Waeco Still A Couple Of Days Away

I expected to get my Waeco Fridge back today but I had a call this morning saying they weren't happy with the repair.  They need to glue a sensor into place so the thermostat can accurately turn the fridge on and off to maintain a preset temperature.

Seems the gluing didn't work as well as expected so it is to be pulled apart again and reset with glue to obtain a more accurate reading.

We actually got another couple of mls of rain last night.  The atmosphere has been that dry that the pool was again full of dust this morning most likely dust brought down with the rain showers.

Again it is the same old news, not a lot happening but always something to do.  For example the car was washed this afternoon and though not a hot day I managed to get a sweat up.  No problems, duck into the togs and relax in the pool afterwards for 15 minutes.

With cooler weather the pool isn't warming up that much, however even a couple of mls overnight is enough to just top the pool up that little bit.

We look like heading into town tonight and giving the Caloundra Bowls Club "Club Central" a try just for a change.  Nice and easy, laid back and quiet.

We will most likely regret it but we live in hope of getting a good pub meal locally!  If you don't give it a try you will never know!

Back Not Better But All Sorted

My back is still sore most mornings and slowly improves as the day progresses.  Or until the Osteo-Eze wears off.  I could take some more tablets but I don't bother.  My GP sent me for an X-Ray last week and caught up with me yesterday to discuss what was wrong.

It appears I have given one of the muscles in my back a small tear.  This explains why the Chiro told me that my back was pretty OK!  So I just have to take it easy until it repairs.  There is heaps of scar tissue there so the doctor says I could expect continuous small tears there.

And at long last we had some rain last night.  Not the wild thunderstorms the Bureau had predicted but rather continuous rain for over 2 hours. In total we got a little over 1/2 an inch.  You wouldn't know we had any rain at all as everything outside just looks dead!

The pool got a good top up but was understandably full of fine dust this morning.  After such a long dry spell dust from the pool's surrounds would have been washed in along with dust off the roof and via the water harvesting setup I have on one of the downpipes.

I gave the pool a good vacuum this morning but it needed a second go later this afternoon as the fine dust continued to settle.

As predicted, today was also a bottling day for my latest brew. I had finished vacuuming the pool and bottling my latest brew by 9 am.

But then there was a little shopping, a bike ride, a website to update, new TV series to investigate and download.  The new BBC Series "The Escape Artist" looks a likely series.

Click HERE to go to one online website I visit daily to check out the latest UK TV series.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Already Monday has been a busy day for me.  As a result of putting a 'brew on' automatically means I have two subsequent chores to get done, bottle washing and bottling. The brew went on on Thursday and usually needs to be bottled under a week later.  At this stage I have earmarked Wednesday for the bottling day.  Therefore 30+ bottles need to be washed and dried.

So today was a bottle washing day.  I can now do a bottle washing of at least 30 bottles in under an hour.  That includes setting up, doing the washing and putting stuff away.  So by around 8:15 this morning my washed bottles were sitting on the bottle tree drying in the sunshine.

We have discovered a shortcoming in having the cheaper power rate connected for the pool filter.  Any peak time during the day, power on that circuit is disconnected for an hour or so each morning and for 3 or 4 hours each night between say 4:30 pm and 8:30pm.  So if we wish to sit under the new shelter during the evening we have no light available to us until well after 8pm.

We need some sort of lighting so yesterday I bought what is called a 'Shed Light" from Bunnings. It is a solar light and runs 10 small LED's which provide ample light for just sitting around after dark.  So I installed that as well this morning.

Looks interesting doesn't it?

My friend who was having problems with connecting to TeleChoice had his problems sorted out this morning.  The lack of knowledge of some of the young staff at the Telstra Shop was amazing.  No it won't work in that phone, the phone is locked etc were all absolute rubbish.  It turned out the phone was faulty.  Once the faulty phone was replaced with a new one, the activated TeleChoice sim card was inserted and the phone restarted it worked perfectly!

At one stage they were going to sell him a a $35 Telstra Plan with about half the calls allowance he had with TeleChoice.  He is a happy chap right now and enjoying his new inexpensive phone on a wonderfully generous $20 per month phone plan and connected to the Telstra network!

