Personal Bits

 I don't do it often in the Highrise, but I spoke up loudly and eloquently. From in the morning "I am not cooking for you anymore and I am not going on holidays with you anymore", a nice meal of tuna mornay and rice appeared that night. Next morning I was invited to come along to his doctor's surgery while he had his new whiz bang shingles vaccination, followed by coffee and a bite to eat in the nearby cafe. 

This was all caused by a third party family member who R suspects of something, and subsequently including his partner. The person in question is a bit of a wide boy and I don't trust him however, I've not seen a hint or any evidence. I cannot support R with his suspicions. I need to know something, just anything. 

It has driven R to planning to change his will, and for other reasons, I think I may change mine too.

It is weird how I feel so very alone after the death of my mother. The tears have gone. No matter how crazy she drove us, now matter how frustrating she could be, no matter how painful she could be, how at times I dreaded her phone calls, I miss her. Just weird.

Tomorrow we are taking Hippie Niece and the cafe latte coloured twins to the Royal Melbourne Show. Family of four plus one concession and one ride pass to share, kaching, $180. 

Hippie Niece can pay for the twin's showbags, and the food. We will meet her at Melbourne Flinders Street Station and catch a dedicated train from there to the show. The last time we went to the show was when we took 30 year old Hippie Niece at her age of 16. The train line is only in service for horse racing events and the show.

Our security system is being updated to what is pretty well now standard in high rise apartment buildings. You have to touch your fob to a panel in the lift to go to your floor. You can't go to any floor other than public floors. Visitors have three minutes to get to your apartment by lift from when you open the front door for them. 

It was to 'go to air' on the 1st of June. It has been on and off again since then, mostly off. It finally went live for good nearly two weeks ago, except it didn't. It lasted two days and a notice appeared that there were glitches between the intercom and the lift, so the system would be turned off for a couple of days. It is nearly two weeks later and the system is still not working. We also discovered we can touch our fob on in the lift and go to any floor. 

There will be a bicycle clearance from the storage area. I've decided to let my bicycle go. It works like this; your bicycle is tagged with a label. If you want your bicycle to stay, remove the label. I won't and I've unlocked it. The bike will go into storage for six months and then be disposed with. It is a very old bike, once my sister's bike who gave it to Tradie Brother when he lost his driving licence and then to me who used it recreationally and to go the the South Melbourne shops for a couple of months. Nah, I am over bike riding. 

Back to the show. For two adults and two children it will cost them $30 for public transport to get to and from the show. I would not dream of putting myself through the stress of driving and parking to visit the show, yet parking is only $25. I can see why car commited people would choose to drive over using public transport. 

Latest update: One twin had hurt her finger on a boat? and it will be x-rayed tomorrow morning. So instead of 11am at Flinders Street, it will be 11.30 or more likely noon. 

The bike room. There is a smaller one as as well.

The correct side of the road

Don't we all think we drive on the correct side of the road? Be it left or right? 

This is an interesting map yet it does not tell the full story. I expect the figure is skewed by highly populated African countries and India, but 35 percent of the world's population drive on the left hand side of the road from the right hand side of their cars.

Worldly experts I am sure can tell me the name of the two South American countries that drive on the left. Why? Former British colonies? 

Most of the left hand drive countries are former colonies of Britain, but there are some odd exceptions, to me being Japan and Thailand. Neither were colonies, not even any real British connection. Google tells me Japan drives on the left because of the side a samurai would pull out his sword, which is much the same as why Britain drives on the left hand side. Roman chariots and all that. 

Your trivia for the day is that the rear left hand door of a Japanese taxi is motorised and when a taxi stops for you to climb in, the door opens for you and then closes once you are inside. In left hand drive countries, that would be right hand side rear door. While I was mentally prepared for it, my normal inclination to open the door was so strong. 

Thailand? I really don't know. Former colony Burma drove on the left, but it has changed to the right hand side.

In 1967 Sweden switched from driving on the left to driving on the right. Tram lines had to be changed and a huge effort was required for the change. In 2009 Samoa changed to left hand driving to match Australia. But American Samoa continues to drive on the right.  

I really can't see any reason why driving on the left or right would be better than the opposite. They are just different and the human brain cleverly and quickly adapts from one to the other, mostly. I qualify this with young human brain. I would not attempt it now. 

