11

Now we are all three waiting on whether or not we get the house we want in Saltau Street. It's lovely outside, and roomy inside (Man, is it roomy!). Downstairs, there are two rooms for Alice, including a fair sized bedroom with verrry long desk that will see her able to put on her computer, TV (although I'm still debating the merits of her having one of those in her bedroom, old-fashioned Mother that I am, and I know how distractable she is!) and all of her weeks work for school there.

Alice is tickled pink at the idea of two rooms of her own, and a room to store friends when they come to stay. There is no downstairs toilet, however, but she says she would have no problem going upstairs. I'm glad of that!

The kitchen is nice and modern - dishwasher, new 'fridge, very large microwave oven, new cupboards. Lovely.

There is a double sided cupboard that opens out both to the hallway and to the major bathroom. What a joy - somewhere proper to put the linen.

Our en suite has a shower and toilet, adequate to our needs.

I have but a few regrets about the place, which matter little. It is in the West, so I am still driving into the sun to and from work. The interior is not quite as flash as I would have liked, but that's a mere bagatelle. The lounge room is heated by a gas fire, and I would really still have preferred a wood fire. I can cope with that. I think I will just be grateful to have a place at all, and one, especially that is in so quiet a street, and where Alice really wants to go.

It's fully furnished, which is wonderful. I won't have to buy new, and I certainly didn't want to take our old stuff with us which has well and truly passed the use-by date. I don't know what bugs are inhabiting it, a lot of it is just plain dirty and sooty, and the 'fridge doesn't seal properly. I think the only things we will be bringing with us, if we can help it are my old rocking chair, a filing cabinet or two and maybe, just maybe, some bookshelves.

Naturally, the computers and the other office hardware are coming, too. How could we leave those behind?

I may yet take just about all of my bedroom suite. It's a lovely Queen Anne, white with gold trim, the dressing table having a tri-fold mirror.

The paintings are coming with us, along with the homilies I have collected over the years. I will be whittling down our ornaments collection hugely - I don't need them, and I think a lot of the fifties collectable Japanese china can go to Barbara in Adelaide, who delights in such things.

This Saturday, before the King's College Fair, in which I am helping out, gets properly started, I want to sort through a lot of the books, donating a whole heap to the Library and the rest to the Fair proper, for sale to the interested. I may even get going on them tonight, so that I can drop them off tomorrow, in time for some sorting. I am actually beginning to like the idea of this rather painless way of disposing of my beloved books. What a bibliophile I am! And yet how little I managed to read.
I have promised Alice that this way we will have far more time for each other - less travelling time, by far, no animals except the turtles and Mowgli, the house nowhere near as dirty all of the time. Ahh, joy! I might even subscribe to The Age on Saturdays, so that I can face my general knowledge crossword each week and read the paper at my leisure. More time to cook, more time to relax.

Alice, being nearer School and even closer to Gymnastics, will also be a lot more relaxed. I have guesstimated, between travelling time to Koroit, obtaining food for the animals and filling up on fuel every few days, I will save close on an hour daily. That's not even counting the rest of the time that I will now have free, with no stove to upkeep, no dogs to look after except Mowgli, no animals to feed and water and sook over, chase after and fence up, no firewood to collect and no need for a laundromat!

That is not to say I won't miss such activities. There is nothing like oohing and aahing over a furry or feathery little thing that has just been born. You all know I love the smell of burning gum leaves, and seeing the contentment on animal faces after a good feed is hard to beat.

But the deaths get to me.

The smells are not ones I appreciate, even with my beloved ducks.

Stepping around various messes when one has on one's office finery may sound finicky, too finicky, but if I've just come home and something needs rounding up RIGHT NOW according to Brian, shoes end up with interesting coverings and I loathe being rushed around after a frantic and emotionally taxing day at work.

I can get pizza delivered. I can shop without frantic haste to be back in time for whatever. Alice can spend more time with friends. Brian can spend more time on his Harley. We can all spend more time together without anyone going off at the deep end because bellowed instructions weren't understood, animals don't have to be rounded up, and two out of the three of us are always in the wrong place at the wrong time, doing the wrong things with our arms! Ahh bliss, ahh joy.

It's Friday, and I still haven't heard what's going on with the house in Saltau Street. I hope to find out early this afternoon.

I just telephoned the Property Managers, and nothing is, as yet, known. Talking to Joanne, she thinks we will know by the middle of next week. Someone from Wilson's will definitely call.

