diary of the flu

Monday slept
Tuesday slept
Wednesday.  Woke up long enough to realise that hair needs to be brushed at least once in 3 days.   Showered and washed hair.   Enough activity for the day.  Went  back to bed.
Thursday.  Woke 11 am.  Eyes still throbbing, throat still sore but not as bad.   Muscles don't want to work.   Text David.   Need panadol, need milk.  Didn't go straight back to bed.
Friday.  Dog woke me at 9.  He needed to go to the toilet (and so did I).  Cough cough blowww.  Cough cough blowww.  Looks like there is going to be a pattern to my day.Muscles still don't want to work.
Saturday.  Have pain free muscles that work.  Need another box of tissues
Sunday.  Cough cough haaaack haaaack, blowwwwwww blowwwwww.   ewwwwwghhhhhh    

sydney bound

I woke up last night as the 3 boys were getting their last minute things done for their trip.  Actually at least one of them was most likely packing as no.3 sons motto has always been 'if it wasn't for the last minute nothing would get done'.  At one stage they came in and got my car keys.  This morning there is a nice new car parked down my drive.  How nice of them to leave me a new car.  I just wish they had told me where they put the car keys.
Lights were finally turned out and the house fell quiet as they left to go to the airport.  And the reason they are heading to Sydney was a comedy show.   They couldn't get tickets for the show in Melbourne as it was sold out.  Tickets were still available for the Sydney show so they decided to make the trip.   I suppose any excuse for an adventure.

dinner and dancing

With several friends we went to a Chinese restaurant in Mitcham for dinner and dancing.  We decided to have the banquet which was several small courses finishing with tea or coffee.  What I found hard to believe  was that several small serves could be so filling.  When it came to sweets I nearly passed but I needed my sugar hit.  At least sweets was in keeping with the rest of the banquet and only a small serve.   I was so full that when the coffee and after dinner mint arrived I had to pass.
As for the dancing the dance floor was the size of a postage stamp and the live music was a singer with background music, I suppose like a karokee machine.  The music was quite bland and forgettable.  About the most inspiring he got was a version of Strangers in the Night.  Then he had to leave early as he had another gig elsewhere.  Still it was a lovely night out.
The resturant was full so there was plenty of ambience.  We were one of the last few tables to leave.  As the tables emptied and the patrons left the staff either reset or cleared the tables.  All the tables in the resturant were round and at one stage the staff rolled a huge table top past us.  It looked to be the same size as the table of ten that we were sitting at but what was amazing was it looked like it was made of chipboard.  I felt the table cloth in front of me and it had a rough feel to it.   I then lifted the edge of the crisp white tablecloth and sure enough the table top was made of chipboard.   Without really thinking about it I would have thought that the tables were either varnished wood or even plastic. Isn't it amazing how you just assume things to be.

flat batteries

Fair enough I hadn't ridden my bike for a while over winter.  I have to admit to being a fair weather rider but I tried to start the bike last week and the battery didn't have enough oomph in it to start the bike.   I will deal with that when I have the time.  Driving to work last Saturday the freeway was covered in fog so I turned my lights on.  Yes guessed it already I forgot to turn them off.  By four o'clock when it was finally time for me to go and of course I was in a hurry as we were going in to the home show after work the battery was nearly flat.  I didn't have my battery pack with me as I had loaned it to no.1. son, so I was stuck.  Called on no.3 son who was working around the corner and he came to my rescue. 
Anyway getting to where I am going.  Jumped in the car yesterday morning and flat battery.  Guess the car hadn't recouperated fully from the weekend.  No.1. son came to my rescue with the battery pack but he had forgotten to bring the packs charger.  At work I parked in a downhill run just in case and good thing I did.  At least it easily clutch started - thank goodness for manuals.  I left it running in the drive for an hour before I went out last night and had no problem starting it again.   It is looking like I will be up for a new battery but in the meantime I had better make sure I get the battery pack charger.   
I have had enough of flat batteries and I still haven't started the bike.

