And more gloom.

Life has continued weary and sad. I was feeling better on Wednesday afternoon. I left work earlyish, finally got a massage, helped Sayed with understanding an assessment, had a hot chocolate, and bought iTunes on sale. Feeling good for the first time in about 2 weeks. But that night at mum and dads we found out Grandma had died. So I woke up on Thursday weary again. I went to work, it was very quiet and I was alone in my office, so that was good. Twitter friends were lovely.

I then looked at my bank and was surprised by the balance, and realised that the government had secretly deposited $7000 two days ago. This, in a normal week, would rock my socks off, and even on a miserable day I was really thrilled for a couple of minutes. Getting the application in for the regional relocation grant was a massive effort, I had to ring energy australia and get them to send me some old bills, and all sort of hoops like that, and I wasn’t very hopeful I would get it because I completed the application after the grant ended and without a copy of my Ada St lease (supplied Kennedy St lease and Ada St termination instead). So just discovering the money was a delightful surprise. I’m going to pay it to mum and dad because they lent me money for the stamp duty on the house, and I’ve been paying them back each pay, so yay that I can clear a debt to them sooner and also I’m proud of my application. Praise God for that.

Anyway mornings are the worst. I usually wake up after bad sleep with a re-stiffened neck. Thankfully as the day goes on I usually collect energy and my neck loosens up. Sometimes I have a lie down on the floor of my cubicle at lunchtime. I’m taking various vitamins and eating pretty healthy. It’s a hard season, everything has a time, Ecclesiastes. I've got a very quiet weekend planned, and I will take an extra day off next week after the funeral, and get through it.

Goulburn, the wall.

Well I've hit the wall for 2014, and had to skip church on Sunday night, take Tuesday afternoon off to sleep, and skip bible study. I've done a lot of crying too. And my neck locked up on Thursday morning and has been gradually unwinding. That happens maybe once a year and takes a week. And my fridge was broken, new one delivered on Friday. So all in all it hasn't been much fun. Although I'm thankful for many good things. C came over and helped clip Percy's wings, R came over for Jillian, I had Friday off and spent the weekend with Mum and some family in Goulburn. Also thankful for the prayers and support of friends.

Here are sundry photos. First, video of my 2nd cello lesson.

A doorstep gift from a friend at church.

The shed in Goulburn that I emptied and demolished with mum.

Visiting grandparents in nursing home for happy hour.

Finally giving in to a lifetime of temptation and drawing Switch Pig.

A giant moth at work today, with my keys for scale.

Too tired, things that make me happy #1.

My weekend was way too long and busy and tiring. I didn’t want to sit around doing nothing by myself so I packed it out, probably a bit too much. I had Friday night dinner with friend from work at what I now call my “regular”, where I am experimenting with being a beer drinker but mainly I like buckets of chicken wings.

On Saturday I went to Sydney on the train with a sister, a friend, and their friend, we went to the Powerhouse Museum and then ate and ate and ate in Chinatown area.

I found lots of lovely new covers for books I already have.

Then when I got home 12 hours later I went straight out again for dessert night with 3 home group ladies, to a place in the wineries called Sabor.

On Sunday I went to the markets in the morning with other “homies” (bought the succulent wreath and some more old tupperware), met someone after lunch for a cafe chat which turned out to be really intense, went home, cuddled Percy and tried to process things and recover energy, and then went to church. Was invited over for dinner by T and J which was nice. Got home and cried. So tired.

In other news, my fridge is freezing things badly. No amount of knob twiddling is helping. I’m getting depressed that my milk is frozen solid when I want to have breakfast, and I can’t keep salad stuff in it at all. Today I realised I could just go and buy a new one. The fridge was free so I’ve got value out of it, and I’m not too poor to buy one, so why am I being anxious? It’s not worth it, God has provided both the old free fridge when I needed it and the money to buy a new one, there’s no reason to stress. I’m going to the Good Guys after work on Tuesday.

