Last week

Last week Wednesday I went to the Craft and Qld. Quilting Show. Went to the city with the bus and enjoyed the trip. There were the challenge quilts. The first was the Alaska challenge and the second was an ordinary challenge. The quilters got a fat quarter and this fabric they had to use in the quilt.



Challenge fabric.



Alaskan challenge.



Ordinary challenge.

Last Saturday was a busy day. Had to go to computer club first and did a little bit of shopping. In the afternoon changed first my smoke alarm. This is now compulsory here. For every level at least one.




Took the old one out and had a couple holes in the ceiling.



Could not put the alarm straight in there, had to use some plugs for the screws.



The smoke alarm is installed and tested. It is working fine. Now have to test it every week.

Started late in the afternoon with baking of speculaas for the birthday party for Ernst. Of course I forgot a present for Ernst so went on Sunday first to the shops and got a present and made mum very happy by giving him felt pens and a colouring book. Ernst became 3 years old.

In the afternoon I checked the gutters and cleaned them. We were expecting a thunderstorm. As soon as the storm hit as the electricity went off. Rang Energex to know the reason. It went off because of the high wattage use in the street.
Heard then outside a noise as if I had a waterfall. It was a waterfall, the gutters were overflowing, it could not cope with the amount of water which was coming down out of the sky. During the night we had 18 cm of rain.
The electricity was not earlier on then about 2 am during the night. Woke up and set the clock, woke again about 3 am and the clock had to be reset again.

At 7 am I was again cleaning gutters but this time in the rain. Have water damage in the face boards.




My dam got some water too, a 10 cm for sure.

The joys of country living

This morning my dog started to bark suddenly and made a racket. I looked up and saw to my surprise a snake as thick as 2 fingers and about one and half metre long. Could see that Jaynne had bitten the snake. Called the dog off and the snake got away. It was a green tree snake. It is spring now and with the warmer weather the snakes are more active. This was the second one I saw.
Here where I live there is no water or sewerage. Have a big tank for my drinking water and are dependent on the rain to fill it up. My sewerage is a septic tank. Everything of the toilet goes into it and now that I am on my own, have to pump it empty over about 8 years. The water which is used in the house is collected in another tank and when full is then pumped empty with a sullagepump.



The pump to be connected

Some time ago I had lots of trouble with my pump, it was still under warranty. The shop people did not wanted to give me a new one. They said that the pump was working excellent. However every time I wanted to use it the electricity was cut off. My safety switch went off, when I switched the pump on. Could not pump the tank empty.
Went to another shop and said that I wanted to buy a new pump and was going to claim on my insurance but I needed another test. Got the pump in the second shop and they tested it and it was not good. I was right, the pump was OK but the electrical lead was burned out.
The end of the story I got a new pump on warranty and they made a copy of my invoice.



Sullagepump installed by myself.

The mowers and the pump are now working. Tomorrow I am going to the Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair.

Spring weather

This week we had every day a severe storm. The storms started on Sunday night and the every following day we saw on tv the damage it had caused. Specially the northern suburbs were on the receiving end. We had also a bit but not that bad as they had.
What we got was a bit of thunder and rain, good, nice, steady, soaking rain. Tonight we still expect a storm. This will go on till the end of this week. There is for thousands and thousands of dollars of damage.
Today went to the quilting bee and have been cutting some trees for of a misery(mystery)quilt from www.quiltvirus.nl.
Had this week also some more new siggies and started with kit 8 of the gollyville quilt.

Homework

There is a lot of yard work to do here. My mowers are working properly now. The hand mower is fixed and works good. Have done the council strip (There is a strip of grass between the property and the road) which we have to maintain. If council has to do it then our rates will be going up. The rates are already very high and we do not get much services from them. Now the sullagepump start playing up.
Have no sewerage and the water used in the house is collected in a tank, which has to be pumped empty regularly. My neighbour came to help me to get it out of the tank and brought it to the people where I bought it. They had it working all day and did not play up. Will get it back and in the tank again. Got today kit 9 from gollyville quilt. Just doing kit 7, cannot work that much any more on quilting, however it gets hotter and then by 9 am it gets too hot to work outside. So will get more time.
Mowing can be done in the late afternoon, have dinner at lunchtime and lunch at dinner time. Had finished lunch at the computer at about 7 pm.
Tomorrow have to do shopping will be the first time this week that I am going out. Am getting a hermit this way. Saturday will be also going out then to the flea market in Beaudesert with a Jenny.

When you want to become an Australian citizen you will have to do a test.
This one is from the Australian government.

Here the link to it

Have done the test myself and had 20/20.
On the very first day one person failed the test.
Have seen on an Australian quilting mailing list another test. Would have failed this one.


Cultural diversity is fine, as long as there is a base-line of cultural
understanding and respect thereof…

2007 Australian Citizenship test

1. Do you understand the meaning, but are unable to explain the origin of, the
term "died in the arse"?
2. What is a bloody little beauty?
3. Are these terms related: chuck a sickie; chuck a spaz; chuck a U-ey?
4. Explain the following passage: "In the arvo last Chrissy the relos rocked up for a barbie, some bevvies and a few snags. After a bit of a Bex and a lie down we opened the pressies, scoffed all the chockies, bickies and lollies. Then we drained a few tinnies and Mum did her block after Dad and Steve had a barney and a bit of biffo."
5. Macca, Chooka and Wanger are driving to Surfers in their Torana. If they are travelling at 100 km/h while listening to Barnsey, Farnsey and Acca Dacca, how many slabs will each person on average consume between flashing a brown eye and having a slash?
6. Complete the following sentences:
a) "If the van's rockin' don't bother ?
b) You're going home in the back of a ?
c) Fair crack of the ?
7. I've had a gutful and I can't be fagged. Discuss
8. Have you ever been on the giving or receiving end of a wedgie?
9. Do you have a friend or relative who has a car in their front yard "up on blocks"? Is his name Bruce and does he have a wife called Cheryl?
10. Does your family regularly eat a dish involving mincemeat, cabbage, curry powder and a packet of chicken noodle soup called either chow mein, chop suey or kai see ming?
11. What are the ingredients in a rissole?
12. Demonstrate the correct procedure for eating a Tim Tam.
13. Do you have an Aunty Irene who smokes 30 cigarettes a day and sounds like a bloke?
14. In any two-hour period have you ever eaten three-bean salad, a chop and two serves of pav washed down with someone else's beer that has been flogged from a bath full of ice?
15. When you go to a bring- your-own-meat barbie can you eat other people's meat or are you only allowed to eat your own?
16. What purple root vegetable beginning with the letter "b" is required by law to be included in a hamburger with the lot?
17. Do you own or have you ever owned a lawn mower, a pair of thongs, an Esky or Ugg boots?
18. Is it possible to "prang a car" while doing "circle work"?
19. Who would you like to crack on to?
20. Who is the most Australian: Kevin "Bloody" Wilson, John "True Blue" Williamson, Kylie Minogue or Warnie?
21. Is there someone you are only mates with because they own a trailer or have a pool?
22. What does sinkin piss at a mates joint and getten para mean?

And should we add some general knowledge of an international level?
Something like "Why did they build the Great Wall of China"?