More woes with parcel post and this time it was my fault although I tried to correct it immediately.
I saw an advertisement on Facebook for a drone for cats and with Parsifal in mind I decided to buy one for my two cats so I clicked on the link and ordered it. The order form was in a slightly unusual order and the Apartment number was the last field, which I neglected to fill having already given my address, phone number, email address, suburb, street number, and country.
As soon as I received the PayPay receipt I realised what I had done and emailed the suppliers with no response so all I could to was to wait. I had the tracking number so when it arrived in my State with an email to say that it was undeliverable I contacted the lost parcel department of Australia Post and explained the dilemma. "Not a problem" I was told, "We will find your parcel, add the Apartment Number and send it on to you."
Yesterday I received an email to say that it would be delivered that very day so I sat at home waiting for a ring on the door. Nothing! Back to the lost parcel department with all the relevant data only to be told that the parcel had been returned to sender. So I have once again contacted the sender with my full address and telephone number and asked them to re-post the parcel. Now we wait.
Other than that I have been doing not very much but busy just the same with appointments, coffee mornings, knitting afternoons and our regular lunch meet-up with colleagues from my old workplace as well as reading and trying to get ahead with the house-cleaning; not easy with the two cats and their constant shedding of black fur. White cats would have been better but I guess that it is preferable to be able to see the fur.
I am also spending about an hour per day listening to The Rachel Maddow Show to catch up on the latest in American politics while I knit a sweater for myself, Having finished the Pink Persian I am back to the quick Kimono pattern which is quick, easy and comfortable - and essentially disposable.
I am currently using an ointment which is supposed to highlight and then kill any as-yet-invisible skin cancers on my face. I have a very red nose at the moment but I seem to have on the whole been very lucky as I have a fair skin; with freckles when I take off my spectacles.
Now a limerick:
If its management men you pursue
Don't hunt every beast in the zoo -
Just look for the signs
That say: "Tigers and Lions."
It isn't how many . . . it's WHO.
Friday, July 27, 2018
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Pink Letter Day
This is just a quick post to record that I have finally finished the pink possum sweater which I have been knitting for what seems like ages.
I started sewing it up yesterday evening and finished it this morning - once again thanks to Rachel Maddow who exercised my mind while I exercised my fingers which are quite painful, especially gripping the tapestry needle as I dragged the tag ends through the seams to tidy up the inside.
Tomorrow evening D2 is hosting a birthday dinner for D3 and me which I am looking forward to. It is one of the few times when the whole family (except D1 who lives too far away) gets together and I get to see GB1 who prefers to spend his spare time on his flight simulator. He has his final exams in a few months but I have been told that he doesn't need to pass an English exam in order to do what he wants to do after he leaves school. I would have thought that it would be essential for anything which needs comprehension of instructions but . . .
This limerick and its predecessor which is now somewhat culturally inappropriate spurred a whole series on this subject. My spellcheck is screaming!
A wandering tribe, called the Siouxs,
Wear moccasins, having no shiouxs.
They are made of buckskin
With the fleshy side in,
Embroidered with beads of bright hyiouxs.
I started sewing it up yesterday evening and finished it this morning - once again thanks to Rachel Maddow who exercised my mind while I exercised my fingers which are quite painful, especially gripping the tapestry needle as I dragged the tag ends through the seams to tidy up the inside.
Tomorrow evening D2 is hosting a birthday dinner for D3 and me which I am looking forward to. It is one of the few times when the whole family (except D1 who lives too far away) gets together and I get to see GB1 who prefers to spend his spare time on his flight simulator. He has his final exams in a few months but I have been told that he doesn't need to pass an English exam in order to do what he wants to do after he leaves school. I would have thought that it would be essential for anything which needs comprehension of instructions but . . .
This limerick and its predecessor which is now somewhat culturally inappropriate spurred a whole series on this subject. My spellcheck is screaming!
A wandering tribe, called the Siouxs,
Wear moccasins, having no shiouxs.
They are made of buckskin
With the fleshy side in,
Embroidered with beads of bright hyiouxs.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
That Which Was Lost and is Found
As predicted a couple of weeks ago - I have found my missing knitting needles so now I have a spare pair just in case - and the set of 3.25mm needles which I didn't have before. Truly Sod's Law in action; not just the act of buying replacements but actually finishing the knitting of the sweater.
I have finished knitting the Pink Possum sweater but not yet sewn it up - the part which every knitter hates. I'll do that during the week and if the weather is cold enough next Tuesday I will wear it to the knitting group.
Today is my birthday and everyone gave me socks of the warm and woolly variety so I have been obliged to wash the floor - not before time. That is a horrible job which has become much easier with the variety of vacuum cleaners which I have managed to accumulate since moving into the apartment - almost seven years ago. The tiles at first almost broke me but now I can sit and listen to Rachel Maddow and knit while my Samsung automatic vacuum cleaner does most of the hard yards for me so I that only have to do the mopping bit.
D3, who had her birthday yesterday, SIL and GB2 all came over and took me out for coffee and cake so I was energised for the floor washing bit and I took my neighbour's words to heart - "I just sort of slosh around with the mop".
