Aquaman, be mine!

It's been raining off and on for so long, I think I'm growing webbed feet....

I had hoped the week before Christmas would be a bit cruisy. Nope. I had heaps to do. Except Christmas Eve. I did my best to have a little easier time workwise that day. There weren't very many people at work either.

I was up early. Well, not actually early. More like usual time. I thought I would make scones to take to work. They worked, and I took along jam and cream. They went down well.

I was excited for Christmas. I had bought Teen's present and MOTH had instructions to make sure he gave it to her last. He did. He left it to last. And handed it to her and took it back. And handed it to her and took it back. She was getting frustrated and wriggling on the spot waiting for it. When she finally had it and opened it, it contained another wrapped present. Sigh. And it's not even wrapped in crappy paper so I can't tear it! Oh! Oh! Oh! YOU GOT THE SHORTS!!! Oh!

She was very excited. And totally gobsmacked when she found out that I even managed to source them from the surf shop up the road!

We all got lots of great things. I even managed to get a sudoku board with all the numbers on little wooden tiles. Anyone would think I like sudoku hey. *grins* MOTH gave me a bottle of Appleton Estate Jamaican rum. *to die for!* Sunny and Judah gave me the Mummy trilogy and the complete series of American Gothic. A new quilt cover set from Froggy. I washed it straight away so I could put it on my bed. It looks great. A voucher from EB, the game store. A bath / lotion / perfume set. The scent is french vanilla and it is good.

MOTH had a voucher from Big W which he spent on the weekend. Wow. I even managed to get a bottle of ballantyne scorched almonds out of it. *swoon. faves!*

Boxing day saw us at Bestie's place for lunch. She had a baked ham, a turkey, and boston baked beans. I took a little roast pork and duck, salad. There was pumpikin pie with icecream for dessert. Someone bought a gingerbread house. Yummy! *which reminds me, the pieces are still in the car! retrieves from car and eats with icecream* We arrived around 1pm and left at 8pm! An excellent day.

Sunday the Teen left for up north for a holiday with a friend who was travelling that direction. She will be there for New Years, so I hope she stays safe. Her phone isn't working, so I can't check up on her. Heh. It's quiet. I miss her. And I miss Wogboy.

Which means, I guess, that we will be having a very quiet New Year. The Teen won't be around to keep me awake!

All in all.....

... it's been a really craptastic week. I'm tired and so ready for a break.

Wednesday, the Teen broke off with Wogboy. She's 17, nearly 18 but quite sure of what she wanted. And she wanted the whole deal, 100% committment. A home, a family. Wogboy is 18 and I don't think ready for a committment that deep. We hope they stay friends; he was a lovely boy.

Thursday I spent some time looking for a movie for one sibling for Christmas. Monsters v Aliens. A new release, so expensive. I thought I'd see if the local Blockbuster had an ex rental. Well, it hasn't even gone to weekly yet, so not really. I could put one aside for you but you would have to pay full price. Oh yes? Yes. $19.95. Done.

Friday was another wonderful day. While Admin2 is away, I'm also doing her work. One of those tasks is invoicing. I don't do this job regularly, so it takes me a little while. Add to that the system is closing down soon for the New Year. Bright and early Friday had two different sets of people wanting me to do invoices by lunch time. This is a lengthy process at the best of times. One of the managers wasn't particularly impressed to be told that the other invoice took precedence over hers.

As it turned out, the invoice that absolutely had to be done by lunch time took all day to complete anyway. I managed to slip in the other invoices so at least SOMETHING got done by lunchtime.

So glad for end of day to roll around Friday.

Saturday I kept myself busy looking for the last of the Christmas shopping. One dear sibling wanted a particular perfume. Which is old and no longer popular so is very hard to find. She gave me the name of a chain that stocked it, all I had to do was find an outlet.

Oh dear, I've left home without my notes regarding the outlet locations. We went to Mt Ommaney. Nope, not there. But there was a Smiggle store so that solved another dilemma.

Tried Jindalee at the DFO. Nope, nothing there either. But there was a 1st choice so that solved another dilemma and we no longer had to go to Brown's Plains.

Back home and this time took the effort to check the locations. Annerley. Excellent. Yay for Google maps cause then you can use street view to find out what the building looks like.

It was a lovely drive and we found what we were looking for.

Later I purchased online the tickets for the movie Sunny and I were going to watch on Sunday evening.

Sunday morning was up and baking bikkies for another siblings present. Ok, so her birthday was in August.... I thought I would include the present with the Christmas gift. I finished them and had a go at icing as well. The day was hot and humid though so the icing didn't fully set. I did the runny icing because it sets quickly and a little harder so it wouldn't matter they were all packed in a box. And no fancy bits to fall off either.

I found out that Judah would be joining us at the cinema so purchased another ticket.

Sunday lunch time I cooked dinner ready for Sunday night. I was going out. The others can figure out how to reheat it later.

Off to the movie and when we got there, the session was sold out! SO glad we bought tix online! We found seats; Sunny went out to find Judah when he arrived. Just as the movie started.

At the end, my first comment was ... WOW! It's 3 hours of total involvement, nonstop action and effects combined with a social message.

Amazing. Definitely going to my DVD collection when it's available...

PS. The movie was Avatar.

Today I asked....

... the Gods for a pretty Vietnamese boy to sit next to me on the bus (population density too high for much else really). He wasn't my idea of pretty, but he sure smelled nice. *cheerful*

The week passed by in a blur, trying to get my head around the stuff that Admin2 has left me while she is away. I only ever manage to leave her 1 job while she always leaves me at least one A4 page. I've deduced it's because I only go on leave a week at a time whereas she goes for 6. *memo to me ... get in early for Christmas next year* Two weeks worth. Yeah. That'll show her! *is such a rebel*

Thursday night the Teen slept over at Wogboy's. Friday night he slept over ours. And he was up early the next morning to go to work. I was stalking the halls when he tried to sneak out at 05:30. Ha! Caught!

A chance remark on Friday night saw Saturday morning busy; revamping, rearranging and otherwise getting hot and sweaty. Standing in my snug little study, I lamented the fact that I didn't seem to use it much. It's hot. My laptop always ends up down the other end of the house. Everytime I bring it back, it disappears down there again. I'm a sometimes culprit - I like to watch telly while surfing.

So, Reception is no more. My desk is in the rumpus room *aaahhhhhhh television! airconditioning!* the second couch has moved out to the ex-reception, MOTH's taken over the study. He's very happy with it - reception never even had a ceiling fan. *strange layout in my house. the front half of the house has no aircon, the formal areas don't even have ceiling fans. thankfully the study and my bedroom have one!*

That deserved a break and I worked hard on progressing through Tomb Raider Underworld on my DS.

Sunday morning I pulled out the overlocker. Last time I tried to use it, the lower loop thread kept breaking. I thought it might be needle changing time. But how should the needle need changing if the looper thread is the one breaking? I decided it might be the tension. But I'm not very good at judging which threads are the problem *on my sewing machine too* for adjusting the tension. I had a bit of a go, but I can't tell if it did any good.

I put it away and dragged out the sewing machine. I finally started on putting together the tote bag for the Teen. The instructions aren't the clearest I've read - I couldn't judge how it was supposed to assemble. After a false start which I spent many joyful hours UNPICKING - interspersed with stress relief in the form of the DS - I managed to work it out. Annnnnd the bobbin thread ran out halfway through a seam. *grumble. this happened the LAST time i tried to sew something* But at least this time I knew how to wind the bobbin. Started sewing again and guess what! Looks like the tension on the bobbin is frak'd. It's looping on the bottom of my sewing.

To heck with it! I don't have the cotton to waste on winding another..... this sewing gig is turning out to be more trouble than it's worth!

But Teen is sooo looking forward to having her Beatles patterned tote.....

The Christmas is coming!

And I've finally managed to get my shopping started. I always plan to start at the beginning of the year but there are always more important things to pay for instead. So it never happens and I'm left with a limited budget and little time. Long gone are the days when I could spend $50 per person and not even think about it.

Last week is a bit of a blur. Workwise, it was one of those weeks where you have a good sized list with many a good intention to complete stuff, but it never happens.

Commuting-wise it's been an exciting week!

A pedestrian dived across the road between cars and scared the heck out of the bus driver. At the next stop - a couple of metres up the road - the pedestrian jumped on, spoke to the driver and jumped off again. *shrugs*

Friday afternoon I was desperate to get home. Even more so than usual. Been a tiring week. Tootling along on the motorway and the driver MISSES the exit. Wonderful. Actually to confess, I didn't even notice. I was reading. I sensed the agitation of the passenger beside me so looked up. Unfamiliar territory. Sweet. I went back to my book. We had to detour out of our way by at least 15 minutes; thank heaven I had my book.

Saturday I talked MOTH into checking out the Sara Lee outlet. The Teen was sleeping over at a friend's place. I sent her a text to let her know we would be out. And therefore not able to pick her up.

Jumped in the car. It wouldn't start. Uh oh. Not a good sign! The battery needed charging. Luckily we have Jawsome's car! It's much sportier but I can't say I like it - no aircon! ANND the doors auto lock when you get a bit of speed on. The first time I found that out, I didn't hear the lock and then couldn't get out of the darned car. Must have looked real bright! Oh, and you can feel every bumped. Darned sport suspension....

