Tom turns 18!!! Woo Hoo (Gulp!)

Happy Birthday to Tom, our only child.  Its been a very big week for Tom, finishing with his 18th birthday yesterday. We had a small gathering at his favourite restaurant (Golden Grill, Werribee) last night where he ordered the same wrap he has been having now for 3 years.  They jokingly said they would try to find some gold foil to wrap it in to make it special instead of the normal alum foil. He loves that they know him and talk to him like a friend. No surprises, no anxiety or expectations on him.  He can go in whatever he is wearing and doesn't have to dress up.  Which he didn't.  Not even a shave Tom?.  He has a "take me as i am" attitude which is both good and bad.   For my new readers, Tom has Aspergers.

Later we came all came home for his special birthday cake.

  
Gorgeous, isn't it.  Its cookies and cream with chocolate plates and Oreo.  Same as last year.  Tom is consistent in his choices.  None of us were complaining.

This is Tom with his two favourite girls.  Chelsea and Tilly.  He does look happy.

He received many text messages, calls and greeting cards which included gift cards so he could buy what he liked.  Thank you to all of you for making his day special.  Today we went shopping and he paid for games that have not yet been released. Until he gets a job, his birthday is really the last opportunity he has to buy his games and so he has now paid for several that will be released throughout the year - smart kid.

Last weekend he and i found his birthday gift from us, his parents.  Yet another unusual choice, a two seater lounge for his "living room".  This year we took down a wall between two bedrooms to give him additional space.  He loved the colour and since it was a discontinued line we got an $800 two seater for $450.  It comes with a five years structural warranty and given that he's a big boy, this was important.

I think it looks great in his room and it will spur us on to complete this area.  In the shop it had a beautiful red shaggy rug in front of it that was way overpriced and so we introduced the colour using two $5 Big W cushions and his chocolate faux fur throw.

So what does this mean for my Man child, turning 18?  Well, in Oz, it now means he is required to vote in elections. Tom has very strong political views.  So much so that he doesn't see either party as being a great choice and please don't get him started on Tony Abbott.  He can "soapbox" for hours (such an Aspie thing) on how this country is a "Nanny State" and how censorship of games and a ban on guns is against civil rights. He would say that, now wouldn't he?. His Aspie special interest is military and so he lives and breathes guns, tanks, aircraft, military history, doco's on real live conflicts and of course, gaming.  He is entitled to his views even though i don't agree with them.  His focus is solely on his own interests.  He's not really concerned with taxation, infrastructure, refugees, education, employment or health.  Though if you ask him he will give you a lecture on all of them.  What 18 year old cares or has a clue?  I didn't.  

It also means that legally he is now an adult.  He can enter into a contract and it will be binding (scary).  He can purchase shares and hold property in his own right.  Should he break the law he will be dealt with and sentenced as an adult (double scary).  Tom can also buy alcohol, cigarettes and do a whole myriad of  other "adult" things. I'm not concerned about alcohol or cigarettes.  Tom's not fussed on either.  He has had access to alcohol in our home for a few months and really cant be bothered.  The Christmas beer is still sitting there. Tom knows he gets asthma and he hates cigarettes (thank God). When he was a little boy he use to run up to people outside the supermarket and tell them they were bad for smoking. (Gulp) I guess as a Mum i'm concerned about him unknowingly putting himself in danger or being under the influence of others for their own amusement or personal gain.  As an Aspie he sees the world differently and in some respects he can be quite naive and trusting and yet in others he is more mature than others his age.  He's not interested in brand labelled clothing like his peers and though i'm sure he would like a girl friend i think he is more interested in just having "a friend".  I do worry that when he gets out on his own that he will be vulnerable but i think that's a Mum thing whether you have an autistic child or not.

I did say this was a big week didn't I?.  Tom has now completed a Certificate III in Warehouse Logistics.  It took him five weeks full time and for him this was enormous.  He rarely leaves the house.  We are all so proud of his achievement but best of all he is proud of himself.

