The great Aussie BBQ, a hiatus and the rain

It has been a while. I apologize. I have been very entertained with stories of snow. I like it. So much has happened in the two weeks I have not blogged I will try and remember it all!!

The BBQ - we have one. It is quite pretty. It was too big to come home in the car so it had to be delivered the next day. Ruining our plans of a BBQ that night. But never mind.

The BBQ came with a recipe book. And instructions for cooking temperatures. I have read them but they mean little to me. I have only ever cooked on disposable ones from woolies. Professional eh?!
Liam of course hasn't read the instructions as he's a man. And men don't need to do that right? Because they just KNOW instinctively how to cook on a BBQ without instruction. It's in the Aussie genes he wasn't born with ;o).

But even without reading instructions Liam has made a mean steak with fried onions - yum. Without the grief of pans to wash. And without heating up the kitchen like a sauna. It can be hot enough already without cooking indoors!!

The BBQ is currently in his coat as the rain continues to pour on Victoria. Thus is the wettest year in donkeys. And they're expecting a wet Christmas... Yey...?

Someone remind me why I moved here please?

A brick wall and 2 spiders

Welcome... To the 33rd floor. My home or the next month until another floor move. And if I'm still stuck here in about 3 months then there's yet another move... Yey!?!

So from a beautiful view of the cbd I now have a view of a brick wall... Seriously... As photo'd... A brick wall. 33 floors up.

There's also spiders. On the outside of the window but it makes you wonder what the hell a spider did to get 33 floor up...?

It was slightly concerning on Friday as with the heavy wind and torrential rain the glass actually appeared to wobble. Seriously?! I know it's physics and blah blah that it's not actually wobbling... But at 33 floors up you don't want a window to pop out... That means the spiders could get in... ;o)

Overtime/Melbourne Cup Day

Ooh the decisions to be made as a temp... Do you work a public holiday that the state you live in has for a load of horses or do you have the day off meaning zero pay but a day off even though you're not planning on going to see the horseys this year... Hmmm...

Oh and they're offering double time - choice made!

So today I have worked a half day in the 49 floors of tumbleweed towers in the middle of ghost town. Two of us got off the train at my stop 8am this morning. TWO of us. Apparently not many Aussies choose to work today. As was evident by every coffee provider on the way to work being shut. Along with my building being all locked up and like fort Knox to get into.
My desperation was finally calmed when a fellow office temp had the good foresight to call us when he passed an open coffee shop!! Words can not express the happiness and relief felt by the 3 of us already in the office... Suffice to say 20 mins later we were all coffee in hand. Crap coffee. But we all know what desperation can do to us...

As I have always felt like a muppet taking a photo from our floor window in the presence of others i took ghost town day as the perfect opp to not feel like a muppet

So here is the view from the 32nd floor in-between the rain this morning.

Oh and fingers crossed a horse called Zavite wins this afternoon as I'll win $70 in the office!!

Dental torture

With the nhs being one of the only medical bodies who subsidise dental work in this world; I ensured I was up to date with all my check ups x-rays and hygienist stuff before leaving sunny uk.

What I didn't count on is being cracked on the tooth by a flying I phone which set vibrations through the adjoining tooth causing part of my one and only filling to fall out...

So I went to the dentist and had my filling checked - all good just excess filling falling off. and then back again this morning for some advised 'preventative' work. That preventative work resulted in the birth of my second filling. Two fillings?!! I'm ashamed. Ashamed I tell you!!

Anyone who has had a filling will know the anaesthetic is quite entertaining when you're poking your lip an hour later and can't feel a thing.. Coffee burns - not so funny. Except I have a mild fear of needles... Irrational, unnecessary and with no definite origin I will not allow needles near me unless absolutely necessary. So there was no anaesthetic this morning...

Whether that was a good decision or not can be debated until the cows come home. But... My mouth is having flashbacks to when the drill first hit the sensitive part.. And my whole body shudders in sympathy. Can teeth hold pain memory? Not the worst thing I've ever gone through. Albeit toe curling, slightly torturous and 'memorable'. But not something I will either forget or wish to repeat anytime soon... Has anyone ever willingly pulled their toenails off with plyers? Isn't that a form of torture... Perhaps make the world a better place through torture and fix up peoples teeth at the same time!

Oh yeah and I'm having another drilled 3 weeks today.... Now if I can just gargle with bonjela for a few hours before... ;o)

65 (ish) days til Christmas!

As many will know - I love Christmas.

Being in a warmer (supposedly) clime does not change this. It merely means snow flakes stuck to the window are a bit redundant. Please do not confuse this with the thought of not putting snowflakes up. They will be there!

It actually snowed this past week end in the more Northerly Melbourne suburbs. Snow. I'm getting quite tired of winter now.

So I started the Christmas cake a month or so ago - as pictured. It had a good feed of Brandy last night and has now been hidden way for another two weeks for it's next feed. Liam doesn't like fruit cake. And he dislikes nazipan even more. So alas he will never know how scrummy my Christmas cake is. But Liams folks and family do eat Christmas cake. So it will not go uneaten.

Has anyone else started their prep for Christmas? I'm going to buy Christmas cards soon. I figure all the UK ones will need to be posted before the end of November so will need to start organising those. And I'm not quite sure drinking a mug of hot mulled wine while writing my cards in the summer months will be appropriate. So perhaps a pear cider over ice?