DAY ONE - QUARANTINE IN AUSTRALIA

 Today is 'officially' DAY ONE of my Quarantine.  My get out of here day/time will be September 22nd in the afternoon.

So one of the first things I will do today is find out when I can catch a flight to Coffs Harbour... it might have to be on the 23rd of September, depending on when flights go to Coffs Harbour from Sydney.  I will find out.

Now... here's a few photos I took yesterday:

ABOVE:  The VIRTUALLY EMPTY plane!  There were 30 passengers and about 10 flight crew on board.

ABOVE:  Leaving New Zealand... that is the mouth of the Manukau Harbour.

ABOVE:  First view of Sydney, Australia.

ABOVE:  Coming in to land... landing is the worst bit I've decided.

ABOVE:  This was cool.  I watched the progress of our plane all the way over the Tasman Sea.  That's my plane ... about to land.

ABOVE:  This is where I'm staying.  Sadly, I don't have a good view AT ALL.  But hey... at least my room has a window.  I'm sure there's plenty that don't.

Exercise?  Well, I'm not allowed to set foot outside my room AT ALL, so I'm going to set myself an exercise routine... one that involves various stretches, cardio 'on the spot' stuff and so on.  I haven't counted how many steps I can do from one end of my room to the other YET... but I will. 😂😆😏  IT'S... NOT... MANY!

NOW:  I know ya all want to see me room, the view and whatever else I can show you... but you will have to wait.

I'm going to eeek it out over the next few days... cos shit, what else am I going to show you?

Today you might be lucky and see ... ONE thing in the room! 

Shit this is gunna be fun... (for me).  I have NOTHING else to do right?

That's all for now... I'll be back later.

ONWARD...

After last night's horrible dinner, I'm hoping breakfast is 100% better!  A blogger friend here told me that the food and lack of quality has been mentioned on the news here!  Sheesh, I hope it isn't going to be that bad.

I can order food from 'outside' once a day, or from the hotel's Dining Menu if it really is awful I suppose.  But then I have to pay for it. *sigh*

Some confusion abounds re: time.

My phone switched over automatically to Aussy time, but my computer didn't.  So sometimes I'm saying it's like, 4 pm and in fact it's only 2 pm here in Sydney!  I just have to remember my computer is on NEW ZEALAND time!

From now on, if I mention a time, it will be in AUSSY TIME.

So, right now it's 7.44 am, and breakfast has not arrived yet.

I've been up since about 5 am.  My new 'normal' overnight is I wake up about every two hours.

Check the time.  Check emails.  Go back to sleep.  Repeat.

A bit frustrating.

Now, I said my view was a bit suckful eh?  Well it's not THAT BAD... it could be worse!

ABOVE:  View to the right...

ABOVE:  View straight ahead...

ABOVE:  View to the left.

I can see 'part' of Darling Harbour waterfront.  At night I can see the ferris wheel going around and some of the light attractions.  If I was one or two stories higher I'd see it all.  But I'm in a 

standard room (Superior Room), so yeah, less than perfect view.

BUT.... it's a busy view!  I can see lots going on.  I actually like it!

8.01 am:  And breakfast arrived.

ABOVE:  This is what greets you when you open your door.  A table (DON'T FRIGGIN' MOVE IT OR ELSE!)... and a paper bag with food in it.

ABOVE:  Today's breakfast.  Looks good?  There was ham under the baked beans. The hash browns looked nice.  The tomato was the size of a teaspoon, it made me laugh!

But... IT.  WAS.  COLD.

 

So, it get's a solid 5/10.

Now I'm wondering, what will lunch be like?

This might be the highlight of my days.... what's the food gunna be like ???  😊😉😆

A little alarmed this morning... I got a phone call from my niece, she's staying in Coffs Harbour right now, visiting THE OLD MOO.

Well, THE OLD MOO had to go back to hospital last night with 'break out pain'.

I'm assured she will MOST LIKELY be allowed home later on today.

It's a juggling act getting her pain medication sorted out... but Shelley will do that.

So, panic over.  Phew.

8.46 am:  Who would be surprised to learn I've just MOVED some furniture in me room?  LOL

I will show you what I moved... TOMORROW.

Yesterday when I arrived into this room I really had a low moment (or two).  Bawled me eyes out in fact.

So near yet so far still to being with my Mum.

But today I'm feeling a lot better.

I'm so thankful I bit the bullet and bought a laptop to bring with me.