Another 13k bike ride this morning followed by a glorious swim in the pool.  We have some heavy looking clouds rolling in from time to time today and another promise of thunder storms tomorrow.  They may just be right this time!

It Is Bubbling Away

Just a quickie!  The brew is bubbling away in the garage.  It seems it took a little time for pressure to build up in the barrel before the air lock began working again.

It is bubbling away nicely! The replacement Air-Lock has done the trick!

The inner piece just sits there.  The 'old' one had a crack in it which allowed the gas to escape.

A Few Showers Later In The Day

Or so the forecast said!

But as you can see from the photo there aren't any showers anywhere around the Sunshine Coast 'later in the day' today!  As you can appreciate, it is extremely pleasant under the new 'shelter'.

We had a top in the high 20's along with a gusty easterly wind.  That means dust off the new estate and I will need to vacuum the pool tomorrow morning!

And the forecast thunder storms the other day turned out to be a figment of someone's imagination.  The pavers around the pool got wet but there wasn't enough rain in the gauge to record any rainfall.

My back is improving each day.  Right now, as long as I am careful, everything is fine.  I remain a little cautious first thing in the day but after a 30 minutes and two "Osteo-Eze" I am fine.  I have been bike riding my 12 or 13 k's each day without a problem.

You probably won't notice but the old gazebo which used to live under the back patio near my bike is no longer there.  I am $75 richer and a young guy has a great shelter to take with him and his family when camping.  Not a bad website that "Gum Tree"!

I have been doing a lot of helping with friends in Melbourne with their phone setup.  They have purchased their Huawei Y300 from the Telstra Shop, they have bought and activated their $20 per month Telechoice sim card but right now the two won't talk to each other.

It seems the phone is 'locked' but everyone else who has bought a Huawei Y300 from the Telstra shop has just popped their Telechoice sim card into it and it works fine.

Telechoice uses the Telstra network so it works in a Telstra network locked phone.

I have a brew on right now.  However there is an air leak in it somewhere so there are no bubbles through the air lock.  This should have no effect on the beer brewing inside (I hope) but it seems I may need a new barrel.  I have replaced the air lock itself and the seal under the lid.  I have replaced the grommet around the air lock but still no bubbles!  I did a hydrometer test of it today and the measurements indicate the brew is progressing nicely.

I may be up for a new barrel in the next week or so.

Drinks were very pleasant last night.  We only had Ian and Kerrie join us but it was quality rather than quantity!  It was lots of fun!

Computer Club was busy this morning with a range of problems.  The older member who bought a new laptop the other day had a problem, she could find the power switch to turn it on.

It is in a tricky spot but we found it.  She had the quick start guide which showed where the switch was but she didn't look at that.

All Quiet On The Northern Front

Very quiet in our little area the last day or so.  A gorgeous day though today, low 30's but a gusty north wind.  The gusty wind indicates a cooler change is on the way with something called "Possible Storms" predicted for tomorrow.  I will need to get the dictionary out as I can't remember what anything to do with rain actually means it has been so long since we had any rain to speak of.

The pool is a lot warmer now which makes my morning swim quite pleasant.  I did again get my 12+k bike ride in this morning and enjoyed the swim which followed.

Yesterday Trish had her trip to the doctor to update her prescriptions.  Whilst with the GP she mentioned my crook back to her and got me a form to have an X-Ray done.  I am back to the GP on Tuesday.  This is exactly what my back needed!  The improvement in it since I heard I was having an X-Ray has been very noticeable.  After I wake I have a quick stretch and flex while in bed and I can move reasonably easily.  After 30 minutes or so it feels pretty good.

But I will have the X-Ray tomorrow just in case.

While Trish was at the doctor's I helped a Computer Club member (Daphne is 85) set up her new Windows 8 laptop.  It is now usable for her as I added a Start Button and ensured it always opened at the Windows 8 Desktop.  Now it runs very similarly to her previous laptop which was Windows 7.

From there it was to the Home Brew shop to stack up on brews.  I was delighted to find a $50 credit waiting for me from someone I helped with their laptop and their home network.  I will put another brew on tomorrow.

If anyone is after a cheap but reasonable laptop have a look at this. (Click HERE).  This seems a pretty good deal to me from "Dick Smith".

