Upgrade!

I was out the other day and trying to locate something on my phone, I was using the GPS and it seemed to be out. I was feeling a bit frustrated and in the forty minute drive home, had made up my mind to buy a hand held GPS. Surely it couldn't cost more than $300? I had earnt that in the last few weeks so yep, that was a given just had to ran it by Warren.

Sitting over lunch, I told him of my plans, he thought it was a good idea and asked when I wanted to get it. Silly him, he knows that once I have settled on some thing then I want to do it almost immediately. So it was off to the shops, once I had a shower, the location place was on a bush walk. Warren had a further thought and suggested that I upgrade my phone instead as it was getting on and had been passed on to me by Sheridan. Glup, more money going out but what the hell!

Friendly man at J B Hi Fi, helped out and I ended up with an I phone 7 and then I wanted a cover one that a couple of cards could slip in haaaa! $64 for a cover!

Warren set it all up when we got home and that evening told me that the cover didnt fit it. as we were leaving for Melbourne early the next morning, it was going to have to wait until we got back to return it.

No cover so no  protection for my new phone, BUT I remember seeing someone using a sock lke cover so I got out a clean sock of mine, one of the short just past the heel ones and it worked a treat.

Took the phone and cover back, feeling like a goose and they couldn't get it to work either, it fitted nicely but it wouldn't turn on when inside the cover. They got a new one off the shelf and while it didn't appear to be any different, I could now use all the buttons.

Its a bit bigger screen than the old one and seems to work okay.

Old phone has gone back to Sheri so one thing in and one out, trying to make that a theme/rule/tradition so that we dont end up with a whole heap more stuff. 

River Crossings

Somebody decided it would be interesting to go home via Texas as we had not been that way before and logged it into the gps. We set off merrily and stopped for morning tea and change of drivers.

Five ks out the road, the gps tells me to turn right,what? That's a secondary road! It is tarred and so we take it, not a bad road but certainly not a 100k road. We figure that there would be no bfts (big .......trucks).

Its pretty quiet, nice country driving, then there is a sign warning to reduce speed, it was a bog hole all across the road, mindfull of the camper on behind I slowly drive through it, another five kilmetres further on, the same thing again.

There were six river crossings in all, Warren said they wee more like creek crossings but still......they were all flowing. There there was the occasional stock grids and a bl..........big mountain  which meant narrow road, double lines and there hadn't been any traffic behind me and then suddenly a local is right up behind. I assume local as he wanted to go much faster than me so figured that he had know the road far better than me. Luckily just as he caught up, there was a sign on the side of the road advising of a rest area. I was able to pull in until he passed and then back out again.

No further traffic until we were half way down the mountain on a steep decline, he just had to wait until we were down. Warren was waiting for it to rain, which usually happens when I drive but I figured that 6 water crossings, 4 stock grids and a mountain was enough for the day.

Bush Camping

Warren wanted to stay at Mendoran and had plotted it into the Gps. He had told me that there were only cold showers there. Yep, thats okay I could go without a shower for one night, too cold to have a cold one.

As I was doing the last stint of driving, he informs me that there would be no power either. WHAT! No power! Then I thought about it, we had battery lights and we have camp stoves in the camper. There would be no fridge but we didnt have much for the fridge anyway and during the day the food is in the car fridge.

No internet for our device but our phones have data so all good. Toilets? I ask oh yes he said. Then tells me that it is a free camp.

When we arrive, there were about 20 vans of all types and shapes. Yes there was one toilet but it was flushing.

Oh the luxury

Our first night on the way home, Warren rang forward about staying at caravan park.In the course of the conversation, he agreed to under cover with an ensuite.

We pulled in with our camper and we were a little concerned about the roof but it was fine.

 Warren just finishing breakfast before we packed up and left.

Flooding!

We are heading home tomorrow and the intention was to go the coast road, east from Melbourne then up the coast to Sydney but there is flood warnings in that area.