sore feet

Last Saturday evening David and I went into the home show at the Exhibition building.  It had been a big week and my feet were throbbing and I yearned for a foot massage.  I had my most comfy shoes on but they weren't helping much. We did the rounds of the kitchens - twice - just to make sure we had seen everything.  After all that was why we were there, then we wandered around the rest of the exhibits.  We saw  BBQ's, bamboo flooring, heating systems, bathrooms and a huge foot massager.   There were two women enjoying a massage and I slowly walked past.  I lingered and looked longingly at the two lucky ladies.  They seemed to be settled in and going now where in a hurry.  Lucky them.  I wouldn't be in a hurry to leave either.   I eventually walked on and several stalls later I could take it no longer.   I'm going back for a foot massage.  That was all my feet needed to hear.  Even if I changed my mind half way there my feet weren't going to stop until they were cocooned in one of those beautiful massages.   I hoped at least one of the ladies were gone by the time I got back there and oh joy one of the massages was empty.  I looked longingly at the salesman.  
Seet down ere and take off the sooes.  I didn't need any encouragement.  I slipped my feet into the huge boot like  machine.  He turned it on.  The sides of the machine squeezed onto my ankles and I jumped in fright.  I thought the machine had gone mad and was about to crush my legs.  Then it began to relax and I relaxed as it squeezed and pummelled my feet.  Oh this is just fantastic, oh this is bliss, oh this is so totally worth it.  I was in  absolute heaven.  I closed my eyes and oohed and arghed as the massage continued.  It took me a while to realize that the salesman was next to me and talking to me.  Thees machine is 100 dollar off.  Eef you by now just 699.  A guy wandered over and the salesman left me for a moment.  I closed my eyes.  A couple of minutes later I opened them again.  The guy was sitting in the other machine.  His girlfriend looked on totally unimpressed.  Does it come in black?  he asked.   No juss two colour.   Thees and thet.  The guy wandered off and the saleman came back to me.  He was going to have to prise me out of that machine to get me to leave.  I was happy to listen to any speel that he wanted to give me for a few extra minutes there.   Then he reached over and turned it off.  I felt deflated. You buy? he asked. 
No sorry. 
You put yure shoe back on. he said as he started spruiking the women walking past.  I walked away with my feet feeling fantastic.  Then I had a pang of guilt.  Was I a bad person for using the poor guys machine when I had no intention of buying it?   But then I reasoned I was desperate and I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.

you tube

Take a group of six young adults, a youtube item and a will to emulate it
Also take 20 hamburgers, 5 kg bolognase, 1 kg bacon, 1 kg cheese.  Bake for 1 hour.

Proof that you tube is dangerous for young minds.

the beauty of rainy days

bottling peaches grandma's way

   Take a bucket of home grown peaches.  Peel and slice into bite size pieces.

Put into large pot with a little water.  When they are nearly cooked add sugar to taste.

Sterilize and heat several clean jars in the microwave.  Sterilize the lids in hot water.  The jars are recycled pop top jars.

Leaving the mix on a very low flame and using a pouring device in this case a 60 year old gravy boat fill the hot jars with the stewed fruit.  

Screw the lids on tightly as soon as the jar is filled.  Put in a safe place to cool.  As the fruit cools the lids will pop making the seal complete and ready to store.  They will keep for a good couple of years.

