Let it go, let it go

Like the Frozen song I needed to let some things go, like lots of clothes. I am ashamed to say that a few pieces of clothing I had not worn. Earlier this year, I did do a big shop through a store on-line, they did have amazing savings and I bought a bit. Yes, I saw pictures of the clothes but when they arrived they were flowery!

I really dont like flowers on clothes that much and rarely wear anything flowery and all of the shirts had flowers on them! It was a case of what was I thinking?

Now that I have finished work, I am donating them to go to a better cause and hopefully some one will get some wear from them. There were a few other things that are not me anymore and it must have been a good day to "let it go" as Warren also got into the act and between us we have seven bags and boxes to take to the op shop. Even the Christmas tree is going as it has not seen the light of day for about five years and I do have a very minimal one made from branches and tinsel that I prefer to use now.(Besides I made that one)

I now have more empty coat hangers than one with clothes hanging on them. Eight bags would be a better number so I will pack up some of the excess and add to the pile.

Next to go through and discard are the book cases, we have two in our bedroom and many books that we will not read again plus I am sure I have too much stuff in the kitchen cupboards, casseroles and the like that I used when there were five of us. I dont even make casseroles any more.

And They are off!

After two years (or more) of planning Sheridan and family were due to leave at 10 am yesterday morning on their epic (to borrow a word from Aidan)trip around Oz.

Of course not everything goes to plan. The car had been serviced and had a clutch replaced last week. Sunday there seemed to be a leak. Phone to dad/Warren who says it has to go back.

We offered them the use of the Jeep to get them on their way and drove down on Monday morning. in the meantime, they had delivered car to repairer and had been told it was be ready after lunch, only postponing the start by four hours. As we were already on the way when they got that news, we left the Jeep there "just in case". Car did take longer to fix but back on same day.

As they were heading North they drove both vehicles and Dennis (caravan) and we met them out on the highway to collect the Jeep. I did take a photo of them packed and ready to take off but only had my phone. Now if I could work out how to go from the phone to the computer and my blog, I could post the picture but as I don't know how to do that, the photo stays put. They drove off at 5.45 pm, a little behind schedule but not too bad. First stop wasn't far and we did get a message that they had arrived and were settling up in the fading light.

Starting to make it more real for us as we are now down to 28 days until we leave and there is quite a bit that I want/need to do around home first.

Family Christmas Lunch

Another year when the weather got in the way. Last year we chose to meet about half way for all of us and have breakfast at the beach. Pancakes, egg and bacon plus croissants hot coffee was all organised. Warren and I went early to snag a table and set up, breakfast was for 9am, it was Sunday after all.  Thirty ks from here and the weather was awful, very windy so a very late breakfast was changed to our place.

Rock on to this year and Jason says that the weather cant be bad two years running so we try again but for morning tea and lunch. I cooked most of Saturday 
and it was raining, this time we went to Jason's house. I was doing the main course and saw green pickled onions and marinated mushrooms, trouble was opening the Bl........ jar. I used a trick i learnt in China, attack the lid with the point of a knife. As you can see, i had to attack it several times. I ended up cutting the whole top out using the steel knife that we won in A supermarket in Shaoxing. It was a collect stamps type of thing and when we had enough, I picked this big knife, it is great. Got it home by putting it in the suitcase.

On tooth picks I had green onions, ham, red caps and mushrooms, very Christmassy.

This is all the food that I had to pack, I was worried that it wasnt enough. A rice salad with prawns, a chicken roll, heaps of chicken wings, roast pumpkin pies, two Costco salads and smoked salmon on crem cheese and rounds of bread.

Warren and I had left overs for lunch chicken wings and salad, dinner was scrambled eggs with some of the rice through it. Normal meals from tomorrow.

The Car (my car)

Since we have bought the Jeep the Hyundai has been driven almost solely by me and we  have come to regards it as "My" as opposed to the Jeep which of course is "his" car.

Sadly we are trying to sell my car as I have finished work and there is no further need for us to have two cars especially as we are going to be away for six months in the Jeep and caravan. The motor bike is registered and can be used as a second vehicle if we need a second one. Yep, can just see me jumping on the bike and riding down to the shops if Warren is at tennis in the Jeep.