Anyway, we checked the directory, jumped in the nonstarting car and went precisely nowhere. Jumped in the other car and we were off. I couldn't wind the window down fast enough.

We got over to Daisy Hill but by then, had forgotten where the shopping centre was supposed to be. Uh oh. Brilliant. No directory. No GPS. MOTH thought the map showed it back toward the suburb we had just driven through. Buggerit. We kept on, topped the crest and lo! There it was. It was airconditioned and lovely inside with plenty of things to tempt. Not necessarily a lot cheaper than the supermarkets markup. Certainly need to consider if it's worth the fuel to get there.

While there, a butcher from around the corner stopped by with samples. We detoured via the butcher on the way home for chilli beef and honey, garlic and herb sausages.

Back home to put the goodies in the freezer. Hurry hurry traffic! It's darned hot and I can feel myself cooking in this oven on wheels. I figure that at least dinner and dessert will be ready if we get stuck.

A call from the Teen. Help! I'm terribly hung over and it's too hot to walk home. Can you pick me up? The MOTH decided we would do that and go and finish the shopping we were supposed to do that morning....

The Teen has purchased herself a pair of Ed Hardy bikinis. They were supposed to be a size small, but they were not! I always thought the Americans underestimated their sizing by 100% or similar??

The sides of the bottom are held together with 3 metal medallions about the size of 10c pieces. We thought removing one of the medallions might help? The links holding them together broke during removal. Dang. We needed to find replacements. I needed to stop off at one of the local shops for a Christmas present for one neice.

We hunted high and low for a replacement link. Imagine a wide metal staple that's been through the stapler with no paper and you have an idea.

Eventually, after spending money on something else we may have been able to adapt, MOTH managed to charm a possible replacement out of ..... someone .... for nothing. He used three of those loops to fasten them together. Here's hoping they work! Although I think it could be alright - Ed Hardy swimmers, like most these days, are to be seen in not for getting wet!

They manage, but the material is still cut too wide.....

Sunday I wrapped presents, did washing, did baking. Apart from that, I didn't move from the relative cool of the rumpus room.

Whew. Back to work Monday for a bit of a break!

I remembered, I remembered!

Yes. It popped into one of the vacant spaces inside my head with no prior warning. Just *pop* and there it was....

I was walking to the bus. Grumbling. Which is purely a totally unexpected thing. *grins* I was grumbling about the woman in front of me towing one of those backpack/suitcases on wheels. They are so NOT appropriate in a crowd! You see the person and you can judge their position so you don't walk into them, but the case is below your range of vision and you KEEP getting your feet tangled in the thing!

HATE THEM!

Or is that just me???

Anyway, I was trying not to trip over the woman with the case when I became aware of another woman who had pulled over to lean against the wall. On the other side of me was a tall man fishing around in his pocket.

As we came level with the woman leaning on the wall, he pulled out a phone. Hello? he says. The woman turned - she was on the phone. Tom! she called, he looked at her and they fell about laughing.

Couldn't have planned that better if they had tried, could they.

Only a Ginger...

can call another Ginger Ginger *sings badly*

I had one of those random thoughts this morning that I determined would be a good opening for my blog. And gosh darn, I've plum forgot it.

Ah well *shrugs*

I didn't bother to write anything up after the Graduation. It was a quiet weekend as the Teen went out and about to parties. But then, that seems to be par for the course most weekends these days. Ah to have an active social life!

During the week, Tuesday to be precise, Jawsome dropped by for a visit. He had an ulterior motive - he needed to sell the car. We now have custody of it until it's sold. Another heap o'shit car. *grins* He only bought it last year, but discovered that while registration was fine here, it can't be registered in his home state. So he has to sell it.

He stayed for Wednesday and left again Thursday. MOTH was chuffed. I think he was happy to have another male in the house, even for such a brief time. Jawsome and I watched a Tim Minchin dvd. Now that's an education!

The weekend just gone was about the sum of most of our weekends these days. The Teen leaves the house, and we just sit and veg. I thought of doing housework and got the broom out. After one room I chucked it in. It was just way too hot!

I thought I had him convinced to check out the Sara Lee factory outlet store, but he decided to wait till next weekend after all.

Ah well. But I did manage to talk him into buying a block of chocolate from the supermarket! *beams*

Day 5! *sob*

This is the first time I've had a chance to kick back and relax a little. The last couple of days have been a little .... hectic.

Thursday is Bill Payin Day. Yay. *note the sarcasm* Life would be much easier if I didn't have any bills. Do the budget. Pay the rent. Pay the phone. Do the grocery shop. Buy the fuel. Recharge the go card. The usual stuff.

Which usually takes most of the day.

The Teen didn't surface today. She spent the night at her friend's house. School wasn't required for Seniors today. They recognised that they would need the day off after the late night. Formal began Wednesday at 18:30 and finished at 23:30. Then they had the after formal party to attend.

This school also does not recognise Muck Up day. And I can't argue with that! It's probably about the only thing the school and I agree on. I really don't see the reason for it. Why give them free rein to misbehave and destroy things? Can't they do that at Schoolies? And THERE is another activity that I don't agree with.

Thursday afternoon we picked her up from her friend's house and while we were eating dinner, Wogboy rocked up to do the usual Thursday night thing and rock out to late night shopping. Actually, I'm not sure what they do but I'm pretty certain it has nothing to do with hanging around the shopping mall.

She was home fairly early and I went to bed not long after.

There was a surprise organised for her for Friday morning. At around 04:30, the Elder rocked up. With her boy. They had made a special overnight trip to see the Teen at her graduation.

Friday morning everyone was up early. Even Teen. She was out of bed at 07:30. Amazing. During the noise and hubub as everyone greeted everyone else and she got ready to go to school, she came through the kitchen. What? Your blouse doesn't fit properly. You've grown! Oh Mum. That's my old one. I've been wearing it for ages - I don't wear the other one anymore. I disappeared into the ironing room and sure enough, it was in the basket. On the board quick as a wink and I handed it to her. It's graduation I said. You can do it properly for once. Dang she grinned and went to change.

It was desperately hot while we waited for admission to the school hall. Everyone was in a lather. People were fanning themselves with whatever they had. The situation didn't improve much once we were inside. The hall is big but it's not airconditioned.

When everyone was seated, the students filed past in their class groups as the parents clapped them through. Then it was time for the speeches. I confess that I really hate that part.
The headmistress is a dragon and advised everyone that the students had been asked to be on their best behaviour, with no calling out and to wait until all had been presented before clapping. Parents were asked to model the same behaviour. How lame! It lasted a while. Then some broke out and from then on there was a fair deal of cheering during the presentations.The Teen's class was near the end, so we had to sit through 2 hours before we could see her presented with her certificate. Brilliant. One high point was the performance by the music students. They did 3 pieces, the first being the Imperial March from Star Wars. With a heavy metal twist. I liked it!

Eventually the speeches and presentations were over and we moved outside for the Guard of Honour. The year 12s gathered on the steps at the resource centre. A digeridoo was played to recognise our indigenous beginnings; students filed out through the school grounds for the last time. For some, mostly girls, it was a very emotional moment. I'm sorry but the Teen and I don't find most things emotional or sentimental. Most things. This was one of them. *apparently she told them she would cry when she got home* I tried to get some good photos and every time I managed a perfect shot, SOME RANDOM BLOCKED THE FRAME and spoiled it all. And no, it wasn't MOTH.

The only thing I could think of was Thank Heavens It's FINALLY OVER! No more battles with homework and assignments; no more calls from the teachers about missing assessment pieces.
It's finished. And so is my holiday. Gods, I need a rest...

Chikka chow! Day 3.

.... Aaaannnnd I was awake again. Early. *sigh*

Mmmmmm. All these books to read. The odd thing is that I've got a couple of books from the library, but I'm currently reading.... one of my own! There is a method to the madness though. This book precedes one of the tomes I borrowed. So I'm having to refamiliarise myself with the story before I begin the sequel. Ah. I love reading!

My phone goes off. Amazingly it's a text from the Teen. Mu-um! Can I leave school today at 09.40? Why? Because that's when my friend is leaving and I want time to relax and plan? *sighs* I don't imagine that there will be many year 12s hanging around school today, so I concede. But 10am I tell her. She's happy with that.

MOTH and I pop up to the shops. We start comparing the limits of our vision and I decide it's time to organise an eye exam. It's been about 4 years since my last one. And my glasses script was kinda outdated then.

The Teen catches up with us while I'm in the supermarket trying to decide which chocolate I'm buying this time. We chat to the friend's parents and venture back home.

She chills for a while then starts to get ready. While she's sitting next to me in the rumpus room waiting for her friend to return home from having her hair and makeup done - they are getting ready together - she finds out that Wogboy hasn't quite followed the instructions she gave him and now things are confused with the lass who is going to be doing her makeup. She's stressing, so we eventually work out that she will dress at her friend's place, then travel to Wogboy's to have the makeup done as the last thing. This means that she won't be having photos taken with her friend.

Eventually her friend gets home and she's got approximately 3/4 of an hour to dress and do her hair. Yoiks! We pick her up and just down the road she realises she's forgotten to grab her false lashes. Back we go for the pickup. And off again to Wogboy's house.

