We have two supermarkets down under and both seem to be going through upgrades. Yesterday I was at the Independent Grocers' place and the staff there were actively moving stuff around. I mostly visit that supermarket because they do not have "brand" produce and I get tired of crawling around the floor of Coles to find a "not a Coles product" which is invariably at the back of the bottom shelf.
Anyway as I searched the other one for their unbranded and unsweetened dried cranberries I met at least three people asking me if I knew where the bread was and as I finally left with my cranberries, found with the help of an assistant, I was followed out by the plaintive cry of "Where is the bread?"
Yesterday I had the first of my two shower recesses sealed (the second will be done next week when I am again able to use the one in the main bathroom). There seems to be a big drive on to get all the shower recesses sealed; there has obviously been some trouble, probably in Block A which is four years older than Block B where I have my apartment. But the Strata management expects us to pay for the new grouting. Life here is not cheap . . .
We are undergoing an unprecedented heatwave even before summer properly gets started and have three over 40 degree days to look forward to. I have been slopping around in thin cotton caftans and with the air conditioning running. Yesterday we didn't even get a sea breeze to cool us down and no sign of any cooling breeze as yet today.
As I left my apartment yesterday to return the shopping trolley - very handy for moving stuff around - a man descended from the roof (the steps up to the roof open just in front of the lift) and he said that he had been looking at the slats which are there to decorate the outside of the building as the window cleaners had obviously spat the dummy about cleaning them. I gave him a rundown, as a resident, on the advantages of recommending that they should be removed, including that they block the view and the time when some kids broke into the building by climbing up them. They didn't get further than the pool area due to the very tight security but the slats which were reachable from the ground were cut back to prevent anyone else using that way into the building.
The Limerick:-
A father was driving a car
Quite slowly, when son said, "Papa,
If you drive at this rate
We're bound to be late,
Drive faster!" . . . He did . . . and they are.
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Monday, December 9, 2019
Still limping around
My leg is getting better; the swelling is almost down although I am still wearing a support stocking and the bruising has almost gone so I am on the mend.
But things seem to be getting busy, what with Christmas and all. This morning I attended an annual Christmas Brunch organised for and with retired physiotherapists. As I didn't train here I really do not know any of them well and stubbornly forget their names from one year to the next - but it is good anyway.
D2 had a birthday over the weekend and the whole family went out to dinner last night at a restaurant which, when I first moved to Western Australia back in the dark ages, was the most comprehensive delicatessen I have ever seen before or since. It gradually morphed into a restaurant and is now very busy and very noisy but serves Brussels sprouts cooked a way which D2 is particularly fond of.
The day after tomorrow my master bathroom is having its shower recess re-grouted and silicone sealed and next Tuesday, when the grout has settled, the guest bathroom will have its shower sealed as well. As the floors have to be dry I am currently using the shower in the guest bathroom and find that it is even more badly designed than the Master bathroom.
Mrs Apt B705 died sometime at the end of last week. Her carer attended to her on Thursday and found her dead yesterday. She wanted to die but it was a dreadful shock for the carer who had to deal with Ambos and police and clean things up as best she could. Mrs B705 was to have a second carer come in on the three off days but that arrangement was not to start until next year.
We have been having very hot weather - over 40 degrees and more to come this week. Thank heaven for air conditioning although the sea breeze (AKA the Fremantle Doctor to out-of-towners) usually arrives in the afternoon and my apartment faces south so I get full advantage of it when it comes in.
The Limerick:-
A society climber from Crewe
Inquired, "What on earth shall I do?
I of course know what's what
But I fear I have not
The faintest idea of who's who."
But things seem to be getting busy, what with Christmas and all. This morning I attended an annual Christmas Brunch organised for and with retired physiotherapists. As I didn't train here I really do not know any of them well and stubbornly forget their names from one year to the next - but it is good anyway.
D2 had a birthday over the weekend and the whole family went out to dinner last night at a restaurant which, when I first moved to Western Australia back in the dark ages, was the most comprehensive delicatessen I have ever seen before or since. It gradually morphed into a restaurant and is now very busy and very noisy but serves Brussels sprouts cooked a way which D2 is particularly fond of.
The day after tomorrow my master bathroom is having its shower recess re-grouted and silicone sealed and next Tuesday, when the grout has settled, the guest bathroom will have its shower sealed as well. As the floors have to be dry I am currently using the shower in the guest bathroom and find that it is even more badly designed than the Master bathroom.
Mrs Apt B705 died sometime at the end of last week. Her carer attended to her on Thursday and found her dead yesterday. She wanted to die but it was a dreadful shock for the carer who had to deal with Ambos and police and clean things up as best she could. Mrs B705 was to have a second carer come in on the three off days but that arrangement was not to start until next year.
We have been having very hot weather - over 40 degrees and more to come this week. Thank heaven for air conditioning although the sea breeze (AKA the Fremantle Doctor to out-of-towners) usually arrives in the afternoon and my apartment faces south so I get full advantage of it when it comes in.
The Limerick:-
A society climber from Crewe
Inquired, "What on earth shall I do?
I of course know what's what
But I fear I have not
The faintest idea of who's who."
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Bruised Ego
I have, as a part of my de-cluttering drive, started spinning again. Because my thumbs are getting arthritic I am limiting myself to an hour or the length of one CD. I have two cupboards full of fleece so it is going to take me a while.
But I have cleared out all of my rubber stamps. I used to love making my own cards and spent a lot of time making my own Christmas and birthday cards but I haven't done any cards in the last eight years since I moved into the apartment. I threw out my colouring pens a couple of months ago; they had all dried and would have needed re-hydrating so I am slowly clearing out the dross.
Anyway, a week ago today I stepped down a very low curb and there was a loud crack in my right lower leg. I hobbled home and started ice and compression, having ascertained that everything in my ankle still worked and today I was able for the first time in a week to walk normally without a limp. However, to get back to the title of this piece, my right ankle and all down my right calf are exactly the colour of my current spinning. It makes me wonder a bit just what the supplier of my fibre was doing when she dyed and named the colourway "Bruised Ego".
On account of my very sore toe which I have probably mentioned in a previous post I have been buying a few colour co-ordinating walking sticks which I was storing inside a rolled up Pilates mat until Parsifal started playing with the wrist straps and brought the whole arrangement down with a loud crash so I ordered a fancy stick holder which arrived in Melbourne from USA within about three days and then sat in Melbourne for ten days before it finally arrived here in Western Australia. Made by the same company which makes the sticks it fits nicely into a spare corner and accommodates all my sticks very neatly.
The Limerick:-
Thomas Beecham, his voice like a ratchet,
Cut a poor cellist down like a hatchet.
"You have, twixt your thighs
My dear, a great prize,
And yet you just sit there and scratch it!"
But I have cleared out all of my rubber stamps. I used to love making my own cards and spent a lot of time making my own Christmas and birthday cards but I haven't done any cards in the last eight years since I moved into the apartment. I threw out my colouring pens a couple of months ago; they had all dried and would have needed re-hydrating so I am slowly clearing out the dross.
Anyway, a week ago today I stepped down a very low curb and there was a loud crack in my right lower leg. I hobbled home and started ice and compression, having ascertained that everything in my ankle still worked and today I was able for the first time in a week to walk normally without a limp. However, to get back to the title of this piece, my right ankle and all down my right calf are exactly the colour of my current spinning. It makes me wonder a bit just what the supplier of my fibre was doing when she dyed and named the colourway "Bruised Ego".
On account of my very sore toe which I have probably mentioned in a previous post I have been buying a few colour co-ordinating walking sticks which I was storing inside a rolled up Pilates mat until Parsifal started playing with the wrist straps and brought the whole arrangement down with a loud crash so I ordered a fancy stick holder which arrived in Melbourne from USA within about three days and then sat in Melbourne for ten days before it finally arrived here in Western Australia. Made by the same company which makes the sticks it fits nicely into a spare corner and accommodates all my sticks very neatly.
The Limerick:-
Thomas Beecham, his voice like a ratchet,
Cut a poor cellist down like a hatchet.
"You have, twixt your thighs
My dear, a great prize,
And yet you just sit there and scratch it!"
Thursday, November 21, 2019
I have placed a ping-pong ball in the bath.
Parsifal loves it. I never use the bath and the plughole is on the centre so when Parsifal bats it, it rolls back to the centre. He is definitely right-pawed and he has been sitting in the bath and batting the ball which rolls back to him to be batted again. Poppy is intrigued but so far hasn't ventured to try it. It is hard to entertain oriental cats which are super-intelligent so this is a whole new toy for them.
It doesn't replace catching rats which was the main entertainment for previous cats who lived with me and there have been times when I have wished that I could tell these two to go and catch a rat - but that is not an option in a high-rise apartment.
The hole in my glass was repaired this morning. The scaffolding was ferried up yesterday to level 4 and then up a ladder to the balcony of Apartment 511 which is two floors directly below me and from there it was built up to my apartment. The whole fix looks a little messy to me but it isn't my problem and I can only see it of I squeeze through the hopper window and hang down. From the street the hole was hard to see so any tatty bits from the repair will be unremarkable.
A couple of days ago I stepped off the curb onto the road and something cracked in my right calf muscle so I am hobbling around with a slightly swollen but rather painful leg. It is much better than it was and I can now put my heel down when I walk and actually push off a bit so I do not think that I have done myself any permanent damage. A compression stocking and painkillers may have something to do with it but it is a definite improvement.
The Limerick:-
I think that I may have used this one before from my previous book but it bears repetition.
Concerning the bees and the flowers
In the fields and the gardens and bowers,
You will note at a glance
That their ways of romance
Haven't any resemblance to ours.
It doesn't replace catching rats which was the main entertainment for previous cats who lived with me and there have been times when I have wished that I could tell these two to go and catch a rat - but that is not an option in a high-rise apartment.
The hole in my glass was repaired this morning. The scaffolding was ferried up yesterday to level 4 and then up a ladder to the balcony of Apartment 511 which is two floors directly below me and from there it was built up to my apartment. The whole fix looks a little messy to me but it isn't my problem and I can only see it of I squeeze through the hopper window and hang down. From the street the hole was hard to see so any tatty bits from the repair will be unremarkable.
A couple of days ago I stepped off the curb onto the road and something cracked in my right calf muscle so I am hobbling around with a slightly swollen but rather painful leg. It is much better than it was and I can now put my heel down when I walk and actually push off a bit so I do not think that I have done myself any permanent damage. A compression stocking and painkillers may have something to do with it but it is a definite improvement.
The Limerick:-
I think that I may have used this one before from my previous book but it bears repetition.
