Sunday, October 31, 2010

October's Something Different!

The differences this month were big and wonderful; and a lot of it had to do with the weather.  Being October, it's supposed to be warm and muggy, but it's turned out to be a cool and wet kind of Spring.  So, I got in to some serious Spring Cleaning, beginning on the first week of this month.  I cleaned up the lounge room, dusted it, vacuumed and made it nice and tidy.  Well, I couldn't do anything else as it was pouring rain for a good part of the weekend!  So, I was stuck inside with my mess crowding me.  What else could I do?

This month was also a different kinda month because I had my birthday.  I prepare for it in what some people think is a strange kind of way.  I write a journal entry in my manual journal on the day before about what I've done and who I've met over the year of being my age; to see what I've achieved, what books I've read and who I've met (if anyone) of importance.  Seeing my memory isn't the best, I think it's the best way to keep it going.
I had a great day though.  I received a $50 book voucher from a wonderful friend (Nick Allott) in the mail, a $50 music voucher from my brother for Rockaways music at Springwood, Mum took me out to lunch at Runcorn Tavern, we sussed out a new home theatre system and we bought some skin care products and other goodies too. 
By the 10th, October, I had tidied up the house completely.  What was beginning to take me over a year to tidy up, only took me a few days out of sheer boredom due to the weather becoming sour on us.  We had had a storm one night and then it just poured rain for almost a week!  So, we were stuck inside again with nothing to do.  So, I cleaned up - and cleaned out - the whole house and it was nice and tidy for about a week or so.  Well, until I used the place again.
On 9th, October, we went out Gabe & Kat's house to celebrate Gabe's and Riley's birthdays together.  Gabe made home made pizza as music played on the stereo while Riley and I stuffed around on the net and Mum, Kat and Dad talked to Gabe too.  It was really cool.  The dinner was great, I gave Gabe his gift of a Jeff Beck vinyl from 1967-68 and he was stoked!  It's titled 'Truth' and Gabe said it was something he's been dying to find and play ... so it looks like he'll be getting out his turntable from storage and hooking it up.

On 16th, October, we went to Uncle Allan's birthday party.  It was so much fun; but freezing cold! So we all rugged up and tried to keep warm, but as the sun went down and wind died down, the chill really hit us.  We were all grateful for the hot food and coffee and tea that was available later on in the night.  However, I had coffee and I was up until all hours.
But that wasn't all, when I had just posted on here, shuffled off to bed and was about to get to sleep, somebody's car horn blared us all out of bed.  Not just a beep-beep sound... one long continuous blare for about 3 minutes!  It drove everyone nuts.  And if that wasn't bad enough, my next door neighbours were up at 6:45am moving their cars around, pulling the trailer out of the back yard and mowing the law by 7am while we were all trying to sleep in.  It was so inconsiderate of her... she slammed all the doors on the place and the cars too.  

Over the last two weeks, I've been getting my nose into my very first book spiral on Bookcrossing and so far - out of 6 books - I've read almost three of them.  I'm zooming through the books so fast it's amazing!  It's a brilliant series and I can't wait until I pick up the book again.  Yesterday I was at the Logan Art Gallery alone (which normally I would have been bummed about) but I thought it would give me time to read more of the third book because there's nobody there with me... strange that.  So, I read about 60 pages of that book!  Wow!  How weird of me; normally, I'm flat out reading 30 pages of a book in public; I'm so self-conscious about how long I sit for in public when I'm reading and how much I concentrate on a book.  But not yesterday.

I've begun looking into getting the house ready for tonight for Halloween.  The two pumpkins are carved, lollies are ready, my costume is aired out and I'm hoping the weather holds for tonight.  I've yet to put a skull on my front screen door, tea candles along the window sill outside and work on decorating inside too.  Otherwise, most of it is done.  I'll be taking photos as usual.  

Until next time, this is my post of something different in my month of October.  What have you done that's outside the square? Until my next post, take care.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Shopping Day and Summer On The Way.

