Don't do it! You have been warned

I have crawled up off the floor and clawed my way onto a chair to write the final chapter in this, the Cowra Prowse's DIY removal job from dry old Cowra to moist and green Lismore. At great personal effort and racked with a variety of aches, pains and stiffness I will attempt to describe the last fortnight now that the molecules of my body have finally caught up with my mind.

Firstly, let me say to those of you who are entertaining the idea of transporting your worldly goods 1000km away in a rented trailer to save a few bucks - DON'T! And, dear friends, I will tell you why. Mind you, it was not me that voiciferously and with great enthusiasm made the fateful decision to not bother and get quotes from a removalist or three. Ho hum....

So, 6 weeks to go until settlement and we had a look around the house to see how much stuff we had that we really wanted to take with us, how much could be donated to the salvos and, since there was just the two of us and two dogs (they don't really have a lot of stuff) we thought, yeah, a couple of trips in a large trailer with those cage sides should get it all there - two trips over the next 3 weeks - then we will have a couple of weeks to relax living in the caravan in the back yard and waiting patiently for settlement to occur on 9 December. I have now learned that hindsight has perfect vision and of course - as you do - we underestimated the volume of the contents of this 2 bedroom house with two middle aged retiree's collections of bits and bobs.

You will have by now read the previous post describing in gory detail the first hair raising trip with the heaviest load of precious possessions and no doubt were amazed at our good fortune to survive that nightmare drive in the dark and pouring rain down the Bruxner Highway (goat track).

Ok, so two weeks ago we rented the trailer again and no matter how hard we tried, we just could not cram everything in for that second, and initially final, run north. I should say at this stage that as we are driving 1000km each way, it takes roughly 13 to 15 hours depending on how many food, fuel and pee stops you take. Having a couple of dogs you have to factor in at least a few more pee stops. And of course, it is prudent to stay a few days at our destination before the long drive back to soak up the delightful atmosphere of the lush green countryside and to catch up with our gracious host and our niece and nephew.

The realisation dawned on us as we gazed around the living room at the rest of the stuff that was not already in the trailer was that yes, we would have to do a third trip and settlement time was fast approaching. We were discussing the idea of borrowing a trailer and saving the cost of 5 days rental, but the club's trailer was not large enough and by the look of the bulging tyres once it had been packed by he who is most optimistic, it was doubtful that the old thing would get us there and back (coff, wheeze) and the potential cost of a breakdown far outweighed the cost of renting the tried and true trailer for a third time. Quickly he looked at his watch and it was 10 to five so he jumped on the phone to the rental place and begged to rent the large trailer once again but he was told that it was not available until 2 days time. OMG, that left only 7 days until settlement. We'll take it, we said.

And so it came to pass that we did collect the trailer last Wednesday, packed the bejesus out of it, tying dining chairs in a most ingenious jigsaw fashion so that their legs did not poke holes in the covers, threw in all the bits and pieces we could find and wrapped the whole darn lot in three layers of blue tarp which were then tied decoratively with a multitude of coloured ropes (he he - did you like that???) It took the best part of 6 hours such was the difficulty of packing odd shaped items.

Wednesday night was spent at the in-laws house in Mudgee so we could get a 3 hour head start on the trip the next morning at 6am. A brilliant idea (he does have them sometimes) as we arrived in Lismore while it was still light. We spent Friday and Saturday relaxing and doing a little shopping in town then drove back to Cowra yesterday in record time of 13 hours. Thank goodness we were actually driving at the speed limit when we passed the two highway patrols. Phew!

So dear readers, we now have until 3pm the day after tomorrow until settlement takes place and in that time we need to clean the house, pack the caravan and do all things necessary to vacate the premises first thing Thursday morning. So much for my week of R&R.

I am so excited, our new life begins in 3 days. We will be debt free with a modest sum in the bank, a roof over our heads (on wheels that is) and a lovely place to park it for as long as we like (thanks Letty, we love you xx) and the possibility of doing anything that takes our fancy. I am looking forward to those organic veggies that my dear other half is planning to grow and anything else that life has to offer.

