Hot August Days

Today, I woke to a warm muggy morning.  Yep, from a nice cool night, I found today turning into something from one of my Summers or Springs.  But incredibly enough, it's still classed as Winter here.  On the weather report, they told us that instead of getting South-Westerly Winds - as we're supposed to be getting - we are getting North-Westerly winds.  These winds come from the Northern Territory and are hot; thus our hot day today.

So, today, I decided to get in and do a full load of laundry and fill up my clothes line.  All the towels got done, so did everything, right to the hand-washing - except the sheets; they'll get done next time we have a nice hot day.  
After that I closed up the house and took off to the chemist down the road to pick up a prescription and found that there was only one guy on to do all the scripts that came in!  That was lousy!  The poor guy was run off his feet all day; I felt sorry for him that he barely had time to do anything else.  But that's public holidays for ya.
While I was up the road, I spotted the new massive pet store where WoW used to be and decided to have a look at the place before I left to head off to Mum and Dad's place.  I saw there was a vets there and walked past that and went inside the pet store; which was humungous!  I'd never seen anything like it!  They even had a grooming service for your cat or dog and the vets were attached to this place.  I looked at the birds they had on display and found they had hand-raised budgies and the larger variety budgies.  And the guy let me handle one of the hand-raised ones - which were more expensive at $50 each.  The little girl bird - once she was in my hands - started biting straight away and scratching at me.  But as soon as I tickled her around her chin and the back of her head, she stopped and just looked at me... and relaxed.  She laid back in my hand and let me tickle her again only nibbling gently.  The guy was amazed at how quickly the bird was at ease around me... and said that I might be close to getting a new bird soon.  I agreed with him, then he asked how I lost my last budgie and I told him about how Little Miss Stevie passed away.  He said that at her age, she lived a good long life and it was nice of me to take her outside during her last moments; but it was horrible she had a stroke.  He knew how I felt though because he lost his cat last year, and he'd had him/her for around 14 years, and we both know what it's like to lost a pet who have complete trust in us.  It's horrible but after about a year, we move on to get a new pet.  I told him that I was giving myself a year to mourn my little bird and he said that it's good I'm doing that; then I'm not rushing myself into buying something I don't want.  Well, I gave him the little female bird back (and she was ready to come home with me, but I didn't want to bring her home when I wasn't ready in my heart).  Then, I asked about the vet next door - if they dealt with birds - and he said they did.  So!  How good is that?  A vet nearby who works with birds!  I'll have to suss them out before I get another bird to see who their bird specialist is.

Well, I took off from there and drove to Mum and Dad's place where I watered all their plants in their back yard.  The place was looking a little dry and so I did that and folded up the clothes line properly and then left their mail on the table, locked up the house and came home.
By then, it was around midday and I wanted to have a nice ice coffee and stuff around on the computer.  It was getting really hot for the end of Winter.  So, I stuffed around online for around an hour and then washed my hair, read a little outside and - before long - it was around 3pm or so... I thought to have cannelloni for dinner tonight.  And so, I started preparing it and writing up the rest of my shopping list.  So, how was your long weekend?  Hot and sunny like mine? Or was it nice and cool?  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm (or cool) and remember, I'm always here.

Bargains Galore!

Everything seemed to be on sale today.  But I wasn't really looking for a sale; instead, I was looking to return a leaking kettle that I bought only yesterday to K-Mart Logan Central and then head off to Garden City and find a few things I needed to ready myself for my bed to arrive next week.

So, I left home at around 9:40am and saw some poor guy get arrested across the road by the cops.  They were parked outside the house up the road from the bus stop and I had just crossed the road when they drove off.  But it made me think:  would they stop to charge me for J-walking or not?  No, they didn't.  This was weird, but I guess they had bigger fish to fry this morning.  Anyway, when I got to the stop, one of the people there and I had a laugh about what we were both thinking with the police and if they were going to stop and charge me.  But seriously, I should have waited for them to leave before going across the road.

