Waiting

We were waiting for the forecasted weather to arrive.

With up to 200mm expected over the next few days, we tried to have all of our errands completed so that we don’t need to leave the house or drive anywhere out of town until the rain event is over.

It took a long while to get here but the rain has been consistent since lunch time ranging from a fine mist to steady rain.

I stayed in bed until 11am and when I did get up, I was greeted by the delicious aroma of pumpkin soup on the stove. BGWLBH makes the most delicious pumpkin soup ever! Full of flavour and with just the right amount of chilli to leave a lasting heat in your mouth.

We played trivia for a couple of hours and mid game, BGWLBH is winning. We’ll continue the game tomorrow.

I watched my quiz shows and Adoring Husband cooked dinner.

We watched some football and I am watching the tennis right now and hoping to see Djokovic play tonight.

So it’s been an unproductive but relaxing day.

I might attempt to do some art tomorrow.

Now it’s time to fall asleep to the sounds of Wimbledon.

Nite all.

Treasures

We left at 9am sharp.

First stop - Tinkerbell’s. An amethyst ring and bracelet to match the amethyst pendant that I bought at the Witch Markets last weekend.

Second stop - Pie & Pastry Paradise for tea/coffee. This was a cruel form of torture because they had nothing gluten free. The delicious aromas and the glass cabinets full of amazing goodies were almost heart breaking. We were strong and enjoyed our beverages.

Third stop - Spotlight to purchase all the craft requirements to make an authentic pirate’s treasure chest. I almost bought one, beautifully made, at the Witch’s Market for $120 but BGWLBH convinced me that we could make one ourselves. Today I spent $130 on everything to make a treasure chest one third the size of the one at the markets!! Go figure.

Fourth stop - Stocklands. We wanted to get our nails done but first we were hungry and decided to try Saffrons, the new Indian food place in the food court. Very bland and very mild. I had the massaman beef curry. Could not detect any curry. BGWLBH had the mango chicken curry that just tasted like sugar.

It was too busy to get our nails done so we shopped at the fruit and veg kiosk outside Coles and then shopped at Coles. We required two trolleys to carry our load and I stopped at the Bottle O on the way out for some vodka and margarita mix.

By the time we’d finished, we were both exhausted. We think the curry drained all of our energy instead of contributing to it!

It was after 2.30pm when we arrived home and after I unpacked all the food, I sat on my butt for over an hour until it was time to cook.

Duck breast with spinach/roast pumpkin/pinenuts salad and a garden salad. Delicious.

It’s almost midnight and I watched Kyrgios win his match at Wimbledon and now the Aussie, Thompson, is playing Tsitsipas. The Aussie won’t win.

I desperately need to sleep.

Nite all.

Sound Seven

After our big day yesterday, I slept for a solid seven hours last night.

I woke without my alarm and with plenty of time to get ready for our morning catch up with the art girls at the park.

There were seven of us in attendance with the usual laughter and story telling. We were joined by Mrs J who hasn’t been around for quite a few weeks after separating from her hubby and moving to The Bay. She was looking happy and healthy and it was nice to catch up with her.

The Bird Whisperer also joined us for the first time in weeks and she’s always fun to be around.

It was a nice, but very chilly morning which lasted for two hours and luckily BGWLBH brought a blanket and three of us at a time huddled under that attempting to keep warm.

On the way home, we checked the mail and bought food for a roast lamb dinner.

Lunch was a breakfast nosh up and I cooked bacon and eggs and tomato and mushrooms on toasted Turkish bread.

After lunch BGWLBH and I did some paperwork, photocopying, form filling, phone calling and tying up loose ends.

I watched a couple of episodes of The Great Pottery Throw Down which was recommended by The Silver Fox. It’s not a bad show.

We all enjoyed the lamb roast, although the meat was a bit chewy. I did potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, onion, broccoli and beans with home made gravy.

I caught up on last nights Big Brother and then watched tonight’s episode before coming to bed to watch Wimbledon. Djokovic is playing the Aussie Kokkinakis. Djokovic will win and I will fall asleep to the sound of him doing so.

BGWLBH and I have a day planned in The Bay. I plan on having a pedicure and I think I’ll go to Tinkerbell’s to buy an amethyst ring to match my new necklace.

Rain has been forecast for the next week so we are going to make the most of tomorrow.

It’s already after 11pm so I’m off to sleep, but before I go, here are our vegetable gardens that we’ve been building over the last week and which BGWLBH is maintaining and nurturing.

Lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumber, tomato, beetroot, snow peas, beans, chilli, carrot, celery, corn, onions, potato, sweet potato, bok choy, basil, parsley, coriander, rosemary, mint, thyme, passionfruit, pawpaw, dragon fruit, blueberries, blackberries, soursop, avocado, pineapple, strawberries and pumpkin.

I think that’s it.

Nite all.

Brisvegas

We are exhausted.

I was up at 4am to be ready to leave at 5am to catch the train at 5.46am to Brisbane.

The train was on time but they didn’t have enough food to feed the passengers and they didn’t announce when the kiosk was open so that we could get tea/coffee until ten minutes before it was closing - at which point we were almost at our destination so we didn’t bother.

It was absolutely freezing in Brisbane with a very cold gusting wind blowing along every street so we searched for a little cafe to sit down away from the weather and enjoy a hot breakfast.

No such luck.

I handed $10 to a human sitting in the doorway of a closed shop obviously trying to get warm. Their gratitude was palpable with a combination of tears welling through their excited smile.

We found our way to the Myer Centre but the food court there was pretty unappealing. No GF options and it was shabby and old. We unsuccessfully tried different levels in the centre and eventually I settled on a Boost juice and AH found a coffee.

