A picture is worth a thousand words

Friday 2 May 2025 Balcony lunch.

Thursday 15 May . Time to feed the worms. Lid off the farm so they are all hiding.

Thursday 22 May. Chiko Roll for lunch. What did we do before Air Fryers?

Friday 23 May. Fresh King Prawns and salad with Kerrie and Rod. Help yourself.

Saturday 24 May. Bacon and King prawn pieces cooked in pan and added to salad bowl.

Sunday 25 May. Due to water in unit next to us water turned off this evening until repairs are carried out tomorrow morning.

Monday 26 May. Always remember to have an adequate supply of water in the bathroom...

Saturday 31 May. Zygocactus getting into full bloom.

Thursday  1 May 2025  Samosa time.

Saturday 3 May Storms on the Ranges

Sunday 4 May  Happy Valley's regular rainbow

Monday 5 May Remains of Golden Penda blooms

Tuesday 6 May Pool time ...water 27C

Wednesday 7 May Sunset reflections on lake

Thursday 8 May View from Coolangatta Northwards

Thursday 9 May Before the storm Hastings Point

Friday 10 May The Work Desk

Saturday 11 May The bizarre weather has confused the plants. They think it is Spring.

Sunday 12 May. Mother's Day Peace Lily from Ben, Ingrid and Bella

Monday 13 May. John and Rod preparing for tomorrow's Writers Group

Tuesday 14 May. Excitement mounts, Binno Man coming Wednesday morning.

Wednesday 15 May. Chilies into third season

Friday 16 May. Early morning sunrise.

Saturday 17 May. Did they put something in my coffee?

Sunday 18 May. Birdbrains unite.

Monday 19 May. Imposing in bleak weather.

Tuesday 20 May. Flowering in between rain periods,

Wednesday 21 May. Cleanup attempt 1...more to come on weekend.

Tuesday 27 May. Incredible cottonwool cloud on way to Writers Group around 11am.

Wednesday 28 May. Why go to the hairdresser when they come to you?

Thursday 29 May. Stairway to Heaven ... Murwillumbah Style.

Friday 30 May. Where there is life there is hope

Tuesday June 3. The green takeover of the front veranda.

Wednesday June 4. Nightime storms starting to build up

Thursday June 5. Condong Sugar mill in production for 2025.

Friday June 6. Cloud formations over Cooly Rocks On Festival at Coolangatta.

Sunday June 8. Home-made Cumquat and Ginger jam complements of Helen.

Monday June 9. Last of the warm nights.

Monday June 9. Breaking out the Royal tableware to celebrate the King's Birthday. All items compliments of John's Royal Collection, Main course Tikka Masala. How British can you get?

Tuesday June 10. Bloody cold.

Thursday June 12. Out with the old. New fridge arriving tomorrow so time to get old one out and clean up where new one will go.

Friday June 13. New fridge delivered, old fridge taken away. No more endless beeping in the night.

Saturday June 14. Cold atmosphere still producing awesome cloud formations.

Sunday June 15. Kerrie come here quickly. The fridge has broken. Not really - just all the sticky tape that was holding the shelves on the new fridge in place.

Friday 27 June. Dinner preparation for John's worms.

Saturday 28 June. And they said it would never fit...

Sunday 29 June. Adding some colour to the dull railing.

Monday 30 June. Time for Kerrie to head off for Adelaide and meetup with Simon and family. Then off to Katy Perry concert.

Sunday June 1. Pawpaws before the Flying Foxes at Cheryl's place

Monday June 2. Nothing like a thunderstorm at 12.30 am to liven up your sleep. Even remembered to disconnect the modem.

Monday June 2 continued. First game back in about 4 months. Survived surprisingly well ...and played OK .

Saturday June 7. Birds-eye view of Festival from the comfort of a stretched Limousine.

Wednesday June 11. Got to get lucky occasionally. $20 for the Crown.

Monday June 16. Orchid given to Kerrie for looking after neighbour Graeme's Unit. Sill one more bud to open. Resides on the dining room table.

Tuesday June 17. Next generation of ring-stingers ripe for consumption. If you're game.

Wednesday 18 June. Kerrie making sure the Surfer's Paradise hasn't fallen into the sea.

Thursday 19 June. Looks like fine cold days are about to be replaced by cold wet days in next day or two.

Friday 20 June. Our previous under the Red Bin tenant came back for a visit today. She was gently persuaded to move onto another block of units. Is about 2 metres plus.

Saturday 21 June. Mr Happy having morning coffee at M.Arts with Kerrie. Wet and miserable morning outside.

Sunday 22 June. What you do on a drizzly Sunday afternoon.

Monday 23 June. Day after shortest day of the year and Engine warning light tells you that there is a problem with the Cruise control. Take it to Subicare and the warning lights disappear. One of the quirks of modern car electronics.

Tuesday 24 June. Doctor Pooh mining the sewerage system for hidden treasures...

Wednesday 25 June. When you are bored before you go to bed turn on the lightshow.

Thursday 26 June. After some Target shopping at Tweed Mall time for a coffee with the resident well fed seagull.

When it rains, it rains hard

Wednesday July 2. Helping Rita map out her next cruise in March 2026.

Thursday July 3. Helping Kerrie recover from her Adelaide trip with homemade Chinese Chicken and Rice.

Sunday July 20. Frustrated gardener living in a Unit.

Tuesday July 22. Where aspiring writers hang out every Tuesday.

Tuesday July 1. With Kerrie in Adelaide and preparing to go and see: Beauty and the Beast John continues his health diet at Happy Valley.

Friday July 4. Don't you just hate it when you are on the phone to someone and they ask you what your mobile number is. I always have it written down so I don't sound like a complete moron when I can't tell them...

Saturday July 5. Started house and dog sitting at Tugun. With a ferocious watchdog like Frankie protecting us we have no problems.

Sunday July 6. Morning walk down to Currumbin to check things out. Good way to work up an appetite.

Monday July 7. Cafe society Currumbin Beach style.

Tuesday July 8. Quick trip back to Happy Valley to sort out a few things and do a Habanero harvest for someone who is really into hot pickles and relishes

Wednesday July 9. John getting all arty

Thursday July 10. Keeping this beach area safe is not too hard on a winter Thursday.

Friday July 11. Early moonrise on this Tugun evening.

Saturday July 12. Who wants to go to that awful place on the horizon? ....

Sunday July 13. Return to Happy Valley...so many plants flowering including the crucifix orchids.

Monday July 14. Cold start to Pickleball this morning, Did survive it.

Tuesday July 15. Spectacular clouds at Sunset.

Wednesday July 16. Kerrie's sister Louise is staying with us for a few days so proper sit-down evening meal...complete with wine

Thursday July 17. Trip over to Cabarita and Hastings Point to check out the whale situation. Quite a few passing on their trip north but fair way out. The beach put on its best face.

Friday July 18. Thought I heard thunder last night.

Saturday July 19. Forgot to put up Thursday's Calamari and Chips lunch at Hastings Point.

Monday July 21. Ominous rain clouds. Must be my Pickleball day.

Wednesday July 23. When the roads at Happy Valley turn into streams.

Thursday 24 July. Time for John to do the shopping for the next week.

Friday 25 July. A great day to be at home working on my Writers Group presentation.

Saturday 26 July. Miserable day so coffee at MArts with Kerrie and Rod.

Sunday 27 July. Bloody cold day so why not pig out with homemade burgers for dinner.

Monday 28 July. A fine morning for Pickleball. Enough breeze to make it interesting.

Tuesday 29 July. Back to Writers Group and discussion on Points of View in writing. Only one week until I give my presentation on Writing and Photography.

Wednesday 30 July. Time to assess yesterday's Writers Group presentation over a coffee at MArts. Guess whose Coffee machine has given up the ghost?

Thursday 31 July. Perfect day at Hastings Point to do some beachcombing for John's writing project.

Saturday 2 August. Time to think about bringing in some of the stuff on the verandas.

Friday 1 August. Bought a $5 scratchie and won $5 on the scratchie so I guess that means I'm even.

Sunday 3 August. Despite miserable weather the Azaleas manage to soldier on.

Monday 4 August. Working on props for tomorrow's presentation at the Writers Group.

Tuesday 5 August. Main Photo used for presentation.

Wednesday 6 August. Recovery after the big presentation to the Writers Group.

Thursday 7 August. Lack of sensible diet and not enough food intake = Hypo.

Friday 8 August. Despite wet and wild conditions Kerrie and Rod attended Byron Writers Festival. Just as well they went today because it was cancelled for Saturday and Sunday due to incessant rain and wind.

Saturday 9 August. In between cups of coffee at MArts with John and Rod, Kerrie took the time to go over to the mobile blood van and donate. Rewarded with a fresh coffee when she got back to MArts.

Sunday 10 August. Current state of veggie garden is disgusting. Will be tidied up by next weekend and planted out.

Monday 11 August. Clouds to the North.

Tuesday 12 August. Spider web by the lake early morning.

Wednesday 13 August. No wascally wabbits allowed in Queensland.

Thursday 14 August. The bunnings Mixer tap that buggered up after 12 months.

Friday 15 August. Plumber supplied mixer tap with warranty.

Saturday 16 August. Lazy lunch at Deidre's place at Palm Beach ... Best rump steak ever.

Sunday 17 August. Always a bit disquieting when you go to turn the bathroom light on and you get the added bonus a gentle electric shock...not good.

Monday 18 August. Build up for this week's forecast bad weather looks like it is commencing.

Tuesday 19 August. Local duck checking out possible nest sites on veranda. Has used the unit next door for the last couple of years.

Wednesday 20 August. Tweed Heads library where we go to the monthly critiquing session on our stories. Comes under auspices of Gold Coast Writers Association.

Thursday 21 August. Day 2 of this week's rain event. Around 75mm over the last 2 days.

Friday 22 August. Rain gone...nice big widespread fog to start the day.

Saturday 23 August. Feed the worms. Very busy under the surface. Eating 5 large bananas a week.

Sunday 24 August. Kerrie said that when we go shopping tomorrow, I have to get a new pillow. Maybe she is right.

Monday 25 August. Not only did we get new pillows. Got a new Dyson vacuum to supplement our 13-year-old model. Suction isn't what it used to be.

