Post Trauma

Adoring Husband conducted the necessary post-mortem on our barbecue today.

He was hoping that a good clean with the karcher pressure washer would bring it back good as new.

Sadly, it was not the case and he found that the metal frame had warped so much in the heat of the fire, that the metal hot plate trays no longer slot into their spots.

So not only is AH suffering PTSD, but the barbecue is suffering unrepairable PTSD and 3rd degree burns to 75% of its body.

For now, we have a second barbecue which we store in the pool area. We use it in Spring and Summer to cook breakfast which we enjoy under the Bali hut. It’s a bit smaller than the dead one but will do until we decide whether we need a replacement.

AH has also decided that we not only have to replace our kitchen fire extinguisher (which he used yesterday), but we need a second one dedicated to our barbecue area. The same goes for the fire blanket.

I went to The Bay with BGWLBH today, so I didn’t get to edit the photos.

Before we arrived home, Burrum Heads was hit with a good heavy downpour, which we could see from Hervey Bay so our safest bet was to drive halfway home, then park at Craignish shopping centre until the storm passed. It took about 25 minutes.

We enjoyed home made hamburgers for dinner and then an hour of trivia.

The rest of the evening has been Olympic viewing.

I’m feeling pretty weary tonight.

Nite all.

Woopsie

It was a very small class for meditation with just five happy souls in attendance this morning.

Unfortunately, the gardener arrived right on 8am and found it the perfect time to mow, blow and vacuum directly under our window.

It was good for us to practice remaining calm in a usually frustrating situation and to meditate no matter what the circumstances.

It was, however, difficult to hear The Gypsy through a lot of the class.

After a brief chat among the individuals of the group, The Gypsy and I drove out to Bambooland for our photoshoot.

We avoided the beach because it was a dull overcast day and beaches are very grey and gloomy on days like today. The low light was much better for lush green surroundings.

Coffee and a chat was first priority. After about 30 minutes we found a few nice spots to grab some pics and we spent about 40 minutes clicking away.

I was home before midday.

I have prepared the photos for editing and if I get a chance to sit down with them tomorrow, hopefully I can share some here.

Adoring Husband cooked some snags on the barbecue for my lunch and forgot to turn it off, causing a fat fire in the drip tray.

The only reason he found it before it caused more damage was because our ‘life saver’ Harley pushed his way through the sliding doors into the house and came to the doggy gate that blocks the lounge room. AH got out of his lounge chair to go talk to Harley and noticed the flames through the window!

He didn’t say anything to me but moments later he screams out to me “Get the fire blanket!”

I yelled back “Where is it!?!?”

He replies “I don’t know!” 😳😳😳

Luckily, I remembered that I’d seen it on the floor beside the fridge in the cavity so I grabbed it and raced it out to him. He had tried the fire extinguisher which was ineffective so we covered the barbecue with the blanket but even that was taking its sweet time to reduce the size of the flames.

A slow release of water from the hose seemed to do the trick.

By then AH, realising the gravity of what could have been, had a bit of a breakdown.

My advice to him was to not waste energy panicking over what might have happened - because it didn’t! He should be happy that nothing happened and he was able to get the fire under control!

We all survived and Harley got a treat for inadvertently bringing it to our attention.

Sadly, the barbecue is not in good shape, so I had to cook the snags in our kitchen at dinner time. Bangers, mash, beans, carrots and tomato/onion gravy from scratch.

We played trivia for an hour before getting our Olympics fix.

I think I’ll sleep well tonight.

Nite all.

Products of our Generation

Aging looks good on anyone who believes that it does.

It’s an inner light kind of deal.

It shines through skin, bone, muscle and sinew - bathing everything you see in a luminous glow of peace, acceptance and utter loveliness.

It’s some sort of chemical reaction when self-love (at last) meets Mother Nature.

Then wisdom and hindsight all join together too and cast their magic -

until what you see is a woman who has evolved, grown, learned and risen many many times.

And it’s a beautiful sight to behold.

So, age however you like because if something is not making you happy, that will show.

Time can’t erase your beauty my friend, only negativity can do that.

- Donna Ashworth

J of Inveterate Travellers - age looks good on you! (FYI the above pic is NOT J)

We enjoyed a LONG lunch with Best Cousin in the World, Marco Polo and the Inveterate Travellers at Aquavue today.

The company was pretty much the only good thing about the day.

The food was ‘ok’.

The service was very slow.

We ordered one after the other, in couples, and our meals arrived 15-20 minutes apart. In fact J had to go ask where their meals were when the rest of us were finished ours!

When I asked for sugar for our tea and coffee, we were given a silver jug of ‘sugar water’ which they explained was sugar and water mixed by them. Why?

😳

I took it back and they found a container of raw sugar under the counter.

Because we were enjoying the company, The Inveterate Travellers, Adoring Husband and I decided to remain at our table after BCITW and MP had to leave and we girls ordered $17 cocktails while the boys had coffee.

