General Chat

Aww - now why did you go and do that? It took me a long time to make them think I'm just a little old grandma who minds her own business - and now, you've gone and blown it!

What did I do to you, Allan? The idea of flowers coming in the post and taking a week to get here, made me suspicious - and now this!!!

Allan,
The invitation sounds good. I just hope you will walk out of the Corporate Tent in the same dignified way that you walk in. Crawling out on all fours is bad for you image, and future employment opportunities.

Berona,
Are you serious? - the government are putting bats in your ceiling, why?
and how does that save energy - do they have them in hamster wheels generating energy........please enlighten me.

Helicopters very very rarely lose power, don't worry about it,

Please explain about the bats, how bizarre!!!

Tec

batts - not bats! Not sure how to describe it but they are like plastic foam blocks which are put on the ceiling between the joists - for insullation.

Tec, it gets worse: they are probably female...pink bats!

Batts are a form of insulation which go in the roof space. They conserve energy and keep the house cooler in Summer and warmer in Winter.

As part of the Governments recent stimulus package to cope with the economic downturn, the introduced a generous subsidy for people to have their proerties insulated.

The theory was that as well as an energy saving measure, it wouls also support small business by ensuring continuity of work

Allan

As for this afternoon, I'll have you know that I can crawl out of the venue in a most dignified manner....I've had plenty of practice!

Allan

Oh I see, I've never heard of Batts,
The government here have a similar energy saving scheme, but they are insulating lofts with blankets of insulating material about 9 ins deep, and doing cavity wall insulation - they couldn't do my house with the wall insulation because the property is 100 yrs old, they said if the wall ties were weak or faulty the walls would implode?

Allan, it's hard to look dignified on your knees, your tie keeps getting caught under your knees, and you end up on your face in the mud.
I have a very comical vision in my sick mind...............

Tec

Tec, the answer is simple....I won't wear a tie!

Allan

Yes, Allan. I have thought of how it will affect small business. I can imagine a lot of people suddenly going into the business of installing the batts. I had a man knock on my door yesterday, and offer to put pink batts in my ceiling. My neighbour is a bachelor and wants blue ones, but they only come in pink or yellow!

When I had ducted air installed in my previous house, I bought the batts and my son put them in. He swore he would never do it again - he felt that he lost weight with all the perspiring he did up there in that roof - although he did it again in his own home later. I can imagine how he feels now that he could have them done by someone else and all FREE!

Berona, I understand that the Government came under a lot of crticism for that particular package. You are correct, many new 'businesses' were created overnight and no matter what the actual installation costs were many charged up the full amount of the subsidy.

It cost the Government millions more than expected

Allan

Well, I must leave you. It is almost 10am here and I have only managed to make my bed and clear the kitchen while talking to you. Must get on and back to the transcribing. No TV for me this weekend. The Bathurst races are on all weekend and I can't stand hearing that brrrmmm, brrrmmm! I won't be driving on the western highway either - it leads to Bathurst!

Good night Tec (don't think anyone else is around??) and Allan, have a nice day - and to everyone - AVAGOODWEEGEND!

Berona and Allan,
It's that time again, and as I don't want to turn into a pumpkin I'd best go to bed.
So enjoy your Saturday Berona, and have a drink for me Allan, two if it's free, enjoy yourself anyway. Yes, leave the tie at home

Goodnight both,

Tec

Good night to Tec, and enjoy your Day Berona... and you can tell Su how well behaved we were

Regards


Allan

Good afternoon all

Ive been driving all over Victoria at the moment as my daughter wants to free lease a horse to help with her studies for next year(she is doing equine studies for one subject of her VCE) and also to gain more confidence riding, we went to see one in Ballarat this morning.
Last Thursday we went to see one in Sunbury which is about 45 minutes from where we live, but he was way too nervous, spooked at everything!!

I went to the fruit market again yesterday and picked up some lovely fruit and veg so later I'm going to make the family a nice fruit platter for after dinner, but I think I will just have the fruit for dinner, so much nicer!!!

Enjoy the rest of your day/Good morning to our lovely Brits when they arise from their slumber:-))

Carole xx

Good morning everyone.

Sorry for leaving you alone Berona, I did look in earlier in the evening but no one was around,so I played with the 1911 census instead. I was then very tired,so tucked myself up in bed early to watch TV.

I actually stayed at home yesterday instead of going to mums and did paper work instead. I posted the probate forms,so that is a big weight off my mind. I will just have to wait for weeks now until the interview date come around. I will feel so nervoous in case they want to lock me up for not filling them in correctly.

I then paid all sorts of outstanding bills for the estate and sorted other stuff out. I have just heard the letter box rattle,so more post has just arrived. I used to look forward to seeing what is there, but now I dread it because it will be something else to deal with.

I hope that your cold is feeling better this morning Diane. It is really foggy here this morning, I can hardly see across the garden. I don't fancy walking down to the market, but it has to be done.

Berona, I wondered what you were talking about when you mentioned Batts. As Tec said, the government here are encouraging everyone to fit more loft insulation and to have cavity wall insulation put in. If you are over 75?, it is free, but under that age in certain areas, you can qualify for a grant and get it done cheaply.