I am listening to all my music and I can blog, catch up with everyone, video chat and so on.

Thank god I got it!  I'm sitting here bopping to me music, contemplating checking out a walking programme.

Here is a really lovely bonus to today's post:

ABOVE:  There is my Mum, meeting her first GREAT GREAT GRANDCHILD, little Ardie.  Ardie is 6 weeks old.   

And yes, he is named after our All Black rugby player, Ardie Savea!  The Daddy is a rugby fan obviously.  

Such a perfect day they had yesterday, Mum got to hold and dote on little Ardie for a good long time.  Having the girls there (Granddaughter's etc) was just an added bonus to the baby really.

Mum just loves babies, like me.

10.30 am:  And I've just caved in and put a sweatshirt on!  I have the air con on 26 C, and it's bloody cold in my room!

I'm wondering if it's a faulty air conditioning unit?  Here I was worried I'd be too hot.  Pfffft.

It's raining outside.  A very overcast day.  

And just like that, I have solved the air con problem.  I turned it off!  Now it's much warmer in the room.  No draft.  I friggin hate a draft.

Lunch today:

ABOVE:  And OH wow... what a difference!  It was just lovely!  I had the Pesto Wrap for lunch and an hour later I had the salad.  Both were so nice.  

It's good they are not adding sweet things to the packs!  I am missing something sweet, but I sure don't need it.

So, today's lunch gets a solid 10/10.

I'm now going to do a few exercises, even though I really don't feel like it.  Has to be done.

4.39 pm:  And I just had my first video chat with Stew and Brylee.  Stew was cooking dinner, bearing in mind they are two hours ahead of Aussy time. It was so nice to see and talk to them.  Thank God for modern technology, enabling video chats!

I see Lacy just popped on... so I might go yak with her now.

5.59 pm:  And after yakking to Lacy, I yakked with Steve 'n' Bex.  

Then dinner arrived.

ABOVE:  Tonight's dinner.  Beef stew, slightly better than last nights, over pasta!  Who the fuck puts beef and gravy over pasta?  SO... MUCH... PASTA!

I ate the meat, left the pasta. The bun was STALE, didn't eat it. 

The salad was exactly the same as last night, only bigger pieces of tomato... all two pieces of it,  4 thin slices of cucumber, lots of carrot and leaves.

ABOVE:  And what the hell was this?  It was soft, TOTALLY dry and tasteless.  I have no idea what it was supposed to be!  Didn't eat that either.

ABOVE:  Anyone want some pasta?  NO?  Right.  In the bin it goes.

Tonight's dinner gets a resounding 3/10.

The catering company should be damn well fired.

This is JUST CHEAP AND NASTY FOOD.

Very disappointed, and if tomorrow's dinner is this bad I will be ordering in.

So... I was so incensed by the dinner, I rang and talked to the catering company.  I told them exactly what I thought of their food, and said tonight's and last night's dinners went in the bin.  So... I've asked for NO CARBS, cos I don't want my meals to be 80% friggin carbs!  AND I told her the 'dessert' was disgusting too.  Might as well be honest right?  The poor girl was very diplomatic, I'll give her that.

I wonder if many people have complained?  Surely I'm not the only one.  Can't be.  Cos that food is disgusting.

Two weeks of that?  NO FREAKIN' WAY.

Oh and she told me last night's meal was LAMB!  Lamb my arse.  It was beef, dried up, over cooked beef. Grrrrr.

And ya know what?  There ends DAY ONE of Quarantine.

I'm gunna lie in bed and watch something on Netflix.

TAKING OFF!

 Here it is finally.

Today I'm flying off to Australia.

ABOVE:  Like... who hasn't seen this yet?  It's so funny.  Kinda creepy, but funny too.

Now, I have no idea when I will be able to update this blog.  It might not be until I'm in the hotel/motel in Sydney?

So... be patient!

It is 6 am here and we are getting ready to leave for Auckland airport soon.  Not taking any chance on getting stuck in traffic... best to get there early eh?

My nerves have kicked in BIG TIME... flying really does give me the shits.  Usually it's the take off's and landings, and when a plane does a big turn... that all freaks me out.  I'm sure I'll be fine once we are in the air.

And that is me for now.  I'll catch ya ... LATER.

ONWARD...

Well I'm at the airport.  All booked in. Just have TWO HOURS until my flight! Certainly got here in plenty of time.

ABOVE: AUCKLAND airport... it's  like a ghost town. 

