Bug Biting Lurgy

I tried to convince myself that I had thrown off the Lurgy.  No such luck. Not much sleep was had last night and it has taken all morning to be able to think a bit straighter.  If I had to sum up my problem today it is that I am slow.  My joints ache but my head does not. I took some panadol this morning anyway.  The stairs are the worst. The best I can do is a shuffle, so now I am just sitting in a chair to read and drinking lots. At least I can finish this Asimov book I got from the fair.  The aches are abating now and I will have the last of the pumpkin soup for lunch, that will fix it.

Super Pumpkin Souper

Throaty Throat

 We are only a week into Winter and I had the telltale throaty throat.  Two days back I was playing with Estelle, wrestling the snotty boss, getting drenched in dribble and sneezed on, as the list goes on and loving every minute of it.  The good news is I may have thrown it off quickly.  Last night it hit, raspy throat and headaches. I found a spray can called Difflam. This stuff has worked a treat. So far I am resting up today but no sore throat or aches. I guess all those injections must be doing some good. 

Kindergarten walkers

 It was rainy this morning and I was considering an outing of some sort but in the end got a few stamps going and would think about it later. Then I heard and spied the entire kinder from up the road on a mission to the beach. It must have taken hours to get them trussed up in bright red rescue suits. What kinder has a Winter rescue suit as part of their uniform?  Anyway that settled it, I picked a gap in the clouds and went across with my rubbish bag.   I need a bigger rubbish bag, as there was a lot of jetsam. Many plastic pieces, like bags, straws, wrappers and bottle caps.  Marnie is a local who couldn't help herself.  She did not want to bend but happily pointed out stuff for my bag.  Get your bag!  A big item was the fishing pole that someone stuck in the sand but the biggest was yet another blue drum that has escaped from the shell fish farm.  I left plenty behind so will see if I can get back tomorrow.

6 mothers 15 children

full bag

Asher Salutes Estelle Plays

 Haven't put in a 13 hour day like yesterday, for a while but today is a good indoor stamp day with nothing but rain.  It also means I can get videos working. There was one of Asher doing a salute but that has failed to record.  We watched Mary Poppins with a few pauses and she was attentive for most of the 2.5 hrs. There was a lot of saluting going on but I will have to get her to repeat it. I did get a photo though. As for Estelle I have plenty of videos. This is the longer one where she is just going about her business with a few calls from the couch judge. Her undestanding is showing thru more and more.

The lackey kept saluting the retired admiral on the roof

Estelle's Perambulator

 It was a long day today with a 6:00am start to get across to Watsonia before 8:30am and it was  heavy duty traffic snarls in parts.  Estelle was full of energy when we arrived, which was more than us, but we warmed up to her hijinks. I am typing this piece during the afternoon sleep, as it will be busy later.  We had two trips in the pram, firstly to get a few vegies for pumpkin soup and zucchini pie. This was the long way around via the community centre playground. It was cool but sunny and conveniently there was a nice school jumper to dry the swings and slides.   After Estelle's lunch of chicken, corn cob and fruit we went back out, this time to the A-Team café. PS she ate all the corn off the cob, all the fruit and ⅔ of the chicken but not a single green bean.  Back at  the A-Team it was a shared BLAT sandwich, very tasty.  Estelle was happy with a crust.  She has gone straight to sleep so now it is our turn.

swing high

No BLAT for you

15km run

 All the memories about marathon training have come flooding back with Daniel's entry into the Melbourne marathon this year.  There are four months to go to get to 42km and today it was 15km in reasonable conditions. It rained during the night but was dry this morning. I paved the way on the bicycle and there was no way I could have run 15km. The pace was decent at between 5 and 5.5 minutes per Km on our undulating circuit.  Bianca  did her own circuit of 6km while Asher was entertained by Nana.

before

after

Debbie took the only photo after my Melbourne Marathon. This was back in 1983. I needed to lean on Carol O'rourke to stand up. After 2 hours rest I was fine. I think that T-shirt is still around somewhere.

Collendina Report No 598

 Yes the Collendina Reports may have to start up again as the Roberts are returning to Collendina and exactly back to the same plot with the same outlook.  Daniel & Bianca have secured the deal with the Taylors so the champagne has been poured.  The van itself is looking a bit tired but the new owners have plenty of ideas about what can be done there.  And this is all happening just as the the whole park is changing hands as well. That seaside outlook is always the thing.

teacups & champagne glasses