A rainy day

We have the heater on already as I've been on the veranda reading the morning paper and now must defrost. There was a little bit of sunshine but it didn't last long.
I went to aquaerobics this morning at the leisure centre, both the friends I normally do it with didnt go but I chatted with the knitting lady, we talked about schools because there was a sports carnival outside on the tract, poor kids I said running in the rain, she said they dont feel it. I said I once fell in the creek at lunchtime in full winter uniform and sat through class all afternoon soaking wet. We talked about our primary school and did I know so and so, her son (who was in my class) had been her daughters partner for a while and was the father of one of her grandchildren. He had died from a brain haemorrhage. In this town we always say small world. I asked the splashy lady where she worked as she mentioned it was her day off she said the shop one of my daughters works in and she knows her well. You always find a connection in this town so you have to be careful what you say!
I was thinking about QI  [BBC program with Stephan Fry] he was asking the panellists how old they were, they said their age but he said all our cells change over at different rate so by about 5 years we are completely different. Its an interesting thought, also much of our "self" is not ourself at all its micro organisms. Also we have two brains the top one and a more rudimentary one in the gut. He didn't explain exactly what was meant by a brain, I guess a bunch of nerves controlling function.
I tell myself that when I have sore bits that they can get better. You think when you are older the sore bits are permanent but really the way the young mothers and my children complained when they were young, its just human to have soreness, not just being older.
I am reading the biography of David Hockney who made us all see swimming pools in a new light I just love his art. It is very interesting as he was born in Yorkshire like my husband and lived in the world I just read about, the swinging 60's.
We are having tea now (celestial seasonings tension tamer) and a piece of cake said like Worzel Gummidge).  Then I will do some more knitting. I finished the big cardigan for daughter just the icky job of sewing up 1/2 way through some socks and have started a jumper for me.

holidays and reptiles

Today we went to the reptile society's show. it was really good. Australia has the 1st 11 most venomous ranking snakes in the world, theres something to be proud of. Our local scary one is the red bellied black snake which you see in the bush every now and again, through not if it sees you first, or squashed on the road. There was a guy giving a talk and showing various reptiles he had a red bellied black snake he said while they are venous they wont attack unless you try to pick them up or attack them.
My favourite was a shingle back lizard, I'd like one of those and they are quite laid back. I read a book once about the aboriginals of central Australia called the lizard eaters because thats what they mainly ate so I was imagining eating the lizards. They most amazing was the biggest monitor lizard in Australia which is called the perentie which I have never seen, it can grow to over 6 feet. The one at the show had a big trailer as its cage.
After the show we for a drive up the mountain and looked round an old grave yard there was a snake skin  on the grass I bought it home and scared my daughter as she thought it came from our yard.

friday the 13th

Poor neglected blog I miss you I write on you a lot in my head but then fail to write, because I am busy? because I am sad? because I am happy, all of them.
I had a really nice golf game yesterday, we played a game called high low, you play with an A grader a B grader and a C grader,  and you all hit off and decide which is the best place to play the next ball from of the 3 shots and you all have a hit from there. It mixes the ability levels up so you learn more and you discuss the game and strategy with the other players. it was really fun through we didnt get into doing that till later in the game. We didnt know each other so people are a bit wary of telling others what to do. Some people do not take advice well but then we got it together by the end and it was really fun. We are going to do a couple more games like that. We are on holidays and it is nice weather through getting colder. Today we are going to the beach for lunch and maybe a swim if its not rough. Better go.

goodbye vietnam

We are not going to Vietnam now. Our friend was organising the trip said people who said they are coming have pulled out so it would cost a lot more. We are pleased really because our daughter has bought a house!! and we loaned her some money to get them over the line with the deposit and they will be moving in after Easter so we want to be there to help. It is really strange when your children do such grown up things. We will just do little local trips which is nice also other daughter having a little operation so we are glad to be home to look after her. I would rather help them than travel.
I want to go to the Royal Easter show and see the crafts and animals and cakes. If we go before school breaks up we will miss the crowds. I love the chooks and the pigs. I would really like a little farm. Today we used the high pressure water cleaner we bought it was so much fun we will be cleaning everything in the holidays. The paths which all looked black now look like newish cement.
Better go shower we are going out to dinner for my birthday.

