i am nothing without you ... and my coffee

good news

2012-02-18T19:07:00.000+10:30

i've been freaking out coz i've booked and paid for our trip to bali in may and of course i have to have more surgery. i received a letter from the hospital on thursday saying that my pre op consult is on the 2 march and my procedure will be on saturday 10 march. yes saturday. they are so backed up they do surgeries on saturdays. good for me coz i should recover in plenty of time to go away which i was so stressed about, not be mention getting sick again. also, the library where i was working an extra day per week, and gave me the boot a few months ago, wants me back. lmfao. i'm going back tuesdays. they are desperately understaffed and have no-one to do the council desk. lots of the staff are casuals from an agency and are not council trained. i went to ikea this morning with my son and dil. we had a lovely morning. i bought a replacement bedside lamp for the one that exploded the other night. scared the glitter out of me. it made such a loud noise. i thought it was just the globe but alas the lamp is kaput. i also got some lovely vanilla candles and a few kitchen gadgets. coz i love gadgets. i'm working tomorrow. just thought i'd throw that in. :) i'm also trying to update my old laptop. i loaned it to my sister and she's got another one now. the kids can use it when they stay over. it uses xp which is a bit yesterday. i can't download chrome for it. it's a bit slow and i think it only has a hdd of about 80 gb. i might actually reinstall windows and clean it out. i'm defraging atm. it's taking forever. oh well. enjoy the rest of your w/end everyone.

some pics of siamese darlings. too bad if you don't like cats hey? :)

this one looks a bit worried

a missed opportunity

2012-02-15T11:28:00.000+10:30

dayam. i wish i had my camera with me but i didn't. i meant to go up and get it but something came up so i forgot about it for a while. now, you'll just have to take my word for it and let me try to explain it to you. i went to check the letterbox and noticed some of the bitumen in the drive way had broken away at the edge. quite a bit really, it was sticking up. i went over (don't know why) and was amazed at what i saw. a rather large mushroom/toadstall/thingy had grown up and pushed the bitumen out of the way. it was about the size of a small cup. such an unusual site. when i went back with my camera a day or two later the mushy had gone. no sign of it. i thought a pic of the bitumen just wouldn't cut it. :)

my sister and her hubby came down yesterday to get one of their cars serviced in the city. we had a nice catch up and sis has to have a heart monitor fitted for a day or two. i'm not sure how long she'll wear it. her doctor was away and she had to see a fill in. good thing too as her usual doctor is pretty useless. i could do a better job. ok, maybe not. :)

below are some pics of amazing mushrooms. none of them look like mine :)

did you see it sweetie darling?

2012-02-08T22:47:00.000+10:30

the new episodes of ab fab started tonight. love it.

dinner

2012-02-02T21:37:00.000+10:30

my sister is down for a short visit. she went to the hospital today but we ended up in emergency coz her bp was too high to go through with the procedure. we were in hospital for the afternoon. we went to sunflower, a vietnamese restaurant a few neighbourhoods away for dinner. the food was delectable. honey chicken, satay chicken, king prawns and beef curry. all with rice and drinks. yum. we are home now and i have to go back to work tomorrow after three days off. yuk. i'm working sunday too. double wammy. :) my sister is staying over until monday coz i'm going back for my first check up. going to bed now. goodnight :)

movie, dinner and something a little weird

2012-01-25T22:52:00.000+10:30

after work i headed to Carol's place and we had a nice glass of wine with dinner. i think i've told you we are both watching what we eat coz we both have high cholesterol. chicken and onions fried without fat then add a bottle of salsa. delish. and salad. very lovely meal. then it was time for the movies. we saw the descendants with george clooney. i highly recommend it. a really good movie. very well acted, directed and the scenery of Hawaii is stunning. the soundtrack of Hawaiian music was very good too. we were talking in the car park afterwards, as you do, when a young man approached us and asked directions to smithly road. we were about twenty metres from it. he asked which way to go and we told him turn right at the traffic lights. they were clearly visible and he just didn't get it. he got into a car a little way away and drove off and went in the opposite direction. he seemed a bit out of it and we were puzzled to say the least. Carol called her partner to go to her house so she wouldn't be alone and i was a bit nervous driving home but here i am all safe and sound. drama queen that i am. oh, btw, i still have no bloody home phone. when i spoke to the tech this morning he said it would def. be back on today. it's been 11 days. enjoy your australia day hol tomorrow. most people i know are going to have a bbq. :)

traditional gates to heaven at the beach in kuta. stunning

very inviting isn't it?

my fave temple in bali. goa gajah. it dates back to the 11th century (or something like that)

going to pray

yes please

i'm going to give it another try

2012-01-22T22:31:00.000+10:30

i'm going to try these even though my last attempt was pathetic. call me a fool for punishment and wish me luck. there's lots of cheese though.

Lasagne "Cupcakes" from http://www.emilybites.com/2011/07/lasagna-cupcakes.html

Ingredients:½ lb 95% lean ground beef1 ½ t Italian seasoning5 oz mushrooms, chopped16 wonton wrappers,4 oz fat free Ricotta cheese, 1 ½ oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated1 c pasta sauce, 4 oz reduced fat 2% shredded Mozzarella cheeseDirections:1. Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 8 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.2. In a sauté pan or large skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground beef and Italian seasoning and brown beef, breaking it up with a spoon. Add mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until mushrooms are browned as well.3. Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the eight sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Using about half of the ricotta, spoon evenly into the wonton wrappers. Follow by spooning some of the meat/mushroom mixture into each cup (using about half the total mixture) and then splitting ½ cup of the sauce between each cup. Sprinkle about half the mozzarella and half the Parmesan evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.4. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.Yields 8 lasagna cupcakes. we shall see. i'll let you know how they go. sans pics this time i think :) sorry it's in imperial measurements not metric.

Emily

this is what they are supposed to look like :)

i'm watching Baz Luhrmann's version of romeo and juliet. it blew me away when i saw it on the big screen all those years ago, 1996 in fact. it still does. it's an amazing movie. it's stinky hot here and i'm just about to make a milo smoothie. the movie is quite long i think and i worked today so will probably be a late one.

RIP Etta James

2012-01-21T11:21:00.001+10:30

a wonderful talent. this is one of my favourites.

lasagne - fail

2012-01-17T19:58:00.002+10:30

oh dear. the lasagne turned out worse that i thought it would. it looked dreadful and didn't smell so good either. i put it in the slow cooker all night. the recipe was on youtube and theirs worked out nicely. i thought i'd have some for lunch but i couldn't eat it. i make wonderful vegie lasagne but can't make the meat variety. go figure. look at the pic at your peril. it looks disgusting. :( better luck next time hey?

lasagne - fail

i have been procrastinating more than usual lately. i didn't do much today as it was 39 degrees in the shade, so i stayed inside all day and vegetated. i must get my stuff together and do something useful. i hung a blind today. that was a start.

just a few things

2012-01-15T10:47:00.000+10:30

not too much has happened this week. my home phone died yesterday morning but internet is ok. (obviously). there's a little tower that's been pushed over just up the road. it's full of cables and some of them are daamaged. i'm guessing that that is the reason. my keyyboard is playing up. i had a virus yesterday and i tried to d/load itunes but it wouldn't run. i've never had problems with it in the past. i'm going up to see the kids in a while. i'm lookinng forward to that. we may go to maccas and get an icecream and maybe tthe playground. see what i mean about my keyboard. maybe it's the settings. i've just finished watching popasiia. i lovee it. everyone is 12 years old and so cute. my sister is coming down soon. she's got an appointment at the hospital and will stay over to go with me when i have my first check upp a few days afterwards. work is suckier than usual lately as our databases have been affected by a new achieval system. notthing but problems. ahhhh makess everything so difficult esp. when a patron is waiting to be served. the cataloggue is down half the time too. very inconvenient. oh well. could always be worse i suppose. enjoy your sunday :)

my g/daughters shopping in the city

benni, my favourite g/cat. sorry it's a little bit blurry

benni and etta. etta is the feral kitten my son hand reared. she's a daddy's girl and is totally spoilt

awesome and spectacular

2012-01-12T13:36:00.000+10:30

a very special board on pinterest. i love pinterest. such a timewaster. amazing photos. Sam Pryor is the board curator. he's the owner of the fantastic glass board i posted about a while ago here.

http://pinterest.com/Sampry/awesome-and-amazing/

here are just two examples. nature at her most spectacular with just a little help from photoshop maybe :) pinterest.com is certain worth joining if you have the time.

today is a special day

2012-01-11T18:19:00.000+10:30

it's the 75th birthday of the wonderful Dame Shirley Bassey. i wish her every happiness and may she celebrate many more birthdays. her voice is superb and she is a unique talent. i love her.