Tuesday 26 August. Writer's Group and afternoon tea at Julia's. Greeted by resident Water Dragon.

Wednesday 27 August. First time in history that John actually buys someone an almost normal birthday card.

Thursday 28 August. Kerrie's birthday. Big celebration tomorrow. Someone nicked the Brush Turkey sign from the main Happy Valley drive...someone doesn't like turkeys...

Friday 29 August. Lunchtime celebration for Kerrie's birthday (had to wait for the prawns to arrive today). Lots of prawns, fresh salad, crusty bread and wine. All slept well Friday night.

Saturday 30 August. Revival morning at MArts....cake and plenty of coffee.

Sunday 31 August. Up to Currumbin to water Deidre's garden after enjoying a couple of Kirra pies and giant apple and blueberry turnover. Time for walk along beach after pig out lunch. Beautiful sunny last day of Winter.

Monday 1 September. First day of Spring. Overcast, wet and miserable. Big afternoon nap...

Tuesday 2 September. Beat poetry session at Writers Group followed by a light lunch at RSL - so light that I couldn't eat dinner. Kerrie not impressed.

Wednesday 3 September. John and Rod retreat to MArts coffee area to recover from last few days. Still not hungry.

Thursday 4 September. Mrs Duck still scoping out possible nesting sites....

Friday 5 September. Shrubs around Happy Valley are sure convinced that Spring is here.

Saturday 6 September. $2 investment $25 return

Sunday 7 September. These bloody worms are eating 5 bananas a week. Must admit that they are producing a high-quality worm wee product. Plants love it.

Monday 8 September. Verandah bromeliad brightening up the start of the week.

Tuesday 9 September. Not sure what they get up to at Vinnies but it certainly has an effect on Kerrie each Tuesday night.

Wednesday 10 September. Kerrie getting ready for trip to Darwin for the next 3 weeks.

Thursday 11 September. Kerrie off to Darwin at 9.00pm from Coolangatta. Average temperature in rural area at the moment is 36C during the day. Bit of a change from Murwillumbah.

Friday 12 September. Off to Deidre's place to water her garden while she is away. Didn't forget the pots that she has on first floor verandah.1

Saturday 13 September. Time to think about my next literary masterpiece for Writer's Group.

Sunday 14 September. Moroccan chicken and Potato gems for dinner tonight. A few leftovers for tomorrow night.

Monday 15 September. Back to Pickleball after few weeks off. Judging by the sweat we must be getting into Spring sweat mode. Litre of Hydrolyte was appreciated.

Tuesday 16 September. Chip with Mayonnaise sandwich tonight. Bit boring cooking for yourself.

Wednesday 17 September. Most important meal of the day...special breakfast. SPC Spaghetti on toast. Breakfast of champions.

Thursday 18 September. Time for visit to Dr. Chris the skin man. Annual checkup and pointed out a growth on top of my head. Some concern so biopsy and stitches. Now the waiting game.

Friday 19 September. Off to Mitch's place for 5-day house sitting job. It will just be me and Frankie the guard dog. The Swell Sculpture Festival is on at the Currumbin Beach, so I headed off there tonight. Got lots of pics. More to follow.

Saturday 20 September. Another sculpture to share.

Sunday 21 September. Coloured python looking great at night.

Monday 22 September. Incredible Puffer Fish lighting up the night sky at the beach.

Tuesday 23 September. Time to leave Currumbin. Frankie the guard dog will look after the place until her family get back home in a few hours.

Wednesday 24 September. Would appear that I gave Kerrie's Cyclamen a bit too much of a drink before leaving for my house-sitting adventure.

Thursday 25 September. Always nice to sleep in your own bed. Apparently, you are supposed to make it every morning. I'll have to confirm that with Kerrie when she returns.

Friday 26 September. Will Kerrie recognise the new clean-cut man now living in the house?

Saturday 27 September. Well and truly getting into Spring during the day. Night temperatures only getting down to mid-teens.

Sunday 28 September. Nothing like some Moroccan Chicken to finish off the week. Enough for tomorrow night as well I guess.

Monday 29 September. No Pickleball today because of biopsy stitches on my head. Found some eggs in the fridge so hamburger with the lot for lunch.

Tuesday 30 September. Warm farewell to September. No wonder all the grass is starting to dry out and burn off.

Wednesday 1 October. Time to reoil the dining table before Kerrie gets back from Darwin. Will take a couple of days to dry.

Thursday 2 October. Kerrie is back tomorrow so time to wash the sheets and other bedding. Fortunately it was a good drying day.

Friday 3 October. Kerrie arrives back at Gold Coast Airport at 6.01 am. Full redeye flight. Surprise...all bed clothes cleaned and washed and bed even made... apparently, I put some sheets on sideways.

Saturday 4 October. Niece Alani's 40th birthday get together at Yot Deck at Southport Took Gold Coast Highway ... big mistake - roadworks everywhere 1 hour 40 minutes to get there. Plenty of food and drinks to settle our nerves when we got there.

Sunday 5 October. What happens when old people go to birthday parties.

Monday 6 October. Still in recovery mode from Saturday's festivities. What better way to celebrate Labour Day than a genuine Chiko roll fresh out of the Air fryer?

Tuesday 7 October. Kerrie resumes her volunteering at Vinnies today. John spends half a day on the computer trying to get his photoblog up to date. Resolves to update it every day from now on.

Wednesday 8 October. Yellow-tailed black cockatoos visited to feast on Grevillea nuts. They are constantly on the move this time of the year, For more information click on the link: https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/yellow-tailed-black-cockatoo

Thursday 9 October. Last flowered 3 years ago...worth waiting for.

Friday 10 October. Despite John's offer to directly supply Kerrie with his iron enriched blood she chose an infusion from the nurse and doctor at the surgery.

Saturday 11 October. Rod shouted us out to lunch at the Kingscliff Hotel. The setting and the meals were excellent. So, what better way to finish off the afternoon than a trip to the ice-cream shop. The large size of the ice-creams did not deter Kerrie or Rod. Great way to spend a Saturday.

Sunday 12 October. Rod and John playing panel beaters on their cars after phantom drivers left their marks and scrapes on each of our cars. Karma will get them in the end.

Monday 13 October. First time back at Pickleball for a while. Only 5 of us but a great session. Cat showing her elbow crease where John managed to hit her. Was just in the process of colouring up when this pic was taken. Better pic to come.

Tuesday 14 October. Mrs Duck returns to try and scope out a more disguised nesting spot. Politely asked to leave.

Wednesday 15 October. Second last Wednesday coffee break for John and Rod. Rod heading up to Cairns week after next. Current combined age at this table of 153 years...

Thursday 16 October. That time of the year. The red dots are actual ground strikes.

Friday 17 October. Handy tool for storm season. Shows you how fast the storm cells are travelling.

Saturday 18 October. Freshly made fish pie complete with Snapper, King Prawns and fresh Mussels. Steamed beans and Asparagus to top it off. We ate every bit....

Sunday 19 October. Beautiful sunrises become more common at this time of the year. This morning's dawn sky is a good example.

Monday 20 October. Following reports of lots of Naked Ladies at Happy Valley I chased the culprits down. How was I to know that they were plants?

Tuesday 21 October. On 9 October I put up a picture of this orchid with one flower bud opened. Today it is now sporting six flower buds opened with more to come.

Wednesday 22 October. Hoya flowering complements of neighbour Rita.

Thursday 23 October. Garage cleanup number 3 for year.....

Friday 24 October. Weekly ration for John's worms in veggie garden.

Saturday 25 October. Saturday at MArts minus new Cairns resident Rod.

Sunday 26 October. Weather Bureau reckons we are in for some stormy weather in the next few days. Looks like they could be correct.

Monday 27 October. Glad I only played one hour of Pickleball this morning. One litre of Hydrolyte helped replenish what was lost to sweat Over 30C at 9.00am when we started playing.

Tuesday 28 October. Rain all day as predicted. 103mm here at Happy Valley with the occasional thunderstorm thrown in for good luck. We had to move our stuff to Cheryl's place in the middle of it. We are house sitting at her place for next 13 days. Two-minute drive from Happy Valley.

Wednesday 29 October. Visit the Art Gallery to check out the Olive Cotton Photo Competition entries for 2025. Views from the Art Gallery are picture perfect.

Thursday 30 October. Heaps of lightning strikes below and around Murwillumbah this afternoon. Very impressive cloud build up. Photo taken from veranda of our house sitting home.

Friday 31 October. Change of place and pace. Morning coffee at Stamp and Grind Coffee shop at Condong near the Sugar Mill. Just a few minutes' drive from Murwillumbah. Very quiet and relaxed.

Saturday 1 November. Building up all day. Just before sundown the rain and thunder and lightning took over. Tuppy the dog we are dog sitting was not impressed,

Sunday 2 November. Time for some intense lightning activity going well into the evening. Probably the reason why we ended up with the dog in bed with us. Unfortunately for dog two is company 3 is a crowd.

Monday 3 November. Hot and steamy morning Pickleball session. Nothing that a serving of Hot Chips with chicken salt won't fix. And to cap the day off an impossible quiche from Kerrie to ensure a great night's sleep. Locally generated thunder heard from under the sheets in the early hours of Tuesday.

Tuesday 4 November. Time to attend neighbour Rita's Cup Day feast. Who needs to waste time betting when you can spend it just eating and drinking. Prawns, crab, smoked salmon, NZ mussels, oysters, calamari plus salads and seafood dressing. Don't think I'll next to eat for the next week.

Wednesday 5 November. Some pretty impressive Blood moon Activity after all the excitement of the big horse race yesterday.

Thursday 6 November and Friday 7 November. After somebody decided to cut their way into our small plot and just make a nuisance of themselves, we decided it was time to get serious about the veggie garden again. New frontage with good quality fencing wire, clearing rubbish and deciding which Truggs to dismantle and repair. Ongoing project .... pics to be regularly posted.

Saturday 8 November. Time to sort out all the tools that will be required for the Garden Plot rebuilding program. Wet outside so need to use the loungeroom. The kind of decision that doesn't go down well with some people...

