Probably from too much reading late into the night!
That's why I have circles under MY eyes (old age has naff all to do with it thank you very much).
Hello, my name is XXXX and I am a read-a-holic. Exhibit A: I have started keeping a spread sheet of the books read from 25/12/2015 - 25/12/2016, to date (30 Jan 16) I have read 11 books all averaging around 700+ pages.
I have favourite authors; Kerry Greenwood and her divine Phryne Fisher, Con Iggulden and his rollicking historical tales, Ken Follet and his fabulous sagas, Jant Ivanovich and her resourceful, love conflicted, Stephanie Plum, Laura Joh Rowland and her stoic detective Sano Ichiro, James Clavell's epic masterpieces of Asia, David Rotenberg's vivid novel of Shanghai, Phillipa Gregory and her historical fiction, J K Rowling and Harry Potter, Stephen King and his Dark Tower series, Eric Lustbader and his gripping stories of Nicholas Linear, Bernard Cornwall and Uhtred of Bebbanberg's quest to regain his heritage, Jung Chang's gripping tale of three generations of Chinese women, the salacious, thinly veiled swipes at Hollywood of Jackie Collins, Ellis Peter's detective monk, Cadfeal, Sharon Penman and her historical portraits, Dan Brown, Mathew Rielly the list goes on, and on, and on. Pretty much any book I read the author becomes a favourite.
I do get cross when you read a book, go looking for more by the same author and discover the book is actually the last in a series!!! Why wasn't I told?????? It should be made CLEARLY obvious to the humble reader that there is a reading order and that this book is first middle or last!!
Another pet gripe is when authors start an epic series and then takes forever to write the next instalment!! I am not getting any younger here author I need to know what happens before I die thank you. Stephen King was probably the guiltiest one here, he started his Dark Tower series a million years ago and only finished it a few years or so ago and he managed to almost kill himself before the last instalment was written (The Wind Through the Key Hole doesn't count in my opinion as it was an after thought book).
The latest gripe is the author who makes you wait for another book even though there was no cliff hanger from the previous book (I'm looking at you Kerry Greenwood) it's over two years since we had another adventure with the racy, dynamic, fabulous Phryne Fisher and quite frankly I am a tad annoyed. Yes we have had the gorgeous Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (Thank you ABC) and they have helped us realise some of the images we have in our heads of what everything was like in the 1920's BUT it isn't the same as getting a fresh new book to savour!!!!
Janet Ivanovich is a veritable trooper and has released a book a year recently!!
I think the biggest whinge I have is when they make movies out of my favourite books. They never get it right! The pictures I have in my head as I read do not resemble those on the screen and when they start adding stuff to the movie/series that was never in the book I get very very very cross!!!
Anyway... I have a new book to read.....
Saturday 30 January 2016
Friday 15 January 2016
Let's Talk About Tea
One of the greatest pleasures in life is a cup of tea.
Back in the day I drank my tea white with two. Over time I cut out the sugar, then the milk. Tea was just a drink I had, nothing special.
I'd heard of green tea but never tried it.
One Christmas, about eight years ago, the Normal Autistic Girl went to The Tea Centre and bought me a green tea sample set and a beautiful cup and saucer to drink from. The right cup is a huge part of the tea drinking experience!
Using leaf tea was new to me I was the Queen of Tetley black tea bag!! Using a teapot or diffuser was a novel thing and I figured if I was going to be serious about my tea drinking I really should learn how to produce the perfect cuppa!
Rule number one: ALWAYS use fresh cold water, NEVER reboil water. There is oxygen in the water and the tea needs the oxygen to produce its best flavours!! There are a few other rules but this is the cardinal rule!
From memory I loved all of the different flavours in the sampler. I decided to go to The Tea Centre and have a look for myself and oh my goodness what a selection!!!!
I quickly found favourites,specifically Japanese Garden Green and Strawberries and Yogurt Green.
I also found some lovely cups for the drinking of tea and at one stage had a cup for black tea and a cup for green tea! Now I have so many cups I could open my own store. Here are just a few.
Of course I love brewing tea in a pot. Not just any tea, not just any pot. Christmas before last, HR bought me this beautiful tea pot and cups. Every time my friend from down the hill comes to visit we brew tea in this pot and sit there savouring the brew and our friendship.
Sometimes I just brew a pot of tea for myself in almost a meditative state.
