Weekend

It was our weekend for going to Mount Martha, and a very good weekend it was too.

Usually, we go down late-ish on Saturday afternoon and come back after lunch on Sunday.  This weekend we had to leave mid-morning.  Plus we had to make the unit visitor ready before leaving.  You may remember me saying that it is up for sale and that it was  agreed that we would make the place available for inspections and open days.  We looked at a couple of places when we were rental hunting where the tenants had gone out but had left their washing on the line, the dishes on the drainer, other things lying around.  It just didn't seem right to me, so we made sure that everything was put away and that the place was ship-shape!

Then we went to Mount Martha, where also was Wendy.  We were all going to a jazz concert in the afternoon.  The composer of the music was also the pianist - and is Stella and Tony's GP.  I have long thought that he is a good GP. Turns out that he is also an extremely accomplished musician!  It was all quite traditional jazz but we all thoroughly enjoyed it.  The first half was fairly quiet; easy listening, a bit of swing, a bit of big band - except that it was played by a quartet rather than a big band.  The second half was altogether livelier, more blues than swing.  An excellent afternoon.

Wendy stayed for dinner and then went back to her place.  Jim and I stayed overnight.

Sunday was Palm Sunday and Tony went to church.  Stella and I hit the shops.  Jim stayed at home.  Then we all headed to the Dava for lunch.  Jim had the Senior's roast of the day (smaller plate of food, plus a dessert).  Tony had the Senior's fish and chips.  Stella had duck cigars. I had a not Senior's roast of the day.  I probably should have had the Senior's deal.  I struggled to eat all my plate of roasted yumminess and completely failed to eat Tony's dessert (I didn't steal it - he didn't want it!)

Jim and I came back via Tully's and had a tin of rather nice split pea soup from there with bread and cheese for supper.  The tin of split pea soup was, indeed, rather nice but it was also rather expensive.  I have reminded myself that I am more than capable of making rather nice split pea soup at a fraction of the cost.  I must look into getting some split peas. I do have some dried soup mix which has peas in it.  I made a batch for our lunches yesterday.

Lindsey and Ian had to leave Hill House rather earlier than is their habit on Monday so Jim went up mid-morning to check on the dogs.  He and I both went up early afternoon and stayed there.  The dogs were quite pleased to see me! I am down in Melbourne now, having been at work today.  Jim is at his place of work - in Mount Helen looking after the dogs, the garden and the house.

I am trying to get my head around a budget where money comes in fortnightly and monthly, the rent goes out fortnightly, other things go out monthly but yet more things are billed every two months or even quarterly.  I have spent 20 years with each bill going out on the same date every month. It's hard trying to work out what money needs to be in the Bill Paying account when it all seems a bit random to me. I expect I'll get used to it.  I'll have to!