So it will have to be back thru the city and out on the Bruce (highway). I hope we can go east at some point rather than go back over the exact same roads we came down.

Thank goodness for weather reports.

Welcome to Melbourne

On my driving stint it started to rain! We changed drivers just outside of the city in a big layby. I wanted to walk for a bit and wegot about 60 metres from the car and thought this is crazy as it was blowing a gale (maybe a little extreme but it was windy) and cold. Warren ran the last few metres while I hobbled, back is still not right.

The clouds came in very dark and then the rain started in earnest, it had only been a few showers and spots before. Luckily we soon went into the tunnel and we missed much of it.

Had a sleep  in today and then took the grandkids to mall. We had given them their Christmas  money and they wanted to spend it so it was off to EB games.

Have had jackets on since we got here. Just before dinner Rob and I went for a drive and then a walk around a sporting grounds complex, it was quite wet in places but we got our exercise in and the walking seemed to help my back.

Back Pain

Is a pain! Last night I suddenly got an ache in the back, lower back muscle. Oh boy, how painful and suddenly one becomes very dependant on ones partner.
I thi k it was caused by everything is lower in the camper van, the fridge is on ground level and I know I put the items from the car fridge into the vanfridge around that time I have been suffering.

Our bed is one step up oh my, did that take some negotiating!  Then there is going to the toilet at a caravan park and everything takes twice as long to do. I did receive a couple of massages which helped.

Trying to turn over in bed it was rather than a three point turn it was more like a ten or twelve point turn!

It wasnt quite as painful this morning and once in the shower I had the hot water run over the area for some time, then it was time to get dressed. What fun that was, one leg into knickers was fine but the second leg, not a chance. After two attempts, I placed them on the floor (on my towel) and hoisted them into place with left side, once the left side was up the other side just had to follow. Luckily putting on my long pants was much easier but I felt as though I had gone three rounds in a boxing ring, (just not sure who with)

I did my two stints at driving, I got the roadworks, the detours and the slow wide trucks that I couldnt get past, Warren said all I needed was rain ( it often rains on long hauls when its my turn to drive)

I did take the opportunity to walk around at our rest stops and that has seemed to ease my back ache, I am sure that it will be better tomorrow, one can only hope!
b

On the Road Again

We left this morning for a quick visit to Melbourne. We stopped for morning tea at Dalby, it has been a fav stop of ours for some years, either going south or going to and from bike rides. It is an easy stop as its on the way through town.

Then it was my turn to drive, coming in to Moonie, I was reminded that we spent our first night in the caravan there on our trip around Australia, I was thinking that was last year but it was early this year!

Another memory trigger was coming into Goonawindie and a few years ago, I was also driving then when quite a way out the fuel gauge showed empty! Warren assured me that we had plenty of fuel, I slowed down a little anyway and yes we did have, 2 litres left when we refueled! That was a bit close to comfort for me and now I make sure we fill last thing before we leave.

Fast eating

I went to a meeting tonight at a local club, due to circumstances, Warren dropped me off early and I filled in the time by having a meal. It was just on dinner time and I was surprised that they were serving dinner already at 5.15 pm.

I bought a drink then made my way over to the eating area to be allocated a table, as I was on my own I was given a small table for two down the back.

Leaving my drink there, I proceeded to the dinner queue, it was quite busy as it was 2 for 22 dollars, just my luck to have a cheap night to buy two meals. I ordered pork spare ribs and a single meal was $14, oh well, still cheaper.

Its rare that I would have a meal on my own and I was surprised at how quick one eats when there is no conversion happening, there is nothing to break up the act of putting food in ones mouth. I did try to eat slower as the meeting wasnt on until 6.30 so I had a whole hour from getting my table and meal. Nuh, couldnt do it, short of putting the cutlery down between each mouthful and that was just plain silly, I was out of there in under ten minutes.

I took my drink to the lounge area and got out my phone and some paperwork and tried to do some puzzles but didnt get far.

Christmas is coming!

