The case of the missing egg

I was saddened to hear about the earthquake disaster in Christchurch. We were only there in September 2009, a year before the quake they had in September last year and now another one with some many people killed and injured.

We took this photo of the Cathedral in the Square and now it is in ruins. The hotel we stayed in was the Grand Chancellor one of the tallest buildings in Christchurch. It has structural damage and they are expecting it to collapse and have cordoned off 2 blocks around it.

The dinner went off well on Sunday although I didn't make the eggplant and pasta pie for Gina as I realised there was meat in it. So I made ratatouille instead. Each couple mentioned how nice the other couple were and how easy they were to talk too. It was very hot so rather then make them sit outside and swelter we ate in the air-conditioned comfort inside.

I don't get to do exercises with Tebbutt Lodge crowd now as the Pastor has changed days and now does her service on a Tuesday Morning. We had a farewell morning tea for the old Pastor on Tuesday as he is retiring. While they are having their service I visit the residents that are in their rooms and listen to their life stores and write it down in a book for them.

I also now do lunches which I like. Took in a photo of a friend's upside down orchid as Erwin is very interested in them and has even given me one. However, before I got to see him I heard he had just had a stroke so I hope he is ok as I am rather fond of him.

My audience for trivia is growing.......although I have to explain some of my jokes.

The shirt story David mentioned in his comment goes like this. Tony ordered a medium size South Sydney polo neck shirt as they only had small in stock. However, when he went to pick it up found they hadn't been able to get it. So he tried on the small size and brought it as he thought it would be ok. When he went to the cupboard to hang it up with the rest of his Souths gear he found exactly the same one there in a medium size.

That story is not as funny as the the scotch egg one. I made some scotch eggs for Tony before I left for Nelson Bay so he could have while I was away which he did. On the Thursday night he remembered there was one left and went to the fridge to get it however he couldn't find it and thought he must have eaten it. On Friday morning he left for Nelson Bay. On Friday afternoon Craig rang and asked could he go over to our place for a swim. When we arrived home on Saturday afternoon Tony opened the fridge and there was the scotch egg on a plate right in front of him and he thought he must be going mad. Anyway he then ate it. When speaking to Craig that night he asked did he have a swim and Craig said no they spent the time on the computer instead and that he had found a scotch egg in the computer room and put it back in the fridge. Tony then remembered that he had been speaking on the Thursday to someone on Skye and they didn't know what a scotch egg was so he had brought it in to show them.

He then felt rather ill thinking of the time it had been out of the fridge and he had eaten it.....but he survived.

A funny thing happened on the way to the park.

Photo of Pinto looking rather dejected. He has a dreadful time in the summer. He get this itch and cannot stop scratching. It drives me mad watching him scratch so he must be quite uncomfortable for him too. The vet gives him an injection and then a course of tablets to take which does stop it. But these tablets can cause

some nasty side effects if you keep taking them so it is a no win situation. We do try creams among other things which sometimes ease the situation. It isn't too bad at the moment.

Funny thing happened about a month ago. Tony was taking the dog to the park for a walk as he normally does. He asked me to let Pinto out when he had got the car out. He reversed the car and I came out with the dog but Tony didn't stop he drove off. He was obviously in another world. Pinto and I sat on the front step waiting for him. After some time had elapsed he returned. He hadn't realise Pinto wasn't in the car until he had arrived at the dog park. Is that a "seniors" moment or not?

We have people coming for lunch next Sunday. I used to get uptight and nervous about cooking dinners and worry for weeks before.......who am I kidding I still get uptight and nervous although the difference now is I have the attitude "what does it matter if things don't turn out, it will be tomorrow soon enough". It will just be dinner for six, Peter and Gina, Terry and Janet and Tony and myself. Gina is a vegetarian so I am making an eggplant and pasta pie and Peter and Terry like meat so we will have a BBQ. Gina is bringing the dessert, Janet a rice salad and Tony is cooking the meat so that just leaves me with the entree and a few salads........sounds quite simple.

We actually had rain yesterday which was a nice change. Although hopefully it won't rain this afternoon as we are going to the Charity Shield - Souths v St George, and I don't fancy sitting there in the wet particularly if the Tigers aren't playing. This will be my first NFL match this season but 2nd for Tony as he went to the Return to Redfern game last week. I passed on this and went to a card night at Carmel's (friend from Monday cards) instead. I took along so pastries I had made for nibbles (which didn't turn out quite right of course) and found she was all set up for dinner. I had already eaten beforehand but managed to try a little bit. This turned out to be the hottest night ever recorded and there we were, 20 of us sitting out on the balcony playing cards. I have never drunk so much water. We were playing for the "green shirt" which is a yearly competition and Peter was the winner. I came second but nothing was awarded for that. I did however win one of the lucky door prizes....a bottle of red.

Felise has completed her second week of school and all's going well. This is a photo of her graduation from Cheeky Monkeys at the end of last year.

Craig has found a new unit at Merrylands and moves in next Friday. It is only a 2 bedroom and is a lot smaller then the house he had to vacate because it had been sold. He might have a bit of trouble fitting all his furniture in.