Still tidying, haircut and packing

Up earlyish this morning. Nick was off to Cerberus for work (I hope that's not classified information). I'm off to get my hair cut after a bit of tidying and preparation. A very nice Greek expatriate cut my hair. Now I've started on the packing. We had Muir's prawn bisque for lunch (we're suffering). Now for a quick and rather sweaty nap on this 43 degree day. Then Danny the architect came for a final meeting on the bathroom renovations. All seems satisfactory now, worked out over a cup of tea. We then went to the Carringbush hotel for a fairly brief but confusing dinner with Lesley P., Michael P. and Mollie, P. and I and Nick and Sarah and his son, David. Home again for Endeavour.

Tidying up

A good night's sleep was had by all including the guests. This morning I did the end-of-month accounts a bit early then started the dreaded filing. In my pile, I found I did have the new Old Folks' Health Card. Sorry, Centrelink. On with the filing. I'm sure I'll find other horrors. Nick and Sarah have gone off touring the town, visiting Nick nostalgia sites. We'll have leftover lamb chops and soup for lunch then try to have a nap in the heat. P. and I went to Chapel Street, had an excellent meal at Ladro, with the minor amusement near of us of a large table of women making floral headdresses while having dinner. We met Frank at Chapel-Off-Chapel and were mildly amused (rather than not) by Joel Creasey in a send-up of the royals called The Boy, George. It could have done with more zingers and another plot twist but it was not bad overall. A very easy trip home.

Prep for trip and surprise arrival

I did some more preparation for the trip this morning and am still waiting for final okay and material from the authors of the autobiography. P.'s lunch with Robin Shaw was cancelled, so we had pea and ham soup (the last of it) for lunch. Now for a nap. I got the few things I needed for the autobiography, so it has gone off to the publisher so I am clear to go on hols. I'm making anchovy pasta for tea and got a surprise call from Nick. They are coming TONIGHT not Friday so I'll have to do a bit of getting ready as well. With help from P., the bed was made and things tidied a bit. After anchovy pasta for dinner and a dose of Hemlock Bones, Nick and Sarah arrived. After a good mag, they settled into bed and so did P. and I.

Autobiography cleanup

I set to early this morning on incorporating all the amendments into the ms. with the author's amendments, checked a few things, then sent the few remaining queries to the co-author. He should get back later today so I can finish it off. P. went up to Smurf Street for some shopping and a haircut. I contacted ANZ to tell them of our trip and tried to get Centrelink but it was impossible on the phone so I wrote them a letter this arvo. Good luck with that one! Now for a nap. P. is making crusted rack-off-lamb for dinner which was delicious. Then we watched a very affecting Who Do You Think You Are about Boy George and the Irish rebellion. A doco about Prince Albert was less impressive.

Holiday planning

This morning I did a little more holiday planning. We had vera on toast for lunch which was delicious, now for a nap. I made a spinach and cheese souffle for dinner which didn't rise all that much but was very tasty. Then we settled in for the teev and watched Lantana which I've never seen right through. I think it was too clever by half with casting which cast 'up' characters who should have been lower class. The autobiography has arrived almost complete. Hooray! I should be able to finish it off easily before Te Waipounamu.

Crossword and honours

The crossword was done lickety-split with few hassles. Then I ploughed through the Australia Day Honours to find author Sandy Jeffs had scored an OAM. There were very few writers who are mainly writers, though notably Kerry Greenwood. Other writers are mainly other things like Clare Wright (academic) or Robin Williams (broadcaster). Some shockers like Bettina Arndt, Amanda Sandstone, Campbell Newman (for fucking up), Dallas Hayden (ostensibly for being the G-G's wife but perhaps for shoplifting) and the wonderful David Kemp. There was a marked increase in awards for services to the homeless which is a sign of the times, and I smiled at services to plumbing, Irish dancing, lawn bowls and Mirboo North, much deserved I'm sure. Pea and ham soup for lunch, then a nap. Sal and Roger dropped in with more tile news and building brochures and P. made superb scalloped potato to go with the leftover roast chook. We watched The Sapphires, which I've never seen, on SBS, and I was quite impressed by a not-bad movie.