I make a ritual out of making the tea, nowhere near as solemn and beautiful as the Japanese Tea Ceremony but in thoughtful contemplation of my actions and the alchemy that makes a simple leaf into a restorative refreshing drink. This process allows me to appreciate the simple things in life and, for a moment, not take for granted an everyday process.This in turn helps to calm and order my thoughts.
Clumsy prose but sometimes it is difficult to put a feeling into words.
I was moved to not only go to the Tea Centre but to look at different brands on the shelf at the supermarket. There were two brands that struck me at the supermarket Dilmah and Madame Flavour.
Dilmah had a lovely Jasmine petal Green Tea . A lovely Jasmine scented and flavoured tea in tea bags that is quick and easy to make in the work place and I keep a box at The Dragon Lady's place too.
One time the local supermarket had a feature of Dilmah's flavoured teas and one of the most delicious tasting and smelling was/is the Peach Flavoured Tea. A black tea that had the most awesome smell of peaches. After the promotion finished at the local supermarket I had to actually buy the tea from Dilmah direct! Always a lovely experience, I was always sent a sample of their other teas and once a year a calender was sent as well.
I would alternate the Jasmine and Peach tea during the day. and then I discovered the Madame Flavour range.
It was from Madame Flavour that I first heard of White Tea!! Her Romantic White with Rose is a delicate tea that is perfect for those quiet moments alone. It is to be savoured in an atmosphere of peace and calm, and NEVER rushed!
My other all time favourite is Madame Flavour tea is the Delicate Green Jasmine and Pear.
This tea has a lovely drift of pear added to the Jasmine and it is not just pear flavouring but actual pear pieces! I can drink this tea all day every day!
For me tea is not just about the intake of a fluid, it is about, choosing the right tea for the occasion, the right cup for the right tea, the process of making, and then the quiet contemplation whilst slowly savouring the special brew.
I hope you enjoy exploring the linked pages and maybe finding a new brew for you!!
Back in the day I drank my tea white with two. Over time I cut out the sugar, then the milk. Tea was just a drink I had, nothing special.
I'd heard of green tea but never tried it.
One Christmas, about eight years ago, the Normal Autistic Girl went to The Tea Centre and bought me a green tea sample set and a beautiful cup and saucer to drink from. The right cup is a huge part of the tea drinking experience!
Using leaf tea was new to me I was the Queen of Tetley black tea bag!! Using a teapot or diffuser was a novel thing and I figured if I was going to be serious about my tea drinking I really should learn how to produce the perfect cuppa!
Rule number one: ALWAYS use fresh cold water, NEVER reboil water. There is oxygen in the water and the tea needs the oxygen to produce its best flavours!! There are a few other rules but this is the cardinal rule!
From memory I loved all of the different flavours in the sampler. I decided to go to The Tea Centre and have a look for myself and oh my goodness what a selection!!!!
I quickly found favourites,specifically Japanese Garden Green and Strawberries and Yogurt Green.
I also found some lovely cups for the drinking of tea and at one stage had a cup for black tea and a cup for green tea! Now I have so many cups I could open my own store. Here are just a few.
Of course I love brewing tea in a pot. Not just any tea, not just any pot. Christmas before last, HR bought me this beautiful tea pot and cups. Every time my friend from down the hill comes to visit we brew tea in this pot and sit there savouring the brew and our friendship.
Sometimes I just brew a pot of tea for myself in almost a meditative state.
I make a ritual out of making the tea, nowhere near as solemn and beautiful as the Japanese Tea Ceremony but in thoughtful contemplation of my actions and the alchemy that makes a simple leaf into a restorative refreshing drink. This process allows me to appreciate the simple things in life and, for a moment, not take for granted an everyday process.This in turn helps to calm and order my thoughts.
Clumsy prose but sometimes it is difficult to put a feeling into words.
I was moved to not only go to the Tea Centre but to look at different brands on the shelf at the supermarket. There were two brands that struck me at the supermarket Dilmah and Madame Flavour.
Dilmah had a lovely Jasmine petal Green Tea . A lovely Jasmine scented and flavoured tea in tea bags that is quick and easy to make in the work place and I keep a box at The Dragon Lady's place too.
One time the local supermarket had a feature of Dilmah's flavoured teas and one of the most delicious tasting and smelling was/is the Peach Flavoured Tea. A black tea that had the most awesome smell of peaches. After the promotion finished at the local supermarket I had to actually buy the tea from Dilmah direct! Always a lovely experience, I was always sent a sample of their other teas and once a year a calender was sent as well.
I would alternate the Jasmine and Peach tea during the day. and then I discovered the Madame Flavour range.
