a day out

the plumber arrived early to fix the leak behind the shower.  it must have been a heavy duty job coz he took his welding equipment upstairs.  :)  he's taped plastic over the taps and missing tiles so i can shower and the tiler is coming tomorrow.  i hope.  then my friend came over for coffee coz his doctor is nearby. he has hurt his back quite badly and is having physio and has just had xrays.  no major problems so nothing to do except physio.  i hope it's on the mend soon.  he then drove me into the city where i went to the state library to look at my old high school yearbooks.  i have been meaning to do this for ever.  years and years.  so i rang to arrange everything and took a few photos of the staff and students. there wasn't a photo of me coz i was absent on the day they took a photo of the girls cricket team. bummer.  i enjoyed looking through them and then i went to the art gallery.  that was really enjoyable too.  they have a lot of indonesian artifacts and a room of dutch delftware.  it's amazing.  such beautiful treasures and paintings.  then i went to the new adelaide library stopping on the way at the oxfam shop where i bought a very lovely glass ring.  it's got gold in it.  very nice and not expensive.  the new library is very nice of course but i was a little disappointed as it's a bit, i don't know, bland comes to mind.  it's got the new whiz bang technology areas.  hubs.  it's very nice really.  it's funny coz it's down a little alley and up on the third floor.  i borrowed a dvd and some mags that i haven't seen before.  the fringe is on atm and the city was abuzz with performers.  i fasted today and all the cafes smelt divine.  oh well, i'd best go up to bed and read my new mags.  it's milo time.  :)   i forgot to mention that my brake lights are working again.  i fixed them myself.  i bought new globes and it did the trick.  i am a bit baffled by that but not complaining coz i envisaged paying megabucks to an auto electrician.  sometimes you have to be lucky don't you? 

cookie and caiden

my new ring

my gran-daughter adina

please no more car problems for a while

it's all happening

bloody hell, it never stops.  i stayed at mazzy's house last night coz she was going through some stuff and needed company. she made some dumplings and we had wine.  she also said i have sleep apnea (?) and i should get it checked out coz i snored all night.  i find this hard to believe coz i hardly slept at all.   i came home about 7 this morning and just as i was about to turn into my driveway i noticed the red and blue lights behind me.  omg.  seems my brake lights aren't working, there's a sticker covering my middle brake light in the rear window and i need new plates coz they are just starting to peel.  hopefully it's just a loose wire or something similar.  hopefully.  the mechanic came and put in a new alternator the other day and that's all good now.  no smell. the battery seems to be ok and didn't need to be replaced. grrrrrrrrrr

car problems

i have a strong metallic rotten egg smell in my car when it heats up.  i can smell it at traffic lights or when i open the air vents.  very unpleasant.  everyone thinks it's the catalytic converter (i have no idea if that is correct spelling).  i saw my mechanic yesterday who thought it was due to the bit on top of the engine that has oil and plugs in it as it's been leaking for a while.  well, he changed the seal and cleaned it up.  but, on the way home i got the smell again.  maybe it is the catalytic thingy.  i hate having car problems.  the expense alone is enough of a worry.  i'll ring him this afternoon and tell him what's going on.  i must say that the car felt heavy and a bit sluggish and now it's zippy again so obviously the seal thing was making a difference.  of course, when i retire in april i'm going to upgrade to a car with power steering, 4 doors and a cup holder.  can't wait

i've been thinking about the hyundai i3 or something like that but everyone says it's not a good car.  i have no idea.  my mechanic suggested a toyota corollla.  i'll check it out on carsales. 

the beach

i took Anthony to the beach the other day when he was staying with me for a few days.  glenelg is our main tourist beach i suppose and very popular.  it was a hottish day and quite crowded.  we went to the beach house which is for kids with a water slide and lots of arcade type games to play.  then we walked up jetty road and did a bit of window shopping.  we had a pasty from the orange spot bakery for lunch and it was delicous.  one of the best i've ever had although not as good as those from mr schartz in wallaroo who is sadly no longer with us.  we had a good day and hopefully cookie can come down next weekend to stay.  she's enjoying high school and is so good at helping her mum with the new baby. 

mosley square

yum

it was super cool under the jetty, and crowded

i like this photo.  i must have been holding the phone at an odd angle.  almost fisheye effect

a lightbulb moment

or, the old lasagna saga again.  can you see the lightbulb above my head a la cartoon style?  no?  of course not, but, i had one of those moments this arvo whilst watching a youtube cooking video.  lasagna, my old favourite and more often than not failure is the reason.  one of jamie oliver's chefs made vegetarian lasagna and instead of putting the sheets in and lining them up he broke them all up and just made his layers as usual.  a da da moment. i have been searching high and low for a just the right size dish and now i don't have to. i can't believe i didn't think of it before, it's so obvious. i'm sure you don't have a problem with lasagna but it's one of the dishes that i love and every one comes out differently.  some good and some not so good.  i'll let you know how i go. 

i can only hope mine looks as half as good as this one