General Chat

CC good to hear that you joined the team of 'Older and Wiser".

Allan, I don't know that I want to vote for any of them either. I think this time I'll just have to go for the person I think will do the best for my electorate whatever party they belong to.

Also, talk of old books etc. reminds me that I have a figurine by Meissen sitting very well packed up in my storeroom that has given me many sleepless nights in the past as to who do I leave it to when I go? I don't know of any of my family who would treasure it and I know that my father, who passed it down to me, would be quite amenable to me selling to to someone who would treat it well.

But how do I find out what it's worth? I'm a babe in the woods in this field and being so, don't know who to trust.

Terrible, isn't it?

Pam.

CC, I also remember the days when we ironed the teatowels and hand towels, and underwear!!

Now, fortunately, we have cut back but I still like a nicely ironed shirt. And as a throwback to my childhood days still enjoy sleeping on a nicely ironed pillowcase. A bit uncomfortable I admit. I might be better sleeping on a bed!

Allan

Tec, weather today is Paradise is still good. Nights getting cooler but it's now almost 9am and I'm in short sleeved T shirt again. Cool, but not overly so. Currently 22c/66f in the house.

Birds got brought in. They are so funny. In the mornings they fly toward to window letting us know that they want to go into their outside cage. Then at night, once it's dark, they sit on the perch near the cage door waiting for one of us to come get them and put them into their night cage inside. It's almost time though for them to spend nights as well outside but I feel sorry for them having to cope with the cold weather when they're so young.

Pam.

Can I add my condolences to those who should be going to bed soon, for the shootings at Cumbria. There is no explanation. Even if this bloke had a grudge against one person it doesn't explain the murder of so many bystanders.
Pity he killed himself though. He could have spent the rest of his life rotting in gaol somewhere.

Allan, Pam. Never discuss religion or politics please. It can set me off. You are both right about the ETS though. The opposition are determined to block everything in the Senate, and with the the support of the "Family First" dingbat from Victoria they have an absolute majority. By not pursuing the issue to a double dissolution the government have wimped out.
That said, it's confession time. My electorate is called Bennelong. And I cannot see myself voting for a mediocre ex- tennis player and even more mediocre TV commentator who his party have parachuted into our area as their candidate.

Pam, a delayed reply to your question. It's wet again after a couple of half decent days. Very gloomy. not bitterly cold though.
Colin

Pam the weather sounds good. It was 18 C here today, and felt rather warm to me, 23 c forecast for the weekend - that will be hot for us.
Pleased to hear the birds are doing well, yes they are funny in letting you know what they want. I had an African Grey for many years, quite a character too.
When I used to visit Oz on the ships, many of the lads bought sulpher crested cockatoos to take home as pets for their families, but the Australian Dept of Flora and Fauna put a ban on taking native Australian birds out of the country. This led to instances of them being smuggled out, and I saw many amusing methods of this practice.


Allan, I laughed at the vision of you curled up on that pillowcase, knees underneath your chin - must be agony in the morning.

CC. I know I'm barking, it's that knowledge that keeps me sane.

Tec.

CC, it's strange the things we have.

I have a small box of silver threepences, many of them Victorian, and there is also a fourpenny piece (groat).

I don't think that they are worth much as they are hardly in mint condition.

the main use for them was to put them in the Christmas Puds. Being pure silver they did not react with the food.

Still bits of Pud on some of them

Allan

I submitted a post about ten minutes ago and now I can't find it! Looks like I must have 'previewed' it instead!

I used to make pocket money by ironing all the pillow cases and tea towels - when I was at school. However, I think that the fabrics have changed and that has changed our attitude. No, we never ironed underclothes. Maybe my Mum did, but not by the time I was old enough to iron. Nylon was new then and was being used for everything and if we tried to iron it, it would disintegrate and make a mess of the electric iron.

Also, so many women went into the work force in the last fifty years, that a lot of things didn't get the attention they used to get when mother was home all day.

CC, that's the problem I have. Although I do have the best of the situation having had my father tell me not to be too sentimental over it. He said that if none of the kids showed any inclination to love the figurine as we had to at least sell it on to someone who would love it and care for it. Still, I hate to think that someone might 'rip me off' because I don't have a clue what it's worth.

Sydneybloke, an ex-tennis player and TV presenter??? Goodness me. You do have a problem there, don't you. At least it looks like our alternative up here is going to be the previous member for the Libs in the Howard Govt. who also happens to be a personal friend and we know does have the welfare of our region at heart. Unlike any of those down in Brisbane !! (State govt.)

Pam

Colin it is probably for the best that the Cumbria gunman killed himself.
Otherwise his trial would have taken months, maybe a year, resulting in a media frenzy. This would only make matters worse for the families of those affected. This way, that side of things is avoided.