Seated and work starts. The lashes caused a bit of a problem - the glue gets on her fingers and gosh it's hard to place them!

Time constraints are looming as the work progresses. But finally it's done and the result is amazing!

You're off now Teen. Have fun and I'll see you tomorrow. I'm so proud of you!

Day Deux

Two days down already! Man!

Today I resolved to do not much of anything. After I awoke early. Of course. I wandered out of bed and ventured out to the garden. The herbs haven't died yet, despite the best efforts of a suspected possum the other night.

The temp was supposed to climb today and it was already getting there. I dived through the shower and planted myself in the rumpus room with the airconditioning. And there I stayed. Reading, facebooking, sudokuing. Gotta love time off work.

I was good though and took a long enough break to do the washing and peg it out.

I checked the temperature on the kitchen thermometer. 34deg C! Heck. No wonder the washing felt like it was almost dry before I finished pegging it out!

The afternoon rolled around and I had to pick up the Teen and go buy the false eyelashes she wanted. I only had to wait a few minutes for her but I was melting in the car.

We took off to the shops and she picked the ones she thought might work best. They were $9. I did have a discount voucher I was hoping to use and by the time I finished the sale, I only paid $3! Bargain!

*uh oh. i've turned the aircon off and have kept the doors/windows closed and running the fan. MOTH has just come in, gone out and left the door open*

Tonight, it's been storming. The Teen is sleeping at a friend's place tonight so we headed out. The thunder rolled and in the headlights we watched the steam drift from the slick and shiny road. Beautiful. The lightening flashed, rendering the night as bright as day for that brief period. Occasionally it sounded ... loudly! The Teen and I looked at each other. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave MOTH at home by himself after all. *MOTH doesn't like loud thunder and lightening. he jumps. VERY high* What if he ended up doing a 'dead cockroach' while we were out?

I dropped her off and drove her back home. Whew. He's still in the chair, right where we left him. *grins*

Holiday. Day 1.

And I had forgotten how crappy day time telly is!

So I'm on holidays. And I wake up .... early. The usual time I wake. *sigh* Why do I do that?

Bright and early I decide I'm going to finish the skirt I started cutting out yesterday. Sis1 sent me some fabric and a very, very basic skirt pattern. How difficult could it be?

WELL!

The fabric was the wrong size so I had to lay the pieces out in a way that was completely different to their suggestions. No problem. Now, if I can just find the shears....

Nope. No shears. What? How come? Why would the person I inherited the sewing stuff from, who collected so much by way of sewing equipment, have NO SHEARS? Teen! Have you seen any? Nope!

Dang. I had to resort to pinking shears. What a rough cut out job.

I hung the pieces on the back of the chair ready for today.

Bright and early this morning, I dug the overlocker out of the cupboard and set it up. I haven't used it for SUCH a long time. It's all threaded and ready to go. Now if only I could remember how to drop the cutting blade....

So, one piece done; I overlock the edges before I start stitching it together. It's easier than trying to do it after you've done the seams. Halfway around the second piece and ...... suddenly there is no overlocking. What? It's a 4 thread overlocker running on 3 threads. Dammit! And it looks like a thread is caught under the needle plate. Heck. How do I fix that? AND WHY ISN'T MY INSTRUCTION BOOK IN THE BAG WITH THE OTHERS STUFF? Frantic searching going on. Whew. There it is. Oh, that's how you drop the blade.....

After much playing around, I can see that the thread is coming unhooked from the bottom loop. It stitches for a little while then the thread slips. I can't fix that. I'm going to have to do this the old fashioned way. I drag out the sewing machine.

I finish the edges. For what they're worth. The pieces are kinda cut badly, due to having to use the pinking shears. Of course, then I realise that I've not marked the pieces with the chalk for the stitch to, leave a gap here, match this bit etc. Oops! When it comes time to put the front and the back together, wow. They don't match - the front is bigger than the back. Ah well. It's gathered so that will be hidden. There. Seams are done, pieces are joined and it's time to do the casing for the elastic waist.

Halfway round ..... and the thread has stopped stitching. The bobbin is empty!

And now I can't remember how to wind the bobbin. The lady had heaps and heaps of prewound bobbins so I haven't really had to do this before. I tried to do it the way I used to on my similar machine. But I can't loosen the wheel. It won't work. Now, where is the instruction booklet?? Oh no! I CAN'T FIND IT! WHERE IS IT?! It's not in the box with the rest of the stuff. It's not in the cupboard. Teen hasn't seen it either. *sigh* I'll have to see if I can Google it. And I can't find a solution. Eventually MOTH figured it out for me.

I finshed the dress. It took 4 hours. For a simple straightforward skirt. Man!

And then I had to trot off into the city to the library. In my enthusiasm, I'd grabbed a book on a fast back loan. That means I can only keep it for 7 days instead of 28. AND it has to be returned to the library from which it's borrowed. Instead of dropped off at any library branch. *sighs. kicks self for planning that well* Normally that wouldn't be a problem. But I'm on HOLIDAYS this week and don't need to go near that library at all.

So, two and a half hour round trip later, I'm home. Hot, sweaty but home.

I'm knackered. Hope I actually get to REST this holiday!

Murder she wrote!

Yes, that's right. I'm watching Murder She Wrote. With Jessica Fletcher. So, someone tell me, why didn't someone just up and job her one?

The last week just couldn't go fast enough. It was all the build up getting things ready to go on holiday. At work of course. Admin2 was away all week, well almost all week, so I had some of her work to do as well. Why does she call me to tell me that she's sending me an email? Four days and she calls me twice.

The final week of school rolls closer and things are getting hectic. The dress has been picked up after the final alteration. Whew. They were very apologetic, and the alteration looks fine. The Teen informed me that she won't be getting dressed here. She's going to a friend's place to finish up. How am I going to get photos? Well, she said, you can come down with us... It took a while to work out that she meant they were going to have some photos taken at the Lake and we were welcome to go there and get some. Right! Done. Guess I'll have to put up with the friend in the photos too.

Ah well.

She has so much to do on the day of the Formal, including school. I suggested that she should probably write out a schedule so she knows where she needs to be at what time.

Friday night was going to be quiet. The Teen was going out with some friends. The girl dropped over early; they got ready and left. I quit the day early - I'd been up since an early hour. Later that night the girls returned and left again. Early Saturday morning at Dead hour, I was woken by voices outside the window. Yep. They'd returned and were sitting out the front. I called out to tell them shush, and they soon disappeared. Indoors apparently. When I came out to the kitchen Saturday morning, there they were. Crowded in the rumpus room and watching noisy dvds.

They left to wander up to the shops and that was the last I saw of the boys. The girls came back later and retired to the Teen's room.

Saturday evening I drove the Teen over to Wogboy's place. With instructions we would pick her up 10am sharp on Sunday.

MOTH and I retired for a quiet night.

Sunday morning we were up early. The Teen had an appointment on the other side of the city to have hair extensions fitted. MOTH thought we might go visit Bestie since we were going to be in the same 'burb. I thought we might have some relax time and have a couple of flat whites instead. Oh no! The Teen gets flustered. You HAVE to come with ME! I KNEW I should have asked my friend to come with me. She's a bit of a Nervous Nellie. We'll see what happens.

We rocked up to the place we were supposed to be. Up the front stairs and I waited for her to knock. Oh no! I had to do it. AND I had to stand next to her. The lass answered the door and invited us in. After a short time, Teen settled in and I was free to leave.

We had about an hour and a half to waste. First stop was McDonald's. For lunch. MOTH and I shared a quarter pounder meal. I phoned Bestie; it went to the answering machine. The shopping centre in that suburb is very, very basic. Dull. Maybe there was somewhere else we could go? We thought about it and MOTH remembered the shopping centre up the road. We drove up there and right up front visible as the first thing we saw was .... BCF.

I told MOTH he could look in there. If he had to. We spent an hour there. An inspection of the rest of the shopping centre; and just as we decided to head back the text to say she was done arrived.

MOTH muffed the exit to the centre and we ended up in a deadend in the carpark. *shakes head*

Then home to recover and a nanna nap.

And I'm on holidays! w00t!

Feeling a little overrun right now....

I'm the only Admin person here this week. Although I enjoy the quiet, I'd much rather that she was here doing her own work!

You know, I'm beginning to think that I should probably just do away with the rest of my week. Nothing much happens, just the usual sleep / work cycle.

The weekends are what it's all about!

Thursday I picked up the Teen's dress for the Formal. The ladies in the shop love it. When she tried it on, they commented that she looked like a superstar. The woman who served me commented again that she looked stunning.

Since I couldn't pick up until around 5pm, I got to take the long bus ride home. Luckily the shop gave me a hanger and a 'suit bag' of sorts that I could pack it in. Do you have ANY idea how DIFFICULT it is to hang on to a dress in a suit bag when you are trying not to fall asleep?? Oh, and it was a different bus home too. Since I was going to the supermarket in the next 'burb, not home.

Friday morning I was on the usual bus and touring around the back end of our burb, picking up randoms. Well, maybe not so random - they were standing at bus stops. At one of the roundabouts, an army personnel carrier goes past. And another. And another. There goes our good taxpayer dollars at work. They must have been going out to the range for exercises. I got tired just thinking about it.

