The heat is on the road

 The gradual opening-up of borders between Australian states has hit a snag with an outbreak of Covid19 in the South Australian capital Adelaide.  Hopes of being home for Christmas now seem to be up in the air.

November 17th
Another up and down day, weather clearing up a bit.  Goatherd duties prevented me from getting to croquet again, but I was free for the quiz night (though it does seem odd arriving there in broad daylight).  We settled in for a good evening of quizzing, though I always forget the Quizmaster is seated so close to our table until one of my comments ends up as an aside in her compering.
There were ten teams this week, and we didn't do so badly, scoring 74 points to finish in fourth place (again).
I don't think my goulash was good value for money, working on the amount of meat present to the price charged.  Have you ever tried to eat gravy with a fork?  That's what it felt like by the end of the meal.

I picked up a Jack Kerouac audiobook some time ago, and finally got round to putting it on a flashdrive.  Now that I've plugged it into my car stereo, I can listen to it on the road.  {snicker}

November 19th
100 days since there was a case of Coronavirus in Tasmania.  The local paper's comment:  "Looking back on our battle with COVID-19 it’s important to reflect just how far we’ve come.  In light of the South Australian outbreak, it also reminds us just how quickly the situation can change."

Wasted a lot of time yesterday and today trying to work out why I can't get photos from my iPhone onto my laptop (again).  I must have changed something but I can't work out what.

Some work done on maintenance of the goat enclosure (not by me).  Everything seems to have worked out fine apart from the two hens who are on the wrong side of the wire and haven't yet worked out they could flutter over the fence if they really tried.

Weather a bit uncertain.  Didn't see the sun till 6 p.m.   I was worried that it might rain at the Bocce Club but we got through three games without any trouble.  Then I arrived home and found I'd somehow left the cat locked out for two hours.  Boy, did he give me a talking to !

20th November
Friday I had a phone call from Keith that he was heading out to my part of town and we met up for lunch at the Green Store (conveniently opposite the Salvo store).  I had been studying ON THE ROAD recently, so while I sat there listening to Keith talk about cats I had a feeling of deja vu, as though I was Jack Kerouac sitting opposite Neal Cassady.
We trawled through the Salvation Army, our main hunting ground this week since the fire at the Hobart Tip Shop, then I gave Keith a lift back to his place before I went home.  

On Saturday I had arranged to meet Keith early so we could make a detour to his storage unit to get the bookcase out of the back seat of my car.  I've never seen one of these self-storage buildings first hand, so I was intrigued to see how neatly it was set up, with corridors leading off in all directions and a lift ready to move heavy items from one floor to another.  (I was glad we didn't have to carry the bookcase up the stairs!)
We called in at some other places to drop stuff off, including a stop at JB Hi-Fi (more DVDs!) and the Mall newsagency who were holding for me this year's BEANO and DANDY annuals.  
We had coffee and discussed various things.  At one point Keith inclined his head and said "I defer to your superior wisdom."   I looked at him and said "Now that is a first!"
It was hot in the car driving around today, and I felt like Jack Kerouac driving across the Mexican desert in today's chapter of ON THE ROAD.  When I got home, I had an iced coffee and a sandwich and lay down for an hour.  I might have made it two hours except I knew I had to get up and feed the goats.

21st November
The more things change the more they stay the same.  In tonight's episode of VICTORIA, some private pictures of the royal family were leaked to the press, and a specialist had to be called in to treat the emotional problems of the Queen's son.
Except ... the pictures in question were pencil sketches made by Victoria and Albert, and the young prince was examined by a phrenologist !

22nd November
The last few days I've been battling with my iPhone to try and get it to talk to my laptop.  I even bought a new lightning cable the other day, thinking that might be the problem, but didn't help.  I was so annoyed by my constant failures that I actually had trouble getting to sleep last night, something that never happens these days.  But I may have found a solution --  a friend recommended a gadget called the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive, which has a lightning cable on one end and a USB connection on the other.  This may solve my picture problems.

