The Poltergeists in my wall

Scared me nearly half to death. Well, ok, I exaggerate a little. Gave me a jolly good start though.

Some of the conference work is picking up a little. Now there are five of us in the team we will be having regular meetings to keep abreast of things. I like this - makes me feel much more included. At our first meeting I actually sounded like I was busy. I like that too.

I'm still exhausted but still no wiser as to the cause. The doctor's surgery haven't phoned me to make an appointment so I am assuming they don't have the results yet. MOTH and I were discussing and wondering if the constant lethargy might very well be tied to the depression rather than something else. I guess I might get more of a clue when I find out the results. Yeah, I know, not much of a clue now. No Joe, they didn't wake me up to put the CPAP machine on. They didn't wake me at all. I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing.

This week Bestie contacts me to ask if I would like to go for coffee on Saturday. She's made contact with an old school friend. I check with MOTH to make sure it's not going to affect any plans he might have. Just a girl thing I tell him. Oh, ok. Luckily she's given me plenty of notice so I can budget for the bus fare and the coffee. A couple of days roll by and ... nothing. I'll wait and see what happens. If it doesn't go ahead I can use the money for something else.

Shopping night and there's a little left over to buy take away. We think we'll have doner kebab. It's "under new management". The woman behind the counter is not a native English speaker and somehow I end up with yoghurt and garlic sauce AND tahini. Makes for an interesting combination, but not one I'd necessarily like to repeat. Disappointing isn't it when a place you love changes hands and it's just not the same...

Friday comes around and still nothing. Ah well. Suddenly Bestie lets me know that it's all on, the friend had forgotten to get back to her. We've arranged to meet at a coffee shop in the city. It's a nice looking little place although I haven't been there before.

Saturday morning for something to do I join MOTH with the Club. I haven't seen them for a while. Wombat is there, surprising me by occasionally laughing, not surprising me by complaining about stuff. John makes me laugh by deliberately bringing up a topic we know will generate complaints. I play a game on the phone while keeping an ear attuned to their conversation. I'm feeling cheeky so I give Stan a hard time when he asks me a question about a book and author he can't remember the name of but he's sure I will know. I did. We finish up there about 10:30am and buy some supplies for dinner.

It's nearly time to head out for the bus. Got all my kit ready. Yup, I'm a girl so I need to take lots of stuff. No. Not really. The less I have to carry the better I like it. Alas, the new phone doesn't fit my "wallet" so I have to find something else. I have a little tiny handbag and I can just squeeze the phone in there. Along with my bus pass (go card), my licence, and the money. All set. I'll have to tuck my glasses somewhere else. The weather is a stinker, hot and humid. Sure do pick the good days to go out! I jump on the bus and swipe my card. It doesn't register. What? I look. I've just tried to swipe my licence. *rolls eyes* The man sitting in the front bus seat calls out "Wrong one girl" and laughs his fool head off.... yeah, great.

I'm there first. But not for long. We look for the long lost one, not sure if she will even look the same. She does. It's great to catch up, we think it's probably been about twenty years and there's plenty to talk about. No photo of us, but I have one of the view from my spot at the table. There's deck chairs set up under the trees and we wonder if they are there for anyone to use. Nifty, hey...

The afternoon passes quickly and we vow it will become a regular thing.

It's hot again today. I'm too hot to do much. The air is still and humid. The fan is on full blast and if I sit on the couch I can get a good breeze. If I sit at the desk, it's too far away to pick up much. How can I fix that? I don't want to run the airconditioner. Evening sets in, the breeze picks up. The sky darkens and I can hear a rumble or two. Lightening flashes and the storm arrives. It's crackling enough that I turn off the tv at the wall. The computer too. Maybe now will be a good time to move things around? I get MOTH to help. I guess it's even a good chance to vacuum the carpet. A little. It's really too hot for this and I've managed to give myself a headache. The storm is over and the air is cooler. I don't think that will last. Finally the room is finished. Looks a bit odd, but at least I can get some air circulating around the desk...

The tv is out of frame to the right.

Showered and in bed, sliding into the sweet oblivion of sleep. Thump! Bang! Not far above my head. Whoa! I'm awake now! My heart is still going pitty pat but no other noise ensues. You'd think that if something inside the wall fell *and that's what it sounded like, some furry body losing it's balance* there would be some other noise, wouldn't there. Scratching? Scrabbling? No, all is silent.... What sort of Things are living in my wall!?

So I'd better get me some bloggin....

Time is slippin slippin slippin into the future... and I am still trying to catch up.

I've been going through a bit of a crisis mentally *quiet peanut gallery!* and possibly, just maybe, the idea that I'm not coping as well as I had hoped. MOTH suggests I should draft a letter to HR, ready to send if things to get worse. I wonder if I should, or would that just be too tempting to click the Send button instead of taking a deep breath and a walk. When my eldest daughter was very small my then treating doctor diagnosed me with depression. I have been self managing it for years, but about two years ago my now treating doctor said You have depression. I've decided to continue to self manage rather than medicate but boy it's getting difficult some days. The idea of the letter to HR would be to find out if they would help me transfer if I need to. As John Denver once said, some days are diamonds some days are stone.

But on the sunshine side, I'd been toying with the idea of changing my phone. I think I mentioned it last post. I like to do my research so I spend ages looking to see what's there and reading about things that catch my eye. And thinking about what I want. Then I go in store and see if I can see a physical example. It's fun. And I find something I like the look of. I've done some basic searching, the store only has a dummy model so I can't play with it. Fair enough but at least I can see what size the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 really is. Hard to visualise measurements y'know. I leave the store and think about it some more. I research some more, reading specs and reviews. This looks likely. LG Optimus G. I read the reviews. I check the specs. Beauty. I go in store and ask about it. He gives me dimensions. They don't match what I have. Weird. He doesn't have one for me to look at anyway. I go home and think some more. And do more research. Oh. I've been looking at the PRO! No wonder. So more research. More thinking. The store can let me peek at one when it comes in. That's right, it's not even on the market here yet.

The more I think about it, the more I think this might be the phone. Finally, they're in. I can come and have a look. SWEET! *loves me some tech* And ... there it is. Smooth, black and beckoning. I'm sold and I transfer my phone. This is it LG Optimus G. My biggest bug bear? It's not compatible with anything Apple. Because it's Android. Sheesh. This includes iTunes.

Sleep study. I'm a little nervous about it. Heck who am I kidding. I'm VERY nervous about it. I have a general idea of what to expect and it's not pretty. I do have the following day off work though, so at least I'll have time to recover. I need to be there by 7:15pm. MOTH and I hook up Karen and off we go. It's about an hour drive away. We can't find it. Karen says it should be on the left. But where? We've no idea. Pull into a shopping centre while we try to work it out. We're looking at a paper copy of the map sort of directions thing that was included with the appointment information. No go. We can't figure out where we are. I key the address into Google maps. Oh, there we go! Karen took us past it. We need to be on the other side of the road. When we do find it, yes, the information on the paper was accurate. But only as far as now we knew what landmarks we were looking at. Whew. We sit in the car park for about fifteen minutes before I get out and head for the clinic. Eep!

I walk in the clinic. No foyer, just a little space with some chairs and a pretty cabinet with flowers on it. The hall is short with two doors on the right. There's no one there. I walk down the hall a bit and soon this tiny chap bustles up and checks my name. He's got my paperwork and directs me to the first room. Uh oh. Scales. And height. I'm a couple of kilos off my weight estimate but I've not been near a set of scales for years. And I've not checked my height for many years. Oh! Look at that! I thought I was shorter than that. But now I've looked at a conversion tool, maybe I've always been that height.

That done, I'm shown to my room for the night. On the way he shows me a the shower, a kitchenette, loos and here we are, I'm in room 6. There are other patients here already. I see one in his jammies already sitting on his bed reading. Another room has two beds in it. My room is pleasantly surprising. It looks like a very basic motel room, a low bed, paintings and a mirror on the wall. He pulls the blankets from one side of the bed, tells me to change and he'll be back soon to start the hook up. I change, check out the loo, and go back to wait. Up to the front room for a breathing test. This means shoving a mask against your face while one nostril is blocked. Yep, grab the mask handle, shove the styrofoam thingo attached to that tube up your nose, clamp the mask to your face *careful, don't let any air leak!* and now breathe! Left nostril was fine but boy! Did I have trouble trying to breathe through my right.