Some work but not much

Phew! The Saturday Paper is back and I can get my fix of Richard Ackland and his slagging off of people like Fishnets Downer and Uncle Otto Abetz. As well, I sent off the big novel to its author and read some more of the in-progress biography, which is very absorbing. No sign of the edited autobiography coming back. We had salmon patties for lunch, then a nap. P. raided the fridge for leftover vera bolognese for dinner with a brief experiment in cavello nero which kind-of worked. Then, because the teev was awful, we watched Friday's Endeavour on I-voo.

Shopping, brunch and talk

This morning, P. and I picked up Harriet the Corolla and Frank the person then went to Victoria Gardens, shopped for ourselves and Noel and delivered the shopping to various places. We then had a very successful brunch at Addict followed by a nap. P. and I had oysters and salmon for dinner then went to Hares and Hyenas for an excellent talk on the activities of ActUp in NY and Melbourne during the AIDS crisis. It reinfoced my view that to organise a good campaign, you need a radical wing and a moderate wing, working more or less in unison to achieve your aim. Hence, a crowd like Greenpeace, which is undemocratic and radical, helps in the world conservation movement by being out-there and outrageous. Home again for the late news and more or less early bed.

Health centre plus opera

It was a very quiet day waiting for something to happen. P. made yummy scrambled eggs for lunch with Kent's homemade bread. Then after a short nap, I went to the Health Centre to renew some scrips before NZ. Then another even shorter nap, then P. and I joined Frank at Tazio for a good simple meal (pizzas, carpaccio and too much dessert) the to 45downstairs for a two-hander opera with a very able string quartet by US composer Laura Kaminsky. Its theme was transgender and it was a very good piece beautifully played and performed. Called As One, it has a male baritone and female soprano playing the one character who morphs in the course of the opera from male to female. Premiered in 2014, it is up to the minute in relevance to the 'gender wars' in their various shapes and forms. I still haven't heard from the author of the novel or the autobiography and I'm off in a week. Oh well. I've told them.

NZ and Sunbury

P. went off to Sunbury to visit the Shaw sisters while I did some preparation for NZ like printing out all the vouchers and bookings etc. I had a curried egg sandwich for lunch, then a nap. We had leftover roast chook and watermelon salad for dinner. Delicious. Then very indifferent teev.

Novel finished for now, now for lunch

I finished work on the big novel for now and await advice from the author on when to send it. I also printed off all the NZ information to take with us. Now we're off to lunch with Margaret N. and Kent and Wendy P. so it should be a good break while waiting for things to materialise. I probably need some sort of waterproof coat for NZ but that's probably all I need to buy. We had a good, but very retro, lunch at the Railway Hotel in North Fitzroy, sampled the new super stops, then went home for a nap. P. made roast chook for dinner very well, then we settled in for a night of teev. My work is still at a standstill waiting for things to happen.

Novel getting there

This morning I got to the end of the big novel and have gone back to the start to re-check it. I've also contacted the author to say it is nearly ready. I also arranged to get more pills at the Health Centre later in the week for our trip. We had the pea and ham soup I finished off making last night for lunch. It's not bad. Now for a nap. Then P. and I joined Frank at Superhiro for a good meal, then went to the Recital Centre, much missed, for a concert by an English ensemble, Tenebrae. They performed mainly works by 16th century Spanish composer Tomas Luis de Victoria, which they did with great precision and skill. It was a splendid concert, the first for the year, and it might well be the best.

Crossword, novel and movie

The crossword was despatched very quickly with no mistakes but a couple of oddities. Then on with the big novel. I made devilled eggs for lunch (delicious, if I say so) then a short nap. Then off to the Nova for a Solidarity Salon benefit, a screening of Ken Loach's Sorry We Missed You. It's a fairly harrowing movie though not without its positive moments. We had a quick, good bite at Trotters, then home for the teev.