Anyway, the bus came, we all hopped on and it took us to the Logan Central Bus Station where most of us got off and I walked to K-Mart and got my money back when I told the lady what happened to the kettle.  She was amazed it leaked as much as it did and happily gave my money back to me.  Then, I was off to catch the next bus to Garden City and do the rest of my shopping - well the majority of it anyway. 
I went to the bank first and pulled out some money and walked around to find a kettle first.  Well, do you think I could find a nice kettle which didn't cost the Earth?  Nope.  It was annoying.  I went from Robin's Kitchen to Harvey Norman and then to K-Mart and there wasn't anything I was happy with.  And on the way to Harvey Norman, the ramp escalators going up, stopped working.  There were too many heavy things on it and it shuddered to a halt; and anyone with a shopping trolley had to either wait for it to get going again or kick up their front wheels of the trolley to make it work.  Not a good thing.  So, seeing it wasn't going to work after we all got off it, I walked into shop and reported the problem to them; asking them to get maintenance out to look at it.  They weren't surprised about it and got onto them straight away.  By the time I was coming out of Harvey Norman's 10 minutes later, it was working again.

At K-Mart, I bought my mattress protector and a nice set of flannel sheets for my Queen Size bed ... and then bought plain set too just to mix'n'match; it's always nice to do that.  Anyway, I went through the self-service check-outs and found I had a lot of things and I was struggling a little with it.  
I hadn't left Robin's Kitchen empty-handed, managing to buy a pizza stone and a cutter while I was there.  Not too bad if you ask me seeing they were both half price and I only paid $12.95 for both of them.  Anyway, I still had yet to buy my kettle and didn't want to leave the shopping complex without it.  So, I went to one more place upstairs and the shop assistant there told me that Big-W was the place to score a great kettle at a good price.  And that's where I found myself... Big-W.  I found a great range of kettles and scored myself a Kambrook dome kettle for a wicked $38!  Now, how cool is that?  And before I knew it, I was at their self-service check-outs and putting my new kettle through to take it home.

But I badly needed a break... a break from walking around, from looking at products, from feeling really horribly tired.  So, I made a beeline to Gloria Jean's Coffee to get myself a nice hot bagel and a hot chocolate.  And you know?  It's just what I needed.  I read a bit of a book on my iPod and relaxed in the place, ignoring the noise of the coffee machine, the people around me chatting and anything else going on at the other tables... I was having some much-needed 'me' time; and that's just priceless to have.  But before I knew it, I had to pack up my goodies so they were able to be stored on a bus and travel-ready... I had another half and hour to go before I arrived home.  And once I did, I was so very relieved to unpack my goodies, open and try out my kettle and look at what I had bought that my disappointment didn't strike until I pulled out the sheets for the Queen Sized bed.  I had one Queen Sized Sheet set and one Single Sized Sheet Set... but do you think I could find my receipt for K-Mart?  I had put it into the bag with the sheets... and the bag had bloody-well ripped.  So, the receipt has been lost, and I'm stuck with a set of flannel sheets I can't use.
Well, I might give these to my niece.  They're purple and if I remember right, this is her favourite colour!  Oh well, can't win 'em all!  But at least I know somebody who'll use them.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember I'm always here.  

March Is Something Different!

Well, it's Easter Sunday and I've been working through the night to control the symptoms of a cold.  Yuk!  I woke this morning from a dream about a weird dream about The Doctor and a red tardis and found myself sweating terribly.  So, after taking a couple of painkillers, I went back to sleep and dreamt the same dream, but the tardis was blue.  Weird, eh?
But I also slept so much better until the alarm went off.

This month has been one for travel, interesting places and great purchases too.  I spent a good part of this month away from home; and at my brother's place at Brighton.  I was house sitting there while he and his fiance were on holidays in New Zealand.  And so I spent time at their house on the net, walking around the area, tending to the chickens and being eaten alive by the millions of mosquitoes which are the size of a pea.  I was also kept company by quite a few geckoes and a hord of ants... one colony of which I had a war with - but I'm not sure if I won or not.  They did back for for the time being out of the guest house.
Anyway, I enjoyed being there but I did miss my books, my vinyls and my little garden.  The chickens all had personalities of their own and going shopping was a huge ordeal - bigger than it is here at home - and I tried not to go if I didn't need to. 

