Cold Snap

Someone suggested that as the days start getting longer then that starts the cold weather in earnest. So far this theory is holding true. A half metre of snow in the hills and cold toes just walking around the house. I have a theory about cold feet. After I went for a run yesterday (only about 4 kms) for the rest of the day I had warm feet.  It was as if the blood flow kept pumping long after I stopped jogging. Doesn't work that way on the bike feet and hands are like ice.
I warmed things up by advancing my cooking prowess. A self sourcing chocolate pud no less.  However when the recipe says use a mixer for the ingredients don't try one of those very fast whipping tools.  There is always use for a good whipping tool but the slow mix master style makes a good mixture. The chemistry of this pud is amazing when you put a bowl full of boiled water into the oven and out pops a pud.

Shortest day

I think the technical term is Winter Solstice. Not that I should be pining too much for Summer given the bright sunny day that turned out even though it was short.  This is generally observed by naked dancing around Stone Circles in some places around the world. I did see some bare footed joggers on the beach this morning.  The other celebration was the annual card night at the beach which this year's theme seemed to be bacon and lots of it. Yes cards were played and some World Cup action was being displayed but interspersed with more than one bacon cookup.  "Ahh the serenity" was heard as bacon sandwiches were being downed in bliss away from the prying eyes of wives.

It was 56 yar ago

She who must be obeyed (SWMBO) turns 56 today.  Am I allowed to put that here? Not a bad looking sort for well over half a century.  Perhaps being born during Winter explains why we need to escape to the beach so often.  Mind you this is a mild winter if ever there was one. Just finished a 6 km walk and sunglasses would have been handy.  Being an older part of town, your old corner store is a candidate for the coffee shop revolution. Karulo's has been around for a year but we have only just tried it out.  Good coffee good eggs. My cake baking skills are coming out again for the birthday cake.

It would give you the sheets

Some of the new duties include bed making, not that it is all that new having done it before.  My brother in law has given up bed making at home due to the strict standards of his nurse wife. I am finding similar issues.  Everyone thought bed making was solved when the fitted sheet came on the scene. When you have got arthritic fingers those fitted sheets are painful.  We have multiple sheet sets that need to be rotated on a regular basis.  This schedule is not written down but is rigorous.
There are no less than 7 pillows on the bed for display purposes only and must be arranged in a certain way.  Patterns and lines matching the doona which is also never used.  All of this equipment must be removed and stacked elsewhere in the bedroom each night and the "in use" pillows removed from storage. If you have to get up in the night then beware the fluffy obstacle course. Having settled in for a well earned sleep it seems the blankets have been tucked too deep at the foot of the bed so after some pulling and tugging we can get on with it. 

Fire Site Revisited

Long weekend internet access means I'm typing this on a tablet with wifi slow connection speeds. This is a laborious exercise.  Am just proving to myself that mobile updates are possible. Tally Ho then. Visited my sister in Darawiet Guim. The fires there earlier in the year were nasty. They had good preparations with very little excess fuel,

 

eg keep your grass shorn to the ground and radiate out as far as you can and I mean 100 metres and more. When the fire got to that boundary it basically stopped as there was nothing to burn.  That didn't stop embers from hitting nearby trees and the house itself.

Also having a water tank on the back of the ute allowed for putting out spot fires. This went on for four days. The greenery has returned now but there are still some fences that need to be repaired.

CGI Management woeful

Had one of my old work mates over last week. It must be about two months since I gave them the boot.  My inside man known as Deep Neck (deep throat was his brother) informed that 40 workers were recently sacked. Seems a bean counter was looking at time sheets and anyone with "unassigned time" got the boot.  However unbeknownst to this numb nut another numb nut deliberately put unassigned time against fully assigned workers because his bids were so far under bid his projects were looking very bad.  And those workers were shown the door.  I have seen some incompetence in my day but this is the ultimate.

Hosting the Super Sec

We have been hosting one of our workers from the Philippines over the last week. I always wondered how the grammar worked in order to get the word Filipino from Philippines.  One issue put to rest is that Kangaroos are not bounding through the big city streets.  Although they aren't far from the airport at Gellibrand Hill.  In this case a quick trip to the zoo satisfied that urge as well as Koalas for good measure but if there was more time I would have gone for an extended expedition requiring some hours of roaming. 

Of course the super secretary had plenty of work to do during the one week stay before returning to Manila, including two seminars to help out with. Other mysteries defied explanation like Aussie Rules but then we are all getting confused by the rule changes in that game.  It will be interesting when we get to the Philippines next year but we will be the vanillas, the vanilla in Manila.