Sunday 9 November. Front fencing and gate - well some sort of gate ... very rustic. Some rain just to settle the dust.

Monday 10 November. Take off some of the rubbish and up comes the unharvested Turmeric from last year's crop. Moving day back into our unit after 11 days house and dog sitting. No excuses now for not getting into the garden. Went up to Kirra just after dark to see Simon and the girls. Absolutely teemed down for most of the trip. 70 kph driving...had to stop at Tumbulgum for 15 minutes to wait for the weather to ease... It didn't but we finally got to Kirra. 3 hours later no rain on way back to home.

Tuesday 11 November. Armistice Day and also a scheduled appointment with my skin Doctor at Tweed Health Centre. Reasonably good progress on skull area that had a nasty looking growth. Cleared after pathology but have to maintain salicylic cream on area. Next appointment mid-January.

Wednesday 12 November. Overnight sleepover at Simon and Melissa's holiday unit at Kirra. Looking after our granddaughters while they went to Metallica concert in Brisbane. I'm even too old to remember Metallica ...

Thursday 13 November. Work continuing on increasing Kerrie's Iron count. Fresh Lambs Fry from the butcher today for weekend breakfast. I did suggest Kidneys on Toast with gravy, but she drew the line at Lambs Fry.

Friday 14 November. New inks for printer arrived today after only being ordered 4 days ago. Save about $17 per cartridge over genuine and have never had a problem. Always immediately recognised by printer when loaded. Celebrated with dinner at Tugun Bowls Club with Simon, Kayla, Deidre and Cousin Mitch and his two youngsters. Serious storm and rain on way up from Murwillumbah but all clear on return journey.

Saturday 15 November. Cousins Simon and Mitch enjoying last night's activities at Bowls Club. Don't get to see each other very often.

Sunday 16 November. Breakfast catch-up with long time friends Bob and Ursula at House of Gabriel. On their way back to Canberra. Don't see them often but always a great time when we do.

Monday 17 November. Start the day with an hour of Pickleball. Most of us who play on a Monday morning are evenly matched and play for the enjoyment and fun....not to mention the exercise. Rita's Agapanthus now starting to get into full bloom.

Tuesday 18 November. John's big day giving a presentation to the Writers Group on the Topic of Self-Publishing. Dozen people in attendance and a really well-received presentation. Plenty of interaction and much positive feedback. Blue Agapanthus have now followed the white ones into bloom in Rita's garden.

Wednesday 19 November. Up to Mitch and Bonnie's place for a few days house-sitting. Frankie the guard dog on high alert at all times.

Thursday 20 November. Why is it that whenever you stay away from home and you do some shopping you always end up with exotic food items that you rarely eat at home ?

Friday 21 November. Holiday mood continues. Morning coffee at Cornerstone Cafe.

Saturday 22 November. Quick visit to Murwillumbah to stock up on provisions for our house-sit at Mitch's place. Stopped at AMarts to check out exhibition by Happy Valley resident Malcolm. Pretty impressive collection.

Sunday 23 November around Darwin. Simon said the main issue is the amount of rain and trees being toppled in gusts. They now have power back on but are staying inside because of the heavy showers that are still prevailing.

Monday 24 November. Time to return to Happy Valley. Mitch and family arrived back in Coolangatta just as storms were starting to roll in. After landing they had to spend the next one and a half hours sitting in the plane until the storms had passed. Fortunate for us though because it meant that we arrived back at Happy Valley after the big hailstorm had hit Murwillumbah. Happy Valley turned into a beautiful winter wonderland except that it was hail that covered the place rather than snow. Pic gives you some idea as to how many lightning strikes were recorded during the storms.

Tuesday 25 November. Writers Group at the town library. Bought my weekly scratchie and actually won $20. Guess we get to eat for another day. Good session run by Rosemary looking at the way Journalists often transition to novelists and how this affects their writing style.

Wednesday 26 November. Enjoying sore throat and sore chest that has been hanging around for almost the last week. Full of Panadol and Difflam lozenges. Not going anywhere so may as well enjoy the clouds. Hot with a few thunderstorms tonight. More and more like Top End buildup weather.

Thursday 27 November. No hailstorms, just hot weather with the odd storm at night. Kerrie was doing some catalogue searching and found a pedestal fan on special at Scarfs at Tweed City. She took advantage of my current compliant disposition and suggested that a fan like this would help us endure the hot weather a little easier. Long story short, we went to Tweed enjoying the car air conditioning, got the last fan they had and came back to Happy Valley where I spent the next hour putting the fan together. It came with no batteries for the remote control but luckily, I found a couple and then came the moment of truth. Gave the remote a click and the fan swung into action. Bloody unbelievable. Wonders will never cease. Peace has been restored to our unit.

Friday 28 November. Phone call from Kerrie who is downtown. The car won't start. I borrow a vehicle from our friend Cheryl. Get down to parked car - definitely dead as a dodo. Ring NRMA and after about 500 questions I receive a map showing where a service vehicle is and that it will be there in 66 minutes. It also features a countdown clock for the arrival. Decide that Kerrie and I should grab some lunch while keeping an eye on the countdown clock. Am about halfway through my Samosa at the NewLeaf Cafe when the countdown clock goes from 59 minutes to 1 minute. Leave Kerrie to collect the remainders of my Samosa and race back to the car. NRMA who is very pleasant checks out the battery...definitely stuffed is the verdict. Gets me started and I go down to the Battery workshop. Technician there agrees that battery is stuffed. Tells me that it is 6 years old and that is pretty good going for a battery these days. New battery is installed and checked as well as the alternator ... all good. Drive away with new battery fitted, 2 year warranty and $170 lighter in the wallet. Was meant to be my relaxing Friday.

Saturday 29 November. People who have helped in the HV shop over the last 12 months are shouted to dinner at a local club every end of year. This year it was Tweed Bowls Club. Excellent menu and excellent food. A really excellent night and a tour of Murwillumbah christmas lights to finish off the evening, Great night out, Thanks Coral.

Sunday 30 November. They reckon you're never too old to learn. After Friday's battery incident I started to notice that the Forester would stall with some regularity every time I pulled up in traffic. A bit of online research advised me that once a battery has been removed from my model vehicle amongst other Subaru models then you have to retrain the vehicle to idle at a normal speed. I consequently downloaded the notes and carried out the procedure this morning and it worked. No more stalling when you come to a stop...learn something new even when you are an old bastard.

Monday December 1. Welcome to first day of summer. Having been not the best for the last 2 weeks with flu-like symptoms and a very noisy chest Kerrie suggested that I get a test kit from the chemist that covered Covid 19, RSV, and Flu A and B. Must admit I was feeling not too bad this morning. Got home before lunch and used the test kit. Negative all round but the annoying cough resurfaces with some regularity. At least I don't feel like a disease spreading monster in public now.

Tuesday December 2. Bad night last night. Plenty of coughing and spitting and not a lot of sleep. After a late in the day coughing fit Kerrie reminded me that I should have some puffers in my draw. She was of course correct, so I gave it a go. Instant relief and no coughing for the next 2 hours. Glad somebody in this house has some brains...and it isn't me obviously.

Wednesday December 3. Unbelievably I purchased a scratchie this morning while we were downtown shouting ourselves a coffee at MArts. For the second week in a row, I had a winner.... $25 ...$5 more than last week's winner. I suppose you have to have a winner or two occasionally.

Thursday December 4. When you have to go...you have to go. Finally went to the doctor about my congested chest and range of extreme noises emanating from aforementioned chest. After explaining what my problem was, he gave my chest a thorough examination and came to conclusion I was suffering from a rampant lung infection. No choice but a course of anti-biotics. Only had 2 courses of anti-biotics in last 15 years. Have to complete the full course. As you ccan see from pic have already commenced. Only 6 days to go.

Friday December 5. Up early for the sunrise. The antibiotics are presumably starting to kick in, but they are taking their time. The sunrise pretty well summed up the way I was feeling this morning...hot all over but especially my face. Felt like I had just spent the whole previous day in the sun without a hat or sunscreen. Had a breakfast of toast and antibiotic and Panadol extra. By the time Kerrie got back from her morning activities I felt that there was only a 95% chance of expiring. Obviously, I did survive and was helped by a 2-hour nanna nap after lunch. Some days just shouldn't happen, and this was one of them.

Saturday December 6. Downtown before 9.00 getting some potting mix and some zip ties so that Kerrie will be able to suspend our Christmas lights from the front veranda railing. There must be about 400 bloody lights on the string we have, and they are all clear. No doubt we will be able to turn night into day. Promise to send a pic in the next few days. After leaving the Hardware shop we headed over to Coles to get some food, so we don't starve this weekend. Then over to MArts for a coffee to kickstart the day. When we entered the building the main stage area was populated by a shitload of participants going through a whole lot of Pilates moves. Kerrie had her back turned and couldn't understand my morbid curiosity staring at the group. Hopefully this was only a one-off session... a bit too much to take in while trying to drink your coffee. I did take one or two pics of the proceedings to let Kerrie know what she was missing...hence the expression on her face.

Sunday 7 December. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....sort of. We will be house-sitting for the second half of December so not really a lot of sense putting up the Christmas tree. It shall be spending Christmas all on its ownsome in the garage. As an acknowledgement though we did try to unroll a 1400 light roll of Christmas lights for display. Kerrie picked it up from Vinnies over a year ago. We managed to unravel about half of the roll so looks like the 1400 lights will be reduced to about 700...still a respectable number. Will be rolling out the lights along the front railing tomorrow. Don't know if it was some kind of omen, but after our unravelling effort we had some big storms roll through about 8.00pm. Copped 40mm and lots of lightning and thunder. We shall see if this was some kind of portent for Christmas this year.

Monday 8 December. After last night's pyrotechnics in the sky and rain from the clouds, this morning dawned with a freshness that only comes after rain. You could almost hear all the greenery gorging itself on the life-giving moisture and the nutrients contained in every droplet. These euphoric sensations became somewhat dulled as the sun rapidly heated the environment and the evaporating ground water helped the humidity rapidly increase. Still working to overcome my lung infection I hardly moved out of the unit. Kerrie braved the mid-afternoon conditions and ventured down to the shops to pick up some food. Once home she started preparations for dinner - something she hasn't made for a long time - Lasagne. I hadn't eaten much today, so I attacked it with some gusto. It was bloody delicious and the best part - plenty left over for dinner tomorrow night.