Back to the room to get hooked up. A belt goes around my chest. Is that too tight? No, ok. Then one around my stomach. Have to adjust that off a bit *dang*. Stand here and he begins. Two wires taped to each calf. Two to the chest. There might be some in the waist belt too. A throat mike is taped on. They are hooked to this little machine that is not much bigger than a desk phone. I get to read for a while before he comes back to hook up the rest. That's done down the other end of the clinic. I have to take the 'phone' with me. These are the ones that will be attached to my face and scalp. He uses a scrub on my cheeks just in front of my ears, behind my ears, on my forehead and another couple of places in my hair. Then some wax, electrodes on, wired into the 'phone', wires zipped into a cloth jacket. While we chat, I begin to get a little sleepy. I mention that if I go to bed too early, I'll be awake at three. He says it's nearly nine o'clock. In the course of the chatter he is called away to check something. One of the other patients is a young girl who has to have an extended ECG as well as the sleep study. She's here with her mother. Soon we're all done. Ready to go. Back to my room, phone on the cradle, oxygen wotsit on my fingertip, and lights out. Wait! But I'm not sleepy anymore! I've not a clue what the time is. He's moved my iPad to another chair. My sudoku puzzle book with it. I lie there a little while *oh no, i can't sleep* There's noise outside. I roll over and ..... zzzzz

I wake up. It's still dark. I wriggle a lot and finally get my hands on my phone. It's 3:40am. Dang. I lie there for a while. And a while. And more of a while. I'm finally beginning to relax and the light on my finger thingo goes blue. It's nearly 5:15am so I guess they've turned me off. A knock on the door and he pops his head in. Time to unhook and take off the tape. It's like getting a wax. The legs don't hurt too much. The scalp pulls some hair but not too badly. One of the ones in front of my ears has well and truly caught in my hair and I think half my face has torn off too. That hurt! I dress and go to the kitchen for a quick cuppa. I can't find milk in the fridge but I've not really looked. Looks like everyone uses it for their lunch and I don't want to accidentally take someone's stuff. I drink it black but I don't really have time to add cold water. I scald my tongue a bit and after a few sips I leave off and rinse the cup. All the other patients have long gone it seems and I'm the last to leave.

MOTH comes to pick me up around 6:00am. I'm so tired, yet I'm sure I slept relatively well. It's after 7:00am when I get home. I go to bed. Sleep till 8:30 then potter around the house. Nappage in the afternoon is good too.

Now I just have to wait a week or two till my doctor gets the results.

And on request ... here's a photo that suitably blurry cause I can't do selfies but it does give an idea of my hair. Heh.

How did we get here??

I suddenly realised it's Tuesday and I hadn't done a blog update. That nearly escaped me...

Not that there is anything to update really.

Nope, truly.

I think I mentioned I had been referred for a sleep test. I finally screwed up the courage to make the appointment. The paperwork arrived outlining the date, time, and address of the clinic. Along with a medical questionnaire about my sleep habits. Some of the questions I had to ask MOTH about *do i snore? how do i know? do i wake him up snoring? well i dunno* and he happily supplied answers. One of the questions on the form was How long does it take you to fall asleep at night? MOTH looked at me and grinned. Oh, till about the first letter E he says. We both giggle. Ok, I guess from that I fall asleep pretty quickly.

I'm hoping it's not aponea because I am so totally not enthused about having to wear a mask to bed. Just the idea of something on my face while I'm laying down makes my nose want to block. At any rate, I've done some research and while I don't think I have obstructive aponea, I may very well have the other. That's the one where you aren't getting enough oxygen. We shall see I guess.

Oh joy for me. Look, it says shampoo your hair the morning of the appointment. BUT! No using conditioners, hair oils, gels etc. WHAAA? If I don't use that stuff, how the heck am I going to even get a comb through? My hair is waist length, thick and bleached blonde. I suspect my sleep study will be disturbed by hearing my hair shafts snap off as I lay down or turn over. Ha! And never mind any sounds of the monitors, the noise level outside the cubicle, or them coming in on a regular basis to check the machines....

I've asked for the following day off work. I don't think drooling on the keyboard is acceptable office etiquette.

My Avon nail polish has arrived! Whoo! I had to stop and look at the packaging and compare it because it surely looks different in reality. I thought I was buying one of the 'sequin' ones but it seems it's only a shimmer. Absinthe. Guess what colour that is. Yes. Green. But not quite the green I was expecting. But I do like it. I put it on. Oh..... it's kinda green. A snotty sort of green really. Delightfully gross. Remember that slime stuff you had as a kid? Remember how if you played with it too much it changed colour? A dirty green? Yes, it's almost like that.

The other turns out to be black with a red shimmer. I haven't tried that on yet but it looks lovely in the bottle.

All in all it's been a quiet week. The project I'm working on for work is nearly finished; I'm just trying to whip myself into a frenzy of enthusiasm to finish the final report. Of course, my get up and go has well and truly got up and gone, so we are still waiting for said enthusiasm. And words. Got to have words to finish the report.

And just for something to do, here's a pic of Penny, the walking flea factory...

Stop that scratchiiiiing!

Cats! Fleas! Expense! It's driving me crazy. $60 later, just to treat one cat. $66 later for 3 months treatment for the other two. Just because *i think* Sheldon can lick his treatment off. I know, they say put it at the base of their neck. But no kidding, he can reach. He gets the oral dose. So there cat, lick that off. He's stopped scratching but the other two haven't. Sigh....

I'm liking the pan I bought recently. It's not cast iron but cast aluminium. Very light weight but it gets hot pretty quickly. I must remember to make sure that in future I use the mitts when I shift it from the stove...

The rain continues. Off and on all week and probably more to come. I thought I might have seen the sun peep out at one point, but I was mistaken. A friend of mine living further up the coast has observed that she thought it had rained for 40 days and 40 nights. The boy next door to her was named Noah and if he started building anything, she wanted in. I think I know where she's coming from.

Ultrasound this morning. One of those full bladder ones. So uncomfortable! But hey, all over and done with. Such sweet relief! Then off to work but at least I only had to work half a day.

I've had to take the motorway a couple of times this week due to the rain. One of the main roads closed due to flooding. It comes across the driving range, the road and submerges the park on the other side of the road. On a good afternoon *or morning* the drive home takes about half an hour. This day I discovered it closed the trip took about an hour and ten. Frustrating! I wish it had closed the motorway too so I couldn't get to work. What fun!

My heart sinks on the drive to work today. Someone's little dog lies in the middle of the double lane. I hate seeing road kill at the best of times *an awful lot of bandicoots and possums fall on the altar of asphalt around my way* but it's worse when it's someone's pet. I know traffic can get heavy but surely if you hit something you can pull off and shift it? I hate it so much. Hate, hate, hate.

MOTH drags me out of the house this morning for a cup of coffee. Alright, I'll go. He's already been out to join the Club so we take our time. The coffee is good and he's bought me a muffin. It's warm and has a side of cream. I don't usually eat muffins but this is delicious.

I'm toying with the idea of changing my phone. Not because I need to, but just because I want to. I have an iPhone 4 which works perfectly well. I usually update about every 18 months. I don't know why, it just seems to happen. I pop into the store but they don't have a working model of the one I'm thinking of. Disappointing! He offers to check and see how much is outstanding on my current contract. Not as much as I had thought. I also remember that once upon a time, my current carrier would have waived that when you changed over...

The power bill arrived this week. I'm totally gobsmacked. I know we had two extra people, but how can two extra nearly double the bill in a quarter? DOUBLE! The highest I've paid previously is around $350 for the quarter. This bill, including discounts is just short of $500. And the media is busy telling us that bills are expected to increase by 21% for next quarter, and power companies are posting huge profits. Disconnection rates are high and there are plenty of people around the poverty line who already get by in winter with lots of blankets and a one bar heater... It will be interesting to see what our next bill will be. MOTH has a habit of swapping power companies for a better deal. Our current *and original* company then phone him saying they'll match it or do better. However, I don't think he notes the tariff rates they promise so we can keep track. The only thing I can remember him saying is that the new discounted rate *still higher than our supposedly previous one* wouldn't come into effect until the next bill. Bloody power companies.

The Teen is still working a lot of weekend shifts and hunting for something a little more 9 to 5. Alas, she still has no license, no car and no way to get anywhere so things are pretty limited.

The Elder has worked her first shift at her new job. I had thought it would be mainland based but it appears that she was stationed out on the island. Her job is security based; I believe currently doing bag checks etcetera for project staff coming on to the island. Hopefully she enjoys it and sticks to it long term.

The cupboard is bugging me, but I can't really get motivated to clean it out. Except today! Today I took out the cast iron electric pan. I'm putting it out in the garage. MOTH says I can buy a new cord. But we don't know if it's the cord/thermostat that trips the circuit, or a fault in the pan itself. I don't know if it's worth investing in a new cord - MOTH never liked cleaning the pan from the get go. Too heavy. Amazing how taking that one thing out makes that much more space. But hey, that's exhausted my enthusiasm for today.

I've flea bombed the rumpus room. It's where the fleabags hang out most of the time. No, wait. Don't include me in that. Penny and Jerome spend a lot of time in there with me. If I'm not there, Penny sleeps in the space where I sit and Jerome .... could be anywhere. Sheldon spends most of his sleeping time curled up on a dining room chair. The whole house needs doing and I've earmarked this weekend as a possible start point. Think I shall do the garage too.... Damn kids and their fleas ...

Rainy days ...

and Monday's always get me dowwwn. Well, I don't have much of a chance today then.

We have another new addition to the GTs starting this week. A new one only started a couple of weeks ago. Two new faces in such a short time, but I don't think we'll ever get back to where we were at our most productive.

The Teen is desperately unhappy with her situation at the moment. Her job has her rostered for weekend after weekend, with little in between. They are very short staffed so today she works a double shift. With a five hour gap between shifts. With no car and no lift available, she can't go anywhere between times. She doesn't get to see Harry much anymore because he works during the week. Even with all the extra shifts, her pay rate is just enough for her to pay her bills and nothing else. She wants an office job and is busily applying everywhere, but as an adult with no office experience her chances of getting anywhere are very, very slim. MOTH tends to think that perhaps Admin wouldn't be the thing for her. She's just too active. If she didn't suffer from Anxiety, I think she'd make a great promo girl!