The downside of quizzing, the upside of art

November 10th  -  Tuesday was warm and sunny.  I went over to the Croquet Club but they were still finishing up the competition games, pushing the time I could play into the warmest part of the afternoon.  Give it a miss, I decided.  Went out to the feed store and bought some wheat. 

Conditions comfortable at the weekly pub quiz.  I had a haloumi salad before the quiz kicked off.  Ten tables of people playing. Five of us in the team tonight, and we had most subjects covered.  Got a good score in both our bonus rounds, and got 9/10 in Geography which is rare lately.  We scored 88 in the end,  not bad but we came in third.  The winners, making only their second appearance at this venue, scored a startling 99 points!

November 11th

32C is pretty h0t for Tasmania  --  that is about 90 degrees in the old money.  I didn't have to go out today. so I didn't.  I stayed in my bedroom for most of the afternoon, one of the coolest rooms in the house.  (The cat spent most of his time on the table outside the back door, but at least he wasn't in the direct sun.  He's beginning to learn.)

I spent most of the afternoon fixing problems with my old laptop.  It turned out the reason I could no longer transfer pictures from my iPhone to my PC was that I had turned off iTunes.  Who knew?  I also updated two of the programmes I use for downloading stuff from the net.  Thanks to Media Human, Ashampoo and Free Video Downloader.  

November 12th

Not so hot, cloudy and windy most of the day.  

Had a telephone consult with my diabetes specialist.  He quizzed me about how I was going and I tapdanced around the answers.  I have to see him face-to-face in February, so I had better get my act together by then.

Once again I missed out on going to the Bocce Club after the goatherds arrived at lunch time and spent the afternoon tending to the goats and tossing out some garden clutter.  Next week we may move the fencing so they can move on to the third quadrant of the back yard.  Bleating is much less disturbing than roosters crowing. 

[zeaxanthin lutein  -  check on where I can find these.]

November 13th

Someone gave me a copy of a big thick book 1001 MOVIES YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE.  When I have a spare couple of days I should go through it and see which ones I have seen. 

A lot of people would be surprised at how many famous films I have never seen.  Not just obscure art-house cult classics, but movies that are part of the century's popular culture.  Often people have looked askance, saying "You've never seen the movie --- ------??"   Maybe I should make a list of the movies I haven't seen.

Today I planned to either do some work at home or go to the annual Friday The Thirteenth day at the Croquet Club.  You won't be surprised I ended up doing neither, just had lunch at home while listening to The World Today on ABC radio.  I'd just finished my second cup of coffee when Keith phoned and said he was going to the Salvation Army store, did I want to meet up.  I duly gathered up a handful of shopping bags and toddled off, like Watson responding to a telegram from Sherlock Holmes. 

When I got to the Salvo's, Keith was delving into a trolley of donated DVDs, checking the disc was in the box and arranging the boxes in neat piles.  The staff looked on indulgently, watching him do half their work for them.  We stayed till closing time, Keith running a keen eye over his selections to see whether he really needed them or just wanted   -  a problem many of us have.

My results:  Books 1, DVD 7.

November 14th

Saturdays can be a bit exhausting for me nowadays.  Up at the usual time to feed the animals and let the cat out.  After breakfast drove round to pick up Keith and we spent most of the afternoon in South Hobart going to op shops.  After lunch we were walking back to the car when we stopped to look in the window of a craft shop.  Keith was taken with a small status of a sleeping Quoll and announced his intention of buying it.  He turned to me, adding "This is all your fault, of course."  I replied mildly that all I had done was agree with his comment about the workmanship involved in creating it.

After finally getting Keith back to his place, returned home where the cat gave his opinion of me going out and leaving him alone for seven hours.  He settled down after I fed him, whereupon I served up my own dinner and watched VICTORIA on television.   Books 10, CD 3, DVD 12.