Tuesday 9 December. Dropped off Kerrie at Vinnies around 8.30am am and doubled back home to have a shower and get prepared for Writers Group. Today's session was on Living Libraries and the concept on which it is based. Our "living Library Book" was Hebe de Souza the author of Black British, whose work provides a window into her childhood in Northern India in the 1960s. I t was a beautifully run session with plenty of interaction. Needless to say, the session ran over time, but nobody seemed to notice. A great effort by member Nicole and Hebe.

Wednesday 10 December. One more day and I will have finished my course of Amoxycillin. I've still got my cough and accompanying expectorated gunk...but not quite as much. Hate taking anti-biotics... I feel as bad as I look.

Thursday 11 December. Getting dinner sorted for this evening when I realised that I had used the last of our small potatoes for chips last night. Then we remembered that the coffee/snack shop aka Thirteen would still be open. Off i head on the big 4-minute walk to Thirteen and placed my order. Five dollars of chips along with a shitload of chicken salt. Ten minutes later I had my chips and started heading back home. I snuck a look at the contents of the container I had been given, and it was full to the top of the container with hot steaming chips covered in chicken salt. I got home and opened the container, and the smell of its contents filled the lounge room. It was still an hour or two before dinner, so John and Kerrie did the right thing and put the chips out of their misery and ate the lot over the next ten minutes. Two hours later we had dinner minus the chips.... should have bought ten dollars' worth.

Friday 12 December. A rarely seen event on the dashboard of the Subaru - fuel gauge showing full. With Christmas just around the corner I guess that the car will be doing plenty of unexpected running around. A big surprise when I went to fill it Petrol down 10 cents a litre. Wonders will never cease.

Saturday 13 December. Big surprise at MArts coffee area this morning. Fresh native flowers and shrub cuttings on every table throughout the area. A welcome touch.

Sunday 14 December. After 52 years you naturally go out for lunch at the Tumbulgum Pub... just a 15-minute drive from Happy Valley. We both had the same main course - prawns, avocado in a melted cheese sauce and salad with chips. Nobody has to worry about cooking tonight.

Monday 15 December. Up early and down to QML to get my bloods taken for analysis. Results will be available for my visit to doctor on Friday. Go home and have some toast for breakfast before heading up to Coolangatta to the Eye Specialist to check out something that was spotted during my recent visit to our optometrist. What was thought to have been some diabetes damage was in fact Wet Macular Degeneration. This is something that can develop rapidly and eventually lead to blindness. To fight it off I have to have a series of injections into the eye at regular periods until it is diminished and stopped. Decided that I should have first treatment today. Treatment completed this afternoon and next treatment on 21 January. The injection into the eye costs $550 .00 a pop. How many more treatments I will require is currently in the lap of the gods. Something to look forward to... I don't like Mondays.

Recovery day after Monday’s shenanigans. Keeping clean. Especially keep water out of eye. Take care in shower. No driving if you feel uncomfortable. Kerrie off to Vinnies for a few hours. I went to last Writers Group for the year. Bad time of the year with holidays happening. Five souls there but Neville had to go at 12.15. Bit of a snack fest at 1.00 to celebrate the end of the year. Back home and have a sleep.

Wednesday 17 December

Moving up to Palm Beach for housesitting for Deidre over Christmas and New Year. Bit of shopping at Coles and Reject shop for supplies. Up here around lunchtime. Quiet afternoon settling in. Didn’t get to bed until 10.00pm local time. Brokenwood Mysteries. Good sleep and very quiet.

Thursday 18 December 2025

Long warm shower to start the day. Big walk along beach up to Coles Shopping Centre. A few good pics. Nice, pleasant warm morning. Afterwards walk over to shops for a coffee and shopping for few food items and necessities. Stop at chemist on way back for Systane. Back for breakfast. Time to try and catch up on happenings from the week.

Friday 19 December 2025

 Up early as I must go back to HV as well as see the doctor’s appointment at 9.45 with Richi. Got into see Richi just after 10.00 then back to HV to sort out what else needs to come up to Palm Beach. Some food, some drink, drugs and clothes collected. Katrina arrived at 11.30 and cleaned me up…number 2 beard cut and top of the ears haircut. Brought back everything I could remember…back at Palm Beach about 2.30 local time. Salad sandwich for late lunch and a scone with marmalade jam. Check out the smelly engine. Must be old car syndrome.

Saturday 20 December

Back to Happy Valley to sort out Bills and Bill payments. Picked up a pie from bakery at Murwillumbah before heading to the Unit. Spent next few hours getting the books sorted and feeding the worms and watering the Chilli bush. Looks like there will be a fair crop of chilies.

Back to Palm Beach but didn’t have much lunch and little to drink. Around 7.00pm started to sweat and dry reach. Had a long shower and went to bed reasonably early on an empty stomach. I slept quite well and drank water throughout the night. I woke up better Sunday morning and had no more upset stomach. Doctor Kerrie reckons I was very dehydrated, and I think she was right.

Sunday 21 December. Up to Kurrawa Beach to meet up with Paul and Louise and Alani. Had coffee while Alani and Paul had some breakfast. Went for a stroll around the markets before strolling back to the cars. Ours was about a ten-minute walk away. Slow but moving traffic for a lot of the way back to Palm Beach. Lunch then Christmas shopping for Ingrid and Ben on Amazon.

Monday 22 December. Meeting to set up new Strata committee and OK monthly payments rise…more to follow here, I think. After meeting lunch at Cheryl’s place…Lemon Greek Chicken and Strawberries and Ice Cream. To soothe the pain of the monthly Strata payments cost rise, I think. Check out the Christmas fridge stocks…plenty of zits gathering there.

Tuesday 23 December. Back down to Happy Valley to help out neighbour with Visa applications for upcoming trip in 2026. Not a quick process but managed to get first two completed. Finish last two in early January.

Wednesday 24 December. Chaos day as far as shopping is concerned. Got up early and ventured across the border to Tweed Heads. Good Guys…forget it. Tweed City…don’t even try. Bunnings…Plenty of car parks…Go figure. Next stop Coolangatta…parking no problem. To the Post Office to get some stamps…we were the only customers in the queue. Posted some mail to Darwin, checked out Chemist Warehouse and then shouted ourselves a coffee. After coffee down to Woolies to get a few supplies. It would seem to be busiest place in town. Then back to Palm Beach house. Later in afternoon stroll down to the beach, take a few photos and enjoy the sand and sea. Pizzas done in the Air fryer for dinner followed by a little bit of TV and reasonably early shut eye.

Thursday 25 December. Very quiet day for John and Kerrie. Video catchups with Darwin mob and their English counterparts. Unwrapping of presents from Darwin mob. Voucher from England for lunch at Surf Club. A generally relaxing kind of day. Another pleasant beach stroll before dinner. Simple Roast Chicken and baked veggies with gravy.

Friday 26 December. Time for John and Kerrie to get their shared Christmas present… a new Nespresso machine which also includes frother. After some earlier technical difficulties it was all systems go. On way back from The Good Guys we stopped at Coolangatta and visited Woolworths for some food and drinks. Had a coffee near the beach before heading back. Nice and cruisey with not too many crowded areas. The big tourist rush will get into full swing over the next week.

Saturday 27 December. Overcast kind of day. Early walk up to Coles to stock up food supplies. Coffee at shop afterwards. Easy walk back via lake walk. Late brunch/lunch back at unit. Sausages, eggs, bacon on fresh BBQ tear and share. Afternoon nap followed by stroll to beach…. overcast and cool…a few more photos to add to collection. Too much TV – two Brokenwood Mysteries and some Big Bash.

Sunday 28 December. Off early to Tweed Mall to buy some new tee shirts compliments of Darwin Mob gift card. Not to many people there and easy parking. Kerrie got her new Diary for 2026. Bought a few items from Coles before heading back up towards Palm Beach. Coolangatta was very busy. Kirra was just one big carpark. It seems obvious that all those incoming planes yesterday successfully disgorged their packed in holiday makers. After that an easy run back to Palm Beach and the relative calm of Laguna Avenue. Walk down to beach …John couldn’t take any pics because he forgot to put the SD card back into the camera…. the aging process perhaps.

Monday 29 December. The big power outage at the unit. Finally tracked the issue down after a couple of hours. Didn’t need an electrician. Kerrie went on a trip down to Pines to get a few cheap tools to fix handle on Air Fryer. Bought fresh bread and basic supplies. After lunch John walked to Coles and bought lots of chocolate and Soda Water. Fish and Potato gems for dinner. Not much on TV. Watched another Brokenwood Mysteries.

Tuesday 30 December. Down to HV to water plants and John sorting files. On way out stop in town while Kerrie posts card to Bella and John goes to chemist to get Macular pills. Next stop Tumbulgum Pub where we had our delayed Christmas lunch, Courtesy of Ben, Ingy and Bella. Back to Palm Beach…slow trip through Coolangatta and Kirra…too many Holidaymakers. Beach stroll this afternoon to walk off lunch.

Wednesday 31 December. Back down to HV to try and do some work on shower base. Definitely need something to soften the paint on the base like a hairdryer or heat gun. Stopped off at Cheryl’s on way back for tea/coffee and some refreshments. Couple of sausage rolls from pie shop before heading back to Palm Beach. No beach stroll…too many people down there for evening.

Thursday 1 January. Happy New Year. Not too many resolutions...so not too many disappointments to follow. Up for early morning walk. Didn’t get too far – really high tide. Got a few pics. Back home for breakfast, eggs on toast. After breakfast Kerrie off to shops to get a few things while I successfully used the Ryobi electric mower to mow back section of unit. Went for walk this afternoon back down to beach…up to northern end. Back for cheese and bickies and early showers to get damp sand off. Kerrie didn’t want any dinner so I had 2 pieces of fish and coleslaw with lemon on a sandwich. Hot bloody night so somewhat restless sleep.

