The Cockroach on the ceiling and the Possum in the gutter.

We were finally watching something good on Australian TV, season 5 of 'The Good Wife' started here last night.We were sat watching in the man-cave when something caught my eye and distracted me from the screen. It was a large cockroach scurrying upside down across the ceiling.It just goes to show how I have changed because I just sat and watched it. It would scurry then stop and it's antennae would wave around then it would scurry along again and all the time it was completely upside down. I may have done something about it if it had decided to pass over our heads but it didn't. It kept on going and eventually reached the wall where it slowed down. It started to move very cautiously and then I saw why...also upside down a few inches away was a gecko. I knew something interesting was going to happen...suddenly the gecko pounced but I think it forgot it was upside down or it had not learned anything about gravity. It hit the cockroach and the both fell from the ceiling onto a small bookcase behind the couch. The cockroach scurried off down the side and under the bookcase...the gecko just lay there....still....and I imagined it was saying..."sh*?!"I was just wondering if it was ok when it too scurried off down the opposite side and under the book case.We did not see them again. I hope the gecko got it.We are back up at Frogknot now after driving up early this afternoon. There was 44 mm in the rain gauge and we can see that there has been quite a heavy downpour by the canyons and gullys the run off has formed in the earth all around the house. The dam is up and back to how it was a few weeks ago but not as high as it was when we first arrived. The roof repairs seem to have done their job... the walls appear dry but there has been some ingress in the house and a few drip stains have appeared on our lovely whitewashed walls inside. The red floor looks great and the finish will certainly be better for keeping the place clean but I think I prefer the floor white.I checked the gutter for the possum and it was there!It was sleeping so I reached up and stroked it's lovely soft fur. I hardly touched it but it's little face suddenly popped up and stared at me. It looks pretty much like it needs glasses as it's eyes appear slightly crossed and a bit glazed over. I went inside and got a cracker and held it up. It leaned further out to sniff it and then bolted down the gutter and onto the tree branch like last time. I went back in and cut a slice of sweet potato and held it out. Again it sniffed it but was not interested. We had no fruit to offer it.Will was not as pleased to see it as I was....it has eaten all the pears on his tree.

Quelle Surprise!

Dear Nicholas,Thank you for applying for the Service Cashier - Acacia Ridge position with Supermarkets. Unfortunately after careful consideration and assessment with the recruitment team, we have decided not to proceed with your application at this time. While your skills and background are impressive, we have received a large number of applications and others more closely matched the current requirements.While you were not selected for this role, we appreciate your interest in the position and encourage you to apply for other exciting opportunities we have available by visiting us at woolies.com.We wish you the best of luck in your job search!Kind regards, Recruitment TeamWoolworths LimitedMethinks there is a theme developing here...Still, it's good to know they took the time to write a personal letter to me and did not just stick my name on some pre-written reply that they said out to every Tom, Dick, Harry and Ermintrude with no impressive skills and qualifications like me.

The best laid plans...

Today Roxy was going for a service.We also suspected that a wheel bearing was going on the rear passenger side wheel so that was going to be checked out too.Udi, the mechanic, had been recommended by WIll's brother Danny.We prepared well and headed out to the garage address we found on the internet on Sunday to check where it was before I dropped it off this morning: 14/5 Timms Ct, Woodridge.We checked the bus timetable too and the possible route  I could come home if I took Will's bike in the back.Last night I decided on the bus option and so we made sure that my 'Go Via' bus card was topped up with enough money for the fares.The Van Der Zants, next door interrupted our card game last night to offer the use of their 'Ute' , short for 'utility vehicle' until we got Roxy back. It was very kind.All was set, planned and prepared...what could possibly go wrong?Will went off to work in the Ute this morning and at 8.00 I set off in Roxy for Woodridge. I was to drop it off at 8.30. I arrived at Timms Court dead on time but straight away noticed that the place we had assumed was the garage was not open.On the piece of paper I had with the address Will had written Timms Circuit but this was at Timms Court.I wandered over to a nearby garage to ask. The first bloke who was washing a car could not help me and directed me to his boss in the office."Excuse me, I am looking for the Schwaben Garage," I said. (Udi is German)."There's no garage by that name round here," said the boss."Is this postcode 4114?" I asked. He didn't know. He looked on his business card. It turned out it was 4119!I walked back to Roxy in a bit of a state. What do I do now?I tried to switch on Roxy's  satnav...but it was not playing ball so found the maps app on my phone. I have never used it before. Will always does it on his phone so it was all new to me.Luckily I managed to switch on my GPS and put in that I wanted to go from 'Timms Court 4114' to 'Timms Circuit 4119'.'Calculating route', it said. I waited with my heart beating loudly.When it finally showed the route, I was shocked. It said I had 55 kms to go to my destination and it was sending me way north of Brisbane.I rang Udi."Hello, I am at Timms Court, where are you?""Oh No!" said Udi, "We was not been there for the past seven years!""Where are you then? " I asked."25 Parramatta Rd, Unit 13," he said. It would be '13' wouldn't it!"How far is it from here?" I asked."About 10 minutes, " he said."Ok, so it's 25 Parramatta Rd?" I asked..... He'd gone!I got the maps app up on the phone and put in that I wanted to go from  'Timms Court' to '25 Parammatta Rd'.A box popped up on my phone screen;"Please Recharge, Battery Low".I ignored it  and got rid of it.'Calculating route.' I might as well have been in Beijing for all I knew about the area...I only knew the way back home.Luckily  the route it showed did not seem that far and was not that complicated.I headed into the unknown and found it after about 4 minutes. Now I was worried that it was the wrong Parramatta Rd because Udi had said it was 10 minutes away.It was the right Parramatta Rd and soon I was leaving Roxy in Udi's capable hands.I was walking away when I realised that I now had no clue about the buses from this new place. I walked back to the main road and found a bus stop. It turned out to be the same one I would have caught near Timms Court and so I was back on track....ish.The sun was beating down and I had no hat. I tried to squeeze into the shadow of a lamp post next to the bus stop. It  was hard.The bus came and after a circuitous route I arrived home just before 11.Roxy has been serviced. We picked her up after Will came home. He ran me over there in the Ute. There is nothing wrong with her wheel bearings...it seems it is the tyres that are making the noise. She may need a new timing belt though.At least I know where to go now.