Foresite training is a purpose built training centre in Laverton.  They specialise in civil construction, transport and warehouse training.  There are paddocks out the back for excavator training and a in-house warehouse setup for forklift and warehouse operations.  It is a pretty slick operation and fortunately on my way to work.  

Once he completes the two practical days on the forklift and order picker scheduled for later in the month, Tom will have:

• Nationally accredited Certificate III in Warehousing Operations (TLI31610)
• A Forklift Licence
• A Order Picker Licence (Melbourne Metropolitan Areas Only)

He will be certified as having the following skills and knowledge:

• Communication techniques
• Customer Service skills
• Teamwork
• Receival and Storage
• Occupational Health and Safety  (Oh boy, employers had better follow the rules on this one)
• Inventory Management
• Dispatch
• Quality Control
• Forklift Operation
• Order Picker Operation (Melbourne Metropolitan Areas Only)
• Industry Knowledge
• Legislation  

We used the course notes for his tutoring lessons for the last six months and so he breezed through the theory. Thank you Lynette.  The trainer even asked me to talk to him about answering all the questions and to give someone else a go.  Tom said he was helping them.  It was truly an experience for him.  He was mixing with lots of people from different races and backgrounds.  I can honestly say he was the only privately schooled Anglo in the course.  Do you know what i am getting at?  Definitely a culture shock and learning experience. Goodness, listening to some of their conversations on pick up was quite blue, including the women. I had to laugh as they stood under a large sign that said No Smoking chuffing away.  Tom didn't seem upset or phased by it and was friendly with everyone.  Many people that are on welfare are forced into training and pick warehousing as being "easy".  Its not and the drop out rate saw Tom being only one of 10 that finished.  They started near 30.  Tom was irritated by those that were not serious about the training and he was quite angry when i picked him up several times for their "time wasting".  It took some talking to keep him going.  He kept telling me "its just common sense, Mum".  He thought they asked stupid questions and mucked around. His main complaint was the inconsistency in the course material.  He thought it was written or prepared by someone who just downloaded information from Wikipedia and not someone from the industry.  The trainer agreed with him. This adherence to "his" perception of how things should be is what causes many people to walk/run away.   He's not interested in anyone else's point of view. Its an Aspie thing. On the last day, after Tom shared the break-up cake he took in, he was allowed to leave early. He had completed all the written requirements ahead of the others.

Tom has a dream.   He wants to live in America and drive forklifts.  Yes, i know there are a few inconsistencies in this dream, like not being independent and not leaving the house!  He has smaller goals of first working as a forklift driver in a local distribution centre.  We are surrounded by them.  He then wants to work on the docks.  They earn big bucks and so he thinks that since he lives at home he will be able to save enough to go to America (the land of opportunity and freedom) in just a few years.  I know.  You don't have to tell me. He has an unreal view of reality and doesn't understand that the problems we have here in Oz are only magnified in the US given the much larger population. If he thinks our government is bad... whoa! I don't think ill be able to dissuade him and so its just a matter of dealing with the next step, getting through that and then waiting for maturity and life experience to kick in.

His first priority is to complete his licenses, and to get some practical experience. Anyone out there willing to give him some. All jobs for forklift drivers want 3-5 years experience and yet how do you get that experience.  Tom really believes that somehow, magically, that he will get a job just driving forklifts.  He doesn't want to work as a general hand or a pick packer.  Our Prod Manager at my work is willing to set up some practise on weekends in the hard stand area out the back.   His next major task is to improve his health and to get his drivers license.  He is quite motivated so I think i'm up for a bit of extra driving in the next month.

We are also booked in to do a two day First Aid Course this month, together.  I don't think he would do it on his own and so i'm doing it with him. Not because he doesn't want to but because it would be another new place, new people, new anxiety etc.  Turns out my work needed someone to be newly trained and so it worked out win win.  I believe that having additional qualifications will only benefit Tom in applying for work. He has a few negatives to overcome and so he needs to present as being a great choice.  If he already has OH&S knowledge, licenses and First Aid then i think that makes him a better choice than a school leaver or someone who has just done the course because they had to.

