In the park

Lazy dog walking I sit on the play equipment and she wanders around sniffing. Busy day putting the ikea lanterns together for the table decorations at daughters wedding and buy underwear always stressful and a pretty new purse. 

Sore

Really achy 2 busy days at work and two days golf. I had an afternoon nap on Wednesday bit sad! Golf went well nice ladies and we really enjoyed the day didn't play too bad but not a winning round.
I lost my post about our trip to Sydney to see rosencranz and gildenstein are dead. As you get older the plays you think you know reveal new ideas. We stayed at the seven pier one near the bridge I think it is the most beautiful hotel, not the deco but where it is. You wake up in the morning watching the tug boats fishing boats etc going down the harbour. We did two visits to Morris and sons in York st to buy their lovely wool and found a lovely French cafe called la renaissance in argyle st in the rocks.
Also bought a great book at the MCA museum of contemporary art at the Rocks. Its called Lessons from Madame Chic and was born from a blog. 

We saw a row of houses that looked straight out of the arts and craft movement as we were walking around the Rocks. 

The big decision

Well I've done it resigned my position and am going to work on the casual pool. So I get to decide when I want to work. I wonder how much of the hospital is casual pool now. Everyone on it says they really like it and there is lots of work. Really through I don't mind if there isn't, can just wind down. What precipitated my move was being put on morning shifts through the week disturbing my golf and tennis arrangements but really it has been quite interesting on the daytime, all the great ones drifting around. I actually quite like day shift but it just doesn't fit my life and I get a bit tired of the kind of ambitious people on the days. Some changes are for the better but the understaffing is still a problem. All very well increasing the safety things but no increase in the staffing. Also some of it is crazy amounts of paperwork. I wish I could move like I used to but now I have to sit down and have a rest.

I am doing the 2-5 fasting diet, on five days you eat normally and on two days you only eat 500 calls (600 if male). It's working I am loosing weight but sometimes eating out too much, or eating to be social. I have to get a bit stricter. Made salmon patties tonight yum. 

I'm knitting a shawl really nice wool 2ply, just a simple pattern. I really like simple patterns, except I love fair isle. Golf tomorrow so off to bed been a very traumatic week. Nice picture of the pelican conference. 

 

Sunday morning

    We are in our usual spot, doggie and me the front veranda in the sun reading the papers. Well I am reading she sniffing and sleeping. Sniffing must be like reading the paper to her only reading the air. We have lost lots of those intelligences smell and sight hearing, at least if not lost not paid attention to. We still have more of them than we think. We can do amazing things like in tennis hitting a ball to exactly the spot we want sometimes anyway. It's an amazing calculation all done in a spit second. 

     I've only worked one day this week. I want to work regular shifts in this the twilight of my "career" but of course that doesn't happen so I had a sickie as they had rostered me on one of the golf days. I have to make decision about leaving or going on the casual pool or plodding along taking sickies when they roster me on days I don't want to work. I don't feel too guilty as the casual pool girls haven't been getting much work so they get my shift. They employed four nurses on contact for winter, they have gone now so we are short again. Such meanness through, all that effort those girls made to learn the place and now they are out, I guess they are on the casual pool again. My husband sent me this graphic, I wonder if our "winter staffing" is included in this. Really the cynicism of the leaders wears you down, we have just had a big investigation into a bunch of very rich politicians and business leaders and a union leader's scheme to enrich themselves at the publics expense. Now they are going to decide if they are going to charge them with anything. On past form they won't be charged. I won't even get into the investigation of church paedophilia. Too sad. Enough of the barbarians at the gate. 

Golf golf golf

I played yesterday and today. They were starting night golf which looked like fun. You play with a lit up ball and there are lights down the fairway, maybe it will be harder to see the bad shots. Today we played at the other course I play at. The sky was spectacular and then it started raining but we finished the game not too wet. The sky was like the skies at the snow, I miss going to the snow through I was never any good at skiing. Tried to learn too old and afraid of heights but I love the Snowy Mountains they are beautiful. I am going to watch the Tour de France  riding up the Alpe d'huez twice, I think that's a bit much if they expect the riders not to take drugs I think they should set reasonable rides. Maybe the riders think it is ok. I hope they protest if they think the rides are dangerously hard. I think riding a flat road for 200kms is awesome. 

T is

Blue skies

Finally it stopped raining. We are watching the Tour de France they are starting in Corsica which is beautiful. Corsica is a lot bigger than I thought. It's the 100th year of the tour. Back at work is not so bad,yet, we were quiet on the weekend and I got my passwords sorted out and had time to look at the changes in the IT so that makes things easier. Still getting my head around retirement, the financial guy said it took his father 5 years to retire. You worry about the money lasting and if you can do some travel. We are going to the beach for coffee so I will take a nice picture.