It was from Madame Flavour that I first heard of White Tea!! Her Romantic White with Rose is a delicate tea that is perfect for those quiet moments alone. It is to be savoured in an atmosphere of peace and calm, and NEVER rushed!
My other all time favourite is Madame Flavour tea is the Delicate Green Jasmine and Pear.
This tea has a lovely drift of pear added to the Jasmine and it is not just pear flavouring but actual pear pieces! I can drink this tea all day every day!
For me tea is not just about the intake of a fluid, it is about, choosing the right tea for the occasion, the right cup for the right tea, the process of making, and then the quiet contemplation whilst slowly savouring the special brew.
I hope you enjoy exploring the linked pages and maybe finding a new brew for you!!
Heartfelt Thanks
Recently I was involved in a car crash. Not my fault, and apart from a lot of bruises, aches and pains, I am alive and thank fully so is the other driver.
The car I was driving (not mine) not so much.
I realise that the thanks I am about to offer in this blog may never reach the people involved, I will write it anyway.
Almost from the moment of impact, perfect strangers came to help me out of the car and started calling the police and ambulance. Oddly enough the tow trucks seamed magically appear :)
As I was standing there surveying the carnage and feeling very lucky to be alive, a perfect stranger brought a chair out for me to sit on, I was pretty shaken,another brought me a lovely glass of ice water, a little girl talked to me and that helped me get a little control back.
My colleague who I had just dropped home came running and stayed with me, organising towing and administrative stuff (work vehicle).
Other people were doing the same for the other people involved. All these people helping and being concerned for people they had never met before and will most likely never meet again.
The ambulance personnel were amazing!!! The police were efficient and kind. The firemen were sweethearts ( they got my stuff out of the vehicle). The hospital staff were over worked but efficient and lovely.
The two colleagues that came and sat for hours with me at the hospital went above and beyond their duty of care and the Admin team at The Mausoleum were terrific too getting paperwork and such organised and I even got flowers!!!
My beautiful Mini Brat was awesome too, finishing work,coming to pick me up, ferry me home and stay with me for the night.
The Normal Autistic Girl and the Boy Child live hours away but they have called regularly.
HR drove 12 hours straight to come home and look after me.
Car Crashes are pretty bloody scary, but the way people rallied about to help ( yes I understand for some it is their job but damn I am gratefull they do it so well) is very very humbling.
THANK YOU to EVERYONE!!!!!
The car I was driving (not mine) not so much.
I realise that the thanks I am about to offer in this blog may never reach the people involved, I will write it anyway.
Almost from the moment of impact, perfect strangers came to help me out of the car and started calling the police and ambulance. Oddly enough the tow trucks seamed magically appear :)
As I was standing there surveying the carnage and feeling very lucky to be alive, a perfect stranger brought a chair out for me to sit on, I was pretty shaken,another brought me a lovely glass of ice water, a little girl talked to me and that helped me get a little control back.
My colleague who I had just dropped home came running and stayed with me, organising towing and administrative stuff (work vehicle).
Other people were doing the same for the other people involved. All these people helping and being concerned for people they had never met before and will most likely never meet again.
The ambulance personnel were amazing!!! The police were efficient and kind. The firemen were sweethearts ( they got my stuff out of the vehicle). The hospital staff were over worked but efficient and lovely.
The two colleagues that came and sat for hours with me at the hospital went above and beyond their duty of care and the Admin team at The Mausoleum were terrific too getting paperwork and such organised and I even got flowers!!!
My beautiful Mini Brat was awesome too, finishing work,coming to pick me up, ferry me home and stay with me for the night.
The Normal Autistic Girl and the Boy Child live hours away but they have called regularly.
HR drove 12 hours straight to come home and look after me.
Car Crashes are pretty bloody scary, but the way people rallied about to help ( yes I understand for some it is their job but damn I am gratefull they do it so well) is very very humbling.
THANK YOU to EVERYONE!!!!!
Wednesday 13 January 2016
Hot Potato, Hot Potato
Interesting fact: when either of my girls have been unwell they usually crave potatoes in their recovery.
The Mini Brat caught some sort of intestinal bug a few days after her return from Germany. She was laid low but rallied enough for me to leave her and go to the BBL05 game on a Sunday a few weeks ago.
I had just arrived at my hotel and was making a refreshing cup of Madame Flavours's 'Delicate Green Jasmine and Pear' Tea, when my phone rings.
' Hi Mum, you need to come home'
'And why is that?' I ask
'You need to come home and make me a potato bake!'