I had a good day out today; but it was very hot.  I posted off something in the mail and had to post it off, a pet store to check out and a whole lot of shopping for All Hallow's Eve to get done.  And it was only 9:20am and the day was heating up really well; actually too well.  By the time I had left the post office, I was sweating and the sun was hot on my neck making me wish I had brought a hat or sun umbrella with me and a bottle of water.
But soon enough the bus arrived and I was at the Aldi Bus Stop and off to my first destination.  It was the pet shop I had to go to for Stevie's food in future; as Pet's Paradise had closed at K-Mart Plaza.  I found a replacement swing for her and that the food at K & B Pet Store was well-priced:  $3.95 for 1kg of Finch seed.  Not a bad price seeing I had paid $3.00 for 500g previously.
After that I headed off to Life Line and found a nice mini-skirt and a lovely shirt for around $4 - $6 each; and so I bought those and headed off to Woolworths where I got my fresh fruit.  By this time, it was around 10:15am and I had to sit down and rest; which I did outside here.  It had gotten so hot so quick, and yet the water I was drinking felt like it wasn't enough just to drink it.  I wanted to bath in it!  Everyone was feeling this way, though.
I took my time getting to K-Mart Plaza where I paid $10 off my Woodys' Layby and then bought a picture frame to put my James Galway photo into.  It's a nice one that I'm going to work on getting it done up in the next week or so.  This is going to be taken into Brisbane's Performing Arts Complex where Mum and I will see him perform again 24 years.  I'm hoping to meet him again and take a trip down memory lane with him and show him the photo and get him to sign my vinyl that started my love affair off with the flute and classical music.  
I took my time with the shopping seeing the complex was air-conditioned.  I went to the chemist and then to Coles where I do the majority of my shopping.  I didn't rush - like I normally do - and just took my time.  I mean, why would I want to rush to get back out into the heat?  Anyway, I got all the things I wanted this time around and returned home; which turned out being a lot cooler than I expected.
Well, that was my shopping day.  Little Miss Stevie is happy with what she's gotten from the pet shop, I'm happy with my purchases from Life Line and I didn't get sunburnt, but was really hot today.  Until my next post, take care.

Friday, October 22, 2010

End of the Week...

Well, the sun's out and I've got laundry on the line.  Yep, it's the end of another week; and they say it's going to rain all weekend.  That'd be right, just when I want to get out in the yard and pull out all the horrible weeds, it'll pour.

Otherwise, I don't mind the rain.  It'll give me time to get into my most recent vampire romance series I've been sent through Bookcrossing.  It's a 6-book series and I've knocked over book one in a little over a week; and now I'm plowing through book two at 30 - 40 pages in one sitting.  So, I'm going well!  So far this year, I've read 14 books, and out of those books, I've only put down 4 unfinished.  Now, that's not too bad.  Seeing this vampire series is a good one, I'm only too glad to be able to get through it.
Not only that, today is my niece's 11th birthday.  I phoned her at 7am this morning and wished her a happy birthday at her Mum's house and she was thrilled to hear from me!  I said that I sent her gift through Facebook, but I will be sending her a cool gift through the mail early next week; with express mail.  She's so excited about that.  I'm looking forward to getting it to her as I know what I'm going to buy her and have had my eye on it for some time.  I'm also going to include some cool little rings and bracelets one of my friends sent me from up the coast too.
 And speaking of friends, another friend is having a birthday next week.  My Bookcrossing Birthday Buddy's parcel was sent off to her today full of books.  One lot was a trilogy I just can't get into; so I don't see why I should let it gather dust on my bookshelves.  And then there's two paranormal romances I thought she'd enjoy (no not vampire romance; they're something else).  I included a few bookmarks and other goodies too with a lovely card.
Anyway, I've been busily washing up, doing laundry, tidying up and making the bed lately; trying to keep the house the way it was last Monday or so.  It's hard when you're not used to house-keeping.  But seeing I've cleaned out most of the place, it's just a matter of keeping a lot of the stuff off the floor and hanging up my laundry when it's all done.  Otherwise, I'm going well!  Most of my bad habits are being replaced by good ones; and that's all it takes really.

This morning, I hammered up some palings of my fence, fed, Little Miss Stevie, put on the laundry and washed up a bit from last night and wiped down the counter before making breakfast.  The two pumpkins that are for Halloween are on the top of the fridge where a plate normally is.  I'm just having a hard time trying figure out where to put the darn plate... I'll find a place for the next week.  And that week will flash by quickly.  Quicker than I can imagine seeing I've got Halloween to organise for, the house to do up, the lollies to organise and my costume to air out from the wardrobe as well as my make up to sort out too... I really need new black lipstick as the one I have cakes up on me and looks terrible.  
Well, that's all from me for now.  I'll keep you all up to date with what's going on my life right up until All Hallow's Eve.  I was going to go to a Samhain art exhibition in Fortitude Valley, but I think dressing up in Goth clothes and going there will be a bad idea; it's just too dangerous.  It's best if I keep my Halloween celebrations around here and that's it.
Until my next post, take care!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Slower Than....