The moral of this story? Just get at least 3 quotes from reputable removalists to have the bloody job done once, and for all and just pay the bastards to do all the lifting and carrying. Oh, my aching back.........ooooooohhhhhh ........

The first removal trip

Great horny toads, the time is counting down and we have so much to do. We have officially sold the house and settlement is due on 9 December. In order not to leave things to the last minute and get ourselves in a tizzy, we have already taken half our goods and chattels to Lismore. We also did not want to pay a removalist several thousand dollars to do a job that we could do given enough time. So, we hired a large trailer last week and with the help of another big strong bloke, Matt managed to load about 2 tonnes into it and secured the lot with a huge tarp and lots of rope. Next morning at crack of dawn we packed the dogs into the back of the wagon and hit the road for a 1000km trip to Lismore. This is how it went...

Not quite sunrise and 10 minutes after leaving Cowra a small kangaroo magically appeared at the side of the Canowindra road and jumped right out into the passenger side front bumper bar doing himself some fatal damage and breaking the plastic bumperbar. After surveying the damage to the car which was minor really, a few metres of gaffer tape made a temporary repair job and we were back on the road. We quickly discovered that pulling 2 tonnes uses more fuel than we realised and although we had planned to refuel at Coolah, we had to detour to Dunnedoo instead.

Several stops for dogs to pee and walk around (and us too) and we were coming into Tenterfield just as it was getting dark. I noticed patches of white stuff at the sides of the road and in the paddocks which turned out to be remnants of the large hail storm that had passed through just before us. Phew! Thank God we missed that I said to hubby. However unbeknowns to us another storm was on the way (the one that flooded Coffs Harbour again) and whilst we were driving down to Casino on the Bruxner Highway, it hit. I should say at this stage that "highway" was a way too generous term for the skinny little winding road we were travelling on. There were road works in parts as well and I noted the sign that said Casino was just over 100km away.

Driving down hill, in the dark pulling a 2 tonne loaded trailer, with the wipers on double speed in torrential rain was no picnic and at one stage we had to pull over for 15 minutes as we could not even see the front of the car. Were we scared? You bet your bloody boots we were. The dogs didn't seem to mind much. They were pretty tired by that stage anyway.

We limped into Casino about 8.30pm and headed for Maccas for a coffee and burger and did the usual phone calls to nervous parents assuring them we were fine and had survived the trip. We made it to Loretta's place about 9.30pm where it was still raining so after parking under a carefully rigged tarp, we extracted the queen bed mattress and dragged it into the spare room so we had something to sleep on. Amazingly, with the amount of rain we drove through, very little managed to penetrate the tarp Matt had covered the load with.

We unpacked the trailer the next day and after a couple more days rest and catching up, Sunday morning we headed back to Cowra. The return trip was a lot faster and much less fuel was required. We made it home in time to watch Australian Idol.

Now, we have booked the trailer again for 5 days on 23rd when we intend to take the rest of our stuff to Lismore and that, my friends will be a whole other story so stay tuned for the next episode.

This Monday however, we are taking delivery of our caravan so we can move into it. So, all things being equal, we will be able to spend the 9 days of December living in the back yard, resting and getting ready to leave Cowra for good once settlement has taken place. Life is good, the alternative sucks big time. Until next time dear readers, adios!

We have sold the house!!!

It is slightly premature to say this but.... we have sold the house - yay!! I really should wait until contracts have been exchanged but Monday we met the purchasers and had a cuppa and a long chat with them. They are happy and are going ahead.

Given the current real estate climate which is not real good plus the bad publicity Cowra has received over the last 16 months thanks to John Walsh murdering his wife and grandchildren, and then the fact that at least 1/3 of Cowra is for sale, we accepted an offer of what we paid for the house 5.5 years ago.

