General chat: From Brooklyn 99 to Making It

By Bobi

I thought I would give a quick update to the General Chat in an effort to give a seperate thread to random thoughts.

I know we are all consumed by Survivor and there’s not much room for anything else – Bachie could take a leaf out of their book on how to keep a franchise interesting – but it is nice to watch something else as a kind of circuit breaker.

Final season of Brooklyn Nine Nine has always been a soft place to land for me.

Channel 10 has announced a new reality show. Making It will be hosted by  Susie Youssef and some stranger that I have little interest in, but then again, you can’t let a woman run a show without a mansplainer to translate.

Subtlety is my middle name. /s

I have such high hopes that it will be along the lines of Lego Master. What a unexpected delight that show was. I have a feeling that the format is directed at old people, like me. Don’t care. I’m all in.

Lastly, I fell across The Mysteries of Laura on Ch 7. Early days but it is surprisingly fun. Very lightweight so don’t expect Scandi-noir (my favourite) but something that has layers without being too taxing. I don’t have the energy for bleak at the moment.

Because it awful out there. I am addressing the elephant in the room. I will get my final shot on Sunday and then it takes two weeks to be fully effective. We all knew that what is happening in Sydney was inevitable but I did think that they would handle it better.

Fingers crossed for the vaccine race.

And back to a lighter note, because we are all grammar nerds on this site.

Happy Survivor watching, but seriously, can they not vote George out already? Small sigh.



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196 Comments

  1. Thank you, Bobi. US Making It is rather fun. I expect we will follow the pattern here of season 1 being a mixed bag of talent and s2 blowing us away.

  2. Dear Diary, I am still here. Garbage day today. Highlight.
    The ACT went from 1 case to 28 in 3 days. That’s a worry. The talk is that we have only a 50/50 chance of getting it under control here.
    Zero chance of NSW getting any control.
    As predicted, Barr took no prisoners as the presser.
    There is a case in a retirement home caught from from an unvaccinated worker. How does that happen, 18 months after it was mentioned that these two groups were our highest priority (and just mentioning, Scotty, retirement homes are a federal responsibility).
    “People” have a social life that I truly envy. If they released my data, they would be wondering how I could possibly eat so many Tim Tams.

    • I wonder if some workers and residents at retirement homes are unvaccinated because of lack of availability of vaccines. I’d hate to think there are people working and living in those places who haven’t got their shots because they care so little for the well-being of those around them. I have no patience for nor understanding of anti-vaxxers. None. There are people who can’t get vaccinated for genuine medical reasons, but they are rare, and are all the more reason for those around them to get the goddamn shot.

      Scotty needs to look up the definition of “priority”, and stop worrying about making vaccines for any group mandatory because he thinks he won’t be liked if he does. News flash, dude, your rollout of the vaccines has been such a piss-poor clusterfuck that few respect or like you anyway.

      Bobi, three days post vacc #2, are you feeling all right? Not including Tim Tam belly as a symptom of anything except amounts of Tim Tams consumed, of course. My second shot is not until late September. That seems like ages and ages away.

    • The wait was interminable.
      I am a hypochondriac so obviously I felt aches and pains and a general malaise but the truth is that I am fine this time around. Not even COVID arm.
      All good to go.
      A sad disappointment for one looking for sympathy and a cup of tea.

      • Aw, Bobi, I feel sympathy for you for not being able to indulge your hypochondria. I would make you a cup of tea if I were there…but wouldn’t want to be where you are right now.

        And thanks for an honest answer. I’m a pessimist, and have been on watch for symptoms of a blood clot. for 6 weeks. There haven’t been any, but any little hurty I’m obsessing over, ready to call an ambulance. Sheesh.

  3. Good luck, Bobi.
    You’ll be the best at recommending Netflix shows.

    Why don’t you catfish Scotty or Glad. Just for a lock-down activity.
    Or that idiot Jason guy. He’d be easy.

        • The puzzles are the same as Letters and Numbers, every afternoon on SBS. 8 out of 10 just added all the innuendo and silliness.

          • Yes, we watch that also but he adores the Jimmy Carr and Joe Wilkinson antics in the older episodes. And watching how cranky Jon Richardson gets when he misses an answer

  4. I watched the first three episodes of The New Cherry Cola last night.
    Weird, but not Twin Peaks weird. More like twisted.

    • I finished Brand New Cherry Cola on Netflix. It was bent and twisted but not horrific.
      I’d give it and 8.5 for acting, entertainment and originality.

  5. I am now officially a lockdown cliche.
    I have cleaned the pantry, have a pile of stuff waiting to go to Vinnies, weeded the garden and made a loaf of bread.
    Yes, people, bread.
    And when I say bread, I don’t mean any bread. After all, this is lockdown, folks. Ciabatta. The holy of holies. That there’s a pun, everyone, just in case you missed it. Life is filled with small pleasures at the moment. Bear with me.
    I planned, prepped and laboured over the dough for 24 hours. I cooked it in the morning in anticipation of breakfast. The smell throughout the house was mouth watering. It looked beautiful. I sent photos to all my friends and relatives. I basked in the applause.
    Sadly, it suffered from a slight soggy bottom and worse, it was not holy and had a faint yeast taste. I am devastated.
    I google.
    It suggests that the dough was not wet enough and I did not work it enough before the first proving. And the instructions are to do it again. I am sitting here wondering if I could be bothered. I am in a pit of indecision and despair. After all, it’s not like I have anything better to do?
    Actually, seriously, I have never been so busy. All those jobs that I had been putting off for yonks are slowly being ticked off the list. I feel so accomplished. Happiness is a completed To Do list.
    One week down, two more to go.

    • Hi Bobi, when we had our “lock-down”, I was very busy too. I regrouted the entire floor and around the stove. Made masks, while onlookers scoffed and WHO and politicians, and even Norman Swan told us masks don’t do anything. I did my morning 7.00 am Granny dash to the shops and, yes, prepared for the Apocalypse like a good girl guide.

    • Uh, did you use your best by 2013 yeast? 🙂 I rarely bake anything from scratch because I’ve just never had the knack for it, but have heard making bread has to be done two or three times to get it right – differences in ovens, type of flour used, humidity, etc. etc. Have another try.

      We’re not in lock down, but one chore that keeps getting shuffled to the bottom of my to-do list is to clean under and behind the fridge. It doesn’t take that long, but fridge is damned heavy and hard to shift. One day.

        • Your bread looks good. I’d eat it, toasted or not, with a big slathering of unsalted butter, maybe a little schmear of Vegemite. Few things beat fresh home-baked bread, even the first attempt.

      • 🤣🤣 yes, I used my OOD yeast. My mother told me that those dates were only a guide. We always had to check the milk before she made us a cup of tea. Her argument was, “Where did we think yoghurt and cheese came from?”. Our counter argument was, “Well, you don’t put cheese or yoghurt in tea or coffee”. And still, some learning has obviously crept through.
        The bread tastes very nice toasted, though. Does that suggest undercooked as well as unkneaded?
        I will give it a week and try again. I shouldn’t have expected perfection first time.
        I must confess that I have never cleaned behind a fridge in my life. I do have cleaning behind the washing machine and dryer on my list. I am not looking forward to it but it will be done before the end of lockdown. Absolutely. 😃

  6. Say what???? 10 hours.
    We’re a bit slack.

    OK. For family dinner I made a Malay style, yellow chicken curry, basmati, mushroom ravioli. Then Miss T and I made delicious scones, which we had with jam and cream and Nutella and cream.
    Then we watched Fantastic Fungi on Netflix.