ABOVE: Final step till I get on the plane. 30 minutes to go till boarding.  NERVOUS!!!

I'm HERE! SAFE and SOUND. Sitting on a bus waiting to be transported to a hotel. God knows where.

Its stifling on this bus! I've had a mask on for about 6 hours now... my God I'd hate to have to wear one all day, every day.

Sitting. Waiting. Waiting...

Finally... we headed off to our hotel.

I am staying at The Park Royal in Darling Harbour.

It was quite a process from start to finish today.

So many check points to go through, so many questions, passport checks, temperature taken and so on.  At every point that all happened... Auckland Airport, Sydney Airport, On the Bus, Off the Bus, Checking into the Hotel.... but finally, at around 3 pm, I arrived at my room.

The VERY first thing I did was rip off that bloody mask!  OMG it was so hot wearing it all day.

But I'm glad I did as it kept me safe... and well... the POLICE AND ARMY MEN AND WOMAN kinda INSISTED we all wear one.

Yep, heaps of Police and Army people out in force making us all keep to the plan.  Very well run I must say.  No hitches ANYWHERE.

Now... I DO have some photos to share... but seriously, all I want to do right now is eat my lunch (delivered to me at 4 pm) and relax for a while.

ABOVE:  The Park Royal does not have Diet Coke... so I ordered some Coke No Sugar.  It will do!  Kinda EXPENSIVE, but oh well... I gotta drink something.

I am now going to lie on my king size bed and relax.  Might even have a nap.

Gosh... I feel so clever!

I just got myself a Woolworths account and ordered some DIET COKE, and a toothbrush and some grapes to be delivered to my Hotel room!

Yeah, I brushed me teeth this morning and left the damn toothbrush there eh?  That wasn't so clever.

But I feel good.

I've had a little nap.  I have talked to a few people, LOTS of messages and comments to read, which was lovely.

It's been a very long day.  

And I've just had a lovely chat with a nurse... they ring to check up on you once you are settled in your room.  Mostly just checking your health, making sure you ain't got the dreaded Covid.

When I mentioned WHY I was here, the nurse got a freakin' psychologist to ring me as well.

Looking after my mental health too it would seem.

It's good though, cos I'm thinking being here on my own for two weeks is going to be a bit hard mentally.

I'm a pretty tough person though, so I should be OK.  

And on that note, my dinner just got dropped at the door, so I'm off to see what delights are in the bag!

I'm going to play 'Rate The Food'.

So, tonight's dinner:

ABOVE:  Dinner tonight was a beef stew, three huge potatoes, a mixed leaf salad, a bun and a sweet slice.

The beef stew was inedible!  So dry and tasteless.  I ate half a potato and the salad.  The sweet slice... very, very average.

I left the bun and the WATER.  *snort*  

FFS, seems you get a bottle of water with every meal.  I might have to tell them not to bother, cos otherwise there will be 44 bottles of water on the counter when they come to clean my room after two weeks! 😕😒😂

So... tonight's dinner got a 4/10.  I hope they are not going to be that bad every day!

And that is it, I'm done for the day.  Time to... see what's on the telly I think.

LAST DAY TO GET EVERYTHING READY

 Well... here it is.  My last day to get everything ready for my trip over to Australia tomorrow!

***  ONE... MORE... SLEEP. ***

Then 14 sleeps in Quarantine 'till I get to see The OLD MOO again.

I'm pretty sure the only things I need to get done today is some washing, and make sure my last minute things like toiletries, phone charger etc are packed by the end of the day.

Shouldn't be too hard.

The other thing I need to do today is make a quick trip over to Cambridge to return the Card Night Trophy.  A friend said she would come and get it, but hasn't.  So well... I need to return it myself obviously.

Never mind, it's going to kill a couple of hours in a day that has the potential to drag.

ABOVE:  Just about ready!  I got a little set of scales that you can use to check the weight of your luggage.

I shouldn't have bothered.  I read up on Air New Zealand's site, and if you go over, the extra weight charges are bugger all.  I might be over by a kilo or two... might cost me $50.  Whoop.

It will be the fabric of course!  😆😊

I'm feeling very confident that Stew and Brylee will be just fine while I'm away.

Stew is a very good cook, and he's going to spend some time teaching Brylee more cooking skills.  *snort*

AND he knows how to keep the house clean and tidy ... well I am pretty sure he does! He's had 35 years of 'training' after all. 😆😅😂 

So... time to get a move on, I'm off to Cambridge as soon as I've had me breakfast and the 'rush hour' traffic has eased a bit.