This is a good thing for both vendor and purchaser. Us because we can move on to the next phase of our life living in a caravan on Loretta's land near Nimbin and be debt free while we build a granny flat on the end of her shed and we will be closer to all medical services. The purchasers because they will own their own home rather than keep renting. We are also selling them about 3/4 of our furniture as they are in a unit and don't have a lot of stuff. The bonus for us is that we don't have to pay a removalist several grand to transport it all to Loretta's and for it to be storred in the shed until we build our granny flat. So everyone is happy.

We will take a trip to see Loretta in early November and take a trailer load of stuff with us. We will be taking the dogs too as they need to see where they will be living plus they need to meet Loretta's animals which consist of 2 horses, 4 cats and Peg the red kelpie. That whole exercise should be interesting to say the least. No doubt the animals will all sort themselves out in the long run and I will do my best to stay calm and not let Rocky and Lou Lou sense stress or tension otherwise they will want to protect me.

I have already started packing up my craft things as from past experience, you need to start early to avoid a last minute rush and stress-out but I am waiting until official notification of exchange before I really get into packing everything else.

All things considered, we have done well and will have a tidy little sum left over after paying the bank back. Unfortunately, the bank does not give a pensioner discount on the fees they are charging to pay out the mortgage early but if you don't ask, you don't get.

So, we are both doing a little happy dance in anticipation of exchange sometime next week. More soon....

Mortality

It had to happen some day but I was not really prepared for it to be so soon. Last week I attended a funeral for a girlfriend who was the same age as me - 56. This was the first funeral of my generation of friends that I had attended and the thing that makes me so sad is that it could possibly have been prevented. Breast cancer, which affects so many people had crept up and claimed her all because, like many others, she put off going to the doctor when she found the initial lump. Why do they do that with all the publicity these days? I know Dawn was not the sort who liked going to the doctor unless there was no other solution but I suspect it was probably sheer fear, fear of what the doctor will say, fear of what treatment will be required and fear of your own mortality.

My dear friend Dawn and I met in 1976 when we were in our early 20s and living in share accommodation in Paddington. She was going with Gary, they lived in number 51 and I was going with Tony, we lived in number 47 Elizabeth Street. We became firm friends and had great times going to the pub on the corner or to Angelos Pizza parlor, the Paddo markets. Then there were regular Sunday lunches at no. 47 where we had up to a dozen friends turn up for a feed. A whole lot of good, fun times.

Dawn and I both married these blokes of ours between 1978 and 1979 and Dawn went on to have 2 beautiful daughters, Kylie (now 29) and Amanda (now 28). The four of us kept in touch over the years spending many Christmas's and long weekends at Gary and Dawn's house they built on the lake at the central coast until sometime in the early 1990s, we all separated and subsequently divorced. Such is life, you grow, you move on and life changes for everyone.

I had lost touch with Dawn over the past 10 years and had made a new life for myself meeting and marrying Matthew who turned out to be my true love. Having gotten into the internet a few years ago, I found Kylie and Amanda on facebook a year ago and it was then I learned of Dawn's cancer. She was not a computer person so I immediately phoned my old friend and began catching up on our last 10 years. Little did I realise during that first long conversation that 12 months later I would be attending her funeral. I phoned every few months and we had a lovely chat. I never got the impression from her that she was suffering though she had had both breasts removed and was undergoing chemo for bone cancer. She was always a positive and upbeat person yet quiet and dignified. Not one to complain about her lot in life. Dawn was a great sketch artist working mainly in charcoal and pencil and I admired her for her talent.

So, after many years, last week I caught up with Gary again, Kylie and Amanda, Kerry (Dawn's sister), Diane (Dawn's mother) and a few other folk from way back when. What a crying shame that it had to be at Dawn's funeral. It was a lovely service, some of Dawn's artwork was on display along with a digital display of photos of my friend from when the girls were little. I am not ashamed to say that I cried a lot for her. Still I can look back and say what a wonderful person she was, what a truly remarkable artist she was and what a wonderful mother to those two delightful daughters. I will miss her.

