I have been working on another site of late but spending very little money too!
One of my hobbies is reading recipes that posted years ago, so as I have joined the Local History group, I was given a link to our National Library Australia digital archives

trove where they have posted most of our old newspapers and the Australian Women’s Weekly until under copyright periods. So anyone can read these online now.

I have been having fun reading and these old newspapers and Australian Women’s Weekly what I did is studying just one year and period that I am interest in. Copying and correcting recipes as I read them and other information as I found them.

With the newspapers I have been looking out for information for my local history group too!
It’s interesting to see how people lived and worked and died over this period, as I am reading World War Two year as I am interested in how to save money and cooking and rationing during that period.

NLA Trove

Our city hall has been closed for restorations for past few years, and now is open to the public again. Today I joined my ex-work friends in going to the cheaper restaurant they have there, it's was known as Red Cross tea rooms but a company has been allow to put a coffee shop rest rooms there. It's been laid out just like the old Red Cross tea room without the clock rooms. We had our lunch there today, the menu is limited but eatable, I had feta and spinach quiche and salad plus a mug of coffee. This set me back $14.00 so it's not cheap by any means. Some of the others tried toast sandwiches or scones and cheese cake. Next time if we go again, I will have a chicken salad I eat a lot of toasted sandwiches or soup for lunch over winter so I don't wish pay for something I can make myself. Later we went to look at the other tea rooms that have been put into the city hall, "Shingle Inn" this is a 1920s style one that was pull down to make way for a new shopping centre and was to be put back in the same spot when finish's but never was so the council said they would allow room for it to go into city hall when it reopened and they kept their word on that one. It's so popular that you have to book in 24 hours ahead to go there just for morning tea or afternoon tea. This tea room is the same period as the city hall and all the old fittings have come out of moth balls only thing that not the same is the staff uniforms as old one were not up to safety standards of today. So they have changed them to old fashion 1920s black servant uniforms instead. The original one was colourful prints and long skirts. We worked next door to this restaurant for many years and saw these girls over the years.

I am having a large problem with small ants here that are coming from the gardens it is costing a lot to keep them under control. Some are coming into the house which I don’t want to happen as last year; I lost number electrical items because of ant nests in them. I did put ant bait down but they just go higher around outside the house. I paid few hundred dollars to have them removed last year and it didn’t work for very long just enough so that the painter could paint the outside the house then wet weather came and their came back. I am due for a termite check soon but the meantime I will keep up with my surface spraying that does kill for a short time but they go higher

Got a letter in the mail last week to say that my health cover has gone up by $210 for 2013 to be added to next year’s bill this is due this December. Then this week we were told that our electricity bills will be going up by 21% per year around $253 on $1205 bill. I am lucky that I put in solar panels and solar hot water a few years ago now! I don’t think my bill will that high but high enough that I will add 21% to my annual total as I have allowed about $100 to $140 per quarter I will allow about extra $30 per quarter so that’s extra $330 added to my budget from July on when these price rises take place. This is on top of my insurance price rise of around $400 last month. Next will be my chiro next one to go up that’s next month price rise.

Weather is bad here again; our ground is soaked from the January’s rain depression so it won’t take much to start flooding here.
More rain, flooding, high seas and 100km winds in NSW this weekend and we waiting for another rain depression for our area with about 300mm worth of rain.

Do you get bored with saving money all the time and feel you need to break the mould sometimes. Well I do as have been on this quest for more years than I can remember now!

When I was a pre-teen my pocket money was two shillings per week, (24 pennies) now days that’s amount would be 20 cents. Value today I have no idea about $2.00. My way of thinking was if an item cost more than 1/11 or 23 pennies, I couldn’t afford it. When I got my first pay from my first job things got a little better, after paid my board and fares I had about 10 shillings ($1.00) per week to spend. Wages were about 1 pound and 18 shillings ($3.80) in those early months, this was 1960.