So, a big week for all of us.   I have been driving him to the course, going to work, leaving at 3 to pick him up and take him home, going back to work and then working extra hours to make up my time away for five whole weeks.  I'm exhausted but Tom couldn't deal with going on the bus or train with strangers.  I know, i know, i know.  My main focus was helping him through the course and so he has.  Well done Tom.

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New Flash!!! Teenage Son Makes Dinner For Parents

Now before you think so what , its just pasta, he actually made the pasta from scratch.  Holy Moly, what a surprise.  Well almost, he did call me at work during the day saying "I've made your dinner tonight, its a surprise".  Then a couple of minutes later the phone rings again and its "You are really going to be surprised, its good".  Waiting, waiting, because i know he cant hold it in any longer, and the phone rings again.  "Mum, I've got to tell you, i cant hold it in".  OK, so tell me, and so he does, to the nth degree, until i actually have to stop him to say i have to get off the phone, people want to be paid today.

Tom bought this pasta machine for me several Christmas' ago and it has remained in its box and found its way to the back of a kitchen cupboard.  Several times he has asked to make pasta and I've put it off.  Don't i feel guilty now.  I should have known that it was something he wanted and wasn't really for me.  He is an Aspie through and through and i love him anyway.

I always thought that one day i would engineer an Italian Momma into my life and she could demonstrate how to use it and we'd be making every variety, better than restaurant quality, and by the end of the day I'd be known as the Queen of Pasta throughout the land.  Well this hasn't happened (where are you, you must be out there) and so i haven't done anything about it.  I have run away from it, why? Because i am afraid to fail.

It has taken my 17 year old Aspie son, who is afraid of nothing, to open the box, go online and get a recipe from Taste and find the ingredients (or near enough as i don't stock 00 flour) and just do it.  I feel humbled.

On one of his many calls to the office today, he told me he had hung the pasta over a coat hanger and hung it in the laundry with a blow heater going as it needed to be in a warm dry area.  There was a stage in his life (around 5 - 8) when he watched cooking shows like Hughie and an old recorded series from the BBC called Travels Al La Carte with Sophie Grigson and her husband making their way around Europe.  Those tapes  were played 24 hrs (yes, even while he slept) and so i think this is where his desire to make pasta came from.  I loved that obsession and we would watch them together (hence my own memories) but now it is 24 hrs of military history, weaponry and gaming.

As you can see he made two types.  He remembered (gosh his memory is phenomenal) that in Sicily they rolled the pasta around long bamboo skewers to make spaghetti and so this is what he did.  He must have really struggled as i think he was missing a few of the finer details like oiling the skewers and having a dry floured surface etc but he did a good job none the less.

The pillows, as he called them, were stuffed with plain cooked mince which was left over from the taco making session earlier in the day.  Even Tilly got a share of it. I explained when i got home that it was called Ravioli and that he needed to remove the air around the stuffing or it would burst in the hot water and found the little crimp wheel to cut the excess pasta off.   Looks pretty good.

Forewarned i had grabbed a pre-made carbonara sauce (that is a first) as i knew it would need to be on the go the minute we reached home.  I'm surprised he wasn't jumping up and down in the driveway waiting but i guess he is now 17 and he waits just inside the door.  Ambush!

So here it is again.  You don't think he ate it though, do you?  This is Dad's dinner.  Tom doesn't touch sauces (anything wet on his food) and if he did eat pasta it would be plain with cheese sprinkled on it.   I cant eat it either as it get stuck in my band and so it was all for Dad tonight and for tomorrow's lunch.  Tom doesn't mind, his job was done.  He made it and that was all he cared about.

This is my dinner, i could eat salad everyday.

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Tom's 17th Birthday Weekend

Does this look like a happy boy. Oops, should i say young man now? Tom has turned 17 at last.  At last?  That's right for this weekend (actually last) has been talked about and planned for almost 6 months.  He's been driving me mad and i just kept saying "lets talk about it when it gets a little closer, shall we".  I'm not sure if all Aspie's are like this but well, birthdays (or should i say HIS birthday, he forgets mine) seem to be more important than any other day on the calendar year.  Its all about him, which for an Aspie is a natural state of being. Add that to being an only child and well, you know its couldn't possibly all be contained within a single day.  So its now become the Birthday Weekend.