Yep, this week began great, hot and sunny; and has turned into a slow wet week.  Monday was my day for parcels and goodies in the mail.  Yesterday was another day where I ventured out and about to see a nice dry, hot day of what the Australian Spring was supposed to look like.  It was also a great day for me to buy two Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins from Woolworths at Garden City.  And I tell ya... they're really milking the season for what it's worth!  I paid $20 each for these things when not two years ago, I paid only $7.00 or so for one at the same place.  So, I have to ask:  what's happened?  Besides a good growing season, is anything else different?  I think not.  I'm thinking it's good old-fashioned greed! And it's absolutely disgusting how they're going to take us customers for a ride about this!

Well, enough of my bell-aching about this.  Today, I woke to a cloudy day and I concluded that my leg aching on me two nights ago before I turned out the light was a correct prediction that rain was on its way.  I remember thinking it was most probably two days or so by the way it cramped up.  And last Saturday night, my Uncle's hip was playing up (the poor guy was in agony for most of the night) and so was my Dad's hip and my leg too.  All three of us were sure signs that more bad weather was on its way.
I went to the post office early today and posted off four envelopes overseas; well four more to the same places actually.  It's Label Exchange time again on Bookcrossing I thought to divvy up the rest of what I had left out of last years' lot and share them amongst the four people I was given.  So, off those envelopes went.  I hope the people like what they receive.  It may not be much, but it's something; and all I have left from labeling lately.

Today, I'm going to finish reading book one of the 'Midnight Breed' series.  It's the fastest I've read a book in a long time... and it's only taken me a little under a week!  So, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of them; there's six in the series.  It ought to be great!
But Dad doesn't understand something.  You see, I had begun a book he had given me on my birthday and had to put it to one side until I get the 'Midnight Breed' series out of the way; then I'll pick it up again.  I'm on a time limit.  I can't just say I'm reading something else which I can read any old time.  I have to read what is of importance first; then relax with my own books next, and the one he gave me is my relaxation book which I'm happy to take my time with.

Well, there's not much more to say.  It was my older brother's birthday yesterday and his Facebook was inundated with all his buddies and family wishing him a happy birthday.  We got in contact with him through chat online and skype; and then it was over.  His time was up... bummer.  Oh well, at least we know he's having a great time and there'll be wonderful stories to tell us when Kat and him get home.

Right now, it's looking grey outside and the birds are singing - a sure sign it's going to pour rain again.  I have washing up to do, the kitchen floor to clean (I don't see why I bother seeing the minute I wash it, I drop something on it!) and the lounge room to tidy up.  Otherwise, I might get in and vacuum once the sun is out again in a few days' time.  In the mean time, I'll be reading the 'Midnight Breed' Series and getting into it in a big way and review the books one by one; then as a group... before I pass them onto the next person on the list.  I can't wait to get through them and find out how it all goes and what happens next! 
Until my next post, take care!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

And That's Not All, Folks....

Last night, after I shuffled off to bed, it was wasn't until after midnight that I actually got some decent sleep.  As I was dozing off, some idiot's car horn blasted everyone within coo-ee  awake around here!  It went on for around 3 minutes and absolutely everyone came out of their houses to see whose car it to was tell them to shut it the hell off!  Me?  I was trying to get warm; so I just swore and cursed under my breath in bed.
And if that was bad enough, at around 6:30 this morning, my next door neighbours moved their cars around, pulled out the trailer from their back yard and decided that 7am would be the perfect time to mow the lawn... yep, in the cool of the morning while everyone was still in bed sleeping off last night's interruption.  What an inconsiderate person she is!  But I gotta ask:  what in all Hell have we done to deserve that noise on a Sunday morning; particularly on a day where it's a cold snap in October?  Where does my neighbour get off doing all these noisy things when all we want to do is sleep in?
And if that wasn't enough, she pushed the trailer back into the yard, closed her gate and then slammed all her doors and did her vacuuming at 7:45am!  Yeah, I was really going to get some sleep then, with her bashing around the place doing her housework at this time of the morning.
When I went to get the paper, one of the other neighbours asked me who the hell started a lawnmower at the ungodly hour of 7am, and I told them it was my neighbour and they were furious!  This new neighbour had been nothing but rude and absolute trouble since they moved in.  Our caretaker has had words with her, her husband and her have had massive fights about how she treats people around here and it's going to come to a crux soon where they may have to bite the bullet and move into a proper house and not live in one of these places.  
Now, I'm not whining about living here.  I've been living in this place a long time.  However it really gives me the pip that people who do move into these places from houses just don't get it that when they do, they have to be just that little bit quieter, that little bit more considerate about who they're going to bother when they slam a door or start playing loud music.  Unit complexes are designed for temporary living for some people, permanent for others and not at all for the select few who really don't belong in these places.  And I'm afraid to say that I've had neighbours next door to me (and around me) and belong - more often than not - in the latter category.  It's sad but true.
So, when you're looking for a place to live - for any length of time - please do consider where you will be residing.  If you are looking at a unit complex, think before you purchase.  Will you be able to adjust your lifestyle from a large house to a smaller one?  Will it drive you nuts having people right there hearing almost every single thing you do, say and seeing all you do?  Will you be able to handle that almost everyone will know your business; whether you want them to or not?  Before you rent or buy one of these unit/townhouses, please run these questions through your mind and if you really can't say yes to any of these questions, you don't belong in these places at all.