I’m pretty sure it was after 2.30pm when we all agreed it was time to move on. Warm hugs and fond farewells followed and I have to say that I enjoyed the day very much.

Thank you J & P Inveterate Travellers and of course, BCITW and MP.

One problem. Young people take selfies and group pics to commemorate these occasions - we oldies don’t even think of doing that until 2 hours after the event and we have no evidence of our wonderful lunch.

We are products of our generation.

🫤

Before we went to lunch, AH and I did a run through all of the furniture shops in town to find an egg chair, and this is the one we eventually selected …

After lunch, we returned to our selected chair, paid for it, and drove across town to pick it up from the warehouse.

We also did a shop at Go Natural and picked up some delicious organic goodies including roasted capsicum relish, fermented garlic paste, duck fat, GF beef pies, chilli tuna and more.

Oh and a new toaster because our old one only works on one side.

Now it’s time to sleep because tomorrow is meditation and if the weather permits, that elusive photo shoot that we’ve been trying for since last week.

Nite all.

Sunday Solitude

I struggled to get out of bed this morning, but I needed to get Harley’s play time in before my planned zoom meeting with The Gypsy.

I mistakenly thought that we were doing our photoshoot, but it was a zoom meeting instead.

So I finished with Harley, made my breakfast of tea and toast and returned to bed where I had 30 minutes to enjoy my food before the meeting.

I always zoom in the bedroom, for privacy, comfort and light.

Our zoom chat lasted for just over 3 hours!

We had a long, in-depth discussion about depression and all the telltale signs like no motivation, procrastination, avoiding social situations, staying in bed, emotional eating or not eating, irritability, addiction, finding no joy in things you usually love, struggling to prioritise, not showering/cleaning teeth/brushing hair etc etc etc

Both of us have experience some of these symptoms to varying degrees over recent months for different reasons.

We talked about the different ways we monitor ourselves and how we clear the blocks that keep us stuck in depression. It seems that ‘movement’ is the key - whether it’s walking, dancing, hula hooping, tai chi, qi gong, riding/cycling, swimming, gardening etc.

The other important thing is ‘traffic control’ - monitoring our thoughts - setting the alarm on our phones for every hour between 9am and 5pm - and taking one minute to check and change our thoughts from negative self deprecating to positive and self respectful. That’s 8 minutes each day to practice self love.

Of course it’s important to acknowledge and recognise your decline and put these things into practice ‘before’ you reach the “I don’t give a f#@%” stage. That stage speaks for itself.

Our chats are always insightful and we learn a lot about ourselves and each other.

We finished in time for me to watch the football. Two great matches and I did OK with my tipping this week - if only I hadn’t tipped Tigers on Thursday night 🫤

I did a Lamb Tagine for dinner which is browned lamb chops, leeks, tomato, chickpeas, stock, garlic, cumin, lemon zest, Cayenne pepper, salt and pepper for 3 hours at 160° in the oven.

The meat just falls off the bone and the flavour is lovely. I served it with the leftover spinach and potato pie from last night.

Right now, I’m watching Djokovic and Alcaraz play for the gold medal at the Olympics. They are playing a tie breaker for the first set 6-6 (3-3) - it’s as close as it gets!

I’m off to support Novak.

Djokovic won the first set!

Nite all.

Laying Low

It’s been a very quiet couple of days with absolutely nothing to report or share.

I’ve been nowhere and done nothing apart from playing with Harley and parking my butt on the couch watching Olympics results, football and live Olympic action.

I was happy to see Djokovic win through to the tennis final, so he will take home a guaranteed silver or possibly a gold medal. He plays the very talented and strong Alcaraz, so while I think Djokovic is capable of winning, I believe that Alcaraz has youthful energy, speed and strength on his side.

Sometimes it takes Alcaraz a couple of sets to warm up and because the Olympics tennis is best of three sets, he doesn’t have the luxury of time to warm up. That could play into Djokovic’s hands.

Djokovic has never won an Olympic gold medal (only bronze) so he’s very motivated.

The Aussies are doing ok at the games, especially the females. Only 2 of our 12 gold medals have been won by males.

We still have high hopes in water polo, hockey, 3x3 women’s basketball, men’s beach volleyball, road cycling and track and field.

I watched 2 movies on Netflix. “What Happens Next” with Meg Ryan and David Duchovny and “Destination Wedding” with Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves.

I had set my alarm for 3am so that I could watch the Djokovic semi final so by 2pm I was in need of a nap. Harley and I snuggled and slept on the couch together for about an hour.

Adoring Husband painted the bamboo fence around the pool with stain, so he’s feeling very sore and sorry for himself this evening.

I made a delicious puff pastry spinach/potato/tuna pie this morning and then offered it for ‘fend for yourself’ dinner. AH accepted my offer but BGWLBH had other plans.

There are leftovers for tomorrow.

I had an unlucky night with my footy teams. The Broncos lost badly and are now out of the running for finals football. Carlton lost to Collingwood by 3 points and have dropped down to 7th position on the ladder.

Now I need to sleep.