The house I live in is just over ten years old,so was well insulated to start with, but even so OH has added extra rolls of insulation to the loft. Annoyingly he did it just a few months just before the company who got the contract for this area began knocking on the doors offering to do it cheaply with the grant.

With it being a modern house, we assumed that there would be cavity wall insulation,as building regs don't let you build without it. On talking to the neighbour who had owned her house from new it turned out that there isn't. The houses were built immediately before the regs changed, but they were built with an internal layer of special five inch insulating blocks,so didn't need cavity insulation. That is all very well, but nowadays, when you come to sell, you have to have an energy survey and if the house isn't up to scratch, I think they come and paint a black cross on the door as a sign of it being unclean, or something like that.

Anyway we had the cavities filled and amazingly we were only charged £99, even though it is has a large expanse of external walls to fill. Normally we would never qualify for anything free as most things are means tested, so it was nice for a change to get something free. Of course it is our taxes which are paying for it,so it isn't really free in the long run.

Hello everyone:-)) I'm glad to see that Allan and Tec behaved themselves in my absence although I had no problem leaving Berona in charge. I do think at times that Allan tries to lead Tec astray - but on the other hand I also think that Tec plays up and then acts innocent and throws the blame on Allan. Mmmmm......we obviously need to keep on our toes with the fellows on here:-)))

Carole sounds like you're going to be busy looking for that horse. Is your daughter one of those horse mad girls? What is she going to do with her equine studies when she leaves school? Our niece in England loves horses and is hoping to work in and eventually own a riding school.

Linda you still have a big job ahead of you don't you. With all that's to be done I hope you get the time to grieve - it's so important. Hope you're enjoying the 1911 census. It gave me a lot of information and answered a few questions including a mysterious uncle who seemed to disappear after the 1901 census. I found him married with 2 children and a marriage certificate confirmed it was him. The census also gave me a couple of mysteries. OH's paternal great grandfather was on his own in another part of London where he eventually died but no sign of his wife. I know she was still alive because she remarried after her husband died.

Sue xx

Good morning Sue,

The fog is clearing now and the sun is starting to shine through. We are just back from the market, I was very hot walking back, but I suspect that is down to my cold not the weather.

We are going to mums later on because OH is mid painting the sheds and garage doors. I still have lots to do inside to make it ready for selling. i have been watching all those TV programmes and know a house has to be staged for selling.

It isn't bad, I just need to move the photos and prune the ornament collection a bit.

The horse sounds seriously expensive Carole. This is a very horsey area and all the stabling and tack seems to cost a fortune.

Hi, Carole, Linda and Sue,

Well despite the lure of free grog and finger food I never made it to the Bull and Barrel Festval in Dardanup. One minute the weather was fine and tthe next the temp dropped, the wind got up and it rained so we stayed at home. Also my OH made cabbage rolls the tradtional Ukrainian way so it wasn't a hard decision.

Linda I hope that your chest infection is responding to the antibiotics and I'm pleased that you have the 1911 to help take your mind of things: but please do take care and remember to take time out for yourself.

Carole...how do you lease a horse? Enjoy your fruit platter

Sue, I'm still trying to identify one grandfather, and find out the origins of the other one! I would love to blame Tec for leading me astray but unfortunately I have to accept full responsibility for my actions. I could always claim that it is my evil twin! How was the babysitting?

Allan

Just popping in before closing down.Carole, Linda - where were you when I needed you??????

Sue, I have to report that they boys did behave. Welllllll... You might be right about that Tec - he could be the sneaky one making the bullets for Allan to fire! He suggested that Allan 'crawl' to me by bringing flowers....well, Allan took his advice, but this is where I got suspicious of Allan too - he sent the flowers by mail, saying they would take a week to get here, and only put a 1cent stamp on the package! Now, does that sound like someone who is trying to make a good impression?

Nothing worth watching on TV and my DVD is refusing to work - so I'm having an early night - how early depends on how good my book is.

Good night to those in the southern hemisphere and to those in the other half, have a pleasant afternoon and evening!

Good whatever it is wherever you are everyone,

Excuse me ladies.........Allan does not lead me astray, I am quite capable of going astray all on my own, not so much these days, but a chance would be a fine thing. Neither do I load the bullets for Allan to fire, I can fire my own bullets. No good Berona reporting to Mother that we were well behaved while she was missing, then them both going on to accuse us both of all sorts of trickery...........typical of the "fair" sex.

The drizzle and mist cleared here at lunchtime, and it turned into a beautiful afternoon. Warm, sunny, no wind. We took the dog for a walk to the beach, absolutely deserted, not another soul in sight, just a few oystercatchers, and cormerants. There is not much sand on our beach, mostly pebbles, rocks and shingle. OH finds it difficult to walk on, so I left her sitting on a rock, (she was quite happy, reading her book) while I took the dog. I have been working hard all week on the house, so it was good to have a day off, and do nothing. We went home to coffee and cream doughnuts, and tonight I am cooking dinner - lamb chops.

Tec.

Tec, I hope that the lamb was bought legitimately and not rustled from some poor farmers field.

We spent the afternoon at mums house. I took loads of stuff to the hospice charity shop while OH painted the sheds etc. He decided to paint some of the door sills as well, then promptly trod on them and left foot prints down the block paved drive. I had a few choice words to say and he cleaned up the drive