Drama Drama

One in 35

Some time this morning when Adoring Husband turned on the TV, the screen turned pink and he had to reset the Foxtel IQ box.

Once reset, there was no sound at all.

When switched to Netflix or Prime Video or Stan, the sound was fine, but zip on Foxtel.

I went through ALL the settings but couldn’t find anything wrong. I checked the mute buttons on both remote controls. I checked the Foxtel settings AND the TV settings. I checked on Google for problem solving, tried all the suggestions to no avail.

Finally, I got onto the Foxtel website and opened the live chat to ask the questions.

I spoke to Ava and provided personal details to prove we were Foxtel customers. She passed me on to Jikka who asked a few questions and then passed me on to Triss.

Triss asked me to change the position of the HDMI cable and then fix the setting to show the new position, which I did. She then reset the box from her end … to no avail. She then passed me on to Leio.

Leio asked me to go into settings and change the audio output to a different setting. He then reset the box from his end … to no avail.

We tried a couple of other things and he conceded defeat and told me we needed a new box, which he ordered and told me it would arrive next Wednesday. Mind you, the box we have is only one year old!

We ended that chat.

I wondered why the TV in the bedroom worked ok with the sound in Foxtel so I opened a new chat and spoke to Ava (again) who passed me on to Nic.

I asked why the smart TV in the bedroom had sound for Foxtel and was working perfectly - apparently it works via an app. Who knew? Not me.

By this time, almost two hours had passed.

AH then discovered that the TV was not connected to the WIFI so he spent considerable time fixing that - it had nothing to do with the sound though.

Then, for no apparent reason, AH pressed the microphone button on the Foxtel remote control and said “Turn sound on”. 

Instantly, the sound came on!

What the!?!?

So I contacted Foxtel, speaking to Jessica, and cancelled the order for the new box. Jessica didn’t even ask how we resolved the issue.

So six different operators were unable to resolve our issue in two hours.

I was exhausted but grateful that AH tried something random and stupid which worked.

Now I need to sleep!

Lemons from our 1 yr old tree!

Nite all.

Garden Lunch

I cooked brekky and played with Harley before making myself presentable for lunch with Best Cousin in the World.

BGWLBH came with me and we sat with coffee for half an hour before she left for The Bay. I sat for twenty minutes by myself before BCITW arrived with her friend Big M.

After all that she has been through in the last six months, it was an emotional greeting because we hadn’t seen each other since she was first diagnosed in February.

There was lots to catch up on. Lots of laughing. Lots of venting. Lots of swearing. Lots of questioning. Lots of eye rolling. Lots of moaning and groaning. More laughter than anything else because we have to find the humour in even the worst of situations.

We had three good hours together.

The food was delicious and the service was friendly and warm. The location was outdoors and fresh. The company was perfect.

I phoned Adoring Husband and within 20 minutes, he was pulling into the carpark.

Warm hugs goodbye.

AH and I drove across the main road to pick up our FROG box.

We beat BGWLBH home by 5 minutes.

Harley was left alone for the first time. We were gone for about 45 minutes and there was no barking, howling, digging or destruction. This is a positive sign!

When we arrived home, he wagged his tail so strongly, he knocked two large jars off a low shelf and they shattered all over the kitchen and family room floor. 

We swept, vacuumed and mopped the entire area and STILL found a piece of broken glass a couple of hours later!

The smash scared the hell out of Harley!

I made zucchini slice, lamb rissoles and garden salad for dinner.

It’s now 11pm and I’m feeling very weary. It has been a fabulous, but emotionally draining day.

Nite all.

Average Day

A day like any other day.

There is a chicken bone broth in the slow cooker currently moving into its 13th hour of gentle simmering.

I spent 90 minutes on the phone with Bubbles wishing her a belated happy birthday.

It was Taco Tuesday - nice and easy.

Harley has been strangely affectionate/clingy/loving today.

Adoring Husband drove into The Bay for a Drs appointment.

It’s already after 11pm and tomorrow I’m spending time with Best Cousin in the World over lunch so I should get some sleep.

Nite all.

Out for the Outage

The planned power outage started 20 minutes later than advised and finished 20 minutes later than advised.

BGWLBH and I left town ten minutes after is started and arrived home ten minutes after it ended.

We did the usual haunts but started at Super Cheap Auto where we purchased new windscreen wipers and had them installed by the gentleman from the shop. It seems that they have good sales for windscreen wipers on rainy days! We had to wait for two others before us!

It felt like the temperature dropped about 5°C while we were in the shop and the wind whipped up which provided a wind chill factor that had me wishing I’d worn warmer clothes. Luckily I wore boots - as long as my feet are warm, I can handle the cold.

