By Myself.

G'Day,
It has happened! The ultimate rarity around my house. I am alone. I have the house to myself. Joy of joys. I cant remember the last time this happened, even for a couple of hours. Well.....I have a couple of hours of nothing and nobody until Pete comes home from work. Mum & Michael are in Grafton, Annie is in Wagga and Pete is at work. The wood fire is burning cheerily and it is quiet. Amazing. I will also have tomorrow morning, heaven on a stick.
I rushed around doing my cleaning this morning so I could go to Wagga to buy some new undies and have a throw out session from my lingerie draw. I also got a new nighty, (my favorite type are big T-shirt style) and a jumper. The jumper is great. It is a designer one which was marked down from $128.00 to $52. It is dark red with a big droopy collar and a knitted brooch on it and funny looking ruffly cuffs on the sleeves. I will wear it tonight to the club for Fiona's farewell dinner. Should be good.
On my way home after Annie left me, I had a dawdle around the art gallery in Wagga. This is also a luxury as the family does not enjoy it and get impatient with me taking too long. I am now sitting here doing absolutely nothing more than drinking numerous cups of tea and having a lovely self indulgent time.
My photo was in the local Junee paper again this week advertising the day at the museum on sept. 1st. The story was a bit wrong though. It sounded like I was having an exhibition there and not what we were planning, which is display, come & try and Raku firing. Mrs Bell, one of the old ladies (residents) at work spotted the picture first and took great delight in showing and telling everybody who came through her door for the rest of the day. I didn't think she liked me because she watches me nervously when I clean in her room as one day I knocked over her beloved cactus plant while dusting her windowsill.
At the start of this month the Greater Southern Health service, for whom I work, declared their buildings and grounds a smoke free zone. The workers now have to go up the back lane or off the grounds to have a smoke during their breaks. Not real good since it is mid winter. Anyway, the girls decided they would start up a weigh in type club to try to stop putting on weight while some of them give up smoking. It is also for non smokers. You have to put in $1 each weigh in, which will go towards the furnishing of the staff dining room in the new hospital when it is finished. Anyway I decided to go in it and now I have to be a good girl and cut down my food intake and go on the treadmill regularly. Hmmmm, watch this space! Confession.... today I ate a few lifesavers and an extra slice of fresh bread & honey for afternoon tea.
The heron was back in my yard this afternoon, sorry mate they don't grow that fast, you already ate them all.
In my garden the mandarines are sweet enough to eat, there are some pansies in pots flowering that Mum planted and a few pretty purple pea flowers from the mulch that I used and did'nt get around to weeding. My coriander (cilantro) is beautiful at the moment and I have been using it in sandwiches. There is a really nice sandwich filling I make up from a small tin of red salmon, a blob of mayonaise, fresh ground black pepper and about a 1/4 cup of chopped fresh coriander from my garden mashed together. It grows well here in the winter but doesn't like the summer. You can collect the seeds in the summer and replant them or use them in the kitchen.
Brad in Idaho says he is having beautiful days with temps in the high 8o's to 90's, sounds good to me, the temp under my back verandah is 10 degrees at the moment which is equal to 50 there.
O.K I had better go and feed the chooks as it is getting late and it will be dark in less than an hour. Bye. Love Linda.