Girl’s Day Out

It took me an hour to get ready this morning because I couldn’t figure out what to wear!

At 10am we were finally on the road and it was a beautiful day for a drive into The Bay.

We had a long list to check off which started with a stop at Nana’s Pantry and ended with a late lunch at Aquavue.

A good part of our list included requests from Adoring Husband, which ate a fair bit of time out of our girlie day, so next time I will conveniently leave the list at home. 

As usual, I spoilt myself with some personal purchases which included lipstick, storage containers, lotto tickets and a handful of books from QBD.

It was only my second time eating out since the Covid mandates were lifted and it was lovely sitting in the fresh air at Aquavue looking out over the water and enjoying delicious fresh food that I didn’t have to prepare myself.

We took our time and had fun making up stories about the other patrons in the cafe.

I received a message from a gentleman in Maryborough about our old electronic leather couch. I had posted it as ‘free’ on the local marketplaces and ‘Dave’ offered $10.50 for it. I advised him that it was free and he was about to finish work so I told him he would need a strong mate to help lift it and to consider the couch his.

Before he turned up, we arrived home, unpacked the car, put everything away, put new fluoro tubes in my art space and replaced the starters.

Dave turned up with a mate in his red ute. He was a real character and even though they were about our age, they pretty easily lifted that heavy piece of furniture onto the ute, tied it down and off they went.

It was a relief to be rid of the couch and it means I don’t  have to worry about AH moving it or asking favours of people we know.

After our big late lunch, BGWLBH and I didn’t require dinner so I took a beef casserole out of the freezer for AH. That was easy.

We two old birds were completely worn out after our big day out and now it’s time to sleep. Once again, it’s almost midnight!

Nite all.

Another Step

I spent another three hours in the art space today and BGWLBH spent a good deal of time in there being my personal assistant.

We got a lot done but you can’t tell by looking at the space!

BGWLBH prepared another delicious grazing platter for lunch and between the three of us, we prepared bangers and mash for dinner. BGWLBH peeled and chopped the veg, Adoring Husband cooked the bangers on the barbecue and I did the rest.

It was delicious and we ate too much!

Big Brother was our ‘go to’ tonight.

BGWLBH and I are heading into The Bay tomorrow to run some ‘moving to a new state’ errands. We have a long list so I must wear comfortable shoes.

A heads up for the coming weeks … Food Shortages and Grocery Prices to Jump

Now it’s time for sleep.

Nite all.

Another Step

All Cause Mortality 

I was up at 10am.

Yes, Sunday is usually my ‘stay in bed all day’ day but I felt the universe pushing me to get some more work done in the art space, so I reluctantly dragged my sorry A out of bed, made a cup of tea and sat in the lounging corner posting items for sale on the local marketplace Facebook page.

By the time I’d done that, BGWLBH had made a delicious grazing platter for lunch so we all sat at the table savouring all that goodness.

After lunch, BGWLBH took me on a tour of the garden showing me where she had planted all the seeds and where some of them were already sprouting. I reckon we will have bumper crops of everything!

She also showed me how she’d set up the hothouse - she is well established and I expect big things from her green thumbs in the coming weeks!

Off I trotted back to the art space and proceeded to unpack more bags and boxes. I found my little desk cabinet under the rubble and was able to fill it with lots of goodies and manoeuvre it under my desk.

I was able to declutter even further as I worked and tossed even more stuff.

Three hours was enough and I watched the footy all afternoon. I am doing very poorly in the footy tipping for NRL but my AFL tipping is fantastic!

I prepared duck breast with a sweet and spicy sauce, sweet potato mash, broccoli and beans for AH’s and BGWLBH’s dinner. I had some of BGWLBH’s spicy pumpkin soup. Still delicious!

We watched The Voice and felt overwhelming disappointment when they announced Lachie as the winner. The other three contestants had it all over him and I don’t understand how he won. I couldn’t pick who would win out of the other three but I was absolutely certain that he wouldn’t! 