The Mini Brat was on the mend and she needed her potatoes! She also mentioned that no one else made potato bake like me. Everyone else messed up a perfectly simple dish! (apparently no one else microwaves the potatoes)
I declined of course only to be told there was just enough time to drive home, prepare the potato bake and then drive back to Brisbane for the cricket......(2 hour minimum each way)
I promised to make one the next day and hung up!!!
The potato bake is one of a few 'specialty' dishes I will cook on rare occasions. This is how it goes:
Another really simple dish that is brilliant in the colder months served up with some of those little par bake rolls all crusty and warm fresh from the oven!
This recipe is a simplified version of one I found in the Better Homes and Garden magazine nearly ten years ago.
Simple yes???
The original recipe had Onions (allergic), Cellery (cooked yuck) and Sour Cream (not to kids taste).
A couple of simple dishes that done properly bring happiness and comfort to recovering children........
Oh Crap...I don't think the Normal Autistic Girl knows I made a Potato Bake and she didn't get any......I think I'm in trouble......
The Mini Brat caught some sort of intestinal bug a few days after her return from Germany. She was laid low but rallied enough for me to leave her and go to the BBL05 game on a Sunday a few weeks ago.
I had just arrived at my hotel and was making a refreshing cup of Madame Flavours's 'Delicate Green Jasmine and Pear' Tea, when my phone rings.
' Hi Mum, you need to come home'
'And why is that?' I ask
'You need to come home and make me a potato bake!'
The Mini Brat was on the mend and she needed her potatoes! She also mentioned that no one else made potato bake like me. Everyone else messed up a perfectly simple dish! (apparently no one else microwaves the potatoes)
I declined of course only to be told there was just enough time to drive home, prepare the potato bake and then drive back to Brisbane for the cricket......(2 hour minimum each way)
I promised to make one the next day and hung up!!!
The potato bake is one of a few 'specialty' dishes I will cook on rare occasions. This is how it goes:
- Enough of your favourite potatoe's for your needs, in this case I used 2kgs (washed potatoes don't need peeling)
- 500 gms diced bacon
- 600ml cream
- minced garlic to taste
- 250gm shredded cheese
- Pre heat oven to 180C
- Slice the potatoes about 1-1.5 cm thick and layer in a casserole dish, cover with glad wrap, microwave for 10 mins
- in a second casserole dish sprinkle diced bacon, a little cream and garlic to taste then a layer of microwaved potaoes
- repeat the layers until ingredients are used up then sprinkle, generously with shredded cheese.
- cover with aluminium foil and bake in oven for 20 minutes
- remove from oven and remove foil
- return to oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is al melted and golden brown!!
Another really simple dish that is brilliant in the colder months served up with some of those little par bake rolls all crusty and warm fresh from the oven!
This recipe is a simplified version of one I found in the Better Homes and Garden magazine nearly ten years ago.
- 6 good sized potaoes diced(again washed potatoes don't need peeling)
- 425gm tin Corn Kernels
- 425 gm tin Creaned Corn
- 250gms chopped bacon
- 1 litre of Chicken Stock
- 60gm butter
- In a good sized pan melt the butter and sautee the bacon, add potatoes and coat with butter
- pour in the chicken stock
- cover and bring to the boil, then simmer until the potatoes are tender
- add both tins of corn, including the liquid from the kernels and warm through
Simple yes???
The original recipe had Onions (allergic), Cellery (cooked yuck) and Sour Cream (not to kids taste).
A couple of simple dishes that done properly bring happiness and comfort to recovering children........
Oh Crap...I don't think the Normal Autistic Girl knows I made a Potato Bake and she didn't get any......I think I'm in trouble......
Saturday 9 January 2016
You Walked Into The Party (Gabba) Like You Were Walking Onto A Yacht...
As previously mentioned the Normal Autistic Girl and I are members of the Brisbane Heat Twenty/20 Big Bash League (BBL) cricket club.
One of the major sponsors of the Heat is BETTA (@Thats_Betta).
At the beginning of BBL season 5 (2015-2016) BETTA ran a competition for a VIP experience at a Heat home game (the Gabba). Accordingly, the aforementioned Autistic one entered said competition and won!!! The prize included, amongst other things, the ability to take five of your friends to the last Heat home match of BBL05. Naturally I was one of the chosen as was the Mini Brat.
Friday 8 Jan 2016 was THE DAY.
I dutifully went to The Mausoleum, visited with the Dragon Lady, then swung past the abode to pick up the Min Brat and off we tootled down the hill.