sore feet

Last night David and I went into the home show at the Exhibition building.  It had been a big week and my feet were throbbing and I yearned for a foot massage.  I had my most comfy shoes on but they weren't helping much. We did the rounds of the kitchens - twice - just to make sure we had seen everything.  After all that was why we were there, then we wandered around the rest of the exhibits.  We saw  BBQ's, bamboo flooring, heating systems, bathrooms and a huge foot massager.   There were two women enjoying a massage and I slowly walked past.  I lingered and looked longingly at the two lucky ladies.  They seemed to be settled in and going now where in a hurry.  Lucky them.  I wouldn't be in a hurry to leave either.   I eventually walked on and several stalls later I could take it no longer.   I'm going back for a foot massage I told David.  That was all my feet needed to hear.  Even if I changed my mind half way there my feet weren't going to stop until they were coocooned in one of those beautiful massages.   I hoped at least one of the ladies were gone by the time I got back there and oh joy one of the machines was empty.  I looked longingly at the salesman.  
Seet down ere and take off the sooes.  I didn't need any encouragement.  I slipped my feet into the huge boot like  machine.  He turned it on.  The sides of the machine squeezed onto my ankles and lower legs and I jumped in fright.  I thought the machine had gone mad and was about to crush my legs.  Then it began to relax and I relaxed as it squeezed my legs and pummelled the soles of my feet.  Oh this is just fantastic, oh this is bliss, oh this is so totally worth it.  I was in  absolute heaven.  I closed my eyes and oohed and arghed as the massage continued.  It took me a while to realise that the salesman was next to me and talking to me.  Thees machine is 100 dollar off.  Eef you by now just 699.  A guy wandered over and the salesman left me for a moment.  I closed my eyes.  A couple of minutes later I opened them again.  The guy was sitting in the other machine.  His girlfriend looked on totally unimpressed.  Does it come in black?  he asked.   No juss two colour.   Thees and thet.  The guy wandered off and the saleman came back to me.  He was going to have to prise me out of that machine to get me to leave.  I was happy to listen to any speel that he wanted to give me for a few extra minutes there.   Then he reached over and turned it off.  I felt deflated. You buy? he asked. 
No sorry. 
You put yure shoe back on. he said as he started spruking the women walking past.  I walked away with my feet feeling fantastic.  Then I had a pang of guilt.  Was I a bad person for using the poor guys machine when I had no intention of buying it?   But then I reasoned I was desperate and desperate times call for desperate measures

more dog days

                                                  Modo. Stay out of the water.  Sigh


I finally had enough of DD's (darling daughter's) bags of left over clothes and bits and pieces sitting in the lounge room waiting to be picked up or delivered.  After all she and PP (precious Paul) had well and truely moved into their first home.  So I sent her a text.  The answer was no she was not home, she was in the city but I could drop the bags at her house and leave them in the wood shed.  Don't worry about the dogs they won't go past the gate.  
First problem was Modo.  He watched as I began loading the boot with DD's bags.  Something was up and he wasn't going to miss out.   He jumped into the back seat and laid low.  OK I am a softie.  I put one bag next to him, one on the floor and one on the front seat.  I didn't have far to go and he had never visited DD's dogs at their new home.
When I arrived I opened the big gates.  First one dog then the other rushed out.  I grabbed the little one.  He was the one most likely to make a run for it and threw him in the car.   I quickly reversed into the drive jumped out and closed the gate.  I let Modo and Little Dog out and began unloading the car.  Big Dog didn't like Modo in his yard and he became quite aggressive.  Great, what do I do now?  I grabbed Big Dog by his colar and Modo made his escape.  I lead Big Dog over to the car and he jumped in and began chewing on one of Modo's toys.  Keeping an eye on Big Dog I resumed unloading the car.   Big Dog was soon joined by Little Dog and they sat happily in the car while Modo explored.  Now problem no.3.  it was time to go.  I called Modo and enticed the two dogs out of the car.  When Modo jumped into the back seat so did Little Dog.  Little Dog was coaxed back out again only to have Big Dog jump back in.  That's it I have had enough.  You Big Dog out.  Good.  Now both of you come over here.  Sit. Stay.  Then I raced to the gate, opened it, put the two dogs back into sit and stay drove out, shut the gate and heaved a great sigh.  Still it was worth it.   Yay no more bags in the lounge room.