I am retired now and on age pension but my thought patterns are the same almost. Today I save money then I can go do what I like for one day every so often, given certain amount to spend and place to spend to go spend that money or some of it!

Sometimes it’s a school fete or op shop or trash or craft market often times it may be shopping centre if in need of some new clothes or appliance. I do set amount that I can spend on these days, most times I never go over it. I never have many of these days about four per year. I had about three last year; one while I was in Sydney and I bought some kitchen items and had the goods posted home.

I call these days ‘Free Spending Spree Days’ and was shopping in Aldi on one of these days last Christmas said to another customer that I was free to buy what I would like today if I wanted too! Would I like to buy her children, both were in the shopping cart? I just smiled and wished her a Merry Christmas and walked on I think she was having a bad day. I only spent about $100 that day as I was buying Christmas gifts too!

Manage to get to the city early enough to get all my bill paying done before my first appointment today.

Paid the insurances and my credit cards off in full yet again, lucky there was enough money in my account to pay them. That’s withdrawal of $ 2700 today alone.

Had lunch in city of grill fish and salad, the salad wasn’t as nice as it could have been Avocado and Chicken Salad so next time will stick to a Greek Salad and the Grilled Fish $7.95 plus a Frozen Chilled Fanta $1.00 and Ice cream cone 50c all up the food $9.45.

As the Chiro is paid for this time but will need to outlay next 12 visits with the next visit somewhere around $600 I should think. But do get rebates of $19.40 for each one not much but it helps. My podiatrist cost $38.50 after rebate today.

In all it was expensive day.

Finally I can pay my insurance bills that I was worried about! I spoke about them in these posts.
Tomorrow I will going to the city, can pay up all these and no long worry about them then start saving again after I pay the last two next month.

Starting over with budgeting and saving again!

Review of my spending plan for Bills!

One quote that I set my upper limit at was $650 higher than the final bill. Some households can't just afford to pay insurance on their houses, and after the last flood last week, it may only get higher again next year.

Well my house and contents insurance bill came in $349 above last year about 29% rise. I do have a very low risk of ever flooding here as I am the same height as the hospital helicopter port which is about six stories high on top of the hospital.

My car insurance which is due only 2 weeks earlier has a rise $43 about 9% up on last year. Value has gone down through. But as I get discount by having them all with one company and a senior discount on top this, so I will stay with insurance for another year and review again next year.

As for other bills I will paying my dental bill that I put on my credit card last month and advance payment on the IP bill as I need to make sure that all my bills are paid before the 14 February as I may not be available to pay any after that date and tomorrow is my last day in the city before then. All I need to do now is make sure there is enough money in the bank to pay all these.

I will do a final review of this Bill Challenge in another post. Then will set a new challenge for the balance of the year.

Everything has to go on hold from February 14 as I will not know what I will be doing for a few weeks even I may not be able to come online either. Nothing to worry about either just civil duty service work that I am not too old to do!

Three out of the last four days have been no spending days, I did go up the street to the shopping area today and into the one shop but never bought anything at all just checked prices so that I can buy my diabetic lancets at the best price which I will need by next pay day. These are only thing that I have to buy at full price as I got the Diabetic Blood Glucose Meter for free after cash back deal and test strips via National Health Scheme for around $1.70 instead of about $16.00. I am will have to pay about $18.69 (this is $2.00 RRP now) or below that for the box 100 lancets. I have a number of discount chemists around this area so will be checking out them all their prices before I buy them.

Vandals smashed the bus stop glass panels this morning what a mess, glass everywhere. I don’t like this sort of thing at any time. Its school holidays here so the teenagers are bored.

Tomorrow I go to the dentist so it will be a spending day again.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and seasonal holidays where ever you live!