Anyway, I think she desperately wants to come home for a while but Harry simply will not budge.

I've seen The Hunger Games again. I think I enjoyed it just as much this time round as I did my first viewing. It makes me want to buy the books. I um and ah, and eventually I do. All three volumes. Electronically of course.

When visiting here last, Elder noticed her concert tickets were missing. They weren't pinned to the notice board. Uh oh. We've no idea where they may have gone. I get a call from her this week. Have you looked? Have you found them? Where did you look? I'm sure they were pinned on the notice board. MOTH and I are equally sure that she went to pin them there, was told Sheldon would take them down if she did and they were put in a "safe place". No one has a clue where that place could be. That's how safe it is. Eventually we decide they just aren't going to make an appearance and she decides to see if she can get them replaced. Luckily she can, but it will cost an extra $20 a ticket. Very, very expensive concert tickets these are!

I get the pan off layby and I can't wait to use it. The instructions that come with it are impossible to read. At least for me they are. Why do people make the writing so darned small? Even with my glasses I can't read it. I end up taking a photo of the page and enlarging that. I've seasoned the pan and it's good to go. Hopefully if I treat this one right it will last for ages.

It even has mittens! I can use it stove top, cook top, oven. I'm not sure about gas cooktops though!

The end of the week is here and I'm exhausted. My favourite part of the week is the 'couch collapse' on Friday afternoons. Just knowing there are two days off ahead of me is magic.

Elder and Burrich are due to arrive tonight ready for the concert tomorrow. She managed to get the tickets replaced and has to collect them from admission when they arrive at the venue. Even though it's only been two weeks since I last saw them, it is good to catch up with them again. It was getting a bit quiet.

The weather this week has been rainy and muggy. A most marvellous combination ... NOT! Saturday dawns beautifully, a bright blue sky. It's sticky again by day's end. Elder and Burrich have left for the day. They won't be back till well after dark. I go with MOTH up to the juice bar for a coffee before we join up with the Baby Sitter's Club. While having coffee, Elder and Burrich walk past. Burrich has purchased himself a new tee. I like it. I want one. Elder is busy telling me that they were nearly rear ended in the car park. Someone waited for the car in front of them when reversing out of the parking space, but didn't wait for them! I buy the tee. They're in men's sizing, but the M fits well and the material is soft. I like it already. And at $12, who am I to complain. The wording on the shirt was written for me. I'm sure it was. "I'm only wearing black until they invent a darker colour".

Sheldon, the walking flea magnet, is at it again. I decide to try something different and use an oral treatment this time. The vet suggests something called Capstar, a course of tablets for six days. They are $29 for the course. Fair enough, I'll treat them all this way. But when I arrive to pick them up, the assistant puts them against Jerome's name and sticks a label on the box. Six tables for six days, followed by one tablet a week for six weeks. What? That wasn't part of the deal! So, maybe I'll just dose one cat then! At least the others don't eat their flea treatment off their backs. If only pets weren't so expensive!

We leave the vet and reverse from the parking space. As MOTH changes gear to Drive, there's a terrible crunching noise. It seems we have been rear ended! MOTH tells me to get the plate number but he calls it to me before I can even see the car ... driving out of the car park. They didn't stop, or even get out of the car to check damage. Luckily we've managed to get off pretty easily, just some grey paint on the boot lid and some scrapes on the bumper.

I know the xBox will be going soon. I have a last little bit of time with Fable 3 before it's good bye. I finally eject the disc from the console and pack up the games ready for tomorrow.

Elder and Burrich are due to leave today. They start packing the car and sorting through belongings. They can't take everything of course. It starts to rain and I dive out of the couch. The tailgate and both back doors of the car are open and not a kid in sight. That's it, that's my exercise for the day. I unhook the xBox. Good bye old friend. However, Elder has agreed to replace it with her PS2 which she won't be taking with her. How odd it is to use a console with wired controllers! So old fashioned. She's left me her games as well, so there will be plenty of look at. She leaves her copy of Guitar Hero Wii on the drum kit. What good is that? And they aren't taking it with them, they don't have a working Wii. ... ... ... and it slowly dawns on me that I've been looking at the kit as a piece of junk stuck in the corner when I could have been playing it... Not slow, me. She digs the guitar from behind the couch and now I have a drum kit and a guitar to play with. And no one to collapse in hysterical laughter when I stuff up. Which I will. Excellent!

They leave in the afternoon and all is quiet again. I look at the spare bedroom. It's still a mess. Dang. Not quite as messy as it was, but still messy. The jumble of boxes in the garage have been put back in some semblance of order. She's made some comment before she left so I check her room. And nearly collapse in the doorway. It's practically spotless and the bed is made. Wow!

I flick the last page and ... I'm done. That's the Hunger Games trilogy finished. Why oh why do I have to read so fast?? Now what will I do?

Hippo Birdies Two Ewes...

Well, a project I've been assigned at work is turning out to be quite a deal bigger than first thought. It's keeping me busy... to be honest, I just want it over an done with.

Dr visit this week to check results of some recent tests. Iron levels are low *surprise surprise* but this doesn't require injections. I need to lose weight *again, no surprise* and I gain a referral for a sleep study. Darn, I'm not sure about that one.

The Teen takes me to task about my spelling of Moscato and Crouchen Reisling. Working in a bottle shop, she would know! I don't hear from her much, she keeps quiet. No headlines to let me know she's been up to mischief. She's getting good hours at work, but too many weekends. I read somewhere that she, Elder, Burrich and a friend managed to catch up for lunch. Lunch at Sizzler and all I hear about is fish pooing in the tank...

The Elder is excited that she has finally managed to get some work using her security license. She will be joining the crew monitoring a function for employees of one of the big industry employers. She's happy. The night goes well. The drunks love me! she tells me. The crew tell her it's the smoothest exit for a long time. She has been on a short list for more security work, but the industrial partner needs to coordinate an induction. This is taking forever, and she's been promised and ignored by this bunch before. I christen them "Useless Trev". Burrich has picked up some casual work with his old employer.

Saint Valentine's Day. MOTH and I don't usually celebrate but we notch up 30 years together this year. Maybe I've mentioned planning to go out to dinner previously? Well, ok, we will. And did.

I think riding the bus into the city will work best. What is the point of driving halfway to destination to pick me up, driving home and driving back in again? No point, that's the point. So, I'm bussing into the city.

And why is it I only ever see interesting stuff when I'm on the bus?

We come around the corner. A very tight corner. And there are birds. Everywhere. Galahs. Pigeons. Lorikeets. All chasing seed in the gutter. They scatter as the bus comes around the corner, but only just.

The streets are winding and the corners tight. We have to turn right across the traffic and up the hill. Drivers can be impolite here, and leave just enough gap for the bus to come through the line. But it doesn't leave enough room for the bus to turn up the hill. A car sits there and the driver watches the bus come closer and closer to his bonnet. Finally he seems to realise that something has to give and begins to turn the wheel to get out of the way. The bus creeps through. It might have worked a bit better if the car driver had reversed up the hill a little. Especially when the bus first appeared at the intersection!

The main road into the city is busy, though not nearly as busy as it could have been this time of day. Oh look. The coppers have some driver pulled up in a bus stop. Lights are flashing. Huh, silly. They'll get you if you misbehave in peak hour!

I've arrived in the city in plenty of time. No rush but I decide to check out where the restaurant is. Oh, there it is. Nice and close to where I told MOTH to park. I'm about to text to let them know where I will be waiting and ... Elder pounces on me from behind. They're already here. And parked way further down in the car park. *shakes head*

We've an hour to kill so spend it sitting al fresco at an ice creamery, drinking lemonade and watching people walk by. Eventually it's time to leave. The restaurant is empty - it's only 6.20pm or so after all. We're seated and already MOTH is giving the kids and the waitress a bit of cheek. It's going to be an interesting night.


The setting is modern and quite upmarket. I can't really say we are though! Those of us partaking of the "Romancing the Stone" menu are sectioned from the main dining room. The price is excellent for a 3 or maybe 4 course dinner. Amuse Bouche, Entree, Main, Dessert, and a complimentary glass of bubbles on arrival. All $75 a person. The reservation was for 6.30pm and at 8.30pm we've dined and left the restaurant.

It's raining. We dash across the street and pause to catch up under the shelter. I didn't see the balloon man, but he saw us! Elder ended up with a balloon flower, Burrich a bow tie, I had a crown. MOTH was the only one who escaped.

Parking costs $24 - delayed by the balloon man!

Early Friday morning, Elder and Burrich head back up north. A rush visit home to go out to dinner and collect some gear. Weird, isn't it. They can't find a place to live so come back here. They can't find jobs. They go back for a visit and land part time work and camp out in the downstairs bedroom of Burrich's parents. They assure me *or is that warn* they will be back in a week or so to attend a concert.

I head up the road with MOTH this morning. I need to buy some new apparel for the sleep study. For which I have yet to make an appointment. The local Robin's Kitchen has specials. So many good things! I would like a pie dish. A deep one as I have in mind to make a chicken pie. If I buy a Maxwell Williams, I can get a second piece for half price. I buy the dish, and after some consideration *cough. MOTH came looking for me after half an hour* I decided on Turkish glass cups and saucers.


But there is other stuff on sale too. Baccarat pans. They're already drastically marked down with another 25% off the marked price. I'm so tempted, so so tempted.