Nite all.

Not Much

Professor Ian Brighthope on Covid Vaccines

Pfizer’s Secret Report

Not a lot happening here.

Plenty of Olympic events to watch on TV.

It’s too bloody cold to get out of bed early - although the southerners will be laughing at our 3°C when they are enduring -6°C and -7°C.

I would stay in bed until lunch time if I didn’t have Harley. The fact that he needs to pee and play and eat means that 9am is about as late as I can remain under the covers in the mornings.

Wednesday was a very quiet day spent mostly in front of the TV watching a series of Great British Sewing Bee and the Olympics.

Today was a day in The Bay.

Breakfast at Salt, shopping at Spotlight, Eureka Furniture, Choice, Farmgate, Newsagent, Butcher, Coles and Su Jus.

I found this outdoor setting to replace our sad, old ripped and faded setting under the Bali hut. 

I loved it as soon as I saw it and the bonus was that it was comfortable under the butt! The best part was getting an extra 12% off the already 50% off!

They must make a LOT of money on furniture.

It was almost 3pm when we arrived home so we unpacked the car, put the groceries away, I played with Harley for about 30 minutes and then found my recipe book so that I could start cooking the lamb tagine that I’d planned.

I read it through and discovered that I needed at least 3.5 hours preparation time, so I canned that idea.

Leftover frozen lasagne for Adoring Husband and a GF meat pie for BGWLBH both served with salad.

We watched the footy tonight.

I have a photo shoot tomorrow so I’d best get some sleep.

Nite all.

Life Goes On

Monday was a day in The Bay.

Nana’s Pantry, Office Works, Rivers, Big W, Newsagent, Butcher x 2, Farm Gate, Coles, Bakery and Su Jus.

It was Adoring Husband’s turn to cook dinner and he decided to barbecue our choices of protein and serve with salads. When it was too late to do anything about it, he realised that he had forgotten MY protein.

😡

So I had to make my own dinner while fuming mad and as a just punishment, I refused to play trivia.

I got to bed just in time to watch the tennis at the olympics - Djokovic vs Nadal - it was an easy win for Djokovic, even with the crowd strongly supporting Nadal.

So I was a bit late getting to sleep and had to rise early for meditation this morning.

Thank goodness AH turned on our heating (for just the 2nd time in 16 yrs) because it was 3°C and I was struggling to get out from under my warm covers.

Heart of Gold picked me up so that we didn’t have to ride our bikes in the icy cold weather.

Meditation was great - I’ve missed the last 3 weeks because of my health and then The Gypsy’s health - so  I really enjoyed today.

I returned home early because everybody else had somewhere to be and I made myself some tea and breakfast and sat down to catch up with the overnight Olympics results.

BGWLBH did our ironing while AH put some stain on the Bali hut posts.

I posted some important packages and AH bought me some flowers.

My turn to cook dinner and I attempted a recipe that BGWLBH had found online. Chicken with Spinach and Mushrooms in Creamy Parmesan Sauce. I wasn’t fussed on it but the other two enjoyed it.

We played some trivia tonight before settling in for some Olympic viewing.

Now I’m pretty weary and the temperature is dropping so it’s time to snuggle under the covers and get warm.

Nite all.

Festival Day

Adoring Husband and I had our first date together since he’s been able to safely drive on the highway.

We left at 7am to make our way to Childers for the cultural festival.

The closest carpark opens at 7.45am and we pulled into that driveway at exactly 7.45am being the second car to park there.

We had to rug up because the weather was quite cold! AH wore his Dryza Bone and I wore long sleeves with a knitted poncho and jeans! Unheard of!

We’d barely stopped at a dozen stalls before AH took our first bag of goodies back to the car.

Our list of goodies included:

• A turquoise and blue poncho
• A pottery heart
• Honey
• Duck and Juniper Berry salami
• 2 dresses for Hazey
• Jalapeño and raspberry jam
• Pineapple and chilli marinade
• A big soft fluffy sloth
• Some CBD pet oil and CBD cream for Harley
• 3 coffee mugs
• 6 x GF donuts
• Pulled pork nachos
• Pad Thai chicken
• Green smoothie
• 2 x coffees
• Honey and habanero chilli crisp

I think that’s all. 

We sat down with our food to listen to the 10am entertainment. His name was Austin Mackay and he was very good and we stayed for 45 mins listening to him …

He is also on instagram https://www.instagram.com/austinmackaymusic?igsh=YmphOXBkbW5tdGhk

We were only there for 3 hours, which is pretty standard for us. By 11am the crowds become unmanageable for us so we shuffle our way back to the car and head home.

By this time, the traffic coming into town is always slow and bumper to bumper. People are parking 2 kms from the festival and walking into town. Ugh.

We were home before midday.

I made myself a cup of tea and sat down with 2 donuts to watch some Olympic results, catch the start of an AFL match and then settle in for 3 games of NRL.

Home made lasagne with salad for dinner.

I’m feeling pretty worn out after such a big day that began quite early.

Nite all.