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.