Great to see you @MaryLouise, agreeing with WITG - yesterday was quite hot here, equal to the February record, I believe. Very warm today also. Pot plants had a good drink yesterday and I hope I won't have to water them again until Sunday, though Dad's bonsai plants will need checking tomorrow, just in case.
Have declared today a slow day after doing a lot of weeding over the last couple of days!
Days are drawing in. It's still dark at 6am, perhaps twilight just starting as I walk into town for the newspaper. It's a good temperature for walking.
"Our" python has been "sitting" on our shed roller door cover for at least 10 days now. It adjusts its position every few hours, but is not perturbed by the door being opened and closed.
Heart echocardiogram yesterday. I have to wait 12 days to see the cardiologist for a report, but the technician said that I didn't have to be taken straight to Emergency.
We are in a group supporting a Syrian refugee family. The father passed his driving test on Monday, to the great relief of us who have been driving them around for the last six months. It gives the family much more freedom to do what they like. The CRISP programme people are in the city and are generally not aware that a town of about 4000 does not have much of a bus service.
Thinking of you as you await your results @LatchKeyKid, kid and Dad go to Cardiologist next Thursday for results of recently done echo. Kid seems to be good on his current medications so we are hoping for no nasty surprises here and likewise for yourself.
Glad to hear of the recent successful driving test result and the resulting freedom that will bring for the family. It can be hard to manage just on public transport alone, where it is almost non-existent, or in our case, just too unwieldy for our needs when Cheery son was much younger and unwell. Being able to drive and having a car is a necessary evil in our city with it's sprawl.
A tad cooler today, which is appreciated as husband and I have done some garden tidying. I need to do a bit more before heading off for a shower before dinner. This morning was out the back and this afternoon is out the front of our house. Cheery husband did some edge tidying yesterday which I hope means Cheery son can do some mowing early next week.
Cheery daughter is buzzing around doing jobs on her one day weekend and Cheery son is gaming on his computer. I suspect Cheery husband is researching patching leaks on kayaks as he recently bought a 2nd hand inflatable that has a leak that needs fixing. At least he has now identified the source of the problem and if he can fix it satisfactorily, he'll have something useable rather than something that needs to go to the tip!
I am just enjoying the peace and quiet of the day and taking things slowly. I guess I'd better hunt for the dustpan and get outside to start my sweeping!
@Cheery Gardener. Thanks for all your encouraging postings on this thread. And it's good to find out more about you and your family.
Your husband sounds a bit like me. I like to fix things rather than replace them.
@Cheery Gardener that sounds like a busy few days for you. Thursday was definitely a hot day. We spent the afternoon at the funeral of the kind, but also very down-to-earth, Fr Kevin Flynn.
Now we are in Adelaide attending Writers’ Week, and visiting family. One of the sessions this afternoon was David Marr interviewing Bob Carr, Rick Morton and Rebecca Huntley. It was recorded for Late Night Live but I’m not sure what night the ABC will be broadcasting it.
Wow lil’ old Townsville has just had a 4.7 earthquake! 17 km from the CBD, UQ seismologists are saying. We’re v.close to the CBD, and we thought a truck had crashed into the house. No damage that we can see, but hats fell off the hat rack 😊 I thought that dogs alerted you before the ‘quake? Maudie snoozed through it.
Wow lil’ old Townsville has just had a 4.7 earthquake! 17 km from the CBD, UQ seismologists are saying. We’re v.close to the CBD, and we thought a truck had crashed into the house. No damage that we can see, but hats fell off the hat rack 😊 I thought that dogs alerted you before the ‘quake? Maudie snoozed through it.
I spoke to Aged Aunt yesterday, she tells me her packing to come to our fair city has been interrupted all day by texts and visitors asking her whether she needs help to pack loose items away in anticipation of the bad weather later in the week. She leaves to fly down today and I think she will beat the worst of the anticipated storm activity. I am glad she lives among people who are concerned for her and willing to provide assistance.
I love the sound of the writer's festival @WormInTheGrass, especially Rick Morton. I admire him for his work on Robodebt.
@Foaming Draught is your earthquake activity usual for that part of the country? Hopefully no further earth moving for you!
