Ready to set off!

I think we're ready to set off... It's been more than three months since we packed up and headed to South Australia, so I hope we haven't forgotten anything. Shops, supermarkets and servos are always open these days, so not a problem with getting supplies of this, that or the other. The days are pretty much booked up with family gatherings so that's all good. 

We've got a couple of stops to do on the way over, so will be doing the run into the motel at the end of the day, when the roads and streets are extra busy; there could be rain, but we'll be fine. 

   

This and That for this Sunday

An hour after my last post about sewing and ironing, I realised I didn't need the ironing board for hemming my fleece pants, and an hour after that, I realised the sewing machine was set up where I usually do my travel packing.  So, I gave myself a kick up the backside to get this last sewing job done, so I could pack everything away. The sewing is all done and dusted for now.

The school crossing gear is washed, folded and put away for the next couple of weeks. I have chilblains on my toes; They're hot and itchy...

The Half Yearly meeting after church this morning was straightfoward enough, and then we were back at the church this afternoon doing a little fix-it job.

On Tuesday we have a quick trip to Geelong and back again on the train for a dental appointment, so life continues apace.

Sewing Update

I've finally got the main lot of sewing done, all the pillowcases made. In the end I put the ironing board up permanently, just so it was ready for pressing seams and hems, on the odd occasion I had 20 minutes to sew the next pillowcase.  Made a big difference not having to put it up every time I got to the sewing machine.  Only the hemming of a couple of my favourite fleece pants to get to and I'll be able to pack everything away. 

This and That for this Sunday

Well, I had a nice nannanap!

We hosted a visiting pastor, his wife and three others from church for lunch today - easy lunch of party pies and sandwiches. And then the pastor and wife were off to visit someone else from church. I'd overcated of course, so the spare sandwiches went up to a local halfway house - they would have enjoyed them for afternoon tea. 

Yesterday, we out did ourselves. Bought a new clothesline, erected the new clothesline and took the old clothesline to the metal recyclers - all in a matter of three hours! I haven't even used the new line yet; it's been raining steadily on and off since yesterday.

Two meetings coming up in the next week, and then it'll be time for a short break. 

 

Wins and Losses

I had a win today. Something I've been dealing with on and off since December has now nicely resolved itself. Commonsense has prevailed. And I fronted up at Red Cross Lifeblood today to donate, and I couldn't give. The surgery I had a couple of months ago precludes me donating for 6 months, so, a loss there. 

Otherwise, life goes on as usual with its committments, appointments, lists and tasks. 

 

This and That for This Sunday

A bit of a rush at church this morning. A short meeting before the start of the service to ratify some people into newly created positions. Then I led the service, thankfully with a helper to read the first two readings and the sermon. Afterwards, we celebrated a 90th birthday with cake and speeches and a blessing song, sang by the girls in the family. So, the morning finished off on a friendly note, and we all felt blessed by the worship and fellowship.

Jim's disappeared for a couple of hours, and I've quietly booked the most expensive outing tour on our overseas trip. I've been mentally wrangling whether to proceed for a few weeks now, considering the cost of it, but taking into account a similar situation on the previous trip when I didn't book, and our ages and our ability to cope with one off train trips and stations, I've forged ahead and booked.

Lastly, I was wandering around the side of the deck, with my trusty bottle of weed spray, and found some bulbs shooting up.  I'd bought this little pot of flowering tulip bulbs from a flower shop in spring last year, and after they had died down, I just plonked them down away with all my other dead pots of dead things. Now they're shooting!  We'll see how we go with getting tulips in 2026...

Fish and Chips

Yes, fish and chips for tea tonight; the usual menu item for a Wednesday night. By Wednesday I'm wearing out for meal ideas, so it's easy to organise. I generally buy the fish at the Woolworths Deli, salad items to go with it, and Jim gets the chips from the local fish and chippery.