It is $499 but it seems there is a $79 cash back deal on it as well.  There is only 'on board' graphics with this and the screen is just OK, not hi res or anything, nothing brilliant from what the comments say.  However if you are after a new laptop for everyday use this seems a great buy.

A Delightful Day

Recently I set the "Waeco" portable fridge up just outside the back door.  In the past it has gone inside the back door but it can be a little noisy and really put out some heat when stocked up with drinks to cool.

We bought the Waeco for the caravan when we had it 10 years ago as we were finding chilling drinks in the caravan fridge was a 24 hour job.  The Waeco would do the same job in a few hours.  Rather than just having it sit there doing nothing after we sold the caravan, we use it during summer to chill drinks especially for when the pool is in use.

So it was all set up and laden with home brew and soft drinks.  The temp adjustment didn't want to work when I first set it up but after several goes the indicator lights were moving and all 'seemed' OK.  After around 12 hours or so the drinks did seem to be very cold indeed and I began to suspect something wasn't right.

When a can or two went like the one in the photo left I knew there was a problem.  The Waeco is currently at the Waeco Agent here on the Sunshine Coast where he suspects the thermostat probably needs replacement at a cost of around $180! 

Then the soft drink cans won't look like this one!

It is a glorious day outside right now, high 20's heaps of sunshine and a tempering breeze.  My back is slightly better but not much.  Yesterday I delivered 125 of the Community Association newsletters and today I did the last 50 or so.  Then it was off on a 8.5k bike ride.

My back causes concern when I twist or lean forward.  Putting my shorts on first thing in the morning is torturous!  I can really hurt if I am not prepared for it.  After I have warmed up a little, it isn't too bad.  After a Mobic tablet it is just sensational for a couple of hours!

Still Not Right

I feel a little better each day with my sore back.  I am back to the chiro this morning for a further tune up.  The bike remains in limbo and I 'try' to take it easy.  Trouble is you rest up a little, feel great, do something else and the back complains and again you are back to square one!

Trish is back to Quilters and a Bus Trip into Brisbane to a Craft shop or something today.

She has been using a 'smart phone' she bought from Coles for $49 a couple of years ago.  Slowly but surely it is dying.  It works pretty well for her and does everything she wanted.  But it began doing some strange things so on Wednesday she came home with a new phone.

It is a Huawei Y300 and cost her $99 from the local Telstra Shop (and locked to the Telstra Network).  For what she wants and for what this phone does it is a 'steal' at $99.

For the basic user who wants to make calls, perhaps take a photo, read her emails, play a couple of simple games you don't need to spend copious amounts of money on a top of the range Samsung or an Apple.

Phone companies must love people who know nothing about phones or plans and buy a phone with all the wizz bangs they would never use and then pay around $60+ a month and lock themselves in for 2 years and get a few calls and a top of the range phone.  Instead they should grab this phone for under $100 and get on a $20 per month plan with heaps of calls and data.

The new phone even comes with a two year warranty!  It loads quickly and works beautifully.  A $20 plan with Telechoice gives you $500 worth of calls (around 8 hours of calls), 1GB of data and all of this on 97% of the Telstra Australia wide network.

So it is a two stage operation, firstly get your phone and then secondly get yourself a Telechoice sim card by checking out their website.  With this phone it does seem to look for updates pretty regularly so you just need to keep an eye on your data usage.  When you are home, this is off your home wireless network and isn't a problem.  When you are out it gets it via the mobile phone network and this costs from your data allowance.  But the if you want you can just turn the phone's data "off".

Despite Trish heading out for the day we will have drinks tonight around with Ian and Kerrie.  Trish will get there when she can.  Other friends John and Margaret are away.  Marg's mum in her 80's, lives in the town of Texas, has cancer and recently suffered a heart attack so they have headed out there to help her convalesce.

Our recent meal at Thai Lime Twist on Wednesday was very pleasant and came in at around $25 per head.  But you get a little cross at $2 per head corkage and then an extra 1% on the bill to pay with a credit card.  Though not a lot of money, it doesn't encourage you to return.

It is actually cloudy today and a shower or two is forecast.  It is cloudy right now but we haven't seen any rain to speak of here for around 4 weeks!  It is expected to fine up later today but occasional showers and temps in the mid 20's is forecast for the next few days.