ONWARD...

10.45 am: and the run over to Cambridge went well... straight there and straight back.  There's quite a bit of new housing going on in Cambridge, near to our old home.

As for our old home, it's still looking bare and unloved!  NOTHING out the front to pretty it up at all.  It's quite sad seeing it like that.  It sure does not look like our lovely home anymore.

I am now literally twiddling my thumbs!  I've nothing to do .... gunna cook some sausage rolls for lunch that we didn't cook yesterday.

Brylee and Bex can help eat them.

FUCK IT.

ABOVE:  I warn EVERYONE that our oven is HOT.  And then I went and burnt the damn sausage rolls didn't I?

I'm not having a good day.  I'm as crabby as fuck.  

And.... just to cheer me up... these bitches decided to spend the day with me.

ABOVE:  At least they are eating the burnt sausage rolls.

I'm in a very sweary mood.  There's been some suggestion I get a swear jar!

1.45 pm:  I just went to Chartwell Square and bought three bras.  Just like 'Ahhh bras'... soft and comfortable.  I reckon I'm set now.

Kelly and the girls called in after school this afternoon. 

ABOVE:  It was nice to see them and say Bye Bye, see ya later.

ABOVE:  And... this lot called in this evening too.

I am almost looking forward to Quarantine!  It's been go, go, go with visitors the past few days!

Not that I'm complaining of course... I will miss them all.

I wonder how long it will take before I start to feel lonely?  😏  Maybe I won't!

Right.  That's me for the day.  Time to chill out and then head off to bed early.

Got an early start in the morning.

FATHERS DAY 2020

 Father's Day this year... not one anyone will forget in a hurry.  It is the year from hell really.

Certainly is in this family.

-Steve got REALLY SICK.

-COVID-19 struck the world.

-And finally, my Mum got REALLY, REALLY SICK.

So we are not exactly 'celebrating' this year.  But, I do have a little gift for my darling Stew, and we are having some of the family around for a Sunday Lunch.

Just finger foods.  No biggie. No fuss.  Just a nice family gathering.

It will also be a chance for me to see and say 'Bye bye' to the kids before I leave the country for an indefinite period of time.

I'm starting to feel 'just' a bit nervous!  It's now only TWO sleeps to go.  I don't know what I'm nervous about more!  Flying.  Quarantine. Seeing Mum again.  Leaving home for an extended period of time?  Probably all of the above rolled into one.  

I am going to do my best to look for all the positives in every situation ... because that's all I can do.  Be positive.  Look on it as an experience I will never have again.  And be THANKFUL, so very thankful that I am able to actually go over there and be with my Mum and Ron during this time.  There is NO POINT being negative, because that will just make this harder on everyone.

So, moving forward.

I got this photo of Bex last night, she is making a large crochet basket using all her scraps of wool:

ABOVE:  She fully expected me to dislike it, but I think it's really neat!

I might have to 'commission' one, in my colours, for my bedroom. Yeah, there's an idea.

OK... time to get up and start the day.  Should be a nice day with the family.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  Happy Father's Day Darling.  I'm sure you just LOVE your new Britto!  I couldn't resist it, so cute. He also got a big box of 'goodies'... chocolate, pretzels, licorice allsorts etc.  We shall probably eat it all during the course of today.

Right, lunch has been and gone.  Visitors have been and gone.  All is quiet again.

IN no particular order:

ABOVE:  Left to Right:  Joel, Huston, Logan and Daniel.

ABOVE:  My kitchen... full of testosterone!

ABOVE:  We ran out of regular size forks, so had to resort to the 'serving size' ones.  😂😄😅

ABOVE:  Amanda brought along her boyfriend, Daniel, and his two small children (Payton and Logan), top right in this photo.

ABOVE:  Me and my man... probably last photo of us together until I'm home from Australia again.

It was really nice to have a little gathering for Father's Day, and a chance for me to say 'Bye', and issue a few instructions for while I'm away.

And it's now 10.45 pm and I'm about to go to bed.  Not to sleep, cos that's not been happening much for a little while.  I toss and turn, sleep for an hour, toss and turn some more, sleep for an hour... and so on.  Very frustrating.

My hot flushes have kicked back in with a vengeance.  15 years of hot flushes and counting!

