Gorgeous Day for a Drive

It's a beautiful day, just the day to drive to Torquay to visit friends and watch the Grand Final. 

The canola fields were luminous yellow as we drove done the coast. 

So Many People

So many people, so little time

Going to the Show To See The Bulldogs

On the train to the Showgrounds to see the bulldogs being shown, wondering about my decision already, with a train packed with people who are talking incessantly, like their lives are important and not the product of over breeding, and who smell. Did any of these people wash this morning? There is definitely a waft in the air, of man made fibres and stale ooze.

The Malamutes were on when we got there. Then it was the Great Danes, and they were frisky.

Then it was the bulldogs, they were great. I picked the best in show, not that I really know anything about the finer points of bulldogs.

We ate hot jam donuts, it was the show after all.

The show grounds were packed, so many people with prams. Still, it was a sunny day.

We pretty much left after the bulldogs were done. The train from the show grounds is easy as.

We ate Nasi Lemak in Elizabeth Street on the way home.

It was the last day of our Foxtel subscription, so we watched Grimsby and the Ali G movies, oh my god what Sasha Baron Cohen gets away with?

We ate Cheezels and ice creams for diner. Our diet, right?

We watch Snowden the movie. Joseph Gordon Levitt is so cute. America is tracking every mobile phone in the world? WTF?

Political Instability

When people say that Australian politics has had a period of great instability, over the last 10 years, I say we’ve had two wreckers, both Christians I might add, one very public wrecker in Tony Abbott and one private wrecker in Kevin Rudd who have destroyed what could have been two very fine Prime Ministers, in Julia Gillard and Malcolm Turnbull. I think Julia Gillard did better than Malcolm Turnbull is doing, but it is still a great tragedy that the egos of two men could have caused such disarray in our political system.

I tried to explain to a (born again) Christian friend/acquaintance that I didn’t want to get married, and a lot of my gay friends didn’t want to get married, as all of my straight friends who supported marriage equality didn’t suddenly want to marry someone of the same sex, and that didn’t matter, it didn’t have to be about us, just as it is not about her Christian beliefs. I tried to put it into words that she’d understand, that it was about loving your neighbour, helping your neighbour to achieve what they wanted to achieve, that it was okay if it was about other people and not about me, or her. It was about equality, about people being treated equally and therefore fairly, it was about kindness and love, love of your neighbour. However, she still felt that men who lived 2000 years ago, where still better judges of what we should do in the 21st century.

Miss D and Me

I dragged Sam around 3 book shops in the city on Saturday looking for a new Bette Davis biography, Miss D and Me, I want to read and, of course, none of the book shops had it in stock. They all offered to order it in, which would take weeks, or some such length of time. 

We'd eaten Indonesian food in Swanston Street, at Fat Oma, for lunch. We'd been to Myer to buy the new version of Apple TV, but Myer didn't have it in stock.

When we got home, Sam got out his iBook reader thingy and purchased the book in 5 minutes and handed it to me. Welcome to the 21st century, his look said. 

I love the feel of a book in my hand, I love the smell of it, I love the feeling of the paper on my fingers as I turn the page. I like to put the book on my book shelf after I have finished reading it. I have book shelves crammed with books and, truthfully, I am running out of room for new books. All that being said, I didn't take long to get used to the reader. With an iBook reader, you don't have to worry about sitting where there is good like, which is great, because in a terrace house good light is sometimes hard to find.

Today it is a not so pleasant, rainy, day in Melbourne, so I am now curled up on the couch with my new book. Lovely.

Sometimes the old Fashioned Way is Best

I was making coffee in the kitchen and Sam was out the back messing around in the garden. I sent him a message, coffee? (We have unlimited messages and calls on both our phones)

He didn't answer and I was sure he had his Apple watch on. I'd finished making my coffee and I was ready to make his, should he want one.

We have a clear view from  the kitchen through the lounge room and out the windows to the back yard. So I made the sound, "Pssst!" and held up a coffee cup.

He looked up and nodded in the affirmative.

Modern technology eat your heart out.