This limerick is from Punch (1918)
There was a young man of Moose Jaw
Who wanted to meet Bernard Shaw;
When they questioned him, 'Why?'
He made no reply,
But sharpened an axe and a saw.
I have finished knitting the Pink Possum sweater but not yet sewn it up - the part which every knitter hates. I'll do that during the week and if the weather is cold enough next Tuesday I will wear it to the knitting group.
Today is my birthday and everyone gave me socks of the warm and woolly variety so I have been obliged to wash the floor - not before time. That is a horrible job which has become much easier with the variety of vacuum cleaners which I have managed to accumulate since moving into the apartment - almost seven years ago. The tiles at first almost broke me but now I can sit and listen to Rachel Maddow and knit while my Samsung automatic vacuum cleaner does most of the hard yards for me so I that only have to do the mopping bit.
D3, who had her birthday yesterday, SIL and GB2 all came over and took me out for coffee and cake so I was energised for the floor washing bit and I took my neighbour's words to heart - "I just sort of slosh around with the mop".
This limerick is from Punch (1918)
There was a young man of Moose Jaw
Who wanted to meet Bernard Shaw;
When they questioned him, 'Why?'
He made no reply,
But sharpened an axe and a saw.
Sunday, July 8, 2018
One of the Wild Ones
I have spent the last few days searching out some of my distant cousins - the descendants of the brother of my only Irish forebears. I can trace the family back to my great great great great grandfather whom I suspect emigrated to America since the family seems to have separated during the Great Famine in Ireland.
The two brothers who landed in Australia set sail in 1841 and arrived in Sydney early in 1842. My great something grandfather married in Sydney but his wife died in their second year of marriage - probably during childbirth as usually happened when a death occurs early. Multiple childbirth is also dangerous for the woman and his second wife died aged in her mid 30s at the same time as her last child.
The older brother first went to Queensland where he got into trouble with the police and where he married. He and his wife produced seven daughters and I have been able to trace most of their progress - two of the daughters married the same man but the with second marriage the pair were 'full age' - a marriage term designating a couple who obviously didn't need their parents' consent. This particular couple were in their fifties.
The brother continued to have problems with the police and is recorded as being gaoled for two days for drunkenness and once for theft but I need to go into the police records to investigate further.
One of the problems which I have encountered is that Australia was not a Federation until 1901, being a collection of individual states under The Crown and Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria were all a part of New South Wales, so do I designate the states as they were before 1901 or not? I suppose that ultimately is depends on people looking at my family tree and if they know Australia's history.
Despite the time and the different progenitors these cousins are really fairly close, being first cousins variously removed so maybe some will be unearthed by DNA testing although, so far, I haven't discovered anything new from my DNA. It hasn't told me anything I didn't already know and most of my supposed cousins do not have family trees so there is no way of discovering any new family that way.
This Limerick takes a bit of unscrambling but is fun anyway: It was written by Monsignor Ronald Knox.
"Knox once persuaded an unwary newspaper editor to run this 'classified advertisement":
Evangelical vicar in want of a portable second-hand font, would dispose of the same for a portrait (in frame) of the Bishop-Elect of Vermont.
The two brothers who landed in Australia set sail in 1841 and arrived in Sydney early in 1842. My great something grandfather married in Sydney but his wife died in their second year of marriage - probably during childbirth as usually happened when a death occurs early. Multiple childbirth is also dangerous for the woman and his second wife died aged in her mid 30s at the same time as her last child.
The older brother first went to Queensland where he got into trouble with the police and where he married. He and his wife produced seven daughters and I have been able to trace most of their progress - two of the daughters married the same man but the with second marriage the pair were 'full age' - a marriage term designating a couple who obviously didn't need their parents' consent. This particular couple were in their fifties.
The brother continued to have problems with the police and is recorded as being gaoled for two days for drunkenness and once for theft but I need to go into the police records to investigate further.
One of the problems which I have encountered is that Australia was not a Federation until 1901, being a collection of individual states under The Crown and Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria were all a part of New South Wales, so do I designate the states as they were before 1901 or not? I suppose that ultimately is depends on people looking at my family tree and if they know Australia's history.
Despite the time and the different progenitors these cousins are really fairly close, being first cousins variously removed so maybe some will be unearthed by DNA testing although, so far, I haven't discovered anything new from my DNA. It hasn't told me anything I didn't already know and most of my supposed cousins do not have family trees so there is no way of discovering any new family that way.
This Limerick takes a bit of unscrambling but is fun anyway: It was written by Monsignor Ronald Knox.
"Knox once persuaded an unwary newspaper editor to run this 'classified advertisement":
Evangelical vicar in want of a portable second-hand font, would dispose of the same for a portrait (in frame) of the Bishop-Elect of Vermont.
Monday, July 2, 2018
Drones 'R Us
I found an advertisement on Facebook today advertising drones for cats so I have ordered one for Parsifal. He is too intelligent for his own good and being forced to be an indoor cat creates problems. He will not walk on a lead so I can never take him further than out into the passage and that only happens when I take the rubbish to the chute down at the other end. Since there is rarely anyone there to meet and greet, that has lost its charm for him. Perhaps I should try him in his harness again so that I can take him for walks.