It started on Friday night (28th, his actually birthday) with dinner at the Golden Grill (Turkish) in Werribee with a group of 10.  Yes, you have heard me mention this place several times.  Tom fixates on locations and until the next one comes, this is where we eat out.  Have done now for several years and i am so so glad that their food is fresh, made on the premises and that they have gotten to know us.  I guess Tom feels comfortable (safe) and they the staff greet us like old friends.  Both Tom and Hubby order exactly the same thing every time and so its just so so easy for them and there is none of the anxiety of making a choice. The waitress just say "the normal"? I try to confuse the matter each time by being a little different.  My fav at the moment is their amazing fresh salad with two dips and a bowl of chips to share that get dunked into the dips.

There were three guests of Tom's (Dave, Josh & Brenden) while Hubby and i had the pleasure of hanging with their parents.  This is a real joy for me as each of them have been part of our lives for years and i truly care for their boys. They are "good boys" and all have that slightly left of centre humour that appeals to Tom.

Brenden - he goes way back to creche years and his Mum is my Bestie

Dave (left) from Tom's time at Heathdale Christian College and Josh (right) who was Tom's big buddy at Westbourne Grammar when Tom was a preppy.  

We came back to the house afterwards for his Birthday Cake.  It was a cookies and cream ice-cream cake organised by Hubby.

This was really good quality ice-cream and the chocolate slabs weren't bad either.  It was from Wendy's.

Josh was able to stay over for the weekend and since Hubby and I escaped the onslaught of teenage boys to attend a wedding in the country early the next morning, i appreciated the company for Tom on Saturday.  Marco (his cousin) arrived about 1pm and Dave arrived about 5pm and so when we returned there were 4 of them in the house.

Hubbies new study area certainly got a workout.  While most boys (including these) play on consoles there are many great games that are on PC and with a simple network in place they can all be on the same team.   There was much laughter that ended about 1 am in the morning.  Its gaming for nerds.  Josh is studying computer networking and Marco is studying every boy's dream, game design.

So, in case by now you are thinking that the entire weekend was spent gaming inside you would be wrong. Keeping in mind that Tom's aspie speciality is military where else would we go but Laserstrike.  Previously we have been to Healesville but this time we went to a new site in The Basin. This day was our birthday gift. I'd much rather an activity than more stuff.

Laserstike - The Basin

35 acres of bush for the boy to run around and get dirty in.

Those guns don't have paint balls that hurt and leave bruises but emit a laser that when aimed at a sensor on the oppositions head or gun registers a hit.  They can keep track of their own hits and kills on the gun itself. This all seems pretty grizzly doesn't it but they are OUTSIDE and they are ACTIVE and they are WORKING IN A TEAM and they LOVE IT.  Which all sounds like a win win win to me.

Their first session was a 9.30am which meant an early early start for tired teenagers.  Try getting four of them up at 7am and through a shower with instructions to drown themselves in deodorant was a tactical mission.  I have to drive these boys home afterwards and the thought of 4 stinky boys in the car was in the back of my mind.

The Basin is on the other side of the city (about an hr away) and so for a special birthday treat the L Plates were put on my V8.  I didn't take a photo and Tom drove really well with a very big smile.  The two older boys in the group still don't drive and so Tom felt pretty chuffed to be driving them.   They say girls talk. This lot never stopped talking the whole way there or the way home.

Tom

Marco

Jeremy lives in Berwick and so he met us there.  Another old school buddy (they met in Kinder) who we haven't seen for a few years.  So great to catch up with him and for me, his mother Liz.