Back Hassles

The bike has been put in limbo, the Osteoeze and Mobic are sitting on the kitchen bench and I am moving very slowly.

My problem back flared up recently giving me incredible discomfort.  Usually a trip to the Chiro is enough to 'fix' me but despite a visit there yesterday, I remain extremely tender even today.  The ice and heat packs are being put to use frequently and right now I feel "OK".

After the morning tablets take effect I can get around but I just need to watch what I do.  Hopefully taking it easy for next day or so will see things improve.  I am better today than yesterday and hopefully I will be fine in another day or so.

We did get to Kawana Tavern for lunch yesterday (Tuesday) with friends Ian and Kerrie.  They drove so it took some pressure off.  The Tavern is a pretty spot right on the Marina.  The food was OK but not cheap nor filling.  But on the upside, they did have Carlton Draught on tap.

Trish has been busy with Arts Centre stuff all Monday.  Tuesday was a little quieter and today Wednesday she is right back into it.  Today is Stitchers and she as President has the whole morning to 'run'.  Meanwhile I am hobbling around at home!

We are heading out to tea tonight at a local Thai Restaurant called 'Thai Lime Twist' again with Ian and Kerrie.  The food there is quite OK and inexpensive.  It should be very enjoyable.

We enjoyed the end of both of the TV series we have been watching recently.  The Tudors and The Bridge (US) were great.  Last night we watched a couple of movies for a change.  One was "Lovelace" based on the book and life of Linda Lovelace.  It was very interesting and certainly casts her in a different light.

The other was quite OK as well and called "The East".  It told of how a government supported group would infiltrate resistance groups in the US to help block attacks on large businesses.  It was entertaining enough.

We have live TV coverage on Pay TV of Australia V India One Day Cricket Series currently being played over there.  After our night out tonight I will have a good look at tonight's Game 2 in the series.

Tonight's match is being played in Jaipur in India, a city which Trish and I visited when there around 20 years ago.

Before And After

It is very breezy outside with a strong westerly wind giving us a hot dry day.  The day isn't too dissimilar to one of those days in Melbourne with the northerly blowing.  It is around 30 degrees or so outside right now.

Brian is an 80 year old neighbour who lives at the end of the Court.  I keep him up to date with movies and TV shows.  Brian also helps us out when we fly anywhere by driving us to and from the local airport.  Though 80, he certainly is extremely fit doing lots of add jobs for organizations as well as being regular golfer.

In his working life he was a house painter and recently painted our drive way for us.  Brian agreed to paint the pool filter cover for me.  The lid of the cover is made from heavy decking timber which I was oiling every 12 months or so.  The timber look of the lid was passed its best so I decided to paint it.  Brian has all the equipment and what would be an hour long job for me he would knock over in 20 minutes.

Brian painted the pool filter box for me yesterday.  You can see how it now looks in the lower photo.

These two photos show what the backyard was like a couple of years ago to what it is like now.

Click on both photos for a larger view.

We have lost the tropical look of the palms but have gained a very usable area where we can have 8 or 10 people around without being squashed into a corner.

We also now have an easier area to maintain.  The palms were growing very large and their branches would rub into each other causing the fronds to be frazzled and drop heaps of rubbish into the pool.

During heavy rain we had the problem of that area flooding and washing rubbish and dirt into the pool as well.

Since we added the drain to back area any problems with excess flooding in the backyard has disappeared.

The same area looks very different nowadays.  The massive amount of shade we get now from the cover and the blind certainly give us a lot of options when entertaining guests or having family up from down south.  There is now plenty of shade for people to spread out and relax.

Another Hot Day

The temp gauge is saying it is almost 37 degrees out back right now.  We have the house locked up "Melbourne Heatwave Style", a big change from what we used to do where we left the place wide open to catch the breezes.  We do have very hot westerlies at the moment which isn't our usual 'summer' wind at all.  For example, the humidity level is around 25% when in the middle of summer that is more like 65%.

It is same old same old.  Trish off to Stitchers or Quilters, Les riding on his bike and having an early morning swim.  We had a couple of 12 degree nights so the water in the pool is again 'brisk'.

We badly need rain as the photo shows.  The most we have had in a day since our return from Melbourne well over three weeks ago is a couple of mls.  The grass crackles beneath your feet as you walk over it.