Friday. The work Christmas lunch. We went to the same place as we did last year. The German Club. The meals are fairly resonably priced. I guess. Most are around the $15 to $20 range. But the serves are generous. I am usually quite picky about where I sit at the table *alright I'm rather an ogre* and I didn't get to sit where I wanted. I bit my tongue and stayed where I was. The choices weren't that great and I couldn't really swap seats without looking obvious. I had ordered crumbed fish and salad with chips. It was a little overdone, but still palatable. I didn't finish it all, and the GTs down my end of the table were a little surprised. Ok, so I LOOK like I eat a lot... After lunch and a weak, non existent speech from the GM, most of the staff went back to work. A few of the diehards did not. I was the only female staffer left. One of the GTs noticed. Hey! You're still here *I THINK he was happy about that* and someone chimed in Yeah, but Sol is more of a bloke than she is a woman! That was SUPPOSED to be a compliment. But he is forgiven. *grins*

When I arrived home from work I discovered that the Teen would be staying home. I'm a little worried about the status of the relationship. There seems to be a male friend of Wogboys who seems intent on driving a wedge between the two of them. Whether he's doing it on purpose or just selfish I don't know. But I've noticed that a long time friend or two no longer appear on the scene, and even another friend is slowly disappearing from view. In fact, as far as I can tell, they are never ALONE anymore. I really really REALLY do not like people like that.

But where was I? Oh yes. She got home. And found out that her English teacher had been bugging MOTH about a missing assignment. I don't like that much either. These kids are nearly adults. They are old enough to think for themselves. Why do the teachers still think it's a parent's responsibility when the kids know perfectly well what the consequences are?

At any rate, MOTH told him there was no point asking him about it; he should be talking to me. I think Teacher was a little taken aback. MOTH doesn't beat around the bush these days.

As soon as Teen discovered the assignment was STILL IN HER BAG and she hadn't handed it in at all, she dived back to the school. Too late! She was upset and verging on tears of frustration. I emailed Teacher on Saturday morning.

Somewhere in there, a GF turned up. Teen modelled the Formal dress for her. BUGGER! One of the alterations had not been done. Luckily it wasn't a big one, but still I had paid for it. I would have to take the dress back.

Not long after, I encouraged her and the attendant GF to walk up to the shops. She wasn't impressed. However, by the time we arrived there she was feeling at bit better. Then I had a text from Sunny. What are you doing? Ummm wandering around the supermarket looking for food? Oh. Can I come over and bring some Passion Pop with me? Sure! Between the Teen, Sunny, GF and I we polished off 3 bottles of the stuff in short order.

A little later that evening, GFs other half and a couple of his friends turned up. Dunno where they came from! They didn't stay all that long when they decided to walk up to the shops. Sunny invited me along so we could have a sundae at Maccas. Yep, I'm in! We walked up. Left GF, Teen and the others at the shops. Sundae time with Sunny and I.

We collected the Teen on the way back, chattered for a while longer and then Sunny left. I crashed.

Saturday was a quiet recovery day. Till the evening. The Teen was going out. Again! Man, where do they get the energy? But with FatA this time. Next thing I know the GF turned up. Again. I don't really mind I guess, but boy this GF can sure talk about herself! The three of them went out. She told me Sunday afternoon that she had come home around 1am.

While she slept on, MOTH and I took off for an ex-GTs place for cake and coffee. There were a couple of other workmates there. The house - the small part of it I saw - is lovely. We wasted a couple of hours there, then decided to do the Walk. The walk along the mile, peering in windows, wishing and dreaming of all the things we can't have.

We did that for an hour. Until I could feel myself cooking and demanded it was time to give up. I think we'd covered half of it, both sides of the street.

I was tomato red *come on in dad, the water's boiling!* and in fact, still am. The lights here at work exaggerate it and I'm looking somewhat like a fire engine.

Sunday night, we talked, bullied, badgered Wogboy into coming over for a while. He wasn't going to; he had to do something for the PIA as mentioned earlier first. As always. He had dinner with us, stayed for a while then went home.

Today the dress is dropped off, and hopefully I remember to collect it Wednesday on my way home from work....

It's the final countdown!

Till the end of the year. Every year it seems to be going faster. And faster, as I spiral downward to the barely anticipated joys of old age.

Heh.

I've also just realised that the Teen has only about three weeks of school left. Forever. That's a huge step. Not that I'm going to wax philosophical, but wow. I feel so old!

Preparations a frantically underway for her Formal. I managed to purchase a dress for what I thought was a reasonable price; about $190 plus freight. Mind, it's going to cost $117 to have it altered! Each alteration on its own is quite reasonably priced; all together is a different story.

All in all, it's not a bad price for a Formal dress. She blithely informed MOTH and I while sitting at dinner the other day that one of her friend's parents have spent $800 on their daughter's Formal dress! *wonders what the really rich girl will be spending??*

I pick the dress up this Thursday. *fingers crossed the alterations turn out well*

The Teen and I are in discussions at the moment about monitoring the use of the phone plan. I think I mentioned that while she was away, she notched up a phone bill of astronomical proportions. Last month wasn't much better. It was better, but not much. We are now watching her fingers closely.....

We haven't had a chance to get out in the car much. My nerves still need calming. Timing is the problem. I can only manage when I get home from work. That borders on twilight and, she tells me, bad for her night vision. I think that option is still better than trying to get her up early. Teens are so not morning people!

The week was pretty cruisy; most weeks are. All the action happens on the weekend.

Friday it was Wogboy's turn to sleep over. He hasn't done that for a while because they usually go partying and go back to his place. Somehow or another he managed to bring Lion with him. *shrugs* Lion is quiet and polite, so I didn't mind.

Mum! Teen tells me. A friend from Gladdy is coming over. Oh, sure. No worries. I found out later he was bunking down as well. Huh. The noise in the yard increases. I look out. There are two extra girls and another boy out there. A friend of hers dropped by and brought two others with him. Before we knew it, it was an impromptu party.

She asked me to let her open the trick or treat lollies early. No! Why not? Because you had a party without permission. *grins* Pfft, Mum, it's a Gathering.... I thought about that. No, I said. A Gathering is a little food, conversation. Possibly some drinks. But no music. She laughed and took off outdoors.

For teens, they were remarkably good about noise. The Teen seems to rule her parties with an iron fist. The next morning, the Gladdy friend was up fairly early and finished off the tidy up that had been started the night before. He's welcome back!

Wogboy bought the Teen some new shoes. Plain canvas slip ons. She uses that boy and his wallet mercilessly. She decorated them ...

Saturday afternoon found MOTH in the garden again. I helped a while, trimming branches from the shrubs that guard the front of our house. They are a little patchy from the lack of moisture. The little mulcher he bought earlier in the year doesn't know if Armageddon has arrived or not.

Sunday morning I vacuumed and mopped the tiled area in the meals/kitchen. Whew. Sunday afternoon we were back in the garden. This time MOTH went at the shrubbery with ... a Herring! No, really he just used the hedge trimmers. The sun was bitingly hot and I was less than enthusiastic about helping. I stayed a while as I couldn't in all conscience leave Mr DNA man to his own devices with sharp things. He usually manages to leave his DNA all over them!

After playing in the garden it was time to help Teen rebleach her hair. It's two toned, so trying to grasp only the blonde bits and leave the dark bits behind requires quite a deal of concentration.

Sunday night Bones and Castle called to me *w00t for exceeding download limits and making the system slllllloooooowwwwww* and MOTH put the internet aside and joined me.

Train and boats and cars

and buses! Today I got to ride all the way to work on two different buses with NO ONE sitting next to me. Suh-weet!

Last week was a pretty ordinary one I think. As ordinary as mine get.

Mid week, my Bestie sent me an email to say that a mutual workplace were having a 75 year anniversary and a reunion bbq was part of the celebration. Would I be interested?

I thought about it. I checked to see if MOTH would be interested. Oh yes, he said. I would like to catch up with Bestie and her hubby. The fact that it appeared to be free had absolutely nothing to do with it, I'm sure. I went to register but alas! Registrations had closed. I went back to Bestie and asked if she could investigate for me?

Friday dawned a bright sparkling day. One of those days that brings on a natural high for me. I was up early. I was ready for work early. I caught the early bus and was in the city to catch my second bus a little earlier than usual.

As I crossed the road, I noticed that my eyes were going funny. There was a moment of panic as I realised that everything was reflecting green. An odd eerie glowing green. What the heck is THAT all about? It took a small moment to realise that the archetectural monstrosity towering above me had a green wall. The sun was hitting it at just the right angle to bathe everything opposite in its glorious green reflection....

I was obviously not the only one affected by Friday. I walked around the corner in the office and two of the GTs were madly giggling, wrapped in a game that involved stealing things from each other's desk. Kind of like a Capture the Flag but with clips. *shakes head*

At the same time, one of the other GTs was busy uploading some of his digital photos. He likes to do macro shots. I asked about some of them and he happily showed me his albums. Those photos are amazing! I truly don't know how he can bring himself to get that close to a spider! *shudders* Some of the photos of the wolf spiders are so clear you can see individual hairs on the thing's legs!

Bestie let me know that she had managed to contact someone and my name was now on the list. Bewdy! There was even a registration pack for me.

And don't you know, it never rains but it pours. So they say. I'm still waiting for the lotto win....