http://shirleybassey.wordpress.com/

breakfast

2012-01-07T10:09:00.001+10:30

Carol, a friend of mine from work, and i are watching our diet as we both have high cholesterol. she gave me some recipes the other day and some hints about what she's doing with her diet. for breakfast she has uncle toby's cereal and yoghurt. i tried it and it's nice but the yoghurt is full of sweeteners. yuk. also, it doesn't taste good every day. so, i went out and got some greek yoghurt and strawberries and voila. a very healthy and yummy breakfast mixed in with the cereal. i find milk on cereal doesn't always agree with me. i was having porridge most mornings through winter but there's only so much porridge (with a few sultanas) one can eat. on sundays i sometimes have fried tomatoes and toast, and if my son comes over for breakfast i'll have that. i love fried tomatoes. years ago i didn't eat breakfast but now i need it. it's nice on w/ends to eat it when i'm ready instead of because it's breakfast time. enjoy your w/end where ever you are. i've got to go, it's coffee time and rage is going retro this morning :)

well, that's a turnup for the books

2012-01-06T20:24:00.001+10:30

we were all asked to attend a meeting today at different times and places around council. i had to go this morning. it was about the eb that was voted in recently. we tried to get everyone to vote no but they just see the present dollars and don't give a toss about the rest of it. oh well. it's a done deal now. however, we were all floored by the first announcement. it seems that full time staff are not allowed to work weekends. yes, i'm serious. we are a service industry. people come to the libraries in droves on the weekend. sunday is our busiest day. flat out usually. most of the staff are full time. they are celebrating. it's been my dream for years to have a 9 - 5 job and there it is. but i'm not full time. i feel a lot of emotions none of them good. part time staff remain the same. we can increase our hours if we wish. i have taken this opportunity to ask about changing my hideous roster. it's a laughing stock in the service. i had no choice about my hours when i went back to my permanent job. long story (and very long day) short i've drafted the email to the boss, who, btw, doesn't have much say about decisions but can put the suggestions to higher management. i'll work on it on monday as it did my head in today. i want to swap my sunday for a saturday. early start and it doesn't take up the whole w/end. and also to change my days so that i'm working at the end or beginning of the week instead of every day except tuesday. i'm .6 and work right across the week. it's ridiculous. the casual staff we use have had a major pay cut recently too. council changed agencies. $9.00 per hour is a hefty loss. i've just washed the car and the outside windows. it took my mind off of things for a while. i just wish i'd hurry up and win lotto so that i can retire and tell them where to put their eb.

back to work tomorrow

2012-01-04T20:30:00.000+10:30

yuk, but at least it's a short day. i don't know where the hols have gone. christmas then new year and now it's back into the swing of it. we have had a nasty heat wave which thank goodness is over for the time being. 41 degrees is too hot for me. nice weather now except that it's windy. garden has suffered and i got drenched this arvo when the hose exploded and went everywhere. fish are still alive. :) i'm going to get a new mobile on the 27th of this month. i can't make up my mind whether i'll stay with my plan or go prepaid. probably stay on the plan while i'm working. i can ring the kids/family for free, make overseas calls and go on fb all on my plan. oh well, i suppose i should get ready for work tomorrow and have a shower (another one). have a good one everyone :)

happy new year

2011-12-31T18:02:00.001+10:30

have a very happy and safe new year everyone

just a catch up

2011-12-28T09:47:00.002+10:30

i had the kids over for christmas a day early, which is something we often do. we had a nice dinner and then opened presents and that was crazy. kids were excited and it was great. very noisy. i went to wallaroo to visit my sister and her family on christmas day. i came back yesterday and was pooped but had a great sleep last night so feel much better today. i may go to a friend's house for a very quiet new year's eve. i usually stay at home. then, i go back to work on the 4th of january. fish are ok atm :)

i found some old photos on the phone. this is benni when she was little. my favourite grandcat

i'd like to wish you a very happy 2012. be safe, healthy and happy

oh no! another one

2011-12-19T19:56:00.001+10:30

bloody hell. another one died. it was alive this morning. he did look a tiny bit seedy yesterday but not too bad. i don't know what to do about it. i've put the 'medicine' in. maybe i'm feeding them too much or maybe i should change their food. if you have any ideas i'd love to hear them.

the bug run

2011-12-18T19:51:00.000+10:30

we went on the bug run this morning. about eighteen cars in all. weather conditions as you can see from the photos were interesting to say the least. visibility was down to about twenty metres. rain and fog (actually low cloud). we went from burnside to mt lofty summit. i don't know how long the trip was. the conditions were amazing. we couldn't see anything. on a clear day you can see all of adelaide from the summit. at night it's a gorgeous view. i went with my dil and g/daughter whilst other g/daughter and g/son went with my son. we had our own little convoy. we met the other members for coffee inside when we arrived which was nice. dil had a problem on the way back. no wipers, brake lights and something else (i'm not sure what, maybe indicators). she thought it was a fuse but seems it's something more. hopefully she can get it fixed soon. i had the kids for the weekend. as usual, the house is a mess and i'm pooped.

adelaide from the summit on a clear day

getting ready to go

a nice little collection of vdubs. ours are the white and yellow ones

rain

not the best conditions to drive in

visibility not much

we arrived

on the way down. we took a wrong turn and came home the long way. yay

a very generous gesture indeed

2011-12-17T19:58:00.000+10:30

sometimes people surprise you for the good. i was browsing my favourtie second hand shop this arvo with the g/kids. ants asked me to buy him a tripod for the camera. it was $25 and i thought it too expensive so said no as i'd already spent lots of them today already. nicely off course. he went back to browsing, no biggie. anyhoo, when we got to the counter the lady was acting a little bit strangely. she said i have something to tell you. i thought wtf? i didn't know what was going on. then she told me that a customer had overheard the conversation between ants and me and had paid for the tripod. well, i didn't know what to think. i was overwhelmed by the generosity of this gesture. lady behind the counter asked me if i would accept. i didn't know whether to accept or not. i mean what's the thing to do here? i thought under the circumstances it would be best to accept in good grace. who does stuff like this these days? we hear so much bad stuff these days it does my heart good to know there are still people like this in the world. she did it to encourage his photography. wow. on another note it's been weird weather here today. we had a storm this arvo. excellent. it poured with rain and we got drenched. garden loved it. ants bought a bird feeder so we filled it with seed and it's all wet in the garden atm. i hope the birds like it. :) we are going on a bug run tomorrow weather permitting. it should be fun. mount lofty and back. a vw convoy. lol

happy saturday to you

2011-12-10T09:16:00.001+10:30

well it's the weekend again. where does the week go? busy time of the year isn't it? i've had a mixed week. mostly all good. i bought a second hand laptop for the g/children when they are here. it's a toshiba and i think i've got it working quite well. bit of a gamble isn't it? seems to be ok even though someone has deleted the restore partition.
i've booked our plane tickets and insurance for bali in may. i've finally heard back from the hotel and have asked for the room we want. i hope it's going to be ok. my friend from perth is going to bali, KL and vietnam in a few weeks or less. that's exciting. i'd love to go to vietnam.
i'm going to meet the kids for lunch later on and .... i'm working tomorrow. *sad face* it's been quite wet here which is lovely. we had some hot weather but now it's much cooler with a shower or two which is ok by me. oh, and i think i've killed my tomato plant. it's looking very sad. on a positive note, no more fish have gone to fishy heaven and i've fixed the pump regulator thingy with a stylus the kids gave me. the blue tack didn't work. messy i know, but it works

ryan and libraries

2011-12-08T08:23:00.001+10:30

http://librarianheygirl.tumblr.com

do you like books? do you like libraries? do you like ryan gosling? then this site is for you. :)

glass

2011-12-06T09:21:00.001+10:30

http://pinterest.com/Sampry/arts-and-crafts-glass/

check out this page for the most wonderful glass art. gorgeous stuff.

oh no

2011-12-04T10:05:00.001+10:30

1 little fish died this morning. he's been looking a bit seedy lately. the others look ok. i should put some of that blue medicine (my word) in the bowl. the snail is active and healthy. i had the kids for the weekend. i'm taking them back soon. everything is good except that my house looks like a bomb hit it. nice weather which is unusual for adelaide. i hope you enjoyed yours. :)

new family members

2011-11-23T17:56:00.001+10:30

i bought four fish today. and a snail. and some fish tank plant. i will give 1 fish to cookie for her room. i hope they survive a while. the snail is supposed to eat the left over food from the bottom of the bowl. they can eat Dustin's food so i didn't have to purchase more food. they are quite active atm. we will see.

yucky photos and please excuse the clothes peg. it's to stem the flow of air as it's too powerful for the little bowl. i'll get a proper stopper thingy soon.