Bright idea maybe

I made a jumper but it didn't fit anyone properly so I undid it but the the wool gets crinkles and doesn't knit up well so I was thinking how to straighten it out without washing it all I thought I could wind it around the ironing board and iron it under a damp cloth and then pull it round until the whole lot is covered.
I'm watching the last game of the NBA finals, I really love San Antonio but the previous game I couldn't believe how they lost in overtime, you get a bit suspicious about some games in all sports and about drugs. The rugby league players just unbelievably built up at young ages. The bike riders are still getting riders chucked off teams for drug use.

About to go out

And I really don't want to. To a trivia night. It's windy and cold and I was really looking forward to veging out. A friend asked before and I said ok because it was off in the never never. Oh well. I've really socialised enough this week. Three days of golf and lunch with the golfers and golf meeting. No winning but a lot of laughs at our terrible shots. I just want to stay home and knit socks, such a granny (I wish), through actually I've never much been a going out person. I like to see something like a play or a movie but australian clubs and pubs have always been like sitting in a tiled toilet. Literally they were all tiled, I guess to wash the blood off. One of the first times I went to a pub boys were having a spitting contest up the wall.
Aussie pubs were very men places and men culture, drinking fighting, women go there now but sometimes just not very far under the surface is all the nasty stuff. Now the women do the fighting as well and the drinking. They do this thing glassing people which is putting a broken glass into someone's face. One girl did it to another a couple of years ago.
We won the trivia, with me as table leader! I must have been channelling my husband, he is really good at that stuff but he was at work.
It's cold now but we still like to have coffee at the beach.

Trying to rain day, queens birthday holiday

It's kind of crazy that we still have a holiday for the queens birthday but also crazy we still have a queen. Mostly my generation (the talking bout my generation) generation think we should have nicely said farewell to all that but our children love it all and look with horror at the idea of loosing their gossip magazine relationship with the royals. So republicanism doesn't get much interest and maybe better the devil you know than some party appointed hack, better they ship that lot off as ambassadors to embarrass us far away.
We stayed on the weekend at the eldest's place and went out to dinner with them at local hotel restaurant, lovely meal and weirdly cheap, they take 20 % off the bill if you are a member of their club. On Sunday they went off to a wedding and we went to look at the Japanese garden and cafe at the local arts centre. They had a group ofmodern art lighting pieces. I don't know what to call that kind of art but it was interesting. The Japanese garden was small but very lovely and the pool was full of beautiful carp and the cafe was very good. A lovely afternoon.

Lots of rain

No golf just doing aquaroebics. Big storms lots of thunder and lightening. This is a picture of the backyard and the moon. We are watching the giro, the tour of Italy.

Wigan Wigan Wigan

I support Norwich which my husband gave me as I like Delia Smiths cook books and we started to watch the premier league as they show more matches now. When Norwich went down he gave me Wigan who had come up. We watched them win the FA cup against Man City, didn't think they would win but was so happy about the way they played and then they got a goal we just screamed and cried, amazing. Often the "big games" turn out kind of boring but not this one. I want to move to England and live in Wigan.
Then two days later they lost and it meant they are relegated. Awful that they are going down but it's what makes the Premier league great, except when its your team going down.

The rest of angry bird week

It didn't go too bad, had a good game of golf, two nice and not angry ladies. I played well the first 9 holes but terrible the second 9. I just get tired and very sore. I've had a very sore week altogether probably ate too many wrong foods and its made my joints flair up. I think they should make arthritis pap food with nothing in it. Started with real creme in the cake at tennis, Chinese food that night, spaghetti and the smoked hock in the pea and ham soup. I know the things that set it off but I eat them anyway, stoopid. I'm starting a food/soreness diary to try and make myself eat better. We always seem to have a cake at tennis as its always someone's birthday and I don't like to not join in but I should take the creme off.
The next day of golf where we just play 9 holes was quite slow. The girls in front of us, who are lovely people wander over to each others ball discuss it and finally hit then do that for the next ball. In golf there are a lot of rules about how you play, but you start to see why after you play for a while. You are supposed to go to your own ball or as close as is safe and be ready to hit it as soon as the other ball is hit. The rules make sense for safety and speed of play. I used to chat as it makes me feel comfortable with people but I've learnt to chat a little but put the game first and think we will have a nice chat after the game. Finally they waved us through. But I did not get angry just lost concentration and played silly shots through I do that enough without help!
Today I am not so sore which is nice and pottering about a home.
We are going to see the financial advisor about me retiring. It used to be in Australia that most people retired and got the old age pension, only a few people had superannuation but since the 80's super is compulsory so now you have to think much more about money than workers used to. It's leading to some big problems, crooked funds and advisors, inexperienced people handing large sums of money which is supposed to last for years (how many years is another great unknown). Funds in a bull market making projections of much larger sums than happened, I've noticed they have stopped doing that and now issue warnings on their statements.
What I think now some investments work out and some don't. And of course we are in the baby boomers queue, think of some great idea and 10 thousand thought of it before you.
I'm reading this book, its from a tv series, very good.

