OK, WHY?

I'm staying indoors today for a few reasons:

• My thigh muscles are sore from climbing Mount Aubrey on Wednesday
• I hurt my back while manoeuvring a laden trailer yesterday
• I'm trying to download Microsoft 365 to my HP and Apple laptops*

It's a bit cool today even though it's sunny outside. Because of this I put my long socks on and am wearing my slippers. Added to my 'house' shorts (not pyjama bottoms) creates an unusual look but, to my mind not meriting the derision that The Old Girl threw at me.

WHY DID SHE LAUGH AT ME?

* I haven't used these much over the last few years. The HP I took with me to Canada and UK  and the Apple I haven't used since giving up working in 2017. Both need operating system upgrades before being able to download Office 365. I think that I've upgraded the Apple but the HP is looking dodgy.

SOME RANDOM IMAGES

I'm a bit lazy but also, at any moment, The Old Girl will want to take over the study.

Three of those are to keep Robert going and the last is because this is a good recipe.

BLOODY RATS AGAIN

Where I live, people on Neighbourly are commenting how rats are invading their sheds, barns and roofs. The bountiful food product after a great summer is to blame and now that it's getting cooler, rats are finding hideaways in the said sheds, barns and roofs.

The black rats are tree dwellers and seek higher places. Last week we heard scuttling in the roof so I had to get some bait.

This proved to be difficult under Lockdown rules but with Level-3 freeing up hardware stores, albeit for order and collect, I was able to get some bait. The problem was that the on-line ordering system highlighted a few items and not the usual one I buy. I just assumed that it wasn't available so ordered another, more expensive product.

I put some of this in the roof space last week - a hell of a job as I've reported before: HERE  and HERE

Today's Monday so the poison has been up there for 5 days. We've noticed that the scuttling sounds had reduced but last night we heard some more.
I got up into the roof space again this morning to check the bait. Some had been consumed but not much. The bulk was untouched. Obviously the KIWICARE product isn't much to the rats liking.

I went back on-line and first searched for the name of the product that I've used before and trust before going to Mitre 10 on-line. The product is STORM which sounds a lot more robust than wimpy KIWICARE.

Sounds powerful even if it is delivered by a guy wearing skimpy underpants and stockings

On the Mitre 10 on-line page I typed in the name STORM rather than using their recommended choices and there it was. I ordered a bucket and will collect it tomorrow.

TAKE THAT YOU DIRTY RAT!

WASHING AWAY SINS

In a recent post Robert (Imagine if everyone loved God) said that, as a commercial cleaner, he's on the front line. He sees this COVID-19 pandemic as warfare and, maybe he's right.*

He published a photograph of himself in full battle dress when back at work this week.
All good.

He also said in the same post that while in full battle gear, at work he regales instructs fellow workers about the Catechism and the Catholic faith.

This got me thinking that wartime Robert is more like a chaplain than a soldier.
Maybe he could get a little silver cross or a fish brooch to wear in his hat.

That way fellow workers can be warned alerted to his intentions.

* He also often writes the disease as COVERT-19 so maybe he sees it as an undercover war like the COLD WAR of the 60s and 70s.

MISCELLANEOUS

THANKS TIGER

HOLD THAT TIGER - MILLS BROTHERS

I played 9 holes of golf yesterday afternoon.

Level - 3 allows golfing subject to a lot of rules. 

• You have to ring first for a tee time. These are staggered to allow distancing. 
• You have to play within your 'bubble'. This was easy as it was just me.
• You have to check in with the club manager who ascertains that you are feeling well, that you have come directly from home and that you are going directly home afterwards.
• Name and detail is recorded in a register along with check out time.

I've got no problem with this as the whole concept of lockdown is the ability to 'track and trace' contacts if there is a transfer of infection.

The manager leaves at 4PM and so checking in is all supposed to happen before this time. If golfing is to continue after this time the manager puts down an ascertained time of departure. This information is posted on the golf club's website.

I was pissed off to see, as I was playing my eighth hole, a couple of groups of guys arriving, after the manager had left and who set off to play in two lots of four. These idiots deliberately waited until after 4 PM so that they could play together (unlikely to be in their own bubbles) without having to go by the rules. This attitude annoys me. I'm not the greatest follower of laws and rules but I do understand these lockdown rules and why they are in place. These idiots obviously don't, just like the morons who rush to queue to buy hamburgers.

Anyway, back to Tiger.

I've been playing my Play Station game 2005 Tiger Woods PGA golf over the last couple of weeks and I believe that it has really helped my golf. It doesn't help the mechanics of the swing obviously but it does assist in my approach to each hole, club selection, use of spin and the general way I play. As a result I played some of the best golf ever (for me) with birdying two par 5s that I've had difficult with before and just missing an eagle by inches on a par 4.

I also played some of the worst golf ever on some of the other holes though. I lost 4 golf balls not by hitting them into creeks, lagoons, bushes or the sea but losing them on the fairway. The autumn leaves are covering a lot of the rough and the fairways due, I guess, to the fact that there aren't staff to clear them. When the golf ball runs under these it's difficult to find.

Because of the structured tee times and the fact that everyone hurries along I wasn't able to spend too much time looking for the lost balls. I also didn't have time to go down into the creeks fossicking for other lost balls. Bummer. This course now 'owes me' 4 golf balls.

I told the Old Girl this when I got home and she wasn't sympathetic! 

"What do you mean the course owes you 4 balls" she said. "You've found hundreds of balls at that course".

She just doesn't understand.

NO SUNBAKING

Just when restrictions are relaxed a bit the weather is turning to shit and the water is cold.

I was swimming before the lockdown and during it we had lots of lovely warm weather but no swimming allowed.
I'm too much of a wuss to go in now as the sea temperature has dropped a bit.
I was planning on a bit of sunbaking too but going by the sign above that seems to be out along with loitering.

BRILLIANT

No, not Richard or Robert's recent posts but I guess the regular readers know that.

I'm talking about the EGO 56 Volt Cordless Line Trimmer  that was delivered today.

.

Once I charged up the massive battery I gave it a work-out. This baby can go man! It ripped through the weeds that have had the effrontery to grow crazy recently, and the lawn grass that thought it was safe now that the lawnmower is kaput sure got a wake up call I can tell you. Whizz - crunch - rip!
They won't be messing with me anymore.

.

NEW POST - THE WINE GUY

LISTEN TO JESUS

FAST FOOD

I made a comment before on my previous post about people who frequent fast food outlets. It might come across as elitist - sorry about that.
Good friends Dave (now deceased) and Jane used to own and manage a dairy in Newtown in the early 1980s. Even back then they told me that people who had the lowest incomes would often be their best customers spending the most money. This was because they didn't plan their food shopping and cooking, buying instead convenience foodstuffs when not buying takeaways for the family. Often mothers would send the kids along at the last minute to buy big (and expensive) packs of bacon to have for dinner. It's sad and things haven't got any better.

Yesterday I made wholemeal pizza bases in my bread-maker. I rolled out the dough and cut it into oblongs for small, easy to make pizzas. I 'blind' baked these for a few minutes before freezing.

Some tomato paste or pesto lining topped with Mozzarella cheese, tuna or salami, vegetables and other classic pizza toppings makes for a quick and delicious meal. Cheaper than chips and a whole lot better for you. After warming the oven it only takes 10 minutes or less to cook these babies!