Concerning the bees and the flowers
In the fields and the gardens and bowers,
You will note at a glance
That their ways of romance
Haven't any resemblance to ours.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
My right second toe is going to have a makeover
I have been sitting on a referral to the UWA Podiatry Clinic for some time and with my eyes sorted I finally grasped the nettle and paid a visit to the UWAPC to see what they could do for my very sore toe. I have been trying for years to find a podiatrist who is willing to tackle the toe and finally asked D2 if she could recommend someone to me.
It was great. Far from trimming my corns and sending me on my way as did two previous podiatrists whom I had consulted, my feet were photographed and examined and a plan laid out for me. The offending toe will be shortened straightened and the second joint fused. A Kirschner wire will hold it for about six weeks until it is healed and I will have to wear a moon boot for that time. At a later date, if the toe on the left foot starts to give grief I can have the same procedure done to that one. This surgery will happen next year as the students will be going on holiday next month.
The UWAPC is for podiatrists who want to learn to do surgery and they are taught and supervised by experienced podiatric surgeons. I have opted for student involvement as the operation doesn't sound very complicated and we all learnt on live patients when we were training.
The cats had a very traumatic time this afternoon. Parsifal was nosing around in my knitting bag and one of the handles tangled around his neck. He panicked and, knocking aside everything in his way with loud crashings, he fled through the cat door and into my bedroom. Luckily the knitting bag stayed on the outside and he slid through the loop of the handle. Poppy thought that it was definitely the end of the world and refused to be consoled to the degree that she refused to eat her dinner until Parsifal was out of the way. The knitting survived, as did the cats. I'm not so sure about my nerves.
The limerick:-
The dog-loving Countess of Crupps
Was heard to confess in her cups,
"An affair with a collie
Was the height of my folly,
But I got a good price for the pups."
It was great. Far from trimming my corns and sending me on my way as did two previous podiatrists whom I had consulted, my feet were photographed and examined and a plan laid out for me. The offending toe will be shortened straightened and the second joint fused. A Kirschner wire will hold it for about six weeks until it is healed and I will have to wear a moon boot for that time. At a later date, if the toe on the left foot starts to give grief I can have the same procedure done to that one. This surgery will happen next year as the students will be going on holiday next month.
The UWAPC is for podiatrists who want to learn to do surgery and they are taught and supervised by experienced podiatric surgeons. I have opted for student involvement as the operation doesn't sound very complicated and we all learnt on live patients when we were training.
The cats had a very traumatic time this afternoon. Parsifal was nosing around in my knitting bag and one of the handles tangled around his neck. He panicked and, knocking aside everything in his way with loud crashings, he fled through the cat door and into my bedroom. Luckily the knitting bag stayed on the outside and he slid through the loop of the handle. Poppy thought that it was definitely the end of the world and refused to be consoled to the degree that she refused to eat her dinner until Parsifal was out of the way. The knitting survived, as did the cats. I'm not so sure about my nerves.
The limerick:-
The dog-loving Countess of Crupps
Was heard to confess in her cups,
"An affair with a collie
Was the height of my folly,
But I got a good price for the pups."
Thursday, October 31, 2019
. . . and today is a black letter day
I took possession of my two black kittens almost eight years ago when they were about ten or eleven weeks old. Special breeder kittens are usually not released to their new owners until they have been vaccinated and neutered - at approximately 16 weeks old. I suspect that I was allowed to take possession of them so early because my long-time vet was the consultant for the experimental breeders and perhaps gave me a good report.
Anyway, Poppy must have sustained an injury to one of her front legs, possibly when she first went back to her breeder to the boarding kennels attached to the cattery. I base this on the fact that the comment when I picked them up was, "Poppy is very aggressive." That was news to me but later I noticed that her right front leg seemed painful and it was very difficult to clip her nails as she found it very distressing.
Now that she has been on regular anti-inflammatory medication for the last six months she has been getting easier to handle and allows me to clip her claws as long as I produce the container of 'special' treats which both cats are given only when their claws are trimmed.
Now I have noticed that she is starting to chase balls and pipe cleaners and today - for the first time that I can remember - she helped me to make my bed. That is normally Parsifal's job and it was a joy to see her underneath the top sheet as soon as I tried to spread it.
The Limerick:-
There was a young drover named Gorse
Who fell madly in love with his horse.
Said his wife, "You rapscallion,
That horse is a stallion!
This constitutes grounds for divorce."
Anyway, Poppy must have sustained an injury to one of her front legs, possibly when she first went back to her breeder to the boarding kennels attached to the cattery. I base this on the fact that the comment when I picked them up was, "Poppy is very aggressive." That was news to me but later I noticed that her right front leg seemed painful and it was very difficult to clip her nails as she found it very distressing.
Now that she has been on regular anti-inflammatory medication for the last six months she has been getting easier to handle and allows me to clip her claws as long as I produce the container of 'special' treats which both cats are given only when their claws are trimmed.
Now I have noticed that she is starting to chase balls and pipe cleaners and today - for the first time that I can remember - she helped me to make my bed. That is normally Parsifal's job and it was a joy to see her underneath the top sheet as soon as I tried to spread it.
The Limerick:-
There was a young drover named Gorse
Who fell madly in love with his horse.
Said his wife, "You rapscallion,
That horse is a stallion!
This constitutes grounds for divorce."
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Today is Black Cat Day
. . .and I have two black cats who spent the day sleeping (It was a very hot day for October) and emerged in time for their dinner and a shouting match because they wanted me to clean out their litter trays although neither of them had used one. A typical day in the Chez Pink household.
Tomorrow will be cooler and hopefully the team of little men will setup the scaffolding on the balcony of Apt. B511 and fix the hole in my wall. They arrived on Friday to compare glass samples to get the colour correct.
I have nothing planned for this coming week except for the knitting Group on Tuesday so I will grasp my resolve and make an appointment to have my toes fixed. My main worry is that I might have to have a general anaesthetic and stay in hospital for a few days and if that happens I will have to make some sort of arrangement for the care of the cats which are not easy to deal with. Parsifal's fondest ambition is to be allowed to go out and catch rats and he gets a bit noisy when there are no rats allowed in the apartments.
Poppy's antii-inflamatory medication is reaping amazing benefits. I have thrown away my packet of wet-wipes. She is now able to clean up her own little butt, something which I have never seen her do before and she has been with me for almost eight years.
And I have to arrange a coffee and cake meet-up which I promised to organise some time ago and which is due sometime soon.
The limerick:-
There once was a couple named Kelly
Who walked around belly to belly
Because in their haste
They used library paste
Instead of petroleum jelly.
Friday, October 25, 2019
The Eyes Have It
It looks as though the hole in my outside wall is going to be fixed in the near future. I gather that management is concerned that water will get into the cavity but that horse has already bolded. Last Friday was very cold with a lot of rain. I gathered from listening to them that the plan is to erect scaffolding from the apartment below me on Level 5 and the men were here today with a lot of glass samples in order to match the colour.
D2 has been laid up since last Friday after surgery to repair a torn and detached retina in her right eye. A gas bubble was inserted into the eye and until two days ago she had to lie on her right side and was only allowed respite for 15 minutes per hour. Wednesday was her first day of freedom and she came to Claremont to buy more litter for her cat and to do some grocery shopping. She wore an absorbent patch over the eye as it is a bit red and weepy.
I have started knitting myself a blanket out of all the odds and sods of homespun yarn which has accumulated over time - and there is rather a lot of it so it is going to be a big rug. Bigger than I planned because I originally intended it to be about a metre wide but the more I knit the wider it gets so, at this stage, I am aiming for a very large square. Thus far it is looking very pretty with a multitude of coloured stripes. The yarn which I am knitting at the moment is the ends of a vast number of leftovers on bobbins which I have spun and plied together - but that will change.
The Limerick:-
As 007 walked by
A spider just tried to say "Hi".
That spider was shot
Right there on the spot
When he started out "Hi, I'm a spi…"
D2 has been laid up since last Friday after surgery to repair a torn and detached retina in her right eye. A gas bubble was inserted into the eye and until two days ago she had to lie on her right side and was only allowed respite for 15 minutes per hour. Wednesday was her first day of freedom and she came to Claremont to buy more litter for her cat and to do some grocery shopping. She wore an absorbent patch over the eye as it is a bit red and weepy.
I have started knitting myself a blanket out of all the odds and sods of homespun yarn which has accumulated over time - and there is rather a lot of it so it is going to be a big rug. Bigger than I planned because I originally intended it to be about a metre wide but the more I knit the wider it gets so, at this stage, I am aiming for a very large square. Thus far it is looking very pretty with a multitude of coloured stripes. The yarn which I am knitting at the moment is the ends of a vast number of leftovers on bobbins which I have spun and plied together - but that will change.
The Limerick:-
As 007 walked by
A spider just tried to say "Hi".
That spider was shot
Right there on the spot
When he started out "Hi, I'm a spi…"
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
My cats are now eight years old.
Last Saturday ((12th October) was the cats' eighth birthday. We didn't celebrate but simply noted the day - an easy one to remember because it was my parents' wedding anniversary.
I am still struggling to focus my eyes. It has been a long haul and I am reluctant to have my other cataract removed as it would mean another round of trying to get spectacle prescriptions sorted. My everyday glasses work reasonable well although I sometimes see double when I am trying to focus to read.
This difficulty has been compounded by the death of my e-Reader last weekend. It suddenly refused to connect to the internet and when I went on-line I found that my particular model is no longer supported. I can read the books which are already on the e-Reader but am unable to download any new ones so I have ordered the newest Kobo model which just happens to not be in stock. So I am going to have a sleep cover with nothing to put to sleep. Since I have ordered the latest version of the Kobo reader I am hopeful that mine will be available before too long.
The weather is all over the place at the moment; more like autumn than spring. Last Friday was a freezing cold day with gale-force winds and a great deal of rain and tomorrow is going to be another cold one. The cats have been hibernating, curled up together for most of the time although the scattering of cat toys which greets me in the morning leads me to believe that they have a secret life when I am asleep.
The Limerick (and from the new book):-
A wonderful bird is the pelican.
His beak can hold more than his belly can.
He can hold in his beak
Enough food for a week.
But I'm darned if I know how the hell he can.
This is a very old one. I first heard it from my mother.
I am still struggling to focus my eyes. It has been a long haul and I am reluctant to have my other cataract removed as it would mean another round of trying to get spectacle prescriptions sorted. My everyday glasses work reasonable well although I sometimes see double when I am trying to focus to read.
