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Odds and ends
I am still here . I’ve not been posting much other stuff because I want to finish posting about my holiday. This hasn’t worked out so well and it’s now three months since I returned. The full memories have already faded a bit and each day I delay, more details are disappearing. Anyway, I managed to write up most of day four last night and after referring to photos I hope to finish and post tonight or tomorrow.
Meanwhile winter has arrived here in Australia. Funnily, it’s actually pretty warm right now but rather muggy. There is plenty of time ahead for really cold days and nights so will enjoy warmth when it’s around. It has been a bit wet the last couple of days so not much happening in the walking or cycling arena. I decided to use the spin bike yesterday instead of trying to go out and about for exercise since the showers were pretty random.
The big news for our house is we have finally had our patio roof installed after all these years. It looks lovely and a couple days ago we had the electrician out to install lights and to upgrade some of our plug points inside. When we built this house we were very low budget and didn’t have any ideas of where we should have our plug points and how big they should be. Well, we do know after twenty years more about what our needs are.
In turn the clean up involved before the electrician arrived allowed for clearing out quite a bit of dust. The Scientist did most of this work but I did clear out space in the bedroom so I could get a second plug point on my side of the bed. Nothing like stirring up dust that’s been sitting for months or years. I must admit that clearing out dust have surely been good for the body with so much less yuck being inhaled.
Today marks twenty-one years since I arrived in Australia and Perth. The day I arrived was pretty dreary and wet and today is also kind of dreary. But not so wet and the sun does poke through the clouds every so often. The Scientist is going to bake some brownies later to celebrate the occasion.
Speaking of occasions, apparently it was the Italian national holiday on Tuesday so we had pizza from our favourite local shop. I overindulged but don’t regret it. I was just that hungry and the pizza was just that good. I usually only manage two slices but this time I finished all four of mine and still wasn’t overly full.
I bought yet another camera a couple weeks ago and I do believe it’s a perfect match for me. I had been eyeing a different model for a little while but it was only just released and there were no great deals happening yet. Meanwhile, I’d read about the older but more advanced model from this line of cameras. It was a bit bigger than I had wanted and also I was worried about the weight after having a proper look at one. But the grip on it is really lovely and so I also put that into consideration. I had intended to postpone any purchases for a little while due to some family budget issues. But then the camera company came out with a deal for an extra battery and camera grip for free with the top end model. Plus the top of the line is actually less expensive than the new model so it was kind of what some might call a no-brainer. I went ahead and purchased it and got it with the pro lens kit and I am have been more than satisfied. This is the first time I have taken so well to a new camera so quickly. I am now thinking less on the camera models and now thinking about lenses…which I never thought I would do but I guess it does happen. I have also found the really good lens has been a lot more noticeable than I ever expected it would be.
I had to send my Nokia Lumia phone back to Microsoft for repair this week. With the Scientist’s help, we worked out that one of the microphones wasn’t functioning at all and thus I could use voice recorder mode or the Cortana app. It feels weird to be without that phone and I am now using the old iPhone. Not that I haven’t used it lately but the other was always there. The only reason I have used the old phone lately is if the power was low on the Lumia or to just use up some credit left over on the other sim card. I need to also let them know that the Bluetooth was dropping out quite regularly too. The form I used was limited to one issue so I chose the microphone issue.
I think there were plenty of other things I wanted to write about but figure this is a good odds and ends update until I get back on track soon.
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Cold
It’s late Monday night and it’s cold. That is, it’s cold by local standards. We don’t have central heat at our house so it’s generally chilly through nights during the winter and sometimes it’s chilly during the day. It was 11C in our bedroom when I finally dragged myself out of bed this morning. Our room is at the front of the house and tends to be a lot cooler than the back of the house. The living room, which is the next room, was almost two degrees warmer and the back of the house a bit more warmer still. I opened up the curtains and let the sun shine in this morning and it made me feel so much better. Nothing like solar heat to keep you going. :) Rain is expected tomorrow so there’s a good chance we’ll have a bit of reprieve from the chill although the addition of the damp might cancel out the effects of higher temperatures. That’s only if we actually get the rain, of course.
