FROM 2012 INTO 2013

I would like to send love and best wishes from my other half and myself to all my blogging friends.  May the new year bring you everything you are wishing for yourselves.  I have always joked that 13 is my lucky number so I am hoping the new year will indeed be lucky for everyone, including me and mine.

We had a hot Christmas and we are ending the year with a VERY HOT day.  It got to 42.1C (108F) today and at 5.20pm it is still 38C (100.4F) in the city.  Those on the coast are enjoying a sea breeze but even there the temps are still well into the 30Cs.   Wherever you are I hope you are keeping warm or cool, whichever the case may be.

I'd like to thank all those that visited my blog this year even if you didn't leave a comment.  Comments are always appreciated even if it to tell me I am a silly old duck!!  I know I don't have many followers, but those I do have mean the world to me so thank you so much for staying with me.  It is very much appreciated.

Until next year.  xxx

FAMILY MEMBERS.....MY 2 GRANDSONS

Both my grandsons have birthdays this month.  The eldest of the two (L) was 30 on 20th December and we all went to his mum and dad's home for a quiet afternoon tea on the Sunday before his birthday to spend time with him and wish him well.

Watching gifts being unwrapped on Christmas Day by his oldest sister and youngest niece (apologies about quality of photo).


"L" is very tall and has fair hair and is quite good-looking too.  He is a quiet person but has quite a sense of humour and is a very serious thinker.  I noticed him and MOH having a very serious conversation recently which they both seemed to be enjoying.  That pleased me.

I don't see "L" as often as I would like but single young men live quite a different life to we oldies and he is always busy with his work these days.  Although he studied intensely at university he has actually found his niche in the hospitality industry and, after working in that industry for several years, is now managing an hotel in Nedlands and we hope he will do well.  We also spent time with him at our granddaughter's home on Christmas Day so great to see him twice in the one month.

My younger grandson (J) will be 24 tomorrow and as I've not seen him for close to 11 years I am not even sure I would recognise him if I met him unexpectedly in the street as in the only photo I have of him he is about 17.  They can change quite a lot in 7 years.  This photo I believe was taken with one of his friends at the time of their school graduation celebration in ca 2005. 

He is the son of my own son who on my 70th birthday took it upon himself to divorce himself from all our family (including his own father) so my daughter and her family have not seen or heard from him and nor have I or MOH.

I believe "J" did very well at university and has a good job.  He no longer lives at home but shares accommodation with friends.  I still send him birthday cards but have not heard one word from him so obviously he has been told not to make contact or maybe he just doesn't want to or can't be bothered.  I cannot answer for what he does.

I am fortunate that my daughter-in-law, unbeknown to my son, keeps in touch with me via email about 2 to 3 times a year and through her I am kept somewhat up to date with what their family is doing.  She has sent me photos via email as the children were growing up for which I am most grateful.  It is still not the same as seeing them or even talking to them.

I know there are many disfunctional families out there but we are yet to understand why this situation developed in our own family.  Hopefully before, or even after I am gone, the truth will come out and perhaps there will family togetherness again.  One can only hope that this will finally eventuate.

In the meantime we celebrate "L's" birthday with him and content ourselves by sending "J" a birthday card wishing him all the best and hope it will have some meaning for him.

SEASON'S GREETINGS

May I take this opportunity of wishing those that visit my blog a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a happy, healthy and safe NEW YEAR.

I appreciate the few folk that have stuck with me over the past year.  I love to have you visit and I so enjoy visiting your wonderful blogs as well.

Please keep safe over the festive season and enjoy yourselves with family and friends.

MOH and I travel down to our eldest granddaughter and her hubby's home for Christmas Day tomorrow which I know we will enjoy as we always have a wonderful time each year and now with the addition of our third great-granddaughter it will be even more special.  There should be a dozen of us gathered together and while we enjoy ourselves we will all be thinking of B who will be enjoying her first Christmas Day in Alaska. 

WEATHER STRAIGHT FROM HELL

We had anticipated that we were going to have a hot Christmas in Perth this year but I got the shock of my life when I checked out the BOM site just a few moments ago.  It reads thus:

Monday 24th..34C (93.2F); Tuesday 25th..39C (102.2F); Wednesday26th..38F (100.4F); Thursday 27th..39C (102/2F); Friday 28th..38C (100.4F), Saturday 29th..38C (100.4F); Sunday 30th..37C (98.6F).

All I can say is WOW!!!!  We are going to be the hottest capital city in Australia including Darwin in our far north where Christmas Day is forecast to be only 34C (93.2) and they are used to heat up there.