Sunday morning and I'm off with the oldies again. Don't know why. Oh yes. I want to check out the sale... I layby one of the pans. Back home and I offer to buy lunch for MOTH and I. While he's out, I vacuum the rumpus room floor. I contemplate rearranging the contents of the pan cupboard but it's going to be a big job and I change my mind. I nap in the couch. I move to the bed for some more nap, but Penny interrupts me. I play a game on the Wii for a while. I think I should get in some xBox time before it disappears next time the kids come back, but then again, maybe I should be getting used to the Wii.

I think of playing again this evening, but Sherlock is on and he wins out. Bennedict Cumberpatch is the best Sherlock I've found so far. Robert Downey Jr is a close second. Heh.

Mmmm. Wine. Where are you?

Whoops. It seems I missed paying a bill. That's been happening a bit lately! Just plain forgetting. The brain is meeeeelting!

This has been a week of dragging myself off to work. And when I'm not doing that, I'm dragging myself off to my doctor. Or maybe it just seems that way? I'm busily trying to convince my GP that I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She is busy trying to convince me I have sleep apnoea. It's all swings and roundabouts really. But just stop and let me off, I want to leave the playground!

An ultrasound on Monday, a phone call from the surgery to make an appointment to discuss the results from the iron study she ordered. Par for the course I should think as this surgery is good at follow up.

I really need to try to get my head into gear so I can work up the enthusiasm to try for another position. I think it's time for a change but I'm too tired to string a coherent sentence together. I'd much rather be sleeping.

Off the wall dinner tonight. I am having garlic prawns and since MOTH won't eat prawns *doesn't even like the smell of them cooking* I will have to find an alternative for him. Done. Kransky it is. MOTH decides to cook them himself though. I let him go wild in the kitchen first so he can eat and run away.

Bestie notices that my get up and go has gotten up and left. Have dinner at her place! I think about it. Boxing Day was our last visit. Well, alright, I think I will. She's promised yummy drinks after all. We rock up around 3pm and I warn her of my little garlic self. She laughs it off and greets me with a big hug anyway.

I've no sooner walked in the door and put my phone and glasses on the bench when The Lad is proudly presenting me with his Lego dragon and Ninjago. The ones we were having trouble building on Boxing Day. It's now complete. We promptly plonk ourselves on the floor and he drags the rest of his lego tin out as well. Bestie joins us after a time and I chat and play and chat some more. Before we know it, it's dinner time and we send the men out to the bbq. The Lad is a little reluctant to come to table until I mention it looks like he's sitting next to me.

Dinner is some tandoori chicken, some sausages, and tomato with spring onion. Nothing special and yet, it goes down easy. Especially accompanied by a glass or two of muscato. And then crouchen and riesling for dessert. The kids wander indoors, MOTH and Bestie's man wander off to watch the football, Bestie and I are left to talk.

It's a great way to spend the evening and too soon it's half time in the match and time to head home. I look at the clock and realise it's 8pm. It's been a great afternoon and this bear is sleepy. I think I needed the down time.

I've even managed to muster enough get up to put on a small load of washing and vacuum the kitchen floor.

Oh my! I've missed last night's episode of Murdoch Mysteries! Thank heavens for Foxtel and their need to repeat stuff. I can catch it today. I carefully check the guide so I know when it's on. 2pm. Right. Set. I make MOTH's lunch around 12.30pm. I flip the channel to make sure I'm ready and .... WHAT? It's already started? And not only that, it's nearly finished??? And I allowed for daylight saving too! What happened there??? Wweeeeehhhhh!

I've reconciled myself to the fact I've missed it. I finish making my lunch and browse the guide again. Oh wait! 13th Street +2. Maybe I'm in luck. Yes! Yes I am! *happy dance* I bring my lunch to the couch and settle in to watch.

And that's more or less me gone for the rest of the day. It's too difficult to dig myself out of the couch. Sounds like an excavation, doesn't it. Close enough. It's an old couch and the 'suspension' isn't quite as it may have been. I don't fall asleep but it's a close run thing. MOTH is cooking dinner tonight so I really don't have to move for a while. Some sort of roast pork, but it's precooked. I've never seen it before.

The pork is nice but I miss the crackling. The rind is there but it doesn't crackle. He also informs me that I will have to eat as much as I can. *it's a big piece, that could be a big ask!* Why? Because once it's cooked, it cannot be refrigerated or frozen. What kind of crazy darned idea is that!?

Save all your kisses for me...

Yesterday seemed to be a day of kisses.

An early morning fast and when I was allowed to eat again, off to the bakery to get me a pie. A very healthy pie ... NOT! But it was filling. Trying to eat a hot pie quickly so I can get to work takes ... work. I manage to spill heaps of pastry flakes everywhere. MOTH talks to the Club while I eat. A guest is there today. It's the first time I've seen him for a while. He's very sick and only appears occasionally when he's in the area. A lovely old gentleman, friends with Stan. Softly spoken, gallant and has yet to say a bad word about anyone. Or anything.

I stand to leave and he blows me a kiss. I blow one back.

In to work and in the course of a very speedy conversation, one of the GT's has returned to the office from holiday. He air kisses while he's chattering and we head off to the morning tea table. A morning tea to welcome a new addition to the GTs. Or perhaps it is to commiserate his decent into purgatory...

But on the whole, as I look back and try to remember the little things I did, it begins to occur to me that I am really ... don't remember the week. Like I woke up Monday morning and then again Sunday night, ready to go to bed so I could be refreshed for another day at work. I do recall being awake for a doctor appointment on Thursday to check results of my annual blood tests. Surprising to me was the fact that I have problems with my iron levels yet she didn't schedule an iron study. Oh dear.

All is not necessarily quiet at home, and yet at the same time it is. Elder and Burrich are still away up north, waiting for the highways to open and payday to arrive so they can return. Sheldon seems to be missing them, roaming the house and calling. He's become ... snuggly and picks on Jerome mercilessly. I heard Penny hiss at him the other day.

Having expected them back earlier, my freezer is stocked with meat divided into packs to suit four. Trying to decide what to do with the larger packs is proving to be a challenge. I don't like left overs much, a situation that may just have to change soon.

I've slowed down the playing of Fable 3. Three Heroes have completed the main task, there is only questing left now. Even now that I have no story to drive the game and nothing I do changes the outcome, I continue to want to play. Just not quite as much. It's like delaying the completion of a good book you never want to end.

Elder suggests I take up Gunstringer, a game for kinect. It means ... *gasp* ... I'd have to get off the couch and actually move. Not sure I'm up to that yet!

Hercule, I've become addicted to you!

Hercule Poroit, you keep me entertained. Or should I say, David Suchet. I've not enjoyed any of the other actors in that role.

The kids are still out of the house. I think the cats are missing them, roaming around meowing, and getting very very snuggly.

MOTH and the Club continue to debate the move. Wombat pushes for them to move back and alas, they relent. It doesn't help that John has been finding it difficult to walkthe extra distance and Wendys is close to the chemist, the disability parking and the supermarket where John prefers to shop. The Club returns to Wendys.

MOTH, John, Stan and Special K are still competing to lose weight. I think Special K might be a tad more serious than MOTH. Or perhaps not. MOTH went to the doctor today and while there discussed options for a referral to a dietician. I wonder if this means that I will have to join him? The prospect does not appeal. I simply cannot live without chocolate!

I often have an appointment at the doctor the same time as MOTH. It saves time that way. I have a call up for my regular tests but I need the referral form. Bit of a nuisance getting an appointment just to pick up a form. Although I confess I was slack and didn't investigate just collecting the form from reception...

Friday morning I decide to donate to the vampires and have the blood tests done. It's a fasting test and I nearly blow it. I'm feeling distracted and I pop an almond in my mouth. I even forgot to drink my usual glass of water before the test! I guess that should have clued me in as to how the morning might go.

It's been 12 months since my last tests and I have heard rumours that the nearest collection clinic had closed. Never mind, there is a second nearby. I have been there once before. I arrive and there are two other people waiting. I must be right then, the other has closed. Last time I was here, I was the only patient. It opens at 8:30am. We settle in to wait. More people turn up. We wait. Some leave. More turn up. 9:00am arrives but the nurse has not. One elderly gentleman has been waiting since 7:30am. We discuss what could be going on. Eventually I twig that the referral form has phone numbers on it. I phoned the other clinic. It's open! And the one we were waiting at is closed each Friday. Even though the sign on the front door indicates otherwise!

It's after 10:00am when I finally get to work.

It's Australia Day weekend. The holiday falls on Saturday so we have Monday off. I like this. A lot. We are having roast lamb to celebrate. According to Sam, you can't get much more Australian than that, right? *for my overseas readers, it's a promo to sell lamb that's been continuing in some form or another for several years now.* We have no other celebration planned.

Just as well. There is a tropical cyclone up north that has weakened into a rain depression but still contains a lot of kick. It has ripped through the morth of the state with driving heavy rain and wind gusts to 90km an hour. It leaves behind widespread destruction and flooding. It's headed our way this weekend.

The rain starts slowly Friday night and sets in properly Saturday. The wind gusts are strong and there is rain but nothing close to the level up north.

The wind picks up Saturday night and Sunday. We've closed the house and here we remain, snug as little bugs in rugs. We hear the occasional gust, see the trees bending in the wind, and see the rain. We can't hear much.