A cool change is due later so tomorrow will be about 27 or so.  But it gets back to hot again on Sunday.

I had a very busy Wednesday.  The Community Association Committee Meeting from the night before required a report to go on the website and that is always a big task for me.  But also on Wednesday not only did I wash bottles for my home brew, I bottled as well.

There has been lots of cricket on TV which I have enjoyed a great deal.

I have been riding most mornings.  The bike works extra well after the 'free' service the other day.  I am very pleased with it.

I hope you enjoyed the Abbott and Costello joke below, I thought it was very clever.

There may or may not be drinks later today.  One couple is away while the other couple have a lunch commitment and don't know if they will be back in time.  I think they are keen to get here though.  It isn't a problem as there is cricket on TV today and the next two days as well.

We only have a few episodes to go of The Tudors and The Bridge.  It has been good watching two very different stories together.  It breaks the night up perfectly.  

Bud Abbot and Lou Costello In The Computer Age

Hope you enjoy this. It is a little messy to increase the print size and read but it is very well done. Click on the magnifying glass with a "+" in it till the writing is of a readable size!

Abbott & Costello

Search For A Suitable Replacement!

Yesterday (Monday) was a public holiday here so it was a great day to stay at home!  The town was full of tourists making the most of an extremely hot day and a long weekend!  By hot I mean it was almost 38 degrees in our small enclosed backyard.  Despite being so hot the pool water was cooler than I thought it could have been.  You didn't stay in the pool long at all.

There was a great cricket match on TV as well so I must admit I spent a heap of time in front of the TV watching what turned out to be a very tense match.  The Victorians just got over the line with 2 wickets and several overs to spare.

Recently I received an email from a Cycle Store named Goldcross Cycles.  This is the shop where I bought my last bike several years ago.  They were offering a free very basic service on your bike and I had my bike booked in for a free service today.  The store was down near Mooloolaba so it was a great chance to have my free bike service and hunt around for a replacement for my favored 'Pool Sunseat".

We found a thing called an "Aquaduck" which instead of being an inflatable seat, was a bean bag style.  This had the advantage of never ever getting a puncture and would possibly handle the pool conditions and the hot sun better.

The previous model was actually a seat with a back.  This isn't, you really do just lie in it.  With this one you are sure in the water more and it doesn't seem to float as well.  This isn't a disadvantage!  You wouldn't believe the cost so I won't tell you.  This is also a little easier to 'store' when not in use. I gave it a test run when we got back home.

After dropping the bike off for its service Trish wanted to visit a 'material' store.  I visited the Ray's Outdoor store nearby and bought some slip on sandals.  They are made from leather and were less than 25% of the $89-99 price on the ticket attached.

From there it was to Maroochydore for a quick look around a "Big Buys" store.  We managed to find some odds and ends to spend money on before heading to Mooloolaba Surf Club for lunch.  For $14-50 we had a "Senior's Meal", open slather at the carvery for roast vegetables and a free pot of beer or glass of wine.  We both had "Fish and Chips" along with a liberal side serve of roast vegetables.  We will just be having sandwiches for tea tonight.

By this stage the bike was ready to collect and I just wanted to pop back into Big W for another pair of very inexpensive but incredibly comfortable shorts and a shirt which can be worn outside my trousers.

We eventually arrived back home mid afternoon.  It was a cooler but extremely pleasant 28 degrees or so and I am pleased to report the pool is beginning to retain its warmth a little more.  More hot weather is expected later in the week.

I have a Community Association Meeting to chair this evening.  Following the meeting we will be back into a couple of TV Series.  One is Series 4 of "The Tudors" and the other is "The Bridge".  Two episodes of one followed by two episodes of the other manages to fill the TV watching night in perfectly.

All Quiet On The Sunny Coast

Warm weather has again returned to our part of the world with it expected to get to low to mid 30's today.  However several recent very cool nights with temps in the low teens means the pool loses any heat overnight that it has gained the previous day.  It was a little over 21 degrees in the pool this morning after my bike ride.

It is quiet on TV now without any AFL footy on to watch.  Tonight is the NRL Rugby League Grand Final which can be like watching a version of cross country wrestling!
 
Those who have visited us here may remember my inflatable seat I have used in the pool.  It was a gift and it has lasted me years.  Unfortunately, as with many things around the pool, time has caused it to wear and become less resilient to grand kids.

