20 Something Snaps from a Sunday Drive

After staying close to home for months and then being in Covid isolation we filled the tank yesterday and took off for a drive in the country. It was a hot day with the temperature along our way reaching 35 degrees but we were quite comfortable in our airconditioned chariot.

Travelling north-west from home we saw some beautiful landscapes in which pretty clouds figured prominently. NB All these snapshots were taken from a moving car.

We're free

 Although we were able to come out of isolation on Tuesday we decided to extend our time in quarantine "to be sure, to be sure." While I have graciously allowed Robert to invade my quarters upstairs we are keeping our distance for yet another day. The government instructions suggested that for the first days after isolation we should wear masks, we thought it easier to stay apart than mask up.

The good news is that Robert has emerged from his bout of Covid unscathed and I managed to avoid an infection. After his sore throat departed he was well enough to get outside and do some tidying up in the garden. He also spent some considerable time sorting through his stamp collection and he was able to watch the cricket on TV without having my complaints.

Most of these are in the stamp collection (image Pixabay)

While I tried to do a bit of decrapifying in my study and wardrobe I failed but I enjoyed watching the tennis, filling some holes in our family trees and reading until the wee hours. 

While we were isolating Robert got the offer of a few weeks work in a country town in north-western New South Wales. As the job comes with a house I am looking forward to joining him as I have never previously visited the area. 

I'm sure I'll find some cemeteries and museums to visit while Robert has his nose to the grindstone. 

A Few Bangs

Life in isolation - Day 6

Last night I had just settled down in bed to watch Alex De Minaur's match at the Ausopen (with my eBook as backup for ad breaks and change of ends).

It was at an exciting time in the match when I heard a few bangs. Curiosity got the better of me so I grabbed the phone and went out on the deck to see what was doing in the backyard.

 
I'd forgotten that the local Australia Day fireworks were on in the backyard (the weekend closest to the day). They aren't as grand as the Sydney NYE display but the excited reactions from children in neighbouring backyards indicate they were well received.

 
It was a nice surprise to relieve the monotony of isolation.

Back to the Kitchen

Day Three in Isolation. 

Thankful that the patient is comfortable in the guest quarters downstairs and that ,in the absence of his company, I have Australian Open tennis, genealogy and photos to amuse me. 

Downsides are that I miss my breakfast in bed and have to cook our dinners.

No Boat Today

Isolation Day 3

We couldn't take the boat out today because conditions on our usually placid lake are rather turbulent.

Then, of course, as we have a Covid case in the house, we are in isolation for the next few days.

I'm not a guy!!!

My blog stats tell me that some people out there in cyberspace have recently been reading this post of mine from 2013.

I'm reposting because I am still incensed by the over use of this term.

_____________________________________________________

 
Please call me Madam

Although Oxford Dictionaries Online (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/guy) defines Guys as "people of either sex" they define a Guy as "a Man". How contradictory is that?

I am not a Man.

The common usage of the plural "Guys" is another Americanism that has crept into our Australian language over the last ten years and its use annoys me intensely.

Someone close to me, when I objected to her use of guys said "Well, what should I say?"

That depends on the context, there are many alternatives one can use: buddies, chaps, class, colleagues, crew, fellow Australians, fellow ..., friends, gang, girls and boys, ladies and gentlemen, madam, mates, members, mesdames, sir, sirs, staff, students, supporters, team." There are many alternatives.

I am not alone; after commencing this post I turned to my mate Google to see if I could find others who agreed with me. The first article I read, Fight hamburgerisation; dig up some old Aussie lingo
from the Sydney Morning Herald of February 1, 2010 expressed my feelings far more eloquently than I can. 

I give a similar answer to the person quoted in this article when someone asks me where the "Bathroom" is. I go to the bathroom to bathe; in fact many bathrooms in Australia do not even have a toilet.

Would all you guys out there please be a bit more creative with your language and, please, call me Madam.

Definition of guy in English

guy1

Pronunciation: /gʌɪ/

Translate guy | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish

noun

• 1 informal a man:he’s a nice guy
•  (guys) people of either sex:you guys want some coffee?

