dancing with the stars

Back to dancing last night after 3 months away.  Two weeks with a sore back and then 2 1/2 months up at mums.  It was nice to catch up with everyone again.  Learnt the gypsy tap last night.  It is a simple but elegant dance and I picked it up quickly.   That shows that I have learnt something over the past couple of years.  I am far from being a natural when it comes to dancing but it is getting easier for me.  My friend Liz likes to say we are dancing with the stars.  Makes it sound v. elegant.

maybe the day is trying to tell me something

Have a bit of a decision to make about work.  It is so hard.  Went out yesterday morning and being school holidays there wasn't anyone at the first two stops.   First stop it rained quite heavily for most of the time there so I didn't bother connecting up.  Even the workmen who were sitting in their trucks waiting for the weather to clear eventually packed up and left.  It was a cold day and with no power there was no heating.  Better though than climbing up a ladder in pouring rain connecting into power.  Had a few problems with the internet.  Only a weak signal and it kept dropping out.   Got to the second site and put ladder up against pole in the drizzling rain and opened the power box.   A huge huntsman scurried around.   Thought it was going to jump out at me but eventually it settled down in a corner, spread itself out and just watched me.   Couldn't connect the power as the connector had moved.   Got down from ladder and retrieved my glasses and a biro.   Poked around trying to realign the power point while not upsetting the spider or falling off the ladder as I needed both hands in the power box while balancing on the ladder.  After several frustraing and rather damp minutes just as I was about to give up I was finally able to move it enough to line it up.  I then watched the skies as it came time to pack up.  The rain and wind was coming in flurries but I was able to get a dry few minutes to pack up and go home.

$30 poorer

The bus station forground and the old railway station behind.

Before going out Sunday morning I tucked $30's - a 20 and a 10 folded together into four - into my jeans pocket and then dropped $10 in gold coins in after it.   I don't like going anywhere without a bit of money on me.   I went and saw my sister and my mum and checked out my garden dropped David and the luggage at the station dropped the car off home and walked back to the station.  So far so good but by now it was after lunch and I still had 20 minutes before the bus came.  I walked down the main street to the fish and chip shop and bought a drink and a small pie.   It came to $7 so I pulled my change out of my pocket and paid for it.   After arriving by bus at Swan Hill I put my hand in my pocket for my $30 and it was gone.  Damn.  I thought about it for a few minutes and realised that it must have come out when I paid for my pie.  I did think about phoning them up and asking them but then I thought like who is going to hand in found cash.   Certainly was one expensive pie and drink.

It also reminded me of another time when I had lost money but this time it was $500.   A small bundle of 10 $50 notes.   I had been to the bank and withdrawn the money at lunch time.   I cannot even remember what it was that I was going to buy or pay for.  I folded the money in half and put it in my jeans pocket as I was in a bit of a hurry to get back to the truck.   I drove out to Yarra Glen and parked, unpacked and set up.  I remembered about the money and patted my pocket to check that it was still there.   It wasn't.   I raced around to the cabin of the truck and searched it thoroughly.   It had to be there, but it wasn't.   I was walking back to the truck when a friend came by.   You look like you've just lost your best friend.   Not quite that bad I replied but it was $500.  He commiserated with me.   Then something fluttering down the embankment behind him made me frantic.   There blowing around in the wind were several $50 notes.   I raced past him and manically began picking up the notes.   I didn't stop and count them until I was sure I had picked them all up   Then I stopped long enough to count them.  8..9..10.  They were all there. 
Which brings me back to the $30.   You would think that after a scare like that I would be a lot  more careful with my money.   Guess I learn things the  v.hard way.

the club

day lillies.  the name says it all. they bloom and live for a day

David and I went to the club for dinner on Saturday night.  V. nice.   Stayed and had a few drinks afterwards and listened to the lone performer on stage.  Bumped into a few people that David knew and I someone I hadn't seen since I was 15.  He said he used to have a crush on me at school.  Didn't know whether that was just a pick up line or not but either way it made me feel good.
We took the courtesy bus home and sat on the double seat on the right hand side behind the driver.   We forgot to put our seat belts on and when the driver took a right hand turn David in true Laurel and Hardy style flew off the seat and landed scrunched up on the floor in front of the sliding door.   I was laughing to much to help him up.   The driver pulled over and David eventually made it back to his seat.  We put our seatbelts on after that. Slippery little suckers those seats.   I was just glad I was on the inside or it may have been me on the floor.
I asked the driver if the drivers compared notes at the end of the day, like - I had a slow night tonight I only lost one.   My night was better, lost 3 on the first corner and 2 on the second.

five days later

Back at mums for the weekend and after five days my vegie garden is blooming.   The capsicum, eggplant, tomatoes and zucchini have all fruited and the rock melon have flowered.  I won't be back for another couple of weeks and wonder what they will be like then.  Lois is watering them and looking after them while I am away.

experimental solar station

Taken after sunset with 1600 iso, 4 second shutter speed, F8 aperture.