Friday 2 January. Woke to sound of rain which petered out by around 7.30 am. Going to Coolangatta later this morning to get a few supplies and maybe go to Top Noodle for lunch. Also, cash in scratchies that will pay for meal. Top Noodle had people queued out the doors. Cashed in scratchies at News agency - $13 less bought a $2 one so $11 in hand. Had a coffee at regular spot. We went to Woolies and bought some supplies including chicken which does us for lunch and dinner. Rain comes back after lunch so no afternoon beach walk. Quiet night watching some BBL and another Brokenwood mystery. Time to start getting organized for tomorrow’s departure.

Saturday 3 January. Wet start to our final day at Palm Beach. Cleaning, washing, packing - where did all this stuff come from? Some fairly impressive clouds on the sunrise horizon. All packed by just after midday so time to head off. Soon on the M! carpark but sort of kept crawling along for about 10 minutes. Then all of a sudden free-flowing traffic. One of life's unsolved mysteries. Front driver's side blinker decided to blow so add another thing to the list. Got two of the last three pies remaining at the Murwillumbah bakery - exotic combination - one asparagus and the other curried beef. Got to the unit under threatening skies, quickly unpacked and then 10 spots of rain...wow. Leftovers for dinner and finally reached the bed just before midnight. Great to be in our own bed again.

Sunday 4 January. Waking up in Happy Valley seemed a bit strange...then I realised that the relentless traffic noise from Palm Beach was not there. Kerrie headed off walking at 6.00 and I took the opportunity to have a nice long shower and even trimmed my beard. Kerrie set up the new coffee pod machine which meant that the old machine has now been demoted to a spot in the garage. About 1.00pm we had our first downpour for the day and had showers on and off for the next few hours - perfect conditions for a grandpa nap...only for an hour mind you. Refreshed enough for me to do some file sorting from our Beach residential - only took 200 pics - probably about 5 that I consider worthwhile printing. Another meal tonight of leftovers from the beach stay.... it's OK they are all frozen. Main task for tomorrow will be more computer room cleanup. Likely to be much pain and gnashing of teeth.

Monday 5 January. The 6 am sky tells me that this is going to be a good day. Up and showered while Kerrie went on her morning walk with Cheryl and her dog and one or two others. Wasn't so good when I discovered that we had just about eaten ourselves out of sustenance. Not to worry - a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits will sustain me until I go down to the shops and do some reprovisioning. Got down to the shops about 9.45 and bought all the products that were on my list. Back home and time for late breakfast - fresh multigrain bread, tray of chipolatas, big breakfast brownie eggs lots of tomato sauce and English Breakfast tea to wash it all down. Excellent. Inspired by the full belly I decided I should try and replace the blown indicator bulb on the Subaru. Almost unbelievably I got the job 90% complete. Just had to get the mechanic at Subaru to get the new bulb tightened in. His finger work had the job completed in 15 seconds. Booked in the car for its next service - earliest time 28 January. I have to assist neighbour Rita with some more paperwork for her big boat trip in March. I even found all the notes from our last planning session so we should finalise all the paperwork tomorrow. I can hear thunder rumbling in the distance and can smell the Lasagne that Kerrie has just prepared so looks like time to finish today's ramble. Enjoy.

Tuesday 6 January. Today was always going to be a do your head in kind of day. Rita and I spent 3+ hours trying to create visas for two of the stops on her sea voyage. By lunch time we were brain dead, so we decided to re-commence work on Friday morning. We are probably two thirds of the way through so it should be finished Friday morning. After resting my brain for a while and making some lunch I wandered down the steps and was greeted by a beautiful young, blue-tongued lizard. She was kind enough to pose for me before heading into the scrub. Made my day.

Wednesday 7 January. Had to go and buy a few provisions this morning. Trying to get enough food so that we can cook up meals that can be used a couple of days in a row. Went to Specialised Chicken and stocked up on fresh chicken breasts. Got creative in the kitchen this afternoon and it looks like we will be enjoying Butter Chicken for at least the next two nights. Haven't had it for ages but as they say - a change is as good as a holiday.

Thursday 8 January. Finally got around to doing some work in the veggie garden. Two of the Truggs are serviceable so spread five bags of potting mix on them ... will need another four. I shall go down and get them on Saturday. The habanero chilli plant in one of them is now into its third season and already covered in chillies. Not visible in the pic is patch of Turmeric. Will keep that going and actually harvest some this year. It grows like a weed once established. The shade cloth is covering the worm farm and despite looking untidy it does a great job of keeping the soil in the worm farm at an excellent temperature that hardly varies. Will be plenty of worm wee available for seedlings when they are planted.

Friday 9 January. Apart from the fact that we have to start packing for our next house-sitting job from Sunday we also quietly celebrated the arrival of John's 75th birthday. A couple of really tender steaks and vegetables and a sponge cake topped with strawberries - the older you get the simpler your needs become. Time to start enjoying the simple things in life like the wonderfully coloured and differently sized pills you take to start the day. Memories don't come flooding back. More like a slow-moving flow of events that occurred in your childhood. After that you were too busy enjoying yourself to remember too much about it. When you wake up in the morning that's your first bonus of the day - even better if you can remember where you are.

Saturday 10 January. Spent daylight hours helping a neighbour to download a corrected version of a visa for a trip that they will be going on in March. By the end of the day, we knew the process from every way you could look at it but we always fell at the last hurdle. Very frustrating when you know that there is just one issue causing the problem, but you cannot put your finger on it. We decided to take a day off from it and come back with a fresh approach on Monday.

Sunday 11 January. Getting organised for our house sit at Tugun which starts from this afternoon. Having learnt from our previous experiences in this area we seem to have developed an overall strategy that ensures that we only take a useable amount of gear and it all fits in the back storage area of the car - almost - some overloading but not nearly as bad. I will tell you how we really went next week.

Monday 12 January. Back down to Murwillumbah for Pickleball at 0900. Followed up with a trip to the doctor to get a form completed to say that I am capable of driving a vehicle in a manner that makes the road a safe place for other users. Have to get further certification from my optometrist tomorrow following my diagnosis of Wet Macular Degeneration in my right eye. Current treatment involves a program of eye injections in the eye to control the disease. Hopefully the need for this treatment will be able to be spaced over longer time intervals. At the moment they are monthly. On a brighter note my neighbour and myself I worked out the issue with the visa and completed the process and issued with the visa today. We have printed copies to prove it. We are supposed to be getting some wet weather this week especially on Tuesday. What do you do on the Gold Coast when you buy a caravan and have nowhere to park it on your houseblock? Todays pic answers that question.

Tuesday 13 January. Kerrie took Frankie the guard dog for her morning walk while I made some breakfast and had a shower. Off down to Happy Valley again via Kirra Pies to purchase a couple of beef and bacon pies and a huge blueberry and apple turnover. Lunch sorted for today. Stopped at MArts for morning coffee. after a bit of running around and lunch was time for John to go and see Optometrist Emma who filled in her part of the form for Motor Registry to finalise my licence renewal application. She sent it off electronically to them. Left Happy Valley around 3.45 pm and arrived back at Tugun around 3.25 pm. Isn't daylight saving great.... not. Big Bash cricket on tv tonight...an excellent remedy for putting you in the mood to sleep.

Wednesday 14 January. After Frankies morning walk and John's beautifully prepared breakfast we ventured up to Deidre's place at Palm Beach and watered all her indoor and shaded plants. Fortunately, the rain last night sorted out the rest of the garden. Next stop Currumbin Beach or as near as we could get to it. Coffee at the usual spot while you sit and watch the avid beach users. They are keen - fresh southerly breeze at about15 knots but still quite warm around 24C.After coffee head back to Tugun residence and have a sleep for an hour before lunch. Exotic tuna and salt and pepper chip sandwich. Kerrie cleaned up the rest of the fridge leftovers. Tried to decide about dinner. In the end I went down to IGA and got some steak and onions and pumpkin. Back home a vegetate for an hour or so on the lounge. After all this is our summer holiday...house sitting near the beach does have plenty of side benefits.

Thursday 15 January. Kerrie out walking Frankie early. Around 9.30 off to Coolangatta for food shopping, meds for Kerrie's Hay Fever, some mats for the front of the Subaru, and of course a cup of coffee. Back home for lunch - various creations filling the fresh bread rolls. After lunch big walk down to Currumbin Beach. Middle of the day is not the best time for walking like this. John cooked burgers for dinner and they were delicious.

Friday 16 January. Awakened at 4.00am by strange smell and a bit of a light show through one of the bedroom windows. Very spectacular lightshow not that far away. Turns out that a large 2 storey house was going up in flames. It was only a couple of hundred metres away as the crow flies, Managed a few pics that if anything shows what a bright show it was. No-one was injured. After all this early morning excitement time for Frankies walk with Kerrie and getting ready for the trip back to Happy Valley to mainly catch up on paperwork. A few things along the way: go to ANZ bank at Coolangatta and get new security measures etc. up to date. The staff in this branch were really helpful. Off to Happy Valley just before Midday but as we approached SCALES fish and chip shop John couldn't control himself so over to the shop we went and ordered a crumbed Snapper meal with chips and a potato scallop for John. We have not had fish and chips like this since forever. It was delicious. Next stop Happy Valley. Our Unit benefitted from being opened up and having a good fresh air through it. Got most of our tasks done and headed back to Tugun. Bloody hot back at Tugun and it was hard to get motivated. John had a quick nap that lasted over an hour and a half. Light dinner after our fish and chip exploits, and in to bed at a very ordinary hour.

Saturday 17 January. Up at 5.00 because I couldn't sleep. Daylight saving or lack of it is a pain in the arse. Did check a few things online ... very easy when you very fast Fibre to the premises. After breakfast and because we were sort of on holidays we decided to walk down to Cornerstone for morning coffee - as did half the surrounding population. We did manage a corner table from where we could watch would be customers looking for table space. After coffee and cake, we walked back home and just sat on our arses like the oldies we are. I chased up a few things on the laptop. But that made me think that a big lie down is the correct course of action after a light lunch. Slept for about an hour. Decided to go up to Deidre's place and water inside and out. We then walked up to Coles and got a few supplies. Pizza for dinner tonight if we learn how to make the oven work. Very dark skies over to the west. Some drizzly type rain but nothing to get too excited about. Quick trip back from Deidre's place to Tugun - all of 6 minutes. Cup of tea and hot cross buns for afternoon tea. Crap night on TV - ended up on YouTube which had a few reasonable choices. In bed well before the Witching hour.

