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!

Wednesday, February 14

I was quite pleased to get back to Probus this morning.  It's not that the meetings are particularly stimulating, but there's always a bit of chat, a guest speaker and a terrific morning tea.  There were three or  four members missing: a couple were still on holiday and one had a particularly important meeting he couldn't miss.  He's on the local Council and I suppose all his meetings are super-important.

The guest speaker was a local farmer who has been following up the history of his family.  The original settler in Tasmania was transported here after stealing a silk handkerchief.  After a while he was able to get some land and flourished, eventually building Longford House, one of the local stately homes.  The fellow who spoke to us was not a great orator and read from a screed he had prepared earlier.  I found it a bit tedious but those who had lived here longer were able to ask questions and make sensible comments.

Our next meeting, in March, is the AGM and I've been tagged to become Treasurer.  I suspected it would be on the cards because the fellow who held the position died towards the end of last year.  The stand-in has done the job before and wants rid of it.  As the new boy, I'm the first port of call.  I don't suppose I mind; it's not a big job and I can do to all on the computer.  As Marilyn says, it will help keep me out of mischief (or stop me buying stuff on Temu!)

Tuesday, February 13

Today started off fine but, by lunchtime, the rain had come on.  Jamie popped in this morning to drop Archie off and stayed for a chat.  He called in to the local service station he uses as he felt one of his tyres was a bit soft.  There was no hose on the air pump so he went into the counter and asked what was going on.  The surly fellow behind the till said that they had taken the hose off because  "people were driving in and stealing our air."  Well, we can't have that, can we?  Perhaps someone should explain the concept of 'service' station!

Jamie does a lot of driving and probably fills up twice a week but he'll be taking his business elsewhere.  In fact, he drove into the next service station on the main road and a very cheerful lady came out from her cubby-hole to see if he was OK with the air pump.  No doubt, she will see a lot more of Jamie in the future.

Checking my calendar, I note that the summer holidays are over.  My Probus Club starts back tomorrow and my Writing and Poetry groups on Friday.  It's been a lazy time over the summer but it will be good to get back into a routine.

Sunday, February 11

 It was my birthday yesterday, the one day of the year when I might expect to receive an odd 'phone call.  And, of course, it was just the day my mobile phone would choose to play up: something to do with the sound.  With these phones, they're cheaper to replace than to repair, especially if you buy lesser-know, brands like Oppo, as I do.  Jamie happened to drop in so I recruited him to drive me to JB Hifi to make a purchase.

I was surprised how difficult it was.  We ended up in Officeworks where they had an expensive display  I made my choice just to be told 'out of stock'.  The assistant suggested I walk next door to JB Hifi where I heard the same story.   I chose another model there, which was on special, but JB was out of stock and recommended I look next door (at Officeworks) in case they had one.  No, of course they didn't.  I made my third choice and requested it be in Glowing Gold colour.  "Out of stock, but we have it in black."I bought it anyway.

Apparently, stores around Australia are struggling to get supplies of popular mobile phones.  I wouldn't have thought Oppo was one of the sought-after brands but I don't have my finger on that particular pulse.

However, I spent an hour setting it up and transferring files and am now waiting for someone to ring me to see whether it works.

Thursday, February 8

On these beautiful summer morning, Marilyn and I take our coffee out to the front of the unit where we have two chairs and a little table.  Since the gardener chopped down the overgrown bushes, the garden is looking good and it's a pleasure to sit there.  I don't know how long it has been since Daniel was here: a week or so, perhaps, but it's frightening to see how quickly the flax plants are growing back.  He took off about 150cm of growth, leaving just stumps but already some of the new shoots are about 20cm tall!

At this rate, they'll be back to their original height in about 8 weeks.  Clearly Daniel has organised himself a job for life.

Not much is happening here today.  Jamie dropped Archie off because he has a busy day planned and Archie has settled himself down in a sunny spot to think doggy thoughts.  We have nothing planned and this is the sort of day I think could be well used for catching up on some of the TV we've missed or watching a movie.  But, it never happens that way.  We're both reluctant to fall into that habit and will more likely read our books or find something else productive to do.