Once I was back here at home, I had a few things to get done.  I was online quickly and had the television hooked back up and the antenna fixed completely.  There were 3 good days of reception before a massive storm hit and I lost that reception.  By Wednesday night, I my reception back again for good; just in time for Dr Who's new season tonight and the return of 'Supernatural'.  How cool is that?

This month, I bought a great vintage suitcase to put all my old stuff into.  I learned to cook a new vegetarian meal (which I've cooked again since I got home and it was even more delicious the second time around!).  And I have seen that my garden was up to a lot while I was away... flowering, long lawns and edges and it had been working hard to surprise me as it usually does when I'm not here.  

Before I got back, I was invited to make a speech at the Logan Arts Festival to help launch Ged Maybury's new book - 'Nosebleed'.  I said I would and started on the speech immediately.  And now I'm back, I went to Ged's birthday a few days later and he gave me his new book to read and I've finished it in a day.  And now all I need to do is get over this darned cold and finish the speech for 21st April (it should be gone by that time).  I can't wait to get in and do it at the Logan Arts Festival.

Well, that's all from me here.  It doesn't seem as though I've done a lot this month; but I have.  There was a lot of painting, reading, chicken minding and funny stuff done... as well a very original mosquito killing dance that I only of ... and a speech to get written too.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm/cool and remember, I'm always here.   

It's Only Friday?

I have had the longest week.  Truly I have.  Yesterday, I was up bright and early running around my brother's back yard after the black chicken who got out - again! - in my pajamas (stop laughing, it wasn't fun) at 6am.  Then, just when I thought the fun was over, the stupid thing got out again... so I thought, screw it!  They're coming home today, they can deal with it.  I had fed the chickens when I got the black chicken in at 6am and so she couldn't have been hungry, just cheeky.
So, I dressed, packed the rest of my things, curled my hair and got my bags all ready and packed up, zipped up and make-up on to done to go home.  Then, there was breakfast to be had and the house to open and other things to get done.  Fortunately the washing up had been done the night before, and the vacuuming had been done on Tuesday afternoon.  I had gotten all their laundry done on Sunday when we got that wonderfully scorcher of a day here in Brisbane.  
Anyway, about an hour after I had breakfast, I called Mum and asked if they were on their way, and found out they were were 10 minutes away... so I went and opened the car gate for them and waited for a few minutes and before long, the white Pajero showed up.  It was so good to see them all; and this included Jay the dog!  There were hugs all around from everyone; even Jay got a lot of pats and hugs... she didn't know what to do.

Mum put on some tea and Gabe and Kat grabbed their gear out of the back and we had some music on, they opened their mail and a parcel that had arrived the day they left.  They were really exhausted but happy there wasn't really anything to do seeing a lot of housework had been done.  So, I showed them what had been growing in the yard, and how many eggs they had and that the chickens loved a plant growing at their back fence... and they were bummed that the same chickens had also dug up a newly planted Paw-Paw Tree (and I hadn't noticed until Thursday morning that it was leaning... boy was I peeved!).  But they knew that there had been plenty of rain, a bit of heat and the chicken would have dug at freshly dug soil; and I wouldn't have noticed.  So, they pushed the plant straight again and put pavers around the base.
We finally sat down and had some tea letting Gabe and Kat tell us some wonderful stories about where they'd been, what they did and the types of seafood they had been getting into.  It was a wonderful adventure for them; and they want to see the South Island now.  Mum, Dad and I all said the South Island is very green, and lush with a lot more rainfall.  But it's prettier than the North Island.

Before long, we were off to pick up my television from Panasonic where it had spent 2 weeks getting fixed.  But the guys there told us that it was working fine; and it was the antenna that needed fixing up, not the television.  So, we spent a good hour or so getting to this place and then getting back to my place where we unpacked everything and I spent the afternoon unpacking my stuff, plugging in my television and visiting The Big Apple down the road to get some fruit and veggies.  This place made me grateful of how close everything is here; compared to where everything is at Brighton, where it takes around 20 minutes' walk to get anywhere.  The buses are great, but it's the distances between shops and places that really bother me. 

