Walkabout part Toohey.

I woke up feeling rough and full of a cold.The phone rang at 8.00 am. I did not make it upstairs to answer it in time.Dulcie didn't even attempt to answer it and was still tucked up under her quilt.I crept back down to bed and had just snuggled down under the warm duvet when I heard Dulcie getting up.The day had begun.The phone rang again at 8.30."Hello, I'm Cecilia from Blue Care, how is your day going?"This was obviously the previous caller....I was polite and did not utter the words that initially sprang to mind."You are down for Respite at 11.15 but could I come later at 1.45?"I was too tired and feeling too rough to question it. I hadn't set the 11.15 time. Will hadn't set it. Who had set it?Cecilia arrived at 1.45. I opened the door for her and she wandered in."Hello Dulcie".Her bottom was huge I wondered if it would fit in the chair next to Dulcie. It was just plain greedy. There are poor people out there with hardly any bottom at all....I wondered, briefly, if I could make my first million by starting a 'Bottom Donor Clinic.'"Oh, thank you for letting me do this so late," she interrupted my thoughts, " I see from the file that you usually have it earlier.""Too be honest," I said, " I never know when I am having it. The other day they turned up at 9.00 am and I had not even been informed about it."She tutted."......and some idiot, I think it was you, rang this morning at 8.00 am......who in their right mind thinks it is ok to ring at 8.00 am?!".......is what I wanted  to say....but didn't.I could tell by her accent that Cecilia was from South Africa."Where are you from?" She asked.......here we go I thought.I gave my usual reply."I am from South Africa," she said."I know." I said.I must try and avoid these friendly chats because they eat into my time. I must try and perfect the art of slipping out when they slip in and perhaps just leave a card with;"Hello, This is Nick, the guy who just slipped out. I am English.....yes, I know Dulcie is Australian.....but I am her son's partner. He is Australian. Yes, that does mean I am gay. I don't care who you are or where you are from I just wish you would a) come at a regular time and b) not ring at some unearthly hour to tell me that the time has changed. I shall be back in 2 hours on the dot as I am 'reliable'....I know that is a new word to you but it means "consistently good in quality or performance; able to be trusted." Goodbye."I always walk out feeling bad.It must be very strange for Dulcie to have these, albeit very pleasant, strangers wander in and chat to her for 2 hours. She does seem to enjoy their company and has never once denigrated any of them apart from sayihng how 'crap' they are at cards when they have gone. I try and justify it to myself in that it is someone fresh for her to chat to and that they are probably better company than me....nah, scrub the probably,......they are better company than me!I usually fill my time with shopping for essentials i.e doing something useful for everyone instead of being completely selfish....but today I was selfish and used the time to go for a walk instead..... .well, most of the time......I left time at the end to get some stuff from the Pharmacy for Dulcie....and shopped for few essentials.I went back to Toohey Forest and this time walked along a different path than the one I had walked with Will. I took the path to 'Toohey MT'. I think the 'MT' means mountain....but it is hardly that....it is just a hill.I followed signs to 'Peg's Lookout' but did not hold out much hope of seeing anything from it....judging by the other lookouts in the forest. It was very dry and all the leaves on the trees were wilting and curled up and it all looked a bit sad.I know it is not snake season but I did wonder if the recent warm weather had woken any up....I didn't see any. I also passed the time wondering if I would end up on the news as 'Man attacked in Toohey Forest by a plumber, a tiler and an electrician!'.......I didn't.'Peg's Lookout' actually had a view. I was a bit taken aback, it was so unexpected. So....it was the view of an industrial wasteland but in the distance I could see the brown strip that was Archerfield and even further away 'Cunningham's Gap.'I wondered briefly who Peg was....but decided I didn't really care.It was on my way back that I realised I was being followed. I tried to stay calm and keep going but in the end stopped and turned to confront my stalker. For a bird it was pretty brazen.....I must have been fifty times its size but it just sat there.....on a branch staring me out. I gave in.I found the the top of ' Toohey MT'....or 'HL.' It was forgettable.I took the path that was signed as back down to the picnic area but came to a 'Path closed for Regeneration' sign....so carried on past it and found myself walking back up to the top of 'Toohey MT/HL'.I tutted, like Cecilia had and turned back. I ignored the 'Path closed for Regeneration' sign and took it anyway. Did I see any sign of Dr Who? Did I buffalo!I was five minutes later than I had allowed myself to get back to the car. Had I still got time to shop for essentials?As it turns out I did have."Do you have a rewards card?" asked the overly talkative till girl.I handed her my Medicare card!?"Oh, we don't take that...you need to go next door for that." She laughed. I didn't."Well," said Cecilia, " I think you should ring them up and ask them about setting a regular time," she said as she squeezed out of the door."I will," I said "and I'll also ask them to tell their idiots not to ring before 9.00 am in the morning! Goodbye Big Bum!".....is what I wanted to add.......But didn't.My Toohey MT/HL Gallery -

Brisbane Ugly?

It seems that Alain de Botton the Swiss author and philosopher, on a visit to Brisbane, thought the city 'ugly'.What do you think?Here is a timelapse film by Danien Berends.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNVFUO2TOpg

A load of Flannel.

I am pretty sure that the 'Flannelette Shirt' is very rare or extinct in the UK. I don't remember seeing any in recent years and despite its rarity 'Oop North' would be shot dead if it appeared on any catwalk in London or Milan but happily......it is alive and well here in Australia.

