The Imitation Game

We went to see this movie tonight, had to go at 6pm as it was the only time that it was showing. Warren took an age to get the tickets, we were going to book on line and then use the "jump the queue"line until we found that the tickets are dearer, there is a booking fee and we couldn't pick the seats that we wanted. Three strikes and definitely out!

We got there a little early but figured at it wouldn't be very busy which it wasn't but it took a while to get the tickets, apparently each person has to have the Cinebuzz tickets to get them cheaper and the girl found my details on the computer so she did a new one for me and then warren's was unreadable, result of him having his keys in his pocket most of the time.

Finally we got to our seats, we lie the ones that are actually for carers of people with wheelchairs, we have always said that we would move if they were needed but the row that they are in suits us for seeing the movies and there is extra leg room, win win situation.

The movie was good a drama which is unusual for us but was to do with decoding war messages. Hard to believe how women were treated (little schooling, unable to work in maths etc)the main character was played by the guy who has also played Sherlock Holmes and I'm afraid I always think of him as Sherlock. The movie was definitely thought provoking.

Going for a scan

I uttered these words to my husband yesterday and he asked "What on and when?" Nice to know that he was concerned and also that after all these years I can still surprise him at times. I laughed and said "A SCAN which stands for Senior Citizens Afternoon Nap."

I toddled off for my scan and ended up sleeping for about an hour. I must have needed it even though I hadn't done much, three loads of washing and a months worth of shopping and then of course there was the breaking down of everything to put it into meal or snack packs.

I didn't buy much meat thank goodness as the freezer was already pretty full of meat but we needed bacon and sauces.

New furniture

We have lived in this house for twelve years, although we have spent some time living and working away so it hasn't been a continuous time of living here. The problem is/has been the furniture that we came with doesn't really fit the size of the rooms even though this house is bigger or more rooms, the actual rooms are smaller or configured different.

We exchanged our table and chairs a few weeks ago as it just wasn't big enough when we have family over, now we have a table that we can easily fit six and even eight round, rather than four.

We had plans to move our lounge room around to utilize the A/C better and long term plan to replace the lounge suite in about eighteen months time. Warren was looking on Gumtree and asked, is this something that you have in mind for the lounge and showed me a picture.

Something similar yes, although I had thought in black to match our coffee table. He then showed me another picture of a setting that we had both liked. (Aussie open on TV, young Chinese player playing Lleyton Hewitt atm)(and cat needs a new battery,I see)

We did want a four seater to go across the room. Upshot is we bought both pieces and quickly moved the room around. Problem is, the rooms are even more crowded but we have listed our old chairs and lounge suite plus the massive coffee table. hopefully they will be gone soon. The chairs have coffee/drink holders!

Now we need new curtins but cant decide what colour, chairs are a similar colour to the carpet, currently dark green but want a change, hum chocolate brown, blue, maroon????

Chicken Snizichel

I don't even know how to spell it but I was over them. The last time i went shopping at Meat City, I bought lots of these and found when packing them for the freezer that I didn't have enough containers for single serves so I did a few in one larger container.

I put freezer paper between them so i could just get enough out for one meal, pretty smart hey? Except that last week, I pulled out the Whole container and didn't realize really what i had done until they were thawed. Result was three meals and one lunch the meat being chicken. I mixed it up and had salad one night, mashed potato and hot vegetables the next night, followed by chicken (again) and my version of fried rice, then the last for lunch today with salad. Finally we can eat something different! I selected some mince from the freezer this morning for the evening meal, so far so good.

Tidying one of the "hot spots" this afternoon (a buzz word which means an area that always seems to be messy)I discovered a voucher that I had been sent from the local club that we belong to, it was a free meal for one purchased, yep, we'll do that. Then i read the fine print, it was only available on Monday and Tuesdays until the end of the month.

I asked Warren if he was cooking tonight, he said "Okay where do you want t eat?" then i told him about the voucher. Off we went for an early dinner and on the menu for specials was Chicken Schnitzel! done in different ways, I choose the one with garlic prawns and Warren had Hawaiian. With the voucher, the meals cost us $12 and we did have a drink which was a few more dollars but no prep and no dishes, yay!