I went to a five star hotel for Christmas lunch this year. It was a nice smorgasbord kind of thing about 200 people for lunch. There were eight of us in our own group seven were relations and one family friend. We had turkey, ham, chicken, all hot plus baked vegetables and lot of salads, prawns and large oysters just to name a few things you could eat. There were lots of little cakes and mini plum puddings and custard along with Christmas candy. Drinks were what you paid for when bought your ticket months ago. At our table there six were non -drinkers as we had two children. Drinks were non- stop for over two hours all house wine and beers and non- drinkers we had diet coke and lemonade or other drinks. At the end we had coffee for those who wanted it! Children under 12 got a gift from Santa and if under seven they meal was free too!

I am now looking forward to watching TV on New Year eve. Two of my favourite shows will be on then. Both are English reply plays Edinburgh Tattoo and Night at Proms –Vienna that are show on New Year Eve here.

As for being offline, I was downloading some ebooks and my anti-virus failed twice and I got a page saying that I use up all my Gigabits for the month. As I only have a small amount I still didn’t think I should have used that much as I have never use it in the past year when I was paying for higher amount. So I went offline for an few days then retried my internet Wi-Fi and found I still had over 2G left so will go easy on downloads until next middle of month.

I had a spending spree of sorts today I had to order some new glasses at certain shopping centre as my optical store closed down and the staff move elsewhere. I paid for them via cash and medical benefit refund they cost $179, I will pick them up in the New Year as I am in no hurry for them. I get a new pair each year so I have enough pairs around the house. I handed in 5 old pairs of glasses so they can be recycled for those who can’t afford them in poorer counties. It’s a system that optical store do here.

While I was out I posted a Christmas parcel then did my grocery shopping for the things that were on special that I wanted for December. After having Subway sub and coffee I went to find some Christmas ideas and presents for last few on my list. I got a comfort and toiletries gift for one person which I thought I was paying full price for but it was on special as was the other gift that I bought for the other person which was grocery hamper and both of them had 20% off, I was happy about that!

Also I bought tins of biscuits and candy for other gifts as shocking fillers or extra gifts.

I had a very long walk today so my exercise of walking took hours today. Medical research is now telling us ‘we are sitting too long now these days and this not good for our health’. Well I walked and stood for over 5 hours around this shopping centre today. I struck at it until I got all on my list finished so I wouldn’t have to go again to the shops as the school children finish up this Friday for their annual summer holidays. No parking or very little park in shopping centres after this date or at least none in the shade at 39 degrees C. I was very tried by the time I got back to car to drive home.

I will only shop locally from now on until they go back to school.

It’s time that I posted, before I do the next month’s Financial Summery.

I have updated my Excel so here are the figures for past month not posted so far.

This for period of 28 days each as I looks like I missed one somewhere. As I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to calendar months so here are the figures that will bring it up to date as its every near the end of next 28 day cycle.

Included is my trip to a wedding which I took earlier in the month.

Reviewing my monthly daily living allowance

These are the categories for this challenge.
Items === Approx. Budget===Spent
Eating out===$35=====$72.75
Groceries===$125=== =$30.35
Non-Food===$15=====$11.00
Clothes ====$35=====$95.75
Grooming===$20=====$175.5
Gas======$25
HH items===$40=====$200.45
Fares== ====$15 ====$310.75
Entrainments== $15 ====$56.47
Garden =====$15
Gifts & Donations ==$35===$173.5
Medical & Diabetes Expenses ===$70.00====$144.75
Misc ======$10==========$8
Personal Allowance =$90 ===$16.89
Note only one amount is a no spend

Budgeted for this period $550 spent $357.64 at home then $800.00 for trip and holiday and wedding came in at $938.52
Total $1350.00 budgeted for month and spending came in at $1296.16 under by $53.84

No spending days 8 of 28 days

Personal allowance covers confectionery, lotto, books, stamps, craft & hobby supplies.
Eating out including meals out with family and friends, we all go Dutch.

As for Medical & Diabetes Expenses - this is the extra out of pockets amounts that came up over this period just on medicine that is not covered be refund claims.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month, it was $150.00

I do keep my bill money separated from this summery. This year I will be budgeting around $650 per period month to cover all my bills and bills for this period it came to $1220.00

My grocery bill came in well under budget for this period.