I know because of all the junk mail (advertising material) that arrived in our mail box today. It has been slowly building but there was a massive lot today.

Warren usually flicks through it and I usually give it the flick, thinking that i can spend enough money without looking at them and seeing what is on offer but today I weakened and "studied" them.

Oh boy, there were all four supermarkets, Bunnings had a booklet, there were approx six  from toy stores, two liquor stores, JB HiFi, two from electrical stores, three advertising new linen, camping stores. The only ones that I don't think was there were jewellery stores.

Our kayaks were in there for $5 cheaper than what we paid then I realised that ours are rated p to 140 kgs, where as the advertised ones were only up to 100 kgs, what a relief!

Two or three lots like today and our recycling bin starts to fill.

Frozen PJs

I have been wearing my winter pyjamas to bed and it is just too hot but I think my summer ones hit the bin somewhere on the trip. At least my winter night wear is just a long line T shirt with 3/4 sleeves but I needed something cooler. I had had a bit of a look in the shops and didnt see anything that I liked which resulted in a trip to Spotlight. Luckily for me they had a 40% sale on all material.

Lots of pinks and girly patterns which is so not me, even to sleep in, then I saw a nice blue with a small pattern, when I took it to the counter, the girl told me that it had just been reduced even further, making it $4 a metre, bonus. I was thinking of 2.5 metres, it was 145 cms wide but went for 3 metres to make sure that I had enough.

When I was cutting it out, I noticed on the side it had "Disney" which seemed strange, I looked a little closer at the fabric and blow me down, it is a frozen pattern. Apparently our youngest grand child (only   grand daughter) is all over Frozen. There is material left over so I will make something for her.

I was on a roll this morning and had the top of my PJs made before 9 am! Took a while longer to make the pants and then I made another pair for a 5 year old from a piece of material that has been in my stash for years. It was too big a piece to just throw out but too small to make lots of things but I found the perfect pattern.

These are mine and it looks at though the bottoms didnt make the photo.

I only had around half  metre of material but with no shoulders, there was plenty. I even had enough to cut the straps on the basis. Very happy with the little ones. I have been making some kids clothes for charity so these will go into that box. There is an organisation here that call for donations or Christmas boxes for people who are down on their luck. 

Bush Turkeys

We went out this morning for a walk not far from home, Lucy loves getting out and about in the bush, there are less dogs to bark at her.

We parked the car at the end of a street and walked in the grassed area then we saw a bush track so we wandered off there. Lots of different smells for Lucy and us, as we could smell kangaroos, they do have a distinct smell that Warren and I grew up with up, we tend to forget that we know that smell. Its interesting when going to souvenirs shops selling "genuine kangaroos hides" products, we can tell if they are or not because of the smell. Anyway, it did seem that kangaroos had been in the area, they possibly shelter under the trees at night.

We also saw where bush turkeys had scratched leaf litter across the track, then just off to the side, there was a massive mound, probably a metre high and about three metres around. 
We didnt see the turkey itself.

Strange Weather

I guess it always is at this time of the year but it till surprises me.

I worked three days this week, Monday, Thursday and Friday. Monday was pleasant, getting a little warm, Tuesday was supposed to be 34 degrees and I was glad that it wasn't a work day for me. However, I did a morning tea in the park near home and I was thinking, hum 34 degrees but it did only get to 31 degrees and there was a breeze and we were under cover and it was nice, not too hot just comfortable.

Move on to Thursday and the day was okay, there was a meeting after work so couldn't leave straight away and I took the boys for afternoon tea while we waited. Sheridan's meeting was cancelled at the last minute so she joined us at the cafe. The sky was a bit dark and then there was lightening and thunder. A few drops of rain as we left for home. Which turned into a full on downpour. The roads are through some hills and windy and really no great place to pull over so we just had to keep driving at a slower pace. By the time we got to their home, it was back to a few sprinkles which I had most of the way to our home, I turned the wipers off about ten ks from home. Apparently there had been no rain at all at home.