Thanks @LatchKeyKid, husband is pretty handy and likes working on projects. I am waiting on one chair to be recovered though, I hope that will happen this year. Perhaps I'll suggest it as an Easter project! Though, I suspect the new paving might be the job of choice, so it doesn't drag out too much longer. However, it is good too, to have an wet-weather option, I wouldn't want him to be bored!!
We've started tidying away things that Alfred could turn into a missile.
The mother of our Syrian refugee's family is getting scared. Their unit was flooded in 2022, but that was the only time. We are staying in touch. Must tell the father not to park his car under a tree.
After telling our refugee family they wouldn't need sandbags, a talk with their neighbours convinced us we would.
The SES ran out of sand and sandbags yesterday, but this morning we were given sandbags and told where the next load of sand was to be delivered. It eventually arrived and after we started filling our bags others helped this "old couple" with filling bags and putting them in our car. We've now sandbagged the family's unit. I hoped it's sufficiently well protected.
While not Catholic, a Carmelite brother runs a Wednesday study group; they are going through the Creed. Given the humour I've seen here I thought you may be entertained by the fact that today was the sentence "He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and buried." He ended today's study with: "See you next week in hell!"
edit: Blessed Ash Wednesday and Lent to all whom enter into it today. I went to the Cathedral at 7am which was nice.
Welcome from tropical North Queensland, @TheLament! But not among the suffering, they're a long way south (for a change). Why not go and say hello on Welcome Aboard.
LatchkeyKid -thinking of you and everyone else caught up in horrendous weather.
I am having computer issues again, this being from my tablet. If I disappear that will be why. I'm visiting the computer wizards on Monday and hope to sort things out then.
Thinking of you @LatchKeyKid in your disaster support role and the evolving and changing nature of the cyclone situation. Sounds as though it might hit land during the day, rather than at night, but the area of impact has not changed much? Don't know if I've understood that correctly.
I'm a bit concerned because Aged Aunt is in my part of the woods, which is good for her safety. What she might return to is not quite so clear at this stage, so I hope she is mentally prepared for that after her 2 weeks down here. She already says she can't cope with sorting many aspects of her life (anything stressful), so dealing with a real disaster may well be problematic. I'll be seeing her tomorrow, so might have to do some gentle probing.
Cheery husband has a sister, niece and Aunt all in the danger zone, he's contacted 2 of the 3 and they seem to have been well underway with their preparations.
Good to see you here @TheLament, Ash Wednesday sounded good.
I hope you can get your tech sorted without too much hassle @Huia.
Have been cleaning madly this morning and hopefully some baking after lunch.
Welcome, @TheLament. Sounds like you are having a busy time, @Cheery Gardener. Hope all goes well, and you can help Aged Aunt cope with whatever comes her way. @LatchKeyKid, thinking of you and all in the path of the cyclone.
We have been having a lovely time. Had dinner with all three of my siblings yesterday evening, although my sister had to charge off to a play at the Adelaide Festival Centre after an hour.
I am off shortly to hear Wesley Lowery, author of “American Whitelash” speak at Adelaide Writers Week. @Cheery Gardener you might be interested to know that in a couple of months, recordings of all this year’s sessions will be up on the Writers’ Week website. @Huia, hope your computer gets sorted for you.
If it's dead I'm going to ask them to help find me a really basic idiot proof one. I don't game, the Ship is the closest I get to social media, apart from that being able to receive and send emails is important to me.
I figure that they aren't actually selling them so, unlike shop salespeople, they don't have a vested interest in encouraging me to buy the most expensive product. Also I know the company has a good reputation locally,so I trust them to do the best for me.
@WormInTheGrass . In a few weeks time we hope to be spending a week in Adelaide with LKKson1 and partner.
It's a three day trip by car and we will be taking as much of his possessions as we can to their first house.
Prayers, LatchKeyKid, and for all impacted by Alfred. God bless your Disaster Recovery Chaplain work.