A side trip to Amberley delayed us for 20 minutes and then onto the Cunningham Highway and onwards to Brisbane.
The Normal Autistic Girl rings just as we get to the Wellington Apartment Hotel...she has missed the bus...grab a cab I say I'll pay. It does not do to be late for these things!!
We all meet at the entrance to the hotel and walk jauntily of to the adventure awaiting us. The Normal Autistic Girl has been vague about exactly what we are in for.
We meet the rest of our merry little band at Gate 6 at the Gabba, we also meet the BETTA representative who provides tickets. special wrist bands AND...a HEAT jersey for each of us!!!!!
We wonder why we need the wrist bands, did I hear we will have our own security guard? Why do we need one of those?
It becomes pretty bloody obvious as we enter section 13 and proceed to the boundary gate where we are then led ONTO the Gabba and shown our seats for the night.......OMG we are ON THE GABBA!!!!
We are sitting in a special area that has cane lounge and chairs, three bar tables and some stools, a fridge full of every soft drink and water, and a freezer full of Magnums!!!
We were a little naughty...we swanned in and out of the area a few times to the envious looks of the other people in the crowd Official crowd figure was 33,783.
Then the food started coming out; BBQ'd Prawns and chicken breast fillets, a huge selection of sandwiches, wraps and rolls and later on party pies and sausage rolls!!!!!
Talk about being looked after.
Part of the appeal of the T/20 BBL is the crowd involvement. There is a lot of 'anthem' type songs played that get the crowd clapping and singing, and woe betide the opposition player who drops a catch.. a certain Wiggles song is played!! (Hot Potato Hot Potato). The game may only last a few hours but it is quick and intense and fun to watch.
Yes there was a game of cricket and yes the Heat lost BUT...we had an amazing night thanks to BETTA and the Normal Autistic Girl!
Please scroll the picture across to see ALL the merry bunch.
One of the major sponsors of the Heat is BETTA (@Thats_Betta).
At the beginning of BBL season 5 (2015-2016) BETTA ran a competition for a VIP experience at a Heat home game (the Gabba). Accordingly, the aforementioned Autistic one entered said competition and won!!! The prize included, amongst other things, the ability to take five of your friends to the last Heat home match of BBL05. Naturally I was one of the chosen as was the Mini Brat.
Friday 8 Jan 2016 was THE DAY.
I dutifully went to The Mausoleum, visited with the Dragon Lady, then swung past the abode to pick up the Min Brat and off we tootled down the hill.
A side trip to Amberley delayed us for 20 minutes and then onto the Cunningham Highway and onwards to Brisbane.
The Normal Autistic Girl rings just as we get to the Wellington Apartment Hotel...she has missed the bus...grab a cab I say I'll pay. It does not do to be late for these things!!
We all meet at the entrance to the hotel and walk jauntily of to the adventure awaiting us. The Normal Autistic Girl has been vague about exactly what we are in for.
We meet the rest of our merry little band at Gate 6 at the Gabba, we also meet the BETTA representative who provides tickets. special wrist bands AND...a HEAT jersey for each of us!!!!!
We wonder why we need the wrist bands, did I hear we will have our own security guard? Why do we need one of those?
It becomes pretty bloody obvious as we enter section 13 and proceed to the boundary gate where we are then led ONTO the Gabba and shown our seats for the night.......OMG we are ON THE GABBA!!!!
We are sitting in a special area that has cane lounge and chairs, three bar tables and some stools, a fridge full of every soft drink and water, and a freezer full of Magnums!!!
We were a little naughty...we swanned in and out of the area a few times to the envious looks of the other people in the crowd Official crowd figure was 33,783.
Then the food started coming out; BBQ'd Prawns and chicken breast fillets, a huge selection of sandwiches, wraps and rolls and later on party pies and sausage rolls!!!!!
Talk about being looked after.
Part of the appeal of the T/20 BBL is the crowd involvement. There is a lot of 'anthem' type songs played that get the crowd clapping and singing, and woe betide the opposition player who drops a catch.. a certain Wiggles song is played!! (Hot Potato Hot Potato). The game may only last a few hours but it is quick and intense and fun to watch.
Yes there was a game of cricket and yes the Heat lost BUT...we had an amazing night thanks to BETTA and the Normal Autistic Girl!
Please scroll the picture across to see ALL the merry bunch.