Although I do have a bike license, I have not ridden a bike since we were on the farm property many many moons ago so if there is a desperate need, it would either be a taxi or the bus which does come to the bottom of the street. Besides Warren did insist on me sitting astride the bike before he bought it. I hoighed (hiked)my leg over it and could just touch the ground on either side with my tip toes.

These are a couple of the photos that have gone up on the selling site.

The road worthy was done on Tuesday and it passed with flying colours. There have been several people looking at it but so far no-one has been in contact but its early days yet.

Retired (again)

Yesterday was my last day at work and so I am retired again or as my daughter likes to put it for the fifteen millionth time.

I think I have retired five times not fifteen million.

First time I took a redundancy back in 1996 and thought that I would enjoy retirement, we had a new house on some land and I was looking forward to gardening sewing and all those other household chores that seemed to get done in a rush.

 Over the years I had become pretty good at getting things done quickly and so by 9am house work was done. Gardening was hard work and once it was done only required a bit of weeding, didn't even need to water as we had a septic which used the sprinkler system once it had been treated. Although we had two and a half acres we also had a ride on mower. Sewing, well, I was no longer going to work so no need of any more clothes. Basically I was bored. When a course was advertised in the local newspaper to do a secretarial work including touch typing, I was there, as I had always wanted to touch type. A few months into the course  local business wanted a secretary/receptionist for a couple of days a week. Yep, I could do that, I stayed for five years.

Retirement number two as we moved states to be closer to family and a warmer climate .

As house prices had increased we couldn't just sell one house to buy another so started looking for some work. That was difficult so ended up in China teaching English for seven or eight years. Warren decided that he wanted to be at home (Oz) once he turned sixty so we said goodbye to China.

 Retirement number three

A conversation between myself and daughter resulted in me nannying for her, she paid me what she would have paid for childcare plus a fuel allowance to get there and do any ferrying around of the boys that was needed. I did this for two years until Aidan was five. Warren wanted to return to work in China so we went back for one more year. Not sure if this was retirement probably not as I went from one to the other.,

Retirement number four.

Quite happy at home, Warren played tennis twice a week and had taken up archery. I was sewing up a storm for charity, all was good. Daughter rang and asked me about doing some work at her school. One of the teacher aides was taking a five week holiday in term time and they needed some one to fill in. Sure, I could do that. Towards the end of that five weeks, I was asked if I was interested in a casual position of three days a week. I really enjoyed the work so said yes.

A few years ago we had agreed to do a "Big Lap", date was set, caravan bought and so I have retired for the fifth time to do that. My boss said yesterday that she hopes I will come back to do some fill in work every now and then, we shall see what develops.

Thirty days, one month until we leave on the Big lap. We have bought our tickets to the tennis and have booked a caravan site in Melbourne as it will be school holidays as well as the Aussie Open, we haven't booked anywhere else as yet.

Aussie Open!!!!!

Warren asked me to think about something tonight.When I asked him what it was, he said that we will be in Melbourne when the Australian Open (tennis) is on and did I want to go????

That was a yes of course. I have not been to an Aussie Open in twenty years. I remember walking from the Railway station to catch a tram and i saw this kid carrying an armload of racquets. I found out later that it was Lleyton Hewitt! (I am a bit of a fan!) He is a South Aussie as I am.

He was fifteen and it was his first Open as a senior and this year will be his last Aussie open.

There is no draw done yet, that is only done a couple of nights before they start so will have no way of knowing who we will see but who cares.

We are going to the Aussie Open, that's the plus side, the negative side is that we will start spending the savings that I have put aside for our trip.

Card holder

Coming home from work the other day, darling daughter says "Do you think Dad could make something for Aidan?"
"It depends what it is and when you want it"

She wanted something that Aidan could put his cards into to and she would like it before they left on holidays in a week's time.

They had been playing cards and Aidan was having a hard time putting his cards into a fan and so she thought of a card holder for him. She was going to ring Dad and ask him.

I mentioned it to Warren so that he could be prepared and he said that it should be easy! Way to go.

A bit later he was in the kids room looking at DVDs, I thought he was going to make the card thingy but asked if he was going to watch a movie. Apparently not.

He used two DVD's that we didn't want to watch again, we have plenty of those, stuck the bottom half of them together, leaving a little gap at the top, wrote his name on it so he knows which way up and its done, ready to go.