Sunny sent me a text to ask if I wanted to go with him on the Zombie Walk. When? Sunday he said. Bummer! I had been thinking of asking Sunny if he wanted to hang on Sunday, but since I hadn't actually taken it beyond the thinking stage, I accepted the invite from Bestie instead.

So, Zombie Walk. A charity walk for the Brain Foundation. You dress up like a Zombie and shuffle, groaning, along a predetermined path and celebrate like there's no tomorrow at the after party.

And I missed out.

Saturday I didn't do much of anything except think about what we might want to take with us on Sunday. There would be a sausage sizzle and some icecream, but we were encouraged to pack a picnic.

Saturday afternoon I went to water the strawberry plant and noticed the temperature seemed to have dropped a bit. It came over dark and cloudy quite quickly and sometime after dark a loud knocking could be heard on the roof. What? Rain? You're kidding? Yep, it was raining. Soon the lightening and thunder followed. But not for long.

Sunday I was up early, baking quiches for our lunch. And potato salad. When Jawsome left, he donated a picnic set he was given but never used. It was just for two and still had the plastic on the cutlery! It fit the quiches, salt and pepper, potato salad and an apple and banana just perfectly.

The drive down to the dam was pleasant; MOTH even put on the airconditioning. The day held the promise of some heat so we made sure we had hats and sunscreen. I was expecting the shaded areas to be gone so I packed an umbrella as well.

And it was hot.

Once we parked in the designated area, they provided a shuttle bus so we didn't have to dodge traffic trying to cross the motorway. First stop was the rego desk and a pack. It contained a name tag each, a tube of sunscreen each. A glossy book, an attendee list, and something that looked like two mouse mats.

We found Bestie, hubby and kids. Actually, hubby was a little hard to miss; he was wearing a fluro orange tee. It stood out. A lot. Shade was at a bit of a premium, most everything was taken. Australian native trees don't seem to provide an awful lot of shade, do they?

The organisers had provided a sausage sizzle, a coffee stop, a soft serve van. Which, I believe was very VERY popular. She didn't stop all day. A jumping castle and other entertainment for the kids. And a couple of bands to entertain the adults.

Oh, and a historic display of old trucks.

Bestie's little boy couldn't wait to look at the trucks. He dragged his father and MOTH off for his turn. Then he dragged Bestie and I. On the way round he stopped at the yellow grader. This one, he informs us, is a worm. A worm? Yes, a worm. Dad told me.

It did seem to be very hot that day, but I didn't really break a sweat. The day was due to finish at 3pm. We packed up around 2.30, ready to take on the crowds for the return shuttle. Until the kids had to make a final pit stop. We waited as two shuttles went by. Turns out they'd detoured via the ice cream van.

It was good to head home though, much cooler. And boy was I tired. Whew.

Updates. Too good to wait for!

The Teen has had her learners permit for a couple of months now. Alright, so we've been somewhat slack and the timing never seems quite right. MOTH is too chikkin to take her out, I don't get home till almost dark and we've only just got around to purchasing the mandatory L plates.

She has done some time already. Apparently. A few minutes here and there, in a paddock, in someone's back yard, in a deserted shopping centre car park.

Yesterday I was home before dark o'clock. Time to bite the bullet.

I grabbed her from her room, telling her to put on shoes. But! My shoes are loose she says. Alright, this time. But you'll have to get used to wearing them.

You can reverse it out the driveway! she announces. Well, ok, fair enough.

And I did. Out of the garage and to the point where the back wheels were just on the road. Your turn I tell her. She freaks. And at the same time, she's excited. I think.

She dropped into the driver's seat and she tries to adjust the seat. We're on a slope so of course it slides backward. I get in trouble. *grin* She has a couple of goes, but gets it to where she wants it. Adjust the mirros. She doesn't know how.

The mirrors are adjusted, the seatbelt is on and she's ready to go. I'm telling her to lift her foot off the brake slowly and the car should start to roll a little. It doesn't move. Pfft! The handbrake is still on.

Lesson 1, take 2. She can't release the handbrake so I have to do it for her. Very slowly and gingerly, she lifts her foot and we're on our way! Brake again and change to Drive. Very good. She's not sure she can do this. She's getting worried as the car very slowly starts to crawl forward. I tell her that we're headed for the roundabout. She looks at me. What? How do I manage that? And what about the other cars??? If there are other cars, we stop then take our turn. If you're on the roundabout you have right of way so you can take as long as you like. She shoots me a sideways look. At 5 km an hour??

Just so you know, we live at the top end of a cul de sac. The road is windy and narrow. Heh.

She running a bit close to the gutters but I don't mind. They've very considerately built the ones that are slanted so you don't need to build a driveway entrance. People can see me! she's shouting at me. I'm smiling like a loon. It's ok, you'll be alright. There's a man going somewhere! she yells. She's getting into panic mode now. What do I do?! I tell her to brake if she's not certain. She does; the man gets into his vehicle and reverses it up his driveway. See, I say, nothing to worry about.

She calms a little and slowly takes her foot off the brake. We're travelling so slowly I think a snail passed us. She's worried again. What if a car comes? she asks several times. We'll deal with that when it happens.

A car comes down the road. I see it and let her know; I think she's too busy looking at the road where she's trying to steer the car.

She screams.

She's almost in full panic mode. The car passes and all is quiet again. A little further down the road and about 100m away are two more cars. She panics again. I tell her to pull over into the layby area if she wants. She does. She wants to quit and go home.

I'm mean. I tell her no. And that she'll have to get the car out of the spot she's parked in. She's not impressed with me.

The cars go by; one down our road past us, the other continues around the corner.

We make it the rest of the way to the roundabout. It's only just up the street, but it's been a bit of work. Brake here and check the road. She does. A lot. Then we move out into the roundabout. I thought she wasn't going to turn the wheel in time. And I grabbed the wheel to guide it a little quicker than she was doing. Don't panic Mum! she says. I laughed. So did she.

We managed the drive back at a faster speed than the drive out. And she stopped at the driveway and jumped out. You can put it in the garage she tells me.

So, first lesson all done and dusted. What a giggle. She laughs with me later when the euphoria kicks in.

Whew, I need a cigarette she smiles. And tomrrow, if I get home in time we'll do it again I tell her.

She wilts.

Bad hair days!

I think I'm having one. I washed it yesterday, using the routine which has been working quite well. It seemed to dry a little wavier than usual. Hmmmm. And wasn't quite as soft. Man! This morning I brushed it. Mistake! I decided that the straightener was in order. Even that didn't fully tame it. And it still feels crispy. Grrrr!

It's been an odd kind of week.

I've been tired. Very tired. While riding home on my not-usual bus, I looked out the window on my right. It had fogged up. Completely. It was white. The day had been somewhat overcast with the possibility of rain. But the window on my side wasn't foggy. What gives? Then I decided we must have pulled up near a wall. I couldn't think what wall it might have been though. But yes, I could see some of the metal reinforcing strip along the bottom. No problem. And then we started moving....

We had been stopped next to a truck.... *feels somewhat sheepish*

The week, apart from the truck incident, has gone relatively quickly and quietly. Except for a building evacuation at work on Friday. It didn't last very long and after about 10 minutes in the sunshine we were herded back into the building. A workmate from another department was chatting with me, so I told her that they have to have these things occasionally so they can get the geeks out to catch some vitamin D.

Friday when I arrived home from work, MOTH informed me that the Teen would be away for the weekend again.

When I had the house full of people I really enjoyed it. I love having people about and I wasn't looking forward to the enforced solitude that would result when I became an empty nester. That day came somewhat sooner than I would have liked... wait, actually, I still have one at home; the other four have gone. But since she's away most weekends and nearly all weekend at that, MOTH and I are almost there.

And I'm finding I'm liking it. MOTH is usually busy playing games on the laptop, so I have all day to myself. To do what I want. Ok, sometimes I get bored, but on the whole no. MOTH seems more relaxed. We play stupid games and laugh a lot more. And I find I'm not necessarily looking forward to having anyone else move in.

Friday night we settled down to watch the Jessica Alba movie, The Eye. It's a rather atmospheric thriller. MOTH settled on the floor and I took over the couch. During the early part of the movie, the tension started to build. I could tell something was going to happen. Considering she was in hospital, that corridor was horribly deserted....

And MOTH let one rip. I nearly screamed....

Saturday I finally started the housework. I did some washing. I vacuumed the floor. That's right. I actually pulled the cleaner out of the lounge room and used it. I did my ensuite, my bedroom, part of the timber blind in my room, the sills as well, the study and part of the blind, the tiles in the hallway and half the loungeroom. By then I was feeling a tad pooped and had managed to talk MOTH into emptying the vacuum when it filled. And it was empty when I started. Then I mopped the tiles. By the time I finished, my knuckles and forearms were a tad sore, so I've left the rest for next weekend.

Course, I flat refuse to acknowledge that using the mouse and the laptop most of the weekend has absolutely anything to do with the soreness either ....

Life is just a costume party, really

My mind had wandered away this morning while I was on the bus; highly unusual I know. But I can remember thinking about a low centre of gravity .... oh wait! I remember what it was.