Up early and bed early

I was up early for the Saturday papers then did some more work on the big novel. We had quiches for lunch, then a nap, then off to Uncle Noel's for a very good dinner with M-J and Rob. Home again for Vera repeat then bed, early for tomorrow's crossword.

Shopping

After a very quiet week, I did some work on the big novel this morning, then P. and I picked up Harriet, but not Frank, did the shopping, dropped Noel's shopping off then came home for salmon patties for lunch then a nap. P. made G&Ts for pr-dinner and we had oysters, then salmon with dill for dinner. Endeavour followed, which is always good, even in repeats like Vera.

Novel off now for the next one

I finished off reading the latest version of the shorter novel and sent it off to its editor. Phew! Now for the big novel. We had leftovers for lunch then a nap. P. made a Massaman curry with potato for dinner then a quiet night at home.

Hard yakka

My tinkering with the big novel has paused as the smaller one has arrived for review from its editor (who has asked me to check it over). I'm still waiting for the autobiography to arrive. Plough on so that I, with any luck, can get it all done before we go on holidays. After an afternoon nap, I made anchovy and lemon pasta for dinner while for lunch we had leftover lamb casserole while P. made guacamole (delicious). Teev wasn't up to much but I got the washing done.

Report in, now for other projects

I finished and sent in the report on the novel, now I'm waiting on hearing from the author of the big novel about when he's ready to receive it (he's very busy with various things including bushfires) and from the autobiography authors who are returning the edited ms. I'm also waiting on another novel for review which should come in a day or so. Meanwhile, I'll tinker with the big novel. P. went off to Noel's to help with a couple of things then when he came home we both had a nap. Then he made steak for dinner.

Novel plus bathroom

I did more work on the report on the novel, but still haven't quite finished that. P. went off with Sally to look at bathroom fittings. They came back with sample tiles and toilet seats etc. (in brochures). We all went our respective ways for a nap. We had P.'s leftover gado gado for dinner which was yummy plus DVDs because of awful teev.

The novel still

We did the crossword in world record time (for us). It contained only one error this week. Then I finished reading the novel for report and will have to do the report tomorrow. I also part-made the lamb stew (Neil Perry, never mind the ponytail) for dinner and we had soup for lunch. Now for a nap. Frank came for dinner and we had the lamb, plus some cumquats in brandy (very messy). We watched the Savoy Hotel doco. plus the Royals, very British. Then bed.

Papers then book talk

AFter the morning paper rush, P. and I went to the Collingwood Library for a talk by Neal Drinnan and his co-author Bob Perry about their book published late last year about a triple murder in the Western district. It was very stimulating and enjoyable and I caught up with Neal with whom I used to work at Penguin some thirty years ago, who now owns a bookshop in Colac. P. and I then went for a vego lunch at the Carringbush and P. went shopping in Victoria Street and I came home for a nap. I woke to find P. making gado gado for dinner which turned out to be gorgeous and rounded off an all-vego day, which was followed by Vera (the cop not the bolognese) and a recap of a bit of Monty Python then what was promised to be the 'final' Father Brown. I'll bet it isn't.

A bit of novel then shopping

I read a bit more of the novel for report, then P. and I picked up Harriet then Frank and went to Victoria Gardens, then dropped off shopping chez Noel, Frank and us, then had a very good brunch at Dr Morse. Home again for a nap. We had a medley of fish cooked by me for dinner, starting with oysters, followed by salmon patties then garlic prawns. I also made homemade humus for afters. Teev was okay but all that was ruined by the news that Peter Dutton has referred Bruce Pascoe to the Federal Police for fraud. How low can they sink?