carlton v hawthorn

  Have you ever put money on a Myki card at the station using a credit card.  For first timers like us it was a trial and error process.  Two brains were better than one on this occasion and we eventually had enough money on the card to get on the train.  We arrived at the station just after the last train had left and we now had a 20 minute wait for the next one so thankfully time wasn't against us as we updated our Myki and there wasn't the added pressure to get it right the first time.  Four trains came and went from the far platform taking all the weary city workers home and then finally our train arrived.
When we eventually got into Etihad stadium the siren was sounding for the end of the first quarter.  The scores were impressive for Hawthorn 4.4 to Carlton's 1.4.   I had booked our tickets a week ago online and I had booked best available in level 3.  We were sitting up among the pidgeon poo row X but we were lucky enough to have the seats at the top of the stairs so there was no standing while others walked to and from their seats.  We watched a good second quarter by Hawthorn then the rot set in.  The second half was a scrappy game but Carlton was making a come back.  The girl sitting next to me with her friend was more interested in her iphone than she was in the game for the first half.  Her friend on the other side cheered and whooped at every Hawthorn gain.  In the second half as Carlton began their comeback the girl with the ipone suddenly came alive.  She cheered and clapped at every chance as Carlton gained on Hawthorn.  The guy sitting in front left of me was cheering Hawthorn and booing Carlton enought for 10 people so I let hin  do my cheering for me.   Hawthorn eventualy won.   GO HAWKS. 

  

dinner with a clairvoyant

With a couple of friends I went to a dinner with a 10 minute session with a clairvoyant.  Dinner was very nice a  choice of chicken kiev or lamb shanks.  Being a farmers daughter I went for the lamb and I was not dissapointed.  We had 3 sessions booked for the clairvoyant.  I'll take the second session.  Ooo that leaves me with the last one and it is a guy AnnMaree sounded dissapointed.   Are you sure?  We looked at the booking.  A male clairvoyant.   It just didn't seem right.  There were 8 clairvoyants operating that night.  Liz went for her session, then it was my turn.  You have healing hands Whilhemina told me as she held my hands. OK  You dream a  lot and you must listen to your dreams.  OK, I didn't have the heart to tell her that if I dream my dreams were dark and stuff that nightmares were made of.  You do this and this and this and this and this and this she told me.  You do too much you must make time for yourself.  OK.  Do you have any questions she asked me.  I suppose I should have thought about this earlier but I hadn't.   No not really. I answered.  I guess I just wonder if I am heading in the right direction with my life. I answered.   You need a bit of pampering was her answer.  You need to go for a massage, have your feet done.  I nearly laughed out loud.  AnnMaree and I had been talking just a few minutes earlier about doing that exact thing.  Maybe there is something to this clairvoyant thing after all and if so I would hate to think what my dreams are trying to tell me.

rainy wednesday

First week of my new roster so I had a short day today.  Not long after I started work today the rain set in.   By the time I got home the drizzy rain had become quite heavy and didn't look like it was going to let up any time soon.  Thought I would do the right thing anyway so put on my ebay gumboots, my shower proof jacket with hood, picked up the bag of tennis balls and the ball thrower and headed down to the off lead park.
Only mad women with big dogs go out on drizzly cold overcast days.  We were the only car in the off lead car park and the only ones in the off lead area.  After an hour of running around after tennis balls and not seeing or greeting anothe soul Modo decided he needed a swim in the creek to finish off his training.  I also realised that shower proof doesn't hold up very well after an hour in the drizzly rain.  The water dripped off my hood and my shoulders were wet.  By the time we both finally plodded wearily towards the car we were looking very wet and bedraggled.  We climbed into the car and with the car reaking of wet dog and the windows steamed up we drove home.  Modo muddy and exhausted needed a shower and blow dry before he could finally climb up on his favourite couch and let his weary muscles recover.

pool table

The barely used new pool table arrived this morning.  It has already been christened, though there hasn't been a head wetting ceromony yet.  I will leave that up to the young ones tonight.  Just out of interest.  The boy only beat me by one ball.  Yes I am quite proud of that.
But the best part of all was the garage was cleaned out.  One trailer load of stuff, some of which was very hard to part with and the garage is clean neat and tidy.  Well sort of anyway and now has carpet and a pool table. 

back to work

 This has nothing to do with me being back at work.  Just a couple of nice pictures.

