Val’s Comments (group member since Aug 28, 2019)

Val’s comments from the Beyond Zon group.

Does anyone collect stamps or know anyone who collects stamps or know of a charity that collects stamps? It is habit with me to remove stamps from all mail received - and given I buy quite a bit on eBay, they can come from all parts of the globe. But then I don't know what to do with them. I used to give them to a volunteer at our local charity shop whose father collects stamps, but she hasn't been there in ages. And someone told me that some Rotary clubs will take stamps but I haven't been able to find an address to forward them to. I will gladly mail them at my expense if you know of a likely home.

Grizzlygrump wrote: "Just a half please - I'm driving :)"

Just as well you said or you might have wound up with this:

https://www.drinkstrade.com.au/somma-...

Home-made pizza.

Woolworths keep changing their name between Safeway and Woolies. I still think of them as Safeway. They still use the same jingles.

theDuke wrote: "Just wondering Val.....from your post..it's sound likes one has to go to a seperate store for booze, down under.

Is Australia similar to that of USA, in that alcoholic berverages have to sold in ..."

Aldi is the only supermarket that has alcohol in-store but it is a very limited range. The other two big supermarkets have associated bottle shops which are usually right next door. So it's just a matter of wheeling your trolley of groceries out one door and into another. My local Woolworths has a connecting entrance in-store to its BWS (Beer, Wine, Spirits). Drive-through bottle shops are popular too (they're usually attached to pubs). But most people looking for a wide selection and the cheapest prices will search out their nearest Dan's (Dan Murphy) which is a big barn inside a big car park. Always busy, friendly, knowledgeable staff, great members' specials, lots of tastings available. Luckily we have three within a short drive!

www.danmurphys.com.au

theDuke wrote: "Hi all.

Loads of new goodies arrived today via postman pat. Got all the ironwork for the path gate...just need the wood now.

So while waiting for that..i did a coupla jobs on me 'cave' doors. As..."

Where's the photos? And speaking of photos, have you mastered the new camera? And is your laptop holding up? Are you still leaving it on? And how's Mum managing with her banking, etc?

Good Housekeeping recommended Rawson's Retreat non-alcoholic wine so I thought I'd give it a go. Just one problem: it's an Australian wine (or faux-wine) that's not available in Australia! So I went to the non-alcoholic section of my local booze barn and most of them are sparkling wines and rosés at that. All the reds bar one said "refrigerate after opening" and I really don't like a cold red so I bought the only other one - from Portugal - and it's bloody awful! Sour grape juice! Ribena tastes better. I found adding a bit of lemonade helped but I won't be buying non-alcoholic wine again. I was rather amused to find you can buy alcoholic mineral water! The question begs: why?

theDuke wrote: "Grizzlygrump wrote: "Perhaps he's still driving? 🤔"

I know it's a big island GG..but 5 hours? Where the heck would he be going to??!!"

If he's only doing 60km per hour, he'll still be halfway to Darwin already. No call or message in the last 24 hours.

Good news for your son P. He deserves to feel chuffed about having some success with the CPR. When I worked at the local primary school we had an annual update on our CPR training from an ambo and he told us, do your best but 9 out of 10 patients won't survive (possibly because CPR isn't initiated quick enough). I hope it encourages him to stay positive re his job application(s) and know that he has a lot to contribute to society.

Must be a world-wide problem. I'm still waiting on a call re getting a quote for replacing a window so I do answer, but if there's a couple of seconds delay, I hang up immediately. The other day I got one "There was a payment made from your Bendigo Bank account this morning...." Me: "I don't have a Bendigo Bank account". Caller: "I meant your National Australia Bank account". Me: "I don't have a National Australia Bank account." Caller: "The payment was made via your VISA card." Me: "I don't have a VISA card. You should be ashamed of yourself." Hang up.

Salad, salad and more salad - this humidity is no joke!

By the way Duke - we need a gate built too. In fact your old one may still be better than the one with the rusted frame that's currently doing the job. So if you could add that to your list and time frame .......

We wanted to get a quote for having a window replaced. Looked up three possible companies on the 'net and thought we'd start with one. They asked us to complete an online request and upload any photos we could provide. Did that but couldn't submit it because the page wouldn't accept .jpg. So I pasted the two photos into a Word document and was able to upload that. You'll hear from us within one business day it said. Three business days later I phoned them to say what's happening. Young thing answering the phone says "We only make the window frames" - well why doesn't it say that on the website??? - but she did give me the name of a bloke who would provide a quote for supply and installation. So I ring him. Nice bloke, asks all the relevant questions but says "I'm driving, is it okay if I ring you back to arrange a time to come and look at the window?" No worries. It's now five hours later. I know Aussies have a reputation for being laid-back but I just want to get the job done!!!

Hope you're all getting back to normal after all this weather. It's still muggy here in Melbourne - feels hotter than 26 degrees. We've just had the heating people here to check and clean our 35 year old gas ducted heating system. It passed with flying colours (they don't make 'em like that any more!) so only £100 instead of the £1250/£1500 a new system would cost. Hooray!!! They had to close all doors and windows and have the heating running at full blast for 15 mins to check for carbon monoxide. It was like a sauna. We might get a bit of rain tomorrow, but nothing like the poor folk of NSW are experiencing. Some folk whose homes survived the fires have now been evacuated because they're flooded out!

I thought our wind here was bad enough yesterday but obviously nothing to what you've been experiencing. Mr H and I were outside cutting back climbing roses, a star jasmine creeper and a Philadelphus bush in order to make the external gas ducted heating unit more accessible. The service man is coming tomorrow to check it out. It's running fine (last winter anyway) but is due for a service. I have a sneaking suspicion it may be deemed unsafe on account of its age and we'll be up for a replacement unit. What's money eh?

P wrote: "We had some terrible gusts about an hour ago and e..."

I read that as "some terrible guests" and I was feeling very sympathetic for a minute P. When I read the rest of your post I realised you needed more than sympathy. Getting that trampoline back over the fence must have been a right job!

Grizzlygrump wrote: "Further to Duke's deep frying, I used to have one of those air fryers until recently :) ..."

I've vowed - no more electric appliances. I can live without a Nutribullet, coffee maker, grinder, etc. Kettle, toaster, hand-held mixer, blender should see out my days.

We finished off a store-bought pasta bake last night. pretty tasty for £2.00! We'll be back on salads tonight while the weather stays muggy.

I've never seen him but I hear he's great live. His shows downunder always sell out right away.

Watched a couple of oldies today (recorded from telly):
Mon Oncle - Jacques Tati (1958)
Son of Rambow (2007)
We enjoyed revisiting them.

It's 11.00 pm here and still 29 degrees. Tomorrow's forecast:
Summary
Min 21
Max 43

And if you'd consider a refurbished laptop:

Refurbished Laptops With Dvd Drive
https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/st/re...