This difficulty has been compounded by the death of my e-Reader last weekend. It suddenly refused to connect to the internet and when I went on-line I found that my particular model is no longer supported. I can read the books which are already on the e-Reader but am unable to download any new ones so I have ordered the newest Kobo model which just happens to not be in stock. So I am going to have a sleep cover with nothing to put to sleep. Since I have ordered the latest version of the Kobo reader I am hopeful that mine will be available before too long.
The weather is all over the place at the moment; more like autumn than spring. Last Friday was a freezing cold day with gale-force winds and a great deal of rain and tomorrow is going to be another cold one. The cats have been hibernating, curled up together for most of the time although the scattering of cat toys which greets me in the morning leads me to believe that they have a secret life when I am asleep.
The Limerick (and from the new book):-
A wonderful bird is the pelican.
His beak can hold more than his belly can.
He can hold in his beak
Enough food for a week.
But I'm darned if I know how the hell he can.
This is a very old one. I first heard it from my mother.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Euphemisms
I have been battling euphemisms for most of my adult life as I believe in facing up to the truth except when a little white lie will make someone in distress feel a bit better. This all came to a head for me when my mother-in-law said to my husband, "I see that Tony has gone away." I was about to ask her where Tony had gone when I realised that Tony was dead. She didn't even use the commonly used "passed" or "passed away". Gone away? Honestly?
Anyway, I saw a euphemism yesterday which, I think, takes the cake. There was an advertising sign downstairs in the arcade which read, "Cosmetic Injectables". Interpret it as you will - I read it as a pointing to a place where I can get Botox enhancement on my very doorstep.
I promised not to head this entry into my blog as Limericks Mk 4 but I am happy announce the arrival of "The Great Australian Book of Limericks". Yes, it has some very unprintable limericks but the book is divided into sections, starting with absolutely clean to utterly obscene with varying degrees in between. There is even a whole section in "The Dirty Section" called "Bums and Blow-offs" where I would probably find my often-mentioned flatulent nuns. The final section is labelled "The Really Filthy Section" with sub-sections titled Various Sexual Practices and Shocking and Shameless.
Some are tried and true favourites which I have come across online and in various books so I will try not to repeat myself - but some are worth repeating which is why I keep on tripping over them. The one below is from the Introduction chapter.
The Limerick:-
The limerick is furtive and mean;
You must keep her in close quarantine,
Or she sneaks to the slums
And promptly becomes
Disorderly, drunk and obscene.
Anyway, I saw a euphemism yesterday which, I think, takes the cake. There was an advertising sign downstairs in the arcade which read, "Cosmetic Injectables". Interpret it as you will - I read it as a pointing to a place where I can get Botox enhancement on my very doorstep.
I promised not to head this entry into my blog as Limericks Mk 4 but I am happy announce the arrival of "The Great Australian Book of Limericks". Yes, it has some very unprintable limericks but the book is divided into sections, starting with absolutely clean to utterly obscene with varying degrees in between. There is even a whole section in "The Dirty Section" called "Bums and Blow-offs" where I would probably find my often-mentioned flatulent nuns. The final section is labelled "The Really Filthy Section" with sub-sections titled Various Sexual Practices and Shocking and Shameless.
Some are tried and true favourites which I have come across online and in various books so I will try not to repeat myself - but some are worth repeating which is why I keep on tripping over them. The one below is from the Introduction chapter.
The Limerick:-
The limerick is furtive and mean;
You must keep her in close quarantine,
Or she sneaks to the slums
And promptly becomes
Disorderly, drunk and obscene.
Friday, September 27, 2019
Limericks Mk 3.
I have been notified that the book of Limericks which I ordered and which had to be specially printed is on its way and hopefully they are about drop bears and kangaroos rather than flatulent nuns and other bodily functions.
I have heard no more about the hole in my wall; the wheels of the Strata Management are grinding very slowly as they have not even bothered to get back to me but hopefully the problem will be fixed before next winter. I suspect that when the abseilers come to clean the windows their rig will be borrowed to send down a platform with workmen able to replace either the glass or the whole panel.
My computer glasses, which I collected a couple of days ago have enabled me to read my computer without having to adjust the chair height and move my monitor to enable me to focus. However, I have recognised the benefit of using a walking stick to help me to balance when I have to negotiate around people, aisles and displays of vegetables so I have ordered a couple more to enable colour co-ordinating. That said, it has occurred to me that I am actually having a mild bout of vertigo which will pass without escalating if I am lucky.
The Royal Agricultural Show opened today and will last for a week. The showgrounds are a short walk from the Quarter so we are expecting bigger than usual crowds here, some of the shops are advertising 'specials' and the Claremont Council will probably have concerts in the park. All to be avoided where possible. The trains are better than they used to be as Transperth now runs special trains to and from the showgrounds so that the regular trains are not full of kids overstimulated by sugar and tired from the sideshows and rides. Needless to say, the schools co-ordinate by scheduling their holidays to free the kids up to go and waste their pocket money on showbags.
The Limerick (from "Dirty Limericks" so hopefully I can find something reasonably clean):-
A young woman got married in Chester.
Her mother she kissed and she blessed her.
She said, "You're in luck,
He's a stunning good f**k -
I've had him myself down in Leicester."
I have heard no more about the hole in my wall; the wheels of the Strata Management are grinding very slowly as they have not even bothered to get back to me but hopefully the problem will be fixed before next winter. I suspect that when the abseilers come to clean the windows their rig will be borrowed to send down a platform with workmen able to replace either the glass or the whole panel.
My computer glasses, which I collected a couple of days ago have enabled me to read my computer without having to adjust the chair height and move my monitor to enable me to focus. However, I have recognised the benefit of using a walking stick to help me to balance when I have to negotiate around people, aisles and displays of vegetables so I have ordered a couple more to enable colour co-ordinating. That said, it has occurred to me that I am actually having a mild bout of vertigo which will pass without escalating if I am lucky.
The Royal Agricultural Show opened today and will last for a week. The showgrounds are a short walk from the Quarter so we are expecting bigger than usual crowds here, some of the shops are advertising 'specials' and the Claremont Council will probably have concerts in the park. All to be avoided where possible. The trains are better than they used to be as Transperth now runs special trains to and from the showgrounds so that the regular trains are not full of kids overstimulated by sugar and tired from the sideshows and rides. Needless to say, the schools co-ordinate by scheduling their holidays to free the kids up to go and waste their pocket money on showbags.
The Limerick (from "Dirty Limericks" so hopefully I can find something reasonably clean):-
A young woman got married in Chester.
Her mother she kissed and she blessed her.
She said, "You're in luck,
He's a stunning good f**k -
I've had him myself down in Leicester."
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Limericks Mk 2
My book of "Dirty limericks" has arrived and most of them I would not publish here so I will pick the eyes out of it and then Book-cross it. There are a few tried and true ones, most of which I have already posted including the one which I had intended to use again today as it is one of my favourites. It will be a repeat but from about two years ago so it may be new to some readers.
I received an email from the apartment Management last night to tell me that someone had reported that I had a broken window. Very puzzling with the double glazing which has a membrane between the two sheets of glass but I checked anyway. I was not able to find anything but this morning I went down to level 4 where I can see my windows from the outside and discovered that panel below one of my bedroom windows had a huge hole in it from what looked like a flying rock. I hadn't realised that the lower panels are glass on the outside - and very thick glass at that - about 1cm thick so it must have been something fairly hefty and which would have to have come either from Apt 511 or the roadway on Level 4.
Anyway, it has to be photographed and then the management will repair it. As there is no way that I could have done the damage myself I hope that I am not charged for the repairs as I do not own the outer walls, only the space which my apartment occupies.
I have finished sewing up one of the sweaters which has been sitting for a while because I was not able to focus enough for close work and have started sewing up the Purple Possum and although it will be too warm to actually wear it until next winter, tonight the temperature is predicted to go down to 4 degrees and there is a nasty wind. I have been wearing my old cycling jacket which is pure down and very warm - just not meant for fashion wear.
The limerick (from memory since I am not sure which category it resides in among the Dirty Limericks:-
Rosena, a pretty young lass
Had a truly remarkable ass.
It was not round and pink
As well you might think
But was grey, had long ears and ate grass.
I received an email from the apartment Management last night to tell me that someone had reported that I had a broken window. Very puzzling with the double glazing which has a membrane between the two sheets of glass but I checked anyway. I was not able to find anything but this morning I went down to level 4 where I can see my windows from the outside and discovered that panel below one of my bedroom windows had a huge hole in it from what looked like a flying rock. I hadn't realised that the lower panels are glass on the outside - and very thick glass at that - about 1cm thick so it must have been something fairly hefty and which would have to have come either from Apt 511 or the roadway on Level 4.
Anyway, it has to be photographed and then the management will repair it. As there is no way that I could have done the damage myself I hope that I am not charged for the repairs as I do not own the outer walls, only the space which my apartment occupies.
I have finished sewing up one of the sweaters which has been sitting for a while because I was not able to focus enough for close work and have started sewing up the Purple Possum and although it will be too warm to actually wear it until next winter, tonight the temperature is predicted to go down to 4 degrees and there is a nasty wind. I have been wearing my old cycling jacket which is pure down and very warm - just not meant for fashion wear.
The limerick (from memory since I am not sure which category it resides in among the Dirty Limericks:-
Rosena, a pretty young lass
Had a truly remarkable ass.
It was not round and pink
As well you might think
But was grey, had long ears and ate grass.
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Limericks
For the last couple of years I have been ending my posts with a limerick. As I have tried not to duplicate any of them I have kept a record of the first line of each one I used and there are 71 in all. Two are duplicates, one accidental and one on purpose and noted as such. Now I am running out of (relatively) clean limericks and the book which I have used and which I found at my MIL's house when I was helping to clean it out when she died is falling apart, much to my regret.
So I have ordered a couple more; one because it is called Aussie Limericks which is waiting on a reprint and one which is in stock and which I should receive in a few days when my bookshop of choice gets it in for me. Its title is somewhat suggestive and I am not sure how politically correct it will be but limericks are not supposed to be scrubbed clean; it is part of their appeal that they are funny, clever and usually a bit naughty.
However, I promise you that I will never include any limericks about the musical abilities of flatulent nuns, a subject of which the writers of such poetry are all too fond.
Until my new book arrives, which should be in a couple of days, I will start back at the beginning of my list and repeat some of my most favourites, beginning with the one which has been names the 'ultimate' limerick as it encapsulates in five lines background, story and denouement.
Here it is - The Ultimate Limerick:-
There was a young man of Cape Horn
Who wished that he'd never been born.
And he wouldn't have been
If his father had seen
That the end of the rubber was torn.
So I have ordered a couple more; one because it is called Aussie Limericks which is waiting on a reprint and one which is in stock and which I should receive in a few days when my bookshop of choice gets it in for me. Its title is somewhat suggestive and I am not sure how politically correct it will be but limericks are not supposed to be scrubbed clean; it is part of their appeal that they are funny, clever and usually a bit naughty.