There are warnings not to drive through flood waters and to stay home if there is no absolute need to go out. And still there are those who drive and lose their lives unnecessarily. One of them is a three year old boy.

Luckily we don't lose power and I have Fable 3 and an Xbox so there is no need to go out.

Things have calmed considerably on Monday amd we drive up the road to the shops. The juice bar is closed so we head to Maccas for coffee. There is a tree down across the road but a very helpful neighbour has gone out in the rain and cleared it up. With his chainsaw. Drat! That means I can't plead for an extra day off work while they clear it away!

Bran' Nue Week

I made it through my first week back at the grindstone. I'm still wondering how...

Somewhere around 3.30am, Elder and Burrich left to travel north to visit with family. Furkid family mostly, but other family as well. Elder has been feeling very low about many things, least of which is the money situation, and missing Freddy and Hefe very much. I gave a small donation to cover the cost of fuel one way and told her to go. Arrangements were made in very short order *for them* and they were away. It's been a very quiet week!

The Teen seems to have settled into her new abode, no longer living with Harry and his parents. I'm still waiting for her to let me know the new address. She misses Harry and Ace terribly, but she has Garfunkel *ginger kitten* and one or two other furbabies to keep her company. Harry is still adamant that he's not moving out of home though as you'd have to be insane to live with your sister, right?

Babysitter's Club has been in a bit of an uproar this week. Like most old folk, they like to keep to routine and sit in the same place every day they meet. Which is ... every day. This happens to be a group of seats in the *and i use the term very loosely* food court. Tables and chairs placed centrally and surrounded by shops, it happens to be close to Wendys.

They've been discussing the possibility of changing places. Helping this decision along is an older woman who has decided the seats are hers, takes them if the group aren't fast enough and gives them a multitude of filthy looks if they beat her. Not that it bothers them particularly. They've also heard good things about one of the little shops *a juice bar* and it's at the other end of the centre.

Some incident occurred involving Wombat and the staff of Wendys *i think an offhand remark regarding the higher level of trade that day by one of the staff during a conversation with wombat but i'm not sure* resulted in comments by Wendys owner's husband to the tune that the staff were no longer allowed to talk to Wombat. *his story*

The Club decided to move *i'm told this was Wombat's suggestion* to the other end of the centre to the juice bar, a much friendlier place with much better coffee.

The next day Wombat reports that he's received a phone call from Wendys husband to 'explain himself' and that Wendys had spoken to him and cried all over his shoulder about them being her best customers. Perhaps the Club should return?

Coffee at the juice bar with the Club and the coffee is really very nice! The proprietors of that place are so very friendly too, bright smiles and hellos. The Club feel very welcome. I'm watching though as a couple who have been kept waiting *maybe 15 to 20 minutes max* without receiving their order demand their money back. They've abused the waitress, the owner, and her husband. According to the owner it would have taken her about 1 minute to fill the order. It took them longer to abuse everyone and get their money back than it would have taken to make 2 cups of coffee.

I'm dragged up that way again the next day at the request of Special K. The juice bar doesn't trade on Sunday so we've settled on the Coffee Club. Special K has decided we won't go back again as although the coffee there is indeed very good, her wallet can't tolerate it. Perhaps next Sunday we'll go Maccas for coffee instead. They agree.

She's assuming I'll tag along of course. Never a given!

We're sitting there and Wombat wanders past. He hadn't joined us that morning. Again he brings up the crying on his shoulder and maybe the Club should go back?

After he leaves Special K is rather disgusted that Wombat should make the whole situation about him and try to guilt everyone into going back to a business that never seemed to care about them anyway. Wendys *the owner* has NO customer service skills.

MOTH and I have some groceries to pick up this morning. We're chatting to the daughter of an old neighbour when Special K and John come back from their shopping. She tells me Wendys has been crying on John's shoulder about the situation *not her shoulder mind!* and asks if we should go back. My firm opinion is go where you want!

Macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight. I haven't made it for a very long time so I can't remember the recipe. I think I'll prepare it like scalloped potatoes. I'm staring at the tv and decide to switch to the food channel. Nothing else I want to watch. And behold, one of the chefs I've never watched before is making ... macaroni and cheese. I end up following her recipe.

Guess what I have for lunch today??

Summer = Ice Cream Sodas!

Alcoholic ones, preferably. Failing that, a good cold cider goes down well.

The chambord did go very nicely over vanilla icecream. I found that one on the chambord website among the recipes. It also goes quite nicely in the aforementioned soda. Lemonade, a dash of chambord and vanilla icecream... mmmmm!

Seems it's been a week or two since I last wrote. That's something I've noticed when I'm on holidays, I can't tell which day is which. And it seems I'm not the only one. Burrich has been eagerly awaiting my return to work. So he can tell which days are the weekend.

One of the games that arrived from Santa with the wii console is Just Dance 4. I looked at in the in shop and remarked I probably wouldn't use it. Elder smiled and kept browsing. And there it was. Oh dear, thought I. I'll never use that. Never.

Famous last words. Well, just briefly. I'd watched Teen and her friend give it a very enthusiastic go. Might as well try it. Whew. Three dances was my limit. I could have kept going I suppose but I was huffing a bit already. This looks like it might be a good way to get some exercise. *ooooh. naughty word. i should wash my mouth out with chocolate*

I just have to find a time when a) it's not so hot that I'll pass out and b) there's no one else around to watch Unco Queen at her best.

Burrich hands me a game for the XBox. You might like this, he says. Hmm. Fable II. I try it. Now I'm stuck here and I've only got a week left of my holidays and there's not enough time to finish it and oh my god leavemealoneandletmefiniiiiish...! Actually, I do finish it. And just before I do, he hands me the sequel. Just found this he says...

The Babysitter's Club has been making plans to have an outing during the week. Stan has heard of a nice place for fish and chips. It's a bit of a drive but that didn't deter them. The weather has been very hot and humid but this day is probably about a degree or two milder.

We headed out straight from their morning gathering. John and his daughter *let's call her special k* travelled with Stan and MOTH and I were by ourselves. Off we go, MOTH leading the way after taking his cue from Stan.

About an hour up the coast and we arrive at our destination. We weren't sure where Stan's eatery was located and pulled over to check. Nope, he drives right past. Fair enough, he knows where he's going so we follow.

Nope, he had no clue either. After some discussion we return to the esplanade where a fish and chip shop was located, across the road from the beach. Nice food but very expensive. The Club chose a place to sit, near the roadside without the shade. Very close to the amenities though! The day remained overcast and a brisk breeze blew. Heat? Humidity? What heat? What humidity?

It turns out that .... Stan's eatery was in a suburb some distance away that also began with the letter S. Oh dear! He insisted he knew this and had mentioned it several times during the week. MOTH insisted that he kept mentioning the suburb we were in.

This didn't detract from the day and we gave Stan plenty of stick about not being in the right place. While Stan was absent, Special K suggested the food was good but not worth the hour and a half drive. I mumbled that Fish on Flinders might have been though. She almost laughed till she cried and insisted we use that line to rib Stan when he returned. I ended up with a fit of the giggles and couldn't repeat it. My turn to cop the stick.

On the drive home, MOTH and I detoured until we found the place we were supposed to have been. And took a photo. For Stan. Just as well he has a sense of humour!

Shame I had to wait till my holidays were nearly over to go somewhere, but I really did enjoy myself.

Now, be quiet and let me finish this game ...

2013! Happy New Year!

It feels like ages since I've been here, and I had to read my last post *can i hear dogs howling??* so I could remember what I typed about.

Here is my coffee machine...

It makes pretty good coffee too considering it's a pod machine.

Christmas Day dawns and it's hot. Hot, hot, hot. Well, humid anyway. One day I swear I am going to spend Christmas in the snow. Just once. Sometime. Maybe. The lotto gods willing. Breakfast comes first and then Santa hands out the presents. I think I manage to do alright. One of the gifts is a book Underwater Dogs. It's a great looking book. The tree is no laden with presents and it doesn't take long. Everyone plays with their gifts for a time and I head for the kitchen to lay the snacks on the table. Christmas Day fare is light, mostly all day snacks with salad and cold meat for lunch. I'm baking a ham this morning for something different. Lunch is laid out - the cooled ham, duck and chicken cooked yesterday and a light garden salad. Dessert takes the form of condensed milk tart, caramel tart with cream, an ice cream cake with vanilla ice cream, berry sorbet and crushed pavlova nests, and Lion's Christmas cake with brandy custard. I'm disappointed with the duck and chicken. They were beautiful and moist yesterday and dry and tough today despite being covered overnight in the fridge.

Would you believe that dessert was hardly eaten, and there was plenty of it left over!

Tradition seems to dictate that if Bestie isn't heading north to join family for Christmas we spend Boxing Day together. She offers baked ham, turkey, Boston beans, pumpkin pie and who am I to argue, right?

We're on our way to her place when Elder sends me a text. They've cancelled her shift for the day. Massive upset as the pay for working was going to be a good one. Things aren't helped when she discovers that she hasn't been allocated any shifts for January.

Time to tidy up as the Teen and ... and ... by golly it's been so long since I mentioned him in a post I can't remember what name I gave him! At any rate, the Teen and her lad are arriving this week. Elder has instructions to make sure the guest room is devoid of belongings and the bathroom is clean.

It's good to see the Teen again. This is the first time I have seen Harry *yay! i remembered!* for a while. I don't know if I can still call him that as he no longer looks like Harry.