Anyway I’ve been cruising along for a while now so I was bound to hit reality eventually. On the bright side: I’ve been thinking of starting tweeting or facebooking “What’s making me happy this week” as per Pop Culture Happy Hour, where they just finish the show with a little rave about something they just discovered and are enjoying. At the moment:

My glasses. They are awesome. Had them a couple of weeks almost and I’m still enthralled. I wear them a lot more than my old glasses. People compliment them.

Percy getting his head scratched. Especially that he yawns when he's relaxed. Physical contact must be his love language.

I've got the beginnings of a bushwalking group!

Cello! and other life things.

I'm not the sort to cook a meal for someone, but I bought a few bags of grainwaves and some daisies and took them to a girl in my home group who was a bit tired and sad. Who wouldn't be cheered up to come home from work to find daisies and junkfood waiting for you. It certainly made me happy, thinking of it.

I see this cute pair of grass parrots a lot, I love them. The boy is so pretty. Just when I was close enough to take a decent photo my phone battery died. So I only have this shot through my windscreen.

This is a native stingless bee hive. There is a 1 second video that might work.

Had my first cello lesson but didn't take a photo of it yet. Percy thinks the cello is a huge predatory bird monster or something.

And my fridge is freezing stuff and my bathroom tap sprays water everywhere.

A week in random photos.

I've left it too long to say much about last week but I have had the photos sitting here. I had the NBN connected to my house, but it isn't turned on/available yet. 

 

I went to Sydney with my boss and we visited a rep at the Apple office which was really good. I think they are going to use a bee book of mine as an example. The rep is very helpful too. We get a bit of personalised service. Amazing.

I took a photo of a bitcoin machine near an ATM in the Myer food court. I had a lovely hour rushing around visiting MM, Haighs, Tea Centre.

 Making me happy this week: I collected my new glasses last Thursday. They are cool.

Percy. We are getting along splendidly.

Mums birthday afternoon tea in a cafe with a vintage car parked out the back.

Percy eating mulberry.

Food that I made that I thought looked like a cafe.

Testy thing.

Long weekend, markets, friends, drilling holes.

Fabulous. I had a long weekend with friends, markets, and getting jobs done.

Saturday morning I mopped the school/church hall again. Church is helping reno the hall kitchen so I went twice during the week, to grout tiles, mop, be a moral support. So I did another quick hour and mopped the hall floor. Then I went to the Olive Tree Markets for lunch, and met most of my favourite Sydney people there (hi George, I missed you). I did some earring marketing - took a pair back for repair and bought some more, and bought some honey. Anna bought me this cushion cover as a house warming gift, which is beautiful. I'd like to make some like this.

E+L went to a surf club for a couples drink while I went home and shopped for food. Then we went to Billabongs with mum and dad for dinner, which was the usual Experience.

On Sunday E and I woke up early so we decided to go to the Maitland markets and get back before L woke up hopefully. It was great fun. I knew E would enjoy these markets because rummaging through old things is her sort of fun. She bought a vintage hand mirror and a bag. I bought a birdcage, which was on my shopping list all month, and a cheap floor mat for the back door, an old shovel, some peas and kale, and some 2nd hand tupperware. We also had some wonderful orange juice. The nicest orange juice I've ever had.

E+L went wine tasting in the afternoon and I watched Downton. Then we went to church, then to mum and dads house so that L could do his piano practise and watch the grand final on the nice big TV, and E and I cooked pies and salad for dinner and kale chips and we had some gourmet beer we bought at the markets too.

Here is a lovely selfie with Percy.

E+L went home on Monday morning to beat the traffic. Then I washed sheets, went to Greenhills and bought some food and Ray Ban glasses, went to a girls lunch at a nightchurch friends house, did Jillian in the aircon with RoGo, it was really hot, then I went to parents and borrowed their drill, and hung up my curtains. It was pretty late and I was hot and tired, but I just really wanted to get those curtains up finally. They aren't hemmed but that's fine.

Then I AT LAST had a shower and cooled down, watched the Bachy interviews on the project and shelled peas and ate them, finished a packet of crumpets and had a drumstick, that was dinner. Then I watched the saddest episodes of Downton ever and cried and then I went to bed.

It was a full 3 days. This week I'm giving blood, home group restarts, and I'm going to Sydney on Wednesday.