Our cousins in the eastern states are all going to be sitting down to their Christmas dinners in lovely cool conditons.  They may even get some rain if they are lucky or perhaps that's not so good if you are planning to be out of doors.

I'm now wondering what it will be like at new year.  Obviously the heat from the west will travel across to the eastern states and they should have hot weather by the end of December for their new year.

The other thing that concerns me is what is the temperature going to be on 2nd January which will be my 81st birthday?  My past few birthdays have been very hot so we have stayed home and had a lovely lunch provided by my daughter while sitting in the cool of the airconditioning.  Could we perhaps have a sudden cool change????   They say be careful what you wish for and so I am not wishing for that as, knowing my luck, it could well turn out to be 40C.

The family say I become obsessed with the weather during our summer months and I must admit I do as I really do not thrive on hot weather.  I seldom mention the weather during our winter except perhaps to celebrate if we have much needed rain.  My ideal temperature is about 20C (68F).

I have managed to survive during some very hot summers and I am sure I will do the same this time but gee, snow would be lovely.  : )

 

 Oh, how beautiful that looks!!  Well, one is allowed to dream isn't one???

I MADE A NEW FRIEND TODAY

A friend of my husband, whom he worked with many years ago, always calls in to see us at this time of year usually bringing a gift of a bottle of wine.  He came this afternoon and brought Jim with him for a visit.

Yes, Jim is a beautiful golden retriever (in fact he is Jim #3 as Gerard has owned 3 of them now).  In came Jim and immediately lay down right at my feet.  Apparently he is quite fussy with whom he makes friends so we decided I must give out the right type of pheromones that attract dogs.  Anway, Jim obviously decided I was OK.  I of course began to pat him and stroke his head and every time I stopped I got a nudge from his nose to tell me not to stop doing it.  He is so good that when I said 'No more' he just lay down with his head resting on my bare foot.

We once had a golden retriever.  Emma was 7 when she came to us and we had her till she was 12 when she was so ill she had to be put to sleep.  She too was a beautiful dog and Jim bought back such lovely memories of her.

Gerard is a great bloke and we are always so pleased to have him visit but it was a double bonus today to have Jim along as well.  They stayed for about 90 minutes and I fell in love with this beautiful dog.

We are far too old now to own a large dog as they do need a daily walk.  I can't walk far and although MOH's heart is always in the right place I just know he'd not be able to walk day after day no matter how good his intentions were to begin with.

We are both hoping Gerard will call again, sooner rather than later, and if he brings Jim for another visit they will both be very welcome.

FOOTNOTE:  Gerard will never let us give him anything but last year while visiting us he mentioned that he had to buy some tea-towels (he is a bachelor).  Many years ago I used to collect tea-towels and even exchange them occasionally with penfriends.  I remembered I had a very large pile of brand new tea-towels so I brought them out and chose two that had dogs on them and gave them to Gerard.  This year I did the same thing and two more tea-towels have found a new home.  I have had most of this tea-towel collection for over 25 years now but they are nearly all made of linen and of course are still brand new.  Gerard went off happily clutching the new additions to his kitchen.  It has been great to find something that he wants.

A BIG SHOPPING TRIP (FOR ME ANYWAY)

Yesterday we went shopping as there were some things I couldn't buy online (what a fantastic idea that is for someone like me who can't walk for very long) and although I felt I was a dismal failure MOH said I did very well.

Yes, I had to buy myself a Christmas bear!! I began doing this in 2009 so now I have 4 of them each with their little red hats with the year showing.  I think the family feel I am a little silly but I have always loved teddy bears and when I was quite young and we didn't have much money I was given an old teddy bear when I was 6 by a boy who had 'outgrown' his teddy.  I loved that bear for years.  I have my bears lined up on top of a 4' bookcase at the back of our living room.  I wonder how many I will eventually have?  I am hoping family member will take one each one day as keepsakes.

I found a delightful shop that sells tea and all the things that go with tea making and the most fabulous cups and saucers, teapots etc.  MOH was off claiming refunds from Medicare and HBF so I had time to look at these fabulous things which was fun in itself.  Also had a rest on the seat of my walking frame as I had to wait for MOH to catch up with me.  I love to watch people so was able to indulge myself for a while and these days there are some very interesting people around.  Much more so than when I was young so many to look at and wonder about.