If any changes to my spending habits will need to come out of my daily living allowance categories of my budget as my bill categories are very tight now. I was very tight in some areas of this daily living allowance over this period but I did work out in the end.

Still need to work on a Grocery category and personal allowance as I got to stop spending money on books, I think this is my biggest downfall most of my personal spending is spent on books.

Strategy - Do remember what you have stored before you go and buy more of the same.
Strategy: - Track your daily spending down to the cent by writing it down daily.

Enjoy your dinner out on last week. I have always average out on spending money over the year so long as I have some money left at the end of that week or pay period. I also keep a float so that I have some money for these kinds of nights out. I have to budget in Christmas dinner this year at Five Star Hotel as my DIL family likes to dine out $189 for one meal. You only live once.
I would not go if it was every year that they did this. I know they can't afford it!

Here is that salad recipe that mention a few posts ago.

Traditional Greek Salad
(Tomato and Feta Salad)

Serves 6
Prep time 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS
2 Lebanese cucumbers
2 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
100g roughly diced Bulgarian style feta or firm feta
1/2 cup pitted Katamata olives
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice and/or Balsamic vinegar (50%-50%)

METHOD
Halve each cucumber lengthways and then slice thickly.
Place in a large bowl with remaining ingredients and toss well to combine.
Season to taste
Serve with Chicken Souvlakia or Keftethes (Greek Rissoles)

Well they would come here in the storm season. Only here for 5 days and we just had the two worse storms for a long time. They are staying a motel near where my niece is working this weekend; my sister came up with her this time. The place where they are staying got damaged and one guest left a baloney door open and the storm and wind damaged the room and everything of theirs too! At least my sister knew how bad our storms can be here and left their's locked. Trees down everywhere and just down the road from them a street flooded and 20 parked cars went under water. Where I live and my sister was at my place when the first storm hit we got very little damage here. This first storm lasted about 30 minutes and moved very quickly over. However the second storm lasted for hours it seemed as I went to bed and it still was raining and lightening flashing 3 hours later when we lost power for a few seconds but enough to stop all the clocks working. I know it just a summer storms but over 33000 lighting strikes between the two storms and the loss of power in some areas.

Severe storm warming in South East Queensland We did go out on Friday and I spent the day and evening with them. My son and his wife meet up with us all at South Bank Night Markets (Friday night and day time on Saturday and Sunday) do go there if you happen to in Brisbane on the weekend at any time and we had dinner there and Greek restaurant the food was great too! With an entertainment voucher of 25% off the table cost it was around $32.00 per head including drinks. I didn't spend any money other than on food for the whole day. We had two entree of cheese and dips for the table plus a main course each, I had Chicken Souvlakia with Tomatoes, Feta and Olives Salad (Greek salad I will post recipe) and the others had Moussaka and Green Greek Salad or a non -Greek dish. My niece just loves these craft markets and does make a bee line for them when she comes here to lecture on the weekends every so often they are fly in fly out trips as she lives interstate over 5 hours away from here in the country South Australia. Spending for the day $39.00 all up including lunch which was Thai Vegetable Curry with Brown Rice. Some three more storm cells have arrived today so far but were light here but much heavier on the north side up the coast a little. I will post now as I need to close my computer down each time a storm cell comes over and I have loss my Wi-Fi a number times today.

At 6.38am EST I may see a particle eclipse here I have to go around the corner but I may view it by

Slooh and listen to it on the Radio 612 at the same time.

Let you know how I go.

Updates I have found where sun is here as it's blocked out by Apartments across the road.
The Sun is now coming into my computer room that I have my sunglasses on now.

I had a look on the website link plus the local TV channel that was viewing from Palm Cove
Aussie Solar Eclipse while listening to the radio and seeing the sun outside which was to bright to view.