My friend Mazzy just got back from a weekend away and is sick with asthma. she asked me to buy some binoculars from ebay the other day so i did. no problem. she posted the money monday and posted it to the wrong address. dayam. it may go back to her coz she put her name and address on the back. it was in a christmas card. let's hope so. too much money to lose. i went down to the number she addressed it to but there are units there. hopefully it will all be ok. i know about sending money in the post. never a good idea.

i was standing at the sink tonight peeling vegies and all of a sudden a lovely bowl with lemons in it fell from on top of the microwave onto the stove/bench. it was a very nice bowl. blue chinesey pattern on it and it was quite thick. broke into a hundred little pieces. another dayam. oh well. a tiny little bit spooky.

i've been closing the bathroom door at night now and haven't seen any more 'lights' on the ceiling. so that's good. Mazzy said it's a ghost. a visitor. omg. my sister is logical like me and thinks that it's the security lights in the cemetery yard. no problem. i'm back at work tomorrow after five days off. that's going to be hard but it's a short day. :) my sister is coming tomorrow arvo. she's having an mri on her back at the hospital tomorrow and going back to the pain clinic friday. she's also coming to my work dinner friday night with me. all good.

i was scared. very scared

2011-11-21T18:19:00.001+10:30

i was trying to sleep and turned over in bed to face the upstairs landing. there were lights on the ceiling as if someone was moving a torch around. maybe downstairs. omg. this is my biggest fear (except for snakes, sharks, mice, rats and celine dion's voice (kidding). i live alone and always think about stuff like that. anyhoo. it lasted a few (probably) seconds and i sat up and put the light on. i didn't hear anything. my little heart was beating like a drum. the pulse in my ears was deafening. i went into the landing and didn't see or hear anything. for some reason, i don't know what, i went downstairs. brave or stupid. the later i think. nothing looked out of order. doors were locked, windows were locked. curtains looked as i left them. tv wasn't missing :). so i went back upstairs and called my son. we talked for about half an hour and by now it was 1:30 am. he rang off and i laid down again thinking i'd keep the light on. i turned it off after a while and laid there hoping it wouldn't happen again. eventually i fell asleep and woke up way too early feeling like death warmed up. i finally went back to sleep and slept till 9. i rang in sick today. i didn't want to but i felt awful. my thoughts are that it may have been the security light in the cemetery yard outside the bathroom window. i can't explain why the light was moving around. that's my only explanation except that it could have been someone in the backyard shining a torch through the glass door. i hope that wasn't the case. the only thing out of sorts outside this morning was a planter near the hole in shade cloth out the back was slightly leaning over. this could have been like it before or not. i don't know.

kd lang and me

2011-11-16T07:47:00.001+10:30

words don't describe how fantastic kd lang is in concert. wow. her voice alone would be enough but she dances, she plays banjo and guitar, she jokes and talks a lot which i like. bob dylan didn't open his mouth except to sing which i found rather rude. i had the most wonderful night. her version of hallelujah by leonard cowan is sublime. almost a religious experience. it gave me chills. of course she sang lots of old favourites (with a new twist) and stuff from her new album. the siss bang boom band behind her were fantastic too. she was dressed in black pants, red shirt and a very nice black jacket with a white scarf. she looked very swish (almost like she was channeling elvis but better). the band were in red shirts and black pants. halfway through the night she sat down and kicked off her shoes and socks. she used to perform in bare feet way back then. i was not familiar with the opening act of two blokes from cattle country in queensland but they were quite good. they recorded cindy lauper's 'girls just want to have fun' for triple j's like a version. it was good. i took some photos with my phone coz i didn't realize that i could take my camera so i apologise for the quality of them. look hard, she's in there somewhere. when i went to ac/dc they frisked me for drugs and weapons. that didn't happen at kd lang. lol. all in all a wonderful night. front row seats are really spesh and it was the best birthday present ever. thank you lovely son, dil and adina.

a concert

2011-11-13T08:58:00.001+10:30

my son and family gave me front row tickets to see k d lang tonight. wow. she's wonderful in concert, we went to melbourne on a tour bus (small) to see her many years ago. i have to work until five and then will come home and change etc etc. i'm excited kd lang in adelaide tonight

kd lang

well really

2011-11-11T23:00:00.001+10:30

i've been doing the usual stuff. work. kids. a little bit of gardening and sorting. i pulled a few weeds and planted some easter/christmas lillies. i changed my lounge room around and decluttered a bit. that's good. what really p&ssed me off this week was the fact that i changed the colour of my glasses and not one person noticed or remarked on it. the glasses are exactly the same except for the colour. i usually wear the red ones and changed them for the blue. i feel like the older i get, the more invisible i become. hmmff. i'm working on sunday. you know that's not my favourite thing. enjoy your weekend whatever you get up to.

we went to the playground

2011-11-04T08:17:00.000+10:30

Ants in the swinging hammock. i'd like one of these in the backyard.

daughter and cookie in the seesaw. huge

Ants in the cubby house

gorgeous Cookie on the twisty thing

Ants and Cookie on top of the world

Ants and my shadow :)

Lovely day here yesterday. Michael (son) hennaed (?) my hair which was long overdue. he also sorted out my tv connections as i've moved the lounge room around. i bought Dustin a new bowl which i hope will be big enough after i destroyed his tank the other day. i went to see the kids and we went to the new fangled playground at the wetlands. how modern is this area? nothing like the playground next door in the park which is quite ordinary in comparison. they had a lovely play in the eucalypt scented fresh air. it was a very nice day. i took the tablet to show them and they played a few games. back to work today then i'm off for the weekend. yay

check

2011-10-30T11:04:00.001+10:30

i found this photo of me when my daughter was moving house last weekend

a bat embryo

a lovely elephant photo

the one and only dame shirley bassey

my daughter and grandson

cookie took this photo of herself recently :)

shower and shampoo - check
delicious fried tomato and toast brekky - check

indonesian coffee - check
check internet for mind boggling content - check
play dr mario (i'm up to level 16 high) - check
get motivated for the day ahead - i'm working on it
i've got to go to work today - ahhhhhhhhhhh
enjoy your sunday wherever you are

a bit of a stressful day

2011-10-27T08:16:00.003+10:30

not an especially great day really. i waited 2 hours to see the specialist for 5 minutes. i exaggerate all the time but this is not one of those times. he told me nothing the local doctor hadn't already told me. hardly anything really. they removed the tumor. i'll have to go in again in february for a procedure to check it. bit of pain i'm still having is normal. blah blah blah. screaming on the inside. i walked back to the car through the botanic gardens and looked around me at the wonderful trees, blue skies and just a nice atmosphere. it was a lovely day here yesterday weather wise. started to calm down and breath.
then, i got home and the tablet arrived. ahh good i thought. no. i hate the bloody thing. it's weird. lol. i'm sure i'll get used to it. it's got a weather widget on the home screen for shanghai. i finally found out how to change it and oz weather is not one of the countries listed. screaming on the inside again. then! sitting here tired and emotionally spent i went outside to the bin and heard water running. strange. turns out my outside tap was running and i couldn't turn it off. i called a plumber who arrived within half an hour. very lucky for me that he was just around the corner. i'm off to work for four hours. short day today, long day tomorrow and i'm working sunday. you can't have it all :)

lots of kitties

pic is kitties. lots of kitties. siamese kitties. how gorgeous are they? ahhhh kitties have such a calming effect

udpate on previous post

2011-10-24T08:13:00.000+10:30

no, unfortunately not moving to bali. i wish. i know it's not that much further away for my daughter, i'm just a drama queen. i found my ring in the dish rack. fb is back on my phone. number one rule of IT. turn it off and back on again. for someone who teaches basic computer and internet drrrrr. my computer is much better. i restored it to an earlier date. took kids home last night. they tired me out. i saw the first lizard (blue tongue) of the season yesterday. i cleaned out the cupboard under the stairs (no, he wasn't in there thank goodness) and put some stuff in the shed. we must have disturbed him. he was a big boy too. kids got to see him. cleaned out dustin's tank. he's a happy little siamese fighter now. saw the grand cats on saturday night. my son has a scaletrix track around the dining room and they all played on that for a while. i had a go too. i remember my husband had one set up years ago. they seemed to be fixing it more than playing it. those corners are dangerous. lots of crashes. hope your weekend was a good one

moving day

2011-10-22T10:07:00.001+10:30

i've been thinking about bali quite a bit lately

this is quite specky. a little bit ott perhaps

i think this is in the maldives.

a fish in a bottle. clever photoshopping me thinks

my daughter is moving house today. even further away :( i'll need a cut lunch to get there. not entirely joking there. i'm having both g/kids instead of just cookie. that's ok. i'm having computer probs. nothing serious. just a very slow internet connection. i think i'm getting there. i'm using google chrome which i really like. also, i can't get fb on my phone. i've just started accessing it as it's included in my plan. although i have to ask myself why. why? anyway, since i can't get it now it's bothering me. i lost a ring yesterday. it may have gone down the black hole which is my couch. i lost a diamond ring down there once and had to practically pull it apart. it's never been the same since. oh well. little things.