However, I promise you that I will never include any limericks about the musical abilities of flatulent nuns, a subject of which the writers of such poetry are all too fond.
Until my new book arrives, which should be in a couple of days, I will start back at the beginning of my list and repeat some of my most favourites, beginning with the one which has been names the 'ultimate' limerick as it encapsulates in five lines background, story and denouement.
Here it is - The Ultimate Limerick:-
There was a young man of Cape Horn
Who wished that he'd never been born.
And he wouldn't have been
If his father had seen
That the end of the rubber was torn.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Contrary Cats
My two cats will be having their eighth birthday next month and for all the time I have had them there has been a sort of underground warfare between them. It seems to be a dominance thing. Although they were both sterilised when they were young there are still some behaviours inherent in their makeup.
Poppy 'calls' Parsifal who responds with appropriate cat-calls and after grooming Poppy he tries to mate with her. As he has her in a firm grip by the scruff of her neck she submits for a short time and then, true to her female nature she attacks him. This is typical mating behaviour for cats except that Parsifal is unable to play his part fully. It is all a bit noisy and for almost eight years I have been trying to break things up.
However, I have finally decided to let things simply progress and see what happens. It is interesting; Poppy appears to be the dominant one and for 24 hours poor Parsifal wandered around looking very hangcat and demanding excessive amounts of lap-time and cuddles while Poppy smirked.
They seem to have settled into the new scheme of things and spend most of the day curled up together asleep in Poppy's bed in my study. Admittedly the weather has been very cold so it is a sensible thing to do. They emerge to be groomed if/when I clean the litter trays and at feeding time but life is much more peaceful for all of us.
My new spectacles have not arrived yet but hopefully they will be ready sometime this week as all my reading has to be done on my e-reader with the font blown up or with my right eye covered as I am still tending to see double despite focusing with my left eye. The computer is more difficult and I now have the monitor as far back as possible - about a metre which is where the focus in my right eye kicks in. And the ophthalmologist promised that I would be able to throw away my glasses and buy cheap reading glasses from a pharmacy. He must have known that I had severe astigmatism which he would be unable to correct. But my right eye was deteriorating rapidly so, whatever the outcome, the surgery needed to be done.
The limerick:-
The Marquis de Sade and Genet
Are most highly thought of today;
But torture and treachery
Are not my sort of lechery
So I've given my copies away.
Poppy 'calls' Parsifal who responds with appropriate cat-calls and after grooming Poppy he tries to mate with her. As he has her in a firm grip by the scruff of her neck she submits for a short time and then, true to her female nature she attacks him. This is typical mating behaviour for cats except that Parsifal is unable to play his part fully. It is all a bit noisy and for almost eight years I have been trying to break things up.
However, I have finally decided to let things simply progress and see what happens. It is interesting; Poppy appears to be the dominant one and for 24 hours poor Parsifal wandered around looking very hangcat and demanding excessive amounts of lap-time and cuddles while Poppy smirked.
They seem to have settled into the new scheme of things and spend most of the day curled up together asleep in Poppy's bed in my study. Admittedly the weather has been very cold so it is a sensible thing to do. They emerge to be groomed if/when I clean the litter trays and at feeding time but life is much more peaceful for all of us.
My new spectacles have not arrived yet but hopefully they will be ready sometime this week as all my reading has to be done on my e-reader with the font blown up or with my right eye covered as I am still tending to see double despite focusing with my left eye. The computer is more difficult and I now have the monitor as far back as possible - about a metre which is where the focus in my right eye kicks in. And the ophthalmologist promised that I would be able to throw away my glasses and buy cheap reading glasses from a pharmacy. He must have known that I had severe astigmatism which he would be unable to correct. But my right eye was deteriorating rapidly so, whatever the outcome, the surgery needed to be done.
The limerick:-
The Marquis de Sade and Genet
Are most highly thought of today;
But torture and treachery
Are not my sort of lechery
So I've given my copies away.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
"Maybe it's something to do with spring."
Yesterday was a hot day; today gales and rain and more of that to come over the next week. I had my hair cut today and left the salon and into a gale. By the time I got home I had to walk through the rain. So much for expensive styling.
And as I walked up the main drag I was greeted by the Australia Post courier for the local area and that says much about my shopping habits which have escalated while I wait for my new glasses. I have been spending more time than usual sitting in front of my computer and remembering things which I had planned to buy online when I got around to it. A couple of days ago I made a list of the things which I have ordered online and there were seven items.
It is a bit of a worry but I have had one win. I need a replacement for my regular handbag which is looking very tired but although I have looked diligently in handbag shops I have never found one with eleven pockets. A few days ago I went into a new handbag shop in the arcade to see if they had anything (they didn't) but the assistant suggested that I should look on the zipper tag of the old bag where I would find the name of the maker, go online and see what they have to offer. I did this and the maker's name actually was on the zipper tag so I went online and have ordered one which looks to be almost identical but maybe has a couple fewer pockets.
The cats have gone into hibernation and sleep for most of the day curled up together although some mornings I wake up to one or both of them either in or on my bed, depending on how cold the morning is.
Last night I unearthed my first MS Surface computer, charged it up and found that it was loaded with Win 8.1 which was one of my favourite operating systems because it is very decorative. The trouble was that it is so long since I have used it that after I had loaded the upgrades and scanned the hard drive I realised that I had forgotten how to turn it off and had to go to my Win 10 computer and ask. If its battery can still hold a charge I will probably use it as it is small and light - about the size of my I-Pad.
The limerick:-
'Tis favourite project of mine
A new value for 'pi' to assign.
I would fix it at 3
For its simpler, you see,
Than 3 point 1 4 1 5 9.
And as I walked up the main drag I was greeted by the Australia Post courier for the local area and that says much about my shopping habits which have escalated while I wait for my new glasses. I have been spending more time than usual sitting in front of my computer and remembering things which I had planned to buy online when I got around to it. A couple of days ago I made a list of the things which I have ordered online and there were seven items.
It is a bit of a worry but I have had one win. I need a replacement for my regular handbag which is looking very tired but although I have looked diligently in handbag shops I have never found one with eleven pockets. A few days ago I went into a new handbag shop in the arcade to see if they had anything (they didn't) but the assistant suggested that I should look on the zipper tag of the old bag where I would find the name of the maker, go online and see what they have to offer. I did this and the maker's name actually was on the zipper tag so I went online and have ordered one which looks to be almost identical but maybe has a couple fewer pockets.
The cats have gone into hibernation and sleep for most of the day curled up together although some mornings I wake up to one or both of them either in or on my bed, depending on how cold the morning is.
Last night I unearthed my first MS Surface computer, charged it up and found that it was loaded with Win 8.1 which was one of my favourite operating systems because it is very decorative. The trouble was that it is so long since I have used it that after I had loaded the upgrades and scanned the hard drive I realised that I had forgotten how to turn it off and had to go to my Win 10 computer and ask. If its battery can still hold a charge I will probably use it as it is small and light - about the size of my I-Pad.
The limerick:-
'Tis favourite project of mine
A new value for 'pi' to assign.
I would fix it at 3
For its simpler, you see,
Than 3 point 1 4 1 5 9.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Today was Fingernail Day
Every three weeks I have to clip my cats' claws and for years I have had a problem with Poppy who resisted with everything she had. I used to have to muzzle her and wrap her firmly in a big towel. I realised that she had a painful right shoulder and I am not sure how she injured it but the first time I boarded her back to the cattery where she was born the breeder commented on how aggressive she was and when I saw how the breeder's husband loaded them into his van the next time they went to boarding school I started to realise that the way he just threw their carry boxes into the back of his van was possibly a factor.
Needless to say they have never been back and I am not looking forward to the next time they have to be boarded out but will use the kennels connected with my Veterinary Hospital where I hope that they will be treated more gently.
Meanwhile, Poppy has been on anti-inflammatory medication for while now and for the last two times I have clipped her claws she has allowed me to do so with no hassles and has earned her post claw-clip treats very quickly. It is such a relief to no longer have to dread fingernail days. No muzzle and no towel; just tummy up on my lap.
The electronics in this place have gone berserk in the last few days: the lift doors can't decide whether or not to close, the fob sensor to the door from the unsecure parking to the secure parking area will not open the door, my mobile phone has deleted D1's home phone number and my computer is acting really oddly. I spent about an hour trying to get into my Hospital Benefits site because it no longer accepted my user name and password and wanted my membership card number as the user name (fair enough) but every time I tried to put in the new password which it demanded the site timed out and I had to start all over again. I finally managed to get into the site and I just hope that whatever bug is on the system doesn't start on my bank.
I have visited my optometrist and am having new spectacles for everything with only the right eye needing changes - and he is going to try to have reading lenses put into my Randy Rainbow pink bejewelled frames. Fingers crossed . . .
The Limerick:-
The principal food of the Siouxs
Is Indian maize, which they briouxs
And hominy make,
Or mix in a cake
And eat it with forks, as the chiouxs.
And that is the end of the Siouxs and almost the end of the book, which I inherited from my mother-in-law and which is falling apart. I haved to visit Amazon so I will see about a new one when I order some cryptic crossword books (no longer available in Newsagents and bookshops). It is over 50 years old and deserves to be honourably retired.
Needless to say they have never been back and I am not looking forward to the next time they have to be boarded out but will use the kennels connected with my Veterinary Hospital where I hope that they will be treated more gently.
Meanwhile, Poppy has been on anti-inflammatory medication for while now and for the last two times I have clipped her claws she has allowed me to do so with no hassles and has earned her post claw-clip treats very quickly. It is such a relief to no longer have to dread fingernail days. No muzzle and no towel; just tummy up on my lap.
The electronics in this place have gone berserk in the last few days: the lift doors can't decide whether or not to close, the fob sensor to the door from the unsecure parking to the secure parking area will not open the door, my mobile phone has deleted D1's home phone number and my computer is acting really oddly. I spent about an hour trying to get into my Hospital Benefits site because it no longer accepted my user name and password and wanted my membership card number as the user name (fair enough) but every time I tried to put in the new password which it demanded the site timed out and I had to start all over again. I finally managed to get into the site and I just hope that whatever bug is on the system doesn't start on my bank.
I have visited my optometrist and am having new spectacles for everything with only the right eye needing changes - and he is going to try to have reading lenses put into my Randy Rainbow pink bejewelled frames. Fingers crossed . . .
The Limerick:-
The principal food of the Siouxs
Is Indian maize, which they briouxs
And hominy make,
Or mix in a cake
And eat it with forks, as the chiouxs.