Well I paid my next progress payment of $1500 to painter today. I did have a bit of the run around to get the money. I went to one shopping centre to make a withdrawal but that branch closed last month so had to drive to another branch to get the money. It goes to say that I don’t withdraw money out that often via a teller. Will need to make the final payment with a bank cheque as I don’t like having large amounts of money around the place. This will prove that I did pay him if it ever came to that.

The job is looking good and very clean should take another week and a bit to do. He is on the final side but for 10 foot area near the stairs. I will need to get new awnings which will be an extra cost, the one I do have are too old and unrepairable to make them look good. They are on the sunniest side of the house. If I sold the house I would need to replace ASAP and area where they are would be not painted this time too! At 60 years old they are ready to go. I have someone calling Monday about them and will get a quote.

The painter has been here a week now! One side of the house is done plus the garage so far. I only have paid him a minimum deposit. I will pay progress payments up to half of the full amount and balance on completion. Work done so far is very professional so no worry about stranded of the work.

I have bought a new camera which I hope to use in the near future at a friend’s wedding. As for clothes I will borrow an outfit from a friend, who has more formal outfits than I have, we are almost the same size. My last one I bought was for my son’s wedding eleven years ago.

I am still reading my way through my list of new novels about two per week. So not spending so much time on my computer as before, I think I was over doing it at times.

I finally found a house painter and he is starting work today. So I hope I will get a good job from him. There was a large different between quotes that I got so I took the middle one as it what I thought the job was worth and I could afford to pay. One quote was so high that $12000 plus more than the one I went with. All had the same work to do. When this is finished I will save up for a new kitchen next.

Well I have been reading again, and buying more books! Some are second hand but most are new.

There is a new book of Sara Douglass of short stories The Hall of Lost Footsteps, this will complete the my collection of books that I would read of hers as the other ones are lecture books that are out of my league.

I am into World War cookbooks and found three more that I do not have and can’t get online nor in any library here so have bought them on online. I did get some historical novels eBooks to read online for free so that does save a few dollars. Unless I get them for FREE now I will not be buying any more for a while.

Strategy - If you will use it and cheap enough then have a treat now and then!

I have been missing from blogging in the past 10 days. Is it that long ago! Read novels again!

Found a new author Anne Gracie, I like her style. A Wife by Mistake -Regency romance.

Trying to do some catch up I don’t even think I posted last month summery which I will need to do this week.

Last weekend outcome, Saturday it was raining here but I still went out as it was compulsory voting, at the polling booths the church had a street stall selling odd & ends and sausage sizzler, one sausage & onions on piece of white bread and sauce $2.00 each, I didn’t fall for that one I had eaten but I did buy a large brown handbag that has never been used $10.00.

Then we went down by car to the large fruit shop, my friend bought heaps of stuff. I bought bucket of mandarins, zucchinis, pineapple, pumpkin, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and fennel $12.45 all up then I got 10 chicken schnitzels for $10.00 at the butchers. Cost all up $22.45.


Large Brown Handbag

Come Sunday I had a problem with diabetic glucose machine that my diabetic educator lent me! I had to walk to the chemist to ask about that. New battery was needed so that cost $3.45 more about this in another post.

I did do the Washing before I went for my walk then came home to hang it out and do any hand washing. After morning tea I went the school fete as it had stopped raining. Normally they have Trash & Treasure in the school hall but as this was used for a polling booth the day before they went back to the old area before the new school hall was build. Having found the Trash & Treasure and second hand books area, I looked at these to spend my allotted money. I didn’t find anything interesting but saw most of the stuff I had donated was still for sale. So I may had made the right choice of donating it as it would never sold in any garage sale and I had three over time trying too! I had better luck at the bookstall I did find some cookbooks and two novels that I may read in the future.