Another quiet day then dinner

I spent another morning reading the novel for report and I've heard back from the author of the big novel. He's busy fighting bushfires but will be in touch when he's free to receive a manuscript. We had soup for lunch, then a nap. We were then picked up by Steve and Jackie to go to Margaret L.'s place for a lovely dinner to celebrate her and Sandy J.'s book on madness/Larundel. We had a wideranging discussion on lots of issues with her and her housemates but focussing mainly on fires, but touching also on neocon economics, feminism and trans issues and Indigenous issues. Phew! Home again to get ready for the shopping tomorrow.

Quiet in Abbotsford

I read a bit more of the novel for report this morning and am now nearly halfway through. P. went off to buy a paper thinking it was Thursday and got pies for lunch. Don't buy Herbert Adams pies; they are poxy. Now for a nap. Afterwards, P. made storebought yum cha for entree, then I made rakott krumpli for mains. It is very popular with the audience of one. Then a very unfunny comedy galah. Surely they would have better jokes when they are 'competing'.

Biography then Danny

I sent the part-biography back to the author with a few comments, went up to the shops to get supplies of various sorts, then we had leftover chicken for lunch with my bought curried-egg sango. Danny the architect came with some plans and we have decided on the minimalist bathroom changes plus a few other repairs. Now for a nap. P. made yummy spicy pork spare ribs for dinner, then we settled in for a night of very indifferent teev.

Lots of eating

We had a fairly lazy day yesterday (Sunday). Nick and Mark went in the arvo to the local brewery and we had leftover chook and salad in sangos for lunch. I made Neil Perry's spicy lamb for dinner which went down well and we watched the fire news on the teev and phones, then Maigret on the teev. Today, early, Nick and Mark headed off Echuca-wards (after picking up David). It was very good to see them. Nick will be back at the end of the month. Now, settling in waiting for the cleaners who came lickety-split. I read some of the extra bits of the new biography, which I should finish tomorrow while P. went to Specsavers to get his new specs. After a nap, I made salmon for dinner. Then the teev which is getting progressively worse as January wears on, unless you watch the nail-biting bushfires. We watched a DVD about the Colisseum and Chartres Cathedral out of desperation.

Lazy day

We had a lazy morning with Nick (back from his run). Mark slept in. Mark and Nick went off to join David while P. and I had baked eggs for lunch (including leftover rakott krumpli). Then we had a nap. P. cooked spicy chicken for dinner then we watched Vera and Life of Brian (part) while Nick and sons went off to the Big Bash Cricket.

Guests

I finally got my act together to do more tidying before the arrival of Nick and Mark today. As well, I did a bit of work on both novels before P. and I had the last of the delicious gazpacho for lunch. I had a short nap then Nick and Mark arrived and we decamped to the local, The Retreat, for a not-bad dinner and a mag then home for the teev.

Shopping plus Nobodies

P. and I picked up Harriet but not Frank and did a shop at Victoria 'Gardens', then dropped Noel's shopping off to him. Home again to drop the shop, then salmon patties for lunch. After a nap, P. and I went into town for a good meal upstairs at Superhiro (nee Yoyogi). It is lovely up there among the plane tree leaves with a very multicultural clientele. Then to the Fairfax Studio for Bernadette Robinson channelling Judy Garland, Patsy Klein, Edith Piaf, Billie Holliday and Maria Callas in Songs for Nobodies. It's a great show and, in this case, with a moral (all my stories have morals). Home again to come down with the news and Scummo being jeered and abused in Cobargo then beating a hasty retreat. The cops are closing in on Angus Taylor as well. We can only hope.

ATO, ho, ho, ho

This morning I thought I'd get the end-of-month accounts done lickety-split and I did, except when I went to lodge my quarterly BAS, the ATO site was closed for maintenance. Don't they want the $12 I owe them? Will I have to get an account in the Bahamas to hide it? P. went into town to get Noel's razorblades (fear not, they're for shaving). Now we'll each have a nap after a quick lunch. We had a double-barreled dinner with gazpacho first, then rakott krumpli (a Hungarian dish). We then retreated to DVDs because of the awful tellie.