Grass Cutting (CONT)

Finally one of the 6 grass cutters that I have
tried to get the grass at Yalloun Nth has rung
me back!

He will look at the block and see if he can do
it, but he won't take the grass away!

If he can do it, it won't be before the end of
February! He is just so busy so I might book
him for the about 25th of Nov this year so that
I won't have the same problem with the council
that I am having now.

Trivia Night at the R.S.L.

Saturday 6th Feb was the first trivia night at the R.S.L.
Cliff invited Tony and Bev, and Richard and his mother
Anita. I invited Karen and Chris. So that made eight
on our team.

There were 8 rounds of 10 questions per round. So the
total was out of 80.

I reckon at a quess Karen answered 25 questions correctly.
I answered 25 correctly ( there was some overlap about ten
between Karen and I) Tony answered 12 questions correctly
as did Cliff (once again there was an overlap of 4 questions)
giving us a total of 60 and the final point came from Anita.
Bev, Chris and Richard contributed nothing. Though Richard
said I was wrong about Sardinia being in the Mediterranean,
so Tony changed it to Adriatic. But I was right so he
actually cost us a point!

There was a question about the 'animal' on four different
countries flags. I said 'eagle' but Cliff outshouthed me
and said it was the Phoenix, I tried to out 'logic' him
by saying way would countries put a mythical bird on their
flags but he won the day and lost us another point as it
was the eagle.

So our score at the end of the night was 61, which placed
us third. Second got 62 points and the winning team got
65 points. So even with my 'other two points' we still
would not have won but we would have come second!

However we all enjoyed the night and Karen surprised Cliff,
as he though her not very smart, but I have known for years
that she does crossword puzzles and the sort of trivia
questions they ask are often found in crossword puzzles!

Christian

Accoring to my Oxford dictionary, a Christian is one
who follows Christ's teachings, one who is kind, fair
and/or humane.

Last night I encountered a Christian. I had said "Oh
my God" and she asked me to refain from profanity as
she was a Christian.

So I spend the night talking to the nice agreeable
young man next to me instead.

Later in the evening, I remarked to the Christian woman
"How nice the young man was." She replied "The poo..er"
in the most distainfull tone imaginable. I icily answered
"You mean the homosexual?" Even more forciably she
retorted "Poo..ers are what they are, it is a sin against
God to live that way!"

I did not go into it with her, but I thought "Did not
Christ say 'He who is without sin cast the first stone.'"
In other words it is not for us sinful humans to judge
the extent of the sins of others! Then I thought "I
think I am more a Christian than she, even with all
my swearing!"

Why Is There Never Enough Time?

Ever since this new year has begun I seem to be
pressed for time. Everyone wants a bit of me and I
seem to be over extended! Yet I'm sure that when
I was working, full time, studying part time, and
caring for three kids and a husband, who was like
a big kid that I had MORE TIME.

I am feeing really stressed!

I have not even had enough time to read my two
books per week that I have been doing for the last
two years. I had hoped to increase that to three
books this year, but that hope is slowly withering
on the vine!

Water, Water Everywhere!

It seems that today, my great love, water was to be
mybitter foe.

Firstly I am into recycling water from the washing
machine. When it has washed rather than letting
that first lot of water go down the drain, I fill
buckets and empty it on the back lawn.

Then with the final rinse water I put that into the
water saver mode and into the trough and use it as
the washing water for the next load.

But today when swapping over two buckets, (I had only
filled 4 and usually I get 12 out of a machine load)
the hose slipped out of my hand and fell behind the
machine and before I could move the machine out and
get the hose, about 100 liters of water ran all over
my laundry floor and soaked all my candles that I
keep there! Not happy Jan!

Then I was having my afternoon nanna nap when I
suddenly woke up and thought it is going to rain.
I had cut half the back lawn this morning and left
the lid off the bin and the mower out.

I raced outside and sure enough there were big fat
drops of rain starting to fall. I managered to get
the mower into the pergola area before the engine
got wet. By the time I git back to bed it was
pelting down and the wind was howling and talk about
thunder!

But I had gone out the back door and went back inside
the house via the pergola.

When I went out at 5.30 p.m. to check the washing it
was to find that the rain had come into the laundry,
up to ten feet inside the door and if I had thought
the candles were soaked this moring the package is
now just falling off!

It never rains but it pours! Not usually here! I think
in all the years I have lived in the valley, there has
only been about five times that I have needed to have an
umbrella when it has rained, unlike Sydney! It really
only drizzles here. That is why we have more WET days
than Sydney, but it actually has a higher rainfall.

Grass Cutting

Have tried to get a slasher and a mower for 40 North
Road ever since mid November, one let me down and two
have said they don't have the equiptment for the job
(have you ever heard of a man admitting 'he dosen't
have the equiptment'?) HA! HA!

In the mean time the council have decided that they
would rather have the money from a fine that prevent
a fire hazard and have fined me for not getting the
grass cut.

Just this last Monday I have rung two more contracters
but have not heard from either. I will ring another
tomorrow abd give him 24 hours and if I don't hear
from him, I will ring another till I get someone or
the list is exhausted, but I can't afford to pay the
fine.

The Good Family

Over the week end I started to count my blessings.

I may not have the greatest relationship in the world-
but it is not the worse either.

I may not have a job, power or money, but I own my house
and that puts a roof over my head, even if it doesn't
have all the bells and whistles, and leaks at times.

But the best thing I have are my children.

When another mother told me her son has threatened to
kill her, he is nearly 40 ( and the threat was at Xmas,)
and another mother told me her two sons who still live
at home, both are near their 30's are so bad that SHE
MOVED OUT, when another mother told me her 33 year old
daughter has not spoken to her in six years, then I
realise how lucky I am to have my three children.

Not only as my ex daughter in law said are we close as
a family but as I told my children all through their
childhood, friends may come and friends may go, but
family are always there, especially for each other.
More than any other, Meg has come to know that is true.

So my children not only get along with me but with each
other even going out clubbing together and on holidays
together.

So the good lord is looking after me after all.

God bless.