my pornographic tshirt

oh dear. i went and saw the g/kids the other day. it was hot. cookie was sitting next to me and asked me what was coming out of the pants of that man on my tshirt. puzzled i looked down and nearly died. i bought the tshirt in bali years ago and it had a ethnic design on it. a woman in the centre and figures around the edge. one of the figures had the most disgusting penis on it. it was gross. how i didn't notice this before amazes me and to have my g/daughter ask me about it. i haven't worn it much (thank goodness). i've worn it in bali and just a few times here. needless to say it's in the bin now. just goes to show how sometimes we (read I) don't take much notice of everyday things.

virii

bad bad bad virus. bast*rd virus. i was looking at a gossip site of all things and clicked on a link when kapow there it was. a window saying my computer was infected. site/program was called live virus or something like that. nothing i did got rid of it. i couldn't open anything. nothing. at least i could shut down and reinstall which is the only way i could get out of it. honestly. what loser goes to so much trouble to cause so much inconvenience? it's ok now and i will be very careful about new sites from now on. two people at work have had major virus problems when their boyfriend and father were looking at a porn site. i don't know if it was the same site. they had to take their machines to the repairer to fix. nothing they did worked. ahhhh bugger.

it's all good

weather is lovely today. i had a great day yesterday with my sister and received some very nice presents. thank you everyone. don't go back to work until the 4th which is really good. modem is reconfigured and working. there was a small lizard hiding in the garden this morning. tomatoes aren't dead yet and everything else is growing ok. i hope to catch up with my daughter and g/children this arvo and CLEAN the house. it's a real mess. at the moment i'm hanging out for a coffee so will leave it at that. have a great weekend and enjoy

Christmas greetings everyone

i hope your day is enjoyable and safe. i am without internet at home since i gave bigpond the boot. can't stand them. i'm with tpg now if i can only get my modem to work. seems they don't give support with modems they don't supply. oh well. wish me luck i'm going to try to configure it tonight. i'm at my son's house using his internet so must away. <3

how are you going with your Christmas preparations?

i ordered something online this morning for my sister, i hope it gets here on time as i'm going up there (wallaroo) on Christmas eve. we finish at 2 o'clock. yay. the kids and i are having a bbq on saturday at my son's house. should be nice. 39 degrees today but a change tomorrow. bit warm. i bought some tomato seedlings today. i'll give them another shot. i have very little sun in my garden and don't have much success with them unfortunately. wish me luck. :)everything else is going well. i'm not working today and that's always good.

car repairs

the car broke down last saturday night. alternator. i couldn't drive it so yesterday i got a free ride in a tow truck just around the corner to the repairers. $360 later it's on the road again. ahhh my son is having car problems too. the mechanic, after $500, is still not sure what it is. my advice was to change the mechanic. cars are very necessary but so expensive to own. there's a payroll deduction lease thing at work now but don't know if i should join. they pay for everything but at the end of the term you don't own the car. i personally would like one of those sedgewick (or something like that) things. like a stand up scooter. i can just see myself whizzing down the shops and to work on one of those. that or an etype jag that is. lol i don't know. my daughter has moved into the new house. early days yet. i had ants on the weekend. he's in love. he went to the blue light disco (yes they still have them) and kissed a girl. omg. he's growing up. i hope his mother has had the talk with him. i'm sure she has. they start early these days don't they?

plugs

i've been looking for a plug for my wash basin upstairs for years. it's a funny size and whenever i see a plug that looks like it might possibly fit i buy it. luckily plugs aren't expensive. i did it again tonight. it was a weird size and i thought to myself 'is this the one?' but no it wasn't, doesn't come close in fact. it can't be an old imperial measurement as the house was built in 1991. my bath plug is too small to fit. nothing fits even those universal ones don't fit. they say they fit all sizes but that's a downright lie. i measured the sink hole once but i can't find a plug to fit. it's a problem but not earth shattering. as a result i have a drawer full of plugs so if you are after one just let me know. :)

i finally got a mattress

and it's great. sealy posturpedic. good brand and great price. harvey norman have a sale on until the weekend. i'm happy and it feels super comfy. they are delivering it on saturday. downside is that they don't take the old one anymore (landfill) and delivery was (imo) pricey. $60 oh well i'm happy with the purchase. i'm also hanging out for the cool change which is supposed to arrive about midnight. worth staying up for? i don't know.
my daughter is leaving her partner and moving next weekend so that's positive in many ways. the kids i think understand why this is happening and it's not too far away from their father. sad but better for everyone involved i think. i hope it turns out ok.
my son had a health scare recently and that's ok now. good results. also my sister had a nasty health problem lately but that seems to be ok now too. all good really.
i'm going to a chiropractor for my back and he thinks he may be able to help with the shoulder i had operated on last year. it's worse since the op (surprisingly). he took xrays yesterday and he's waiting for the results before he does any manipulating. the only bad part about that is that i had to sign that thingy that says if they make me a vegetable they are not responsible. you know what i mean. should be ok (i hope) i used to go to a chiro a few years ago. back is already a bit better so that's good. all in all not too shabby. lmao

pearl jam

my daughter is at the concert as i type and i wish i was, although, i get to mind the kids which is always nice. ants is playing on the wii and cookie is leaning on my lap watching him. we've had a nice refreshing bath. we went for a walk after tea and felt all hot and bothered. kids enjoyed it though. we had lamb chops for tea and they were delish. the kids just had banana smoothies and i'm thinking of having another coffee but i know i shouldn't as i won't sleep. maybe a cup of tea would be more beneficial. i've just done the dishes. tomorrow is my day off and i have a chiro appointment in the morning, then going to get new tyres again and go to the furniture shop to look at mattresses again. i hope i find something. it's another busy day off. my daughter asked me if i wanted to have the kids overnight but as i'm already doing stuff i decided not to. i don't want to drag them around in the heat. hope your day is a good one. pic is of Adina and her mum on saturday at her 21st lunch.

shopping for a new mattress

i hate to tell you how old my mattress is. we bought it in 1983. i know i know. it looks immaculate but alas it's not very comfy anymore. i have a sore back which is caused by a) my mattress and b) slouching over the laptop most evenings. i've come to one conclusion: they are bloody expensive these days. i might go to makin' mattresses as they (obviously) make them on site. trouble is there are so many options to chose from i'm starting to get a tad confused (some would say that's normal for me :( )
we had a nice lunch today for Adina's b/day. she enjoyed herself. the cool change is on the way apparently. monday's temp is forecast at about 28. bliss. hope you enjoyed your w/end. mine was nice. :)

new stuff

i'm listening to the new Shirley Bassey cd. it's wonderful. all new songs which is great as she hasn't brought out a new one in many years. all compilations. i also got to watch her at the bbc electric proms recently. she's still got it. she's 72 and most thirty year olds couldn't keep up. of course i'm completely biased as i just adore her.
we have had a major shake up at work this week. we've lost 5 staff including two of my favourite people. things are indeed looking grim.
it's my step granddaughter's 21st tomorrow. she's mentally and physically disabled. the closest thing they can diagnose is angelman's syndrome. she will have a great time. we are going to the pub for lunch which should be nice despite the 40 degree day expected. her grandmother is down from cairns for the occasion.
it's a nice pic isn't it? i've been looking for cat pics and came across this one.

