Hello everyone from Delia (and Pat)
Well winter is here, it is cold, seriously cold and wet. (cold yes, as low as 3 degrees C, but a day seldom goes by without warm sunshine in the afternoon). To be honest I don’t mind the wet, but Australian houses just aren’t built for cold. (I’ll agree there. Double glazing, better insulation and draught exclusion would make a world of difference in Summer too.)
Pat and I went for a lovely walk last Sunday, thankfully it was a dry day, but we went to Lesmurdie Falls, because of the rain the waterfall was flowing so it was great and Pat got some lovely photos and we were even able to get someone take a photo of the two of us together.
This weekend was a much quieter weekend, mainly because the rain has shown up. We both got our tax returns submitted and I visited the dentist. I got all my pain sorted on the 1 day! (unfortunately I have to pay tax on my pension so I had a nasty surprise of owing money though Delia got a rebate, but didn’t pay my tax!). Australia has finally made a 4th vaccination available to those under 65, so I’m off to get mine on Monday. So far I’ve been doing a good job of dodging Covid and I would like to continue that. As a quick update after my 4th vaccination I spent the following day in bed! That was not fun.
One thing I’ve realised in coming back to Australia, is how much more of a consumerist society it is. Ok I did live in rural France with not a lot around me to spend money on, but now that I’m in the city centre I’m realising how much people just spend. I’ve also found my own spending habits to be slowly changing in ways that I really don’t want them to. I don’t need more stuff, we can’t fit the stuff we have into the space we have so why would I want to buy more things? But still the shiny new thing keeps catching my eye. I shall see how it goes. Though one thing I do want to do is buy some furniture paint – hopefully I will have something to show you all in the coming months.
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” – Epicurus
The above is an interesting quote and I think that Pat is really good at this where as I am not. New shiny things grab my attention. I am trying to be more mindful about realising what I have. I’ve actually just gone through my cupboards and pulled out a lot of things that I thought I would need. Glass wear and the like – I mean I have two cake stands – I don’t need two.
It is a few days later and I have been through my cupboards and pulled out a lot of stuff we just don’t use, and if I’m honest never will use. I think it will be another trip to the charity shop this weekend. Some of my items are things that I think I can sell, so I will be doing that – I’ll let you all know what I make. I think it will go to our holiday fund. As a side note – as I type this it is Saturday – we went to the Charity store and donated a lot of stuff and I even have books for the library – unfortunately they were closed when we arrived so that is a job for Monday.
(I am still working mornings and getting some photo stuff done in the afternoons -when I’m not doing the washing and cooking – I went to a work do last Friday. Free Prosecco and finger food. I felt guilty drinking bubbles when Delia wasn’t with me but she was at a Maylands bar avoiding artisan beer sampling – anyway, my work colleagues continued on to a room in a Karoake place and I got a taste of what drunk 20 to 30 something get up to. I left at 10pm and was home by 10.30 where Delia was already in bed – such party animals NOT).
Until next time here’s some shots of dawn on the dog walk. The tree was a competition entry for “Low Key”. The canoes with the jetty is a work in progress – not sure about the distortion effect of the long exposure on the canoeists.