Today, I was off to Garden City to pick up a few things, get some banking done and find a birthday gift for a friend - whose party I'm going to tomorrow at Slacks Creek.  While I was there, I received a phone call from my folks asking where I was and when I told them, they said the antenna guys wanted to fix the television antenna.  Seeing I couldn't be there, I let Dad go in my place.  Anyway, I got my shopping done - this includes my Easter Shopping at David Jones, picking up something to help hang a picture at the Riot Art shop and then getting some fresh fruit and veggies and cage-free eggs... I was home by a bit after midday.  And just as I was coming to my door, I found Dad locking up my house.  The guys had been and gone, changing over the booster for the antenna for a new, different, one and we tried out the television and it worked brilliantly!  And today's only Friday!  It's certainly been a long, long week!  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm/cool and remember, I'm always here.      

A Very Long Day

It has been the longest day! My day started at 7am at Logan City. It took me to Springwood, Eagle Farm and then to Toombul Shoppingtown before my brother and I finally arrived at Brighton, where I'll be spending a week or two caring for their chickens and their house. 
While we were out and about I scored a wicked umbrella which looks like a Samurai sword and we ate the worse sushi ever! By the time we arrived home we both felt very average and I had a pounding headache.  So, after a fair bit of water and two painkillers and fresh air I was feelings whole lot better. 
Soon I was unpacked and Gabe was readying the place and himself so I could care for this place as easily as possible. The chickens were allowed out and we fed them. He showed me around the yard too. And before long, Kat arrived home. Before she did, he and I went to the post office up the road to pick up a parcel and I paid for my PO Box rental. The people there said I was a long way from home and thought it was nice that I was here looking after my brother's house while he was on holidays.

Well, we had dinner of home made pizza and watched a comedy series off the net. Now it's getting really late. Now I'm sitting up in bed listening to the wind outside rustling the trees. I hope I can get to sleep tonight. Until my next post take care, keep warm/cool and remember, I'm always here.

Without A Hitch!

Today, went without a problem, without a hitch, without so much as another person getting in my way or being run over by anyone's stroller or trolley.  And there was a good reason for it too... I caught an 8:09am bus to Garden City.  I found that I was up nice and early because of two reasons:  to beat the heat of the day and to beat the crowds for Christmas Shopping.  But mainly to do the second one. 
When I arrived, only the three main stores were open.  So, I made the most of my time with those three open and used them while the other smaller stores were still closed.  Before I knew it, Woolworths and K-Mart had been visited and I had bought the dark chocolate and put in Little Miss Stevie's 70 or so photos to be developed in about an hour.  When I emerged from K-Mart, the other smaller stores had opened and I walked to the pet store to buy the fish feeder for the holidays.  I stayed there for a little while having fun with the birds and talking to them; they were a social little bunch.  But the store didn't have any budgies... pity it would have been nice to see some of those cute guys. 

