Places and People, My View with A Laugh

Size 8....

2011-04-09T17:57:00.000+10:00

While vacuuming the lounge room, regretting the comment I’d made about her having been a size 8 when we married, I starting looking at the photos we have around the place. I use an upright Hoover vacuum, beats as it cleans the carpet but more importantly, it has a rubber bumper, you can push the thing around without really looking at what you’re doing. The photos on the walls are mostly of the

Haven't You Heard?

2011-04-03T18:08:00.000+10:00

I wrote this short piece long ago and can’t remember what gave me the idea, I must be getting old. The funeral I attended yesterday was for an elderly gentleman who was well known in the local community. He had spent the later years of his life, his retirement years, involved with activities in and around the district. He did some charity work and volunteering, things like making tea at the

ESPN, You’ve done it again!

2011-04-01T15:40:00.004+11:00

Busy doing my usual never-ending housework, I almost missed a great event on the Foxtel ESPN channel today. Not that I ever have time to sit and watch television, the show just happened to be on while I was cleaning the microwave shelf in the sink, which overlooks the lounge room, which happens to have a television in it,....on. Being a man, I don’t wear gloves while washing the dishes, I jump in

The Great Aussie Barbeque, First: Catch Your Roo

2010-08-06T17:03:00.021+10:00

Dawn was arriving, light had filtered its way past the closed curtains through the narrow slit my mismeasured drapery purchase had left between window and wall. The sun always starts peeking directly into that slit around this time of year, early spring. Trees are starting to sprout buds where new leaves would be in a few weeks if not days. I had told the wife all this only last week, she had

Life Seems Confusing

2010-07-02T22:04:00.009+10:00

But then it might just be me. It’s been a long time, or at least it seems so, since I’ve managed to get away from the housework and retirement to write much, or even play around with the blogs HTML script. I always had fun changing things around by using the editor provided, but actually typing in the code and watching pictures change size or position, and other things move and morph, that was

The Old Girl Chronicles

2010-05-13T22:24:00.001+10:00

Maybe there’s a few miles left in her yet. I retired a few years ago, bad health and too much effort ploughed into my time on the line just wore me down. The wife, like the battery, just keeps on keeping on... Thank God. Her part-time job keeps bread on the table as well as those few luxuries we’ve become fondly attached to, stuff like soup to dip the bread in really rounds out a day. Learning

Blue Sap and Rabbit Crap

2010-05-04T21:50:00.000+10:00

I apologise for the length of this story, it was a long day out and I did take a lot of photos. Hope you can get to the end. ---------------------------------------- I wasn’t too late to still be in bed, after all its Sunday I thought, as I lay contemplating the things I could do that day. It didn’t occurred to me to think about those things I knew I

A Woman’s Best Friend

2010-04-11T22:43:00.001+10:00

A day seldom goes by without the necessity of a visit to the grocery store. My wife says I couldn’t miss a day at the shops, that I’m addicted, I’d have withdrawal symptoms. Well, I can’t really disagree as I haven’t missed a day yet, perhaps there would be some kind of withdrawal, doesn’t matter, I’ll face those demons when I have to. In spite of my long standing instructions that any needs are

Saf-Éty Harbour

2010-04-04T12:19:00.005+10:00

The drive will be just what I need she thought as the door closed behind her, the break couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Her heels clicking on the marble floor, she quickly walked to her new office on the 10th, the level below the board room she had just left. Katherine, to those who didn’t know her, and Kath to those who thought they did, was due to turn 30 over the weekend, a

Chicks in Vancouver

2010-03-10T21:28:00.005+11:00

Winter comes every year, the Winter Olympics every four. This type of sport is generally for young people although relatively older ones were there either defending their medals or attempting to finally achieve a lifelong ambition to win one. Some of the competitors were making their second or even third appearance in Olympic competition at this year’s Vancouver games. Saying some of the

The Right Thing

2010-03-09T19:52:00.004+11:00

One tries to do the best one can, the right thing and such. The only reward we seek is a smile and a thank you, but sometimes we wonder, is it worth it? Are we truly doing what’s right? We don’t often ask ourselves if our actions will be appreciated, we do it because it makes us feel good, we make a contribution to society, family or friends, and swell with pride at being a “good” person.

Apostrophes, Commas, and Women, Punctuation abuse.