a tablet

2011-10-20T18:16:00.000+10:30

i bought a tablet last night. oooohhhhh exciting. i hope it's going to be ok. it's a 10.2 inch screen and seems quite powerful re ram etc. it comes with a case and keyboard. you can, apparently, surf the net, fb, youtube, and all the usual stuff, watch movies, listen to music, play heaps of apps/games and read ebooks. i got it so that when the g/kids are here they can watch their youtube vids etc. and it will be good to take up to bed without unplugging the lappy. other than that not much news really. my son came over for brekky and the electrician came and fixed my bedroom light fitting. i'm back at work tomorrow but may have cookie for the weekend. can't wait.

it's saturday

2011-10-15T12:06:00.000+10:30

yay. i'm going to have lunch and do some shopping with the kids. i'm looking forward to that. i've been cleaning out my kitchen cupboards (finally) and you should see what i've chucked out / recycled. lots. i've got more space. :) dil's vw is fixed so they are both on the road atm. it's not the best weather here but rain is lovely. the garden likes it. time to get ready i suppose. enjoy your weekend wherever you are. i'm going to take a few moments to say thank you to the universe and be grateful for what i've got. seriously

i love the back porch. so homey

somewhere in california (i think)

i so want one of these. it would fit the shopping and a passenger or two

i'd like one of these too. nice scooter

someone left their bug out in the rain

love bug

a little treat

2011-10-08T23:04:00.000+10:30

i have discovered affogato. simply a scoop or two of ice-creme with a shot of espresso poured over the top. no recipe required although i did see one that added whipped cream on top. a bit of overkill perhaps or maybe not. actually i've known about it for years but have never tried it. well now i have. wow. it's divine. hungry jacks (yuk) have a version which isn't all that terrible but of course homemade is best or failing that the nearest cafe should be able to help. i would like one right now. i've been buying gifts for christmas. it's always hard to find something that the recipients will like. my sister is a little hard to buy for, i'm thinking jewellery. kids are easy of course. i always find men harder to buy for than women. i'm pooped although i really didn't do much today. a little bit of shopping, a little bit of cooking, washing, gardening etc etc. by gardening i of course mean pulling out some weeds. cleaning should be on that list but you know how it is. i'd like to go through my clothes and cull a little bit too. i might do that tomorrow.

oh dear. as a ps to this post i just made an affogato and used my indonesian coffee which is a bit gritty to say the least. then i couldn't find the italian espresso maker thingy so i used the plunger. disaster. it tasted fantastic until i got to the coffee and, i don't know, i sort of breathed in when i swallowed the first mouth full or something coz it went down the wrong way and i've been coughing ever since. a tip: when this happens if you hold your arm up above your head (i'm not sure which one or if, in fact, it actually matters) but it seems to help. i'm listening to asa atm and she's wonderful except that i don't understand african or whatever language she is singing in. but it's still good

http://indaily.wordpress.com/category/womad/

8 ball and other stuff

2011-10-04T19:28:00.000+10:30

i went to see Mazzy today. she cooked a wonderful lunch and then we played 8 ball. i excel at getting the white ball in the hole but that's not a good thing apparently. seriously, in my misspent youth i was quite the champion at 8 ball. my dad was a billiards champ but i could never get that game. too many colours. i used to know how to play it but have forgotten. i've also forgotten how to play chess. my first boyfriend taught me a hundred years ago. they tried to teach me again in bali but i couldn't catch on. i didn't give it my best shot. they love it over there. all the young men play sitting on the footpaths outside their shops in the afternoons. anyhoo, we had a really nice catch up and we enjoyed our afternoon. her little Bo doggie was gorgeous and she gave me a lovely plant (snapdragons) instead of flowers coz i've been sick. awwww back to work tomorrow. :( omg i've nearly forgotten how to library. it feels like i've been away for ages instead of a week and a bit. then a lovely work friend is visiting in the afternoon. ahhh it's great to be alive isn't it? lol

long weekend ... yay

2011-10-03T12:57:00.000+10:30

and the sun is out today. it's a gorgeous day here. well, the vw is fixed. my dil's is not well though. it cuts out at traffic lights. my son and dil did not realise that to own a car (s) that is older than themselves they need to be wealthy. lol. i had lunch with them yesterday which was nice. my son is really happy coz his team won the afl premiership. i'm happy that he's happy. i don't follow football at all can you tell? i have to go back to work on wednesday and i've become a tad lazy and am getting used to not working, sleeping in rocks. pity i'm so used to the money and the little luxuries in life like electricity and food and petrol. lol. i can't see the kids today coz my daughter is working and g/kids are at their grandma's. i might drink some water and go for a walk. or, i could clean the house. or, i could finish the book i'm reading. ikea is open today too although nothing else in adelaide is. that's a thought. we close the place on long weekends.

sweet little angel kitty

somewhere (expensive) to write the shopping list. it wouldn't be weather proof though would it?

lovely pic from india

i love this little pic. the dog reminds me of my g/friend's little Bo. he'd look super cute in this.

a little bit sicky poo

2011-09-30T13:46:00.000+09:30

remember the cat scan i had a while ago? it wasn't good news. not the worst news ever but still not good. well, i had an op on monday and it went ok i think. i'll have a follow up in four weeks. then, yesterday, i had another consult for another problem the cat scan found. good news with this one as i only have to have two relatively simple procedures and it should be ok. no surgery required. i'm crossing my fingers on this one as i thought i'd have to have a biggish op to fix it. see, sometimes good things happen. the other problem will require frequent follow ups as there is a high percentage of recurrence. is that a word? hahahaha. i'm off work until next wednesday so should feel better by then. it's a public holiday on monday. yay. my dear sister has been here for over a week to look after me and the kids and my lovely friends have been wonderful. i am truly blessed to have them. i've got to go shopping this arvo and i think i'll catch up with my son and his fam for a meal later on. my daughter is unwell atm with a cold so i'm not able to see the g/kids for a while. i miss them. enjoy your long w/end if you are having one and if you are not enjoy anyway and live your lives people. we've only got one oh btw, my son's beetle is in for repairs. it's an electrical problem, no indicators or something like that. i hope it's going to be ok. pic is of my sister and me (not really) i'm on the right. lol

i thought so

2011-09-23T10:41:00.002+09:30

a while ago i posted this photo. the caption said it was a castle in ireland. strange that i'd never seen it before as it is so unique and certainly unusual. it looked like it was photoshopped.

well sure enough, i found this today from a travel site. it's Phang Nga Bay in Phuket Thailand.

it just goes to show that everything on the internet is true :)

i sort of lost my job

2011-09-14T12:07:00.001+09:30

well only one day. about a year ago i had to move back to my original library where i have a .6 permanent job and was offered one day at the parks to retain my hours and fill in coz they don't have enough cs staff. i'd been at the parks for 14 years full time but on a contract. there has been a lot of press about the centre closing down as the land and buildings are owned by the state govt. and the local govt. leases the building for the library. it's complicated. i had a meeting yesterday and thought my contract was going to be extended for 6 months instead of the usual 2 years which is ok as i expect the centre will hang in there for a while. they are talking about building a new library and sports centre but info changes weekly and there is so much going on i can't keep up. not so. i've lost my day at the parks. i'm very sad. oh well. at least i'll have tuesdays off now and i'll have less money. maybe if i can kick the ebay habit i won't notice the difference. :)
it's my day off today and i'm going to lunch with my son and dil. that will be nice. how cute is this little felted cat?

finger is much better

2011-09-12T21:17:00.000+09:30

it's healing nicely. i'm pleased. it's just so bloody hard to bandage. no biggie.

a little injury

2011-09-10T10:11:00.000+09:30

thought i'd best post something new as it's not father's day anymore. i cut the top of my finger off the other night using my lovely new non stick red knife. it's very sharp and the finger hurts a lot. i couldn't stop the bleeding. i got upset. :( the clinic couldn't fit me in and the locum wouldn't come coz he didn't have anything to stitch it with although i told them it's not a cut but a slice. i didn't want to go to hospital coz a. it wasn't serious enough and b. i didn't want to wait five hours. i went to the chemist and they sold me some gauze that is supposed to help stop bleeding. sort of worked. i had trouble driving as i had a wad of tissues on my hand soaked in blood. it's most inconvenient to have one finger out of action, esp. typing etc, let alone a more serious injury. my tailor friend in bali went home to java for the end of Ramadan and was letting off fireworks. well, i'm sure i don't have to finish that sentence. he has the most horrendous injuries to his hand. he's lost a finger and the pictures he put on fb (omg i didn't need to see them) showed the full extent of his injuries. horrible. so my very sore pointer finger is nothing really. i went to my other chemist on thursday and the lovely pharmacist dressed it for me. i didn't know that you had to keep it covered and dry. when i saw it on thursday morning i thought it needed air coz it was really moist and quite yucky. and of course i didn't have betadine or even a band-aid in the house. i know, that's very slack of me. oh well, could be worse. :)
i don't have any plans for the weekend really. might go up and see the kids. it's very windy and cold here atm. i'm not working on sunday so that's good. enjoy your weekend where ever you are. pic below is a lovely scarf i found (but didn't buy) on ebay.