Not that anyone with any sense would be out walking today. There has been unremitting heavy rain all day and I felt so sorry for the courier who delivered parcels for a couple of us. It is sheltered around the mail boxes and he would drive a van but would be constantly having to climb out into the downpour.
Back to the cats: Poppy seems to do most of her active stuff I the middle of the night and I only know this because her toys move around when I am not watching but Parsifal needs more distraction. He was bored with the red dot as soon as he discovered that it was uncatchable and his main exercise comes from chasing pingpong balls, which he expects me to bounce for him, and toughing up Poppy who can give as good as she gets but would really prefer to be alone. She does rather annoy him by sniffing his butt, though.
Since the drone seems to do its own thing - hopefully I am not going to be obliged to drive it - it could keep the cats entertained and even tire them out. Dream on . . .
Today's limerick:
The limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical.
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.
Not that anyone with any sense would be out walking today. There has been unremitting heavy rain all day and I felt so sorry for the courier who delivered parcels for a couple of us. It is sheltered around the mail boxes and he would drive a van but would be constantly having to climb out into the downpour.
Back to the cats: Poppy seems to do most of her active stuff I the middle of the night and I only know this because her toys move around when I am not watching but Parsifal needs more distraction. He was bored with the red dot as soon as he discovered that it was uncatchable and his main exercise comes from chasing pingpong balls, which he expects me to bounce for him, and toughing up Poppy who can give as good as she gets but would really prefer to be alone. She does rather annoy him by sniffing his butt, though.
Since the drone seems to do its own thing - hopefully I am not going to be obliged to drive it - it could keep the cats entertained and even tire them out. Dream on . . .
Today's limerick:
The limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical.
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Family Matters
A second cousin and I have been putting her mother's family into my Family Tree Maker program and after emails and phone calls over the weekend and before, we have finally got it sorted - I hope. It is not easy to check off the names, dates, spouses, children and deaths over generations stretching from 1871 to the present and I have left my cousin to do the hard yards.
Between us we have compiled three versions of the descendant charts and one last phone call disputing the birth date of one of the uncles which was not borne out by the Family Bible - but a quick check in Ancestry.com proved that the family bible had it right so now we have put the project to rest.
Except that FTM is in the process of doing an upgrade and it wasn't working all that well and I was unable to upload all our hard work to Ancestry.com; I complained. This evening I checked again and was told that changes had been made, the update was almost finished and it was now safe to upload the new data. I am keeping my fingers crossed because it is all a bit new and untried.
I had notification by mail on Friday to say that I will be getting connected to the NBN (National Broadband Network) on September 4th and that I should choose a plan. I am not altogether happy as there have been bad reports about the NBN but hopefully the problems are being addressed since I understand that I have no choice except as regards which of the three plans I want to go with.
On Friday I had coffee with my two genealogist cousins where we lamented the unforgiveable habit some people have of simply copying from other trees when compiling their own so that any errors are perpetuated. I have found this to be a problem and check and recheck sources where I can and do not put any unverified data into my tree.
Anyway - enough of family: I spent last week doing things outside the apartment and need to clean and tidy. That means, among other things, pruning my collection of books which has led to all manner of resurfaced treasures. I am trying to dispose of three books per day to the book exchange "Little Library" downstairs.
This limerick is a follow on from the last one and is the reply to the question of whether or not objects exist if there is no-one there to see them.
"Dear Sir, Your astonishment's odd;
I am always about in the quad;
And that's why the tree
Will continue to be
Since observed by Yours faithfully, God."
Between us we have compiled three versions of the descendant charts and one last phone call disputing the birth date of one of the uncles which was not borne out by the Family Bible - but a quick check in Ancestry.com proved that the family bible had it right so now we have put the project to rest.
Except that FTM is in the process of doing an upgrade and it wasn't working all that well and I was unable to upload all our hard work to Ancestry.com; I complained. This evening I checked again and was told that changes had been made, the update was almost finished and it was now safe to upload the new data. I am keeping my fingers crossed because it is all a bit new and untried.
I had notification by mail on Friday to say that I will be getting connected to the NBN (National Broadband Network) on September 4th and that I should choose a plan. I am not altogether happy as there have been bad reports about the NBN but hopefully the problems are being addressed since I understand that I have no choice except as regards which of the three plans I want to go with.
On Friday I had coffee with my two genealogist cousins where we lamented the unforgiveable habit some people have of simply copying from other trees when compiling their own so that any errors are perpetuated. I have found this to be a problem and check and recheck sources where I can and do not put any unverified data into my tree.
Anyway - enough of family: I spent last week doing things outside the apartment and need to clean and tidy. That means, among other things, pruning my collection of books which has led to all manner of resurfaced treasures. I am trying to dispose of three books per day to the book exchange "Little Library" downstairs.
This limerick is a follow on from the last one and is the reply to the question of whether or not objects exist if there is no-one there to see them.
"Dear Sir, Your astonishment's odd;
I am always about in the quad;
And that's why the tree
Will continue to be
Since observed by Yours faithfully, God."
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