Thursday, February 28, 2008

My New Bed

The W...company rang and said that the bed would be delivered
on Tuesday 19th February between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m and bugger
me it arrived right on the dot of 9 a.m.!!!

I only have about two quilt and sheet sets left over from my
old queen size bed so to celebrate I went out and bought a new
quilt and sheet set from Spotlight for under
$85. I got it in tones of brown and mauve with frills so it
suits both Cliff and I. He said it would be too frilly to
sleep on, so I pointed out that we would only sleep on the
'plain' pillow cases, the frilly ones were put on the bed for
show and under the plain one when we are sitting up reading. DUH!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Big C (Again)

Twenty minutes ago my son rang to say he had a phone call from
his father who had been to the doctor.

(Don Sr has smoked since he was twelve years old. Five years
ago when he had blocked arteries the doctor said he would not
operate unless Don Sr gave up the smokes. He did for the time
it took to get the op done and within a week was smoking again.
He said if he gets cancer he gets it.

Well two years ago he was diagnosed with emphysema and ended up
carting around a cylinder of oxygen.)

So it did not surprise me in the least when Don Jr said the
doctor told his father that he has lung cancer and that it has
spread to his liver. A death sentence.

So it looks like Don Sr was right for once and that last
Christmas could very well have been his last.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

A Bridesmaid Again!

For the second time in a couple of weeks I have come second in
the Monday night Euchre competition. Equal second with Grahame,
that is the second equal second and the fourth time over all
the years I have been playing that I have come second.

Surely I can crack first place ONCE!!!

Grahame and I scored 127 and Billy came first with 128!! ONE
POINT!! The point that Lorna would not go for when she had the
seven and eight of diamonds and could have picked up the jack
of diamonds!!! and would have had the ace of hearts and ace of
clubs in her hand!! What was she waiting for an engraved
invitation?

At least that high score will have given a boost to my overall
average score. I should be sitting on 108 now, while last year
my average was 105. I'd be happy for the rest of the year to
retain that average.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

The Big C

For a couple of years now Cliff has had a nasty lesion on his
forehead and when he has gone to the doctor it was burned off
with dry ice.

Mid last year I noticed he had developed a similiar lesion on
his nose, so I insisted he go to the doctor. Of course it took
six months or so. But this time his 'old' doctor had left and
he had a new doctor, who did not like the look of the lesions,
so sent him to a specialist on Monday the 4th of February.

The specialist turned out to be Mr. Arthur. When he was taking
a sample for the biopsy it came out in a 'nice lump' so he
laughed and said as it was coming out so easy he might as well
take it all out. Cliff said it bloody hurt to have an injection
in the nose, (don't I know it!!) and even then he could feel the
pressure as the doctor 'dug it and removed it.' He said he felt
nothing with the forehead lesion. (Thank god he is hard headed
like most men!)

Well on Tuesday he complained of a splitting headache that
lasted two days ( at the site of the 'removed lesion.') But the
nose was O.K.

This Monday (18th) he had to go back for the results. It was a
'melanoma,' but Mr. Arthur said he doesn't like using that term
as it freaks people out. So he said it was 'malignant.'
(Same difference!!)

He wanted to put him in hospital right away and operate the next
day, but Cliff is such a baby he said no, "I can't, I'm a small
business owner and can't afford to take the time off."

So Mr. Arthur is going to do it as a day procedure. So he has to
still take two days off but a week apart and it has to be Friday.
(My busiest day.) Where as I could have done the shop Tuesday
and Wednesday as I don't have much on, on those days.

On top of which Mr. Arthur said it would leave a scar on his
forehead and he would have to get skin from 'somewhere else.' He
looks Cliffy up and down and says "I'm sure we'll find somewhere."

So after Friday the 29th February, we can can call him "Butt Face."

The forehead is the most serious so it is being done first and
then the nose.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

100th Curve Visit

Well my goal was achieved today, Wednesday 13th February. That
was to have my 100th visit to Curves by Valentines' Day.

They are going to take my photo with the largest size T shirt
they have which is only a large. Maria said she is expecting
extra large in the near future and will give me one to keep then.

Meg said she only has twelve visits up on me as she does not go
Saturdays, so if I keep going six times a week I will achieve my
200th T shirt BEFORE her!!!

So I want my 200th by my birthday July 11th!!! (Disapponted as
this was not achieved!)

Sunday, February 10, 2008

My New Mattress.

I had a phone call at last from the company I ordered my new
mattress from. In the last phone call I asked for it to be
delivered in the first week of February. The phone call came
on Thursday (7th) and they said it would be delivered on
either the 18th or 19th of February which is two weeks later
than I wanted and I have already made a monthy payment on it
so it is well and truly late.