We decided to shop instead.

AH found some Gazman trousers on sale as well as some undies.

I found some new boots.

So warm and cozy and comfy but not on sale.

From there we walked outside and discovered a cafe in the mall. It was outdoors but protected from the weather and had overhead heating.

The food was good, not spectacular, but certainly filled our empty bellies. We both ordered pork belly.

It was a very pleasant hour with good music in the background.

We still had an hour to kill so we left the restaurant, popped into Dymocks where I purchased three new journals and then found a good spot for people watching. I wish I’d set my phone to take pics because there were some spectacles - both good and bad, but mostly good!

Next we had to search for a taxi rank because our walk to Professor Silburn was short but very steep and neither of our backs were in any shape for a steep uphill climb, plus we’re not getting any younger!

The taxi driver that we found was really cranky that we wanted him to drive us only 500 metres so he demanded $15 because he had waited 40 minutes for a fare.

Personally, I didn’t give a rat’s pizzle because I just wanted the trip to be short and painless!

We were a little early for the appointment, so we sat at a nearby cafe while AH ordered a coffee.

As we walked to the professor’s office, there were large signs on the glass panels stating “You must be double vaccinated to enter this premises. We WILL be checking your proof of vaccination.”

They didn’t.

What they also failed to check, was the appointment card that they sent us. The card read 3.30pm Tuesday 28th June.

Their books showed 3.30pm Thursday 28th July! 😳

Knowing that we had travelled so far AND because it was their mistake, they were going to squeeze us in today, but we would never have made our train on time to return home, so we declined.

AH requested that the next appointment be over the phone so they will call tomorrow and reschedule.

We called a taxi to take us to the station which was at least three times the distance that the last taxi driver took us. This driver charged us $10 so I tipped him $5!

While we waited for the train on those uncomfortable, cold, metal platform seats in the icy wind, I changed into my new snuggly warm boots. Very comfortable.

The train left on time. There was abundant food on this one - we ordered bangers and mash. The movie was “My Girl” - always a tear jerker. Not too many on the carriage - there were only four of us on the way down and about eight on the way home, so that was pleasant.

I do have to complain about the new seats though. Not at all comfortable and my back is complaining loudly tonight!

BGWLBH was waiting in the car park to drive us home and thank goodness for her because it has been a LONG day.

My bed is very comfortable and warm so I will shortly be falling asleep to the sound of Wimbledon in the background.

Nite all.

Nice & Productive

You’ll need more than an hour for this one … Dr Rima Laibow talks about the Globalist Agenda 

I didn’t wake up until 9am.

I got up twice during the night - once for me to pee and once for not so psychotic dog Colli to pee - our bodies don’t like broken sleep, mine especially.

There was no motivation to get up until after 10.30am.

I made a cup of tea and joined BGWLBH in my art room. We played music and I sat quietly drinking my tea while she got arty farty (even though I told her NO FARTING in my art room).

Adoring Husband, under my instructions, drove to the supermarket to get supplies for lunch and I made zucchini fritters with a spicy sauce for lunch.

After lunch, BGWLBH took me on a tour of the garden to show me the work that she and AH had done while I was in bed.

The raised garden beds were all filled with the propagated vegetables, the big storage box (which was only storing dog beds) was now full of dirt and a healthy looking sweet potato plant, my white dress racks were screwed to the fence as support rails for the passionfruit vine and a dragon fruit plant.

Things are sure moving along in the garden and we are using every available space.

I spent an hour actually DOING ART in my art space!!! It was most enjoyable.

After my favourite quiz shows finished, BGWLBH and I attached the netting to the frames of the 4 garden covers. We did it in record time and now our gardens will be partially protected from the predicted heavy rains this week.

I made chicken Maryland with caramelised pineapple, beans, carrots and mash for dinner followed by an icy smooth fruit whip for dessert.

My stomach has been playing up this afternoon and evening, so I came to bed at 7pm. Hopefully it will be better by morning because AH and I will be training it down to Brisvegas for an appointment with the Parkinson’s professor and we’ll be away from the comforts of home for 15 long hours.

Gotta be up at 4am so it’s time to attempt sleep now.

Nite all.

Mass Downtime

Running a business during the last 2.5 years of the so called pandemic, watching and listening to the general public, physically distant friends, some family members and my social circle, it’s alarming how much this rings true …

Mass Formation

Today was a ‘no-go’ day for me.

I stayed in bed for most of it.

Mrs Bucket came to visit at 11am but I wasn’t going to let anybody steal my “me time” (which has been in short supply of late) and I remained in bed while she chatted with AH and BGWLBH. She stayed for an hour.

BGWLBH organised lunch for herself and AH.

I got up after lunch and considered doing some art but Adoring Husband decided he would take the opportunity to hang my boho mirror in the art room. This task took a good 30 minutes, by which time what little motivation I had completely disappeared.

Instead I spent 20 minutes removing stuff from the old art room and found homes for it in the new art room.

After that I just returned to bed feeling miserable.

I took the two remaining pieces of barramundi out of the freezer and a piece of wild caught salmon. At dinner time I made a salsa, coleslaw and reheated last nights vegetables.

BGWLBH was woken at 4.30am by not so psychotic dog Colli screaming to be let out to pee. Neither AH nor I woke up to the sound.

Her day was filled with cleaning and gardening and shovelling and planting so she was well and truly ready for bed immediately after dinner.

AH and I sat up to watch the worst State of Origin game in history. QLD lost, or should I say, QLD were annihilated by NSW. I haven’t even looked at the final score and came to bed with 15 minutes remaining in the game.

I’m hoping to feel more energised and motivated to do ‘something’ tomorrow.

Nite all.