Marguerite
Active Member
G'day folks.
It's been a busy day here at home in our village. The phone started ringing this morning - a friend wanting me to hurry up with work on her book - then difficult child 1, with a welfare payments problem. I told him to put it in writing and send it to our MP (like a congressman) because the problem is severe enough and it follows on from previous problems. Plus - daughter in law has broken her foot at work!
Then the electrician rang to say they were running late, so I said I'd head for the beach. It took a while to get organised but an hour later difficult child 3 & I got to the beach and I settled down in the sun before my planned swim later. The water was really pleasant, the chill has completely gone and I would guess the water temperature is up to about 22 C (71.6 F) or more. Then ten minutes later my mobile phone rang - the electrician had arrived, early. Five minutes later we were back home and the bloke was getting down to work, installing our new induction cooktop.
While he worked (which involved running in new wires, heavier duty) I made another batch of strawberry jam. I bought some cheap strawberries in bulk yesterday and I need to cook them before they go soft.
After the electrician left, I went to have a rest - in the sun (what was left of it) to get my Vitamin D. I am so tired - not sleeping, due to pain in hips and shoulders.
The cooktop is lovely - but we only have two utensils we can use to cook on it. I'm planning on doing a swap with easy child 2/difficult child 2, she wants all our lovely (but non-induction-capable) cookware. I'm slowly loading the car, bit by bit. We had fun cooking dinner - I made satay chicken and vegetables and it cooked fast and well. It was great! They say induction is better than gas - I believe it!
I left a message on the phone of a friend from church to borrow back my spare crutches so I can lend them to daughter in law. These crutches are aluminium and don't dig into your armpits like the old wooden ones. Plus it saves her having to hire crutches.
I was just getting organised to start another batch of jam (I make it in the microwave, which is why I was able to make it while we didn't have a cooktop!) when my friend from church returned my call, so I left the jam for a bit while I walked round to collect the crutches. Now husband has taken over the kitchen for a few minutes to make his lunch for tomorrow, so I grabbed the few minutes (difficult child 3 is still eating - he's currently got dibs on this computer) to post this.
Tomorrow morning early I'm taking mother in law out to the mainland to see my GP for blood tests. I'll use the opportunity to drop the crutches in to daughter in law and swap pots & pans with easy child 2/difficult child 2. Because it's an early appointment I should be home early enough to get to the beach. However, more storms and rain are forecast (a summer curse - we get the heat, but we also get frequent big storms) so I might lose out. But summer storms are enjoyable in their own way - after a searingly hot day, the cool wind and the warm rain are refreshing. As long as it's not hailing, we often stand out in the rain to cool off. Trouble is, often there is little rain and a lot of lightning.
You may have heard of the floods inland of us - some people might see those floods as a disaster. Indeed, they have labelled it a disaster in some areas. But the farmers in those areas are jumping for joy, some of them drove their kids to the river to watch it rise. It's not only an event, but it's celebration time because a full river can be tapped for irrigation. The Castlereagh River is starting to fall at last - any more rain upstream and it will rise again but they don't think that will happen. Downstream they're all happy. Some towns upstream are spitting chips because the floods left them alone. These sort of floods are rare, decades or more between these events. Farmers show their kids and urge them, "Remember!" Maybe as their fathers did for them...
The town most affected by the floods is one we visited about 20 years ago for my nephew's wedding. Watching it on the news is strangely familiar. It was very hot and dry when we were there. I remember the wide expanse of flat country there, you can see the road going on straight ahead and disappearing over the horizon, not a bend or even a dip in the road to break the monotony. That's when you can really FEEL what a big country this is.
I miss it. It's time to go back for a visit. When the car air-conditioning is working!
Enjoy your Tuesday.
Marg
It's been a busy day here at home in our village. The phone started ringing this morning - a friend wanting me to hurry up with work on her book - then difficult child 1, with a welfare payments problem. I told him to put it in writing and send it to our MP (like a congressman) because the problem is severe enough and it follows on from previous problems. Plus - daughter in law has broken her foot at work!
Then the electrician rang to say they were running late, so I said I'd head for the beach. It took a while to get organised but an hour later difficult child 3 & I got to the beach and I settled down in the sun before my planned swim later. The water was really pleasant, the chill has completely gone and I would guess the water temperature is up to about 22 C (71.6 F) or more. Then ten minutes later my mobile phone rang - the electrician had arrived, early. Five minutes later we were back home and the bloke was getting down to work, installing our new induction cooktop.
While he worked (which involved running in new wires, heavier duty) I made another batch of strawberry jam. I bought some cheap strawberries in bulk yesterday and I need to cook them before they go soft.
After the electrician left, I went to have a rest - in the sun (what was left of it) to get my Vitamin D. I am so tired - not sleeping, due to pain in hips and shoulders.
The cooktop is lovely - but we only have two utensils we can use to cook on it. I'm planning on doing a swap with easy child 2/difficult child 2, she wants all our lovely (but non-induction-capable) cookware. I'm slowly loading the car, bit by bit. We had fun cooking dinner - I made satay chicken and vegetables and it cooked fast and well. It was great! They say induction is better than gas - I believe it!
I left a message on the phone of a friend from church to borrow back my spare crutches so I can lend them to daughter in law. These crutches are aluminium and don't dig into your armpits like the old wooden ones. Plus it saves her having to hire crutches.
I was just getting organised to start another batch of jam (I make it in the microwave, which is why I was able to make it while we didn't have a cooktop!) when my friend from church returned my call, so I left the jam for a bit while I walked round to collect the crutches. Now husband has taken over the kitchen for a few minutes to make his lunch for tomorrow, so I grabbed the few minutes (difficult child 3 is still eating - he's currently got dibs on this computer) to post this.
Tomorrow morning early I'm taking mother in law out to the mainland to see my GP for blood tests. I'll use the opportunity to drop the crutches in to daughter in law and swap pots & pans with easy child 2/difficult child 2. Because it's an early appointment I should be home early enough to get to the beach. However, more storms and rain are forecast (a summer curse - we get the heat, but we also get frequent big storms) so I might lose out. But summer storms are enjoyable in their own way - after a searingly hot day, the cool wind and the warm rain are refreshing. As long as it's not hailing, we often stand out in the rain to cool off. Trouble is, often there is little rain and a lot of lightning.
You may have heard of the floods inland of us - some people might see those floods as a disaster. Indeed, they have labelled it a disaster in some areas. But the farmers in those areas are jumping for joy, some of them drove their kids to the river to watch it rise. It's not only an event, but it's celebration time because a full river can be tapped for irrigation. The Castlereagh River is starting to fall at last - any more rain upstream and it will rise again but they don't think that will happen. Downstream they're all happy. Some towns upstream are spitting chips because the floods left them alone. These sort of floods are rare, decades or more between these events. Farmers show their kids and urge them, "Remember!" Maybe as their fathers did for them...
The town most affected by the floods is one we visited about 20 years ago for my nephew's wedding. Watching it on the news is strangely familiar. It was very hot and dry when we were there. I remember the wide expanse of flat country there, you can see the road going on straight ahead and disappearing over the horizon, not a bend or even a dip in the road to break the monotony. That's when you can really FEEL what a big country this is.
I miss it. It's time to go back for a visit. When the car air-conditioning is working!
Enjoy your Tuesday.
Marg
.
.
.
