Drifting through life

We all know Telstra right? Much maligned by unhappy customers all over Australia? Yep, that's them. Well, today, I checked my mailbox and found this:- From Telstra A cheque..... ...a REFUND cheque! How sweet is that??!! Totally unexpected too.

One of my customers today was a sweet little old lady. We chatted as I bagged her groceries, she complimented me on my packing. We smiled, I gave her the change, she turned and walked to the doors, I turned to the next customer. Then I heard it. Whump! I turned toward the door and saw the sweet little old lady flat out face down! I raced over and helped as she got to her knees, while my supervisor called the first aid attendants. She kept insisting she was fine, had just tripped on something. There wasn't anything on the floor to trip on, so I assumed she'd tripped on her shoe. (it happens, I've done it!) When the first aid attendants got to her, I went back to my customer, who hadn't minded at all that I'd rushed off like that. Really, I was only gone for less than a minute. The woman didn't want to fill out an incident report, nor even leave her name and other details, still insisting that she was fine. What could we do? We had to let her go

I've always been proud of being able to say, "I don't get sick" Yes, I have hayfever which gets quite bad in September; Yes, I have a little asthma; Yes, I have numerous aches and pains. A little arthritis. But generally, I don't get sick. For years now at work, people have had time off with such things as colds, flu, sore throats, gastro etc. It's a high risk occupation, we're daily in contact with  many hundreds of people, who may or may not be contagious at any time. I just didn't catch these things. I haven't had the flu ever. But in the last 10 months, I've had gastro (once), a cold twice, and migraine after migraine after migraine. My good record is gone. Wiped out. I'm no longer the girl who never gets sick, always available to fill in a shift for someone else who is sick. I'm guessing this is in part due to the stress and worry I've had which saw me moping around, not eating properly, not sleeping well.

It's Sunday Selections time again! Time to post photos that have been hiding away in your computer files, photos that you may have completely forgotten about. Have a hunt through your files and find them. This idea comes to us from Kim of Frog Ponds Rock, who realised one day that she takes many more photos than she uses, as we all do, and wanted to post some of the older ones on her blog. A once a week meme seemed like a good idea, so Sunday Selections was born, and anybody at all can join in. I often choose a theme for my Sunday Selections , and this week my theme is: BLUE   Blue in patches, Blue with puffs of cottonwool clouds, Blue fast being overtaken by the rain clouds. Miles and miles and miles of blue ... ...as far as the eye can see. Summery blue sky above the shops opposite my bus stop. Blue background for a chimney standing straight and tall. To join in with Sunday Selections , post photos of your choice under t

Tomorrow is Sunday. Last week I made a decision to do an hour of weeding in the front lawn each Sunday. Last Thursday however, I was woken by the sound of a largish mowing machine making the rounds in the complex. So my grass is now quite short and maybe I won't be able to see the weeds. If they've grown enough that I can see the leaves, I'll do a bit of weeding, but if all I can see is green, well, I'll have a day off. I'll just do  my usual Sunday stuff. Nap, eat, nap some more.....maybe go for a walk. Today, of course, I was supposed to go to the Plant and Craft Market, up at Fullarton Park, where the Library is. It's held every fourth Saturday and I really was looking forward to seeing what it was all about. But I'm sad to say I totally forgot about it and spent the day rearranging my lounge room furniture. *sigh* I've circled the next fourth Saturday in red, so I don't miss it.

Raising the blinds fully on a sunny afternoon really highlights the dust on the TV screen. Every. Single. Speck. Just pops right out at you.

I'm currently reading The Help , by Kathryn Stockett . It's a story set in Jackson, Mississippi, 1962, "where black maids raise white children, but aren't trusted not to steal the silver.." told from the viewpoint of several maids of the time, secretly, to a white woman wanting to write a book. The book has been made into a movie, which I'm looking forward to seeing. It's an interesting story, almost un-put-down-able, and page 195 stirred a memory deep in my mind. On that page I read that a " Medgar Evers " had been shot in the back, in his own driveway and died with his wife and children crying and holding him. I was sure I'd seen that already in a movie, one that I had a copy of on my own shelf. I searched, found and started watching  "The Ghosts of Mississippi", starring Alec Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg. Sure enough it's the story of the shooting of Medgar Evers , the trial (where no-one was convicted), t

Farts . I spent most of yesterday and a good part of last night coughing. I was going to say coughing up a lung, but the Doc has assured me that both lungs are still exactly where they should be. And infection free. Yay ! So, just coughing.  And swallowing air.  Lots of air. By the time I headed off to bed, (after napping on the couch since sundown * ), my belly was quite uncomfortable. So it was a relief to get up early this morning and fart . Not your timid, genteel, ladylike puff of wind either. Oh No. This was a bum-ripper! Long and loud and rolling. And so very satisfying! A huge pocket of air, once again free. As it should be. (I'm still coughing, but much less now.) *once the sun went down I was suddenly so tired I wanted to do nothing but sleep, couldn't even catch up on my blog reading.

