Monday, August 29, 2011

Replenish Salt

"Replenish salt" is the catch-cry of my dishwasher. If that doesn't work it tries "Replenish rinse aid". I soothe it with a couple of OKs and it settles down and lets me use the three-in-one blocks. My refrigerator whistles at me if I leave the door open for too long and since it doesn't swing closed this happens quite often.

I have been in the new apartment for four weeks today and am gradually finding things and replacing things in more appropriate places and then forgetting where I put them but gradually it is all getting sorted out. It has become home but is not customised in the way my house was. Over the years I had got things just the way I liked them and i doubt if that will ever happen here; there is too much stuff built in. I am getting used to the microwave and no longer have to sit on the floor to work it but still have to bend over to put things in and out so, along with the very heavy doors to the service areas, I am going to have to stay fit.

I do like the gym though and spend about 45 minutes most mornings doing a workout and stretch. And I really like some of the shops; there is a shop which sells different varieties of tea and another one which sells coffee beans, chocolate, pulses and a very interesting selection of herbs and spices. If all else fails there is Farmer Jack which is open until late seven days per week and seems to sell just about everything except the blue cow-type cheeses so I might have to go back to the Boatshed Market for them ... and salmon.

Replenish Salt

Replenish salt is the catchcry of my dishwasher. If that doesn't work it tries "

Friday, August 19, 2011

My sister died this morning



My sister died early this morning (20th August in Australia) in a hospital in Victoria. After her usual fashion she had refused to admit to any family and Little Bro and I only found out that she was ill a couple of weeks ago. As it turns out, she was processed through three hospitals and it was only two days ago that I spoke to her nurse and her doctor. Her doctor said that she was not responding to treatment and that she was unlikely to recover. It was her friend in Mentone, rather than me or Little Bro who was told of her death.

I am not sad about her dying but I am very unhappy that we could never be friends; she didn't like me or any of my works and I gave up when she informed me that she had intended to sue me but that her lawyer had advised against it.

She lived her life the way she chose to, cutting herself off from her family and living as far away as she could. Perhaps I should have kept on trying but she had no intention of changing; that was her choice and eventually I decided to respect that choice.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

I think that I am mastering the microwave oven


Tonight, for the first time, my dinner was all hot, evenly thawed and ready when wanted without several tries at getting the vegetables cooked. The fact that I have to sit on the floor to see the controls is beside the point and I am going to remain fit and flexible into my dotage with all the crawling about and opening heavy, heavy doors.

This place is very badly designed but I had one more small success today when I was able to buy three unbreakable soap rest thingies for the bathrooms, something which Coles seems not to stock.

A new problem has arisen regarding the delivery of stuff if I am not home, and where do the delivery people park in order to deliver their goods. The Building Manager suggested directing them to level 4 which is a bit like driving through a maze (which she admitted herself) and I would still have to be home to receive the goods. I think that it would be easier to park in the underground carpark and come up the escalator to the main shopping centre; but I would still have to be home.

And then the Building Manager mentioned that when the removalists came yesterday to remove the boxes they arrived an hour and a half before the time booked for the loading dock. They were booked in for the time when Grace said that they would be there. The BM is obviously starting to get a bit miffed at me but ...

Monday, August 8, 2011

I have moved


It is now a week since my household was all packed up ready for the big move. Last Monday 1/08/2011 all the small things were wrapped and put into boxes, except for my bedclothes.

On Tuesday morning at 8.00am I had to be at the new apartment for the telephone connection and the washing machine man but I received a phone call to say that the packers, back at the house, would/could not pack anything unless I was there; so I sat on the veranda for four hours and watched my furniture being carried down to the removalists’ truck. The loading dock had been booked from noon to 2.00pm but no-one at the loading dock was expecting them so I had to contact the Building Manager. They didn’t arrive until 1.00pm and discovered that the truck was too high to go into the dock. More delays!! However, the phone line was working and the washing machine had been installed, luckily with a comprehensive instruction book since I had missed out on the demo.

The Town Council had to be contacted for permission to park the truck on the footpath and everything was unloaded into the loading dock and then transported up to the apartment. It took until 6.00pm by which time we were all exhausted and the apartment was full of boxes.

On Wednesday I had to go back to the house to let the cleaners in and then back here to let the unpacker ladies in. They did an amazing job and neatly stacked all the boxes in the spare bedroom … but they put some things in very odd places and I am still searching for a packet of breadmix which seems to have vanished without a trace.

Techie came on Friday and sorted out the computer connections and hooked up my main one to the dongle so that I can use the internet until my server connects me. I have a nasty feeling that I might end up with a one [1] tagged onto my email user name. I have emailed them to confirm and protest but so far have not heard and I can still log in to my web-mail with the old user name.