LOTS TO DO TODAY

Well... while Stew's home over the weekend, we have a few jobs to get done.

FIRST:  Get Steve over here this afternoon so I can show him and Stew how to care for the pool.

NO WAY do I want to get home to a green, slimy pool!

NEXT: I want to wrap the very few Christmas Presents I've managed to already gather.  No telling if I'll be home by Christmas. I hope NOT, because that means I get to spend it with my MUM.

NEXT:  Send Stew up into the attic space above the garage to hunt down some photos.  I'd like to take a few over for Mum to see again.  

Switching gears now... want to see the painting I made yesterday?

Come on, of course ya do!

ABOVE:  It started out like this!  And let me assure you, it took some planning and execution... get it wrong and you end up with MUD instead of lovely, vibrant colours.

ABOVE:  And this was the result!  EXACTLY how I envisioned it to look.  I'm utterly thrilled to bits with it.

I've now packed up all my painting paraphernalia, and will get back to it probably next year.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my painting splurge this past week.

I am totally guilty of procrastination!  I've still not finished cutting up the fabric strips that I will be taking with me to Australia!  

😆😅😂 I will get them done today or tomorrow.

Right, I suppose I should get out of bed and start the day.  Get some washing on, bla bla bla.

ONWARD...

WOW!  Midday and not one comment!  You all better be having a fantastic day is all I can say.  *sniff*

YES!  I finally finished cutting out all my fabric strips.

Griffin arrived and helped me pack and tidy up the sewing Studio.

He and Stew have now gone out to get some lunch.

Then I'm going to get another load of washing on (and show Stew again how to do it).

After that I think I will be going through photos... 

ABOVE:  cute boys.  Big and small.

So this evening Steve came over to watch the rugby game with Stew.  So of course, we ended up with Bex and the boys too.  So a busy, ever so slightly noisy evening ensued.

I hope the boys sleep in tomorrow for them, they were up much later than 'normal'.

And now... it's time to sign off for the day.  It's been a good day, got everything done that I wanted done.

TGIF

 Friday. Stew is extremely happy about that.

He is hanging out for the weekend.  It's been a long, busy week.

Like me, he kept thinking it was further on in the week, when it wasn't.  Don't ya hate that?

Bex is coming around today... she's going to do my vacuming.  

Then we shall muck around in the studio... she will be running my market while I'm away, so I want to show her what I want her and Stew to take, how to display it ... bla bla bla.

The boys will be here too as it's a 'Teacher Only Day' at their school, so that will be lovely.

I have one painting ready for cleaning and varnishing, and two due to have their hanging string put on, then they will be totally finished.

So... I will get them done this morning.

I will take a photo of the other two painting I did yesterday to show you... later.

ONWARD...

So... one of the painting I did yesterday is a dud.  I am going to scrap all the paint off and let it dry, the canvas can be reused another day.

I kinda knew it was a dud the minute I had 'finished' it.  

OMG it's cold this morning!  We were supposed to have a -2 degree frost, but I can't see any sign of it.  Just COLD.

ABOVE: Yet another pink shrub!  This one is probably the worst yet... as it's so pale and insipid.  One day I will rip it out and put something bright and vibrant there. IN FRIGGIN BLUE.

ABOVE:  Lounge cushions being used to create a 'fort'.  😏  Smiling for Great Grandma.

ABOVE: I bought this rock online a couple of weeks ago.  It's a Labradorite.  In the sun it shines an amazing blue!  I'm taking it to Aussy with me, cos it's so pretty.  It isn't big, it fits in the palm of my hand easily.

I forgot to mention!  Steve and Bex called in this afternoon.  They had been at a park with the boys and stopped in with a piece of Caramel Slice for my afternoon tea! Wasn't that lovely.

4.20 pm:  And I just did my final painting in this round.  Time to pack it all up, and put it away until I come home from Australia.  It's been fun.

This last painting came out EXACTLY as I wanted it to!

Once it's settled I'll take a photo to show you. Probably tomorrow.

For now... it's time to sort out dinner, and get the washing in off the line.  

Ha ha, I just yelled at Brylee and asked her to get in the washing.  

She needs to start pulling her weight, particularly while I'm away from home.

End of the day, a good day today.  Got quite a bit done and sorted out for when I'm away.

Nice evening, another visit from Bex and the Boys.  Steve was at a friend's place playing cards.

Time to say...

MORE DUCKS...

 I'm off to get a few groceries in today.