just stuff

i haven't been on the wii as much as i'd like. i like tennis. playing those little muppet people is quite addictive. leaves me puffed so it must be something of a workout and therefore good for me. my g/daughter is excellent at boxing. the kids love it. although the telly is in mortal danger of getting damaged. esp. when daughter was playing it yesterday. boxing and tennis. bloody hell she was swinging around the lounge room like a kid on too much red cordial. i had to keep sending her back to her corner. hahaha on another subject entirely, i am looking for a mattress. you'd think it would be fairly easy but i'm not having much luck so far. can't make up my mind. what do i know about mattresses? not much. and they are so expensive these days. we bought this one in 1983. wtf? i hear you ask. it's in excellent condition but i'm afraid not as comfortable as it could/should be. my friend Maz has the most excellent bed. it's really high so that you just about need a ladder to climb on board but once up there it's like being on a lovely fluffy cloud. so comfy. i want one. oh well, i'll keep up the good search. my Perth friend was kind enough to send me some of my bali coffee recently coz i can't find it anymore in adelaide (have you heard this story before?) anyway, the coffee she sent is the same brand but a different variety. at first i didn't like it at all (anyone want some bali coffee) however, i've made it a different way and although it's not quite as nice as kopi murni (this is kopi bubuk) it's ok i spose. Jackie from work is in sydney this week and i've got her on the job too. surely she will find some, she's staying right next to Chinatown. i'm hoping so. weekend is nearly over so should get ready for another week at crazytown aka work. i'm listening to the wonderful mr ray charles atm. sublime. it's the genius loves company cd made after his death i think. good listening.

we got locked in

my lounge room on saturday night. my g/son was staying over and i was cooking tea. luckily i turned off the stove to wait for the veggies in the microwave and came into the lounge and put the heater on. i closed the door behind me to keep the heat in just like i do every night of the week. i heard the microwave and got up to finish tea and that's when the fun started. i just couldn't open the door. it turned ok but nothing happened. of course i thought that something had fallen in front of it. very strange. i managed to get the doorknob off but that didn't improve matters at all. didn't make it worse though thank goodness. we pushed and pushed, wiggled the door knob and decided that we'd best call for help. luckily i'd turned the stove off and we had the phone in with us. there's one upstairs too so that was ok. we rang my son who came over but took for ages as he got stopped by a freight train that stopped over the intersection and blocked the road for over fifteen minutes. they eventually got here and my son started to take the pins out of the door. he worked with a locksmith for about a year years ago so he knew what to do. how lucky were we? i must admit i was starting to get a little bit panicky, Anthony was fine throughout. he wasn't worried. i was very pleased to see my son and his family and will get the door fixed as soon as possible. Anthony and i went to the museum which was great although he insisted on taking the stairs all the time and i prefer the lift. sore hip and legs lately. we went on a popeye ride from the zoo to elder park and walked back. that was really nice. we saw a pelican and lots of baby ducks. next time we are going to get a paddle boat. the river was pretty dirty too. all in all we had a great weekend. i hope yours was good too. it's nice to see daylight saving start. it's still light when i get home for a while. i did the washing tonight. enjoy

blah blah blah

i'm sorting my books out. i have a bootful to take to the second hand shop. some clothes and two handbags. only two thus far and a few clothes. it's a start. i feel a bit 'funny' today. sort of misplaced. bit lopsided. it will pass no doubt. today is grand final day and my son barracks for geelong so i hope they win. i wouldn't know one end of a footballer from the other. i'm babysitting tonight. my son's step daughter who is disabled and 22. they are going to a party which is rare for them. i hope his team wins coz he'll be a bit grumpy if they don't. i was supposed to have my g/son tonight as well but haven't heard from my daughter. and if you read facebook you'll know that i'm out of my indonesian coffee and i can't buy it anywhere. i hope this situation improves soon coz i'm already hanging out for it. to say i'm addicted would be an understatement. ahhhhh. i got a new (almost) suitcase recently from the second hand shop. a real bargain as the case is a very good brand and it was super cheap. i checked it out and didn't find anything wrong with it but alas, when i got home i noticed that the zip was coming away from the case and needed stitching. ah i said to myself, that's why it's in the second hand shop. so i took it to be repaired thinking it would cost the earth but luckily it didn't. so i have a very nice new (ish) suitcase. this is indeed lucky because the old one has finally gone cactus. i've been lugging books down the stairs in it and i think it's finally died. beyond repair this time. each time i get back from bali i say the poor old thing won't make another trip but it always does. now i can fill it with shoes or handbags (hahahaha) and stash it under the bed. unfortunately the new one doesn't fit under the bed. oh well. i just wish the asian supermarket would get me some coffee. have a good one

ps. i'm giving up scrabble coz it's downright embarrassing how bad i am at it. i totally suck. it's depressing. no more scrabble for me

cars are expensive to upkeep

and as soon as you drive it off the lot, if you are lucky or silly enough to get a new car, they lose so much value it's not funny. ten years on i suppose i'm lucky that i really haven't spent a great deal on it. it's been reliable. today i went for a service and that was ok $120. not too bad. then he found the front brake pads were worn so changed them over for another $120. hmmm. then said the fan belt needs changing, there's two apparently. $90 bucks i put off until next time. then when i picked it up he told me the timing belt is on the way out. doesn't sound too bad does it? wrong!!!!!!!! there are two options. a) $300 for the belt. but....... $600 if i get the 'kit' and change the valve things or something like that at the same time. also, there's a water pump at the back of the timing belt which if it isn't changed and it leaks on the timing belt there will be expensive and big trouble. he said the timing belt if it goes will cause the whole engine to have a major cow and cost me thousands. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i filled up with petrol on the way home too. and to make matters worse i wasted the whole day coz he didn't look at it for about two and a half hours. he didn't know i needed it 'urgently'. well yes, i would like it back the same day but i shouldn't complain should i? but i will :)

productivity

well i've had quite a good day except for lunch. roast beef bagette from the local cafe usually delish but today yuko. different cook? don't know. not important. should have gone to subway. i got things done i've been meaning to do for ages.
got a haircut
put a wii and wii fit on layby at big w. good price i think. 430
two new tyres on the car. feels like i've got power steering
b/day present for my sister (just a little filler one, but cute)
phone card for the mobiles i send to bali for the poor. lol
nit comb thingy for my g/daughter who always gets them at school coz some mothers don't get rid of their kid's head lice. sorry to mention head lice. i itch every time i hear the word and her mother is threatening to cut her hair.
some reprints from office works. their prices are good and you can print any amount
and two biggies
new work shoes
and a new bra
i've desperately needed shoes and a new bra for ages. old shoes squeaked when i walked and have a split in the side. very embarrassing and old bra just died, as they do. woo hoo. i even had a nice coffee, oh yeah and i got a new dictionary (can't find the old one) to cheat at scrabble. don't tell Kim. hee hee. i also got in the mail a little blue tooth thingy for my computer. it's tiny. they call it a dongle. another lol. you can hardly see it in the usb port.
here are some great photos to peruse if you care to. not all of bali. i like this bloke's (hope it's a bloke) work. enjoy. the link is in the title i think.