Until my next post, take care.

Uncle Allan's Party

It's almost midnight right now; and I'm just not tired.  So, here I am online and typing up tonight's party now.  Today was cold and windy and a great day to get some serious laundry done.  So, I got in and washed all my bedsheets and mattress protectors and pillow case protectors too.  And they dried before 3pm!  Wow!  So, once they were pulled in, I put them straight back on the bed and readied it for tonight so when I got home from Uncle Allan's house, I could crawl straight into it and go to sleep.
Well, I chose my outfit carefully of a black knitted skivvy and my blue jeans with my Doc Martens (freshly polished this arvo and relaced too).  Then, I pulled down the scarf I bought in Edinburgh to wrap around my neck and made sure I had my leather jacket and cap Mum and Dad brought home from the USA.  And thank God I took them!  After the sun went down, the wind died off and it really got cold!  It was then, I wished I had brought along the gloves that matched the jacket and cap... damn.  But we all had a good time.  There were a lot of people there we knew.  Mum got to sit next to Jan - who she hadn't seen in a long time - and Frank and I talked the night away about everything.  It was great to catch up with him.  We talked about everything from languages to music to R'n'B (not the crap that's played today, but the real R'n'B) and to books and funny things we've done and the UK.  It was really good to talk about all kinds of things.  We even talked computers.  It was good to talk about that kind of thing too.
The food was great as was the music.  There was laughter and everyone had a great time.  Uncle Allan had the best cake and Kate made some little tarts that went down well.  Then, we all had a tea or coffee before some washing up was done and us guests took off within minutes of each other as the temperature dipped again to another kind of cold... making us wish for our beds.
I've gotta get off to bed now... as the hour is getting late.  Until the next time I post, take care.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Busy, Busy Wet Week

This has been such a busy and hectic week, that I haven't had much time to scratch lately... well, not until now.  Out of the whole week, I've had about two days or so where I felt like I was okay and not stressed out of my mind.
Monday was normal and cool.  It was raining; but what's new?  After last Thursday's massive late storm, that's all the sky did.  And everyone's laundry piled up.  I read, listened to music and finished cleaning the house.  Gabe and Kat came around to drop off the Kombi and she found out that when I said to take her time with a book I lent her, I meant it.  Kat saw the massive collection of books I have and was amazed that I found time to read.  I said that being an insomniac it's easy to read between 10:30pm and 1am for me; then I'll find time to read in the afternoons sometimes outside if the weather permits or in the carport too if it's too hot.
On Tuesday, I had a big day out at the hairdressers getting my hair trimmed to a length that was good and manageable.  It looked good and felt lovely.  Christine, my Mum's hairdresser, loved the colour and said it was just gorgeous.  We spent a big part of the day out and about; but I ended up finishing reading 'The Monkey's Mask' by Dorothy Porter; a great murder mystery written completely in verse.  A fantastic read if you want to sink your teeth into a book like that.
That night, I went out to a Logan Writers' Week event at the Logan North Library to listen to a publisher talk about Print On Demand, Kindle and e-Books.  Very interesting topic.  But my friend I went with got very sick afterwards and I had to call and ambulance for her.  By midnight, she was permitted to go home by the P.A Hospital and they found out through a blood test what was wrong with her and I walked down to my letterbox and left her house keys in it.  She was so grateful I got the carer to take her car home and cared for her house keys for her; even more so that she got to a hospital that night otherwise they wouldn't have found out what she had.