2010-02-25T00:17:00.005+11:00

Apostrophes seem to find the most unusual places to hide within words. Like their friends the comma and women, apostrophes like to preserve their mystique. For this trait alone I think of them as feminine despite their appearance, meaning the punctuation marks. From one paragraph to the next I’m not sure where they’ll stand on any given subject, noun, pronoun or even abbreviation. Teachers say

Dragon at The Window

2010-02-17T20:13:00.005+11:00

The lizard crawling across my lounge room floor today reminded me of something that happened some years ago. Before I tell the story, let me explain the lizard on the lounge room floor. My wife and I like having a furry friend living with us, we’ve had woofers as well as those who meow. Overall we prefer the cat, although there are times... Seeing a lizard crawling across the floor is not unlike

The Olympics, French, and Elvis

2010-02-14T00:42:00.003+11:00

Watching the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics was interesting and entertaining, as a matter of fact I’m still watching the local commentators summarise as I write this. I’ve only been to Canada twice but have met many Canadians and without exception have found them all to be wonderful people. One married couple did threaten to crucify me once, I met them in a King Cross

Modern Toys and Backseat Memories

2010-02-05T21:39:00.005+11:00

When I was a kid, I didn’t have all the “toys” they have today, I know, you don't give a crap, but anyway.... Even now I don’t have all the toys men my age have. I was watching... no point in denial, Ellen. She was in the process of giving away a new GMC SUV. For those not acronymicaly inclined, General Motors Company, Sport Utility Vehicle. This “Toy” had something I would have loved having

Super Bowl Traditions Remembered

2010-02-01T12:04:00.000+11:00

Every year at this time, members of our family would inevitably be doing one thing. If you wanted to locate us, just look for the house with three of four cars in the drive and a television set blaring loudly. We would be watching the Super Bowl. American football bowl time. This year the Super Bowl is forty four years old. I’ve not seen all of those games myself but was old enough to remember

Generosity, Vanity and Dishes

2010-01-30T21:12:00.000+11:00

I can’t lay claim to being generous all the time, I have a certain amount of self-interest running through the bones as most people do. But there was one time, a long time ago.... Vanity is no stranger, thinking of myself as the “Boss”, the king cheese, the leader, I’ve always been at the top of my popularity poll. I once managed a company for the owners who lived overseas. They visited about

Lingerie Football, Well Bless My Soul

2010-01-22T14:11:00.001+11:00

Foxtel... what can I say. How I ever overlooked this little gem of a show I’ll never know. Normally organised and knowing what’s there to watch or not, I must have had a tear in my eye from the usual drama and documentaries I see. Anyway, I missed this show in the schedule but found it while looking for a Romance Historical Drama for the wife watch. To me, team sports are a necessity during

A Boy and His Dog

2010-01-05T21:00:00.002+11:00

My friend Steve and his wife moved to the coast, they bought a house only two blocks from the beach. It was in one of those little towns that exist somewhat out of the way like most of the truly beautiful places. We had been friends for a number of years; I met Steve when I started work. It was my first job and Steve was to be my first boss, although things didn’t start well between us, they

A Piece of Furniture

2009-12-25T22:27:00.000+11:00

I’m so used to it, I don’t mind at all. Not sure I ever did actually, being a part of the environment, blending in and taken for granted, all leave me feeling comfortable. It’s as though I’m just like a natural rock formation, not one that gets a second look, but one you overlook. When younger, seeking attention was part of establishing my presence I guess, but as I got older it was no longer

Christmas Eve and Here I Am

2009-12-24T19:38:00.004+11:00

Here it is 3:30 in the afternoon, December the 24th 2009. Why am I sitting here writing yet another story for a blog? It can only be that I feel an obligation to my reader. Mom and Dad are away from home tonight so I know that only leaves you and me my friend. I hope you know how much every word here means to me. My feet are aching something terrible, it was left up to me to go to the Mall, one

Christmas Shopping Erotica

2009-12-17T00:15:00.004+11:00

I would never have expected to visit a shopping center at this time of the year. For me shopping has always been Gods punishment for those who couldn’t organize others to do the dirty work. I really don’t know why I feel this way about something most people seem to enjoy, perhaps some childhood trauma. Six-year-old boy found in toy store after closing, mother says, “I thought his Dad had him”.

A Place to Eat, On Christmas Eve

2009-12-06T00:20:00.000+11:00

People sometimes happen to look at this web page without having had the intention of doing so. Usually they arrive after choosing from Google suggestions, in answer to a question posed for reasons we only have hints of. I’ve seen searches that reach this page, as vague and distantly related as “car rental in San Antonio”. I once wrote a short piece on San Antonio, I was born there, but that was

Solo Around the World

2009-12-04T22:32:00.002+11:00

Off and on over the last month I’ve been reading the blog written by Jessica Watson, she’s the 16 year old Brisbane Australia girl sailing solo around the world. I’m interested in what she has to say about each day as it passes. Apart from the islands she sails by as she moves forward, how much is there to see? Even the islands can only be described from a distance since she’s doing the trip

House Husbandry

2009-11-26T11:04:00.014+11:00

A Guide for the Efficient ManHaving recently retired from Business life, I’ve become one of those men who see the little woman off each morning. She goes to work; I prepare for the days duties as house husband. I’m not in the least embarrassed by my circumstance; on the contrary, I look upon my current “job” as just that, work which I’m fully equipped to excel at. Having been told of the volume