Update on Tony Abbott Head-Butt Story

So, the update on this story, is that the attacker says it had nothing to do with marriage equality. He said he saw Tony Abbott and he thought to himself, he would never have another another opportunity to head-but the vile oaf. So, nothing to do with marriage equality, Tony, you contemptuous prick

You know, I never condone violence, but occasionally exceptions can be made 😬

Round of applause.

Tony Abbott, allegedly, gets assaulted in Hobart, by a man wearing a 'Yes' badge no less, and he doesn't call the police, he calls 2GB. In fact, Tony Abbott never calls the police, the police have to call him to find out the details.

Vote Yes

Muesli

250 grams of wheat bran, half of the bag, for batch one. 500 grams [approx.] rolled oats, maybe a few more if you raid the porridge canister. Up to you. Cut up your 80 gram, bag of pistachios. Don't look at me like that, it doesn’t take that long.

You could use almonds, but I have an intolerance to almonds, so I use pistachios.

Never use walnuts, peanuts, or hazelnuts. I have learnt from bad experience. The walnuts take over, the only flavour you get is walnut, peanuts are too dry, and hazelnuts do the same as walnuts, except not quite so bad.

Add the rest of the ingredients, 500 grams [ish] sultanas, to taste, 150 grams currents, 170 grams cranberries, 200 grams pepitas, 200 grams sunflower kernels.

And mix. It is the mixing I love. Be careful not to spill any out of the side of the bowl, you should have plenty of room if you are careful.

Add a second 500 gram bag rolled oats. [fill a big mixing bowl, the type granny made fruit cakes in, with all of these ingredients, however many rolled oats it takes to fill a big mixing bowl?]

Mix again. The mixing bowl is now really full. Gently, you can do it, there is enough room to mix.

When the mixing is done, put the muesli into the muesli canister.

Done. A new batch of muesli, filling my two pantry canisters, it is a good feeling. No added sugar. Plenty of Fruit Muesli, because my mum told me I could eat as much fruit as I liked.

The Very Second of Waking Up

I was up early 5am. I just woke up. I always have really vivid dreams, so much so that they sometimes wake me up, often, with a start. And unless I remember them in that very second I take to wake up, I forget them in the next second. The third second of the day and my dreams are swimming away from me like fast fish. Rub one eye, rub the other eye, they are gone.

What? It was? A fast car skidding in the gravel on a country road. No, it is gone.

There was a full moon, at 5am, it shone brightly. I called Buddy inside. He didn’t move a paw in his kennel. I wrote my journal for a while, until I felt tired again. Milo snuggled up in the blanket that was covering me on the couch. We both dropped off.

Sam got up and made porridge. The blueberries and strawberries were sour on my oats. The maple syrup countered that, almost. Fruity, syrupy, mily, oaty is what I get. I eat it horizontally.

I had a nap on the couch while Sam showered. He exhaled when he re-entered the room, seeing me still on the couch. His kissed me good bye from the couch.

“You stay there, kiss, kiss.”

Perhaps, I should have a no joint before breakfast rule. He chuckles away to himself. Sam says he hates 'that' face gazing moronically.

I chatted to Mark, yesterday. He gave away what happens to Jon Snow. The last episode I watched was Jon Snow getting stabbed. I kind of thought Jon Snow was still in the show, I couldn’t resolve it in my head, but then again, they kill everyone in that show.

I said something about the red witch, and Mark responded, with what the red witch did. I’m not going to be a spoiler too. But in that second, Mark gave it away, so easily. He said he was sorry, that he didn’t mean to. I said it was oaky, I don’t take it that seriously. At that moment, I remembered all the occasions that I had, almost bragged, that I’d never watched Game of Thrones. Boy has that changed in the last month. We’ve got season 6 to watch this weekend.

Milo and I sleep a little longer on the couch.

I put Aerosmith on. I fertilise all of my indoor plants, and my house is like a jungle, but it doesn't take long. Four twelve litres made up and we're done, until tomorrow.

I’ve been thinking about guys who could sing Son of a Preacher Man. Wouldn’t you just love to see a straight, male singer perform that song, with a gay sensibility? I reckon it would be hot.

I watched Queen play with Paul Rogers, one of two guys who have fronted Queen, one of only two guys with the chops to come close to replacing Freddie Mercury.