November 15th

Sunday morning it seemed cooler when I set off for church.  Later it clouded over and began to drizzle by the time I came home.  At church, which is approaching the maximum numbers allowed during the pandemic, all went smoothly.  The organist played all our favorite hymns and David Jones returned to the pulpit to give an illuminating sermon based on the book of Isaiah.  

If Julie and Gene had been sharing my pew. it would have been just like the old days.  

After two cups of coffee I felt ready to face the Apocalypse.  Or at least the "Plastic Apocalypso", the new exhibition from Liz Barsham. 

I went up the stairs to the Betty Nolan gallery and lost myself in the wonders of art for a while.  I hadn't been able to get here last week for the opening, but I noticed several pieces already had the red "sold" sticker.  Apparently the painting "Underground Music" [pictured] was so popular they could have sold it four times over.

November 16th

Thunder at breakfast time warned that Monday might be an unsettled day.  Fed the goats between showers this morning  -- they didn't seem worried.  The goose seemed to have retreated deeper into the shrubbery where we cut a path yesterday, so maybe he's older and wiser.

Sunday the day of rest (not)

 November started off really busy.  The only day I didn't have something going on was a Friday and I'm afraid I just stayed home and rested up.   Sunday for example was non-stop.  

I started off with the morning service at church, the first time we've had communion since the pandemic started, meaning the ushers were wearing gloves and handing out stuff using tongs.
 

Then to Sunday lunch at Edith's where I was seated next to Princess Mary's lawyer who had some amusing stories about working for the Royals.
 

Had to drive straight home from lunch, where Mick and Helena had arrived to look over the goat enclosure.  Mick attacked some of the foliage with his sickle to make it easier for the goats to get at it. 

Next was a trip to Pat & Ian's house to pick up a chaise lounge they wanted to get rid of.  We weren't certain it would fit on the top of Mick's van but he was right, it did.  After that, Helena opened the champagne and we sat around for an hour while Mick entertained Pat and Ian with a selection of bush yarns.
 

About here I started to run out of steam, and when I got away I came home and went to sleep for an hour or two.  When I woke up, the only thing that stopped me from going back to bed and staying there was I hadn't had dinner yet!

Hectic days ahead

 Australia this year finds itself in the unusual position of having a negative population growth.  For the first time since 1946, more people are leaving Australia than arriving.  Or, to be more accurate, fewer people are able to travel to Australia -- reports suggest there are thousands still stranded abroad.

9:33 PM 6/10/2020

Weather much better today then the weekend  (it could hardly be worse -- one day I tried to let the cat out but when he saw what it looked like, he turned and ran back into the house!).  Long phone call from Helena, then played croquet for three hours.  Long phone call from Keith, then time for the quiz night.

Antananarivo is the capital of which island nation?  Five of the team there for this week's quiz night.  We did a little better with the puzzle question, thanks to us working out it was the Swiss Army Knife.  Competition fierce again;  we finished fifth with 70 points, while the winners had 90 points out of a possible maximum of 110.  (And I was applauded by my team for picking Antananarivo as the capital of Madagascar -- it was a lucky guess.)

1:45 PM 8/10/2020
Wednesday was a fine Spring day, so sunny and pleasant that the cat spent most of the afternoon frolicking outside.  At one point he meowed at me until I took my coffee outside and sat in the back yard with him for a while.   
Alas, the last 24 hours the media have been full of severe weather warnings and the Bocce Club have postponed the first game of the new season till next week.  The chickens are already sheltering under the carport and I don't expect to see the cat outside this afternoon.
If the weather this evening is as bad as predicted, it could be a good night to stay in and start on that DVD boxed set of all 195 episodes of LAW AND ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT.