Monday, February 5

 Marilyn had booked to have some enhancement work done in her eyebrows so I offered to drive her and have a coffee while I was waiting. In fact, I found a comfy chair in the foyer of the shopping centre and waited until she had finished and we had coffee together.  While I was waiting I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of the local politician who lurks around the supermarket looking for people to talk to.  He usually does this on Saturday and/or Sunday morning but he must have thought a Monday excursion might bear fruit.

He was in his usual 'meet the public' outfit: unbuttoned blue blazer, 'stockman' trousers and cocky's hat.  His name is Polley which is pretty appropriate and I've had dealings with him over the years I was at Giant Steps.  He stopped to chat with the couple at the next table but I kept my head down, hoping he would pass me by.  I saw him looking at me with a quizzical look, 'Where do I know him from?' but, thankfully, he gave me a miss and moved on to some other poor mugs.

Just another day in paradise.

Sunday, February 4

We had a call from a friend at the end go the week inviting us to a picnic.  He thought it might be good to meet up in Longford to save us a drive but, just this week, the Council has removed all of the barbecues from the local park intending to develop the area into something bigger and better.  So, it was decided we would  meet at Evandale instead.  It's a town about 12 Km away, famous for running the Penny Farthing Festival each year, when foolhardy daredevils chase each other through the streets hoping to win a prize.

This year's event is not for a couple of weeks so it was a good decision. Except that there was a market being held and you could hardly drive down the narrow streets, with cars parked both sides and irate drivers losing their cool.  We finally found our friends in a great barbecue area far enough away from the rest of the town and we had an enjoyable time.

I'm a bit over barbecues so we took some chopped up chicken and bread rolls although, when we arrived the barbecue was already going strong with everybody else's lunch.  I had taken a box of my freshly-picked blackberries from yesterday and they made a great follow-up to the greasy sausages. 

Saturday, February 3

 I learnt a new word today.  I was reading something on the internet about 'why Americans think they have it so bad'.  The erudite answer suggested that they 'don't properly grok how bad it can actually be.'

Grok?  I assumed it was a typo until I read it used again later in the comment, referring to pregnant women: 'the actual worse case was so bad they really didn't grok how bad it could be.'

Clearly this was something I needed to follow up.  Mr Google assured me it was a 'real' word  albeit 'American' and 'informal'.  The definitions suggested included 'understand something intuitively or by empathy', and 'establishing a rapport', eg nestling earth couple would like to find water brothers to grok with in peace'.

There's so much about that last example I struggle with and I've decided I don't need any new words, especially if they're like 'grok'.

Friday, February 2

 It was all go here this morning.  Marilyn's cleaning lady was due and we had a call from our gardener to say he was coming as well to make up for what he had missed the last time when it poured with rain.  We never know at what time the cleaning lady will come; in fact, we don't even know who the cleaning lady will be.  Marilyn gets them through some government agency and I think it's policy not to make the relationships too cosy.  It would be too easy for a cleaning lady to take advantage of an old dear who only wanted someone to talk to.

I was looking forward to her coming because one of her tasks would be to change the sheets on the bed.  It's usually my job and I hate it.  I find it hurts my back lifting the heavy QS mattress to tuck in the bottom sheet.  When the cleaner arrived she turned out to be a young Asian girl who looked too frail to pick up a bucket let alone a mattress.  However, I kept out of her way and left her to get on with it.  Later, I had to tidy up the corners of the bottom sheet but that's was OK.

The gardener, in the meantime, used every sharp tool he had to decimate the overgrown New Zealand flax and other plants in the front yard.  It takes years for them to grow but only minutes to knock them back into shape.  I can't watch him because I'd be telling him to take it easy but, of course, he knows much better than I do what is required.  They're even shorter now than when we moved in.

Life can get back to normal now.