Wednesday 6 January 2016
Lemon Tree
One of my many tasks at The Mausoleum is data validation. Sometimes the reporting functionality of the systems I use becomes corrupt. When this happens I go to see The Guru. The Guru knows all and is a pretty good bloke all things considered. However, consultation with The Guru comes at a price - cake!
Depending on my mood I normally buy the cake, sometimes though I am moved to actually bake...from scratch. My 'go to' cake is a Lemon Curd Sponge.
Now I am NOT a cook by any stretch of the imagination.. but I do manage to make a ripper cake:
4 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 cup self raising flour
1tbsp cornflour
1/3 cup boiling water
10g butter
1/3 cup lemon curd
600ml whipped cream
Preheat oven180C
Lightly grease and line two 20 cm sandwhich pans with baking paper.
In a bowl, using an electric mixer,beat eggs for thirty seconds until frothy.
Gradually add sugar until thick and pale and mixture holds its shape (could take 10 minutes).
Sift flour and cornflour together.
In a jug combine water and butter.
Gradually fold flour lightly into the egg mixture, followed by the water mixture.
Pour mixture evenly into pans.
Bake 20-25 minutes until sponge springs back when lightly touched
Turn cakes onto tea towel covered cooling racks.
Cool completely.
Spread one cake with 1/4 cup Lemon Curd and half the cream.
Top with second cake. Dollop spoonfulls of remaining cream on top of cake followed by spoonfuls of Lemon Curd, gently swirling the Lemon Curd through the cream.
This cake tastes divine. The smooth, almost blandness, of the cream is saved by the delicious tang of the Lemon Curd (yes I did use the recipe in the Lemon Curd link and made the curd from scratch ). The cake is merely a vehicle to deliver the delicious confluence of flavours.
I hope you enjoy the cake as much as we all did at The Mausoleum!!!
Depending on my mood I normally buy the cake, sometimes though I am moved to actually bake...from scratch. My 'go to' cake is a Lemon Curd Sponge.
4 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 cup self raising flour
1tbsp cornflour
1/3 cup boiling water
10g butter
1/3 cup lemon curd
600ml whipped cream
Preheat oven180C
Lightly grease and line two 20 cm sandwhich pans with baking paper.
In a bowl, using an electric mixer,beat eggs for thirty seconds until frothy.
Gradually add sugar until thick and pale and mixture holds its shape (could take 10 minutes).
Sift flour and cornflour together.
In a jug combine water and butter.
Gradually fold flour lightly into the egg mixture, followed by the water mixture.
Pour mixture evenly into pans.
Bake 20-25 minutes until sponge springs back when lightly touched
Turn cakes onto tea towel covered cooling racks.
Cool completely.
Spread one cake with 1/4 cup Lemon Curd and half the cream.
Top with second cake. Dollop spoonfulls of remaining cream on top of cake followed by spoonfuls of Lemon Curd, gently swirling the Lemon Curd through the cream.
This cake tastes divine. The smooth, almost blandness, of the cream is saved by the delicious tang of the Lemon Curd (yes I did use the recipe in the Lemon Curd link and made the curd from scratch ). The cake is merely a vehicle to deliver the delicious confluence of flavours.
I hope you enjoy the cake as much as we all did at The Mausoleum!!!
Saturday 2 January 2016
I Don't Like Cricket...
All I wanted to do was go to the cricket....
Every year for the past 4 years I buy the Normal Autistic Girl and myself a membership to the Brisbane Heat, Big Bash League. Twenty/20 cricket is fast entertaining and a hell of a lot of fun. The BBL05 crowds are a testament to its popularity, seriously 80,000+ people at a domestic T/20 match anyone????
Anyway, late 2015 the Normal Autistic One decided she needed her car (Tenny) back ( I have been driving her car for the best part of eleven months) and I thought to myself 'well then I need a car don't I?' I have cricket to attend and such. So I checked the for sale boards at work and lo and behold there's an Audi A4 for sale. I speak with the seller and pennies are exchanged and I think well this worked out ok...or did it?
I drive the Audi and the Mini Brat drives Tenny ( taking her back to the Normal autistic Girl) and off we go to Brisbane. Lovely drive down there, the Audi is a comfortable car and I enjoyed the trip, until we decided to come home. I have never experienced anything like it. The car refused to speed up and bucked like a bronco if you asked it too. I persevered and drove carefully and then we went to climb The Range. OMG how bloody mortifying was that? five times the Audi lost power enough to stall and five times we put the hazard lights on, pulled over and started her up again.Then driving through town, what a bloody nightmare, stalling across traffic intersections and I prefer NOT to remember the dozen or so times it stalled the rest of the way home. Needless to say I was not impressed!!