Hello TheLament! I spent a few weeks in Armidale seeking placement earlier this term (got initial yeses...them silence to my follow-ups; like Goulburn. While I am a willing part of an evil and adulterous generation that seeks after signs, and get the warning, I am pondering if this career change is a mistake... Anyway.) and what a beautiful city! And surrounds. Beautiful nature. Not sure where in the Land of Joyce 😉 you are, you don't need to say, but welcome. And that is the only Burns' poem I think I know!
@LatchKeyKid, if you are coming to Adelaide before 30 April, may I recommend the exhibition of Chihuly glass artworks in the Botanic Gardens. The outdoor displays are free during the day as is entry to the Gardens. After this evening, I will be able to tell you if the smallish charge for going in the evening is worth it.
Nice to hear from you, @Climacus. I was wondering how you are going.
Writers’ Week is now finished. It was excellent.
Thanks for the tip about the Writer's Festival talks @WormInTheGrass! I will look for those.
Having a very quiet day after spending the day with Aged Aunt yesterday. I was exhausted when I dropped her back to her hotel after 5 yesterday. It was a busy day and because I don't do much driving these days I was trying to concentrate really hard, which is hard when someone is bending your ear nonstop. No accidents, but hopefully no traffic tickets, either.
We are celebrating the Cheery husband's birthday today, which we postponed due to commitments on the actual day. Breakfast in bed and presents have been had. We will probably order dinner in tonight.
I am pleased that the cyclone appears to have been downgraded, I hope that means there will be reduced damage in the affected areas.
Today starts as a dull rainy day. We haven't had the strong winds overnight that we were expecting.
Some churches have cancelled today's services.
The Hazards Near Me app still reccomends avoiding my town, but that's where our evacuation centre is.
Our street is a rarity as being on high ground, so it's filled with cars.
I expect the clean up will start soon.
Yet sgain, Lismore is the town that has come off worst, but at least their levee banks weren't breached.
Glad to hear that when you wrote Lismore's levee banks had held. Is there much more rain expected @LatchKeyKid? I've been looking at the ABC Emergency website and was impressed by all the advice and maps found there. Your street must feel a bit like a car park, but it's great that you are on higher ground. How is your refugee family faring, not too frightened I hope.
Cheery husband has not had updates from his family, so we are assuming they are OK.
I hope your tech issues are resolving @Huia and that we'll see you soon.
Thanks @Piglet for the birthday wishes for Mr Cheery, we had postponed his birthday from Thursday, so he had breakfast in bed, then presents and Indian takeout for dinner last night. Overall, a pretty good day for him, eating licquorice bullets and building his new Lego sets.
Slept late this morning, but have been out and done some weeding and admired Mr Cheery's work on some paving, so very relaxed today and this afternoon we will stream the new Paddington movie as it's a rare weekend where Cheery daughter is not working and so we'll enjoy time together doing not very much!! We will have a public holiday tomorrow for our city's birthday and so Cheery husband might get to finish his paving and I might do a bit of plant pot refreshing as even though the petunias are holding on, they are not looking the best now!
All the best for today and the clean-up, LatchKeyKid.
Visited this rather stunning homestead [homestead to me is rather primitive; this was not] this morning; guided tour (excellent!) inside and a wander around the gardens and property. A cow by the side of the road came running [do cows run?] towards me as I drove in, then stopped; another stood defiantly in the middle of the gravel road until it had determined enough time had passed and then wandered off.
I understand the need for security. I do. But being asked 7 [!] identity questions when calling my bank seemed a bit extreme. Though Services Australia wants 7 too every time I have a study/placement/relocation question so I shouldn't complain.
(
Bank: Name, Address, DoB, Birth Place, Verbal Password, Phone, Email Address
SA: Customer Reference Number, Full Name, DoB, Address, Country of Birth, Payment, Website Challenge Questions (all 3!)
)
I sympathise.
I have to get Identity verification for thr tax office from services NSW for them to confirm my name change. I have submitted all documents and have to wait 12 weeks for the document to take to Tax.
That's terrible @LatchKeyKid, I'd want overnight service for that!! $60 would be beyond the reach of quite a few people....
Lovely blue sky this morning and I'm very thankful for the drop of rain that arrived yesterday late afternoon. I'd just planted some seedlings in the morning, so I was very grateful for the additional watering-in of those.