Finally, rest in peace Dawn and know that you were loved by many. Also, ladies, check those boobies regularly and if you do find something suspicious, get yourself to the doctor immediately. I don't want to attend any more funerals for friends my own age until we are all 80 something.

Spring is sprung the blossoms are out

Ahhh..... Spring. Don't you just love spring. The weather is a little warmer, the days are longer, the blossoms are opening on the plum and cherry trees, the buds on the wisteria are growing and will soon flower, the sneezes start and the nose turns into a tap. Well, I have never suffered from hay fever until I moved to Cowra but the last 2 years have been quite uncomfortable. Sneezes and sniffles most mornings and they are gradually getting worse as more blossoms bloom. Of course these days I have to be very careful about how I sneeze because it was just over 12 months ago I fractured my T7 vertebra with a big sneeze. Not nice but thankfully I think it has calcified by now though I am left with some residual aches and pain if I over do it. Nothing that a 15 minute lie down won't cure.

I have had to Baygon the scrap/craft room today as a troop of ants had decided to take a shortcut across one of the walls. I found the odd ant on my work table over the last few weeks and thought little about it but today I noticed a trail of the little blighters across one wall when I moved something on the table. So now the room is out of bounds until the smell dissipates. A couple of days should do it. So here I am at the computer instead.

It is September already and I am wondering if we will be lucky enough to sell the house now that the weather has warmed up and the garden is starting to look good again. I had really hoped that we could be in Lismore for Christmas and at this point in time that is still possible if a buyer appears in the next few weeks. If not, no matter, someone will come along eventually. So dear readers, cross your fingers for us and perhaps, if you know anyone who wants to move to the country, tell them about our house for sale.

Ah..... Spring ............... aahhchoooooo.............

Oh Doctor, I'm in trouble

There has been a shortage of doctors in country areas for years and Cowra is no exception. My chosen GP - let's call him Dr Dave - is so busy that it takes literally months to get an appointment to see him in the usual way. The usual way is:

* ring the surgery and ask for an appointment with Dr Dave. (12 months ago there was a 6 week waiting list.) - today it is 3 months wait.
* if the ailment is serious, ask to see another doctor.
* an appointment is made, usually that day, to see one of the junior or foreign doctors. (No racial slur intended), or
* get told to come in and get your name on the "express lane" which is a list of patients who just turn up and get seen by whichever doctor(s) are rostered to take care of this. You wait as long as necessary so bring a good book. Don't get me wrong, all the doctors are qualified and competent but I prefer to see the same doctor each time if possinle as they know about my various aimlents and problems without me having to explain it all or them having to read the voluminous material about me that is on their computer.

However, for those in the know like me, there is the sneaky way:
* Dr Dave only works 3 days a week and I know which 3 days, one being Mondays.
* My neighbour across the road works part time on the reception desk, bless her, and she has filled me in on the sneaky way.
*Call Monday at 8.30am and Dr Dave has 2 appointments during the day that are saved for the first 2 patients knowledgeable in the sneaky way of doing things, to see him. Only 2 so if you are caller number 3 - bad luck to you!

(I should mention at this stage that all the senior doctors including Dr Dave, are rostered on call at the hospital regularly so if they get called away for an emergency or to deliver a baby while you are waiting for your appointment you made weeks and even months ago, you have to wait until they get back or see another doctor)

Well, yesterday a minor miracle happened. I have been suffering from terrible back and leg pain for a few weeks now and my next "usual way" appointment with Dr Dave is 12 November. Yesterday being Monday, I was on the phone promptly at 8.30am and after several tries, I got through and asked for one of Dr Dave's 2 appointments. The receptionist told me Dr Dave was on call at the hospital so was not taking any appointments. Bummer! I was disappointed but I did ask her to email him and ask him to book me in for an epidural steriod injection as he had done this for me about 18 months ago during another episode of back pain and I felt that it had it really made a difference. I then moped about the house resigned to another day or 10 of achy leg and back.