The noise level in my house has just doubled, and none of it comes from Harry. *happy face*

Burrich celebrates a birthday this week. Plenty of friends are invited but not many turn up. The Elder and the Teen have offered floor space for sleepovers, which I guess is sensible, but they failed to check with me. I don't have enough beds or bedding. I don't see in the New Year and when I wake up, someone is sleeping on my couch. I'm quiet but I manage to wake her just before 6am. Disappointed about that as I wanted the clock to wake her. *i have a clock in the rumpus rooms that makes a terrific racket. goes off at 6am* She soon wanders off to sleep in a vacated spot in the spare room.

The Teen has brought with her a bottle of chambord. We were supposed to use this to cook duck confit, but I haven't been able to get duck. I think portions would be much better than the whole bird. She leaves it with me when she goes. Think I'll try some on ice cream.

The visitors have all gone and it's desperately quiet! Missing them already. But then again, it does give me time to play with the Wii. My Christmas present from Elder and Burrich.

Happy 2013 everyone!

Coffee machines and busy-ness

It seems that my last post may have given the impression I was singing a litany of wrongs. It was merely a comment on the fact that ALL of us forgot to do something. The same night. MOTH even walked right past the front door and never noticed it was still open. All of us. *shakes head* And that night, the cats behaved themselves and didn't even scatter the scraps. Proud of the ginger kitty I was.

This last week has been busy at work, tying up loose ends, getting stuff finished for End Of Year processing, trying to do two jobs. Admin2 always takes time in December for holidays and the membership mailing list always seems to get busy then. I don't know why. But this week I never felt rushed or swamped or that I was losing it. Perhaps it was the knowledge that I only had to endure 4 weeks of it instead of 5? And although there was some end of year prep thrown in that I don't usually get, I didn't have to worry about doing her invoicing for January, trying to do her work while mine picks up. It's a little quieter for me during December.

I think I've finally finished all my Christmas shopping! Whee! And wrapped them all! Yes!! Now I just have to get myself coordinated *or is that MOTH* to get them posted.

All posted away and I think I am finally ready. I've worked out what to have for Christmas lunch, just a couple more things to get and all the food is sorted too.

Nearly everything at work is done, along with finalising my Performance Review. Today is my last day at work and I'm ready for my break. I'm set for a cruisy day. I ask my supervisor about something and she mentions that today is a half day. What? There were rumours but no-one in management has actually come out and said. Not a word.

The General Manager comes around and presents everyone with a bottle of wine. I appreciate the gesture but it's easy to give someone a gift when it's left over from a conference a couple of years ago. Or maybe I'd appreciate it more if it is something that I might actually drink. Management here is big on wine. Big enough to make a bottle of wine *admittedly not the cheap stuff* speaker's gifts for the conference.

Twelve o'clock comes around. All my work is done and I've left a list of things that Admin2 needs to know on her return. I'm first out the door.

YAHOO! HOLIDAYS!!

Froggy's Christmas presents arrive in the mail. *for those who don't know, Froggy and i are siblings* and as I open the box, I find the present for MOTH and I. I know what it is because I've been told. MOTH had been talking of buying a coffee machine so Froggy and Moose have chipped in together and funded a voucher at Harvey Norman. I know that one of the machines is on special, Froggy knew this and the value of the voucher should cover it.

I grab MOTH and we head off for a look. Yes, I know it's early but I don't want to miss out on the special. I've already checked the website so I have an idea of what I'm looking for. And which one I would prefer but I can't afford that one. And it turns out that I really didn't have any idea what I was looking for. The image of the machine I had in my mind was totally different to the reality. The lass working the machine display gave us a sample. Not bad, not bad at all. We have one of the sales assistants check the price for us. Just in case. The store is busy and I don't want a surprise at the register. Yep, the price is correct. We grab some pods to go with it - the machine uses the coffee capsules - and we're out of pocket at the register by $2.50.

Nicely done, I say. One coffee machine and about 60 pods for $82.50. Yep, the machine was reduced from $129 to $49.

And it makes pretty good coffee too. Mmmmmm. Coffee......

Hypervigilance. Is that the word for today?

Hypervigilance. There is a lot of that happening at my house. Not...

There were two extras staying the night last night. Somewhere around 9pm, I left them to it and retired for the night. This morning I noticed ...

There are still cups and glasses on the bench which could have made it to the dishwasher with the rest.
The kitchen scraps didn't get taken out to the bin.
The apple pie is still sitting on the kitchen bench.
The fan and airconditioner are still on in the rumpus room.
I forgot to make up the second guest bed last night.
The rear roller door to the garage is still open.
So is the front door...

And I can't even say we were all drunk!

It's been a busy week this week. I've had my performance review for work. It's a big thing here, all to do with determining if you've met your performance objectives for the year, what objectives get set for the next year, what your career goals are. I know I should use this for something but I've hit a plateau in my job. I can't advance any further so what do I say my goals are? Leaving? My supervisor knows I'm ready to move on as she knows I can't advance where I am. Part of this process is also looking at strengths and weaknesses - something I find very difficult! My supervisor suggests my weakness is not using my judgement skills. This brings on a discussion *which i find very difficult* saying that I have those skills but it's very hard to use judgement when you don't know where the boundaries are. I am given a task but I don't know how much leeway I have *sometimes what is inferred is often different to the reality!* so I ask a million questions "down to the nth degree" so I know where she's coming from. She makes a note.

On a side note, we were asked to complete a survey to determine workplace culture. The "organisation" was supposed to be the whole place, but it's very hard to judge when you don't have much interaction outside your business unit. I wrote mine on the business unit. It wasn't necessarily wholly complimentary.

Admin2 is still away and will be until early January 2013. It's been a rush getting things ready for end of year. I'm hoping that I haven't forgotten anything!

Still time to put up my decorations at work though!

There have been comments about how fine the fishing line is ... so fine it's actually invisible. Non existent even...

The girl GT is leaving for the south this week. Today is her last day so we are off to lunch. I rob Peter to pay Paul and take $20 out of my bank account. We're off to the local Thai restaurant. I have a laksa but it is not as nice as the one I buy from my local takeaway. I'm disappointed, but it's not expensive at $9.90 for a large bowl.

Work Christmas lunch today. Staff are lunching at Hog's Breath Cafe, then around 4pm partners and family are invited to attend a get together at the office. The idea is to let them see where we work. Something else comes up which will be the same time as the afternoon session. I ask MOTH. Want to go here, or shall I go there? Go there he says without hesitation. SWEET!

I'm at the tail end of a customer call when everyone begins the exodus from the office. Too bad if I had been at the start. I would have missed the Christmas lunch. No one really stopped to wait or see if I was coming. Ah well. I wouldn't have minded. Really. Lunch for me was a ceasar chicken wrap. Tasty and only $9.90. Well done. Change again.

The afternoon arrives and I finally get to leave to attend the function I've been waiting for all day. The Travel Bookers Christmas party. Each year the travel agent hosts a fully catered Christmas party for the people who use their services. I love it. I get to catch up with some familiar faces and meet new ones. I'm usually by myself though so this year I am determined to talk to other people. I arrive early, it doesn't take as long to find the venue as I thought it would. They're still setting up.

The waitress pours me a glass of bubbly and I find somewhere to sit and wait...

I chat to a couple of ladies who have picked the table next to me. They are from off campus as well. Eventually Eileen rocks by and she's brought her boss with her. This is the only time I ever see her and we sit and chat for the rest of the evening. They do the prize draws, but as usual, I don't win. Eileen's boss, however, does!

I manage to catch up with my travel agent briefly. He's taken a new position within the company which will mean a return to full time work for him and a relocation to the city office, but he will still be looking after our account. Whew! He's very experienced and has great customer service.

Elder takes me out to finish my Christmas shopping ... and ... those two $10 are not in my wallet. Missing! Where the heck did they go? I certainly don't recall spending them on anything and I've only taken my swipe card out of my wallet since lunch on Thursday. Several of us were back to the office at the same time and no one mentioned having dropped anything... Where the heck could they be? Gone to join the $100 that MOTH missed last pay?? They are still missing...

The rest of the week pans out quietly. Just as well as I think I'm all socialled out. Except for the two extras... but that's ok! Elder has given me my Christmas present early. We've run out of wrapping paper, heh. I've spent a little time setting it up and we've christened it last night. Alas, only one game yet, but hey! It's Mario Kart so it's a lot of fun!

Think my wallet is going to take a bit of a beating as I work up my stock, yes?

Nervy. Already.

I have a video meeting this morning. I'm a little nervous as this sort of thing is quite new to me and I shall be on my own, having to talk. *gulp!*

Two more weeks and I can take a holiday break from work. Whoo!

I've been busy again this last week at work. When Admin2 is away, I always seem to be busy doing her work and little of mine. However I did manage to get one of my tasks finalised for the end of the year.

It was a close run thing though. I discovered that one of our GTs was away for a work gig. Which no one it seems had sought the necessary approval for. Now seriously folks, they should well and truly know the drill by now. The GM put it down to the new manager not knowing it had to be done, but I was thinking that a GM worth their salt would have known what was going on and rectified it immediately instead of blaming them for not doing it properly.

But hey, they should have twigged that I would pick up on it and make a fuss.