And that is the end of the Siouxs and almost the end of the book, which I inherited from my mother-in-law and which is falling apart. I haved to visit Amazon so I will see about a new one when I order some cryptic crossword books (no longer available in Newsagents and bookshops). It is over 50 years old and deserves to be honourably retired.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
"Oh Happy Day"
I have started spinning again and it, so far, doesn't hurt at all - or hardly at all. I have two cupboards full of fibre waiting to be spun and goodness knows what I am going to do with it all; spun or unspun. Roberta had retained all her current settings but I had to replace a couple of small rubber rings and , of course, she needed some oil and grease.
My eyes are adjusting to their new status and the spectacles which I am wearing at the moment are working fairly well except for close vision. I decided to try for the cheap pharmacy reading glasses promised by my ophthalmologist and found a pair which was great for the right eye but I couldn't see a thing out of the left lens so I have abandoned that idea and tomorrow I am off to see my optometrist and between us we are going to try for something which works. I will need reading glasses which work for both eyes and new computer glasses so that I do not have to sit a metre away from my monitor.
I am hoping that it will be possible to use my Randy Rainbow frames for my reading glasses but will have to let Mark be the judge of whether or not the technicians can get new lenses into them. I'll use the frames which I already use for computer glasses and use the frames which I was using before the cataract surgery for one of the two for everyday use as I always need a spare pair.
The head of my local library has just had both eyes done and looked as unbalanced and unfocused as I was. I know exactly how she is feeling.
And I am back to regular yoga and stretching out again. To start with I was very stiff and sore but that is improving as I mobilise my joints and especially my back.
The Limerick:-
All new-fashioned boats he eschiouxs,
And uses the birch-bark caniouxs;
These are handy and light
And inverted at night
Give shelter from storms and from dyiouxs.
The spell checker is having some problems with this series of limericks.
My eyes are adjusting to their new status and the spectacles which I am wearing at the moment are working fairly well except for close vision. I decided to try for the cheap pharmacy reading glasses promised by my ophthalmologist and found a pair which was great for the right eye but I couldn't see a thing out of the left lens so I have abandoned that idea and tomorrow I am off to see my optometrist and between us we are going to try for something which works. I will need reading glasses which work for both eyes and new computer glasses so that I do not have to sit a metre away from my monitor.
I am hoping that it will be possible to use my Randy Rainbow frames for my reading glasses but will have to let Mark be the judge of whether or not the technicians can get new lenses into them. I'll use the frames which I already use for computer glasses and use the frames which I was using before the cataract surgery for one of the two for everyday use as I always need a spare pair.
The head of my local library has just had both eyes done and looked as unbalanced and unfocused as I was. I know exactly how she is feeling.
And I am back to regular yoga and stretching out again. To start with I was very stiff and sore but that is improving as I mobilise my joints and especially my back.
The Limerick:-
All new-fashioned boats he eschiouxs,
And uses the birch-bark caniouxs;
These are handy and light
And inverted at night
Give shelter from storms and from dyiouxs.
The spell checker is having some problems with this series of limericks.
Saturday, August 10, 2019
A Bit Remiss
It is a while since I have been here and no excuse except that I have been having some problems with my new eye with its very variable focus. This seems to be settling down now but I am still having to sit about a metre from my computer monitor and reading is difficult. I need reading glasses and probably computer glasses as well but for general viewing my right eye is much better than it was before (except for close work which is to be expected) and my distance vision in the right eye is better than the left one with correction lenses.
Now, of course I can see all the cat litter which the babies tread over the floor and I am vacuuming more often so have ordered a couple more filters for my Dyson Stick as, with all the rain we have had over the last couple of weeks the filter takes two days to dry and I can't vacuum again until it is dry.
I am back to doing yoga five times per week after quite a long break and am very, very stiff. That should wear off in another week and I will be right back into it, albeit a bit wobbly in the lunges as my balance, never good, is not helped by my erratic vision.
I am still reading the Mueller Report in my e-reader but it is not very good at returning to my previous page after looking at a footnote so am swapping from Kobo to print and back to Kobo. Reading glasses should fix that and since the e-reader version cost me (from memory) $0.10 it will be no loss to abandon the e-version if and when.
At the end of July I attended the Retired Physiotherapists Christmas in July. Because I did not graduate here there are very few familiar faces but the man who runs the Café where we go used to be one of my assistants at one time. I didn't recognise him the first time I saw him there but he remembered me and it took me ages to place him; it is over 30 years since we worked together.
The local Council wants our knitting group to knit Christmas decorations for the Council's fund-raising tree - donate and get a knitted Christmas tree. I have opted out and will probably go back to knitting beanies ready for next winter and maybe some more wrist warmers if I can find suitable yarn.
And the Limerick:-
When out on the warpath the Sioux
March single file - never by tioux -
And by 'blazing' the trees
Can return at their ease,
And their way through the forests ne'er lioux.
Now, of course I can see all the cat litter which the babies tread over the floor and I am vacuuming more often so have ordered a couple more filters for my Dyson Stick as, with all the rain we have had over the last couple of weeks the filter takes two days to dry and I can't vacuum again until it is dry.
I am back to doing yoga five times per week after quite a long break and am very, very stiff. That should wear off in another week and I will be right back into it, albeit a bit wobbly in the lunges as my balance, never good, is not helped by my erratic vision.
I am still reading the Mueller Report in my e-reader but it is not very good at returning to my previous page after looking at a footnote so am swapping from Kobo to print and back to Kobo. Reading glasses should fix that and since the e-reader version cost me (from memory) $0.10 it will be no loss to abandon the e-version if and when.
At the end of July I attended the Retired Physiotherapists Christmas in July. Because I did not graduate here there are very few familiar faces but the man who runs the Café where we go used to be one of my assistants at one time. I didn't recognise him the first time I saw him there but he remembered me and it took me ages to place him; it is over 30 years since we worked together.
The local Council wants our knitting group to knit Christmas decorations for the Council's fund-raising tree - donate and get a knitted Christmas tree. I have opted out and will probably go back to knitting beanies ready for next winter and maybe some more wrist warmers if I can find suitable yarn.
And the Limerick:-
When out on the warpath the Sioux
March single file - never by tioux -
And by 'blazing' the trees
Can return at their ease,
And their way through the forests ne'er lioux.
Saturday, July 20, 2019
A lot seems to be happening
On Wednesday I was scheduled to get the final verdict from my ophthalmologist after four weeks of no water in the eye, sleeping with an eye shield and a multitude of eyedrops and my eye certainly still wasn't ready to manage without spectacles.
The Lions Eye Institute has a myriad of fancy equipment to peer into and measure eyes and the verdict was that the fact that I still didn't have perfect vision was that I had quite severe astigmatism which could not be corrected by an interocular lens. The ophthalmologist's advice was to go back to my optometrist and get myself some spectacles to correct the astigmatism.
So on Thursday I had my eyes checked again and apart from the astigmatism I now have almost perfect vision in the right eye and the left eye needed new lenses as well so I am now waiting for my new glasses.
Meanwhile I am trying to read the Mueller Report which, if anyone has taken a look at it, has pages of tiny print which I can't focus on and lots and lots of black to cover the redactions. I have therefore downloaded it onto my Kobo at great expense (I think that I paid 10 cents) which is much easier to read but I suspect that it misses out a lot and I periodically refer to the print book for confirmation. When I can read properly again I will tackle the original again.
I have also been trying to knit with a horrible yarn which splits and I have to keep on dropping stitches down and picking up the strands which I missed. I am not happy with the result of the wrist warmer which I eventually finished so I will use the rest of the yarn for beanies but will knit the second wrist warmer when I can see properly again. It would be a shame to waste all the effort I put into the first one by not finishing the pair.
For the limerick I am going to repeat one which I used some time ago because it is the first of a series about the Sioux. That word sound probably has more rhymes than any other word in the English language so it is easy to make up poems using that sound. My apologies to any Native Americans I might offend but the limericks are published and out there.
The Limerick:-
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 Hyioux.
The Lions Eye Institute has a myriad of fancy equipment to peer into and measure eyes and the verdict was that the fact that I still didn't have perfect vision was that I had quite severe astigmatism which could not be corrected by an interocular lens. The ophthalmologist's advice was to go back to my optometrist and get myself some spectacles to correct the astigmatism.
So on Thursday I had my eyes checked again and apart from the astigmatism I now have almost perfect vision in the right eye and the left eye needed new lenses as well so I am now waiting for my new glasses.
Meanwhile I am trying to read the Mueller Report which, if anyone has taken a look at it, has pages of tiny print which I can't focus on and lots and lots of black to cover the redactions. I have therefore downloaded it onto my Kobo at great expense (I think that I paid 10 cents) which is much easier to read but I suspect that it misses out a lot and I periodically refer to the print book for confirmation. When I can read properly again I will tackle the original again.
I have also been trying to knit with a horrible yarn which splits and I have to keep on dropping stitches down and picking up the strands which I missed. I am not happy with the result of the wrist warmer which I eventually finished so I will use the rest of the yarn for beanies but will knit the second wrist warmer when I can see properly again. It would be a shame to waste all the effort I put into the first one by not finishing the pair.
For the limerick I am going to repeat one which I used some time ago because it is the first of a series about the Sioux. That word sound probably has more rhymes than any other word in the English language so it is easy to make up poems using that sound. My apologies to any Native Americans I might offend but the limericks are published and out there.
The Limerick:-
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 Hyioux.
Sunday, July 14, 2019
A Birthday
My birthday started with a visit from two second cousins for an exchange of family information. One of them I had met before and her brother wanted to meet me so he came along as well and culminated with D2 taking me out to dinner at one of Cottesloe's best restaurants.
Friday D1 arrived from Sydney , very late, because the plane which she had booked on was cancelled due to high winds and she arrived at about midnight - eight hours after she was supposed to arrive. Saturday night was a family dinner at one of Shenton Park's best restaurant with all seven of us. My dessert came with one small candle and the waitstaff all lined up and sang "Happy Birthday" and the whole clientele gave three cheers. A lot of fun and quite unexpected.
D1 has now flown back to Sydney on an also delayed flight and also due to high winds. And I think that we had a small earth tremor this morning. My chair was shaking so I checked in a jug of water and it was not just me trembling. No doubt it will be reported in the news tonight if it was not caused by the golden arches which the Council seems to be installing in The Lane. I am not sure what that is all about but it would be nice if they were roofed as we get just as wet, if not wetter, walking through the umbrellas which are there now and which drip at the edges.