When trying to find a good Fisher Price toy for our youngest great-granddaughter and we were discussing the pros and cons of this toy or that a lovely young woman with a little one in a stroller stopped and said "that one is really good for that age" and then another young woman added her opinion as well and said she agreed.  It was so great that these two young women should bother to take time to help out a couple of oldies with their advice.  Solved our problem and made us realise there still are some really nice people around who care about others.  The chosen toy is terrific.  One of those that makes different noises when you press on its hands or feet and I am sure it will delight our g/gdaughter.  No, it is not the one in this picture but I thought this rather cute too when I saw it but not early as much fun.

We then went to a different shopping centre where we indulged ourselves with a cup of steaming hot coffee and a large lamington WITH CREAM each.

 Afterwards we spent more time finding last minute bits and pieces and I think we are now done but we can't think what to buy each other.  I have already bought MOH a couple of new knit shirts and some t-shirts but can't think of anything else.  I keep suggesting different items but he says "No, I don't need that" so perhaps just keep loving each other a lot which at our age is so very important.

All in all I am proud of myself in being able to keep on my feet (with frequent sit downs) for so long.  Oh, I do miss the days when I would delight in window shopping and just going for walks for the sake of walking but at least I'm still here to have a grizzle about it and I did manage yesterday and not too stiff today which is a bonus.

OH NO!!! NOT ANOTHER HOT CHRISTMAS DAY

Just checked the long range forecast and wish I hadn't done so!!!!  Christmas day (they say) will be 38C (100.4F) and here was me hoping for a cool day.  The temperatures have been going up and down in Perth of late and I had my fingers crossed they would go down next week but, because my hands aren't very supple these days, perhaps I didn't cross the poor old fingers hard enough.

I am fortunate in many ways though.  The family now consider me old so they don't burden me with having to do too much but perhaps provide plates, napkins etc. which I am always pleased to do and I will make any salads or similar that they need.  I wonder if they'll need Christmas crackers?  Must ask them about that.

It is one sure thing though, that we will all enjoy ourselves as the past few Christmases have been truly wonderful and now with an extra great-granddaughter to share it with, it will be truly special.  We will of course miss our #3 granddaughter who will be celebrating in the snow in Alaska but she will be with us in spirit as I am sure we will all be in her thoughts.

There are still a few gifts to be brought and cards to send....boy am I running late this year but I am still trying to boost my Christmas spirit and finding it hard to do so.  I have no idea why this is.  My age perhaps?  The difficulty of moving easily and getting things done?  Does anyone have an answer?

Never mind though....I truly am looking forward to spending Christmas Day with my dear MOH and our lovely family regardless of what the weatherman throws at us.....although I WOULD prefer rain.

WOW! FOR ME THAT WAS A BUSY WEEK

As I quite often don't go out for a week or even longer (except to our exercise group on Wednesday mornings) this past week was quite exhausting, albeit interesting.

MONDAY:  Man from Cockburn Care came to do our front lawns.  Didn't really mean I was involved but was glad to take some of the burden off MOH's shoulders.

In the afternoon I had an appointment with my physio.  Explained I was having lots of pain at the sides/back of my rib cage.  She found the problem and boy was it just a tad painful.  Seems when my lower back is bad I tend to lean forward which puts pressure on the muscles between my ribs.  Of course I didn't know I had muscles there but apparently we all do.  After about 25 minutes of work the relief was tremendous and has lasted all week.

TUESDAY:  I had an 11.00 appointment with a nurse at Silver Chain and they have moved from North Lake Road (about 5-7 mins drive from our place) to a new posh building in the backblocks of Jandakot.  We have stupidly not updated our street directory (they are not as easy to buy as they once were) and the mud map sent was anything but helpful.  I googled the address and was able to work out which way to go but......when I said to MOH "I think we could have gone right there" he of course turned right there.  It was not an alternative route at all and a road that went on for quite a few kilometres till the next main road.  Not having an up-to-date street directory meant we had no alternative but to retrace our 'steps' and continue on the road I'd meant us to be on in the first place.  The worse of it was the number of huge trucks on the same roads.  It is a very new area so there is loads of building going on.  Fortunately we were only 5 minutes late but we had the same 30 minute drive to get back home again.

WEDNESDAY:  Exercise group at 9.30 a.m. and we had a great time as it was also the break up party for the year so champagne (or champagne and orange in my case) plus mince pies, Christmas cake, strawberries and other little chocolate delights.  We resume on 9th January and I am determined to exercise at home from now one. I promise myself I will.