Dave

I missed a photo of Josh in cammo gear because he recently had an ingrown toenail removed and it started bleeding so he cut his first session short (9.30-11.30) and didn't do the second (1 - 3).  My sister who moved from here into the area came to keep me company and while we were chatting at a picnic bench we looked across and found him fast asleep sitting up with his arms inside his T-Shirt.  Too Funny Josh.  He was obviously comfortable as he slept away until the others returned from their second session in the afternoon.

 

I'm glad its over but i think it lived up to Tom's expectations.   I only hope that i get a breather in between now and his planning the next one.  18th!!!  Its hard enough trying to get a 17 year old boy to do anything he is told so how hard will it be when he's 18.  He is already telling me "he's almost an adult".

Tom received some very generous gifts in the form of cash from family and friends.   He's hard to buy for and so many let him choose his own gift. He pooled it all together and bought some more outdoor items and so I'm pretty happy that it wasn't just blown on games.

We went out to a park yesterday and Tom gave it a go.  Its going to take plenty of practice to get to the level in this youtube but it was a lot of fun and i made him try to hit me to give him a target and to steer him away from traffic on the road next door.  There was a slight breeze and when it is up very high (and i mean high) is lost a bit of control.

Quadcopter

Lucky you can buy spares when the inevitable happens.  The helicopter only runs for short periods and so we need to get a spare battery to swap over.

Happy Birthday Tom, from Mum & Dad.

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Gardening in the Heat, Again.

During my recent break (see previous post) The Boys faithfully watered the garden.  It was extremely hot and so i am thankful not to return to a burnt out tangle of veggies.  In fact, i returned to abundance not only of veggies but also the grass.  We had to mow it several times.  I spread the clippings out to dry and this morning i covered up the newly weeded beds with the dried grass to keep the moisture in.

The one thing they did forget to do was harvest and so i arrived home to many giant zucchinis, stacks of lettuce on the brink of going to seed and yummy tomatoes.  What i am finding in this heat is that the sun seems to burn my skin on contact.  I have red hair and fair skin and it almost hurts to be out in it.  Sunscreen does nothing for me.  The UV must be particularly high.

Apple Cucumbers - i remember coming home from school and having these with a sprinkle of salt for a snack.  I haven't been successful with Lebanese or Continental and I'm waiting for a break in the heat to plant my seedlings for another attempt.  

My neighbours benefited from this pile.  I have new renters in the place next door.  They moved in while i was away and so my first introduction was to stand on their doorstep and say "Hi, I'm Lynda from next door, please take some zucchinis off my hands.".  

One way I've used them up is to throw a heap into a pot of homemade stock with pumpkin and potato.  Though Hubby did say that it tasted slightly different from my normal soup i told him it was the coconut cream i added rather than normal cream.  

When my Irish camping neighbours left they for some reason didn't want to take any food home (dont know why as they only live 5 minutes from me and so it was only an hour away).  I scored 16 eggs (huh, like they were going to go off in an hour). Australian Farmers Direct delivered only a few days before i arrived home another dozen.

Cant believe it but this was my first baked custard.  It was very simple and used up 6 of my egg glut.  I think i would have like to jazz it up for make it into bread and butter pudding but my Hubby has fond memories of the slabs of baked custard they served for school lunches back in Yorkshire when he was young and i was trying to be faithful to his memories.  

Tom's tutor arrived for a lesson and was served the above soup and custard while she went through his spelling.  She needs a little fattening up.   As usual, she also left with more zukes.

I have some massive beefeater tomatoes coming on at the moment. 

One thing i have noticed is that if the tomato plant is struggling it kills off the shade leaves first before the fruiting ones.  I did have some fried leaves but once i removed them all i noted that what was left was some healthy stems and the fruiting leaves.  Amazing huh, how it protects itself.

I always seem to harvest when i don't have a container and so i do what my mother did.  She used her apron and i use the front of my shirt.  Got to love the purple/pink and red contrast.  

Some of that excess lettuce, eggs and the above tomatoes became tonight's dinner.  I mixed a left over piece of kabana when i cooked the tomatoes and the hole from the egg-in- bread became a giant crouton.

The capsicum plant seems to love the heat.  

My latest piece of decor - onions from Jessie waiting to be planted.