culture culture on the 20th century

We have seen the Picasso exhibition in Sydney, the Renaissance exhibition, the nurses at war exhibition, children in orphanages, and an exhibition at the national library of letters by lots of high achievers Darwin, James Cook Mozart  and lots of others. Yesterday we went to see a musical in Sydney by a little theatre which is doing musicals rarely seen or never seen in Aus. It was amazing they had one rehearsal and had notebooks of the words which they read and sung but it was great. It was called "On the 20th Century" because the action takes place on a train called the 20th century. A guy called John Dierich I kept thinking I knew him and I did I remember him in a TV show when he was in his 20's. He won a Bafta so he and the rest of the cast were really good. Apart from watching it I kept wishing I could be a theatre angel and film them all they were so good. I'm sure it would be a big hit!
We stayed at our daughters and then did a foodie and nursery tour home. We went to a German butcher and a really nice cafe and a nursery.
Well guess what after a day of no rain it is back again, there are floods all over the state. There were waterfalls on the highway. Of course they have built a desalination plant to supply more water because we had the long drought now the dams are so full they are spilling over. Extremes. Gardens full of drought resistant plants are rotting, water tanks are over flowing and signs saying garden watered by tank look silly, big campaigns run to make people "water wise"look like a joke, somehow the driest continent on earth feels like the soggiest. must go to bed aquarobics in the morning and no golf again this week probably as it is supposed to rain everyday in March.

Wet wet wet

It is supposed to rain x21/29 days this month and it's well on the way to it. We seem to have a tropical climate, a sunny morning followed by thunder storms in the afternoon, but I'm grateful even for a mornings sunshine because sometimes it hasn't stopped all day. Last week I had to go get husband and daughter in the middle of flash flooding, very scarey.
It's a scarey Australian story about people camping in a dry riverbed In fine weather being washed away and drowned because of rain upstream. At least we were in a car through we kept hitting sheets of water on the road. Oh here it starts again thunder.
We were going shopping for luggage because we are going to Vietnam but then we thought we might research it a bit so we will just go have fish and chips for dinner and then watch the champions league show and our videos on paintings called "The Life of a masterpiece". I missed tennis today which I feel bad about but I slept in. I did night duty on the weekend. I hate nights now they make me feel really crummy and I was cranky because of the way they distributed the patient load I had 2 of the five new caesars the longest walk down the ward and 6 patients. One of the others had 3 patients one new Caesar and the shortest walk. Then I protested so they make you feel bad. These are my "friends" so much for nursing friends. But that's how it goes we all tired and old all trying to preserve ourselves by burning others.

Australia day

I don't know what I've done to the writing in this oh tech probs again it looks like weird old and tiny computer text oh we'll will see how it posts, if I can read it. I am lazing around in bed playing with the ipad, it's Australia day there are lots of events planned and fireworks but we will just stay home and one of us is going back to work after holidays, not me so someone will be a bit miserable today. I have been looking at a new app I done loaded called houzz it is really good if you are interested in interior design, who isn't. Well quite a few people really. I said to one of the golf lady's we were reno- ing a bit, she said we don't change anything and I thought that would be a relief but we do have to do the downstairs bathroom it is like a 70s pod bath but there are stress marks in the plastic I'm afraid we'll be sitting in the foundations. We went to ikea again and the Picasso exhibition. I don't know what I feel about Picasso you can feel the greatness and the inspiration the playfulness the great technique but to me he is a mystery of a man a kind of minatour in a laberynth. A bit frightening and dangerous that pulling apart of women's faces is really threatening. I had a dream that I was being chased by my killer and I was running away then I found a studio and shelter there someone said art is your answer you have always been an artist. Well I don't paint or do art really but I have always loved being in studios and around art. We are watching a collection of videos I bought called the life of a painting, they look at a painting such as the Primavera and the Nightwatch and tell you it's history. Ikea's was good again but we have to learn to pace ourselves we carried too much around and we got too fuddled and tired. We bought some lovely sheets and towels and more of their nice candles and had a good look at their bathrooms. Will have to measure up and pick the things. Gotta get up, hungry.