Wednesday was a shopping day for me.  I was exhausted from the night before - emotionally and physically - so I took my time and got home at around 1pm.  After that I sat on the internet all afternoon.  It was a good day as I got a book spiral in the mail and began reading the first book that afternoon of a vampire romance.
Thursday was me doing not much at all except the laundry; and was the line full!  I had clothes pegged right out to the very back fence (which is unusual for me!).  And so, I took a photo of the full line as it sagged inward with all its colourful clothes and painted pegs... and no sooner had I gone inside, the clouds scudded the sky over and cooled the day down.  I thought it was going to rain, but it didn't.
Today, it was a nice cool day again; and still cloudy.  However the rain didn't start until tonight; and it was windy, coming from the front.  So, my living room window is closed and so is my bedroom window as it's the Northly winds that are pushing the rain around.  We're supposed to be in for some thunder, but I haven't heard any yet and it's getting late.  
So, that was my week.  Interesting, fun, educational and stressful.  Four seasons in one week... much like the weather!  Until my next post, take care!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Wet Day Parade!

Last Thursday was a really hot and sticky day; which led to a massive storm late that night.  It was a real light show of lightning and thunder and it left me feeling tired the next day.  However, it also left Brisbane with cool wet days since.  So, I got in and did the only thing I could:  I tidied up the house in a few days.  The Big Tidy-Up became something of a thing that kept me from being bored.
I began downstairs and cleaned up the lounge room, kitchen and kitchen table.  This was on Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday was pretty basic and I loved being able to vacuum everywhere and ended up having to change the bag over in the vacuum then doing the lounge room floor again.  I dusted too; again.  This place gathers so much dust it's unbelievable.  I had only put together the new Home Theatre System on Thursday afternoon and got it working; and it had already gotten a fine layer of dust on its stand-up speakers!  So, this is something I have to watch.
The kitchen table didn't take very long.  I just kept everything in perspective and what needed to be put away, what belonged upstairs and what needed to be shredded; and it was easy enough.  I also had a rubbish bag that was filled very quickly and put next to the door ready to be taken outside.
 The washing up was done and I cleaned the stove and some of the kitchen cabinet doors and wiped down all the flat surfaces as much as I could.  It was the floor that I didn't get around to and that was a bummer.  But really, I didn't know how long it would take to dry in this weather.
On Sunday, I put way all my clean laundry, hung up anything that was in the chair in my bedroom and made the bed; then pulled the vacuum upstairs and gave the carpet a once over.  There was so much hair!  I couldn't believe I had shed so much of my hair all over the place!  Well, that room was done.  The office was next.
Actually, I had been working on the office since Friday; so there wasn't much I had to do to it.  I had put away a few things and vacuumed it on Saturday after I got the dust buster out and did the stairs, then ran the duster along the skirting of the stairs and the got that clean too.  The vacuum was run along all the skirting of the place and I did the bathroom too.  It was really good to have the hair and dust cleaned up in this place.  
In the office, I cleared the doorway and pulled out two paintings I had gotten framed for when I moved from here; but that never happened.  So, I'm going to look for a place to hang them around the unit.  They look great and I don't want to hide them anymore; so I've taken them downstairs to the lounge room where I've thought of a place for them.  It ought to look good.  I'll let you know where I've put them soon.

Well, last night, Gabe and Kat came over to park the Kombi in the carport for the time they're away.  I offered to start it up every week for them; but Gabe said that the car key was on the house key.  I just want to make sure the Kombi starts when he gets home; that's all and that we don't have to call out the RACQ to get it going.  
Anyway, they had a quick look around, and Kat was amazed how many books I had in this little office and Gabe was surprised that I hadn't moved anything from Grandpa's hand-made desk.  It was rather charming if you ask me... I just bring myself to throw anything out in there.  Kat thought my house looked nice and that Grandma's piano was lovely.  I hope to play it for the family some time in the future; if not this Christmas, next Christmas.  

Well, it's still dull outside.  I've got a hair appointment to get to this morning to get my hair trimmed.  So, I better get going.  Until my next post, take care.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Wet Weekend