Now whilst this drama is unfolding, I ring HR and he rings an Audi dealer who mumbles something about 'Limp Mode'. Apparently it is a safety thing Audi's have. I take the car to the mechanic the next day and so begins the steady drain on my bank account two weeks before Christmas.
The Normal Autistic Girl drives 2.5 hours to come and get me so I can go to the first Heat T/20. I keep Tenny because I have to drive to Brisbane to fly out to HR's for Christmas. Just as well I did.
$900.00 odd dollars later and the mechanic says the Audi is fixed and serviced. I thought then when HR is in town I'll test the car until then I'll just drive Tenny.
Got back from HR's and took the Audi for a quick run down the hill and back, glad I did. Beautiful run down and up but then after a quick Macca's run it started with the loss of power and stalling.
'Well isn't this nice?' (thanks Alanis) I thought to myself. There's cricket on on Sunday ad HR will have gone back to his place how the heck will I get to the cricket?
We went into Kia before HR left, hopefully I will be driving a new Cerato around by Tuesday.
That doesn't solve Sunday's cricket dilemma does it?????
I'll hire a car then...yeah good idea that.
Well stone the bloody crows that was probably the worst idea EVER!
Apparently if you use a debit card they will place three thousand dollars on a bond against you having a crash BUT if you pay thirty three dollars that can be reduced to three hundred and thirty dollars which they will still put on hold. Oh and it will take from three to twelve WORKING days for the hold to be lifted. So essentially unless you have three thousand dollars hanging about doing naff all....you won't be hiring a car will you?
FECKING HECK do you want the heart of my first born as well?
And don't forget, should you have a speeding or parking fine, or a toll etc a forty five dollar admin fee will apply.
Oh yeah and I forgot to take my Jasmine tea with me.
So here I am sitting in my favourite hotel resting until the cricket starts.
EDIT: WE bloody WON!!!! Chris Lynn is a fecking LEGEND! #Lynnsanity.
Oh yeah.... I bought a Kia Cerato Si sedan I should have it by Wednesday!!!!!
Every year for the past 4 years I buy the Normal Autistic Girl and myself a membership to the Brisbane Heat, Big Bash League. Twenty/20 cricket is fast entertaining and a hell of a lot of fun. The BBL05 crowds are a testament to its popularity, seriously 80,000+ people at a domestic T/20 match anyone????
Anyway, late 2015 the Normal Autistic One decided she needed her car (Tenny) back ( I have been driving her car for the best part of eleven months) and I thought to myself 'well then I need a car don't I?' I have cricket to attend and such. So I checked the for sale boards at work and lo and behold there's an Audi A4 for sale. I speak with the seller and pennies are exchanged and I think well this worked out ok...or did it?
I drive the Audi and the Mini Brat drives Tenny ( taking her back to the Normal autistic Girl) and off we go to Brisbane. Lovely drive down there, the Audi is a comfortable car and I enjoyed the trip, until we decided to come home. I have never experienced anything like it. The car refused to speed up and bucked like a bronco if you asked it too. I persevered and drove carefully and then we went to climb The Range. OMG how bloody mortifying was that? five times the Audi lost power enough to stall and five times we put the hazard lights on, pulled over and started her up again.Then driving through town, what a bloody nightmare, stalling across traffic intersections and I prefer NOT to remember the dozen or so times it stalled the rest of the way home. Needless to say I was not impressed!!
Now whilst this drama is unfolding, I ring HR and he rings an Audi dealer who mumbles something about 'Limp Mode'. Apparently it is a safety thing Audi's have. I take the car to the mechanic the next day and so begins the steady drain on my bank account two weeks before Christmas.
The Normal Autistic Girl drives 2.5 hours to come and get me so I can go to the first Heat T/20. I keep Tenny because I have to drive to Brisbane to fly out to HR's for Christmas. Just as well I did.
$900.00 odd dollars later and the mechanic says the Audi is fixed and serviced. I thought then when HR is in town I'll test the car until then I'll just drive Tenny.
Got back from HR's and took the Audi for a quick run down the hill and back, glad I did. Beautiful run down and up but then after a quick Macca's run it started with the loss of power and stalling.
'Well isn't this nice?' (thanks Alanis) I thought to myself. There's cricket on on Sunday ad HR will have gone back to his place how the heck will I get to the cricket?
We went into Kia before HR left, hopefully I will be driving a new Cerato around by Tuesday.