However, an hour later the phone rang and the receptionist said "Dr Dave will see you at 10.15am" - yippee - I couldn't believe it. I rocked up at 10.10am to see him and only waited 15 minutes. Almost always when you have an appointment with Dr Dave, an hour's wait at least is the norm. I get in to see him and he says "I am on call at the hospital anyway, why don't you come up there at 2pm and I will do the injection then." A-bloody-mazing! It is usually a 2 to 3 week wait for this procedure. I couldn't believe my luck.

Needless to say, 2pm I was there with bells on and had my injection. I had to stay there 3 hours until the local anaesthetic had subsided. It makes both legs and your backside numb, something like having a needle at the dentist and they won't let you get out of bed until your legs start functioning again.

Today I woke after a good sleep and feel a lot better. Now the way my luck is running, I had better go out and buy a couple of lottery tickets as I may just win and when I do win the big one, I will sponsor a program to train more doctors with the proviso that they come and work in the country. Lord knows we need more doctors as the population increases - especially the aged population which I am rapidly becoming part of.

Happy days to you all............

Cheap Italian eats in the 1980s

I was thinking the other day about the wonderful Italian food I used to have when I was living in Paddington between 1979 and 1991. A lifetime ago it seems as so much has happened since I came to my senses and divorced Mr Wrong in 1991 and left town. However the memories of Little Italy, sandwiched between William and Oxford Streets, Darlinghurst that I have will live on forever. It has been 18 years since I was last there but I believe there are a few of the old restaurants and cafes still there, still serving good, solid home style Italian food and delightfully strong and aromatic coffee with gelato in every flavour on the side. A little more pricey these days of course, but still worth a visit.

Bill & Toni's was a favourite open 7 days a week, with it's coffee and gelato on the ground floor and where you would queue up the stairs till you reached the dining area on the first floor for lunch or dinner. The place was packed every time I was there. There were at least a dozen tables seating 4 or 6 scattered around the floor all filled with diners. No seat ever got cold there for as soon as there was an empty seat available, it was filled by someone in the queue. You always had to share a table unless you came with a group of friends, but it was a nice way to meet people too. No mucking around, the service was fast and you ate fast because there was still that queue up the stairs full of hungry people waiting for your seat. It was generally a 2 course meal of pasta followed by a meat, chicken or fish dish, all served with a large bowl of crisp iceberg lettuce lightly dressed with a vinegary dressing. It was sooo good and I could never quite copy the same tasting salad dressing at home. Two pastas and 3 or 4 mains only to choose from. Made it simple for the chef I suppose but the food was always good. A fixed price of $8 per person ($9 if you had the schnitzel) was a bargain in those days when I was of an age where I was earning reasonably good money working full time as a legal secretary. The house specialty was schintzel and cheese, a very popular dish. Beef schnitzel crumbed and deep fried then topped with a little bolognaise sauce and cheese, grilled till the cheese was melted and bubbly. My God my mouth is watering as I type this. I must have eaten there dozens of times and I never had a crook feed. Now whilst Bill & Toni's was good there was another establishment that was even better and much cheaper, just down the road.

To all outward appearances, it was just another old two storey house in need of a coat of paint, on the corner of Stanley Street. No signs, no indication that it was a restaurant at all. In fact, calling it a restaurant would not be correct either. It was known by various names. To me it was called "Slys" (because it operated on the sly) but it was also know as "Nazore"(sp?) (Italian for "nose") because the cook had a big one, a real honker. But it was also know as "Hole in the Wall" to others. There lived a portly, middle aged Italian bloke who was the cook and his 3 kids who waited on the tables. Every night he opened the front room of his house and fed anyone who came in and had $5, whatever was on the menu that night. You had to enter via the gate in the side fence then cross the back yard, go up the path past the laundry and into the house, past the kitchen where "Nazore" was sweating over a hot stove and into the dining area. More often than not you would have to queue up that path and wait your turn but it was worth the wait every time.