Don't you hate when you are more or less last in line to get on the bus and everyone in front of you dawdles up the aisle? I've GOT A LOW CENTRE OF GRAVITY, but even that doesn't help. *ha! remembered!* I can't sit down the front - on the new buses I seem to get travel sick - so I head for the back. And I don't like to be standing when the bus begins to move. So look out older bloke who has no business taking that long to get up toward the back of the bus and choose a seat, I'm comin' through!

Last week I missed an opportunity to wax lyrical about something not really spectacular that happened during the week. It wasn't till I was going through my phone photos that I remembered it. They've been working on the facade of the building opposite, and I looked out the window. Nothing. I looked again. Wha?



And when I looked again about half hour later, nothing. Talk about ghosts in the machinery! I never heard a sound.

As you know, I spend a lot of time on buses. Not much to do on buses. So I invent things. Check out the scenery. Make up stories. Wednesday, with not much to do, I was staring out the window and noticed it was rather breezy! Especially on the bridge. And there was a random ball of dust, blowing around like a tumbleweed in the silence following a bad joke. It dodged people's feet, ducking about on the whims of the breeze. The end result made it look quite sentient. If I was in any way imaginative, it could have given me nightmares about what may be growing underneath my bed, waiting to take over the world.

And all that.

I couldn't wait for Friday to dawn; a big day socially! For once. One of the GTs has moved on to greener pastures and we were having a lunch to celebrate. Not that he was moving on, but to get together and give him his gift. We had thai at one of the restaurants within walking distance to work. The buffet is usually pretty good for $15. A couple of curries, rice, a noodle dish, spring rolls, prawn chips, bbq chicken. Usually they have dessert. It's one of my favourite parts. Black sticky rice. Guess what we had to ask them for? Yep *nods* to bring out the dessert buffet. And what did they bring out? Lychees! U.G.H. !! *for emphasis* I can't stand those things. So bummed. I missed out on dessert.

Friday night we were to head out for a 21st party. It was to start at 6.30pm, but we couldn't really leave home before then. I don't get home from work till nearly 6.00pm. And we were giving Sunny a lift.

The event was at the Gap Tavern. We knew where that was! Been there before, we're sure of it. So we tootled off. Got there, turned down the street where we thought it was and .... nothing. It wasn't there. No one had checked the map, and no one had thought to plug in Karen *the GPS* Clever lot, aren't we. After a couple of snarky comments, we plugged it in and crossed the fingers. Because none of us knew the street name either. *shakes head* Thank heavens for mobile phones with internet and stuff. Sunny found out the name of the street, we keyed it in and off we went.

Found the street. Saw lights, but couldn't find a driveway. Dammit! We went up the road, threw a U turn and came back down again. How about this one? Turned in and there is the sign, unlit and hiding among the trees. D'oh!

I conned MOTH into getting dessert for me. The chap sitting next to him had ordered BBQ ribs in the kilo size. He couldn't finish, so offered to share the rest with MOTH. Who quickly obliged. *he pronounced them very good afterward* I tried a beer I've never had before - beez neez. It's pale and doesn't have that strong taste that most of them do. I liked it.

We had a great time, and everyone packed up around 10.30 or so. On the way home, I gained my own personal bagman. Evidence provided once we got home....



Saturday I didn't do much. I know I had plans but it didn't seem to work out. I got to fertilise a small portion of the lawn; did some washing. Not a lot else. The Teen was heading out to a costume party and was going as Pikachu. A pokemon monster for those not in the know. I realised after she left that I didn't get a picture! She looked GREAT! Wish I had. We dropped her off up the road at the party so she didn't have to walk the streets dressed as Pikachu and settled home for a quiet night.

Around 1am, my mobile went off. Mum! I'm at Sunny's place! Can you come pick me up? *how do i sense that the phone is going to ring, or is that what wakes me up? i always feel like it doesn't ring long before i hear it...* I sent MOTH. I'm clever like that...

Sunday morning when I got up, MOTH informed me that she hadn't been to bed at 6.00am when he got up. Whew. She came by and announced rather loudly My body's buzzin but my brain is sooooo tired!

Ah, funny child....

Sunday was quiet, overcast, rainy. Bathurst was on and I did my best to avoid most of it.

This morning dawned grey and overcast as well. Then I looked properly. It was fog! And at 6.50am while I was on the bus *i SAID i spend a lot of time on buses* I tried to take a photo:



Ah, a world muffled in grey wool like the homeless lady I see in the mall sometimes...

Argh! Skewl's back!

And I could tell! The bus was full again of the noisy minah birds squawking and chattering. Well, that will come later. Today was rather sobering I guess as first day back. Not an awful lot of noise at all considering.

I think I am going to have to go back to taking notes to remember what exciting things I did during the week. Because every time I sit in front of this monitor, my brain power is sucked away and I can't remember a darned thing.

Things have still been dry after the dust storm. I can still feel dust on things and smell it in the air. Indoors and out. We still have the water restrictions but I'm into ignoring those at the moment. I am trying to encourage my tiny herb patch to continue to grow and keep some of the dust from the ex-lawn at bay, so I water for about 5 to 10 minutes in total every day. We are only allowed half hour hose time a couple days a week.

Thursday I arrived home from work to be told that the Teen would be out of the house until Sunday. And that was the day THE BILL arrived. A phone bill. It is HUGE! I really don't know how I'm going to pay that one off, but we shall have to see. My phone carrier is 'understanding' but only to a point. I don't know what I can afford to pay each pay period, but when you 'negotiate' with them, you MUST provide a figure you will pay each week/fortnight. Yoiks. It doesn't help that this pay period has another big bill, a lot of prom stuff and two social events that have turned up on the same day. I NEVER get social events, let alone two on the same day! Well, alright. Maybe not never, but it's usually a very long time between drinks.

*wha? just been eating a nut bar and decided to floss. how does dental tape get TOO WIDE for the gaps between my teeth? ok, they're close together but this is ridiculous!*

By the end of the week, I couldn't stand it any longer. I planned to actually do what I have been planning for the last couple of weeks. *don't rush me* I was going to continue from that room I finished, washing walls, vacuuming and mopping. Just to clear the dust. And on Saturday, my headache was back with a vengence. Any idea of washing walls and bending over the cleaner went right out the window! I didn't move much that day.

Saturday night or maybe Sunday morning - it was 3am afterall - the phone rang. *lies in bed till MOTH gets up* The Teen wasn't feeling well and would be coming home. Now. Oh. Okay... As soon as she got in, she asked MOTH to take her blood pressure. Pressure was fine but pulse rate was up. She and Wogboy went off to bed. MOTH returned and said Well, she's not dead. *smiles*

Sunday morning I did some dusting. I could see where something had been shifted on MOTH's reception desk and thought it was about time. I grabbed the duster that all others claim to be unable to locate, and got to it. Even MOTH got a dusting. He sat still too long.

The Fairy Wrens were playing outside the laundry door. I stopped to watch - I love those things. I tried to get a photo or a video, but they are just too small and too fast. They have a beautiful song and the males are so vibrant! There is one little man and his two ladies turn up around the same time every day MOTH tells me.

Here's an example; I've pilfered the photo from birdphotos.com.au...


Last night I had to do a run out to Wogboy's place to pick up the Teen's gear that was left behind. First drive out there by myself for a very long time. Just before we left home, the Teen seemed to be in a very bad mood. She even snapped very badly at Wogboy while on the phone. *sighs*

Eventually I got out of her that someone suggested she was probably sick all the time because she takes too much medication. So she cut back. Yes *nods* she dropped the antidepressants. Ouch! I can tell the difference in her behaviour after ONE DAY of missed meds.

Gods help me for the long term....

Sprummer ... let's try it out

The Teen has coined a new name for our current season. It's not summer yet, and waaay too hot for spring.

So I think I've mentioned that the Teen has been away for a couple of weeks. Well, yesterday the quiet came to an end. Her holiday didn't seem to be working out quite the way she planned so I arranged for her to return early.

It seems the last four hours of the train trip were uneventful; the first couple however were fun filled extravaganzas of cousinly delight.

The last week has been pretty uneventful. The never ending cycle of working. And watching telly. Not that there has been much on mind, but I'm getting so bored I'm even watching the news bulletins on all the channels. Well, most of them. Haven't quite gotten to watching World News Australia on SBS yet. But that's coming, I'm sure. I watch one of the commercial stations. Or at least, it's on in the background. Then there isn't much till 8.30 so to fill up the time, I switch to different news bulletins across all the stations. Heck, you'd think with all those HD channels, there would be SOMETHING I'd like. *dangit think i missed dr who*

Oh wait, there was something I wanted to watch one night. On Thursday, while unpacking the groceries, I had a faint stirring in the background of my teeny tiny mind that there was something I wanted to do. I brushed it off and continued with my boring life.

Turned out it was Glee. I wanted to watch that.... Obviously important!

Wednesday midmorning brought with it the dust. A dust storm blew in; nothing like Sydney's though. It was thick enough to reduce visibility and drive asthma suffers indoors. I had ventured out in it to run an errand. It wasn't too bad when I started, but worsened a little by the time I finished my errand. I had planned to attend a thai chi session during lunch, but wasn't keen to go out again.


I took the photo above from the bridge. The camera has an auto adjust so it was actually thicker than it appears here.


