Flat as a pancake

Ah what is it about this time of year that gets me down? The rapidly shortening days? The coolth that greets me some days (that I suspect is giving me cold-induced asthma?).

I love the cool mornings and warm, sunny afternoons we are getting here at the moment on most days. I love the green grass and coloured leaves, mostly yellow, and the crunchy leaves on the ground - I deliberately ride over them or walk on them (hope there are no doggy offerings hidden though!). But I despise the cold mornings that remain cold dreary days, especially when I have to go out riding to get something we need or something that I have to get done or whatever. I have to muffle myself right up, but if I do I can't get enough air and if I don't, I still can't get enough air as my airways close in response to the "cold." When I say cold, I mean under 10C or something like 50F I guess. Yes I am a wusster. Thank heavens we aren't moving further north cos I think a real winter would kill me. My nose would turn that dainty shade of alcoholic purple when it goes numb, my fingers would go numb, my toes, I'd end up with frostbite and hypothermia! See what happens to people when they grow up in a very mild climate? They turn into wussters!

As for the blues, well what is going on there? Daylight is a certain influence. I am so much a long days person, and a person who appreciates warmth. Stress - my goodness the stress of HP doing the dirty on us, the uncertainty of our futures, the realisation of having to move again, trying to get everything organised AGAIN for another tilt at ANOTHER visa, ANOTHER move.... Apparently all the Canadian consulates are booked out. Sigh.

Having a limited budget is also very vexing. I'm in a consumer's paradise and I can't consume anywhere near as much as I would like! It's my birthday at the end of the week and I know I won't be getting anywhere near as much as Nathan did for his. I used to get spoiled on my birthday and at Christmas. Now that I am Big, and Mum's long gone, that doesn't happen any more. So I spoil Nathan and since birthdays are not important to him, he doesn't spoil me.

Nathan's parents are going to be here for Christmas, which I am looking forward to, and the last couple of days they are here we'll be on the move, almost literally. The removals company will be taking all our stuff just after Christmas. Hey, parents in law, pull up some carpet! Hope you like your mattress reallly firm and no bedding! Sorry we don't have anything to cook with or eat off of - we'll just have to do takeaway for breakfast lunch and dinner! (and poison me!)

I think I am particularly grumpy about the fact we finally started settling in, making connections and now? Bang, gone. We don't really have that many friends here yet anyway but that is another stress cos we really have each other to moan at, with a couple of others like our neighbours occasionally getting a whinge from us.

So I am grumpy, whingy, whiney, moany and generally peeved at present. I am crafting stuff madly - spinning yarn for a November project, knitting socks madly, trying to work out how to make a rug out of felted sweaters, dyeing yarn - and avoiding anything that really needs to be done (like vacuuming the floor, but without a vacuum cleaner it is hard to do the floors. I've been sweeping the carpet instead). Why won't Mr Dyson swoop down and give me a lovely vacuum cleaner that actually is able to pick my long blonde hairs off the floor and not lose suction when it is halfway full (one borrowed vacuum cleaner with a name that is used by Brits for vacuuming had to be totally empty for the accessories to work. How suckful, ahem, is that?).

Heh. Having a good moan is most enjoyable. I feel better already! Hope it lasts. Gods, I'd best get outside - the forecast from Wednesday onwards is grey and dreary. Today it is bright and sunny and over 20C! Oh I'd best get the chairs finished - we've only had these two bar chairs for like two months now and I still haven't sanded them back and put the estapol finish on them...

Funny mood and a whinge

Today is a very odd day. DH has just been whisked off to Denver for his flight to a conference in Canada. Sniffle. Noone to talk to at home for days and days!

So I will go to an SnB (unless it rains, which it is threatening to) and a LYS knitty gathering and annoy our lovely neighbours.

I am sorta out of sorts at the moment. Since we got here, we've made friends with the neighbours and with one of Nathan's workmates/family and our new un-aunt-mother. That is it. (I've probably offended someone already by saying that.) We've met people and they seem really nice and welcoming and friendly but if you actually do ring them up or email them after they give you their card, they seem rather surprised. Hello! We are lonely! Of course if you are nice to us and give us your card we will contact you. In Australia, we give out our details to people we like, not just anyone we meet.

We think we are probably breaching some Unwritten Rule of Etiquette. Since it is unwritten, we do not know what that rule is. It is probably a cultural thing. It is like when I say I don't know where to go to get something. Quite often noone will tell me cos they think I am pulling their leg or something. How would I know what are good places to shop at here? How do I know where to find various items? We don't have the same shops at home. (We do have our own Kmart, which is slightly less scroaty than here, and our own Target, which seems aimed fairly much at the same market. Oh and Safeway in Oz is owned by Safeway here. And Shell.) We don't have the same products at home - there is probably a 50% cross over in some areas like shampoos and stuff but.

Ah well, could be worse. I could've been involved in this ballooning accident. I feel sorriest for the people who were having a nice holiday in an RV park (or maybe a nice quiet life) and then BINGO BANGO a flaming hot air balloon lands on their RV or their car and burns it to the ground.

Like Hello! How unlucky is that?