For your $5 you would get pasta of the day, a main, bread, lettuce and wine, yes WINE was free with your meal. It was red or white in flagons plonked on the table by the kid waiters who really worked hard. It was pretty good wine to wash your meal down with. I liked the red best. The meals were large servings of good, Italian, peasant food and the place was full 7 nights a week. You could help yourself to a piece of fruit as you left from a large basket by the door. I ate there almost every week for a couple of years. The atmosphere was what I would imagine would be like in Italy at a big family gathering, lots of talk, laughter, a general buzz of good vibes and the miriad of delicious aromas wafting out of the kitchen.

I don't know how long "Slys" was in business for and whether or not the authorities caught up with "Nazore" but that is one place I will remember for the rest of my life. They don't (or can't) make 'em like that any more.

Ciao for now

The Real Estate Blues

This is our beautiful hallway painted expertly by my dear husband with hand crafted quilts on the wall from my friend Marilyn in Ohio. Special quilt hangers that fit on the picture rail in animal shapes also hand carved and painted by my multi-talented husband. I didn't know he was artistic until this year.

So far 2 lookers for the house and no offers. Not really surprised as winter does seem to deter house hunting for some. Plus it seems that half of Cowra is on the market so prices are low and buyers are thin on the ground. We did drop the price a tad after a similar house in the next street sold at auction last weekend for $145k. Shocked! We are getting impatient to move north. Might have something to do with the weather - brrrrr.....

Nevertheless, our hopes are high for a timely sale and we have our lifestyle change to look forward to once the money is available. The house is a unique place with so many things going for it and that special person who will fall in love with the place on first glance has yet to materialise, but they will, dear reader, they will. Bwahahahah - *wrings hands with glee* - Oh well, you have to be positive or you may as well cut your throat.

Keep on Smiling........

For sale - one federation style house in Cowra

We finally have the house on the market and have had our first inspection last weekend. I was so excited to see the house on the web (http://www.realestate.com.au/ and search Cowra then look for the house with the heading "easy walk to town"). The photos turned out really well and the old place looks great. The first inspection was by a young couple with 3 girls. Unfortunately for us they have their house for sale as well and naturally, must sell before they can buy. They seemed keen as the second bedroom and sleepouts would make a great girls bed and playrooms.

The sign is on the fence and we are willing a buyer with a fat wallet to materialise and take the house off our hands. The orange tree is laden with sweet, juicy fruit and thanks to the recent rain, the garden is looking wonderful.

So if you have been thinking about a "tree change" now is the time. Come to Cowra and for a measily $220,000.00 you can have this beauty on a 1011sqm block only 2 blocks from Woolworths.

Any takers???

The Foot Saga

It continues....... after a visit to the surgeon a couple of weeks ago, I have decided NOT to go under the knife. He said 5% of them don't work, 5% chance of bone infection, by fusing one joint the surrounding joints get extra strain and will eventually break down. It is 8 weeks in plaster with no guarantee of success. The waiting list for surgery is 12 months minimum. So, I am going to have a couple more cortisone injections on 15 June and see how they go. It can only be an improvement on what I have now.

The pain is mentally and physically draining and I am fondly reminiscing about the days when I used to be able to walk around the park with the dogs. I am flat out doing a circuit of Woolworths these days before I start limping. My foot wear consists of slippers and one pair of sturdy laceup shoes from the Athlete's Foot. The rest are unwearable.

Well, no more complaining about the bloody foot. I am stuck with it and I will try my best to just live with it. "What can't be cured, must be endured".

Shit!

My $500 foot

Regular readers of my blog will recall that I have a crook left foot. Well, it is worse now as I have osteoarthritis in the TMT joints. I can't walk very well and am limited to 2 pairs of shoes. All my fashion ones are gathering dust in the wardrobe. I am almost at the point where I need a stick to get around. Anyway, I have bitten the bullet and made another appointment with the orthopedic surgeon in 2 weeks time so my $500 foot will be increasing in value. *sigh* he said last time that unless the injection improved it, the only thing left was surgical fixation. If that is the case, it will be worth it if I can get rid of the pain and be able to walk properly again.