Anyway, I bought my fish feeder and chatted to the store owner - who seemed as excited about Christmas as The Grinch or Mr Scrooge - and I could have sworn he was about to mutter 'Bah Humbug' at some point in our conversation.  I didn't stick around to find out if he was going to; instead, I went to Coles and got lost there for about 45 minutes trying to find all the things I needed there.  By some pure miracle, I did find all the things I needed (and was amazed how other people in the place did).  Otherwise, I would have been out of there sooner.  I couldn't find the cheese I wanted, and had to backtrack a few times around the dairy section, couldn't find the yoghurt or milk (so gave that a miss).  Then, I couldn't find much else either... I had to ask a few people; and found that the isles were all moved around from what I was used to.  It was strange to have a Coles that was all muddled up.  But seeing I found everything I needed - once I did - I went through the self-service check-outs and went out to the seats and organised myself.  I put all the heavy stuff in my trolley, the cold stuff in my esky and made sure I had my iPod with me and all my money too.  Before long, I was back to K-Mart to pick up the photos of Little Miss Stevie... and they were lovely.
I went to QBD to ask about the 10th book I had purchased at the Hyperdome and they told me that there was no such purchase; as it hadn't come through on their machine.  They were really apologetic about it and said that unless I had the receipt for it - which I didn't - they couldn't do anything about it.  I asked if they could call the Hyperdome store - and they did and they found it was on the computer down there, but not here.  But it still didn't count.  Bugger!  So, I still have to buy one more book.  I put that off until next year - until I really do want to buy a book; not because I want the voucher.
Then, I thought it was high time for a coffee.  My feet were hurting, I was hanging out for some sugar and a caffeine fix and really just wanted to sit down - something I hadn't done in around 4 hours.  So, I found my way to Gloria Jeans' Coffee House and ordered a nice ice coffee... yummo!  I also found they were making their Christmas Mugs again.  After complaining about them not being in circulation in 2011, I guess they had enough people asking about them to bring them back.  So, I bought one of their Christmas Mugs for $9.99 and a travel mug too.  There was another type of travel mug that was ceramic; but I didn't want to waste my money on it in case I had the horrible case of the clumsies one day in the near future; and ended up wasting $12.00 on a nice mug.  
Well!  I ended up getting into a nice conversation with older ladies who were also sitting down for a breather before going home too.  We all complained about the heat, how the storm last night didn't do anything but make the heat worse and then we were all happy about our drinks.  I made room for them at the small table I was sitting at and they asked what I was at Garden City for; and it reminded me to check on Little Miss Stevie's photos.  Well, they looked at them too.  And they just loved how pretty she was; and how it was such a pity that she was no longer with me, especially that she passed away only 2 weeks ago.  They both agreed that pets do become members of the family and really do get under your skin and into your heart.  And they were amazed as how well-cared for she was - and could see she had the utmost trust in me; right to the end. 

At around 11:15am, the ladies and I both made tracks to go home.  They were driving and I was catching the bus.  And before long, I was getting off at the Park Road stop with a few European tourists who were just learning English and finding their way around Brisbane.  They asked me in broken English where a car yard was and I told them and they were happy and grateful.  I checked the mail at the post office and was soon off home to wrap up last minute presents and put away some of the food and groceries I bought.  Ray from unit 17 dropped in and had a chat with me; and we caught up.  He said that it was sad my little bird was no longer with me; and word had gotten around that she had died.  He asked me if I was going to get another budgie; and I said yeah, it's just too darn quiet in the house. 

Well, that was my morning.  now I'm at home sitting in the air conditioning with the cicadas droning outside.  I can't wait until the weather cools off a little - if it ever does.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.     

Annual Lunch With Susan

Yesterday, I had my annual lunch with my wonderful friend, Susan Waaga.  We met in college around 20 years ago and have been besties ever since.  But it's been over the last 5 years or so where we've made it a tradition to meet up a few weeks before Christmas and about a week before school holidays start.