    • I’ve seen Fantastic Fungi at an actual movie theatre.
      It is a delight.
      And it takes a turn towards the end that I was sceptical about at the time but which I have since learned, is absolutely true.
      Amazing “animals”(?).

  7. I wish I had be news. I wish I had an update. Nothing is happening here.
    I ordered cheese, biscuits and chocolate on-line.
    I am waiting.
    No wonder people get COVID butt. I have morning and afternoon tea, just to break the day up.
    I painted a self-portrait. See attached. I took a couple of pounds off because I can do that. 😀

    • Be grateful that nothing is happening.

      I really like your self-portrait whether it’s accurate or not, and of course I wouldn’t know. I am impressed. Seriously. I’d hang it.

    • Great painting, Bobi.

      BTW I had much insult hurling at Glad today after hearing her on ACA and on this morning’s press conference. Now I am convinced the woman is actually evil.

  8. I had a conversation with a close family member yesterday. He lives in Sydney.
    Apparently, mask wearing only became compulsory yesterday. YESTERDAY.
    I expressed gobsmacking amazement, only to receive a lecture in return. About how the Government can’t force the public do anything and how necessary it was to bring “all” gently to the realisation that they must do the right thing.
    According to him, it is all good.
    He then told me that his youngest will never get vaccinated because she is afraid of needles and yet she continues work in real estate as a trainee ( cos it’s important that she be employed) and she continues to visit her bf (and he, her) and he will not stop her because she is “that age”.
    And just to compound the issue, both of his other children work in essential services (childcare and nursing) whilst one is fully vaccinated and the other is half done.
    Meanwhile, we Ken Behrans, just do as we are told because we didn’t need convincing of aNyThinG.
    Lord, no wonder Sydney is in so much trouble and no wonder Gladdie is pulling her hair out in exasperation. And Dr Chant is nearly in tears. Sydney people are idiots.
    And could they stop blaming those pesky immigrants? My rello, and his teacher wife, are both tall, blonde, University educated, upper middle class, suburb dwelling, well-off … I trail off here in stupefaction …
    https://youtu.be/8N_tupPBtWQ

    • I heard about NSW’s very, very late mandate to wear masks on radio news. I was sure I’d mis-heard, but no. After 8-9 weeks of some places being in sort of maybe semi lock down, they’re just now being told to wear masks. Good lord. Even if your state government is too incompetent and stupid to tell you, don’t most people now know that a proven line of defense against Covid, even after vaccination, is to wear a mask? Gladys should be pulling her hair out, not in exasperation, but as a consequence of her incompetent and inept handling of the current outbreak.

      I hope your Sydney relatives, and other oblivious New South Welshmen, stay well and don’t fall sick because of their casual attitude to the virus.

      WA has a low vaccination rate so far. Today the premier appointed a vaccine commander. It’s the Police Commissioner. Why are these sorts of positions being given to people in quasi-military organisations or actual military, both here and other states? Aren’t there competent people who don’t wear a badge or an insignia or a gun able to take those roles? I have concerns about extra powers given to them. Once an authorisation is given to an agency, that authority is not often revoked. What happens after the pandemic is over? Well, if it ever is.

      • Sorry, guys, not true. Masks were in before we even locked down. The only diff was the emphasis this week that it had to go on when you step outside the door. It’s been required everywhere indoors and all outdoors except exercise for weeks. If your family member thinks that only happened this week, he hasn’t been listening before.

        The divide between the states is getting harsher. Daisy, you were yelling at Glad – I was moaning at your man just as much. It seems simple, though. If you are lucky with covid, your leaders are saints, if you are unlucky, they are evil. Neither is true, and when I get frustrated I remember that not one person in Aus would want to step into any of those shoes at the moment. Imagine being bombarded with a single crisis every waking hour for more than a year, trying to keep other issues going, being slammed or congratulated on every small decision, knowing your (team’s) decisions will anger people and have consequences that you can’t possibly anticipate, being attacked by stupid reporters every day who all want you to predict the future and are baiting you to say something they can hammer you with later. I wouldn’t do it. I love being an ordinary person atm, who can turn everything off and lose myself in a book.

        Von, the concerns in your last paragraph are a general worry. The typical example was the lengths the govt had to go to for the covidsafe app to be approved, and then nearly all of Australia meekly lined up like sheep to use the QR code system. We have had no assurances at all about when this compulsory imposition will be lifted, but I have faith in people’s apathy and hope it will die a natural death. But you gotta worry about other “emergency” measures that become permanent, and how willing people are to give up privacy that would have been untouchable two years ago.

    • It is so hard to watch. Hazard is such an arrogant doofus. I can only hope that they get wiped from the political landscape at the next election.
      I wish we could get Penny Wong to interrogate him. She would put his lying, man- splaining arse in a sling.
      As you can tell, I am entering my “annoyed” phase.

      • Oooo. My mum’s old kitchen wallpaper. Very popular in the 80s.

        Old Buzzard reminds me of a really dreadful sort of school headmaster who thinks the position means he’s God and can be a total wa**er

      • I’ve been really impressed with Hazard over the past few months, and if Penny Wong gets into any position of power, that would be a move to NZ moment. So obnoxious, imo.

  9. I had a good day yesterday. A lot of time was spent on the phone. Thank god for unlimited call plans. I spent an hour and a half on the phone with one brother, ripping into the lack of intelligence of the other brother. Fun times, as only family can do 🤣.
    I am venturing out of the house today to the supermarket. I am excited. I am going to buy ingredients for marzipan: almond flour and lemons. I am on a health kick and that will meet my daily quota of fruit and nuts.

  10. I hung out with my sister. We went for coffee by the inlet, then I tagged along while she shopped.
    Then we bought the winning $5 million lotto ticket to share.

  11. I watch the Gladys Show most mornings, although I think she has a compartment in her back with a recording.
    “Yesterday we had 500 000 jabs”
    “First of all, let me just thank….
    “Can I just say…”
    “It’s really imporDant that….”
    “Don’t focus on case numbers but what IS imporDant is….”
    “This isn’t like any other strain we have seen”
    “This will have to be seen as normal, like the flu, where we accept people die”.

    It stands out to me that when she says, “Let’s not focus on the roller coaster if case numbers, but what is imporDant is the number of people getting out and getting the jab”, she omits the number dead, or permanently damaged, as if they are less than “not imporDant”.

    How can a person facilitate the spread of a pandemic, yet still manage to brag every day and at every interview and announcement?

    I’m thinking George (Survivor) has already told us.

    • You don’t think that it important for a leader to show optimism after weeks of bad news? Why shouldn’t she congratulate the state on achieving a goal ahead of prediction that will lead to some easing of life. People here want to know how we are progressing towards the targets. It wouldn’t be a great leader who wallows in mournfulness.

      Yes, she does tend to use the same words, but so does everyone who has to present almost the same information every day. I hear genuine sympathy for deaths expressed every day by every presenter, and passionate pleas by Dr Chant about the consequences of getting sick. What more do you want?

      BTW, every leader in the world is going to have to accept, as have the health workers already, that this will become an illness that takes some lives every year for a very long time to come. Pretending you are an island won’t change that.