My sister stayed over last night and being both early rises and expecting another hot day, we got out into the garden to do some overdue weeding.  The corn was finished and i stupidly realised that the beans i planted at the base of them were not going to climb up.  They were dwarf beans. DOH! I'm wondering why she couldn't see that there were beans all over them.  I mentioned that the now finished corn needed to come out.  Shock horror to find that not being a gardener the beans were considered weeds and pulled out as well.  She seems to love clearing the beds and having bare soil on display. All neat and tidy.  I rescued some rogue free tomatoes that were in there.  I watched a little bit closer after than but i am very greatful for the help.  We were drowned in sweat by 9am.

Keep cool guys. There is more hot weather on the way.  I'm finding that early morning watering seems to work best, though if its really a scorcher, i have lightly sprayed the back wall of trellises to take the heat out of the brick wall in the evening.  I have also strung up rope between the beds and hung shadecloth (like sheets on a washing line) to filter the north west sun.   The lettuce bed is also completely covered with shade cloth, which i think is 70%.

Tom is currently reading out loud out of a book written in 1940.  Its a series of reports and letters from the middle east at the beginning of WWII.  He's just about to get to the Australian and British forces entering Tobruk so i had better go pay attention as he is finding all the detail fascinating and keeps looking over to see if I'm listening.  How many feet the trenches were etc, which direction they came from (shows me the map) and on and on and on......   This 24 hr a day preoccupation with military has the house almost permanently sounding like a battlefield.  Its tiring but having had my rest I'm now able to deal with this with patience and understanding.  Sometimes being a good mum, means having to leave for a little while.

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Breathe In, Breathe Out, Breathe In, Breathe Out

Its been a tough week this week.   Not only have we had to deal with the shocking hot temperatures all week but it would seem that a secure job is not a secure job when there are arseholes involved. You guessed it, we are back to one income and probably more importantly my poor Hubby has taken another hit to his self esteem.  I'm wont go into too much details but we were not expecting this to happen.  Many people in his industry are in the same boat but gosh its hard when last year he/we went through five months of unemployment only to find himself with two jobs and to make, what would seem now, the wrong choice.  So many broken promises were made and stupidly we believed them. Lesson - if it seems too good, then it probably is.  It hard sometimes to not allow these things to change who you are.  I don't want to be bitter and to second guess people.  I know I'm often accused of being gullible, innocent and/or ignorant but the alternative is to be the kind of person i don't want to be.  Hubby has had so many knocks in the last few years he expects that something will go wrong.  So sad.  

Still,  I've learnt alot in the last year.  Ive garnered great advice and motivation from my fellow bloggers and I know that i can make this work, again.  Our first objective is to fight depression.

We have projects around the house that need to be completed where the materials are already on hand.
Hubby is a talented tradesman and I'm lucky that he can do many things that help us around the house that save us a lot of money.

On Friday, when i think it was 44C outside, our air conditioner broke down.  To many this would mean an impossible call to a service person eventuating in great expense and a possible 2-3 day wait.  For us, he simply opened it up, checked the board, found a swollen capacitor, replaced it for $14, and TaDa, its fixed. We have paint on hand and a fence that needs to be finished off.  Rob has his new tool box and a whole garage to sort out.  Plenty of things to keep him busy.  If he's reading this, id really like my water pump hooked up to the tank so i don't have to water the garden with $$$.

This is for all of us, not just him.  

Hubby has his own home gym we've discussed focusing on getting healthy and fit so that he is prepared for pre-employment medicals.  One less thing to worry about.   Why do they expect a 53 year old to be able to do the same physically as someone 30 years younger?  Is it a fair comparison? Do they consider the age when they ask you to do 10 squats without touching anything?  Can you do it?  He has 35yrs experience in his field that is worth far more than the ability to move fast. He doesn't get the job done fast, he gets it done right, the first time.  As someone that has the fault find others mistakes, he understands the importance of doing it once and doing it right.  