11.30am  Our lovely hairdresser arrived to cut both my hair and MOH's hair.  For many years we went to her home but they have sold up and she has decided from now on she will go to her clients rather than them come to her (at least until she knows where they will be living in the future.  They are now in a large caravan in her mum's back garden.)

2.30pm  Appointment with my gastroenterologist as some blood tests I had done recently showed I am low in iron with the 'ferritin' being really low.  My GP is concerned there is internal bleeding so am booked for a colonoscopy and endoscopy in March next year.  I guess it best to be sure than sorry but quite honestly I feel it is all to do with the diabetes and other problems that may be causing the low iron.

THURSDAY:  "A FREE DAY" I thought but then realised we really should do some Christmas shopping so off we went to Big W (using my trusty walking frame) and managed to find a few things we wanted and followed it up by an enjoyable afternoon at our favourite cafe.

FRIDAY:  The second Friday of each month MOH goes to a nearby library to meet with half a dozen people who are interested in poetry.  They call themselves The Dead Poet's Society (perhaps you guessed that one) and as this was their last meeting for the year they were asked to bring partners.  We all took platters of different foods and after selected poems were read out and discussed we chatted about different things and then enjoyed some nibbles and a non-alcoholic wine (Edenvale Sparkling Cuvee which was quite pleasant although I've read bad reviews about their still non-alcoholic wines).  All in all we spent a really great 3 hours and I thanked them for having me.  We then went into the library itself and found a few DVDs to take out as the TV programmes themselves are pretty grotty right now.  We don't watch much TV but like to settle down of an evening and watch a couple of shows or a DVD.

SATURDAY:  We both more or less rested to revitalise ourselves after what had been a very busy week; well for us anyway!

SUNDAY:  Off to afternoon tea at our daughter and son-in-law's home to help celebrate the 30th birthday of their son (our grandson).  Once again very pleasant to spend several hours with family.

TODAY:  Final appointment of 2012 with my physio....worked on lower back and she does some wonderful work and I can feel the relief immediately and am now walking more upright.  She is so helpful in keeping me reasonably mobile that we always give her a wee gift at Christmas to say thank you.  She loves a certain blue vein cheese so two packets wrapped up for her today.  She knew immediately what it was as it was cold from being in our fridge and we hope she gets a lot of enjoyment when she eats it.

The above may not seem a lot to people who are active but believe me a few hours out and about and I am ready to relax in my recliner with my feet up.   We still have a wee bit of shopping to do before next Tuesday but some has been done online and it's so easy to go the post office to pick up the parcels.

REMINISCING...THE DAY I NEARLY BURNT THE HOUSE DOWN

I was thinking today of various incidents that happened over the years and this one came to mind for some reason.  In 1968 MOH worked for WA Rope & Twine in Mosman Park as paymaster, shipping clerk etc. etc.  and the house next door to the factory became vacant and it was offered to us with the proviso that MOH open the gates to the factory each morning and secure them in the afternoon.  The rent would be $6/week.

We accepted the offer as previously we had been renting a house in Claremont at $20 per week and MOH's salary when we first moved in there was only $50/week at that time so things moneywise were a wee bit tight.  I had then had to return to the workforce but we were still not that well off financially with two children to bring up and care for.

This house in Mosman Park was a very nice weatherboard house with large rooms and a front verandah right across the house.  It was quite basic but comfortable once we had cleared the cockroaches out of the laundry where they had apparently been breeding in the base of the copper (that was what you heated the water in to do your washing back then).  Also the bath was not much chop as the Italian man who had lived there previously had used it to crunch his grapes to make wine so the paintwork had suffered somewhat. We all preferred showers anyway so that was no real problem and at least it was clean.  The toilet was in the back garden but this didn't really present a problem either as there was at least an outside light.

After several weeks of getting it all cleaned up we all really enjoyed living in this house as it was only a few hundred metres from the ocean so we were assured of a wonderful sea breeze on hot days and it was quiet as there were only a couple of other houses in the street.   This changed somewhat after a couple of years when a truck transporter firm took up resident a couple of hundred metres up the road but apart from when they decided to load up cars in the middle of the night they were really no problem.

As MOH now worked next door to where we were living and I worked in an office in Cottesloe (the next suburb) he would quite often pick me up at lunchtime and we would go home so we could perhaps prepare things for dinner that night and other little chores that needed doing.  One day I decided I would pop on a large piece if corned beef to simmer which would be ready for dinner.  I don't like pressure cookers and of course there were no microwaves in 1968.  MOH drove me back to my office and that was that...except it wasn't.