      • No. I don’t. I prefer hard truths and let the results speak.
        I feel more hopeful having a Premier who doesn’t make glib speeches on “magic numbers” and actually shows strong leadership by keeping us safe. We have hardly had any lock-down thanks to quick lock-downs.

        I prefer truth to promises. But I think Iight be in a minority. I hear too many people saying that they don’t watch the news because it’s too awful. That’s scary.

        • This morning Gladys said, “Compared to the rest of the world, we’re doing incredibly well”.
          So shouldn’t she also say, “Compared to the other states, we’re doing incredibly rubbish”?.
          And “Compared to the rest of the world who have higher rates of vaccinations, we’re doing incredibly well”, thus defeating her argument that vaccination us “Magic” solution. Yes, she did use the words “magic number”.

          Her glib speeches are just full of flaws. She carefully memorizes her speech to answer questions, and when she declares her sorrow at deaths, she’s not sad, but also has shrugged death off by likening covid to other flus. It’s not like other flus at all.
          And now I will shut up about bloody glib, fast talking, braggart Gladys. 😡

          • And my text was full of flaws because I was typing in the car and couldn’t see properly. I apologize.

        • Hear, hear, Daisy. False optimism is misleading and dishonest bullshit, and that “magic numbers” phrase should be retired immediately. I can’t watch Gladys’s daily reports any more, just cannot. I take a break from tv news on weekends, although I still read, or at least skim, newspapers daily and keep up with Covid numbers. But I need a periodic respite from what seems a continual run of sad and depressing news from everywhere, for my own peace of mind.

          And you don’t have to shut up about anything. This is an open and respectful forum for all of us.

    • He should note that when people get “tired” that their filter comes off and they tend to say the things they really mean.
      So “Sorry. Not sorry”, just means I’m sorry that you all got a glimpse of my real personality.

    • I remember that incident way back. If you had met Jodi McKay, there would be some understanding as to why you might eventually break your good manners.

      She was bewildered when she was ousted from the Opposition leadership, the people were not.

  12. And to give you an update here, our lockdown has been extended. COVID has got into our disability sector so mostly, I’m okay with that.
    But I will whinge about the fact that there is n9thiNg on tEllY.

  13. Midsomer Murders tonight was weird and creepy. It was not the usual village murder/s with jealous former lovers or friends involved in a tontine.

  14. Anybody noticed a lot of ads with African-Americans in them lately? I wonder if we are getting more recycled ads from the US, with just an Aussie voice-over.

  15. Oh FiJane, you are one of the reasons that I love this website. ❤️
    We are all so lovely and polite in our disagreements.
    Let me set up a compromise scenario.
    You are correct. I don’t know Jody. I accept that she’s probably an idiot but she didn’t deserve being called an idiot. As parents we call out the action, not the person.
    But still, she probably is an idiot 🤣.
    And I will accept my family member is an idiot 🤣.
    I loathe Hazzard. You loathe Penny (I have always adored her, btw). I am guessing that there could be a bit of confirmation bias here? The only time I hear, or see, Hazzard is when he does something that is obnoxious so, of course, I don’t see the good stuff. Apart from “That’s Life” 🤷‍♂️, I also live in a Twitter bubble.
    And I wax and wain with Gladdie. Sometimes I am with her, sometimes not. Sometimes I think she has done something excellent, sometimes I feel sorry for her – tough gig – and no woman should be held responsible for the actions of her boyfriend/husband/partner (don’t even start me here).
    Still, at the moment she is being annoying because she needs a new speech writer. It is the same repetitive language that is like nails down a blackboard to me. Pedants unite. I am a big fan of my guy because he is so open and transparent. For all the way over here, I have felt the same way about Dan and Mark and the guy in the NT. I don’t have any views one way or another on the rest.
    Now here’s the bit where I could upset either you or Daisy but I disagree with you both on the the army thing.
    You see, successive Coalition governments hate public servants, for a list of reasons that I won’t bother going in to, but the end result is that there are more contractors/consultants employed by the Government than the real thing.
    That means that there is no corporate memory anymore. So if you want “something” done then you have to resort to the military/police.
    Firstly, it is important that the authority figure is male (alright, I will accept being chastised on this one. I don’t know that for sure but it’s a pretty good guess given the history of the Liberal Party) but these two organisations have not been subjected to the same slash and burn efficiency cuts (🤣🤣🤣🤣 laughable term) and outsourcing arrangements as the PS.
    In my day (both PS and consultancy) if you wanted a roll-out plan, I could have put one together in 2 weeks and got agreement with all the relevant parties in another month (maybe two). Done and dusted. Implemented.
    ScoMo doesn’t have any public servants anymore. He tried private enterprise but that was a very, very expensive abject failure and lo, here we are.
    No conspiracy. Just the option of last resort.
    Will he ever build up the public service again? Absolutely not. There are too many private firms getting rich and fat off the Liberal Party being in power. That ship has sailed.
    I know. Incredibly long comment but there was a lot to unpack.
    And our lockdown has been extended indefinitely.
    And the weather has turned bad.
    And I have nothing, nothing, else to do.
    I am thinking of buying a subscription to Disney. Desperation moves.
    💐

    • What “army thing”? I don’t recall having or expressing an opinion on that.

      Not upset at all because I am to remote from any “army thing” to know much about what is happening”.

      • Sorry for 1 + 1 = 3.
        I was correlating Police Commissioner in charge of something or rather and the Lieutenant General in charge of the vaccine rollout.
        Or is that conflating?
        Or more likely, just a step too far?
        I was really more just getting annoyed at the fact that the Government has had to bring in some man in a uniform because of decades of poor decisions.

        • My “Gggggr” us with Glad, Slomo and Buzzard”.
          I think Kerry is treading water like crazy and has to dance to the others’ tune. And needs dental work, skin care and hair treatment. 🤣

      • I think that was me, Daisy. I had a grizzle about vaccine commander types of positions being given to high ranked soldiers and police, and I don’t like the optics and reality of ADF and police personnel being given more powers.

        Thanks for a different perspective, Bobi. It’s probably not going to change my mind because I’m big on civil liberties, while acknowledging that some will unavoidably be eroded during a pandemic.

        And is there anything that ScoMo has tried to handle that hasn’t turned into a cock-up?

  16. I agree Bobsi. I do love that we can bring different view points to the ‘table’.

    I was having arvo tea with my little left wing grand daughter who is very aligned with all the current left wing,.political correctness.
    Now if you don’t already know it, I love genuine kindness but hate political correctness. Even the embedded word “political” should suggest something you might want to question.
    But I call a spade a spade, so when a a man and woman, in their 70s, walked into the restaurant, using the tables to support themselves, I told Miss 15, “See if you let yourself get fat, you damage your hips and knees”.
    “GRANDMA!!!!!!”. (I had used the forbidden f word”). We had this conversation a few weeks ago and I was already informed that you don’t say “fat”.

    I replied, “Oh but they’re old so they’re probably racist”. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
    I enjoy our conversations.
    And yes. Her little Hitler’s Youth face did betray her with a wry smile.
    I do love just keeping it real.
    I’m terrible Muriel. ❤️

    • And yes, according to her stringent check list, they probably would have been deemed racist. There was more than a 50% chance.