Friday I was leaving for work wearing my usual attire, long pants and a short sleeved shirt. When I walked out of the garage to get into the car, it felt cold and I went back and grabbed a cardigan, thinking that I would probably only wear it for the drive, then it would have warmed up. I ended up keeping it on all day and boy was I glad that I had gone back and got it as the day turned quite cold. No A/C on last night that's for sure!

Today Saturday the sun is shining and we are due for a sunny day with a top temperature of 24 degrees.

Costco shopping.

I have been shopping at Costco once a month since we returned from our big trip. I buy in bulk and then only need small amounts for the rest of the month.

I bought a big pack of lamb back in July, it was good meat and a good price so this month I bought another pack of lamb at $68 for 8 kilos, that is a great price. I also bought some mince as mince is so versatile.

The following day after my big shop, I set about breaking the meat down into meal size packs oh boy what a job that was, three times I thought that the freezer was full but there was more to put into it. I did some further moving around and finally got everything in that needed to be frozen.

The mince come in three kilo blocks and also needed to be broken down, about one kilo went to make Lucy's food for the month with rice and vegetables. I do enough for three to four nights in one container. Then I made rissoles and hamburger patties ready to be cooked and I made and cooked meat balls plus spag bol without the pasta.

I was ready for a coffee after that!

 Now that we have so much lamb its going to be a challenge to mix up the meals so that we are not just eating lamb, much as we like it, its nice to have a variety.

I bought Turkish bread too, as Warren can eat that without any problem but there was two in a pack, more for the freezer. No lamb only bacon, also from costco, three packs in freezer and one to use in the fridge.

This was last nights dinner, I made a pizza using one half of the Turkish bread, I cooked sausage rolls as well to freeze, (I need a packed lunch for a couple of days, these give me an option,) seeing that the oven was on.

The pizza had bbq sauce, cheese, red capsicum, mushrooms, bacon and pineapple, very quick and easy to do (the one in the pic is left overs for lunch today)

 

Cane Toads

They are ugly and gross! As the weather is getting warmer these seem to be around more.

We took Lucy out for her nightly walk in the garden last night before settling down for the night, (one or both of us go out with her and wait until she relieves herself as we don't want any surprises in the mornings) and the amount of cane toads in our small back yard was amazing.



Lucy chased after a couple and we were  bit worried that she might try to eat them as some are poisonous. Thankfully its rare to see them in the daylight except when it is raining.

Dog Food

Now that Lucy is with us, I have been making her food as I find tinned dog food is yuk. It smells and also causes smells and more volume at the end result without being too gross.

She has pellets or dry food in the mornings and as a treat, a girl at Pet Barn suggested using a drink bottle when empty and clean/dry to put some pellets in, then giving it to her as a toy. She needs to throw it around to get the pellets out. I just gave her one this morning, she does squash them after she has emptied it, its an easy thing then to pick up and throw into the bin.

I dont have a recipe as such for her food but I cook some rice usually about a cup, then mince and vegetables.

This is some of her food ready for the freezer, one of these bowls is enough for three or four meals. I add a couple of eggs as well and this batch has a tin of tomatoes added too.

Lucy is getting very long when she stretches out.

She gets a chewy bone every two or three days which keeps her amused.

THAT one day in October!

Bathurst day. The day that I do not have a husband, I have a zombie who moves in and is glued to the TV.

I choose today to go out and left early, the race wasn't due to start until 9.30 am but of course there is all the interviews and replays from previous years. When I left hubby/zombie said he wasnt turning the TV on until 9 am.

I had a great day climbing around in bush areas and and have the war wounds to show (got a little close to a vine with thorns) and arrived home mid afternoon.

Washing had been done and folded, floors had been swept and washed. He said that he got sick of the adverts so when they were on he did some housework.

Still 40 laps to go so I kept the H/Z company and listened while he told me about some of the crashes and exciting bits. Oh well, Bathurst only comes once a year and I dont think/I hope he didnt record it as well.

