Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Heat wave - it's a stinker

Urgh - it is soooo hot. When can we move to Antarctica? I love penguins! We are in the midst of a stinker of a heat wave. Bendigo temperature was 42 degrees today - it's too hot to even think, let alone work or sleep. My mum is in Mildura and she had 44degrees today and my sister lives in Port Augusta where it topped 46 degrees. This is ridiculous.

I work inside an airconditioned office, so I shouldn't complain too much. Jim's workplace will be really hot and he does manual work too - he will be tired and grumpy when he gets home. I worry about my pets being outside - I thought about freezing some containers of ice to try to keep their water cool, but it won't last long in this heat. And fortunately, so far, there are no major fires in Victoria.

What are your tips for surviving the summer heatwave? Do you have any suggestions, because I really need them today!

Stay cool

Helen

Friday, January 16, 2009

Clean up day

Jim and I have both been sick with summer colds and we have felt pretty miserable for the past couple of weeks. I don't think that I have been for a ride on my new bike all year - my focus was just to try to keep breathing and walk to the car without coughing. Anyway, it is all behind us now and I hope that we have built up a strong immunity when those autumn and winter colds come along.

It's clean up day today - time to clear away all the unwanted papers, junk and have a bit of a look around to see what needs to find a new home. I love clean up day - it feels nice to tidy things up and make a fresh start for the new year.

Cheers

Helen

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Olive Trees

I forgot to mention that we received a gift of 6 olive trees - they are Kalamata olives and quite big, so we just need to find the right spot and plant them in our garden. They are apparently a few years old and we can expect to have a small crop of the lovely black olives next year.

I have no experience in planting or caring for an olive tree - anyone got any tips to share?

Cheers

Helen

Christmas 2008

Well I must have been a good girl because I got all that I wanted for Christmas. Of course there were all the material things - Jim and I bought each other mountain bikes for Christmas. I survived the maiden voyage and I am continuing to improve my balance and confidence.

We travelled to Mildura for Christmas this year and celebrated with my Mum and Dad, my sister Carol and her partner Wayne, and her kids Meghan and Alice. The weather was warm (OK it was hot), but we survived. We had a nice roast lunch ( why do we have a hot roast lunch on such a hot day), and on Boxing Day we explored some of the tourist attractions in Mildura - Woodsies Gem Cave and Kings Billabong, before heading to the river for a swim. It was beautiful. We filled up the car with local fruit - watermelons and oranges and made the long drive back down the Calder Highway.

I'm interested in hearing about your Christmas? Did you get any nice presents? What did you do on Christmas Day? Boxing Day?

Hooroo

Helen