THAT Time!

I’m talking about Wimbledon!

It’s Wimbledon time again!

I am sitting up in bed watching the number one female player, Iga Swiatek, play the number 33 in the world, Lin Zhu.

Wimbledon is my favourite Grand Slam and I really hope that Djokovic reaches the men’s final and wins. I don’t have a favourite female player at the moment - any underdog that puts up a good fight I guess!

It’s been a big day and I doubt I’ll last long in front of the tennis tonight.

BGWLBH and I drove into the bay early this morning.

Adoring Husband was expecting the plumber to arrive early because our kitchen sink was blocked (for the third time in 3 years) and I was worried that he wouldn’t be able to handle Harley while they were here. I almost didn’t go, but in the end decided that if I’m planning a trip away in August, then AH has to be able to handle all the Harley situations.

Apparently, after an initial burst of barking when the plumber arrived, Harley settled quickly and was not a problem.

BGWLBH and I began our day with a bit of a road rage incident when we inadvertently stole a parking space from an older gentleman who came to our car window calling BGWLBH lots of names including “disgusting human being” and “piece of filth”.

It was a horrible way to start our day.

We decided to move on and chose to have our breakfast far away from the angry man.

After breakfast we still had an hour to kill so we browsed through some boutiques but sadly couldn't find anything to spend our money on.

Between us, we had a nail appointment and a foot massage appt.

We visited the butcher, the baker, the post office, the newsagent, two supermarkets and Su Jus cafe.

It was a very grey day with light rain falling intermittently which was more of an annoyance than anything else, but rain is forecast for the next couple of days.

We need it.

I think it’s time to settle under the covers, set the timer on the TV and fall asleep to the sound of racket on ball.

Nite all.

Blaagh Day

I didn’t feel great today.

Mentally and emotionally drained.

Adoring Husband was feeling physically unwell with the Parkinson’s symptoms - but don’t get me started about THAT.

I cooked breakfast and then hibernated on the couch for the remainder of the day. Even Harley only got one play.

I napped on the couch in the afternoon.

We didn’t get to the local twilight markets, mostly because the wind was crazy at 2pm when the market started and didn’t die down until about 4pm which is when I started cooking dinner.

I did honey lemon chicken with baked bite sized vegetables - potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, garlic, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli and carrot.

It’s almost 11pm so it’s back to sleep for me.

Nite all.

A Bit Chilled

… and by chilled, I don’t mean relaxed!

I felt cold almost all day and even covered myself with a furry blanket on the couch. It was about 3pm when I finally began to feel thawed out.

It was cold when I got out of bed this morning.

It was cold on my walk with Harley.

It was cold around the pool.

It was cold in my art space.

It was cold in the lounge room.

It was cold outside tonight when Harley went out to pee before bed!

There must be rain coming because there was a huge ring around the moon …

I painted a large canvas today, ready to create a double seahorse painting. Watch this space.

Footy tipping was much better today and we all got three correct out of three games. So far, all of us in the tipping comp have picked exactly the same teams. This means we all have four out of six correct for the week. Tomorrow will be the deciders and I doubt we’ll all pick the same teams.

It’s already after 11pm so it’s time to sleep.

Nite all.

Unplanned Trip

How is it possible for a whale to breastfeed her baby in the middle of the ocean, yet there is no direct contact between the two? The answer lies in the composition of the milk. You see, when this young whale is ready to feed, the mother releases her milk directly into the water while her child is near, but because whale milk has such a high-fat content, it does not dissolve in the water. Instead this thick and sticky form of milk just kind of sits there for the baby to feed on.

Photography: Mike Korostelev

To aid in his healing, I rested Harley today and we didn’t walk. I still took him in the pool area after breakfast and gently tossed the ball short distances so that he could satisfy his need for fetching without putting stress on his left hind leg.

Afterwards, BGWLBH and I decided to head into The Bay (again) to book our first whale watching trip (end of July), to shop at Go Natural, to pick up some King Kong goodies, fill up the car with fuel, purchase some work necessities for Adoring Husband, go via the Happy Hippy’s house to grab our usual order of fresh eggs and then stop at the butcher for our weekly meat order.

It’s school holiday time so it’s very busy in town. The traffic is frantic and there are queues in every store, kids everywhere and frustrated parents.

Ugh.

We were late home. Just in time to make the chicken marinade, have cuddles with Harley and put my feet up with a cup of tea before dinner.

The two footy games were a disaster for all our tips this week.

It’s a chilly night and now I need to sleep.

Nite all.