  17. It is the umpteenth day of Lockdown here.
    I have been told that we may be in some sort of lockdown until December.
    Supplies are running low.
    Send chocolate.
    Yes, I know that I have some chocolate. I actually have lots of chocolate.
    Pants were too tight this morning. I don’t know why. They must have shrunk in the wash.
    Things are desperate.
    Send more chocolate.

    • Dog butt! How did you contort yourself to get that shot?

      My tv line up on Saturday nights is old Spicks and Specks, followed by QI, both on ABC 22. Both good shows to see while prepping dinner. Then there is usually a trashy or easy to watch movie on a commercial channel. Tonight it is Backdraft.

      Careful that you don’t reach chocolate saturation point and never want to see chocolate again. All washing must be done in cold water during a lock down, especially pants. Pants are to be line dried after “straightening out” the waistband by pulling it from the sides. Hard.

      Is it time to make your bread again?

      I’m sorry there isn’t an obvious end to lock down where you are. Better to be safe. 🙂

  18. Von, I have found reruns of Adam Ruins Everything on SBS.
    I have dipped in and out of this before but I didn’t realise how many episodes I had missed. SBS has all episodes and they are my new go-to.
    Laugh out loud funny and perfect for the way I feel about the world atm.
    I get up just enough indignation about how we are all being conned – or mislead – without it being earth shattering.
    First world problems. 🤣🍷

  19. This morning Gladys said, “Compared to the rest of the world, we’re doing incredibly well”.
    So shouldn’t she also say, “Compared to the other states, we’re doing incredibly rubbish”?.
    And “Compared to the rest of the world who have higher rates of vaccinations, we’re doing incredibly well”, thus defeating her argument that vaccination us “Magic” solution. Yes, she did use the words “magic number”.

    Her glib speeches are just full of flaws. She carefully memorizes her speech to answer questions, and when she declares her sorrow at deaths, she’s not sad, but also has shrugged death off by likening covid to other flus. It’s not like other flus at all.

    I feel like all the effort that other states have put in, all their sacrifices are going to be undone by this bragging, evil politician.
    And now I will shut up about bloody glib, fast talking, braggart Gladys. 😡

  20. To be momentarily fair, Daisy, I’m not watching the news either.
    It’s not COVID.
    It’s Afghanistan: heartbreaking. And then the fires in Greece, and by default, our lack of action on climate change. And how badly workers are treated in the gig economy, because making obscene amounts of profit matters more than having a decent life.
    And then all the stories about how badly women are treated in the workforce. It brings back memories and I get so angry. Not necessarily because it happened to me but because nothing has changed. In fact all those issues I fought for are being take away from this new generation and no-one is bothered.
    So, apart from just keeping up with the COVID numbers, I’m out. No news, no current affairs, no newspapers, no miserable tv shows. I am trying to minimise the negative stuff.
    And in case you can’t tell, rain here. Makes my day.

    • But Bobi, I also know you are informed and only take respites from uncomfortable truths. (Compared to people I know and people I meet who choose ignorance. It kills me quietly).

    • I’ve been reading a book called “Stop Reading The News”

      The way “news” is delivered now, it can be better for one’s mental health not to.

      Bad news rates better and grabs peoples’ shorter attention spans.

  21. I have a couple of minor gripes about coverage of Covid. Could film reports please stop showing the needle going into people’s arms when they get vaccinated. I’m not afraid of needles and haven’t even felt the last several IM injections I’ve had. But I wish the camera could focus off to the side a little bit, because watching people get shots makes me cringe.

    I’d like all deaths from Covid to be reported with the same amount of information, if the dead person’s family agrees, of course. If the deceased was aged under 50, there is often a story and photo attached to a report of their death. Oldies, 70’s -90’s, on the other hand are described as “2 men in their 80’s and a woman in her 70’s”. Yes, I know why, so and so had a number of productive years left and the old people were on the downhill slide. But we all count. Give a name and show a face for every one. It might convince some anti-vaxxers and other idiots that there are people behind the numbers, and precautions might save your gran or another seemingly useless old fart who matters to you. Rant over.

    • Woolif and I were saying much the same thing. My mum and my Aunty have just spent the weekend with us.
      Both are in their mid 80s and have a lot of life left in them. They are slim, attractive and quite healthy. My auntie in particular has youthful skin, a pretty good body and can keep up with the rest of us on a long walk. She wore me out.

      Once I might have thought 80 the was definitely check out time, but not any more. If they have 5 or 10 good years left, they’re entitled to them.

    • My brother was complaining similarly.
      There was a man knocked off his bike here the other day.
      Or more specifically, “an elderly man”. And when my brother followed up the article, it turned out that the man was younger than my brother. “In his 60’s”, says my brother with great indignation.
      When did 60 become elderly, and, in fact, when did we?

    • It’s really difficult to describe. Maybe a bit like living on a homestead where you only travel to town every couple of months. Everything is planned and organised. Can’t afford to run out of milk. Long Life is my friend. Can’t be casual about food going off.
      I am very careful about making sure that I am busy. You wouldn’t want to get too much inside your own head.
      And I am going to make the best of this by being productive. I am focusing on all those jobs that I have been putting off for a rainy day. The rainy day is today … and every day until restrictions are eased.
      I am making sure that I still have fun. Life is too short for this to be a wasted opportunity. Hence, bread making. The marzipan was a hit. Cryptic crosswords. Painting (although this particular one is driving me crazy. It just won’t go right).
      And I have given stuff up. I am never going overseas again so Italian has been abandoned.
      I’m tired all the time. It’s astonishing how much incidental exercise I am not getting and not being able to do anything is draining.
      Doggo and I are in bed by 8.30. We are watching telly but still, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between watching tv in bed and watching tv on the couch. Doggo, btw, is very clingy. I type this around his big fat noggin.
      There are lots and lots of phone calls and zoom calls – which is nice – but I miss talking to people in groups. There’s a free flow of ideas that is missing on the phone and the phone is a little more intense. Nice but not relaxed.
      The unexpected one is that I am drinking more. I am not a great drinker at the best of times. Normally I could go all year without taking a drink. At the moment, I would have a (tiny) drink a day. I think a combination of low level boredom and seeking a routine. Food, coffee, tea and alcohol punctuate the day.
      Mostly, we are okay but strangely I live in a state of heightened awareness. So 90% of television is unwatchable. I have a 5 minute concentration span so reality tv and panel shows are right up my alley.
      I can keep this up for as long as it takes, but I don’t know how I would deal with coming out of lockdown and then going back in. Bless the Victorians. I don’t know how they do it.
      Bit of a rabbit there. You’ve caught me at the end of the day.
      I will be bright and cheerful tomorrow because that’s how I start every day.
      And I have a beautiful dog who thinks that this is the best of times. 😀

      • I started my taxation for 2021 -2022. I did some bookwork for my professional development. I tidied my jumpers and my sewing cupboard.
        It looks like I’m in lockdown too. My doglets are bored.

      • You’re strong, Bobi, you’ll be okay. Doggo is probably picking up on your stress, which is why he is clingy. But a clingy cuddle-needing dog is a help now, and he is in nirvana having you around all the time. If you’re actually doing all your household jobs, you’re better than I. Don’t forget washing down the skirting boards :). I think I last did that 3 years ago, maybe longer. They get vacuumed.

