This is great!

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

Done, done, all done!

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

Kiddywinks.

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

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

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

Kids say the darndest things.

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

When is 'service', not service at all?

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

And the rains came down!

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

Grandies to stay.

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

Neville's Birthday Lunch. Nearly a Non Event!

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

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?