....I have the headache from hell going on here. Yesterday, I did a little work around the place, not much , bit of this, bit of that, rested often, took it easy. Clearly I should have just rested all day instead. Let's begin with the weather. Warm and breezy. Very breezy. Glue your hair to your head so it doesn't fly away breezy. Perfect for drying sheets and towels. I loaded up the washing machine, then went outside to clean off the old hills hoist. Nobody ever cleans that thing, or even uses it. There's two of them out there and on the smaller one I've occasionally seen some underpants big enough to double as a circus tent. I removed all of the brittle old pegs, most of which fell apart in my hands, cleaned off the spiderwebs, wiped the wires twice. With disinfectant. It was ready for my sheets. While the washing machine did its thing, I got started on the weeds in the front lawn. Now, I know there's too many for me to clear in one go, they'

It's Sunday Selections time again! Time to post photos that have been hiding away in your computer files, photos that you may have completely forgotten about. Have a hunt through your files and find them. This idea comes to us from Kim of frogpondsrock, who realised one day that she takes many more photos than she uses, as we all do, and wanted to post some of the older ones on her blog. A once a week meme seemed like a good idea, so Sunday Selections was born and anyone at all can join in. I often choose a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week my theme is: ROOFS AND GABLES: We all know I'm a fan of symmetry, and these come pretty close. To join in with Sunday Selections , post photos of your choice under the Sunday Selections title, go to Kim's site and add your name to her linky list, then leave her a comment. Then have a look at what others have posted for their Sunday Selections . There are some really good

Remember this little yellow rosebud?  Look at her now. All grown up.  You'll notice the other roses are gone. They browned, they drooped, the petals fell. She's all alone now. But not for long. I'll cut a couple of white ones tomorrow. That particular bush is very prolific. Here's that apple-rhubarb crumble before I got stuck into it. Mmmm, yummy

I had quite a few things on my to do list for today. It didn't seem like an awful lot, but I knew that I might not get them all done. One or two of them weren't so terribly important anyway. The grocery shopping could wait for tomorrow, washing the sheets could wait for tomorrow... So I set off early, with the two most important things on my mind and got them done. One of the things was to get out to no-one's  and cut myself some of her rhubarb. We're selling it in the supermarket now, but I'm certainly not going to pay $7 a bunch when I can get some for free. For the next few things, I had to be in town, so I got my last home made burger out of the freezer and the last burger bun too, and set them on the sink to thaw while I was gone. Things took longer than I expected and I arrived home in need of coffee and a nap. Just a few years ago I could have zipped through everything on that list and had time left over for grocery shopping. I must be gettin

Worldwide, every country has its own wanderers. (Googled images; thanks google)  Gypsies, Nomads, those who are constantly on the move, never settling to a permanent address, although many groups, (tribes/clans) often have a defined winter or summer area. They move in, stay awhile, move on. Back in the depression days, solitary men in Australia, who moved from area to area doing odd jobs for a few shillings or just a bag of flour and some tea, were called Swagmen. The Swags they carried on their backs were usually a change of clothing, a few eating and cooking utensils, sometimes notepaper and a pencil, all tightly rolled up in a blanket, and slung across the back. From this usually hung a billy for boiling water to make tea, sometimes a pot or frypan for cooking food, a bag containing the essentials; flour, sugar, tea, salt, maybe some jam for the damper they cooked in place of bread. A hat strung with corks to keep flies away from the face completed the swagg

So I went for a walk to see what the  "Friendly Grocer" was like. Last Sunday dawned grey and drizzly and I really didn't want to go anywhere, but by 2pm the drizzle had stopped and I thought I'd get a little exercise after all. As always when confronted with something new, I was just at the store when I had a sudden desperate urge to pee. That's so typically me! Anyway, I decided against racing back home and took a quick tour of the store. (I'm getting quite good at holding on.) It's an old building and as soon as I entered I was assaulted by an overwhelming smell of long-term damp. Not nice at all. There are only three aisles, with very little stock, so it didn't take long to complete the tour and I didn't stay to buy anything. Disappointing, to say the least. The Fullarton Bakehouse and Coffee Shop was three doors down, and as I passed I glanced in to see about a dozen people seated at tables enjoying coffee and cakes. Clearly a

The first small bunch of roses that I cut for my kitchen didn't last very long. Barely a week. But that's okay, it meant I got to got out and cut a new bunch.  This time, as well as the white and apricot, I noticed two other bushes coming into flower. One, a gorgeous bright yellow, the other, my favourite dark red. So I cut just one of each of those. I can't take them all, it's a community garden and others might want some. Here's a bird's eye view. The red has the most amazing fragrance. They're all scented, but the red is the one that is now fragrancing my whole kitchen. Because they're right by the front door too, I get to smell them as soon as I walk in from work. I just love them. I brought my four surviving rose cuttings with me and I think I'll plant them in among the others, there's plenty of room and I don't think anyone will mind. (Someone else has recently put in a new lavender) They'll be better off i