Enjoying a slow day to day after the busy-ness of time with Aged Aunt and gearing up for a family gathering at the weekend before she returns home. I hope I can survive that as sometimes these are not the fun events that people want them to be and I honestly don't enjoy hostessing! Organising the family members outside my own household is like herding cats!
In other news Cheery husband has recovered the last chair from our dining suite which has made me very happy. We bought the table about 4 years ago, so I thought it was probably time and means we can pack away the trim and left-over fabric as well as having the chair out of the garage! So good in many ways!!
Still grey here; went for a wander in the aptly-named Oxley Wild Rivers National Park this afternoon. Beautiful.
All the best for the family gathering, Cheery Gardener. And hurrah for useful husbands.
Those who have met me may recall my odd accent, which I have no idea how I got. The kids at school are most bemused and whenever they encounter me ask where I come from. When I say SW Sydney they, and the teachers, laugh. I mentioned elsewhere that in metalwork [I can barely screw in a lightbulb...a bad placement there; but I am only there to support, well kick up the arse, a very lazy student* who would stand just rotating a file in his hands all class if he could...] 2 kids insisted I watch a Japanese anime from last century [everything old is new again]: I am quite enjoying it. Not sure it is approved Lenten fare, but...
* I work with students who struggle or who don't know where to start -- I get that; I am not being cruel -- he is lazy. As am I. So I can identify it!
@LatchKeyKid, if you are coming to Adelaide before 30 April, may I recommend the exhibition of Chihuly glass artworks in the Botanic Gardens. The outdoor displays are free during the day as is entry to the Gardens. After this evening, I will be able to tell you if the smallish charge for going in the evening is worth it.
Thanks. We intend to try and see this.
We were lucky enough to see the Chihuly Glass in the Seattle Center in 2013.
I saw the Chihuly glass in Kew Gardens (UK equivalent Botanic Garden I'd guess) It was a stunning exhibition - some of the placements of glass and plants were breath-takingly beautiful.
Comments
Catching up with posts here, happy to see so many Ship returnees.
Have declared today a slow day after doing a lot of weeding over the last couple of days!
"Our" python has been "sitting" on our shed roller door cover for at least 10 days now. It adjusts its position every few hours, but is not perturbed by the door being opened and closed.
Heart echocardiogram yesterday. I have to wait 12 days to see the cardiologist for a report, but the technician said that I didn't have to be taken straight to Emergency.
We are in a group supporting a Syrian refugee family. The father passed his driving test on Monday, to the great relief of us who have been driving them around for the last six months. It gives the family much more freedom to do what they like. The CRISP programme people are in the city and are generally not aware that a town of about 4000 does not have much of a bus service.
Glad to hear of the recent successful driving test result and the resulting freedom that will bring for the family. It can be hard to manage just on public transport alone, where it is almost non-existent, or in our case, just too unwieldy for our needs when Cheery son was much younger and unwell. Being able to drive and having a car is a necessary evil in our city with it's sprawl.
A tad cooler today, which is appreciated as husband and I have done some garden tidying. I need to do a bit more before heading off for a shower before dinner. This morning was out the back and this afternoon is out the front of our house. Cheery husband did some edge tidying yesterday which I hope means Cheery son can do some mowing early next week.
Cheery daughter is buzzing around doing jobs on her one day weekend and Cheery son is gaming on his computer. I suspect Cheery husband is researching patching leaks on kayaks as he recently bought a 2nd hand inflatable that has a leak that needs fixing. At least he has now identified the source of the problem and if he can fix it satisfactorily, he'll have something useable rather than something that needs to go to the tip!
I am just enjoying the peace and quiet of the day and taking things slowly. I guess I'd better hunt for the dustpan and get outside to start my sweeping!
Have a good weekend
Your husband sounds a bit like me. I like to fix things rather than replace them.
Now we are in Adelaide attending Writers’ Week, and visiting family. One of the sessions this afternoon was David Marr interviewing Bob Carr, Rick Morton and Rebecca Huntley. It was recorded for Late Night Live but I’m not sure what night the ABC will be broadcasting it.