i've got library disease again

cleaning, sorting, chucking out stuff. some of my cupboards actually have room in them. i bought a shoe organiser thingy and it holds twelve pair. it goes under the bed. i got two and still have four pair left over. it doesn't hold boots. i need a new pair of shoes for work and keep putting it off coz i'm very hard to fit and with the orthotics it makes it very hard to find a pair that fit well. the pair i have now squeak. my podiatrist tried to fix it but couldn't. i bought one of those over the door hook things and have hung all my handbags on it. well most of them. i still haven't gone through them but i will. i have a boot full of stuff for the second hand shop. i still have too much stuff.

how to piss me off

put me in a doctor's surgery with lots of sick people esp. one who is coughing non stop and sitting right under the 'if you have a cough or sneeze please ask for a mask' sign. maybe they didn't know who to ask. no-one said anything. not even me who really wanted to. i wanted to go up and ask for a mask. how long did i wait? one and a half hours. i was cold, hungry, super stressed and yes, pissed off. i read two old magazines. i was slightly amused by the she must be on something girl who talked on her phone and begged someone to come and get her. she had to have an injection. i know this because she ran out of the doctor's room and dragged her boyfriend (yes, he came to get her) in coz she was scared. i wasn't last to be seen only second to last. i've had the worst time at work this week coz we are super busy and i'm stressed out of my brain. wednesday is my day off and i'm looking forward to it immensely. i'm going to a mini printing workshop and then meeting a friend for a drink in the afternoon. i feel better now, thanks for listening. *weak smile* however, just to top it off i've just made coffee and i've got NO MILK. yes, i'm shouting. i'm going to drink it black. can't be bothered going to the shops ahhhhhh serenity now, insanity later

happy birthday ants

it's my g/son's b/day on sunday so i am taking them to lunch. he's 12. growing up so fast and my gorgeous boy. he wants some star wars lego so will try to find it tomorrow. happy birthday ants. nana loves you


we are going to sunflower on hanson road tonight for a belated birthday dinner for mzzz m at work. i like vietnamese food, it's so light and healthy. the beef salad at sunflower is very nice.

lunch

had a nice lunch with my son, dil and g/daughter today. went to the pub near the brickworks market. west hindmarsh. west torrens. something like that. other than that and a nana nap and a little bit of shopping i didn't do much. hope your weekend was a good one.

i found the ring

it fell out of the couch when i tipped it to vac behind. thank the goddess. my son came over and put couch back together so all good now. i must put some material along the gap so that i don't lose anything else. i was sitting here the other night and twirling my ring. it's a habit apparently. i stopped my self just in time. can you imagine it happening again. drrr. i arrived home last night after a dreadful day at work to find on my veranda a chilled bottle of wine, a new umbrella and a book entitled 'the deeper meaning of life'. amazing. turns out my son and dil left them for me. enjoy your weekend. i'm just taking it easy and relaxing. half my luck hey?

i've lost my ring

down the couch. have spent most of the day looking for it. taking the arm off the couch and the cloth under thingy. moved it around the lounge room with son's help. heard stuff move with it. found a ring i lost ages ago, a noodle, a peg, a smartie, millions of beads, a paper clip, the lapis lazuli (spelling) i lost about two years ago but alas, not the diamond ring. i'm upset of course. the ring is not valuable except to me. it's got a lot of sentimental value. couch is in need of repair now or rather putting it back together. i'm in the process of cleaning the lounge room which is way over due. you should have seen the dust behind the couch. shitty day really, but, considering what some people have to face everyday nothing to complain about too much. had a great holiday and will post more about it later. i've got to go back to work next monday so am trying to catch up with stuff until then. my son bought lunch around today. felafel wraps. delish. he's on a detox thing for ten days and doing quite well. he's never eaten very well, doesn't eat much veg or any fruit. he's been having strawberry shakes etc and i'm quite proud of him. i could do with a detox as have had lots of takeaway since coming home. i've reinstalled windows so computer is going along nicely, now all i need to do is find that bloody ring. ahhhhhh

my trip photos

i am too tired to blog just now but will do so asap. meantime here are some pics. there's lots. :)

i'm bali bound

and have two million things to do today. finish packing, shop, clean house etc etc etc. the list goes on. we are flying out tomorrow morning at 8:30 am which means we have to get to the airport by 7:00 am. ahhhhh this also means that i have to get out of bed around 6:00 am. another ahhhh. lol. we are away for nearly three weeks which of course for me isn't long enough. i know, i know............. pic is tanah lot which is most important sea temple about an hour from kuta which is the main tourist area. it's a very spiritual place and on everyone's must visit list. i am looking forward to that first nasi goreng and bintang. selamat tinggal

a book recommendation

the otori series by lian hearn. i am raving about these books. the first is across the nightingale floor and there are four in the series as well as a prequel. lian hearn also writes as gillian rubenstien. i cannot say enough about this series. it is so beautifully written, it's almost poetic and i just couldn't put them down. it's set in mythical ancient japan and tells the story of takeo a boy who is saved by a warrior after his family is brutally murdered and his village burned and pillaged. i am not usually into this type of book at all. there is love, or rather romance, and a lot of intrigue. trust me i'm very fussy with fiction and hardly read much since i studied years ago so when i find a really good book it's such a bonus. i tend to read mostly non-fiction, biographies etc. i left the prequel till last as it is the story of the warrior who saves and adopts takeo. it's wonderful. i was so sorry to finish book four. fantastic read. the web site is well worth a look too. http://www.lianhearn.com/

i am officially old today

no, it's not my b/day. i'm going to buy a bed jacket. probably crocheted. haha. like most people i read in bed before i go to sleep and it's so bloody cold even with the leky blanket on a bed jacket is in order. of course i could just put a top or a pashmina around my shoulders but i've decided to go the bed jacket. i think my late mil had one. i'm old. having said that i'm taking the g/kids to see ice age 2 or 3 or something like that today. the last movie i saw with them was the bolt. love it. :)

handbags

i bought another handbag today. i know i shouldn't as goodness knows i've got too many already. i should go through them and donate some to the goodwill shop but somehow i never get around to it.
the g/children just went home. we had a casserole for lunch (daughter's fave). we went shopping and my wallet is a lot lighter. they keep me poor. hahahaha. my daughter vacuumed for me. thank you daughter, and, although the floors are cleaner the house is messy. i should be cleaning instead of blogging but there's that excuse again. procrastination is my middle name.
i got a gustuv klimt poster print the other day. it cost a bit more than i would have liked but i put it on layby and now it's on my wall and looks really good. so, i'm glad i got it after all.
we went to pondok bali friday night and had a wonderful meal. i love their food. the chicken is my favourite. crispy, succulent and very spicy. yum.
there you go, the weekend is almost over, back to work tomorrow. it will be monday again before we know it. kids are on holidays so i hope i can spend some time with them.

btw. what's up with blogger lately? every time i use it (almost) it crashes. is anyone else having this problem or maybe it's just me. i'm reinstalled xp again.

a speech from Bill Gates

I Know A Few Twentysomethings Who Should Read This

Part of Bill Gates' speech to school kids entitled 11 Things You Don't Learn In School, where he talked about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world:

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.....