        I think sleeping lots and a short attention span aren’t unusual reactions to an extended lock down. Go with it, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone.

        Today I was trying to remember our very first lock down, late March or early April 2020? I think it went for 3 weeks. No use of masks then, no vaccine, it was all new and we were floundering in the dark. My credit card was scammed about then and was cancelled. On line shopping was iffy, and I had to shop for groceries in person. One specific incident makes me laugh now. Couldn’t get toilet paper or pasta or rice. I and three other people were socially distanced in the pickle/olives aisle of Woolies, all of us looking looking for what we wanted, but not intruding into others space. I asked the man nearest me if he could see capers “in his area”. He grabbed a jar of capers, then hesitated and asked me if it was okay if he handed them to me. I said yes, I had gloves on.

        We’ve come a long way and learned a lot since then, Bobi. Delta variant has fucked us around, but we adjust and get on with life.

        HYBPA was very funny tonight. There was a lot of silliness, and I laughed out loud quite a few times. It startled me to hear myself laugh.

  22. Thanks guys.
    Beautiful day here today. It’s going to be 18 and sunny. No place does spring like Canberra. 🐛🕷🌺
    Skirting boards. I now have to add skirting boards to my list 🤣

    • No place does spring like Canberra…is that a centipede next?

      Amazing how a bit of sunshine can lift your mood, after weeks of rainy, dreary weather.

    • Absolutely. I am such a simple soul.
      Sunny days, flowers 🌸, and pretty birds visiting is just an instant mood lift.
      I think the emoji is a caterpillar.
      Because any tick, we will have 🦋.
      🤣
      And I am going to try and grow my own veggies from seeds. Bunnings being closed means that I will try to propagate from IGA vegetables. I know they spray them so that, in theory, they won’t but my next door neighbour had some success.
      I become so optimistic in spring.

  23. Rehab update. Son is going really well. I thought we had lost him and the only options were a coffin or walking the streets, out of his noodle and talking to Napoleon, out loud.

    But 4 months in rehab and he’s back to normal, better in some ways. We can joke and have conversations again. It’s cost our arms and legs (and actually he really nearly lost an arm) but it’s worth it to save a life, especially your own son’s life.

    The rehab is in Lovina, northern Bali. Now he is allowed out and this week got a job in a language school.

  24. I have noticed here that my focus is on minimisation of waste. I wonder if it’s because it’s an opportunity or because it’s something I can control.
    You know all those little packets of moisturiser, conditioner, lip balm etc that those beauty counters give you? Nearly finished them.
    And those bras that you randomly choose not to wear because they are “too good” or they are slightly uncomfortable? Every day I am looking good under here.
    Underwear is a different issue. I’ve always told my daughter that if I ever get hit by a bus, she has to check that I am respectable before the doctors are allowed near me. I can now look left, then right, and miss that final left again bit.
    Someone once told me that the best way to recycle is not buy it in the first place.
    That reduction in emissions last year? That’s me.

  25. Just to be clear, it is a beautiful day here.
    I had a good nights sleep, the sun is shining, the weather is warm, the dog is farting so all the doors and windows are open and I am a lie it cranky.
    I have no clue why.
    I am talking back to the news, Bold was repetitive (they are hitting us over the head with where these story lines are going), I switched to Friends (this is a seriously dysfunctional, self-absorbed group of people) and I am fighting with people who are not here.
    I am going to mow the lawn. It doesn’t need it but too bad. I’m going to make it pay for growing.

  26. I made bread.
    I actually tried to make focaccia.
    I proved the dough with honey (thanks for the suggestion) and I added more salt (as per my suggestion).
    I kneaded it, a lot.
    Looks fabulous, hey.
    I don’t mean to be whiny but if I can’t whine here, where can I go.
    It too bready.
    Taste nice but too much like bread and not enough like focaccia.
    Lockdown had been extended by two weeks. I have 2 more chances.

    • Gimme.

      Isn’t focaccia a type of bread? Aside from the toppings, what should it taste like? It looks good to me, but I didn’t put in all that effort for it not to turn out the way I wanted. Still want some though.

      • I think it was too thick. Not that I could have made it thinner. It was just the right size for the pan.
        The ratio of crust to bread should be more crust than bread, whereas mine was more bread than crust.
        It’s a fine line.
        And you know how you do those pokey hole things? I think I need to do more poking.
        Again a fine line.
        Close but not perfect.

  27. Has anyone else seen the ad for the Perron Institute? I’ve seen it a couple of times, both were on around 5am.

    A quick Google search told me it is a respected research centre for neurological disorders. But this ad is eerie. An older man is walking on a beach, with a voice over listing some diseases he might contract. A hand appears from somewhere and grabs his shoulder. He turns and behind him are about a dozen people, all in white coats, all looking at him with toothy, maniacal grins. I haven’t worked out what the point of the ad is, because it’s such a strange scene.

    I wondered if I was having a fever dream, but I wasn’t ill.

  28. I am in the early days of watching Survivor South Africa. It is excellent. I will do my best to avoid spoilers. I would guess we are behind here?
    The usual odd characters.
    There was a woman who said that she values honesty. Honesty is the best policy.
    My guess would be that she will be one of the first out?

      • You can watch it on TenPlay, Daisy. I am about to start episode 3. I know Alan is ahead of us (Alan, I will do a post soon when a few more of us have caught on – I just watched season 6 I think it was but don’t have 7 so am doing this current one)

  29. I am looking at bread recipes. It’s raining – like seriously, could it let up for 10 minutes so that I can walk the dog? – and I thought tomorrow would be a good day.
    I came across one that asks for 43 tablespoons of flour. 43 🤣🤣🤣🤣 and tablespoons 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Who puts these things together.
    Needed a laugh today.

    • Aren’t you going to try your focaccia again? If it is too thick for your liking, can’t you make it and then pinch off a chunk to be able to stretch it more thinly? Make a little focaccia in a separate pan?

      Ha ha, listen to me. My baking ability would be rated somewhere between nil and sfa.

      • I am going to try a Jewish Lent thing.
        It is similar to focaccia but smaller, and crustier, less salty and more sesame.
        Pretty much focaccia.

    • I laughed at this way harder than I should have and then, I did one of those pauses.
      You know, it didn’t say.
      And yet, if you took the recipe seriously, it is the most obvious of questions.
      Get that one wrong, and you could be in a world of trouble 🤣.

  30. Daisy, when you were sewing masks, what did you use as the bendy bit that would make the mask fit firmly over your nose? I bought a fabric mask with filters from a pharmacy ages ago, and have just discovered that it doesn’t have the nose fit thingy. I thought of long twist ties, but don’t want to cut holes in the fabric unless I know what size insert I’ll be using.

    I’m assuming that the Delta variant of Covid will be in WA after the stupid grand final of stupid football.

    • I am a little bit ranty when it comes to footballers.
      I get so angry when I read about another group of footballers getting preferential treatment. No wonder they think they can spend their free time getting drunk and harassing women. Money will buy you everything.
      And as an aside, did you know that almost twice as many people visit the Opera House every year (not this year, of course) than attend all AFL football matches combined?
      Pollies need to get their heads out of the a**es of the newspapers whose only claim to fame is selling copy off the back of gambling on sporting matches and horse racing. Here in the ACT, the opposition spokesman for the gambling industry is a self-confessed gambling addict. In what world is that seen as an attribute?
      Mind you, I could have this completely wrong. After all, Jared Hayne is a Pentecostal. Maybe it’s the religious ties.
      Who cares. It just upsets me. Watching a group of privileged w**kers get more privileged treatment is nauseating.
      Early morning here. Going out to get my mandated half an hour of exercise to see if that helps.