To be continued...........

Eagle Boys Pizzas

I have been a big fan of Eagle Boys Belissimo pizza since I first tried one 5 years ago and to tell the truth, I have only ever tried one other sort so whenever we ordered pizza on "cheap Tuesday" (coz it is only $6.95 for a large pizza) it had to be the Belissimo. Lovely Italian flavours, plenty of veg, not too many meats, juicy kalamata olive slices and with a sprinkling of parmesan to finish off, quite delicious really.

Recently Eagle Boys have added new Premium pizzas to their menu and to my shock and horror, they have deleted the Belissimo pizza. I was told by one of the staff at our local outlet that the Tuscan (one of the new premium pizzas) had the same flavours as the Belissimo but, of course, Premium pizzas cost MORE than the regular ones and are not included in "cheap Tuesday's" menu. That night we ate Chinese instead.

Now get this - their TV ad that is introduced by comedian Dave Hughes, states that "we have added 11 new pizzas to all your old favourites..." which, my friends, is fundamentally incorrect as there is now no Belissimo on the "old favourites" menu. I am a stickler for truth in advertising so I emailed Eagle Boys and complained that there was no Belissimo on the menu any more which happened to be the only pizza I liked and then politely pointed out that their ad was incorrect and when were they going to fix it.

Quick as a flash I received a response from the National Opperations Assistant to say that the new Tuscan premium pizza was different to the Belissimo whilst still retaining the same flavours and they would send me a voucher for a free one. Instead of sliced olives they now had olive halves and instead of diced tomato, they had sliced tomato and instead of grated parmesan, they had shaved parmesan thus pushing it into the premium range. They failed to address the matter of the misleading TV ad entirely.

Not to be deterred, I emailed back and asked when something was going to be done about the ad and was told that she had passed on my email to the marketing department and would get back to me ASAP. A few days rolled by and no response. So I contacted them again and received the following response:

I have just spoken with the Marketing department and they can confirm that as of Monday 11th May our TV ads will no longer mention the ‘old favourites’

So, victory for the little people. I can't help it if I am a bit pedantic but the ad was a blatant lie. If it had been another pizza that they had deleted instead of my good old Belissimo, I probably would not have bothered.

Oh well, I think I'll have Chinese tonight.......... what say you people???

Seachange

*fanfare* We are going to do it! This year we are really going to do it. Lots of people talk about doing it but not many do at our age. Most of them do it when they are a lot older and some wait until they are too old to do it and end up doing the same old same old until they drop off the twig, poor bastards. What am I talking about?

Retirement!!!

I have been semi officially retired since fracturing my T7 vertebra last July (osteo) and Matt's PD is starting to interfere with his ability to do such a physical job so to save him from wearing out too soon, retirement is the only option. What were we going to do we wondered? We don't want to stay here doing the usual old things and wishing we were somewhere else.

No, so we are selling the house, buying a caravan and going to live on his sister Loretta's land at Lismore. She has 11 acres just 5km from Nimbin and offered us space to park the van indefinitely. Just one small catch (there is always a catch isn't there?) Matt will have to potter in the garden, grow some organic veggies, play bowls, and have a good time relaxing. So naturally, WE ARE TAKING IT.

We have had the agent around and signed the agreement, spoken with the solicitor who is getting the contract for sale ready and after a little cosmetic painting and cleaning, the house will be on the market in 2 weeks time.

To be continued, my favourite TV show just came on.............

Byeeee 4 now

Things to do - notes to self........

update blog on: lifestyle change, healthy-ness, size -n-shape stuff, visit to Nimbin, ......... hmmm........what? Oh it's you.........I didn't realise you were reading this - he he he - just a few notes to remind me to get on with it, so...... keep watching this space........

no, not this one :-)

the next one .........