OK, I've shared my news and had a little gripe and now ill impress you all with my harvest tonight.  This was after a week of 40+ degree temperatures.  I watered in the evenings and strung a few ropes between the beds, hanging shade cloths sheets up with pegs to provide shade.  There are a couple of wilted leaves on some of the tomato plants but all the beds are deeply mulched and so retained their moisture.  

I'm feel lucky (sometimes) that my garden is small and i can give each plant exactly what it needs.  I probably obsess about them a bit.  Now, what to do with all those peppers?
 

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Sell Sell Sell - This is the fun part of decluttering

So far this decluttering of the house has been hard work, especially for my other half.  So many things to look at when you are suppose to be chucking things out.  Seriously, he has boxed up (for later) Silicon Chip magazines (i know, big nerd) that go back to the 80's, just in case.  Has he heard of the Internet!!!  He hasn't looked at any of them for 20 years. So things of his are moving from one room to another rather than out the door.  Frustrating!!!!!!

Well not if i have anything to do with it.  If its not nailed down then I'm either giving it away or selling it.  Now this selling business is a new thing for me.  Ive got to admit that its actually a bit of a buzz.  Now i understand Sharon (Miss Townmouse) about your eBay shop.  

Currently i have two ads on Gumtree, a free site for buying and selling goods.   The above NBA basketball assemble is going for $100 and I've had a call already (about 1 hr after posting) that if i don't sell it by Thursday they will buy it for $80.   Ive also made a poster for the front fence that includes this photo for any passing traffic.

The second ad is for a Casio Pad 300 which is a ridiculously priced calculator that Tom had to have for this year (Year 9) but used for two lessons before he left school.  It was $200.  I'm selling it, pouch, manuals and disc for $100.

The other way that I'm selling this is on Sustainable School Shop .  Ive listed his text books and the calculator and in the last couple of days I've sold $80 worth.  Some of them had not even been opened as they were for the second half of the year.  I'm selling probably a little too cheap but i want them out of here.  I wish i had done this a month ago.  Most of the private schools around here have already finished.  Here's hoping there are more slack parents who haven't finished the book list yet.  I will post it if needed.

I'm also going to be listing a Wii console with games, guitar hero,Wii Fit platform and software as well as a unused XBox 360.

I tell you that this week has been a learning curve though.  I totally undersold a couple of items of Hubby's but at least they have "left the building".  I approached the guys in the factory and made a little flyer to see if anyone wanted a used Triton Workbench including bench saw (that was 2mm out) for $50 or a Nail Gun to be used with an air compressor that was bought to build the deck but was too powerful and split the hardwood.  We ended up predrilling, hammering and counter sinking over 3000 nails into a deck. The nail gun was as new and some parts were still in plastic.  I was offering this for $100 though it cost us $300 five years ago.  Lesson learned is that things depreciate sitting on a shelf despite being as new in a case wrapped up.   I need to move them quicker.

Another big lesson was don't be so quick to set a price or agree to a sale.  I could have had a bidding war but sold to the first one who walked into my office.  Two others were waiting for photos so it was a case of him committing first.  Both were a bargain but i also wanted to help this guy out as he just finished his house and was planning to start on his pergola. I threw in the box of nails for free.   Later one of the others came in and told me he didn't really want it but knew the others did so he was trying to drive up the price for me.  DOH!

So what am i doing with the money.   Hubby really needs to sort out his garage.  He has lots of tools so I've got my eye on something a little bit expensive.  Well maybe a lot expensive for a Christmas gift.  Its OK, he knows so I'm not spoiling the surprise.   I'm giving him one of those big rolling tool chests.  Hopefully having everything laid out in drawers and being able to roll it to the job will get rid of all the small tool boxes and perhaps provide incentive to put them all away when he is finished.  By getting rid of the old Tritan bench he now has a spare spot to store it.  I have visions people.  Visions of an organised and neat garage.  Am i dreaming......?

Today we put an Aldi water cooler out on the nature strip with a free sign.  It has sat in the corner of my dining area for years gathering dust and was used alot when we were able to get filters for it.  We tried everywhere and talked of somehow modifying it but it didn't happen and the cobwebs mounted up.  It had a small fridge in the bottom that took a dozen cans.   Out it went onto the nature strip.