I am still struggling with my eyes. The right eye is better but by no means best and it is hard to focus. I will be seeing the ophthalmologist in three days so he can judge the progress, whether or not there will be more improvement over time, if he wants to iron out the retina and when he intends to remove the cataract in the left eye.
and the Limerick:-
There was a young priest named Delaney
Who said to the girls, "Nota bene,
'Twould temp the archbishop
The way that you swish up
Your skirts when the weather is rainy."
* * *
Addendum:
Friday D1 arrived from Sydney , very late, because the plane which she had booked on was cancelled due to high winds and she arrived at about midnight - eight hours after she was supposed to arrive. Saturday night was a family dinner at one of Shenton Park's best restaurant with all seven of us. My dessert came with one small candle and the waitstaff all lined up and sang "Happy Birthday" and the whole clientele gave three cheers. A lot of fun and quite unexpected.
D1 has now flown back to Sydney on an also delayed flight and also due to high winds. And I think that we had a small earth tremor this morning. My chair was shaking so I checked in a jug of water and it was not just me trembling. No doubt it will be reported in the news tonight if it was not caused by the golden arches which the Council seems to be installing in The Lane. I am not sure what that is all about but it would be nice if they were roofed as we get just as wet, if not wetter, walking through the umbrellas which are there now and which drip at the edges.
I am still struggling with my eyes. The right eye is better but by no means best and it is hard to focus. I will be seeing the ophthalmologist in three days so he can judge the progress, whether or not there will be more improvement over time, if he wants to iron out the retina and when he intends to remove the cataract in the left eye.
and the Limerick:-
There was a young priest named Delaney
Who said to the girls, "Nota bene,
'Twould temp the archbishop
The way that you swish up
Your skirts when the weather is rainy."
* * *
Addendum:
A magnitude-6.6 earthquake in the Indian Ocean has been felt across large parts of Western Australia.
The quake struck about 200 kilometres off the coast, between Broome and Port Hedland at 1:39pm on Sunday.
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Still struggling with my eyes
Just over two weeks after having my cataract removed I am struggling. I never know when I wake up in the morning which eye will be the best to see out of. The right eye which was the one I had the cataract removed from is immeasurably better than it was but not perfect - except sometimes.
The left eye is good with corrective lenses but hopeless without my glasses and I juggle lenses and eyepatches depending on what and when I need to see something. I will be seeing the surgeon again in about eleven days so there is still time for improvement or maybe he will have to go in again and do something about the retina. The left eye should be a lot less complicated.
I am back to researching my family tree and have found that, except for my grandmother's siblings the Sexton line is dead but my grandmother had eight siblings so that should keep me busy for a while and the family of my grandfather's real father and his family are almost uncharted waters.
I have spent a lot of time listening to MSNBC and knitting - something which I do not need good focus to do but I have run out of yarn and the weather is not an encouragement to brave the rain to go and buy more.
And the weather has really been awful with freezing gale-force winds and a great deal of rain. It is mid-winter and what we should be expecting but the last few winters have been milder than this.
The cats are well but not rapt in their diet so they sleep most of the time and then nag me to feed them, which I won't. They have their times and I am trying to stick to them.
I am having problems with this computer and think that it is probably caused by the virus scanner which the people who cleaned out my computer installed. The problem is mainly with Facebook so that I have to use my I-Pad for some things. I agreed to leave the program installed for a year but am about to remove it and either go back to doing what I was doing before or install a different virus scanner.
The Limerick:-
Written by Arnold Bennett (1867 -1942)
There was a young man of Montrose
Who had pockets in none of his clothes.
When asked by his lass
Where he carried his brass,
He said, "Darling, I pay through the nose."
Sorry - I am repeating myself. I'll try not to do it again
The left eye is good with corrective lenses but hopeless without my glasses and I juggle lenses and eyepatches depending on what and when I need to see something. I will be seeing the surgeon again in about eleven days so there is still time for improvement or maybe he will have to go in again and do something about the retina. The left eye should be a lot less complicated.
I am back to researching my family tree and have found that, except for my grandmother's siblings the Sexton line is dead but my grandmother had eight siblings so that should keep me busy for a while and the family of my grandfather's real father and his family are almost uncharted waters.
I have spent a lot of time listening to MSNBC and knitting - something which I do not need good focus to do but I have run out of yarn and the weather is not an encouragement to brave the rain to go and buy more.
And the weather has really been awful with freezing gale-force winds and a great deal of rain. It is mid-winter and what we should be expecting but the last few winters have been milder than this.
The cats are well but not rapt in their diet so they sleep most of the time and then nag me to feed them, which I won't. They have their times and I am trying to stick to them.
I am having problems with this computer and think that it is probably caused by the virus scanner which the people who cleaned out my computer installed. The problem is mainly with Facebook so that I have to use my I-Pad for some things. I agreed to leave the program installed for a year but am about to remove it and either go back to doing what I was doing before or install a different virus scanner.
The Limerick:-
Written by Arnold Bennett (1867 -1942)
There was a young man of Montrose
Who had pockets in none of his clothes.
When asked by his lass
Where he carried his brass,
He said, "Darling, I pay through the nose."
Sorry - I am repeating myself. I'll try not to do it again
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
I neve thought that the day would come ..
When I was so bored that I opted to do the ironing.
I had a cataract removed from my right eye last Wednesday and although I am allowed to read, watch television and use a computer I am not seeing well and instead of being able to find a way around the problem my vision keeps changing so that what worked an hour ago no longer solves the problem.
I have another three weeks before I see the surgeon again and I can only hope that the eye would have sorted out before then.
So nothing of note to report from Chez Pink. At least I can still KNIT.
The limerick:-
This was the prize-winning limerick from a competition in which a prize was awarded to the person who supplied the best last line.
There was a young lady of Ryde
Whose locks were considerably dyed.
The hue of her hair
Made everyone stare ...
"She's piebald, She'll die bald!" they cried
I had a cataract removed from my right eye last Wednesday and although I am allowed to read, watch television and use a computer I am not seeing well and instead of being able to find a way around the problem my vision keeps changing so that what worked an hour ago no longer solves the problem.
I have another three weeks before I see the surgeon again and I can only hope that the eye would have sorted out before then.
So nothing of note to report from Chez Pink. At least I can still KNIT.
The limerick:-
This was the prize-winning limerick from a competition in which a prize was awarded to the person who supplied the best last line.
There was a young lady of Ryde
Whose locks were considerably dyed.
The hue of her hair
Made everyone stare ...
"She's piebald, She'll die bald!" they cried
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Nanny State Gone Wild?
I have recently changed the brand of yoghurt which I use. It is thick, creamy and delicious. On the carton are the words "Plain Whole Milk Greek Yoghurt". Down at the bottom of the carton are the words "Whole Milk Yoghurt".
As it is so thick and creamy I wondered if a thickener had been added so I read the list of ingredients:- Skim milk, Cream, Live Yoghurt Cultures. CONTAINS MILK
Just fancy that - contains milk?
In Great Britain there has been a questionnaire about the most popular names for cats and would you believe that the most popular female cat's name is Poppy so we are right up with it, although her proper kennel name is Poppaea (she was Nero's wife, poor woman). Parsifal didn't even get a look-in, nor did its diminutive Percy. Parsifal was one of the Grail Knights and is supposed to have been the one who found the Holy Grail but he was not very bright so it must have been the magical ring given to him, as these things were, by a maiden whom he met in the forest.
I have two one-hundredth birthday parties scheduled for this week (same person, different organisers) and a dental appointment and then next week I am having my first cataract removed from my eye which I am not looking forward to as the outcome is slightly questionable. The ophthalmologist is all for getting it removed but this time last year he was saying that I could be risking total blindness if I had it done. I will still have one eye, though, and if the first eye is OK then I will have the second one done. It will either be no spectacles or a white stick.
The Limerick:-
When you go to a store in Ascutney,
There is no use to ask them for Chutney.
You may plead, you may tease,
You may go on your knees:
It will do you no good, they ain't got any.
As it is so thick and creamy I wondered if a thickener had been added so I read the list of ingredients:- Skim milk, Cream, Live Yoghurt Cultures. CONTAINS MILK
Just fancy that - contains milk?
In Great Britain there has been a questionnaire about the most popular names for cats and would you believe that the most popular female cat's name is Poppy so we are right up with it, although her proper kennel name is Poppaea (she was Nero's wife, poor woman). Parsifal didn't even get a look-in, nor did its diminutive Percy. Parsifal was one of the Grail Knights and is supposed to have been the one who found the Holy Grail but he was not very bright so it must have been the magical ring given to him, as these things were, by a maiden whom he met in the forest.
I have two one-hundredth birthday parties scheduled for this week (same person, different organisers) and a dental appointment and then next week I am having my first cataract removed from my eye which I am not looking forward to as the outcome is slightly questionable. The ophthalmologist is all for getting it removed but this time last year he was saying that I could be risking total blindness if I had it done. I will still have one eye, though, and if the first eye is OK then I will have the second one done. It will either be no spectacles or a white stick.
The Limerick:-
When you go to a store in Ascutney,
There is no use to ask them for Chutney.
You may plead, you may tease,
You may go on your knees:
It will do you no good, they ain't got any.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Whew!
It has been a fraught couple of weeks since my last post.
Hopefully I have sorted out the computer hacking. I have a new credit card and a new pin number and no money appears to have been taken out of my bank account. The teller at the Bank double checked, shredded my card and sent off for a new one. Before I used it I needed to know that my computer was clear of nasties so I called in a local expert (Techie does not seem to be around at the moment - maybe he has retired). The new expert, Frank, scanned the computer and found what I had suspected, a malware file, and quarantined it. I have since deleted it. He then installed a malware program which hopefully works - although I acknowledge that the whole episode was entirely my own fault. So now I have to remember my new pin number.
For ages I have has three of my LED lights not working and I have been waiting for the other shoe to drop before I called in an electrician. Well, the other shoe has dropped with a thud and the light began flashing Morse code at me just over my work table. The electrician is coming back in two days with new lights for me but disconnected the flashing one for me as it was impossible to live with.
Now Facebook is not working properly but so far I have been able to work around that - it just takes time. I know that Google has been having problems and hope that this is all a part of the general upheaval. And one of the Lifts in A Block is not working and so far it has been impossible to fix.
And I can't use my mobile phone properly yet but that is nothing to do with electronics. The fault is not in our stars, dear Brutus . . .etc. I have managed to put in the names of most of the contacts I need and it is only time and inclination which has prevented me from completing that job but there are things in there which I have no idea about; Snake?
On a lighter note:-
There was a young girl from St Paul
Wore a newspaper dress to a ball;
But her dress caught on fire
And burned her entire
Front page, sporting section, and all.