$9.00 this lot of books

All up spent $44.90 Value of finds about $165

On Saturday we are voting for our city council Mayor and councillors, it compulsory voting here. You will get a fine if you don’t. Then I have to take my friend shopping afterwards. I hope not to spend too much on Fruit & Vegetables plus meat. ($25.00 or more)

On Sunday it’s the local school fete which donated a car load of stuff too, a few weeks back. I don’t plan on buying much but will go and see there are any books that I may be interested in. Last year I got a lot of Earth Garden magazines there. I have allotted $15.00 for the day to spend there.

Strategy - Do remember what you have stored before you go and buy more of the same.

More time reading and spending less time on the computer.

I am back to reading novels so I have read more books and three of those were a Sara Douglas trilogies of which I have read 11 books of hers so far this year and still 8 more novels to go of hers.

Along with that I have read a number of other novels as I am having a month off reading Sara Douglas and reading lighter novels that I own but never read or it’s so long since I did so.

Some of the books that I have read in the past weeks were light Regency novels and short stories.

Some Barbara Cartland novels of the Regency period
Other novels

An Infamous Army and The Spanish Bride both by Georgette Heyer.

The Happy Prisoner by Monica Dickens

Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn from the Tales of the Orori Trilogy (Fuedal Japan)

My favourite one was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows (You can buy this one online)
written in form of letters (1946)

I have had a No spending day yesterday, but I still went out.

My brand new Laser eReader didn’t work as it should so I had to return it, after 30 minutes fiddling with it, in the end I ask if they still store display stock one so you can compare between the two, to see what is missing off my one. In the end they replaced it and got the new one working for me. So now I need to find how to keep it going and start when it’s not connected to the power point. No wonder I don’t like any new technology it still gives me the creeps at times.

There are over 200 free ebooks loaded on it. But learning to read more than one page is the problem and then the screen will go blank and need to put the changer again to restart. I changed it for 15 hours so it should work. Trouble-shooter FAQ say if it does this the battery is flat and need to be recharged again. It’s a problem I will have to work in next few weeks before I start to download any more ebooks on to it.

Today I had to go to the city again, which is want I didn’t what to do this week!

Well I must sense some things when I wrote “Today I went to the city again for my annual eye test and new glasses. This pair will cost some money around $185 extra as I am getting the works done on it.
Bifocals, transitions lens etc. as well a new frame. I should have them by end of the month if I am lucky, as last time something went wrong and had to be done again. I have pick out next year’s frame that I like so they put the code on my file.” in

This & That.

On Christmas day I drove my car to my son’s place and felt that I was driving a little to the left for my liking, and the same when I was walk I had to keep myself aware of this but could see why only that I had my new glasses on. I do know that I have extra sensitive eye site and certain part of my glasses can’t be changed. There is nothing wrong the subscription as this hasn’t changed in the last 5 years.

Same with transitions lens, and bifocals, but the degree of centring of the bifocals on the left eye was out by 3 degrees enough to cause the problem like double vision of streets and the ground coming up at you when you walk as I have this before and more than once over many decades I knew what I was. All this was a lesser degree that before so I tried to work with for a while, so last Monday I went for a walk at different time of day, and I could look up at the streets around the places found that I couldn’t see signs 5 metres that I could with the other pair that I own. Oh I could make out want written but in double. I was still walking to the left. In the afternoon I wore the pair that these new were replacing the ones I got in 2007, now I could see 200 metres down the road to the second lot of street lights even being able read the ambulance at the distance. Now I knew that something was wrong with the other part and not to wear then again.

So after a phone call Tuesday and went to the city to see what was wrong with them. I always go the same place as they know how I am a problem with my eyes. Yes the glasses are out 3 degrees on the left lens and would have to replaced I did take a number of old pairs with me. So I have wait for them to be fix. This will be about the eighth time that this has happen, once it was 3 months and three goes at it before I got then the glasses fell off my face at 100km hour on the highway. I often wonder how many car accidents is cause with faulty pair of glasses on the driver. I was lucky that time as I was able to catch them and put them back on before fell the floor of the car. By the way I can’t see past the steering wheel with no glasses on.