Since Thursday night, when we got a great light show of a storm at around midnight, we've had lots of rain and the temperature has plummeted.  This is a good time to get into some serious cleaning up around my house for me.  And yesterday was the time for it. 
I began around midday and stopped around 2:30pm when I knew it was almost time to go out to my brother's house to celebrate his birthday.  I decided it was time to tidy up the lounge room and kitchen a little and it was a great success.  The coffee table was cleared off first from all the art gear and tea-stained coaster for the tea pot, then I got the Earth Choice spray'n'wipe stuff out and cleaned it up nicely.  All the spots of watered down paint came right off with a little work.  The vacuum came out of cupboard and I changed the bag over and went over the whole lounge room a few times to get all the carpet looking nice.  And it's nice when it does.  I even moved the lounge out of the way.
The kitchen was next.  I washed up everything that was dirty and wiped down the breakfast counter, put things away from my  painting and made sure that it was all tidy enough to be used today.  The stove even got a look at and I cleaned up underneath the elements (it's a gas stove and so I can take them off and clean underneath them!).  Then, I wiped down the door of the grill and oven and the side and I kept going along the kitchen cupboard and the walls around the stove.  There was so much residue from cooking that I didn't realise how much excess spatter would be around.  Once all that was done, I looked around and found the duster and did a quick wipe over of the stereo system and the new speakers of the Home Theatre System (it's only been three days and it's already gathering some dust).  

Last night, we went out to my brother's house for his birthday dinner.  I had bought him a vinyl of 'Truth' by Jeff Beck; a studio recording from 1967-68 in lovely condition.  Gabe was stoked about it!  He said it was something he hoped to get one day and said that Jeff Beck really took off when he did this vinyl.  I also gave him a bottle of Balintyne Scotch.  He loved both pressies; saying he really needed to get his turntable working again.  I said I thought he did have it working.  And he's got a beautiful turntable; better than mine!
Gabe made pizzas from scratch... they were absolutely gorgeous!  Mum and Dad took some home and gave a few slices of the vegetarian one to me as well for dinner to night.  We had some birthday cake, a refreshing fruit salad and Baked Custard that Mum made.  Absolutely delicious!  Then, we all sat on the lounge and had a photo taken... it was when we were all tired and full of food and it was late; so we all looked like we were ready for bed.  
We got home at around 11pm.  What a good end to a good evening.  I had a cup of green tea before going to bed and crashing; forgetting to turn on my alarm... oops.  Well, one of the neighbours woke me at 6:30am in any case and you know; it was still raining today and still cold. 

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday; and what a day!  However, I didn't write about it on the day as it was such a long day.  So, here I am telling you guys about it now.  
I started my day out on here - as usual - checking my mail and uploading a photo onto 365 Project and just pretty much stuffing around on my Facebook and wondering what was going to be happening for my day.  I knew lunch was going to be on the card; but I didn't know where I was going.  I got a phone call from Mum and she said we were going to the Runcorn Tavern.  So, seeing I was mostly ready, I just had to put on my make-up and get my bag packed.  And soon, I was out the front waiting.  
Runcorn Tavern isn't far from where I first moved to live with my first boyfriend when I was 24.  But it's a very new place; and doesn't look like a pub.  The food was fantastic and the place was very comfortable.  However, I found the coffee wasn't great.  Oh well, you can't win them all.  
I received a phone call from my brother before I left the unit and he said that he was being reminded about my birthday every time he wrote the date down and then he looked at his mobile and he said: "That's it, I'm calling my sister.  It's her birthday.  I'm not missing it." It was so good to hear from him and hear the funny story about it.  That morning, I received an SMS from his girlfriend, Kat, and after lunch I got one from Aunty Helen (who wrote out the whole birthday song with the 'hip, hooray at the end!  Then a personal message!  Wow... that was long SMS!).  I showed Mum when she was finished at the pokies and gotten herself a mocha. 
After she finished that, we headed off back to my place to lock it up and cover my Bok Choy so the possums don't get to it.  Little Miss Stevie was so pleased to see me... I gave her cuddle and she blew me little kisses and nibbles while I was here.  Then, I put her back inside her cage and she was happy for a few hours.  I closed up the curtains, covered the Bok Choy, got changed and made sure I had everything for dinner (mainly my medications) and then headed off with Mum.  But before that, I noticed I had gotten a message on my answering machine from Rockaways (this is a shop I purchase a lot of my vinyls from).  The store manager - Scott - said that my brother, Gabe, wanted to wish me a very happy birthday and that there was a $50 music voucher there for me to pick up!  What a brother!  
Anyway, I guess you're all wondering what I got for my birthday... okay, here's the list:

A tiny 4GB USB - Hot Pink
Normal sized 4GB USb - Dark Blue
Battery Recharger with 4 Double A batteries
2GB SD Memory Card for my camera
$50 Rockaways Gift Voucher
$50 Gift Voucher to the Normanby Hotel from Triple M
$50 QBD Gift Voucher (a book store)
A book title:  'The Riders' War: Battle For Today' by M A Clarke.  It's a signed edition my Dad bought for me.  Thank you Dad, I really love it and will read it soon.

