Dear readers,
I was a little surprised to see that my last blog entry was posted as long ago as November 2020, but not overly surprised. As for many of us in many countries around the world, the rolling lock downs and further self-imposed isolation during the pandemic sapped most of my enthusiasm for doing anything new. Without anything new, what is there to blog about? To some extent though, the mundane of shopping locally, watching TV, and staying safe, gave us comfort during that time, and reflected an oft-quoted line from Stig Johansson's poem Förlusten: "Alla dessa dagar som kom och gick / inte visste jag att det var livet" - see this entry title for a translation.
Anyhow there were some events of note in those 18 months, at least for us. Here are some of those up until early 2022:
Now that we owned a house again, it was time to consider installing solar panels, if only to be able to cut short the numerous cold calls with a clear conscience, and to tell ourselves that at least we were doing something to reverse Australia's poor reputation regarding climate charge. It took some time to choose a company for the installation, with numerous telephone calls and checking of credentials via internet. Like many, we spent ten times more time coming to a decision than we would have taken to buy a dodgy second-hand car for the same price. The work and safety rules seem to be a little lax here, but no-one was hurt in the installation, and it looks like we will be earning real money from the panels in less than four years.
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| I guess they do this every day |
Hubby turned 70 during a partial lock down over a year ago, so we just went with our two kids in Sydney to our favourite local restaurant, rather than have a party with closer contacts and the health risk that that would bring. It was a great day, especially for me who had lobster. Hubby did go down to Melbourne by train, an adventure in itself, a few months later for the 70th of a close friend, and to catch up with several members of his family. Face masks were still the order of the day on public transport, but all went well.
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| Happy 70th! |
Our meals out locally were often take-away on a bench in a park with a view of the ocean. I will never get tired of those views. Even outside, there are guides posted for social distancing, in terms the locals can understand.
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| I think I would want to be at least one adult kangaroo away from another adult kangaroo! |
Our younger daughter jumped onto the property ladder at the end of 2021. She surprised us by making a decision after inspecting just half a dozen apartments in a four-week period. That shames our two-year search that I wrote about in November 2019. Her apartment is really nice with a wide balcony on two sides, and is close to several of the hip(ster) parts of Sydney. She is really enjoying it.
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| A balcony with a view? |
Hubby formally retired in early January 2022, just as another lock down kicked in, which unfortunately prevented him having a farewell party. He still continues with a little professional work, but the new-found freedom also gave him more time to spend on projects at home, for example framing numerous paintings by our elder daughter, friends or me! My preference is for floating or shadow frames, which, despite being fairly simple, are still expensive to buy ready made. That meant a visit to hubby's favourite hardware and purchase of a table saw and dressed timber lengths. Tens of frames later, he has the production down pat, but he should not give up his day job, no wait, he has no day job!
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| I've been framed! |
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| A reluctant sailor |
That pretty much covers my life up until hubby and I flew to Sweden earlier this month, of which more in my next blog entry.