    • Hi Von, I didn’t use that. I use elastic. About 2 or 3 mm mm wide. It’s more secure and more comfy.

      I am off to work now but I will send a link for the pattern.I used then modified.

      My mask doesn’t go around your ears but around your head. It’s more secure and you won’t end covid looking like Prince Charles.

  31. I tried those cheap blue ones with wire. The wire doesn’t really work well. And I think the masks don’t sit securely.

    • I bought some of mine with wire and I concur.
      The wire doesn’t sit right and I fog up when I have my glasses on.
      The masks that work best are the ones that sit flat across my face as I would imagine they would if the elastic went around my head and not my ears.
      The ear thing never gets comfortable.

    • I’m looking forward to watching tv news tonight, to see that. Always ready to have a snicker at his expense, makes a change from getting pissed off every time he opens his mouth.

    • There was a rumour on Twitter that he has had a hair transplant.
      I don’t know whether that is true or not but he was definitely looking fluffy today.
      I’m not going to have a go at anyone’s hair colour at the moment. Mine is looking seriously dodgy. In my world, hairdressers are an essential service.

  32. Thanks everyone for advice, and thanks Daisy for the links. I found it oddly soothing to watch the videos of masks being made; I almost felt sleepy.

    I have only the one cloth mask, bought on impulse. It came with filter inserts, usable for up to 60 hours, although I think that is optimistic. I will tape your different suggestions for the nose bendy bit to the outside to try them out.

    I usually use the KN95 masks bought from pharmacies, always have three in rotation and use each five or six times. I’ve found one kind that fits well, close to my face, and the nose bit feels like a flat pliable piece of metal. It pinches down well enough that my glasses don’t fog up. The ear elastic doesn’t bother me, but I have sticky outy ears so maybe that’s why.

    Perhaps I’ll be less anxious once I’ve had my second vaccination. Or not.

  33. Von, you could also try a painter’s mask from Bunnings. I had some for pottery (you have to use them when sanding) and I wore one during the semi-lockdowns last year.

    • Thanks, Daisy. That was the first kind I used when this all started because I had a couple, still in their wrapping, in my tool box.

    • I have used every kind of mask. I have them on high rotation. Those industrial masks leave a pressure mark on my face that takes hours to go.
      TMI, but when I am dragged out of bed for a walk at 6.00 am, I tend not to brush my teeth before I go. Those masks can get pretty funky – rarely can they be worn twice before they are in the washing machine – so I am wary of masks that will take 100 years to break down in landfill.
      Cotton is the material that holds up best. I do have two nylon ones (the girls like them because they are so comfortable) but I have my doubts that they are fit-for-purpose.

  34. According to some newspaper articles, Mark McGowan must have morphed into a cocky, swaggering monster just recently. Descriptors for him or his speeches have used the words bragging, crowing, defiant, and today’s topper – chest beating. He seems his usual self to me. While I don’t agree with everything he has done, especially having the bloody grand final held here, I’d rather be here than a state that has decided to open up come hell or high water, while taking little notice of numbers of new covid cases and deaths.

    Aside from that, does anyone else think the whole tone of newspaper reports on covid here has changed?

    I am looking forward to Gogglebox tonight. A few laughs are needed.

    Bobi, how are things with you? I still haven’t cleaned behind my fridge, but no one cares besides me, so no sleep is being lost over that.

    • My fridge remains on my To Do List. This morning I added the matching machine. I just noticed a little drawer underneath. I sure it’s meant for something important. I will find out why over the weekend. Baby steps.
      Spring in here (although we have wind warnings pending). The garden is a job that will take a lifetime and makes me feel productive. My I-will-throw-it-out pile is growing slowly. It’s not easy to finally acknowledge that you will never use that wine decanter (Seriously. Who decants wine?).
      I am an almost exclusive ABC watcher but I do run my eye down all the news headlines. The ABC doesn’t cover all the things I am interested in, like entertainment or, idk, trivial stuff.
      I have noticed a trend on some channels for almost exclusively opinion pieces – here’s looking at you, Sky – and those opinion pieces are always anti Labor, or possibly anti closed borders. Who can tell 🤷‍♂️. And they have very strong views that Gladdie needs to put business interests before people’s lives.
      Don’t get me started on the argument that people die of the flu and so it’s all okay. That’s always been a ridiculous argument. There is a vaccine against the flu. Maybe we should have been mandating that for both staff and residents of nursing home. And just because I’ve found these things fun, it’s called a False Dilemma. My favourite is the following.
      “Which part of the avocado would you like to try?” said the merchant. “I want to try the middle bit” said the buyer, “which seems to be missing”. It’s that argument that you can only have one or the other that is false.
      I don’t want to be told what to think. I want to be told what the facts are and I will make up my own mind.
      I appreciate that the ABC is regularly accused of being left wing, and I’m not going to say that they are not, but they provide much more factual content than the other portions.
      Maybe there is a bias with the people that they interview? The PM rarely gives the ABC the time of day. If credible right-wingers (because there’s always some nutter who will turn up given half a glance) don’t turn up to put their case, then it can appear that the ABC has a bias.
      I do think that it funny though that Leigh Sales is taking a beating on Twitter for not being left-wing enough. Sometimes the ABC can’t win.
      I am guessing that what people complain most about is seeing a view that they don’t agree with.
      And that what I like. I like seeing someone turn up with some view I hadn’t considered and then I can say, “Oh, so that’s what 30% of the population are thinking. Interesting. Still rubbish but interesting”.
      And just to finish my morning rant on a high note, I hate, hate, hate the use of descriptors around what’s being said (sorry, Juz. Only complaining about a small section of your profession). I’ll decide if he’s ranting, or swaggering. You just tell me the facts and keep your “opinions” (or the opinion of your employer) to yourself. If I wanted to read fiction, I’d buy a book.

  35. It’s boring news but Woolif and I cleaned behind the fridge couple of weeks ago.

    As for them calling Mark a braggart, if he was, at least he’s bragging about us NOT having covid and the budget being in a really healthy surplus, as opposed to Gladys bragging and skiting about what a great job she is doing, haven allowed covid to get out of control.
    If you’re going to brag, better have some good results.

  36. Say what???? Gladys is cancelling press conferences right before the predicted peak in cases.
    Hillarious. She thinks she has more important things to do than “repeating the numbers”.

    • She said if she kept doing the daily pressers, she wouldn’t be doing her job properly. So she admits she hasn’t been doing her job properly all this time during their lock down? I think everyone can see through that excuse; she’s simply too cowardly to deal with questions while covid cases continue to rise. Shame on her.

  37. I made some Lagana Greek Lent bread. I cut the recipe in half and I still have a tonne of dough left over. I’m guessing the measurements are for large Greek families.
    I’m guessing that I’m having pizza for dinner tomorrow night.
    I don’t know what it’s supposed to taste like but it’s a bit like a cross between focaccia and pita bread. I would make it again if I had people over and I wanted to put something like bread rolls on the table.
    Just as an aside, it doesn’t look like the pictures.