Monday Mural

I'm joining with Sami and others for Monday Murals. 

Catching a tram is often a good option. 

Sunday Selections

Once again I am joining with Elephant's Child and River for Sunday Selections. 

I'm back to normal this Sunday with just random unused photos.

An apartment block nearby. Nice. 

A ghost sign in South Melbourne.

Nearby in a lane there was this delightful green space. This photo was taken in winter, 2022. 

I consider Rose Chong a Melbourne icon. Her costume/drag shop in Gertrude Street Fitzroy has been there for decades. 

Beekeeping on public land on the edge of Westgate Park. 

I've not had plunger coffee for years. The plunger made a brief appearance for a couple of days last week and then quickly disappeared. There is barely speakies in The Highrise at the moment. 

My moisturiser pump ran out, but not really. I cut the pump pack in half and here is how much is still left. This will last a few weeks.

Azalea Indica I think. A great show even if many possible flowers had been clipped off.

Over 14 years ago when Sister lived in Murrumbeena, she would at times buy food from the nearby Katrina's Kitchen. In an effort to future proof ourselves for food when Household Management no longer can cook, we caught the train and picked up four frozen meals. They cost about $11 each, not especially cheap. The instructions were to heat them in the oven for 30 minutes at 200C. They were so good. My first was salmon patties with vegetables and I couldn't eat the second patty. It was delicious the next day. My second meal was a pork chop with vegetables and it too was great. Again, I couldn't eat all of the chop and mashed potato. Another lunch for the next day. We could have them delivered, but our freezer is small and you have to buy about eight for free delivery. 

When the doctor removed the suspicious mark on the back of my neck, she used disposable equipment. Apparently these steel scissors she offered to me are disposable. They are razor sharp. I took them, of course. You never know when you might want to stab your partner to death. 

Appointments

Medical appointments do seem to pass the time for a retired gentleman. 

I booked an eye test for this week. As I suspected my sight has deteriorated and I need both new reading glasses and new transitional multifocals. I am happy with my frames so I wanted to use them again. No, your new reading prescription glasses won't fit into you current frames. Bugger. I chose a similar but a little lighter reading glasses frame. 

Then, it is unwise to use your old multifocal frames as it will cost you more than our deal of 80% off for your second pair of glasses. I chose the same new frame as my old frame.

So often matters of economics puzzle me. 

While the extensive eye test didn't cost me anything, and they no longer puff air at your eyeballs, the glasses did, just into four figures. What can I do? I need to see.

A couple of days later I went to have the stiches in my neck removed. The wound has healed well. A nurse removed the stitches. The doctor came in and took a look. It looks good, she proclaimed. However.... 

She went on to say that she was surprised that the test results showed it was a melanoma. My last skin cancer doctor used to use very expensive camera equipment. This doctor just uses her phone. She showed me a a tiny grey spot that had changed between photos a year earlier. She is confident that she fully removed it but the Alfred Hospital who tested it isn't quite happy and want to cut wider, like a circle of two centimetres. It is a surface spreader type of melanoma, not a deep one.

Such matters are treated quite urgently by our public hospitals, especially if the pathology is already sorted. I won't wait very long. Nevertheless, I is not happy as I face a bigger chop from my neck. Reassuringly the doctor told me that at my age I have plenty of excess neck flesh so it will be easy surgery. Thanks, I think. 

Austria v Australia

In Austria we came across keyrings and 'fridge magnets with the slogan no No Kangaroos in Austria. 

I think it is better now, especially as there is so little mail, but it wasn't unusual for our mail to arrive after being misdirected to Austria. It was probably the case that the same happened to Austrian bound mail, arriving via Australia. 

But with absolutely minimal geographic knowledge, surely people know they are two very different countries. 

It seems not. What an absolute idiot tosser tv presenter. Does anyone know who he is? Or her for that matter. Respect to her for calling him an effing idiot, which he clearly is. 

From the grave

Mother had ordered her children's Christmas gifts and they arrived after she died. Not another bloody Labrador dog calendar. If we don't get a better one, we will use it. Quality tea towels would have been better. They are very localised calendars and so quite useful. I'm sure at times in 2024 I will look at the calendar and think of Mum.