• 2British a figure representing Guy Fawkes, burnt on a bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night, and often displayed by children begging for money for fireworks.

verb

[with object]

• make fun of; ridicule:she never stopped guying him about his weight

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/guy

It ain't Man Flu

When he woke yesterday morning Robert was exhibiting some of the symptoms of Man Flu; he had a sore throat and runny nose. 

Although he had only been out in the community on a couple of occasions in the previous week he thought he should do the right thing and get a Covid test. We want to hold on to the one precious pack of RATs we have so he took himself off to a local testing centre where the queue and wait was very short.

Robert is fully vaccinated, having had his booster in mid December. We were both fairly sure that the result would come back negative as Robert is quite fastidious about mask wearing, hand hygiene, and social distancing. We rarely stray far from our home and avoid crowds when we have to leave our sanctuary;  we hadn't been near the one other family member who is currently positive in nearly two weeks.

When my eyes were barely open this morning he put his phone under my nose and said "read this". He had a positive result so we both have to stay home and isolate for seven days. 

We put our isolation plan into practice. As a close contact I went off to have the required Covid test while Robert gathered some provisions and clothing and moved into our guest quarters downstairs. The Lake provides us with much fresh air and we have high ceilings so we have opened doors and windows for airflow.

We are fortunate that the isolation area is self-contained with kitchen and bathroom facilities so Robert is able to prepare his own breakfast and lunch. I will deliver his dinner and any other necessaries to the landing halfway down our stairs. Our house design allows us to easily distance and isolate. During this time Facebook Messenger will be our means of communication with each other and family members.

This situation is a bit of a wake up call for me as I am thoroughly spoilt by my husband who serves me breakfast in bed each day, cooks the dinner each evening and it does the lion's share of domestic duties.

As long as his symptoms don't worsen Robert should be able to enjoy his sabbatical away from me and watch his beloved cricket in peace without complaint from me. Sorting out is stamp collection and weeding the garden will provide diversions when he tires of the idiot box.

With the amount of family history, photographs and documents that I have to organise, several books to read and the Australian Open tennis to watch I know that I will be fully occupied during this time.

I'm sure that our seven days in isolation will fly and just pray that Robert keep well and that I escape the virus.

Insufficient postage

Robert is currently tidying his stamp collection that has been sitting unloved in the garage for twenty plus years. In among the jumble he found a treasure he had saved from his working days as Town Clerk at Waverley.

One of the ratepayers had a unique approach to insufficient postage on a letter sent to council.

Pedicure

This appeared in my Facebook memories today. 

Back on this day in 2010 my eldest granddaughter gave me a pedicure.

A Lovely Little Bush and Lakeside Sanctuary

 Although it was named for a chap by the name of Cary, the gazetted name of the place where I live is Carey Bay.

It is still "a lovely little bush and lakeside sanctuary" as described in this article from The Sydney Mail in 1937.

1937 'Glimpses of COUNTRY LIFE', Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), 3 November, p. 2. , viewed 09 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160497488

She's a little beauty

A little earlier this morning Robert called to tell me there was a really cute boat in the backyard and to grab my phone and come take a look. I did just that. 

I was so pleased that I heeded the call as the little boat was indeed quaint and beautiful. All on board appeared to enjoy their drifting and fishing before they revved up the motor and moved on. Their dog seemed to enjoy the experience more than our Paddy enjoys his boat rides.

These are a few images I captured on my phone.

She's a little beauty.

Front row seat

 When I looked out the living room yesterday morning I saw a bright splash of colour in the backyard. There was a young and I think very new sailboarder doing battle with his board, he and his family appeared to be visiting some neighbours a few houses up the lake.

The lake was rather choppy so conditions were challenging for a novice but this lad tried valiantly to get his board moving. 

I managed to grab a video of the boy on one of his short runs. After he had probably exhausted himself a young female took her turn with the board. She experienced similar difficulties to the boy.

I also recorded a few minutes of the young girl in action. 

After several turns on the board the girl swam it back to the shore.

I was most impressed by the tenacity and perseverance of these two youngsters, I hope they enjoyed their time at the lake as much as I enjoyed watching from my front row seat.