But what would I know? 😳

Now I’m watching Djokovic playing in the French Open. Schwartzman is certainly giving him a run for his money - although the score doesn’t indicate that.

Now it’s heading towards midnight, so it’s time for sleep.

Nite all.

Recycle That

We introduced BGWLBH to the HB Recycling Centre today!

She purchased a bucket full of small plastic planter pots for germinating seeds and Adoring Husband purchased two big plastic laundry tub sinks which I’ll use for cleaning my art gear - when I finally get my art space up and running.

BGWLBH and I decided that we would take a trip there on another day and spend a couple of hours really sifting through the goodies.

I wanted to show her the magic of Possum Paradise Plant Nursery, but we discovered that two thirds of it is now empty land! They now sell a few plants, bags of soil and potting mix, a selection of gardening sprays and fertilisers and down the back are some landscaping fillers.

Disappointing.

We bought some potting mix, some marigolds and a blackberry bush.

After that, I returned some ‘incorrect for my printer’ ink cartridges to Office Works. AH and BGWLBH sat in the car waiting for me and after OW processed my refund, I did a quick stroll through and spent half of my refund on notebooks, journals and coloured printer paper.

Next was Bunnings (ugh) to get some dowel and hooks to make wrapping paper and ribbon holders for the wall in my art space.

We needed some sustenance but none of us were dressed for eating ‘in’. We were originally only going to the recycle centre and a plant nursery so we didn’t change out of our house clothes and only put on half a face! So we decided that a juice or smoothie might be the go and went to Cocoa’s drive through. 

AH and I ordered a ‘healthy breakfast smoothie’ which I decided was very disappointing. BGWLBH ordered a coffee.

It was quite late when we got home but I whipped up a few lamb fritters to fill the hole in our bellies until dinner time. 

I decided to take a batch of beef casserole out of the freezer for dinner and served that with chargrilled zucchini and herb bread. I had a boiled egg on toast because I just wanted something light.

We watched three very disappointing games of football and I am now only three from six in the tipping comp!

It’s almost 10pm and I have some journalling to do before sleep.

Nite all.

Working on it

I should have taken a ‘before’ shot.

BGWLBH’s advice was to work on one section at a time, so that’s what I did. I was easily distracted, so I needed her to keep pulling me back to the allotted section. It took about three hours to clear this one corner and even this is not completed yet.

The pictures, signs and art need to be displayed in the wall properly, the screen with giraffes needs a new home and the freestanding mirror that’s facing the wall needs to be sold.

The chairs will be arranged differently and I may even have them re-covered. I love their old retro style and they are good solid pieces of furniture.

The cupboard is chockers full of canvases but there is still space for other art paraphernalia …

But this is still waiting …

Small steps.

The following story and charts were shared by my farming cousin in FB yesterday and shows things are looking ominous for our weather in the next twelve months and be aware, these are the forecaster’s words, not mine …

*** Things are starting to get interesting, with enormous volumes of much warmer than normal water surrounding Northern Australia.

What makes it interesting is this set up has never been seen ever in recent history.

Below we can see the current SSTs, as opposed to the 2016 set up, where we had a Super El Nino event just ending.

When that happened, the strong Easterly trades push all of that warm water into the Indian Ocean, where a Negative Indian Ocean Dipole usually sets up.

That is why we have only had 11 events since 1960.

On this occasion, we are meant to believe that a 3rd La Nina year preceded what is going to be the biggest humanitarian disaster this country has ever faced. We have never seen a negative IOD after a La Nina, because it cannot happen, except perhaps, and only perhaps, under exceptional circumstances.

Furthermore, the Madden Julian Oscillation is currently parked in Phase 7, over water that is some 5 degrees colder than we currently see over the Maritime Continent.

That makes as much sense as the election results on Saturday night, however, those controlling all of this know that most people are distracted by Tik Toks and really have no idea about what is real and what isn't.