Blowing in the wind. 

vline

Don't get me wrong.  I love travelling by train.  I make the trip from Southern Cross station to home via Swan Hill on a regular basis.  The last bit of the journey is by coach.  I do not enjoy that part of the trip at all.  But there is one big minus about travelling on the train.  It is far far too cold.  On one of my trips I made the night journey.  If I thought it was cold travelling by day it was nothing compared to the to the night trip.  It was freezing.  The smart ones had brought along a rug, but the rest of us had to be a bit more resourceful.  We put on extra clothes from our carry on luggage, pulled the hoods over our heads, scrunched up into tiny balls and cuddled ourselves to keep warm.  Note to myself.  If travelling by night come prepared for artic conditions.

dog days

I couldn't resist this photo of Gurlie's puppies.  Gurlie is a six year old kelpie and this is her first litter.  I think she must have felt that her biological clock was running out as she dissapeared one night and didn't come back til 10 in the morning.  A few weeks later and bingo a family of six puppies.  All but the big boy in the middle of this photo look like mum.  Guess dad will remain a mystery.

I had my beautiful boy at doggie school today.  It was a glorious day weather wise and Modo was in a very relaxed mood.  I had his attention at least 50% of the time today so it was a really productive day.  Because he had been so well behaved at school I stopped off on my way home at the off lead area and threw the ball for him for a while.  And because it was such a lovely day there were dogs everywhere.   Modo was one very happy boy.  An hour and a half later I arrived home.  Unloading the car I realized Modo's school bag was missing.  Contents of bag 1 long lead, one head halter with lead, traffic lead, 2 tug toys, mat,  weeks lessons and my favourite jacket.  Oh no then it hit me.  I had put his bag down in the gutter by the back wheel while I unlocked the car and there it had stayed.  It had been a good two hours since I had left the oval and I doubted  very much that it would still be there but I decided to make a quick dash back to check...just in case.   And there it was.  A lonely green bag sitting in a now wet gutter.  Hooray.

some days are stone

Today I rang my super fund just to see how my super was progressing.  "Our operator is busy at the moment". - that didn't sound good a singular operator - "your call has been placed in a queue  please hold.  You are no.3 in the queue".   Why aren't I surprised  It doesn't seem to matter what company you call now days you are forced to listen to their spiel about how you can visit them online at http://www.wecan'tbebotheredtalkingtoyou/ and then you are placed in a queue.  I accepted my fate and pulled out my book.  I was then surprised a couple of minutes later when the operator spoke to me.  I glanced at the wall clock.  It hasn't been 10 minutes yet, boy these guys must be having a slow day.  "I'm sorry" the operator told me.  "Our fire alarm has just gone off and we have to evacuate the building, so rather than have you hold on for however long it is going to take, do you mind calling us back in about half an hour."  It was then that I could hear the fire alarms going off in the background.   He seemed very calm about it all and I was left wondering if the fire alarms were a regular occurrence.
As I hung up the phone it was then I noticed one of the young one timidly making their way out into the sunshine.  As he was about to turn the knob on the front door I collared him.  Before you go fill in your section on the e-census.  I need to get it sent in today.  After much grumblings and a bit of coercement from me and a promise that it would only take 5 minutes (ha ha) he sat down at the computer.   At question 26 he looked up with obvious pain in his eyes.   I reassured him he was nearly finished. (he will never believe a word I say again).  Several questions later and the computer froze and told me it was not responding.  After reloading the census home page and trying to get back to the form I was told to try again in 30 minutes.  I heard the front door close, I looked around, the computer chair was empty and my young one had fled.

tatura

Sometimes when travelling from point A to point B you just have to stop and smell the roses or in this case take a photo.   This is just out of Tatura Vic.  We left Melbourne on a gloomy but clear day.  As we headed out the freeway the fog became thicker and thicker.  We were still enveloped in fog as this picture shows just a few K's out of Tatura but as we came into the town mid morning the day was clear.  

Cold but clear.