I have a very responsible position here you know *anything goes wrong, i'm responsible, right?*

I've finished my reading and now I'm lost. What am I going to read now? The online book group I have through Good Reads has begun reading "The City of Bones" for December. But I read that in November. I've finished the series now. I guess I could go back and read City of Bones again? But wait! What's this? I've found a book in Elder's possession. "Assassin's Creed: Revelations". Looks good.

I'm now half way through. One disadvantage is trying to keep a paper book open while eating your lunch is a bit of a bother ... but I'm sure I can manage!

I am chatting to one of the GTs. He wonders about Christmas decorations. Maybe we should look at decorating the office? Sounds like a plan but I doubt anything will happen. The office doesn't stock decorations and if I recall, no decorations have been put up for a couple of years since the Canadian left. Wonder if we have a step ladder here?

It's rained a little today. Enough to leave the windscreen spotty and for the dust etc to blow over and stick. I can't see out of that! I'm going to have to clean it. *MOTH says the water pump for the wipers is underneath everything and he can't fix it. i can't pay for a fix either* Back into the office and fill the empty water bottle. The water may (or may not) be potable, but it's plenty good enough for a dirty windscreen. Don't start the engine but flick the wipers about 5 times. Jump in, start her up and .... whirrr irrr irrr irrr click. DAMMIT! Flattened the battery. I get MOTH to phone RACQ. It will take them 90 minutes to find where I am. Provided they can find me. They couldn't even seem to find the street. It's 2 hours till gate close and then there is no way to get the car out till Monday morning. Eventually after some back and forth, MOTH and Elder come to my rescue. One of the GTs is looking under the car bonnet as well while he waits for his walking buddy. He and MOTH determine that the safest way would be to swap out the batteries and clutch start the manual. Thank heavens one of them is a manual. It works and eventually I'm on my way. Why does this happen on a Friday afternoon???

Elder tells me that there is no code for the radio and it's a musicless trip home. Oh no, it isn't! The little iPod has speakers so we rev them up as loud as they will go and yeah! Music for the trip home.

A lazy weekend for me. Nothing different there. MOTH asks if I want to come up the street with him. I should I guess, just so I don't become a Hermit. I am forced into other's company during the week so I like to spend time in solitary on weekends. He tells me it's not a requirement as he knows I don't like to sit in one place for too long. And he's right. I don't. I need to get up and move around; he likes to sit in the corner with the Babysitters Club for a couple of hours every day. I beg off ... as I knew I would. Sigh.

It's quiet this morning, everyone is still abed. Except the cats. And me. I notice Jerome is doing his something-is-different-and-I-am-very-wary creep toward one of the bedrooms. I look and ... really? How did that happen? Somehow, one of the cats has managed to get at their dry food. The packet is supposed to be on a shelf around my chest height. Ok, so not that high, but certainly not on the floor. There is a shelf below and nothing close by they can use as a step up. Nothing beyond the shelf below. I think Sheldon has been practicing his ninja skills.

I put the remaining food into plastic containers and back on the shelf.

That night, the kids are out at Elder's work Christmas party and we've packed up and retired for the night. Suddenly I hear something fall. Never mind visions of sugar plum fairies and things Christmasy, visions of spilled cat food race through my mind. Luckily the container has landed on it's lid and nothing has spilled. That's it, I shall have to find somewhere else to store this stuff. For now, it's into the already overcrowded pantry. MOTH decides to place his souvenir bowling pin on that shelf and we go back to bed.

In the kitchen next morning I see that the bowling pin has hit the floor along with the dog treats that had been left there. Bloody cat. Is nothing sacred? I never heard the pin crash but thankfully there is no damage to the tiles.

So, the cat food is in the single door pantry and I've had to move the mixer and food processors to the shelves. Hopefully the little bugger won't be interested in pulling them down.

I'm prepping dinner. And there's Jerome, sitting in front of the cupboard where the food is now stored. Sometimes I wonder who is actually running this household....

Sedimental water

That's water. With sediment. Which is what we get through our pipes at work. Not enough people on site anymore apparently to keep the water in the pipes flowing...

The last week was ... last week and kinda boring. Nothing happened. Really. I'm sure of it.

Admin2 is on leave so work has been busy, busy, busy trying to do my work and parts of her job. There is a lot of her work that I just don't do, but a lot of it this year is kinda crazy and I'm not sure what to do with some of it. Too long between drinks and I forget. Sometimes the procedure changes slightly and she tells me at the time, but chances are pretty good that was, like, six months ago.

MOTH has been spending time with the Babysitter's Club. They've been plotting among themselves about the bbq. Wombat and his wife can't come. Stan's daughter isn't coming now either. She's playing with the Black Dog and says she'll be bad company. We aren't able to persuade her otherwise.

MOTH goes out to get the food while I'm at work. I come home to find two large tubs of potato salad and one of coleslaw. Two. Large. Tubs. I ALWAYS make my own potato salad. Elder knows this too, but didn't think to question his decision. I shake my head. Well, he says, it was on the shopping list! Yeah, but, I was supposed to come with you. That was the menu and not an exact shopping list. Ah well. There will be plenty of that left over!

John and his daughter arrive a little early. I give her a hard time. She's arrived early to help me get things ready. Everything already is. I'm always up early so it's no bother to make the salad and the beans. By the time they arrive, the beans are cooking in the oven and all systems are go.

She cracks open a bottle of red. Sure, I'll have some too. Stan brings a lovely looking bottle of white, and I have a bottle of moscato in the fridge. He shares a glass of red with us.

MOTH heads out to the bbq to begin cooking. The rest of us stay inside and debate whether to eat in or out. The day is stinking hot. Suddenly, Elder comes indoors looking for something. Apparently, MOTH has run out of gas. He's sending Elder out to source some.

I told him to fart in a bottle. Cause I'm classy like that.

He laughs at me, apologises to the guests, and we wait for Elder's return.

Lunch was late but there was plenty of it. The company was great and we laughed, ate and talked for several hours before everyone left. Oddly enough, I have heaps and heaps of potato salad and coleslaw left over...

Add to that, a bottle of white wine and a bottle of moscato. Ah well. Something to look forward to. Especially at Christmas. If I can make it last that long...

Coffee with sugar.

I know I put sugar in that. Where did it go? Ohhhh, just dawned on me I didn't check the grind settings...

I didn't take notes, thinking to myself, oh I'll remember that. I should have known better. I've been forgetting so many things lately. I'm not sure if it's just an old age thing or if it's the shadow of the Dog. My sibling would have me believe it's old age, but it's gotten to the point where I feel it's beginning to affect work performance. Oops!

.... Admin2 has just phoned me. She's on holidays. She's offered me her ice break coffee drink she's left in the fridge so it doesn't go to waste...

A day for coffee.

Had my first First Aid Officer encounter this week. And it wasn't even one of ours. One of the general ITS staff was over this way and looking for a first aid kit. He'd cut the top of his finger with a stanley knife. No problem. An antiseptic wipe, pressure, bandaid and one for spares. Away he went.

OH&S day at work today. We have a questionnaire to complete about ergonomically setting up our workspace. I think I meet in most things, however it's difficult to get the correct angle between shoulder and forearm when you are ..... fun sized. If I get the angle right for leg/feet placement using a foot stool, I'm not tall enough for the arm angle. And the chair doesn't lift any higher. But wait! If I did that, I'd lose on the leg angle. Ah well. It's a bit of a conundrum.

Assessment is done but I didn't mark the boxes with ticks. Oh. Seems we were supposed to do that, get it signed and return it. Apparently I'm not the only one - they've given us extra time to get the form back.

I went with MOTH to visit with the Baby Sitters Club. It's been a while and I told one of the daughters that I would be there. Haven't seen her for a while. We are planning a bbq for the coming weekend and time is getting away from me. Apparently MOTH and I are hosting it, as a belated birthday gathering for Stanley. We were thinking there would be about *whoops! update - 11* of us but the number has dropped a bit. Wombat and his wife may not be there as he thinks he may have a gig. *all this after whinging for a couple of weeks that he didn't get an invitation. a written one that is* and Stanley's daughter may not be able to make it after all.

Still, I'm looking forward to it. I think I will be generous and let MOTH use the bbq this time.

While we are there, Wombat suddenly points out the crowd that has gathered. They're here to visit with Santa. He recalls when he used to do it there were no photos and no chair. Santa walked through the shopping centre and handed lollies to the kids. You can't do that these days!

The bell starts ringing and Santa slowly comes in. He has an entourage today. Cap'n Jack, Fiona, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. They arrive together, much to the kid's delight, then Santa goes to his chair and the others continue on. To the gingerbread house me hearties! *doesn't have the same ring, does it*

I don't recall much else has happened this week. Just the usual going crazy with stress at work. If only I could find some way to make my wage without actually working....

Someone's gonna do it

Yes, occasionally I do have "someone else" at my place who will do things. Not often, but occasionally.

I think I gave that someone a small mention in my last post. The litter tray checker is the Elder. Hopeless at remembering she has to unpack the dishwasher, but often remembers to check the litter tray.

The dishwasher seems to be Burrich. His job is to stack the dishwasher and kick it off before bed. Hers is to unpack it the next morning. Although I have set the dishes job to both of them it's usually he who remembers and she forgets entirely.

