Tuesday...30 September 2014

Don't come knocking if the van is rocking!
Save your blushes, this is no where near what the old saying used to mean. There is some serious wild weather around us with wind gusts that have the van bucking worse than a bull at the rodeo. Himself says all is well, I am shaking like a leaf.
Just how long can the trees around us keep their feet firmly planted in the ground with severe wind squalls hitting non stop? The birds are hiding under the caravans having given up trying to fly! Dirt and dust is being blown everywhere, I can see several mini dust storms crossing the park in different places. The noise is vaguely familiar, bit like an oncoming train that just never seems to arrive, hmmm where have I heard that description before?
At least it is daylight and I can see around me. I have an excellent view of the rubbish and personal belongings being blown around the caravan park. I guess the time to worry will be if I see any of the caravans moving without being attached to a tow vehicle.
Perhaps today would be the time to build a kite?

Saturday...27 September 2014

Grand Final Day. Rather special to be in Victoria for grand final day. Our teams were not playing but it was still great to watch the game on television and listen to all the cheering and encouragement being shouted in caravans all over the park. Well done Hawthorn.
Have made two attempts to buy something from Spotlight in this Central Victorian town. First try we were told the item was not on special even though more than one of them were on the specials table. We put it back and went home to think about needing it. Decided today to buy it regardless of the higher price.
Into the store, pick up the item, no mucking around, no browsing at other items, just get the planned purchase and go to the check out. Simple, in and out in five minutes. But......
Got to the checkout and was told, sorry we are closed, no we will not put your one item through the check out. We closed 30 seconds ago. Put it down and leave. Spotlight, you suck!!! If you are closed how come we could still enter the store?
This is what is wrong with retail today. We could have gone online and had the item mailed to us but we thought we were doing the right thing putting our money into the local economy. Guess it is doing real fine without us thank you very much. Not happy Jan!

Wednesday...24 September 2014

Today's forecast is for rain.  And it has rained, ........for at least 20 seconds! In the meantime we have grey cloudy skies as I watch the gardener watering the trees and plants in the caravan park.
It is school holidays and we hear the occasional sound of happy laughter as children play in the nearby pool but this park is not over run through the holidays, it seems to be more popular for the various events in the area. We had quite a lot of activity last week for the National U15 Soccer tournament. There is a large Swap Meet coming up and the park is fully booked out for that and it is followed by the local Field Days and once again the park is fully booked. We think we will be on the move again by then so will miss seeing just how many can fit in here!
I have taken the extra blanket off our bed and last night was the first time in a very long while that I did not feel the need to run our heater.  So even though it is trying to rain and the sky looks dull and dreary, the overall temperatures are improving.

Update on the rain status: I hear thunder and have had to turn the TV up louder to be heard over the sound of the heavy rain which is pixalating the picture and making hearing difficult. I guess this means it is raining as was forecast!

Friday...19 September 2014

Bright blue skies this morning, not a cloud in sight and the sun is shining brightly. Picture perfect day.
And the thermometer is reading ONE. What sort of number is that?
I see sunshine, I expect warmth. I do not expect to have my fingers, toes and nose hurt from being half frozen. My cup of tea was cold by the time I walked from the jug to the table and we all know that is not very far in a caravan! Activity in the park means Ugg Boots and fluffy dressing gowns, not a pretty sight on a grown man! No, it was not Himself, he is still tucked up in bed, warm and happy. Smart man.
If the day warms up, we are going to have a look at the Alpaca show and sale on at the local showgrounds. Sure to be a smelly outing but we may learn something.

Tuesday...16 September 2014

My driving licence is due for renewal. Nothing exciting about that. Happens to most of us at regular intervals in our normal lives. But wait, they want me to have another photo taken and provide a fresh signature.  Just whip a comb through your hair, grab your renewal and head down to one of the many places referred to on the renewal. Small problem. None of them are accessible right now. In fact every last one is more than three and a half thousand kilometres away! And no, no other state has direct access to other states licencing renewal procedures.
Much drama.
I rang our state licence place twice but never got to speak to anyone, Each time I waited forever (more than ten minutes each time) to speak to someone because the little voices in my mobile phone insisted that my call was important but after listening to the voices telling me time and time and time again that no matter what my problem was I could find the answer on their interactive web site and having come to the conclusion that they never answer the phone now, I hung up and attempted to find the answers on the internet. Hours later, after reading that no matter what, I had to present myself in person in Perth to renew this licence, I finally found tucked away in a totally unrelated page, a form for applying for a licence by post.
Hooray. Progress.
Top requirement was a passport sized photo on matte paper. Bit tricky. Most passport photos are on gloss paper but after a few phone calls we found that Camera House could take the photo and print it on the approved paper. Tick. Then it was off to the Post Office to buy a money order and have some other documents photocopied. Tick. This was followed by a visit to the local police station to present my credentials and have the policeman on duty mark them as true and correct. Tick. Finally I could post off my application for a licence renewal from interstate.
Fingers crossed that I have filled in everything correctly and that the licence is processed on time and without trouble. Would not like to have to buy a plane ticket just to sort it out and do not want to lose the licence whilst driving around Australia.  Himself does most of our driving but we will stop one day and I want to be able to get out and about by myself when we do.
If we have a national passport, why can't we have a national drivers licence?

Sunday...14 September 2014

Would whoever is in charge of the thermostat please give it a small nudge in the direction of warm? You seem to have missed the memo announcing that Spring is here. It is my understanding that once this happens you are responsible for adjusting the weather in the general direction of warmer!
Please do so at your earliest. That is all.

Sunday...7 September 2014

Happy Fathers Day.

Have been experiencing an entire winter for the first time in forty years. Still not a fan! It is cold and bleak. The trees look so barren without their leaves and grey skies leave you feeling depressed and desperate for a glimpse of the sun. Frosts and fog make life dangerous and walking on grass that crunches with each step is unnatural! Rain and mud push you indoors where you sit looking out the window in desperate hope that around the next curtain summer will appear to paint some colour back into your world.
Although there is nothing quite like sitting in front of a roaring log fire or slow combustion heater to warm the cockles of your heart, it means going out into the cold to fetch the wood to feed the fire and I have seen some seriously big wood piles lately.

And how had I managed to forget over the years the sorts of 'things' that hide in a wood pile. Yucky horrible grubs and all manner of creepy crawlies and spiders big enough to sit with their legs dangling over the sides of a dinner plate and furry-ier than Himself's chest, that run up your arms as you carry a load of wood inside. I have even seen what appeared to be hairless baby puppies but in reality were newborn rats! Seriously, how many times can you scream and not do permanent damage to your vocal chords? Any dreams people have of living in the country all warm and cosy, snug as a bug in a rug during winter, are in reality a scary scary nightmare!
On a more cheery note, now that it is Spring, I am loving the beautiful displays of blossom I am seeing on those same bleak winter trees. At last there is some colour in my world again!