David had a job in Tatura and still being on holidays I decided to accompany him.   David went off to do his thing and I headed into town.  I had an early lunch at the local bakery and then I did a bit of exploring.  It wasn't long before nature called.  On my way out of the toilet block I noticed the huge unusual flowers that were in a raised flower bed by the entrance.  There were white ones and purple.  The plant seemed all flower with a few 'cabbage leaves' supporting them.  Beautiful

On our way home we had a bit of time up our sleeves so we had a bit of a look around Murchison.  Now that is one seriously nice town.  The sign on the way into Murchison stated a population of 763.  Hard to believe considering the size of the town. 
Apart from needing a bit of a spruce up we found these locals very accommodating.

more plants

Six months after visiting the native nursery down the road I was back again.  Of the original 15 plants that I had bought on my first visit only eight had survived.   I was feeling like a planticidal maniac and here I was fronting up again to select more unwitting victims.  I took a deep breath and with my  accomplice David walked into the front yard of the nursery.   We decided this time we would go for the hardier variety of plants.  At least these might have a bit more of chance of survival.
We were immediately drawn to the stand of bright orange flowering Grevilleas.   This would be the way to go.  Drought tolerant, likes a sunny position and well drained.  Sounded like it would survive anything I would throw at it.  I was starting to feel a bit better.  We ventured through the shop and into the back of the nursery.  Two more Grevilleas, three ground covers and a lavender later we walked back to the car.  By the time we arrived home the day had become rainy, gloomy and cold.  It felt more like a day for a funeral than for planting.  I just hoped this wasn't going to be an omen for the future of the plants.

ikea

I have been looking at and pricing new kitchens but I really didn't know what I wanted so Liz suggested that I go for a look at the kitchens at Ikea.  It sounded like a good idea so I checked the train timetables and the route from  the station and set off.  Coming into Burnley station the sky was looking very ominious but the rain held while I walked the two k's down Burnley Rd to Ikea.  Wow.  Being an Ikea newby I was a little overawed by the whole place.  I stated looking at the childrens section with my grandkids in mind.  After several minutes of aimless wandering I had to give myself a mental slap.  If I kept this up I could see myself being here all day and still not doing what I came here to do.  As I walked deeper into maze of lounge rooms and entertainment areas I was surprised by the sheer amounts of people wandering though and around.  It reminded me of Christmas Eve at one of the larger department stores.  Is it always like this?   I checked the store directory and headed for the kitchens.  An hour later after examining all the door, drawers and benches I decided enough was enough.  I headed back to the entrance fighting my way against the flow of pedestrians.  After several minutes of running up and down the stairs like a rat trapped in a maze I had failed to find a way out.  I stopped an Ikea employee.  "How do you get out of this place?" I asked feeling rather foolish.  "You follow the black arrows" she told me like I was dim witted.  I looked down at the arrows and they were pointing  back in the direction I had just come from. "How long will it take me to get there?" I asked now feeling quite desperate to escape.  "Depends."  She looked at me and seemed to be assessing my physical endurance. " About 5 minutes."  On the way to the exit I passed through the kitchen accessories.  Even in my heightened state of flight I couldn't help but be drawn to the bright and shiny knick knacks.  I picked up a set of bright handled paring knives a spatula and a bright dinky little bottle cap remover.  This place was like a huge $2 shop.  I made my way through the huge warehouse area.  Ahhh so that's how the flat packs work.  Very smart.  I put my purchases down on a self check machine and began to read the instructions.  Next second there was an employee by my side.  "You use the scanner" he said grabbing it from the stand bip bip bip and he had scanned my purchases.  "Now all you need to do is pay with your credit card".  "OK thank you" I replied but he had already moved on.  Oh well so much for self serve.

