Feels like I've been going flat out even after settlement day, so this is the first chance I've had the space and energy to have a little celebration.
Couple of dishes from the little Chinese cafe which is a bit of a local institution, the bottle of bubbly the estate agent gave me when we sold the house, and sitting down to finally watch Bridgerton. Ahhh.
Jeez that's what the structure fire warning I saw earlier today was... middle of a hike and got to a rare spot with phone reception and an unexpected ping.
I trimmed my beard, shaved, gave myself a haircut, showered and was seconds away from booking a room up on the border for the night but then all of my motivation just fell away. I might just stay home and save my money, then go for a drive and find some mountains and start a new audiobook tomorrow just for a day out.
Old stuff was straight silicone, so lots of swearing, picks, blades.....but l'epoxie be situated in lovely clean voids and curing merrily away since 8:30 pm.
This kids gonna drive me insane and if he doesn’t the wife will. I said a 4pm nap was a bad idea, lo and behold who was right? 8pm and he won’t go to sleep. He’s gonna be up till 10pm again I can tell. And im a bad dad if I don’t do my part in helping fix a totally avoidable situation of my wife’s own creation.
Had a go at cleaning the kukri last night. Lemon, salt, baking soda, vinegar...
First time it has been used. It's never been sharpened (by me) and that went through a lemon like it was nothing (sharper than my chef's knife). @[email protected] was right that edge keeps. Will need a few more passes but something tells me it's a very old blade and it'll be difficult to get shiny.
Cleaning it did reveal some detail like how they poured a little bronze or whatever in a few bits which is a nice touch.
Even though I've been back in Perth a few years now, Aldi's snow week here still amuses me:
None of the snow gear moves at all. This stuff would have been gone in the first few hours in Melbourne. I think this is actually the second week, too!
Every light sniffle or cough I have picked up over the last couple of years has developed into a brutal sinus infection. I do not like this new chapter in my life.
I had one that lasted for literal years and still have issues. Antihistamines for a short period while using the Flo bottle or something similar can help
I always dreaded going to the post office on Saturdays because the queues would be long, the packages would be piled up everywhere and nobody had their shit ready when it was their turn. This morning however, only person in there was paying bills and there was a few tubs on the ground of packages but nothing like what it used to be. The purse strings are tight here in the inner north.
In other news there are far too many pictures of me in my new passport of varying sizes and colors. 0/10 do not recommend.
I stole the pics his lordship didn't use last time he had his passport done and they're left fir random encounters in strange places around the house. Unexpected husband!
Bag full of veges for roasting and soups. Couple of easy meals for the freezer to avoid take away. Even got some honey and eucalyptus drops for this post flu foolishness. Coffee drunk. Puppies patted. This is a good Saturday morning.
Went and grabbed a weeks' worth of dinners for what ends up being like $7 a meal at the South Melbourne Market and that's awesome BUT it was getting a little late to cook something so I grabbed a crispy chicken Caesar wrap from maccas on the way home. I mention this because I asked them to add a bit of that new spicy fiesta sauce to it too - which they wouldn't do for some reason - but sold me a little tub of it so I can add it myself. Which I did. And it was incredible.
I might email them now and suggest strongly that they add it to their lineup and I am not the kind of person who does that.
Today is my "wash everything" day. All items of bedding inc. pillow and doona, and clothes, and my work backpack which is getting a little smelly. Going to take 4 loads but will be very content when I'm done
I'm taking the pressure off. No art, just sharpening pencils. That's my hobby now. /s
It also leads nicely into whittling and woodwork. If I had a slab of wood, glue and sandpaper I could even carve a handle into one end and make my own sharpening sandpaper block. I have some fence staples to hold the paper layers on. And then that could lead into making one for knives or making strops...
But no more physical hobbies or tools. I just run out of energy and drop them.
I know you are half joking but, if you are enjoying the sharpening and looking after the tools, go for it. You might find you are motivated to draw/create just so you get to calmly shape the pencils again! They look amazing btw.
Look Uluru would be interesting to see. Problem is it's not all that cheap to get there, nor is the accommodation or anything around it.
Out of curiosity I looked up flights from Melbourne to Alice Springs. The absolute cheapest was something like 678 dollars. That's not far off the cost of an international return flight to many places in Asia.
If you have limited time and budget it just doesn't seem worth it to me.
Can confirm. The drive north from Adelaide is just amazing. I pulled over one night off the highway, drove about 1km west along very flat easy ground and camped for the night. The stars were just unbelievable.
I went there back in 1991 - budgeted a week's stay in Alice and side trips to Uluru and Kings Canyon - both were mindboggling and a week wasn't long enough. If going, do it properly. Either fly or drive there, and reckon on spending at least 10 days seeing things in the area. There's a lot to see. Some crazy good museums and art galleries too. If driving, take a 4wd or a VW Kombi - the roads are NOT good. I went in September, after the first fall of rain in several years. The wildflowers were off the planet incredible.
Maybe a humidifier/vaporiser if there's an easy way to get one and mould isn't a problem.
Other than that maybe some eucalyptus oil (bottle or spray) so you can put a little on the shower floor and breathe the vapour in when and if you're up to a hot shower. (Be careful not to slip or let pets lick the oil.) The moisture thins and loosens the mucous so you can cough it out more easily. Get some Vicks if you're not up to the shower.
Also easy foods so you can constantly keep eating while resting. Protein bars, Up N Go or premade protein shakes and salami/jerky if you can't leave bed, tuna tins and soup if you're more able to get up. Lots of protein. Lots of fluid and tea.
Also if you don't have anyone to gently thump your back lean over the edge of your bed so gravity can help you cough your airways clear. Plenty of tissues to cough and spit into. Baby wipes and sanny. Bin nearby.
Hot water bottle for the chills and paracetamol for any fevers.
Edit: Also garlic and onion if you can eat them, especially in chicken soup
Source: Used to have frequent horrific bronchitis/chest infections
Humidifier and eucalyptus/tea tree oil. Just a bowl of boiling water and a towel over your head will do if you can’t get one.
Liquorice is an expectorant too.
Telemovie review. Burning Patience. A sweet movie about people in Pablo Neruda's village. My question is, did he become a poet because everyone in his village was a poet and they lived in a beautiful place or did they become poets after reading his poetry? Maybe a little of both.