Smaller packs of meat for just Brylee and Stew, cos I won't be here soon.

Just another thing to get sorted... getting the ducks in a row.

Here's what I did to painting # 2 from yesterday:

ABOVE:  It looks absolutely NOTHING like how it started life!  I love it. Not sure what to call it ... I've already got 'Happy Accident' taken!

Suggestions?

After the grocery shopping, I'm going to make another 1 or 2 paintings.  They are such fun to do.

Today I'm gunna try a 'Dutch Pour'... yet another technique I've not tried yet.  Gosh there's so many ways to do this 'Acrylic Pour' painting.

ONWARD...

Yesterday...

ABOVE: How is THAT for getting as close as possible to the dog's pen!!!

I couldn't even fit my hand down between the car and the wood.  Whoops!  Just a bit too close I think.  I need to adjust the hanging tennis ball so I'm not that close again.

10.40 am:  And that's it, my last grocery shop here for a while.

It's all unpacked and put away now... so I'm going to take a break for a little while before preparing paint for the next painting.

Doing that is what takes the most time believe it or not.  Mixing, stirring, getting the balances right. Choosing what colours to use also takes time.  It's not all just hit and miss.

Though in saying that, as a learner, sometimes it is!

12.50 pm:  And I had a nice visit from Bex after I got home with the groceries.  Shame she arrived too late to help put them away.  😕

After she left I got on with doing another painting.

ABOVE:  Step 1.  Prep the canvas and paints to use.

ABOVE:  Step 2.  Apply paint to canvas.

ABOVE: Step 3.  Do ya thing to it!  And wait.  Cos more shit can happen, and depending on what sorta shit happens, you might have to dick around with it a bit.  😂😄😅😏

And THAT is the beauty of abstract paintings.  All sorts of things can happen, and they will either be amazing, or a total balls up and ya have to start again.

I just finished my 2nd and 3rd paintings of the day!  I kinda got on a roll.  And it kills time, while being highly enjoyable.

Probably time I cleaned up and thought about dinner prep now. 

7 pm:  Dinner was very nice tonight. Pork Riblets, Hash Browns and baked beans.  Gunna fart all day tomorrow!  lol

I'm winding down for the day, looking forward to Coronation Street later.  

MAKING A FLOWER?

 Well ... today I'm going to have a go at pouring paint over a bottle bottom!

Sounds weird eh?  😂

But that is literally what I'm gunna do  ... then I will dick around with it a bit and well, you and I will see if it works like it's supposed to.

It might not, and I might have to try a few more times to get it right.  But, it's going to be fun either way.

Brylee and I will be going out to do some jobs first thing.  Father's Day is this coming weekend... so glad I'm not going to miss that.  I already have His NIBS present. 

The countdown continues, it's now only SIX sleeps until I fly off to Aussy.  Eeeeek.  Did you know I hate flying?  Yeah.  Don't like it at all, so not really looking forward to that.

Last night I showed Stew and Brylee how to use the new washing machine.  Let's hope by the time I leave they have it imprinted in their brains!

This coming weekend I am going to show Stew and Steve how to maintain the pool too.

Lacy's job while I'm away is to make sure the dogs get regular exercise.  And she can pop in and annoy visit Stew and Brylee too.

Bex isn't going to 'escape' either. Her job is to keep my house vacumed and tidy! Oh, and feed the fish.  

And Steve can help his Dad with whatever needs doing too.

So... all the ducks are getting in a row.

ONWARD...

10.30 am:  Well... Brylee and I got our jobs done and then came home.

She's now left again for a job interview, one of many she's done over the past few months.

She's not happy where she is.  So like many others, she's on the hunt for something better.

It could take a long time considering how many other people are now in the market for a job.

I don't have time to start my painting right now as I have to drop the dogs to the groomers in 1.5 hours.  Not enough time to do the painting without rushing.

So... it will get done after lunch.

ABOVE:  Kelly and Keera dropped by to pick up a dish left here from Dessert Night.

Keera is off school until Friday.  Just taking it easy and being careful she doesn't re-open her wound.  Kids heal very quickly, so I'm not worried about her at all, and she seemed very cheerful.  Still in her PJ's! 😊

This afternoon's painting efforts:

ABOVE: This one has reflections on the black, it's not actually got all that stuff around the 'flower'.

ABOVE:  They are not 100% how I wanted them to look... but I'm still learning.  They are pretty enought.

