came around this afternoon, and we were just about to go down town to have a coffee, when a familiar voice said, "Got the billy on?" There is just one person who I know of that says that. My brother. It was such a thrill to see him as he very seldom visits, even though we live in the same town. He is a bit of a loner. He had heart surgery just over a month ago, and has just started to drive again. I put the kettle on and made us all coffee, except my spouse, as he only drinks tea. We sat around and yakked and told yarns for about 45 mins. Robert is still finding it is taking a while to regain his strength and still tires easily. I will sleep well tonight as I am still on cloud nine!

Riley & the Ducks.

I had woken up early, about 5.30, and was not able to go back to sleep. I got up and brought the paper in and read it whilst having a cup of coffee.
I went back to bed around 7.20 and slept for just over an hour. I had a cup of tea and my shower and got dressed. My daughter and her children arrived earlier than expected, as I was checking my emails. I got my things together and we went down town, so Deb could do her shopping. I got a few things and took them and Deb's bread though the checkout and Riley and I sat out the front on some plastic chairs. I have not been feeling very well since Tuesday night I was feeling decidedly seedy yesterday whilst doing my shopping in Naracoorte, and had to go through the check out, having only done half of it, and go and have a coffee and sit down for a while. While we were waiting for Deb, I realized I had not had any breakfast. No wonder I was feeling yuk. Riley suddenly declared he needed to go to the toilet. I told him there was nothing I could do about it. He would have to wait for his mother. As there are no toilets in the supermarket for the public, I did not feel well enough to walk down the street to the public ones.
When we got back in the car, Deb drove across the road to the bakery cafe and took him to the loo. There is a small pond with some ducks on it. When they came back, Deb got some bread out of the boot and gave it to Riley, so he could feed the ducks. He thought this was really great, but was not very keen on the fact the duck was snatching the bread out of his hand and nipping him. He said, "Look Nan, he bited me." (He was a she.) I said the duck did not mean to and he should toss the bread on the ground for it to pick up with it's beak. He did this, and had a great time. They then got the duck to follow them to the water and threw the remaining bread in, and quickly got in the car before it followed them. This made Riley's day.

Paris Hilton, & others like her.

This young woman makes headlines no matter what she does. It is a shame that it is for the wrong reasons now. I have a certain amount of sympathy for her. She is a product of her environment and does not know how to be a 'real' person. While I have nothing against people who are rich and famous, it all depends on how they live and what kind of people they are. It appears her family have not taught her that she is very privileged, and a certain responsibility comes with such wealth.They have also not given her the coping skills for living in the real world. She is accustomed to having her every whim seen to by servants. She surly must realize that it is not how the rest of us live.She is also not accustomed to people saying no to her, which is why she is having a hard time doing her time.
The cynic in me says this may all be a publicity stunt, too. Why should she, or any celebrity, or public figure, think they should get preferential treatment just because they are who they are?
She appears to be very immature, and this will not auger well for her. I just hope she can learn from this experience and come away from it a better person, and not a broken one.

Don't lie to me, you won't get my business.

Last week, I received a phone call from a young woman, who said she was from the telecommunications watchdog, and that she was ringing to inform me, I did not have to pay line rental on my phone, ever again. My ears pricked up, but my alarm bells started to tingle too. As it was one of those telemarketing calls, I was very reluctant to continue the conversation. I am sick of them, and have put my name on the national Don't Call Register. We talked a bit more, and I asked what the catch was. She said there was none, but handed me over to a young man so he could 'give me the drum', as it were. He informed me, if I were to change my phone company and take up a $59.00 capped package, I would have x amount of calls, including international ones. I asked which phone carrier I should join to access this offer. He told me, and I said I wanted to see all relevant data in writing. He was trying to railroad me into signing up there and then. Not this little black duck! He said I could see it on the internet. I looked it up, but there was no mention of international calls in the packages on the Net.
When the young woman rang me back on Monday, I told her this, and she told me I would have to take out an extra package to have international calls for no line rental etc. I told her, that I would not be changing my phone carrier or taking them up of this offer.I do not like being lied to. This was blatant deception, and trickery. I did not come down in the last shower, either.