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

where have all the bloggers gone?

la la la. i take that back. i've been wondering why everyone isn't blogging much lately (could it be facebook?) or myface as i like to call it. but as i said i take that back, new post from Mandy tonight and Jo-Anne blogged again as did Margaret. Diane still blogs regularly. i love reading other's blogs. i mentioned facebook and i've been spending so much time on it lately. i'm addicted to that bloody bejewelled blitz game and must admit trying like mad to get a little closer to Mandy's amazing scores. Mandy, i don't know how you do it. please give me some hints. what am i doing wrong? something happened the other night after playing jewells that's made me rethink facebook. when i close my eyes i can still see those little jewells. wtf? does this mean i've been overdoing it? yes, afraid so. i'm trying to cut down on jewells and coffee. i drink indonesian coffee which is quite strong and very nice. i have three a day. i'm trying to cut down to two. i tell myself all the time to drink more tea. green tea is so good for you. but i don't. tonight to mix it up a bit (i'm so cutting edge) i had italian coffee instead of the usual. i know, i know. sad isn't it?

it's all go

lol. i've got laryngitis and bronchitis so have been home for a few days. getting better now although my voice is still croaky. my son came for breakfast today and i've just come back from shopping. i've been looking for a beach towel. yes, a beach towel. do you know how hard it is to find summer stuff in winter? the towel was half price so i'm pleased about that. ahhhh. i had a nice visit with my sister in wallaroo on the weekend. good trip up and nasty weather coming home. it's been nice and sunny this week and i've managed to get the washing dry. told you my life is a non stop excitement fest. lol. i guess i'd best sort out my messy house as i have to return to work tomorrow, a nana nap might even be in order. have a good one.

vista or xp? that is the question

i recently changed from xp to vista and really like vista but computer had a major hissy fit and i couldn't get xp back. most of my hardware wouldn't work. big problems. well, i got xp back on and computer is running beautifully. (cross fingers and toes). lol. but, i really like vista. i might put it back on and if it doesn't run very well i'll change back to xp. i'm going to wallaroo tomorrow to visit my sister. really rotten weather is forecast so i hope i don't get washed or blown away. have a great weekend where ever you are. :)

you are not going to believe this

but i found my painting. i wasn't even looking for it as i'd given up and accepted the fact that i left it in the hotel room in bali. it was behind my dresser and i'd folded back the mount to make it fit in the suitcase. (always too full). i've got to get a frame for it now. it's a funny size, that's why i put it behind the dresser aka the too hard basket. i should put them all on one wall and paint the frames the same colour. yes, i've been watching better homes and gardens. i went to the physio again tonight coz i have a sore back. i realise that it's because i'm slumping on the couch whilst surfing on the laptop. very bad habit. it's my son's b/day tomorrow. i think we are going to have lunch which should be nice. :)

i didn't forget you

i broke my little pot of miracles which is quite upsetting really. i've superglued it but it's noticable. don't cry over broken miracle pots i say.
my grandson stayed over on saturday night which was nice. we had a good time together. i haven't seen the g/kids for ages as they've been sick, firstly with colds/flu and then they all got whooping cough. even their father had it and he's still quite sick. they are all coughing as is everyone at work. if it's not the public it's the staff. i hate going shopping with everyone coughing and sneezing as i am paranoid that i'll get swine flu. lol. i'd love to wear a mask at work but you know. i hope you are all well and avoiding the lurgies as much as possible. it's wet and cold so i'm cleaning upstairs and have vowed not to play bejewelled blitz on facebook until i've finished cleaning. i've got the actual game but it's not the same. that one minute thing is addictive. i hate it. i am trying to post the pic of my miracle pot but blogger won't be in it. oh well, back to cleaning for me. have a great day

a painting

last time i was in bali i went to the kuta art market and bought a small painting. i buy one every trip. well, i don't know why but yesterday i suddenly remembered buying it and i don't have it. did i pack it? no idea. i think it may have been in a magazine to keep it flat and the magazine got recycled. so no painting. unless it's around here somewhere. i can't even remember what it looked like. oh dear, it sucks getting old.

i've booked our trip

well not me exactly, my friend from WA did it for me on the net coz i'm such a baby when it comes to travel arrangements. i'm waiting to hear about the hotel and it's all good. i've not heard from our usual TA which is very poor as we've used her about four or five times and it's been nearly two months. then i got two more quotes and haven't heard from them either. what is it with TAs? so i bit the bullet and Leonie did it last night. i'm quite relieved actually. we are staying at a different hotel this time which is exciting. new places etc etc. i've started packing already. suitcase is on the bedroom floor so i'm chucking things in as i pass which is my version of packing. my son isn't coming over today as g/daughter is sick. i've got to go food shopping later which fills me with almost as much excitement as a trip to bali. almost :)

at last ... my birthday surprise

we went to the elephant walk in melbourne street which is a tiny little cafe with three enclosed cane booths each side of a tiny aisle. it only holds about twenty people tops. the decor is asian/indian and it's got very soft lighting and a lovely cozy atmosphere. there's a queue of people outside every night that they're open as they don't take bookings. i must say i've never noticed it before. i must tell you about my present from Maz. it's a little pot of miracles with 60 pieces of coloured paper inside tied with silver ribbon. on each piece of paper Maz wrote a special word in silver pen. i love it. let's face it i have most things i need/want so this is a unique lovely gift that she put time and effort into making. i love it.

i hate computers

i got a virus the other day. that's bad. i cleaned it up with avg. that's good. BUT since then i have not been able to right mouse click in IE. so i upgraded to IE8. didn't work. so i thought i'd finally load vista. all went well if SLOWLY. yes, i'm shouting. now i only have one bar in my internet connections box thingy. the speed is poor. that's their word for it mine is something else that i will not type here. so then i loaded firefox. it's ok. i've searched the web for a solution to my slow internet problem but i can't understand a bloody word in the answers given and i'm fairly savvy with computers. i'm frustrated. i'm tired. i'm fed up. i'm over it. ahhhhhhhh i suppose i'll have to bite the bullet and ring bigpond help line. i don't mind doing this except that i don't have two hours to spare. although, having said that, if i'd rung them earlier i might have this problem solved BUT maybe not. looks like i'll have to go back to XP. i hate computers. ps. i can right mouse click anywhere i damn well want now. yay

cairns

i'm back from my week in cairns. it's was good however, one week is not enough time to see or do much but i gave it my best shot. good trip up and back, flew jet* direct. weather was good, warm, hot some days, nights were mild. there are mountains all around the city which is pretty spectacular, actually the place is very picturesque. heaps of shops and cafes after all it is a tourist town. as a bali tragic from way back i can see many similarities but it's vastly different. i didn't have to change any money or buy a visa or pay an exit visa for that matter. lol. we went to a greek restaurant owned by peter andre's brother who does a mean zorba dance (go figa) and is very friendly. we went to the night markets and had a massage, 40 minutes for $15 and nice asian food. did i mention lots of shopping. i think cairns is quite expensive to visit the locals can get a resident's card which makes it cheaper for them. we went to atherton in the tablelands which was really nice and they had an indonesian restaurant believe it or not, and visited the crystal cave where they have the world's largest amethyst geode. it's truly spectacular. it's called the empress of uruguay. i love cairns but i don't know if i'd want to live there. liyana keeps telling me i should, easy for her to say.

