Friday, October 31, 2014

Some Of What I Did...

I was away from home for a couple of days and when I get back here I find that the computer is in the shop with some nasty virus.  Not too pleased as I had stuff that I planned doing but it had to wait until this evening.  That included the finishing of this...

After the last post someone wanted a more detailed read so I'll try and remember what has really been happening.

What's Growing.]
We have too many roosters again but not for much longer I hope.
Summer vegies are coming on and we are picking peas, assorted lettuce, other greens.  Sweet Potatoes can be dug up whenever we want some as can normal spuds.   There are tiny cucumbers out there and green tomatoes but they will be ready soon enough.  And for some reason there are chokos on the choko vine.  Now chokos are an Autumn fruit/veg but we will have some ready in a couple of weeks.  The seasons are all mucked up nowadays and everything is out of whack.  Strawberries can be eaten every day and we have had 2 bunches of bananas with a couple more coming on.  I am eating the Valencia Oranges now too though some are still a tad sourish.

Stupid Things.
I have a desktop computer and it sits on a *desk* surrounded by stuff.  Mess.  Crap that needs to be sorted...I have an old keyboard that the letters have worn off so I stuck sticker letters on it but some of them have become unstuck and now some of the keys are blank on top.  Unless you know how a keyboard works it's a hit and miss job to type the correct words.  When it is not full daylight I need a lamp so I can see where the letters are.   One day, a long time ago...not sure when but sometime after my second last posting...I had the lamp on.  I had it sitting in an open drawer pointing toward the keyboard.  I got up to get something, the lamp tipped over, I came back and the heat from the lamp had melted a bit on the bottom of the keyboard.  No big deal but could have been if I hadn't of come back, maybe.   I thought I should be more careful and also clean of some desk space so the lamp wouldn't need to sit in a drawer when I used it.    That same week I used the lamp in the drawer again.  Same thing, I left it on and went off to do something.  Came back and noticed that the lamp had fallen over again but thought no more of it.  Eventually I needed to write something, went to press the enter button...Stupid keyboard, why wont that work.   Oops, seems that the lamp had fallen and the heat had melted the enter button and it wouldn't go down.   HoHum.    Told husband what I was sighing about and mentioned that he might have to change the keyboard over.   I have another keyboard that came from the RRFM that I intended to replace this one with because of the letters.  I didn't know where I had put that keyboard though so his solution was to pry the enter key off and sand the melted corner off and now it works.  It's a bit stiff and you have to press the right spot but it's good enough.  The lamp now has a space cleared for it and it cannot be knocked over to melt anything else.   Thanks Babe. 

The other memorable ST happened on Saturday.  Friday morning my mobile phone worked and was working at lunch time too.  At 3pm it wasn't working.    I needed this phone this week though.  Yep, needed!   A couple of people tried it, to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong with this phone that I have had for more than 10 years...I wasn't.  They tried different sims, they tried my sim in a new phone.  The sim card was broke and I could get a new one send out but not for a week.  I wanted the same number so needed a replacement from my service provider.    It was suggested that I  just buy a new sim card but not knowing if my phone was locked that might not work.  A new phone maybe.  A cheap small phone that I could use for the next week then on-sell or give away.  So Sat morning I went into the newsagency and bought a new phone.
It cost me $29.95 and has $10 credit.  So $40 for piece of mind tomorrow and the next day.  Having got this phone activated I needed a *play* with it, to learn how it worked.  Took a long tome and the son showing me before I knew how to unlock it.    I rang a number to see if it worked.   It did but the phone talks and says the numbers out loud.  I need to find out how to stop that.  But scrolling through it I saw that it had a different language, thought it would be cool to hear the numbers in a different language...It was but once I changed to the different language all the words on the phone changed.    Didn't matter I knew how to change it back...or did I?  Ummm, no, seems I didn't.  I couldn't remember what I had done and couldn't figure out how to get back to an English phone.   I asked on FaceBook.  I asked on a forum, I asked the son.  He found me a download with how to use the phone but no-one and nowhere could tell me how to fix this funny/stupid thing.  I couldn't ring a technician 'cause they weren't available over the weekend.    How could I practice using it when I had no idea what I was reading.  I put it down and decided that if I couldn't get it fixed today I would just get another one. 
Daughter T comes out Sunday afternoon and within 2 minutes she has undone what I did and I can use my new phone again.   So funny.  So dumb.  And I say use.  I know how to make a call, I can answer a call.  Everything I need.

Out and About.
I have been out for lunch quite a few times over the last 5 weeks.  With a daughter, Mum and sister, husband...Husband again.    I was in Perth Tues and Wed, staying at a flash hotel, meals provided... All because of my new *job*...Lunch with friends yesterday.

New Job.
As you know I have been volunteering at our local Vinnies op-shop for more than a year, liking it a lot.  The manager there decided to step down, not be manager but just a volunteer like the rest of us.   But someone needs to be manager, someone needs to be in charge, needs to be boss.  Now that someone is me.   I have been manager for the last 4 weeks, not much has changed.  I still don't get paid as it's a volunteer position so though I am *manager* I am not going to put in the 20 hours they say I should, I am not going to stress that I wont do it right, I am going to keep enjoying being there, do some extra but really, I think, if they want someone to put in lots of effort and lots of hours then they need to pay someone.  They don't want to do that so we'll see how things go.  This week there was a Managers Conference in Perth, going over 2 days so the organisation put up the country volunteers at a hotel and we spend the days doing whatever it is you do at a conference.   That was mostly sitting around a table listening to people talk.  Some was interesting, some wasn't but mostly it was an OK couple of days.  I learned that I don't know much about how the shop should be run.  The other manager hadn't received any training and nor had I, we are just fumbling along.  We have a paid area manager though and it is his job to train us/me.  I have decided to use the paid area manager and make him earn his wage.  Everything we need to know should be taught to us, by him...I now have a long list for him to help with and think that a fun part of it all will be getting on to him to provide the training the he should have already. 

Tomorrow is next month, that is insane.  I am going to be busy, what with growing our food, getting the house in better shape than it is, extra hours at Vinnies, and more out and about goings on...And somewhere in there I need to do another extraction of the bee hives...

Tomorrow, next month, I have my next out and about outing.  Coffee and cake at the Dome in Pinjarra with a friend that lives in Queensland and is here a few times a year.  It should be nice.  I need to get some mowing done beforehand and the house is a tip...HoHum, better get to bed so I'm ready for it all.


Monday, October 27, 2014

It's Been A While.

Yep, quite a while.  Do I have reasons?  Am I excused for such slackful blogging behaviour?  Have I put the right *A while* up there?  Or should it be *Awhile*?  

The gardens are still producing food.  I've been out and about a few times.  I've done a couple of stupid things.  I have a new job and this one could also go under the stupid thing heading...but won't.  What else?   Another out and about thing coming up...and then it's next month already.

So now you know what's been happening here I'll go read about what's been happening in your neck of the woods.