Homeseeka, the mob that handled the auction of Koroit, put a little notice in our letterbox that was a hand-written form for us to sign about vacating the premises. Brian and I were very angry that we had been dealt with in such a cavalier fashion, and probably illegally. I telephoned the gentleman whose name was on the papers, and he seemed absolutely non-plussed that we could find anything wrong with the way we had been treated. "So you want the vendors to go to the extra expense of a solicitor to draft up a legal document, is that what you're saying?" Too right, mate. And they had the date wrong!

It's supposed to be a scorcher today, 30+ degrees. I'm glad I have a personal fan on my desk, as Reception gets very hot. All of the Staff except Leah, Jane Junior (a temporary, who is helping out in all sorts of areas, cheerfully, dutifully and doing a fantastic job) and me are in Penola, just over the South Australian border. There's a big conference going on over there, as well as an Official Opening, but I am so glad I'm here because I know I'm needed. "They also serve who only stand and wait" as Milton put it.

HeartHelp is definitely rearing its ugly head again. This Thursday, I'll be heading down to a Justice Department hearing to help Kym Joyce answer allegations that he has misappropriated monies invested in HeartHelp. I no more believe Kym has done that than I believe I can walk overseas to China. Kym thinks it would be better for me to be there and answer any questions put to me than to leave an attack unanswered. This afternoon after work, I'll pick up all of my papers on HeartHelp and go through them to refresh my memory of how things stand. I'm hoping like crazy that the Powers That Be will understand that I did not direct which payments would go where, and will believe me when I tell them the truth that HeartHelp (aka Laurie) owes me money, just as it does everyone else, and that I am an innocent pawn in Laurie's finaglings. I so want this to be over and done. Brian and I can't even buy a good car, for if we do, someone who has "invested" in HeartHelp can sue us for it.

I know I have been asking for a lot of prayer from all of you in various matters over the last few weeks, but yes, I need it here, too. Oh, my stupid gullibility, naivety and innocence.

We think Laurie is starting up again in South Australia, over the Victorian border, as the heat has probably died down there. Which means it will be turn and turn about. I wonder if, down the track, he'll head back down to Victoria, and work his technique here again. Apparently, in his home town of Casterton, there are a lot of people very angry with the way that a pig farming deal that Laurie had set up some years ago went pear-shaped. That's another reason for his heading off to SA. Laurie had mentioned all of this in the past, but I did the right thing on faith and took his side on it.

Just pray that the truth will come out, and that Laurie will come to justice. Please. He makes it very hard for Christians as we trust him and believe him and he comes across as a good Christian and then dumps and runs.

Laurie is painting me, Kym Joyce constantly says, as the Black Knight in all of this. That I have socked away and spent all of the money entrusted to HeartHelp. I would be inclined to think that people who embezzle don't buy Op. Shop clothing, use $200 vehicles, still go to work, and rifle through garbage bins to feed their pigs. Nor live in a place that ought to be condemned. I'm sorry, it is ungracious of me to whine so much, and I do apologise. But this has affected us in so many ways, and it has really hurt my relationship with Brian. By telling my story, perhaps if something like this comes up in your life, it will act as a modern-day "Cautionary Tale" and you can learn from my experience.

11-29-04

Went to see another couple of rental properties today, not much chop, I'm afraid.

I so often feel as though I haven't done much of anything on the weekend, but just today I have changed the bed, fed the animals, been into town and done numerous chores there, done a few loads of washing, caught some more geese for a lady (with Alice's brilliant help!), watered the indoor plants, had a bit of a much-needed snooze, cleaned the toilet, cleaned up a bit generally and exercised the German shepherds.

So I suppose I have cause to think, "Well, I did accomplish some things today."

It always amazes me how one's time, particularly on free weekends, just vanishes like the morning mist.

Now for some more hints from 801Money Saving Tips -

"Don't use a moisturiser under foundation! Most foundations contain moisturisers, so you are wasting money, and adding unnecessary oil to your skin, if you do.

"Add baby oil to your bath so the hot water won't dry out your skin.

"Remove dead skin cells inexpensively and gently by washing your face with baking soda.

"Cover the kids' schoolbooks with brown paper bags. Once they're in place, let them colour or draw on them.

"Designate a bare-floored area in your house as the place to take off dirty shoes and boots. That way, costly rugs won't get stained."

Journal

I regret the events

that I've missed

that have fled my memory

and been abandoned by time

Numerous beautiful volumes

litter my shelves

sometimes with the wrapping still attached

wayward presents

I haven't the discipline

I haven't the time

I haven't a working pen

I haven't anything but excuses

And my life

wanders on

and the hours pass by

the clock is ticking down

One day, I promise

myself and others

one day.

My blessings are in the here and now

One day.