Looked like a space station in the middle of Victoria so had to stop and have a look.  This is an experimental solar station at Bridgewater.   Very impressive and space ageish.

maremma

Melba Highway near Yarra Glen

The Maremma's flock

A look-a-like Maremma but not the Maremma.

I drove out to Yarra Glen to empty the book bin today and because we are not back on the road again until Monday I was in the car.  In a normal week I drive down the Melba Highway at least twice and I always look for the Maremma.  I only see him occasionally but I am never able to stop and take a photo.  I am intrigued by him.  ( I shall call it him as I imagine him to be a boy) 
Most of the times when I have seen him he is relaxing gracefully by his flock.  Today however I was able to stop but though he may have been in the paddock he was no where to be seen.   His charges however were peacefully grazing.

back to work

The start to my day was about the way my day went.   At 8 while putting on my makeup in the bathroom there was a noise like a train coming through the house.  I waited for the house to shake expecting a tree to have crashed and fallen onto the house but there was only the noise.  Terrified I raced to the back door and checked all the trees.   They were all still standing and the rain was falling down in big soft plops.   A loud rumble of thunder echoed around me and I realised the first noise has been thunder.    I breathed a sigh of relief.  
It  was time to go to work and the thunder still rumbled and the rain more of a spitty rain still fell.   I couldn't put Willow outside, she would be terrified and I didn't want to take the chance on Modo getting upset so I left the dogs inside.   My first day back at work was only a short day so they should be ok.
I got to work and realised that my work keys were all in my car which was still at Davids house.   I was able to borrowed a set of truck keys but there was no key to the office so I had to go the long way round every time I needed to use the office. 
Once at home the key dramas continued.   I got to the front door before I realised that I had mums car and mums house key on the car ring.  Thankfully I always carry a spare house key in my purse.    I searched my bag - hairbrush, diary, two pairs of reading glasses, book and no purse.  The dogs were excitedly barking at the front door.   They watched in disappointment as I returned to the car.   I called Laurie.   He was heading home but was still half an hour away.   The dogs lay down in front of the office window and stared forlornly out at me.   We were finally rescued and after Laurie had gone I looked for my purse, and looked and looked.   I was beginning to worry that I had left it somewhere but I hadn't been anywhere to leave it.   At least I know it has to be here somewhere.
I'm just wondering now what else am I going to lose?  My sanity?  Too late, I've already lost it.

early to bed

The Murray Valley highway between Boundry Bend and Swan Hill Vic.

I re-arranged slightly the meaning of early to bed and got to bed v.early in the morning at 2am to be exact. So it was early to bed, early to rise, - I was up again at 7, makes a man - in this case woman, healthy wealthy and wise. Well I fell down a bit on the healthy part of it though after 4 panadol I did feel a lot healthier, we'll skip the wealthy bit and go straight to the wise. Certainly made me a lot wiser. I spent an hour fretfully wondering if I was going to be over .05 if I left at 8 am to head back to Melbourne. I looked up the .05 guidelines and was still confused.  Two drinks in the first hour and I standard drink per hour after that and you should still be under .05.   I have heard if you are female the amount of alcohol you drink has to be less so that amount is standard for a male.   I checked the cask, it held 27 standard drinks.   Figured I had already had half a dozen glass out of it a couple of nights previous so that left 20 drinks.  I would have consumed half so 10 drinks for the night starting at 7 pm finishing at 2.  10 drinks in 7 hours, then sleep for 5 hours so 10 drinks in 12 hours but I was female so does that mean I can drive or not.   Oh my head is starting to hurt again.  All this brain activity and it is getting me nowhere.  Think I need to take one last look around my garden and give it a good water. I know it is going to be a hot day so poor garden will need all the help it can get.  Watering done still had the .05 problem.  Will never be able to work it out.   Have to get back to Melbourne today so by the time I drop in to the hospital guess I will have to be ok to drive.  That is where the wise comes in.   I am still none the wiser as to what my blood alcohol reading would have been but definitely know now that if I am going to drive the next morning.   DON'T DRINK.

already - where has the year gone?

This trick was made a lot harder by the fact that the deck of cards used was an old very much loved deck.   It was about twice the thickness of a new deck and had so many spots and markings that if you wanted to take the time to get to know the cards you could use it as a marked deck.

Here it is the 3rd of Jan already and this is my first post.  I decided to stay at mums one more day as my sister Lois and my brother in law were arriving in the afternoon.   She will be staying and looking after mum in hospital while I go back to Melbourne.  That night had some nice Chinese for dinner but that was only by default.  Originally it was going to be fish and chips but the fish and chip shop was closed. - fancy that.   Decided on chicken and salad but the supermarket was also closed.  It closed at 6 that evening but thankfully the Chinese take away was open.   Course had a few drinks with dinner which lead to a game or two of 500.  What! 500!  But crib is the family game!  Yes and 500 and Euchre are the other family games.  Course the men had a few beers and Lois and I had a few white wines and a few white wines and a few white wines.   Late in the evening or more likely early next morning I had blown the cask up trying to get  out that last half glass.  At 2 am  I dragged my poor body off to bed.