This year, we decided to meet up at the Logan Hyperdome... um, where?  I haven't been there in about a decade!  So, when I caught the Hyperdome bus, I didn't sit and fiddle with my iPod like I normally do on a bus, I looked out the window as though I was a tourist.  I was amazed at how much this area had changed!
Once I arrived to the Hyperdome, I found that the bus stop area hadn't changed all that much; but once inside, it had.  There was so much about the center that I didn't recognise; and so I had to follow the signs to the cinemas and ask for directions from people.  But I did find my way to the main food court quite easily, but I couldn't find the cinemas; not until I got outside!  I didn't know they'd been moved out there!  
Outside there's a garden, with a huge television screen and speakers where I saw Darren Percival singing on the Morning Show with another singer.  So, I took photos of that for a friend, and photos of the garden and started fiddling with my iPod as I sat down to meet up with Susan.  But I wasn't there for long when she showed up and asked how my little budgie was.
For those who don't know, Little Miss Stevie suffered a stroke early Saturday morning and she's been a little lop-sided since.  For the first 24-48 hours, I was worried sick, but she is really bouncing back well.  She's eating well, drinking her water, I've kept her cool, exercising her and making sure she gets lots of love and attention.  So, even if she doesn't make it through the New Year, she knows I've done my best as an owner. 
Well, we chatted about my little bird and she felt sad, but we tried not to let that interfere with our day.  First thing was lunch!  We ate at an Italian place where I ordered the most delicious pizza!  It was vegetarian and small, but I just couldn't get through it. So I asked for a doggi-bag and ended up with it for the rest of the day.
During the day, we looked at books, clothes, went through The Reject Store, and chatted about everything and anything.  Then, I spotted the ice-skating rink and wanted to do the craziest thing and get onto it!  Well, it's funny when we get together - Susan and I - we do weird and funny and crazy things!  This kinda thing has been happening since we've known each other; and it seems, nothing changes!  So, I bought a ticket at the Concierge desk and signed the release form and went ice skating on plastic with oil on it.... well, okay, I tried!  I clung to the sides of the rink as though my life depended on it as I slipped and slid around while two little girls under the age of 10 scooted around chatting to me saying it was easy - yeah, right!  I wondered where my balance had vanished to!  I had paid $7.00 for half an hour and within 5 minutes, I was back on the safe land (or the waiting area where Susan was laughing at me) sweating, panting and asking if I'd had enough.  Well, I wanted to get back out there, but I didn't want to break my ankle, so I said it was time to take off the skates and put on my shoes again.  Yes, it had been waaayyy too long between sessions of ice skating for me!
Too soo, it was time to pick up her two girls from school.  So, we had to leave the wonderful comfort of the Hyperdome air-conditioning and find her car.  We drove around and picked them up and drove to my place where they found my place tiny, messy and yet cool.  Susan found that Little Miss Stevie was looking better than she was expecting; and her two girls were sad at what happened to her (as one of their birds had passed away recently).  Then, they saw I was an artist, loved my garden.  And then, Monique was blown away at how many books I had in my office!  The further she stepped into my office, the more she was amazed.  I showed her my most rare book and found one other book her Mum was after to read over Christmas, while her little sister sought through the boxes of books next to the window (she was looking for books from the 'Twilight' series).  We all chatted about school and Susan and I told her stories of things that happened in school when we were young; which amazed Monique - at how rebellious we were when we were younger; well me anyway.  She found a lot of my stories funny and that the teachers didn't do anything but watched on was amazing.  I said that doing that taught us cos consequences to our actions.  Before long, it was heading to 5pm and time to think about dinner.  What a great day it was to hang out with my best friend for the day and to hang out with her two girls too. Until my next post, take care keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.        

The Race That Stops A Nation!

I was up by around 7am, had the hot rollers plugged in and switched on, the rechargeable batteries plugged into another plug and charging and I was half-dressed and in a dressing gown so I could go and eat breakfast.  After I put my hair in the hot rollers, I wrapped a scarf around and tied it up, then went to have breakfast and fed the pets.  I took my time eating and listened to the radio while the curlers cooled down completely.
Then, too soon, it was 9:30am and I was off upstairs again to get dressed and put on make-up and shoes and take the curlers out of my hair.  Yep, I looked pretty dumb with them in, but once out, the results look good.  I was ready for a while and sat around and waited for the phone call to meet Mum and Dad out the front.  But instead of being bored, I visited next door and chatted with them for a while.  It's nice to see them some days and catch up.