 

Pottering Sunday

I've given the day over to pottering - it feels like the first Sunday in a long time that I'm just pottering. Church this morning, of course, but the visiting pastor was nice and gentle and short with his prayers and responses. It was a late service, so sandwiches from the milk bar made for a easy lunch. Jim has disappeared for an hour or so, so I've swept the deck, cleaned the inside of the car, and now tackling a few computer jobs. Maybe, a bit of sewing in a little while, or a walk while the sun is shining. I haven't quite got the travel folders finished, so I might spend a pleasant bit of time finishing them off, ready for paperwork and travel itinerary documents.  Who knows? I'm just pottering...

Winter!

Winter has arrived with a blast of icy air and wetness from the sky. I had to bring the crossing gear in to the house to dry off in front of the heater morning and afternoon today... Brrr, beanies have been required wearing. 

I'm still feeling the ramifications from our meetings on the weekend; several things to follow up over the next few weeks, and people who are energised by what transpired, needing a bit of attention for their special interest. 

Happy 14th Birthday, Sadie

So much for posting a bit earlier on Sundays... We've had quite a weekend with our meetings and visiting pastors, and I'm almost brain dead - but energised at the same time with everything we achieved.

We don't see much of Sadie, and when we do she's being supervised by a support worker, but we love her dearly, and she's growing up. 

 

The Days

The days continue apace, one church thing after another. Two big meetings coming up this weekend with a visiting Pastor and an Assistant Bishop! Ultra stress. In a week's time it'll all be done and dusted. 

This and That For This Sunday

The school crossing gear has been resurrected from its storage place, and is stacked in the car, ready for my first day back after about 8 weeks. Just remembered this morning to check that my boots, shoes and thick socks were ready to go as well. The weather's looking okay, as I ease myself back in; the minimums aren't too low. 

I've had the sewing machine set up for a couple of weeks now. The first task was to shorten the straps on this bag. I think it's going to be my day bag for overseas day trips. After much searching I found it at "Bed, Bath and Table" - has a zipper for closing, and is extra, extra light. The shape isn't perfect, but once its full of things it should be okay. 

Last time I had the green check bag which was absolutely perfect, except it couldn't be closed. It was extremely light, the right size and shape to fit in a multitude of disparate things - handbag, layers, water bottle, packed food etc. Because of my body shape, and age, it's impossible for me to use a back pack. There was no zipper to keep it shut, when required; I had to use extra strong clips which were always going missing... 

I've made a couple of small pillow cases, and now I'm working on some hankies, about 2 a day. I've bought some more flannelette fabric to make some more full size pillowcases. 

Today, we did a favourite Sunday outing to pick up some small items and paper.  I'm sure you can guess where this is.

Only Just Remembered

I've only just remembered that I post on Wednesdays. The day got away from me - we have a catchup with the travel agent tomorrow. I spent a bit of time going through bits of paper I've been collecting from here, there and everywhere, writing notes of questions to ask and looking through the itinerary. Lots of fun, but I forgot about posting. Tomorrow, we're also out for an afternoon coffee at Proudfoots Boathouse; if the weather is anything like today, it'll be glorious sitting there with good company. 

So, I'm enjoying the last few days of sick leave, and enjoying the flexibility to make catchup arrangements. Back to the inflexibility of school crossing hours next Monday; all shall be well...

This and That

I've finally finished a book; it took several days even though it was a feel good, easy book to read (kind off). It's the third in a series of recently published books, but the writing style does take a bit of getting used to. There are two stories running parallel, which I generally object to - I mean if you've got a story to write, write the story, and write the parallel story in another book... Anyway, once I got used to it, it was a very nice read. I'd tried the first in the series from the library, and I liked it so much, I went into Collins Booksellers and bought all three. 