high tea

we had a lovely, if sticky, afternoon. weather was wild and wooly to say the least. nearly got blown away trying to walk from the carpark to the hotel. we were on a long table facing the window which was good. we saw a few brides being photographed outside parliament house across the road. poor things must have been freezing. tea was lovely, lots of sandwiches, quiches, curry puffs, tarts, pies, scones, jam and cream, champers, tea and coffee of course and soft drinks. good company too. my granddaughter looked gorgeous in her pretty pink billowy frock with a lovely little sheer long sleeve jacket on top and then to go outside her jacket. she had the little gold ballet slippers on i bought for her last weekend. they looked lovely. her mum did her hair with a plait down the back and the rest of her hair loose. she looked gorgeous. yes, i know i've said that before. i bought her a chinese jade bracelet which fitted beautifully but she broke it. i let her wear my jade necklace to match and she broke that too. the necklace is fixable. i didn't see what she was doing when she broke it but she said she was dancing. oh well. i took her home last night and was exhausted by the time i got home. we had a lovely day, well worth it. i recommend it for a special occasion.

unexpected developments

i haven't posted for a week or so as have been flat chat. work is rather hectic atm. well my surprise last night has been postponed because Maz's mother is in hospital. she suffers from dementia, borderline schitzophenia (sp.) and alzheimer's and to top that off she has jaw cancer. she's had a massive op. where they've taken a skin graft from her wrist, a bone craft from her arm and a muscle graft from her thigh to repair her tongue. can you imagine how painful that is? Maz is as you can imagine beside herself with worry and needs some tlc. poor little thing. she can't sleep or eat and her mum can't even talk and she's aggressive towards the staff probably because she doesn't know where the hell she is and is terrified. she'll be in intensive care for at least a week then after three weeks in hosp. she'll be taken to a nursing home. so ... on a happier note the girls from work are going to the stanford plaza today for high tea. of course it's raining coz it's anzac day and my late husband's birthday. always rains on anzac day. my grand daughter is going and there will be three other little girls going too. twelve adults altogether. i'm excited but still haven't decided what to wear. better get upstairs and decide, like now! hahahahaha. hope your weekend is great and you enjoy it.

a birthday surprise

Maz rang this morning and we were going to go to the revolting restaurant at glenelg for high tea. this must be the latest thing. high tea. basically afternoon tea. everyone's doing it atm. it's an antiquated upper class english thing which is really off, however, the girls at work and i are going to the stanford on north terrace for high tea next week. anyway, the rev. restaurant was 48$. hmmm, bit much for cakes and tea/coffee, not even savouries (which IS high tea), so we dropped that idea. then she told me she's arranged a surprise location. it sounds intriguing. doesn't open till 8:00 pm. wear casual clothes, we'll be sitting very close together, it's not dinner but there will be food, it will take quite a while as i won't get home till 1:30 am ish. Maz has been there three times. she said i'll never guess. i'm trying not to think about it too much coz i don't want to guess and spoil the surprise. it's near adelaide. i wonder what it is???????????????

i'm going to cairns

yay. it's all paid for and set in cement. sort of. it's only for a week but i've never been to queensland so i'm excited. only problem is the return flight which leaves cairns at 6:30 am. yes, am. omg. but it should be good. direct flights both ways which is really good. i know it's expensive to do touristy things there but we will watch the pennies and just do a few. i'd like to go to the rain forest walk thing where you are walking on a bridge type arrangement above the rain forest. my birthday on sunday so going out to lunch, not sure where yet. and, i was truly fortunate to receive not one but two parcels via the mail this week. early presents. very exciting getting a parcel in the mail. i haven't opened the one from my sister yet, i'll save that for the birthday. the girls at work are taking me to the stanford on north terrace for high tea in a week or so, so that should be spesh. trouble is i've got absolutely nothing to wear. nothing at all. so that's it for me for the moment. the pic is of a ring i found on etsy that i really like. trouble is i need another ring like i need another hole in the head. not at all. but i like it. it would be better in silver or white gold though.

overdose

oh dear. i've OD on Shirley Bassey. i know, i know, not so cool to some. she's my passion, i've been a fan for %(^*&)(*^ years, which is a long time. my mother had all her records and now i do too. i never tire of her. the voice, the power, the emotion. i've been putting vinyl on to CD as you know and i have to ask myself how much SB is too much. the drama, love lost, yearning, longing, passion, loss etc etc, it's all too much. plus i had a glass of wine this arvo and it went directly to my head and didn't pass go. i spose the antibiotics i'm on could be a factor. drrrr. oh well, c'est la vie or whatever. i should put some offspring on or ac/dc. that would cure me and bring me back from the brink of the emotional waterfall i'm going over at 1000 kph without a helmet or indeed a life jacket. also, i guess i'd better eat something besides a hot x bun. but i do love me some DSB

a little visitor

i'm still sickypoo. a bit better i think, i have medication now. it's been a lazy day really. my son is trying to organise my music files with itunes and god knows there are fifty million of them, ditto images. i've got them on an external drive which is good but oh so many files. he also put some LPs (vinyls) on cd (mp3) for me which is absolutely bloody amazing as i can't get them anymore. who plays vinyls anymore anyway? not me. i've got two record players but never use them. he downloaded a free program and just used a cord to connect it to the computer. it's an amazing thing. the program also records anything that you can play on the computer. anyhoo, as i'm still sick i sat outside with a coffee and a hot cross bun looking at the garden and thinking that i still haven't planted the sweet pea seeds so i thought i'd move a pot to give me some room and there he was. a baby blue tongue lizard. i know it was a blue tongue coz he was showing it to me while he hissed frantically. i held on to the clothes line to get on to the cement and he disappeared. it was like seconds. then i thought well i can't go in there lifting pots and moving things coz he's in there somewhere and he'll eat me. no seriously, i'm not really that scared of them (esp. babies). he ran away and he was tiny (only about 15cms). and there i was all this summer thinking wow i haven't seen a lizard all season. what's with that? usually there's quite a few around the place. so that's my little (minuscule) adventure for today. have a great easter break everyone. rest, relax and enjoy. btw, the image is gorgeous isn't it?

i'm sick

sickypoo. had a day in bed today. it's sort of a sinus chesty thing. not coughing or sneezing. my son and granddaughter had it last week and i think i caught it from them. have massive headache. it's my day off tomorrow so hope i improve by then. my cousin came over sunday so that was nice. other than that nothing much has happened really. nothing exciting at least.

