General Chat

I wouldn't like to be trapped in a tunnel beneath the sea either, what fascinates me is when the front train broke down, why did they allow others to follow it in - how ridiculous.
The problem of bush fires must be a great source of anxiety for everyone in vunerable areas. We watched in horror at the events of last year, I expect those that lost everything are still in tempory accommodation.
Lets hope the situation is kept under control this summer.

Tec

Good morning and good evening all! Well, the countdown is on!
Everybody ready? I think I am. If I've forgotten anything, it can't be very important. I'm having an easy time this year. I keep asking what can I bring? and I keep getting told 'nothing'. I'll think of something.

I think your parcels should get there Sue - you posted them early enough. I hope so anyway. However, everyone understands what a postal strike does to us.

Good morning /evening all

My apologies for yesterday. I had to leave to do a small job, got distracted then remembered that th people at the house two doors away were having a garage sale which started at 8.00am.

Then it was back to do the ironing.

The last few days, although forecast to reach 30, by 10.30 it has been a consistent 36 and just stayed there. The aircon is runining on overtime.

Tec, our artificial grass is not as swish as the astro turf and there is no mistaking it for what it is, but it will give a little "instant" green to the garden and provide a no maintenance path

Allan

Tec - also on the news was an item about the bush-fire survivors. Two men who had horrible burns were talking about how they are getting on with their lives. However the reporter said that no-one else was willing to talk about what they have gone through and what they have lost. Understandable - especially when they are probably waking every night with dreadful nightmares.

The hardest part for family overseas was not knowing where the fires were geographically. We had so many emails and phone-calls from family members and friends terrified that we were caught in the fires.

Sue xx

Hello, Allan. It's easy to be distracted by a phone call or a job around the house.

Our little dog wanted to go out at 3:30 this morning but she wouldn't come in again. Very unusual. I got up at 7 this morning and I still couldn't see her in the yard so I went looking for her - still no sight of her. I was very worried at this point but was in the house only a couple of minutes when she "knocked" at the door. What a sorry sight she is. Covered in leaves and dirt on her paws, muzzle and tail. I don't know what she's been doing but OH suspects she's able to get out of the yard so is going around the yard looking to see where she could've got out. She's only little so could squeeze through a very small gap. As she is getting older we've noticed changes in her behaviour and we think she may have some dementia. A little like all of us I guess:-))

Sue xx

Good Morning Berona,
Good Morning Allan,

Hope you are both well and happy this morning,
Berona I'm sure all that your family require you to take is your wonderful self.....they will provide the rest - only Berona can provide Berona, enough to grace any festive occassion.................

Allan, That is a brilliant idea re the artificial grass - should it have been OHs idea, please convey my appreciation of brilliance.

Tec

Sue,
I often come home in that state after a night out.......

Allan, Were there any good books at the garage sale?

Tec

Good morning Sue.

I hope that your little pooch is ok after her 'great escape'

Sue, even over here we are sometimes unsure of the geographical locatios of the bushfires in the Eastern States. I suppose that, as until joining this Thread we have not known any person in the other States, it has not really affected us.

Now, however, it is a different story with 'chatting to people dotted all around Australia.

Allan

Good evening Tec,

No the selection of books was very limited but we did buy two ornamental plant pots and managed to stagger home with them

We had seen some similar ones the day before at the Garden Centre ranging in price from $40.00 to $50.00. We paid $6.00 for one and $8.00 for the second

Allan

Tec - you really know how to make my day! You know all the right things to say.
I've been interrupted with emails asking what my brother would like for Christmas? Every time I ask him, he can never think of anything and always says things like undies/singlets etc.- and my daughters in law refuse to buy those for him. Don't blame them. He is one of those difficult people to buy for.
Back to the Chat board. I think I would have claustophobia if I was stuck under the water in a train. Don't know how those poor people coped with it.

Allan, You did very well with the plant pots - needless to say, we have to have frost proof ones. I like to look out for the old Victorian terracotta ones sometimes seen at auction sales that have cleared old houses.

Tec

Hello, Berona. I only have food shopping now.

Allan a lot of people in the UK have little idea of how big Australia is. Of course my idea of England was a little island crammed full of people and towns. I was amazed - and delighted - at the wide open spaces we drove through.

Sue xx

Good morning Berona

Men can be difficult to buy for. When I am asked what I would like fro Christmas or my birthday, my answer is usually "nothing"

Tec, these two pots are terracotta but they have been painted, or at least colour-washed

Allan

Sue,

Even people living here sometimes unaware of the vast distances between places.

Before moving from the Uk in various phone chats with my brother in Perth he was always telling us how people thought nothing of going a 100kms or more just for a BBQ

Now that we are living in Bunbury, he has been to see us twice, and we've been here since 1986.

It's a common complaint with people who live in the Bunbury area that by a freak of physics, the distance between Perth and Bunbury is greater than that between Bunbury and Perth!

Allan

Allan - say that again???

I think the vastness of Australia came home to me the very first time I sailed from Freemantle across the formidable Great Australian Bight to Sydney - best part of a week.

Tec

The distance between Perth and Bunbury is greater than the distance between Bunbury and Perth

What it means, Berona, is that people living in Bunbury always seem to have to go to Perth to vist rellies etc, whilst said rellies find it too far to make the journey to Bunbury.

I have a neice who travels to Collie on a regular basis and no matter which road she uses she either goes past our Street or is within 10 kms of us and we have not seen her or her family unless we go up to them

Allan

My SIL lived in Cessnock - about 120Kms from here and I often visited her for a few hours and came home again. When she was ill, we were going there every few days and would be back home in time for my daughter to pick up her children from school. (Yes, she did have a Plan B in case of problems on the road - but never had to use it).

These days, I only go that distance to attend funerals and someone else drives - but we think nothing of covering that distance and back in one day.
Many people make business trips like that, daily!

Tec - I was on the Oronsay when it went across the Bight. The ship had stabilizers, but we struck a typhoon and the stabilizers broke off! I haven't had any desire to do that part of the trip again!

Berona,

We are about 168 kms south of Perth but as my family live in the Northern Suburbs you can add a further 20 kms to that distance at least and we do the trip in one day.

We even offered to put my brother and his wife up at our house now that the kids have flown the nest. They were going to visit last January and pick up a curry tree which they wanted. Needless to say we went up to see them but the bl**dy tree stayed put in Bunbury!.

Well all I have to go and do some more work outside before if becomes too hot.

Take care all

Allan