Sunday, February 25

 It's been a bit busy and I haven't managed to scribble something down each day.  Having a visitor in the house changes the dynamic.  However, I'm back.

Marilyn commented that she needed  to buy a new doona; one of the older ones was getting quite shabby and needed to be replaced. Goodie, I thought, another job for Temu.  The prices were great and we knew that the quality would be excellent so I placed the order.  It arrived on Friday in a vacuum-sealed package. After I gave it a good shake, it was as I expected - beautifully made, lined with satin  ribbon.  The only problem was, it was too big.  I must have misread the dimensions.  No problem, I thought, I'll just order another one or cut a bit off this one.  It will be inside a cover and no-one will see a rough edge.

Not good enough!  So we spent yesterday afternoon shopping for a king-size doona cover to accommodate our cheap Chinese doona and  a new cover deserves new pillow cases as well.  So, our bargain from Temu was not such a bargain after all.

I had to order something else yesterday and I discovered the minimum order to get free delivery is now $45. That's going to put a spanner in the works.

Tuesday, February 20

 Marilyn's gone off to some get-together this morning at the local RSL Club.  It's the group of ladies she met at Probus and, apart from the normal meeting, they have get-togethers to chat and have morning tea,  I suspect that the RSL poker machines are a bit of a draw but what would I know?

I have a couple of jobs to do while I have the house to myself.  The bird bath in the front garden needs attention.  There were three or four birds having their bath there this morning but, on inspection, it's a bit grubby.  I've mentioned before that I blame the 'planes flying in to Launceston airport but even if that's not true there's something black and sticky which keeps coming back.. That reminds me of a joke: what's black and sticky?  A licorice stick!  But I'm sure the pollution in my bird bath is not licorice.

I also have to write my story for Friday's group: three topics I haven't even looked at yet so I had better make that a priority.  I've just had a notification from Australia Post that a parcel will be delivered today: from Temu, no doubt, and I wonder what it will be.

Monday, February 19

 Brogan Tates.  I stumbled across this name when I was browsing YouTube looking for something interesting to look at.  I can only take so much of Steve or Scott and their tedious trips in Europe and knew I had to look further afield.  Brogan is an enthusiastic, young English girl and was talking about a flight with her boyfriend on Emirates to Dubai.  I would normally click over to the next offering but Marilyn happened to be watching and wanted a closer look.  In fact, Brogan was quite entertaining and the flight to Dubai turned out to be the first leg of a trip to New Zealand where they are going a cruise back to the UK.

Later, we looked for more of her stuff and found a series where she talked about her plans to be married on the cruise, described her philosophy of packing, and so on.  This morning I notice she has posted a video of the flight from Dubai to Auckland.  We'll watch it later.

Yesterday, we suffered her showing the stuff she is packing for the trip.  She and her boyfriend were travelling with 6 suitcases and a wedding dress in a carry bag.  As travellers who never had more than a medium size 20Kg bag and a small carry-on, we were horrified with the stuff she thought essential: masses of gadgets, first aid stuff, board games, various metal and plastic clips, fold-up plastic boxes (to put your socks in on the cruise) .... it was ridiculous!  However, this girl has a massive following on Youtube and makes a very decent living at it.  

I think I'll get tired of her very quickly but we need to see how this trip (and the wedding) turn out.

Sunday, February 18

It's a beautiful day here; the sun is shining and there's not a sound to be heard.  Marilyn watches the sun streaming through our lounge-room windows and comments, idly, "Those windows are due for their annual clean.  I must ring whatsisname to come back and give them the once over."

"How much did he charge," I asked.

"I think it was $150," she replied.

My heart jumped in shock and I found myself volunteering to do it myself.  How hard could it be?

The outside was fine: a bucket of soapy water, a squeegee mop and a final hose off and I could stand back and think what a good job I had done.  The inside, though, is a different story.  I have to take off the fly screen to get at the glass.

"You just squeeze these two lugs and lift it out," Marilyn explained patiently but, no matter how much I squeezed, there was no movement. I'll have to wait for Jamie to drop by and see whether he can work it out.

Clearly the window-washer man charges for expertise as well as time on task. 

Saturday 17 (2)

 As planned, I went to the Berry Farm: my face is becoming familiar, I suspect, so the farmer knew I was there for the blackberries.  He suggested I head in a different direction, 'down past the apricot trees and look for one row of blackberries. Pick from the other side of the row,'  It was a goldmine and I picked two large punnets in no time.  Many of the berries were close to the ground so there was some stooping but, all-in-all, it was well worth it.

When I got home, Marilyn immediately rang Jamie to say there were berries to be had.  A bit rich, I thought - I pick the berries and he gets a share.  I needn't have worried; he arrived with half a crayfish to swap.  

I've squeezed a lemon and mixed it with mayonnaise and that will be the dressing.  Marilyn has cut up the cray and we'll have it with tiny tomatoes and thinly-sliced bread and butter.  Life's good!

Saturday, February 17

 I came home yesterday to find the house transformed.  The gardener had been and, as instructed, had removed the large armchair from the loungeroom and disposed of it.  Jamie had dropped in to help lift it on to the back of the ute but he wasn't needed.  I have to say the removal of the chair has made a terrific difference to the lounge room.  It now looks much more open.  We still have comfortable seating for 6 and Marilyn still has a full-length lounge to stretch out on in the afternoons, but there is much more room to move around and nothing looks cluttered.

It's a bit overcast today but it doesn't look like rain.  I've already done the watering and I'm keen to get to the Berry Farm for a final pick of the blackberries.  Marilyn tells me there is still a little room in the freezer so I should take advantage of the crop while I can.

Friday, February 16

I normally wake about 7 and my first job is to make coffee. Marilyn likes to enjoy hers in bed with a book but I prefer my favourite chair with some rubbish show on TV.  This morning, though, it was 8 before I opened my eyes. Marilyn was still sound asleep so I decided not to disturb her.  I had just settled down with my first morning brew ready to watch a fascinating video about the new trains for Sydney when the doorbell rang.  It was our cleaning lady about 2 hours earlier than she normally arrives.  

There was a bit of a scatter but I'm sure the girl had seen it all before: we retired people can't be expected to  fit in with the routine of normal people.

Today is the first day of my Poetry and Writing groups at the School for Seniors and I'm looking forward to presenting my first story of the year.  I've called it The Mean Streets of Melbourne and it's about a hapless private detective trying to find evidence that someone is up to no good.  While I'm away, Daniel the gardener will arrive to do some of the heavy work in our tiny garden. Although I normally like to watch people doing jobs that would otherwise fall to me, I'll be just as happy to see the results of his labours when I get home.  One job is to take away a large, leather armchair which is starting to show signs of wear.  I've put up with the odd stain but it's now torn in two places so it has to go.  Shame, really, I liked it.  However, I can now start to make a case for getting one of those Smoky Dawson chairs which have a mechanical lift built in to help elderly people get to their feet.  I wonder if they sell them on Temu!