Out of the Blue. .

Sunday Phone call..

"Hi Wendy, are you doing anything tomorrow night?"

You see I am sick and we have concert tickets and can't go

Would you like them?

And this is How DH and I ended up at the Sold Out 'Russell Morris in Concert with the Southern Cross Orchestra' at Melbourne's Hamer Hall.

It was an awesome night of Stories and Songs from an entertainer that I only knew by his Hit Song

 "The Real Thing".

My Neighbour is still trying to find out the cause of her illness but is slowly getting better.

And,  although we were told not to, 

knowing how Big a Fan He is - 

(The concert tickets were a Gift to her DH)

We brought them home an Autographed Program.  

It was the least we could do to say Thank you!

Happy Birthday Little One

Miss P.  GD#3
She arrived a Year Ago next Tuesday, 

But today is her 1st Birthday Party. 

She was a little overwhelmed by all the attention

and almost slept through "Cake Time".

I think DD did a wonderful job of the Cake

after a quick Phone call of

"Help Mum I need Mermaid Decorations!"

All I had to do was make the Mermaid Tails

which was very Simple once I located some Moulds at a Local Party Shop.

(I also dusted some Guerlain Seashell Chocolates which when carefully separated made excellent decorations too!)

  

No more Procrastinating

When I decided to clean the Shower Screen one day I did not expect to end up with an entire Bathroom Rebuild!

Long Story Short ..

Circa 2003 the new shower base wasn't reinforced properly. 

Over time the waste outlet began to crack, finally giving way leaving us without a shower.

Replacing the Base was not a simple thing* and we have spent almost 2 years trying to work out how to fix it. 

Once we decided that neither of us use the Bath anymore and that the room actually needed a modern update, the concept fell into place.  

We will 'future-proof' it!

DH is VERY good at demolishing things. 

And once that was started there was no turning back.

Just as well. Because, of course, 

we uncovered a whole heap of hidden "Urgh" that REALLY needed dealing with.

At this point the demolition is done, decisions made and now we wait for deliveries.

*Removing Base requires removing tiles which damages waterproof membrane which requires total rebuild of Shower recess AND they don't make that size Base or Tiles anymore. The list went on and on

Tree Update:

I left my post of the 15th September hoping that the Council would not come when Our Tree was in Full Bloom and covered with Bees.

They came today - 

The Tree is in Full Blossom but it is Raining and the Bees have more sense than to be out in it.  

So the Girls are safe and So are the workers.

We watched them - They REALLY did know what they were doing.  

Even checking the Bark before starting with the Pole saw.

Each Branch fed into the Wood Chipper to become mulch for a playground - 

Maybe even Ours?

I was curious to know how they were going to handle the trunk so started filming when it too was hauled into the back of the shredder.

When suddenly one of the workers dived in (he was perfectly safe)  and retrieved something from the tree.

He emerged cradling in his hands a small Marbled Gecko - relocating it to Our Garden.

This act of Kindness made my Heart Sing and my Eyes fill with Tears.

The tree that we saw planted and grow.  

That Shaded Cars, and People 

and Creatures Big and Small 

for almost 40 years is now not much more than a timber 'Puddle' in the Grass waiting for the Stump Grinder.

23rd October:

One last Goodbye.

It was the only Yellow Pink Tipped Callistemon in the Street - if not the Neighbourhood. 

Such a Pity that someone 40 years ago planted it in the wrong spot. 

(If that happens again - I will move it!)

The Rest of September

I wish I could say that it was RESTFUL but I really don't think that word is in my Vocabulary.

So I find myself - once again playing catch up with my Blog Posts.

DH and I are trying to 'Up Our Fitness' in preparation for an upcoming Trip so we have been walking as much as possible. 

My limit is 5 km before my hip starts to hurt.

So a trip to the Dr to find out why, discovered that although the hip is fine, I have "Degenerative Disc Disease".  

This sent us, (Yes, I dragged DH with Me) into Hydro Therapy Classes 3 times a week.

I organised a Company to come to My Mother's Home to Install Window Film on her Back Veranda hoping to fix the complaint that it was "Too Hot".

Instead it opened up a whole new raft of complaints that make my head ache. 

Some Days I just need a Strong Coffee! 

Some Days it comes with a side serve of Pavlova and Panadol!

(The Coffee Shop Understands...)

September wound up with Some Bright person deciding that the AFL Football Grand Final Day would be the perfect time to Cut the power to half a suburb while installing a Power Station to the Local Primary School. 

Another walk … 

For Cold Coffee.

And a (not Dr. approved) Cronut 

- which was also cold an not very appetising.

So that  Folks was a snapshot of September - hopefully I will catch up by the end of the Year!

I have a New Toy

Last December we went on a Mystery Picnic where one of our Picnic Items was "Fresh Squeezed Juice" and my heart sank, because...

Back in the 70's my Mother got a Juicer and made us drink concoctions that were 40% Juice and 60% Foam and they were NOT nice.

I am happy to say that our "Picnic Juice" was VERY nice and we started noticing and using DIY Juicers in our Hotels at Breakfast.

We came home and forgot about the Juice of our Holidays - Until I saw an Advert for a machine that ticked all my boxes and some. 

So we bought one.

It came with some accessories that I probably won't use 

(I am even less fond of Smoothies and prefer to make my own Sorbet) but then, I didn't buy this model for the accessories.

As far as the Juice is concerned... It is pretty impressive.

I am not quite ready for Kale and Cucumber but I can now understand what People see in Tomato Juice!

* * *

FYI:

Kuvings EVO Evolution Cold Pressed Juicer in Red. 

Our Poor Tree . . .

When we purchased our House the street was lined with Flowering Prunus Trees that sent Pink "Confetti" everywhere on Hot Spring Days.  Those Trees had been planted almost 40 years before and 4 years later ours just .. fell down.

The council sent us a letter giving a choice of replacement and we chose the "Pink Tipped Callistemon" with its Pink tipped leaves and Yellow Flowers. 

That was 39 years ago.

In the ensuing years I have watched it grow, grumbled about where they planted it, Saw it pruned and have it's roots ripped up by Path replacements.    Once a Large branch got torn off it's side by a careless Skip Bin driver.

The other day I noticed that the bark wasn't looking so healthy and there were bugs underneath - I was concerned and thought about contacting the council but I had a meeting to attend so my call would have to wait.

On the way home, I received a text from DH saying "Don't Park under the Tree".

Apparently, while I was away the Poor thing got hit by a removal Van ripping yet another branch off.

The Council came to remove the branch off the Road and promptly decided that it was too dangerous and Sick to stay.

Their Notice Read 

"White Rot to Main Branches. 

Risk of Further Fail Likely"

We are currently waiting for them to come and take it out and replace with a New one. 

I just hope that...

1. They plant it in a better position this time and

2. They don't come when it is in Full Flower - Because that is when the Bees are there!