Kids Back To School

Until yesterday both Trish's and my footy teams were undefeated and they were drawn to play each other yesterday, Easter Monday.  This time my team Geelong came out the winners by a comfortable 19 points.  I was exhausted at the end of the game and little tipsy as well.  I knocked over half a dozen stubbies of my home brew along with a couple of other celebratory drinks after the match.

It is decidedly quieter around the house today.  The neighbours' kids have all gone back to school and the push toy with large plastic wheels which one of the families around here owns has been put away.  But the kids are due home soon and we can expect the excitement of kids playing out in the street to return.

My new glasses were returned to the shop I bought them from today.  It seems one pupil spot in the glasses was most likely too low meaning the two lenses weren't matched.  So it is another two weeks until I get them back.  I probably think I will get a 'computer pair' as well which will live beside the computer.  I tend to raise my head quite a bit so I can read the screen OK with my glasses right now.  It is another $40 for a second pair which would be single lens reading glasses.

It seems $40 well spent to me!

We watched The Railway Man the other night.  It took such a long time for this movie to become available but when I eventually did get it I discovered why.  It is an Australian Movie and they just don't come out like the movies from overseas.

We travelled into Maroochydore today.  We are after a couple of small side tables for when we sit outside. This is what we were after in the photo left.  They are available from KMart for $15 each and our local Caloundra store didn't stock them.  I could find them online OK but I wasn't sure about KMart in Maroochydore.  I rang them and was told they had them in stock and available.

So off we went.  I got my glasses sorted first, then the bank to sort out PIN's for my credit cards and finally to KMart in Maroochydore.  The lady I had spoken to had made a mistake and they didn't have any after all.

We weren't happy having gone all that way on a wild goose chase after we had rung up first!

But we stopped off at House Secret (an adjunct of Trade Secret) on the way home and bought a new lamp to go on the remodeled buffet.  Trish is very pleased.

So the trip to Maroochydore wasn't a complete waste of time!

Easter Saturday

I have just returned from Computer Club where I was busy again.  I did my presentation on the "Ask Search and Tool Bar" and it sparked some interest.  As it is Easter Saturday a lot of people are on holidays or involved with family get togethers but my audience was big enough.

Drinks was fantastic again Friday afternoon, we all had a great time.  Lots of laughs and reminiscing about our recent week in Melbourne went on.  There were only 4 in attendance but I still managed to consume the usual amount of alcohol.  We had plenty of laughs.

It is a glorious day outside, hardly a cloud in the sky and the temp is around 27 or so.  We have the footy on TV so the afternoon is taken care of.

I will bottle wash either tomorrow or Monday as I managed to get another brew on yesterday.  It is bubbling away in the garage and not frothing up all over the place and creating a mess like last time.

My new glasses seem a little better today so perhaps I am getting used to them.

Buffet Update

We reckon it was going to be at least $1,000 to update the buffet.  The few looks we had really didn't produce anything that we really liked.  All the time we have in the back of our minds a trip to Saudi Arabia sometime in 2015 as well!

So the answer we have come up with cost us nothing and the new buffet seems to fit in quite nicely!

Click on the photo for a larger view! You can see where I sawed off the top of the ladders etc which made up the former 'wall unit'.  The 'new' buffet hides behind the dining room table and all you really notice is the new large expanse of wall we have.

Family photos will adorn this vacant wall space in due course!

I am doing a 'presentation' at Computer Club on Saturday and you can check it out here.

We both picked up our new glasses this morning.  Trish selected quite a dark colored frame and she is having second thoughts about her choice right now. 

I am still getting used to mine and I find that right now they aren't as good for reading as the older pair.  But I was told the 'hot spot' has been lifted a bit on the lenses and it may take a few weeks for me to get used to.

On The Air Again

Just before we went to Melbourne I had a a hearing test all to do with my hearing aids.  As a pensioner I get great support for hearing aids from the Federal Government regarding both hearing aid purchase and maintenance.  I get a 'voucher' from the government which entitles me to an annual 'evaluation' and any follow up hearing aid maintenance.

During the recent hearing test it was discovered that a button on my newer hearing aid wasn't working so it had to go 'in' for repair.  I dropped it off to be sent away for repair last Monday and then got it back today (Tues).  Boy what a difference it makes when I have both of them up and running.

My 'older' one, which I paid for myself out of my own pocket, is well over 6 years old and is now eligible for replacement.  It has become quite rusty from time to time in the battery compartment.  I perspire profusely and perspiration drips from my hair into the hearing aid.  Often this turns the hearing aid off.  I have a small 'heated hearing aid storage box' into which I store the aids and dry them off thoroughly.

An alcohol wipe and a cotton bud do a great job in removing any build up of rust.

I was advised today that as the older aid becomes rusty again and again, the more likely it is to fail. I was also told that if it were to fail one more time I would most likely need to replace it.  Most of any replacement cost is covered by a government subsidy and our new Health Cover Insurance would cover another $900 on top of that.

But the difference having both aids working well makes to my hearing is nothing short of amazing.

And we have new neighbours.  The house on the left as you face our place has been sold to owner occupiers.  After being a rental for some time it is nice to have two young professionals move in.  He is studying at SC University for teaching qualifications while she is a teacher at a hinterland primary school.

And he works part time at Dick Smith in Caloundra!

I Bought A Pump

After my puncture the other day I decided I really needed a decent bike pump.  I wanted one made mainly of metal, with quality parts and a gauge.  The recommended minimum pressure for my bike tyres is 45psi.  That is fairly high I would have thought.

So I bought a decent pump and gave it a go and pumped both tyres to the recommended 45psi.  What a difference it made.  The bike runs smoothly and so easily with the tyres pumped right up!  It has made quite a difference to the ride!

Drinks Friday afternoon were again a lot of fun.  It was better than the quality of the footy match we watched later that night.  There are now only 2 undefeated sides in the AFL, my team Geelong and Trish's team Hawthorn.  They play each other next Monday (Easter Monday).  It should be a top game to watch!

Computer Club was reasonably busy bit not too bad.  I managed to help quite a few people out and they seemed thankful enough.  Both Saturday and Sunday were footy on TV days.

The nasty cyclone which hit northern Queensland early in the weekend has had a minor effect on us at it now clears out to the east and away from the Queensland coast.  It is extremely cloudy today and a little windy.  However there is a 'trough' sitting over the land and this is causing the cloud from Cyclone Ita to rise and is giving us a fairly wet couple of days.

Trish has her eyes on a new 'buffet'.  The "Ladder- Racks" wall unit we purchased in Penang over 40 years ago and made of solid teak is going and a new more modern piece is on the horizon.  We spent some of Sunday checking prices, delivery costs and seeing what was available.  We aren't in a rush just now but will keep our eyes open.