Sunday 18 January. Wake up to grey skies and drizzle. After breakfast head down to Happy Valley to do some computer work and paying some bills. Couldn't miss the Giant Anthurium flowering at the front door. Might even get some seeds at this rate. Left just before lunchtime and got fuel at Tweed Heads. Stopped at Coolangatta and did a bit of a Woolies shop. Fried Chipotle sausages and fresh bread for lunch. Kerrie took Frankie for an afternoon walk. Marinated pork cooked in the fry pan for dinner tonight. Big night of YouTube tonight because there is only rubbish on free-to-air. In bed by 10.00.

Monday 19 January. Overcast and showery. Leisurely stroll down to Cornerstone for our last coffee before leaving to go back to Happy Valley. Kerrie decided to get some washing in and jagged it with some good breaks in between showers. Packed up and left around 3.00pm as Bonnie and kids would be back around 6.00pm. Back home just after 4.00pm and looking forward to our own bed tonight. Potato Gems, peas and sausages for dinner. In bed by 10.00pm.

Tuesday 20 January. Start of medical merry-go-round for the week. Dropped off Kerrie at Vinnies on my way up to Tweed Heads and my Skin Doctor Chris. No new issues just keep up some current treatments for keratosis. Otherwise, all good. Do some chicken shopping at wholesalers on way back. Stop at Sunnyside and get some more bread and some curry paste. Even remembered the bananas for the worm farm...round about a kilo a week. Made up some Butter Chicken and noodles for dinner. Even remembered to pick up Kerrie from Vinnies. Watched BBL semi-final and in bed just after 10.00pm.

Wednesday 21 January. Needle in the eye day for my wet Macular Degeneration. This will be the second needle. This will be an afternoon job. Feed the worms this morning and water the Truggs...mainly Chillies and Turmeric. Needle went well and celebrated with coffee for Kerrie and Iced Chocolate for John. Next needle scheduled for 18 February. I can hardly wait.

Thursday 22 January. Kerrie up at 5.45 for her dog walking with Cheryl and friends. Back to Happy Valley at 8.30. Had to take umbrella...still a few showers hanging around from last night. Morning coffee at MArts along with Portuguese tart. We have decided on a once-a-week trip for coffee at MArts as we now have our own pod machine. This afternoon in response to a bank request I attempted to update my contact details...it would only take a couple of minutes. An hour later and after talking to someone overseas and then someone in Australia my address and phone details were finally sorted. It was a warm day that seemed to get hotter by the minute. Any way all sorted now.... I hope.

Friday 23 January. Today was transcribing day = all my notes from our recent house sitting at Tugun. Makes you realise how easily you forget things. Only takes a few minutes each evening to put down a few notes from what has happened that day. If our laptop just had a bit more grunt, I could use that while away but unfortunately you have to work with what does the job for you and in this case it is pen and paper. You know that you're back in Murwillumbah just by looking skyward most days. Always something interesting. This display was served up yesterday.

Saturday 24 January. Up at 5.00am after a solid 7-hour uninterrupted sleep. Obviously, my brain was exhausted from all the computer work yesterday. Early morning shop to Coles and the chemist. Back home to finish off Blog for Friday. Homemade bacon and egg roll for breakfast to get me going for the day. Drop off some books to Julia in the afternoon - just in time for afternoon tea. Talked about upcoming Writers Group for Term One. Cooked up hamburgers and plenty of salad for tea.

Sunday 25 January. Uncomfortable sleep and awake around 4.00am and dozing until 6.30 when I finally got out of bed. Already it was hot and still. Turned on oscillating fan in lounge area...some minor relief. Did a bit more computer work.... finding out how many sites I still have with GoDaddy and getting a timetable to either cancel them or transfer them to VentraIP. Not very exotic lunch - the weather doesn't encourage eating. Tried to sleep after lunch. Did manage about an hour and a half. Felt even more crappy after sleep. Heated up some crumbed and spicy chicken pieces along with Singapore noodles for dinner. Started watching the big bash final on TV. most exciting bit was when it rained heavily for about 5 minutes. Went to bed when it was obvious that the Scorchers were going to win. Very ordinary kind of day.

Monday 26 January. Australia Day. Kerrie off walking at 0615. Message from Pickleball to say that despite the public holiday games would be on at 0900. Had a shower and put on my Pickle gear. Rang Kerrie and told her what I was doing. She got home and told me I was a bloody idiot. It was already quite hot, but I did take plenty of water and hydrolyte. Had an enjoyable hour playing...sweated like a pig and drank a shitload of the water and hydrolyte. Back home and time for a second shower and change of clothes. Did manage to get my pulse rate up a bit. Slowly came down to normal. Won't be doing too much exercise for the rest of the day. Just keeping cool in the house.

Wednesday 28 January. Nothing to report on about yesterday except that Kerrie was at Vinnies all day and I was assisting a neighbour who was having a problem with a computer. Today was much more exciting. Started the day with dropping the Subaru off for a service. Not too many issues. Asked them to adjust the handbrake. Picked up the Subaru around 1.00pm and parked it in Queen Street carpark while I fronted up for my Aged Care Assessment Plan. First of all, had about 30 minutes with the Care Plan nurse who put me through a number of physical tests as well as Cognitive tests. Then I had something I hadn't experienced before an ECG or Electrocardiogram. Setting it up took longer than the test itself. After that it was time to see my treating doctor who went through all the test results with me - both physical and mental. It appears that I am in reasonable shape physically and mentally. Nice to be able to talk to a doctor who can explain things in layman's language. A great experience.

Thursday 29 January. Trip up to Tweed City with neighbour Rita who had to sort out an issue with Telstra. Trying to do it over the phone and through their App was a waste of time. Fortunately, they had plenty of staff available and she was seen to immediately. The issue was sorted out in under 15 minutes. Next stop was Coolangatta where Rita had to invest in a couple of local currencies for her upcoming cruise. We managed to jag a park directly opposite the currency exchange and everything was transacted in under ten minutes. To celebrate our run of good luck we went to a coffee shop just outside the Strand and enjoyed a coffee or two. Just one of those days where everything went smoothly.

Friday 30 January. Driving through Bray Park this morning I couldn't resist calling into the fish, prawn and vegetable shed. Haven't had prawns for ages so decided to splurge and got a kilo of fresh ocean cooked prawns. They had only been caught yesterday. What better meal for Friday night than prawn and salad rolls. Even better...still enough prawns for lunch tomorrow. A seafood feast 2 days in a row.

Saturday 31 January. Last day of a month that has been punctuated by visits to practitioners from the world of medicine. Must be something to do with auspicious birthdays. Well, that is my story and I'm sticking to it. Over to the Veggie Garden. Before sorting the worms time to pick some of the Habanero chillies in the end Trugg. Unripe habaneros are green, and they colour as they mature. The most common colour variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. Habanero chilis are very hot, rated 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale. The habanero heat, flavour, and floral aroma make it a common ingredient in hot sauces and other spicy foods. Will dehydrate them on Sunday and keep them to feed to unwelcome visitors. Visited my worm friends in my worm farm and gave them six sliced up Cavendish bananas which should keep them happy for a week. will also collect a new batch of worm wee next visit. Plants on our verandas will be the recipients. The life of the urban farmer continues.

Sunday 1 February. Warm sunny day.... what could be better than lunch by the Tweed River at Murwillumbah? We shared a seafood platter that just about stopped us but pleased to report in the end nothing was wasted ... didn't have any evening meal tonight - just a cup of tea.

Monday 2 February. First apology. The pic here should be for 3 February. The pic for 3 February should be for 2 February. Hope that confuses you sufficiently. Pickleball at 9.00 this morning. Finished up soaking wet from sweat. Spent a few more hours with Rita trying to sort out online Visa applications. Phoned relevant Consulate in Sydney for some advice regarding our particular issue. Helpful Consulate official gave us good advice on issue that was causing concern so we decided we would give it another try on Wednesday.

Tuesday 3 February. At 3.00am this morning I woke up and remembered the password for my main email account. Struggled out of bed and quickly wrote it down. Had Writers' Group on at 11.00 and just as I was about to leave the unit I got a call from Rita. She told me that she had contacted her Cruise Line Office and was told that she didn't need a Visa for last port of call. All relevant visas have now been obtained. A big weight lifted. Really enjoyed Writers' Group after this news.

Wednesday 4 February. Woke up again at 3.00am with a sore lower back. Had to do a bit of thinking about what could be causing that. Took a couple of Panadols and got Kerrie to give my back a good covering of Deep Heat. Cast my mind back to Monday when I played a solid hour of Pickleball and then proceeded to sit in front of the computer for almost 4 hours. Thinking that these two circumstances could have combined to let me know that I am no longer 20 years old. Not the most ergonomic computer chair ever designed. At least I got to watch the beautiful sunrise.

Thursday 5 February. Kerrie headed off at 6.00am to join Cheryl and puppy dog Tuppy for a morning walk. John stayed in bed as long as he could before getting up and making himself a cup of black tea to blow the cobwebs away. Kerrie got back from walking around 0830. We headed off for the skin doctor Chris (pictured) at Tweed for an 11.30 appointment. We got there early and fortunately Kerrie got in early for her appointment. No major issues and just 2 or 3 spots got the liquid nitrogen treatment. Next stop Coolangatta where John had to collect some scratchie money and shout Kerrie at a coffee at the Strand. John had an iced chocolate drink. Uneventful trip back to Happy Valley. Kerrie went to the Nursey and bought some plants to give to Cheryl for her birthday. We went around to her place for afternoon tea and got back home just in time to pay some bills on the computer and start to get dinner ready. The pensioner action never stops....

Friday 6 February. As part of Ingrid's birthday present, we have been working on getting together some pics for enlargement which we can give her as a belated birthday present when she is over here in May. It will be a lot easier for her to take them back in a mailing tube than trying to send them by post. I'll be taking up some of the first pics to Wades World to get them printed this coming week.