drip drip drip

my son came over to henna my hair today (good son). all good. mixed it up last night with vinegar so you can imagine how it smelt. strong. we had bacon and eggs for brekky and his partner and step daughter came over too. i took my car in to get fixed as lately it's been refusing to start after i drive somewhere and park, usually when it's hot weather. last night i went to the garage up the road to fill up and it happened again. luckily (or not but that's another story) my garage fix it man is practically next door so i walked up and made an appointment for today. sooooo, i took the car up before my son came over this morning. later i rang and the car was ready so went to pick it up and thought to myself i probably should go to the shops. so i did. i had a shower hat on top of the henna and put a summer hat on top of that. well, it was a hot day today and very hot in the car. you guessed it, i started to glow (horses sweat :)) and felt a worrying drip drip drip. sure enough i had started to leak. luckily i had some tissues with me and proceeded to mop up the brown lines going down my face and neck. lots and lots of it. i didn't stay long at the shops as it was just too awful for words. funnily enough, no-one gave me a second look. when i got home i rinsed it off over the bath and then jumped in the shower to finish the process. g_d it's messy and this lot of henna was more sandy that the previous one, it was a different colour too and had more leafy stuff in it. what i have to do to stay this beautiful, it's hard work. btw, the henna is supposed to be excellent for dandruff and kills head lice. not that i had any of either you understand. anyway, it's a great colour and i'm very happy with it.

saturday rolls around again

and i'm glad. i'm surrounded by large piles of books. mostly art books. working in a library is fraught with dangers (if you only knew), the main one being bringing deleted books home. i've got so many it's not funny and with the books i actually buy, well, it's time to get rid of some. the art books i don't want can go to a workmate who's also into art so they will find a good home. most of the others are about sewing/craft so i'll go through them and take some to the charity shop. trouble is they are heavy and with my crook shoulder it's a slow process, hence the piles of books everywhere. i've also got a case full of really great books Liyana gave me so i'll try to sell them on ebay for her. they won't make much money i guess but i'll try. so what are you doing today? me, no plans really. some food shopping and washing, a bit of cleaning. nothing much. tonight is Liyana's last night so we are going out to dinner at henley beach. don't know where yet. she flies out tomorrow morning and i'm trying not to think about it. i was talking to Maz this morning and she said i should go for a holiday and i'm actually thinking about it. as you know i'm waiting for my sister to tell me when she's ready to go to bali again but she's being vague to say the least. i get the feeling she may never be ready. so that means that if i do go back to bali i may have to go alone again. this doesn't worry me too much it's just better with her to do stuff with.
on a very sad note, Maz told me that her mother has cancer in her jaw and is having an operation on monday. she'll be in hospital for three weeks and will take many months to recover. Maz said that she may not survive the op. very sad isn't it?

the fro is gone

temporarily i hope. my son straightened my hair today and i think i made the wrong decision. i wanted a change you see. i have a big birthday coming up and i'm going through my second or maybe third midlife crisis. it's flat as a tack. no really it is. imagine a head full of unruly curls needing a hair cut and now it's very flat and almost straight. there's still a bit of a kink/wave. sort of. you should have seen us. my friend diana told me to put flour in the mix and as she's a hairdresser i did. omg. what a mess. stuff went on ok and sort of dried into a hard shiny helmet. then to wash that off and neutralize. more rinsing and then leave on 'curl enhancer'. yucky stuff. it was in a glass vial so imagine what was in that. we nearly passed out from the fumes of the first mix so had to go outside. this afternoon i got it cut and at a new hairdresser to boot. he's vietnamese and was really very good except that he used those thinning scissor things at the end and the last time i had that done it was a disaster. when i was a teenager in the swinging 60s i always wanted long, blonde, straight hair like mary travers from peter, paul and mary. they were very big in the 60s, trust me. of course i have short, dark and curly hair. why do we always want what we can not have and/or do not have? oh well, at least it will grow out. I HOPE!!!!

the muffin fiasco

no not lupe fiasco, or lupee as i call him, not lupay, blah blah. lupe has nothing to do with muffins, which are cooking as i type. g/daughter's b/day today so got a cheesecake but have been meaning to bake muffins for ages so today was muffin day. i had most of the ingredients but the bananas were frozen and had to buy an orange and an apple. actually it was two apples but i didn't read the recipe very well. grated one apple, got rind from orange, which came all the way from america btw, i can explain, i didn't want to buy an american orange because we have one of the biggest citrus growing areas in the world, but i won't go there today. the mix was very wet and i added more flour. i forgot to mix up the bananas. i really doubt that mushy frozen bananas will work but i have been assured that they will. at least i had vanilla extract. i weighed the dry ingr. but my scale malfunctioned. it's one of those press the button and it goes back to 0 ones. i think i moved the bowl and it may have been a bit (lot) more sugar than the recipe stated. i used the new silicon muffin pans and didn't know whether to grease them or not. there's no fat in this recipe. well, your guess is as good as mine as to whether these muffins will work out. also, i am using one of those convection ovens that mr t is currently advertising from that mail order dodgy place. i didn't buy theirs, i've had mine for ages but i've never used it for cakes/muffins.
footnote: muffins cooked almost perfectly and taste divine. they could have been cooked a few minutes longer and they are slightly doughy in the centre. i'll put them back for a few minutes. i'm having one with a coffee. got to wrap the pressie coz they'll be here soon. yay, almost a success after all that. kitchen is a mess btw. here's the recipe if you are interested:

ingredients For the muffins: 280g self-raising flour 125g caster sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 1/2 cups low fat milk 2 large ripe bananas, mashed 2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and grated 1 tablespoon grated orange rind 1 teaspoon vanilla extract For the icing glaze: 60g caster sugar 3 tablespoons water 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon preparation method Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir in milk, bananas, apples, orange rind and vanilla extract. Mix lightly and spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin. Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown. Check when cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre of a muffin. The muffins are done when it comes out clean. To make the icing: combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute. Brush icing glaze over baked muffins then sprinkle cinnamon on top.

happy birthday

my grand daughter, Jourdain, is nine tomorrow. she's an aries like her nana. (omg) they are coming for lunch, last week they had car trouble and didn't get here, so i'm really looking forward to that.

and now for a rant:
i'm so tired this morning, the fu(king dog next door woke me up. it barks at dogs in the park next door. the neighbour was banging around too. i was so frustrated that i screamed shut up at the top of my lungs and it actually stopped. get out of town. i was in my kitchen and it was out side so you can imagine how loud my scream was. bastard dog and inconsiderate bitch owner. sorry for the language. i'm tired.

a little bit delicate ... sorry

i don't mean to offend but i've had a medical problem (woman troubles) that required a swab. now i know i'm a bit older than most of you but you could have knocked me over with a feather duster this afternoon when i visited the doctor and she let me do my own. that's taking DIY a bit far isn't it? is this normal these days? usually when you have a medical problem they don't even bother to look. when's the last time a doctor actually examined your stomach for example? or maybe it's just my doctor. btw, i only had to wait for fifty five minutes. wowsers