Minor Injury (hopefully)

In 1998 they called it summer - now they paint everything red and call it extreme weather...

I walked Harley for an hour this morning and he has definitely improved. He still attempted to chase a couple of cars and a cyclist, but he also ignored the majority of cars and cyclists!

My next trick will be to make him disinterested in other dogs.

We played around the pool area for 20 minutes so that he could cool down.

BGWLBH and I drove into The Bay for the day and I was excited to find my dairy free magnums on sale for half price so I bought 4 boxes of them. Yum.

This afternoon while playing fetch with Harley, he jumped VERY high to catch a bouncing ball and he landed awkwardly on his hind legs - the back left leg specifically. He left the ball and came over to me, sitting at my legs and leaning against me, panting heavily.

The first joint of his left leg is now very tender. He’s walking ok, but when I touch it, he pulls it away quickly. I’ll see how it is tomorrow and decide whether we need to consult the vet.

For dinner, I finished crumbing the other three pieces of chicken and served them with sweet potato and potato chips as well as coleslaw.

We watched Cronulla annihilate St George in the footy - great for our tips.

Now it’s suddenly 11.30pm and I need to sleep!

Nite all.

Op Shopping

Today was meditation day so my lift arrived right on time for the 1 hour and ten minute drive to Dallarnil.

We had plenty to chat about and the time passed quickly so before I knew it we were turning into The Gypsy’s driveway.

We made our way across the block to the meditation room waving to her partner who was down in the vegetable patch chatting with a visiting male.

Shoes removed, we opened the door, put our money in the donation box and found our favoured seats.

The music was already floating through the room along with the warm air from the air conditioner so we sat silently until The Gypsy began the class.

It was a good lesson about “Going Higher” and very relevant to all of us.

After over an hour, the others left and the three of us remained to debrief over recent events. It was midday when we said our goodbyes.

Heart of Gold wanted to stop in Childers to visit the op shops. She is going to the theatre in Brisbane on the weekend to see Moulin Rouge and was looking for a red evening bag/purse to go with her outfit. Like me, she rarely attends special events, so she doesn’t want to spend a fortune on a bag she will probably use just once.

She had no luck, but I found a crisp white cotton top still with the original tags on it for $4! 

At another shop I found some pyjama bottoms to replace an old pair that I just found a hole in, some little plastic animal tags, a pearlescent lolly jar, some toys for Harley and a birthday card.

We spent about 90 minutes browsing all over and we finally arrived home just before 3pm!

I did crumbed chicken with salads for dinner.

Now I’m worn out and need to sleep!

Nite all.

Touristy

Harley and I walked this morning.

There was great improvement in his attitude although cyclists seem to be on the top of his hit list this week.

I managed this obsession pretty well for the first half of the walk, reinforcing his good behaviour with big love and a treat every so often.

But then we came across some kids. Tourists. Staying with grandparents on the waterfront and riding their bicycles back and forth along the concrete path and the dirt track going in the other direction.

Harley controlled himself really well until one of the little shits rode straight at him and veered suddenly when she got within about three feet of us.

He almost pulled ME into the path of the bike trying to attack her. I yelled to her “Try that again and I’ll shove you off the bike myself!”

I was so angry.

We walked for an hour and then played around the pool for 20 minutes.

By then, I was exhausted 😩 

I had cooked the others’ breakfast before I left, so after the walk, I made myself a toasted sandwich with leftover lamb roast, tomato, onion and beetroot and a nice hot cup of tea.

I plonked myself on the couch and watched a couple of hours of “Stranger Things”.

I attempted to have a nap in my bed from 1pm but couldn’t quite get there.

I gave Harley 30 minutes of play time in the afternoon before preparing a chilli chicken and mango pasta dish for dinner.

It’s not even 9.30pm but feels like 11pm! I think I need to sleep now.

Nite all.

Recovering

Today was “recover from the art expo day”.

Unfortunately, Harley was not privy to this concept so he had me up at 6.30am.

I cooked breakfast and then played with Harley for 45 minutes.

I desperately needed to wash clothes so I did two loads of washing.

I scrubbed the kitchen sink, filled the dishwasher and cleared off the bench tops to clean them.

I watched some more ‘Stranger Things’, made toasted sangers for lunch and settled in for the footy.

I did alright with my tipping this week.

I attempted to nap on the couch but Adoring Husband decided to be a chatterbox.

I played with Harley at half time.

I cooked a leg of lamb with veg and gravy for dinner.

There have been helicopters flying above for a couple of hours but I have no idea why.

Now I’m very tired.

Nite all.