Saturday 7 February. Saturday morning treat...coffee and cake at MArts. Got down there before 10 only to find that it was the Saturday that they have a clothing sale there.... mainly casual women's clothing and tee-shirts. Not to worry, we found comfortable seating and were soon into our coffee and Portuguese tart. Just as we were finishing our coffee a couple of friends showed up so we became a foursome and proceeded to solve all the problems affecting our lives. My friend Rod and I usually refer to it as Frock Shop Saturday. All in all though a very pleasant way to spend Saturday morning.

Sunday 8 February. Slept in until after 8am. I was a total sloth today. Everything was like a major effort. Even had a sleep for an hour after lunch. I did spend a couple of hours on the computer preparing a lesson for Writer's Group on 17 February. The cap off my lazy day I cooked up a Coles brand pizza for dinner. To say it was very average would be the kindest description. Tried to stay up late.... didn't work. I was in z land by 10.00pm.

Monday 9 February. Managed to get myself out of bed at a reasonable hour and get my slack arse down to Pickleball at 9.00am. Ran around like a hairy ape for over an hour and sweated like a pig. Great group of people and we had an excellent time. Little bit of shopping on way home at Coles and everybody gave me a wide berth. Back home and my second shower for the day. Gave my brain some exercise by doing my homework for Writer's Group. A slight behavioural improvement over yesterday's day of sloth.

Tuesday 10 February. Off to Writer's Group this morning. Nine people today...males represented by Neville and John. One of the main topics to be discussed today was "foreshadowing" in novels. Foreshadowing is a literary device in which an author gives an advance hint of events that will occur later in the story. It’s like planting seeds of information that bloom into significant plot points. It doesn’t necessarily reveal the future, but it provides clues or signals. Effective foreshadowing feels organic to the story rather than like a blunt announcement. Many different pieces of information can often introduce 'red herrings'. After two hours in the airconditioned library we steeped out into a blanket of humid air. Reminded me of Darwin. Maybe the aircon in the library could be set a little warmer.

Wednesday 11 February. John goes to the big smoke...well Coolangatta really. Kerrie was working in the Happy Valley store for the afternoon, so John was on his best behaviour. First stop was Chemist Warehouse - commonly spelt "Chemist Whorehouse". An add on TV on Tuesday night advertised the Macu Vision Capsules I have to take at half-price. Sure enough there they were sitting on the shelf ... 4 months of capsules for the price of 2 months. Can't look a gift horse in the mouth. Next over to Wades World to see Jacquie and organise for an enlargement. Plenty of camera gear in the shop that I can't afford. Next stop the coffee shop that makes a really excellent iced Chocolate drink. And finally, up the escalator to Woolworths to see what bargains might be available. I left the store empty handed. Back in Murwillumbah by 4.00pm. The adventures never stop.

Thursday 12 February. Hottest day of the New Year so far. Not a breath of wind, a slow build-up of cloud around 4.00pm. Temperature at 2.00pm was 36.5C. Hot inside the unit, hot outside, hot everywhere and just about anything you touched was hot. By 5.00pm the sky was covered in dark grey fast-moving clouds and around 6.00pm the rain had started with only a few muffled sounds of thunder. The showers kept up all night as did the wind....

Friday 13 February. Woke up around 6.00am. Unusually dark for this time and the rain was now accompanied by virtually non-stop lightning. Modem and electrical all removed from power switches. Mobile phones used to keep in touch with Weather Bureau site. Mid-afternoon I did manage to get up to the worm farm and feed them without getting too soaked. The pic shows the lightning activity around the place. Maximum temperature today was 24C. No wonder people are starting to go a little troppo.

Saturday 14 February. Weather not nearly as wet with only a few scattered showers and storms. Spent some time on the phone to my ISP regarding a problem with uploading to this site. The issue was tagged but meantime I have to make notes so that when the issue is solved, I can write something for the appropriate days. Waiting game now.

Sunday 15 February. A good day for working on my Writers Group presentation that is due on Tuesday. Collecting and printing pictures and notes took care of most of today's daylight hours. Did remember that it was St. Valentines' day but just as quickly forgot about it...but remembered later and went down to the shops and bought a 2 bob Cadburys Dairy Milk chocolate translated means a block that is almost 80 grams lighter than the original and now costs 6-7 dollars. I am getting really old I think.

Monday 16 February. Active day today...Pickleball at 9.00am and then back to help neighbour with her final lot of information for her big World Cruise starting in 2 weeks. Spent most of the afternoon catching up on the blog and transferring notes to website. Will sleep well tonight.

Tuesday 17 February. John's big presentation to Writers Group on the subjects of photography and Photo essays. Went for the full session and plenty of interaction and discussion. I was exhausted by the end of session. Rewarded myself with a Cauliflower and corn pie on way home. Bacon, egg and salad burgers for dinner.

Wednesday 18 February. On way up to Ophthalmologist treated to lots of different cloud formations. Plenty of people at ophthalmologists - full waiting room. Didn't have to wait too long. Eye test and pressure check followed by third eye injection for Wet Macular degeneration. I get 6 weeks off now...next injection not due until 2 April. So far so good

Thursday 19 February. This Sundog photo is another one taken yesterday. A sundog appears in the sky when sunlight shines through tiny ice crystals suspended in the air. In this area we often have spectacular cloud formations. Can't beat the beauty of nature...you just have to keep your eyes open.

Friday 20 February. Still some eye irritation after Wednesday's injection but appears to be improving. Not bad enough to stop me going to Coles and picking up a few housekeeping items. Even got some mince and Taco shells. Kerrie did the cooking and we had Tacos for dinner. I think I prefer the Fajita kits, but they seem to always sell out first. Taco shells maybe a bit too crunchy for old people like me. In bed by 9.30.

Saturday 21 February. After Kerrie returned from her walk this morning, we headed off for our Saturday coffee vigil at MArts. The markets were on in the park across from MArts so it was fairly peaceful in our coffee area. Ran into one or two other associates. After coffee we headed over to one of the craft shops and caught up with another Happy Valley resident Malcolm. He specialises in artworks detailing local places and sites. He sells his paintings with regularity and has an appreciative group of followers.

Sunday 22 February. What better way to start your Sunday than a trip to Tweed Shire's Stott Creek dump. It is in the middle of major renovations so with guidance from the people on the entry gate you actually do find out where to take your load. I had 2 old u/s Computer monitors and some old lithium-ion batteries - mainly from cameras. Got directed to the battery area first where I didn't even have to get out of the car - one of the workers came over and said he would deal with them. Next stop was the e-waste section where I just had to unload the monitors in a wide cage with the help of another worker. Then back to the weighbridge where I was waved through because e-waste is free. A good start to my Sunday.

Monday 23 February. Must be Pickleball time. Got myself ready in plenty of time and headed off down to the courts. The rain started about halfway there and kept on coming down until the courts were unplayable. A bloody awful start to the day and it only got progressively worse and even included me taking next door neighbour to casualty at the hospital with a suspected kidney stone. Some days you shouldn't bother to get out of bed.

Tuesday 24 February. Writer's Group at the Library today where we looked at band writing and how to spice it up. We all had to bring some of our own writing that could do with some spicing up and show our before and after efforts. A quite introspective session but plenty of good fun. On the way home I called into Coles and got a few ingredients from Coles and cooked up a dish of Indian Korma for dinner with the assistance of Mr. Patak. I carefully followed the instructions, and it turned out just as it was supposed to. Sometimes you have a win...

Wednesday 25 February. With Kerrie still recuperating from her sore back I took myself to the Tweed Regional Art Gallery to check out a new exhibition by Anne Zahalka who is a highly regarded photo-media artist. The exhibition invites audiences and individuals into the artist's working life and creative process to explore the illusionary worlds for which she is renowned. I got there early and virtually had the whole exhibition to myself. Great way to start the day.

Thursday 26 February. John's big Admin Day. Look in your bills folder and watch your pension payment from this week start to disappear before your very eyes. Time to invest in a few more tins of Baked Beans. Catch up time on the blog as well...funny how I suddenly feel the need for an afternoon nap. A few showers starting to appear on the horizon today... probably a dry run for tomorrow.

Friday 27 February, Plenty of small showers last night and looks like we're in for a dull day. Had to go and pay the Council Rates for this quarter. Did a good job of avoiding the showers. Got a few supplies from shops for the next few days. Fajitas for dinner tonight. The kits were half-price so that helped sort out the dinner conundrum for Friday night's feast. Heavy showers have starting to regularly pass over, and we now have a thunderstorm warning. Rain keeping the place at a comfortable temperature. Only 22 degrees. Excellent sleeping weather.

Saturday 28 February. Welcome to last day of February. What better way to celebrate than the regular Saturday morning coffee and cake at MArts. Very quiet morning but at least it wasn't raining while we were there. The Portuguese tart was fresh and delicious. The coffee was just the right temperature and no people with their dogs. Afternoon was spent trying to do my Writer's Group homework and going over to Henry and Rita's to get keys and instructions while we look after their unit over the next 8 weeks or so. Will have to be up early in the morning to get them to the airport.

Sunday 1 March 2026. Up early to get ready to take Henry and Rita up to Gold Coast Airport. Rotten night's sleep... one of those nights when you wake up on the hour and checking the time. Easy trip up to the airport with hardly any traffic. Unloaded in a nice quiet area and Kerrie assisted Rita and Henry while I went and got a car park. Check-in went nice and problem-free. Once Rita and Henry were settled, we began our trip back to Happy Valley via the Kirra Pie Shop. I had a delicious beef, cheese and onion pie while Kerrie had a custard tart. A well-earned reward for both of us. Homemade Chicken Korma for dinner with rice...our reward for a big day that actually went with no hiccups...apart from having to pay some bills online...always hurts.

Monday 2 March. The day started with this magnificent sunrise cloud formation. An hour later Pickleball was cancelled due to rain showers. Looks like I'll be giving Thursday morning a go this week. So, what else to do other some food shopping? Kerrie accompanied me and we managed to have a very harmonious shopping experience despite different approaches to the task. Ended up with sausages and salad for dinner - that was all we really needed because we had finished the Chicken Korma for lunch and there was a fair bit of it. Nothing going to waste.