This one adjusted the light settings to darken the foreground as I pointed it directly at the sun. Just to give a little idea of the fact that the sun was a hazy disk through all the dust.

MOTH had closed up the house so it wasn't too bad but you could still feel it on the tiles.

The weather report brought news of another impending dusty day though not as severe as Wednesday. We didn't bother to clean up much.

Saturday morning, I convinced MOTH it was now or never. Time to use the magnum Gold Class upgrades. I had a small boost in my pay this week, so thought Yes! This will cover that nicely. We checked the screenings. Bugger, District 9 wasn't showing gold class. Well, that just left .... The Surrogates. But the shorts for that looked interesting anyway. So we caught the 10am screening of the Surrogates. It wasn't a bad movie. I think there may even have been a wee social message in the film as well. But that kind of thing is totally lost on me....

Saturday afternoon brought the rest of the dust. A lot still hadn't settled from Wednesday, and still it goes on. I am so tired of smelling dust!

Sunday before I went to meet the Teen at the station, I finally finished the room. The remaining wall was scrubbed. The remaining boxes of Elder junk were sealed and transferred out to the garage. The carpet was vacuumed. And one small part of the hallway had a wall washed, the tiles vacuumed and mopped. Of course, I'm still to finish that part of the hall. MOTH had been doing some patching on the walls so I will be needing to clean them before he paints, won't I?

The Teen greeted me with various bits of news; among them the fact that Elder would like to receive, via the post, a pair of sandshoes she left behind. Oh. Oh dear. Well good luck with that one. All boxes and stuff that Elder left on floors have been sealed and moved out to the garage. Actually, moved to the topmost shelf in the garage. I showed the Teen where they all were now. Oh. Well, she said, She ain't gettin those sandshoes...

*goes back to singing in Braithwaite voice* one sprummer .... nah don't think it will work....

Hmmmm cupcakes!

They're yummy. Even if slightly overcooked.

That week has just flown so quickly. MOTH and I have discovered that it's hard to feed only two when you're used to feeding so many more. Even though I've cut the vege serves back, there is still too much! The house is quiet. And there isn't enough laundry to do a load a day.

Apart from slogging along to work every day, I've managed to do a bit of housework. Yes, I hear you cheering. Not too much though; don't want to ruin the record.

Saturday I had decided that I would finish cleaning the room that Jawsome had emptied. When MOTH took down a couple of things that had been put on the wall, he also took some paint. Silly. So he had to patch those. Before he paints them he asked me to wash the walls. Because they were filthy. This is one of the rooms that didn't get washed when we moved in.

So, I started. Good intentions and all that. I didn't finish. There were a couple of boxes of stuff belonging to the Elder still on the floor. I got the walls in the entry way washed. Behind the door and the side of the builtin wardrobe. That was it. Quittin time! MOTH occupied himself shifting boxes around in the garage. All the stuff we could identify as belonging to the Elder has been moved to high shelves. One half of the double bunks will be tossed, and the other has been put into the now spare room.

For lunch I decided to cook some mini quiches. They are a favourite of Jawsome's and I had some left over pastry. But oh! No recipe. I hope that the Elder still has it tucked away somewhere. I had to remember the ingredients and quantities by heart. Luckily the recipe is simple; I think I got it right. MOTH thought they were pretty good anyway. He ate most of them.

Sunday I looked at the yard. It's dying and the bindii is taking over. It really needs mowing. With the current water restrictions, you aren't allowed to water an established lawn. But I protest my lawn is not established. It's very patchy, with the soil gone hard from lack of water, what little grass there is turning brown, and weeds and ants taking over the bare patches. Soon I won't be able to use the clothes line without running the gauntlet of the flesh munching insects.

I scrubbed some more walls. I vacuumed some of the carpet in that room. I scrubbed my shower walls. Except the glass ones. I dunno why I didn't do those. Got distracted washing my hair I suppose.

I baked cupcakes. Just because I felt like it. Plain ones with mocha icing. The recipe is one I've picked off the interwebs. I like it, it's basic and easy. But I overcooked them slightly by about 5 mins and you can tell the difference. *note to self ... 20 mins next time!*

And come the afternoon, MOTH and I washed the car. He has a high pressure water hose which hasn't seen much use. Except Sunday afternoon. By the time we finished that, it was our water restriction nominated time to water the garden. Not the lawn mind! Thank heaven I have a high fence. I watered some of the lawn near the clothes line. Gotta give those ants a good drowning every so often or they get too complacent!

Sunday afternoon and evening, after sitting on the couch for a while, I discovered muscles I had forgotten about. I didn't think I'd be moving too well on Monday. Monday dawned and it was like I hadn't been doing any work at all.

Dangit! There went my stay at home immobile in bed day..... Hello work, here I come.

Opportunities!

Argh! I hate opportunities!

The boss comes along and tells you, boy have I got an opportunity for you! And there it is. A big nasty job. That they want done quickly... *dies*

So, this will be a quick one. Cause you can guess where I am.

Most of last week was spent in prep mode to get the Teen underway and set up for her holiday to visit the Elder. And calming some ruffled feathers because of stress.

I had decided to be generous and lend her my suitcase to take with her. It's cool, covered in purple and white spots. Then she came to me, Mu-um, how do I get my shoes to fit in? Why I asked. You only need two pairs of shoes? She nearly died. Of course, what was I thinking? One pair of casuals, one pair of sandals, one pair of dress shoes, and a couple of spares. Oi! *rolls eyes*

Eventually I thought about including a small 'care' package. Just a couple of things. So what could I put them in? Here, Teen, take the honkin' big suitcase and I'll just tuck these into a corner. Sure, they'll fit. Won't they?

Friday afternoon, I thought I would pop by on the way home and get her shoes for the *ahem* Formal. They don't call it Prom here.... I put them on layby and apparently, as luck would have it, they were the last of that style/colour in her size. w00t! Sometimes you can win.

Friday night I arrived home and MOTH was standing on the front lawn. Uh oh. Ummm so why are you out here? Just looking he said. Did you get a lift, cause I thought I heard a car door closing. Nope, I said, someone just got picked up. Ah. Well he says. The car is broken. Broken. Yep, broken. Gave it a degrease, and a bit of a tidy up, and one of the bolts holding the distributor cap broke. Oh..... But he'd gone to Paulie and picked up some replacements. All he had to do now, was try and remove the broken bolt. It was inside the part somewhere. Great.

Ah well, I guess it doesn't matter because I use public transport more than the car.

Saturday morning was a little lazy. MOTH spent a bit of time working on putting the car back together. I tootled about the garden pulling bindii. A lot of the grass is dying - MOTH is terrible with yard work - and the bindii is moving in. I'm going to have to find out when our watering times are. Getting the grass back in order seems to be the only thing that will keep the bindii at bay.

*dammit, thinks there was something funny that MOTH did I was going to include but can't remember what it was*

Sunday we were up relatively early to get Teen underway. She's not usually up at this hour and staggered about for a while. She finished off the last of the packing and we drove to the station to catch the train in. The train left on time and I was sad to see her go.

Since we were now at a bit of a loose end, I thought I might be able to convince MOTH to spend a little time in the city while we were there. He agreed, and we wandered down to the mall. I had a little money, so asked what he wanted for a late father's day present. He didn't know, so Teen and I took him to lunch and bought him Darrell Lea licorice and rocky road.

Sunday afternoon was quiet, so I wandered out to check the telly viewing. Gods, I hate weekends. How can you have so many channels to choose from and all of them are showing sport of some description? It's pathetic! So I chose to watch a dvd - Romeo Must Die ... again.

And it's still quiet. I'll notice again tonight, when she's not there to make noise and ask How long till dinner's ready?

What the heck was that?!

I was staring out the bus window on the way to work this morning. And going the opposite direction was a scooter. One of those little communter scooters. It had TWO front wheels......

So, a wrap up for the last week. As you can see from my previous post, there was a little bit of activity. But not much!

The Teen had Tuesday and Wednesday off school. They were sitting the QCS tests, and she wasn't one of the 'lucky' ones required to sit them. Wednesday morning, MOTH took her to sit for her learners.

I wasn't feeling too great so asked MOTH to pick me up from work when they were finished.

Well, she didn't mention anything when I got to the car and I let it ride for a little. She and MOTH started discussing something which quickly degenerated into an arguement. Uh oh.

So ... you didn't get it then? No, she said. She had all the give way questions right, but got too many of the others wrong for a pass. Oh dear. She had to wait 24 hours before she could sit it again.

When we arrived home I went to lay down for a little while and awoke two hours later. MOTH was nowhere to be found. Alright then, he's left the house. He came back sometime later with .... boxes.

Okay. It turned out to be a desk. And a chair. We laid out the contents, I checked them off against the 'homework' sheet and lo! All the pieces were there. And all were numbered too. VERY handy. It took most of the afternoon to put together. Once the desk return was assembled, I thought it would be too big to keep in the bedroom where is current desk is. When placed against the wall there was only a small amount of room between the end of the return and the end of the bed. Well, that wasn't going to be any good.

Eventually we positioned it in the formal dining area. Then MOTH moved it again and now he sits at reception, facing the formal lounge area. Which is the waiting room. Perfect!

Thursday night we met a friend down visiting his Doctor for surgery followup. We haven't seen Rob since he was a young man. This weekend was his birthday and he would be turning 31!