Hopefully I have sorted out the computer hacking. I have a new credit card and a new pin number and no money appears to have been taken out of my bank account. The teller at the Bank double checked, shredded my card and sent off for a new one. Before I used it I needed to know that my computer was clear of nasties so I called in a local expert (Techie does not seem to be around at the moment - maybe he has retired). The new expert, Frank, scanned the computer and found what I had suspected, a malware file, and quarantined it. I have since deleted it. He then installed a malware program which hopefully works - although I acknowledge that the whole episode was entirely my own fault. So now I have to remember my new pin number.
For ages I have has three of my LED lights not working and I have been waiting for the other shoe to drop before I called in an electrician. Well, the other shoe has dropped with a thud and the light began flashing Morse code at me just over my work table. The electrician is coming back in two days with new lights for me but disconnected the flashing one for me as it was impossible to live with.
Now Facebook is not working properly but so far I have been able to work around that - it just takes time. I know that Google has been having problems and hope that this is all a part of the general upheaval. And one of the Lifts in A Block is not working and so far it has been impossible to fix.
And I can't use my mobile phone properly yet but that is nothing to do with electronics. The fault is not in our stars, dear Brutus . . .etc. I have managed to put in the names of most of the contacts I need and it is only time and inclination which has prevented me from completing that job but there are things in there which I have no idea about; Snake?
On a lighter note:-
There was a young girl from St Paul
Wore a newspaper dress to a ball;
But her dress caught on fire
And burned her entire
Front page, sporting section, and all.
Friday, May 24, 2019
I've been scammed and it was so easy
All Australians know that the National Broadband is being rolled out all over the country and we have been told that the roll-out will be completed in a couple of months. Currently the NBN is connecting people in my suburb so when I received a call to say that I was to be connected the next day I was not surprised. I was furthermore told that this would involve replacing my current modem, which I also knew.
The man, who called himself Kevin, said that a few adjustments to my computer would be needed to accommodate the modem and I dutifully followed his instructions to change some settings in my computer. After that he verified my credit card details by reciting the last two numbers of what I now realise was my phone number and I filled in the rest. He then said that he would give me a code to verify the details and that is where it all started to fall apart - my mobile phone. I have never been brilliant using a mobile phone, mainly because I have rarely needed it, and now I have a new one which I need to sit down and work out its workings. In other words I have no idea how to make it work for me and I was not able to find the code.
Then Kevin told me that I would need to register my mobile phone number with my bank which I refused to do because it was night-time and I wasn't sure that the bank would be happy to get such a call at that time of night so I said that I would do so in the morning. That is when the wheels really started to fall off the cart. The man I spoke to at the bank said that he could see no reason why I needed to register my mobile number with them and suggested that it was a scam.
Kevin kept on phoning me and I refused to pick up but did so eventually as it was getting annoying and he obviously was going to keep on keeping on. I told him what the bank had said and offered to phone my internet provider to check. He assured me that my landline would be disconnected at 2.00pm so I phoned my internet provider who also told me that it was a scam and actually told me when they intended to connect me - and it is not yet.
So the next time Kevin called I said that I now knew when I was to be connected to the NBN and that I would phone Telstra to find out their intentions. That was the last I heard from Kevin. Telstra assured me that they had no intention of disconnectiong me until the NBN had been connected to my apartment. They also suggested that it was a scam and recommended that I contact Scamwatch, which I did.
Then I ran my computer's "system restore" back to a week ago and having checked that no money had been taken from my bank account I cancelled my credit card so I am now waiting for my new card.
I hope that I have covered all eventualities but his story was very credible, filling in gaps about my knowledge of the NBN and I was taken in at the time so it was only after I had time to think that I realised what had happened. I just hope that the changes I made were recovered back to their original settings when I restored the system.
On a lighter note - The Limerick:-
The limerick's an artform complex
Whose contents run chiefly to sex;
It's famous for virgins
And masculine urgin's
And vulgar erotic effects.
The man, who called himself Kevin, said that a few adjustments to my computer would be needed to accommodate the modem and I dutifully followed his instructions to change some settings in my computer. After that he verified my credit card details by reciting the last two numbers of what I now realise was my phone number and I filled in the rest. He then said that he would give me a code to verify the details and that is where it all started to fall apart - my mobile phone. I have never been brilliant using a mobile phone, mainly because I have rarely needed it, and now I have a new one which I need to sit down and work out its workings. In other words I have no idea how to make it work for me and I was not able to find the code.
Then Kevin told me that I would need to register my mobile phone number with my bank which I refused to do because it was night-time and I wasn't sure that the bank would be happy to get such a call at that time of night so I said that I would do so in the morning. That is when the wheels really started to fall off the cart. The man I spoke to at the bank said that he could see no reason why I needed to register my mobile number with them and suggested that it was a scam.
Kevin kept on phoning me and I refused to pick up but did so eventually as it was getting annoying and he obviously was going to keep on keeping on. I told him what the bank had said and offered to phone my internet provider to check. He assured me that my landline would be disconnected at 2.00pm so I phoned my internet provider who also told me that it was a scam and actually told me when they intended to connect me - and it is not yet.
So the next time Kevin called I said that I now knew when I was to be connected to the NBN and that I would phone Telstra to find out their intentions. That was the last I heard from Kevin. Telstra assured me that they had no intention of disconnectiong me until the NBN had been connected to my apartment. They also suggested that it was a scam and recommended that I contact Scamwatch, which I did.
Then I ran my computer's "system restore" back to a week ago and having checked that no money had been taken from my bank account I cancelled my credit card so I am now waiting for my new card.
I hope that I have covered all eventualities but his story was very credible, filling in gaps about my knowledge of the NBN and I was taken in at the time so it was only after I had time to think that I realised what had happened. I just hope that the changes I made were recovered back to their original settings when I restored the system.
On a lighter note - The Limerick:-
The limerick's an artform complex
Whose contents run chiefly to sex;
It's famous for virgins
And masculine urgin's
And vulgar erotic effects.
Monday, May 20, 2019
The Eyes Still Have It
This morning I phoned and made an appointment to have my right cataract removed and it will happen on 19th June. Dr C. must have been fairly certain that I would bite the bullet because there are already two intraocular lenses made to correct my vision waiting to be inserted. I am assuming that if the right eye is a success then the left one will follow fairly rapidly. So fingers crossed and I will be able to wear my Randy Rainbow spectacle frames without having to persuade my optometrist to have prescription lenses inserted in them.
Karma is affecting the lifts in the two apartment blocks over the Claremont Quarter. The main lift in A Block is now out of order and hopefully the residents will not have to wait as long for repairs as we did here in B Block.
I have been entertaining myself knitting wrist warmers for those poor unfortunates who sleep rough. D2 said that their hands get cold and, for Perth, it can get very cold at night when the wind gets up. We have had some very cold weather recently with snow on Bluff Knoll; it is far too early in the season to even think of snow here and I suspect that there is going to be a nasty winter.
So far I have knitted four and a half pairs of wrist warmers and no longer need to follow the pattern. I should finish the fifth pair tomorrow at the knitting group - and even begin the sixth pair.
Not much going on in my life at the moment; coffee with friends but two of the best coffee shops are upgrading at the moment. The Portuguese Flamed Chicken eatery has finally opened and seems popular; the gelato place is a bit of a disappointment but I have only tried one flavour and the fish and chips shop is still my favourite.
GB1 now has his drivers' license which is useful and frees his father up but not his father's car as GB1 has flying lessons twice weekly at an airfield with no public transport anywhere nearby. I need him to work out my new mobile phone for me - the instructions which came with it are minimal and the online ones are not much better. I have put in some names and numbers and am wondering if I should add Mrs 705 but if the fire alarm didn't manage to get her out of bed I doubt if a phone call from me would do so and I would save my cats before I broke in and dragged her out of bed as she is quite capable of getting out on her own. The cats would not be able to escape a fire on their without me and the kitty carriage.
The Limerick:-
A wanton young lady of Wimley,
Reproached for not acting more primly
Answered, "Heavens above!
I know sex isn't love
But it's such an attractive facsimile."
Karma is affecting the lifts in the two apartment blocks over the Claremont Quarter. The main lift in A Block is now out of order and hopefully the residents will not have to wait as long for repairs as we did here in B Block.
I have been entertaining myself knitting wrist warmers for those poor unfortunates who sleep rough. D2 said that their hands get cold and, for Perth, it can get very cold at night when the wind gets up. We have had some very cold weather recently with snow on Bluff Knoll; it is far too early in the season to even think of snow here and I suspect that there is going to be a nasty winter.
So far I have knitted four and a half pairs of wrist warmers and no longer need to follow the pattern. I should finish the fifth pair tomorrow at the knitting group - and even begin the sixth pair.
Not much going on in my life at the moment; coffee with friends but two of the best coffee shops are upgrading at the moment. The Portuguese Flamed Chicken eatery has finally opened and seems popular; the gelato place is a bit of a disappointment but I have only tried one flavour and the fish and chips shop is still my favourite.
GB1 now has his drivers' license which is useful and frees his father up but not his father's car as GB1 has flying lessons twice weekly at an airfield with no public transport anywhere nearby. I need him to work out my new mobile phone for me - the instructions which came with it are minimal and the online ones are not much better. I have put in some names and numbers and am wondering if I should add Mrs 705 but if the fire alarm didn't manage to get her out of bed I doubt if a phone call from me would do so and I would save my cats before I broke in and dragged her out of bed as she is quite capable of getting out on her own. The cats would not be able to escape a fire on their without me and the kitty carriage.
The Limerick:-
A wanton young lady of Wimley,
Reproached for not acting more primly
Answered, "Heavens above!
I know sex isn't love
But it's such an attractive facsimile."
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
The Eyes Have It
Yesterday I had an appointment at the Lions Eye Institute to assess the progress of my cataracts. A year ago I was told that yes, I had cataracts but the work which had been previously done on my retinas made it possible that removing the cataracts could make me totally blind. This is not an option for me as I have no balance without my eyesight due to damage to my labyrinths.
So last year I visited my friendly optometrist, had him make me the best spectacles possible and carried on as normal. That was one year ago. During this last year my right eye has noticeably deteriorated but the left one has remained relatively stable and this was borne out by the investigations yesterday. However this time around Dr. C. said that I could have the cataracts removed any time I cared to ask and the blindness aspect was more or less mentioned in passing which makes me believe that the technique has improved or my retinas seem to be recovering. Certainly, from the profile which I saw they had both smoothed out markedly.
I suggested that if or when I decided to have the operation the right eye, being the worst of the two eyes would be my choice, leaving me with one good eye and if that was successful I could consider having the second eye fixed. So I have an appointment scheduled for a year's time but since I will need a referral before I go again the timing will be up to me if I choose to bring things forward.