10:14 PM 11/10/2020
Saturday night I meant to get to bed early, but it didn't work out that way.  At the time I should have been settled down in bed, I was still wide awake.  I couldn't understand it.  I was always careful about my caffeine consumption, never drinking coffee after sundown...
I'd forgotten about Daylight Saving hadn't I?

11:53 PM 13/10/2020
On paper, Tuesday sounds like a downer.  I played croquet and lost both games (7-3 and 7-2), then I spent an hour preparing for tonight's quiz night at which we finished in fourth place.
But I had a pleasant afternoon playing sport in the fresh air and sunshine, and enjoyed taking part in the quiz after a tasty fettucine.  In fact we might have had a perfect round in one category if I hadn't forgotten how many Narnia novels there were. And I made people laugh several times. So all in all, it wasn't such a bad day.

5:59 PM 15/10/2020
Thursday there was a going away party for Mariandl at Kaye's lovely home.  Everyone had a good time then I went home and took a nap to recover from that big lunch.

4:59 PM 16/10/2020
The laptop was being temperamental,  but I had stuff to do today so I wasn't home to battle with it.  Now that the church kitchen has started up again, I had a page-long shopping list to stock up with stuff.  I visited the refurbished Coles Supermarket and did a bit of sticky-beaking while I filled up four shopping bags full of supplies.
So it seemed a good idea to drive in and drop them off in the church hall, otherwise I would have had to take them out of the car Saturday m0rning and replace them Saturday evening.  After I did that, visited newsagent, pharmacist and bought some more cat food.  I tried to go to Officeworks too, but after driving around their car park for five minutes I gave up.
At least with daylight saving there was plenty of time to let the cat out for a bit of fresh air and sunbathing while I sat down with a coffee.

8:42 PM 17/10/2020
This Saturday was not as hectic as last time.  Instead of visiting four different op shops, confined our activity to just one -- thankfully one of those that had not removed all the chairs from the book department.   [B6 C4 D16]  
Keith and I had a leisurely lunch at the coffee shop across the road, and Keith entertained me by recounting the plot of one of his unpublished novels .  He also gave exhaustive details of a film script he'd written, which an agent had suggested he re-write to take place in San Fransisco rather than Sydney.   (When he dies, his executor could probably put together a sizeable volume under the title "The Uncollected stories of Keith Curtis").
Afterwards, I called in at Officeworks looking for something to store my CDs in.  That's an hour of my life I'll never get back.

2:35 PM 18/10/2020
Yes, it's nice that we are able to be back in church but there are differences on a Sunday morning.   When I started going to St John's some 25 years ago, I usually sat down the front because that's where the vacant pews were.  Now, with social distancing rules, we only have half as many seats in use and I often end up in the   back row.   And since we no longer use hymnbooks or printed Orders of Service, the words are projected on a big screen at the front  -- which always reminds me that I need to have my eyes tested and get new glasses.  At least we are now able to get a hot drink after the service, which is nice.
We are supposed to be resuming communion services soon, but I don't know the details of how that's going to work.  Ushers in Hazmat suits dispensing single-use glasses maybe?  We shall see.

10:30 PM 19/10/2020
Monday made for a lot of running about.  I slept well, which was a good thing because the cat woke up at 6.15 this morning. Between breakfast and morning tea I went out to the Salvo store to pick up a book Keith had changed his mind about buying.  After lunch, down to Kingston for a committee meeting.  Back home in time to gather together some stuff I had to take with me when I had dinner at some friends' place.  Between that and a couple of long phone calls, I think that's enough for the day.

7:51 PM 24/10/2020
Saturday was a long afternoon..  Left home at 10 a.m., returned at 6 p.m.
Went round the usual places and dined at the Green Store cafe.  Traffic a little light, probably because a lot of people added the Show Day holiday to make a long weekend for themselves.  Went home to feed the animals and received a big welcome from the cat and the goats.
Keith received a parcel of stuff from overseas including an item that he gifted to me --  an autographed photograph of Caroline Munro.  Does he know me or what?