A couple of hours later one of the workers from the factory ran into the front office and said to MOH "There's smoke coming out of the window at the side of your house".  With this MOH hotfooted it to the house and there on the stove was an incinerated piece of corned beef and a saucepan glowing red!!  I had obviously forgotten to put the stove on simmer before returning to work and needless to say we did not have corned beef for dinner that night nor did I ever again decide to cook corned beef or anything else while I was absent from the house.

I know how devastating it was for mum and dad to return to their farmhouse after camping out overnight elsewhere on the farm to find their house burnt to the ground with all their precious possessions gone forever.  I have always had a fear of fire and this incident made me realise how easily mistakes can be made when all could be lost.  I have always been so grateful to the chap that noticed the smoke in time to raise the alarm.  I was also glad we had left the window open so the smoke could be seen or the result could have been far worse than it was....just one ruined saucepan.

FOOTNOTE:  The Rope Works is long gone along with adjoining properties and in their place is a beautiful retirement village.  Strangely enough, in exactly the same place that the weatherboard house stood, is where Mr Burton, my boss from the Cottesloe office, now lives in that retirement village. Tis a small world.

IT REALLY IS BEGINNING TO FEEL MORE LIKE CHRISTMAS

Until yesterday I had no significant feeling of Christmas approaching at all.  MOH and I talked about it last week and wondered why this is so.  He was of course born in England so the weather is all wrong for him but I was born in this State nearly 81 years ago so should the weather make a difference to me?  Unfortunately it does as I really dislike summer and hot weather and we've had a few hot days recently which reminds me of what the next few months will be like weatherwise and I go sort of numb just thinking about it.

Yesterday I received wish lists for our three great-granddaughters so I got online and ordered several gifts and today I printed out letters to various friends to go with their Christmas cards.  I have now written out 4 cards but have many more to do over the next week.  I know I am going to be late with those to the UK and the US but quite a few friends and rellies will receive Jacquie Lawson e-cards which are very beautiful and I know people love to receive them.  If someone can accept an email then they now rarely get a card by snail mail unless they are very, very, very special.

One reason I send the e-cards these days is because I have real trouble writing for more than a few minutes because of my poor old hands....arthritis.  I am sure MOH would help me but he's sort of not into that sort of thing so I refrain from worrying him about it.   He's a great reader but not a great writer.  I do make him write the cards to a special friend of his and that always takes him about a week to do.

All this is getting me just a wee bit more into the Christmas spirit but only just.  When I asked myself again why I realised that one answer is the restrictions we now have on our diet and how we also have to watch our weight which wasn't a problem years ago.  We used to begin to eat mince pies quite early in December and now we don't.  We'd often have a Christmas cake which would be gone before Christmas Day but now we don't.  We would look forward to all the good things we could eat over Christmas but now we don't (well, perhaps just a bit).  We do enjoy our Christmas dinner but now make sure we don't have all those left-overs that once we ate afterwards right through to New Year....pudding, custard, cream etc.  Are we really that good? Well, most of the time we are.

That does sound terribly grim doesn't it?  I shouldn't 'talk' like that because we should be so thankful we life in such a wonderful city in such a wonderful country where we are free to come and go as we please and say what we think (within reason) and most of us have roofs over our heads and 3 meals a day.  I think to be thankful for these things alone perhaps makes me feel good more than just the thought of Christmas approaching.

I know I am looking forward to sharing Christmas with my family as I don't see enough of them during the year as they are all so very busy and we will eat things we shouldn't but we will not feel guilty doing so because after all it will be Christmas day when we celebrate the birth of a man who I feel lived a very good unselfish life.  I am not religious so that side of the celebration is not there for me but as my mum used to say "If everyone lived their life in the same way that Jesus did then the world would be a much better place".  She was not very religious either but she did a lot of good for other people in her social work so let's celebrate the birth and life of a wonderful man born all those centuries ago and look forward to doing so on Christmas Day.

FAMILY MEMBER #9....MOH

Yes I would count my other half as family member #9 as he came along after my two children.  I have spoken about what a great other half he is and how wonderfully well he cares for me and I know at times I must be a darned nuisance but he never complains.  He has his faults of course but they are so minor I have no reason to criticize him at all.

He was born in a small village near Coventry in 1929, went to the local village school and then attended the technical school in Coventry.  There was a dreadful shortage of teachers during the war years in England but he got quite a good education.  It was unfortunate his parents were unable to afford to send him to a grammar school but those are the breaks in life.