Things haven't panned out the way the Teen was hoping they might. At the moment she's living with Harry and his parents while she waits for a friend to relocate close by so they can share. It seems that the friend is having second thoughts and may not relocate at all. The rumour mill has it that some ex-friends of Teen's have been buzzing in her friend's ear against the move and the Teen. This upsets Teen greatly as friend has a small child and Teen feels the mosquitoes do not have the best interests of the child at heart.

On a brighter note, I did find out that her Christmas employment is actually permanent full time.

But again, on the whole "not catching an even break" side of things, it seems she may have to relocate back home as the arrangement with Harry was purely temporary.

Wednesday I had off work after coming down with a nasty head cold. I slept a fair bit that day. I can't take pseudoephadrine, so have to wait for the homeopathic remedy from the Chemist to kick in. It can take a couple of days.

Thursday was much the same.

Friday I was supposed to take MOTH to have an ECG done. I was still too claggy to leave the house and join the great unwashed. The Elder dropped her plans and went along with him. He has the printouts but needs to make an appointment with his GP for the final results. There is still some back flow and things might be getting to the point where something may need to be done. Not bad really, considering he had the heart attack at least 10 years ago now with no surgery required before now.

The weekend dawns overcast with showers forecast. It doesn't take long for the showers to become storms. One in the morning. One in the afternoon. A quick break and then another.

Sunday follows a similar pattern with one in the morning and a severe one in the late afternoon. We hear reports of hail in other areas; I think we manage a couple of stones about marble size. Nothing exciting there.

Burrich makes a comment over my shoulder about the afternoon light. I look out the window - there is an eerie red tint to the afternoon. I take a couple of pictures to see if I can catch it. I can't. Not really.

Being holed up with a stuffy head and lots of rain has been a good time to settle in to watch movies. I think I've managed to rack up the hiring of at least 8 dvds. Thank goodness for discount vouchers!

I've not watched them all, but I've made do with Battleship *better than i thought but not amazing* Pirates *an aardman animation which was great fun* The Hunger Games *enjoyable and even though he's not a main player, boy Donald Sutherland's character is not pleasant* .... and would you believe I can't remember the others!

Except Daniel Radcliffe's The Woman in Black. I saw this one at the cinema and thought it atmospheric. I had hoped to watch it with Elder and Burrich. In the dark. But they both piked so I only watched a part of it. Damn them all *shakes fist*

But since I piked before I got really spooked the action started, I still slept well. Yay for lingering head colds that make me sleepy!

So I've been reading....

... a few other blogs and now I'm distracted. I'm sure I'm not going to think of something to say today - alas, I am out of the habit of keeping notes - and I can't for the life of me think what has happened this week.

Things are still chaotic at home. Jerome and Sheldon are the best of friends. NOT! Sometimes one starts it, sometimes the other. Penny usually avoids the conflict. She is a tiny pixie of a thing, multicoloured ginger and shades of grey, long and lean with a long plumed tail. And a little squeaky meow.

Jerome has retreated down the front end of the house and rarely ventures down the back. It's odd but if they are together down the back of the house, fights rarely ensue unless play gets too rough. If they are at the front of the house, it's a completely different matter. No foreplay there! Straight into it, hammer and tongs. Jerome yowls, black fur goes everywhere and Sheldon will not leave it go but returns to begin again if you break up the fight. I'm thankful it doesn't happen all the time but when it does, it's usually several bouts in quick succession. Sheldon is becoming very familiar with the interior of the bathroom!

I love having the kids there but boy I'm getting sick of pets!

... *which reminds me, i didn't check the litter trays this morning. ah well, someone else will do it* ...

The lovely suburban area where we work has been quiet this week. The majority of the building renovations on campus have been completed. The rest of our building occupants have moved out and back to their newly refurbished offices. I went for a look. It's quiet and deserted. Everyone has packed up and left, leaving their furniture behind. The coffee van doesn't call any more. No more voices drifting up from outside. The shuttle still runs, but it's usually empty... *cue tumbleweed*

The Elder has been given her first roster. I don't know what hours she's working beyond the midnight launch of Call of Duty. She's excited. Now she needs to find her EB Games shirt from when she was working before. It's in a box ... somewhere. MOTH has shifted them all to make space under the clothes line. She knows he won't be happy that she has to move everything again.

Burrich has preordered the new Halo 4 Xbox bundle. He's looking forward to that. He gives himself a hurry along with Assassin's Creed III so he's finished in time for the Halo 4 launch. The release date is fast approaching and he's getting antsy. It's a midnight launch and he's ready to go.

Melbourne Cup this week. I didn't lay any bets. I must be one of the few Aussies who never bets on the Melbourne Cup. I just can't be bothered. Work has decided to have lunch in our office, even though the rest of ITS is having a luncheon on campus. I would have liked to have gone but even though it was only $10, I had forgotten to budget for it. *bugger* Sometimes I think that it's a bad idea to continually have our own things separate from ITS. It breaks things into an Us and Them mentality, even though we are part of that department.

Our lunch is also $10 but it can be paid later. I volunteer to bring sides instead of paying $10. The other helper was fine with this. Lunch turned out to be Nandos chicken pieces, some chips, spicy rice, corn cobettes, garden salad, potato salad, dip and crackers. The other helper thanked me for providing the extras and one of the GTs decided they got a better deal because the sides would have cost more than $10. In truth, the only extras I had to buy were the cream cheese, dip and crackers. Oh, and the jars of dressing for the potato salad since I didn't have quite enough. If I didn't restock those, I'm sure I would have made the $10 cut. Heh.

The Teen updates her Facebook status. Whoo! She has a Christmas casual job. She's excited and looking forward to it, although she's not told me a start date. I hope this turns out well for her and expands into something a little more permanent. She's working in a bottle shop. See, knew the bar experience had to count for something!

The Elder has come down with a headcold. Typical. She's been totally looking forward to going out this Friday night. Regular customers of Black Milk Clothing have been invited to a Christmas function hosted by the company. Only regular customers *dedicated purchasers are known as sharkies* can attend the Christmas party, however their partners or guests are also welcome to attend the After Party. The cold doesn't stop her from going though, but Burrich stays home.

Since she's not home, I'm up for a lazy tea that night. Well, lazy for me. Marinated chicken wings from Lenards. The marinade is Chinese honey and soy, the wingettes for want of a better word are small, not the whole wing. Zap them in the oven for about half hour or so and then dish them into bowls. Hey presto, lazy dinner. Then someone else gets to do the dishes. Whoo! Can't go wrong with that!

Another week over and I'm deeper in debt

St Peter doncha call me cause I can't go, I owe my life to the Company ... whatever that next bit is. I forget.

But it seems that is all my life is these days. Out of bed, off to work, home to cook, off to bed, out of bed, off to work and so on until the days just begin to blend one into the other.

And then I get to deviate slightly and head out to a shopping centre and discover... the Christmas decorations are up. Horror!

Elder and Burrich report to Centrelink to take some papers back and check his payment, only to discover that Centrelink has all the necessary stuff, they just need to process it. No rush, hey. It's not like it's important or anything, right? And by Elder's previous dealings, Burrich should have 'reported' that day to receive his first payment. But it's not ready and so the stress begins.

It's not helping when she tries to do her budget. So many expenses, so little budget.

Was it last week I mentioned it? Or was it early this week it happened? The devil has been visiting *i'm informed the devil's name is not Lucifer, but is actually Alzheimers. who would have thought!* and I can't remember if I mentioned it previously. Elder has managed to pick up some Christmas casual work. She had delivered her paperwork and hopefully will be able to start soon. She's very happy with this. Although it is retail, it's in the realm of her dream job. She's back with EB Games.

The stress continues when she's informed that the person who is looking after her dog Heffe can no longer do so. I'm desperate not to say "I told you so" but it had been suggested that this would happen. Now she needs to decide if she can afford a boarding kennel.

She's resumed her house hunting, although she has informed me that the funds she had been relying on have all been used. Maybe they can qualify for a rental bond loan. She won't know still she investigates. She's emailed some realtors about some properties and is somewhat put out to find the replies have all gone to her junk mail box. Not only that, when she goes to open one of the messages, they all delete and don't appear in the deleted folder. Uh oh.

I've come home from work and the bbq is missing from it's spot. Oh, there it is. It's been moved into the gazebo. And the wheel had dropped off. Well, at least the boards from my planter have come in handy for something!

Inspection is coming up soon and MOTH has dug the karcher out of the garage. He's busily hosing off the entertainment area. Gosh what a difference! He's hosed the cement and the plastic furniture and it's amazing! Even Elder got out and had a play with the hose.

The airconditioning has been playing up a bit. Well, the fan goes and it blows air but not cooling. The sparky comes for a look and decides the capacitor needs replacing. He does that and all is good.

It's all happening this week. Now the drain in the kitchen sink is running really slowly. It's a double sink and it backs up and both sinks fill and drain slowly. We have put drain cleaner down several times but nothing is making a difference. MOTH pulls the pipe apart and though it is coated with goop, it's not enough to block the drain. It looks like we will have to get the plumber in for a look as the blockage must be much further down where we can't go. Never rains but it pours, right?

Burrich is on cooking duty tonight. Home made lasagne. Nice one! I make dessert, MOTH's favourite. Lemon sago and custard. Dinner is ready early and Burrich seems a little disappointed. Not his best effort he says. I don't mind, it tastes great to me. Elder suggests it's the oven. A little hit and miss is our oven. You can't always guarantee the results. But at least I didn't have to cook it, right?