Recently, my friend Kirrily of  Sunny Side Up  wrote a little list of "complaints" she has about her job. For instance why is she the only one who picks up that one item that everyone else just keeps stepping over or around? I have a complaint of my own about my job. I actually have many complaints but I won't bore you with them. We all already know I would much prefer to stay home. anyway.... I am a checkout operator. A checkout operator. Not a bank teller. We do not have unlimited funds in our tills. When several customers in a row request extra cash out, we can get very short of money, leading to us giving change to the next few customers as a handful of $5's because we have no larger denominations left. I once gave $20 as $2 coins.... I know they do this because a lot of EFTPOS transactions do not incur fees and they, the customers, prefer not to pay fees if they can avoid it. Fair enough, I do too. Requesting an extra $20 or $50 isn'

It's Sunday Selections time again! Time to post photos that have been hiding away in your computer files, photos that you may have completely forgotten about. Have a hunt through and find them. This idea comes to us from Kim at frogpondsrock , who realised one day that she takes many more photos than she uses, as we all do, and wam]nted to post some of the older ones on her blog. A once a week meme seemed like a good idea, so Sunday Selections was born, and anyone at all can join in. I usually choose a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week my theme is: DAYS OF YORE Well, not quite, but these were taken a long, long time ago. But not by me, so I'm cheating here a little. These are all me and my older sister, with the middle photo also including my younger brother. All taken between 1953 and 1955, at the Bonegilla Migrant Camp in Victoria, where we lived for a while after arriving from Germany. To join in with Sunday Selections , post

but close enough. Yesterday was the four week anniversary of my moving in here. Yes, folks, I have been here now for one whole month. Not a calendar month, unless it's February, but a month just the same. It seems like much longer. I'm so used to the place, I could have been here much longer. I unpacked quickly, got things sorted and settled in. But there is still some tweaking to be done. Some rearranging. Some things that don't really belong in their current locations. This morning I woke up early, (in spite of going to bed after midnight), and as I lay there arguing with myself over whether I should get up or just stay snuggled under the quilt, my blender came to mind. I knew exactly where it was, I knew it was still in its box, taking up a lot more room than it would if I got rid of the packaging. So I lay there nice and warm, while in my mind several kitchen cabinets rearranged themselves. Once the mind had done its work, I got up to do my bit. Unpack

I've just killed a big black spider in my bedroom. He/she was on the wall right beside my pillow. The cheek bugger didn't even try to run away when I turned on the bedside light, so I smacked him/her with my slipper. That'll teach him.....

Thank God It's Friday. I don't go to work on Fridays, so today I get to rest. All I need to do today is:- a load of washing; sweep and wash the floors; clean the shower; go and pay my rent; go to Bunnings for a new toilet roll holder, (the one here is all rusty), and some bigger pots for my jade plants;  (and the roses) and I'll need potting mix too...hope they deliver; go to Dick Smith for some printer ink; go to Spotlight and check out what they have in the way of curtain rods, brackets, rod ends; then go to Haighs for some yummy chocolate, (I have a gift voucher). I should probably buy a couple of spare bus tickets too. What was that I said about resting?

Last Sunday, as I was walking through the complex to my home,  I snapped this photo of a young magpie.  He seemed very interested in me and my camera and as I walked on home he followed me. I didn't notice until I looked outside and saw him on my little porch looking right into my front door!  I sat there and spoke to him while taking these photos through the screen as he strutted around on my mat,  occasionally hopping up onto the small guard rail, all the while paying quite close attention to me. He really was the friendliest little thing! I tossed out a little bread for him,  but he wasn't much interested in it, and decided to forage for insects instead. (I know magpies like to eat bits of raw meat, but I didn't have any handy) I watched for a while longer, then left him to it. I'm hoping I see him hanging around again.  I quite like the little fellow.

Ha Ha! That got you in, didn't it? But while you're here, just have a look at the deep yellow of these egg yolks . Close enough to gold , wouldn't you say? My daughter, T, acquired a few chickens about three months ago. Lovely golden brown hens. I do love brown chookies. They free range over her yard while the dog is in his enclosure, then the dog runs free while the chooks are in theirs. Every now and then, she'll bring me a half-dozen eggs. Every single one has a yolk as gold as this one and they taste so good.

On Sunday afternoon I took my camera for a walk. What!? It likes to go for a walk. I was looking for the Fullarton Community Centre which was just a little way down the road. And I found it. See? This wonderful old building houses a library, which is why I was looking for it. Sadly, the opening hours are the same as my working hours, almost. Friday: not working=library closed Saturday: not working=library closed Sunday doesn't get a mention. Pfft!! This is the part of the building that houses the library. Such a pretty place.  There were some signs on the fence by the corner... ...aha! This looks interesting... On the way there I noticed a small strip of shops, so on the way home I took photos.    Bakehouse and Coffee Shop, open 7 days. good to know. The Friendly Grocer, also open 7 days.  I hope this doesn't get replaced by a giant supermarket. There's an Indian Restaurant...