Taggies

Knitting sewing and crafting for charity, this was the title of a thread that I read on a forum. They were looking for places to donate to charity, several suggestions came and one that interested me was called something like Angels of the forgotten. It is a group who looks after mainly women and kids who through abuse or whatever have left their homes for a safe place. Often these people leave with nothing so the group try to give them basics hence the charity.

One of my things for 2015 (dont really want to call it a resolution as I know what has happened to those in the past!)is to do more for charity and as this place is close to where we used to live, I have decided to get a box of goodies together to send.Mostly it will be things that I have knitted sewn or crafted.

On their website there is a list with pictures of things that they require and one is "taggies" for want of a better name. They put these on bags that they give out to kids to keep their own things in. I already had a heap of squares that I had cut to match a set of matching squares as a soft toy for kids, the cutting out was fine but the there was lots of sewing and I did make two sets of twenty four before I gave it away to make something easier and quicker. That meant that I still had a pile of these squares. Put two together with a loop of ribbon and sew a fancy button on and its almost done. This morning I got out my hot glue gun and dotted glue on the ribbons and the insides of material to hold together and then there are taggies! Very simple and a pile off my sewing table.

Some of the ribbon used were some hanger straps that I have cut off tops that shops use to hang clothes on hangers, can usually get two loops from one shoulder strap, waste not want not! Glad that I found a use for them

I knew that I had a few beanies from my winter knitting so started the box with those OMG there were thirty Beanies! add a few pairs of pants that I had made which some how missed being delivered to the salvos and the box is already half full.

The last week or so i have been knitting small teddies, less weight and heat to knit while watching tennis, should have a dozen or so of those by the end of the month. The plan is to sent the box at the end of the month. This town/small city does get cold so beanies and scarves will be needed.

Karma

I'm not too sure that I know or understand karma but tonight we were taken out for dinner, picked up driven there and had dinner and drinks paid for all because we gave friends tickets that we received as part of our volunteer work at the tennis.

We couldnt use them as we were working and it made sense to us to give them to someone who could use them with no thought of a "pay back" as it were, is that karma? I don't know.

Dinner was very nice, we went to a different place that neither couple had been too before and we decided between ourselves that we would all have a different meal off the menu and compare, at one stage it looked like we were all going to have a seafood basket.

I opted for warm Thai beef salad, my goodness what a meal that was, massive, I was still eating way after everyone else was finished, i did not have dessert. One seafood basket was ordered another big meal, tempura prawns and fettuccine and mushroom cabonara, the last two also had dessert, cheese cake and chocolate cake with cream and dessert were large as well. We had all ordered off the "light meals" thank goodness, varied in price from $14 to $16.50 with dessert being $6 no matter what was ordered.

Penguins

Last night we went to see this kids movie. We had been introduced to the four penguins in the Madagascar movies a few years ago and this was just about the penguins.

Of course there were many families with kids and then there was us, two sixty plus old farts asking for tickets to the Penguins.

Warren had bought a movie ticket for $50 to give to some-one for Christmas but on discussion we decided that they probably wouldn't use it and so gifted then some wine instead. I figured they could regift it if it wasn't to their liking. We used the movie gift card last night even buying and ice cream (dessert) and a drink to share and we still have money left.

The young guy at the counter asked us (as he put some seniors cards through the machine) why Penguins? we both replied because they're funny!

It was a good laugh, completely unrealistic (I hope) but just so funny and fast moving, the music score was good as well and there were small clips back to other movies or references which kids wouldnt know but we did.

Warren was chatting to people at tennis today who had been but had taken their grandkids, that was their excuse.

If you want a good laugh go see it, def worth it.

Garden produce

So excited I picked my first silver beet from our new garden patch. Arrgh! I have pictures but it seems that I cant upload them (will have to wait until Mr Fix it arrives home). Anyway I was able to pick five of six decent sized leaves from one plant also a few beans. There were several tomatoes too but because of the rain and then the heat they have split badly so I have picked all the split ones and binned them. Hopefully  the new ones that are coming on will be fine. I made my version of fried rice and added our garden produce to it.