(Bathurst is a city but in October the streets are turned into a race track for V8 cars and they do 161 laps around ordinary roads with speeds up to 300 kph)

Blasted Supermarkets!

Had a busy morning and I needed to go to the library and pick up some groceries. It was almost lunch time when I left home but it wasn't going to take long as after all, I have been shopping there for some time and I know where things are, that I want!

Ha! there is where I got annoyed. Library visit didn't take long, I do use the self serve there , (I refuse to use self serve at supermarkets) checked my books in and did a quick raid, checked out and was on my way home.

Dropped into the small supermarket, its close to home and while not one of the big ones, it has everything that I need. My list, yeah, I actually had a list today! was small mainly fruit and vegetables although Warren had asked me to buy some more cereal for him if I saw it.

Weighed out bananas and apples, picked up a bag of spinach and moved on to the aisle with the cereal which now holds a huge selection of nuts, oh well cereal next week. Some yoghurt mix as I didnt know how many we had at home and we use roughly three packs a fortnight. Nuh, again, they were not in their spot. I asked a young guy who was packing shelves, poor buggar, he looked unsure and then then suggested that i look in the freezer/fridge area. As the mix I wanted is not a fridge item, I didnt think it would be there but I did look there.At lest he did try to help.

The other thing I was looking for was cream cheese as I wanted to make some dips, went to the fridge whee they had been kept, no another reshuffle but I did find some pre made one 50% off so I picked up two and left for home.

I will have to take longer to look for the other things. One of the reasons I shop thee is because I know (or used to know) where things that I regularly buy. I suppose it does mean that shoppers o to different areas of the store.  Ha! a plus by leaving those things in the store was that my weekly bill was lower.

The Best Thing

About working is meal that I haven't cooked almost ready to eat when I walk in the door.

I worked yesterday and i had some pork strips that i was going to turn into a stir fry with lots of vegetables once I got home.

Due to a staff meeting and stopping to get fuel on the way, I was a bit later than usual arriving home.

Opening the garage door, I could smell dinner. As I wasnt home at five Warren had done a raid on the freezer and located some lamb chops.

I had time to play with and then feed Lucy, wash up and then dinner was placed in front of me.

Two small lamb chops, cooked with a mixture of bbq sauce and sweet chilli, (just an idea he was trying, it gave the meat a slight sweet taste, it was good!) plus steamed carrots, mushrooms, broccoli and snow peas. After we had eaten, the plates were cleared and a cup of coffee was brought to me, while the dishwasher was packed and put on.

Plus, I get paid!

Roast Lamb

Yum! Not often I buy a leg of lamb to roast but the last time I bought a pack of meat from Costco (it was $79 for almost 10 kilos of meat) there was a roast under the chops.

Decided to go old style and cook a roast for Sunday dinner (evening meal not lunch!) It was great nice and tender and I cooked roast vegetables to go with it.

A roast is great for a family but for the two of us, its a lot of meat.
Sunday night, hot with vege and gravy.
Monday and Tuesday lunch was sandwiches with gravy, very unusual for us to have sandwiches.
Monday night I minced some meat with spinach and carrots and then topped it with mashed potato, my version of Shepherds pie.

Tuesday I made sausage rolls from the left over Shepherds pie, ready to take to our kayaking picnic on Wednesday and Lucy had the bone.

The font two are the meat ones and the other two rolls had spinach and feta in them none came home from the picnic.

Grand Final Day.

Last day of footy today until next year. Neither of our teams made it this year although Warren's hawks did play two final games but were then put out. We will still sit and watch it pay out.

This year there is a new team who have not won a grand final for many many years, Footscray or now called the Western Bulldogs "the doggies".

The dogs will play the Sydney swans.

We have had the pre game entertainment, with Living End Warren's favourite band followed by Sting.

Umpires are out on the ground and there looks to be no empty seats.Fancy playing in front of close to 100,000 fans.

Time to make the coffee and the popcorn. I think we are going for the doggies just because they havent won for such a long time although we probably know more of Sydney players.