Bed Bug.

It has been cooler during the day these past few days and when I say 'cooler' I mean in the high 20's.The temperature had dropped to about 23 degrees when we got in bed last night and it felt just right.I was just drifting off to sleep when something ran across my back."UUUUuuuuuuhhhhhhOOOooooooohhhhhhhhhh!" I cried out and leapt out of bed under the net.Will almost had a heart attack with me crying out suddenly in the peace of the night.I grabbed the solar bedside light and swept the beam backwards and forwards across the bed like some Stalag prison guard atop a searchlight tower.Nothing....just the red desert of the sheet."There is definitely something there!" I said, "It must be under the sheet."Will lifted the sheet and a moth crawled out. I pounced on it and squashed it immediately.I expected it to be something much worse with a couple more legs."See, things get trapped by this net," said Will, desperate for it to go.The net stays...or I don't.

A load of junket.

The day started early...we went to the markets at  6.30 am but I was not fully awake until about 7.00. We had Gourmet Calamari for breakfast and a  drink and chat with Ros and Kim before wandering the stalls. We got two lovely ginger plants as presents for Wendi (it was her birthday yesterday) and Shirley. We found a stall selling spices and Will asked if they had any paella spice mix. They didn't but the man said he would make some up. It just looked like he was mixing random things and we were both convinced he did not have a clue what went into a real paella spice mix.We got a paw paw for Dulcie and Will got some little yams for planting in the garden.Back at Celtis St, Shirley had made a chocolate cake for Wendi's birthday. Wendi and Geoff came over for morning tea and we had the cake and scones, jam and cream and a plethora of Dulcie biscuits before Wendi and Geoff took Shirley away to their house until Monday.Will and I went to Bunnings at Oxley...he had been the other day and found they had a better selection of plants than the one nearer us. He had brought back two 'bisexual' paw paw plants and some rhubarb.We ignored the sausage sizzle gang and got more mulch...three huge packs... and came back and set about mulching the large bed at the bottom of the garden. First Will spread out all the grass clippings, then he covered that with a layer of wet cardboard and covered that with the sugar cane mulch. This will keep all the weeds down. We are going to plant the paw paw plants and potatoes in there, when the time is right.Some of the things we have planted in the garden have done well and others not so well. We had some lovely sweet corn cobs last week but pulled the rest up today as they were dying off. We have had lots of tomatoes, a few cucumbers and some peppers are still growing. The fennel and the pumpkins are still growing. The peanuts are doing well and we have a few sunflowers out. The beans and the lettuce did not do well at all. The beans were affected by some pest and it was just too hot for the lettuce. We have a couple of melons growing at the moment but they are still quite small.I had a snooze this afternoon as not much sleep last night, because of he humidity, and the early start this morning finally caught up with me.I awoke just in time for tea. Dulcie had made her mince and veggies. Will had made junket for dessert which we had after our game of euchre. Dulcie used to make it for them when they were younger.It was lovely sprinkled with nutmeg.