happy father's day

2011-09-04T10:02:00.001+09:30

to all of the dads. enjoy your special day.

spring is here

2011-08-31T12:24:00.003+09:30

some garden photos inspired by Matthew's blog

the jasmine is chockers and came out in the middle of winter this year. bit early but is smelling divine

some blossoms in the car park

happy daisies

lovely lavender. the bees love it

i've had lots of violets this year

one of my faves. purple bearded iris

nasturtiums. i got them really cheap coz they were practically dead. they are thriving now

orange and yellow

this is a scottish kilt. i don't know what the proper name is. my dil gave me a cutting from her plant which is huge and after a while this one has come out in flower and is doing well. they are quite unusual and very pretty.

new toy = happy son

2011-08-20T15:08:00.000+09:30

son

son and his partner sharlene

michael, sharlene and adina

i just came back from a trip to happy valley (other side of adelaide, you practically need a cut lunch it's so far) with son's new volksie. well it's hardly new as it's over 40 years old. he's very happy as you can see from the photos. his partner has the white one. i have to sit in the back, which is surprisingly comfy, if a bit cramped, coz Adina refuses to sit in the back. it needs a bit of work (not surprisingly) but it's not in bad condition. i quite like the colour

seriously weird

2011-08-15T08:15:00.000+09:30

i love reading the post secret website. weird, sad, funny. it's got it all. this one is particularly weird. why wednesday? why not?

postsecret.com
there's a link to it somewhere on my blog

ebay. i'm kicking the habit

2011-08-14T12:08:00.001+09:30

i really am. i've been so good since i got back from bali. i've only bought a handful of things. my friend is much worse that i am. he's got to pay for 14 items. the other night he gave me some hints about bidding on ebay. he said practice by buying something else. we were interested in the china snuff box i put on here recently. it grew on us ok? hahahaha. anyhoo, i ended up buying three bracelets. very nice bracelets. above is a pic of SOME of my bracelets. i don't really need more. they didn't cost much so i suppose it's ok. bloody ebay :)

a new friend

2011-08-12T08:17:00.001+09:30

yesterday i was on my way back to the car after training at port adelaide when i passed a pet shop. there at the front exploring the guinea pig cages was the most divine ebony oriental puss cat that i've ever seen. we made friends and talked for a few minutes before he went off to test out the pet beds. he had a name tag on his collar. in rather fancy writing it said 'Ming'. i wish i had my camera.

an armchair tour

2011-08-10T20:03:00.001+09:30

i found an amazing travel website with lovely photos from around the world. these are just a few of them. check it out if you have time. a nice way to wile away some time. i find it very relaxing

and totally unrelated a teapot from tibet. i like it.

some images that cheered me up today

2011-08-09T20:15:00.003+09:30

i'm very tired and sick of work. i know, me and everyone else who has to work for a living. it's so busy lately. ahhhhh. i am about to settle down and start the census. i won't tell you what i think of it and the millions of $ it is costing. blah blah blah. i am annoyed because on thursday, which is supposed to be my day off, i'm doing some useless training and have an appointment in the afternoon. oh well, c'est la vie. i asked if i could have the wednesday off instead but we are too short staffed. yes, it's unanimous, i hate work :)

lovely sea view

fabulous wardrobe. it wouldn't suit most homes i guess.

teacup rings. oh, i love these. they are on etsy but have been sold :(

my sister gave me one of these fantastic bracelets made out of old forks. mine isn't quite as fancy as this one and don't tell anyone but it's not really very comfy to wear

a lovely painting entitled china rose

and last but not least is this cute little snoopy ring. i like :)

it's the weekend

2011-08-06T10:27:00.000+09:30

China snuff box found on ebay. you'll never guess where the stopper goes. #220823972038

Indian man made up for festival

i'd like to be here. love the surfboard. :)

nothing much planned for the weekend. expecting kids for lunch and ants is staying over. i have to work tomorrow. kill me now. i've been on the council desk all this week and i'm over it. crazy, hectic, busy and stress filled days. i just came back from a walk. it's freezing out there but i'm nice and warm now. enjoy your weekend :)

how NOT to make breakfast by me

2011-07-30T11:04:00.002+09:30

Put two frypans on stove on medium heat. Realize I forgot a light spray of canola oil. Pick up first frypan (without handle). Hmm warm. Spray frypans. Go to fridge for two eggs. Lovely organic eggs from sister’s chicks. Decide to make scrambled eggs for a change after contemplating an exotic tomato and herb omelette affair. Break eggs into a small bowl and take out white spermy bit with two teaspoons. This is quite difficult and can take some time. Also, I think I’m the only person in Australia who does this. I also cut all the bloody bits from chicken breasts. Yuko. Marvel at how yellow the eggs are. Add a bit of milk to eggs and mix. Add pepper and salt. Pour into too hot pan and curse yourself for putting the frypans on too early. Realize there is another too hot frypan on the stove. Go to fridge for a tomato. Can’t find tomato. Sure I had another one in there. Swear a bit. Finally find tomato at back of fridge behind leftover artichoke salad. I’m kidding, who has leftover artichoke salad in their fridge? Wash and cut up tomato and add to too hot pan. Burn finger on frypan. Go to freezer and get out two slices of pumpkin seed bread. Nice. Place in toaster. Turn eggs a bit and add pepper and salt to tomatoes. Turn off eggs. Put toast in again as it’s too pale. Forget toast. It’s a bit brown now but still passable. Turn tomatoes. Butter well done toast and put eggs and tomatoes on a plate. Fill jug with water and put lovely indonesian coffee in a mug. Yes, i make it in a mug. Make coffee and add a dash of milk. Go into lounge and watch an old filmclip of toni basil singing mickey. Bop along a bit. Enjoy breakfast and leave some toast. Return to kitchen and fridge and put a dollop of lime marmalade on remaining toast. Eat. Enjoy. Drink coffee. All in all a very nice breakfast considering what a shambles it was to prepare. Return to kitchen and wash dishes. Ok, that bit I made up. A very young Bon Scott is on the teev now singing let there be rock. Time to bop.

the lone tomato. note to self - buy tomatoes

i didn't have this beauty for brekky. i don't know what it is. a sort of cauliflower/broccoli something. looks exotic doesn't it?

and finally a little ac/dc. Angus should be in skool not hanging around a demolition site with those chain gang escapees.

irish castle

2011-07-28T18:51:00.003+09:30

this is in ireland and i can't believe i haven't seen pics of it before now. it's truly awesome. the pic of the hideaway (previous post) is in france i think. gorgeous day here today but very chilly this arvo. lovely brekky with my son this morning, we played dr mario on the wii for a while. he beats me most times i'm afraid. very addictive is that little dr mario.

dragonflies in the sun

2011-07-28T13:20:00.002+09:30

these two dragonflies were enjoying the sun this morning. spring is surely on it's way. please excuse the weeds.

a little cosy hideaway

2011-07-27T22:16:00.001+09:30

doesn't this look amazing?

amy winehouse dead at 27

2011-07-24T09:52:00.005+09:30

rip amy

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2018128/Amy-Winehouse-dead-A-British-great-life-cut-prime.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

a visitor

2011-07-21T14:19:00.001+09:30

my sister came to the city to buy some tiles yesterday. they're putting them in the bathroom at the shack. or rather, a profesh tiler is and you can only imagine the quote he's given them. omg. cost about five times more than the tiles. and they have to have him when it's convenient for him, not the other way around. they have to wait three months for the man to come and sand the floors. remember a while ago i told you she is having the huge cracks in the bedroom repaired? another massive expense. i digress, we picked up the tiles and had a nice lunch. then, we shopped until quite late. i was pooped by the time we got home. we picked up a few bargains and had a lovely, if busy, visit. she's coming again next wednesday but i'll be working unfortunately. i forgot to mention that she baked an egg and ham pie, which was delish. she also bought me down some organic eggs and some nice stewed apples. a friend with an orchard gives them a batch of apples each year and sis stews them. they are really nice. not too sweet.

la bassey

2011-07-17T11:12:00.002+09:30

i am a passionate shirley bassey fan. i have everything she's ever recorded and have been fortunate to see her live four times. to me, she's the ultimate entertainer. i adore her voice and her passion. words do not describe how much i love this woman. she gives me chills and this is one song that always makes me cry. i don't know why. it means a lot to me. i've been listening to her since i was very young, thanks to my mother who was also a fan and had all of her LPs. in fact, i think a SB LP was the first one i ever bought. yikes, so very long ago. i love SB. i hope the video is playable.

this and that

2011-07-16T10:57:00.001+09:30

my new tattoo. i actually like this one

this is a nice view of the pool and entrance of the pesona beach inn.