Any way I can say, I only bought my local paper for the TV program week. $1.10

I did walk around some stores but didn’t buy anything other than paper not even any food or a drink I just went home for lunch.

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and may it be a good one. Over the past 40 years our national TV channel has broadcast the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo each New Year Eve and my family have watch it most of that time and for the last 20 years I watch alone. So this New Year Eve was no different, I put it on an watch it for 90 minutes nonstop as that station has no advertisements at all! All ABC channels don't any advertisements. After that finished I went to bed to read my latest novel by Sara Douglass and read until midnight when the fireworks went off on the river 6 km away. Before I could see them from my street but now we only can hear them as the all new high rise buildings are blocking our view or the trees if there is a spot that you could see the city. Now the fireworks are lower than before. We are not allowed to have fireworks at home because of the risk of fire and it's the bushfire season. There are illegal fireworks being bought and a few people were injured and

one man was killed this year in Victoria. Now they have bushfires again in that state and a heat wave. I remember having Guy Fawkes nights 5th November as a small child and bonfires that went with them. Now that is no more and the city councils, some state governments and business pay to have large firework displays (Something like 10 million AU dollars went up this year around Australia) on our rivers and harbours, and the Sydney one is televised nationwide, now they think it is now the best in the world. May be come down to Sydney Australia one New Year Eve to find out if it is the best world over 1 million watch it each year. This post marks my 800th entry.

I had a few things to do today, pay one of my credit cards off now in credit. Buy the group’s lotto ticket for Mega Jackpot on Saturday and I got this job for 2012. It would be nice to win something!

I walked past the departments stores and all retail stores with their Boxing Sales on and everything at 20 -70% off their regular price that may be the case with leftover Christmas lines that I do not need anytime in the next ten years. As for clothes I just don’t need any, only a pair of Black flat court shoes with decent soles on them still can’t find any in my size. I did see two styles that were right again not in my size so I walked on to the bank.

So what did venture into the shopping centre yield today something that I would have brought at my local shopping today paper for the TV weekly shows it a lot cheaper and you get more Free to Air channels in it than the Sunday paper. Cost $1.10.

I saw that our transport fares are going up again on Sunday so will be stay with my Go Card that’s for sure as paper ticket one way trip is now $2.00 cheaper to have a Go Card for the same trip. My normal fare will be going up 11 cents I think I can live with that one.

I had lunch with my Ex work colleagues today, we have been meeting up since we all were made redundant over 13 years ago, all of this group are retired.

We had lunch at the casino our $9.00 member’s meal deal of main meal, cake or fruit salad and coffee. I had Fish with Salad, piece of vanilla slice and coffee. No main meal for me tonight.

I spent only $4.00 playing the pokies as I like to play a little each time so to keep my membership card active.

So how much did I spend today, Boxing Day Sales Zero and Lunch Paper and pokies grand total of $14.10 and paid my Credit Card off.

I had to call the roadside assist while out Christmas grocery shopping today.

I opened my door because something was wrong with my foot pedals in the car so I thought. But I had trigged the door lock when got in and didn’t know it. This set off the car alarm which I had forgetting how to stop it. Now I was in a pickle with my DF-M 82 year old with me and all her groceries. Lucky that I had my mobile with me so I could phone roadside assist as I have been member for as long I have had my car licence now!

I ask some other ladies in the car park if they knew how to start the car now that had immobilise it and had on full set the lights across the dashboard and one I had never seen before a car with a key on it. Do you know what that one is? I never knew that my car had a car immobiliser and I had it for the last 5 years. The ladies couldn’t help but had this problem once before and no men were about either to ask. So it a job for road side assist, the lady on the other end couldn’t tell me over the phone how to restart the car as it just wouldn’t start. The service man will have to come out in the next 60 minutes.