The latest guidance is forecasting a negative IOD figure of -1.7c for the peak in September, which indicates that this is the cover story for what can only be described as making 2016 look like a drought. What we saw in Lismore is just the entree, this next 6 months will be truly horrific, and I hope everyone makes it through safely.

This forecast is provided by AV Weather - a long range weather forecaster, especially for farmers, with 30 years of experience. You can check out their website HERE ***

It looks pretty grim and perhaps we should be somehow preparing for it.

Before getting to work in the art space, I enjoyed my breakfast under the Bali hut again this morning and in the first 30 minutes while I worked, BGWLBH prepared another delicious spicy pumpkin soup which we ate for lunch.

At 2pm we sat down to watch a movie “Murder By Numbers” with a very young Ryan Gosling and Sandra Bullock. It was a pretty good movie.

It was the usual Friday night fare for dinner which we always enjoy.

I’m watching my footy team make a comeback in the second half of the game. At half time, they were losing 24-4 and the score right now is 24-22. With ten minutes to go, they have a good chance, so it’s a bit exciting.

I’m feeling a bit weary after my day of sorting so it will be straight to bed after the footy for me. More sorting tomorrow.

Update on the football - 5 minutes to go and Broncos are now winning 34-24. Wahoo!

Nite all.

It’s arrived!

The new lounge suite was being delivered between 7am - 12pm but I still remained in bed until 8am.

I showered, dressed, made some tea and toast and strolled out to the Bali hut to sit in the warm sunshine, eat my breakfast and be one with the universe.

I was joined by two big fat healthy looking magpies who sat on the fence beside me singing the most beautiful songs while chatted with them.

When I finished my breakfast, I moved into my art space and opened a box. It turned out to NOT be an art related box and it had smaller boxes inside full of cards, postcards, letters, printed emails and travel journals.

Of course, this meant I had to find a comfy chair and begin reading.

It was a trip down memory lane that took me back a few decades!

I was soon interrupted by the delivery truck and the big burley delivery drivers, so I moved into the lounge room to help supervise placement.

The new suite is large AND we kept two other recliners so our lounge room is now chockers! Many throw rugs were found to protect the lounge and help make it all look more snug and comfy.

The chairs are very comfy and I lay down on the lounge and fell asleep inside ten minutes. I’m very happy with our purchase.

I also took delivery today of two pairs of shoes. Puffing Billy, the delivery guy brought them to our door. The shoes are fabulous and comfortable and that’s another purchase I am very happy about!

BGWLBH and I made a delicious grazing platter for lunch.

For dinner I made chicken thighs with leftover baked veggies and gravy, caramelised pineapple slices and fried tomato and onion.

We played a few games of Sequence again - I’m really enjoying that game.

I caught up on my recorded MasterChef shows before the football started and I am one from one in the footy tipping so far.

Now I need to sleep and generate enough energy to work at clearing the art space tomorrow.

Nite all.

Just Not Right

We ALL had a full day.

I was awake at 7am and up at 8am getting ready for a catch up with the art girls.

BGWLBH informed me that she wouldn’t be joining me which was so disappointing for both of us. 

Adoring Husband sabotaged our morning by wrangling BGWLBH into going with him to pick up the FROG box, drop some stuff off at the storage shed and go into The Bay, even though I had told him yesterday that we could all go together after morning tea.

Mark my words, he will pay for this in the very near future!

Meanwhile I had a fabulous 3 hours at the Lions Park with the girls. We talked art, quirky addictions, cooking, gardening, renovating, local house sales, moving hairdressers and so much more! There was so much laughter and we were loud!

I arrived home 20 minutes after AH and BGWLBH.

I unpacked the FROG box, prepared lunch for AH and made two zucchini slices.

BGWLBH and I spent about 45 minutes doing some organising in the art space finding homes for the blank canvasses and tubes of paint and putting together the rainbow drawers.