kids are coming for lunch. meatloaf. hope it's nice. it's in the fridge chilling. after lunch (and dishes) we are going shopping. i'm so sick of going to work, coming home, going to bed and doing it all again, and again. i need to get out and get some fresh air. a change of scenery. or at least suburb. it's sunny here again today. quite nice although a bit fresh. i should put a load of washing in. i just noticed my kitchen drawers are in the messiest state ever. i might tidy them tomorrow. hmmmm maybe. i'll put it on my list. it's harder to ignore items on a to do list. i've added more than one pic this time. it's all in chinese since the 'upgrade' of blogger. another case of it wasn't broken so let's fix it. just like the finance software at work. that's been a fun week. not ...

a weather report

2011-07-14T10:11:00.001+09:30

you may, or may not, have noticed that i'm always changing the look of my blog. i'm looking for the perfect layout. i haven't found it yet. a lot like love really. :) no, i digress. i decided to look into making my own. (blog layout not my own bloke, that would be too messy). i digress again. i did desktop publishing as one of my modules yonks ago so how hard could it be. right? day off today. i'm going to lunch with my son and dil. enjoy your day. oh, and i forgot to mention that the sun is actually out and i can see a weird colour in the sky. oh yeah, it's blue. still cold though. there you have the weather report for adelaide my job here is done. :)

2011-07-13T18:59:00.004+09:30

i am longing for a short break to somewhere sunny and warm. swimming, eating and just relaxing. longing and in need atm.

2011-07-10T10:40:00.005+09:30

this is a pic of my vincent. i told you he was gorgeous. lol

2011-07-08T22:31:00.003+09:30

my son calls this my 'amy winehouse' photo. i don't think so

scanning

2011-07-07T09:01:00.000+09:30

my son loaned me his scanner so that i can scan some of the thousands of old photos i have. well, it's quite time consuming but enjoyable. i had the cat scan yesterday and i have no stones which is good. they injected me with glow in the dark poison to enable a further scan. will get results back from doctor next week. should be ok. i made tiramisu again last night for my dil's birthday. it's on saturday but we are going to dinner tonight and home for coffee and dessert. as usual, i made a bit of a mess and couldn't resist licking the spoon. oh dear. no mind, it's all good. i made a nice roasted pumpkin and chicken pasta last night. quite nice and a bit different. i'm going to work now. it's my half day as i'm working on sunday. pic is of my first love and me taken many moons ago. ahhh to be young again :)

my baby

2011-07-03T11:56:00.002+09:30

this is a pic of a chocolate lynx (tabby) siamese. it's very much like my vincent but of course my vincent was much more attractive. :) he was 13 when he passed and i miss him every day. he was my faithful companion and my baby. marvelous with people but an absolute terror with other cats. we had three cats, all strays, when we bought him home. he spotted mickey as i carried him into the lounge room and went nuts and peed on me and bit through my thumb nail. omg. he was 12 weeks old and tiny. this was surprising as he still had most of his brothers and sisters with him when we picked him out at the breeder's house. his best friend was tyler, a tabby we rescued when his head was stuck in a cyclone fence. they were inseparable. tyler used to bring him a cricket in from outside every night to play with. poor old fifi, my auntie offloaded her when she moved, was harassed by vinnie most of the time. when i moved in to my current house fifi and vinny were the only cats i had. poor fifi had to spend most of her time outside. she used to bring me a half a rat occasionally as a present. :( thanks fifi. i'm still traumatised by that. once we had some sheets of tin in the backyard. my son was moving them and a giant rat jumped out. the rat was mid air in the middle of trying to escape when fifi jumped up to meet the rat mid air, caught the rat and promptly ran towards my daughter and me. we thought we were a safe distance from the proceedings. she ran towards the back door and expected to be let in. i don't think so. much screaming from daughter and me, my son throwing sheets of iron around the back yard and fifi running around with a rat made the whole situation a little bit nightmarish that i still remember as if it was yesterday. of course after vinny passed i waited about six months before choosing another pussy cat. i found rex. named by the g/kids. turns out i'd waited too long and my immune system was starting to repair itself from my allergy to cats etc. poor little rex made me very very sick. i gave him away to a friend. my heart is still broken. :( i write this blog because my friend has just lost her baby, jessie, to cancer. the family is heart broken and when she told me the sad news last night i thought about vinnie and my own pain when he died. animals are faithful companions who only ask for love and give so much in return.

this week

2011-07-01T20:40:00.002+09:30

i've lost a button from my favourite coat and broke the zip on my favourite jacket. but, i found a flash drive and a memory card i thought i'd lost. good hey? :) lovely pic is of john lennon and his siamese cat. i love siamese cats and john was ok too :)

i have to have a cat scan

2011-06-30T19:52:00.001+09:30

just to check that my kidneys are ok. i went to my local dr today and asked for a mask. they didn't have any. pmsl. you gotta love that. didn't have to wait long either. :) also had a nice visit with my son whom i haven't seen for over a week. bless him. everything is ok. :) that is not my leg in the pic, unfortunately. i want to go on a cruise. Sarah from work is going on a week long cruise to noumea next week. sounds gorgeous doesn't it?

back to work tomorrow or a bit of a rant

2011-06-26T10:40:00.002+09:30

i've had a week off work. pity i've been too sick to enjoy it. no mind. on top of the kidney infection (which is much better, thanks for asking) i was struck down by a chest infection. still have it but i'm almost starting to feel better. well sort of. i blame sitting in a clinic for an hour amongst thirty people who coughed the whole time i was there. i should have asked for a face mask. i was worried that Jourdy would catch something as she was with me. the worst offender was a two year old who sounded like he had whooping cough and whose veiled from head to foot mother (she was probably the only one safe from the floating germs) ignored him and let him run around the entire space the whole time i was there. didn't move an inch. bloody germs. well, i suppose a clinic is where you go when you are coughing like that but still. i love my local doctor's surgery where signs are everywhere telling people that if they are coughing or sneezing to ask for a face mask at reception. everyone is coughing and no one is wearing a mask. drrr. the other day at work a woman came in with her two year old daughter who was also coughing like she had whooping cough. it's a very distinct cough and hard to ignore. honestly, stay home people. who takes a kid to a library with a cough like that? ok, i've had a rant, i'll shut up now. except to say how much i hate that commercial on the teev atm with the woman who sneezes in slow motion. yeah that really makes a difference. not. thanks for listening. at least felix the cat is happy :)

yay

2011-06-22T09:37:00.001+09:30

iv comes out today. last one. yay :)

much improved today

2011-06-21T12:10:00.000+09:30

the lovely home hospital ladies have just left. i'm medicated. :) managed to do the dishes one handed. how clever. all good. bit wild and wooley here again, the roof stayed on last night which is good as it sounded like it would come off with all the wind. it's a good day to watch tv in bed. pic is of an ancient banyan tree in bali. it's sacred and nearly takes up most of the road. gorgeous

i'm sicky poo

2011-06-20T20:48:00.001+09:30

i have a rather serious infection. spent most of today at the hospital on a drip and i think that i've improved as a result. i have to have the 'home hospital' peeps come for a couple of days and give me iv antibiotics. i've got that shunt thing in my wrist to make that possible. i can't get it wet so can't do the dishes. i am taking a bath instead of showering. it's not easy but could be worse. they wanted to admit me. pic is of kuta beach looking north toward mt agung which is not usually visible. you can just make it out in this photo. it was taken in the early morning

pirates

2011-06-15T08:34:00.000+09:30

saw pirates 4 last night and enjoyed it very much. i've heard some terrible reviews. dinner after work with friends and a movie. all good

my sister

2011-06-13T11:38:00.001+09:30

we are much closer since my husband and our parents passed several years ago now. our parents divorced and we were separated when we were kids. her husband has a security business and she works along side him as she has all of the necessary licences. their son also works in the family business but is leaving to work in roxby downs. he plays footy and the football club there has offered him a job and accommodation if he plays for their club. of course this is causing much angst firstly because he's an only child and has lived at home for all of his 25 years and secondly with the business. sis will have to take up the slack as most call outs/jobs require two people to attend. my sister is a semi retired nurse. she started nursing way back in the early 70s and has worked ever since. she seriously hurt her back a few years ago and had to retire. she currently works in an aged care facility firstly working on their acreditations and is now also doing risk assessments, rosters etc. but it's 100 kms there and back. she's doing two days a week but this constantly changes and her manager is going on leave soon and wants her to work more days. she volunteers with a local charity two days a week. she is also going through a major home repair. they are living in the lounge room as the front bedrooms are being treated for salt damp and are unusable. the repair man has left them in a total mess while he undertakes another job and won't return until next week. she hasn't even unpacked properly from our trip yet as there's no where to put it as they are living out of boxes etc. the front rooms were full of rubble and will need painting before the furniture goes back and the carpets cleaned. did i mention that she's the tidiest person ever. to the point of being a tiny bit compulsive, although she's better than she used to be. she has a lot on her plate atm and to top it off the dr suspects she has legionaries disease. there have been reported cases in bali of late. he didn't do a blood test last week when she was there just put her on antibiotics (two lots). wouldn't you think he'd do a blood test first? i thought that was something he'd have report the ama. he said come back in two weeks but she can't get an appointment for three weeks which is the norm up there. he's totally hopeless and she's going to finally find another dr. she finally got him to prescribe a pain patch as the pain relief she's on has given her an ulcer. she was taking mega doses of pain killers for ages and any dr in his right mind would surely try a patch or at least something else. he's finally booked her into the pain clinic in adelaide but there's a long waiting list. she's only been asking for about three years. it's her own fault of course coz she should have given him the flick ages ago but that's easy to say and there aren't a lot of drs up there.