Lucky we were in the underground car park and not in full sun. I had to get across to my friend that she couldn’t sit in the close car while we waited, I don’t speak Italian so this took a while in the end she decide get a taxi home instead of waiting with me. As I couldn’t stay with the car as I had to go to the meeting point in the car park. I had to fix up getting that taxi as she past calling for one herself, luckily it came quickly and I was able load most her groceries in the taxi and send her on her way. I sat on the taxi rank seats until I saw the mobile roadside assist car at the traffic lights and was able to direct him to my car.

With all the moving of the groceries and opening the door and locking the doors getting my friend to the taxi the car had reset itself and I didn’t need him after all. It started when I put the key in the lock again like normal. We had a chat about what happen and what does happen with these car immobiliser at times. All I needed to do was push the button on key ring and unlock the car then relock then unlock and drive away. Simple! I was told never to park under Fluorescent lighting in shopping car park or a power transformer in the street as this can them set it off too!
I got home about 15 minutes after my friend and she was still bringing in her groceries and I gave she the tray of mangoes still in my car.

Well I did have a learning lesson after all today of sort. Just uses that button on the key ring it may save money and time in future. My seventy dollars per year membership was worth it. I try to be as stress free as I can.

You can tell I don’t drive it that much!

Strategy - Park your car in a spot that you will get your daily walk done too!

Years ago I went to a pre-garage sale that a church group was clearing out a property for a nursing house inmate. She has died since at 90. The lady was a nursing tutor sister of the white veil and starch uniform kind in 1950's. Sister Bourne was a Miss and kept anything and everything. Under the house were five cardboard containers full of newspaper clipping on cooking, medical, gardening, craft, hint's and tips from late 1960's to 1980's. That they were going to dumper that day so I offered $2.00 for the lot. Five years ago I went thought most of these clippings and dumped what I would never use and filed in order things that I could use. Mostly a lot of magazines pull-out booklets on anything. I had some in my own collection of that time too! So this week I started to tidy some boxes downstairs and found another box that belonged to Sister Bourne so my kitchen looks a mess just now with all these clippings and I did find a recipe for my picked pork file so all was not lost after all. The cheapest meat you can buy per kilo here is Picked Pork at $2.99 kilo. One of my hobbies is to collect recipes using just one common ingredient in all recipes. I have found very few recipes on picked pork so I was happy about that.

I only had a few things to get as I don’t give that many present out now. My family is small and don’t give a large expensive gifts to anyone. I believe in the thought that count side of gift giving, if you can afford to give a lot then do!

I always give to some charity or medical research but only what I can afford. This year I have given to the Salvos and Hospital search team asking for one more doctor for the team in Liver research.

PA Research Foundation Liver Appeal

Liver Appeal brochure PDF

This Christmas the PA Research Foundation needs your help: Dr Elizabeth Powell and her team are addressing the toughest form of chronic liver disease; fibrosis or cirrhosis of the liver - which more often than not results in end stage liver disease where the only treatment option, if available, is a liver transplant. To achieve this urgent research the PA Research Team desperately needs $90,000 to be raised to engage a specialist researcher to support this project.

I think this will be doable!

This research may save lives in the future around the world because there sure aren’t lot of donated livers around.

Want is it with some other charities; I keep getting requests for money with free items in them. I keep the free items because they have my name on them mainly address labels but thanks but no thanks. I don’t give to this kind of charity because they are run by businesses and give a percentage of the earning to the charity whom name they used and it’s quite small amount. Tick this box for a monthly donation of $50, $100 what who can afford this kind of donation when living below the poverty line in their country I sure can’t.

My son finely came to mow my lawn as it was getting too long for me to do it myself! It has been raining since it was time to mow! This will be the last time this year too! He did get to move a few items on the lawn that were in the way but I was just mowing around them the best I could. He also was dismantling the old TV antenna so it could be put into the rubbish tomorrow.

I did prune a few weed trees out before they got too big. We have the problem trees next door.