a garage sale

i've never done a garage sale before. interesting experience. everyone warned us we'd be woken up early by the professionals but we weren't. probably coz they couldn't find us. having to go up two flights of stairs may have put some off. god knows how many times i went up those bloody stairs. i put balloons and a sign on my car parked on the road outside in the morning. went up the stairs (again) and they were gone. blew off most likely. i put some more on later in the morning. weather wasn't fab but cleared up in the afternoon. liyana had the brilliant idea of doing a letter box drop but didn't tell me about it until it was too late. we had quite a few customers but didn't do terribly well. things were cheap but she didn't sell the fridge, washer or bedroom suite which is a shame. the washer is a year old and fabulous. trouble is, you can get a warranty and a water rebate if you buy new. it's an electrolux and electronic. going really cheap people. hahahahaha. bedroom suite is leather bedhead, black wood sides and drawer units and a fab gear back support mattress. she paid mega bucks for it and may have to give it to the salvos. she leaves in two weeks. she's coming over to watch dancing tonight (damn) as she sent her stuff up to queensland the other day. she gave me her slow cooker which is quite good. i made a stewy thing in it last night for the kids' lunch today. they had car trouble and haven't arrived yet. it's four pm. oh well. i've got a chicken thingy in it with rice for tea but it might not be ready by then. if not i'll put it on the stove. it's got everything in it, whatever was in the fridge basically. the stew was really delish btw. i still have my washing on the line from this morning and it just rained. damn. you won't believe this but friday night i slept at liyana's for an early start to the garage sale. it was hot in her bedroom and i didn't sleep very well. in the middle of the night i heard her growl, you know like you are really pissed off with something, and woke to see her storming into the lounge room in the darkness. apparently she objected to my snoring. i warned her i snored. she said she could still hear me from the lounge room. how rude of her and she's the one who kept me awake all night tossing and turning and making growling noises etc.

my busy long weekend

we didn't get to the gallery. couldn't find a park anywhere in the whole of adelaide so we went to norwood again and had lunch, shopped a bit and then went to the movies to see slumdog millionaire. when liyana goes to cairns in a few weeks i'll miss going to the movies. the movie was fantastic but a little disturbing in parts. at least the ending was good. it deserved the oscar. i was going to see the g/kids on saturday but didn't get there, so saw them yesterday after the girls left. they came over for lunch and didn't leave till 4.30 pm. great lunch, i made another chicken salad with feta, lime, chicken natch, roasted pumpkin, tomato, lettuce, coriander, mint and i forget what else. it was a hit. i am watching underbelly on the teev, i missed the first one coz i was in bali. i don't know it's good i suppose. matthew newton is excellent as clark. i can't stand him and his father even less, but, you have to give it to him, he's good in this. a real sleeze bag. i'm off tomorrow, my son is coming for breakfast then he's going to do my hair for me, bless him, then i'm going to the optometrist, then physio/acupuncture, then i'm going to try and get a haircut. i tired to get into see the dr but can't until next week. bummer. my lovely indo. coffee tastes fab in my specky new coffee cups. i must take a pic and post it.

art gallery

i am going to the art gallery today with liyana. last time we went to town we went to the museum. i had daughter problems yesterday so didn't see the kids. maz is supposed to be coming over for lunch tomorrow so maybe after that i will go up and see them. weekends are so busy these days we don't get time to chill out. i bought some lovely coffee cups yesterday that are very specky and were on super special so that's good. watched silk last night. was ok, nothing specky. saw babel on friday night. now that was good.

i've got the blahs

i don't know why. i'm a bit depressed. i feel a little unwell, nothing specific, just like i'm coming down with something. maybe i just need a holiday or a decent sleep.

can you read this?

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno 't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

saturday

hiya, yes it's saturday and not bad weather wise. washing is on the line. i've got to vacuum in a minute. just had some watermelon and nice indo. coffee. liyana is coming over tonight for chicken salad and my cousin is coming over tomorrow for afternoon tea. have to go to the shops and buy salad things and something to give my cousin. i haven't seen her for years. i actually went back to bed today coz naturally i woke up too early and i was just exhausted. too many early mornings. feel heaps better now. enjoy your day

what a nice day i've had

it's my first day on part time hours. i've gone from full time to .8 which means i work four days a week instead of five. big pay cut but tax should be much less (let's hope so anyway). firstly an explosion at 2.00 am. was it a dream? no it was real as there were voices and more noises afterwards. i don't know what it was but i woke and my poor little heart was going really fast. i finally went back to sleep and my son came over as promised and we've shifted my bedroom around. the bad part is i have to go through my stuff and as you know there's a lot of it. clothes mostly. another bad thing, i had some fave pants but put them away coz they were too small, i was going to donate them to the second hand shop. they almost fit me again. i'm very bloated atm but i've been eating the wrong stuff as usual and voila it's coming back. so go slow and think before i eat (sorry, note to self). i went to physio and had acupuncture. feel great. went to shops and got pumpkin sushi for lunch. wow, fantastic. i had a cappuccino which bloated me again. i got some nice white musk incense which i'm burning inside instead of near the front door outside. so far so good (allergies). i got some mint tea and some organic ginger and lemongrass tea. my fave. just got home and it seems that although it's going to be 39 degrees tomorrow there will be a change and only 34 friday. now that doesn't sound like good news but it's better than 41 as previously forecast. so that's my day so far. quite good. it's back to work tomorrow and friday but then it's the weekend. enjoy the rest of your day.

library disease

i have the urge again. the urge to purge, to clean, chuck out, tidy and generally declutter. there's that word again which didn't exist a few years ago did it? the spellchecker doesn't even recognise it. clutter, mess, call it what you will. possessions. too much of everything, except maybe youth, money, sex, no we won't go there just now, let's save that for another blog. anyway, i'm in a cleaning mood. everything is messy, even my computer, so i've been sorting, deleting all in readiness to reinstall and hopefully get back to a reasonable speed, it's so slow atm it's not funny. i even put the hundreds of shortcuts on the desktop into, wait for it, a new folder called 'shortcuts'. btw, i call it library disease because that's when we go nuts and weed/cull all the old books etc, everything in it's place and a place for everything. my mother and sister live/d by this principal, whilst i, on the other hand, never quite make it, but i have the very best of intentions. i know what you're thinking. why doesn't she just do it instead of blogging about it but my theory is that if it's written down it somehow validates it and, therefore, i'll actually do it. what bs that is but any excuse in a storm.

blog surfing

let's go surfing now every body's learning how come on a surfing safari with me la la la. one of my fave things to do when i am bored (not often) is blog surf. it's a no brainer really. go to one of your regular blogs and then go to one of their faves that you haven't been to before and so on and so on. keeps me amused for ages and sometimes you find a real gem. sometimes not but hey that's the way the tim tam crumbles. i'm watching two and a half men and i can't believe how much the kid has grown. he's turning out to be sort of cute.

yoga week 2

last week lulled me into thinking i could do this. this week it was hard. we are building up to do the salutation to the sun. i can't do it. it's hard. i hate it. it hurts. but... i know i have to keep trying otherwise i'll never get stronger/better. i have no aches and pains and slept really soundly except that i woke too early and couldn't get back to sleep so i'm tired (and grumpy). :( must practice throughout the week as i think once a week is just not enough. i've decided not to watch morning tv as i get ready for work coz it's just major lame. i can't stand it anymore. who is worse koshy or karl? i can't choose. who do you watch? i'm listening to nina simone instead. much better for me than that dribble. i'm not sure but i think it rained last night.