James put his foot through the cloth insert recently during their stay and despite sewing it up again it looks like it is only a temporary fix.

Currently it is still able to be used but now a "ladder" has appeared in the cloth as well.  You can no longer purchase this model/brand here anymore.  It is a U.S. brand and if I wanted a 'like for like' replacement I will need to purchase one from overseas.

Computer Club was reasonably quiet yesterday with me being able to help most people.  However there was a smaller crowd there and I was able to get home well before lunch.

Last night we watched a movie called "The Heat" starring Sandra Bullock.  Though not a high 'scoring' movie Trish and I sure got a few chuckles out of it.

It is a holiday here tomorrow for Labor Day.  And for me the cricket is back on TV again.  Unfortunately the forecast from Sydney (where the current matches are being played) is not that positive for playing cricket.

A Southerly Change

Today it is almost back to winter for us.  Hardly a cloud in the sky but we do have a brisk and very cool southerly wind blowing right now.  After a stinking 35 degrees or so yesterday today is quite a change.

Trish really enjoyed "Grease" in Brisbane last night.

Since the family has returned to Melbourne I have been back on my bike and riding again.  The magpies have become sick of chasing me nowadays and just look and squawk as I ride by.  One especially nasty chap chased me for a few days.  Now he just looks up from catching grubs as I ride by!

The cricket (One day domestic competition) is on again today as the photo shows.  I can move between the computer room and lounge as I have a telly in either room.

This year the Domestic One Day games are on "Free to Air" TV so if I can put up with the adverts it is OK to watch!

I managed 3 swims in the pool yesterday but I gave the pool a wide berth today.

My movie downloading is slow at the moment.  Having had the kids here recently with their iPads and Smart Phones my download allowance received a bit of a hammering!  I am maintaining the level right on the daily limit at the moment.

I have Computer Club tomorrow and with little or no sport on TV I am hoping for warm weather again.  We will probably watch the Rugby League Grand Final on Sunday Night but it really doesn't interest us.  Fortunately for me there is another One-Day cricket match on TV on Monday which is a Public Holiday here nowadays!

Hot Today

While Melbourne endures storms and strong winds, we have been getting very warm up here.  Our little backyard is quite enclosed and the heat does become trapped in it.  But 35 degrees under the new shade structure means it is getting warmer.

We badly need some rain.  A single "ml" of rain is all we have had since we returned from Melbourne over two weeks ago.  When Kate Arj and family arrived back in Melbourne on Sunday they were greeted with a broken down fence which had blown over.

I expect it is all repaired again now!  And as the photo shows, there has been heaps of rain down in Melbourne too.

Our lives seem to wander along quite happily.  We are probably still recovering from our recent visitors.  Trish had an exceptionally busy morning as President of Stitchers yesterday.  The Sunshine Coast Mayor came and spoke to 70 or so members of the group.  Trish 'chaired' the meeting so was kept on her toes entertaining the dignitaries who were in attendance.

We ventured out to a lovely little Chinese Restaurant in Caloundra with friends Ian and Kerrie last night.  The food is quite good for this part of the world and it helps when we order the correct stuff too.  Salt and Pepper Squid, Satay Chicken and Fish with Shallots and Ginger were all different and tasty.  The "Lettuce Delights" beforehand were great too.

It hasn't taken long but there is cricket back on TV again for me.  I enjoyed matches on Sunday and Tuesday and there is another game on tomorrow.  I also have a brew to put on tomorrow as well.

Trish is off into Brisbane tonight to see "Grease" with Kathryn.  Kathryn is not only a friend with whom Trish enjoys heading to the theatre with, she is also our Chiropractor!

There are no drinks tomorrow but I have the cricket on TV instead.  It is School Holiday time and both the other families are involved with family functions on Friday.

Both Trish and I are now with Telechoice for our mobile phone plans.  Trish ported over this morning.  Our plans now cost a combined $50 per month instead of $80 which staying with the other provider Boost would have cost.  We now have 'limits' on our calls but the plan is pretty generous so neither of us expects to run out.  We both have $650 worth of calls which equates to around 10 hours talking time each per month!

And the good thing is we are both still on the major Telstra network which has good strong reception where we live.