public holiday

2011-06-13T09:40:00.000+09:30

pic is actually a cake. very clever. we have a lovely girl at work who creates the most amazing cakes. everything from a prada handbag to a playstation. little cupcakes with baby faces for a recent birth. she makes and decorates a cake for most of our birthdays and celebrations.
enjoy your day off if you are in oz. i have no plans, just pottering around and i might go for a walk later. :)

tiramisu

2011-06-09T22:19:00.000+09:30

i just made my first tiramisu for my son's b/day tomorrow. did i tell you he's going to be 40? omg. hope it's a success. i forgot to put the cream in. oopps. it tasted good. a bit messy. i got the recipe from youtube. i love youtube. i've got mascapone left over and the cream of course. i should make something with it. i had lots of the cream mixture left over so made a little log thingy we used to make in the 70s when i was a housewife and threw the odd tuperware party. lol. basically you just get chocolate crunch biscuits and spread them with cream. line them up upright on a plate and cover the 'log' with cream. leave to set overnight or for a few hours at least and voila a delish little dessert. easy peasy and not a lot different to a tiramisu really. i don't know what you call it as it's just something we used to throw together. i hope the tiramisu is nice

heaven

2011-06-01T21:13:00.000+09:30

is an avocado shake as found and enjoyed in bali. i've tried for ages to make it so that it's at least similar. success. tonight i did it. perfection. recipe: 1 avocado, 8 ice cubes, half cup of milk, 1 dsp condensed milk and 1 tsp sugar. blend it until you can't hear the ice. add a little more milk if it's too thick. run chocolate sauce down the inside of the glass (not too much) and fill the glass with the shake and put a tiny bit of chocolate sauce on top. it's thick and creamy and oh so delicious. not too unhealthy. all that good fat and it's good for the skin and eyes too. i forgot to buy straws again. oh well, it was super delicious and makes an excellent dessert. you can also mix it with coffee which is also delish but i prefer it with the chocolate. enjoy

first day back

2011-06-01T17:59:00.001+09:30

at work today and it was busy busy busy. i was too busy to think about it too much. i had hundreds of emails to wade through. luckily most of them were not important so delete, delete, delete. i had soup for lunch. i've been having a tin of tuna and crackers but it's a bit cold for tuna and salad. i found some nice stawberries and grapes which at $3.99 were a much better choice than the bananas at $12.99. i love a banana every day, they are easy to carry around and tasty and good for me. i hope the grapes taste nice as it's a bit late in the season for grapes. strawbs were nice. i also have an aching back due to the rubbish i moved yesterday for a hard refuse pick up not work me thinks. oh how i'd love to retire. my friend is going to bali in a month and Graham is still there. he's back soon so lots of catching up to do. all in all not a bad day really. boring but sometimes boring is ok. better than dramas hey?

my granddaughter

2011-05-30T22:33:00.001+09:30

was born with serious heart problems. first op when she was six weeks old. she saw the specialist yesterday who was pleased with her and she doesn't have to go back for a year unless she has problems. so all good. she's my little hero and is a brave little girl. she's 11 now. it's always a bit of a worry. i also put my tetra in a larger tank with a heater and he seems happy. went to dinner tonight with work mates. had a lovely dinner and i was home fairly early. all good. it will be a shock to the system to return to work after one month away on wednesday. i'm not looking forward to it. :(

yuk

2011-05-26T10:57:00.000+09:30

you should see my bedroom. the absolute worst part of a holiday is the unpacking when you arrive home. as bad as i am at packing i'm even worse at unpacking. my sister does it immediately which i'm convinced is the way to go. i've lost important papers and sis and i have each other's dvds. i hate coming home from a holiday. the weather is a shock to the system. beautiful weather in bali. swimming weather. in adelaide freezing. at least it's nice to see some rain. i've been a bit lazy and have just hung around catching up with things. last night i tried to recreate honey ginger chicken. i had it a few times at a warung in bali and it was delish. mine was ok but just not the same. today i will clean and sort. get some washing in. i thought i had to go back to work next monday but it's actually the 1st june. that's good. big work dinner on monday night. thirty of us are going. and i just heard that a work mate has retired. life is change. enjoy your day peeps

i'm back

2011-05-23T15:50:00.000+09:30

and it's freezing in adelaide. i've had a short nap and hopefully will sleep well tonight. we had a wonderful time and i'll share some photos soon. i'm missing avocado juice and mei goreng ayam already. my sister just left for home which is two hours away. i have a few days off until i return to the real world. ahhhh

i'm off in a day or two

2011-04-27T22:11:00.002+09:30

i'm having a bit of trouble concentrating on packing. it's taking forever. i'm clearly not organised enough. my sister is coming down tomorrow arvo. she's put me right i'm sure. i'm back at work tomorrow and that's awful. i've enjoyed these seven days off. who knew my crazy roster would work to my advantage over easter. day off before and day off afterwards. all good. will be hard to concentrate tomorrow, at least it's a short day for me. i'm quite tired and have almost gotten used to sleeping in. 8.30 am is a sleep in for me. nearly 9 this morning. i suppose the packing will eventually happen. i did get around to ironing everything the other day so it will pack neatly. i'm always worried i'll forget something important. my friend who was going with us may have to delay his trip. his mum has had a pacemaker put in and had complications and now he's had a skin cancer removed today with heaps of stitches. he won't get the results back for nearly a week. his mum is on the mend thank goodness. on another note entirely, i think i've sorted my computer problem out. i've installed google chrome and it's working beautifully. everything is working as it should. with lots of new features, i'm liking it. oh well, i best clear off my bed and get in it. gotta get my beauty sleep ready for work tomorrow. ahaaa

it's internet explorer 9

2011-04-25T10:13:00.001+09:30

it seems that ie9 is causing problems with content on a web page. or more than likely it's javascript or something similar. i'm investigating. stay tuned. :) pic is a close up of my grand daughter. she took it herself. :)

it's that time

2011-04-24T10:45:00.002+09:30

i've been sitting on the couch surfing the net as you do and procrastinating. i'm so good at that. it's time to bite the bullet and go upstairs unpack my suitcase. iron everything in it and pack neatly. i really don't want to. i hate ironing. i've got a silk caftan to iron. it's indian and had a funny smell so i washed it, now it needs ironing. oh well. i'm slowing getting my blog back to how it was. it's a slow process. i don't know why but it's all gone pear shaped. i can't edit my posts and i'm not shown as logged in when i am. bloody blogger. :(

what's going on?

2011-04-23T22:12:00.001+09:30

i've lost my favourite blog list and i am not logged on when i view my blog. i don't understand it. maybe it's because i've been playing around with the background design lately. oopps. it wasn't broken and i tried to fix it. is anyone else having problems? if i had your blog as one of my faves please let me know. i'm trying to add them one by one but it's taking forever.

2011-04-22T20:24:00.000+09:30

two very specky teapots. the first is rather exy and is french in origin. quite old. the second is just plain cute. my neice by marriage collects teapots and has a really nice collection

good news

2011-04-21T17:24:00.001+09:30

i went to the dentist again and instead of three more visits he finished it all today. wowsers. i'm impressed. it's still a bit numb and aches a bit but it's all ok. he took ages. oh well, it's over now. he wasn't even concerned that a big bit broke off. said it was not an issue. i have to go back and get it polished but i'll wait until i get back from holidays. big relief for me, i was a bit worried about the broken bit, thought he'd have to take it out. i'm having the kids tonight and tomorrow night. i'm looking forward to the break. enjoy yours.

out and about

2011-04-20T21:43:00.002+09:30

cup of tea anyone? lol

dinner at pub two nights in a row. bit much? maybe. i also won five dollars on the pokies. :) i sometimes have a play on the pokies. five dollars is my limit. i got that back tonight. all good. well i am off work until the thursday after easter. that's really good. i'm looking forward to that very much. might have the g/kids for a day or two. only downer is that i have to go back to the dentist tomorrow arvo. yuk. i hope he can actually do something this time. let's hope so.

get lost?