As a child he lived through the dreadful blitz on Coventry.  The family cottage was only 5 miles outside the town and although damage was done in close proximity to their home they escaped unscathed.  MOH remembers going the next day with his mother and father into the devastated city to seek out family members all of whom thankfully escaped injury.

He had several good jobs in Coventry, and also spent two years in the British Army (national service) most of which time was spent in Germany with the occupation forces after the war.  He had many and varied experiences in that country, not all of which were very pleasant, and he saw saw so much sadness during his time there.

MOH married in 1954 and he and his then wife emigrated to Australia in 1960.  They lived in Adelaide, South Australia for the first two years but neither enjoyed life there so it was decided to move to Perth.  They had spent the day here when their ship docked on the way east and both had liked what they saw here.

Unfortunately their marriage was rather rocky and his first wife decided she no longer wished to be married so they separated and divorced several months later.  They had no children.

I met him shortly after that happened when he became a casual friend of the family.  It was after I had left my first husband that MOH and I began to see each other and realised we had a lot in common and finally we married.  My children got on with him quite well and he was a very good stepfather to them for which I was very thankful.

Not long after we first married he confided in me that he had always wanted to further his education but his first wife had not encouraged him to do so at all.  I knew he had an enquiring mind and a fantastic memory for anything he had read or heard,  and decided if that was what he wanted to do then do it he should.  He sat for the adult matriculation examination and scored high enough marks to be admitted as a part-time student at our leading university....the University of Western Australia.

How we handled both of us working full-time, looking after two part-grown children and his attending university I will never know but we did it and he eventually received his degree with a double major in psychology.  I felt very proud of him and was so glad I'd encouraged him to take this big step in his life.  It didn't increase his career chances (he was a little old by then, being in his late 40s) but it was the fact that he had done it that really mattered to both of us.

We've had our ups and down over the past 46 of so years and we've never been rich at all (in fact the exact opposite at times) but we've nearly always been there for each other and these days I know I would have trouble existing without him.  This has definitely proved in my case that the second time around is certainly the best.

OUR LITTLE CAR HAS BEEN MENDED

Yesterday our dear little car came back from the car hospital.  It had been unkindly rear-ended by an elderly man who I doubt should still be driving.  We were stationery at a GIVE WAY sign and waiting to give way to 3 cars on our right (as you do in Australia) when BANG!  Pushed our poor little car forward a few feet and of course she stalled.

I had an appointment in 10 minutes time so I wasted no time at all in getting out and asking the driver of the other car what he on earth he thought he was going.  He said he didn't see any cars coming and thought the way was clear.  You can see why I feel he should perhaps not be holding a driving licence any more.

It took me several precious minutes to finally demand that he give me his name and address with him all the time said 'there is no damage' when there WAS visible damage.  Turned out (his son-in-law told me) this man had a huge excess on his comprehensive car insurance so no wonder he was reluctant to give me any of his details. This did not surprise me as he said he'd had a couple of other 'bumps' when I pointed out damage to the front of his vehicle.

The long and the short of it was we lodged our claim, found out all details of the other vehicle and the driver, got a quote from a very reliable repairer near our home, took the car to the GIO assessment centre who accepted the quote we'd received and advised the work could go ahead.  The other driver lodged his claim so we will have no costs whatsoever to pay which is a big relief to us of course.

It seems the rear bumper (or what they call a bumper these days) had been pushed into the body of the car so the whole rear (what I call the skirt) had to be replaced and the total cost was around $AUS2,000.00.  You don't need to have much damage done these days for the cost of repairs to be high.

We were without a car for nearly 4 days and one doesn't realise how isolated one feels being car-less.  We have no friends we can call on (most are deceased and others live about 40+km away) and there is only one neighbour we could call on in a pinch in an emergency.  We did a big shop last weekend so had plenty of food (made sure there was enough for Precious too of course) and fortunately no mishaps occurred necessitating transport.

MOH was picked up yesterday afternoon to collect our car and while there they did a minor job on the front of the car at no cost; that's how great this particular repair place is.  When he got back home MOH called me out to look at the car and although it is now over 8 years old it had the look of an almost new car.  They had not only repaired it well but had cleaned the car inside and out.  I can't praise them enough.

This is almost certainly the last car we will ever own so we have to look after her very well.  It is a comfortable little car and one I can get in and out of very easily and you sit high enough to have a wonderful all round view which is also important when driving these days.

Fortunately neither of us were the worse for wear following this minor crash for which we are thankful, so all's well that ends well and we have our little friend once again sitting in the carport.