And talking of monthly payments I had an SMS message from the
company handling the finance and I had to ring them URGENTLY.
Which I did when I got home on Monday morning 11th Feb ( about
twnety minutes ago) and the woman said my payment had been
sent back due to insufficent funds and I said not possible as
I have money on the credit card PLUS my credit limit which
means they are wrong. So she said no it has been returned and
I said well it was not because of insufficent funds. Turns out
they had the wrong expiry date for the card and that was why it
was refused!!

Why must these companies insist it is because of lack of funds
rather than a simple accounting fault on their part?

Thursday, February 7, 2008

A Thoughtful Male Driver.

I went to Mid valley shopping center (Wednesday) to return the
brackets I didn't need (from the D.I.Y shoe room project) and
pick up some empty boxes from Payless shoes (to put my shoes in.)
On leaving my car space outside Bunnings and turning to go to
Payless a male driver ACTUALLY STOPPED and gave me right of way!
I smiled and waved at him in acknowledgement and he smiled and
waved back at me!!!

Finally a man on the road who didn't think he owned it.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Panael Surveys

About six months ago I had my first comment on my Blog but it
had nothing to do with my Blog. It was an American company
selling the names of companies that wanted people to do
surveys. They claimed that you could earn up to a thousand
dollars a week doing this work. I thought a $100 a week would
be nice. So I paid the sixty dollars and got the list. Of
course most were for the USA but there were a number of
companies in Australia and I put myself down for those.

Today Thursday 7th February I received my first pay cheque
for $25 dollars.

It turned out that most Australian companies DO NOT pay cash
but give award points and you can select items from a list.
I have not earned enough points on other panels to trade my
points for a 'prize.' It turns out that they send the surveys
by email and if they come in the morning and I don't check the
email till after 3 p.m. then often the quota is full by then
and I miss out. The emails seem to come between 11 a.m. and
1 p.m.

Another thing is that they often come on a Friday and then
they come at 5 p.m. and I have gone to Cliff's and don't see
them till Monday.

All these emails have closing dates three or four days away
but only twice in the last six months have I mangered to do
two. On three occassions I was not suitable for the survey
(so way send it to me in the first place!!) and on all the
other occassions I was too late and the numbers had been
filled.

So at this rate it will be 18 months before I am in the black
as far as my payment for the original list.

Oh well at least it is a start.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

The Rose Farm

On Friday 1st February Wade rang to say he had a job for me. I
could not believe it! He wanted me to sign the paper work right
away. But I had just been down town and had only just pulled
into my driveway so he bought the paper work out to me to do.

The job was at The Rose Farm and it was to be 7.30 a.m. to
3.30 p.m. with overtime if you were good enough each day and
overtime at the weekend too.

I arrived to find that there were four of us employed for the
period up to Valentine's Day. It turned out that the girl
showing us what to do was Ted's (from Euchre) daughter in law.
I had met her when she and her husband came to cards a couple
of times.

We were to wrap the roses in cellopane and sticky tape that and
put them back into clean buckets of water, ten bunches to a
bucket, ten roses to a bunch. They had already been bunched.

We were working in a cool room where the temperature was 2
degrees. I had put on my beanie so there was no problem with
my ears. I forgot a coat but another supervisor lent me hers
as she did not need it and I was wearing socks and sneakers.
But I found that after one hour my hands were so cold that they
began to hurt and go numb and I could not feel the cellopane or
pull the tape right, so I had to take a break and warm my hands.

They brought in a bucket of warm water but after another hour I
knew it was impossible to continue it was just too painful.

I have never quit a job before in my life and I was so sorry but
there it was. They didn't seem surprised. I guess they have a
lot of people who can't handle the cold.

I went straight to Wade and told him what happened.

It has been six hours since I left and my fingers are still
tingly! I took a pair of gloves but it turned out it was not
possible to wear them and do the work. I left one glove behind!
(They never retuned it either!)

If the cold had not have got to my hands first I think I would
have only lasted till lunch time (1 p.m) anyway as the work was
done standing up and after the two hours there and a further 50
minutes standing in the dole queue line my back was aching!

The doctor has only recommened me to stand for twnety minutes
before a break and fifty minutes sitting before I have to stretch
my legs.

Also we were told that the work was daily from 7.30 a.m. to
5 p.m. and we might even have to work till 6 p.m.! Right then I
was thinking how can I tell them I need to leave at 4 p.m. at
the latest to get to Centerlink to put my form in. Turned out
that wasn't a problem. I don't know how Angie does it. She
must have great circulation.

I wonder if I was the only one to quit and how long the others
lasted as Sharon said she had back problems and Pete was also
having trouble with his hands getting cold. The only one who
seemed OK was Ryan.

Saw Pete next day he lasted till lunch time.

Wade said the other girl quit at the end of the day as she had
problems standing, like me.