car wash

Today I decided to wash the car.  No biggie I hear you say, but then I had to decide.  Do I put the car on the front lawn and use a couple of buckets of water or do I go to the car wash.  I debated the issue.  If I go to the car wash I will have to rince the car then suds it up and I will end up with an over abundance of thick white suds which I feel is a waste of resource.  If I don't go for the wax and shine, it will just need to be rinced and I can be on my way.  Not a very environmentally friendly option as I would need to drive to the car wash and then back home a round trip of aprox. 8 k's.  Then there is the electricity used to run my wash bay.  So several negatives there.
If I was at home, 1 bucket of all in one car wash and shine and two buckets of clean water to rinse.  I can wash it on the lawn- not that the lawn needs watering right now, in fact that is about the last thing it needs.  OK go for the lawn option. 
Parked the car on the lawn.  Washed the right hand side and rinsed, so far so good.  Then I noticed that my favourite turquoise runners were getting very wet and grotty so I changed into my flower patterned gumboots.  Washed the front and left hand side, rinced, turned the hose on to refil the rince bucket. Left the end of the hose in the bucket to turn off the tap, the hose reared up out of the bucket and the spout of water hit my knee and proceeded to fill my gumboot up with water.  Made a mad grab for the hose to put it back in the bucket and like an angry snake it reared away and sprayed the other leg of my jeans. - big sigh -  Finished washing the car walked back around to the right hand side and the tree had dropped little orange blossums all over the right hand side.  And they were not going to come off a hurry.
Maybe I should have gone to the car wash afterall.

orange wine

Today I reracked my orange wine.  And a very nice drop it is turning out to be.  I added a very small amount of sugar to the racking and I am going to bulk age it for a couple of weeks then bottle it.   Now I am a complete amateur when it comes to making wine but I am learning heaps along the way.  The first wine I bottled was a rice and raisin wine.  At the bottling stage it tasted horrible.  I decided to boost the flavour a bit by adding some sugar to sweeten it a bit.  After all I enjoy a glass or two of sweet wine.  Uh uh.  If you are going to add sugar to wine you add a little sugar to the wine, not everything that you can get your hands on.  A litle bit would have worked wonders.  After a few weeks the wine matured and it would have been a reasonable wine except it is so overly sweet it is nearly undrinkable.  Lesson learnt.

worms

Second day of my two week holidays today and after spending a relaxing day in the country yesterday it was down to the real work today.
After doing a bit of shopping here and there Jenny and I finally made it to Bunnings. We headed straight on down to the garden section.
"Do you have worms?" I asked the guy as he headed towards me.
He smiled. "Well no actually, I don't" he smiled again.
Duh I thought to myself. Ask a stupid question.
He smiled at me again.
"But I think if you went back to aisle 22 you would find them about three quarters of the way down on the right hand side.
We trotted back to aisle 22 and sure enough there on the shelf next to the compost bins were boxes of worms.
I was amazed. Worms ...on the shelf. Then I began to wonder about their shelf life. How long could they stay there and still be viable?
I checked out the boxes. One lot contained 500 live worms and the other 1000. Wow 1000 seemed like a bit of overkill to me so I gently picked up the box labelled 500 live worms and made my way to the checkout.
At home I gently carefully unpacked the box. There seemed an awful lot of something in there but it didn't look like worms. Maybe they were past their use by date and I hadn't noticed. I decided I had better put on my reading glasses and actually read the box.
Oh! In smaller red writting it told me that this box contains" Worms - Worm Eggs - Castings - Food Fillers, and to please take the usual precautions as you would when dealing with any fertilizer related product. Mmmm so it doesn't look like there are actually 500 real live worms in my box and not only that does it also mean that my box of environmentallty friendly worms is actually toxic?

terang not kerang

near Cobden Vic

Stone wall fences between Colac and Camperdown Vic.

David had a job in Terang yesterday.

"Fantastic I'll come along to keep you company". I enthused. 'I always enjoy a day in the country. " I haven't had a good look around Kerang for a long time."

"No its Terang were going to. Totally in the opposite direction."

"OK a few hours in Terang sounds nice to".

And it was. The day for a winters day was perfect. We drove down from Melbourne through Geelong,Winchelsea, Colac and Camperdown. The scenery was beautiful. Green everywhere and I was totally impressed with the stone wall fences between Colac and Camperdown. They were beautiful. Terang itself was a lovely place. We had lunch on the run from a local cafe. Very nice. On our way back to Melbourne we drove via Cobden and Simpson. The terrain was spectular. It was mainly diary country. Dairy cows, dairy cows oh there are a few sheep and more dairy cows. An incredibly idealic day.