In a parcel I received from the UK:
a beautiful notebook covered in butterflies
a green coin purse with cats on it
a 7 tissue container with the London Underground on one side and 'Blues' on the other.

They are my pressies.  I love them all and the people they came from.  I had a wonderful day - and night - and was very tired from it all last night.  I'm still a bit tired today.  I'm looking forward to getting a new Sony Home Theatre from WOW to replace my old, broken one (I haven't seen a movie on dvd for almost a month!  It's horrible to have all the dvds in that cabinet and yet nothing to play them on!).  Well, that's all for now.  Until my next post, take care.


Monday, October 4, 2010

Interesting Day.

I awoke this morning to a gorgeous day outside; and I thought my wish last night had been granted!  I wanted my birthday tomorrow to be nice and fine and hot... like it always is.  Well, I got out of bed, dressed and got on with the laundry so as not to waste the day!  The Bok Choy is no longer being eaten by anything (so the beer I bought the other day is doing wonders for it) and I ate breakfast to the Triple M breakfast show with my little darling bird pecking away at her seed too.  Yep, it was going to be a great day. 

Once the laundry was all out, the washing up was mostly done, and I had checked the mail across the road and picked up the milk from the servo, I was told by some people that there was mail from here that had been stolen and ripped opened... then dropped along the pathways between the fire station and the unit complex and the next street too.  I said it always happens on school holidays, thanked them and then went and picked it all up.  There must have been around 20 lots of mail that had been opened and dumped.  I found gas accounts, Centrelink statements, bank statements, credit card bills, Superannuation Accounts (booklets and all) and registration for cars... all for people who lived in the unit complex I live in.  I was thankful that I have a PO Box and no longer trusted my mail to a street mail box.  Even though I got no mail today, there were people here who had their privacy invaded by people who didn't care about it... and if I didn't collect their mail off the ground that was spread across about 200 feet, they would never have gotten it.

Well, my day got better from there on in.  When I checked my mail online, I had gotten a $50 voucher for one of the more popular pubs in the city from Triple M!  They knew it was my birthday (okay, I told them because I'm on their Music Jury; and so they knew that way) and it has to be used this Saturday night... how cool is that?  I think it's great!

Well, this afternoon, I put on some vinyls and looked through my journals from the last year of being 36.  You see, what I do on the 4th of October is write an entry about what I've done for the year between being the previous year of my birthday and this birthday... it shows how far I've gotten in a year, how many books I may have read, what art work I'm doing who I've met, where I've been and other things of importance as well.  And so, when I turn another year older, I can begin another year of new experiences and add that to my new year of experiences... it's just how I like to remember my years.  So, my year doesn't start in January, it begins in October on my birthday.  And because my memory is one thing that isn't the best, it's one way to keep it fresh.

So, I've done that tonight... my manual journal entry was about four pages long and it covered the year between 4th October last year and 4th October this year.  A lot has happened and I've met some amazing people, been some great places and seen some fantastic things as well as done some cool stuff too.  From tomorrow onwards, it'll be a new year for me to experience something new all the time in my 37th year on Earth... :D Until my next post, take care. 