    • Looks good to me, Bobi. It’s nice for you that you have enough dough for more than one use, after all the work.

      Why do thees types of bread have to have finger imprints filled with sesame seed or other toppings? Would they not bake properly without holes punched in? I’m not being snarky.

      • I googled. What did we do before Google?
        There are two answers. I don’t know if they work together or not.
        The holes are to keep the oil on top and/or they stop a skin or crust from developing and lifting.
        I can attest to the second. My holes weren’t deep enough on the Lagana and so it was a little bit on the pita side. It was not a problem for me because I like crusty.

    • I had a delicious cinnamon scroll today. My grandmother used to make really good ones. And I love Cinnabon but they don’t have a shop in WA.
      I wouldn’t mind having a go at making them except for the danger of the eating.

  38. Phew, I started my new job on Monday. It’s kinda… weird. I am basically checking contracts all day long from next week on. We did have a hardcore training and I realized my brain isn’t very fast anymore now I am late 30s. Learning was so much easier 10 years ago. 😀
    I wanted to work in the office, but will have home office from Wednesday on thanks to rising Covid numbers and the fact I need 2 fucking hours to get to the damn office. -.-

    Also my dating adventures continue. Men are weird. Seriously.

    • “Men are weird. Seriously”, could be the title of your new book, Zhee. Write it on the two hour drive to and from work.

    • I’m with you on the “weird”.
      I found that the largest group seems to comprise men that think that I should be grateful for their interest in me – fftt – because, apparently, that 18 year old is just begging to go out with them but they are giving me a chance. 🤣🤣.
      Followed sharply by those that are looking for a housekeeper or second income to help pay off whatever-debt-they-have. It seems that I am old enough to have got over that feminism nonsense and got my priorities right.
      It’s not so much that some men think like this that gets to me (we all have thoughts in our head that shouldn’t see the light of day) but that they think the first date is the appropriate time to set the ground rules. I mean, it’s important that I not waste his time.
      Seriously. Out loud. Can they not hear themselves?
      The good news, Zhee, is “not all men”. Unfortunately just enough to make it off putting.

  39. So I did something really cool yesterday.

    We’re doing reasonably well with covid, in QLD, so yesterday was this big outdoor event. Months ago, I saw an advertisement from the CluedUp app in my FB newsfeed, for a live-action murder mystery, and I thought, this sounds fun. What happens is, you sign in with a team, and the app gives you a map to follow. So we basically spent a few hours, yesterday morning, wandering around this beachside suburb, looking for evidence, finding and interrogating witnesses and examining crime scenes. All of it was virtual (you had a time limit and a limited amount of questions you could ask the witnesses. One of them ran, so you had to sprint down the street to a new location to chase him).

    Yes, we solved the mystery and uncovered the murderer! I was really proud of us, I felt very accomplished afterwards.

    I didn’t have a smart phone, but I had a notepad and a pen (which was actually useful because I could write down the important case notes for us to refer to quickly, as opposed to scrolling back through a dozen witness statements). A lot of teams came in fancy dress (there were a lot of police officers. Quite a lot of Magnum PI and Hawaii 5-O themed get-ups, and a few people cosplaying as the Scooby gang. One of my friends swears that he saw a couple of Batmen).

    I always feel like I’m going to be the anchor that drags everyone else down, with these things, but I’m good with word games and word puzzles, and while there were some math challenges, a lot of the times, you had to solve word puzzles to advance through the game, and I was nailing those before my team-mates had even finished reading the questions.

    It was a lot of fun, I had a really great day. I got a bit sunburnt, though, and we walked about 6 to 7 kms, so today, my everything hurts, heh.

      • A friend of a friend of mine works in the contact tracing in NSW, and according to them, at this point, contact tracing isn’t going to accomplish much. They’re trying to close the stable door, and the horse has not only bolted but won the Melbourne cup. Someone really should’ve explained to Gladys what an “exponential infection rate” is, because if you don’t nip that in the bud, as early as you can, then it’s too late. Case in point, and you know the Victorian outbreak has come from NSW.

        At least so far in QLD, the short and sharp lockdowns have been able to stop delta from exploding into a huge problem.

        The thing that annoys me is that Gladys will probably never be held accountable for it. People are dying, and the hospital system is one bad day away from collapsing.

    • It sounds like a delightful day, WS.
      I enjoy those types of puzzles. It takes quiet thinking.
      I doubt Gladys will be held accountable for this mess. And anyway, I think it is a Federal mess that the States are trying to clean up – and I can’t see Federal being held to account. It’s no coincidence that you rarely see Scott’s face these days.
      But I’m guessing that Gladys will resign before 2023. She looks exhausted and like she’s hanging on by the skin of her teeth.
      If I were her, I’d be looking for that dignified exit.

    • That sounds so cool! We are a big fan of escape rooms so right up my alley. I also would suck at mathsy ones but am good at word clues

  40. ACT lockdown has been extended by another month.
    I am understanding but slightly despondent. I need to go to Bunnings.
    I have bought t-shirts, and cheese and biscuits on line.
    I’m am going to clog up my arteries, and when they find my body, I will be well dressed.

    • Thank you.
      To be honest, I’m not sure that my life would be very different if there wasn’t lockdown. A lot of the community things I do have very old people involved and they have been extra, extra cautious for the last two years. But I really miss gatherings over cake and coffee. I miss groups of people.
      I am just feeling sorry for myself. I will do another painting that is dark and brooding. They are my best ones.

  41. OK. I need to do some homework. Fate rolled the dice for me to have lunch tomorrow with Ian Parmenter. My friend just told me he is well known. I have some homework to do or I will be like those people on IAC who say, “Who”.

    • I remember Ian Parmenter. One of the first of the television celebrity chefs (cooks?).
      My memory is of bright and cheerful. I have very little memory of the food.
      I’m sure he was old then so I can’t imagine his age now.
      I’m sure you will have a good time.

    • I remember him and his cooking show on ABC some time ago. I think he is more of a foodie who can cook, rather than a chef, but I have pleasant, if vague, memories of his show.

      I think he will be an interesting and amusing lunch companion. Have fun.

    • Macron should read Australian newspapers; he’d have known ScoMo is not to be trusted. Even considering the glitches in the undertaking with France, one would think at least basic tenets of diplomacy, or even courtesy, would require France to be informed of the decision before a world-wide announcement was made.

      Is there a back-out clause in the abandoned contract, so that we will have to pay squillions of dollars to France?

      AUKUS (sounds like the noise an angry capybara makes) members will now spend the next 18 months deciding on a price and delivery date for the submarines. So at some unknown cost, we will get the submarines at a future unknown date…unless maybe a better offer comes along. Bad luck if China decides to flex its muscles before that.

      What a debacle. Morrison is an idiot.