.................. :-D

Uncle Kev's stimulus package

Oh how wonderful, we childless pair have now received $1800 of our own money back and like the good citizens that we are, have spent a goodly proportion of it at local businesses. I bought myself a nice new black handbag for $55 from the bag shop in town, a bit of a splurge as my other one was a Vinnie's special. It is leather and made in Italy. Ciao $$$.

Next we bought 4 new tyres for the Ford Falcon from my mate Gordon at Emu Plains Tyres & More. They are Yokohama brand. Sionara $$$.

I have also acquired new bifocals (frames and lenses) from Paris Miki in Penrith. A good price and worth the trip from Cowra as the local eye people have a limited stock and sky high prices. I am told by staff that Paris Miki is Japanese. Once again Sionara $$$.

We also went on a road trip to Lismore this past week and clocked up over 2500km thus requiring several tanks of fuel. $$$ to the arabs. (I don't know the arabic for good bye)

The remaining $$$ are resting safely in our bank account in readiness for the next visa statement to arrive in the mail.

Thank you Uncle Kev for returning some of our hard earned and reluctantly paid tax money to us as this is the first time EVER that we have qualified for any Government handouts. Such a pity that pampered house dogs do not qualify as children or we would be in line for another $1800.

Take it easy friends and remember, if you spend your Government handout at garage sales, on prostitutes or getting a new tattoo, the money will definitely stay in Australia.

where haz I been?

I'm back. A gazillion things have been preventing me from blogging (she lied) truth be know I have just been uninspired to write due to a few pressing medical issues. Once you get over 50 the body seems to go into some sort of downturn and some of the various parts can give up working properly. Without going into too much detail dear reader, the exit system has been playing up requiring a couple of trips to Orange for various tests and scans, the last of which I had today. I never want to spend 3 days on liquid rations and a few dry crackers followed by a goodly dose of epsom salts cleverly disguised as pills. Ewww. I have to wait for the results which I am hoping will show nothing more than wear and tear and too much curry.

One thing I have decided to do is to grow out the blonde dye in my hair and I am pleased to say that the last of it was cut off 2 weeks ago. I am loving the copious silver streaks that have appeared and at this stage I will keep it like that and save myself some money on rubber gloves and hair dye. When I can coax my darling other half to take a photo of my new do, I will post it for all to see.

Till next time

Adois muchachos!

Elvis lives

Woo Hoo people! I went to the Parkes Elvis Festival on Saturday for the first time and what a great time I had. There were hundreds of Elvis's in all shapes, sizes, sexes, ages and nationalities. The festival is in its 17th year and just keeps getting bigger and better. There were over 8000 tourists in town and the place was rocking.

I have always been a big fan of Elvis and remember exactly where I was when he died. I was on hoiday in Portugal with my ex-husband (Mr Wrong) and we heard the announcement on Radio Luxemborg that evening. The DJ was in tears and we were shocked.

I never dreamed that the Elvis impersonator phenomenon would be as huge as it has become. There were some fantastic costumes and the amount of bling was dazzling. The street parade lasted over an hour. There were Elvis buskers, karaoke competitions, church services, bingo, weddings, cover bands and look-a-like competitions. Not to be forgotten, there was a Priscilla look-a-like comp as well. Hundreds of people walking around in bouffant black wigs and gold framed sunnies doing all the right moves.

I have decided that next year I will go and dress up too. I have already bought a wig and sunnies on ebay and all I need to do is make myself a costume - he he he. Shouldn't be too hard and I have the rest of the year to get it right.

Thankyouverymuch - I have now left the building *grin*

"Before Elvis there was nothing" - John Lennon

there goes another year

Blink and you missed it. 2008 has just zoomed by and it is now 2009. Amazing! So I am starting off the new year with all good intentions of getting myself healthier. I have been feeling crook for quite a while and have had enough. It is up to me to help myself because no-one else is gonna do it right? I will plan meals, eat better and do more exercise. In fact, I have already started.

This is my "before" picture taken in November at Chris's wedding. So I am determined to change so watch this space for updates.

Happy New Year one and all.