Ours had a fridge as well.

This one was not ours but i forgot to take a photo.  I took it out and put a big red sign on it saying "FREE" and another saying that it worked but couldn't get filters.  It was gone in an hour.

Tomorrow another big piece of furniture leaves the house.  A desk that has been with me either at work or at home for now over 20 years.  Its huge and heavy.

This is a custom built desk and has a really thick veneer that can be sanded down and restrained.  It matched two really big cupboards (210x90) that i gave away a few weeks ago.

We are going to reassemble it (it has to be broken down to get out of the room) on the footpath tomorrow and see how long it takes to go.   Many years ago i wheeled out an old rusted BBQ in a wonky wooden trolley.  I went back inside to get the lid and when i came back outside i saw it being wheeled down the street.  I had to chase after them to give them the lid. Some people are keen.

So on with the decluttering.  As you can imagine, a nerd who reads computer mags also accumulates a lot of software discs.  Add them to the driver and installation disc for a myriad of computer hardware and back up discs that were all stored in this desk or the cupboards.  Hubby was concerned that there might be personal information on some of them so i sat down and deconstructed them to have a pile of discs (for shredding at work, a pile of cases (for the op shop) and a pile of paper sleeves for the recycle.  Such an entertaining evening, NOT.

Since Tom had a friend over and we hadn't been out for a while we went to our favourite restaurant, The Golden Grill in Werribee tonight.

One thing about having an Aspie family is that if they decide they like something you had better get use to it  because you are going to be going to that one spot over and over again.  The waitress in this place doesn't even bother to ask the boys (Hubby and son) what they want.  Its the same thing every time.  I mix it up a bit as it really depends on how much space i have.  The good thing about this place is that they don't buy in the big rolls of meat from some generic factory.  They marinate and make their own rolls and freeze for later.  The Turkish bread is made on site and everything is so so fresh and authentic.  Tonight there was a party for a 70year old and they had live Turkish music.  Tom didn't like that one bit - something different.

See how good i am, just a fresh garden salad with humus and tzatziki.  

So good in fact that i DID NOT have even one of these beautiful authentic Turkish treats.  Yummmmmmmmmmmm

Last Monday i had to go to Geelong to finally register Tom's RAV4 in Victoria (yes, after alot of work it finally got a road worthy) and stopped off for a quick coffee at Eastern Beach.  Its so relaxing to be near the water and hear the tinkle tinkle of the ropes on the masts of the boats.

To finish off i am giving you Tilly pictures.  Her hair is quite long and we are waiting for a grooming appointment so these will be one of the last ones with a full coat of hair for a while.  Those eyebrows are amazing.

Yes, asleep again......

and again.......

and again.... this one with Hubby.

Our big girl now weights 3.5kgs.  I bathed her today and she is so so tiny, all pink and black spots under that white hair.  Very bony which is natural for a Chinese Crested Powderpuff.  I do try to take photos of her awake but they usually turn out a blur.  She is either asleep or as fast a lightening.  Tonight Hubby was sitting on the couch and she was doing her parchore thing where she uses several things to negotiate her way and one of them was his tummy.  From floor to couch and across his tummy and onto arm of couch and then back on to floor and around the coffee table a few times, out to me and screech on the brakes before running back and doing it all again and again.  It lasts about 15 minutes before she will decide that's enough, climb up to your shoulder and plonk herself down for a sleep.  You don't get any say in the matter.  Her favourite spot on me is to lay across my chest.  Great platform and no danger of slipping off.

Update Sunday Afternoon.

We put the big desk and return out with the help of 4 of us, it is so heavy.   We went inside for lunch and then i thought id walk out and take photo of the desk of the nature strip.

Gone.  It took me longer to print the FREE signs.  Hubby thinks that people must be driving around with a ute or trailer actually looking for stuff to pick up.

Thanks for Visiting Living In The Land of Oz