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Wet Saturday

Yesterday, it poured rain here in Brisbane and it was chilly; and that's unusual for October.  Usually, it's quite warm and we've put away the Winter Woolies for another year; but not yet this year.  Anyway, I stuck around here on the net for the day as there wasn't much else to do.  I did wish to get my handwashing done, but when I didn't get around to doing it after breakfast, and it began to rain, I was kinda grateful I had been that little bit lazy.  And when it absolutely poured on and off all day, I was relieved I hadn't done it at all otherwise I would have been suck with a whole lot of wet clothes for the next three or four days.
Well, I got off the computer at around lunch time and grabbed something to eat... nothing much; just some cheesybite one biscuits and cheese.  It was lovely.  But I wanted to get some work done before too long.  So, I got into the washing up and tidied up the kitchen enough that all the pots and pans were done, the crockery too and the plates and glasses were clean as well.  It's a great relief when the kitchen is tidy enough to use again; and not messy.  
I moved onto the next place to work on while I watched the AFL  replay of the Premiership Game.  Grabbing the Windex from under the sink, I got a handful of paper towels and cleaned the glass inset of the display cabinets.  They do collect a lot of dust and dirt; even on the inside, and so I clean them once a month or so to keep them tidy.  Then, I grabbed the duster and lifted up the turntable and cleaned under that.  And then moved the stereo speaker and system itself to get the crap from under that; and did it have some dust!  If it sticking to the cabinet was a chore to get unstuck (which has been doing since I bought the silly thing), getting the dust off without the whole thing falling off the cabinet and breaking was another one!  But it's all back in one piece and working again now... no worries.  
I moved onto the tall stack of shelves next and moved the second speaker of the stereo system, my collector's edition 'Coke' glass and a 1lt 'Coke' bottle (this one I got from Cardwell in the Far North Queensland years ago when I was younger and was still working and traveling.  They still had them up there and recycled the bottles to be refilled in the smaller towns; but didn't mind if I took mine home to Brisbane to keep.  And thus, I haven't seen another like it or given this one away).  Then, I removed my pub-sized Bundaberg Rum bottle.  This is a bottle that I found at a bus stop one time and it was from behind the bar... how it came to be at the bus stop in one piece with its lid still on I don't know, but I put it in my shopping trolley (I was going shopping at the time) and ended up taking it home).  Now, it's a great conversation piece.
I dusted the television, DVD, VCR and HD box; along with the DVD speakers and sub woofer (most of which don't work and the dvd doesn't work; and neither does the remote control).  I got that all done and put everything back, found the back label of the rum bottle and then went onto the window sill and wiped that down too.  My next place was the piano, when the phone rang.  It was one of my friends who hasn't been well in the last few weeks.  I won't divulge details here; it's not right.  She's just not well and has to see some doctors about it all; but we talked for almost an hour.  So, that signaled the end my cleaning up for the afternoon; until the next time I pick up the duster.
But my day wasn't finished.  I decided to get out my art gear and work on the 'Love, Hate and Vampires' collage.  It's looking good so far.  And is going to look better soon... as I've added paint and more work to it while I watched 'Mrs. Doubtfire' on the television last night.  It's such a funny film; and I had a great time working on the collage too.  Then, I watched a show about our universe and how big it was, how old it was and how our galaxy had a massive black hole in the centre of it... but they all do... so that's how they all work they tell us.  And there was more very interesting information about how there was going to be a smaller dwarf galaxy merging with us in the next billion years and we were going to collide with another in about the same time... well, I don't think we have much to worry about.  Not a lot of us from the present will be there to see that occur.  Until my next post, take care. 

Friday, October 1, 2010

A Late Post for Friday

Normally, I post during the day; but I thought a late night one would be okay to do.  It's quiet, most of my neighbours have their lights off and my lovely little bird has put herself where I should be: in bed.  Otherwise, I'm still here dressed and tired from a full day out at the doctors; which meant traveling to my parent's place.

I bused it to Springwood and had to get some money out of the bank.  I was a little early for the first lot of doctors, so took in a book store.  Yes, I know that can be dangerous; and it was.  I bought two books: both non-fiction.  I don't know what it is with me these days with wanting to know people's lives.  But first one was about the life of Arthur Miller and the other was the letters of Robert Louis Stevenson; and I got them for the great price of $4.95 ea.
Once at my folks' house, I was on the net and uploading my usual photo for the day on 365project and looking after my farm on Farmville... what a cute little game that is.  I've now got a dog and lots of cats.  And as of tonight, I can teach my dog how to do tricks and give him dog biscuits; how cute!  Otherwise, my Aunty Helen came by while Mum was out and we chatted for a little while until one of my friends talked to me on Facebook... and I tried to get away but it took a little time.  
Before Aunty Helen came by, Mum got me to try on some of her old clothes and they all fitted!  They were all size 14; but a small make.  I was so amazed!  She was too... that I was putting on her clothes and they were fitting well.  We had a good laugh about it.

The next doctors was the chiropractor's and he said that my back wasn't as bad as first thought.  However, I went for my 10 minute walk anyway; finding myself at 'Rockaways Music' at Centro.  I bought myself two vinyls and found a Jeff Beck one for my brother for his birthday... so cool!  It's from 1968 and I hope he enjoys it; well I'm sure he will.
Anyway, it's getting late.  So far tonight, I've sorted out the newspapers, figured out what needs to come upstairs and put it into a green bag and put away all my art gear off the coffee table.  Then, I cleared the lounge off of garbage and filled up a plastic bag to throw out.  That's where I found a pink address book, some little things I meant to send overseas in an envelope and my 'Happy Little Pigs' Poetry book!  I'm hoping to get into the kitchen table and washing the floors tomorrow; as well as washing up and sorting through the clothes I don't want in my wardrobe.
Until my next post, take care.