Meanwhile, my hands, and more specifically my fingers, are suffering more from the effects of cold this year. I’ve had symptoms of Raynaud’s disease (or syndrome or phenomenon ) for several years but it’s been fairly manageable or been of relatively short duration. This year, my circulation has been pretty poor in my hands and feet. Raynaud’s is characterised by up to three color changes to your fingers/toes/extremities caused by constriction of the blood vessels. In the past I’ve had two colors, white and red, but had never seen blue until quite recently. It was triggered when I took an almost icy cucumber from the refrigerator to cut up recently and I saw my fingers go a sort of purplish-blue. I couldn’t say for sure if my toes have gone blue before because I usually try to keep them well-covered at this time of year. Currently that means warm and fuzzy bed socks plus slippers. My toes are still cold despite the layers. I need to either buy or make some gloves for my hands. I crocheted some fingerless gloves a few years ago but they are a bit too big and chunky and don’t do a great job. I had another pair that was better but those seem to have gotten lost at some point. Perhaps it’s time to find a pattern and choose a nice soft yarn and make new ones.
I did manage to warm up for a little while today when I had to go into Perth to drop my camera off for a warranty repair. I had used our relatively new gps to help me find this place but got something of a run around. It initially sent tried sending me to a northern suburb even though I put Perth as the suburb. I realised it was off the track and tried to adjust the location and it wouldn’t let me choose Brisbane Street. It did relent and allow Brisbane Place so I went with it. I figured it would get me within the vicinity at the very least. This side street ended up being about three blocks from my destination. I parked on one of the back streets to get free parking and walked the three blocks and was quite warm by the time I arrived there. The walk back kept me quite comfortable so that I was close to being overheated in the relatively lightweight hoodie I was wearing. I remained for most of the rest of the afternoon. It was only when I returned home in the evening from the gym that I felt chilled again. Fortunately I know it’s not just me because the guys are all commenting on the coldness too.
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Winter chill
We’ve had a number of the typically stormy winter days already this month but the temperatures dipped considerably on the solstice to mark that the chill is part of our winter too. A tornado struck a nearby suburb a couple weeks ago, which really took us by surprise as the forecast gave no indication conditions were right for one. A Blockbuster video store lost part of its front window and a cafe across the road at some markets had a door blown off its hinges (nearly falling on a very young girl).
Then I walked outside yesterday and discovered a number of bees hanging around, trying to make the best of the budding flowers on a bottlebrush tree. That’s one of the interesting aspects of winter around here. It doesn’t really freeze here aside from an occasional slight dip below freezing. There are flowers blooming year-round and the native trees often flower in winter too. There is one tree that I only see blooming in winter here but I don’t know what it’s called. It has orange-red flowers that seem to come out later in winter and fall off in early spring. I think I took a photo of it last year so maybe I should try and identify it some time.
24 Jun 2012 Busy bee on the bottlebrush flower 
4 Aug 2011 Orange-red flowers blooming in late winter. You would think with all the lovely native, water-wise trees and plants, there would be no reason for councils to plant deciduous trees here. But that’s exactly the sort of tree that seems to be favored, even around newer buildings. In the eighteen years I’ve lived here, it’s only recently I’ve taken so much notice of the leaves changing color. It seems unnatural in our climate.
9 Jun 2012 Autumn leaves strewn over the ground in front of the nearby primary school. 
9 Jun 2012 A bit of autumn color in early winter -
Mid-winter gripe
I’m really just writing to try out Windows Live Writer. It’s got an interesting new feature that imports the blog theme into the editor. Kind of neat…
We’re in the middle of winter and I’m definitely ready for spring. We’ve been having (relatively) cold nights lately and I find it really hard to keep hands and feet warm. Seems like I spend most of my waking hours feeling the cold. We don’t have heating here, aside from an oil column heater, so I’ve piled numerous blankets onto the bed. Perhaps the one benefit of the cold is I happen to like the weight of the blankets on me, especially on my feet. If only I could get the feed to warm up a bit more quickly.
Well, enough of this disjointed post being written when I’m very sleepy. Will have more to say later.