This stripy garment emerges from the wardrobe during winter months to keep its Aussie owner warm.Dulcie has three that she is wearing in rotation....and I was definitely the odd one out in Aldi yesterday by not wearing one.

'Things that are not working' and 'Downsides.'

So.....yesterday saw us bring 'Jaxy'.....for it is she......home.Will left work early to head over to see Krishna and get him to sign the transfer form then had to go over to the vehicle licensing office before heading back here to pick up Dulcie and I. We then all drove back to Krishna's to pick up the bike and Dulcie and I followed Will home in Roxy.He did look quite safe as we followed him back so I felt a little better about him using it for work from now on.We both woke in the night to the rumble of Dulcie's walker on the non-slip bathroom tiles.The 'good idea' that we had about having the light put in under the house that comes on when she switches the bathroom light on.....is not working. Most of the time she forgets to put it on.Last night we heard her leave the bathroom but then the light went on......then it went off......then it went on.....then it went off.It was like sleeping in a disco!This morning I told her we heard her get up in the night and saw the light go on."Yes, I forgot to put the light on so I went back and did it," she said.I had hardly made breakfast when there was a knock at the door.It was the 'Blue Care' woman coming to give me two hours respite.That is not working either.Respite was set as between 2 and 4 pm on Tuesday and Thursday.....but in the last fortnight it has only been at that time once.I had no idea that she was coming this morning. It is no good not knowing when they are coming.. and it makes it difficult to plan, say,  a doctor's appointment.....and like today....I wasn't even ready and wasted 20 minutes rushing round to get ready.The woman was very nice. She said she had been here before but we both didn't remember her. She looked through Dulcie's Blue Care file and found that she had been here to help with cleaning in 2010."How come you have an English accent?" She asked. I explained the situation....I am getting lots of practise at it.She was Indian but came from Fiji.She said that she had been to the UK last year."We stayed in Lancaster," she said. "Everyone was Indian!" She laughed.I went to Aldi with our hastily written shopping list. It was quiet. I am getting used to Aldi now and know where everything is. The only downside being that they often do not have enough tills open. There was only one open today. Two hours respite goes quickly when you have to wait 15 minutes at a checkout.Luckily the woman in front of me suddenly put all the shopping she had piled onto the conveyor belt back into her trolley."I don't know where my chicken is!" She said, "I must have put it in someone else's trolley! That is what I came here for too."She rushed off and my till wait was halved.Back at Celtis St Dulcie had just finished teaching the Indian woman how to play Euchre."It was very nice to meet you both," she said as she left."I don't know why she come," said Dulcie when she'd gone."To let me go to Aldi," I said.'The Virginian' released me to be able to bring in the bedding I had washed and clean the barbecue......that is the downside of having a barbecue....the aftermath......the soot and the grease!I watered all around the house and garden......everything is so dry.Apparently 80% of Queensland is now officially suffering a drought.......that is the downside of Australia........the scarcity of water.

A surprise new addition to the family!

Will has been working full time for three weeks. He came home on Friday with a beautiful hamper from the Kindergarten Management Committee as a thank you for his stepping into the breach.As it stands it looks like he still has two full weeks still to go as they are not interviewing until this coming week and then the following week he expects to be showing the new teaching assistant the ropes.On the days I have respite he goes by bus and Dulcie and I have been collecting him at the end of the day, or I have taken him in the morning and then we have collected him in the afternoon.....it works, is a bit of a hassle but not ideal.Will had an idea.Last night he found what he has been looking for, for about a week.This morning he texted Krishna.....no, not the Hindu God......but some bloke who held the key to making our life a little easier.Krishna was very slow at replying to Will's texts.All this texting was going on as we prepared for the family barbecue this afternoon for Terry and Fiona from Tasmania. Bathrooms and toilets needed to be cleaned, Pergolas needed to be swept, seats and tables needed to be wiped, baby octopus needed to be marinated and my chin needed to be shaved after nearly a fortnight of neglect.....But we could not see Krishna tonight.....it had to be before 4.00 pm.Will asked him if it would be ok to pop over to see him this morning.......15 minutes later he texted 'Yes'.Will asked for his address........15 minutes later he sent it.We headed off to Macgregor ...a suburb not too far away...... at about 12.30 pm.We had to go a long way round as the easiest route was closed for roadworks today.We found where Krishna lived. He was a Vaishnavite...........oh, you'll just have to Google Vaishnavism!We discovered perhaps why he had been so slow at replying to our texts since he had injured both of his hands and had only recently had the casts removed!We looked over what he had to offer and Will felt that it was an opportunity that was too good to miss and so agreed to buy it from him.Meet 'Jaxy!'

She will compliment 'Roxy' very well as she is the same colour. She needs a few cosmetic repairs and a good clean but Will says she is a bargain!  'Jacksy' maybe a temporary name as we might have to get a new registration plate. We are going to collect her on Tuesday.....if all goes to plan. She will allow Dulcie and I to have 'Roxy' everyday and mean no more early buses for Will and should cut down on petrol costs. I am just a little worried about the other traffic on the road......Will is not......but I still am.

We got back just after 1.30pm for the barbecue. We had a lovely afternoon feasting on fresh prawns, octopus and salmon. The Tasmanians head south tomorrow.

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