Now and again, one feels completely satisfied.

It has been a very satisfactory weekend for me. And it's not over yet, so who knows what surprises may still be in store? Not much I hope; I feel like resting for the remainder of today! Yesterday I got all the washing done, dried and put away. Last night we had dinner out with our friends C. and F. The restaurant was smaller than what I had thought it was going to be, and very busy, with a two piece band who were loud in such a small venue, but as their music was mostly country & western with a bit of Elvis stuff thrown in (Elvis' birthday being the next day) we tolerated it quite well. C. and I being Elvis fans from way back (that's how we met) were delighted, and egged them on, much to the embarrassment of our husbands. And Ken was even more so when I whispered to our waitress that it was our anniversary. She told the musicians, who promptly made an announcement, which had everyone applauding us!


This morning, I got up nice and early before it was anywhere near the predicted 30 deg.C, and climbed up on our roof to clean the spouting/guttering. I usually do this twice a year, as they don't take long to fill up with leaves from all the surrounding trees. The Country Fire Authority provide a number of tips on how to keep your house safe during bushfire season, and one of them is to keep the spouting clear of leaves, as it only takes one ember or spark from a nearby fire, to fall into the spouting and set it alight. So I spent a couple of hours up there, waving to the neighbours (they're used to seeing me up there), scooping and sweeping leaves, and chucking it all over the side onto the garden and paths. Then I took the hose up and hosed the spouting out completely, leaving some water in there as a precaution (another CFA tip).


My next job was to tidy up the mess I'd made on the ground! Elsie the dog is also used to seeing me on the roof, but not Topsy. She sat on the back fence looking very startled at all the action, and when I took the hose up, she vanished! Back down on terra firma, and seeing I was already filthy, I decided that I may as well bath Elsie. Bucket of warm water with doggie shampoo, and dog leash in hand, I grabbed her before she could sprint to the back of the yard. She submitted to the wash, and as soon as I let her go, shook herself all over me and tore around the yard like a mad thing!


So, going out for dinner, cleaning the gutters, bathing the dog, getting the week's washing and ironing done, all made me feel I had achieved a lot. The rest of today will be spent writing letters and perhaps doing some stitching. Oh, and doing some Calligraphy practice!



Poor Ken didn't have a good day at all, until we went out for dinner. On Saturday morning, he dropped his bike and fell underneath it (it is a big one - Honda 750). He had just arrived at his chiropractor's office, and was parking the bike when it happened. The chiropractor and one his patients saw him through the window and rushed out to help. No bones broken, but both body and pride were bruised badly. He couldn't start the bike again because the battery was flat, so he called me at home to ask if I would bring the jumper leads from his car. I grabbed them, hopped in my car and went over to join him. Jumper leads didn't work, because one of the battery cells was no good, so it kept shorting out. So we left the bike there, drove my car to the nearest bike shop in the next suburb, but they didn't stock the battery that Ken needed. Next stop was Keilor, a suburb across town about half an hour's drive. That shop didn't have the battery either, but they called a shop in the CBD, who did have the right one. So another half hour drive into the city, to the shop where the battery had been charged up for us. Amazingly on a Saturday morning, we found a parking spot right across the road! Back to the chiropractor's office car park, and I waited with fingers crossed while Ken fitted the new battery. Voila! It started immediately, so we thankfully made our way home, with me following Ken in case of any further mishaps.


Once home, I rubbed some healing ointments into Ken's aching parts, and he hugged me, and said "Thanks for coming over and being there with me". Today, he did some minor jobs to my car and when I said "What would I do without you?", he just smiled and looked at his freshly ironed shirts. No words necessary!