Tuesday 3 March. Big celebrations in Darwin today to celebrate Simon's birthday. Born in Tennant Creek all those years ago and still living in the Territory. What do you give people for their birthdays when you don't want Australia Post to lose your parcel or take a month to deliver it? You send them a voucher. no guessing which shop this voucher was for. Happy Birthday Simon

Wednesday 4 March. Today I decided to check the charge on my Cameras and my Video recorder. All were in need of recharging to some extent. The 2 cameras are Nikons, and the video camera is a Panasonic. I could vaguely recall sorting out all my charging devices 4 or 5 months ago and carefully putting them in a convenient and easily accessible place. Big mistake of course. Anyway, after a half hour search, I finally found them neatly put in a drawer directly behind where I sit on the computer. Of course, each device had a different charger, but I was able to quickly sort that out. # hours later all batteries were back to full charge, and the chargers are now safe in their dedicated drawer. As I get older and sillier I think the next logical step will be to put a list on the outside of each draw, detailing the contents therein, I'll just have to remember to create the list.

Thursday 5 March. This week we experienced a Blood Moon. We will not see another one in this neck of the woods for 3 years. Lots of amateur astronomers including myself tried to record the event. Very hard to set up from ideal viewing areas and without timers and tripods. Observing events such as this really make you realise just how insignificant that we are in the overall scheme of things.

Friday 6 March. Another on again/off again kind of weather day. Drizzle then no rain for 10 or so minutes then light drizzle for another few minutes. Around lunchtime i really felt like some nice hot chips with plenty of chicken salt...I know it's not healthy, but you have to take a risk sometimes. Kerrie told me that she thought the takeaway just across from Happy Valley was no longer operating. Being the great risk taker that I am I said that I would go across and check the situation out. Just in case I took a 5 dollar note with me. I got over there and it was open. With a smile on my face, I went in and ordered five dollars of hot chips with plenty of chicken salt. Ten minutes later I was back home and went straight to the kitchen. I told Kerrie that the shop was definitely open and hot chips were on my lunch menu. Now what to accompany this lunchtime delight? I then remembered a pack of mini pizzas that I had in the freezer. 11 minutes later I not only had my chips, but a mini pizza cooked to perfection in the air fryer. Now that's a great Friday lunch if ever there was one. And I even let Kerrie have some of my chips.

Saturday 7 March. Our Saturday morning pilgrimage to the MArts coffee shop. Got some comfortable old seats and I ordered our coffees along with a healthy Portuguese Tart. Was busy because it was frock Saturday when lots of ladies come and sell off ladies' clothing. Always plenty of customers ready to part with their money. We were joined by a few friends and despite the coming and goings of the frock buyers and lookers we had a very pleasant couple of hours. A little shop for a few essentials from Coles across the road and we were home at lunchtime ready for a sandwich and a lie down after our extremely busy morning. Tough life I know but someone has to do it.

Sunday 8 March. Wet miserable day - the portents were not good for Pickleball tomorrow. Yesterday I noticed that a couple of indicator displays remained on after the car was started. This morning, I had to go down to the shops for one or two things that I had forgotten yesterday. I started the car and sure enough the engine warning light and the traction control light and the cruise control light were all beaming brightly. I drove down to the shops and the lights remained on. Everything was working so I put it down to one of the quirks that this vehicle has. I shall investigate tomorrow.

Monday 9 March. After a big night's sleep set to a background of rain on the roof and road, I felt like addressing the challenge of the lights of doom that had showed up on the Subaru's instrument cluster...just in case they really were working and I did have a few problems that hadn't yet manifested themselves. First of all, consult Google and more specifically Subaru instrument warning lights. The first suggestion was to open the fuel filling cover and remove the fuel cap and then put it back on. Someone is pulling my leg I thought. After carrying out this procedure I sat in the car and turned on the ignition...the cluster lit up and the 3 warning lights had gone. This vehicle never ceases to amaze me.

Tuesday 10 March. Writer's Group and guest speaker was local author discussing writing and the influence of AI. Discussion on many aspects and its likely effect for creative writers and how it can be used positively to assist you but not necessarily usurp you. Food for thought.

Wednesday 11 March. Occasional showers but plenty of sunshine in between. Hot and sticky. Still time for the Day lily along the path to come out for its short but beautiful flowering display.

Thursday 12 March. Time for John to get off his backside and cook up some dinner after a slack day. The result was a stir-fry dish incorporating breast chicken, Soy sauce, Sweet Soy sauce, Tomatoes, Oyster sauce and Wokka Singapore noodles. No added salt for obvious reasons. Enough left over for lunch tomorrow. Will definitely give this one another go.

Friday 13 March. Started out reasonably fine but as day progressed heavy clouds started to fill the sky. Not before I had time to go down to Service station and top up my tank with some liquid gold and do a bit of subsistence shopping. Stopped on the way back and ventured over to my garden plot and worm farm. Garden is not too brilliant at the moment...plenty of Turmeric if you're into that sort of thing and plenty of chillies. I feed the worms every 7-9 days, and they are officially red wriggler variety. They can consume up to half their body weight in just over a day. At the moment mine eat up to a kilogram of diced bananas each week. I use them mainly for their wee which I collect using a tap at the bottom of the farm. Excellent all round plant fertiliser.

Saturday 14 March. I don't know whether it has been the rain or the slightly cooler nights but today I finally got around to cleaning up my bedside table. It is certainly incredible just how much stuff you can put on top of a flat surface...apparently, I am a hoarder and crammer of stuff whether it be in the house or the garage. For some perverse reason I had an excellent 7-hour sleep last night...maybe my brain felt a bit more relaxed at the sight of something looking like a bedside table and not the local garbage drop-off point.

Sunday 15 March. No big cooking jobs today. Yesterday I dug out the slow cooker and cooked up a nice piece of corned beef from the butchers. Kerrie made some white sauce and combined with some roasted jacket potatoes we had it for dinner last night. Still plenty left over so no guessing what we had for Sunday night's meal. The gift that just keeps on giving. And it tastes just as good as it did yesterday.

Monday 16 March. Finally, a fine Monday morning so off to Pickleball. Only six of us but full-on session. Plenty of chat and some great shots mixed with some rubbish shots and plenty of laughter. Home and time to recover and get the blood pressure back up. Fajitas for dinner compliments of chef Kerrie. Some excellent cloud formations just before dinner.

Tuesday 17 March. Lots of green around. Must be St. Patricks day. We are holding off until Friday night for our celebratory meal at Cheryl's place. Main course will be Guiness Pie homemade by Cheryl with Guiness and about 15 other ingredients...Will be a late breakfast on Saturday.

Wednesday 18 March. Phone call from a friend in the village. Internet not working. Go around this morning and we start from the beginning. All connections are good and we used Hotspot connection and it is working. Ring Telstra go through all the issues with them again and then they set the connection from their end and bingo. We are connected. No explanation from Telstra as to what the issue was. Guess we should at least be happy that Bill is back online.

Thursday 19 March. Time for annual skin check with Dr. Chris. Made sure I left early to beat the traffic. Got there 40 minutes early. Dr Chris got there about half an hour after me. He caught the traffic which just randomly slows to a crawl for no obvious reasons. Skin check was fine and good to go. Next trip in a couple of weeks to the Ophthalmologist to get my next needle treatment for my Macula issue. Am well and truly entrenched on the medical merry-go-round.

Friday 20 March. As mentioned a couple of days ago we had a late celebration meal for St. Patricks Day tonight. Superb Guinness Pie in individual ramekins created by Cheryl with assistance from Kerrie followed by excellent dessert with plenty of green jelly forming the base. After that it was time for the boys (all two of us) to get into some comfortable chairs and watch the football while the ladies sat at the table drinking wine and talking. A very pleasant and comfortable evening.

Saturday 21 March. Recovery day after last night's food extravaganza. Morning coffee at MArts. Delivered pic to Heidi at MArts to give to Malcolm. Sleep after salad sandwich for lunch. Crumbed chicken tenders and Asian Style salad for dinner...not much room for anything else except vanilla ice-cream cone before bedtime.

Sunday 22 March. Our new weather pattern continues. Occasional shower early in the morning followed by heavy cloud buildup after lunch. Then any time after 2.00pm we get either a really heavy shower or storm. Some quite spectacular lightning this afternoon. Gardens are all growing like mad. Not complaining.

Monday 23 March. A fine early morning. Off to Pickleball 9.00am session. Always good friendly fun. Was playing mixed doubles when I received a well hit ball...straight into the front of my neck. They are not a heavy ball, but they sure can sting. That was a first for me. Better my neck than a number of other body parts. Adds to the excitement of the game.

Tuesday 24 March. Writers Group and a look at different writing styles. The in-your-face style used by Ernest Hemingway short, declarative sentences, limited adjectives, and punchy dialogue to create intense was either loved or loathed with one or two participants finding it hard to separate his personal behaviour from his literary accomplishments.

Wednesday 25 March. Up to Tugun for 10 days house-sitting. Lashed out on T-Bones for dinner to get into holiday mode. Full of flavour but not the tenderest steaks we have ever had. Food selection can only get better.

Thursday 26 March. A few of these interesting fungi have put in an appearance at our house-sitting address. Commonly known as Stinkhorn Anemone Fungi they are loved by flies. With good looks like this I don't think there are too many sensible people who have tasted them.

Friday 27 March. After a few weeks of very poor results on my NSW $5.00 Monday scratchie, I decided to give a QLD scratchie a go. Yes, you guessed it...a $10 return for my $5 scratchie. You get that.

Saturday 28 March. Down to Coolangatta to get some shopping done and to play tourist. Cashed in my big $10 winning scratchie at the Strand before heading into Woolies to get some food supplies. Next stop Espresso Cooly for morning tea (if 2 coffees count). Some interesting wool hangings starting to appear on the walls – including the attached photo to this description. Stop at Silly Sollys to get some Microfibre cloths and then back to Tugun. Damned exciting lives we lead.

Sunday 29 March. Time to water Deidre's plants while she is in Bali. Then up to Coles to buy food that we forgot yesterday. Couldn't resist cooked chook sitting in t