I sat down for a 40 minute break before preparing the leg of lamb - piercing the meat and inserting garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs, then sprinkling salt, pepper and drizzling honey over the skin.

BGWLBH peeled and chopped the potato, sweet potato and pumpkin which we set aside until we returned from our quick walk on the beach. She chopped up the entire pumpkin to make more pumpkin soup tomorrow.

I chopped zucchini and carrot to steam later.

When we got to the beach, the water was dirty brown and angry looking. There were dark stormy clouds out to sea and the weather was closing in, so we walked for about 15 minutes and got back to the car just as it began to rain lightly.

We went for a quick drive to look at the outside of some houses for sale and then drove home to get those veggies in the oven.

While dinner was cooking we cleared the lounge room and vacuumed the floor in preparation for the new lounge suite arriving tomorrow.

Finally we sat down to enjoy that deliciously tender leg of lamb. 

We played a few games of Sequence before Big Brother started.

This day was too full! It’s just not right and I refuse to make a habit of it, however, three adults in one house can achieve a lot in one day!

We had planned on attending the Maryborough markets tomorrow but the weather forecast is looking ominous so we’ve postponed that trip til next week.

Now it’s time to sleep.

Nite all.

Buggered

BGWLBH and I had a shopping morning.

We needed black seed powder, lotto tickets, storage boxes, dog nappies and a little present for me.

A visit to Tinkerbell’s to find a pietersite ring to match my bracelet and pendant plus a nice silver ring.

Apparently, I can only find dog nappies online.

My lotto ticket won $21 so I’m happy with that.

We arrived home to find that Adoring Husband had erected the plant hot house for BGWLBH so we helped him put the plastic cover over it.

From there I made the ugliest vegetable fritters for lunch - but they tasted ok.

At 3.30pm I was feeling sooooo tired I came to bed for a nap. Apart from a mid nap toilet break, I slept until 7.20pm!

Now it’s almost midnight and I reckon I can fall asleep pretty easily.

The Aussie boy lost his tennis match against Nadal last night, but I fell asleep long before the first set was over.

Now I’m off to sleep.

Nite all.

Aussie Aussie Aussie

I’ve come to bed at almost midnight and turned on the TV with the intention of falling asleep to the sound of the French Open tennis.

As much as I love tennis, the French Open is rarely on my radar. I’ll stay awake for hours to watch Wimbledon and the US Open but clay court tennis never really captured my attention.

It just so happens that the Aussie Jordan Thompson is playing Rafael Nadal tonight and it’s a happy accident that I’ve caught the beginning of the match.

Let’s see how long I last.

Thanks to BGWLBH, it was quite a productive day for me.

I was up earlier than usual and rode my trike to deliver a salt lamp globe to Blonde Bombshell at 10am. 

It’s been many months since we’ve had any time together and even though it was brief, it was lovely to see her and catch up.

I had to pick up a few things from the supermarket and as I left there, I ran into Scallywag, who was in for a chat. She’s struggling with a sick husband right now and obviously needed to vent a little so I stopped for 15 minutes to lend an ear.

Adoring Husband had been into The Bay to get new tyres fitted and a wheel alignment on the car. He had just arrived home before me, so I prepped some lunch for us before getting a start in the new art room.

BGWLBH and I decluttered the big double cupboard in what will be my art space. I was as brutal as I could be, getting rid of a lot of  crockery and cookware that hasn’t been used in years. AH is not a decluttering fan so he hindered my progress a little.

We also moved a cabinet across the room and discussed future storage possibilities.

That took us two hours and I was done. My feet weren’t happy on the concrete and the earlier trike ride with a head wind had worn me out!

For dinner I prepared hot and spicy chicken with dipping sauce, reheated au gratin and coleslaw.

We played a few games of Sequence before Big Brother.

BGWLBH went off to bed for a snore fest because she had slept poorly the night before.

We’ll be heading to The Bay tomorrow and it’s rapidly approaching 1am so I’d best get some sleep!

Nite all.