This is the guy who Freddy Mercury idolised as a vocalist.

Actually, I tend to like him better than Adam Lambert, Paul Rodger's voice seems to be more organic than Lambert's singing machine.

Maybe I should play a bit of Jagger, and have a morning of great rock vocalists.

I reckon the male singer to sing Son of a Preacher Man would have to be younger than the rock titans. Maybe Harry Styles, I wonder.

My Second Basal-cell Carcinoma

I had my second Basal-cell carcinoma cut off my face today. Me and Hugh Jackman, just like that [holding up two fingers that are crossed] 

My smoking surgeon, who didn't stink quite so bad of cigarettes today, is nice. Not that I care, I used to smoke, whatever, but I imagine some of his patients may care. The first local anaesthetic stung like a bee sting. The second, third, was there a forth, didn't hurt so much. 

We talked about car accidents, the old lady who drove into my front wall, and a bike rider that rode into the back of his car. The key factor was that both of the old lady, and the bike rider, had done exactly the same thing not long before they crashed into us. The old lady wrote her car off driving over a round about, and the bike rider had ridden into another car the day before he rode into the good doctor.

I could feel my forehead go numb, it was a strange feeling.

A bit of a tug. I couple of stitches.

Then the tiny bandage was put on and it was done. I nearly asked for a bigger bandage, as I was not going to get any sympathy with that tiny little square of cloth, magnifying glass in and out, as nobody will be able to see it. Actually, that is good, I jest, as the last one was on the side of my head and due to its position it needed a great big, cumbersome bandage.

The removed flesh was sent for a biopsy.

I'm back next week to have the stitches out.

Fixing My Knee

I have had a sore knee for a number of weeks. I don't know what I did to it, but some how I hurt it. I figured it would just get better, no need to go to the doctor, it would heal itself. Well, some weeks later it just wasn't getting any better, if anything, it was getting marginally worst.

Damn it, I thought to myself. I am going to have to go to the doctor, who will refer me to some knee guy, who'll send me off to have scans, of some kind. Damn it, how boring, bloody hell.

So, I haven't done anything about it, but it was dawning on me that I would have to do something about it very soon. Clearly it isn't getting better, I am going to have to buy into the medical system to get it fixed. It seemed like 'now' was the time, I had to finally admit to myself, whether I liked it, or not.

Apart from anything else, I needed to start doing some exercise again, I can't just sit around all day, because you know what they say about sitting.

Yesterday, my ex-boyfriend called me to tell me that his ex-wife and the mother of my step-children had died. She has had bowel cancer for quite a few years, so it wasn't altogether unexpected. It is quite sad, as she was still relatively young.

After we had chatted about that, Mark asked me when I was coming to visit. I said that I would, if only my knee would get better. He responded with, "I guess you are going to be rather sceptical about this, but go and get yourself some Comfrey Cream and put that on." 

Once we had a baby kangaroo - when Mark did animal rescue stuff - with a hopelessly broken arm which from all accounts would have to be amputated. At the time, Mark knew quite a renowned a Chinese herbalist who suggested comfrey and it healed the kangaroo's leg. And more recently, Mark hurt his little finger which he suspected may have been broken, but he put comfrey cream on it anyway. It clearly wasn't broken, as it was well on the way to being healed within 24 hours of the application of comfrey.

Knowing all of this information, I replied, "I'm not sceptical, and at this point I will try anything."

So, 24 hours later, having just applied my forth application of comfrey cream, not wanting to get ahead of myself in anyway, I will cautiously tell you my knee seems to be much improved.

Sitting on the Couch

Watched What's My Line for most of the day. I love that show. I only watch the celebrity mystery guest, I don't both with the ordinary contestants. Although, I watch some of the ordinary contestants occasionally, it is a window into a world that doesn't exist any more. Ava Gardener must be the most beautiful woman in the world, followed closely by Hedy Lemarr. Paul Newman is the most handsome man. Robert Morse and Steve Lawrence are also kind of hot.

The weather was shit. My knee is still sore.

Lazy Days

I still haven't finished the front wall. It's been cold. My knee has been sore.