2011-04-16T16:48:00.000+09:30

not any more. my son just gave me his old navman. how cool is that? i've wanted one for ages but really couldn't spend that much money on something i probably won't use all that often. actually, i could have used it last night as i went to the paradise hotel for dinner with some friends and had no idea where it was. it's quite a nice pub and meal was nice. had the g/kids last night and they were good. cookie woke up far too early and wiggled in the bed and talked to herself for ages. nana, can i go d/stairs and get my knitting? grunt said i. i should have let her get it last night. i taught her to knit a while ago but she left it here and hasn't picked it up for months. she found it last night and started again. a few lessons and she was doing quite well. of course, there were lost stitches and she managed to add some too. what started out with 10 stitches has 22 now. she's knitting a scarf for her teddy. awwww she just needs some practice. my dad taught me to knit when i was 6. yes, really. i don't know why he knew how to knit, i think it was from being in the army. or something like that. maybe his mother taught him as she was into craft and hobbies etc.

i've half packed for the trip. my sister has a bit of a problem as the man is coming on monday to start fixing the cracks in her bedroom walls. they are huge (the cracks that is). very old house in the country. turns out they are caused by the veranda posts being set wrong or something. she hasn't packed for the trip yet and has to pack all her clothes, her son's and her husbands. put them in bags and boxes in the shed. help take out all the very heavy antique furniture and get the rooms ready. workman said he'd finish by wednesday after easter, she has to come to adelaide thursday coz we're flying out friday. also, she has to work monday and go to the doctor tuesday. she's got a nasty cold and feels crappy. oh dear. i might have to go up there over easter instead of having the kids and help her. i hope it turns out ok. i'll ring her tonight and have a chat. i have to work tomorrow. :( second pic is cookie with etta who was deserted by her elderly mum and my son is hand rearing. she can use the litter box now and is starting to drink her formula from a saucer. she's eating 'solid' food too. my son's hands are covered with tiny scratches. his other cats are looking after her too. :) she is approx. 4 weeks old and her sister ella is one of their rescued feral cats. they have 3 (4 now) and a precious siamese.

my tooth

2011-04-12T08:28:00.000+09:30

i may have told you that i'm in the process of having a root canal. about two months ago i was at pondok bali enjoying some indonesian food when a bit of the tooth broke. went back to dentist, all ok. not to worry. well! last night i was starving and was snacking on salsa and rice crackers when i bit on something hard. omg. the biggest piece of tooth broke off. now i have a most uncomfortable crater in my mouth which of course feels massive. i wonder if the dentist will go ahead and work on it or offer to take it out. last time he gave me no choice and just went ahead and started the root canal which i thought was very rude. also, i forget when my next appointment is. on a more positive note, i found two lost library dvds under the couch last night. :)

the weirdest thing happened again this morning

2011-04-11T08:17:00.000+09:30

i was sound asleep when the tv came on. that's not the weird bit as it's set to come on each working day. it's my alarm clock. yes i know. it's just that alarm clocks annoy me but then so does koshie so maybe i should go back to the alarm clock. i digress, it's set for 7:30 am. today it came on at 6:30 am. i looked at the clock this time before getting up and into the shower. it did it last week too. i can't remember exactly but i think it was last monday. i neglected to look at the clock and got up and showered before coming down for breakfast. it was only when i turned the laptop on that i saw the time. 6:30 am. wtf. anyway, it did it again today. i checked the settings and it looks fine. i don't understand. and .... it came on again at the right time as well. weird

garage sales

2011-04-10T20:09:00.000+09:30

one of my fave pastimes is to fossick around at a garage sale or three. i'm trying not to spend much money but it's not really a happening thang. i found an aquarium for my tetra, dustin nguyen, today. $2.00. bargain. i haven't tested it yet to see if it's leak proof but the lady told me it's fine. she wouldn't lie to me would she? no. i also got a spare bicycle for the grand kids for when they come over. we can ride down the river and nana can get some exercise. that's the plan anyhoo. $5.00. it needs a bit of work on the brakes. sil said he'd look at it for me. i also got a really cute photo frame for $1.00. i must take a photo coz it's really nice. ants got a few bargains too. he's happy, nana's happy. it's a win/win hahahaha. well kids have gone home, i've eaten, had my coffee and my shower. i'm ready to watch a sunday night movie. let's hope the week ahead is kind to us all. ps. i love the window sticker in the pic above. crazy cat lady. have you seen them around? they're the latest thing apparently. family car stickers. usually mum, dad and two or three kids. i prefer this one. :)

ahhh the weekend .... at last

2011-04-09T09:41:00.000+09:30

i had a very trying week work wise at least. yuk, i so want to win lotto and retire. maybe this week. :) but seriously, i'm just looking forward to seeing the g/kids today and spending some time with them. my little stress relievers that they are. fantastic weather during the week has turned a bit pear shaped here so not much sun. i'm rethinking that load of washing. it's 9:30 am and it's still dark and although not cold it's not looking too flash. oh well. i'm off to prepare lunch. enjoy your saturday oh ps. only three weeks to go and i'm on leave and on my way to bali. ahhhh bliss. it's all that keeps me going atm. :)

a funeral

2011-03-31T08:48:00.000+10:30

my neighbour of about thirty years or more is being buried tomorrow. she lost her fight with cancer late last week. it's going to be a sad time naturally. she was like a mum to me after my parents died and my daughter thought of her as a grandma. she was such a happy character and would walk past on her way to the shops whistling away. on saturdays her tv would be up way too loud and she's be barracking for her favourite team. she loved her garden and it was always full of colour. i was often getting little cuttings from her and the violets in my garden came from a cutting of hers when i moved here over ten years ago. she is survived by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and will be sadly missed by everyone. RIP Betty

2011-03-27T08:58:00.000+10:30

this is one of the pianos around the city for the come out festival. there are about 30. i couldn't get a pic of the one at work but might remember my camera next week when i'm there. the impressive building is the catholic cathedral in the city.

a piano

2011-03-23T08:32:00.000+10:30

i was leaving work last night and came across a full size upright piano in the middle of the community centre. we call it the square. apparently several pianos were donated to different sites around adelaide for the come out festival. they are going to paint it which may or may not be a good thing. it was fairly old and battered (should say well loved) and a little african kid was playing chopsticks. it's secured to the notice board which is under cover. the things you see. i just wish i'd taken a photo.

not much sleep last night

2011-03-20T18:26:00.001+10:30

the police helicopter kept me awake in the early hours chasing a couple of blokes in the street next to me. they shone their great big light into my bedroom a couple of times and it was a little scary not knowing what was going on. it was on the telly just now. they caught one bloke but the other one escaped. they were driving erratically from several suburbs away. the sirens were really loud. it was quite bright last night because of the full moon. i had to work today which was horrible but excellent news. my dear friend at work wants to swap w/end days with me so that she can attend her son's sporting events on the saturday. it's not quite so busy and i'll have the sunday off to recover. as it is i don't get a day off until thursday atm. too long. everything hurts tonight. feet, back, wrist and shoulder. i hope there is something nice on the telly tonight coz i might go to bed and have an early night. i guess i'd best do the dishes first though :) it's been raining for most of the day. it's lovely

grandchildren

2011-03-13T22:43:00.003+10:30

we had a lovely visit and fitted lots in. a very long walk along the river where they ran across the suspension bridge several times each. too much junk food. i spent too much money shopping. they love to shop. i wonder where they get that from? lol. we were tired last night and had another busy day today. i don't get to see them enough. i can't wait until i retire so that i can spend more time with them. they are growing up so fast. anthony is 13 and cookie is 10. it's her birthday very soon. i bought her present ages ago. i hope she likes it. :)

my nice clean computer

2011-03-10T17:25:00.003+10:30

dell man came today and did a nice fresh install. fixed a few hardware problems and it's all good. he was here for ages. finally he left and i found the mouse problem remained. both mousepad and usb mouse were active. makes it difficult to move around and type etc. so i ran out and luckily he hadn't left yet. he came back and fixed it in about 10 minutes so all good now. it's a long w/end here in adelaide this w/end so i'm hoping to have the grandkids for a night or two. i'm about to cook tofu stirfry. i'm hungry. :)

fringe

2011-03-06T09:36:00.002+10:30

i went to my first fringe show last night and had a great time. the deer johns. drummer from my son's band and two other talented guys. they all grew up together and it was a little autobiographical journey of their school days and the music that they listened to. i went with my son and his step daughter. his partner was working. all good. i also got a haircut yesterday. a new salon near me. i hated it of course but after washing it i quite like it. certainly better than it was. i was trying to grow it so that i could get a cut at johnny andrian over in bali. he has salons all over asia apparently and is very popular. i went last time and had a colour and cut. super cheap and good job done. it's hard getting a good cut when you have curly hair. i'm pleased with it. all that and i found my ipod charger and my mobile manual. :)