Well time for bed again,
Enjoy your day everyone Down Under,
Sleep well Up Top,
~~~~~~to Diane,

Goodnight my friends,
Tec.

Berona: very true. I remember those bits of nylon stuck to the iron and how hard it was to get it off. Not to mention how said I was at some treasured, long awaited and saved for item disintegrating under my tender (?) loving care with the iron. Well I remember the damping down of the linens (pillow slips, tablecloths, tea towels, shirts, grandma's aprons, even serviettes) the night before the ironing was to be done. Then the next day the attention to detail to get the lace edgings 'just right' and the apron strings without a crease. If there was a crease in anything I had Mum or Grandma there with the water bottle ready to damp it down again, all over I might add, for it to be ironed all over again. No just damping the area of the crease !! Oh, no. If one was to do a job it had to be done to the inth degree.

Thank goodness I'm not like that any more. And I never put my kids through that degree of perfection either.

Pam.

CC: I'm now watching my computer screen whilst I'm ironing. Makes it much more enjoyable. The ironing, that is.

lol

Pam.

Well, CC I suppose some of that early teaching has stuck. I'm not quite 70 yet, am still working part time and am still going out and about a lot in a job that requires me to look neat and tidy. So I suppose I'm still in the ironing brigade for a time yet.
P

I have no objection to a politician's past, as long as he/she has the knowledge/education to cope with the job they undertake when elected. However, so many pollies have a background in Law and they seem to enjoy showing the elected person's ignorance.
I have noticed in the last few months - members of the opposition keep challenging elected people to a "public debate". Why waste time with debates? Actions speak louder than words. If a polly is doing a 'good job', what does it matter if they can't debate?
Some pollies think that Mr or Mrs Public are ignorant. Leave the pollies alone and let them get on with the job they were elected to do. If we don't like it, we don't vote for them next time - it's as simple as that.
As for the ones who use their position to misbehave by claiming excessive expenses and/or get involved in some scandal - throw them out and replace them with someone who wants to do their best for the country. Again, if we don't like what they do - we don't let them back in next election.

Berona, I agree. I suppose that ultimately we do have the last say but so many people really don't take their right to vote seriously.

I've been listening to parliament the last few weeks since it began sitting again and what a waste of space most of those people are. All it seems to be about is point scoring. I think if I hear another work about the 'super' tax on mining I'll go nuts. I think by listening to parliament though I do have a more informed idea of what it's about.

Pam.

I have only ironed twice since I came to my present address. Those two times were when I used the iron-on tape to hem up two new pairs of trousers.....For years now, I have always bought non-iron clothes which don't need ironing. Also, I can't 'bend and stretch' to use the clothes line, so I use my dryer, which blows out any creases.

I don't even have a dryer. Non-iron clothing tends to have polyesters in it and up here in the tropics non-iron clothing tends to make us sweat more so we rely on cotton and linen maybe a little bit of rayon for comfort. Unfortunately, this means ironing.

P

CC - what time do you go to bed? You're as bad as Diane!

That's how I am. It must be the age. If I try to watch TV in the evening, I drop off to sleep at 8pm - sometimes don't wake unti after midnight!, but I can go to bed and fall asleep straight away - and do another four hours!

Because of this, I record all the shows I want to see so that I can watch them next afternoon - but once I sit down to watch them, I nod off again! If I sleep then for more than an hour, then I can't sleep at night. Very mercurial!

At the moment, I am still taking the tablets my Dr prescribed for the Shingles and I am staying awake all day - but within ten minutes of taking that tablet, I'm off with the fairies for a good 8 - 10 hours! That's why I haven't been coming on here as early as usual.

Seems like I have some of the vagaries listed above with regard to sleeping. I find that there's nothing worthwhile watching on TV except for Sunday nights when I like to watch Bones and Castle. But they have their end of season finales next Sunday and I don't know what I"ll be doing then!!

I know what you mean CC about dressing down. Which gets me to my favourite grouch. Why is it that these days jeans have to be the order of the day no matter where you're going of what the occasion is. We see school kids dressed neatly in uniform complete with hats, ties etc and the teachers are wearing jeans and t shirt. We see gals dressed up in their lovely cocktail/evening type wear accompanied by a male dressed in jeans and a shirt that's not even tucked in. I don't think we have to wear top clobber all the time but I do think there's a time and place for everything.

I might be old-fashioned but I still think that people will treat you as they see you. If you present yourself in a sloppy fashion then that's the way you'll be treated.

Speaking of dressing up with the fur coat. I recall when my kids were little and I was a single mum (altho married!) I set my goals in life. That was to own my own home (accomplished); Own my car (accomplished) and go grocery shopping in a Woolworths supermarket dressed in jeans and a fur coat (accomplished). Aint it funny what goals we set for ourselves.

Pam.

Goodnight CC.