That doesn't solve Sunday's cricket dilemma does it?????
I'll hire a car then...yeah good idea that.
Well stone the bloody crows that was probably the worst idea EVER!
Apparently if you use a debit card they will place three thousand dollars on a bond against you having a crash BUT if you pay thirty three dollars that can be reduced to three hundred and thirty dollars which they will still put on hold. Oh and it will take from three to twelve WORKING days for the hold to be lifted. So essentially unless you have three thousand dollars hanging about doing naff all....you won't be hiring a car will you?
FECKING HECK do you want the heart of my first born as well?
And don't forget, should you have a speeding or parking fine, or a toll etc a forty five dollar admin fee will apply.
Oh yeah and I forgot to take my Jasmine tea with me.
So here I am sitting in my favourite hotel resting until the cricket starts.
EDIT: WE bloody WON!!!! Chris Lynn is a fecking LEGEND! #Lynnsanity.
Oh yeah.... I bought a Kia Cerato Si sedan I should have it by Wednesday!!!!!
Friday 1 January 2016
Wherever I Lay my Hat...
I travel a fair bit.
Some might say I travel alot. Others might disagree.
Most of my travel is for Australian Rules (AFL) football matches ( I am a rabid Brisbane Lions supporter) or for Cricket ;Tests, One Dayer and Big Bashes ( I am a rabid Brisbane Heat fan even if the last two years have been awful).
The other reason for travel is, of course, to visit HR.
Most of the footy and cricket travel is to Brisbane (Brisvegas), though there are times when HR and I chose an interstate match and add a few days either side to make a bit of a holiday.
There are three hotels in Brisbane that I frequent;The Hotel Grand Chancellor, The Watermark Hotel and The Wellington Apartment Hotel.
The Hotel Grand Chancellor and The Watermark Hotel are my preferred options if I need to stay in Brisbane for work. Both have great facilities are clean and comfortable. The prices are excellent and they have GREAT summer specials. Both have had refurbs lately. Both are well placed for wherever you want to go be it the city the airport or some of the entertainment.
The night before I flew out to HR's for Christmas I stayed at The Watermark Hotel.They have some excellent room service specials, for $20.00 you get a meal and a drink! The food was pretty darned good, plenty of it and tasty too.
The Wellington Apartment Hotel is BRILLIANT for when I go to the cricket or the footy, they don't price gouge when they know there is a match/game on and they are clean and comfortable and within walking distance to the Gabba. Breakfast at their restaurant is delicious and well priced!
Driving back with HR from his place to mine we decided to stay overnight in Coonabarabran at the Amber Court Motel. A clean and comfortable budget motel that is well placed to catch the custom.
One of the novel things we found in Coonabarabran, in Woollies of all places is shown below.
I am off to the cricket this weekend..GO HEAT!!!!!!
Some might say I travel alot. Others might disagree.
Most of my travel is for Australian Rules (AFL) football matches ( I am a rabid Brisbane Lions supporter) or for Cricket ;Tests, One Dayer and Big Bashes ( I am a rabid Brisbane Heat fan even if the last two years have been awful).
The other reason for travel is, of course, to visit HR.
Most of the footy and cricket travel is to Brisbane (Brisvegas), though there are times when HR and I chose an interstate match and add a few days either side to make a bit of a holiday.
There are three hotels in Brisbane that I frequent;The Hotel Grand Chancellor, The Watermark Hotel and The Wellington Apartment Hotel.
The Hotel Grand Chancellor and The Watermark Hotel are my preferred options if I need to stay in Brisbane for work. Both have great facilities are clean and comfortable. The prices are excellent and they have GREAT summer specials. Both have had refurbs lately. Both are well placed for wherever you want to go be it the city the airport or some of the entertainment.
The night before I flew out to HR's for Christmas I stayed at The Watermark Hotel.They have some excellent room service specials, for $20.00 you get a meal and a drink! The food was pretty darned good, plenty of it and tasty too.
The Wellington Apartment Hotel is BRILLIANT for when I go to the cricket or the footy, they don't price gouge when they know there is a match/game on and they are clean and comfortable and within walking distance to the Gabba. Breakfast at their restaurant is delicious and well priced!
Driving back with HR from his place to mine we decided to stay overnight in Coonabarabran at the Amber Court Motel. A clean and comfortable budget motel that is well placed to catch the custom.
One of the novel things we found in Coonabarabran, in Woollies of all places is shown below.
I am off to the cricket this weekend..GO HEAT!!!!!!
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