Is it the weather?

I was thinking of a good theme for a post but its forgotten by the real theme of the last 24 hours, the rudeness and anger of people. I took the dog for a walk and a man in his garden looked at her I was about to say a pleasant hello when he said is it pooing I didn't answer, she was doing her endless little pees,you don't give a shit he says. I just walked away as he came over to check it out.
Yesterday we went to a short early dinner with friends when my husband starts knocking my knee to leave. I don't feel so much the rudeness towards my friend seeing she ended one dinner we were having by tapping on her watch to her husband. But the rudeness to me. I was trying yet again to get my friend to see the situation with her in laws in a reasonable light and failing dismally. One mans reasonable is another's insanity.
In the morning at tennis one of the women started going at the woman doing the draw for not mixing players up enough, she was trying to explain it was because some of us had arrived late and we only had one court that day. She went on and on till the women said well you do it then, no says the complainer I do enough. Then she tells me I should arrive earlier, I said well I don't we stay up late. (I'm over the virtue of early rising, I've done all shifts, there's none better than another). And I should have said if that's a problem maybe I won't come at all.
Is it the weather? Which is quite lovely warm days cool nights.
I would like to live in France are they nicer there? I'm going to google the politest country in the world. I doubt its Australia. On a nicer note I'm going to make pork hock and lentil soup for dinner and not think about people for the rest of the day. I am reading a book by Robert Graves called the isles of unwisdom about the attempted settlement of the Solomon Islands in the 1590's by the Spanish those people could really do petty tyranny. I think it's probably out of print we found it on the net ex-welsh library copy. Amazing it is a great book.

Guilty

My daughters are discussing all the blogs they read, not mine so I feel I've neglected this blog which I have. No excuse really as I'm on long service leave and don't want to go back. Eldest is organising her wedding.
I've been playing golf and tennis, my golf has improved sometimes. I think I'll just publish photos.
This is the washing drying in the park. A beautiful sky on our walk and my fellow walker well sniffer.

Two days in Sydney

We went to see a play at the Sydney theatre company. Decided we'd catch the train up but missed it forgot the streets all parked out so had to park a long way away and watched the train go by. Waited for the next one and finally made it to Sydney. We went to the museum as we wanted to see the cartoons by Charles Addams. We are Addams family fans and New Yorker readers. The big exhibition was of Alexander the Great with pieces from the Hermitage museum in Moscow. I wasn't so impressed, partly I don't like the cult of Alexander and think he was a bit of an idiot plus much of the stuff had a bit of a tenuous connection with Alexander, interesting in its own right and for the feel of the world he lived it, but as they said after all the wars of last century and the devastation of colonisation empire building looks a bit of poor career choice these days.
We walked to our hotel which was the sebel pier one through the Rocks and under the harbour bridge. It is a lovely spot. We had dinner at the hotel and then went to see the play which I had never heard of and which was so funny. I'm not much into slapstick and physical comedy but this was wonderful. After the theatre we had the rest of our dinner creme brûlée yum and a glass of nice red which the hotel nicely gave us through the kitchen was closed (thank you).
We woke in the morning with the harbour lapping outside our window, is there a nicer way to wake up had their lovely breakfast watching the ferries pass and then walked up town to see the darling eldest daughter on her lunch break. After lunch I spent a happy hour or so picking wool at Morris and sons and then we went to abbeys book shop. Missed another train at town halls station, bit of a theme, but finally got home.