I was going to ask if the earth moved for you.
Alfie's on his way to get you excited, brother.
I love the sound of the writer's festival @WormInTheGrass, especially Rick Morton. I admire him for his work on Robodebt.
@Foaming Draught is your earthquake activity usual for that part of the country? Hopefully no further earth moving for you!
Thanks @LatchKeyKid, husband is pretty handy and likes working on projects. I am waiting on one chair to be recovered though, I hope that will happen this year. Perhaps I'll suggest it as an Easter project! Though, I suspect the new paving might be the job of choice, so it doesn't drag out too much longer. However, it is good too, to have an wet-weather option, I wouldn't want him to be bored!!
We've started tidying away things that Alfred could turn into a missile.
The mother of our Syrian refugee's family is getting scared. Their unit was flooded in 2022, but that was the only time. We are staying in touch. Must tell the father not to park his car under a tree.
Quite unusual. Hope it's not going to be added to cyclones, floods, crocs, sharks, snakes, and stingers 😊
And Northern NSW down to Grafton.
After telling our refugee family they wouldn't need sandbags, a talk with their neighbours convinced us we would.
The SES ran out of sand and sandbags yesterday, but this morning we were given sandbags and told where the next load of sand was to be delivered. It eventually arrived and after we started filling our bags others helped this "old couple" with filling bags and putting them in our car. We've now sandbagged the family's unit. I hoped it's sufficiently well protected.
Prayers and thoughts for all suffering up north.
While not Catholic, a Carmelite brother runs a Wednesday study group; they are going through the Creed. Given the humour I've seen here I thought you may be entertained by the fact that today was the sentence "He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and buried." He ended today's study with: "See you next week in hell!"
edit: Blessed Ash Wednesday and Lent to all whom enter into it today. I went to the Cathedral at 7am which was nice.
I am having computer issues again, this being from my tablet. If I disappear that will be why. I'm visiting the computer wizards on Monday and hope to sort things out then.
I'm a bit concerned because Aged Aunt is in my part of the woods, which is good for her safety. What she might return to is not quite so clear at this stage, so I hope she is mentally prepared for that after her 2 weeks down here. She already says she can't cope with sorting many aspects of her life (anything stressful), so dealing with a real disaster may well be problematic. I'll be seeing her tomorrow, so might have to do some gentle probing.
Cheery husband has a sister, niece and Aunt all in the danger zone, he's contacted 2 of the 3 and they seem to have been well underway with their preparations.
Good to see you here @TheLament, Ash Wednesday sounded good.
I hope you can get your tech sorted without too much hassle @Huia.
Have been cleaning madly this morning and hopefully some baking after lunch.
We have been having a lovely time. Had dinner with all three of my siblings yesterday evening, although my sister had to charge off to a play at the Adelaide Festival Centre after an hour.
I am off shortly to hear Wesley Lowery, author of “American Whitelash” speak at Adelaide Writers Week.
@Cheery Gardener you might be interested to know that in a couple of months, recordings of all this year’s sessions will be up on the Writers’ Week website.
@Huia, hope your computer gets sorted for you.
I figure that they aren't actually selling them so, unlike shop salespeople, they don't have a vested interest in encouraging me to buy the most expensive product. Also I know the company has a good reputation locally,so I trust them to do the best for me.
It's a three day trip by car and we will be taking as much of his possessions as we can to their first house.
Hello TheLament! I spent a few weeks in Armidale seeking placement earlier this term (got initial yeses...them silence to my follow-ups; like Goulburn. While I am a willing part of an evil and adulterous generation that seeks after signs, and get the warning, I am pondering if this career change is a mistake... Anyway.) and what a beautiful city! And surrounds. Beautiful nature. Not sure where in the Land of Joyce 😉 you are, you don't need to say, but welcome. And that is the only Burns' poem I think I know!
All the best with the computer issues, Huia!
Enjoy Adelaide WormInTheGrass!
Nice to hear from you, @Climacus. I was wondering how you are going.
Writers’ Week is now finished. It was excellent.
Stay safe those in Alfred's way.
