Post by yyyguy on Jul 9, 2021 14:25:59 GMT 8
They may call us the furniture store or whatever but on the other blog it's on. Good. Anyway, that's not why I'm here. Just hoping you're all well and coping. Safely ensconced in my secret hideaway, living a purposefully quiet existence (to avoid all the madness (who didn't see that coming)) and reflecting on a life IMHO well lived.
A little tale. Some years ago life circumstances prompted me to evaluate the whole thing and I decided to get better work/life balance. Sold up everything and headed to paradise to do a few bucket list things and just for convenience as rentals were scarce I rented a mansion for 12 months. Someone, prolly a city slicker had bought 5 acres and built. And a mansion it was, just massive, each room. Adjacent to a river full of mud crabs which the good lady dined on almost daily (too much trouble for me). Not being wise to the ways of the bush they had built on the downslope to the river, moved in and left in a very short space of time. Neighbours had built on the flat ground at the top. It was awful. Absolutely plagued by mossies and sandflies all day but horrendous at dawn and dusk. Having done plenty of time in the tropics we knew how they could be but these were more cunning, hitchhiking on your back to get access and then waiting til you were asleep. Couldn't put up mossie nets as the ceilings were 20' high. We ended up making a bedroom out of the smallest room in the house, prolly just a little storage room but it worked.
We had a massive telly and 2 recliners, never bothered with anything else as we hated and determined to move as soon as the 12 month lease was up. Gradually we got used to it and knew the good times to use the pool and such. I'd picked the general area for the annual number of sunny days (300+) but the weather patterns had changed and we were deluged for weeks on end.
Wifey got a job and worked full time while I pottered. One of my favourite pastimes was mowing a 5 acre paddock with a basic lawnmower and getting lost in my thoughts. It usually took 3 days and several mows to keep it under control but I didn't mind. Used to wear ear muffs to drown out the motor and I used to hang these on the mower handle in the garage. One particular mow I felt a little ear irritation but just put this down to yet another mossie bite. After an hour or so, out of fuel I took the muffs off and noticed a redback spider had taken up residence and had feasted mightily. Tiny drop of blood on my ear and a certain death, surely.
But a certain lackadaisical attitude had replaced my previous cautionary ways and I just waited for the inevitable which never arrived. Nice little mark on my ear to this day. So, yeah, another story where nothing really happened but at least I can say Australia tried to kill me.
A few years later I was telling the tale in a possibly exaggerated manner when the lady next to me said she had been bitten by a tiger snake, almost died, had lost a toe and hearing on one side from the neurotoxin. I thought she was one-upping me so I told her of an encounter with a croc (which actually happened). She was a neighbour and invited me to her home and showed me the newspaper reports. "Newspaper reports about redbacks and crocs or it didn't happen" says she. 1-0 to her. And then she leaned forward and gave me a little kiss which I wasn't expecting. I was long separated by then and though I had admired her from afar for several years I had assumed she was married as a tall chap of similar vintage was usually in her company. Turns out he was her handicapped son. Anyway it was shortish and very sweet but she was a bit of a princess and I ain't no prince nor inclined to try but very memorable.
Weird place, Oz, weird critters, weird folks. Stay safe, folks.
A little tale. Some years ago life circumstances prompted me to evaluate the whole thing and I decided to get better work/life balance. Sold up everything and headed to paradise to do a few bucket list things and just for convenience as rentals were scarce I rented a mansion for 12 months. Someone, prolly a city slicker had bought 5 acres and built. And a mansion it was, just massive, each room. Adjacent to a river full of mud crabs which the good lady dined on almost daily (too much trouble for me). Not being wise to the ways of the bush they had built on the downslope to the river, moved in and left in a very short space of time. Neighbours had built on the flat ground at the top. It was awful. Absolutely plagued by mossies and sandflies all day but horrendous at dawn and dusk. Having done plenty of time in the tropics we knew how they could be but these were more cunning, hitchhiking on your back to get access and then waiting til you were asleep. Couldn't put up mossie nets as the ceilings were 20' high. We ended up making a bedroom out of the smallest room in the house, prolly just a little storage room but it worked.
We had a massive telly and 2 recliners, never bothered with anything else as we hated and determined to move as soon as the 12 month lease was up. Gradually we got used to it and knew the good times to use the pool and such. I'd picked the general area for the annual number of sunny days (300+) but the weather patterns had changed and we were deluged for weeks on end.
Wifey got a job and worked full time while I pottered. One of my favourite pastimes was mowing a 5 acre paddock with a basic lawnmower and getting lost in my thoughts. It usually took 3 days and several mows to keep it under control but I didn't mind. Used to wear ear muffs to drown out the motor and I used to hang these on the mower handle in the garage. One particular mow I felt a little ear irritation but just put this down to yet another mossie bite. After an hour or so, out of fuel I took the muffs off and noticed a redback spider had taken up residence and had feasted mightily. Tiny drop of blood on my ear and a certain death, surely.
But a certain lackadaisical attitude had replaced my previous cautionary ways and I just waited for the inevitable which never arrived. Nice little mark on my ear to this day. So, yeah, another story where nothing really happened but at least I can say Australia tried to kill me.
A few years later I was telling the tale in a possibly exaggerated manner when the lady next to me said she had been bitten by a tiger snake, almost died, had lost a toe and hearing on one side from the neurotoxin. I thought she was one-upping me so I told her of an encounter with a croc (which actually happened). She was a neighbour and invited me to her home and showed me the newspaper reports. "Newspaper reports about redbacks and crocs or it didn't happen" says she. 1-0 to her. And then she leaned forward and gave me a little kiss which I wasn't expecting. I was long separated by then and though I had admired her from afar for several years I had assumed she was married as a tall chap of similar vintage was usually in her company. Turns out he was her handicapped son. Anyway it was shortish and very sweet but she was a bit of a princess and I ain't no prince nor inclined to try but very memorable.
Weird place, Oz, weird critters, weird folks. Stay safe, folks.