The week that is was

Monday was the usual hanging around for my meals on wheels delivery. Each three course meal costs $11, but I never sit down to a three course meal. I can choose three main meals, three sandwiches or soups and three deserts. Of sandwiches, I choose two, and one soup, potato, leek and bacon. Of deserts I normally choose two fresh fruit, which gives me four days of fruit for my cereal, and one naughty and very sweet bread and butter pudding. 

Before my meals arrive, I cross the road to sit and have coffee. That was after I had gone down a paper rabbit hole after my Dead in Bed neighbour HH asked me question about my council rates. I didn't go out until late, just to Prahran for something I can't remember.

Tuesday I was back in Prahran, to see my doctor. I requested new scripts for medications, asked him to look at my hernia surgery scar and his opinion, he reassured me that my recent MRI indicated no further action needed to be taken about a suspicious mass within my pancreas, prescribed an ointment for some dermatitis looking spots on my ankle. The ointment is Kenacomb, one I'd never heard of. 

Some time after four, a man came to check before quoting to supply and install a new air conditioner. His tan tradie boots had a velcro siding to remove them easily. He began to take one off when I said, no need. Just as I was letting him out the door, Phyllis and Kosov arrived home. 

Ondrewwww, your special friend has just left. 

Don't be silly. 

Ondrewwww, why are you blushing? We don't judge you. 

I'm not, and why do you think I would be interested in an older man like him?

Ondrewwww, your breath smells of something! 

Can you both just piss orf. 

When our car used to need servicing, Ray would book it in for 8.00am. I once asked him why so early? He replied, so that it is finished early. I found that 8.00am car delivery very unsettling. I booked my car in for its annual service at 10.30. It would be ready by 4pm. I changed the name of the business's account to my my name. I had to catch a tram to the city and then one from the city to get home, and reverse to pick it up. There were complications because I changed the day from Friday to Wednesday, but not a big problem. I then said, damn it, I will pick the car up tomorrow morning. 

Back in the city, I bought some new socks at Big Trouble You (Big W) at QV and some milk. I was struggling with walking by then. I don't walk well in the mornings. I stayed home for the rest of the day and paid out a horrendous amount of money, $2,200 for the quarterly body corporate fee, $1,200 plus for council rates, $370 for my October train trip, and about the same for my October air flight. 

I don't know why, but who handles my Centrelink dealings with our social security government department, wanted all my bank statements back to when I began receiving my government pension, that took me about forty minutes to do online. My government pension has dropped from about $860 a fortnight to $300. The maximum government old age pension here is about $1,200 a fortnight, a bit higher if you are a home renter rather than a homeowner. If I inform Centrelink of all my expenditure this week and my bank account balance, adding about $700 for the car service, I should see my pension rise for a time.

It may rise further, because after collecting my car this Thursday, I drove it to do my weekly shopping. I was home before noon. The early bird does catch the worm, but generally I have little desire for worms. I went back to the city for a haircut. Phyllis rearranged my delivered corned beef with mustard sauce and salad to something a bit more palatable. Some of the meals I receive are great, some are not, and the corned beef was very tough.

On the way home from town, the quote came in for new air con, $3,500 or a better unit, $3,700. I will take the latter as it has a feature of self mould cleaning. My old unit does have a little visible mould inside. So, that will be installed in a week or so. 

Phyllis gets it when I said we are going pussy hunting on Friday, Kosov, hates it. No Ondrewww, don't say that. 

I can't decide if we will tram and train it to the Lost Dogs Home to find a homeless cat to adopt, or Phyllis should drive us in the newly serviced Pearl. We may choose a cat tomorrow, but we won't bring it home until next week, when we have all that is necessary things to home a cat.

Cat problem is; my age nearly 68. A cat may live for twenty years. I will be 88. I think it is unlikely I will live to that age That's ameliorated somewhat by we won't be buying a kitten but an adult cat. What if Phyllis and Kosov can't stay in Australia? It will then be my cat. What if I die? Well, Sister or Oldest Niece would take it on. 

Kosov told me of when his family got a cat when he was young, and it was quickly established that his sister wae allergic to cats, and within one day, it was decided the cat had to go. He cried for three days afterwards. He told me he doesn't want any more heartbreak like that. I understand. In the 80s Ray and I took on a dog from the Lost Dog's Home, and she was totally unsuitable for us, and we made the hard decision to return her to the home. She was a lovely dog, but not right for us and our existing dog and cats. I had tears in my eyes as I took Tess back, and the staff understood. 

Something is kicking off at 'The 'Gog' tonight. Barriers have been erected, all leaking water. When I first saw these barriers in Melbourne, perhaps in the 1990s, they were called New Jersey Barriers. Does Boud know why?  They are no longer called that. 

A wee rant

There are a number of YouTube clips showing Trump voting Americans in great distress as his policies come into force. Once clip I saw showed a Trump voting woman in tears and praying, and asking for prayers, because the father of children and his mother were being deported to Venezuela by ICE. 

Another farmer of a large agricultural property said her farming staff had all disappeared and were not coming to work in fear of ICE, and deportation. She thinks her farm will go into bankruptcy, yet she voted for Trump.

There are clips of an almost empty Las Vegas. Canadians are not visiting Florida, and are selling their properties there, getting rid of US timeshares, as one blogmate has done.

There are clips about Canada withholding super phosphate from the US, that is its farmers. While I disapprove of Canada PM's backing down over payments for digital technology, apparently Canada has been working hard to diversify its economy, reaching out and into the rest of the world. What ever the **** rare earth magnets are, they are essential in this modern world and China, being the major supplier,  has stopped exporting them to the US.