I’ve been watching YouTube, brushing up on my American cars. I never knew much about American cars, it was always my car knowledge weakness, but now I I’ve got a pretty good idea. My favourite era would be 1958 to 1959, but I have brushed up through the fifties, sixties, and seventies. The late fifties and the early sixties was the pinnacle of American car design. I don’t know why, but I have always been fascinated with cars, ever since I was young.

I’ve been watching car restoration YouTube channels, it’s fascinating. I love the guys who get old cars and get them going just with their mechanical ingenuity.

I should have been a mechanic, I reckon I could get into car restoration right about now. I’d like to restore VW Beetles.

I always wished I’d learned the piano. I should learn the piano.

I’ve always wanted to sing. I should take singing lessons. David has a teacher he recommended to me. He’s taking singing lessons with her. He sang a song at his big birthday party in Amsterdam. He was pretty good.

David has just split up with his latest boyfriend, another basket case that needs fixing.

“What is wrong with me, why can’t I get a boyfriend?”

“It’s not you, it is them,” I say.

He quotes his favourite line from sexy in The City, a line Charlotte uttered. “I’ve been looking for him since I was sixteen, where is he, I’m exhausted.”

Saturday, Saturday

Today it was walking with my sore knee in the rain, which was painful and I complained until Sam told me to shut up.

"Why don't you try stretching it?"

I rolled my eyes. "That just works your thigh," I said. I kept walking to Victoria Street, trying not to complain too much more. At the lights, I did tentatively grab my foot and attempt a stretch, and it felt good, but I am sure it did my knee no good.

Oh how boring it is to have a knee that is not getting better. I thought it would have by now, but it hasn't. I don't know what I did to it, nothing specific. I'll have to go to my GP, who will have to send me to some knee guy, I presume, who will have to send me to get an x-ray, or something equally as boring. Oh, annoying. I read that knees were the most common joint injury, it is a thrill to be so common.

We ate Pho. We chose the wrong Pho shop and it wasn't so good. As nice as it could be. Oh well. You live and learn, hey. It is not so important.

We shopped at the Hive for groceries. Or, at least, Sam shopped and I sat at a table rubbing my knee.

The druggies were out in force, with their toothless smiles and their looks of fear, or was that concentration, as they rushed to somewhere, bare-foot, chewing.

One of them insisted he got the wrong change for his purchase, which cost $5.50 for which he swore he gave the girl on the register two fifty dollar notes. Which made no sense. The girl he couldn't identify, despite the girls on the cash registers having worked all day, which also made no sense. The boss was very patient, and the guy was clearly off his chops.

And we made wantons at the kitchen bench for chicken soup for diner for the coming cold night when we got home, which we ate for diner.

Sam's Got My Cold

I've had a cold for a week and now Sam has it. He's home from work, yesterday afternoon and today. We've got season 4 and season 5 of Game of Thrones to watch so we'll be alright.

We've just started watching Game of Thrones in the last month. One of Sam's colleagues has it all on Blu-Ray and has been lending them to us. We tried watching it once before, a number of years ago, but couldn't get into it. I'm enjoying it this time, but I don't really get why it is the biggest TV show in the world, there are too many holes in the story line. It is incredibly violent, there are some images that will never leave me. I find it kind of disturbing that such a violent show is the most popular in the world. 

And all the gay characters have been killed off. My favourite characters keep getting done it.

My favourite character is Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf brother. He's been my favourite from the beginning. I hope, with trepidation, that he isn't killed off suddenly, you know, with an axe through the head. The rest of the Lannisters, nyr.

I hate the Dragon Queen, she is a terrible actress, but she does have really hot men around her, that is true. Although, most of them have come to a bad end, of course.

Sad that Rob Stark died and that his mother died. But, why did they wander around the country side until they died though? I never got that?

I loath the Queen Regent and the Red Witch. I love Arya and Brienne.

Jon Snow is more than serious, now isn't he. But who wouldn't want a wolf of their own?

And then there are all the swarthy men.

And now the self-righteous religious types are ruining everybody's lives, so in that sense nothing has changed over the years. The poison of the pious, have always been the nightmare of the masses.