Soon the phonecall came through I was off.  We drove to the TAB at the Logan Central Tavern where there was nobody there to help us with placing a bet; unlike at Springwood.  Dad hadn't thought of that, but it didn't matter, the ladies at the counter were very helpful and laid our bets for us instead.  I put down a lot of money on my bets all up and so did Mum while Dad waited for us.  This is our yearly flutter; and we enjoy it.  
The next port of call for us for the day was Lime Light Restaurant at the entertainment Centre.  This place was full as anything last year; but this year, it was almost empty with only 3 tables filled up.  there was also a grand piano in the corner and a pianist playing up some great music for a few hours before the race and while we were eating our lunch.  The music was all stuff we knew too... which was great and it was all the musician's favourite music too; which is always a plus.
The lunch was delicious.  I had a vegetarian lasagne with chips and a salad while Mum and Dad had chicken salad.  There was complimentary wine/champagne on arrival and for dessert we had Tiramisu.  Mum bought us coffee after the race and that's when they drew the sweeps.
We went into the sweepstakes and spent some money.  However I only got back $4.00, Dad got back $12.00 and Mum nothing.  At the TAB, I won $15.70 and Mum won nothing... so it was a good day for me.  Before we left the restaurant, every lady who was there received a little potted plant - of a Begonia or another little plant - and the men received a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine.  How lovely to receive something for the day.
I didn't have much for dinner - just open sandwiches and some chocolate with green tea for dessert.  But it's been a good day.  So, how did you go today?  Did you lay any bets just for today?  Or aren't you a betting person?  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.      

Busy Week

On Sunday, I knew it was going to be a busy week.  When my computer sync-wiped my iPod, I knew I was in for a bumpy ride.  Yesterday we were over at Carindale Shopping Centre to get the iPod looked at by the Apple Store there ( and what a store it is!  It's massive!).  Today, I updated everything on my computer and plugged in my iPod, but still it's not working right.  I'm allowed into iTunes, but none of my music is being brought across from the Purchased area.  So, we have to get in and have my old hard drive removed from my old computer, pull my library from that and transfer it over.  For this, I need a hard drive caddy.  I have been talking about getting one of these for the last three or four months; and I whenever I've ordered one in, it either doesn't get ordered, or it doesn't show up.  So, it looks like I need to go into a proper computer store and get myself a caddy - one I don't have to order, just buy one because it's there on the damned shelf.  And get my stuff of the hard drive; as well as the other things I need off it too.  

Today, I came one step closer to being able to use my iPod for music.  Now, I can burn and sync music onto my iPod that I had on there before of my own cds.  So, I'll be doing that this afternoon.  However, I do need to go out and buy that caddy sooner rather than later.  Then, the Apps I lost are going to be the next thing I will need to address.  I only bought 2 Apps and they may be able to be put back on.
Otherwise, today, I washed up everything, put out the rubbish, checked the mail, went to the fruit shop and checked out a new toy store nearby.  This toy store is full of hand-made toys - all wooden and lovely - and they were reasonably priced too.  I thought they were well-made too.  I haven't seen anything like this since I was a kid.  
Well, I didn't buy anything, just looked - as I was going to the fruit store to get some yoghurt and bread and not the toy store - and so I came home after that.  I took some photos of the large Jacaranda Tree that's in flower at this time of year near the child care centre and was home before I knew it.

Tomorrow, the antenna guy is coming to fix the television reception in both mine and next door's antenna.  It's going to happen in the afternoon; probably around the time I'll be carving up my pumpkin for tomorrow night's fun and games.  But I hope it'll be better than it has been recently.  I'm looking forward to a time where I don't have to watch a dvd because my reception goes haywire, but because I want to; how good will that be?

Hopefully, by Saturday, I'll have myself my iPod music back and all the Apps through what I need.  Otherwise, I'll have to wait again.  I have the money for the caddy; and I think I'll catch a bus to the place on the service road.  It won't take me long to get there; seeing I know what I'm looking for.  And I know my budget too.

This week has been exhausting.  I've missed having my iPod with me.  It's been a bad irony - what's happened with it.  Not only did I learn how to delete what I didn't want on my playlist, but I learned that my computer could wipe everything I did want on my playlist... the former was cool, while the latter sucked.  I'm hoping what I need to do soon will work; and if it does I don't have to do it again for a long time to come.  And if I do, I'll write it down so I remember to when I do.  Well, until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm (especially you guys in NYC and that Hurricane Sandy and everyone else on the East Coast of the USA) and remember, I'm always here.