my son

i love my son. i don't see as much of him as i'd like. he's busy and i'm busy. we are all busy these days. i couldn't finish mowing my lawn yesterday as it was longer than usual because of the heatwave and my shoulder was just too sore. the bloody lawnmower is a push one which is ok because the lawn is quite small but i couldn't push it through the long grass as the wheel just seized up and i don't have the strength. how sad. anyhoo, i rang my son and he came and finished it for me bless him, he did the edges too and cleaned up the paths. then i asked him to put some broom handles together so that i could clean the windows upstairs. they were so dirty i couldn't see out of them. before i knew it he was going up the stairs and taking the screens off and was out on the roof with a bucket and cleaning supplies. wowsers, talk about action man. he then put a little shelf thingy over the sink in the bathroom for my toothbrush etc. sometimes he's the best son. i made noodles today (again) and a nice chicken harissa thingy. very spicy but delish. i've frozen it for another day. i love doing that, come home and heat it up instead of cooking. brilliant. i've had a shower and watching the teev. got to go to the dentist after work tomorrow but just for a check up. hope your week is a fantastic one. i forgot to mention that i ate my first tomato tonight. half of it was burnt from the heatwave but i cut that bit off and it was amazing. truly yummy. i'm so proud, there's four more on the bush. i hope they ripen

marbles amongst other things

i'm sitting here with my feet in a bucket of soapy water with a lot of marbles in the bottom. instant shiatsu foot spa. phoebe from work recommended it. i like it. i'm very tired and my chest hurts. the other night at yoga i stretched my arms which were interlocked at the time over my head and i got this massive pain around my chest like a cramp or stitch. it went away after half an hour or so so i didn't think too much about it but it's hurting today. i've obviously pulled a muscle or something and i'm sure it will go away soon. it's cold in adelaide tonight, i'm hoping for an early night but liyana is coming tomorrow night after work and i have to clean so i don't think it will happen but you never know. water in bucket is getting cold so i'm off to watch the mentalist.

yoga

i went to my first class last night and was pleasantly surprised that i could keep up and only had difficulty with a few poses. it doesn't seem to be the traditional poses that i am used to (downward dog etc). i slept soundly and didn't want to get up. that's a good sign.

a lost lettuce and annnnnnnticccccccipaaaaaation

how can you lose a lettuce? i've managed nicely thank you. it was in my fridge (natch) and now it isn't. i put some in a salad the other day and now i can't find it. maybe i threw it out or it's rotting somewhere in the kitchen (it's a small kitchen), maybe i put in the the cupboard. i'll let you know if i find it. and as for the other part of my title, the cool change is expected at lunch time tomorrow. i can cope with this, less than 24 hours to go, it's easy, sleep downstairs tonight and stay in the lounge room (air con) until lunch time and then open the house. i can feel the cool breeze now.

a sad loss

my sanity, no that's not completely gone yet but give this 40+ heat a day or two more. i'm talking about a tree. as you know i live next to a park which sounds great doesn't it? it's not as good as it sounds. firstly there are dogs and their very early rising owners. make that early rising and noisy. it's them and the dog at 6.00 am. why is it necessary to talk to the dog so loudly at that hour i ask myself? then there are the kids (and their owners, sorry i mean parents) they make slightly more noise than the dog owners. before i start to sound like a complete old grump, once i looked out of my bedroom window and a couple had laid a picnic on the grass below, they were reading and relaxing on a blanket and pillows. it looked very romantic until they started to argue, loudly. once there was a beautiful fairy birthday party with lots of little girls in pink and their mums, also in pink, with balloons and cakes and lots of netting (pink) decorations. i wish i was invited. :) then there are the trees. four of the most wonderful trees you've ever seen (i don't know what they are, i'll take a pic) and two aussie natives that were outside my window. actually there was another one ages ago in the middle but that fell over one dark and stormy night. the trees that were outside my window hardly gave my bedroom any badly needed shade in the summer time. they were a bit sad really and a bit sparse. nothing special really. now the reason for the title of my post tonight. one fell down. probably from the dry earth but that's just a guess. now there's only one trying it's hardest to keep the late afternoon sun from heating my bedroom. well it's not doing a very good job really. they took the poor dead thing away today. cleared it all away, now there's just a bit of extra view of the cemetery to enjoy ??? i've asked the council to plant some more trees but they won't. wouldn't you think that would be a priority in this day and age? maybe i should contact the trees for life. they'd help me. so that's the sad loss, it's not important really when there are far more important issues in the world but i really would like another tree or two planted in the park next door.

kiwi fruit, ants and perfume

i bought a kiwi fruit yesterday. it came all the way from italy. ??? yesterday i had millions (i counted them) of ants in my kitchen which is not terribly unusual this time of the year. i put down some antrid and voila they are gone ........... to my car. yes my car has ants which makes for interesting driving. i may go and see benjamin button on saturday and i'm hoping to see the grandchildren as i haven't seen them for nearly two weeks. only 33 in adelaide today but tomorrow back to 4o before a much cooler week next week. the floods in queensland are on the news again and i feel for the people up there trying to cope with the damage to their homes and properties. don't ya just love living in australia? the other two bottles of perfume arrived from the us yesterday so that's good news. i smell great again ahhhh

my new grandson

i saw the new baby last night. ahhhhh. he's just so adorable i couldn't believe it. his name is benny and he has the most placid nature, so sweet and loving and yes, i did get a bit allergicy (new word), needed the puffer and skin went a bit tingly. i'm in love.

three movies

i've seen three movies lately which is more than i usually see in a year (not counting on the teev or a dvd at home).
7 pounds
enjoyed it. a little slow to figure out what was going on but enjoyable, well done, great acting and the end a little sad.
revolutionary road
great acting. didn't enjoy it, it's depressing. very. unsatisfying too. looked great though.
gran torino
the last one is the new clint eastwood one we saw tonight. wow, it's great. i loved it. it had a bit of everything, i laughed, i cried. clint stars and directed. can't recommend this one enough. very good movie.
we went to zac's at west lakes for dinner, greek food, very nice and then the movie. going to try and go to sleep now.

just a few things

hiya, i haven't blogged for a while so here goes. firstly it's stinking hot here if you haven't heard already. major heat wave. hottest day for 70 years. my mother often mentioned 'the big heatwave of 1939' as i was growing up. it was a stinker. let's hope for a cool change soon. poor kids at school and people without air con. i'm sleeping downstairs which is not as bad as usual coz i got the flip out sofa thingy modified. it has a backrest that when the bed is out flat is a very high bump. very uncomfortable and impossible to sleep on unless you are very short. so it's much better now i got it cut off, i slept really well until 4 am when i woke up and couldn't get back to sleep as usual. plants are not all dead but not looking good. i'm aware that this weather snakes are about (i live in the burbs but next to a park and a cemetery). you must be aware of my lizards as i've blogged about them many times, but i'm always wary of snakes. i'd die if i saw one. shuddering as i type.
i tried to return the perfume to the seller in the us but post office man wouldn't let me send it. dangerous goods. so how did it get sent to me????? i've emailed him again to ask his advice. he's been very friendly and helpful so far. our trainee at work is leaving us after one year so we are giving him a surprise party thingy tomorrow night. the theme is survivor. trainee survivor. he has to do things and get tested, then we vote and well you know. i've never watched the show but they explained it to me. i've just watched food safari, it was american cuisine tonight. burgers, fried chicken, pies etc. looked ok actually. i love that show. oh well, best go. keep cool if it's hot where you are and enjoy the rest of the week. bb