Golf golf

Two days of golf very nice through quite sore. Hadn't played for two weeks so pretty hopeless, getting a bit better by the end of the second day. Lovely weather now going into autumn but 25 degree days. We watch so much euro sport I get mixed up and think we are going into summer like them but probably our winter is more like their summer or even warmer. We have been watching the bike races like the tour in the Basque Country horrible weather and they are still really rugged up at the champions league games in England.
The most exciting thing at golf was I found a long necked turtle on the 16th hole, just a baby so we took it with us in the sand bucket to the creek at the 18th, they are mostly water dwellers those turtles. It flipped its way into the water at once and headed into the water weed to hide smart turtle. I missed it.
Resting today reading the paper going to make Anzac biscuits as it Anzac Day soon. Supposed to be the biscuits they sent to the overseas troops so its a symbol now. I don't like all the celebration of war that goes on, mostly used by creepy politicians. I like the biscuits through lots of oats in them. We've always made them for peace days too. I put less flour in than the recipe because I like them flat and some cinnamon.

Blog disorganised

Oh well I just published post that wouldn't publish before. Our Internet has been playing up and then off and I've been pre occupied by goodness knows what, just pottering about and catching up with friends. Child moved out and youngest moving quickly into her room so mess everywhere. Two jobs for next week get hair done and get friends tree cutter guy to trim some trees.
I hope we have a bit calmer couple of months feel like we've been in a whirlwind of change sometimes but that is normal life even for the quietest of people. Even if you sit very still there is erosion!
We have had a lovely morning aquaroebics and breakfast at the giddy goat cafe and now just hanging around in finally this week some sunshine. I am into knitting fair isle at the moment, the elk cushion and now another version for my daughter. Someone wrote about colours "popping" out which the blue does against the taupe, in the second version the taupe against the orange is the wrong way round but this is stash wool I have more orange than the taupe and the orange is very soft so I wanted to make it soft. I found a lovely new craft magazine, we are magazine lovers.

Home again

I am sitting with the sun blazing in the window, I won't last long in this spot, just drinking my tea and theme must move. I should have played golf today but didn't which I feel guilty about but really I just want to be home today. We arrived back yesterday from the cruise. Everything looks ultra bright and lovely so I will do some gardening.
I meant to write. Everyday about the cruise but ended up just cruising instead and busy when we were in ports. So I will try to remember it now. The first day we left Sydney in the evening. The cruise was on the carnival spirit for, 13 days around New Zealand. There were two sea days before we reached NZ, we played a couple of trivia games, went to the gym, played in a chipping and putting contest, (me), got some books out of the ships library, and had lovely breakfast/lunches in the buffets and beautiful dinners in the a la cart. Met the people from our table. Generally found our sea legs and our way around the ship. The decor was kind of crazy pre-raphaelites meet the Sistine chapel meet Las Vegas ancient Egypt and the sun king. Totally over the top but lots of places to wander and sit. We went to listen to the on board naturalist which was the best talk and we'd bought some binoculars so it was fun to watch for sea birds and dolphins and whales. First you think there is nothing out but I really found watching the sea relaxing. Also relieved to have no s..s.., whenever I thought about the rolling I thought of being on my body board which I like so it felt ok. Before we boarded we looked around the museum of contemporary art which I have always wanted to see, it was just across from the ship and the minded our bags. We had lunch on their roof cafe and looked at the ship. Then we boarded no waiting around, through the whole trip the process of getting on and off were so efficient and quick, airports should check out how ships do it!

Cardigan thoughts

I just finished a new baby cardigan. I want to make some knits for the prospective grandchildren. I feel like who knows maybe I won't be around and they will have something that their nana made. It is retro to me because the wool is patrons bluebell which my mother made most of her jumpers in, the colour is like a colour she would have picked for my father and the buttons are second hand and the kind that we seemed to always have on our cardigans. It's a Debbie Bliss pattern.
I was thinking about sewing class when I was five, we were making a pin wheel and we were supposed to double stitch for the start of the thread but I just couldn't get it right. In the end the teacher said to me tie a knot. I've done these anxious little knots ever since but I'm going to try and double stitch its a much neater finish. I had that pin wheel for a long time the thread was so dirty and no two stitches were the same.
I feel guilty today as I didn't play golf because it was raining, sometimes I think my whole life is guilt driven I wonder what I really want to do.

On the spirit

Our first day on board on our way to New Zealand. We being cheapies opted for an inside cabin but were upgraded, fairly common it seems. Now in a cabin with the sea outside. It is quite thrilling to wake up and watch the waves going past, the window is big, not just a porthole. We like the room it feels spacious, bigger than a hotel room. The only icky was the safety assembly done in the blazing afternoon sun. Also the niggly fear of s.. S.... But I am not thinking about it especially as I already had it yesterday on the train. I don't know why I felt off, nervous? Excited? I don't like leaving home much, I like it in theory. Once on our way I do love seeing new things.