Today I decided that, as my hip is now nearly better I would take the train to Subiaco and do an uphill slog to the wool shop which sells a selection of acrylic yarn for the knitting of wrist warmers which D2 asked me to make for those who sleep rough, especially with winter coming. I have only a few more rows of the purple possum to knit and the wrist warmers are quick and fun to knit so at the moment I a alternating between possum and wrist-warmers. To be honest I hate sewing up my knitting (as do all knitters) and I am putting off the time when I have to put the purple possum together.
During my perpetual uncluttering I came across a bag in which I store things woollen and the only thing in the bag was a card on which was written: "Remember to wait while it sorts itself." I have been trying to work out what, in all that is wonderful, I could possibly have meant.
The Limerick:-
This Limerick, written by William Ralph Inge, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral from 1911 to 1934, whose pessimism earned him the title of 'the gloomy dean', was only one of many men of the cloth who found amusement in the form. This limerick which some, remembering a comment of Sir Richard Burton's in the tenth volume of his 'translation' of A Thousand and One Nights - have found slightly suggestive.
There was an old man of Khartoum
Who kept two tame sheep in his room,
To remind him, he said,
Of two friends who were dead;
But he could not remember of whom.
So last year I visited my friendly optometrist, had him make me the best spectacles possible and carried on as normal. That was one year ago. During this last year my right eye has noticeably deteriorated but the left one has remained relatively stable and this was borne out by the investigations yesterday. However this time around Dr. C. said that I could have the cataracts removed any time I cared to ask and the blindness aspect was more or less mentioned in passing which makes me believe that the technique has improved or my retinas seem to be recovering. Certainly, from the profile which I saw they had both smoothed out markedly.
I suggested that if or when I decided to have the operation the right eye, being the worst of the two eyes would be my choice, leaving me with one good eye and if that was successful I could consider having the second eye fixed. So I have an appointment scheduled for a year's time but since I will need a referral before I go again the timing will be up to me if I choose to bring things forward.
Today I decided that, as my hip is now nearly better I would take the train to Subiaco and do an uphill slog to the wool shop which sells a selection of acrylic yarn for the knitting of wrist warmers which D2 asked me to make for those who sleep rough, especially with winter coming. I have only a few more rows of the purple possum to knit and the wrist warmers are quick and fun to knit so at the moment I a alternating between possum and wrist-warmers. To be honest I hate sewing up my knitting (as do all knitters) and I am putting off the time when I have to put the purple possum together.
During my perpetual uncluttering I came across a bag in which I store things woollen and the only thing in the bag was a card on which was written: "Remember to wait while it sorts itself." I have been trying to work out what, in all that is wonderful, I could possibly have meant.
The Limerick:-
This Limerick, written by William Ralph Inge, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral from 1911 to 1934, whose pessimism earned him the title of 'the gloomy dean', was only one of many men of the cloth who found amusement in the form. This limerick which some, remembering a comment of Sir Richard Burton's in the tenth volume of his 'translation' of A Thousand and One Nights - have found slightly suggestive.
There was an old man of Khartoum
Who kept two tame sheep in his room,
To remind him, he said,
Of two friends who were dead;
But he could not remember of whom.
Friday, May 3, 2019
The Lift is Up . . . and Down
Finally, after 19 days, the main lift to my apartment is up and running again. We have all had to do a great deal of walking over the past three weeks and no doubt it has been good for us but it is nice to be able to just pop down the lift to my mail box without having to hike for eight or nine minutes to get there and back; I timed it.
I received a message from Vodaphone a couple of days ago telling me that I needed to upgrade my mobile phone so I went to the local 'everything electrical and electronic' shop and asked for a "dumb phone" which is the name for a simple phone as compared to a smart phone which does far more than I will ever use.
Adrian, who helped me through the very lengthy process of changing over from my old mobile phone said that it was very odd but a large number of Vodaphone owners were coming in and buying new phones. I explained why we were all doing that but the joke is that they are all being transferred from Vodaphone to Telstra. My new dumb phone is a Nokia and is not as simple as I had hoped but I will get there eventually. I have entered the numbers of people I call frequently and worked out how to get and delete messages.
A lot of this lengthy delay was down to Telstra which refused to ratify my new phone and it took almost two hours until Adrian realised that the sticking point was that Telstra had been billing me every two months and now wanted to bill me on a monthly basis. Once we discovered that and I had agreed to monthly billing the transaction went through. An interesting way to spend a morning but I can't see why Telstra couldn't have just said that was the problem.
In order to pay my phone bill from now on I am expected to do it online and needed to register with a user name and password. No problem there except that they needed to check that I was me and sent a code for me to put into the box. The difficulty was that I had no idea how to read text messages on the new phone and by the time I had worked it out the number had expired and it had sent me another one. I found that one in time and also how to delete it after I had certified myself.
It is difficult enough for me but how much more confusing for people who had never used a computer or mobile phone to suddenly find that they need to pay online as is happening with more and more public entities
Now a bit of light relief - the Limerick:-
A goddess capricious is Fame.
You may strive to make noted your name.
But she either neglects you
Or coolly selects you
For laurels distinct from your aim!
Written by Langford Reed
I received a message from Vodaphone a couple of days ago telling me that I needed to upgrade my mobile phone so I went to the local 'everything electrical and electronic' shop and asked for a "dumb phone" which is the name for a simple phone as compared to a smart phone which does far more than I will ever use.
Adrian, who helped me through the very lengthy process of changing over from my old mobile phone said that it was very odd but a large number of Vodaphone owners were coming in and buying new phones. I explained why we were all doing that but the joke is that they are all being transferred from Vodaphone to Telstra. My new dumb phone is a Nokia and is not as simple as I had hoped but I will get there eventually. I have entered the numbers of people I call frequently and worked out how to get and delete messages.
A lot of this lengthy delay was down to Telstra which refused to ratify my new phone and it took almost two hours until Adrian realised that the sticking point was that Telstra had been billing me every two months and now wanted to bill me on a monthly basis. Once we discovered that and I had agreed to monthly billing the transaction went through. An interesting way to spend a morning but I can't see why Telstra couldn't have just said that was the problem.
In order to pay my phone bill from now on I am expected to do it online and needed to register with a user name and password. No problem there except that they needed to check that I was me and sent a code for me to put into the box. The difficulty was that I had no idea how to read text messages on the new phone and by the time I had worked it out the number had expired and it had sent me another one. I found that one in time and also how to delete it after I had certified myself.
It is difficult enough for me but how much more confusing for people who had never used a computer or mobile phone to suddenly find that they need to pay online as is happening with more and more public entities
Now a bit of light relief - the Limerick:-
A goddess capricious is Fame.
You may strive to make noted your name.
But she either neglects you
Or coolly selects you
For laurels distinct from your aim!
Written by Langford Reed
Sunday, April 28, 2019
I . . Rapunzel
Not all about princesses in towers and not all about hair; just a little bit of both.
The lift is still not working and we are still having to go in and out the back way. Because of the step down from the back door to the lift it is not practical to bring shopping trolleys through that way. We are discouraged from using plastic bags for our shopping and some things are too heavy to carry all the way around to the back lift so I have devised a sort of short cut and I noticed a couple of days ago that I am not the only one using this route.
It involves taking the back lift to level four, walking through the secure parking area, through the security door to the unsecured parking area and walking the short distance to the Staff parking area which has a lift directly down to the main floor of the shopping centre. It probably isn't much shorter but it feels shorter and lands me almost outside Coles Supermarket which is where the trolleys come from. But I feel very isolated up here and especially since neither D2 or D3 contacted me over Easter. I realise that I could have contacted them and today I tried to phone D3 with no response.
And the "Rapunzel, let down your hair" bit? Not possible, I had it trimmed just two days ago but I now have a grey streak from my left temple (there may be more but only my hairdresser could know about that) so I decided to do what I have been itching to do for years - put some colour in.
With that object I mind I bought one of those temporary hair dyes and this morning I shampooed it in, waited the required 30 minutes and rinsed it out. It looks exactly the same as it did before - no purple streaks anywhere in sight. I have waited almost 80 years until my hair was, even in streaks, light enough to colour up without bleaching first - and nothing! I'll just have to go grey gracefully instead of going wild with rainbow colours.
I have knitted about half of the second sleeve of the purple possum sweater and have spent the last couple of days knitting wrist warmers for the homeless. I used a pattern for mittens and have been modifying it to leave the fingers and thumb uncovered and making notes so that I will be able to compile a definitive pattern for future use for me and anyone else who wants to knit them. Currently most of my knitting group are knitting knockers (don't ask).
The Limerick:-
A herder who hailed from Terre Haute
Fell in love with a young nanny goat;
The daughter he sired
Was greatly admired
For her beautiful angora coat.
The lift is still not working and we are still having to go in and out the back way. Because of the step down from the back door to the lift it is not practical to bring shopping trolleys through that way. We are discouraged from using plastic bags for our shopping and some things are too heavy to carry all the way around to the back lift so I have devised a sort of short cut and I noticed a couple of days ago that I am not the only one using this route.
It involves taking the back lift to level four, walking through the secure parking area, through the security door to the unsecured parking area and walking the short distance to the Staff parking area which has a lift directly down to the main floor of the shopping centre. It probably isn't much shorter but it feels shorter and lands me almost outside Coles Supermarket which is where the trolleys come from. But I feel very isolated up here and especially since neither D2 or D3 contacted me over Easter. I realise that I could have contacted them and today I tried to phone D3 with no response.
And the "Rapunzel, let down your hair" bit? Not possible, I had it trimmed just two days ago but I now have a grey streak from my left temple (there may be more but only my hairdresser could know about that) so I decided to do what I have been itching to do for years - put some colour in.
With that object I mind I bought one of those temporary hair dyes and this morning I shampooed it in, waited the required 30 minutes and rinsed it out. It looks exactly the same as it did before - no purple streaks anywhere in sight. I have waited almost 80 years until my hair was, even in streaks, light enough to colour up without bleaching first - and nothing! I'll just have to go grey gracefully instead of going wild with rainbow colours.
I have knitted about half of the second sleeve of the purple possum sweater and have spent the last couple of days knitting wrist warmers for the homeless. I used a pattern for mittens and have been modifying it to leave the fingers and thumb uncovered and making notes so that I will be able to compile a definitive pattern for future use for me and anyone else who wants to knit them. Currently most of my knitting group are knitting knockers (don't ask).
The Limerick:-
A herder who hailed from Terre Haute
Fell in love with a young nanny goat;
The daughter he sired
Was greatly admired
For her beautiful angora coat.
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