Rob asked if we would join him for dinner at a place to close to where he was staying. None of us had been there; but he knew where it was! I met up with Rob when I finished work; we had an hour to waste before joining MOTH and heading to the restaurant. Rob likes to play the tables so he took me to the Casino. I've been living here for 6 years or so now, and this was the first time I've set foot in the place. Whoo! It's easy to get lost in there.

Dinner was up a very steep hill. I wasn't sure that MOTH was going to make it! I'm not fit either and I was somewhat overheated and gasping when we hit the crest. It turned out that the Mill is a small pub; open, airy, and modern. The meals range in price from $15 to $30. Two mains and a coke for MOTH cost $48. But the food was very good, and service was pretty fast.

Friday afternoon MOTH took the Teen for another try. A pass! Whoa! My baby can now get behind a wheel. I took one look at the log book her driving supervisors must complete. Hooley Dooley. That's no fun at all! It requires completing a log book, signatures, calculating minutes, taking odometer readings and making lesson plans. Not looking forward to this at all!

Friday night MOTH and I stayed home, as did the Teen. She was joining us for lunch on Saturday. I think she wanted to go out for a walk, but I had managed to get MOTH away from his desk to join me to watch Transporter 3.

Saturday morning was raining and I thought it would last all day. Which would have been typical! It had cleared by lunch time and the day turned out to be beautiful. A lovely breeze blew as we sat near the chosen venue and waited. Rob was also meeting a cousin he hadn't see for some time. He hoped he recognised him!

It seemed he was running late. And when he did finally step through the door, phwoar! He's a personal trainer. Buff!

Saturday night was quiet as the Teen headed off to Wogboy's place. She didn't take her wallet. Heaven forbid - Wogboy's mother might try to get her out in the car.

Sunday, Sunny dropped by. We had a date to work on his tax. I had suspected it might take a while, depending on how much I had to read/research. It didn't take anywhere near as long! We got it finished and lodged; went to have lunch, and he napped. The Teen and I dragged ourselves along the way to the shops so she could buy hair dye for her extensions. They arrived earlier in the week. Her bribe? If you come with me I will buy you a chocolate!? Well, okay. I couldn't argue with that.

Sometime later, I went to sit in the rumpus room to read. Sunny was still napping in there as well, and the Teen was colouring her hair. Sunny awoke and I watched him for a while untill the Teen came in. She plonked herself down and spoke. Sunny twitched but didn't say anything. Then I replied, and he just about died. Heh. *evil grin* The Teen smiled. I was looking all over for you too she said, looking at me. Then proceeded to point out a blister she was developing, telling me it hurted and she wanted it popped. I wouldn't do it though, but did kiss a finger and put the kiss on her sore blisser...

MOTH decided to shift the remaining packaging from the desk. I had shifted a big one earlier that had fallen during the night and was blocking the front door. From the rumpus room, I heard him drop it; Sunny mumbled something. A pause, then Sunny spoke again; this time I got a clearer understanding of what he said. I went to the back door, and sure enough, MOTH had tripped going out the door and fallen. He was still laying on the ground and I was a little worried as he hadn't gotten up. He told me afterward that he had let himself go down as a preferred option against possibly breaking his ankle.

Pfft! No sense of adventure some people......

Please take a number from the reception desk!

Just lately, MOTH has been a little dissatisfied with his computer set up. Time for an upgrade says he!

Off he trundled to Sam's Warehouse - his fave shop for all things - and home he came with a flat pack. A desk no less. And a new chair. Since I was home sick that day, I decided to follow the assembly progress...



The stranges part was that ALL the holes were drilled in the right places. ANNND all the parts were there. Not bad for a cheap shop!









etc..... Now you have to walk past it to get to the back of the house. Please report to reception on arrival!

What was I SAYING?!

Did I rather foolishly mention something about summer? I take it back. Today is overcast and showers. Standing in the city waiting to cross the road, it truly felt like August. The wind was cutting; my face, ears and neck were freezing. I was wearing my one and only jumper with a jacket over the top. 3/4 sleeve knit top, lined skirt, stockings and sketchers.

Brrr!

The week has flown by. I've been devouring my books. And alas, I fear that may be detrimental. Like a drowning man, I've been grasping the books and of all that I have bought, most are finished. Well, perhaps I exaggerate slightly. I've finished two and three quarters; I have three left. Not to mention the one I borrowed from a workmate and finished on Saturday.

Ah. The joy of reading!

Most of the week has been prep for the return of the Mac. Well, no. The return of the Elder. Briefly. To collect belongings. Jawsome was also supposed to be returning but due to reasons to which I'm not privvy, had to delay.

The Teen lit out on Friday evening as is her usual. And returned Saturday morning to wait the arrival of the Elder. They were going to hang together. But Elder had been delayed by work matters. And alas, the Teen had to depart for a 21st birthday dinner before she arrived.

Saturday morning, I bit the bullet and decided that it was time to replace my favourite tote. It's a great size, I've had it for years, it always got comments but I can no longer use it without taking blood samples. Yes, the plastic on the outside is breaking and splitting. While that was happening on the bottom corners I could ignore it. Not now. The replacement is about the same size, has several zippers/pockets and is shiny red reptile print. I likes!

Late evening arrived, bringing with it the distinctive shound of Team Shitbox. Yes, it's still going!

We spent some time together then let her set herself up for the night. Around ten o'clock the doorbell went. The Teen had arrived back home after the dinner. She was very impressed with her meal....

Sunday morning, MOTH and I went out to Wogboy's new abode so Teen could collect her gear. I asked MOTH to come along so he could drive. He knows the way so much better than I you see. *beaming smile* We left Elder at home. She had stuff to pack you know!

Sunday afternoon, we three ladies lit out for the city. We had planned to see if we could book passage for the Teen to visit Elder on her turf during the school holidays. No such luck! The travel train office was closed. We thought it might be, but you never know. Turns out it only does business Monday to Friday.

Oh dear. Well, I shrugged. We'll just do it online when we get back home. Elder was starving so we decided to have foodage at Coffee Club. Where Elder's friend Ranga works. She's also one of my 'daughters'. I like her a lot. She's always cheerful and glad to see us.

Or so it appears....

Eventually after stuffing ourselves we managed to get up from the table to make a move home. But only made it as far as the dessert cabinet. Back to the table then! Elder had mudcake with cream and icecream. I think she got preferential treatment - she had more icecream than I did! I had key lime pie with cream and icecream. The Teen is watching her food intake, so she had a plain choc chip biscuit. Or maybe it was fig and pecan. I wasn't there when she chose it but she did mumble something about fig during our conversation. We spent a lot of time talking about strange things and laughing. I would love to know what snatches of our conversation were picked up by passing wait staff! Must have been good from some of the strange looks.

Time was getting on and it was time to head home. On the way back, we indulged ourselves kicking those hard seed pods that litter the ground this time of year. Someone went to kick one. The Teen or the Elder, I'm not sure which. And she missed. And staggered. I looked at one of the older ladies coming toward us. They were grinning. As was I.

Further down the street we approached the pub. There were three doormen lurking. And some random bloke walking toward us. He passed, and Teen turned behind him, making faces and waving her arms. When we finally stopped giggling, I looked up and one of the doormen had a smirk on his face. I leant toward the Teen. I think you were spotted. The Elder grinned. So it wasn't just me noticed that then, hey.

We arrived at the crossing; ready to push the button. I don't know what Teen had been smoking but she leaned forward to push it. With her head. Which apparently connected before she was ready. She heard the bang before she felt the hurt. I thought Elder was going to expire. She was laughing hard and gasping for breath at the same time. Luckily, there was no drool!

When we eventually calmed down we found our footsteps wandering past the Ed Hardy store. Teen noticed the OMG SALE sign and turned in. Just so we could look. The Elder had already dismissed a stop earlier in the afternoon; the opportunity had now arrived. There was some good looking stuff. And a totally great sale! Teen wanted to purchase. After some consideration of finances and spending money for the trip, she purchased a t-shirt. It was reduced to $50 - from $150. A good bargain.

On the way home she discovered she had drastically miscalculated and overspent. Oh dear! But what the heck! You, my dear, now own for the first time a proper brand label. And for cheaper than eBay. Well done!

Alas, that also meant she didn't have enough for the train tickets. *sighs* But hey! She has an Ed Hardy tee! We went online to book and pay for the tickets. It's travel during school holidays and you know how quickly those seats fill! We decided what dates she wanted to travel. We decided what times. I went to fill out the booking form. I added the leg for the return. Nope, it couldn't book one of the seats - mind it doesn't tell you which one, and you have to start over.

I started over. I changed the northbound date. I booked the northbound trip. I booked the southbound trip. Now it's telling me I have a student fare north, and an adult fare south. No! No, no, no! I have to start over. I do it again. Still! Student north, adult south. I have to start over. Bugger! This time I do one leg at a time. I book the northbound trip for the original date. Nope, not available. Dang. I start over. I book the northbound trip for the changed date. Yes! I decide I had better book the return. I book the southbound trip for the original date. Yes! Perfect. She has the journey booked. And I'm down $95. *kisses and soothes credit card* It just means I must find other monies for our dinner out on Thursday. *sigh*

Will have to let you know how that goes in my next update, won't I....