My "fried" rice is just rice boiled and I added diced carrots to the rice and then I added the last of the diced Christmas ham, half a tin of sweet corn (I had used the other half for a salad) and sliced silver beet and our beans. I don't fry it or use any oil, made us lunch and I have two more meals (2 x 2) for the freezer for those days or nights that I don't feel like cooking.

I also picked three egg plants, they are producing again, and added them to some chicken thighs and a pre packaged chicken korma sauce, hoping that it is okay for Warren as with the four chicken thighs and extra vegetables, it made four meals for the freezer. We both like Indian meals esp the Kormas and at $3.80 for the sauce, should be a good alternative to buying a take away or going for a sit down meal.

The Train Crush

In our briefing for the tennis, there was an announcement that a train would be available after the tennis for patrons and staff to be called up at the end of play. That was good for us as car parking was very limited this year and with the news about the train we didn't request a car park.

The first night we were discussing the train only to discover that the train although called for at the end of play would arrive in one hour from being called, makes for a very long night and then it was only going to the city! no good for us. Change of plans which meant we had to leave no later than 10.45 to catch the last train.

The game finished at approx 10.30 so all well and good but the crush of people heading towards the station put paid to our allowance of time. People were strolling along and chatting, they were probably parked somewhere but we needed to get on that train, its usually a ten minute walk to the station.(when there is no-one in the way)

Warren and I employed tactics that we used in China, ducking and weaving, if we saw an empty space we made for it and passed several groups. Coming up to the stairs to go over the train tracks we noticed that there were only two people waiting for the lift,  I thought that it would be jam packed, Warren called out to me to swing right and we got into the lift. The train was coming into the platform as we were on the bridge as were lots of other people.

Thankfully the railway staff held the train until everyone got on, the staff had had to go down the train and turn on the power and lights before the doors could open. In six carriages we guessimated there were about a thousand people to get on it. It was a lively trip into the city as everyone was joking around, relieved that they had got on that last train. I have been in more crowded trains but never that many before here in Oz.

Racing out of the doors to change platforms a young guard asked if we were going to Caboolture, I called back that yes we were if we could make it. He got on the radio to ask for the train to wait and it was there as we got to the top of the escalator, then we had an hour before our home stop. Figured that we need the earlier time just in case, when we are nearly two hours from home or 70 kms we cant afford to miss that train.

Summer sports in the pink

Its a rough week there is tennis in Brisbane and Perth and then there is cricket playing in Sydney during the day with T20 cricket at night. my finger is getting tired from changing channel from Brisbane International Tennis to Hopman and then to cricket scores, just to see how our Aussies are going.

Just now Sam Groth is hopefully about to win a second round match, its set point as I type.......back to deuce .......set point oh no not set point, scores are 6-4 in the first set and that just took the score to 6 all now a tie breaker, back later.They are now at one set all. Sam is playing a qualifier.

Hopman Cup has Canadian playing the Italian in a dead rubber in mixed doubles so they (Italians) cant win but will still be putting in the hard yards as their scores could be used in a count back. Its on my bucket list to go a Hopman Cup one day. Both games have just gone to a set each. Well the Italians have won the doubles therefore preventing Canada winning the whole tournament.

At the cricket today is pink day in honour of Jane Mcgrath an Australian cricket wife who died from breast cancer. Before she died they set up a foundation to get funds for research and special nurses. Each year the Cricket Australia with the McGrath foundation have a pink day. Just about anything that can be pink is pink of this one day. The signage around the ground is pink, players wear pink on their shirts, they play with pink balls and stumps. The commentators wear pink shirts or pink suits, in the crowd there were two Indian gentlemen who were wearing a pink suit and tie with white shirts and PINK turbans, brilliant.

Last year they said that over eight thousand dollars were raised on this day at the cricket for the foundation and of course they are hoping to get above that amount this year. Donations can be made on line as I just did.

Its a fun day with a serious message as its not just about fund raising but also an awareness to get checks to avoid or treat this terrible cancer.

Tumbling seeds

Oh boy the seeded players are really taking a tumble at Brisbane International tennis.