It was cold, wet and windy all day.

We arrived home in time to unpack our shopping, make a cup of tea, sit down for half an hour and then prepare dinner - spaghetti bolognese with side salad.

We watched the John Farnham movie ‘Finding the Voice’ tonight. Very moving. I love John Farnham. Always have (since I was 12yrs old and saw him in concert) and always will.

It’s Bubbles’ birthday today. I didn’t get to chat with her but hopefully I will tomorrow. She hasn’t responded to my “when can I call you?” messages so hopefully that means she’s having a good time, and hopefully she received her birthday presents in the mail today!

It’s also The Motivator’s birthday! I left a singing birthday voicemail for her when she didn’t answer her phone.

Now it’s time for me to sleep.

Nite all.

Funny Insults

These insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to  4-letter words. Insults then, had some class! 

1.  "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play.  Bring a  friend … if you have one."

     - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill.  

 "Cannot possibly attend first night, I will attend the second...If  there is one."  -  Winston Churchill, in response.   

2.   A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease."

     "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress." 

3. "He had delusions of adequacy."  -  Walter Kerr 

4. "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."  -  Clarence Darrow

5. "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."

     -  William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway). 

6. "Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it."  -  Moses Hadas

7. "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."  -  Mark Twain

8. "He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.." -  Oscar Wilde 

9. "I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."  -  Stephen Bishop

10. "He is a self-made man and worships his creator."  -  John Bright

11. "I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."  -  Irvin S. Cobb 

12. "He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others."  -  Samuel Johnson 

13.  "He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."  -  Paul  Keating

14.  "In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily."  -  Charles, Count Talleyrand

15.  "He loves nature in spite of what it did to him."  -  Forrest Tucker 

16.  "Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?"  -  Mark Twain 

17. "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."  -  Mae West

18.  "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."  -  Oscar Wilde

19. "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination."  -  Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

20.  "He has Van Gogh's ear for music."  -  Billy Wilder

21. "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening.  But this wasn't  it."  -  Groucho  Marx.

22."He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."  -  Winston Churchill

Some of those are fabulous and some, not so much 😋

I threw the ball for Harley 248 times this morning.

I calculated that he ran 5 kms.

He did a full run around the pool 108 times - it’s approximately 25 metres each run = 2.7 kms

He did 140 runs across or along the pool - it’s approximately 16 metres return either way = 2.24 kms

AND he swam 15 full laps of the pool = 120 metres.

He still wasn’t worn out because BGWLBH kicked his ball around the yard with him a couple of dozen times later in the morning.

This afternoon I spent another 20 minutes throwing his soccer ball around the yard.

He certainly gets plenty of exercise!

I received a call from Rebel Mardi this afternoon and we chatted for about 45 minutes. I miss her. It was lovely to catch up with all her news and to hear her friendly voice. I wish we lived closer for hugs and coffee.

Nothing else of interest. Footy. Cooking. 

Tomorrow will include a six hour power outage so BGWLBH and I will be heading into The Bay to avoid the discomfort while Adoring Husband stays home with Harley.

It’s now 11pm so sleep time for me.

Nite all.

Feeling Peaceful

Friday was uneventful.

Harley play, a bit of art play, cooking breakfast and dinner, watching football.

Here is the pic of my seahorses as mentioned in Thursdays blog post. It has caused me a bit of grief but I’m getting there.

Today was meditation day at Dallarnil.

Heart of Gold picked me up early and we chatted nonstop all the way there.

We had 90 minutes of meditation and discussions about ‘not quitting’ and ‘giving up stuff’ followed by 90 minutes of tea and cookies and D & M discussions about life in general.

Another 80 minutes drive home with us chattering away still!

I arrived home just before 2pm so I spent 30 minutes playing with Harley outside and Adoring Husband made a cup of tea for me to take into the lounge room ready for the football.

It was a relaxing afternoon of footy and I made baked Dijon chicken thigh fillets for dinner with sweet potato chips, beans and broccoli.

Is almost 11.30pm so I think I’m ready to sleep.

Nite all.

Not Much

After cooking breakfast, playing with Harley and bringing my clothes in from the line, I spent a couple of hours in the art room working on my seahorses. I forgot to take a pic so I’ll do it tomorrow and post it here.

I cooked chicken Maryland in a creamy wine bacon garlic and thyme sauce for dinner.

I’ve already lost the first game in the tipping comp for this weekend which is a bummer.

Now it’s almost 11.30pm so it’s sleep time for me.

Nite all.