Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Leap Year!

It's a Leap Year!  And what a year it has been so far!  As of yesterday, I have been free from an abusive relationship for 13 years.  This number is my lucky one; and for it to fall on this year of 2012 is great!  So many changes are going on this year and I'm looking forward to them as well.
Today, I went out shopping and picked up the mail.  However, my mail was my phone bill... which wasn't as cheap as I hoped it to be.  How unfortunate, but I'll pay it on Friday and it'll be back to normal again next month.  I caught a free bus today to do my shopping.  How this came to be is a long story; however the short version is easier to tell.  On Monday, Roma Street Station had a power outage which caused everyone who had paid for their tickets to be stuck there with no real way to get to or from work easily.  It took hours to fix.  So, today, there was free Translink travel from first service until midnight to make up for the inconvenience.  How's that for great?  I took full advantage of it too.
Once at Triple C, I stepped off and then - only then - remember I had no money.  Yep, I had forgotten to put money across to my account... damn!  So, I did phonebanking on a public phone, transferred the funds needed and then phoned for a cab a few times and hung up.  Public phones have a buffer on them that when other people get onto the phone after you, they can find out who you called - and if you did any phone banking - they can try and get into your account.  A very dishonest thing to do, but it's something that does happen.  So, if you ever have to do this, always call another number after you so the phone remembers that last one you put in - even if nobody picks up or if it's your home phone number and you call it just quickly a few times.  At least the bank's number has been wiped.
Well, I headed off to Life Line and bought a lovely Boag's Draught Bag that was insulated and nice and clean for only $6.00!  What a deal!  For more information about it, jump over to my other blog Coin Purse Obsession there's a photo and more about it there.  I was off to Woolworths next and found plenty of food for the next fortnight and even bought a couple of apples for Little Miss Stevie to nibble on too.
Once that was paid for, I went outside and sorted out my groceries for my long walk between shopping centres.  I also had to make sure I had enough money in case too.  While I was doing that, a man sat next to me and rolled a cigarette, then lit it.  He puffed out smoke right in my face!  Disgusting!  I coughed but he didn't seem to notice until one of his friends told him what he did and he shrugged.  What an awful person!  I guess some people have no forethought about their actions on people around them.
Well, I walked off and bought myself a bottle of water and headed toward the Logan Central Plaza.  I thought it was going to be a horrible hot day, but there was a lovely cool breeze blowing and it took the edge off the heat.  I photographed a gorgeous plant in the middle of the carpark and then kept on walking.  
Soon, I was inside and I had paid $10 off my layby and was on my way to the chemist to buy what I needed there.  It wasn't long before I found myself at Coles and the lady at the front doors offered to mind my blue trolley for me (she often does so I don't have to drag it around with me; but when she's not there, the other greeters don't offer).  I let her and I was on my way to my usual shopping when I came upon a family who was going through their shopping list bit by bit as they put their Mum onto a special diet.  The husband was there with the son telling her what she could and couldn't have.  The son was being more restrictive than the husband; poor woman.  When it came to the dried fruits, they were looking at the dried apricots and dates when I reached for the Cranberries and suggested them as they weren't anything but dried and that's it.  The family looked at them and read the back and the son was really happy with what wasn't in them - salt and excess sugar - and they grabbed a packet of them.  I said they were great with meausli, in porridge or just as a snack on their own; and they were all impressed.  
However, it wasn't until I went into the next isle that I found I wasn't impressed with a few things.  A lot of the brands I'd normally use for porridge have gone to Quick Oats... and to me it just tastes like cardboard.  So, I looked at Uncle Toby's and that was $6.00 a box!  What a rip-off; and that's just for some swanky packaging when you think about it!  So, I looked down and found Quaker Oats; traditional oats.  Seeing I've never tried it before - and it was half the price of the others around - I thought to grab it and give it try.  My usual Rolled Oats by Lowans wasn't there (only in quick oats) and so I thought to try out this one.
Well, the rest of my shopping went well.  I bought some black seedless grapes, plenty of milk and all of my essentials such as shampoo condition - and I thought to try out Sensodyne toothpaste again because I the tooth that's ultra-sensitive is still playing up, so thought the new toothpaste they've put out recently might help it - and toothbrushes and other things a well.  
Once I was ready, I was out the doors with my groceries and went to the bank to cash something... I had counted up my bag of 5 cent pieces.  It counted up to $10-worth; and the teller at Suncorp gave me a $10-bill.  This is going to go toward my garden.  It may not be much right now, but it's something.  I do look forward to fixing up my yard with the money I am saving up.
When I got home and put everything away, I found in the back yard that my Blue Tongue had been and gone.  There was an imprint of where he had laid next to the pot plants; where he was yesterday.  How sweet is that?  He must have been there for hours blissfully snoozing there... how cute.  I walked to my Gloxinia bulbs and found two of the buds that had been sitting there two days ago, were now fully open!  This makes is around 10 blooms this year!  How wonderful is that?  
This has been a wonderful Leap Year for me in more ways than one.  I have enjoy this day.  It has been hot, sunny and very beautiful.  And I have enjoyed it to the very end.  I know the day isn't over yet, however I know it can only get better.  Until my next post, take care, keep warm and safe and remember, I'm always here. 

1 comment:

  1. thought it was only the suburban train service that offered the travel day for free yesterday.

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