Some of these clips show a sense of glee about how the US is seemingly collapsing. 

Very reputable news sites, including conservative organisations, are calling out #47's ridiculous claims of how well the US economy is travelling. 

Whatever the truth, I too feel glee about Trump supporters suffering, and those who may have voted Democrat, if they got off their arses and actually voted.

But for all of you who voted Democrat, and as is said after school gun shootings, you are in my thoughts and prayers. 

Seriously, you decent US citizens have my empathy and sympathy, and I'm not judging you by what #47 and his henchfolk are doing.   

Town Hall Trippy

I think the 'experience' was open for three or four days, and it was a few minutes of my time, and obvious to me, a few minutes of the time for others. 

I'd forgotten that Melbourne Town Hall is such a wonderful place.

If I say anything about the massive organ, it will trigger some people. 

I had to edit this video because as I went to turn the camera off, I hit the button to switch to the front camera, capturing some old bloke whose visage did not impress me. I trimmed it off. I also forgot about turning your phone sideways for a wider view, does not translate well as a video clip. 

A Melbourne Melee

In the English speaking world, there are troubles. The US is a nightmare. Canada and the UK both have their far right issues, and we in Australia cannot take a holier than thou attitude. We have our own issues.

Sunday past in Melbourne, anti immigration protesters gathered in our city streets, joined by white supremacists, anti vaxxers, sovereign citizens and nazi sympathisers, all fervently waving Australian flags and crying out the most original chant they could think of, Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi.They need advice from English football teams about chants.

They clashed with anti right wing protestors, whose number was soon bolstered by the usual pro Palestinian marchers. Now there is a coalition to do any Jewish person's head in.

I was travelling to Prahran by tram last week when someone with a mental illness boarded and started ranting about Asian immigration. Of course there were Asian people on the tram, and two very close by to the mouse of a man. I just wished I was younger and fitter and said something to him, and be able to defend myself if he attacked me. He left the tram.

I left the tram at the next stop as did the two young Asian females. I smiled at them, pulled a face and gesticulated towards my head, indicating crazy, and then offered them my upturned hand. That might sound weird, but it worked. They smiled at me and nodded with understanding.

Sunday after returning from the west end of town, I dared not go to the centre or east where the fracas was happening, at South Yarra Station I walked towards the door to the front of me to be closer to station ramp, as did a young couple. There were two older white women with Australian flags draped across their knees, clearly having left the protest to go home for a Bex and a lie down after their exertions. The man said to the woman, 'Something smells really bad in this carriage', and their heads spun around to the women with the flags. I didn't initially understand, and turned to see what they were looking at. I just said 'Yeah'. 

The numbers of immigrants and where they come from should be an open debate in Australia but these pro white Australia supporters add no value to any kind of debate and cause hurt to people.

Later: It became a whole lot worse the next day when it came to light that neo Nazis had attacked the  original inhabitants at a culturally significant meeting place in the Kings Domain. 

Is there anything funny in this? Maybe. As the 'pro white Australians' broke up, they headed off for  banh mi, a curry, or a kebab or maybe even an HSP, a Halal Snack Pack. They may have then caught a train, bus or tram home, driven by a 'brown' immigrant, or caught an Uber, also driven by a 'brown immigrant'. Maybe they waited until they reached home, too exhausted to cook after their anti immigration protests, so ordered in food, cooked and delivered by two different 'brown' people.

There is much good to be said about Australia, but I am not feeling it after the weekend past.  

Moday Mural

With Sami and others, here is my Monday Mural photo.

Have I not posted this before? I don't believe so. It can be seen from a train near Richmond Station. Pity about the a/c placement. Practical modernity rules. 

Sunday Selections

Back to normal this week for Sunday Selections with random photos. River and other participate.

I asked one of my scribes to write my birthday card to my 90 year old friend. He did not leave space for 'Hugs and kisses, Andrew', at the end. I empoy incompetents! I sent him this photo. 

It seems things need to be labelled.

Who would have thought water would come out from a tap. 

Which bad boi arranged the fruit bowl? Or was it the elderly resident?

Can you guess what folk were dancing to at BAD's 90th birthday party.

Phyllis did not clean my toilet, and I wouldn't want him to, but he did get through his list. 

I brought home a keepsake serviette from the 90th birthday party, filed under invitations in the filing cabinet.

Near Crown Casino. One can only guess.

We spent an hour and a half in the South Melbourne shopping area today. Spotlight used to be a place to visit to buy some fabric. It is now almost a department story, and Kosov found the toy department. 

Flowers were bought at South Melbourne Market. The colour, the choice of Phyllis. 

Last night as write this on Saturday evening, we had terrible wind, blasting from the south west, and with one of my bedroom walls facing south and the other west, it was enough to keep waking me up. Not really a problem as I was back asleep in a minute but mein gott, the wind gave the building a good buffeting. There were 1,700  calls to emergency services and thousands without power this morning.

A balcony chair had been moved a metre by the wind, and while the potted cyclamen survived quite well....

the pansies did not. As the day wore on, I could see the flower heads were fritzed. It has no new flower buds, so I guess this might be the end of the plant.

 

The last line in this is the killer.

Phyllis has been in the bathroom attending to his grooming for over one and a half hours. Mine doesn't take very long but then I am not dark and hairy. He has pop music playing and at times sings along to what he knows. I love hearing him happily singing away. Kosov is at work.

I've had a bit of case of the sads this week. I don't know why. I think I live a charmed life. I make my own decisions about what I am going to do, but maybe that is the problem. I don't have Ray to discuss decisions with, that is no one to say my thoughts are stupid. Oh well, onward and upward.