Having a very quiet day after spending the day with Aged Aunt yesterday. I was exhausted when I dropped her back to her hotel after 5 yesterday. It was a busy day and because I don't do much driving these days I was trying to concentrate really hard, which is hard when someone is bending your ear nonstop. No accidents, but hopefully no traffic tickets, either.
We are celebrating the Cheery husband's birthday today, which we postponed due to commitments on the actual day. Breakfast in bed and presents have been had. We will probably order dinner in tonight.
I am pleased that the cyclone appears to have been downgraded, I hope that means there will be reduced damage in the affected areas.
Some churches have cancelled today's services.
The Hazards Near Me app still reccomends avoiding my town, but that's where our evacuation centre is.
Our street is a rarity as being on high ground, so it's filled with cars.
I expect the clean up will start soon.
Yet sgain, Lismore is the town that has come off worst, but at least their levee banks weren't breached.
Cheery husband has not had updates from his family, so we are assuming they are OK.
I hope your tech issues are resolving @Huia and that we'll see you soon.
Thanks @Piglet for the birthday wishes for Mr Cheery, we had postponed his birthday from Thursday, so he had breakfast in bed, then presents and Indian takeout for dinner last night. Overall, a pretty good day for him, eating licquorice bullets and building his new Lego sets.
Slept late this morning, but have been out and done some weeding and admired Mr Cheery's work on some paving, so very relaxed today and this afternoon we will stream the new Paddington movie as it's a rare weekend where Cheery daughter is not working and so we'll enjoy time together doing not very much!! We will have a public holiday tomorrow for our city's birthday and so Cheery husband might get to finish his paving and I might do a bit of plant pot refreshing as even though the petunias are holding on, they are not looking the best now!
All the best for today and the clean-up, LatchKeyKid.
Visited this rather stunning homestead [homestead to me is rather primitive; this was not] this morning; guided tour (excellent!) inside and a wander around the gardens and property. A cow by the side of the road came running [do cows run?] towards me as I drove in, then stopped; another stood defiantly in the middle of the gravel road until it had determined enough time had passed and then wandered off.
(
Bank: Name, Address, DoB, Birth Place, Verbal Password, Phone, Email Address
SA: Customer Reference Number, Full Name, DoB, Address, Country of Birth, Payment, Website Challenge Questions (all 3!)
)
I have to get Identity verification for thr tax office from services NSW for them to confirm my name change. I have submitted all documents and have to wait 12 weeks for the document to take to Tax.
I could pay an extra $60 to reduce the time to 7 weeks!
A bargain! Who wouldn't take them up on that offer?
Lovely blue sky this morning and I'm very thankful for the drop of rain that arrived yesterday late afternoon. I'd just planted some seedlings in the morning, so I was very grateful for the additional watering-in of those.
Enjoying a slow day to day after the busy-ness of time with Aged Aunt and gearing up for a family gathering at the weekend before she returns home. I hope I can survive that as sometimes these are not the fun events that people want them to be and I honestly don't enjoy hostessing! Organising the family members outside my own household is like herding cats!
In other news Cheery husband has recovered the last chair from our dining suite which has made me very happy. We bought the table about 4 years ago, so I thought it was probably time and means we can pack away the trim and left-over fabric as well as having the chair out of the garage! So good in many ways!!
All the best for the family gathering, Cheery Gardener. And hurrah for useful husbands.
Those who have met me may recall my odd accent, which I have no idea how I got. The kids at school are most bemused and whenever they encounter me ask where I come from. When I say SW Sydney they, and the teachers, laugh. I mentioned elsewhere that in metalwork [I can barely screw in a lightbulb...a bad placement there; but I am only there to support, well kick up the arse, a very lazy student* who would stand just rotating a file in his hands all class if he could...] 2 kids insisted I watch a Japanese anime from last century [everything old is new again]: I am quite enjoying it. Not sure it is approved Lenten fare, but...
* I work with students who struggle or who don't know where to start -- I get that; I am not being cruel -- he is lazy. As am I. So I can identify it!
Thanks. We intend to try and see this.
We were lucky enough to see the Chihuly Glass in the Seattle Center in 2013.