The computer tech person came on Thursday and spent a good hour or more fixing up little bugbears on my laptop, and connectivity issues with the new modem. I'd done most of the connectivity to the various devices, but the receiver into the house was beyond my capabilities. We talked about the NBN, yet again... A problem for another day. Our DVD player no longer plays DVD's - good for recording and playback - so I'd bought a little DVD player to connect to the laptop. Brad got that program installed and I'm all good to go with the DVD series I received at Christmas. 

A Little Outing

We had a big outing yesterday; an early start for a run to Geelong for a dental appointment. I had a sedative anaesthetic, but it was a short, easy procedure, so we were on the road back to Warrnambool by 1.30pm. I was sleepy yesterday, but I'm feeling bright and shiny today, with a pretty positive outlook after the tensions of the last few weeks. 

I even did a little cleaning job today, one that only comes along every 6 weeks. Nothing heavy, just a bit of dusting to get my desks sorted out and clean for the next 6 weeks. 

After that, I was at a lose end, so ventured forth on a little outing to Spotlight, for myself. Bought some nice flannelette to make some new hankies, and a couple of pillowcases for my bed, to give it fresh look. My old hankies are pretty thin after being used continually for the last couple of years, and I've now been cutting them in half to use as pads on a couple of wounds (still healing after the surgery). The supply is getting low. Jim will have to set the sewing machine up for me - too heavy to lift from its storage place.

I'm trying to make a fresh start on my walking routine, now, as well. Making the effort to get moving, regularly, so I can build my fitness back up. No weights for another couple of weeks yet. 

Struggling to Read

Yes, I'm struggling to read at the moment.  Just can't concentrate. I'll read about 6 to 8 pages, and I just can't be bothered to learn and remember the characters, and who's who. And these are books in a series of familar authors and plot lines. I'll watch a couple of TV episodes, and then try reading again - to no avail. Last night I finished watching the final in the "Patience" TV Series (a wonderfully satisfying conclusion, with a teaser at the end to know another series is going to be made).

I couldn't face reading so I spent a pleasant hour online seaching for things to do in and around Helsinki, on the couple of free days we have there, in September. 

All went well at Bette's funeral. It was a lovely service, and arrangements regarding the refreshments afterwards went smoothly. Mostly everyone donned their aprons and pink shoes and sallied forth to serve food, collect dishes, and wash and wipe. Jim and I finished up with the floors, and returning the church to normal, after everyone left; we were exhausted, but happy to know that Bette is safe in the arms of Jesus, and I'll be joining her some day. 

Not All Sweetness and Light

It hasn't all been sweetness and light getting over my recent surgery.  Only three weeks but it feels like forever. I've had a couple of complications which have necessitated extra appointments, but both are being resolved satisfactorily with a bit of extra TLC. Now at the end of today, I'm feeling the best I've felt for a week... May it continue..

The weather has turned nasty - cold, blustery and rainy - Jim and I are needing to wear our beanies around the house, and back and forwards to and from the office. 

Tomorrow we get the church and hall set up for the funeral, and I pick up the flower arrangments for the altar. Guild was meeting this afternoon - about half are going to be away on Friday, so the rest of us are just going to have to muck in, and get the lunch served and cleaned up as best we can. 

   

Unusual Week

With the funeral of our esteemed Bette coming up on Friday, we have a busy and unusual week ahead of us as we try and juggle logistics of who's doing what and when. One of the drawbacks of not having a pastor in situ, who would normally liase with the family, the funeral parlour, the musician etc. All shall be well.

Yesterday, the large windows across the front of the house were washed down, ready for winter. Thank you, Jim!

Wrecked

By the end of yesterday we were both wrecked... Jim drove to a funeral, three hours away, and then three hours back. I dealt with the NBN that went nowhere - after 20 minutes they left with a flea in their ears, and unlikely to return anytime soon. I spent the rest of the day on the phone - texts and calls - sorting out details of an upcoming funeral here at the church. Made a welfare visit to an older friend, and then a podiatrist appointment, so all in all a busy day.  Then we were out for a pub meal for a birthday...