Our (Aussie) two boys who have just moved from junior competitions to the big boys comp, put out No 5 & No 6 seeds on the first day. I didn't get to see any of those matches and I had been feeling sorry for the boys coming up against seeded players but they did extremely well and moved into the second round.

Unfortunately one did get to play Tomic (also an Aussie) last night and while the first set was pretty even, second game was over fairly quick with Tomic winning. I had the job of organizing the kids who wanted balls etc signed to take them down into the players box after the match and to his credit Bernie Tomic signed every one there and even posed for selfies when he was asked. maybe he has grown up a bit, as he had been offhanded with kids and fans in the past. I thanked him before herding the kids back out of the box.

Three seeded players  Lisicki, Jankovic and Azarenka, on the women's tournament also went out in the first round and this morning just watched Kerber No 3 get ousted in the second round.

The Rosie Project

I was given this book to read a couple of weeks ago being told that I would enjoy it. It sat on my bedside table for while as I always have a bag from the library to read and return.

Finally picked it up to read so that I could return it to its owner, oh my goodness what a great read!

Its called The Rosie Project written by Graeme Simsion and it is his first novel. He has written short stories, screen plays and non fiction before. He is based in Melbourne and it is sort of set around Melbourne although it could be set anywhere.

The blurb starts by saying "Don Tillman is getting married. He just doesn't know who to yet." He set out to find himself a wife/mate/partner and how he goes about it.

If you like Big Bang and the character Sheldon, then Don Tillman is a similar character and it is a good laugh, I really enjoyed it and if I see anything more from Graeme Simsion I will be reading that as well.

Training it

Volunteering at the tennis and there is little parking available for us so we are taking the train, its also less stressful and free although it does take a little longer.

Friday was our first official day and we had arranged to meet a fellow volunteer on a certain carriage, he had not travelled on the trains here before and had had to buy a Go card for the first time. Its funny how we all get used to things pretty quickly but F was rather nervous esp when the tracks change and it does give quite a bang, he nearly hit the roof but we assured him that everything was okay.

Although we had been told our accreditation cards would get us free travel, the cards stated 4 Jan and we were travelling on the second (for qualifying games). I was concerned that it may not cover so I asked at the station office. he told me that it said from the 4 Jan but he said that if it was him (in our place) he would just get on and we would be working.

twenty minutes into our trip, the ticket police came on and we were all teasing each other that we could end up in a cell somewhere. I couldn't believe how many younger people either didn't have tickts or had concession tickets/cards but couldnt produce their concession cards. One girl who appeared to be in her late twenties just told them that he didnt have a ticket, no reason was given and when he was writing her out a fine, she kept saying that t didn't matter as she wouldn't pay it anyway. Not once she look at the guy while he was talking to her and she was on her phone, either texting or looking at something.

Came across the aisle to us took one look and said "oh you guys are right" and continued on.

Later that night, arriving home on the train, I thought I could see from the platform that lights on the car were on, damn and blast they were, thankfully only the parkers. Turned A/C and radio off and it started without losing a beat, been on from 11am til about 8.15pm.

The lights turn off when the car is locked however a few months ago we started having issues with the button lock sometimes it would lock and sometimes not so we ditched the button and use only the key and after Friday we have discovered that the key locking does not turn off the lights, lesson learnt and fortunately we were not left stranded with a flat battery

New year's lunch

As we have been knocking around at home for the few days, I suggested taking a picnic to te bach for today's lunch. It was hot but not too hot. Warren agreed but suggested lunch at a cafe where we have been before to save me the hassle of preparing lunch.

Our Cafe was closed, how dare they take the holiday day off! There are lots of places to eat along the street as it is on the esplanade so we walked up the street a few metres and enjoyed a nice lunch at a different venue.

I had to laugh when my order came it looked so much like the lunch I prepared at home a few days ago. Turkish bread, lettuce, tomato and avocado, topped with smoked salmon and a drizzle of mayo on top. I had used mashed potato instead of avo.

Warren ordered his usual BLT which came with chips, I had not ordered chips with mine as I didn't like the scales this morning (they were probably quite relieved when I stepped off too). I know that I should have avoided the iced coffee that I had to go with my smoked salmon but it is a new year.

Salad for dinner tonight.

Bet wishes for 2015.