    • Overall, it’s all a bit of a worry.
      I’m told that the problem with the Collins submarines was us, not the French. We kept changing the design on a perfectly good basic model. A bit like building a house, where we would say things like, “Can you just move that window 6 inches to the left and can you make them slightly more round?” And the builders says, “Yes, of course. Anything for a price”. I did hear Christopher Pine being interviewed once saying it was about the jobs, not the submarines. I always liked his honesty.
      No, no. I worry that this agreement isn’t about anything at all. It’s an agreement to have an agreement between two men who won’t be around for very much longer – and one of those can’t remember our PMs name and will, in any case, be dead.
      The Americans don’t care about us. They never have. We are too small to be more than a blip on their horizon.
      And all that trade we are losing? Guess who is picking it up? Yes. Your first guess is absolutely correct.
      I get cranky with my grandkids all the time, especially when they use words like cookie and candy. I have introduced them to the term, brainwashing.
      There is no-one more foreign to us in this world than an American. They have a different value system, different political system and different morality system. We barely have the same language. And yet we continue to think that they are going to come to our aid because we watch the same tv shows? Don’t get me started on the inequities in “that” trade agreement. Even John Howard will acknowledge that he made a big mistake there. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
      This is my favourite topic at dinner parties, in the days when we used to have dinner parties. I could go on for hours.
      Sorry, back to my slight worry. I am worried that we have public servants, and politicians about, who don’t seem to know this. I thought everyone knew this. I’m wondering if it’s part of that loss of corporate knowledge that I keep banging on about? I wonder if it’s part of this Liberal government being Pentecostal and the head of the Pentecostal church being in Texas?
      I don’t know. I just worry that this government doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing. And I have no faith that a change of government is going to help. We are doomed. We are all doomed.

      • Holy Hell, Bobi. We are screwed (as an American would say).

        I agree. The monkeys are running the zoo.
        I mean, they’re a bunch of crooked galahs.
        Von, I concur. Scott is a fool.

  42. Our lunch with Ian Parmenter. He took the pic.

    All journalists, actors, directors and a lawyer but we felt like kindred. They were very nice and asked us to kick on to a quiz night and sleep over. But we would have had to flip our undies inside out the next morning.
    Still, they only came 3rd on the quiz, so maybe we should have stayed.

  43. It’s embarrassing to be Australian right now thanks to Slomo and his brethren. Don’t they know what the Bible says about keeping your word? “Let your yes be yes and your no be no”. Jesus is watching you, Scott. 🤣

  44. I hesitate to post this but I am still in lockdown and easily upset.
    I don’t really want to comment on the politics of Christian Porter, and it’s up to WA if they want to elect him (apparently he’s a good Minister, just a reprehensible human being), but there is a television connection here.
    Christian says that it is harassment by the ABC that has forced him to resign from the Ministry.
    Let me break that down for you.
    He did not resign because of the million (that’s one million, folks. Happens to me every day. Aren’t we all that lucky?) dollars he received from the Pentecostal church … mafia … Kerry Stokes … No, I’m going to go with Pentecostal. Who else has something to gain here?
    He did not resign because he misled everyone when he said the money was in a blind trust. This is the ex Attorney-General. He knows what a a blind trust is, and this is not it.
    And he did not resign because it was not in line with implicit ministerial guidelines. And btw who even needs to be told that it’s dodgy to take a million dollars (again, that’s a million 😮) from an “unknown” source? That this needs to be spelt out says something about all politicians.
    No. The problem is a government sponsored television station, whose biggest claim to fame is Bluey, Rage and News Breakfast, bringing it to the attention of the public.
    Idk. I’m watching too much of the wrong sort of shows. Not enough BBC murdery stuff on.
    My local supermarket has just been identified as a COVID hotspot.
    I have a dead rat in my roof.
    The wind is blowing but the sun is shining, rain is expected, the trees are flowering, the birds are visiting. Any day now I can open the doors and let in the blowies.
    I have given up.
    I am going to watch back-to-back reruns of Midsummer Murders. What else.

    • No he only resigned because, in Scott’s words, “the appearance of impropriety”. Doesn’t that just say, “Nothin’ to see here folks”.

      And wasn’t he noble falling on his sword over the appearance of impropriety?

      Hang in there Bobi. Do you have any good books in the house. Can you knit? I knitted a jumper in the last fortnight. I just keep knitting the same jumper but in different wools.

      • I have a book. I am reading it slowly because my attention span is minimal.
        I have started a new painting.
        Spring cleaning has come to a dead standstill.
        I am unproductive.
        Doggo has his face squished in a pillow so is making suffocating noises. Yet, still asleep. Aaaw.
        I have some tiny wrens trying to attack their reflections on my kitchen window. Bit concerning.
        As you can see, I am trying to be “mindful”. It does help. Similar to meditation but more sustainable.
        But everything is slightly intensified. Hence I am quick to shake my fist at the irrelevant.
        This season of The Block couldn’t be more appropriate to plug into that side of things.
        It might be why I am more than willing to tolerate those annoying judges on the Voice. It is very enjoyable this year.
        And Making It is such a gentle show that I am willing to overlook it’s shortcomings (of which there are many).
        I’m hanging in there. When the weather settles down I’m sure I’ll take an up turn for the better.
        Weather fftt.

        • There’s no law law that requires you to be productive during a lock down, although I have enjoyed your accounts of bread-making.

          Lock downs are stressful. If you want to stay in your pyjamas and sulk for a couple of days, who’s to stop you? Well, aside from doggo, who will still want his walks.

          Do you ever watch Bluey? I see it most mornings and it never fails to make me laugh.

          • I love Bluey.
            And I love The Loud House (ch 10) and a couple of others that I just can’t think of at the moment.m
            I am regressing in my old age.
            Kids shows are just pure fun.

          • Ditto on what Von said.
            I understand achievement syndrome. I think most of us have been raised on it. Do your school work. Get your degree. Raise kids. Maybe get another degree or that job. Be good at your job.
            Then when it comes time to live in the moment and give yourself permission to just enjoy not achieving, we don’t know how to do it.

            Just watch telly and read and do whatever you feel like doing. I do however, recommend some exercise just for the endorphins.

    • Isn’t it funny that, often, when a politician is accused of an impropriety, illegality, or reprehensible act, they immediately pull the victim card. “I’m only in trouble because so-and-so is out to get me.” I can’t stand whiners.

  45. These are Mana’eesh.
    I forgot to turn the Zaatar into a paste. 🤷
    Minor problem. These are the best I’ve made so far.
    I do have a fondness for middle eastern food. Spent some of my childhood over there so it brings back fond memories.
    So, completed my tax return and made bread. Back to my productive best.

    • I bet the sun is shining .

      Had to look up the name of the bread and the spice mix; they looked good and now I want some.

      Zaatar would be a useful blend to have on hand.

        • Not at all :).

          We’ve had a long and dreary winter here. On the sunny days we’ve had here recently, I accomplished more than I had in the previous month. Not even big accomplishments, just little things that I’d look at and not do because I was in a bad-weather grump.

          The difference between posts yesterday and today had to be sunshine.

        • Absolutely that’s what happens to me. 😁
          In my younger days, I would head north to FNQ to stay with family waiting out the worst of it.
          The good old days.
          Not that Canberra doesn’t put on an excellent spring day but it can be followed by windy misery.
          My weather forecaster says that you won’t hear me whinge again until Wednesday week. 🤣

          • I’m the opposite. I accomplish more in winter and spring. The nicer the weather, the more I go out, or relax in the sun.

      • I use Zaatar a lot. I buy it ready made. I don’t bother making it.
        If I use olive oil, then I think about zaatar: tomatoes, a dip, salad.
        I do get, btw, that it’s not for everyone.

  46. Crumpets. CRUMPETS!
    They were delicious. So proud.
    They are odd shapes because I had to improvise. May have detracted from the looks but certainly not their taste.
    Best yet.

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