Note to self:  Do the black one LAST, not first!  Clean up is so much easier that way.

Brylee and I just picked up the dogs from the groomers, they look beautiful.

The groomer had a funny little story:

She put the dogs in the holding pen...but she managed to leave half of Marley's lead outside the pen.  Marley was poking her face into the wire front of the pen, acting all distressed.

So the groomer opened the pen, and Marley rushed out, grabbed the end of her lead and dragged it into the pen with her, then she lay down on it.  Too funny!

It was clearly a case of "Oi ... You left MY lead outside!". 😂😆😅

I wish I'd seen that.

Now that we are all home again, I'm going to have a quiet afternoon, before even thinking about doing dinner.  MIGHT be something quick and easy tonight.  

Well... I went and checked on those three paintings.  The second one had run off the canvas on both sides!

So I 'doctored' it.  I'm thrilled with it now!  Totally different painting now.

I'll show you tomorrow, once it's settled down.

Funny how these paintings can change slightly, and usually for the better, once they have settled.

I had a bit of an headache after the painting, so lay on the couch.  No sleep.  The dogs decided to keep me company, so of course they were like bloody hot water bottles on top of me.  And I got too hot. 😳

I'm now thinking we will have fish 'n' chips for dinner.  Fook cooking!

9.40 pm:  We ended up having chinese takeaways for dinner.  Was OK.

I'm now watching Coronation Street, then it will be off to bed.

Catch ya tomorrow.

AUSSY MONEY

 Today I'm heading off to the bank to order some Australian dollars.

You can't just go in and ask for it, ya have to order it.

Luckily right now, in this new Covid world, our dollar is worth almost as much as Australian dollars, so it won't cost me much to convert some NZ $'s to AU $'s.

The other thing I want to find is some cups or bottles that have 'interesting' bottoms.  Like this, only smaller:

ABOVE: My drinking bottle is too big.  

Hopefully I find what I'm looking for in the $2 shop.  It's for another painting effort, done a different way.  

I have decided to try and get one painting done a day until next Monday.  I find it so much fun, and it takes my mind off other shit.

*** ONLY 7 MORE SLEEPS! ***  And then I will be flying off, to quarantine in Australia.  What fun that is going to be.  

Well... come on, it MIGHT BE!

No cooking.  No cleaning (well, not much), no noise, what more could ya ask for really? 😄😊😆

I think the only thing that might get to me is living in ONE ROOM for two weeks, and loneliness.  There will be lots of video chats with family back here I reckon.  And Stew can (live video) walk me around the house and garden so I can see how everything is. 

It is going to be wonderful to see Mum and Ron again though ... I can already see me wandering around their gorgeous gardens, walking on the beach and checking out Coffs Harbour SPOTLIGHT shop. 

😂😅😆

ONWARD...

12.35 pm:  Well I got a little bit of Aussy cash... then looked for what I wanted for painting.  Didn't find it.  So went down to Spotlight thinking they might have them... nope.  Was busting for the bathroom, and their public one was closed so I high tailed it home to use our bathroom.

JUST MADE IT IN TIME!!!  Horrible feeling, thinking you might just pee in ya pants!

😳 Anyway, crisis averted.  I'm now going to have a quick bite to eat then go to the Plastic shop in town.  I'm looking for plastic glasses with deep grooved bottoms.  Can't seem to find any anywhere... YET.

FOUR.  HOURS.  LATER.... and I exhausted every avenue I could think of to find a grooved bottom plastic glass!

So I went to the supermarket and found a small bottle of Diet Coke and a flavoured water drink that have grooves on their bases!

One or both of them should work!

Also ... I found a little glass dish here at home that had a candle in it... and it's got a grooved bottom too:

ABOVE:  So... one of these should do the job.  

The job.  Won't be tried out 'till tomorrow now.

I'm just a bit CRABBY after wasting an entire day searching for THE ABOVE. 😖😕😏

I am now going to spend some time doing NOTHING.  

Watch last night's Home and Away me thinks.

Well... I did indeed watch me taped programme.  Then I yakked with THE OLD MOO, who has my sister and niece visiting.  They had fish 'n' chips for dinner.

We had sausages, potato, broccoli and veges with a cheese sauce.

After that I cut the bottom off two bottles in readiness for tomorrow's paint pour.  Kinda excited, it's a technique I've not used before.

And it's a bit more 'technical'.

And... that's a wrap for today.  I'll catch ya tomorrow.